Last film you saw, vol. 6

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

Peter Benchley's The Beast (Made for TV movie, 1996)



Continuing my Benchleyfest, I watched all three hours of this last night. This was another one that I originally saw as a TV special growing up, and it still holds up relatively well, despite a rubber squid flopping around everywhere. Before CSI fame, William Petersen did an impressive job with the main role. I have to hunt down the rest of Benchley's movies, as I'm pretty sure SciFi made a couple of B movies based on his works. Will probably watch The Deep sometime very soon.

Opposite for me: Creature/White Shark (novel) was boring, whereas the film was very good (wouldn't mind owning it if I find it for very cheap).

As for Beast, I found both the novel and the TV adaptation to be highly enjoyable.

I got my dvds of both movies off Amazon quite a while ago. I think Blu-Ray versions were released recently, also.

Edit: Although I liked Creature, Kim Cattrall's over-acting just pisses me off. No matter what I've seen her in, whether it was Sex in the City or as Lieutenant Valeris, I've always wanted to just slap her through the TV.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Marty (1955)

"You don't get to be good-hearted by accident. You get kicked around long enough, you become a professor of pain."

Jurassic World (2015)

"Monster is a relative term. To a canary, a cat is a monster. We're just used to being the cat."

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Hansel and Gretel (2013)

"Whatever you do, don't eat the f***ing candy."

The Haunting (1963)

"I haven't seen a damn thing! I just don't like the way it looks."

[Agent Purple The Illustrated Man Find all posts View Profile Close Agent Purple]

I really should get The Haunting on DVD one day. Such a fantastic film. That door scene is unforgettable.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Zombie High (1987)

"The only thing I hate more than women is men."

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The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

"I started with nightmares. Rumors, conjectures, that's a giant leap forward."

I went in expecting very little, so I was pleasantly surprised here. Certainly not as good as the 1962 adaptation, still it was decent and particularly good at making me think how easy it would be to doubt your sanity if you were actually the victim of a mind-washing conspiracy.

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I really should get The Haunting on DVD one day. Such a fantastic film. That door scene is unforgettable.

Supposedly, Stephen King called it the best horror movie ever.

EDIT: a quick google confirms that he thinks the book is one of the best in the genre but the movie I can't find more than a general high regard.

[IonFan Forum Member Find all posts View Profile Close IonFan]

just got back from seeing Ted 2, f'ing loved it and will get the DvD BUT they really should of worked it out with what's her name, after what happened in the 1st one, ya know her being the one that wished Ted back to life and all it just doesn't work or make sense for her not to be in the 2nd one

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Terminator (1984)

"Pain can be controlled. You just disconnect it."

[For the first time (I think) I noticed that the Terminator tapes a second clip to his first on his AR-15, like the Vietnam vets used to.]



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Sanctuary (1998)

"When will I know what I was created to do?"

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Seven Years in Tibet (1997)

"Nothing in politics is a matter of honor."

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Godzilla against Mechgodzilla (2002)

"I'll show you what Kiryu can do!"

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

Frankenstein Unbound (1990)

Definitely one of the weirder interpretations of the Frankenstein tale I've seen so far....time hopping, Mary Shelley living inside her own story, fancy dancy cars that would make David Hasselhoff jealous, and most notably, the Roger Corman effect all mixed together.

Raul Julia plays an impressive Victor. Restrained, drained of any guilt or remorse, I rather liked this take on the doomed character. Not sure what to think about the monster...definitely not Karloff, but then James Whale wasn't exactly faithful to the actual tale, either. Definitely a few cues taken from the Edison Frankenstein.

I'm not sure I would actually watch this again because the story is all over the place. It almost wants the viewer to consider it seriously, but so much ham prevents the very notion.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

The Executioner's Song (1982)

"Who's going to play me in the movie?"

Cheech and Chong's Next Movie (1980)

"Responsibility is a heavy responsibility!"

[Jeff Guardian of the Universe Find all posts View Profile Close Jeff]

Alien (1979)

"Uh, before we dock, I think we oughta discuss the bonus situation."

Had a sudden urge to watch this last night. I was reading at Wikipedia that the actors had no idea blood was going to be sprayed as the chest burster made its debut, especially Veronica Cartwright. The reaction we see on film was pure, no acting. Ridley Scott nailed it in one take. I watched the original theatrical version; for some reason I thought I had the director's cut which featured Ripley discovering the crew in their cocoons. In any event, still enjoyed it. Scott has a very quiet, suggestive way of implication when telling a story- there are cues slightly out of direct focus that you might not catch the first time around, but then you go back and realize what they are. In contrast, Spielberg has "a matter of fact" sequencing to Jaws where, if not revealed visually, we still know what's going on.
I never quite appreciated the film until the Quadrilogy came out on DVD. Since then, I have quite changed my opinion on it for the better.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Jack's Back (1988)

"I'm not really dressed.
-It's okay, we're police officers."

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The Black Godfather (1974)

"Don't let your mouth overload your a$$."

[Hypo Lil' Leaguer Find all posts View Profile Close Hypo]

I really enjoyed this. Way better than I expected.

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

The Expendables 2 (2012)

"I've heard another rumor, that you were bitten by a king cobra?
-Yeah, I was. But after five days of agonizing pain, the cobra died."

[Space Cop The Dandy Find all posts View Profile Close Space Cop]

Thinner (1996)

"He may have been a mook, but he was my mook."

Frankenstein Conquers the World (1965)

"He had no place in this world."