Best Episodes of Rick And Morty (#18)

#18
'Raising Gazorpazorp'
Season 1, Episode 7

Rick buys Morty a sex robot at a pawn shop, which turns out to be a robot designed to give birth as well. Morty decides to raise the child himself, which is a violent alien that grows up incredibly fast. Summer gets herself involved in Rick's exploits, as they venture to the robot's planet of origin and discover the true reason behind the existence of this breeder-bot.

Best Episodes of Rick And Morty (#19)

#19
'Mortynight Run'
Season 2, Episode 2

Rick and Morty drop Jerry off at a daycare center made by an alternate Rick specifically for Jerrys, and proceed to sell an alien assassin a weapon in order to afford a day of fun at a space arcade. Morty intervenes, and drags Rick along to protect the life of the assassin's intended target, which turns out to be a gaseous entity that may or may not have dark intentions. Jerry kind of attempts to break out of the daycare, but doesn't really know what to do if he does.

Well, at least 'Ouija: Origin Of Evil' was better than the first one

I, like everyone I've ever met who has actually watched the first Ouija movie, was not a fan. It was one of the weakest attempts by Blumhouse, a company that has made its name off of cheap popcorn horror movies, and that's not even taking into consideration the blatant product placement featured throughout. So when I saw of a sequel, "skeptical" certainly wouldn't have been the last word to come to mind when hearing about it. And then the trailers came out, and I still wasn't convinced it would be good. But then I watched the movie. And I'm still not convinced.

Best Episodes of Rick And Morty (#20)

#20
'Interdimensional Cable 2:
Tempting Fate'
Season 2, Episode 8

Jerry is sent to an alien hospital after being infected by a dangerous space virus. Rick and the rest of the family watch infinite-reality TV in the waiting room (all of which improvised by Roiland) while Jerry is treated and asked by the doctors to donate his penis to be repurposed as a heart to save the life of a hugely influential galactic civil rights activist who's in critical condition.

Oscar predictions 2017

Best Actor

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Michael Keaton - The Founder
Casey Affleck - Manchester By The Sea
Denzel Washington - Fences
Ryan Gosling - La La Land
Joel Edgerton - Loving

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Best Actress

Best Episodes of Rick And Morty (#21)

#21
'Get Schwifty'
Season 2, Episode 5

Giant disembodied heads from space come to Earth and demand Earthlings "show them what they got" by creating a new pop song for a massive, intergalactic reality singing show. Rick and Morty attempt to write a hit song with the aid of the US government in an attempt to save the planet. The presence of the heads prompts several of the Smith family and townsfolk to have a shift in religion, as they misinterpret the reality of what's going on.

Best Episodes of Rick And Morty (introduction)

Rick And Morty is currently sitting in IMDb's top 10 user-rated TV shows of all-time. Co-created by Dan Harmon, the man behind the extremely popular cult show Community (which has always been a personal favorite of mine), Rick And Morty matches the meta humor and self-awareness of Community and pairs it with enough science fiction theory and narrative experimentation to satisfy even the most hardcore sci-fi nerds. Throw in the hefty contributions from Justin Roiland, co-creator and voice actor for both Rick and Morty (as well as dozens of other characters throughout the show), who handles much more of the comedic side and you've got yourself a well-balanced, intelligent, and hilarious show. Roiland, known for his screechy voice acting as the Earl of Lemongrab from Adventure Time, is able to convey a lot with his idiosyncratic performance(s) in both of the titular roles, creating some very iconic characters while also generating a good deal of laughs with his improvised dialogue and childish sense of humor. Listening to Dan Harmon's podcast Harmontown shows that he and Roiland very much share this sense of humor, which really helps make this show work; there doesn't appear to be a conflict or struggle between the two main minds behind this show, and the results are terrific.

Witchfinder General (The Conqueror Worm) - 1968

As much as I would love to call this a masterpiece, there are quite simply too many things that are weird and off about it to declare it more than just a really interestingly flawed film -- one that I enjoyed immensely.

Didn't love it, but 'Deepwater Horizon' was pretty intense

I love watching incredibly original movies as much as the next guy. When something comes out of nowhere and blows me away with how completely unique it is, I'm likely to praise it more than something that doesn't break any new ground at all. When I watch a movie that feels very unoriginal, I'm likely to point out how it never tries anything different at all, but as long as it's done well that doesn't keep me from enjoying it. This is that last kind of movie: A tragic retelling of the disastrous BP oil spill.

'Batman: Return Of The Caped Crusaders' was an odd experience

I've always loved watching the old Batman show. The 1966 film is one of my favorite movies of the entire decade, Adam West and Burt Ward will always be the ultimate Batman and Robin in my eyes, and the fun and kooky villains are always a joy to watch in action. This was my favorite incarnation of Batman, so when I saw that this new animated movie was coming out featuring the voices of West and Ward, I was pretty excited to see how it might turn out. Ultimately, I was pretty disappointed.

'Loving' just didn't work for me

Jeff Nichols is one of the best contemporary American filmmakers, releasing success after success that each stand on their own as individual and fully realized works of art. From Shotgun Stories through Midnight Special, he hasn't made a movie I didn't enjoy until now. Loving is essentially a hollow shell of a great movie, never fully equipped to handle the emotional subject matter or present it in a way that hits home. This is a good story that could have made for an exceptional film, but it just fell flat.

Top 10 Horror Movies of 1964

I'm probably going to forego the part 2 on this one, as I don't really have much to say about a lot of the other movies that missed the countdown, but that doesn't mean I don't genuinely like every movie on this list. It just means my top 10 definitely stand out better than the ones that didn't make it. So, take that as you will. These are my top 10 favorite horror movies of 1964 -- and a pretty solid year for horror it was.



10. Strait-Jacket

'Sharkenstein' is about what you'd expect

My third shark movie of the year and for its sheer craziness, this might be my favorite. The effects in this movie are beyond incredible. Usually, a movie with bad effects would simply be unconvincing but still make sense within the confines of reality. Nope, not here. This movie utilizes effects that are baffling in every sense of the word. It sounds like a cop out, but they really need to be seen to be understood -- note my use of the word "understood" as opposed to "believed". Because trust me, you won't be given the opportunity to believe it. Off the top of my head, I cannot name a single other movie with more confusing and outright nonsensical effects than Sharkenstein. I'm still in awe of it.

2016 in film (Part IX)

I'm going to start posting my mini reviews directly on this blog after this point, but still plan on compiling these every 10 new movies I see, because I love countdowns. Only a couple more months of this before my top 25 (not doing a top 50 again, that was torture) and a while series of other countdowns. I'm excited!

10. The Ones Below
Directed by David Farr

Horrors of 1959, Part II

For my 1959 top 10, I had to include far more corny movies than I thought would be the case. And honestly, that because most of the horror movies from 1959 were either about giant monsters, or knew to have a sense of humor about themselves. Welcome to my honorable mentions post following my jovial romp into the horrors of 1959. A much different countdown from my 1960 post, this one is all about making special note of some other movies from the year that either barely missed the list, or are otherwise noteworthy. It's not orderedmore organized, just a list of a few movies I wanted to bring up.


The Bat

A review of 'Happiness' I had forgotten to post

I first saw this movie several years back and was left feeling...well, more than a little odd. It was bizarre and creepy and made me feel gross and dirty. But it stuck with me somehow, and so I felt the need to check it out again. I wrote the following review almost exactly 2 months ago and simply forgot to post it. So here it is:

A great American farce, Todd Solonz's twisted comic masterpiece about the search for happiness (often through sex) is that particular brand of comedy that's nearly impossible to laugh at, but rather cringe at while uneasily letting out a muted chuckle.

Top 10 Horror Movies of 1959

1959 was a year dominated by giant killer monsters, science experiments gone horribly wrong, murder mysteries, and lots of Vincent Price. There were 5 films made in 1959 between the directors William Castle and Terence Fisher, with a total of 5 movies starring Vincent Price as well. That's a lot of awesome stuff to watch. And I did, along with plenty of other things as well. 1960 was a much creepier year in movies, with most of the top group there standing out as particularly disturbing in many ways, but it seems '59 was a lot sillier, which you'll probably see for yourself throughout this post.

As always with my lists, reviews, or anything else, this is entirely based on my own opinion, and I fully embrace the fact that most people probably won't agree with me on a lot of these. Also due to lack of availability, several movies I really wanted to see from this year just weren't watchable. That's a shame, but I'm not gonna cry about it. Again, what I classify as horror may be a little different than other people, but I'm not going to be as picky with this year as I was in 1960, since the genre was a little odd in '59...you'll see here in a minute.

Now, before I continue with this list, I'm going to shamelessly plug my 1960 posts again, because this is my blog and I can do what I want.

- Top 10 Horror Movies of 1960
- Horrors of 1960, Part II

Theeeeere we go. That feels a lot better, I think I'm ready to move forward with the list now. And what better way to start this off than with...


10. "Attack of the..."
Attack Of The Giant Leeches, The Killer Shrews, The Giant Gila Monster

Five Favorite Films of 1964

1964 is not one of the best years of the '60s, but that doesn't mean some of the greatest films aren't truly amazing. 1965 is probably worse, too, so don't expect much from my next list either (whenever I get around to it, that is). Anyway, here are my favorites from 1964, one, two, three, GO!


5. The Masque Of The Red Death
Directed by Roger Corman

Horrors of 1960, Part II

For my top 10 favorite horror movies of 1960, please visit the link provided: Top 10 Horror Movies of 1960.

Just the other day, I posted my top 10 favorite horror movies of 1960. It took me a while to watch all the movies I wanted in order to make that list, so naturally there were several other films that sadly did not quite make the cut. So, before moving on to the next horror list, I've decided to pay tribute to a few other films that I feel deserve mention, despite not cracking my top 10. These are movies that are notable for any number of reasons, but we'll get into that with each individual entry. Here we go.


Village Of The Damned

I just saw a pretty great movie called 'Moonlight'

There is not a speck of desire for me to be seen as a politically-correct speaker on the behalf of social issues. I have no desire to spend my time arguing moot points with people who disagree with me on a fundamental level, as I also have no desire to praise films due to their subject matter as opposed to how well these subjects are handled. I don't care much for these things: I care about my family/loved ones, and great movies. Moonlight - contrary to my fears that it would not fall into the latter category - is something worth caring about.

Top 10 Horror Movies of 1960

I have been wanting to dig deeper into more classic horror for a while now, and what better way than to watch a bunch of horror movies from each year? So I thought to myself, "what would be the best place to start on a journey like this? And how shall I chronicle my findings in a way that will keep a solid record of my excursions?" And this is what I came to. I loooooove making lists, and once I've seen all the movies I want from a year, I see no reason why I shouldn't list them immediately after, with a few notable honorable mentions at the end.

1960 is possibly the best year for the horror genre, at least based on the top grouping of films that came from it. So I doubt I'll be turning any heads with this list, because I'll basically just be repeating what everyone already knows about what movies stand out the most. But whatever, I enjoy making lists too much to care if nobody reads what I'm writing. The show must go on!

I know that's a massive intro, but I have a few additional notes to get out of the way before I proceed. The definition of horror is a fairly loose one, and this particular era makes that definition even foggier. Sci-fi and horror bleed together, and thrillers and violent dramas also blurred those lines. So I'm going by what movies fit the vague bill as horror in my eyes, and more importantly, how well they work within the genre. This is a list of the best "horror movies", not just the best "movies that are also partly horror". So movies I like better than others might be lower due to how well they work as horror films, not just how much I like them regardless of genre. Hopefully that was clear, because I'm not proofreading this. So let's begin.


10. Eyes Without A Face

Five Favorite Films of 1963

I've said it in my past 3 countdown posts, and it applies again here: this was a really hard list for me to narrow down to 5. Like, damn. I know this is why I chose to do top 5 lists instead of top 10s, but still, this is really hard for me to do. But that means you should know that I recommend these 5 very strongly. Because these are absolutely great movies.


5. Hud
Directed by Martin Ritt

Five Favorite Films of 1962

As tough as the last two posts were, 1962 is the one I've had the most difficulty making. There were 9 movies I wanted to put in my top 5, so I'm going to just say this isn't an official list by any means. I'll toss out the names of the ones that barely missed it near the end of the post because there is one in particular that I think might be expected to be on here, but didn't quite cut it. You ready? Let's get this thing started!


5. Cape Fear
Directed by J. Lee Thompson

Five Favorite Films of 1961

As a whole, I preferred 1960 over '61. The very best movies were better, and the movies that barely missed out on that list were probably better than the ones that missed it this time. That being said, I actually probably had a harder time narrowing this list down to 5 than I did last time around. This was another good year for movies, though I didn't have many horrors make this list. Unless you count...


5. Hercules In The Haunted World
Directed by Mario Bava

2016 in film (Part VIII)

Another largely forgettable batch of movies with a few gems finding their way up to the top. Hopefully with November we'll see some more strong releases.



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

10. Cafe Society
Directed by Woody Allen

Five Favorite Films of 1960

I always, always, always overdo it with massive countdowns, so instead of making a billion top 10 and top 25 lists (as tempting as that may be) I've decided to make some challenging top 5 lists. Why challenging? Well, it was hard enough for me to even narrow this down to 10, let alone 5. So I might include some honorable mentions at the end, but this is still just a top 5. So here we go, let's talk about my favorite movies of 1960.


5. Peeping Tom
Directed by Michael Powell

Best of Halloween 2016

I missed my intended Halloween release date, but I also forgot I was going to make this countdown, so I guess that makes it okay. Here are my 10 favorite movies I watched this October.



10. Poltergeist

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.