Recent Viewings, Part 2

lester1/2jr · October 10, 2026, 12:48:39 AM

M.10rda - That's awesome.

Also, I tried to watch Human Centipede. I liked the concept, but it was a little too much for me when push came to shove ( I'm 51). I might try again tonight.

Dr. Whom · October 10, 2026, 05:53:18 AM

Project Hail Mary

Based on the buzz, I was expecting this to be a lot more serious. Instead, it rather reminded me of early Star Trek (TNG rather than TOS) and I do mean that as a compliment: two people thrown together to solve a deadly menace through ingenuity, showing basic faith in humanity (or rockiness?). The 'science' is basically plot devices. I found it also interesting that the alien used basically Japanese grammar.

They made a bold choice of combining the roles of the protagonist and comic relief into the same character, but Ryan Gosling pulled it off. Altogether very enjoyable, if a bit cheesier than I expected.

M.10rda · October 10, 2026, 08:11:45 AM

Quote from: Rev. Powell on October 09, 2026, 12:52:10 PMCHRONOVISOR (2026): a priest's suppressed invention allowing a viewer to watch any event from the past as if it were a video recording

I've been meaning to write a play about this very subject/concept for 20 years.

This has happened a few times. Ah well, fame eludes me yet again!

Rev. Powell · October 10, 2026, 12:02:46 PM

I'm sure you know, M.10orda, people recycle premises all the time. I would be surprised if there wasn't a story before "chronovisor" using the same basic idea.

RIFFTRAX: CARNIVAL OF SOULS: Some will think riffing this is sacrilege, and I'm sympathetic. This is a terrible way to view this movie for the first time, or even the second or third. After that, when you know the story pretty well, the idea of inserting jokes into it stings less. It's one of the earlier rifftraxs, and they haven't really found their voice yet: there are some extended skits that are a bad idea. When they make jokes about the organ score or the pervy guy, it works; when they make jokes implying the movie is tedious or mocking Candace Hilligoss' performance, they come off as boorish. 3/5. As far as I can tell this is the third best movie RT has ever taken on, after CASABLANCA and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.

lester1/2jr · October 10, 2026, 03:31:55 PM

Human Centipede (2009) - Well, I girded my loins or whatever and proceeded on with this thingy. In the end, it was kind of a modern version of "I Spit On Your Grave": you could view it as just overtly shocking or as a kind of metaphor of modern life. ISOYG was life chews you up and spits you out, so you have to come back and kick it's ass. Human Centipede is like the government makes us work a billion hours a week and live in tiny living spaces and takes all our money or something.

The Japanese guy was a decently interesting character, the two influencer/ sex worker types less so.

I'm not going to watch the sequel where they make a 50 person human centipede or something.

4.5/ 5

FatFreddysCat · October 10, 2026, 08:42:22 PM

"Demons 2" (1986)
Those pesky Demons are back and this time they're escaping out of TV screens to invade a luxury high rise apartment building. Once again, gory action packed mayhem ensues.
Lanberto Bava's sequel to his 1985 surprise hit has even less plot than the first film, but the effects are suitably gross and it moves so fast that you don't have time to think about how silly it is till it's over.

Dr. Whom · October 11, 2026, 02:23:59 AM

Quote from: M.10rda on October 10, 2026, 08:11:45 AM
Quote from: Rev. Powell on October 09, 2026, 12:52:10 PMCHRONOVISOR (2026): a priest's suppressed invention allowing a viewer to watch any event from the past as if it were a video recording

I've been meaning to write a play about this very subject/concept for 20 years. This has happened a few times. Ah well, fame eludes me yet again!

The Historical Blindness podcast did an episode on the Chronovisor recently. It is a Patreon exclusive, however.

FatFreddysCat · October 11, 2026, 05:58:23 PM

"The House By The Cemetery" (1981)

A professor and his family move into an old New England home with a sordid past, and encounter a ghostly girl and a murderous ghoul in the basement. Gory hilarity ensues.
Lucio Fulci's follow up to "The Beyond" is kinda like a spaghetti remix of "Amityville Horror" with a pinch of "The Shining." It doesn't always make much sense, but the gore flows hot and heavy, and it's got creepy atmosphere to spare. One of the better Italian horrors of the era.

Dalmatian Bobby Samaritan · October 11, 2026, 09:41:48 PM

Quote from: Rev. Powell on October 10, 2026, 12:02:46 PMRIFFTRAX: CARNIVAL OF SOULS: Some will think riffing this is sacrilege, and I'm sympathetic. This is a terrible way to view this movie for the first time, or even the second or third. After that, when you know the story pretty well, the idea of inserting jokes into it stings less. It's one of the earlier rifftraxs, and they haven't really found their voice yet: there are some extended skits that are a bad idea. When they make jokes about the organ score or the pervy guy, it works; when they make jokes implying the movie is tedious or mocking Candace Hilligoss' performance, they come off as boorish. 3/5. As far as I can tell this is the third best movie RT has ever taken on, after CASABLANCA and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.

I don't see the point of RiffTrax. I was trying to watch one called Robot Wars and it had J Downing from Ghoulies 2 in it. And whatever the movie was there were Asians there as part of like some Weyland Yutani sort of hierarchy thing. Or overseeing operations. One of the guys was Yuji Okumoto. So all things equal. Whatever make fun of the people on the lousy film. Both the anglo guys in the corny uniforms with the corny lines and the Asians. The so called RiffTrax geniuses just totally shut their yappers everytime the asians were on. Sometimes when the asians were on and having a lot of dialogue they would be quiet (the RiffTrax guys) and then finally say something belittling to or at one of the anglo guys. Even when the Anglo guy wasn't saying anything. Like just there on screen. And uh, we have to say something.

I called those guys out as bums. I know who am I. And I know tread lightly with what I said. But its like you gotta find allies out here. I can find millions of things that make me laugh. And to be enthralled you have to just I guess make your own Robot Wars movie or go rob a liquor store. Needless to say I saw that RiffTrax also did the movie Split Second that had Rutger Hauer and I heard the peer pressure voice in my head saying, oh come on. You know you want to. You know you want to hear those guys clown on that movie. That sorry movie Split Second.
Well actually I thought Split Second was pretty good. I feel like if I heard RiffTrax I would literally drive over to their house and punch them in the face. What they do is actually not that hard. Just put yourself in some kind of constant Abnormal but "normal" state. I guess. Sort of like people who have to talk about Riquelme's Alien Skeleton..Or the Peru Alien skeleton which has been proven to be a hoax.

Dalmatian Bobby Samaritan · October 11, 2026, 09:52:27 PM

Quote from: lester1/2jr on October 10, 2026, 12:48:39 AMAlso, I tried to watch Human Centipede. I liked the concept, but it was a little too much for me when push came to shove ( I'm 51). I might try again tonight.

Something is wrong with a person's brain if they want to watch the movie Centipede. And alone? By yourself? Decently interesting. What the twilight zone is this? Oh yeah I forgot. Shh Shh.. I am the weird one. "My posts." As"history teacher." God Jamie Ruskin could probably hire some of you people as bait for his fishing trips and you all with your vegetable brains would sign up willingly. Oh yes! Please me!

Ok I saw Screamers. Nothing much to say about that. Jessica must have been someone that broke Phillip Dick's heart.

Rev. Powell · Reply #5950 - Re: Recent Viewings, Part 2

HONEY BUNCH (2025): A husband takes his wife to a remote clinic to recuperate and regain her memory after an accident left her in a coma; once there, she hallucinates and suspects everything is not as it seems. The buildup is too slow in this relationship drama couched as a horror movie, but if you can stick with it, it pays off in the second half. 3.5/5.

I probably benefited from the fact that my player crashed during my first viewing, and rather than reloading it I chose to watch the rest the next night. Audiences main complaint is it was so slow-moving they lost interest before the twist arrives, but it was much stronger in the back-half.

M.10rda · Reply #5951 - Re: Recent Viewings, Part 2

So FTR, I believe I watched most of HUMAN CENTIPEDE alone as my wife bowed out after 10 minutes or so. Too creepy for her. I ain't proud, it's a (ahem) different kind of movie, I didn't hate it. Antonin Artaud's Theater of Cruelty is a Thing. You can lean away from the railing if you please and you're probably a better person for it, or you can allow morbid curiosity to overcome you and lean forward. Me, sometimes I Lean Back and sometimes I Lean Forward - in this case, Forward.

I like Rifftrax well enough, though the three funniest guys on OG MST3K aren't a part of Rifftrax. (Just imho.) If you want to see white folks parody Asian folks, I've reviewed easily a dozen 1910-1950 films on here in the past several months where white folks parody Asian folks.

To each their own!

Rev. Powell · Reply #5952 - Re: Recent Viewings, Part 2

I thought HUMAN CENTIPEDE was really obvious and boring. Yes, the horror MacGuffin is icky, but besides that the execution was bog-standard.

M.10rda · Reply #5953 - Re: Recent Viewings, Part 2

I spent a lot of time during HC thinking about what the heck the three (four? I don't even recall now) victims would do if they somehow did escape. What kind of surgery would be necessary to recover from being a human centipede? I gather the a-piece would just have some weird scars on their tush. I'm overthinking this, aren't I?