Laissez les Bon Temps Rouler

Mardi Gras Massacre (1978)
Dir - Jack Weis
Horror Movie Night

This was my pick. I had never seen it and thought it'd be a good one for Ash Wednesday since it was a Video Nasty and all. It's not that great, but does have a few merits.

Look for my full review next week on Gordon and the Whale.

Strippers Aplenty

American Nightmare (1983)
Dir - Don McBrearty

Shame on me. I watched this about a week ago and somehow forgot to add it in here.

The film is about a wealthy guy going into the seedy side of the city where his sister has gone missing. He deals with pimps, strippers, prostitutes and a bunch of unsavory characters. It seems that a large chunk of the running time is spent in various strip bars showing girls gyrating on stage nude. This serves no purpose to the plot except to show a little more skin. Aside from the gratuitous strippers the flick isn't too bad and has some interesting turns.

Gotta Get Back in Time

Timecop (1994)
Dir - Peter Hyams

Any movie that starts off with someone blasting confederate soldiers away with automatic weapons has to be good, right? Also... Worst. Futuristic Cars. EVER. It does have a villain with the world's craziest mullet though.

Gators on Steroids!

Mega Python vs Gatoroid (2011)
Dir - Mary Lambert
SyFy Original Movie

About what I expected but still fun. I don't think any of these films can top the awesomeness of Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus, but I'm glad they keep trying. The Debbie Gibson and Tiffany showdown is great and love all of the little inside jokes with lines from their songs. RIP Micky Dolenz :)

Crazy that this was directed by Pet Sematary's Mary Lambert.

Don't Mess with My Wednesdays!

Snakes (1974) aka Fangs
Dir - Art Names
Weird Wednesday

So this is a Weird Wednesday favorite at the Drafthouse in Austin and it is only fitting they show it for the 10th anniversary of the program. This is very special with a bunch of hot snake action. It's a blend of snakesploitation, hicksploitation and, as my buddy dubbed it, Sousasploitation! I have never heard so much love for the march man John Philip Sousa as I did in this film. Bonus points for having the actress who played Large Marge in Pee Wee's Big Adventure in this as an odd lesbian general store owner in love with the 4th grade teacher.

Watch Out for those Tomatoes

The Curse (1987)
Dir - David Keith
Horror Movie Night

Semi-faithful Lovecraft adaptation with Wil Wheaton, one of the Dukes of Hazzard and maggot filled apples. Really liked how a character just disappears and how everyone treats a ~8 foot in diameter glowing meteorite like it's no big deal. Guess that's what Tennesseans did in the 80s.

My full thoughts will be on Gordon and the Whale next Wednesday!

"Timing Isn't My Strong Suit"

The King's Speech (2010)
Dir - Tom Hooper

Sad I waited until after the Oscars to see this, but glad I saw it in the theater. Really great film. I see why it won Best Picture. Very award-like. Wonderful story, score, acting and cinematography. This film is even more special knowing how much the story meant to the writer, 73 year-old David Seidler. How he wrote to the Queen Mother asking permission and waited until her death, per her request, before going ahead with any production. I found it inspiring but I can see why those who have suffered from a stutter, or other speech impediment, get a lot more out of the film.

I'm Sending a Letter to Daddy

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
Dir - Robert Aldrich

Intense thriller with some stellar performances by leading ladies Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. It's equal parts creepy and sad, but there are still a few moments of levity - like Buono's priceless facial expressions during his first meeting with Davis. So glad they chose, allegedly on Davis' insistence, to ditch color in favor of black and white. Color would have totally changed the mood for the worse.

Also, I really think the song Baby Jane is famous for ("I'm Sending a Letter to Daddy") sounds a lot like "I'm Getting Nuttin' for Christmas".