Recent Viewings, Part 2

[Dr. Whom]

The French Dispatch (2021)

I am completely at a loss what to make of this. Wes Anderson has taken all his quirks and mannerisms, and turned them up to eleven, so the result is more of a self-parody than anything else. Likewise the whimsical adventures of a bunch of caricatures in a vaguely mid-20th century fantasy France are meant to be a celebration of the New Yorker, but are so over the top and eccentric to make them a spoof. However, for a spoof to be successful, you need to be familiar with and care for the original, and I am neither.

[FatFreddysCat]

"The Thing" (1982)
The staff at a remote Antarctic research station must deal with a shape-shifting alien organism that devours - and then duplicates - living creatures. Bearded badass Kurt Russell leads an impressive cast against the invasion from within in John Carpenter's gloriously gory, claustrophobic-as-hell remake of the '50s sci-fi/horror flick that's a master class in old school practical creature FX. A stone cold classic that still holds up after all these years.

"Mutant" (aka "Night Shadows," 1984)
Two brothers stranded in a small Southern town due to car trouble soon learn that toxic pollution is causing the locals to de-evolve into blood sucking, zombie-like creatures. Hilarity ensues. 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.

[FatFreddysCat]

"The Exterminator" (1980)
A shell shocked Vietnam vet (Robert Ginty) returns home to NYC, and starts going vigilante on the local muggers and mobsters using a variety of brutal methods including a flame thrower and an industrial meat grinder.
This ultra-violent "Death Wish" variant was quite controversial in its day but honestly it's fairly tame by today's standards. Still, it's an entertaining low budget time capsule that captures NYC when it was a lot dirtier and scarier than it is now.

[Alex]

"The Exterminator" (1980)
A shell shocked Vietnam vet (Robert Ginty) returns home to NYC, and starts going vigilante on the local muggers and mobsters using a variety of brutal methods including a flame thrower and an industrial meat grinder.
This ultra-violent "Death Wish" variant was quite controversial in its day but honestly it's fairly tame by today's standards. Still, it's an entertaining low budget time capsule that captures NYC when it was a lot dirtier and scarier than it is now.

The mincing machine scene made an impression on me as a child.

[lester1/2jr]

^ I remember being way into that movie

[Trevor]

^ I remember being way into that movie

The third part was made in South Africa aka Out On Bail.

[Rev. Powell]

ON OUR WAY (2021): A first-time filmmaker's movie dreams are crushed when tragedy strikes; a ghost helps him complete his script. Filled with fractured timelines and meta-movie flirtations, it's one of those indies that has a ton of ambition and a good heart, but isn't fresh or engaging enough to really stand out from the crowd. 2.5/5.

[FatFreddysCat]

"Exterminator 2" (1984)
Robert Ginty is back as New York City vigilante John Eastland, and this time he's cleaning up the streets in a souped up garbage truck, flame-throwerin' the hell out of a vicious street gang led by a wild-eyed Mario Van Peebles (who looks like he wandered in from a "Mad Max" movie).
Cannon Films produced this sequel to the surprise 1980 hit, which is way more over-the-top and cartoonish than the gritty, street-level original; it's got a similar vibe to "Death Wish 3," which came out a year later.
Supposedly the reason Ginty's character wears a welder's mask during most of the action scenes is because the film ran over-budget and behind schedule, so when the time came to shoot those bits, Ginty had already started work on another film... so they had to use his stunt double. Yeah, that's Cannon all over! 

[Alex]

The Black Demon.

A company inspector and his family head down to inspect an oilrig and have a holiday. They all end up trapped on what turns out to be the rotting hull of a derelict by a megalodon that seems to have some supernatural element to it (it can cause people to have mild hallucinations. Creature feature with an environmental message tacked on. It is a lot better made than I expected, the acting is pretty good. It has its limitations sure, but it could have been an awful lot worse. Worth a watch.

Oh, and it turns out it actually contains the line "Big ass shark".

[Alex]

Daisy Derkins vs. The Bloodthirsty Beast of Barren Pines!

When one name keeps reappearing in the opening credits for a movie for multiple roles, I take it as a bad sign. The song over the credits was called "Daisy Kicks Ass." At a guess I'd hazard that it was also performed by the same guy who did everything else. Lloyd Kaufman has a role in the film. I am guessing the director just rounded up some friends and decided to make movies. I'd guess if Ed Wood as around today, this is the kind of thing he'd be doing. Fun enough if you are in an undemanding mood.

[indianasmith]

THE BOOGEYMAN (2023) - Loosely based on a Stephen King short story, this is a delightfully creepy PG13 horror about an age old creature that lives in the dark and kills children to feed on their despair and fear. After a desperate father who lost all 3 of his kids kills himself in the home of a therapist, the Boogeyman transfers its attention to the therapist's two children.  Well done, with very spooky creature effects!  4/5

[Alex]

High on the Hog.

I only put this on because I am a sucker for movies with Sig Haig in it. Blame watching Galaxy of Terror as a kid. Anyway, a farmer facing financial ruin starts growing cannabis. He recruits battered and abused women off the streets to work on his farm in return for protection (which doesn't seem like a totally bad idea to be fair). Anyway, the skunk they are growing is super strong and is causing people to kill themselves, so the police decide to try and find the supplier. A female undercover agent (DTA) ends up on the farm, and her partner gets increasingly desperate to catch the growers while the local authorities seem less concerned. Everything builds up towards a big picnic at the farm and the inevitable clash between the growers and the law.

I never did find out why the cannabis was causing people to kill themselves though. Was it just that powerful or was someone spiking it? I think it is hinted that it might be the government interfering with the drug (hence the lack of interest in stopping them), in order to make people afraid of taking it.

It was advertised as a horror comedy action-adventure movie, but I didn't see any horror and it didn't make me laugh. I guess it has elements of the other 2 though.

[FatFreddysCat]

"The Compleat Al" (1985)
A made-for-video mock documentary released to promote Al's Dare To Be Stupid album. Essentially it's a compilation of all of Al's music videos up to that point, like "Eat It" and "Ricky," with some typically tongue-in-cheek biographical and "behind the scenes" bits padding it out to feature length. Al would later revisit this concept and greatly expand on it with the spoof biography film, 2022's "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story." A fun, goofy trip down memory lane.

[Rev. Powell]

THE SUPER MARIO BROTHERS MOVIE (2023): A pair of plumbers from Brooklyn somehow enter a fantasy world of mushrooms, Princesses, Donkey Kongs, and parkour obstacle courses and raise and army to defeat an evil turtle. Beautifully animated with a thin, cliche plot; slapstick and action scenes will please kids, and it hopes nostalgia will keep adults involved. 3/5.

[Alex]

John Wick 4.

Lots of hyper-stylised violence. If you've seen any of the others you know what to expect. Entertaining enough for what it is.

I did chuckle at the shout-out to The Warriors. Been seeing 'homages' to that movie a lit recently.