Author Archives: Christopher Young
Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988)
Return of the Living Dead Part II (1988) DVD / Blu-ray
By: Christopher Young (Four Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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1985 was such a fantastic year for movies. We got to see everything from Sly Stallone facing Dolph Lundgren in the ring to some kid stealing a Delorean and traveling back in time. Those were significant moments without a doubt, but the one other movie moment that I hold dear was at the hands of Return of the Living Dead and that damn Tarman.
As readers of this site may or may not already know, I reviewed the first movie and love it. If you want to see the review just click here. I only mention this movie again because I am reviewing the Return of the Living Dead series and next up is the 1988 sequel to one of the best all time zombie films, Return of the Living Dead Part II.
A Toast
It looks like our buddies Frank (James Karen) and Freddy (Thom Matthews) are making a comeback as Ed and Joey in unconnected roles from the first movie. There actually is nothing similar outside of the Trioxin 245 and what it does when you compare the first and second movie. Ed and Joey play the same types of characters in this movie as the last, kind of bumbling and goofy guys looking to make a few bucks off of the dead. So these two hole up in a mausoleum for the night as Ed works Joey into the understanding that stealing from the dead is ok, well, because they’re dead.
In a local suburb not far from the graveyard where the mausoleum is we find Jesse Wilson (Michael Kentworthy) and the local bully Billy Crowley (Thor Van Lingen) along with another boy bartering a comic so Jesse can reluctantly join their gang. The initiation does not go as planned, and Jesse decides he better run for it.
While the chase is on, the boys discover a barrel of Trioxin 245 in a local sewer drain (we saw this fall off a truck earlier because an Army private was too busy smoking a joint to notice). Billy and his sidekick decide to open the barrel and see what’s inside, releasing a gas that makes the boys sick and will eventually raise the dead.
Once again the makeup is top notch and even the zombie extras look terrific. At least a few great things carried over from the original.
Is something smoking?
Beer Two
The story is pretty uneventful and stereotypical. I could not think of a single point in the feature where I felt like something new was introduced or twisted to catch me off guard. At least with the last movie, things were so entertaining you honestly did not notice a lacking story or plot.
The movie from here will follow the same pretty standard formula of survival as the last installment and many other zombie flicks have. We will see additional new characters focused on like Jesse’s sister, a cable tv repair boy/man, and the doctor next store. All of these characters are overly stereotypical to the point of almost being annoying. The doctor was the only saving grace because he was sometimes funny.
Beer Three
An evacuation has taken place because of the chemical leak, but it seems everyone but the aforementioned folks were informed. Ed and Joey are busy trying to steal from the dead in the mausoleum and trying to reignite the character types they played in the first movie. This is cool but ultimately became annoying even to the point I was a little peeved they tried to rehash lines like “bite your tongue, boy, if you like this job” from the first movie. I get the point, but I don’t believe it worked. I will not go into the other story elements as to avoid spoiling this for anyone who might be looking to see it.
It is obvious from the get go, this movie is going for the funny ticket on top of the violence and gore that made the last one. I mean, come on; all the speaking zombie action and the aerobic zombie scene is funny, but it tends to over shadow the darkness of the original. One of the key reasons Return of the Living Dead worked so well had a lot to do with the careful mixing of horror and comedy all while keeping the story grounded, or as grounded as a movie about reanimated corpses eating brains can be.
Yes, that's a f**king crowbar in my head!
Beer Four
In a lot of zombie movies, the sense of panic comes from being trapped and knowing that death is right outside clawing it’s way in. In ROTLD II, we kept the characters moving and never actually forced them to establish a place of defense or somewhere they could meet their ultimate demise.
The effects were still remarkably solid, but overall the gore seemed to be lacking. I mean yes, we did have some moments like when a zombie’s skull is punched through that were gruesome, but there weren’t enough of these.
Fans of the series have probably already stumbled through this less than perfect sequel. Personally I consider this a reimagining of the first movie as neither really have a connection outside of the chemical drums. If you have not seen this and dug the first one, give it a look. The movie pops up on Netflix instant streaming from time to time. In the off chance you have not seen the first, please do not see this one and assume the entire catalog is a loss… there are two others that rate even worse in the series.
Those damn barrels again!
Next up I will be reviewing Return of the Living Dead 3, which carried the most serious tone of any of the other five movies.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: if you catch yourself rolling your eyes at some idiot move or choice one of the stereotypical dummies makes.
Take a Shot: if you can spot Forrest J. Ackerman as one of the zombies. “Mr. Sci-fi” is one of the leading authorities on horror movies and also an author.
Chug a Beer: every time you see ultra fake looking lightning on screen.
Return Of The Living Dead (1985)
Return Of The Living Dead (1985) DVD / Blu-ray
I think at this point it is safe to say the zombie genre is a little bit flooded. We have done every type of zombie from fast moving to the slow old school walker and put them in almost every situation we could imagine. I love zombie movies and will watch any that cross my desk but I find very few that are actually worth going back to or that seem to get better with age. My fellow zombie fans and I have argued as to what the best zombie film is and why. You always see Romero’s Dead series (Night, Dawn, Day etc) fighting to keep these classics in the top 5 and with due reason. The original 3 were great but I have one that easily dethrones at least one of these titles, Return of the Living Dead.
Personally this movie is and probably will stay my favorite zombie movie of all time. It just does the simple premise so well, there is an outbreak and the dead come back to life. You can add all the twists and turns into this as so many zombie movies have. And still I find myself referring to this movie and also recommending it to almost anyone looking for an almost perfect balance of humor and gore splashed with enough seriousness to keep from being billed as a comedy.
So we have a young man by the name of Freddy (Thom Matthews) who is receiving what seems to be an orientation from Frank (James Karen) on his first day at his new job within the Uneeda Medical Supply warehouse. This is the 80′s folks, 1985 to be exact, and everything from the clothes to speech will have that radical 80′s vibe. While showing Freddy around Frank accidentally releases a gas from a barrel labeled Trioxin 245 in the basement. The two men pass out and awaken with almost flu like symptoms. Frank being the company man he is jumps on getting things cleaned up before the boss arrives.
Pucker up sweetie!
Unfortunately this released gas has reanimated some of the warehouse’s stock, specifically a fresh cadaver along with a dog split in half. These two bumbling fools end up having to call the boss Burt (Clu Gulager) to see what they can do to contain this mess. With the help of Burt they are able to cut the cadaver up into pieces, all of which are still alive, so Burt can coax his pal across the street, Ernie (Don Calfa) into using his funeral home’s furnace to finish of the lively cadaver chunks. Ernie reluctantly helps after realizing these were not rabid weasels as he was told initially. Unknowingly this troop has released the same gas into the local air by burning the body parts up.
All while this is happening Freddy’s friends and love interest have set up camp in the creepy graveyard across the street to wait until his work day is over. Upon the release of this gas from the burned cadaver it seems a rain storm has conveniently been triggered bringing the Trioxin back down and into the earth to raise the dead. The story goes on from here in almost a standard fashion as Ernie, Burt, Frank and the kids all try to survive the onslaught of reanimated corpses.
A Toast
I absolutely loved how the film was able to make you laugh but still maintain the seriousness of the plot. At no time did I feel the humor was forced or unneeded as the quips and comments between Frank and Freddy made a lot of scenes early on. I really wish more horror movies or zombie movies would take the time to develop humor without seeming like a tacked on distraction until the next kill scene. ROTD nailed this on the head and deserves plenty of praise for it.
Someone is in deep sh*t!
The writing and direction (Dan O’Bannon, writer for the classic Alien) was spot on and well thought out. The movie progresses on and as it does you will start to care for some of these folks, namely Frank and Freddy. Watching these two go from chummy coworkers to dead men walking gets me every time. The addition of Freddy’s love interest, Tina (Beverly Randolph) into the fray only helps to further drive home the fact that you will care about these people at some point.
Another great point is the realistic nature of how things played out in this feature. Yes, I know it is a zombie movie and zombies are not real (sigh) … yet, anyway. ROTD had me saying “I would have done the same damn thing!”. It is all too common in horror movies to see a character doing something that makes no sense or makes you yell at the screen in disagreement. The situation with the cadaver is a perfect example. They use a pick axe to the head and the thing is still moving, so on to dismembering it in hopes that it will die. No luck with the chopping, so burning it seems like the only readily available option. Another vehicle that led me to caring about the different characters is the fact that I could relate to them and the choices they made.
Oh and a toast to the sweet T&A splashed with copious amounts of gore. As with any decent horror flick of the 80′s you had the requisite nudity. The grave yard strip tease scene with Trash (Linnea Quigley) has always been a favorite of fans and pervs alike. I mean what is not to like about a goth chick sporting a killer rack who wants to die at the hands of filthy old men as they devour her body. See, nothing wrong with that at all. Add this to awesome amount of cringe worthy gore and you have something really special here that any horror fan can enjoy, parents permitting of course.
Did someone say party?
The effects and makeup rival some of the best movies of the 80′s. Every flesh rip, head gnaw, or bone snap is so realistic looking that you will shudder and maybe even look away for a moment. The detail in each one of the zombies is so well done that I, with my nit-picky ways, had a hard time finding any flaws that could be seen in the makeup. To this day the upper torso zombie that they interrogate creeps me out. With that raspy eerie voice saying “brains” I automatically get chills and look around the room.
The ending is about the only thing that could have been scraped and replaced. Anytime you pull and use “stock footage”, I will always feel let down. It’s not just the physical ending but also what they chose as an ending to the story that was a letdown. I do not want to ruin the ending for those who have not seen it but I can think of 5 different and better ways this movie could have ended.
What do you mean Rick James is dead?
I could go on for hours maybe even days about this movie and the effects it has had on the horror genre, but I would rather each person go and seek this gem out. If you are a horror guru or something similar, chances are you have seen this and agree with me to some point. ROTLD has spawned a total of 5 movies in the series that just got increasingly worse with 3 ranking right behind the first followed by parts 2, 4 and 5.
If you love zombie movies or well-written and directed horror movies saddled with a few laughs, The Return Of The Living Dead should be spinning in your DVD players tonight.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: anytime a zombie speaks.
Take a Drink: anytime Eddie brandishes his gun
Do a Shot: anytime nudity is on screen and you are high-fiving your inner 13 year old boy.
Hostel 3 (2011)
Ready for that sex change?
So the movie is attempting to mess with you right out of the gate with a scene that has a young American man entering a hotel room only to find a European man and women still occupying it. Don’t let your predictability meters go off the charts here because you may feel a little silly once the scene is complete. No spoilers here folks, so move on.
A Toast
It now seems the Elite Hunting Club has saddled up on good old Las Vegas for some gruesome high stakes torture and killing. We get to follow a group of friends who are attending a bachelor party. This movie did not carry any big names and you can see most of the budget was spent on the kills and torture as the acting only seems to be getting worse with each movie in the series. So off these guys go to have a blast before their friend says “I do” and brings the real terror that most young men fear.
Also, It was cool to see the club has evolved into something a little more interesting than the pay to kill thing it was here. Here we have a nice showing room and people are betting or bidding to get their type of torture on the big screen.
This can’t end well.
Beer Two
I really missed the Slovakia setting of the original and I think this also diminished the fear I felt initially in the series. This fear was a big part of what made the first movie scary for me. What is worse than being somewhere foreign as your friend(s) disappear and you can feel everything around you is not what it should be.
Beer Three
Most of the torture scenes were of poor quality and very short. One of the reasons the original was so good is because of how drawn out the scene would be. You could almost feel each gouge or tear as it happened. Torture goes hand in hand with gore and you can tell Eli Roth was not in charge here because each scene would have been bursting with gore if he had.
What kind of doctor are you?
Beer Four
So why did we lose the dark and gritty edge the last two features embraced so well? I get the fact we are in one of the brightest cities in this country but this movie could have benefited from staying darker versus the elegance and glamor that is all too common throughout the film.
Verdict
Overall, I was pleased with this film for what it was, an interesting attempt at bringing this idea of a killing club into our country. I had come into this with ultra low expectations because this was direct to DVD and Eli Roth was out of the director/writer seat. If you enjoyed either of the last films you should enjoy this one also. The lack of gore is a huge let down but the twists within the story do make up for some of the short comings.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: anytime someone has a cocktail on screen.
Drink a Shot: anytime someone with an accent is speaking.
Take a Drink: anytime you wish nipples were visible.
Wrecked (2010)
Wrecked (2010) DVD / Blu-ray
By: Christopher Young (Four Beers) -
Be the 1st to BEERate this movie!
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I want to start this off by saying I am a big fan of 127 Hours and enjoyed the movie Buried. Both of these movies and Wrecked at first glance shared some similar themes which led to a number of comparisons. All three movies starred popular male leads in very unfortunate situations that required sacrifices in different ways to survive. For me, that was about all these movies generally had in common. If I had to rank them the order would go, 127 Hours, Buried, and Wrecked. Let’s take a little time to see why Wrecked sunk to the bottom of this list.
The movie opens with a man, our main man Adrien Brody, waking up trapped with a dead guy in a smashed car far off the road. A number of people would say I just covered the most important parts of this movie in one sentence but we have 85 more minutes to fill so let’s move on. So it seems he was involved in a botched bank robbery that led to the death of a security guard, which he learns via the radio that works fine while the horn does not.
A Toast
Overall this is an ok movie that is held up by Adrien Brody and his acting abilities. If a different less notable actor had played the lead I do not think this film would have seen half the press it did. I believe the budget was spot on and will not blame the films shortcomings on that. I mean really, we had a busted old car and some wooded areas.
Beer Two
The pace of this movie is almost crippling at times. I found myself checking my smart phone a few more times then I usually do while taking in a movie. I can only wonder if this pace was because of the film starting as a “free-writing” experiment which had no outline, plan, or idea of where things were headed. This always bugs me because any good movie usually knows what it wants to accomplish before anything even hits paper or filing begins. This seemed too much like a movie made for the sake of making a movie.
The first and last thirty minutes of this movie seemed to work and flow along decently enough. I actually found myself enjoying the different thoughts racing through my mind as to why our character was in this predicament. I have to wonder why we decided to go with a feature-length film when this probably could have done better as a “short”. If I would have had to watch another boring filler scene of our main character crawling in the woods or looking out into the wild, I would have shot someone. Thank god for Netflix allowing us to fast forward streaming content or this one would have went unfinished.
My mom is going to kill me!
Beer Three
There were some points that really took away my feeling of dread or emotional attachment to Adrien’s character. So how is it a car that had three people in it before it crashed does not have a cell phone? I found that really hard to believe in this day and age. I mean come on, cell phones are almost obsolete, as everyone carries a smart phone now. So you are trapped in the front seat of an old sedan? Pinned against the dash, you say? So why not try to use the adjustment lever below the seat to move yourself back and maybe escaping? It is these little things that leave me feeling like things were not well thought out when some of these scenes were shot. Yes, I know this was a low budget film and this was the director’s first feature but still you need have a better eye for detail.
Who has a problem with footage of the woods?
Beer Four
I had a very hard time deciphering the hallucination scenes as to what was real and what was not. This led to me trying to figure out what was meant to be part of the plot and what was not. At times this seemed to confuse or muddle the plot. When things get too confusing I tend to focus less on a film and we all know that does not lead to a positive overall view on a piece of work. These types of movies require a very careful hand when writing because you are telling a story backwards while moving the plot and characters forward. If you try too much (I.E. these hallucinations) without establishing reasoning or a point in a scene it just does not work and will leave the audience scratching their heads. Memento is the last movie I can think of that did this but at least there was dialog to help the viewer try and make sense of the plot and characters.
If you liked 127 Hours or Buried you might enjoy this film at the excellent price of free (via Netflix streaming). I think it’s safe to say we have ran the “man gets in unfortunate situation and must struggle to survive ” river dry at this point. You might benefit from watching these three movies in reverse order like how this story is told. At least then you would be ending on a high note where as I ended with this and an almost killed six pack.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: any time you see a panning shot of the forest.
Chug a Beer: any time a bug is eaten.
Drink a Shot: any time you ask yourself if that was a dream or real.
Bitter Feast (2010)
Bitter Feast (2010) DVD / Blu-ray
By: Christopher Young (Four Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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This flick crossed my radar well over a year ago and up until last week I had completely forgot about it. I usually do not seek out movies shot on cameras you can buy at Best Buy (Canon DSLR) or revenge flicks for that matter. I feel the whole revenge thing has been overdone for years. But wait, this is about a celebrity chef who’s career is tanked by a bitter little blogging prick? Being a foodie and also doing some writing made this one kind of a no-brainer. Ok, you have my attention now, or maybe just enough to drag my lazy ass through a 90 minute thriller mislabeled as a black comedy.
The man of the hour is Peter Grey (James LeGros) who not only has a popular cooking show but a new uppity organic-minded restaurant called Feast. I have been a fan of LeGros going back to when he played Mike in Phantasm 2. So Mr. Grey receives a scathing review of his new restaurant from food blogger JT Franks (Joshua Leonard). Mr. Franks seems to have some pull, and loves nothing more than negatively reviewing restaurants as a way to share the pain he feels inside from the loss of a loved one to cancer. This review leads to Grey being fired from the restaurant and also losing his precious cooking show, which turns into one captured blogger and a series of tests. Each of these tests are directly based off a review he wrote and if JT cannot cook the perfect food he will receive no nourishment and will be tortured.
A Toast
Right out of the gate you can tell this movie was shot on a shoestring budget, which is not always a bad thing because you tend to see more risks taken in the writing, acting, etc. Personally I could tell this was not shot using the standard equipment and cameras. Writer/director Joe Maggio chose to shoot this using a still lens camera after he was urged to by director of photography Michael McDonough. I do not think this movie looks bad, but could have looked better given the use of better equipment. A lot of shots seem unintentionally hazy or foggy while others looked a little washed out. This could be the intention of the crew but I do not feel the film benefited from that if this was the case.
Beer Two
Overall the writing was competent and the story flowed long almost too easily at times. This left me wondering when a scene would be over so we could move onto the next. This pretty much boils down to a standard revenge flick and you will spend a decent amount of time wondering when Grey is going to snap on camera and start rubbing himself in blood while manically laughing.. This never really happens and the main character is a bit too reserved throughout the feature. The dialog is where I believe there is some saving grace. LeGros is a convincing enough actor when speaking, and each time as he read a review prior to his victim’s next challenge the hair stood up on my neck a bit.
Beer Three
I guess I missed the horror and comedy this was billed as by most. Most of the time when I think they were attempting a darker humor it fell flat and kinda stalled the scene. If you are expecting the next Hostel or Saw, move on because this is not going to fill that “torture porn” void inside you. This movie would have benefited from more gore. A lot of the actual horror was off camera and to be assumed by the viewer. I cannot recall the rating of this movie, but with so little horror/gore it could have easily been a strong PG-13 and I would not have batted an eye lash.
Beer Four
Ok, I have waited 70 or so minutes hoping to see some type of finale or twisted ending. By this time I am starting to watch the DVD timer because I feel the best parts of this movie have already come and gone. Looks like I was 100% right because the ending pretty much sucked. I was hoping the movie’s slow pace was only a ramp to the kick-ass ending this movie needed. Don’t get me wrong, the challenges were creative and I loved how he tied them up with the nasty reviews JT wrote, but that all falls flat and is almost meaningless by the movie’s end. Given a different ending this flick could have shaved at least a beer off.
This was a good movie to watch for free, especially if you are into cooking, food, or blogging/writing. I do wonder how often a blogger is attacked for a poor-ass review regardless of legitimacy. This film will also make some of you writers feel a little proud if you really write honestly regardless of the subject because let’s face it, who wants to be kidnapped and tortured because you are a heartless dick of a blogger?
Check the hair and worship the stash!
Take a Drink: anytime cooking utensils are present.
Take a drink: anytime a review is read or referred to on screen.
Take a Shot: if you can name the celebrity chef cameo in the film.
Cabin Fever (2002)
Cabin Fever (2002) DVD / Blu-ray
By: Christopher Young (Three Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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I would like to start out with complete honesty. Seeing the trailer for this and Mr. Boy Meets World (Ryder Strong) as the main character did little to rush me into the local theater for an opening night viewing. In fact, the trailer did nothing but make me want to dismiss this as another mediocre spoiled college kid Slasher flick. It took me a couple of viewings to really appreciate this film for more than the dreaded “Six Pack “.
The story swirls around a group of five attractive college kids who have decided a little graduation get away would be just the ticket to ease their overworked minds. You will spend the next 90 or so minutes with some pretty stereotypical characters like Paul (Ryder Strong) who plays a shy kid who has had a crush on Karen (Jordan Ladd) since childhood. There is also Jeff (Joey Kern) and Marcy (Cerina Vincent) who play as resident “kids in heat”. And last but not least, we always need a jock or meathead to round out the cast and that’s where Bert (James Debello) comes in.
The cast could not be anymore stereotypical unless you added “the token black guy” or the “bullied anti-social nerd”. Now, what kept my attention was the killer, which in this case was a flesh eating virus. Something about flesh eating viruses has always scared the living crap out of me. So yeah, I watched this with a bottle of Germ X hand sanitizer real close!
“Hey, you guys looking to party?”
A Toast
This being Eli Roth’s first movie, I did not want to set my expectations too high, because all too often I expect so much from a new writer/director and being let down is all I end up with. Right out of the gate I got an Evil Dead kinda vibe with the cabin and some kids heading off to have a good time. I also enjoyed the fact that the movie never sat down long enough to take itself too serious. A cracked joke here, racial slur there, all keeping the mood light enough to be entertaining even though people are dying left and right. A last plus are some real skin-crawling scenes ( I am referring directly to ones like the shower shaving scene and good ole Ryder getting more than he bargained for when trying to warm up his dream girl in the sack).
“Babe, I have no idea why her pants are off.”
Beer Two
I have a lot of respect for writers/directors going against the grain in horror. If you do not stick up for what you want, you will end up with another Scream, which is what this would have been if Eli had not stuck to his guns on the gore and adult subject matter. I also understand wanting to be in your flick and taking part in the acting process. Seeing both sides of the camera can be a god-send when it comes to fulfilling a vision. Still, there was no need at all for Grim, played by Eli Roth, to be in this film.
The part seemed forced and proved little to no point other than getting Mr. Roth onto another line in the credits. His acting as Grim was also very poor just like the rest of the cast. It is not hard to be a hippy pothead who is backpacking with his dog. I also wondered if this character was supposed to have stiff dialogue and poor character interaction. If so, it is not too hard to show that through a scene setting up this character as dumb, lame, silly or whatever else you like. This should have been scrapped to deal with the other obvious issues like back story, character development etc. Ok, enough about that rant and as Jay-Z said, “On to the next one.”
I think I got where he is headed with this movie right from the get go. We are expected to take in the relationship breakdowns and action/gore as the primary focus. The characters are so bland, overused and stereotypical that he had to have wanted you to pass them over when taking the whole picture in. It was not till the group started to turn on each other that you really saw some decent acting. Almost everything up to the point of Joey Kern’s character making a break for it with the beer (GENIUS!) was all too slow and predictable (basically the first 45 minutes).
This man knows what’s important in life
Beer Three
I am a movie-goer who likes to know what is what for whatever reason it has to be. So please at least provide a little more back story. Over all the movie was too short to really provide what they were hoping for, which was a solid throwback to movies like Evil Dead, Last House on the Left and countless other classics. It is so hard to give a sh*t about anyone when you have no idea what their intentions are or why they are doing what they are doing.
Case in point: When the rednecks are alerted and have to come to the cabin to “erase the mistake” with the police. What the hell is the one redneck holding onto with dear life? Looked like a hippy stash box for drug paraphernalia to me but we will never know because I did not see it opened, alluded to, or at all anymore after the initial shot. I am not asking for a story detailing the creation of the damn thing but we need a little more than nothing here. I felt this way at multiple times during the feature.
I also found it frustrating that so many little slip-ups made it into the final cut, like the vehicles being different from shot to shot and how the rims changed on the Blazer during the movie. Positions of people/objects in the scenes also change, like when Marcy and Paul are about to go at it and he goes from no watch to wearing one. The list of these goes on and on. I do not believe these really take away from the movie but if you are a person who pays attention to sets and scenes they become all too obvious.
“Anyone have any damn idea what that box is for Otis be holding??!!?”
Overall this movie had a lot going for it in the way of humor, gore, and a slick presentation. The last thirty minutes is worth the price of admission. I really did enjoy the gritty feel and have recommended this flick countless times when someone asks about it. I feel it is a good attempt for Eli Roth, being his first movie and all. I would also like to applaud his sense to keep the H in horror by not letting the studios cut him back. He made the movie he wanted and in many ways it pays a perfect homage to the movies we all know and love.
*If you liked the first Cabin Fever please be warned the sequel is almost complete crap and easily could be a Six Pack + as Eli was not at the helm (cheap-ass cash-in on a name anyone?)*
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: whenever someone dies from the dreaded flesh eating virus (watch this one, it’s tricky).
Pound a Shot: anytime alcohol is on screen.
Take a Drink: every time you cringe thinking about your own flesh rotting away.
Scrooged (1988)
Scrooged (1988) DVD / Blu-ray
By: Christopher Young (Two Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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When holidays and all the rude people start to get to me I like to watch a movie that helps me remember what the whole mess is all about. You could pick It’s a Wonderful Life or the original Christmas Carol, the source of which this is also based off of. Either one of those should give you a general warm and fuzzy feeling and maybe even restore some of that holiday cheer that goes away all too easily this time of year. However, I need something with a little push back and slap in the face compared to the standard run of the mill Christmas flicks, and Scrooged delivered.
Christmas Vacation (1989)
Christmas Vacation (1989) DVD / Blu-ray
By: Christopher Young (Two Beers) -
BEERate this movie!
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There have been so many classic Christmas movies it can be really hard to pick a favorite. Who doesn’t like the lamp from A Christmas Story or James Stewart’s scene in It’s a Wonderful Life where he explains how a bell ringing signifies an angel receiving wings? Those two movies are excellent examples of great holiday viewing, but there is one movie that in my family will always trump the others and it’s high time Christmas Vacation receive the Movieboozer treatment.
This movie, for those who do not know, is part of National Lampoon’s Vacation series. It follows an everyday man by the name of Clark Griswold, played by Chevy Chase, who is accompanied by Beverly D’Angelo, playing the part of his wife Ellen. In the third installment the vacation is more or less a lack there of, because the Griswold’s stay in and the family comes to them. Seems good ole Clark just wants a nice Christmas at home with the family and relatives. As with the other movies in this series we know things are going to go crazy and there will be plenty of laughs along the way.
A Toast
This movie will keep you laughing and also relating toClarkand the struggles he has as he tries to usher the perfect holiday in for his family. The characters alone are hilarious with cousin Eddie (Randy Quaid) being a high point of hilarity anytime he is on camera. My only real gripe is that Clark and Ellen’s children Rusty (Johnny Galecki) and Audrey (Juliette Lewis) are being played by different actors again. I get looking the age for the part and all, but these kids look completely different than the ones played by Anthony Michael Hall and Dana Barron. If you do not get into the series this will have little effect on your opinion of the movie. This in no way degrades the characters I am referring to because they both do a great job supporting and adding to the laughs. The yuppie neighbors, Todd and Margo Chester, played by Nicholas Guest and Julia Louis-Dreyfus, are also a complete riot.
Relating toClarkand his struggles is pretty easy because we all experience stuff like this around the holidays. You see all the classics in here from a family stressing out to a hilarious scene with some pesky Christmas lights that just do not want to work. The support or lack thereof at times is another thing that really keeps you cheering forClarkthroughout the movie. In my family this movie will play no less than probably 10 times when the season hits. Some of the best parts of this movie are in the dialog like when Clark and Eddie are enjoying a lil nog and Eddie goes “You surprised to see us Clark?”Clarksays “Oh, Eddie…. If I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet, I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am now”.
Beer Two
My only other real gripe is the fact that the story was a bit too predictable. You can call almost any scene and what will happen shortly. Luckily you are laughing your bum off most times and will not notice. The story is pretty common and seems almost too simple at times but I believe that to be intentional. When you do not have ultra-clever writing, things like characters and their interactions can shine, and in this case they did just that. There were also some small things that did not make sense, such as: how did cousin Eddie know where Clark’s boss lived? The other thing I noticed was the fire trail when Clark is sledding down that hill and how it is lit in front of him. These things also are very small and really take nothing away from the movie.
I was very torn on this one and had to come back and see the movie again before I could slap the two beer sticker on this baby. This movie is a classic and you will be hard pressed to find someone who has not seen it or does not like it. Personally it is my favorite holiday movie followed closely by Scrooged, which will also be receiving the MovieBoozer Treatment soon.
Be warned that the Vacation movies after this one go steadily downhill until they land in the “pit of suck” where they belong.
Bonus Drinking Game
Take a Drink: any time Ellen uses a pet name forClark
Take a Shot: any time you see an ugly holiday sweater
Chug a Beer: any time a hair piece is on screen
