Recent viewings

[FatFreddysCat]

"The Terror" (1963)

Trailer - The Terror (1963)	Small | Large

A young Jack Nicholson and horror icon Boris Karloff star in this Gothic tale from Roger Corman, about a French soldier who follows a beautiful woman to a creepy old castle (are there ever any other kind of castles in Roger Corman movies?). She turns out to be a vengeful spirit intent on tormenting her former husband (Karloff) to suicide.

"The Terror" may not make a whole lotta sense (the "shocking plot twist" at around the three quarter mark seems utterly random and totally unnecessary) but it has cool atmosphere and features nice performances by Karloff and the then-unknown Nicholson.

[indianasmith]

I haven't watched a ton of movies lately because I have been absorbed in two premium cable series just released on video.

BLACK SAILS is a STARZ release, the story of a group of pirates working out of Nassau in the Bahamas around 1715.  It's a little slow moving at times, but the sea battles are epic and it spices up the story with the mandatory-for-premium-series levels of sex and violence.  I'll admit I did get caught up in the whole thing.  At only 8 episodes, however, the season was depressingly short.

Then I began renting season one of SHOWTIME's gothic horror series PENNY DREADFUL.  It doesn't feature nearly as much sex, but the violence and multiple dark story arcs are very attention-getting - as is the lovely Miss Eva Green, who manages to look hot even when gouging at her own flesh in the throes of being possessed.  The story line includes Dracula, Dorian Grey, Frankenstein, van Helsing, and multiple nods to Jack the Ripper.  I just finished Disk 2 tonight; this one is a doozy!

[Zapranoth]

Transformers:  Age of Extinction (2014).  
Another long series of CG battles/explosions, this new installment in what promises (?) to be a second trilogy is one of those "I'm home alone, nothing better to do than watch this" kind of experiences.  The incoherency of the script and the complete lack of believable, interesting and/or engaging relationships or indeed characters was completely what I expected.   A few expected fun elements were in there -- namely Peter Cullen  as the voice of Optimus, check.  Some Dinobots were in there too, cool.   The movie's achievement was that it somehow made one hundred and sixty five minutes of expensive, shiny-looking CG action be completely boring and interminable.  But, that's the magic of Michael Bay, right?  (I didn't realize that he had directed it until the end credits -- just threw the disc in without looking at the case -- but the end credits made everything suddenly make sense.)   One half of a star out of five, and that's being generous.  I found myself throwing up my hands and saying, "how did he make this so BORING?!?"

[FatFreddysCat]

"Godzilla vs. Mothra" (aka "Godzilla vs. The Thing," 1964)

Godzilla vs. Mothra (trailer)	Small | Large

A giant monster egg washes up on Japanese shores after a storm, which results in Godzilla (playing the bad-guy role this time out) facing off against the giant insect Mothra, with a whole bunch of Japanese journalists and soldiers (plus two tiny Mothra worshipping go-go girls) caught in the middle.  Charmingly silly rubber-monster schlock.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel" (2011)

CORMAN'S WORLD - Trailer

I wrapped up my "Obsessed By Roger Corman Week" with this cool documentary about his amazing 50+ year career in the film industry, loaded with cool clips from his films and interviews with pretty much anybody who's anybody in Hollywood, all of whom have worked for the "King of the B's" at some point. Great stuff!

[JaseSF]

Jane Austen's Mafia! (1998): Primarily a parody of mafia/mob films, this tells the story of a son (Jay Mohr) who takes over the family business following the death of his father.

To me, this was painfully stupid and for the most part, just wasn't funny. They throw in ridiculous, over-the-top parody bits of stuff like Forrest Gump, Jurassic Park, and even Scrooge and Lord of the Dance as well as The Godfather films, Casino, and Scarface. Maybe if I had seen more mob films, I might have gotten more of the parodies but honestly, I still doubt I would have liked this. The humor is just gross out stuff with lots of farting, vomiting, toilet humor, disturbing sexual innuendo, etc. LLoyd Bridges is in this one in a bit role as the mob boss father but really isn't given much to do (it's mostly just making fun of senility type stuff). Also on hand are Christina Applegate, Billy Burke, Pamela Gidley (in a sexpot type role), and Olympia Dukakis. To me, this movie was a painful viewing experience and I wished I had back the 90 minutes of life again after completing it. The cleverest bits I felt were actually the ridiculous signage in the background throughout the film which will probably fly over the heads of any viewers who actually enjoy this and some stuff written in the end credits. * out of ***** stars.

Hiding Out (1987): A witness on the run after becoming the target of a mob hitman, Andrew Morenski (Jon Cryer) assumes the identity of teenager Max Hauser and hides out pretending to be a high school student at his cousin Patrick (Keith Coogan)'s school. There he meets a girl named Ryan (Annabeth Gish) and sparks fly. However, he's still very much in danger as the hitman is still trying to track him down.

This was a very enjoyable film, pretty much a high school style comedy. I'd say it's very underrated. Of course, it does have a few problems most notably the fake beard in the beginning and the fact Cryer looks too young for the age he's supposed to be. But this is a minor quibble as Max Hauser proves a very likable, very enjoyable character to watch and root for. A pleasant surprise. **** out of ***** stars.

[Rev. Powell]

BIRD PEOPLE (2014): Set at a hotel by Paris' Orly Airport, the story follows an American businessman who suddenly decides to quit his job and a French maid who has an odd experience one night while cleaning. A bit of magical realism in the second half helps, but this nearly plotless ennui-fest never takes wing. A generous 2.5/5 because the acting and camerawork is very good.

[Jack]

The Runestone (1991) - an archaeologist finds this big rock with ancient Norse writing on it;  before long it possesses him and turns him into a werewolf. His ex-girlfriend, her new husband, and a police detective investigate the pile of mutilated bodies that soon start accumulating. This was satisfactory; pretty high production values, characters were okay, monster was decent. A bit slow moving at first and the plot was tediously predictable, but in the second half the action picked up considerably and the ending was kind of cool. 3/5.

[Trevor]

I haven't watched a ton of movies lately because I have been absorbed in two premium cable series just released on video.

BLACK SAILS is a STARZ release, the story of a group of pirates working out of Nassau in the Bahamas around 1715.  It's a little slow moving at times, but the sea battles are epic and it spices up the story with the mandatory-for-premium-series levels of sex and violence.  I'll admit I did get caught up in the whole thing.  At only 8 episodes, however, the season was depressingly short.

Believe it or not, this series is filmed in Cape Town of all places. 

[Jack]

The Killings at Outpost Zeta (1980) - so there's this outpost on another planet and all contact with it has been lost. A rescue team is sent out to investigate, and they find these rock creatures are responsible. Of course the creatures would like to get rid of the rescue team as well. I kind of enjoyed this - it's really slow moving with a sedate cast and the special effects are downright chuckle-inducing, but it has that neat sort of low budget atmosphere and the characters, though only slightly developed and prone to doing really stupid things, were a likable bunch. 3.5/5.

Beyond the Rising Moon aka Outerworld (1987) - a woman who was genetically engineered by a corporation to be the ultimate thief of corporate secrets decides she no longer wants to work for them and takes her latest bit of stolen information - the location of an alien spacecraft - and sets off with a spaceship pilot to find it herself. With the corporation in hot pursuit. This was fun, with tons of low budget special effects, generally likable characters, and a decent plot.  4/5.

[Rev. Powell]

WINTER IN THE BLOOD (2013): An alcoholic half-breed Blackfoot wakes up from a blackout with a vision of the body of his long-dead father, which sets him off on a boozy, hallucinatory quest to make peace with his past. There is a lot to enjoy here in the parade of Indian themes and images, although all the floating symbols, subplots, quirky characters and loose ends make this occasionally feel like an episode of "Twin Peaks" set on the reservation. Unfortunately, it's a season 2 episode. 3/5.

[Rev. Powell]

WHIRLPOOL OF FATE (1925): A French orphan girl runs away from her abusive uncle and takes up with a poacher before finally marrying a provincial scion. Ordinary predictable melodrama, but director Jean Renoir does show some of his future talent in the editing and an inventive nightmare scene. Silent, but the French accordion music on the DVD became somewhat annoying after an hour. 3/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"The Interview" (2014)

The Interview Official Trailer #1 (2014) - James Franco, Seth Rogen Comedy HD

Finally...the controversial comedy that caused an international incident and brought the wrath of hackers down upon Sony Pictures!! Was it worth all the fuss? Ehhh...probably not. 

When a clueless American talk show host and his dorky producer snag an exclusive interview with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, the CIA drafts them into attempting an assassination. Mayhem, naturally, ensues. Seth Rogen is funny, so is the guy who plays Kim Jong Un, but James Franco gets reeeaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllly annoying after a while.

A decent watch but nothing I'll ever sit thru again.

[Rev. Powell]

MST3K: FUGITIVE ALIEN: An alien raider in a blond wig named Ken refuses to kill an Earth kid (because his name is also "Ken") and instead becomes a fugitive alien. This movie (actually another series of Japanese TV episodes edited into a movie) is so incoherent and badly acted, with bargain special effects ripped off from STAR WARS, that it stands on its own as a hilarious experience; the guys don't have to do much. It does contain the iconic "he tried to kill me with a forklift!" song, and Jack Perkins makes his first appearance in Deep 13 (for no good reason). 4/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

Double-feature with the young'ins on a snowy Saturdayafternoon:

"Underdog" (2007)

Underdog (trailer)

Disney's live-action take on the classic '60s super-pooch cartoon is silly fun for kids and relatively painless for their parents.

"Rodan" (1956)

Rodan (Radon) (1956) - Trailer	Small | Large

Toho Studios followed up "Godzilla" with this flick about a pair of prehistoric pterodactyls re-awakened by atomic testing. Enjoyably goofy rubber-monster nonsense. Fun fact: this was Toho's first "kaiju" movie to be filmed in color.