What are you watching?

[f.ramses]

Leprechaun: Origins - Right at the very end I remembered I had seen this before, I remembered the 12 minutes of credits padding the 78 minute movie to 90 minutes. Pretty meh all around and no Warwick Davis; it's "Leprechaun: Origins" but really it doesn't have anything to do with the series except being about leprechauns that are seemingly unrelated to the leprechaun in the other movies, so even that's a stretch.

[f.ramses]

The New Gladiators - For me the problem with this one is how it is always compared to The Running Man. It's an apt comparison for obvious reasons but it messes me up and every time I put it on I expect to see scenes from The Running Man in it because The Running Man has the same campiness that this movie has (iirc... lol), it's believable as an 80s Italian movie the way I remember it. Going into this like that just sets you up for disappointment. I've often thought to watch it again shortly after seeing it so I go into it with the right expectations but never do.

Perversion Story - Remembered this one as being pretty dull and it seemed like it was going to live up to that until right at the very end where I liked how everything wrapped up. Had it ended differently, perhaps even the way I wanted to end, it probably wouldn't have been as good.

Voices from Beyond - Another one that is pretty dull but manages to amuse with its ending. Despite the shorter run time this one feels longer than Perversion Story.

Conquest - Never had much interest in this one and never checked it out until Scorpion released it and saw that was a mistake. This is is lots of fun and not crappy like I expected it to be.

[Vincent Dawn Jr]

Comfort Women - 1992 Cat III war atrocity/women in prison/roughie softcore mashup. Starring the beautiful Lily Lee (a.k.a. Lily Lee Lee-Lee according to hkmd) as a reporter investigating the Japanese army's sex-slave ring during WW2. It's a bit on the low budget side, so some of the war scenes could've been better, but they make an admirable attempt. Mostly works as a sleazy violent sex picture. The performers really go for it, portraying the soldiers as beastly sex fiends who hump away like there's no tomorrow (which for many, there wasn't). Sort of Men Behind The Sun meets Jess Franco.

[f.ramses]

Four of the Apocalypse... - Been revisiting a lot of Fulci lately (this was maybe #17) and sadly this was among the worst for me. It starts off good but most of the rest of the movie just gets less and less exciting as it goes on. Not necessarily a bad movie but I wasn't into it; not a big western guy, spaghetti or otherwise.

[Matt H.]

Under the Silver Lake - Masterpiece. It's like taking a tour through L.A. with a stoner buddy as your guide. It feels like an exciting, dangerous vacation that you never want to end.

[Cody Layne]

Red Dragon. I'd seen Manhunter before, but never this film. I thought it was fine. It definitely had a great cast and music score, but it probably could've been better had someone other than Bret Ratner directed it.

[Barry M]

There are so many reasons to drink.

Permission was given to use a real corpse for the head-severing scene, but Paul Naschy took two swigs of whiskey because he couldn't get past the first cut into the throat. A dummy head was used thereafter.

Via https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068772...item=tr0698153

Still, A+. I'd like to see a Matt Allison comic book drawing of the climactic hunchback/monster fight astride the acid pit, don't think it was quite fully-fleshed out in the movie.

[BW Haggar]

Hunchback of the Morgue. I feel that this should make me want a big beer, and yet I somehow do not want a big beer. We'll see.

I would tend to be cautious of any film which does not make me want a big beer. That's not really the vibe I'm looking for from cinema.

I don't think I've ever watched 'Hunchback of the Morgue' without pre-loading an appropriate quantity of booze however, so am unsure how that would play out. I'd need something to take the edge off those flamin' rats, that's for sure.

[Matt H.]

Hunchback of the Morgue. I feel that this should make me want a big beer, and yet I somehow do not want a big beer. We'll see.

I just know that horrible theme song is stuck in your head, haha.

[Barry M]

Hunchback of the Morgue. I feel that this should make me want a big beer, and yet I somehow do not want a big beer. We'll see.

[Jason C]

Close Range (USA, 2015) 6/10 ** (Isaac Florentine, Scott Adkins)

Very impressive fights and a serviceable story to justify the action. Scott Adkins’ character is intense, and while he isn’t having fun, I do like him. At 85 minutes it does feel a bit long but there isn’t much to complain about. The story is very predictable and doesn’t offer much, but it also doesn’t get in the way. There is an obnoxious “western-ish” whistle that plays throughout at key points. It occurs dozens of times, and always at a key moment, and it never doesn’t feel cringey. Removing that whistle would have made the film far more enjoyable. The actors outside of Adkins do a better job than normal for this kind of film, but other than the corrupt sheriff, none were given much to do. Close Range is definitely worth a re-watch later. MVD’s double feature blu-ray looks and sounds great.

[Cody Layne]

Red Eye. I'd seen this once before, and I remembered liking it. Upon revisiting it, it's a well-made, claustrophobic, taut little thriller, with great performances by Rachel McAdams and Cillian Murphy. I thought the third act went on a bit long, though.

[Vincent Dawn Jr]

Escape From New York - I pulled out my old 2-disc special edition DVD and watched it for the first time in ages last night. It's better than I remembered, especially the music! I'd forgotten how integral the soundtrack is to the entire vibe of the film. That band Zombi (who I like) really owe Carpenter and Alan Howarth some royalties, ha ha.

As I kid I found the concept of this film incredibly disturbing. The idea that any human beings could exist in an environment like the one depicted in the film frightened me terribly. Sadly, this film was in many ways prophetic.

[Randy G]

7 Lucky Ninja Kids - The theme song from this one is burned into my memory from the first time I saw this as a kid, decades later the song still occasionally pops into my head and recently when it happened I figured it was time to give this one another watch. Surprisingly it was a lot of fun, mainly for the dubbed dialog. In some ways I may have enjoyed this one a little more as an adult. Would really love a nice release of this one but the Halloween and The Twilight Zone music in the movie makes me wonder if that will ever happen. Too bad I couldn't find the sequel, 37 Ninja Kids...

I think I saw this as a kid on VHS as well.

I started Raw Force, on Tubi btw, last night but fell asleep. Will finish it today. Pretty crazy.

[f.ramses]

7 Lucky Ninja Kids - The theme song from this one is burned into my memory from the first time I saw this as a kid, decades later the song still occasionally pops into my head and recently when it happened I figured it was time to give this one another watch. Surprisingly it was a lot of fun, mainly for the dubbed dialog. In some ways I may have enjoyed this one a little more as an adult. Would really love a nice release of this one but the Halloween and The Twilight Zone music in the movie makes me wonder if that will ever happen. Too bad I couldn't find the sequel, 37 Ninja Kids...