Movie Log

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. I have also organized this list by title and rating.

2019

Suspiria [2018]

7/10
I’m not sure why filmmakers insist on remaking films that were already great. The original Suspiria is one of my favorite... more

Execution Squad

6/10
A roving band of vigilantes are killing criminals left and right while the police try to track down a... more

Blood Orgy of the Leather Girls

6/10
If you’ve seen my Planet Pimp Records site, then you know all about this movie. Planet Pimp regular Michael Lucas directed... more

Flower Drum Song

6/10
A musical with no memorable musical numbers. There are a couple of nice dreamy dance moments. I think the... more

2018

The Man Who Would Be King

8/10
I’ve never used this word ever in my life, but the best description of this Sean Connery/Michael Caine adventure... more

Esther and the King

5/10
Epic Biblical story which was partially directed by Mario Bava. Joan Collins is a bride to be who is... more

A Simple Plan

7/10
Sam Raimi directed this serviceable bit of 90s noir in which a trio of Minnesota lads discover a gym... more

Basket Case

8/10
Another cult movie which I’ve known about forever, but never bothered to watch. I didn’t expect this to be... more

The Invincible Fist

8/10
Lo Lieh plays the sword wielding bounty hunter in this Shaw Bros. film from 1969. The story is simple... more

Shoot First, Die Later

6/10
Italian police thriller in which the lead cop is as corrupt as they come and yet we are supposed... more

Shin Godzilla

4/10
Jeez, this one felt like sitting through a two hour school board meeting. 95% of the movie is just... more

The Sentimental Swordsman

7/10
The plot of this one is a bit all over the place. A swordsman with a cough returns home... more

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

9/10
This was a movie that we were told about in art history classes when talking about German expressionist painting.... more

Nosforatu

7/10
What can be said about this movie that hasn’t already been said in the “Under Pressure” video by Queen.... more

Deep Star Six

7/10
The only reason I watched Deep Star Six was because I remembered the excellent box art on the tape and was... more

Human Lanterns

8/10
Not quite a horror film, but this is probably as dark and weird as a kung-fu picture will get.... more

What Have You Done to Solange?

7/10
Don’t get me wrong. I love me some 70s Italian sleaze. But this movie could have really dialed it... more

Chinatown

8/10
I have finally seen this movie and I liked it. Does the Internet need another review of it? Many... more

The Oily Maniac

8/10
Many of the same faces from the Black Magic movies are here for another Shaw horror “classic”. Once again it’s filmed... more

Killer Constable

9/10
This was a surprisingly good martial arts film that’s heavy on dark tone and light on the karate. Films... more

The Cook, Cook The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover

8/10
This movie is exactly what late 80s art movies are supposed to be. It’s the very definition of style... more

It Comes at Night

6/10
So, we know there’s been an worldwide pandemic and it involves a nasty rash and some inky vomit. Now... more

Man of Iron

6/10
Set in early 20th Century, so much of this movie’s tension could be solved with a gun. Instead it’s a... more

Shaolin Temple

6/10
The Shaolin formula is a non-monk enters the temple seeking to learn the tools of revenge. He undergoes ridiculous... more

Chopping Mall

5/10
Somewhat self-aware low-budget slasher film about killer robots in a shopping mall. With the exception of one noteworthy moment,... more

The Woman in Black

7/10
Wait, there’s a new(ish) haunted house in the olden days movie from Hammer films? And it stars Harry Potter?... more

Brawl in Cell Block 99

7/10
This was a lot like John Wick in that it depicts a fantastical version of crime movie. But Brawl is a bit more... more

The Last Movie Star

8/10
I was planning on watching this eventually but then Burt Reynolds had to go off die. I bumped it... more

Fearless Fuzz

6/10
This has all the markings of a standard Itallian poliziotteschi, but the first third of the movie plays as... more

Annihilation

7/10
My expectations were high for Annihilation. I thought the director’s previous movie Ex Machinia was one best science fiction films I has... more

Murder on the Orient Express

7/10
This is the 1974 version, not the Kenneth Branagh handlebar mustache version. Unfortunately, I watched this knowing the ending... more

Deadlier Than the Male [1956]

8/10
No this isn’t about bikini-clad assassins, this female predator is a bit more subdued. This is a French black and... more

Pursued

5/10
This is a relatively action-free western that features Robert Mitchum as a turn of the century cowboy with a... more

Watchmen

7/10
This is one superhero movie that I actually wanted to see. I read the comic and thought it was... more

Split

8/10
Well, turns out M. Night is still capable of making an entertaining movie. This was a humble thriller about... more

The Blackcoat’s Daughter

7/10
A small, slow moving horror movie about boarding school girls and the devil. There’s lots of hard to hear... more

Bicycle Thieves

7/10
Apparently this is a very important movie and a touchstone of Italian cinema. All I know it’s severely lacking... more

Black Magic 2

9/10
This is a sequel in name only to the excellent Black Magic. It’s still about an evil voodoo magician, but in... more

House of Bamboo

7/10
This is crime thriller from 1955 that is unique in that it was shot on location in post-war Japan and... more

Turbo Kid

7/10
In recent years there have been several attempts at making fake 80s shows, games or movies. The best of... more

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

3/10
I was hoping for another Luc Besson film at least on par with The Fifth Element, but this was terrible.... more

Berberian Sound Studio

6/10
The only reason to watch this movie is to get a feel for how the sound design was created... more

Tomb Raider [2018]

6/10
Definitely better than the first Tomb Raider films. This reboot seems to be using the game’s reboot as inspiration. The plot... more

From Up On Poppy Hill

7/10
A cartoon drama from Studio Ghibli about a teenage girl who misses her dead father and raises signal flags for... more

Caged Heat

7/10
This should be a standard Roger Corman women in prison movie, but it was directed by Jonathan Demme and... more

Death Wish 3

8/10
What seriousness there was in the first Death Wish is gone. The violence is not terribly gorey but it’s ridiculous and... more

Black Magic

9/10
Black Magic is a strange mix of horror and bumbling romantic comedy. Nothing in this movie makes any sense and... more

The Kid with the Golden Arm

6/10
There are a few gory moments, but for the most part this was a rather ho-hum Shaw Bros. kung-fu... more

Excalibur

6/10
I’m not quite sure why this movie was so popular when it came out. I remember hearing that they... more

808

6/10
Another one of these sub-culture documentaries which follows the formula: Identify sub-culture, show the originators, show the people who... more

The Lady Hermit

9/10
Cheng Pei Pei is great in the excellent sword fighting movie about a master in hiding who takes on... more

Flying Guillotine 2

8/10
The head severing basket on a chain is back and is as ridiculous as ever. When we last left off, our... more

Samurai Cop

6/10
I’m sure I would have enjoyed this more if I had watched it with friends and alcohol. Samurai Cop is a... more

The Black Cat

7/10
I think this might be the fourth Italian horror movie I’ve seen that’s based on Poe’s story, The Black Cat.... more

Crippled Avengers

7/10
I assumed that they would have hired actual disabled people to star in this and expected it to be a little... more

The Dark Backward

7/10
It’s a quirky comedy. A quirkedy! Just about everything about this movie is deliberately strange. The plot is basically... more

The Tricky Master

5/10
I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a sequel to Tricky Brains, but it’s just as bad as... more

God of Cookery

6/10
Stephen Chow is an arrogant T.V. chef who is dethroned and must cook his way back to the top.... more

Love on Delivery

7/10
Man, Stephen Chow has been making the same movie over and over for more than two decades. Don’t get... more

What We Do in the Shadows

7/10
A decent entry in the never-ending series of mock documentary films. This one follows the mundane lives of three... more

Four Riders

8/10
Not all Shaw Brothers martial arts movies take place in ancient China. Four Riders is set in Seoul during the weeks... more

Saturn 3

5/10
I remember seeing this movie in the video store with its super-cool robot on the cover and thinking, “This... more

Green Room

8/10
The first fifteen minutes of this movie are noteworthy for accurately depicting what it’s like to be a touring... more

The Killer Is on the Phone

7/10
Not that it matters, but the title of this film has nothing to do with what happens on the... more

2017

The Last Jedi

8/10
I went into this having avoided the trailers or anything that could potentially spoil this for me. Despite its flaws... more

Grave of the Fireflies

7/10
This classic Studio Ghibli cartoon is about the horrors of war. But it’s really more about the horrors of... more

Seven Chances

8/10
I’ve never actually seen a Buster Keaton movie until this. Holds up very well and has some great scenes... more

Room

8/10
This starts as an engaging thriller and then tricks you by turning into a teary drama. A lot of... more

Free Fire

7/10
This was a movie that I really wanted to see. It’s directed by Ben Wheatley, who made the gangster-hybrid... more

Arrival

7/10
A sci-fi film about a bunch of space squids that communicate with coffee rings. Another blockbuster that steals plot... more

Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back

6/10
This would have been much better if it were just a cartoon instead of this live-action/CGI mess. There are... more

The Heroic Ones

5/10
This Shaw Brothers kung-fu swordsman epic is a bit of an overly long mess. The “heroic” characters are kinda... more

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre

9/10
As much as I like horror, I am woefully unfamiliar with many of the classics of the genre. Amazon... more

Ex Machina

9/10
Fresh off of just seeing the new Blade Runner here’s another film dealing with the artificial intelligence. Only, this one is... more

Blade Runner 2049

7/10
I’ve tried to like the original Blade Runner. I’ve watched it several times, in several different “official” final, FINAL and... more

Women Aren’t Funny

7/10
Bonnie McFarlane’s documentary sets itself up as an investigative report into the supposed bias against women in comedy. It... more

Star Trek Beyond

5/10
The destruction of this venerable brand continues in this latest reboot sequel. This is not the contemplative sci-fi of... more

Return of the Evil Dead

6/10
The follow-up to Tombs of the Blind Dead is only slightly less bad than the original in that there is more... more

Tombs of the Blind Dead

5/10
Spain’s answer to Night of the Living Dead is slow moving and pretty stupid. These aren’t straight-up zombies. They are the... more

War for the Planet of the Apes

8/10
The third and final(?) Apes reboot sequel isn’t quite as epic as the title suggests. All in all, I... more

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

8/10
Pretty daring for a mainstream big budget sequel to be mostly subtitled. Kiddies, if you download this from the... more

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

7/10
I watched this with the intention of seeing the third film in the theater soon thereafter. As far as... more

Black Christmas

9/10
Very well done proto-slasher film with a star-studded cast. Despite the title, Christmas doesn’t play much of a role... more

Grand Slam

7/10
Grand Slam is a reasonably amusing heist film with the usual tropes of assembling of the team, a complicated heist,... more

Wonder Woman

7/10
One of the better super hero films I’ve seen. The limited scope of the plot helped center the focus... more

Revolver

8/10
A euro-crime thriller/drama about a prison warden who is blackmailed into letting a prisoner escape. Boasts a wonderful score by... more

Kidnap Syndicate

6/10
A 70s euro-crime film from Italy featuring a barely-there performance from James Mason. Mason is out of the film... more

Miami Connection

7/10
This one is mostly noteworthy for its wacky premise of new wave rock band karate masters fighting motorcycle ninjas.... more

Spirits of the Dead

5/10
Only the last of the three stories in this horror anthology is worth watching. It’s directed by Frederico Fellini... more

Hundra

6/10
This third-tier fantasy movie starts out great, gets really boring, then ends on a slo-mo high note. The Morricone... more

Hairspray

7/10
We watched this movie because my kid was in a local production of the musical version and I wanted... more

My Young Auntie

7/10
A bright and colorful comedic kung-fu movie about a young widow who was tasked with protecting a family fortune... more

The Duke of Burgundy

7/10
The only reason I knew that this movie existed was a YouTube review of the soundtrack by Sean Rowley. The music is... more

The Greasy Strangler

8/10
Although I was entertained for the most part, it’s hard not to see that this movie desperately wants to... more

10 Cloverfield Lane

8/10
A good premise that sorta spoils itself by being a pseudo sequel to Cloverfield. A least there is no shaky-cam.

The Neon Demon

5/10
Although billed as a thriller, this is just art film garbage. I guess the point is to show of... more

Sorcerer

8/10
The reason to watch this is the crazy pyrotechnics and stunts and gritty 70s style. Worth it for the... more

Blind Woman’s Curse

8/10
A surprisingly good Japanese martial arts/gangster film. The time and setting, with a mix of cars and kimonos, is... more

Ms .45

8/10
This one casts itself off as a female version of Death Wish complete with two uncomfortable assaults of the lead actress... more

John Wick

6/10
Now that the sequel is in theaters, I thought I should see the original since since a lot of... more