Get Out of My Room (1985)

A mockumentary on Cheech & Chong's first "video album" is basically a series of loosely connected vignettes, sketches and some fun music videos (the most well-known of these being "Born in East L.A."). It's funny on occasion but definitely not representative of the duo's best work. The best parts are when they're riffing in the moment and catch each other off guard in a laugh. You get a great sense of their relationship and on-screen chemistry. Sadly, this was the last time they appeared on camera together for many years.

2½ eyeball creatures out of 5

Elvira's Haunted Hills (2001)

For reasons that aren't explained Elvira is in the Carpathian Mountains in the year 1851. Is it a prequel to the previous film? Is she an ancestor? I don’t know, but what becomes clear early on is that part of the reason the other one worked is because it had the gothic beauty in a modern environment. She was an outsider that we could look upon and feel some kind of empathy with. Putting her in a Hammer horror setting means she loses that sense of not-fitting-in and she stands out less. The comedy also suffers. I enjoyed the many references to Roger Corman’s Poe films because I've been on a Poe binge recently, but, ultimately, it’s light on memorable moments.

1½ old habits out of 5

All About Evil (2010)

The opening credits are arguably the best part of this blackly humorous homage to the heyday of horror made by Peaches Christ, but everything that follows is great fun and well-paced right to the end.
Natasha Lyonne, as a shy librarian with a new-found passion for making a killing (literally) as a horror director, steals every scene she’s in. She and her collective of blood-thirsty antagonists go all out to make it as dramatically entertaining as possible.
The occasional genre in-joke will keep fans happy; the highlight of which for me was Cassandra Peterson (Elvira) as a concerned mom.

3 cattle in the attic out of 5

Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (1988)

Late night TV host Elvira (Cassandra Peterson) quits her job and travels to a sexually-repressed town in Massachusetts that's like a late 1960s sitcom. Whist there the leggy host offends 90% of the locals with her outspoken views and her outstanding cleavage. But while the anti-fun brigade (i.e. the town council) is fuming, the youth of the backwards town are on her side.
It's a cult film with tame innuendo (mostly tit-jokes) and intentionally bad wisecracks that'll either make sense to your inner teenager or have you scratching yourself while periodically checking your watch.

2½ big openings out of 5

Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985)

Greatest Movie Ever Made. Period.

This is the most fun I've ever had with my pants on (and sometimes off). I saw it for the first time when I was a wee lad—and over and over again—and more than two decades later, it still holds up as well as the first time as I saw it. Paul Reubens is maniacal fun, and the pairing of Tim Burton and Danny Elfman was a match made in heaven. Informed so much of my weird, twisted sense of humor as a kid. Still as inventive and funny as ever.

"I'm a loner, Dottie. A rebel."

5 movies within a movie out of 5