TODAY I WATCHED (Movies, TV series) 2015

S.D. wrote:

I haven't seen those late 70s/early 80s Chuck Norris films for years.  My favorite was Silent Rage.  Because it's SO f**king ridiculous (and scummy too!) that it just reaches a level of high unintentional art.  Hmmmm...let's see what happens when we take our standard Chuck Norris action vehicle and insert a mad scientist and the unstoppable, self-healing killer he cooked up in his lab! What happens is 90 minutes of fun.  I saw Silent Rage when I was 12 and I'm telling you, it's quite possibly THE perfect movie for a 12 year old male.

And I'm pretty sure that's the only Chuck Norris movie I haven't seen.

The Drew Carey Show

"Battledogs" (2013)



More schlocky fun from our friends at The Asylum and SyFy. A fast-moving "lupine virus" that turns people into bloodthirsty werewolf-like creatures is threatening to overrun Manhattan (which is portrayed, rather unconvincingly, by Buffalo, NY). While a government doctor tries to find a cure, a crazed General (Dennis Haysbert of "24") is trying to use the creatures as his own private army.
Naturally, since it's an Asylum production, appearances by D-list actors like Ernie "Ghostbusters" Hudson and Ariana "Jurassic Park" Richards -- and the now-standard cheap sh*t CGI -- are the order of the day.

Last night:

The Roast Of Justin Bieber
Jeff Ross Roasts Criminals

Ring of Honor

Hawaii 5-0 Season 2

There hasn't been much on tv lately so I decided to dig into my huge 50 Horror Movie box set of public domain films released by some company called Treeline .

First up is Carnival Of Souls (1962): a woman is the sole survivor of a car crash that plunges from a bridge and into a river. The woman begins to see visions of a ghostly man slowly stalking her. Although you can guess the ending almost from the start, this is a very effective, surreal and creepy film.

Next , Atom Age Vampire (1961): a singer is disfigured in a car accident and gets treated by a "mad scientist" who falls for the singer and will heal her by any means necessary. Although it has a misleading title, this Italian import is still rather entertaining.

Finally , Creature From The Haunted Sea (1961): a group of criminals are trying to smuggle Cuban refugees and a portion of the Cuban treasury out of their country but run across a bipedal sea monster. Three movies in and I come across my first stinker. This is a strange, silly movie that parodies monster, spy AND gangster flicks but generally falls flat in all areas. One of the oddball parts is that one of the members is able to vocalize different animal sounds (with the sounds being the stock sound effects used in countless movies)

Bob's Burgers

I can't believe how much this show has grown on me.  I used to think it was dumb but now I find it hilarious. I guess I had to just get to know the characters.

"Trucks" (1997)



Big rigs turn sentient and homicidal, trapping a bunch of puny humans inside a remote truck stop in this dull-as-dishwater, made for TV remake of Stephen King's "Maximum Overdrive" (both films are based on King's short story "Trucks"). Lord knows "M.O." is not a great movie by any means, but compared to this flick it's practically the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Key Largo

nevermore wrote:

The Drew Carey Show

One of my all time favorite shows! Lewis and Oswald are one of if not the greatest comedy duos in TV history.

Most recent viewings:

Allo, allo!
Fringe
Futureama
My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
WWE: Money In The Bank
various videos on Youtube

Next up in my box set, Nightmare Castle (1965)

An unfaithful woman (Barbara Steele) and her lover are tortured and murdered by her husband. He then discovers that the wife left all her money to her institutionalized sister (Steele in a dual role) so he schemes to marry her to get his hands on the inheritance. The sister then starts experiencing nightmares and hauntings.

This was a surprisingly brutal film to me, considering the time. And do a little search on it, I discovered that I saw an edited version of it. Still, this one was a pretty good film despite the somewhat poor dubbing (which I should be used to, considering my love of Godzilla films).

007, sounds like you must have the same '50 Horror Classics' box set that I do! All of the movies you've mentioned thus far are in it. I haven't watched "Nightmare Castle" yet but I've seen the other three you mentioned in your previous post.

007 wrote:

Zombeavers (2015)

A toxic waste spill into a stream infects a beaver lodge, causing them to become "zombie beavers". This is a dumb movie that knows its dumb, with outrageous dialogue, so-so gore, and some gratuitous nudity.  Wasn't all that bad but your mileage may vary.

The wife went out with some girlfriends Friday night, so I had the tv to myself after the kids were all tucked in. Even though I knew what to expect from this and prepped myself with a few beers, I found myself fast-forwarding through much of the 85 minute run time. It had it's moments and I'll give it credit for using puppets and real props over CGI, but this wasn't the mindless fun I had hoped for.

Fat Freddy wrote:

007, sounds like you must have the same '50 Horror Classics' box set that I do! All of the movies you've mentioned thus far are in it. I haven't watched "Nightmare Castle" yet but I've seen the other three you mentioned in your previous post.

That's the one. I've had that for a while but never got around to viewing any of it . I was digging around for something to watch the other night since my internet was down for some reason and I didn't have access to Netflix. So I decided to give it a shot. I have a Sci-Fi one from the same company also (that one I have watched a couple of the flicks).

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That's the one. I've had that for a while but never got around to viewing any of it.

My wife bought it for me for my birthday seven or eight years ago but in all that time I've watched maybe half of the movies in it, at most.

You need to be REEEEAAAAALLLY desperate for something to watch to reach for certain movies in that set, cuz some of them are sooooo bad, haha.

There are some pretty good ones included though. Next time you go digging into it I can recommend either "Dementia 13" (Francis Ford Coppola's directorial debut!) or "Monster From A Prehistoric Planet," aka the Americanized cut of the Japanese monster flick "Gappa," a Godzilla ripoff from a rival studio.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Quote :

That's the one. I've had that for a while but never got around to viewing any of it.

My wife bought it for me for my birthday seven or eight years ago but in all that time I've watched maybe half of the movies in it, at most.

You need to be REEEEAAAAALLLY desperate for something to watch to reach for certain movies in that set, cuz some of them are sooooo bad, haha.

There are some pretty good ones included though. Next time you go digging into it I can recommend either "Dementia 13" (Francis Ford Coppola's directorial debut!) or "Monster From A Prehistoric Planet," aka the Americanized cut of the Japanese monster flick "Gappa," a Godzilla ripoff from a rival studio.

I've seen (and like) both of those and I'll definitely watch them again. In fact, I won't be able to stop til I've seen that whole set now.

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In fact, I won't be able to stop til I've seen that whole set now.

Haha, yup, every so often I'll get on a kick and watch a bunch of movies from that set in a row. A few months back I was on a big Roger Corman tear cuz I'd just read a great book about him, so I burnt thru "The Terror," "Creature From the Haunted Sea," "Swamp Women," "Last Woman on Earth," "Dementia 13" and a couple others over the course of a long weekend.

Scooby Doo Movies

Well, storms caused my directv to lose it's signal so I decided to catch another flick from my horror box set. Next one up is Black Dragons (1942).

This is a Bela Lugosi Monogram pic and I'm not sure why it's on this box set. It's more of a spy thriller than anything with a plot straight out of the James Bond mode. Some un PC moments (this is one of the first movies released after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor) but still not a total waste of time. And bonus points for having a pre-Lone Ranger Clayton Moore in a major role.

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This is a Bela Lugosi Monogram pic and I'm not sure why it's on this box set. It's more of a spy thriller than anything

Because the people who compiled the set saw Bela Lugosi's name on it, said "Oh, he played Dracula didn't he?" and into the box it went.

Same deal with "Swamp Women," which is also in that "Horror Classics" box even tho it's not a horror film at all - it's a crime movie about three female prison escapees who are trying to find a stash of diamonds in the swamps of Louisiana.... but it was directed by Roger Corman, so I'm sure they just saw his name and said "Oh yeah, Roger Corman, he made horror movies," and there ya go.

There are a couple of others in that set whose connections to "horror" are tenuous at best (Fritz Lang's "Metropolis?") but I guess when you're paying 20 bucks for 50 or 100 movies you can't be too picky.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Fritz Lang's "Metropolis"

I'm actually glad that's on there. That's one of those movies I've never seen but have always wanted to (and how exactly did it fall into the public domain?)

007 wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Fritz Lang's "Metropolis"

I'm actually glad that's on there. That's one of those movies I've never seen but have always wanted to (and how exactly did it fall into the public domain?)

I still haven't seen it either. I vaguely remember seeing part of a restored/colorized version that was released in the early '80s with a bunch of new-wave music added to the soundtrack but never the original.

Don't watch a cheap print of Metropolis from one of those budget grey market sets. It has been beautifully restored in recent years and if you're going to watch it, invest in an actual copy.

Fat Freddy wrote:

007 wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

Fritz Lang's "Metropolis"

I'm actually glad that's on there. That's one of those movies I've never seen but have always wanted to (and how exactly did it fall into the public domain?)

I still haven't seen it either. I vaguely remember seeing part of a restored/colorized version that was released in the early '80s with a bunch of new-wave music added to the soundtrack but never the original.

There's a version of Georges Méliès A Trip to the Moon on Netflix that is similar to that. I just watched it this past weekend. It was a rather bizarre viewing.