D.O.A. DEAD OR ALIVE 2006 (DIMENSION)

You cannot go wrong with this movie. You have extremely hot women, martial arts fights and constant action throughout the entire film.
Based on the video game, this concersn three sexy women who travel for a tournement with the winner collecting 10 million dollars.
Eric Roberts is the genius who puts on the contest and smoking hot Jamie Pressly, Devon Aoki and the even hotter Holly Valance are the three main women who compete. Also along for the ride is Kevin Nash as Pressly's wrestler father and Sarah Carter as Robert's daughter turned fighter.
Lots of great action and damn sexy eye candy make this a winner.

AMERICAN VAMPIRE 1997 (MAVERICK)

Well every once in a while I watch a movie and I stand at attention, and anything with Carmen Electra makes me stand at attention.
This is a sadly underrated comedy film about a vampire who moves into a house with a young man whose parents are gone for the summer. He brings his two assistants Sulka (Carmen Electra) and Katrina (Debra Xavier). The young man soon finds his friends are being changed into vampires so he enlists the aid of The Big Kahuna, aka Van Helsing to help stop the vampire spread.
The comedy is ok but somewhat lame at times such as the vampire calling himself "Moondoggie", but what else can you expect.
Carmen isn't on screen a lot, but holy god when she is you know it. ATTENTION!!
See this film only if you like clean and fun comedies that are very light. You might like it...I know I sure as hell did.

MOVING VIOLATION 1976 (SHOUT FACTORY)

Roger and Julie Corman produced this story about a young drifter walking thru a town who is harrassed by a sheriff and his deputy. Later he meets a young woman and they witness the sheriff kill his deputy and then the chase is on.
They are framed for murder and the authorities have orders to shoot on site. This film is very well made and is very bleak and will bring the viewer down. The police act like police in real life, in other words incompetant fools.
Great movie with a great cast including Stephen McHattie as the drifter, Kay Lenz as the young woman, Eddie Albert, Lonny Chapman, Will Geer and Dick Miller.
Highly Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Tony Musante is 76, and Terry Funk is 68.

THE FAR COUNTRY 1954 (UNIVERSAL)

Another great Jimmy Stewart western about a man who locks horns woth a crooked lawman while driving his cattle.
John McIntire is the lawman who steals from people and jumps their gold claims and Steve Brodie and Harry Morgan are his henchmen.
Directed by Anthony Mann with a lot of flair and style as in all his films.
The excellent cast is rounded out by Ruth Roman, Corinne Calvet, Walter Brennan, Jay C. Flippen, Jack Elam and Connie Gilchrist.
If you like westerns there is no way you will be disappointed in this winner.

THE LAST MILE 1932 (MILL CREEK)

A man is wrongly convicted of murder and sentanced to death. He is put on death row and soon after a vicious killer attempts a prison break and the young man is trapped into helping him.
Preston Foster gives a great performance as the killer who attempts a break. The plot is sometimes slow, but this is an engaging little film that really hasn't been seen much.
Good print quality from Mill Creek.

INVINCIBLE GLADIATOR 1961 (RETROMEDIA)

Richard Harrison stars in this sword and sandal epic about a Roman warrior who helps people overthrown an evil leader.
There is really nothing you havent seen a million times before, but still, this is a well made film with plenty of action including great swordfighting and some very lovely women.
Again, nothing spectacular, but good.

RIP DON GRADY 1944-2012

The actor who played Robbie Douglas on the sitcom My Three Sons has passed away at the age of 68 after a long battle with cancer.
I was first introduced to Don in the 1960 film Ma Barker's Killer Brood, and he made a few other TV and movie appearences, but everyone will always remember him from My Three Sons which ran for 12 years.
A good man and a great talent.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Bruce Davison is 66, and Lalla Ward is 61.

SWAMP OF THE LOST MONSTER 1957 (DVD-R)

First I saw Curucu Beast Of The Amazon, then is saw ZAAT and now.....Swamp Of The Lost Monster and all I can say is Viva El Sea Monster!!!
This stars bullfighter and actor Gaston Santos as a detective looking into a blackmail scheme and murder which lead shom into a ballte with a swamp monster that would fit right along side of the monster from ZAAT.
The film print is in pretty rough shape but still very watchable. I first saw this on the USA network on Commander USA's Groovy Movies, and it has since been a guilty pleasure....
No I take that back..I am NOT guilty for watching such things, I never let the child in me disappear and I do enjoy these films no matter how bad they may be.
This is recommended to all Mexi-Movie lovers.

SWORD AND THE DRAGON 1956 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Magnificent adventure film from Russia about a man who is crippled but when he offers help to several strangers they give him a potion that makes him strong again and he sets off to fight the army that has pillaged his small village.
He fights the evil ruler and his army as well as a wind demon, evil spirits and a huge three headed flying dragon.
The Russians always knew how to make excellent fantasy films, and this is one of many. It was cut for US audiences and re-dubbed, but it is still an epic that I really recommend you see if you have a chance.

DRAGON WARS 2007 (SONY)

Strange film based on a Korean legend about a dragon coming back to destroy the world.
The film seems somewhat disjointed and confused as if it were two separate movies sewn into one. Robert Forster is a man whom we find out has mystical powers as he is the reincarnation of a 500 year old wizard and he attempts to help stop the dragon from destroying Los Angeles.
The effects are very good for CGI, but it really doesn't help as the plot makes it very hard to follow.
Still, if you like giant monster movies, this may do to pass 90 minutes.

RIP RICHARD LYNCH 1936-2012

Character actor who was known for playing classic villians in hundreds of movies and TV shows has passed away on June 19 at the age of 76 from a heart attack.
Lynch was known to genre fans for such films as Bad Dreams, Death Sport, and many more. Lynch was scarred in the face which he said he did when he set himself on fire while under the influence of LDS when he was much younger.
He was the perfect movie bad guy, and he will be missed.

GASLIGHT 1940 (MILL CREEK)

Very well made British murder mystery about a woman murdered 12 years before for her rubies. The killer never finds them..flash foward 12 years later and a couple move into her home, and the husband has a dark secret he will keep at any price.
Anton Walbrook gives a great performance as a madman trying to keep a secret and stay sane while Diana Wynyard plays his troubled wife.
This is a seriously overlooked little shocker that plays out very well.
Recommended!!

BEND OF THE RIVER 1952 (UNIVERSAL)

James Stewart stars in this rugged Anthony Mann western about a town boss who confiscates supplies belonging to homesteaders when gold is discovered in a nearby camp.
Stewart plays Glyn McLyntock, a tough as nails cowboy who attempts to get the supplies back. Mann directed this movie much like everything else..top notch and not a boring spot in sight. This must for Western fans also stars Arthur Kennedy, Rock Hudson, Julia Adams, Lori Nelson, Jay C. Flippen, Harry Morgan and Royal Dano.
If you want top flight entertainment, this is the film to see.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Robert Davi is 61.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE 2011 (ASYLUM)

The Asylum jumps on the Dawn Of The Dead bandwagon and makes a pretty good zombie movie starring Ving Rhames and made for the Syfy channel.
A ragtag group of people fight their way to the coast and hopefully to freedom from zombies on Catalina Island.
As expected a lot of the members are bitten and turn into flesh eating monsters, and there is the usual shoddy CGI effects, but still, this is a good zombie movie for fans who like this kind of stuff.
The cast also includes Taryn Manning, Gary Weeks and the gorgeous Lesley Anne Brandt.
Check it out...good stuff.

GALLERY OF HORROR 1967 (IMAGE)

Well this is another film that people tend to pounce on and make fun of, but the fondness for this movie with me is huge. Director David Hewitt made this anthology film of five tales for about 3 dollars, but I have always enjoyed the hell out of it.
The stories are about witches, vampires, werewolves and walking corpses, and they are done in a very cheap way that actually makes you want to watch. There are some very obvious mistakes such as the segment starring Lon Chaney that takes place in the 1800's but there are modern phones and wristwatches everywhere.
John Carradine is the narrator and stars in the first story as an evil witch brought back to life.
Two confessions here, first I find that the actress in the first story, Karen Joy to be very attractive and found that she never made another film, and secondly, this was actually my inspiration for making my second SOV film entitled Macabre Tales.
Hey, I like this film. It's very watchable and very entertaining. Recommended!!

SPACE CHILDREN 1958 (OLIVE)

Back to the fab 50's for this great sci-fi film about children of scientits at a rocket site that are taken over by a huge brain from outer space in order to stop the launching of a nuclear satellite.
Johnny Crawford, Michael Ray and Sandy Descher are three of the children. The parents are played by Amad Williams, Peggy Webber, Russell Johnson, Jackie Coogan among others.
The story is very well developed and we also learn this is a global invasion to stop all satellites from being launched.
This has never been offered on VHS or DVD before and it was shown in the early 90's on the USA network with Commander USA and his Groovy Movies. Olive brings us a beautiful widescreen print that looks like it's brand new. Highly Recommended for 50's film fans and sci-fi lovers.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.......

Nancy Allen is 62.

FIGHTING MAD 1976 (SHOUT FACTORY)

Roger Corman produced film starring Peter Fonda as a man pushed too far by a big mining corporation who takes the law into his own hands after the death of his brother, sister in law and father at the hands of the corporate thungs.
Phillip Carey is the head of the corporation, Scott Glenn is Fonda's brother and Lynn Lowery is the young woman Fonda wants to be with.
Lots of action and violence make this a winner and Fonda is very believable as a man who has a breaking point, and when he reaches it..watch out.
Shout released this on a double bill with Moving Violation which will be reviewed here soon. Recommended.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

John Amplas is 63.

RATS: NIGHT OF TERROR 1984 (BLUE UNDERGROUND)

Wow!! I had never had the chance to view this infamous Bruno Mattei film until now, and all I can say is wow. A couple of hundred years after the world has been wiped out by Atomic War a ragtag group of survivors living on the surface stop for some rest at a facility that they soon find is overrun with mutated killer rats.
None of the characters is likable except for a young black woman named Chocolate who seems to actually have some human feelings. She is played by Garetta Garetta a fairly well known actress working primarily in Italy but born in Portland, Oregon.
The rampaging rats in some of the scenes look like plastic toys on an assembly line, but what the hell, this is fun, and some of the dialogue is simply priceless.
As the film opens we learn of a race of people living undreground that are supposedly more intelligent than the above ground scavengers..and in the end the last two surviving members of the group find out what the race living underground really is...and it is a kicker.
If you have never seen this film I am not going to give it away, but it will surprise you.
I admit I liked this movie, it is harmless entertainment, a little gory at times, but fun anyway. If you get a chance, check it out.

TERRIFYING GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL LYNCH LAW CLASSROOM 1973 (PANIK HOUSE)

I love Japanese women....and I really love movies about them especially twisted ones..Yes I know that sounds crazy and perverted, but then I admit it anyway.
This is a bizarre film about three young girls put into a reform school and they in turn take on a "Discipline Squad" of sadistic female students who are paid off by the administration and the police to torture and kill those who oppose them.
Miki Sugimoto is a bad girl who faces off against the sadistic squad and Pinky Violence icon Reiko Ike joins the mayhem.
Only in Japan can you find movies such as these, and I have never seen a bad one. Highly recommended for those who like Pinky Violence films. This one is quite the trip.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO......

Bruce Campbell is 54, Kris Kristofferson is 76, Lindsay Wagner is 63, and Cyndi Lauper is 59.

RIP SUSAN TYRRELL 1945-2012

Very off the wall character and self proclaimed outcast and gypsy, Susan Tyrrell died at the age of 67 on June 16th.
She was known as one of the most bizarre but likeable people in the movie business and genre fans may already know that she was the narrator on the Roy Frumkes documentary film about George Romero called Document Of The Dead.
A one of a kind person, there will never be another.

DEVIL'S COMMANDMENT (I VAMPIRI) 1956 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Riccardo Freda brings to the screen a most twisted tale about a mad scientist who kidnaps women and drains their blood in order to keep a mad countess alive.
This excellent film was made in 1956 but not released in the US until 1963. The photography is top notch and the story keeps right on moving until the interesting climax. The director of photography was none other than Mario Bava and it was also the first Italian horror film and started a huge run for horror out of Italy.
Highly recommended for horror fans, this is one that can't miss.

TOMB OF TORTURE 1963 (IMAGE)

This is a good piece of Euro gothic horror, but I cannot really say I like or dislike the film...it kind of falls into a nether reagion.
Two young women are tortured and killed and thus starts our strange tale about a mad woman supposedly living alone in a dark castle.
Later we find out there is a deranged killer running around torturing women and scaring the populance. The premise is excellent as well as the title, but the film comes off as somewhat empty and very disjointed.
It's an ok film for horror fans, but you really must stay with it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Michael Gross is 65, Mariette Hartley is 72, Meredith Baxter is 65, and Ron Ely is 74.

AMERICAN TOP 40 THE 70'S

Say, this weekend on WMGN Madison on Saturday morning at 6am Central time a replay of this past weekends AT 40 the 70's will air and what a program it is!!! The show is from 6/19/1976 and in my opinion it's the best time for music ever!!
Check it out and see what I really love when it come to music. GOOD TIMES!!

AUDIE MURPHEY 1925-1971

My favorite actor in western movies would be 87 is he were still around today. Murphey was born in 1925 and died in a plane crash in 1971.

STATE DEPARTMENT FILE 649 (1949 ALPHA)

William Lundigan stars as a government agent sent to China to stop an evil Chinese warlord from executing several US citizens. This is a well made and interesting film noir type movie in Cinecolor and directed by Sam Newfield.
Lundigan is excellent in the lead role, as always and the supporting cast of Virginia Bruce, Frank Ferguson, Richard Loo, Philip Ahn and Victor Sen Yung is just as good.
Lots of great plot develpoments and a somewhat surprising ending make this a winner that I really recommend you see.
And, speaking of William Lundigan...coming up in a very short time I will be spotlighting him in an interview with the author of a new book about Lundigan coming out soon. Stay tuned...

BEST OF THE KING OF THE RING 2011 (WWE)

This three disc set contains some of the greatest matches ever from the inception of the King Of The Ring competition in 1993 clear thru 2010. The early matches are some of the most classic ones around including Owen Hart Vs. Razor Ramon, Stone Cold Steve Austin vs. Shawn Michaels and many more. There are several matches on here that were from the various nights of competition, but not actually King Of The Ring Matches and those are some of the best remembered ever including The Undertaker vs. Mankind in the infamous Hell In A Cell Match and Shame McMahon vs. Kurt Angle in a violent street fight plus more. Over 7 hours of classic action which is a must for wrestling fans everywhere.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Nicole Kidman is 45, Martin Landau is 84, Brett Halsey is 79, and Claudia Barrett is 89.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Paula Abdul is 50, Louis Jourdan is 91, Ray Lovelock is 62, and Rosalba Neri is 73.