What I watched in July 2020!

July was a tad slow for me but I did watch some really great movies! I was surprised by Zootopia as well as the new Blade installment! 

Watched on July 31, 2020, Disney Channel

Zootopia

Determined to prove herself, Officer Judy Hopps, the first bunny on Zootopia’s police force, jumps at the chance to crack her first case – even if it means partnering with scam-artist fox Nick Wilde to solve the mystery.

Watched on Thursday, July 30, 2020. Disney+

With the grand opening of Disneyland just a matter of days away, Walt Disney brings us an update on the construction of the new magic kingdom. Winston Hibler narrates scenes depicting the construction of the attractions and settings in the park as work speeds up to meet the deadline before opening day. This was fun and all but did drag at times.

Watched on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Disney+

Follow the Disco Mice of the New Mickey Mouse Club as they visit America’s favorite vacation spot, Walt Disney World! Ok, this is a deep cut that I still want to write about. A ton of fun to be had here even if it gets deep for a few moments. This is a must-see if you grow up watching Disney in the 70s.

Watched on July 21,2020 on Disney+

Four bored ghosts in a haunted house who’ve scared everyone away call up Ghost Hunters Mickey, Donald, and Goofy in hopes to have a little fun scaring them off. Definitely will be revisiting this one during the Halloween season. 

Watched on Tuesday, July 21, 2020. Disney+

Harnessing the unifying power of music, Disney Channel is presenting a night of entertainment for kids and families with two music specials featuring a bevy of fan-favorite Disney Channel stars, past and present, along with celebrity guests and popular artists. Yeah, this was not fun to watch at all. Still, it's nice that Disney has done its part to keep kids entertained during the COVID. 

Watched on Friday, July 17, 2020, on Disney+

Mickey buys a boat kit and enlists Goofy and Donald to help assemble it. The plans say, “so simple a child could do it”, so of course, they have their share of troubles. But before long, they’re ready to launch Queen Minnie, with appropriate fanfare, at which time, all the collapsible parts collapse.

Watched on Tuesday, July 7, 2020, on Disney

An unforgettable cinematic stage performance, the filmed version of the original Broadway production of “Hamilton” combines the best elements of live theater, film, and streaming to bring the cultural phenomenon to homes around the world for a thrilling, once-in-a-lifetime experience. So this has been viewed 14 times in July in this household. Truly an amazing piece of work. The only downfall is used up so much of our internet data plan we spent the last few days of July doing nothing lol. This so far is the must-watch of the summer.

Watched July 3 2020 on Full Moon Streaming. 

In this standalone spinoff of Charles Band's Puppet Master series, an unspeakable evil from Blade’s past emerges in the form of a murderous Nazi scientist named Dr. Hauser. As Hauser’s heinous crimes are discovered, the psychic war journalist, Elisa Ivanov, awakens Blade, and together the bloody journey of revenge begins. Tania Fox is a pure joy to watch, making Blade one hell of a fun ride! The look and feel are perfect with a nice little script Puppet Master fans will be pleased. With a fair amount of gore Blade, The Iron Cross is what the fans have been hoping for.

Watched on July 1,2020 on Disney+

Minnie’s old friend, Mortimer Mouse, drops in on Mickey and Minnie’s picnic. His practical jokes and coming on to Minnie soon have Mickey stewing, and their car isn’t happy either. When Mortimer gets a nearby bull enraged and takes off, the car comes to the rescue after Mickey gets tangled up in a red blanket.

The totals for the month look like this

9 Flims Watched

7 on Disney+

1 on FullMoon Streaming

1 on the good old TV Disney Channel

74 of the 75 movie goal I set for 2020!

So did you watch anything cool in July? let me know in the comments below. I can safely say that fall is in the air in this household so some scary movies are already on my slate for August leading into the fall season. 

What did you Watch in May? Well here is my list.

Tue, 26 May 2020 on Amazon Prime

Man Annie Potts is gorgeous!  The movie itself is still just ok.

3 out of 5 Stars

Sat, 23 May 2020 on Shudder

That was fun! If this would have hit the big screen in the early 80s’ it would have been a hit. Deserves its cult status.

Wed, 20 May 2020 Full Moon Streaming

During the glory days of VHS, this would have had me hook line and sinker. But know it just does not hold up. All those hot ladies showing up for a fight That never happens. Oh well, I have seen worse I guess.

Tue, 19 May 2020 on Disney Plus

Still a fun trip down memory lane of the family nights spent around the glowing tube of TV! 

Watched on Friday, May 8, 2020. Netflix

Saturday, May 2nd Svengoolie

Frank Chase as the Deputy was my favorite part but it also leads me to the question where all deputy in the 50s all Barney Fife kind of guys? Even with weak special effects, this was super fun.

Watched on Friday, May 1, 2020. Amazon Prime

This was a neat look into how these fans saved their Drive-In. Unable to purchase a $50,000 digital projector, a group of film fanatics in rural Pennsylvania fight to keep a dying drive-in theater alive by screening only vintage 35mm film prints and working entirely for free.

Watched on Friday, May 1, 2020. Disney+

Goofy is still my hero!

The totals for the month look like this

8 Flims Watched

2 On Disney+

2 On Amazon Prime

1 On Shudder

1 On Svengoolie

1 On Netflix

55 of the 75 movie goal I set for 2020!

Don't forget you can always follow along on Letterboxd if you are on Letterboxd let me know in the comments below I will be more than happy to follow you as well.

Can Breast's With Teeth Be enough to Save Necropolis?

Necropolis: Legion
2019 | R | 1 Hr. 2 Min | Horror | Full Moon Features

Director: 

Chris Alexander

Writers: 

Chris Alexander

Brockton McKinney

Stars: 

Augie Duke

Ali Chappell

Lynn Lowry

Synopsis:

A re-imagining of the 1986 Empire Pictures exploitation movie classic, NECROPOLIS: LEGION tells the tale of satanic vampire sorceress Eva, whose sexually-charged midnight rituals are interrupted when God-fearing local villagers burst into her lair and murder her. A century later,  writer Lisa moves into the same cabin where Eva was executed, with the intent to write a book about the supposedly haunted spot's history. Soon, Lisa is having vivid, perverse dreams and slowly, surely, Eva begins taking over the young woman, using her body as a vessel to commit even more atrocities in the name of resurrecting an ancient monster from the underworld.

Boy, I really wanted to like Chris Alexander's short take on Vampires, but man this was disheartening.  Most of the shortfall comes in the form of the story it's so weak and unpleasant to sit through. And I just praised the writing style of McKinney a few weeks ago as he is the same dude that wrote Weedjes! And an excruciating performance phoned in by Augie Duke along with bizarre performance within Ali Chappell's character does not help move the story along. Chappell plays a very stiff sorceress that comes off as unexcitable. 

If there is a bright spot it comes in the form of SFX done up by Carlos Henriques and Juan Patricio. Even if silly the breasts with teeth that suck the souls out of there victims are cleaver. The other bright spot is the cinematography with a nice blend of colors and static shots show that Alexander has it in him, maybe he just needs a better script in front of him.

Sadly there is not enough to sink your teeth into, the dull story never seeks out your station nor does the acting. Looks can only get you so far. With only 2 of the Deadly Ten available to watch this one is a hard pass. With Femalien next on the list, I'm not sure I will re-up my subscription to Full Moon but hey it was fun while it lasted.

One Bloody Brain out of Five

The weapons of the future are alive...

Crash And Burn
1990 | R | 1 Hr. 25 Min | Sci-Fi | Full Moon Features

Director: 

Charles Band

Writer: 

J.S. Cardone

Stars: 

Paul Ganus

Megan Ward

Ralph Waite

Synopsis:

Unicom is a powerful organization overseeing most of the world after its economic collapse. They have banned computers and robots in an attempt to ensure "life, liberty, and the pursuit of economic stability". When a Unicom Synth robot infiltrates a southwest TV station and kills the manager, a revolutionary against the Gestapo-like corporation, a lowly Unicom delivery man must help the rest of the station survive through the incoming "thermal storm".

The Bait and Switch

Ok, Uncle Charlie, I see what you're doing here! Crash And Burn is capitalizing on the Stuart Gorden cult classic Robot Jox that came out the year before. What's the catch you ask? Well, you have this giant robot on the poster in the same fashion as Robot Jox. Spoiler alert this one has nothing to do with Robots! Well ok, the last few minutes we are treated to David Allen's stop motion bot that is on the poster. Yet we do get a simple little tale that in the end works. For the small budget, this one has a tight story and that is what counts. J.S. Cardone has penned plenty of Full Moon Features but it would be his retelling of Prom Night (2008) and Stepfather (2009) that he will be remembered for. 

Mr. Walton? 

That's right Ralph White headlines a pretty solid cast along with Megan Ward's first movie and by far the best charter goes to Bill Mosely. Let's go back to Ward first, of courses she will go on to do many B movies including Arcade, Encino Man, and one of my favorite hidden gems PCU. She hit's her role like a veteran as the story revolves around her character. Delivering a top performance you can easily see how her parents were a big influence on her career. Her parents were drama teachers and cast her in plays they produced. When she was 9, her mother's job at a modeling agency led to her doing commercials for local department stores. I have always enjoyed watching her in almost any role she has been in (Sorry General Hosptial not you). 

The true hero tho happens to be one of the bad guys, Bill Moseley once again finds himself playing the sadistic yet dark comedic villain. Moseley is strong in this one with his smirky slimy character that saves this movie.  He gives it just the right amount of grit! 

The one thing the movie does well it visually draws you into a dark, grim world that we have destroyed. The desolate feeling comes through as they run around this old factory that is just as dank as the outside world. You do get a Blade Runner vibe on a much lower scale. 

One downfall or shortcut that was taken lies in the futuristic look that they try to produce. I had a hard time thinking a robot was still running on an Amiga 128 and 3" floppy disks. This is tech that was old when they were making this movie. I get that maybe this is what she put together from old scrap to make the TV station work, to run the a/c that keeps them alive but to run a robot? Eh, I was not buying that at all.

Finally, in the end, we get to see the Robot in action. David Allen's (Ghostbusters 2, Puppet Master) special effects work well here. It's kind of sad they did not do more with his talent on Crash and Burn. Special effects and a tight story teamed up with Bill Moseley are enough for you to tune into Crash And Burn. Somehow everything comes together with a late-night cable vibe that keeps you engaged. This might not be the greatest movie I'm going to watch during the COVID sit in but it was not the worst either.  

3 out of 5 Stars

Corona Zombies!

Corona Zombies
2020 | R | 60 Minutes | Horror Comedy | Full Moon Features

Director: Charles Band

Writers:

Kent Roudebush

Silvia St. Croix

Stars: 

Cody Renee Cameron

Russell Coker

Robin Sydney

Synopsis:

Ditsy damsels in distress, toilet paper famine, inept world leaders, mass-media gone wild, a virus from Hell and hordes of ghouls hungry for human flesh combine in Full Moon’s maniacal horror-comedy hybrid CORONA ZOMBIES!

Too Soon?

Cody Renee Cameron as Barbie

Boy, you jump on Letterboxd or any other social media people that have not seen Corona Zombies are blasting the decision for the "fast turn around" or "looking to cash in" with most saying its too soon. To those people, I say sit down and relax. What Charles Band brings you is a creative satire poking fun at the pandemic. Interestingly enough it works! And it's an hour to sit on the couch and loss yourself in a wildly entertaining flick. If your a fan of MST3000 or Riff Trax this is right up your alley. 

Nailed It!

My favorite charters

What makes Corona Zombie wildly entertaining is the sharp tongue and cheek writing from Kent Roudebush and Silvia St. Croix both have had solid careers working with the Full Moon Camp, Croix worked on two to the Ginger Dead films where Roudebush has given us some true Full Moon Classics like Zombie Strippers, Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt, and many of the Evil Bong's. With the use of Hell of the Living Dead and Zombie Strippers respliced and weaved together tell the story. We are treated with their dialog dubbed over these clips. The silly one-liners like “Wuhan? But I like that rap group” or “Coronavirus? Why is everyone drinking beer?” to crazy ideas like Bat Soup starting it all. This really pieces this one together well kudos to the editors. The writers are the true all-stars here.

All By Myself?

Why only three actors? Well, we are in self-quarantine remember? This is handled well with such a small crew the bulk of the story is told through Cody Renee Cameron's character. We also get Full Moon staple Robin Sydney as the voice per phone conversations and one actor Russell Coker as a zombie looking for toilet paper. Cameron is a breath of fresh air even tho her role is very limited. And the makeup effects used to make the Zombie are fantastic. They only concern I have is why did Barbie (Cameron) wear clothes in the shower? She is not following the rules here! Her clothes need to be washed when she got back from the store but hey maybe this is her way of doing that?

Does the Novelty last?

Why is she wearing clothes in the shower?

CZ is a lot like a one night stand, it comes in hot and heavy with laughs aplenty but after 20 minutes the novelty starts to slowly wear off. You are then stuck with the bulk of the movie through cut scenes from the other movies that tend to drag on from time to time. Let's just say I have no desire to watch Hell of the Living Dead. Thankfully the jokes still happen at a frequent pace that you do not lose all hope.

Makeup Effects are on point!

 Look we all need a quick little escape from the stress of this pandemic and this short 60 minute is just enough stress relief. Yes, it pokes fun at what is going on around the world, our president and of course those pesky hoarders of toilet paper. So is it too soon well I say no! CZ is a well crafted extremely funny at times gem that will leave Full Moon Fans happy and just might find a batch of new fans as well.

Oh, that much needed Toliet Paper.

If your a fan of cheese and you all know I am Corona Zombie's might drag in the middle but still, it still comes out a fun little picture that is full of laughs during our time of need.

3 1/2 rolls of Toliet Paper out of 5

Looking for more Full Moon Content check out these titles that I recommend. 

      

Zombies Vs Strippers

Ravenwolf Towers




Killer Eye Halloween Haunt