TODAY I WATCHED (Movies, TV series) 2015

Gotham - Season 1, episodes 1 & 2 (Blu-ray)

Since I was late to the party on this show I'm just now learning what the early episodes were like. Thankfully they're as twisted as the episodes with which I am familiar; although I had no idea the Ed Nygma character (obviously the future Riddler) was in the show from the beginning. He's funny in these early episodes because he's in forensics and he keeps trying to explain things to the cops using questions.

"Three on a Meathook" (1972)



An entertainingly scuzzy curiosity item from the swingin' 70s which unfortunately never quite lives up to the awesomeness of its title. A group of nubile college gals have car trouble on a deserted country back road. Fortunately they get picked up by a kindly hillbilly who takes 'em back to his place to meet his "Paw"...who just happens to have a smokehouse out back and is renowned for his homemade "veal" and sausages... aaaand you can probably figure out the rest yourself.

This micro-budget grindhouse fave (directed by the late Z-movie legend William Girdler, who would later helm the blaxploitation "Exorcist" ripoff "Abby" and the cult classic "Grizzly") was supposedly inspired by the deeds of serial killer Ed Gein, and pre-dates "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" and "Motel Hell," - two other, more famous splatter flicks which used cannibalism as a hook.

Fat Freddy wrote:

"Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films" (2014)


From the director of B-Movie documentaries "Not Quite Hollywood" and "Machete Maidens Unleashed," this is the story of the rise and fall of Cannon Films, the infamous low-budget studio headed by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus - two aspiring film moguls from Israel who unexpectedly took Hollywood by storm in the '80s thanks to ninjas, break-dancers, Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, and an unbashed love of all things schlocky and over-the-top. Loaded with cool clips from dozens of Cannon classics as well as interviews with stars and associates like Bo Derek, Franco Nero, Luigi Cozzi, Lucinda Dickey, Richard Chamberlain and more. A total trip down retro memory lane!

Watched this last night. Quite awesome. Cannon had way, way more films than I remember. Lots of those 80's Chuck Norris films and ninja movies were staples of video store rentals for a young MetalGuy.

Quote :

Loaded with cool clips from dozens of Cannon classics

Lotsa puffy, natural nips and 70's bush too.

Criminal Minds

Agents Of SHIELD

Freaks and Geeks.

Gotham - Fall finale

OK finale I guess but a bit too predictable.  And a lot less bloody than most episodes.  The more I watch this series the more I'm coming to the conclusion that I prefer the episodes where Bruce Wayne is not the center of the plot and is just sort of an ancillary plot thread. I like when the focus is on the villains and Gordon's interactions with them.

Had me a Day Off Double Feature of some serious cheez:

"Vicious Lips" (1986)

Yeah, I know... the title sounds like a porno. "Vicious Lips" is actually the name of an all-girl rock band from the far-flung future in this utterly random sci-fi musical comedy. The gals are trying to make it to their big-break gig at the hottest club in the galaxy, but they have numerous wacky misadventures along the way including a meteor shower, a spaceship crash on a desert planet,and a battle with a mutant alien serial killer. It feels kinda like a live-action, feature length "Josie and the Pu$$ycats in Outer Space" episode... but with a whole lot of extra suck. None of the ladies can act (tho they're all kinda cute in that big-haired '80s sort of way) and the "story" feels like it was strung together from a bunch of 3 minute music video ideas. The best parts are the fictional band's songs, which are actually pretty decent '80s cheese rock. Otherwise, this movie was poop.

"Atomic Cyborg" aka "Hands of Steel" (1986)

A cyborg assassin suddenly develops a conscience and refuses to kill his target, so he runs off to the American Southwest to hide out and regain his forgotten humanity. The crooked corporation that created him then sends a series of bad guys to try and kill him. Needless to say, mucho ass is then kicked in this entertainingly awful Italian-made "Terminator" variant which even randomly shoe horns in some ultra-macho arm wrestling action (?), ala Stallone's "Over the Top" -- which came out a year after this flick! Useless trivia: longtime Italian B-movie actor Claudio Cassinelli was killed in a helicopter crash during the filming of this flick. R.I.P. big guy.

I wasn't able to watch all of Jessica Jones over the weekend so I 've been catching it through the week. I'm up to episode 11. This series is great.

"Revenge of the Ninja" (1983)


In the second of Cannon Films' so-called "Ninja Trilogy," Sho Kosugi is a ninja master who relocates to the U.S. after his family is killed by a rival ninja clan. In his new home he tangles with heroin dealers led by yet another ninja. "Ninja" is a fun word to type. Ninja, ninja, ninja, ninja!!

(ahem) Sorry. Anyway, just like in Cannon's first "Ninja" flick, the story is threadbare, but the stunt work is impressive as hell. The mass amounts of butt kicking make up for the overall cheesiness.

Fat Freddy wrote:

"Revenge of the Ninja" (1983)


In the second of Cannon Films' so-called "Ninja Trilogy," Sho Kosugi is a ninja master who relocates to the U.S. after his family is killed by a rival ninja clan. In his new home he tangles with heroin dealers led by yet another ninja. "Ninja" is a fun word to type. Ninja, ninja, ninja, ninja!!

(ahem) Sorry. Anyway, just like in Cannon's first "Ninja" flick, the story is threadbare, but the stunt work is impressive as hell. The mass amounts of butt kicking make up for the overall cheesiness.

I watched Electric Boogaloo last night, a really good documentary. The fact that everyone admired their business practices while at the same time admitting 95% of what they released was utter garbage is quite humorous. The few clips from Revenge Of The Ninja reminded me how over the top bloody (and silly) it was.

Pawn Stars

Fat Freddy wrote:

"Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films" (2014)


From the director of B-Movie documentaries "Not Quite Hollywood" and "Machete Maidens Unleashed," this is the story of the rise and fall of Cannon Films, the infamous low-budget studio headed by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus - two aspiring film moguls from Israel who unexpectedly took Hollywood by storm in the '80s thanks to ninjas, break-dancers, Chuck Norris, Charles Bronson, and an unbashed love of all things schlocky and over-the-top. Loaded with cool clips from dozens of Cannon classics as well as interviews with stars and associates like Bo Derek, Franco Nero, Luigi Cozzi, Lucinda Dickey, Richard Chamberlain and more. A total trip down retro memory lane!

The movie that part of its title comes from, Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, has perhaps the greatest movie title of all time.

Quote :

I watched Electric Boogaloo last night, a really good documentary. The fact that everyone admired their business practices while at the same time admitting 95% of what they released was utter garbage is quite humorous. The few clips from Revenge Of The Ninja reminded me how over the top bloody (and silly) it was.

Watching Electric Boogaloo earlier this week inspired me to re-visit some of the Cannon catalog starting with "Revenge of the Ninja," which I hadn't seen since I was in ... geez, high school, probably. I am probably gonna watch "Ninja III: The Domination" next.

By the way, I always loved how they call those three flicks (Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III) a "trilogy," even though all three films are completely un-related to one another aside from the presence of Sho Kosugi (who plays a different character in each film) and the word "Ninja" in each title.

Quote :

Breakin' 2: Electric Boogaloo, has perhaps the greatest movie title of all time.

In the documentary they say that the "Electric Boogaloo" sub-title was Menahem Golan's idea. Apparently when they started planning the "Breakin'" sequel, Menahem randomly decree'd, "We're gonna call it... Electric Boogaloo!" and everyone was like "Electric who? Huh? What the f**k does that even mean?," haha. But Menahem was the boss, and nobody felt brave enough to question him!

Boogaloo is a type of rhythm that came to popularity in the 1960s.

^^ yea, and one of the dancers in the "Breakin'" films called himself "Boogaloo Shrimp." But where Golan got the "Electric" part is anyone's guess.

I wasn't sure where to post this but I just had to put it somewhere.

I watch Celebrity Name Game before primetime TV starts if there's nothing else on.  One of tonight's "celebrities" is Terrell Owens.  Seriously?  The "great" NFL receiver "T.O." is reduced to this for a paycheck?

"Ninja III: The Domination" (1984)

A dying evil "Black Ninja" possesses the body of an innocent L.A. aerobics instructor (!) and continues murdering his enemies through her, until a "good" ninja (Sho Kosugi) suddenly appears to battle for her soul in the concluding chapter of Cannon's "Ninja Trilogy."
...seriously, God bless Cannon's Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus. Only they would think of throwing the martial arts and demonic possession genres in a blender like this, adding a pinch of "Flashdance," and hitting "puree." This movie is so completely batsh*t insane that it's actually quite entertaining in a so-'80s-it-hurts kind of way.

S.D. wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

"Revenge of the Ninja" (1983)


In the second of Cannon Films' so-called "Ninja Trilogy," Sho Kosugi is a ninja master who relocates to the U.S. after his family is killed by a rival ninja clan. In his new home he tangles with heroin dealers led by yet another ninja. "Ninja" is a fun word to type. Ninja, ninja, ninja, ninja!!

(ahem) Sorry. Anyway, just like in Cannon's first "Ninja" flick, the story is threadbare, but the stunt work is impressive as hell. The mass amounts of butt kicking make up for the overall cheesiness.

I watched Electric Boogaloo last night, a really good documentary.  The fact that everyone admired their business practices while at the same time admitting 95% of what they released was utter garbage is quite humorous.  The few clips from Revenge Of The Ninja reminded me how over the top bloody (and silly) it was.  

Watched it last night on yours a Keith's recommendation. Pretty cool doc.

Finished up Jessica Jones. Very good show, hope there's a second season.

Now I've finished up the Man In The High Castle. Another strong series, I hope it gets another season.

Wonder Woman

A very Murray Christmas - sadly not very funny outside of a few chuckles

Watched Barry Lyndon last night, and I think given some time it could be one of my favorite Kubrick films. I really enjoyed the atmosphere it created, especially when it utilized very soft lighting that made the actors appear dream-like and distorted. I liked the way the character of Redmond progresses throughout the story, where as a viewer you debated on whether or not you were fully on his side.

And today I watched Get Hard and the Lego Movie. Get Hard wasn't awful, like I was afraid it was going to be. There were some very legitimately funny scenes, albeit with some meh-to-awful material thrown in there too. I enjoyed it more than I expected to. I'd recommend it if you wanna see some light, lowbrow humor.

And the Lego Movie is legendary, lol. It's one of the best family films I've seen, as it has so much to offer. It's matrix-like plot and wacky humor can entertain anyone really, and that makes for a great casual movie to watch to pleasantly kill some time.