Movie Log: By Rating

Here are my movies listed in order or ranking, from best to worst. Ratings subject to change at any time.

Spasmo

6/10
This giallo has been on my must see list for a very long time. Scored by Ennio Morricone, the... more

Speaking of Murder

6/10
Speaking of Murder is the first film in a three disc collection of French noir movies I recently purchased... more

Spider-Man: Far From Home

6/10
Okay, one last Marvel movie before end this diversion and get back to 70s sleaze (I’ve been told I... more

Spiderman 3

6/10
In desparate need of some editing, this film runs about 1 hour too long with way too many lame... more

Succubus

6/10
I’ve been cautiously sampling more Jess Franco films. This one is arty and incoherent. I’m sure there might be... more

Super Inframan

6/10
If I was 9 years old this would be the greatest movie ever. It’s basically the Shaw Bros. version... more

Survival of the Dead

6/10
Another modern zombie movie that doesn’t even attempt to be scary. I guess the Hatfields vs. McCoy setup could... more

Talladega Nights

6/10
Business as usual comedy from Ferrell.

Terminator Salvation

6/10
For the first 20 minutes or so I couldn’t see why this film got such bad reviews. I was... more

The Adventures of Hercules

6/10
This movie is part of a DVD double feature with the amazing Hercules. See my review of that film for my take... more

The Black Belly of the Tarantula

6/10
Stylish but overly confusing (too many red heads!) and an unsatisfying ending hinder this giallo.

The Church

6/10
Disappointing resolution and shallow characters, but enough interesting imagery and weirdness to moderately recommend.

The Devil Rides Out

6/10
This is another film that just begs for more creepy atmosphere. As it is, it feels too much like... more

The Diabolical Doctor Z

6/10
Low Budget 60s exploitation by Jess Franco. Entertaining, but not quite as stylish as I expected. The soundtrack is... more

The Editor

6/10
A horror-comedy that takes aim at lampooning Italian giallo and horror films. It never quite nails the comedy part... more

The Eye (Gin gwai)

6/10
Mediocre ghost story in which bursts of sped-up film and of quick cuts are a lame substitute for real... more

The Fifth Cord

6/10
The two big positives of this giallo are: a creepy, abstract Morricone score and lots of wonderfully composed shots... more

The Five Days of Milan

6/10
Dario Argento’s political farce. Has many funny moments, but is very confusing if you don’t know the history of... more

The Gorgon

6/10
My Halloween movie this year was The Gorgon from the Icons of Horror: Hammer Films DVD. I think I am coming to the... more

The Green Slime

6/10
This is a late sixties Japanese monster movie but it stars mostly Western actors. The rubber-suit monsters, space ships... more

The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things

6/10
Dark story of child abuse and drugs.

The Host

6/10
Entertaining but thoroughly confused monster movie. The over-the-top comedic moments tend to jar you out of the already paper... more

The House by the Cemetary

6/10
Fulci haunted house movie. Pretty slow until the finale.

The House of Exorcism

6/10
An entertaining rethink of Lisa and the Devil.

The House on Haunted Hill

6/10
While it had one or two actual jump scares in it (a rarity for American films of this vintage),... more

The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire

6/10
The writing of this giallo is absolutely terrible. The story doesn’t make any sense and every single person who... more

The Incredible Hulk

6/10
Yet another superhero movie to bore me. I admit, this one was more watchable than Ironman. I guess I am... 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

The Limping Man

6/10
Lloyd Bridges stars in this 1950’s film noir about an American returning to England after the war who becomes... more

The Love Guru

6/10
A lot of people said this was horrible, but I didn’t mind it so much. Funny but completely lacking... more

The Lovers on the Bridge

6/10
This felt like every early 90s art film I saw as a college kid. A few memorable scenes that... more

The Maltese Falcon (1931)

6/10
This early version of the Hammet novel hits most of the same plot points of the later version but the acting... more

The Mighty Peking Man

6/10
Shaw Brothers attempt at a giant monster movie is pretty corny. Normally I enjoy garbage movie like this, but... more

The Mist

6/10
I knew most of the story of The Mist from an abridged book an tape that we listened to as kids... more

The New York Ripper

6/10
You’d be hard pressed to find a movie that hated its female characters any more than this one does.... more

The Public Enemy

6/10
James Cagney smashes a grapefruit in some ditzy broad’s face… see. Then he becomes the gangster king of beer…... more

The Return of the Streetfighter

6/10
Mediocre sequel. Too many flashbacks and not enough story. A few good fights make up for the bad spots.

The Shadow Boxing

6/10
A supposed sequel to The Spiritual Boxer which I’ve seen but never posted a review. Both movies are comedies but this... more

The Twelve Chairs

6/10
Mel Brooks’s second feature doesn’t do much to differentiate itself from every other late 60’s era comedy. I found... more

The Two Faces of Dr. Jekyll

6/10
One of the best DVD sets I own is the six movie Hammer Films Icons of Suspense Collection. Although I... more

The Valley of Gwangi

6/10
This is Ray Harryhausen’s excuse to animate a rampaging T-Rex. The plot is cowboys versus dinosaurs which sounds a... more

The Wax Mask

6/10
Argento/Fulci production. Harkens to the Hammer era gothic horror films. Derivative but enjoyable.

The Werewolf and the Yeti

6/10
The title here is somewhat deceptive. The yeti vs. werewolf battle you would expect is just tacked on to... more

Ti piace Hitchcock? (Do You Like Hitchcock?)

6/10
Actually, I liked this. Argento’s painterly style is nowhere to be found but I thought the story never was... more

Tokyo Gore Police

6/10
Japanese splatter. Despite the gore, it gets boring pretty quickly.

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

Tron Legacy

6/10
A lot of nerds were really excited by the prospect of a Tron sequel. What they all seemed to fail to... more

Tropic Thunder

6/10
Entertaining war film parody. A little bit too much of an action film at the end.

Une vieille maîtresse

6/10
A somewhat miscast French costume drama based on a 19th Century erotic novel. The male lead is played by... more

Up

6/10
If they cut this film off at about 15 minutes it would have been a near-perfect short film. Unfortunately,... more

Uzumaki

6/10
Japanese horror movie about a town in which the inhabitants slowly become mesmerized by uzumaki. Uzumaki translates to spirals. Mind you, this is... more

Vengeance of the Zombies

6/10
The second movie in the Paul Naschy Collection sounds good on paper, but is ultimately a bit of a... more

Villmark Asylum

6/10
Norwegian horror movie about a group of scientists who go to a soon-to-be demolished hospital in the woods only to... more

Who Killed the Prosecutor and Why?

6/10
The movie opens with a young photographer witnessing and photographing a mob-style killing. Then, in one of the stupidest... more

Who Saw Her Die

6/10
Predictable yet watchable giallo. Ennio Morricone music gets quite repetetive even though it’s a nice theme.

Winners & Sinners

6/10
It’s the origin story of the perverts from Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Stars! It really isn’t much better than the... more

Women in Cages

6/10
This was another grind house era women in prison movie. I suppose the twist here is that Pam Grier... more

Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key

6/10
An Italian twist on Poe’s “The Black Cat.” All the standard giallo elements are here in this better-than-average entry... more

A Bullet for the General

5/10
The story of a finely attired gringo mercenary who falls in with a group of banditos in a scheme... more

A Doppia Faccia

5/10
(a.k.a. Double Face) Mediocre giallo featuring Klaus Kinski in search of his estranged wife’s killer. Noteworthy moments: super fake... more

All the Boys Love Mandy Lane

5/10
This was a slight twist on a typical teen slasher movie. A very, very slight twist which you will... more

Ant-Man

5/10
Bleh, these super hero movies need to end. While can’t say I was bored by Ant-Man, it just felt ho-hum... more

Anthropophagus

5/10
For a movie that is so infamous for its gore, there certainly isn’t much to see here. The shock... more

Aragami

5/10
The companion piece to 2LDK. Not as good, and a bit too talky and not enough fighting.

Avengers: Age of Ultron

5/10
The story is not very interesting and the movie is almost 60% dudes fighting in the sky lameness. We’re... more

Bio Zombie

5/10
Low, low budget Japanese zombie movie. Terrible make-up. No scares. There are a few funny gags though: finger sushi... more

Buio Omega (Beyond the Darkness)

5/10
Cheesy Italian horror film about a taxidermist who is infatuated with his dead girlfriend. It’s a character study without... more

Captain America: The First Avenger

5/10
I didn’t really mind the first third of the movie when The Cap’n is all weak and weirdly CGI... 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

Dario Argento’s Trauma

5/10
It has its moments, but Trauma suffers from horrible dialogue (even for Argento), a wholly inappropriate score and many... more

Dead Space: Downfall

5/10
The creators of the Dead Space series must be really proud of the little story they came up with because it... more

Death Occurred Last Night

5/10
An early 70s Italian police thriller that has one of the weirdest/dumbest plots ever. The main story here is... more

Demon City Shinjuku

5/10
Why is so much anime so bad? The plot is as follows: demon destroys city in epic battle, loser’s... more

Demonia

5/10
Another late stage Fulci horror movie that disappoints despite the awesome title music and excellent poster/box art. From the... 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

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable

5/10
A huge drop in quality for this the third Scorpion movie. Much of the visual flair is gone and... more

Gamer

5/10
I can’t believe this is not a SciFi Channel movie. It’s okay, I guess, but the film tries too... more

Graveyard Disturbance

5/10
Graveyard Disturbance is a silly, made-for-TV quality horror film from Lamberto Bava, and it’s surprisingly bloodless considering the director. At... more

Hell Bound

5/10
1957 noir film about a gangster who organizes a heist of drugs from a ship at sea. The movie... more

Hercules Against the Barbarians

5/10
How’s this for a novel concept: the reason Poles were able to defend their realm against the invading armies... more

Hobo with a Shotgun

5/10
Although it had its moments, this film feels like it’s trying too hard to be hip and cool. It... more

House of Traps

5/10
An average and confusing Shaw Bros. film. I guess this is a continuation of the Deadly Venoms franchise? The titular House of... more

Iron Man 2

5/10
The great superhero slog continues. Robert Downey Jr.’s portrayal is fun, but nothing interesting really happens in this movie... more

Iron Man 3

5/10
These Marvel movies feel like a Television series, and by Television Series I mean a mindless sitcom that you... more

Ironman

5/10
I am sick of superhero movies. Robert Downey Jr. gives a lively performance as Tony Stark, but, other than... more

Knife of Ice

5/10
One more Carol Baker giallo in which she plays a character whose past trauma has made her mute (is... more

Knives of the Avenger

5/10
A viking tale that’s a bit too weak on style and action.

L’isola Delle Svedesi

5/10
The Island of the Swedes, also known as Twisted Girls, is basically 45 minutes of movie and 45 minutes... more

Legend of Dinosaurs & Monster Birds

5/10
I had this movie on my DVD wishlist for many years and never got around to buying it. I... more

Liquid Sky

5/10
I can see why, in this time of everyone and their grandma being a cos-player, that this is a... more

Manhattan Baby

5/10
Lots of really nice close-up facial photography, but a dull plot. Only high point is the stuffed bird attack... more

Matchless

5/10
Matchless is a late 60s euro-spy spoof about a reporter who finds a magic Chinese ring of invisibility and... more

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus

5/10
This film was next in line in my recent rash of bad movies: Troll 2… Birdemic. Unlike those Legendary... more

O.K. Connery

5/10
This mediocre Eurospy movie is based entirely around the stunt casting of Sean Connery’s younger brother Neil in the... more

Oira Sukeban

5/10
An excuse to have a lot of topless women fight in poorly choreographed battles, while the camera zooms in... more

Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters

5/10
Tippett has done some amazing special effects and animation work but you’d probably be better off watching DVD extras... more

Prometheus

5/10
What a pretty movie about characters which I couldn’t care less about. I wanted so bad to like this... 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

Ring 2

5/10
Some scary moments, but mostly just retread and patchy story telling.

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