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Burylman
Reviews
Go-Go's from Central Park (2001)
If you were a fan way back when...you need this!!
I can't be impartial. I've been a huge fan of the Go-Go's since high school, when I had all their albums on vinyl (remember that?). So here it is, twenty years down the road, and they're back together for a new album and tour. So how has time treated them? As far as I can tell, pretty darned good. The girls still have the chops to rock out, and still look stunning. I was a Belinda Carlisle junkie, and she still slays me. Her voice hasn't suffered at all over the years, and the rest of the band follows suit. They still look awesome.
The NY show sounds great in Dolby 5.1, and the film is crisp and clear. My only quibble was that it was only an hour long plus change. There's some bonus material, but I wanted to see more show. They play cuts from all their studio albums, plus a slamming cover of "I Wanna Be Sedated" during their encore.
Bottom line...if you were a fan in the 80's, it's a must have. If not, give it a try.
breakfastmanager
Blood Feast 2: All U Can Eat (2002)
Dinner is served!!
Well, well, well...what can I say for the long-awaited(?) sequel to Blood Feast except that I have never laughed so hard in my life!! Back when the original was released, my father went to see it at a local drive-in. As he would later tell me, it was the last gore film he ever saw. The thing that stood out most in his mind was the sound of Fuad Ramses walking, dragging his bad leg behind him. Lo and behold, after the festvities begin, his grandson injures himself and spends the rest of the movie walking in the exact same manner. C'mon people, that's funny! Even by H.G. Lewis standards, it's got a serious case of tongue-in-cheek (then removed and dumped into soup). It's not Shakespeare, people, it's the Godfather of Gore. And having John Waters as a priest?? It gets funnier and funnier each time I watch it. Granted, the new Ramses is no Mal Arnold, and the acting won't make you forget Connie, but for your rental or purchase price, it's definitely a bargain!! I give it two bloody severed thumbs up!!
breakfastmanager
Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)
Not bad,but no Desperado
Managed to pick up a used copy on DVD today of Once, and I gotta say, I'm glad I only spent five bucks on it.
First of all, ya really get ripped off by the DVD cover. Salma Hayek billed that high?? For only less than ten minutes of screen time?? I really thought that this should be billed as a Johnny Depp movie, featuring Antonio Banderas as The Mariachi.
Uniformly, the performances were good, and it featured most of my favorite stars (with only Christopher Walken missing). The action was really good, but the plot was just too hard to follow.
In short, go re-rent Desperado, and give this a miss unless you are a big Depp fan. Or you like seeing lots of stuff blow up real good.
Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1989)
Brilliantly funny
I have got to say that this is one of the funniest movies of the 80's! Granted, it was done on a low budget, but who cares? I come to be entertained, and boy, was I!
Shannon Tweed was way better than the is when she doffs her duds, and Bill Maher was absolutely brilliant! I'm a huge fan, and it seemed like he was almost ad-libbing some of his more chauvinistic rants (if you see his stand-up and TV shows, you know what I'm talking about). Karen Mistal was fetching, and movie legend (yes, legend) Adrianne Barbeau was wonderful.
The barbs run so fast that when one misses, another quickly follows. When Maher comes to the realization that "Oh my God, you're marinating me!!" I almost wet myself.
I don't know anyone (other than my ex-wife) who has seen this that didn't love it. I highly recommend it!
Deathstalker II (1987)
Sure it's cheesy, but it's deliberate...
Yeah, this is a sequel with nothing to do with the first one, and yeah, it's no Conan, but it doesn't try to be. Just remember who the writer/director is (the esteemed Jim Wynorski), take your mind off the hook, and go with it!
The premise (soldier of fortune helps a princess in disguise regain the throne)is classic, but it's all told with such a goofy tone that comparison with a more serious film is, well, goofy.
If you have the DVD edition with the director's commentary, you'll see where Wynorski was going when he made the film. The script is full of in-jokes from other movies in the genre, jokes from television, and more than enough one liners to fill a dozen old Bob Hope movies. You also get John LaZar (from Beyond the Valley Of The Dolls) as the evil sorcerer, Monique Gabrielle (of a zillion b-movies) as the damsel in distress, and Toni Naples in black leather as Sultana, who swings a mean sword.
Add to that a gazillion extras (all masked so they can be used over and over in other scenes), lots of wooden swords painted silver, a fight to the death with Queen Kong (featuring Amazon ring girls holding up the round number painted on cardboard). Yep friends and neighbors, this one leaves no cliché unheard. Do I recommend it? Wholeheartedly. Genre fans won't be disappointed.
The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984)
Kurosawa on bad acid...
Warrior and the Sorceress is a fantasy version of the classic Japanese film Yojimbo, which was later remade as A Fistful Of Dollars. Basically, a stranger with no name (David Carradine) comes into town amongst rival factions fighting over a well, the only source of water. He plays both sides of the fence, yada yada yada....you've all seen it a zillion times.
What makes this different, besides the setting, is the fantasy/medieval weirdness factor, including the sorceress (Maria Socas, looking fetching as she does the entire film sans a top), a telepathic (and incredibly phony) monitor lizard, and, to top it all off, a dance by a lady with four (count 'em, four!) honkers. And, I have to admit, her prosthetics seemed to me incredibly well done. Maybe that's just me.
The swordplay was quite good, and the acting (though not spectacular), was entirely adequate. It seems like everyone involved had a great time, and so did I.
For your rental (or purchase) dollar, you could do a whole lot worse...