I started this journal (thirty years ago if you believe the date) to keep track of the ridiculous amount of films I devour on a regular basis.  Commentary and links are just a bonus (when available!).

Without Warning (1980)
Dir: Greydon Clark
Where: Alamo Ritz
When: Terror Thursday, 1/31 11:59 PM

This movie is like Predator: the rough draft.

I love Jack Palance, and I love love love Martin Landau in this.

The teenagers... Not so much. (Well, David Caruso's shorts are pretty amazing).

Overall this movies parts are much better than its sum. Still probably worth checking out.

Daughter of Death (1983) aka Julie Darling
Dir: Paul Nicholas, Maurice Smith
Where: Alamo Ritz
When: Weird Wednesday, 1/30 11:59 PM

This movie was great. It's not too dissimilar from those old After School Specials or Lifetime Original Movies as far as general look and feel goes. I think this actually heightens the unseemliness of the events that occur much like cussing in church or having sex in a courtroom.

Basically Julie and her father don't exactly understand the concept of boundaries, despite him being a psychiatrist (I think). She is in love with him and even fantasizes about him sexually. Things with are much rockier.

One day, Julie finds herself in a rather precarious position when she happens upon her passive aggressive snake-liberating mother being sexually assaulted by the just plain aggressive grocery delivery boy after she refuses to liberate his snake. Still feeling vindictive over the loss of her pet, Julie does nothing but watch through her rifle scope as he unintentionally kills her. Yes. Her rifle scope. She's just that kind of daughter.

Well, it turns out that for Julie's father this is like winning the lottery or something, because he's actually been having an affair for like three years and good fortune has opened the pathway for his lover to move in immediately, murdered wife be damned!

Which sucks for Julie, since I think she was planning on putting the moves on Pops. Apparently her father just isn't that into her.

So the new stepmom and her impossibly cute son arrive... And then things get fucked up.

I mean, if attempted murder of impossibly cute children isn't your cup of tea, you need to start drinking better tea.

Things pick up from there and keep moving until an unbelievablely great conclusion.

Needless to say, this movie is a heartwarming, life-affirming, faith in humanity type of flick, with ice cream wishes and puppy dog dreams!

If you every have a chance to watch this, share it with someone you love. Like your father. Or your stepmother. Or your lawyer.

Point Break (1991)
Dir: Kathryn Bigelow
Where: Computer
When: Wednesday 1/30 (Various)

Whoa. This movie has been on my to see list since it came out in 1991. I finally got around to watching it.

And I get it. It's fun. It's awesome in that teenager sort of way.

It's also really sincere for a movie that is not nearly as smart as it thinks it is... And I think it is exactly because it's so sincere that it works.

And yeah... some great action sequences.

Spiderwick Chronicles (2008)
Dir: Mark Waters
Where: Alamo South Lamar
When: Saturday, 1/26 11:00 AM

I love advanced screenings at the Alamo. For this one I was able to take my friend Stacie's kids Ander (nearly 11) and Elise (8 1/2) as well as my girlfriend.

I actually saw about four minutes of this movie before watching "There Will Be Blood" back in September during Fantastic Fest. I liked what I saw at that time and was more or less looking forward to this.

It exceeded my expectations. The whole thing has a manic energy that the kids will like, but it also is firmly grounded with enough emotional depth to keep the parents involved as well.

It actually feels more like "Jumanji" than "Harry Potter." Not just in the pacing and narrative thrust, but also in the "kids accidentally unleash terror upon themselves" storyline and the "family problems don't take holidays" subplot.

The CGI is all well done too.

Most important of all, Ander, who has read the books, loved the movie more as a movie than he liked the book as a book. He also said it was "awesome!" and "way cooler than Lord of the Rings" but "not as cool as Harry Potter."

Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)
Dir: Jake Kasdan
Where: Regal Metropolitan
When: Thursday, 1/24 8:30 PM

I'm not completely sure why this movie wasn't a theatrical hit. I think it will probably find an audience on video though and easily recoup its budget there.

It was pretty consistently funny, the songs were great, and John C. Reilly was perfect in the title role.

I actually got to see him perform live in character and he put on a very impressive (and damn fun) show at Stubb's.

I really liked this a lot. It was closer to "Anchorman" in spirit then the more recent (and revered) Apatow produced/directed hits. I still like Jake Kasdan as a director too. I need to watch "The TV Set" and re-watch "Zero Effect" soon.

Tales from the Quadead Zone (1987)
Dir: Chester Novell Turner
Where: Alamo Ritz
When: Terror Thursday, 1/24 11:59 PM

Chester Turner, I love you.

You would think one towering cinematic achievement would be enough for a lifetime, but Turner and his co-conspirator Shirley Latanya Jackson absolutely outdo themselves with "Tales From the Quadead Zone."

This no budget VHS movie has indomitable spirit oozing out of every orifice. So what if it makes little sense?

A starving (yet oddly husky) hillbilly commits fratricide to avoid having to fight for food...

A man who has been one-upped by his brother all his life steals the corpse and dresses him up like a clown only to be thwarted once again...

A battered wife administers a near-fatal attack on her husband when a fight erupts over her reading stories to their dead son...

This movie is sixty minutes of gold, I tell you... Gold. I like this better than Black Devil Doll From Hell, but only because I have seen it. If I had seen this first I don't think I would have appreciated it as much. I do think it's best to watch this one second.

Oh, and the fact that there are only really three stories in the movie when it's called the "Quadead Zone" does not bother me... The movie title is named for the book, and the book obviously had more stories in it. She would have read more if her husband hadn't have come home and ruined everything.

This is highly recommended if you can track it down and appreciate things that probably shouldn't exist...

The Pink Garter Gang (1971)
Dir: Jimmy Murphy
Where: Alamo Ritz
When: Weird Wednesday, 1/23 11:59 PM

This almost forgotten film was pretty special. It was billed as a biker movie, but contained almost no bikes. It was about a crime syndicate of girls (led by a man) doing supposedly well planned out crimes that ended up being little more then pre-planned muggings. It had a chase scene that was probably the least thrilling part of the movie (I actually slept through nearly all of it).

I think because it bordered so dangerously close to incompetence it actually lead to an overall underdog charm that won over the audience.

For some reason this movie also reminded me a lot of the Wonder Years. It is almost as if they occupy the same filmic universe or something and that Kevin's older sister could have totally become a member of the gang or something...

Rambo (2008)
Dir: Sylvester Stallone
Where: Alamo Village
When: Tuesday, 1/22 21:45

I loved the new Rambo. Here's the review I wrote and sent in to Ain't It Cool:

( Read more... )

Troll (1986)
Dir: John Carl Buechler
Where: Alamo South Lamar
When: Terror Thursday, 1/17 11:59 PM

I absolutely adore Troll 2 with every fiber of my being. But it's been about twenty years since I saw Troll.

And considering they actually have nothing to do with each other, they do have a few things in common.

Namely, the creatures bear a passing resemblance, a person is killed by a tree, and um... there's bad acting?

Michael Moriarty is a Terror Thursday favorite and his presence is always welcome. Sonny Bono also was hilarious.

Seeing Atreyu playing Harry Potter, Jr was also interesting. Apparently there's a remake of this movie in the works now, and if my guess is right, this actor will be playing the Troll's earlier human form.

This is definitely a bizarre movie, and reminds me (in a positive way) of Terrorvision. They don't make movies like this any more.