JOHN CARPENTER DIRECTS STEPHEN KING'S KILLER CAR 'CHRISTINE'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B-jH-Fz723Q/XaqVQMXaiXI/AAAAAAABJvE/TSY2KdxNmGQZj3hfXU0MFLio-jTu90ASQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-18%2Bat%2B12.21.19%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1267" data-original-width="1600" height="316" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-B-jH-Fz723Q/XaqVQMXaiXI/AAAAAAABJvE/TSY2KdxNmGQZj3hfXU0MFLio-jTu90ASQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-18%2Bat%2B12.21.19%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Shot of Carpenter's Christine in her resting place YEAR: 1983</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> John Carpenter's most sparse and subtle horror film, and based on Stephen King's multi-perspective novel, CHRISTINE is to high school what THE SHINING is to hotel management courses as Keith Gordon plays an initially geeky character suitably named Arnie, who, best friends since childhood with popular yet humble jock John Stockwell as Dennis, the tables turn when the dork lands the prettiest girl on campus, new student Leigh played by meek ingenue Alexandria Paul..<br> <br> Well Kelly Preston's actually the hottest but that's an opinion, and as head cheerleader, football hero Stockwell has her in the bag yet still tries for/strikes out with Leigh before a cool Carpenter glide-cam sports scene where Dennis, running for a long bomb pass, sees Arnie kissing the tall beauty, leaning on an old, recently purchased Chevy he seemed possessed by from the moment he laid eyes on a the titular 1950's vehicle — and all to Dennis's distrust and chagrin. <br>

alexandra paul, body count, bully, harry dean stanton, horror, john carpenter, john stockwell, keith gordon, kelly preston, killer car, stephen king, teen

JOHN CARPENTER DIRECTS STEPHEN KING'S KILLER CAR 'CHRISTINE'

Shot of Carpenter's Christine in her resting place YEAR: 1983 John Carpenter's most sparse and subtle horror film, and based on ...

FROM 'MADMAN OF MANDORAS' TO 'THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vw9te1o7T4c/XalWY1MER8I/AAAAAAABJqo/mMgFhVR1lM4C48ChriiiKYvcQBN1vJ8eQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/hqdefault.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="315" data-original-width="473" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Vw9te1o7T4c/XalWY1MER8I/AAAAAAABJqo/mMgFhVR1lM4C48ChriiiKYvcQBN1vJ8eQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/hqdefault.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Madman of Mandoras Years: 1963 into Hitler's Brain: 1968</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Well someone out there knew the title THEY SAVED SATAN'S BRAIN, a television movie in 1968, sounded much more campy and nafarious and downright awesome than the 1963 vehicle where most of the scenes were lifted, THE MADMEN OF MANDORAS... <br> <br> And the real shame is our first two heroes, tacked-on from the latter sixties and resembling that loose, shaggy, counter-culture era compared to the earlier clean-cut handsome/beautiful hero inspired by Eisenhower scientists from the early sixties, are fun to watch as porn-jazz music plays in the background, resulting in a banal argument about male chauvinism where eventually, the two polar opposites not only get along, but seem to have a future... in the story itself...<br>

audrey caire, cult, exploitation, horror, jazz score, nazi, sixties, suspense, thriller

FROM 'MADMAN OF MANDORAS' TO 'THEY SAVED HITLER'S BRAIN'

The Madman of Mandoras Years: 1963 into Hitler's Brain: 1968 Well someone out there knew the title THEY SAVED SATAN'S BRAIN, a ...

ROBERT FORSTER TURNS 'VIGILANTE' WITH FRED WILLIAMSON

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kNOrjp7XgSs/XaXrQ79XEII/AAAAAAABJhI/qY-Sw7bmlGQEe7a-nhoL4E-Az1kBst8JgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/72635888_804991683263343_6573479353840041984_n.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="503" data-original-width="957" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kNOrjp7XgSs/XaXrQ79XEII/AAAAAAABJhI/qY-Sw7bmlGQEe7a-nhoL4E-Az1kBst8JgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/72635888_804991683263343_6573479353840041984_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Fred Williamson in VIGILANTE aka STREET GANG Year: 1982</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> During the eighties, the decade-old DEATH WISH template was alive and kicking ass. Not like the Charles Bronson classic invented the revenge theme, but when it came to law without order and giving the streets back to the people, for VIGILANTE it was the more, the merrier...<br> <br> Robert Forster stars as, like Bronson, an average family man who winds up seeking revenge, but unlike Chuck he's far from alone. Fred Williamson leads a group of working class tough guys including THE GODFATHER bodyguard Richard Bright and SHORT EYES scene-stealer Joe Carberry, who were beating up muggers/rapists before our hero got into the swing of things....<br>

action, crime, don blakely, eighties, exploitation, frank pesce, fred williamson, joe carberry, joe spinell, revenge, richard bright, robert forster, rutanya alda, vigilante, william lustig, woody strode

ROBERT FORSTER TURNS 'VIGILANTE' WITH FRED WILLIAMSON

Fred Williamson in VIGILANTE aka STREET GANG Year: 1982 During the eighties, the decade-old DEATH WISH template was alive and kicking as...

ROBERT FORSTER VS THE JAWS OF 'ALLIGATOR' W/ ROBIN RIKER

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lOHZ8Wvy3nI/XaOLN5FUDtI/AAAAAAABJOA/FVzHokx2Q6Qi9wOgglVgvtfgG1zyKohUgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/alligator-thai-movie-poster.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="329" data-original-width="379" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lOHZ8Wvy3nI/XaOLN5FUDtI/AAAAAAABJOA/FVzHokx2Q6Qi9wOgglVgvtfgG1zyKohUgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/alligator-thai-movie-poster.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Poster art for Lewis Teague's ALLIGATOR Year: 1980</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Of all JAWS-clones, ALLIGATOR is the most original, and, the second written by John Sayles after PIRANHA, there's an extremely memorable, even legendary opening with a baby alligator (brought home by the younger version of our latter ingenue) getting flushed down a toilet...<br> <br> Well little "Ramon" turns into quite a wallop, and the creative plot unfolds throughout the first act: a corporation's testing a growth-serum on dogs, and a pet store owner tosses the enlarged, steroid-filled corpses into the Los Angeles sewer that the gator feeds and thus grows on: The audience learning all this a step before Robert Forster's cop with a past, David, a kind of old school gumshoe detective type snooping around, taking risks, and ultimately believing what seems farfetched if impossible. Like JAWS, the powers-that-be care more about money than any possible threat to humans, and there are enough edgy obstacles to make this creature-feature play like a legitimate thriller... <br>

bart braverman, body count, cop, creature, cult, eighties, exploitation, henry silva, horror, jaws-clone, leslie brown, lewis teague, perry lang, robert forster, robin riker, thriller

ROBERT FORSTER VS THE JAWS OF 'ALLIGATOR' W/ ROBIN RIKER

Poster art for Lewis Teague's ALLIGATOR Year: 1980 Of all JAWS-clones, ALLIGATOR is the most original, and, the second written by Jo...

AARON PAUL'S JESSE DRIVES 'EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jgcJ34mk_LQ/XaGtrXPzKqI/AAAAAAABI7M/c9eWcBUlbPIahIhxs75FbvF6GjLkhsqLACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-12%2Bat%2B3.29.49%2BAM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="991" data-original-width="1458" height="271" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jgcJ34mk_LQ/XaGtrXPzKqI/AAAAAAABI7M/c9eWcBUlbPIahIhxs75FbvF6GjLkhsqLACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-12%2Bat%2B3.29.49%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in El Camino YEAR: 2019</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman suffered so much in BREAKING BAD, just working with Bryan Cranston's Walter White alone, it's easy to forget the particular hell he went through in the 11th hour <i>without</i> his mentor...<br> <br> Spending half of this sequel movie decompressing mentally, physically and emotionally from having been locked up by the Neo-Nazi uncle of mellow yet nefarious Todd, who has more screentime here than Pinkman's two living tweeker buddies, Skinny Pete and Badger: the latter with some of the most contrived, cringe-worthy dialogue ranging from quips about short buses to naming every brand of clothing and toiletry they own. It just doesn't seem very natural, or like <i>they would ever</i> say things like SKINNY PETE: "You couldn't drive a two-button elevator." BADGER: "You couldn't drive Miss Daisy!" <br>

2019, aaron paul, body count, bryan cranston, crime, jesse plemons, netflix, robert forster, sequel, thriller, tv movie

AARON PAUL'S JESSE DRIVES 'EL CAMINO: A BREAKING BAD MOVIE'

Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in El Camino YEAR: 2019 Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman suffered so much in BREAKING BAD, just working with B...

COMPARING 'CURSE OF THE DEMON' WITH 'NIGHT OF THE DEMON'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QqlUS-eOr7s/XaATjxNY3ZI/AAAAAAABI2k/yitEgGC5mgceg2hYpdOUdmW6bjcaSAIOACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/night-of-the-demon.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1057" data-original-width="1315" height="321" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QqlUS-eOr7s/XaATjxNY3ZI/AAAAAAABI2k/yitEgGC5mgceg2hYpdOUdmW6bjcaSAIOACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/night-of-the-demon.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Art for NIGHT OF THE DEMON w/ Dana Andrews & Peggy Cummins</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> This won't be worthwhile reading unless you've seen and know all about both CURSE OF THE DEMON and NIGHT OF THE DEMON...<br> <br> The second, NIGHT, is the original British cut while CURSE was edited for American audiences. But that doesn't mean CURSE is just a chopped version of NIGHT as each film has its own order, aura, and fans who decide which one they prefer. So perhaps this reexamination rundown will help with that decision, or even change it...<br> <br> On the airplane, following the demon-killing intro that's the same in both versions, in NIGHT OF THE DEMON Peggy asks the stewardess is she can move seats because she bothered Dr. Holden. He's trying to sleep and she's writing a letter to the kids in her classroom. Also in NIGHT, Holden speaks longer to the professors greeting him into the airport baggage claim and then walking out the door. CURSE cuts from him going down the escalator to being right outside the airport...<br>

article, british, cult, dana andrews, fifties, horror, jacques tourneur, list, niall macginnis, occult, peggy cummins, thriller

COMPARING 'CURSE OF THE DEMON' WITH 'NIGHT OF THE DEMON'

Art for NIGHT OF THE DEMON w/ Dana Andrews & Peggy Cummins This won't be worthwhile reading unless you've seen and know all ...

PAMELA SUE MARTIN STARS IN 'BAY COVE' WITH TIM MATHESON

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pl9pg8pVA4s/XZ15V6qkV9I/AAAAAAABIu4/zBguAsP7Bbc1e85AFaIGDumH8U8yHXvbQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/72045674_800680560361122_2357363761859264512_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="710" data-original-width="935" height="302" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pl9pg8pVA4s/XZ15V6qkV9I/AAAAAAABIu4/zBguAsP7Bbc1e85AFaIGDumH8U8yHXvbQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/72045674_800680560361122_2357363761859264512_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Marsha Moreau serves it creepy in BAY COVE Year: 1987</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <span style="font-size: 100%;">Occasionally, made-for-television movies delving into the horror genre are surprisingly good. GARGOYLES comes to mind from the seventies, and for the next decade, here’s another...</span><br> <br> <span style="font-size: 100%;">Pamela Sue Martin and Tim Matheson are a big city couple who decide to move to the nearby old-fashioned island of Bay Cove, which, it turns out, has some strange content...</span><br> <br> <span style="font-size: 100%;">Including an eerie old man who stares out a window SENTINEL style; neighbors who really hate/fear dogs; and a cemetery that's most recent headstone dates back to the 1700's, possibly making the middle-aged residents a couple hundred years old as Pamela Sue's our investigative Mia Farrow ala ROSEMARY’S BABY (sans impregnation); the in-denial Matheson adheres quickly to the weird locals, taking the John Cassavetes soulless husband mantel (only in this case, <i>he</i> takers <i>her</i> into the purchase); and Woody Harrelson's the heroine's best friend who, like Maurice Evans, gets a piece of clothing stolen before buying the farm. </span><br>

barbara billingsly, eighties, exploitation, horror, jeff conaway, marsha moreau, mystery, occult, pamela sue martin, thriller, tim matheson, tv movie, witch, woody harrelson

PAMELA SUE MARTIN STARS IN 'BAY COVE' WITH TIM MATHESON

Marsha Moreau serves it creepy in BAY COVE Year: 1987 Occasionally, made-for-television movies delving into the horror genre are surpri...

JOSIE BISSETT FINDING HER PLACE WITH 'HITCHER IN THE DARK'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6GWKG_74Q4c/XZselnSLLWI/AAAAAAABIm0/sQstS8AdV14kb2SQzrK15QB3YJInqKR1QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/71559568_799248560504322_6951175380531150848_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="434" data-original-width="563" height="307" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6GWKG_74Q4c/XZselnSLLWI/AAAAAAABIm0/sQstS8AdV14kb2SQzrK15QB3YJInqKR1QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/71559568_799248560504322_6951175380531150848_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Josie Bissett tries and tries to survive as the lovely hitcher YEAR: 1989</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Before what would become an intensely popular super-bad horror phenomenon, TROLL 2, featuring a group of teenage boys traveling in a recreation vehicle, Italian producer Joe D'Amato and his synth-composing Carlo Maria Cordio used just one young man, a kind of misleadingly boy-next-door Ted Bundy type, who kidnaps, tortures, rapes and kills female hitchhikers in HITCHER IN THE DARK, where the title is also misleading, sounding as if THE HITCHER were the villain...<br> <br> Instead it's Winnebago-driving rich kid Mark (Joe Balogh), who picks up a girl he saw fight with her muscular, two-timing boyfriend, and she's one of the cutest blonde starlets in the history of cheap horror exploitation. Although MELROSE PLACE fans may not recognize a slightly younger Josie Bissett in her literal career beginnings with long locks. But soon enough, like put-upon wife Jane Mancini, it's cut short and dyed (actually a wig)... which wasn't her idea... <br>

body count, cult, eighties, exploitation, horror, indie, italian import, josie bissett, kidnapping, road movie, serial killer, thriller

JOSIE BISSETT FINDING HER PLACE WITH 'HITCHER IN THE DARK'

Josie Bissett tries and tries to survive as the lovely hitcher YEAR: 1989 Before what would become an intensely popular super-bad horror...

PETER CUSHING 'LAND OF THE MINOTAUR' AKA 'THE DEVIL'S MEN'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A0azojFAG9Y/XZWp4BZQ9tI/AAAAAAABIZ0/k4hP6Myi9FcabaBLv3VhQxLGT05go6RIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-03%2Bat%2B12.54.18%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="885" data-original-width="1073" height="325" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-A0azojFAG9Y/XZWp4BZQ9tI/AAAAAAABIZ0/k4hP6Myi9FcabaBLv3VhQxLGT05go6RIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-10-03%2Bat%2B12.54.18%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Deliciously wicket poster art for the MINOTAUR Year: 1976</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> You can't deny the timeless aesthetic villainy of Peter Cushing, one year before managing the Death Star in STAR WARS and after years of starring in England's legendary Hammer Films, he slummed in the Crown International Picture LAND OF THE MINOTAUR aka THE DEVIL'S MEN, where, alas, that famous scowl means very little...<br> <br> And while Ray Harryhausen vividly brought a Minotaur to life in THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD a few years earlier, this bullish beast, important enough for the alternative title, rises slowly and then just stands there, a literal statue in a hidden labyrinth wherein a sporadic handful of young archaeologists wind up, trapped and... could be made into sacrifices unless our unlikely heroes find them. And, shockingly not too bad for a bad movie where each frame resembles a last known photo, MINOTAUR creatively juggles various twenty-something victims...<br>

body count, crown international, cult, donald pleasence, drive-in, exploitation, horror, import, luan peters, occult, peter cushing, seventies, thriller

PETER CUSHING 'LAND OF THE MINOTAUR' AKA 'THE DEVIL'S MEN'

Deliciously wicket poster art for the MINOTAUR Year: 1976 You can't deny the timeless aesthetic villainy of Peter Cushing, one year ...

MICHAEL J. FOX GETS HAIRY IN 'TEEN WOLF' WITH LORIE GRIFFIN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--MLQrwCkWJ4/XZJAH5HBsQI/AAAAAAABIVA/pwZ8aLXMDss9hDIaMEorzc3yxfwPEX22QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-29%2Bat%2B3.16.56%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1030" data-original-width="1600" height="256" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--MLQrwCkWJ4/XZJAH5HBsQI/AAAAAAABIVA/pwZ8aLXMDss9hDIaMEorzc3yxfwPEX22QCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-29%2Bat%2B3.16.56%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Michael J. Fox and Lorie Griffin in TEEN WOLF Year: 1985</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Since Tom Cruise did COCKTAIL after TOP GUN, maybe it's not very strange that Michael J. Fox starred in TEEN WOLF after the game-changing success of BACK TO THE FUTURE: but it's said WOLF happened before knowing the FUTURE, and the b-homage horror-comedy was deliberately released afterward...<br> <br> Which isn't bad now since TEEN WOLF has become a well-regarded cult movie in its own right: Centering on a small group of high school kids who aren't exactly popular but can still somehow rule over a popular party. That's where Fox as Scott Howard secretly turns into the title creature, and eventually becomes the campus hero. In this case, unlike another Michael in Michael Landon from I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF, the transformation is positive: making him an A-student, star basketball player, and substitute lover to gorgeous blonde Lorie Griffin as Pamela, whose boyfriend plays on the rival team: one of several antagonists to our furry protagonist...<br>

comedy, cult, doug savant, eighties, high school, horror, jerry levine, lorie griffin, mark holton, matt adler, michael j. fox, teen, werewolf

MICHAEL J. FOX GETS HAIRY IN 'TEEN WOLF' WITH LORIE GRIFFIN

Michael J. Fox and Lorie Griffin in TEEN WOLF Year: 1985 Since Tom Cruise did COCKTAIL after TOP GUN, maybe it's not very strange th...

WILLIAN GREFÉ TURNS 'STANLEY' INTO 'MAKO: JAWS OF DEATH'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zRg9J0O77nI/XY1GOsIMzdI/AAAAAAABILc/wk6xXX3ZDH4zG2Fof4GsonyGohpCf5b4gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-26%2Bat%2B3.57.31%2BPM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1046" data-original-width="1600" height="261" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zRg9J0O77nI/XY1GOsIMzdI/AAAAAAABILc/wk6xXX3ZDH4zG2Fof4GsonyGohpCf5b4gCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-26%2Bat%2B3.57.31%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The actual title shows that it's MAKO JAWS OF DEATH  Year: 1976</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Someone already pointed out that MAKO: THE JAWS OF DEATH is a hybrid of JAWS and a cult classic about a young man with a twisted connection to rats, WILLARD. But this film's director William Grefé's <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2019/07/snakes.html">STANLEY</a>, about a slightly older fella hooked on snakes, already borrowed from the WILLARD template, making JAWS OF DEATH a clone of a clone of a clone...<br> <br> As Richard Jaekel, no stranger to creepy roles despite or even accentuated by his blond-haired, man-next-door look, goes back and forth from the seaside town to the sea itself, where the opening credits of a diver swimming smoothly beside a killer shark proves the introductory scrawl, about how the underwater crew <i>risked their lives in making this motion picture</i>, wasn't just for show: the first two minutes alone defines exploitation cinema at its finest, and riskiest...<br>

body count, cult, exploitation, jaws-clone, jennifer bishop, john davis chandler, revenge, richard jaekal, seventies, shark, thriller, william grefé

WILLIAN GREFÉ TURNS 'STANLEY' INTO 'MAKO: JAWS OF DEATH'

The actual title shows that it's MAKO JAWS OF DEATH  Year: 1976 Someone already pointed out that MAKO: THE JAWS OF DEATH is a hybrid...

MICHAEL PARÉ & NANCY ALLEN IN 'THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3FCq8SeSS-A/XYtOkuEeDTI/AAAAAAABIFY/F1f2NhQ3lfYQNYNV6EGIYDZVHfu23e2LgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/71135174_789984958097349_9191976843828264960_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="772" height="282" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3FCq8SeSS-A/XYtOkuEeDTI/AAAAAAABIFY/F1f2NhQ3lfYQNYNV6EGIYDZVHfu23e2LgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/71135174_789984958097349_9191976843828264960_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Michael Paré marching through time in the YEAR: 1984</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> When two naval officers are thrust from the 1940's into the 1980's, they must literally get past very dated special effects...<br> <br> After which, the otherwise heavily science-fiction based PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT becomes a typical action flick as Michael Paré, as a stranger in a strange land with fellow shipmate Bobby Di Cicco, aren’t sure what sent them through that lightning-driven portal into an era where jet fighter planes roar across the sky, people wear multicolored mohawks, men dress like women, and a former actor has become president. And much of this is experienced in one desert diner, where they should have hung around longer since the fun of time travel movies are how things have changed and how the characters react therein. But limited actor Paré's expressions, watching video games flashing and aliens on television, seems as if he's not surprised at all... <br>

action, bobby di cici, eighties, michael pare, michael paré, nancy allen, race against time, science-ficiton, thriller, time travel

MICHAEL PARÉ & NANCY ALLEN IN 'THE PHILADELPHIA EXPERIMENT'

Michael Paré marching through time in the YEAR: 1984 When two naval officers are thrust from the 1940's into the 1980's, they m...

MARTIN SHEEN WITH KIRK DOUGLAS IN 'THE FINAL COUNTDOWN'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a_SPBa8n9Zw/XY38NcAB0yI/AAAAAAABIOQ/44JLnI4hl78ZgtLqxCWRto02DfUuUOGhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-25%2Bat%2B4.40.07%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="972" data-original-width="1483" height="261" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-a_SPBa8n9Zw/XY38NcAB0yI/AAAAAAABIOQ/44JLnI4hl78ZgtLqxCWRto02DfUuUOGhQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-25%2Bat%2B4.40.07%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lightning strikes upon THE FINAL COUNTDOWN Year: 1980</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> THE TWILIGHT ZONE didn't work in the hour format, and THE FINAL COUNTDOWN is basically a Zone episode that lasts two hours, yet isn't bad except for a few dated special effects when the giant aircraft carrier goes from the ocean off Pearl Harbor in 1979 and winds up right before the Japanese attack in 1941...<br> <br> While Kirk Douglas gets top billing as the captain, Martin Sheen takes the lead as an ambiguous, non-military observer whose purpose isn't entirely clear until the inevitable twist ending, and he's alongside likeable James Farentino, an intrepid flyer sharing a few intense scenes at-odds with Sheen's Lasky, actually an efficiency expert hired by a reclusive, mysterious millionaire. At one point Sheen's even a culprit when the weird stuff begins happening: like Jack Benny on the radio and photos from jets showing the U.S.S. Arizona fully intact... <br>

action, adventure, charles durning, eighties, james farentino, katharine ross, kirk douglas, martin sheen, ron o'neal, science-ficiton, thriller, time travel, war

MARTIN SHEEN WITH KIRK DOUGLAS IN 'THE FINAL COUNTDOWN'

Lightning strikes upon THE FINAL COUNTDOWN Year: 1980 THE TWILIGHT ZONE didn't work in the hour format, and THE FINAL COUNTDOWN is b...

SUMMARY REVIEW OF 'D.A.R.Y.L.' BECAUSE THE POSTER IS COOL

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CZ-kvjabq4w/XYtNv3IdQpI/AAAAAAABIFQ/SiLQT_lguEUu2LiaiQsAj3E1NFK8ZwwpgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%252BShot%252B2019-09-23%252Bat%252B9.56.46%252BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1045" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CZ-kvjabq4w/XYtNv3IdQpI/AAAAAAABIFQ/SiLQT_lguEUu2LiaiQsAj3E1NFK8ZwwpgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%252BShot%252B2019-09-23%252Bat%252B9.56.46%252BPM.jpeg" width="398"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>One of those better movie posters than the movie movie YEAR: 1985</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Young Daryl has some sort of amnesia and very special powers. He can play piano without having played before and can hit a baseball right out of the park. The scenes involving Daryl (played nicely by Barrett Oliver between an inspired, performance in THE NEVERENDING STORY and lifeless turns in both COCOON films), his foster parents, and his buddy, Turtle — our comic relief here — are part of a fun and semi involving 1980's sci-fi kids flick. Then, something happens...<br> <br> Fifty minutes through — just as the audience is getting into the rhythm of a very laid-back fish-outta-water story — Daryl is picked up by his real parents i.e. the scientists that "created" him. His name is spelled D.A.R.Y.L., which stands for "Data Analyzing Robot Youth Lifeform" and. at this point, it's all downhill and keeps going until you just don't care if little D becomes a pile of scrap metal, or if he finds a new life as a <i>real boy</i>. More family fun and less formidable military evil and this would have been a terrific movie. But Reagan was in the White House, and for Hollywood, the government was always up to no good (until 1992 when all was good in the jungle). Either way, Michael McKean fans will like him in a "normal" part, which he never did back then.  <br>

barrett oliver, chase, cult, eighties, kids, michael mckean, military, science-fiction

SUMMARY REVIEW OF 'D.A.R.Y.L.' BECAUSE THE POSTER IS COOL

One of those better movie posters than the movie movie YEAR: 1985 Young Daryl has some sort of amnesia and very special powers. He can p...

SEAN CONNERY BOND SIX 'DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER' FOR SID HAIG

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OMNAtBXrTmQ/XYkvemATUZI/AAAAAAABH-8/wGZUX6S0ZDAypMmvgJpoSBk4DpOJZJCKgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/70538403_2632128213498109_5159104184695390208_o.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="828" data-original-width="1064" height="310" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-OMNAtBXrTmQ/XYkvemATUZI/AAAAAAABH-8/wGZUX6S0ZDAypMmvgJpoSBk4DpOJZJCKgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/70538403_2632128213498109_5159104184695390208_o.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Marc Lawrence and Sid Haig bring in the dead for Bond YEAR: 1971</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Far from top shelf Sean Connery/James Bond, it's definitely the weirdest: a comeback after one-timer George Lazenby's ON OUR MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE and an intentional first of two comeback/farewells (NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN later on) for the man still considered the best 007 ever. Only here he seems older than his next replacement, Roger Moore, two years his senior. And he's going through the motions but it's a pretty good time, for a while...<br /> <br /> Bond finales can often drag during the inevitable point of no return, facing off at the main villain's lair where a big bombastic fight ensues and the mysteries have all been revealed. In this case it's old reliable cat-lapped Bloefeld (forever dated by Austin Powers). But the best scenes had occurred during the initial climb with various near-death situations ranging from an edgy elevator fight to a romp throughout Las Vegas in its sparse, seedy, early-1970's heyday...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yZlNuAdgHyQ/XYlLzyGb63I/AAAAAAABH_8/NZQPXkmXPkw6dZ1t4Ycoqw0zSKsHOjW4gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.35.13%2BPM%2B2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1041" data-original-width="1600" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yZlNuAdgHyQ/XYlLzyGb63I/AAAAAAABH_8/NZQPXkmXPkw6dZ1t4Ycoqw0zSKsHOjW4gCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.35.13%2BPM%2B2.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Michael Valente, Sean Connery, Sid Haig and Marc Lawrence</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> And the reason for this DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER review is character-actor Sid Haig's recent death. Here he's one of three thugs along with classic heavy Marc Lawrence, who'd return as another goon in the intro of Moore's second venture, THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN... <br /> <br /> As an employee of a mob funeral outfit, Haig uses a deliberate old school New York gangster voice, saying "Brudda" for "Brother" on the drive to their mortuary where a fan-favorite sequence has Bond almost incinerated in a casket. But what really makes DIAMONDS shine are the lovely Bond girls. The first is Jill St. John, perfectly aged so not to be obnoxiously young, and yet she's one of the cutest/sexiest dames in the franchise. She tags along with Bond like a kissing cousin rather than the dame he yearns to inevitably shag (which he does of course): that's usually left to the secondary Bond girl earlier on...<br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6QmEUvf_2L0/XYlMSGRrRZI/AAAAAAABIAI/54usG1obih0BSnrWEQjkYXcmwDxPdhoeACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.31.06%2BPM%2B3.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1056" data-original-width="1307" height="322" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6QmEUvf_2L0/XYlMSGRrRZI/AAAAAAABIAI/54usG1obih0BSnrWEQjkYXcmwDxPdhoeACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.31.06%2BPM%2B3.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sean Connery and the lightning hardhat men SCORE: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Enter hot, lusty and busty Lana Wood as Plenty O'Toole, who does very little except getting thrown out a Vegas hotel window, safely into the swimming pool, and a little later found cemented under the pool of Jill St. John, whose more respectfully named Tiffany Case winds up predictably kidnapped. But by this time the game's basically over despite thirty minutes left on the clock. And while Connery sleepwalks through this affable, dapper ride, he's more laidback than lazy...<br /> <br /> The latter goes to a pair of bizarre assassins that... while taking part in a genuinely vicious string of murders connected to diamonds stolen from an African mine... are perhaps the lamest killers in Bond cinema history. Joker-faced Bruce Glover would have fared better alone; his character's real life musician "life partner" Putter Smith resembles a sleepy, bald-headed sheepdog whose acting is so atrocious, even his walk is deliberate and awkward. But no matter who surrounds him, it's cool seeing Sean Connery's Bond in the 1970's. And perhaps he's really not trying because he simply didn't need to.<br /> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zvSeOUuiF_s/XYlMhlYy2tI/AAAAAAABIAM/d2cE7GEidUsz01Z_FUaXGnX0GZMH_YfdACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.32.14%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="848" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zvSeOUuiF_s/XYlMhlYy2tI/AAAAAAABIAM/d2cE7GEidUsz01Z_FUaXGnX0GZMH_YfdACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.32.14%2BPM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sig Haig as Slumber Inc Attendant/Assassin in Diamonds are Forever</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PW6xSmbqMfc/XYlMhwvuRvI/AAAAAAABIAQ/7caJZK8bIRoJdHsaAVGZPebAmhz8rZSPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.33.23%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="887" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PW6xSmbqMfc/XYlMhwvuRvI/AAAAAAABIAQ/7caJZK8bIRoJdHsaAVGZPebAmhz8rZSPwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.33.23%2BPM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sig Haig, Lana Wood and Marc Lawrence in Diamonds are Forever</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vgogB0z6uw4/XYlMh3GbbgI/AAAAAAABIAU/ATYHaGmMVS4gmYBhH7ODZGvdDEwdnQijwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.33.54%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="801" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vgogB0z6uw4/XYlMh3GbbgI/AAAAAAABIAU/ATYHaGmMVS4gmYBhH7ODZGvdDEwdnQijwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.33.54%2BPM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A lovely Jill St. John sees a dead Bond girl in her pool in Diamonds are Forever</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g5EmMCCUU0E/XYlMiVUMgDI/AAAAAAABIAY/WLUFAn1ME9oRNHsYBVSLZmZTCE0hAXFpgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.34.08%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="843" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g5EmMCCUU0E/XYlMiVUMgDI/AAAAAAABIAY/WLUFAn1ME9oRNHsYBVSLZmZTCE0hAXFpgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.34.08%2BPM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sean Connery and Jill St. John in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VHVSBln7ZNk/XYlMi1KLyjI/AAAAAAABIAc/CDtkwvhpLrodkFYNY4HOXgMSQEPIVjmOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.34.39%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="676" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VHVSBln7ZNk/XYlMi1KLyjI/AAAAAAABIAc/CDtkwvhpLrodkFYNY4HOXgMSQEPIVjmOgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.34.39%2BPM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Mr. Liberace's body was quickly returned to the morgue for...</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Fz4Vz1G3Ao/XYlMjUjOwuI/AAAAAAABIAg/f36hi7fH5VQZSrtJh4x7EjTA5VFB2kXFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.36.12%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1Fz4Vz1G3Ao/XYlMjUjOwuI/AAAAAAABIAg/f36hi7fH5VQZSrtJh4x7EjTA5VFB2kXFwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-23%2Bat%2B3.36.12%2BPM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bruce Glover and Putter Smith make deadly gay henchmen in Diamonds are Forever</u></td></tr> </tbody></table>

action, body count, bruce glover, james bond, jill st. john, lana wood, marc lawrence, sean connery, sequel franchise, sid haig, spy, thriller

SEAN CONNERY BOND SIX 'DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER' FOR SID HAIG

Marc Lawrence and Sid Haig bring in the dead for Bond YEAR: 1971 Far from top shelf Sean Connery/James Bond, it's definitely the wei...

DAVID LEAN'S IRISH LANDSCAPE EPIC OF 'RYAN'S DAUGHTER'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Obap1azWD4/XNJtOkKaLMI/AAAAAAABDyg/ixjNWZ9y3swVhPseuYyzn5qo4uPIj2eUgCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-05-07%2Bat%2B10.36.28%2BPM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="989" data-original-width="1357" height="291" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_Obap1azWD4/XNJtOkKaLMI/AAAAAAABDyg/ixjNWZ9y3swVhPseuYyzn5qo4uPIj2eUgCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-05-07%2Bat%2B10.36.28%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sarah Miles as David Lean's RYAN'S DAUGHTER Year: 1970</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Whether it's desert-dwelling Peter O'Toole staring at the moon in LAWRENCE OF ARABIA or Omar Sharif's desperate moonglow gaze outside a crammed train in DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, within the whirlwind of historic epics, David Lean's characters find small pockets of downtime to smell the roses. But in RYAN'S DAUGHTER, the roses (or in this case, Rosy) is practically all there is... <br> <br> And it's where she lives within the cliffs of Ireland that's visually heaven on earth; then again, like all beautiful places, it can also be hell. While there <i>is</i> the historic aspect concerning Irish Revolutionaries seeking German guns under the guard of the occupying British, it's peripheral to this existential and at times even Gothic, eerie, big budget arthouse saga where one character complains: "This whole cursed country will capsize with talk!" And yet, as Christopher Jones is concerned, his voice being dubbed doesn't hinder a performance relying on painful, melancholy expressions. Even without sporadic war flashbacks, his tattered near-past is all in the eyes...  <br>

barry foster, christopher jones, david lean, epic, ireland, melodrama, robert mitchum, romance, sarah miles, seventies

DAVID LEAN'S IRISH LANDSCAPE EPIC OF 'RYAN'S DAUGHTER'

Sarah Miles as David Lean's RYAN'S DAUGHTER Year: 1970 Whether it's desert-dwelling Peter O'Toole staring at the moon in...

FORGOTTEN TRIUMPH OF 'RAMBO' W/ BONUS 'RAMBO III' REVIEW

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-53NENHGoYxQ/XYb-vJrSWHI/AAAAAAABH1E/h2UBPni1FHsL-SMB7QApD-Zmf8F1IdqWACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/70470802_788604361568742_5020931590679691264_o.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="487" data-original-width="769" height="253" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-53NENHGoYxQ/XYb-vJrSWHI/AAAAAAABH1E/h2UBPni1FHsL-SMB7QApD-Zmf8F1IdqWACLcBGAsYHQ/s400/70470802_788604361568742_5020931590679691264_o.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sylvester Stallone as RAMBO not Cobra circa 2008</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>RAMBO</u>: An eighty-minute film, while quite rare, is a perfect running-time for action, especially one as ultra-violent since the high definition CGI massacres can only be "enjoyed" so much...<br> <br> And this forgotten modern sequel of the iconic franchise is a sparse, solidly entertaining blood & guts "get the job done quick" flick where John Rambo, along with a group of eclectic (and enjoyably whiny) mercenaries, are hired to save a group of do-gooders including Julie Benz wielding a quaint, genuine chemistry with Stallone. They're kidnapped by "Burmese Pirates" and all in Vietnam, where it all began even before FIRST BLOOD — and John J. goes in, kills the bad guys and leaves, so, in this case, less is not only more, it's <i>just </i>enough. And should have ended right here.<br>

action, eighties, exploitation, franchise, julie benz, ken howard, richard crenna, sequel, sylvester stallone, vietnam, zeroes

FORGOTTEN TRIUMPH OF 'RAMBO' W/ BONUS 'RAMBO III' REVIEW

Sylvester Stallone as RAMBO not Cobra circa 2008 RAMBO : An eighty-minute film, while quite rare, is a perfect running-time for action,...

SYLVESTER STALLONE RETURNS FOR 'RAMBO: LAST BLOOD'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8s1F-3EHh1s/XYXg7OXZC8I/AAAAAAABHxc/r8Kk73-IOvMPCgFvWQVMsok9E5xX_5EIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-20%2Bat%2B11.39.36%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="590" data-original-width="753" height="312" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8s1F-3EHh1s/XYXg7OXZC8I/AAAAAAABHxc/r8Kk73-IOvMPCgFvWQVMsok9E5xX_5EIQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-20%2Bat%2B11.39.36%2BPM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sylvester Stallone in Rambo: Last Blood YEAR: 2019 </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> So far we've learned that RAMBO: LAST BLOOD has a lot in common with HOME ALONE since John J. defends his ranch using various booby traps. Which is nothing new — FIRST BLOOD had the Vietnam Vet/Green Beret luring antagonists into "familiar territory" with a hostile edge and stealthily prowess. The only difference now is he pays property tax... <br> <br> And some critics are blaming a certain public figure for the choice of villain... But most people probably don't care for a Mexican Drug Cartel that enslaves young girls: One in particular who's pretty much everything, and boy is she pretty. Making this 90-minute action melodrama more similar to DEATH WISH 4: THE CRACKDOWN in which, for completely different reasons, the aged main hero's daughter-like ingenue overdoses on drugs, and from that point it's all about revenge, revenge, and more revenge... <br>

2019, action, franchise, melodrama, new, sequel, sylvester stallone

SYLVESTER STALLONE RETURNS FOR 'RAMBO: LAST BLOOD'

Sylvester Stallone in Rambo: Last Blood YEAR: 2019 So far we've learned that RAMBO: LAST BLOOD has a lot in common with HOME ALONE s...

CROWN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES EXPLOITATION OF 'THE VAN'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FQpcc4mASPk/XYSiinNFu8I/AAAAAAABHvI/UwfY3IgOquMYUCXPjpVUVYi8mJpZ6VjJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-20%2Bat%2B12.21.45%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="918" data-original-width="1384" height="265" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FQpcc4mASPk/XYSiinNFu8I/AAAAAAABHvI/UwfY3IgOquMYUCXPjpVUVYi8mJpZ6VjJQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-20%2Bat%2B12.21.45%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>One of the coolest title fonts in the seventies for THE VAN Year: 1977</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> For a couple of guys who seem like Black Sabbath or Blue Öyster Cult fans, the bad country music never stops playing, but that's THE VAN by Crown International Pictures, a wall-to-wall goofy soundtrack of one young geek's journey into loose sex and vehicular savvy, as the main song croons of a Chevy Van, which his isn't: but the yellow color stands out, and the water bed breaks after one lucky screw that may not have even happened...<br> <br> As much of the film has creatively shot daydream sequences of our underdog hero Stuart Goetz, the same kid that Marcia Brady didn't date when jock Nicholas Hammond told her "Something suddenly came up" on THE BRADY BUNCH. Here he's a car washer (another CAR WASH influence) under a sporadically cast Danny DeVito, one year before playing grouchy dispatcher Louie DePalma on TAXI. Funny thing, DeVito's character sits in just as tight a space, giving orders, although he's an affable (if crooked) fellow here.<br> <br> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eSaCyhaoaZ8/XYS1Xd6NycI/AAAAAAABHwU/WwlGpRHKGxMKAw7lh3cleZl-VmR65c4XwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-20%2Bat%2B12.26.37%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1274" data-original-width="1600" height="317" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eSaCyhaoaZ8/XYS1Xd6NycI/AAAAAAABHwU/WwlGpRHKGxMKAw7lh3cleZl-VmR65c4XwCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-20%2Bat%2B12.26.37%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Pinball girl Jane Mudrick with Stuart Goetz in THE VAN Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> Most of the picture takes place around the suburbs and outskirts of the L.A. Valley that includes the beach where a gathering of vans are shown for the mere exploitation of those vehicles, which this drive-in flick's not only named after but is exploiting from its popularity in an era of hot rods and scantily clad summer girls, including hot blonde Connie Hoffman hooked with a token muscular bully (who drives a fitfully dark van). <br> <br> But the ingenue here's an uptight girl-next-door played by Deborah White, and yet her quirky friend, FADE TO BLACK quirky friend Marcie Barkin, is even more cute and effective: the girl of our guy's best friend Harry Moses, who doesn't do much but hear about his buddy's misadventurous conquests that, unfortunately, are spoken of more than actually experienced. For what THE VAN is in <i>droves</i>, it also misses out on: A circular road movie where the sky could have been the limit but is, for the most part, just a another backdrop. Still though, Quentin Tarantino is a VAN addict, and it <i>is</i> an addictive little ride.<br>

comedy, connie hoffman, crown international, cult, danny devito, deborah white, drive-in, exploitation, marcie barkin, raunchy, seventies, stuart goetz

CROWN INTERNATIONAL PICTURES EXPLOITATION OF 'THE VAN'

One of the coolest title fonts in the seventies for THE VAN Year: 1977 For a couple of guys who seem like Black Sabbath or Blue Öyster C...

DANA ANDREWS LEADS THE NOIR THRILLER 'WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QE228bolNAE/XYLKQPXnJNI/AAAAAAABHr0/GWfApXFxgLAgw1dXOo5WOeN31n_6bMofQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/61822894_714346332327879_3385776917629108224_n.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="791" height="276" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QE228bolNAE/XYLKQPXnJNI/AAAAAAABHr0/GWfApXFxgLAgw1dXOo5WOeN31n_6bMofQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/61822894_714346332327879_3385776917629108224_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Dana Andrews in While the City Sleeps YEAR: 1956</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Imagine Orson Welles's Charles Foster Kane inheriting a news outlet as opposed to inheriting a goldmine to buy one, and there you have Vincent Price's not so kind Walter Kyne, who, after his father's death, takes over Kyne Enterprises — with a familiar "K" symbol ala CITIZEN KANE — and sets the employees against each other...<br> <br> The goal is to find out who's the psychopath slaying women and writing messages with their lipstick: making WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS both a Film Noir and occasional horror, and it needs more of the latter from having too much of the first, with an over-abundance of characters including whiskey-drinking career-newsman Thomas Mitchell; sharp and flirtatious George Saunders; and the main star Andrews, surprisingly the least important and/or complicated character as the figure-head newscaster...<br> <br>

british film noir/melodrama, dana andrews, fifties, howard duff, ida lupino, sally forrest, serial killer, thomas mitchell, thriller, vincent price

DANA ANDREWS LEADS THE NOIR THRILLER 'WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS'

Dana Andrews in While the City Sleeps YEAR: 1956 Imagine Orson Welles's Charles Foster Kane inheriting a news outlet as opposed to i...

ENZO G. CASTELLARI DIRECTS FABIO TESTI IN 'THE HEROIN BUSTERS'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vmpMrnMWMRc/XX9Z8PIk1ZI/AAAAAAABHmw/b-Y3HkWu_IgVUz0EOh94NIn_dw5AlnJMgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-15%2Bat%2B9.58.17%2BAM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1094" data-original-width="1600" height="272" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vmpMrnMWMRc/XX9Z8PIk1ZI/AAAAAAABHmw/b-Y3HkWu_IgVUz0EOh94NIn_dw5AlnJMgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-09-15%2Bat%2B9.58.17%2BAM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>David Hemmings y Fabio Testi di LA VIA DELLA DROGA Year: 1977 </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> It's distracting that, in the first twenty minutes of THE HEROIN BUSTERS, handsome Italian actor Fabio Testi just doesn't look right. As if a similar yet grungy, emaciated actor with the same semi-beard took his place during scenes where he's busted at an airport, and then helps a junky escape from jail...<br> <br> The junky, played by Wolfango Soldati, who, to further complicate matters, resembles Fabian, initially seems like an important side-character, as does gorgeous TENTACLES starlet Sherry Buchanan as a bisexual model wielding much appreciated gratuitous nudity. But soon enough this FRENCH CONNECTION inspired programmer turns into a simple and singular action/chase flick (undercover cop Testi being chased by a mob of spurned/betrayed dealers) ranging from a rural, broken-down-factory shootout; speeding cars getting rammed and smashed; motorbikes zipping down escalators then zooming through futuristic-looking subway tunnels; and a zigzagging, nail-biting, bombastic airplane sequence that, before you know it, concludes this drug-bust exploitation that seemed like it was just getting started...<br>

action, chase, cop, crime, david hemmings, drugs, enzo g. castellari, exploitation, fabio testi, italian import, lesbian, massimo vanni, sherry buchanan, wolfango soldati

ENZO G. CASTELLARI DIRECTS FABIO TESTI IN 'THE HEROIN BUSTERS'

David Hemmings y Fabio Testi di LA VIA DELLA DROGA Year: 1977 It's distracting that, in the first twenty minutes of THE HEROIN BUSTE...

SARAH PATTERSON IN NEIL JORDAN'S 'THE COMPANY OF WOLVES'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5d-ybEfphEA/XX7WOvTZLGI/AAAAAAABHgs/GAxJdvbadbwyqOySUOnjd5oKfZteg1vIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1012" data-original-width="1600" height="252" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5d-ybEfphEA/XX7WOvTZLGI/AAAAAAABHgs/GAxJdvbadbwyqOySUOnjd5oKfZteg1vIgCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/0.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sarah Patterson in A COMPANY OF WOLVES Year: 1984 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Not just another werewolf story and with the true darkness of a fairy tale, THE COMPANY OF WOLVES gets the illogical "logic of a dream" just right as Sarah Patterson's Rosaleen is lost "in the woods" (she'd fallen asleep reading) with many twisty, nightmarish avenues: an entertaining ride for both the dreamer and the audience...<br> <br> Ranging from seemingly naive cottage-dwelling marrieds to a dream-within-a-dream of a sinister Victorian wedding party, the only downfall is the casting of a much too old Prince Charming of sorts: not just for the age, but, until he shows his true colors, he's a bit dull, miscast. Which doesn't mean Neil Jordan's Gothic fantasy/horror ever slows down. Timeless, classic young beauty Sarah Patterson wields the perfect amount of fertile innocence and roving curiosity. And there's a wolf-morphing sequence that, even after AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON set the stage, is still downright sinister, formidable, eerie and original, like the movie.<br> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pbVE0kfA4RE/XX7uelYxH-I/AAAAAAABHhM/Ewo2dZx2UxQSDoqQjnEsM4TTW7Cwl2nYgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pbVE0kfA4RE/XX7uelYxH-I/AAAAAAABHhM/Ewo2dZx2UxQSDoqQjnEsM4TTW7Cwl2nYgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Opening credit font for THE COMPANY OF WOLVES</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GDw-2a6_u1Y/XX7ueqYq05I/AAAAAAABHhQ/hbjhxtj9exMRTTcir5tWQWwkdICHnIplwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/15.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="915" data-original-width="1600" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GDw-2a6_u1Y/XX7ueqYq05I/AAAAAAABHhQ/hbjhxtj9exMRTTcir5tWQWwkdICHnIplwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/15.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sarah Patterson sees red and cries wolf in THE COMPANY OF WOLVES</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

adventure, eighties, fantasy, horror, neil jordan, sarah patterson, werewolf

SARAH PATTERSON IN NEIL JORDAN'S 'THE COMPANY OF WOLVES'

Sarah Patterson in A COMPANY OF WOLVES Year: 1984 Rates: ***1/2 Not just another werewolf story and with the true darkness of a fairy ta...