KILLING ZONE 1990 (MADACY)

I really liked this goofy little 90's action movie.

Deron McBee stars as Garret Bodine, a man currently serving time in an Arizona prison for attempted murder.

Garret is sprung from jail by the government when a vicious Mexican drug lord comes to the USA for revenge after his brother is killed in jail.

Garret's uncle, Sam Bodine (Armando Silvestre) is a target for the drug lord Carmen Vasquez (James Dalesandro). Soon all hell breaks loose as Vasquez begins his reign of terror in Loa Angeles. Garret and Sam decide to go after him together and stop him before it's too late.

We learn that Garret was framed by Vasquez and Sam lost the use of one of his legs after aa violent encounter with him as well. The movie moves along very well and I can't say I was bored at all.

There are several reasons why I watched and like this film. The first is the plot itself..it's not original, but it is well handled and not at all hard to follow.

The main reason is the cast. I saw Armando Silvestre was in it, so that makes it a must see as I followed his career from the early 60's until his death a few months ago at age 98. It was also a must see because of the gorgeous Melissa Moore.

Anything this 6 foot tall blonde is in I will watch. I love seeing Melissa Moore in anything and she is the epitome of 80's and 90's sexiness.

Anyway, if you like action movies you should check this out. No, it's not perfect, but it was fun. There are some great set pieces in here so don't believe all the negative things you read about it. Judge for yourself.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Angie Dickinson is 93, Ian Ogilvy is 81, Rula Lenska is 77, Candice Michelle is 46, Marilyn McCoo is 81 and Patrice Rushen is 70.

RIP KRIS KRISTOFFERSON 1936-2024

I lost a good friend yesterday.

I first met and worked with Kris in 1979. I had heard of him, of course, but what a joy it was to actually work with him and spend time with him.

Kristofferson was a top song writer who wote some of the greatest music I ever grew up with including "For The Good Times", "Help me Make It Thru The Night", "Why Me" and many more.

His acting career had over 100n credits including "A Star Is Born", "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid", "Bring Me the Head Of Alfredo Garcia", "Semi Tough", "Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea" and of course "Heaven's Gate".

Kris will be missed by many people but he has left a long lasting legacy for people to remember. Kris Kristofferson passed away on September 28, 2024 at the age of 88.

RIP my friend.

WITNESS UNPROTECTED 2018 (TUBI)

A TV movie from Fred Olen Ray.

I see that this film also gets a ton of bad press and I don't know why. I thought it was pretty good considering. I only watched it because Fred directed it.

Daphne Zuniga stars as Sam, an investigative photographer who gets caught up in a murder after she witnesses a killer taking out a victim.

Adam Huss is Detective Matt Carlton who slowly grows fond of Sam and when she is set up and accused of the murder she witnessed, he starts to help her.

There are some pretty interesting twists and turns and I did not find the movie boring as most people did. Yes, the actress playing Sam's daughter Laurie (Gianna DiDonato) does have an irritating voice, but that's hardly a reason to dis the movie.

I thought everyone involved did their best and the results aren't perfect, but they are much better than many, many other movies out there.

The rest of the cast includes Tim Abell, Monica Young, Simeon Rice, Meredith Thomas and Darn oldham.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Erika Eleniak is 55.

FISH WITH THE EYES OF GOLD 1974 (VINEGAR SYNDROME) BLU-RAY

Great Spanish murder mystery.

A visiting Englishman named Derek (Wel Davis) is the prime suspect in a murder on a small Spanish Island after the woman he met and slept with, Monica (Montserrat Prous) is found stabbed to death in bed.

This is the second murder as the film opens with a beautiful blonde babe being killed by a man who has a diving suit on and comes out of the ocean to kill her.

It's an odd setting for murder, but the scenery and the women are gorgeous. Derek is a poor schmuck who keeps getting in deeper and deeper. He stays with his friend Zachart (Ricardo Vazquez) and his wife Virginia (Norma Kastel).

There are a lot of red herrings in this movie and the final reveals not only one, but two twists I didn't see coming. It's all prettyn well handled by director Pedro L. Ramirez.

There is not a lot of blood and guts in this film, so if that turns you off you might enjoy this one. I loved the movie and the photography and color usage is wonderful.

The rest of the cast includes the gorgeous Ada Tauler, Barta Barri, Victor Isreal, Rex Martin and Susana Kolin. A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED THRILLER and a beautiful VS presentation.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Brigitte Bardot is 90, John Sayles is 74, Dita Von Teese is 52 and Silvia Dionisio is 73.

SHADOW OF A MAN 1955 (RENOWN)

Not too shabby of a mystery thriller from England.

The plot is very straight forward. It's about a drunk who is killed, and the police first suspect it was a health problem, but later exhume the body for more tests.

They discover a small part of a needle in his arm and determine it was murder. But, who done it?

There are the usual suspects including the mans wife Linda (Rona Anderson), her lover and his best friend from the service. There are the usual plot twists as well, and some of thiose could have been better, but what do I know.

The climax to the film has the killer being trapped and forced to give up. You might guess the killer before the end of the film and you might not. I got it all wrong.

In my opinion the standout on the movie was Jane Griffiths whose character is named Carol Seaton. I think she did the best job in the movie with the material and she is easily the best looking. Yes indeed.

This is one of many British films from Renown that are finally seeing the light of day on both Blu-ray and streaming. If you're a mystery fan I say check it out.

TRUCKERS WOMAN 1975 (TUBI)

I have to admit I loved the look of the film. I liked the world of 1975.

It seems the makes of this film couldn't decide what they wanted. It has a great exploitation title but is more of s crime movie with some light comedy thrown in but no real sleaze.

Mike Kelly (Michael Hawkins) is a trucker and he is investigating the death of his father, also a truck driver who was killed in the pre-credit sequence.

This filmed in 3 weeks movie from Florence, South Carolina is ok, but it really lacks a lot. I did find out that the original title was "Truckin' Man" aand the producers changed it to hopefully increase the boxoffice.

I don't think it worked. In my opinion the movie could have used more action on the road and a bevy of beautiful women. However, I didn't make the film so what do I know.

You might like this film, you might not. I did, but I have seen so much better. The rest of the cast includes Doodles Weaver, Mary Cannon, Phillip Rubenstein, Larry Drake and Peggy Linville.

Check it out if you so desire.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Lysette Anthony is 61, Christina Milian is 43, Martine Beswick is 83, Victoria Vetri is 80 and Kanako Urai is 43.

VIOLENT BLOOD BATH 1974 (VINEGAR SYNDROME) BLU-RAY

This Spanish crime film was directed by Jorge Grau, he same man who brought you "Living Dead At The Manchester Morgue" a year earlier.

This is an excellent movie. An older Judge named Oscar Bataille (Fernando Rey) and his young and very sexy wife Pat (Marissa Mell) are vacationing at a sea-side resort.

While they are there several murders occur and they are done exactly like several murders from Oscars' past when he sent killers to their death via hanging or other means.

Oscar helps the local police and neglects his gorgeous wife who finds another man she knows staying at the same resort. His name is Wilson Vargas (Espartaco Santoni).

The murders continue and things get out of hand with tons of suspects, but no real clues. The title makes you think there is a ton of gore, and there isn't, but it is a lot of fun.

You may know right away who the killer is, but then again you might not, and it does provide a bizarre twist. Rey is very good as he was in most everything he did and Mell is stunning as she always was.

If you like this kind of movie you should check this out. It's avery good one and will not disappoint.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Michael Madsen is 67, and Heather Locklear is 63.

WHO SAW HER DIE 1972 (BLUE UNDERGROUND) BLU-RAY

Interesting and well made thriller that I thought could have been even better.

At the opening of this thriller we see a toung child murdered by a mysterious killer who looks female and is dressed in all black including a veil.

Cut to 4 years later and we are introduced to a painter named Franco (George Lazenby) and his gorgeous wife Elizabeth (Anita Strindberg).

They have a young daughter named Roberta (Nicolette Elmi). One afternoon Roberta doesn't return home and Franco finds she has been murdered. He investigates on his own as the police are too slow for his liking and he discovers a similar killing four years before this.

Franco is obsessed with finding the killer, and who cm blame him. It causes strain between he and Elizabeth, but he continues anyway. There are a llot of twists and turns and the movie holds the viewers interest, but I felt like something was missing...I just can't put my finger on it.

There is a good twist at the end, and you might not see it coming. The rest of the cast includes Adolfo Celi, Dominique Boschero, Peter Chatel and Alessandro Haber.

The movie was directed by Aldo Lado and he handles everything very well, of course. The Blu-ray presentation is very good and I will recommend this to Giallo fans.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Kevin Sorbo is 66.

RAMBLINGS...

It's hard to believe we are in the fall of 2024.

That means I will be doing the 31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN starting on October 1. What this is, is simply for 31 straight days I'll be featuring horror or horror-related movies etc.

I haven't done this for a while and am glad I've found the time to do it again. There are a lot of bizarre and off the wall films I'll be talking about. It'll include the Good movies, the Bad movies and some very Ugly movies.

I hope you'll enjoy it.

FER DE LANCE 1974 (ARTIFLIX)

A TV movie from 1974 that first aired in October of that year.

I was 11 when I first saw this movie and I remembered the premise, but not much about the movie.

A crew member of a submarine brings a small collection of 6 snakes aboard the sub on which he is stationed. The submarine is named Fer De Lance and the crew member named Compton (Frank Bonner) thinks it'd be interesting to bring snakes also called Fer De Lance on board for a joke.

The snakes escape and bite several crew members. This causes the sub to be involved in an accident that has it stuck between two rock formations. The snakes also play havoc in trying to escape from the mess.

The snakes are almost forgotten as the film becomes an adventure movie of the crew trying to get the sub out of it's trouble and back to the surface before their air runs out.

I never found this to be too bad of a movie, but it could be about 15 minutes shorter which would make it a little tighter as far as the story goes.

The cast includes David Janssen, Hope Lange, Ivan Dixon, Jason Evers, Robert Ito, Charles Robinson, Sherry Boucher, William Mims and Shizuko Hoshi.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Paul Petersen is 79.

RIP KATHRYN GRANT 1933-2024

I grew up with Kathryn in a heck of a lot of things I watched.

A small sample of the movies Kathryn starred in includes "7th Voyage Of Sinbad", "Cell 2455 Death Row", "Night The World Exploded", "Brother's Rico", "Tight Spot", and "The Phenix City Story".

She pretty much retired from acting after her marriage to Bing Crosby, but later returned for some small roles in films and TV.

Always a favorite of mine, she was always welcome in any movie. Small, petite and very lovely. Kathry Grant passed away on Sept. 20th, 2024 at the age of 90.

CROW HOLLOW 1952 (RENOWN)

Well made British thriller.

A young doctor named Robert (Donald Houston) brings his new and lovely wife Anne (Natasha Parry) to live with him at a family estate called Crow Hollow.

While they are there, many attempts are made on the life of Anne. The suspects include three elderly women who live there that are all relatives of Robert.

Of course, Robert does not believe any member of his family is trying to kill Anne, but after the family maid, Willow (Patricia Owens) is killed by someone mistaking her for Anne, Robert changes his mind.

There are a lot of bizarre characters in this movie and some interesting twists and turns. It's a short movie running at 69 minutes, and it never slows down once it gets started.

The rest of the fine cast includes Melissa Stribling, Esma Cannon, Susan Richmond, Nora Nicholson, Ewen Solon and Meadows White. I will recommend this to mystery fans and fans of British horror.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Catherine Oxenberg is 63, Asa Maynor is 88, and Debby Boone is 68.

ZAREK 1956 (TUBI)

A pretty good adventure film distributed by Columbia.

Victor Mature stars as Zarek Khan and he is sentanced to be flogged to death for kissing his fathers youngest wife Salma (Anita Ekberg).

Zarek is saved by the pleadings of an elderly religious leader and soon developes into one of the most feared warriors in the entire region.

Over time there developes a respectiful feud between Zarek and a British officer named Ingram (Michael Wilding). They have several battle back and fourth and zarek begins to respect his rival.

The battle scenes are spectacular in this technicolor epic. On a sad note, stuntman Jack Kelley was killled in the making of this film in one of the many horse stunts and Mature offered to pay for the funeral.

The rest of the cast includes Bonar Colleano, Eunice Grayson, Finlay Currie, Eddie Byrne, Peter Illing and Patrick McGoohan.

If you're a fan of these kinds of movies, you'll like this, and Ekberg looks like a million dollars, as usual. She alone is the reason I checked out the film, and I do like watching her dance.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Cynthis Hull is 77.

GET MEAN 1975 (BLUE UNDERGROUND) BLU-RAY

One of the oddest and most enjoyable films I have seen in a long time.

Tony Anthony stars as a wisecracking cowboy who is given an offer he cannot refuse. When the movie opens we see him being pulled by a horse into a strange looking deserted town.

The horse dies and the stranger (he is not given a name in this movie), is rescued by a gypsy family who offers him $50,000 in gold coins to escore a Spanish princess back to her homeland.

Their meeting is interrupted by four strange looking men that the stranger fights easily and defeats. He sees the Princess Elizabeth Maria de Burgos (Diana Lorys) and agrees to do the task.

They travel to Spain where the stranger encounters many odd things including barbarians, a huge battle on the Moors, evil spirits, and much more.

There is too much in this movie to talk abut it all, but it is indeed one of a kind and a treat for those who like things a little off kilter.

There is some comedy thrown in and it works perfectly. Of all the Spaghetti westerns I have seen, this is on top of the list. To me it is that good.

It helps that you have both Diana Lorys, who is one of the sexiest women I have ever seen in Euro films as well as gorgeous Mirta Miller. A delicious combo.

I recommend this whole heartedly. It's a MUST see, and the Blu-ray presentation is beautiful. Check it out!!.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Sophia Loren is 90, and Brinke Stevens is 70.

CALIFORNIA 1947 (KOCH) BLU-RAY

I cannot figure out why this very well done western isn't available on any format in the USA.

John Farrow directed this Technicolor gem and it's really a great story. Ray Milland stars as Jonathan Trumbo, a military deserter who is now leading wagon trains across the country.

A young woman named Lily Bishop (Barbara Stanwyck) is forced out of a small town by the other women and she joins the wagon train heading west to California. When news of a gold strike comes, everyone rushes out of the wagon train to get to the gold as soon as they can, leavin Trumbo and Michael Fabian (Barry Fitzgerald) all by themselves.

BY the time Michael and Jonathan arrive in a small town Lily has bought a saloon and does the entertaining, while her soon to be husband with the ultra cool name of Pharaoh Coffin (George Coulouris) plots to take over all of California before it came become a state.

This is a well made film and the cast is a great mixture of actors and actresses whom you'd never imagine would be working together on a film, let alone a western. At least it strikes me like that.

Others in the cast include Albert Dekker, Anthony Quinn, Frank Faylin, Gavin Muir, Argentina Brunetti and Roman Bohnen. The color on this movie is gorgeous and the entire presentation is damned near perfect.

As I said, this is not currently available in the US on DVD or Blu-ray. It is available as a German import or on a disc with Italian subtitles.

If you get the chance and get to see it, I know western fans will really like it. The plot is much deeper than I have indicated here and it's a lot of fun for adventure film fans as well.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Victoria Silvstedt is 50 and Bobbie Bresee is 77.

BLACK ICE 1992 (TUBI)

Very well made thriller.

This movie actually turned out to be better than I thought it was going to be.

A young woman named Vanessa (Joanna Pacula) is having an affair with a big time political candidate who is married. She decides that she doesn't want see him anymore, but he is persistant.

He is killed by Vanessa when he assaults her and she gets a ride froma cab driver named Ben (Michael Nouri). After a mishap at the airport where she is almost shot and kiled by a rogue government agent played by Michael Ironside, Vanessa offers to pay Ben 4500 to drive her from Detroit to Seattle.

Thru the rest of the movie is a croos country chase with Ironsides' character of Quinn in hot pursuit. The end of the movie is an interesting one.

As usual I won't give anything away in case you haven't seen this. Pacula is gorgeous as always and Ironside steals the show with his over the top performance as a slightly insane government cop who stops at nothing, including murder to get Vanessa.

As I write this, this movie is available to see on TUBI. The rest of the cast includes Brent Neale, Mickey Jones, Harry Nelkin and Lee J. Campbell.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Frankie Avalon is 84.

CASTLE SINISTER 1948 (RENOWN)

A very rare film with a mixture of WW2 adventure and horror.

A British agent is sent to a castle in Scotland after an officer is murdered by a mysterious phantom that wears a cape and looks like a skeleton.

The story is told mostly in flashback as we see other attacks by the Phantom before the officer was killed.

This film is ony 48 minutes long and moves at a good pace, but I do have to admit some of the acting is rather stiff and wooden. It always seems like this was done in a hurry, and it very well might have been.

The Phantom looks rather creepy and if you're over the age of 50 you might remember seeing this creature in pictures in various monster movie books when you were younger.

If you're looking for something a little different you will want to check this rare film out. I'm glad a lot of these are slowly being brought back out for people to see.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Cassandra Peterson is 73.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO...

Ed Begley, Jr. is 75, Jennifer Tilly is 66, and Linda Henning is 80.

RIP FRANCA BETTOIA 1936-2024

The Italian actress has passed away.

In her almost 40 year career she appeared in dozens of movies made in Italy.

The ones most people know here are "Don't Touch the White Woman", "Sandokan And The Leopard of Sarawak", "Lion Of St. Mark" and her most famous role outside of Italy was "Last Man On Earth" along side Vincent Price.

Bettoia passed away on September 13, 2024 at the age of 88.