TODAY I WATCHED... (Movies. TV) 2022

"Knight Rider 2000" (1991)

Michael Knight is called out of retirement to help the Foundation for Law and Government's newest recruit, a former policewoman, track down a gang of corrupt cops who are dealing weapons on the side. KITT is back too, in a souped-up new body, and he's as sarcastic as ever, of course.
This was the pilot film for a proposed new "Knight Rider" series which never came to pass, and it's easy to see why. Hasselhoff was already doing Baywatch at this point, so obviously Michael was never meant to be a regular character; he's only there to set things up and hand them off to the uninteresting new characters. The "new" KITT isn't nearly as cool looking as the classic black Firebird, and overall the whole thing was talky and dull, with barely any action. Knight Rider was one of my favorite shows when I was a kid, but even nostalgia couldn't save this one. Skip it!

"976-EVIL 2" (aka "976-EVIL 2: The Astral Factor," 1992)

Regular calls to a Satanic hot line give a creepy old college professor astral-projection powers, which he uses to stalk and murder co-eds. A studly loner on a motorcycle and a girl in a tight sweater have to figure out how to stop him.
This made-for-video sequel to the forgettable 1988 horror flick was directed by T&A kingpin Jim Wynorski of "Chopping Mall" fame, so at least you know there'll be some decent gore and the girls will be cute and frequently undressed. Otherwise, this is basically a low-rent "Nightmare on Elm Street" knock off, except for one inspired scene where a girl gets sucked into the late movie on TV and finds herself trapped in a zombified mash up of "It's A Wonderful Life" and "Night of the Living Dead."
Better than the first 976-EVIL, though that's faint praise.

Latest episode of A&E's Secrets of Playboy, which delved into Hef's close friendship with Bill Cosby during the '70s and '80s. (squirm)...

"Death Race 2" (2011)

Fast moving follow up to the "Death Race" reboot is actually a prequel, that explains how the Death Race was created and follows the first man to become its best known driver, the mysterious "Frankenstein." Not as slick looking as the first film (likely due to its direct-to-video budget restraints) but of course, there's still plenty of car crashin' ultra-violence and mayhem. Mindless fun with a great cast that includes Sean Bean, Danny Trejo, Ving Rhames, and Lauren "Walking Dead" Cohan. Followed by two more installments.

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Don't Breathe (2021)



Stephen Lang returns as the blind Navy SEAL vet, living with his "daughter" in seclusion. But things become endangered when a group of seemingly random thugs lay siege to their home in the hopes of kidnapping the girl, causing the blind man to take action against the attackers. Fast moving and a pretty good watch, but a little suspension of disbelief will be needed because although blind people can be quite capable, I can't see him being able to pull off some of the things he does.

I didn't have the attention span for a movie last night so I vegged out to the "KISS Rocks Vegas" concert and the "Classic Albums" episode on the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks... on Tubi.

The Devil You Know. A docuseries about a druggie/satanist named Pazuzu Algarad who murdered 2 people.

"77 Minutes" (2016)

A tremendously disturbing documentary about the 1984 mass shooting at a McDonald's in San Ysidro, California that took the lives of 21 people, including several children.
The story of that horrendous day is told via interviews with witnesses and survivors, vintage news footage, and (unfortunately) real, uncensored crime scene photos and video... which, be warned, is NOT for the faint of heart. Some of those images are going to stick with me for a while. (I did NOT need to see dead kids in close up...)
I was not familiar with the work of director Charlie Minn before seeing this film, but apparently he's been referred to as a "trauma pornographer," as he specializes in documentaries about mass killings -- he's also directed docs about the Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Florida, the Pulse Nightclub shooting, the Las Vegas concert massacre, and several others. I'm gonna pass on watching any more of this guy's work; one dose of his exploitative "reporting" style was more than enough for me.

Scream (2022)



5th installment in the long running franchise, taking place almost 25 years to the day of the 1st intallment. A new killer dons the Ghostface mask and costume and begins targeting a group of teens, prompting original cast members Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courtney Cox (after way too much cosmetic surgery) to return and confront Ghostface. Lots of callbacks and references to the former films. Not a bad sequel and I liked it better than the prior film.

Fat Freddy wrote:

"77 Minutes" (2016)

A tremendously disturbing documentary about the 1984 mass shooting at a McDonald's in San Ysidro, California that took the lives of 21 people, including several children.
The story of that horrendous day is told via interviews with witnesses and survivors, vintage news footage, and (unfortunately) real, uncensored crime scene photos and video... which, be warned, is NOT for the faint of heart. Some of those images are going to stick with me for a while. (I did NOT need to see dead kids in close up...)
I was not familiar with the work of director Charlie Minn before seeing this film, but apparently he's been referred to as a "trauma pornographer," as he specializes in documentaries about mass killings -- he's also directed docs about the Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Florida, the Pulse Nightclub shooting, the Las Vegas concert massacre, and several others. I'm gonna pass on watching any more of this guy's work; one dose of his exploitative "reporting" style was more than enough for me.

I've started to watch this before. But always ended up passing and watching something else.

nevermore wrote:

Fat Freddy wrote:

"77 Minutes" (2016)

I've started to watch this before. But always ended up passing and watching something else.

It was a little more hardcore than I'd expected. I would've thought that if they were gonna show real footage of the dead inside the restaurant, they'd at least blur out their faces, but ... nope. It felt ghoulish and unnecessary. Some real "Faces of Death" kinda shit. (shudder)

I'm gonna have to watch some dumb, fluffy comedies over the next couple of days to push it out of my mind...

Finished streaming Penny Dreadful: City Of Angels

Amityville Horror (2005)



Remake of the 70s horror hit about the supposedly haunted house in the Long Island community. Similarities to the original are all here, along with some added new touches. Not that bad of a movie, I guess, but not essential viewing.

Rabid (2019)



Remake of the Cronenberg film from 1977. An aspiring fashion designer is horribly disfigured after a motorcycle accident. She then receives experimental surgery that heals here but leaves her with an insatiable taste for blood, and infects her victims with a deadly rabies-like sickness. Soon the whole city is endanger of being infected. A movie that was much better than I had expected.

The Unholy (2021)



Jeffrey Dean Morgan stars as a disgraced reporter who stumbles upon a story of a deaf mute girl who can suddenly hear and speak, and gains the power to heal the sick. However, as things progress, it appears that the girls abilities may come from somewhere others than Heavem. A rather interesting supernatural thriller and rather enjoyable.

"Solo: A Star Wars Story" (2018)

Alden Ehrenreich has the unenviable task of playing young Han Solo in this "origin story" that fills audiences in on his days as a young wanna-be smuggler, how he met Chewie, became owner of the Millennium Falcon, and completed his first big "job." The film had a troubled production and didn't live up to box office expectations, but I thought it was tons of popcorn fun.

"The World Is Not Enough" (1999)

James Bond (Pierce Brosnan) and a nuclear scientist (a hilariously miscast Denise Richards) team up to stop an insane heiress who's partnered with a terrorist to corner the European oil market by destroying her competition with nukes. Pierce's 3rd go-round as 007 is another fun action flick full of the usual stunts, gadgets and narrow escapes.

Congo (1995)



An expedition,that includes a primatologist, a gorilla that can sign and a communications scientist, heads to Africa for various purposes, mainly to find a cache of diamonds that apparently exist in a hidden lost city and are protected by a species of killer gorillas. Plenty of action, comedy and adventures ensue. A fun film for my household. We even still have the board game tie in to the film.

Star Trek TOS episode 3 "Where No Man Has Gone Before"

"Die Another Day" (2002)

In Pierce Brosnan's fourth and final appearance as James Bond, 007 and a lovely American agent (Halle Berry) track a diamond smuggling terrorist from North Korea to Cuba to Iceland, where he's developing a giant solar weapon. Things crash, stuff gets shot and blown up, etc., etc.
This one is probably the most ridiculous, over the top 007 adventure since "Moonraker" and it seems to get a lot of hate from fans but I've always enjoyed it. Yeah, some of the gimmicks are ridiculous (an invisible car?) and the CGI has aged terribly but Pierce, as usual, gives it his all and Halle was pretty much at her peak of hotness when she made this, therefore I was entertained.

"The Gospel Blimp" (1967)

Looking for a bold new way to reach non-believers, a church group buys a blimp and flies it around town dropping tracts, playing loud music, dragging signs and irritating the crap out of their neighbors. Wacky hi-jinks ensue as every one of their "big" ideas to increase the reach of their message goes horribly wrong.
A weird little Evangelical Christian comedy short that looks and feels like a 1960s TV sitcom from an alternate universe. The main characters are all pushy zealots who eventually learn that you can't force your beliefs on others, but it takes them a looooong time to figure that out. It's supposed to be a "satire" but any humor in it will be mostly unintentional to modern audiences.
I stumbled across this on YouTube and couldn't resist watching; I used to have the comic book adaptation when I was a kid, written and drawn by the late great Al Hartley of "Archie" fame.
Fun fact: according to IMDb, it was filmed around the same Pennsylvania town where the original "Blob" with Steve McQueen was shot.

Werewolves Within (2021)



Uneven horror/comedy about a group of town residents snowed in at the local inn while a killer,possibly a werewolf, stalks among them. Paranoia takes over as they soon turn on each other,awhile the newly arrived forest ranger and a postal worker (the cute girl from the AT&T commercials) try to discover the truth. Although I didn't mind the movie, my wife thought it was too "silly".

Terror Of Mecha Godzilla

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"Death Race 3: Inferno" (2013)

The corporation that created "Death Race" has new ownership who want to take it global. Champion driver "Frankenstein" and his crew are shipped off to South Africa to take part in a race through the Kalahari Desert, leading to the usual automotive mayhem against new competitors.
For a relatively low budget, direct-to-video sequel, this flick certainly doesn't skimp on the ultra violence -- it's big, loud, dumb car crashin' fun, just like its two predecessors. A fourth and final (?) installment "Beyond Anarchy," was released in 2018.