Tuesday, May 13, 2014

What I Watched - May 5-11 2014

Note: I've decided to do weekly updates of all of the movies I watch. Any that don't get full reviews (either because they're not schlocky enough or because I don't deem a movie worth a full review) will have a short write-up of my overall feelings about that movie.

 WHAT I WATCHED - May 5-11:



Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (2012) Netflix
- I love a good music doco, especially one about a band that strived for but didn't achieve mainstream success. That definitely applies to Big Star, a Memphis power pop trio from the early 1970s, whose music gained a cult following and influenced future bands like REM, but didn't sell particularly well at the time. Mixed with the usual tales of self-destructive behaviour, intra-band feuds and the like, this is a good watch if you're into this sort of thing.






Wolf Creek 2 (2013) AVI
- Eight years after the excellent Aussie outback slasher, Mick Taylor (John Jarratt) is back to hunt, torture and kill more tourists. Director Greg McLean doesn't stray from the formula that worked so well in the first movie (including all that brutal violence), but knowing the killer from the outset takes away some of the suspense, so McLean compensates with more comedy. Think of this as the equivalent of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 - more comedic than the original, but still a fun watch.



Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011) DVD
- I enjoyed parts of the first Transformers movie but fell asleep during the second one. So why would I want to sit through the third raping of my childhood by Michael Bay? Because my son is on a Transformers kick right now and chose it for one of our father-son movie nights. Understandably I went in with low expectations, and that could be why I actually ended up enjoying this. Sure, there are quite a few groan-worthy moments (pretty much anything that was intended as comedy), but the action set pieces are good enough and I found myself spending less time trying to figure out who was fighting who than in the previous instalments. 



Robowar (1988) Youtube
- See main review here



Strike Commando (1987) Youtube
- See main review here



How I Live Now (2013) AVI
- An American girl (Saoirse Ronan, THE LOVELY BONES) goes to live with her cousins in England when terrorists attack and take over that country. This reminded me of a zombie movie but with terrorists in the place of flesh eaters, as the young protagonists make their way across the countryside while trying not to get killed. A teen romance is the essence of the story, but the world-at-war scenario (which is never properly explained) keeps things interesting and there are some great acting performances. Definitely worth a watch.



UFO: Target Earth (1974) VHS
- Low-budget yawnfest that starts out like Legend of Boggy Creek but instead of townsfolk being interviewed about a swamp creature, it's yokels talking about "flying saucers y'all". Sadly the documentary style is quickly discarded in favour of a story about a reporter and a psychic woman investigating alien sightings. What follows has an over-dose of techno-babble, bad lighting and ridiculous dialogue and not much happens until a stupid ending with pseudo-2001 graphics. And we don't even see any UFOs! Excruciatingly bad.



The Lion King (1994) Blu Ray
- Another father-son movie night. Not much needs to be said about this Disney classic that hasn't already been said. Arguably Disney's last great animated feature (although I did like Wreck-it-Ralph and I haven't seen Frozen). Good family fun.



Alien vs Hunter (2007) DVD
- See full review here

Movies watched: 9

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