January 21 - 27, 2023

 

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

Brain Teasers:

Which Italian actor, born in 1936, was killed in movies by Tony Anthony, Gordon Mitchell, Anthony Steffen and George Hilton?

No one has answered this question yet.

Which actor, born in Guyana in 1931, appeared in three Italian sword & sandal films and three Italian Westerns?

Tom Betts, Angel Rivera and George Grimes knew that it was Harry Baird.

Which actor who starred in director Melvin Van Peebles first movie went on to make three Italian Westerns?

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

Complete the lyric: "Woman you're not a friend. Everytime I come to you _ ____ ____ _____ _______  ___ ____>"

Tom Betts knew that it is: "I find that you're changin' your mind."

And now for some new brain teasers:

Which Italian born film director began his career in 1938 and ended it directing Klaus Kinski in a Western?

By what name is J.W. Fordson better known?

Which Italian actress worked with directors Damiano Damiani, Bernardo Bertolucci, Mario Monicelli, Sergio Bergonzelli, Luciano Salce, Florestano Vancini, Claude Lelouch and Peter Wood?

Name the movies from which these images came.

Tom Betts, George Grimes, Angel Rivera, Charles Gilbert and Bertrand van Wonterghem 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?

Charles Gilbert identified last week's frame grab of Olympic wrestler Pietro Marascalchi and Alessandra Panara in ERCOLE CONTRO MOLOCH, aka CONQUEST OF MYCENAE .

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

George Grimes identified last week's photo of Gordon Mitchell in FRANKENSTEIN '80.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

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:

80th Annual Golden Globe Awards (2023)

28th Annual Critics Choice Awards (2023)

Astrid, aka Astrid et Raphaelle: Puzzle (2019) - This 90 minute TV movie acted as a pilot for the French series which recently completed it's third season. Possibly inspired by the theory that Sherlock Holmes was autistic, Alexandre de Seguins and Laurent Burtin created this show around an autistic young woman who was raised by a single police father who came out of her isolation by studying the files he brought home from work. After the father's death, she began to work in the police archives, so when Police Commander Raphaelle Coste came to see some old files, Astrid Nielsen had to include a file not requested because she knew it was similar to what Coste requested. Eventually, they became a team. Coste was sort-of Watson as a single mother with a badge while their interaction helped Astrid to become more socialized. Sara Mortensen is Astrid while Lola Dewaere is Raphaelle and the actors work well together.

Astrid season one episode one "Hantise 1" (2020)

AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER (2023) - Writer/director James Cameron does a remarkable job of sustaining excitement and interest in this three hour plus Science Fiction sequel to DANCES WITH WOLVES which seems obviously a set-up for more sequels.

Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "Carol Burnett and Niecy Nash" (2023)

Mildly enjoyed:

AIR PATROL (1962) - This CinemaScope B-movie has production values that are too low-budget for a 21st Century TV cop show - with studio bound dialog heavy scenes. However, back in the early 1960s, low budget movies often shot on the streets of Hollywood, and the fun of this movie is seeing what the town looked like back then. The novelty of this flick is that an art thief makes his getaway by helicopter, which the narrator tells us has never before been done at night. So, Air Patrol Sgt. Robert Dix is called in by Lt. Willard Parker to assist because of his knowledge of helicopters. This film gives the impression that the idea of surveilling a suspect in a car from a police helicopter is a new one, which gives the filmmakers a reason for extensive overhead shots of the Hollywood Bowl, the Hollywood Freeway, the Valley storm drain basin and the Sepulveda Dam. An element which definitely dates this movie is that our hero cop has no qualm about shooting an unarmed suspect who is trying to get away. Merry Anders looks terrific as the "cop hating" secretary who eventually falls in love with Dix. Jack Younger looks too old to be playing a "Paper Boy", and when does a paper boy peddle his wares inside a police station? His comedy relief isn't necessary as little tension has been created and his scenes aren't very funny. If you get nostalgic for shots of the old Parker Center, this is the movie for you. Albert Glasser's bombastic music score would seem more appropriate for an Horror movie, which was the kind of movie he was mostly scoring around this time. This was the fifth film directed by Maury Dexter who would venture to Spain in 1965 to make a Western with George Montgomery called OUTLAW OF RED RIVER, but the IMDb insists on calling it DJANGO THE HONORABLE KILLER.

THE WHITE BALOON (1995) - A kid friendly film from Iran seems like such a novelty that I figure that is why it achieved critical acclaim in the West. It received many awards at festivals including the Prix de la Camera d'Or at Cannes. Interestingly, its portrait of an Iranian family isn't very positive, with a demanding father that we never see because he is taking a shower and yelling out orders to his wife and son. Our heroine is a seven-year-old girl who spends most of the movie pouting, wanting only to buy a prettier gold fish from the store than the goldfish that the family already has in its pond. The goldfish seems to be a traditional way to celebrate the Solar New Year or Persian New Year. Even though he finds his sister annoying, the brother finally convinces the mother to give the girl the money for the fish. The movie then relates the adventure of the little girl going just a few blocks away from her home to get the fish encountering the variety of people in the neighborhood. The film is successful in illustrating the humanity of the people around the girl, but is hardly compelling. Acclaimed Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami wrote this screenplay which was directed by Jafar Panahi, who is currently banned from making films in Iran..

Did not enjoy:

JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (2018) - Reportedly, the makers of this movie were excited by the idea of the last part being like an "haunted house" movie, reminiscent of Spanish director J.A. Bayona's first film EL ORFANATO, aka THE ORPHANAGE. While the setting here is more gothic, the whole "run away and hide" from vicious dinosaurs had already been done in JURASSIC PARK, so it all seemed rather dull to me. And the creation of a new, more vicious, dinosaur had already been done in JURASSIC WORLD, so yawn. Ending with Jeff Goldblum warning us that the human race is doomed seemed a throwback to 1950s sci-fi movies and a bit overdone considering the silliness which proceeded it. Obviously, this film was intended to be the middle film of a new trilogy, but it is no EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. The one element I appreciated was Bayona bringing back Geraldine Chaplin from THE ORPHANAGE. I just wish they had given her more to do. Young Isabella Sermon seemed very promising in this film, until she had to scream and run away during the last part. Honestly, who thought it was a good idea to have her run back to her room to hide under her bed covers?

KEEP WATCHING (2017) - Another murder spree live on the internet movie, KEEP WATCHING had a director, Sean Carter, who thought that fast cutting between many different cameras - pretending to be the many mini-cameras spread around the house of the victims - was a good idea. If you want to see Bella Thorne running and hiding in just about every corner of a dark house and screaming "Why are you doing this to us?", then you may enjoy some of this dull and predictable annoyance.

THE UNHOLY (2021) - British novelist James Herbert published SHRINE in 1983. In 2021, Greek screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos was hired by Sam Raimi and Robert Tapert of Ghost House Pictures to make his directorial debut with an adaptation of the book. In keeping with all such movies since THE EXORCIST, it was all about Roman Catholicism. The story started in 1845 in Banfield, Massachusetts with the execution of a witch by a town led by a Catholic priest. I wouldn't have thought that in 1845 Massachusetts, Catholics were anything but barely tolerated. The priest held up a "kern" doll, into which he hoped to trap the witch's spirit so she can do no more evil. Unlike most "kern" dolls, which were made from corn or wheat stalks, this one seemed to be made from porcelain, and what was a Catholic priest doing using it as if he was a voodoo practitioner? Aside from the doll, this opening was very reminiscent of director Mario Bava's LA MASCHERA DEL DEMONIO, aka BLACK SUNDAY, except the camera took the witch's point-of-view when the mask was hammered in place. In modern times, reporter Jeffrey Dean Morgan worked for a tabloid and was sent to Banfield to cover a "cow mutilation" story. That story proved a bust, but voices drew him to the old tree from which the witch had been hung. He found the doll and decided to fabricate a story about a farmer finding the doll, and Morgan smashed it with his foot to make a better picture. Of course, he released the evil spirit which duped young deaf/mute Cricket Brown, living with her uncle Father William Sadler in the nearby Catholic church, into thinking that she was seeing visions of the Virgin Mary. When Brown started to see and hear, Chuch officials Bishop Cary Elwes and Monsignor Diogo Morgado arrived to investigate a possible miracle. Morgan stuck around to milk the story, but with the help of Dr. Katie Aselton, Morgan learned that Brown was a descendant of the witch. The witch can only seek revenge through a blood relative and it grew stronger every time someone professed faith in Brown's healing ability. If the resurrected witch killed Brown as she tried to save Morgan, didn't Morgan asking God to bring Brown back to life going to mean that the witch can now come back too? The dialog and music seemed to indicate that we were supposed to see the ending as an example of a real miracle, making this a film for a "faith-based" audience. 

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Charles Gilbert watched:

CANNONBALL RUN 2 Star-studded flop employing their genre cliches.

ADIOS SABATA (1970) Hadn't realized Yul Brynner was as short as Sal Borgese Gianfranco Parolini screenplay with film by Frank Kramer (Same guy)

RETURN OF SABATA (1971) Lee Van Cleef accompanied by return of actors from the first film Gianni Rizzo, Ignazio Spalla. Karis Vassilli (name reversed in the opening credits) romps with acrobatic Nick Jordan.

WOMEN OF DEVIL'S ISLAND (1962) Guy Madispn plays pirate Henry Vallierre who needs gold for the revolution. There is plenty of it on Devil's Island where Parisian women are incarcerated and spend all day under duress panning for the aurium. Michele Mercer, Roldano Lupi, and Paul Muller costar.

A-Team 'The Duke of Whispering Pines' S4E18 Jack Starrett guest stars. 

"Break Away" Unusual 1969 Pontiac automobile advertisement with 5 notable actors playing chain gang cons working on the railroad when a train car loaded with the new Pontiacs passes. : Mike Mazurki, Elisha Cooke, Jr. Lon Chaney, Jr., Robert Strauss, and Leo Gorcey. Broderick Crawford is the guard monitoring over them when they escape riding the convertible still on the train.

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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:

Carmen di trastevere (1962, Carmine Gallone)

Ovni(s) – season 2 (12 episodes)

Hoshi no samidare / Lucifer and the biscuit hammer (anime) – season 1 – episodes 6 & 7

Tupyo /Into the ring (2020) – season 1 – episode 5

Paris police 1905 – season 1 – episodes 5 & 6

Un asunto privado –season 1 – episodes 5 to 8

Yankee fakir (1947, W. Lee Wilder)

Kentucky moonshine (1938, David Butler)

Mildly enjoyed:

Enter the fat dragon (2019, Wong Jing & Kenji Tanigaki)

Cet homme est dangereux (1953, Jean Sacha)

Did not enjoy:

The demon (1979, Percival Rubens)

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David Deal Enjoyed:

LADY OF VENGEANCE (56) - Dennis O'Keefe is out for revenge for the suicide of his ward. He enlists the talents of Anton Diffring in devising an elaborate demise for the man who caused her death. Cleverly plotted Brit mystery is interesting for its misdirection, curious redemption, and ultimate denouement.

THE KILLER INSIDE ME (76) - Stacy Keach is a deputy sheriff in a small Montana mining town. He also suffered trauma growing up which has affected his mind, and eventually he goes over the edge never to return. This is based on Jim Thompson's novel of the same name and it is a devastating portrait of a (law) man who uses privilege to achieve his desired ends. Keach is really good in this slow burn psycho story that features a good cast.

JFK REVISITED: THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS (21) - Oliver Stone revisits his film in light of the release of classified documents of the assassination. Fascinating.

ESPIONAGE IN LISBON (65)

MARTA (72)

THE CRAWLING EYE (58)

MY GENERATION (18)

A SHOT IN THE DARK (35)

SANTO VS THE VAMPIRE WOMEN (62)

THE KNIGHTS OF TERROR (63) - Masked riders terrorize a town in a plot to sow chaos and capture the crown. Tony Russel leads the opposition to restore law and order. Scilla Gabel is the princess in love with him. Action-packed and reportedly gorgeous to look at (the youtube version sucks), Mario Costa's adventure is a cut above the usual costume epic, although a stronger villain would have made it even better.

KLUTE (71)

TALES FROM THE CRYPT (72)

Mildly enjoyed:

ROOM 43 (58)

THE KINDRED (87) - Dr. David Allen Brooks' mom (Kim Hunter) comes out of a coma and tells him to destroy any records at her old house related to Anthony, a brother Brooks did not know he had. Turns out mom, also a doctor, had been experimenting on the kid and it all went horribly wrong. Mad doctor Rod Steiger is also plotting to get his hands on those records. Anthony, a monstrous creation just wants to kill! Fun and gooey monster movie that also features Amanda Pays (Max Headroom).

THE GATE (87)

BLACK CANDLES (80)

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Angel Rivera Mildly enjoyed:

"Price of Glee" a 2022 documentary series about the TV show "Glee" and the tragedy of the deaths of three of its young cast.

"Una Donna per Ringo" and "Dos Pistolas Gemelas"(1966) - Now you might say that the above are the same film and you would be mostly correct; except YouTube has both the Spanish and the Italian prints. So I watched both just to see the difference.

First "Una Donna per Ringo"! The main difference is that UDpR opens with a man being tortured and then shot to death. This is before the credits roll.

The film then follows the same path as "DPG" except the first musical number which appears in "DPG" is missing. And Sean Flynn, the male lead is actually called "Ringo" in the Italian Print; not Jimmy Slattery as he is called in the Spanish print. The film as a whole is only mildly entertaining

Clerks III (2022) I was fan of the first one. This one is okay and is mildly above "Clerks 2". As a fan of Barbara Carrera, I watched her first two movie roles.

"The Master Gunfighter"(1975) which is listed as Carrera's first full screen role. The film is a western written and produced by and starring Tom Laughlin of "Billy Jack" fame. The film also features Ron O'Neal of "Super Fly" fame. It is loosely adapted from the Japanese film, "Goyokin"(1969)

Did not enjoy:

"Puzzle of a Downfall Child"(1970) is listed as her first film, but she basically has what could be called a walk-on as she is only screen for one brief scene. The rest of the film deals with the ups and downs in the life of a top model played by Faye Dunaway. Boring.Yawn!

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