Recent Viewings, Part 2

[Dr. Whom]

Dunkirk (2017)

Christopher Nolan's epic about the Dunkirk evacuation of 1940. It is very spectacular and well worth watching. Although strictly speaking a war movie, this is more of a disaster movie, with escape and rescue as the central themes, rather than any fighting. The film uses mainly practical effects, which gives a reality to the scenes. The downside of this is, that you can't have massive spectacular scenes: aircraft only appear in ones or twos, they just have the one destroyer. I suppose you can't have everything. The choice of concentrating on just one small group of soldiers has the advantage of focus, but the disadvantage that everything has to happen to these guys. There is only so many times disaster can strike the same characters before it starts to look like slapstick.  The movie doesn't cross the line, but there is a reason why classic disaster movies had an ensemble cast.
The weakest point is Kenneth Branagh's character. After this movie, you could be forgiven for thinking that coordinating an evacuation basically involves standing alone on a pier, looking worried.

[indianasmith]

Saturday night double feature:

BENNY LOVES YOU (2019) - A 35 year-old toy designer named Jack, who still lives at home with his mum and dad, loses them both in a freak accident on his birthday.  He decided this is the chance for him to remake himself, so he throws out all of his childhood toys, including an Elmo-looking, long-eared plushy called "Benny."  Except Benny doesn't want to leave.  The now-alive toy goes on a killing spree, taking out Jack's boss, his HR director, a real estate agent, Jack's lawyer, the boss's dog - all in a lively and entertaining manner!  This was a fun addition to the "Killer Toy" genre, frankly superior to the endless stream of "Chucky" and "Annabelle" movies. 4/5

WEREWOLF MASSACRE AT HELL'S GATE (2022) Oh, my . . . just RUN, OK?  If this steaming pile of cinematic diarrhea shows up on your screen, take a blowtorch to your television and then bleach your eyeballs.  This is worse than NOAH'S SHARK and FAMILY PROPERTY: BACKWOODS HILLBILLY MASSACRE.  This movie makes the Polonia brothers look like Stephen Spielberg.  It's too late for me, but you can save yourself!  -1/5

[Jim H]

Paddington 2 - Cute, visually very strong and well acted family film.  Excellent ending.  Well worth a watch.

Without Warning - Basically the prototype for the Predator, down to Kevin Peter Hall playing a towering alien hunting men for sport in the woods.  It even has two Oscar winners in supporting roles - Jack Palance and Martin Landau.  Cameron Mitchell and David Caruso also show up for a few minutes.  But, it has a long, flabby middle section that is kind of dull, and the ending is weak.  Only one suspense section works well, but it was legitimately pretty creepy, the section in the cabin in the middle.  So I dunno, a mixed bag.  Not great, but not as bad as I was initially thinking it'd end up.

[Rev. Powell]

INSPECTOR IKE (2020): In a parody of a very specific sub-genre--1970's mystery-themed "movies of the week"---Inspector Ike investigates a murder at an avant-grade theater group. Dead-on camp style, with an absurd sense of humor like a postmodern "Police Squad." Funny: I wish this had a better distribution deal, people would get a kick out of it. The Blu-ray includes a couple of shorts from the same team that are equally hilarious: an Inspector Ike "Word of the Day" spinoff, and a more experimental short where star Ikechukwu Ufomadu (Ike) reviews some artistic pictures with their photographer. 3.5/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"Me, Myself, And Irene" (2000)
A nice guy Rhode Island state trooper (Jim Carrey) has developed a split personality named "Hank" who takes over when things get tough or stressful. This inner battle becomes extra complicated when he is assigned to escort a lovely witness (Renee Zellweger) back to New York State and they're targeted by mobsters. This utterly ridiculous, totally hilarious slapstick road movie is quite possibly Carrey's most manic, over the top performance EVER, which is really sayin' something. Tons of raunchy fun.   

"The Final Alliance" (aka "Tigerman," 1990)
A mysterious drifter (David Hasselhoff) moves back to his old homestead with his pet puma (yes, you read that correctly), where he immediately gets on the bad side of a vicious biker gang who have taken over the entire town. An unintentionally hilarious slice of direct-to-video action cheese bolted together from parts of "First Blood," "Road House," and about a dozen other cheap shoot'em up flicks. The big cat is a better actor than any of the human cast members.

[lester1/2jr]

^ that sounds incredible

[Jim H]

^ that sounds incredible

It's on Tubi for free.  I'm going to check it out.  Can't help it, I kind of like David Hasselhoff and that sounds just about the right level of dumb. 

Also, John Saxon is in it and apparently looks like this:

https://i0.wp.com/www.bulletproofaction.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/GhostFA.jpg?ssl=1

[FatFreddysCat]

Hope you guys enjoy "The Final Alliance," fellas. It was... an experience. :D

Today's viewing:
"Bride of Chucky" (1998)
The fourth film in the "Child's Play" franchise takes a hard right turn into wink-wink horror/parody territory. Chucky is resurrected by his old girlfriend Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly, smokin' hot) and the pair hit the road to find him a new human body. Things get complicated when Tiffany winds up trapped in a doll-body of her own.
I hadn't seen this since it first hit video back in the day and it was better than I remembered. It's got a great cast (in addition to Tilly, the late great John Ritter and a pre-"Grey's Anatomy" Katherine Heigl take part in the mayhem), there's plenty of gore and impressive puppetry FX, plus the soundtrack features Judas Priest (Ripper Owens era, no less!), Bruce Dickinson, Rob Zombie, Monster Magnet, and more. Hong Kong action director Ronny Yu would go on to direct "Freddy Vs. Jason" based on the success of this flick.

...so do I dare re-visit "Seed Of Chucky," which I hated when I first saw it back in the day? Time will tell, I guess.

[lester1/2jr]

the book was better. actors like Hasselfhoff and Kevin Costner do bigger business abroad than here

[FatFreddysCat]

It's on Tubi for free.  I'm going to check it out.  Can't help it, I kind of like David Hasselhoff and that sounds just about the right level of dumb. 

It didn't occur to me till just now that one of the alternate titles for "Final Alliance" is "Tigerman," even though his pet in the movie is a puma, not a tiger. :D

[FatFreddysCat]

"KISS: Beyond The Makeup" (2001)
Cool made-for-VH1 documentary that covers the first 30 years of KISS history through their meteoric 70s rise and fall, the '80s rebirth and the historic mid 90s reunion that put them back on top. This is quite out of date now since it was aired to promote the so called "Farewell Tour" in 2000-01 (which turned out to be merely the "Farewell to the original lineup"), but the vintage clips and interviews are still fun to watch.

[Rev. Powell]

THE OLD MAN MOVIE (2019): Three city children and their farmer grandfather search for their escaped cow, who's going to blow if she doesn't get milked soon. Surprisingly scatological Estonian stop-motion animation involving exploding cows, pooping pigs, and bear anus seen from the inside; the animation is crude and the characters ugly, but the imaginative ridiculousness will satisfy a select crowd. Out on Blu-ray (and presumably streaming somewhere) on August 9.  2.5/5.

[Dr. Whom]

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

A multiverse kung fu extravaganza, that is a fable about family relationships at heart. It moves at breakneck speed and is such a playful romp through the various tropes of the genre, that it simply sweeps you away. Brilliant.

Jamie Lee Curtis ought to get an oscar for a supporting role for this.

[Rev. Powell]

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

A multiverse kung fu extravaganza, that is a fable about family relationships at heart. It moves at breakneck speed and is such a playful romp through the various tropes of the genre, that it simply sweeps you away. Brilliant.

Jamie Lee Curtis ought to get an oscar for a supporting role for this.

Jamie Lee Curtis, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh are all on my personal awards shortlist right now. Also contending for Best Picture, Director, Editing, and Original Screenplay. It will be a crime if it doesn't end up with multiple Oscar nominations, but movies released early in the year are generally forgotten.

[Dr. Whom]

Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)

A multiverse kung fu extravaganza, that is a fable about family relationships at heart. It moves at breakneck speed and is such a playful romp through the various tropes of the genre, that it simply sweeps you away. Brilliant.

Jamie Lee Curtis ought to get an oscar for a supporting role for this.

Jamie Lee Curtis, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan and Michelle Yeoh are all on my personal awards shortlist right now. Also contending for Best Picture, Director, Editing, and Original Screenplay. It will be a crime if it doesn't end up with multiple Oscar nominations, but movies released early in the year are generally forgotten.

I second that. I just singled out Jamie Lee Curtis because she was cast completely against type and did a wonderful job. But I'm afraid that genre movies and general silliness score badly at the oscars. Otherwise Bruce Campbell would have won for Bubba Ho-Tep.