DIE ANOTHER DAY 2002 (MGM)

The last of the good Bond films in my opinion.

This is the fourth time around for Pierce Brosnan as Bond. I consider it the last good Bond film.

Bond spends 14 months as a prisoner of the North Koreans and is released in a trade for a Korean prisoner held in the USA. Bond finds his 00 status taken away and so he takes things into his own hands to find out who betrayed him during his mission.

The story is a very good one and sometimes it gets lost in all the special effects, which is such a common flaw in these film made today.

Rosamund Pike as Miranda Frost has a good part as she does an excellent job as the evil female double agent. The highlight of this film to me is, of course Halle Berry as Jinx Johnson, the government agent who helps Bond.

We are introduced to her in an almost identical scene from Dr. No in which Ursula Andress came out of the ocean. Not that I am complaining about that, but i think the filmmakers could have done something different.

Anyway, Berry makes the entire film for me and if not for her I probably wouldn't like it as much as I do. The rest of the cast includes Toby Stephens as Gustave Graves, a master criminal, Judi Dench as M, John Cleese as Q and Samanths Bond as Moneypenny.

All in all not too bad, but I think the people behind the Bond films have long lost sight of the original character and I for one am not pleased about that.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Angie Dickinson is 85, Ian Oglivy is 73, Debrah Farentino is 57, Candice Michelle is 38, Angela Pleasence is 75, Marilyn McCoo is 73, and Patrice Rushen is 62.

THE BIG SLEEP 1946 (MGM)

This film has been called the epitome of film noir.

Humphrey Bogart is Phillip Marlowe who is called into a case by a wealthy man who wants Marlowe to stop a blackmailer.

The blackmailer is trying to extort money from him to cover one of his daughter's gambling debts. Here is where Marlowe meets the very sexy Carmen Sternwood (Martha Vickers) and her sister Vivian (Lauren Bacall).

The plot is very, very convoluted and it hard to follow along, but that point has never seemed to bother any viewer of the film. The chemistry between the characters works perfectly and as usual, Bogie AND Bacall sizzle together on screen.

Howard Hawks directed this gem based of the Raymond Chandler novel and it has all the earmarks of a Hawks film such as a lot of snappy and overlapping dialogue.

This film probably has more plot twists than any other film in history and some of the questions go unanswered as do some of the character motivation, but to me that is what makes it so good. Sometimes life is that way as well.

The fine cast also includes Regis Toomey, John Ridgely, Bob Steele, Elisha Cook, Jr., and the stunning Dorothy Malone in a small role as a book store owner. Highly Recommended!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Erika Eleniak is 47, Jerry Lee Lewis is 81, and Stacy Carter is 45.

THE SPLIT 1968 (TCM VIEWING)

Interesting crime film.

I had never seen this film but have always wanted to.

Jim Brown stars as McClain, a man who is planning a daring robbery of a Rams football game. He recruits 4 other people for the job as well as the woman who brought the entire thing together, Gladys.

The heist goes off perfectly but that's when everything starts to fall apart. When McClain hides the half million dollars at his girlfriends house all is well, until the mentally ill landlord comes to her apartment and attempt to rape her. Instead he kills her and then discovers the money.

McClain arrives back home to find his beautiful girlfriend Ellen dead and the money gone. The others in the group think that McClain has stolen the money from them. McClain thinks the police, who have since captured the landlord and arrested him, know more about the money than they let on.

There are a lot of interesting plot twists to this film and they unfold very quickly. The cast is outstanding and includes Diahann Carroll as Ellen and does she ever look hotter than hell in this film, Ernest Borgnine, Julie Harris, Donald Sutherland, Gene Hackman, Jack Klugman, Warren Oates, James Whitmore as the landlord, Joyce Jameson and Jackie Joseph.

The very ending of the film is a surprise, and not easy to understand, but it still makes for a damn good crime film that shouldn't be missed.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Brigitte Bardot is 82, and Dita Von Teese is 44.

THE COOL GHOUL

I made an omission yesterday and I should be shot at dawn for missing it.

John Zacherle, known as Zacherly, one of the, if not the most famous horror movie host in the world turned 98 on 9/26/16.

I wanted to wish him a very happy birthday as he has meant so much to so many of us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Shaun Cassidy is 58.

RIP HERSHELL GORDON LEWIS 1929-2016

The world of horror has grown a little darker today.

The "Godfather Of Gore" has died at the age of 87. Lewis was a genius when it came to promoting films. His all time classics include such delights as "Two Thousand Maniacs", "Blood Feast" and "Color Me Blood Red" as well as many others.

Lewis started his career in 1961 directing what were called "Nudie Cuties" and eventually branched out into horror films with his then partner, producer David Friedman.

Blood Feast broke a lot of local box office records back in it's day and it set Lewis and Friedman up in the movie business. Hershell also had a background in English Literature and voiced many commercials and radio spots.

When Lewis retired from making films he had amassed a fortune which enabled him to live a very good life. Those low budget gore films made him a very rich man.

He will be missed by friends and family and the film world, but he has left a long lasting legacy that will NEVER go away.

RAMBLINGS.....

Well we are just a few days away from October.

That is my favorite month of course with Halloween and I will be doing the 31 days of Halloween starting Oct. 1.

There will be plenty of reviews of new horror and sci-fi on Blu-ray and DVD as well as re-visiting some great little films I haven't seen or talked about for a while.

If you care to, drop me a line and let me know what some of your favorite films are that you watch during this time of year.

THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN 1960 (MGM) BLU-RAY

Simply one of the greatest films ever made.

Eli Wallach is Calvera, a Mexican bandit who raids a small mountain village every year and a few of the men in the village are tired of it.

Three of the men ride into another town and meet Chris Adams (Yul Brynner). They explain their trouble and the fact that they cannot pay much for the service, but they want Chris to try and help them. He assembles a somewhat impressive group of 7 men.

They all travel back to the village and the men train the villagers to defend themselves. Calvera arrives as expected and a very well staged gunfight takes place.

John Sturges directed this masterpiece of cinema which is actually based on the Seven Samuri from Toho Studios. The cast is superb and also features Steve McQueen, Charles Bronson, James Coburn, Brad Dexter, Robert Vaughn, and Vladamir Sokoloff.

One of the finest films ever crafted for the American cinema with a rousing score by Elmer Bernstein that really has never been topped. The director of the Seven Samuri, Akira Kurosawa loved this film so much he gave director Sturges a sword in appreciation. A high honor indeed.

The Blu-ray of this film is a must for western film fans. Not to be missed!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Linda Hamilton is 60, Olivia Newton John is 68, Christina Milian is 35, Lysette Anthony is 53, Victoria Vetri is 72, Martine Beswick is 75, and Serena Williams is 35.

THUNDERBALL 1965 (MGM)

Once again Sean Connery is Bond.

This time Bond is attempting to recover 2 nuclear warheads that have been stolen by a madman named Largo (Adolfo Celi) who is working for SPECTRE.

This is the fourth Bond film and is considered by many to be the peak of the films from the 60's. Connery's Bond has to tangle with many hired killers and a sexy as hell female named Fiona played by Luciana Paluzzi. Gorgeous Martine Beswick is on hand as Bond's helper Paula who is eventually killed by Largo's men.

Bond also gets to play around with Domino, a young woman who turns out to help Bond and defeat Largo. There are some great scenes in here including the shark tank that is used to get rid of people and a thrilling underwater battle that was filmed by Ricou Browning.

This is highly entertaining stuff that no Bond fan should ever miss. It holds up very, very well to this day and is much better made than most films today. Highly Recommended!

The rest of the cast includes Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Rik Van Nutter, and Desmond Llewelyn.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Mark Hamill is 65, Heather Locklear is 55, Cheryl Tiegs is 69, and Louisa Moritz is 70.

PARTY GIRL 1958 (TCM VIEWING)

A film noir in color.

Robert Taylor is Thomas Farrell a top Chicago lawyer who works for the top mobster named Rico Angelo. Farrell is always getting Rico's men out of murder raps simply by outwitting the juries.

He is also a very bitter and lonely man who wants more out of life than the human sewage he deals with. Along comes beautiful dancer Vicki Gaye played by gorgeous Cyd Charisse and Farrell finds a reason to live again.

Vicki finally gets Farrell to have his crippled hip fixed and get out of the mob life forever. This doesn't sit well with Rico and he blackmails Thomas into staying on.

Things get out of hand as the killings increase in Chicago due to tension between the crime families and the attempts of the Government to get indictments against the mobsters. Rico and Farrell finally meets in a spectacular showdown involving bullets and acid.

Lee J. Cobb plays Rico Angelo in a way that always makes me think of Al Capone and that's fine with me. The rest of the cast also includes John Ireland, Kent Smith, Myrna Hansen and David Opatoshu. Recommended.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Stephanie McMahon is 40, Bert I. Gordon is 94, and April Hunter is 45.

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE 1963 (MGM) BLU-RAY

Another excellent James Bond film.

Sean Connery returns as Bond in this wonderful film that finds Bond allowing himself to be taken into an assassination plot in order to retrieve a Soviet encryption device.

It seems SPECTRE has stolen the device and this sets Bond in motion to get the device back at any cost. He is helped by a stunning Russian beauty named Tatiana played by Daniela Bianchi.

This movie concentrates more on the espionage part of 007's job and while it is more low key, it makes for a damn good film. There are several major highlights in the film including a great boat chase and helicopter attack.

Lotte Lenya is a hired killer named Rosa Klebb who has a dagger in her show who has the final showdown with Bond and Robert Shaw is excellent as Grant, an international killer who is just a full of tricks as Bond.

There is also a great brawl scene on the Orient Express. This is a film that ranks as one of the best of the entire series. Daniela Bianchi will always be one of the most beautiful women to ever appear in a Bond film because once seen she is never forgotten.

The Blu-ray disc it top notch and full of extras and so this is a no brainer. See it or see it again.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Paul Petersen is 71,Tom Lester is 79, and John Ericson is 90.

SEVEN GOLDEN MEN 1965 (SINISTER CINEMA)

Very odd but enjoyable crime film.

Gorgeous Rosanna Podesta is the woman who has helped mastermind a huge bank robbery of several thousand pounds of gold bars and she has hired a skilled group of thieves to get it out of the vault.

The gold depository is the actual target and the plan actually works until it's time to transport it. Then things start to get out of hand and the shipment is mis-sent to another location.

The crooks manage to get the gold bars back, but then the plan takes another turn for the worst. I won't give it away, but this is a fun film and a forgotten gem in Italian film making.

The widescreen print from Sinister is beautiful and if you like 60's Italian crime dramas you might like this. It is hard to find and it took forever to find a good print, that is until Sinister started carrying it.

Highly recommended little film that really should have more exposure. Oh, and did I mention that Podesta looks hotter than hell?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.....

Toni Basil is 73, Catherine Oxenberg is 55, Joan Jett is 58, Shari Belafonte is 62, and Debby Boone is 60.

SAVAGES FROM HELL 1968 (SINISTER CINEMA)

A really bizarre biker flick from K. Gordon Murray.

Joseph Mawra directed this grubby little film shot in Naples, Florida.

The leader of a biker gang falls for a young woman in a small town and will do anything to have her as his.

This film has to be seen to be believed. There are some fight scenes that a sight to behold, and most of the acting is well, just not really that good.

I have to admit I did get caught up in the story, so the acting really didn't take away from the enjoyment of the picture. Like most films shot on a regional basis, this really captures the flavor of Naples in 1968.

It has no stars in it and that also adds to the appeal for me. Something about that makes it all the better. The print quality from Sinister isn't the greatest, but again, that only adds to the enjoyment of the film. It has a REAL grindhouse look to it.

I would recommend this to die hard biker movie fans, such as I am.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Stephen King is 69, Yvonne Wilder is 79, Rebecca Balding is 61, Cynthia Hull is 69 and Teresa Gimpera is 80.