CLOVERFIELD 2008 (PARAMOUNT)

Strange but interesting film that belongs in the "hand held camera" genre.

The film opens with the fact that this is "found footage" of a disaster that happened and it is now the property of the US Government.

The footage revolves around a group of people gathered in a New York apartment for a farewell party for a friend who has landed a new job in Japan. As the party goes on you are introduced to some of the main characters.

Suddenly, without warning an oil tanker is sunk and a huge explosion rocks the city. After that the movie moves into full gear as a huge monster, which is never explained starts going on a rampage and destrpying Manhatten. It's a pretty interesting looking monster and the fact that nobody knows where it came from just adds to the tension.

The military arrives but they cannot stop the monster and several of the people at the party go on an ill advised rescue to help a girlfriend trapped in her apartment.

The huge monster also drops strange spider-like beasts off of it's skin and that poses another problem all together. These little creatures have a very infectious bite that kills within minutes, and the death isn't a pretty one, as we find out when one of the characters is bitten.

The action never stops right up until the final frame with two survivng lovers hiding in central park when all of Manhatten is destroyed by the military in a last ditch attempt to destory the rampaging monster.

The movie is a great roller coaster ride and has many great set pieces that will make you jump if you're a first time viewer of the film. Some of the characters you really begin to care about, but they still feel very detached simply because of how the movie was shot.

After 12 years there has been no announcement of a direct sequel to the film, and that is probably a good thing, because usually sequels never work. All the viewer knows is that the footage was found and everyone apparently was killed, but we never know if the strange monster was destroyed.

I do recommend you check the movie out if you've never seen it. It's a good little movie. My only complaint is that it was "hand held" and not a usual movie, but you can't have everything.

One of the films stars really stood out and that is the beautiful Jessica Lucas.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Angie Dickinson is 89, Angela Pleasence is 79, Rula Lenska is 73, Candics Michelle is 42, and Marilyn McCoo is 77.

RIP HELEN REDDY 1941-2020

A popular female singer from the 70's has passed away.

Helen Reddy whose voice was unmistakable in the 70's pdies on Sept. 29th, 2020 at the age of 78. Her hits included such songs as "I Am Woman", "I Don't Know How To Love Him", "Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)" and many more.

An early hit of hers was "I Believe In Music' which was written by Mac Davis who passed away on the same day as Reddy.

She also appeared in several films including "Pete's Dragon" and "Airport 75". Ironic that she and another talent from my era, Mac Davis died on the same day.

RIP MAC DAVIS 1942-2020

A legendary singer/songwriter has died.

Mac Davis penned songs for such people as Elvis, and had many hits of his own including "Baby Don't Get Hooked On Me", "One Hell Of A Woman" and "Stop And Smell The Roses".

He wrote "In The Ghetto" for Elvis and "Watching Scotty Grow" which Bobby Goldboror turned into a hit.

Davis also had his own TV variety show in the 70's as well as numerous Broadway and movie appearances. He passed away after heart surgery at the age of 78.

Anotgher great music talent from my era is gone.

AMERICAN GRINDHOUSE 2010 (TUBI)

It has been ten years since I saw this documentary and I had forgotten all about it.

This film explores the "underworld" of cinema and we hear from such people as John Landis, William Lustig, H.G. Lewis, Don Edmonds and many more about the background of these bizarre films.

Robert Forster narrates this piece and a lot of the clips are truely memorable. Every kind of film is covered here as it starts with the silent era and quickly moves to 30's exploitation films such as "Maniac", "Reefer Madness" and many others. Discussion of the Hayes Code is talked about and it's brought out that the code actually helped people like producer Kroger Babb and his line of films which included many films about VD, Sex and the birth of babies.

It also covers the growing Film Noir genre of the 40's which was a direct slap in the face to Hayes and his stupid code. As we move the 1950's Juvinile Delinquint films are talked about as well as monster movies. The real fun begins as they move to the 1960's and talk about the sadistic "roughies".

These films include such fare as the "Olga" films which are studies in sadism and bondage. I have seen these many times and, yes, I do enjoy them a lot. Trust me, it's a peculiar taste indeed. I have seen tons of these kinds of films I always enjoy them. In the 70's they discuss horror films and blaxploitation classics as well as Women In Prison, which is another of my favorite genres.

All in all, this is a great documentary of these kinds of films, and if you're a fan or just curious about them I would recommend this or maybe even say it's REQUIRED VIEWING.

HAPPY BITHDAY TO...

Brigitte Bardot is 86.

KISS ME MONSTER 1970 (BLUE UNDERGROUND)

Another interesting and very bizarre Jess Franco film in the "Red Lips" series.

In this film Janine Reynaud and Rosanna Yanni are again the two secret agents and this time they are called into a case involving a cloning device and they go undercover as strippers.

This one is more psychedelic than the previous film "Two Undercover Angels" and it fits perfectly into the late 60's and early 70's. Director Franco again has a small role but the lucky bastard gets to die in Yanni's arms.

Again, there is plenty of comedy and then entire film is very light. There is some of the usual Franco bondage and a very unrealistic whipping scene, which ruins the fear it's supposed to instill.

This has pretty much the exact same cast as the other movie including Michael Lemoine, Adrian Hoven, and Chris Howland. As I said in the other review of "Two Undercover Angels" this is good for someone looking for very lite entertainment with little thinking involved.

Not everyone will enjoy this film, but I do admit that the print is gorgeous and of course, so in Yanni.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Olivia Newton John is 72, Christine Miliam is 39, Victria Vetri is 76, and Martine Beswick is 79.

TWO UNDERCOVER ANGELS 1969 (BLUE UNDERGROUND)

WOW!!! Where do I begin with this one?

Janine Reynaud and the gorgeous Rosanna Yanni stars as two sexy undercover agents in this very, very bizarre effort from director Jess Franco, who also has a small role in the film.

The plot, such as it is revolves around "The Red Lips" two female spies who are searching for missing models and actresses. There is a lot of comedic action thrown into the plot, and it does help male the movie more palatable.

It seems that a mad artist named Thriller (Adrian Hoven) and his werewolf-like assistant Morpho (Michael Lemoine) have been kidnapping the women and using them as basis for kinky paintings and encasing their bodies in clay.

This film is one of the most bizarre Franco films I have ever seen, and that is saying something. The garish colors and lighting are puyre 60's pulp and I remember those times.

Reynaud and Yanni work well off of each other and I never miss anything with Yanni. If you're looking for very light entertainment then this is a film I could recommend. The print from Blue Underground is beautiful, but I have to admit that the dubbing on this film, which I believe was done in Germany stinks. I wish I could see the original Spanish version of this movie.

This is included in a two disc set along with "Kiss Me Monster" which is another "Red Lips" film. Enjoy. There is also a 15 minute interview with the late Jess Franco about the film and his dislike of the original titles which was "Sadisterotica".

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Heather Locklear is 59.

DALEKS INVASION EARTH 2150 AD 1967 (TUBI)

This is the sequel to "Dr. Who And The Daleks" and it is, to me anyway, a very good film.

Peter Cushing stars again as Dr. Who. This time he and his family consisting of his granddaughter Susan (Roberta Tovey), his assistant Louise (Jill Curzon) and a policeman named Tom Campbell (Bernard Cribbins) are transported to the furture of 2150.

Here they find the Daleks have invaded the Earth and are using slave labor to bring their plans to a head.

The Daleks are seeking to mine out core and actually take over the planet Earth and steer it closer to their own world so that they may inhabit it. This doesn't go over well with the good Dr.

There are a lot of great elements about this film including the garish color as in the previous film, but the Daleks steal the show one more time, and this time there are many more of them.

It's quite a sight seeing the London streets full of Daleks looking for humans to either enslave or exterminate. Eventually Dr. Who and a band of renagade Earth people defeat the Daleks by turning their own devices against them.

This is a fun film, and it never gets boring. I prefer this to the first one even though that film does have it's merits as well. The rest of the cast includes Andrew Keir, Ray Brooks, Roger Avon and Keith Marsh. I recommend this film for a good time on a Saturday afternoon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Stephanie McMahon is 44, Bert I. Gordon is 98, and April Hunter is 47.

DR. WHO AND THE DALEKS 1966 (TUBI)

Peter Cushing stars as Dr. Who.

This very family friendly film concerns the Doctor and some members of his family traveling to a planet called Skaro via the TARDIS and helping a group of people living there fight off an invasion.

It seems that the panet suffered a neutron war and is about to be taken over by Daleks, a race of hostile aliens who cannot travel unless they are encased in robot bodies.

The Doctor, his daughter (Jennie Linden), her boyfriend Ian (Roy Castle) and his grandaughter Susan (Roberta Tovey) are captured by the Daleks and held in a huge city.

After a few attempts they manage to escape and help the people of Skaro launch a final war against the Daleks in hopes of getting their planet back. Needless to say the people of Skaro eventually win.

This is a very colorful film with minimal sets and an almost psychedelic feel to it. It actually seems like you are watching an episode of the original TV series, and for fans that isn't a bad thing at all.

Cushings portrayal of the Doctor is spot on, and very much like his performance in the film "Tales From The Crypt". The Daleks were easily the most popular aliens to ever appear on the TV series from the BBC.

I know this has been released on Blu-ray but I caught a beautiful print on TUBI and I can easily recommend this to Who fans and Cushing fans as well. It was followed by a sequel which I will be bringing here very soon.

RIP GALE SAYERS 1943-2020

A football great has died.

Before pro football became a social justice league with a bunch is sissies running around crying, it was a great sport, and Sayers was one of the best ever.

Sayers played for the Chicago Bears from 1965-1971 and was one of the hardest running backs to tackle. He was quick, agile and knew the game well.

I used to always watch Sayers and as a kid I knew he was going to be a legend in the game. I admired him for his ability, kindness and love of the game itself.

There isn't much for me to say here except that another nail has been put in my growing old coffin. Sayers passed away on Sept. 23rd, 2020 after battling dementia. He was 77.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Maren Jensen is 64.

RIP JOSEPH LAURINAITIS 1960-2020

The Animal is gone.

The last surviving half og the pro wrestling team known as "The Road Warriors" has passed away.

Joe Laurinaitis died on September 22nd, 2020 just 10 days after he turned 60 from natural causes. During the 80's there was nobody in the business like himself and his tag team partner "Hawk" aka Michael Hegstrand who dies in 2003.

There will never be another "Legion Of Doom" and the world of professional wrestling has lost another legend. These two men ran over opponents like there was no tomorrow. With their face paint and wild, spiked costumes, the "Legion Of Doom" were intimidating and captured the attention of many promoters around the country.

RIP Joe, and everyone who liked wrestling will always remember you.

STARK FEAR 1962 (SOMETHING WEIRD)

A very tight film noir with a great cast.

A young woman named Ellen Windslow (Beverly Garland) longs for some affection from her uncaring husband Gerald (Skip Homier).

He mentally abuses her to no end and unbeknowest to her, he is also planning on killing her. Ellen gets a job, which Gerald cannot do so at one point he leaves her.

She is treated like garbage by his friends and she finally accept Gerald back, but things only get worse. She finally finds some help and support from a very unlikely sourse, her boss.

His name is Cliff Kane (Ken Tobey) and slowly they fall in love. After a short relationship Ellen decides to divorce Gerald because he is too mentally unstable. He tries to prove her wrong by attempting to kill her.

Homier turns in a great performance as a man who has some serious mental issues and should be locked up. Garland is perfect as the woman who tries to love him at all costs, but in the end discovers that it means nothing to him.

Sadly this isn't a well known film. It's damn good and makes you think. I know this film is available in many places and I highly recommend that you check it out. This is included in the set from Something Weird entitled "Weird-Noir" and the entire set is worth checking out.

It's a six movie set and all six have been reviewed here now that I have finally posted this.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Asa Maynor is 84, and Debbie Boone is 64.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Rebecca Balding is 65, Yvonne Wilder is 83, Cynthia Hull is 73, and Teresa Gimpera is 84.

MONSTERS SEASON 3 1988-1991

The series returned for a third and final season. It had some very offbeat, but good episodes.

STRESSED ENVIRONMENT 9/30/90... A woman's 12 year experiment with rats proves to have most terrifying consequences.Carol Lynley stars.

MURRAY'S MONSTER 10/7/90... A man uses another man who can turn into a monster to kill his nagging wife.

BUG HOUSE 10/14/90... A woman stops by an old house to see her estranged sister and soon finds herself seduced by her very, very odd boyfriend. A great episode with a hell on an ending.

CELLMATES 10/21/90... A spoiled young man who killed a child in Mexico is put in a specil cell from which he is told he will never leave, no matter what.

OUTPOST 10/28/90... A female executive of a mining corporation visits a mining operation on another planet and gets more than she ever bargained for.

THE HOLE 11/4/90... During the Vietman war several men find themselves trapped in an endless maze of tunnels inhabited by the walking dead. One hell of an excellent episode!!

SMALL BLESSINGS 11/11/90... A very black comedy about a married couple and their cannibalistic, mutant baby.

SHAVE AND A HAIRCUT, 2 BITES 11/18/90... A young man named Kevin tries to convinve his friend that a local barbarshop is run by vampires.

THE YOUNG AND THE HEADLESS 11/25/90... A crippled surgeon takes the head of her ex husband and uses it in a very bizarre experiment.

THE WAITING GAME 12/9/90... Survivors of a nuclear war find that the army of walking dead now roaming the countryside is created by an evil force they had never expected. This is an excellent episode and not to be missed.

SIN SOP 12/9/90... An evangelical preacher uses a corpse to drain people of sin. A female reporter arrives to debunk his claim and things get a little out of hand.

A NEW WOMAN 12/16/90... A greedy woman tries to get her dying husband to give her the holdings on his businesses.

MALCOLM 12/23/90... A musician has a bizarre growth in his stomach, and what the doctors find is something they never expected.

HOUSEHOLD GODS 12/30/90... An independent woman with a child learns that even she cannot escape the invisible Gods who runs people's lives.

THE SPACE EATERS 1/6/91... Two men fight invaders from space who look like giant eyeballs. A great take off of 50's sci-fi films.

THE WAITING ROOM 1/13/91... John Saxon stars as a man who is haunted by a mysterious female ghost inhabiting a room in his house. This is another very interesting tale with a great ending.

LEAVINGS 1/20/91... Two New York cops try to explain to their tough as nails boss some of the very odd things they have seen on the nightshift. This episode builds slowly to a great climax.

DESIRABLE ALIEN 1/27/91... A Greek lothorio must find a way to pass his immigration test without his bizarre secret getting out. Deborah Harry stars.

A FACE FOR RADIO 2/3/91... Laura Brannigan stars as a woman who claims to have captured an alien invader on an all night talk show hosted by a sleazy radio host played by Morton Downey, Jr.

WEREWOLF OF HOLLYWOOD 2/10/91... A screenwriter plans to use information he has obtained for a script about a real werewolf loose in Hollywood. Good twist ending here.

TALK NICE TO ME 2/17/91... Ed Marinero stars as a man who is getting harrassing phone calles from a very evil woman who seems to know his every move.

HOSTILE TAKEOVER 2/24/91... A greedy executive tries to use voodoo to put people he doesn't like out of business. His plan backfires in the most incredible way. Great episode starring Pam Grier.

THE MAKER 4/18/91... A man meets a happy drunk who can create anything out of thin air. The only problem is is that everything has a small flaw in it.

THE MOVING FINGER 4/26/91... A man's life is disrupted by an incredibly long finger that reaches out of his sink. A very bizarre but satisfying episode basedon a Stephen King short story.

And that wraps it up for all three seasons of MONSTERS. All in all a very entertaining show and if you enjoyed "Tales From The Darkside" you'll no doubt enjoy this.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sophia Loren is 86, Brinke Stevens is 66, and JoAnna Cameron is 69.

HARRY AND THE HENDERSONS 1987 (UNIVERSAL)

I had never seen this film before, but my soon to be wife Ginger said it was one of her favorite films, so we watched it the other night.

I have to admit, it's one of the most bizarre films I have seen as far as story goes.

On their way back home from a camping trip, a family consisting of George Henderson (John Lithgow), his wife Nancy (Melinda Dillon), their children Sarah (Margaret Langrick and son Ernie (Joshua Rudoy) accidentally hit a bigfoot creature with the car and they assume that it is dead.

Tying it to the top of their car they bring it home and George is hoping they make it big with this Bigfoot tale and actual proof. George wakes up in the middle of the night and discovers that the creature is alive and eating all of the food in the refrigerator. This is actually a great scene and very well done. The humor isn't slapstick, but comes off slow and paced which works well.

From then on it's a wild story about trying to protect Harry from a Bigfoot hunter named Jacques Lafleur (David Suchet) who wants to bag a great find.

The story is engaging and very funny when it wants to be. The actor playing Harry is the late, great Kevin Peter Hall who also played giant beings in "Predator" and "It Came Without Warning". The facial expressions on Harry and unique and handled very well.

The entire cast does a great job with kudos going to Joshua Rudoy as a typical gun crazy kid growing up in the big city of Seattle. I found myself laughing at quite a few things and so did Ginger.

If you're looking for light entertainment without a heavy message or anything, this is perfect. I recomend this title for a good movie watching experience and it makes for a great "date night" movie.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

David McCallum is 87, Natalie Eva Marie is 36, Bobbie Bresee is 73, and Monica Swinn is 72.

COMING ATTRACTIONS....

It has finally been made official.

On Dec. 15th Kino will be releasing a beautiful Blu-ray print of the classic film from Frank Perry entitled "Ladybug Ladybug". I don't know the price or anything yet, but this is a great film and you people know how much I love it.

OKLAHOMA BADLANDS 1948 (RABBIT TV)

Super fun little B western directed by Yakima Canutt!!

Allan "Rocky" Lane stars as himself in this fast moving western from Republic Studios.

Allan's best friend is killed by a murderous ranch hand that has formed a gang to rustle cattle. The murdered man's name is Ken Rawlins (Jay Kirby) and soon his relative named Leslie Rawlins (Mildred Coles) is headed out west to take over the ranch.

Allan wants to find the killers so he switches place with Leslie and goes disguised as an Eastern dude.

Soon Allan is rounding up the killer and his gang one by one. There is plenty of comic moments between the real Leslie, now using the name of her housekeeper Agatha Scragg.

Crooked newspaper man Oliver Budge (Gene Roth) who is the mastermind behind the killings figures out that Allan is not who he said he was and neither is Leslie.

The final showdown is set up in grand style, as only Republic could do. The plot may sound a little convoluted in writing about it, but it's very simple and the movies runs only 59 minutes, so as you can guess, there is plenty of gunplay and fist fights.

I enjoyed this very much as it brings back memories of the Saturday afternoon matinee movies I used to enjoy so much. If you get a chance, and you're a fan of the genre, check it out. You could do a LOT worse.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Frankie Avalon is 80, and Veronica Carlson is 76.

BLACK JACK 1968 (ECHO BRIDGE)

This is a very interesting Spaghetti western.

Robert Woods stars as "Black" Jack Murphey, an outlaw in the old west who is getting a gang together to rob a small bank in broad daylight.

He and the gang manage to pull off the robbery in a very cleaver fashion, but when it comes to dividing the money his gang turns on him and decide to take the money for themselves.

They torture Jack, steal the money and during this Jack's sister is raped and killed. He survives and goes on a very violent killing spree as he seeks the gang members out one by one.

The action plays out very quickly and the movie moves along at a slick pace that never lets up. Woods does a very good job as he switches from a cool and collected outlaw to a revenge seeking killer.

This was a very enjoyable film to watch and the quality wasn't bad, but as usual the print wasn't in widrescreen, but that is really of no importance. It's a good Italian western that fans of the genre should seek out. Who knows, you might like it as much as I did.

The rest of the cast includes Lucienne Bridou, Ric Battaglia and Mimmo Palmara.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Cassandra Peterson is 69.

ROBOT MONSTER 1953 (IMAGE)

You all know this film, and I have talked about it and mentioned it numerous times over the years. Well here we go again.

I write this little review because I finally attained the Image DVD of the movie and it's the best quality I have seen, period.

The movie starts with two children, Johnny (Gregory Moffett) and his sister Carla (Pamela Paulson), playing "spaceman" in Bronson canyon. They meet two scientists in a cave. Roy (George Nader) and The Professor (John Mylong) keep the children busy until their mother (Selena Royle) older sister Alice (Claudia Barrett) find them.

After a picnic they all sleep but little Johnny runs off and before you know it Ro-Man has arrived on Earth and all human life has been wiped out except for 8 people.

Ro-Man plans to wipe out the last of the human race, but the family proves difficult to kill. You will probably guess that this is just a dream Johnny is having as we see all of the characters as members of one family.

There are just too many great scenes in the film that runs a scant 63 minutes, but there are a few I simply must bring to your attention if you haven't ever seen this movie.

You first have the inexplicable scene of dinosaurs fighting at the beginning of the movie, which was lifted from the 1940 film "One Million B.C.". Next we have numerous scenes of Alice in bondage..after an argument with Roy and her family and later when she is kidnapped by Ro-Man. The silent love scene between Alice and Roy. The killing of Carla and later Johnny (They never did that in movies from big studios), or how about the confrontation between Johnny and Ro-Man and you can see a woman in her bathrobe standing on a hill watching the scene unfold. Yes, there is so much more.

The dialogue is a highlight as well, especially when Johnny tells Ro-Man he "looks like a pooped out pinwheel" or when the Professor is upset he exclaims "What a family I have!!!". Great stuff indeed. This gem was directed by Phil Tucker and I think he deserves much more attention than the usual crap about the film. Underneath the story is a very cruel sub-text involving things like race extermination and the killing of children.

My future wife Ginger Greene bought this for me on E-bay for a few pennies and it is now a treasured DVD in my collection. This is the movie that cemented my friendship with the late John C. Fredriksen. We were the best of friends and I know he was looking down from Heaven watching this with Ginger and I.

People can make fun of this film all they want, but it is one of my favorites of all time and it always makes me think of John and all the fun we had acting out scenes from the film in public places.

If you haven't seen the film I suggest you do, and as soon as possible. There has never been a film like it, and there never will be. Ginger, I love you, John Fredriksen I love you too and miss you, and Ro-Man...well hell I worship the ground you walk on.

In conclusion all I can say is "At what point on the graph do must and cannot meet?" VERY, VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Jennifer Tilly is 62, and Linda Henning is 76.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Henry Silva is 92.