Recent viewings

[lester1/2jr]

The Haunting (1963) - the annoying chick from East of Eden goes to a huge awesome mansion and freaks out over the scary sounds she hears, as do the other people who are for some reason there. I didn't get this one. it seemed more like vaguely hip sort of play than a horror movie or even a thriller. the dialogue was clever generally speaking and the house was cool but it's not The Innocents or certainly not Psycho. I guess if you are willing to trade scariness for different more involved dialogue ...shapes than this is your movie. I came close to not getting it at all

2/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"Home Alone" (1990)
Inadvertently left behind when his extended family heads off on a holiday trip to Paris, 8 year old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) must defend his home from a pair of bumbling burglars (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) in John Hughes and Chris Columbus' enduring holiday family classic. I hadn't seen this one in quite a few years, my 9 year old had never seen it before... and we both laughed all the way through it.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Violent Naples" (1976)
Umberto "Nightmare City" Lenzi directed this Italian "Dirty Harry" wanna-be about a tough police inspector who gets transferred to Naples to help put an end to the city's organized crime problem. Yup, that's the whole plot. In other words, a bunch of guys with rad '70s mustaches and wide lapels get into fistfights, car chases and gun battles for 90 minutes. Poorly dubbed but  entertaining action nonsense.

[dean]

The Sint:



Based on the Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas this movie is a horror-holiday cash in. That being said it's decently ridiculous for a low budget horror and served its purpose well.

Basic plot: Many centuries ago an evil saint and his 'helpers' terrorized Amsterdam until he was burnt to death by the people. Since then whenever Sinterklaas (kind of Dutch Christmas) falls on a full moon he comes back to exact his revenge.

Plot includes: Grizzled PTSD stricken cop whose family was brutally murdered by Sint 32 years prior.

Teens who give dildos for presents and generally are rowdy sorts.

Holiday traditions (in this case poem readings, hidden presents, Kruidnoten candy and blackface)

A chase sequence involving a horse on roof which was suprisingly ok given the budget.

Canals and boats.

It's a very Dutch film and very paint by numbers but there's a few good kills in here and enough silly to make it fun viewing for the holidays. You know you're going ok when the make up artist gets a high billing 3/5

[JaseSF]

The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992): The Muppets put their spin on Charles Dickens' classic Christmas tale with Michael Caine starring in the Ebenezer Scrooge role. This is surprisingly good and fun although it has its sad and serious moments too. Not quite at the level of many other versions of the story, still this proved better than I expected. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

The Great Muppet Caper (1981): Kermit, Fozzie, and Gonzo play a pair of twin reporters and their photographer respectively who travel to Britain to investigate a jewel theft, the victim being a famous fashion designer named Lady Holiday (Diane Rigg) although Kermit mistakes her for her new secretary Miss Piggy.

This seems a lesser Muppets offering to me. Don't get me wrong, the characters are their usual entertaining selves but the whole spy heist thing makes for a surprisingly dull plot a lot of the time here even with the presence of Diana Rigg. Honestly the Muppet stuff proves more entertaining than the human stuff here with the Happiness Hotel stuff being a bit of a highlight in an otherwise lackluster Muppets offering. *** out of ***** stars.

South Pacific (1958): A musical set on A South Pacific island during World War II featuring a young nurse Nellie Forbush (Mitzi Gaynor) falling in love with a mysterious exiled Frenchman Emile (Rossano Brazzi) who the army hopes will help them in a top secret military mission alongside one Lt. Joseph Cable (John Kerr) who finds unexpected romantic sparks fly too when he meets a young native girl named Liat (France Nuyen).

This surprised me by how entertaining it really was. For a musical, I felt this movie had a surprisingly manly edge with its lead male characters. While not all the performers actually did their own singing here, I liked the characters and storytelling enough I can overlook that perhaps more than some others would. All in all, I enjoyed this more than I expected, kind of an old fashioned love story. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Yours, Mine, and Ours (1968): Frank Beardsley (Henry Fonda), a widower with 10 children, unexpectedly finds romance with a widow named Helen North (Lucille Ball) who also has 8 children of her own. Can the 20 of them possibly all come together as a family?

Enjoyable 60s comedy/family drama loosely based on a true story has some great moments. Surprisingly enjoyable and fairly wholesome, nothing like this would likely get made nowadays. Biggest problem here is Ball and Fonda are kind of too old for the roles they play although the two of them both give fine performances here nevertheless. Fun. ***1/2 out of ***** stars.

Christmas Caper (2007): After nearly getting caught in her last heist attempt, a thief named Cate Dove (Shannen Doherty) decides to lay low by babysitting her sister's kids while she's on vacation. With Christmas approaching, will Cate get caught up in the spirit of the holiday season or will she use it to pull off a grinchly new heist.

OK throwaway Christmas TV Movie. Mostly forgettable but Doherty proves surprisingly likable in this. *** out of ***** stars.

[indianasmith]

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.  Nuff said.

[JaseSF]

Some Christmas favourites (which I've all discussed in this thread previously) I've watched yet again so far....

A Christmas Story (1983) - 5/5
Christmas with the Kranks (2004) - 3.5/5
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989) - 3.75/5
Home Alone (1990) - 4/5
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992) - 3.5/5
Holiday Inn (1942) - 4/5
Christmas in Connecticut (1945) - 3.5/5
Miracle on 34th Street (1947) - 5/5
Jingle All the Way (1996) - 3.5/5
Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town (1970) - 4/5
The Bishop's Wife (1947) - 5/5
A Christmas Carol (1951) - 5/5
It's a Wonderful Life (1946) -5/5
Frosty the Snowman (1969) - 3.5/5
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) - 4/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"Religulous" (2008)

Comedian, commentator, and avowed skeptic Bill Maher travels the globe to investigate the world's major religions, hoping to unravel the mystery of why Humanity can't all just can't get along. In a nutshell, the message of "Religulous" is pretty much "All religions are completely insane!" That might p**s some viewers off, but if you've ever experienced the slightest bit of doubt about religion, you may find this snarky pseudo-documentary flick enlightening, hilarious, and possibly a bit frightening (Bill interviews a couple of seriously weird/scary mofo's in this thing!). This movie will spark conversation, no matter what side of the religious fence you fall on.

[Rev. Powell]

JACKIE (2016): A look at the grieving Jacqueline Kennedy in the days after her husband's assassination. So solemn you feel like you should stand respectfully through the whole thing. 3/5.

Also I got 2/3 of the way through RABID before the Netflix DVD gave out on me.  I'll try to see if I can play it on my computer instead, it usually handles scratched discs better than the Blu-ray player.

[Rev. Powell]

THE SALESMAN (2016): An Iranian couple act together in a production of "Death of a Salesman," but both the performance and their lives are disrupted when the wife is assaulted in her home by a stranger. Slow-paced but involving picture that turns from a domestic drama into revenge drama, exploring themes of honor vs. forgiveness. I imagine I'll remember this better than the same director's award-winning A SEPARATION, about which I can recall absolutely nothing five years later. 4/5.

[indianasmith]

RACE (2016)  This is a great biopic about Jesse Owens and the drama surrounding the 1936 Olympics.  Very well done, fairly accurate, and quite entertaining.  I particularly enjoyed the portrayal of German filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl.  Solid performances all the way around. 5/5

[Rev. Powell]

LITTLE MEN (2016): Thirteen-year-old best friends find their relationship strained when their parents get into a dispute about money. Keywords: subtle, unassuming, family-friendly, low-key, not bad. 3/5.

[indianasmith]

Last night I watched CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR.  Lots of superheroes throwing trucks at each other, explosions, and earnest dialogue as Captain America and Tony Stark go to war over whether or not the UN should get to regulate the activities of the Avengers.  Lots of goofy superhero fun! 4/5

[lester1/2jr]

The Duff (2015) I had no business watching this



Well, it's no Not Anther Teen Movie or even Mean Girls but I didn't want to strangle myself so I guess it was okay. A girl, the only one in the movie who doesn't weigh 14 pounds, is the Dumb or maybe designated I can't remember Ugly Fat Friend. the "approachable one' in a group you use to get to the good looking ones. She doesn't realize this and when she does she gets upset waah waah waah poor whats her name.

The movies starts off being KIND of raucous and off color but as the love story develops this fades a bit. There's nothing close to nudity and there's no senior prank or any sort of comic, fun side trip to anything that's going on. It's all just this chick and her issue. It took me 3 sittings to get through it really needed some kind of subplot to break it up. The girl was charming though and it's interesting to see what kids are like today (spoiler: they're still awful)

I'll give it a 3.75 /5

[indianasmith]

Yesterday I watched LIGHTS OUT - a nice little horror/ghost story with an interesting twist.  A young woman returns to her estranged mother in order to rescue her little brother from a vengeful ghost that has latched on to her mother; the ghost is afraid of light and can be harmed by bright enough lights.  Overall nicely done and some very effective jump scares.  4/5