Movies I Watched in April 2020

Date: 4/1/2020
Viewed: Youtube
Rewatch

Note: I was looking forward to rewatching this movie because I haven't seen it in the last several years. I still think the movie is a lot of fun for what it is.

The story is very simple which works fine for this movie. This movie is never meant to have a big and deep story. The best thing about this movie is surrealism because the movie is so trippy by mixing different types of art styles. Heinz Edelmann did a wonderful job of creating pop up art in this movie. The movie has you stuck in a trance when you watch the movie as if you are on the same journey as The Beatles in this movie when you get sucked into the movie's atmosphere. I feel like sometimes being weird just to be weird is not always a bad thing if you know how to do it right. Yellow Submarine knows how to do it right without coming off as pretentious in my opinion.

The music soundtrack is fantastic as you would expect from The Beatles. Overall, Yellow Submarine is a great surreal movie that is fun for all ages. Check it out if you haven't already.

Date: 4/1/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime Rental
First viewing

Note: I decided to check this movie out of morbid curiosity because I wanted to see how bad this movie was. I do remember hearing about this movie over 15 years ago but I forget about it until recently. This movie is bad, but I thought it was going to be way worst. I kinda like this movie for being a try-hard edge lord movie.

This movie is like if an edgy teenager on 4chan made a movie for one of their classes in High School. The movie comes off laughable because you have characters that so angsty and want to be hardcore with blood & gore, and antisemitic overtones, but comes off unintentionally hilarious. This movie has so much teenage angst is that I was expecting Shadow the Hedgehog from the Sonic video game series to pop up at any moment.

The acting and dialogue are bad enough to make Birdemic look like an Alfred Hitchcock movie in comparison. You also can tell that this movie is an early-mid 2000s movie when you have a character that looks like a Matrix wannabe by wearing sunglasses and has a pistol welding trench coat. You even have a character that is having sex with Attack of the Killer Tomatoes in the background for crying out loud.

The scene that made me laugh unintentionally is the scene where the Pit Bulls are cover in blood with a baby doll in their mouth. This movie wants us to believe that these dogs have a real person in their mouth when you can easily tell that this is the fakest looking thing ever.

I also do admit that the SOV quality does has a soft spot to this movie because movies that are shot on shiteo are a big guilty pleasure of mine. The only thing that I didn't like about this movie is that the movie got boring around the final act of the movie. The plot twist was super predictable that anyone can see it a mile away.

Overall, I had a fun time watching Gorno: An American Tragedy and it is fun to watch for a bad movie night with friends. I would give this movie a higher rating if the movie had a better plot twist.

Date: 4/2/2020
Viewed: Netflix
First viewing

Note: I have been waiting to watch this movie for a while because I hear good things about this movie from a few months ago. It's finally out on Netflix in the US and I decided to watch it. I thought this movie was a pretty solid movie.

I really thought the story was very interesting with the characters being trapped with each other. The movie also reminds me of how Cube (1997) was because that movie also has similar themes and setting to this movie. I enjoy all the characters because there's a mystery behind them and it keeps me on the edge of my seat on what was going to happen next. The movie deals with themes such as cultural divide and being stuck in a dog-eat-dog world.

These themes have been done before in other movies, but I still think the movie does a good job of executing these themes in my opinion. I was surprised how violent this movie was because there's a lot of brutal and gross scenes in this movie. It didn't bother me, but I didn't think this movie was going to be a horror movie. Then again, I'm not complaining.

Overall, The Platform is a solid movie and it is worth checking out.

Date: 4/3/2020
Viewed: Netflix
Re-Watch

Note: I decided to revisit this movie on Netflix because it's been 30 years since this movie came out. Even though I was more into Power Rangers as a kid in the 90s, I still watch the TMNT cartoon show on TV and would also watch the first two movies on VHS. This movie is still not a bad movie, but it is far from being great.

The special effects and action sequences still hold up pretty well. Jim Henson did a fantastic job on the suits in the movie in my opinion. I also like the atmosphere that this movie has too. The original comics are R rated for adults, so they had to water down a lot of things to make it rated PG. You can tell that they at least tried to make a movie that appeals to both kids and adults. I do feel like some jokes are pretty lame and not funny at times.

I don't have anything else to say about this movie because I feel like most people talked about this movie to death already. Overall, the 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is still pretty enjoyable for what it is. I still recommend reading the original comics from Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird, but the movie is worth watching if you're curious.

Date: 4/4/2020
Viewed: Hulu
First viewing

Note: I wanted to check out this movie for a while now after hearing awesome things about it over the last couple of years. I also went into this movie without knowing about it as well. After watching this movie on Hulu, I really enjoy this movie.

The fight choreography in this movie was amazing because all the action scenes are very well-directed. I was on the edge of my seat on how awesome the fight scenes in this movie were. For a 2-hour movie, this movie didn't drag at all. There's not one moment in this movie that made me say "This movie is starting to overstay its welcome" or "I'm getting bored now". You also have awesome bloody violent moments that are really awesome too.

The story is pretty simple, but I do think the story is still very well told. The movie has moments that made my jaw drop because I didn't see it coming. Sook-hee/Chae Yeon-soo is a great female action character because she can kick major ass while trying to be a single mom. I also like the other supporting cast in this movie because you do feel a connection between them and the main character. The movie didn't have a happy ending which is somewhat refreshing with today's movies (As seen with Hollywood movies like Marvel & Star Wars).

The only thing that I didn't like about the movie was the flashbacks. The story structure can be a bit confusing because the movie will switch between the past and present day. It did take me a while on what was going on at first during certain scenes.

Overall, The Villainess is a great action movie that is worth checking out. I do plan on revisiting this movie again one day.

Date: 4/5/2020
Viewed: Criterion Channel
First viewing

Note: I always wanted to see this movie for years because this was the movie that inspired Wes Craven's Last House on the Left but never had the chance to watch this movie. I also wanted to see more movies from Ingmar Bergman because I really enjoy the three movies that I've seen from him (The Seventh Seal, Persona, and Hour of the Wolf). While this movie didn't blow me away, I still really enjoy it.

I love the cinematography in this movie because the movie is wonderful to look at. Every scene in this movie feels very authentic and it captures the atmosphere of this movie very well. It does surprise me that this movie is not considered to be a horror movie because the movie has many creepy moments that I find a bit scary at times. The rape scene is still pretty disturbing even by today's standers in my opinion.

The story and characters in this movie are very good too in my opinion. All the characters are memorable and hardly forgettable. I also enjoy the themes of Christian moral theology and the core existential ignorance in humanity. The worst thing about this movie to me was the pacing in my opinion. For a movie that is 89 minutes long, some scenes really drag at times.

Overall, The Virgin Spring is a very good movie and I'm glad that I watched it. I do want to see it again in the near future and see if my rating will change or not.

Date: 4/5/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime
First viewing

Note: I remember seeing VHS copies of this movie as a kid at my local Blockbuster back in the 90s, but I never saw it growing up. Many years later, I notice it's free to watch on Amazon Prime and I decided to give it a watch. This movie was surprisingly a lot of fun in my opinion.

The story is pretty interesting for a Werewolf movie because the movie deals with the Government creating their own Werewolves with science. The movie does not take itself too seriously and it is a bit self-aware of how silly the plot is. The main characters are a bit cliché and the main villain was cartoonishly evil. However, the movie makes up for it for having an awesome movie monster.

The Metalbeast (The movie monster) is awesome and I love the design of the character on-screen. For a low-budget movie, the special effects in this movie are pretty good. The suit for The Metalbeast looks great and the makeup in this movie was very good as well. You also get some pretty awesome gory moments that are very fun to watch.

Overall, Project: Metalbeast is a very enjoyable movie and I'm glad that I watched it. I recommend watching this movie if you enjoy Werewolf movies or Sci-Fi B movies.

Date: 4/5/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-Watch

Note: I haven't seen this movie in over 10 years since I was a teenager. Barefoot Gen is one of those movies that you really need to be in the right mood to watch. After watching this movie again, I still love this movie.

The story and characters in this movie are wonderful because they have great personalities and you really care about them in the movie. You really find yourself attached to the characters that you really want to cry when you see them die. The movie shows the most nightmarish human atrocities ever committed in all of human history when you see people get burned alive and blasted into pieces. The animation in this movie really does a wonderful job of showing how disturbing this tragic event was back in 1945.

Barefoot Gen shows how terrible nuclear bombs are, and we can't allow this to never happen again. If a nuclear bomb can do this to one city, imagine what a full-scale nuclear attack could do the rest of the world. It would be the worst thing to happen to the Earth in the last 66 million years if we ever had a full-scale nuclear holocaust. We can never allow this to ever happen again in human history!!

While this movie is a very dark and depressing movie, there are some lighthearted moments that happen later in the movie. Both this movie and the manga show the uplifting and optimism that the characters go through during the worst times of the 1940s. I also recommend watching this movie in Japanese with subs because the voice actors do a better job of capturing the roles of the characters better than the English dub did in my opinion.

Overall, Barefoot Gen is a fantastic movie that will punch you in the stomach after watching it. Just be ready to cry when watching this movie.

Date: 4/5/2020
Viewed: Criterion Channel
First viewing

Note: I watched the Theatrical version

I remember hearing about this movie growing up, but I never saw it until now. I was also worried that I was not going to like this movie because the movie is at least 3 hours long and people told me that this movie moves at a snail-like pace. After finally watching this movie from start to finish, I really did enjoy it.

My favorite thing about this movie was the cinematography and atmosphere because the movie is stunning to look at. When I was watching this movie, I felt like I was soaked into the setting that the story was set in. This movie feels nice and cozy at times when watching this movie. While this movie is 3 hours long, it didn't go on forever like I fear it would. Some parts of the movie did felt slow, but everything else moved at a nice pace.

I did enjoy the story even though most of the stuff was cut out from the version that I was watching. The theatrical version still gives you a solid story that deals with love, death, selfishness, and gratitude. I also enjoy all the characters and even find them relatable because death is not an easy thing for anyone to handle, no matter how old you are.

If I had to pick one thing that I didn't like about this movie, it was some of the humor. I find some humor to be dull and stupid at times. I know this movie is told in the eyes of two kids, but even I find fart jokes to be dumb. I don't have anything else bad to say about this movie.

Overall, Fanny and Alexander is a great movie and I do want to check out the TV mini-series version soon. I highly recommend watching this movie.

Date: 4/8/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime Rental
Re-Watch

Note: I hadn’t seen this movie since I rented it on DVD at Blockbuster back in 2008, and I still enjoy this movie. The reason why I revisit this movie because I was supposed to do a paper on both the book and the movie before my class got canceled. I had until tomorrow before my Amazon Prime rental expires, and I was like "Why not".

The acting in this movie is great because everyone does a wonderful job in their roles. Watching this movie almost felt like I was watching a real documentary because all the characters acted like real people. Emile Hirsch as Chris McCandless aka Alexander Supertramp should have gotten an Oscar nomination in my opinion because he was so good as the role. The only actor that I did not like in this movie was Kristen Stewart. Yes, I know I sound very cliché for saying that, but her role didn't do anything for me in this movie.

The story in this movie is fascinating because it is so cool to see the journey that Chris goes through when traveling across the country. The movie's atmosphere makes you feel like you are in the wilderness with him. The movie also has a fun supporting cast of characters that Chris meets on his journey to Alaska because they are all memorable and have something unique about their personalities. I know some people didn't like how the movie didn't go much detail about the people that Chris hurt with his silence compare to the book. However, I still feel like the story is still very told and works well on its own.

Overall, Into the Wild is a solid movie and it is worth checking out. I recommend both the book and the movie.

Date: 4/9/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime Rental
Re-Watch

Note: I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this movie, to be honest. I decided to rent it from Amazon Prime because the movie got good reviews on the Internet. While I didn't love it as most people did, I still enjoy it.

The acting in this movie was superb and I really enjoy Haley Bennett's role in the movie. Hunter (Haley Bennett's character) is pretty likable and it was interesting to see her try not to eat stuff that she is not supposed to eat. The movie gives you a reason to see her come out alive and healthy. The rest of the characters in the movie are one-dimensional and it's a shame that they were not as interesting as the main protagonist if you ask me.

My favorite thing about this movie was the weirdness because the movie has several strange stuff that happens in the movie that makes you go "WTF?". I don't want to spoil anything, but you have to see the movie for yourself to see some strange moments in this movie. While I do like the general theme of the story of people trying to battle their addiction and trying to recover over their personal traumas, but they are not very executed in my opinion. There was potential for this movie to be fantastic, but sadly the movie missed the mark. I'm also not a fan of the ending because it left me confused after the movie was over.

Overall, Swallow is not a bad movie and I did enjoy watching it despite the flaws that it has. I still recommend checking out the movie if you're curious.

Date: 4/12/2020
Viewed: Criterion Channel
Re-Watch

Note: I haven't seen this movie in the last 15 years and I decided to rewatch it in honor of Nobuhiko Ōbayashi. This is a divisive movie because people either like this movie or hate it. I love this movie for being so unique.

It's a bit hard to talk about this movie without spoiling anything because this is a movie that you have to see to believe. The movie is filled with so many wacky moments that it comes off both scary and funny. The movie is also a comedy, so the movie does not take itself too seriously. Every moment in this movie makes me smile because the movie is so much fun. I do understand why other people won't like this movie because surrealism is not for everyone.

I also love the colorful cinematography because of everything this movie is wonderful to look at. Everything in this movie is so pretty to look at that I could take any scene in this movie and put it in a picture frame. The music in this movie is also very good and iconic as well. I also like all the characters in this movie because the main cast of characters has fun personalities and are pretty memorable. I can't think of a single character in this movie that was flat or forgettable.

Overall, House (1977) is a great horror comedy and it is worth checking out if you are into surreal movies.

RIP Nobuhiko Ōbayashi

Date: 4/12/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime Rental
First Viewing

Note: I have waited to check out this movie for a while now ever since I heard about it for almost a year now. I end up renting the movie from Amazon Prime and went into the movie knowing nothing about the movie. I'm surprised that this movie is very 50/50 with people because I really enjoy this movie.

This movie made me feel like that I'm watching a classic Twilight Zone episode made in the modern-day. Everything in this movie felt so atmospheric that I was glued to the screen when watching this movie. The general artistic vision that this movie feels like that the movie was taking place in someone's painting or custom miniature set because the movie has fake-looking clouds and yellow stuff coming out of the ground making the movie feel more surreal.

The main characters are pretty interesting for the most part, but I do wish that they explain the main motivation of Martin's character. There's way more to this movie if you really look at this movie beyond the surface level of the movie. The movie has a social commentary on empty Suburban life is in America and how life can be boring if you have no true goal to your lifestyle when you really dig deeper into the movie.

Many people felt like the movie was super slow, but I felt like the movie was nicely paced. This movie is a nice slow burn that does not overstay its welcome because the movie is only 97 minutes long. If this movie was a 2-hour movie, I would agree that the story would overstay its welcome.

Overall, Vivarium is a solid movie and it kept me thinking after the movie was over. The more I think about this movie, the more I like it. I can't wait to add this movie to my Blu-Ray collection in the near future.

Date: 4/13/2020
Viewed: Netflix
First Viewing

Note: I remember the advertisements for this movie when it came out in 2015-2016, but I never had the chance to see this movie until now. I went into this movie with high hopes because I always hear good things about this movie over the last 5 years. After watching the movie on Netflix, this movie was a mixed bag for me.

The things that I did like about this movie was the acting and atmosphere. Everyone did a great job on their roles and the movie has a dark gloomy atmosphere going for it. I also do like the overall premise that this movie has because the story sounds awesome on paper. Sadly, I could not get attached to any of the characters in this movie at all. None of the characters were interesting for me to be invested in. I also hate how slow this movie was because it takes almost an hour for anything to happen.

Once things start to pick up, the story does get more interesting and the movie does have some cool moments that happen later in the story. I appreciate the effort that the filmmakers put into this movie, but sadly this movie was not for me.

Overall, The Invitation is not a bad movie, but I wish the movie live up to my expectations. The movie is worth checking out if you're curious.

Date: 4/14/2020
Viewed: TubiTV
First Viewing

Note: I have always been curious to check out this movie for a while now because it looks like a cool movie. Not to mention, this movie has a kick-ass cast of actors in the movie. Having Sonny Chiba and Tony Todd in a movie together is already a big deal-breaker for me. After watching the movie on Tubi, I enjoy it for what it is.

The movie is nothing original or high art, but I still find the movie to be super entertaining to watch. There was not a single boring moment in this movie in my opinion. The movie is obviously inspired by Quentin Tarantino movies (and his movies are obviously inspired by 70s grindhouse movies) and the movie does a good job of playing homage to his work. The movie didn't felt like it was trying too hard or being desperate when it comes to being a throwback to his movies.

Tony Todd in this movie is awesome as you would expect from him. He can make anything almost watchable no matter how bad a movie can be. Everyone else did a good job on their roles because you can tell that everyone was having a lot of fun when making this movie. The only thing that I dislike about this movie is that the Sushi Girl in this movie is just a MacGuffin and didn't do anything useful until the last 5 minutes of the movie.

Overall, I had a lot of fun watching Sushi Girl. It's not perfect, but it is worth checking out if you enjoy movies that pay tribute to old school movies.

Date: 4/15/2020
Viewed: Youtube
Re-Watch

Note: This was one of my favorite Japanese live-action movies growing up and I decided to rewatch it for the 25th anniversary. I remember watching it multiple times on DVD during my teenage years in the 2000s. For people who don't know, this movie is a spin-off to the Android Kikaider franchise. However, you don't need to watch or read anything Android Kikaider related to watch this movie. After watching this movie again, I still think this movie is pretty awesome in my opinion.

The story is pretty basic, but it works fine for this type of movie. With Tokusatsu (Japanese special effects) movies, you mostly watch them for the special effects than the story. Hakaider himself is a pretty awesome anti-hero character because he has an edgy personality to him and knows how to kick major ass. Not to mention, Hakaider has the coolest shotgun next to Ash Williams Boomstick from the Evil Dead series.

Most people will probably dislike Hakaider for being an edgelord, but I don't consider him to be one. Unlike Shadow the Hedgehog from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, he is not annoying, immature, and angsty. The other characters in this movie are serviceable and are not a total waste of time in my opinion.

The story is pretty basic, but it works fine for this type of movie. With Tokusatsu (Japanese special effects) movies, you mostly watch them for the special effects than the story. Hakaider himself is a pretty awesome anti-hero character because he has an edgy personality to him and knows how to kick major ass. Not to mention, Hakaider has the coolest shotgun next to Ash Williams Boomstick from the Evil Dead series.

Most people will probably dislike Hakaider for being an edgelord, but I don't consider him to be one. Unlike Shadow the Hedgehog, he is not annoying, immature, and angsty. The other characters in this movie are serviceable and are not a total waste of time in my opinion.

The best thing about this movie is the awesome special effects that hold up pretty well today. The movie does have some scenes of CGI that are very dated, but thankfully the movie does not have much of CGI. The practical effects in this movie are awesome and I love the craftsmanship that Keita Amemiya put into the movie. All the suits and robots in this movie so well detail and are very well-designed.

People will laugh at these types of special effects because they are not on the same level as a Hollywood film, but I love them. These types of special effects have a unique charm to them like no other in my opinion. The fight scenes in this movie are very well put together & extremely tightly choreographed. Every action sequence in this movie is super entertaining and none of it is boring to sit through. The best action sequence in this movie is the last battle in the white room because you get to see the red material underneath the surface during the fight scene. It makes the battle have a nightmarish feel to it because the red material almost looks like bloody body parts.

The movie is also pretty short with a run time of 71 minutes. I kinda wish we would have seen more story and character development, but the movie did a good job not overstaying its welcome. The worst thing about this movie is the pointless romance because it felt like that it didn't add anything to the story in my opinion.

Overall, Mechanical Violator Hakaider is a lot of fun and it is worth checking out if you enjoy Tokusatsu or Japanese cinema. Do not watch the movie dubbed because the English dubbing is pretty bad. Watch it subbed instead.

Date: 4/16/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime
Re-Watch

Note: I was in the mood to revisit this movie again because I haven't seen it in ages. After rewatching it on Amazon Prime, I still really enjoy this movie. Time After Time is a great and fun creative Sci-Fi movie with the idea of HG Wells (The author of The Time Machine) having a real Time Machine and going to the present day (1979). Seeing HG Wells react to the modern world is very fun to see because he was hoping socialism will pick up after the 19th Century and everyone would be living in a future Utopian society. To his surprise, mankind has not changed one bit. This movie is set in 1979 and you can notice that most of the bad stuff going on in the world in 1979 is not much different today in 2020.

The general message of this movie is that people will never change no matter what time we live in. People are just as violent and greedy as they were when they were mindless primates millions of years ago. Malcolm McDowell and the rest of the actors did a wonderful job on their roles in the movie. I also like the comedy in this movie because it was funny to see how HG Wells going to public places in the 20th Century like McDonald's. The movie knows how to be fun and silly while having a serious theme for the story.

The movie also has amazing special effects that still hold up well in my opinion. The thing that I always dislike about this movie is the ending because it's pretty predictable about what is going to happen. I also feel like some of the dialogue has not aged well by today's standers.

Overall, Time After Time is a solid Sci-Fi movie and a great directing debut of Nicholas Meyer (Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan). I highly recommend this movie if you haven't seen it yet.

Date: 4/17/2020
Viewed: Dailymotion
First viewing

Note: I grew up with horror movies nearly all my life, but I never saw this one until now. While this movie is not as good as the other movies that I've seen from Jacques Tourneur (Night of the Demon and Cat People), it's still a pretty good movie in my opinion.

This was the earliest movie to have a realistic portrayal of a serial killer and would lead the way to horror theme serial killer movies that we have today. For a movie that came out in the 1940s, they did a good job of making the movie feel scary and without breaking the movie code. Imagine seeing this movie back in 1943 and not knowing what to expect. The movie has a B movie title, but the movie takes itself pretty seriously. There were even some scenes in the movie that took me by surprise.

For a short movie, the movie was nicely paced and it didn't go by too quickly. The production values are very good for a movie that came out in the 1940s as well. The set designs and lighting in this movie are top-notch and don't look cheap at all. The acting was superb too because the actors took this movie seriously and didn't try to ham things up.

Overall, The Leopard Man is a surprisingly good movie and it is worth checking out if you enjoy classic movies from the early-mid 20th Century.

Date: 4/17/2020
Viewed: Hulu
First viewing

Note: The only reason I watched this movie because I was bored and I had nothing else to do. There was a decent cast involved with this movie, I thought "Eh, why not". While it's not a horrible movie, I find this movie to be bland and forgettable. The characters are cliché and the story is super predictable. When watching this movie, I can easily already tell what was to happen next. I'm also so sick of the "If you don't play sports, I won't love you anymore" Dads in movies & TV shows because it's so overdone and stupid.

The movie's general message is "Don't do drugs and don't hang out with the wrong people" which has been done in many coming of age teenage movies already. I also didn't find the movie to be funny at all because I only laughed once during this whole movie. Everything else about this movie is so boring.

I did like the acting in the movie and there were some nice production values. The movie also didn't make me feel angry that I wasted my time with this movie. You also had a character in the movie playing Crazy Taxi on the Sega Dreamcast as well (I know that I'm grasping at straws). That's about it when it comes to positive things about this movie.

Overall, Big Time Adolescence is mediocre at best and you are better off watching something else instead.

Date: 4/18/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-Watch

Note: I hadn’t seen this movie since the VHS days and I had the Criterion Blu-Ray sitting on my shelf for the past year now. This movie is still just as awesome as I remember it. The movie does an amazing job of mixing action and comedy into one amazing movie.

The story is fascinating and all the characters are wonderful in my opinion. There was not a single character in this movie that was not flat or forgettable in my opinion. The acting in this movie is pretty brilliant because Jackie Chan and the other actors do an amazing job on their roles in this movie. This movie runs at 100 minutes and there's not a single dull moment in this movie.

The movie is filled with pure non-stop action from start to finish. The fight choreography is easily the best thing in this movie because every fight scene in this movie looks amazing. Watching it subbed and not dubbed made me love the movie even more because I get to hear the actors in their original language. While I do love dubs, the movie feels more authentic in Cantonese in my opinion.

Overall, Police Story is a great movie and I highly recommend it if you enjoy action movies or have not seen any of Jackie Chan's Non-American films. I do plan on revisiting the other two movies soon.

Date: 4/18/2020
Viewed: Netflix
Re-Watch

Note: My mom was watching this movie and she wanted to watch it with me. I had nothing else to do and I was like "Why not?". I still really enjoy the movie and I noticed things that I didn't notice during my first viewing of the movie. I do love when movies are always open up for interpretation and allowing the viewer to be creative on what the message of the movie is. I still give the movie an 8.5/10, but my Mom hated it. I can understand why most people don't like this movie and I don't blame them.

Date: 4/19/2020
Viewed: DVD
First viewing

Note: This is a movie that I always wanted to see for years after hearing about it for so long. I finally got a DVD copy of this movie from eBay and decided to watch it for the first time. This movie did not disappoint me at all because I love nearly every moment of this movie. Trying to talk about this movie without spoilers is going to be hard to talk about because the movie is filled with a lot of surreal and WTF moments that you have to see for yourself similar to movies like House (1977) and Eraserhead (1977).

I'm glad that this movie was in black & white and not in color because the black & white colors really capture the tone of this movie perfectly. The movie has fantastic cinematography because the movie is beautiful to look at. I also love how atmospheric this movie is because you can feel the dark and rainy weather in the background. The performances in this movie are incredibly real and I didn't think this movie would have fantastic acting. The acting from the woman playing the daughter is stunning and easily the best actor in the movie in my opinion.

Another thing that I love about this movie is how it mixes different types of genres into one crazy movie. This movie is a horror movie that is also a dark comedy and a neo-noir movie as well. There are so many scenes that are very funny and make you think if you are supposed to laugh or not. You also get a lot of subtexts in the movie if you look at this movie beyond a surface level. The movie can be easily viewed as a study of the suppression of desire between the two women in the movie. You can also look at this movie as an anti-incest film and telling people about the dangers of incest relationships. The only thing that I didn't like this movie was the movie was a bit long. The movie would have worked better at 90 minutes than 122 minutes because the movie starts to overstay its welcome during the last act of the movie.

Overall, I loved Singapore Sling and it has become my new favorite movie. Most people will be turned off by this movie for being too weird and graphic. However, if you enjoy dark and weird movies such as Eraserhead (1977), Begotten (1989), and Visitor Q (2001), this movie is for you.

Date: 4/20/2020
Viewed: On TV
First viewing

Note: I never heard of this movie until recently and I watch this movie without nothing anything about the movie. To be honest, I thought this movie was rather boring to watch. The reason why I think the movie is rather boring because I feel like the movie moves at a snail's pace and the movie is under 90 minutes. I felt like the movie takes a while for anything interesting to happen.

I thought the story is pretty decent because the movie shows how bad human trafficking is with men using women as their own personal slaves. However, I could not get invested with any of the characters in the movie. Other than Poppy (Sissy Spacek), I didn't care for anyone in the movie. I do admit that Gene Hackman did a solid job in this movie and you can almost feel the Lex Luthor in him when he is playing the bad guy in the movie. It won't surprise me if this movie help got the role of Superman a few years later in 1978.

Overall, Prime Cut is a decent movie and I can see why it has a cult following. However, the movie didn't do anything for me but I do respect it. I do recommend checking out this movie if you're curious.

Date: 4/21/2020
Viewed: TubiTV
First Viewing

Note: I remember when this movie came out in 2009 and it was pretty popular with the Horror Movie Fandom at the time. I don't know why I never saw it back in 2009, but I finally watched it now in 2020. After watching this movie on Tubi (As of 4/21/2020), I thought the movie was a lot of fun.

Yeah, this movie is dumb and the acting is pretty bad. The story and the characters are a bit too thin even by slasher movie standards. However, the movie is so much fun to watch because the movie has a cool atmosphere, great kills, and a neat bad guy. The special effects are fantastic because the practical effects in this movie are very well done. All the special effects in this movie look and feel so authentic because they are done with practical effects and not CG. Some gore in this movie looks so nasty that it almost has a realistic vibe to it.

Overall, Laid to Rest is pretty good for what it is and what it is trying to be. If you enjoy slasher movies, I recommend watching this movie. I look forward to seeing the sequel soon.

Date: 4/22/2020
Viewed: Criterion Channel
First Viewing

Note: I always wanted to watch this movie for years, but I never got the chance to see it. After watching it on the Criterion Channel for the first time, I really enjoy this movie. I love this movie for being so funny and bizarre because this movie is so different and creative than most comedies. The movie has wacky editing, unique camera angles, and a great satire on modern suburban American, corporate business, and new philosophies.

I also love the non-linear narrative story that this movie has because it makes the movie feel more creative and even funny. I also love the cinematography and music that this movie has well. The acting in this movie is also very good too. I didn't think Steven Soderberg can act so well on camera.

Overall, Schizopolis is a great creative and smart comedy movie that is worth checking out.

Date: 4/23/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime Rental
First Viewing

Note: I hear nothing but awful things about this movie, but I was still curious to check it out. The movie is based on the Verotik comics and I remember reading some of them a very long time ago. After renting the movie from Amazon Prime, I finally watch this movie and it was not very good. This movie was bad, but I thought it was going to be beyond awful. To be honest, I've seen a lot of big-budget mainstream Hollywood movies worse than this movie. The movie has terrible acting, bad writing, and poor special effects, but there is a so bad its good charm to this movie.

I don't think this is the worst movie ever because I was able to find enjoyment out of this movie and there were no expectations for it. With a low-budget direct to video/streaming movie, you know what you are getting into than a big-budget bad movie from Hollywood. With bad big-budget mainstream movies, you expect something noteworthy because people spend millions of dollars making a movie and you pay $10 ticket to see it on the big screen. The movie has three stories and probably only one of them is decent.

Here are the three stories in this movie:

The Albino Spider of Dajette - This segment is so strange because it makes no sense. You have a woman with eyeballs on her breast and the movie does not explain why. I'm pretty sure the comic explains it, but the movie does not. This segment did remind me of Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) with a demon being involved with someone sleeping. The six-arm demon does have a cool design, but the makeup and costume for the demon are not very good. I find myself laughing at how terrible the acting in this segment was because it felt like no one was trying to act. The worst part about this segment was it felt super rushed and the ending was so predictable.

Change of Face - This segment is the best one and could have been good. I like the concept of the story in this segment because I like the idea of a woman being obsessed with her inner beauty. Sadly, it was not very well executed due to poor writing. The police officers in this segment are laughable because they are so stupid. These police officers make Chief Clancy Wiggum from The Simpsons look like a genius in comparison. Change of Face is still the best and most entertaining of the three segments which is not saying much.

Drukija Contessa of Blood - This segment was the worst out of the three because it was so boring. This segment made me feel like that I was watching a low-budget version of Game of Thrones and the story went nowhere. I don't even understand what the story was even about in this segment to be honest. You have an evil woman bathing herself in blood after killing people and that's mostly it.

Overall, Verotika is a bad movie, but I do recommend it for a bad movie night with friends. If you are going to watch this movie, rent it first.

Date: 4/25/2020
Viewed: Criterion Channel
First Viewing

Note: I always wanted to see more movies from Federico Fellini and I decided to watch this movie because I always hear amazing things about this movie for ages. After watching the movie on the Criterion Channel, I really enjoy this movie.

As you would expect from Federico Fellini, the movie is super classy with fantastic acting, great writing, and amazing production values. All the characters are wonderful and memorable that you will never forget them after the movie is over. The movie is filled with great emotions that you will be both happy and sad when watching the movie.

I don't have anything else to say about this movie other than it's fantastic. Check it out if you never saw it before.

Date: 4/26/2020
Viewed: Netflix
Rewatch

Note: I haven't seen this movie since the late 90s and I decided to rewatch it because it is leaving Netflix soon after April. This movie still holds up pretty well in my opinion. The movie is far from being perfect and the story may not be originally, but I still find this movie to be enjoyable. The movie has a fun cast of characters and the story is still interesting. Matt Damon and Ed Norton have a very good chemistry with each other on screen. You also have a fun over the top performance from John Malkovich with him eating Oreos while playing poker.

For a 2-hour movie, the movie didn't drag at all, and they did a good job keeping the story at a nice paste. The only things that I didn't like about this movie was that the story is a bit formulaic and the ending was super predictable. Overall, Rounders is a solid movie that it is worth checking out.

Date: 4/27/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Rewatch

Note: I haven't seen this movie since I was a kid. I remember watching this movie on late-night TV after midnight on the Sci-Fi channel when I was 6 years old and loved it. I recently got the Blu-Ray from Second Sight and watched the 2018 Director's version. After rewatching this movie, this movie is still awesome.

What I love about this movie the most is the atmosphere and the music. The music in this movie feels so creepy and unsettling that it works perfectly for the movie's tone. The atmosphere in this movie is dark, scary, and even surreal at times. This whole movie is filled with a lot of strange moments that make you feel like you are inside a child's dream which is what this movie is aiming for. They did an excellent job of executing the nightmarish dream feeling of this movie.

The special effects in this movie are fantastic and the gory scenes in this movie look top-notch. I love all the detail and effort that went into the special effects in this movie. The writing in this movie is far from perfect because there is some stuff in this movie that is not explained very well. At least they did a decent job of making the characters likable and memorable in my opinion.

Overall, Xtro is a very good sci-fi horror movie that is worth checking out if you are into B movies

Date: 4/28/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime
First Viewing

Note: I have waited to watch this movie for a while now because I really enjoy movies from Park Chan-wook. I finally got the chance to watch the movie on Amazon Prime and I love it. While I do consider Oldboy (2003) to be my favorite movie from Park Chan-wook, this movie is still fantastic for having great characters, amazing writing, and fantastic cinematography.

I loved the story in this movie because the movie has many great moments that had me on the edge of my seat and many surprises that I didn't see coming. I also love how the movie is told in a different character's perspective with each chapter of the movie. At first, I didn't like the flashbacks that were used in the movie, but I slowly grown used to it. Every character in this movie is well written and the actors did a fantastic job on their roles in the movie. The movie is nearly 2.5 hours and it is very well-paced. There's not a single boring moment in this movie and the movie didn't feel like it was 2.5 hours at all.

The cinematography in this movie is superb and watching it in 4K UHD on Amazon Prime makes the movie look even more awesome. Most people probably won't like this movie because this movie has many explicit scenes that will make people stay away from this movie. Overall, The Handmaiden is a fantastic movie and it is worth checking out.

Date: 4/29/2020
Viewed: Amazon Prime Rental
First Viewing

Note: I'm a huge Mortal Kombat fan and I have waited forever for a proper animated version of Mortal Kombat (The 90s Mortal Kombat cartoon was for kids). After many years of waiting, I finally got my wish and this movie was awesome. This movie is not going to any awards, but the movie is great for what it is. The movie is filled with blood and gore as you would expect from a Mortal Kombat adaption (Unlike the 1990s Mortal Kombat movies which are PG-13).

They did a great job of capturing the feeling of the Mortal Kombat video games by having over the top violence and fantastic fight scenes. Many scenes in this movie feel reminisce of older violent anime like Ninja Scroll (1993) and Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000) as well. I think it is awesome that this movie decided to take some inspiration from the legendary Yoshiaki Kawajiri.

The story is a loose retelling of the first Mortal Kombat game and the story does a pretty decent job of introducing people to the main characters such as Liu Kang, Sonya, Johnny Cage, Raiden, etc if they are not familiar with the source material. However, I do wish they could have handled the story a bit better because some characters felt like they are just added for the sake of fan service. Kitana fights Liu Kang in the movie and barley does anything afterward. Sub-Zero could have been handled a lot better because I feel like that he hardly does anything in the movie. I wish they would have gone deeper into the history between the Shirai Ryu and Lin Kuei for people who are not familiar with the source material.

People are 50/50 on the art style, but I like the art style that this movie has. The art direction in this movie feels like a mix between the DC animated movies and Japanese animation. I'm not a fan of some voices in this movie because they don't fit that well compared to the voices that we have in the recent Mortal Kombat games. However, it is nice to see the MKvsDC-MKX voice actor for Scorpion back. I do like this voice of Scorpion over the one that we have in Mortal Kombat 11 in my opinion.

Overall, Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion's Revenge is a fun adult animated action movie. I hope we get more animated Mortal Kombat movies in the near future. This movie is worth checking out if you are a fan of the Mortal Kombat video games or if you enjoy serious adult animation like Netflix's Castlevania. If you don't like gory action movies, you probably won't like this movie.

Date: 4/29/2020
Viewed: Shudder
First Viewing

Note: I was browsing around Shudder for a movie to watch before I go to bed and I decided to watch this movie because it looks like a fun movie. I went into this movie knowing nothing about it and I really did not like this movie at all. This movie is not god awful, but it's still pretty bad in my opinion. I love movies with soaked neon lighting and I can stare at soaked neon lighting in movies all day long. However, pretty lighting is not enough to save a bad movie in my opinion.

I hated all the characters in this movie because they are annoying and cliché. You have male characters in this movie that act like your stereotypical horny dude bro/chad that only wants to have sex with women and nothing else. The story in this movie is so bland and cliché because it follows the typical slasher movie formula without doing anything new or interesting. Watching this movie was a chore to finish because it was so boring. This movie is only 90 minutes and it felt like it took forever to be over.

I watched the movie dubbed because the original version didn't show up on my Shudder account for some reason. The English dubbing is terrible because the voices are annoying and the lips don't always match the English voices. I have seen better dubbing in old Hong Kong Kung Fu movies, to be honest. The only good thing that this movie has to offer is the lighting and decent camera work.

Overall, Party Hard, Die Young is a bad movie and I don't recommend watching it.

Date: 4/30/2020
Viewed: Netflix
Re-Watch

Note: I haven't seen this movie since the mid-2000s and I only revisit this movie because my family was watching it. So I decided to rewatch it to pass off time and it's alright. The acting is pretty solid and the writing is not too bad. I never cared about this movie that much because I can never get invested in the story in this movie. It's not a bad movie, but I never got into it as most people did. It's worth checking out if you're curious.

Date: 4/30/2020
Viewed: Vudu
Re-Watch

Note: I haven't seen this movie in years and decided to watch it for the 20th anniversary. I first remember seeing this movie on VHS back in the early 2000s with one of my family members and I haven't seen it since then until now. I really enjoy this movie because I like how creative this movie is. The movie is divided into four screens and each moment of the movie is shown simultaneously. It's so cool to see each moment in the movie have their own stories going on in real-time.

The movie is almost like various slices of life with no real focal point similar to Slacker (1990). This is also a movie that you want to pay attention too when watching too because there is a lot of stuff going on in each four-screen. The more you pay attention to the film, you find that these four-screens do have a connection with each other. I also like the acting in this movie because everyone did a good job in their roles. I like that all the characters in this movie feel believable and likable in my opinion. The worst thing about this movie that I did not like is that the movie does have a slow start and the pacing will probably turn people off.

Overall, Timecode is a solid original movie that is worth checking out. This movie may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I do recommend it for people who like experimental cinema.