24 Hour Movie Marathon

I didn't die from caffeine overdose, again proving resistence and year round training pays off. So what did our merry band of addicts watch?
King Dinosaur (1955) Reptile porn!!! croc's, lizards, fights! crap lines! romance! shoddy effects! Great start to the marathon. MST3K did do a pisstake, but we didn't watch that one. So here's the trailer. Movie rocked along nicely, not too long, and funny with great 50's sensibility. A habitable plant magically appeared close enough to Earth to visit. Huzzah!!!

Taking of Pelham 123 (1974) OK, so it's not a b-grade but it was nice to see on the big screen. It's actually a good movie, but it's also notable for the wonderful stereotyping of blacks, poms ("he's english, so probably a fruitcake"). Plot revolves around a hijacking a New York subway train - lots of famous actors in their early days, or at the peak of their performance. Well written, well acted, and clips along at a nice pace. Do watch it.

Role Models (2008) First of the premieres. from the history of the writers, I wouldn't have given this one the time of day. But locked in a movie theater, ya don't have much option, and it turned out to be a very funny comedy. Two miscreants end up on a youth support program (big brothers to disadvantaged kids), one a loser geek and the other a smartass black kid. It should have been cliche'd bollox that had me swearing, but somehow it worked. Smart and offensive, I gave it the thumbs up. Would recommend seeing it when it came out.


Ninja Turf (1985) AKA LA Streetfighter. It's an 80s Ninja movie, need I say more? Script atrocious, acting worse, continuity an early victim in this movie. Think West Side Story meets Saturday Night Fever. Kinda. Set at a high school where everyone is at least 35 - I begin to see where Aaron Spelling got his inspiration from ... kung fu stuff looked good, even if the movie made little sense. Loosely the plot, which takes sometime to appear, gangs fighting (which is irrelevant to the story), boy meets girl from other gang (again irrelevant), boy steals lots of cocaine, bad gang unhappy, kidnaps rest of gang, hero goes in search of friends. Dire!!

Krull (1983) Oh dear god. This is where the pain set in. I remember watching this in the 80s and thinking it seemed a bit silly. Ants introduced this as 'this should take you all back and scare you with 80s memories'. This movie is crap. Storyline? hahahahaha. Acting, ideal for a bgrade marathon. jeez it's bad. Unfortuntely it takes itself seriously. For some time. A very lengthy time in fact. One of the worst movies ever made, I'd quite happily group it with Dungeon Siege 2. For those of you who harbour happy memories of this - go watch it again. And have your childhood memories dashed by Liam Neeson trying his very best to act within the appalling script and background.

Dying Breed (2008) Second of the premiere's. An Australian horror movie set in Tasmania about flesh eating. It's not bad, definitely better than Wolf Creek. I enjoyed it, even if it's pretty predictable. Two chicks, two guys, all young go in search of the Tasmanian Tiger - same area as one of the chicks' sister died some years before. End up in the back of beyond with weird villagers - somewhat reminiscient of league of gentlemen ! I found the cynical comedic relief guy (aussie larrakin) a bit annoying quite quickly, very cliched character. As mentioned, it's predictable, but it's OK, no major frights. Nice feel to the movie, very dark and atmospheric - seemed similar in some respects to 1000 corpses. Good gore level, so I reckon 6/10 for this one. Worth seeing, but don't rush. DVD will be fine.


Vigilante (1983) What's with all these bloody 80s movies that are good, and not b-grade being shown? A revenge flick where a steel mill worker has his wife/kid murdered and joins a vigilante group to sort them out. Quite enjoyable and gritty - style seemed to take a lot from the new york 70s crime flicks. Fred Williamson in there too. Enjoyed this, and some good lines.

Part 2 to follow.

B.