Gus Richlen: Ruffian
Patti Mayonnaise
Metal Maestro: Co-winner of the FAN Idol Throwdown!
BAU BAU
Posts: 39,173
|
Post by Gus Richlen: Ruffian on Oct 2, 2012 10:33:42 GMT -5
Keeping my reviews short: Q THE WINGED SERPENT (1982): A giant flying serpent-creature-thingy is causing terror in New York City as it eats pretty much anyone unfortunate enough to be out in the open for it to grab. Meanwhile, a detective (David Carradine) is investigating a series of grisly murders, and he suspects that there's a connection with the creature. In the meantime, a small-time criminal (Michael Moriarty) discovers the thing's nest and gets some wild ideas going in his head. The special effects are really awful but the story is well done, and Moriarty puts in one of the best performances of his career. (Rocks/Recommended) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (1963): Ensemble comedy at it's best as several characters race each other (playing quite dirty along the way!) to try to recover a buried fortune. Has amazingly hilarious performances from everyone from Sid Caesar and Milton Berle to Spencer Tracy and Jonathan Winters, and check out all the cameos that come along! (ROCKS/RECOMMENDED) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DEATH ON THE NILE (1978): Disappointing adaption of Agatha Christie's classic mystery has Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) investigating the murder of an heiress aboard a river boat in Egypt. Only problem is, the body count is piling up and everyone has a motive and opportunity. Film follows the book faithfully. TOO faithfully, which makes it overlong and at times quite dull. Talented cast is wasted (although Ustinov is good as the detective), although the scenery is quite nice. (Sucks/Not Recommended) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GHOST IN THE SHELL (1995): One of the most influential anime films ever made (inspiring "The Matrix"!) and this poster's personal favorite thus far and one of my Fave Five films. In 2029, most of humanity is comprised of cyborgs. When an entity called The Puppet Master begins hacking into the souls/brains or "ghosts" of some of these cyborgs, it's up to Section 9 and Major Motoko Kusanagi, a cyborg herself, to track him down. But in this future, absolutely nothing is as it seems at all. Breathtaking animation, a haunting score, and top notch sound effects blends well with a deeply engrossing story (though some may tire of the philosophical dialogue that is prevalent in the film) to create an experience that should not be missed by anime fans, sci-fi fans, or both. (ROCKS/RECOMMENDED)
|
|
agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,870
|
Post by agent817 on Oct 3, 2012 0:44:18 GMT -5
SHATTERED GLASSPlot: This film tells the true story of fraudulent Washington, D.C. journalist Stephen Glass (Christensen), who rose to meteoric heights as a young writer in his 20s, becoming a staff writer at "The New Republic" for three years (1995-1998), where 27 of his 41 published stories were either partially or completely made up. Looking for a short cut to fame, Glass concocted sources, quotes and even entire stories, but his deception did not go unnoticed forever, and eventually, his world came crumbling down... Verdict: This was the fourth time that I had seen this and I have to say that it's still a good movie. Being a journalism major myself, as well as an aspiring fictional writing, I know for a fact that I would never mix journalism and fictional writing because what Stephen Glass did in real life was totally unacceptable. I have to say that I enjoyed Hayden Christensen's performance, as well as Peter Sarsgaard's performance. They did an excellent job. I realized in the previous viewing of this movie, there was an audio commentary track on the DVD that I only heard some parts of that had the director and the real Charles Lane discussing the film and what had happened in real life. I might want to listen to the full commentary one day. Highly recommended, especially to journalism majors or people who are interested in the journalism field.
|
|
Gus Richlen: Ruffian
Patti Mayonnaise
Metal Maestro: Co-winner of the FAN Idol Throwdown!
BAU BAU
Posts: 39,173
|
Post by Gus Richlen: Ruffian on Oct 3, 2012 9:54:42 GMT -5
RETURN OF THE PINK PANTHER (1975): Peter Sellers makes his return to the franchise as Inspector Clouseau when the Pink Panther diamond is stolen again. The first person he suspects is the last person who stole it, Sir Charles Lytton (Christopher Plummer). Lytton, however, finds out about the robbery and is determined to clear his name. And of course, Chief Inspector Dreyfus (Herbert Lom) is out to kill Clouseau as usual, and Cato (Burt Kwouk) keeps the bumbling detective on his toes. The comedy is at its best when it's focused on Clouseau and Dreyfus, but it falls flat when it turns its attention towards Lytton. Followed by the much better "The Pink Panther Strikes Back." (Sucks/Not Recommended)
|
|
Gus Richlen: Ruffian
Patti Mayonnaise
Metal Maestro: Co-winner of the FAN Idol Throwdown!
BAU BAU
Posts: 39,173
|
Post by Gus Richlen: Ruffian on Oct 8, 2012 12:12:36 GMT -5
GHOST BRIGADE (1993): A Union captain (Adrian Pasdar) leads a small unit of soldiers, including a Confederate colonel and former mentor (Corbin Bernsen, who deserves better) and a mute runaway slave (Cynda Williams), against a force of undead soldiers looking for more recruits. The idea of Civil War soldiers from both sides fighting an army of zombie soldiers from both sides must have seemed good on paper, but something got seriously lost in the execution. The film does its best to be historically accurate under the circumstances, but it won't make anyone forget "Gettysburg." Martin Sheen (who ironically was in a far bigger role as Robert E. Lee in "Gettysburg"), David and Alexis Arquette, Matt LeBlanc, and Billy Bob Thornton have small roles, and director George Hickenlooper ("Hearts Of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse") appears painting Sheen's portrait. Also called "The Killing Box," "Grey Knight," or "Grey Night."(SUCKS/NOT RECOMMENDED) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GODZILLA FINAL WARS (2004): Essentially a remake of "Destroy All Monsters" and Toho's fond farewell to the great monster (for now, at least?). Godzilla has been frozen in the South Pole, which is not where he should be when various monsters from previous films (including the infamous Roland Emmerich version of Godzilla) start ripping cities apart. Suddenly the carnage stops, and it is revealed that they've been stopped by a race of aliens seeking peace... or so it seems. Turns out Godzilla will have to be released to save the whole world from disaster. All of our favorite elements from past movies are there: the slightly off dubbing (better done than in earlier films, however), easily destroyed sets, and some guy in a rubber lizard suit. But there's enough computer and CGI work to keep it looking slick and it's an entertaining ride until the very end, a fitting way for the King Of Monsters to take his final bow. (Rocks/Recommended)
|
|
El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,896
|
Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Oct 8, 2012 22:54:10 GMT -5
"MOON"Story: Sam Bell is nearing the end of his three year contract being the only human worker on a mining base on the dark side of the Moon, when he begins to see images of a little girl. After an accident, he wakes up at the base with no memory of what happened... and when he visits the accident site he uncovers the truth about his own existence... Great science-fiction story, and not one of those "standard story set in space so it's sci-fi" stories. Not a lot of action, but an absorbing story about ethics, greed and what humanity is. Sam Rockwell does a great job as Sam, with a nice assist (sort of) from Kevin Spacey as the voice of the robot attendant GERTY. Beautiful sets, which reminded me a whole bunch of the TV series "Space: 1999". The only downside is that the story is kind of slow, which is great for an absorbing story but it does require patience in viewing. Recommended.
|
|
El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,896
|
Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Oct 8, 2012 23:40:04 GMT -5
"MEGAFORCE"Story: facing invasion by the army of Gamibia, the peaceful Republic of Sardun goes to the internationally-backed MegaForce for help. It turns out that the MegaForce leader Hunter has a personal connection to the Gamibian army commander, a mercenary named Duke Guererra. The plan to draw the enemy army into crossing the border illegally starts with an attack on an army base, which works... too well, and the international community may have considered it an illegal invasion. Now the MegaForce team has to escape the country before being captured of killed. This movie was the closest the 80's ever got to a live-action G.I. Joe film... and it suuuucks. There's a ton of stunt work (motorcycles with machine guns, tanks, dune buggys with lasers) but the acting is sooooo bad. Brian Bostwick (Brad from "The Rocky Horror Picture Show") acts like he's in a comedy/musical and looks like he's going to burst into song at the drop of a hat. Michael Beck (Swan from "The Warriors") has a terrible attempt at a Texan accent and a ton of cheesy lines. Persis Khambatta (best known for "Star Trek: The Motion Picture") is supposed to be the love interest but is terribly written... she's supposed to be a highly trained soldier but she melts at the sight of Hunter. The best work is done by Henry Silva as Guerrera, who treats the battle as a game between himself and Hunter and not as serious as the rest of the world may see it. He actually seems like a nice guy and not a ruthless killer. The rest of the cast is pretty much wasted. They try to establish a connection between the MegaForce soldiers with a few lines of witty dialogue but it's just filler. Most of the movie is motorcycles shooting fireworks at tanks and buildings, dune buggies firing lasers and lots and lots of explosions. And then more explosions. And then some extremely poor special effects as Hunter makes his daring escape... Man, this movie was so bad that it's only enjoyable as camp. A crazy mix of "G.I. Joe", "Cannonball Run" and "Team America: World Police". And that's the ONLY reason why I'm recommending it.
|
|
El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,896
|
Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Oct 9, 2012 0:08:42 GMT -5
"THE HEARSE"This is movie #34 (Disc 9, Side 1, Movie 2) of the "Chilling Classics" 50 movie set. Story: middle-aged woman comes to small town to move into her late aunt's old home, which the local townsfolk have deemed haunted. There's spooky noises, breaking windows, flickering lights, and a handsome stranger that she falls in love with. There's also a spooky Hearse that follows her when she drives to and from her new home. Actually a pretty good movie. The story has a great slow build, with the main character working out the details of the story by herself and not having a frantic local shouting the details at her. It's also a VERY nice touch that not all of the spooky happenings around her place are caused by the same thing... Not all of the townspeople are pleased that she's there. The problem is that the movie has a great build but it doesn't build up to a great ending. It's almost like the producers of the movie couldn't afford the planned finale, then couldn't afford the 'Plan B' finale and had to mash something together with what they had already on set. This is a good movie and worth seeing, even if the ending fails to live up to the promise of the start. Verdict: good Good: 10 Meh: 13 Trash: 11
|
|
Sephiroth
Wade Wilson
Surviving
Posts: 29,314
|
Post by Sephiroth on Oct 9, 2012 0:26:43 GMT -5
Dredd Plot: Judge Dredd leads rookie Judge Anderson upward through a tower of chaos to apprehend a psycopathic criminal. Pro's: gleefully violent, far closer to the souce material than the Sylvester Stallone film, some fantastic visual effects, and a Nolan-esque, semi-real take on the future age Dredd lives in. Cons: a bit yuckier than it needed to be at times, sometimes slow pacing, some pretty deadpan attempts at humor, and Karl Urban's attempts to imitate the voice of Clint Eastwood. Overall: Good, a great guy movie, classic adrenaline pumping entertainment. A great take on Judge Dredd.
|
|
agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,870
|
Post by agent817 on Oct 10, 2012 22:49:47 GMT -5
REDLINEPlot: A gorgeous young automobile fanatic--and front to the hottest unsigned band on the West coast--finds herself caught up in illegal drag-racing competitions organized by exotic car fanatics. Verdict: I had been curious about this movie for a while. I remember seeing trailers for it back in 2007 and I have been meaning to watch it despite reading how bad it is. I also bought it at a closing Blockbuster back in August and I had been procrastinating to watch it. Anyway, onto my actual review. Let me just say that I can acknowledge how cheesy and bad this movie, though I still kind of enjoyed it. Okay, what I found very stupid was the soldier guy getting into a fight after some guy got a little grabby with the main girl in this movie. That was a little unnecessary but I guess the producers thought that is what the audience wanted. The movie does have some appeal to teens in that there are fast albeit expensive cars and very nice looking women. There is no doubt that this movie is trying too hard to be cool, but it felt like a poor man's "Fast and Furious." Despite the expensive-as-hell cars, it shows that this movie was rather low budget. I find it hard to believe that this movie was green-lit, even though I remember seeing advertisements on MySpace back in 2007, as well as seeing trailers here and there. There really are no big names involved except for maybe Eddie Griffin and Tim Matheson. Sure, Nadia Bjorlin and Nathan Phillips, and Angus McFadyen are known, but still not big enough names. Also, aside from the fight scenes and such, there is also the contrived romantic subplot. I thought it was badly done. Are we supposed to believe that these two fall for each other because this guy inadvertently saves a girl from his mob boss uncle and I will say that I saw it coming that those two would hook up because of the looks they gave each other at some point. (Sigh) It is really hard for me to recommend this movie. I bought it for a rather cheap price and it was at a closing Blockbuster. All I can say that is that if you want to suspend disbelief, watch the movie, even though there are a lot of things wrong with it. It still can be entertaining, though. The safest way I CAN recommend it is if you were to watch it on YouTube, which the movie is on right now. It's up to you. ETA: I was thinking about the movie recently and I can go on record and say that the movie sucked.
|
|
kidglov3s
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Wants her Shot
Who is Tiger Maskooo?
Posts: 15,870
|
Post by kidglov3s on Oct 10, 2012 23:20:52 GMT -5
I really liked The Hearse. I'm a sucker for all things Crown International Pictures. I thought they did a great job of establishing the town as a creepy f***ed up place.
|
|
Gus Richlen: Ruffian
Patti Mayonnaise
Metal Maestro: Co-winner of the FAN Idol Throwdown!
BAU BAU
Posts: 39,173
|
Post by Gus Richlen: Ruffian on Oct 15, 2012 10:09:55 GMT -5
SCREAM 2 (1997): Wes Craven's followup to his well-recieved "Scream" was considered by many critics to be better than the first film, and it's not hard to see why. After the events of the first film get turned into a movie called "Stab" (nice one, Wes) and two people are murdered by Ghostface at the preview, a media frenzy starts and Sidney (Neve Campbell), now in college, gets caught right up in it. To complicate matters further, she's got a new boyfriend (Jerry O'Connell, who seems a bit out of place as a student), Cotton Weary (the highly underrated Liev Schreiber) is being released from prison, and Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) is part of the media blitz as well. And then more killings occur, and it's becoming clear that someone is trying to do a real-life sequel. David Arquette and Jamie Kennedy reprise their roles from the original as well, which adds no small amount of stability to the film, which has plenty of genuine scares without being too gory (although there are some pretty brutal deaths that do occur) while having plenty of funny moments in between. And yes, it milks horror cliches for everything they're worth. Add in an awesome (for the most part) soundtrack and you've got a slasher films that defies all conventions without being lame. (Rocks/Reccommended) ================================================================== SUPERSHARK (2011): Fred Olin Ray's CGI-, bikini-, and blood-heavy film about a government marine biologist hunting down a giant killer shark (and doing so often in a bikini top and shorts, I might add). Film throws in a bunch of other stuff that makes no sense to add in, and it just gets really wearing after a while. John Schnider and Jimmie Walker get high billing but are mostly in supporting roles. (SUCKS/ NOT RECCOMMENDED)
|
|
|
Post by Friday Night SmackOwn on Oct 15, 2012 12:41:36 GMT -5
Captain America: The First Avenger Yes, I'm biased in regards to the film since I am such a big fan of the Captain, but for my money, it's the best film in the pre-Avengers films. The plot involves Steve Rogers, a noble and brave man who wishes to help the fight for freedom however he can, though his frail body is the major roadblock in his desires to fight in World War II. He's drafted into a top secret military experiment to create an army of Super-Soldiers to fight against the Axis. When the creator of the Operation: Rebirth procedures is killed by a spy from the Hydra organization, it leaves Steve as the only Super-Soldier, and he's quickly shuffled into becoming a mascot for the USO. After learning that the 107th Division has been captured by Hydra, an army unit which includes his friend James "Bucky" Barnes among its number, Steve decides to stop pretending to be a hero and take action. From there, it's non-stop action as Captain America races to stop the Red Skull from using the mystical Tesseract cube to destroy the world.
The film is fantastic from start to finish, and a lot of it has to do with Chris Evans' performance as the eponymous First Avenger. From when he's a skinny beanpole who just wants to serve his country to when he becomes the ultimate weapon against tyranny, Evans hits all the right notes on what makes Steve Rogers the man he is. The supporting cast is just as great, with Tommy Lee Jones' Col. Chester Phillips and Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter being two notable favorites of mine out of the film's supporting cast. The set design is wonderfully retro, evoking a steampunk-esque 1940s filled with technology that's one of a kind. The musical score is equally great, with the "Star-Spangled Man" song (which plays during the montage showing Cap's time as a War Bonds spokesman) being my absolute favorite song.
I can't recommend this film highly enough.
|
|
El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,896
|
Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Oct 15, 2012 23:19:15 GMT -5
"COOL AS ICE"Yes, I watched the Vanilla Ice star vehicle. Wanna make something of it? Story: Our Hero the rapper and his 'crew' scream into a small country town on their day-glo street racing bikes, Our Hero meets and gets the lusts for the smart pretty girl, sweeps her off her feet (to the annoyance of her insulting boyfriend) and help her family deal with kidnappers. - Vanilla Ice can't act. - the story makes little sense. The girl falls for Ice after he: 1) nearly kills her by scaring the horse she's riding, 2) steals her pocketbook to find information on her, 3) breaks into her bedroom while she's sleeping, and 4) delivers the ransom note when her brother is kidnapped... and she doesn't understand why her family doesn't trust him... (well, her little brother trusts him... but it is rather disconcerting that he's looking at Ice's crotch whenever he talks to him...)- Vanilla Ice cannot act. - the whole movie looks like a late 80's music video (which somehow seems appropriate, but all the neon clothing and paint strains the eyes after a while). - Vanilla Ice can not act. - there's random crap that happens that really makes no sense, like jumping a 4' fence without a jump in sight, or Ice changing his clothes (they're traveling on tiny motorbikes, and have no luggage with them, where are the clothes coming from?), to riding their bikes through a wall that's on the second floor... normal, logical stuff that a script editor should have noticed! - Vanilla. Ice. Can. Not. Act. - the family's predicament makes no sense. The bad guys are ex-cops and after the father because he testified against them... so why are they after money? They SPECIFICALLY as for an amount of money that they believe he owes them... possibly a script change to make the father a more sympathetic character, but they should have FIXED IT BEFORE FILMING! - Vanilla Ice can't... wait, I've said this before... But the main problem with the movie is that Ice's character is such a jerk. I swear, everyone on "Jersey Shore" must have seen this and adopted him as a role model or deity or something. The only thing that made this survivable is that I watched it with many friends who loudly and hilariously ripped this to shreds. Truly bad. Watch with raucous friends only.
|
|
El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,896
|
Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Oct 15, 2012 23:54:24 GMT -5
"BLOOD BEACH" (1980) Story: Someone, or some thing, is causing people to disappear from the beach at Venice Beach in LA. While the police hit the streets for clues, a habour patrol man and his ex-girlfriend (who is the daughter of one of the missing) poke around an abandoned pier and find the truth. Here's a great idea for a horror movie: a giant monster that moves under the sand and sucks screaming people underground. Gold, right? And it almost worked, except that they filmmakers decided to focus more on the police procedures and the hunky hero and his woman looking for clues (and, of course, falling in love again) instead of freakiness of what the main monster could be. Granted, the movie probably didn't have the budget for a huge monster model (it definately didn't... you don't get to see what it is until the last few minutes of the movie and it's half-assed at best), but you really didn't need to see it, just the victims being sucked under the sand. Instead, you see people screaming and then the picture cuts away. You really only see three people take under, and their scenes are actually effective. It's just a shame that they are spaced so far apart. As for the acting, performances very. The leads ( David Huffman and Marianna Hill) are good but not outstanding, John Saxon is serious about what's he's doing and very good as the put-upon detective in charge of the investigation (and he has some of the best lines, including the other tagline for the movie... "Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, you can't get to it." The only other performance of note is from Burt Young (Rocky's brother-in-law from the "Rocky" movies), who is the most entertaining as the Chicago cop who says all of the inappropriate stuff that no one wants to say... really, he just looks like he's happy to be working ANYWHERE. And, as the most pragmatic character, he does the most logical thing at the end of the movie... Anyways, what could have been a fun little movie (boom shots and all) is undone by a slower pace than needed and a focus on the police and not the situation itself. Fun end credits, though, as you see more of the tell-tale sinkholes begin to form as the beach is crowded again... Not completely terrible but hard to recommend. Watch "Tremors" for a better take on the underground monster idea. Maybe you could consider this as a "Tremors: Ground Zero"?
|
|
El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,896
|
Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Oct 16, 2012 0:23:13 GMT -5
"MAN IN THE ATTIC" (1953) This is movie #35 (Disc 9, Side 2, Movie 1) of the "Chilling Classics" 50 movie set. Story: London, 1888, and Jack the Ripper stalks the streets. Mrs. Harley begins to suspect her new lodger is the killer, while her niece has become smitten with the stranger. A young Jack Palance plays Mr. Slade, the lodger, with an intense edge... he always looked to me like he was about to flip and start throwing punches at everyone. Even at the nosy landlady Mrs. Harley, who is played quite well by Frances Bavier (Aunt Bee from "The Andy Griffith Show"). Palance always looked like he was at war with himself, especially when the young woman (a singer and dancer on the edge of stardom, no less) begins to make advances towards him. His performance is compelling here. The rest of the movie is kind of bland, though. It's a good thing that Palance is on-screen for most of the movie, because it begins to suffer when it changes focus to the young inspector looking for clues in the Ripper case. The musical numbers just feel like there are there because they are expected to be there... was there a 'music quotient' back in the 50's? Still, worth watching for Palance, if you can get into movies from this era (the 50's). Verdict: good Good: 11 Meh: 13 Trash: 11
|
|
Gus Richlen: Ruffian
Patti Mayonnaise
Metal Maestro: Co-winner of the FAN Idol Throwdown!
BAU BAU
Posts: 39,173
|
Post by Gus Richlen: Ruffian on Oct 19, 2012 11:15:52 GMT -5
KUNG POW: ENTER THE FIST (2002): Steve Oederkirk took an old martial arts film called "Tiger & Crane Fists," blue-screened himself and other odd stuff into it, then redubbed the dialogue and did all but on of the voices himself. The end result is an outrageously funny film about The Chosen One (Oederkirk) and his quest to get revenge for his family being killed by Master Pain, er, I mean, Betty. This film goes so far as to literally milk the giant cow for jokes, and it scores. (ROCKS/RECOMMENDED)
|
|
Gus Richlen: Ruffian
Patti Mayonnaise
Metal Maestro: Co-winner of the FAN Idol Throwdown!
BAU BAU
Posts: 39,173
|
Post by Gus Richlen: Ruffian on Oct 22, 2012 11:39:19 GMT -5
LIFEFORCE (1985): A spaceship brings back an alien vampire babe (Mathilda May) to London, where she proceeds to drain the life out of pretty much everyone she comes across. It's up to the spaceship's lone survivor and a governemnt official to keep her from causing a alien vampire zombie apocolypse. Or something. It gets incredibly confusing pretty quickly. At least May and the special effects are nice to look at. (Sucks/Not Reccommended) ============================================== 2-HEADED SHARK ATTACK (2012): The Asylum gives us another CGI-heavy killer creature film. This time, a professor and his wife (Charlie O'Connell and Carmen Electra) take a group of students (including our main heroine, Brooke Hogan) on a research trip. Unfortunately, the title creature messes up their boat, so the majority of the people on board go to an abandoned atoll to find stuff to patch up. Then the island starts to crumble. Literally. And the shark is making mincemeat of everyone. Relies far too much on CGI and the plot isn't really that good, but it's surprisingly better acted than most Asylum releases, and there's some geniunely good scares. (Sucks/Not Reccommended) ============================================== REDLINE (2010): In the very distant future, high-speed, high-tech, and highly insane racing has a huge following, and JP's dream is to make it to the Redline level and win the big one. Only problem is that his friend and engineer is forced to pay off a debt to the mob, which kinda throws a wrench in the works. Nevertheless, JP makes it in anyway and makes something of an emotional connection with highly attractive fellow Redline racer Sonoshee, who JP happens to remember from before they were drivers. Oh, and the planet that they and the other racers are going to compete on does not look too kindly on the race taking place at all. Awesome and well-crafted anime has its dramatic moments and its share of laughs, making for an extremely enjoyable watch. (ROCKS/RECCOMMENDED)
|
|
El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,896
|
Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Oct 22, 2012 22:46:25 GMT -5
"DON'T BE AFRAID OF THE DARK" (1973)Story: Sally Farnham and her husband Alex have inherited her grandmother's old mansion, and are in the middle of renovating when Sally uncovers an old bricked-up fireplace. The handyman Mr. Harris tells her that she should just leave it alone, but Sally decides to open it up to see what's inside... Soon, Sally starts hearing little things moving behidn the cupboards, inside the walls... little things calling her name... Genuinely creepy, which is saying something since this was made for network prime-time television back in1973. Everyone else in the movie believes that Sally (well played by Kim Darby) is just under stress because of her husband's possible promotion and her fears that she is losing him to his job, and even she starts to wonder what is reality... until she sees one... The best thing about the movie is the ending, and I won't spoil it (probably because you already know a bit of it if you've seen the remake) but it's not the happy ending you'd expect from a movie of this type. Side note: Felix Silla (Twiki from the "Buck Rogers" 80's TV series) plays one of the creatures. Highly recommended.
|
|
El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,896
|
Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Oct 22, 2012 23:13:35 GMT -5
"THE DEMON" (1980)This is movie #36 (Disc 9, Side 2, Movie 2) of the "Chilling Classics" 50 movie set. Story: deranged killer stalks the streets of London, focusing on a young blonde American teacher who is living with her cousin. Psychic is hired by a previous victim's parents to find the killer, but... OK, as with a lot of the movies in this set, there are some major flaws with this movie. Cameron Mitchell is one of the top-billed actors here, playing the psychic detective, but he's only in the movie for about 10-15 minutes (and he chews the scenery up like it was coated with bacon!) and his part of the story leads ABSOLUELY NOWHERE! There are scenes of the killer appearing and disappearing, as if he were supernatural, but it's not explained. There are scenes of the killer 'preparing' to go out and kill, but nothing makes any real sense. There's even two fight/kill scenes that feel like they were thrown in to keep the audience awake. However, when the movie shifts to the blonde and her cousin, you get a good little movie. Good acting, good dialogue between the two and their friends/lovers/boyfriends/etc., competently shot... you actually start to give a damn about the girls and about what's going to happen to them. The final 'reel' of the movie is also quite good, when the killer finally attacks. Well made and suspenseful. But the crap that you have to wade through to get to the end... it's like someone wanted to remake "Halloween" (right down to the killer's blank mask... again, never explained) but had to jam a bunch of extra crap in to keep the producers/financial backers happy. Verdict: meh Good: 11 Meh: 14 Trash: 11 OK, I have to spoil this: {Spoiler}1) the scene where Cameron Mitchell is trying to get a 'read' in the missing girl's room... remember Dennis Hopper and his air tank in "Blue Velvet"? Mitchell is ripping up the pillow and huffing it like it's the only source of oxygen in the building. It's unintentionally hilarious.
2) at about half way through the movie, the mother of the first shown victim pulls a gun out of nowhere and shoots Mitchell through the head, with the line "Did you see this in your future". She just flips the f*** out and kills him... and then that part of the movie is never returned to again. Three more DVDs to go!
|
|
El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,896
|
Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Oct 29, 2012 22:56:04 GMT -5
"JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES"Story: John Crow leads a team of vampire-hunters backed by the Vatican. His team is decimated by an attack by the first true vampire, and now he has to find and stop it before it gains more power. The Good: - James Woods. He gets to play a supreme badass and it looks like he had a lot of fun doing it. - The vampires. Intentionally made not to be the sexy vampires that seemed to show up in every movie around that time. - Makeup. Some very nicely done special effects when it comes to bodies being cut up and blown apart. - Plot. There's a great idea of a story behind this and few elements that are interesting (the whole 'psychic link' thing I likes). The Bad: - Execution. Great plot seems to get lost in the action-fest. The story doesn't feel like it unfolds organically. - Length. Too long, the action scenes felt drawn out to fill time. It didn't suck, but now that I've seen it I have no desire to ever see it again. Cannot recommend.
|
|