Merry Christmas Movie Poster Monday- Silent Night

 

Movie Poster- Silent Night, Deadly Night

 

Today is...

 

New Release Tuesday

 

The Warriors- A street gang known as The Warriors must fight their way from the Bronx to their home turf on Coney Island when they are falsely accused of assassinating a respected gang leader.  Yeah, I know this has been released many times but this Arrow release has the original cut of the movie that has never been on blu ray.  

Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio- A father's wish magically brings a wooden boy to life in Italy, giving him a chance to care for the child.  I love del Toro’s work and I glad to see this got a Criterion release.

The Mandalorian- The travels of a lone bounty hunter in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic.  Caution here.  Yeah, Disney finally released some of their shows on blu ray but for Mando it’s only the first two seasons of a possible three and more on the way.  This is a great show and restored my faith in Star Wars.    

Outlaw Johnny Black- Hell bent on avenging the death of his father, Johnny Black vows to gun down Brett Clayton and becomes a wanted man in the process while posing as a preacher in a small mining town that's been taken over by a notorious Land Baron.  This is from the same people that gave us Black Dynamite, so I am in on this one.  Sadly there is only a DVD release.

Satanic Hispanics- When police break into a house in El Paso, they find it filled with dead Latinos and a lone survivor. Known as "El Viajero," he is taken to the police station for questioning.  Been reading a lot of about this one for awhile so glad it finally got a physical release.  I will spin this after Christmas.

Movie Poster Monday- Black Christmas 1974

 

Movie Poster Monday- The Abyss

 

Halloween is Over (Sigh)

 

Happy Halloween! Treat-Free Movie Code

 Happy Halloween everyone!  Have a great time today and tonight and keep it spooky.  I will be enjoying Horror movies all night along with the World Series.  My friends at Universal have provided a code for one of the best horror movies of all-time, Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho.  See code below.  First come, first serve.  Enjoy!

Dismember the Alamo 2023!

 

This is an annual tradition.  Yesterday was one of my favorite days of the year.  I get to sit in my favorite, sold-out movie theater with my best friend and watch five unannounced horror movies.  There was a trick and quite a few treats at Dismember the Alamo 2023.  Here is what we watched:

Movie Poster Monday- Trick 'r Treat

 

Movie Poster Monday- Night of the Creeps

 

R.I.P. Burt Young 1940-2023

 

Yo Paulie!

Jason?!!!

 

Texas Rangers Up 2-0 in the ALCS!

 

I used to write about baseball all the time here but gave it up for some reason a long time ago.  Anyway, I am a big Rangers fan since I discovered my love for the great game when I was about 12 years old and started collecting baseball cards.  I live in Texas so I made the Rangers my team.  The Rangers went with the "tank" plan a few years ago like many teams to rebuild themselves up back to win.  Put in a few years of low payrolls, misery, and lose a lot of games and you get rewarded with high draft picks.  If you make the right picks and start spending on free agents you can have your time winning again in a short time period.  The Rangers made the right picks with Josh Jung and Evan Carter and started spending on free agents last year bringing in Marcus Simien and Corey Seager.  And this year they finally scored an ace pitcher in Jacob deGrom only to lose him to injury for at least a year after only six starts.  

The Rangers lead their division most of the season until the final day when they had to settle for a wild card spot due to a tie breaker to the DisAstros.  These Rangers are peeking a little earlier than I predicted but I will take it and they have been undefeated in the playoffs so far.  A mid season trade brought veteran Max Scherzer here in July and he was doing great until an injury sidelined him a month ago.  Well Mad Max is back on the roster and will be starting in game 3 tonight.  I am sure they have a tandem pitcher already in mind for tonight as Scherzer is said to be on a pitch count of around 70. Let's hope the offense stays on a roll and we can get ahead 3-0.  Go Rangers!

Movie Poster Monday- Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

 

Movie Poster Monday- Dawn of the Dead

 

Pancake Saturday

 

On Saturdays I usually serve up pancakes for breakfast and then reflect on what happened this past week.  Think of it like my scatter shooting for the week.  Here is what’s in the fall edition:

-It’s Fall and it is my favorite time of the year.  The temps go down into the 90s, football is back, and it is Halloween season.

-Aaron Rodgers going down is not what the Jets planned and you need a back-up QB in the NFL to survive.  Better luck next year.

-The Texas Rangers are in the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and this makes my baseball heart happy.  Best of all we will get to see the games on TV.  MLB needs to get rid of their caveman black out policy so fans can actually watch their favorite teams on TV again.  Go Rangers!

-Also around here it’s Texas/OU weekend and the Cowboys play the 49ers.  Don’t worry, I will still be watching plenty of horror movies this weekend too!

-The rumor is Target is not going to be carrying blu rays and DVDs anymore.  Not much reason to go there anymore.

Have a good weekend!

Friday Freddy

 

Movie Poster Monday- Cobweb

 

Movie Poster Monday- Slotherhouse

 

New Release Tuesdays

 

Asteroid City- Following a writer on his world-famous fictional play about a grieving father who travels with his tech-obsessed family to small rural Asteroid City to compete in a junior stargazing event, only to have his world view disrupted forever.  I saw Bottle Rocket at the theater opening weekend with my best friend and two other guys in the audience.  When the movie was over and we were getting up and seeing the other two guys I mentioned to my friend those look like the guys in the movie (Luke and Owen Wilson).  Flash forward a few years later at the Oscars and the Wilson brothers are presenting for best short film and mentioned how Bottle Rocket started as a short film and then they made a theatrical version.  The local Dallas bros were so excited they went to see the film again at their local theater and mentioned there were only two other guys in the theater with them.  I always like that shout out.  This is among the top of the Wes Anderson catalog.  Quirky, funny, a great cast, and exceptional camera work.  Highly recommended.

Wrath of Becky- Two years after escaping a violent attack, a teenage girl must defend herself against a terrorist cell.  As a father of a daughter I love young women kicking ass in the movies.

The Machine- Bert's drunken past catches up with him 20 years down the road when he and his father are kidnapped by those Bert wronged 20 years ago while drunk on a college semester abroad in Russia.  Yeah, I got nothing on this one.  It’s a slow week.

Confidential Informant- A police detective suffering from cancer makes a deal with an informant to get killed in the line of duty, so his family can receive the hefty death benefits from the department.  Mel Gibson is taking all of Brice Willi's' work now? So, I guess Lethal Weapon 5 is off?

Coma- When a young female doctor notices an unnatural amount of comas occurring in her hospital she uncovers a horrible conspiracy.  A great thriller that is making its blu ray debut.  Thanks Kino Lorber!

Movie Poster Monday- Universal Soldier

 

Triple Shot Tuesday

 On Tuesdays I like to kick back and watch some movies.  Here is what was watched last night:

This movie is tradition in August because my daughter is headed back to school soon and it is her favorite movie.  If you're not first, you're last.  Did you know that Christopher Nolan is a big fan? https://www.darkhorizons.com/chris-nolan-is-a-big-talladega-nights-fan/

The great William Friedkin passed away last week I thought it was time to honor the man by doing a double.  Friedkin as well as Gene Hackman won Oscars for this gritty crime classic that features one of the best if not the best car chases on film.  It was guerilla filmmaking at its finest because they did a lot of it without permits.

I remember this movie was at the dollar theater on my Christmas break in 1985 and I do not remember how many times I snuck into see this excellent Friedkin action movie about a secret service agent after a counterfeiter.  Friedkin tried to one up himself here with a car chase that ranks up there among the best on film too.  A young Willem Dafoe is perfectly cast as the villain.

Movie Poster Monday- Galaxy of Terror

 

New Release Tuesday

 

Swamp Thing- After a violent incident with a special chemical, a research scientist is turned into a swamp plant monster.  I have not seen this since it was on HBO back in the day and I own a copy of the Shout Factory release that is collecting dust.  I need to open this and give it a spin sometime.

Enter the Dragon- A Shaolin martial artist travels to an island fortress to spy on an opium lord - who is also a former monk from his temple - under the guise of attending a fighting tournament.  Wow, this movie is 50.  When I think of this movie I first think if what could have been with Bruce Lee.  We all missed out on something very special.  Warner Brothers has not been putting much love into their physical releases lately so I think I will stick with my Criterion release box set from a few years ago.  This is a classic and highly recommended.

1923- The Duttons face a new set of challenges in the early 20th century, including the rise of Western expansion, Prohibition, and the Great Depression.  There is some great story telling here as this story not only takes place in the West but Africa too.  Taylor Sheridan lines up some great established actors and introduces us to some new ones that play these characters great.  Bring on season 2.  And because of the strikes that’s gonna be awhile.

Fast X- Dom Toretto and his family are targeted by the vengeful son of drug kingpin Hernan Reyes.  Oh, I missed this one at the theater because the series is still missing something.  Oh yeah, The Rock.  The guy that made this a billion-dollar franchise.  I read this movie fixes that issue as he shows up in a cameo at the end that basically announces he is back in the Fast fold.  Bring it!

Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars- The July 3rd, 1973 historic concert of the 'leper Messiah'. This was to be David Bowie's last concert with the Ziggy persona and the Spiders from Mars. I have been diving into Bowie’s music and films over the last few years and have much more appreciation for them.  Also be sure to check out Criterion’s Moonage Daydream.

Movie Poster Monday- High Fidelity

 

R.I.P. William Friedkin 1935-2023

 

Gym Shirt Truth

 

New Release Tuesday

 

One False Move- A small town police chief awaits the arrival of a gang of killers.  This is probably the release of the year because this has been out of print a long time and teased over the last few years and Criterion finally put it out.  Some might argue this is Billy Bob Thorton’s best screenplay compared to Slingblade but is has been so long since I have seen this I need to spin it to decide for myself.  I sure miss Bill Paxton.  Highly recommended.  

Needful Things- A mysterious new shop opens in a small town which always seems to stock the deepest desires of each shopper, with a price far heavier than expected.  Stephen King movies were coming out in bundles in the 90s and I have not seen this since it was in theaters, but I remember liking it quite a bit.

Justice League: Warworld- Warworld, a place of unending brutal gladiatorial combat, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and others must unite to form an unbeatable resistance to lead the entire planet to freedom.  DC is being rebooted so it will be interesting to see if these animated movies will continue to be released.  Most of these have been better than the live action stuff.  Looking at you Blue Beetle.

My Best Friend is a Vampire- After a sexual encounter with a beautiful client, a teenage delivery boy finds himself being turned into a vampire.  I have been loving these Vestron releases and I do not recall this one at all but the original poster art does look familiar.  If Wal Mart has this it is coming home.

The Anderson Tapes- After ten years in prison to protect a mafia family, Duke Anderson is released and he cashes in a debt of honor with the mob to bankroll a caper.  Sean Connery in the mob?  I am all in on this action flick that I never saw.