Recent viewings

[lester1/2jr]

Stranger on the 3rd Floor - this was on the TCM film noir thingy. I'd never heard of it before and it's not a classic but it was interesting.

A guy helps convict a man of murder. He didn't see the crime but he saw the guy there afterwards. Well, wouldn't you know it, a murder happens in his building and HE 's suspected of it. What a turn of events. The guy he sees is Peter Lorre wearing a long white scarf so the rest of the movie is them trying to find him and whatnot.

This is sometimes thought of as the first film noir, it's a year before Maltese falcon, but it lacks the sort of tension that would define the genre. In fact, it all gets resolved so quickly and absurdly its almost like the director just dropped the ball. luckily others would pick it up.

3.75/ 5

[indianasmith]

MOM AND DAD (2017) - Nick Cage and Tea Leone are typical suburban parents with a wonderfully silly little boy and a rebellious, moody teenage daughter.  But then something happens and all the parents in the country start trying to kill their children - leaving the kids in a desperate scramble to survive as mom and dad are doing their best to snuff them.  Weird premise, fun movie!  4/5

[lester1/2jr]

the Big Heat - another from the film noir TCM thing. it starts off a little clunky. We get that he's a "family man" but do we need to have the first half hour be like Mister Rogers? just get to the story.

A post prohibition mob guy retains his hold on a city, though he has to be more careful than before. A letter written by some guy that names names is floating around and they have to make sure the press doesn't get it. our hero, the Mister rogers cop guy gets involved when the hoods come after his family in a misguided effort to get him to back off.

It resembles a pre code gangster movie, like the one where jimmy Cagney squishes the grapefruit in the lady's face. A young Lee Marvin, yes he was young once apparently, is memorable as a violent hood. Once it gets going it's good though probably not an all time favorite for me.

3.75 /5


also saw 2 different fu manchu movies. anna mae wong was good in one, but Warner Oland was more like fu manchus fat brother in law than fu manchu.  Karloff  in Mask of Fu Manchuhe other one I saw was much better. it was a re watch

[FatFreddysCat]

"Thor: Ragnarok" (2017)
Marvel's Thunder God is cast out of Asgard during a takeover by his long lost sister, Hella - the Goddess of Death. With a little bit of help from his evil half-brother Loki and the Hulk, he has to battle his way back home from a backwater planet run by a maniac (Jeff Goldblum) in order to save his people. 
A fast, funny fantasy flick with lots of action, impressive visuals and a great sense of humor. "Thor" was never my favorite Marvel Comics character but I've been impressed with all of the films in this series thus far. 
Also, coolest use of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" in a movie ever. :D

[lester1/2jr]

We Are Still Here - watcheable but pretty nondescript horror movie in the Conjuring, Insidious vein

3/5

[indianasmith]

DAY OF THE DEAD: BLOODLINES - Five years after the zombie apocalypse, a young doctor named Zoe and a few dozen military and civilian survivors are eking out a meager existence inside a heavily fortified compound.  She leads a raid back to the Medical University where she was working when the outbreak first occurred, in order to stock up on antibiotics due to a bacterial pneumonia breakout in the compound.  She and the team are followed back by a "rotter" who is only half dead - somehow, the extra antibodies his body produced when he was alive left him half-conscious and capable of some rational thought. Of course, he also happened to be the  creepy  patient who was obsessed with Zoe when she was a medical student, and tried to rape her on the night of the initial zombie outbreak.  After he is captured, Zoe tries to synthesize and a vaccine from his blood, even as the zombies that he "turned" are running amok inside the compound . . . a pretty well done and fun to watch zombie flick, if you are not totally burned out on such things. 3.5/5

[indianasmith]

THOR: RAGNAROK - Another Marvel fun-fest with the God of Thunder trying to get back to Asgard to stop his evil older sister Hella from taking over.  Great supporting role by Jeff Goldblum; another superhero hit from the guys who do it best!  4/5

[Svengoolie 3]

DAY OF THE DEAD: BLOODLINES - Five years after the zombie apocalypse, a young doctor named Zoe and a few dozen military and civilian survivors are eking out a meager existence inside a heavily fortified compound.  She leads a raid back to the Medical University where she was working when the outbreak first occurred, in order to stock up on antibiotics due to a bacterial pneumonia breakout in the compound.  She and the team are followed back by a "rotter" who is only half dead - somehow, the extra antibodies his body produced when he was alive left him half-conscious and capable of some rational thought. Of course, he also happened to be the  creepy  patient who was obsessed with Zoe when she was a medical student, and tried to rape her on the night of the initial zombie outbreak.  After he is captured, Zoe tries to synthesize and a vaccine from his blood, even as the zombies that he "turned" are running amok inside the compound . . . a pretty well done and fun to watch zombie flick, if you are not totally burned out on such things. 3.5/5

Yeah,  this is me when it comes to zombie movies. ...

Zombie TV shows...

Zombie books...

Zombie comics...

Zombie video games...

[dean]

Annihilation:

Short version, loved it. Trippier than Arrival with some heady sci-fi concepts. The horror moment in this is also terrifying in one of my favourite constructed tense scenes with amazing sound design. Not sure necessarily if it sticks the landing at the end but this one hits me in all the right places.

4.5/5 must see. Watch when you can concentrate, there's alot going on here and it's asking the audience to do a lot of the heavy lifting as it doesn't readily hand out answers.

[316zombie]

hidden
a very strange movie... i think i need to watch it again before i try to describe it, even though it wasn't very good.

[Rev. Powell]

BLOOD OF A POET (1932): A poet wipes a mouth of a painting and it sticks to his hand, then is sent through a mirror by a statue, and eventually commits suicide... This early experimental film from Jean Cocteau doesn't flow exceptionally well, but it's full of imagination and pioneering visual trickery that he would put to better use in his 1950 masterpiece ORPHEUS. 4/5.

[javakoala]

DAY OF THE DEAD: BLOODLINES - Five years after the zombie apocalypse, a young doctor named Zoe and a few dozen military and civilian survivors are eking out a meager existence inside a heavily fortified compound.  She leads a raid back to the Medical University where she was working when the outbreak first occurred, in order to stock up on antibiotics due to a bacterial pneumonia breakout in the compound.  She and the team are followed back by a "rotter" who is only half dead - somehow, the extra antibodies his body produced when he was alive left him half-conscious and capable of some rational thought. Of course, he also happened to be the  creepy  patient who was obsessed with Zoe when she was a medical student, and tried to rape her on the night of the initial zombie outbreak.  After he is captured, Zoe tries to synthesize and a vaccine from his blood, even as the zombies that he "turned" are running amok inside the compound . . . a pretty well done and fun to watch zombie flick, if you are not totally burned out on such things. 3.5/5

Amazing that this appears to be the same movie I watched, but you definitely have an upbeat way of looking at it.

Here are my final comments on BLOODLINES:
"It is easy to heap insults onto this film because it took a minor classic, and, instead of building on a solid foundation, gutted any social/political meaning from the story and gives you writing and acting that makes you cringe because it depends so much on cliché and stupidity that you cannot muster any concern or empathy for the movie, the situations, and/or the characters."

And here is the link for the full review, if interested:  http://horrornews.net/128654/film-review-day-dead-bloodline-2018/

[FatFreddysCat]

"Batman vs. Two-Face" (2017)
This sequel to the successful "Batman & Robin: Return of the Caped Crusaders" animated movie is another campy-cool cartoon treat for fans of the '60s "Batman" TV show. Adam West and Burt Ward reunite one last time to provide the voices of the Dynamic Duo, untangling a series of crimes masterminded by the evil Two-Face, who's voiced by William Shatner. The always-welcome Julie Newmar drops in to provide Catwoman's voice too. Tons of tongue-in-cheek Bat-fun, but it's also a bit of a bummer because this is the last time we'll ever see Adam West's name on a Bat-Project.

[indianasmith]

JACKALS (2017) - Set in the 1980's - a family hires an ex-Marine de-programmer to rescue their son from a malevolent cult he joined.  Unfortunately, the cultists know where the cabin is that they are taking the young man to, and they come to reclaim their convert - by force.  This is a brutal, violent film from start to finish, and (SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER) the bad guys win.  Well done, but very depressing.  4/5

[indianasmith]

BABY DRIVER (2017) - OK, I don't even like racing movies, but this fast-paced action flick about a young man nicknamed "Baby" who drives getaway cars for bank heists sucked me in from the first chase scene.  Kevin Spacey plays a strong supporting role in this last film before his ostracism in the wake of sexual harassment allegations.  He is the mastermind in a suit who plans these robberies, hires the thugs to carry them out, and uses "Baby" to get them away from the cops, every time.   Just a very fun, strong film overall.  Lily James is great as the obligatory love interest for the young protagonist.  This one was definitely worth the rental.