TODAY I WATCHED (Movies, TV Shows) 2020

"Vivarium" (2019)

A house-hunting young couple (Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots) take a tour of a seemingly tranquil suburban development called "Yonder," and soon find themselves trapped and alone inside the seemingly endless labyrinth of identical houses, unable to find their way out.

...and then it gets even WEIRDER, but to say more would ruin this truly strange, artsy, surreal sci-fi/horror hybrid that has a heavy "Twilight Zone" feel.

"Vivarium" is not so much scary as it is unsettling. Stuff like this is not usually my kind of meat but it hooked me from the get-go and kept my interest throughout. Worth a look if you're in the mood for something out of the ordinary.

That sounds interesting.

But is this one of those movies where once you've seen it and you know where it ends up it's no fun a second time? Like "The Others"; I loved it while I was watching it but I've never watched it again. Sometimes I don't care if I know all the twists (like Cabin In The Sky) but this Vivarium sounds like it might be a one-trick pony.

Bill Burr - Paper Tiger

Fat Freddy wrote:

"Vivarium" (2019)

A house-hunting young couple (Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots) take a tour of a seemingly tranquil suburban development called "Yonder," and soon find themselves trapped and alone inside the seemingly endless labyrinth of identical houses, unable to find their way out.

...and then it gets even WEIRDER, but to say more would ruin this truly strange, artsy, surreal sci-fi/horror hybrid that has a heavy "Twilight Zone" feel.

"Vivarium" is not so much scary as it is unsettling. Stuff like this is not usually my kind of meat but it hooked me from the get-go and kept my interest throughout. Worth a look if you're in the mood for something out of the ordinary.

That looks quite intriguing. I might have to look that one up this weekend while my son is over. Give us something weird to watch

Hard to say if it would hold up to repeat viewings, Toho, but it's definitely worth seeing at least once.. It was definitely one of my weirdest watches in a long while.

Got all caught up on NOS4A2.

"Parker" (2013)

A high-end thief (Jason Statham) is double crossed by his "crew" and left for dead after a big heist. He then follows them to their next score in Palm Springs to teach them the error of their ways. Needless to say, it doesnt end well for his former associates...
Statham is his dry-as-usual self and Jennifer Lopez adds some comic relief as a gal who gets caught up in the revenge scheme and becomes Statham's new partner. A decent butt kicker.

Three's Company
Coach
Overkill - Live in Overhausen

"Jurassic Park III" (2001)

Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill) sat out the previous "JP" movie but he's back for this third go-round, in which he gets shanghaiied into helping a couple find their child who's lost on Dino Island. As usual, lots of stunts, narrow escapes, and gory dino-munchings occur.
"JP III" is usually dismissed as the worst of the series, but I actually kinda like it. It's not as bloated or pretentious as Spielberg's entries, it's just a no-frills, fast moving action adventure/creature flick. Underrated and enjoyable.

I agree.  I've always liked Jurassic Park III and don't know why it wasn't as well received as the others.

Just got done watching The Elephant Man. I really loved this movie when I first saw it as,a child. I still like it, but can't figure out why I liked it so much as a teenager. Haven't seen it in decades, and it's still good. Such a sad story...

I haven't seen The Elephant Man in forever but I remember thinking it was a good, well executed movie but way too depressing to ever watch again so of course I haven't.

tohostudios wrote:

I haven't seen The Elephant Man in forever but I remember thinking it was a good, well executed movie but way too depressing to ever watch again so of course I haven't.

It is very depressing, but for some strange reason it really held me captive when I was younger. I swear I've probably watched it at least twenty times back then. I read up on his life, and it seems the movie got a lot of it right, but there is controversy over how he was really treated by the freak show guy. Though his relationship with the doctor was pretty spot on.

I read how his dream was to live on a hospital for the blind so nobody could see what he looked like. Made me think of the movie Mask, where he was hanging out with that blind chick. Wonder if they put that in there knowing about the Elephant Man.

Watched 'Spaceballs' with my son last night (still hilarious) then after he went to bed, followed that up with the new Jim Jefferies stand-up special on Netflix (equally hilarious, but for different reasons).

"Everly" (2014)

Salma Hayek has spent the past four years in forced servitude to a brutal Japanese crime lord. When her "boss" gets wind of her plans to escape, he sends wave after wave of hired killers to her apartment building. You can probably figure out how well that goes.
"Everly" may not have the most original plot but it's a gloriously gory ultra-violent shoot'em up, kinda like a mix of "Kill Bill" and "Die Hard." A more accurate title for this flick would've been "Bullets, Boobs & Lots of Blood," cuz Salma looks hot even after she's spent half the movie covered in sweat, grime, and gunpowder.

"Truth Or Dare" (2017)

A group of twenty somethings spend Halloween night playing "Truth Or Dare" inside a supposedly haunted house. This, of course, turns out to be a spectacularly bad idea, as it awakens an evil force which then follows them all home and makes them continue the ultimately-fatal "game."
Pretty standard direct-to-video horror junk with a few decently cringy, gory bits. One of the girls is played by Cassie "Sharknado" Scerbo, who can't act worth a damn but she has absolutely spectacular cleavage, so I had no complaints.

"Heavy Metal Road Dog" (2016)

Lower-than-low budget rock doc that follows Chris Knudson, the road manager and guitar tech for the all-girl tribute band The Iron Maidens, as they embark on a European tour.
Behind-the-scenes stuff like this can be fun if your subject has good stories to tell, or some charisma... but Knudsen has neither. This guy shows all the personality of a wet mop as he tunes up guitars, consumes a lot of sausages and beer, gets lost in an Amsterdam train station, and navigates airport security. Watching paint dry is more exciting.
The film should have focused on the Iron Maidens instead -- they seem like a fun bunch of gals, but they don't really get to say much. Even more puzzling, you don't even get to hear any of their performances -- all the concert scenes are dubbed over with canned, generic widdly-widdly Euro power metal instrumental music. So what's the point?
In short: this is the least interesting rock doc I've ever seen.
AVOID.

Scrubs

Watched a doc on the films of Brian DePalma on Netflix.

Pretty good, although it might have helped to have a few more people interviewed. It's all Brian talking with clips of his films. Interesting, but a couple more "talking heads" would've broken things up a little. Still, makes me want to have a Brian DePalma film fest. Lots of his flicks I haven't seen in years or at all.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes(2011).  Really enjoyed this one, especially after Tim Burton's colossal remake misfire several years back.  I give it 3.5 out of 5 damn dirty apes.

Jason Bourne

Becker
KISS Unplugged

So I now have It I and II and Joker in-house.

And now it's a race with what will end first, my current "Gotham" marathon watch on the daily elliptical (I'm up to season 3) or the end of this weird baseball season where they're cramming a bunch of games into a few months.

I'm not sure which one will end first but I suspect it will be baseball which means I'll start watching movies again on nights when wrestling isn't on.

I'll keep you posted (because I'm sure you're all just breathless anticipating my opinions of these films. )

And I just discovered I can watch "Vivarium" anytime I want for free with Prime so guess what's up next.

If you're a fan of classic video games: