Claire's blog

[IMDB link]

RATINGS:
Clint: Netflix: 3.6/5 stars. IMDB: 7.8/10.
Carolyn: Netflix: 4/5 stars. IMDB: 8/10.
The native public rating for this movie is: Netflix: 3.1/5 stars, IMDB: 5.7/10.

CLINT’S THOUGHTS: A higher-budget version of a low budget zombie survival flick… Only this time, the zombies are children. And smart. This one really feels like more of a comedy than a horror. It loses a bit of praise for being a bit formulaic, and for the jokes not being quite as clever as they could be, given the talent involved in the movie. But it was definitely a horror-comedy, and not just a horror movie that happens to be funny.

Hilights: Seeing Frodo argue with Dwight Schruite. (Both actors are main characters.)

CAROLYN’S THOUGHTS: I found this pretty entertaining when you look at it as a lighthearted horror comedy and don’t take it too seriously.

PEOPLE:

Elijah Wood (Frodo from Lord Of The Rings, Beck in Tron: Uprising, Sin City, The Faculty, 9, Over The Garden Wall, 2 eps of Robot Chicken) as Clint. Finally, a movie where someone who has my name isn’t some alcoholic redneck!
Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute in The Office, Six Feet Under, Super, Juno, Transformers 2, My Super Ex-Girlfriend, 5 eps of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!, The Rocker, 1 ep of Adventure Time) as Wade, the PE teacher.
Alison Pill (Snowpiercer, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Goon, Dan In Real Life, The Pillars Of The Earth) as Lucy.
Jack McBrayer (Wander in Wander Over Yonder, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, The To Do List, Wreck-It Ralph, Movie 43, Despicable Me, 4 eps of Drunk History, 2 eps of Bob’s Burgers, 2 eps of Arrested Development, 1 ep of NTSF:SD:SUV::, 1 ep of Childrens Hospital, 1 ep of Tim And Eric Awesome Show, Great Job, 1 ep of Ugly Americans) as Tracy, the gay one. (Still not Napoleon Dynamite, why do I keep thinking that?)
Leigh Whannell (Saw 1-3, Legend Of The Guardians: The Owls Of Ga’Hoole, The Matrix 2: The Matrix Reloaded) as Doug, the scientist.
Nasim Pedrad (Saturday Night Live, The Dictator, The Lorax, Despicable Me 2, 8 eps of TripTank, 7 eps of Allen Gregory, 5 eps of The Awesomes) as Rebekkah, the religious one.
Ian Brennan (Narrator in 64 eps of Glee) as Vice Principal Simms.
Jorge Garcia (Lost, The Wedding Ringer, 1 ep of Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Rick, the crossing guard.
Cooper Roth as Patriot, the bully kid.
Morgan Lily (young Raven in X-Men: First Class, 2012, 1 ep of Curb Your Enthusiasm) as Tamra, the menstruating kid.
Peter Kwong (Big Trouble In Little China, 1 ep of King Of The Hill) as Mr. Hatachi.
Kate Flannery (Meredith in The Office, 3 eps of Steven Universe, 2 eps of The Life & Times Of Tim) as Charman, Clint’s mother.
Matt Jones (Badger in Breaking Bad, A Merry Friggin’ Christmas, 3 eps of The Office, 3 eps of TRON: Uprising, 2 eps of Adventure Time, 2 eps of Beware The Batman, 1 ep of NTSF:SD:SUV) as Sheriff Dave. (more…)

[IMDB link]

RATINGS:
Clint: Netflix: 3.6/5 stars. IMDB: 7.6/10.
Carolyn: Netflix: 3.4/5 stars. IMDB: 7.4/10.
The native public rating for this movie is: Netflix: 3.1/5 stars, IMDB: 4.5/10.

CLINT’S THOUGHTS: They maybe coulda just skipped over the 2nd one and gone straight to this one — but with the original actors. That would have been better. This movie, with the original parents. But they probably left because the 2nd movie was more cliche. They really should have returned for the 3rd movie.

This movie had much worse dialog (if that was possible) — but was actually creepier & scarier & had more interesting characters. The 2nd one just felt like Kane singing all the time. This one brought back the actual creepiness. And the finality of this one was nice. And the story is tied up with a nice bow, now. Why didn’t we watch this 25 years ago?

CAROLYN’S THOUGHTS: This was better than the second movie. My one complaint is they didn’t really explain why Carol Anne was staying with her aunt and what happened to the rest of the family.

PEOPLE:

Directed by Gary Sherman.
Written by Gary Sherman, Brian Taggert (7 eps of V) & Steve Feke (11 eps of Beastmaster)

Starring:
Heather O’Rourke (Poltergeist 1-2, 12 eps of Happy Days, 3 eps of Webster, 1 ep of CHiPS, 1 ep of Fantasy Island) as Carol Anne Freeling, the younger daughter.
Zelda Rubinstein (Poltergeist 1-2, Sixteen Candles, Pickett Fences, 1 ep of Caroline In The City, 1 ep of Tales From The Crypt) as Tangina, the paranormal expert.
Tom Skerritt (Ted, Big Man On Campus, Alien, Top Gun, Steel Magnolias, 87 eps of Pickett Fences, 6 eps of Cheers, 2 eps of Bonanza, 1 ep of The Twilight Zone) as Bruce Gardner.
Nancy Allen (RoboCop movies) as Patricia Wilson-Gardner.
Lara Flynn Boyle (Donna In Twin Peaks, Happiness, Wayne’s World, Men In Black 2) as Donna Gardner. She plays a Donna in Twin Peaks, too! This was her first movie. Hmm.
Kipley Wentz as Scott.
Richard Fire as Dr. Seaton.
Nathan Davis (Risky Business, 1 ep of Cheers) as Reverend Henry Kane.
Roger May as Burt.
Joey Garfield (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) as Jeff. (more…)

[IMDB link]

RATINGS:
Clint: Netflix: 3.2/5 stars. IMDB: 7.2/10.
Carolyn: Netflix: 3/5 stars. IMDB: 7.0/10.
The native public rating for this movie is: Netflix: 3.1/5 stars, IMDB: 5.6/10.

CLINT’S THOUGHTS: No Poltergeist 1, that’s for sure. How the hell had I not seen this? I watched the first one like 50 times. How do I have no recollection of Poltergeist 2?

Well anyway, it takes away most of the mystery, and just collapses the plot into more of a standard horror movie. With less cool special effects, less creepy scenes, and less scary scenes. Still, totally worth seeing, because I had a very incomplete pop-culture experience by only having seen the first movie in this TRILOGY.

Plus, I’ve now identified a Chemlab song sample. I had no idea the sample was from this movie.

CAROLYN’S THOUGHTS: This wasn’t as creepy as the first movie, and it definitely wasn’t as good as the first one. It was worth seeing to continue the franchise and to get some backstory.

PEOPLE:

Directed by Brian Gibson.
Written by Michael Grais (Poltergeist 1, Cool World) & Mark Victor (Poltergeist 1, Cool World).

Starring:
Craig T. Nelson (Coach in Coach, Blades Of Glory, Wag The Dog, The Devil’s Advocate, The Incredibles, Where The Buffalo Roam) as Steve Freeling.
JoBeth Williams (TiMER, 1 ep of Batman-TAS, 1 ep of 24) as Diane Freeling.
Dominique Dunne (1 ep of Hart To Hart, 1 ep of CHiPS) as Dana Freeling, the older daughter.
Oliver Robins (Airplane 2, 1 ep of The Twilight Zone) as Robbie Freeling, the son.
Heather O’Rourke (12 eps of Happy Days, 3 eps of Webster, 1 ep of CHiPS, 1 ep of Fantasy Island) as Carol Anne Freeling, the younger daughter.
Zelda Rubinstein (Sixteen Candles, Pickett Fences, 1 ep of Caroline In The City, 1 ep of Tales From The Crypt) as Tangina, the paranormal expert.
Will Sampson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) as Taylor, the indian protector.
Julian Beck as Kane, the evil preacher. This was his final movie – he died of stomach cancer while filming in 1985. So he’s another victim of the “Poltergeist Curse.”
Geraldine Fitzgerald (1 ep of Alfred Hitchcock Presents) as Gramma-Jess.
Noble Craig (Sewer Monster in Big Trouble In Little China, Merging Freddy in A Nightmare On Elm Street 5) as Vomit Creature. (more…)

[IMDB link]

RATINGS:
Clint: Netflix: 5/5 stars. IMDB: 8/10.
Carolyn: Netflix: 4/5 stars. IMDB: 8/10.
The native public rating for this movie is: Netflix: 3.6/5 stars, IMDB: 7.4/10.

CAROLYN’S THOUGHTS: I had never seen this as a kid. I didn’t watch that many scary movies, so I didn’t see a lot of the classics such as The Exorcist and Poltergeist. This was awesome and definitely worth watching. I definitely understand how some kids can be traumatized by it, though! I probably would have been one of them since I was very sensitive to that type of stuff. For instance, we had a Halloween party once, and my babysitter stuffed newspapers into some clothes and put the “headless body” in the shower in the bathroom downstairs. Then after the party, nobody cleaned it up so it was just left there in the shower for months. One time, I had to get something from the garage and I got to the bottom of the stairs and bolted for the garage door, and I swore I heard newspapers rustling from the bathroom! I got into the garage, got the thing I was getting and bolted up the stairs so fast. I was so pathetic, and that was even without watching movies like Poltergeist to traumatize me.

CLINT’S THOUGHTS:

A classic for me, so 5 stars as I’ve always loved it.
It was interesting seeing it as an adult, and noticing things like, what?!?! The parents are potheads?!?! I don’t remember that!! Or if I did, I forgot!

No, the real treat here was getting to watch Carolyn watch the movie for the first time. And seeing it as an adult for the first time. It was a major retro drinking night for me. Good good times.

This is also the first movie that I’ve ever watched in 10-bit color. I can’t say I could necessarily tell the difference, but the color did look REALLY good. Of course, I’m watching 1080p in 2015 vs VHS in 1982. VHS is more like 360i than 1080p. So it was going to look a lto better anyway. There was a least a very nice placebo effect!

PEOPLE:

Directed by Tobe Hooper (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movies, 1 ep of Tales From The Crypt).
Written by Steven Spielberg, Michael Grais (Cool World) & Mark Victor (Cool World).

Starring:
Craig T. Nelson (Coach in Coach, Blades Of Glory, Wag The Dog, The Devil’s Advocate, The Incredibles, Where The Buffalo Roam) as Steve Freeling.
JoBeth Williams (TiMER, 1 ep of Batman-TAS, 1 ep of 24) as Diane Freeling.
Beatrice Straight (1 ep of Faerie Tale Theatre) as Dr. Lesh, the paranormal psychologist doctor.
Dominique Dunne (1 ep of Hart To Hart, 1 ep of CHiPS) as Dana Freeling, the older daughter.
Oliver Robins (Airplane 2, 1 ep of The Twilight Zone) as Robbie Freeling, the son.
Heather O’Rourke (12 eps of Happy Days, 3 eps of Webster, 1 ep of CHiPS, 1 ep of Fantasy Island) as Carol Anne Freeling, the younger daughter.
Michael McManus (Police Academy 4, The Kentucky Fried Movie, 8 eps of Baywatch, 4 eps of Night Court, 2 eps of It’s Garry Shandling’s Show, 2 eps of Webster, 1 ep of Married With Children, 1 ep of Doogie Howser MD, 1 ep of Mr. Belvedere, 1 ep of Saved By The Bell, 1 ep of Coach) as Ben Tuthill, the neighbor.
Virginia Kiser (5 eps of Max Headroom, 1 ep of The Twilight Zone, 1 ep of CHiPS) as Mrs. Tuthill, the neighbor’s wife.
Zelda Rubinstein (Sixteen Candles, Pickett Fences, 1 ep of Caroline In The City, 1 ep of Tales From The Crypt) as Tangina, the paranormal expert.
James Karen (Mulholland Dr., The Return Of The Living Dead movies, 4 eps of The Larry Sanders Show, 1 ep of Seinfeld, 1 ep of American Dad, 1 ep of The Cleveland Show) as Mr. Teague, the boss. (more…)

VIDEO: MOVIES: REVIEW: Supernatural Activity (2012)

Carolyn: 2.4/5 stars, 5/10.
Clint: 2.4/5 stars, 5/10 (mostly deferring to Carolyn’s rating here).
Native ratings: 2.4/5 stars Netflix, 2.9/10 IMDB.

Review by Carolyn: This was alright.  It started off slow, and didn’t really pick up that much.  However, it did get slightly more funny near the end, but not enough to redeem itself.  I enjoyed the characterizations, but the execution wasn’t that great.

We both thought of the movie Grave Encounters when they were talking about how the show is faked.  That movie was better than this one.

Speaking of the ending, it was confusing.  Clint tried to ask me to explain it to him.  The ending made about 57% sense to me, and my understanding wasn’t enough to be able to explain it to Clint.  Basically, there was some confusion about  different hairstyles (I’ll just leave it at that…).  I was like “It wasn’t that good, and it didn’t make that much sense.  How am I supposed to explain an ending to a movie that wasn’t that good?”

Clint’s thoughts: I had a rut of movies I didn’t remember very well after watching, and this was one of them. Just not that great. Mildly entertaining at best.

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1832516/combined

VIDEO: MOVIE: REVIEW: Snow White And The Huntsman (2012)

Carolyn: 4/5 stars, 8/10.
Parthena: 4/5 stars, 7/10 (was 4.4/5 stars, 8/10 but then she decided to lower it).
Clint: 3/5 stars, 8/10.
Eli: 3/5 stars, 6/10.
Native rating: 3.7/5 stars, 6.4/10.

I found this to be quite a serviceable remake. Certainly more enjoyable than a bunch of gay Disney characters singing and whistling, and the production was pretty awesome.

Charlize Theron was great as the wicked witch, though the idea that Kristen Stewart could ever be fairer than her was less believable than the entire fantasy world this took place in :)

It was also interesting how they used CGI to have dwarves played by normal-sized actors — I totally recognized Nick Frost and Ian McShane. I am sure Warwick Davis was livid! [UPDATE: Just read the trivia, and Warwick Davis *WAS* pissed! And made a public statement!]

Anyway.. Nice to see a familiar fantasy story and not have it be totally juvenile.

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1735898/

VIDEO: MOVIE: REVIEW: The Dictator (2012)

4.4/5 stars, 8.4/10 from  Clint
5/5 stars, 9/10 from Carolyn.
Native rating: 3.2/5 stars (Netflix), 6.6/10 (IMDB).

Carolyn was laughing the hardest I’ve seen her laugh in months(?) or a year(?).

I wasn’t quite laughing as hard.

This is way closer to Borat than Bruno in terms of subject matter AND how good it was. Definitely a must see. I am torn about not giving it 5 stars – maybe I am mis-rating it.

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645170/

VIDEO: MOVIE: REVIEW: Still Waiting… (2009)

3/5 stars, 7/10 from both of us.
Native ratings: Netflix: 3/5 stars. IMDB: 5.0/10.

Using a Ween song doesn’t save this movie, though it’s still good. It’s just not the same as the first movie. It lacked the nuance and great dialog; the plot — even though that was never the driving aspect of the first movie — was not as good either. “The game” didn’t exist — just references to it.

A lot of the great cast was replaced with cast that wasn’t quite as good. Remaining was Calvin (the timid tinkler), Naomi (the bitch), Dean (Justin Long), Radimus (the hispanic dude), Natasha, and David Koechner.  However —

the hot blonde who “would eat your ass out like a hamburger if I was still in my bi phase” is Janet Varney –who voices Korra in the new Avatar cartoon Legend Of Korra. So that soundclip is just being begged to be overdubbed on some Korra animation.

Still Waiting is ultimately a shadow of the first movie, but still good. Still in the same vein. Just a much much lesser version.

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1116186/

VIDEO: MOVIE: REVIEW: Waiting (2005) (Waiting 1)

Waiting (2005) –
5/5 stars, 9/10 from both of us.
Native ratings: Netflix: 4.5/5 stars. IMDB: 6.8/10.

This does for the restaurant business what Clerks does for the convenience store business… Only more situation-based. Still with great dialogue frequently delivered by the creepiest Ryan Reynolds you’ve ever seen (no wonder they buried him alive… oh wait, that was another movie).

Hilarious ridiculousness, and a great cast — including Anna Faris, Justin Long, David Koechner, Lus Guzman, Allana Ubach, Andy Milonakis, Emmanuelle Chriqui, and a brief appearance by Wendie Malick (from Dream On and Just Shoot Me).

They thank “God, for not existing” in the credits.

Then the next day we watched the sequel…

LINK URL: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0348333/