If I don't finish up my list of movies watched in January, I'll never get to February. So here goes.

13. (1667.) The Yakuza (1974)
Robert Mitchem vs the Japanese mafia! It's two great tastes that actually taste pretty great together.

14. (1668.) Scary Movie (1991)
This is not the comedy that launched the career of Anna Faris but an independent horror movie with a very unusual twist on the Halloween concept. It also reminded me of Clerks in all the best ways. I'm sure it's not everyone's bag, but I found it very worthwhile.

15. (1669.) Gourmet Detective: Roux the Day (2020)
16. (1670.) A Beautiful Place to Die: A Martha's Vineyard Mystery (2020)
17. (1671.) Matchmaker Mysteries: A Killer Engagement (2019)
We'll stick these three together because there's not really a lot to separate them. All of them follow some variation of the familiar Hallmark Movies & Mysteries format of an amateur detective (usually the woman) slowly becoming romantically involved with the law enforcement professional (usually the man) officially charged with solving an improbable murder. Most of these couldn't care less about things like probable cause and due process, and few of them are better put together than a below-average episode of Murder, She Wrote. The enjoyment is trying to solve the puzzle the writers have written before the movie reveals it (at the 1:50 mark). The answer is usually yes.

18. (1672.) Moonstruck (1987)
Some people love this romcom. But then, some people love Cher. I'm lukewarm on both. (Nic Cage is the weakest part of this by far. Could he ever act convincingly?)

19. (1673.) Deathsport (1978)
The movie poster could have said "Motorcycles and Tits in the Future... to the Death!" and that would have made as much sense as anything that happens on screen. The best part is trying to pick out the intentional Star Wars influences.

20. (1674.) The Magnificent Seven Ride! (1972)
This was the fourth (and last) of the original Magnificent Seven movies (the "Conquest of the Magnificent Seven," if you will). It's a very thin and entirely unnecessary retread of concepts in earlier movies in the series. The highlight is the plethora of 1970s character actors filling the motley crew. What can I say? I'm a sucker for Ed Lauter.

More to come.

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To be continued...

 

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