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Welcome
to the latest feature added to The Z Review by our Associate
Webmaster John Howard Oxley! Click
Here For Part Two of this Feature
John casts his eyes over some of his favourite and sometimes
not so favourite Bad Movie websites.Call it a an occasional
surfing guide of what should be a small but select set of
reviews of other sites which have information about bad movies.
Hollywood
Bitchslap! Warn the world about
crappy over-hyped films! While this site focusses on bad movies,
with emphasis on current releases, it also reviews some movies
it finds at least acceptable. The site loads quickly with
'teasers' for the latest reviews; these are long, biting,
well written, and can offer the perspective of different authors.
The site is easy to navigate: Movie Reviews Latest Features,
Top 20's, Previews, Archives, Search, New Titles, Join Us!
[an appeal for more critics], an on-line Forum, FAQ, Who the
Authors Are, and International links are reached from links
at the top of the screen; these display quickly as well. The
search feature [which can use title, director, writer, or
cast] is effective; the ratings system uses stars, but it
also segments out the percentage of those which loved/liked/could
stand/disliked/hated the particular title. The site organization
makes it difficult to determine how many reviews are available,
and the language used throughout probably makes it PG-13,
at the very least, but there is a lot of enjoyable variety
here.
Mr.
Cranky Rates Your
Favorite Movies Though there are reviews from other hands
on this site, it is the wickedly barbed and to-the-point movie
reviews from the anonymous Cranky which will keep you coming
back. The site itself, while fast loading, has a rather confusing
modernistic layout, though persistance in navigating pays
off eventually. It offers the latest reviews for both theatre
releases and videos, plus an archive which can be browsed
either alphabetically or by rating (which ranges from "almost
tolerable" to "an abomination of human endeavor" [sic - it's
a site in the USA, after all]). You can sign up to participate
in discussion fora, read interviews with Mr. C., and order
T-shirts. No claim is made for the number of movies reviewed
here, but it certainly ranges in the hundreds. Again the tone
of the discussion is sometimes a bit "salty", but like chips/crisps,
you can't read just one!
THE ASTOUNDING B-MONSTER
While
"B" movies [movies intended to be the :"fillers" on pre-TV
era "double features at movie houses] are not necessarily
bad, the fact that they tended to be low-budget productions
with undistinguished actors tends to make them so.
Here is a site which provides a wealth of information on these
"neglected" films. The site opens with a fast-loading splash
page, which allows you to search for a title, actor, or keyword;
browse the site by category; and add your name to a mailing
list. The page is highlighted with an illustrated teaser for
the main story being features; overall this loads reasonably
quickly and is well-laid out. The search works with admirable
speed, returning 4 hits for "Lee van Cleef", but it is the
index which reveals the true depths of this site, providing
dozens of long, well-written reviews and articles relating
to just about every aspect of the "B" movie scene, ranging
from "Babes From Beyond" to "The Pros Pick Their Top Tens".
This is an excellent site, providing a good take on bad movies
from a U.S.A. perspective.
Bad Movie
Night From the U.S.A., a tongue-in-cheek look at really
bad movies, in the theatre, on TV, and available on video.
The rather garish framed site opens quickly, and is easy to
navigate, though most pages require scrolling. The reviews
can be searched by title [though I could not make this feature
work in either NetScape or NeoPlanet], you can list all reviews,
or just the new reviews (going to either list also allows
you to access any title alphabetically).
The site also offers reviewing opportunities, a video store,
a daily selection and a site of the week, games, a forum,
contact information, and a section called "The 100", which
requires a password to enter. There are hundreds of reviews
by independent commentators here [though the site is not complete
by any means: neither No Retreat, No Surrender nor Sledge
are reviewed], and the reviews appear pointed and witty. One
movie can be reviewed by more than one reviewer; ratings are
by "Beans", showing the head of the Atkinson character, with
10 being the absolute worst.
With lots to see and do on this site, any bad movie aficianado
should be able to keep happily clicking for hours.
Click
Here For Part Two of this Feature
John
Howard Oxley
Care
to find out a bit more about John? Click
Here
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