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

Halloween (1978)



A psychopathic seemingly indestructible 21 year old man escapes from an insane asylum (where he was incarcerated after murdering his older sister) after 15 years to return to his home town and begins a new killing spree, terrorizing a group of teens and their babysitting charges. Donald Pleasance is a hoot as his doctor in hot pursuit. The original classic that has spawned numerous sequels, reboots, etc. but this still remains the best of the bunch.

My "Watch the James Bond series in order" marathon is drawing to a close... I borrowed No Time To Die from the library today, but before I get to that one, I had to watch...

"Spectre" (2015)

Bond visits Mexico, Austria, and the North African desert as he uncovers the secrets of SPECTRE, the massive criminal organization behind everything that's happened to him since Casino Royale, and is stunned when he learns of his personal connection to their mysterious leader, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. As usual, lots of chases, gun fights, and explosions occur, and some of Bond's supporting cast like M, Q, and Moneypenny get in on the action as well. Another solid entry for Mr. Craig.

The second episode of Moon Knight

More episodes of Night Court season 2.

After two years, my "Watch the James Bond Series in Order" marathon has finally crossed the finish line...

"No Time To Die" (2021)

Daniel Craig's 007 era comes to a close with this sprawling, two hour and forty-three minute (!) epic that piks up five years after the events of Spectre. Bond is retired from active service, but a plea for help from his CIA pal Felix Leiter pulls him into a supervillain's vast conspiracy to kill millions with a high-tech virus.
There's enough going on here for three movies, but "NTTD" moves fast, with the usual non stop action, top notch stunt work and lush locations. The personal drama that's added in the last quarter feels forced and unnecessary but it gives the downer ending an extra emotional punch. Daniel's Bond may be done, but the end credits claim JAMES BOND WILL RETURN, as usual. It'll be interesting to see where (and with whom) the franchise goes from here.

"Bone Tomahawk" (2015)

A Western sheriff (Kurt Russell) forms a posse and heads out across treacherous terrain to rescue his town's doctor from a cave-dwelling tribe of cannibalistic savages.  An interesting blend of Old West heroics and horror, esp. in the last quarter, when things go full-on "Hills Have Eyes." The two hour plus run time flies by thanks to great performances by Russell and a supporting cast that includes Patrick "The Conjuring" Wilson and Matthew "Lost" Fox. I generally don't care for Westerns, but I enjoyed this one.

Halloween 2 (1981)



Picking up right after the original film, killing machine Michael Myers continues his murderous search for Jamie Lee Curtis with Donald plea dance in hot pursuit. More killings and gore in this than the previous film, and still rather enjoyable. This was supposed to be the last of the Michael Myers saga, but we all know how that went.

Halloween 3:The Season Of The Witch (1982)



A small town doctor (Tom Atkins) and the cute daughter of a murder victim (Stacey Nelkins) uncover a sinister plot involving a toy making company and their deadly Halloween masks. An interesting movie that mixes sci fi, sorcery, the occult, and decent gore but wasn't really well received. John Carpenter felt he was done making the Michael Myers Halloween films and felt the franchise could continue on as stand alone anthology-type films. However, since this movie didn't go over well, Myers returned in ensuing, and in my opionion, inferior films.

The Fun house (1981)



Directed by Tone Hooper with special effects by Rick Baker, this one deals with a group of teenagers sneaking into a car rival dark ride after hours and witnessing something they shouldn't have seen. After being discovered, they must fight for their lives and try to find a way out of the Funhouse. A really decent early slasher film.

"Green Lantern" (2011)

Ryan Reynolds stars as hot shot test pilot Hal Jordan, who is chosen by a dying alien to become Earth's representative on the intergalactic police force known as the Green Lantern Corps. Once he gets the hang of his snazzy new powers, he (naturally) has to save the world from a powerful cosmic menace.
Reynolds' performance is fine and the action scenes are fun to watch, but the movie's over-reliance on CGI feels like you're watching a cartoon at times. Overall, "GL" isn't terrible, just forgettable. Reynolds probably didn't mind much when it under-performed at the box office and failed to turn into a franchise, since it freed him up to be Deadpool.

This seems to be my weekend for re-visiting famous box office failures. First it was "Green Lantern," now it's...

"Ghostbusters" (2016)

NYC is gripped by a massive outbreak of supernatural activity, and our only hope is three lady paranormal investigators and a loud mouthed former subway clerk. Wacky hi-jinks are supposed to ensue.
Paul "Bridesmaids" Feig's doomed attempt to re-vitalize the dormant GB's franchise with a new cast of funny females doesn't hold a candle to the 1984 original, of course, but it's not as terrible as some made it out to be, either. Melissa McCarthy and Kate McKinnon are fun to watch (Kristen Wiig and Leslie Jones, on the other hand... not so much), the special effects are decent, and there are a couple of legit laughs. The main problem is that fans were simply never going to give this one a chance cuz it didn't feature the O.G. cast.
Rather than make this movie, Sony Pictures should've just taken its $150 million budget and set it on fire in the middle of Times Square; it would've been faster and had the same effect.

Metal Lords

From

The Walking Dead

Started season 3 of Night Court

Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021)



Taking place immediately after the previous film, Spider-Man's identity is publicly revealed and falsely accused of murder, leading to turmoil for him and his family and friends. Desperate for help, he turns to Dr. Strange to cast a spell which would lead to everyone forgetting his true identity. However, the spell backfires and opens rifts in the multiverse bringing in more people aware of Spider-Man's identity. This movie is full of action and does not disappoint. The hype is calling it Marvel's best movie yet. I don't if it's quite there, but it's certainly close to it.

The Devil Inside(2012)-a young woman travels to Italy to make a documentary about exorcisms with the help of two priests. The girl's mother is also a patient at a asylum in the same city who killed three people years earlier during an exorcism. They try to preform another exorcism on the girl's mother, unleashing evil on the girl and her friends. Yet another entry in the found footage genre, this one is a least a decent offering. Apparently, the reviews for this film was scathing when it first came out, some calling it the worst horror film ever. It's not a classic by any means, but I didn't find it that bad.2/5

The third episode of Moon Knight

"The Amityville Murders" (2018)

The supposed "true story" of the murders at 112 Ocean Avenue that pre-date the infamous "Amityville Horror." After years of verbal and physical abuse from his overbearing father, twenty something Ron "Butch" DeFeo Jr, killed his parents and four younger siblings one fateful night in 1974, apparently under orders from "voices" he heard inside the family home.
I'm a sucker for anything Amityville so I enjoyed this low budget period piece, which even had a couple of legit jump scares. The stunt casting of Diane Franklin and Burt Young, both of whom starred in "Amityville II: The Possession," was a nice touch. Your mileage may vary depending on your interest in the subject matter.

One of the all time comedy classics, obviously.

Looney Toons

The Batman (2022)



Another reboot for the long time superhero, now being played by day glow vampire, Robert Pattinson. Taking place in the Batman's second year of operation, he takes on a serial killer who dubs himself the Riddler, targeting the Gotham city elite and leaving behind cryptic clues and riddles for the Batman to solve. A very entertaining ,albeit long (just a tick under 3 hours), film with plenty of action and a great cast.

Decided to take a trip down memory lane and watch a few oldies and/or bits of b-movie schlock.  

Forbidden World

A mutant monster gets loose and starts killing all and sundry around a space / research station.  One of a string of Alien knock-offs from schlock king Roger Corman.  Several shots are stock items Corman used in multiple movies, as was habit for the notoriously cheap producer.  Some nice T & A shots throughout, which was also a Corman staple

Dragonslayer

A surprising release from Disney, which was known for their family friendly cartoons and movies.  Our "dashing" young hero was played by Peter MacNicol, a man not known for his action chops    The special effects at the time were quite impressive, and are decent enough considering the age of this thing.

Solaris

Considered by many to be classic sci-fi viewing, this adaptation of Stanislaw Lem's novel of the same name is more slow and cerebral than your standard work of science fiction.  Director Andrei Tarkovsky, who dismissed Kubrik's 2001 as nothing more than empty pseudo-intellectual nonsense, wanted to create something more thoughtful and introspective than sci-fi audiences were used to seeing.  Long, slow, and often quiet, this one is more a study of the human condition than an exploration of alien life.

More episodes of Night Court

The Last Winter (2006)



An environmentalist is sent to an Alaskan oil drilling site to evaluate the impact that the drilling is having on the local area. Soon, strange occurrences begin to plague the team and it becomes a fight for survival. A rather vague cautionary tale about the dangers of global warming. If you're expecting explanations when watching this, don't expect any.

"Metal Lords" (2022)

Two dorky high schoolers start a metal band, hoping that a victory at the upcoming Battle of the Bands will finally open the doors to popularity for them. However, their fruitless search for a bass player eventually leads them to consider hiring a troubled, cello-playing girl (who knows nothing about metal!) instead.
A sporadically funny Netflix teen comedy with a metal backdrop. My 14 year old son loved it (he's exactly the target demographic they were shooting for) and I had fun pointing out all the old school metal love being displayed on t-shirts, posters, and on the soundtrack. Oh, and there are a couple of surprise rock star cameos that made me smile. Worth a look for metal nerds of all ages...

"Iron Fists and Kung Fu Kicks" (2019)

Bone crunchingly cool documentary about the history of martial arts movies, from their humble beginnings in 1960s Hong Kong, through the grindhouse era of the 70s and the rise of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan, through the VHS era and the genre's continued influence on virtually every corner of pop culture and filmmaking to this very day. Loaded with interviews with the genre's movers and shakiers and plenty of ultra violent clips from classic films. Tons o' chop-socky fun!

Invisible: The Chronicles of Benjamin Knight

"Spider-Man: No Way Home" (2021)

Picking up where Far From Home left off, the whole world now knows that Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Peter (Tom Holland) goes to Dr. Strange to see if he can cast a spell that will make everyone "forget" his secret I.D. However, the spell goes wrong and creates a tear in the fabric of the multi-verse, allowing a variety of Spidey villains - and other Spider-Men! - from different realities to enter "our" world.
Marvel and Sony throw everything but the kitchen sink into this Spider-extravaganza, with (SPOILER ALERT) baddies like Alfred Molina as Doc Ock and Willem DaFoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin returning to the franchise, and (SPOILER ALERT) Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield (who, let's face it, kinda got the shaft during his Spidey era) dropping by to play a major part in the third act. The nearly two and a half hour run time absolutely flies by. Is it the best Spider-Man movie of 'em all? I think it may be!