TODAY I WATCHED... (Movies, TV, etc.) 2023

"American Psycho 2: All American Girl" (2002)

A college criminology student (Mila Kunis) - who also happens to be the only survivor of Patrick Bateman's murderous rampage - has her eye on a prestigious teaching assistant position on campus and will do anything to get it, including murdering her competition for the job.
... this direct to video pseudo-sequel to Christian Bale's 2000 cult hit apparently started out as a stand-alone film with no connection to "American Psycho," before some last minute re-shoots and a new prologue were added in order to tie it into "A.P." It didn't help. Aside from the "Psycho" branding, this is just another cheap, post-Scream campus slasher flick. Skip it unless you're an obsessed Mila Kunis fan, or you want to see proof of how far William Shatner's career had slid by the early 2000s.

Evil Dead Rise (2023)



Reboot/remake of the long-time series that brings the action to a condemned Los Angeles apartment complex. A woman goes to visit her estranged single mom sister when an earthquake hits, causing an opening into a hidden basement, where the Book Of The Dead is concealed. Of course, things happen to revive the deadites and it becomes a battle for survival. This movie is getting a lot of hype on social media, but I thought it was pretty run of the mill. Maybe my 40plus years of watching these types of movies have deadened my senses towards them.

007 wrote:

Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3



The Guardians are back in their final (?) film, trying to save the life of their teammate Rocket, all the while learning his origin and opposing his creator, the High Evolutionary and being hunted by Adam Warlock. This is a really fun and entertaining movie, and if it is indeed the last one, then they went out with a bang.

Forked over $6.75 last Saturday afternoon.  
Enjoyed the movie. The previews for upcoming movies were a bunch of FAST X, The Marvels, Flash, ect.

James B. wrote:

 
Enjoyed the movie. The previews for upcoming movies were a bunch of FAST X

I can't believe there have been 10 of those films.

Cunk On Earth

007 wrote:

I can't believe there have been 10 of those films.

Might as well have aliens in them

It insults the intelligence after a while

Godzilla

"They Live" (1988)

A drifter ("Rowdy" Roddy Piper) arrives in Los Angeles looking for work. He comes into possession of a pair of sunglasses that suddenly allow him to see the world as it really is: run by skull-faced, bug eyed aliens who keep humanity asleep and docile through subliminal messaging. Once he sees the light, Roddy joins a resistance movement to help take back the planet.
John Carpenter's so-80s-it-hurts sci-fi satire has aged better than expected.

"The Dungeonmaster" (aka "Ragewar," 1984)

A computer programmer is drawn into another dimension by an evil wizard (Richard "Night Court" Moll), and has to battle his way through a variety of creatures and perils to win the "game" and rescue his girlfriend.
Entertaining B-movie that falls somewhere between "Tron" and "Dungeons and Dragons," with charmingly cheap sets, costumes and FX. Plus an unexpected cameo by W.A.S.P.!

"Star Slammer" (aka "Prison Ship," 1988)

A group of lady prisoners on board a futuristic prison ship endure the usual series of indignities (beatings, abuse, etc.) until they devise a plan to escape.
You'd think that a "Women in Prison" movie set in outer space would be a home run, but nothing really happens in this cheap, cheesy, slow-moving slog till the last half. I had more fun picking out which movies certain props, set pieces, and special effects shots were borrowed from. Skip this.

Last 3 episodes of Cunk On Earth.

Fat Freddy wrote:

"They Live" (1988)

A drifter ("Rowdy" Roddy Piper) arrives in Los Angeles looking for work. He comes into possession of a pair of sunglasses that suddenly allow him to see the world as it really is: run by skull-faced, bug eyed aliens who keep humanity asleep and docile through subliminal messaging. Once he sees the light, Roddy joins a resistance movement to help take back the planet.
John Carpenter's so-80s-it-hurts sci-fi satire has aged better than expected.

I love They Live.

Mandrake(2010)-a wealthy man hires a group of soldiers and explorers to find a fabled knife deep in the jungle. They find the knife, only to awaken a planet monster who proceeds to attack and kill off the team members. Decent little low budget quicky from the Syfy network that while nowhere near great or a new classic, is still a fair little time waster. 2/5

"Tango & Cash" (1989)

Two rival L.A. cops (straight-arrow Sylvester Stallone and scruffy Kurt Russell) are framed by a major crimelord (Jack Palance) and sent to prison. These two opposites have to learn to work together so they can escape and clear their names, causing lots of stuff to explode along the way. A dumb but fun, tongue-in-cheek buddy cop popcorn flick; Sly and Kurt make a great team. I'm surprised there were never any sequels to this one.

"Dressed To Kill" (1980)

Brian De Palma's Hitchcock-style mystery about the murder of a sexually frustrated New York housewife (Angie Dickinson) and the witness (Nancy Allen) who becomes the slasher's next target. This erotic thriller was pretty much the "Basic Instinct" of the early 1980s. I don't think it's aged very well, but the performances are fine and good Lord, Nancy Allen sure does look good in lingerie.

"The Specialist" (1994)

A former CIA explosives expert, now a mercenary (Sylvester Stallone) finds himself falling for his latest client: a mysterious woman (Sharon Stone) who wants him to kill the Miami crime lord who murdered her parents. A slick mix of erotic thriller and action flick with an impressive cast and lots of stuff blowin' up. Sharon Stone was just about the hottest woman in the world when this was made, so her character doesn't have to do much besides wear skimpy outfits and pout... which was just fine with me.

"The Mother" (2023)

Jennifer Lopez makes a surprisingly legit action heroine in this Netflix original. She plays a former Army sniper who comes out of hiding after a dozen years to protect her estranged daughter from some very bad people. Much butt is kicked, lots of things explode, and J-Lo totally sells it throughout. A fun ride.

"Rat Race" (2001)

A Las Vegas casino mogul (John Cleese) chooses a group of random guests at his hotel and sends them on a cross-country race for a $2 million prize. Naturally, chaos and destruction follow as the group of crazed contestants vie to be the first ones to the finish line.
This old fashioned "race and chase" slapstick comedy in the vein of "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" features lots of crashes, sight gags, and mayhem, and a cast that includes Whoopi Goldberg, Jon Lovitz, Seth Green, Rowan Atkinson, and many more. I never cared for "Mad, Mad, World" very much, but this 21st century update was good for a few silly chuckles.

Heard Netflix was putting out a series called "Cocaine" and the ad featured a pile of "black" powder.

The ol' lady and I watched a Ken Burns documentary, Country Music.

"Car Wash" (1976)

A self described "disco slacker comedy" about a typical work day at a downtown L.A. car wash, in which the employees goof off, play pranks on each other, and deal with a bizarre assortment of customers and passersby.
A funk-tastic soundtrack and a cast that includes Richard Pryor, George Carlin, Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas, and Garrett "SNL" Morris can't save this badly dated, mostly plotless Blaxploitation comedy. Good for a few chuckles but that's about all.

"The Marine" (2006)

WWE wrestler John Cena made his film debut in this wildly over-the-top action flick, as a military man who goes all One Man Army when his wife is taken hostage by a gang of jewel thieves (led by the hilariously dry Robert "Terminator 2" Patrick). There's barely any plot to this movie, just a series of increasingly ridiculous action sequences (car chases, fist fights, explosions, etc.). It's dumb as a box of rocks, but "The Marine" has become a guilty pleasure for me. Shoot'em up, blow'em up fun!

"Mom and Dad" (2018)

A mysterious signal suddenly turns normal suburban parents into crazed killing machines who begin murdering their children. As a teenage girl and her younger brother attempt to escape from their parents' wrath (Nicolas Cage and Selma Blair) they eventually have to stand their ground and fight. A bizarre, but highly entertaining, ultra-violent horror comedy with great performances by the youngsters as well as Blair and Cage, who goes for broke with his so-hammy-it's-awesome crazy act. A pleasant surprise.

Smackdown

"The Thing" (1982)

The staff at a remote Antarctic research station must deal with a shape-shifting alien organism that devours - and then duplicates - living creatures. A badass Kurt Russell leads an impressive cast against the invasion from within in John Carpenter's gloriously gory, claustrophobic-as-hell remake of the '50s flick that's a master class in old school practical creature FX. A stone cold classic that still holds up after all these years.

"Mutant" (aka "Night Shadows," 1984)

Two brothers stranded in a small Southern town due to car trouble soon learn that toxic pollution is causing the locals to de-evolve into blood sucking, zombie-like creatures. Hilarity ensues. A fast moving, entertaining little B-grade horror flick that gets the job done in spite of the obviously low budget and high cheese factor.

"The Exterminator" (1980)

A shell shocked Vietnam vet (Robert Ginty) returns home to NYC, and starts going vigilante on the local muggers and mobsters using a variety of brutal methods including a flame thrower and an industrial meat grinder.
This ultra-violent "Death Wish" variant was quite controversial in its day but honestly it's fairly tame by today's standards. Still, it's an entertaining low budget time capsule that captures NYC when it was a lot dirtier and scarier than it is today.

The Thing is one of my all-time favourite movies. The tension the movie builds is palpable.

I will never forget when Norris is on the table and Copper is giving him the defib. As a kid, when Norris "opens up", I was FLOORED

That movie is why I will ALWAYS love practical effects. It's one of the reasons I DETEST the "prequel" (the overuse of CG).

SideShowDisaSter wrote:

The Thing is one of my all-time favourite movies.  The tension the movie builds is palpable.

I will never forget when Norris is on the table and Copper is giving him the defib.  As a kid, when Norris "opens up", I was FLOORED

The bit that got me when I was a kid was when the guy's head fell off and it sprouted legs. Freaked me RIGHT the f*** out.