Jeff S.C. presents:: October 2016

Monday, October 31, 2016

Halloween playlist #39 - Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (1931)

I first watched this movie years ago (I would say it's been over a decade), and I wasn't a huge fan of it at the time. I always have been a fan of the old Universal monster movies, so I can't say it's because I was too young to appreciate it, but I honestly found the Spencer Tracy movie more interesting, and the silent version far creepier. But while I haven't rewatched either of those versions in a while, I will say my opinion of the movie has much improved.

I watched this movie on recommendation in 2010 right after it had come out. Everyone raved about it. I thought I was going to be watching some relatively obscure Australian masterpiece. I didn't care for it. But when I found it for sale for $1.50 on DVD, I decided to say "screw it"and give it another try. It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong about a movie, and it certainly won't be the last. Yeah, no, I still have no idea why this had such a loyal following. At best, I find it mediocre.

Halloween playlist #37 - Flavia The Heretic (1974)

This is where things get weird. Nunsploitation is exactly what it sounds like it would be, and is as tasteless as you might think. I haven't seen a whole ton of this particular brand of exploitation, but this one seems to fall somewhere near the middle for me.

I'm usually a fan of stylish animation, but only when it's used well. Just having cool animation isn't enough to make me like something. This rule applies here, in one of the most forgettable animated movies I've seen in some time. Edgar Allen Poe's stories and poems have influenced generations, but I feel that if this were someone's first introduction to his work, they wouldn't be able to understand why.

Halloween playlist #35 - Nosferatu (1922)

Probably the 5th or 6th time I've watched this movie, and also the best overall experience I've had with it. I was lucky enough to be able to watch this in an old theater with live organ music accompanying it. Not that it made the movie "better" this time around, because it's already a masterpiece, but it was really awesome watching it in this setting.

Halloween playlist #33 - The Wizard Of Gore (1970)

My second time around with this one, and now that I've seen it again in such close proximity to Lewis' other film Two Thousand Maniacs, yeah, I probably will have to revoke previous statements about preferring this one. It's enjoyable, but ultimately incomprehensible and slightly redundant.

Halloween playlist #34 - The Fly II (1989)

Few movies could ever hold up to the 1986 Cronenberg version of The Fly, so this movie really never had a chance at being a great sequel, but that doesn't keep it from being enjoyable. I appreciate the fact that this one doesn't just rehash the events of the first movie, instead telling it's own story and following up the events in an original way.

Another fun little '50s-style b-movie from Christopher R. Mihm, Terror From Beneath The Earth fits right in with the rest of his movies as a clever send-up to that charming point in time where horror movies were all about radiated bugs and animals.

Halloween playlist #31 - Sleepaway Camp (1983)

I, sadly, fell prey to the dreaded spoilers that plague everything surrounding this movie. So I didn't get to witness the full impact of the ending many others before me had the pleasure of experiencing, but that never kept this movie from being any less interesting. It may not stand among the greatest slasher movies ever, but it's still a strong one. The setup is generic and many of the events taking place are pretty standard, so it all really comes down to the ending. But what an ending.

I've mentioned Herschell Gordon Lewis a couple times on here before, especially when referencing those trashy low budget late '60s, early '70s gory exploitation movies. In fact, I think I just recently did when talking about I Drink Your Blood...Anyway, this is one of his earliest films, and by most people's standards one of his best.

One of the most weirdly overlooked horror movies of the '70s, this one freaked me out as a teenager, and now close to 10 years later, has still managed to stick with me. So I watched it again, and yup, this is a pretty fantastic movie.

Halloween playlist #28 - The Return Of The Living Dead (1985)

I first watched this movie several years back, and I loved it. So, I decided to make my girlfriend sit through it, and I'm pleased to say it holds up. Really well, in fact. I don't think it would be hyperbolic at all to declare this one of the top 10 greatest zombie movies ever made. And it's not just because of naked Linnea Quigley. If that were all that was required to make a movie great, her entire filmography would be considered top 100 material.

I read that people walked out in disgust at the premiere of this movie by the finale. I can't imagine why, he says with an air of sarcasm. I think many people just lack the ability to appreciate this kind of trash in the way Kaufman and co. have intended. It kind of plays out like an episode of How It Should Have Ended for Children Of The Corn. And what else could you expect from a Troma movie? Other than pure class, I mean.

Halloween playlist #26 - Communion (1989)

Christopher Walken gets an anal probe. They should've put that on the poster, that would've been an amazing tagline and probably would've kept the movie from failing at the box office and sinking into relative obscurity. But that would have meant the filmmakers had a sense of humor about this movie. They did not.

What is a chupacabra? Well I'll give you a hint: it's not what's in this movie. Apparently the filmmakers are under the impression that the goat-sucking hound-like creature of Mexican folklore looks like a demented merman. But while it should have been funny watching a movie this bad, it really just kind of hurt. And I enjoy watching a lot of movies that most people say think are terrible.

Wow, talk about a surprise. I hadn't heard of this movie when we found it on the bottom shelf of a rack of heavily discounted used DVDs, so suffice it to say expectations weren't exactly through the roof. After reading the description, I became convinced that the movie would essentially be a trashy skin flick that I would be embarrassed to even watch in the first place. So, with the curtains drawn, we popped it in and braced ourselves for impact.

Halloween playlist #23 - Stage Fright: Aquarius (1987)

Due to my girlfriend's undying love for Italian horror, I've been subjected to some questionable entertainment. I first introduced her to the staples - Suspiria, Deep Red, Black Sunday - and from there she was hooked. So now I get to watch things like this. And honestly, it wasn't half bad. It wasn't as unsettling as something like The New York Ripper, but was less aggravating, so it all balances out.

I really enjoy watching good b-movies and b-movie parodies alike. Christopher R. Mihm is one of the unsung heroes of modern cinema for his satirizing and recreation of the classic horror/sci-fi films of the '50s, and this movie is just another example of how well he has that style down. Though he's only made one movie I would put on a similar level of effective parody with Larry Blamire's The Lost Skeleton Of Cadavra, I feel Mihm puts more effort in making his films as genuine of send-ups as possible, with the humor itself falling second. It makes his movies less funny, but much more faithful and admirable for not always taking easy pot-shots at an already frequently-parodied time and genre of popular film.

Halloween playlist #21 - Seed Of Chucky (2004)

I generally try to avoid using potty mouth lingo in my reviews, but that being said...yeah, fuck this movie.

What a pile of shit. Back in the mid-90s and early 2000s, Wes Craven had started to change the landscape of popular horror movies, infusing the tired old cliches with a hyper-aware, self-referential style of humor many people now refer to as "meta". So naturally, there were bound to be copycats. Horror has always been a genre that takes radical shifts in style depending on what's popular at the time, but few horror movies have so shamelessly ripped off a style that doesn't suit it as much as Seed of FUCKING Chucky...I apologize, but this piece of piss-gargling slime actively infuriates me when I think about it. So let's get more into why I hate it so much.

A late '90s entry in the should-be-dead-already Child's Play series, but one that I actually enjoyed quite a bit. Everything about this movie is stupid, and there's no question about it, but it manages to be funny in how shamelessly it exploits that fact. There's pretty much nothing to love about this movie, and in it's inherent silliness, winds up working surprisingly well.

Halloween playlist #19 - Child's Play 3 (1991)

After the relatively consistent first two Chucky movies, we were bound to run into one that pretty much sucked ass. And the third entry is the first entry to take a number two all over the audience. I appreciate the change of setting, but it really seemed that the story had run itself really thin by this point, making it probably the dullest in the series.

The Chucky movies are very hit and miss, but luckily the first sequel was pretty entertaining, otherwise the series probably would have died right here. And then we wouldn't have been able to witness the stupid glory of Bride of Chucky. And I wouldn't want to live in a world devoid of that.

Halloween playlist #17 - King Kong Escapes (1967)

I may have been amazed and flabbergasted by the Shaw Brothers/Hammer crossover The Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires, but I don't think I was prepared for this one. Rankin/Bass, the production company responsible for those stop-motion Christmas specials that everyone loves to poke fun at, teaming up with Toho, the Godzilla company. Just let that sink in.

I think Oliver Reed and Bette Davis are both fantastic, and the set-up for this movie made it seem like it could be great. But sometimes when we fly too close to the sun, we get hit by bird s@#$ and plummet down into the muck below. That is what happened here. And I find that very upsetting.

Halloween playlist #15 - The Reflecting Skin (1990)

I didn't know how to feel about this movie too much, so I've hesitated to write this review, but since it's technically horror (ish?) I guess I have to. This movie kind of made me feel sick. It's pretty disturbing in several ways, demonstrating what we all already knew about children: they are evil. And not just evil, but they're gross, too. I felt very grossed out during this movie, and also occasionally found myself almost laughing. But I believe that was intentional, even though slightly understated.

Top 25 Favorite Movies of 1990

I originally intended to make this list into a video, but every time I sat in front of that camera, I started to get all phlegmy and my ears were all congested. It was just a mess. I sounded like Burgess Meredith from the Rocky series...after he died. So, instead of sitting in front of a camera for an hour trying to think of what words to say about 25 different movies while also attempting to be at least slightly charming and/or funny (which is a painfully difficult process for unfunny, uncharming people like me) and trying not to hack and cough and ooze all over the place, I'll just sit here like a lazy cow and pound on a keyboard until it makes the words happen. In other words, I beat the system. Take that.

So, why 1990, specifically? Because it was the BEST YEAR EVER. I know this because it's the year I was born. So, starting with 1990 (and probably going backwards from there, because I can't wait to dig deeper into some awesome '80s nonsense), I'll be checking out movies from specific years and throwing together awesome top 25 lists. Now, you're probably gonna notice I won't have a lot of movies most people would consider "great" by conventional standards, and this is because it's a list of my favorite movies from each of these years. Favorite. And I have an admittedly silly taste in movies, so you might scoff, roll your eyes, or wind up assuming I haven't seen anything that's actually good from each of these years. And maybe that's right, I don't know. I don't have any intention of making any of these lists until I've seen every movie on my watchlist for that year. And having just finished a few movies that actually didn't even wind up making this list, I now feel I've seen as much as I want from 1990 to go ahead on with this list. So you may think my opinion is wrong, but I am being pretty thorough here, so at least I'll be thoroughly wrong.

Alright, so are you ready for that list now? Okay, let's see what I've got here. Because frankly, I've already forgotten. Whoops. Time to consult the notebook...

Ahh, there we go. Let's do this.

25. The Godfather Part III

From the director of Basket Case and Brain Damage, this movie is pretty much everything you could expect from a movie called "Frankenhooker", and then some. This was my first viewing of the film, and I can say without hesitation that it is in fact my favorite of the three.

Halloween playlist #13 - I Drink Your Blood (1970)

Damn hippie satanists, always gettin' rabies, making sacrifices, and turning into zombie-like cannibals. What a bunch of silly little devils.

Halloween playlist #12 - Son Of Frankenstein (1939)

I was raised on Universal's classic monster movies. They've been a Halloween tradition for as long as I can remember, but somehow this movie never fully made it into my family's rotation. I only saw it once or twice many years ago, so this viewing was very close to being the first time I'd ever seen it.

Halloween playlist #11 - Play Misty For Me (1971)

My dad has watched this several times and always talked about how it was a very good movie, so I was bound to eventually get around to watching this. I just find it funny that I finally watched it within a month of seeing Fatal Attraction for the first time. This one's better.

I'd already seen this one, but since I know I would like to watch Slither again this Halloween, I thought it might be fun to check out the movie that undoubtedly inspired James Gunn to make that. And yeah, I like Slither better.

After watching this, do I plan on digging deeper into this franchise? Absolutely not. Good God, how many franchises do I need to get my greasy hands on?...I just ate french fries, don't judge me. This was a first time viewing for me, and in all likelihood, this will be the last time as well. But that doesn't mean it's necessarily a bad movie.

[VIDEO] The Legend Of The 7 Golden Vampires - JEFF REVIEWS MOVIES!!!

It's really hard to find the right balance when combining two totally different types of movies. And Gothic horror combined with martial arts is definitely a tough one. If you want to know what I think of this movie click on the link below.

Watch my review here

Friday, October 7, 2016

My 5 favorite things about... Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare

Ahh, so this is the movie that broke the streak. Up until this, I enjoyed every single movie in this series. But apparently after 5 movies, they decided it didn't matter if they were interesting anymore, because this movie is terrible. Which is going to make this post a little difficult for me, but I suppose I deserve it for thinking I might actually enjoy all of these movies.

FREDDY'S DEAD: THE FINAL NIGHTMARE

One of several Corman/Price/Poe adaptations, and quite possibly in the top 2-3 most effective.

A relatively unknown Stephen King adaptation that lives up to the hype. My first time watching it as well as my last time, for sure.

I had read a little bit about this movie and have been aware of it for several years now, but I only just now got around to watching it and...man is this a weird one.

Okay, so, this isn't a horror movie pretty much at all, but being a musical adaptation of The Phantom of The Opera (a story occasionally adapted into horror), I decided to give this a look for the first time this October. And I liked it.

Halloween playlist #4 - In The Mouth Of Madness [1995]

Yet another movie that I've already seen before (this was my third time, in fact), but I'm pretty much always up for watching it. There aren't many movies that take the spirit of H.P. Lovecraft's work and translate it so well, but this one really did. Not technically based on any of his books, but still very much in the vein of what his stories were all about.

Friday The 13th, parts 5 - 7

Alright, now that we've got the first 4 out of the way, it's time to move on to the next phase -- and this is where things start to get interesting.

FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING - 1985

Gamera: The Giant Monster (1965) - JEFF REVIEWS MOVIES!!! - video review

Giant monster movies are one of the most fun things on the whole planet. So, I feel like it should be fun to talk about them. This one is among the least exciting of the Gamera series, but a very important first entry nonetheless.

Here is what I have to say about it: by clicking anywhere on this text, you are entering an agreement that you will be transported to the land of YouTube, wherein my videos can be seen.

Monday, October 3, 2016

Oscar predictions 2017 - Best Actor & Actress, Best Supporting Actor & Supporting Actress

BEST ACTOR

1. Michael Keaton - The Founder
2. Denzel Washington - Fences
3. Ryan Gosling - La La Land
4. Casey Affleck - Manchester By The Sea
5. Joel Edgerton - Loving

6. Jake Gyllenhaal - Nocturnal Animals
7. Matthew McConaughey - Gold
8. Tom Hanks - Sully
9. Andrew Garfield - Silence
10. Joe Alwyn - Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk

Well, after watching two good movies, it only made sense to mix in a crappy one. This is pretty standard for '80s horror, a slasher movie without any mystery as to who the killer is, fueled by a cheesy revenge plot perpetrated on and by unlikable and uninteresting characters.

The first movie we did this Halloween was Wes Craven's The Serpent And The Rainbow, which I had never seen before. This one is one I have seen at least 2 or 3 times, and is often considered something of a horror classic. Does it hold up? It's not one of the most amazing horror movies out there, but in a lot of ways, yes, it really does. One of Tobe Hooper's most popular movies, this isn't as unsettling as The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, or as fun as its sequel (which is probably my favorite Hooper movie), but the effects and visuals still make it a very memorable experience that is still charming and exciting.

My top 10 favorite movie Draculas

It's October. Okay, so now that I've gotten my motivation out of the way, let's get on with it. I decided to count down my favorite film Draculas. You know, the guy with the teeth, Transylvania, and the vlah vlah vlah (yeah, he doesn't do that). An iconic horror character if there ever was one, so I don't really need to explain myself going in. So here we go.

10. Adam Sandler - Hotel Transylvania

Friday The 13th, parts 1 - 4

One of the three most popular horror franchises of all time (along with Halloween and Elm Street. Don't bother arguing, I already don't care), Friday The 13th was among the first popular masked killer films, and the impact it has left has been every bit as massive as the amount of movies in the franchise itself -- I think there are 12 total films, with a new one being released next year. They've been very redundant, sure, but they're still fun as mindless slasher entertainment. But isn't that all they were ever meant to be?

As I've been working my way through various horror series' for the very first time, I've found myself gravitating more towards the Hellraiser and Elm Street films (due largely to the incredible visual appeal and intriguing supernatural qualities), but I've been mostly enjoying the Halloween and Friday The 13th films as well, even if they aren't as fun for me. There just aren't enough differences between these movies or ingenious set-ups to make different entries in the series stand out, so I won't be making any top 5 favorite things about them posts...at least not this year.

The first 4 films in the series are all very standard, and none of them are really all that special, but I'll write a little about each film and which ones I like the most. So, let's start with the one that it makes the most sense to start with.

Sully - JEFF REVIEWS MOVIES!!! video review

My all new review of the new Eastwood movie Sully! Next review should probably be Miss Peregrine...yeah, I'll let you guess how that one turned out.

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Blair Witch - JEFF REVIEWS MOVIES!!! video review

Here's my review of Blair Witch! So spooky. Ahhh. Terrifying.

Halloween playlist #1 - The Serpent And The Rainbow [1988]

This October, my girlfriend and I decided to try to fit in 20-30 horror movies one or both of us have never seen. Seeing as how much Elm Street has been on my mind lately, it was only fitting that the first movie on the agenda was from Wes Craven himself. Seeing as how much I love voodoo imagery and lore (we seriously need more movies on this subject), this really was the perfect movie to start off an October full of wonderful new cinematic treats.

My 5 favorite things about... A Nightmare On Elm Street 5: The Dream Child

Yet another entry that I feel gets unfairly criticized, the fifth Elm Street movie is just another in a long line of Elm Street sequels I enjoy quite well, in spite of its flaws. A significant increase in visual flair and a slight drop-off in originality (how many 5th movies in a series can be totally original anyway?), but this much-maligned sequel still stands as a wholly entertaining entry in one of the greatest horror franchises of all-time. Freddy delivers.

A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 5: THE DREAM CHILD

2016 in film (Part VII)

It seems a little bit of the crap has caught up with me this time. Still, some great stuff here at the top.

For more content not yet posted in this blog, visit my letterboxd page here: http://letterboxd.com/Jeff_SC/

10. Blair Witch
Directed by Adam Wingard

Enter The Void - JEFF REVIEWS MOVIES!!! video review

Odds are, most of my video reviews are going to be of new movies, so this one may be a one-of-a-kind thing...well, at least until I go all out on a Crimson Peak review.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=4CrODF6CZP8>So here it is.

My next 2016 in film post will be up soon, as will the next Elm Street movie. Yay!

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Monday, October 31, 2016

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Saturday, October 1, 2016