Zom-Rom-Com... "Night Of The Living Deb"

Night of the Living Deb  (2015)

Not Rated

Starring Maria Thayer, Michael Cassidy, Syd Wilder, Ray Wise, Chris Marquette,

Directed by Kyle Rankin

The Story:

After a night out, Deb (Thayer) wakes up in the apartment of Ryan Waverly (Cassidy) the biggest hunk in Portland Maine. She has no idea how she got there, or what happened, and Ryan basically shows her the door. The only problem, on the outside of that door, a zombie apocalypse pretty much sprung up over night!  Now these two have to put their differences aside and try and get to safety!

Another horror comedy that is currently streaming on Netflix as of this writing.

Deb gets the most screen time as the heroine/final girl of the film.

She seems to be dippy one moment and then tough-as-nails the next, so expect a somewhat uneven tone if you settle in for this one.

Then of course you have the oil/water relationship between her and Ryan. It sets up a sweet 2nd half when Ryan realizes that whether he loves her or not, he certainly cares that Deb is alive and kicking.

Plus anything with Ray Wise in it is instantly better than without.

This is also one of those rare zombie films where the source of the virus is explained and that also helps drive the narrative.

While not joining the ranks of wanting to watch it every Halloween season, it was good for viewing at least once.

That's better than some movies I've seen this year. :)

Final Grade:  C+

Back When Charlie Sheen Was Still Sane...Mostly... "The Chase"

The Chase (1994)
Rated PG-13 for language

Starring Charlie Sheen, Kristy Swanson, Henry Rollins, Ray Wise, Josh Mostel, Marshall Bell

Written and Directed by Adam Rifkin

The Story:

Jack Hammond (Sheen) has been wrongfully accused and sentenced to prison for a crime he didn't commit.  He escapes and ends up taking Natalie Voss (Swanson) hostage.  The problem with that, she's the daughter of millionaire industrialist Dalton Voss (Wise) and he enlists half of the California Highway Patrol to get his daughter back, including the local cops (Rollins & Mostel) who are filming a "Cops" style documentary.

I cannot begin to express how much I love this movie.

Guilty pleasure, whatever, but it is so much fun and I can watch it anytime without fail.

If I'm flipping channels and it's on...the flipping stops.

It's light, breezy fun, and for an action comedy picture that takes place (90%) from the front seat of a car, it's pretty engaging.

As it celebrates 20 years, it's fun to look back now and I wonder if this was a favorite of the writers from Psych, as three of the most frequent guest stars (Swanson, Wise and Cary Elwes) on that show were all in this movie.

Yep, another reason to like the film.

Final Grade: A-

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I do already own it, and it gets played at least once a year on average.

Today's Movie Lives Up To Its Name... "Big Ass Spider!"

Big Ass Spider! (2013)

Rated PG-13 For Language, Violence, Gore-ish...

Starring Greg Grunberg, Clare Kramer, Ray Wise, Lombardo Boyar

Directed by Mike Mendez

The Story:

Alex (Grunberg) is an exterminator who gets bit by a brown recluse spider.  He goes to the hospital for his shot, and learns that there is something very sinister roaming the hospital grounds.  He teams with Jose (Boyar) the head of security and the two begin looking for something that is on the loose. Meanwhile, the Army shows up to wrangle an experiment gone wrong.  To stop this spider, the Major (Wise) and Lieutenant (Kramer) may just need Alex's help to stop...

The Big Ass Spider!

Loved it.

A B movie horror comedy that takes itself seriously enough, but still has fun with the premise.

Add a buddy cop movie with great interplay between Alex and Jose, that elevates the picture even more.

That they are able to attempt to squeeze a romantic angle in to boot?

Well done.

The CGI effects on the spider are actually pretty good as well.

Forget Sharknado and all the other SyFy garbage films, we need more like this.

Final Grade: B+

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I would be willing to do either, and both.