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

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