Swingers 1996 8 out of 10

Swingers  1996   8 out of 10

I revisited Swingers for the first time in many years since Kim had never seen it and it was playing in this little retro wine bar in Solvang a few months back.   Swingers is all about hopeless single Mike (played by on Favreau) --who is tying to deal with a breakup of a six year relationship and get back out there again.   He dives into the retro cool LA nightlife with the help of his buddies that include a younger skinnier  Vince Vaughn and Ron Livingston that keep trying to tell him how Money he is.  Mike struggles in  the singles world of Swing music and hip LA parties and retro hangouts....that are perfectly set to a great soundtrack.   Mike's desperate search to get over his ex is filled with great witty dialogue.   The movie is worth watching just for the scene where Mike ends up calling a girl he just meet at a bar  an hour later after being told to wait at least 3 days before calling.  He leaves a series or desperate messages that scares the girl off before they could even have a date.

Dracula Has Risen from his Grave 1969 5 out of 10

Dracula Has Risen from his Grave  1969   5 out of 10

"No coffin could ever hold him"   states the trailer that like the poster   is more thrilling than the movie itself.  Christopher Lee stars as Dracula for one of the 7 times he played the role in this Hammer horror film.  It is your standard.... slow moving, horny Dracula movie.  Dracula slowing stalks his pray in between taking naps in his coffin.  It has some of the typical Hammer style to it -but there is nothing remarkable about this Vampire movie.  The girl Dracula has an eye on in this feature is the stunning Veronica Carlson.


.....I personally prefer kick ass... action packed Vampire flicks like Underworld of Blade.....or comedy action Vampire stuff like Buffy or Angel.....The slow---lurking in the shadows  seduction Vampire stuff.....NOT so Much.----anyway check out the trailer and decide for yourself.

Bad Shark Movies: Sand Sharks 2011 5 out of 10

Sand Sharks  2011   5 out of 10

Damit!........I should have written this movie 4 years ago....I watched too many crappy shark movies for nothing.....All that research down the toilet.    Someone else made --- kind of the movie I wanted to make ----after watching bad shark movie after bad shark movie.    Okay so it wasn't exactly the movie I had in mind.....I mean I guess this was a comedy?? (Mine would have been the bloodiest all out comedy Shark movie ever)   .   It had many of the shark movie conventions that I wanted to make fun of...like the "Jaws Scenario" that I talked about in my orginal blogs on the subject matter.    They did part of the concept I had envisioned ---but they didn't go over the top enough.  In a world with Monster of the week Giant creature features you need to go really over the top to make it different or turn it on its head......Once you get past the fact that the sharks swim in the sand it just becomes no different than ever terrible bad sci-fi shark movie.     This bad Shark movie stars Hulk Hogan's daughter  and Corin Nemec   and ends up being basically a bad Tremors rip off. 

It thinks it is funny but fails and becomes boring instead.

The poster for the film  is excellent as it parodies the Jaws poster.....Too bad the movie isn't what it could have been.......Maybe I should thank this movie for being made....Maybe it saved me from making the silliest, bloodiest, worst shark movie ever ......I guess the world will never know.

Here is a link to the some of the  research I  started years ago   into bad shark movies   when I wanted to write the ultimate Bad Shark movie comedy.

http://bradgeekness.blogspot.com/2011/06/shark-movies-research-movie-reviews.html

And Part 2

http://bradgeekness.blogspot.com/2011/07/shark-movies-research-part-2-beach.html

Animated movie # 5: Secret of the Wings 2012 9 out of 10

Secret of the Wings 2012   9 out of 10.

This was a strong entry in the Tinkerbell  Disney Fairies movie series of direct to DVD films.  This movie are totally cute and sweet and little girls and their parents can appreciate them as quality family entertainment together .  The visuals in this installment were beautiful,   as we get to journey into the Winter Fairy realm.  The Disney Fairies series has been able to expand and explore the world of Fairies over several films building a mythology for the world in which the Fairies live --while having interesting villain less films that kids love.  This tale of Tinkerbell finding her sister in the Winter Fairy land  (they were born of the same laugh--too cute) was a wonderfully written and executed adventure and in a year of lackluster blockbuster films that have disappointed I was totally surprised about how much I enjoyed this cute little movie while watching it with my step daughter.

Labeled by many as just a cash grab when the series was announced  (and I'm that element exists to a degree) Disney has actual created a wonderful and imaginative Fairy world with a colorful animated palate.    If you have little girls and haven't seen this movies yet ----check them out.

Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows 2011 7 out of 10

Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows    7 out of 10

I liked this sequel, but didn't love it as much as the original .  It had all the big action scenes of its predecessor and some elements especially in the interaction between Holmes and Watson.  But it almost felt to far removed from the original Sherlock Holmes that I came to love from the books and old movies.  Where I felt it was an interesting take on Holmes the first time around this time it just felt odd.  My wife commented that she felt like Robert Downey Jr. was trying to hard to be Johnny Depp, which I felt was a good point.  This Holmes at times felt like he was just trying too hard to be weird instead of just quirky and interesting.   This movie focused entirely on his battle with his fabled nemesis  and as a result lost some of what made all the Sherlock Holmes mysteries so good --which was the mysteries themselves and how he solved them.   It still had elements of that, but was mainly  a battle of good vs evil with big special effects.

One side note...I did love the addition of Sherlock Holmes brother as played by Stephen Fry.

Check it out here..

..

The Saint in London 1939 7 out of 10 (The Saint Series #1)

George Sanders stars as The Saint  in 

  The Saint in London 1939  7 out of 10.

I was aware of the TV show with pre Bond Roger Moore,  I didn't know there was a series of movies back in the 1930's --1940's.   This British Man of Mystery  has style and a confidence in no matter what situation he gets himself into.   The movie was sleek and fun with a short running time.   Sanders was perfect for the role and  I look forward to seeing the other entries in this series.  He starred in 5 Saint movies before moving on to another great character in the Falcon films. In The Saint in London Simon Templar (AKA the Saint) unravels a mystery that involves currency fraud and murder.   

Murder Mysteries of this era generally have a short running time that is just over and hour so to the modern viewer they have the feel of a TV show.  If you enjoy old school Murder Mysteries give the Saint Movie series a try.  It is like watching a Netflix series these days with 8 films in total not a huge time commitment.

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The Mummy's Hand 1940 5 out of 10

The Mummy's Hand  1940  5 out of 10...

This was your typical Mummy movie.  The old school Mummy movies are pretty much all the  same.  A clue leads some treasure hunters  to a lost tomb....A curse is unleashed...the locals run and hide and the those that opened the tomb are menaced by a slow moving and not scary at all monster in bandages.   Until the big budget remake with Brendan Frasier  Mummies just were never scary. They are slow lumbering creatures that sneak up on you out of the dark and either choke you or hammer you with their Mummy wrapped hand until you are dead.   They can easily be outrun and their is generally only one of them.     Mummy movies are like a zombie movie with only one Zombie.......kinda dull.   The best Mummy movies or shows are when they are poking fun at them like in Scooby Doo.  "Coin....coin...coin".