Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015)

Number Rolled: N/A

Movie Name/Year: Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015)

Genre: Sci-Fi

Length: 88 min

Rating: TV-14

Production Companies: The Asylum

Supervising Producer: Dylan Vox

Director: Anthony C. Ferrante

Writer: Thunder Levin

Actors: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassie Scerbo, Frankie Muniz, Ryan Newman, David Hasselhoff, Mark Cuban, Bo Derek, Blair Fowler, Michael Winslow, Jack Griffo, Ne-Yo, Chris Jericho, Ann Coulter, Melvin Gregg, Grant Imahara, Bill Engvall, Jackie Collins, Cindy Margolis, Keltie Knight, Robert Klein, Anthony Weiner, Tim Russ, Michael Bolten, Rick Fox, Ray J, Penn & Teller, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Kendra Wilkinson, Holly Madison, Harvey Levin, Derek Caldwell, Gerald ‘Slink’ Johnson, Chris Kirkpatrick, Chad Johnson, George R. R. Martin, Matt Lauer, Al Roker, Natalie Morales, Savannah Guthrie, Kathie Lee Gifford, Hoda Kotb, Elvis Duran, Alexis Ohanian, Jared Fogle, Anthony Pace, George H. Diller, Bill David, Frank Kramer, Heidi Decker, Juliana Ferrante, Anthony C. Ferrante, Petunia, Michele Backmann, and many others

Fin is in D.C. to receive an award for all the work he’s done to protect America from the vicious sharknados. While there, another one hits and he does his best to protect the president.

Selina’s Point of View:

Before I get started, let me just remind you that no one is saying that the Sharknado series is a masterpiece in the cinematic world. We know it’s not Oscar worthy and that the actors are, for the most part, just having fun. We’re not even watching it for the feels. It’s all about how entertaining it is.

And Sharknado 3 was super entertaining.

My view point, however, might be skewed. I had a viewing party with a group of friends. I made shark-themed food and we watched the whole series in order on the Syfy channel. We all joked around and debated the logic of the sharknadoverse while stuffing our faces and live-tweeting. Because of that, I may have had more fun than I should have.

Of course, Captain Obvious here, I can only review things from my point of view.

I enjoyed the third installment of this series. A lot.

Oh, there was about as little plot as you would expect from an Asylum creature feature, but it was still amusing as hell.

The cameos added a LOT to the film. When Chris Jericho (WWE, WCW, Halloween Havoc) popped on screen, the chant of “Jericho” flowed up from my guests. George R.R. Martin’s (Game of Thrones, Beauty and the Beast, The Twilight Zone) appearance caused at least three people to exclaim, in shock, “is that….?” In fact, there were so many uncredited cameo’s that IMDB is still stumbling to catch up. It might take them days to get everyone listed.

I’m both amused and infuriated by what they did with the ending. All I can tell you without blowing stuff up, is that rumor has it they intend to do something like that at the end of any Sharknados that may follow. (And yes, Sharknado 4 has been confirmed.)

I would love to tell you that I know why Sharknado 3 worked. I can’t. Just like its predecessors, it falls squarely into the “so bad, it’s good” category.

It’s not cinematic genius… but oh hell yes, it is fun.

Cat’s Point of View:

I am a huge fan of the first 2 films in this series. I’d watched the first one because I’d heard Ian Ziering (Domino, Stripped Down, Lava Storm) in an interview about it. It was the nostalgia factor from the 90210 (1990-2000) years that drew me in.

I didn’t regret a moment of it or the sequel.  Hilarity ensued.

Now with this third installment, the experience was something on an entirely different level. I participated in my very first live-tweeting during the film, and it was lots of fun! #Sharknado3 was at the top of the Trending list, and had over 300,000 tweets by the time the second showing on SYFY was half over.

This movie was packed with action from start to finish, and there was a cameo at every turn. I laughed so hard it hurt. I counted at LEAST 22 cameos – some aren’t even listed in IMDb.

The Author of the book series that inspired Game of Thrones (2011-), George R. R. Martin, is in a scene paying tribute to a famous wedding scene. Also, the man who did all the noise impersonations in the Police Academy (1984-1997) movies and TV series, Michael Winslow (Redirecting Eddie, Robodoc, Gingerclown).

There’s one cameo in particular that I found very interesting. (Click below for spoilers.)

As David Hasselhoff (Hop, Click, Stretch) is getting ready for space – the mohawked guy next to him in the shuttle is actually with NASA. That NASA man was Bobak “Mohawk Guy” Ferdowsi, Flight Director for the Mars Curiosity Mission. He was seen rocking that noticeable ‘do during the live coverage of the Mars landing, and the nickname stuck.

Another thing I found really cool was all the Peter Benchley references in the movie. He was, of course, the author of the book that spawned the Jaws (1975) movie franchise. He was referenced by name, as well as another couple Easter Eggs revolving around Universal Studios Orlando Theme park.

That particular fun destination is the home of the Jaws ride, where a mechanical shark breaches the water to chomp in the direction of the riders.  Professional wrestler and Fozzy lead singer, Chris Jericho (Invasion, Nothing to Report, MacGruber), plays Bruce the Ride Attendant for the Rockit Rollercoaster.

Bruce just also happens to be the name of the massive mechanical shark in the famous ride– named after the shark used in the movie. 

Another bit of Benchley trivia is that he also wrote The Beast which was made into a TV Movie in 1996 – in this film, that was the nickname for the armored RV that Nova and Lucas traveled in while battling sharknados.

Then there’s the classic beauty, Bo Derek (Highland Park, Crusader, Malibu's Most Wanted) playing April’s mom, May. She is no stranger to killer sea-life. She was in the movie Orca in 1977 about a rogue killer whale.

I love the ride that these movies have taken me on. I’d watch them again and again, and in fact I have already with SYFY Channel re-runs.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 42%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 86%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – N/A

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 5/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – N/A

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 5/5

The Random Rating: R

Movie Trailer:

Inescapable (2012)

Number Rolled: 42

Movie Name/Year: Inescapable (2012)

Genre: Action & Adventure

Length: 93 minutes

Rating: R

Production Companies: IFC Films, Myriad Pictures, Alliance Films, Foundry Films, Out of Africa Entertainment, Telefilm Canada, The Harold Greenberg Fund, Ontario Media Development Corporation (OMDC), Department of Trade and Industry of South Africa, Killer Films

Executive Producer: Kirk D’Amico, Mark Slone, Christine Vachon

Director: Ruba Nadda

Writer: Ruba Nadda

Actors: Alexander Siddig, Joshua Jackson, Marisa Tomei, Oded Fehr, Saad Siddiqui, Fadia Nadda, Bonnie Lee Bouman, Jay Anstey, Sean Redpath

Adib must find a way into Damascus when his daughter disappears. She’d traveled to the area without telling him in order to research the past he refuses to discuss.

Selina’s Point of View:

What do you have if you edit Taken (2008) and take out all the thrilling chases and action? Inescapable.

This film was unbearably boring. I’ve never had to work so hard to stay awake in my life. Not even in college during accounting.

The acting was fine… but the story, the script, the soundtrack, and even the camera angles were all gratingly annoying and painful to watch.

I’ve got nothing else to say. I hated this movie.

Cat’s Point of View:

Political conflict dramas aren’t generally my cup of tea. I can, however, get sucked into a good mystery. It appeals to my curiosity like a siren song.

When I saw the cast involved with this film, I had a feeling I would probably enjoy it, even if I didn’t like the story.

I am a huge fan of Game of Thrones (2011-) and also quite enjoy DaVinci's Demons (2013-). It was nice to see Alexander Siddig (Reign of Fire, Syriana, Clash of the Titans) in the lead role here.

He brought quite the intensity to his character on the hunt for his kidnapped daughter. He was believable as a clever former intelligence officer trying to stay a couple steps ahead of the past his child had run afoul of.

Oded Fehr (Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo, Super Hybrid, Resident Evil: Extinction) is an actor I’d probably watch in most anything. He has portrayed a ‘good guy’ in most films that I have seen him in. It was a nice change of pace to see him in a role with questionable intent.

Just an interesting note of trivia for fans of Dawson's Creek (1998-2003) – there’s a bit of a ‘six degrees’ type bridge between Joshua Jackson (Americano, Shutter, Cursed) and his fellow Dawson’s alum, James Van Der Beek (Labor Day, The Rules of Attraction, CSI: Cyber). Oded Fehr was amongst the supporting cast for Texas Rangers (2001).

Of course, I haven’t left out Marisa Tomei (Wild Hogs, The Wrestler, Trainwreck). She is generally impressive in whatever role she takes on. She didn’t disappoint here in transforming into the love left behind when Adib fled Damascus 20 years ago.

Overall, the movie felt a little slow to me, but it wasn’t bad. I was invested enough to want to know what had happened to the girl, that I was willing to see where the story took me.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 19%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 28%

Netflix’s Prediction for Selina – 2.5/5

Selina’s Trust-the-Dice Score – .5/5

Netflix’s Prediction for Cat – 2.7/5

Cat’s Trust-the-Dice Score – 2.5/5

Movie Trailer: