Nov 30, 2015

Monthly Movie Recap - November 2015

Posting a day early because tomorrow begins the 13 Days of Creepmas!

You guys! We are now just 18 days away from a new Star Wars movie!! 
Can you feel it?

Speaking of December, if you do any holiday shopping online, I'd really appreciate it if you used the affiliate links in the right sidebar for Amazon and Entertainment Earth. Every order you place using those links will drop a few coins in my pocket. And then you can imagine me like Lucy from Peanuts after she gets a nickel in her collection can.

After overloading on horror for October, I decided to cleanse the mental palette a bit with some comedy this month.

I liked it more than I thought I would. Melissa McCarthy is a mousy desk analyst that gets put into the field after the bad guys discover the identities of all the undercover agents. Hilarity ensues.

Cool: Jason Statham is an absolute riot in this movie!
Lame: McCarthy starts out mousy but of course ends up like most of her roles: ballsy and foul mouthed. It's not that I don't like her (she's funny) I just wish they'd find a new angle for her. Since it's Paul Feig, I imagine she'll probably be the same in Ghostbusters too.

Rating: 7/10

This movie is an absolute love letter to anyone that grew up with the Peanuts holiday specials. It references just about, if not, everything you would want it to. One of the best things about it is that they kept it "Peanuts contemporary" and didn't try to update the world for the 21st century. Kids that don't know who the gang are will probably enjoy it too.

Rating: 9/10


This feels like a "kids have to save the world" flick from the 80s. The only thing that's missing is that sense of wonder I associate with those kind of movies. Maybe it's the setting, maybe it's because it's British, maybe it's because I'm old...who knows? I do like the kids though, which is good because they have to carry the movie.

Cool: Some neat robot designs
Lame: Creepy ass "little kid" looking robot leader makes ultimate use of the Uncanny Valley effect.

Rating: 6/10


Roger Corman's The Phantom Eye (1999)
This "movie" aired as part of AMC's Monsterfest in 1999 during commercial breaks. Corman plays the head of the horror department and sends two interns to retrieve a movie before midnight. When they open a door, it transports them into a different horror genre where they must survive or die. It's a light hearted mix of Scream and Saw with the interns being aware of the tropes of the genres they're trapped in and figuring out how to escape.

You can see the whole thing on YouTube.
Rating: 6/10


Bunks (2014, Netflix)
Kids at summer camp accidentally unleash a curse starting a zombie outbreak. Sounds like fun, right? Maybe if you're under 13. What I didn't know going in is that this was a Disney channel movie. Not to say I haven't enjoyed some in the past but this one didn't have what it takes.

Cool: The idea of a magic storybook that brings its stories alive when they're read out loud
Lame: Squarely aimed at a young audience

Rating: 3/10

Clip from The Nightmare

The Nightmare (2015, Netflix)
This "documentary" is about sleep paralysis. I use quotes because it's all actors playing the parts of the interview subjects and creepy re-enactments. I've had this happen to me a couple times but never to the degree of experiencing other presences in the room. I find it fascinating that different people have the relatively same experience. I'm surprised this hasn't been mined for more horror movies.

Rating: 6.5/10

Trainwreck (Unrated, 2015) 
From the marketing I thought this was going to be wacky romantic comedy. When it's funny, it's funny but I wasn't expecting it to be so humanized. It's a romantic comedy with people that aren't just stereotypes.

Cool: The supporting cast (like Colin Quinn, Lebron James, and John Cena) are just as funny as the leads
Lame: It's a little slow to get rolling, but necessary to understand Amy's character

Rating: 8/10

Midnight Matinee (1990)
Mysterious murders happen at a movie theater during a horror-thon. Sadly, that summary is more exciting than the actual movie. Just about everything in the movie is bland from the characters to the kills.

Cool: Pre X-Files William B Davis
Lame: Too many red herrings. I feel like they really wanted to do some clever things but just never got where they wanted to be

Rating: 3/10, if you crave killings in a movie theater, track down Popcorn

Despicable Me 2 (2013)
Still a little late to this party but I"m loving the movies and finally get why everyone is ga-ga for the Minions. Great voice cast and a lot of fun.

Rating: 7/10

Month Total
 New: 8  Rewatch: 0

Year Total
 New: 73  Rewatch:4

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