Quick reminder that voting has started on next week's movie. There's a three-way tie right now, so if you want to watch a movie with us next Tuesday, then get to voting! (Just like you should be voting in the midterm elections today!)
Emperor of the North (1973): I watched this because it is possibly the most obscure movie referenced in Kuragehime's OP. It's a pretty good flick, though -- can't really go wrong with Ernest Borgnine as a crazy, hobo-beating train conductor and Lee Marvin as a badass hobo. I do kind of wonder what the movie would have been like if the roles were switched, though ...
The Happening (2008): How does M. Night Shyamalan even get work anymore?
Santa's Slay (2005): A wonderfully bad Christmas-themed horror movie starring Bill Goldberg as a killer Santa Claus. How could that not be great? Plus, Fran Drescher and Chris Kattan are killed within the first two minutes. This movie really knows how to please the audience!
Candyman (1992): Actually more interesting than I thought it would be. I love the idea of the Candyman being kept alive through the ages through word of mouth and fear, how he takes shape solely due to the psychic energy of those who fear him and believe in him. The whole movie is built pretty well, too; the Candyman doesn't even appear until, like, the halfway point. Also like the setting a lot, as well. You don't often see horror in areas like this.
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992): Wasn't really big on this. The look and atmosphere are both fantastic, but the story is really jumbled and confused and depends totally on the viewer's knowledge of the Dracula story to actually work. On the plus side, I'll never tire of Gary Oldman overacting, and Keanu Reeves' British accent must be heard to be believed.
Mega Piranha (2010): Another awesomely bad movie. You've got giant killer fish, nukes, ninja moves, Barry Williams as a government official ... what more do you need?
Phantasm (1979): What a freaking weird ass movie. All I knew about this was that the Tall Man was the bad guy. That's it. Probably worked out better that way, because I'm sure my reactions as I watched this were hilarious. It starts out like any regular sort of supernatural horror movie ... and then it just amps up the wtf. I won't get into specifics, though, because it's better not to know that. However, it's a pretty good movie, although the first half hour or so is kind of slow.
Goldfinger (1964): Would you believe this is the first pre-Brosnan James Bond flick I've watched? Yeah, I know. I can definitely see why a lot of people say this is the best Bond movie, though. Lots of iconic scenes and characters that everyone knows -- even if they haven't seen the movie -- and a fun plot. Plus, I was reading the movie's Wikipedia page and came across this gem about potentially censoring Pussy Galore's name: "[The director and producers decided] if you were a ten-year old boy and knew what the name meant, you weren't a ten-year old boy, you were a dirty little bitch. The American censor was concerned, but [they] got round that by inviting him and his wife out to dinner and [told him they] were big supporters of the Republican Party." That is comedy gold right there.
The Thing (1982): My favorite horror movie because it so expertly combines the old-school craft of horror (slow building story, hiding the monster until the last possible second, tightening the tension as much as possible, paranoia galore) with modern special effects. The Thing is gory and gross as hell, but it also has an incredible impact because John Carpenter doesn't rely on the special effects to provide the scares -- he uses them to amplify the scares. They take already intense scenes and drive them up to 11. That's what special effects should do. They're not the draw; they're the icing on the cake.
Random thing (lol) I thought about while watching the movie: I love how the alien is sort of characterized like any other wild animal. If you leave it alone, it is perfectly content to go about its business (unless it needs to copy you :p). Only when it's backed into a corner will it strike. Unfortunately, the scientists need to back it into a corner because the creature is so damn dangerous.
On the queue for this week: Black Sunday (1960), Blood and Black Lace (1964)
Total Movies: 154 (The Taking of Pelham 123, The Station Agent, The Final Destination, Silent Movie, The African Queen, Departures, Moon, Bound, Solaris, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rifftrax), Wristcutters: A Love Story, In the Loop, Public Enemies, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (Rifftrax), Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann: Lagann-Hen, District 9, The Magnificent Seven, Night Moves, My Name is Bruce, Big Fan, Almost Famous, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu, Drag Me to Hell, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Kara no Kyoukai 1-7, 9, Zombieland, Ninja Scroll, Primer, Re-Animator, Summer Wars, The Changeling, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Ponyo, Eden of the East: The King of Eden, Porco Rosso, Something Something Something Dark Side, Castle in the Sky, Robot Carnival, Halloweentown, Whisper of the Heart, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, Fiddler on the Roof, Kiki's Delivery Service, Genius Party, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, The Sky Crawlers, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, My Neighbors the Yamadas, THX 1138, The Stepfather, Winning Time: Reggie Miller vs. The New York Knicks, Tremors, Horror of Dracula, The Brood, Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter, Rabid, Inglourious Basterds, Them!, The Yakuza, Alphaville, Ghost in the Shell, Priceless, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance, Whip It, A Boy and His Dog, Fletch, The Blind Side, Speed, June 17, 1994, Nobel Son, Invictus, Toy Story 3, The Two Escobars, Soylent Green, Up in the Air, Tyson, This Is Spinal Tap, The Proposition, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, The Informant!, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, Macross: Do You Remember Love?, Coco Before Chanel, The Vanishing, Inception, Mind Game, Pale Rider, The Hurt Locker, Roujin Z, Broken Blade, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Black Christmas, Crazy Heart, The Man with Two Brains, Ninja Assassin, Panic Room, Mobile Suit Gundam I-III, Casablanca, Stray Dog, Professor Layton and the Eternal Diva, Memories, The Gold Rush, Paprika, Martian Successor Nadesico: The Motion Picture - Prince of Darkness, An Education, Eden of the East: Paradise Lost, Dr. Strangelove, Doomsday, Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Natural, Bungaku Shoujo, The Book of Eli, To Kill a Mockingbird, Aim for the Ace!, Animal House, The Princess and the Frog, Char's Counterattack, Date Night, Cool Hand Luke, Kiss Me Deadly, An American Werewolf in London, Teen Wolf, Logan's Run, The Naked City, Dirty Harry, Swingers, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rifftrax), Harper, Chinatown, Hoosiers, The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, Inherit the Wind, Airplane!, Emperor of the North, The Happening, Santa's Slay, Candyman, Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mega Piranha, Phantasm, Goldfinger, The Thing)
