Interesting action/suspense/monster movie that at first appears to feature the messy handiwork of a werewolf on the loose in New York City. Albert Finney investigates a rash of gruesome murders and has to piece together what is causing all the havoc. Well shot cityscapes and some nice tension inducing scenes played out in some desolate, derelict locations around New York. Curious visual effects are employed here that are supposed to enable us to see the movie namesake’s point of view at various times during the film. Gregory Hines adds a nice turn as a member of the coroner squad. This feature [More]
A rousing, electrified musical number from ’70’s supergroup, Emerson, Lake and Palmer. I always play this song around Christmas time because it just radiates that time of year for me. The song itself is an ode to England and its majesty but ignoring the lyrics and listening to the music itself is a Christmas time treat. If that makes any sense. Swirling organs and flavorful synthesizer phrasings from Keith Emerson. Percussion professor Carl Palmer adds his intricate drum fills. String whiz Greg Lake also provides the shimmering, powerful vocals. A delight. Break out the cordials!
This clip is a masterfully staged study of the shark hunter Quint from Steven Spielberg’s “Jaws”. Quint, played by Robert Shaw, recounts his earlier in life run in with man eating sharks. The profound horror of this life threatening event probably played no small part in his decision to hunt sharks for a living. “Jaws” is still an amazing thrill ride of a movie after all these years. I think it may be Spielburg’s best picture. This scene is eminently creepy and evocative.
I came home wiped out after a lousy day at work and wanted nothing more than to dissolve into bed with a little TV action to numb me. After checking the programming guide, there was nothing on! Figures. One last check and I stumbled upon “Frogs” being shown on Robert Rodriguez’s El Rey Network. Saved! El Rey has been showing some cool movies recently. Call them grindhouse features or exploitation or fantastic cinema films, whatever, you will find a wide range of cinema treats to keep you entertained. So, “Frogs” is a Seventies flick that touches on the theme of [More]
A harrowing account of a collection of dubious characters involved in a drug deal that goes bad. A counsellor, in need of some heavy cash, agrees to go in on a deal with some of his drug connected buddies. Little do they know that they are being set up by a member of their inner circle. Visually stunning work with an equally stunning cast. Ridley Scott directs a cast that includes Michael Fassbender ( who took a turn as a sadistic artificial person in Scott’s “Alien” prequel “Prometheus”), Brad Pitt, Cameron Diaz, Penelope Cruz, and Javier Bardem. Incidentally, the screenplay [More]
An attempt to bring to the silver screen a work by author Ray Bradbury. Three futuristic stories are “illustrated” through the conduit of a mysterious wanderer whose body is covered in tattoos. Rod Steiger plays the tattooed man who explains the story behind various of his body art. Steiger and Claire Bloom appear in the three episodes playing different characters. Very brooding, dark film that wears it’s ’60’s era influences on its sleeve sometimes not so well. I must say that this is not one of my favorite films and not one I would readily return to. Trippy at times and [More]
A camera set to take photographs at select time intervals catches a strange shape rising out of a lake near Loch Ness. Is it a log, a large fish, a camera aberration? You be the judge. The Internet is just full of such mysterious photos/videos that allegedly show proof of mythic beasts. One day solid proof of such unusual phenomenon may materialize.
“In Search Of” was a documentary series hosted by actor Leonard Nimoy. The show ran in the 1970’s and it’s subject matter covered the mysterious, the supernatural, the uncanny and the just plain weird. Here is a sample episode that pursued the topic of Bigfoot. I remember watching this program religiously on Sunday evenings and enjoying it immensely. A precursor to the vast amount of supernatural/docudrama series which populate the cable TV landscape today. Worth seeking out.
The Joker is certainly one of my favorite comic book characters. Batman’s arch nemesis can be considered among the Top Ten of fictional super villains of any media. But, let’s face the facts. He is totally mad! Sometimes his plans and schemes can get a little out of control. And with the melding of “adult” themes with graphic art forms, The Joker’s naughtiness can basically be allowed to plummet any depth the author of the piece cares to pursue. Here are a few of The Joker’s darkest moments.
I stumbled upon this movie late at night and was instantly appalled! What a horrific, nightmarish spectacle it all is. A unit of Russian soldiers during World War II are unfortunate enough to wander into the Hell of a den of nearly unstoppable human/robot hybrids. The soldiers’ mission is to apprehend a latter day descendant of the evil Dr. Frankenstein himself and put a stop to his hideous killer creations. They should have gone AWOL and fled the mission. The creatures featured in this lovely gore fest are pieced together from dead bodies and curious mechanical parts the good doctor [More]
A self modulating video synthesizer is demonstrated here. Lots of pretty, shifting color patterns and an interesting audio soundtrack accompaniment follow. Maybe best to absorb in small doses? Noodling can be an intense experience at the time of creation but later playback always begs editing. Deciding what to cut and what to leave in can be an agonizing experience!
We visit Forrest J. Ackerman, the creator of “Famous Monsters of Filmland” magazine, and take an abbreviated tour of the “Ackermansion” memorabilia collection Ackerman amassed in Southern California. Plenty of pad puns and dusty monster/horror/science fiction movie artifacts await. How did Ackerman remember where everything was stored?
Dave Brock, longtime Hawkwind guitarist. This concert footage of Hawkwind illustrates their cool use of stage dressing and lights. I mean, have you ever seen anything like this? Probably, since this was a tour which ran back in the early 1990’s. I saw them in a small club in Northern California a few years ago and the intensity of sound volume and shifting, strobing lights and lasers was pretty overwhelming. I loved it!
A perfect document of an intense rock band performing live. Here are The Who performing “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, live, as part of a filmed segment to be included in a documentary about the band’s history, “The Kids Are Alright”. Jeff Stein directed the documentary and caught and edited this spirited performance of the song which originally appeared on their studio release, “Who’s Next”. The Who have always excelled as a live act and this is surely one of their most classic live documents. Keith Moon tirelessly rattles out his drum parts. Roger Daltrey shrieks and howls his way through the [More]