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Man of Steel (2013)
Man of Steel (2013)
2013 | Action, Sci-Fi
"KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!"

Oh, wait, wrong version of that character!

This is Zack Snyders reboot of the Superman story; basically an origin story for The Man of Steel and setting out is stall pretty early with the absolutely bonkers scene where Russell Crowe's Jor-El rides a dragon as the planet Krypton (a very different take on said planet than in the Christopher Reeve films) begins to die.

It also ends with the massive destruction in Metropolis - to be fair, a consequence of which is shown in the following DC film Batman Vs Superman - and with a shocking scene where this version of Superman commits an action it is almost impossible to imagine his Silver Age counterpoint to do.

Michael Shannon's Zod comes across as less campy than Terence Stamps, while - in this version, at least - the reason Lois Lane is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist *is* actually shown.
  
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Steve Fearon (84 KP) rated Ruin Me (2017) in Movies

Sep 9, 2018 (Updated Sep 9, 2018)  
Ruin Me (2017)
Ruin Me (2017)
2017 | Horror
6
6.5 (2 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Campy, cheesy fun (1 more)
Good pacing
Predictable (1 more)
Some iffy acting
Low budget meta horror
Contains spoilers, click to show
Shudder exclusive 'ruin me' runs a similar line to 'Fear Inc' or 'Hellhouse LLC', with a meta horror experience blurring the lines between reality and fiction.

The cast is a mix of early 2000s tropes, the goth couple, the chubby film nerd, the silent loner etc on a slasher themed survival weekend where events take a turn for the bloody.

They twist and turn a few times, toying with the viewer using an unreliable narrator, our protagonist Alex, whom you aren't ever really sure is in the real world.

Not much will surprise you, but it is a fun trope laden film with no real pretence of being anything other than it is...a low budget meta slasher.

Not a bad 90 mins though, and it's watchable enough so long as you don't mind the sometimes clunky humour and meta elements getting front and centre.
  
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Andy Bell recommended The B-52's by The B-52's in Music (curated)

 
The B-52's by The B-52's
The B-52's by The B-52's
(0 Ratings)
Album Favorite

"Obviously we gravitate to those we love, and I suppose the B52's did all the groundwork for the campy disco rock a la Scissor Sisters that followed decades later. They are true originals and may have been the soundtrack to a John Water's movie. I lost count of the amount of times I danced to ‘Rock Lobster’ and tried to learn the who's who list of names on 52 Girls. The brilliant thing about being a pop musician is that you get to meet all of your teen idols. We toured with The B52's and I stayed in Woodstook at Kate Pierson's Lazy Meadow's Silver-line Caravan site, where I consequently felt the drums of an Indian pow wow coming up through the water of the river through my feet (which I often hear on the intro to ‘A Little Respect’ but it isn’t actually part of the music… spooky!"

Source
  
The Last Starfighter (1984)
The Last Starfighter (1984)
1984 | Action, Sci-Fi
Guilty 80s pleasure still sparkles!
I have made several "Andy's Guilty Pleasures" lists in my life and Flash Gordon, Krull and this film are always at the very top. I'm sure it's because this movie was a childhood favorite, but also because it hits everything just right. It's not complicated, scary, or deep at all. Just a campy good time.

When local teenager trailer park handyman Alex Rogan finally beats his favorite video game "Starfighter" he gets more than he bargained for when it's owner comes calling and invites Alex into outer space to help the star league defend itself against its enemies.

It was one of the first movies to use any sort of CGI images as we think of them today. I'm sure nowadays people would say it looked a bit dated, but I would argue the characters and story are what keep it relevant.

There have been many stories and attempts to remake or reboot this film, even from Steven Spielberg, and thus far it hasn't happened.

Keeping my fingers crossed it never does.

  
Tales That Witness Madness (1973)
Tales That Witness Madness (1973)
1973 | Classics, Comedy, Horror
6
6.7 (3 Ratings)
Movie Rating
Enjoyably (and appropriately) bonkers portmanteau horror movie based around the experiences of asylum patients. An imaginary friend turns out to be real, an antique bike turns out to be cursed, man falls in love with a tree stump, etc, etc. Kim Novak came out of retirement to play a slightly vacant literary agent who ends up eating her own daughter's flesh at a cannibal luau.

Not up to the standard of any of the Amicus portmanteaus, mainly because of a sub-par script - the twists to the various tales are either screamingly obvious, completely baffling or non-existent - but it's sort of campy fun anyway, with an interesting cast and reasonably good direction. Not remotely scary, though. The fact that much of it is totally ridiculous (the so-called Hawaiians look eastern European, and that's before we even get to the stuffed tiger or Michael Jayston going to bed wth a log) somehow doesn't detract from the entertainment value. Would have been nice to see more of Donald Pleasance, but you can't have everything.