Recent Viewings, Part 2

Rev. Powell · February 15, 2020, 10:36:26 PM

Continued from http://www.badmovies.org/forum/index.php/topic,115439.msg642320/

THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE (2019): After being mugged, an accountant joins a karate dojo run by an ultra-macho instructor. As a satire, it's on-target, but a bit too obvious; I was always one step ahead of the script. 3/5.

VenomX73 · February 16, 2020, 01:10:58 PM

Joker (2019)

meh. it was ok I guess... it didnt feel like a DC movie or Batman prequel at all...

however some parts were pretty good. Imo Very dark and sad movie.

Funny thing, My coworker asked me - "so did you like the reboot of Falling Down (1993)?" LOL!!!

FatFreddysCat · February 16, 2020, 05:27:12 PM

"Terminal Force" aka "Galaxis" (1995)
A bad-ass lady space warrior (Brigitte Nielsen) comes to Earth to find a sacred crystal that can save her planet, before a Darth Vader style bad guy (Richard "Night Court" Moll) can get his hands on it.
A cheese-tastic, direct to video sci-fi/action flick bolted together out of parts borrowed from "Star Wars," "Highlander," and especially "The Terminator." Brigitte, as usual, can't act her way out of a paper bag, but that's OK because Moll over-acts enough for the two of them. It's fun to watch Nielsen beat up on bad guys for a while, but eventually the movie turns into a slog.
AVOID.

FatFreddysCat · February 16, 2020, 09:45:25 PM

"Big Bad Mama II" (1987)
Angie Dickinson's back as lovable outlaw Wilma McClatchie, machine-gunning her way across 1930s Texas with her two daughters while a big city reporter (Robert Culp) trails behind her all the way. Cheaper looking than the first film, but T&A kingpin director Jim Wynorski makes sure there's still plenty of gun battles, car chases and cleavage. Silly, action packed fun.

lester1/2jr · February 18, 2020, 01:47:49 PM

Stakeout on Dope Street - a bunch of neighborhood teenagers who spend their lives in the back of one of their dad's store find a bag with heroin in it. As you can imagine, everything turns out just fine. No, its the usual moral and legal issues involved with selling heroin and the mobsters looking for their stuff.

Ostensibly a film noir, it definitely has a Something Weird feel in places, especially the cute girls. They should have been shown a lot more, points off for that. I had more than enough of the brooding 30 year old teenager getting all worked up over stuff.

As always with these things, there's a chase scene in a factory with big silos and walkways.

better and more fun to watch than some of these "rare" things TCM has. cheap looking 4.5 /5

RCMerchant · February 18, 2020, 04:43:02 PM

the FIELDS (2011)
Advertised as a horror film-it's not. More a psychological thriller.
A young kid moves to his grandparent's farm when his ma and dad break up.
While their, he is warned by his foul-mouthed (but kinda sweet) gramma to "stay out of the corn!"
Of course the kid wanders out their, and at the end of the rows finds a women's dead body.

Real, slow, but real spooky too.
Set in Pennslyvania in 1973, it looks like 1973. The kid has a plastic Godzilla toy, the local dime store with penny candy and gum cards looks like one I went to!

Cloris Leachman is spot on as the Grandmother who loves to watch old horror movies and the Manson trial on TV.

Dr. Whom · February 23, 2020, 03:56:39 AM

Wonderland aka Birthday Wonderland (2019)

I saw this because I liked Keiichi Hara's Miss Hokusai. This one is a teenage coming of age story of a moody school girl who is transported into a steampunkish magical alternate dimension, where it turns out she is the Chosen One and has to save the world from a major ecological catastrophe. From there on, no surprises.

It is clearly inspired by the Ghibli movies, and the shadow of The Cat Returns hangs heavily over it (which is a better movie).

Plot and characters are OK, though nothing to write home about. Even considering it is aimed at a younger audience, the stoyline is pretty much par for the course. It is, however, visually stunning. The story mainly serves as a support for a series of set pieces which are incredibly beautiful. In this it continues the line of Miss Hokusai, where scenes and visual artistry were more important than actually telling a story.

As such, you mileage may vary. If you want dialogue, lively characters and plot, it is rather meh. If you want to look at marvelous imagery, this is one for you. And it has cats.

FatFreddysCat · February 23, 2020, 05:36:19 PM

"The Evil that Men Do" (1984)
A professional assassin (Charles Bronson) is lured out of retirement to track down a notorious underworld torture specialist known as "The Doctor," who killed his friend.
This was a pretty standard Bronson butt-kicker, but the south-of-the-border settings give it some international flavor. For Chuck completists only.
Fun fact: this was the only movie Bronson made in the '80s that wasn't produced by Cannon Films.

Rev. Powell · February 24, 2020, 10:12:45 AM

DISAPPEARANCE AT CLIFTON HILL (2019): Returning home to Niagara Falls after her mother's death, a woman remembers a childhood incident that haunted her---witnessing a one-eyed boy being abducted in the woods---and decides to investigate. Modest but clever thriller that slowly (and purposefully) undermines its own narrative. 3/5.

Gabriel Knight · February 26, 2020, 09:05:03 AM

SLEEPAWAY CAMP (1983)

Angela Baker, a traumatized and very shy young girl, is sent to summer camp with her cousin. Shortly after her arrival, anyone with sinister or less than honorable intentions gets their comeuppance.

An overall generic slasher movie, it almost feels like a bad copy of FRIDAY THE 13TH. That's it, until the ending strikes, and my balls shrinked. That scene alone redeemed the whole movie, otherwise it would be the mere nothingness.

I recommend it for some laughs and bad acting, but watch it until the end for some real chills. 8/10

Rev. Powell · February 26, 2020, 10:26:55 AM

HORSE GIRL (2020): A young woman with a family history of mental illness becomes paranoid that aliens are affecting her behavior. Allison Brie is good, though her character is hard to identify with, and the script keeps you reasonably involved, even while it misses opportunities for ambiguity and psychological debt. On Netflix. 2.5/5.

indianasmith · February 26, 2020, 06:58:30 PM

It's rare for me to actually go to the theater twice in one week, but as it happened, that's exactly what I did this week.

Tuesday I went to see 1917 for the second time and found that it held up very well - I paid more attention to the details this time and was even more impressed with the extreme care that went into making this movie such an accurate portrayal of the Great War. This is definitely one to see on the big screen if you can! 5/5

Then today our 7th and 8th grade students went to see CALL OF THE WILD, and I really enjoyed it. Not as gritty or depressing as the book, and the CGI dog is obviously fake in some scenes (and incredibly lifelike in others), but overall it was worth the cost of admission and I was thoroughly entertained. 4/5

FatFreddysCat · February 28, 2020, 06:26:23 AM

"Kentucky Fried Movie" (1977)
The Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker team (later of "Airplane!" fame) wrote this gag-a-minute sketch comedy compilation that parodies TV news ("I'm not wearing any pants. Film at 11."), commercials, kung-fu flicks ("A Fistful of Yen"), classroom films and more. Silly fun directed by John "Animal House" Landis.

VenomX73 · February 28, 2020, 02:19:33 PM

The Brides of Dracula (1960)

I enjoy anything with vampires... this movie however was a little different I didn't see the Baron as Dracula so I was kind of confused... hmmm...

Still good atmosphere, the women were very beautiful, great acting, Van Helsing is tough-as-nails and the holy water was overpowered LOL

Whatever happened to the last two Brides did they burn down in the old mill or they still alive?

FatFreddysCat · February 29, 2020, 06:39:05 PM

"The Groove Tube" (1974)
A pre-"SNL" Chevy Chase co-wrote (and makes several blink-and-you'll-miss-him appearances in) this sketch-comedy parody of '70s television that riffs on kids' shows, cooking shows, public service announcements, the evening news, and more. A young Richard Belzer also turns up in several roles.
"Kentucky Fried Movie" is still the superior '70s sketch-compilation flick in my book -- quite a few of the gags in "Groove" fall flat, but there was still enough silliness to keep me entertained for most of its short run time. I particularly enjoyed the commercials for the network sponsor, "Uranus Corporation," makers of "Brown-25." :D