LaBete

Member since 10/18/2008, last signed in awhile ago.

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Personal statement:

It ok to not believe in god.

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Interested in:Action, Adventure, Avant-garde / Experimental, Comedy, Comedy Drama, Culture & Society, Drama, Fantasy, Film, TV & Radio, Health & Fitness, Historical Film, Horror, Music, Musical, Science Fiction, Spirituality & Philosophy, Thriller, Travel, Visual Arts

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My Best Girl

My Best Girl
By LaBete in LaBete Blog
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"The first time I watched this film I wasn't sure what to expect, I was so used to Pickford playing little girls or someone half her age. But this role is quite a refreshing difference from her others. She proves that she can be both a skilled comedian and dramatic actress, and much more adult than in her other films. I think even those who do not care much for Pickford, or even silent films, may find this one entertaining. This was also Mary Pickford's last silent film, and in this reveiwer's opinion her best, so if you don't like this Pickford film you might do well by avoiding her other ones. " [More]

The Honeymoon Killers

The Honeymoon Killers
By LaBete in LaBete Blog
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"The low-budget 1970 sleeper is based on the true story of the grisly "Lonely Hearts" murders in the late 1940s. Tony Lo Bianco gives an excellent performance as Ray, a Spanish gigolo who meets lonely women through a mail club and swindles them out of most of their savings. Along comes Martha, an over-weight frustrated nurse (played perfectly by Shirley Stoler, who some may remember as Miss Stevie from Pee Wee's Playhouse), and then the brutality starts. Pretending to be Ray's sister, the two of them continue to seek out wealthy women to play their savage game with. One scene if very violent and a bit disturbing when, unable to kill one victim, Martha resorts to whacking her in the head with a hammer. Also in the cast is Doris Roberts (from TV's Everyone Loves Raymond). The same real-life killers were the basis for another film, "Natural Born Killers" (1994). " [More]

Re:MORE INDIANA JONES SEQUELS?
By LaBete in HORROR MOVIES 101
"[quote user="Risselada"] [quote user="LaBete"] I liked this one better than last two sequels. Harrison Ford has to be in damn good physical condition to do a movie like this at age 65. I hope to be retired by that age! Do any of you suspect a sequel with Indiana Jones son as the lead character? It would be interesting if they did like in the 2nd sequel when Connery played Indiana's father and had Harrison Ford in the same way. [/quote] It sure seemed like they were setting it up for a sequel. I'm surprised you liked it that much. Not many people I know did. [/quote] Of the 3 sequels I do like this newest one the best, but not as much as "Raiders..." " [More]

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things

Children Shouldn't Play With De ...
By LaBete in LaBete Blog
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"An early film by director/writer Bob Clark (better known for "Black Christmas"-1975, & "Christmas Story"), it is probably the best black-comedy-living-dead-flesh -eating-gorey films made on a shoe-string budget. It involves a group of want-to-be film actors/makers who are led to a small abandoned isle to make a horror film. The extremely obnoxious director (played by Alan Ormsby) insults and ridicules the actors until they are totally disgusted with the whole project. Then - suddenly - after some occult-corpse-raising ritual - the killing and mandatory flesh-eating begins. The make-up and special effects are surprisingly above-average, and in many scenes quite welcomed since some of the characters really deserve it. But of all the acting the best by far is from the hero of the film, Orville the corspe. Really can't recommend this movie enough. Another great film for every film student. " [More]

Horror Hotel

Horror Hotel
By LaBete in LaBete Blog
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"AKA "City of the Dead," is surprisingly good considering its apparent low-budget and little-known film co., Vulcan/Trans Lux. The first time I saw this I remember being put on the edge of my seat in the theater when one of the "main characters" is killed off early in the film (similar to Janet Leigh in "Psycho"). Christopher Lee stars as university professor of demonology who sends a "favorite" student to a little-known village in New England to do a paper on Satanism during the 17th century. The movie has several good shocks, which I've noticed is typical of many British chillers of the 60s, and is full of creepy atmosphere complete with swirling fog. Also in the cast is Dennis Lotis, a British pop singer at the time. " [More]

Night of the Eagle

Night of the Eagle - aka - Burn ...
By LaBete in LaBete Blog
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"Renamed "Burn, Witch, Burn" in the US, is based on the story The Conjure Wife by Fritz Leiber. Scripted by horror tale writers Richard Matheson (I Am Legend) and Charles Beaumont, it is a well-crafted tale of the occult. Janet Blair is cast as the wife of a psychology professor, played by Peter Wyngarde. As the professor's skepticism gradually turns to belief I was reminded of how Dana Andrews reacted to similar events in Jacques Tourneur's "Night of the Demon". The film is quite effective in producing the proper atmosphere by visual effects achieved by the right framing and camera movement. There are many unforgetable scenes - such as when a stone eagle comes to life and swoops down on the professor inside a lecture hall, to a scene in a crypt as he attempts to save his wife from the powers of darkness. Filmed in black and white probably helps the movie, considering many of the locals are in dark and eerie settings. For fans of chillers, this film will surely keep you on the edg ... " [More]

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

MORE INDIANA JONES SEQUELS?
By LaBete in HORROR MOVIES 101
"I liked this one better than last two sequels. Harrison Ford has to be in damn good physical condition to do a movie like this at age 65. I hope to be retired by that age! Do any of you suspect a sequel with Indiana Jones son as the lead character? It would be interesting if they did like in the 2nd sequel when Connery played Indiana's father and had Harrison Ford in the same way. " [More]

The Exterminating Angel

The Exterminating Angel
By LaBete in LaBete Blog
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"From Mexico comes director Luis Bunuel's perplexing black comedy that makes an unflattering comment on high-society. The title, perhaps, might refer to the exterminating of so-called high-class self-absorbed society. With the arrival of guests at an elegant dinner party, the servants appear to be in an unusually nervous state and in quite a hurry to leave the home. It could be they have some hindsight as to what is about to happen - it is never fully explained in the film. Soon after they leave, the guests are apparently stuck in one large room of the house. There are no obstacles to prevent them from leaving, but none-the-less they each form some odd excuse for staying whenever them make any motion to exit. After some time, the finally realize they cannot leave. No matter how hard they concentrate they must stop dead at the threshold of the large room. By the end of the film they have resorted to near animalistic behavior - fighting over food, water, and even sexual advances towar ... " [More]

The Alligator People

The Alligator People
By LaBete in LaBete Blog
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"From the world of low-budget production comes a sci-fi feature that may have had promise in the right hands. The film begins with two scientists attempting to solve the mystery behind their nurse's amnesia history. Under hypnosis she relates an unbelievable tale about her husband suddenly vanishing, and later being traced by her to a remote manor in the Southern U.S. swamplands. There she finds her husband's mother who at first refuses to admit who she is and is insistant on her distraught daughter-in-law to leave the swampland manor. Also in the home resides a somewhat unbalanced scientist, played in a rather campy style by George Macready, who is experimenting on limb rejuvenation. Using a serum made from alligators, his experiments turn humans into - well what else - alligator people. The nurse eventually finds that her husband has become one of these creatures. The make-up effects by famous mask-creator/make-up artist Dick Smith should have been more realistic. The early stages ... " [More]

I Married a Monster from Outer Space

I MARRIED A MONSTER FROM OUTER ...
By LaBete in LaBete Blog
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful. [What do you think?]
"The atmospheric sci-fi thriller from 1958 is in this reviewer's opinion on the same level as "Invasion of The Body Snatchers" (1956) and should be considered a classic. The alien creatures that take over several Earth men's bodies are unique, and remindful of the squid-man creatures from the "Star Wars" series, which I suspect could have been copied from this movie. Gloria Talbott, the female star of several 1950's sci-fi/horror films, is suitably cast as the wife who notices a personality change in her husband (played very effectively by Tom Tryon). She uncovers a plot by aliens to produce more of their dying race using humans, but for some reason can not get anyone to believe it. The film is superior to many other typical 50's sci-fi films in taking advantage of the use of shadows and bizarre camera angles to increase the tension. This is a movie that with multiple viewings you may notice little details you may have missed the first time through. It's amazing how much story is ... " [More]

Plan 9 from Outer Space

PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE
By LaBete in LaBete Blog
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"1956- AKA "GRAVE ROBBERS FROM OUTER SPACE" / Likely the best-worst-campy movie ever made. Everything about this film reeks of amateurish-low-budget filmmaking. Ed Wood, the now well-known producer-director of the "Bad Movie", has out-done himself on this one. Paper plates as flying saucers; an obvious poor look-a-like for Bela Lugosi after he died during production; and dialog almost any grade school pupil could improve on. It's a one-of-a-kind film that, in my opinion, should be mandatory viewing for all film-school students. " [More]

Five

FIVE
By LaBete in LaBete Blog
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"Arch Oboler wrote, produced, and directed this unusual science-fiction film which is probably the first film to deal with the aftermath of nuclear war. The cast does an above average job considering they are probably unknowns to most. I was impressed with the detailed character study for such a low-budget and obscure film. Of the "Five" people who gather together in a remote mountain lodge, by the end only two remain (there is eventual a 6th if you count the baby born to the sole-surviving woman). The only thing in the film I found rather unnecessary was the occasional references to bible scriptures. " [More]