El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Mar 14, 2014 1:05:57 GMT -5
#16: "NIGHT OF THE BLOOD BEAST"Story: test rocket crashes, pilot killed but comes back to life, alien life form stowed away on rocket to get to Earth and tries to convince scientists that it is not evil. Low budget 1958 sci-fi horror produced by Roger Corman, written by his brother Gene. I've read reviews that say this is an unrecognized classic, a rough diamond if you will. Rough yes... diamond, not so much. Tries to be a B-grade copy of "The Thing From Another World", ends up being a Z-grade copy. So, if NASA was funding a top-secret space rocket-type ship, do you really think that the scientists would be allowed to work alone? ESPECIALLY in the 50's, during the paranoia of the Cold War? When the rocket crashes, the team that recovers the ship is one guy with a fire extinguisher and a female photographer... No way, the US military would be all over that crash zone like white on rice. Dumb. Avoid.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Mar 14, 2014 1:29:12 GMT -5
#17: "NIGHT FRIGHT"Story: something crashed near Satan's Hollow, now that something is attacking rebellious teens who just want to party. Low budget sci-fi horror made in 1967, apparently re-released in the UK on video as "E.T.N.: The Extraterrestrial Nastie". - Poorly made movie, with terrible lighting and mismatched footage (lots of night-day-night scenes). - Hammy actors, with quite a few actors playing roles half their age (the guy who is supposed to be the 'local bully' looks about the same age as the Sheriff). - Lots of time-wasting go-go dancing at a lakeside beach party. - Plenty of cute girls. - Monster looks like a guy in a gorilla suit with a Klingon skull for a head (Next Generation, not original series). One bright spot: John Agar as the Sheriff. Solid actor giving a solid performance in a movie that doesn't deserve it. Other than that, bad. Avoid.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Mar 19, 2014 0:17:42 GMT -5
#18: "SHE-BEAST"1966 British-Italian co-production, directed by Michael Reeves (who would go on to make the acclaimed "Witchfinder General" before dying at age 25). Story: British newlyweds vacationing in Communist Romania get into accident, car drive into lake. Spirit of 200-year old witch possesses body of wife, husband must work with local (who claims to be of the Van Helsing family) to capture the now-monstrous witch and get his wife back, while avoiding police. Starts out like a standard gothic thriller of 'revenge from beyond' but gets weirder and funnier as it moves along, until it's a near-full-blown comedy at the end. There's even a chase scene that plays more like a Keystone Cops reel than anything else. Barbara Steele ("Black Sunday") plays the wife, Ian Ogilvy ("Witchfinder General", TV's "Return of the Saint") is the husband, and both are in good form. Character actor John Karlsen is Van Helsing, who is fun walking the line as the local 'Doomsayer' who knows what's going on and the town drunk/kook. There's also quite a bit of jabbing at Communism here, as the innkeeper and his friend try to cover up evidence that may implicate them in the accident... they spout doctrine but they know that they will be severely punished for their actions, guilty or not... A mish-mash of a movie that turned into a nice surprise. Only problem was the quality of the DVD, which was terrible. If I find this in a better version, I think I might just pick it up.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Mar 19, 2014 0:32:13 GMT -5
#19: "THE LAST WOMAN ON EARTH"1960 sci-fi thriller made by Roger Corman. Story: a somewhat scummy big-shot businessman, his new wife, and his lawyer are scuba diving in Puerto Rico when 'something' happens to drain the air from Earth and apparently kills everyone. While the local jungle starts to replenish the breathable air, he businessman takes charge and starts to rebuild, while the others fall in love... It is a very interesting problem that the movie tackles... do you just give up or do you do your best to survive? Through the movie you sort of see the lawyer (played by "Edward Wain" aka. screenwriter Robert Towne) as the protagonist, who just wants to be free with Evelyn and not live under the thumb of the practical Harold, but Harold is the one with the survival instinct to fight on. Better than it's reputation, worth watching. #20: "Horror Express" (and a terrible version of it, too)
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Mar 25, 2014 0:24:41 GMT -5
"THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE"Story: American walking down street in Rome one night sees a woman being stabbed in an art gallery. The police question him, revealing that there's been a suspected maniac on the loose. The American knows nothing... or does he? He keeps thinking about what he saw, and how something was not quite right with that scene... so, of course, he starts to look into the other murders and tries to help the police. 1970 Italian giallo film, the directorial debut of Dario Argento ("Suspiria", "Deep Red", "Demons" and much more). Argento was supposed to make a standard, run-of-the-mill crime drama and instead filled it with interesting characters, intense visuals, and shocking scenes of violence (for that time). Set the bar to a new level for that genre of cinema, and few ever reached it. It also introduced the recurring theme of the main character having to decipher an important clue they find at the beginning of the movie. Not perfect, however. The ending feels compressed (not a lot of time was given to explaining the motives of the killer), and there's a long chase scene in the middle that doesn't really fit with the rest of the movie (great scene, though). The version I saw is the VCI DVD version, and while they made the picture nice and crisp, there's not much else for extras. The soundtrack (by Ennio Morricone, no less) is wonderful but it's not on a separate CD, it's within the DVD so it'll be a pit of a pain to be able to listen to it. Other than that, just the trailer. Also, there were spelling mistakes in the English subtitles and the sound just drops out in one scene. Still, worth owning.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Apr 3, 2014 23:24:26 GMT -5
#21: "DIE, SISTER, DIE!"Story: rich businessman hires former nurse (with a shady past) to be caretaker for his sister, who has gone a little over the edge and has tried to commit suicide a few times over the last year... and the nurse is given instruction to make sure the sister succeeds next time. The nurse has second thoughts and starts looking into why this is happening, leading to a dark family secret being revealed. Feels a lot like a Matlock episode, with no real edge or thrill or jump to any of it. It's not a bad story, and they go the route where the sister knows about her brother's intentions so you get a 'chess game' feel to it. The acting is OK. It's just mediocre. The kind of movie you watch when it's raining on a Saturday afternoon and wrestling has been pre-empted.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Apr 3, 2014 23:59:37 GMT -5
#22: "GOOD AGAINST EVIL"Story: Jessica is a 22-year old fashion designer in San Francisco who has just met and fallen in love with Andy, a handsome traveling writer. Unfortunately for Andy, Jessica is also destined to be the bride of a demon and lead the Earth to damnation! When the cult leader sets wheels in motion to break the young couple apart, Andy has to find Jessica... So, this show starts like a sequel to "Rosemary's Baby", then takes a sharp turn into "Exorcist" territory at the end. Seriously, the movie opens with a ceremony that mirrors the end of "RB", and then jumps to Jessica's adulthood. When the cult leader shows up again (played with appropriately quite menace by B-movie villain regular Richard Lynch), he starts a plan to side-track Andy from his goal to find the now-missing Jessica by introducing a former love (an early role by "Sex in the City" star Kim Cattrall) and her possessed child, which brings in a priest and the "Exorcist" rip-off ending. So, what about Andy and Jessica? WE NEVER FIND OUT! This was a made-for-TV movie that was supposed to be the pilot for a series! Yes, a group of producers and writers got together and thought that American 70's television needed a series that was a mix of "The Fugitive" and Satanism! It's bizarre to even think it. And they never did finish the story. Anyways, competent for mid-70's TV, and interesting in a "what were they thinking" way, but far from essential viewing.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2014 10:04:14 GMT -5
An absoloutley brilliant horror movie by the gorgeous Twisted Twins Jen and Sylvia Soska who are doing See No Evil 2. Katherine Isabelle is amazing as is the whole cast and a great look into the world of Body Modification and you definetly see influence from movies they love specifically Audition. Absoloutley highly reccomended. Ok, that looks friggin' sweet! For me it Was 2002's Pumpkin starring Christina Ricci. Basically a pretty blonde sorority sister from a well to do family falls for mentally handicapped guy and everyone just freaks the f*** out. It's pretty good. It's a sweet story but the execution is leaves something to be desired. It sometimes comes off as cheesy and overly dramatic. I'd recommend it if you're a sucker for that for the underdog thing like I am and also for the scene where Christina Ricci shaking it dressed as a hulua girl.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Apr 18, 2014 1:12:51 GMT -5
#23: "INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS"Story: State Department sends agent to hi-tech lab after top scientist dies, uncovers series of mysterious deaths. Agent suspects deaths have something to do with female scientist working on reproductive habits of bees. Seems she is using the lab to 'convert' women into killing machines, which cause men to have heart attacks after having sex, in some scheme to help bees reproduce...? Silly story (I'm still unclear why killing scientists is the main objective), but damn sexy women. Parts of the movie play like a studio porno, with the women slowly seducing their victims. There's also a drawn out scene of the scientist 'converting' the wife of one victim into one of her killers, using jungle gym equipment and strobe lights, and very little clothing. The agent seems to summon the answer out of thin air, there's one scene that is physically impossible... It's 70's drive-in dumb fun. Starring 70's/80's B-star William Smith, Anitra Ford and Victoria Vetri (aka. Playmate of the Year 1968 Angela Dorian). Bad but fun. #24: "Cat O'Nine Tails"
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Apr 18, 2014 1:33:44 GMT -5
#25: "MEMORIAL VALLEY MASSACRE"Story: opening day at the new Memorial Valley Campgrounds is not going smoothly. The water system is not connected yet, the roads aren't finished, the construction crew quit and there's a wildman living in a cave in the woods that is killing the campers. 1989 slasher-style flick, actually feels a lot more like a Police Academy comedy than a horror movie. Really, most of the first hour is about the campers trying to deal with camping and each other, with scenes of the wildman sneaking around the camp, occasionally killing someone with a knife or breaking their neck. The wildman looks like Brendan Fraser in "Encino Man" before the make-over, there's a trio of 'dumb teens' (who did give me the one laugh I had in this), bikers, an old Army guy... the kind of 'cast of oddballs' from any one of a dozen 80's comedies. Picks up a bit at the end, but dumb dumb dumb. A great example of how not to make a movie like this, so enjoyable on that level. Note: there's one scene near the end when the remaining campers check the time and one says "It's Memorial Day...", as if it was supposed to be a plot point. Turns out the movie was originally called "Memorial Day" (trying to cash in on the 'holiday horror' genre') but the name was changed because the studio didn't want to offend veterans. It's still referred to as "Memorial Day" in the end credits, though. #26: "Messiah of Evil"
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Apr 18, 2014 23:49:00 GMT -5
#27: "SNAKE PEOPLE"Story: government sends military captain to island nation to stop voodoo cult. Local plantation owner and current head of police try to persuade him not to interfere with local rituals, but to no avail. Plantation owner's niece also arrives for no real reason. Some entertaining bits (lots of weird voodoo rituals featuring a sexy snake dancer and a truly creepy midget assistant to the voodoo cult leader) but lots of bad dialogue and a slow moving plot kills the mood. Boris Karloff stars as the plantation owner, who is also the cult leader, up to something about using the mental powers to power the world or something... it's not really clear. Some unintentional laughs pepper the movie but it's not worth seeking out.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Apr 19, 2014 1:21:54 GMT -5
From Russia with Love Sean Connery stars in his second Bond film about a secret plan by the criminal group SPECTRE to play East off against West. Connery is as great as usual and most of the acting around him is good as well. The story does have a few holes in it and I wasn't too happy with the pay off. But I would recommend it.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on Apr 27, 2014 1:34:56 GMT -5
#28: "THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRACE"Story: rich British lord is obsessed with dead wife, tortures and kills hookers in spare time. Finally overcomes his 'craziness', marries a woman who looks like his dead wife, then starts to loose his grip again. Italian giallo made in 1971, set in England. You'd think that a movie that starts out with a person killing hookers would end up making that guy the villain, right? That's the major problem that I had with this movie. It starts out with the husband killing hookers and then "he's OK now", with no punishment (or even discovery, since the one witness was killed later on) of his crimes. Also, the last 10 minutes become twist central, with three "what are YOU doing here" moments. Yes, there's a conspiracy to push the guy over the edge again, but it never really hooks you with the reveals. It just happens. Acting is average, except for the husband who has two emotions: stoic and bug-eyed whacko. Lots of tits do not save this. Avoid.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on May 4, 2014 1:34:33 GMT -5
#29: "THE TERROR"Story: lost French soldier saved by beautiful woman. When soldier searches for her after she disappears in the evening, he's told she is not real, but ghost of local Baron's wife. Soldier investigates her death and uncovers tale of supernatural revenge. Famous Roger Corman-directed movie from 1963 (filmed on left-over sets from other Corman movies), and a really well done gothic horror story to boot. The Baron (played by Boris Karloff) is great as a tortured soul who is losing his mind, the old witch is creepy as hell, the story moves along at a nice pace, there's no filler... it's a damn good ghost story! The only thing that distracted me from the movie is Jack Nicholson as the French soldier. It was really difficult to stop being able to see him as anyone other than Jack Nicholson. He just seemed out of place, kind of like Will Ferrell in "Casa de mi Padre". (And, to a lesser extent, Corman regular Dick Miller ("Bucket of Blood") doesn't even bother trying to hide his New York accent while working as the Baron's manservant Stefan). Great story, somewhat bizarre for the casting but definitely worth watching.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on May 4, 2014 1:53:05 GMT -5
#30: "THEY CAME FROM BEYOND SPACE"Story: meteors land in Britain countryside. Scientists who investigate become possessed/controlled by something. Colleague investigates, finds controlled scientists building advanced base with rocket, tries to uncover the bizarre plot. There's also a strange virus that is killing the local townspeople and rapidly spreading around the world... Science-fiction thriller from the British studio Amicus, made in 1967. Starts out like an strange slow-building episode of "The Avengers" (Steed and Peel, not Cap and Thor), but with about a half-hour left the plot takes a left turn at "UFO" and ends up in downtown "Space: 1999"-territory. Really, once the scientist hero gets inside the base and starts having a look around, the sanity goes out the window. As for the ending, it doesn't ring true to me... {Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}{Spoiler}The scientist convinces the alien invaders that the people of Earth would have helped them if the aliens had just asked nicely... Nope, don't believe it. Besides, the aliens had been trapped on the Moon for years, no doubt they would have been able to study us humans and would have figured out that we would have taken their stuff and killed them off! Side note: whoever was the fight choreographer must have been a wrestler or a wrestling fan, because the two fight scenes feature headlocks, back body drops and a body slam through a table. The movie may be crazy but it was a blast. A wrong-headed blast but fun just the same.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on May 7, 2014 0:03:54 GMT -5
#31: "GRAVE OF THE VAMPIRE"Story: in a 1930's prologue, a vampire bursts out of his tomb, kills a college kid and rapes his girlfriend. Years later, the child from that rape is hunting the vampire and believes that he's a night school teacher of mythology. Terrible movie. Grim, dark, dark brooding nasty people. 70's action B-actor William Smith ("Invasion of the Bee Girls") turns up about a half-hour in as the humorless main character, sort of a Blade-knockoff without any cool... or interest in the opposite sex, since one of his fellow students practically throws herself at him and lands with a THUD. He does end up making sack time with another woman but there is absolutely no chemistry between him and anyone. He has two emotions in this movie: zombified and roid rage. B-actor Michael Pataki plays the vampire, trying to channel the spirit of Christopher Lee and getting nothing but static. Too many scenes in the dark where you can't see what's happening. Bad writing, especially during the laughable 'police investigation' at the beginning. Groan-inducing dialogue. Just... no. Don't see it. Avoid. (It did remind me of another show from the 70's called "The Curse of Dracula", where the surviving Van Helsings find Dracula as a college professor in swingin' San Francisco... it was part of a TV series called "Cliffhangers" but then collected and released on video. Watch those, if you can find them.)
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on May 20, 2014 0:01:15 GMT -5
#32: "THE VAMPIRE HAPPENING"Story: American actress inherits castle in France, finds that it is burial home for female vampire who she resembles. She, of course, releases the vampire, and now her new love and her butler must figure out which is which. And then there's the party... German-funded comic horror made in 1971 directed by Freddie Francis, who started as a cinematographer (winning an Academy Award in 1960 for "Sons and Lovers"), and would eventually return to cinematography (winning another Oscar for "Glory" in 1989). Movies tries to be a screwball sex comedy. Sexy, yes... funny, painfully not. It could have been an interesting story but the dialogue is filled with little one-liner unfunny jokes, almost like it was dubbed over by a group of drunks trying to emulate MST3K. Then they throw in a bunch of 'wacky antics' involving a monk who has become a vampire getting into the neighboring catholic girls' school... And then the movie ends with a giant party that makes the shindigs from "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" look tame. With the original Dracula as the guest of honor. Played by Ferdie Mayne, who also played a vampire in Roman Polanski's "The Fearless Vampire Killers", and plays Drac as nothing but a horny old man. And the ending just plain flat-out is dumb... for it to happen the way it did, it would have to presume that the 'heroes' of the movie blatantly forget one detail about the actress. Unfunny, stupid, dumb... not even the nudity (and there's plenty of nudity) can save it. Avoid.
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El Pollo Guerrera
Grimlock
His name has chicken in it, and he is good at makin' .gifs, so that's cool.
Status: Runner
Posts: 14,894
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Post by El Pollo Guerrera on May 30, 2014 0:08:02 GMT -5
#33: "THE WEREWOLF VS. THE VAMPIRE WOMAN"1970 Spanish horror film starring Paul Naschy as Waldemar Daminsky, man cursed as werewolf, a role he would play in up to a dozen movies. Story: young beautiful researchers looking for ancient crypt of vicious noble who may have been a vampire, find remote home of Waldemar Daminsky and his insane sister. He agrees to help them in their search, believing the knife that killed the noble could end his cursed existence. Crypt is found, vampire is revived, one of researchers is turned, battle between Waldemar and the Vampire Woman begins. Really good story, and at times quite creepy, but hamstrung by low budget and poor camera work. Bad transfer from video doesn't help, either. - female lead looks pretty but does little more than scream and stare lovingly into Naschy's eyes. Since she's supposed to be some kind of college researcher, she never comes across as smart enough. - felt like they were working from just the bullet points of a bigger script. Any bit of information that moves the story along just appears, there's no real sense of 'discovery' or 'realization' when it comes to the characters uncovering the plot. That may be a weird complaint, but it bugged me. - some very creepy scenes involving the vampire women (sexy, too), because they filmed the scenes at a different speed than what they were played at. Gave them a dream-like quality to it. - English translation poor, seemed to be made by people who do not speak English on a regular basis. - slow pace. - something else that bugged me... Naschy at times looked like a young thin Marlon Brando, and at other times a young thin John Belushi. I actually did like it, but it is greatly flawed, so cannot recommend.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on May 30, 2014 0:19:02 GMT -5
I dug this out to watch it tonight as I have not seen it in a few years and I am glad I did as it is still my favourite zombie movie. PLOTWhen a bumbling pair of employees at a medical supply warehouse accidentally release a deadly gas into the air, the vapors cause the dead to re-animate as they go on a rampage through Louisville, Kentucky seeking their favorite food, brains. THOUGHTSWhat really needs to be said? if you have never seen this then you're doing yourself a HUGE disservice and I encourge you to find this and watch it immediately , and for those that have seen this you already know how gawd damn awesome this is...that is unless you hate it and for that I HATE YOU TO!....sort of. IMO the best looking Zombies in any zombie movie , great humor fun characters. AND THE GREATEST NAKED GRAVEYARD DANCE YOU WILL EVER SEE!....I love you Linnea Quigley. CONCLUSIONIf you have never watched it...WATCH IT IMMEDIATELY!...if you have seen it then consider us friends.
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Crappler El 0 M
Dalek
Never Forgets an Octagon
I'm a good R-Truth.
Posts: 58,479
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Post by Crappler El 0 M on May 30, 2014 0:51:46 GMT -5
Mr. Arkadin (1955) (released as Confidential Report in some territories) PlotA smuggler comes upon a scene where someone is murdered. The dying man whispers two names to him, including the name of a multimillionaire, Mr. Arkadin. The smuggler finds Mr. Arkadin, who hires him to investigate his own (Arkadin's) past. As the man pieces together information about Mr. Arkadin, mysterious things begin to happen. Thoughts: There are several versions of this movie. I saw a 98 minute version found on Hulu Plus (in the Criterion section). As you might expect from Orson Welles, the film is highly stylized with some beautiful black-and-white photography. While some of the film can be confusing, perhaps because it was missing some scenes Welles intended to be included, it was still an enjoyable mystery film. While there are some basic similarities to the story of Citizen Kane, the film has quite a different tone. Conclusion:Would I recommend this picture? Only to fans of Orson Welles, particularly if you liked The Trial and Chimes at Midnight (released as Falstaff in some territories). It's not as easy to follow as Citizen Kane, The Stranger, The Lady from Shanghai, or Touch of Evil, but there is plenty to enjoy from this film. If Orson Welles films are not really your thing, then this is definitely not the film for you.
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