All the latest Movieland investigations from detectives Dick Japowski and Joey Arizona.
Dick Japowski's VHS chronicles
Mutronics: The Movie aka The Guyver (1991)
Trailers: Modern Love, Lonely Hearts, JFK, Bingo, Don't Tell Her It's Me, Timescale.
Joey Arizona reviewed this movie recently with the kind of critical eye a forensics expert would have. But it did remind me I had a copy in the attic, so it was time for a rewatch!
He was spot on with his scathing takedown. A movie this crazy should be a lot more fun. A man gets an alien power rangers type suit and has to fight creatures that look like man sized Gremlins and starring Mark Hamill with a mustache. The mustache isn't the problem, it's the direction of Screaming "mad" George primarily know as an FX guy on such films as Society where it goes wrong. A messy curiosity.
Rewatch: 1.5 Doughnuts
The Arizona Case Files
Bait (2012)
A freak Tsunami leaves a group of survivors trapped in a submerged supermarket...with only a couple of Great White Sharks for company.
The CGI in the opening scene was terrible, and I hoped it was an indication of the rest of the movie. Luckily after that everything looked much better, and the film as a whole was pretty entertaining, with some clever ideas along the way. The acting in general was soap calibre, but then a lot of the actors involved had washed up from Soapland, so it's not really surprising.
First watch: 3 Doughnuts
The Many Views of Detective Dick Japowski
Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween (2018)
Two best friends unwittingly release Slappy the dummy from his book and so he sets about making it forever Halloween. A fun PG adventure, perfect for entertaining your little ghouls and goblins this week!
First watch: 3 Doughnuts
Dick Japowski's VHS Chronicles
The Fog (1980)
An old curse returns to a coastal town, are Tom Atkins and Jamie Lee Curtis enough to stop it?
A midnight viewing of one of Carpenter's films I couldn't remember that well. I actually forgot Tom Atkins and Curtis were in this! But it's hard to go far wrong when dealing with ghost pirates especially vengeful ones and this holds up as a fun story.
Rewatch: 3.5 Doughnuts
What Makes a Good Cop? with Dick Japowski.
Dead heat (1988)
Joe Piscopo and Treat Williams are police detective buddy cops who don't play by the rules. Treat Williams plays Roger Mortis who gets killed in the line of duty but brought back as zombie cop! And what a treat this film is. Part Big Trouble in Little China, part Lethal Weapon. The fight in a Chinese restaurant with reanimated animals is straight out of Evil Dead! Add Darren McGavin as the big bad and this deserves alot more love.
First watch: 3.5 Doughnuts
Cop Factor: 5 Doughnuts
Have you witnessed any of the movies we've investigated? What's the verdict? Let us know in the comments below.