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bmoviebonanza·B Movie BonanzabySergio

Maximum Overdrive (1986) - Mastodon watch party this Sunday evening!

Get ready to ROCK! all those fancy oscar-winners may have smartypants actors and pricey special effects, but do they have A SOUNDTRACK BY AC/DC??!!?? Were they written and directed by Stephen King -- before he got sober?!? Do they have more car action than a demolition derby?!?!?

Yes, Maximum Overdrive (1986) is the movie for this Sunday's "monsterdon" watch party over on Mastodon, our fediverse sibling!

  • Just start watching that movie this Sunday, July 20, 2025 at 9pm ET / 8pm CT / 6pm PT which is 1am Monday UTC
  • and follow #monsterdon over on mastodon for live commentary. For example, you can follow that hashtag here: https://mastodon.social/tags/monsterdon
  • I usually open two web browser windows side-by-side on a computer. But you could follow the mastodon commentary on a phone app while watching the movie on TV or something.

How to watch the movie:

follows the events after all machines (including trucks, radios, arcade games, vending machines, etc.) become sentient when Earth crosses the tail of a comet, initiating a worldwide killing spree.
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Maximum Overdrive was theatrically released on July 25, 1986, to critical and commercial failure. It was nominated for two Golden Raspberry Awards including Worst Director for King and Worst Actor for Estevez in 1987, but both lost to Prince for Under the Cherry Moon.[6] King disowned the film, describing it as a "moron movie", and considered the process a learning experience,[7] after which he intended never to direct again.[8]
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first-time director King stated that he was "coked out of [his] mind all through its production, and... really didn't know what [he] was doing".[7] On-set translator Roberto Croci did not remember King's cocaine use, but recalls him drinking from early in the morning until late at night. "I never saw. I didn't. But I did know that he was drunk. That 6 o'clock in the morning we have a roll call and he's drinking beers. And by 8:30, he's on his 10th beer."[9]

At a fan screening in 2021, Jock Brandis, the film's gaffer, told the audience that King rode a motorcycle from Maine to Wilmington, so he could ride alongside semi-trucks on the highway. He wanted to get a better feel for how terrifying big-rigs could be when in close proximity, and to better know their loud sounds and movements. When King arrived at the studio on his bike for the initial production meeting, the security guards wouldn't let him through the front gate because they did not believe he was part of any production taking place on the lot. His appearance was disheveled, and he was rambling on about a film he was to direct involving killer trucks that had come alive due to a space comet. He was granted access to the studio lot after Brandis pointed out that the plates on his motorcycle were from Maine.
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King did try to create a positive environment for the crew, at one point renting out an entire theater to screen classic films such as Godzilla and Night of the Living Dead. He provided free refreshments and personal commentary during each film. King would also participate in golf cart races on the studio lot during down time.[9]
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Writing in the Chicago Tribune, Rick Kogan gave the film 1 star out of 4 and called it "a mess of a movie", further stating that "King's direction is heavy handed and his dialogue hackneyed and stiff."[20] Paul Attanasio of The Washington Post wrote that the film "is like sitting alongside a 3-year old as he skids his Tonka trucks across the living room floor and says 'Whee!' except on a somewhat grander scale", and added that as a director Stephen King "proves that he hasn't got an ounce of visual style, the vaguest idea of how to direct actors or the sense that God gave a grapefruit."[21]
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John Clute and Peter Nicholls have offered a modest reappraisal of Maximum Overdrive, admitting the film's many flaws, but arguing that several scenes display enough visual panache to suggest that King was not entirely without talent as a director.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximum_Overdrive

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sumo·SumobySergio

SUMO: July 2025 tourney in Japan has begun! Links in post text.

That's right, the July 2025 Grand Sumo tournament in Japan has begun!

Unfortunately I can't commit to posting about it every day. But here's where/how you can follow the tournament!

Live:

  • try searching on twitch, this tourney there are at least 3 different streamers providing video feeds with commentary, and it's fun to have a community to chat with in real time. The top matches start around 3am US Eastern Time though.

Video Clips:

  • NHK streams a replay of the top-tier bouts (with English commentary) on their web site several times during the following day. You can see their schedule here: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/ look for "Grand Sumo highlights." After the first day, those streams are posted here: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/tv/sumo/ and here: https://www.youtube.com/@NHKWORLDJAPAN/videos

  • NHK immediately posts clips with Japanese commentary listed in Japanese - look here: https://www.nhk.jp/p/ts/Z8WRRJ9K96/blog/bl/p781bLebx4/list/ Automated translations work well enough here to find the right day, otherwise look for something like: 7月14日 which in this case refers to the 7th month and the 14th day (July 14th). If there are no videos there, it might be bc the bout hasn't happened yet and it's just a preview. Automated translation doesn't work that well on sumotori names, but this is a great opportunity to learn them by sight!

  • JSA immediately posts the highest-ranked 10+ matches listed in Japanese with no commentary, here: https://www.youtube.com/@sumo-video/videos

  • youtuber DonDon posts the "best 10" matches listed in English with replays including on-screen English analysis; those are listed here: https://www.youtube.com/@dondonsumo2/videos These are usually posted within a couple hours. After the first day, the video is removed from the listing but it will probably still be up (if you bookmarked it for example.)

Text Info:

Intro to Sumo

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gothindustrial·Goth❌IndustrialbySergio

MaryDeath - A Visit from the First Horseman [cartoon]

Bonus comic:

MaryDeath is a comic about life, death, and everything in between. The story follows a young girl named Mary who happens to have befriended Death. Why Death has chosen to take interest in Mary remains a mystery, but despite his ever dark presence Mary finds comfort in his companionship.

https://www.marydeathcomics.com/archives/comic/

MaryDeath Comics was created in the 2010s by Gwen Tarpley. The artist transitioned recently, but it seems they don’t mind their deadname being on their older comics (i.e. some of the recent posts still use it on their Cats Cafe comic, which is their main effort now.)

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bmoviebonanza·B Movie BonanzabySergio

X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963) - Mastodon watch party this Sunday evening!

X: The Man with the X-Ray Eyes (1963) is the movie for this Sunday's "monsterdon" watch party over on Mastodon, our fediverse sibling!

  • Just start watching that movie this Sunday, July 13, 2025 at 9pm ET / 8pm CT / 6pm PT which is 1am Monday UTC
  • and follow #monsterdon over on mastodon for live commentary. For example, you can follow that hashtag here: https://mastodon.social/tags/monsterdon
  • I usually open two web browser windows side-by-side on a computer. But you could follow the mastodon commentary on a phone app while watching the movie on TV or something.

How to watch the movie:

The film stars Ray Milland as a scientist who develops a method to extend the range of his vision, which results in unexpected complications. Comedian Don Rickles co-stars in one of his few dramatic roles. ... The low-budget film was a major financial success.
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At the film review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 88%, based on 25 reviews, with a weighted average rating of 6.6/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "By turns lurid and disturbing, The Man with the X-Ray Eyes is a compelling piece of sci-fi pulp and one of Roger Corman's most effective movies."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X:_The_Man_with_the_X-ray_Eyes

This movie was previously posted in this community about a year ago!

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action_movies·Action MoviesbySergio

When Taekwondo Strikes (1973)

Guess who wins this fight.

...a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts film ...The story is about the Korea under Japanese rule during World War II. A Korean nationalist played by Carter Wong gets into a fight with some Japanese people and is chased into a church. The priest there is captured and tortured. Trying to secure his release, the leader of the resistance, Jhoon Rhee is himself captured and tortured by the Japanese. Carter Wong, Angela Mao and Anne Winton have to now try and rescue him. This leads to an explosive climax with the heroes having to fight the likes of Wong In Sik (Hwang In-Shik), Sammo Hung and Kenji Kazama.

Background

Rhee landed the role in the film with help from his friend Bruce Lee whom he met in 1964 while both were performing demonstrations at an international karate event held in Long Beach, California.[3] In 1972, Lee went to Golden Harvest Films boss Raymond Chow with the idea of making a movie about Taekwondo with Rhee in lead role. Rhee who never thought of himself as an actor didn't think it would come to fruition but a year later in the summer of 1973, Rhee was flying to Hong Kong to star in the film which was set in Korea, playing the part of Master Lee, a leader of a group of underground patriots. The plot for the film was based on a synopsis written by Rhee. It didn't take long to produce the film and by 19 July Rhee was back in the United States. This was when Bruce Lee called him to let him know that the film's editing had been done and it was ready for release.[4] Rhee was looking at the possibility of more film work but with Lee's death which was around the film's release and the possibility of being away from his family didn't appeal to him. So this became his first and last film.[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Taekwondo_Strikes

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bmoviebonanza·B Movie BonanzabySergio

Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965) - Mastodon watch party this Sunday evening!

Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (1965) is the movie for this Sunday's "monsterdon" watch party over on Mastodon, our fediverse sibling!

  • Just start watching that movie this Sunday, July 6, 2025 at 9pm ET / 8pm CT / 6pm PT which is 1am Monday UTC
  • and follow #monsterdon over on mastodon for live commentary. For example, you can follow that hashtag here: https://mastodon.social/tags/monsterdon
  • I usually open two web browser windows side-by-side on a computer. But you could follow the mastodon commentary on a phone app while watching the movie on TV or something.

How to watch the movie:

The film tells the story of a facially-damaged android robot who fights alien invaders from Mars. Despite the title, neither Dr. Frankenstein nor Frankenstein's monster appear in the film.
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The film was ranked #7 in the 2004 DVD documentary The 50 Worst Movies Ever Made.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein_Meets_the_Space_Monster

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