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 Aug 31, 2014 17:19:20 GMT -5
Guardians of the Galaxy
Fun comic book movie. Pretty easy story with storytelling standards like the Macguffin and the diverse group who teams up (Wizard of Oz, Star Wars). Chris Pratt is pretty much perfect in the lead and this was a great role for Dave Bautista. One of the better Stan Lee cameos. The cameo in the post credits scene was a lot of fun.
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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 Sept 1, 2014 23:50:18 GMT -5
"OCULUS"Story: young woman tries to prove that haunted mirror caused her parents to go crazy, leading to an event that killed both parents and sent younger brother to an institution. Younger brother tries to reason with sister... but is she really right? Well, yes, of course she is but to it's credit, the movie really does hold it's cards for a long while before it tells you 'yes, it was the mirror all along.' Half of the movie is the present day, with the two trying to record changes in the mirror, while the other half is the events of the past... and then the movie starts mixing the two to the point where you don't know what is now, what was then, are they reliving the whole thing, are they remembering different events... for something that can be confusing it does flow pretty seamlessly. Not a lot of gory bits, but it does have two scenes that I physically winced at ('the band-aid' and 'the apple', if you've seen it). Kudos for that. There was a part of this that reminded me of an older movie, "Book of Shadows: The Blair Witch 2"... There was a line in that film that said "video never lies" which applies here. So, pretty good.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 2, 2014 0:16:09 GMT -5
PLOTA cryptic phone call sets off a dangerous game of risks for Elliot, a down-on-his luck salesman. The game promises increasing rewards for completing 13 tasks, each more sinister than the last. thoughtsFor those of us that have been missing out on Saw movies every halloween this is an awesome replacement that I am sad went straight to video and not theaters , lots of great twists and how it all ties together will definetly have you talking and theorizing. Oh and did I mention Ron Pearlman is in this movie? no? because he is and anything with Ron as anyone should know is at best worth checking out atleast once...so I say come for Pearlman and stay for an awesome thrillride of a movie.
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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 Sept 7, 2014 1:31:22 GMT -5
"THE DEVIL'S 8"Story: federal agent helps group of convicts escape from chain gang, uses them to shut down illegal moonshine ring. Terrible rip-off that's a mix of "The Dirty Dozen" and "Walking Tall", with sets that look like they were borrowed from "Green Acres". B-movie tough guy Christopher George comes across as a jerk with no qualms about losing a few of these crooks to get what he wants. The criminals all have the usual quirks (one's a drunk, one's got a personal grudge, one's a pacifist, one's black, etc.) and they all conflict with each other but eventually get along... but there's so little time devoted to that part of the story that it feels like they skipped over it during training. When it gets to the final showdown, the big plan turns out to be 'drive in and shoot everything that moves'. The movie poster has the faces of the 'crew' with one-word descriptors for each... which in no way match anything or are even mentioned in the movie. I'm guessing the producers didn't let the people who designed the poster see the movie, or read the script (if there was one). Badly made, tough to watch. ---------------------------------- "UNHOLY ROLLERS"Story: young woman fed up with lousy job joins roller derby, becomes big star of the circuit, turns into 'diva' and rebels when her career fades. Again, the lead character Karen in this movie is a complete jerk. She joins up and starts treating everyone else in the locker room as her enemy, even the one guy she screws. When the team owner finally gets fed up with her shenanigans, she starts rebelling even worse, losing her friends and alienating everyone around her. Thing is, the movie makes it look like this is just how she is, and she's not willing to try and become a better person. One major problem I had with the movie is that the rest of the team knows that the sport of roller derby is more like pro wrestling and there's more showmanship involved, but somehow Karen doesn't understand that. There's no way a team owner would let someone who couldn't differentiate 'real' from 'sports entertainment' get anywhere near to being on the team! Karen is played by former Playmate Claudia Jennings (Playmate of the Month November 1969, Playmate of the Year 1970), and she is frequently naked in this movie. More of a character study, interesting parts but an unsympathetic lead made it harder to watch. The nudity helped a lot, though. ---------------------------------- "VICIOUS LIPS"Story: all-girl band with new singer needs to get across galaxy to hot night club for huge gig, but crashes on deserted planet with killer hidden on board. Laughably bad, movie feels like series of music videos strung together with the lamest of sci-fi plots. Terrible dialogue, poor attempts at humour, inept special effects, cheap sets (which may have been borrowed from another incredibly bad movie the director was making at the same time), it's all bad. And in a way it's kind of fun. The music is the mid-80's new wave pop that was flooding the airwaves at the time, and since it's in space the songs are all "space this" and "planetary that". The bass player was a dead ringer for Nikki Sixx. The girl playing the new band member was incredibly cute, and the singer that dubbed in her voice in Sue Saad, who had an great voice. Bad songs, but great voice. Movie was written and directed by Albert Pyun, best known for "The Sword and the Sorcercer" and Van Damme's "Cyborg", among other completely bad movies. Bad, but entertainingly bad.
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kidglov3s
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Wants her Shot
Who is Tiger Maskooo?
Posts: 15,870
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Post by kidglov3s on Sept 7, 2014 4:46:21 GMT -5
Movies I've seen in the past week and a half: The Campaign (2012) (Rental DVD): Forgettable, weak and dull satire, jokes that don't quite work. Recalled how things didn't really gel together in Anchorman 2. Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014) (First Run): I saw this at midnight on a whim, and for that it was an ok time at the movies. It felt like every story was weaker and of less consequence and interest than any of the stories presented in the first film. Marv looked puffy. Josh Brolin and JGL felt like weak substitutes for Clive Owen and Josh Hartnett in the first one. A movie that I felt to be acutely not the target audience for, which is why I really wouldn't take my experience to be a referendum on how successful it was at achieving its goals. I left feeling like "Oh I bet I wouldn't dig the first movie any more", that just my tastes had changed a lot in the 7 or so years since I last watched it. Nope. Watched the first one a few days later and still loved it. This one's not as cool. Which I mean, there are a lot of movies that aren't as cool as Sin City. Not for me, what can I say. The Hunger Games (2012) (Amazon Prime Instant Video): Watched this because it was there to be watched, and was curious enough to see what this Hunger Games business is really all about. Found myself frustrated at the lack of actual storytelling being accomplished, for how long this thing is. By far my least favorite section of the movie was the stuff in the arena, which was overlong and felt inconsequential. I wanted to learn more about Panem, and I wished that the movie spent more time on that than on various incidents within the arena that are meaningless, within the scope of the big picture. Left me excited to see Catching Fire, with the thought that "Well, that one's certain to really pick up the ball and run with things". I really loved Sutherland, Harrelson and Tucci. I did not care for Jennifer Lawrence in X-Men Days of Future Past where I felt she was playing herself movie star actress Jennifer Lawrence rather than the character Mystique, but in this one I felt like she did a fine job of portraying her character and was never taken out of the movie or found her to be incongruent. How To Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) (Second Run): I was not a fan of the first one, and was surprised to enjoy the sequel as much as I did. I really enjoyed how exhilarating the flying scenes were. I went in expecting Jay Baruchel to be intolerable, as I found him to be in the first one and especially in This is The End, but he was not a problem. I wish I had sat closer to the screen, as I think being way at the back took away some of the impact of the film's impressive visual design. Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) (Second Run): A good time at the movies. It felt like a very honest go at putting together a bullshit action movie, with no pretenses toward doing anything otherwise. Enjoyed seeing Bay and Wahlberg back together, and Stanley Tucci was again a highlight of a motion picture. Some of my favorite parts involved the surreal business with Thomas Lennon (particularly the scene with him and Tucci and Kelsey Grammar in an office that feels completely removed from anything, like a scene from another movie). I'm about 99% certain there's a David Wain cameo about 2/3s through the movie. I loved seeing them bring out Galvatron, as a huge fan of TFTM, but was disappointed that they did not get Nimoy to voice him. I felt like the teenage love subplot was kinda eh, but it helped add to the vibe of this being a callback to lumbering disaster ensemble pictures like Earthquake and Airport. It goes without saying that the movie would be improved if it was 45min to an hour shorter. Neighbors (2014) (Second Run): Not for me, enjoyed a lot of the jokes. Seth Rogen and Zac Efron were tolerable. Found neither side to be particularly sympathetic, which made the movie something of a trial to get through. It felt very, very long. LOVED the joke with the ED physician. Maleficent (2014) (Second Run): Holy shit what a mess. It's like they took Legend as a starting point, and aimed to carry forward everything from that movie that didn't work. This is just all over the place. The visuals are grotesque and unpleasant, but in a boring way. Just... wow. What a mess. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) (Rental Blu-ray): There are things I enjoyed about this, particularly in how the look was changed from the first film to be grittier and more visceral, with less CG and better CG when it was used, but I was on the whole disappointed that I felt like it was still dragging its feet as far as getting the actual story on the road. I hated that it structurally mimicked its dramatically inert predecessor, and that it remained centered around an arena segment. I find myself frustrated that between this movie and the first movie you have what amounts to a 5 hour long prologue with about 20 minutes tops of actual plot and significant information. The story being built toward is compelling to me, but I'm frustrated that I'm two movies in and it hasn't really started yet. Poor storytelling that feels like a disregard for the audience's time and recalls 3 hour Raws. I feel like we're gonna end up with these movies taking 8 hours to accomplish what Rollerball did in a little over 2, and nowhere near as effectively. Philip Seymour Hoffman was great, and Sutherland, Lawrence, Harrelson and Tucci continue their strong work from the first one. If I Stay (2014) (First Run): I thought this was a genuinely compelling melodrama, and enjoyed the nonlinear narrative and generally low-key approach. I felt like the leads were likable, and that Stacy Keach is particularly effective when he is on-screen. I found myself surprised by some of the choices that were made. I feel like this movie is being reflexively disregarded, and for me at least I found myself enjoying it a bit more than A Fault In Our Stars, as I found it more approachable and less derivative (with that film being very closely hewn from the template of Love Story). The Giver (2014) (First Run): It held my attention, and I enjoyed seeing the story play out. Streep seems to relish the opportunity to portray the elder character as cruel, stilted and wooden. I appreciated that it had a brisk pace, it felt like something was always happening, and that the narrative flowed well from beat to beat. Mr. Peabody and Sherman (2014) (Second Run): Something has gone terribly wrong when the Peabody and Sherman movie becomes fixated on exploring the sociocultural implications of dog-human parentage and retreading generic themes of fatherhood. A wasted venture, which is a shame as there are some fun uses of the characters. The movie does work when it gains momentum in bulleting through episodic adventures (I found the stuff with, surprise, Stanley Tucci's Leonardo DaVinci and his creepy robot child to be a particular highlight) but its all for nothing, especially once the film comes to a stall in the third act. Tammy (2014) (Second Run): It is what it is. I had fun, especially once the ensemble of McCarthy/Sarandon/Bates/Oh is assembled toward the end of the second act. Neither of the central characters are compelling or sympathetic (though Bates and Oh are), so the movie does not succeed on a dramatic level. There's something to be said for making a movie about characters as unpleasant as Tammy and her grandmother, but nothing here rises above the level of mild curiosity. Dan Aykroyd appears as Tammy's father, and it was sad to see him. He does not look well. Blended (2014) (Second Run): It seems like whenever I go to these goddamn Adam Sandler/Co. movies (That's My Boy, Hotel Transylvania, Here Comes the Boom) I enjoy myself, and this one was no different. I really liked how the central characters of Sandler, Barrymore and their kids were distinct and well developed. Much of it is obvious or lowest common denominator humor, but it worked for me. I loved Terry Crews and his supporting chorus that popped in and out throughout the film. Always happy to see Kevin Nealon and Shaq. Jersey Boys (2014) (Second Run): I had an ok time. I felt like it could have been more focused, but what're you gonna do? I was not familiar with The Four Seasons/Frankie Valli going into this, so I learned a lot and enjoyed seeing the story unfold. The guys who played them were very charismatic when they were performing, which helped to bring the movie to life. The guy who played Frankie was really good in general. The old age makeup in closeup was among the more unsettling imagery I've seen in recent cinema. It recalls those weird old people ghosts in the reeds in Godzilla vs The Smog Monster. Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) (Second Run): A good time at the movies. I haven't seen any of the other titles attributed to the MCU, but this still felt like generic well-worn territory to me. Overlong. The sequence where Nick Fury is under pursuit is very effective, almost to the extent that the rest of the movie suffers as nothing comes close to that or, to a lesser degree, the building pursuit of America's Captain. Really enjoyed seeing Frank Grillo, who I loved in what I would call a much more enjoyable film The Purge: Anarchy, even if he didn't really have anything to do. Also nice to see Anthony Mackie who I felt to be one of the many bright spots in last year's Pain and Gain. I wish this movie was about 45 minutes shorter, the ending sequence in particular is about three times as long as it needs to be, not to mention the large swath of time in the middle where it's like people walking around not doing anything. Being harrassed by computers.
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,868
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Post by agent817 on Sept 7, 2014 9:58:43 GMT -5
SERIES 7: THE CONTENDERS Plot: Ever seen the show "Survivor" and wished they would just start killing each other?? Series 7 literally gives its contestants the guns. The film is not merely a satire on reality TV. It is an example of just how far people will shamelessly go for fame. 6 contenders are pitted against each other in a no holds barred, kill or be killed contest. The reigning champ is Dawn, a hard-nosed, mother-to-be. We go back and forth between Dawn and the other 5 contenders to see if someone can dethrone Dawn and become the new Champion. What is the prize? How are the contestants picked? These questions are not as important as asking yourself how shameless has our society become? Verdict: I own this movie but I watched this movie for the first time in 12 years and it marks the second viewing overall. The movie itself is a satire of reality TV and it shows how there are people who would do anything to get on TV, even if it's doing something that is highly illegal, despite not really want to go through with something as heinous as murder. It was almost like "The Running Man" and it also had elements of "The Most Dangerous Game." Anyway, the movie was shot like a reality show, so the cinematography felt like you were watching a reality show rather than a film, but it was done that way to make it seem like a show than movie. There were also some sequences when we get to see what goes on with the contestants and there is some conflict in some areas. One example is the winner, Dawn, going to see her estranged mother and sister, and it felt like she didn't have a great relationship with them. One gripe I had with the movie is the fact that some of the contestants felt obligated to compete, but they didn't go so far as to show their reluctance in participating. I almost wish that there was a trigger-happy contestant who would be down to kill other people, or maybe that's who the winner was, but the portrayal wasn't that of a psychopath with an appetite for destruction. She was shown to be human, but there was a montage of footage from past seasons in which she prepared her attacks and got her targets and was unapologetic about them. I couldn't believe it took a long time for me to see it a second time more than a decade after buying it. Even though I had considered putting it on at times in the past. Overall, I still liked the movie. I could see what the director was trying to do when making this movie. It didn't come off as preachy as "The Condemned" when it tried to make that anti-violence message in the movie, even though I enjoyed that one despite its many flaws. Try to find a way to watch this.
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kidglov3s
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Wants her Shot
Who is Tiger Maskooo?
Posts: 15,870
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Post by kidglov3s on Sept 10, 2014 9:09:14 GMT -5
The Identical (2014) (First Run Digital): I went to see this expecting to laugh and laugh at how ridiculous it was. And yes, it was ridiculous. And yes, there were many times where I laughed unintentionally. But I have no reservations calling this batshit alternate universe what-if-there-was-a-fake-Elvis-and-a-brother-of-that-fake-Elvis-separated-at-birth-unaware-of-his-identity-but-also-a-real-Elvis-and-also-Zionism saga a perfectly enjoyable good time at the movies. I think if you have a taste for the unusual you won't be bored by this one.
When The Game Stands Tall (2014) (First Run Digital): I went into this expecting to be bored to tears, but it held my interest throughout. I enjoyed seeing Laura Dern, Clancy Brown and Michael Chiklis on the big screen, I thought they were good in their roles. I graduated high school in 2005, so I think that helped my attention/interest in this Autumn 2004 high school period piece (I appreciated the use of old tech like CRT tvs, but felt like the movie lacked in using period music to really drive home the time frame). Being made aware of the monkeying around with the 'true story' after the fact I have a harder time with the invented characters and melodrama that carry much of the film's third act. When I was watching it I was under the assumption that it was part of the true story, and felt like "yknow this really doesn't work as well as what's preceded it, but if it's part of the true story what're you gonna do?" Had they not taken that road, and ended the movie after the 3rd game of the 2004 season the movie would have been better off narratively (though we would be minus Clancy Brown's character, so I'm fine with what we've been given). Nothing exceptional.
Rio 2 (2014) (Second Run 35mm): Saw this because it was playing at the Cinemark 16 and I hadn't seen it before. Extremely overcrowded plot structure, with all these narrative strands, none of which are compelling beyond the minor subplot of the poisonous frog's love for the evil bird. Loud, busy movie. They build up all the foundations of what could've been a really dreary 70s divorce movie where Blu's wife Jewel has every reason to leave him for Roberto, but then that thread is just dropped entirely. I would've been really impressed had they followed through what they set up to it's logical dramatic conclusion, rather than pretend all the deeply intrenched irreconcilable problems in the relationship between Blu and Jewel and Blu's incompatibility with Amazon life and culture could all be disintegrated with a Battle for the Planet of the Apes style jungle standoff with the murderous Miguel Ferrer deforester. A Rio 2 where they go full Stella Dallas and Jewel just says "My home is the Amazon and my heart is with Roberto, the kids and I are staying here, staying with him. The jungle is no place for a pet", and Blu sadly flies back to Rio to be with the humans, cold and alone, would at least feel like an honest treatment of the ideas presented in the film. Obviously no bullshit CG kids movie is going to take that track, but if it's not going to do the last 10% of that story it shouldn't build up the first 90% that could only lead to that conclusion.
Deliver Us From Evil (2014) (Second Run 35mm): A police thriller meets a ripoff of The Exorcist. I enjoyed myself. The movie had a real lax pace, which I can enjoy in a horror movie if it works toward building a mood. The first 15 minutes or so were a little incoherent for my taste. The gore was effectively put together and presented, and there were some truly unsettling visuals throughout (with a particularly nasty centerpiece involving a cat no longer among the living). Not a great movie, but it was a spooky good time at the movies. I was surprised to see Christopher Young's name in the credits, the music did not stand out to me as memorable or compelling and I tend to enjoy his work.
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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 Sept 10, 2014 9:42:50 GMT -5
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)
I have loved the original Planet of the Apes for years, but I've never gotten around to the sequels. I decided to watch Beneath the Planet of the Apes yesterday since I had it on my DVR (thanks TCM). It's a poorly conceived sequel to the science fiction classic.
Another spaceman, Brent, has been sent to rescue Taylor (Charlton Heston). I'm not sure how soon after Taylor's mission this spaceman was sent, but Brent, a Charlton Heston lookalike, arrives right after the events of first movie. That's pretty amazing! Right after Taylor seems to transport into another dimension within the planet, Brent lands on The Planet of the Apes and finds Nova, the human woman who rode off with Taylor in the first movie.
Brent finds more than he bargained for when he sees the city of Apes. After a struggle with the Apes, he sees more than WE bargained for when he finds nuclear bomb-worshipping humans with telepathic powers. That's when the movie really goes off the rails, though the entire idea of another space mission landing on the planet right after the events of the first movie is pretty ludicrous to begin with.
The apes don't look as good. There is a horrible, convoluted story. They seemed to want plot twists more than a good plot.
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kidglov3s
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Wants her Shot
Who is Tiger Maskooo?
Posts: 15,870
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Post by kidglov3s on Sept 10, 2014 10:00:24 GMT -5
Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) I have loved the original Planet of the Apes for years, but I've never gotten around to the sequels. I decided to watch Beneath the Planet of the Apes yesterday since I had it on my DVR (thanks TCM). It's a poorly conceived sequel to the science fiction classic. Another spaceman, Brent, has been sent to rescue Taylor (Charlton Heston). I'm not sure how soon after Taylor's mission this spaceman was sent, but Brent, a Charlton Heston lookalike, arrives right after the events of first movie. That's pretty amazing! Right after Taylor seems to transport into another dimension within the planet, Brent lands on The Planet of the Apes and finds Nova, the human woman who rode off with Taylor in the first movie. Brent finds more than he bargained for when he sees the city of Apes. After a struggle with the Apes, he sees more than WE bargained for when he finds nuclear bomb-worshipping humans with telepathic powers. That's when the movie really goes off the rails, though the entire idea of another space mission landing on the planet right after the events of the first movie is pretty ludicrous to begin with. The apes don't look as good. There is a horrible, convoluted story. They seemed to want plot twists more than a good plot. I love how crazy things get as Beneath goes on, between the ape protesters (PEACE AND FREEDOM! WE WANT PEACE! PEACE AND FREEDOM!), the mutants 'inmost selves', the 'vision' of the lawgiver and crucified apes, the bloody massacre, the finale. RATED G!
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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 Sept 10, 2014 19:54:54 GMT -5
Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971)
After watching the disappointing Beneath the Planet of the Apes yesterday, I decided to proceed with the series today by watching the third film in the series. Escape from the Planet of the Apes was much better than the previous sequel. In fact, it was a pretty good movie. The filmmakers decided to make the film a blend of science fiction, comedy, and chase/thrills. While there is a twist at the end, it serves the story very well unlike the twist from the previous film.
It turns out that Cornelius and Zira managed to escape the Planet of the Apes before the events depicted at the end of the last movie. A third ape, played by Sal Mineo (Rebel Without a Cause, Exodus) in his final film appearance, repaired Taylor's ship and the three departed the planet. Somehow the trio traveled back in time and landed on earth in the 1970s, not long after the time of Taylor's depart. Also, Zira became pregnant before the depart.
The ship is found and the trio are transported to a zoo. Cornelius and Zira eventually are interviewed by a special Presidential committee. As the committee, specifically Dr. Otto, find out more about where the apes come from and what will happen in the future, they eventually decide that Zira's baby cannot be allowed to live. Initially, Zira and Cornelius stay with a circus ringmaster with a fondness for apes, but eventually they will have to flee. That's all of the plot that I'll mention. The last scene in the movie has a great reveal that nicely sets up more films.
This movie largely works because it focuses on Cornelius and Zira. Roddy McDowall and Kim Hunter were both great actors. McDowell had been a child actor who appeared in the Best Picture-winning How Green Was My Valley (the film that beat Citizen Kane for Best Picture). Kim Hunter was probably best known for the play and film A Streetcar Named Desire where she played Stella (as in "STELLA! HEY STELLA!"). These two are so likable and it is fun to see them interact in (then) contemporary earth with humans. The film has a good balance of levity, science fiction elements, and chase/thriller moments. The ending of the film was well done.
This was a good movie. Infinitely better than the previous sequel.
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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 Sept 11, 2014 16:21:35 GMT -5
Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)
For the third day in a row, I have watched a sequel in the Planet of the Apes series. Today I watched Conquest of the Planet of the Apes. This movie was not great, but it was okay. It is somewhat similar to the recent successful reboot film Rise of the Planet of the Apes. It's tonally different from the previous sequel as there is very little humor. Generally, this films sees the exposition from the last movie begin to play out where humanity's downfall begins and the apes start to rise. The best part of the movie is probably Roddy McDowall's performance. Once again he gives a great performance, this time playing the offspring of Zira and Cornelius who goes on to choose the name Caesar and helps lead the ape uprising. The film is okay, but not great. The name Caesar of course would be re-used in the recent franchise as the leader of the ape uprising.
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agent817
Fry's dog Seymour
Doesn't Know Whose Ring It Is
Posts: 21,868
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Post by agent817 on Sept 11, 2014 22:39:27 GMT -5
RAZEPlot: Sabrina (Zoë Bell), along with 49 other women, are kidnapped by the diabolical husband and wife team of Elizabeth (Sherilyn Fenn) and Joseph (Doug Jones). The women are told that they will fight to the death for the entertainment of a group of bored rich people. If they lose or refuse to fight, a sniper will kill their loved ones. Verdict: I have to say that this movie was interesting but it had some flaws in some areas. While I can very well say that I thought that the sadistic girl was believable in that she enjoyed inflicting harm to people and I actually wanted to see her gets hers, there were some bits that I wasn't too crazy about. One was the timid girl and the woman played by Tracie Thoms, who had to fight in one scene but one character gave her life because she liked the other girl. Well, I can live with that but there is still something about it that I didn't care for. One thing I will say is that the movie does not hold back on the violence. Just because there are women involved does not mean it doesn't get brutal, not to mention it's not like there are cat-fights. These women wail on each other. No, there is no sexual content involved, either. It's all out brutality in this one. Check it out. It's a little slow in some areas but it was enjoyable.
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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 Sept 12, 2014 11:58:57 GMT -5
Battle for the Planet the Apes [Blu-ray Extended version] (1973)
For the fourth consecutive day, I watched a Planet of the Apes sequel. Today, I saw the final film in the series—Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Specifically I watched the 'Extended Version' available on Blu-ray.
This film, as well as the previous film (both directed by J. Lee Thompson) seem to be an attempt to bring the series full circle, setting up the events we saw in the first two movies. This film has a similar premise to this year's Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.
The plot focuses on Caesar (son of Cornelius and Zira), leader of the Apes, trying to coexist with the surviving humans after a nuclear episode. A gorilla named Aldo doesn't share Caesar's views on humans. Also, there are human survivors the apes don't initially know about who live in the Forbidden City, led by Governor Kolp. As the title suggest, there will be a battle.
Some of the elements of this draw-back to elements in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, a film I did not like. However, I appreciated the effort to try to tie this film in with that sequel and thus complete the series. The 'Alpha-Omega' bomb is referenced (at least in the Extended Version) and we get a glimpse of the people who are the forerunners to those wacky bomb-worshipping humans from the second film. I thought this final film in the series was okay, but nothing too special. I might rank it below Conquest and above Beneath.
All in all, I'm happy I finally watched the sequels to The Planet of the Apes, but none of them come close to its greatness.
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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 Sept 21, 2014 1:05:00 GMT -5
"GODZILLA VS. HEDORAH" (aka. "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster")Story: pollution causes creation of monster Hedorah. Godzilla arrives. They fight. Also involves the story of a scientist, his son, and a dance party on Mount Fuji too close to the battle. Not the greatest of the series. The anti-pollution message was certainly timely, and the creature design for Heborah was quite good. The extended dance club sequence did feel out of place. The whole movie just doesn't quite hang together as a movie, though... it's hard to explain but it's like they went down a checklist of what was needed and didn't try to do anything to really flesh out a story from that. Still kinda fun but not great.
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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 Sept 21, 2014 1:19:15 GMT -5
"EBIRAH, HORROR OF THE DEEP" (aka. "Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster")Story: young man searching for his missing brother steals a yacht with two new friends and a safe-cracker, shipwrecks on an island with a military base belonging to the terrorist group Red Bamboo AND a giant monster lobster called Ebirah, they all try to help prisoners of Red Bamboo escape so they can summon Mothra for help. And then Godzilla shows up... This movie is actually a bunch of fun. Up to the point where they group finds Godzilla, the movie feels like they were making a teen version of a spy movie. Even after Godzilla shows up, it's still this rag-tag team that's the center of the story. So, not much giant monster battle but a heck of a lot of fun.
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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 Sept 21, 2014 1:30:39 GMT -5
"GODZILLA VS. GIGAN" (aka. "Godzilla on Monster Island")Story: comic artist uncovers conspiracy by aliens to destroy Godzilla and take over Earth by summoning Ghidorah and new monster Gigan. Godzilla and fellow monster Anguirus leave Monster Island and head for Japan to battle, while the comic artist and some new allies try to stop aliens' plan. Another one where the story of the humans is more of the central focus, but this does have a huge monster battle to appease the kaiju fans. The human's story is a bit goofy at times (especially the trick they pull to fool the aliens) but still fun in a 70's spy flick kind of way. Fun. Goofy giant monster fun, but fun.
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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 Nov 3, 2014 0:13:50 GMT -5
"MYSTERY SCIENCE THEATER 3000 Volume 27""The Slime People" (season 1) - slime people invade LA through the sewers and seal off the city with a giant bubble. Reporter accidentally gets into city, finds scientist with two attractive daughters and a missing soldier, all try to break down the barrier. "Rocket Attack USA" (season 2) - spy sneaks into Russia to gather information on the Soviet space program. "Village of the Giants" (season 5) - group of beatnik kids steal formula from child genius lab to make themselves giants, take over town until genius figures out how to reverse the formula. Stars Beau Bridges and Ron Howard. "The Deadly Mantis" (season 8) - nuclear accident releases giant praying mantis from Arctic, travels south to Washington DC. Stars the guy who was the detective on "Perry Mason". All are fun, but I have to say that I laughed harder at the Mike Nelson episodes than the Joel Hodgson episodes. I had actually seen "Rocket Attack" before and knew it was terrible, but it was still terribly fun. The Soviet missile base is hilarious (a garden shed protected by not one but TWO chain-link fences!). Favorite moment through all of these was in "Village..." when the crew sees a gumball machine in the kid genius' lab and Servo shouts "MOM???"
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