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

Dangerously hot weather out there today, good reason to stay in, drink beer, and watch movies.

"Monty Python's Life Of Brian" (1979)

The Python troupe's parody of Biblical epics tells the story of Brian (Graham Chapman), an average guy who was born next door to Jesus and as a result, spends most of his time being mistaken for the Messiah. I used to say "Holy Grail" was my favorite Python flick, but the older I get (and the more cynical/pessimistic I get about religion) the more I lean towards this one. Cast off the shoe, follow the gourd!

"Deadlier Than The Male" (1967)

This stylish James Bond knock off stars Richard Johnson as swingin' investigator Hugh Drummond, who must stop a pair of beautiful assassins (Elke Sommer and Sylva Koscina) from murdering the executive board of a major oil company. Lots of action, impressive scenery, and female eye candy. This is my favorite of the many 007 wanna-be's that popped up during the mid 60s spy craze. Worth watching just to ogle Elke Sommer, who was ridiculously hot at this time.

"Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon" (2015)

Informative, entertaining documentary about the "adult humor" magazine that spun off from a Harvard student publication and took the 70s counter culture by storm, launching the careers of writers and performers like John Hughes, Gilda Radner, P.J. O'Rourke, Chevy Chase, Christopher Guest, and many more. I was a few years too young to read the Lampoon in its heyday, and it looks like I missed out on a lot of subversive, funny stuff.

Episodes of Paranormal Caught On Camera

Had the second cataract surgery today so it was more A&E "WWE Legends" for me. Today I watched the episode on the Bella Twins. I never really paid a lot of attention to them when they were actively wrestling but damn they're hot. Wish I had both eyes...

Between Exultation And Aggression. Extreme metal documentary with members of Nuclear Assault, Napalm Death, Midnight, Frozen Soul, Inacantation, etc. Pretty lengthy at almost 3 hours but still a pretty good watch if you're into underground bands.

The Sheik. A film about wrestling legend The Iron Sheik.

"The Decline of Western Civilization" (1981)

The first installment in Penelope Spheeris' documentary trilogy examines the punk rock scene in early '80s L.A., featuring interviews and live performances by Black Flag, X, Fear, Circle Jerks, the Germs, and more. Some of the bands are better than others, of course (Good Lord, the Germs were f**king terrible!) but it's fun to watch all the ultra-violent concert footage.

The Ultimate Weapon (1998)....



Hulk Hogan stars in this Rambo: First Blood Part II and Commando inspired action movie about a mercenary who discovers the team he is working with are actually IRA gunrunners. The movie is the only R-rated movie Hogan starred in during his acting career. The movie provides unintentional hilarity at the start. Hogan's character is having a traumatic nightmare, but when he wakes up, instead of the jolting up with a cold sweat look you'd expect, Hogan just opens his eyes and looks more like he's been roused from a pleasant afternoon nap. Then again, Hulk Hogan is the worst actor of all time, so I wasn't expecting much.

God Told Me To

"Hated: GG Allin & The Murder Junkies" (1993)

While he was a film student at NYU, future "Joker" and "Hangover" director Todd Philips directed this documentary about GG Allin, the notoriously unhinged, feces-flinging, death obsessed, ultra-violent punk rocker. His camera follows GG and his band around on an East Coast tour, where GG shares bits of his bizarre life philosophy while he uses dope, picks fights with his audience , spits, bleeds, poops, and basically acts like an out of control lunatic. In other words: this is a portrait of a guy who shouldn't have been walking around loose, and the world is a safer place now that he's gone. Skin-crawlingly weird and disturbing, but also fascinating in a strange, "you can't make this up" kind of way.

Three's Company

"Maniac Cop" (1988)

A psycho in an NYPD uniform is murdering innocent citizens by night. A detective (Tom "Halloween III" Atkins) and a patrolman (Bruce Campbell!) team up to find out the killer's I.D. and stop him before he can achieve his ultimate goal of murdering NYC's chief of police and mayor.
Cult classic horror/action B-movie that does a nice job of mixing police procedural elements with cool slasher mayhem. Followed by two sequels.

The Deadly Spawn (1983)



A meteorite crashes into the earth in a rural area, releasing a voracious creature that begins consuming every person it comes across and soon starts spawning small slug-like creatures with the same appetite. A rather familiar plot to be sure, with a low budget,varying degrees of acting and sometimes effective gore effects. I used to see this one at the video stores back in the day and I'm not sure how I've missed this one over the years but I'm glad I finally got to see it

^^ fun movie, filmed in my neck o' the woods in northern New Jersey!

On topic:

"Maniac Cop 2" (1990)

The murderous Officer Cordell is back for another round of slaughtering innocent (and some not so innocent) New Yorkers, and this time he's got a partner, a serial killer who likes to carve up strippers. A new pair of NYPD officers (Robert Davi and Claudia Christian) have to stop the duo's rampage before they can stage a massive prison break at the notorious Sing Sing.
This direct-to-video sequel is superior to its predecessor in just about every way... It's faster moving, packed with more elaborate stunts and action sequences, and it doesn't skimp on the splashy gore, either.
Make sure you stick around for the hilariously awful "Maniac Cop Rap" song that plays over the end credits.

"Prey" (2022)

The latest installment in the Predator franchise (streaming exclusively on Hulu) is a period piece set in the 1700s, focusing on a young Comanche woman who wants to prove she's just as good as the boys on her first-ever hunting expedition. She and the tribe get more than they bargained for when a Predator (perhaps the first one ever to visit Earth?) drops in on the proceedings.
I was pleasantly surprised by this one, it took a little while to get into gear but once it did, the action was non-stop straight till the end. Is this the best Predator movie since the original? It very well may be!

Fat Freddy wrote:

"Prey" (2022)

The latest installment in the Predator franchise (streaming exclusively on Hulu) is a period piece set in the 1700s, focusing on a young Comanche woman who wants to prove she's just as good as the boys on her first-ever hunting expedition. She and the tribe get more than they bargained for when a Predator (perhaps the first one ever to visit Earth?) drops in on the proceedings.
I was pleasantly surprised by this one, it took a little while to get into gear but once it did, the action was non-stop straight till the end. Is this the best Predator movie since the original? It very well may be!

I watched that last night and enjoyed it immensely. I think its the best Predator movie since the first one, but that's not really saying too much. Those subsequent movies were all pretty bad.

007 wrote:

I think its the best Predator movie since the first one, but that's not really saying too much. Those subsequent movies were all pretty bad.

I liked "Predator 2" just as much as the O.G., and the first "Aliens Vs Predator" was passable, but yeah, the rest have been varying degrees of suck.

Tonight, for something completely different:
"Coraline" (2009)

Henry Selick of "The Nightmare Before Christmas" fame directed this lavish stop-motion animated fantasy/horror story about a neglected young girl who, while exploring her gloomy new home, finds a hidden passageway that leads to a brighter, more friendly and all around "nicer" version of her world. As she makes repeated visits to the "other side," however, she eventually figures out that something sinister is going on behind the scenes. A lush, extremely weird, but very watchable dark fairy tale based on a book by Neil "Sandman" Gaiman. Worth checking out for the trippy visuals alone.

"Suburbia" (1984)

Penelope Spheeris followed up her punk doc "The Decline of Western Civilization" with this downer drama that was also set against the backdrop of LA's punk scene. A diverse group of teenage runaways (one of whom is played by a young Flea, later of Red Hot Chili Peppers fame!) sets up a "squat" in an abandoned house in an derelict suburban development. As the group gradually develops into a pseudo- "family," their presence, looks, and attitude are seen as a threat by the normals in an adjoining neighborhood, which leads to an inevitable violent climax. Not much plot in this one, but it's an engrossing culture-clash flick that also shoehorns in some live footage of D.I. (performing "Richard Hung Himself," later covered by Slayer), TSOL, and The Vandals. Like "Decline," this one's also become a cult classic in punk circles.  

"Get Thrashed: The Story of Thrash Metal" (2006)

Rick Ernst's fanboy love letter to the '80s Thrash Metal craze is loaded with ultra-violent live footage, classic clips and photos, and commentary from members of Exodus, Overkill, Slayer, Sodom, Megadeth, Kreator, and many more. As thrash-metal docs go, I think I preferred "Murder In The Front Row" over this one by a hair, but it's still a fun trip down mosh pit memory lane.

The Cavern(2006)-a group of friends travel to Asia to explorer an uncharted cave system and are joined by a writer who is writing a book on the subject. Not long after they have entered the cave, two of the team members are killed and their exit has been blocked off. Trying desperately to find a way out, they realize that they are being hunted by something big, hairy and hungry. The mid 2000s seem to have several horror films that were set in caves like The Descent, The Cave and this one, which seems to be the least known. Overall, this isn't a bad little film and did a respectable job with the small budget they had. They also did a good job with the twist ending which makes the movie come across like The Descent mixed with Death Line. 2.5/5

Fat Freddy wrote:

"Hated: GG Allin & The Murder Junkies" (1993)

While he was a film student at NYU, future "Joker" and "Hangover" director Todd Philips directed this documentary about GG Allin, the notoriously unhinged, feces-flinging, death obsessed, ultra-violent punk rocker. His camera follows GG and his band around on an East Coast tour, where GG shares bits of his bizarre life philosophy while he uses dope, picks fights with his audience , spits, bleeds, poops, and basically acts like an out of control lunatic. In other words: this is a portrait of a guy who shouldn't have been walking around loose, and the world is a safer place now that he's gone. Skin-crawlingly weird and disturbing, but also fascinating in a strange, "you can't make this up" kind of way.

You should watch G.G. Allin :All In The Family. It's a documentary showing how G.G.'s brother Merle is living off the G.G. name.

"Trainwreck: Woodstock '99" (2022)

3-part Netflix documentary series about the brave attempt to re-create the Woodstock vibe for its 30th anniversary, at a rock festival that slowly devolved into chaos and full-on riots by the time the last band played. I remember watching this all go down live on TV when it happened, and thinking how glad I was that I was nowhere near that festival. Watching this in-depth doc which zooms in on the many cost cuttings and mistakes that made the anarchy possible, I'm even more glad I wasn't there!

nevermore wrote:

You should watch G.G. Allin :All In The Family. It's a documentary showing how G.G.'s brother Merle is living off the G.G. name.

That is in one of my watch lists (on Tubi, I think) but I haven't gotten to it yet. Merle sure seems like a classy fella, doesn't he?

Fat Freddy wrote:

nevermore wrote:

You should watch G.G. Allin :All In The Family. It's a documentary showing how G.G.'s brother Merle is living off the G.G. name.

That is in one of my watch lists (on Tubi, I think) but I haven't gotten to it yet. Merle sure seems like a classy fella, doesn't he?

"American Hardcore" (2006)

Absorbing documentary based on Steven Blush's book on the rise and fall of the USA's hardcore punk scene, which spread like wildfire across the country in the early 80s before fizzling out by the end of the decade. Loaded with ultra-violent pit footage and interviews and commentary from members of Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Bad Brains, SS Decontrol, Gang Green, Minor Threat, Agnostic Front, and many more. I'm not even a particularly big hardcore fan, but I still enjoyed this doc.

"Day Shift" (2022)

Highly entertaining Netflix horror/action comedy about a divorced, down-on-his-luck Southern California vampire hunter (Jamie Foxx)who's reduced to cleaning swimming pools during the day to make ends meet. Eventually these two worlds collide when he uncovers a plot by a powerful lady vamp who's discovered a way for bloodsuckers to walk during daylight hours. Funny as hell, ultra-violent and gory as hell too. Extra metal points for the use of "Body Count's In The House" during a pivotal fight scene.

Started watching the Masters Of Horror series. Caught the first 3 episodes, and I'm leaning towards the Lovecraft adaptation as the best episode of the group.

A Clockwork Orange