TODAY I WATCHED... (Movies, TV) 2019

tohostudios wrote:

Like I expected, apparently this flick did nothing to address the numerous theological/philosophical issues the concept of The Rapture raises.  I have a boatload of questions/issues regarding the whole concept (which I was raised with BTW) but the last place I expect to get serious answers from for an issue like this is conventional "Hollywood".  Someone should do a serious documentary on this subject though; that would probably be infinitely more interesting.

Oh yea, if you're expecting a serious treatment of the Rapture subject, look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you want to see Nicolas Cage pick up a quick paycheck by sleepwalking thru a cheap "action movie" aimed at the evangelical Church crowd (who apparently hated it just as much as "secular" moviegoers/critics), it's a ton of unintentional humor. I was like, "Doesn't Nic Cage have an Oscar? How'd he end up in this thing? He must have lost a bet," haha.
This was actually the *second* attempt at turning the "Left Behind" book series into a film franchise -- the first was an early '00s direct to video trilogy that starred...former "Growing Pains" teen heart throb turned religious nut-bar Kirk Cameron. I haven't seen any of those flicks but good grief, Nic Cage has *got* to be a step up from that guy.

Hey Toho: Try the Pan-Rapture philosophy as in whatever pans out.

That sounds about right.

In the cinema, the last movie I saw was Aquaman. On TV, the last thing I watched was the new episode of Family Guy.

Required Fields wrote:

In the cinema, the last movie I saw was Aquaman. On TV, the last thing I watched was the new episode of Family Guy.

I would have watched a new episode of Family Guy tonight but I couldn't since my billion dollar cable company (Charter) is fighting with the billion dollar company that owns our local Fox station (Tribune Broadcasting) over the pocket change the CEOs of both companies carry around in their pockets every day.

Required Fields wrote:

In the cinema, the last movie I saw was Aquaman.

My wife went on a school class trip to the local aquarium and got free passes, so over the Christmas break, my son & I went to see it. In 3-D

I thought it was decent, but not great. Jason make Aquaman seem cool, si it's got that going for it. Black Manta was neat too. Towards the end, there is a big underwater battle scene and everything is just CGI out the wazoo. Guys riding sharks in battle armor and crazy stuff. When it gets like that, I feel like I'm watching a video game or cartoon, not a "real" movie. I also dozed-off for about a half hour somewhere in the middle.

For free, it was a fun time killer. Otherwise I'd wait for cable.

Welcome Back Kotter
Three's Company

Ring of Honor

The Goldbergs
Schooled
Modern Family

The Channeling (1980)



George C. Scott as a composer grieving the accidental deaths of his wife and daughter. He moved across the country to a secluded mansion that turns out to be haunted, pulling Scott into a mystery of what exactly happened to the spirit. A good atmospheric, albeit not too scary,movie.

Followed that up with Prom Night (1980)



Starting Jamie Lee Curtis and Leslie Nielsen (!), this early slasher film deal with a group of 12 year olds causing the accidental death of another. Fearing trouble, they swear an oath to keep it quiet and blame eventually falls on a local sex offender. However, someone knows the truth and decides to gain gain vengeance six years later, on prom night. I somehow missed this one over the years and see I wasn't missing too much. It was okay but surprisingly rather bloodless and some iffy acting, except from the top two billed actors.

"Creepozoids" (1987)

Post-apocalyptic Army deserters hole up in an abandoned laboratory which, unfortunately for them, also happens to be home to a slimy, carnivorous mutation. Hilarity ensues.
This so-'80s-it-hurts video store favorite is pretty much "Alien" on a cheese-and-crackers budget, with cheap sets (the "lab complex" looks suspiciously like a self-storage warehouse) and even cheaper creatures and special effects. It's so bad, it's almost good.
Fun fact: a few years after appearing in this flick, actress "Kim McKamy" would become better known as '90s adult video queen Ashlyn Gere. If "Creepozoids" represents the type of "legit" movie roles she was getting, her porn career may actually have been a step up.  

"Trilogy Of Terror" (1975)

Dan "Dark Shadows" Curtis directed this "Twilight Zone"-ish made-for-TV horror anthology, featuring three spooky stories written by Richard "I Am Legend" Matheson. Karen Black appears in all three tales, playing different characters each time - a teacher being blackmailed by a student, a pair of feuding sisters, and a woman being chased through her high-rise apartment by a killer cursed African doll. She achieved instant cult-icon status thanks to that third segment, which scared the hell out of an entire generation of '70s kids. This "Trilogy" is lots of fun and still holds up pretty well today.

^^^^ I was one of those kids that Zuni doll segment scared the hell out of !

Oh man, that devil doll scared the crap outta me when I was younger.  I watched that segment on Youtube not too long ago and it still creeps me out.   That "Ay - yi - yi!!!!!" yelling thing he does is really creepy to me.

Last night:

Final Exam (1981)



A psycho killer shows up at a small college days before summer vacation and stalks the remaining students. This was a bit of chore to get through. It's about an hour and a half long and it takes an hour before the killer (with no explanation to motive at all) starts making his move.

Trick Or Treats (1982)



A woman has her husband committed and ends up re-marrying. Years later, the husband rather easily escapes on Halloween and returns home for revenge. Unknown to him, his wife and her husband are out of town, leaving just a bratty kid and the babysitter at home. Another rather poor movie, with unintentional (maybe) humor in places.

The Mutilator (1985)



AKA Fall Break, this one starts with a kid accidentally killing his mother while cleaning a rifle. Years later, the now grown son and a group of his friends go to a his father's beachside condo. Unfortunately, the now deranged father is there and starts picking them off, one by one. Despite that rather thin set up, it wasn't too bad and had some decent gore.

^^ I saw "Final Exam" and "Trick Or Treats" during my annual schlock-tober Halloween viewings last year, they were both awful, haha!

"The Mutilator" has been on my list to check out forever but I've never gotten around to it.

With a title like "The Mutilator" you know the flick itself has nowhere to go but down.  Nothing could live up to a lurid title like that.

Watched 'Aquaman' today

tohostudios wrote:

With a title like "The Mutilator" you know the flick itself has nowhere to go but down.  Nothing could live up to a lurid title like that.

It's got one of the all time great poster tag lines, tho:

"By sword...by pick...by axe... bye bye."

manny wrote:

Watched 'Aquaman' today

"
Went and saw that yesterday. I liked it, but thought it was kind of a rip off of the king Arthur story, specifically Excalibur. Still a good flick, I'll probably watch again when it comes out on Netflix.

Speaking of Netflix, today I watched a documentary about Bill Murray. I think he's now my favorite Hollywood actor. It's a trip some of the stuff he's done just randomly. Really down to earth guy. Great movie, well worth the watch. The full name of it is, The Bill Murray Stories: Life Lessons Learned From a Mythical Man.

The Simpsons
Bob's Burgers
Family Guy

"Ghost Ship" (2002)

A salvage crew boards a long-lost luxury liner that vanished 40 years previously... and one by one, they discover the rusty hulk is home to a supernatural force that won't let them leave.
I've seen this underrated modern-horror flick several times over the years and have always enjoyed its creepy-cool back story, spooky set design, and gory death scenes. Cool stuff.

Does that have any relationship to the 80s "classic" "Death Ship"?  It sounds like a similar premise.  "Death Ship" always creeped me out.

tohostudios wrote:

Does that have any relationship to the 80s "classic" "Death Ship"?  It sounds like a similar premise.  "Death Ship" always creeped me out.

Similar premise but otherwise, no connection.

"Silver Bullet" (1985)

A wheelchair-bound teen (Corey Haim) and his big sister set a trap for the werewolf that's been terrorizing their small town, with some help from their favorite drunk Uncle (Gary Busey).
A fun, tongue-in cheek horror flick based on the Stephen King novella "Cycle of the Werewolf," it's not a top drawer King adaptation but it's good gory '80s style fun.

Did a little binging yesterday on Netflix and then capped it with a DVD:

Slobby's World~ Fun little reality show about a guy in Tucson named "Slobby Robby" yes after the Garbage Pail Kid that owns a thrift shop that "specializes" in 80's and 90's pop trash. The stinger on this one is the guy is likable and fairly knowledgeable about the stuff. Worth the 20 minutes a pop for the 12 episodes.

The Bird Box~This one gets summed up in 1 word YAWN or maybe WHY? Needless to say this one wasn't even a stinker it was a floater no doubt.

The Open House~Excellent in comparison to many "horror" movies or maybe thriller is more accurate a description. The lead kid is a good actor and the even though the premise has been thought of and maybe even used the tension is on high and no spoilers but the ending makes the movie.

The Happytime Murders~So this one got lambasted by everyone, but I thought it to be equal parts funny and completely irreverent. Good to see that Brian Henson has a sense of humor and obviously someone spent way too much $$$ making this. This one was an amalgamation of Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Let My Puppets Cum, if you have to ask you don't get to know.