Recent viewings

[Killer Bees]

Flash Gordon
Flash - ah ahhhhh - saviour of the Universe!  I totally forgot how over the top everything is in this movie.  Including the fact that Dale and Flash were engaged two minutes after getting captured.  And they didn't even know each other!  My 17 yo son now counts it as one of his favourite movies.

Thir13en Ghosts
I haven't seen the original, just this one with the lovely Shannon Elizabeth.  I fell in love with the all glass house and the ghosts were pretty scary too.  One of my faves.

[asimpson2006]

Jaws ** 1/2 out of ****

It was an okay film, but I though it was a bit overrated.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of quarters **** out of ****

Once upon a time in America *** 1/2 out of ****

[glidewell]

Jack Ketchums, The Lost. Such a perfect title for this film cuz its titular character Ray Pye is such a vehement looser. This movie is scary in ways rarely seeen on film. Its Silence of the Lams sort of scarry, Damer scarry, Jaws scarry, Its the fact that this ish is real that really delivers and drives the story home. I literally sweat  during sequences in this movie. Definitely watching this one a second time  but with the lights on for sure.

__________________________________________________________________________

I was able to find this trailer  on YT...jeez you have no idea how hard it is to search for something with a name as generic as "the lost"...but this did turn up and I'm pretty sure that its the official trailer:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5uKmN3mwQ0

[lester1/2jr]

bedtime stories-  wacky way out there soft core starring illona Staller aka Ciccolina, italian porn goddess turned politician.  it's really something else.  Shee wears this crown thing all the time and dresses in a little piece of fabric she lifts up constantly.  the dress is as thin as the plot, which is about a dirty radio show she does, kind of like sassy sue or whatever.  she performs some ridiculous pop songs, seduces a very skinny guy, gets saved from a gang rape by a ventriloquist lesbian and carries a dirty looking blue teddy bear.  You'd think Italy was heaven watching this and it may well be I've never been there.

Lone Wolf mcquade-  if you haven't seen many chuck norris movies and don't know where to start definately check this out.  the cliches are piled on pretty high, but it kicks ass.  straightforward in way they don't make anymore.  bites heavily from spaghetti westerns and Bruce Lee in places.  featuring Billy Dee Williams and David Carradine. 

[Jack]

Tinman - the Sci-Fi Channel miniseries.  Loosely based on The Wizard of Oz.  This was actually pretty good.  Some girl and her parents are swept away by a tornado to "the O.Z." or "Outer Zone".  Girl sets off to search for her parents, meets some people, has a series of adventures and a few too many flashbacks, and discovers all sorts of stuff that deepens the plot.  My favorite part is the evil sorceress:  She's hot, wears this crazy gold outfit, and gets all the best lines.  Would have been a somewhat boring movie without her.

Within the Rock - there's a runaway moon hurtling towards Earth (Doing about warp 9 judging by how fast it's whippin' past other stars).  A team of miners is sent to drill tunnels into it, after which they'll set off some C4 next to the reactor, which will turn it into a nuclear bomb and the explosion will be routed through the tunnels, causing the moon to change course (by about 45 degrees).  But little do they know, there's actually a big scary monster imprisoned "within the rock".  Yup, they unknowingly release it, mayhem ensues.  This could have been a fun cheese fest, but never really achieved that lofty goal.  The heroine is unlikable, the other characters...seemed like the writers were just sort of stewing around and never did figure out what to do with these people.  There's a tough girl who starts pouring out her heart to the heroine;  she's not really tough, she's a delicate little flower!  I thought they were going to start kissing or something.  Overall, I paid 85 cents for the VHS tape, and got my money's worth.

Pan's Labyrinth - some critic somewhere said this was good, so I watched it.  It was enjoyable.  Spanish film, hope you like subtitles.  In WWII Spain, a young girl and her mother move to a military compound where mom's new husband is in command.  He's a real SOB, killing rebels without mercy and that sort of stuff.  Half the movie is about the husband and his military exploits, the other half about the young girl and her fairy tale adventures with fairies and fauns and the quests they send her on.  I actually liked the military stuff better than the fantasy storyline.  Overall, pretty cool, nice downbeat ending you never get with American films.  High production values, well developed characters, the whole deal.

[Rev. Powell]

HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH (1982): A doctor and his new girlfriend investigate a Satanic plot to place devices in kid's Halloween masks that either blow their heads up or turn them into a mass of snakes and cockroaches.  This mix of the imaginative, the inept and the downright silly turns into good dumb fun by the third act, but there are lots of horror-movie cliches to wade through first to get to the good stuff.  3/5.

RABID DOGS (1974): Fleeing a bloody payroll heist, three criminals abduct two adults and an unconscious, possibly dying child. Basically a five character hostage drama set almost entirely inside a cramped car, strong characterizations make this involving despite plot holes and a too-obvious twist ending.  Mario Bava directs.  Beware the inferior re-edited, re-dubbed version entitled KIDNAPPED, available on the same disc.  4/5.

THE INCREIBLE PETRIFIED WORLD (1957):  Three scientists and a gal reporter luck out when their errant diving bell falls near some underwater caves.  The undersea world they discover is hardly petrified and certainly not incredible. Remarkably action-free.  The aquatic documentary shown at the very beginning is actually being watched by characters in the framing story: in other words, this is that rare who's padding actually has its own padding. As much fun as the bends. 1/5.

MARVELOUS (2006):  When a mopey divorcee discovers she has mystical healing powers, her in-laws and various friends, hangers-on and manipulators ride her coattails to prominence as a cult-like figure.  Slow to start, abrupt to end, and sometimes too subtle where it should be outrageous, this celebrity satire nonetheless has an authentic bite, like a minor NETWORK.  3.5/5.

SOM AND BANK: BAGKOK FOR SALE [AKA ONE TAKE ONLY] (2006):  Drug runner Bank and teen prostitute Som, essentially orphans, develop a romance in the Bangkok underworld.  Fun as a seedy Bangkok travelogue, but everytime the underprivliged-teen-lovers-against-the-world drama starts to take off, director Oxide Pang Chun throws in another music video style dream sequence with thumping techno music to kill the momentum.  3/5

[Killer Bees]

Poltergeist
Since everyone knows this movie, I won't do a mini-review.  I did think that it would be ho hum after not watching it for years, but the scare factor is still there.

Red Dwarf Season 5 - A classic in British humour.  I've seen all the eps before but because each season is so expensive, I'm having to buy them at the rate of one every few pay days.

Shrek - I love this franchise.  Mike Myers does a passable Scottish accent and the humour is excellent.  Can't wait to see Shrek 3.

The Gate - Oh, man this was LAME!  Stephen Dorff as a 10 year old, complete with a bad haircut and lame acting abilities.  He certainly got better as he got older.  I ended up fast forwarding through the odd plot.  Something about a hole in the backyard unleashing demons.  Thankfully after 90 mins you finally get to see the demons and all the action is contained in the last 15 mins or so.  They had the trailer for the movie in the special features.  Watch the trailer instead.  It's more action packed and you'll get a better wrap of the story.

[RCMerchant]

It came! I watched it! ALUCARDA (1975)!

DAM! Really bizzare devil poosesion movie from Mexico. If you like the sound of screaming....really hysterical screaming,this is the movie for you.

 A girl named Justine is placed in a convenet where the nuns all dress in what seems to be filthy,bloody rags.Her roomie is a weird girl named Alucarda,who is obssesed with death. They meet up with some weird gypsies,rifle through what seems to be an old tomb,and both become possessed by demons.

Some really silly dialouge,weird imagery,and lotsa blood. LOTS of blood. It seems like someone is bleeding every other minute in this movie! Not quite the classic I expected,but a wild movie nevertheless.

BEST SCENE: Justine is found in a blood filled coffin by one of the nuns....and the crazy demon girl slashes the poor Sister up with her fingernails like a wild animal! Lotsa blood and screaming ensues!
 

[trekgeezer]

Beowulf (2007)  - Robert Zemeckis' 3D all CGI movie of the classic tale.  Didn't see any reason for this being all CG, but it was a pretty good film.

I Am Legend (2007) - Will Smith does an excellent acting job, but the stupid director went video game CG on the mutant/vampires and totally missed the point of the original story.

[glidewell]

Damn, I just watched Jimmy Carter Man From Plains on DVD and I am so inspired, I like totally want to go and save a cat in a tree or something. Who would have ever thought that at 80 years old this guy would still give a crap about the world particularly in its current state. Not only that but maintain as much composure around so much controversy, this guy is a pro and truly a nobel peae prize deserving philanthropist.

[enemy]

Hands of Steel - A cyborg, created to kill a influential leader has a change of heart at the last minute.  On the run from his creators, he hides out in a roadside bar/hotel and earns his keep doing odd jobs and arm wrestling truck drivers that stop by.  A great entry in 80's Italian cinema; it borrows a few ideas from the Terminator and lifts the arm repair scene directly.

I thought it was really fun and enjoyed it the whole way through. 

[lester1/2jr]

seance on a wet afternoon (1964) -  suspension of disbelief and tolerance of showy british acting styles required, but overall good story about a phony medium who is also insane. 

[Torgo]

CLOVERFIELD   *** out of ****.
Expected to hate it, ended up liking it. While the movie has some issues, its strengths outweigh it's weaknesses and it ends up being lots of fun.  The characters wind up doing some dumb things throughout the movie but I'm sure I would as well if I was trapped in a city with a giant 350 foot monster rampaging around.  Great extras on the DVD BTW.

12 MONKEYS   ***1/2 out of ****.
Terry Gilliam was working as a director-for-hire on this 1995 time travel/dementia sci-fi epic starring Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt.  The movie gets a little too out there at times but that's to be expected with a visionary and extremely quirky/non-conventional director like Gilliam at the helm.  Great stuff and a movie that sticks with you for a while after the 1st time you see it. I was lucky to see this in theaters originally.

[Killer Bees]

Resident Evil - Extinction
Yet another fabbo offering in this wonderful franchise.  Stark and bleak with enough flesh eating zombies to keep your interest up.  I like the premise that the T-Virus destroyed everything on Earth, not just people.  I'm glad to see that they left things open for another film in the franchise.  Milla Jovovich kicks arse as usual and good old Aussie advertising commerial guru Russell Mulcahy is at the helm directing.  And the very yummy Oded Fehr makes another appearance as Carlos Olivera.

Interesting sidebar:  when AIDS first hit public awareness in the 80s and scared the bejeebles out of everyone, Russ did a commerical about protecting yourself against the virus.  It showed a bunch of people in a bowling alley used as ten pins, men, women, old people, kids.  And the Grim Reaper was the bowler.  He'd bowl the ball and all the people, including the scared and crying kids were knocked down dead.  Then they'd be dragged away like discarded pins and a new set of people would be set up.

It caused a huge stir back then and he was both villified for the violence and praised for his ingenuity.  When I see it now, it's nothing.  But back then the imagery was frightening and pretty gory.

He did well with this movie.  Tight direction, good story line, brilliant visuals and very scary even though it was shot in broad daylight in the desert.

Highly recommended.   

[glidewell]

Man I feel really fortunate to have come across the quality movies I've been watching lately, they're has been a few duds in the mix but suprisingly alot of good ish has been coming out. Last Night I watched Revolver the Guy Rithcie movie. All I can say is that if you havent seen this go see it, its not what you'll expect it to be and the concept behind it is really f-ing poignant. This film really reps the conceptual evolution of man depicted thru the medium of film. I dont want to say too much, cuz well I really dont want to ruin this one. I think I'm going to watch Southland Tales next and then perhaps Val Kilmers new movie Conspiracy, which I heard was much better than its critical reception.