Recent Viewings, Part 2

[indianasmith]

RABID (2019)  A remake of the late 70's classic with Marilyn Chambers; less nudity and more gore than the original.
Good makeup effects, some impressive kills, a rather incoherent plot.  Overall, not a bad way to spend a quarantine evening. 3.5/5

[Gabriel Knight]

IDENTITY (2003)

Stranded at a desolate Nevada motel during a nasty rain storm, ten strangers become acquainted with each other when they realize that they're being killed off one by one.

Very entertaining movie, with a rather unusual multiple personalities plot accompanied by a nice twist at the end. The whole scenario with the neverending rain is really creepy and the overall feel of the movie is great. John Cusack, like always, kick ass.

Totally recommended for a fast paced and suspenseful watch. 8/10 

EXECUTIVE DECISION (1996)

When terrorists seize control of an airliner, an intelligence analyst accompanies a commando unit for a midair boarding operation.

What can you say about this movie? It screams 90's in every one if its cliche ridden scenes. The bonkers plot and incredibly slow but thrilling action will keep you in your seat to the end.

While nothing special, it is definitely an enjoyable ride! 7/10 

SOURCE CODE (2011)

A soldier wakes up in someone else's body and discovers he's part of an experimental government program to find the bomber of a commuter train within 8 minutes.

Whoa, this was a damn good movie. Right off the bat the confusion you're submited to hooks you in, and like the protagonist, you're given information piece by piece, which I think it's what makes it so appealing. Plenty of moral and metaphysics discussions can arise after watching this amazing movie.
Another hit from Duncan Jones, I need to see MOON now. 9/10 

[chefzombie]

stephen king's storm of the century

i'm guessing this was a tv miniseries? it was surprisingly good, since none of the other stuff he produced himself has impressed me. and btw, there IS the advantage with netflix DVD rental when your #1 keeps getting marked "wait" , you get an extra dvd, so we got both discs  and binged the whole thing at once! i may need to read the original story....

[FatFreddysCat]

"Boiled Angels: The Trial of Mike Diana" (2019)
In the early '90s, an underground cartoonist named Mike Diana was hauled into a Florida court over the disturbing images of sex and violence in his self published comic book 'zine, Boiled Angel. After a brief trial, Diana was the first (and still only) artist ever to be successfully prosecuted for obscenity in America.

This intriguing documentary (directed by Frank "Basket Case" Henenlotter and narrated by Jello Biafra of the Dead Kennedys) examines how Mike's right to free artistic expression clashed with local community standards, via vintage news footage of the case and interviews with legal experts and comic book historians.

I'm not gonna lie, Mike Diana seems like a weird mo-fo and his comics were indeed quite sick (the examples shown in the film are definitely not for the faint of heart), but in the end, I don't think he was guilty of anything other than bad taste, which last time I checked, was not a crime.

[lester1/2jr]

fat freddy - have you ever read Eletric Retard comics? similar content  http://archive.is/hs2yw

The Gift - not the demented Perry Farrel experimental film, instead Teen Wolf too Jason Batemen plays a guy who gets harassed by a weirdo from his old high school...or does he? Could use some more sex, comic relief, color, etc and a few less red herrings but  

[FatFreddysCat]

fat freddy - have you ever read Eletric Retard comics? similar content  http://archive.is/hs2yw

Never heard of 'em but I love the name! Haha.

I was only vaguely familiar with the Diana case, I was a comic book fan in the 80s and 90s so I guess some info must have made its way into comic book newsletters/etc...

[Rev. Powell]

fat freddy - have you ever read Eletric Retard comics? similar content  http://archive.is/hs2yw

Never heard of 'em but I love the name! Haha.

I was only vaguely familiar with the Diana case, I was a comic book fan in the 80s and 90s so I guess some info must have made its way into comic book newsletters/etc...

I wrote an article about the case for my own 'zine back in the 90s. I read Diana's comics fro the assignment. It's like serial killer/child molester fanfiction. Utterly horrible, nihilistic stuff that will make you hate humanity. They have scarred me to this day. Should he have been prosecuted? No. Should anyone read the comics? No.

[lester1/2jr]

in the one interview he gave, the electric retard guy listed Diana as his only influence

[lester1/2jr]

Creep - pretty decent found footage ish horror movie thats done well enough or was thought to be good enough to garner a sequel, not that thats saying much nowadays. A broke film maker gets a lucky break: filming a guy for one day for a thousand bucks. The guy unfortunately is a total weirdo and 1000 starts to seem like peanuts relative to what he has to put up with.

I was initially put off by the by now pretty played out lo fi touch, but ultimately it works well enough.

4/5 its as good as it can be. I'm kind of burnt out on "awkward guy won't leave me alone" movies though

[Rev. Powell]

EXTRA ORDINARY (2019): A man who is haunted by his nagging dead wife tries to coax a medium out of retirement, but a pop star trying to summon Satan to revive his stalled career interrupts their burgeoning romance. Given the setup, the plot's surprisingly predictable, but there are a couple of chuckles to be had. I think people will like it well enough to spend 90 minutes with it, then forget it. However, personally I had to deduct 1/2 star because I kept imagining Melissa McCarthy starring in the Hollywood remake. 3/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Creep 2 (2017) - In this one, the creep meets his match in the form of an unflappable young filmmaker who is so desperate for youtube hits she doesn't seem to believe or even care that he's a strangling mangler she is one tough customer. ending wasn't quite as epic as part 1

[FatFreddysCat]

Live and Let Die (1973)
Roger Moore's first mission as James Bond sends him to Harlem, New Orleans, and the Caribbean, where the prime minister of a small island nation is also in charge of a major heroin smuggling ring. The influence of the then-current "blaxploitation" film craze is all over this one, so it hasn't aged particularly well, but it's a fun adventure anyway.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Comic Book Confidential" (1988)
Cool (though a bit dated now) documentary that takes viewers through the history of American comic books, via interviews with legends like Jack Kirby, William M. Gaines, Al Feldstein, Robert Crumb, Frank Miller, and many more. Neat stuff for fanboys.

[Rev. Powell]

MURDER DEATH KOREATOWN (2020): An unemployed man becomes obsessed with a murder that happened in a nearby apartment complex, but his investigation quickly becomes paranoid as he imagines a wide-ranging conspiracy. It's presented as "found footage" (though someone put in a soundtrack) and submitted anonymously. A laudable experiment in low budget character study, though it has some pacing issues (the protagonist goes from zero to schizo in under twenty minutes) and with zero action the interest often sags. Rating is on entertainment and artistic value alone, but if you're the type to give bonus stars to productions for overcoming low-budget obstacles, you'll want to bump this up, since the makers created something capable of keeping your interest at a budget well under $1000 (maybe under $100, not counting sweat equity). Made it to Amazon Prime and I bet they will turn a small profit. 2.5/5.

[Dr. Whom]

The Babysitter (2017)

Cole (Judah Lewis) is an overprotected boy, whose parents insist he still has a babysitter. Luckily for him, that is Bee (Samara Weaving) who is not only gorgeous and cool, but the only person who takes him seriously. But then Cole finds out that Bee is really the leader of a satanic cult, and the movie quickly turns into a very gory version of Home Alone.

This is good fun. The movie sets its sights low: it just wants to provide entertainment for 90 minutes and it delivers. It is by no means perfect, there are strange gimmicks and with its combination of snarky dialogue and scares it tries very hard to be Buffy, and doesn't succeed. However, Samara Weaving and Judah Lewis are excellent. They have a real chemistry and their performances make the movie more than a run of the mill horror comedy.

If you liked Samara Weaving in Ready or Not, and see her turn the tables, this is the movie for you.