CRUD Challenge List: December 2024

This is a list of movies I've had lying around for ages and never got around to watching, so I am participating in the CRUD Challenge. A member of the CRUD Buddies community will be picking four of these movies for me to watch during each month, and post reviews of same.



20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope (2009) dir. Yukihiko Tsutsumi
20th Century Boys 3: Redemption (2009) dir. Yukihiko Tsutsumi

The Accidental Spy (2001) dir. Teddy Chan
The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) dir. Lotte Reiniger
The Alien Factor (1978) dir. Don Dohler
Alien Prey (1977) dir. Norman J. Warren
Allan Quatermain and the Temple of Skulls (2008) dir. Mark Atkins
All Over Town (1937) dir. James W. Horne
All-Star Superman (2011) dir. Sam Liu
Anna Karenina (1948) dir. Julien Duvivier
Apocalypse (2007) dir. Justin Jones
Attack of the Giant Leeches (1959) dir. Bernard L. Kowalski
Attack of the Moon Zombies (2011) dir. Christopher R. Mihm
At the Gate of the Ghost (2011) dir. Pundhevanop Dhewakul
The Avenger (1962) dir. Giorgio Venturini
The Avengers (1998) dir. Jeremiah S. Chechik
Azumi 2 (2005) dir. Shusuke Kaneko

The Bat (1926) dir. Roland West
The Batman vs. Dracula (2005) dir. Michael Goguen
The Battle of El Alamein (1969) dir. Giorgio Ferroni
Battleship Potemkin (1925) dir. Sergei M. Eisenstein
The Beguiled (1971) dir. Don Siegel
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) dir. William Wyler
Blonde for a Day (1946) dir. Sam Newfield
Blood Mania (1970) dir. Robert Vincent O'Neil
Blood Thirst (1971) dir. Newt Arnold
The Bloody Fists (1972) dir. Ng See-Yuen
The Body Snatcher (1945) dir. Robert Wise
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) dir. Blake Edwards
Breakout from Oppression (1978) dir. Lau Kar-leung
The Buddy Holly Story (1978) dir. Steve Rash
Buffalo Bill, Hero of the Far West (1965) dir. Mario Costa
Buffalo Bill in Tomahawk Territory (1952) dir. Bernard B. Ray
Bulldog Drummond Escapes (1937) dir. James P. Hogan

Calling Philo Vance (1940) dir. William Clemens
Call of the Wild (1935) dir. William A. Wellman
Captain Kidd (1945) dir. Rowland V. Lee
The Case of the Black Cat (1936) dir. William C. McGann
The Case of the Stuttering Bishop (1937) dir. William Clemens
The Cave (2005) dir. Bruce Hunt
Charlie Chan in the Secret Service (1944) dir. Phil Rosen
The Chase (1946) dir. Arthur Ripley
Cheers for Miss Bishop (1941) dir.Tay Garnett
Child Bride (1938) dir. Harry Revier
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968) dir. Ken Hughes
Choices (1981) dir. Silvio Narizzano
The Cocaine Fiends (1935) dir. William A. O'Connor
The Cowboys (1972) dir. Mark Rydell
The Curse of the Mummy's Tomb (1964) dir. Michael Carreras

A Date With the Falcon (1942) dir. Irving Reis
Deadfall (1993) dir. Christopher Coppola
The Dead Matter (2010) dir. Edward Douglas
The Dead Pool (1988) dir. Buddy Van Horn
Death Walks at Midnight (1972) dir. Luciano Ercoli
Demonia (1990) dir. Lucio Fulci
Detour (1945) dir. Edgar G. Ulmer
The Devil Bat (1940) dir. Jean Yarbrough
Devil Girl from Mars (1954) dir. David MacDonald
Die! Die! My Darling! (1965) dir. Silvio Narizzano
Dishonored Lady (1947) dir. Robert Stevenson
Dogman (2012) dir. Richard Brauer
Dracula 2000 (2000) dir. Patrick Lussier
Dracula II: Ascension (2003) dir. Patrick Lussier
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1920) dir. John S. Robertson
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931) dir. Rouben Mamoulian
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941) dir. Victor Fleming
Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922) dir. Fritz Lang

Election (1999) dir. Alexander Payne
Election (2005) dir. Johnnie To
Elmer Gantry (1960) dir. Richard Brooks

A Farewell to Arms (1957) dir. Charles Vidor
The Farmer's Wife (1928) dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Fast Track: No Limits (2008) dir. Axel Sand
Father's Little Dividend (1951) dir. Vincente Minnelli
Ferris Bueller's Day Off I1986) dir. John Hughes
Final Encounter (2000) dir. David Douglas aka For the Cause
Flash Gordon: Rocketship (1936) dir. Ford Beebe
The Flying Deuces (1939) dir. A. Edward Sutherland
The Flying Scotsman (1929) dir. Castleton Knight
For Me and My Gal (1942) dir. Busby Berkeley
The Forsaken (2001) dir. J.S. Cardone
Funny Face (1957) dir. Stanley Donen
A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum (1966) dir. Richard Lester

Gamers (2006) dir. Christopher Fallon
The Garden Murder Case (1936) dir. Edwin L. Marin
The Gay Falcon (1941) dir. Irving Reis
Genocide (1968) dir. Kazui Nihonmatsu
The Giant Gila Monster (1959) dir. Ray Kellogg
Great American West (1973) dir. Denis Sanders
Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio (2022) dir. Mark Gustafson

Hand of Death (1962) dir. Gene Nelson
The House of Mystery (1921) dir. Alexandre Volkoff

Imitation of Life (1934) dir. John M. Stahl
Imitation of Life (1959) dir. Douglas Sirk
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) dir. Steven Spielberg
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) dir. Steven Spielberg
An Inspector Calls (1954) dir. Guy Hamilton
Inuyasha the Movie 2: The Castle Beyond the Looking Glass (2002) dir. Toshiya Shinohara
The Invisible Ray (1935) dir. Lambert Hillyer
Ip Man 3 (2015) dir. Wilson Yip
Isle of the Dead (1945) dir. Mark Robson

Jamaica Inn (1939) dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Jodhaa Akbar (2008) dir. Ashutosh Gowariker
Joe Kidd (1972) John Sturges
Jungle Book (1942) dir. Zoltan Korda
Jungle Jim (1937) dir. Ford Beebe
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths (2010) dir. Sam Liu
Justice League Doom (2012) dir. Lauren Montgomery
Justice League vs. the Fatal Five (2019) dir. Wes Gleason

Kentucky Rifle (1955) dir. Carl Hittleman
Kill! (1968) dir. Kihachi Okamoto
King and the Cowboy (1932) dir. Kurt Neumann
Kiss and Make-up (1934) dir. Harlan Thompson
Kung Fu Mahjong 2 (2005) dir. Wong Jing
Kunpan: Legend of the Warlord (2002) dir. Tanit Jitnukul

The Land that Time Forgot (2009) dir. C. Thomas Howell
The Last Laugh (1924) dir. F.W. Murnau
The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954) dir. Richard Brooks
Law of the Wild (1934) dir. B. Reeves Eason
Lean On Me (1989) dir. John G. Avildsen
The Lightning Warrior (1931) dir. Benjamin J. Kline
Live and Let Die (1973) dir. Guy Hamilton
Lost Canyon (1942) dir. Lesley Selander
Lover Come Back (1961) dir. Delbert Mann
The Lucky Texan (1934) dir. Robert N. Bradbury

Ma and Pa Kettle (1949) dir. Charles Lamont
Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town (1950) dir. Charles Lamont
Mad Love (1935) dir. Karl Freund
Mad Ron's Prevues from Hell (1987) dir. Jim Monaco
The Maggie (1954) dir. Alexander Mackendrick
Maggie (2015) dir. Henry Hobson
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) dir. Otto Preminger
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974) dir. Guy Hamilton
Maze (1996) dir. Atsushi Aono
McLintock! (1963) dir. Andrew V. McLaglen
The Medicine Man (1930) dir. Scott Pembroke
Meera (1992) dir. P.C. Sreeram
The Milky Way (1936) dir. Leo McCarey
The Mouse that Roared (1959) dir. Jack Arnold
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) dir. Frank Capra
Mrs. Miniver (1942) dir. William Wyler
Murder by Death (1976) dir. Robert Moore
Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932) dir. Robert Florey
The Mystery of Mr. Wong (1939) dir. William Nigh
The Mystic (1925) dir. Tod Browning

Night Key (1937) dir. Lloyd Corrigan
Nosferatu (1922) dir. F.W. Murnau

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) dir. Sergio Leone
OSS 117 Is Unleashed (1963) dir. Andre Hunebelle
OSS 117 Panic in Bangkok dir. Andre Hunebelle
Outlaws of the Desert (1941) dir. Howard Bretherton

Passport to Pimlico (1949) dir. Henry Cornelius
Pelt (2010) dir. Richard Swindell
Phantom from Space (1953) dir. W. Lee Wilder
Pillow Talk (1959) dir. Michael Gordon
The Plague of the Zombies (1966) dir. John Gilling
Pokemon: Mewtwo Returns (2000) dir. Matsamitsu Hidaka
Private Snuffy Smith (1942) dir. Edward F. Cline
Prodigal Boxer (?) dir. Unknown, stars Fei Meng

Quicksand (1950) dir. Irving Pichel
Rage at Dawn (1955) dir. Tim Whelan
Rear Window (1954) dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Red Heat (1988) dir. Walter Hill
Reign of Fire (2002) dir. Rob Bowman
The Return of Doctor X (1939) dir. Vincent Sherman
Revolt of the Zombies (1936) die. Victor Halperin
River's End (2005) dir. William Katt
Robin Hood (1973) dir. Wolfgang Reitherman
Rocketship X-M (1958) dir. Kurt Neumann

Samurai Princess (2009) dir. Kengo Kaji
Samurai Spy (1965) dir. Masahiro Shinoda
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) dir. Allan Dwan
The Scarlet Clue (1945) dir. Phil Rosen
Scott of the Antarctic (1948) dir. Charles Frend
Secret of the Andes (1998) dir. Alejandro Azzano
The Shining (1980) dir. Stanley Kubrick
A Shriek in the Night (1933) dir. Albert Ray
Sitting Bull (1954) dir. Sidney Salkow
Skyfall (2012) dir. Sam Mendes
The Snows of Kilimanjaro (1952) dir. Henry King
Spaceballs (1987) dir. Mel Brooks
Spies (1928) dir. Fritz Lang
Spy Smasher (1942) dir. William Witney
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) dir. Lewis Gilbert
Starship Troopers I1997) dir. Paul Verhoeven
Swamp Diamonds (1955) dir. Roger Corman
Sword of Sherwood Forest (1960) dir. Terence Fisher

Tales from the East (unknown) dir. Manfred Wong
Tarzan and the Trappers (1958) dir. Charles F. Haas
Tarzan's Revenge (1938) dir. D. Ross Lederman
Tears of the Black Tiger (2000) dir. Wisit Sasanatieng
Thirty Day Princess (1934) dir. Marion Gering
Thunderball (1965) dir. Terence Young
Tokyo! (2008) dir. Leos Carax
Too Many Winners (1947) dir. William Beaudine
Tower of London (1939) dir. Rowland V. Lee
Triad Election (2006) dir. Johnnie To
Tulsa (1949) dir. Stuart Heisler

The Unknown (1927) dir. Tod Browning
Vertigo (1958) dir. Alfred Hitchcock
Victims of Sin (1951) dir. Emilio Fernandez

When Worlds Collide (1951) dir. Rudolph Mate
Winds of the Wasteland (1936) dir. Mack Wright
Without Honor (1949) dir. Irving Pichel
The Woman in Green (1945) dir. Roy William Neill
Wonder Woman (1974) dir. Vincent McEveety

The X from Outer Space (1967) dir. Kazui Nihonmatsu
Yuma (1970) dir. Ted Post
Zoltan...Hound of Dracula (1977) dir. Albert Band

I've now moved "previously watched for challenge" movies to another post.

Goldeneye (1995) dir. Martin Campbell
White Comanche (1967) dir. Gilbert Kay

CRUD Challenge: Ghostbusters 2

Ghostbusters 2 (1989) dir. Ivan Reitman

It has been five years since the Ghostbusters saved New York City, and by extension the world, from the threat of Gozer the Gozerian. Due to the massive destruction caused by their struggle, the team was sued by multiple government agencies for the damage. At the same time, a drastic drop in paranormal activity allowed rumors spread by a certain hostile government agent that the Ghostbusters had actually used hallucinogens and special effects to create fake ghosts to defraud the public. Their small company was forced into bankruptcy and they were put under a restraining order preventing them from working as paranormal investigators.

Ray (Dan Ackroyd) runs a small bookshop and appears at children's parties with Winston (Ernie Hudson) (who apparently has no other income) in their old Ghostbuster outfits. But even the children have moved on, preferring He-Man as a cultural reference. Peter (Bill Murray) hosts a cable access show on the paranormal, but due to his reputation can't get the good guests. Egon (Harold Ramis) has done all right for himself, landing a research position at Columbia University studying whether human emotions have an effect on the environment.

Dana (Sigourney Weaver) broke up with Peter over his refusal to commit to the relationship, then married a fellow musician. But when that man got a lucrative job offer in Britain, he divorced Dana and moved, so that she is raising their baby Oscar (William and Henry Deutschendorf) alone. To have more time with her child, she took a temporary jub doing painting restoration at an art museum. Her boss, Dr. Janosz Poha (Peter MacNicol) has been hitting on her when not obsessing over his latest acquisition, a painting of alleged dictator and black magician Vigo the Carpathian (body by Wilhelm von Homburg, voice by Max von Sydow).

Once again, it's Dana who first notices that something eerie is going on when Oscar's baby carriage rolls off by itself and strolls right into the middle of the street. She contacts Egon to check into the matter, and specifically asks that Peter not be told. Peter of course finds out and invites himself along on the investigation to try and rekindle his relationship with Dana. He's still a sleaze so that part doesn't go so well, but he does start to bond with Oscar.

The former Ghostbusters (sans Winston at this point) investigate the street, and accidentally cause a blackout in the process of finding an abandoned tunnel with psychoactive slime running through it. This gets them arrested, but ghosts showing up in the courtroom gets the judge convinced to lift the restraining order.

This and a sudden rise in ghost activity needing busting allows our heroes to be back in action and again the toast of the town. Meanwhile, Janosz has become dominated by the spirit of Vigo, which is using the portrait as a channel to the living world. Vigo needs a human infant to possess at the stroke of midnight New Year's Eve to begin his comeback to rule the world. Janosz has just the baby in mind so that he can compel Dana to be his wife.

Things are about to become very bad indeed, for the slime is supercharged with negative emotions from 1980s New York City, and Vigo draws strength from that.

While the first Ghostbusters movie had been very successful, some of the people who'd be needed to make a sequel had a falling out, and schedule conflicts arose, so it took five years before this movie was made.

Good: Some great jokes, excellent special effects, guest appearance by the Statue of Liberty.

Less good: This movie's plot structure is eerily similar to the first one's, with many repeated story beats. The characters and situations are reset to very near the beginning of the first movie, so in a way this one ends with very little progress. (A notable exception is Dr. Venkman, who no longer hits on any woman that crosses his path. He's solely interested in getting back with Dana, even if he can't quite understand what he did to lose her in the first place. While he has to start at zero in that relationship again, at least we're not seeing him being a horndog to other women.)

Also, poor Winston is underused again.

It's notable that the success of the cartoon spinoff The Real Ghostbusters fed back into this movie. Mascot character Slimer (Ivan Reitman) appears even if he isn't properly explained, and in an effort to be more kid-friendly, the characters have cut way back on smoking and the sex talk.

Content note: baby in peril, Dana is seen in a bra and later in a towel, a bit of rough language, slapstick violence. Janosz is under the delusion that if he forces himself on Dana, she will grow to love him.

My DVD came with two episodes of the cartoon, "Citizen Ghost", which explains why the Ghostbusters let Slimer hang around; and "Brothers in Slime" which references the psychoactive slime from this movie (calling Vigo out by name) even though the events of the second movie could not have happened in nearly the same way in the cartoon.

Overall, it's an okay movie with its major flaw being that it's a little bit too much of a retread. Maybe we didn't need sequels and remakes, but here we are. Consider getting it in a set with the original. And of course, recommended to fans of Eighties comedies.