Recent Viewings, Part 2

[lester1/2jr]

Strange Illusion (1945) - A better director could have brought out the wanna be Hitchcock elements better, but it's still decent. I've been getting in to these weird psychic/ psychological black and white things and, more importantly, this was the movie tubi recommended I watch after "Man on the Prowl" so I gave it a go.

A guy who may or not be obsessed with his Mom starts having dreams where she gets married to the guy who killed her husband/ his father. Wouldn't you know it: she starts dating a mysterious guy with a mysterious background! These premonitions continue as a gimmick throughout the movie. The director just can't harness all this suspense and weird sexual energy so it ends up being a regular crime movie. spooky ending

4/5

[M.10rda]

the EERIE MIDNIGHT HORROR SHOW (1974) aka the TORMENTED aka ENTER THE DEVIL

Now THIS is an Exorcism movie!
What a f**ked up movie! Really perverse!
A young woman see's her mother being whipped with thorny roses, is raped and possessed by a crucified demon, tries to f**k her father and a priest, and pukes LOTS of melted pistachio ice cream! VERY sacralgious! Losta nudity too! It's Italian, of course!
I love it!

Cheers to this! Lovely little under-the-radar sexploitation horror. Lots of nice photography and ludicrous misbehavior. Dug it!

[M.10rda]

I remember an interview with Sharon Stone after that movie came out. She said that she'd had to drink a bottle of vodka before she could bring herself to do a sex scene with Stallone and the only attractive part of his body was his ankles.

She's legitimately hilarious on MURDERVILLE, if you want to catch up on her recent activity. (Still looks nice, too.) Actually she had comedy chops way back in the mid-80s in the ridiculous ALLAN QUARTERMAIN movies.

[M.10rda]

"The Thing" (1982)
A stone cold classic that still holds up after all these years.

"Mutant" (aka "Night Shadows," 1984)
A fast moving, entertaining little B-grade horror flick that gets the job done in spite of the obviously low budget and high cheese factor.

^^^YES
and per MUTANT
Heck yes!
Glad you liked it/glad to see it get some love!
I don't know that I've EVER read another positive review of this one... which always surprises me. Downbeat and ruthless enough to be made in the 70s and feels closer to 28 DAYS LATER than to a Romero joint. I liked the two female leads, plus Wings Hauser and Bo Hopkins? That's an exploitation flick tagteam extraordinaire!

[indianasmith]

INDIANA SMITH JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY (2023)

As an historian, it's always amusing to watch films based on real events in history and see how much they get wrong about the events they claim to depict.
But when the movie is based on your own life and exports, it can be downright painful.

  However, unlike RAIDERS and TEMPLE OF DOOM, this movie actually got most of the events correct.  I mean, Archimedes was taller, slimmer, and younger than they portrayed him, and as usual, they got the types of aircraft involved all wrong (of course, I don't think there is a flyable Dornier-117 left in the world today).  Harrison Ford isn't as good-looking as me, but then, he never was.  Still, overall, the events in the movie are pretty close to how I remember them, even down to the crazy car chase during the Apollo-11 crew's ticker tape parade and the scuba diving sequence with all the eels on the ancient Roman shipwreck.  Anyway, if you want to see what I was up to about 50 years ago, check out the movie while it's still in the theaters!  I think it is my third favorite of all the Indiana "Jones" adaptations.  4/5

[RCMerchant]

^ This may seem weird, but I never seen an Indiana Jones movie.  I seen Buckaroo Banzai! 

[indianasmith]

^ This may seem weird, but I never seen an Indiana Jones movie.  I seen Buckaroo Banzai! 

You know me.  You don't need the movies!!   

[RCMerchant]

^ Aye, Captain Bligh!

[Trevor]

But when the movie is based on your own life and exports, it can be downright painful.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Ape vs. Mecha-Ape" (2023)
The Asylum's at it again with a sequel to "Ape Vs. Monster." Following the events of the last movie, the giant ape "Abraham" has been living peacefully on a remote nature preserve. Meanwhile, the U.S. Government, for some reason, has created a giant robotic duplicate of him called "Mecha-Ape." When foreign terrorists take control of the mechanical monkey, the good guys have to unleash the real deal in order to save Chicago from a nuclear meltdown.
Silly junk, but it's at least superior to the first "Ape" flick. The first half is mostly dull, talky techno-babble BS, but once the title creatures finally started throwin' down my inner 8 year old was satisfied. The CGI is better than average for Asylum , and in the "slumming celebrity" department, Tom Arnold is good for a few chuckles as he picks up a quick paycheck playing the Secretary of Defense. Not the best Asylum film I've seen, but thankfully far from the worst.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Hamburger: The Motion Picture" (1986)
Studly academic wash-out Russell (Leigh McCloskey of "Just One Of The Guys") won't receive his $250,000 inheritance unless he obtains a college degree, but pretty girls keep getting him in trouble everywhere he goes (I wish I had that problem...).
As a last ditch attempt, he signs up for Buster Burger University, the training program for a large fast food chain, which leads to lots of wacky hi-jinks involving food, sex, casual racism, flatulence, and endless burger-related puns.
This dumb-as-hell, but funny-as-hell moron comedy was an HBO staple back in the day and it still appeals to my inner 13 year old after all these years.

[RCMerchant]

GONZO (2008)
The life and times of Hunter Thompson.
Unlike a lot of fast washes from A+E, this is a very detailed documentary of the very f**ked up author. A mad genuis. Lots of rare documentary footage and interviews with his friends and family. So sad he blew his brains out. A madman with an artists mind.

[Rev. Powell]

THE KILLING ROOM (2009): Four volunteers are lured under false pretenses to a room where they undergo an experiment with fatal consequences. Attempt at a minimalist thriller sports a decent cast (Chloe Sevigny, Peter Stormare) but lacks psychological insight, suspense, or a meaningful twist. 2/5.

[M.10rda]

3.75 I'd watch it again though. who cares any more

^Exactly this vibe, Lester...! 

[M.10rda]

ARMAGEDDON TIME (2023):
This ultimately frustrated me but I'll post on it here as Anthony Hopkins gives a performance that I think might be his most natural and affecting. Of course I haven't seen every Hopkins performance (nor will I ever) and it's not like he needs a third Oscar but despite being "Anthony Hopkins" he surprised and impressed me here. Co-star Jeremy Strong (fresh off SUCCESSION, where his unnecessary commitment to full-time method acting bemused and irritated Hopkins' classically trained contemporary and fellow Lecter Brian Cox) follows Hopkins' lead and also delivers a disarmingly honest, small-scale performance. There's something about seeing actors of great range, who are often known for playing larger-than-life gods and maniacs, just speaking quietly and sincerely about human matters. That alone probably makes ARMAGEDDON TIME worth watching.

I'll admit I disliked James Gray's early films but he's grown on me w/ his recent work. Thus I was patient for almost an hour before ARMAGEDDON TIME seemed to show its cards as more than just a low-key period autobiography. Gray puts in place all the pieces necessary to illustrate the disillusionment of his adolescent stand-in and how that character finds himself at odds w/ the role model of his grandfather (Hopkins) when confronted w/ the cruel realities of the nascent Trump era. (Fred Trump is a minor character but big presence in the film...) The film's conclusion is so mild, understated, or even anti-climactic, however, as to provide little insight into how the protagonist feels about the moral compromises he's made or even how Gray wants the audience to feel. Perhaps the director is guilty only of being too subtle - yet I'm ambivalent about subtlety in social commentary in 2023.

Of course, old man that I've become, I'm merely ambivalent in 2023. 15 or 20 years ago I would've accused Gray of promoting or reinforcing white complacency, rather than just portraying it. As our national and global circumstances have grown more desperate, I've unfortunately only grown more circumspect and equivocal. Perhaps ARMAGEDDON TIME would've also been more potent and satisfying in the hands of a younger, angrier filmmaker.
3.5/5
anyway for world-class realist acting