Recent viewings

[JaseSF]

Bed of Roses (1933): Lorry Evans (Constance Bennett) and her pal Minnie (Pert Kelton), a pair of con artists just released from prison decide to look for some rich men/suckers who can set them up in the good life. Along the way, Lorry meets up with a cotton barge owner named Dan (Joel McCrea) with whom she falls in love. But what's more important to Lorry - money or love?

This was a fairly entertaining early 1930s rom-com that is largely fluff but does show some level of depth here and there in terms of people discovering themselves and what they really want from life. There are some funny and amusing moments here too. Surprisingly entertaining and one finds themselves rooting for Lorry and Minnie despite their actions. It does help that this runs just a bit over an hour though.  ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Sleepless in America (2014): Watched this documentary about society and the growing problem of chronic lack of sleep in today's fast paced civilization. This was fairly well done and very informative. We learn how lack of sleep contributes to numerous accidents around the world everyday and also increases one's risk of developing serious diseases such as cancer and Alzheimer's Disease. Also not enough sleep is a significant problem in the school system as most schools in the U.S. open way too early for teenagers to get adequate sleep which definitely decreases their ability to learn and concentrate at school. I felt this documentary was on the point. I've long believed society needs to slow down but unfortunately I'd be shocked to see things get implemented to insure people work less hours and more people get hired to work the extra jobs that would open up if people say could not work more than a limited number of hours per day to allow a mandatory 8 hours for sleep a day/night which is a necessary requirement for a good life. But our fast-paced world seems dead set against this. What the long term consequences of all this will be, we will probably see down the road and it might not be pretty. But who knows? We do know sleep is necessary to good health though. **** out of ***** stars for the documentary.

[Jack]

Evils of the Night (1985) - some people (I'm not even going to bother calling them aliens) come to earth and hire a couple of sleazy guys who run a garage to kidnap local kids; they need to draw their blood to extend their lives. The first third of this is little more than a softcore porno, and the remaining two-thirds is spent with the sleazeballs capturing kids, the kids escaping, the sleazeballs chasing them down, etc. Characters were nothing and the plot didn't even rise to the level of nothing. Despite the ample nudity it only rates a 2.5/5.

Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988) - a private detective is looking for a teenage runaway and discovers a cult of, well, Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers. This was kind of fun, it's done in that style where the detective does a bunch of voice-overs and despite the low budget trappings, Michelle Bauer and Linnea Quigley manage to inject a bit of personality into their characters. 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

THE RULING CLASS (1972): The 13th Earl of Gurney dies, leaving Jack (Peter O'Toole) as his only heir; unfortunately, Jack is a schizophrenic who believes himself to be God. An acid black comedy (with musical numbers!) that gleefully throws dirt on the grave of the British class system, while simultaneous warning that its ghosts may still be prowling the countryside. 4.5/5.

[Jack]

Horror House on Highway Five (1985) - some students are sent to some town to do research on a German scientist who came to America after WWII. But one of them gets kidnapped by some screwy guy and his retarded assistant, and apparently the scientist is still roaming the streets killing people and wearing a Richard Nixon mask. Or something like that. Man, best cure for insomnia ever. All the actors seem as if they're coming off an all night drunk. 1.5/5.

Autómata (2014) - in the future solar flares have caused most of Earth's population to die, leaving only a few million who have built robots to do most of their work for them. Antonio Banderas is investigating reports of a malfunctioning robot, and stumbles across some robots who seem to have become intelligent and stopped following their basic programming. I thought this was pretty good, other than the heavy accents which left much of the dialogue unintelligible for me. The plot was really interesting though. The special effects with the robots were pretty impressive as well. 4/5.

[claws]

Evils of the Night (1985) - some people (I'm not even going to bother calling them aliens) come to earth and hire a couple of sleazy guys who run a garage to kidnap local kids; they need to draw their blood to extend their lives. The first third of this is little more than a softcore porno, and the remaining two-thirds is spent with the sleazeballs capturing kids, the kids escaping, the sleazeballs chasing them down, etc. Characters were nothing and the plot didn't even rise to the level of nothing. Despite the ample nudity it only rates a 2.5/5.

No mention of the blonde's amazing hair? 

[lester1/2jr]

I think I loved horror house on highway five

A Good Marriage - This got some really really bad reviews on IMDB but again, those people are donkeys. It's no Misery or The Shining but its good. It starts off like so many movies with rather clunky dialogue. Someone needs to figure out a good way to set the stage for the plot that's not just corny awkward jabbering.  Anthony Lapaglia from whatever that show was called is the suburban husband with a horrible secret. Joan Allen is his wife. She's in her 60's and beyond the age you could sell her as a MILF but she doesn't look BAD per say. In general, it doesn't have the dark mood of most Steven Kings stories, it feels more like a drama even though it does have some horror elements.

The story and it's resolution work but aren't super profound or colorful for someone like Steven King. It's kind of like that Twilight Zone where the mannequins come to life or think they do: it's good, but not one of the great top 10 ones. I don't see what people were so upset about though, it's original and suspenseful

4/5

[indianasmith]

Last night I watched FINDERS KEEPERS,  a delightfully creepy horror film
If creepy dolls and creepy little kids both weird you out, this movie is gonna rock your world.
A mom and her little girl move into a new house after the parents divorce, and the little girl finds
a creepy doll hidden in a vent.  She falls in love with the doll, which was previously owned by a 10
year old boy who murdered his entire family in the house - something the realtor did not bother
to tell the mom when she bought the place!
So the doll - or is it the girl - goes on a killing spree - the mom and dad have got to figure out how
to make the doll's malign spirit let go of their daughter - and bad stuff happens.
One very sad note:  Marina Sirtis (Counselor Troi from STTNG) was in this film as the "Crazy cat lady"
who lived next door.  The years have NOT been kind to one of the most beautiful women in ST history!
She did a good job, but seeing her as she is now was kind of sad . . . reminds me that I am not getting
any younger either (even though I am still REMARKABLY good looking).

This movie wasn't great, but it sure was entertaining - a solid 4/5 if not better!

[Jack]

Wages of Sin (2006) - a girl inherits a house from family members she never knew, and she and some friends go to the place to check it out. Turns out a religious fanatic used to own it and sure enough, his spirit is still there. I kind of liked the characters in this, they were for the most part a likable and fun bunch. The problem was the story - it's so cliched that you're just waiting for the inevitable scenes to take place. And the "climax" drags on forever and ever. 2.5/5.

[indianasmith]

I got a free Redbox Coupon, so  rented a pretty dreadful SyFy original called SNAKEHEAD SWAMP.
Some genetically modified Snakehead fish are released into a swamp in Louisiana and start eating everyone in sight.
Poorly written characters and some of the worst special effects ever combine for cheesy fun!

[lester1/2jr]

Jug Face - rural weirdies live in the woods and worship a hole in the ground that they believe gives them good health. the only problem is every once in a while it wants a human sacrifice. When that happens, a guy in the community makes a ceramic Jug Face of the person who is to be sacrificed. This is the story of a teenager in the village and how she copes with the significant pressures there.

The concept here is definitely a cut above the usual horror fare. The acting is on generally on point too and the young lady in the lead is compelling. The music is a little on the basic side: just guitar and bass. It needed a more rural feel with more varied instruments. Also the ending wasn't exactly a home run. they could have used something a little more special towards the end it mostly just ends.

In general though this is strong artisticly and has a relatively unique premise. I enjoyed it 4/5

edit: thought about this today. despite it's indie trappings it is really just a variation on The Lottery http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lottery with other hillbilly horror elements like incest and moonshine

[ChaosTheory]

GRAVITY - This movie was like those Christmas present displays they put up in department stores. Yeah, the presentation is expert but at the end of the day it's still just a very prettily wrapped empty box. 2/10

[JaseSF]

Curse of the Faceless Man (1958): A stone-encrusted body is found at an excavation site in Pompeii. Near it was a jewelry box containing a mysterious bronze medallion with an unusual Etruscan inscription. An Italian archaeologist named Dr. Carlo Fiorillo (Luis Van Rooten) speculates as to whether perhaps the stone man may still have some semblance of life after being buried for 2000 years while medical researcher Dr. Paul Mallon (Richard Anderson) scoffs at the idea. However shortly after the body is uncovered, numerous people near it seem to wind up dead and Mallon's fiancée Tina Enright (Elaine Edwards), an artist, begins to have strange visions of the faceless man.

This low budget rip-off of the classic Universal Mummy movies actually makes for entertaining 1950s style Drive-In fare from B-film director Edward L. Cahn. I rather enjoyed it. Sure one shouldn't think too much about the premise presented but the cast does well here. The addition of Adele Mara to create a potential love triangle was a nice touch. I liked the slow movements of the Faceless Man which start off very slight and hardly noticeable but eventually increase. There's a surprisingly nice little spooky mood and atmosphere created here and the story at times seems strangely poetic. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

[Jack]

The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power (2015) - So Mathayus (who hasn't been played by The Rock since the first movie) is sent on a quest to find some legendary crown which makes its wearer invincible - and he has to find it before some evil guy gets it and takes over the world. This was fun and silly. The characters were a likable bunch, and you've got a hot babe with him on the quest. Plenty of action and the special effects were quite decent. Didn't take itself the least bit seriously. 4/5.

[indianasmith]

SANITARIUM - yet another GRAVE ENCOUNTERS rip-off - a ghost hunting reality show travels to a famous sanitorium where many died of TB back in the day to commune with the spirits.  A VERY slow buildup with a fairly satisfying payoff at the end, although not much in the way of explanation for why these particular ghosts are so p**sed off at the living.  3.5/5

[Rev. Powell]

MST3K: DADDY-O: Pretty middle-of-the-road episode.  First, there's a cute alphabet short. The movie is one of those hip j.d. things with a middle-aged teenage rock singer investigating the death of his friend. Bruno Vesota (who's usually a pretty good character actor) plays the villain and does a really bad Sydney Greenstreet impersonation. Nothing sticks out much except the extended gag over the closing credits---I guess the episode ran short. 3/5.