Recent viewings

[Pilgermann]

In recent weeks:

White Heat (1949) - I'm assuming this was one of the last gangster films with Cagney, and it's a darn good one.  Basically it's Cagney and his gang being pursued and hiding out after a train robbery, and there are all sorts of neat little turns that the story takes, and the ending's great.  8/10

Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) - Another classic and really enjoyable gangster flick.  8/10

Frightmare (1974) - Film about young woman who's raised her young rebellious sister while hiding the fact that their parents are still alive.  You see, at one time their mother murdered and ate people and their father, who loved his wife dearly, tried to hide this fact and protect her, but they were both caught and sent to a mental institution.  After they were "cured" they lived reclusively, but it turns out that the woman is at it again.  Kind of an enjoyable film for the most part, with a likeable cast (the two that played the sisters hardly acted in anything else from what I can see which is unfortunate) but it doesn't really end in any kind of satisfying way.

House (1977) - I've watched this twice within the past 24 hours, I love it!  A group of girls go to visit the the home belonging to an aunt of one of the girls, but lots of weird supernatural stuff happens.  There's really no easy way of explaining the experience of this movie, but it's so creative and crazy, unlike anything else I've watched.  There's skillful camera work, nutty editing, cheesy special effects, great music, and for a movie where a bunch of innocent girls are getting killed off it's oddly joyful.  It's not all senseless and I found it strangely moving.  I dunno, maybe something's wrong with me.  10/10!!!

Here's the great trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN0HVJ5tkIM

[Rev. Powell]

House (1977) - I've watched this twice within the past 24 hours, I love it!  A group of girls go to visit the the home belonging to an aunt of one of the girls, but lots of weird supernatural stuff happens.  There's really no easy way of explaining the experience of this movie, but it's so creative and crazy, unlike anything else I've watched.  There's skillful camera work, nutty editing, cheesy special effects, great music, and for a movie where a bunch of innocent girls are getting killed off it's oddly joyful.  It's not all senseless and I found it strangely moving.  I dunno, maybe something's wrong with me.  10/10!!!

Here's the great trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN0HVJ5tkIM

Everyone here should see HAUSU.

[lester1/2jr]

I didn't get Hausu but I generally don't get Japanese films.

[Jack]

Battlespace (2006) - In the distant future Earth has been destroyed, but everyone lives on colony worlds and two of them are having a big war with each other.  One side has developed a doomsday weapon and a lone female soldier is sent in to try and stop it before it can be deployed.  The story is told to us by the woman's daughter who lives 30,000 years after the events of the movie, and so about 90% of the dialogue is narration from the daughter.  It doesn't make for very good character development, but it's kind of different and I guess we do get to know the main character somewhat.  At the end we move forward to the end of the universe when the daughter is living (played by the same actress who plays the mother) and learn a bit of her story.  Not a bad movie overall, though it drags a lot in the middle and the main character is making an endless trek thorough the desert to destroy the weapon.  The plot is rather unusual and doesn't follow the usual clichés.  The special effects, well;  some of the environments look quite moody and cool, but a lot of other stuff is good for a chuckle.  3/5.

[claws]

Grindhouse (2007) Blu-ray

Quentin Tarantino's and Robert Rodriguez' stylized exploitation double feature including fake trailers is a fun and wild ride. Sadly it bombed at the box office. Maybe the concept was too ambitious, who knows. Either way, it's great and kicks all sorts of ass. 5/5

[Psycho Circus]

Phantom Of The Mall: Eric's Revenge (1989)

I'll keep this short. Guy's house gets burnt down so some dude can build a mall. Guy gets burnt, disappears then reappears to give his ex girlfriend bunches of orchids and hangs out in very dark ventilation systems. It's got Pauly Shore in it and I turned it off after 33 mins.

1/5

[Rev. Powell]

UNCLE BOONME WHO CAN RECALL HIS PAST LIVES (2010): Boonme meets spirits and ghosts and experiences past lives as he calmly prepares for his death.  Unfortunately, it will earn the title "Uncle Boremee" from many viewers, due to the many slow, uneventful scenes between encounters with money spirits and bouts of catfish cunnilingus; the patient will be rewarded with marvelous, mystical scenes.  3/5.   

[Trekkie313]

Bad Teachers was so f**king unfunny and awful that I walked out. I didn't really know what to expect, but I wasn't expecting to utterly despise everyone in the damn movie!

[Flick James]

Bad Teachers was so f**king unfunny and awful that I walked out. I didn't really know what to expect, but I wasn't expecting to utterly despise everyone in the damn movie!

Your first clue should have been Cameron Diaz. Not that she has ever been phenomenal by any means, but she did at least once try. She has become one of the biggest "phone it in" actors I've seen.

[claws]

Skyline (2010) Blu-ray

Those familiar with War of the Worlds (Remake), Cloverfield, and District 9 will experience major deja-vu watching Skyline: Bio-Mechanical aliens invade L.A. and suck people into their spaceships. A couple of friends are trapped inside an apartment and witness extraterrestrial terror through the window.
Stunning f/x but the rest is amateurish SyFy dung. Unsympathetic characters, corny hip-hop tunes and some domestic drama. 3.5/5 Cheese

[dean]

Skyline (2010) Blu-ray

Those familiar with War of the Worlds (Remake), Cloverfield, and District 9 will experience major deja-vu watching Skyline: Bio-Mechanical aliens invade L.A. and suck people into their spaceships. A couple of friends are trapped inside an apartment and witness extraterrestrial terror through the window.
Stunning f/x but the rest is amateurish SyFy dung. Unsympathetic characters, corny hip-hop tunes and some domestic drama. 3.5/5 Cheese

What did you think of the end, and especially, the end credits?

[claws]

Skyline (2010) Blu-ray

Those familiar with War of the Worlds (Remake), Cloverfield, and District 9 will experience major deja-vu watching Skyline: Bio-Mechanical aliens invade L.A. and suck people into their spaceships. A couple of friends are trapped inside an apartment and witness extraterrestrial terror through the window.
Stunning f/x but the rest is amateurish SyFy dung. Unsympathetic characters, corny hip-hop tunes and some domestic drama. 3.5/5 Cheese

What did you think of the end, and especially, the end credits?

The very end certainly left doors open and was very District 9, though I didn't really think much of it. As for the end credits, I didn't stick around to watch them at all. Is there something I missed?

[dean]

Oh I just thought they were silly, the pictures playing over the end credits and laugh every time I think of them...

[Trekkie313]

Bad Teachers was so f**king unfunny and awful that I walked out. I didn't really know what to expect, but I wasn't expecting to utterly despise everyone in the damn movie!

Your first clue should have been Cameron Diaz. Not that she has ever been phenomenal by any means, but she did at least once try. She has become one of the biggest "phone it in" actors I've seen.

I admit, I wasn't fond of her to begin with. Plus I never really saw a movie with her that wasn't Charlies Angels. The trailer unlike many others didn't give away the plot or motivation of the movie enough for me to make judgments beforehand.

[Rev. Powell]

DEEP RED (1975): A pianist witnesses the murder of a psychic and becomes obsessed with discovering the identity of the killer.  Ultra-stylish romp with a cool jazz-rock score from Goblin, featuring some of the Dario Argento's tensest kill scenes. 4/5.