Attack of the Killer Donuts (2016)

Streaming Service: Peacock
Movie Name/Year: Attack of the Killer Donuts (2016)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Horror
Length: 1h 25min
Rating: Unrated
Production/Distribution: Restless Nomad Films, Rogue State, Level 33 Entertainment, Showtime Entertainment
Director: Scott Wheeler
Writer: Nathan Dalton, Chris De Christopher, Rafael Diaz-Wagner
Actors: Justin Ray, Kassandra Voyagis, Michael Swan, Kayla Compton, Lauren Compton, Chris De Christopher, Fredrick Burns, C. Thomas Howell
 
Blurb from IMDb: A chemical accident turns ordinary donuts into bloodthirsty killers.
 

Selina’s Point of View:
Before I write anything about Attack of the Killer Donuts, I feel it necessary to remind people that it’s important to judge a film based on the way it compares to flicks that are similar. I wouldn’t compare something like Rubber (2010) to Carrie (1976), after all. They might both include telekinesis, but they’re still very different projects.
 
That’s important to remember because I enjoyed Attack of the Killer Donuts. It was a good movie for what it was: a corny, parody-esk, B-creature feature. I feel like I would have enjoyed it more if I had something mind altering, but it was still decent. This is exactly the kind of thing I would want to sit down and watch with some friends, and drinks, during a night in.
 
Attack of the Killer Donuts never tries to be anything it’s not. It tried to be as silly and dumb as humanly possible. It wanted to get a laugh however it could, and it was successful. It always went just far enough to hit that ‘so bad, it’s good’ balance that is so difficult to obtain.  
 

I have to note that there’s this one character, played by Fredrick Burns (Punching Henry, Cleaver Family Reunion, Litorra), that approaches every scene he’s in as if it were a hardcore action flick put out by the makers of Die Hard (1988). Every time he’s on screen, hitting his part as straight as possible, it amused me to no end. Especially since he does it alongside C. Thomas Howell (SEAL Team, The Wrong Path, Beast Mode). The last time I saw Howell he was playing George Foyet, one of the most terrifying serial killers in Criminal Minds (2009-).
 
Seeing Howell act like a dumb ass hit extra hard for me.  
 
I thought Attack of the Killer Donuts would be among the strangest films I’ve seen, but it’s not. It’s very much in the vein of Attack of the Killer Tomatos (1978). It’s just sillier and updated, with better video quality.
 
Do not let Peacock fool you with the thumbnail, the video quality is actually very good.
 
You know what? I’d watch Attack of the Killer Donuts again. I would definitely have a drink in hand, though.
 
Maybe a special brownie.
 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – None
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 44%
Metascore – None
Metacritic User Score – 7.6
IMDB Score –3.8/10
 
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 3.5/5
 
Trust-the-Dice’s Parental Advisory Rating: PG-13
 
P.S. There’s a short after-credits scene.
 
Movie Trailer:

Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014)

Number Rolled: N/A

Movie Name/Year: Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014)

Genre: Action & Adventure

Length: 100 minutes

Rating: Unrated

Affiliated Companies: The Asylum, Syfy

Director: Anthony C. Ferrante

Writer: Thunder Levin

Actors: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Vivica A. Fox, Mark McGrath, Kari Wuhrer, Courtney Baxter, Dante Palminteri, D.C. Douglas, Tiffany Shepis, Raymond T. Williams, Judah Driedlander, Kurt Angle, Benjy Bronk, Billy Ray Cyrus, Sandra ‘Pepa’ Denton, Andy Dick, Perez Hilton, Judd Hirsch, Robert Klein, Matt Lauer, Biz Markie, Kelly Osbourne, Al Roker

Fin and April survived their California Sharknado storm. Romance renewed, they take a trip to New York in order to get together with Fin’s sister and her husband. They haven’t even arrived when the signs of another Sharknado hitting the Big Apple begin to appear. In fact, it crashes their plane and they are thrust into another episode of survival.

When Sharknado 2 premiered, you’re damn right I was watching it with a group of equally insane friends. I liked the first one and had been looking forward to the second one.

Ok, it’s not a masterpiece. It won’t be viewed as amazing cinema in the future, or at all for that matter. It may not even technically be a “good” movie – but it is entertaining and amusing. In the end, that’s what most viewers are really looking for.

As fun as the first one was, I think the second one was even better. Obviously, I’m not factoring in the terrible representation of science or the fact that critics apparently felt like they were smacked in the face by a fin (they hated it).

First of all, the plot was more confident. The writers didn’t have to wonder if anyone would watch; they knew that people would be tuning in to the premiere and then sticking around to watch the encore, possibly even recording it. So they had the freedom to be silly and punny, which brought up the “campy” factor quite a bit.

Secondly, the celebrity cameo’s elevated the interest level. Wil Wheaton, Kurt Angle, there was even Pepa from the 90’s rap duo Salt n’ Pepa. It was like a smorgasbord of awesome!

Third, the references were spectacular. I don’t know if they were on purpose or not, but there were a ton of Evil Dead/Army of Darkness references.

If you enjoyed the first Sharknado then, by all means, watch this one. Even if you don’t like creature features, you might enjoy it. A friend of mine avoids them like the plague and still enjoyed Sharknado and Sharknado 2.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 26%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – None yet

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – N/A

Trust-the-Dice Score – 4/5

The Random Rating: Rated R – for strong violence with blood and gore

P.S. At the beginning of every month I generally do the Top 10 Movies to Look Out For – but nothing I’m going to recommend comes out on the first anyway, so the Sharknado 2 premiere came first.

Movie Trailer:

Sharknado (2013)

Number Rolled: 49

Movie Name/Year: Sharknado (2013)

Genre: Sci Fi & Fantasy

Length: 87 minutes

Rating: TV-14

Production Company: The Asylum, Southward Films

Director: Anthony Ferrante

Writer: Thunder Levin

Actors: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, John Heard, Cassandra Scerbo, Jaason Simmons, Alex Arleo, Neil H. Berkow, Heather Jocelyn Blair, Sumiko Braun, Diane Chambers, Julie McCullough, Marcus Choi, Israel Saez de Miguel, Tiffany Cole, Chuck Hittinger, Aubrey Peeples, Michael Teh, Conner Weil, Christopher Wolfe

LA has become the source of a raging hurricane that turns into something more as flooding and strong winds begin to pull sharks up on land. Fin, a local business owner, becomes desperate to find his family and sets out with an employee, Nova, and two friends, Baz and George, to attempt to help them.

I added this movie to my list because I simply had to see why it was trending for a while there. The concept of a “sharknado” had me rolling my eyes.

The movie turned out to be a very typical B creature feature in many ways. The acting was incredibly bad. I can’t point out a single actor that made me believe their character. Not that there was any depth to the characters anyway; it was as if they were made by cookie cutters. I’m not even going to go into the effects.

So why did I like it so much?

It wasn’t meant to be good. No one, on any level, said that Sharknado was supposed to be a real movie. It’s complete satire. Everything about it is a joke, and the movie embraces it. It’s not quite a spoof, like Spaceballs or Scary Movie, but it’s obviously not taking itself seriously and there-fore is meant to be taken for what it is.

It’s gore-filled, brainless, funny, ridiculous, terrible and highly entertaining. This is one of the few movies that I can see where the critics are coming from, despite the huge difference between their average and the audience average on RottenTomatoes.com.

If you watch Sharknado, don’t go into it expecting a brilliantly laid out plot with amazing graphics and actors. Go into it expecting what it is: a B version of Final Destination… with sharks.

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 82%

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 35%

Netflix’s Prediction for Me – 3.1/5

Trust-the-Dice Score – 3.5/5

P.S. On July 30, 2014, we’re expected to have a Sharknado 2: The Second One, which takes place in New York. Tara Reid and Ian Ziering are set to return. Rumored appearances include: Kari Wuhrer, Vivica A. Fox, Kelly Osbourne, Andy Dick, Billy Ray Cyrus, Matt Lauer, Mark McGrath, Judah Friedlander, Judd Hirsch, Kurt Angle, Perez Hilton, Al Roker, Sandra ‘Pepa’ Denton, and Biz Markie.

Movie Trailer: 

Alien vs. Ninja (2010)

Number Rolled: 1

Movie Name/Year: Alien vs. Ninja (2010)

Genre: Foreign Sci-Fi & Fantasy [ dubbed in English ]

Length: 81 minutes

Rating: TV-MA

Director: Seiji Chibi

Writer: Seiji Chiba

Actors: Mika Hijii, Ben Miura, Shuji Kashiwabara, Masanori Mimoto, Yuki Ogoe, Donpei Tsuchihira

This is the greatest bad movie I’ve ever seen. Do you like anime? Then you should definitely watch this. It was pretty much a live-action anime. It was overacted, completely ridiculous, and just about as hilarious as it gets. In fact, if this is based off an anime or if there is an anime based off of it, I want to know about it immediately, so that I can watch it.

The storyline was basically every alien storyline known to creation. Aliens invade. Aliens are violent. Aliens fight. Simple. But the fight scenes were, hands down, some of the most creative fight scenes I’ve EVER seen with minimal to no CGI. I was laughing from the moment the movie started until the moment it ended.

Of course, you can’t go into it expecting a blockbuster – and the English dubbing makes it look like the original Godzilla is some ways – but it’s still a damn good B action/horror/comedy flick. I’d definitely watch a second one if they make it, and I kind hope they do.

Overall Opinion – 4.5/5 (by B movie standards)