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

"Exterminator 2" (1984)

Robert Ginty is back as New York City vigilante John Eastland, and this time he's cleaning up the streets in a souped up garbage truck, flame-throwerin' the hell out of a vicious street gang led by a wild-eyed Mario Van Peebles (who dresses like he wandered in from a "Mad Max" movie).
Cannon Films produced this sequel to the surprise 1980 hit, which is way more over-the-top and cartoonish than the gritty, street-level original; it's got a similar vibe to Cannon's "Death Wish 3," which came out a year later.
Supposedly the reason Ginty's character wears a welder's mask during most of the action scenes is because the film ran over-budget and behind schedule, so when the time came to shoot those bits, Ginty had already started another film... so they had to use his stunt double. Yeah, that's Cannon all over!

"The Compleat Al" (1985)

A made-for-video mock documentary released to promote Al's Dare To Be Stupid album. Essentially it's a compilation of all of Al's music videos up to that point, like "Eat It" and "Ricky," with some typically tongue-in-cheek biographical and "behind the scenes" bits padding it out to feature length. Al would later revisit this concept and greatly expand on it with the spoof biography film, 2022's "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story." A fun, goofy trip down memory lane.

"Braddock: Missing in Action III" (1988)

In the 3rd and final installment of the "M.I.A." saga, Col. Braddock (Chuck Norris) returns to the 'Nam after a dozen years to rescue his Vietnamese wife, who he thought had died during the Fall of Saigon, and the son he never knew he had. Along the way he has to protect a literal truck load of war orphans from the Vietnamese military, led by a crazed Colonel who still holds a pretty major grudge from back in the day. This was far from Chuck's best movie, but it's the best of the "M.I.A." series, with all the usual wall to wall gun battles, crashes, explosions, and roundhouse kicks you'd expect. It's not Shakespeare but it's fun.

"The Octagon" (1980)

A martial artist (Chuck Norris) infiltrates a secret training academy that's teaching terrorists and criminals the ancient art of the Ninja so he can bring it down from the inside. This oldie has a promising premise, but it's extremely slow moving -- I swear, nothing happens for the first HOUR! -- so by the time Chuck finally did get around to the long-awaited ninja punching scenes, I was so bored that I didn't care anymore. Even the most diehard Chuck fans can safely skip this one.

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.

Watched this last night. Caught it in the theater on it's initial release and catch it any chance I get. It never gets old.

Manhattan Baby

"Army Of Darkness" (1992)

In the third installment in the "Evil Dead" series, reluctant hero Ash (Bruce Campbell) is transported back in time to the Middle Ages, and must help a castle full of knights repel a Deadite invasion before he can find his way home. This slap-sticky supernatural action/horror comedy cuts back on the gore in favor of cartoon ultra-violence, so horror fans may be disappointed, but overall this movie is a total hoot, loaded with impressive special effects and Campbell chewing the scenery for all he's worth.

Episodes of The Outer Limits

Smackdown

A bunch of "Rick & Morty" episodes with my son

Erasing Hate. Documentary about a nazi skinhead couple transitioning out of their racist ways.

The Howling (1981)



First and best in the movie series about werewolves amongst us. A television reporter gets caught up in an investigation of a serial killer that leaves her traumatized to the point her therapist suggest going away to his retreat to treat her. Once there, she discovers that everyone there has bit more to them than meets the eye. Excellent cast and special effects provided by Rick Baker and Rob Bottin.

The Howling 2: Your Sister Is A Werewolf (1985)



Weak sequel to the classic first film that deals with the brother (Reb Brown) of the new reporter from that first film getting recruited by a werewolf hunter (the late great Christopher Lee) to take down the queen of the werewolves (the incredibly stacked Sybil Danning) and her plan to take over the world. Cheaper effects this time around , with numerous shots reused throughout the film. Quite a letdown.

Kelsey Cook : The Hustler (stand up comedy show)

"The Hitman's Bodyguard" (2017)

Ryan Reynolds is a down-on-his-luck security expert, assigned to escort a notorious contract killer (Samuel L. Jackson) across Europe to the International Court at the Hague, so he can testify at the trial of a a major war criminal (Gary Oldman). Naturally, some very bad people want to make sure they don't reach their destination, which leads to lots of car chases, ass kickings, gun battles, and stuff blowin' up. Reynolds makes lots of Deadpool-ish wisecracks, Jackson says "motherfucker" a lot, and Salma Hayek is smokin' hot in a bit part as Jackson's estranged wife. This was a fun shoot'em up action comedy and since Salma apparently plays a larger role in the sequel, it's next on my list to check out.

"Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard" (2021)

Mismatched duo Michael (Ryan Reynolds) and Darius (Samuel L. Jackson) are back for another globe trotting shoot'em up adventure, and this time they've added Darius' hot tempered wife (Salma Hayek) to the team as they try to stop a Greek crime lord (Antonio Banderas) from unleashing a cyber-attack that will cripple all of Europe. Just like the last movie, there's lots of cars crashing, bullets flying, and things exploding. Reynolds and Jackson make a great team and Hayek is all foul language and cleavage. Not a masterpiece, but satisfying popcorn action fun.

007 wrote:

The Howling 2: Your Sister Is A Werewolf (1985)



Weak sequel to the classic first film that deals with the brother (Reb Brown) of the new reporter from that first film getting recruited by a werewolf hunter (the late great Christopher Lee) to take down the queen of the werewolves (the incredibly stacked Sybil Danning) and her plan to take over the world. Cheaper effects this time around , with numerous shots reused throughout the film. Quite a letdown.

There are only two good things about this movie, and they're on Sybil Danning's chest.

Episodes of Frasier

Me and the wife got "1883" from the library.

I told my wife, she gets laid in every state they come to, before a similar line is said on the show.

"Revenge Of The Ninja" (1983)

After his family is killed by a clan of evil ninjas, a Japanese martial artist (Sho Kosugi) relocates to the U.S. to start a new life. But even in his new home, he still ends up getting tangled up in a battle with heroin smugglers, the Mob, and a rival Ninja. The plot is nonsense, of course, but the stunt work and fight scenes are fun to watch. Kosugi has impressive moves and there's lots of bone crunching, butt kicking action in this cartoony but cool cult classic.

Shin Godzilla (2016)



Most recent Japanese film about the iconic monster, technically a reboot, where the monster has a different origin and even some new tricks up it's sleeve. This is a different type of movie, focusing more on the bureaucratic side of the event. Still, a pretty fun movie, with the best special effects I've seen from Toho studios.

"Commando" (1985)

Arnold Schwarzenegger racks up an absurd body count in this cheese ball action classic as Col. John Matrix, a retired Special Forces operative who gets back in the saddle when his daughter (a pre-teen Alyssa Milano) is kidnapped by an old rival. It's totally over-the-top comic book nonsense but it's also tons of sadistic fun.

"The Filth and the Fury" (2000)

The short but influential story of the Sex Pistols is told by the band members themselves in this entertaining rock doc, full of vintage clips and photos. Directed by Julian Temple, who also helmed the previous Pistols doc, 1980's "The Great Rock & Roll Swindle." The band felt that "Swindle" put too much emphasis on their former manager/noted bullshit artist Malcolm McLaren's version of the band's history, and this film aims to set the record straight. The absolute truth probably lies somewhere in between, but no matter which side you want to believe, this is still a cool, sleazy trip down punk rock memory lane.

I didn't know until recently that the bad guy from Commando was also the mohawked nutcase from The Road Warrior.

Reel Evil(2012)-a documentary crew takes a job working on a horror movie set to film behind the scene footage for the movie. As the night continues, strange things start happening as they discover that a certain evil doctor and his patients ghosts still roam the hospital where the movie is being filmed and the crew gets all of it on video. 2/5

Secret Invasion, the Marvel show with Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) attempting to thwart the Earth's take over by the shape shifting aliens, the Skrulls.