This is probably the silliest sci-fi movie ever made. I'm not even sure I understand what I just watched. So a sick rich guy asks a scientist with a bunch of deconstructed living monkey parts to keep him alive, or at least keep his brain alive...so far, the movie makes sense, sort of... But then the rich guy gets this strange idea to steal the head of Renaissance prognosticator Nostradamus and bring it to the scientist to bring back to life, omitting the fact that it's Nostradamus head,,as if that would make any difference... So the scientist brings Nostradamus head back to life and he starts talking up a storm in perfect modern English and eventually the scientist tries to kill the head, but Nostradamus,puts his head inside a sort of life support box that he puts on a headless body and starts stalking around killing people. But the rich guy dies trying to stop him from climbing up a church bell,tower and Nostradamus also falls and dies. But it's another of those so bad you just have to watch movies. That's why I gave it seven stars.
Reviews
45 Reviews
The Man Without a Body
(1957)
How did the wise cracking robots miss this one?
14 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Calamity of Snakes
(1982)
Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?
22 January 2024
Warning: Spoilers
1st ***SPOILER*** : you know those items in the closing credits that say "No animals were harmed during the production of this movie"? Well, you won't find one in the credits for this movie. There are scenes of animal cruelty the likes of which you may have never before seen. First, it's men killing snakes on the construction site of a luxury apartment house that has apparently cut some corners to save money. Apparently, killing any snakes under these circumstances saves money because reasons. Reasons that made no sense to me, but maybe they will to someone else or maybe the Mandarin:English translation missed something. Bottom line: if you leave at least one snake alive, he will tell all the other snakes and they will plot revenge.
2nd ***SPOILER** After killing hundreds of snakes with a backhoe, shovels, machetes and knives, in the next scene the construction crew and bosses enjoy a meal of snake soup. A snake is skinned alive and its blood and its blood and organs harvested while the snake butcher explains thay the blood and gall bladder will give those who ingest them magical powers. We also get to see the still beating heart of the snake. The Big Boss drinks the blood and gall bladder squeezings for luck, but it doesn't work.
3rd ***SPOILER*** As if the first scene of snake massacre wasn't enough, then comes a scene in which snakes in a box are introduced to a Shrew and then follows another overly long series of snake deaths that I eventually fast forwarded through.
The rest of the movie is actually at times kind of funny and the scenes with live snakes are so over the top that they become hilarious, too. Think of the famous snake scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark and multiply the number of onscreen snakes by 150. That's a lot of snakes writhing on the floor and being thrown at actors by offscreen crew. Taiwan,where this was filmed, is not that big and they must have gone into the wild to capture almost every one of them. We're talking a flood of snakes above your ankles in some scenes.
I gave it a 7 because it was just so funny and over the top.
2nd ***SPOILER** After killing hundreds of snakes with a backhoe, shovels, machetes and knives, in the next scene the construction crew and bosses enjoy a meal of snake soup. A snake is skinned alive and its blood and its blood and organs harvested while the snake butcher explains thay the blood and gall bladder will give those who ingest them magical powers. We also get to see the still beating heart of the snake. The Big Boss drinks the blood and gall bladder squeezings for luck, but it doesn't work.
3rd ***SPOILER*** As if the first scene of snake massacre wasn't enough, then comes a scene in which snakes in a box are introduced to a Shrew and then follows another overly long series of snake deaths that I eventually fast forwarded through.
The rest of the movie is actually at times kind of funny and the scenes with live snakes are so over the top that they become hilarious, too. Think of the famous snake scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark and multiply the number of onscreen snakes by 150. That's a lot of snakes writhing on the floor and being thrown at actors by offscreen crew. Taiwan,where this was filmed, is not that big and they must have gone into the wild to capture almost every one of them. We're talking a flood of snakes above your ankles in some scenes.
I gave it a 7 because it was just so funny and over the top.
Megalodon: The Frenzy
(2023)
Monster CGI Sharks spreading blood pixels just everywhere!
15 January 2024
You know you're in trouble when the movie starts with a narrator explaining to you what the movie is about. And even after the explanation, you still don't know what's going on. We learned that a US Navy vessel, piloted by Eric Roberts was viciously attacked, and there was a loss of crewmembers and the captain and big chunks getting out of the side of the ship, so why didn't they start the action when that happened instead of catching us up with a recap of the first part of the movie that was apparently never made? Did they forget to make that part of the movie and when they realizes their mistake they were already out of money? This movie is screaming out for little robot guys to sit in the shadows, making comments, which is probably the only way that you'll be able to get through to the end. I was determined to do so, but it became so stupid that it was actually a bit boring. Poor Eric Roberts. I kept thinking of how good he was in the Pope of Greenwich Village, and Hal everything I've seen him in in the last 10 years has sucked. If you want to watch a really crappy movie, there are much better crappy movies out there to watch.
Teenage Zombies
(1959)
Crazed lady mad scientist plans to turn local teens into zombies to achieve World Domination! Yeah, makes no sense to me either.
5 January 2024
Not since Dr of Doom's scheme to take over the world by putting a gorilla's brain into the body of a lady wrestler has there been such a stupid plan for Global Domination. This is a silly movie and there are so many holes in the plot you could say it is the Swiss Cheese of bad movies. It's like they weren't even trying. There are some good moments, especially some of the scenes with Ivan the lady scientist's henchman, who is genuinely menacing and creepy. But then there other scenes in which Ivan shuffles around like Torgo from Manos: Hands of Fate and diminishes the character's threatening presence.
Also on the plus side,the teenagers look like persons between the ages of 13-19, unlike the obviously thirty-somethings you find in nearly every "teen" movie of those days. Both the girls and the boys are young and attractive and, as another reviewer wrote, would have looked right at home in an episode of Leave it to Beaver. The movies pacing was good even if at times the editing was a bit jumpy.
If you are looking for good example of a bad 50s sci-fi movie, I'm not sure you could find a more appropriate candidate.
Also on the plus side,the teenagers look like persons between the ages of 13-19, unlike the obviously thirty-somethings you find in nearly every "teen" movie of those days. Both the girls and the boys are young and attractive and, as another reviewer wrote, would have looked right at home in an episode of Leave it to Beaver. The movies pacing was good even if at times the editing was a bit jumpy.
If you are looking for good example of a bad 50s sci-fi movie, I'm not sure you could find a more appropriate candidate.
The Madmen of Mandoras
(1963)
Title should be "They Saved Hitler's He
5 January 2024
Warning: Spoilers
Yeppers, they did better than save Hitler's brain as promised in the poster, they saved the Nah-Zee Furh er's entire head and put it into a big fish tank sort of thing where it sat yelling things like "Mach Schnell!" and other.cliche German expressions. Best scenes IMHO are when they put Hitler"s fish tank on the back seat of a car and he can be seen between the the driver and the passenger shifting his eyes back and forth and grimacing like someone with Tardive dyskinesia. And apparently the fictional South American country of Mandoras has an exact copy of Bronson Cave in Griffith Park outside LA in which to hide the famous dictator's head while his minions kill everyone else on the planet with poison gas.
I gave this a 7 because it is actually a lot of fun for fans of cheesy movies and its popularity is obvious since it is still available on disk or streaming sixty years after its release. I can appreciate why the more serious reviewers here gave this a low rating because it is not exactly Citizen Kane, but there is a lot of action and tacky dialogue to hold a viewer's interest which is more than I can say about a lot of other movies.
I gave this a 7 because it is actually a lot of fun for fans of cheesy movies and its popularity is obvious since it is still available on disk or streaming sixty years after its release. I can appreciate why the more serious reviewers here gave this a low rating because it is not exactly Citizen Kane, but there is a lot of action and tacky dialogue to hold a viewer's interest which is more than I can say about a lot of other movies.
The Harrad Experiment
(1973)
Strange artifact from alien culture
20 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It's been fifty years since I last saw this oddity in its original release and by now the controversies it created have been crowded into irrelevance by every similar movie about the "sexual revolution" made since. In the intervening years I lived a life: raised a family more or less successfully, served in the US Navy, struggled in a variety of jobs, earned a Master of Social Work in my Forties and became a Clinical Social Worker and psychotherapist; not a particularly remarkable life story but I mention it because ME 2023 has a few more filters through which to view this movie than did ME 1973. I also have strong memories of growing up during those times and participating in "encounter groups" and "t-groups" in which half dressed, hyper-hormonal college underclasspersons rolled around on the Student Center floor and ecstatically rubbed each other in the belief that such sexy antics would transform the world. I used to call these extracurricular activities "Group Grope" and admit that I was less interested in saving the world than I was in seeing naked classmates. I was 18-21, after all.
So. Seeing this movie again after all that living and growing, I have a question. Why? Why did so many elite intellectuals make their life mission the dismantling of millennia of social norms, many of which have practical foundations. In the movie, the elites represented by the Tenhousens are never questioned about the goal of their mandated habitation and intimacy. No empirical evidence is referenced, no meta analysis of peer reviewed studies and/or journal articles is mentioned, and there does not appear to be any attempt at assessment and reassessment during "the Experiment" with an eye to publishing their findings in service of the Greater Good of the World. In fact, early on we see a conversation between the married Tenhousens in which they have taken steps through their selection process to eliminate any applicant who they believe may cause them legal problems or even charges of rape. So this means that their sample is already skewed away from study participants who may challenge their views. They also utilized an ally on the college board to assure their funding in the face of mounting questions about the "Experiment". Another point is that there was no control group. Everyone was in the same group instead of being put into either A. The mandated habitation/intimacy group B. A mandated non-habitation/non-intimacy group or C. A group of participants given solitary lodging and advised that they could choose to accept or opt-out of intimacy as they wished. It would still be a flawed study, but closer to a scientific model. I'll leave the lack of LGB characters to other reviewers to skewer.
Yeah, it's only a movie based on a novel and did not actually happen but it calls to mind some of the real world "experiments" from those days, like those of Stanley Milgram and John Money, most of which were found to be highly unethical and would never be repeated today. It's been said that Politics is downstream from Culture, so intellectually bankrupt movies and even documentaries based on spurious assumptions and historical inaccuracy are still being made and still influencing beliefs and public policies.
Back in those days, we used to wear a button that said "Question Authority". It was a good idea then and a better idea today.
I gave this 2 stars instead of 1 or none because it was fun to see all the naked coeds. Maybe fifty years haven't changed me that much in some areas LOL.
So. Seeing this movie again after all that living and growing, I have a question. Why? Why did so many elite intellectuals make their life mission the dismantling of millennia of social norms, many of which have practical foundations. In the movie, the elites represented by the Tenhousens are never questioned about the goal of their mandated habitation and intimacy. No empirical evidence is referenced, no meta analysis of peer reviewed studies and/or journal articles is mentioned, and there does not appear to be any attempt at assessment and reassessment during "the Experiment" with an eye to publishing their findings in service of the Greater Good of the World. In fact, early on we see a conversation between the married Tenhousens in which they have taken steps through their selection process to eliminate any applicant who they believe may cause them legal problems or even charges of rape. So this means that their sample is already skewed away from study participants who may challenge their views. They also utilized an ally on the college board to assure their funding in the face of mounting questions about the "Experiment". Another point is that there was no control group. Everyone was in the same group instead of being put into either A. The mandated habitation/intimacy group B. A mandated non-habitation/non-intimacy group or C. A group of participants given solitary lodging and advised that they could choose to accept or opt-out of intimacy as they wished. It would still be a flawed study, but closer to a scientific model. I'll leave the lack of LGB characters to other reviewers to skewer.
Yeah, it's only a movie based on a novel and did not actually happen but it calls to mind some of the real world "experiments" from those days, like those of Stanley Milgram and John Money, most of which were found to be highly unethical and would never be repeated today. It's been said that Politics is downstream from Culture, so intellectually bankrupt movies and even documentaries based on spurious assumptions and historical inaccuracy are still being made and still influencing beliefs and public policies.
Back in those days, we used to wear a button that said "Question Authority". It was a good idea then and a better idea today.
I gave this 2 stars instead of 1 or none because it was fun to see all the naked coeds. Maybe fifty years haven't changed me that much in some areas LOL.
Space Probe Taurus
(1965)
Artifact of a bygone era
20 December 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Regardless of the low ratings for this feature, it is definitely worth watching, if, for no other reason to see the difference in attitude between the sexes now and back then. You could even make a drinking game out of every time someone makes a sexist or even misogynistic remark. The lone female scientist spends most of her time fending off the verbal and physical sexual assaults of two of the male scientists on board the ship. And, of course, very predictably the most loutish misogynist on board conquers the lady's heart after considerable cringeworthy dialogue and unwanted invasion of the lady's personal space. This spaceship really needed an HR department!
Low budget sci-fi movies from the 50s and early 60s are real treasures for the viewer, IMHO. Pretty much everything about them is bad, from spaceship walls lined with air conditioning ducts two instrument panels covered in plastic LabelMaker strips to plopping a toy spaceship onto the floor of a fish tank full of Maryland blue tip crabs and calling them space creatures, there's just something quaint and endearing about these films. These are not serious movies, but they can be entertaining.. I only gave this a rating of four, but it was a lot of fun to watch and to cringe at a lot of the dialogue.
Low budget sci-fi movies from the 50s and early 60s are real treasures for the viewer, IMHO. Pretty much everything about them is bad, from spaceship walls lined with air conditioning ducts two instrument panels covered in plastic LabelMaker strips to plopping a toy spaceship onto the floor of a fish tank full of Maryland blue tip crabs and calling them space creatures, there's just something quaint and endearing about these films. These are not serious movies, but they can be entertaining.. I only gave this a rating of four, but it was a lot of fun to watch and to cringe at a lot of the dialogue.
"Naughty! Punish!! Garbage Day!!!" "Haha-hah! Hah hah ha hah haaaah..."
19 December 2023
I love the Christmas Holiday season and all the wonderful gory and heart warming movies that sprout up like red and green toadstool mushrooms in the light of the moon on the breast of the new fallen snow. Yeah, okay, I guess most people want to watch back to back marathons of A Christmas Story and It's A Wonderful Life with some "God bless us, everyone!" figgy pudding hoohah thrown in for good measure. But there is something endearing about homicidal Santa Claus and his vicious elves. And don't get me started on Santa's best helper Krampus.
Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 is a better film than its predecessor, or maybe it only seems that way because it is largely the first movie shown as archive footage with a few new scenes added. Of course, Billy died in the first movie but baby brother Ricky takes his place played by Eric Freeman, whose acting style is a pure delight from the first frames to the last. "Naughty! Punish!! Garbage Day!!!" "Haha-hah! Hah hah ha hah haaaah..." Were the producers going for dark comedy or was it unintentional? Hard to tell, but his delivery is very entertaining.
It's not a great movie, but if you give a viewing the proper perspective, you may find as I did that it is often hilarious and holds your interest.
Silent Night, Deadly Night 2 is a better film than its predecessor, or maybe it only seems that way because it is largely the first movie shown as archive footage with a few new scenes added. Of course, Billy died in the first movie but baby brother Ricky takes his place played by Eric Freeman, whose acting style is a pure delight from the first frames to the last. "Naughty! Punish!! Garbage Day!!!" "Haha-hah! Hah hah ha hah haaaah..." Were the producers going for dark comedy or was it unintentional? Hard to tell, but his delivery is very entertaining.
It's not a great movie, but if you give a viewing the proper perspective, you may find as I did that it is often hilarious and holds your interest.
Willy's Wonderland
(2021)
What's not to love?
18 December 2023
Gentle Reader and Film Connoisseur, this is a thoroughly entertaining weird AF movie that will either grab you by the nethers or leave you shaking yer damn head. Not sure there's any middle ground here, it's either grab nethers or shake head. First, it's Nic Cage in one of the most Nic-Cage-i-ist movies ever made and I've seen most of them. Lately, his movie output has tended to darker, comedic outings. Honestly, I don't know what his point is in creating such surreal material rather than his commercial work like the National Treasure franchise, but in this one he fills each frame with a controlled craziness and manages it without uttering a word. His leading lady, Emily Tosta as Liv, is a delight with her big eyes and her horrified bemusement at each scene's situation. Nic and Emily have great onscreen chemistry, too, in spite of their considerable age difference, which adds to the entertainment value.
Look, this movie has lots of action, it has Nic Cage, it has a pretty girl, and it has animatronic killer robots. What more do you need?
Look, this movie has lots of action, it has Nic Cage, it has a pretty girl, and it has animatronic killer robots. What more do you need?
Door in the Woods
(2019)
Creepy and entertaining!
21 November 2023
This movie has a lot going for it and even though I only rated it a six, it is a solid six. The performance of the main characters was very believable and although I knew there would have to be some type of resolution of the central problem of the movie, it was not apparent to me right up until the end. Much of the first half of the movie seemed a bit derivative of other similar movies I have seen over the years. The sub genre of magic doorways goes back to antiquity, so I found myself comparing the events of the first half of the movie against so many other films and stories, but the events of the second half led to a strong and disturbing finish.
The performance of CJ Jones as Uriah was especially enjoyable, and really made this movie a bit unique. He also wore a great cowboy hat!
The performance of CJ Jones as Uriah was especially enjoyable, and really made this movie a bit unique. He also wore a great cowboy hat!
Delirium
(II) (2018)
Buncha dudes go to a haunted house...you already knows what happens...
17 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
"Nice house, too bad we can't stay," said no one ever in this kind of movie. Yeah, okay, I get that their friend who they dared to go to the steps of the haunted house is missing and they want to save him. That's what script-writers call The Crucible, the reason the characters can't just find something else to do. My biggest problem with this buncha dudes is that I didn't care about any of them. Not even the guy they dared to walk up the steps. Then there were the standard creepy movie elements: the little crying girl with her back turned and oh,no! When she is touched on the shoulder and turns, SHE'S REALLY SOME KIND OF MONSTER!!! Whoa Nellie! How frightening! Then the creepy whispering that not everyone in the buncha dudes can hear. Then the naked lady rises from the bathtub and embraces one of the dudes, but then transforms into the lady who killed all her kids in that house a hundred years ago. Then the wall made of latex with spooky hands reaching out to passersby on the stairs. Was it an homage to Frighteners or Nightmare on Elm Street or just a cliché? And the unbreakable windows and the scary mirrors. And the end sequence where everyone is dead and somehow now appears in the 100 year old picture in the hallway...great idea, or at least it was when Kubrick used it at the end of the Shining. Here, it falls a bit flat. All of it falls flat.
Best part of the movie is the opening title sequence showing the credits embedded in the elements of a one hundred year old mass murder scene that is unfolding slowly before our eyes,,with an ink bottle quivering in the air where is has been knocked off the desk by the dead man who was doing post mortems on a group of children, blood dripping leisurely from their tiny bodies as a woman's hand reaches into the frame to one by one close their vacant eyes. I loved this sequence and recommend watching it at least twice before shutting off the rest of the move.
The actors seemed earnest about their roles, so I can't really fault them. But who wants to watch a haunted house movie that you've seen better versions of a hundred times? Well, I guess I did, but I only sacrifice my time so others don't have to.
Best part of the movie is the opening title sequence showing the credits embedded in the elements of a one hundred year old mass murder scene that is unfolding slowly before our eyes,,with an ink bottle quivering in the air where is has been knocked off the desk by the dead man who was doing post mortems on a group of children, blood dripping leisurely from their tiny bodies as a woman's hand reaches into the frame to one by one close their vacant eyes. I loved this sequence and recommend watching it at least twice before shutting off the rest of the move.
The actors seemed earnest about their roles, so I can't really fault them. But who wants to watch a haunted house movie that you've seen better versions of a hundred times? Well, I guess I did, but I only sacrifice my time so others don't have to.
Birdemic 2: The Resurrection
(2013)
Why?
12 November 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Why was this made? Was the world really crying out, "Please, Director Nguyen! Please tell us what happened next!"?. Were Rob and Nathalie able to overcome the trauma of fighting off acid-spitting exploding CGI birds (for the sake of brevity, let's give them the acronym ASECGIBs) with coat hangers and have a meaningful future? Was Dr. Jones able to stop Climate Change in It's tracks so the ASECGIBs will not return? Did the Tree-Hugger ever escape the looping non-burning CGI flames that were gently destroying his forest? Will the survivors erect a monument to the fallen Becky, who was killed by the Eagles while innocently taking a s**** in the weeds? And what about the effects of Global Warming on other creatures "such as seals"?
Many of these burning questions are answered in this completely unnecessary movie. Be still my fluttering heart, Rob and Nathalie's love has flourished, but their awkward interactions have not improved much from the first movie. We meet two new even more socially awkward characters, Bill the movie producer and Gloria the struggling waitress/actor. Several times during the viewing, I wondered if the target audience here was teens and young adults on the Autism spectrum. Dr. Jones is back standing on a different bridge. (Why is he always on a bridge? Am I missing some deep significance?) And no, Climate Change is still around and about to get much worse, with rains of blood, resurrection of the dead into zombies, swarms of ASECGIBs rising from the LaBrea Tar Pits while completely oblivious accidental unpaid extras stroll around (there are reports that James Nguyen did not obtain filming permits, so that's why there are unconcerned people in the background and normal street traffic,despite the Birdemic.) The Tree-Hugger now has a Mrs Tree-Hugger and an off-screen Tree-Hugger daughter, but none of these people add anything to the story narrative. The club singer is back and he's learned a new song that he sings repeatedly while the characters dance.
Missing was the interminably long driving sequence during the opening credits that had viewers shaking their heads; however, there is an interminably long walking sequence during the opening credits, featuring new character Bill walking down Hollywood Boulevard for 5:34 before a single word of dialogue is spoken, so there's that...
Was my life enriched by viewing this mess? No. Will yours? No, I guess not. But for those who love truly awful movies (I'm looking at you, lovers of Wiseau's The Room) it's must-see cinema!
Many of these burning questions are answered in this completely unnecessary movie. Be still my fluttering heart, Rob and Nathalie's love has flourished, but their awkward interactions have not improved much from the first movie. We meet two new even more socially awkward characters, Bill the movie producer and Gloria the struggling waitress/actor. Several times during the viewing, I wondered if the target audience here was teens and young adults on the Autism spectrum. Dr. Jones is back standing on a different bridge. (Why is he always on a bridge? Am I missing some deep significance?) And no, Climate Change is still around and about to get much worse, with rains of blood, resurrection of the dead into zombies, swarms of ASECGIBs rising from the LaBrea Tar Pits while completely oblivious accidental unpaid extras stroll around (there are reports that James Nguyen did not obtain filming permits, so that's why there are unconcerned people in the background and normal street traffic,despite the Birdemic.) The Tree-Hugger now has a Mrs Tree-Hugger and an off-screen Tree-Hugger daughter, but none of these people add anything to the story narrative. The club singer is back and he's learned a new song that he sings repeatedly while the characters dance.
Missing was the interminably long driving sequence during the opening credits that had viewers shaking their heads; however, there is an interminably long walking sequence during the opening credits, featuring new character Bill walking down Hollywood Boulevard for 5:34 before a single word of dialogue is spoken, so there's that...
Was my life enriched by viewing this mess? No. Will yours? No, I guess not. But for those who love truly awful movies (I'm looking at you, lovers of Wiseau's The Room) it's must-see cinema!
Movie Madness
(1982)
Not as bad as the other reviewers say. It's worse, far worse.
8 November 2023
According to IMDb this movie made a little over $63,000 in its theatrical run. Well, I refuse to believe it. No one is going to challenge my faith in the high standards of the movie-going public with such a wanton declaration. At a theater ticket price of $3 in 1982, it's easy to calculate that more than 20,000 people saw this movie. Well, I guess it was the Reagan Era with all that trickle down economy stuff going on at the same time that the mental asylums were emptying out to the streets, so it may have been the Perfect Storm that enabled so many tickets to be sold. Using Occams Razor, It's the only possible explanation.
Oh, yeah. This movie isn't even so bad it's good, it's just bad. Do something worthwhile with the time you'll save by avoiding this movie.
Oh, yeah. This movie isn't even so bad it's good, it's just bad. Do something worthwhile with the time you'll save by avoiding this movie.
Silent Madness
(1984)
Great 80's slasher!
16 October 2023
Eighties slashers are hit or miss. For every Halloween or Texas Chainsaw Massacre, there are ten copycats without the casting or production values of the classics. This movie may not be as memorable as some others of the genre, but it's a solid movie with a decent cast and maintained interest and suspense right up to the unexpected ending. Well, maybe some people expected it, but even without the surprise denouement, the movie works well. Solly Marx as the maniac killer (and stunt coordinator for the production), was as appropriately menacing as he was proficient with power tools. The lovely Belinda Montgomery was excellent as a psychiatrist trying to get someone in authority to listen to her about the maniac on the loose. Nice to see Viveca Lindfors, an actress from Hollywood's Golden Age, as well as Sidney Lassick, whom audiences may remember as patient Cheswick in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Overall, an entertaining movie for those who appreciate Eighties horror.
This entire movie is Poo, nothing but Poo!
14 October 2023
No, I did not leave the "H" off the title characters name in my review title. IMDb will not allow me to use the more appropriate synonym for poo, so poo it is.
I was curious about this movie since I read this past week that a teacher in Florida had shown it to a group of fourth graders, causing their parents to become quite irate. Apparently, the fourth graders demanded that the teacher turn off the movie after about 30 minutes, showing once, again, that fourth graders often have better judgment than I do as an adult since I watched all the way through the closing credits. I kept hoping there would be an additional scene that would somehow justify or explain what I just watched, but I was disappointed.
I've heard that the producers were waiting until the first of the Winnie the Pooh books was in the public domain so they could do a sort of mashup movie without fear of being sued by the authors estate, but they apparently were not afraid that viewers of this steaming pile of cinematic garbage would get together a class action suit and sue the producers for insulting our intelligence and wasting our time.
I really loved a lot of other mash ups, such as Abraham Lincoln, vampire Hunter and FDR, American badass, but those movies were so much fun to watch, and this movie was, as I stated, above, a steaming pile of cinematic garbage. This writer found absolutely no redeeming qualities in the entire production. The acting was subpar, the special effects cost about $1.98, The plot made no sense, and there didn't seem to be any discernible theme. Not to mention that the monsters costumes looked like the above mentioned fourth graders, put them together out of odds and ends from their mothers closet.
I gave this one star and recommend that you seek your entertainment elsewhere. I'd like to think that this is probably the worst mashup movie that will ever be made, but I notice on IMDb that a sequel is in the works for a 2024 release. I cannot imagine how the producers can justify a sequel, but as HL Mencken said, no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American people.
I was curious about this movie since I read this past week that a teacher in Florida had shown it to a group of fourth graders, causing their parents to become quite irate. Apparently, the fourth graders demanded that the teacher turn off the movie after about 30 minutes, showing once, again, that fourth graders often have better judgment than I do as an adult since I watched all the way through the closing credits. I kept hoping there would be an additional scene that would somehow justify or explain what I just watched, but I was disappointed.
I've heard that the producers were waiting until the first of the Winnie the Pooh books was in the public domain so they could do a sort of mashup movie without fear of being sued by the authors estate, but they apparently were not afraid that viewers of this steaming pile of cinematic garbage would get together a class action suit and sue the producers for insulting our intelligence and wasting our time.
I really loved a lot of other mash ups, such as Abraham Lincoln, vampire Hunter and FDR, American badass, but those movies were so much fun to watch, and this movie was, as I stated, above, a steaming pile of cinematic garbage. This writer found absolutely no redeeming qualities in the entire production. The acting was subpar, the special effects cost about $1.98, The plot made no sense, and there didn't seem to be any discernible theme. Not to mention that the monsters costumes looked like the above mentioned fourth graders, put them together out of odds and ends from their mothers closet.
I gave this one star and recommend that you seek your entertainment elsewhere. I'd like to think that this is probably the worst mashup movie that will ever be made, but I notice on IMDb that a sequel is in the works for a 2024 release. I cannot imagine how the producers can justify a sequel, but as HL Mencken said, no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American people.
Clinton Road
(2019)
"No camping, no fires, stick to the Road."
14 October 2023
Those words of warning are spoken by the ghost Forest Ranger early in this movie, but I'd like to suggest a fourth that he should have said, "Stop watching this movie." Folks, this movie is really bad, like a vanity project or a money-laundering operation or even a tax write-off. It's hard to imagine that anyone involved took this seriously. This movie is the equivalent of driving down a dark country road at midnight and hitting a skunk. It's not something you should ever do intentionally and the stench will linger long after the experience. One of the unanswered mysteries of the whole thing is how did the producers entice Ice-T, Vincent Pastore, Eric Roberto's, and Bo Dietl to make cameos? Did they lose a bet?
I was drawn to this because I grew up in North Jersey and have traveled the fabled Clinton Road many times, in daylight and in the dark. It's a cool place to visit and if you go there, you'll have to bring your own paranoia and scariness because there just isn't any there. The most dangerous thing you might find is a car driven wildly by teenagers under the influence, especially on a weekend night.
The one thing that kept me watching to the end was that it was actually shot on Clinton Road. There were recognizable landmarks like the bridge by the lake and the colonial era forge. There's a beautiful waterfall nearby that wasn't shown in the movie, but it's a nice place for a picnic. Do that instead of watching this movie...
I was drawn to this because I grew up in North Jersey and have traveled the fabled Clinton Road many times, in daylight and in the dark. It's a cool place to visit and if you go there, you'll have to bring your own paranoia and scariness because there just isn't any there. The most dangerous thing you might find is a car driven wildly by teenagers under the influence, especially on a weekend night.
The one thing that kept me watching to the end was that it was actually shot on Clinton Road. There were recognizable landmarks like the bridge by the lake and the colonial era forge. There's a beautiful waterfall nearby that wasn't shown in the movie, but it's a nice place for a picnic. Do that instead of watching this movie...
Gonzo
(2008)
Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!
9 October 2023
OK, so Hunter S Thompson was a little crazy. No, change that to he was really crazy, but he was a uniquely American crazy person, and this documentary was the clearest portrayal I've seen of Dr. Thompson"s life and legacy. I've read his Fear and Loathing books and remember reading articles by him in Rolling Stone, but this documentary filled in many of the pieces I always felt were missing from my own understanding of his contribution to world literature. I also appreciated that there was no attempt to hide the less than savory aspects of his life nor to romanticize him into a folk hero. It was a delight to see and hear Johnny Depp's readings, but having just seen (again)' Bill Murray's Where the Buffalo Roam, I would liked to see him more involved in the production. Now to my takeaways: several people interviewed talked about how Thompson might have viewed the "divisive politics" of 2008 and IMHO the politics of the last few years are much more polarizing and I wondered what Thompson's take would be on the politics of the upcoming 2024 elections. My second takeaway is the realization that Thompson was an equal opportunity PITA to both major political parties and again IMHO, more of that would be refreshing. It is the opinion of many people in 2023 that the legacy media has been weaponized against supporters of the last President and also that the emerging self-described Conservative media is conversely weaponized against those on the other side of the political spectrum. Whether these assumptions are true or not, I wonder how someone like Hunter S Thompson would be perceived if he revealed the corruption and hypocrisy of BOTH sides? In 1968, Thompson seemed unimpressed with the Democrat Hubert Humphrey and equally unimpressed with the Republican Richard Nixon. Were he alive today, would he be equally harsh in his opinion of Donald Trump and Joseph Biden and, if so, how would that play out in today's cancel culture? I guess we'll never know because there is no one on the media scene today who carries forward the Gonzo torch.
Having been a young man in the 60s and 70s, I can attest that the documentary's portrayal of that era was accurate as a complicated and divisive time. Still, there was an undercurrent of hope that somehow the future would be an improvement; unfortunately, that undercurrent appears almost completely lacking in 2023.
This documentary was, for me who lived through those years, quite thought-provoking, but also sad because the world could benefit from a media warrior like Hunter S Thompson who acts on principle and not ideology.
Having been a young man in the 60s and 70s, I can attest that the documentary's portrayal of that era was accurate as a complicated and divisive time. Still, there was an undercurrent of hope that somehow the future would be an improvement; unfortunately, that undercurrent appears almost completely lacking in 2023.
This documentary was, for me who lived through those years, quite thought-provoking, but also sad because the world could benefit from a media warrior like Hunter S Thompson who acts on principle and not ideology.
Fear in the Night
(1946)
Another film that put public understanding of behavioral science back a hundred years.
30 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
I liked this little noir gem for the performances, the atmosphere and the creative cinematography, but it gets a failing grade for its scientific distortions. Great to see DeForest Kelley in an early role, but it would have been nice to see him in a story that didn't rely upon pseudo-science. Hypnotism was the culprit of far too many movies of the Thirties, Forties and Fifties, describing it as a method by which one person, the Hypnotist, can take over the control of a Subject without their knowledge or informed consent. Bull excrement! There has been considerable research into the phenomena of hypnosis that debunks its use as a covert weapon of psychic manipulation, which is why "I must've been hypnotized!" Is not accepted as a legal defense in court. In this film, the main character is progressively groomed into a deep amnesiac hypnotic state through casual contacts with the killer, who uses the reflection from a watch case to "hypnotize" him, eventually taking over his will and causing him to commit an attempted murder. After doing this, he has a nearly perfect amnesia regarding those events except for sketchy memories about an octagonal mirrored room that pop up in his dreams. He also has injuries and a mysterious key in his pocket.
I am a retired Licensed Clinical Social Worker who had the good fortune to have received some intensive post graduate training in Clinical Hypnotherapy at the Milton Erickson Foundation in Scottsdale,AZ. There I learned methods of "indirect hypnotic suggestions" using language and pacing, but in all cases the client is aware that it is a hypnosis session over which they have complete control. The therapist is merely a facilitator to guide them into a greater understanding of their mental processes and to elicit their own unique resolutions to the issues that brought them to therapy. And yes, there are methods that may produce partial temporary amnesia used for a therapeutic purpose, but the client's values and morals remain unchanged. In other words, if you would be unwilling to commit a crime in a fully alert state of consciousness, you would have the same unwillingness to commit a crime while enjoying a pleasant and relaxing hypnotic experience.
This movie is still worth watching even though it has such a fundamental flaw in its logic. The scene in which the protagonist crawls out onto a ledge to kill himself is a masterpiece of cinema photography so good, I backed it up and watched it several times. When his brother-in-law drags him back through the window, he loses his hat and the camera follows it all the way to the sidewalk, which heightened the scene's tension by suggesting how easily his body could also slip away into the void. Very nicely done. I also enjoyed the dissolves when the protagonist faints, showing a twisted spider web pattern of lines that fade to black. Many people who have experienced a sudden loss of consciousness later recall the visual disturbances that occurred before the blackout and this was an effective way to illustrate that experience.
Due to the scientific inaccuracy, I could not give this movie more than four stars. Had the culprit been something other than "hypnosis", I would have given is seven stars as a fun little noir.
I am a retired Licensed Clinical Social Worker who had the good fortune to have received some intensive post graduate training in Clinical Hypnotherapy at the Milton Erickson Foundation in Scottsdale,AZ. There I learned methods of "indirect hypnotic suggestions" using language and pacing, but in all cases the client is aware that it is a hypnosis session over which they have complete control. The therapist is merely a facilitator to guide them into a greater understanding of their mental processes and to elicit their own unique resolutions to the issues that brought them to therapy. And yes, there are methods that may produce partial temporary amnesia used for a therapeutic purpose, but the client's values and morals remain unchanged. In other words, if you would be unwilling to commit a crime in a fully alert state of consciousness, you would have the same unwillingness to commit a crime while enjoying a pleasant and relaxing hypnotic experience.
This movie is still worth watching even though it has such a fundamental flaw in its logic. The scene in which the protagonist crawls out onto a ledge to kill himself is a masterpiece of cinema photography so good, I backed it up and watched it several times. When his brother-in-law drags him back through the window, he loses his hat and the camera follows it all the way to the sidewalk, which heightened the scene's tension by suggesting how easily his body could also slip away into the void. Very nicely done. I also enjoyed the dissolves when the protagonist faints, showing a twisted spider web pattern of lines that fade to black. Many people who have experienced a sudden loss of consciousness later recall the visual disturbances that occurred before the blackout and this was an effective way to illustrate that experience.
Due to the scientific inaccuracy, I could not give this movie more than four stars. Had the culprit been something other than "hypnosis", I would have given is seven stars as a fun little noir.
Bigfoot's Wild Weekend
(2012)
Wanted to give 1/10 rating but...
17 September 2023
I'd like to think that everyone involved in the making of this turkey had a nice time outside in the woods, with all the fresh air and sunshine. This is a truly terrible movie, the sort of movie that could end the art form. To extrapolate from the late great George S. Kaufman, "In outer space, the Hubble telescope was until recently the most powerful device for viewing far away objects, capable of magnifying these objects hundreds if not thousands of times; recently, the James Webb Telescope was launched and far exceeded the Hubble's performance. Now, if you were to somehow install the Hubble into the James Webb Telescope and point the whole thing at this movie, you would still be incapable of perceiving any possible reason for this movie to have been made." Those persons who gave a rating to this artifact of cinematic offal any higher than 2/10 I suspect are the sort of generous and decent souls who are the true salt of this Earth, early risers who begin each day optimistically and with a song or a whistle upon their lips as they heartily encourage the rest of us to follow their lead in living lives filled with service and faith and meticulous recycling and trash composting. They would never give this steaming pile of celluloid scheiße the rating it deserves because they are oh so better than the rest of us playful, indolent rabble and would never want the film makers to feel bad about foisting this pointless brain dead movie on an unsuspecting public. Good and decent people like that sicken me and I hope they all fall prey to letters from Nigerian princes.
The only reason I gave it more than 1 star is because it was filled with a number of very attractive young ladies of college age who spent nearly all their screen time frolicking in their original suite of clothing given them at birth by a generous and merciful Creator.
If you also appreciate cinema depictions of attractive sky clad women in the peak of youthful health, I heartily recommend this movie. But if even these transient charms are not enough to sustain you over the running time of this movie, then please do yourself the great service of running from this movie as you would run from certain painful death.
The only reason I gave it more than 1 star is because it was filled with a number of very attractive young ladies of college age who spent nearly all their screen time frolicking in their original suite of clothing given them at birth by a generous and merciful Creator.
If you also appreciate cinema depictions of attractive sky clad women in the peak of youthful health, I heartily recommend this movie. But if even these transient charms are not enough to sustain you over the running time of this movie, then please do yourself the great service of running from this movie as you would run from certain painful death.
The Boogey Man
(1980)
Nowhere near as bad as it could have been.
16 September 2023
This movie was fun and, at times, unintentionally hilarious. A lot of these 80s supernatural horror movies relied heavily on reverse motion sequences in which an object seems to fly through the air and attaches itself to someone perfectly, but the object was actually placed there first and pulled away by someone tugging a monofilament, then the sequence was shown in reverse. This movie used reverse sequence photography so much it could be turned into a drinking game, with one shot after every reversed film clip.
The always delightful Susannah Love is perfect in the role of a woman traumatized as a child and now, as a mother, experiencing flashbacks to the original sensitizing incident. John Carradine appears as a psychiatrist who tries help the young mother, but who never imagines that the supernatural is at play here.
Vinegar Syndrome films are notorious for reissues of these sorts of low budget slasher movies and I've hardly ever been disappointed by the films they have curated over the years. This movie does not deserve the low ratings given by some reviewers, but I can understand how disappointing it must be for someone who sees a movie entitled the Boogeyman, and yet somehow anticipates they will have the same high literary experience as if they were watching, say, Death on the Nile or Murder on the Orient Express. It's the Boogeyman and yes the story makes little sense and requires major suspension of disbelief, but it's not boring or tedious.
I gave it a 7 because it was fun, even with the silly special effects and plot flaws.
The always delightful Susannah Love is perfect in the role of a woman traumatized as a child and now, as a mother, experiencing flashbacks to the original sensitizing incident. John Carradine appears as a psychiatrist who tries help the young mother, but who never imagines that the supernatural is at play here.
Vinegar Syndrome films are notorious for reissues of these sorts of low budget slasher movies and I've hardly ever been disappointed by the films they have curated over the years. This movie does not deserve the low ratings given by some reviewers, but I can understand how disappointing it must be for someone who sees a movie entitled the Boogeyman, and yet somehow anticipates they will have the same high literary experience as if they were watching, say, Death on the Nile or Murder on the Orient Express. It's the Boogeyman and yes the story makes little sense and requires major suspension of disbelief, but it's not boring or tedious.
I gave it a 7 because it was fun, even with the silly special effects and plot flaws.
Butterfly Kisses
(2018)
Very enjoyable mockumentary! Sad that Erik Kristopher Myers, the writer and director, passed away in 2021
11 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
OMG! Another found footage movie! Is what many potential viewers might say. Wasn't all this covered by the Blair Witch Project and Cannibal Holocaust and any new movie of this genre is just beating a dead whatever?
But here I am giving this one eight stars because it's pretty darn good and is a movie about a found footage movie. Even knowing that it is entirely fictional, it has a wonderful creepy vibe and some nice scare-jumps, not to mention that the world it creates is almost convincing. The scene with the packed paranormal meeting was excellent and the collateral interviews were also nicely done, especially since some of them were actual persons playing themselves. There were so many people on screen making it seem real, unlike other found footage movies which are basically a few college kids roaming around in the woods scaring the poop out of each other until they all "mysteriously" vanish, leaving the tapes to be found in a hollow tree. Also effective was the subtext of.the slow dissolution of Gavin's marriage as a result of his obsession with the found tapes.
My point is who cares if it's fictional? The idea of a monster getting closer and closer to you with each eye blink was done in a famous episode of Doctor Who and knowing it was just a TV show did not detract from the fun. Just enjoy this movie for what it is, a pleasant little horror movie.
Before leaving this review, my condolences to the family and friends of writer and director Erik Kristopher Myers, who passed away in 2021 at the far too young age of 45. This was the first movie of Erik's that I've seen and it makes me sad that we will see nothing further from this talented and passionate young man. Requiestat em Pacem, Erik...
But here I am giving this one eight stars because it's pretty darn good and is a movie about a found footage movie. Even knowing that it is entirely fictional, it has a wonderful creepy vibe and some nice scare-jumps, not to mention that the world it creates is almost convincing. The scene with the packed paranormal meeting was excellent and the collateral interviews were also nicely done, especially since some of them were actual persons playing themselves. There were so many people on screen making it seem real, unlike other found footage movies which are basically a few college kids roaming around in the woods scaring the poop out of each other until they all "mysteriously" vanish, leaving the tapes to be found in a hollow tree. Also effective was the subtext of.the slow dissolution of Gavin's marriage as a result of his obsession with the found tapes.
My point is who cares if it's fictional? The idea of a monster getting closer and closer to you with each eye blink was done in a famous episode of Doctor Who and knowing it was just a TV show did not detract from the fun. Just enjoy this movie for what it is, a pleasant little horror movie.
Before leaving this review, my condolences to the family and friends of writer and director Erik Kristopher Myers, who passed away in 2021 at the far too young age of 45. This was the first movie of Erik's that I've seen and it makes me sad that we will see nothing further from this talented and passionate young man. Requiestat em Pacem, Erik...
It's a Revolution Mother
(1969)
It's, like, groovy, man. Like, far out, can you dig it?
4 August 2023
The people who made this documentary must have been on dope. Oh, wait, a lot of people back then were on dope. I was eighteen the summer of 1969 and this movie was such a cool look backward for me through the mists of time from the summer of 2023. Actually, some of those mists were likely clouds of pot smoke, but I already said that a lot of people were on dope back then. There was a lot of Youth Culture propaganda in the movie, stuff about how these hippies and bikers "doing their own thing" were some sort of wave of the future and we were going to see big changes and consciousness expansion in coming decades. During the lifetime that has passed between 1969 and now, a lot of it seems a little naive and reminded me of that time when I thought I knew everything, too. The kids in this movie had such hope and confidence on their faces, especially at the anti-war rallies and music festivals. I have photographs of myself at that age with the same look on my face. We were so sure we had all the answers back then. Considering how screwed up the world is today, where did we go wrong?
Aside from the incorrect predictions, it was cool seeing what we now call classic cars when they were new, and to pick out in the crowd scenes the clothing we all wore back then, the fringed leather jackets, Mexican ponchos, headbands, bell bottoms, paisley shirts, and all the rest. Younger people might be bored by this documentary but people of my generation should check it out.
Aside from the incorrect predictions, it was cool seeing what we now call classic cars when they were new, and to pick out in the crowd scenes the clothing we all wore back then, the fringed leather jackets, Mexican ponchos, headbands, bell bottoms, paisley shirts, and all the rest. Younger people might be bored by this documentary but people of my generation should check it out.
Haunted Mansion
(2023)
Enjoyable family film like Disney used to make
29 July 2023
Walt Disney movies were my absolute favorite growing up. I have fond memories of all of them and watched Mickey Mouse Club every day, as well as Walt Disney Presents and later, Walt Disneys Wonderful World of Color on Sunday nights. Over the last twenty or so years, they seem to have lost their way and a few recent movies I've seen have been big disappointments. They seemed like predictable, cynically calculated products created by committees and focus groups rather than by creative artists who love making movies and bringing delight and positive moral and ethical lessons to children.
I attended a showing of Haunted Mansion with lowered expectations, especially since I was not a fan of the Eddie Murphy version. However, from the first moments I was captivated by this new version. The cast was excellent and the special effects well executed. LaKeith Stanfield was excellent in the lead and Tiffany Haddish,as a medium was a riot! Owen Wilson is always enjoyable, as is Danny DeVito and the rest of the cast. It was fun to look for the pieces that referred to the ride and to watch the funny stuff happening in the background.
I hope this movie does well for Disney so they are encouraged to make more movies like this. This was a pleasant way to spend a couple hours in an air conditioned theater during a heat wave.
I attended a showing of Haunted Mansion with lowered expectations, especially since I was not a fan of the Eddie Murphy version. However, from the first moments I was captivated by this new version. The cast was excellent and the special effects well executed. LaKeith Stanfield was excellent in the lead and Tiffany Haddish,as a medium was a riot! Owen Wilson is always enjoyable, as is Danny DeVito and the rest of the cast. It was fun to look for the pieces that referred to the ride and to watch the funny stuff happening in the background.
I hope this movie does well for Disney so they are encouraged to make more movies like this. This was a pleasant way to spend a couple hours in an air conditioned theater during a heat wave.
Wacky Taxi
(1972)
Interesting concept: a "comedy" movie that isn't funny
23 July 2023
So, let me see if I understand this. We meet Pepper Morales, a married man with kids and a pregnant wife, at his job in a factory. The narrator tells us he is not satisfied with his job and we next see Pepper walk off the job after impulsively overturning a rolling cart filled with empty cans that scatter everywhere, making a mess that his former coworkers will have to clean up. At least he shook the hands of his coworkers before triumphantly exiting the building and leaping in the air for a freeze frame during the opening credits. Pepper goes home and announces he's starting a taxi business, spending almost all the family's savings on a broken down 1959 Cadillac and some take out food. This is during the first ten laugh-free minutes. It never gets better.
Maybe I'm just a cynical old guy, but I don't see a lot of humor in a man placing his family into serious financial jeopardy this way. Luckily for him his wife seems to be clueless about the potential dire consequences of Pepper's actions. He acts like someone experiencing a manic episode and by todays standards, everything he does is disturbing. Playing wacky music and speeding up the frames does not make on screen law-breaking and mental illness funny.
John Astin is funny in The Addams Family, but I cannot imagine what he was thinking to star in this steaming pile of crap. Cameos from the singer/satirist Alan Sherman and Frank Sinatra, Jr. Are also awful.
I gave this two stars because despite its deep flaws, it was fun to see San Diego in 1972 and literally tons of classic cars.
Maybe I'm just a cynical old guy, but I don't see a lot of humor in a man placing his family into serious financial jeopardy this way. Luckily for him his wife seems to be clueless about the potential dire consequences of Pepper's actions. He acts like someone experiencing a manic episode and by todays standards, everything he does is disturbing. Playing wacky music and speeding up the frames does not make on screen law-breaking and mental illness funny.
John Astin is funny in The Addams Family, but I cannot imagine what he was thinking to star in this steaming pile of crap. Cameos from the singer/satirist Alan Sherman and Frank Sinatra, Jr. Are also awful.
I gave this two stars because despite its deep flaws, it was fun to see San Diego in 1972 and literally tons of classic cars.
Polar
(I) (2019)
Graphic novel comes alive
15 July 2023
Wasn't sure what to expect, but gave it a shot because I love Mads Mikkelsen and Kathryn Winnick. I liked it a lot! It is strongly reminiscent of John Wick and other thrillers, but only gets 8/10 from me because the world-building was not as logical and well-rounded as the John Wick series. Of course, if sequels had been made, it might have gotten there.
Very entertaining movie overall and recommended as a satisfying thriller. Mads Mikkelsen and Vanessa Hudgins had good chemistry in their shared scenes, as well. Some of the plotting was a little predictable and/or awkward, but the cinematography was top notch and eased me through the lack of narrative logic. It was a nice way to spend two hours.
Very entertaining movie overall and recommended as a satisfying thriller. Mads Mikkelsen and Vanessa Hudgins had good chemistry in their shared scenes, as well. Some of the plotting was a little predictable and/or awkward, but the cinematography was top notch and eased me through the lack of narrative logic. It was a nice way to spend two hours.
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