What was the last movie you've seen?

[SamuraiMegas]

I just sat down and watched Airplane for (I think) the first time all the way through. I've seen parts of it through the years but never watched the whole thing- great movie but some parts aged a little bit... Badly.

I also found an animated croatian sci fi movie on amazon prime- Technotise: Edit and I. I haven't finished it, and don't know if I will- it was interesting to watch just because of where it's from, but the subtitles are terrible, they characters talk so fast it's hard to keep up, and the plot is down right nonsensical. There's also a fair share of poorly animated Croatian Anime titties, so if that's your cup of tea, check it out.

[Ack]

Now that I'm on a weekly schedule, the whole movie review blog thing feels a lot more manageable. Here's this week's title.

Gunhed



20 years. 20 years it took me to finally track down and watch this Japanese cyberpunk mech-action title. I wrote this up on Saturday morning and spent the rest of the day feeling a little hollow now that the journey has come to an end. But I figured I should share my journey and my thoughts on how a film about a bunch of scavengers raiding a secret island which houses a massive robot factory fits both into my cinematic experience and into the wider world of niche extreme Japanese cyberpunk movies...or doesn't, as the case may be.

I like Gunhed. It's quirky, but damn it, I like it.

[REPO Man]

Did you play the video game adaptation? It came out for the TurboGrafx 16/PC Engine, but was renamed to Blazing Lazers in the US.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Did you play the video game adaptation? It came out for the TurboGrafx 16/PC Engine, but was renamed to Blazing Lazers in the US.

Awesome shmup.

The movie was also, more faithfully, adapted for the Famicom. It has a fan translation, and I’ve read it’s pretty good. I’ve not yet played that version, though.

[Michi]

And our new yuletide movie of the week is:

Black Christmas



So, fun fact, I hadn't actually seen this movie up until now. Heard about it, for sure, but never actually WATCHED it. It is good, and creepy, and I can easily see how this inspired an entire sub-genre of horror. I shall now put it on permanent rotation every year.

[prfsnl_gmr]

Awesome review, Michi! Black Christmas is pretty much the greatest Christmas movie of all time, and I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[Ack]

Meanwhile, I haven't been watching any Christmas movies. Instead, I watched this:

Uncle Peckerhead



In which a punk band gets a roadie that turns into a cannibalistic monster at midnight. And yet, none of this is as scary as the rival screamo band they keep running into while on tour.

I like to think I do things like this because I have good taste.

[REPO Man]

Pic is link to Wikipedia page

While retellings of the legendary Charles Dickens classic are a dime a dozen, including ones revolving around a diva, a talk-show host, a television network executive, white trash and even Daffy Duck, this definitely holds its head high as... one of my favorites.

Featuring the various creations of the late, great Jim Henson, this musical rendition with tunes from music superstar/actor/honorary Muppet Paul Williams really exudes that Jim Hensonian charm.

Also, did you know that when Michael Cain signed on to do this film, he treated the role as though he were performing in the Royal Shakespeare Company, a move that totally pays off in spades since we ultimately get a moving and powerful portrayal of the famous miser reformed into a kind and generous man.

And here's one of my favorite Youtubers, Minty Comedic Arts, counting down 10 Things You Didn't Know About Muppets Christmas Carol

[Michi]

More yuletide death in this week's write-up with:

To All A Goodnight



To All A Goodnight is sort of the love child of Prom Night and Black Christmas and it's greatest claim to fame seems to be that it was the first slasher to feature a "killer Santa". Which sounds sort of impressive on paper until you quickly realize just how cheap the whole production is. You know you're about to be in for a ride when they throw a dummy off a balcony in less than 3 minutes. Luckily the effects improve tremendously after that point, but unfortunately most everything else doesn't. It still ends up being entertaining in a "OMG this is so bad" kind of way, but Black Christmas this is definitely not.

[Ack]

I admit, I have been curious about To All a Good Night for a while. So...worth tracking down for me, eh?