Welcome to the 415th Edition of my long-running series. Keep in mind that in two weeks, I have my 8 year anniversary coming up. Yes, I'm probably more amazed than anyone else. I have come a very long way with this and am so glad that I came up with this idea. I came up with this idea knowing I can't really write a detailed movie review I came up with this idea.
Little
Shop of Horrors (1960): I start the week out with Roger Corman. Most
of us know and love the great musical about a man-eating plant which
really started here. Jonathan Haze stars as Seymour Krelboyne who works
for Mr. Mushnick's flower shop which is in the very poor town of Skid
Row and really struggling. Business begins to pick up when Seymour
discovers a very unusual plant which he names Audrey Jr., the name of
the girl he likes Audrey, played by Jackie Joseph. Soon, the plant
begins to talk and Seymour discovers he is out for blood. The plant
soon talks the nerdy seymour into killing others so it can be fed and
keep the business in the shop. Jack Nicholson has a very early role as a
very pleasurable dental patient. This is more of a b-movie but is
really pretty good when you can get past that there are no musical
numbers. Also, the plant is not as vocal as in the musical version but
is really rather creepy. Like many, I prefer the musical version but we
must give credit where credit is due. I like to revisit this film
every once in a while and still enjoy it quite a bit.
The
Bully (1952): This is my short film for the week which is one of those
supposed to be educational but more entertaining. This deals with a
guy who is quite the bully and the one who hangs out with him out of
fear. A group of people must find a way to turn the tables on this
bully. I found this on the Pub-D-Hub app on my Roku player.
The
Vampire Bat (1933): This takes place in a small town where there are
lot of deaths which are the result of blood loss making many think there
are a lot of vampire deaths. Melvyn Douglas stars as police inspector
Karl who is still very skeptical of what happens. Lionel Atwill
co-stars as Dr. von Niemann who does believe in the vampirism. Dwight
Frye co-stars as Herman Gleib who is the biggest suspect with his
personality and obsession with bats. Fay Wray also co-stars in this
b-movie and I felt Frye went onto become a bit underrated as a horror
actor and hope to give him some recognition. This is about an hour long
and a must for b-movie fans.
Ultimate
Avengers I and II (2006): I decided to include both of these movies
especially since there were the same year and really just a continuation
of each others. These are animated superhero movies where General Nick
Fury assembles a team of superheroes to take on an alien invations. He
first gets Captain America who was frozen to lead the team. Others who
join in on the mix are Iron Man, Black Widow, Wasp, Giant Man, Thor,
and the Incredible Hulk. I believe this was the first movie exposure
for this group of superheroes which would later become a decent animated
series, then live action movies that lead up to THE AVENGERS which is
one of my favorite movies. In the second film, T'Challa who is known as
the Black Panther who asks for the Avengers help in helping his country
in Africa which is in danger. I really liked these movies and though
they had pretty good character development. I actually liked Black
Widow best in these movies. Hank Pym who is Giant Man in these films in
portrayed as kind of the loose cannon of the group which in the
animated series he was more of a pacifist but fought because he had to.
I will say that Thor was not used nearly as much in the first movie but
his moments are really good and has a bigger part in the second one.
These were pretty enjoyable movies and are available on Instant Netflix.
Paranormal
Activity 3 (2011): Now I view the third in the series which in some
ways in kind of a prequel to the first two. This takes a look at Katie
as a child along with her sister Kristi. Kristi has an imaginary friend
named Toby while strange things happen in the home as her father tries
to piece everything together with video footage. It starts in the
modern day but footage of 1988 is found and that is a lot of what we
witness. This one actually has more scares than the first two and some
really good footage. This is one that you may not necessily have to
watch the first two and might even be a good idea to start with this
one. This is available on Instant Netflix.
Days
of Thunder (1990): Tony Scott directed this Nascar movie. Tom Cruise
stars as cocky rookie race car driver named Cole Trickle who has a lot
of potential but also has an attitude which can get him in trouble as
well as a rather heated rivalry with Rowdy Burns, played by Michael
Rooker. Robert Duvall co-stars as his coach and is very good in his
role. Nicole Kidman also co-stars as his love interest in the film
which is where I believe they met. Randy Quaid, Cary Elwes, and John C.
Reilly also co-star. This is clearly a version of TOP GUN except at
the race track. I will be the first to admit, I do not watch racing but
this was a pretty fun movie as long as you are tolerable to a rather
formulaic plot and could be one for the guys. I recall this being a
ride at King's Island which I always enjoyed when I would go there as a
kid. This is available on Instant Netflix.
Dead
of Night (1945): This is something that consists of a few directors
and writers including H.G. Wells. Mervyn Johns stars as architect
Walter Craig who finds himself stuck in a recurring nightmare. There
are five different stories in this that all interconnect to each other.
There is "Christmas Party", "The Haunted Mirror", "the Hearse Driver",
"Golfing Story", and "the Ventriliquist". Michael Redgrave stars in the
one where he plays the ventriliquist who has a puppet which appears to
be all too real. Redgrave is great in his part of the ventriloquist and
brings it to a very good finale.
The
Grey (2011): Joe Carnahan co-wrote and directed this film which stars
Liam Neeson as Ottway. He is in a plane crash in Alaska where there are
very few survivors and leads the survivors in hopes of safety. In
their quest, they encounter very ruthless wolves which do not like the
presense of these humans. I really liked Neeson in this film where we
learn that he recently had a wife die and his natural leadership in
trying to get everyone to safety. This is not for everyone as it is
very gory and gruesome. It is still a pretty good movie about survival
and has some pretty good characters which star Dermot Mulroney. It is
also pretty full of suspenseful scenes and has a good slow pace where
everything means something. This is available on Instant Netflix.
The
Last House on the Left (1972): Wes Craven wrote and directed this cult
horror film. This shows a couple of teenage girls who decide to go out
to a concert and are abducted by a group of dangerous psychotics who
murder them. The parents of one of the girls decide to take the law
into their own hands and exact their revenge on them in equally brutal
ways. Some of the comedic moments are when a couple cops run out of gas
and they are looking for rides but are spited each time. This is
another one that contains a lot of gore and violence so is not for
everyone. It is a Craven's directorial debut with a very low budget
which really makes it that much better and realistic. 
French
Roast (2008): Fabrice Joubert wrote and directed this animated short
film. This takes place in a fancy Parisian Cafe where an uptight
businessman realizes he forgot his wallet. There are also some comical
scenes with a homeless man begging for money which kind of leads into
the finale. The animation was pretty good and the characters were
pretty well drawn. It was also quite funny and enjoyable 8 minutes.Well, that is it for this week. Tell me what you like and dislike. Keep reading for the results of the Madness.
THE MADNESS: VIDEO NASTY WEEK 3
COMIC BOOKS
Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Rise of the Blue Beetle (2008, 23 minutes, .5 points): 66 1/2. Interesting take and good to see Green Arrow though I have been spoiled by the darker takes on Batman. Still not a bad series, I might go a little further with it.
Batman: The Brave and the Bold: Terror on Dinosaur Island (2008, 23 minutes, .5 points): 66 1/2. Again I have been spoiled by the darker takes in the series.
Ultimate Avengers (2006, 72 minutes, 2 points): 666 1/2. This deals with quite the alien invasion and has some dark moments with Bruce Banner/the Hulk.
Ultimate Avengers 2 (2006, 72 minutes, 2 points): 666. A continuation of the other one.
MICHAEL ROOKER
Days of Thunder (1990, 83, 2 points): 66 1/2. A Michael Rooker Loophole. I know I need to get some of these in as they are expected from me.
NIGHTMARES
Dead of Night (1945, 77 minutes, 2 points): 666. This is a classic horror film about a man and his dreams.
PARANORMAL
Paranormal Activity 3 (2011, 83 minutes, 2 points): 666. No explanation needed here to get this counted. My favorite of the series so far.
ROGER CORMAN
Little Shop Of Horrors (1960, 72 minutes, 2 points): 666. Not the musical but a decent b-movie, good entry for Roger Corman and credit must be given where due.
VAMPIRES
The Vampire Bat (1933, 64 minutes, 2 points): 66 1/2. Deals with potential vamps so wors here I'm sure.
The Vampire Diaries (2012, 45 minutes, 1 point): 666. No explanation needed but looking forward to getting caught up in what is becoming my favorite series.
WES CRAVEN
The Last House on the Left (1972, 84 minutes, 4 points): 666. I could not find a good category for this one so just used the horror legend's name. Bonus points for full frontal nudity and sexual assault.
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