The Last House on the Left / Vice Squad / The Return of the Street Fighter

Grindhouse Triple Feature Night
First:

The Last House on the Left
This is one of Wes Craven's earlier works.
Somebody told me about this movie
a long time ago.
And now, there's a remake coming out in theatres.
Since I've been checking out some grindhouse
stuff, I decided to check out this one.
I expected some horror stuff like Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
There was a little tiny bit of horror.
It was mostly a sleazy dark comedy.
There's some funny shit going on.
But in no way was this disturbing or scary
as people put this out to be.
I like the part when it actually takes place
inside the house which is towards the end.
(The parents stuff!!)

To me, this is not a classic like Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
But I might check out the remake when it comes out on DVD.

Then:

Vice Squad
This is more of a slow dramatic
exploitation flick.
The story is great. Some of the
acting was believable.
I also like some of the shots,
especially the pan when Ramrod's truck
was driving to the motel near the beginning.
Other than that, the rest was not very
good. Just your average early 80's flick.

Fans of detective and crime from the 80's stories
will like it. Others stay away.

And Last But Not Least:

The Return of the Street Fighter
Follow up to The Street Fighter.
I saved the best for last.
Sonny Chiba is a bad ass mofo.
He's back and he fights more
dudes than before.
I still like the first film better,
but this continues the story.

If you seen the first one, then this a must see.

Rolling Thunder

Rolling Thunder
This is a good 70's film that was shown
in grindhouse theatres.
According to a few sources, this is on
the top 10 of Tarantino's favorite exploitation flicks.
Being a big fan of Tarantino, I had to check this out.
All I can say is that it was pleasant.
Yeah, there some scenes that are slow,
but the story was great.
I rented this on vhs because a dvd copy is hard to find.
The vhs copy had a little interruption in the middle
of a scene. It showed another movie for about 3 seconds,
then it went back to this one. Just like a grindhouse.

This is a revenge story.
If you're in the mood to watch a revenge
story, check it out.
Plus it's written from that dude
that wrote Taxi Driver.

The Big Gundown

The Big Gundown
A spaghetti western by Sergio Sollima.
This is a hard to find rare movie.
But in case you do find it somehow,
it takes a little patience to sit through
the whole thing.
I enjoyed Run Man Run more,
but this one had some good scenes.

This is not a good movie to watch
after midnight.
If you're in the mood
for a spaghetti western,
then this one is good if you can find it.
If you can't find it then check out Run Man Run.

What Just Happened

What Just Happened
A movie about the movie business.
Kinda like "Get Shorty" meets "The TV Set"
with a little bit of "Slipstream" on the side.
It's supposed to be a comedy but most of
it was not really funny. I was not entirely
satisfied with the whole thing.
The story was great. I like some of the
anxiety it provides. But the direction
wasn't great.

If you're going to see this movie, I recommend
the movie, "Slipstream", it has a similar story and it's
told better.

Psycho

Psycho
Believe it or not, I saw for the first time
this original Hitchcock masterpiece.
I've seen pieces of it here and there throughout
the years but never the whole thing.
I seen the famous shower scene before.
So there wasn't nothing scary to me until
1 hour and 20 minutes into the movie
where "mother" appears to the private investigator.
That moment scared the crap out of me.

This is a must see for anyone and everyone who
loves movies in general. This started the whole
slasher genre.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
This is a movie I bought without even seeing it.
It is rare, but I'm glad I did.
I had that feeling it was going to kick ass.
I'm not a fan of Ang Lee, but I think this is
his masterpiece. I expected more action.
It was mostly drama. The first fight scene
happens twenty minutes into the movie.
But it was worth the while.

El Norte

El Norte
A great film about dreams and the realities
of immigrants who migrate to the U.S.
This came out back in the 80's.
I saw the Criterion Release that came out
few weeks ago.
Beautifully shot and directed.
The director is Gregory Nava
who did My Family and Selena.

This is the same style and theme that you find in
My Family. If you're in the mood for a long
journey drama, this one is it. Be patient with the duration
of the movie, long but worthy.

Quarantine

Quarantine
The latest "Blair Witch Project like" film.
I actually enjoyed watching this.
At first, these characters got on my nerves,
but then I got used to them.
I like the fact that they used long takes.
I like the part when that dude sledge hammers that
old lady.
I didn't like the reporter. Lousy.
But the ending takes care of that.
This is supposed to be a remake of a spanish movie
called, [REC], I need to check that one out.
I say this is about the same rank as Cloverfield.
I'm not too crazy about it.
But I like to say that it was entertaining.

So if you liked Cloverfield, then this one is worth
a peek. If not, then stay far away as possible,
or you might catch something you will regret.

My Name is Nobody

My Name is Nobody
This is a spaghetti western comedy.
The first half was kind of funny.
It was entertaining for a spaghetti western.
Some parts got a little annoying to me in the second half.
Overall, it was alright.

Body of Lies

New Release Tuesdays Presents:

Body of Lies
A spy thriller by Ridley Scott.
Not bad of a movie.
Good action, good story,
and a good flow.
Usually, these kinds of movies
become confusing.
Not this one, you can follow the
story good without creating a big mess.
Good job by Ridley Scott who disappointed
me with American Gangster and Matchstick Men.

If you're into movies like The Kingdom and Shooter,
this one is around that corner.
Satisfaction guaranteed or Blockbuster will give you
the money back.

Chocolate

Chocolate
This one is almost the same style as The Protector
except we have a female doing all the ass kicking.
It starts off kinda slow.
But as the story develops we can't get enough.
In the end, you want to see more.

If you like The Protector, this one is also a must see.
All stunts are performed by the actors themselves.
I need to add this one to my To Buy List.

Dawn of the Dead

Dawn of the Dead
Awesome Zombie Classic.
I enjoyed this one better than
Night of the Living Dead.
This is also a grindhouse movie.
Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror
looks and feels a little like this.
Lots of blood and funny moments at the mall
where zombies roam with circus music.

This follows Night of the Living Dead.
If you're in the mood for a cheap horror classic,
check it out.

Night of the Living Dead

Night of the Living Dead
George A. Romero's first zombie classic.
I saw parts of this a very long time ago,
but I never really took the time to
actually check out the whole thing,
until tonight.
It's a very good zombie flick for its age.
You have to consider that this was done 1968.
I love the ending.

If you're into these new horror films that are coming
out lately, you'll be disappointed.
But if you want to see a zombie classic
that is kinda cheesy and low budget, this one is for you.
I'll be seeing Dawn of the Dead (original) tomorrow.

Blindness

Blindness
The latest film by Fernando Meirelles.
I liked the film. I didn't love it
like his other films. I thought it was okay.
Seriously, I thought there was going
to be a lot more than what I saw.
But there was some good scenes
and had a little bit of suspense.
This film made me feel a little gloomy,
but it must also be because it was raining outside.
Not worth buying but worth seeing.

Don't expect a great masterpiece like City of God.
Expect good photography and a decent message.

The Mack

The Mack
Exploitation film from the 70's.
(In case you haven't noticed,
I been checking out
a lot of movies from the 60's and 70's
to gain more knowledge of this era.)
The Mack was actually good
for this type of film.
There's a lot of classic lines like:
"We can handle this like gentlemen or
we can get into some gangster shit."

It's kinda slow but the dialogue
and some of the scenes makes this a good
classic movie. Fans of Coffy, Jackie Brown
and movies about pimps, this one is for you.

The Inglorious Bastards

The Inglorious Bastards
A good classic war film.
When I heard that Quentin Tarantino
was finally working on Inglorious Basterds,
I knew I had to see this movie.
To be clear, Tarantino is not remaking this movie.
He's making his own movie inspired by this
and other movies like it.
This movie has a good story and some
good action scenes.
I wouldn't exactly call this a bad ass masterpiece,
but simply a satisfying average experience.

If you're in the mood for a war film and you're
tired of looking for Private Ryan,
check this out.

Fong Sai Yuk

Fong Sai Yuk
It was Free Kung Fu Theatre at the Alamo last night
or early today (Midnight).
We went to see this movie that ended up
being one of the best, or the best
kung fu movie we ever seen.
It was a good experience.
They passed out Fortune Cookies
and had a little trivia before the movie.
Seeing this classic on the big screen
made me a bigger fan of kung fu
than I ever was.
It was funny and had a lot
of good fighting scenes.
For more on the event you can click here:
Kung Fu Theatre at the Alamo


Fans of Kung Fu Hustle, you're in for a better and
funnier treat with this movie.
It's a must buy.

Appaloosa

Appaloosa
Lately, I been educating myself in spaghetti westerns.
Today I took a little break to watch a latest american western.
Here we have a great gunslinger based movie.
Good acting by Viggo Mortensen.
They made Renee Zellwegger look horrible.
But she did good as well.
Spoiler:
I felt that she should of been killed.
That would of made this movie a lot better.
Kudos to Ed Harris and his directing effort.


Overall, this was entertaining. Good story.
I recommend renting this movie unless you're collecting
westerns.

A Bullet For The General

A Bullet For The General
A spaghetti western that takes place during the Mexican Revolution.
I'm not much into westerns that takes place during this era.
That may be the reason I didn't quite enjoy this film.
The story bothered me.
I still have respect for the film as a whole,
but not as entertained as I wanted to be.

Trailer:

Zack and Miri Make A Porno

Zack and Miri Make A Porno
The latest flick from Kevin Smith is now out on DVD.
He still captures the independent feel of a movie.
It's been over 15 years since his debut masterpiece, Clerks,
and Smith still does what he loves:
movies with a lot of bad words, sexual references,
and Star Wars. I admit, this wasn't as funny
as some of his earlier works. But it's worth a peek.

If you get offended easily then the movie for you
might be Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.
But if not, then grab some chocolate pudding,
and enjoy this flick.

Trailer:

Pride and Glory

Pride and Glory
Imagine if "Training Day" had a baby
with "We Own the Night."
That baby is called "Pride and Glory."
The movie was entertaining.
I wouldn't say that it's worth buying
unless you're collecting "crooked cop films."

As far as crooked cop films go, L.A Confidential is
is still one of my favorites. But this one is worth to rent.

Trailer:

The Lucky Ones

The Lucky Ones
My comment on this movie is that it
was alright. It has a decent story.
Nothing special about it.
I like the fact that is about
finding who you are.

If you're in the mood for a sappy drama about
Iraq veterans, this might cheer you up.

Trailer: