Keep on Space Truckin'

The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues (1955) was an Instawatch or maybe Hulu. It's that kind of title. Not a great one but watchable if you enjoy bad b-movies. It's very post-WWII with a monster being created from radiation but also wanted as a weapon. 6 / 10

The Valley of Gwangi (1969) is a film I've always wanted to see so was glad to pick it off NWI. And it's such a fine cowboys and dinosaurs flick with a tragic ending. It has a traveling circus too. Super enjoyable with excellent Ray Harryhausen stopmo. 7 / 10

OMG, Queen of Outer Space (1958) is riot! Credit to TCM for airing some cool old flicks on their Drive-In Thursdays. This is another misogynistic sci-fi where a group of male astronauts land on Venus inhabited by only beautiful woman including Zsa Zsa Gabor! Awesomeness. I wish to own this movie! 6.7 / 10

The War of the Planets (1966) is another gem courtesy of TCM. This one directed by one of my personal favorites Antonio Margheriti and is a loose sequel to his Wild, Wild Planet, which I adore. Unfortunately this film isn't as strong or as entertaining and rather convoluted despite the awesome cocktail party in space. 5 / 10

• June New: 57
• June Re-watch: 4
• June '11 MTD: 61
• June '10 MTD: 64
• 2011 YTD: 377
  

Made in France

I've been getting into more Godard recently (as in the past couple of years) and Made in U.S.A. (1966) a visual treat. It's also on my blindspot project list. I can see why as it's hard not to watch the stunning Anna Karina. Marianne Faithfull is also badass. This is one that deserves more than one viewing if not to understand the plot but to stare in awe at the imagery. 7.5 / 10

• May New: 29
• May Re-watch: 2
• May '11 Total: 31
• May '10 Total: 68
• 2011 Total: 299
  

Space Cowboys

The Angry Red Planet (1959) was on NWI and one I had to see with my proclivity towards 50s Sci-fi. Basically we (almost) have the origin story of the Fantastic Four as four scientists get trapped in space after finding their way to Mars. On Mars they encounter hostile aliens including a giant bat spider. The red filter is hilarious but it works. 6/10

L'illusionniste (2010) a.k.a. The Illusionist is Chomet's love letter to Tati. Brilliant animation of a somber tale of a wondering magician in Old Europe. Very heartfelt and sad yet beautiful. 7.2/10

Caught of little of the Howard Hawks western El Dorado (1966) on a cable station the other day and immediately knew this was something I had to see from the beginning. Library delivered the DVD and I dug into this film featuring macho men and über-attractive women. Robert Mitchum (again, unintentional tribute month) is the drunkard sheriff while John Wayne and his sidekick James Caan are hired guns. They capture outlaw boss Ed Asner and face-off with Christopher George and his gang. Both Michele Carey and Charlene Holt are stunning in support roles. See this movie! 8/10

• January New: 63
• January Re-watch: 10
• January '11 Total: 73
• January '10 Total: 51
• 2010 TOTAL: 73
  

Cowboys vs. Ninjas

This morning I headed over to Muvico to catch the digital presentation of Sngmoo Lee's The Warrior's Way (2010). Apparently this was originally titled the "Laundry Warrior" which is reason enough for the change. This genre mash of Old East meets Old West action adventure is akin to a live action anime and I appreciate what it tries to do under that premise. Not many would consider this a good film (I've heard some say it's absolutely terrible) but it's the kind of silly fun that I enjoy on the big screen. No surprise there. Jang Dong-gun carries the strength needed in the lead while Danny Huston and Geoffrey Rush chew up the scenery in OTT performances. Kate Bosworth is... not very good. Great to see Ti Lung but he's not given much to do. 6.8/10

Received both Hot Tub Time Machine (2010) and When in Rome (2010) from my library. One was good the other not so good. HTTM is charming but the 80s jokes wear a bit thin. Still a fine watch. Rob Corddry steals most of the best scenes. 7/10 WIR however is DOA. If not for the super attractive and photogenic Kristen Bell, who makes this dud very watchable, this would be tedious. 5/10

In my project to track down all the Alice in Wonderland films, I also watched Alice Through the Looking Glass (1966), produced for TV and directed by Alan Handley. I was prompted to this one by @ReelDistraction's tweet of some of the cast members which include: Jimmy Durante, Ricardo Montalban and the Smothers Brothers. Not a bad watch but overall lacks the oomph of some of the other adaptations I've seen to date. Jack Palance dressed up as the Jabberwock is something to behold. 6.2/10

• December New: 9
• December Re-watch: 2
• December Total: 11
• 2010 TOTAL: 728
  

Black Death Inside Me

Friday evening and I'm sick. I think I got food poisoning from the Whole Foods buffet I picked up today after work. Ugh. Watched Cornered! (2009) featuring Steve Guttenberg, of all people. Not a very good trapped in a store horror movie but whatever. Heard about it from the twitter and was compelled to check it out. 4.5/10


Then on TCM part of their Hammer Horror Friday nights I watched The Plague of the Zombies (1966), which I had not seen before. It's pretty damn good. At least it's a lot better than I'm feeling. 6.75/10

• October New: 14
• October Re-watch: 1
• October Total: 15
• 2010 TOTAL: 599
  

Silly & Sobering Stopmo

Did a great stopmo double feature on Netflix Watch Instantly that included A Town Called Panic (2009) and Mary and Max (2009). Adore both these films for different reasons. Stop motion is excellent is both. Town Called Panic is much more lyrical & humorous. Mary & Max is almost the flipside of that as a sad and often depressing look at how two lives on opposite sides of the earth have connected. Love Adam Elliot's Harvey Krumpet so I was predisposed to like it. I do. Again, this is a great double feature to do on NWI. Watch 'em both!


More catching up with unseen Mario Bava I spun his sword & sandal flick Knives of the Avenger (1966) starring Cameron Mitchell as the viking warrior hero. Despite some criticism I kinda liked this film. It's part of the Bava Box Set which I plan to buy.

• July New: 40
• July Re-watch: 9
• July Total: 49
• 2010 TOTAL: 436
  

The Sea is Watching

Back for the 2nd night of G-Fest but only one screening Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (1966). This film really encapsulates everything I love about 50s & 60s Japanese sci-fi film. Thought I had seen this one but I had not. Really great story about an secret military base of the Red Bamboo Army and the Sea Monster that guards the island. The Red Bamboo keeps the monster at bay with a special juice produced on the island by slaves. Bonus was having Akira Takarada, the main star of the film (and other Japanese sci-fi films), in attendance to introduce the film. He was signing at G-Fest but after the screening, fans got a chance to talk to him and take photos w/this legend. Killer evening!

Afterwards I queued up Uwe Boll's Rampage (2009) after seeing some recent twitter chatter. It's a decent film that puts a different spin on a Columbine-type tragedy. Possibly the best Boll flick I've seen, which is saying a lot.

• July New: 14
• July Re-watch: 5
• July Total: 19
• 2010 TOTAL: 406
  

Toymation

Admission: I've never been a big fan of Wallace & Gromit. There I said it. It's one of the reasons why I haven't watched much of their films ("their" as if they are real). But I stumbled on Wallace & Gromit - The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) the other day so what the hey. Yeah, it's pretty good w/some good voice acting and stopmo claymation. Very inventive. Still not a big fan.

Finally from TCM the rather odd Gypsy Girl (1966) that has a much better plot summary than it actually delivers: "A young, lonely, mentaly retarded teenage girl finds solace in burying dead animals after the sudden death of a friend of hers." Sounds cool, right? But, erm, doesn't really nail that or pay off in way that kept me interested. Felt it could've been much better if really had stuck to that synopsis rather than meander thru the character interactions without ever really developing the main character Brydie White. That is to say, I didn't get sense of her real motivation. Young Ian McShane is fine and provides some stability to the plot but still not enough to make it compelling. Didn't work for me.

In anticipation of viewing Toy Story 3 on the big screen I decided to revisit Toy Story (1995). Forgot the subtle nod to classic horror film. Really love this movie even more now.

• June New: 37
• June Re-watch: 5
• June Total: 42
• 2010 TOTAL: 365
  

Terrorized In Time

I find myself often embarrassed when I admit to having not seen such films like the Coen Bros.' sublime Barton Fink (1991) but I have no excuses. This is definitely one of those films that I'm already looking forward to seeing again. So many little touches to notice. And possibly my favorite John Goodman role.

A film I'm not embarrassed having not seen until now is Brett Ratner's Red Dragon (2002). Not to say this is bad film because I actually rather enjoyed it. But it doesn't resonate nearly as well as the other Hannibal films. But Ralph Fiennes was entertaining.

An old school sci-fi b-movie I found on the wire Time Travelers (1966) is quite silly but, strangely enough, an interesting tale of time travel. Really dug the creepy cyborgs and how they provided the creation of them. Thoroughly enjoyed this.


Galaxy of Terror (1981) is yet another terrific little early 80s science fiction film from Roger Corman's stable of films. The assembled cast is also quite interesting w/a post-Happy Days Erin Moran (Joanie), pre-Nightmare Robert Englund, Ray Walston, and Sid Haig among others. Very fun watch 'cept for the ambiguous limp finale. Sad this film is OOP but look at that film poster! Amazingly cool.

OH, NO! NOT THE BEES!

Went out to support The Crazies (2010) at the theater. Solid and engrossing if not entirely spot on. Decent watch and worth the rental.


The DVD cover for The Deadly Bees (1967) is better than the actual film. Not a terrible watch but could've been a lot more, ahem, deadly. Had some funny moments like when they use the exact same shoot to illustrate a mystery beekeeper releasing the bees. But not a very good Amicus film.

Despite its lengthy runtime, Grand Prix (1966) is a very entertaining film that could've been trimmed in a few places to make it really outstanding. James Garner is wonderful here. Nice to see Toshiro Mifune make a limited yet important appearance. The Formula 1 races are captured so well and make this film worth seeing. The drama between the cars on the track is intense and realistic. Good stuff.

Richard Fleischer's Conan the Destroyer (1984) is far from being a "good" film but having seen it again via NWI I've determined that I really love the cheesiness it provides. The banter between Tracey Walter and a much friendlier Conan (Schwarzenegger) gives levity to what was intended as a campy sequel to the more serious Conan The Barbarian.