Dumb and Dumber

Waitress! (1981) is a not-so-good eighties comedy that I was hoping would provide a little more enjoyment being an early Troma flick (and one co-directed by Lloyd Kaufman). Sadly it's just forgettable. 5.5 / 10

And what could be more forgettable than Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)? Not much. Save for a few beautiful shots of Chicago getting blown to all hell this film is terrible and possibly the worst movie I'll see this year. What's truly unfortunate is that there could have been a decent movie in this had a couple of the characters and subplots been excised. As I tweeted, "the upside is that I will never have to watch that again." 3 / 10

Something to remove that awful taste from my eyes Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953) is another selection from my blindspot project. This Howard Hawks musical comedy romp is wonderful with two sparkling leads in Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe. One I'm sure to revisit. 7.6 / 10

• July New: 12
• July Re-watch: 1
• July '11 MTD: 13
• July '10 MTD: 54
• 2011 YTD: 399
  

People Who Died

Started watching Walter Hill's Brewster's Millions (1985) on Instawatch but it expired before I could finish. Fortunately my library's catalog had it. Very entertaining Richard Pryor / John Candy film with some clever writing. 7 / 10

My blu-ray double feature disc featuring Student Bodies (1981) arrived and I couldn't wait to check it out. As an early spoof of the slasher genre (just as slashers were becoming a genre no less), I like this film much more than any modern day spoof. Probably because it still has a enough charm to make it likable. 6 / 10

• May New: 32
• May Re-watch: 2
• May '11 Total: 34
• May '10 Total: 68
• 2011 Total: 302
  

No Thanks to Mystery

From my library I finally decided to give Sorority Row (2009) a spin. Stupid movie in a not good way and challenging to maintain any interest or care for it and the characters. Good production but lousy screenplay. 5 / 10

ThanksKilling (2009) has been in my Neflix Watch Instantly queue since the day it was added… but since it was expiring I finally clicked it. Wasn't looking forward to viewing b/c it's akin to a awful Troma flick. And I was right. Not enjoyable. 4 / 10

Mystery on Monster Island a.k.a. Misterio en la isla de los monstruos (1981) is a bizarre mash-up of Robinson Crusoe and The Lost World, a Spanish one at that. It features Peter Cushing, Terrace Stamp and Paul Naschy in small supporting roles. The main protagonist is a young man sent to survive on an island full of monsters and hidden gold. I won't say anymore because it would be giving away the main idea of the film. Not a good movie but certainly interesting. 6 / 10

• May New: 16
• May Re-watch: 2
• May '11 Total: 18
• May '10 Total: 68
• 2011 Total: 286
  

The Screaming Never Stops

In revisiting the Scream series I discovered the older horror film Scream (1981), which I hadn't seen. So I ordered from Netflix and proceeded to watch. Whoa, this is not a good film at all. A group of people go on rafting trip to a ghost town, get stranded there then begin to get killed off. All the characters do inexplicable things and ending reveal is just bad. I think I listened to part of the commentary because I was so dumbfounded by this movie. 5 / 10

Followed that with third film in Craven's franchise, Scream 3 (2000), which despite owning the DVD for at least 10 years I have never seen. Until now. And now I feel foolish for waiting for so long because I really dig this installment (more than the second film). Maybe it's Parker Posey that does it for me but it just works on a different level. 6.5 / 10

• April New: 18
• April Re-watch: 6
• April '11 Total: 24
• April '10 Total: 68
• 2011 Total: 253
  

Synthesized Gun

Another long desired DVD set arrived this week: The Andy Sidaris Girls Guns & G-Strings collection (highly recommended for fans of Sidaris and/or crappy movies). Guns (1990) is one that I had missed before the original DVDs went out of print so I queued this one first. It's about the same as the others with our same heros and silly villains. 6 / 10

Scared to Death (1981) was the Horror Movie Night selection this week and the introduction of the Syngenor! I couldn't get my hands on a copy of this so I found it streaming online on some weird website. Not the best PQ but it was fine to follow the creation and terror of this Synthesized Genetic Organism! Check out @zombiefreak's write-up about Scared to Death as he chronicles Horror Movie Night. 6.5 / 10

• April New: 15
• April Re-watch: 4
• April '11 Total: 19
• April '10 Total: 68
• 2011 Total: 248
  

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
  

Werewolves, Baby

First movie watched of 2011: An American Werewolf in London (1981). Wanted it to be a revisit and on blu-ray. This was perfect. Love this movie and watching it now takes me back to those days seeing it during its first run on HBO. 8/10

Held-over from my library I also watched Jenny McCarthy in Santa Baby 2 (2009). Having not seen the original wasn't sure I could keep up with the complex mythology. But I managed. Kelly Stables is just cute as a button. Not terrible. 5.7/10

And so it begins... again! Sigh.

• January New: 1
• January Re-watch: 1
• January Total: 2
• 2010 TOTAL: 2
  

Getting Low

Time to fly back to Chicago. I'm ready to go home but hated the way I had to leave (6am this morning after my girlfriend didn't come home until 3am but that's another story). My in-flight film was a complete opposite of the crap they gave us on the way out (Ramona & Beezus). We were treated to Get Low (2010), which saw limited release earlier this year. It's a period piece features Bob Duvall as a man, Felix Bush, who wants to have his funeral before he dies. Bill Murray and Lucas Black are the funeral directors that assist him. Sissy Spacek is great as one of Felix Bush's old and only flames. Got a little sleepy towards the end due to my 3 hours sleep. Will need to revisit. 7/10

Home and chilling with some Instant Watch. Decided to finally watch the animated version of Superman: Doomsday (2007) storyline from the early 90s. Kinda okay and since I never bothered to read that storyline at least now I know what happened. Not bad. 6.6/10

And because it was expiring too I finally spun Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels (2002) which is a video interview with Stan Lee by Kevin Smith. It's broken into two segments; the first deals with Stan's career overall and the second just focuses on Spider-man. Interesting to hear a lot of what I already knew in Stan's words with his take on the events. Wish this Kevin Smith was still around. 7/10

Finally watched Dragonslayer (1981), which I guess I've never seen in its entirety, only bits and segments. It was expiring so what the hell. It's actually pretty good and darker than I expected for a Disney property. I could see them doing a remake of this in all CG. It's the practical effects that make this charming. Good late night watch. 6.8/10

• December New: 67
• December Re-watch: 6
• December Total: 73
• 2010 TOTAL: 790
  

Friday the 13th Marathon

My evening viewing was a special event that @scottfinn and I arranged some time ago when all the Friday the 13th films were added to Netflix Watch Instantly. Wanting to revisit a few of them I submitted the idea we make a movie night out of it. So we did. I headed over to Scott's home where he had all the films queued up. We debated which ones to watch, and we were somewhat agreeable.

First up was Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), which I only vaguely remembered and wanted to see. It came back to me as it went along. Pretty good sequel to the original and first true Jason. I recommended Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984), the fourth film in the franchise directed by Joe Zito, next because I don't ever recall seeing it. It's often considered one of the best but for whatever reason I don't ever remember viewing it. It features a very young Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover too. Very good entry and one I'll probably revisit again.

After those two, I suggested Part 7 because I know I haven't seen that one but Scott objected and would agree only if we watched Part 6 and ultimately 2 more films (I had anticipated we would only watch 3 films total). I was up for it. So we dove into Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives (1986), my favorite of the series simply because it's when I consider the F13 franchise turning towards making Jason the antihero. I originally saw this flick upon release back in '86 and loved the hell out of it. Recently I bought it on DVD. Jason returns from the dead with supernatural strength. The comedy works. Adore this film.

Now late in our night it was time for one I haven't seen, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood (1988). I've always heard mixed things about this one, more on the unfavorable side and now I know why. This one deals with a girl who has psychic powers and telekinesis. She mistakenly resurrects Jason from the lake instead of her dead father and the havoc begins. Such a WTF flick but still very watchable. Glad to have seen it with Scott, who is somewhat of a F13 historian. After that we called it a night. And a good night it was. Looking forward to the next movie night with Scott, a true lover of old school slasher horror.

• December New: 43
• December Re-watch: 5
• December Total: 48
• 2010 TOTAL: 765
  

Mystery Kids

It's Wednesday and you know what that means: Horror Movie Night! The selection tonight was Ed Hunt's Bloody Birthday (1981). Gotta hand it to Brian Kelley for the stellar programming. This is an evil children flick that I hadn't seen but since I have a fondness for such films, I was excited to sit down with this one. Definitely a cool flick about 3 kids born on the same day during a total eclipse. By age 10 they have intentions of murder. Fun! 6.5/10

From Netflix I had Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin (2004) which I think I added to my queue because of Araki and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who I heard was good in this. And this is true because I don't think this would be the easiest performance to pull off convincingly. Essentially JGL's character is molested as a child and grows up to be a male prostitute. Some intense scenes and not a film I could watch often. 7/10

• December New: 36
• December Re-watch: 3
• December Total: 39
• 2010 TOTAL: 756
  

All The Boys Love Ohyaku Dayu

I have a feeling I've seen Yuen Woo-ping's Dreadnaught (1981) before a long time ago. Everything about it is so familiar. Really a wonderful film with outstanding choreography. Glad that the GGTMC covered this as I think it's an ideal movie night flick. The lion dance battles are soooooo good. White Tiger fight scenes are wonderfully brutal. 7.9/10

Hadn't seen Ocean's Twelve (2004) and not sure I'm any better now that I have. Seems like an excuse for a sequel with an overwrought plot. The Julia Roberts / Bruce Willis segment probably played better at the time of release but now just looks silly. At least Vincent Cassel is great. 6/10

Time for more Pinky Violence with Ohyaku: The Female Demon (1968), another film I really love. Junko Miyazono (Okatsu) is just great as ever as a struggling woman who seeks revenge for the death of her lover. Also like seeing Tomisaburo Wakayama in a small part. The ending is a little over the top but still a very fun film. 7.8/10

• November New: 41
• November Re-watch: 4
• November Total: 45
• 2010 TOTAL: 703
  

Terminating the Grid

Finally got out to see David Fincher's The Social Network (2010). What can I that hasn't already been said. I'm sure this will place in my top ten for the year. Completely brilliant from start to finish with no wasted frames. Love this movie and what it says about about our culture and society. 8/10

Lady Terminator (1988) was tonights Horror Movie Night selection. Good thing cuz I've been wanting to see this for ages and keep putting it off. Super trashy and filled with head-scratching dialogue. Super fun and highly recommended. 6.8/10

Had The Burning (1981) DVD from my library (?!) and figured I better watch it. Essentially apes Friday the 13th with kids and counselors terrorized by a giant scissors wielding maniac. Good Savini work but so-so film. Still cool to watch and interesting commentary by Savini. (666th film this year!) 6.6/10

• November New: 8
• November Re-watch: 0
• November Total: 8
• 2010 TOTAL: 666
  

Boogie Woogie Babes

Blood from the Mummy's Tomb (1971) was another TCM Hammer Horror hold-over from Friday night. Features a hot Egyptian Queen (Valerie Leon) extremely well-preserved in which her spirit inhabits yet another hottie (Valerie Leon). Not a great film but plenty of eye candy. #amiright 6.2/10

The Boogens (1981) was featured on TCM Underground. Kind of excited to catch this one but really needs more boogens. Creature designs are not bad for what we see of them. I also like the snowy setting. Reminds me of another horror flick I saw on TV years ago that scared the crap outta me and still haven't tracked it down. 6.3/10

• October New: 50
• October Re-watch: 11
• October Total: 61
• 2010 TOTAL: 645
  

Northern Norse Nights

The Norseman (1978) is a film I saw on the MGMHD schedule and knew I had.. *HAD* to watch. It features Lee Majors as a Norse viking captain leading a ship of vikings to rescue the previous ship of vikings now prisoners of the indians… er, Native Americans. Holy schtick is this move awful. Not only is Majors' southern drawl distracting, all, and I mean all, the acting is terrible. Even Jack Elam appears to be phoning it in (don't blame him). Also quite rich that a few of the vikings are black… er, African American. Or African Norsemen. Huh? 3/10

Ya know, I've been wanting to see Kate Beckinsale in Whiteout (2009) since it hit the theaters last year. I probably would've gone to see it then if not for the avalanche of bad press & WOM. That said, I didn't find that flick all that bad. Sure, it has problems and some silly turns not to mention a kinda sorta lukewarm payoff. But watchable. And I like to watch Beckinsale. 6/10

Daughters of Satan (1972) I captured on TCM as part of their Movie Morlock Underground Horror Friday nights. Tom Selleck fights off the cult of witches. It's terrible and brilliant at the same time. I love that there is a painting that keeps changing and that the cultists come non-threatening onto their property. Really a classic in stupidity. 6/10

A long time ago, in a lifetime far away I watched George A. Romero's Knightriders (1981). But I only vaguely remembered it and definitely did not recall the 2.5 hour runtime. Seriously? Pretty sure the version I saw was edited down for cable because this film has no business being this long. It lost me after the first 45 - 60 minutes when everything important happens. If you would've told that Ed Harris was the lead star in this flick I say STFU. 6/10 (for just the cool knights on bikes action)

• October New: 27
• October Re-watch: 7
• October Total: 34
• 2010 TOTAL: 618
  

Kosugi x Three

Thanks to a heads up from xWhitakersNeckx I was able to DVR 3 old school ('80s) ninja flicks on MGMHD. These played during the day so I watched NFL games then caught these in the evening. First up was Franco Nero as the White Ninja in Enter the Ninja (1981) as he ultimately faces off against his ninja school rival Black Ninja (Sho Kosugi) after he takes on Christopher George and his thugs. Some pretty good character moments and a great bar scene. Also some stupid plot devices. Overall this is a mostly hilarious watch and should be enjoyed with others. 6.7/10

Next film stars Sho Kosugi as the main character in Revenge of the Ninja (1983), a film I watched this many times growing up but probably haven't seen this in 25 years. It boils down to Kosugi getting hoodwinked into running an import business by evil drug dealers led by a Master Level Ninja in a silver mask. This flick also features an unforgettable fight between a little kid (Kosugi's real life son) and this hot buxom blonde. 6.5/10

Final film in my Sunday ninja trilogy is one I don't recall seeing before today: Pray for Death (1985), yet another Sho Kosugi vehicle. This time his family tries to make a go of it in big city of Houston (apparently Kosugi's ninja identity is hidden from his family who watches him perform on TV). Things go south when Kosugi gets pulled into some kind of crime syndicate and ends up fighting Silver Claw Ninja. Easily the least unintentionally comedic of the three today but still quite good. 6.5/10

• October New: 17
• October Re-watch: 6
• October Total: 23
• 2010 TOTAL: 607
  

Bronson, Charles Bronson

If there is one thing I am sure of today, it's that I love Charles Bronson in Death Hunt (1981). This is a character that speaks to me. From the opening sequence when he rescues the dog from evil Ed Lauter I know this is my kind of man. At a very early age I remember identifying with that. Thank you, NWI, for allowing me to experience that again. Additional props to Lee Marvin, Carl Weathers, Angie Dickinson & Andrew Stevens, whom I also adore in this film. Definitely one worth watching. 7.5/10

• August New: 45
• August Re-watch: 10
• August Total: 55
• 2010 TOTAL: 496
  

Thieves Leave

Been wanting to revisit The Thief of Bagdad (1940) having only vague recollections from my childhood. Really a stunning & beautiful film with terrific special effects. 8/10

Grabbed Graduation Day (1981) from my NWI queue looking for some silly early 80s horror and it delivers. Not great by any stretch nor deserving of its paltry 3/10 score at IMDB, the movie is very watchable with a few WTF? moments. 5.75/10

• August New: 42
• August Re-watch: 8
• August Total: 50
• 2010 TOTAL: 491
  

Searching for Things

Caught a late afternoon screening of Stallone's The Expendables (2010) and enjoyed it immensely. It delivers what it promises including some clunky dialogue exchanges and great action sequences. I was grinning ear to ear during the last 20 minutes. Looking forward to Stallone's master edit. 7.1/10

Another bad film on the Never Say Die DVD flipper, Silent Hunter (1995), was directed by Fred Williamson! Of course he also has a small role but it's kinda amusing that one of the sets is his auto dealership (the office is adorned with his framed movie posters and various memorabilia). Didn't enjoy this crime/revenge story very much but whatever. It happened. 4.4/10

Thanks to NWI I revisited another wish fulfillment flick of my teenage years in Private Lessons (1981) starring the ever so sexy Sylvia Kristel as the maid who seduces the rich kid in a scam conceived by Howard Hesseman's butler character. Yeah, this isn't a great film by any stretch but damn if it didn't stir up some feelings back in the day. Almost wonder if they could make a mainstream film like this again. 6/10

• August New: 29
• August Re-watch: 6
• August Total: 35
• 2010 TOTAL: 476
  

OG Mega Piranha

When I initially rec'd Sinful (2006) from Netflix I wondered why the hell I added this DVD to my queue. Then I remembered some recent browsing leading to Misty Mundae films and this was one of the few Netflix actually carried. A bit of departure from the soft porn horror parodies she does but sadly a misstep. The film never leaves the launching pad. Film is only 73 minutes long but feels twice as long. Skip it.


James Cameron's Piranha II: The Spawning (1981) is much more style! Many will cite JAWS as paving the way for animal attack films but truly this flick is the hallmark of the ridiculously cheesy monster animal flicks we have today. Seriously, flying killer fish?! Hells yes. Love this film.

Some real late viewing with The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) on Watch Instantly. Not sure if I like this more than the original Muppets film watching it so many years later but it's still a lot of fun.

• July New: 4
• July Re-watch: 1
• July Total: 5
• 2010 TOTAL: 392