What are you watching?

[Nabonga Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nabonga]

The Dark Corner
Lovely film noir from the 40's. Mark Stevens and Lucille Ball (she was quite the fox back then, despite the poodley haircut)
have lovely chemistry as the private dick and his secretary. Lots of snappy, fun flirty dialogue between them and the great
William Bendix provides menace as the hulking guy stalking them for unknown reasons. I really enjoyed this film. I loved the
reference to William Powell and the Thin Man movies. Bendix's demise was weak sauce though. He seemed smarter than that.
Oh well...

The Shadow Of The Cat
Cozy little story on the English countryside about some nasty people murdering a relative for the inheritance,
fake wills, even nastier relatives who come visit, a vengeful cat who witnessed the murder and the nice lovely
girl who was the murder victims favourite relative that realizes something is not up to snuff here. This was lots
of goofy fun. Everyone hams it up to the hilt. The cat fx are shit. You can clearly see the string they've tied to
the cat to reign it in somewhat and the superimposed glowy eyes in the dark don't match at all and are super
wonky in their jerky motion. BUT... it's fun seeing angery kitteh bump off murderous scum one by one.

The Barge People
A.k.a. Chavs on boats. Ambitious Wrong Turn rip-off. Meh, it's alright. This sort of stuff has been done
way better before. Highly unoriginal.

To Be Twenty
Man, this movie was all over the place and not in a good way. It's too scatterbrained for its own good.
Plus, the two main characters are severely unlikeable. They're obviously smoking hot (especially Guida)
but that's about it. I wouldn't go so far as to wish death upon them but I can't say I really care either.
Maybe I need to give it a second whirl sometime but as it is, I was very underwhelmed.

[Dom D Spoon! Find all posts View Profile Close Dom D]

The Carpetbaggers

What a piece of shit. I loved it! Such a pointless, lurid, and trashy film but by god it's watchable. At it's best it's like a high budgetted Russ Meyer. The major difference being director Dymtryk t lacks all Meyer's cinematic sense. Usually he just dumps the camera in a corner, uses a wide enough lens and a deep enough depth of field that the actors can just roam around like it's a stage play and then goes off to lunch. It's rare to see a film that films that feels so much like a book. As if no interpreting for the screen has happened at any point. But the whole things so lush and Carrol baker's great. It's a shame this was made in Hays Code affected 1964. It's screaming out for gratuitous nudity nad profanity of whatever sort.

[Nabonga Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nabonga]

People on imdb claim it had nudity from Baker when they first screened it. How truthful that is I don't know. Super entertaining movie, either way. There's an australian blu-ray on the way.

[Dom D Spoon! Find all posts View Profile Close Dom D]

People on imdb claim it had nudity from Baker when they first screened it. How truthful that is I don't know.

Yes, I've been doing a bit of reading on it and come across that. My own take, which is pure supposition, is that those people are getting the films promotion mistaken with the film. Baker got her kit off a lot to promote the film and tease that this film was going to have actual nudity. I'd be hugely surprised if such footage exists on a tentpole studio film at this time.

[Nabonga Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nabonga]

You might be correct.

The Mystery Of The Wax Museum
Fucking cool 30's horror movie with Fay Wray and Lionel Atwill. But it's Glenda Farrell who steals the show as a spunky journalist determined to find out what's really going on at the wax museum.
I absolutely loved this.

Satan Met A Lady
Hilarious 30's version of The Maltese Falcon. The leading guy is a smooth cat and the supporting cast is suitably bonkers. I especially loved the polite british thief/burglar and the adorable secretary played by
Marie Wilson. Very entertaining.

LAPD To Protect And To Serve
My Wayne Crawford mancrush refuses to die. Here he's a despicable scumbag cop among several other rotten eggs. The cast is great but the action scenes are sloppy and inept in a funny way.
Marc Singer looks really odd when he's not Beastmaster pumped up. Charles Durning is solid as ever as kindly old ex cop father of Marc Singer's character who gets tangled up in corruption (Singer,
not Durning) and tries to protect his young partner from it all. Things spiral out of control until it all culminates in a shitty shoot out at a pawn shop. Dennis Hopper's in it too but he's just there to
shout about wasting tax payer money then disappear again. It was probably a one day gig for some coke money. Bad movie but entertaining.

Top Of The World
Hilarious Peter Weller/Tia Carrere action movie. Massively entertaining from beginning to end. Sidney J Furie is underrated. Dennis Hopper has a bigger part this time as the shady casino boss in bed with even shadier mobsters. Joe Pantoliano is his scumbag henchman. Weller gets out of prison. He's picked up by his wife who immediately takes him to Vegas to get a divorce. He's not allowed to gamble but still manages to win the jackpot on a slot machine. Then he ends up in the middle of a casino robbery where he becomes the main suspect. Then his day only gets worse from there. I wish this was on blu-ray. Great fun. Martin Kove is fantastic as a loose cannon robber who's in love with his co-robber played by Kevin Bernhardt from Hellraiser 3. Larry Manetti of Magnum P.I fame has a fun small role as a scaredy cat security guard.

Snapdragon
Fun cheesy 90's erotic thriller with Steven Bauer and Chelsea Field. It's also Pamela Anderson's movie debut apparently. Someone is having sex with guys then slitting their throats as they climax. When the deed is done she leaves a scarf over their eyes and scribbles some weird symbol on a mirror and that's how the cops find them. Bauer is pretty bad here as a police psychologist who starts thinking with his dick when he meets amnesiac Felicity (Anderson) and gets drawn deeper into the "mystery". Hey, it's early 90's Pamela Anderson. Despite the shitty boob job, she was hot as fuck back then. No man on earth would've passed up a shot at that. Chelsea Field is the cop on the case. Oh, and her and Bauer are involved which leads to some drama. This movie is ok. I like cheesy erotic thrillers. Always have. It drags a little but is mostly solid. And again, it's Pamela in her prime. Larry Manetti shows up again as a cop colleague of Field's character.

Star Spangled Rhythm
One of those: "-Hey, let's throw a flimsy plot together and have ALL our biggest stars come in for a skit or two then cap it off with a big patriotic propaganda number." type of movies from the 40's. A gate guard at Paramount, who used to be a big time cowboy actor back in the day has told his sailor son that he now runs the studio. But gadzooks! now the son is on shore leave and is headed right towards the studio to come see him. Hijinx ensue to cover up his true status at the studio with the help of a lowly telephone operator girl. Like I said, the plot's flimsy but this was a lot of fun. Betty Hutton carries the whole thing when the stars aren't on screen doing their thing. She's funny, charming and sexy. Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Veronica Lake, Paulette Goddard, Ray Milland, Alan Ladd etc, etc. all show up here and do little fun bits. There's a really fun bit with Bob Hope and burly William Bendix in a shower that had me in stitches. Very entertaining.

[Alex K. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Alex K.]

We Are Still Here. I'm sorry but this bored the shit out of me. There was some good gore but overall it was a very mediocre film.

[Nabonga Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nabonga]

Valley Girl
Great 80's movie with a fantastic soundtrack and a goofy looking Nicolas Cage. Produced and co-written
by Wayne Crawford. He also pops up in a small part at a party. First time ever seeing this. I'm definitely buying this
eventually.

The Dorm That Dripped Blood
Meh, this was a slog until the ending which elevated it somewhat. Cutie Daphne Zuniga should've been in it more.

You Cannot Kill David Arquette
Pretty interesting documentary about a weird dude trying to redeem himself in the wrestling world. Entertaining.

The Great Gatsby
Watched the Alan Ladd version. He does a good job stretching out of his usual box. I still think he was a very underrated actor.
The novel was sanitized somewhat for the sake of appeasing the censorship board. But it's still a very good film.

[Takuma Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Takuma]

Lone Wolf McQuade (USA, 1983) [DVD] - 3/5
Texas Ranger Norris vs. asshole Carradine. Solid film, but I'm a little allergic to Texas.

Missing in Action (USA, 1984) [DVD] - 3/5
Ridiculously stereotypical Vietnamese villains, boobs, and suspense. What's not to enjoy? Well, the action is pretty full. The storyline actually fares better!

The Delta Force (USA, 1986) [DVD] - 3.5/5
America kicks arse. First rate cast (Norris, Marvin, George Kennedy, Robert Forster as terrorist!), good action and a solid plot flow even at 130 minutes. Alan Silvestri's score is a bit crappy.

The Wraith (USA, 1986) [VoD] - 3.5/5
Amusingly ridiculous Charlie Sheen / revenge / car / sci-fi / 80s teen flick. A murdered teen returns to earth with a magic automobile to take revenge. Somehow they forgot to explain how the hell did he resurrect and where did the car come from. Instead they got the ridiculously cute Sherilyn Fenn go topless! And the ending WTF? [Spoiler] Did he frame his brother for the murder of 5 kids? He just casually donated the car to him, the car that was used for killing 5 people and to crash through a police roadblock. I'm pretty sure the brother ended up in gas chamber. [End of Spoiler]

Beyond the Law (USA, 1993) [VoD] - 3.5/5
Surprisingly good Charlie on a Harley (ok, maybe it wasn't a Harley) film with Sheen going undercover in a biker gang. Stupid childhood trauma / side-plot aside, this finds a good balance between cool and dumb, and has decent production values, too. This delivers what it promises: nothing more, nothing less.

Upgrade (USA, 2019) [VoD] - 4/5
Clever, fun sci-fi / cyberpunk revenge film made with just the right amount of money. If this dude does the Escape from New Your remake, I'm in.

The Invisible Man (Canada etc., 2020) [DCP] - 3/5
A horror update for the #me too era: Elisabeth Moss haunted by a toxic, mansplaining ex-boyfriend whom no one else can see. Interesting as a product of its time, but also politically correct to the point of frustration. The biggest issue, however, is the film's reliance on loud sounds and the viewer's inability to see the enemy as means of creating tension and jump scares. And yet, the film is effective, even clever at times. Excellent performance by Moss, too.

[Dom D Spoon! Find all posts View Profile Close Dom D]

Dunkirk: I've never been on the Nolan bandwagon. What's his status these days? Is he just a Geek God or does the rest of the cinema going world worship him as well? Never seen much to recommed him myself. Anyway, went in not expecting a huge amount of this but came out very pleasantly surprised. It's a huge film in terms of the scale but it really does drill down to focus on a few people lost in the mess of the whole disaster. Very light on dialogue, very high on terror, with a good reassuring dose of stiff upper lip British doggedness. Very impressive in pretty much every way AND it's a war epic thats all over in little over an hour and half once you remove the credits. When I sat down I was settling in for 3 hours plus. Stunned and happy when it just finished.

[Newt Cox Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Newt Cox]

Shivers Blu Ray

Watched this earlier with the Cronenberg commentary. Looks good sounds good. Not the best Cronenberg but not the worst.

[Dom D Spoon! Find all posts View Profile Close Dom D]

SEVEN PSYCOPATHS: Odd one. I put this on and instantly realised that I'd seen it before. I kept watching it anyway as I couldn't remember a thing about it. All through I was having little deja vue moments but still couldn't remember it at all. When did I watch this? What condition was I in? It only came out 8 years ago... I worry about me sometimes.

Anyway.... objectively good little film. Undeniably smart, funny. I just can't give a shit. How can you invest yourself in something so self consciously quirky? Watching it I was thinking this has to be done by the same guy as The Crossing Guard which elicits exactly the same response. Seems i was completely incorrect.

[Nabonga Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Nabonga]

SNL - Hosted by Bill Burr
I love Bill Burr. I saw him live in Stockholm when he was here last but yeesh... this
passes for comedy these days? Unfunny PC sermonizing, with all the agendas that
need to be sold on the plebs, in community theatre tier skits. Absolute trash!

Black Candles
This movie is fucking crazy! I love it. Helga Liné is hilariously awkwardly doubled in
the more explicit scenes (I guess she didn't wanna do more than boob nudity in this one).
Fun stuff.

Chandu - The Magician
Awesome old 30's adventure with an even more awesome scene stealing
(and scenery chewing) Bela Lugosi. Fast paced and exciting. I really love
this film. They pull off some really cool gags/fx and Edmund Lowe was a
cool cat as the hero.

Zombieland 2
I'd forgotten I had this in the "to watch" pile so threw it on tonight when I couldn't sleep.
The first time I saw it I kinda liked it. But rewatching it now it doesn't hold up. It feels hastily
slapped together and the director even talks about how they were underbudgeted and had to
scrap stuff and make up shit as they went along a lot. And the blonde ditz gets real tiresime real
quick. I guess it's alright for a rainy day when you have nothing else to watch. I hesitate to rewatch
the first one now, lol.

[Alex K. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Alex K.]

Universal Soldier 4. Holy fuck this movie kicks ass! Hyperviolent Gaspar Noe-inspired insanity.

[Mark Tolch Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark Tolch]

SNL - Hosted by Bill Burr
I love Bill Burr. I saw him live in Stockholm when he was here last but yeesh... this
passes for comedy these days? Unfunny PC sermonizing, with all the agendas that
need to be sold on the plebs, in community theatre tier skits. Absolute trash!

Black Candles
This movie is fucking crazy! I love it. Helga Liné is hilariously awkwardly doubled in
the more explicit scenes (I guess she didn't wanna do more than boob nudity in this one).
Fun stuff.

Chandu - The Magician
Awesome old 30's adventure with an even more awesome scene stealing
(and scenery chewing) Bela Lugosi. Fast paced and exciting. I really love
this film. They pull off some really cool gags/fx and Edmund Lowe was a
cool cat as the hero.

Zombieland 2
I'd forgotten I had this in the "to watch" pile so threw it on tonight when I couldn't sleep.
The first time I saw it I kinda liked it. But rewatching it now it doesn't hold up. It feels hastily
slapped together and the director even talks about how they were underbudgeted and had to
scrap stuff and make up shit as they went along a lot. And the blonde ditz gets real tiresime real
quick. I guess it's alright for a rainy day when you have nothing else to watch. I hesitate to rewatch
the first one now, lol.

First one still holds up, I think. I agree with you on the second film, I saw it in the theatre and didn't like it much, and caught it on Prime the other night after smoking enough weed to make an autopsy funny, and it got no laughs from me.

[Mark Tolch Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark Tolch]

I watched CODE NAME: TRIXIE/THE CRAZIES last night, haven't seen that in easily almost 20 years. Long enough that I'd forgotten about that super-creepy scene with Lynn Lowry. Ugh.