I had some apprehension coming into this movie, I'm not going to lie. See, I saw the old robocop before, and it isn't exactly the kind of movie that easily is turned into a non-R rated film while retaining it's unique feel, and that had me a bit worried. At the same time, I've had two separate friends tell me that it was "not too bad," which in my books means at least worth one watch. Would the corporate machine churn out another sub-stellar cash cow reboot, or would the soul find a way to give us a reincarnation of a classic in modern times?
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An old movie redone as a SyFy original movie? How could this possibly go wrong, am I right? Hahaha, jokes aside, this is kind of accidental (I had meant to rent the original, and silly me got this one instead), but I haven't shied away from SyFy original movies before and I tend to get some form of amusement from them. The real question is will this boat movie sink like the Titanic, or will it be as electrifying as a Tesla coil?
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Arach·no·pho·bia: the pathological fear or loathing of spiders. Some people would have you believe that it's a fear without basis - and maybe they are right. I mean, it's not every single spider in existence that can cause death or even harm to a human, so the fear of a little tiny creature that springs on you from nowhere and builds nests to trap it's victims and suck them dry is totally irrational, right? If you haven't figured it out, I'm a tad bit arachnophobic - but I've been working at changing that slowly over the years through sheer willpower. Most people have an awesome story about why they have a fear of spiders, and yet mine is both weak and highly entertaining: I was taken to see this movie when I had no business in theaters. In that sense, it demonstrates the power of movies and the lasting ways they can affect us, and in turn I can't think of any other movie that would make more sense to do for my one hundredth review. Stick around and see if this movie is a web of lies, or if it puts the fear or spiders into you.
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The Thing, again! Surprisingly, although you would assume it from the name being the same as Carpenter's earlier version, this one is actually a prequel instead of a remake! Now we get to experience what happened to all those Norwegians at the hand of our creepy extraterrestrial friend. Granted, I'm gonna spin this a bit - we are gonna start this thing off with an approach where it's all it's own movie (as though you haven't seen the other Thing), and then get into how it ties into it afterwards. So what'll it be? The perfect copy, or just a cheap imitation.
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I'm a fan of Kurt Russell movies, and I'm relatively sure that part of the reason is because I enjoy him as an actor. Bigger then that, I believe a lot of the movies he's in are just highly entertaining in some way or another for me more so than just him being in it. The Thing is one of those films that's in my general go-to films for when I'm bored and inevitably comes up at least once a year. Obviously, I like it - but will it click for you? Will it have you looking at the people around you in a new light, or will it be a gooey dead mess?
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Celebrating 50 years of Godzilla, and also marking the last made (until 2014's Godzilla hit theaters) Godzilla film, Final Wars finally pops up. Although unrelated to the previous reviewed Heisei era flicks, it certainly honors some of the earlier traditions of the big G - such as monster a monster battles. With access to higher levels of technology and equipment, can the entire movie be elevated for one epic final battle - or are we destined to suffer another stinker about a giant iguana?
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30 years later, the great lizard king returns in the "first" movie of the second Godzilla story arc - called the "Heisei Series." In modern times, we would probably call this a reboot - although its actually more of rebooting a sequel to start again as opposed to erasing the original and starting from scratch. Now, the reason I wanted to do this specific arc or story is because it seems to deal more with how/what Godzilla is, which seems like it very well might tie into the newer one a bit more solidly than some of the others do. Of course, the real question then becomes is it a good thing that it might be getting it's influence from here?
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The one that started it all, the very king of monsters himself: Godzilla (or as he was known before we Americans starting changing things - Gojira). At the time of writing this, we are about a month and a half away before the US Box office tries to recover from the horrendous attempt at making a Godzilla movie (it was actually worse than the classic guys-in-suits movies that came before it) with it's brand new Godzilla movie, I've decided that we need to span the timelines and get a feel for our nuclear lizard king. You'd be surprised to know it, but there are people out there who have never heard of Godzilla! Well, fear not denizens of Earth! I'll be your tour guide on this journey, and I won't let the giant creature eat you (unless you really deserve it).
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From the title alone, we can assume it's going to be two guys with guns versus the world. Action, action, action! For best results, go in expecting an action flick and you should be content. Normally, I'd be more than happy to come up with a witty title-based remark that leaves you hanging, but with a title like 2 Guns, the best I can come up with is something like like "is it shooting blanks, or is fully loaded for an assault on your favorites list." Sorry.
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Been a while since we had a horror movie hasn't it? What a better day than Valentines day to bring it back then! Before you run off to grab your significant other for some planned terrified huddle-action, you'd of course need to find the right movie huh? Well then, let's find out if this based on a true story option can conjure up images of money well spent or if it doesn't have a ghost of a chance.
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Ah yes, drinking and the Irish, one of the easiest stereotypes to come up with. Sure, some will be attracted to the lovely Ireland, or that wonderful accent, or even the alternate monster-movie themed box art. For me, it was all three, although the simple prospect that somehow beer would be the savior of the people within it was far more amusing than any of the other concepts in there. Well then, it's last call - time to find out if it's all tapped out or the best concoction you've ever tried.
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A beautiful way to start the new year. It's an action movie through and through, and a sequel that contains a complete self-contained story that makes it irrelevant whether you've seen the first. It's also got ninjas in it, and ninjas never get old! If you're a fan of action packed fight scenes, ripped guys not wearing their shirts, and / or ninjas then you might want to skip the review and just go ahead and watch it first.
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When I first saw the trailers, I thought to myself "this ought to be a fun movie, but I don't think I want to pay 10 dollars to see it in theaters." Now, being out on DvD, it finally made it's way to my home for me to check out and possibly enjoy. It's one of those movies where at first glance, you can't really find anything you don't particularly like about it yet you still feel like somehow this movie might be a let down. I'll tell you right now, I might not have wanted to spend 10 bucks at the theater to see it, but between exoskeleton fun and some classic sci-fi staples present me might have a word to say with past me.
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What happens when you take a psychic and combine them with dreams? This movie! Classy story base with a mix of special effects and some decent acting, but does it entertain? You won't need to go to sleep to find out that answer.
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Even people who don't watch slasher movies know of Halloween, with it's iconic Michael Myers in that white mask. What a better day for a horror movie then on Halloween anyways? As one of the first box-office hits in the genre, it's no wonder that it's a classic - it also has one John Carpenter directing it, so we can be relatively assured that it would at least be amusing. So beyond all the nostalgia, let's figure out just what we have here to draw us all back in.
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I watch a lot of what some would call "the classics," not because I think they are superior to modern movies or anything like that - I just get a kick out of some of the old movies. There are some problems present with watching older movies though - namely, sometimes they show their age in unpleasant ways. Blob is a bit of a big thing for the little town it was filmed in, evoking a yearly Blob-fest that even involves a prized running from the very theater in the film to celebrate. Of course, I'm getting ahead of myself - simple fan status doesn't really always merit the movie being good necessarily, but please do continue.
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Ever hear the old adage that the pen is mightier than the sword? One way of perceiving that phrase is to say that the word is strong than action, and indeed this proves to be the case in this movie. It's hard to precisely label this in the genre of horror, as some would pass it off as a zombie film - although there are indeed similarities that would undersell the true nature of the film. Tighten your coat and secure the fireplace, this wintry tale of terror comes just in time to mimic the changing seasons.
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I have a soft spot for anthology style movies such as this. There are many like it, and indeed some stories are have some rather foreseeable outcomes as is typical of these style of movies, but I've always loved that Tales From The Crypt vibe that comes from horror anthologies. In classic format, Terror Tract delivers three stories all contained within it's one over-story, but keeps things from pandering on at a modest 96 minute run time.
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I remember seeing this as a kid, and that I thought it was pretty scary at the time. Now rather grown up, I return to my childhood to see just what I was thinking - and let me tell you what, it's a lot more humorous than I recall. Heck, I can even feel for the ever-hungry little balls of fur, being a guy who's constantly on the look for some lunch myself - of course, I don't eat the entire cow in one sitting.
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Many a movie about possessions has been born since the days of The Exorcist, but not all of them ended up being...well... good. This one thankfully doesn't follow the path of the ones worse for wear, but it does leave a few questions to be asked. Little kids and creepy voices, moths and violent behavior, all mushed into a rated pg 13 film. How effective is it really? Read on.
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