This is a very watchable Western that exhibits a high level of grotesque violence. I attribute the violence to the fact that this movie follows on the heels of “The Wild Bunch” which was a Western and which saw director Sam Peckinpah push the boundaries of on-screen gun play and graphically portrayed violence. “The Hunting Party” follows in the mold and shows a lot of bullet holes being made in some of the characters and there is generally sadistic bent to the character portrayed by Gene Hackman. Hackman is a cattle baron who treats his young wife like so much [More]
This is a trifle of a segment but I noticed recently while binge watching some Vincent Price scarefests that a lot of his films conclude with a purging fire breaking out and ridding the story of some of the evil situations and characters thus far encountered. Maybe it was a favored conclusion for director Roger Corman who concluded “The Fall of the House of User” (1960) and “The Haunted Palace” (1963) in such a fashion. It certainly is a flamboyant way to conclude a movie with the set catching fire and falling down into flaming pieces! Price or another actor [More]
We mention the sad departing of the guy who wore “The Creature From The Black Lagoon” costume UNDERWATER for that great Universal monster series. The underwater sequence where the Creature mirrors the movie heroine’s movements is basically a well-choreographed ballet. Pretty amazing. We thank you, Ricou, for your great contributions to the moving image!
Enthralling portrait of slimy, degenerate gambler Howard Rattner as he attempts to pay off his prior gambling debts by engaging in one slippery scam after another. This is not your most likable character. A loud, annoying, manic schemer, Rattner, as played by normally comedic actor Adam Sandler, will fence your most valuable possessions when entrusted to his care. He is a married man with three kids yet also maintains an apartment where his girlfriend lives. Rattner owes $100K to his loan shark relative who has his Mafia pals putting pressure on Howie to pay up. Things get a little crazy [More]
Take a break from the calamitous state of the World at present and rejoice in the mellow yet haunting vibe of “Sundown” from the recently departed Gordon Lightfoot. He was a singer-songwriter who had many cool tunes. I saw him perform once in California during simpler times. Well, I was younger back then and the times certainly seemed better. Great song. Enjoy it!
I was intrigued with finally seeing this film as it starred Forrest Tucker, who made a few of my favorite 1950’s science fiction films namely “Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas” and “The Crawling Eye”. “Monsters” is my least favorite entry. I found it very difficult to follow the action for a couple of reasons: What I can glean from this snoozer is that scientists are conducting experiments concerning magnetism and cosmic rays and seem to have F’ed up and ripped a hole between our dimension and an unseen parallel dimension thus allowing an unwelcome invisible intruder to enter our space [More]
The very talented actor George Segal just left us. Segal was a good dramatic actor as well as possessed of comedic timing. Segal had a long career and certainly will be missed. I include a clip from “The Terminal Man”, an adaptation of a Michael Crichton book. This was a harrowing look at science and technologies meant for good potentially having a disastrous and deadly side effect.
Director William Friedkin cemented his legacy with two filmic masterpieces, The French Connection and The Exorcist. The French Connection excites with the kinetic pacing of this violent crime drama. It doesn’t hurt that this movie also features an iconic car chase scene that was repeatedly imitated. Also, features an Academy Award winning performance by Gene Hackman as hardboiled detective Popeye Doyle. The Exorcist stills ranks, in my book, as one of the scariest movies ever made. The hackles will rise on the back of your neck as you witness a young girl being taken over by an evil presence and [More]
I have always personally enjoyed this Boris Karloff scare fest set in the English countryside, but it may not be your cup of Earl Grey. I think it is the atmospheric locales complete with swirling fog banks and the rustic British environs plus the deeply saturated colors that most appeals to me. Boris is his sinister best in one of his latter day horror roles. I guess you could call this a cosmic horror tale as it is loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Colour Out of Space” short tale. American Nick Adams ventures to a distant estate to visit [More]
Very enjoyable, further adventure of hockey mask wearing, unstoppable serial butcher, Jason Vorhees. Jason is being studied at a government facility in the 21st century. After some murderous mayhem, he is cryogenically frozen along with one of the doctors studying him. Flash forward to the 25th century where another research team find the two iced over specimens and take them aboard their vehicle and rocket off back to their space habitat. Eventually the doctor is revived and warns that it is best to leave Jason on ice as once he is active, all proverbial Hell will break loose. Accidents happen [More]
Not to start the New Year off on a bad note but I recently read an interesting article that outlines some of the difficulties we currently face in our global society and possibly safe places to go in case of catastrophe. (I guess it may not matter if you get there and don’t already have a compound set up and self-sufficient means of survival set up!) But Definitely food for thought in our currently turbulent times. When aren’t times on this planet turbulent? But read on and enjoy! The link is here: 7 Best Places to Go in the U.S. [More]
A very strange film courtesy of director Curtis Harrington. This film is by turns ambitious, clumsy, inspired, dull, beautiful, ugly, and creepy in atmosphere. Harrington compiles, at times, an epic space adventure that involves our world and the inhabitants of another planet. It seems that Earth has detected an interstellar message that aliens are headed toward our planet to establish a meeting of the races. It is soon discovered that the aliens were waylaid enroute and crashed on the planet Mars. Earth dispatches a rescue mission to assist the downed craft. Our astronauts recover one living specimen but soon regret [More]
The 1970’s had its share of weird movies that featured very bizarre characters and groups, “Lemora” (1973, also!) immediately comes to mind. This feature details a seaside community where a diabolical cult of some sort is in operation. Are these conservatively dressed people zombies, vampires, demonically possessed drones? It seems the latter. An old tale is recounted in flashback about the community where an evil preacher begins to spread his evil presence felt. The town’s weirdness continues to the present and we see a malevolent mob tracking down innocent victims and then devouring them. Very interesting visual style is applied [More]
We first stumbled into rabid newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak in 1971’s “The Night Stalker”. Kolchak sniffed out a marauding vampire in fun town Las Vegas. His dogged pursuit of the truth and the dire implications it posed to the town’s populace were Kolchak’s undoing as the Powers That Be were decidedly opposed to his efforts. A coverup thus remains as such and Kolchak ends up ruined as a result. Kolchak is forced out of town but eventually blows into Seattle, Washington, trying to peddle his “bizarre” tale of vampirism existing in the modern age. He has no takers until he [More]