Robert Wm. Gomez's

My Movie Journal

As I get older I find myself forgetting if I'd seen a movie or read a book. Since 2005 I have been keeping track of everything I watch, read and sometimes listen too or play.

2006
Movie Rating Review
Cemetery Man 6 Tries to be funny but isn't. Tries to be deep, but isn't. And not scary at all.
Mark of the Devil 7 Interesting and well-acted witch hunt movie. Lots of torture.
Hostel 8 Good, suspenseful and gross.
Frenzy 9 Hitchcock does giallo! Nice character development and twisted humor.
Opera 9 A lame ending and some bad music choices hinder this otherwise great Argento movie.
Manhattan Baby 5 Lots of really nice close-up facial photography, but a dull plot. Only high point is the stuffed bird attack at the very end.
Alucarda 7 Stylish Mexican horror movie. Surreal imagery overshadows the weak plot. Sorta falls apart towards the end of the second act.
Howl's Moving Castle 6 The plot is a mess, even by Miazaki's standards. The art is nice though.
The Cat o' Nine Tails 7 A decent thriller, but it needed more Karl Maulden and less handsome guy.
Four Flies on Gray Velvet 7 I probably would have like this better if the sound was in tact. The story and mystery is obvious, but some of the stalker... more
Lizard in a Woman's Skin 8 Good mystery. Lucio Fulci is a bit of a clumsy director, but manages to provide a few surprises even though it lacks the... more
Rear Window 9 Hitchcock at his finest.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 7 Not as good as #3, but the ending is worth all the cheesy dragon fighting.
Blood and Black Lace 8 My first Mario Bava movie. The blue print of the modern slasher film. There's lots of stylized lighting but didn't quite hold... more
Bio Zombie 5 Low, low budget Japanese zombie movie. Terrible make-up. No scares. There are a few funny gags though: finger sushi and a... more
Drunken Master 6 Nowhere near as good as the sequel.
Deep Red 9 Great music and a twist that will have you immediately rewatching the first few scenes when it's over. I hesitatingly think the... more
The Aristocrats 8 Interesting documentary co-produced Penn Jillete that dissects a single raunchy joke. Lots of funny moments and lots of... more
Robot Monster 4 One of the worst movies ever made.
Dementia 13 8 Francis Ford Coppola's first feature. A low budget triller with good twists and nice pacing. The ending is a little weak and... more
Assignment Outer Space 3 Low budget sci-fi from the 50s. Only noteworthy for its hard-scifi aspirations.
Living Doll 7 British production from the producer of Pieces. Pretty good but suffers from mediocre acting in what is essentially a character... more
Spongebob Squarepants Movie 7 As good as any episode but not S.B. at his best.
Curious George 4 Very boring. Music gets annoying after a while.
Wallace and Grommit and the Curse of the Were Rabbit 9 Much better than Chicken Run. Funny for adults and kids.
Triplets of Bellville 8 Crazy stylized animation about cycling.
March of the Penguins 7 Somewhat cheesy in its anthropomorphic overkill, but very good nonetheless.
March of the Penguins 7 Somewhat cheesy in its anthropomorphic overkill, but very good nonetheless.
Sister Streetfighter 5 This sequel has nothing to do with the other 2 Streetfighter movies except for a few shared actors (who aren't even reprising... more
Zombie Genocide 5 Sixty minute homemade zombie film. Admirable for a bunch of Scottish undergrads, but sloppy as all get out.
My Neighbor Totoro 8 Miyazaki film with beautiful characterization and animation. The plot is a bit thin and just seems to end at the wrong place.
Gattaca 7 Slow moving sci-fi ala Brave New World. The DNA distopia idea isn't very interesting, but a decent formula mystery.
The Return of the Streetfighter 6 Mediocre sequel. Too many flashbacks and not enough story. A few good fights make up for the bad spots.
2005
Movie Rating Review
Burial Ground: The Nights of Terror 6 This one is so bad it's good. Another Italian zombie movie. This one has bad overly lit make-up, no plot, ridiculous situations... more
The Streetfighter 8 A violent and gritty kung-fu movie starring Sonny Chiba. Terrisan is basically playing a kung-fu version of Tuco from the Good... more
Don't Torture a Duckling 6 Early thriller by Lucio Fulci. Moves along pretty well , but the story is predictable with some laughably misplaced moments of... more
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou 8 Much better than the Royal Tanenbaums. Slow paced and unfunny at times, but worth viewing for the art direction alone.
The Diabolical Doctor Z 6 Low Budget 60s exploitation by Jess Franco. Entertaining, but not quite as stylish as I expected. The soundtrack is excellent... more
Spellbound 7 Documentary about National Spelling Bee. Not a terribly deep movie, but entertaining nonetheless.
The Bird with the Crystal Plumage 10 Dario Argento murder thriller. Fairly ridiculous plot, but makes up for it in style, pacing and music.
Mill of the Stone Women 7 French Gothic horror from the 60s. Some creepy imagery and fairly good pacing for an old movie.
Blind Fury 7 Surprisingly good drug cartel style 80's actioner about a blind martial artist hero played very well by Rutger Hauer.
Ring 2 5 Some scary moments, but mostly just retread and patchy story telling.
Serenity 10 The best sci-fi movie since The Matrix. Fast, funny and intense. My opinion is probably tainted by my liking of the series,... more
Five Man Army 3 Dario Argento wrote this boring Italian Western. Featuring a non-exciting action sequence of a man running for five minutes and... more
The City of the Living Dead (a.k.a. The Gates of Hell) 5 More Fulci horror. Not much in terms of memorable scenes here, just the tacked-on drilled head scene. The zombies aren't... more
The Beyond 8 Metaphysical Fulci Zombie movie. Lots of close-up gore and some good atmospheric scares.
Kung Fu Hustle 8 Very funny and action packed kung-fu movie. Special effects aren't that great but it makes up for it in sheer energy.
Zombi 2 8 Refreshingly scary zombie movie. Nice soundtrack. My DVD was broken at one point.
Satanico Pandemonium 7 Nice nun-sploitation film with lots of nudity and satanic creepiness.