Monthly Movie Recap - June 2014

Hooray summer. It's ickily humid today, perfect day to sit in an air conditioned movie theater. If only there were something playing that I was interested in seeing! I guess I'll have to make due and sit in my air conditioned home and watch movies instead.

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Rad (1986)
Thanks to the gnarly Cult Film Club for talking about this one and getting me to watch it. If I had caught this when it came out, it may not have resonated with me like it does so many of my cyber pals. Mainly because at this time I would have been on to my 10-speed. But having been an older kid in the 80s, I totally get the vibe here.

Cool: Bike stuff! Soundtrack is 80s-riffic; Lori Laughlin is adorable
Lame: Who came up with the name ass sliding?
BTW: Cult Film Club recently interviewed Rad's star, Bill Allen. And Stan Bush covers "Thunder in Your Heart" on his new album!
Rating: 6.5/10

NSFW Trailer

The Disco Exorcist (2011)
I was really hoping this would be as much fun as the trailer made it look. Instead, what it turns into is a low budget Skinemax with lots of topless nudity, simulated sex, a bit of horror and acting that might be a step above your average porno.

Cool: Um....toplessness?
Lame: I would love someone to make a movie that actually fits this title, nothing at all what you'd hope it would be
Rating: 2/10

Russ Meyer, King of Sexploitation (2004)
A UK documentary. More boobs than Disco Exorcist (hey, it is Russ Meyer!) and more entertaining. Meyer's friends and former actors chat about him between clips from his films. I probably wouldn't recommend this to anyone not familiar with at least a few of Meyer's movies.

Gatchaman (2013)
I was a fan of Battle of the Planets as a kid and loved discovering the un-Americanized Gatchaman. They get just about everything in here a fan could want from the anime except the character's individual vehicles. The outfits are cool even though they removed the bird-like imagery. Ultimately, it feels sort of "been there done that" Japanese action movie. But if you like that and Battle of the Planets/Gatchaman, check this out.

Cool: The suits look great; Plenty of action
Lame: The subtitles look like they were done in Windows 95 and the person doing them no speak English too good; The CGI acrobatics
Rating: 6.5/10

Killing American Style (1991)
My second dip into the huge pile of movies I got from Cult Movie Mania. This one has to be seen to be believed, it is such a train wreck. It's not so bad it's good, it's so bad it's hilarious! Once you can get past Robert Z'Dar's weirdly shaped noggin. He could play American Dad's Stan Smith without prosthetics.

Cool: Shootouts! Gun battles! Horrible acting!
Lame: Awkward dialog; Totally unnecessary rape scene
Rating: 2/10

Animatrix (2003)
Previously unfinished franchise of the month, I'll get into it more below. But I went back because of Now Playing movie review podcast.
This animated anthology was interesting. I don't know that I like it so much as tying into the Matrix films. But it's got such a Heavy Metal vibe to it, I think it would have been more interesting and trippy if it were its own thing. There's enough info dished out where this could stand on its own as a weird sci-fi flick.

Rating: 5/10

*The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
I loved The Matrix and was eager to see the sequel when it came out. I walked out feeling burned and never saw the third one (good call on my part), I rewatched Reloaded to prepare myself for the finale. The movie itself wasn't as bad as I thought but there's so much of it that just feels hoity-toity pretentiousness in the Matrix. Everyone with their sunglasses on 24/7, the clothes, the techno kicking in when a fight starts. Maybe it's just a victim of its time.

Cool: The action bits are great but usually go on too long
Lame: The action bits can go on too long; The Architect; All the mumbo jumbo philosophy stuff
Rating: 5.5/10

The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
Ugh, I don't even know where to start with this one. Lots of characters, not too many to actually care about. People rag on the romance in the Star Wars prequels? It's high theater compared to Neo and Trinity's "romance". There's some good stuff in here but it seems like they're trying to sleight-of-hand/misdirect their way out of story corners just so they can tell the story the way they want.

Cool: The action stuff, as always, is great
Lame: It devolves into way too many clichéd tropes that make it laughable, almost like it's making fun of itself
Rating: 4/10, they should have stopped after the first one

Countess Dracula (1971)
Don't be fooled by the title, this Dracula doesn't have fangs. It's more of a historical horror flick about Countess Elizabeth Bathory, so it might not be what you're expecting from a Hammer "Dracula" but it's still very good. Ingrid Pitt is wonderful in her "dual" role.

Rating: 6.5/10

Month Total

 New: 8  Rewatch: 1

Year To-Date Final Total 

New: 50 (+1 incomplete)  Rewatch: 10