Hottie in Outer Space

Mutiny in Outer Space (1965)
Directed by Hugo Grimaldi

Totally dig this sci-fi thriller. The green fungus is hilarious. Just a fun yet silly film that approaches the material seriously. Big fan of these flicks and Dolores Faith is a hottie in space. Viewed during my flight out west.

Christmas Shock

Shock (1946)
Directed by Alfred L. Werker

Kinda cool Vincent Price noir flick. Price always makes for a good villain. Worth the watch.


To All A Goodnight (1980)
Directed by David Hess

Horror Movie Night: Christmas in July edition! Decent but best thing about this is Jennifer Runyon. Will revisit at a future Christmas Horror Movie Night, I’m sure.

Fighting Personalities

Persona (1966)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Filling more Ingmar Bergman gaps and this might be my favorite to date. Crazy considering his style change but duality of the characters and the story are executed so well I just really love it. Def one to revisit someday. 8 / 10


The Fighter (2010)
Directed by David O. Russell

Solid 7 out of 10. Good drama. Bale steals the movie. Sick how good he is. Everyone else is very good but Bale is the clear standout. Decent film but other than Bale didn’t deserve all the accolades, IMO.

Agent Fear of the Dead

Fear and Trembling (2003)
Directed by Alain Corneau

Really, REALLY love this movie. Totally captures what it’s like for an ex-pat / foreigner to work in a Japanese company. Incredible film. Highly recommended. Too bad Kaori Tsuji didn’t go on to do more because she’s excellent.


Marc Mato, agente S. 077 (1965)
Directed by Gregg C. Tallas

Low budget spy thriller from Spain. The opening sequence when the crooks break in to steal the death ray is the best part of the film.


Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead (1994)
Directed by Don Coscarelli

Pretty darn good sequel esp. since I wasn’t expecting much. Wish they’d put all the films into a nice Blu-ray set. I really like Reggie Bannister.

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Excellent thriller. One I will definitely need to watch again. So well crafted but expected from the master. Joseph Cotten is terrific.

Flick (2008)

Flick (2008)
Directed by David Howard

Picked this up from the library b/c it was in the horror section and looked interesting. It’s not really. A tad on the dull side despite a good premise. Really it’s the execution that fails. Not terrible but a little boring. Too bad.

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Directed by Isao Takahata

Put this off long enough. Not sure I could watch this again. Up there with Nobody Knows as one of the saddest, most tragic films I’ve seen. Anything with children in desperate situations is just too much for me. Hard one to watch indeed.

Day of the Apes

Planet of the Apes movie night was something I was looking forward to ever since I picked up the PotA blu-ray set a few weeks ago. This was a planned event to revisit all the PotA sequels and show them to Ron's boys for the first time. Also I've been itching to watch the PotA films again since the Drafthouse Apes event a few of my friends went to (still to this day haven't seen any of the Apes flicks on the big screen; super jealous of my friends that got all five in one sitting).

Since Ewan and Gavin had already seen the original PotA, we started promptly with Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), which I've often cited as my favorite in the series. Love everything about this movie and it's apocalyptic ending. 7.5 / 10


After that ending it's amazing they found the creative juices to make Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and make it convincing. Such a corny film sweet with some touching moments. This movie made me so sad when when I was a child. 7 / 10

It's often hard to think which film has stuck with me the most over the years especially not having seen them for so many years. Images from the first films have imprinted on my mind but the story of Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972) has remained the strongest for me. I've always loved the rise of Cesar and how he orchestrates it. Great film. 8 / 10

No one will question that Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) is the weakest of the films but it has its moments. Paul Williams is also fun. At first I wasn't sure I had seen this film but the entire story of Cesar's son overhearing --- came back to me. 6.5 / 10

It was fun revisiting all four of the sequels with Ron's kids. As always they provided some fun commentary. Ewan agreed that Conquest is the best of these.

• July New: 27
• July Re-watch: 8
• July '11 M.T.D.: 35
• July '10 M.T.D.: 54
• 2011 Y.T.D.: 421
  

Somewhere Under a Giving Tree

Left the office to drop into The Tree of Life (2011) over at CineArts in Evanston. Really, really love the love of --- film, which is no surprise. Just didn't care for the simplistic story. My thoughts may change on this over time but for now let's just say the so-called non-narrative didn't work for me. The lack of narrative isn't a problem since the central story is so basic. It's just not interesting. A very disappointing 5.5 / 10 Imagine following that with Sofia Coppola's Somewhere (2010) that received so much derision when it was released last year. I can see why but I didn't have a problem with content. It was (again) another issue of an overly simplistic story that just didn't do much but kinda sit there. No real punch or kick. Watchable although I probably won't watch it again. But it's worth checking out. 6 / 10

• July New: 27
• July Re-watch: 4
• July '11 M.T.D.: 31
• July '10 M.T.D.: 54
• 2011 Y.T.D.: 417

Dogs of War

Caught The Plague Dogs (1982) on NWI, happy to find it there having not seen it previously. This is another poignant, depressing animation about the escape of a couple of dogs from a testing facility. Fun, right? It's terribly sad but a really good film and great voice acting by John Hurt and others. 7 / 10 Out to the cinema for Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) on the big screen. Yeah, this is very enjoyable superhero flick despite a slowdown in 3rd act (of 4 acts total). May see it again to catch more the eggs. One I'll probably own someday. 7.5 / 10

• July New: 25
• July Re-watch: 4
• July '11 M.T.D.: 29
• July '10 M.T.D.: 54
• 2011 Y.T.D.: 415

They Vant To Suck Your Blood

Incense for the Damned (1972) is uh… Bloodsuckers!

• July New: 23
• July Re-watch: 4
• July '11 M.T.D.: 27
• July '10 M.T.D.: 54
• 2011 Y.T.D.: 413

Yukio Mishima's Amazing Technicolor Dreamlife

I had Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) in my Instawatch queue but never managed to get to it. Then I heard GGTMC cover it and realized it was something I didn't want to wait any longer to see. Got the Criterion edition from the library and dived in. It's every thing the Gentlemen said and then some. Was really into the different vibe each chapter of Mishima's life brings all framed within his central and final story. Powerful and vastly entertaining. Paul Schrader really conveys the Japanese sensibility of Mishima's life. Ken Ogata just nails it. Already wanted to view it again after this viewing. So very good. Highly recommended. 8 / 10

Followed that with a revisit to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) in preparation for the final film. Blu-ray looks gorgeous and the film is mostly good despite the somewhat abrupt ending. 7.5 / 10

• July New: 22
• July Re-watch: 4
• July '11 M.T.D.: 26
• July '10 M.T.D.: 54
• 2011 Y.T.D.: 412
  

Das Wachsfigurenkabinett

Not sure why I decided to fire up Waxworks (1924) but maybe I was curious and up for more Conrad Veidt. I really like the framing of the wax museum the writer hired to develop the stories around the historical characters but the stories themselves drag a bit. Still entertaining. 6.5 / 10

• July New: 21
• July Re-watch: 3
• July '11 MTD: 24
• July '10 MTD: 54
• 2011 YTD: 410
  

Herzog x Kinski

Werner Herzog's Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972) wasn't high on my blindspot list but still a film that needed to be seen. Saw it on the library shelf so what the hell. And it's a damn fine film just to see Klaus Kinski as the ruthless and unforgiving leader in search of El Dorado. The combination of Herzog and Kinski is legend. 7 / 10

• July New: 20
• July Re-watch: 3
• July '11 MTD: 23
• July '10 MTD: 54
• 2011 YTD: 409
  

Brando, Marlon Brando

Still recouping from my birthday and Cubs outing yesterday I finished off On the Waterfront (1954) before heading to the Quad Cities for my class reunion activities. Man, Brando was such a stud in his day. This film, a blindspot, is terrific, raw and natural. A shame it took me this long to finally sit down with it but highly recommended for any film buff. 8 / 10

• July New: 19
• July Re-watch: 3
• July '11 MTD: 22
• July '10 MTD: 54
• 2011 YTD: 408