Recent viewings

[FatFreddysCat]

"Drag Me To Hell" (2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXN3r1EGXZ4

Sam "Evil Dead" Raimi returns to his horror roots with this tongue-in-cheek tale of a young woman whose poor decision making lands her at the business end of a particularly nasty gypsy curse. Supernatural sight gags and lotsa jump scares ensue as she tries to break free of the bad mojo. Slight, but fun little time waster with great special effects and typically twisted Raimi humor.

[indianasmith]

MONSTER FROM BIKINI BEACH  -was a pretty neat little retro horror about a giant aquatic monster that attacks and devours go-go dancers.  Some of the dialog is truly groan inducing, as when the dancer Boom-boom tells her boyfriend, whom she calls only "Detective" - "I think that crime was what cause my brother's murder!"
Horrible monster costume and go-go dancers everywhere, this is a movie that is truly a movie.

(For the record, I think I saw a trailer for it posted on here a couple years ago under a different title)

[alandhopewell]

MONSTER FROM BIKINI BEACH  -was a pretty neat little retro horror about a giant aquatic monster that attacks and devours go-go dancers.  Some of the dialog is truly groan inducing, as when the dancer Boom-boom tells her boyfriend, whom she calls only "Detective" - "I think that crime was what cause my brother's murder!"
Horrible monster costume and go-go dancers everywhere, this is a movie that is truly a movie.

(For the record, I think I saw a trailer for it posted on here a couple years ago under a different title)

     This one....?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXa4Y2VlQ2Y

[indianasmith]

That's the one, but I think it was originally posted as some Alabama swamp monster ("WHOOPASS" or something like that, maybe?) that was related to a giant catfish.  Same actors, same monster costume, same bikinis in the trailer  - maybe they decided to change the title to make it more retro?  Anyway, it is a TRUE B-movie all the way around!

[FatFreddysCat]

"Wreck-It Ralph" (2012)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87E6N7ToCxs

Disney's latest smash hit is kinda like a "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" for the video-game generation. The villain of a vintage '80s arcade game is tired of being the bad guy so he goes "game jumping," hoping to find a way to be the hero for a change. When he gets stuck in a racing game called "Sugar Rush" (imagine a Strawberry Shortcake version of Mario Kart) he befriends a fellow misfit and helps save the day when some giant angry alien bugs crash the party, too.

My kids and I all loved "Wreck It Ralph," it was beautifully animated, packed with action, funny as hell and had a warm heart. If you've ever played video games, you need to see this movie, it's a blast!

Watch for the cameos by tons of vintage game characters including Q-Bert, DigDug, Pac-Man, Sonic the Hedgehog, and many more!

[akiratubo]

Paranormal Activity 3

It's much better than the first one, at least in as much as I was able to sit all the way through this one.  It's creepy when it's just a little girl talking to her invisible friend, and the invisible friend is doing stuff like perving on her parents, spooking out the babysitter, and locking her mean sister in the closet.  Then it turns into a movie about a witches' coven and their pet demon.  WTF???  The first two acts are good, but then that crap comes out of nowhere and scuttles the movie.  Still, if these things keep improving at this rate, the fifth or sixth one ought to be really good.

[Jack]

The Ninth Gate (1999) - Johnny Depp stars as a rare book expert, hired by a mysterious rich guy to authenticate his copy of The Nine Gates, a supposedly demonic text. There are only two other copies in existence, and Depp finds that the illustrations in each book differ somewhat. And after he meets with the other two people who own copies of the book, they soon turn up dead. Is Depp's employer behind the killings, and what is his plan once he collects all the illustrations from each book? I enjoyed this. Depp does a good job as the cool nerd book detective, the plot kept me intrigued throughout, and it's got a nice atmosphere of mystery about it. 4.25/5.

[ChaosTheory]

V/H/S (2012)

M/E/H.

[claws]

Paranormal Investigation Triple Feature with the family today:

1. The Innkeepers (2011)

Because of bad business an old and supposedly haunted hotel is about to close. Working their final weekend two young employees split shifts and do a bit of ghost hunting on the side. When they discover a violent spirit spooking about in the cellar events turn from creepy to deadly.

Another slow burner from Ti West. Solid effort as usual. 4/5

2. Red Lights (2012)

Already watched and posted a review here two weeks ago. 4/5

3. The Awakening (2011)

1921: a female author and paranormal investigator goes spirit hunting in a boarding school for young boys. She soon finds evidence of ghostly activity but must also face ghosts from her own past.

UK filmed chiller with excellent setting and cast. Some drama and a tender non-corny romance certainly adds to the movie. 4/5

[JaseSF]

The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1989): Sequel to The NeverEnding Story continues where that one left off albeit with a much different cast with Jonathan Brandis now in the role of Bastian and John Wesley Shipp now playing the role of Bastian's father.  While not as epic as the original and perhaps a little too far removed from that movie, this is still not as bad as it's often made out to be. In fact, I enjoy quite a lot about this movie and our hero here does in fact seem more legitimately threatened than in the first film. On some levels, I actually prefer it to the original (although I know I'm probably in the minority there). Clarissa Burt does a great job as the villainous Xayide and Martin Umbach is  equally good as her somewhat reluctant sidekick the birdlike Nimbly. Some fun monsters in this one too even if the story sometimes rings a tad hollow rather like some of its characters. Still, I'd give this a solid ***1/4 out of ***** stars.

Mexican Hayride (1948): Abbott and Costello star as two con men on the run from the cops who wind up down in Mexico and the Bullfighting arenas with the cops close on their trail. Some fun moments here with the funniest bit involving Costello getting trapped inside the bullfighting arena facing off with a bull on the run. Also enlivening things here is Luba Malina as a possible love interest for Costello named Dagmar. The scene in which she tries to seduce him so she can steal his hidden money away is a lot of fun. Also enjoyable is the disguised as Mexicans routines featuring Abbott and Costello who initially don't recognize one another and also Costello dressed up as an old Mexican woman. Still while entertaining, this isn't really Abbott and Costello at their very best. I'll give it ***1/4 out of ***** stars.

The Dark Eyes of London (1939): Bela Lugosi stars as an insurance con artist named Dr. Orloff who uses the appearance of offering kindness and charity so he can manipulate others into doing his bidding. Aside from that, those he insures have a tendency to wind up drowned in the Thames River under mysterious circumstances. Scotland Yard Inspector Holt (Hugh Williams) and a visiting Chicago detective named Lt. O'Reilly (Edmon Ryan) investigate and eventually discover at least one of these victims, a man named Henry Stuart, was murdered. Trying to help Stuart's daughter Diana (Greta Gynt), Holt and O'Reilly soon turn their focus towards Orloff and his shady dealings.

While arguably a bit slow and creaky at times, this nevertheless remains an enjoyable murder Edgar Wallace inspired mystery film albeit one more in the vein of outright horror than most with Wilfred Walter adding a truly creepy dimension as the deformed henchman who stalks the nights - Blind Jake. Lugosi too is in great form as usual and comes across as a truly evil person who gets his kicks manipulating others while using the guise of kindness to hide behind. The only really problem here is that a surprise twist just isn't as convincing as it should have been and the speed of the British talk is a tad hard to follow at times. Still I rather enjoyed revisiting this creepy, atmospheric little murder mystery (although the mystery isn't truly that difficult to unravel) filled with shadows and things that can bump you off in the night. I'll give this a solid ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

[Jack]

Leprechaun (1993) - Jennifer Aniston looks totally hot for 90 minutes. Meanwhile, a nasty little Leprechaun terrorizes a group of people at a rural house. Far more comedy than horror movie, it mostly manages to be cute. It did make me laugh once though. The characters were well developed and I'll give it a 3/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Mexican Hayride sounds like something that happens to tourists that's like not good. " little did he know he was being taken on a Mexican hayride..."

Flesh and Blood - jennifer Jason Leigh is naked quite a bit and looks amazing. Flesh and Blood ably succeeds in recreating the filthy anarchic medieval time period but at 2 hours could have used a slightly more complex plot to keep the viewer engaged. Still, plenty to like and see 4.5/5

[claws]

Sucker Punch: Extended (2011)

Girl(s) Interrupted meet Kill Bill, Showgirls, Lord of the Rings, Black Swan and Terminator 2. I can see why this movie bombed. Not only is it not very original, but can you say repetitive? This was like watching four The A-Team episodes in one sitting: Babydoll dances, cue girlie music and start the same mission x 4. Besides that, the first 15 minutes were the hardest I ever sat through.
I've made it through obviously and I'm left somewhat drained, though I have a feeling that Sucker Punch will slightly improve on a second viewing. However, director Zack Snyder deserves a punch in the face DIRECTLY, just because. 3/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"Moon" (2009)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twuScTcDP_Q

Quirky "2001"-esque sci-fi story of a lonely corporate corporate drone (Sam Rockwell), stationed at a solitary lunar mining station. His three-year "hitch" is almost up and he can't wait to get back home to Earth, but when his replacement suddenly arrives, it opens up a mystery that I can't really reveal without spoiling the whole thing. Props to Rockwell, who carries the bulk of the film as a solo performer (and also to Kevin Spacey, who provides the voice of the HAL 9000 style computer). Offbeat and interesting. Useless trivia, the director (Duncan Jones) is David Bowie's son.

[SynapticBoomstick]

Warm Bodies (2013) - I know what you're all thinking. I thought it, too: the idea sounds like Twilight with zombies. All across the internet that was all I heard and the only still you ever got was of an Edwardy zombie. Well prepare to have your bubbles napalmed.

First, a lot of movies might go for the "Edward" look with their young lead actors but Mr. Zombie Protagonist is certainly no Eddie. He's clumsy, slack-jawed, and not at all thrilled by the Un-life.

Now that that's out of the way I can cover a little of what you can expect from this movie. Yes, it is a love story about a zombie who falls in love with a human and gradually regains bits of humanity but what made it actually enjoyable is that those involved with the film knew how ridiculous a senario that was and portray it as such. Scenes don't drip with emo tones and there's no, "Oh, you could kill me at any second but I LOVE YOU." Girl knows he's a zombie and girl's all like, "Oh, HELL no!" I was very happy that this movie went out of its way to point out, "You see that senario over there? Isn't that f******* stupid? How can they be serious about that senario?" The result is a comical farce on the supernatural love story that fits into multiple genres without being any of them.

And yes, there are also more evil zombies in the film that just want to eat your livers. You've got your recently zombified folks and you've got "Bonies", and bonies are bad business. I thought they were cool as hell.

Warm Bodies: a better concept than I first thought and a good lesson on why you shouldn't judge a film by its poster.

4/5 - I have seen far better and far gorier zombie flicks but I havn't seen one this original.