cult film freak: November 2017

Written by James M. Tate / 11/29/2017 / No comments / beach , cult , eighties , gerry lopez , gregory harrison , hawaii , john philbin , laird hamilton , matt adler , nia peeples , randal kleiser , sport

SURFING THE EIGHTIES CAMP CULT SANCTITY OF 'NORTH SHORE'

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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Splash of total 1980's splashy font for NORTH SHORE</u></td></tr>
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At the time of its release, the Randall Kleiser produced NORTH SHORE seemed like a glossy, colorful, vapid surf movie made for mainstream viewers, apologetically reveling in the sport's beautiful aesthetic and specific locale whilst being scoffed at by genuine surfers...<br>
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Which is basically the opposite of a beloved classic such BIG WEDNESDAY and THE ENDLESS SUMMER, and perhaps that's the case even now and yet, despite the addictive camp, NORTH SHORE has enough interesting characters to bring life and charisma into the simplistic story, all through the eyes of... of all things... an Arizona Surfer, played by TEEN WOLF third banana Matt Adler as Rick, who won a whopping $500 at a wave-machine surf competition.<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QAI5Z2LU9N8/XZA0S3ZhZdI/AAAAAAABIQo/yuspz_aoLDo1H0J3dl5pgWRd9dbVHztwQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/70920313_793544947741350_2981814000532062208_n.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="947" height="271" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QAI5Z2LU9N8/XZA0S3ZhZdI/AAAAAAABIQo/yuspz_aoLDo1H0J3dl5pgWRd9dbVHztwQCLcBGAsYHQ/s400/70920313_793544947741350_2981814000532062208_n.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Matt Adler progresses through the boards in North Shore YEAR: 1987</u></td></tr>
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Saying bye to his single mother (Cristina Rains in a pointless cameo), he catches a plane to the 50th State and, being taxied along the <i>scoffing-at-tourists</i> "mean streets," he winds up hanging with an eclectic group of characters — and one bonafide "character" stands out in CHILDREN OF THE CORN actor John Philbin as film-stealing Turtle...<br>
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When not on the waves he's got a lonely job in a shack outside his boss's beach pad, sanding Chandler Boards: Chandler played by TRAPPER JOHN M.D. and LOGAN'S RUN veteran Gregory Harrison in one of his few non-television roles... He's a skinny version of BIG WEDNESDAY philosophical guru Bear, both with a serious beard in common, while Turtle's a more down-to-earth version of the iconic "Waxer"...<br>

beach, cult, eighties, gerry lopez, gregory harrison, hawaii, john philbin, laird hamilton, matt adler, nia peeples, randal kleiser, sport

SURFING THE EIGHTIES CAMP CULT SANCTITY OF 'NORTH SHORE'

Splash of total 1980's splashy font for NORTH SHORE At the time of its release, the Randall Kleiser produced NORTH SHORE seemed like...

KEN HUTCHISON CINEMA PRESENTS 'SWEENEY 2' W/ 'SWEENEY!'

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mi_fxSHLpQU/WhqUzPukilI/AAAAAAAAzzk/x4DQ2zUx-UcqVYmPfBwCuf3ZuWaDXvS3wCLcBGAs/s1600/8.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="596" data-original-width="960" height="247" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Mi_fxSHLpQU/WhqUzPukilI/AAAAAAAAzzk/x4DQ2zUx-UcqVYmPfBwCuf3ZuWaDXvS3wCLcBGAs/s400/8.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u style="font-size: 12.8px;">King of the 70's Obscure Cinema Shotgun is Ken Hutchison</u></td></tr>
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The last few years provided Cult Film Freak new favorite actors including Tom Courtenay, who we've yet to start covering; Dana Andrews, the site's patron saint, is all over the damn place; and for the last decade, STRAW DOGS villain Ken Hutchison — and here it begins...<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g_sn33cqU0s/WhlLldkdTtI/AAAAAAAAzwk/swCwGS8IEpIljWOTHYSHhoJyYhRJ0H2rACLcBGAs/s1600/0000%2B%25282%2529.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="450" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g_sn33cqU0s/WhlLldkdTtI/AAAAAAAAzwk/swCwGS8IEpIljWOTHYSHhoJyYhRJ0H2rACLcBGAs/s400/0000%2B%25282%2529.jpg" width="186"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ken Hutchison in Sweeney 2</u></td></tr>
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First off, John Thaw and Dennis Waterman as D.I. Jack Regan and D.S. George Carter are two tough and edgy British cops who look tough and edgy, and are better than ever in their second theatrical venture after the series THE SWEENEY went off the air: First being SWEENEY! sans THE and followed by an exclamation point, and the next, fitfully titled...<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uJUF96b0Bsc/WhlRUwOOalI/AAAAAAAAzw0/zQCey1eWuacIDcE_buXfgeSsMpR_lYnQwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-11-25%2Bat%2B3.15.37%2BAM.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="369" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uJUF96b0Bsc/WhlRUwOOalI/AAAAAAAAzw0/zQCey1eWuacIDcE_buXfgeSsMpR_lYnQwCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-11-25%2Bat%2B3.15.37%2BAM.jpg" width="206"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><u>Ken Hutchison in STRAW DOGS</u></td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><u>SWEENEY 2</u></span> centers on a strange group of bank robbers who steal <i>only</i> a particular amount each time, and never has a group of thugs been so cultish and family-oriented...<br>
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Oddly mundane scenes with the gang sitting at long outdoor table in their poolside home of Malta (each hit pays for exact sections of their expensive compound) gives a parenthetical glimpse into thugs who, once in London, become shotgun-wielding, nylon-masked marauders (known as "blaggers"), and the leader looks natural with that particular weapon in hand as Ken Hutchinson played the meanest of the bullying and untimely deadly STRAW DOGS villains, Norman Scutt, under the tense and ultra-violent direction of Sam Peckinpah...<br>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5rksuiv9hMc/Xc0qg5TlbPI/AAAAAAABK1A/W4s49jIyO_oYgNzvHZw1cmev49IWPm2qwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-14%2Bat%2B2.19.15%2BAM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="908" data-original-width="1051" height="276" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5rksuiv9hMc/Xc0qg5TlbPI/AAAAAAABK1A/W4s49jIyO_oYgNzvHZw1cmev49IWPm2qwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2019-11-14%2Bat%2B2.19.15%2BAM.jpeg" width="320"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ken Hutchison aims in SWEENEY 2</u></td></tr>
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In fact, Ken's character, Hill, is the most memorable, and someone to fear, but there are distractions. One scene, playing more for the sort of dark comedy of the series, involves a time bomb in a hotel. Meanwhile, another side-story about Denholm Elliot as Regan's crooked chief under scrutiny is rushed and contrived...<br>
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Leaving Hutchison's deadly persona to cut through an intentionally sparse Neo Noir story, second only to a literally smashing chase where a yellow car crashes through a store window and goes blasting through the grungy streets of London. Wherein the action and gunfire evenly curbs the pulpy dialogue, especially between our SWEENEY cops John Thaw as Regan and Dennis Waterman as Carter, always on edge and waiting for the next crime as we get two sparse, offbeat tales from either side of the law.<br>

anna nygh, denholm elliott, dennis waterman, exploitation, john thaw, ken hutchison, seventies, susan valentine

KEN HUTCHISON CINEMA PRESENTS 'SWEENEY 2' W/ 'SWEENEY!'

King of the 70's Obscure Cinema Shotgun is Ken Hutchison The last few years provided Cult Film Freak new favorite actors including T...

PRE-FAME CAMEO OF HARRISON FORD 'ROUTE 66' FROM 1962

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oQTFB433ILE/W_TJYtzeL_I/AAAAAAAA7pY/hyf5u1UduJAmRhKc1lYz9ffG0z8voKdUwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-11-20%2Bat%2B5.52.23%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1063" data-original-width="1600" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oQTFB433ILE/W_TJYtzeL_I/AAAAAAAA7pY/hyf5u1UduJAmRhKc1lYz9ffG0z8voKdUwCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-11-20%2Bat%2B5.52.23%2BPM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Harrison Ford as a surfer goon on Route 66 Harrison Ford "Ever Ride the Waves in Oklahoma?" facing George Maharis</u></td></tr>
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With the usual chip on his shoulder, George Maharis as Buz wants to not only learn how to surf in ten days, but take on the Huntington Beach, California champ played by THE BORN LOSERS actor Jeremy Slate...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rkr9gOx9_RA/W_TSC7AfpjI/AAAAAAAA7qA/M_HKcTS4XK4z7B8ucmPrRA2VB0h0x3J6wCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-11-20%2Bat%2B7.23.57%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="1278" height="283" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rkr9gOx9_RA/W_TSC7AfpjI/AAAAAAAA7qA/M_HKcTS4XK4z7B8ucmPrRA2VB0h0x3J6wCLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-11-20%2Bat%2B7.23.57%2BPM.jpeg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Harrison Ford plays surf guru bodyguard on Route 66</u></td></tr>
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The reason, another surfer died trying to beat the surf king by weaving through the pier (which yours truly has been on... not under... many times)...<br />
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And later, when Buz enters a surf party, about to face off with his soon-to-be rival, one surfer steps up close, about to fight: Harrison Ford in an uncredited cameo... but he's both called off by his "boss" and especially with a hand gesture, warned by the tough New York native...<br />
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It's cool to see the future Han Solo and Indiana Jones in Huntington Beach, although his scenes are interior, and he has no lines but is an important cameo given the way he parts through the surfers, who'd all just been dancing. He's obviously the bouncer of the bunch. And so, this is proof of a Harrison Ford Route 66 cameo shown here, for the first time online. Not only is it years before STAR WARS and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, but it's eleven years after AMERICAN GRAFFITI, which is, in itself, a "young non-famous Harrison Ford" role. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ujwq7Sf2diI/W_TIQS-2H9I/AAAAAAAA7pM/aFE4bvyJuwohgzToWMqNoliBMOsYZGxyQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-11-20%2Bat%2B6.45.54%2BPM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1105" data-original-width="1600" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ujwq7Sf2diI/W_TIQS-2H9I/AAAAAAAA7pM/aFE4bvyJuwohgzToWMqNoliBMOsYZGxyQCLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2018-11-20%2Bat%2B6.45.54%2BPM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Harrison Ford Route 66 Harrison Ford Ever Ride the Waves in Oklahoma? Harrison Ford</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The Han Solo & Indiana Jones grin: Harrison Ford Route 66 Season 3 "Ever Ride the Waves in Oklahoma?"</u></td></tr>
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cameo, harrison ford, sixties, sport, TV

PRE-FAME CAMEO OF HARRISON FORD 'ROUTE 66' FROM 1962

Harrison Ford as a surfer goon on Route 66 Harrison Ford "Ever Ride the Waves in Oklahoma?" facing George Maharis With the u...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/19/2017 / No comments / 2016 , cable , eighties , sean s. cunningham , tribute , william katt

IF THE CULT HORROR 'HOUSE' INSPIRED 'THE WALKING DEAD'

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0cX-qNd3C7Q/WhJUSqpowAI/AAAAAAAAzig/O5XCHeZosjoMjVMfQWsSpOYYYA-p1-BsgCLcBGAs/s1600/888.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="703" data-original-width="1310" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0cX-qNd3C7Q/WhJUSqpowAI/AAAAAAAAzig/O5XCHeZosjoMjVMfQWsSpOYYYA-p1-BsgCLcBGAs/s1600/888.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The powerful "Witch" creature in the horror comedy flick HOUSE that possibly inspired...</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5_rvQF9uNpQ/WhJUjDYtjrI/AAAAAAAAzio/FSM53P7BPNAD5EfTOUDF5-XsqsWaAlj9ACLcBGAs/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="1095" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5_rvQF9uNpQ/WhJUjDYtjrI/AAAAAAAAzio/FSM53P7BPNAD5EfTOUDF5-XsqsWaAlj9ACLcBGAs/s1600/3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sans the lipstick and blouse color and with no fangs here's the WALKING DEAD mid-life crisis white trash mama ghoul</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g6nDgriwWho/WhJUxaMArCI/AAAAAAAAzis/M5M6v3C1w58zhNG81nFDV14ktqahqnkdACLcBGAs/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="581" data-original-width="1044" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-g6nDgriwWho/WhJUxaMArCI/AAAAAAAAzis/M5M6v3C1w58zhNG81nFDV14ktqahqnkdACLcBGAs/s1600/1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Another shot of the walker that resembles the most memorable creature in Sean S. Cunningham's HOUSE</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SHBbzJSUMoM/WhJU_zpmekI/AAAAAAAAziw/LfDv0I-jDEw6UYVqHIJLIZY6tsIdmMXkwCLcBGAs/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="631" data-original-width="1099" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SHBbzJSUMoM/WhJU_zpmekI/AAAAAAAAziw/LfDv0I-jDEw6UYVqHIJLIZY6tsIdmMXkwCLcBGAs/s1600/2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>THE WALKING DEAD and HOUSE from 1986... WALKING DEAD House... And so on...</u></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zpECKHieMho/WhJZTX5RScI/AAAAAAAAzjM/HY4EXxSxiCcS9Gkky2GXX7buFq5e5xLFACLcBGAs/s1600/IU.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="828" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zpECKHieMho/WhJZTX5RScI/AAAAAAAAzjM/HY4EXxSxiCcS9Gkky2GXX7buFq5e5xLFACLcBGAs/s1600/IU.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u style="font-size: 12.8px;">WALKING DEAD House creature back to back side by side juxtaposed</u></td></tr>
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2016, cable, eighties, sean s. cunningham, tribute, william katt

IF THE CULT HORROR 'HOUSE' INSPIRED 'THE WALKING DEAD'

The powerful "Witch" creature in the horror comedy flick HOUSE that possibly inspired... Sans the lipstick and blouse colo...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/18/2017 / No comments / adventure , bo hopkins , claude akins , exploitation , horror , italian-import , john huston , ovidio g. assonitis , seventies , shelley winters , sherry buchanan , stelvio cipriani

BO HOPKINS IN THE ITALIAN-IMPORT TERROR OF 'TENTACLES'

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wL3C8-SmHn0/WhEINF4dEXI/AAAAAAAAzh8/Xad-NeQsiNEZBy_0uHIjpSpEW8vIyJkyQCLcBGAs/s1600/b676c76de198bbfe8184d77918a8bb72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="878" height="306" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wL3C8-SmHn0/WhEINF4dEXI/AAAAAAAAzh8/Xad-NeQsiNEZBy_0uHIjpSpEW8vIyJkyQCLcBGAs/s400/b676c76de198bbfe8184d77918a8bb72.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Release: 1977 aka Tentacoli</u></td></tr>
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The haunting techno keyboard riff by one of Quentin Tarantino's long list of sampled bits of soundtrack, Stelvio Cipriani, opens the 1977 Italian made JAWS exploitation, TENTACLES, on an ominous level that deserves more praise and appreciation to the overall underrated motion picture it envelopes...<br>
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With creative camera angles, including a ghost boat being towed in to bay while onlookers both move forward and recede slowly from a reverse crane shot, director Ovidio G. Assonitis, who'd produce <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2017/09/TheLittleHeat.html">THE VISITOR</a> two years later and with a list of cult b-flicks under his belt, works stealthily alongside his stock composer to, like the 1975 Steven Spielberg shark <i>summer blockbuster</i>, not spoil the killer octopus all at once, maintaining some good old fashion implied slowburn suspense in an Alfred Hitchcock fashion...<br>

adventure, bo hopkins, claude akins, exploitation, horror, italian-import, john huston, ovidio g. assonitis, seventies, shelley winters, sherry buchanan, stelvio cipriani

BO HOPKINS IN THE ITALIAN-IMPORT TERROR OF 'TENTACLES'

Year of Release: 1977 aka Tentacoli The haunting techno keyboard riff by one of Quentin Tarantino's long list of sampled bits of sou...

PRE FAME CAMEO OF SAMUEL L. JACKSON 'MOVIN' ON' CIRCA 1976

cameo, claude akins, frank converse, samuel l. jackson, seventies

PRE FAME CAMEO OF SAMUEL L. JACKSON 'MOVIN' ON' CIRCA 1976

Samuel L. Jackson Movin' On Samuel L. Jackson as a Trooper on a 1976 show about Truckers Movin' On Samuel L. Jackson rousts Cl...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/10/2017 / No comments / crime , exploitation , independent , richard egan , rick jason , sean mcclory , seventies , thriller

BARK ALL 'DAY OF THE WOLVES' LITTLE DOGGIE

<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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lrx5TCvRjy0/Wgac694VHnI/AAAAAAAAzhQ/mmS26nVJZFwJiPYrNHcyfubo8ZM_MShwACLcBGAs/s1600/rd2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="979" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Lrx5TCvRjy0/Wgac694VHnI/AAAAAAAAzhQ/mmS26nVJZFwJiPYrNHcyfubo8ZM_MShwACLcBGAs/s1600/rd2.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Screen Capture from the opening of the 1974 exploitation cult thriller DAY OF THE WOLVES</u></td></tr>
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For fans of <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2011/06/reservoir-dogs.html">RESERVOIR DOGS</a> or any kind of Film Noir/Neo Noir heist flick that began with the likes of THE KILLING and KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL — robberies where only the group leader knows all the real names while the hoodlums are basically strangers to each other: before, during and after. A planned strategy that's supposed to remain intact but something always gets screws up, and that's where the good stuff begins...<br>
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<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/-3IcwYR7iwSQ/WhJx1VhiJJI/AAAAAAAAzj8/BkWvS0ILj_8LkUigfN8tgSjtcHF7F1yRACLcBGAs/s1600/Day-Poster1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="252" data-original-width="161" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3IcwYR7iwSQ/WhJx1VhiJJI/AAAAAAAAzj8/BkWvS0ILj_8LkUigfN8tgSjtcHF7F1yRACLcBGAs/s1600/Day-Poster1.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>WolveScore: ***</u></td></tr>
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Except in this much more obscure DOGS predecessor (intentionally skipping CITY OF FEAR since that's "another story") titled THE DAY OF THE WOLVES, that peaks earlier than late, mostly because of how instantly interesting the film's pieced-together, like a living/breathing storyboard. By the capture above you can see the similarity to Quentin Tarantula's (that's what happens when you spellcheck Tarantino) groundbreaking, career-making classic...<br>
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<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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BJBR9DI1Xzo/WhJyZ--pDnI/AAAAAAAAzkI/2CMdq3_HbBQXqgmuTl1gmILIkc2B4S0NQCLcBGAs/s1600/download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="217" data-original-width="153" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BJBR9DI1Xzo/WhJyZ--pDnI/AAAAAAAAzkI/2CMdq3_HbBQXqgmuTl1gmILIkc2B4S0NQCLcBGAs/s1600/download.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2011/06/reservoir-dogs.html">RDOGS Review</a></td></tr>
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But what led us to rewatch this grungy gem after many years was actor Richard Egan from the 1955 Color-Noir <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/05/V-sat.html">VIOLENT SATURDAY</a> as a put-upon millionaire who's wife is cheating on him. It's 1974 and he is, of course, older, gruffer, and along with "faces" like Rick Jason and even Sean McClory (a personal fav from <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/12/RingOFear.html">RING OF FEAR</a>), the "known" actors (with fake beards to cover their identity) are what slows down the pace of this super low budget curio where each moment... from a private plane's door closing to a shoe scraping across the ground to a gun firing... isn't wasted except overlong scenes of dialogue where director Ferde Grofé Jr. seems to be proving — if perhaps only to himself — that he could make a "real movie" with a former semi-popular actors. Rather it's the surreal, gritty, by-the-numbers, dot-to-dot sketch of a multi-robbery Modern Western exploitation... set in a town small enough to let it happen unless Egan's ex Sheriff stops it... that grabs the attention — and does't completely let go!<br>

crime, exploitation, independent, richard egan, rick jason, sean mcclory, seventies, thriller

BARK ALL 'DAY OF THE WOLVES' LITTLE DOGGIE

Screen Capture from the opening of the 1974 exploitation cult thriller DAY OF THE WOLVES For fans of RESERVOIR DOGS or any kind of Film...

THURSDAY REVIEW OF DADDY'S HOME 2

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ypWBejGjmY8/WgVNXl0h--I/AAAAAAAAzgk/WjZa6bHYBmUd1p3zmBPJbzlX84e3_wFqACLcBGAs/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-11-09%2Bat%2B10.53.04%2BPM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="298" data-original-width="524" height="226" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ypWBejGjmY8/WgVNXl0h--I/AAAAAAAAzgk/WjZa6bHYBmUd1p3zmBPJbzlX84e3_wFqACLcBGAs/s400/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-11-09%2Bat%2B10.53.04%2BPM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 2007</u></td></tr>
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Ironic that the Godfather of <i>Once Popular</i> <i>Actors Shunned From Hollywood Literally Overnight</i>, Mel Gibson, peaks his head out this weekend following  several male showbiz careers being either wrecked or shamed...<br>
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Also ironic is that his old school blunt tough guy character needed to be much more politically-incorrect in order to ruffle feathers i.e. intentionally screw up the Christmas spirit, which could have wielded more gusto from Mel, and laughs from us: He's a womanizing former astronaut butting heads with estranged son Mark Wahlberg, while super-friendly Will Ferrell cozily bonds with his even more ridiculously saccharine father in John Lithgow...<br>

2017, comedy, mark wahlberg, mel gibson, team-up, will ferrell

THURSDAY REVIEW OF DADDY'S HOME 2

Year: 2007 Ironic that the Godfather of Once Popular Actors Shunned From Hollywood Literally Overnight , Mel Gibson, peaks his head ou...

ORIGINAL 'LAVERNE & SHIRLEY' OPENING TITLE CREDIT

cindy williams, penny marshall, photobreak, seventies, TV

ORIGINAL 'LAVERNE & SHIRLEY' OPENING TITLE CREDIT

Original Credits for Laverne and Shirley CREDIT SPOTTING : The LAVERNE AND SHIRLEY opening credits began showing their last names as we...

Written by James M. Tate / 11/06/2017 / No comments / adventure , agatha christie , i.s. johar , jack warden , john guillermin , jon finch , lois chiles , maggie smith , mia farrow , mystery , peter ustinov , simon maccorkindale , suspense

LOIS CHILES DEADLINES AGATHA CHRISTIE'S 'DEATH ON THE NILE'

<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/-iXvEQ0FLvjc/WgEeSCN5YLI/AAAAAAAAzeY/-qoU7lQfBl0GbJLvxpL3VJ9Wi9UTSdEswCLcBGAs/s1600/23316388_392434494519066_7191763929913503507_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="566" data-original-width="960" height="235" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iXvEQ0FLvjc/WgEeSCN5YLI/AAAAAAAAzeY/-qoU7lQfBl0GbJLvxpL3VJ9Wi9UTSdEswCLcBGAs/s400/23316388_392434494519066_7191763929913503507_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lois Chiles must die for a DEATH ON THE NILE Year: 1978</u></td></tr>
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DEATH ON THE NILE, directed by the underrated John Guillermin, who surprisingly exceeds the often-brilliant MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS auteur, Sidney Lumet, chugging across the ORIENT...<br>
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While on the NILE, the opening scenery in England, as a doomed and ridiculously gorgeous Lois Chiles rolls through the landscape of jealous laborers, sets a beautifully shot stage that spreads out to good if subtle eclectic ensemble performances. The only awful acting belongs to Mia Farrow as the spurned lover of Lois's brand new husband, Simon MacCorkindale. Mia speaks each line so loud and, while fitfully angered and borderline crazy, her voice, weighted-down with a noticeably faux British accent, strokes the proverbial cat backwards. Yet she's made up for by the likes of, for starters, David Niven as a... get this... sophisticated, classy, dapper and charming gentleman aiding Poirot...<br>

adventure, agatha christie, i.s. johar, jack warden, john guillermin, jon finch, lois chiles, maggie smith, mia farrow, mystery, peter ustinov, simon maccorkindale, suspense

LOIS CHILES DEADLINES AGATHA CHRISTIE'S 'DEATH ON THE NILE'

Lois Chiles must die for a DEATH ON THE NILE Year: 1978 DEATH ON THE NILE, directed by the underrated John Guillermin, who surprisingly ...

CHARACTER-ACTOR TURNED LEADING MAN YET STILL MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER KEVIN SPACEY TO BE DIGITALLY ERASED FROM SEASONS ONE TO FIVE OF HOUSE OF CARDS

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZC_3Swc_114/WgD5OA52xZI/AAAAAAAAzeI/lKn9NKZfK5E00hnrIT9qNtr7aI4kWoHjQCLcBGAs/s1600/kevin-spacey-house-of-cards-promo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="630" data-original-width="486" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZC_3Swc_114/WgD5OA52xZI/AAAAAAAAzeI/lKn9NKZfK5E00hnrIT9qNtr7aI4kWoHjQCLcBGAs/s640/kevin-spacey-house-of-cards-promo.jpg" width="491"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kevin Spacey on House of Cards</td></tr>
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This blog is rarely if ever used for blogging. It just has to be said how hilarious the media is taking the fact that Kevin Spacey has been cut from his own binge political drama crime series, HOUSE OF CARDS. Most of the articles now only praise Robin Wright for being the arch villain when in fact she's, compared to Spacey's President Frank Underwood, the better, morally, of the business-agreement-marrieds that seem extremely based on Bill and Hillary Clinton. Being that Bill's personal friend is playing him knocks out the theory that the show was ever intended to make the South-born poor boy who climbed in Washington on his wits and speaking-skills with a keen and edgy wife by his side look badly. And the question might have been asked, "Why would a Hollywood show about bad politicians be about Democrats and not Republicans?" The answer is simple. HOUSE OF CARDS is about two bad Democrats, which automatically assumes the rest are good or not-as-bad, and how can you have a show about two bad Republicans since they'll all... now you get it... But the craziness is not about Kevin Spacey being thrown out of Hollywood... the same place where the 'casting couch' was born and for a century thrived... but actually believing HOUSE OF CARDS would mean anything at all without its central character whose absence will cheat the surrounding cast, and the new sole-lead, Wright, from being able to <i>react against </i>anything. It's no different than if Bryan Cranston was erased before the final season of BREAKING BAD, which had a much stronger supporting cast, and even a spinoff that, in some ways, is superior. Anyhow... Like reading reviews on Rotten Tomatoes that mostly say the exact same thing to these optimistic articles about the next/last step of a very good cable show, there's gotta be a reason for all those whose job is to cross the line to now almost consistently work hard to tow it. So in closing, the fate of HOUSE OF CARDS is terminal despite the fact it's decided to move onto a final season. Till the end of time, everyone will know it's not a serial to take seriously and/or to take time following since the most important character vanishes before any kind of logical resolution.<br>

cable, kevin spacey, politics, robin wright, tens

CHARACTER-ACTOR TURNED LEADING MAN YET STILL MYSTERIOUS CHARACTER KEVIN SPACEY TO BE DIGITALLY ERASED FROM SEASONS ONE TO FIVE OF HOUSE OF CARDS

Kevin Spacey on House of Cards This blog is rarely if ever used for blogging. It just has to be said how hilarious the media is taking t...

BEFORE BULLYING WAS A CRIME THERE WAS 'MY BODYGUARD'

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KNW2H2xWRJU/Wf4QOYUtEbI/AAAAAAAAzc0/4hWfr99Jw18SGN9yQidxKWwCx7vFPHiQQCLcBGAs/s1600/23130562_391494824613033_9196230945623248539_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="615" data-original-width="960" height="256" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KNW2H2xWRJU/Wf4QOYUtEbI/AAAAAAAAzc0/4hWfr99Jw18SGN9yQidxKWwCx7vFPHiQQCLcBGAs/s400/23130562_391494824613033_9196230945623248539_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Matt Dillon & future Flashdance Jennifer Beals YEAR: 1980</u></td></tr>
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A classy teenage high school bully movie opening with what sounds like a classical music piece and a young kid riding a ten-speed bike through grainy Chicago...<br>
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Enter Chris Makepeace, also picked-on then befriended in the previous year's <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2010/03/kristine-debell-meatballs.html">MEATBALLS</a>, a fantastic little actor when he was little. But another semi-newcomer, Matt Dillon, steals the show as Moody, the high school's kingpin despite his being what seems like a sophomore.. anyhow, they ain't seniors: The only "kid" who looks like an adult and/or college student is future <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/02/4FMj.html">FULL METAL JACKET</a> stud Adam Baldwin as Ricky Linderman and, like every town has a haunted house, every school has a kid with a violent yet mysterious background. The plot of MY BODYGUARD is all in the title — alas, the corniest scenes occur in the middle as Makepeace's Clifford Peache... whose father runs a Hotel despite his mom/Cliff's grandma, Ruth Gordon, flirting with any and all male guests/residents... bonds with and rides a motorcycle with Ricky in a prolonged "feel-good" sequence of campy After School Special fare...<br>
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adam baldwin, bully, chris makepeace, eighties, high school, jennifer beals, martin mull, matt dillon, ruth gordon, teen

BEFORE BULLYING WAS A CRIME THERE WAS 'MY BODYGUARD'

Matt Dillon & future Flashdance Jennifer Beals YEAR: 1980 A classy teenage high school bully movie opening with what sounds like a c...

REBLOGGED REVIEWS OF THOR ONE & THE DARK WORLD

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<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="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GH5JNhS8Vss/Un0KlHDzVII/AAAAAAAAbQ0/NWUS7QZK67Y/s1600/thor-dark-world.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GH5JNhS8Vss/Un0KlHDzVII/AAAAAAAAbQ0/NWUS7QZK67Y/s1600/thor-dark-world.jpg"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Going Backwards here are THOR 3 in theaters here's going back to the reviews of One and Two now found only here...</u></td></tr>
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<u>THOR 2: THE DARK WORLD:</u> The first THOR was a hard sell… A demigod with long blond hair and an ancient hammer isn’t your typical brooding comic book hero… And so the earthlings, especially Natalie Portman’s Jane, a beautifully brainy love interest and her colleagues, including sarcastic hipster chick Darcy, who, using a snarky monotone, second-guesses the bizarre situation, helped make the audience believe this was all really happening…<br>
<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="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rJK-Sw8dZCg/Tc2DZMVM6HI/AAAAAAAABmM/xdNP9_YrIs0/s1600/Thor-Movie-Wallpaper-7-1024x768.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606281579976255602" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rJK-Sw8dZCg/Tc2DZMVM6HI/AAAAAAAABmM/xdNP9_YrIs0/s200/Thor-Movie-Wallpaper-7-1024x768.jpg" style="float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; width: 152px;"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 2013</u></td></tr>
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But after THE AVENGERS, we don’t need further confirmation. Thor, played by Chris Hemsworth, is very real and his home-world Asgard is in danger because of a monolithic structure Jane discovers between worlds… Part of which enters her body… And when she quickly travels with Thor to Asgard, the<i> stranger in a strange land </i>concept doesn’t quite work like when Thor came to Earth…<br>
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<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://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UOp0JtefX8Q/Wf12Nu7_IOI/AAAAAAAAzbo/CEMC_wQP52Uj3f_cfuvn0AMoofh0VN82QCLcBGAs/s1600/51QqAbB-W2L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UOp0JtefX8Q/Wf12Nu7_IOI/AAAAAAAAzbo/CEMC_wQP52Uj3f_cfuvn0AMoofh0VN82QCLcBGAs/s320/51QqAbB-W2L.jpg" width="213"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Thor2Score: **</u></td></tr>
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Although a decent actress, Portman's tone/voice sounds more like a valley girl in a local arcade. Meanwhile, <i>back at the ranch</i>, as the scientists gather to figure things out, Darcy’s forced comic relief is annoying, distracting, and downright unfunny… Thankfully there’s Thor’s “brother", that instigative menace from THE AVENGERS who, locked into a permanent glass structure, is freed to help destroy the big bad (and completely uninteresting) villain…<br>
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The dependable Loki, like Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor in SUPERMAN 2… after being replaced as the central villain… keeps the dry humor flowing – some lines hit, other miss, but that’s the best thing DARK WORLD has going for it: the camaraderie between two polar opposite brothers in a colorful world where dazzling special effects have an old-school matte painting aesthetic, while space ships zip around like in the STAR WARS (or current STAR TREK) universe: It’s when Thor joins the small band of earthlings to thwart the city-ravaging beast, while strategically jumping from various wormholes into either dimension, that things gets convoluted, ponderous, and with a second AVENGERS already planned, somewhat pointless too…<br>

action, anthony hopkins, blockbuster, marvel comics, tens

REBLOGGED REVIEWS OF THOR ONE & THE DARK WORLD

Going Backwards here are THOR 3 in theaters here's going back to the reviews of One and Two now found only here... THOR 2: THE DARK...

THURSDAY NIGHT REVIEW OF THOR: RAGNAROK

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U1Msv13nlEo/Wf1Z1JB_uuI/AAAAAAAAzbQ/ZwN9kNxkGVYDWVo0jCjI529Nqfbb55g-ACLcBGAs/s1600/thor_ragnarok.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1103" height="260" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-U1Msv13nlEo/Wf1Z1JB_uuI/AAAAAAAAzbQ/ZwN9kNxkGVYDWVo0jCjI529Nqfbb55g-ACLcBGAs/s400/thor_ragnarok.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u style="font-size: 12.8px;">Thor only <i>looks</i> serious YEAR OF RELEASE: 2017</u></td></tr>
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The latest THOR is spontaneous and freewheeling, especially while on a planet straight out of Roman Gladiator Arena cinema where, as the trailers spoiled long ago, the anticipated fight between two seemingly indestructible AVENGERS, Thor and Hulk, takes place. Which leads to one of the film's best devices...<br>
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<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://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iBg1hizvDPA/WfwFv8DIxqI/AAAAAAAAzao/hImkbxpiKzwmiqrf2QHsM7x1iKh9UB9KgCLcBGAs/s1600/thor-ragnarok-hulk-valkyrie-loki-1024x568.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="228" height="400" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iBg1hizvDPA/WfwFv8DIxqI/AAAAAAAAzao/hImkbxpiKzwmiqrf2QHsM7x1iKh9UB9KgCLcBGAs/s400/thor-ragnarok-hulk-valkyrie-loki-1024x568.jpg" width="160"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Score: **1/2</u></td></tr>
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Thor, without his signature invincible hammer, is nearly as vulnerable as a mortal human albeit a very strong ass-kicker up against an assortment of odds, making for a non-stop planet-to-planet rollercoaster ride...<br>
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Visually a hybrid of the intentionally campy FLASH GORDON and the first GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (itself an 80's homage) while shadowing plot-elements of STAR WARS, LORD OF THE RINGS and with more colorful rainbows than we've yet seen on Asgard — which has been taken over by a deadly, invincible royal sister (looking like Maleficent dressed as a reindeer) that Thor and the mischievous Loki never knew they had — there's a cool retro-techno score to back up the pulsating arcade of explosive action...<br>
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And while it's understandable that, with such a fantastical superhero, levity is needed to ground the story, there's a fine line between Fun and Funny. And RAGNAROK, featuring the godfather of glib Jeff Goldblum embarrassingly overdosing on his own style, breaks the line once too often: Superheroes all have powers and/or skills that can, whether built-in or created, turn on and off. But the constantly witty one-liner styling of Robert Downey Jr.'s Tony Stark (ala "Starkasm") has infected Chris Hemsworth's THOR to the point that the third solo film, while enjoyable enough, nearly drowns itself in self-deprecating parody. The prologue, where Thor makes fun of his own supposedly perilous situation while facing a gigantic fire demon, sums up everything. He's not scared at all, so why should the audience take anything he's up against seriously? <br>

2017, chris hemsworth, comic book, jeff goldblum, marvel, new