December 23 - 29, 2023

 

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

Brain Teasers:

Which film by director Sergio Leone has a film editor listed as one of the screenwriters?

It was C'ERA UNA VOLTA IN AMERICA, aka ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA with Franco Arcalli, the editor and co-writer of SE SEI VIVO SPARA and ULTIMO TANGO IN PARIGI listed.

Which Italian stunt man and actor did Richard Harrison frequently employ but complained that the man never told him "thank you"?

No one has answered this question yet.

By what name is Luisa Baratto better known?

Tom Betts, Angel Rivera and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Liz Barrett.

By what name is Men Fury better known?

Tom Betts, Rick Garibaldi and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Furio Meniconi.

By what name is Nat Williams better known?

Tom Betts and Bertrand van Wonterghem knew that it was Giovanni "Nello" Pazzafini.

And now for some new brain teasers:

What film did John Steiner make that was so popular in Italy that producers started to hire him in Italian movies?

Which Italian director did John Steiner think really helped him to have a career in Italy?

In what country did John Steiner do location work for YOR THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE?

Name the movies from which these images came.

Tom Betts, Bertrand van Wonterghem, Rick Garibaldi and George Grimes identified last week's photo of Edd Byrnes, Liz Barrett and Guy Madison in SETTE WINCHESTER PER UN MASSACRO, aka PAYMENT IN BLOOD.

Above is a new photo.

Can you identify from what movie it came?

Bertrand van Wonterghem and Angel Rivera identified last week's frame grab of Stephen Boyd and Giuliano Gemma in BEN-HUR.

Above is a new photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

No one identified the above photo.

Can you name from what movie it came?

No one has identified the above frame grab.

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: 

Dinner for Five (2003) - The director and cast of CASA DE LOS BABYS sit down to chat with host Jon Favreau: John Sayles, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lili Taylor and Vanessa Martinez. Of particular interest is Gyllenhaal talking about making one of my favorite movies SECRETARY, and Sayles talking about writing PIRANHA.

Agatha Christie: Lucy Worsley on the Mystery Queen (2022) - A thoughtful and enjoyable critical biography of the British novelist in a three part TV documentary. It is particularly fun to see Worsley talk around TEN LITTLE NIGGERS without actually using the "N-word" and being circumspect about the U.S. title of TEN LITTLE INDIANS. She obviously prefers the alternate title of AND THEN THERE WERE NONE.

Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, Jr. "Country Roots with Clint Black and Rosanne Cash" (2021)

TO TRAP A SPY (1965) - After watching all of the following movies taken from The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV series, I decided to re-watch the first film, which was the one that got me excited about the series - since it didn't air on TV where I lived. Originally this was the 70 minute pilot episode "Solo" which was shortened and re-edited for TV broadcast in an hour long slot as "The Vulcan Affair". For the theatrical film, new footage featuring Luciana Paluzzi was added, which was the part of the movie that had the most lasting impact on me. I was around nine years old when I first saw this in a theater, but I could still quote a line of dialogue over 55 years later - 

Paluzzi: "What would you like me to change into?"

Vaughn: "Anything, but a boy." 

Seeing it again was quite astonishing as Leo G. Carroll wasn't in the cast yet. Will Kuluva was the head of U.N.C.L.E., and David McCallum as Illya Kuryakin only had a bit part. Vaughn actually completed the assignment "Solo" with the aid of a non-U.N.C.L.E. woman, Pat Crowley, drafted to help as a way to get to the villain played by Fritz Weaver. Series creator Sam Rolfe was the writer credited on the film, and the story element of dragging a female non-combatant into the plot would become part of the formula - for at least the eight feature films I've seen. Veteran TV director Don Medford, who would later go to Spain to make the Western THE HUNTING PARTY, directed. One of the more remarkable elements of this film was that it had three of America's most exciting Black actors in it: William Marshall, Ivan Dixon and Rupert Crosse. Shortly after this, Paluzzi appeared in the 007 film THUNDERBALL, while it took bit player Richard Kiel thirteen years before he got a part in the 007 film THE SPY WHO LOVED ME. It was particularly nice to see an U.N.C.L.E. film which only had Jerry Goldsmith's original music, and not the annoying variations of it from other composers. What was the name of the villain's organization that they had to ADR "W.A.S.P." over it?

Mildly enjoyed:

ONE OF OUR SPIES IS MISSING (1966) - This feature film was created from a two-part episode of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV series called "The Bridge of Lions Affair", based on the novel THE BRIDGE OF LIONS by Henry Slesar. At first, when evil Vera Miles talked about wanting the power denied her because she was a woman, I expected that this story would be similar to IN LIKE FLINT, which was made a year after. Miles heads a haute couture house, while The Fabulous Face in FLINT used hair dryers to brainwash women to join their cause. However, it soon became apparent that what Miles wanted was a secret process by which older men could be made younger, allowing the man she admired, Maurice Evans, to return to the seat of power and influence she coveted. David McCallum approached the investigation by trying to find who was kidnapping cats in London. Robert Vaughn sought out model Dolores Faith, who was the daughter of scientist James Doohan (without his Star Trek Scottish accent), who had perfected the process using cats, who have a similar nervous system to humans. Faith worked for Miles, but Miles sent Monica Keating and Anna Capri to ensure that Faith never talked to Vaughn. At this point, I wondered if this film would break the code and have our male heroes kill female villains. It doesn't. Thankfully T.H.R.U.S.H. agent Bernard Fox showed up to take care of those women Keating hadn't already done in. Trapping our heroes in the bottom of a wine vat with a grape press was unique, as was reusing the head of Robby the Robot as part of the Rejuvenating Machine. Of most interest to me was seeing bodybuilder Cal Bolder, whom I first noticed in JESSE JAMES MEETS FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER.  I see from his IMDb credits that he was also in a previous Man From U.N.C.L.E. film ONE SPY TOO MANY. Here he showed his real strength by not only lifting the back end of a car, but he also carried Vaughn's and McCallum's stunt doubles up a wooden staircase in a single shot. Future cast member of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In, Ann Elder, was charming as Evans' nurse, while Anna Capri - later to be in ENTER THE DRAGON, and Yvonne Craig added to the aesthetic value of this low-budget TV production.

ONE SPY TOO MANY (1966) - For the movie version of the two part The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV episode "Alexander the Greater Affair", Yvonne Craig was added. Interestingly, while she was mostly confined to the same set as she would be in ONE OF OUR SPIES IS MISSING, she doesn't seem to be playing the same character. Also appearing was Cal Bolder, but this time he didn't wear a shirt. Unfortunately, Dorothy Provine was the female lead here, signalling that this was played mostly for laughs - which it didn't get from me. After stealing a new U.S. Army gas which deprived an enemy of the will to win, Rip Torn set off on his plan to conquer the world and become "Alexander the Greater". Meanwhile, Provine began her effort to get Torn to sign settlement papers which would return the million dollars Torn got from her when they married. Why Torn felt the need to break all of the Ten Commandments wasn't explained. Reportedly, his committing adultery with Donna Michelle wasn't part of the TV episode. Michelle also appeared in THE SPY WITH MY FACE and AGENT FOR H.A.R.M. As part of his plan for world conquest, Torn planned to support a military takeover of an unnamed Asian country where James Hong was their Prince and Teru Shimada was their President. A year after this production, Shimada would appear in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE. David Opatoshu played an expert on Ancient Greece, who wanted to mummify David McCallum while he was still alive. This was two of eleven episodes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. directed by Joseph Sargent, who would go on to use James Hong again in COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT.

THE SPY IN THE GREEN HAT (1967) - The film version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. two part episode "The Concrete Overcoat Affair" was one of the better examples of turning a TV show into a movie. The story of some old-time Chicago Mafiosi helping to stop the villains' fiendish plot pre-dated the movie version of ON HER MAJESTY'S SECRET SERVICE by two years, but was four years after the publication of the original Ian Fleming novel. (And I know that in the novel it wasn't old-time Chicago mobsters but current European criminals called the Union Corse.) Jack Palance, as usual acting as if he was on the verge of hysteria, headed a T.H.R.U.S.H. plot to help a wanted Nazi scientist Ludwig Donath realize his dream to alter the Gulf Stream. This alteration would turn Greenland into a tropical paradise, which they would rename Thrushland. Heading to Sicily to investigate, Robert Vaughn and David McCallum soon ran into trouble, with Vaughn being helped by local girl Leticia Roman. When Roman's grandmother, Penny Santon, caught Vaughn hiding in her granddaughter's bedroom, she pulled a shotgun and sent for Father Frank Puglia. Thankfully, McCallum escaped from the evil clutches of Palance's sadistic associate Janet Leigh in order to swing by and help save Vaughn from marriage. Knowing that her future grandson-in-law had headed back to America, Santon contacted Roman's three uncles, who used to be on the F.B.I. most wanted list. Eduardo Ciannelli, Allen Jenkins and Jack La Rue, collectively known as the Stilletto brothers, mistakenly figured that Vaughn worked for Palance who was now in Chicago. They gathered there with Santon and Roman to demand Palance produce Vaughn. After being informed that Vaughn and McCallum were now looking for him in Chicago, Palance was at first happy to turn the U.N.C.L.E. agents over to the old-timers. However, T.H.R.U.S.H. Central now wanted the U.N.C.L.E. agents alive, so Palance and his men kidnapped Vaughn during a second attempted wedding. They also took Roman, much to Leigh's upset since she had been lusting after Palance, and couldn't understand Palance's interest in that Sicilian peasant girl. McCallum was captured by the bad guys, and Leigh was excited to get to torture him. Eventually, Vaughn made it back to U.N.C.L.E. HQ, where Leo G. Carroll informed him that they knew Palance was now operating on a small Caribbean island, which they planned to bomb out of existence in 16 hours. In order to save McCallum and Roman, Vaughn had to enlist the aid of the old-time gangsters. He also got some unexpected help from Leigh, who hearing that Palance wanted her transferred away from him, now sought to see him suffer and die. Director Joseph Sargent was better able to balance the action and the humor in Peter Allen Fields' script, with a fond nod to the old gangster films of the 1930s. Joan Blondell had a small role as Ciannelli's wife who gets a PUBLIC ENEMY-style grapefruit in the face, of which she did not appreciate. Elisa Cook also made a brief appearance as one of the Stilletto brothers' gang.

THE SPY WITH MY FACE (1965) - When I saw this movie during its theatrical release, I had not been to Los Angeles yet and was not familiar with the Griffith Park Observatory. Seeing it portrayed as being in Switzerland was humorous. At least in WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST and REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE, it was located in Southern California. An expanded version of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. first season episode "The Double Affair", THE SPY WITH MY FACE was the second feature film in the theatrical series. It was interesting to see the female lead, Senta Berger, come between stars Robert Vaughn and David McCallum in the billing. The film started with an assault led by Vaughn on a compound in Australia. This sequence was notable for a glaring "hair in the gate" on numerous shots. I guess the producers didn't want to spend money on re-shoots. The evil T.H.R.U.S.H. organization watched the assault on hidden cameras so that the man tasked with being Vaughn's double could see the original in action. This was an effort by the bad guys to insinuate themselves into the "August Affair", an once-a-year operation to change the access code to a secret vault housing something from Outer Space. This something convinced the combined governments of Earth that an invasion from "beyond the stars" might occur, so they constructed Project Earth Save, the most powerful weapon on our planet. Substituting a double for Vaughn allowed them to get at the new code as it was being delivered. Senta Berger was the decoy that trapped Vaughn, even if it meant ruining his date with stewardess Sharon Farrell. Only the women seemed to be able to tell the difference between the real and fake Vaughns, but, of course, everything worked out fine in the end. It was a shame that the "possible invasion from Outer Space" angle was never developed in future episodes. Then The Man From U.N.C.L.E. could have done a cross-over with The Invaders TV show. Seeing this movie again reminded me of a special time in entertainment media when heroes seemed to always crawl through ventilation shafts. Berger's presence made this episode special to me. And, it was one of the few times McCallum walked off with a beauty of his own, here played by Jennifer Billingsley. Donna Michelle appeared as a T.H.R.U.S.H. agent tasked with giving Vaughn a massage while he was chained to a bed. Bill Gunn, who would later direct the movie GANJA & HESS appeared as an U.N.C.L.E. agent from Africa. This was one of two episodes of The Man From U.N.C.L.E. in which Italian actor Farbrizio Mioni appeared. Michelle Carey only did this one, playing the receptionist at the Washington D.C. office. John Newland directed from a script credited to Joseph Calvelli and Clyde Ware.

THE KARATE KILLERS (1967) - The feature film version of the two-part The Man From U.N.C.L.E. episode "The Five Daughters Affair" at times seemed like a music video advertisement for Every Mother's Son singing "Come On Down To My Boat". They did it under the opening credits, and then again during a fight scene at a "Go-Go" club in London. Even some of the background music included instrumental versions of the song. Speaking of fight scenes, one shouldn't watch a movie like this and worry about concussions from getting hit in the head. Robert Vaughn and David McCallum get clobbered unconscious three times in this film, which was actually less than usual. Their adversaries, for the most part, made a parade of potential brain traumas. With Herbert Lom as the main villain, THE KARATE KILLERS was one of the better film versions of The Man From U.N.C.L.E., at least for the first half. Scientist Jim Boles accidentally created a formula for turning sea water into gold, and he was telling our heroes about it when he suddenly died from an heart attack. Vaughn and McCallum went to talk with Dole's widow, Joan Crawford, but Lom had already been there and killed her. They found Dole's fifth daughter, Kim Darby, surrounded by the mess Lom's men left, and took her along because Dole's dying word was "daughter". Dole had four step-daughters from his marriage to Crawford - and her previous four husbands. The story by producer Boris Ingster and screenwriter Norman Hudis sent our heroes around the world with the help of bad stock footage and careful use of Southern California locations. First up was Diane McBain who lived in Italy with Count Telly Savalas. Next was Jill Ireland, McCallum's real life wife at the time, a go-go dancer in London who ended up becoming close to Cop Terry-Thomas. Number three was Daniella De Metz who was making time in Austria with Curd Jurgens. Each of the daughters had a photograph of Dole in front of a blackboard which had something like a mathematical formula behind it. Our heroes didn't have to seek out the fourth step-daughter because a magazine published her photography of her father as part of an article about her. The U.N.C.L.E. code-breakers figured out that what looked like a potential formula was actually a coded anagram for "Japanese Lullaby". So Lom, who was usually one step ahead of our heroes before being thwarted again and again, kidnapped Darby and took her to Japan to jog her memory about what the message meant. Darby escaped with the help of a group of Geisha led by Irene Tsu. Born in China, Tsu was incredibly unconvincing as a Geisha, and the entire sequence set in the Geisha house quickly became tiring. When the bad guys showed up in what some American costume designer thought were karate uniforms, this sort-of justified the new title of THE KARATE KILLERS, but they didn't kill anybody and their fighting style rarely involved traditional karate. Captured, again, our heroes were taken by Lom to "the polar cap" where T.H.R.U.S.H. had built their facility to turn sea water into gold. Luckily, the process required the "thermal pressure" to be at 10,000 degrees. Any more and everything would blow up. So, you could predict where the rest of the movie would go - more potential brain injuries, though some bad guys actually got shot. Herbert Lom ended up in a way similar to his demise in THE TREASURE OF SILVER LAKE. It would take a much longer write-up than I wanted to do on this flick to mention all of the connections to be made with other Spy movies, and, in particular, the 007 series. Director Barry Shear did an acceptable job with the material, particularly in the scene between Crawford and Lom. I guess it was necessary to start the movie with a bang, but the opening scene in which the bad guys tried to blow up our heroes with a team of one-man helicopters, similar to what James Bond flew in YOU ONLY LIFE TWICE, as they were driving around Griffith Park made no sense in the plot of the movie. It only showed what lousy shots T.H.R.U.S.H. agents were. Kim Darby, two years before TRUE GRIT, was as adorable as usual, while I don't think Jill Ireland was ever more expressive as she was here.

Did not enjoy:

THE HELICOPTOR SPIES (1968) - Dean Hargrove's screnplay for "The Prince of Darkness Affair" was obviously too ambitious for television, and looked ridiculously under produced as a feature film. Ukranian born director Boris Sagal seemed at a loss to make this sillier than usual material palatable. Wanted in 22 countries, criminal mastermind Bradford Dillman was hiding out in a remote island community called "The Third Way", waiting for guru John Carradine to finally speak after twenty years of silence. Robert Vaughn arrived by helicopter to offer Dillman amnesty if he would help to break into the safe of Scientist John Dehner at his compound in Iran. Dehner had perfected the "thermal prism" death ray on which Dillman had also been working. If put into Earth's orbit, the "thermal prism" would be an unstoppable weapon. Arriving in Tehran (this being 1968 the Shah would have still been in power) - which was made to look like a small village with a dirt road, Vaughn was accosted by Carol Lynley and H.M. Wynant, who wanted to get Dillman to confess that her fiance and his brother were wrongfully imprisoned in Turkey. Lola Albright arrived, killed Wynant and took Vaughn into Dehner's compound. Meanwhile, David McCallum and Dillman gained entry using commando style means. Naturally, Lynley showed up at the compound to complicate matters. Denher knew not to trust Albright, who was his wife, but our heroes accomplished their mission by getting the prism, though when Dehner was killed, it triggered a self-destruct mechanism for the compound. Vaughn, McCallum, Dillman, Lynley and Albright escaped before the explosion, but were soon surrounded by the white haired goons of "The Third Way". It turned out that Albright was the cult's high priestess working with Dillman to conquer the world. And the goons all have their hair dyed white because Albright liked the look. Even though Dillman kept setting up situations to kill our heroes, they, of course, survived and eventually thwarted his effort to launch the prism into orbit from inside a building under construction on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles. With regularity, Lynley kept producing more brothers played by H.M. Wynant, who all ended up dead, until the one that got released from the Turkish prison arrived to inform her that her fiance had called off the engagement. Julie London had a small role as Dillman's wife who had a red "hot line" phone to her husband, which Vaughn was able to use to find the villain in the end. Kathleen Freeman brought some fun to the movie as the proprietor of a desert cafe called "Mom's" which was an hang out for the goons. A young Sid Haig was barely recognizable as one of Dehner's guards, but there was no mistaking his voice.

GODZILLA: CITY ON THE EDGE OF BATTLE (2018) - For the most part I don't respond well to Japanese Science Fiction, particularly when its anime. Perhaps it is a different cultural frame of reference, because what seems to be important to the filmmakers is not something with which I can identify. So, part one imagines that in 20,000 years, Godzilla has not only survived, but has grown to remake the entire ecology of Earth. Humanity has relied upon two different humanoid extraterrestrial cultures to survive, and then found on returning to Earth that a new humanoid species has learned to survive mostly underground. Our hero is obsessed with killing Godzilla in an effort to reclaim Earth for humanity. Back before everyone abandoned Earth to try and find a new planet on which to live, one alien species called the Bilusaludo brought their technology, involving nanometal, to create Mechagodzilla. Now this Mechagodzilla isn't the same as in the old movies. There is no giant robot that mimics Godzilla. It is a technology that has created something like a city which the Bilusaludo now feel can destroy Godzilla with an EMP harpoon. What our hero is horrified to discover, is that for the city to perform properly, it must absorb all of the humanoids around it. To prevent his fellow Earthlings from being absorbed, our hero has to break away from the effort to destroy Godzilla and destroy the Bilusaludo instead. 

GODZILLA: THE PLANET EATER (2018) - Back on the "mothership" still in Earth orbit, the remaining Bilusaludo demand that our hero be punished for killing their brethren on Earth. The other extraterrestrial group, the Exif, then comes to the fore by prophesying that their god will destroy Godzilla. They believe that Godzilla is the result of humanity's technological pride - evidenced by the Atomic Bomb; a natural occurance for every civilization that tries to be the masters of their planet - just as what happened to the Exif's home planet. Hiding with the new humanoid species on Earth, the Houtua, our hero learns that those who survived the nanometal's attempt to absorb them did so because the Houtua's natural healing. Our hero soon becomes aware that the Exif are a kind-of death cult that worship Ghidorah, a being from another dimension that brings the peace of absolute destruction. Metphies, the emissary working with our hero, believes that the hate which motivates our hero makes him the perfect sacrifice to bring Ghidorah to Earth. A "Black Hole" appears from which a fiery dragon head comes out and destroys the "mothership". Three such singularities appear in the sky over Godzilla, from which Ghidorah's three heads appear and attack Earth's monster. Our hero figures out that Metphies is responsible for this incursion from another dimension, but when he confronts the alien, Metphies telepathically puts our hero into a mental state where he tries to convince him to embrace death. Seeing that our hero is in trouble, the Houtua girl who had sex with our hero takes another of our hero's team to worship at the wall to the Houtua's god, which is still in an egg form. A manifestation of the Houtua's god, in the form of Mothra, invades Metphies' mind control of our hero, who then demands to embrace life and defeats the Exif, leading to Godzilla being able to vanquish Ghidorah. Considering that ultimately the plot of these three animated films is just a more complicated version of GHIDRAH THE THREE HEADED MONSTER, this trilogy seems rather pointless. Even more pointless is that after time passes and the remaining old time Earthlings seem to be building a contented life with the Houtua - one of them is even pregnant, an attack machine contaminated with nanometal seems functional. While one seems to feel that this means that humanity can begin to reclaim their lost civilization, our hero decides that this is just the beginning of a new cycle of destruction, so he commits suicide by flying the machine into Godzilla. After the ending credits are over, there is a scene in which the Houtua perform a religious ritual before the wall of their god, suggesting that a possible sequel might be coming involving Mothra. I am so glad that nothing from this anime trilogy proved influential to GODZILLA: MINUS ONE.

G.B.F. (2013) - Since all of the female celebrities have gay best friends, Paul Iacono decides that he can become popular in high school by "coming out" and have the three reigning female clique leaders fight for his favor. However, Paul is "in the closet", and so is his comic book nerd best friend Michael J. Willett. They hang out with Molly Tarlov and Derek Mio who are straight, but not a couple. As a joke, Iacono takes a picture of Willett and posts it on an gay hook-up site. When Joanna "Jojo" Levesque is told by teacher Natasha Lyonne that she can't start a Gay-Straight Alliance in the school without a gay student involved, Levesque uses the gay hook-up site to track down Willett, and "outs" him to the whole school. Angry, Willett catches Iacono at home with his mother, Megan Mullally, and calls him a "faggot", "outing" his friend, rupturing their relationship. As predicted, the three female clique leaders - Sasha Pieterse, Andrea Bowen and Xosha Roquemore, vie for Willett's friendship, figuring that having a G.B.F. will solidify their chances of being crowned "Queen of the Prom". Pieterse has a gay friend whom Willett can take to the Prom, which angers Iacono, who joins Evanna Lynch's "Keep Prom Straight" crowd. Even with plenty of movie references to other teen comedies and as well as BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, G.B.F.is more irritating than it is funny. I love Evanna Lynch in the Harry Potter movies, and hated to see her playing a self-righteous bigot. George Northy wrote the script with Darren Stein directing, though from the end credit out-takes there seems to have been much ad-libbing going on. Stein had previously directed JAWBREAKER which might explain why Rebecca Gayheart was cast as Willett's mother. His father is played by Jonathan Silverman.

LOVESICK (2014) - Adam Rodriquez worries about his best friend, Matt LeBlanc, because he sabotages every budding relationship with a woman by becoming insanely jealous. LeBlanc's ex-girlfriend, Cameron Richardson, even wrote a scientific paper showing how the brain of some people undergoes a change when they fall in love that triggers psychotic behavior. TV writer Dean Young and Academy Award Short Film winner director Luke Matheny use voice over and many editing tricks to spice up this romantic comedy, but very little of it is funny. Unintentionally, LeBlanc meets Ali Larter and a relationship builds, of which he immediately becomes suspicious. After Larter can't take it anymore, Rodriques organizes a meeting including all of LeBlanc' ex-girlfriends, LeBlanc and Larter to explain the man's psychosis to her. At first Larter still wants to walk away, but, of course, her grandmother, Connie Sawyer, convinces her to take LeBlanc back. Kristen Johnson is the therapist who tries to help the couple while Chevy Chase is LeBlanc's wacky neighbor who wants to hang out in LeBlanc's apartment. An example of the film's humor: Larter meets LeBlanc in the bar of a resort where she is part of an '80s tribute band. She asks him if he knows the lyrics to "Love Shack", which he writes on a paper napkin for her.

HARD GROUND (2003) - When I was a kid, veteran actors could find work in low-budget Westerns produced by A.C. Lyles at Paramount. In the early 2000s, they'd find work on low-budget Westerns from Larry Levinson Productions for the Hallmark Entertainment Channel. Having co-produced a number of TV mini-series like STREETS OF LAREDO, Frank Q. Dobbs decided to co-write, with actor & stunt coordinator David S. Cass Sr., and direct this original Western starring Burt Reynolds and Bruce Dern. We first see Reynolds shackled in the back of a prison wagon heading for Yuma Prison. It is 1901, so most everyone uses double-action pistols when there is an ambush of the wagon to free crazed outlaw David Figlioli. While the other prisoners are given the choice of joining Figlioli or die, Reynolds refuses to join, but the villain lets him live. Deputy Seth Peterson is eager to prove himself by tracking Figlioli and his men, though Uncle Bruce Dern thinks he should wait until he can get Reynolds out of prison to help. Eventually, we find out that Peterson is Reynolds' son, who was raised by Dern. Much of the film's running time is taken up with our stars slowly peeling away the mystery of Reynolds' past. Things get complicated when Peterson rescues Amy Jo Johnson from the clutches of Figlioli's gang and she demands to come along in tracking the bad guys. Things get even more complicated when it is revealed the Figlioli seems to be stealing gold for a Mexican revolutionary band led by Sergio Calderon. However, it turns out that Figlioli has set up Calderon to be murdered, so that Figlioli can step into the position of raising an Army for the Mexican Revolution. In the end, of course, our heroes kill all of the bad guys, with Johnson helping with sticks of dynamite. Johnson is very attractive in her role, and no matter what calamity occurs, her skin is always creamy clear in close up. Reynolds has an interesting wig and make-up to take away the look that exposes his plastic surgery. Dern looks, as usual, completely natural. For all of the talk about Peterson being a full-grown man, his performance seems weak. Martin Kove and Larry Hankin provide good support.

REPTILICUS (1961) - When I was six years old, this was my favorite giant monster movie. It was scary in ways that no other giant monster was, because of the mysterious way the creature was found, and the idea that if you blew parts of it off the main body, each part would regenerate into a new monster. Seeing it again was a big disappointment. Not because the monster effects were so bad - I already knew that. But because the storytelling was so limp. Halfway into the movie, we get a travelogue of Copenhagen complete with a night club performance by Birthe Wilke of "Tivoli Nights".

SPRING BREAKDOWN (2009) - Made in 2006, Warner Bros. put it on the shelf for three years before releasing it to home video and the Lifetime cable channel. Saturday Night Live cast members Rachel Dratch and Ryan Shiraki co-wrote this film, which Shiraki directed. Unfortunately, it isn't funny. We first meet Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch and Parker Posey performing "True Colors" in a college telent show to not even polite applause. Humiliatated, they leave assuring each other that their futures are bright and the future starts now. 15 years later, the three as still friends, but feeling unfulfilled. Dratch is about to marry Seth Meyers, until she figures out that he's gay. Posey is mostly ignored by her boss, Senator Jane Lynch, until Lynch hears that her daughter, Amber Tamblyn is going on Spring Break to South Padre Island. Lynch orders Posey to ingratiate herself with Tamblyn and keep her out of trouble. Poehler, Dratch and Posey were planning to go on a vacation together, so now Posey proposes that they have the Spring Break experience they never had while in college. Tamblyn has been lying to her mother about being a Party Girl, while she is actually quite the nerd with two nerdish girlfriends. When Tamblyn's boyfriend, Jonathan Sadowki, decides to dump her in favor of going to South Padre with Party Girl Sophie Monk, Tamblyn decides to follow him. As usual with this kind of film, our heroines, at first, are separated by their different responses to the Spring Break experience. However, they come together once Posey accidentally causes a scandal with Tamblyn during a Wet T-shirt contest. Both sets of girlfriends join together to enter another all-girl talent show, which mostly consists of young women bumping and grinding. Our heroines come out and perform "Hold On (for one more day)" which brings a tear to contest judge Bruce Vilanch's eye. There are many talented female performers in this movie, but unfortunately they fail to ignite the material.

                                                        

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David Deal Enjoyed:

DANGER: DIABOLIK (68)

AN ACTOR'S REVENGE (63) - A Kabuki actor plans revenge on the three men who caused his parents' deaths. A stunningly designed film, shot with great care and competence. It's interesting, amusing, and devastating. Recommended.

BEFORE I HANG (40)

BIG GUNS (73)

THE RED QUEEN KILLS SEVEN TIMES (72)

THE DAY THE EARTH CAUGHT FIRE (61)

DAKOTA INCIDENT (56) - On-the-outs outlaw Dale Robertson finds himself driving a stage to Laramie with various stock characters aboard including saloon singer Linda Darnell. When the Cheyenne attack and the stage flounders, the company find themselves in a hopeless siege. Republic color western with a good cast.

BLOOD, SWEAT AND FEAR (75) - Unorthodox narcotics cop Marco (Franco Gasparri) struggles with his superiors in his quest to take down drug king Lee J Cobb in this classic poliziotteschi. The violence is somewhat restrained compared to others of its ilk but there is still plenty to get the blood running. Gasparri wasn't really an actor at this point (he was famous for appearing in photonovels) but he pulls this off just fine. Fans of Italian crime will have a good time with this.

THE HEAD (59)

RAZZIA SUR LA CHNOUF (55)

ELEMENT OF CRIME (84)

A QUIET PLACE TO KILL (70)

THE DOOR WITH SEVEN LOCKS (62)

THE DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES (63)

"SR." - Robert Downey Jr.'s documentary about his father, underground filmmaker Robert Downey. Worth seeing.

Mildly enjoyed:

FURY AT SMUGGLERS BAY (62) - Peter Cushing is a hard-as-nails magistrate in Cornwall in the late 18th century. Cushing is involved in the smuggling racket due to his being blackmailed by Black John (Bernard Lee) because of Cushing's illegitimate son. Lots of plot here and director/producer John Gilling moves things along at a pace. A nice Sunday afternoon filler that will entertain if not impress too much.

YELLOWNECK (55) - During the Civil War, a small group of Confederate deserters make their way thru the Seminole-infested Everglades trying to find a way to Cuba. Regional-shot "western" features a small name cast, stock footage of swamp critters, and a certain amount of pluck. This trek of attrition looks like it was a miserable shoot but it's a success on some levels.

GHOST TOWN (56) - A westward bound stage finds the next station in Utah destroyed by the Cheyenne. There they join with a couple of prospectors and an army sergeant and his son. On their way west, they are attacked by the Indians and hole up in a nearby ghosttown to await their fate. Another small name, small budget western, this time with a sharp script and a satisfying finale. Kent Taylor is top billed. A Bel-Air production.

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Bertrand van Wonterghem Enjoyed:

The curse of the living corpse (1963, Del Tenney)

The redeemer (1978, Constantine S. Gochis)

Invasion of the bee girls (1973, Denis Sanders)

Butcher's crossing (2022, Gabe Polsky)

Doctor Who – episode “The star beast” (2023, Rachel Talalay)

Jipuragirado jabgo sipeun jibseungdeul / Lucky strike (2020, Kim Yong-hoon)

Mildly enjoyed:

Help me... I'm possessed (1974, Charles Nizet)

Shin Gojira / Shin Godzilla (2016, Hideaki Anno & Shinji Higuchi)

Monarch: legacy of monsters – season 1 – episode 6

Doctor Who – episodes “Wild blue yonder” (2023, Tom Kingsley) & “The giggle” (2023, Chanya Button)

Monsieur le président directeur général (1966, Jean Girault)

Monster from green hell (1956, Kenneth G. Crane)

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Angel Rivera Enjoyed:

"SOMEWHERE IN QUEENS" (2023) Streaming on Hulu is this movie starring and directed by comedian Ray Romano. Now I was never a fan of "Everybody Loves Raymond", but this is a feel good movie, like "Rocky" which the Ray Romano character keeps quoting. Ray is an Italian/American father from Queens, NY looking out for his son and the mistakes one makes when one tries too hard, but spoiler alert: it all works out in the end.

"MARTIAL LAW" (1991) Here is a curiosity I found on YouTube. A film with Cynthia Rothrock, but starring Chad McQueen, the son of actor, Steve McQueen. Chad plays the best undercover cop who ever existed with Cynthia as his partner and love interest. They go up against David Carradine's evil gunrunner and expert martial arts killer. Not enough Cynthia and too much Chad. Carradine at this point in his career could play bad guys, (like he did in "Lone Wolf McQuade" (1983) with menacing ease. Almost plays like a pilot for a TV cop series. (Sammo Hung would use the title, "Martial Law" for his TV show which plays better than this movie.)

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