This movie is a bit nostalgic to me. Back near the beginning of Movie Night, we had a friend who supplied us with a plethora of cheap horror DVDs. Shout out to Tim, who I'm not even sure knows this blog exists... Anyway, Diary of the Dead was one of those movies we watched something like over a decade ago, so I only remembered a few details. Forgotten was that this was directly created by Mr. George A Romero, which makes the fact that it's bad found footage all the more sad. Welcome back to October of the Living Dead.
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Land of the Dead (2005)
I have a specific type of brain rot where I associate some actors with specific roles and just see them as that character no matter what they're in. Mr. Joel McHale will always be lovable loser Jeff Winger, no matter how serious his role in Becky tries to be. In this particular case, Land of the Dead features Luigi Mario and King Koopa. They even have a climactic fight amidst a zombie revolution! And the whole movie was just okay.
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Everybody's got a movie they think is overrated. Some are contrarians--check out the 1 star reviews of any of the more famously well received films for examples--while others just don't get the hype. I find myself in that second camp with the original Dawn of the Dead, a film that just went on longer than it needed to while not really doing much. Oh man, am I already hitting the inevitable decline in quality this early in October of the Living Dead? This could be a problem...
Purple Hearts (2022)
Updates are gonna be spotty for a while. Such is life. But Purple Hearts pissed me off enough that I had to take time out of my actually busy schedule to rant about it.
Don’t Look Up (2021)
If nothing is done soon, global warming and climate change will kill us all. The sea levels will rise, severe weather patterns will become more common, entire ecosystems will be destroyed, and more disastrous things are in our future. Our entire way of life is at risk and there not only are people who are apathetic to these problems, but some actively ignore the warning signs and say nothing is wrong. It's an absolutely maddening situation. And that's basically the plot of Don't Look Up, only it's a comet and not rising global temperatures. Interesting premise, but not the best execution.
The Gay Bed & Breakfast of Terror (2007)
During October, I came across a list of queer horror movies recommended by writers for NBC News. I'd already reviewed four films on it--Fear Street: 1994, Bit, The Perfection, and Stranger by the Lake*--and the rest are saved to my to-do list. One movie not mentioned was The Gay Bed and Breakfast of Terror, probably because while this is an undoubtedly gay film, it's fucking terrible. I honestly don't know how else to describe it beyond it being an incredibly homophobic gay film.
Henry V (1989)
I really need to stop slacking off. My list of films that I've referenced on this blog but haven't gotten around to currently has 330 movies, and that's not even including any movies I've mentioned in the last week or so. So let's bite the bullet and roll the digital equivalent of a 330-sided die! And we get... #138. That is... Henry V by Mr. Kenneth Branagh. I mentioned this in my Thor review, didn't I? Good to know I'm predictable, at least. Anyway, let's get Shakespearean up in here!
National Treasure: Book of Secrets (2007)
It's that time of year once again, dear readers! As my state begs people not to shoot off fireworks so soon after a record-breaking heatwave and at the start of what could be one of the worst fire seasons yet, it's time to celebrate the Fourth of July! Last year I marked the occasion by watching National Treasure, so it shouldn't be too much of a surprise that this year I'm looking at National Treasure: Book of Secrets. So without further ado, LET'S KIDNAP THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES!
Otto; or, Up with Dead People (2008)
Once upon a time, I started a movie blog. The twist of the story is that what I created was not this Chwineka Watches, but a different, earlier blog whose name escapes me at the moment (probably also Chwineka Watches). The reviews were more longform, with posts being around 4000 words and featured several screenshots that had quirky captions because I was obviously inspired by Cracked Dot Com. One of the movies I reviewed at the time was Otto; or, Up with Dead People, a film about a gay zombie, something I'm redoing here as part of Pride Month. Looking back years later on that early review is weird to me now, because I can see how my opinions and thought processes have changed over time. Lemme explain.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier – Season 1, Episode 6
With only 6 episodes, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier feels much shorter compared to WandaVision, even though the actual difference in their combined length is about an hour. But man, we went through an emotional roller coaster throughout the series, especially in the season finale. Will there be a season two? Let's dive into the final episode, "One World, One People," and talk about that!