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

mnkykungfu

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^Interesting. I'd heard the first one was basically indie Horror, whereas the 2nd leaned into full-blown B-rate Sci-Fi exploitation. Like, the meme goes
Phantasm I: "get a load of this dopey ass ice cream man - bless 'im"
Phantasm II: "I'd f*** Reggie"
 

Jrzag42

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Phantasm 2 is boooring. Love all the others, but there's just something about 2 that I can't stand.
 

mnkykungfu

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Phantasm 2 is boooring. Love all the others, but there's just something about 2 that I can't stand.
Yeah, I've heard that some people hated 2 and thought 3 was a solid return to form. Others love 2 and hate 3. 🤷‍♂️


Watched 3 junky exploitation films, 1 which is actually quite good...

Game Over (2019)
I can NOT understand all the praise for some gimmicky Horror films, like this one. I was stoked by the idea of an Indian movie that played it straight and didn't have dance numbers or awkwardly forced slapstick. However, this one still has massive issues balancing tone and style, and ends up as a huge wannabe copycat of better movies like Boss Level or Palm Springs.

Color Out of Space (2019)

I watched a fanedit of this that actually tried to cut down the slow beginning and improve the film, but it still really didn't work for me. I think Richard Stanley is a really indulgent filmmaker who doesn't get why we care about characters in movies, or how narrative connects ideas (like Panos Cosmatos). This movie fundamentally misunderstands what makes H.P. Lovecraft's stories so special.

Night of the Comet (1984)
If you would've told me that rewatching this film would've been the movie that holds up, I'd think you were crazy. A low budget "zombie" movie that's really not much of a zombie movie, this pastiche of George Romero's trilogy is a fun teenage apocalypse vibe. Plus, the zombie biker cops are legendary.
 

Jrzag42

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At the dollar store I found a movie called Original Gangster from last year, with Steve Gutenberg's name on it. I was terribly curious of what a modern Steve Guttenberg movie would entail, you rarely see him these days. I bought it, and later looked it up to find that it didn't even have a Wikipedia page. Just a small shitty DTV movie. Mind you, the dollar store does have its fair share of legit movies that I've found, like Lars And The Real Girl and Star Trek IV, and Trumbo.
Anyways, I finally watched it. It's not great, but for what it is it's well made and competent. It basically tries to be British Good Fellas, that's the only thing I can think to compare it to. Steve Guttenberg is only really a side character, but he's glorious nonetheless, with his ridiculous long blonde wig.
 

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Who Invited Them (2022)

Pretty good Shudder Exclusive that could’ve used a little polish. A married couple buy this big house in Hollywood Hills and have a house warming party, with the husband using it as a way to brag and show off and the wife wishing they just stayed in their old house. During the party they notice a couple they have never seen before and get to know them some more after everyone leaves. Things take a sinister turn and you can spot the twist a mile away, but it’s a good time as you wait for the sh*t to hit the fan. Not perfect by any means, but a tame horror/thriller worth a look.
 

mnkykungfu

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The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009)
For November 1st I trotted out this much-maligned sequel to a much-beloved indie hit from 10 years earlier. It's far more of a comedy than the original but for a lot of the movie I was wondering if it'd been judged far too harshly? Sadly, there's a whole secondary backstory plot wedged into the back half of the film and it descends into a messy and unfulfilling final act.

The Hand (1981)
Getting back to my Oliver Stone marathon, I managed to track down his first wide-release film, which is a Suspense/Horror movie. It's actually pretty good? The script is really solid, with interesting ideas and great dialogue, plus there's no shortage of well-performed scenes. I would just fanedit it slightly to turn this into a really good movie.

The Northman (2022)
The script to this feels a bit less-balanced than I had expected from Robert Eggers, which I attribute to the influence of Icelandic poet "Sion" as co-writer. There are parts of this dark Viking revenge film that feel too much like trying to perform some new version of Shakespearean monologues, but the less-wordy parts are sublime. Anyone who likes this should seek out the comic "Northlanders" though, which did pretty much the same story but much better!
 

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Continuing on with my Universal Monster movie watch, I've gone through both the Dracula and Frankenstein movies, so now it was time to look at one of the lesser-known monsters. In this case, The Mummy was next. Not the 1999 Brendan Fraser one or that 2017 Dark Universe movie that everyone instantly forgot about. We're talking the original 1932 film that started it all and featured the one and only Boris Karloff. I'm becoming convinced that Karloff is the MVP of the Universal Monster actors. And The Mummy is proof of this. This is a film that is carried by his performance as Imhotep alone, and he carries it brilliantly. Highly underrated entry and worth seeing.

Next, I went and saw The Mummy's Hand. I have to wonder if this was the film that inspired the Brendan Fraser remake, because this film amps up the silliness factor to 11. Whereas the previous film was dark, atmospheric, serious, and most importantly, a horror film, this one is more comedic and the leads throw in a lot of humor throughout. It's a step down from the first movie for the lack of atmosphere alone, but I can't say that I was bored watching it. If your only motive is to watch something for the fun of it, give this a watch.
 

mnkykungfu

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Two for Bonfire Night:

Wonderland (1999)
British indie darling film from Michael Winterbottom that occurs all in the leadup to and on Bonfire Night. Early example of lots of handheld footage and on-location, open-set shooting, but the aimless plot with a barely-connected ensemble of unlikeable people left me cold.

Witchfinder General (1968)
I often see this held up as a cornerstone of the "Folk Horror" genre but honestly it played mostly like 'get revenge for systemic British corruption and oppression' films like Braveheart or even Robin Hood. Darker in tone, cheaper, not as good action, and pretty lackluster performances except for Guy-Fawkes-lookalike Vincent Price, but it's worth a watch.
 

Zarius

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Wakanda Forver

Emotionless, woodenly performed nauseous shite. Can we stop pretending MCU movies are consistent 10/10 masterpieces yet?
 

Jrzag42

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Aqua Teen Forever Plantasm -
I love ATHF. This... Doesn't feel like the Aqua Teen I know. The animation is too smooth and clean, the first thing that came to mind is that it feels like watching Rick and Morty. The charm of the limited animation is gone. But if the visuals were the only problem then that'd be fine. It's also just unfunny.
 

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I sit through yet some more movies in the classic Mummy franchise with The Mummy's Tomb. Lon Chaney, Jr. is a much better replacement for Tom Tyler as Kharis for obvious reasons, and I like how this movie plays out like a slasher film in comparison to most Universal horror films. But the logic behind this one is odd. This movie takes place about 30 years after the last movie, and yet, not a single curtain has changed in the timespan between those two films. The criticisms on the overuse of recycled footage (specifically at the beginning and end of the film) are justified, especially since this movie is only 60 minutes. Why was gathering an hour's worth of story so hard? Overall, there are some things I like, but it's a waste of time.

The Mummy's Ghost, on the other hand, is a noticable improvement. Lon Chaney's acting talents are put to better use here. Placing more focus on Kharis' love for Princess Ananka was a smart move, and the ending was unexpected but effective. A surprisingly decent sequel.
 

asterixsmeagol

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I'm really enjoying your reviews of the Universal Monster movies. I was going to do a 31-day marathon of all of them like I did for Halloween/Friday the 13th/Nightmare on Elm Street two years ago and James Bond last year, but the month just got away from me and I never got started. Maybe next year!
 

mnkykungfu

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Cellular (2004)
Chris Evans was just about to be cast as Johnny Storm, Jason Statham had just finished The Transporter, but between this hero and villain, this film is actually a Kim Basinger vehicle. Such a time capsule, this one. Bizarre assortment of scenes that never quite feel like they belong in the same film, but the full cast is a deep roster that makes this interesting.

L.A. Takedown (1989)

Often referred to as Michael Mann's dry run for Heat, this is the best TV movie I've ever seen. I traced the whole bizarre history of this film here, but essentially it's a low budget but still very effective cops vs thieves film, like the Chicago story but with a Miami Vice aesthetic.

Who Killed Vincent Chin? (1987)

This Oscar-nominated documentary got on my radar when the wave of Asian hate crimes started in the US a few years ago. It explores that issue in a specific case, though it's debatable how much racism was the root cause. The title is essentially a reference to the fact that Vincent Chin is now dead, and the killers didn't serve one day in prison, so who's being held responsible for his death then?
 

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Rewatched the first Hellboy after finally reading some of the comics. I never really cared for it before, much preferring the second one. Now watching it again, I admit that it's pretty good, though it feels way too long.
I can't imagine anyone other than GDT adapting Hellboy, given him and Mignola's shared love of fairytales and folklore among other influences, they're on the same wavelength as they say. GDT wrote the foreword to the Hellboy comic I read, in which he talked about how big of a fan he was of the comics, and it just feels good knowing that he got to work on something he was so passionate about.
 

mnkykungfu

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^Would have loved to see him able to cap off his trilogy instead of Legendary going with a reboot instead. Casualty of studio business.

Three for Veteran's Day:

All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)
I still haven't seen the '30s original, but this remake seems well-positioned to represent the story for a younger generation. With gorgeous cinematography and a great 3-note motif in the score, it's a graphic, tragic portrayal of the change in war from a grand adventure to a grand folly.

Atonement (2007)
Much ado was made about the middle section of this film and the 5-minute tracking shot at Dunkirk, but I found the earlier portion to be far better. It's a very showy film, with big parts shot like a perfume commercial, but the cast is wonderful. It was apparently originally intended to run with a framing story and flashbacks, and I think that would be far superior to the current chronological edit.

Da 5 Bloods (2020)
I keep trying Spike Lee joints and keep thinking how rare it is that his style is a plus for me rather than a big minus, like here. Some beautiful landscape shots and I like a lot of the issues raised, but this is honestly a really bad script and Spike is a horrible action director.
 

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I reach the end of the Mummy films with The Mummy's Curse. And boy, did they save the worst for last. I knew this was going to be bad when it began with a musical number.

No, that's not a joke. The movie begins... With a musical number.

Then, we're introduced to a couple of Mexican stereotypes. Then, one of them says that the previous movie was 25 years ago, which means this movie takes place in the year 1995! Then we find out that the Mummy and his girl actually drowned in a swamp in the last movie, and that we've been in Louisiana this whole time! Then, a black man proclaims, "THE DEVIL'S ON THE LOOSE! AND HE'S DANCING WITH THE MUMMY!" THEN, WE MEET THE HIGH PRIEST, WHO TALKS LIKE DRACULA, AND HIS ASSISTANT, WHO SAYS, "YES, MASTER, YES!" THEN, 15 MINUTES IN, THE HIGH PRIEST RECAPS THE PLOT OF THE LAST THREE FILMS IN YET ANOTHER MUMMY MOVIE THAT'S ONLY 60 MINUTES!

I don't recommend this.
 

ArtisDead

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I just watched "X" . A24 has always been a bit of a salon studio for an almagam of curiosities including the occasional horror flick. I have two things to say about this movie.

1. They owe Tobe Hooper (like kissing his feet type gratitude) and the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie a huge, and I do mean huge, debt of existiential gratitude. Clear down to the sweaty atmosphere and the buzzing flies.

2. A great big Texas sized "WTF?!!"

Definitely a 4 out 5 stars maybe all 5.
 

mnkykungfu

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RIP Kevin Conroy (1955-2022)

Batman Begins (2005)
I watched a fanedit called The Dark Cut, an oldie-but-goodie I recommend searching out. I just love this movie and think it doesn't get nearly enough credit. Probably the best script for a Batman film ever, and Bale is the 2nd-greatest Batman/Bruce Wayne (only behind Conroy).

Batman & Robin (1997)
I watched a fanedit called Deep Freeze which essentially tries to capture the tone of Batman: The Animated Series. It doesn't quite make this into a good movie, but it does make it more interesting and watchable. It lead me to do a serious bit of thinking on Joel Schumacher's career and his approach to Batman...

The Batman (2022)

I watched a fanedit turning this into a 4-episode mini-series called Batman: Year Two, which is a much easier way to watch this. The casting for this is a real issue for me, and these portrayals of the characters mostly feel like lesser versions of what we've gotten before. Batman in particular has no finesse and no skill and really did not capture the character for me, though I did appreciate this being a big neo-noir Fincher pastiche.
 

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After suffering through that cursed abomination that was the final film in the Mummy series, I move my attention towards another monster. This time, I decided to catch up on The Invisible Man. God, I forgot how good this one was. Claude Rains is fantastic in the title role. The special effects, though dated by today's standards, are quite a sight to behold, and the movie achieves a perfect balance between being terrifying and darkly comedic. All in all, a great start for The Invisible Man and a surprisingly underappreciated film in the Universal Monster collection.

Next, I went for the sequel, The Invisible Man Returns. This one is more crime thriller than horror, but nevertheless, I loved this one. Vincent Price may not be as memorable as Claude Rains in this film, but he does a good job, and I doubt you could find a better replacement. Cedric Hardwicke does a great job playing the villain here. And if nothing else, I like that this movie decided to be different from the first one. The only thing I didn't like is that I think the movie would've been better off if it ended on a sadder note for the last 1 or 2 minutes. But other than that, this is a surprisingly underrated sequel, and one that I'd be happy to see again. See this one if you haven't.
 
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