Unstoppable

Runaway Train (1985) is expired on NWI so I wanted to squeeze it in, and while not great this is a very watchable flick with Eric Roberts and Jon Voight in a prison break flick that turns into a runaway train flick. 6.5/10

Catching up on my never seen Star Trek viewing I finally watched the Bill Shatner helmed Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), which is my last non-seen ST feature film. Crazy that from Undiscovered Country on, I've seen every one in the theater yet had never seen III, IV & V (until recently). 6.7/10

The Joe Eckardt directed Danny Trejo documentary Champion (2005) is also expiring from NWI tomorrow so it slid in under the wire. Solid doc and backstory on the man with a checkered past. Pretty cool watch. 7/10

• February New: 62
• February Re-watch: 8
• February '11 Total: 70
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 161
  

Suburban Delight

Sunday chilling with more Hackman in the form of Chicago-based The Package (1989), one I have seen before but forgot most of it. Good thriller and bonus for Chicago and Sipowitz. 6.8/10

Another NWI expiring soon film: Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973), featuring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie and their infamous sex scene. Not a giallo but definitely evokes that mood with its imagery and setting. 7/10

Also on NWI Tom Hanks in The 'burbs (1989). Such a warm and entertaining film by Joe Dante. Despite liking this shortly after the time it was released (caught it on cable) it was never something that grabbed me. But revisiting now it's like rediscovering a classic. So much fun. 7.2/10

• February New: 59
• February Re-watch: 8
• February '11 Total: 67
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 158
  

Road Rage

Another Netflix expiration casualty was Wicked Little Things (2006), a slightly interesting horror film with hillbilly cannibal kids or, ahem, fine young cannibals. Also a very early Chloe Moretz role. Watchable. 6/10

Muvico time for Nic Cage and Amber Heard in Drive Angry 3D (2011). No 2D option. Didn't have high expectations but was expecting to like it more than I did. Overall thought it was just okay. But Heard and William Fichtner elevate their material. Cage was sleepwalking. 6.8/10

My awesome evening viewing: Point Blank (1967) with the even awesomer Lee Marvin. Holy shit do I like this flick. If it exists on blu-ray, I will buy it. Angie Dickinson is also terrific. 7.5/10

• February New: 56
• February Re-watch: 8
• February '11 Total: 64
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 155
  

I Just Want to be Perfect

All About Eve (1950) is a blindspot no longer. Thanks to Netflix was able to stream this. Features a great Betty Davis role very parallel to other films that share a similar storyline (think Black Swan, kids). I'm sure to revisit this someday. 7.5

• February New: 53
• February Re-watch: 8
• February '11 Total: 61
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 152
  

Car In Hand

Joe Carnahan's Blood, Guts, Bullets and Octane (1998) was expiring on NWI so I gave it a spin. Not great but watchable about used car salesmen and a hot car wanted by the mob. Or something. 6/10

• February New: 52
• February Re-watch: 8
• February '11 Total: 60
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 151
  

Killer Kong

Horror Movie Night selection was Jackie Kong's The Being (1983), which I watched last year after Brian Kelley tweeted about it persuading me to see it myself. Even better on the 2nd viewing for a bad-good film. Martin Landau, Kinky Friedman and Ruth Buzzi?! 6/10

Play Dead (1986) is a killer dog movie that I was motivated to see after seeing some crazy VHS covers. Sadly the film doesn't hold up to its cover but still watchable. Yvonne De Carlo has been a lot a crap, huh? (no, that's not the VHS cover, which is much cooler)

• February New: 51
• February Re-watch: 8
• February '11 Total: 59
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 150
  

Force of Many

Up early this morning stumbled onto Ice T in Tara a.k.a. Hood Rat (2003), a supernatural horror film with killer rats. Not a good film by any stretch but that's watch Encore on cable is for, right?

Movie Club at the office was resigned to me & Hector since everyone was too busy. Boo. Watched Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010) since H hadn't seen it. Still super enjoyable. 9/10

Picked up Jules Dassin's Brute Force (1947) from my library after the Dassin twitter chatter. Knew this seemed familiar; saw this some years ago. The prison break ending is incredibly memorable. Burt Lancaster is a stud. Definitely a film to check out. 7.5/10

• February New: 50
• February Re-watch: 7
• February '11 Total: 57
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 148
  

Bear Hunt

Thank you again, MGMHD, for the Gene Hackman retrospective. Recorded The Hunting Party (1971) in which Hackman is a sleazy lawman chasing after his wife (Candice Bergen) kidnapped by outlaw Oliver Reed. Fucking great movie! 7/10

And thanks to TCM Underground for broadcasting Grizzly (1976) featuring my favorite Christopher George. One I'd love to own someday. 7/10

• February New: 49
• February Re-watch: 5
• February '11 Total: 54
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 145
  

Seven Iron

Paid my first visit to Big Cinemas (in the old Niles Golf Showcase space). Film I decided to see was 7 Khoon Maaf a.k.a. Seven Murders Forgiven (2011). Decent mystery with a few exceptional moments and borderline silly moments. Decent. 7/10

Erased another blindspot with The Apartment (1960) with an amusing Jack Lemmon. Shirley MacLaine is adorable. Wasn't crazy about this but still a good watch. Hard to accept Fred MacMurray in a villain role. 7.5/10

Iron Warrior (1987) is one of the Ator flicks but not directed by Fred Olen Ray. Not particularly good but does feature Miles O'Keeffe in the lead. Savina Gersak is pretty hot as the princess but other than Ator's chrome skull brother, not much happens. Give me a 1/6 scale figure of him! 5.5/10

• February New: 47
• February Re-watch: 5
• February '11 Total: 52
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 143
  

Movie Night 2011 #2

Finally, our first "official" movie night of 2011 (2nd overall). Great to have Kristin (@KreepyLady) out for her first time along with Shannon and her husband Jon. Also Pat in attendance making our group a healthy seven plus 2 kids (kids didn't watch the films =). I believe this might be the first movie night where I have seen all the films prior our event. Fortunately our guests had not so we had a great time.

First up: Monsters (2010) on blu-ray holds up and I think I like it even more on the 2nd viewing. Worked for half of us. Jon didn't seem to care too much for it. Kristin dug it. I'd watch it again. 7.7/10

Second: Dogtooth (2009) via NWI was the crowd pleaser we expected it to be. Half of us had seen it so it was a blast watching with first-timers. Adore this film. 7.8/10

Third on the evening: Sante Sangre (1989) on blu-ray looks gorgeous. Having only seen it on my VHS copy, this is the best it's looked. Had forgotten so much of it so it was great to see it again. Very special film. 8/10

Finished the evening with my new blu-ray of Death Race 2000 (1975). Think everyone had seen this movie before so it played well as the last film. Looks amazing on blu-ray and first-time I've seen in widescreen! 7.8/10

Gotta say that was a solid movie night at the Captain Satan household! Already looking forward to the next one! Tough to program so rock solid of a line-up top to bottom.

• February New: 44
• February Re-watch: 5
• February '11 Total: 49
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 140
  

Friday for Film Watching

Friday before movie night and I'm watching Charlie Sheen do coke and steal Porsche cars with an undercover cop D.B. Sweeney in No Man's Land (1987). Don't think Charlie was acting. Plus Bill Duke! 6.5/10

Oh, and Hot Dog... The Movie (1984) is also on MGMHD. Been ages since I've seen this. Shannon Tweed is smoking. Oh, David Naughton! 6/10

Back to my blindspot list for Woody Allen's Manhattan (1979), another one I didn't care so much about back in the day. Now it's a delight. Mariel Hemingway shouldn't have been nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Diane Keaton is excellent. 8/10

Another blindspot is Roberto Benigni's Life is Beautiful (1997), which did a good job of sucking me in. Had no interest in viewing this but now I'm very happy I have. Charming and heartbreaking. 8/10

Parasite (1982), the really bad post-apocalyptic flick with Demi Moore's first feature film role. Fun practical effects and very watchable despite being an awful film. Yeah, Charles Band. 5.5/10

• February New: 44
• February Re-watch: 1
• February '11 Total: 45
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 136
  

Walking Ghosts

Been curious about the updated Phantom 2040 since the animated series debuted in the mid-nineties. Phantom 2040: The Ghost Who Walks (1994) is a full-length film based on the animated series and holy shit is it bad. Even Peter Chung's character designs aren't rendered well. Avoid. 4/10

Yay to MGMHD for Meatballs 4 (1992) starring Corey Feldman. Kinds of a pointless plot involving a waterskiing contest. Highlight: Sarah Douglas! 5.6/10

• February New: 40
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 40
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 131
  

Wind Writers

Caught the old low-budget sci-fi flick The Beast with a Million Eyes (1955) on Hulu. The end monster image is a little famous but everything leading up to that is rather dull and/or comical. Not terrible but hardly good. 5.5/10

Headed down to the Portage Theater for the introductory film of the Northwest Chicago Film Society new season at its new location. Stoked that it was Written on the Wind (1956), featuring an amazing Robert Stack against Cary Grant. Terrific film! Thrilled to see this on the big screen! 7.5/10

• February New: 38
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 38
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 129
  

Zombie Cops

Was thrilled to see Dead Heat (1988) on MGMHD. Never watched the entire flick before but damn this is a fun flick. Treat is great as expected but this may be Piscopo's best role ever. 7/10

• February New: 36
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 36
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 127
  

The Lives of Trees

Figured I'd catch up on my Terrance Malick now that his Trees of Life is getting closer. Dropped in Days of Heaven (1978), a film I wouldn't have bothered with back in the 80s. Now I eat it up. Cinematography is breathtaking. For real. Richard Gere is also pretty damn good. One to see on the big screen given the chance. 7.8/10

• February New: 35
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 35
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 126
  

The House That Rocks

Another 60s sci-fi flick on NWI: Journey to the Seventh Planet (1962), which is a little more fun. Gorgeous women on planet Uranus! 6.4/10

Lemmy (2010) I recorded from VH1's Rock Docs. Heartwarming. He's a maverick revered by everyone in rock, as he should be. Already looking forward to the unrated DVD. 7.8/10

Did not find much to like about Get Him to the Greek (2010). Performances are fine but the story is bleh. Rose Byrne is hot. That counts for something. 6.5/10

In the Folds of the Flesh (1970) is a fairly sufficient weird family living in creepy old house flick. I liked not knowing exactly where it was going even if the execution wasn't great. 6/10

• February New: 34
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 34
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 125
  

Night Monsters

Eyes in the Night (1942) is really just a brilliant film featuring a blind private dick with a super cool german shepherd. Love this film! 7.4/10

M (1931) is another one of those that keep alluding me (ok, fine. I have it on DVD). Some chatter on twitter (and it being on NWI) got me to finally watch it. Creepy and great as everyone says. 7.7/10

The Cape Canaveral Monsters (1960) on NWI is not really a very good film but enjoyable for me because of its old-school 50s/60s sci-fi charm. Plus it has a brutal car crash in which the aliens possess the bodies of the dead corpses that decay during the course of the movie. 5.5/10

• February New: 30
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 30
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 121
  

Bloody Murder

The Kennel Murder Case (1933) is on my William Powell 4-movie set. Powell is great as Philo Vance. Definitely a good buy for the price. Good flick and worth revisiting. 7/10

Neon Maniacs (1986) has been high on my radar since GGTMC covered it. So glad it lives up to the crazy and the hype. Would be a fun one to watch at Music Box Massacre. 6.5/10

Roger Vadim's Blood and Roses (1960) is on NWI and much better than expected. Pretty good vampire possession flick. 7/10

• February New: 27
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 27
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 118
  

Ripping NYC

A Lucio Fulci flick I had not seen but glad it's on Netflix Watch Instantly, The New York Ripper (1982). Gotta love a serial killer that quacks. Definitely one to see, esp. for the 42nd Street setting. 7.4/10

• February New: 24
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 24
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 115
  

Hours of Evil

Touch and go on whether I'd make it out to see 127 Hours (2010) in the theater. Glad I did. Really affecting performance by James Franco. Definitely a top ten contender. 8.5/10

Fear No Evil (1981) I wanted to see simply based on the radical VHS cover. As a film it's not very good with it's demon possession story line but it has a great soundtrack! Surprised they were able to get some of the songs. The commentary is also worth checking out (both film and bonus material). 6/10

Mostly liked Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam (2010). Like seeing Shazam the most. The story with The Spectre was easily my favorite. Need to make a full feature with him. 7/10

• February New: 23
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 23
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 114
  

Bad Computer!

Touched down at Showplace 12 for The Mechanic (2011) remake. Would have liked this more if it was just sold as its own film and not a remake of the Bronson classic. Felt it missed some of the same beats and that Ben Foster's character was terrible. Statham is great and I like Tony Goldwyn. 6.7/10

Evilspeak (1981) is one of the DPP39 Video Nasties and one I've been wanting to catch up with for a while. Really like the young Clint Howard and how he channels ancient evil thru an old DOS desktop computer. Quite fun! 6.5/10

• February New: 20
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 20
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 111
  

Cold Prey

Tried to squeeze in Winter's Bone (2010) last year but just wasn't in the cards. Now having seen it, it would not have made my Top 10. But I really enjoyed it esp. John Hawkes' performance. Jennifer Lawrence was fine. 8/10

Up late I picked off Pokemon 4Ever (2002) from NWI. Centers around Celebi, which I still don't know all that much about. Not terrible but nothing memorable. 5/10

• February New: 18
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 18
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 109
  

Maze of Deceit

The Maze (1953) is more of that 50s horror sci-fi I love so much. Was on NWI and definitely creepy as a woman tries to reunite with her estranged fiance now residing in an old castle. Naturally he's hiding a secret from her. Good! 6.7/10

The Ghost Writer (2010) was such a surprise thriller. Regret missing in the theater as I love Polanski's cinematography and color palette. Fun performances by McGregor and Brosnan. Didn't buy Kim Cattrell's accent for a second. 7.8/10

The Other Guys (2010) was a library pick-up and forced watch because I figured I had to see this at some point. Unfortunately it didn't work all that well for me. It has its moments but pushes too hard most of time. Wasn't crazy about Ferrell but Wahlberg is fine here. 6/10

• February New: 16
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 16
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 107
  

Bad Girls Have More Fun

Eben McGarr's Sick Girl (2007) was something that was recommended by Netflix and looked intriguing (see that movie poster). For a indie (low budget) horror flick, it's not a bad watch even if the motivations of the "sick girl" aren't exactly clear. She seems to kill bullies but makes some questionable choices. Worth a look. (note: the short film doc on the DVD is more interesting) 6.6/10

Roy Ward Baker's The Vampire Lovers (1970) is another old Hammer classic running on NWI right now. Better than average plus the gorgeous Ingrid Pitt but not near the top. Essentially a vampire Marcilla infiltrates a family and horror ensues. Still required viewing for all Hammer horror fans. 6.8/10

Sadly it was announced today that Tura Satana passed away. She was like a lightning bolt; short lived career but tremendous impact & influence. She'll forever be an unforgettable icon in all of cinema. Felt it was appropriate to finally watch Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) that's been on my DVR for over a year. Been saving for the right occasion. Just wish it wasn't this. Still an awesome flick in every way. 7.5/10

• February New: 13
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 13
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 104
  

Chilly Cheese Dogs

Attempting to knock off a few NWI titles this month. Moon of the Wolf (1972) is another one about maybe a werewolf that's killing people in a small Louisiana community. Or is it a pack of wild dogs? First half is somewhat dull but it really picks up when the mystery is revealed. 6/10

GGTMC recently covered Body Rock (1984) on their podcast and it was something I had to watch before listening. Lorenzo Lamas is Chilly, a breakdancing star (no, not really), as he climbs the ladder to success leaving his friends behind. So damn funny. 5.5/10

• February New: 10
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 10
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 101
  

Sandwitches

More NWI goodness or badness depending on your taste in film. First up, Bert Gordon's The Food of the Gods (1976) about giant animals that attack people on a remote island in Canada. Hilarious. Hard to believe I haven't seen this before. 6/10

Next was Mark of the Witch (1970) about a 300 year old witch that returns to enact revenge on a college campus for her death. Not great but watchable... kinda like what most of what I watch on Netflix streaming. 6/10

• February New: 8
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 8
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 99
  

Eviction Hell

The Evictors (1979) could be classified as an old grindhouse type of flick. Pretty sleazy film about a couple (Michael Parks & Jessica Harper) that moves into a house with a sordid history. The town folks want them out. 6.3/10

Devil's Dynamite (1987) via NWI is another Godfrey Ho head-scratcher. Involves hopping vampires and a man that turns into a hero clad in a spaceman suit. Watched it twice but still didn't quite know what was going on. 5/10

Iced (1988) was the Horror Movie Night selection and it's pretty damn funny about a group of people that return to a ski resort and get killed one by one. Enjoyable. Also features a naked Lisa Loring (Wednesday Addams). 6/10

• February New: 6
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 6
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 97
  

Religious Nightmare

H.G. Wells' The Shape of Things to Come (1979) is pretty damn stupid but man do I love stupid, esp. when it's sci-fi stupid. Looks like it was filmed at Epcot Center and an old refinery. Jack Palance is typically a ham. Anne-Marie Martin looks sweet in her space outfit. Silly stupid. 6/10

Had not watched Michele Soavi's The Church (1989) all the way through but thanks to Netflix Instant I finally made that happen. Really awesome flick with an even more awesome "body statue" and excellent finale. 7/10

Pulling a three-fer on NWI I absorbed Dreamaniac (1986) since @ReelDistraction mentioned it in his Neflix Instant genre post. Wowsa is this a pretty awful and awfully fun horror flick about a dude that raises a succubus to make him a winner with the ladies. Features some great kills including a bloody cock bite. Also I think this is porn star Ashlyn Gere's first feature film. 6/10

• February New: 3
• February Re-watch: 0
• February '11 Total: 3
• February '10 Total: 61
• 2011 TOTAL: 94