Recent viewings

[JoeTheDestroyer]

I watched The Last Broadcast and was terribly disappointed. It took me a little bit to get into the film's public access style, but I eventually did and I found it compelling. Then I got to the ending and was like, "What? That doesn't even make sense. That's the dumbest possible way you could have ended this!" All of the gripping, low budget material went down the drain, flushed by a crappy ending. 

My wife and I finally saw The Amazing Spider-Man. It doesn't hold a candle to Spidey 1 or 2, IMO, but it's still better than the train wreck that is 3. I think my main complaint was that I wasn't sold on Lizard as anything more than a tacked on adversary. Any other villain could have easily been in his place. That and part of what made the first Spider-Man enjoyable, at least for me, were the acts of heroism throughout the movie (e.g. saving babies, etc.).  You don't get as much of that in this one.  Still, I enjoyed it for what it was worth. 

[Jack]

Timestalkers (1987) - a time travelling woman from the future enlists the help of a college professor to go back to the 1880's to stop the bad guy (Klaus Kinski) from doing something that will screw up the future. Fun and cheesy bit of fluff, the plot was somewhat interesting and the characters were likable. Kinski always makes a great villain. 3.5/5.

Everest: IMAX  (1998) - documentary about a group of climbers who conquer Everest. Quite educational - I didn't know climbers had to spend 5 weeks at base camp to get acclimated to the altitude. They dragged the IMAX camera all the way up the mountain and got some gorgeous scenes for us to look at. The view from the summit was pretty awe-inspiring; the clouds aren't just below you, they're like a mile below you, and you can just see the peaks of what you know are very tall mountains sticking out above them. It's surreal. 4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

N. TOOK THE DICE (1971): A man remembers... or dreams...  or makes up... a story about a woman who is abducted by pirates... or tricked by a spy in a coffeehouse... or something.... Sometimes you see a French movie and you think it must be made up from random bits of unused footage from other movies, gussied up with pretentious meta-narration about the nature of storytelling. In this case that's actually true; this (never released until 2014) experiment from Alain Robbe-Grillet is made up of alternate takes and outtakes from his softcore fantasia EDEN AND AFTER, rearranged to make a new "story." Probably an amusing challenge for the director, but not rewarding for the viewer. 1.5/5.

[indianasmith]

I watched a rather disturbing film last night called NO VACANCY. 
It starts with a montage of headlines about a fire at an orphanage; then morphs into a group of friends
driving to Las Vegas for a long weekend.  They get two flat tires and pull over at a roadside gas station/hotel/diner
complex, where the owner offers to fix their tires and put them up for the night free of charge.  The seven friends
agree, and they party at the diner before being show to their rooms, where two of the couples do a little canoodling
before bedtime.  The next morning, two of the couples waken tied up, while the other pair witnesses the brutal
murder of the odd man out in their group.  The oh-so-helpful owner and staff of the hotel, restaurant, and garage
wind up being a bunch of vengeful maniacs who are determined to torture and kill all of them, apparently because
they had asked for help - and at the orphanage where all of them were raised, asking for help earned you beatings
and abuse.  Basically, it started with a promising slasher flick premise and wound up being an ugly piece of torture
porn.  I know the line between the two is thin sometimes, but I really did not care for this movie that much, even
though the actresses were very attractive and the performances convincing. 3/5

[Jack]

Scream of the Wolf (1974) - people are being killed by what appears to be a werewolf, and ex-hunter Peter Graves investigates. He consults his friend, played by Clint Walker, but Clint's a little strange - he thinks it's good that the fear the community is experiencing is bringing some excitement into their humdrum lives. Is it really a werewolf, or will Mr. Graves find some other explanation? If you like made-for-TV movies form the '70s, this fits the bill. Well known actors putting in adequate performances, slow moving plot, plenty of '70s atmosphere. 2.5/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Barbara (2012) - Excellent, if not wildly exciting, movie about life in East Germany. a MILFy blonde helps it along. Unlike most foreign movies it isn't "erotic" though. There is no nudity which in this case is rather unfortunate.

The two biggest problems in East Germany are that you can't leave and that the government hires people to snoop around. if you screw up once you can bet they will be searching your apartment and intimidating you all the time. Come to think of it, there were a lot more than 2 problems with socialism. Another one: the crappiness of the economic system creates a great deal of scarcity which is pretty annoying when you work in a hospital like the people here. I think I prefer smaller government.

Barbara Movie Trailer (2012)

Again, no car chases but it's just about note perfect otherwise. There should be more movies like this 5/5

[Jack]

The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984) - David Carradine is an expert swordsman who wanders into some little village where two factions are vying for control of the local well. He must have seen A Fistful of Dollars because he plays one side off against the other to make as much money for himself as possible. He eventually meets up with a sorceress babe who ain't the least bit shy (she spends the entire movie topless ). It's your typical Roger Corman cheesefest with lots of silly sword fights and even sillier characters. Rather dull due to Carradine being, well...dull. 3/5.

[claws]

Barbara (2012) - Excellent, if not wildly exciting, movie about life in East Germany. a MILFy blonde helps it along. Unlike most foreign movies it isn't "erotic" though. There is no nudity which in this case is rather unfortunate.

The two biggest problems in East Germany are that you can't leave and that the government hires people to snoop around. if you screw up once you can bet they will be searching your apartment and intimidating you all the time. Come to think of it, there were a lot more than 2 problems with socialism. Another one: the crappiness of the economic system creates a great deal of scarcity which is pretty annoying when you work in a hospital like the people here. I think I prefer smaller government.

Barbara Movie Trailer (2012)

Again, no car chases but it's just about note perfect otherwise. There should be more movies like this 5/5

This has been on my to watch list for a while but I forgot all about it. Thanks for the reminder.

[JoeTheDestroyer]

Jacob's Ladder- It's been a while since I last saw this film, but I'd forgotten how much the Silent Hill games borrowed from this movie.  It's also a pretty swell flick, and not so WTFish as to be pretentious.  Also, the demon sex/dance scene was downright creepy! 

[lester1/2jr]

Claws- I've seen a couple of his movies. I liked Yella and Jerichow but can't remember much about them actually.

[Jack]

Dinosaur Island (1994) - some soldiers are flying over the ocean and crash land near an island. They find the place inhabited by hot babes and dinosaurs! A Fred Olen Ray / Jim Wynorski co-production, need I say more? The humor was clever in a very silly way, there were more boobs than you could shake a stick at, and some pretty comical dinosaur special effects. I can't help but give it a 5/5 

[Rev. Powell]

5/5 for DINOSAUR ISLAND - that's our Jack!

BUTTWHISTLE (2014): A pathological nice guy rescues a cute but sadistic girl from a suicide attempt, and she takes over his life and poison his relationships. He occasionally talks to his ghost ex-girlfriend, and a bar of soap offers obscene commentary. It's put together with care, but it's easy to see why this strange mix of slacker drama and deadpan absurdity infuriated most viewers. Its fractured aesthetic lacks sharp edges, but is still difficult to grasp. 2.5/5.

[VenomX73]

Ahhha AHhahAA hahaha! He said "BUTTWHISTLE"

[indianasmith]

Every now and then I get in the mood for a stupid, lowbrow, crude comedy.
Seth Rogen films cure me for at least six weeks of that desire.  The film this time was
NEIGHBORS, in which a pair of immature thirtysomethings have a fraternity move into the
house next door.  After initially enjoying the party scene with the younger guys in the frat house.
they quickly decide that the noise level is simply too much when they are trying to work and
raise a baby.  War with the frat ensues, in spectacularly vulgar fashion, for the rest of the film.
And Seth Rogen, as if his audience has not suffered enough already, insists on taking his
shirt off in every other scene - and everything else in one scene!

I am sufficiently traumatized to be sworn off crude comedies until 2015.
That being said . . . I rate NEIGHBORS 3/5

[lester1/2jr]

Soundless (2004)- German suspense movie about a contract killer who falls in love with a very hot blonde who is the gf or something of a guy he killed.

pros -

- Some of the philosophical themes are interesting. What if a serial killer helps an old lady across the street esque stuff

- the killers cleverness of like hiding a phone with a thing on it and they burst open the door and it's just a phone type stuff is decent

cons

- It's confusing, especially in the beginning. They don't explain everything enough. Why was he killing the first guy? Why is the one guy wearing a turban? I don't want to be going over stuff in my mind while I'm watching the plot develop. I started it over at the beginning at 30 min mark.

- The main cop guy is kind of annoying and unlikeable but not in a particularly interesting way.


All in all, it was okay and even good in parts but I can't recommend it. No one in HK or Hollywood is too worried about Germany if they see this.

3.5 /5