Recent Viewings, Part 2

[FatFreddysCat]

"Mother of Tears" (2007)
An archaeology student (Asia Argento) opens an ancient urn that unleashes a wave of supernatural chaos and violence across Rome. She soon learns that all this madness is merely the prelude to the rebirth of the so-called "Mother of Tears," a legendary witch whose goal is to make Rome fall all over again. Yikes!
Dario Argento's belated final chapter in his "Three Mothers Trilogy" (following 1977's landmark Suspiria and 1980's Inferno) isn't as artsy as its predecessors, but it's still a decent slab of Spaghetti Splatter goodness, with some legit gore and an atmosphere of creeping dread. The last quarter suffers from some truly dodgy special effects work, but overall this was another enjoyably weird slice of Italian horror nonsense from a master of the craft.
Additional metal nerd note: look closely at the Medieval artworks shown during the opening credits, one of them was used on the cover of Bruce Dickinson's Tyranny of Souls album!

[Gabriel Knight]

DRIVE (2011)

A mysterious Hollywood action film stuntman gets in trouble with gangsters when he tries to help his neighbor's husband rob a pawn shop while serving as his getaway driver.

Amazingly boring, nonsensical, and pointless film. Most of the dialog consists of long pauses during which people just stare at each other like mannequins. There's barely any plot if it can be considered a plot at all.

And why would the girl notice the driver in the first place? Creepy, silent guys who can't say a word and follow people around aren't usually the ones who attract women. Where did he get all those super fighting skills anyway? They are so edited and ridiculous that it's not even like Gosling is doing anything.

I have no idea why people hold this garbage in such high regard. 3/10, at least Bryan Cranston is always a delight to hear and see.

[lester1/2jr]

Diva (2020) I liked this Korean drama about two Olympic divers, their friendship, and the tension between them that's also a bit of a thriller. I was drawn in by the description where after a car crash one of the girls is missing and the other has amnesia.

The young women are fetching enough in their swimsuits, and there is a bit of violence and gore, but it's strongest suit, if you will, is the drama and the realistic portrayal of someone's life falling apart and disaster striking and all that. For a young adult movie it's pretty intense in this regard.

Don't get me wrong, it's not great. As a film it's watchable but pretty nondescript, but as a tweaking of the teen film formula it's a lot more interesting. I can see why the kids apparently go for this Korean drama stuff.

4/5 give it a shot, if only for sociological purposes

edit: That said, it doesn't appear to have been a very popular one. just a handful of mixed reviews on imdb

[M.10rda]

Wow, an embarrassment of riches/great films reviewed this past week, but instead of commenting on any of them I'll comment on AIRPLANE 2!  

AIRPLANE! = another canonical quasi-classic that I was born a little too late to enjoy on its initial release and therefore didn't get the memo about or understand said memo. Thus I am in a GOOD position to say... ZNO, I think you are spot-on w/ your criticisms of A2! That's the one I grew up w/, as it was playing in near daily rotation on HBO in the early 80s, so I'd watched that one a dozen times or more before I'd seen the original once. Then eventually I watched the original and... was disappointed! Now obviously I won't claim that the sequel is better than the original. I will just agree that the sequel is in most ways IDENTICAL to the original, so if you've seen one...... you scarcely need to see the other. That's cynical commercialism for ya'.

Okay, the sequel does have one thing the original doesn't: SHATNER.

[Rev. Powell]

DEEP ASTRONOMY AND THE ROMANTIC SCIENCES: A man meets a robot in a bar, who explains to him "the history of this place and its connection to the romantic sciences." It's basically an excuse for flashbacks of whimsical musical performances, fake futuristic advertisements, experimental film snippets, and a series of comic sci-fi themed Ted Talks by speakers who talk about capturing the light from your beloved deceased, claim that corporations are actually biological aliens, or promote amnesia drops that allow you to skip through unpleasant or boring tasks. The movie is simultaneously pessimistic and optimistic, predicting the rise of increasingly dehumanizing technology, but also embodying a faith that human spirit is more than up to the challenges of the future. 3/5

Watch it free here: https://www.redplanetplanningcommission.com/deepastronomymovie
I have an interview with the director for anyone really interested: https://youtu.be/fa0Ss48p2f0?si=81afolEIgsceUKoi

Also

MST3K: THE DEADLY BEES: A pop singer goes to vacation at a remote island where beekeepers are experimenting with deadly attack bees. The movie is mediocre but not really bad enough for the show (there is actually a suspenseful bee attack scene, and the plot is at least competent), making for a hoh-hum entry despite their best efforts. I rank it 136 of the 183 episodes I've ranked. In Castle Forrester, Observers' old friends have come to take him back to their planet, but he enjoys the lazy life with Pearl and Bobo. 3/5

[lester1/2jr]

I re watched Mitchell on the new MST3K channel on tubi. It was the one that came on when I clicked on the channel so not sure how you would actually find a movie you wanted to see. You can't pause the movie, but there are still ads. Apparently 150+ titles and other stuff in there 

[Rev. Powell]

I re watched Mitchell on the new MST3K channel on tubi. It was the one that came on when I clicked on the channel so not sure how you would actually find a movie you wanted to see. You can't pause the movie, but there are still ads. Apparently 150+ titles and other stuff in there 

Yeah, it's cool but you can't control what comes on. I own the whole collection now so I don't need it. I think you can still watch the classic episodes (that they have rights to) free on the Gizmoplex with an account.

[lester1/2jr]

Holy crap you have all the episodes like ever? What are your favorites ones? I like the Ed Wood one about the Smut racket and the ones with the huge ants taking over the world

[Jim H]

Ambushed (1998) - I had never even heard of this HBO original movie, but it's a who's who of "hey it's that guy" type character actors of the 90s.  William Sadler, Virginia Madsen, Courtney Vance, William Forsythe, David Keith, Bill Nunn, and the T1000 himself, Robert Patrick.  Charles Hallahan's final film - he died before it came out and is given a memorial in the credits.  It's also directed by Ernest Dickerson, who before this did Surviving the Game and Demon Knight, both quite solid B movies.

Well, Ambushed is pretty solid too!  I don't know why it's so little known and hard to find anywhere - out of print and no legit copies available to stream as far as I can tell.  It's about a black cop forced to escort the child of a KKK leader who was murdered.  The kid is SUPER racist, as you might expect.  Good action, good tension, and pretty good characterization.  My biggest complain is I think Courtney Vance is kind of miscast in the lead and the final act just doesn't amount to enough.  But worth tracking down if you enjoy very 90s action-thrillers.

[Rev. Powell]

Holy crap you have all the episodes like ever? What are your favorites ones? I like the Ed Wood one about the Smut racket and the ones with the huge ants taking over the world

Not the KTMA episodes but all the ones that aired on cable. I bought every box set as it came out then broke down and got pirate copies of the handful that never got released. My favorites are Overdrawn at the Memory Bank, The Brain That Wouldn't Die, Gamera v. Guiron, Laserblast, Mitchell, The Magic Voyage of Sinbad, Manos, Santa Claus, I Accuse My Parents, and The Wild World of Batwoman (which is not a favorite among most fans but makes me laugh harder than any other). There are still 2 or 3 I've never seen, but I'll get to them by the end of the year.

[lester1/2jr]

I remember them saving "Overdrawn..." was the most painful one they had to watch.

also, through a drunken haze watched The Devil's Nightmare (1971) - I saw this 20 years ago as part of some "Goth" dvd series. It's the old 1930's dark stormy night at an old house ( castle in this case) thing. The first half has cute girls and creepy atmosphere. The second half the main cute girl turns satanic and ugly/ awful as the night turns deadly. I liked the Morricone ish title song but it was very backroundy in general.

3.5/5

[indianasmith]

ABIGAIL (2024) -  A group of carefully recruited kidnapers abduct a ten year old girl  named Abigail and take her to a remote mansion to hold her in captivity until her Dad coughs up the $50 million ransom.   But little Abigail has other plans . . .  and did I mention she's a vampire?
Simplistic plot, great gore, clever resolution - all in all, I loved this movie! Mileage may vary, but I got a kick out of it.  4/5

[RCMerchant]

I remember them saving "Overdrawn..." was the most painful one they had to watch.

also, through a drunken haze watched The Devil's Nightmare (1971) - I saw this 20 years ago as part of some "Goth" dvd series. It's the old 1930's dark stormy night at an old house ( castle in this case) thing. The first half has cute girls and creepy atmosphere. The second half the main cute girl turns satanic and ugly/ awful as the night turns deadly. I liked the Morricone ish title song but it was very backroundy in general.

3.5/5

I LOVE that movie!

[Rev. Powell]

RIDDLE OF FIRE (2023): Three (later four) kids search for a speckled egg they need to get the password to their smart TV (it's complicated), encountering a real-life witch on their quest. Sort of fairy-tale realism, this is like one of those live-action Disney movies from the 70s, if the tykes were foul-mouthed (but still endearing) thieves, and the director was a drugged-out hippie. Shot in Wyoming on 16mm film and full of surprises. 4/5, recommended.

[Trevor]

I remember them saving "Overdrawn..." was the most painful one they had to watch.

Painful for me to watch too 😳🥴