Recent viewings

[FatFreddysCat]

"Hellraiser: Deader" (2005)

http://www.youtube.com/v/2Ftrj6naVgQ

Seventh (!) 'Hellraiser' flick stars former MTV babe Kari Wuhrer as a reporter sent to Romania (?) to track down a cult of so-called 'Deaders' - people who seem to have the power to bring the dead back to life. Of course, a certain Pinhead doesn't particularly like these folks treading on his turf, and she ends up caught in the middle of a fight between the two.

This stylish, extremely gory and disturbing flick was entertaining enough, unfortunately it didn't feel much like a Hellraiser film, since Pinhead's role is limited to a couple of glorified cameos.

I've seen better from this series but I've also seen worse.

[Rev. Powell]

STRANGE FRAME: LOVE AND SAX (2012): In the 28th century, a sax player falls for a songwriter, then searches the moons of Jupiter for her after she hits it big and her manager forces the women apart. The Faustian music contract plot is cliched, but other than that this trippy animation has everything you could ever want in a psychedelic lesbian sci-fi musical. 3.5/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfWe4ehqsWc

Hammer Studios' sequel to their 1959 Mummy film is pretty run-of-the-mill stuff but it's still a fun watch in a kitschy-cool, retro Halloween sort of way.

When turn-of-the-century archaeologists unearth an Egyptian mummy and bring it back to England with plans to take it on the road, the usual nonsense about ancient curses comes back to bite everyone in the ass.

This one took a while to get going but once the Mummy started shambling around London strangling unlucky people, I was entertained.

[Jack]

This stylish, extremely gory and disturbing flick was entertaining enough, unfortunately it didn't feel much like a Hellraiser film, since Pinhead's role is limited to a couple of glorified cameos.

Yeah I think I read that it was a script for a different movie entirely and they just jammed Pinhead in there to make it a Hellraiser sequel.  I thought it was decent but probably would have been a lot better if they'd just gone with the original non-Hellraiser concept, as that stuff was added so clumsily that it didn't make much sense.

[FatFreddysCat]

Yeah I think I read that it was a script for a different movie entirely and they just jammed Pinhead in there to make it a Hellraiser sequel.  I thought it was decent but probably would have been a lot better if they'd just gone with the original non-Hellraiser concept, as that stuff was added so clumsily that it didn't make much sense.

From what I understand, the last couple of Hellraiser sequels (Hellseeker, Deader, and Hellworld) were all originally written as ideas for stand-alone movies, which Dimension Films had re-written into Hellraiser scripts.

[FatFreddysCat]

SCHLOCK-Tober continues with...

Ice Cream Man (1995)
http://www.youtube.com/v/5Idh6YHc5Ic

Clint (Ron's Brother) Howard stars in this kitschy-on-purpose (at least, I think it was on purpose) no-budget horror/comedy cult classic about a psychotic purveyor of frozen desserts whose 'secret ingredient' is ... well, you can probably guess. Cheap, gory nonsense that also stars David 'TMNT II' Warner, Olivia 'Romeo & Juliet' Hussey, David 'American Werewolf In London' Naughton, Jan-Michael 'Airwolf' Vincent, and a whole lotta other people who probably should've known better.

Fun fact: director 'Norman Apstein' is better known as Paul Norman, who's directed hundreds of porn films. Lord only knows what possessed him to take on this project, but to this day 'Ice Cream Man' is his only non-adult film credit.

[Rev. Powell]

GOD BLESS AMERICA (2011): Upon hearing he has an inoperable brain tumor, mild-mannered Frank goes on a killing spree targeting reality TV stars, conservative talk show hosts, and others whom he sees as representing the worst of American mean-spiritedness; he's joined in his project by an outcast teen girl. Bobcat Godlwaith's angry but preachy black comedy is sort of an aging hipster version of Joel Shumaker's FALLING DOWN, but with zero subtlety. Frank doesn't speak in sentences, he speaks in editorials. 2.5/5.

[ChaosTheory]

GOD BLESS AMERICA (2011): Upon hearing he has an inoperable brain tumor, mild-mannered Frank goes on a killing spree targeting reality TV stars, conservative talk show hosts, and others whom he sees as representing the worst of American mean-spiritedness; he's joined in his project by an outcast teen girl. Bobcat Godlwaith's angry but preachy black comedy is sort of an aging hipster version of Joel Shumaker's FALLING DOWN, but with zero subtlety. Frank doesn't speak in sentences, he speaks in editorials. 2.5/5.
[/quote/]


That one was pretty disappointing after Bobcat's last movie WORLD'S GREATEST DAD.

[lester1/2jr]

His movie Sleeping Dog Lie is amazing

Puma Man MST3K version - nice later episode "This always happens, someone always throws me out the window and calls me Puma Man..."

[Rev. Powell]

JOSHUA TREE 1951: A PORTRAIT OF JAMES DEAN (2012): A portrait of pre-fame James Dean as a poetry-quoting bisexual gigolo who dabbles in S&M. Beautifully shot but badly acted, this is celebrity necrophilia dressed up in the shroud of Art. 1.5/5.

[lester1/2jr]

Scream Of Fear (1961) - I had seen this before but forgotten some of the twists and so forth. Susan Strasburg looks amazing playing a women in a wheelchair who  goes to be reunited with her long lost Dad in his gigantic nice house. Something is clearly amiss though and mystery ensues. A fun early Hammer horror and Strasburg is beautiful solid 4/5

[lester1/2jr]

The Forest For the Trees (2003) - This was a kind of ridiculous but engaging and at only an hour and 15 minutes relatively succinct foreign movie. It's low budget which nowadays means a probably fairly nice digital set up of some kind so it looks cheap but it's not hard to see or anything.

A woman gets divorced and moves to a new town. She's a teacher and as it turns out not a very good one, at least in terms of maintaining class discipline. She's shaky coming off her divorce and throughout the movie she gets shakier and shakier. It's awkward, uncomfortable yet not so ridiculous that you don't have empathy for her. kind of one dimensional, but kind of not. You are constantly hoping she'll either lighten up or snap and start shooting people or something. It's frustrating but also funny in a dark sort of way. It could have used some sex and violence but instead opts for "people who fell into the cracks" type solemnity.

I liked it though and the female lead was excellent. It has a few things that it does and does them well 4/5

first review here captures it pretty well http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386862/reviews?ref_=tt_urv

[indianasmith]

This weekend I watched IRON MAN 3 and a zombie film called ZOMBIE HUNTER.

IM3 was a fun popcorn flick, a little deeper than the first two movies in the series, as Tony Stark deals with PTSD after the Battle of New York in THE AVENGERS, and battles a terrorist mastermind known only as The Mandarin.  Another great film in a fun superhero series!

ZOMBIE HUNTER stars Danny Trejo as the leader of a band of survivors of the zombie apocalypse, trying to eke out a meager existence.  They are joined by a tough guy, the "zombie hunter" of the title, and have to flee when their sanctuary is overrun by the undead.  The blood and gore were cheesy CGI, but overall this one was a lot of fun with some over-the-top acting.

[Rev. Powell]

MST3K: SAMSON VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMEN: In the experiment, masked wrestler Samson (i.e. El Santo) battles a clan of vampire women; he also wrestles a werewolf in a match. Fun, goofy movie, but it's overshadowed by the departure of TV's Frank, who is taken up in Second Banana Heaven by "Torgo the White." Dr. Forrester sings the touching lament, "Who Will I Kill?" 3.5/5.

[Rev. Powell]

SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME (2012): Thirty-five years in the life of a waiter who goes through three lovers and one friend, while not visibly aging thanks to a magical suitcase. The detached twee style is unusual, like a sub-anesthetic dose of Wes Anderson, but this experiment in deadpan absurd comedy isn't particularly successful or meaningful. The women are hot, though, particularly Stephanie Hunt in a black bikini. 2/5.