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Love and Dynamite (1992)
Amateur Oddball Rarity
I can't quite tell if it was shot on video and then given a "film look" filter, or if the quietness and dreariness of the locations/weather makes it seems that way. I'm guessing this was filmed in Oregon.
Most of the acting is questionable, and the pacing is slow and dull, and you keep thinking you're gonna hate the rest of the movie, but then every once in a while you get a nice, weird surprise to keep you watching, like a non-violent but very bloody free-for-all or a goofy lovey-dovey dream sequence that takes a dark turn.
The male lead looks exactly like a young Bob Zany. The female lead is absolutely gorgeous and cute; she's like a cross between (pre-blonde era) Brittany Murphy and Daphne Zuniga. Dan Haggerty doesn't get as much screentime as you'd think; he puts in his usual mediocre-but-memorable performance. It was nice to see an amputee get a role (the father character is missing half of his arm).
The movie could've/should've been shorter, and often drags, but I'm a pretty impatient viewer anyway, in general. However, it has just barely enough unusual aspects to recommend checking it out, if you can ever find it. Oh, and the reverend will wake you up at the 75 minute mark, in case you're starting to doze off again.
Incidentally, the movie made the last film left to watch in my collection in order to finally be all caught up in watching every movie I had in it, after a longtime goal of doing so.
They Call Me Macho Woman! (1989)
I have to stick up for this movie
This is one of my favorite bad movies. Yes it's badly made, but it's such a fun movie. I was never bored at all while watching it. In my opinion, this has "cult flick" written all over it. My only gripe is that the main character should've been recast and the axe was way too brand new and shiny-looking all the time, but still it's not that big a deal in a movie like this. There's a brief impressive stunt involving a car and a character that very well-done, and you rarely see that in movie like this, not to mention in the rest of the film, period. I love this flick, and I've actually bought it for 2 of my friends, and they loved it, too. Maybe you have to be a bad-movie-troll like me to appreciate movies like this. I'm picky, even with bad movies, but this flick is a real gem to me.
Feedback (2002)
If only I was smarter....
I LIKED this film a lot. I'm sure I would have LOVED it if I could've understood it completely. I'm not a smart guy. I run into problems in a majority of any movies I watch.
I really like time manipulation/possibility movies, but I rarely can grasp them completely. This movie is cool and very interesting. I guess the reason I'm commenting on this movie is so that I can let anyone else out there know that it is worth checking out and you'll enjoy it, even if you are someone like myself, who is a bit slow-minded and rarely "get" these movies.
I didn't get all of it, but I enjoyed it anyway.
Destination Vegas (1995)
It was bad, but not quite that bad
Yes, this movie needs some work but it's not as ultimately horrid as most of the reviews here would make you think.
I'd never ever heard of this flick, nor ever seen it in a major video rental chain. I only saw it for sale at a place that sells VHS movies along with DVD's, music, games, etc. Anyway, I loved the video box cover, and figured I'd rent it from NetFlix first. I'm glad I did because I didn't care for the movie much; however, it's a decently made movie. The character of Texas was terribly portrayed; he got on my nerves a lot. Well, actually, not necessarily him, but the terrible accent that came out of his mouth. Sometimes the other actors had trouble, but they were okay. I really liked the way the character of Daniel delivered his lines. Missy was very likable and pretty and all, but it was really hard to believe she was an attorney; she seemed a bit on the bimbo side with her very high-slit skirt (and that's even before it had to be torn and revealing more of her beautiful legs). Then there were a couple of just plain dumb things that happened, like how she was able to remove the one guy's shotgun from its rack in one second and without him noticing, for example. The sex scene was really ridiculous and I kept thinking they must both really stink by the time that occurred. Anyway, despite my gripes, I was able to sit through it and I'd say it was adequate for it's short running time. The ending was a bit messy and unfinished. Since I'm from the town of Barstow, CA I really liked that it was mentioned in the movie. I don't like to judge a movie until I know more about it; it's budget, its production situations, etc. That's why I like DVD commentary tracks so much. I've seen movies that I really thought were pathetic until I found out what the cast and crew went through and/or all the crap that goes on in "the movie business" and how they were able to somehow at least get the movie done and all. What really bugs me is when a movie such as "Independence Day" turns out to be such a letdown and real bore and they can't hide behind "well, we didn't really have a budget..." or some similar excuse.
By the way, despite what a previous message poster said, there were scenes where the shotgun was reloaded.
Kwoon (2004)
'Never gets old; fun to watch and re-watch
I can't believe there's only one other review besides mine at this point. KWOON has been available on DVD now for quite a while. If you took the time to read this review, PLEASE GO RENT OR BUY THE KWOON DVD. The cast and crew of this entertaining gem puts every ounce of ability, charm, fun and action they could squeeze in.
You won't be disappointed. Even if you're not much a fan of comedies, like me, you'll love this. It's silly, but not too silly. It's got kung fu, and it is authentic, but it's not presented or performed or arranged in a boring way. Both the comedy and the action are equally pleasing. Also, the sets, locations, music and cinematography work very well. The camera lets you see what's going on. Very few edits during the action, so it's not annoying. For a low-budget series (I think each episode averaged about $15,000-$20,000 each), you get so much entertainment and aesthetics, plus slightly larger casts than other films/shows on that kind of a budget.
The extras on the DVD are many and a lot of fun. They filled it as full as possible, it appears.
You must experience the awesome fury that is KWOON.
The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (2001)
Not for everyone, but I loved it.
I knew this was going to be very much an homage/parody-type of movie, but I still expected to be disappointed, overall; however, I was not. I was amazed at how authentic the cast and crew was about this film.
I presume most people won't like this movie because most people would not know how to appreciate it.
The dialogue in the movie is very well-done, as well as overdone, but that was just fine with me, because I understand the homagesness (I know that's not a real word, but I don't know how to say "dedication to honouring the silliness of old b-movie cheesiness").
I must admit that another portion of this film that totally captivated me was Jennifer Blaire (Animala), but I know I'd still adore the movie, even if she was not part of it.
I've only seen one other movie in my life that seemed to have the same kind of dedication to the "legend" or "spirit" of old, no-budget sci-fi movies, which is "Invasion", but that movie was not as dedicated. "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra" had the B&W applied to it, and there was no cussing or violence either. Even though I'm a horror movie fan and violence really never bugs me, I didn't miss it while watching this movie, because this movie was so darn dedicated (how many times have I used that word so far?). These kind of movies are either hit-or-miss; I've seen a few movies in the 90's that tried to do the same thing, and they were ultra-terrible. You just need to have the right-minded folks at the keyboard and behind and in front of the camera, and "Lost Skeleton" has it.
Freeway II: Confessions of a Trickbaby (1999)
A difficult movie to watch....
While watching this flick, I kept thinking , "This is such an ugly movie!" Anyway, besides the movie's overall ugliness and disturbing qualities, here are some thing I liked about it: 1) It was really interesting how the dialog in certain scenes was altered, using that telephone line effect, 2) the creepy hunchback, 3) I liked almost the whole soundtrack of the movie (and wish it was available to purchase somewhere), and 4) the way the movie turned around and really surprised me toward the end, at the church, was really a nice surprise, though sick as it was. I was hesitant to rent Freeway 2 since it had a different cast and a very different storyline, but, from reading the back of the video box it still seemed it would have the same weirdness of the original.I can't say it is a forgettable movie. It grossed me out, but I liked parts of it, too. By the way, I never caught on to the "Hansel & Gretel" theme of the movie, because it didn't have as many references to the story. The only part of the movie that caused "Hansel & Gretel" to (briefly) go through my mind was the oven scene (though someone else on the message board did point out that the fattening up of Crystal fit into that also). I just figured that the place was supposed to be a semi-literal hell on earth type of place, especially since the hunchback turned out to have hooved feet and some type of animal legs, and since Sister Gomez turned into what I though was supposed to be a demon as Crystal & Cyclona were putting him in the oven, though later on I figured it would be stupid to think you can burn a demon to death. I just don't pick up on poetic things in movies; I never have. If you're in a weird mood and have a strong stomach, check out this awesomely disturbing film.
Drive (1997)
It's a shame this is a rarity
So many other comments have already been made that I would have included in my comment here, so I will make this brief: I love this movie. I rented it from Blockbuster because one of 3 favourite actresses is in it: Brittany Murphy, and because I'm a martial arts fan, and I'd just started reading up on Mark Dacascos. This movie is just so darn cool and fun and amazing. "Drive" is the only movie to have challenged the long-standing position held by "Drunken Master 2" as my favourite action movie of all time. The only gripes I have about the movie are these: I don't like the title. "Drive" is a inappropriate title for the movie. I recently saw the movie "Road Rage" and thought that "Drive" would have been a good title for that movie. Anyway, I also didn't like Kadeem Hardison's character; I get so tired of stereotypical Black/African-American (whichever term is proper this month) character's like his, especially in action movies. The only other gripe I have is the "hanging from the fan" scene fromt he barroom fight. That's it. Just a really cool, fun movie. I recently got the UK DVD of this movie, and it's so full of neat extras. Get it on DVD if you can.
A Friday Night Date (2000)
A long wait to see an okay movie
For some reason, both Blockbuster and Hollywood Video in 2 different towns were always rented out for about half a year, before I finally got to rent it a few days ago. It wasn't quite as good as I expected, but I did like it. I'm a fan of "Duel", so I rented this movie, which is different, storywise, a little bit. This movie also kind of reminded me of "Night of the Hunter" also, since it is just one long chase scene, with about 3 breaks. Here is what I didn't like, or didn't think made sense about the movie: I wish the "mystery" of the truckdriver(s) lasted longer than it did. I could barely hear the musical score of the movie. Lotta noise going on almost constantly. I did kind of like the song played at the end credits a little bit, though. I didn't think that both the main characters were consistent with themselves; maybe that's due to the situation they were put in; I don't know. For example, Casper's character was helpful, kind, and descent at the schoolyard. Once they got into the situation, he was rather mean to Danielle's character for about the next 70 minutes of the movie. Also, Danielle's character in one scene toward the middle/end starts yelling/mouthing off at her ex-boyfriend while the car and truck are side by side, after having tried to convince Casper's character to let her talk to her ex earlier (with no allowance). Then a few scenes later, she tries to talk with her crazy ex. I just didn't think that made sense. The villains were embarrassingly obsessed with "teamplay" and "football philosophy". I'm glad the chubby, reluctant of the 3 survived later on. Lastly, the explosion at the end was ridiculous. Too much napalm; Anyway, what I liked about the movie was the little bit of scenery in it, about half the chase scenes were really good, the fact that the heros were on foot for a while and had to switch cars, and how there were other cars on the road, even when they got up into the mountains, and I really liked Danielle Brett. She did a really good job in the movie (though she played a bit of a spoiled brat) She only seemed to have trouble acting, when she had to get mad and scream at her ex. She has one of those faces/looks about her that is attractive in a strong, hypnotic way. All in all, I liked the movie, but it could have been more enjoyable with more mystery and a more evident score. By the way, Casper Van Dien did a good job with the character he was given, which wasn't much and didn't make sense all the time.