Just for the Hell of It (1968)

Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis

Writer: Allison Louise Downe

Composer: Larry Wellington

Starring: Ray Sager, Rodney Bedell, Agi Gyenes, Nancy Lee Noble, Steve White, Ralph Mullin, Larry Williams, Geraldine Young, John Shackleford, John Chaffin

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Here comes destruction incorporated!

Plot:  A young teenage boy is blamed for a Florida neighborhood being terrorized. But the real culprits are a gang of four punks leading a group of local delinquents on a nihilistic lifestyle of destruction and mayhem.

My rating:4/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

Yawn.  I should probably drop the score a little more but the picture is amusing at times.  The baby in the trashcan cracks me up as does the gang terrorizing a little kids' baseball game in the park.  Man, that's funny.  But then you've got the bad - the acting (taking too long to deliver lines, etc.), the slow pace and it's too long with too many padded scenes.  Oh, yeah, there's no nudity.  An exploitation flick like this from '68 should have something along the lines of some skin.  It sure as shit wouldn't have hurt this picture.  Most of the fun bits you'll see in the trailer.  This is part of a Something Weird Video double bill with BLAST-OFF GIRLS (1967) and, naturally, there's a ton of extras that are often better than the films they support. You get 10 trashy trailers, 2 fun and trashy shorts, 3 intermission shorts, a gallery of drive-in exploitation art with radio spots (usually I don't include galleries as an extras because they generally stink like mad but SWV does it right and makes them entertaining as hell) and this disc has a drive-in mode that mixes the extras and the films together for one long night of fun.  On that alone this disc is a solid recommendation. 

The Hateful Eight (2015)

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Writer: Quentin Tarantino

Composer:  Ennio Morricone

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Walton Goggins, Demian Bichir, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Bruce Dern, James Parks, Dana Gourrier, Zoe Bell, Lee Horsley, Gene Jones, Keith Jefferson, Craig Stark, Belinda Owino, Channing Tatum, Arnar Valur Halldorsson, Quentin Tarantino

More info: IMDb

Tagline: No One Comes Up Here Without a Damn Good Reason

Plot: In the dead of a Wyoming winter, a bounty hunter and his prisoner find shelter in a cabin currently inhabited by a collection of nefarious characters.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again?  Yes.

I'm a huge fan of Tarantino and I was really excited for this one because he's finally doing a full-on Western (well, sorta) and it's got Walton Goggins among other great actors.  I've been a fan of Goggins for years and I can't get enough of this cat.  He's great.  The cast is excellent which is par for the course.  Tarantino always gets top notch performances out of his actors.  Don't go into this expecting a Western in that you'll get to spend lots of time admiring the beautiful scenery of the American West and see lots of the things you'd normally get.  Nope.  Nearly all of the three hours is inside one cabin.  I didn't get to see it in 70 mm but watching it on a regular screen, it didn't seem to matter much as most of it is inside.  The story is fun and the last hour is where most of the fun and action is.  The film flies by and those first two hours go a long way in setting up the tension that builds to a climax for that last act.  When Zoe Bell pops on the screen she brings the smiles as wide as Montana and she's as adorable as can be.  She needs to have my babies...and act in more movies.  Jackson proves yet again how much he can bring to a movie.  He's great.  Walton Goggins has a much bigger role than I expected and, if I remember right, he's the only character with a discernible arc.  The ending is great and it's got Tarantino's sense of humor all over it.  I'm really looking forward to seeing it again but that might have to wait until the Blu-ray comes out.  One final note (as it were).  I read that Morricone was only able to provide the film with a theme specifically composed for it.  For the rest of it he offered Tarantino to use his unused orchestral score for John Carpenter's THE THING (1982).  For that film he wrote two score and Carpenter threw out the orchestral one in favor of the electronic one used in the film.  That's perfectly fine but Tarantino, in interviews, briefly mentions this but takes great pride in repeating that Morricone wrote an original score for his film which is barely true.  Then the other night the score wins the Golden Globe for best score.  I'm not sure about the rules of that award but only the theme was composed for the film.  Tarantaino picked up the award on the composer's behalf and raved and raved about it.  I just think the reigns need to be pulled in on the importance of the music so people know that it was mostly written for a film thirty plus years ago, that's all.  It was nice, though, hearing a score for a Tarantino picture that was more or less more consistent than the, albeit, great uses of miscellaneous tracks he's used before.

No Way Back (1995)

Director: Frank A. Cappello

Writer: Frank A. Cappello

Composer: David C. Williams

Starring: Russell Crowe, Helen Slater, Etushi Toyokawa, Michael Lerner, Kyusaku Shimada, Kristopher Logan, Kelly Hu, Andrew J. Ferchland, Ian Ziering

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  When you pass the point of no return...there's no way back.

Plot: When F.B.I. Agent Zack Grant's partner is killed during a blown-up operation, he attempts to find the person responsible. Mafiaso Frank Serlano believes Zack is responsible for his only sons death in the same operation and kidnaps Zacks son to hold as bait. The action gets wild when airline stewardess Mary is taken hostage to add what seems an another insurmountable problem for Zack. There appears to be No Way Out.

My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

The only reason anyone would watch this is because it stars Russell Crowe just before he was becoming a big time star.  It's the kind of action flick that goes straight to video with sub par lighting, editing, music, acting and so on.  The script is by the numbers with cheesy action dialogue that even Michael Lerner can't save.  It's a little challenging judging Crowe's performance since I've seen him in a lot of films and he's generally very good.  Here he's alright and above average (for the direct to video market) but he's not bringing in his A-game.  Everything about this picture is OK at best.  See it for Crowe if you must but don't watch it for any other reason.  Wait a minute, Helen Slater does a good job.  Hmmm.  The Sony DVD presents the film in fullscreen (not as nature intended) and the only extras are four trailers (none for this film). 

Driven (2001)

Director: Renny Harlin

Writers: Jan Skrentny, Neal Tabachnick, Sylvester Stallone

Composer: BT

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Burt Reynolds, Kip Pardue, Stacy Edwards, Til Schweiger, Gina Gershon, Estella Warren, Cristian de la Fuente, Brent Briscoe, Robert Sean Leonard, Verona Pooth, Jasmin Wagner, Chip Ganassi

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Get ready for the race of your life.

Plot: A young hot shot driver is in the middle of a championship season and is coming apart at the seams. A former CART champion is called in to give him guidance.

My rating: 5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

Here's a by-the-numbers sports movie that does what most sports movies do.  It's filled with cliches but doesn't do anything with them to let you think it's OK to include them.  Cliches exist for a reason and I'm OK with that but they don't have to feel so tired and over used as they do in this film.  It's not a horrible picture but two hours of it makes you feel the burn.  The street racing with the Formula 1 cars was utterly unbelievable and not in a good way.  The quarters on the track was silly, too.  Besides seeing Stallone and Reynolds, is there any reason to watch this?  Not a one.  Throws some pocket change on the street where you live and drive over it to get your kicks.  The Warner Bros. DVD has a nice anamorphic widescreen image and extras with a commentary with Harlin, a 15 minute making of doc, a 10 minute featurette on the effects, 52 minutes of deleted scenes with optional commentary from Stallone (!!!), the theatrical trailer (anamorphic widescreen) and a trailer for the video game.

Set It Off (1996)

Director:  F. Gary Gray

Writers: Takashi Bufford, Kate Lanier

Composer: Christopher Young

Starring: Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise, John C. McGinley, Blair Underwood, Vincent Baum, Van Baum, Chaz Lamar Shepherd, Thomas Jefferson Byrd, Charles Robinson, Ella Joyce, Dr. Dre

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Deal with this. The only breaks you get are the ones you take.

Plot: Desperation drives four inner-city women (Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett Smith, Vivica A. Fox, Kimberly Elise) to bank robbery in Los Angeles, then they start mistrusting one another.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

If this were made in 1975 it would have been a lot more fun.  A LOT more fun.  As it stands now, it's still a pretty good movie.  The performances are earnest and the story is good but there's a lot more drama than the trailer lets on and there's less action than there should be to make this more in line with what they were trying to sell us.  There are some fun moments but the best thing about it is the ending...sort of. Even though it's a bit overdone emotionally, the ending is bleak except for the character(s) that gets away.   I would have preferred going all the way with the hand of doom and let them all snuff it but at least they didn't make the finale a happy dance.  That would've been way worse.  The NewLine DVD has a nice anamorphic widescreen print with the only extras being a music video by Ray J and the trailer (in anamorphic widescreen).  It's by no means great film but it deserves better than that considering the talent in front of and behind the camera. Now somebody needs to go back in time and pre-make this film starring Pam Grier, Tamara Dobson, Vonetta McGee, Carol Speed and William Smith as the detective.  Here's my money.

Spider-Man (2002)

Director: Sam Raimi

Writer: David Koepp

Composer: Danny Elfman

Starring:  Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, Kirsten Dunst, James Franco, Cliff Robertson, Rosemary Harris, J.K. Simmons, Joe Manganiello, Gerry Becker, Bill Nunn, Jack Betts, Ted Raimi, Bruce Campbell, Elizabeth Banks, Robert Kerman

More info: IMDb

Tagline: With great power comes great responsibility.

Plot: When bitten by a genetically modified spider, a nerdy, shy, and awkward high school student gains spider-like abilities that he eventually must use to fight evil as a superhero after tragedy befalls his family

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Yes and the next time it's on Blu-ray.

Great flick.  It's been well over ten years since I last saw this and it's just as I remembered.  Elfman's score works well and he's got a memorable main theme.  Maguire does a great job in the lead.  Hell, the whole cast is really good except I'm not crazy about Rosemary Harris as Aunt May.  She's a little too Aunt Bee, apple pie in the window for me.  Simmons is hilarious as Jameson.  People complain about some of the effects but I think they're great and at their worst, I can overlook minor stuff like that. It's fine storytelling with great pacing and enough humor throughout to make it an easy repeat watch.  The second film is even better but the third is heavily flawed.  I still haven't watched either of the Garfield pictures.  I've got the 2-disc special edition DVD but I think I'll pick up the Blu-ray set on the cheap before I watch it again. 

And God Said to Cain (1970)

Original title: E Dio Disse a Caino...

Director: Antonio Margheriti

Writers: Giovanni Addessi, Antonio Margheriti

Composer: Carlo Savina

Starring: Klaus Kinski, Peter Carsten, Marcella Michelangeli, Guido Lollobrigida, Antonio Cantafora, Giuliano Raffaelli, Luciano Pigozzi

More info: IMDb


Plot:  Gary Hamilton (Kinski), innocently sentenced to ten years in prison, is released. When he comes out he promises himself to seek revenge on the guilty.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

Here's a Spaghetti Western that's unusual in that nearly the entire film takes place over the course of one night.  The picture opens with Hamilton (Kinski) getting released from prison.  It doesn't take long for him to gather up a horse and a gun and he's headed to town kill Acombar (Carsten) and his wife who betrayed him ten years earlier.  Acombar is rich and has lots of bullet catchers on his payroll.  Hamilton spends the night picking these no accounts off one by one.  There's a pretty good amount of time spent with the church bell ringing and it's really effective hearing it in the background as the action continues.  It's like a pulse of death and I really dug it.  It's strange seeing Kinski but hearing someone else's voice.  I was really surprised at how well the film works considering it's almost entirely filmed at night and it's just a matter of time when Hamilton will make his way to the last man to kill.  The ending is very satisfying with some innocents who get snuffed by all the wrong people.  I realize this is the wrong way to look at it but I've seen most of the good Spags and since there were over 500 made in 15 years, most of the others I've seen are OK at best and I really don't have high hopes for any I haven't seen at this point.  But then I also get surprised and pleased when a good one crops up.