movies

[eumaas]

Alien: Covenant

I liked Prometheus better.

I've got no desire to see that in a theater.

I was pretty disappointed in it. Also the action is poorly shot--that kind of really hectic shit where you can't really tell what you're looking at.

[revbob]

Alien: Covenant

I liked Prometheus better.

I've got no desire to see that in a theater.

I was pretty disappointed in it. Also the action is poorly shot--that kind of really hectic shit where you can't really tell what you're looking at.

This is relied upon way too much these days.

[eumaas]

Alien: Covenant

I liked Prometheus better.

I've got no desire to see that in a theater.

I was pretty disappointed in it. Also the action is poorly shot--that kind of really hectic shit where you can't really tell what you're looking at.

This is relied upon way too much these days.

I can't stand it. I found it especially annoying in this context since the action in Prometheus was easy to track.

I didn't go in expecting to see anything that could hold a candle to Alien, but I did expect a decent sequel to Prometheus and didn't quite get it.

[matedog]

Alien: Covenant

I liked Prometheus better.

I've got no desire to see that in a theater.

I was pretty disappointed in it. Also the action is poorly shot--that kind of really hectic shit where you can't really tell what you're looking at.

Was it as predictable as the trailer suggested?

[JennyB]

I went to get a manicure yesterday (shut up), and they were playing "Monster" on the TV. I thought that was a little dark.

[tepista]

Alien: Covenant

I liked Prometheus better.

I've got no desire to see that in a theater.

I was pretty disappointed in it. Also the action is poorly shot--that kind of really hectic shit where you can't really tell what you're looking at.

Was it as predictable as the trailer suggested?

I try not to typecast people, but Kenny Powers? Come on. It would take a lot for me to accept him in a different roll.

[tepista]

So I allowed that Clashy movie, London Town, to reach the top of my NF queue. I was dreading the start button, but It wasn't that bad. Cute coming of age story, a few unlikely things happened and the conflict/resolution part was a bit light. Easy to watch, lots of Clash songs, and some broad sung "Another Girl, Another Planet". My wife liked it.

[eumaas]

Alien: Covenant

I liked Prometheus better.

I've got no desire to see that in a theater.

I was pretty disappointed in it. Also the action is poorly shot--that kind of really hectic shit where you can't really tell what you're looking at.

Was it as predictable as the trailer suggested?

I try not to typecast people, but Kenny Powers? Come on. It would take a lot for me to accept him in a different roll.

he's not all that important to the film. Not much humor in his role either. He just plays a southern person.

[threecoffins]

Haven't seen it yet. I love the Alien series but I was not a fan of Prometheus so I'm setting my expectations low. Ridley Scott is still a badass when he has the right script though. I love The Martian.

[tepista]

Reptilicus (1961) A Danish mining expedition uncovers a frozen dinosaur tail, that when thawed out, regenerates into a giant snake-dragon type thing that crushes the city. The old professor has two hot daughters that help in out in the office, as well as a good looking American woman who the UN sends to help out. A crusty old American General who doesn't want to be there takes charge of the fight. Good thing the UN lady was there to remind him that if Reptilicus is blown to bits, that his scattered parts will all regenerate into full Reptilicuses! (Reptilici?) Anyway, the best thing about this horrible creature feature is that the monster is a stiff rubber snake, who spits green acid and the effect is animated, and you should laugh every time it's on the screen. I did.

Phantasm Ravager (2016) I don't think I ever saw Phantasm 4, but I think I got the gist. In this (hopefully) final entry, Ice Cream Man turned Ass Kicker Reggie goes in and out of reality and doubts his own sanity. Is he roaming the desert looking for the Tall Man, is he battling him in another dimension, or is in a sanitarium trying to convince Mike (the BOY!) that the Tall Man exists? Angus Scrimm reprises his Tall Man role, he looked like an old man in 1979 and downright elderly in this one. Unfortunately he passed last year, so I guess this will be the end. Don Coscarelli co-wrote the screenplay passed on the director's chair for the first time, and the killer spheres were on display far more than they were in the first few movies.

Godzilla vs King Ghidorah (1991) Godzilla film with Terminator influence and a backstory for Godzilla. Seems in 1944, a dinosaur saved a Japanese brigade from certain death by mauling all the Americans, and though it died, its body mutated into Godzilla 10 years later when the island was the site of nuclear testing. Humans from 200 years in the future (and one Terminator-like cyborg) visit 1991 and convince the Japanese that Godzilla will certainly wipe their country off the face of the earth, and travelling back to 1944 to remove the dinosaur was the way to prevent it. In doing so, they intentionally leave 3 small troll like creatures, who eventually mutate into King Ghidorah. Now back the present, Japan is ravaged even worse by the three-headed monster, and with no Godzilla to fight him back, they now go to look for the dinosaur’s body to “create” Godzilla using radiation. Megumi Odaka returns as Miki Seagusa, the teenage psychic from "Biollante", a little older and now an official member of the Godzilla counter-intelligence team.

Always Watching: A Marble Hornets Story (2015) Based on a web series that I'm not familiar with, this film is a stand alone, so here goes: A local news team doing stories on foreclosures finds that a family has disappeared without a trace. Upon digging through their personal home videos, they find that a mysterious stalker appears and disappears periodically in these videos, driving them insane and marking their skin. Soon enough, the film crew begins to experience the same things. Not the worst FF movie I've ever seen, I didn't understand why a family with jobs and school aged children weren't considered "missing" until long after their mortgage payments were due, but I imagine I'll have forgotten it in a few weeks. Except for Alexandra Brekenridge, she's unforgettable.

Friday the 13th part 4: The Final Chapter (1984) Many people think this is the best one, and I agree. Tom Savini returns with great fx, hot girls, and the introduction of an important character, Tommy Jarvis, played by Corey Feldman. Tommy, his mom, and sister live in on the lake, and the house next door get rented by partying teens. A sexy set of twins disrupt the boy/girl setup at the house, causing a jilted girlfriend to skinny-dip. What other options did she have? Crispin Glover gets laid and the main kid from Last American Virgin finds a box of vintage stag films. A Jason-hunter looks to avenge the death of his sister, and Tommy gives Jason a taste of his own machete. Director Joseph Zito joins the franchise, he had previously done the great slasher The Prowler, and would later make several films with Chick Norris. Again, the best of the Friday the 13th franchise.

[Silent Majority]

Reptilicus (1961) A Danish mining expedition uncovers a frozen dinosaur tail, that when thawed out, regenerates into a giant snake-dragon type thing that crushes the city. The old professor has two hot daughters that help in out in the office, as well as a good looking American woman who the UN sends to help out. A crusty old American General who doesn't want to be there takes charge of the fight. Good thing the UN lady was there to remind him that if Reptilicus is blown to bits, that his scattered parts will all regenerate into full Reptilicuses! (Reptilici?) Anyway, the best thing about this horrible creature feature is that the monster is a stiff rubber snake, who spits green acid and the effect is animated, and you should laugh every time it's on the screen. I did.

Watched the new MST3K on this the other day, it was pretty good.

Friday the 13th part 4: The Final Chapter (1984) Many people think this is the best one, and I agree. Tom Savini returns with great fx, hot girls, and the introduction of an important character, Tommy Jarvis, played by Corey Feldman. Tommy, his mom, and sister live in on the lake, and the house next door get rented by partying teens. A sexy set of twins disrupt the boy/girl setup at the house, causing a jilted girlfriend to skinny-dip. What other options did she have? Crispin Glover gets laid and the main kid from Last American Virgin finds a box of vintage stag films. A Jason-hunter looks to avenge the death of his sister, and Tommy gives Jason a taste of his own machete. Director Joseph Zito joins the franchise, he had previously done the great slasher The Prowler, and would later make several films with Chick Norris. Again, the best of the Friday the 13th franchise.

I love Crispin Glover's whacked out dancing. Good movie.

Tep, my Amicus podcast just got to this, I think you'd like it. Or, at least, I think you'll like Vanessa Howard in it.

[Dr. Medulla]

Reptilicus (1961) A Danish mining expedition uncovers a frozen dinosaur tail, that when thawed out, regenerates into a giant snake-dragon type thing that crushes the city. The old professor has two hot daughters that help in out in the office, as well as a good looking American woman who the UN sends to help out. A crusty old American General who doesn't want to be there takes charge of the fight. Good thing the UN lady was there to remind him that if Reptilicus is blown to bits, that his scattered parts will all regenerate into full Reptilicuses! (Reptilici?) Anyway, the best thing about this horrible creature feature is that the monster is a stiff rubber snake, who spits green acid and the effect is animated, and you should laugh every time it's on the screen. I did.

[tepista]

Tep, my Amicus podcast just got to this, I think you'd like it. Or, at least, I think you'll like Vanessa Howard in it.

I don't know it! Will watch for sure!

[tepista]

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953) Nuclear testing in the arctic awakens a prehistoric beast who wreaks havoc while travelling down the coast on his way to New York. He smashes up Manhattan, then has a showdown with the military at Coney Island on a rollercoaster. The highlight is the special effects of Ray Harryhausen. Lee Van Cleef shows up at the end as a sharpshooter.

Godzilla vs Mothra: The Battle for Earth (1992) Remake of the similarly titled film from 1964, a giant egg is unearthed in the south pacific, and a corporation hires an Indiana Jones-type to retrieve it. The do, but while transporting it overseas, it hatches and gets involved in a three-way brawl with Godzilla and Battra, the Black Mothra. The Cosmos, two tiny females who accompany Mothra, explain to us that Battra was created by the earth to combat a weather machine that humans had created, but has now gone out of control. When the corporation decides to kidnap the Cosmos to use for profit, Mothra attacks Japan until he finds and rescues them. Meanwhile Godzilla and Battra are still wreaking havoc, and eventually another showdown takes place. Mothra and Battra both start the film in larva form, but eventually turn into their moth form. Megumi Odaka is back for the third time as Miki Saegusa, the young woman who can communicate with Godzilla telepathically.

What’s the Matter with Helen? (1971) In the 1930s, Debbie Reynolds and Shelley Winters change their identities and flee tabloids as well as death threats, as both of their sons have been convicted of a Leopold/Loeb type murder. Destination Los Angeles, as Debbie opens a dance school in hopes of finding “the next Shirley Temple” while Shelley helps out on piano, costumes, etc. Dennis Weaver starts dating Debbie and finances a show for his young daughter to star in. Meanwhile, Shelley believes her stalker has found her in hiding, and accidentally kills a man in self defense. Debbie now has to choose between helping to cover a murder or kicking Shelley to the curb, what with her new life running so smoothly now. Shelley, who grows crazier by the day, seeks forgiveness from her favorite radio evangelist, played by the always awesome Agnes Moorehead. Add a couple more bodies to the death toll and this turns out to be a highly enjoyable and campy outing from the criminally underrated director Curtis Harrington. I’ve not seen a bad film from him yet. And Debbie Reynolds, around 40 in this film, was really hot. Also, anytime a character in a horror film keeps pet rabbits...expect to eventually see some dead rabbits.

I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016) A hospice nurse moves in to an old house to care for an invalid old woman, who used to write horror novels. The old lady takes her time dying, and the nurse eventually starts to read one of the old lady's books, and it would seem the main character who died in the house may be based on actual events. Pretty spooky, but not on par with Oz (son of Anthony) Perkins' brilliant first effort, The Blackcoat's Daughter. Paula Prentiss was a good looking actress in the 70s, she came out of a 30 year hiatus to play the old lady.

Mothra (1961) One of the classic Toho films. A sleazy showman captures two foot-tall fairies from an exotic island, and the locals call upon their goddess, Mothra to save them. Mothra's egg hatches and she's off to Tokyo, first in larva form, destroying anything in her path, then after cocooning, as a giant moth, whose wings cause enough wind force to knock down buildings. All the guy had to do was release the fairies, he wouldn't do it, what a jerk.

The Void (2016) A small town cop brings a bleeding man to an understaffed hospital where all hell breaks loose, including otherworldly tentacled creatures and dagger wielding cultists. Seems the filmmakers were inspired by Stuart Gordon, Clive Barker, etc. Gory, sometimes a bit hard to follow. Enjoyable, but I doubt I’d watch it twice.

Goodbye Gemini (1970) Julian and Jackie are teenage brother and sister twins who carry around a teddy bear and are the world to each other. When they hit “Swinging London” Jackie meets a new male suitor and Julian is jealous, as he has sexual desires toward his sister. Lots of booze and transvestites and loan sharks, really only one “horror” scene. What interested me most was pushing the taboo envelope on an older flick like this, but it got a bit dull in the 3rd act, after the murder. The always adorable Judy Geeson was Jackie, and director Alan Gibson would follow this up with both Dracula AD 1972 and Satanic Rites of Dracula for Hammer.

Lady Snowblood (1973) Expect fountains of blood and gore from this samurai revenge flick from Toho that was a heavy influence on Kill Bill. Yuki was born in a prison and raised as a female samurai, with one purpose: to take vengeance on those who killed her mother and family. Chopped off hands, bodies cut in half and blood everywhere. Easily on par with the Lone Wolf and Cub movies.

Poor Pretty Eddie (1975) Leslie Uggams plays Liz Weatherly, a famous singer who, while on a solo vacation has some car trouble and finds herself stuck at a lodge in the middle of nowhere. Shelly Winters is the owner, as well as sugar mama to the title character. Eddie dresses like Elvis and he sings and plays guitar worse than he fixes cars. Liz is stuck with no phone and no way out, while Eddie has a delusional vision of he and Liz’s future together. There’s a surreal rape scene that’s edited together with images of dogs fucking to the sound of a country ballad. When Liz reports the rape to Sherriff Slim Pickens, it is revealed that rather than taking notes on his notepad, he was drawing cartoon pictures of titties! Then it got really weird. Alternate titles to this sleazy Hicksploitation riot include Black Vengeance, Heartbreak Motel, Redneck County Rape, and Massacre at Redneck County.

[JennyB]

Tep - you need to publish these somewhere. They are really great.

Also, Agnes Moorehead is from the Jortsville. Our one redeeming quality.