Recent Viewings, Part 2

[FatFreddysCat]

"Porndemic" (2020)
Intriguing documentary that takes us back to the mid '90s, when the "adult entertainment" industry was raking in bushels of cash and very nearly approaching mainstream acceptance... until an outbreak of HIV infections within the "performing" community caused everybody to slam on the brakes. The "source" of the outbreak was eventually narrowed down to one guy - actor Marc Wallice, who naturally was immediately blacklisted and his life destroyed, but apparently there are still some people in the industry today who believe Marc was thrown under the bus because he was a convenient scapegoat. No matter how you slice it, porn is a dirty business. and this doc proves it.

[Rev. Powell]

MOTHER SCHMUCKERS (2021): Two Belgian idiots (who are first glimpsed frying poo) lose their prostitute mother's dog and are given a deadline to recover him, leading to 24 hours of madness. It's rambunctious and offensive, with scatological humor and bestiality, but the annoying leads make Dumb and Dumber looker smart and Beavis and Butthead look classy, and I'd rather stomp on their heads than watch their lame shock antics. The great French actor Mathieu Amalric somehow got roped into a cameo. 1/5, you could go 2/5 if you really like grossout/shock humor.

[Trevor]

MOTHER SCHMUCKERS (2021): Two Belgian idiots (who are first glimpsed frying poo)

Oy  + 

[lester1/2jr]

Pasture (2020) this was good but a little hard to describe. A mentally ill woman gets treated by a Dr who may or may not have also impregnated her and in general doesn't do a very good job treating her, as she seems to mostly get worse and try to escape. I should watch it again. The acting and the drama were done well and its a lot more substantial than most modern movie offerings. 4/5

[Jim H]

The Long Goodbye - Very different take on a Phillip Marlowe film.  I liked the intro a fair bit and the sense of style and music usage is interesting, a lot of good character beats (I like Marlowe talking to the goon who is following him), but I found it too meandering and unfocused for much of the middle.  Great ending though.  Might be better on a rewatch or in a different frame of mind than I was in.

[Rev. Powell]

THE MADS: A NIGHT OF SHORTS 4: A nice selection of shorts, including three episodes of a very poorly animated space cartoon among the usual pleas towards etiquette (and an angry anti-coffee break abuse industrial short). No guest, but since it was the one-year anniversary of the show, they put together a 10-minute "greatest hits" reel of jokes from previous episodes. One of their better shows. 3/5.

[Rev. Powell]

BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES (2021): A cafe owner gets a video message from himself from a short time in the future, and gradually his friends and acquaintances get drawn in and start scheming how to turn two minutes of advance notice to their advantage. Just when you think there's nothing more to be done with the time travel formula comes this impressively scripted and choreographed (it appears to be done in one take) low budget gem from Japan. Free on Amazon Prime and only a little over an hour long. 4/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Randy Rhoads: Reflections of a Guitar Icon" (2022)
The short but influential life and career of Quiet Riot and Ozzy guitar legend Randy Rhoads is examined in this documentary filled with vintage clips, photos, and interviews with former band mates, family, and friends. I was particularly fascinated by the many live videos of Randy playing with Quiet Riot during their L.A. club days, most of which I'd never seen before. Longtime fans probably won't learn anything new from this doc, but otherwise this is cool stuff for classic metal trivia nerds.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Prey" (2021)
Not to be confused with the new "Predator" sequel by the same name currently streaming on Hulu, this German production (dubbed into English) is a Netflix original. Five guys on a hiking expedition in a remote forest suddenly find themselves under fire by an unknown sniper, and have to put aside their personal differences in order to get out alive. Pretty standard survival-thriller stuff, with a few moments of suspense. Not great, but not terrible. Six months from now I will probably have forgotten that I even saw this.

[lester1/2jr]

Mentors: kings of Sleaze documentary  -  When I was like 10 they had 2 Mentors albums in my local small town record store.They were in the Heavy Metal section. Both looked pretty silly and I didn't think of buying them, but they did make an impression, I guess.

This documentary aims to show that they were actually pretty good and it appears they were, at least live. Unfortunately, or maybe just logically, the sleazy alcohol and drug saturated lifestyle described in their songs was a reflection of reality. They had no idea how to save money or pace themselves in any way, always perpetually in their last days. Somehow it lasted decades though.

The doc briefly examines the rumor that Courtney Love had contacted El Duce to assassinate Kurt Cobain. The idea is completely ridiculous on its face, but it did give The Mentors some free publicity. They also benefited from the mid 80's PMRC thing. The East Coast had GG Allin, the West Coast had the Mentors. They both represent a scummy insane element of rock n roll that was there from the beginning and will never die. 5/5

[Rev. Powell]

MST3K: THE BATWOMAN: The experiment is Mexican junk in which a Batwoman in a bikini (who doubles as a luchador, naturally) fights a mad scientist who's turning wrestlers into fish-men; meanwhile, back on the Moon, Kinga and Pearl are on a time-travel vacation, leaving a flustered Max and Synthia in control. The scenery in Batwoman is nice (I mean Acapulco, of course) and the movie is certainly goofy, but I didn't think the writing on this one held up. To me, this is #7 out of the 8 current Gizmoplex episodes. 2.5/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Avalanche" (1978)
The grand opening of a swanky new Colorado ski resort comes to a grinding halt when a mountain full of snow breaks loose and buries a group of character actors including Robert Forster, Rock Hudson, and Mia Farrow. Icy mayhem ensues.
Pretty typical late 70s disaster junk, the first half of the movie sets up the usual pointless soap-opera bullsh*t between the various characters and then the second half knocks'em all off in various wintry ways.  Enjoyably silly crap.

[Jim H]

Shocking Dark, AKA Terminator 2 (1989): what a pile of dog****.  Despite the title most of this movie is an incredibly blatant Aliens ripoff.  Like, almost scene for scene and line for line, only with none of the skill or competence of Jim Cameron.  Then the last 30 minutes rips off The Terminator and does a godawful job of it.  It's stunning too - they ripoff sequences, but can't pull off key moments and just ignore that rather that cutting them down.  It's like they decided they had to rip it off as close as possible, even when cutting it down would be simpler and less godawful.  Good example, they recreate the bit where the xenomorphs are getting closer and closer and eventually are in the room.  This includes the bit where they're like "that would be inside the room with us!".  Except in Shocking Dark they're in a giant open room, and there's never a reveal of how they got in - there's just an edit and they're somehow inside now.  Just completely braindead.

On the plus side, this is is an Italian ripoff actually shot in English, and the performances are really bad.  Sometimes funny bad.  Also the film is set in Venice, and a few parts are visibly Venice...  But most of it is just in stupid looking factories and warehouses with bad costumes.  A lot of it is boring too.

All told, this is the worst Bruno Mattei effort I've seen.  Zombi 3 looks like inspired genius in comparison. 

1/10.

[FatFreddysCat]

Continuing my double shot of wintry '70s cheez on a hot summer day:

"Snowbeast" (1977)
A Colorado ski resort's annual Winter Carnival is threatened by the appearance of a Bigfoot-like creature who snatches ski bunnies off the slopes and leaves mangled corpses in his wake. Eventually the sheriff and a couple of ski patrol members mount up a posse to hunt the critter down.
Essentially a land-locked, wintry "Jaws" variant, this made-for-TV horror movie has lots of purty mountain scenery, but the mayhem is subdued thanks to network standards & practices, and when you finally see the creature, I swear he looks like "The Bumble" from "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer."
Not altogether terrible, but strictly average.

[Alex]

Continuing my double shot of wintry '70s cheez on a hot summer day:

"Snowbeast" (1977)
A Colorado ski resort's annual Winter Carnival is threatened by the appearance of a Bigfoot-like creature who snatches ski bunnies off the slopes and leaves mangled corpses in his wake. Eventually the sheriff and a couple of ski patrol members mount up a posse to hunt the critter down.
Essentially a land-locked, wintry "Jaws" variant, this made-for-TV horror movie has lots of purty mountain scenery, but the mayhem is subdued thanks to network standards & practices, and when you finally see the creature, I swear he looks like "The Bumble" from "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer."
Not altogether terrible, but strictly average.

I remember watching this one on TV waaaaay back.