What movies have you seen recently?

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Before Stonewall.

Documentary about gay and lesbian Americans prior to the Stonewall riot, how they had to form their own subculture all the while trying to camouflage themselves in a straight culture that shunned them. Explored is how many gays and lesbians had taken part in the civil rights movement, and were inspired to fight for their own rights.
Very worthwhile documentary.

Last night we watched:

Gangsters, Guns & Zombies [2012]
<=>"They owned the streets... until now!"



A British zombie film. Low budget. Not the best zombie film and not the worst...it's OK.

Six bank robbers are in a van heading into the countryside after a bank robbery.
- Tony is in charge
- Pat seems OK...for a bank robber
- Q also, but this is his first time as a getaway driver
- Danny has a serious gunshot wound but is the son of a friend of Tony
- Muscles...well-named
- Crazy Steve...also well-named

Plus a zombie apocalypse is spreading across the country and neither the hospitals nor their safe-house is safe.

...and cellphones have stopped working.

I admit I picked the movie because of the title. Somehow, to me it seemed to fit some of the U.S. political news.

While the effects look great, I would have thought this was much higher budget than 20 mil, the characters and story are not the best. It felt like they didn't know what to do with them. The shark scenes and chaos at the end somewhat makes up for it.

Cash On Demand

I mostly watch horror when it comes to older films, so I wanted something different. This is an unusual bank heist and falls into the "almost perfect crime" subgenre. I like intelligent villains, especially if they aren't pure evil, as that comes across as simple and false to me. The villain is played very well, as is the protagonist by Peter Cushing.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) on Netflix

Evidence that a low budget (£282,035) can provide an enjoyable film.
There are so many wonderfully silly things in this film.



Magic the Gather is releasing a Monty Python and the Holy Grail Secret Lair. It is a limited run being released in two volumes. Secret Lair sets are a relatively small collection of cards (not a full deck) at a relatively expensive price. My son told me about the Secret Lair and I thought It's been years since I've seen that film.

Tread (2019) On Roku, also available on Tubi TV and Pluto TV

The podcast Stuff You Should Know had a July 25, 2024 episode called The KILLDOZER Rampage.
This is a documentary made about the incident.

How Stuff Works article - The Strange Story of 'Killdozer' and the Man Behind It
HowStuffWorks is a nice website filled with thousands of articles about all manner of things. Several podcasts were created their before being purchased. Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant, the hosts for Stuff You Should Know, use to write for HowStuffWorks.

The Road.

Based on the Cormac McCarthy book of the same name. Heart wrenching story of a nameless man during a global, mass extinction event, whose only reason for staying alive is to keep his child alive.
Stayed mostly true to the source material. Highly recommended.

The Old Dark House 1963

I enjoyed this. The fun is the eccentric family, weird house, and light humor without becoming a complete parody, except maybe for one or two scenes. It has a slight Addams family quality, not the gothic outfits, just the oddball personalities and home. I thought the cast did well. Looks great on Blu-ray.

Best to view it as an original film being called a remake instead of an actual remake. It comes up with its own premise, that the family must be home every day or lose their share of the inheritance. Avoid the trailer, too many spoilers.

Ghostbusters [1984]

I'm gonna see Deadpool & Wolverine in theaters in less than an hour. I'm not too big on the MCU nowadays, but it's Deadpool.

The Gorgon 1964

The cinematography is nice, but the writing is not great. I feel like they could have done more with the premise.

Ghostbusters II [1989]

One difference from the last time we watched it, this time we both enjoyed it.

Cannibal Possession: Heart Of Ice.

Documentary examines how legends of the cannibal spirit, the Wendigo, was believed to induce cannibalism among native Canadian tribes, how it might have been culturally induced psychosis, and possible manifestations of it today.
Very chilling. Highly recommended.

Twisters

The World's First Battlefield.

Documentary of the gigantic Bronze Age battle fought at Tolense, Germany, at a time and place that otherwise would have been considered an insignificant backwater. In fact, the region had probably been part of an ancient global economy. The why and who involved in the battle is still largely a mystery, but DNA testing reveals many of the dead had traveled hundreds of miles for the fight.

If you like disaster movies, then this one should be enjoyable and worth your time.

However, IMO, despite great chemistry between leads Daisy Jones and Glen Powell
with well-done VFX, I viewed the storyline as cliched and predictable.

2.5/4