Rate the Last Movie You Saw

[Sock Monkey]

I'm open to anything that people think is worth watching. I have a small watch list, but suggestions are always nice.

I watched SCREAM, QUEEN! last night, and enjoyed it a lot. Sad, strange, and kind of uplifting. A lot to unpack and think about.

I've heard good things about that doc. Nightmare on Elm Street 2 is such a weird beast of a movie. I remember seeing it when I was a teenager and I was so confused as it doesn't follow any previously established rules from the original. Add in the subtext and it's just a strange creature in such a large franchise.

[Sock Monkey]

52 Pick-Up (1986): Like most of Cannon Film's movies, this is such an interesting misfire. On one hand you have director John Frankenheimer working from a script co-written by Elmore Leonard based on his book with a cast led by Roy Scheider, which leads one to think that this should be at least a solidly crafted film. But that other hand...oh boy, that other hand was the one holding the wheel and it drives this movie right off the proverbial cliff.

The hook is simple, Scheider is successful business man with a beautiful successful wife that will be running for public office. And since Scheider's character is rich and successful, he's got himself a mistress on the side. When a trio of lowlifes find this out, they decide to blackmail Scheider and when Scheider decides to push back, they retaliate with a rather elaborate act of violence. At this point, the movie sets up a standard yet compelling conflict that genre stalwarts should enjoy seeing play out.

Unfortunately, the movie squanders all the good will built up from the first third of the movie by making bad decision after bad decision. Want to eliminate any sense of threat that the bad guys have? How about have the lead literally slap around the head villain halfway through the film. That doesn't work out? How about taking the lead villain to your work so he can look over the books and you can calmly explain that you can't pay because of finances...and the villain is open to negotiations. So..."sorry I killed your mistress, if I had only known your cash flow was so tight we could have come up with a payment plan"? Besides the initial act of violence, the villains are almost treated like buffoons with there never being a doubt that Scheider's character can handle the situation. Devoid of any tension, the movie plods along to it's rather ridiculous ending.

I know there is some love out there for this movie, but I just don't see it. I will say that the transfer done by Arrow is very nice. Grade: D-

[Sock Monkey]

Well, if you have any Shudder recommendations, I'd be glad to hear them. I'm not sure there's enough content to make it worth my while to keep subscribing, but I'm going to watch as much as I can this month.

The Savini doc was fascinating. Hard to reconcile the nice guy of the film with the complete ass that I've heard he is to fans at conventions.

Here's my list of Shudder picks. I focused on originals/exclusives along with some other favorites. I also threw in a trio of go-to Asian movies, just because I like them. You're mileage will probably vary, but maybe you'll find something you like.

• TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID--Mexican drama with supernatural elements about orphaned children and they world they live in and try to escape.
• TERRIFIED--Supernatural forces begin affecting a neighborhood, setting a police detective on the course to try to figure it all out
• DEAREST SISTER--Laotian movie about a young poor woman who moves to the city to take care of her blind cousin who has visions of the dead. Slow burn, yet effective. Heavier on drama than the horror elements.
• BETTER WATCH OUT--A young boy's attempts to woo his babysitter goes awry when they become the victim of a home invasion
• ONE CUT OF THE DEAD--A film crew is shooting a low budget zombie movie when real zombies arrive. Just stick with it, trust me. Most fun I've had in a long time.
• SOUTHBOUND: An anthology of interconnected stories. With most anthologies not all hit, but the segment about a man taking a young woman to the hospital is a killer.
• TRAIN TO BUSAN: A businessman takes his daughter on a train trip when they are beset by zombies. Best zombie movie in a LONG time. Full of humor, heart and suspense.
• ABSENTIA: Mike Flanagan's debut film. Two sisters begin to unravel the mystery of the eldest sibling's spouses disappearance and how it's linked with a local tunnel. Low budget, but has big ideas.
• WE ARE WHAT WE ARE: A reclusive family finds their life unraveling and their secrets threatening to be exposed during a torrential downpour.

Asian Classics:

• A TALE OF TWO SISTERS
• NOROI: THE CURSE
• OLDBOY

Documentaries:

• HORROR NOIRE: A look back at the connection between the horror genre and it's connection to the African-American community
• HAUNTERS: ART OF THE SCARE: An interesting look into the Haunt subculture, along with some of the extreme Haunts that are gaining favor.

[James Newman]

Great choices, 'Monkey. Especially TERRIFIED (which featured some of the scariest images I have seen in a movie since I was a kid -- I watched the majority of this one on my phone while sweating my ass off at the YMCA and it still gave me serious goosebumps! LOL), TRAIN TO BUSAN (I'm soooooooo sick of zombie movies/books, but this one was pretty amazing), and WE ARE WHAT WE ARE (which was my favorite horror film the year it was released).

I still need to watch TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID. I've heard it's fantastic.

[dannyboy121070]

Here's my list of Shudder picks. I focused on originals/exclusives along with some other favorites. I also threw in a trio of go-to Asian movies, just because I like them. You're mileage will probably vary, but maybe you'll find something you like.

• TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID--Mexican drama with supernatural elements about orphaned children and they world they live in and try to escape.
• TERRIFIED--Supernatural forces begin affecting a neighborhood, setting a police detective on the course to try to figure it all out
• DEAREST SISTER--Laotian movie about a young poor woman who moves to the city to take care of her blind cousin who has visions of the dead. Slow burn, yet effective. Heavier on drama than the horror elements.
• BETTER WATCH OUT--A young boy's attempts to woo his babysitter goes awry when they become the victim of a home invasion
• ONE CUT OF THE DEAD--A film crew is shooting a low budget zombie movie when real zombies arrive. Just stick with it, trust me. Most fun I've had in a long time.
• SOUTHBOUND: An anthology of interconnected stories. With most anthologies not all hit, but the segment about a man taking a young woman to the hospital is a killer.
• TRAIN TO BUSAN: A businessman takes his daughter on a train trip when they are beset by zombies. Best zombie movie in a LONG time. Full of humor, heart and suspense.
• ABSENTIA: Mike Flanagan's debut film. Two sisters begin to unravel the mystery of the eldest sibling's spouses disappearance and how it's linked with a local tunnel. Low budget, but has big ideas.
• WE ARE WHAT WE ARE: A reclusive family finds their life unraveling and their secrets threatening to be exposed during a torrential downpour.

Asian Classics:

• A TALE OF TWO SISTERS
• NOROI: THE CURSE
• OLDBOY

Documentaries:

• HORROR NOIRE: A look back at the connection between the horror genre and it's connection to the African-American community
• HAUNTERS: ART OF THE SCARE: An interesting look into the Haunt subculture, along with some of the extreme Haunts that are gaining favor.

Aside from OLDBOY, which I'm due to rewatch, I haven't seen any of these. Thanks for the recs...I'll add these to the watchlist.

I watched LEVIATHAN last night. Kind of. I was really excited to watch it, then I noticed that it was PART TWO...and, of course, they are no longer streaming part one. No one is. So I started to watch it, and then my nightly four hours of sleep came back to haunt me, with a vengeance, and I was struck my such overwhelming tiredness that I could barely get up to go to bed. Made it about 45 minutes, but did like what I saw. I'll try to get back to it later in the week. Now that I'm back to my pre-Covid full-time hours at work, I'll probably end up keeping Shudder for another month, so I can work my way through your suggestions. I'm enjoying going out into the sunroom at night and watching a Horror movie with the windows open and the crickets chirping and the owls hooting....Very peaceful and relaxing, and my wife gets to watch her chick movies in peace, lol.

[dannyboy121070]

Great choices, 'Monkey. Especially TERRIFIED (which featured some of the scariest images I have seen in a movie since I was a kid -- I watched the majority of this one on my phone while sweating my ass off at the YMCA and it still gave me serious goosebumps! LOL), TRAIN TO BUSAN (I'm soooooooo sick of zombie movies/books, but this one was pretty amazing), and WE ARE WHAT WE ARE (which was my favorite horror film the year it was released).

I still need to watch TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID. I've heard it's fantastic.

James!! How've ya been, man? Long time no see!

[Sock Monkey]

Great choices, 'Monkey. Especially TERRIFIED (which featured some of the scariest images I have seen in a movie since I was a kid -- I watched the majority of this one on my phone while sweating my ass off at the YMCA and it still gave me serious goosebumps! LOL), TRAIN TO BUSAN (I'm soooooooo sick of zombie movies/books, but this one was pretty amazing), and WE ARE WHAT WE ARE (which was my favorite horror film the year it was released).

I still need to watch TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID. I've heard it's fantastic.

That opening to TERRIFIED might be one of the best I've seen in recent years.
TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID feels like the distant cousin of Del Toro's earlier films (CRONOS, DEVIL'S BACKBONE). If you liked those, then I think you'll find quite a bit to enjoy in TIGERS.

[Sock Monkey]

Aside from OLDBOY, which I'm due to rewatch, I haven't seen any of these. Thanks for the recs...I'll add these to the watchlist.

I watched LEVIATHAN last night. Kind of. I was really excited to watch it, then I noticed that it was PART TWO...and, of course, they are no longer streaming part one. No one is. So I started to watch it, and then my nightly four hours of sleep came back to haunt me, with a vengeance, and I was struck my such overwhelming tiredness that I could barely get up to go to bed. Made it about 45 minutes, but did like what I saw. I'll try to get back to it later in the week. Now that I'm back to my pre-Covid full-time hours at work, I'll probably end up keeping Shudder for another month, so I can work my way through your suggestions. I'm enjoying going out into the sunroom at night and watching a Horror movie with the windows open and the crickets chirping and the owls hooting....Very peaceful and relaxing, and my wife gets to watch her chick movies in peace, lol.

I wonder why they stopped streaming Part One of LEVIATHAN? They had it previously, because I worked my way through both parts and combined it's a pretty exhaustive look at the first two Hellraiser movies. Quite a bummer, actually.

I hope you wind up enjoying a couple of the suggestions. Let me know your thoughts, even if you hate them!

I also am due for an OLDBOY rewatch. I'm waiting for the next Arrow UK sale so I can pick up their Blu-ray boxset of OLDBOY, SYMPATHY OF MR. VENGEANCE, and LADY VENGEANCE.

[dannyboy121070]

Yeah, they are no longer streaming part one, or the FRIGHT NIGHT doc that they used to have. Strange that they kept part tow, but I'd better finish watching it before that vanishes, too.

[James Newman]

James!! How've ya been, man? Long time no see!

Dude! Good to "see" you! It has been a loooong time.

[James Newman]

TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID feels like the distant cousin of Del Toro's earlier films (CRONOS, DEVIL'S BACKBONE).

Sold.

[Ben Staad]

Extraction starring Bruce Willis.

It's a turd. I would rather be in the bathroom while this is playing.

2 out of 5 just for some interesting scenes but overall a huge waste of time.

[Sock Monkey]

Extraction starring Bruce Willis.

It's a turd. I would rather be in the bathroom while this is playing.

2 out of 5 just for some interesting scenes but overall a huge waste of time.

It bums me out that this what Willis is up to these days. I know he’s been in the game forever and probably doesn’t need to work, but I really miss Willis when he’s fully engaged. He’s truly a lot better actor than people give him credit for.

[dannyboy121070]

When was the last time Willis made a good movie...? (I'm not counting GLASS, because that was a sequel.) Willis has either burned his mainstream Hollywood bridges, or else he's got the Nicholas Cage "I'll do anything for a buck" syndrome. Seeing Willis in a new movie is as good as a massive
"DON'T BOTHER WATCHING THIS, 'CAUSE IT'S GONNA SUCK!!!" sign.

[Sock Monkey]

When was the last time Willis made a good movie...? (I'm not counting GLASS, because that was a sequel.) Willis has either burned his mainstream Hollywood bridges, or else he's got the Nicholas Cage "I'll do anything for a buck" syndrome. Seeing Willis in a new movie is as good as a massive
"DON'T BOTHER WATCHING THIS, 'CAUSE IT'S GONNA SUCK!!!" sign.

I’d say LOOPER from 2012. Or RED in 2010. Those are my last two favorite Willis movies, not counting GLASS, which I liked quite a bit.