Fantastic Fest: Why Don't You Play In Hell (2013)

FANTASTIC FEST 2013 

Screening #1:

Why Don't You Play in Hell IMDb
This past midnight, I had the pleasure in breaking my Fantastic Fest 2013 cherry with this awesome bloody Yakuza movie.  Leave it to the Japanese to make everything weird and over the top.  This movie went over the top in a lot of scenes.  So definitely not a movie to take seriously.  I didn't mind a lot of the over the top humor and stuff.  The highlights for me were the scenes that pay tribute to filmmaking and old school film.  Of course, a lot of Yakuza action made this even better.  Didn't really feel the last 10 minutes of the film, but, that didn't ruin the overall experience.  Good to add to the Yakuza section and a good film to start this festival for me.  My favorite week of the year. 

The Lords Of Salem

The Lords of Salem IMDb
I wanted to like this movie.  I really did.  Felt Rob Zombie needed to make up for his last few releases.  I'm here to report that he once again disappointed me.  The problem I had here was the story.  Zombie is good in bringing really cool and disturbing images.  In that department, he still delivers.  The story felt week and it falls under one of the horror cliches: if a door mysteriously opens in the middle of the night and you see a red light coming out from it, please don't go inside.  Well, our main character did just that and then becomes hypnotized with evil witchcraft.  The movie has its evil moments, which I don't mind, but they were weak at times.  This is Rob Zombie's most artsy film he's made thus far.  Wanted more out of it.  Wouldn't recommend it.

New Release Tuesday: The East (2013)

The East IMDb 
Pretty good anarchist vs. big corporations movie.  Okay, there's not a lot of movies like this but this was pretty good for a thriller.  It's got a lot of drama and some parts were suspenseful.  Love the plot.  This is the movie where you root for "the anarchists" aka "The East."  They're there to prove points and spread message across the nation.  Of course, there's a semi-Hollywood drive to this and ending so it won't be that original and fresh.  Still, I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected.  That's a good thing.  Love the drug/champagne scene (or should I say, the buildup to that).  The plot thickens a lot towards the end.  Shoot, if I could, I would do the same as these people: try to make corporations pay for the damages they cause to the environment and others.  All it takes is one person to try to make a difference and I think that's the case in this movie.  Worth watching for sure.  To buy?  I have to think about it I guess.  Maybe at a discount.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country IMDb
Wow! Who would've thought that the last Star Trek movie of the first set of movies was going to be one of my favorites?  I think this one and part IV were my top two favorites of the first series. This had a very good plot and a lot of good scenes.  It was sort of predictable but I was entertained all the way.  Love the Klingon dinner scene with the Enterprise crew.  This had somewhat of a Julius Caesar story.  It's only right because some of these Klingons love Shakespeare.   Learn something everyday.  Some moments kept me intrigued like the crew playing detective in figuring out who framed them for attacking the Klingon ship.  Kudos!  Must buy, especially if you have other Star Trek movies.

Ninja

Ninja IMDb
Decided to watch this movie tonight because the sequel to this will be playing at Fantastic Fest and since my girlfriend is a big fan of ninja movies, I figured why not.  The fighting sequences to this was freaking awesome.  That's the only positive thing I'm going to write about this movie.  The story was not that great.  The acting was silly.  We got this American who knows a bunch of ninja skills far better than the Japanese.  We got a daughter of the ninja master who was trained all her life to be a ninja but when she's in trouble she seems helpless most of the time.  The character that I liked was the ninja villain.  He was cool to some extent.  Cheesy action movie that I don't recommend.  I like a lot of cheesy movies.  This one wasn't for me. So, not sure if I'll see the sequel during Fantastic Fest.

Vampire Thursday: Kiss of the Damned

Kiss of the Damned IMDb
Started out kind of stupid and too easy but it turned out to be okay in the end.  Lots of poor acting and cheap dialogue but who am I to judge?  I like some of the plot though.  The part that I like the most besides the ending was the virgin girl scene.  I first heard about this vampire movie when it came out on DVD some months ago.  I thought to give a newer vampire movie a chance.  There's a few bloody scenes, lots of sex, and cheesy romantic moments that weren't really believable.  Then again, it's a vampire movie.  I don't believe in vampires but I believe in my own eyes, and what my eyes saw was freaking vampires.  There, I said it.  Wouldn't recommend this movie.  Next Vampire Thursday, I'm planning on watching the original Dracula movie.

Machete Maidens Unleashed!

Machete Maidens Unleashed! IMDb
Very cool documentary.  The same director who brought us "Not Quite Hollywood."  Instead of Australian exploitation films, this time it's Filipino exploitation films.  There are some I've seen already.  There are some that I heard of..  And there's a lot more I've never heard of until today.  I was literally typing every movie I want to see into my notepad.  For Your Height Only, The One Armed Executioner, The Women Hunt, and Firecracker are some of the movies on my list.  Good and entertaining documentary worth buying but for a very low budget price.