Every night I’m free, I put up a poll over on my Instagram and ask my followers which of the three VHS tapes I should watch. At the end of the year, all movies will be ranked. Here’s this week’s Rental Shelf Round-Up.
Along with the titles featured in this week’s round-up, I also viewed the following movies: The Fly (1986). If you’d like a review of any of these, make sure to leave me a comment!
Over on The Video Archives Podcast, we did a vaulted episode on Almost Summer (1978) and may or may not be covering Black Bart (1948) in one of our future After-After Shows … but you didn’t hear that from me!
April 13 - Tammy and the T-Rex (1994)
Now that I was back in town, I was on a mission to do two things for my rental shelf. The first was get rid of any clamshells, and the second was to watch all of the movies that I had borrowed. I borrowed Tammy and the T-Rex from Be Kind Video in Burbank and needed to give it back. Apparently this tape has some kind of history behind it, and there’s an R-rated version of the movie that’s (near?) impossible to find … but I decided to put it on. My friend described it as ‘wacky’, and usually I like that, but this I did not like. Much like My Demon Lover, this put a bad taste in my mouth. Tammy’s boyfriend gets his brain put into the body of an animatronic T-Rex, and the only person he can depend on to save him is Tammy. If you can get in to the strange story and the knowledge that there is no possible way this guy can ever return to his body, then maybe you’ll like it. Even with Denise Richards and the cutest Paul Walker, I could not stomach this one. For me, the last scene was so off putting I just rolled my eyes and rewound the tape.
April 14 - Vertical Limit (2000)
I picked this one up because of Bill Paxton (RIP). I love Bill and was expecting just a fun romp. Unfortunately this movie did not deliver on that, but there was something more interesting going on. Vertical Limit is essentially Sorcerer on a mountaintop. Much like my comparison between Eddie Murphy’s The Nutty Professor and The Substance that I’m coming up with, this one is in the works. However, here’s a few key elements I can share: they both have to transport unstable material, every climber/driver needs the money to escape a problem they have, explosions. Hmm, this one may need more work, but I think I’m on to something.
Want longer reviews of any of the titles mentioned above? Make sure to leave a comment and let me know! Until next time…
xoxo gala
Love to hear your thoughts on The Fly!
Yes, definitely want that The Fly review!