Welcome to the 414th Edition of my long-running series. It has been a great week. Last friday, my friends Ashley and Stephen got married at Cumberland Falls in Kentucky. It was a great wedding and great time in general. I wish these newlyweds all the best in the future. This week is week two of the Madness and really did not get a lot of selections with everything going on this week but was totally worth it. I will now get to my recommendations for the week.
Paranormal
Activity 2 (2010): This is the second of this horror franchise. Brian
Boland and Molly Ephraim star as Daniel and Ali Rey who along with
their older daughter Kristi, played by Sprague Grayden and their toddler
Hunter as well as their dog move into a nice home in Carlsbad, CA.
Things slowly begin to go wrong with Kristi and Ali begin to suspect
weird happenings while Daniel does not believe them until it gets more
intense. I really liked this one more than the first one as it got a
lot more intense and had more happen in my opinion. I really liked the
way it started out slow into little things that lead into a lot more
creepy events. Thursday's Child (1950s): This is my short film for the week which focuses on a school for teaching the deaf and how they go about it. It shows the teacher first trying to associate words, then even find ways to teach them sound. It is an interesting few minutes showing possibly the most difficult work for a teacher. This is actually available on the Criterion Collection on the movie IF.... I could not find any info anywhere else on the short film.
Hi
Mom! (1970): Brian De Palma wrote and directed this comedy which stars
a very young Robert De Niro even before MEAN STREETS and THE GODFATHER
PART 2. De Niro stars as Vietnam vet Jon Rubin who moves into New York
and comes up with a peeping tom style of filming the apartments that are
across from him while also trying to hook up with the one he is peeping
in upon. That does not work out for him and joins a radical "black
power" group which lead him to do some acts of urban terrorism. I
really do not know the way to describe this film. On one hand I found
De Niro to be absolutely hilarious and the funniest I have seen him do
in the world of comedy. On the other hand, there are some very
disturbing scenes where this group is trying to make some statement.
Either way, I believe it is worth it to see a very young and outgoing
Robert De Niro.
Gremlins
(1984): Joe Dante directed and Chris Columbus wrote this 80s classic
which is really more of a Christmas movie but has enough to make my
contest so I'm including it here. Zach Galligan stars as Billy whose
father, played by Hoyt Axton, gets him a gremlin named Gizmo. Gizmo is a
very good-natured gremlin but when one of the three rules were broken
it resulted into more and those guys were not nearly as nice as Gizmo.
The gremlins then decided to wreak havoc upon the town. One of the
interesting things I observed was that Gizmo really had more sense than
anyone else in this movie. He understood his rules and what he could
and could not do. Corey Feldman, Phoebe Cates, Harry Carry Jr., and
Judge Reinhold all co-star in this great film. Howie Mandel is also
rather amusing in his Gizmo voice. This can be good for the Halloween
season due to the gremlins but it could also be good for the Christmas
season, especially those who do not like the real sappy holiday films.
This has about everything in it and really ranks up in the 80s films.
My favorite part might be when all the gremlins in the movie theater.
She
(1935): This is my fantasy movie for the week which was produced by
Merian C. Cooper. Randolph Scott stars as Leo Vincey who is told by his
dying uncle of a land visited 500 years ago. Leo along with his friend
Horace, played by Nigel Bruce, and Horace's daughter Tanya, played by
Helen Mack, to find this land and discover its secret to immortality.
When getting there, they find a land being run by an immortal queen
named She, played by Helen Gahagan, who believes Leo is her long-lost
lover John. This is a very good film visually and is really a lot of
fun. There were some special effects that were really good for its time
and even now they really do not look that bad compared to some dated
special effects. It was also interesting seeing Randolph Scott in that
sort of film as he is usually used to westerns. This is an absolute
must for classic film buffs and fans of older fantasy/sci-fi films.
The
Cabin in the Woods (2012): Drew Goddard directed and co-wrote this
film along with Joss Whedon. A group of five friends decided to go on a
cabin for the weekend. What I wrote is already a very familiar story
line but this one had a very interesting take. Kristen Connelly, Chris
Hemsworth, Anna Hutchison, Franz Kranz, and Jesse Williams all play the
friends. There is a rather different twist on how the cabin is run and
is a pretty good satire. Richard Jenkins, Bradley Whitford, and many
others co-star. This has a good combo of laughs and scares and is
really pretty well done. The five actors in the cabin do a pretty good
job and are really pretty likable in their characters. This is
available on Instant Netflix.
Invisible
Ghost (1941): This is my b-movie for the week which stars Bela
Lugosi. Lugosi plays Mr. Kessler who is a high class citizen but
becomes a murderer upon his wife's departure. This is as I say,
b-movie. There is not really a lot of plot but the atmosphere is good
and is enjoyable for those who like the genre and Lugosi. This is the
first of a serise of nine movies through a movie studio called Monogram
Pictures that Lugosi was involved.
Bubba
Ho-Tep (2002): Don Coscarelli directed this movie based on a short
story by Joe R. Lonsdale. This is really one of my favorite movies.
Bruce Campbell plays an aging Elvis who is living in a small town
nursing home. We learn from this movie that Elvis did not die, it was
an impersonator named Sebastian Haff whose name he took when he wanted
to leave the spotlight but no one seems to believe him except one person
which is our former president John F. Kennedy. Ossie Davis actually
plays JFK who we learn survived the assassination but the government
turned him black and now he is living in the same nursing home. In this
nursing home, their is a mummy who is feeding off of the souls of
others. Elvis and JFK team up to take on this mummy and save the souls
of others while also trying to achieve redemption for themselves. The
plot may sound very absure but Coscarelli's direction makes this into a
very compelling film. I thought this was Bruce Campbell's best
performance and Davis was great really making me believe he was JFK.
This is actually a true story except for the part about the mummy.
Pat
Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973): This is my western for the week.
Sam Peckinpah directs this take on the western legend. A few movies
come to mind in this era where an outlaw is portrayed anti-heroic like
DILLINGER and BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID. James Coburn portrays
Pat Garrett who is an aging lawman hired to go after his old friend
Billy the Kid, portrayed by Kris Kristofferson. Garrett assembles his
posse to go after the outlaw leading up to a final showdown between the
two. Most people at least know the basic part of what happens between
the two but I'll keep it to myself for if you do not know. Richard
Jaeckel, Katy Jurado, Chill Wills, Jason Robards, and Bob Dylan co-star
in this western. Bob Dylan also wrote the original soundtrack to this
film and makes his film debut doing a good job in his role. The leads
were very good and worked very well together. This is a very good take
on the legend and is a lot better than last week's feature of BILLY THE
KID VS. DRACULA. 
Granny
O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty (2008): I end the week with this animated
short film. This shows a child who is trying to sleep and their granny
reads a bedtime story of the title. When reading this, she does not
really do it in a way that will put a child to sleep but really puts
fear into the child instead. This had some pretty funny moments and was
a good six minutes.Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike and stay tuned for next week. Continue to read for week two of the Madness.
THE MADNESS: VIDEO NASTY WEEK 2
This is the second week of the contest and I did not get as much done but that is okay with the great week I had. Once again I use the four 6 system in order to rate my selections.
BRUCE CAMPBELL
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002, 92 minutes, 2 points): 6666. One of my favorite movies.
CABINS
The Cabin in the Woods (2012, 95 minutes, 2 points): 666. Not much explanation needed here.
CHARLES DURNING
Hi Mom!(1970, 87 minutes, 2 points): 666. This early De Niro film qualifies due to Durning who plays a superintendent at an apartment complex. This is a comedy and far from horror.
CREATURE FEATURES
Gremlins (1984, 106 minutes, 2 points): 666 1/2. This 80s classic should get listed.
FANTASY
She (1935, 101 minutes, 2 points): 666. This is a pretty dark movie which deals some in reincarnation and even has a group of cannibals at one point.
PARANORMAL
Paranormal Activity 2 (2010, 91 minutes, 2 points): 666. I continue my watching of these films and found that I liked this one a little more than the first one as i felt more happened.
SAM PECKINPAH
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973, 122 minutes, 2 points): 666. This is my western loophole using Sam Peckinpah as a wild card.
SERIAL KILLERS
Invisible Ghost (1941, 64 minutes, 1 point): 66. This has Bela Lugosi and a movie billed as horror.
VAMPIRES
The Vampire Diaries: The Five (2012, 45 minutes, 1 point): 666 1/2. Not much explanation needed here.
WOMEN IN PRISON
Orange is the New Black: WAC Pack (2012, 56 minutes, 1 point): 666 1/2. I am going to make a loophole attempt here since it is a show about women in prison, just not nearly as exploitative than Roger Corman's 70s films.
No comments:
Post a Comment