End of Year Ketchup

234. 12/20 – Don Jon* – A man (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) meets the girl of his dreams (Scarlett Johansson) but porn gets in the way. (VOD) 7/10

235. 12/20 – Runner, Runner* –  A man (Justin Timberlake) loses a bunch of money playing online poker and ends up going to Costa Rica to work for the man (Ben Affleck) who was responsible for his loss. (VOD) 6/10

236. 12/21 – Insidious Chapter 2* – More of the same but it worked. (DVD) 6/10

237. 12/21 – Out of the Furnace* – Christian Bale and Casey Affleck are brothers in a small Rust Belt town. Bale goes to jail and Affleck gets in trouble with Woody Harrelson and his inbred kinfolk. Horrible things ensue. (Cinema) 8/10

238. 12/23 – The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug* – The incredible dragon Smaug (voiced perfectly by Benedict Cumberbatch) was the star of this one. Gorgeous film that is best seen in HFR 3D. (Cinema) 9/10

239. 12/24 – Black Christmas – Holiday horror classic from Bob Clark. (DVD) 8/10

240. 12/26 – Prince of Darkness – A cast of John Carpenter regulars play scientists who are researching something evil. (Bluray) 8/10

241. 12/26 – Blade Runner: The Final Cut* – It’s hard to say if this is better than the theatrical version but it’s still a fantastic film. (Bluray) 8/10

242. 12/27 – In the Mouth of Madness – Sam Neill plays an insurance investigator looking into the disappearance of author Sutter Cain. Madness ensues.  (Bluray) 9/10

243. 12/27 – Contest* – Feature film about bullying that plays like an afterschool special. Too wholesome for me.  (DVD) 5/10

244. 12/27 – C.O.G.* – A Yale student hits the road and ends up picking apples in Oregon. (Netflix) 7/10

245. 12/28 – Sightseers* – Two Brits head off for an RV holiday and things go south quickly. (Netflix) 7/10

246. 12/28 – National Lampoon’s Dad’s Week Off* – How Henry Winkler could act in such a pile of dreck is beyond me. (Netflix) 5/10 Sorry, no trailer for this. Full movie on YouTube in ten parts, below is the first.

247. 12/30 – Not Fade Away* – Story about a band in New Jersey in the late 60’s hoping for fame and fortune (Netflix) 6/10

248. 12/30 – Losers Take All* – Funny film about a punk band in 1986 trying to make it.  (Netflix) 7/10

249. 12/30 – You’re Next* – A family’s anniversary celebration is interrupted by a gang of crossbow wielding killers. (VOD) 7/10

250. 12/30 – American Hustle* – A fictionalized account of some incidents in the Abscam investigation in the late 1970s. Stellar performances by Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jeremy Renner and Jennifer Lawrence. (Cinema) 8/10

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history

HBO Documentaries +Two

212. 11/22 – Tales from the Organ Trade* – Very good documentary which offers a look into the underground organ trade. Definitely thought provoking, (HBO) 8/10

213. 11/23 – Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon* – A serial killer gives a documentary crew exclusive access to his life as he plans a “Halloween” type massacre. Funny!  (Bluray) 7/10

214. 11/23 – Hell’s House* (1932) – Very low budget oldie about a kid who end up in reform school for taking the rap for a smooth bootlegger he idolizes. Most notable for early appearances of Pat O’Brien and Bette Davis.  (Netflix) 6/10

215. 11/24 – Life According to Sam* – Documentary about a family who is fighting to save their on who is suffering from progeria. It helps that they are doctors, but the 13 year old Sam of the title seems like a great kid who is very smart and courageous.  (HBO) 7/10

216. 11/24 – Redemption* – Short documentary about people who eke out a living collecting cans and bottles to redeem for the deposit, (HBO) 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 Good, the Bad and the 4/20

073. 04/19 – Trainspotting (Netflix) – Quite a nice refreshing film after not seeing it for a good number of years. Strange how they don’t mention the film at all in a recent Danny Boyle documentary I watched. 8/10

074. 04/19 – Girl Model* – Documentary about an “agent” who recruits young Russian teens to do modeling in Japan. Pretty disturbing.  (Netflix) 6/10

075. 04/19 – El Infierno* – A normal guy is deported from the US and returns to his home town in Mexico with no money and no job. He quickly gets caught up as a part of a drug cartel. Kind of long but pretty darn good. (Netflix) 7/10

076. 04/19 – Roller Boogie* – 1970’s disco crap with Linda Blair. (Netflix) 4/10

077. 04/20 – One Hundred Years of Evil* – Swedish mockumentary about a film crew that sets out to the US to find out what really happened to Adolf Hitler.  (Netflix) 6/10

078. 04/20 – Son of Hitler* – This giant turd from 1978 was never released outside of a short run in Germany. It tells the story of Willi Hitler (Bud Cort), an illiterate, gentle woodcarver who finds out he is the son of Adolf Hitler. Peter Cushing plays a rare comedic role as the leader of a neo-Nazi organization who wants to use Willi to further the goals of his cause. Don’t spend money on any of the DVDs on the web, they are the same crappy unofficial source that can be found on YouTube. No trailer for this one. (Bootleg) (3/10)

079. 04/21 – The Dynamiter*  – After their mother leaves a 14 year olf boy must take care of his younger brother. (Netflix) 6/10)

080. 04/21 – Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance* – Documentary with some not-so-exciting dramatizations.  (Netflix) 4/10

081. 04/21 – Dead Like Me: Life After Death* – This follow-up to the TV series was not as good.  (Netflix) 4/10

082. 04/21 – Knuckle* – A documentary shot over 10 years about two feuding Irish families who settle their differences with bareknuckle boxing.  (Netflix) 6/10

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history

Sunny Weekend, Dead Motorcycle Battery

053. 03/29 – Fast Times at Ridgemont High  – If you haven’t seen this just watch it. (DVD) 8/10

054. 03/30 – Night of the Living Dead Re-Animation* – One of the best direct to video zombie movies of the decade. That may not sound like the best recommendation but one could do a LOT worse! (Netflix) 5/10

055. 03/30 – Fat Kid Rules the World* – Shot in Seattle, this tells the story of a fat kid whose life is saved by a druggie guitarist. Billy Campbell is great as the kids father. (Netflix) 6/10

056. 03/31 – Airheads – Light hearted silly fun. Adam Sandler still sucks. (Netflix) 6/10

057. 03/31 – Krush Groove – This slice of hip hop time is based on the early days of Def Jam Recordings. A must see for anyone into old school rap. (DVD) 7/10

058. 03/31 – Slither – One of the best horror comedies ever. Slimy, silly fun! (Netflix) 7/10

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history

Hobbits, Santa Claus and Brooklyn in the 1950s

277. 12/14 – The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey* – The professional critics are wrong. This movie was fantastic and the 48FPS 3D was stunning. Like the LOTR trilogy, this defines an EPIC. (Cinema)

278. 12/14 – Butter* – A little girl is really good at creating butter sculptures. Decent comedy, my wife said it was “cute.” (DVD)

279. 12/14 – The Baytown Outlaws* – Small time redneck criminals are hired to kidnap a handicapped child from a would-be drug kingpin. Much mayhem follows. (DVD)

280. 12/15 – Santa Claus (1959)* – A bizarre film from Rene Cardona made even stranger for US release by K. Gordon Murray. This would be great for giving small children nightmares. This should be a holiday tradition! (Netflix) Full version from YouTube below!

281. 12/15 – Kill ‘Em All* – Even Gordon Liu couldn’t make this actioner good. International assassins are drugged and wake up together in a room to fight to the death. Kind of like “Saw” meets “Mortal Kombat.” (DVD)

282. 12/15 – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (extended version) – Very long and full of Tolkien lore. Excellent! (Bluray)

283. 12/16 – Last Exit to Brooklyn* – 1989 adaptation of the controversial Hubert Selby Jr. novel. A little toned down from the novel but still a great feel-bad film. (DVD)

284. 12/16 – Thunderstruck* – Kevin Durant portrayed himself and did a worse job of acting than Shaquille O’Neal in “Kazaam.” Terrible. (DVD)

* = first time viewing

My IMDB ratings history