Recent viewings

[pizdatrica]

Night of the Living Dead (1990)- I really liked this one because, unlike most remakes, it stays true to the original plot. I really liked the ending to this one, we see these "rednecks" really enjoying hunting the zombies, lynching them and shooting them, it really shows what I think is the main point of zombie movies, our craving for violence. Who's to say if there was a zombie apocalypse that most people wouldn't have a blast massacring them.

[Jack]

You gotta check that one out Claws   

I would love to, but it's only available for streaming on amazon in the U.S. I think? They don't allow people outside the states to watch their streams, and I haven't seen any kind of DVD release so far 

Yeah I watched in on Netflix in the US.  They've got a number of oddball titles that aren't available on DVD.

[Jack]

Deep Space (1988) - hadn't seen this one in ages. Charles Napier stars as a police detective who investigates a crashed satellite. Turns out it's a government satellite and they were doing some sort of biological warfare experiment (yeah it's a monster) and the thing is soon on the loose and killing random civilians. Just a plain ol' good cheesy '80s horror movie. Napier does a great job in the lead role, Ron Glass is entertaining as his sidekick, the monster is fairly cool looking and the action moves along at a good pace. Nice sense of humor to it as well. 4/5.

Panga (1991) - some sugar plantation owners in East Africa are driving around and come across a local tribe about to sacrifice a goat during some ceremony. Of course they rush in and save the goat, much to the chagrin of the insane witch doctor who was about to sacrifice it. He - or something mysterious - stalks and kills everyone involved for the rest of the movie. This was fair; slow moving, especially towards the end. The characters were just barely interesting enough to keep me from getting too bored. There was some gorgeous scenery, but not nearly enough of it. It managed to maintain a bit of atmosphere throughout, just through good theme music and decent production values. 2.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

1 (2009): All the rare books in a bookstore are mysteriously replaced by an anonymous book titled "1" that describes in numbers what is happening to everyone in the world during one minute's time; the "Reality Defense Council" steps in to investigate. "1" strange movie. 4/5.

[Jack]

[REC]³ Génesis (2012) - a newlywed couple has a bit of a zombie apocalypse problem at their wedding reception. Kind of a departure from the previous two films as it's fairly tongue-in-cheek and ditches the handheld camera thing in the second half. This was okay. A bit like any other funny zombie movie nowadays I guess. The bride was kind of amusing as she hacked up zombies with a chainsaw. The groom was a pretty dull character. No atmosphere at all. 3/5.

[Rev. Powell]

MST3K: THE MAGIC VOYAGE OF SINBAD: Sinbad (well, he's not Sinbad) travels through distant lands and even Neptune's undersea kingdom searching for the Bird of Happiness. In the final sequence Joel mystifies the bots with a catfish puppet; they can't figure out how he pulled off the illusion. Other than Roger Corman's hack dub job, these Russian fairy tale movies weren't "bad" in the way most of the dreck the crew watched usually were; SINBAD is actually exotic and pretty to look at and would be quite watchable even without the humorous commentary. 4/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

Just watched "Wreck It Ralph" with my kids for what's gotta be the third (or maybe fourth) time now. Still a riot. I think this movie has finally replaced "Cars" as my kids' Numero Uno Favorite Movie.

...which is fine with me cuz I'm terminally sick of both "Cars" flicks. :D

[ChaosTheory]

MY NEIGHBORS THE YAMADAS (1999)
Based on Hisaichi Ishii's comic strip, it follows the day-to-day life of a middle class Japanese family: mom, dad, adolescent son, little daughter, grandma and dog.  It doesn't have a narrative arc per se, more a series of sketches. Lightweight but enjoyable.  The English-voiced version features Jim Belushi, Tress MacNeale & Molly Shannon.
7/10

[claws]

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)

Mandy Lane (Amber Heard) is the hottest girl at school - sexy & cute but also sort of innocent. When a group of friends decide to spend a fun weekend at a farm they ask Mandy to come along. Upon arrival Mandy discovers disturbing things, like pools of blood on a dirt road or shadows of a person sneaking around the farm. Soon enough a killer starts stalking the partying teens and the reason why seems to be Mandy Lane ...

Much sought after Slasher that never had a regular theatrical run or home video release in the U.S. because of distribution troubles, though various Blu-ray and DVD editions have been available in Europe throughout the years. I wasn't exactly thrilled during my first viewing (I blamed the hype) but the movie did grow on me and has become a personal favorite. Mind you this is not the new holy grail of teen-terror flicks, but it is a stylish, well done Slasher with old school charm and art house feel. 4.5/5

[Jack]

Battle: NY, Day Two (2011) - some alien CGI thingies come to earth and infect everyone with nanobots that turn them into laughably stupid zombies. Of course there are a small group of people who aren't infected, and they spend most of the movie standing around a warehouse. They're not really developed or likable for the most part. Eventually they leave the warehouse and blast some zombies with utterly comical CGI blood splatter effects. There's a plot which they don't mention until you're two-thirds of the way through the movie. It makes no sense at all. Overall it's cheap, amateurish and boring. I'll be really nice and give it a 2.25/5.
 
The Tenant (2010) - thirty (or so) years ago, a doctor at an insane asylum was doing some genetic research. His nurse was jealous of his relationship with his wife, so she injected his pregnant wife with some yucky stuff which turned her kid into deformed creature. Flash forward to the present, and some kids have a flat tire and stop at the now abandoned asylum looking for shelter from the rain and cold. You know the drill. I liked the part from 30 years ago the best, as the characters were well developed and the acting was good. The stuff with the kids is just run-of-the-mill. Not much suspense and they kill off all the cute girls first    Meh, 3/5.

[lester1/2jr]

The Unholy Three - pretty silly but good. 3 circus guys and a girl who's a ringer/ pickpocket in the crowd during their shows open a pet store (?) ( with a gorilla in it!) and do crimes from there. Lon Chaney is the pet store owner dressed as an old lady , hans from Freaks (!) is the evil dwarf who pretends to be a baby and the last one is the strongman. That's the Unholy 3.  Hans is hard to understand but it doesn't matter, he has some great stuff. This has "rare" written all over it though I don't know that it is. My favorite scene was when they hid these jewels in a toy elephant and the police detective picked it up. random but fun 4/5

[RCMerchant]

The Unholy Three - pretty silly but good. 3 circus guys and a girl who's a ringer/ pickpocket in the crowd during their shows open a pet store (?) ( with a gorilla in it!) and do crimes from there. Lon Chaney is the pet store owner dressed as an old lady , hans from Freaks (!) is the evil dwarf who pretends to be a baby and the last one is the strongman. That's the Unholy 3.  Hans is hard to understand but it doesn't matter, he has some great stuff. This has "rare" written all over it though I don't know that it is. My favorite scene was when they hid these jewels in a toy elephant and the police detective picked it up. random but fun 4/5

I saw this too-the 1930 sound version,right?
It IS silly-but so much fun!
Its rare because it was Lon Chaney Sr.s first-and last sound film. He died that year of throat cancer. Oddly enough,his son Lon Chaney Jr,died of throat cancer in 1973. He even did an anti smoking commercial for TV before he died. Its not on You Tube-It dosent seem to exist anymore-but I remember seeing it on TV-and it was wrote about in Famous Monsters magazine.

[claws]

Detention (2011)

I first viewed this last year and wasn't too fond. Detention seemed silly, annoying and hip with tons of current and past pop culture references. I must say I actually liked it on my second viewing. This movie is special and not as stupid as it seems. Once you get over the unusual style you're in for a special treat if you are willing to give it a shot. 4/5

Kaboom (2010)

Sci-fi Comedy about sexual awakenings of a few college kids - so you'll get gay sex, lesbian sex, gay + straight sex mixed, straight sex, threesomes, sexual dreams, internet porn, masturbation, puking and what not. Quite a few hilarious moments and I'm pretty sure the over-the-top sci-fi subplot has a deeper meaning. 4/5

[lester1/2jr]

RC- Hans is awesome in it. Was he in anything else?

[fulci420]

I first viewed this last year and wasn't too fond. Detention seemed silly, annoying and hip with tons of current and past pop culture references. I must say I actually liked it on my second viewing. This movie is special and not as stupid as it seems. Once you get over the unusual style you're in for a special treat if you are willing to give it a shot. 4/5

I really greatly enjoyed this movie. I could see how people would be annoyed by the constant pop culture references but for me everything just came together wonderfully. The director Joseph Kahn is a prolific music video director and it shows in this film because the mix of music and visuals on display here is really fantastic and the best part of the movie for me.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZIji_V8f1I

I saw
Runaway Train-(1985)Wow I expected this to be a solid action movie but what I got was something much more. Jon Voight and Eric Roberts lead as two convicts who end up on a runaway train (surprise!) in the process of escaping from a prison. Voight is the hardened prison legend and is completely believable in the best role I have seen from him. Eric Roberts is the naive hanger on in over his head. The characterization is strong and the interactions within the train are excellent and emotionally resonant. And then there's the astounding ending. As it is for most movies I think Ebert describes it better than I ever could.

"The ending of the movie is astonishing in its emotional impact. I will not describe it. All I will say is that Konchalovsky has found the perfect visual image to express the ideas in his film. Instead of a speech, we get a picture, and the picture says everything that needs to be said. Afterward, just as the screen goes dark, there are a couple of lines from Shakespeare that may resonate more deeply the more you think about the Voight character."

Highly Recommended