The Runaways/ Last House on the Left (2009)/ Syngenor/ Midnight Meat Train

183. The Runaways
184. Last House on the Left (2009)
185. Syngenor
186. Midnight Meat Train


The Runaways is the feature directorial debut of Floria Sigismondi. Prior to this, she's been known more for her music videos.

This one tells the story of iconic 70s punk band, The Runaways. They were the first of their kind...a band made up of females playing fast and loud music was unheard of back in its day. Prior to them, girls were either singers or groupies. They weren't onstage shredding the electric guitar. Joan Jett was a teenage guitarist looking for a band. A chance meeting with record producer Kim Fowley started her down the path to recognition and fame.

This was a solid flick. The story is pretty interesting. Biopics typically fascinate me. Even more so when it's about someone that I'm actually semi-familiar with. The movie is a bit skewed towards Jett and singer Cherie Currie, focusing almost exclusively on them and their relationship. Other members such as Lita Ford and Sandy West are barely made mention of and are really relegated to minor roles. Jett is played by Kristen Stewart. Anyone who bashes her for being a poor actress needs to check their heads. She's great here, disappearing into Jett, even going so far as to do all of her own singing and guitar slinging. As Currie, Dakota Fanning is even better, turning in a solid performance. This role is definitely indicative that she has a ton of potential. Support comes from Michael Shannon, Scout Taylor-Compton and Alia Shawkat.

Overall, in terms of biopics, this is a pretty good one. As I said, it's definitely not all encompassing but it is really worth watching for the performances alone. I recommend it.


Last House on the Left is the 2009 remake of Wes Craven's 1972 film.

Mari and her family head out to their lake house for a much needed vacation. The year prior, Mari's brother Ben, passed away. Unfortunately for the family, also in the area are Krug, an escaped convict and his family. Mari encounters Krug's son at a convenience store where her friend Paige is working. They're convinced to go back to the hotel where Krug and company are staying to get some weed. Things don't work out quite according to plan.

In 1972, the original came across as quite shocking to people who weren't used to seeing such violence portrayed on the screen. The movie was extremely controversial for its time and eventually fell under the UK's Video Nasties act of the early 1980s, effectively banning it. While the original was extremely violent, there were also scenes of comic relief involving a pair of bumbling sheriffs. While the original was a movie I enjoyed, it's kind of cheesy. How does the remake compare?

I actually prefer the remake, to be honest. In terms of story, it's not just brutal violence. There's actually character development, particularly with Mari. The humor is gone. And because of that, the movie actually builds tension and remains tense throughout. There's no laughs to pull you out of the violence in this one. This movie's pretty brutal with some scenes that actually made me cringe. The stars here are Sara Paxton, Monica Potter and Tony Goldwyn. All are solid. Krug and his family are played by Garrett Dillahunt, Aaron Paul, Riki Lindhome and Spencer Treat Clark. Dillahunt and Clark are highlights as Krug and son.

Overall, Last House on the Left is one of those rare cases where a remake is better than the original. It's definitely worth a watch.


Syngenor is the 1990 sequel to Scared to Death.

When I was a kid, I saw the monster from these movies in Fangoria magazine and was intrigued by it. It had a really cool look, like a cross between the Creature from the Black Lagoon and one of the titular aliens from the movie Alien. I never managed to see either movie until this one.

A syngenor is a SYNthesized GENetic ORganism. It's been designed by Norton Cyberdyne to provide the army with an unstoppable super soldier. They're safely locked up in the basement at Cyberdyne until an employee releases one, essentially beginning a massive killing spree.

This movie is just plain bad. The story is pretty weak and chock full of plot holes and huge gaps in logic. The acting is bad as well with Starr Andreef and Mitchell Laurance as the leads. David Gale, more notable for Re-Animator is the only saving grace here as a CEO who is absolutely batshit crazy.

Syngenor offers a cool monster design and a fun performance from David Gale. Not nearly enough to make it worth watching. Skip it.


Midnight Meat Train is based on a short story by Clive Barker.

Leon is a photographer in New York City. His specialty is gritty shots of the city as it is. He's often out in the early hours of the morning, snapping photos of the riffraff that lurks the streets at those hours. One night, he stumbles upon a girl being accosted by a group of thugs and gets involved, saving her from them. She gets onto the subway and disappears into safety. Or so Leon thinks. The next day, Leon sees a newspaper article saying that she's been reported missing. He does some investigating and discovers that there is something sinister happening on the subway.

I enjoyed this movie, for the most part. The story was interesting. Coming from the mind of Clive Barker, that really doesn't come as a great surprise to me. My only complaint is that the pacing felt a bit off, taking a bit too long to get moving. It does make up for it near the end. The tension builds as Leon digs a bit too deep into what's really happening on the subway. The cast is solid with Bradley Cooper, Leslie Bibb and Vinnie Jones as the leads. Solid support comes from Brooke Shields and Roger Bart.

Overall, Midnight Meat Train is worth checking out.

Fired Up/ 41 Year Old Virgin.../Thirst (2008)

180. Fired Up
181. The 41 Year Old Virgin...
182. Thirst (2008)


Fired Up comes to us from director Will Gluck.

It tells the story of Nick and Shawn, two high school football players. They've been tearing through the female population of their school. They're headed off to Texas for football camp when they hear of a cheerleading camp that's taking place at the same time. Figuring that it'll be an easy way to access more girls, they decide to ditch the football camp and go to cheer camp instead.

Since first seeing it, this has quickly become one of my favorite comedies of the past few years. The story isn't particularly original but there are enough laughs to make you forget that you're not seeing anything new. The cast is great and they really help to make this one better than anyone could expect. Erich Christian Olsen and Nicholas D'Agosto are the leads. Support comes from Sarah Roemer, Danneel Harris, Margo Harshman, Molly Sims and John Michael Higgins.

The laughs are plentiful and the girls are easy on the eyes. Not much more you can ask for. I recommend this one.


The 41 Year Old Virgin Who Knocked Up Sarah Marshall and Felt Superbad About It is a serious look into the economic crisis we're currently in. Naaaaaah, it's a parody of the Judd Apatow flicks. Der.

41 year old virgin Andy is desperate to lose his virginity. With the help of his roommates and friends, will he succeed?

This movie has been verbally slaughtered pretty much everywhere. Reviewers are ripping it to shreds. That won't be the case here. Don't get me wrong, this really isn't a good movie. However, it had enough laughs to keep me entertained the entire way through. Rather than just haphazardly throw together random pieces of movies, this one actually tries to assemble those pieces into a story. In those terms, the filmmakers here did a much better job than the folks behind Epic Movie and the like. While the movie moves along pretty fast and can't quite capture everything from the originals, it does a good job with what it does touch on. The cast here is pretty good with MadTV's Bryan Callen is solid as Andy. Noureen deWolf and Mircea Monroe are both extremely easy on the eyes. And Steven Sims resembles Jonah Hill so much that it's ridiculous.

If you're a fan of spoofs or the Apatow movies, this one's worth a rental.


Thirst is the 2008 movie from director Jeffery Lando.

Tyson is a fashion photographer who is going to do a shoot out in the desert. Initially, the plan is to shoot in Death Valley but he decides that a lesser known location called Devil's Children would be better suited for his shoot. He and the model along with a married couple head out for the shoot. Unfortunately for them, they get to learn firsthand of the dangers of going to a remote location.

Many have referred to this as Open Water in the desert. It is a fairly accurate statement. However, where I liked Open Water, I didn't care all that much for this one. This one doesn't bring about that same sense of drama that Open Water did. My ability to suspend disbelief here was severely tested as I couldn't bring myself to believe that anyone would be as stupid as the characters here were. Who heads out to a remote section of the fucking desert without letting anyone know? Or without a cooler full of water?

The story here was nothing special. Another man versus the elements tale. The characters were all pretty unlikable and I actually found myself rooting against them. Lacey Chabert was the big name here. Of the cast, she was most tolerable. Also, whomever worked the microphone here did a terrible job as voice levels fluctuated big time. There were times where I could heard the actor and then there were many occasions where I couldn't hear them at all and had to rely on the captioning.

Overall, Thirst is not worth watching. It's pretty bad.

Poison Ivy Trilogy

177. Poison Ivy
178. Poison Ivy 2: Lily
179. Poison Ivy: The New Seduction


Poison Ivy is the 1992 movie starring Drew Barrymore and Sara Gilbert.

When this movie came out, it was something of a big deal as Drew Barrymore had been known only as a child actress to this point. She'd also had a major drug problem during those days so this was a chance to break the shackles and do something completely different. By portraying a character that was more adult, it might be just the boost she'd need to re-start her career.

Barrymore stars here as Ivy, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks. She dresses very provocatively, has her nose pierced and sports a fake tattoo on her thigh. Nowadays, that's normal...in 1992, it was provocative. She meets Sylvie Cooper, a smart girl who doesn't have many friends. They hit it off and Ivy winds up ingratiating herself into Sylvie's family by being charming at all the right times. Of course, things aren't always as innocent as they appear on the surface.

This is a pretty good flick. It doesn't live up to the hype that preceded it but it's certainly still enjoyable. The story is interesting and there's enough development to make the characters engaging. As the leads, Barrymore and Gilbert are both solid. Barrymore has always been a favorite of mine so it's some nice eye candy for me. In supporting roles, Tom Skerritt and Cheryl Ladd are good. Skerritt has the creepy older guy vibe down pat.

Overall, Poison Ivy is worth checking out. Especially if you're a fan of Drew Barrymore.


Poison Ivy 2: Lily is the 1996 sequel to Poison Ivy.

This one stars Alyssa Milano as Lily, a girl from Michigan who has moved out to California to attend college. She finds a box of personal items belonging to Ivy, including clothing, photos and a diary. As time goes on, she becomes consumed by the diary and photos, eventually becoming more and more like Ivy and less like herself.

Like the star of the previous movie, this is noted as Alyssa Milano's attempt to break out of her child actress image. She has several topless scenes and is seen wearing revealing clothing. And like Barrymore, she was one of my big childhood crushes, thus luring me into viewing this one.

I didn't care for this one as much as the original. While the story was interesting, I feel as though it just kind of fell apart in the last 15 minutes or so. What was actually an interesting drama seemed to take a turn into standard thriller territory. I guess they had to end the flick somehow though. At any rate, the acting here is good. Milano, Jonathan Schaech and Xander Berkeley are solid. Camilla Belle has a small role as a child that Milano's character babysits.

Overall, Poison Ivy 2: Lily is a decent sequel. It's not as good as the first one but it's still worth checking out.


Poison Ivy: The New Seduction is the 1997 third installment in the Poison Ivy series.

This one stars Jaime Pressly, in her film debut, as Violet. Violet is the sister of Ivy, thus connecting all of the movies. At least unlike the second movie, there seems to be a bit of sense being made here. Anyway, Violet and Ivy's mom was a live-in housekeeper for a well-to-do family. An incident takes place that leads to her being fired and kicked out of the house. 10 years later, Violet returns to the house to reconnect with Joy, the daughter. Much like her sister, she's got some devious plans under her belt.

Of the 3 movies, this is my least favorite. Not to say that it's bad or anything. Instead, it's just a rehash of many erotic thriller bits we've seen before. The cast is decent enough. Pressly is good. Not to mention insanely hot. Of the Ivy ladies, they've gotten progressively better looking as the series has gone on, something I thought impossible. Support comes from Megan Edwards, Michael Des Barres and Susan Tyrell.

Overall, The New Seduction is the weakest of the series. However, fans of Jaime Pressly might want to check it out for her presence.

WWE: Cause Stone Cold Said So/ High Plains Invaders/Vice Academy

174. WWE: Cause Stone Cold Said So
175. High Plains Invaders
176. Vice Academy


WWE: Cause Stone Cold Said So is another WWE compilation. This one features highlights from the Rattlesnake's storied WWE career. Rather than focusing on his feud with WWE owner Vince McMahon, this one showcases his feud with Bret Hart and the Hart Foundation more than anything. It's mostly a series of short clips introduced by Stone Cold with the most time spent on Hart and Austin's Wrestlemania 13 match. Like most WWE compilations of this particular time, it's good for a small does of nostalgia, but not much more. Unless you're a huge Stone Cold fan, it's really not worth picking up.


High Plains Invaders is the latest release in the RHI Maneaters series.

Set in 1892 in the small town of Avaranth, Colorado, Jules owns a mine and has been having his workers mine for pitchblende and harvest that for the uranium that is found within. Unfortunately for him, his miners are getting sick. Even worse off for him is that all of the uranium being mined has somehow attracted aliens who are junkies for the stuff. Going against the aliens are a notorious train robber who has been sentenced to death, his former lover, a female bounty hunter and Jules. Will they be able to survive or will they fall at the hands of the aliens?

This movie's alright for a cheesy B-grade flick. It takes the standard elements of a western and combines them with sci-fi elements for an interesting mash-up. The story is entertaining enough. The cast is pretty good with James Marsters as the lead. Support comes from Cindy Sampson, Sebastian Knapp and Sunny Van Heteren. All are decent, making the best of it in what is obviously a low budget flick.

Overall, High Plains Invaders is entertaining but certainly not spectacular. If you stumble upon it, you could do much worse. It's definitely not worth going out of your way for.


Vice Academy is a 1989 knockoff of Police Academy that focuses on young girls (and one guy) attending an academy so they join the police department's vice squad. The students focus on stopping drugs and prostitution rings.

Former adult film star Ginger Lynn Allen leads the cast as Holly, the daughter of the police chief. She's an overachiever, always eager to please. Her chief rivals are played by Linnea Quigley and Karen Russell. Chronic underachievers, they are lazy and don't care much about the academy itself.

There's really not much to say here that is positive in nature. The story is pretty bad and the acting doesn't do the movie any favors. It doesn't succeed as a comedy, nor does it succeed as a softcore skin flick. Of course, in spite of that, it found success in the home video market. Ultimately, 6 of these movies were made and released. Only 3 have seen the light of day on dvd though.

Overall, Vice Academy really isn't worth watching.

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 is the new installment in Disney/Pixar's Toy Story series.

This one comes to us 11 years after the last movie. Andy, the little boy from the first two movies, is no longer a little boy. Instead, he's 17 years old and on the verge of leaving for college. His toys are hidden away in his old toybox, unplayed with for years. When cleaning his room out, his mom asks him what he intends to do with all of the toys. After some debate, he packs them up in a garbage bag, intending to store them in the attic. Unfortunately, signals get crossed and the bag winds up out on the curb with the trash. After a daring escape, the toys wind up in another precarious predicament when they get donated to a daycare center. How will they fare amongst the toys there?

As regular readers of this blog will know, I am typically not a fan of family oriented movies. While there are some I enjoy, I find most of them to be overly preachy and in the case of the animated ones, too reliant on gimmicky voice casting. Nothing annoys me more than when I spend 90 minutes picturing an actor doing voiceovers instead of being able to focus on the stuff onscreen. In the case of this movie, I barely gave it any thought at all.

This movie was just excellent. Granted, I wasn't expecting a lot from it going in but I was very pleasantly surprised. The story was engaging enough to almost make me forget that I was watching an animated feature. The movie has a lot of heart, actually making me emotional fairly often. There were also a few scenes that elicited genuine laughter from me, particularly one involving Mister Potatohead. The actors do their thing without overshadowing what's happening on the screen. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are really good as Woody and Buzz. Other voice talent includes Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris and Michael Keaton.

Overall, Toy Story 3 is really a wonderful movie that is well worth seeing. Folks are predicting it to be the first big hit of the summer movie season and I can honestly say that it truly deserves to be.

Ringside with Demolition/ WWE: Judgment Day 2006/ TNA: Against All Odds 2008/ WWF: Best of Raw Volume 1

170. Ringside with Demolition
171. WWE: Judgment Day 2006
172. TNA: Against All Odds 2008
173. WWF: Best of Raw Volume 1

After watching Glee twice over the course of the past few weeks, I decided that it was time to reclaim my masculinity by watching men roll around in tights. Err, perhaps I made the wrong choice there. Anyway, I'd fallen behind on my wrestling watching so I figured I'd sneak in a few discs in between bouts of Glee.


Ringside with Demolition could be classified as a shoot interview. It's not the traditional interview however. It starts off with Ax and Smash getting ready to do up their face paint. The history of the team is discussed briefly while the guys get ready. After about 30 minutes, they go to "ringside" to discuss some matches. Basically, it's like watching a commentary track on a movie. Like a typical commentary track, it tends to get boring fairly quickly. Ax and Smash are both nice guys so no one gets buried. If this had been an ordinary shoot, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more.

Overall, Ringside with Demolition really isn't worth watching. Skip it.


WWE: Judgment Day 2006 is the 8th event in the Judgment Day series of pay-per-view events.

The event started off quickly with Paul London and Brian Kendrick taking on MNM. Solid opening match. Fast paced offense with quite a few spots designed to showcase the talents of all involved. The next bout sees the late Chris Benoit taking on Irish brawler Finlay. Another really good match. I detest Benoit as a person for what he did but as a wrestler, he was one of the best. This was just a brutal match with both participants taking quite a bit of abuse. Unfortunately for this show, these first two matches are the only highlights. The main event of Rey Mysterio fighting John Bradshaw Layfield would have been tolerable if it weren't for my hatred of Rey Mysterio. The rest of the card was nothing spectacular with mostly short matches that weren't particularly noteworthy.

Overall, only the first two matches are really worth watching. Watch those and then turn the dvd player off.

TNA: Against All Odds 2008 is the fourth TNA event of this name.

This show is almost the exact opposite of the WWE show I'd watched previously in that the main event is the highlight of the show. Kurt Angle took on Christian Cage with Samoa Joe as a special guest enforcer. Angle and Christian are two of the better wrestlers going so they almost always put on a good match. This was no different. Plenty of excitement and action. The other highlight is a brutal barbed-wire match. The exact opposite of the technical styles showcased in the main event. This one took place between Abyss and Judas Mesias. The ring ropes were taken off and replaced with razor sharp barbwire. Lots of blood was spilled in this one.

Much like the show above, there really aren't many highlights here. Track down those two matches on YouTube or something.


WWF: Best of Raw Volume 1 comes to us from the late 90s. It's a compilation of the highlights from 1997-1998, basically skipping over the years prior.

There's lots of Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock and Degeneration X on display here since they were the top guys from that time. The Undertaker and Kane feud is also a big one. Rather than being a comprehensive look back, most of the segments are extremely short. However, if you're a fan of this particular time frame, there's definitely some stuff of interest. Ultimately though, it only serves as an appetizer to whet your palate in hopes of a more complete set from these particular years.

Get Him to the Greek

Get Him to the Greek is a spin-off of 2008's Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Russell Brand is Aldous Snow, troubled frontman for the band Infant Sorrow. He hasn't had a hit in quite some time and has sunk back into drug abuse following the epic failure of his last single and the crumbling of his marriage. Jonah Hill is Aaron Green, an employee at Snow's record label. He pitches the idea of a 10th anniversary concert at LA's Greek Theater to try and revive Snow's career. Since it was his idea, he's given the task of getting Snow from London to Los Angeles with a few stops in between.

I thought this movie was freaking hysterical. I genuinely don't recall laughing so hard in a movie theater in quite some time. At one point, I was laughing so hard that I became "that guy" in the theater, similar to Max Cady in Cape Fear. When the scene ended, my eyes were filled with tears and my nose was running. Quite an impact.

The story was interesting. It had the potential of being a cliche but they took just enough interesting twists and turns to keep things fresh. The cast was great with Brand and Hill leading the way. Both were solid. The highlight was Sean Combs. I'd heard good things about his performance but was a bit skeptical. He stole the show right out from under the leads. More support comes from Elisabeth Moss and Rose Byrne. There are also a ton of great celebrity cameos from the likes of Lars Ulrich, Pharrell Williams, Kurt Loder and Rick Schroeder.

Get Him to he Greek is one of those rare movies that I really can't wait to see again. I liked it that much. I highly recommend it.

Rampage (2009)

169. Rampage (2009)

Rampage is a 2009 movie by director Uwe Boll.

Boll has developed a reputation as one of the worst directors ever. Kind of a modern-day Ed Wood, if you will. The reputation is rightfully earned in this man's opinion. His movies have been almost comically bad. House of the Dead, Alone in the Dark, Bloodrayne, etc have all been truly terrible movies. In recent years, however, Boll's newest works seem to be much less maligned than previous efforts. Starting with 2008's Tunnel Rats and Far Cry, his work has actually received some praise. It's mild praise but given earlier reviews, it might as well be 5 stars. Will Rampage continue the trend or will he revert back to his earlier works?

This one tells the story of Bill Williamson. Bill seems like a normal young adult, living at home with his parents while working part time as a mechanic. But under the surface, something far more sinister is lurking. Bill is fed up with the world in general. Overpopulation, the dependence on the almighty dollar and the draining of natural resources have him on the verge of something major.

I'm not going to lie here...this is a solid movie. Perhaps the fact that it's coming from Boll makes it more impressive to me than it should be. However, I really liked it. There's not much in the way of story really. An underachiever goes on a massive killing spree. The violence is brutal and over the top. Brendan Fletcher is really good as Bill. He's got the perfect look for the role, as he's capable of conveying so much anger and vengeance with his eyes. His work here is going to lead me to seek out more of his performances. In terms of support, Shaun Sipos, Michael Pare, Matt Frewer and Lynda Boyd are all solid in smaller roles. Make no mistakes though, this is Fletcher's movie.

I can't believe I'm saying this regarding an Uwe Boll movie, but I actually recommend this one. It's definitely worth checking out.

Shrek Forever After

Shrek Forever After is the fourth and (supposed) last installment in the Shrek series.

This one sees Shrek settling down into the family life. He's married to Fiona and has 3 babies. He begins having doubts about the ogre he has become. Luckily for him, he stumbles upon Rumpelstiltskin. Rumpel offers Shrek the opportunity to relive his past and experience one more day as the monstrous ogre he'd once been. Shrek jumps at the chance. Unfortunately for him, Rumpel is a bit of a trickster and while he gives Shrek what he wishes for, it's not exactly how Shrek wanted it to go. be careful what you wish for...you just might get it.

I haven't been all that enamored with the previous movies in this series. I'd seen the first two and didn't think they were anything all that special. I'd somehow managed to avoid the third one. I figured I'd avoid this one as well but the kid really wanted to see it and I have a tough time telling him no. Story of my life.

The story here was alright. Shrek seeing an alternate reality broke the monotony that I'd encountered in the first sequel. There were a few parts aimed at the older audience members that made me chuckle a bit. The voice actors were all good with all of the regulars reprising their roles.

Overall, Shrek Forever After was a decent enough flick. It's not worth rushing out to see but it'd make an alright matinee with the kids in your life.

Glee Season 1 Volume 1/ Hard Ride to Hell/ When in Rome

165. Glee Season 1
166. Hard Ride to Hell
167. When in Rome
168. Cold Storage


Glee Season 1 that follows the New Directions glee club at William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio.

Spanish teacher Will Schuester takes over the glee club after a scandal involving the former director of the club. In his high school days, he was a member of the club so he vows to bring the club back to its former levels of success. Glee club is not the popular extracurricular activity that it used to be however, so he finds it tough to get members. Ultimately, he winds up with a ragtag group of athletes, cheerleaders and outcasts.

I'd heard friends talking about this show since it began but I'd been reluctant to watch it. While I'm a big music fan, the entire premise of the show didn't appeal to me all that much. It also didn't seem like the type of material that they could actually make work. On a whim, I purchased the dvd release of the first half of the season back when it was released at the end of December. In the time since, word of mouth around the show has reached almost deafening proportions. 5 cds of music from the show have been released. There have been magazine cover stories and there has just been a serious buzz around the whole thing.

One night, a few weeks ago, I decided that I would pop in the first disc and finally check this show out. It took a little while for it to get going but once it did, it hooked me. I blew through these 13 episodes and ended up obtaining the 9 episodes from the second half of the season through alternative means. Those 5 cds that have been released? I own them now. Where I didn't think there was enough material to make a show work, I was proven completely wrong.

Story-wise, the show goes much deeper than I'd ever imagined it could. We've had teen pregnancies, homophobia and marital troubles. The cast is excellent. Everybody works really well in their roles. The cast has good chemistry together. They are all also very talented singing and dancing. My personal favorites are Matthew Morrison, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith and Jenna Ushkowitz. You really can't go wrong with any of the cast though.

Overall, Glee is an excellent watch. Throw away any preconceived notions surrounding the show away and just check it out. It's well worth the time invested. As I write this, I'm actually going through the season a second time so that my wife can watch.


Hard Ride to Hell tells the story of 5 twenty-somethings on a mission for Habitat for Humanity. They stop off to camp for the night and stumble upon a group of bikers making a human sacrifice. The bikers catch them watching and set off in pursuit of them.

I wanted to like this one. I really did. The story sounded like it had potential but ultimately, it just didn't live up to it. For a movie that's 94 minutes long, it actually felt a lot longer. It moved along at a snail's pace. When the action scenes finally started to arrive, it picked up some but then would die right back out. Ultimately, there was too much talk and not nearly enough action. It literally took me 3 different attempts to make it through this movie. I dozed off the first time and missed about 75% of it. The second time, I kept dozing off and backtracking to the last scene I'd remember. That must have happened 5 or 6 times before I ultimately just gave up for the night. The third time was the charm, in spite of the fact that the movie clearly wasn't going to be worth the effort at that point.

In terms of casting, we've got cult favorite Miguel Ferrer as the leader of the bikers. He's desperately looking to impregnate a woman who will bring his heir. This isn't the best performance of his career, but he's decent. Katherine Isabelle, of Ginger Snaps fame, is the other "big" name here. Aside from those two, you probably won't recognize any of the cast by name. Their faces might be slightly familiar to you but that will be about all.

Overall, Hard Ride to Hell, isn't worth watching. Skip it.


When in Rome stars Kristen Bell as a woman who flies to Rome to attend the wedding of her younger sister. She meets cute with Josh Duhamel at the wedding. Upon deciding to take a chance on him, she sees him making out with someone near the Fountain of Love. A little drunk at this point, she climbs into the fountain and removes a few coins from it. Little does she know that according to legend, if you take coins from the fountain, you are casting a love spell on the owner of the coins.

This movie surprised me a little bit. I wasn't overly familiar with the premise behind it so I wasn't expecting much more than your typical romantic comedy. I was surprised to find that it was actually pretty damn funny. The story was interesting. The cast was solid. Bell and Duhamel, as the leads, were both good. Support came from Alexis Dziena, Anjelica Huston, Will Arnett, Danny Devito, Jon Heder and Dax Shepard. Everybody is good here and there's an amusing cameo related to Heder that took me by surprise.

Overall, When in Rome is worth checking out. I recommend it.


Cold Storage is a 2006 horror/thriller. It wasn't finally released until May 4th of this year, having had a tough time finding distribution.

Clive is a lonely guy who lives in a small cabin in the woods. One night while driving home, he happens upon a car accident. When going to check on the victim, he discovers that it's the girl of his dreams who has crashed. So, he pulls her from the wreckage and brings her home with him. It doesn't make much of a difference to him that she's already dead.

I'm not going to lie to anyone. This is a strange flick. It involves themes that a lot of horror flicks wouldn't touch on. I don't typically get squeamish during movies but there are a few scenes here that definitely got my stomach churning. Strangeness aside, this was actually quite a pleasant surprise. The title, box art and synopsis are all a bit misleading however so it's not what I thought it would be. It was actually much better.

The story was interesting, as it shows something that could actually happen out in the backwoods or a small rural town. The cast was pretty solid with Nick Searcy just excelling as Clive. He's got the look down and he actually manages to earn sympathy in spite of his monstrosity. Matt Keeslar, Joelle Carter and Jeffrey Pillars are all solid in support.

Don't be misled by the box art or title, this is a better than average DTV flick. I recommend checking it out.

The Back-Up Plan/ Youth in Revolt/ Clerks II

162. The Back-Up Plan
163. Youth in Revolt
164. Clerks II


The Back-Up Plan stars Jennifer Lopez as a single woman who wants a baby. She can't wait to find the perfect man, so she settles on artificial insemination. Of course, after being inseminated, she meets cute with a guy that could be the one.

This is a pretty decent movie. As with most romantic comedies, it does tend to veer a bit onto the predictable side. I will say one thing for it though...it proved me wrong on one angle I'd predicted. I guess what I'd come up with was a bit too far-fetched, even for this one.

The cast here is pretty solid. I'm not really a big fan of Jennifer Lopez, but she's good here. She's likable without really becoming grating. In most of the other movies I've seen her in, she tends to get annoying fairly quickly. Alex O'Loughlin is solid as Stan, Lopez' love interest. Support comes from Eric Christian Olsen, Anthony Anderson, and Danneel Harris. I'd guess my only complaint with the casting comes from not really utilizing Olsen and Anderson. They're both pretty funny but the roles are too small.

Overall, The Back-Up Plan is an enjoyable flick. I wouldn't rush out to the theater to see it but it's at least worth a rental.


Youth in Revolt is based on a novel of the same name by author C.D. Payne.

The movie stars Michael Cera as Nick Twisp, a 16 year old who is wise beyond his years. Due to his intellect, he doesn't fit in well at school and has few friends. While on a camping trip, he meets Sheeni Saunders, a beautiful girl who is on par with Nick intellectually. He falls for her immediately. However, Sheeni doesn't reciprocate since Nick is a nice guy. She longs for a French bad boy. To help win her over, Nick creates the alter ego Francois Dillinger for himself. Francois pushes Nick to the edge and over it in an attempt to win Sheeni over.

I really enjoyed this one. The story is interesting and pretty damn funny. The cast is great. Cera is good in both roles. Portia Doubleday is solid as Sheeni. And she's gorgeous, to boot. Support comes from Jean Smart, Zach Galifianakis, Steve Buscemi, Ray Liotta, Fred Willard and Justin Long. Everybody's good in their roles.

Overall, Youth in Revolt was a good time. I recommend checking it out when it hits video on June 15th.


Clerks II is write-director Kevin Smith's sequel to his 1994 classic, Clerks.

Set ten-plus years after the original, Dante and Randall are still working at the Quik Stop. All that changes when a fire breaks out and destroys the store. They wind up working at Mooby's, a fast food joint. Dante is engaged and set to leave the exciting world of retail work behind him forever and move to Florida, to start a new life. This flick takes place on his last day in Jersey.

At the time of this movie's release, it quickly became my favorite of Smith's releases. Even now, some 4 years after it came out, it's still my favorite. This was Smith's second movie to contain themes that people could relate to, not just dick and fart jokes. Sure, those are still here in abundance. However, this movie explores the urge to get out and carve a new path for yourself and the trepidation that comes with it. Dante really wants to get out of Jersey but he's frightened to actually go through with it. That type of nervousness would hit anyone after years of maintaining a routine. The point here was really driven home for me when I was finally transferred to my current store. After 8 years there, the thought of going somewhere else scared the shit out of me. Even though I knew things might be better, I was still hesitant. The end of the movie has Dante doing the right thing, on his own terms for the first time in his life.

Brian O'Halloran and Jeff Anderson reprise their roles as Dante and Randall. Both are good. O'Halloran has a tendency to make Dante a bit too whiny at times, but Anderson's constant skewering of him balances it out nicely. Jason Mewes and Kevin Smith also return as Jay and Silent Bob, the now-clean stoners from Smith's other Askewniverse movies. Rosario Dawson and Trevor Fehrman are both great here. This one's got cameos from Jason Lee, Ben Affleck, and comedienne Wanda Sykes.

Overall, Clerks II is highly recommended.

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

161. Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy is a 4 hour documentary regarding the entire Nightmare on Elm Street film series.

This one comes to us from the same team that produced His Name Was Jason, a similar documentary about the Friday the 13th series. While I enjoyed that one, this one is just off the charts in comparison.

The documentary covers all 7 Nightmare movies, Freddy vs Jason and the syndicated Freddy's Nightmares television series. It is extremely in-depth, spending extended amounts of time on each feature. Anecdotes and behind the scenes information comes from 106 people somehow involved in the series. It is engrossing and at times, very humorous. It manages to have a long run-time without becoming repetitive or tedious.

Overall, this is probably the best documentary of its type that we'll ever see. I can't possibly recommend this one enough.

Peacock

160. Peacock

Peacock tells the story of John and Emma Skillpa, two personalities living in the same person. John is a timid bank clerk, very shy and introverted. Emma is his alter ego, completely unbeknown to anyone else. One morning, something happens that brings the existence of Emma to the attention of everyone in town.

Before settling in to watch this movie, I was expecting a thriller. The box art makes the movie look very dark and ominous. There are some aspects that lean towards a thriller but ultimately, this movie is a drama. And a great one at that.

The story starts off fairly slow but gets infinitely more interesting as it goes along. The cast is solid with Cillian Murphy leading the way as John and Emma. Murphy is excellent here. At times, you almost forget that it's the same person playing both roles. This performance is just a testimony to his talent. He is criminally underrated. In terms of supporting cast, you've got an all-star lineup. Ellen Page, Bill Pullman, Susan Sarandon, Keith Carradine and Josh Lucas round out the cast.

Overall, this movie was quite a surprise to me. I recommend it.

The Wolfman (2010)/ Cursed (2005)

158. The Wolfman (2010)
159. Cursed (2005)

The Wolfman (2010) is the latest take on the tale of the werewolf. This one, however, is classified as a remake to the 1941 movie starring Lon Chaney Jr.

Lawrence Talbot is a widely renowned Shakespearean actor. He is performing in London when he receives word that his brother Ben is missing. Upon returning to the family estate, he learns that his brother's body has been found the day before his arrival. Locals suspect that a group of gypsies might be responsible for Ben's death. So, Lawrence decides that he is going to pay the gypsies a visit. While he's there, all hell breaks loose and he winds up being attacked and bitten by the same creature that killed his brother. As we all know, being bitten by a werewolf turns you into one. Now, Lawrence is transformed into the titular wolfman.

I really wanted to like this movie. Admittedly, when it was out in theaters, I wasn't all that excited about it. However, as the video release came closer, I began to greatly anticipate it. Maybe I let the hype get to me too much. Ultimately, I just didn't care for this one all that much. Perhaps it was because I saw the unrated "director's cut", but the movie just seemed to drag on forever. There were some good aspects though, don't get me wrong. I like how they changed the story just enough from the original movie to make it stand on its own. The cast is decent with Benicio Del Toro having been born to play a werewolf. Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt are pretty good as well.

Overall, this one just really didn't click with me. Skip it.


In keeping with the werewolf motif, my next film was Wes Craven's Cursed.

This one tells the story of brother and sister Jimmy and Ellie. While driving home one night, an animal hits their car causing them to careen into another vehicle. The impact causes the other vehicle to leave the road. While attempting to rescue the driver, Jimmy and Ellie are both slashed by the claws of a wolf-like creature. As the days pass, they both show signs of becoming something less than human.

Cursed is the re-pairing of Scream series director Craven and that series' writer, Kevin Williamson. This was their attempt to capture lightning in a bottle a second time. This time out, they failed pretty badly. First off, the movie suffered through script and production issues and was shut down for over a year. Due to this, many actors who'd been cast had to pull out. Because of these scheduling conflicts, scenes that had already been filmed were scrapped.

The story here is nothing special. Typical werewolf stuff, really. Williamson tries a bit too hard to re-capture the hipness of Scream but doesn't quite pull it off, seeming forced. The cast that actually survived the production are pretty good, all things considered. Christina Ricci, Jesse Eisenberg and Joshua Jackson are solid. Support comes from Shannon Elizabeth, Mya, Milo Ventimiglia and Judy Greer.

Overall, this is a pretty bad movie. Almost comically bad at times. Skip it.

Garden State

157. Garden State

Garden State is the directorial debut for Zach Braff, best known for his work on Scrubs.

Braff pulls triple duty here. He wrote, directed and starred. He plays Andrew Largeman, a failed actor who is currently waiting tables in between acting gigs. He's aimlessly meandering through life when he gets a phone call from his estranged father, telling him that his mother has passed away. He returns to New Jersey for the funeral and to catch up with the friends he'd left behind.

I like this movie a lot. Ordinarily, I'm not a big fan of drama but this one just works really well. When I saw it for the first time, I related to a lot of the issues Largeman was going through. Just a general malaise about the direction life was going in and an uncertainty regarding the future. Upon re-watching it now, I related to an entirely different set of his problems. Having just lost my mom earlier this year, I related to the feelings he was going through. He's homesick for a place that is no longer home. Over the course of the years, I'd occasionally been homesick for my mom's apartment. Upon returning there to help clean it up a few months ago, I realized that it wasn't so much a feeling of genuine homesickness. It was just nostalgia for a simpler time. The apartment no longer felt like home to me. It essentially became just another place. I drive by it now and barely have any feelings. But I digress...

The performances here make the movie. Braff is a highlight, for sure. Peter Sarsgaard and Natalie Portman also shine. Support comes from Ian Holm, Jean Smart, and Armando Riesco. Method Man and Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory have roles that essentially work out to cameos.

Overall, Garden State is an excellent movie. I highly recommend it.