Recent Viewings, Part 2

[M.10rda]

Ah, one post-script caveat... my only major complaint about THREE FANTASTIC SUPERMEN: the main theme sounds like it was performed by Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass and it is played OVER and OVER and OVER again for 100 minutes until you want to scream. Actually that's a pretty major caveat. But I forgot it initially/temporarily the morning after watching 3FS so there's that.

[Jim H]

Dinner in America - This is a great little indie film.  A very, very angry punk man ends up having to lay low, and worms his way into staying with a young woman in her family's house.  She is...  Special, in some way, or maybe just a little slow.  The two lead performances are great, it's got good music, it's wonderfully shot, very funny, great dialogue, great character development, it's just great start to finish. 

Highly recommended, believe it is my favorite film released in the past 4 or 5 years.

[RCMerchant]

A FISTFULL OF DYNAMITE (1971) aka DUCK, YOU SUCKER!

Sergio Leone does a bang up job (and I do mean BANG!) jn this epic western. James Coburn plays an ex IRA terrorist who unwittingly teams up with Rod Stiger as a Mexican bandito who end up involved in the Mexican Revolution.
Perhaps more violent and bloody than Leone's "Man With No Name" trilogy, and it even pulls at the heartstrings at times.
I feel this film stands with any of Leone's other classic westerns in granduer.
Oh yeah- the title comes from Coburn's nasty habit of blowing the scenery to kingdom come via dynamite (or nitro.)

 Highly recommeded!

[Rev. Powell]

THIS IS ME... NOW: A LOVE STORY (2024): An ultrawealthy "love addict" sings her way through a series of romantic disappointments. The self-indulgent narrative is a placeholder for music video sequences of writrr/star Jennifer Lopez's mediocre pop music, of passing interest due to the high production values and eccentric cameos from Ben Affleck, Jane Fonda, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and others. Only an hour and free on Amazon Prime. 2/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Caddyshack" (1980)
A teenage caddy (Michael O'Keefe) at a snooty country club gets drawn into a battle on the links between the stuffy, blue-blooded old members (led by Ted Knight at his slow burning best) and a wealthy but uncouth newcomer (Rodney Dangerfield). Meanwhile, groundskeeper Bill Murray declares all out war on gophers in this classic sports comedy that's basically "Animal House" on the golf course.  
I recently read Chris Nashawaty's excellent book Caddyshack: The Making of A Hollywood Cinderella Story, which prompted this re-watch. I've lost count of how many times I've seen this movie, but I never get tired of it.

[RCMerchant]

the DIABOLICAL DR. Z (1966)

An old scientist and his daughter have discovered how to control the insticts of good and evil in the brain . On presenting their findings to the scientific community they are mocked, and the mad doctor suffers a heart attack and croaks. His equally bonkers daughter takes up his work and with the help of her lobotimized goon assistant, turns an exotic dancer (Miss Death) into a sexy killer and exacts revenge on the shmucks who doubted her father. Some great photography, and one of the only Jess Franco movies that has a storyline thats makes some kind of sense. I like this kinda grue!



Miss Death!

[M.10rda]

Watched that one last year. Like Godard, most of Franco's movies make sense until about 1967! 

[FatFreddysCat]

"Double Impact" (1991)
Jean-Claude Van Damme takes on a dual role as twin brothers, separated as infants when their parents are murdered. 25 years later, they're reunited with a plan to get even with the Hong Kong gangsters responsible for their deaths.
This was a pretty typical '90s shoot'em up butt-kicker, but it's fun to watch Jean Claude playing against himself as the dorky Californian aerobics instructor "Chad" and his polar opposite brother, the cigar chomping tough guy "Alex." At one point the two bro's even fight each other, thanks to some special effects wizardry.
JCVD apparently considers this to be one of his best films -- he was still talking about making a sequel (which has yet to materialize) well into the 2000s.

[indianasmith]

THANKSGIVING (2023) - One year after several people died in a mad Thanksgiving Day shopping stampede at the local big box store, someone is stalking and killing the instigators while wearing a Pilgrim mask.   Lots of gory kills as the daughter of the store's owner frantically tries to figure out his identity.  Honestly better than I thought it would be; you don't have a ton of sympathy for most of the victims, though.  Some really obnoxious characters in this movie. 4/5

[M.10rda]

Indiana, level w/ me here... you just watched this (presumably) and I watched it three months ago... but is it even remotely plausible that the killer pilgrim is the character it's revealed to be? It seemed to me like that character is repeatedly shown in geographically distinct locations from where the murders are committed almost simultaneously to the attacks or murders. Maybe Eli Roth was just having a laff at our expense but it really seemed like hasty/sloppy post-production rewrites/reshoots to me.......

[RCMerchant]

HARD CANDY (2005) A 14 year old girl is groomed by a predatory photographer (played by Patrick Wilson of the CONJURING series fame) only to find himself at the mercy of the wiley girl who tortures him, threatens him with casturation, and just plain old drives the creep to the edge of suicide. Great performances, especially by the young Elliot Page as Ellen, the avenging teen. I bet Chris Hansen loves this movie!

[indianasmith]

Indiana, level w/ me here... you just watched this (presumably) and I watched it three months ago... but is it even remotely plausible that the killer pilgrim is the character it's revealed to be? It seemed to me like that character is repeatedly shown in geographically distinct locations from where the murders are committed almost simultaneously to the attacks or murders. Maybe Eli Roth was just having a laff at our expense but it really seemed like hasty/sloppy post-production rewrites/reshoots to me.......

Good question.  I'd have to watch it again, paying more attention to the killer's whereabouts, and I'm not sure I'm up for a second viewing this soon.

[FatFreddysCat]

"The Couch Trip" (1988)
A mental patient (Dan Aykroyd) escapes from the hospital and assumes the identity of his doctor. He then heads to L.A. where he lands a gig filling in for a popular talk-radio psychiatrist. When his show becomes an unexpected sensation, he finds it harder and harder to keep up the deception.  
"Couch Trip" was not a top drawer Aykroyd comedy, but it has a few decent laughs and an impressive supporting cast that includes Donna Dixon (Dan's real-life wife) and the always-welcome Walter Matthau and Charles Grodin. Forgettable, but fun.

"Hired Gun" (2017)
An absorbing rock doc that celebrates the often-unsung side men of rock n' roll, who support the stars onstage and in the studio but rarely get the spotlight themselves. Interviewees include Jason Hook (Five Finger Death Punch), Nita Strauss (Alice Cooper), Jason Newsted, Eric Singer, Richard (Filter) Patrick, Kenny Aronoff, Liberty De Vitto (Billy Joel) and more.
The biggest thing I learned from this doc is that Billy Joel is a dick who screwed over his original backing band as soon as they started making money, and replaced them with newer/cheaper musicians. Not cool, BJ!

[Alex]

Revenge of the Virgins.

A tribe of topless native American's hunt down white men who are on the trail of gold. Filmed in black and white and only 52 minutes long with lots of topless women on display. If Zack Snyder was to remake this one, I think you'd have Indy's perfect movie beating even Sucker Punch.

[M.10rda]

Coincidentally, Alex, I just watched ROTV and logged it this weekend myself. I wasn't too impressed, except on two notes: 1.) the lengths to which filmmakers would go to get nekkid ladies onscreen (certainly far more ambitious and committed than the lazy standards of soft- and hardcore porn these days); and 2.) the acting! Not too bad in the early dialogue scenes, at least by the standards of most low-budget 50s low-budget westerns (let alone nudie cheapies). I got the impression several of the actors were pleased to be appearing in this dumb thing and were actually trying to do good work for a while there!