01 April 2008

OLR: Blade II (2002)

Six years later, despite some flaws in plotting and the choreography of the digital stuntmen, I still like this movie a whole lot better than anyone else on the planet, apparently. (8/10)

d. Guillermo del Toro

[do not, ever, read Harry Knowles' review of this film]

31 March 2008

OLR: Blade (1998)

Ten years later, the flaws in plotting, choreography and SFX stand out more, but Snipes still kicks some ass. (7/10)

d. Stephen Norrington

30 March 2008

OLR: Die Hard 2 (1990)

Somehow -- maybe because of the villains, maybe because of the director's sensibility -- more mean-spirited than its predecessor. (7/10).

d. Renny Harlin

OLR: Die Hard (1988)

Greatest American action movie ever made? (9/10)

d. John McTiernan

28 March 2008

OLR: My Bloody Valentine (1981)

Given the censored kills and complete lack of nakedness, I suppose the only reason I like this '80s slasher so much is the setting and characters (Hollis, why did you have to die, man?). (7/10)

d. George Mihalka

OLR: The Little Shop of Horrors (1960)

Maybe not trying to be serious is the key to Corman actually making a good movie? (8/10)

d. Roger Corman

Guest OLR: Southland Tales (2006)

Mulholland Dr.'s main competition for title of Ultimate Stream of Consciousness Film That Really, Really Should Have Been a Television Show. (6/10)

d. Richard Kelly

27 March 2008

OLR: Sleepaway Camp III: Teenage Wasteland (1989)

Killing off the lecherous Michael J. Pollard so early in the movie was a huge mistake. (5/10)

d. Michael A. Simpson

OLR: Sleepaway Camp II: Unhappy Campers (1988)

It starting to get a bit boring once all of the girls who refused to wear shirts were killed off. (6/10)

d. Michael A. Simpson

26 March 2008

OLR: Sleepaway Camp (1983)

Gotta be the best freeze-frame ending ever. (7/10)

d. Robert Hiltzik

25 March 2008

OLR: Salò o le 120 giornate di Sodoma (1975)

I'm already aware that fascism is evil, so I didn't really need the 112 minutes of shit-eating as a lesson on that subject. (4/10)

d. Pier Paolo Pasolini

24 March 2008

OLR: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003)

Disrespectful of the brilliant original, completely lacking any style of its own, responsible for jump-starting both the horror remake and torture porn cycle were currently mired in: all sins I cannot forgive. (3/10)

d. Marcus Nispel

[grist for Google: creatively bankrupt]

OLR: Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1974)

Though the super-slo-mo shots of bad guys getting sprayed with pink water / shotgun blasts were beautiful in their own way, they were not the hardcore revenge I was hoping the climax of the film would serve. (6/10)

d. Bo Arne Vibenius

OLR: Graveyard Shift (1990)

I dig the blue collar characters, the filthy setting, the subbasements under subbasements and, naturally, Brad Dourif as the exterminator. (7/10)

d. Ralph S. Singleton

23 March 2008

OLR: Velocity (1960/1999)

I'm kind of used to watching these "'60s teens gone wild" movies with wise-cracking robots at the bottom of the screen; the modern day wraparound scenes with impossibly untalented and unlikable actors were a poor substitute. (4/10)

d. Harvey Berman & David Wolfe