Cannibal Holocaust (1980)

Director: Ruggero Deodato

Starring: Robert Kerman, Francesca Ciardi, Perry Pirkanen, Luca Barbareschi, Salvatore Basile, Ricardo Fuentes, Carl Gabriel Yorke

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Ripout! Barbeque! Devour! How long can you take it?

Plot: A New York University professor returns from a rescue mission to the Amazon rainforest with the footage shot by a lost team of documentarians who were making a film about the area's local cannibal tribes.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe.

I've been meaning to watch this one for years and I've finally gotten around to it thanks to a reader's suggestion. My only other experience with anything close to this genre is CANNIBAL FEROX (1981) (a fun Umberto Lenzi cannibal flick even better than this one) and MOUNTAIN OF THE CANNIBAL GOD (1978) (another really fun flick). I was hoping that this picture was going to live up to the hype it has received. Not bad, I suppose.




It's the very first 'found footage' film made and for that you've got to give the writer, Gianfranco Clerici, and director, Deodato, some well-deserved credit. This flick is notorious for a number of reasons but largely for how effective it was in convincing a lot of people that it was real. READ THIS for an interesting read on what went down. It's fascinating.





I can handle just about anything when it comes to movie gore but I can't stand the killing of animals like what you'll find in most of these cannibal movies. Fortunately a lot of these scenes were re-used in other films of the genre (the Italians made most of them). Nevertheless, I fast forward through them. I can stomach even the most realistic human mutilation because I know it's fake.


For me the big money shot is the most famous image of the movie that comes pretty close to the end and it's a doosey. Even knowing how they did it still has me floored at the talented folks who made it happen. Hell, all of the gore effects are top notch. I love it.


I'd give this flick a better score if the performances weren't so over the top. It could be due to the English dubbing (the original Italian track was not an option on the disc I have) but still, the actors featured on the found footage portion are overly childish and cruel that don't quite fit regardless of what language it's in. They certainly hammer home the point that we're probably more savage than those primitives we perceive as savages. It's a pretty fun flick and it's got my respect for being a first but if you get a chance to see CANNIBAL FEROX you'll probably find that one more entertaining and owing a large debt to CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST.

Dragonslayer (1981)

Director: Matthew Robbins

Starring: Peter MacNicol, Ralph Richardson, Caitlin Clarke, John Hallam, Peter Evre, Albert Salmi, Sydney Bromley, Ian McDiarmid

More info: IMDb

Tagline: In the Dark Ages, Magic was a weapon. Love was a mystery. Adventure was everywhere... And Dragons were real.

Plot: A King has made a pact with a dragon where he sacrifices virgins to it, and the dragon leaves his kingdom alone. An old wizard, and his keen young apprentice volunteer to kill the dragon and attempt to save the next virgin in line - the Kings own daughter.

My rating: 8.5/10

Will I watch it again? YES!

Usually seeing "Disney Presents" at the beginning of a movie spells out boring for adults but not this one. I haven't seen DRAGONSLAYER in nearly 30 years and I'm blown away at how well this one has held up and how mature and lacking in anything childish it is. WOW! This is a fantastic fantasy film and one that came just before the big Sword & Sorcery boom of the early to mid 1980s. OK, so Peter MacNichol is a teensy goofy looking (I think it's the perm) but you kind of forget that with the bleak world he lives in with the grimy people he encounters. The special effects are outstanding and I can't dare stop before mentioned Alex North's dissonant score. It's the kind of score that could stand toe-to-toe with most classical works. It's not your typical score and it's one of the many reasons why North is one of my favorite film composers. There are tons of sub-par movies in this genre and this one gets overlooked when thinking of things like LORD OF THE RINGS or CONAN. Don't let this one pass you by. It deserves a wider audience.

Gremlins (1984)

Director: Joe Dante

Starring: Zach Galligan, Phoebe Cates, Hoyt Axton, Keye Luke, Don Steele, Corey Feldman, Dick Miller, Judge Reinhold

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Cute. Clever. Mischievous. Intelligent. Dangerous.

Plot: A boy inadvertently breaks 3 important rules concerning his new pet and unleashes a horde of malevolently mischievous monsters on a small town.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

Man, it's been a long, long time since I saw this - probably more than 20 years ago. I'd forgotten how grim it is. I can do without the cuteness of those little teddy bear fuckers but I can forgive that a little because of all the harsh shit that follows it. The deaths all around are great, the special effects are a hoot and Jerry Goldsmith's score is fantastic and fun. It's probably been about as long since I saw the sequel and I'm going to have to add that one to the list pretty soon. I hope it holds up as well as this did although I'm not overly optimistic.

Raising Arizona (1987)

Director: Joel Coen

Starring: Nicolas Cage, Holly Hunter, Trey Wilson, John Goodman, William Forsythe, Sam McMurray, Frances McDormand, Randall 'Tex' Cobb

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Their lawless years are behind them. Their child-rearing years lay ahead...

Plot: When a childless couple of an ex-con and an ex-cop decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives get more complicated than they anticipated.

My rating: 10/10

Will I watch it again? You betcha or my name ain't Nathan Arizona!

This is one of my all time favorite comedies. It's the kind of movie that I've seen a gazillion times and can quote most of the dialogue, the kind of movie that has given me a plethora of funny shit to say and take great pride when someone catches the reference as if there are only a few people on the planet that can appreciate something so fucking hilarious. It's a high point in the career of Nicolas Cage whose made more shit than Larry the Cable Guy on taco night.



Everyone in this picture is pitch perfect in their performances. The script runs the gamut from brilliant comedy to heartfelt tenderness (especially during the finale). Carter Burwell's score is brilliant as well. For me to keep going is pointless because I'll end up throwing out quote after quote. If I were to record a commentary for the movie it'd basically be me laughing for an hour and a half. I love this film and barely go 72 hours without tossing out some line from it. Nathan needs some Huggies. My friends call me Lenny...only, I ain't got no friends. Ahahahahahahaha.

Superbad (2007)

Director: Greg Mottola

Starring: Jonah Hill, Michael Cera, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bill Hader, Seth Rogen, Martha Maclsaac, Emma Stone

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Come and Get Some

Plot: Seth, Evan and Fogell are three teenage guys who love to drink and desperately wish to get laid. When a girl that Seth really likes, asks him to get the drink for her party, he sees this as a perfect opportunity to make her his girlfriend. The trio plan out how to get the alcohol, even including Fogell's new fake ID, but things won't got smoothly for the trio. Seth and Evan become separated from Fogell (now called McLovin) and they still haven't got the alcohol for the party that night.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Sure.

I just discover some movies I forgot to write about that I saw about 3 years ago. My memory is hazy on this one so it's going to be short. I liked it. It was funny enough to keep me engaged and the pacing was brisk. There were some good, hearty laughs and lots of heart, especially in the final minutes of the film. It got to me and that's the big payoff. I'm looking forward to seeing it again someday to see how it holds up. It's one of the better modern teen comedies to come out in a long time. I usually hate them (if I ever watch them to begin with) but this one's A-OK.

The Strangers (2008)

Director: Bryan Bertino

Starring: Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward, Kep Weeks, Laura Margolis, Glenn Howerton

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Lock the door. Pretend you're safe.

Plot: A couple staying in an isolated vacation house receive a knock on the door in the mid-hours of the night. What ensues is a violent invasion by three strangers, their faces hidden behind masks. The couple find themselves in a violent struggle, in which they go beyond what either of them thought capable in order to survive.

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I hate Hollywood sometimes which means I sometimes hate movies made here in the US. I knew nothing of this film going in except I heard from a couple of podcasts that it was a really good home invasion flick. I didn't even bother to watch the trailer. The ONE good thing I liked about this picture is the scene where the head stranger sidesteps into the view of the camera but not where Liv Tyler can see. I must have blinked when I was watching the movie because it took someone else pointing it out after I finally picked up on it. THAT WAS FUCKING BADASS COOL & CREEPY! And that was the only good anything in this movie. After it was over I watched the trailer only to discover that moment was in it. REALLY? One of the best moments I've seen in a horror movie made in recent memory and it's fucking given away in the goddamn trailer? W...T...F? It takes forever for things to start happening which would be fine and dandy if the pre-invasion shit was interesting instead of pathetic. Then once the shit hits the fan it's one cliche after another and if you didn't see it coming you probably checked out and stopped caring anyway. Oh, and the icing on the fucking cake is the damn jump scare the instant before the credits roll. It's cheap and insulting and I wish I could extract vengeance from those who told me this was a great movie but you can't exactly reach through a podcast and rip someone's throat out now can you. ARGH I'm so frustrated.

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006)

Director: Lloyd Kaufman

Starring: Jason Yachanin, Kate Graham, Allyson Sereboff, Robin L. Watkins, Joshua Olatunde, Caleb Emerson, Rose Ghavami, Khalid Rivera, Joe Fleishaker, Lloyd Kaufman, Ron Jeremy

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Humans... the other white meat... Unless you're black, then it's dark meat... Or if you are Asian, then it's yellow meat... Or if you are Native American, it's red meat...

Plot: When the American Chicken Bunker, a military-themed fried-chicken chain, builds a restaurant on the site of an ancient Indian burial ground, local protesters aren't the only ones crying fowl! The previous tenants, fueled by a supernatural force, take "possession" of the food and those who eat it, and the survivors discover that they must band together before they themselves become the other white meat! Film lovers have been starved for sustenance. The relentless diet of predictability and pretense Hollywood has been serving up just doesn't cut it. Poultrygeist is hearty food for thought. In Poultrygeist, Troma takes on the the fast-food industry-skewering the soulless restaurateurs-in the world's first horror-comedy film to feature zombie chickens, American Indians and a bit of singing and dancing! It's Poultrygeist!

My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again? No. No. No.

I think I'm done with Troma movies. POULTRYGEIST has some genuinely funny and outrageous bits and they're not afraid to say and do things that most people will find offensive. I respect that. BUT, do they have to be so damn loud and obnoxious? That's my biggest problem with this picture is there's too much sound and noise. I felt like my ears were being assaulted. I can handle just about anything thrown my way but this is ridiculous. The script, songs and such weren't that bad and had moments of laugh out loud funny but gee whiz, fellas, did the accompanying barrage of sound have to be cranked up to 11? This would be a great movie to throw on at a frat party where the party noise might just drown out what Troma cooked up. I do love their willingness to say and do anything they want.