This week’s girl-powered entry suffers the same fate as any other music movie that attempted to capitalize on the popularity of its subjects –– it was dated by the time it was released. But even if “Spice World” had been released at the height of the Spice Girls’ popularity rather than in its decline, it […]
Tonight’s Insomniac entry was 15 years in the making. When I was in junior high I loved S.E. Hinton’s “The Outsiders” and went out of my way to read everything I could by the lady. I’d seen the movie adaption, but always thought that “Rumble Fish” would have made a better movie, as it dealt […]
After a two-week, semi-accidental sabbatical, I return with Peter Berg’s darkest, funniest and best movie, “Very Bad Things.” And it’s perfect for the 3 a.m. treatment because under regular viewing conditions, you’d likely kill yourself. Standing in stark contrast to Berg’s more cineplex friendly recent work, “Very Bad Things” is a pitch-black comedy that moves […]
Tonight’s entry comes at the behest of my Mr. Eric Melin, who assured me that 1994’s “Clifford”, directed by Paul Flaherty, would be the kind of cult romp practically made for Insomniac Movie Theater. And boy, is it ever. “Clifford” features the dynamite comedy duo of Martin Short and Charles Grodin, the former enjoying the […]
As keeping with horror remake month and the rules set out by the Insomniac Movie Theater blog that all movies must be on Netflix Instant, late-night television, or from my personal collection, I got to rewatch one of the all-time great horror movies on a technicality. Less of a remake and more of a total […]
The second installment in our month of bad horror remakes is the 2005 Paris Hilton/Elisha Cuthbert vehicle “House of Wax.” Like last week’s disaster “The Wicker Man,” “House of Wax” commits the cardinal sin of a bad horror movies: It takes itself painfully, painfully seriously. Music video director Jaume, who’s other major movie was 2009’s […]
It’s October and with it comes Halloween, autumn, and the first theme month at Insomniac Movie Theater. In honor of Halloween, it’s bad horror remake month on Insomniac Movie Theater and there’s no better movie to kick it off than 2006’s Nick Cage catastrophe “The Wicker Man.” Written and directed by one-time University of Kansas […]
I try not to go to the Arnold Schwarzenegger well too often. After all, the man’s entire career has a place on this blog. Ever since he made is debut as Hercules in “Hercules In New York,” his acting career has been a virtual litany of bad action movies or just plain bad movies meant […]
As anyone who’s seen it can attest, 1987’s “Over The Top” is without a doubt the worst movie in Sylvester Stallone’s career–a career, mind you, that includes “Stop Or My Mom Will Shoot” and “Judge Dredd.” After the surprising success and critical acclaim of “Rocky” and the decision to turn the seemingly one-off story into […]
Today’s entry has the dubious honor of being the first movie I had to watch in two parts and in the process of doing so, I learned what element of a bad movie topples my threshold. I have seen worse movies during my run on Insomniac Movie Theater, but none of them so far were […]
On paper, this week’s entry should be a total failure. It features a former child actor, a hackneyed kung fu plot, and some special effects that are economical at best. Add to that some vague Chinese mythology as the backdrop and a soundtrack that was composed by the director and his editor and it should […]
When Cliff Secord finds a rocketpack in the passenger seat of his stunt plane, it should be an opportunity for the type of high-flying action perfect for a big-budget summer movie. Instead “The Rocketeer” becomes an exercise in monotony. And Insomniac Movie Theater’s first cure for insomnia.
Jane Fonda stars in the this 3 a.m. cult classic that is largely famous because of her willingness to get nude or semi-nude. Behold the campy sets, the shag carpet ships, the man-sized water bongs, and the sex piano! Bask in the over-the-top performances and the instantly dated soundtrack thanks to The Glitterhouse! But do not, under any circumstances, watch this in a state of mind that is not altered either chemically or by sleep deprivation.
I open this week’s Insomniac Movie Theater with the following salvo: To the fans of this movie, not the people who are ambivalent to it, but to the people who can quote the dialogue, the people who proudly sport the Aequitas and Veritas tattoos and long for the day when they can own the matching […]
“Black Dynamite” is the rare parody that not only appreciates its source material, but builds on top of it. And while it’s too bad more people didn’t see it when it was released, it only made about $300,000 total, it’s perfectly suited for cult status and a second life on DVD. The jokes land harder at 3 a.m., it’s a great movie to watch with friends, and there are scenes and even lines of dialogue meant for repeat viewing.