Would love to get some comments on these films please

[Jack Slater]

I haven't seen any of these and was wondering if I could get some comments on them. Much appreciation in advance, thanks.

Walking Tall (Original)
The Devil Rides Out
Stage Fright (1987)
10 to Midnight
The Pack
At Earth's Core (1976)
Godzilla (1954)
Frankenhooker

[Criswell]

Well i'm not knowledgeable on many of these other then Godzilla. Its essential viewing as long as you get the 2 disc edition with both versions of the film.

[Mofo Rising]

I've only seen Frankenhooker. It's certainly not a great film, but it is very good at being what it is, which is an absolutely ridiculous piece of sleazy b-movie.

I recommend it.

[Rev. Powell]

I've only seen Frankenhooker. It's certainly not a great film, but it is very good at being what it is, which is an absolutely ridiculous piece of sleazy b-movie.

I recommend it.

Seconded.

I've never been a GODZILLA fan, so I'm not the person to ask on that one.  Note that the Japanese version (GOJIRA) and the American version with Raymond Burr are very different.  The Japanese is more "serious" sci-fi, not much like the sequels.  The US version cuts out a lot of the backstory and focuses on monster mayhem.

[dean]

Thirded, Frankenhooker is perfect B-movie night fodder with friends who like to yell at the screen.

[Nightowl]

I've only seen Walking Tall and I love it. The remake was a joke, check the original if you like Hicksploitation 

[JaseSF]

Godzilla is must see IMO. At the Earth's Core I thought was fun but a lesser effort. Haven't seen the others but have been hearing for years about how great The Devil Rides Out is.

[RCMerchant]

GODZILLA is classic-and yes-the Japenese version is better.
WALKING TALL is a great hillbilly/revenge film
AT THE EARTHS CORE is silly-but fun. Peter Cushing is great,as always. The flying bat/dinosuaur thingies are ridiculous!
The DEVIL RIDES OUT-The effects are a little dated-but Lee is wonderful-playing the hero,for once!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGsaqzmRyhY
	Small | Large

[Menard]

Walking Tall (1973)

Hicksploitation/hillbilly revenge...my ass; it's amazing that almost any movie outside of white suburban America gets categorized into a stereotype.

I saw this at the drive-in when it was originally released; and yes, it was a drive-in in the south, just in case anybody needs to know. Amazingly it was on a double-bill with Vampire Circus.

Walking Tall is a rousing film that's ideal for those who want to see someone stand up against local corruption in a small town; and contrary to what quite a few people like to think about idyllic small town America, small town America is corrupt.

What sets this apart from other films of its ilk, aside from being based on a true story, is production values in sync with Hollywood and not grindhouse, a powerful performance by Joe Don Baker, a lingering sleaziness and meanness in the film without degrading to simply being nasty, and of course the action sequences such as head bashing, car chases, and the such; the ambush at the end of the movie is definitely brutal.


The Pack (1977)

Yes, another Joe Don Baker movie. Pretty standard for its time. Follows the familiar storyline of people in an isolated setting having to deal with and survive an unusual situation. A similar premise is used in Night of the Living Dead and in The Birds; in this case, the enemy is a pack of wild dogs.

As with many movies in the 70s we have a message of humanity as an undertone, and unlike a zombie movie, but perhaps like The Birds, there is a potential for overcoming the situation.

Perhaps not as classic or trend setting as the aforementioned movies, but it's not a flop as it succeeds in entertaining.

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

Walking Tall (1973)

Hicksploitation/hillbilly revenge...my ass; it's amazing that almost any movie outside of white suburban America gets categorized into a stereotype.

I saw this at the drive-in when it was originally released; and yes, it was a drive-in in the south, just in case anybody needs to know. Amazingly it was on a double-bill with Vampire Circus.

Walking Tall is a rousing film that's ideal for those who want to see someone stand up against local corruption in a small town; and contrary to what quite a few people like to think about idyllic small town America, small town America is corrupt.

What sets this apart from other films of its ilk, aside from being based on a true story, is production values in sync with Hollywood and not grindhouse, a powerful performance by Joe Don Baker, a lingering sleaziness and meanness in the film without degrading to simply being nasty, and of course the action sequences such as head bashing, car chases, and the such; the ambush at the end of the movie is definitely brutal.

That was a great review, Dr. Menard 

I got to see Walking Tall back in the day myself, and later on, like you, have come to appreciate what it stands for. There is no doubt that small towns have their fair share of hypocritical corruption. A corruption that, more times than not, is on par with and equal to the type we see in Congress despite the smaller demographic it occurs in.

I've often thought of the character of Buford Pusser as the cop version of Billy Jack, who also took the law into his own hands on an unpreecedented level in his own series of movies.

As to the "meanness factor", I couldn't agree more: be it Cool Hand Luke, Billy Jack OR Walking Tall, the mean streak that pervades small towns across America was given serious treatment far beyond the definition of "Hicksploitation". There was nothing B-Movie or Hick about it.

The only film that could possibly rival it on the criteria you outlined would be Deliverance.    Again, great review 

[Nightowl]

^ Good review. I'm jealous that others had a chance to see this on the big screen, wish I could. I'm proud to say that I have taken a tour of Bufords house and quite enjoyed that.

[The Burgomaster]

Walking Tall (Original) - Drive-in movie classic.  B-movie heaven.  I've seen it many, many times.

The Devil Rides Out - Haven't seen it.

Stage Fright (1987) - Haven't seen it.

10 to Midnight - Typical Bronson flick.  But far better than anything he did toward the end of his career.

The Pack - Nothing special here.  But an okay time-waster if you have nothing better to do.

At Earth's Core (1976) - Basically aimed at 12-year-old kids (or maybe 8-year-old kids). Harmless fun.

Godzilla (1954) - A must-see, even though it isn't a very good movie.

Frankenhooker - Haven't seen it (and I'm ashamed to admit this)

[Umaril The Unfeathered]

As to the first Godzilla film, all I have to say is thumbs way up!

It was a great movie in either the American or Japanese release,  with more of a sense of tragedy in the Japanese film. The Japanese film also showed a remarkable strength and unity among the Japanese, despite a thin bubble that was ready to burst and set their progress back to post-war levels, and then some.

The love triangle between Emiko (Momoko Kochi) and her arranged fiance' Serizawa
(Akihito Hirata) and her secret lover (played by Akira Takarada) was also a real sad number.

Not only does Serizawa have the weight of possible post-Godzilla mis-use of his Oxygen Destroyer by another nation (or his own) but her has the pain of finding out his childhood friends betrayed him.

Very entertaining, and yet very depressing on many levels.

[Menard]

As to the first Godzilla film, all I have to say is thumbs way up!

It was a great movie in either the American or Japanese release,  with more of a sense of tragedy in the Japanese film. The Japanese film also showed a remarkable strength and unity among the Japanese, despite a thin bubble that was ready to burst and set their progress back to post-war levels, and then some.

The love triangle between Emiko (Momoko Kochi) and her arranged fiance' Serizawa
(Akihito Hirata) and her secret lover (played by Akira Takarada) was also a real sad number.

Not only does Serizawa have the weight of possible post-Godzilla mis-use of his Oxygen Destroyer by another nation (or his own) but her has the pain of finding out his childhood friends betrayed him.

Very entertaining, and yet very depressing on many levels.

I have never seen the original Japanese version, and it's been so long since I have seen Godzilla.

I originally saw Godzilla on TV way back when. Brings back memories of being a child growing up in the late 60s and early 70s. TV was quite different back then and a lot of what this site celebrates in cinema was our standard diet of movies on TV.

We had Shock Theater and Saturday afternoon movies; usually some b-movie, classic horror, or giant monster movie. Frankenstein, Dracula, The Wolfman, Gamera, Godzilla; these were the characters which filled our movie watching weekends and our imaginations.

Those were the days also of I Dream of Jeannie, Bewitched, The Munsters; TV fueled our imaginations and we were young enough to believe in things like magic and monsters.

Those were the days in a certain way, but not much to pine for. TV and movies occupied a child's fantasy, while that child could not even remember his father's face, waiting for him to come home from Thailand, during the Vietnam War.

I remember differences in how the black kids and white kids in school, though there was an integration, were treated differently in certain respects, as well boys and girls were too. It was not an unfortunate time to grow up as through my years of school, I was in a progressive era in the 70s as we saw a huge leap in social progress. Certainly we have not eliminated old ways, but we have definitely made progress, and perhaps in one respect I have been lucky to see social change over 4 decades.

This is not a reflection on life so much as just a remembrance of movies and the memories they can bring back. Sometimes they're not just images moving at frames per second on a screen, but often a product of their time, and especially for the young, or the young at heart, they can be something which fills voids, distracts from unpleasantries, and even holds the keys to the good things we remember.


Just sayin'...b!tches (so I'm not being too out of character) 

[Doggett]

I've only seen Frankenhooker and I thought it was really solid piece of entertainment.

4/5