Recent viewings

[HappyGilmore]

Ernest Goes to Africa- Ernest P. Worrell stumbles upon a valuable piece of property, gets kidnapped because they think he's a secret agent, and winds up in the jungles of Africa.

I liked it, but it's not the best Ernest flick.  A few laugh out loud moments though.

[Torgo]

JACOB'S LADDER  ***1/2 out of ****
Easily my favorite Adrian Lyne film and my favorite Tim Robbins performance to date.  A truly haunting film and (depending on your outlook on life) uplifting at the same time in an odd way.  I remember the first time I saw this film and it scared the living hell out of me.  Ending is a bit abrupt but overall it's a terrific landmark film IMO.

[ulthar]

Last night we watched DEATH RACE 2000:

[RCMerchant]

Saw 1408 last night-One of the BEST movies I've seen inna looong time! 

And I finally seen GRINDHOUSE!!!!

PLANET TERROR- Wow. So over the top gruesome...what's not to love. ONE quibble-the ripping and burning of the film was almost as annoying as when it happened to me in real life at the movies.
Otherwise...great. Loved seeing ol' Tom Savani up on screen! And surronded by such lovely gore and body parts!

As for DEATH PROOF...I loved it too. I can see where some might be felt let down by comparing it to the first film...expecting more of the same ultra violence of PT,but this is a different kind of creature all it's own. A great tribute to all those Terror on the Highway and FASTER p***y CAT type movies! Kurt Russell was priceless!!!!

I wish they would make MACHETE into a REAL movie!

[asimpson2006]

Soylent Green **** out of ****

I already know how it ended before I watched it, but I had to watch this classic film.  I really enjoyed it a lot and now it's become one of my favorite films.  The script was well written and the Nature scene at the center was just amazing. 

[Oldskool138]

Sunshine **1/2 out of ****

I liked 2/3rds of this movie.  It has a great old school style sci-fi plot and characters.  The special effects are top notch and (IMO) rival 2001 insofar as showing planets and ships moving in space like the probably do in real life.  The ship design is spot-on.  The tension in the movie comes from the tension between the characters and the director plays it straight up...asking the audience what would they do in these quasi-realistic situations.

And then they decide to tack on a scary monster at the end apropos of nothing.  They never explain it and it doesn't make sense because of the "realism" in the rest of the story.  In story about a ship flying towards the sun, the "villain" should be the intense heat and radiation from the sun...not some out-of-focus boogeyman (you never really get to see it because the director decided to make the monster all shaky and out of focus).  That really dragged the film down for me.

I recommend it but be warned about the WTF factor when the monster arrives to chase nubile crew members around the Icarus.

[Killer Bees]

Sunshine **1/2 out of ****

I liked 2/3rds of this movie.  It has a great old school style sci-fi plot and characters.  The special effects are top notch and (IMO) rival 2001 insofar as showing planets and ships moving in space like the probably do in real life.  The ship design is spot-on.  The tension in the movie comes from the tension between the characters and the director plays it straight up...asking the audience what would they do in these quasi-realistic situations.

And then they decide to tack on a scary monster at the end apropos of nothing.  They never explain it and it doesn't make sense because of the "realism" in the rest of the story.  In story about a ship flying towards the sun, the "villain" should be the intense heat and radiation from the sun...not some out-of-focus boogeyman (you never really get to see it because the director decided to make the monster all shaky and out of focus).  That really dragged the film down for me.

I recommend it but be warned about the WTF factor when the monster arrives to chase nubile crew members around the Icarus.

Spoilers Ahead!!


I agree there Oldskool.

I trie really hard to like the movie.  I was fully expecting it to be a favourite.

It was good until the bad guy showed up.  I was expecting it to be like Alien or Event Horizon.  My son loved this one, but even he wanted to know how the guy survived alone for 7 years before the rescue.  And I kept expecting them to show the guy up close and hideous.  Sure he was burned, but you barely got to see it.  And what's the deal with making disfigured/retarded/inbred villains super strong and super agile?

[Torgo]

ZODIAC  (director's cut)  **** out of ****
David Fincher's best film to date and just an all around fantastic film.  It's slow pace and attention to the smallest detail won't be for everybody, but I found it to be fascinating stuff. I had read the book Zodiac years ago but it was something to see it all made into a film.    A magnificent cast and the murders are genuinely unnerving and unsettling at times.

[Shadow]

I've been on a Full Moon kick these days, as I got several box sets from them lately. I've been working my through them, jumping from one set to another. All ratings are out of a possible ***** (5). Some I am seeing for the very first time, others for the first time in many, many years.

Shadowzone ****
Netherworld **
Seed People ***
Bad Channels **
Dollman ****
Demonic Toys ****
Doctor Mordrid ****
Crash and Burn ****
Subspecies ****
Arcade *

[CheezeFlixz]

I've been on a Full Moon kick these days, as I got several box sets from them lately. I've been working my through them, jumping from one set to another. All ratings are out of a possible ***** (5). Some I am seeing for the very first time, others for the first time in many, many years.

Shadowzone ****
Netherworld **
Seed People ***
Bad Channels **
Dollman ****
Demonic Toys ****
Doctor Mordrid ****
Crash and Burn ****
Subspecies ****
Arcade *

I bought every BOX Set they had when they were half price with free shipping in Dec, I got them quick, but Subspecies and Trancers were on back order. I haven't started watching them yet, I still have dozens of other movies I haven't watched yet.

But I'm watching now ...

Wishmaster I, II, III, IV

[Oldskool138]

Spoilers Ahead!!

It was good until the bad guy showed up.  I was expecting it to be like Alien or Event Horizon.  My son loved this one, but even he wanted to know how the guy survived alone for 7 years before the rescue.  And I kept expecting them to show the guy up close and hideous.  Sure he was burned, but you barely got to see it.  And what's the deal with making disfigured/retarded/inbred villains super strong and super agile?

****SPOILERS*****

I was getting a Event Horizon vibe from the last third of the movie, too.  Having the "monster" be the captain of the Icarus One made no sense...because even if he survived 7 years on his own ship (horribly burned and insane) how could he have sabotaged the airlock and made it on board the Icarus Two...and not be noticed by the other crew members.

Plus, I don't know why they had to go back to the Icarus One right away.  Why not complete the mission first and if it fails, go back and get the other nuke.

However, seeing these special effects makes me want to see a remake of The Black Hole (minus the cutesy robots) in the worst way.

[Rev. Powell]

DUCK, YOU SUCKER (1971): A bandito (Rod Steiger) and an Irish terrorist and master dynamiter (James Coburn) cross paths during the Mexican revolution of 1910.  An attempt by Leone to remake his spaghetti western style to fit a lighter buddy movie template, against a backdrop of terrible slaughter; there a constant problems achieving a consistent tone.  I started a thread here.  LESSON LEARNED: James Coburn should not be allowed to have theme music. 

2/5 slimes.

THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994):  In 1947 an innocent man wrongly accused of murder is sent to a penitentiary full of life-affirming symbolism and free of racial tension.  Well-crafted and engaging, especially in the third act when it takes on the character of a thriller with clues dropped earlier coming together in a truly satisfying resolution.  Easily one of the top ten movies of 1994, but I'm baffled that it's #2 in the IMDB's all time movies.  People need to see more movies!  LESSON LEARNED: Morgan Freeman has a secret power that prevents characters in historical dramas from noticing or acknowledging that he is of African descent.  (see also: UNFORGIVEN).

4/5 slimes.

[JaseSF]

Till the Clouds Roll By (1946): Slightly overlong biopic about the life of songwriter/composer Jerome Kern. Its best moments come from the musical performances of such stars as Frank Sinatra, Angela Lansbusy, Lena Horne, Judy Garland, Tony Martin performing music Kern had written for some of his fantastic stage plays including SHOWBOAT, LEAVE IT TO JANE, OH BOY and SALLY. The story of Kern's life ultimately proves far less captivating than his music although Robert Walker does well in the role and this movie proves to be for the most part an uplifting, positive experience. *** out of *****

[Dawley]

Godzilla (1998) 3/5

I'm guessing that everyone knows the plot: a giant lizard/dinosaur rampages through a large city, destroying famous landmarks and asphalt roads in abandon. This one, though, is the infamous Roland Emmerich-Dean Devlin production, a remake of the original Japanese Gojira film. In this one, an irraditated iguana swims from the French Polynesia islands to New York City in order to nest, and a bunch of scientists and reporters have to stop it.

Anyways. I saw this movie at the movies back in '98, so that might explain why I don't really understand why people hate it so much. I watched it again mostly for the nostalgia factor.

[HappyGilmore]

Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie- A sequel film to the movie "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie."  Basically, a space pirate wants to marry an evil warlord, so she kidnaps a wizard to open the Nemesis triangle.  Then she kidnaps two former Power Rangers, who happen to still be friends with one or two of the current rangers, and a chase ensues between the Rangers and Divatox. 

I gotta say, the villain and the female rangers are HOT.