DOUBLE 'FIRESTARTER' FEATURE W/ ORIGINAL AND 'REKINDLED'

<div style="text-align: right;"> </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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0GgJT0b2-Q-H6mP6VxBsslDIpHNcAfIavb4_Y7Slz7Hi3k5vzH-5rFKrTAxUTTTEWMKebpbAApaHbu7z_qJHr326X3zPLikCK3wmDZ5w_Vr-MXRYw3eag7ajX3bQAm4UpUmyzkjUuvjz/s1600/33727687_483549908740857_977438697194520576_n.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="405" data-original-width="466" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0GgJT0b2-Q-H6mP6VxBsslDIpHNcAfIavb4_Y7Slz7Hi3k5vzH-5rFKrTAxUTTTEWMKebpbAApaHbu7z_qJHr326X3zPLikCK3wmDZ5w_Vr-MXRYw3eag7ajX3bQAm4UpUmyzkjUuvjz/s320/33727687_483549908740857_977438697194520576_n.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Heather Locklear and Drew Barrymore YEAR: 1984</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>FIRESTARTER</u>: During what looks like a five-dollar opening credit sequence, the synth score by Tangerine Dream, a hybrid of Pink Floyd and John Carpenter, provides a silk hat on a...<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji09Q36W9RFz5KFU9MeWylwSBwr9ODcyoUtE9yTvqH94GKXvm79BYUxOKRtWQU6MtPkxW9dX6l8E6I-9qqpey6CQQJVOZStE80moTrqxst_bteSjo7NVMBhi9yS2bGerouOArruxq5vIeK/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-01-06+at+3.33.45+PM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="758" data-original-width="475" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji09Q36W9RFz5KFU9MeWylwSBwr9ODcyoUtE9yTvqH94GKXvm79BYUxOKRtWQU6MtPkxW9dX6l8E6I-9qqpey6CQQJVOZStE80moTrqxst_bteSjo7NVMBhi9yS2bGerouOArruxq5vIeK/s320/Screen+Shot+2019-01-06+at+3.33.45+PM.jpeg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Love the spaceman on the right</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Well FIRESTARTER isn't exactly (or entirely) a dog: But based on a novel by Stephen King, it can mislead rabid horror fans as a droning Science-Fiction thriller without wraiths or psychos but nefarious government agents with black suits, like HALLOWEEN 3: SEASON OF THE WITCH compared to its famous, popular predecessors involving tangible killer ghost Michael Myers...<br /> <br /> Although, directed by capable b-movie/drive-in staple, Mark L. Lester, it's got a terrific look, produced by movie mogul Dino De Laurentis — plus the cast of otherwise great actors turning in good-enough performances: Particularly young lead, Charlie (short for Charlene), played by the ET-famous Drew Barrymore: She displays the right amount of possessive power and, most important, empathetic vulnerability in a picture that feels like a dark espionage mated with a pulpy and Gothic, coming-of-age melodrama — using random bouts of cringe-worthy dialogue along with a sporadic overdose of technical exposition...<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYb-Ned_5lVVc-S7ky44OPesxFjmrVYDjd8KpQ3MRYZ1LOBrZVkqTN78l6XsjRxIHYAy9tGEwAFMBENnXFGgOU62CR06mhDgEz8KFBbrBJBUYfAYqJinmjUiigP3H_DcXFoKjpB7bHFtP/s1600/33748783_483560792073102_7345554348690112512_o.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="578" data-original-width="805" height="227" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEYb-Ned_5lVVc-S7ky44OPesxFjmrVYDjd8KpQ3MRYZ1LOBrZVkqTN78l6XsjRxIHYAy9tGEwAFMBENnXFGgOU62CR06mhDgEz8KFBbrBJBUYfAYqJinmjUiigP3H_DcXFoKjpB7bHFtP/s320/33748783_483560792073102_7345554348690112512_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Your bunny mug floweth over</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> Things tighten after being captured and separated by her father (played by) David Keith, who has Old Testament powers to make people see what he tells them — the proverbial Pharaoh's staff-into-serpent kinda deal...<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CD0g4-vEhyafbFmckQq5YedNH6mNzop8e9mmvWBc7TSt7Q9bUACMzt14fe5GE8OzOPSBvUHOYkKPkaN_OT9EhOO1aVXQ9UGs7aN1i3sGYMEF7ak-gdl6JLWXq5RHkk89T5npeySYD9NO/s1600/414YZWMFN4L._SY445_.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="327" data-original-width="210" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2CD0g4-vEhyafbFmckQq5YedNH6mNzop8e9mmvWBc7TSt7Q9bUACMzt14fe5GE8OzOPSBvUHOYkKPkaN_OT9EhOO1aVXQ9UGs7aN1i3sGYMEF7ak-gdl6JLWXq5RHkk89T5npeySYD9NO/s320/414YZWMFN4L._SY445_.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Original Firestarter Score: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> This after Dad and Charlie are on-the-run (which includes well-done flashbacks leading to the present time) during an action-led first act act, befitting Lester's <i>appeal to a primal audience </i>style that made those old "cheap" vehicles so appealing (and would progress the next year with his popular-peak COMMANDO)...<br /> <br /> Then when dad and daughter are both "politely" sequestered inside contrived cozy living/bedrooms (including the usual steel wall behind a draped steel window) inside a rural government compound (which we never get an establishing shot of), it's the chemistry between Barrymore and assassin George C. Scott as Raintree, established earlier as a coldblooded killer and now pretending to be a friendly old orderly named John, that really works. He warms her heart with a hypnotic (for her) and comfortably creepy ruse (for us) in what's overall a <i>pretty good</i> film that doesn't try to be<i> really great</i>, and with just enough of the titular promise of torched/scorched bad guys while the characters, good and bad, develop between scenes that moves the story forward in an economic B-movie that has enough A-value to feel completely legit in the King-adapted galaxy.  <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzT33_WDbBh1DskmKTMqnGV4Poi-0KBbXlMKtkHl_8-mNxDEJ0J8YaJuswNooTzSJjHxccS9PdNrFU8_Eq8ey6Kn9OJB4QFlY7NsnfaMj0oL5nMeieoSzo5nHCch6Ei4vPCqZbS7dSy8E/s1600/33869785_483563285406186_736763994240450560_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="945" data-original-width="700" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwzT33_WDbBh1DskmKTMqnGV4Poi-0KBbXlMKtkHl_8-mNxDEJ0J8YaJuswNooTzSJjHxccS9PdNrFU8_Eq8ey6Kn9OJB4QFlY7NsnfaMj0oL5nMeieoSzo5nHCch6Ei4vPCqZbS7dSy8E/s320/33869785_483563285406186_736763994240450560_n.jpg" width="236" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>McDowell with Not-Drew YEAR: 2002</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <u>FIRESTARTER 2: REKINDLED</u>: Better than one would expect from a miniseries of a sequel based upon a semi-famous Stephen King novel adaptation, especially after THE SHINING miniseries, which was the famously opinionated author's attempt to erase Stanley Kubrick's legendary classic off the chalkboard (nice try, Stephen, but Steven Weber's don't know Jack)...<br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKEwl6n8aHmIzWq-379Tp9oL1PkfLtLANPSIjvx6Js06q-eTJk4OEZMULlFgACa4ZyynHi3kmMFER0ag1hWVbWPTQjiSkH4QtCgmepnwL_lRxbcbOO7u_jpDPl1O6AP4q7RQxxgPEUOiu/s1600/GueRjn4.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="510" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKEwl6n8aHmIzWq-379Tp9oL1PkfLtLANPSIjvx6Js06q-eTJk4OEZMULlFgACa4ZyynHi3kmMFER0ag1hWVbWPTQjiSkH4QtCgmepnwL_lRxbcbOO7u_jpDPl1O6AP4q7RQxxgPEUOiu/s400/GueRjn4.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>RekindledTVMovieScore: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Same thing happens here as the child version of the second Charlie doesn't follow what happened in the first; that which was more logical and suspenseful...<br /> <br /> For example, Malcolm McDowell takes George C. Scott's role, with half his face burned from what seemed his scorching barnyard death, and instead of the aforementioned deception between the first Raintree and Charlie — in this case, after the father gets shot on the street, McDowell's simply walks up and grabs her hand, replacing daddy — and she doesn't freak out?! <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: right;"> </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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCxuICQZDZjZKniU8u1s_RkQaEfhGEdjTMtmuGiUPtg6djFrfawhIPywXvtlQY0ZdC-kELt5tJtLz040vRgPdsT7e6hhdymM-6ineu9X3WtWI8E7CrQjBYRtBYvyAnSHyFT_A8KPteLlQr/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-05-28+at+11.06.54+PM.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1429" data-original-width="990" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCxuICQZDZjZKniU8u1s_RkQaEfhGEdjTMtmuGiUPtg6djFrfawhIPywXvtlQY0ZdC-kELt5tJtLz040vRgPdsT7e6hhdymM-6ineu9X3WtWI8E7CrQjBYRtBYvyAnSHyFT_A8KPteLlQr/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-05-28+at+11.06.54+PM.jpg" width="220" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>3/4ths of the DVD double feature</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> But this is really about the grownup twenty-something Charlie whose powers are sought to be REKINDLED by everyone but herself. The gorgeous (and yes, talented) former MIGHTY DUCKS child starlet Marguerite Moreau (coached by Emilio Estevez, first son of Martin Sheen, Barrymore's captor in the original) turns in a smooth performance despite way too many uneven, confusing, off-color flashbacks. And it's part romantic-soap as she's paired with a well-written but mediocre-acted standard handsome (and intentionally oblivious) employee of the agency tracking her down... <br /> <br /> <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOdTg2xHjPWahzjRym0M9sYKm2FM7uxecXVGd0k1VU9U03O4TKdf9qcYMoFawISbxqEZJxw1iRTRCT7Xhw92Qv_B0BWx69FG_F4rHlov4QJ0L5UsJ1bXAea_uu8vFOaijd0QiotfRjFi5/s1600/33780759_483553998740448_6132564067136569344_n.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="960" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKOdTg2xHjPWahzjRym0M9sYKm2FM7uxecXVGd0k1VU9U03O4TKdf9qcYMoFawISbxqEZJxw1iRTRCT7Xhw92Qv_B0BWx69FG_F4rHlov4QJ0L5UsJ1bXAea_uu8vFOaijd0QiotfRjFi5/s320/33780759_483553998740448_6132564067136569344_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>One of those devilish Stephen King adapted touches</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Whether taking place in a constructed small town main street, or the city that it purposefully mirrors (for the final battle), there's simply not enough fire... or victims of the flames... to go around...<br /> <br /> With sexy dark-grunge Charlie's powers more spoken and/or anticipated, the bedlam's handed to a group of boys who share her formidable gift, mentored by Raintree, yet are pretty weak in the antagonist department. Enough elements work, though, like an important cameo by Dennis Hopper (as a survivor of the initial test that screwed-up Charlie's parents); an effective hybrid of body count terror (still not horror); and with a more backseat yet still palpable element of sci-fi, this REKINDLED miniseries (with ten minutes trimmed for a movie-length DVD) is a ride worth burning through. At least once.<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAOikTf55Cs7VwWmMscdCN67-HvmfeZ-Wre6xd2rep-DudA_UlxwBmNgv-BHIm7zaqZ9LedAESPNw9vFhd28KVQMx51MOvHwX-g3mcWHrxI-6PllnwywA8CQQf-nv5mNfiV3E05kDHCUeE/s1600/2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="496" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAOikTf55Cs7VwWmMscdCN67-HvmfeZ-Wre6xd2rep-DudA_UlxwBmNgv-BHIm7zaqZ9LedAESPNw9vFhd28KVQMx51MOvHwX-g3mcWHrxI-6PllnwywA8CQQf-nv5mNfiV3E05kDHCUeE/s1600/2.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Cult Film Freak amigo Antonio "Huggy Bear" Fargas in a thrifty but important cameo as a cab driver</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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBLIiqzDTAcO4-TVGDAhtXX-vDoNwPtbzoUr2JH67Xq8S-MDazX8sdfpcitVB1xKtPIgAZON-I9UdBbt6FYXTywwiRIio_H6X4iUKL9s8Qw_UnS_l2KxaBL_l7VooYNm_uABlwXoExwSi/s1600/1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivBLIiqzDTAcO4-TVGDAhtXX-vDoNwPtbzoUr2JH67Xq8S-MDazX8sdfpcitVB1xKtPIgAZON-I9UdBbt6FYXTywwiRIio_H6X4iUKL9s8Qw_UnS_l2KxaBL_l7VooYNm_uABlwXoExwSi/s1600/1.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Raintree warming up to our little Firestarter Drew Barrymore, which is the epicenter of the movie</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div> <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gdpv5rWqCWpcwmKHCbYB7j8cif6w1emuotFSvjGAXFhIeAFYFmsL71bVDX6QnmDkaMa973b3OUTr_ztMBYZbtTrgEopR_IokcqWShdWtyVDxzUVN9IwjKL7VFh1H-cErscC86VxQv6Y-/s1600/3.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1297" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7gdpv5rWqCWpcwmKHCbYB7j8cif6w1emuotFSvjGAXFhIeAFYFmsL71bVDX6QnmDkaMa973b3OUTr_ztMBYZbtTrgEopR_IokcqWShdWtyVDxzUVN9IwjKL7VFh1H-cErscC86VxQv6Y-/s1600/3.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>When she was the cutest thing in the world, Heather Locklear meets future husband David Keith during THE Gov't test</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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9QedS8rlEn_gWIEggwiPUcRYmzCZcJACpeM4DHpwmoaNUo2qIKpZWsfaooboIlNKH3r6K3uWtEFco7PxsOcgPQXdow9bmCyxcJ91zRk5zzDlaBzaLvoFYrbSLPEKJvL5tDaUKebygkdV4/s1600/4.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="789" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9QedS8rlEn_gWIEggwiPUcRYmzCZcJACpeM4DHpwmoaNUo2qIKpZWsfaooboIlNKH3r6K3uWtEFco7PxsOcgPQXdow9bmCyxcJ91zRk5zzDlaBzaLvoFYrbSLPEKJvL5tDaUKebygkdV4/s1600/4.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Drew Barrymore David Keith Firestarter Drew Barrymore David Keith Drew Barrymore Firestarter</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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPeqm5Pis7mBuS_OG9pP9T0y1q83DYReoDaoY_GAOGs0m17YpJv223J9m7GSTqTV0PaB64J8k8QNxA1_VqnBRW2CDICei3lefE1tExYUVUtNqPqDNeu2nQ-6tYw4tyG3nXJrR9iiPQNi3/s1600/6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="494" data-original-width="947" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgPeqm5Pis7mBuS_OG9pP9T0y1q83DYReoDaoY_GAOGs0m17YpJv223J9m7GSTqTV0PaB64J8k8QNxA1_VqnBRW2CDICei3lefE1tExYUVUtNqPqDNeu2nQ-6tYw4tyG3nXJrR9iiPQNi3/s1600/6.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>George C. Scott's assassin's assasin Raintree takes aim at an unsuccessfully hidden away...</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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsMomY_hXH_sqHSPOa-ZAAAJQXSIa7Mc1ajf08Vdx8RxTr7Mue64lB_nGvLww63zVAPaKE63CKX9DZqYblpDllYYUbZ_kWLNS6LiUNBci-p2EdpQ0__FtofJxhF2MCtwwlTW9d_mVaxL3/s1600/7.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="427" data-original-width="747" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlsMomY_hXH_sqHSPOa-ZAAAJQXSIa7Mc1ajf08Vdx8RxTr7Mue64lB_nGvLww63zVAPaKE63CKX9DZqYblpDllYYUbZ_kWLNS6LiUNBci-p2EdpQ0__FtofJxhF2MCtwwlTW9d_mVaxL3/s1600/7.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Firestarter and father, who hid in a property that they own... Not very smart...</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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT98y_WebR8x5onKYcVXEYI2P3TSj72gie7cmG2470KpA4Uqb5wHYLf-lxSlTlo72BJS00_-WgF2b5txeFJ8emZxQWYMwLA2cGhdUFU96Ilw1jwcs-03gHsrdsTRAaRtJK0G6qwhefKNPy/s1600/66.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="506" data-original-width="960" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT98y_WebR8x5onKYcVXEYI2P3TSj72gie7cmG2470KpA4Uqb5wHYLf-lxSlTlo72BJS00_-WgF2b5txeFJ8emZxQWYMwLA2cGhdUFU96Ilw1jwcs-03gHsrdsTRAaRtJK0G6qwhefKNPy/s1600/66.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A terrific unfolding by director Mark L. Lester Firestarter as Agents appear out of trees... It's the evil E.T.</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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_0mA6z6BTJBTO6GUWXw3UMMP4IZ86uNbGcAfAiiYD5ADGo8N0-J8tKxeSBXCLa-Qd3WWMdyqMDlTWcraDGaA29FVK9O9xfRjs3klPYfzgnXJMzqeLJflV3VBZFJMjeV3YCfaHrtzq6es/s1600/33727687_483549908740857_977438697194520576_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="643" data-original-width="903" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2_0mA6z6BTJBTO6GUWXw3UMMP4IZ86uNbGcAfAiiYD5ADGo8N0-J8tKxeSBXCLa-Qd3WWMdyqMDlTWcraDGaA29FVK9O9xfRjs3klPYfzgnXJMzqeLJflV3VBZFJMjeV3YCfaHrtzq6es/s1600/33727687_483549908740857_977438697194520576_n.jpg" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>In The Shining, that power was compared to burning toast, so there it is, another King connection</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_N4SBNUHazwGlghEDB6IclVsDDXddFDRNk1gewGc11PMpCBQFSIOIYFYVrCMZ6FRdlB3THFMcN7ea_49gutdlhX5tBBIoEXcWtdf6xdh4Ka1WprGWjjFVvlcxntUqFLJELQQXnXdcvAH/s1600/DeRII-mV4AA2mQE.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="884" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC_N4SBNUHazwGlghEDB6IclVsDDXddFDRNk1gewGc11PMpCBQFSIOIYFYVrCMZ6FRdlB3THFMcN7ea_49gutdlhX5tBBIoEXcWtdf6xdh4Ka1WprGWjjFVvlcxntUqFLJELQQXnXdcvAH/s1600/DeRII-mV4AA2mQE.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>"Ha! Thanks... I had some photos at one point but have no idea where they are now. Appreciate it!"</u></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeI8yf0zkyUGMjdNs9fU52aff4U_Ef9l_VF8JlSbQzgdK3FKv9b_rkCAfAhlXLKOHkD1qSkshDeom3psWVzTKs5tr0GCjmXAYALY7IghyQuQyteGoA4dYDa40CbV0jMdgTPBVIA4akdyp1NLcwr_Pbganhl6_mMriCyJB8tBgxo3zFIh0K6ReDHyYnw/s1597/Screen%20Shot%202022-05-17%20at%2010.55.25%20PM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="771" data-original-width="1597" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibeI8yf0zkyUGMjdNs9fU52aff4U_Ef9l_VF8JlSbQzgdK3FKv9b_rkCAfAhlXLKOHkD1qSkshDeom3psWVzTKs5tr0GCjmXAYALY7IghyQuQyteGoA4dYDa40CbV0jMdgTPBVIA4akdyp1NLcwr_Pbganhl6_mMriCyJB8tBgxo3zFIh0K6ReDHyYnw/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202022-05-17%20at%2010.55.25%20PM.jpeg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u> Lisa Anne Barnes as Serviceman's Girlfriend in FIRESTARTER</u><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />

david keith, dennis hopper, drew barrymore, horror, malcolm mcdowell, mark l. lester, miniseries, science-fiction, sequel, tangerine dream, TV, zeroes

DOUBLE 'FIRESTARTER' FEATURE W/ ORIGINAL AND 'REKINDLED'

Heather Locklear and Drew Barrymore YEAR: 1984 FIRESTARTER : During what looks like a five-dollar opening credit sequence, the synth s...

FOUR PARAGRAPHS ON THE EPIC CLASSIC OF 'SCHINDLER'S LIST'

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4Kz26xwJgybF0aHwSlWfZvFkthoylUAX0Ske1dqKELcz9iv1yd46P_VSQ6qOR5IvTixfqnhDm8mc-WxN1LrLpE2WR7W7UnVV6iLkPNECi3pziLsFrtL1u7DEMUbK5ul8fbDk6jJOtM9J/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-05-28+at+3.36.35+AM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="1015" height="286" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE4Kz26xwJgybF0aHwSlWfZvFkthoylUAX0Ske1dqKELcz9iv1yd46P_VSQ6qOR5IvTixfqnhDm8mc-WxN1LrLpE2WR7W7UnVV6iLkPNECi3pziLsFrtL1u7DEMUbK5ul8fbDk6jJOtM9J/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-05-28+at+3.36.35+AM.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth in Schindler's List YEAR: 1993</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Especially before it gets really moving and downright tear-jerking, particularly with the girl-in-red and other exploitation (in a necessary fashion) sequences, SCHINDLER'S LIST is a brilliantly directed film by Steven Spielberg like Francis Ford Coppola's first two GODFATHER movies...<br> <br> In an opposite manner, the theory of an important subject matter more meaningful than the story... or making the story better for its meaningful purpose... doesn't apply to Spielberg's holocaust classic that, while epic in scope, centers tightly on specific characters, from Liam Neeson's titular Oskar Schindler to Ralph Fienne's worse-than-your-average-evil-Nazi Nazi, Goath (his deserved Best Supporting Actor robbed by Tommy Lee Jones's mainstream FUGITIVE role), which is one of the greatest performances of all time, seemingly inspired by Orson Welles's Harry Lime in THE THIRD MAN: both monsters humanly suffering the effects of an annoying cold when first (physically <i>and</i> audibly) introduced... And the nightmarish scene where a shirtless Goath takes idyllic sniper potshots at random Jews working around the camp, while managing to smoke a morning cigarette without use of his hands, is like watching Satan imitating Keith Richards, contentedly basking in his own perdition between encores and never ridding of his smoke...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1zANLT8C-Er-p2mtPcYhLNCFZwTJ1LStY74WRfPVhWKcZhtami0dTAxeDDGLOFZNK1WHUzKrCpAg0FGBu6W6lJ-aVZAk6el-lPgAxoeX-WMMGfnUXnw9re2mVEy-3mJo_t8LTbV8DLDA/s1600/schindlers-list.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="519" data-original-width="663" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP1zANLT8C-Er-p2mtPcYhLNCFZwTJ1LStY74WRfPVhWKcZhtami0dTAxeDDGLOFZNK1WHUzKrCpAg0FGBu6W6lJ-aVZAk6el-lPgAxoeX-WMMGfnUXnw9re2mVEy-3mJo_t8LTbV8DLDA/s400/schindlers-list.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ralph Fiennes in one of many infamous moments LISTScore: *****</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Meanwhile, any writeup of LIST can name names of actors since the whole cast fits perfectly within Spielberg's detailed, intimate framework: But Ben Kingsley's meek and mellow "sidekick" to Schindler's alpha male, womanizing, selfish Nazi entrepreneur turned lifesaving hero could only be so effectively peripheral by an actor who can (also) carry a picture with equal strength, and their side-side-characters are just as important...<br> <br> Of the inmates, around six are centered on, from married couples, young and old, to children, girls and boys, all creating a desperate though somehow hopeful atmosphere within a closely huddled, unbreakable, inseparable and even unimaginable bond (there's even some humor, from everyone including the villain) through the horrendous and palpable, true life tragedy that scriptwriter Steven Zaillian should receive equal significance along with Spielberg (who has failed without proper scripts). Thankfully the finished product, except maybe around fifteen minutes that could've used some trimming during the "I'll miss you most of all Scarecrow" epilogue (the hand-in-hand walking shot straight out of the Clark Gable disaster epic SAN FRANCISCO), makes SCHINDLER'S LIST a great Movie and not just a great Important History Lesson.<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTZwmvIaBkQUHyN-7-FPap5x6UsdgNB4CMIhmsM8IHHXlbYQVjtW8PKCYOu164h9eNBX7ZILce2OLoOaWYFtS6qcOy031AjxRuu9m4Hcie3TChgVkTXEPe9fXlIGDbYLg8Xg1hfofms6d/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-22+at+3.28.40+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1122" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghTZwmvIaBkQUHyN-7-FPap5x6UsdgNB4CMIhmsM8IHHXlbYQVjtW8PKCYOu164h9eNBX7ZILce2OLoOaWYFtS6qcOy031AjxRuu9m4Hcie3TChgVkTXEPe9fXlIGDbYLg8Xg1hfofms6d/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-22+at+3.28.40+AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Magdalena Dandourian is hot enough to get arrested for from SCHINDLER'S LIST</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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHYoQXipFJaNzv7yNIb28tnle69Fo3vZ_IHqnjbe1PHTjEfqMqgE36ulsTxVdeo-PNyjjsY5QywQk5LExHPUWiWKjT3exhV9gr9o2GFQnGVF7dTQWRKPlbqhU_Ca5UemJnfBQjt-Z0xS1/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-22+at+3.12.09+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="907" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcHYoQXipFJaNzv7yNIb28tnle69Fo3vZ_IHqnjbe1PHTjEfqMqgE36ulsTxVdeo-PNyjjsY5QywQk5LExHPUWiWKjT3exhV9gr9o2GFQnGVF7dTQWRKPlbqhU_Ca5UemJnfBQjt-Z0xS1/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-22+at+3.12.09+AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Magdalena Dandourian as the girl anyone would kiss from SCHINDLER'S LIST</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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xIdM30Tqd3OalxVyLLu3mA8o145MpH_RNGFgN92SXe4WK87Xi3R51iZoT8VVMDI2bUTPRISj0kkBboBMets5lzPg5JGfTg2DQdfHV4p_nGo5p0MxEC-lhngr_jzpT9Llm0fD6XEy_0IS/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-22+at+3.07.38+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="924" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3xIdM30Tqd3OalxVyLLu3mA8o145MpH_RNGFgN92SXe4WK87Xi3R51iZoT8VVMDI2bUTPRISj0kkBboBMets5lzPg5JGfTg2DQdfHV4p_nGo5p0MxEC-lhngr_jzpT9Llm0fD6XEy_0IS/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-22+at+3.07.38+AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ralph Fiennes and Embeth Davidtz "Is this the face of a rat" from SCHINDLER'S LIST</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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEAgMPy2hu0k_u-jpbDp2wXMQJQPGb9udm01qOxa0JSd-DhdJeVqEc84eEVYfUTNWXxqrO1pfncE0kXivNGAL96bc0btK-HdMG48P534FxdebgUF9rcwF3MEPWjaCVA37nsIv3Xx4FNPS/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-22+at+3.09.29+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1104" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEAgMPy2hu0k_u-jpbDp2wXMQJQPGb9udm01qOxa0JSd-DhdJeVqEc84eEVYfUTNWXxqrO1pfncE0kXivNGAL96bc0btK-HdMG48P534FxdebgUF9rcwF3MEPWjaCVA37nsIv3Xx4FNPS/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-22+at+3.09.29+AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ralph Fiennes and Embeth Davidtz "Is this the face of a rat" from SCHINDLER'S LIST</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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxid0jOKptx9Vi5InSVWLLS22KiK_PmKoNA4YGRGyZd0KSYr2vzw41e-s_RhtjRxPKKBTxZ0J14rZNOn2-Wmc3RpL_oC81Naw7hyphenhyphen8xxc0EQPi4oUQC5qh9Yin87vgfW1kgMYxiLMjaVDDi/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-22+at+1.35.19+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="983" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxid0jOKptx9Vi5InSVWLLS22KiK_PmKoNA4YGRGyZd0KSYr2vzw41e-s_RhtjRxPKKBTxZ0J14rZNOn2-Wmc3RpL_oC81Naw7hyphenhyphen8xxc0EQPi4oUQC5qh9Yin87vgfW1kgMYxiLMjaVDDi/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-22+at+1.35.19+AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Liam Neeson's title character testing secretaries is a tough time in Schindler's List</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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvS7yIlL8iKlGqnr2BOgZBnHbA3DhTECkkQ1CfD8cv9CO796g0KqcupQs8Eh32OUfZ8ZAC01BzCuqgI7hdUT5flWB9fIS1Lr1tCBVUtxGb8EyKZh24xRokEUlO8Q9POV-FeQ37chGXZBca/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-22+at+1.34.57+AM.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvS7yIlL8iKlGqnr2BOgZBnHbA3DhTECkkQ1CfD8cv9CO796g0KqcupQs8Eh32OUfZ8ZAC01BzCuqgI7hdUT5flWB9fIS1Lr1tCBVUtxGb8EyKZh24xRokEUlO8Q9POV-FeQ37chGXZBca/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-12-22+at+1.34.57+AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>But the most talented one, who can actually type, is far from his type... Schindler's List</u></td></tr> </tbody></table>

liam neeson, nineties, ralph fiennes, steven spielberg, war

FOUR PARAGRAPHS ON THE EPIC CLASSIC OF 'SCHINDLER'S LIST'

Ralph Fiennes as Amon Goeth in Schindler's List YEAR: 1993 Especially before it gets really moving and downright tear-jerking, parti...

CAROLE LOMBARD AND JACK BENNY STAR IN 'TO BE OR NOT TO BE'

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNK1XUAg-QxhDOOgsZUhevTjfgkWIapbduYsMUO87cEA9C48PbzZvUWEtHC6iABql_v4IPQL2T8SSSlo5I4wM1sx1qKnLoHFqz2bIr2nJDhqMquDRzz8kEvf_q916wkH1eYClhdow1sZVw/s1600/72980_front.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1207" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNK1XUAg-QxhDOOgsZUhevTjfgkWIapbduYsMUO87cEA9C48PbzZvUWEtHC6iABql_v4IPQL2T8SSSlo5I4wM1sx1qKnLoHFqz2bIr2nJDhqMquDRzz8kEvf_q916wkH1eYClhdow1sZVw/s400/72980_front.jpg" width="321"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: TO BE OR NOT TO BE Year: 1942 </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Ernst Lubitsch takes a complicated plot and with an easygoing acting style of the performers under tightly-wound direction, headed by Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, it flows from beginning to end as the ups and downs, curves, twists and turns provide both subtle humor and edgy suspense, centering on a group of stage actors in Poland before and during the Nazi takeover on the boot-heels of World War II...<br> <br> They must trick their antagonists into thinking Benny... who plays a hammy stage actor (exactly the opposite of his famously deadpan style)... is a scientist who's a traitor to the good guys and... well it really doesn't matter because TO BE OR NOT TO BE has to be seen, heard and concentrated on for the plot to make clear and interesting (as well as intriguing) sense...<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sQxBhYE83sNtDNC22lMQjfmTyyzHqy5eECMEpszGOECeZBn6fUeDLT6buGIXCY_YG9lxZbjMRWab9qTZ1bTW9rlcSjA8yVM4QpKTeEhqpAH2jJp55Tn6cF9eZwhx9BAjTUTmlM9JT3xOgi9Oj5d9v_bU6PbzsBCD1WuInp4U6yC6M7JhhyHvmaS8lg/s1277/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-17%20at%204.35.38%20AM.jpeg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1277" data-original-width="910" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1sQxBhYE83sNtDNC22lMQjfmTyyzHqy5eECMEpszGOECeZBn6fUeDLT6buGIXCY_YG9lxZbjMRWab9qTZ1bTW9rlcSjA8yVM4QpKTeEhqpAH2jJp55Tn6cF9eZwhx9BAjTUTmlM9JT3xOgi9Oj5d9v_bU6PbzsBCD1WuInp4U6yC6M7JhhyHvmaS8lg/w228-h320/Screen%20Shot%202023-05-17%20at%204.35.38%20AM.jpeg" width="228"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Movie Score: ****1/2<br></u></td></tr></tbody></table>More or less a con artist caper movie, and unlike the inferior <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2018/05/TBONTBee.html">Mel Brooks remake</a>, the Germans, while not exactly brilliant, are  genuinely imposing and formidable to instill enough danger for all the verbal laps to matter beyond hitting punchlines at the right moment...<br> <br> Although everything does rely on the actors-within-the-movie hitting their own marks for the ruse to work, hence the title taken after a pivotal line from William Shakespeare's Hamlet that, if spoken by a novice stage performer, can hinder the entire show...<br> <br> The fun's watching Benny trying to outdo his character's own lack of talent (scenes with German actor Sig Ruman work splendidly, as with Tom Dugan, who plays a fictional Hitler) while Lombard is the real trickster, weaving in and out of both the bad guys and a handsome young lieutenant Robert Stack (whose role is played by Tim Matheson in the Brooks remake, and both starred in another WWII comedy involving romance in a bomber plane, Steven Spielberg''s 1941): If anyone on board has the most work, it's Lombard... in what's sadly, tragically, her last picture. <br>

carole lombard, comedy, ernst lubitsch, espionage, forties, george lynn, jack benny, lionel atwill, nazi, parody, robert stack, romance, sig ruman, stanley ridges, tom dugan, war, world war II

CAROLE LOMBARD AND JACK BENNY STAR IN 'TO BE OR NOT TO BE'

Title: TO BE OR NOT TO BE Year: 1942 Ernst Lubitsch takes a complicated plot and with an easygoing acting style of the performers unde...

THURSDAY NIGHT REVIEW OF 'SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY'

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3fiZ5S-9O3GrQd4drU2nPMiD28b7oJSzPdkYEiG0IXXWvo_ImMfDQDUg11_7Gufv8JZfILLnCSlHxzUMHWpyGkWzUPPyZnc6gW1R-mrYOwW_XY_HtadYABcewf9YLxS2GfoCGFEJBBn6/s1600/solo-a-star-wars-story-4k-poster-sd.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1002" data-original-width="1600" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju3fiZ5S-9O3GrQd4drU2nPMiD28b7oJSzPdkYEiG0IXXWvo_ImMfDQDUg11_7Gufv8JZfILLnCSlHxzUMHWpyGkWzUPPyZnc6gW1R-mrYOwW_XY_HtadYABcewf9YLxS2GfoCGFEJBBn6/s400/solo-a-star-wars-story-4k-poster-sd.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Release: 2018</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> About as intense as watching someone play a video game, or playing one you've already mastered...  </blockquote> As is already known, Ron Howard had the task of correcting while directing SOLO — replacing the original filmmakers whose take was too comedic, or something that didn't gel with Lucasfilm's Kathleen Kennedy and writer Lawrence (partnered with son Jonathan) Kasdan: Could be those poor young filmmakers, who made the popular kid flicks LEGO MOVIE and CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS, put too much color into a story meant to be edgy and dark...<br> <br> <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNBqInMQGMLl-TrNmtvrw_0juQzWxP6rM_JeSUay1rqfRlxiWL17G75XsbDfev4qdVQ9TwmQw_B-2NcY5fck4EBiabgwWnq3IOOeCn-3-N0yykpPD7K9nRAUYBdEC-v7ytKQKtfHLAdHX/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-07-07+at+1.53.36+AM.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="750" data-original-width="244" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVNBqInMQGMLl-TrNmtvrw_0juQzWxP6rM_JeSUay1rqfRlxiWL17G75XsbDfev4qdVQ9TwmQw_B-2NcY5fck4EBiabgwWnq3IOOeCn-3-N0yykpPD7K9nRAUYBdEC-v7ytKQKtfHLAdHX/s320/Screen+Shot+2018-07-07+at+1.53.36+AM.jpg" width="104"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>A Pointy Falcon</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> If so, Ron Howard sure did darken it up, and not in a good BLADE RUNNER gloomy industrial kind of way. It's like looking outside a dirty window — at more dirt. And this galaxy doesn't seem all that far, far away like a fantasy-driven STAR WARS installment should. With human characters so immensely droll and mundane, every time the usual weird-looking alien pops up, it seems out of place and, for lack of a deeper, more insightful description, pretty stupid. <br> <br> But there's really only one big question for die-hard fans concerning this STAR WARS STORY. Does <i>He</i> live up to <i>Him</i>? Him meaning Harrison Ford and He meaning Alden Ehrenreich, not tall and deep-voiced but an irritating shrimp with a nasally whine, as if Leonardo DiCaprio were imitating Christian Slater channeling Jack Nicholson... <br> <br> With a filler girlfriend/crush (Emilia Clarke), and the gurgling Chewbacca at his side (after meeting in a fight scene that could've been decent given more logic in the first place), Ehrenreich doesn't even seem to be trying — for anything. His brand of cocky confidence is narrowed into a bratty grin. And while critics are praising Donald Glover's imitation of Lando Calrissian, he's got as much to do with the story as anyone on board: He's just there. And bored.<br> <br> <div style="text-align: right;"> </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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_Rx1x7GZKKRuKjUZa2tHVxpkSK9RFx5ywbBqj5jQ5OjMt3ZVAFhv7n__pSwFjaCjNMq4XA2hJ2OkIfpypWsIwOzVOm4EvSPrvBT7WIWECb7hXJKjTrSDFNb02c2__4F49TTOx1LFDrr2/s1600/rc_fandango_handout_13x19_v3_lg_1.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="361" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_Rx1x7GZKKRuKjUZa2tHVxpkSK9RFx5ywbBqj5jQ5OjMt3ZVAFhv7n__pSwFjaCjNMq4XA2hJ2OkIfpypWsIwOzVOm4EvSPrvBT7WIWECb7hXJKjTrSDFNb02c2__4F49TTOx1LFDrr2/s400/rc_fandango_handout_13x19_v3_lg_1.jpg" width="143"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>SoloMovieScore: *</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> With a non-existent plot involving several raids including a train robbery (why would tracks be needed in a world full of hovering vehicles?) to nab some kind of expensive gas to pay off a crime lord, the attempt for a pulpy pirate adventure is drowned-out by melodramatic pathos concerning slave labor, which happens on a pathetic, pretentious, manipulative loop. Even Lando's female robot literally screams for "equal rights"...<br> <br> And while Woody Harrelson tries his best as a semi-rogue named Beckett (the kind of clever/crooked mentor you'd think Solo would emulate to reach his maverick NEW HOPE persona), he's simply another ragged soul along for the ride. What's meant to be the most suspenseful scene is both a carbon-copy and contradiction of the Millennium Falcon asteroid-dodge in EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. The characters are either sitting on board the old reliable ship or flying it. Neither matters. It's about as intense as watching someone play a video game, or playing one you've already mastered...  <br> <br> While SOLO <i>seems</i> to be about how the experienced, world-weary smuggler acquired the guts to take big risks at a young age, Alden Ehrenreich plays him so bland and lazy, any intrepid skills seem merely built-in and unexplained during capers both simplistic and overly-complicated. But nothing's worse than the random pockets of embarrassingly awkward silences: Whether it be after Ehrenreich fouls-up yet another glib one-liner, or Chewbacca waiting passively for something meaningful to react to, Ron Howard, in attempting to resurrect a broken engine, has pieced together a vapid, sterile machine that's not just a let-down in the inevitable grade-curve of the STAR WARS franchise, but is simply a lousy, cheap-looking movie. Period. <br>

2018, action, adventure, alden ehrenreich, donald glover, emilia clarke, fantasy, franchise, new, ron howard, science-fiction, star wars, woody harrelson

THURSDAY NIGHT REVIEW OF 'SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY'

Year of Release: 2018 About as intense as watching someone play a video game, or playing one you've already mastered...  As is alr...

ARCHIVE SUMMARY REVIEW FOR 'RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK'

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5tJXg0mQ3ldAirFBggJKZk4T2v-tF4ehqQGyI7gQVRdFS2-Xdw2B2a87f-GsiF6gDDdE_swBSQqHJZRVHhmETcPed5iOzzfKXm2mMtloqRt22hvp8vT_qvlBeYbR6leXvHfSkqQENd22WD5HigM5Eo6os83iPHK7TL9y2KHDV576fq39IH4AM21hn7w/s681/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-12%20at%207.08.36%20PM%203.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="591" data-original-width="681" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5tJXg0mQ3ldAirFBggJKZk4T2v-tF4ehqQGyI7gQVRdFS2-Xdw2B2a87f-GsiF6gDDdE_swBSQqHJZRVHhmETcPed5iOzzfKXm2mMtloqRt22hvp8vT_qvlBeYbR6leXvHfSkqQENd22WD5HigM5Eo6os83iPHK7TL9y2KHDV576fq39IH4AM21hn7w/s320/Screen%20Shot%202023-03-12%20at%207.08.36%20PM%203.jpeg" width="320"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u> Raiders of the Lost Ark YEAR: 1981 *****</u></td></tr></tbody></table>Epic celebration of serial pulp adventures, George Lucas (and Philip Kaufman) created Indiana Jones, an intrepid archaeologist/college professor who, when he isn't being ogled by female students, goes in and out of foreign countries: not only retrieving artifacts but trying to keep them from the wrong hands...<br> <br> Harrison Ford brings "Indy" to life with humor as well as bravado. Karen Allen, as his female counterpart, is as tough as any man but delicate and vulnerable as well. The plot is simple: find the lost Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis, aided by French archaeologist Belloq (played with subtle villainy by Paul Freeman) or the sinister yet smiley Peter Lorre-style gangster, Toht. Director Steven Spielberg's mesmerizing camerawork carries our heroes from one perilous situation to the next. And brief pockets of essential downtime not only build the characters, but allows the next obstacle to mean that much more.<br> <table 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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnuDwhWt7KwkoPGsZtSCeYE2TEaXkf0SStc1JgI3VwLjwaGt_etBYh95Bz_E5UnVEDyrdZpLbIHucLzwWlL2mak_llKv-3xc-2VyLVP_W4tzDNKU4dcZZud0-icAbuwEaMIRWc01XdNGE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-05-24+at+11.44.43+AM.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="987" data-original-width="1453" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLnuDwhWt7KwkoPGsZtSCeYE2TEaXkf0SStc1JgI3VwLjwaGt_etBYh95Bz_E5UnVEDyrdZpLbIHucLzwWlL2mak_llKv-3xc-2VyLVP_W4tzDNKU4dcZZud0-icAbuwEaMIRWc01XdNGE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-05-24+at+11.44.43+AM.jpg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Harrison Ford as the day-job Professor Jones </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> <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3I5qjMePwpxUVaAOsZLzsTbq9cWiofh7TZT9TQG3TIOenC60Xh3BOVAKcUjTr4YSwi0lxJh_1LRrmEsxuENO3IT-u41fScL-30V31dVlOz8HF3tN4wzs8Q3gE-iKdIEGBGkpuL_2FU-V/s1600/11.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="698" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN3I5qjMePwpxUVaAOsZLzsTbq9cWiofh7TZT9TQG3TIOenC60Xh3BOVAKcUjTr4YSwi0lxJh_1LRrmEsxuENO3IT-u41fScL-30V31dVlOz8HF3tN4wzs8Q3gE-iKdIEGBGkpuL_2FU-V/s1600/11.jpg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>One of the great all-time movie villains, twice: Paul Freeman and Ronald Lacey with captured Karen Allen</u></td></tr> </tbody></table>

action, adventure, denholm elliott, eighties, franchise, george lucas, harrison ford, karen allen, steven spielberg

ARCHIVE SUMMARY REVIEW FOR 'RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK'

Raiders of the Lost Ark YEAR: 1981 ***** Epic celebration of serial pulp adventures, George Lucas (and Philip Kaufman) created Indiana Jon...

ARCHIVE REVIEW OF HAN SOLO AT STARS' END BY BRIAN DALEY

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2203p4xaRrb77VwZAAE5JRINDJxlhIEWkddt-G76yy_WFejpLvqpwo2oVEpTdrB0Fq_2p-u7kCAdqHp8MZkTJTH6Xuz7x7D7zIBzhWdxxpC0ZUJjIhk15_GZP79-BfyDVv3GWqANcMQj/s1600/star-wars-han-solo-at-stars-end.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="417" data-original-width="670" height="248" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji2203p4xaRrb77VwZAAE5JRINDJxlhIEWkddt-G76yy_WFejpLvqpwo2oVEpTdrB0Fq_2p-u7kCAdqHp8MZkTJTH6Xuz7x7D7zIBzhWdxxpC0ZUJjIhk15_GZP79-BfyDVv3GWqANcMQj/s400/star-wars-han-solo-at-stars-end.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>HAN SOLO AT STARS' END review archived from 2008</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> After STAR WARS came out, kids wanted everything to do with the characters, even following their lives before and after the film: And here we have fan-favs Han Solo and Chewbacca on their own adventure(s), in book form, pre Death Star battle, and there's enough action and suspense to pull the ears off a... you know the rest...<br> <br> Han's out to free captives, including his furry sidekick, from a remote prison planet called Stars' End. Before and after the proverbial tractor beam pulls us into fulfilling this main plot, there are plenty of close-calls, dog fights, fist fights, and tons of action as the writing flows swift and neatly. Sometimes corny but never too much. You almost always have a gallant footing of time and place (and space): STARS' END would have made an excellent movie. And so, since nothing can touch the original trilogy, let's hope, at the very least, that SOLO (reviewed tomorrow) lives up to this cult book trilogy by Brian Daley: three in all followed by HAN SOLO'S REVENGE and HAN SOLO AND THE LOST LEGACY.<br>

book review, fantasy, science-fiction, seventies, star wars

ARCHIVE REVIEW OF HAN SOLO AT STARS' END BY BRIAN DALEY

HAN SOLO AT STARS' END review archived from 2008 After STAR WARS came out, kids wanted everything to do with the characters, even f...

TOM BERENGER & DEBRA WINGER IN 'BETRAYED' WITH TED LEVINE

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzHW_KN2Y_7XQhBbhyn0c6Jf9LN2r5XLManMQXMciqThl6-tQXp0chhTfQ7MmK6kbnRB4NAdXKhOV8v5e0vVg2Kwz1Zf9cuBfYnW8-VTIa9jFqpQnM3xk80Mwu7x7KgmblU3zOGxAdy4CN/s1600/32730219_478057899290058_8591881358941356032_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="614" data-original-width="924" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzHW_KN2Y_7XQhBbhyn0c6Jf9LN2r5XLManMQXMciqThl6-tQXp0chhTfQ7MmK6kbnRB4NAdXKhOV8v5e0vVg2Kwz1Zf9cuBfYnW8-VTIa9jFqpQnM3xk80Mwu7x7KgmblU3zOGxAdy4CN/s400/32730219_478057899290058_8591881358941356032_n.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tom Beranger and his dog Ronnie in Betrayed YEAR: 1988</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> A highly entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable film about an FBI agent, played by the always reliable on screen (yet supposedly monstrous off-screen) Debra Winger, who goes undercover to white bread Farmland USA (as a combine driver) to learn about a man, played by Tom Berenger, who might not only be racist, but responsible for murdering a controversial Jewish disc jockey (Howard Stern sans any charm or humor)...<br> <br> She begins to fall for Tom while slowly realizing he's not just a handsome farmer/family man, and yet remains optimistically skeptical about his involvement in the case until... something happens, less than an hour in and much too quickly, that just about ruins the film: He takes her on a group "hunting trip" — for a human, not animal, target: This scene's obvious purpose is so the audience can hate Tom's character — after all, he and his pals are likable, and in some aspects, being part of the neglected working class, relatable (a natural, low-key performance by John Mahoney adds to that)...<br>

debra winger, drama, eighties, john mahoney, ted levine, tom berenger

TOM BERENGER & DEBRA WINGER IN 'BETRAYED' WITH TED LEVINE

Tom Beranger and his dog Ronnie in Betrayed YEAR: 1988 A highly entertaining, thoroughly enjoyable film about an FBI agent, played by ...

MEL BROOKS & ANNE BANCROFT REMAKE 'TO BE OR NOT TO BE'

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyldTe2uDO0aKQVaxYcBTBxfZKEIRb2_J1v93UvLRHAeEpwrp_3Hh-9wVFVqd8uITL_jRQl_N0ZbiKOfaXFUA8ofUH3sDOE1dAJTkBxLFEl4Ht045IBbThDVmY_250Bb_vrqh7bPXSlJJe/s1600/BDDefinition-ToBeOrNotToBe-b-1080-800x450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="494" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyldTe2uDO0aKQVaxYcBTBxfZKEIRb2_J1v93UvLRHAeEpwrp_3Hh-9wVFVqd8uITL_jRQl_N0ZbiKOfaXFUA8ofUH3sDOE1dAJTkBxLFEl4Ht045IBbThDVmY_250Bb_vrqh7bPXSlJJe/s400/BDDefinition-ToBeOrNotToBe-b-1080-800x450.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Mel Brooks makes a Bust of Hitler SCORE: **1/2 Year: 1982</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Starts out decently enough, and surprisingly different for Mel Brooks to direct a remake: something that isn't a parody of a serious genre or a humorous take on historical events... <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <br> But then the set up, of a husband and wife who are famous stage performers in Poland who, when Hitler takes over, has to close up their theater, becomes an overlong skit involving Brooks and real-life wife Anne Bancroft, with the aid of a sad throwaway role by ANIMAL HOUSE star Tim Matheson as a love-struck soldier: The entire menagerie playing an elaborate scheme on the Nazis that gets way too complicated for it's own good in this remake of a Jack Benny 1940's vehicle (when ensemble comedies were the norm)... Not only do all the wires get tangled up within each other, there's way too many to begin with. And it's understandable turning the Nazis into complete buffoons, especially when spoofing them... but in doing so it takes away any valid threat, making it meaningless to have to trick or defeat them in the first place.<br> <br>

anne bancroft, comedy, mel brooks, nazi, remake, tim matheson, world war II

MEL BROOKS & ANNE BANCROFT REMAKE 'TO BE OR NOT TO BE'

Mel Brooks makes a Bust of Hitler SCORE: **1/2 Year: 1982 Starts out decently enough, and surprisingly different for Mel Brooks to dire...

GARY BUSEY TAKES FULL EIGHTIES CHARGE IN 'BULLETPROOF'

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7N3ENRi9zRE0WAynSpuAkrq5q7dETVINbNbFZYnwtQ1NXj5Bixe2r4Qu7yZsqNwC3RYk3bctTIJHQArbqJ_CR1MxJvg0xveCFE-h3S-Lc1EI86-c8pQZEiT5Zj8q2Yc868zo1EO8AhPeX/s1600/PDVD_145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="448" data-original-width="650" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7N3ENRi9zRE0WAynSpuAkrq5q7dETVINbNbFZYnwtQ1NXj5Bixe2r4Qu7yZsqNwC3RYk3bctTIJHQArbqJ_CR1MxJvg0xveCFE-h3S-Lc1EI86-c8pQZEiT5Zj8q2Yc868zo1EO8AhPeX/s400/PDVD_145.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Release: 1988 Bulletproof Gary Busey Rating: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Guns blasting, buildings exploding, cars crashing, and that's just the first ten minutes: This action-packed film involving a rogue ex-CIA bad ass who can't seem to die no matter how many times he's shot (hence the title) is pretty decent...<br> <br> Tough and toothy Gary Busey, usually cast as a villain in these kind of flicks, has his usual crazy charm, yet is a tad more subdued: after all he's carrying the entire show: Which doesn't take away from supporting roles by William Smith, Luke Askew, Henry Siliva and several other "forgotten" character-actors. Meanwhile, there are enough smaller action sequences to hold up the entire mainline: Busey has to free a group of "kidnapped" American military elites and return a high-tech "supertank" (shown above) back to the States. But does America deserve this formidable killing machine any more than the bad guys? This question is raised, of course, like in any film centering on the CIA... but without getting preachy. <br>

action, eighties, gary busey, william smith

GARY BUSEY TAKES FULL EIGHTIES CHARGE IN 'BULLETPROOF'

Year of Release: 1988 Bulletproof Gary Busey Rating: *** Guns blasting, buildings exploding, cars crashing, and that's just the fir...

ERIK ESTRADA GOES (FOR) BROKE IN THE FINAL 'CHIPS' SEASON

<div style="text-align: right;"> </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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVbMF6UZPRCn1rWUj0iim8sbU8R0nSn9mVuY0S2dST2AV7_qhF_vGZIpMMHbsJcoD-xMWvOVnBuU1J6zw16D0X6d1J6ZWblUA9j4eLYGClg-EGUwYkBAFgQnToDYOeGq3hjA6KzxHCHAY/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="978" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDVbMF6UZPRCn1rWUj0iim8sbU8R0nSn9mVuY0S2dST2AV7_qhF_vGZIpMMHbsJcoD-xMWvOVnBuU1J6zw16D0X6d1J6ZWblUA9j4eLYGClg-EGUwYkBAFgQnToDYOeGq3hjA6KzxHCHAY/s400/2.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Tom Reilly gets the first Season 6 episode named for him 10/10/1982</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> No one wants to remember Tom Reilly on CHIPS. He was the blond-haired guy, looking straight out of central casting, who replaced the show's metronomic foundation, Larry Wilcox as Officer Jon Baker and yet, in the life of Reilly, CHIPS remains a pinnacle... at least when scrolling down his IMDb Book of Life. But it wasn't <i>all</i> his fault...<br> <br> The role of Office Bobby 'Hot Dog' Nelson was probably more shameful to fans of the series than the man himself, who, for a year, financially benefited from Larry's exit (Jon split to work the family ranch, but actually, the show first Jumped The Shark in Season 5's Battle of the Bands), which left a sad empty space on the L.A. freeway next to Erik Estrada's Frank 'Ponch' Poncherello, who really didn't seem to notice there was a gap to fill at all...<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFGL5kXL79zEiRz6813FjU8Il673V6gQiXllaM7qnL2qAbMADXEBG_F5L_wdxwe6frKvVAjweJqfxU_w42mddhfCayjMT6kpkS8PTHRsrQ8Szo48hzsJ7hOH0tA8BJM4bqQnzfcpERhGEP/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-05-11+at+9.44.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="680" height="355" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFGL5kXL79zEiRz6813FjU8Il673V6gQiXllaM7qnL2qAbMADXEBG_F5L_wdxwe6frKvVAjweJqfxU_w42mddhfCayjMT6kpkS8PTHRsrQ8Szo48hzsJ7hOH0tA8BJM4bqQnzfcpERhGEP/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-05-11+at+9.44.33+PM.png" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Erik Estrada needed to take it off to covering his partner's departure</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> His macho Ponch got worse along in Season Six, and is really more to blame than his new wimpy partner...<br> <br> Flipping the script, Hot Dog (who'd soon be joined by another blond rookie, Bruce Penhall, who was actually more likeable) was supposed to be what Ponch was in the first season: A devil-may-care rookie that experienced California Highway Patrolman Jon Baker had to take care of/keep an eye on...<br> <br> No matter how hard Estrada, once a talented and legitimate character-actor in vehicles such as THE NEW CENTURIONS, tried to win over fans, male and females alike (and not in that order) from his mellow and patiently understanding, sandy-blond (and let's face it, completely lipless) mentor Baker, they remained an equal pair. In fact, Wilcox might be more beloved, in retrospect... Especially since he didn't try so hard to be famous-beyond-the-program concerned. And some girls, to this day, actually admit: "It was Jon we liked all along." Ponch simply tried too hard... <br> <br> <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_apu7Hmv1IQFU0DpzsMf8uIHy7QgKrHO-l_Y2jGiz3WXFnla-QBsN6yVQ04R1OU2LDVWAzhNpxJuwSAsDybvf1uFCZ8tlZ0kjSmEkwI-F_HG5lqWvdtBOg9hR1wvpiJQLc-K8rd-2RNS/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="485" data-original-width="375" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9_apu7Hmv1IQFU0DpzsMf8uIHy7QgKrHO-l_Y2jGiz3WXFnla-QBsN6yVQ04R1OU2LDVWAzhNpxJuwSAsDybvf1uFCZ8tlZ0kjSmEkwI-F_HG5lqWvdtBOg9hR1wvpiJQLc-K8rd-2RNS/s400/4.jpg" width="308"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Richard Simmons on top of Erik Estrada</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Yet, to be fair, Estrada is merely paint on the pop culture canvas: the writers are to blame for him becoming The Fonz of CHIPS: As BATTLESTAR GALACTICA actor Richard 'Apollo' Hatch said (paraphrased from a Cult Film Freak interview) of Dirk 'Starbuck' Benedict, the bad guys always get the best lines. Especially since the good guy is just Plain/Average Good while the Bad Boys are not really Bad since their Inner-Good relies on a sympathetic underdog quality that provides more dimension than otherwise. But when the final season of CHIPS came around, Estrada had no dimension at all... And we noticed, and cringed...<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAvX525sy3mkFzxi87CpA3t1ufbnD7bOF2P2giThKU3dO2Ov6K5iOB7tOP4eFsbfMEMueegGfA08WbCwuCog7FOd-Bp1K5o0SO7pY-vsCHmlvkOEQ3AY4ZoQaE3fIJNxOIbUUQwa7wfGv/s1600/Screen+Shot+2018-05-11+at+9.48.26+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="245" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAAvX525sy3mkFzxi87CpA3t1ufbnD7bOF2P2giThKU3dO2Ov6K5iOB7tOP4eFsbfMEMueegGfA08WbCwuCog7FOd-Bp1K5o0SO7pY-vsCHmlvkOEQ3AY4ZoQaE3fIJNxOIbUUQwa7wfGv/s400/Screen+Shot+2018-05-11+at+9.48.26+PM.png" width="157"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Camp Value: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> This final season's intro episode (a reverse Pilot) is titled MEET THE NEW GUY, and other than a few rebellious wheelies on his part, we hardly do at all. Not like there was anyone to meet other than a bland fleshful of mediocrity to give Ponch the sort of King-Takes-Pawn presence he'd always (seemed to) have wanted: Making more use of his Spanish Sex Symbol persona. Prime example...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> After working-out in an aerobics class that <i>just happens</i> to be run by fatty-fitness guru Richard Simmons (surrounded by a melodramatic plot involving a desperate young mom played by Dominique Dunne), he winds up, while muscularly shirtless in short-shorts, taking off on his daylight motorcycle after the usual feathered-haired villains (the next episode he "reluctantly" winds up a billboard male supermodel)...<br> <br> The episode should've been titled <i>The Beginning of the End</i> since we're witnessing an actor's career that didn't have a chance: Had CHIPS ended after Season Five, there could've been more mystery beyond the campy pinup "Mexploitation" that took over, possibly providing Estrada a career beyond straight-to-video action flicks or guest roles on random dramas, Mexican soap operas, or playing himself on sitcoms. But Amazon Prime members should start watching this awesomely embarrassing Sixth Season first, and then, after realizing how genuinely bad the show got, return to the rudimentary stages to discover: This famously bad series wasn't (isn't) bad at all.<br>

andra evans, cop, dominique dunne, eighties, erik estrada, larry wilcox, TV

ERIK ESTRADA GOES (FOR) BROKE IN THE FINAL 'CHIPS' SEASON

Tom Reilly gets the first Season 6 episode named for him 10/10/1982 No one wants to remember Tom Reilly on CHIPS. He was the blond-hai...

CULT STARLET JUDY BROWN PLAYS 'A WOMAN FOR ALL 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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-nG3P2jFDvAf_dVBNkchCfO3V467bZpvtopZ5bTyakADe2uloKNy62_bwcWMyvmoRTJ9Czk7HYw1AwICx5R0ZooBzkMqfTUnLsMa7KCGDZp-53c5hmmlA6qmZk1Dvssq-FzUKW4TAsAi/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1119" data-original-width="1600" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN-nG3P2jFDvAf_dVBNkchCfO3V467bZpvtopZ5bTyakADe2uloKNy62_bwcWMyvmoRTJ9Czk7HYw1AwICx5R0ZooBzkMqfTUnLsMa7KCGDZp-53c5hmmlA6qmZk1Dvssq-FzUKW4TAsAi/s400/0.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year of Release is the Nineteen-Seventies by proof of the telephone</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The fact a sexpot from Roger Corman women-in-prison flicks (directed by Jack Hill)  could hold more power and importance over Andy Robinson and Keenan Wynn is proof that the seventies were far from over... In fact, racy drive-in vehicles from the infamously dirty decade were going through an awkward and contrived mid-life crisis...<br> <br> That same summer, 1975, a giant shark named JAWS was devouring audiences in record-breaking numbers. Because of this "bigger boat," it was up to smaller theaters to suit those embarrassed to frequent porno houses: Sitting on the fence were a pileup of R-Rated wannabe X's, and most were pretty bad: Enter Judith Brown, star of THE BIG DOLL HOUSE and WOMEN IN CAGES when she was billed as Judy (whose name seemed to change with a haircut), playing the title character with a title that's exploitation enough: A WOMAN FOR ALL MEN...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKCspbFRRZ8Lv0nAKASORNyzprUuwV-IZVquAk3jLLQOgIaDFIac9N0ikG6x1yBfB1Ve0KlbXe_ASAmv9n1Y-LrDvDWPCrG_Mntm0b8YwGhWeNumER64USsD_lA_6vrOg2uxwfLoCXuAp/s1600/77.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="935" data-original-width="494" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilKCspbFRRZ8Lv0nAKASORNyzprUuwV-IZVquAk3jLLQOgIaDFIac9N0ikG6x1yBfB1Ve0KlbXe_ASAmv9n1Y-LrDvDWPCrG_Mntm0b8YwGhWeNumER64USsD_lA_6vrOg2uxwfLoCXuAp/s400/77.jpg" width="211"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>ExploitaScore: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> The basic though tangled plot has the usual grouchy millionaire marrying a young beauty. In this case the rich dick is Kennan Wynn, who owns a construction company where his two sons, played by "The Scorpio Killer" Robinson and blue-eyed oddball Peter INGLORIOUS BASTARDS Hooten, work hard outdoors without cozy office jobs, providing enough frustration in what's already predictably forced into the overall Film Noir template...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <div style="text-align: right;"> </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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRpXEfh9e-7De5QJ3DlLLzXX7DggC6jfYv_nvpfjpLbotWagBErHoNOWvoXcifMxpUYKivLrCy5FoK10SSv6iXvqhoemzVbjF4QRrgDrCAdXDeiIet2paIZvstQrEKQ1fccl_NfMXFumI/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1178" data-original-width="725" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjRpXEfh9e-7De5QJ3DlLLzXX7DggC6jfYv_nvpfjpLbotWagBErHoNOWvoXcifMxpUYKivLrCy5FoK10SSv6iXvqhoemzVbjF4QRrgDrCAdXDeiIet2paIZvstQrEKQ1fccl_NfMXFumI/s400/8.jpg" width="245"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Judith or Judy Brown</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Soon enough, oldest son and dad's trophy wife hook up and, like TAROT starring Sue Lyon and Gloria Graham a few years earlier, it's the heart-of-gold housekeeper (a respectfully aged Lois Hall) who begins figuring things out: along with dad's only-daughter played by Patty Bodeen, a blue-eyed, round-faced, pouting beauty who should have been in a lot more of these kitschy thrillers... Her melodramatic gusto really fits when needed: And with more dialogue than action, anything spontaneous is welcome to wake things up: Especially since Brown, usually the "straight woman" of Corman films, has to remain firm and one-dimensional in the lead role.<br> <br> The suspense builds nicely but it's almost too late once the viewer gets lethargically captured. Then again, random twists and turns occur too soon for the essential "boiling point" to amount to anything beyond a reason for square-jawed Brown to shed her clothes (in an ongoing homemade film within this film). And yet, with recognizable actors Don Porter as Wynn's lawyer and Alex Rocco as the inevitable snoopy cop, this WOMAN is better than one might think. Perhaps those who had served in classic crime heaven (the likes of THE GODFATHER, THE MECHANIC and CHARLEY VARRICK) lacked the usual guilt while reigning in this sizzling perdition of super-low-budget fare.<br>

andy robinson, exploitation, judy brown, keenan wynn, neo noir, peter hooten

CULT STARLET JUDY BROWN PLAYS 'A WOMAN FOR ALL MEN'

Year of Release is the Nineteen-Seventies by proof of the telephone The fact a sexpot from Roger Corman women-in-prison flicks (directed...

CONNECTING 'STAR WARS' WHILE REVIEWING 'THE DAM 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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiHYbrBOoiD8OUeql0bn4wN-FyxypfuFp3alml77_yKOhG4zaYAHUkaY4FnRmX_CbDcJNoNSIluBQE0OrX-FgWf4xpwAFpLL1Pw9Iy8AuycgEo-rLKFKYGBvRqaxRk-L1Akhw-UnNnyv4/s1600/a83a7fadf0f3f5e7892b8a9b91a152e4+2.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="296" data-original-width="498" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiHYbrBOoiD8OUeql0bn4wN-FyxypfuFp3alml77_yKOhG4zaYAHUkaY4FnRmX_CbDcJNoNSIluBQE0OrX-FgWf4xpwAFpLL1Pw9Iy8AuycgEo-rLKFKYGBvRqaxRk-L1Akhw-UnNnyv4/s400/a83a7fadf0f3f5e7892b8a9b91a152e4+2.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Titlte: THE DAM BUSTERS Year: 1955 Rates: ***<br></u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Director Michael Anderson's LOGAN'S RUN is a sci-fi classic with special effects that were blown away a year later by STAR WARS... But Anderson had something on George Lucas since two decades earlier, his WWII flick THE DAMN BUSTERS gave STAR WARS its Death Star dogfight finale...<br> <br> <div style="text-align: left;"> </div> DAM begins with a determined, talky Michael Redgrave as Doctor B. N. Wallis coming up with a plan that is so dissected up front it gets a bit tedious, and perhaps intentionally irritating, as various tests keep failing and failing. Which is to have low-flying planes (the pilots equipped with a Lucasfilm-familiar moveable targeting-view-screen) drop bombs that wind up "rock-skipping" across a long stretch of water until exploding at the wall of, ultimately, a German dam — to succeed, they <i>must</i> hit the <i>sweet spot</i>...<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5qelW83AVnPm1F7_2zh0k8rPrIeajmv8g-aj53SCzQb_JISOg0oWrYLnbC_nNjRX-d7Q-MCskKxGy7dTpL6gGMvqEhNapsIJFd9mhH-sWDDuoOxqFn_p8TscCQJy5BhwgPMFlhe-2uE6/s1600/5.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="770" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx5qelW83AVnPm1F7_2zh0k8rPrIeajmv8g-aj53SCzQb_JISOg0oWrYLnbC_nNjRX-d7Q-MCskKxGy7dTpL6gGMvqEhNapsIJFd9mhH-sWDDuoOxqFn_p8TscCQJy5BhwgPMFlhe-2uE6/s400/5.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Robert Shaw prepares The Dam Busters flight </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Once the bomb is dropped, the planes, like STAR WARS' X-Wing fighters, fly up and veer off diagonally as the pilots, led by Richard Todd's Wing Commander Guy Gibson (with a non-famous Robert Shaw as one of his men), turns to look at the target (with the dam visible outside the cockpit window) in a similar fashion... relieved if hit, morose if missed... as the Rebel Rogue pilots. While historically this is far, far more important, Lucas provides an edgier, more vibrant, hearty and spontaneous pace... <br> <br> Other problems concerning DAM BUSTERS (besides Gibson's black lab being named... The N-Word, which is spoken around twenty times) is the lack of suspense after each plane attempts glory. Despite several misses, the near-victory feels obvious, predictable. But what's really distracting are the flashes of cartoon-like ground-fire from Germans below that, sticking to our comparison, dart forward like lasers coming off The Death Star canons or Tie Fighters. Only here there aren't any German planes to dodge and blast. It's only those three damn dams, making it difficult for the audience to keep score, or know exactly <i>what</i> is going on. Only why.  <br>

bio, england, michael anderson, michael redgrave, robert shaw, star wars, war, world war II

CONNECTING 'STAR WARS' WHILE REVIEWING 'THE DAM BUSTERS'

Titlte: THE DAM BUSTERS Year: 1955 Rates: *** Director Michael Anderson's LOGAN'S RUN is a sci-fi classic with special effects t...

RALPH MACCHIO & WILLIAM ZABKA (KICK) BACK ON 'COBRA KAI'

<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KflqRG6pKrYf9Ik_6b71c7W0BuGBZ5oAjBBDzSNisC-ndJz3XvgGXGftIQQMS_bTLEvVmsz9RA6_K5GHXS1o7OntascO3g6OXnt2T30IlyXozs8GtjppyVc_EpxCFxVEmVEYgdTRCuTd/s1600/Dont%252BTreak%252Bon%252BCobra%252BKai.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="353" data-original-width="597" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7KflqRG6pKrYf9Ik_6b71c7W0BuGBZ5oAjBBDzSNisC-ndJz3XvgGXGftIQQMS_bTLEvVmsz9RA6_K5GHXS1o7OntascO3g6OXnt2T30IlyXozs8GtjppyVc_EpxCFxVEmVEYgdTRCuTd/s400/Dont%252BTreak%252Bon%252BCobra%252BKai.jpg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The bad guy's logos are always the coolest YEAR: 2018</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Using the Sympathy for the Devil approach, COBRA KAI takes the two most memorable young (male) characters from THE KARATE KID and pits them against each other, again, thirty-four-years later...<br> <br> Ralph Macchio's once humble underdog hero Daniel is now a filthy rich (and initially banal) car salesman who uses former trainer Mr. Miyagi's philosophy, including an item he gives to each customer, in a very shallow manner: But the real star is an actor that, albeit never a household name (except for extreme movie geeks), played a character that, despite there having been two <i>Ralph Macchio with Pat Morita</i> KARATE KID sequels with their own set of villains, is the one (led by Martin Kove's nefarious Sensei) that really mattered... Or, <i>matters</i>...  <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU4KA-256lV2jEkLD3VtXWOO5NDWp_oCr9eXOUw5GzYkddibNTy0wEO9quT4yq6jblUUBsiranXv7iXg0FoMeic2IeoF57SIOP5pfVTGIKLz9WdjrKUsWuGESYNvU5aSOaz3mH29GimUNA/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="373" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU4KA-256lV2jEkLD3VtXWOO5NDWp_oCr9eXOUw5GzYkddibNTy0wEO9quT4yq6jblUUBsiranXv7iXg0FoMeic2IeoF57SIOP5pfVTGIKLz9WdjrKUsWuGESYNvU5aSOaz3mH29GimUNA/s320/8.jpg" width="212"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Again, William Zabka as Johnny</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> KAI takes Zabka's one-dimensional bully character and retrofits him with the new kind of quick-glib persona, humorously derailing what would otherwise be considered mean-spirited or racist (with a sort of Aaron Paul vibe, somehow). He does an incredible job playing a fifty-something has-been nobody to not only feel for but root for: And that's not<i> rooting so he'll win</i>, like we did for Macchio in KID. Because the further Zabka's once popular and perfectly blond-haired, blue-eyed Johnny dives into a spiral, the better his character is — it's what the show's really all about. Not some predictable redemption of a former bully but the progression of a once unapologetic, narrow-minded jerk being able to remain one in a likable, natural, and even relatable fashion. <br> <br> <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQtMFFyzfjzHNzjr8GdzeygPT1IlF1rhJMqxxWRT1c_ZQtEBtuqOcVWD9T8qvtOrMUnAiP3cTST63kkZZhgKwdXJp07_0px7Zsj8ytjpQO5-KqP3LNSM9vkEUNc1OhPkqFpJ-EieYE99F/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="356" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxQtMFFyzfjzHNzjr8GdzeygPT1IlF1rhJMqxxWRT1c_ZQtEBtuqOcVWD9T8qvtOrMUnAiP3cTST63kkZZhgKwdXJp07_0px7Zsj8ytjpQO5-KqP3LNSM9vkEUNc1OhPkqFpJ-EieYE99F/s320/9.jpg" width="202"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ralph Macchio as Daniel, again</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Overall, with these kind of binge shows, it's impossible to write too much since there are twists and turns around each and every corner, and spoilers aren't good, but to rate this solely on a serial-cliffhanger foundation (going back to pulp magazines before cinema even existed), it's more addicting after (and even during) the first two (free on YouTube) episodes than most shows on Netflix and Amazon that constantly force viewers to become proverbial junkies much too quickly, and obviously. And despite the "we really miss our youth" media surrounding the series, KAI isn't just a house built on nostalgia...<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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEMqpHEeJocW1EVYmOtoMC2afFPyplS8zmmJjISDQ-pWPeznNdSCnBMn58Wc0MMIWwzdjEHYWcFW9yRdS26nVeknE7w3ykbGPVyTQ56qz6xbSqIGNPPRPsUE3mbSFthq-2rEx47aehuBo/s1600/98.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="193" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmEMqpHEeJocW1EVYmOtoMC2afFPyplS8zmmJjISDQ-pWPeznNdSCnBMn58Wc0MMIWwzdjEHYWcFW9yRdS26nVeknE7w3ykbGPVyTQ56qz6xbSqIGNPPRPsUE3mbSFthq-2rEx47aehuBo/s320/98.jpg" width="176"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The quintessential bully</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> In fact, they play one flashback too many of the John G. Avildsen classic, taking away from these old (and new i.e. young and ironically similar in a "turn the script around" fashion) characters involved in something... dare it be said... even better than its origin. Well, at least more realistic...<br> <br> <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://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2nRlnOz8Lf8k8HtEtsJ9TCNz4lRkgLbfwO8DD3hmKfZ1qYYs-4A3f09OPJwZ2mr3KqnZpfwKxZrUr9fpjTS9IN2TLd3kvUbBxPUCfwbk9jr61u3gyS-0XgNxMWrYPRgPuPZn6W00FTP0e/s1600/99.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="214" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2nRlnOz8Lf8k8HtEtsJ9TCNz4lRkgLbfwO8DD3hmKfZ1qYYs-4A3f09OPJwZ2mr3KqnZpfwKxZrUr9fpjTS9IN2TLd3kvUbBxPUCfwbk9jr61u3gyS-0XgNxMWrYPRgPuPZn6W00FTP0e/s320/99.jpg" width="195"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>CobraKaiGrade: A+ </u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Which doesn't mean THE KARATE KID isn't timeless and exciting perfection (in its own lighthearted way). Scenes between Macchio and Pat Morita turned an otherwise fun and thrilling sport yarn into something very deep and moving: like a mesmerizing stage-play at times. But in COBRA KAI, both sides are shown with equal merit and, let's face it, throughout the years, William Zabka... who basically played the same bullying a--hole in JUST ONE OF THE GUYS and BACK TO SCHOOL... has been regarded with the same amount of devoted nostalgia as the KID himself...<br> <br> Maybe more since, as the years roll on, we flawed humans start lionizing those characters who — evil or just selfish, greedy or mislead — didn't care what anyone said, or thought about their actions or what reactions would come of them. And that's COBRA KAI: A vehicle far more legit than all the current 80's-loving STRANGER THINGS out there since... these were the guys who were there, and lived it. Plus, the acting... especially Macchio and Zabka's odd couple anti-chemistry... will surprise people who think the "totally awesome" old-school movies were all magically conjured-up by some wizard of pop culture past — as if the performances were all just "meant to be." With this show, our memories are back, and no longer abandoned dreams. Everyone's truly alive now, and completely awake.   <br>

cable, cobra kai, franchise, karate, ralph macchio, sport, william zabka

RALPH MACCHIO & WILLIAM ZABKA (KICK) BACK ON 'COBRA KAI'

The bad guy's logos are always the coolest YEAR: 2018 Using the Sympathy for the Devil approach, COBRA KAI takes the two most memora...