Funny that that the post image is a big blue light going up into the sky. They just can't shake that huh? I have no interest in that movie. Or Superman. Or whatever "the new avengers" is...Thunderbolts or whatever. (although I heard it's pretty entertaining).
The Siege of Firebase Gloria (1988) for Wings Hauser! day. I had seen it once before, and it's not a well known Vietnam War movie. Kind of leans more into the action, and less into the dilemma of why you yankee doodles were fucking around there in the first place. Good movie though.
A Hard Days Night (1964) for Rock and Roll! day. I LOVE the Beatles, but this didn't really hit for me. Their comedy is pretty lame. However, every 5 minutes it switches to them playing some music which is fantastic. The movie making is really good though, how they transition from them sitting around somewhere to them playing music.
Women in Cages (1971) for New World Pictures! It was great seeing Pam Grier playing a villian. There was lots of breasts but overall not that great. The editing was terrible.
I watched Women in Cages for Junesploitation's NWP day, and I really liked it. It had all the usual WIP ingredients but served them up with an extra layer of grimness.
I watched most of New World Pictures' Filipino WIP films around the same time in the early 2010s. Women In Cages was the lesser entry for me, but it is always fun to see Pam Grier come on the screen.
Good to see that you are pushing through to finish the Junesploitation days you missed, Paul. I was looking at this years calendar just now, missing the experience of reading about what people watched every day. I already have a few category ideas for next June.
Slow week at the movies for me. I was supposed to go see 28 Years Later, but plans fell through. Instead, I saw Jurassic World Rebirth, which was very boring. I only blame the studio, Gareth Edwards usually knows how to make a good monster movie (yes, I like his Godzilla). So, to wash the bad taste, I put my Jurassic Park 4k disc and forgot all about the other one.
Happy Gilmore 2 finally came out. It's pretty standard legacy-sequel crap. Celebrity cameos, callbacks, reused jokes, bad writing, barely trying actors. Sometimes there's a decent gag. I kinda like the running joke of Happy Gilmore having booze hidden in the most bizarre places. Bennie Safdie should go back to directing. Watch only if you really like the first movie.
I was entertained by Happy Gilmore 2 but it felt like a rushed first-pass where no ideas were turned down or refined. It needed to spend way more time in the oven.
What bothers me with those legacy-sequels nowadays is they spend most of their effort referencing the previous movie. This one has so many shots taken from the first movie, it was getting annoying. I did laugh at some jokes, but between that and the gratuitous celebrity cameos, I just didn't care by the end.
Guy Manos, the guy who created and filmed the aerial sequences for Drop Zone wrote and directed this movie which is essentially a loose remake of Drop Zone (which is essentially a loose remake of Point Break). Stephen Baldwin has to infiltrate a group of skydivers who he suspects of smuggling (sound familiar?) led by Red Line (Tom Berenger, fully dialed-in) and featuring Turbo (Dennis Rodman). He gets trained by Casper Van Dien and is under constant scrutiny from his boss Ron Silver. Cool cast aside, the aerial footage is just as awesome as Drop Zone, but the difference here is Baldwin and Berenger are filmed actually doing real solo jumps. No stunt doubles or crappy process shots with the main actors. Props to those two. There is a training montage set to "All One" by Entrain that is pure cinema. I had a blast with this one.
Another week gone by. I got to a couple of long watches.
CALIGULA (1979, dirs. Tinto Brass and Bob Guccione) Theatrical Cut – Is this a good or a bad movie? I have read and heard about this one for a long time as a notorious example of 1970s cinematic excess. Partially funded by Mr. Guccione of Penthouse magazine fame, Caligula tackles the increasingly maniacal acts of the Roman emperor- played by Malcolm Mcdowell- in a style that can be grandiose, campy, and p-o-r-n-o-g-r-a-p-h-i-c. The money that went into creating Caligula was not small, and it shows in the huge sets and crowds of extras clothed in Roman style. There are some genuine “wow” moments, but then there come scenes that are purely exploitative. With a cast that includes Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole, and John Gielgud, Caligula is elevated above being an exploitation film, though. In answer to my question, I think it depends on what you are looking for with the film. It at least manages to be a unique spectacle.
The theatrical cut is 2.5 hours. The disc rental also has a 3-hour reconstructed cut based on the original script. I will likely tackle that one next week.
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) at the Circle Drive-In - I probably had not watched Christmas Vacation since the 1990s, and it is one that I saw in a theater when it first came out. There was not much that I remembered about it, actually. Watching Christmas movies in July does feel odd to me, but it was a chance to see a movie with family. Randy Quaid’s Cousin Eddie steals the film when he is in it. (There were several Uncle Eddie impersonators at the drive-in that night.)
KABHI KHUSHI KABHIE GHAM (2001, dir. Karan Johar) – My dive into Bollywood cinema continues with the biggest Indian hit of 2001. The title translates as “Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sorrow” in English. This is a sprawling family drama (3.5 hours) about the estrangement of an adopted son (Shah Rukh Khan) from his wealthy Indian family which spans two continents. The situation is a result of the adopted son deciding to marry a woman well below his social status. KKKG is a lavish spectacle with a lot of melodrama that sometimes comes across as forced. When the story switches to London, there are a couple of very year 2000 musical sequences. The big musical number, Bole Chudiyan, is very catchy and very Bollywood. Due to the length of the film, I did watch it in two sittings. Although I enjoyed the film overall, these long run-times do test my patience.
Until Dawn (2025): I'll be honest, I fell asleep half way through and had to watch the second half a day later. Continuing the "trauma horror" trend, this flick fell short for me in just about every way. And nothing about it really made any sense to me. Maybe I need to play the video game? I was pleasantly surprised with the practical effects though, the bathroom scene was particularly fun.
FANTASTIC FOUR FIRST STEPS (2025) I posted a full-length review on my blog (macmcentire.com), but the short version is, I really liked it!
TANK GIRL (1995) There’s the whole Cole Porter scene, so that had me wondering if a full-on bonkers Tank Girl Broadway musical is possible.
THE WIZARD (1989) Yes, it’s all one big Nintendo commercial. The big game tournament at the end was a lot of fun, but it’s a slog getting there. The movie is a road trip comedy… with no comedy.
THE MUMMY RETURNS (2001) Hoo, boy. Some movies have too much CGI, and then there’s this movie.
MESSIAH OF EVIL (1974) A plotless horror movie, but there’s a certain beauty to its plotlessness. Dream logic, as it were.
THE MOVIE O**Y (1968) Joe Dante’s mythic five-hour clip compilation finally made it online recently, so I had to check it out. It sure is an experience, a tour through the inside of Dante’s brain. I wonder, though, if it really needs to be five hours.
Event Horizon (1997): I always liked this movie. Though it feels like it could, and want to go further, like being Hellraiser on a spaceship (I know, studios and ratings), what we got is a cool B-movie-horror-scifi where the secondary characters survive and the main one sacrifice himself.
Prince of Darkness (1987): Got this one for extra cheap at my local used DVD store because it's the UK release, so the regular blu-rays are Region B. Every time I watch it, I'm hypnotized by the score. First, it's very good. Second, it's always playing. John Carpenter knows how to make a good soundtrack that perfectly fits his movie. It perfectly enhances the moody tone of the movie.
DeepStar Six (1989): Bought the Kino 4k on a whim when it got released not long ago. First time watch. Who doesn't love a deep underwater monster movie. It's like The Abyss and Alien had a baby. Plus we get Elys Baskin (of Spider-Man 2 fame) and Matt McCoy (of Police Academy 6 fame).
I feel the exact same way about Event Horizon. I only saw it for the first time a few years ago but knew a lot about it and I think my expectations were too high. I still really like it but I also think it should've gone further.
Funny that that the post image is a big blue light going up into the sky. They just can't shake that huh? I have no interest in that movie. Or Superman. Or whatever "the new avengers" is...Thunderbolts or whatever. (although I heard it's pretty entertaining).
ReplyDeleteFor what it's worth, the pic is from the Josh Trank Fant4stic from 2015.
DeleteThanks for the correction. I still like them, but am not excited for them at all. I'll watch them at home, but I'm not going to theatre to see them.
DeleteI've continued my "catch up" of Juneploitation:
ReplyDeleteThe Siege of Firebase Gloria (1988) for Wings Hauser! day. I had seen it once before, and it's not a well known Vietnam War movie. Kind of leans more into the action, and less into the dilemma of why you yankee doodles were fucking around there in the first place. Good movie though.
A Hard Days Night (1964) for Rock and Roll! day. I LOVE the Beatles, but this didn't really hit for me. Their comedy is pretty lame. However, every 5 minutes it switches to them playing some music which is fantastic. The movie making is really good though, how they transition from them sitting around somewhere to them playing music.
Women in Cages (1971) for New World Pictures!
It was great seeing Pam Grier playing a villian. There was lots of breasts but overall not that great. The editing was terrible.
To be clear, I don't care whether or not there are breasts. I was just searched for some praise for the movie, and there wasn't much there.
DeleteI watched Women in Cages for Junesploitation's NWP day, and I really liked it. It had all the usual WIP ingredients but served them up with an extra layer of grimness.
DeleteI watched most of New World Pictures' Filipino WIP films around the same time in the early 2010s. Women In Cages was the lesser entry for me, but it is always fun to see Pam Grier come on the screen.
DeleteGood to see that you are pushing through to finish the Junesploitation days you missed, Paul. I was looking at this years calendar just now, missing the experience of reading about what people watched every day. I already have a few category ideas for next June.
Slow week at the movies for me. I was supposed to go see 28 Years Later, but plans fell through. Instead, I saw Jurassic World Rebirth, which was very boring. I only blame the studio, Gareth Edwards usually knows how to make a good monster movie (yes, I like his Godzilla). So, to wash the bad taste, I put my Jurassic Park 4k disc and forgot all about the other one.
ReplyDeleteHappy Gilmore 2 finally came out. It's pretty standard legacy-sequel crap. Celebrity cameos, callbacks, reused jokes, bad writing, barely trying actors. Sometimes there's a decent gag. I kinda like the running joke of Happy Gilmore having booze hidden in the most bizarre places. Bennie Safdie should go back to directing. Watch only if you really like the first movie.
I was entertained by Happy Gilmore 2 but it felt like a rushed first-pass where no ideas were turned down or refined. It needed to spend way more time in the oven.
DeleteWhat bothers me with those legacy-sequels nowadays is they spend most of their effort referencing the previous movie. This one has so many shots taken from the first movie, it was getting annoying. I did laugh at some jokes, but between that and the gratuitous celebrity cameos, I just didn't care by the end.
DeleteCutaway (2000, dir. Guy Manos)
ReplyDeleteGuy Manos, the guy who created and filmed the aerial sequences for Drop Zone wrote and directed this movie which is essentially a loose remake of Drop Zone (which is essentially a loose remake of Point Break). Stephen Baldwin has to infiltrate a group of skydivers who he suspects of smuggling (sound familiar?) led by Red Line (Tom Berenger, fully dialed-in) and featuring Turbo (Dennis Rodman). He gets trained by Casper Van Dien and is under constant scrutiny from his boss Ron Silver. Cool cast aside, the aerial footage is just as awesome as Drop Zone, but the difference here is Baldwin and Berenger are filmed actually doing real solo jumps. No stunt doubles or crappy process shots with the main actors. Props to those two. There is a training montage set to "All One" by Entrain that is pure cinema. I had a blast with this one.
This sounds awesome. Thanks for the recommendation.
DeleteI'll definitely try to find it. Too bad there's no blu-ray
DeleteAnother week gone by. I got to a couple of long watches.
ReplyDeleteCALIGULA (1979, dirs. Tinto Brass and Bob Guccione) Theatrical Cut – Is this a good or a bad movie? I have read and heard about this one for a long time as a notorious example of 1970s cinematic excess. Partially funded by Mr. Guccione of Penthouse magazine fame, Caligula tackles the increasingly maniacal acts of the Roman emperor- played by Malcolm Mcdowell- in a style that can be grandiose, campy, and p-o-r-n-o-g-r-a-p-h-i-c. The money that went into creating Caligula was not small, and it shows in the huge sets and crowds of extras clothed in Roman style. There are some genuine “wow” moments, but then there come scenes that are purely exploitative. With a cast that includes Helen Mirren, Peter O’Toole, and John Gielgud, Caligula is elevated above being an exploitation film, though. In answer to my question, I think it depends on what you are looking for with the film. It at least manages to be a unique spectacle.
The theatrical cut is 2.5 hours. The disc rental also has a 3-hour reconstructed cut based on the original script. I will likely tackle that one next week.
NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) at the Circle Drive-In - I probably had not watched Christmas Vacation since the 1990s, and it is one that I saw in a theater when it first came out. There was not much that I remembered about it, actually. Watching Christmas movies in July does feel odd to me, but it was a chance to see a movie with family. Randy Quaid’s Cousin Eddie steals the film when he is in it. (There were several Uncle Eddie impersonators at the drive-in that night.)
KABHI KHUSHI KABHIE GHAM (2001, dir. Karan Johar) – My dive into Bollywood cinema continues with the biggest Indian hit of 2001. The title translates as “Sometimes Happiness, Sometimes Sorrow” in English. This is a sprawling family drama (3.5 hours) about the estrangement of an adopted son (Shah Rukh Khan) from his wealthy Indian family which spans two continents. The situation is a result of the adopted son deciding to marry a woman well below his social status. KKKG is a lavish spectacle with a lot of melodrama that sometimes comes across as forced. When the story switches to London, there are a couple of very year 2000 musical sequences. The big musical number, Bole Chudiyan, is very catchy and very Bollywood. Due to the length of the film, I did watch it in two sittings. Although I enjoyed the film overall, these long run-times do test my patience.
Until Dawn (2025): I'll be honest, I fell asleep half way through and had to watch the second half a day later. Continuing the "trauma horror" trend, this flick fell short for me in just about every way. And nothing about it really made any sense to me. Maybe I need to play the video game? I was pleasantly surprised with the practical effects though, the bathroom scene was particularly fun.
ReplyDeleteFANTASTIC FOUR FIRST STEPS (2025)
ReplyDeleteI posted a full-length review on my blog (macmcentire.com), but the short version is, I really liked it!
TANK GIRL (1995)
There’s the whole Cole Porter scene, so that had me wondering if a full-on bonkers Tank Girl Broadway musical is possible.
THE WIZARD (1989)
Yes, it’s all one big Nintendo commercial. The big game tournament at the end was a lot of fun, but it’s a slog getting there. The movie is a road trip comedy… with no comedy.
THE MUMMY RETURNS (2001)
Hoo, boy. Some movies have too much CGI, and then there’s this movie.
MESSIAH OF EVIL (1974)
A plotless horror movie, but there’s a certain beauty to its plotlessness. Dream logic, as it were.
THE MOVIE O**Y (1968)
Joe Dante’s mythic five-hour clip compilation finally made it online recently, so I had to check it out. It sure is an experience, a tour through the inside of Dante’s brain. I wonder, though, if it really needs to be five hours.
Event Horizon (1997): I always liked this movie. Though it feels like it could, and want to go further, like being Hellraiser on a spaceship (I know, studios and ratings), what we got is a cool B-movie-horror-scifi where the secondary characters survive and the main one sacrifice himself.
ReplyDeletePrince of Darkness (1987): Got this one for extra cheap at my local used DVD store because it's the UK release, so the regular blu-rays are Region B. Every time I watch it, I'm hypnotized by the score. First, it's very good. Second, it's always playing. John Carpenter knows how to make a good soundtrack that perfectly fits his movie. It perfectly enhances the moody tone of the movie.
DeepStar Six (1989): Bought the Kino 4k on a whim when it got released not long ago. First time watch. Who doesn't love a deep underwater monster movie. It's like The Abyss and Alien had a baby. Plus we get Elys Baskin (of Spider-Man 2 fame) and Matt McCoy (of Police Academy 6 fame).
I feel the exact same way about Event Horizon. I only saw it for the first time a few years ago but knew a lot about it and I think my expectations were too high. I still really like it but I also think it should've gone further.
DeleteBOMBSHELL (2019)
ReplyDeleteI thought it was well done and it's a really good watch now.
And I bet Allison Janney loved that part.
Delete