Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

I'm not going to lie... I've been up since midnight (cat sunk their claws into my legs while I was sleeping) and operating on two hours rest since I couldn't go back to sleep... I assume due to cat scratch fever or something... but here's what I've been up to this past week...

October 22 – Carnosaur (1993)
 
So the theme for next month on the podcast is DINOvember… because dinosaurs are f**king awesome!!! This Roger Corman production came out a few weeks before Jurassic Park (and premiered here in Ogden, Utah with the opening of our dinosaur park) and is about a lady scientist (Diane Ladd) who’s supposed to be using genetics to create the perfect chicken… but instead makes dinosaurs… and hijinx ensue. Humanity’s only hope is a drunken night watchman who watches brain surgery videos & draws serial killer-esque art in his trailer named Doc… and some hippie chick who faints whenever something happens. Are we screwed? Probably… but to be honest guys, I kinda like this movie. It’s absolutely ridiculous… but it’s a great drunk watch with friends. The effects are laughable, the acting is tongue-in-cheek, the violence is over the top, check it out this Halloween season if you can find it.
 
Rating – 8/10 – It’s no Jurassic Park… but what is? It’s more like… Jurassic World Dominion on a half-million dollar budget
 
October 23 – Prehysteria! (1993)
 
Released a few weeks after Jurassic Park was this children’s movie from Full Moon Pictures (or as I call them, the Family Band) about a single dad & his two kids stumbling upon dinosaur eggs that were left for the Mayans to freeze & preserve… and now they have toy sized dinosaurs… and hijinx ensue. Okay, the effects in this movie actually aren’t that bad. It’s 90’s Claymation and a whimsical score… just dumb fun.
 
Rating – 9/10 – I was surprised that I liked this movie as much on rewatch.
 
October 24 – Werewolf by Night (2022)
 
On Disney+, they released a 50-minute feature about a werewolf monster hunter (played by Gael Garcia Bernal) who goes to a meeting of other monster hunters to get control of the mystical Bloodstone… and hijinx ensue when a new mighty creature is released and they’re basically told “whoever kills the creature is our new leader” because that’s how things work. Now… it’s shot black & white and has the vibes of an old Universal monster flick… but honestly, this one didn’t really grip me like I thought it would. It’s just… boring really. Now, I like them bringing the concept of werewolves & other monsters into the MCU because it opens up a lot of possibilities but… just didn’t grip me. By the way, directed by Michael Giacchino who’s the COMPOSER for Star Wars and a bunch of other things. Impressive for a first timer.
 
Rating – 8/10 – Okay but nothing special…
 
October 25 – Death Ship (1980)
 
A cruise ship is rammed while at sea… and the survivors stumble upon a mysterious seemingly abandoned freighter & they climb aboard. The survivors include Captain George Kennedy & Captain-to-be Richard Crenna, a few kids, a few chicks, a few swingers, and hijinx ensue as they seen realize that… it’s a GERMAN FREIGHTER FROM WWII!!! Oh & apparently haunted or something… this is dumb fun for a horror movie though. Is it the greatest? No… the acting is WAY over the top at some parts… but if you’re interested in the premise then check it out. I think we watched it on Tubi…
 
Rating – 8/10 – I kept saying “Academy Award winner George Kennedy!” whenever he came on screen to do his thing… I crack myself up.
 
October 26 – The Master (1984)
 
Alright, we watched the MST3K of this one where it’s basically them watching two episodes of this one-season TV series starring LEE VAN CLEEF AS A NINJA MASTER & Timothy Van Patten as his disciple. I think I’ve only seen Tim in “Class of 1984” and he was pretty great in that movie… but this was a rough watch… though hilarious… and Jennifer Runyon from “Carnosaur” popped up in the second episode. I definitely recommend the MST3K version though.
 
Rating – 6/10 – LEE VAN CLEEF AS A NINJA MASTER!!!
 
October 27 – The Screaming Skull (1958)
 
Followed it up with another MST3K watch of this 50’s horror movie about a young couple getting his ex-wife’s family house (must’ve missed the specifics) & there’s a creepy gardener… and a lot of pauses… and walking around… and occasionally a husband slapping his wife who’s being hysterical… and more pauses… and there’s a skull being tossed around… yeah, it’s rough.
 
Rating – 5/10 – The episode was pretty good but the movie was making me mad otherwise with how much NOTHING was happening for minutes on end
 
October 28 – Phenomena (1985)
 
Okay, I had heard about this Dario Argento movie that starred Jennifer Connelly before she did “Labyrinth” but… frankly the only Argento movie I had seen was “Suspiria” and… guys, that movie is grossly overrated & boring as all hell. THEN… I read that it was about a girl (14-year old Connelly) who can communicate with insects, Donald Pleasance is a doctor (of course!), and it even mentioned a knife-wielding ape… so I HAD TO WATCH IT IMMEDIATELY!!! Guys… this movie… is legitimately great! The soundtrack with Iron Maiden & others… BANGS!!! Connelly is amazing for being a young teenager, you literally have no idea what’s going to happen because everything in the movie is creepy & weird & random… I can’t wait to talk about this on the podcast one day!!!
 
Rating – 10/10 – This movie is legit great & lots of fun!!!

Have a happy & safe Halloween weekend!!!

​Steve & Izzy

Good Afternoon Ladies & Gentlemen,

Hey, I've been busy... but I was able to squeeze in a few movies...

October 14 – The Munsters (2022)
 
Okay, we all saw the trailer… it was rough. However, I know that director Rob Zombie has been a HUGE fan of the franchise for DECADES trying to get a movie off the ground… so I’ll give him the benefit of a doubt… even if he hasn’t made a movie I liked in a while. Based on the 60’s TV comedy, this movie acts as the two-hour origin story of the family at 1313 Mockingbird Lane starring a whole bunch of Rob’s buddies like his wife Sheri Moon Zombie, Jorge Garcia, Richard Brake, Jeff Daniel Phillips (Caveman commercials), Daniel Roebuck, Cassandra Peterson (Elvira) & even Bond girl Catherine Schell makes an appearance. Okay… I’m letting you know… this movie is 100% one of those 90’s TV movies just 30 years late & RIPE with Dad jokes. Had I seen this in a theatre, I’d probably be upset & a little confused because… it looks like it was made for about $100k instead of $5-9 million as advertised. However, watching it on Netflix, I didn’t hate it. Sure, it’s corny & the tone and pacing are all over the place but… it’s what the TV series was. Cheap laughs. Give it a watch.
 
Rating – 7/10 – Almost two hours is quite long for this kind of movie but… I think it was supposed to be a pilot for a series or something.
 
October 15 – Ghostbusters 2 (1989)
 
It’s the sequel to Ghostbusters were everybody forgot that ghosts are a thing… it’s a classic & I don’t understand the hate other than Ernie Hudson barely gets to speak. That’s really all I want to say about it… hear about it in detail on our Patreon Exclusive this month (and probably released around New Year’s Eve for obvious reasons).
 
Rating – 10/10 – Would be 10+ if there were #JusticeForWinston
 
October 16 – Blowback (2000)
 
From director Mark L. Lester (see several previous movies recently) comes the story of a former cop (Mario Van Peebles) who was able to find a serial killer because he memorized the Bible (WTF?) and the verses help hunt him down… and the killer is executed. Roll credits, right? Nope, that’s the opening scene. Basically THEN the killer is taken to a lab to be revived… given plastic surgery… and turned into a Manchurian Candidate style assassin… except the killer (now James Remar) was faking it & is back to doing his killing… so they call the original cop that found him to hunt him down. The story… is preposterous in a lot of ways… but damn it, I had fun with it.
 
Rating – 8/10 – Not bad but there were definitely some points where I was like “What? Why? Oh yeah, plot & filling 90 minutes”
 
October 17 – Hocus Pocus 2 (2022)
 
The Sanderson Sisters from the original are brought back by some teenage witches and hijinx ensue… Look… I’m not a huge fan of the original. It’s not bad for a TV movie but it’s just not my bag of goofy fun. It’s still an 8/10 though because it’s good for the genre. The sequel… isn’t that bad. It’s basically the same stuff rehashed for Disney+ and musical numbers but… it could’ve been a bit shorter in my opinion.
 
Rating – 7/10 – Not my bag but… okay…
 
October 18 – Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)
 
Yes, the last movie that I saw in theatres before the world ended got a sequel… and this one has MORE crazy Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik AND Idris f**king Elba as the voice of Knuckles?!? Let’s do it! Alright, so after the events of the original, this interstellar blue talking hedgehog is now living the quiet life with cameos from James Marsden & Tika Sumpter, but they have to leave the movie to attend a wedding in Hawaii. Tails & Knuckles from the game show up, along with Dr. Robotnik who was able to escape a mushroom planet and… man, I sound like I’m rambling… anyway, hijinx ensue.
 
Rating – 8/10 – I enjoyed myself… I love Jim Carrey being funny & over-the-top
 
October 19 – Supernova (2000)
 
Okay, earlier we talked about BAD trailers with the Munsters… but this one may be the absolutely WORST & most mind-bogglingly bad trailer ever constructed. Picture the trailer for Event Horizon… and those kinds of visuals of deep space thriller… but instead of the ominous soundtrack you replace it with Sugar Ray’s “I Just Want to Fly” AND Van Morrison’s “Mama told me not to come!!!” It’s ROUGH! However, the movie is about a deep space medical ship captained by Robert Forster (for a few minutes) and also featuring Angela Bassett, James Spader, Robin Tunney, Wilson Cruz & Lou Diamond Phillips on the crew. How did I not hear about this before? Probably the trailer. Anyway, they pick up a guy on a distress call a la Star Trek and hijinx ensue. Oh by the way, apparently this movie was directed by Walter Hill (though he changed his name to Thomas Lee in the credits) AND Francis Ford Coppola (uncredited) AND Jack Sholder (uncredited but “Nightmare on Elm Street 2” & “Arachnid”)?!? This movie is… a bit of a predictable mess but… I’d love to talk about it on the podcast someday. It’s just weird & unique in other ways too. I mean… it’s James Spader in Space!!!
 
Rating – 9/10 – It’s my kind of mess… now on Tubi!!!
 
October 20 – Hellraiser (2022)
 
Yes, there’s a new Hellraiser movie & it’s a “reimagining” of Clive Barker’s original… but yeah, basically it opens up that a rich guy has a mysterious artifact that is opened by human sacrifice… so he holds an orgy, finds an individual to sacrifice, title card. Then we follow the drama of a recovering addict whose a constant drain on her loving family with a dipshit boyfriend she met at rehab and hijinx ensue when they try to steal some stuff from the rich guy… and it’s this artifact. You all know how these Hellraiser movies go… body horror. That being said, not a horrible movie… just really didn’t need to be two full hours.
 
Rating – 8/10 – Watch the first two Hellraisers, the rest are kinda meh…
 
October 21 – Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
 
Almost FORTY years after the original “Top Gun” comes the long awaited sequel where we were sure that Pete “Maverick” Mitchell never advanced to admiral because of an antiquated “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy… and I’m still thinking there was some subtext there. Why would they have a 60-year old flyboy in a program where they just use drones now? How could this live up to the Cold War adrenaline rush of the original? What about the declining health of Val Kilmer & Meg Ryan? This is crazy right? This movie shouldn’t work… and yet, it pulled it off somehow. Basically Maverick is called in to train the new Top Gun class for a new suicide mission to take out a nuclear refinement plant (Where? Don’t worry about it!) and included in the class… is Goose’s son Rooster(Miles Teller). Dun dun duuuh… throw in some Jennifer Connelly love interest & some intense flying soon, badaboom you got yourself a movie that I think made close to a BILLION dollars! Did I enjoy it? Absolutely! LOTS of nods to the original, the story was… just don’t think about it too much… and it really helps if you think there was a “don’t ask, don’t tell” thing between him and Iceman which… was never disproven in the movie.
 
Rating – 10/10 – One of the best movies of the year in my opinion… I’d say check it out!

See you all next time!!!

​Steve