TODAY I WATCHED (Movies, TV series) 2015

Oculus - A. Adding another winner to my narrow haunted house hall of fame. This one is a total mind bender--and kids, it's depressing as hell. Seriously, I was reduced to nothing by the final frame. For me, this is a good thing. Cast does a great job with the material, the direction is full of ingenuity, and not once does it step into cliche doo-doo. Highly recommend this; hoping for a sequel while seeking out the director's other (highly-praised) piece for viewing. Thanks to S.D. for the recommendation.

Last night I watched the Metal Evolution marathon VH1 Classic.

Simpson's Treehouse of Horror

This is rerun but it's hilarious.  I especially like "A Clockwork Yellow".  If you've never seen Clockwork Orange you'd be completely lost.  If you HAVE seen it, it's friggin' HI-larious!

The Walking Dead - an excellent action packed episode

tohostudios wrote:

Simpson's Treehouse of Horror

This is rerun but it's hilarious.  I especially like "A Clockwork Yellow".  If you've never seen Clockwork Orange you'd be completely lost.  If you HAVE seen it, it's friggin' HI-larious!

Yep, I remember when that one first aired a year or two ago, I was rolling on the floor but my kids, naturally, were completely lost.

On a somewhat related note, since it's Halloween right now in the Simpsons "Tapped Out" online game, Bart is wearing his "Little Alex" costume!

007 wrote:

The Walking Dead - an excellent action packed episode

Same here; absolutely breathtaking. Nice to have "Killing Machine" Carol back again.

Crimson Peak (2015)



Del Toro's passion project (which has been in development at Universal since 2007) is a sumptuous visual feast, a triumph of set design, cinematography and special effects. Which helps mask the fact that the story really can't decide what it wants to be. One part Gothic Romance...one part Supernatural Horror...one part Gaslight melodrama...but it doesn't truly commit to any of these so in the end the film is a whole lot of sumptuous style with little actual substance underneath.

On the plus side there are several good performances from Mia Wasikowska, Jim Beaver (Bobby from the TV show Supernatural) and especially Jessica Chastain who completely lets it rip in her layered portrayal of the evil sister. Chastain seems to have walked onset from a better film.

Not a terrible movie and worth a rental, but really frustrating when an undeniably talented filmmaker half-asses it in this fashion. If Crimson Peak was a house, it would be the most stunning on the block...until it collapses in the first storm because the foundation was shoddily constructed.

Watching "Fear Fest" on AMC. So far, I've watched Halloween 6, Halloween: Resurrection, Halloween, and Halloween II.

Season of the Witch better be on next

S.D. wrote:

Crimson Peak (2015)

Saw this last night, cute little movie. Unusually gory though.

Last Man on Earth, funny episode.

Halloween 6 - D-. My god, what a semi-watchable mess. I gotta admit, Joe Chappelle's direction is really solid here and at least never got boring, but they really lost their footing trying to mount this oddity. The ending--and keep in mind there was an all-out war between the director, writer, and studio that led to this--makes ZERO sense as scene after scene trips and tumbles. It's like a collage of WTF without purpose or rhyme. Hyperbole aside, it was a pity to see Donald Pleasence make his exit this way. I was surprised to discover this was Paul Rudd's debut.

So I still have 4, 5, and Resurrection to go through. Someone please assure me this was the worst one.

corplhicks wrote:

So I still have 4, 5, and Resurrection to go through. Someone please assure me this was the worst one.

Resurrection is probably the worst.

The opening scene made it seem like it was going to be a promising movie, but the rest of it involves a bunch of college-age kids livestreaming their stay at the Myer's house. Also, Busta Rhymes fist-fighting Michael throughout the whole thing makes it even that more ridiculous.

5 is atrocious too, good God. Prepare to watch that little girl cry "TUH~TUH~TINA!" for 2 hours.

DakotaRogers wrote:

corplhicks wrote:

So I still have 4, 5, and Resurrection to go through. Someone please assure me this was the worst one.

Resurrection is probably the worst.

The opening scene made it seem like it was going to be a promising movie, but the rest of it involves a bunch of college-age kids livestreaming their stay at the Myer's house. Also, Busta Rhymes fist-fighting Michael throughout the whole thing makes it even that more ridiculous.

5 is atrocious too, good God. Prepare to watch that little girl cry "TUH~TUH~TINA!" for 2 hours.

If that's the premise to Resurrection then I'll put that one off as long as I can.

It's funny--I put myself through this same abuse with the Friday the 13th titles a long time ago. Granted, there's one great and a few decent Halloween titles, and one okay 13th title while the rest just suck (seriously, there is nothing redeeming about any of the 13th titles). But, like before, I can't figure out what's propelling me forward.

corplhicks wrote:

It's funny--I put myself through this same abuse with the Friday the 13th titles a long time ago. Granted, there's one great and a few decent Halloween titles, and one okay 13th title while the rest just suck (seriously, there is nothing redeeming about any of the 13th titles). But, like before, I can't figure out what's propelling me forward.

I don't think it gets anymore boring than the Friday the 13th series (save for Children of the Corn, maybe).

I've been watching those movies as long as I can remember, and I still can't tell one from the other. The series is more or less just subtle pornography.

"Halloween" (1978)


My October isn't complete until I've had a viewing of the John Carpenter classic. Besides, I needed to cleanse my palate after revisiting Rob Zombie's disappointing re-do a few days prior.

Fat Freddy wrote:

"Halloween" (1978)


My October isn't complete until I've had a viewing of the John Carpenter classic. Besides, I needed to cleanse my palate after revisiting Rob Zombie's disappointing re-do a few days prior.

I watched part of that last night. A true classic.

Quote :

I watched part of that last night. A true classic.

I've seen it so many times now that I can recite the dialog along with the actors.

Stephen King's Thinner, followed by a Tremors marathon (kill me now).

Agents Of SHIELD

Criminal Minds

Pet Sematary
The Shining
Last House on the Left (Remake)
The Amityville Horror Marathon (1-3)

What did you think of the Last House remake?

I liked the original better. Sure the remake had marginally better acting and definitely "looked" better but something about the "gritty" look of the original helped contribute to its impact IMO.

Way too gratuitous for my liking, but as far as remakes are concerned, it was actually passable - can't touch the original though.

It's ridiculous how they never play any of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies due to their notoriety, yet they don't care a bit to air this one.

That's part of the genius of the original TCM for me.  You end up thinking the movie was a LOT gorier than it actually is.  I remember the first time I saw it back around the late 70s on a Halloween night at James Madison University's theater and I thought it was sooooooo gory.  

Now all these years (and about 1000 gory movies viewed later) when I watch the original TCM, I'm amazed at how much of the gore is implied and/or offscreen.  I think that's part of Hooper's brilliance; you think you see a lot more graphic bloodshed than you really do.

Schlock-Tober time again:

"The Forest" (1982)

A quartet of backpackers have an unfortunate run-in with a psycho cannibal hermit who's tortured by the spirits of his dead kids ... or something like that. Hilarity does not ensue. "The Forest" is WAY below average, poorly acted, snail's paced slasher crapola with characters who are such idiots that they deserve every damn thing that happens to them. To add insult to injury, the copy of this movie that's streaming on Amazon Prime plays like a washed-out VHS tape that's been rented 1000 times. AVOID.

The Middle
The Goldbergs

Hey FF, I saw a trailer for a new horror film called "The Forest" in the theater the other day. It was filmed in Japan and stars Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones, Elementary, The Hunger Games). Looks pretty cool...