Double Feature Day: Pt.1 Savage Journey

Alright, going to do this Savage Journey movie first today, it's on the Drive-In Classics 50 Movie Pack. It's about the origins of the Mormon Church and their journey across the west, until they land in Utah. Never seen this one, could be alright. Why it's in the Drive-in Classics is beyond me, makes me think there will be a lot of violence. It's also from 1983, so that should make it a bit more entertaining.

IMDb: Savage Journey

After I finish this movie and review, I will be doing the next movie, which is actually a request. V for Vendetta. So you can expect to see both of those today.

 

Review:

This movie was pretty good, I'm not gonna lie. I knew little about the beginning of the Mormon religion, this movie was actually quite educational in that respect. Of course, that's assuming this movie is true and, even if it is, not exaggerating anything too bad. I think the acting and dialogue was well done, however, this movie is heavily biased towards Mormonism.

Pros:

Scenery: All of the scenery is really good looking. So good, in fact, I can't tell if it was shot in nature, or in a studio. Since this movie involves a lot of traveling, the scenery is something they needed to do well. In my opinion the scenery is pretty good and definitely helps the movie feel more realistic.

Desert, desert, desert, and Oh look, more desert

Acting: Religion is a hard subject to translate to film. If you poorly represent a major figure from that religion, you can get some serious heat. Savage Journey chose the right actors for the right roles. It seems like it was thought through very thoroughly. The performances from all the leads are very entertaining and believable.

Cons:

The "Savage" Journey: I don't mean to demean the hardships these people endured. I'm sure it was horrible for them. However, I can think of at least 5 journey's way more savage than theirs. For example, the locusts (see below). They lost maybe 20 or 30 people over the years due to savageness.

The Great Locust Massacre: Apparently this film has something against locusts. So here's the timeline, as I see it. The Mormons move into the Great Salt Lake Basin. Encroaching on the poor locust's homeland. The Mormons start planting crops. Meanwhile, the locusts are starving, after having their land taken by the white man. They begin to feed on the Mormon crops, if only to live another day. Then the Mormons go apeshit, and beat them with brooms, stick, 2x4s, etc. Hundreds of poor innocent locusts die, only because they were trying to live another day. And as if that was the end of their suffering. That's when their mortal enemy the birds come along, and the white man cheers as the birds eat all the innocent locusts. Horrific tragedy, is that in your American History book, I think not.

The worst day in locust history

VERY Biased: I'll be first to say that all religions are evil. More people have dies in the name of God and Religion than I can even imagine. However, I have a gut instinct that this film, is blowing it a little out of proportion. They make it seem as if everybody is evil except the Mormons. Every other character in the movie, is either killing Mormons or betraying Mormons. I think there is only one non-evil non-Mormon in this entire film. To be completely honest with you, I had more sympathy for the locusts than I did for the Mormons.

FINAL SCORE:

6/10

This film was insightful and well written, like I said, I hadn't heard this story before. I found this movie to be interesting, however, I will most likely not watch it again. However, I am glad I saw this movie.

Purchase "Savage Journey":

Amazon

Oldies

Drive In Classics 50 Movie Pack

I can't offer anything in the way of the full movie. If you're interested it's parted out on YouTube, just head over there and search "Savage Journey 1983". The movie is in public domain, so, as far as I know, it's not illegal to download it from a website you find on Google. Say for example, this one. However, I am not a copyright lawyer and if you get in trouble it's not my fault. kthxbai.

Non-Review: Update to the Rules

 If you scroll down the page or jump of to my What This Is original post, you'll see it looks different now. I've changed and added some new rules. Including a new day called Double Feature Day.


 I also added a way to make requests, please do so if you have the time. It would mean a lot to me. So far, I'm having a lot of fun doing this whole review thing. I've sincerely enjoyed every single movie I've watched so far. Watching Star Odyssey yesterday was a ton of fun, it was interesting seeing another cultures take on Star Wars.


 Alright I'm blabbering now. Thank's for being a part of this with me, and go check out the new stuff over on my What This Is Post.

Thanks,
Dylan Lanier

Free Day: Star Odyssey

 Decided to make today my first Free Day. The film randomly chosen for today is Star Odyssey, a Sci-fi film from 1979. If I had to guess, I'd say it's an Italian film due to all the actor's names. It's about U.F.O.'s coming to earth and enslaving humans.

 I stopped writing for a moment to look up some information about the film, only to find out it's commonly known as Italian Star Wars. So, now I'm twice as excited. Going to get around to watching it a little later tonight.

IMDb: Star Odyssey

 Review: Just finished watching Star Odyssey and it definitely lives up to it's title of, "Italian Star Wars". It's pretty much just like Star Wars, minus the decent sets, decent acting, and decent Laser Sword technology. In this world apparently Lightsaber literally means, a glowstick on a handle. However, I'm not going to say the movie was bad, because that would be a lie. I think some decisions made on this movie weren't the best. Yet, this movie is still a fun watch.

Pros:

 Costumes: This covers all the aliens and robots. It's all really, REALLY cheesy but it's also really cool. I think that this is where the movie shines, I don't expect the movie to win an Oscar for costume design. However, the costumes are very cool, and very unique. On some characters though, you can see the Star Wars influence. One of the main characters named Dirk, wears a Han Solo sort of our fit throughout most of the movie. And I don't think it's much of a stretch to guess who Lord Kess (sp?) is based off.

My name is not Lord Vader, Who is this Lord Vader, you insignificant worm.

Cons:

 Bad Dub: This movie would be much better, if I could hear some people more clearly. All the voice actors seem to be mumbling their lines. I couldn't tell Lord Kess' name until like the 5th time I heard it and even then I could be spelling it wrong. I thought it was Vek, then Vess, then Kesh, then Quesh, I don't even.

Is his name Kess, Vek, Kesh, or Quesh!?!

 Creepy Love Robots: This is kind of nit-picky but, I found the robots too be a little creepy. Not so much their appearance, more their stance on love towards each other. It's like way creepy. He wanted to commit suicide because he couldn't sleep, therefore dream about her? Seriously. That's just weird. Not to mention the freak professor who agrees to give them sex organs, so they can profess their love for each other. 

Oil Drum Robot: Forever Alone

Final Score:

7/10

 Don't get me wrong, this movie isn't bad. However, it's not very good either. If you are into late 70's Sci-fi cheese, pick this up, you'll love it. If you're just an avid fan of film, you might want to pass this one up. I enjoyed it, take it for what it's worth.

Purchase "Star Odyssey":

Amazon

Oldies

Watch Free Here:

Bloody Pit of Horror

 Ok, I'm officially completely excited, I've been wanting to watch this movie for awhile now just never got around to it. This film is on the Pure Terror 50 Movie Pack. However, I also own a budget bin 3 dollar copy as well. This film features Mickey Hargitay, a bodybuilder who did his turn as Hercules on the peplum film circuit (Also, as a side note, he was married to Jayne Mansfield. Their daughter is like the best Law and Order detective ever). So I'm pretty excited to see this one, I've seen the trailer several times on different things. I'll get back to you guys later tonight with a review.

 IMDb: Bloody Pit of Horror 

 Review: Sorry it's so late in the day guys, finally got around to watching The Bloody Pit of Horror. I found that I really enjoyed this movie. However, I had to look back on the movie for about 45 minutes, to really come up with the reasons why. Theirs something about cheese like this that I absolutely love. It's one of the best if not the best periods in Horror films.

 This film is about a cheery fellow named "The Crimson Executioner" who executed people for not being perfect. When a group of models (instant cheese), a writer, his publisher, and a few others arrive at a castle for Photo shoots all hell breaks loose. They meet the owner of the castle, who quickly becomes possessed by the spirit of the Executioner.  There's lots of death and torture. However, there's very little blood or gore.

Pros:

 Set Design: If a movie wants to win me over fast, good and believable set design is the way to do it. I'm a sucker for a realistic looking movie. I'd rather see a movie with three or four realistic sets, rather than a film with a 150 different sets that all look lackluster. I found the castle had a tinge of 60s to it. However the basement and dungeon all looked really good.

 Swanky Soundtrack: Just from the music I can tell this movie was made in the 60s. You get some bass, a little guitar and some drums. That's the soundtrack. Which I love, keeps it simple while making it more fun. Rather than playing creepy organ and piano tracks, they went with something more light-hearted and interesting.

 Spider: There's not much to say. Just.... yeah. Like I said, I love cheese, and this spider is just total cheese.

The real question: "Am I a Spider, or a Crab?"

Cons:

 Explanation: This is a quick way to make me mad. At the end of a movie, they feel the need to have the main character narrate the whole story in a quick recap. If you want to see what I mean, look in the video below. Just jump straight to about 1:20:45. Or watch the whole movie ;).

 FINAL SCORE:

8/10

 Like I said earlier, I had a hard time with this one. Do I let my personal opinion sway my vote, or do I give the movie what everybody else thinks it deserves. I, in the end, decided, as the reviewer, that my opinion mattered more than what somebody else thinks about the movie. I personally think it's an amazing horror flick I will watch again.

Purchase "Bloody Pit of Horror":

Amazon

Oldies

Pure Terror 50 Movie Pack   

Watch Free Here:

  

Night Fright

 This movie is on the Sci-Fi Invasion 50 Movie Pack. It's also out first Color movie! From the little description given by the pack, the movie has something to do with Cosmic Rays and an Ape. So I'm pretty excited just from that, I'll be posting the full review in a few hours.

 IMDb: Night Fright

 P.S. The cover to this film, is probably one of the best covers evar.

 Review: Hmmm, I don't know where to start. This movie is a perfect example of a period film, watching this today is... kind of hard to stomach. There is so much wrong with this movie, I found myself constantly wondering when it would be over. However, looking back I actually kind of enjoyed it, if nothing else, as a quick view into the late 60s.

Pros:

 Cars: If I had to give one big glowing thumbs up, it would definitely be for the cars. My personal feeling is that at least half of the films budget went to the cars. It didn't look like anything in this film would really cost anything besides those cars.

 Monster: The monster looked like a Gorilla and the Creature from the Black Lagoon spent a night together. Though you rarely see the monster (not intentionally), it is one of the more interesting and original monsters I've seen from the era.

Cons:

 Stereotypes: This film stereotypes almost everybody in it. Sheriffs wearing cowboy hats is getting a little over used. The reporter who looks exactly like Clark Kent, right down to the black rimmed glasses, is a bit much. All the teenagers being rebellious jerks, minus like two, seems a little unrealistic I'm sure some teenagers were jerks. However, I'd say that 8/10 might be a little much.

 Realism: This complaint is directed at the researcher. Whoever worked on this film, researching police procedure, should literally be lobotomized. Even in the 60's I doubt it was procedure to give a REPORTER a key piece of evidence. Not to mention it's the only piece of physical evidence you have. If that cop was on Law and Order, he'd be so dead. 

 Night: This one is the real killer for me. Films from the late 60s to about the mid 70s, didn't understand the importance of lighting. I mentioned earlier how you rarely see the monster, that's due to the black costume and the dark woodsy background. The only thing you can generally make out is his glossy head. This issue made me almost turn off this movie about 4 or 5 times. The best view you ever get of the monster is a general outline.

Continuity: This one is a lesser issue, however I noticed it. During most of the "sunset" scenes, one shot would be light, then dark, then light, then black, then light, then black, then dark. You get the idea. It was very disjointed, the argument could be made that it's darker in heavily forested areas. However, that's no excuse to go from 4:30 PM to 11 PM.

FINAL SCORE:

5/10

 Though this kind of hurts me, the movie was pretty good. My brain says 3, however my heart says 7. So I middle-grounded it. The movie was good, The acting was ok, the story and everyone behind the camera was pretty abysmal.

Purchase "Night Fright": 

Amazon

Oldies

Sci-Fi Invasion 50 Movie Pack

Go For Broke

Just rolled the movie of the day, it's on the Combat Classics 50 Movie Pack. Didn't read much about this film, only thing that caught my eye is that it was nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar. So that's interesting. Pretty excited to dive into it.

Here's the IMDb page: Go For Broke, On that page they also have the full movie for instant watch.

Review: Go For Broke is about the 442nd Army Division and their combat exploits throughout Western Europe. The 442nd was an all Japanese-American regiment which, for obvious reasons, caused them to be less than trusted. They, however, against adversity and rampant racism proved to be invaluable in the Italian and French Front.

After having finished Go For Broke, I can see why it was nominated for that Oscar. The writing was well done and at times, rather comical. The movie had some definite comedy elements which, though present, never overpower the films main genre, action. The action is well done and the cinematography is used perfectly to show off the action.


Pros:

Comedy: Comedy helps to break up the monotony of pretty much all war movies, especially older ones.

Racism: You might be saying, "How is racism a Pro?" Really the reason it's on here is the lack of racism. When you think of a Japanese Army regiment with Caucasian officers in 1943, you'd expect to find some racism, to say the least. However, the few times the film actually does show this racist element, it's kept contained and never used extensively.


Cons:

Character Development: The only development truly present in the movie is the main character's differing opinion towards his platoon. In the beginning of the film he wanted nothing to do with a Japanese-American platoon. However, near the end of the film he wouldn't want to be with any other platoon. And that's the extent of character development. Yes I know war movies probably shouldn't have much character development, however, this film had so little, I noticed it continuously throughout the film.

Pigs: I highly doubt any army would let a soldier keep a pet. Let alone a pig. Tommy, the soldier who "owns" the pig, at some points talks about how precious little food he has. Yet he keeps a fat piece of pork around. Oh well, he eventually hands it over to a poor French family anyway. So I guess it served some purpose.

FINAL SCORE:

7/10

I'm far from a modern military buff or a war movie buff. However, I found the characters in this film to be likeable and the writing was well done. Like I said prior, had there been more character development this would be a higher score.


Purchase "Go For Broke":

Amazon

Oldies

Combat Classics 50 Movie Pack
Or watch it free here (in much lesser quality):

Go For Broke

The Sadist

That's the movie for today. This movie is contained on the Pure Terror 50 Movie Collection. Didn't really read anything about this film, prior to this post. The only thing I know is that Arch Hall Jr. is in it. So it already has that going for it. Review will be up on this post in a few hours.

Edit: Here's a link to the IMDb Page http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057465/.

REVIEW:

Alright, just finished watching the Sadist and let me start by saying I was impressed. It wasn't a bad movie by any stretch of the imagination, the cinematography was actually quite well done, as was the acting.

Summary: A trio of school teachers are on their way to Los Angeles when their car breaks down. Stuck at a scrapyard type place, they are accosted by two teens. The teens go on to rob and torture the teachers.


Pros:
-Arch Hall Jr. : I don't think I could ever not like an Arch Hall Jr. movie. The only other movie I've seen with him in it is EEGAH! and to be quite honest, I find this movie plays to his strengths better than EEGAH! did. He makes a much better villain than hero.

-Cinematography: Their were quite a few shots in this movie that stand out in my mind, for the time, the cinematography is quite well done.

- Acting: As I said earlier the acting is also quite well done, the girl who plays Arch's Girlfriend does a great job, rarely speaking, she definitely keeps you wondering whats up with her. The three school teachers were really well played as well.


Cons:
-Arch Hall Jr. : I don't mean to confuse you by putting him on both sides, however he needs to be. While I love Arch, I hate his face. How he ever got any acting jobs with that catcher's mitt of a face is beyond me.

- Foreshadowing: Usually Foreshadowing is nice to see in movies, however in this movie I found it quite blatant. The second the female teacher said she didn't like snakes, I knew snakes would play an important part in the story. Baseball was also a continuous recurring annoyance. Just because they we're heading on their way to a baseball game, doesn't mean you need to shove the irony of "It's a beautiful day here at Dodger Stadium" down my throat.


Final Score:
8/10

The pros severely outweigh the cons in this film. Arch Hall, you are my hero. You and your baseball glove face are welcome on my TV anytime.


Purchase "The Sadist":

Amazon

Oldies

Pure Terror 50 Movie Pack

What This Is.

Hello guys, well it's 2012 now. What this new blog is, is the place where I will be carrying out my New Years Resolution. Not too long ago I went on a spending spree, during which I spent a ton of money on movies. However, I find myself having a hard time watching them or even getting started in watching them.

Among these movies are my 50 movie packs of which I have 14. If you know your math, that means I have 700 movies right there. Beyond that I probably have at least 200 - 300 Blu-rays.

Edit: After a total count of my movies, including the 700 movies in the 50 movie packs I have approx. 1300 total films.

So the plan of all this is to watch 1 movie a day and post a review here of said movie. My plan is to work through the 50 movie packs first. The way I'm going to do it is use a random number generator to select a movie from those packs. However, Fridays I'm going to watch a random movie from some other part of my collection rather that be Blu-rays or my DVD Collection.

Rules:
 
1. If for ANY REASON, on ANY DAY I don't feel like watching a movie, I won't. 
 
2. If I roll a movie I've already reviewed, It becomes a FREE DAY. However, this FREE DAY will not be counted towards my 2 for the week.
 

3. 1 Day of the week will be a FREE DAY. On a FREE DAY, I roll on the movies in my collection that are NOT part of the 50 movie packs.


4. 1 Day of the week will be a DOUBLE FEATURE DAY. On a DOUBLE FEATURE DAY, I roll on a Movie from the movie packs, after that film is finished I roll on a regular film in my collection. I will then review both.


5. For obvious reasons FREE and DOUBLE FEATURE DAYS can't be on the same day.


6. If any one makes any requests then those will be done on a REQUEST DAY. However, request day's will only happen when something has been requested. For request options see below:

Blu-Rays:

 DVDs:

These images will be constantly updated, so check back often

If you want to see the films in the 50 movie packs, see below.

6. If for ANY REASON, on ANY DAY I don't feel like watching a movie, I won't. 

Making a Request: You can either E-mail me your requests at dylannlanier@yahoo.com or you can leave them in a comment on this post.

50 Movie Packs I Own:

On the Mill Creek Sites, just click on the "Content" tab to see all the Films

If it's on Amazon, scroll down til you find the list.

Chilling Classics

 Combat Classics

Comedy Kings

Cowboys & Bandits

Drive-In Classics

Horror Classics

Martial Arts Classics

Mystery Classics

Nightmare Worlds

Pure Terror

Sci-Fi Classics

Sci-Fi Invasion

Warriors Collection

Western Legends

[Note: If the link takes you to Amazon, it's because Mill Creek no longer carries that pack on their site]


Alright think I've typed enough for now. I'll watch the first movie tomorrow and hopefully get the review up sometime tomorrow night. Think of some other ideas, maybe having Saturday's be a double feature or something. I don't know at the moment. I'll have to work on some more ideas over the next year.

Thanks for reading,
Dylanier