Monthly Movie Recap - January 2015

Welcome to the first Monthly Movie Recap of 2015! I hope February isn't too late to make a New Year Resolution because I decided I'm going to see at least one new (to me) Roger Corman movie a month this year. I'm currently reading this book about his career and there are just too many of his movies I haven't seen yet. I just looked at his IMDB page and coming in 2016: Sharktopus vs Mermantula. No, for reals!

If you're a movie fanatic, join me on Letterboxd where you can record and rate movies you've seen. Also, any links you see below will take you to the Amazon page for the movie. Anything you buy through these links puts a few coins in my pocket so I can keep finding weird stuff to watch and talk about here.

The Babadook (2014)
What a way to kick off the New Year! I hadn't even seen a trailer for this before watching. I saw so much buzz about it on social media that I knew it must be worth seeing, and boy was it! This movie does creepy right and doesn't resort to cheap scares or gore unnecessarily. On top of that, they managed to create a new movie monster that deserves to be instantly elevated to the pantheon of memorable horror icons. If I see a better horror movie this year, I'll be impressed.

Cool: It's so much more than just a horror/monster movie and that's what makes it awesome. It's not often I watch a movie and actually feel dread for the characters as the horror unfolds. Bravo!
Lame: Still not sure how I feel about the ending
Rating: 9/10

* Flash Gordon (1980)
I loved this movie after seeing it in the theater when I was 10. And for the life of me, I can't figure out why now. Sure, there's some cool action scenes but there's a lot of in between stuff that should bore a kid to tears. The thing is, if this had come out of the 50s or 60s it would fit right in almost anything else made at the time.

Cool: No matter how cheesy it is (Dale and Flash fall in love just about instantaneously) I have to give it major props for the costume and set design
Lame: Where are all the (non-slave) women? There are hawkmen and all of the Baron's gang are men. No women to be found!
Rating:  5/10

The Maltese Bippy (1969)
I love Laugh-In so when I recently found out Rowan & Martin did this movie, I had to check it out. You've got a pair of comedians, an all star supporting cast, and a madcap plot. It's got good intentions but it just doesn't consistently hit the funny nail on the head enough to make it great.

Rating: 4/10

The Guest (2014)
I posted the trailer, but if you want to enjoy this one to the fullest, don't find out anything about it before seeing it. This is another one where I saw a few online raves and just sought it out. And it was worth it! It takes about 20 minutes to get up to speed and then you think "Oh, it's going to be one of those movies." Then about 20 minutes later it changes the formula up a little.

Cool: It's set around Halloween, although it doesn't play into it much until the finale, it does make it a little more special with those accents throughout the movie.
Lame: I wish my high school had put on a Halloween dance like the one they're setting up for!
Rating: 7/10

Justice League: Throne of Atlantis (2015)
Continuing the New 52 comic story from JL: War, Throne, as you might guess, introduces Aquaman to the League. I thought it was just okay. Not horrible, not really notable. If you really like the characters, you might enjoy it more.

Cool: Aquaman finally gets to be a badass instead of the joke he's become
Lame: They used a different sound effect for the aquatic telepathy! How do you change something so iconic?! As a result, when he uses it for the first time, it's not as cool as it should be.
Rating: 5/10

You're Next (2011)
I probably would never have seen this but after finding out the guys that did The Guest also did this, I had to check it out because that was so much fun. I liked the setup but about 13 minutes in, I'd already predicted the "big twist." I didn't know the who or the why behind it yet but there it was. Having said that, it was still enjoyable to see it unfold and by the time they revealed the who, it was still a little surprise. It's a little bit Saw meets Home Alone with the smallest sprinkles of Sam Raimi and Fargo.

Cool: High body count
Lame: I've seen people call it a horror comedy but the only comedy bits come at the end and one of them seems like it belongs in another movie.
Rating: 6/10

* Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
First time watching it at home, third time overall. Still love it!

CAUTION: NSFW trailer!!

Forbidden World (1982) aka Mutant

The first Roger Corman movie of the year! This is a pretty decent Alien knockoff. It's got a good amount of gore and some extra nudity thrown in for good measure including a totally unnecessary scene of the two female leads showering together. In short, a perfect movie for a 13 year old boy!

Cool: Gore & nudity, what else do you need in an 80s sci-fi B-movie?

Lame: The mutant could have been a lot more threatening. Most of the people die due to their own stupidity.

Rating: 6/10

Month Total

 New: 6  Rewatch:2