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

Guillermo Del Toro's Cabinet Of Curiosities, an anthology show based on various short horror stories.

The Winchesters

Cabinet Of Curiosities

The Innkeepers(2011)-As an old hotel in New England is getting ready to close for good, the last two employees that are left are doing some paranormal research while they are there. Having heard the story of a woman who had committed suicide at the hotel years earlier, one of them wants to try to contact her and enlists the help of a washed-up actor who claims to have psychic abilities. Kind of a slow-moving film that doesn't have a ton of action and seems to be more about the relationship the two friends have and the whole ghost story seems to be more of a sub-plot and really doesn't get going until the end. I was a little underwhelmed with this one, but was fairly well made and the film's director Ti West has made some good stuff. You can't win them all, I guess.2/5

Cabinet Of Curiosities

Paranormal Caught On Camera

Walker

Cabinet Of Curiosities

"Deadpool" (2016)

Ryan Reynolds brings Marvel Comics' foul mouthed, butt kicking, fourth wall breaking anti-hero to ultra violent life in this balls-to-the-wall, laugh out loud action comedy that has held up very well to repeated viewings. Still a stone cold hoot.

"The Million Eyes of Sumuru" (1967)

Two bumbling CIA agents are sent to Hong Kong to investigate a plot by a femme fatale named "Sumuru," who wants to take over the world with her own all-girl army of assassins. This goofy but enjoyable spy spoof (based on a character from a series of pulp novels by "Fu Manchu" creator Sax Rohmer) has lots of exotic Far East scenery and plenty of female eye candy, Frankie Avalon is one of the agents and Shirley Eaton (aka the "Golden Girl" from Goldfinger) plays the villainess Sumuru, a role she would reprise in 1969's sequel "The Girl From Rio." An OK time waster.

"Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" (2022)

The Roku Channel's first "Original Movie" stars Daniel "Harry Potter" Radcliffe as the prince of pop music parody, tracing his rise from suburban obscurity to multi-platinum success. Along the way, the movie reveals that Michael Jackson ripped off Al's original song "Eat It," details his torrid love affair with Madonna, and shows how Al single handedly destroyed the Escobar drug cartel.
...if any of that made you say "wait, what?" that's because this is a NOT a real "rock bio" movie, but a dead-pan parody of the genre, inspired by a "fake trailer" from the Funny Or Die web site and co-written by Al himself. (As Al says, his career and life have been so normal and devoid of controversy that they had to make stuff up for the movie. ) Funny stuff!

"Deadpool 2" (2018)

Ryan Reynolds returns as Marvel's wise cracking mercenary, this time assembling a new team to help protect a teenage mutant from Cable, a cyborg killing machine from the future. Just as much fun as the first movie, the bullets and one liners fly fast and furious.

This Is Gwar. This is a documentary on everyone's favorite scumdogs. From their early beginnings through injuries, deaths and how the band decided to keep going.

"Hellraiser" (2022)

In this Hulu exclusive "reboot" of the long running horror franchise, a troubled young woman comes into possession of the dreaded puzzle box and inadvertently ends up involving her brother and friends in a battle against the Cenobites and their leader, Pinhead (who's played by a woman this time!).
I kept my expectations low for this one (especially with no Doug Bradley as Pinhead), but it's better than pretty much any of the endless direct-to-video sequels that came after Hellraiser IV (aka Bloodlines). It's got the proper gothic feel, some truly disturbing visuals, and suitably gross bloodletting. At just a hair under two hours, it runs a little longer than it needs to but otherwise this flick does a nice job of righting the Hellraiser ship.

Black Panther:Wakanda Forever (2022)



The African country Wakanda, still reeling from the unexpected death of it's ruler King T'challa (aka the Black Panther), must deal with a new threat to it's sovereignty , the undersea ruler Namor and his people. Another well made film, with excellent cinematography, cast and plenty of action. This is a long movie (2 hours and 41 minutes) but never really drags on.

Match Game PM
Super Password

"Conan The Barbarian" (1982)

A muscle bound warrior (Arnold Schwarzenegger) escapes from slavery and embarks on a quest for revenge against the cult leader (James Earl Jones) who destroyed his people. Lots of asses get kicked and heads get chopped along the way.
This fantasy/action epic was Arnold's first breakout starring role, based on the character from Robert E. Howard's pulp novels (and a long running Marvel Comics series). He couldn't act worth a damn at this stage, which is why Conan has so little dialogue, but the action scenes are impressively staged and Basil Poledouris' soundtrack is badass. I hadn't seen this in a long time, but it's still loads of cheesy fun.
Followed by a sequel (1984's Conan The Destroyer), a 2011 reboot attempt with Jason "Aquaman" Momoa in the title role, and countless low budget knock-offs (see: Conquest, Deathstalker, The Beastmaster, Barbarian Queen, Red Sonja, etc, etc.).

"Showgirls" (1995)

A troubled young woman (Elizabeth "Saved By The Bell" Berkley) arrives in Las Vegas intent on becoming the star attraction in a casino revue, no matter who she has to sleep with, screw over, or push out of the way. Fresh off the success of "Basic Instinct," director Paul "RoboCop" Verhoeven's cranked the filth meter into the red with his semi-legendary softcore erotic drama that's essentially an old fashioned "girl makes it big in showbiz" MGM musical, sleazed-up and coked out for the 1990s.
Rated "NC-17" when it was first released due to the wall-to-wall nudity and sexual situations, the movie tanked at the box office before becoming a camp cult classic later on thanks to home video. "Showgirls" proved to be a career killer for most of those involved (especially poor Berkley, who's in WAY over her head here). It's a terrible movie, but it still manages to be watchable in an enjoyably sleazy way due to the outstanding eye candy.

The Island Of Dr. Moreau (1977)



Second , and best, adaptation of the H.G. Wells classic about a scientist on a remote island conducting insane experiments evolving animals into more human like creatures. Excellent cast, withe Michael York, Burt Lancaster, Nigel Davenport, Richard Basehart, and Barbara Carrera (at the height of her hotness) and pretty cool creature designs.

"Murder In The Front Row" (2018)

Members of Metallica, Slayer, Exodus, Laaz Rockit, Megadeth, and many more re-live the glory days of the early 80s Bay Area Thrash metal explosion. A very cool documentary loaded with great stories, photos, and classic clips. A must see for all mosh heads.

"Godfathers of Hardcore" (2018)

Documentary that examines the long working relationship between Vinnie Stigma and Roger Miret of Agnostic Front, who've been at the forefront of the hardcore punk scene for nearly 40 years. An interesting doc about a couple of veterans who've seen it all and done it all.

007 wrote:

Black Panther:Wakanda Forever (2022)



The African country Wakanda, still reeling from the unexpected death of it's ruler King T'challa (aka the Black Panther), must deal with a new threat to it's sovereignty , the undersea ruler Namor and his people. Another well made film, with excellent cinematography, cast and plenty of action. This is a long movie (2 hours and 41 minutes) but never really drags on.

I'm probably going to see this next week.

I read this article concerning the death of Chadwick Boseman, who played King T'Challa in the original film.

https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/how-black-panther-2-addresses-the-passing-of-chadwick-boseman/

"Clambake" (1967)

Elvis Presley is the privileged son of a millionaire who runs out on the family business to take a lowly job at a Miami resort hotel. He wants to find out if he can "make it on his own" and find a girl who'll fall in love with him, not with his money. He romances a foxy hotel guest (Shelley Fabares), takes part in a high stakes powerboat race against a villainous Bill Bixby, and of course, sings a bunch of terrible songs while surrounded by girls in bikinis.
...in other words, this is pretty standard Presley musical-comedy fluff, though reportedly the King hated the movie, only did it for the paycheck, and considered it his worst film.

"Blood Tide" (1982)

A treasure hunter on a Greek island accidentally frees an ancient evil from its underwater prison, prompting the locals to demand a human sacrifice to satiate the beast's centuries-long hunger. A couple of newlywed tourists are caught in the middle of the sea-monster shenanigans.
A slow moving horror flick with some nice Mediterranean scenery, a cast that's probably better than the movie deserves (James Earl Jones, Jose Ferrer) and plenty of female eye candy courtesy of Lydia "Too Close For Comfort" Cornell and Deborah "Dallas" Shelton.
I've seen this one before and I think I liked it better this time around but it's still far from essential viewing.

"They Live" (1988)

A drifter (Roddy Piper) comes into possession of a pair of special sunglasses that allows him to see the "truth" behind our reality - the world is run by skull-faced aliens intent on keeping the human population obedient and asleep. Once his eyes have been opened, he joins a resistance movement to take the planet back.
John Carpenter's cult classic, tongue in cheek sci-fi/action satire is tons of violent fun, and features one of the all time greatest fight scenes ever put to film, when Roddy and Keith David throw down for a solid five minutes of bare knuckle brawling in an alley way.

Fat Freddy wrote:

"They Live" (1988)

A drifter (Roddy Piper) comes into possession of a pair of special sunglasses that allows him to see the "truth" behind our reality - the world is run by skull-faced aliens intent on keeping the human population obedient and asleep. Once his eyes have been opened, he joins a resistance movement to take the planet back.

Awesome movie!

By the way, the 1991 video game The Simpsons: Bart vs. the Space Mutants was partially inspired by the plot for They Live.

Fat Freddy wrote:

"They Live" (1988)

A drifter (Roddy Piper) comes into possession of a pair of special sunglasses that allows him to see the "truth" behind our reality - the world is run by skull-faced aliens intent on keeping the human population obedient and asleep. Once his eyes have been opened, he joins a resistance movement to take the planet back.
John Carpenter's cult classic, tongue in cheek sci-fi/action satire is tons of violent fun, and features one of the all time greatest fight scenes ever put to film, when Roddy and Keith David throw down for a solid five minutes of bare knuckle brawling in an alley way.

Awesome film. Saw it first run in the the the theater

Assault on Precinct 13

"Conan The Destroyer" (1984)

In the sequel to "Conan the Barbarian," the muscle bound warrior is enlisted by a queen to guide a princess across dangerous territory to recover a priceless jewel, battling a variety of beasties and bad guys along the way. Of course, late in the film Conan learns that the queen has her own nefarious plans for the girl and the powerful artifact.
Lighter in tone than the first film, "Destroyer" still has its fair share of butt kicking and features a better supporting cast (Grace Jones, Wilt Chamberlain, Olivia D'Abo), some of whom can actually act. The special effects may not have aged well but otherwise, an entertaining fantasy flick.

"The Kentucky Fried Movie" (1977)

"I'm not wearing any pants. Film at eleven."
John Landis (later of "Animal House" fame) and the Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker writing team (later of "Airplane!") produced this wacky collection of shorts and sketches that parody TV news, commercials, Kung-Fu movies, and courtroom dramas. It's like flipping through an issue of MAD magazine come to life. Some of the gags are dated now, of course, but it still has a fair share of raunchy laughs.

"Heavy Trip" (2018)

Finnish heavy-metal comedy about a dorky garage band who embark on a road trip to play their first-ever live gig at a metal festival in Norway. Their journey to the fest, of course, quickly turns into a series of comical disasters. Funny stuff as long as you don't mind sub-titles.

"The Mentors: Kings Of Sleaze Rockumentary" (2016)

This documentary traces the long, strange history of El Duce's famed porn-rock trio, from their humble beginnings as scummy punk-rock obscurities to their brief time in the spotlight thanks to Tipper Gore and the PMRC. This is the third or fourth time I've sat thru this movie, and it still makes me laugh every time. R.I.P. El.

A Christmas Story Christmas (2022)



It's 1973 and a grown up Ralphie Parker returns to his hometown just before Christmas due to the unexpected passing of his Old Man. He ends up meeting all his childhood friends while trying to fill the Old Man's shoes and give his family a great Christmas. A fun entertaining and touching movie, with all the original cast members, minus Darren McGavin (who passed away a few years ago) and Melinda Dillon (who has retired from acting). If you liked A Christmas Story, you'll like this sequel.