Recent viewings

FatFreddysCat · June 12, 2019, 05:57:45 AM

"Electra Woman and Dyna Girl" (2016)

The superheroine duo from the '70s Saturday morning cult classic "Krofft Supershow" gets a lukewarm 21st century makeover in this cheap looking flick that started out as a series of Web shorts.
In this version, EW & DG (played by YouTube comediennes Grace Helbig and Hannah Hart) decide to ditch their small town crime fighting and try their luck in L.A., the super hero-ing capitol of the world... which goes great for a while, till they have to face their first ever legit super villain.
"EW & DG" wants to be a snarky, self aware super hero parody like "The Tick," but it never quite finds its groove. The two leading ladies make a good team and there are a few funny bits scattered throughout the film, but overall this one falls flat. Skip it.

chainsaw midget · June 12, 2019, 07:47:08 AM

Lego Movie 2

Not bad.
In the Lego World, the heroes adjust to the invasion of Duplo lego's which smash everything cute and wonderful. Eventually the hero has to travel to another dimension when his friends are abducted. Which in the real world plays out as a feud between a brother and his younger sister.

I enjoy the opening where it basically parodies Mad Max, Dark Knight, gritty reboots, and apocalyptic futures. Like the first one, I think the movie falters when it tries to cut between the lego world, and what is really happening. This one also doesn't have as many cameos as the previous one which was part of the charm.

Rev. Powell · June 13, 2019, 09:45:53 AM

GHOST LIGHT (2018): A ragtag troupe foolishly invokes the legendary "curse of the Scottish play" while putting on a performance of "Macbeth" at a remote Canadian farmhouse/theater. The film features great cast led by Cary Elwes and Shannyn Sossamon, with support from the always welcome Carol Kane; the first two-thirds are merely competent, with some weak stabs at suspense comedy, but if you hold on it picks up quite a bit when supernatural entities invade the actual performance at the climax. Drama majors and theater types should dig it. 2.5/5.

Rev. Powell · June 14, 2019, 08:58:05 AM

DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK (2009): Two young druggies and two young churchies find a dead hooker in their trunk and immediately set out to hide the body while pursued by a serial killer and other reprobates. Not exactly what you expect, this is an angry punk feminist black comedy with hateful characters and a lot of gore and gratuitous violence--some absurd and some nauseating--shot on handheld cameras. Didn't work for me, but I can see how some might like it if you're in the mood for a goofy nihilist youth movie. 2/5.

FatFreddysCat · June 15, 2019, 06:54:57 AM

"Secret Agent Super Dragon" (1966)
A suave secret agent is sent to Amsterdam to find the source of a mysterious new drug that's turning clean cut American kids into violent criminals. Unfortunately, the flick is nowhere near as fun as that may sound. This is just another ultra-cheap European spy flick made to cash in on the mid-Sixties' 007 craze. It's got a few pretty girls in it but otherwise, meh. Skip it.

Alex · June 15, 2019, 07:24:47 AM

Wonderland. Animated kid film. I never find these computer animated movies to be quite as engaging as the hand-drawn stuff, but as far as kids movies go it seemed to hit all the right spots. A young girl dreams up her own theme park along with her mother. When her mother falls ill she abandons the theme park, which unknown to her has taken on a life of its own. Forgotten about, things start to go badly wrong and when the girl finds herself in her own imaginary theme park come to life she has to save it from the darkness that threatens to consume it. Schmaltzy stuff, but I am sure the wife will love it.

Rev. Powell · June 15, 2019, 08:46:57 AM

RIFFTRAX: SUPER MARIO BROTHERS: This ridiculous kids movie, which has no plot and barely any relation to the video game besides the title characters but does have Dennis Hopper as a dinosaur, would be fun on its own. The commentary is a bit easy/snarky at times but as always it supplies a couple of chuckles. 3/5.

indianasmith · June 15, 2019, 09:09:04 AM

DARK PHOENIX - The latest installment in the X-Men franchise is an entertaining and visually beautiful movie; some favorites reprise their roles and some new stars emerge. Sophie Turner is beautiful, deadly, and vulnerable as the title character. Worth the ticket price!! /45

FatFreddysCat · June 16, 2019, 08:49:12 AM

"Destroy All Monsters!" (1968)
It's 1999, and Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and the rest of the kaiju crew are safely contained on an island off the coast of Japan... until space aliens take control of the critters' minds, set them free, and turn them loose on major cities. It's up to Earth's defense forces to find the aliens' secret base and regain control of the critters before their Monster Mashin' lays waste to the entire planet!
... before "The Avengers," this was the ultimate cinematic team up movie! It's typically silly rubber-monster fun, with lots of the usual blasting, zapping, buildings falling over, and stuff blowin' up. My inner 8 year old was entertained.

Rev. Powell · June 16, 2019, 03:51:01 PM

THE PERFECTION (2018): After four years of tending to her sick mother, cello prodigy returns to her exclusive school to find another pupil has taken her place; what follows is a tale of revenge where all is not as it seems. It slowly develops into a competent thriller, but true perfection requires more than hitting all the notes as written--the music itself must be sublime. 3/5.

indianasmith · June 16, 2019, 04:30:48 PM

RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)

For Father's Day, my daughters took me to a big screen showing of this classic film from my youth! It was every bit as entertaining and infuriating as it was when I first saw it in 1981. Entertaining because, well, it's Spielberg and the man can make a great movie. Infuriating because it's shamelessly plagiarized from my life - in fact, he was going to even name his character "Indiana Smith" until I threatened to sue.

Oh, and the Ark was not in Egypt. It was buried beneath a truck stop in Spokane, Washington. But the stuff with the Nazis was pretty accurate.

FatFreddysCat · June 16, 2019, 08:41:40 PM

"Black Eagle" (1988)

A CIA agent and martial-arts master (Sho "Revenge of the Ninja" Kosugi) is sent to the Mediterranean to recover some top secret tech from a crashed Air Force jet, before Russian spies can get their hands on it.

A technically well made but ultimately pretty dull espionage flick -- the island scenery is lovely, but Kosugi spends more time talking than kicking ass, which is unfortunate cuz he can't speak English worth a damn.
All the trailers/posters for this flick played up Jean Claude Van Damme's role as if he were the star, but as it turns out, he only has a minor part as a Russian henchman.

Do yourself a favor, fast forward to the climactic fight between Sho and J-C, and skip the rest of this snooze fest.

Trevor · June 21, 2019, 04:07:55 AM

Quote from: indianasmith on June 16, 2019, 04:30:48 PM
Oh, and the Ark was not in Egypt. It was buried beneath a truck stop in Spokane, Washington. But the stuff with the Nazis was pretty accurate.

Why in Spokane specifically?

Gabriel Knight · June 21, 2019, 06:08:54 AM

PRINCE OF DARKNESS (1987)

A research team finds a mysterious cylinder in a deserted church. If opened, it could mean the end of the world.

This is one from Carpenter that I've never seen before, for some reason. I gate it a try and it was totally worth it. While some of the acting is extremely bad, mainly Dennis Dun, the lead cast shines, and both Donald Pleasence and Victor Wong are awesome.
The movie itself has a very creepy atmosphere, making you nervous just by the inevitable doom and not so much because of gore or weird monsters; still, I was a little bit disappointed about the fact that there were very few props, I've read that they intended to include plenty of masks but they accidentaly burned.
The ending is amazing, loved it. That "dream" sequence is very well done btw, it's probably the most scary part of the movie.

Recommended for both fans of horror and/or Carpenter. 4/5

Rev. Powell · June 21, 2019, 08:47:54 AM

SHE'S JUST A SHADOW (2019): The matriarch of a prostitution empire, married to a violent pimp, leads her gang against a rival band of yakuza while a serial killer preys on her girls and one of her lackeys is caught in a love triangle. Director Adam Sherman has clearly seen a Sion Sono or Takashi Miilke flick or two, and while the acting is bland and the cliched and pretentious dialogue elicits some chuckles, the wild colorful visuals are up to his influences, and he has little filter on the sleaze and depravity. Near constant nudity. If you're a fan of modern yakuza exploitation flicks you'll probably dig this. 2.5/5.