My final review from My Thanksgiving Weekend of Watching Movies on a Computer in the Back Seat of My Tahoe is, again, blamed on Netflix. I may have already reached my Netflix Sucks quote for today but did you ever know me to play by the rules?

Netflix Sucks.

I wanted to watch the original version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Which, of course, Netflix didn't have. And the only version I could find on YouTube had the first 34 minutes and then the screen froze (thank goodness I read the comments before actually watching the movie). So Mr. Damosuzuki, I failed in my attempt to carry out your wishes and watch this movie. But I'll keep trying! Even if I have to pay for it!

For some reason this series of events jogged my memory and made me remember a movie I'd seen when I was a young teenager. I thought it was a remake of "The Blob" but it was actually a sequel to "The Blob" called "Beware! The Blob!". I found it for free on some safe site that was not Netflix.

I'd forgotten how great this movie is. Oh sure - I remembered that one scene I loved, where a hippie walks into a barbershop and asks the astonished barber to cut his hair. In a fit of joy the barber begins washing the hippie's giant lettuce but neither realizes that the sink is not filled with hot water - it's filled with The Blob.

What I didn't remember was that this movie was directed by Larry Hagman. That's right - the Larry Hagman. And it starred every dang character actor you can think of. What a GREAT cast. True story - most of these people were Larry Hagman's neighbors. He just went door-to-door and asked people, "Hey, you want to get blobbed in my movie?"

"Beware! The Blob!" has perhaps the greatest opening title sequence in the history of filmed entertainment. Here is the entire movie - which you should and almost certainly will watch after reading this inpsiring review - but for now just invest a couple minutes and tell me I'm wrong about the opening title sequence:



BTW, the haircut scene I described above starts at 31:21. COINCIDENCE OR FATE?

The hero of this movie is Bobby, played by Robert Walker. You will SWEAR that Robert Walker was in every '60's/'70's teen movie you've ever seen, but he was only in a few of them. But he was Charlie in the famous Star Trek episode "Charlie X", and he was also in "Easy Rider". Something else about Robert Walker - he worked steadily until 1991 and then didn't work again until 2016. I'd like to know why.

It couldn't have been money because FAMOUS STEPFATHER ALERT...FAMOUS STEPFATHER ALERT...FAMOUS STEPFATHER ALERT...his stepfather is/was David O. Selznick, famous Hollywood movie producer.

Anyway, all the cool kids are having a party for Bobby but unbeknownst to them, Godfrey Cambridge has returned from the Arctic with a "sample". The sample gets out of its container and eats that cat in the opening title sequence, then eats Godfrey Cambridge's wife, and then it is in the process of eating Godfrey Cambridge when Bobby's girlfriend shows up to get the present she and Godfrey Cambridge's wife had made for Bobby. This freaks out Bobby's girlfriend and she goes to the party to get Bobby.

What a party! It has a guy in an ape suit! You can't get more freaky-deaky than having a guy in an ape suit! There are also hippies AND hipsters. People are tuning in, turning on, and probably dropping out. But mostly they're just having fun. Bobby's fun ends when his girlfriend shows up and makes him go to Godfrey Cambridge's house to see dead Godfrey Cambridge.

When they get back to Godfrey Cambridge's house, no Godfrey Cambridge. But The Blob is there and almost eats their car! Fortunately, they accidentally turn on the air conditioner and this makes The Blob retreat.

They go looking for the sheriff and along the way run into every dang character actor from the '70's, including Dick Van Patten. It's awesome.

The Blob runs into Burgess Meredith and Larry Hagman. They get Blobbed.

Ultimately Bobby, his girlfriend, and all the cool kids end up at the bowling alley/skating rink, where The Blob is taking up residence. Many people get Blobbed, but Bobby, his girlfriend, and bowling alley/skating rink owner/ultimate 70's character actor Richard Stahl end up in a booth above the skating rink.

A moment of recognition for Richard Stahl. I'm going to list some of the stuff he was in but you won't know who he is until you look at this picture:




You know this guy! He was awesome! He was in "Five Easy Pieces" and "Billy Jack" and "9 to 5" and "The Flamingo Kid" and "L. A. Story"! If you needed an Uptight White Guy, Richard Stahl was your go-to.

Bobby figures out The Blob doesn't like cold. So they turn on the ice rink and freeze it. Happy ending, right? Not so fast!

The Fake News shows up and interviews the sheriff, who is taking credit for saving America. The cameraman has set his light on the frozen Blob. The heat from the light melts a hole in the ice; The Blob blobs the sheriff; and the movie ends with:

"The End?"

Apparently so, because no more The Blob movies were made. In fact, Larry Hagman never directed another movie. I don't know why - getting your neighbors to star in your movie seems like a good idea to me.

This is high camp. A great movie. So full of character actors that you'll spend an hour on IMDB and Wikipedia like I did. And the best thing about it?

You don't have to pay those hooligans at Netflix to watch it.

"Beware! The Blob!" gets 4 1/2 Ape Suit Guys out of 5 Ape Suit Guys. A true classic!

.

[Edited 11/27/18 10:17am]

RodeoSchro said:

My final review from My Thanksgiving Weekend of Watching Movies on a Computer in the Back Seat of My Tahoe is, again, blamed on Netflix. I may have already reached my Netflix Sucks quote for today but did you ever know me to play by the rules?

Netflix Sucks.

I wanted to watch the original version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Which, of course, Netflix didn't have. And the only version I could find on YouTube had the first 34 minutes and then the screen froze (thank goodness I read the comments before actually watching the movie). So Mr. Damosuzuki, I failed in my attempt to carry out your wishes and watch this movie. But I'll keep trying! Even if I have to pay for it!

ha, i'm actually a touch relieved that you couldn't find the 70s invasion. i'd feel a little bad if you'd watched it on my recommendation & then had to write one of your funny reviews saying it only gets 2 leonard nimoy in a red turtlenecks out of 5 or something like that.

but i think i will give beware the blob a go tonight. i'm in a 70s b-movie mood anyway.

but regarding netflix...
i noticed just the other day that netflix allows you to download your entire viewing history into a text document. i think this feature was added in the past week or two. my ocd got the better of me, & i spent a little time looking through all the stuff i've watched since i signed up in july 11, 2011. apparently i've watched 2655 movies or tv episodes in the 2695 days that i've been a member.

that amount seems to include every movie or show that i pressed pay on, & i'd guess i probably gave up on about 10% of them after realizing i'm watching something un-watchable, so let's call it 2389. that's probably an unhealthy amount of viewing, particularly since netflix is only 1 of 5 or 6 streaming services i'm using at any given moment.

& while there is a fair amount of junk in my history, i've also watched some pretty great movies. just at a glance, i see i've watched tag (the sion sono tag, not that comedy that came out last year), take me to the river, take shelter, tangerine, & taxi driver, all great imo & that's just in the 'ta's.
& i just checked, & 13 of my 2017 top 25 films are currently streaming there (at least in canada). that is a pretty solid ratio.
no reasone for me to say any of this, other than to mention that it seems i actually really like netflix. it definitely isn't everything i want a streaming service to be - its classics section is a joke, for starters- but, just looking at the numbers, i feel like it's given me plenty of value over the years.

support the girls (2018) 3.5/5 very well done mumble-ish indie cataloging the various indignities, some major, most minor, that befall the gm and waitresses at a hooters-style restaurant. it never gets strident, bypasses all the big emotional moments you might expect.

thunder road (2018) 4/5 cringe-comedy/drama that reminded me of last year's donald cried, though this was more episodic & a little more daring. i think it slightly over-reached in the end, going a bit too big where it maybe should have stayed small. still, a unique, pleasantly weird little oddity

damosuzuki said:

damosuzuki said:

RodeoSchro said:

My final review from My Thanksgiving Weekend of Watching Movies on a Computer in the Back Seat of My Tahoe is, again, blamed on Netflix. I may have already reached my Netflix Sucks quote for today but did you ever know me to play by the rules?

Netflix Sucks.

I wanted to watch the original version of "Invasion of the Body Snatchers". Which, of course, Netflix didn't have. And the only version I could find on YouTube had the first 34 minutes and then the screen froze (thank goodness I read the comments before actually watching the movie). So Mr. Damosuzuki, I failed in my attempt to carry out your wishes and watch this movie. But I'll keep trying! Even if I have to pay for it!

ha, i'm actually a touch relieved that you couldn't find the 70s invasion. i'd feel a little bad if you'd watched it on my recommendation & then had to write one of your funny reviews saying it only gets 2 leonard nimoy in a red turtlenecks out of 5 or something like that.

but i think i will give beware the blob a go tonight. i'm in a 70s b-movie mood anyway.

but regarding netflix...
i noticed just the other day that netflix allows you to download your entire viewing history into a text document. i think this feature was added in the past week or two. my ocd got the better of me, & i spent a little time looking through all the stuff i've watched since i signed up in july 11, 2011. apparently i've watched 2655 movies or tv episodes in the 2695 days that i've been a member.

that amount seems to include every movie or show that i pressed pay on, & i'd guess i probably gave up on about 10% of them after realizing i'm watching something un-watchable, so let's call it 2389. that's probably an unhealthy amount of viewing, particularly since netflix is only 1 of 5 or 6 streaming services i'm using at any given moment.

& while there is a fair amount of junk in my history, i've also watched some pretty great movies. just at a glance, i see i've watched tag (the sion sono tag, not that comedy that came out last year), take me to the river, take shelter, tangerine, & taxi driver, all great imo & that's just in the 'ta's.
& i just checked, & 13 of my 2017 top 25 films are currently streaming there (at least in canada). that is a pretty solid ratio.
no reasone for me to say any of this, other than to mention that it seems i actually really like netflix. it definitely isn't everything i want a streaming service to be - its classics section is a joke, for starters- but, just looking at the numbers, i feel like it's given me plenty of value over the years.

Oh, I found the 70's version (not on Netflix, of course). But I knew you wanted me to watch the original, so I skipped on the re-make. But Leonard Nimoy in a turtle-neck? Hmmmm!

When I searched Netflix for Arnold Schwarzenegger, exactly TWO Arnold movies came up - "Eraser" and "The Sixth Day". You could say it was three movies, as "Pumping Iron" is available. But that was it. The rest of the screen was filled with non-Arnold movies such as "Kindergarten Cop 2", "Armageddon", "The Dead Pool" (but not "Dead Pool"), and "Johnny English Reborn".

I just searched Netflix for "Lame 80's comedies" and Netflix says "Your search for 'Lame 80's comedies' did not have any matches. Yeah, right!

Then I searched for "Hitler" and you can guess what happened. Yep - screens and screens full of Hitler documentaries, plus one movie about Donald Trump.

Maybe i'm doing this wrong. I figured, "Oh well, at least I can watch 'Family guy' on Netflix. I always like 'Family guy' - especially the one where they drink ipecac and throw up on each other". So I searched for "Family Guy".

No "Family Guy". I got a few suggestions to "Explore titles related to:" and then there were various "Family Guy" episodes listed. But when I clicked onthem, no "Family Guy" episode actually came up.

Is there a secret code or something?

Hudson said:

Netflix doesn't have Family Guy anymore. Hulu has it. And since I know you like terrible tv shows hmmm, Hulu also has the complete series of Married... With Children. https://www.hulu.com/seri...050285978e https://www.hulu.com/marr...h-children You missed the Black Friday deal where you could get 12 months of Hulu for $12.

I'm done paying for this crap. I'm going Full Gen Z/Millenial and stealing everything from now on.

P.S.: I nailed that thread perfectly in Reply #1.

.

[Edited 11/27/18 12:55pm]

Brendan said:

damosuzuki said:

ha, i'm actually a touch relieved that you couldn't find the 70s invasion. i'd feel a little bad if you'd watched it on my recommendation & then had to write one of your funny reviews saying it only gets 2 leonard nimoy in a red turtlenecks out of 5 or something like that.

but i think i will give beware the blob a go tonight. i'm in a 70s b-movie mood anyway.

but regarding netflix...
i noticed just the other day that netflix allows you to download your entire viewing history into a text document. i think this feature was added in the past week or two. my ocd got the better of me, & i spent a little time looking through all the stuff i've watched since i signed up in july 11, 2011. apparently i've watched 2655 movies or tv episodes in the 2695 days that i've been a member.

that amount seems to include every movie or show that i pressed pay on, & i'd guess i probably gave up on about 10% of them after realizing i'm watching something un-watchable, so let's call it 2389. that's probably an unhealthy amount of viewing, particularly since netflix is only 1 of 5 or 6 streaming services i'm using at any given moment.

& while there is a fair amount of junk in my history, i've also watched some pretty great movies. just at a glance, i see i've watched tag (the sion sono tag, not that comedy that came out last year), take me to the river, take shelter, tangerine, & taxi driver, all great imo & that's just in the 'ta's.
& i just checked, & 13 of my 2017 top 25 films are currently streaming there (at least in canada). that is a pretty solid ratio.
no reasone for me to say any of this, other than to mention that it seems i actually really like netflix. it definitely isn't everything i want a streaming service to be - its classics section is a joke, for starters- but, just looking at the numbers, i feel like it's given me plenty of value over the years.

That means you’re paying just 40 to 45 cents per item played without having to watch any commercials (assuming Canada is similarly priced). That’s the average price of movie ticket in the late 1940s! You’ve just made the Netflix executives swallow the MoviePass folks! I sometimes justify HBOGO streaming as being worth the 10 dollars per month if I see just one great boxing match, or perhaps 2 or 3 movies. Netflix this month I will easily justify by watching Mystery Science Theater 3000’s six new episodes, and will consider the other things I watch gravy. This is impressive, even if you don’t believe it’s balanced over the years with your 5 or 6 other streaming services. And, yes, I would agree with what you’ve noted here and on this thread over the years. There’s plenty of great things, you just have to be patient and watch it like a hawk because they are here today and gone tomorrow.

exactly. you have be the curator of your own experience. certainly, there are tons of ways netflix doesn't do it for me. when i took a serious run at the sight & sound top 250 last year, i think there were a grand total of 2 of those films on netflix (the godfathers) - so yeah, i don't go there for my tarkovsky or fellini fix. or arnold for that matter.

but i currently have 364 movies & series in my netflix queue, & i don't know how many others on the other various services i use. whatever shortcomings the streaming world has, & i think it has many (don't throw away your blu-ray players, i say), i cannot complain that it has not given me enough content that i find interesting. i have more that i'm interested in than i can ever watch.

we the animals (2018) 4/5 walks a fine line between very deftly of telling an unflinching, unsentimental story of a terribly dysfunctional, often miserable family & taking wild, imaginative, dreamlike interludes seen through the eyes of the family's youngest brother. it does a very effective job of showing you the disintegration of a marriage as it would be seen from the perspective of young children.

[Edited 11/28/18 4:34am]

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

Green Book. 8/10 I give this movie high marks because of the great chemistry, acting, story and love of music. It felt at times heavy handed especially with the Italian American character stereotypes but what do I know about Italian Americans other than the stereotypes I see in movies. But I enjoyed it anyway and it tells a wonderful story with a great message.

10/10 best movie ..will win pic of the year

luvsexy4all said:

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

luvsexy4all said:

10/10 best movie ..will win pic of the year

I wouldn’t doubt it gets nominated and I would be happy if it wins. Also it’s going under the radar with most audiences. Any nominations will help more people know about it and go see it.

already won a best picture from somewhere

luvsexy4all said:

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

luvsexy4all said:

already won a best picture from somewhere

I think it won crowd favorite at Toronto film festival. The more acclaim the better.

Interesting combination of a feel good film and you learn something too. I thought it was well done. I had to catch myself from overreacting in the theater I got so caught up in it.

^ Best Film was "The Predator". Or "Halloween 2018" would be acceptable.

Saturday Night Fever (Director's Cut) (1977)

There wasn't much of a difference between the director's cut and theatrical version--just a few short additional scenes were added. The choreography is the main reason to see this of course. 4.5/5




Grease (4K) (1978)

The 4K edition looks stellar. I used to watch this movie repeatedly as a preteen and I still enjoy it immensely. John Travolta's hair alone gets a perfect rating. 5/5

sexton said:

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

sexton said:

Saturday Night Fever (Director's Cut) (1977)

There wasn't much of a difference between the director's cut and theatrical version--just a few short additional scenes were added. The choreography is the main reason to see this of course. 4.5/5




Grease (4K) (1978)

The 4K edition looks stellar. I used to watch this movie repeatedly as a preteen and I still enjoy it immensely. John Travolta's hair alone gets a perfect rating. 5/5

Grease hasn’t stood the test of time. I saw it on the big screen recently and it’s a creepy movie for 2018. [Edited 11/29/18 11:40am]

Instead of pierced ears, 2018 Sandy would be adding a big ass attached to her back to get her man. That's creepier.

EmmaMcG said:

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

EmmaMcG said:

Ugot2shakesumthin said:

EmmaMcG said:

i love grease. young travolta at his most charismatic, olivia newton john at not quite her most freakishly hot but still pretty damned hot, and song after song of pure bubblegum joy. a remake may achieve pc purity, but it would never capture that lightning in a bottle.

there are some tacky elements in it, & watching it today it's right to point them out, but we can point them out with a bit of modesty & lack of moral preening. 40 years from now, people will look back at our own commonly accepted practises & think of them as our own little abominations, big & small, & they should be modest when they point them out too. by then, they'll no doubt have invented some abominations of their own.

[Edited 11/29/18 17:01pm]