Recently watched movies!

[Dr Kain]

Aliens isn't horror...

I'm not a fan of the remake of The Blob. I liked that it tried to do something different than the original, but that also made it generic because everyone does government experiments gone wrong plots. Although, my biggest issue is that I felt the movie was about 10 minutes too long.

[DannyBeane]

[O.Supreme]

genre lines can be blurry sometimes... and definitely open to interpretation. I'd say if you count the original Alien as horror, or not...Neither of you would be wrong...I only bring this up because recently there have been many reports stating that the 2017 version of Stephen King's IT is now the #1 top grossing Horror film of all time, but some lists are showing IT still as #2 (Counting The Sixth Sense as the #1 top grossing horror movie of all time)...Now this again is debatable, but when it comes to films of this nature definitively saying what it is, or isn't....there is no right or wrong answer. Alien was certainly marketed as a horror film when it first came out, as was Jaws, and both were often found in the Horror section of media stores for the longest time. Public perception may have changed in the minds of some, but not others, thus the duplicitousness of categorizing these films.

[klen7]

I like the Blob remake. Definitely need to revisit. I remember being traumatized by the sink scene as a kid

[Dr Kain]

Alien is most definitely horror. Aliens is an action movie.

I'm so happy to see IT doing so well. Maybe it will get people to realize that if a movie is well written, they will go see it instead of pooping on poor reviews for the lack of ticket sales.

[eabaker]

[DannyBeane]

Also Aliens as a horror movie can be described with these scenes, Ripley dealing with her PTSD through the nightmares of the chestbursters. The whole scene with the marines getting torn apart by unseen aliens. The alien queen trying to kill Newt. The Alien Queen tearing apart Bishop. The scenes of the colonist being impregnated/cocooned. It's a text book horror/monster movie that has action elements. The entire alien franchise is a horror movie franchise.

[jellydonut25]

I love The Blob remake and Aliens is a genre bender in that it’s got a lot of elements of action sci-fi and horror. I’d allow someone to call it Horror.

[eabaker]

I can't think of a single action movie I've ever seen that wasn't also part of another genre, because "action" alone doesn't really generate narrative or theme. I suppose action/thriller and action/melodrama are probably the most common.

[jellydonut25]

The Raid: Redemption immediately springs to mind as something I’d just call action.

[Dr Kain]

House on Haunted Hill - This is my second time watching this movie and it was even better than it was the first time. What's funny is I was even more engaged in the film despite knowing the twist. You know it's a great movie when that happens. There are some flaws in the plan though and I feel it should have been about 10-15 minters longer. 9/10.

[canofhumdingers]

[lhb412]

My first horror film of October is the absolutely bananas Indonesian film Mystics of Bali, a movie based on real Southeast Asian folklore - primarily in the legends of the Leyak and the Pananggalan (yes, if you read Hellboy you know what a Pananggalan is and are already excited to see this movie). There's magic battles, bloodsucking, transformation scenes, and prehensile tongues - making this absolutely perfect Halloween viewing. Recommended!

Oh, and as Godzilla fans the dubbed voices may strike you as awful familiar.

[O.Supreme]

[Dr Kain]

[eabaker]

[Dr Kain]

The Exorcist - This was the first time I have watched this movie since 2001 and my feelings have changed on it, at least from a cinematic level. The first hour is developed quite well and I love the scenes that take place in Iraq. There are also a ton of beautiful shots to be had here. Unfortunately, things kind of dip in quality in the second hour when the possession actually occurs just because I find it to be utterly hysterical at how serious everyone is able to take this situation. The visuals remain top notch and the camera work is impressive, but I can not help but laugh every time possessed Reagan opens her mouth to say something. On one hand, I can understand why people were scared by this movie in 1974 as I'm sure having a 12 year old girl talk with such obscenities was shocking to many. These days, it's pretty normal. I also feel like the exorcism scene drags on for way too long. Still, it does a lot to make us really care for the girl's mother and the situation she is in, along with the frustration she feels when not a single doctor knows how to actually help her. I'm raising my original score of a 6 to an 8/10 and I also see its impact on the genre it made then.

BTW, I have a horror book that was actually published in 1974 and the author talks about how he hopes the gross body and gore this movie displays does not become the norm for horror. I wonder if he is still alive today and what he thinks about horror now.

[EricDent]

Kingsmen 2: Was decent, but not quite as fun as the original.
Though I did get a kick out of Sir Elton John.

LEGO Ninjago: Not quite as fun/charming as the other LEGO movies, but decent.
Jackie Chan looked great (and it even had his usual blooper thing at the end).

Lost City of Z: Was pretty long, but interesting. Apparently they might have actually finally found this city.

King Arthur Legend of the Sword: Way better than I thought it would be.
Again whomever is making trailers in Hollywood lately for failed movies needs to go away.

[Dr Kain]

King Arhtur was so "OH GODZILLA! WHAT TERRIBLE LANGUAGE!" awful. Horrible editing, random montages that made no sense, and there is a scene where Arthur is in two places at once. He's on a boat and on an island fighting snakes at the same time.

[jellydonut25]

October thus far:
Night of the Living Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Day of the Dead
The Crazies

Land of the Dead - I like this movie a lot. It's definitely a noticeable step down from the previous three, but it feels totally at home with all of them and a completely worthy addition to the franchise. Quirky characters, social commentary, and cool twists on the genre/lore that don't take anything away from the originals and feel like they fit in perfectly with what came before (specifically I'm thinking of the fireworks thing, which is never mentioned one way or another in the original three but sure, it's a cool twist). It (like Day) has some layout problems with knowing where the action is all taking place, and it doesn't feel quite as visceral as the previous three, but I still like it as a very fun zombie movie. 3.5/5.

Monkey Shines - This movie catches a lot of flak for its goofier moments but I think what actually holds it back is that it's too long and has too many side plots that don't really coalesce into the whole. If it were 90-100 minutes instead of two hours, I think it'd be a really fun, tight little thriller. Still, I kinda enjoyed it, more than I was expecting to for sure. 3/5

Season of the Witch (aka Hungry Wives) - Hm. Its budget holds it back for sure...especially since I watched the "Hungry Wives" edit which cuts out like thirty minutes of the movie and so it feels like it was edited on the fly by someone with ADD, but there are some really cool directorial flashes here, showing Romero knows how to use angles and cameras and the frame. It's more a character study of a woman who feels trapped in a (mostly) boring housewife role with an often emotionally, mildly physically abusive husband (he does stuff like slap her on the nose with newspapers) than it is a horror movie. There are horror elements, and it's an INTERESTING film, but it wasn't super enjoyable. 2.5/5.

[lhb412]

Halloween '78

Now if this don't put ya in the holiday spirit I don't know what can. Pure low-budget perfection - you simply can't beat the final ten minutes or so of Jamie Lee v. Michael Myers! This film also captures that late Halloween night feel in a suburban sprawl: dark and quiet, with a few odd groups of trick-or-treaters in the distance.

[O.Supreme]

[eabaker]

[jellydonut25]

Night of the Living Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Day of the Dead
The Crazies
Land of the Dead
Season of the Witch
Monkey Shines

Martin - Absolutely awesome. I love the twists on the vampire lore, the black and white moments that are the more typical, stylized vampiric stuff, the character of Martin...this is one of Romero's absolute best and it's a true shame it's not really readily out there for people to discover. 4.5/5

Two Evil Eyes - Two cool Poe adaptations, one by Romero, one by Argento. I'm not sure how literal the translations are, or if they're just "inspired by" because they both have similar elements and elements from multiple different Poe stories (ie, The Black Cat has a Cask of Amantillado thing going on, and the Telltale Heart, and The Black Cat and my Poe is a little too shaky to know which is which and where things all run together), but this was a fun watch. 3.5/5

Bruiser - ...m...no. I feel like there's something missing here. A lot of the elements are there but, it also feels like social commentary being done by someone who doesn't really understand the society on which he's commenting and therefore it just kinda clangs flat instead of reverberating and resonating and filling the room like many of Romero's other works do. There's some elements here that work, and it's not like it's overlong, so it's maybe a mileage may vary kind of scenario. 2.5/5.

[Dr Kain]

Blade Runner 2049 - This is what the Ghost in the Shell movie should have been! Thought provoking, philosophical discussions, questioning what is real and what isn't, suspense, atmosphere, amazing visuals, a terrific soundtrack, and more. It does have its flaws, keeping it from being anywhere near the best movie of the year, but it is just as good as the original. To think, they actually made a sequel to a 30+ year old movie and not have it suck. Now THAT is impressive. A 9/10.