200 Items Or Less - Destination: Outer Space (2010)

A few thoughts: A hodgepodge of ill-conceived and/or stolen ideas, this movie feels very much like the writer (Christopher R. Mihm) had a dozen or so incomplete thoughts for his movies and elected to smash them all together instead of trying to flesh them out. It's like being told the start of 5 different jokes and never being given a punchline. Usually Mihm's movies are fairly well-done parodies, but not here at all. The poor attention to detail makes it less like a tribute to classic sci/fi tropes than a complete misunderstanding of them. Instead of just having stilted dialogue and poor acting, this movie chooses to draw attention to how bad these aspects of it are without ever finding a way to make it humorous. Out of place and distractingly obvious and bad references to popular movies (like Star Wars) take it out of the supposed '50s setting, resulting in "jokes" of the caliber of the most poorly thought out leftover Family Guy material. There are a few fun moments, but this mess is just...well, a mess. Easily my least favorite Mihm so far, and a major disappointment -- especially since I consider him one of my favorite modern directors.

200 Items Or Less: Mr. Sardonicus (1961)

A few thoughts: One of those rare movies with a single image far more well-known than the movie itself, Mr. Sardonicus fits nicely into William Castle's filmography as a fine example of the charms of his gimmickry. Gleefully cheesy and in poor taste, I can't go so far as to say this is a very good film, but it's an entertaining one regardless. Filled with hilariously cornball torture scenes and close-ups on some very poor prosthetics work, this movie tells an outrageous story that's just goofy enough to be funny and just serious enough to not be a comedy. I enjoy the opening and closing bits featuring Castle himself, moments during which you can tell this was a man who absolutely loved what he did. Were his movies silly? Absolutely, but the way he tried to have his audiences participate in the experience was infectiously charming. As far as his movies go this wouldn't be at the very top of the list, but if you enjoy the look and feel of black and white horror from the '50s and '60s, this is a competently made movie with a cool setting and creative presentation.

Top 5 Best Episodes of Adventure Time (Season 3)

Being arguably the most consistent season of the entire show (which is really saying something), the best of and worst of lists for it were incredibly hard to make. On the top end, some of my very favorites of the entire series were in thus season, with a dozen or so more that I also really liked. On the bottom end, there wasn't a single "bad" episode to be found, with the worst ones more often than not just simply being forgettable. So with that out of the way, don't be surprised if your favorites or least favorites aren't on this list. There were too many good episodes for me to choose from, making it very hard to narrow it down to just 5. So let's get on with this, my top 5 favorite episodes of season 3.

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5. What Was Missing

200 Items Or Less: Escanaba In Da Moonlight (2001)

A few thoughts: I normally wouldn't write a 200 Items review of a comedy, but seeing as how this is the only movie I've ever seen that feels quite like this, I figure I'll let it slip in as a sort of campy cult fantasy hybrid. But as any true cult movie should be, the intended audience for this movie is so damn small and specific, it's a wonder it was even made in the first place. This isn't the kind of comedy you burst out laughing during, but the quotable lines and memorable characters will stick with you regardless. By the third act, you'll feel like you're watching a completely different movie, but that bizarreness only adds to how truly exceptional this movie is to experience. My family picked this up on a whim when a video rental store was clearing out their VHS tapes, and honestly, that's kind of perfect for it. I've never really known anyone to have seen this, but that obscurity only works in its favor. It's not very "good", but it's remarkable nonetheless, and a worthwhile bit of wacky, superstitious, paranoid nonsense. Even if you don't like it, odds are you won't forget it.

200 Items Or Less: Showgirls (1995)

A few thoughts: The term "worst of all time" gets throws around an awful lot these days, so I'll try to avoid such hyperbole when I say this movie is definitely one of the worst movies I have ever seen. By the time this movie finished, I felt like it had become part of my personality. After experiencing something so horrible for so long, how could it not find a way to creep into my brain and tug some wires loose? Elizabeth Berkeley gives one of the most astoundingly inept lead performances I've ever seen, and a good portion of the supporting cast is almost as bad. The major exception being Kyle MacLachlan, who actually does a solid job. But it's not just horrible acting, the story is predictable and the dialogue/content of the movie as a whole is purely vile. This is a repulsive movie. With the tongue-in-cheek self-awareness Verhoeven movies usually have it's almost remarkable how much he missed the mark here. I laughed at times from the horrible acting, but cringed for a majority of the movie: not even seemingly endless nudity could make it bearable.