Movies I Have Seen Lately

[The Baron]

Saw a Takashi Miike picture called The Great Yokai War. "Yokai" is a Japanese term for monsters from folklore, as opposed to the more familiar kaiju. It's a kids' picture, about a young boy from Tokyo sent out to live in the countryside with his older sister and his intermittently senile grandfather. When a vengeful spirit appears, the boy gets caught up in a war between warring groups of yokai and must find his courage to become the "Kirin Rider", the hero who will set everything to rights. It's not a bad picture - nothing deep, but an amusing story. Some of the yokai are really trippy, Japanese folklore can get pretty "out there", apparently.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

The last time I went to a zoo was the last time I'll be going to a zoo. 

[Richard Willis]

When I watched this movie on TCM a little while back I really got a kick out of it.

Those of you who love the comedy Airplane! (1980) will want to set your DVRs for Zero Hour! (1957).

It is scheduled for May 6 at 10:15 PM Eastern Time on TCM.

Most of the plot in the 1980 satire is taken directly from this 1957 dramatic movie. Sometime the dialogue is exactly the same, which cracked me up.

[Jeff of Earth-J]

CAR WASH (1976): I just couldn't watch another B-movie right now, so I talked Tracy into watching another one from my childhood. I figured of the ones I have in mind, this one is probably the most objectionable, so I thought if I could get it out of the way it's all uphill from here. Unlike some of the other movies I've been watching lately, I know exactly who chose this one: me. I was only 12 years old but was already a huge George Carlin fan, and when I found out he was going to be in a movie, I had to see it. (Turns out he wasn't in much of it after all.) It was honestly better than I remember it, similar to the kind of movie Kevin Smith would make today (i.e., lowbrow but with a message), very "educational" for a 12-year-old to see. 

[The Baron]

Watched Terror-Creatures from the Grave (1965).  This one felt to me like it could have been set in the same universe as Dark Shadows,only without the high level of production values that Dan Curtis Productions were known for.

"My name is Victoria Winters.  Somewhere far from Collinwood, a young lawyer answers a mysterious summons, only to find that the client who supposedly summoned him has been dead for nearly a year. It...doesn't really have anything to do  with me, but there it is."

[JD DeLuzio]

I remember Car Wash for The Fly. I would have been 12 and the film cracked me up. Haven't seen it since. Richard Prior is also in it, but not much in it.

Jeff of Earth-J said:

CAR WASH (1976): I just couldn't watch another B-movie right now, so I talked Tracy into watching another one from my childhood. I figured of the ones I have in mind, this one is probably the most objectionable, so I thought if I could get it out of the way it's all uphill from here. Unlike some of the other movies I've been watching lately, I know exactly who chose this one: me. I was only 12 years old but was already a huge George Carlin fan, and when I found out he was going to be in a movie, I had to see it. (Turns out he wasn't in much of it after all.) It was honestly better than I remember it, similar to the kind of movie Kevin Smith would make today (i.e., lowbrow but with a message), very "educational" for a 12-year-old to see. 

[Jeff of Earth-J]

"I remember Car Wash for The Fly."

Ha! I had completely forgotten about The Fly! BZZZZ! Now (I'm going to drive my wife nuts with it.)

"Richard Prior is also in it, but not much in it."

Richard Pryor and George Carlin were probably the two biggest lasting names associated with it. There were a lot of actors who were famous in the '70s (such as Franklyn Ajaye) and a lot of "hey, it's that guy" actors, but mostly unknowns.

It reminds me of another movie which I hadn't been thinking of that I saw in the theater back then.

"...only without the high level of production values that Dan Curtis Productions were known for."

Okay, that one's up next.

[JD DeLuzio]

For those of you who don't know Car Wash, one of the employees, T.C., has created / sorta thinks he is a superhero called "The Fly." He and another guy go into action when they think a customer might be a notorious criminal. Mind you, this is my description based on decades-old memories.

Okay, now I have to re-watch this at some point. Let me tell you, it's better than digging a ditch.

[Rob Staeger (Grodd Mod)]

Oh, man, I really need to see Car Wash! Filmspotting did a segment on it last summer, and it's been on my radar since then. 

[Captain Comics]

DUNE: We finally watched it on HBO Max.

There's probably a thread somewhere, but I don't have much to say, only that we liked it. Oh, and that it's pretty obvious now how much Star Wars (ahem) homages Frank Herbert's concepts. Sandworms, spice, Sand People instead of Fremen, Bene Gesserit force-users instead of Jedi, etc.

My wife is eager to see the sequel, but it hasn't even started filming yet, so ... we've a long wait.

[Richard Willis]

Weirdly, I rewatched Car Wash a few months ago and I don't remember "The Fly."

JD DeLuzio said:

For those of you who don't know Car Wash, one of the employees, T.C., has created / sorta thinks he is a superhero called "The Fly." He and another guy go into action when they think a customer might be a notorious criminal. Mind you, this is my description based on decades-old memories.

Okay, now I have to re-watch this at some point. Let me tell you, it's better than digging a ditch.

[Richard Willis]

I don't think there's a thread for Dune (Part 1), which I also enjoyed on streaming. I do remember thinking that the sandworms were "borrowed" from Dune when I first saw Star Wars. 

Unlike so many of us, I don't hate the 1984 version starring Kyle MacLaclan (who IMO can do no wrong). I think it was well done given the budgetary and special effects limitations. The 2021 version is better. I have never seen the 2000 and 2003 miniseries. 

Captain Comics said:

DUNE: We finally watched it on HBO Max.

There's probably a thread somewhere, but I don't have much to say, only that we liked it. Oh, and that it's pretty obvious now how much Star Wars (ahem) homages Frank Herbert's concepts. Sandworms, spice, Sand People instead of Fremen, Bene Gesserit force-users instead of Jedi, etc.

My wife is eager to see the sequel, but it hasn't even started filming yet, so ... we've a long wait.

[ClarkKent_DC]

I well remember Car Wash. I saw it several times back in the day and even more recently. Plus, it has a killer soundtrack album.

"The Fly" was played by Franklin Ajaye, who was an up-and-coming standup comic back in the '70s. There was a running bit in the movie where he kept trying to ask out the pretty waitress in the diner across the street from the car wash, and she wouldn't give him the time of day. He also kept calling the radio station trying to win tickets to a concert to take her to. 

By the end of the day, he bluntly told her to stop playing hard-to-get because Prince Charming isn't coming, but I'm right here.