Recent Viewings

[Andrew]

I ran into a small treasure mine at CD Warehouse lately and in Blockbuster's used section lately.   Ended up buying a bunch of movies for about $6 each, plus I picked up a couple of more "mainstream" films for $10-$12.

Carnivore - A secret government genetic lab is hidden away in a "haunted" house.  The creature, which can speak in a hissing voice and looks like the missing link between fish, ape, and man, kills the scientist who created it and gets loose.   A crack government team of two goons and the female project manager are sent to secure the house.  Meanwhile, a group of "kids" looking for a place to party go into the house.  

This movie is really odious with awful comic situations.  Also, it has a copyright date of 2001, but everything screams of the late 80's.  Hair, cars, the uzi, you name it.

Lesson Learned:
Government spooks are not trained in how to change a tire.

*************************************

Shark Hunter - A huge research sub is sent to investigate a destroyed underwater facility.  And I do mean huge.  The thing looks to be as big as a ballistic missile submarine.  Aboard is Spencer, the man who supposedly designed and built the submarine by himself and has a fierce hate of prehistoric sharks (one ate his mom and dad).  Guess what ate the underwater facility?  A Megalodon!  

I am to understand that Antonio Sabato Jr. (Spencer) is considered to be an actor?  Half of his acting in this film involved swallowing a lot while saying his lines.  After a little while the effect is enough to make one nauseous.  Contrast this to the main female character, her role involved a lot of teeth gritting and panting.  I would also like to point out that the moment they mentioned the minisub had hydrogen fuel cells, I knew what was going to happen to the shark.  On a brighter note - I did think the shark looked cool.  Much better than the sharks in "Deep Blue Sea."

Lesson Learned:
You can use a drysuit to dive in water over 1900 feet deep.

*************************************

The Fly II
Brundle's child is owned by a large corporation.  He grows at a phenomenal rate and displays amazing intelligence.  However, he begins to learn that the man he has always called father, the company's president (CEO, something like that) is just using him.

You know, this is pretty darn good for a sequel.  The fully transformed fly is well done, none of the characters drive you nuts, and even the many scenes with Martin Brundle as a child were not bad.  The mutated dog was also freaky, but a good part of the story.

[mr. henry]

i agree...The Fly II...a pretty good sequel of a really good remake...sounds like a the name of a new message board thread...

[Evan3]

Yes, I too enjoyed the Fly 2, but regrettably did not stay awake til the end. The dog was a creature to be pitied. However it was a little too campy to make it good. Jeff Goldblum was a much better actor than the man in this one.

[jmc]

CARNIVORE is one of those $6 videos I've spotted at Wal-Mart.  

I've also seen INVENTING THE ABBOTS there in that same bin....you know, the one where Jennifer Connelly gets naked.

[Squishy]

"Carnivore"--What an ugly little thing. Was it Siskel, or Ebert, who was bat**** about this one? I think it was Ebert. Foywonder wanted proof of my (joking) claim at Ebert is either brain-damaged or on the take; voila. Brief shining moment: Alfred E. Neuman!

"Shark Hunter"--Jabootu and Ziggy (see the IMDB "external reviews") both review it with surprisingly nice things to say about it. Oh, don't get me wrong, they think it sucks, but not as badly as "Shark Attack 3."

"The Fly II"--True, no one's going to mistake this one for the original. But the monster itself is even more impressive, the henchmen's deaths (by acid-vomit-facial and elevator-to-the-head) are genuinely horrifying, and Jon Getz' character is still a delightfully nasty crank, but now sympathetic. Some fine moments, but often way too implausible and, in the end, unsatisfying.

[Evan3]

jmc wrote:

> CARNIVORE is one of those $6 videos I've spotted at Wal-Mart.
>  
>
> I've also seen INVENTING THE ABBOTS there in that same
> bin....you know, the one where Jennifer Connelly gets naked.


HOW NAKED DOES SHE GET!!! I have to admit, Jennifer Connelly, Britney Spears, Charlize Theron and my girlfriend are the hottest people I know.

I have seen Charlize naked (Charlize Theron is in 2 playboys, briefly in Devil's Advocate) but the chance to add another to the list is amazing. What is this movie even about??????



Post Edited (04-04-03 13:17)

[Brother Ragnarok]

Carnivore was made somewhere around 86, and was never released until now for...obvious reasons.
I love Megalodon stuff, so I'll have to check out Shark Hunter.  I laughed so hard during Shark Attack 3 I nearly p**sed myself.
The mutant dog in Fly 2 always makes me really depressed because I love dogs and even though it's just a slimy puppet it's so damn sad.

Brother R

[Andrew]

Brother Ragnarok wrote:

> Carnivore was made somewhere around 86, and was never
> released until now for...obvious reasons.

I had decided that something like this must have been the case.  Guessing it was 87 or 88, because they mention "Robocop."

"Shark Hunter" was not all that boring, in its own misguided way, but only because I appreciate such movies.  The acting was amazingly bad throughout and the plot not much better.  Good shark though (I keep harping on that).

[JohnL]

>I've also seen INVENTING THE ABBOTS there in that same bin....you know, the
>one where Jennifer Connelly gets naked.

The one where Jennifer Connelly get naked... Oh yeah, that really narrows it down. :)

>HOW NAKED DOES SHE GET!!! I have to admit, Jennifer Connelly, Britney
>Spears, Charlize Theron and my girlfriend are the hottest people I know.

Sounds like you might be interested in the Celebrity Nudity DataBase;

CNDB

[Squishy]

Oh, I totally screwed up. Andrew wrote "Carnivore," I thought "Carnosaur." Sorries, sorries. Need more sleep. The IMDB doesn't list it, but the Official Site has all details of the delay, the trailer, and some nice stills.