What did you watch today?

[Davy_Lee]

Opposing Force (First viewing on YouTube) – 6.5/10
I watched this once on video, which had the alternate title “Hell Camp”. It’s a decent action thriller if you’re into B-movies that don’t demand much thinking. The film tells about a “military-training-on-an-island-goes-awry-and-military-trainees-retaliate-against-psychotic-camp-commander” kind of plot.
Tom Skeritt, Lisa Eichhorn, Anthony Zerbe and Richard Roundtree star.


Shoot (First viewing on YouTube) – 5.5/10
I was expecting to find a film with an action-oriented one-word title like “Shoot” and a list of cast that includes Cliff Robertson, Ernest Borgnine and Henry Silva to deliver thrills and excitement, but I was wrong.

This offbeat cinematic piece of American Canadian production plays like a late night made-for-television feature. It should have been good as it has a strong social message about the need for gun control but the direction leaves a lot to be desired. In a way, it tries to imitate Deliverance but fails on many counts – little tension, over-extended dialogues, inappropriate music, and pedestrian direction.

I don’t mind watching a 90-minute or longer film that has lots of dialogues. But this contains too many uneventful scenes with lots and lots of talk that drag the film for more than two-thirds of its runtime.

The film was meant for theatrical release in 1976, now I know why it has faded into obscurity. Not available on DVD and it’s better be left untouched. An effective cure for insomnia, though.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Predestination (2014)

Mental wasn't it? I watched it with a colleague and we just sort of looked at each other at the end.

737. Super Eruption (2011, TV) - 4/10

I did not expect to like it as much as I did (8/10 or 4/5). I think it's very hard to make a good timetravel movie, but they succeeded.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Honeymoon (2014)
Saturday the 14th (1981)
Gone Girl (2014)

[Davy_Lee]

The Substitute (First viewing; Spanish BD) – 7.5/10
There are two other movies with a similar “school-is- a-dangerous-place” plot that I like besides this: The Principal (James Belushi, Louis Gosset Jr.) and Dangerous Minds (Michelle Pfeiffer). However, as far as action goes, this is the most intense.

Tom Berenger has been one of my favorite actors since Platoon although I have only seen some of his other movies. I like how the script adds supporting characters like Luis Guzmán and William Forsythe as members of his mercenary squad, which makes Berenger’s role and actions as their squad commander believable. Watch the intense shootouts between Shale/Smith (Berenger) with his 4-men against the drug dealer and his horde of mercs during the film climax inside a high school!

[Samuel_Scott]

738. 101 Dalmations (1961, TV) - 7/10
739. Mr Popper's Penguins (2011, TV) - 7/10
740. Merry Madagascar (2009, TV) - 6/10 - short
741. Cool Runnings (1993, TV) - 9/10
742. Shrek the Halls (2007, TV) 6/10 - short
743. Ice Age: A Mammoth Christmas (2011, TV) - 6/10 - short

[Ain_Uussaar]

Klass / The Class (2007)
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)

[Davy_Lee]

Streets of Fire (First viewing; UK BD) – 7/10
Stylish direction with a comic book vibe could not save this from mediocrity as the plot is too linear and lacks tension even up to the climax. The songs are pretty good though, especially the catchy “Nowhere Fast” and the groovy “I Can Dream about You” which bring back fond memories of my teenage years

[Ain_Uussaar]

V/H/S: Viral (2014)
The Strangers - Unrated (2008)

[Samuel_Scott]

744. Good Morning Vietnam (1987, TV) - 7/10
745. Hard Eight (1996, TV) - 7/10

[Ain_Uussaar]

The Homesman (2014)
and
#500 of 2014 is .... The Marine 3: Homefront (2013)

[Samuel_Scott]

Well done on reaching 500!

746. Harry and the Hendersons (1987, TV) - 6/10
747. Avalanche Sharks (2013, TV) - 2/10

[Vincent_Bouche]

Robocop (2014) (TV)
Really far from Verhoeven's masterpiece… not terrible, but not worth watching - 5/10.

Creature from the Black Lagoon (UK Blu)
Average monster movie from the Universal boxset - 6/10.

The Major (Mayor) (TV)
Not convinced by this Russian movie in which a corrupt cop kills a child in a car accident - 5/10

Fata Morgana (UK Blu)
Unbelievably beautiful "movie" from Herzog, I didn't really understand where he wants to get, but I'm not sure this really matters here - 7/10.

Inception (US Blu)
Classic Nolan masterpiece - 9/10.

Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom (TV)
Not really convinced by the make-up, which I found pretty disturbing, a good movie otherwise - 7/10.

Las Brujas de Zugarramurdi (TV)
Beginning was really funny, but the ending is full of ugly numeric special effects… too bad - 6/10.

Hummingbird (TV)
An OK action/thriller movie with Jason Statham - 6/10.

Darjeeling Limited (US Blu)
Typical Wes Anderson: strange characters and situations, eerie atmosphere: I like that - 7/10.

Chronicles of Riddick (US Blu)
Better than what I remembered, but I guess having watched Pitch Black and Dark Fury a short while before helped - 6/10.

[Ain_Uussaar]

National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation (1997)
Snabba cash II (2012)

[Samuel_Scott]

748. Brewster's Millions (1985, TV) - 7/10
749. 500 MPH Storm (2013, TV) - 2/10
750. True Lies (1994, TV) - 9/10
751. Die Another Day (2002, TV) - 6/10
752. Gremlins (1984, TV) - 9/10

[Davy_Lee]

The November Man (First viewing; US BD) – 7.5/10
Australian director Roger Donaldson's action thriller is quite laudable despite a few plot holes. It looks like there will be a sequel as the ending leaves a couple of loose ends.

Tourist Trap (First viewing on UK DVD) – 8/10
This is another horror film of my teenage years that I watched on video. I quite liked it then but it just got my full appreciation. I didn't get the blu-ray as many fans say that it's edited. About the film itself, the eerie music by Pino Donaggio (Carrie, Dressed to Kill), the creepy special effects on the mannequins, and Chuck Connors’s portrayal of the psychopath make this one a cult horror fan favorite.

[Ain_Uussaar]

Mandariinid / Tangerines (2013)

2014 - 505 films watched.

[Samuel_Scott]

2014 - 505 films watched.

None yesterday, so 752 for me - 22 over target. Will have the same target this year I think.

[Ain_Uussaar]

I`ll just aim for a high round numer for this year

[Vincent_Bouche]

The Sweeney (TV)
Well, again nothing special in this quite all right thriller - 6/10.

Dracula (1931) (Spanish Version) (UK Blu)
This alternate version was shot with the same set design than for the US version. A bit "strange" to hear Spanish, but this is pretty much "on par" with the English version - 7/10.

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (French Blu)
I never imagined, this would be the ancestor of Misery. Great movie with notable performance by the actresses - 8/10.

Scanners (US Blu)
Classic Cronenberg masterpiece. Maybe not my personal best, but a damn good one with a great script and many unforgettable scenes - 9/10.

Aguirre, The Wrath of God (UK Blu)
Probably my favorite Herzog movie, with a very special atmosphere and an incredible Kinski - 9/10.

Blood (TV)
Not really bad, but not really convinced either - 6/10.

Cirque du Soleil: Worlds Away (TV)
Rather a circus show than a movie. Many stages were quite impressive, but it would deserve to be watched in HD (and maybe in 3D) to really enjoy it. I liked it - 7/10.

Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (TV)
New "unimaginative" movie in the "Jack Ryan" series. Nothing really noticeable here… 6/10.

Exodus (Theater)
Big disappointment. Of course, everything is quite spectacular, but this seemed quite pointless overall. Once again (KoH), I think we'll have to wait for the Director's Cut to see what this movie is really worth - 5/10.

Fear X (German Blu)
Lynch-ian thriller by Nicolas Winding Refn with John Turturro - 7/10.

Homeland: Season 4 (TV)
A notch below the last two seasons, but still enjoyable. And I really liked the unexpected ending. Writers have really the ability to bring you to what you wouldn't expect - 7/10.

3xHerzog Shorts (UK Blu)
Strange short movies by Herzog, I didn't really get into it - 5/10.

Pitch Black: Dark Fury (US Blu)
Good animation short linking Pitch Plack to Chronicles of Riddick (but picture quality was really unsufficient here) - 7/10.

Land of Silence and Darkness (UK Blu)
Tough Herzog documentary about the blind-deaf people - 7/10.

TOTAL for 2014
250 movies
35 seasons of TV shows
10 shorts/documentaries

[Samuel_Scott]

1. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) - 6/10
2. Natural Born Killers (1994) - 8/10