What did you watch this week mon ami? (02/19-02/25)

…even torture. He is one of the craziest and sickest criminal(s) in Canadian history. He is serving a life sentence after being convicted of murder in 1993. “ I wanted to see this one since it came out! I was very surprised to see it was originally shot in English. At least the dubbed version I saw was with the actors voice but it was very weird to hear and poorly done. Otherwise, the movie is very good although I feel like there was not enough shocking elements to make us despise the guy. It all came near the ending. My rating: 7.5/10

The night house (2020 Disney+): Another blind watch and this was a very nice surprise in the genre. Supernatural/Ghost stories are my least favourite of horror but when it’s competently made, it brings new and clever ideas, it scares without relying on jump scares and has strong performances, who am I to complain? This was a good horror/thriller/mystery film. My rating: 7/10

Greetings Stonekeeper !!

Maxium Overdrive (1986) I'm with ya on the 8/10. That's my kind of movie. Who Made Who! :)

Yor, the Hunter From the Future (1983) 7.5/10
It's the tail end of Rebruary here and this year I somehow have only watched 2 Reb Brown movies, but that's ok since one is Yor, the Hunter from The Future. Reb, as Yor comes from the future sporting heavy metal hair, getting all the ladies and stomping every dinosaur and cave man that gets in his way. if that isn't good enough, we get John Steiner as our futuristic bad guy and Luciano Pigozzi as Yor's trusty cave man side kick. There are more mind blowing things going on in this than one can list, but there is one standout scene. Yor shoots a Perodactyl with a skillful shot from his bow and arrow, uses it as a hang glider to silently infiltrate the bad guy's lair and then drop kicks the cave man boss in the face to rescue his woman. If any of this sounds interesting, then this movie is for you.

Strike Commando (1987) 7/10
Continuation of Rebruary here and this is probably my 2nd favorite of Reb Brown's works. Vietnam romp that's a bit like Rambo 2 with Reb screaming at the top of his lungs through most of it. Lots of genre regulars accompany Reb through the jungle as insanity ensues at every turn. So bad its good!

Nightmare City (1980) 8/10
Did you ever wonder where Tarantino got the name of his character Hugo Stiglitz in Inglourious Basterds? Wonder no more, because he is our lead actor in Nightmare City, fighting off an infected people apocalypse with his wife played by Laura Trotter. These infected people / zombies not only move fast, but they use all manner of weapons including firearms. In fact, the way we are first introduced to them is when a cargo plane full of infected people lands at an airport and the Italian army tries to fight them off. I recommend all B film lovers who have not seen this to search it out asap.

Cemetery Without Crosses (1969) 7.5/10
This is a Spaghetti Western, Italian / French co production that is quite grim throughout with long segments not including any dialogue at all. I did not see the end coming and I will be doing a re-watch sometime.

The Street Fighter (1974) 8.5/10
This one is THE Sonny Chiba film to me. He plays an antihero that is quite unlikeable at times and employs brutal methods to obtain his goals. Lots of action, great score and a really cool vibe throughout. There is one scene where Chiba punches a guy in the head and at the moment of impact it switches to an x-ray view of the skull being crushed for an instant. I would love to know if the makers of the Mortal Kombat video game had seen this film. This one is defiantly one of my favorites of the genre.

The Final Terror (1983) 5/10
Back woods slasher here that is at least a little interesting because it includes a young Daryl Hannah and a few others who would become recognizable in future movies. It's pretty neat how the group works together, and I don't think I've ever seen this many characters survive in another film from this sub-genre.

Return of the Street Fighter (1974) 7/10
Part 2 here made the same year as the original but not on it's level of greatness.

Greetings!

Yours
Maximum Overdrive 7/10
The Menu 8/10
Barbarian 7/10
The Night House 8/10

Mine
The Demonic Doll (2017) 5/10
I think my biggest complaint here is the same complaint I had about the first one. The lead just wasn't strong enough to carry the film. It pretty much is the same story as the first one, just with a doll. There are some cool visuals, but like the first one, some of the more artist shots just don't work for me here. It's not a dud, and there is potential. Its a bit of a shame though as I have seen other films Mansfield has written and directed and they are all pretty much the same.

Free Guy (2021) 8/10
I think in a way I liked it even better this time around. Antwan is still one of the worst, annoying, absolutely punchable characters that I've seen in the last couple of years. It's a silly, fun watch.

Beautiful (2000) 6/10
This is one of those movies that I know I watched more than once when it came out and then I completely forgot it even existed. I like the cast, and I like pageant movies, but there is something about this one that doesn't quite suck me in. I think Colleen Rennison did a great job as young Mona, and this movie reminded me how much I liked Bridgette Wilson. I think it's cute, but I don't think it's that memorable.

A Cinderella Story (2004) 6/10
I would have believed that he didn't recognize her more had she been wearing Clark Kent's glasses. I honestly don't know why I've watched this movie the amount of times that I have. There are so many things that irritate me to no end here, yet I can really enjoy watching it.

The Purge: Anarchy (2014) 7/10
I like this one the best I think, but so many character decisions make absolutely zero sense to me. It's the same in all of them, but really! People are so stupid. Frank Grillo just makes this better and ups my rating.

Avenging Force (1986) 7/10
This has always been my favourite Michael Dudikoff film. It's quite bad, but like Cannon bad, so it's so bad it's good. When it gets going it's pretty brutal. I mean no one is safe. There's some not convincing dubbing for the sister, some stiff performances, a most dangerous game in the swamp, but the action is pretty solid, and it's a lot of fun to watch.

Odd Thomas (2013) 7.5/10
I love this entire book series. It's always really difficult to be objective when you already have seen the story in your mind. I do think that this was a decent adaptation of a story that is difficult to adapt. While there is so much missing from the story, I think the heart is here. I read a comment somewhere that this was like a pilot, and in a way it is. I do enjoy it still, and now I have the urge to go read the books again.

Dream a Little Dream (1989) 5/10
Watched this when I was young because I had the biggest crush on Corey Haim. Watching this now because I wanted some nostalgia. Well the music sure provided that. I did remember that I wasn't the biggest fan of this movie, it just didn't really make a lot of sense. I understand why Haim didn't really want to be part of it. It's not really a body swap movie, and it's a little mean spirited. I think if I were to watch it again it would be because of Haim. His scenes were really the only ones that I enjoyed.

The Voices (2014) 7/10
I avoided this one for a while as I really am not a huge fan of horror movies which use mental illness as a plot device. Especially horror comedies. I was surprised at how much I liked this, and how much empathy I felt towards Jerry. More than once it reminded me of May (2002), although this is a little lighter in tone. I can't say that it was the most respectful in regards to psychosis, but it wasn't no where near as bad I was expecting.

Bonjour!

Maximum overdrive 6/10
The menu 8/10
Barbarian 8/10
If I stay 8/10
The night house 8/10

I watched:

Double Agent 73 1974 6/10 This was somewhat interesting.

Sharper 2023 8/10 This was entertaining. Boosting a good cast and some fun twists, Sharper is an enjoyable, nifty little film.

The Whale 2022 9/10 I thought this was well directed, with a very good screenplay. Brendan Fraser is fantastic and I think he deserves to win the Oscar for best actor. Hong Chau is great too.

Gog 1954 6/10 I think the film did a decent job of being reasonably intelligent and made the science sound somewhat believable. Performances were fine.

Women Talking 2022 9/10 This is a very well written and intelligent film, compelling and thought provoking. The performances are fantastic by the entire cast.

Kids vs. Aliens 2022 5/10 A couple somewhat interesting elements, but not enough works here.

The Abominable Snowman 1957 5/10 Honestly, this film didn't do much for me. The story didn't grip me.

Carnival Magic 1981 4/10 This was pretty bad and it isn't even entertaining. The best part was the talking chimp, but he is underused.

Massage Parlor Murders 1973 7/10 This was fairly entertaining. It delivers what you would expect.

Shining Sex 1976 There isn't much of a story here, some incoherent mess about inter-dimensional beings or something, and the acting is pretty bad. If you like close ups of nude women though, you might enjoy parts of this.

The Suspect 1944 7/10 Fine performances in an interesting, well written noir.

Black Angel 1946 7/10 I thought this was a decent story with pretty good performances.

The Hitch-Hiker 1953 Well acted and suspenseful.

The Lady from Shanghai 1947 7/10 This was interesting with some good moments.

The Reckless Moment 1949 7/10 Good performances and an interesting story.

Fear in the Night 1947 6/10 I thought this was an interesting idea,but they could have done more with it. It was okay, but I felt like it was lacking something.

barbarian had so many plot holes.

Quiz Show (1994) - it's amazing how the scandal in this movie is so tame in today's light. good performances in this especially john turturro. 7/10

Born on the Fourth of July (1990) - Cruise's best performance. lost out to daniel day lewis for a movie no one has seen. 7.5/10

Chloe (2010) - a terrible contrived plot. let's make a movie with liam neeson and give him nothing to do. 5.5/10

Hello, hello, Keeper of Stones!

Maximum Overdrive (1986) - A lot of questionable creative choices that all circle back to Stephen King doing a lot of cocaine while writing and directing this. 8

The Menu (2022) - A delicious treat indeed. Ralph Feinnes relishes his performance. 7.5

Barbarian (2022) - Man, oh man, I think you might need to reevaluate this one. Not only is it explicitly about characters making irrational decisions, but it's played for comedy. Tell me you weren't giggling like a schoolgirl when Justin Long was measuring the basement. This is the type of movie that gains a ton of energy from being seeing in a packed auditorium, with people in the audience screaming "don't go in there!" A breath of fresh air spiked with enough ether to provide some hallucinatory moments of laughter. 8

Savage Messiah (2002) - Not the best movie with this same name. 6

The Night House (2020) - Ooh, I love me some modernized gothic horror. 7

My week includes:

Somebody I Used to Know (2023) - This material was covered with a much more specific and nuanced touch in 2020's I Used to Go Here, featuring fellow Community alum Gillian Jacobs. Affable enough to not outstay its welcome, though it can seem flat and meandering during certain stretches. 5.5

Miracle Beach (1992) - I watched it again after a friend expressed enjoyment after I recommended it. You know what? It's still fun and needs to be rediscovered. 7

Dealers (1989) - A stylish foray into the world of stock trading and late stage capitalism. It's riding the coattails of Wall Street (1987), and yet it manages to establish more tense and personal stakes for its characters. 6.5

The Last of Us (2023 TV) - It's kind of telling how reactionary and of out touch with pop culture the trolls on this site are that they're tearing their hair out and struggling to cast shade on one of the most faithful video game adaptations to date. My main gripe with this week's episode is it features some slight period inaccuracies with the pinball machines, but in a show about fungus zombies I can accept seeing some modified tables that arrived before when they did in our timeline. 8.5

Gaby (1956) - Kind of like the lurid underground companion piece to Lili (1953), if that's even possible. If anyone can pull it off, though, it's Leslie Caron. 7

Mr. Blob in the Universe aka Pan Kleks w kosmosie (1988) - A crazy Polish fantasy sci-fi musical that surprisingly portrays computers more accurately than Hackers. 6.5

Poker Face (2023 TV) - This show continues to delight with its meat-and-potatoes approach to a mystery of the week format with one-off characters each episode. In this latest one, Nick Nolte guest stars as a classic practical special effects/makeup artist in the vein of Phil Tippett or Rick Baker. 9

I've got nothing to offer but myself!

TV Series

-Road to Avonlea - marathon

-The Bold and the Beautiful - marathon of very old episodes