What are some films you've seen lately?

[Cheecky-monkey]

Let's see, this week...

Larva (2005)-  A town becomes infested with monstorous parasites that grow in people upon eating contaminated beef. Not too bad, has some great gore and impressive make-up effects, and the film has a cool look, but the ending is pretty silly. Not too bad as made-for-sci-fi-channel flicks go.
3 stars out of 5.

Species 3 (2004)- Third entry in the flop series has the daughter of Eve (The creature from the original) being raised by a college professor. Some great creature and make-up effects, and cool gore (There's one scene where a security guard is sliced in two down the middle in one flawless shot) but there's also some terrible CGI (Though thankfully it's only used a few times) an it's two damn long (Borders 2 hours!)
2 stars out of 5.

Recorded live (1973 (I think))- Truly awesome short flick about a guy that's attacked by a giant stop-motion blob of living, evil film. Very fun, clever, and original, with cool effecs and an occasional creepy moment. Can be found on the DVD for TREMORS 4 (It's a short film of S.S. Wilson who also directed TREMORS 2 as well as part 4). 4 stars out of 5.

Y2K: Shutdown detected (1999)- Short film about a genetics lab that's overun by monsters on the eve of 00'. Despite dated plot, it's pretty slick considering it was made for $2,000 (!) and has very good special effects (Aside from a terrible-looking blob creature) and a great, memorable zombie. Fun, kenetic and stylish.
3 stars out of 5.

Rodentz (2001)- Absolutely one of the worst films ever made. The special effects are beyond awful, both CG and practicle. Bland characters and a stupid premise don't help.  Hideous and ghastly. Must be seen to be believed.
1 star out of 5.

Demoness (1995)- Cheap-looking horror about a witch that terrorize a group of friends. Cheesy special effects, poor acting and one of the worst scripts in recent memory all contribute to the poorness and the subplots are a mess.
2 stars out of 5.

Ju-on: The Grudge (2003)- Hugely overhyped, confusing horror about a cursed house. Some creepy moments, but why it's compared to the excellent "Ringu" is beyond me.  Nothing has any logic or sense of pacing. Passable, really.
2-and-a-half stars out of 5.

Shadowzone (1990)-A shape-shifting monster from another dimension invades a NASA research base. Excellent performances, a smart script, some great gory special effects and nice production values. The finale is disappointing and rushed (Once we see the actual creature's true form it looks laughable) but it's well-done and gory. One of Full Moon's last good movie.
3-and-a-half satrs out of 5.


And more to come...

[elcool]

blood feast 2: all you can eat:  meh

Scarecrow Gone Wild:  beware

Scarecrow Slayer: beware even more

Aquanoids:  im still confused

Dracula 3000:  dont even consider considering to watch it

Dark Harvest:  66 minutes long.  need i say more?

Boa vs Python:  nudity

thats just a few of them

any movie from the scarecrow series i strongly advise u to stay away from

[Scott H]

Just this week:

Red River - one of Howard Hawks' best westerns with John Wayne and Mongomery Clift

The Best Years of Our Lives - starring the only handicapped actor to ever win an Academy Award, Harold Russel (he quit acting for fear of the controversy of his hooks which he used to play returning WW II sailor who suffered blown off hands)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (original) - 1950's paranoia wrapped up in one movie

All that Heaven Allows - best Rock Hudson movie

Poltergeist - something actually scary!

A Scenic Harvest from the Kingdom of Pain - strange documentary of builders who construct machines they then use in a live shows set to electronic music

(will watch tomorrow) On the Waterfront - a study of how director Elia Kazan used this movie to explain his actions at the HUAC hearings

My films class is keeping me busy here at school. So is the dollar bin at the video store. I can't believe they're going to give me a diploma in some years for watching movies!

[Cheecky-monkey]

What film school are you going to? I plan to go to one (I'm only 14 so I kinda have a little time) I'm looking around and there are so many choices...Every time I ask someone what's the best of the best for film schools I get different answers!

[Scott H.]

Well, to be truthful, I'm not going to a film school, rather I'm going to a school with a film department. I go to Appalachian State here in Boone, NC. Once more to be honest, there isn't much of a film school here at this university either. Really only a concentration...... and only then if you are an English major...... which I'm not...... but I'm still taking the classes.

As for film schools, I don't think going to one is a good use of a lot of money. Finding a public school in state with a solid film or visual arts department can compare to a private "film school." A good school will have a good department and can teach you everything you need to know. My school doesn't even have a diploma for their film programs, but the teachers here are first rate. Look around, and ask first.

[JohnL]

>Recorded live (1973 (I think))- Truly awesome short flick about a guy that's
>attacked by a giant stop-motion blob of living, evil film. Very fun, clever, and
>original, with cool effecs and an occasional creepy moment.

Does this end with the film reeling itself back onto spools? I recall seeing a short film used as filler on HBO many years ago, where a guy was attacked by what I thought was magnetic recording tape. I seem to recall that it went under a door to get him, spat out his clothes and shoes and then reeled itself back onto the spools. Is this the one I'm remembering?

[Cheecky-Monkey]

That's the one.

[Eirik]

Cheecky-monkey:

I had the same reaction to Larva - not bad for Sci-Fi, and it hits all the notes a bad movie fan will want: as much gore as they could get away with, the evil corporation, the clueless townspeople, the skeptical cop, the lone scientific professional who sees what's coming, obligatory hospital scene, girl in skimpy underwear running for her life (damn she got that bra back on fast!), and of course the classic Pied Piper ending.  A crowd pleaser but don't expect too many surprises.

[Foywonder]

ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 - There are worse ways to kill two hours but this remake isn't really anything worth going out of the way to see. 2 1/2 stars

ELEKTRA - The most boring ninja movie ever made. Hard to believe but Catwoman is a more entertaining film. 1 star

HOUSE OF FLYING DAGGERS - Good movie but I really am getting tired of these artsy fartsy kung fu films that overuse long slow motion shots for no particular reason than to be artistic. 3 stars

THE JITTERS - A really weak attempt at making an Americanized version of the Chinese hopping vampire movie. A few amusing moments but otherwise poorly directed and not nearly as funny as the real ones from Hong Kong.  1 1/2 stars

LARVA: Generic and predictable to the point of dullness. This one had all the right ingredients but the chef's could cook anything up that didn't taste bland.  1 1/2 stars

IN GOOD COMPANY -  Probably the best movie I've seen in the past 12 months except for The Incredibles. Just a really good movie. Ending is just a bit flat but still just a minor quibble. 3 1/2 stars

[Kory]

The Village:  Huge, steaming load of crap.  I figured out the "twist" ending about 20 minutes into it... then got p**sed off when I was right.  It was stupid & M. Night officially sucks now.

Napoleon Dynamite: HUGELY enjoyable and WAY funny.  I must buy this and I must do it soon.  This movie is AWESOME.

Garden State: I really liked this- it was fun and quirky and I actually cared about the characters.  This is a rare thing for me lately.

Vampires: Los Muertos:  I dug this- you can't beat a vampire-hunting Jon Bon Jovi.

Chicago: I hated this movie- HATED HATED HATED it.  There was not ONE likeable character in this movie- they were all miserable worthless human beings. I only watched it because a friend owns it and I "HAD TO" see it.  They were wrong.  They now owe me 2 hours of my life.

[trekgeezer]

I agree with Foywonder about In Good Company. I can relate to it seeing as I turn 50 in a couple of months.

The Incredibles were incredible.

[Foywonder]

You got a couple decades on my and I could still relate to it just for the honest portrayal of the corporate power structure and how truly screwed up it is.

[Chopper]

Hey Cheeky-Monkey, go to www.filmmaker.com and click on L.O.A.F.S. on the left hand side and you can read a ton of alphabetized film school reviews by people who have actually attended them.

it all depends on what you want to get out of film school. i've heard many negative things about the ones that have become very popular overtime, like NYU, USC, & ACLU.  these schools have produced many great artists in the past but their popularity, over-crowdedness of fimmaker-wannabes, and lack of access to equipment has given them negative attention. note: this is what i've only heard, i've never formally attended any of them.

if you're looking for a school to just earn some basic skills and jump right into the industry i would recommend any place like the Seattle Film Institute, or the Maine Workshops in rockport, Maine. these places don't offer degrees but a degree that carries the title "filmmaking" is the industry equivalent of toilet paper.

good luck.

[Cheecky-Monkey]

Thnaks Scott, I'll check out that sight.

[Mitch McAfee]

Just some trivia on Recorded Live...

It was made by S.S. Wilson, who went on to create &/or  write Short Circuit, Batteries Not Included, Tremors etc