Have you ever noticed the greatly relied on device used in the movies where a character will emotionally discharge a big gun of some type? I guess the reaction is supposed to characterize a last gasp burst of attack against a nearly undefeatable opponent (Independence Day: Resurgence). Terminator Salvation has multiple examples of actors unloading weapons’ magazine after magazine in an attempt to stop a non human juggernaut. To get an idea of what I am referring to, please go to the clip. You can probably get away with this type of behavior at the target range.
Madman, comedian, writer, director, actor, humanitarian Jerry Lewis, a show business legend, passed away this year. My best advice to see the man in action is to seek out his movies on cable and video on YouTube to get an appreciation for his zany style. Check out the live stage act vids of him with his partner Dean Martin, too. The included clip demonstrates the chaos inducing style he brought to talk show appearances.
One of the swan song performances of the Monkees. This is from a TV special called “33 1/3 Revolutions Per Monkee” that no one really watched when it first came on. This is a great Mike Nesmith penned tune. The four Monkees converge on to the set after Peter Tork’s noodling electric piano play and kick in to the tune. There then commences a musical “freak out” of the assembled TV special guests. Peter Tork left the band shortly after this show.
This is a cool collection of videos which show an early Pink Floyd doing their numbers live and in the studio. The original creative spark of the band, Syd Barrett, was soon to depart. Drugs and possible mental issues led to his being replaced by David Gilmour. I love the promotional video with Syd playing acoustic guitar, “Jugband Blues”. Roger Waters and Rick Wright doubling on woodwinds for that section of the song pushes the boundaries of belief but very cool lighting is used in the video. Enjoy!!!
Another major contributor to the horror field has died. Wes Craven has left behind a legacy, love it or hate it. I liked this first entry in the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series. There were a few sequels that I didn’t much care for. And after awhile, Freddy Kreuger’s wisecracks can get grating and tiresome. There are some style points to consider though. Craven incorporated a lot of dazzling effects in this film that still retain the power to creep out the viewer. There are elastic walls groping toward intended victims with claws and bodies busting through. There is the [More]
Not quite a horror comedy but this film definitely has some satirical touches added by director/writer, the late, great Larry Cohen. There is also a good supply of gore such as bitten off limbs and rains of blood from the sky above. Two New York cops are in pursuit of a crazed killer who is enacting Aztec ritual sacrifice on people. Why, you may ask. The rituals will summon forth, Quetzalcoatl , an Aztec god of wind and air who could give the killer more of an edge in taking New York over by force. So, the killings continue both on [More]
Legendary boundary pushing movie. What did it bend out of shape? This movie is bursting with plenty of acts of extreme cinematic violence and nastiness. Back in the early 1970’s, this Sam Peckinpah directed movie made censors’ heads swim. Dustin Hoffman portrays a brainiac who marries a local British girl and elects to live with her in the English countryside to quietly do his work and make her happy. The old house they live in requires a bit of upkeep so the couple decide to employ some local handymen to fix the place up. Seems that Hoffman’s wife, Susan [More]
Climate disaster strikes in this gritty, black and white science fiction picture from Britain. The US and Russia are independently testing nuclear weapons at opposing poles in the same time frame. The resultant detonations have calamitous effects on the rotation of our planet setting it on a course a bit too close to the Sun for our own good. London experiences drastic temperature rises. The Thames dries up, looting and riots break out and panic sets in. The authorities decide on a desperate course of action: fire off a couple more nuclear devices in an effort to get the Earth [More]
Here is a seasonal fun item. Rite Aide sells this adjustable party strobe light which also includes spooky sound effects of a haunted house, howling winds, thunder and lightening, creaking doors and general Halloween inspired noise. Buy a couple and have competing audio and video mayhem in your own living room. Michael Myers mask is optional but necessary. Ah. The possibilities!
I have had time to catch up on some reading while sheltering at home with the coronavirus pandemic raging on. I came across an interesting observation made by Kim Newman in his “Apocalypse Movies” book. He observed that in several 1950’s era science fiction movies, the military and scientists combined their efforts to rid the world of alien menaces with some new sonic based weapons. Newman imagined that the sonic weapons could have either been introduced as a safer, more progressive form of warfare, especially when having to secure the safety of the civilian population, as opposed to nuclear weapons [More]
“The Satan Bug” (1965) has an intriguing concept, the world could possibly end if a germ warfare agent known as the Satan Bug were to be accidentally exposed to an unknowing public. Well, in the desert, there exists a germ warfare lab and it appears that a vial of the Doomsday Drink is missing. Ah…..Espionage is afoot. This is all well and good but I must say that trying to follow all the clandestine activity and all the bodies involved in the nefarious deeds and double crosses (TODAY’S HEADLINES, ANYBODY?) was a bit migraine inducing. What I find very alarming [More]
Miners uncover a piece of preserved dinosaur tail that ends up thawing in a scientific research facility. That ends up being an awful turn of events. The small bit of flesh soon grows and regenerates a complete dinosaur! The resilient reptile. Very soon, a full-fledged rampaging beast is on the loose and begins laying waste to the Denmark countryside where the tale takes place. There are bits of this fantasy film that I find actually enjoyable. There is a travelogue of sorts that appears near the middle of the film that highlights some of the festive night spots and activities [More]
Multi-instrumentalist and revolving UFO member MVP, Paul Raymond, passed away recently. Raymond played keyboards and guitar in many different iterations of UFO and had a memorable participation in The Michael Schenker Band. A very reliable addition to any band, his energy and enthusiasm will be missed in the music world.
This Roger Corman produced and directed film is a treat. There is a quasi-comical air about the proceedings as a lot of the action takes place in a Beat Generation inspired coffee house where poets and musicians alike share a performance stage, hang out and spout off in exaggerated artistic fashion. In the midst of this “Cool” cafe trundles waiter Walter Paisley, a loner who aspires to be creative and wants something more out of life than just busing tables for the rest of his life. Walter buys a packet of clay and tries his hand at sculpting in his [More]