Detroit 9000 This is an okay blaxploitation flick. I like some of the dialogue. The story is original. The editing is kinda bad, but this is a grindhouse movie, so it's allowed. Worth to check out. I only bought it because it is part of Rolling Thunder Pictures collection (the film label Tarantino started to promote some of these films).
WW2 Classic Film #3 Go For Broke This is another film that was included in the 20 WW2 classics DVD. This is so far my least favorite. Didn't like the story as much until later towards the end. I also didn't like the way it was directed. I wasn't feeling it at all. Some of the characters and some of the dialogue was pretty good, but that's about it.
Last night, after Fast & Furious, I decided to put a late night movie. It's one that I own but haven't seen. It's not the Nicholas Cage and Angelina Jolie Bullshit, it's the drive-in original: Gone In 60 Seconds This wasn't bad. There's a long build up until the famous 40 minute chase scene. There's some funny moments here and there, but the big reward is the amazing chase scene. The director of this film (H.B Halicki) drives and does his own stunts. I heard he almost died while making this one. Halicki died in a stunt accident while shooting the sequel to this movie. Bad ass to have in the "Grindhouse" collection.
New Release Tuesdays Presents: Fast & Furious I rented this for my niece and nephew in-laws who are visiting. I never seen any of the fast and furious movies. This wasn't bad at all. My niece and nephew filled me in on some of the background. The cars here do a good job. I would of wanted to see more races and crashes rather than this dude crying about his dead girlfriend. But, overall, it's entertaining for a one night stand. I usually stay away from movies with Vin Diesel in it. This is worth the rent if you're into cars.
The Hellbenders It's not spaghetti western night, but blockbuster delivered this a little too early. I'm glad they did so. This flick has a very good story. There's no big standoffs like other spaghetti westerns. This one has a smart and political thing going on. It had a Tarantino kind of ending as well. Kudos to Corbucci (my second favorite spaghetti western director).
Foreign Film Night Presents: 12 This Russian flick is too long. But there's very good performances and good editing. It's the modern remake of 12 Angry Men. The story is okay. I like all the re-enactment scenes done by these 12 jurors. Some of their dialogue was cool. Good to watch if you're in the mood for a long court and investigative drama.
New Release Tuesdays Presents: Coraline This flick was visually very good. I didn't like part of the story, but the concept and the visuals were excellent. There's times where it gets a little creepy. I like those times. Good to rent popcorn kind of movie.
Gangster Monday Presents: The Debt This gangster flick from Poland was a bit different. This one makes you hate these gangsters rather than idolizing them. There's a little twist towards the end (which is always cool). There's a lot of drama going on with these characters. At first, it didn't seem like a gangster film, but it gets there halfway through. So it took a while for it to get a little interesting. There's no subtitles on this trailer but hopefully the images can speak for itself.
Gung Ho! Good classic action film. This one has to do more with Pearl Harbor instead of Germany. There's some funny scenes. There's some good action. A lot of slow paced scenes as well. This one is my favorite so far.
Couldn't find the trailer but here's the opening scene to get an idea of what I'm up against.
I bought this cheap DVD collection set that contains 20 classic WW2 films. There's some films in there that I want to see because it inspired Inglorious Basterds. Here's WW2 Classic Film #1 A Walk in the Sun This is the first movie on the set. It was surprisingly good for a classic film. This is the kind of film that challenges you to stay awake. The actors are good. There's not a lot of action, it's more about these characters out in the wild trying to survive.
Last Friday, I had a grindhouse night to make up for June. Tonight's Grindhouse night is to make up for this month (due to the 4th of July).
Friday at the Grindhouse Presents:
Ilsa: She Wolf of the S.S This was a bad ass exploitation flick. A little disturbing but bad ass. It's definitely sleazy. There's some horrific gore scenes, a lot of nudity, and a weird crazy plot. If you're easily offended, then stay 999 miles away from this flick. after this one, I mellowed out with:
The Swinging Cheerleaders This is a semi decent film by Jack Hill. My favorite Jack Hill movies are Spider Baby, Coffy, and Switchblade Sisters. This one is alright. There's a few funny moments throughout. I like some of the irony.
For more info on both of these, click on the names and it will direct you to their imdb page.
Spaghetti Western Night Presents: Ace High At first it was not interesting, then it got a little better, but then it went downhill for me. I wasn't feeling it. At times, it was so predictable. It was different than most spaghetti westerns. This one had less extreme long shots in the desert. Most of the scenes took place indoors. The thing that bothered me the most was that a lot of scenes took longer than it should have. . When it comes to these types of films, I give this one a D+ for the little effort but not much to say that it was worth a rent.
[REC] This movie just got released today on dvd. It was made a few years ago. As a matter of fact, the movie Quarantine, is a remake of this film. I'm one of the few people that enjoyed Quarantine. After watching this, all I got to say is: Wow!! This spanish horror was totally off the fucking hook. Quarantine was an English version of this film. Exact copy of this movie, except Quarantine had a few bad actors. The actors here are far more believable. Few scary moments towards the end. I like this one a little better than the remake. I'm glad I got to see it instead of The Haunting in Connecticut.
The Education of Charlie Banks Do you remember the lead singer of the band that did the song, "The Nookie"? Fred Durst. Well, this is his first feature film. It came out on dvd just a few weeks ago. Not terrible. It's got an alright story with an alright cast. Nothing mindblowing. Nothing special to actually see. But, the good part is that: it didn't suck. Don't recommend it unless you're into drama and want to see someone getting their ass kicked. That's about it. Grade C quality.
I didn't have my grindhouse night screening for the month of June because I was in vacation. I didn't have it this month also because of 4th of July weekend. So to make up for those two nights, I will have a Grindhouse screening tonight and another one next Friday.
Friday at the Grindhouse Presents: (A Lucio Fulci Double Feature) City of the Living Dead Don't let the title fool you, this is not a zombie film. There's some zombie scenes towards the end, but it is more of a supernatural evil kind of film. It was kinda scary. The images and the effects were great. The story, not that great. It was cool to watch once to see what the whole thing was about. Lucio Fulci does some good shots. When it comes to the gore stuff, this one won't disappoint. My favorite scene is Bob getting his head drilled. Worth the rent.
Then...
The Psychic This was the big surprise for me. Although the movie was slow paced, after watching the whole thing, this is now on my top list of grindhouse flicks. All the shots, details, the story and some of the acting were great. Yeah, there's some scenes that are kinda ridiculous. But overall the movie experience was a good one. The first hour of this film was a slow set up ride for the last and tense 30 minutes of the movie. Love the way Fulci ended the film.
Now I have that song stuck in my head. The song that repeats throughout the last half of the film. (It's the song that comes out in Kill Bill where the Bride was on the floor and about to cut that nurse's foot.) Here's a scene with that song:
This is a must buy for my "Grindhouse" collection and it gets A+ for this type of genre. Here's the trailer:
New Release Tuesdays Presents: Knowing Surprisingly, this big blockbuster hit was entertaining. Was it predictable? Yes. There was some dull moments here and there, but overall, I think the movie worked. Maybe I'm just being bias because I like movies that deal with the end of the world and prophecies. Even though he plays the same kind of person like all his latest movies, Nicholas Cage, didn't get on my nerves in this one. The movie gets a little boring about halfway through, but then it picks back up right away. I give it a B for a blockbuster bigger than life kind of movie.
I went for the first time to Weird Wednesday at the Alamo.
It was probably in the top 3 of my best movie experiences
there. Weird Wednesday are midnight showings of
grindhouse and exploitation films. This night, I had the pleasure of seeing The Lady in Red. Just in time too. This movie deals a little bit about Dillinger, which is the main character in Public Enemies,
which opened this weekend.
The Lady in Red is also on Tarantino's top 20 best grindhouse films. I can see why. From start to finish, this movie was badass. Cheesy ass dialogue. Funny scenes that aren't supposed to be funny. And etc. Plus, I got to see Christopher Lloyd for the first time playing a psychotic gangster.
