Roku Roundup

I did indeed watch many movies while working all weekend at the living room sofa or dining room table (both in view of the HDTV). Wireless Ethernet and VPN technology sure do make life easier.

To the movie reviews:

King of Kong

Previously reviewed. Was working and wanted something familiar on the tube. A great documentary.

Bigger, Stronger, Faster

A very interesting documentary about steroid use in America. This should be required viewing for high school athletes. *** out of *****.

Vanishing Point

A favorite of mine. Can an enjoyable movie be made about a guy simply driving a car? It appears so.

The Host

Another favorite. This may be THE BEST monster movie ever created. No joke, it's that good.

Westworld

Yul Brenner at his best! A classic from the 70's. Or was it the 60's? Regardless it's good stuff though one wonders about the gaping plot question "why would they give the robots real bullets in the first place?"

Heavy Metal

Animated classic from 1981. The first major release of an animated movie rated R. Good, classic metal soundtrack. Listen for John Candy and Eugene Leavy.

Eraserhead

WTF is this? Really. Seriously. This is some kind of nightmare, I think. So bizarre, even for David Lynch. **** out of *****

Trailer Town

Never, ever watch this movie. It's sick and disgusting not to mention pointless. Only watch this movie if you want to be able to answer "what's the worst movie you have ever seen" without any internal conflict. Is it possible to give zero stars? This movie sucked and, yes, I watched the entire train wreck. I now have the rest of my life to wonder why. (seriously, how the hell did this movie find distribution?) zero out of *****. It's not that bad, it's worse.

Area 51

Documentary about Area 51. No huge revelations where. Good cinematography. Excellent video of the area around Area 51. Made me homesick for the West just a wee bit. ** 1/2 out of *****.

The American Hobo

Darn entertaining this short documentary was. Learn where the term 'hobo' originated. See video of from inside of boxcars (this is illegal and dangerous, by the way). Still, I have to admit, I wanted to hop in a box car myself and travel around the country for a week after seeing this movie. I've known two people who have done this in their younger years. Dave, he was one of my roommates that attended the University of Arizona and he would either hitch-hike all summer or ride the rails during summer break. An interesting guy. He saw a lot of the Country traveling around randomly. Mike, well, he was a bit different. He got fed up with work one day (around his 23rd birthday), quit his job and "hobo"ed around via rail for 18 months. He also nearly froze to death going through Colorado (he trail was supposed to be "staying warm" between San Diego and Phoenix. Oops. And another time he though he was on a trail through Nebraska when, in fact, he was heading the wrong direction and ended up in Detroit. Not a great rail yard if you believe his descriptions. Anyway, this was a fun little movie narrated by Ernest Borgnine of all people! *** 1/2 out of *****

Jericho: Season 1 Pilot

Been there, saw it already. Still good and entertaining. I wish the series could have kept going.

Longtime Companion

I was looking for a specific movie made in the late 80's about the HIV outbreaks of the early 80's. This wasn't it. But still it was a decent movie. Look for Bruce Davidson and Dermot Mulroney. *** out of *****

Joint Security Area

Excellent movie though somewhat slow moving. If you worked or served in South Korea I think you'll be entertained by this movie. **** out of *****. Look for Kang-ho Song, who also stars in The Host.

Home Sweet Home

I'm sorry, but this movie was really terrible. It's "too British" for my liking. Not to mention depressing. I just didn't strike a chord with me. ** out of *****.

The Open Road

Now I'm stretching. This was a documentary about... drumroll please. AMERICAN RETIREES! Oh, the fun of watching retired people be retired. Parts of it were informative and they were thoughtful enough to include a cross-section of people including those that have enough money to travel as they wish down to a guy who drives a cab because he has to. I felt kind of sorry for the cab guy (he died in 1994 without really having ever "retired"). *** out of *****

The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made

Somehow, and don't ask me how, Trailer Town didn't make the list. Perhaps they only meant theatrically released movies. Anyway, see footage from the cheap Jaws rip-off Great White and other horrible, horrible movies. No genera is left out. There's a little something in this one for everybody. I just wish some of the clips of the terrible footage could have been longer. They were entertaining! *** 1/2 out of *****.

Believe it or not, that was all the movies I watched. Oh, except for the stuff on the Apple TV. I only watched one or two movies on the Apple TV so I didn't include them in the list.