February 2012
42 posts
2012 #80 - Rise of the Planet of the Apes
A re-watch with Danyell, who hadn’t seen it. Saw two of the bigger plotholes like mack trucks this time around, but that still doesn’t take too much away from the emotional roller coaster this film presents. Andy Serkis does wonders with motion capture, giving everyone a character in Caesar who is sympathetic and we root for, even when he and his army are against humankind. Rupert...
2012 #79 - Defending Your Life
One of, if not my favorite Albert Brooks film (meaning his written and directed efforts). Randomly saw it was on TV while at a friend’s house and again was as involved in it back in the later 90’s as I was today. Such a great fantastical romantic comedy, which seems to be a put down to some, but it has that great balance of love and sadness, this time dealing with a schlub who needs...
2012 #78 - Phantom of the Paradise
Here’s a film that I simply adore and love to have the excuse to show to anyone for the first time and see how they react and feel about the film. Luckily everyone I’ve introduced the film to has fallen head over heels for it and this time was no exception. How much more can I say? I poured my love into my For Criterion Consideration series. One of my favorite DePalma films. Also one...
2012 #77 - My Bloody Valentine (1981)
A re-watch of one of my favorite slasher films, this one is one of the better ones to come out of the onslaught of the Halloween and Friday the 13th ‘rip-offs’. Out of many throwaway films, this one is one of the keepers and for good reason. The killer is pretty intimidating and scary. A Canadian production (and I love that I can hear the accents like crazy now), this one was the...
2012 #76 - Conan the Barbarian (2011)
Is it weird that I didn’t hate this film? And in fact, kind of liked it? More so, found it an enjoyable ride, with a great charismatic lead actor in Jason Momoa, who to me at least, felt like an ideal Conan. Some of the CGI was a bit off (like in Drive Angry, another 2011 film that got shitty reviews that I put off for a long time and then fell a bit in love with). Not sure if that means...
2012 #75 - Pale Flower
We covered this Masahiro Shinoda film this past Friday on the Criterion Cast. You can hear that episode very soon but I think we were on the same page with this one. I’m being coy because I want you to all listen to our podcast and leave us feedback as well!
2012 #74 - Alligator
Here’s a film I haven’t seen in years. I was scared that it might not live up to my nostalgic expectations, but it threw that away and reminded me why I loved watching this on WPIX Channel 11 here in NYC. Robert Forster is a cop with a past involving a partner who was shot with his gun and other cops blame him for that. And there’s a giant killer alligator in the sewers, eating...
2012 #73 - Groundhog Day
Watched this on February 2nd, of course. And it shouldn’t just be an annual tradition but one that one watches a few times a year to see one of film’s perfect comedies. Yes, I do mean that sincerely. I love the concept alone of a man who has to live for centuries upon centuries, almost god-like but in his own personal hell. Unless he tried to do something vastly different and better...
2012 #72 - The Crow
A re-watch, one I hadn’t seen in quite some time. I was in the mood to watch a former favorite of mine, something that I was far removed from. I mean, hell, when I lived at home many years ago, that picture above was one of the posters on my wall (the other being a Reservoir Dogs poster). And watching it again, I forgot how well it was made, how this was Brandon Lee’s star making...
2012 #71 - More Brains! A Return of the Living...
Essential documentary dealing with the making of one of my favorite horror films of all time, Return of the Living Dead. Two hours of all the people involved with the film. Especially Dan O’Bannon, who was supposedly a tyrant on set. Didn’t know that, but everyone still had pretty much good things to say about him. If you’re a fan of the film, this is a no brainer. Even if...
2012 #70 - Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie
The last film I saw for the month of January is this ‘film’, Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie. I watched it so I could talk about it but my mind is still trying to comprehend what I saw. It’s a 15 minute sketch somehow spread over an hour and a half with multiple smaller sketches shoved inside. Nothing is sacred and I’m going to write a lengthier review....
2012 #69 - Cage II
Look at that amazingly bad Laserdisc cover. One of beauty. The sequel to the original Cage, Reb Brown and Lou Ferrigno have been doing well since the first film but Evil Takagi is back and has Brown look like he gets killed so he can take away rage induced Ferrigno to kick everyone’s ass in his highly profitable cage fighting pay per view shows. Even Malibu from American Gladiators is...
2012 #68 - Cage
One I learned about due to this internet funnyman Spoony, Cage stars Lou Ferrgino and Reb Brown. If that’s not reason enough for you, there’s also a little bit of the Vietnam War in the beginning which feels very much like Tropic Thunder. Not enough still? Underground illegal cage fighting? To the death? Oh! And James Shigata (who most know from Die Hard as Mr. Takagi) is the...
2012 #67 - Class of 1999
Loving Mark L. Lester’s original Class of 1984, a film ahead of its time, for years I had heard about his follow-up to that film, a more Terminator induced film where three robotic teachers (played by Pam Grier, John P. Ryan and Patrick Kilpatrick) are transplanted into a school to make sure discipline is conducted. Sad thing for the roaming band of teen gangs that these teachers have a...
January 2012
66 posts
2012 #66 - Drive Angry
This was a film I was excited about up until I read tons of reviews pouring out, saying the film was not good at all. Which made me put off watching it for quite awhile. Sitting down to put the film on, I was awaiting to be disappointed. But lo and behold, I was shocked to see that I enjoyed the film much more than I could have imagined. Which made me quite happy. The drawback was the pretty bad...
2012 #65 - Parole Violators
Finally, after all this time, I got to see the infamous (in a good way?) Parole Violators. One I had seen the clips of the horrendous acting on Youtube. Then others were speaking about this film, like it was some sort of Holy Grail of shitty action films. Finally got a copy and I have to say it was a hoot. The only problem is that the film gets messed up 30 or so minutes into the film, where a...
2012 #64 - Hellraiser IV: Bloodline
Or as most people know it, Pinhead in Space. But it’s actually a bit better than that shitty description would have you believe. Is it good? No, it’s a Hellraiser sequel after the first 3 (and the third is quite ridiculous to boot). But the idea of the man who created the puzzle box being tormented through time, trying to find a way to end Pinhead’s reign of terror, is a pretty...
2012 #63 - Scanners
Got to see this on the big screen at the Museum of the Moving Image here in New York City (Queens to be exact) and in a weird turn of events, the crowd found a lot more to laugh at then I think Cronenberg has originally intended. Of course the body horror is here, a Grand Guignol-esque style that we all know and love from David Cronenberg (who writes and directs), with the picture above being...
2012 #62 - The Seventh Curse
Wow. Holy shit wow. It’s hard to even explain this film but it’s 81 minutes of pure Hong Kong craziness. A young cop goes to Thailand to save a beautiful woman who is about to be sacrificed to the ‘Worm Tribe’. He then gets the seven ‘Blood Curses’, which consists of extreme bleeding from his legs. If the seventh bursts, he’ll be dead, so he gets an...
2012 #61 - Dreadnaught
Finally got to check this one out. With a major endorsement from the guys over at the GGTMC. Had an amazing time with this one. Directed by Yuen Woo-ping (who of course is more famous now for doing fight choreography for the Kill Bill and the Matrix films), it’s a blast and a half with some impressive wirework and one of the best psychotic bad guys I’ve seen on film for quite some...
