I’m Ashamed to Admit It

178. 09/19 – World War Z* – I thought the first 30 minutes or so was really good but it went quickly downhill from there. I may have liked it better if it had a different title. Also, nobody should EVER make a PG-13 rated zombie movie. (Bluray) 6/10

179. 09/20 – Katy Perry: Part of Me* – I am ashamed to admit I watched this, however I am not ashamed to say I did not enjoy it. The things a man will sit through for his wife!  (HBOGo) 2/10

180. 09/21 – Jim Breuer: And Laughter for All* – This was quite funny, quality standup here. (Netflix) 7/10

###. 09/22 – Dredd – Just as good the second time. (Netflix) 7/10

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history

It’s Getting Harder to Find Time

175. 09/13 – Rewind This* – Cool documentary on the history of videotapes and it’s impact on culture. It was cool to see interviews with a few people who I traded boots with back in the day! (VOD) 8/10

176. 09/13 – Pawn Shop Chronicles* – Decent anthology film revolving around a pawn shop in a small southern US town. (DVD) 6/10

###. 09/14 – Star Trek: Into Darkness – Nearly as enjoyable as when I saw it in the cinema earlier this year. Very good 7.1 audio as well. (BluRay) 9/10

177. 09/14 – American Mary* – A story of a medical student who is deep in debt and begins doing extreme body modifications for cash. A little heavy on the “Men Suck” brand of feminism but more often than not that is to be expected in female helmed horror films. Pretty good regardless. (Netflix) 6/10

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history

Mostly Killer, a Little Filler

139. 07/19 – Pacific Rim* – Basically an AAA Kaiju eiga but with a Hollywood budget. Great visuals, CG(!?!) and score. It’s quite obvious that Guillermo Del Toro and his crew have a great deal of love and respect for the genre. I loved it and will be seeing it again soon. My 9 year old nephew said it was the best movie he had ever seen. (Cinema) 9/10

140. 07/19 – Only God Forgives* – Like Harmony Korine’s “Spring Breakers,” “Only God Forgives” was primarily focused on style with very little substance. Unlike Korine and “Spring Breakers” Nicolas Winding Refn had better actors, characters and a setting all of which made this one a consistently decent viewing experience. If you don’t expect another “Drive” and have no expectations of a solid story you might dig this as the visuals are stunning!  (Vudu) 6/10

141. 07/20 – Creature from the Black Lagoon – I recently picked up the Bluray of this which features a modern 3D transfer. The visuals were mostly great and the 3D worked much better than the older anaglyph version I had seen previously. The movie itself was as great as it had ever been. (Bluray) 8/10)

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history

Giants, Double-Franco and Found Space Footage

128. 06/28 – Jack the Giant Slayer* – If this weren’t a family fairy tale it might have been decent. (DVD) 5/10

129. 06/29 – This is the End* – Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Jay Baruchel, Craig Robinson and a ton of other celebrities are at a party at  James Franco’s house when some crazy stuff goes down. While this played out more like comedy sketches around a particular situation it worked. This was a VERY funny, albeit very raunchy, film. Trailer is not safe for work! (Cinema) 8/10

130. 06/29 – Spring Breakers* – Harmony Korine’s latest had some great cinematography and use of colors. James Franco did well in his role as a scumbag Florida gangster. The story, however, was shallow and dumb. Scenes of stereotypical spring break idiocy played far too often and for far too long without doing anything to further the narrative. The positives simply didn’t make this worth the time spent watching it.(Vudu) 5/10

131. 06/30 – Europa Report* – This film consists of footage retrieved from a privately funded manned expedition to one of Jupiter’s moons. While I’m not an astrophysicist or anything this well made film felt very realistic. Most of the found footage was from fixed cameras around and inside the spacecraft and landing vehicle so the shaky stuff comprised very little of the film. Very good space sci-fi! (Vudu) 7/10

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history

Eli Roth Still Sucks

098. 05/17 – Aftershock* – Eli Roth “presented” this semi-disaster flick about a group of expendable youth who party until a huge earthquake strikes. They then die. Avoid.  (Vudu) 3/10

099. 05/17 – A Good Day to Die Hard* – Better than the last one but still not as good as the first two. (Vudu) 6/10

100. 05/17 – Extracted* – This ultra low budget sci-fi flick involves a scientist who invents a device to read the memories of people. He gets trapped inside of someone’s memory and works to get out. Good story and acting! A definite purchase should it ever get released in the USA. (DVD-R) 8/10

101. 05/18 – Star Trek: Into Darkness* – Despite the proliferation of lens flares JJ Abrams delivers the Star Trek goods again. The 3D conversion was very good! (Cinema) 9/10

102. 05/18 – Adam’s Apples*  – Interesting obscurity regarding a neo-Nazi who is sentenced to community service at a church. (Netflix) 6/10

103. 05/18 – The Guilt Trip* – An inventor (Seth Rogan) takes a road trip with his stereotypical Jewish mother (Barbara Streisand) and a lack of hilarity ensues. (Vudu) 4/10

104. 05/18 – Last of the Living* – A dumb but entertaining zombie comedy that is best compared to “Shawn of the Dead.” (DVD) 6/10

105. 05/18 – Freaky Deaky* – Decent adaptation of Elmore Leonard’’s novel. Crispin Glover is his usual self. (Netflix) 6/10

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history

Only Five This Week (Blame Absu!)

083. 04/22 – Below the Belt* – Very entertaining film about the womens pro wrestling circuit in the 1970s. (Netflix) 7/10

084. 04/25 – Erasing Hate* – Documentary about a former Nazi skinhead going through the process of removing his tattoos. (Netflix) 6/10

085. 04/25 – Death Rides a Horse – Relatively unknown but very good Italo-western starring Lee van Cleef and Jihn Phillip Law (Netflix) 7/10

086. 04/27 – High-Ballin* – High quality 1970’s trucksploitation starring Jerry Reed and Peter Fonda. (Netflix) 7/10

087. 04/27 – Citizens Band* – An early one from Jonathan Demme starring Paul LeMat and Candy Clark. (AKA Handle with Care) (Netflix) 6/10

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history

The lower number of films this week was due to Absu performing in Seattle on Thursday night and Portland on Friday night. As expected the shows (and the drive to and from Portland (close to 400 miles total) cut into movie time. Well worth it though! I’ll break tradition by including some video I took at the shows below,

Seattle April 25, 2013

Portland April 26, 2013

The Worst Movie Ever?

047. 03/21 – Rise of the Guardians* – Good animation but too juvenile for my liking. (Vudu) 5/10

048. 03/22 – Hercules in the Haunted World* – Mario Bava is responsible for what could be the best Swords and Sandals movie in history. Even though the print streaming from Netflix is sub-DVD quality I can tell that this was a visually stunning fantasy film. Now to find a better print. (Netflix) 6/10

049. 03/22 – This is 40* – Sort of a sequel to “Knocked Up” but not really funny.  (DVD) 4/10

050. 03/22 – Bully* – Interesting documentary abut bullying in US schools. (Vudu) 6/10

051. 03/23 – Death Race 2000 – Classic (1975) Roger Corman drive-in actioner. I saw this at the drive-in at age 11!  (Netflix) 7/10

052. 03/24 – Big Money Rustlas* – I’m in a group where once a week one of the members picks a bad/obscure film and we watch it and comment/joke about it as we watch.  I can usually find something about a movie to enjoy regardless of how bad it might be. I had to watch this in three sittings it was so bad. I could find nothing to even laugh about in this one and can only recommend it to juggalos with IQs under 100.  (Netflix) 1/10

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history

Mid-March Six Pack

041. 03/11 – Red Dawn (2012)* – While the plot is essentially the same they took away the more grim aspects of the original leaving us with a nice sanitized piece of crap. The action scenes had some potential but were ruined with ultra fast cuts and excessive shaky camera work. At least when the original was released the Cold War was still underway so the premise was somewhat realistic. But North Koreans invading Spokane? Come on… (Vudu) 3/10

042. 03/15 – [REC]³ Génesis – For the most part the found footage aspect is gone. This played much more like “Dead Alive” then the previous installments in the series. (Netflix) 7/10

043. 03/15 – Intouchables* – This sentimental French film was based on a true story. Quite enjoyable! (Vudu) 7/10

044. 03/15 – Hiding Out* – John Cryer hides out from gangsters by posing as a high school student. (Netflix) 6/10

045. 03/16 – Hitchcock* – Some incredible performances from Anthony Hopkins and Helen Mirren highlight this biopic that chronicles the period where Hitchcock was making “Psycho.” (Vudu) 7/10

046. 03/16 – The Master* – Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour-Hoffman give what could be the best performances of their career but the overall film didn’t do a lot for me. (Vudu) 6/10

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history