glowinthedarkscars Reviews

Homo Promo (1991)

Terrible Quality - a bit of a let down.

[2/10 · 24 April 2022]

No restoration was done at all on the movie trailers.

Dust & dirt scratches, Poor sound, incomplete cuts and edits.. This was strictly a cash grab release for suckers.

Two Star rating is for the trailer choices.. All are excellent and worth seeing.. Tea & Sympathy and The Killing of Sister George are both personal favorites.

Skip this trash and just watch the movies instead.

Good-bye, My Lady (1956)

One sentence Review - Dull but with a few good moments

[5/10 · 13 December 2018]

Boy finds dog. Boy drinks coffee with cream. Boy returns dog to rightful owner. Boy drinks more coffee but this time takes it black. Boy is now a man. the end.

Twins of Evil (1971)

I watched it in Black & White and loved it!!

[7/10 · 25 October 2017]

viewing in glorious black and white will make all the difference. The story is pretty straight forward as far as vampire/devil worship/witch hunt movies go, but the execution of this simple tale is outstanding on every other level..the acting, the wardrobe, cinema photography were all top notch.

Warning! This film has sinful devil worshiping, bloodletting, human sacrifices, young nubile witch burnings, head decapitation, and plenty of heaving bosoms.

The Shout (1978)

Menacing yes, Strange yes, Dull yes, Horror nope

[1/10 · 12 October 2017]

I really wanted to like this one but didn't.. I could even make a good argument as to why this film shouldn't be considered a horror movie. Basic Plot - Man enters a couple's life and claims he can kill with a shout then gives a pretty convincing demonstration.

Heavy on allegory but missing a few things i like in my horror.. like an element of danger or creepiness, scares, and a little blood. This movie was just menacing, strange, and dull. *1 one star for the excellent cast and acting which was enough to hold my attention for 86 minutes but not enough to make me like it.

Symptoms (1974)

If you're feeling sinister let the SYMPTOMS of fear be your minister

[6/10 · 10 October 2017]

the plot is paper thin but what it lacks in story it makes up for in good acting, excellent cinema photography like visual poetry, and a creepy moody atmosphere. I watched it in black and white and it looked beautiful.. I may watch again in color just to compare. This is the kind of movie that needs to be remade.. fix some of the clunky dialog and establish a more cohesive story arc.. but then again the feeling of being lost as to what exactly was happening on screen is part of this movie's charm.

Demon Wind (1990)

Tries to be The Outer Limits meets Evil Dead but fails wonderfully

[6/10 · 5 October 2017]

so last night I watched DEMON WIND (1990)

Strengths: Story telling failure.. The story is sooo Bad, all movie logic is out the window.. If you need some more characters to kill off just have them drive up and arrive mid-movie with no explanation and the director also borrows heavily from The Evil Dead + The dialog and acting is wooden. The make up and special effects are actually really good though.. makes for a highly watchable & entertaining bad movie experience

Weaknesses: I would have liked to have seen more gore and violence.. It is a little too tame for my tastes.

Full Disclosure: the movie is in color but I watched in Black and White and I loved it.. because that's the way i like it

The Night Evelyn Came Out of the Grave (1971)

Slightly disappointing.. but definitely worth it if Italian Giallo is your thing.

[3/10 · 4 October 2017]

So last night I watched THE NIGHT EVELYN CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE

STRENGTHS : Great title, movie poster, and the plot synopsis on IMDb are what hooked me. cinema photography is well done and the music is absolutely perfect. It begins with young beautiful women being seduced to a castle where the main protagonist has them undress and put on thigh high black boots before whipping them.. unfortunately from this point the plot takes a wrong turn into Scooby-doo town.

WEAKNESSES: I know it is standard for 99% of Italian movies for this time period but the dubbing even when done well is still lacking. Dubbing is a sad substitute for true dialog spoken during a scene. It was even standard procedure to dub the native Italian spoken during film production. lame. The plot was seriously lifted straight from a Scooby-Doo cartoon.

No good kills. a Scissor stab, Snake bite, and rock to head = boring.

The story ruined it for me. 3 Stars ***- one for the eye candy, one for the music, and one for the cinema photography

The Road to Salina (1970)

Has not aged well.. was once Fresh but now Stale.. Cool Soundtrack though

[3/10 · 20 April 2017]

After seeing the IMDb rating and reading a few reviews I had high hopes for ROAD TO SALINA but unfortunately the Road To Salina heads south pretty fast. The story and dialog are the weakest link. The plot itself sounds interesting : A young drifter appears and is taken in by a strange family as a long lost son.. throw in some incest, a mystery, a very hot and often nude Mimsy Farmer, and Rita Hayworth.. How bad could it be?

Pretty Bad..The nudity is not erotic. The execution of the story is dull and there is no real drama. The acting & cinema photography is mediocre. Perhaps, it was artsy & cool back in the early 1970's but now it's only function is as a sleep aid. The best thing about this movie is the music soundtrack and for that reason alone I give it 2 stars but otherwise I'm Out.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Him (2013)

I am not the target audience for this kind of tripe.

[2/10 · 16 February 2015]

This review is for both the HIM and HER versions of the movie. please note this is just one guy's opinion.. My friend who I watched the movie with loved it.. unfortunately, I did not have the same experience.

THE GOOD:

1. The acting, except for Jessica Chastain's performance, is good and all of the actors did their jobs well considering the script. Jess Weixler as the sister did exceptionally well for such a small part. She carried all the scenes in which she appears.

2. Sound and editing. I could hear and understand all of the dialog spoken. The transitions between scenes and the flow of the storytelling felt very natural.

THE BAD:

1. The story & dialog felt very contrived & pretentious. A couple deals with the death of their infant son and their relationship breaks down afterward. This is the root of the story but the way these characters deal with such a tragedy is what I found to be so contrived.

For example: James McAvoy's Character Conor has a pet goldfish "Ralph" and it dies when his Dad accidentally overfeeds or feeds it the wrong food. The two men have a "heart to heart" talk during a walk to the river to dispose of Ralph's corpse, which is in a little cardboard box, by throwing it in the river. seriously, who would do that? would you do that?

another example is a scene where the two main characters are sitting on the sidewalk having a normal discussion about their relationship troubles which is only very odd considering the circumstances that one of them just got hit by a car and The Rescue personal which is clearly there for the whole discussion appear to be just standing around off screen waiting for them to finish the conversation before they load him into the ambulance.

There are many more moments like these and it may seem trivia and unimportant to some but for me it is this lack of attention to details that break the story.

2. The cinema photography is too dark in quite a few scenes and the soft blue color correction tint used is an interesting choice and will probably not be a problem for most people but i found it distracting. It took me out of the movie viewing experience just by the fact that I noticed it.

3. Jessica Chastain.. Her acting or her character in this movie rubbed me the wrong way.. i found it wooden. She was unable to emote in a believable manner.. I did not like or sympathize with her character at all but i am not sure whether it is her performance or the way her character is written.. maybe we are not suppose to like her and the fact that her character has difficulty expressing emotion could be intentional.. if so mission accomplished.

4.The relationship between the two main characters is strange from the beginning and why in the world the main guy would want to stay with a such a flaky, cold and emotional distant person is beyond me.

I watched both movies back to back. The HIM version first and then HER. I liked HIM better than HER but overall hated THEM both. Mediocrity at its best and a complete waste of time unless you are a film maker or screenwriter looking to learn from someone else's mistakes.

side note: watch THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST instead which also stars William Hurt and contains the very same subject matter of a couple that deals with the loss of their son and the break-up of their marriage.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Them (2014)

I am not the target audience for this kind of tripe.

[2/10 · 16 February 2015]

This review is for both the HIM and HER versions of the movie. please note this is just one guy's opinion.. My friend who I watched the movie with loved it.. unfortunately, I did not have the same experience.

THE GOOD:

1. The acting, except for Jessica Chastain's performance, is good and all of the actors did their jobs well considering the script. Jess Weixler as the sister did exceptionally well for such a small part. She carried all the scenes in which she appears.

2. Sound and editing. I could hear and understand all of the dialog spoken. The transitions between scenes and the flow of the storytelling felt very natural.

THE BAD:

1. The story & dialog felt very contrived & pretentious. A couple deals with the death of their infant son and their relationship breaks down afterward. This is the root of the story but the way these characters deal with such a tragedy is what I found to be so contrived.

For example: James McAvoy's Character Conor has a pet goldfish "Ralph" and it dies when his Dad accidentally overfeeds or feeds it the wrong food. The two men have a "heart to heart" talk during a walk to the river to dispose of Ralph's corpse, which is in a little cardboard box, by throwing it in the river. seriously, who would do that? would you do that?

another example is a scene where the two main characters are sitting on the sidewalk having a normal discussion about their relationship troubles which is only very odd considering the circumstances that one of them just got hit by a car and The Rescue personal which is clearly there for the whole discussion appear to be just standing around off screen waiting for them to finish the conversation before they load him into the ambulance.

There are many more moments like these and it may seem trivia and unimportant to some but for me it is this lack of attention to details that break the story.

2. The cinema photography is too dark in quite a few scenes and the soft blue color correction tint used is an interesting choice and will probably not be a problem for most people but i found it distracting. It took me out of the movie viewing experience just by the fact that I noticed it.

3. Jessica Chastain.. Her acting or her character in this movie rubbed me the wrong way.. i found it wooden. She was unable to emote in a believable manner.. I did not like or sympathize with her character at all but i am not sure whether it is her performance or the way her character is written.. maybe we are not suppose to like her and the fact that her character has difficulty expressing emotion could be intentional.. if so mission accomplished.

4.The relationship between the two main characters is strange from the beginning and why in the world the main guy would want to stay with a such a flaky, cold and emotional distant person is beyond me.

I watched both movies back to back. The HIM version first and then HER. I liked HIM better than HER but overall hated THEM both. Mediocrity at its best and a complete waste of time unless you are a film maker or screenwriter looking to learn from someone else's mistakes.

side note: I recommend watching THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST (1988) instead which also stars William Hurt and contains the very same subject matter of a couple that deals with the loss of their son and the break-up of their marriage.

The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (2013)

I am not the target audience for this kind of tripe.

[2/10 · 16 February 2015]

This review is for both the HIM and HER versions of the movie. please note this is just one guy's opinion.. My friend who I watched the movie with loved it.. unfortunately, I did not have the same experience.

THE GOOD:

1. The acting, except for Jessica Chastain's performance, is good and all of the actors did their jobs well considering the script. Jess Weixler as the sister did exceptionally well for such a small part. She carried all the scenes in which she appears.

2. Sound and editing. I could hear and understand all of the dialog spoken. The transitions between scenes and the flow of the storytelling felt very natural.

THE BAD:

1. The story & dialog felt very contrived & pretentious. A couple deals with the death of their infant son and their relationship breaks down afterward. This is the root of the story but the way these characters deal with such a tragedy is what I found to be so contrived.

For example: James McAvoy's Character Conor has a pet goldfish "Ralph" and it dies when his Dad accidentally overfeeds or feeds it the wrong food. The two men have a "heart to heart" talk during a walk to the river to dispose of Ralph's corpse, which is in a little cardboard box, by throwing it in the river. seriously, who would do that? would you do that?

another example is a scene where the two main characters are sitting on the sidewalk having a normal discussion about their relationship troubles which is only very odd considering the circumstances that one of them just got hit by a car and The Rescue personal which is clearly there for the whole discussion appear to be just standing around off screen waiting for them to finish the conversation before they load him into the ambulance.

There are many more moments like these and it may seem trivia and unimportant to some but for me it is this lack of attention to details that break the story.

2. The cinema photography is too dark in quite a few scenes and the soft blue color correction tint used is an interesting choice and will probably not be a problem for most people but i found it distracting. It took me out of the movie viewing experience just by the fact that I noticed it.

3. Jessica Chastain.. Her acting or her character in this movie rubbed me the wrong way.. i found it wooden. She was unable to emote in a believable manner.. I did not like or sympathize with her character at all but i am not sure whether it is her performance or the way her character is written.. maybe we are not suppose to like her and the fact that her character has difficulty expressing emotion could be intentional.. if so mission accomplished.

4.The relationship between the two main characters is strange from the beginning and why in the world the main guy would want to stay with a such a flaky, cold and emotional distant person is beyond me.

I watched both movies back to back. The HIM version first and then HER. I liked HIM better than HER but overall hated THEM both. Mediocrity at its best and a complete waste of time unless you are a film maker or screenwriter looking to learn from someone else's mistakes.

side note: watch THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST instead which also stars William Hurt and contains the very same subject matter of a couple that deals with the loss of their son and the break-up of their marriage.

The Savage Innocents (1960)

definitely worth watching for a few good reasons

[7/10 · 27 August 2014]

i like the fact that this movie will open up many different discussions about the depiction of different cultures, sexuality, and religion in the film.

Some interesting things worth noting about this movie:

1. "laugh with my wife" is a euphemism for "have sex with my wife"

2. a 1960 mainstream release and there is a nude scene showing the bare breasts of Inuk's wife ( couldn't believe what my eyes were seeing.. side note: they're nice )

3. Peter O'Toole's voice is dubbed by someone else

4. the fairly graphic in showing the hunting and killing of animals

5. the cheap feel of the outdoor scenes that were shot on a sound stage and the rear projection process shots of the men in their kayaks

6. no authentic natives of the region were used

7. when Inuk's wife is giving birth, her sounds and visual expressions are very sexualized

8. the accidental death that Inuk causes doesn't happen until 2/3rds of the way into the movie yet by reading most of the plot descriptions of the movie online you would think that this is the main event that drives the story

9. the scene where a snowstorm is approaching quickly and he seemingly builds a Igloo shelter in a matter of a minute or 2

10. the religious questions that the film raises about what "sin" is and what to do when laws of one culture conflict with another.

11. the weird dramatic pause of the freeze-frame ending.. wait for it.. wait for it.. wait.. OK "the end"