Recent Viewings, Part 2

[Trevor]

"Stripes" (1981)
Two losers (Bill Murray and Harold Ramis) with no prospects decide to join the Army, and are assigned to a platoon full of fellow screw ups. They bumble through Basic Training together and eventually are sent to Europe on a special mission, which of course goes horribly wrong.
I hadn't seen this classic in a looooong time and wondered how well (or not) it had aged. Its "edge" has been dulled somewhat by the passage of time but there's still plenty of juvenile laughs in it.

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/9d4b48dd-b5fb-4fd5-94de-5f75d06b92b1

[jimpickens]

Wild Women of the Naked West 1965 Russ Meyer nudie cutie that is downright hilarious
Ilsa Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks

[FatFreddysCat]

"Drive Angry" (2011)
Nicolas Cage escapes from Hell in a souped up car to avenge the death of his daughter and save his baby granddaughter from a murderous religious cult.
Some say that this "Grindhouse" inspired, over-the-top (on purpose), ultra violent supernatural action flick was where Cage's career jumped the shark and doomed him to a life in B-Movie purgatory, but I thought it was tons of fun. Just turn off your brain and enjoy the mayhem.
Side note, the lovely Amber Heard (who plays Cage's sidekick) rocks a pair of Daisy Duke shorts better than anyone I've seen since, well... since Daisy Duke.

"Galaxy of Terror" (aka "Mindwarp," 1981)
Astronauts on a rescue mission to a remote planet are picked off by a malevolent presence that uses their own worst fears against them.
This stylish space horror flick was one of several early 80s "Alien" knock offs from Roger Corman's New World Pictures, best remembered for the infamous scene where the hot blonde gets raped to death by a giant worm. The cast includes Ray "My Favorite Martian" Walston, Erin "Happy Days" Moran, and a young Robert "Freddy Krueger" Englund. It doesn't have an original bone in its body, but it's fast moving, gross, and sleazy. Just the way I like'em.

[RCMerchant]

"Don't Look Up" (2021)
While scanning the night sky, a pair of astronomers (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) discover a massive, planet killing comet that's on a collision course with Earth. With only six months left before it hits, their attempts to get the word out and mobilize a plan to save the planet are consistently blocked by government ineptitude, corporate agendas, and just plain ol' human greed and stupidity.
...sounds familiar, doesn't it?
This all-star, big budget satire plays like a combination of "Deep Impact" and "Idiocracy" (with a hit of "Dr. Strangelove") and seems to be Netflix's hip "message" movie of the moment -- they're not even trying to hide the parallels to our current world situation. I laughed a lot, but I also thought, "Damn, that's exactly how this would play out" quite often too. Your mileage may vary depending on which side of the aisle you're on.

Waaay to heavy handed on the politics. I was hoping the comet would hit within the first half hour.

[lester1/2jr]

Cold Pursuit - pretty decent gangster movie with some ill advised jaunts into Tarrantino type humor. A guy's son gets killed by the mob of ...Colorado?? Well, they needed a snow background and Fargo had already been done. He has to interrupt his snow plowing career to get some revenge.

I liked all the snow. There is something satisfying about watching a winter movie in winter. Liam Neeson channels Al Bundy on painkillers as the lead and laura Dern appears for about a minute. the title is a joke. like Hot Pursuit but it's cold so it's a cold pursuit ahahe

4/5

[Rev. Powell]

HANGER (2009): A deformed 18-year old who survived a coat hanger abortion teams up with a vigilante to hunt down the pimp who killed his hooker mom. Repulsive, padded, pornographic, worthless; it's like someone with no sense of humor tried to make a John Waters or Troma film. 0.5/5.

[indianasmith]

UNTITLED HORROR MOVIE (2021) - A group of actors and actresses whose TV series is threatened with cancellation begin working on a horror script one of them has been writing via a series of ZOOM meetings.  One of them volunteers and incantation which he found on Reddit, which winds up summoning a dark force that begins stalking and killing them.   Dirt cheap effects, but decent performances.  Better than it had any right to be.  3/

SPIDERMAN: NO WAY HOME (2021) - Peter Parker's secret identity is out, and he is accused of murdering the arch-villain Mysterio.  Desperate to fix the situation, he asked Dr. Strange for some magical help - but the spell goes awry and all the villains from all the previous Spiderman movies break through into one world, resurrected and angry and aching for revenge!  Fortunately, Peter's alter egos from the other universes come through also, and we see all three Spidermen working together to try and save New York from an angry gaggle of supervillains.  Wonderful, cheesy Marvel fun; great performances all around, and no matter which version of Spiderman you prefer, your favorite is going to be in this movie!  5/5

[Jim H]

Cold Pursuit - pretty decent gangster movie with some ill advised jaunts into Tarrantino type humor. A guy's son gets killed by the mob of ...Colorado?? Well, they needed a snow background and Fargo had already been done. He has to interrupt his snow plowing career to get some revenge.

I liked all the snow. There is something satisfying about watching a winter movie in winter. Liam Neeson channels Al Bundy on painkillers as the lead and laura Dern appears for about a minute. the title is a joke. like Hot Pursuit but it's cold so it's a cold pursuit ahahe

4/5

In case you didn't know, this is a remake of a Norwegian film (In Order of Disappearance).  Same director.  The original is set in Norway, hence the snowplow stuff with international gangsters, which made more sense in a Nordic context.  It was Stellan Skarsgård instead of Liam Neeson in the original.  It's worth a watch too - likewise, it also has some bizarre Scandinavian black humor that I found didn't quite gel, especially the final gag. 

[FatFreddysCat]

In honor of Rush drummer Neil Peart, who passed away two years ago yesterday, I re-watched:

"Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage" (2010)
Sam ("Metal Evolution") Dunn's entertaining deep dive into the legendary Canadian power trio's lengthy career is one of my all time favorite rock docs.

[Rev. Powell]

MST3K: INVADERS FROM THE DEEP: The first episode of MST3K every broadcast, on a Minnesota UHF station. The movie is episodes of a Gerry and Sylvia Anderson TV show jammed together to make a movie in which marionette marine secret agents fight off three sets of Invaders from the Deep (alien species that always consist of just two members). On the Satellite of Love, a long-haired hippie-looking Joel shows off several inventions recycled from his comedy act, and everyone gets sick with a virus that makes them squirt shaving cream. The sets (and robots) are ugly, only Crow is voiced, Joel sits in the theater alone for the first segment (later joined by Crow), the riffs are slowly-paced, and I only laughed twice (once at a joke I thought up). It's of interest to MST3K fans: you can see the shape of the show to come, and wonder at how lucky they were to survive long enough to hone this crude prototype into beloved cult TV. I resisted watching these pre-cable episodes for many years because Joel Hodgson said they weren't very good; he's right, of course. Not something that will enter my rotation, but it's worth checking out once. 2/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Clockwork Orange County" (2014)
Flashback to the early '80s punk/hardcore scene of Orange County, CA., which centered around a club called the Cuckoo's Nest. Members of Black Flag, TSOL, Circle Jerks, and more share war stories backed by ultra-violent live footage and vintage photos and concert flyers.

"Underground Inc: The Rise & Fall of Alternative Rock" (2021)
When Nirvana unexpectedly blew up in the early '90s, the major labels started snapping up every "alternative" rock band they could find, hoping to duplicate that success. This documentary zooms in mostly on the unsuccessful bands who were promised the world before they were chewed up and spit out by the major label meat grinder like Jawbox, Cop Shoot Cop, Satchel, Handsome (?) and more. Some interesting (and occasionally depressing) stories are told.

"Death By Metal" (2018)
Deep dive into the life and career Death frontman/mastermind Chuck Schuldiner, who more or less created the template for death metal, and then later devoted himself to pushing and breaking the genre's self imposed boundaries, before his tragic death from cancer in 2001. Lots of cool vintage video clips, photos and interviews with former band members and associates.

"Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC" (2014)
Dave Grohl, Henry Rollins, Ian Mackaye (Fugazi/Minor Threat) and more recall the rise and fall of Washington DC's influential hardcore scene, covering the years from 1980 to 1990.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's the Fantastic Four" (2016)
An interesting documentary that tells the strange story of the little-seen low budget early 90s "Fantastic Four" film adaptation. Roger Corman's company produced the film on a shoestring, and then it  was permanently shelved right before its release...much to the shock and dismay of the cast and crew. The actors who played the FF seem like a cool group of people who are still fond of the movie and proud of their performances in it; you feel bad for them knowing that all their hard work went down the drain due to behind-the-scenes wrangling. Hollywood is a dirty business, and this movie is proof.

[Rev. Powell]

THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH (2021): Joel Coen's minimalist b&w adaptation of Macbeth, heavily influenced by Orson Welles' 1948 production. The Macbeths (Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand) are great, but it's the massive, shadowy Expressionist sets that really sell this version. I always think you can judge a Macbeth by its Weird Sisters, and their first appearance, with a lanky contortionist witch croaking out a prophecy while her two sisters are reflected in the lake before her, is shivery magic. 4.5/5.

[Trevor]

"Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman's the Fantastic Four" (2016)
An interesting documentary that tells the strange story of the little-seen low budget early 90s "Fantastic Four" film adaptation. Roger Corman's company produced the film on a shoestring, and then it  was permanently shelved right before its release...much to the shock and dismay of the cast and crew. The actors who played the FF seem like a cool group of people who are still fond of the movie and proud of their performances in it; you feel bad for them knowing that all their hard work went down the drain due to behind-the-scenes wrangling. Hollywood is a dirty business, and this movie is proof.

I saw the movie on Youtube and I have to say that I enjoyed the 90s FF film. I don't think I'm alone. 

[FatFreddysCat]

I saw the movie on Youtube and I have to say that I enjoyed the 90s FF film. I don't think I'm alone. 

Yup, I've seen it too, and enjoyed it. It's cheap but it's fun.