Recent viewings

[Kaseykockroach]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmDfw11xFCQ
I couldn't get through the first thirty minutes of Puppet Master, but liked this for some reason. I'm not sure what's wrong with me.

[Jack]

Motor Home Massacre (2005) - a group of friends goes on a camping trip and as usual, there's a psycho killer on the loose. It took forever to get going, the first murder didn't take place until the end credits should have been rolling. The characters were fun, and extremely well endowed I must say. The big a-hole guy got old pretty quick, but other than that it was good cheese. Even I knew who the killer was before their identity was revealed - that's a first lol. Definitely didn't take itself too seriously, but it wasn't completely stupid either. Well, I say it wasn't completely stupid but I also give Asylum films 5/5 stars. Anyhow, this was about a 3.5/5. Extra .5 points for the cleavage.

[Rev. Powell]

THE NUDE VAMPIRE (1970): A wealthy young man discovers his father is part of a group holding a vampire captive, trying to determine the secret of immortality. This is one weird, arty, and sometimes very bad vampire flick; it's hard to predict how you'll react to it but there are several "wow" moments.  In the interest of truth in advertising, it should have been titled "The Vampire in the See-through Nightie."  I think 3.5/5 for this board, lower for "normal" folks.

[indianasmith]

I watched a new movie called THE DEVIL'S ROCK last night.  Two British SAS types sneak out to one of the Channel Islands the day before D-Day to sabotage a large artillery piece that is there to protect the Channel crossing routes.  They find the entire German garrison dead except for one evil doctor type.  All have been slaughtered by a powerful demon the Germans summoned which can assume the form of any woman, living or dead, in order to seduce her prey to vulnerability before she slaughters them and feeds on their flesh.  Interesting performances, cute demon chick.

[Jack]

Humongous (1982) - some kids are out boating and due to one of them being an idiot, the boat sinks and they end up stranded on a remote island. A remote island where a mysterious hermit lady is said to live, along with her pack of guard dogs. And did I mention she was raped 30 years earlier? You know what that sort of thing can sometimes lead to in horror movies. I have vague memories of seeing this on TV back in about 1985, and I'm happy to report it fulfilled my expectations completely. Definitely not the fastest paced movie, but the atmosphere of the island, the appropriate theme music, and the overall direction and acting kept it suspenseful. Oh it's a horror movie from 1982 so there's certainly a bit of cheese, but overall it's very serious. The characters were fairly likable - except for the idiot but thankfully he's the first to meet his doom. I'll be a bit generous and give it a 4.5/5.

Also tried to watch The Living Dead Girl (La Morte Vivante) from 1982. Turned it off halfway through. Gawd that was boring. The sort of life-sucking boredom that leaves you confused as to whether you're actually still  conscious or not.

[Jack]

Dinocroc vs. Supergator (2010) - some scientists in Hawaii are experimenting with methods to make plants grow to enormous proportions, and Mr. Evil (David Carradine) calls up and says "Hey, why don't you try that stuff on an alligator and a crocodile - that would be cool!" So they do, it works well and they win the Nobel Prize. No no no, of course not. Our two mega-critters escape, kill pretty much everybody at the lab, and then go in search of bikini babes for snacks. A government agent who was investigating Evil Co. teams up with a cute conservation officer to save the day. This was just pure fun. The two main characters were likable and enjoyable, and for that matter so were all the secondary characters. The pacing was great, always some bikini babes we've never seen before showing up and Dinocroc and Supergator hot on their tails. The CGI wasn't that bad, and I got a chuckle out of the way our antagonists would grow or shrink depending on the size of their environment. All the weapons had infinite ammo capacity, our heroes were involved in an exciting chase where Supergator was after them as they drove a Jeep (which due do an unfortunate camera angle revealed they were only doing about 20 mph) - a good time was had by all    4/5.

edit:  Oh my favorite part was when some guy was standing in ankle-deep water and Supergator was somehow hiding in there and jumped up and ate him   

[JaseSF]

Charly (1968): Charlie Gordon (Cliff Robertson), a mentally retarded bakery worker, volunteers for an experimental surgery which it is hoped will help increase intelligence in people like him.

Robertson gives a fantastic performance here for which he won an Academy Award, and rightly so IMO. Robertson's performance is the main reason to see this one but also it doesn't pull any punches with regards to its subject matter and how cruelly others can treat those mentally challenged. This has some bittersweet moments going for it too. Claire Bloom also provides good support here as Charlie's teacher Alice Kinian. Unfortunately though, this also is pretty dry and dull for a bit of its running time, the rest of the cast just seems to be going through the motions and there's some odd, arty moments here that don't come off quite as well as perhaps one would like. Still, an unusual little film that'll make you look at the world a little differently on more levels than one. ***1/2 out of ***** stars

Kill Cruise (1990): Following a series of events that saw his wife leave him and a man die after falling overboard from his sailing yacht the Bella Donna, the Skipper (Jürgen Prochnow) struggles to continue on spending most of his days pining away drinking in a local club. Meanwhile, two struggling singers/performers named Su (Patsy Kensit) and Lou (Elizabeth Hurley) at Gibraltar night clubs, English girls hoping to make a new start meet the Skipper and eventually convince him to take them to Barbados on the Bella Donna. The journey though which will take four weeks will not be easy and eventually jealousy and suspicious surrounding a romantic triangle rears its ugly head.

This was pretty bad but mainly for its murderous twist ending, which seems to come totally out of left field and doesn't seem to gel with events proceeding it at all. The majority is general soap opera fare mixed with a bit of survival at sea thrills but mainly soap opera fare. The acting is pretty terrible (although Prochnow is believable in his row and gives the best performance here) and I suspect the main appeal of seeing this film is to get a glimpse of a young Hurley topless although at this point in time, Kensit was actually the more attractive of the two actresses involved here. Tries to be some type of exploitative thriller but fails terribly in that regard. ** out of ***** stars.

[RCMerchant]

TOOTH AND NAIL (2007)-This is one of those After Dark Horrorfest-8 Films To Die For things...and it is really really bad. The world goes too hell because-well-the gasoline ran out.So a bunch of weirdos decide that cannabilism is an alternative to going to the supermarket.
The good guys fight them off. Micheal Madsen-one of the only name actors-is a cannabil-and before he gets anything interesting to do-is killed off. It all goes downhill from there.
Why can't the cannabils go hunting for deer or rabbits? Or plant a garden? I don't believe our forefathers needed gasoline to make the world go round...and they did fine. Stupid,silly-and a waste of time. Also on the dvd is some nonsense about  is a contest for Miss Horrfest 2007. Some hot looking chicks vie in stupid games to be Miss Stupid Horror Film chick. Gawd-this is lame.

[Rev. Powell]

THE MILL AND THE CROSS (2011): This unusual art movie illustrates the story behind Pieter Bruegel's 1564 painting "The Way to Calvary," describing the stories of some of the characters who appear in the sprawling picture, examining Bruegel's strategy in composing the canvas, and sometimes using the actual painting as a backdrop to the action.  It's done with love and skill, but honestly, sometimes it's like watching paint dry; this would have been excellent at 1 hour. By playing Bruegel, Rutger Hauer became the first actor in history to portray a 16th Century Flemish painter and a hobo with a shotgun in the same year. 2.5/5.

[Vik]

Walkabout
Liked it a lot, though I expected it to get weirder at the end and was disappointed when it didn't.

The Tree of Life
Still excellent this second viewing, though I wish I could see it on the big screen again.

[bob]

so I watched Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace last night for the 5th time

the first time I saw it in the theater I was extremely disappointed

the next 2 times I saw it was on one of the many Spike TV Star Wars marathons and I ended up changing the channel

two years ago I gave this yet another chance and it was much better then I remembered

..........and last night I finally got what Lucas was going for in Episode 1

there are 3 main gripes: Jar Jar Binks and Jake Lloyd being very annoying as well as the phone/communication device by Qui Gon Jinn and Obi-Won Kienobi which aren't in any of the other Star Wars movies

it could be that since I last saw The Phantom Menace that I've seen a lot of crap like Bucky Larson etc. but last night I found this to be mind blowing as well as a reminder why unless I find a film absolutely vile and worthless I give them a few chances to prove themselves

5/5

[Rev. Powell]

there are 3 main gripes: Jar Jar Binks and Jake Lloyd being very annoying as well as the phone/communication device by Qui Gon Jinn and Obi-Won Kienobi which aren't in any of the other Star Wars movies

You forgot "Darth Vader built C3P0" and "it's extremely boring."

That makes 5 gripes by my count. 

[Jack]

Night of the Blood Beast (1958) - an astronaut returns to earth but his ship crashes and he dies. Then he comes back to life later on. There's also a monster that's hitched a ride on the spaceship, and he's planted alien seahorses inside the astronaut. Yup, alien seahorses. Some people investigate this whole thing and of course they want to kill the monster, but the formerly dead astronaut seems to have some psychic link with it and is convinced that it means no harm. Who's right? Stay timed for the thrilling conclusion. This was watchable. Characters were okay I guess and the one girl was quite cute. Other than that it was just kind of dull.  2.5/5.

[JaseSF]

The Big Sleep (1946): Based on the Raymond Chandler Philip Marlowe novel of the same name, this stars Humprey Bogart as Marlowe and Lauren Bacall plays his love interest Mrs. Vivian Rutledge who just might somehow be tied in with those behind a series of murders Marlowe hopes to solve even if Marlowe was initially hired by Mrs. Rutledge's father General Sternwood (Charles Waldron) to resolve gambling debts his other daughter, the wild Carmen Sternwood (Martha Vickers) owes to a bookseller named Arthur Gwynn Geiger.

Amazingly good film, a true film noir classic filled with great scenes, great lines of dialogue especially the wisecracks, terrific interaction between Bogie and Bacall, a story full of twists and turns and a very convoluted plot that'll leave you guessing and quite possibly scratching your head in confusion but this one remains so consistently entertaining, you won't care. This for me is one of those films that involves you so deeply in its world one loses touch with reality while watching it so completely captivates your attention. Even the smaller bit characters have memorable scenes, one particularly important scene involves the typically  excellent Elisha Cook Jr., that'll stick with the viewer. Films just don't get much better than this one. ****1/2 out of ***** stars.

[RCMerchant]

  There's also a monster that's hitched a ride on the spaceship, and he's planted alien seahorses inside the astronaut. Yup, alien seahorses.

I beg to differ-they were actually alien sea monkeys!

Compare-

NIGHT of the BLOOD BEAST empryos-



...and the sea monkeys ....