cat fangirlLet’s just watch movies!!!! ! Yup! I’m watching movies and I’m here to share what I’ve seen! I haven’t done that since April, and now we’re into July!!!!!!?!! Woah 2016, WOAH!?!?!

Though it seems my cinematic input is going slow and steady…slow and steady is better than no movies at all!

First up my list of movies I’ve seen and re-seen since the start of May:

NEW MOVIES: 

  • THE NICE GUYS (2016) | 5/8/16 | Reel Grit 
  • CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR (2016) | 5/13/16 | Regal Alhambra 
  • AVA’S POSSESSION (2015) | 5/17/16 | Netflix 
  • ZOOMBIES (2016) | 5/17/16 | Netflix 
  • THAT GAL…WHO WAS IN THAT THING: THAT GUY 2 (2015) | 5/18/16 | Netflix 
  • THE HALLOW (2015) | 5/18/16 | Netflix 
  • THREE IN THE ATTIC (1968) | 5/20/16 | TCM 
  • CALL NORTHSIDE 777 (1948) | 5/23/16 | Netflix 
  • HUSH (2016) | 5/2916 | Rosemead High School 24 Hr. Marathon  
  • RED SUN (1971) | 5/29/16 | Reel Grit / AFI 
  • PAIN & GAIN (2013) | 5/30/16 | DVD
  • FRANK (2014) | 6/2/16 | Netflix
  • THE WAILING (2016) | 6/4/16 | AMC Atlantic Times Square 14 
  • HOUSE OF HORRORS (1946) 6/5/16 | Svengoolie/DVR 
  • BEYOND THE GATES (2015) | 6/6/16 | LA Film Festival/Culver City Arclight
  • NEON DEMON (2016) | 6/12/16 | Los Feliz 3 (Reel Grit)
  • PILLOW OF DEATH (1945) | 6/13/16 | Svengoolie / Me TV
  • THE LEECH WOMAN (1960) 6/18/16 | Svengoolie / Me TV 
  • THE SNIPER (1952) | 6/19/16 | TCM / DVR
  • INDEPENDENCE DAY: RESURGENCE (2016) | 6/23/16 | Edwards Alhambra 
  • BLOODY BIRTHDAY (1981) | 6/30/16 | TCM (DVR) 
  • THE LEGEND OF TARZAN (2016) | 7/3/16 | AMC Atlantic Times Square 14
  • STUNTS (1978) | 7/10/16 | TCM (DVR) 

Bonus June outingAlamo’s Guide to Virtual Reality | 6/5/16 | Regent DTLA (clips & panel) from Alamo Drafthouse LA. This was a lot of fun because after the Q&A with the VR panel I went and introduced myself to Brett Leonard, director of THE LAWNMOWER MAN & VIRUTOSITY! We shook hands! Yup! Go me! (Back in the day, I actually named a pet bird Jobe after watching LAWNMOWER MAN!)

JOBE likes VR!

JOBE likes VR!

RE-SEE MOVIES: 

  • CLUE (1985) | 5/1/16 | DVD (outside)
  • ROMANCING THE STONE (1984) | 5/1/16 | DVD (outside)
  • LETHAL WEAPON (1987) | 5/8/16 | 35mm Reel Grit
  • THE LAST BOY SCOUT (1991) | 5/8/16 | 35mm Reel Grit
  • KISS KISS BANG BANG (20050 | 5/8/16 | 35mm Reel Grit
  • WILD IN THE STREETS (1968) | 5/19/16 | TCM
  • HUDSON HAWK (1991) | 5/24/16 | STARZ
  • THE HATEFUL 8 (2016) | 5/2816 | Rosemead High School 24 Hr. Marathon
  • SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS (1941/1942) | 5/2816 | Rosemead High School 24 Hr. Marathon
  • BAD NEWS BEARS (1976) | 5/2816 | Rosemead High School 24 Hr. Marathon
  • UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (1964) | 5/2816 | Rosemead High School 24 Hr. Marathon
  • ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN (1948) | 5/2816 | Rosemead High School 24 Hr. Marathon
  • THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY (1998) | 5/2816 | Rosemead High School 24 Hr. Marathon
  • EVIL DEAD 2 (1987) | 5/29/16 | Rosemead High School 24 Hr. Marathon
  • SUPERBAD (2007) | 5/29/16 | Rosemead High School 24 Hr. Marathon
  • SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT (1977) | 5/29/16 | Rosemead High School 24 Hr. Marathon
  • THE MATRIX (1999) | 5/29/16 | Rosemead High School 24 Hr. Marathon
  • CAST A DEADLY SPELL (1991) | 6/3/16 | Amazon Instant
  • SHE-WOLF OF LONDON (1946) | 6/5/17 | Sevengoolie/DVR
  • THE PHANTOM (1996) | 6/11/16 | Netflix
  • DRIVE (2011) | 6/12/16 | Los Feliz 3 (Reel Grit)
  • ID4 (1996) | 6/16/16 | DVD
  • DREAMSCAPE (1984) | 6/16/16 | DVR
  • HUDSON HAWK (1991) | 6/17/16 | DVR
  • MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015) | 07/05/16 | CABLE
  • WILD BUNCH (1969) | 7/6/16 | TCM
  • GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES (1984) | 7/9/16 | Google Play

This brings me to 124 movies in all for 2016, so yea!!!!! Here’s to Happy Movie watching times for everyone! (Yes I need to see more!)

For me, when it comes to watching movies I still think it’s nice to share what was a good movie view! So here’s some of my favorite flick picks!

If you want a further flash back I offer you a recap of some movies I saw in May which can be found here: http://shempcat.com/movie-marathon-24-hours-of-cinema/ please read and enjoy! Yup!

Now here’s 10 Films I would recommend that were new sees for me:

red sun rojoRED SUN: A western with the greats Charles Bronson, Alain Delon and Toshirô Mifune. When a train with Japanese delegates is robbed by Link (Bronson) and Gauche (Delon) there’s a double cross. Gauche takes a Japanese sword and the train loot all for himself ditching his partner Link. A Japanese Samurai guard, Kuroda (Mifune), wrangles Link into teaming up to track Gauche and this mismatched pair have quite a Western trek. I love Westerns! I love this cast! It is all pretty badass from beginning to end. The west is so much cooler now with these three fellows.

3 in atticTHREE IN THE ATTIC: This film stars Christopher Jones, whom I love because of WILD IN THE STREETS. Jones is Paxton Quigley. Paxton Quigley is in college and is known for bedding more than a few collegiate women. The tale is based on a book called Paxton Quigley’s Had the Course and they even have a song of the same title in the film. Now you’re probably wondering what’s the deal with the attic? So…Paxton finds himself entangled with three lovely ladies, all quite intriguing in their own ways. First up there’s Tobey who may just be his perfect match, next is Eulice a smart woman who’s a painter and she knows what she wants, their sexual attraction is on fire; lastly there’s hippie chick Jan who he tricked into bedding (not cool Paxton, not cool!) but they then dig their mutual hippie vibes. So Paxton goes about juggling his love life between classes and TV shows. When the ladies find out they trap him in an attic and torture him with round the clock sexual encounters. Oh Paxton, baby, you got what you gave…yup.

The-WailingTHE WAILING: This Korean horror, thriller really creeped me out and stuck with me days after I saw it. Unusual murders strike a small village and as more occur there seems to be a strange evil connection. A local policeman finds himself entangled in the gruesome horror as his daughter is soon possessed. There’s a lot going on as it’s a look at another culture dealing with possession, small town fears and prejudices. It never eases up either as things only become more horrific. I actually felt scared, jumped not because of a cheap trick and was left feeling WTF and that was all a good thing. Does everything make sense? Perhaps not but damn if my eyes weren’t glued to the screen.

BeyoneTheGates_posterBEYOND THE GATES: I ventured off to Culver City and the LA FILM FEST to see this movie. Two estranged brothers are packing up their dad’s video store after his strange disappearance and they find a VHS Board Game. Once they being to play they find the consequences have an impact on their real world and may lead them to their dad. One of my favorite actresses Barbara Crampton is the beauty of the VHS game nudging the brothers along. It’s a throw back to 80’s horror movies but feels pretty fresh. There’s blood and gore aplenty and I dug the character development between the bros. BEYOND is a fun horror movie that’s making it rounds through some festivals so keep an eye out and check it out. Yup.

 

demonNEON DEMON: Nicolas Winding Refn’s latest film reveals his inner 16 year old female side. (So he admitted at a Q&A I was fortunate to attend when I saw this movie.)  It’s a horror movie set in the fashion world where Jesse (Elle Fanning) is fresh on the scene and making other models jealous. Jesse has a natural beauty and she’s absolutely self aware of her power as she is ready to move on up. It’s surreal, dreamy and raw commenting on what is beauty; is it natural, is it made, can it be faked? Jena Malone is a make-up artist Ruby and she was just as entrancing throughout the film. Keanu Reeves was in this film too, and I had no idea he was until I saw his name in the credits. He’s Hank and he’s not so nice. You’ll likely love this movie or hate it. My guy Dave and I have had many a talks about how you could perceive the film and being a Refn fan I was on board through it all. Loved It.

the sniper

THE SNIPER: I found this movie sitting on my dad’s DVR recorded from TCM. It’s a sad movie that deals with some serious issues; mental health, sex crimes, the prejudice of the police force and politics which are all stuck in a broken system. Eddie Miller is a troubled man, he’s got some bad thoughts plaguing his brain. He doesn’t like women, and it seems the world is against him. When Eddie can no longer resist the urge to shoot at women from a rooftop we see just how the world reacts to such events. Society calls for justice, people choose to live in fear, a psychologist urges for support and changes to the system all while more killings continue. This film should be required viewing. It gets you angry and thinking. Things should be better by now, but from 1952 to today, this movie feels just as real now as it was then.

 

ResurgencePosterINDEPENDENCE DAY RESURGENCE: I won’t lie, I was excited to see this movie. I remember back in 1996 when ID4 came out…I always think about the teaser trailer, just seeing a blast of a big sky scraper. BOOM, destruction. They don’t make trailers like that anymore. What in the world were we getting into? An alien invasion?! What? Well it was 1996 and ID4 was a ridiculous movie, but it was fun and I know how to have a good old popcorn grubbin’ fun time with a movie.

I loved the build up to ID: RESURGENCE with Jeff GoldBlum as David Levinson explaining how the world has changed since that 4th of July oh so long ago. What I loved most about RESURGENCE was the idea that the world actually came together, rebuilt together and got along after such a worldwide disaster. It’s a beautiful dream and damnit I like it. So RESURGENCE is purely fluffy fun. The aliens return to try again and overtake the Earth and though we’re better prepared it’s still no easy fight!

david and jeffMy favorite things included DAVID LEVINSON, his Dad Julius, the ex president Bill Pullman, I mean President Whitmore and Dr. Brackish Okun (Brent Spiner). The movie makes the right nods for my 1996 self and it had fun action bits that kept me chuckling. Some of the action moments payoff could have used a little more oomph but I had the good old time, Yup. Oh the poor landmarks! I’m ready for more! 

 

bloody bday kidsBLOODY BIRTHDAY: What happens when three kids are all born at the same time, under a bad astrological sign? Well they become apathetic killers at a young tender age. It’s like three bad seeds all working together to knock off people they just don’t like. This movie was it was actually filmed in my hometown and it has Julie Brown. Yea! Julie Brown, so cute and bouncy! The killer kids are pretty bad kids, don’t mess with their killing plans. The best friend of Julie Brown might know why the kids are killers but she could use a bit more smarts. She wants to be a journalist but doesn’t think she has to go off to college!? It’s a quirky horror movie and just entertaining enough. Fun 80’s cast. 

tarzanTHE LEGEND OF TARZAN: I love TARZAN. I watched old Tarzan movies with my dad. I love pulpy heroes. So this movie was perfect for me! The Lord of Greystoke, aka John Clayton III, aka TARZAN (Alexander Skarsgård) has taken his place amongst Victorian England. His lovely wife Jane (Margot Robbie) is by his side. John is being wrangled to return to the African jungle to validate King Leopold’s claims on the Congo, but it’s really a ploy by the King’s envoy Leon Rom (Christoph Waltz) to get diamonds and be rid of Tarzan.

George Washington Williams, who’s actually based on a real life person and played by Samuel L. Jackson, shows up to warn Tarzan of a potential trap! George knows King Leopold is up to no good and he wants Tarzan’s help to expose the truth. Heroes one and all!

legend-of-tarzan-2Now Tarzan is set to go to the jungle and Jane is ready to return too to stay at his side. Though Jane ultimately is used as a pawn in the “let’s get Tarzan game” she’s no wispy damsel in distress. She knows her way around the jungle. This is a Tarzan movie people, it’s got action, it’s got fun, it’s got jungle heat! I learned about African bird mating calls!

There’s lots of vine swinging (oh CGI!) but, Skarsgård is a fantastic Tarzan while Robbie is his awesome Jane. (TRUE LOVE)

I admittedly am a sucker for pulpy films and I had a super duper blast! I watched this fun flick with my family and they all enjoyed it too. What more could a girl like me want? AHHHhhhhhh!!!!! TARZAN YELL

stuntsSTUNTS: I love finding movies on cable! My dad recorded this one from TCM Underground. It seemed vaguely familiar and I may have seen it before but it felt pretty new…so it’s on my new list! It stars Robert Forster as a stuntman! His brother, fellow stuntman, recently died performing a stunt and so there’s a mystery of who killed him and why!? Could it be the stunt coordinator who’s had some on set deaths hurt his career? Could it be an upcoming stuntman? Nah, that guy is a dork! (Hee hee) The cast is super cool! Ray Sharkey with a sleezy stashe and the lovely Joanna Cassidy and her adorable laugh! Both are stuntmen! This is a movie about making movies and you see the producers who want the big action to make big blockbusters. It was neat to see the old film cameras and a production in the little town of San Luis Obispo and the Madonna Inn. Robert Forster is so young and a perfect stuntman. He’s got the ‘tude and know how. He’s an awesome leading man! SPOILER WARNING!!!!!!! Things I learned from STUNTS, stuntmen ride motorcycles, if they die you have to throw their bike into the ocean. They like vans or trucks that fit waterbeds. And they’re all FAST & FURIOUS. 😉

The Hell With Dialogue, Let's Wreck Something!

The Hell With Dialogue, Let’s Wreck Something!

Next up, a quick run through of some favorite recent re-sees.

5 re-sees:

romancing_the_stoneROMANCING THE STONE: Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner together! Turner is romance writer Joan Wilder, she’s off to the jungle to find her sister. Joan meets hero Jack T. Colton (Douglas) in the jungle and many hijinks ensue. Joan finds her hero but realizes she can take care of herself too. What’s not to love and laugh about when you find drug runners who read romance novels and Danny DeVito is hot on their trails? ROMANCING is still as funny as it was when I watched it on cable and VHS! We had a blast kicking off the summer vibe watching this at our friends house outside in the backyard! Yeah movies outdoors!

 

WILD IN THE STREETS: Christopher Jones is Max Frost and he wants to change America. He gets the voting age dropped to 14, gets a hippie elected into the house of representatives, becomes President of the United States and puts everyone over the age of 30 into LSD camps, it’s the “SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME”, you dig it baby? Thanks to TCM for airing this one! It was playing and I watched from beginning to end. Bonus cheers to Shelley Winters, Richard Pryor and Hal Holbrook for being groovy peeps in this movie.

Let The Revolution Begin!

Let The Revolution Begin!

CAST A DEADLY SPELL: An HBO TV movie that I watched back in the day and have to say that it still holds up pretty well now. I found it Amazon Instant and just settled in for a re-watch. Set in 1940’s Los Angeles where magic is used willy nilly, we meet detective Harry Lovecraft (Fred Ward) who doesn’t use the stuff. He stays on the straight and narrow and gets caught up in stopping an end of the world plot. The film has a cool cast and I have to highlight Clancy Brown! There’s cool monsters and gorey effects. It’s a fun magic noir world. Would you use magic?

GOT MAGIC?

GOT MAGIC?

THE PHANTOM: “For those who came in late…” Ok we’re back to pulpy heroes and this movie was one of my favorites in 1996 and still one of my tops all in all. Oh how I love Billy Zane! My niece Effie was over and I actually got her to watch this movie with me! She dug it, of course she had tons of questions but enjoyed the guy in the purple suit, swinging through the jungle and the city to keep the world safe from evil tycoons! I really wish THE PHANTOM series continued. Le Sigh. I still have that Phantom milk poster on a bedroom wall! (I’ll never grow up!)

phantom milk

GOT MILK? The Phantom Does!

 

tarzanlambertGREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES: Being on a Tarzan kick after THE LEGEND OF TARZAN my dad found this article online: The Secrets Behind That Other Tarzan Movie — The One That Earned a Dog a Screenwriting Oscar Nomination  and if you have a moment it is a great article to read. And then like me you can go and watch GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES.

I actually watched GREYSTOKE back in my cable TV watching days as a kid. It probably started my love of Christopher Lambert! So, this is a TARZAN origin story! It starts with a musical Overture! What was most shocking to remember was the very start, the apes fighting and the mama gorilla (Tarzan’s mama to be) lost her little baby! That baby death was like WOAH! Then we travel to England and meet the Lord of Greystoke, John Clayton II (Paul Geoffrey who’s also Perceval in Excalibur!!). He is about to go off and away with his wife and on their journey. Then they are shipwrecked and trying to survive the wilds of the jungles in Africa. Though they have a lovely treehouse it’s not meant to be because jungle life is too harsh and those apes aren’t so nice.

Baby John, Tarzan, is then adopted by the apes, and lives among them, swinging from trees, growing strong and becoming a superb mimic. Tarzan develops more of a roar then that traditional yell.

Ian Holm shows up as an explorer, Capitaine Phillippe D’Arnot, and he is saved by Tarzan when the rest of his party is killed by a local tribe. In this version it’s Phillippe who does the teaching to help Tarzan realize he’s more than just an APE. Phillippe and John are soon in England and grandpa Lord of Greystoke couldn’t be happier to have his Clayton home.

I seriously could go on and on about this movie! It’s beautiful, the actors in the ape suits are grand, the music fits perfectly. I loved seeing England and Tarzan amongst the fancy folks. Even pretty Andie MacDowell was a nice Jane but did you know she was dubbed over by Glen Close? So it goes in the movie biz! Yup. It was a great re-watch. Yeah, TARZAN!!!! Oh and if you Lambert fans might be wondering about that laugh, yea, he laughs! It made me squeeee!

And there you have it, my take on some movies, my recommendations and some rambling fun. I hope you go out and watch more movies and I will too! Let’s all find the fun in movies and share that fun. Yup!