Stabby New Year

New Year's Evil (1980)
Dir - Emmett Alston

First time seeing this somewhat well known slasher and I thought it was great. Some great New Wave punk bands ringing in this new year on this national televised annual program. Really? Maybe on something like MTV but that had yet to be created. However, I probably wouldn't really know since I was just a baby.

Focus!

Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (2010)
Dir - Craig McCall

Caught this doc on its last day on Netflix Instant. A pretty middle-of-the-road life's tale but has some very interesting comments and stories from the subject in interviews conducted before his death. The scenes from his previous work are wonderful. Still, I find myself baffled that the same man who lensed films like Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes would go on to Rambo: First Blood Part II.

Camcorder Christmas

Coopers' Christmas (2008)
Dir - Warren P. Sonoda

Saw this on Netflix Instant an decided to watch because I love Jason Jones and Samantha Bee on The Daily Show. The film isn't too special but there are a few pretty funny moments.

Another Beer?

Devil Fish (1984)
Dir - Lamberto Bava
Horror Movie Night

Decided to watch a different cut of our HMN from this week as mocked by the lovable fools from MST3K. Some really funny stuff and a weirdly edited version of the film I watched a few days earlier.

My full thoughts will be up HERE on Horror's Not Dead in the next day or so.

Bible Thumpers

Red State (2011)
Dir - Kevin Smith

I put this off long enough. There was a time when I loved Smith. In high school I was obsessed with both Clerks and Mallrats and watched my VHS copies all the time. Then within the last year or so he seemed to go a little crazy. All of his bad handling of bad press and incessant whining about Southwest Airlines just got old. It kind of made me hate him for a while. I thought I'd give this a go when it hit DVD since I wasn't traveling out of my way to see it in his "original" idea of self distribution in theaters across the country.

I'm happy to reprot I really enjoyed what I saw. This didn't feel like Smith at all and that's a good thing. Some very cool situations and interesting turns on a scary thing that probably isn't far from happening somewhere in the south. And if anyone says people wouldn't go this far with gay bashing, just remember that we're only 50 or so years removed from southerners rounding up black Americans and hanging them from trees.

Might have to check out the DVD to see if it has the longer cut from Sundance because I'm interested in what may have been cut. Just no sure I want to actually buy it and give him more of my money. He's really fallen as a person to me.

Rough Stuff

I Think We're Alone Now (2008)
Dir - Sean Donnelly

Waited longer than most of my friends to see this but thanks to Netflix Instant I can now add it to the watched list. This doc is just over an hour long and never has such a short film made me feel so close to puking so much. The interactions between the two Tiffany stalkers/"best friends" is so hard to watch. This doesn't even count how far it gets when they actually are around Tiffany. GAH! Both of our main subjects, Jeff and Kelly, are simultaneously heartbreaking, annoying and a tad frightening. Can't really say that I "like" this film, but it is really interesting and is more about the subjects' issues than the pop star they obsess over.

Coco is Cuckoo

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop (2011)
Dir - Rodman Flender

I have been a Conan fan for many, many years and felt really bad about all that happened to him over at NBC. This shows a broken man who really wants to entertain. He's shown in his graciousness and his frustration. I really hope he's happy now at TBS because he seems like a really nice guy.

Spooky Apartment

The Haunting at the Beacon (2009) aka The Beacon
Dir - Michael Stokes

This is a low budget horror flick that I worked on a few years ago. It recently, finally, hit DVD and Netflix Instant so I thought I'd take a peek. The story is kind of interesting and though there are some weak moments and poor actors, I've seen MUCH worse. I was an Art PA and worked mainly on building and dressing sets. It's crazy how much I forgot about doing until I watched the film. Pretty nifty I guess.

A Wee Bit Chilly

Arctic Blast (2010)
Dir - Brian Trenchard-Smith

BTS' latest was recently added to Netflix Instant so I thought I'd give it a go. It's... OK. Some of the FX work is pretty lame and I have a real problem with some of the logistics behind the way this icy fog kills some but not others. Still, I'm a sucker for a disaster film so I was entertained the whole time. Surely this will become a favorite of SyFy Original Movie fans everywhere.

Drug Child

Party Monster (2003)
Dir - Fenton Bailey & Randy Barbato

Not sure why I wanted to watch this again but the moment hit me and it was on Netflix Instant but I did. Really is a good movie and I'm planning on watching the brief documentary on Michael Alig soon. This also got me hyped for the upcoming documentary on the Limelight. Eek!

Psyche Out

BASEketball (1998)
Dir - David Zucker

A comedy starring Trey Parker and Matt Stone before South Park had completely sky rocketed. Really funny and a game that I would actually like to play - though I'm not really sold on having Reel Big Fish as the house band. Full of great jokes and an awesome cameo by Robert Stack!

Putz

Grumpier Old Men (1995)
Dir - Howard Deutch

After watching the first film again a few months back I thought I'd give the sequel another shot. This is not nearly as good as its predecessor. Many of the same jokes, set-ups and plot devices. It's tired.

Still, gotta love Lemmon and Matthau!

Ready, Fight

Undisputed III (2010)
Dir - Isaac Florentine

This has some damn fine action! The fight scenes are awesome and the story's not too bad either. I wish people would stop doing the 300 thing of slowing down the action all the time. It gets damn annoying.

What's the Deal with...

I Am Comic (2010)
Dir - Jordan Brady

Had heard of this stand-up doc before and noticed that it's on Netflix Instant so gave it a whirl. Pretty funny but nothing really new for fans of comedy. Some pretty painful moments of watching a guy bomb on stage.

Terrorism, LOL

Four Lions (2010)
Dir - Christopher Morris

I'm very late to the party on this one, at least as far as my circle of movie friends are concerned. This is a very darkly funny movie, as I've heard, and can't wait to watch it again. Surely I'll find more and more little bits of comedy gold with each watch.

Demons Aplenty

The Church (1989) La Chiesa
Dir - Michele Soavi

Been on my "to watch" list for quite some time and it gives me most of what I want out of Italian horror cinema. There are moments of gore and a ton of great wicked imagery. This isn't too straight forward but it gets the point across and the end result is wonderful. Only complaint - Giovanni Lambardo Radice needed more screen time. :)

Bullocks

Made in Britain (1982)
Dir - Alan Clarke

A very interesting tale about a skinhead teen out of control in the early 80s. This was made-for-TV in the UK for a series on troubled teens and I can't see how any of the others could be this good. A tale that really makes you feel for this piece-of-shit kid who has really nothing to offer, no remorse and no desire to change. It's frustrating and slightly heartbreaking with a masterful hand at the helm. Lengthy scenes really add to the real life feel like the lecture Trevor gets after attacking a cook. The real highlight is a freaking perfect breakout role from Tim Roth. He's truly amazing.

Squiggy the Clown

Funland (1987)
Dir - Michael A. Simpson

After watching The Funhouse I decided to make this a "fun" double feature with another film I've never seen. This is a dark comedy about a crazy theme park mascot clown who goes a little crazy. His name is Bruce Burger yet he dresses as a giant slice of pizza and has a puppet named Peter the Pepperoni. Just an example of the insanity. Funny and completely weird. Just what I would expect from the director of Sleepaway Camp II AND III.

Why Wasn't My Prom Like This?

Dance of the Dead (2008)
Dir - Gregg Bishop

I heard good things about this low budget zombie flick that Raimi's Ghost House Underground release a year or two ago, but never got around to it until last night. For the first 30-40 minutes I was enjoying it but nothing too special, and then... it got freaking sweet! Some great FX and jokes with a few fun characters along the way. Also nice to see some unusual turn of events, like the bathroom stall make-out, and there are a sprinkling of good scares too. Definitely will have to pick up the DVD because I'm going to want to watch this again for sure.

Every Teen Boy's Fantasy

Private Lessons (1981)
Dir - Alan Myerson

I'm always up for a good sex comedy and who doesn't love Sylvia Kristel from Emmanuelle? This is pretty light on the comedy, unless you count how young Phillip is seemingly always helping his overweight friend Sherman out of/off of/on top of something, but a lot of it is kind of disturbing. Sure, most teen boys have fantasies about being seduced and taught the ropes by an older, good looking woman, but as an adult I just saw all of the awkward. Not only is Phillip unsure of what he's doing but just seeing her seduce him felt kind of icky. They even shot the love scenes in another state because of the lower age of consent since the actor was only about 16 and Kristel was in her late 20s. I also think that Kristel's haircut and facial structure reminded me a bit too much of Tim Curry in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, but maybe I'm just weird.