Recent Viewings, Part 2

[lester1/2jr]

Lava Lobster (2022)

[FatFreddysCat]

"Valentine" (2001)
As they prepare for a big Valentine's Day bash, a group of twenty-something gals fall victim to a masked psycho who's had a grudge against them all for a very long time. (when you see why, you'll probably say "those stuck up b*tches had it coming," haha)
A late inning entry into the post-"Scream" teen horror craze, "Valentine" has a slick, music-video look to it, a great cast with plenty of female eye candy (Denise Richards, lawd have mercy!) and a couple of legit murder scenes (the one involving a hot tub and a large power drill is particularly inspired).
It's no "My Bloody Valentine," but this slasher was a pleasant surprise and a gory good time.

[pennywise37]

i'm glad you liked it while i have seen it a couple of times it's one of those films i just don't think is that great of a film it's although i would not say it's in my bottom 100 though.

i've just been watching the MCU films i need to see Black Widow (2021) next i watched the last couple such as Infinity War (2018) 10/10 and End game (2019)
10/10. 

[Dr. Whom]

Titane (2021)

A vicious serial killer impersonates the long missing son of a fireman to escape the law. And she also pregnant by a Cadillac, somehow.

It got the Palme d'Or at Cannes, but I remain unconvinced. It starts off as the blackest of thriller/comedies, and suddenly turns into a melodrama. It tries so very hard to be edgy and shocking that it becomes wearying. The whole 'pregnant by a car' aspect is a case in point. Apart from adding some random weirdness and body horror, it plays no role. It might as well be a normal pregnancy or have been cut altogether.  To quote James Thurber: you might as well fall flat on your face as lean over too far backward.

Special mention to Agathe Rouselle. Her visceral performance carries the movie and she really goes for it. There is also a lot of nudity, though mostly in contexts of violence and/or body horror. And a lot of things are set on fire.

[FatFreddysCat]

"The Search for Weng Weng" (2013)
An Australian filmmaker sets out to document the strange saga of Weng Weng, a three-foot tall actor from the Philippines who became an unlikely cult figure among Asian B-Movie fans thanks to his leading man roles in the spy spoofs "For Y'ur Height Only" (sic) and "The Impossible Kid."
I've never seen any of Weng's (who died in 1992) flicks in their entirety but his story is interesting, bizarre, occasionally hilarious, and a little bit sad. Worth a look if you want to learn about a corner of the movie biz that's completely unknown to most Westerners.

[zelmo73]

Memoirs Of A Geisha (2005) -

A coming of age movie about a young Japanese girl whose poor family sells her into a geisha house during the early 20th Century. The movie follows her through her teenage years as she learns the geisha trade, into womanhood as a professional geisha and through World War II and beyond.

The plot of the film is a bit more complicated than that, but the general storyline details more about the art and politics surrounding the geisha trade rather than the sex and/or companionship parts, though those aspects are mentioned quite frequently throughout the film. The movie stars Zhang Ziyi from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000) during the prime of her career, Ken Watanabe as The Chairman, and Gong Li in one of her best performances; this particular one earning her a Best Supporting Actress award. I enjoyed this movie from beginning to end, because it reminded me a lot of The Last Emperor (1987) in its delivery, cinematography, and because it is a historical period piece. All the acting performances in this one are top notch. Just an all-around great drama, and not overly long at 2-1/2 hours. John Williams and Yo-Yo Ma provide the wonderful musical score.

[FatFreddysCat]

Continuing with my "Filipino Exploitation" theme...

"Machete Maidens Unleashed!" (2010)
B-Movie historian Mark Hartley's impressively thorough examination of the Filipino exploitation film boom of the '70s and '80s. The Philippines had their own robust film industry dating back to the '50s, but when Hollywood's B-Movie producers suddenly took note of the country's exotic locations (and cheap labor and production costs), they shot literally hundreds of action, horror, and women-in-prison flicks there over the next dozen years, like "The Big Bird Cage," "The Hot Box," "TNT Jackson," "Black Mama, White Mama," and "Savage Sisters."
This doc is packed with outrageous clips from tons of forgotten B-Movies full of boobs, blood, and explosions, and hilariously wry commentary by Corman, Joe Dante, Cirio Santiago , Sid Haig, John Landis, Allan Arkush, and many more. Tons of fun, and now I'm probably gonna end up going down a Pam Grier/chicks in chains rabbit hole for the next week or so...

[FatFreddysCat]

"Savage Sisters" (1974)
3 women escape from prison in an unnamed Banana Republic and spend the rest of the movie trying to steal a suitcase full of money back from some mercenaries so they can get out of the country.
A pretty typical "chicks in chains" movie, not nearly as sleazy or violent as others I've seen. The girls mostly keep their clothes on (!) and the tongue-in-cheek tone seems like they decided to turn this into a parody in the middle of filming. Sid "Captain Spaulding" Haig is a hoot as a Mexican bandito soldier for hire, but otherwise this is just lots of car chases, shoot outs, and stuff randomly exploding. It wasn't terrible, but it definitely needed more skin and sin!

[Rev. Powell]

ANDREI TARKOVSKY: A CINEMA PRAYER (2019): An overview of director Andrei Tarkovsky's life with movie clips, a bit of rare behind the scenes footage and notebook glimpses, and lots of stills, with the soundtrack consisting of vintage interviews of the director reflecting on his own work and philosophy. Lovingly assembled by Tarkovsky's son, this does exactly what you expect a biodoc to do, but the fact that we only hear Tarkovsky's own voice (except for a few poems read by his own father) lends it a certain purity. Obviously, it's a must for the director's fans, and of not much interest to those who've never seen one of his difficult, spiritual movies. A supplement on the Criterion Collection's edition of "Mirror." 3.5/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" (2004)
Set in a steampunk 1930s New York, a heroic pilot (Jude Law) and an intrepid, Lois Lane-ish girl reporter (Gwyneth Paltrow) team up to defeat a super villain whose army of robots is building a doomsday device that could destroy the earth.
A stylish ode to the action movie serials of the 30s and 40s, "Sky Captain" is kinda like a mash up of bits from Indiana Jones, Tim Burton's "Batman," "The Rocketeer," Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" and the Max Fleisher "Superman" cartoons. The film was almost entirely created in CGI, with the actors performing in front of green screens (one of the first films to do so), giving it a unique look that resembles a newly colorized, long lost old movie.
"Sky Captain" wasn't well received when it was first released but it's gone on to become a bit of a cult item since then, deservedly so.

[FatFreddysCat]

"A Nightmare on Elm Street" (2010)
Small town teens are being slaughtered in their sleep by the scar-faced, razor fingered kid-toucher Freddy Krueger, who's seeking vengeance for his fiery demise at the hands of their parents years earlier.
...honestly, I was expecting this flashy remake of Wes Craven's classic to be much worse, based on 10 years of bad word of mouth. Surprisingly, though, it wasn't terrible... it just felt unnecessary, like most remakes. It's got some cool, creepy set designs and effects, and Jackie Earle Haley is clearly trying his best to make the Freddy Krueger role his own, but he can't hold a candle to the great Robert Englund.
I guess your mileage may vary on this one depending on the depth of your fan hood for the old N.O.E.S. films. I tapped out on the series ages ago when Freddy started turning into a wise-cracking stand up comic, so I actually appreciated this newer, darker version. I may never sit thru it again, but I didn't feel like I'd wasted my time, either.

[Rev. Powell]

THE EMPTY MAN (2020): An ex-cop investigates a neighbor girl's disappearance, leading to a Scientology-style cult and an urban legend about a boogeyman called "the empty man." There's a nugget of a great idea, and even a decent horror twist, hiding inside a bloated script that would have benefited greatly from a snappier run-time. Do yourself a favor and skip the unnecessary, nearly-unrelated 20-minute prologue in Bhutan; you'll still have 2 hours of movie. 2.5/5.

[Alex]

The Vault.

A lower budget Ocean's 11. You can see all the twists coming a mile off. Enjoyable enough fluff though as long as you keep your expectations low.

[lester1/2jr]

Regression - Ethan Hawke did Sinister and some other movie I liked so I'm starting to trust him now. This is slightly problematic but ultimately very good and entertaining horror movie that a lot of people didn't like, apparently.

Hawke, looking a bit like The Might Mighty Bosstones Dicky Barrett, is a cop investigating a case of child molestation. Soon, it spins into a massive conspiracy about Satanic cults. Very corny looking white faced people with black cloaks engage in ceremonies where babies are killed and eaten or something. Emma Watson is really quite good as the fetching young victim of it all.

Might have been better as a "Masters of horror" type thing rather than a full length but it does carry some good horror energy and has an honest resolution, which is probably why everyone hated it.

4.5/ 5

[FatFreddysCat]

"Elvira's Haunted Hills" (2002)
The slinky horror hostess plays a showgirl traveling across 1850s Europe on her way to Paris. When she stops for the night in a creepy castle in the Carpathian mountains she encounters weird people and experiences spooky supernatural goings-on, cracking jokes all the while.
This parody of Roger Corman's Edgar Allan Poe movies of the 60s has a nice retro feel, and of course Elvira's always fun to look at, but the movie is eye rollingly silly and the jokes are pure corn. Watch her first movie from 1988, "Elvira Mistress of the Dark," instead.