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AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I Watched in December 2020 list
Date: 12/21/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-Watch
Note: I haven't seen this movie in the last several years and it took me a while to get a copy of this movie. I was going to cover it for my 31 Days of Horror in October, but the movie was out of stock on Amazon and most places were selling it for high prices. I decided to wait for the price to drop on Amazon and I finally got a copy a few weeks ago. After watching this movie again, I still enjoy it. Island of Lost Souls is a solid horror movie from the 1930s in my opinion.
While it's not the first Island of Doctor Moreau movie (Two silent Doctor Moreau movies exist before this movie. However one of them is lost), it's the best one that we have at the moment. I love the dark and moody tone that this movie has because it makes the movie feel very atmospheric. I love how this movie uses fog and dark shadows to create a dark, gritty, and spooky tone. The lack of a musical score also helps this movie feel more haunting.
Seeing that this movie came out a year before King Kong (1933), it is impressive that they are able to create a spooky island filled with scary monsters. The movie has solid makeup work with several creatures including Bela Lugosi (Dracula) as Sayer of the Law. It is really neat that they are able to do full hairy makeup nearly a decade before The Wolfman (1941). Charles Laughton (Mutiny on the Bounty) does a fantastic job of playing Doctor Moreau in my opinion. Charles Laughton is able to play a twisted and crazy madman that wants to play god. There is a sinister vibe to his character when he is trying to manipulate everyone around him.
The movie does have its fair share of flaws because I do wish the movie was longer. I feel like another 20 minutes would have helped developed the other characters better. I never had a strong connection with the main character (played by Richard Arlen) because I find his character to be bland. You also have some of the villagers wearing blackface make up which is always painful to look at.
Overall, Island of Lost Souls is a good horror movie that is worth checking out. With the success of The Invisible Man (2020), maybe a company like Blumhouse Productions can give us a new good adaption of the book. Either let Richard Stanley have full control or hire Guillermo del Toro to direct it.4 years, 3 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I Watched in December 2020 list
Date: 12/20/2020
Viewed: TubiTV
Re-Watch
Note: Seeing that I revisit the first Jack Frost movie last year, I decided to revisit the second movie. I only saw this movie once when it came out on VHS back in 2000. After watching this movie again, I do feel like it's nowhere as fun as the first movie. However, I don't hate this movie as most people do. We get to see Scott MacDonald again as Jack Frost and he is always fun when he is on screen. I do think the biggest issue with this movie is that the humor and the gory kills are a step down compared to the first movie. The movie does have some cool death scenes, but I still prefer the death scenes in the first movie in my opinion. Most of the humor in this movie is not very funny in my opinion. The CGI in this movie has not aged very well at all.
It was nice to see some of the actors from the first movie that came back again. I also totally forgot that both Doug Jones (Shape of Water) and Ian Abercrombie (They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?) were in this movie. I don't have anything else to say about this movie, to be honest. If you enjoy the first movie, you will probably like this movie. If you didn't like the first movie, I doubt that you will like this movie any better. 4 years, 3 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I Watched in December 2020 list
Date: 12/16/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
Re-Watch
Note: This movie just turned 20 years old and I felt like it was the perfect time to revisit this movie. I have probably have seen this movie like seven or eight times during the last 20 years. I still remember when this movie was a hugely popular movie with both movie nerds and non-nerds alike. I first saw the movie back in 2001 from a friend that I knew in my school that was also into tape trading and he assists that we should watch this movie ASAP. We watched it after school and we were both blown away by it. It was a crazy thrill ride of a movie that made me shit my pants. This movie somehow faded into obscurity as time went on for some odd reason. People think of Fortnite now when they hear the name "Battle Royale".
I still love this movie and I can't recommend this movie enough to people who haven't seen it yet. Sadly, this was the last movie directed by Kinji Fukasaku. Battle Royale is filled with nonstop action and drama from start to finish. The movie is 2 hours long and it goes by so quickly. All of the characters are well written and they did a wonderful job of making you feel emotionally invested with them. When someone dies in this movie, you actually feel sadness. Unlike The Hunger Games (2012), you grow attached to these characters and you want to see them get out alive in my opinion. The special effects in this movie are great and they still hold up. Some of the blood and gore in this movie almost has a similar vibe to the practical effects that Tom Savini would do.
The film has an interesting social commentary on Japanese society and adolescence. The movie is a warning about dystopian laws and how we can't allow society to become like this. For a serious movie, you still have some dark humor that is added to the movie. The training video in the movie does have a similar vibe to the TV commercials from the original Robocop movie with the over the top nature that it has. The only thing that I don't like about this movie is some of the extra footage because it feels kinda pointless. I can see why they were originally cut out in the first place.
This movie is not a movie for the faint of heart, so don't watch this movie if you can't handle graphic violence. If you can handle graphic violence, you should watch this movie ASAP. 4 years, 3 months ago
4 years, 3 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I Watched in December 2020 list
Date: 12/15/2020
Viewed: Blu-Ray
First Viewing
Note: I bought the Blu-Ray of this movie at my local Dollar Tree along with a few other movies a while back and I was always curious to watch this movie. I remember the advertisements for this movie back in 2013 and I wanted to see it because I really enjoy Dead Snow (2008) by Tommy Wirkola. I end up not seeing this movie when it came out because I hear terrible things about this movie from both critics and general moviegoers. Better late than never, I finally got the chance to watch this movie and I enjoy it. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is a fun popcorn action horror film in my opinion.
I'm not going to defend this movie by saying it's flawless because it's not. This movie is a fun dumb movie that you can sit down and turn your brain off for 95 minutes. The movie is filled with awesome action sequences and cool gory moments. I also love the production values by having the movie look like it was set in the early 1800s. The movie also did a good job of being silly and over the top without trying too hard to be self-aware. Both Jeremy Renner (Marvel's The Avengers) and Gemma Arterton (My Zoe) did a good job by playing two witch hunters. I like the chemistry between the two witch hunters because they actually feel like they could be related to each other. Peter Stormare (Fanny and Alexander) also has a cool role in the movie that is pretty noteworthy.
The CGI for the giant troll (was it an Ogre? I can never tell) is surprisingly good. Derek Mears (DC's Swamp Thing TV series) did a good job of doing the motion capture of the character. My biggest issue with this movie is the movie has a weak supporting cast of characters in my opinion. I didn't care about the other characters that much to be honest. The movie was filmed in 3D and the 3D gimmicks are super annoying to sit through. I was also not a fan of the digital effects that they used for some of the blood and gore. It looks cheap and super fake looking at times.
It's a shame that this movie never had a sequel because I would have loved to see more. Overall, Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is a fun movie and I didn't regret watching it. I do recommend checking it out if you need to watch a movie with friends on a Friday or Saturday night. 4 years, 3 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I Watched in December 2020 list
Date: 12/14/2020
Viewed: DVD
First Viewing
Note: This is the lowest-rated horror movie on my watchlist and I was always curious to see how bad this movie is. I remember the Internet advertisements for this movie when it came out in 2012 and everyone was making fun of how stupid the Smiley killer looks. I finally got a copy of this movie on DVD at my local thrift store for $1. After watching this movie for the first time, I can see why this movie is rated so low. Smiley is a very boring slasher movie that is trying to cash in on Internet trends. This movie is made to cash in on the Slender Man craze that was happening on the Internet at the time. Nothing about this movie is new and original at all. The idea of a killer who stitched an emoticon into his own face can be creepy and well done if it was executed better by a better filmmaker.
The acting is terrible and the dialogue is super cringy. You can tell Caitlin Gerard (The Social Network) was really trying her best with the material that she was given with. I hate how this movie is trying so hard to be cool by having characters use Internet slang in their sentences. Keith David was completely wasted in this movie and it won't surprise me if he only did this movie for a paycheck. Toby Turner and Shane Dawson are only in this movie because this movie was made with whoever was popular on Youtube at the time. I'm almost surprised that Doug Walker (The Nostalgia Critic) is not in this movie lol.
The slow pacing and reliance on jump scares do make the movie even worse to sit through. The pacing in this movie makes Yi Yi (2000) look like a 5-second video clip (I'm not even joking). Every character is flat and unlikable. I can't think of a single good character in this movie at all. The message in this movie is a total mess because it is trying to have a message about the dangers of Internet chat rooms and creepy stalkers. On paper, that sounds like it can be a good message for a movie. However, it's so badly executed that it almost makes the message in #Horror (2015) look good (I never thought that I would ever say that in a million years). If there's one good thing about this movie is that some of the gory moments were decent.
The movie ends with a post-credits scene by setting up a sequel (like that's ever gonna happen). Overall, Smiley is a terrible movie and I don't recommend this movie at all. Avoid this movie at all costs. 4 years, 3 months ago
AVPGuyver21 added 1 item to Movies I Watched in December 2020 list
Date: 12/12/2020
Viewed: Youtube
First Viewing
Note: Yet another old horror movie that I haven't seen since I was probably 4 years old. I'm going to count this movie as a first viewing because I remember very little of this movie other than a few scenes. The Screaming Skull is not a good movie at all, but it's not god awful neither. I don't consider this movie to be the worst movie ever because I have seen way worse. The story makes almost no sense because it's so convoluted. The movie has so many jump cuts that it makes the movie annoying to sit through. Even the production values are not very good for a movie that came out during the 1950s.
The worst thing about this movie is the pacing because it feels so slow. The movie is only an hour long and it felt like it took forever for anything to happen. While this movie is not a good movie, you still have good stuff in it. The acting is passable and everyone did a good job with the material that they were given with. Peggy Webber (The Wrong Man) and Russ Conway (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?) are easily the best actors in the movie in my opinion. I also do like how atmospheric this movie is at times. The dark lighting allows this movie to create a moody feeling to it.
Overall, The Screaming Skull is a mediocre movie at best and I don't recommend it unless you have nothing else to watch on a rainy day. 4 years, 3 months ago
