Week of June 11-17, 2022

 

To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.

Brain Teasers:

Why did Gordon Scott give up making movies except in Italy?

Angel Rivera knew that it was because Scott's wages from working in Italy wouldn't be docked to pay his alimony back in the U.S.

How was Gordon Scott making a living when he was discovered by a movie scout?

Rick Garibaldi, Angel Rivera and George Grimes knew that he was working as a life guard at Las Vegas' Sahara Hotel.

In which Western did our heroine shoot grenades from her handgun?

No one has answered this question yet.

And now for some new brain teasers:

Which American bodybuilder was being considered to play Remus opposite Steve Reeves before the producers got Gordon Scott?

Which American producer working in Spain claimed that he turned down Sergio Leone's request to help on PER UN PUGNO DI DOLLARI?

Which American producer of low-budget films offered Gordon Scott a role in the 1980s, but Scott didn't show up on the set? 

Name the movies from which these images came.

Rick Garibaldi and George Grimes identified last week's photo of Tomas Milian in CORRI UOMO CORRI, aka RUN MAN RUN.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes and Charles Gilbert identified last week's photo of Conrado San Martin and others admiring Linda Cristal in LE LEGIONI DI CLEOPATRA, aka LEGIONS OF THE NILE, aka LEGIONS OF CLEOPATRA.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's photo of Roger Browne, Rosalba Neri and Fabienne Dali in SUPERSEVEN CHIAMA CAIRO, aka SUPERSEVEN CALLING CAIRO.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes and Angel Rivera identified last weeks' photo of Jackie Chan and Shih Kien in THE YOUNG MASTER.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

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I am interested in knowing what movies you have watched and what you enjoyed or not. So please send me an email at scinema@earthlink.net if you'd like to share. Here's what I watched last week:

Enjoyed:

DOCTOR STRANGE IN THE MULTIVERSE OF MADNESS (2022) - One of the things I like about the so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe is that every movie or television series references or complements every other movie or television series. There is no "the Joker in this movie isn't the same Joker in that movie." Now that Disney owns 20th Century Fox, and has a cooperation deal with Sony, they can bring the non-Marvel Studios movies into the canon and variants can be explained by the Multiverse. Plus the shows have an enjoyable sense of humor. And I'll watch anything featuring Rachel McAdams.

EMMA (1996) - I guess CLUELESS was the first version of Jane Austin's EMMA that I saw, but the 1996 film starring Gwyneth Paltrow was the first period version I saw. I liked it then, and after watching two other period versions, I still like it. Writer/director Douglas McGrath does a better job of clarifying the story than writer Andrew Davies does and he includes just about everything the longer BBC four part version does. The BBC version perhaps better dramatizes the relationship between Emma and her father, but Jeremy Northam is an ideal Knightley. Interestingly, McGrath's version is the only one showing our heroine ministering to a poor and sick old woman. The supporting cast is stellar with Toni Collette, Alan Cumming, Ewan McGregor, Greta Scacchi, Juliet Stevenson and a criminally underused Polly Walker. The music score by Rachel Portman helps to make this the most romantic of the versions I've seen.

CLUELESS (1995) - In additon to being a fun rewatch, CLUELESS is a remarkable time capsule with which to reflect on changes in U.S. society. While in EMMA, the man who finally wins our heroine talks about having held her as a newborn baby, making him at least 21 years older than she - and her age is often remarked upon, here he is a college student while she is still in high school. So while he is still older, he's not that much older. However, it is suggested in the end that we "can guess what happened next", but she is only 16, and the "age of consent" has recently become a big issue again. Considering that writer/director Amy Heckerling started her feature career with FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, it is not surprising that "underage" sex is not a big deal for her. Most of the plot points from EMMA are there in CLUELESS, except that there is no Miss Taylor and no Jane Fairfax and no Mrs. Bates. In an interesting update to the material, Frank Churchill is now a gay man. Another aspect to rewatching CLUELESS is to reflect on how only Paul Rudd, Wallace Shawn and Jeremy Sisto are still appearing where I can see them. It also reopens the wound from Brittany Murphy's death. But it is great to see Alicia Silverstone, Stacey Dash, Donald Faison, Breckin Meyer, Twink Caplan, Julie Brown and Jace Alexander (who went on to direct 19 episodes of Rescue Me) in their prime.

CREATION OF THE HUMANOIDS (1960) - By all the criteria I usually use to judge a movie, this flick is awful. Considering that most of the cast are "robots", the acting is mostly justifiably stilted, the dialog lacking in nuance and subtlety and the settings like a stage play. However, the color photography and the production design are enjoyable. The movie, though, isn't the usual science fiction actioner, it is a movie about ideas. Perhaps a better writer with a bigger budget could have imparted the same ideas that Jay Simms does, but what he provides is compelling under Wesley Barry's direction. 

HOLOCAUST 2000, aka THE CHOSEN, aka RAIN OF FIRE (1977) - I hate THE OMEN, so I was pleased that this so-called rip-off had little to do with it. I saw the American International Pictures version when it played U.S. theaters, which is the version on Vestron Video. When I stumbled upon the RAIN OF FIRE DVD, I didn't expect it to be different, but it is. Reportedly, this was the original version with an ambiguous ending. I'm guessing that AIP couldn't stand that and had to come up with something to suggest that the evil was stopped. In any case, this is one of the better films directed by Alberto De Martino, though the anti-nuclear message seems a bit heavy-handed. "What do we want our children to be when they grow up? Alive!" Well before THE WAR WAGON, Kirk Douglas showed that he had no qualms about appearing naked. Some may like the fact that he gets more screen time nude than co-star Agostina Belli, but I enjoyed her skin more than his. Ennio Morricone provides some good tunes and the supporting cast is filled with good people like Simon Ward, Anthony Quayle, Virginia McKenna, Alexander Knox, Adolfo Celi, Geoffrey Keen and Romolo Valli as a Monsignor willing to go along with a forced abortion in order to stop Satan's plans.

IDA (2013) - This is a movie that doesn't easily explain anything. Beautifully photographed in Black and White in the old Academy Ratio - often with the important information at the bottom of the frame so this would never work at 1.85:1, this film begins with novice Agata Trzebuchowska being ordered by Mother Superior Halina Skoczynska to visit with the aunt she never met before taking her vows. Aunt Agata Kulesza is a worldly woman, whom we later learn was an infamous Prosecutor during the Stanlist times, responsible for ordering the deaths of many people. We begin to understand that the film is set in Poland in the early 1960s. The aunt informs the neice who was raised as an orphan in a Catholic convent, that both her parents were Jewish and they died during World War II. Expectations of how the story will go from there are upended when it becomes apparent that the parents were not killed by the Nazis, but rather were killed by a peasant who wanted their farm. The niece wants to visit her parents' graves, which begins the mystery of where, how and why they were killed. With austere and quietly intense precision, director Pawel Pawlikowski lays out this story and his characters with spare dialogue that never seems inappropriate. First time actress Agata Trzebuchowska is wonderful to watch, and is well matched with veteran actress Agata Kulesza. Perhaps the most surprising thing in this movie is that one of the songs, "24 Mila Baci", had music written by Adriano Celentano, with lyrics by Piero Vivarelli and Lucio Fulci. And that among those receiving a "special thanks" are Agnieszka Holland and Jerzy Skolimowski.

ZIMNA WOJNA, aka COLD WAR (2018) - Like IDA, this film by director Pawel Pawlikowski doesn't announce where it is going at the beginning. Unlike IDA, it has on screen titles letting the viewer know where and when the events are taking place. It begins in "Poland, 1949", with musicologists Agata Kulesza (from IDA) and Tomasz Kot collecting on audio tape folk songs from rural communities. Later, they hold auditions to select singers and dancers from poor communities to form an ensemble to perform the folk songs. It is during these auditions that Kot notices Joanna Kulig (from IDA) and urges Kulesza to accept her because she "has something". By "Warsaw, 1951", the ensemble is ready to perform in public. After the show, Kot and Kulig become lovers. A little bit later, the Communist authorities strongly suggest that songs celebrating Stalin be added to the repertoire, over the objection of Kulesza who wants to maintain the purity of "authentic folk art". One afternoon, Kulig confesses to Kot that official Borys Szyc wants her to spy on Kot. Upset, Kot decides to defect when the ensemble performs in East Berlin, but Kulig fails to join him. The film goes from "Paris, 1954" to "Yugoslavia, 1955" to "Paris, 1957" to "Poland, 1959" to "1964" for the conclusion of this tortured love story. As with IDA, the style of this beautifully photographed B&W film is austere and thoughtful with compelling performances - this time with on-screen musical bits. Pawlikowski co-wrote the film with Janusz Glowacki and Piotr Borkowski which won best screenplay at the European Film Awards. In addition, COLD WAR won Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Editor and the People's Choice Award. Pawlikowski also won the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the U.S. Academy Awards. Riccardo Freda/Mario Bava fans should note that during the Paris, 1957 segment, Kot is shown performing a film score to a clip from I VAMPIRI.

Rescue Me season three (2006)

Mildly enjoyed:

EMMA (1996) - Having recently enjoyed the four part BBC version, I find the ITV movie version way too short. I wonder if I would have picked up on many of the story points if this was the first version I saw. I usually find writer Andrew Davies' adaptions satisfying, but this seemed rushed. I enjoyed this version's portrait of how servants cater to the rich, and the idea of a final scene in which all of the main couples join in a celebration dance works well. The relationship between Knightley and the Woodhouses isn't well established, and Mark Strong is so stern the viewer may be confused as to whether to like him or not. However, it is hard to fault a production featuring Kate Beckinsale, Samantha Morton and Olivia Williams. Diarmuid Lawrence directs.

Did not enjoy:

THE MAD MONSTER (1942) - So why does George Zucco want to experiment on handyman Glenn Strange with a serium based on the blood from a wolf? Because he thinks the War. Dept. would want invincible Wolfman soldiers to unleash on the enemy. Now why Strange would single out a little girl to kill from inside her bedroom is never explained. Nor how Strange could take a blast from a shotgun without even messing up his clothes. Just like he did in THE MUMMY'S HAND, Zucco wants to use his creature to get revenge, this time on the scientists who ridiculed his research. Naturally, as in DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, Strange starts to change into the Wolfman without a new injection, but, luckily, newsman Johnny Downs is on hand to rescue Zucco's daughter, Anne Nagel, from the creepy old house which gets set on fire from a lightning strike. Veteran screenwriter Fred Myton is able to shape the material so as to not seem too stupid, and director Sam Newfield (who would travel to the U.K.to helm two Hammer productions in 1952) actually provides a couple of suspenseful sequences. This studio bound film from Producers Releasing Corporation reportedly only took five days to shoot.

NECROPOLIS (1986) - Back when this hit video store shelves, I knew that something from Empire Pictures wouldn't be worth the price of a rental. Nowadays, when something like this pops up on MGM-HD, I give it a look-see just to see if it will surprise me. Well, this does have some weird stuff in it, but is amazingly poor and ugly. Writer/director Bruce Hickey exhibits the ability of a film student, and I wonder how he came to Charles Band's attention to have his film's post production completed at Cinecitta in Italy. LeeAnne Baker is a witch in 17th century New Amsterdam who does something like a modern interpretive dance to invoke Satan. This summons nice girl Jacquie Fitz to leave her wedding ceremony to become the sacrifice at Baker's Satanic ceremony. African American Christian William K. Reed knows what's going on and stabs Baker with his cross. She swears vengeance, but waits about 300 years to show up as a punk rock styled motorcycle rider demanding "the devil's ring" from an occult store owner who advertised it for sale. It turns out that the ring is in the safe of Reed's descendant who runs a charity. Bending Andrew Bausili's will to her own, Baker gets him to open the safe (which we never see) and then to kill himself. With the ring, Baker resurrects her old cult members as zombies and feeds them ectoplasm from the six breasts she suddenly develops. She acquires the ectoplasm from a number of people she murders and brands with her "devil's ring". Reporter Jacquie Fitz and Cop Michael Conte are on the case, but ignore Reed's knowledge of supernatural evil. Eventually, Baker kidnaps Fitz to make a new sacrifice, and Conte teams with Reed for the rescue. It turns out the zombies are impervious to bullets, but die when stabbed by two sticks tied together to make a cross. It turns out that the two stick apparatus can even decapitate a zombie, who continues screaming after his head has been removed. Our heroes succeed in rescuing Fitz before Baker can kill her, and Reed stabs her with a cross again. Reed is preparing to set the unholy place to flame, when Baker suddenly grabs him by the throat. Conte chops off her hand with the sacrificial knife, and drags Reed to safety before setting the place alight. Reed wants to go back to get the ring, but Conte convinces him not to brave the flames. Needless to say, the next morning, Conte finds that the severed hand with the ring has crawled into Fitz's bed, taken possession of her and is soon back out on the street, in Fitz's body, seeking new victims. Some on-line reviewers found this movie fun and LeeAnne Baker sexy, neither with which I agree. Thankfully, most everyone connected with this movie did not continue making movies. One exception is "Special Effects Make-up" creator Ed French whose most recent credit involves make-up on the HBO/Max series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.

VOULEZ-VOU DANSER AVEC MOI?, aka DO YOU WANT TO DANCE WITH ME?, aka COME DANCE WITH ME (1959) - Henri Vidal is a dentist who runs his practice in his apartment. Brigitte Bardot telephones asking him to allow her father, Noel Roquevert, to make an after hours visit because of a painful tooth. This interrupts Vidal's poker game, but one look at Bardot and he agrees to help. Over her father's objections, Bardon falls in love with Vidal and they soon marry. Shortly after, they have an huge fight and she stomps out. Desolate, he goes to a night club, where he meets dance studio owner Dawn Addams. Addams invites Vidal into her apartment for a night cap, where she begins to seduce him. Serge Gainsbourg sneaks in and takes photos, before Vidal comes to his senses and leaves. Addams and Gainsbourg plan to blackmail Vidal, but Vidal is an hot-head who goes over to Addams' studio and threatens her. Meanwhile, Vidal and Bardot make up, but she becomes suspicious when she overhears Vidal on another phone call with Addams. Staking out Addams' studio, Bardot sees her husband arrive to a meet with Addams, and then bursts into the room to confront them. There she finds Vidal with a pistol in his hand standing over a dead Addams. After he convinces Bardot that he didn't kill Addams, Vidal and his wife make a getaway as the police arrive. To solve the murder, Bardot gets a job as a dance instructor at the studio, giving her ample opportunity to show off the sexy dance moves which helped to make ET DIEU... CREA LA FEMME an international hit. This was Bardot's second sexy comedy with director Michel Boisrond, but this is also a murder mystery. There are attempts to create suspenseful moments, but the film is mostly interested in sexy bits, including a bare female breast or two. There are also some openly homosexual men among the suspects, one being an on-stage female impersonator - which would not have been allowed in a 1959 Hollywood movie. As none of the characters are engaging, the situations only fitfully amusing and the mystery rather dull, COME DANCE WITH ME isn't much fun. Francois Chaumette as the Inspector frustrated by Bardot's efforts to help is the most enjoyable part of the movie.

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Charles Gilbert watched:

THE FALL OF ROME (1963) Rome is persecuting Christians including soldiers practicing the faith. Tribune Marcus (Carl Mohner)  and wife (Evelyn Stewart billed as Ida Galli) are arrested and imprisoned  then escape, with help from comrades, into the wilderness where she is mortally struck by an arrow. Gauls led by Rako (Andre Aureli) on defense nearby take note with curiosity about the infighting of their perennial enemy A friendship is formed with the fleeing Christians and refuge is provided. Word gets to Marcus from Rome of a deal to spare the incarcerated believers from the lions if he agrees to return and fight as a gladiator. The barbarian woman (Loredana Nusciak) he befriended is now his companion, and victories in the arena offer hope, but Rome is doomed when they lose in a war against the barbarian hordes and an earthquake finishes them off. Uncredited Milton Reid appears as a mustachioed gladiator.

REVOLT OF THE BARBARIANS (1964) No barbarians around but two centurions Darius and Marcus (Roland Carey and Gabriele Antonini) pose as merchants to investigate gold thefts slated for soldier remuneration. The conspiracy involves governor Domicias (Mario Feliciani), Praetorian henchman Brutus (Andre Aureli), and Lydia's aunt Augusta,  who  is billed as Susan Sullivan but the IMDb biography describes the younger American actress who played on tv Falconcrest. Not the same woman. Lydia is played by Grazia Maria Spina, rearranging her name in the credits.

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David Deal Enjoyed:

INCUBUS (65)

THE UNTOUCHABLES (87)

LONG DAYS OF VENGEANCE (67)

THE DARK CORNER (46) - From 2006: "The unexceptional story was simply a framework from which to string outstanding photography, lots of superior noir slang, and a solid cast including Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, and William Bendix."

SANTO VS. FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER (72)

THE DIABOLICAL DR. Z (66)

Mildly enjoyed:

IMAGES IN A CONVENT (79)

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Angel Rivera Mildly enjoyed:

"The Accidental President" a 2020 documentary about, in my opinion, an American tragedy which occurred on November 8, 2016.

"The Lost City" (2022) a rom-com starring Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe and Brad Pitt. Mildly amusing; has elements of "Romancing the Stone". Bullock is an author of schlock romantic adventure novels with Channing Tatum as the physical embodiment of her main character who appears on the covers of her books which Tatum poses for. They go off on an adventure precipitated by Radcliffe looking for "the Lost City" and its treasure.

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June 4 - 10, 2022

 

To answer these trivia questions, please email me at scinema@earthlink.net.

Brain Teasers:

Which American bodybuilder had a gym in his Roman penthouse apartment for his friends to use?

Tom Betts knew that it was Gordon Mitchell.

In which movie did Aldo Sambrell get a tomahawk in the head?

Tom Betts, Bertrand van Wonterghem, George Grimes and Angel Rivera knew that it was NAVAJO JOE.

What was the Italian title for L'ATTAQUE DE FORT ADAMS?

Tom Betts, Bertrand van Wonterghem, George Grimes and Angel Rivera knew that it was BUFFALO BILL L'EROE DEL FAR WEST, aka BUFFALO BILL HERO OF THE FAR WEST.

Which Italian made film was suppressed by 20th Century Fox to ensure it did not compete with CLEOPATRA starring Elizabeth Taylor?

Angel Rivera knew that it was UNA REGINA PER CESARE, aka A QUEEN FOR CAESAR.

And now for some new brain teasers:

Why did Gordon Scott give up making movies except in Italy?

How was Gordon Scott making a living when he was discovered by a movie scout?

In which Western did our heroine shoot grenades from her handgun?

Name the movies from which these images came.

Tom Betts, Angel Rivera, Bertrand van Wonterghem, Charles Gilbert, and George Grimes identified last week's photo of Gordon Scott in BUFFALO BILL L'EROE DEL FAR WEST, aka BUFFALO BILL HERO OF THE FAR WEST.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

Angel Rivera, Bertrand van Wonterghem, George Grimes and Charles Gilbert identified last week's frame grab of Yoko Tani and Gordon Scott in MACISTE ALLA CORTE DEL GRAN KHAN, aka SAMSON AND THE SEVEN MIRACLES OF THE WORLD.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

Angel Rivera, George Grimes and Bertrand van Wonterghem identified last week's photo of John Richardson and Barbara Steele in LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO, aka THE MASK OF SATAN, aka BLACK SUNDAY.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last weeks' photo of Biao Yuen and Sammo Hung in THE LEGEND IS BORN IP MAN.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

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I am interested in knowing what movies you have watched and what you enjoyed or not. So please send me an email at scinema@earthlink.net if you'd like to share. Here's what I watched last week:

Enjoyed:

EMMA (2009) - A new dramatized version of Jane Austen's 1815 novel seems to come out every few years, and it is not hard to understand why. It is a witty tale, filled with romance and humor, that provides a showcase for promising young actresses. I first became aware of the tale in the modern version starring Alicia Silverstone called CLUELESS in 1995. The next year, Gwyneth Paltrow became celebrated in a traditional version for Miramax. Kate Beckinsale took on the role for ITV-TV in 1996, and here it is the luminous Romola Garai in a four-part BBC production. Our heroine's relationship with her father, played here by Michael Gambon, gets more emphasis here than in other adaptations, and Jonny Lee Miller does a solid job as Mr. Knightley. However, what I most enjoyed in this is Jodhi May as Emma's former governess. As usual, she brings such warmth and empathy to a role not usually memorable. Sandy Welch is credited as the writer and Jim O'Hanion as the director.

KIRSCHBLUTEN - HANAMI, aka CHERRY BLOSSOMS (2008) - This German film starts with elderly woman Hannelore Eisner telling us that she can't imagine living without her husband, Elmar Wepper. She dreams of visiting Japan to see the cherry blossoms and Mount Fuji with him. We are then in a doctors office where Eisner is informed that her husband is terminally ill, and there is no telling when he will start to show symptoms. They suggest she take her husband on a trip or an adventure. He doesn't want to go to Japan, even to visit their son, saying that it would be less expensive if the son were to come and visit them in Germany. They do go to Berlin to visit their other son and daughter. Wepper doesn't tell anyone, including her husband, that he is soon to die. It soon becomes apparent that their children resent the intrusion, but their daughter's lesbian lover, Nadja Uhl, helps them on the visit, even going to a performance by a Japanese Butoh dancer. Wepper doesn't want to be bothered and sits in the lobby during the show. Eisner suggests that she and Wepper visit the seaside. One morning, Wepper awakens to find that Eisner has died in her sleep. (So after a half hour leading us to think this will be the story of a woman dealing with the death of her husband, the filmmakers flip the story and it is about a husband dealing with the death of his wife.) Everyone comes to Eisner's funeral, even the son from Japan. Uhl is appalled that everyone complains that Wepper has left them to deal with their father, whom they all seem to resent because he was too concerned with his work when they were children. With Uhl's help, Wepper gets his wife's cremated remains home to their small village, where Wepper reveals that his wife wanted to learn about Japanese Butoh dancing, but that it embarrassed him so he discouraged her. Wepper suddenly decides to travel to Japan to fulfill his wife's thwarted dreams. Being an office worker in Japan, his son has no time for his father, but allows him to stay in the cramped apartment. Wearing some of her clothes under his long coat, Wepper tours Tokyo as if he is showing it to his wife. In the park, he sees a young woman, Aya Irizuki, performing a Butoh dance. Eventually, they become friends, communicating in English. Irizuki teaches Wepper how the Butoh dance is a way to communicate with the dead, and she finally accompanies him on a trip to see Mount Fuji. Writer/director Doris Dorrie has made a moving drama about loss and misunderstanding between parents and their children. Here the only people sympathetic to our main characters are openhearted strangers. The film also teaches us that "Mr. Fuji" is often shy - hidden from view by fog and clouds. 11 years later, Dorrie made a sequel called KIRSCHBLUTEN & DAMONEN, aka CHERRY BLOSSOMS AND DEMONS. 

Mildly enjoyed:

TOP GUN (1986) - There is a perspective that movies should have a minimum of dialog and rely mainly on visuals. Okay, but that shouldn't be an excuse for making movies from plot outlines and not fleshed out scripts. Director Tony Scott uses a variety of visual tricks that he probably honed from doing commercial work, and the film doesn't linger on anything while re-telling the old story about the arrogant young man who has to see his best friend die before he grows up. It is difficult to make a war movie during a time of peace, so these filmmakers don't identify who it is our heroes end up fighting for the climax, except that they fly MIG jets. These sorts of movies have to have a romance, and while Kelly McGillis makes a fetching impression, her storyline is so skimpy that it seems obviously formula.

TOP GUN MAVERICK (2022) - As with other re-treads of SANDS OF IWO JIMA, like HEARTBREAK RIDGE and G.I.JANE, you can't do a movie about military training without sending our heroes into combat. That becomes difficult when your country is not in a declared shooting war, so the adversary in the sequel to TOP GUN is again anonymous. However, TOP GUN is less SANDS OF IWO JIMA and more THE DAM BUSTERS or 633 SQUADRON. Updating the technology, these films inspired the Death Star trench sequence in STAR WARS, aka EPISODE IV A NEW HOPE, and that's what you get here. It is nice to hear the old advice, "Don't think. Just do it. Trust your instinct" instead of "Use the force". With what seems to be a full script, MAVERICK does a much better job with the romance, and having Jennifer Connelly in the mix is a real plus. The film gets extra points for providing a plum role for actor Val Kilmer, whose current health problems are used for positive dramatic purpose.

Did not enjoy:

COBRA (1986) - Celebrated crime novelist Paula Gosling's first novel FAIR GAME, aka A RUNNING DUCK, got turned by screenwriter Sylvester Stallone into a Cop Super Hero flick with many allusions to DIRTY HARRY with the casting of Reni Santoni and Andy Robinson and a speech about being hampered by rules that criminials don't follow. As a cop always getting in Stallone's way, Robinson is so annoying that it seems that in the end he would be revealed as a member of the evil death cult. According to Wikipedia, that was the original intention. RAMBO director George Pan Cosmatos was back to carry out Stallone's will, and they delivered a movie which needed extensive editing to get an "R" rating for violence. Instead of a single hit man out to get our heroine as in the novel, Stallone invented a small army looking to create a New World lead by a serial killer called the Night Slasher.

DEVIL'S PARTNER (1958) - This didn't hit theaters until Roger Corman's Filmgroup picked it up to double-bill it with CREATURE FROM THE HAUNTED SEA in 1961. Actor and stuntman Hugh Hooker produced the film, on a very low-budget, but it "introduced" Ed Nelson, who went on to a fairly long career. The film opens with a crippled old man slaughtering a goat, performing a ritual with a hexagon drawn on the floor, and writing a contract on a goat's skin. A demonic hand enters the frame to finish writing the contract. Where this old guy got the idea to use a hexagon instead of a pentagram, and where he got the information for the ritual, is never explained. In any case, later on Ed Nelson arrives by Greyhound bus in Furnace Flats, New Mexico, claiming to be the old man's nephew. After Sheriff Spencer Carlisle informs the young man that his uncle was found dead, he gives Nelson a box of the old man's things. Included in the box, is the goat skin contract, in which the old man pledges his soul for two years, but only Nelson can see that. Is this the only film in which someone "rents" his soul? So, what does Nelson want to do with this new lease on life? It seems that his only interest is in the prettiest girl in town, Jean Allison, the daughter of Doc Edgar Buchanan, who is engaged to the owner of the gas station Richard Crane. Why Nelson performs a ritual to induce his first victim, Brian O'Hara, to have a heart attack is never explained. Why he gets Crane's dog to maul the man's face makes sense, but it seems rather unlikely that Crane could beat his dog to death with a vase. A cow causes an automobile accident which kills the plastic surgeon arriving from Albuquerque. Nelson seems to be offering a similar new lease to town drunk Byron Foulger, but when Foulger runs away in fear, a wild horse tramples him to death. The sheriff and the doc begin to suspect Nelson is behind these strange deaths, while a rattlesnake tries to kill Crane. At first the filmmakers seem to suggest that Crane is contemplating shooting himself, but he shoots the snake instead. The sheriff, doc, Allison and Crane follow a trail of blood and eventually end up at Nelson's shack. When a wild horse suddenly begins to run away, the sheriff shoots it several times. In the field, the horse transforms into Nelson, and then after the dying man touchs the crucifix around Allison's neck, he transforms back into the old man. No one suggests that they dig up the body they buried to see what they find, and the film ends with Crane's face miraculously unscarred. It is unclear what the filmmakers thought would be scary for the audience, unless they thought just the suggestion of demonic forces was enough. Director Charles R. Rondeau shoots the script by Stanley Clements and Laura Jean Mathews like a TV show, while Ronald Stein provides the usual "weird" sounding music.

THE DIRTY MIND OF YOUNG SALLY (1973) - Sharon Kelly, aka Colleen Brennan, was dancing at the Classic Cat club on Sunset Blvd. when writer/director Bethel Buckalew offered her the lead role in this sex comedy. Kelly/Brennan is a pleasure to stare at, but this movie isn't funny and quickly becomes sleep inducing. At a time when hardcore sex films were gaining notoriety, Buckalew, like Joe Sarno, didn't want to go "all the way", so while this film has a lot of male/female coupling, the sight of a penis always seems accidental. Kelly plays a young woman who has a pirate radio show about sex broadcasting from the back of a van. Cop Cliff Bradley, aka Norman Fields, wants to shut it down, leading to a few unexciting car chases. Various listeners tune-in to spice up their love lives.

RAGING MASTER'S TIGER-CRANE, aka MASTERS OF TIGER CRANE, aka THE BRAVE SEO RIM (1982) - Benny Tsui (aka Chui Bing-Hin, aka Seo Byeong-Heon, aka Xu Bing-Xian) wants to be a disciple of High Priest Kwon Sung-Young (aka Kuen Shing-Wing, aka Gwon Seong-ryong, aka Quan Sheng-Rong) like his brother Choe Mu-Ung (aka Chui Miu-Hung, aka Choe Moo-Woong, aka Cui Wu-Xiong, aka Choi Mu-Wung, aka Choi Mu-Ung), who prays by making a painting of the Buddha on canvas. Newly appointed officials Hwang Jang-Lee (aka a long list of names including Silver Fox) and Guk Jeong-Suk (aka Kuk Jeong-Suk, aka Ju Zhen-Shu) kidnap Choe and kill Kwon. What they want from Choe is never explained and if the necklace is so important, why did Hwang wear it so that the dying Kwon could snatch it from him? Before he dies, Kwon gives the necklace to Tsui and tells him to find his brother. Tsui bumbles around town, getting beaten up by just about everyone he sees. Our hero's incompetence comes to the attention of beggar Martin Chui Man-Kwai (aka Choi Min-Kyu, aka Tsui Wen-Kuei, aka Chui Man-Kwai, aka Marty Chiu, aka Marty Chui, aka Choe Min-Gyu) who tricks him into getting a job at a restuarant where Tsui starts a romance with a young woman who also works at the restuarant. Hwang's men capture Tsui and Hwang tortures him in order to get Choe to do... what? We don't see how Chui rescues Tsui, but the beggar finally gets around to teaching our hero martial arts by making him work as his personal cook. Since Choe is a prisoner, why does Hwang send a thug dressed like a Korean ninja to murder the painter in his sleep? But as the audience was never told what Hwang wanted from Choe, this entire storyline makes no sense. Was it just to impress the Governor with one of Choe's paintings? And if that was the case, then why torture Tsui after the Governor got the painting? Hwang has Tsui's girlfriend kidnapped and tortured in an effort to find our hero, who responds by showing up after completing his training and killing almost all of the bad guys. It looks like Hwang might beat him, when Chui shows up to help. But Hwang kills Chui, which re-energizes our hero to finally kill the villain. We never see the girlfriend rescued. It seems that director Sammy Lee (aka Choe U-Hyeong, aka Cui Yu-Heng, aka Choi Wu-Hyeong, aka Choe Uhyeong) intended this to be a Korean version of a Jackie Chan movie and it is a miserable viewing experience.

SPIRITS OF BRUCE LI, aka THE SPIRIT OF BRUCE LEE (1973) - There is no mention of Bruce Lee, or Li, in this movie, though is does bring to mind a cheaper version of THE BIG BOSS. When his brother goes missing in Thailand while trying to buy a jade, Michael Chan, aka Wai-Man Chan, travels to investigate. There he meets Pailot Chaising, whom he helps to end a brawl that is destroying a small eatery. Chaising gets a job at a mining operation, where he learns that his boss is the gang leader responsible for the murder of Chan's brother. A Chinese man who lives in the area, Guh Men Tong, aka Wen-Chung Ku, gives Chan a place to stay, and Tong's daughter, Chia-Lin Sun, even joins in fighting. The bad guys try to kill Chan, but kill Tong, so Chan, Sun and Chaising band together to get justice. 

STONER, aka THE SHRINE OF ULTIMATE BLISS (1974) - A Chinese chemist excitedly tells his boss that he's created the "Happy" pill, which is certain to be the most popular illicit drug in the world. After it claims the life of Romanolee Rose in Australia, cop George Lazenby investigates from where it came. The clues lead to Hong Kong, so he gets a flight. Meanwhile, a Taiwanese businessman is outbidded on an old ship from Thailand being sold as scarp metal, so he alerts his law enforcement contact with the suspicion that contraband may be aboard. Taiwanese cop Angela Mao is sent to Hong Kong to see what's on the ship. With the bad guy's lair designed as if it belongs in a low-budget James Bond movie, STONER resembles ENTER THE DRAGON in a number of ways, but instead of the villain's island housing an army of martial artists, this guy's island has a phony Taoist temple ripping off believers with the "Happy" drug. Despite the presence of Chin-Pao Hung, aka Sammo Hung, the fighting in this is not only unexciting, it seems interminable. One begins to wish someone would pull out a gun. Director Feng Huang is responsible for most of the films which made Angela Mao a star, but isn't able to make this watchable despite a lot of female nudity. Not getting naked are female stars Mao or Betty Ting Pei. Add this to the list of movies which Bruce Lee was supposed to do before his untimely death.

DER NEUE HEIBE SEX-REPORT, aka SWINGING WIVES (1971) - Ernst Hofbauer directed many different kinds of movies before hitting the jackpot with the "Sex Report" flicks. This one warns husbands that if they don't pay attention and make love with their wives, they will seek it with other men. Mostly this is played for mild laughs, featuring "in the street" interviews and female nudity without getting very explicit. 

WARNING SIGN (1985) - 12 years after writer/director George A. Romero made THE CRAZIES, writers Hal Barwood and Matthew Robbins made something similar, but set it inside a germ warfare lab under lock down. Some people would then figure that 28 DAYS LATER ripped off this movie.

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Charles Gilbert watched:

APHRODITE, GODDESS OF LOVE (1958) Antigono (Ivo Garrani) Roman ruler of the morally decadent city of Corinth, favors artist Demetrio (Antonio deTeffe), not realizing his mistress Diala (Irene Tunc) has been smitten by the milquetoast sculptor. To complicate matters, Demetrio is in love with timid Christian maiden named Lerna (Isabelle Corey). She is in hiding with fellow believers, trying to escape persecution from Antigono blaming the sect for the plague. Ends with "in hoc signo vinces" Subtitles are difficult to follow.

KERIM, SON OF THE SHEIK (1962) Gordon Scott in the title role seeks vengeance for the murder of his sister (Maria Grazia Spina). Sinister Omar (Albert Farnese) with Moira Orfei at his side, schemes to rule all of the Tigris Valley and its desert tribes. With Cristina Gaioni, and Gordon Mitchell. Source music for HERCULES THE INVINCIBLE.

BLUE HAWAII (1961) Elvis' eighth film..Chad Gates is recently discharged from the army and expected to help operate his wealthy family's (parents Angela Lansbury and Roland Winters) pineapple business. Instead he wants to venture out on his own, so his girfriend (Joan Blackman) helps him get a job as a tour guide run by Mr. Chapman ("Floyd the barber"  Howard McNear). Patti Page and Hal Wallis are in there somewhere.

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David Deal Enjoyed:

CITY OF THE DEAD (60)

TWO MALES FOR ALEXA (71) - Wealthy Curd Jurgens marries younger Rosalba Neri, and she then fools around with playboy Juan Luis Goliardo. Jurgens traps the lovers in a bedroom and then kills himself; they have no escape. Juan Logar's sexy tale of revenge has the opportunity to enjoy Rosalba's form, some good Piccioni tunes, and a fatalistic ending.

THE AWFUL DR. ORLOF (62)

CURE (97) - A police detective investigates a series of senseless killings where the murderers don't remember a thing. I believe I saw this Japanese crime thriller back in the late 90s; it is psychologically deep, beautifully photographed, and has a nihilistic attitude. Recommended.

RAW DEAL (48)

Mildly enjoyed:

WEST SIDE STORY (21)

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Bertrand van Wonterghem Highly enjoyed:

Diabolik (2000, Antonio & Marco Manetti)

Enjoyed:

One foot in hell (1960, James B. Clark)

Die Frau, nach der man sich sehnt (1929, Curtis Bernhardt)

Radar men from the moon (1951, Fred C. Brannon) - episodes 3 & 4

Alan Ladd : the true quiet man (doc) (1998, Gene Feldman)

Mildly enjoyed:

Colossus : the Forbin project (1970, Joseph Sargent)

Did not enjoy:

Steel frontier (1994, Joe Hart & Paul G. Volk)

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Angel Rivera Mildly enjoyed:

"Gaslit" (2022) A series about the Watergate scandal with Julia Roberts as Martha Mitchell and an almost unrecognizable Sean Penn as John Mitchell.

"Robin Hood of El Dorado" a 1936 film starring Warner Baxter as the Mexican outlaw, Joaquin Murrieta. Warner Baxter won an Oscar as the first actor to portray the Cisco Kid. Here he tries to bring sympathy to a Mexican wronged by "Americans" after California becomes part of the United States of America. He turns to violence after his wife is raped and murdered, his land is taken from him and his brother is lynched and he is whipped within an inch of his life. While Baxter is not Hispanic he tries his best to portray Real Life Bandit Murrieta with dignity.

"Rio Conchos" a 1964 American Western that seems like a Spaghetti western, even though it was released in the US only a month after "A Fistful of Dollars" was released in Italy; so it probably was not influenced by the latter film. Richard Boone and Stuart Whitman are after Edmund O'Brien who with his Confederate rebels is running guns to the Apache in an attempt to have the Apache help O'Brien defeat the Union. This was former football star Jim Brown's movie debut. This also was Wende Wagner's first movie role where she plays a Native American who does not speak any English in the film.. Wende Wagner is probably best remembered for her role as Britt Reid's secretary in the "Green Hornet" TV series and as the one time wife of James Mitchum, son of Robert Mitchum.

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