Recent Viewings, Part 2

[Alex]

Horror in the High Desert.

Made during lockdown (which works really well for the talking head interviews), I found this to be surprisingly effective. You wouldn't know that the actors are all friends and family rather than professionals. Isn't brilliant, but it isn't bad either. The idea is that a documentary is being made about the disappearance of a hiker in the wilds of Nevada. Similar to Blair Witch, but with enough of a personality to be its own thing.

About to watch the sequel.

[Alex]

Horror in the High Desert. Minerva.

There are only so many times you can pull off not answering questions in a series of movies before you start to collect "f**k you heat", as in the audience decide you aren't going to give us what we want to see, f**k you I am no longer interested. Towards the end of this one I started to feel that. The first one had some payoff, the second one has nothing. Still not a bad movie and you don't need to have seen the first one to watch this one (although I would recommend seeing it first). If/when the next film comes out though, I'd need to have some kind of payoff or I would just lose interest in the series.

[lester1/2jr]

^ the ending of the first one was epic. second one was slick but just didn't come close and felt committee assembled

Fatal Games (1984) - This could have been good as a horror comedy, like that one with the janitor with Marfins syndrime, but as a straight horror movie it's a real misfire. At the same time, it's so wackily disjointed that it's actually sort of worth seeing. A Blu Ray has recently been released but this isn't that.

It's really 2 movies in one: On the one hand it's a trashy horror flick with ample nudity and violence. On the other, it's a dorky almost Christian movie about a special school for Olympic sports prodigys and how they are trying to make it to the nationals or whatever. The director is clearly schizophrenic. The killer kills people with a javelin then the next scene is someone falling on a dismount and now their training schedule is effected.

Tubi's print is crappy

3.75 /5

[lester1/2jr]

RWD (2015) - First of all: imagine the found footage horror movies that DON'T make it to Tubi !


Okay, this is one for the hardcore found footagers. It tests your patience for sure, but I thought it decently paid off. Two guys who have a ghost hunting show but think the whole thing is stupid go to some spot in the woods on a viewer tip. Sound familiar? It should, it's like 50% of these things but okay...

When they get there, there's definitely something strange going on: interference in their headsets, looking up to see a window close, seeing a guy running away...or did they? It's within the realm of possibility that it's all in their heads. As they ponder their latest episode and dream of youtube stardom, they're confronted with something they did not expect at all. Something I can't tell you, even though probably no one will watch this (maybe Indianasmith).

reviews are mostly negative but I thought it worked as well as a movie that costs nothing could. The guys are annoying and as the thing goes on they get more annoying but again, it gets pulled together well enough.

4.5 /5

[Ticonderoga 64]

The Godfather(1971)
The Godfather II(1972)
Godfather III(1990)
The Good, the Bad & the Ugly(1966)
Dirty Harry(1971)
Unforgiven(1992)

[FatFreddysCat]

"Army Of Darkness" (1992)
In the third installment in the "Evil Dead" series, reluctant hero Ash (Bruce Campbell) has transported back in time to the Middle Ages, and must help a castle full of knights repel a Deadite invasion before he can find his way home. This slap-sticky supernatural action/horror comedy cuts back on the gore in favor of cartoon-violence goofiness, so horror fans may be disappointed, but overall this flick is a ton of fun, loaded with impressive special effects and Campbell chewing the scenery for all he's worth. 

[RCMerchant]

I jsut watched the SHINING for the umpeenth time. Never gets old. I seen it in the theater with my buddy Nick his sister Daphne, and my cousin Linda Stanek. When Scatman got the axe in his chest, she ran screaming into the lobby and never came back. 

[Rev. Powell]

THE MADS ARE BACK: THE PHANTOM PLANET: Focusing on the good and the beautiful, an astronaut is shrunk down to live among tiny people on a migratory asteroid/planet that's being threatened by the ridiculous-looking Solarites. A few chuckles, and it's edited differently than the MST3K version: they showed a scene that wasn't in the MST3K broadcast but cut a major fight for some reason. OK to see once, but next time I'll just watch the MST3K version again instead. Haven't watched the Q&A yet, with cartoonist Bob Fingerman. 2.5/5.

[Trevor]

I jsut watched the SHINING for the umpeenth time. Never gets old. I seen it in the theater with my buddy Nick his sister Daphne, and my cousin Linda Stanek. When Scatman got the axe in his chest, she ran screaming into the lobby and never came back. 

My all time fave 😉😉😉

[RCMerchant]

DERANGED (1974)
Robert Blossum (the scary old guy with the snow shovel in HOME ALONE) is Ezra Cobb, a crazy Mama's boy who robs graves and kills folks to keep his dead Ma company. This is based on real nut job Ed Gein- just as was PSYCHO (1960), the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974) and such. This one follows the facts very closely. It's sick, messy, and...funny in a strange black humor way. Made by the same guy who gave us CHILDREN SHOULDN'T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS (1972), so you know it's quality grue!
Oh! The corpse f/x are done by Tom Savani!

[RCMerchant]

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019)

I like Tarintino's movies...sometimes. This one...not so much.
For one, it goes nowhere at all. It could have been so much more. The fantasy ending, where the aging cowboy and stuntman kill the Manson killers, is much like the ending of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009).
Lotsa good music and the sets are beautiful. That's about it.
OH! It was nice seeing Bruce Dern again!

[Alex]

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019)

I like Tarintino's movies...sometimes. This one...not so much.
For one, it goes nowhere at all. It could have been so much more. The fantasy ending, where the aging cowboy and stuntman kill the Manson killers, is much like the ending of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009).
Lotsa good music and the sets are beautiful. That's about it.
OH! It was nice seeing Bruce Dern again!

Pretty much my thoughts on it.

[Dr. Whom]

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD (2019)

I like Tarintino's movies...sometimes. This one...not so much.
For one, it goes nowhere at all. It could have been so much more. The fantasy ending, where the aging cowboy and stuntman kill the Manson killers, is much like the ending of INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS (2009).
Lotsa good music and the sets are beautiful. That's about it.
OH! It was nice seeing Bruce Dern again!

I started watching it a couple of weeks ago and gave up after about 1h30, as it didn't seem to be going anywhere fast. Still haven't brought myself to finish it.

[lester1/2jr]

Prime Suspect (1982) - Well made and acted downer of a movie that would be done a lot differently today. A guy (Mike Farrell from MASH) buys cookies from a girl scout who then goes missing. A woman recognizes him and he becomes the PRIME SUSPECT.

This movie fails in

(slight spoiler but not really)

1. there is never really any question that he didn't do it. maybe for like 2 seconds in the very beginning. This makes it hard for viewers to understand the hostility towards him.

2. Lots of plot holes in the police procedural area. In their defense, this was 1982 and there weren't cameras everywhere and also viewers weren't as cognitive of these things.

It's good and probably got good ratings when it came out, but it hasn't aged well, as they say

charitable 4 /5

Teri Garr is his relatively attractive wife. Other than that, I would say the most notable aspect of the movie is this amazing imdb comment https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1956119/?ref_=tt_urv it's a conspiracy theory that the word "arse" is written on things in the movie in various places for some reason.

[FatFreddysCat]

"The Hitman's Bodyguard" (2017)
Ryan Reynolds is a down-on-his-luck security expert, assigned to escort a notorious contract killer (Samuel L. Jackson) across Europe to the International Court at the Hague, so he can testify at the trial of a a major war criminal (Gary Oldman). Naturally, some very bad people want to make sure they don't reach their destination, which leads to lots of car chases, ass kickings, gun battles, and stuff blowin' up. Reynolds makes lots of Deadpool-ish wisecracks, Jackson says "mother****er" a lot, and Salma Hayek is smokin' hot in a bit part as Jackson's estranged wife. This was a fun shoot'em up action comedy and since Salma apparently plays a larger role in the sequel, it's next on my list to check out.