Movie | Phantom of the Opera | Didn't Like It

Another Hammer film that I didn't care for, though Herbert Lom was awesome as always.

TV | Plebs (Series 3) | Really Liked It

There weren't as many funny parts this go around, but the show is still outstanding and so much fun.

Movie | High-Rise | Really Liked It

Mind blowing, disturbing, exquisite. Rule #1, which was a real bummer but it was part of the plot and interesting symbolically...humans becoming something less than animals. Still, I certainly could have done without that part. But the rest was unbelievable and the cast just took it and ran with it.

Movie | Psycho | Liked It

It must be 35 years since I last saw this. This time around it was rather boring.

Movie | Lemora | Liked It

This may not be a well made movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it did capture a real nightmarish quality. Another truly interesting thing about it was that the real monsters were the "normal" male characters, who were all disturbing sexual predators.

Movie | Lucky Them | Liked It-ish

Should have liked this more. But I just wanted to shake Toni Collette and tell her to move on and get a life!

Movie | Pee Wee's Big Holiday | Liked It

If you haven't seen your inner child in so long that you can't remember, then this is the not the movie for you. It's not as vibrant as the first films, but it still captures the silly wonder. The Amish scene with the balloon had me rolling on the floor, it went on soooo long. Hilarious. The homoerotic elements sure seem ramped up this installment. Surely that was on purpose. But who cares, really.

TV | Safe House | Liked It-ish

Wanted to like this more, but it was a bit boring.

TV | Flowers | Liked It

Oddball drama with tinges of dark comedy. It was ambitious, I'll give it that.

TV | W1A | Liked It-ish

The terrifyingly inefficient inner workings of a corporate monolith and the morons who schedule meetings to decide what their next meeting should be about. It just so happens that, in this case, it's the BBC.

Movie | Scenes from the Goldmine | Didn't Like It

Cool cast, but the movie was dreadful and the music...oh, the music...if you like Rick Springfield-type "rock", then you'll love this. I'm not even sure who that is in the movie poster above. Is that supposed to be Catherine Mary Stewart? Writer-director Marc Rocco definitely produced better than this tripe.

Movie | The Oblong Box | Didn't Like It

A snore.

Movie | Cold in July | Really Liked It

Being a big fan of Lansdale's work, I was thrilled when not only they made Hap and Leonard into a tv show, but it was also good! Still, it didn't quuuuiiiite seem like it wholly captured Lansdale. Maybe it will in future seasons. I hopes so.

So it got me to thinking; were there any movies that have been made based on his stuff out there? Sure enough, there are a couple. This is the first one that I started with and it was very, very good. There are some tortureporn scenes, one specifically, which just I fast forwarded through. But it was as necessary to the plot as it was in the book and there's no excessive dwelling on it. You see it, you get it, the story moves on. Brilliant. I wish I knew somebody who appreciated really good movies like this to recommend it to; it's one of those flicks that you need to discuss it with somebody.

Jim Mickle also directed several episodes of Hap and Leonard and Stake Land as well. He's obviously as enamored with Lansdale's work as much as I am, is excellent and definitely one to watch.

Johnson and Shepard are as delightful to watch as ever and the script gives they some really wonderful moments. But Hall is the real bedrock here. Far from his role on Dexter, he's undeniably a real talent. Maybe one of the best right now. See it and tell me you don't disagree.

Wait, who am I talking to? Nobody will read this and there's nobody to recommend it to. Oh well.

Spectacular John Carpenter-esque soundtrack by Jeff Grace.

Movie | R.O.T.O.R. | Liked It

Another total crapfest, this time a RoboCop ripoff. Somehow, it was better than I.F.O. But not by much; it was mainly due to the awesome poster and the music was pretty good. Plus, there were the occasional martial arts sequences. The star was so wooden that I kept thinking he was another cyborg. Plus, apparently his real voice wasn't suitable so they overdubbed another dude's voice, which just ended up being silly as all get out. Don't miss the sarcastic cop robot that looks like it was built by 10 year olds. Isuzu was clearly a sponsor (how'd they get suckered into this?) and the film features some great scenes with a first gen Impulse and a two-door Trooper that inexplicably becomes a four-door at the end.

Movie | I.F.O. | Liked It-ish

AKA Defense Play. Terrible...bad...awful.What can I say? It actually so amazingly sucked that it was hard to not watch! Sort of a crappy mix of WarGames, Project X and a couple of other similar 80s "teenyboppers do the wackiest things with expensive government high-tech experiments" movies. Weirdly, a very similar movie came out a year later with the same Defense Play title, in 1988. I couldn't even find a movie poster in English, which the movie most definitely is.

Movie | American Ultra | Really Liked It

Violent action entertainment doesn't get much better than this. If you liked movies like Kick-Ass, then you'll enjoy this as much as I did. Why it didn't get better reviews...who knows. It isn't rocket science, but then what did you expect?

TV | Bates Motel (Season 4) | Liked It

I hate to say it; this season was a little boring. The best stuff was when Ryan Hurst was on the screen, IMO. The rest of the cast was still outstanding, there just wasn't much for them to do that was all that interesting.

TV | Michael Ian Black: Noted Expert | Liked It-ish

TV | Fear the Walking Dead (Season 2) | Really Liked It

The second season was even better than the first! You'd have to be either painfully jaded or not really into the post-apocalyptic/zombie genre. The folks that don't like this show have no business watching it in the first place, which is fine by me. Get out of my way and let me enjoy it thoroughly!

Movie | The Premature Burial | Liked It

Ray Milland and Roger Corman together again. Not bad.

Movie | Bride of Frankenstein | Liked It

Been a long time...hadn't remembered there were so many funny parts.

Movie | House of Horrors | Liked It

Movie | The Return of Count Yorga | Liked It

Mariette Hartley, who stole the show, made this fun to watch.

TV | Dave Gahan & Soulsavers: Angels and Ghosts | Really Liked It

The album Angels and Ghosts is discussed and performed. Fanfreakin'tastic.

Movie | Screamtime | Didn't Like It

British trilogy of horror stories that wasn't all that good. The cinematography was 80s tv movie grade and the acting nothing to write home about. It's especially hard to care about victims that do such stupid things, like stop and turn around to see if the psycho is still on their tail. Run, you moron!

Movie | Birdman | Liked It-ish

I simultaneously hated and thought moments were interesting in this multiple award-winning movie. It focuses on some of the worst aspects of the human condition, mainly vanity that's completely run out of control to the point where the characters will kill themselves out of stupidity. It was hard to watch all of that and yet the cast was so superb that it made the whole wretched affair hard to turn off. The soundtrack was well constructed, mainly consisting of generic epic cues, atmospheric sounds and Jazz drumming. The camera work was notable for being 10% effective and 90% annoying and nauseating. Keaton always ruled and he continues to. I'd love to see him in a more appealing project (Beetlejuice 2, perhaps?). Just not a superhero movie, please. Or a movie that examines its own belly button to the point where it falls headfirst in.

TV | The Family | Really Liked It

Though the plot revolves around a nasty subject, this was a very good psychological thriller. The twists and turns were excellent.

Rule #2 broken.

Movie | Countess Dracula | Liked It-ish

Not one of my favorite Hammer films.

TV | Death in Paradise (Series 4) | Liked It

So why is this so good? It's massively formulaic. Well, that's because it's never boring and the cast is always delightful to watch. Plus the scenery and soundtrack are fantastic. If you like straightforward and highly entertaining murder mysteries with a lighter feel, I can't image you can get much better than this.

Movie | Peacock | Really Liked It

I didn't like Peaky Blinders all that much, but even if I don't like the project that he's in all that much, Cillian Murphy blows me away every time. He does it again in this movie, which was excellent.

TV | Death in Paradise (Series 2) | Liked It

Continues to be very enjoyable, for what it is.

Movie | Gas-s-s-s | Liked It-ish

Whacked out 70s groovy-craziness with an awesome cast.

TV | Witless | Liked It

Cute Britcom about two women who go into witness protection.

TV | Hoff the Record | Liked It

Enjoyable Britcom about the career revival  of David Hasselhoff. Clever, funny and The Hoff is great!