Recent Viewings, Part 2

[indianasmith]

QUEST FOR THE UNICORN (2018) - An interesting freebie on Prime.  A buxom blonde prisoner of some weird cannibal tribe escapes her captors and then heads deeper into their territory in search of a mythical unicorn that she keeps seeing in her dreams.  Along the way she rescues a thief and a warrior, who help her in the quest as the cannibal queen leads her minions to hunt them down.  A surprisingly serious film for such a silly premise; the main stars are attractive, there is some pretty graphic violence and a tad of nudity to spice things up.  It was quite a bit better than I expected, honestly. 4/5

[Rev. Powell]

THE MADS ARE BACK: TEENAGE ZOMBIES: Wow, what a turkey. A Jerry Warren film from the 50s in which nothing happens. There's maybe 10 minutes of plot padded to 70 minutes. Even the jokes couldn't make this one work. The Q&A, with a comedienne I'd never heard of, was pleasant enough. Not a recommended episode, however. 2.5/5.

[Dr. Whom]

The wolf house/la casa lobo (2018)

An experimental Chilean animated feature inspired by a case of child abuse in a German closed community/cult in South Chile. It is also supposed to be a commentary on Pinochet.

I found out the above by googling, because the movie is completely opaque. Not since Primer have I seen a movie that so stubbornly refuses to explain anything at all. It does have a very nightmarish quality, with jittery stop motion animation of things constantly transmogrifying into other things. The language switches constantly from Spanish to German for no reason I could discover. Worth seeing as a visual experience.

Critics seem to love it, but I guess they read the press release beforehand.

[Alex]

Renfield.

A fairly fun spin on the Dracula story. Easy to overanalyze but just tell your brain to shut up and enjoy the movie. I especially liked the blank and white call back to the universal movies. Nic Cage is clearly having a blast in the role.

The teeth struck me as an odd choice though.

[M.10rda]

THE MADS ARE BACK: TEENAGE ZOMBIES: Wow, what a turkey. A Jerry Warren film from the 50s in which nothing happens. There's maybe 10 minutes of plot padded to 70 minutes.

I saw TZ once over a decade ago, was inclined to agree w/ you, then watched it again maybe 5-6 years (why?! I admit I used to drink a bit...) and it - grew on me? Low-billed Nan Green plays the perky, resourceful brunette Dotty (the only female member of the gang not to get captured and zombified) w/ such focus, initiative, and spunk that I spent most of the running time studying her and reflecting on how a dummy like Jerry Warren somehow ends up casting a real, trained (or innately gifted) actor and then doesn't seize the opportunity by inventing more stuff for her to do, thus improving his lame movie... or ever casting her again! Meanwhile he cast cheerfully inept and perpetually spaced out Katherine Victor (apparently not his mistress, though who knows) as the lead in almost all his movies.

I also dig the dopey gorilla. And that big fight scene (err, wrestling match?) at the end is in a class all its own per ineptitude.

[Rev. Powell]

The wolf house/la casa lobo (2018)

An experimental Chilean animated feature inspired by a case of child abuse in a German closed community/cult in South Chile. It is also supposed to be a commentary on Pinochet.

I found out the above by googling, because the movie is completely opaque. Not since Primer have I seen a movie that so stubbornly refuses to explain anything at all. It does have a very nightmarish quality, with jittery stop motion animation of things constantly transmogrifying into other things. The language switches constantly from Spanish to German for no reason I could discover. Worth seeing as a visual experience.

Critics seem to love it, but I guess they read the press release beforehand.

I loved it! I learned some of the background beforehand, but I don't think you need to know anything more than is given in the short prologue. Girl is in abusive cult, girl flees abusive cult, ends up in fairy tale nightmare. Visuals are astounding.

[FatFreddysCat]

"The Bourne Supremacy" (2004)
Second film in the "Bourne" series sees the amnesiac super-agent (Matt Damon) hiding out in India, still trying to get his head together. Naturally, the shadowy government agency that he used to work for aren't going to leave him alone, and this time they're even trying to pin an assassination on him that he didn't commit. Once again, there's lots of globe trotting action (the car chase through the streets of Moscow is amazing!) and narrow escapes. Gritty, realistic spy-and-counterspy stuff; these films definitely had a major influence on the Daniel Craig era of 007.

[FatFreddysCat]

"American Psycho 2: All American Girl" (2002)
A college criminology student (Mila Kunis) - who also happens to be the only survivor of Patrick Bateman's murderous rampage - has her eye on a prestigious teaching assistant position on campus and will do anything to get it, including murdering her competition for the job.
... this direct to video pseudo-sequel to Christian Bale's 2000 cult hit apparently started out as a stand-alone film with no connection to "American Psycho," before some last minute re-shoots and a new prologue were added in order to tie it into "A.P." It didn't help. Without the "Psycho" branding, this is just another cheap, post-Scream campus slasher flick. Skip it unless you're an obsessed Mila Kunis fan, or you want to see proof of how far William Shatner's career had slid by the early 2000s.

[Dr. Whom]

I loved it! I learned some of the background beforehand, but I don't think you need to know anything more than is given in the short prologue. Girl is in abusive cult, girl flees abusive cult, ends up in fairy tale nightmare. Visuals are astounding.

Well, I must admit that most of the time I had no clue what was going on. At one point I was wondering whether this would turn into a weird retelling of the three little pigs, with Maria being revealed as the third pig that had escaped. That being said, what it lacks in plot, it largely makes up for in atmosphere.

[M.10rda]

"American Psycho 2: All American Girl" (2002)
A college criminology student (Mila Kunis) - who also happens to be the only survivor of Patrick Bateman's murderous rampage - has her eye on a prestigious teaching assistant position on campus and will do anything to get it, including murdering her competition for the job.
... this direct to video pseudo-sequel to Christian Bale's 2000 cult hit apparently started out as a stand-alone film with no connection to "American Psycho," before some last minute re-shoots and a new prologue were added in order to tie it into "A.P." It didn't help.

It certainly didn't help motivate ME to watch this - one of the handful of films I've rejected sight unseen on the basis of premise rather than director or lead actor. I feel like the historical record demands that there can be no literal "only survivor of Patrick Bateman's murderous rampage" as, strictly speaking, everyone on MovieEarth (and NovelEarth) is a "survivor of Patrick Bateman's murderous rampage", as

***SPOILER***
Patrick Batemam is a pathetic delusional man who never actually kills anyone
***END SPOILER***

...Amused that the producers of ALL-AMERICAN GIRL bothered to retrofit their unrelated film as a sequel to AMERICAN PSYCHO w/o bothering to read or watch the source material. Not amused enough to endure the "sequel", however!

[Rev. Powell]

LINOLEUM (2022): When a rocket crashes in his backyard, failed children's TV-show host and astronomer Cameron (Jim Gaffigan) decides to rebuild it; meanwhile, a lot of other strange things are happening in town, like the appearance of his doppelganger and a strange old woman who appears and stares at him. The movie almost seems to bite off more than it can chew, following not only Cameron but also his wife's career struggles, his daughter's burgeoning romance with the new kid in town, and his dementia-ridden father; a (guessable) plot twist ties everything up tidily. 3/5.

[Alex]

Unicorn Wars.

Teddy bears are at war with unicorns in a film filled with blood and teddy bear penises. Seriously, I had never realised that I never wanted to see teddy bear genitalia until I saw them in this film. Anyway, lots of religious allegory stop this film being as fun as it could have been. I was expecting something closer to South Park than Full Metal Jacket.

[Alex]

Winnie the Pooh: Bloody & Honey.

In the 80s or 90s this would have been an acceptable average slasher, doubtless pushed into the realm of a classic just because of the idea of turning beloved childhood icons into murderers.For something made today, it's a bit sub-par. The kills aren't innovative, the effects are passable. The only thing it has going for it to make it stand out in any way is the furor over the IP. Acting is poor and the killers could be any two guys in masks. The director is going to be at a Horror Convention I am thinking about getting tickets for. I wouldn't make any effort to meet him, but I wouldn't jeer him on the street either.

Shame really. I can see a lot of ways this could have been made much better and achieved much more. It finishes with some quite clear room for a sequel.

[lester1/2jr]

Hollywood Stadium Mystery (1938) - I'll just keep watching these things because they're good enough? A boxer dies in the ring and police try to find who did it, with the help of mystery writer played by a relatively attractive lady. As the case heats up, her and the district attorney begin a torrid affair (actually mild flirtation). A hilarious running joke is how they keep making a bet for $5.

about an hour long. Next !

4.35 (for variety) / 5

Commissioner Gordon from the Batman TV show is the DA

[Alex]

Infinity Pool.

Another film that could have been so much more than it was. I'd have concentrated more on the lead character's reaction to the decision he made (trying to avoid spoilers), but this is the Cronenberg bloodline we are talking about here, so it gets the sexualised and violent treatment instead. I found the end of the movie unsatisfying. It wasn't bad, but I doubt I'd get enough interest in it to watch it again. It does seem though at the moment, if you are interested on horror that it is impossible to avoid hearing about Mia Goth at the moment.