Recent viewings

[Rev. Powell]

THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (1965): A Spanish soldier seeks refuge in a house during a battle; inside he finds a book, supposedly written by another soldier, who recounts his experiences with evil spirits, cabalists, and gypsies, each of whom tell their own stories (which sometimes involve listening to other characters tell stories, leading to flashbacks inside of flashbacks...) Encompassing everything from Gothic horror to Shakespearean farce, Wojciech Has' 3-hour adaptation of Jan Potocki's epic novel is storytelling in its purest form. A world cinema classic that has been out-of-print in the USA for far too long. 5/5

[claws]

Horns (2013)

A young man is coping with the murder of his girlfriend, but thanks to rumors he remains the main suspect. Booze and rage unleash a devilish force causing the young man to grow horns. The horns make people confess their darkest thoughts and secrets while he investigates his girlfriend's death.

If a movie features a David Bowie song the film is bound to be good. That's my theory. Alexandre Aja's (High Tension) best film to date no doubt. 4.5/5

Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (2015)

Two Boyscouts with identity crisis are caught in the middle of a zombie invasion. With a little help from a cocktail waitress they must fight their way to safety.

I was a bit surprised over the display of random sexism throughout the movie. Something you won't find often in contemporary studio produced movies. This was goofy and fun and has all the ingredients to become a cult film. 4/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"You Only Live Twice" (1967)
! No longer available

The fifth installment in the James Bond series sends 007 to Japan, where SPECTRE is stealing American and Russian space capsules right out of orbit in an attempt to start World War III. In addition to Sean Connery being his usual bad-ass self, "You Only Live Twice" features some seriously cool gadgets and hot babes (Japanese actress Mie Hama, who plays Bond's sidekick "Kissy Suzuki," fills out a white bikini most admirably) and one of the coolest "villain lairs" of the entire 007 series - a rocket launch pad hidden in a dormant volcano.
"Y.O.L.T." also marks the end of the first phase of the James Bond films. It was supposed to be Connery's last spin as 007 but after the brief and disastrous turn by inexperienced George Lazenby in 1969's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," Sean was lured back to the role again by a big payday for 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever."

[lester1/2jr]

King Kong (1933) - I'm the only person who wanted to watch this based on Fay Wray's performance (or rather appearance) in some version of The Most Dangerous Game. It's a classic and stuff too but... she has a kind of unconscious obscenity that I like. Anyway it's also an obviously great vaunted movie so why not.

The jungle scenes where they summon King kong are perfect and would be imitated in every stupid b movie ever. After that, there are extended scenes of Kong fighting various claymation or stop motion or whatever it is dinos. They might drag a bit for contemporary viewrs but they were probably the s**t at the time and certainly the blueprint for Godzilla, which is what they tended to remind me of.

I was surprised that I felt empathy for and eventually started rooting for the ape. All he wanted was the pretty girl. There's a cute scene of him tickling her and sort of enjoying her company and stuff. The spectacle of the Empire State building and so forth was what sold the movie but it's really tragic. At the same time you know... he's king kong and the tribe is barbaric and sacrifices things to him so it's more complex yadda yadda

5/5

[Rev. Powell]

A MONSTER CALLS (2016): A tree-monster comes in dreams to a boy with a dying mother to tell him three stories. Highlighted by delightful watercolor animation in the fairy tale segments, this is a well-done, if simple, allegory that may prove therapeutic to young people in the same position as the protagonist. 3.5/5.

BRAIN DEAD (1989): At the request of a pushy corporation, a neurologist performs experimental surgery on a paranoid mathematician, but when the hallucinations begin he begins to question whether he may actually be the patient. David Lynch on a Roger Corman budget. Not bad. 3/5

[FatFreddysCat]

"Lady Cocoa" aka "Pop Goes The Weasel" (1975)

Cheap blaxploitation saga starring 70s lounge singer Lola Falana as a high maintenance gal who's holed up in a swanky casino hotel under police protection, as she prepares to testify against her mobster ex boyfriend. While she romances her hunky cop escort (who looks like Lionel Richie), some hit men eventually arrive courtesy of her old flame, and the chase is on.
This pic was dreadfully dull - almost nothing happens for its first hour! - and though Falana's nice to look at, her character is such a whiny, loudmouthed beeyotch that after awhile I was rooting for the bad guys! Ignore, delete, destroy.

[Trevor]

"Fearless Fuzz" (aka "Magnum Cop,' "Fearless," and "Fatal Charm," 1978)
...but hey, Joan Collins was still pretty MILF-y when she made this and she gets her boobs out twice, so there's that. Otherwise... not recommended.

Dame Joan was the only reason I saw that film. 

[Rev. Powell]

WE ARE THE FLESH: A teenage brother and sister wandering a post-apocalyptic world find their way to the lair of a hermit, who takes them and seduces them into acting out increasingly depraved, increasingly hallucinatory scenarios. With its explicit sex and psychological sadism, this Mexican provocation is not for the timid. It's noteworthy for its visuals and its rare, poetic praise of perversion, though it's not exactly deep or transcendent. 3/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood" (1988)

It's a showdown in Crystal Lake when Jason crosses paths with a troubled teenage girl who has telekinetic powers (ala "Carrie"). Finally, someone who can give him a good fight!
The seventh installment in the never ending horror series sticks to the tried and true franchise formula for most of its run time (i.e. stereotypical dumb teenagers party, have sex, get killed) but the last fifteen or twenty minutes - when Psychic Chick puts The Big J through the wringer - are some of my favorite moments in the entire "F13" saga. This is one of the few "Friday" movies that I'm not totally sick of.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Scream Blacula Scream" (1973)
The African vampire is resurrected by a voodoo spell in this sequel to "Blacula," and he proceeds to chomp on a whole lot of people while trying to persuade a priestess (Pam Grier) to help him regain his lost humanity.
This silly but watchable blaxploitation horror has dated terribly of course, but it's worth seeing just for the performance by the late William Marshall as the vampire - the rest of the cast seems to be camping it up but he plays Blacula completely straight and intimidating, plus his deep-as-heck bass voice is totally bad-ass. Cool retro stuff.

[lester1/2jr]

I Killed My Mother - This isn't a horror movie in fact it's not even very dark though it's a pretty good title you'd have to say. If you ever fought with your Mom, this might be somewhat painful to watch. People get sick of seeing each other every day and transfer their frustrations with life on to the fact that their son never cleans his room or their Mom has the worst taste in fashion. Seriously, the first half hour of this movie, if not the whole thing, is like being in a fight with your Mom circa when you were 16. This is kind of unpleasant.

The sort of gimmick here is that the star also wrote it and he is only 20. He did a good job as writer and actor. He's gay and there's one love scene but it's not full on watch balls dangling craziness. French Canada doesn't really seem like my kind of place a little to liberal. and I live in Massachusetts!

4/5

[Pacman000]

King Kong (1933) - I'm the only person who wanted to watch this based on Fay Wray's performance (or rather appearance) in some version of The Most Dangerous Game. It's a classic and stuff too but... she has a kind of unconscious obscenity that I like. Anyway it's also an obviously great vaunted movie so why not.

The jungle scenes where they summon King kong are perfect and would be imitated in every stupid b movie ever. After that, there are extended scenes of Kong fighting various claymation or stop motion or whatever it is dinos. They might drag a bit for contemporary viewrs but they were probably the s**t at the time and certainly the blueprint for Godzilla, which is what they tended to remind me of.

I was surprised that I felt empathy for and eventually started rooting for the ape. All he wanted was the pretty girl. There's a cute scene of him tickling her and sort of enjoying her company and stuff. The spectacle of the Empire State building and so forth was what sold the movie but it's really tragic. At the same time you know... he's king kong and the tribe is barbaric and sacrifices things to him so it's more complex yadda yadda

5/5

The director's original plan was to film Komodo dragons fighting apes on miniature sets.   This was before they had a story; he was a jungle film/documentary producer, and he thought the spectical would be cool.  Couldn't get permission to do that, so the idea set on the shelf til RKO asked him to help them out.  He then retooled Willis O'Brian's unmade "Creation" film into King Kong.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Atlantic Rim" (2013)
When giant monsters rise from the bottom of the ocean and menace the East Coast, mankind's only hope is a squad of giant robots piloted by humans, including David Chokachi of "Baywatch" and rapper "Treach" of Naughty By Nature.
...in case the title (and the Z-list casting) didn't give it away immediately, this was the Asylum's cheese-and-crackers budget version of "Pacific Rim," complete with the usual terrible acting and laughable CGI effects. I should have re-watched "Robot Jox" instead.

[Rev. Powell]

MST3K: THE SCREAMING SKULL: Pearl and her cohorts dress in penguin suits in an elaborate practical joke; when Mike and the bots don't feel pranked, they're sent THE SCREAMING SKULL as punishmnet. The movie is boring and predictable; the riffs are the only thing making it watchable. The Gumby short "Robot Rumpus," however, is a fan favorite and a nice change from the stuff they usually show, and there's a hilarious slapstick sketch where Crow pretends to be a skull to scare Mike. It all averages out to an average episode. 3.5/5.

[javakoala]

Castle of the Living Dead (1964)

Christopher Lee invites a small group of traveling performers to his castle. Being such a fan of the arts, he wants them in his collection...OF STUFFED HUMANS!!! A bit creaky but entertaining horror film plays out like some weird fairy tale. The acting isn't the best, but it has plenty of atmosphere. Also, Donald Sutherland in his first credited film role. Actually, "roles" as he plays three different characters in the film.

3/5


Im Schloß der blutigen Begierde (1968) AKA Castle of the Creeping Flesh

Loopy hijinks abound in this tepid thriller about a Baron whose daughter was raped and killed. He intends to bring her back to life, but he needs a few bits and pieces to finish the task. Enter a group of well-to-do partygoers. You can see where this one is headed.

Am I the only one freaked out by Michel Lemoine's eyes in this film? Oh, and the film takes a sudden twist for an artsy ending that just ends. Weird.

2.5/5


Wild Ones on Wheels (1962)

Small gang decide to follow an ex-con who may lead them to a $240,000 payday. We get dancing, gun play, a chickie run that goes horribly wrong, a dead ex-con, betrayal, and Ray Dennis Steckler in a decent supporting role. Not a bad way to spend 90 minutes.

3/5