Recent viewings

[lester1/2jr]

I saw some of Beer on THIS tv. It's a very disposable comedy not worth seeing. The people who did the Attack of the Killer tomatoes series are involved. The not that hot older blonde from that rodney Dangerfield movie where he does the sick dives is in it. I turned it off when they told David Alan Grier to "be more black" so he started breakdancing and all this stuff. I'll probbaly finish it eventually.

[spongekryst]

The Beast of Yucca Flats- First time seeing this...WOW...I don't I have to explain it, but in a strange sense, I enjoyed it. Sort of in the same way one enjoys Manos. Then again, look what site I'm on. 

[claws]

The Invasion (2007) Blu-ray

I really enjoy this more than I should. It is not the greatest movie ever made and probably the weakest of all "Body Snatcher" movies based on Jack Finney's novel. But I kind of dig those contemporary additions, and I have a soft spot for Nicole Kidman in genre movies. 4/5

[Jack]

House of the Dead (2003) - Ewe Boll's, um...movie.  I was having a few beers while watching this and it basically made me dizzy.  Tons and tons of freeze frame stuff as the camera spins around and around and around.  Little bits of video game footage sprinkled throughout, for reasons no one can guess.  Flashbacks that are like the previous hour of the movie ran past you at fast-forward speed.  I think it was edited together by someone who had to go to the bathroom really, really bad.  I can only guess that Ewe was aiming this at the 8 - 12 year old demographic?  It's just a masterpiece of idiocy.  3/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Ski School (1991)- This was an extra dumb but ultimately pretty entertaining 80's style but early 90's ski ploitation movie. I got it confused with Hot Dog the movie and I was disappointed I didn't see the guy who goes "I'm gonna do a kick ass blaster".

Two annoying, similar looking guys are the head the "partying" ski team. The other team are the jock-y normal team. It's like revenge of the nerds, animal house etc. There are some topless babes, not particularly clever pranks and a contest at the end.

The two guys are pretty irritating but there is enough general absurdity and off the cuff joking " it's not how far we go, its how go we far!" to make it stupidly okay.

3.75/5

[Rev. Powell]

MST3K: BRIDE OF THE MONSTER:  A very good episode (some fans think great).  Starts off with the first part of an excellent short, "Hired" (can you believe they once sold Chevrolets door-to-door?) which is continued in the next episode (MANOS).  Everyone should know the movie: Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, and an octopus, what else do you need for a good time?  Host segments include Crow's disturbing dream, "Hired!" the musical, a peek at what the world would be like if there were no advertising, and a new edit of BRIDE'S climax with Joel and the bots providing Bela's reaction shots.  This was my first time seeing this, somehow I missed it during the show's original run.  A 3.5/5 for now, but it might grow on me.   

[Jack]

[REC] (2007) - A reporter and her cameraman are doing a show about the daily lives of firefighters.  They hang around the station for a while, doing interviews, but then a call comes in and they're off to help a woman at an apartment building.  When they arrive, much to their surprise, a zombie outbreak is just getting started. I really liked this.  It's all filmed on a handheld (and very shaky) camera, but at this point I guess I'm somewhat immune to the annoyance that can cause.  The characters are great - very believable and with plenty of personality.  The action moves along at a frantic pace, and it really made me feel like I was part of the situation, experiencing the stress and confusion right along with the characters.  Oh and Manuela Velasco, who plays the main character, is so hot it's positively sinful     5/5.

[claws]

Heaven (1998)

Architect is drawn into the shady world of a strip club owner thanks to his gambling addiction. More trouble arise when his ex-wife is trying to gain custody of their son. Things get more complicated and even dangerous when the strip club's exotic dancer Heaven - blessed with the gift of seeing the future - predicts violence and death.
Unusual but engaging story line in a movie that defies genre categorizing. Heaven is a little known gem with enough twists and turns to keep one guessing to the very end. Simply brilliant. 5/5

[lester1/2jr]

jack- have you seen the americanized one? I agree on [rec] and the girl especially.

claws- wow the reviews for Heaven are really mixed. some 5, some 1 stars. I'm gonna have to check it out.

[Rev. Powell]

DEAD AWAKE (2010):  Things turn strange for a morbid funeral director's assistant obsessed with an accident in the past when two women suddenly enter his life: his high school ex-girlfriend, and a crackhead who believes he is her guardian angel.  This intended psychological thriller is more interesting as a drama for the first two thirds, but blows everything in the final act with a "you gotta be kidding me" ending.  Side note: Rose McGowan is looking very rough here; appropriate for her role as a strung-out junkie, but some people are saying her look is the result of bad plastic surgery.  2/5. 

[lester1/2jr]

Agnes of God (1985) - This was hard to psych myself up to watch, it appeared sort of drab and lifetimey but I am really glad I finally did. It's really an incredible movie.  kinda the Magdelene Sisters meets The Name of the Rose: drama/ mystery with religous setting and issues of faith and religous authorities misuse of power.

Meg Tilly is Agnes, a young nun who's lived in a convent most of her life and while eccentric and possibly mentally unstable, appears to have taken to the lifestyle to the point of contentment. This, however,  is established AFTER the movies opening of her having a very difficult (and obviously not normal/ expected) childbirth at the convent and the subsequent revelation that infanticide may have occured. No one can figure out what happened and there is a back and forth battle between Jane Fonda, the psychiatrist tasked with analysing Agnes and Anne Bancroft, the protective Mother Superior who's torn between a desire to help Agnes and the need to protect the church and so forth.

Some people might find elements of all this a little on the edgy side but well, when you mix sex, nuns and murder you can't expect a waltz in the park. While it's not actually all that "lifetimey" it does feature quite a bit of dialogue of Fonda and Bancroft talking and Fonda and Tilly and the pacing in general is different than they would likely do it today. I paused it to watch Ninja Warrior a couple times and did watch it in the morning so I mean not to give you a play by play of my viewing experice here just sufficet to say the time doesn't fly by but it's not a drag either. It's regular length 90 or so minutes.



I was very impressed by it and the decisions of the author and the director to really capture the profundity of the whole case. blown away actually.

5/5

[claws]

claws- wow the reviews for Heaven are really mixed. some 5, some 1 stars. I'm gonna have to check it out.

I've been trying to get people interested in Heaven ever since I bought the DVD back in 1999, with little or no luck.
Even though I think the movie had more impact back then, but it still holds up these days.
Such a shame this never got a decent release. The DVD is non-anamorphic letterboxed, with no extras :/

[bob]

MST3K: BRIDE OF THE MONSTER:  A very good episode (some fans think great).  Starts off with the first part of an excellent short, "Hired" (can you believe they once sold Chevrolets door-to-door?) which is continued in the next episode (MANOS).  Everyone should know the movie: Bela Lugosi, Tor Johnson, and an octopus, what else do you need for a good time?  Host segments include Crow's disturbing dream, "Hired!" the musical, a peek at what the world would be like if there were no advertising, and a new edit of BRIDE'S climax with Joel and the bots providing Bela's reaction shots.  This was my first time seeing this, somehow I missed it during the show's original run.  A 3.5/5 for now, but it might grow on me.   

I think I'm in the minority but I found the non-MST3K version better as the plot makes more sense, at least to me. You don't have random people showing up and wondering how they got there. Additionally, I think more people die via inanimate octopus too if I remember correctly. 

[Jack]

jack- have you seen the americanized one? I agree on [rec] and the girl especially.

I saw Quarantine a while back, actually I just ordered it on Blu ray this morning so I'll probably be giving a little summary when I watch it.  I think it was extremely similar to [REC], but I don't remember liking it as much. 

[lester1/2jr]

in the trailer for quarantine I recognized a scene from [rec]. It appeared to be a VERY close remake but I haven't seen it.