Thursday, May 28, 2009

On the road again [and May Movie Madness]

Well, it's that time again - time to hit the road - only this time, there is no set destination, as we have yet to hear back from any of the job placement recruiters. . . 

In the meantime, we are going to head over to Tennessee, as we all agree that TN may be a potential place to settle down [we all love Chattanooga] 
We are going to hit the road tomorrow, which means that I will miss the theatrical releases of Pixar's UP and Raimi's Drag Me to Hell - two film's that I will definitely check out, first chance that I get!

While in Tennessee, we are going to check around Nashville, as it just so happens that the neighbors we have befriended, here in Green Bay, [the ones who were recently married] may be moving to Nashville to run one of Gill Montie's [a famous tattoo artist] tattoo studios. They are the coolest neighbors ever [seriously, you couldn't ask for better] so we figure that it will definitely be cool if we all relocated to the same location [or at least near one another]

So, that is where we currently stand - while waiting to hear back from the job recruiters [positions are currently pending, in Maryland, Ohio, and Seattle - we have already been to Seattle, so we may end up in Maryland or Ohio] Depending on where we end up going from TN, it may be a few weeks before I get back on-line, so in the interim, I will leave you with some brief reviews of the movies that I have watched, thus far this month:
[I am just going to list them alphabetically, so that you can just find the poster of the ones that may interest you]


First up, we have At Close Range, a Drama from the mid-eighties. This one was recommended to me by fellow Blogger Phantom of Pulp - this is one of his top-ten films of all time! 
While the film was definitely worth watching and boded some excellent performances, I wouldn't put it in my top ten - My Rating: 3 Skulls

Not to be confused with the film, with the same title, that I reviewed earlier this month. This one is a horror/war film set in World War II - it has a great story and great direction! My Rating: 4 Skulls

With the upcoming re-make [September, I believe] I figured that now would be as good a time as any to check out the original film, from 1973, and I am glad that I did! A Great Film!
Now that I have seen it though, I think that I would prefer a sequel, rather than a re-make [though if the re-make is done well, perhaps there will be a sequel to that - one never knows] My Rating: 4 Skulls

I am sure you are all familiar with this one - I do not know about you, but I found this one to be extremely long and drawn out - in other words - Boring! My Rating: 2 Skulls

This was a great flick, from the allegories to the cool visuals, this one is one of those films that will need to be seen a 2nd time in order to be completely appreciated - My Rating: 4 Skulls

The other night, I went fishing with my neighbor and his wife, and when we returned, he whipped up an outstanding dinner of fresh fish [Northerners & Rock Bass] and potatoes. It was the best fish I have ever had! My neighbor also taught me how to clean and cook the fish, so next time I can do it myself! :-) 
Anyhow, during dinner, he was telling me about this creepy World War I flick, so we decided to watch it - while it may have been creepier than the above Bunker flick, I actually enjoyed The Bunker more [we watched The Bunker immediately afterwards] My Rating for Deathwatch: 3 Skulls

This one was chosen by my wife - a very well done romantic comedy - My Rating: 4 Skulls

To cut right to the chase, I hated this film - it was just plain idiotic! I was not familiar with the terminology behind the film's title, however I had heard that this film was akin to Knife in the Water and Dead Calm - two excellent films! This one however, was not - do not bother wasting your time on this one! [unfortunately, this is one that I took over to my neighbor's, when it arrived via Netflix - if you have seen it, imagine my embarrassment!] My Rating: 1 Skull

I saw the 1st Emanuelle flick about 5 or 6 years ago and wasn't that impressed. This one however, has a subplot about snuff films, so I decided to check it out. 
While better than the original Emanuelle, this one is still pretty much basically a porn film [it actually becomes X-Rated about an hour into the movie] Once the film gets into the snuff [towards the tail end of the film] it quickly becomes sick, brutal, and disturbing! My Rating: 3 Skulls

I came across this one via Netflix and added it to my Queue, simply because it had to do with a woman searching for the cause of her migraine headaches [something I occasionally suffer from] I had no idea that it is a supposed re-make of 1932's The Mummy?!? Either way, this film was Blah - The Mummy is a far superior film. My Rating: 2 Skulls
 
It seems like I've been waiting for this one forever - it finally arrived on DVD, just this week, and it was well worth the wait - Based on a novel written by Elmore Leonard - Not sure why it wasn't released theatrically - My Rating: 4 Skulls

Next up, I give to you a triple-feature:



Years ago, I remember seeing bits and pieces of the 1st Maniac Cop, and I recently heard that there are plans for a 4th film, so I decided to check out all three films.
Netflix currently has all three Maniac Cop films available to watch Instantly [which is what I did] and I highly recommend that you do too! 
These are great flicks! All three - I loved them all - The 2nd film picks up right where the 1st one leaves off and the 3rd film picks up right where the 2nd one leaves off - I am not sure how they will do a 4th film, but I am looking forward to it! [I am not sure why the Maniac Cop isn't up there with other iconic horror figures, but he deserves to be, in my opinion!]
My Rating for all 3 films: 5 Skulls each!

From 1964, directed by Roger Corman, and starring Vincent Price, this is Poe's tale in classic form - My Rating: 3 Skulls

This one was recommended by my friend, Nikki. . . All I have to say about this one is that it is a sick, demented flick - definitely not for everyone! 
I personally didn't like it [sorry Nikki] I felt that the story was weak and the end of the film was simply too easy - My Rating: 2 Skulls

The only reason for renting this one - Quentin "Rampage" Jackson, Anderson "the spider" SilvaGeorge St. Pierre, BJ Penn, Heath Herring, etc - the UFC's top MMA fighters, all in the same movie. . . unfortunately, the movie itself is pretty lame [for MMA fans only] 
Not only could the afore mentioned MMA stars save this film - neither could the abundant female nudity - My Rating: 2 Skulls

Another of my wife's picks - unfortunately, this one wasn't as good as her prior choice. This film had its moments, but overall it was a dud. If you want to see it, I recommend just waiting for television. My Rating: 2 Skulls

A Norwegian thriller [aka Naboer] This one will mess with your mind - a twisted flick! My Rating: 4 Skulls

This one is basically a dumbed down, silly version of Die Hard - still, I have to admit to liking it, somewhat - My Rating: 3 Skulls

This one was not near as good as I was expecting it to be! :-( 
For those who may be unaware, this fim was inspired by Brad Pitt's character in True Romance [one of my all-time favorite films] So, I guess that my expectations were just too high - My Rating: 3 Skulls

This one was on the same disc as The Masque of the Red Death - again, based on a Poe story and directed by Corman - this time around the year of release was 1962 and instead of Price, it stars Ray Milland - My Rating: 3 Skulls

One the whole family can enjoy! A multi-layered story about morals, with a great cast and excellent animation! My Rating: 4 Skulls

While packing up, to get back on the road, I let my neighbor browse through the select horror films that I brought with me on our travels. When he inquired about this one, I couldn't believe that he had never seen it, so I took it over, and we watched it. He liked it, whereas I love it! [my rating is 5 Skulls] This is David Arquette's directorial debut - if you too have never seen this one, check it out!

I recently read a book, to review for Hacker's Source magazine, that had a similar plot to Videodrome, which just made me want to watch it again - Yep, it's just as bizarre as I remembered! :-) My Rating: 3 Skulls

So, there you have it - an idea of the types of films that I watch on a monthly basis [if I hadn't been so busy this month, I wouldn't have even bothered posting a review for a lot of these films, however since I did it this way, I just decided to include them all.

If you have any questions about any of the above films, I will be more than happy to go into greater detail, upon my return to the world-wide-web [whenever that may be]
I will log on once more, later this evening, before packing my computer, so I will reply to any comments, after then, when I get back on-line. . .

Jason

15 comments:

Wings1295 said...

Jason - WOW - That is a lot of flicks. I will have to come back to this list and add some to my queue. The Maniac Cop movies seem particularly interesting.

Good luck to you & your family on your trip and this next chapter in your lives!

thebonebreaker said...

Wings, thank you very much!

Again, I loved the Maniac Cop films - I think they are terrific and hopefully you will enjoy them as much as I do! :-)

P.S. Just out of curiosity, did you get some sort of Malware warning when you visited my blog?
I logged in through my wife's computer and had some sort of warning pop up - I backed out, and when I went back on, I didn't get the warning, so I was just wondering. . .

Thanks again Wings [and thank you for the inspiration for my long list] ;-)

Until next time!

J

Wings1295 said...

Nope, no issues or pop up warnings when I visit your site.

Again, safe journey!

wiec? said...

J- we can talk about yer calvacade of movies later.

just wanted to wish you and the fam safe and prosperous travels and lots of luck. hope things work out in TN! be well bro.

ps - no malwar warning over here.

Fred [The Wolf] said...

Nice films. MANIAC COP films are awesome. And I'm HAPPY that I'm not the only one who thought BENJAMIN BUTTON was long, slow, and boring as hell. Yeesh.

I hope you and your family has a safe trip and I can't wait to see you back online, Jason. Good luck!

Scott (gotankgo) said...

Sick selection of reviews Jason. So many good 'uns. Always thought Romero's The Crazies was a happening, under-rated little flick. Still curious about Benjamin Button, but can wait until it hits cable. I've read that Emanuelle in America served as partial inspiration for David Cronenberg's writing Videodrome.

Take care and have fun in your travels...

the sneering (homo-phobic) snob said...

jason, have a good trip pal, now with regards to the ones that i`ve seen, jane asher was such a little darlin` in "masque of the red death" and hazel court was pretty tasty to, she was in "premature burial" as well, i`m still a big fan of all roger cormans edgar allen poe adaptations, he imbued an incredible atmosphere into those films that still makes them eminently watchable even now. my favorite bit (that i can remember) from "at close range" was where sean penn is looking lustfully at mary stuart masterson (she was such a gorgeous bird back in `86) i also liked the way the title looked on the screen "AT CLOSE RANGE" those 3 words seemed to have a magic to them when they appeared on the screen (with the accompanying music). if i remember rightly my favorite bit from maniac cop 2 is where the geezer who`s on fire smashes through the wall with the other geezer and they fall and smash through the top of that bus which then blows up (a magnificent sequence), the tale of desperaux was quite a charming film, and by the way, "videodrome" is a 5 skull movie (its one of the great masterworks of bizarre surrealism in the history of cinema). "up" and "drag me to hell" are both 3 skull movies i think you`ll enjoy both of them, i`ll try to see all the other movies you mentioned as soon as i can get copys of them off of that sexy little chinese bird who flogs me DVD`s, cheers mate, hope to see you back reveiwing films soon.

© John Warwick Arden said...

G'day from Australia, Jason!

I was going back over some old 'Phantom of Pulp' posts, and I remembered you saying you had not seen 'At Close Range'.

So I decided to pop on over and say howdy, and here it is! Your take on that movie, and some other beauties!

I haven't read your entire blog, but I will shortly; I love 'Maniac Cop' and I have the tasty French 2 disc set with 1 and 2 uncut with Larry Cohen interviews. Great stuff!! I also had the pleasure of meeting Bill Lustig a few years ago when he came over to the Melb Undergound Film Festival to present a few of his flicks.

Good fun.

I think about you guys from time to time, on the road Kerouac style, looking for yr place.

I wish you luck, and we are thinking of you.

Let us know how you are doing from time to time!!

the jaded viewer said...

Good luck dude wherever you go. And I agree Donkey Punch sucked.

Phantom of Pulp said...

More great reviews, Jason. Sorry you weren't quite so keen on AT CLOSE RANGE, but that's your view and I respect it.

I also liked THE TRIPPER.

Big fan of the MANIAC COP flicks (especially the first one where you see him being beaten in jail).

Since you're traveling, I hope you find a good place to put down some tent pegs.

the sneering (homo-phobic) snob said...

Jason, i hope you`re doin` o.k. pal, its now 3 months since your last reveiw, i hope you`ll be reveiwing again soon, from your good buddy "the sneering (homo-phobic) snob".

the sneering (homo-phobic) snob said...

Jason, its now 4 months since your last reveiw, i hope you`re doing O.K. pal.

Sir Jorge Orduna said...

indeed, that's a lot of film

thebonebreaker said...

Wiec? - thank you very much for your well wishes!

Thanks Fred! :-)

You too Scott!

"Snob" - thanks for checking back in - I appreciate it!
(all is well - you'll see an explanation on my most recent post)

Mandingo - thanks for dropping by and thinking of me and my family on our travels!

Jaded Viewer - ugh! that Donkey Punch comment brought back some bad memories! :-)

Phantom - No worries on 'At Close Range'... and we're still looking for that right place to put down our tent pegs, as you put it :-)

Sir Jorge - indeed ;-)

thebonebreaker said...

Thank you all for your comments!
I have missed reading your individual blogs...