MZ's Movie Review Thread

[MinionZombie]

3 From Hell (Rob Zombie, 2019): https://deadshed.blogspot.com/2019/1...19-review.html 3 From Hell is the belated third, and likely final, entry in Rob Zombie's grisly 'Firefly family' saga. Following on from the psychedelic slasher circus of 2001's House of 1,000 Corpses and the down 'n' dirty killers on-the-run road movie of 2005's The Devil's Rejects, 3 From Hell might seem inexplicable considering the spectacular guns-a-blazin' finale of the previous film (arguably Zombie's finest cinematic moment), but the story's continuation, maybe somewhat incredibly, actually works...

[MinionZombie]

Guns (Andy Sidaris, 1990): https://deadshed.blogspot.com/2019/1...90-review.html A crime lord nicknamed the Jack of Diamonds wants to run guns from China to South America via the Hawaiian island of Molokai, which is protected by the smart and beautiful agents of 'The Agency'. In order to lure them away to Las Vegas, he sets about assassinating members of their ranks, but now they're ready to fight back. Featuring death by toy boat, random ninjas, and a part-time magician with a strong disliking for due process, it could only be an Andy Sidaris movie...

[MinionZombie]

The Suspicious Death of a Minor (Sergio Martino, 1975): https://deadshed.blogspot.com/2019/1...or-sergio.html The top two names associated with giallo cinema are that of its creator Mario Bava (Blood and Black Lace) and that of its master Dario Argento (Deep Red), but another director whose name should be closely associated with those two is Sergio Martino (The Mountain of the Cannibal God). In the first half of the 1970s, Martino, along with frequent collaborating screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi (Almost Human), produced a slew of all-time greats in the feverish onslaught of Italian murder mysteries: The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh (1971), The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (1971), All The Colours of the Dark (1972), Your Vice Is A Locked Room and Only I Have The Key (1972), and Torso (1973). That's quite an impressive resume in itself, in careers that spanned 66 directorial efforts from Martino and 123 writing credits for Gastaldi. However, there is another gialli that was produced during their time working together, but one which has flown somewhat under the radar while the aforementioned titles have taken the lion's share of viewers' attention: 1975's The Suspicious Death of a Minor. Crafted with Martino's eye for style and Gastaldi's acerbic storytelling, it arrived at a time when the giallo (lurid tales of sex and death) was beginning to cool off and the poliziotteschi (gritty urban crime thrillers) were attracting audiences with rough 'n' tumble rogue cops tackling the sort of criminal conspiracies that were happening everyday beyond the cinema's doorstep...

[MinionZombie]

Do Or Die (Andy Sidaris, 1991): https://deadshed.blogspot.com/2020/0...91-review.html The sixth entry in the twelve-strong 'L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies' series finds two of The Agency's top women hunted in a deadly game of revenge and honour as a villainous crime lord seeks to settle the score and notch up a win for the bad guys. But can he compete against brawn, beauty, brains, and a walking stick rocket launcher?...

[MinionZombie]

Chopping Mall (Jim Wynorski, 1986): https://deadshed.blogspot.com/2020/0...86-review.html The 1980s was the decade when the shopping mall ruled all from the consumerist dream driving the economy to the food court driving teenagers' social engagement. It was a time and a place that was important in people's lives, something worth protecting, but how best to do that? Perhaps big steel time-locked doors and a trio of roaming robots armed with laser eyes? Gee, I sure hope a random lightning storm doesn't scramble their circuits and result in a slew of corpses … oh, hang on, too late!...

[MinionZombie]

Hard Hunted (Andy Sidaris, 1992): https://deadshed.blogspot.com/2020/0...92-review.html International villain Kane returns, but this time he's not playing death games for a sense of honour, oh no, 'cos now this gun runner/all-round bad dude means business. On the hunt for his stolen Klystron Relay (essentially a key to a nuclear bomb), the buff 'n' busty agents of, er, The Agency, dive into a bombastic cat & mouse chase as the plot macguffin has a propensity to change hands almost as many times as the cast's clothing drops to the floor...

[MinionZombie]

The Pyjama Girl Case (Flavio Mogherini, 1978) Blu-Ray Review: https://deadshed.blogspot.com/2020/0...mogherini.html By 1978 the heyday of the Italian murder mystery – or 'giallo' – had been and gone, but that didn't mean there was nothing of interest still to rinse out of the well-strained genre. Writer/Director Flavio Mogherini's murder mystery casts aside much of the classic tropes and visual styling of the typical giallo film (black gloved killers, gleaming knives, an escalating series of grisly deaths, European glamour) in favour of – egads! - just one murder in, of all places, Australia's Sydney with its sun, sea, and sand. Do not go into this movie expecting killer thrills by any means and, whatever you do, don't read the spoilerific blurb on the back of the box!...

[MinionZombie]

Fit To Kill (Andy Sidaris, 1993): https://deadshed.blogspot.com/2020/0...93-review.html After the somewhat paint-by-numbers Hard Hunted, which lacked some of the vim and vigour of previous outings in the wild and wacky world of Andy Sidaris, Fit To Kill splashes some refreshing Hawaiian water on the franchise's face. Dosed-up on American bravado and topless coffee breaks, it's all about a few simple things: More action! More sex! More cheese ball dialogue! And more, many more, remote control toys!...

[MinionZombie]

There's Always Vanilla (George A. Romero, 1971): https://deadshed.blogspot.com/2020/0...ge-romero.html An experimental bitter-sweet romance drama is not what you'd expect to be directed by George A. Romero, the Godfather of the modern zombie, whose seminal 1968 film Night of the Living Dead not only defined a new sub-genre, but a new way of utilising horror to examine the world in which we live. Seeking to not be pigeon-holed by the horror genre, Romero and production company The Latent Image embarked on this character piece, which turned into a scattered and tense production with a final product that limped onto the silver screen after which it became a 'lost' film in Romero's catalogue...

[MinionZombie]

Enemy Gold (Christian Drew Sidaris, 1993) Review: https://deadshed.blogspot.com/2020/0...aris-1993.html This ninth entry in the 'L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies' saga was, originally, never intended to happen. After eight movies, perhaps Andy Sidaris was feeling wrung dry, and so Fit To Kill was supposed to the final film in the series. However, in the movie industry 'final chapters' have a particular habit of being followed by several sequels (Friday the 13th Part IV, anyone?). In some ways it's business as usual in the Sidaris-verse, but in other ways Enemy Gold sits apart from what came before: the smaller cast features only a few familiar faces (all playing different roles), and instead of Andy Sidaris at the helm it's his son Christian Drew Sidaris (who would also go on to write & direct the tenth entry in the franchise). Hell, there's not even a single Abilene family member in sight!...

[MinionZombie]

Season of the Witch (George A. Romero, 1972) Blu-Ray review... http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2020/10...-1972-blu.html While it came as a commercial disappointment, the second in as many years for George A. Romero (following on from 1971's There's Always Vanilla), his 1972 film Season of the Witch proves to be an intriguing companion piece to its predecessor. Amidst the fervour of social change that was sweeping America at the time (particularly the campaign for the Equal Rights Amendment), Season of the Witch peeks behind the white picket fences of suburbia to witness one housewife's attempt to escape her mid-life malaise – through Witchcraft...

[shootemindehead]

^ Have to say I found it incredibly boring when I first saw it and that was the 90 min version. I see that the original run time was over 2 hours! Holy Jeebus...

[beat_truck]

IMO,Season of the Witch is the worst Romero film I have seen so far. I saw it many years ago, and remember little about it, but I don't plan to waste time rewatching it. Honestly, I though it was worse than There's Always Vanilla. I'm glad I didn't spend any money to see either of them, though.

[MinionZombie]

I really didn't like Season of the Witch first time around, either - but then again I was also in my teens, high on Romero's zombie epics. All these years later and I found all sorts to to like about Season of the Witch. It still has its issues, and it isn't one I'd be rushing back to see again-and-again-and-again, but I will no doubt see it again in due course.

[MinionZombie]

The Dallas Connection (Christian Drew Sidaris, 1994): http://deadshed.blogspot.com/2020/11...tian-drew.html After what was essentially a reboot to the 'L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies' franchise with 1993's Enemy Gold, Christian 'Son of Andy' Sidaris returned with this 'soft sequel' in which the hunky/gorgeous agents of 'The Agency' are tasked with protecting the launch of a cutting edge anti-arms satellite. If only they weren't so easily seduced...