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The Last Movie(s) You Watched... (quick one or two sentence reviews)

Eyepainter

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Coming back to my Universal Monster movie binge, we bid a sad farewell to the Wolf Man, who honestly didn't get as many sequels as the other guys did. Strange, considering that the Wolf Man is often one of the big three icons of the Universal Monsters. I guess it just goes to show how much people love Lon Chaney Jr.'s performance.

Anyway, my next stop is something... Completely different. Because you can't mention all these monster movies without acknowledging the work and talents of the comedy duo behind "Who's On First?" Yup! We're moving from horror to comedy with the Abbott and Costello monster mash-ups. We begin with the one that started it all: Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.

It's crazy to think that the best movie to bring the big three monsters together (Frankenstein's monster, Dracula, and the Wolf Man, respectively) was the one designed for laughs. It's like saying Spaceballs was the best Star Wars movie to feature Luke, Han, and Leia. But in 1948, that's what happened with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein. The film works both as a comedy and as a tribute to the Universal monsters, and it's nice to see Bela Lugosi and Lon Chaney, Jr. in this one (although it's too bad they couldn't get Karloff for Frankenstein, but Glenn Strange does what he can). This movie succeeds where House of Frankenstein and House of Dracula failed, and the last ten minutes of this film gives fans the monster free-for-all that the Universal franchise needed. The climactic fight between Dracula and the Wolf Man might be the most cathartic fight of Universal monster moviedom. Highly recommended for both comedy and horror fans alike.

Next, we come to the sequel, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man. This one has its fans, with some swearing that this is the best of the Abbott and Costello monster movies. I'll respectfully disagree, as I liked the horror-comedy blend of the last movie as opposed to this one, which is just plain ol' comedy. But with that said, I did laugh a lot, and I enjoyed it enough that I'll still recommend it, especially for the ending. Special effects weren't too shabby, either.
 

mnkykungfu

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^Leonard Maltin, one of the few critics left who I respect the opinion of, is a big fan of Abbot & Costello Meet Frankenstein. I've always been skeptical because he tends to just really love anything before the '70s, which he's very open about, but I may have to give this one a watch since you praise it so much as well.

Dracula Untold (2014)
Fittingly, I got roped into watching this apparent attempt at Universal's "Dark Universe" MCU coattail-riding. The efforts to connect it to some broader multi-monster story are godawful and confused, but the film itself is mostly some pretty enjoyable fare. Primarily a kind of darkly romantic historical action flick, until Dracula basically becomes a god in the end and the OTT aspects sour the film.

Savages (2012)
My Oliver Stone marathon really has become a marathon since it just ...keeps...going. I have now watched everything available from him except the Wall Street sequel, and god help me if even his 'stinkers' aren't pretty interesting. There's a commentary on the drug war here that's a pretty cool film, but it's unfortunately wrapped up in an undercooked three-way relationship story. I had an idea about how to fan-edit it...
 

Moe_Syzlak

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Abbott and Costello Meets Frankenstein is also a cited favorite of both Frank Zappa and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead.
 

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

It's stupid. It's silly. Corny, cheesy, and borderline nonsensical.

Yet I can't bring myself to use the adjective "bad"?

You can make many criticisms of it, but you can't say it isn't fun. It's very fun in fact, and the cast also happens to have a great chemistry. It's stupid and it's silly and cheesy, but it's also entertaining and fun to watch.

For the chemistry of the cast and the fun factor, I'm willing to give this a 7/10. Or at least a 6.5. it's obviously no where near a masterpiece but I also could never say it wasn't an enjoyable watch.
 

Jrzag42

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Started watching Chronicles Of Riddick. I assumed that it was more or less standalone from Pitch Black, but 20 minutes in I have no idea what's going on, it feels like watching Matrix Reloaded without watching the original first. Maybe I'm just an idiot and it is actually standalone, I dunno, but I think I'm gonna put this off until I get the chance to watch Pitch Black. I'm intrigued by the visuals though, it almost reminds me of Sky Captain where the cgi is intentionaly stylized and unrealistic and used extensively. Or maybe it's not intentional, and this movie just looks outdated even for the time. It has a charm regardless.

I watched Rango last night. Some of the humor didn't work for me, the animation was occasionally stiff, and the plot was cliche, but all that aside I quite enjoyed it. I generally am not the biggest fan of 3d animated films, they're more likely to look dated, and I generally think 2d stuff is just more appealing, but I really love the look of this film. And it's not often that animated films get extended cuts, I find that worth mentioning. In its extended form, this movie is just short of 2 hours, which is wild for animation. There's a lot of factors that set this apart from other cartoons. For another thing, this feels like it just happens to have a pg rating rather than specifically aiming to be a family film, there's a lot of talk about death, and more usages of "hell" than I expected. This is a western at its core, and that aspect is played straight, where I kinda expected it to play more like a parody of the genre. I'm kinda surprised that this movie got made, and was successful. I can't believe the director of The Ring made this. Unfortunately, I bought this movie in a double pack with The Barnyard, so I'm stuck owning that garbage. Maybe it's not so bad, but it just looks sooo unappealing.
 

addiesin

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Started watching Chronicles Of Riddick. I assumed that it was more or less standalone from Pitch Black, but 20 minutes in I have no idea what's going on, it feels like watching Matrix Reloaded without watching the original first. Maybe I'm just an idiot and it is actually standalone, I dunno, but I think I'm gonna put this off until I get the chance to watch Pitch Black. I'm intrigued by the visuals though, it almost reminds me of Sky Captain where the cgi is intentionaly stylized and unrealistic and used extensively. Or maybe it's not intentional, and this movie just looks outdated even for the time. It has a charm regardless.

I watched Rango last night. Some of the humor didn't work for me, the animation was occasionally stiff, and the plot was cliche, but all that aside I quite enjoyed it. I generally am not the biggest fan of 3d animated films, they're more likely to look dated, and I generally think 2d stuff is just more appealing, but I really love the look of this film. And it's not often that animated films get extended cuts, I find that worth mentioning. In its extended form, this movie is just short of 2 hours, which is wild for animation. There's a lot of factors that set this apart from other cartoons. For another thing, this feels like it just happens to have a pg rating rather than specifically aiming to be a family film, there's a lot of talk about death, and more usages of "hell" than I expected. This is a western at its core, and that aspect is played straight, where I kinda expected it to play more like a parody of the genre. I'm kinda surprised that this movie got made, and was successful. I can't believe the director of The Ring made this. Unfortunately, I bought this movie in a double pack with The Barnyard, so I'm stuck owning that garbage. Maybe it's not so bad, but it just looks sooo unappealing.
Pitch Black has almost no story. It's pretty great actually, what story is there is really small and efficient, but I don't think it will help you understand the chronicles movie. Vin Diesel was pretty unknown when Pitch Black was made but he had a lot of say in the sequel and is a big DnD nerd so I think he might have stuffed it full of lore that wasn't always intended.
 

mnkykungfu

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

It's stupid. It's silly. Corny, cheesy, and borderline nonsensical.

Yet I can't bring myself to use the adjective "bad"?

You can make many criticisms of it, but you can't say it isn't fun. It's very fun in fact, and the cast also happens to have a great chemistry. It's stupid and it's silly and cheesy, but it's also entertaining and fun to watch.

For the chemistry of the cast and the fun factor, I'm willing to give this a 7/10. Or at least a 6.5. it's obviously no where near a masterpiece but I also could never say it wasn't an enjoyable watch.
Secret Galaxy has a great video on the Turtles and on why the first film worked so well, as well as follow up videos on the two sequels that tanked and why (AND a follow-up on the female Turtle added later: Venus De Milo!)
 

DonkeyKonga

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So I just finished the Human Condition trilogy.. what a journey. The first movie was very slow but part two and three are truly masterpieces. 10/10.
 

Jrzag42

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Pitch Black has almost no story. It's pretty great actually, what story is there is really small and efficient, but I don't think it will help you understand the chronicles movie. Vin Diesel was pretty unknown when Pitch Black was made but he had a lot of say in the sequel and is a big DnD nerd so I think he might have stuffed it full of lore that wasn't always intended.
Just got around to watching Pitch Black. It was really fun, I enjoyed it quite a bit. It is really light on plot like you said, and it works.
 

Jrzag42

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Okay, I really dug Chronicles Of Riddick. It's dumb and bloated but it's fun and feels epic and cool. I definitely think it helps to watch Pitch Black first. I also watched the animated bridge Dark Fury which was fun, I really need to check out AEon Flux one of these days.
 

addiesin

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Okay, I really dug Chronicles Of Riddick. It's dumb and bloated but it's fun and feels epic and cool. I definitely think it helps to watch Pitch Black first. I also watched the animated bridge Dark Fury which was fun, I really need to check out AEon Flux one of these days.
The beauty of Aeon Flux is its weirdness. There is no continuity between episodes at all, you can watch one a year and not miss or forget anything important. There is little to no explanation for anything. It is short yet still feels like it's taking its sweet time. There's little dialogue but what they say is confusing. The big bad enemy is or was or will be, possibly, the hero's love interest, or maybe not, it's extremely unclear. I could not tell you what any one episode was about but images from it are seared forever into my mind. If you think Lynch is a fun snack, easy to digest, this by comparison is a surreal meal.
 

Moe_Syzlak

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Okay, I really dug Chronicles Of Riddick. It's dumb and bloated but it's fun and feels epic and cool. I definitely think it helps to watch Pitch Black first. I also watched the animated bridge Dark Fury which was fun, I really need to check out AEon Flux one of these days.
I’ve talked about Chronicles of Riddick here before. I have a soft spot for that movie. It’s objectively a bad movie, but I still dig it. And I don’t particularly care for any of the other Riddick movies. For me, there’s a world building in Chronicles that works for me. I totally agree that it’s bloated and dumb but. I like it. I love the look of it; it’s like Lynch’s Dune to me. I can’t deny it isn’t very good, but I still love the look and feel of it.
 

Eyepainter

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My Universal Monster movie ventures have me continuing on with the comedy duo known as Abbott and Costello. For their third entry, they meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (Who, last I checked, wasn't one of the Universal Monsters, but Boris Karloff is in it, so I guess it counts).

Once the bumbling duo is introduced in a fight during a feminist rally, it becomes obvious this isn't going to be as memorable as the first two films. Still, I'm glad to see the horror-comedy hybrid of the first film back in full force, and it's enough to keep this movie just above average. I like Karloff as the good doctor turned bad (although he reminds me of the Wolf Man a little too much when he becomes Mr. Hyde). John Dierkes is great as Dr. Jekyll's sidekick. And the special effects lead up to an ending that's a lot of fun to watch. The romantic relationship subplot, though, is not so great, and I could've done without it.

Next is what is arguably the last of the Abbott and Costello meetings, Abbott and Costello Meet the Mummy. And like a lot of these final outings, this one is the weakest. I suppose it's better than the final outings of, say, the Invisible Man or even the Mummy, but it isn't what I would call great.

Once again, the horror-comedy hybrid I enjoyed from A&C Meet Frankenstein and Dr. Jekyll is absent with this entry. It's all gags and skits this time around, so you better get used to it. The Mummy barely gets any screentime in this film until the end, which makes things worse. I'm also getting sick and tired of Costello always finding the monster first and Abbott always doubting him. To be fair, though, I did laugh a few times, and if all you want is Abbott and Costello giving out jokes, you might have a better time with this one than I did, but having seen the other three, I expect so much more.
 

Jrzag42

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Just watched Riddick. They reallly wanted to distance themselves from Chronicles, didn't they? It's pretty good, loved the first half, drags a bit by the end tho. Probably technically better than the others, but I don't necessarily prefer it. Overall a fun trilogy, I look forward to the next entry if it ever happens.

I got a copy of Escape From Butcher Bay for free a while ago, I had ordered the Spider-Man 2 game and they sent this with it as an apology for taking so long to ship. I really wish I still had it.
 

mnkykungfu

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The beauty of Aeon Flux is its weirdness. There is no continuity between episodes at all
I used to think this too, but there are some subtle things if you obsess over it (which it's totally worth doing). Little comments that Trevor makes in some episodes, where you get the idea for example that he knows nothing about Aeon in a couple, but in a couple others, he talks about how much they've been through. The episode where it looks like they're going to get married, for instance, is clearly later in the series and occurs as a result of many things that have happened before. About 80% of the stuff in the middle has no particular order, but essentially the way the episodes were reorganized on the DVD is the creator's suggested viewing order (it's different than how they originally aired.)
 

mnkykungfu

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Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (2022)
I love Del Toro's directing and a lot of it is on display even in this stop-motion throwback spectacle. His writing is full of rich themes that repeat a lot but in somewhat uneven fashion...this one feels much like an echo of Pan's Labyrinth and The Devil's Backbone. As a song lyricist, Del Toro doesn't show much sophistication here though, which is the one major area the original Disney animation maintains its lead over this version.

Psycho-Pass: The Movie (2015)
The Japanese animated film that somewhat stands on its own but really is better to watch after the first season of the much-lauded anime. Smooth, impressive animation from Production IG pairs with a rich, philosophical story from Gen Urobuchi (of Madoka Magica fame). Just watch the English dub, as the Japanese attempts at English ruin that version.

Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood (2022)
This rotoscoped tale from Richard Linklater has a lot of his typical hallmarks: wonderful authenticity and attention to detail, believable characters, great soundtrack...and an aimless, meandering story that feels like it has no point and no conflict. The "Apollo" part of the story is minor and relatively meaningless, but it provides some small framework for the rest of the film which is mostly a list of nostalgic tidbits.
 
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DigModiFicaTion

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Hamilton
A friend put this on when I said I had never seen it. Honestly, I had no idea what was happening most of the time and musicals just aren't my thing. The most impressive part was that my friend knew and sang every line. Even then, the show was little more than word vomit to me.
 

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All good things must come to an end, including my Universal Monster movie binge. We're about to talk about the last of the monsters: the Gillman. Also known as the Creature from the Black Lagoon. This is the only monster who made his legacy in the 1950s, and he's also the one who had all the gimmicks too. Not only was he in widescreen (1.85 on my blu-ray, but it varies), he was also in 3-D if you went to the right theatre.

I'm not sure this one is up there with the other classic monster movies (Maybe it's better in 3-D, but I don't have the tech to see it in that format), but for what it is, it's good enough. I like the small scale where most of the film either takes place either on the boat or underwater. It should be noted that the underwater sequences were innovative at the time, because, to paraphrase Troma president Lloyd Kaufman, the three things you never want to film are water, children, and animals. A lot of hard work obviously went into the underwater sequences, and the Amazon looks pretty good here. I'm not sure the Gillman is up there with Dracula, the Mummy, or the Invisible Man, but if I look at this as a 1950s drive-in film, it's watchable.
 

Jrzag42

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Watched Clerks 3, and gosh darn it I was crying by the end. It's far from a perfect movie, and it's not always Kevin Smith at his best, but it's good enough for me. When I put in the disc and heard Lit's My Own Worst Enemy at the menu, I knew this would appeal to me, and when Welcome To The Black Parade played over the opening credits I was sold. For a story based around reminiscing over the previous movies, I was kinda hoping for some kind of reference to the animated series.

The bluray opens with Kevin Smith ranting to the camera about how important physical media is, and I find that very relevant here.
 
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Ray Danger

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The bluray opens with Kevin Smith ranting to the camera about how important physical media is, and I find that very relevant here.
I love that!
Kevin has always been passionate about his home releases, packing every laserdisc, DVD & bluray to the gills with extras.
 
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