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Inside Out 2

What can I say. It is a modern PIxar sequel to a much better original.

It is better than Elemental but not better than the source material. It was fine. However, it did talk about mental health in a respectful and useful way, so that is good.

Now I’ve finished watching Blue Beetle? It’s a lot of fun. A very comfortable, very watchable 7/10.

Also pretty family friendly, though maybes a bit violent for very young children.

War of the Worlds

The good one (from the 50’s).


After seeing the Tom Cruise version, we had to get the bad taste out of our mouths. Metaphorically. Also literally because we’d eaten some Trader Joe’s pickle popcorn. Anyway…


WOTW is a classic 50’s alien invasion film. The heroes are a scientist, his female companion egghead (with a master’s degree in 1950’s USA), the fast acting military man, the priest who dies by science, and a busload of other poindexters who get carjacked in LA. The villains are Martians with one of the most iconic war machine designs in all science fiction, and also goofy puppet bodies. Watch the Martian war machines blow stuff up good, including some famous LA landmarks in scenes of cataclysmic destruction directly responsible for ID4.

This is a film so good it didn’t get an 80’s remake, it got an 80’s continuation TV series via syndication that surely scarred hundreds of children mentally.

Was that the syndicated show with the Highlander- Adrian Paul in it?

A 50’s sci-fi so good, it doesn’t feel like a 50’s sci-fi. And of course, it gave us what is to my ear the definitive ray-gun firing sound.

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension

The one with the jaunty end credits walking sequence.

So, I guess this movie is supposed to feel
Like a middle issue in a comic book series or an old time serial. The characters all have convoluted backstories and ridiculously developed skill sets. BB is a neurosurgeon physicist rock and roll martial arts astronaut, for example. And it only gets weirder from there when his experimental rocket car breaks the dimensional barrier giving New Jersey-exiled space Hitler the means to wreak havok. Then he meets his dead wife’s twin sister.

I like the idea of Buckaroo Banzai more than I actually enjoy the movie. It’s kind of a slog in the second half, with a weak climax. However, it has a stacked cast, with Peter Weller, Clancy Brown, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Goldblum, Dan Hedeya, and a bunch of other familiar faces. You also need to see it if you want to understand all of the non-anime Star Trek Easter eggs.

If you watch it, wait for the walking sequence in the end credits. It’s the most imitated part of the movie.

 Easy E wrote:
Was that the syndicated show with the Highlander- Adrian Paul in it?

Yes, although he’s only in the second season. The first season is more like the X-Files, where the aliens invaders can burrow into a person to take them over, but the host body starts to rot and eventually melt, assuming they (or their victims) don’t meet an even more gruesome end.

Buckaroo Banzai is the only good comic book movie, personally speaking

You say that like Meteor Man doesn’t exist.



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 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
A 50’s sci-fi so good, it doesn’t feel like a 50’s sci-fi. And of course, it gave us what is to my ear the definitive ray-gun firing sound.

The sound design in WOTW is next level. I agree the heat ray sound effect is the definitive ray gun noise, but there’s also the ominous hiss-rattle of the scanner and the proto-blaster sound effect of the molecular disintegrators.

Handling the Undead (2024)

Saw that this flick was based on a book by the author who wrote “Let the Right One In”, which was adapted to a fairly excellent vampire flick, and then into a less than excellent American version. Figured it was worth a rent. I somewhat regret it, as it was pretty boring.

Premise:

On a hot summer day in Oslo, the dead mysteriously awaken, and three families are thrown into chaos when their recently deceased loved ones come back to them.

Interesting premise, and 3 very different stories of loss/grief and some form of acceptance in their own way, I think. There is an absolutely brutal scene with a rabbit in front of a horrified kid, but its by and large a pretty dull movie. There are many moments of creeping dread, anticipating the zombies doing what zombies do, but they aren’t nearly enough to satisfy a horror fan. This is a drama vignette with horror elements. Sad, for sure, but not nearly enough heart or substance to make it have an impact. YMMV. Probably would’ve been better served by cutting 2 of the 3 families and just focus on fleshing out the remaining family so that the emotions slapped harder.

5/10. Probably too harsh, but I was pretty bored.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Amazon Prime)

Somehow even in my misspent youth of films like Animal House, Revenge of the Nerds and Bachelor Party I never caught this one, it is... odd.

Sometimes it's a raunchy 80s teen comedy, sometimes it's an afterschool special about drinking, drugs, sex, pregnancy and abortion. Sean Penn's stoner character seems to be imported from another film entirely.

Kind of a random stream of consciousness film. Neither bad nor good, glad I saw it, not sure I liked it.

Emperor's New Groove (Disney +)

~2000 Disney animated comedy, the one where David Spade is an Inca Emperor and gets turned into a llama and is saved by John Goodman and Patrick (Puddy/The Tick) Warburton. That one.

Troubled production, rewritten and recut several times with several songs by Sting ending up on the cutting room floor. But still honestly, really, truly good. Warburton steals the show and gets to star in the direct to video sequel. See it.


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 StudentOfEtherium wrote:
Buckaroo Banzai is the only good comic book movie, personally speaking

I ain't arguing here but I do have to point out that while Buckaroo Banzai FEELS like issue #173 of a long-running comic it never was one.

Nor was Meteor Man.

(I think maybe they had books after the fact)

I can’t speak for Student, but on my behalf I’ll reply with a Simpsons gif. Next you’ll be telling me Wreck-It Ralph isn’t based on a video game.




Eraserhead

Some people just aren’t cut out for parenthood.


My son had been asking to watch a David Lynch movie, so I finally caved with this one. It was an uncomfortable and sometimes disturbing watch, in a good way. I could see it hitting someone with relationship issues or postpartum depression a lot harder, though.

The story is a surreal study of a man struggling to get through life without facial expressions who suddenly finds himself in a new and broken marriage with a child he feels no bond with. I mean, he’s less emotionally connected to his kid than Worf is to Alexander. It’s a nightmare.

The film has one of the best “meet the parents”l scenes of all time and the “monster” effects are excellent and will definitely haunt me when I hear a baby crying.

I can’t say I recommend it to everyone. If you like weird and disturbing, check it out.

Footprints on the Moon

A 70's Italian movie about a woman trying to figure out how she lost 3 days and why she keeps dreaming about astronauts abandoned on the moon.
This one sounded interesting, but after an hour the only significant things that had happened were Alice (The woman) discovering she'd lost days and travelling to a hotel she (Or someone that looked like her) may have stayed at, so I gave up.

Desperately needed more story and less shots of a woman anxiously smoking.

 BobtheInquisitor wrote:
War of the Worlds

The good one (from the 50’s).


After seeing the Tom Cruise version, we had to get the bad taste out of our mouths. Metaphorically. Also literally because we’d eaten some Trader Joe’s pickle popcorn. Anyway…


WOTW is a classic 50’s alien invasion film. The heroes are a scientist, his female companion egghead (with a master’s degree in 1950’s USA), the fast acting military man, the priest who dies by science, and a busload of other poindexters who get carjacked in LA. The villains are Martians with one of the most iconic war machine designs in all science fiction, and also goofy puppet bodies. Watch the Martian war machines blow stuff up good, including some famous LA landmarks in scenes of cataclysmic destruction directly responsible for ID4.

This is a film so good it didn’t get an 80’s remake, it got an 80’s continuation TV series via syndication that surely scarred hundreds of children mentally.

That version of TWOTW is iconic! And responsible for the best cameo in Ready Player One. I'll have to watch it again (TWOTW, not RPO). I think I saw maybe one random episode of the tv show. Is it out there in streaming land or DVD world? Was it any good?

I bought it for a few quid on Prime last night.

See, this thread does win friends and influence people!


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Also, what a man Dr Forester is. Doesn’t bat an eyelid at a pretty young woman not just being a scientist, but one with a Master’s degree, he’s alos a chisel jawed 1950’s hero who doesn’t smoke.

Oh, is that where Dr.Clayton Forester's name is from?

I only saw that film a long time ago when I was a kid. Pretty scary.

 Kid_Kyoto wrote:

 StudentOfEtherium wrote:
Buckaroo Banzai is the only good comic book movie, personally speaking

I ain't arguing here but I do have to point out that while Buckaroo Banzai FEELS like issue #173 of a long-running comic it never was one.

Nor was Meteor Man.

(I think maybe they had books after the fact)

I'm aware. that's what makes it so good, as far as I'm concerned

Mild criticism of War of the Worlds 1953.

No Thunderchild moment. It may be due to Jeff Wayne’s excellent prog rock musical take, but that to me is such an important scene.

However, fair is fair. Jeff Wayne’s is set in the original turn of the century period, 1953 post WW2 and into the infancy of the Atomic Age. And so we’re looking at vastly different and far more destructive, not to mention numerous, weapons at mankind’s disposal.

Hence why the Martian saucers are given shields rendering them proof even against Nukes. So the shields prevent a Thunderchild moment, and without them, the Martians would’ve faced much stiffer resistance and a very different story.


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Little Monsters

Fred Savage! Howie Mandel! Marv from Home Alone! Fred Savage’s Little Brother and Sister! Kevin’s Big Brother from Home Alone!

And a film I’ve always confused with The Monster Squad. And it’s a pretty decent gross out 80’s kids comedy.

Shades of Beetlejuice with Maurice the Monster, a dash of Drop Dead Fred, and almost certainly an influence on Monsters Inc.

No. Really. Look at Maurice and Sully’s designs. And Google suggests one of the designers for Beetlejuice was responsible for the monsters. And pretty decent they look too.

While the gross out elements might be a bit much for some kids? I’d have loved this as a nipper. And it’s a pretty decent entry movie to the wider horror genre.

Hrm, a cool idea in there, alien invaders who are invulnerable to everything but atomics...

We'd be destroying our world to save it.

Little Monsters got my brother in trouble at school for something he did with a Gatorade bottle. But that’s not why my parents banned us from watching it.

We were watching (a particularly gory) Tales from the Crypt when my mom walked in and demanded to know what movie we were watching.

“Little Monsters.”

“You are NEVER to watch Little Monsters again!”

“Okay.”

And we didn’t.


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MarkNorfolk wrote:
[



That version of TWOTW is iconic! And responsible for the best cameo in Ready Player One. I'll have to watch it again (TWOTW, not RPO). I think I saw maybe one random episode of the tv show. Is it out there in streaming land or DVD world? Was it any good?

Last time I checked, it was on YouTube. It might also be on Tubi. I was really into the series when I was young, so I’m reluctant to rewatch it in case it disappoints me like She Wolf or London/Love and Curses.

Some of my friends had nightmares from the surprisingly gory effects (for television). I had a Fangoria subscription, so I loved it, at least during the first season.

“To Life Immortal.”

Little Monsters is gloriously rebellious in its scope, whilst still having a pretty wholesome message.

Was gonna add The Monster Squad to my VOD Prime collection. But it’s only available to rent.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:


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Also, what a man Dr Forester is. Doesn’t bat an eyelid at a pretty young woman not just being a scientist, but one with a Master’s degree, he’s alos a chisel jawed 1950’s hero who doesn’t smoke.

Yeah, I was expecting it to be a lot more “old fashioned” in its treatment of women, like Star Trek TOS. I was preparing to have some conversations about the context of the times with my son, but never needed to (other than answering his question why she screamed ‘hysterically’ sometimes like she was in a 50’s horror film). But the film was surprisingly progressive in that the women were treated with the same respect due to any chisel-jawed scientist. More so with regards to the commanding head of the Biology department, who seemed to be second only to Forrester in the knows gak category.

I also really appreciated that Forrester was no two-fisted hero. Every time he got into a physical confrontation (with a human) he got his ass handed to him like the nerd he is.

Also, he’s really sympathetic with Sylvia once they’ve escaped the initial attack and she’s feeling like a wreck.

Sure he compliments her appearance, but it was the 50’s, and he first lists all the things she’s just been through in a really short period of time. And that frames the “and you still look great” as something light heartedly encouraging and not creepy/demeaning.

I think he was also aware that she had made herself up especially for him, as she clearly thought he was a catch.

Well, she’s not wrong! Ruggedly good looking, intelligent, charming, non-smoker, and very respectful.

Not a lot not to like.

Critters Attack!

The Crites are back! On Earth! And they’re still hungry! And still Puppets! And it seems to be a Latter Day Sequel, rather than a reboot.

It’s…OK. Not as hatstand as the originals, so it’s not quite the full shilling. But it still has its moments of amusement.


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I think I’ve worked out what’s annoying me about it. It’s the Crites not enjoying themselves as much.

Like Gremlins, Crites should be malevolent little gits having a great time. And that twisted humour just isn’t real there in this film.

And with younger protagonists (no Charlie, no Ug for instance) it feels like it’s pulling its punches for a matching younger audience. And that’s to its mild detriment.

Because don’t get me wrong, this is still enjoyable. But it’s not as crazy or manic as the originals, and that’s disappointing to me.

I dare say if this was someone’s first Critters movie, it’s a decent jumping off point. But I’d have the first ones on hand all the same.

Vertigo

The Hitchcock classic where Jimmy Stewart plays a detective paralyzed by his fear of dolly zooms.




It was fine.

The first half was great. The second half felt like a slow deflation with a failed tragic ending. A slide whistle, trombone and Three Stooges sound effects might not have saved the ending, but they’d sure fit.

My favorite character was the city of San Francisco.

Streets of Fire

A Rock and Roll Fable.


Hell yeah.

Streets of Fire is a timeless classic that is also super 80’s. It’s got romance, action and kickass music. All your favorite 80’s movie cliches, from Roadhouse to Fame, dress to the nines and trade snappy barbs in a nightlife city evoking The Warriors and Batman’s Gotham. SOF then masterfully pulls off the triumphant final concert that The Last Dragon and Howard the Duck tripped on.

If you enjoy character actors, you’ll find an “it’s that guy!” every five minutes. I don’t want to ruin who the bartender is, but you love him. My one big complaint is that the lead male actor is so completely outclassed by everyone else in the movie he almost disappears.

I can’t say enough good things about the soundtrack. The score is excellent. The performance songs are up there with the best Bonnie Tyler and Meatloaf ballads, perfect, perfect distilled 80’s.

Watch it!

Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find “Tonight is What it Means to be Young” on YouTube.

Jurassic Park 3

The not very good one. With the daft ending with Marines arriving on the island when a single rescuer chopper was really all that was required.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Jurassic Park 3

The not very good one. With the daft ending with Marines arriving on the island when a single rescuer chopper was really all that was required.

And then in the next movie they show how a single helicopter fails miserably.

 Mad Doc Grotsnik wrote:
Jurassic Park 3

The not very good one. With the daft ending with Marines arriving on the island when a single rescuer chopper was really all that was required.

So, the book ending?

This was also the film that gave us the “Alan!” raptor, right?