Movie Log: By Rating

A dark comedy in the vein of Dear Reader in which historical events are depicted in their absurd reality.... more

Very effective horror movie. Claustrophbia abounds.

I really enjoyed this giallo despite its lack of the more traditional motifs of black gloved killers and stylized... more

Like most who discover this movie, I knew about it only from Ennio Morricone’s legendary score. The title would... more

The Devil’s Nightmare would pair nicely in a double feature with Bava’s Lisa and the Devil. Both films tell... more

Had not seen this one before. John Carpenter certainly knew his stuff. There’s barely a movie here but it... more

Lighthearted giallo with great B&W photography.

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

I loved the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I am glad that they are making these Hobbit movies, I wish... more

Picks up right where the first movie left off with the family battling Cliff Clavin. Every bit as fun... more

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

What happens when a child prodigy detective like Encyclopedia Brown graduates out of schoolyard mysteries into solving real crimes?... more

Who would have thought that the director of such legendary cheese-fests as Starcrash and  Hercules could create a gritty and disturbing giallo? The... more

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

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

Much better than the Royal Tanenbaums. Slow paced and unfunny at times, but worth viewing for the art direction... more

A weird, arty film about a pair of lighthouse keepers that is reminiscent of David Lynch. I’m sure there... more

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

Generation X’ers like myself tend to have a bit too much nostalgia towards The Muppet Show and the first couple Muppet... more

The One-Armed Swordsman was a good, arty swordplay epic with a lot of character focus. The sequel ditched the character stuff and focused... more

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

When I started my immersion into Shaw Brothers kung-fu, I knew I would eventually see this film. It apparently... more

I had never heard of this psychological mystery until I saw it posted on a giallo site. It’s not... more

I watched this immediately after reading the book and I can definitively say that the movie is better. The... more

This was a good Indonesian action film that has a minimal plot and zero character development. A bunch of... more

A year ago a watched the other half of this double feature film noir DVD. This second movie is much better... more

Since the late 80s, Sparks has been one of my favorite bands. Despite their long career there isn’t much... more

The best of the post-Opera Argento films. Has moments of sheer brilliance, but plenty of crappy parts too. The... more

This was a murder mystery about a hooded strangler who carves the letter M into the foreheads of his... more

A violent and gritty kung-fu movie starring Sonny Chiba. Terrisan is basically playing a kung-fu version of Tuco from... more

Visually stunning French film. If you don’t like musicals, just turn down the sound and read the subtitles… you... more

A very talky horror movie that works on the premise that sound and atmosphere are what brings tension. The... more

This movie felt like a Hans Baldung woodcut brought to life. Set in a dark New England forest in the 1600’s,... more

What a wonderfully goofy and fun movie. This is the first German Krimi film I have ever watched and... more

Daniel Day-Lewis acts up a storm while talking in a weird deep voice. He main nemesis comes across as... more

This was the final film in the super excellent The Icons of Suspense Collection: Hammer Films five-disc DVD set. Unlike the... more

This live action adaptation of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time bears little resemblance to the original anime version. The cartoon... more

Very suspenseful third act make up for the awful first 2/3 of the movie. This one get better with... more

For years I have heard about the cult status of this movie and I could have sworn I have... more

Crazy stylized animation about cycling.

The late-stage Hammer vampire film tries to keep up with the times be amping up the gore and the... more

I have had this on DVD for quite some time now and am re-watching it after noticing I never... more

A fun movie but it felt shallow in the the end to me.

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

I finally got around to watching this highly regarded Mario Bava film and it is definitely one of his... more

My Adam Carolla film fest continues with this documentary about Paul Newman’s racing career. There are no amazing revelations... more

I recently had a late-night eBay shopping spree in which I bought blu-ray versions of several Leone Westerns. This... more

Refreshingly scary zombie movie. Nice soundtrack. My DVD was broken at one point.

This was a somewhat refreshing take on the zombie genre with funny, Zombie Survival Guide inspired narration. The movie does come... more

This is a zero-budget Italian take on post-nuclear sci-fi. It is utterly derivative and filled with bad acting, plot... more

This is nothing you haven’t seen a hundred times before in war movies. The Russian perspective of Afganistan is... more

Outside of Demons, I have not see many of Lamberto Bava’s films. A Blade in the Dark has a few really effective... more

Paul Naschy’s attempt at a black-gloved (and red pants’ed) killer giallo feels like result of a twisted game of... more

I’ve written before on this Web site how there is a standard documentary being produced these days that shows the “community” that... more

The first MGM Marx Brothers movie looks great and finally has a real story to follow, but none of... more

Carol Baker returns in another early giallo about a murder plot in which a wife is killed on a... more

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

German speaking Spanish conquistadors float down a river in search of El Dorado and eventually the title character goes... more

This was a strange, dreamy giallo that reminded me a lot of Bava’s Lisa and the Devil. At any moment... more

Stylish Mexican horror movie. Surreal imagery overshadows the weak plot. Sorta falls apart towards the end of the second... more

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

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

Falls apart when it attempts to become high-minded satire near the end, but the characterizations of art school stereotypes... more

A British mystery thriller featuring Suzi Kendall. The more I see of Suzi the more I like her acting... more

Amateurish production values and acting hinder this fairly effective independent horror film from the Philippines.

Finally, my quest to watch all these movies has come to an end. It’s a fitting climax but is... more

In Baba Yaga a young photographer gets mesmerized by the magic of an older witch. She is gradually lured... more

This is an epic Indian film from the director of RRR. The first part is better than the second... more

Bava doesn’t quite have the monster movie thing down. Has it’s moments, but overall just a mediocre Gothic horror.

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

And here we go again with what I thought was going to be another sleazy women in prison movie.... more

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

Surprisingly good drug cartel style 80’s actioner about a blind martial artist hero played very well by Rutger Hauer.

Giallo done Naschy style. Unfortunately that means you have to watch a pig being killed to no good reason.... more

Does not live up to the hype, but has its moments.

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

This is a one joke movie about a man who creates a robot. The joke is that the robot... more

More 80s horror catch-up for me. I wasn’t sure if this movie was so well known merely for it’s... more

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

This one is a little better than the last few Marvel movies I’ve watched. The first half is basically... more

This is a strange Gordon Liu movie in which he wants to avenge the friends who died at the... more

Another Pam Grier blaxploitation film cut from the same cloth as Foxy Brown. This one is not as well paced... more

Back when I was a kid I had seen Conan the Barbarian sequel Conan the Destroyer at least half-a-dozen times. It was rated... more

Surprisingly, I was entertained by this. Yes, it’s an Italian Alien rip-off, but Alien was itself rip off of... more

I’m beginning to get a feel for these German Krimi films: a masked killer, suspicion of supernatural, bumbling police,... more

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

While I think it is a reasonably good wire-fu martial arts movie, Sword of Destiny isn’t really a worthy sequel to... more

This is quite possibly the sexiest movie about chicken farming that I have ever seen. Death Laid an Egg... more

Although a bit lacking in terms of style, Death Walks on High Heels is another reasonably good giallo. The first part... more

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

A teenage girl is obsessed with a new wave pop star. She writes him letters, follows him to Munich,... more

An early sixties black and white Krimi about a mysterious criminal who has arrived in London to get revenge... more

This one has some of the best Peter Thomas music. This is especially true during the opening titles in... more

This 1963 black and white Krimi opens up with a nebbish man killing his wife at a rural bus... more

The third film in the 36th Chambers series changes the tone to comedy (apparently the second sequel is also a parody, but I... more

There was so much mud in this movie it made me uncomfortable. C’mon guys, wipe you feet before you... more

There’s no escaping these superhero movies. I was trapped in rural America with two hours to kill and this... more

I wasn’t exactly sold on this movie. Most of it comes across as a sophomore art project with cheap... more

There are hints of The Terminator (the first one) and Robocop in this but it doesn’t quite rise to... more

I don’t think I get Brian Depalma yet. The whole time I was watching this I was thinking about... more