Stripped to Kill (1987)

Kay Lenz plays Cody Sheehan, a detective going undercover at the Rock Bottom strip club to find out who's been killing the dames!

Right from the start, you'll notice the film likes to be gratuitous with its female dancers. Some of them are pretty flat, but who cares? You'll also notice Roger Corman's name in the opening credits as a producer. He used to produce some great sleazy once he got tired of directing so much, and this isn't an exception.

The kills themselves aren't terribly graphic, but they sure are cruel. Our villain likes to douse its victims in gasoline before setting them ablaze, but the bodycount isn't too high. It may drag a bit in the middle, but our protagonist isn't the worst actress, and it's a rarity to see the lead take her top off.

Not a lot of movies come to mind where this happens. Of course, I instantly recall the heroine of The Funhouse going topless in the shower right at the beginning of that movie, but I can't think of many other examples. Our hero doesn't care though, because it's her job as both an actress starring in this movie and as a stripper IN this movie. Of course, after a while of doing this, her male partner (and likely love interest) starts getting pissed that she'd rather be a stripper than a cop...

By the time the end comes around, it really ramps up with a good and long chase scene. I should have predicted the killer easily, but I'm not a detective. I'm just along for the ride, and it wasn't half bad.

#Review

Curse of the Golden Flower (2006) 7/10

In the Tang dynasty of China (circa the 9th century), intrigue runs rampant in the imperial palace, where evey member of the royal family has secrets they are harboring.
I really liked this movie. But then, I am a sucker for period pieces, as I mentioned before. Especially China, which I think is because of my love for the book and video game series Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Chow Yun-Fat and Gong Li lead the cast. The emperor, empress, the three princes all have personal secrets and secret agendas, not to mention members of the court, who also have their own plans.
The sets are awesome. A good number of fight sequences ranging from one on one up to full army battles. The costuming is beyond belief, with the main actors being dressed in up to six layers, and all of the outfits hand sewn. I guess it took forty people over two months do do.
Ancient Chinese proverb: "Gold and jade on the outside, rot and decay on the inside."

Scenic Route (2013) 6/10

Two friends decide to go on a road trip like they did when they were young, but things spiral quickly out of control.
I think I liked this movie a lot more than I should have. If it had different cover art on the DVD, after the first thirty minutes or so I would have thought it was one of those talk-talk movies.
First one guy tells the other everything that's wrong with his life, then the second guy returns the favor. Then they're friends again. Then they hate each other again. Then they like each other again. Then they try to kill each other. Then they're friends again.
But for some reason, it was better than I think it should have been.

Hulk TV Movie Double Feature

There they were on Prime, so I gave it a go. I had watched a season or two of the old Bixby/Ferrigno show and quite enjoyed it. For some dastardly reason, I never finished, but I figure I wasn't missing much. Every episode has the same structure: David Banner has a random job elsewhere, meets someone, finds out they have a problem with someone, said someone pisses him off, and hulk smashes the problem. The movies are more of the same, but with a twist. They were both failed tv pilots.

The Incredible Hulk Returns (1988) was meant to spawn a Thor tv show. Audiences didn't care for it apparently, but the Thor actor wasn't too bad. They cashed in on Thor's best superpower of drinking many beers, so that was fun. However, his lore is a bit different here than it is elsewhere.

The setup has David Banner running into someone he once taught, Donald Blake. He's a Harvard nerd, but if any of you are familiar with the lore, Don is also the human/doctor alter ego of Thor. The new movies skip this dynamic entirely, but we at least acknowledge it here, albeit in a different way. Our Donald Blake merely summons the actual Thor while some villains (Tim Thomerson and Charles Napier) try to stop him and the hulk for some reason that I already forgot. In the end, it wasn't good enough to spin-off a new series, but people still enjoyed the hulk enough to spin off another movie...

The Trial of the Incredible Hulk (1989) was better. We finally bring Hulk into New York City where he's framed for a subway brawl (in which hulk was actually helping in), and who is his attorney? The man with no fear.

Rex Smith did an okay DareDevil, wearing a costume of black spandex that was the basis for DD's ninja-esque costume in the Netflix series, I'm sure. It was definitely cheesy, but it had more potential than a Thor series, I'd say. Our villain is Kingpin, played by John Rhys-Davies. He's okay at best, as is the movie in general.

I think the shows didn't take off because they could yield more intricate stories, and our audience wouldn't want that. We just want to see Bixby turn into Ferrigno and flex. I will say that dream sequences are the ultimate cop-out, and this movie shouldn't have dreamed the hulk trial scene.

How Greasy do you find Grease (1978)?

Well the title pretty much says it all. What's your opinion on this flick?

This musical came out in my birth year and I remember at primary school 4th grade doing a Grease tribute, 6th grade something Star Wars like and me and my classmates being in 5th grade did some dance at the song "Straight Up" from Paula Abdul. One of the Kindergarten classes did a Ghostbusters theme on the well known song.


Anyway about Grease it didn't really trigger me checking out the movie until recently. Sure I had seen something in that period with my family that reminded me of the story with different songs and a guy falling for a popular gal in school but she wanted a biker as lover. Much later I found out that was Grease II.

But the original Grease with John Travolta and Olivia Newton remained a unknown even though I had heard most of the songs thanks to various revivals and them being played on parties. Organising a 70s movie challenge however was a chance to give myself the challenge to finally tackle this classic. I mentioned this to Onyx she promptly gave me the heads up reaction saying she found it overrated. Well I can understand the frustration when you got promised to watch a horror movie and they decide to play Grease instead

Well I wouldn't actually call myself a Travolta fan but than again it's not that I have seen that many movies. While most people probably remember him as the 'cool' Danny in Grease I remember him mostly as dickhead Billy Nolan in Carrie. And actually thinking about it he plays pretty much an ass in Grease as well. The other cast members well I possibly have seen them in other movies but just like Travolta not any of them showed me a memorable performance.

I don't say the acting was bad. There is only so much you can do with a weak script. It doesn't allow for deep characters, it all remains pretty shallow and stereotypical. The only character who seemed to have a bit more depth was the girl being called a slut lying to her boyfriend she was pregnant.


I'm not so fond of the SJW's and feminists but I wouldn't blame them for criticising the movie severely. It's an all white movie, there is a few homophobic comments and the girls are portrayed as being helpless without a man. Ok this fictional story took place in the 50s so we are supposed to accept that's how it was. Still this is sending a rather weak (and not really hopeful) message to girls and is viewed a bit too much from a male perspective.


Now wait Danny did an half-assed attempt to get Olivia's attention and love back after giving her the cold shoulder because he didn't want to come across as a sissy towards his hyperkinetic friends who somehow were convinced their silly walk was supposed to look cool. He tried a few sports which I have to admit was a bit amusing. The only other time I could express a smile was the monkey face he made when he proposed to Olivia with a cheap ring which was just an excuse to get into her pants. That Olivia actually fell for this little trick and would believe Danny being a good boy (as in not having sex) until marriage, it's hard to take serious and not wanting to bash her head against the wall for such naivity. Again not her fault but the ones writing such nonsense.

Another good example of this weird script is during the dance contest. It's easy to predict that Danny and Olivia would win the contest not because they are the best dancers or have the best chemistry. They are the protagonists you know. But towards the end some other girl shows up to push Olivia away and stupid Dany so full of himself (as he remains throughout the whole movie) didn't even notice even didn't seem to mind.


You wonder after all these stupid actions from Danny's part how he can win her love back. Oh yehaw he won a race against the school's biggest macho man (he wasn't supposed to do the driving but surprise surprise his friend was unable so Danny got a chance to impress his driving skills, huh what where did he learn that?). Ok his rival was possibly even a bigger ass and womanizer than Danny but if he tuned his own cars I gotta say respect. Of course Danny wins and Olivia noticed. Will they fall into each other arms, apologies I was such a dick and oh you are my hero, nope.

The movie reserves the reconciliation for the final scene at graduation day. Danny surprises everyone presenting himself as a jock (now hey didn't he suck at sports). Anyway he could just have borrowed a jacket from a friend. If the viewer didn't endure enough silliness the last and biggest insult came when Olivia showed up having transformed into a supposedly cool girl. Of course she needed to drop the nerdy girl act so Danny would love her again. And so we are back to where we started if you want your dickhead boyfriend back just change in something you are not. Because even if he is a jerk it's better than having no boyfriend. A tribute to shallowness...

X2: X-Men United (2003) 7/10

I have no idea when I saw the first X-Men movie, but I do know it was at least ten years. So I figured it was about time to watch the next in the series.Basically, everything I know about the X-Men is what was in the movies. So I didn't go in to either movie with preconceived notions about who and what they are.It's an enjoyable film, with a lot of action, interesting story, and really well done effects. I especially liked Jean Grey's struggles, and Nightcrawler is an interesting character as well. And of course Storm and Mystique.Getting some background on Wolverine's origin was good to have as well (even if it isn't canon), especially for someone who knows next to nothing about the characters.

Slaxx (2020 Canadian "horror"-comedy)

First of all, I did enjoy this movie, but to call it horror isn't really right. It's a like a horror-COMEDY... which is good!

It's about a bunch of people working at a trendy Canadian clothing store, right before they release a new line of blue jeans. The blue jeans are all possessed, but whether they are evil or not sort of depends on your view of the international economy... this is a Canadian movie, not American, so there isn't really any reason to get too pissed off from the viewpoint of an American conservative, sooooo... whatever, I just thought I should mention that in passing.

It has a pretty hilarious actor as the crazy manager of the store, who just wants everything to be perfect. He is kind of like a male version of the crazy aunt in the beginning and ending of Sleepaway Camp, just in terms of his mannerisms. He's not THAT crazy though, he just wants everything to go perfectly in his job so he can get promoted. OK, so this does lead him to cover up the fact that dead bodies keep appearing, and he isn't necessarily completely averse to contributing to the tally of said body count, but... anyway, yeah, he's mostly just hilarious.

The synth music kept reminding me of The Guest, or maybe Stranger Things, with a few Bollywood songs thrown in there now and then.

It is mostly told from the point of view of Libby, a 19 or 20-ish new employee with the company, who starts out really excited and happy to be part of the company. She reminds me a little of Kelly from the British miniseries Dead Set (2008), but more innocent... Her positive outlook on the company gradually changes as the movie goes along... The company is closer to a cult than a company, in some ways. The CEO visits the store and tries to get everybody all excited about their new line of jeans, and it's exactly like a cult meeting would be. I guess he's supposed to be sort of a Green Steve Jobs.

Anyway, it has sort of a low key, Canadian style and sense of humor, and it has some plot stuff and characters relating to India. Sooo, yeah, just to mention that again, it's not an American movie.

If you liked Drones (2010), or Severance (2006), with the general theme of a bunch of co-workers trying to deal with an unusual menace, then you might like this movie. There are some scenes with carnage and mayhem, but they don't really glory in it, it is mostly implied. So, don't expect TOO much of those things.

Practical Magic (1998) 6/10

A couple of witches do some bad magic and raise the spirit of a psychotic murderer.I had no idea what this movie was going to be about. My brain was thinking it was going to be like Hocus Pocus (1993). But it was more along the lines of Witches of Eastwick (which, BTW, I have the unsold pilot of the TV show on VHS somewhere).Pretty fun movie, with a decent story. Not super original, but enough changes to make it stand out a little.Sandra Bullock was very good as Sally, but Nicole Kidman stole the scenes when they were together.Kind of surprised to hear a song by one of my future ex-wives (Faith Hill) pop up.

Rate my lastest haul.

My latest (mostly horror) haul. Would love to know what you think. It's been over a year I actually bought something. Too long this covid crisis kept me inside and racking up money from 'homeworking' which I only spend on food. So I thought oh wel I can just spend some money on those movies I put on my wish list a long time ago. And of course I would love to get some kind of rating from you horrorfans.

I hope this picture link works: https://scontent-bru2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.6435-0/s640x640/180827748_4484125441600765_3058311362915444825_n.jpg?_nc_cat=104&ccb=1-3&_nc_sid=825194&_nc_ohc=VDa2N6Klc5sAX9eC9yX&_nc_ht=scontent-bru2-1.xx&tp=7&oh=b673a8e9e06d127a902f7bb881fc5db0&oe=60B53218

Enigma Rosso aka Red Rings of Fear: a giallo that is not so atypical in its execution but in the way that the police inspector is doing his investigation in an onorthodox way even using the young sister of one of the teenage victims as an assistant.

Deliria aka Stagefright: Well it's a slasher that takes place in a theatre. The setting allows for some thrilling moments with cat and mouse and varying kills/deaths. Not psychological chitchat from shrinks about the killer thank you.

Errementari: One could call this a horror version of Pan's Labyrinth where the faun is replaced by a demon. Focus lies more on horror and fantasy rather than drama.

Mansion of the Doomed: Eyes without a Face (1960) with some changes as here we have a doctor not wanting to restore his daughter's face but her eyes. More focus on the victims the doctor makes and it is quite graphical.

Deadly Friend (yes the one which has the Spanish title Amiga Mortal on the cover): I'm not really a Wes Craven fan but a few times he could entertain me. Deadly Friend is more of a sci-fi drama with some horror elements. Where many movies with robots in human skin or humans revived as robot usually lose itself in overly sentimental stuff with usually unsatifying end results. Deadly Friend does manage to succeed in its concept. I love when bitches and dickheads get a comeuppance.

The Poseidon Adventure: No horror but hey it was part of the package. I don't think I really need to seek for the best Titanic or ship disaster movie any more. This one does the trick. No need for visual empowerment, long introductions, romancing stories and more of that shit that puts me to sleep before the ionteresting part starts. Short introduction, focuses on the survival of the introduced characters, they have their conflicts but they have to cooperate. A small cast and some really good effects considering the buget wasn't anything like the James Camerons of today have.

Mortal Kombat!

It's been a while since I actually had a movie I was looking forward to seeing. I was obsessed with the 1995 movie when I was a kid. I had the games, the action figures, clothing, sticker books... then MK Annihilation came out and I lost all my faith in something I once loved... I even tried revisiting that turkey a few days ago, but goddamn it was terrible. Couldn't make it past a few minutes, but we're washing our hands of all that! It's been decades, so they had to finally get their shit together, right?


Let's face it. Scorpion and Subzero are the faces of Mortal Kombat, and they're given much better characterizations this time around, because before... well, they didn't have any characterization. They were just henchmen, but the story revolves around them a lot more this time around.

I used to think Scorpion was the bad guy, but this movie paints a new picture (that fans of the newer games ought to know already). The intro shows us their history way back in the 1600s, and you can tell right away that this movie isn't fucking around.

I was a bit disappointed to find out that there was no Johnny Cage in the movie, being replaced by a newcomer Cole, and he's alright I guess. Most of the gang is there though, and they're well represented and well cast. Kano happens to be the comic relief this time around, and there's a fair amount of buildup and training that leads to a bunch of big fights in the end.

They tried to work in a lot of character details and a few fatalities and flawless victories. None of that stupid shit like friendships or babalities though, obviously. Some brutal scenes, but nothing I would call a brutality though (onslaught of attacks until the opponent explodes), but don't get me wrong... there are still exploding heads and severed limbs and soul sucking and freezing and burning and stabbing and slashing and blood and guts. This movie knows its audience and earned it's hard R rating.

There is some resolution, but it's definitely set up for a sequel, which I would definitely watch. I'm pretty satisfied with it.

#Review