Recent Viewings, Part 2

[Rev. Powell]

THE SUDBURY DEVIL (2023): Two 17th-centruy Puritan magistrates head into the woods with a witness to investigate reports of witchcraft; they find what they're looking for (and, naturally, wish they hadn't). Low-budget period folk horror that evokes a (far cheaper) THE WITCH, with strong nods to A FIELD IN ENGLAND; a bit ragged at times, but a modestly chilling success. I assume it will be streaming soon. 3/5.

[Dr. Whom]

Marry My Dead Body (2022)

When policeman Wu Ming-Han is gathering evidence in a drugs case, he inadvertently picks up a red envelope. This means he is now not only bound in a ghost marriage, but in gay ghost marriage at that. Being homophobic, he is appalled by the prospect, but then it turns out that the drugs case he is working on is related to the hit and run accident that killed his ghostly husband. So perhaps he can solve the case and allow the ghost to find peace at the same time.

Most of the comedy (and the heart) of the movie is in the developing relationship between the macho policeman and the gay ghost that haunts him. It is a sort of gay themed action buddy comedy. The humour is broad, but it has its moments and it is entertaining enough, until the last 15 minutes or so, when it unashamedly veers into melodrama.

[FatFreddysCat]

"American Hardcore" (2006)
A look back at the wild 'n crazy days of '80s hardcore punk, whose rise and fall coincided with the Reagan years in America. Features ultra-violent vintage live videos and and interviews with members of Black Flag, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol, T.S.O.L., Die Kreuzen, Battalion of Saints, and many more. A cool crash course in punk history for those who weren't there, and a nice trip down memory lane for those who lived through it.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Invasion U.S.A." (1985)
An army of terrorist guerrillas led by Russian bad guy Richard Lynch (at his absolute bug-eyed, coked-up peak) land in Florida and begin a massive attack on America. Fortunately, we've got Uzi-toting CIA badass Matt Hunter (denim clad Chuck Norris, at peak beardness) standing in their way. Lotsa stuff blows up and countless butts get kicked in this utterly ridiculous, over the top cheeseball action flick that makes "Red Dawn" look absolutely plausible. A "so bad it's good" cult classic, and it even takes place during the holidays, so it's seasonally appropriate!

[Trevor]

The Curse 3: Blood Sacrifice aka Panga: eish 

[RCMerchant]

DR. BUTCHER M.D. (1980)

Hilarous cannibal zombie movie which brought nothing new to the genre, even at this early stage of the genre, but lotsa gory fun. The boat motor in the face scene is a stand out.

I had it on VHS way back when, so it was a fun reminder of those days.



It's on the PLEX Rocku TV channel.

[RCMerchant]

"American Hardcore" (2006)
A look back at the wild 'n crazy days of '80s hardcore punk, whose rise and fall coincided with the Reagan years in America. Features ultra-violent vintage live videos and and interviews with members of Black Flag, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol, T.S.O.L., Die Kreuzen, Battalion of Saints, and many more. A cool crash course in punk history for those who weren't there, and a nice trip down memory lane for those who lived through it.

I recall those days well. When collecting records was an adventure.

[Trevor]

DR. BUTCHER M.D. (1980)

Hilarous cannibal zombie movie which brought nothing new to the genre, even at this early stage of the genre, but lotsa gory fun. The boat motor in the face scene is a stand out.

I had it on VHS way back when, so it was a fun reminder of those days.



It's on the PLEX Rocku TV channel.

It was released here on DVD as Zombie Cannibal Holocaust which made me more confused than usual.  I seriously didn't know what I was buying until I saw it and saw the zombie getting his / its' face changed by the outboard motor, then I was "Ah, OK." 

[RCMerchant]

NEW YORK RIPPER (1982)
Fulci is just as gory and a lot more sleazier in this confusing movie about a serial killer in NYC (me home town!) who- yes- talks in a Donald Duck voice. Why? Watch this nasty mess to find out if you have the stomach.

[Jim H]

I just rewatched Mad Max.  Had been ages since I saw the original film.  Opinion hasn't changed a whole lot.  It's worth a watch, but with its one foot in reality and character stuff...  Just doesn't work as well as the sequels.  Good villain, some memorable scenes, good action sequences, great ending, but a lot of the storyline barely exists, character motivations are thin, it's weirdly underwritten, it's just very rough.  Like a rough draft for the Road Warrior, which is vastly superior. 

I also watched Insidious: The Last Key.  Have to say I don't really care for this series very much, but my wife likes them so here I go.  All of them are badly written with bad characters and the same jump scare setups over and over.  You'll occasionally get some decently creepy scenes, but it's really hard to care.  Lin Shaye is always good, but she doesn't have enough to work with.  It's also really unclear what the rules of the setting are, like you have no idea what's going on.  For my money, the other James Wan involved spooky series, The Conjuring, especially the first one, is a lot better.  You understand what is happening much better, the creepy parts are built up to and set up, the jump scares are more effective, and the characters especially are MUCH better written. 

At least the main ghost in this looks pretty cool, and one character abruptly killing another was pretty satisfying.

[FatFreddysCat]

"An Eye For An Eye" (1981)
A San Francisco cop (Chuck Norris) embarks on a mission of vengeance to bring down the Chinese Triad gang who killed his partner.
A pretty standard "Dirty Harry" style action flick, Chuck was still learning how to act so his performance is typically wooden but the stunts and action sequences are on point. Not a top drawer Chuck flick, but worth checking out.

"Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny" (2023)
Harrison Ford dons the fedora and bull whip one last time as the well-past-retirement-age Dr. Jones, in a new adventure set in 1969. When Indy is visited by the daughter of an old friend it draws him into a plot to recover an artifact he lost during World War II that may have the ability to travel through time.
At 2 hours and 40 minutes this flick is probably a bit overlong, but it never drags or wears out his welcome, unlike "Crystal Skull." I had low expectations for this, but was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I would watch it again, which is not something I can say about the previous "Indy" installment.

[Trevor]

"An Eye For An Eye" (1981)
A San Francisco cop (Chuck Norris) embarks on a mission of vengeance to bring down the Chinese Triad gang who killed his partner.
A pretty standard "Dirty Harry" style action flick, Chuck was still learning how to act so his performance is typically wooden but the stunts and action sequences are on point. Not a top drawer Chuck flick, but worth checking out.

Andrew published my review of it for us on here: my first published work. 

[Alex]

The Mean One.

A similar sort of concept to the recent Blood & Honey Winnie the Pooh movie, although one that is much better. If nothing else it can at least claim some level of understanding of its source material.

[Gabriel Knight]

I just rewatched Mad Max.  Had been ages since I saw the original film.  Opinion hasn't changed a whole lot.  It's worth a watch, but with its one foot in reality and character stuff...  Just doesn't work as well as the sequels.  Good villain, some memorable scenes, good action sequences, great ending, but a lot of the storyline barely exists, character motivations are thin, it's weirdly underwritten, it's just very rough.  Like a rough draft for the Road Warrior, which is vastly superior.

I agree with you on this take. And something else that happened to me when watching it, although I may be wrong because it was a long time: didn't you felt like the movie wasn't post-apocalyptic enough? At one point they even go to an ice cream store, for example. If you skipped the first "explanation" of the background the whole movie may as well take place in some random modern city with lots of crime.

[Rev. Powell]

I just rewatched Mad Max.  Had been ages since I saw the original film.  Opinion hasn't changed a whole lot.  It's worth a watch, but with its one foot in reality and character stuff...  Just doesn't work as well as the sequels.  Good villain, some memorable scenes, good action sequences, great ending, but a lot of the storyline barely exists, character motivations are thin, it's weirdly underwritten, it's just very rough.  Like a rough draft for the Road Warrior, which is vastly superior.

I agree with you on this take. And something else that happened to me when watching it, although I may be wrong because it was a long time: didn't you felt like the movie wasn't post-apocalyptic enough? At one point they even go to an ice cream store, for example. If you skipped the first "explanation" of the background the whole movie may as well take place in some random modern city with lots of crime.

I haven't seen it in a long time, but my impression is Mad Max takes place just as civilization is collapsing and barely hanging on; by the time of Road Warrior some years later, things have totally gone to anarchy. I don't think Mad Max was meant to be post-apocalyptic, but pre-post-apocalyptic. I liked that time period, in some ways its more interesting than the post-apocalyptic world.