A New Hope for Star Trek?

After the unwatchable Star Trek Beyond, the least-profitable entry in the latest trilogy, it seemed like the franchise had crashed and burned -- again. But there's finally some good news on the horizon for Captain Kirk and his crew: director J.J. Abrams, who oversaw 2009's Star Trek and 2013's Star Trek Into Darkness, has teamed up with fellow director and producer Quentin Tarantino to develop concepts for the next movie in the series. Tarantino, who grew up as a fan of the original television series, believes that Star Trek has plenty of potential and has stated that the original show's only weaknesses were its low budget and fast-paced shooting schedule. Tarantino's trademark gritty violence may be a welcome change in direction from Beyond's cheesy turn into screwball comedy.

It may take a while for the project to hit theaters though, since Abrams, who initially left Star Trek in order to direct The Force Awakens, is currently working on the upcoming Star Wars Episode XI.

It's worth noting that the studio has given Tarantino the freedom to include R-rated content. Can you imagine The Hateful Eight in space? Sounds great as long as that big-headed bastard doesn't try to sneak the N-word in.

Originally Posted 12/6/17

"Bram Stoker's Dracula" Review

 

by Daniel White

Shocktober

Poor Francis Ford Coppola. First he had to contend with directing his daughter, Sofia, in The Godfather lll. She ably demonstrates the evils of nepotism by stinking up the screen. Then he gets saddled with Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). As wooden as the stakes used to destroy the infamous vampire, Reeves offers up a stand-out performance. It stands out by being incompetent. while the rest of the cast is expertly delivering the goods. However, even the woefully inept Reeves can't torpedo this project: Coppola has given us one of the best versions of the Dracula story ever filmed. A luscious, visually-breathtaking fright flick, he and scenarist James V. Hart have revitalized the familiar tale.

The script was originally brought to Coppola's attention by Winona Ryder, who was eager to play Mina. They had been scheduled to work together on the Godfather film, but Ryder withdrew from that project, citing nervous exhaustion (leading to you know who doing you know what). It's easy to see why Hollywood's newest screen sensation was eager to tackle the role. Mina is not a passive victim in this retelling. She is a proper, yet curious young lady, who is sexually awakened by her involvement with the impassioned Prince Vlad (Gary Oldman). It's a modern retelling of the story, the power (and danger) of female sexuality, but it doesn't detract from the film. And while the emphasis is on romance, the horror aspect has not been ignored. This is a bloody, violent, startling affair with plenty of gore.

Coppola should be praised too for his decision to craft the movie entirely in the studio and to forsake any computer driven special effects. It's an exquisite production that triumphs over any CGI-laden bore fest. Praise for Gary Oldman as well for delivering a Dracula that is equal parts chilling fiend and besotted lover. Does he overact at times? Yes, but it's understandable, especially in his scenes with the comatose Reeves. Anthony Hopkins provides the humor as the eccentric Abraham Van Helsing. Direct, socially unskilled, and dogged, kudos to the great Welsh actor for infusing the part with funny.

Every aspect of this movie of the macabre stands out. The music, the make-up, the costumes, the set designs, and the art direction, all handled by pros at the top of their game. The film was produced by Coppola's company, American Zoetrope, and distributed by Columbia. It was an understandable box office smash, successful both critically and commercially.

With a lustful Sadie Frost as Lucy, an impressive Tom Waits as Renfield, and Richard E.Grant as Dr. Jack Seward, Bram Stoker's Dracula is available on YouTube.

Edward Norton's "Motherless Brooklyn" is a Good, Old-Fashioned Suspense Film

by John Zenoni

Well, I have seen a performance by someone else, other than that of Joaquin Phoenix in “Joker”, who I believe should be nominated for best actor in a film - Edward Norton. His performance in “Motherless Brooklyn” is nothing short of amazing. The fact that he directed, wrote, and produced this film just makes it that much better.

The movie is about private detective Lionel Essrog, played by Edward Norton, who has a brilliant, inquisitive mind with an excellent memory, but who also just happens to have Tourette’s Syndrome. After suffering the loss of his friend and boss, Frank Minna, played very well by Bruce Willis, he becomes obsessed with finding out who was responsible for his murder. As he begins to dig into it and goes underground into nightclubs and bars for clues, he begins to realize that not everything or everyone is what or who they say they are.

Has this type of film been made before? Absolutely - a hundreds times over. But the development of the story and characters is so well done that you'll forget the movie is over 2 hours long because you'll just have to know how it ends in hope that justice prevails.

There are so many good, recognizable actors in this film and they all do a fine job in their roles - Willem Dafoe, Alex Baldwin, Leslie Mann, Bobby Cannavale, Fisher Stevens, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael K. Williams and more. The scenery, mood music, and atmosphere really is superbly done and makes you feel like you're back in the 1950’s.

I don’t think this one is going to blow away the box office by any means as it really is a ‘thinking person’s’ film but it is a tribute to the film noir. It's definitely one that should be relished for being a good, well acted, old-fashioned suspense film.

Kudos to Mr. Norton for adding another fine film to his resume.

Originally Posted 11/4/19

Leslie Jones Takes a Somewhat Hypocritical Stance on "Ghostbusters 3"

Leslie Jones, one of the stars of the 2016 Ghostbusters reboot, recently took to Twitter to express her outrage over the premise of the upcoming Ghostbusters 3. The movie, to be directed by the son (Jason Reitman) of the original film's director (Ivan Reitman) will reportedly serve as a direct sequel to 1989's Ghostbusters II, essentially ignoring the existence of the 2016 movie. And that's what pissed Jones off.

The thing is, that film ignored the existence of Ghostbusters II and the 1984 original -- which is what reboots do. Jones even complained that the filmmakers' decision to ignore the 2016 movie is something that Trump would do. Though four actors from the first two Ghostbusters films (Ernie Hudson, Bill Murray, Dan Akroyd and Sigourney Weaver) made cameos in the reboot, none of them reprised their earlier roles.  Ironically, Jones decision to publicly vent her highly hypocritical frustrations on Twitter actually is something that Trump would do. See the comedian's comments below:

“So insulting. Like f—k us. We dint count,” “It’s like something trump would do. (Trump voice) ‘Gonna redo ghostbusteeeeers, better with men, will be huge. Those women ain’t ghostbusteeeeers’ ugh so annoying. Such a d—k move. And I don’t give f—k I’m saying something!!”

Originally Posted 1/21/19

Morgan Freeman's 7 Best Movies

In his 58-year(!) career, preeminent actor Morgan Freeman has graced the stage and the screen, big and small and he shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon; the veteran thespian has five projects due for release in the next two years. He's also taken on roles as diverse as former slaves and freedom fighters to the U.S. President and the Higher Power. Shockingly enough, Freeman has only been awarded one Oscar. 

7. Brian Banks

Based on the title character's true story, Brian Banks follows a high school football star who's wrongly accused of a crime and persuaded to plead no contest to the charges -- but only because he's told that the worst sentence he would receive would be probation. Unfortunately, the judicial system wasn't merciful and instead he was sentenced to over 6 years in prison. While Banks did his time and was paroled, he learned the hard way that even out of prison he's still judged and denied the chance to earn a living. Determined to prove his innocence and get his wrongful conviction overturned, he works with the California Innocence Project to get another hearing in order to get his life back and pursue his dream of playing in the NFL.

Freeman delivers an uncredited performance as Judge Jerome Johnson, who presides over Banks' appeal. 

6. Seven

Retiring Detective Lieutenant William Somerset is saddled with an ambitious young partner during his final case and comes to the realization that the deaths they're investigating are the work of a serial killer. Freeman expertly imbues Somerset with a world-weariness that manages to stand out from the sea of cynical cinematic cops. 

5. Oblivion

Unlike in most alien invasion movies, Oblivion begins with the war already won -- but at the cost of the planet. Freeman portrays combat veteran and leader of a group of human survivors, Malcolm Beech. I can't say much more without spoiling things for those who haven't seen it.

4. Unforgiven

In this, his only western, Freeman is Ned Logan, a retired outlaw who takes a job collecting the bounty on a cowboy (and his accomplice) who disfigured a prostitute's face. Having been recruited by old friend Will Munny, but realizing that his skills and eyesight having waned over the years, and that he's no longer willing to kill, Logan re-retires from gunslinging. However, he's tortured to death by corrupt sheriff Little Bill Daggett, who feels threatened by Logan and associates exacting frontier justice. 

3. Batman Begins

After billionaire Bruce Wayne returns from a seven-year international sabbatical, his interest in his family corporation's Applied Sciences division is noticed by its chief, Freeman's Lucius Fox. Though he'd been demoted to corporate archivist since a hostile in-house coup, Fox's engineering genius becomes invaluable to Wayne's nocturnal activities as a masked vigilante. Wayne makes particular use of the prototype defense products Fox shows him, such as armored vehicle, the Tumbler. By the end of the film, he's promoted to CEO of Wayne Enterprises.

His best line: 

"If you don't want to tell me exactly what you're doing, when I'm asked, I don't have to lie. But don't think of me as an idiot."

2. The Dark Knight

Now the CEO of Wayne Industries, Freeman's Lucius Fox takes more of an active role in his vigilante activities. Having already supplied him with the Tumbler, he expands the crime-fighter's armory with the Batpod, a motorcycle outfitted with weaponry. However, Wayne's use of surveillance software to hack into every cell phone in Gotham is an intrusive step too far for Fox, who threatens to resign his from his post if the apparatus isn't dismantled.

1. The Dark Knight Rises

When Bruce Wayne surfaces after seven years of seclusion, Freeman's Lucius Fox provides him a new military aircraft prototype: the Bat. After Wayne loses control of his family's company, Fox is demoted to president and, subsequently, reluctantly agrees to use his fingerprints (as a member of the corporation's board) to allow terrorists access to Wayne Industries' nuclear fusion reactor, which they plan to weaponize. Following the apparent death of Wayne and the actual death of CEO Miranda Tate, Fox resumes his position atop the company.

"Black Sunday" Review

 

by Daniel White

Shocktober

Possessing possibly one of the cruelest mouths ever found on a female in film, Barbara Steele secured stardom in 1960's, Italian-made, Black Sunday (aka The Mask of Satan). And it is a star making performance, allowing the English actress a chance to shine in dual roles. Playing both Satan-worshipping Asa and her "good girl" descendant, Princess Katia, she is given the opportunity to die not once, not twice, but THREE times! How many actors can put THAT on their resume?

Not only does she kick the bucket thrice, she also gets to terrorize her own damn self! When a gal is offered defining moments like these, she BETTER make good, for they only come along once in a career, if that. Fortunately, Miss Steele grabbed the brass ring and ran with it, becoming one of cinema's premier "scream queens." She is helped immensely by director Mario Bava, who has designed a resplendent production for our leading lady to ply her wickedness in. Bava is listed as handling the "photography" as well, but camera operator Ubaldo Terzano is the man actually responsible for the film's stunning B&W cinematography. He brilliantly evokes the eerie, shadowy look of early Universal sound horror movies. Once again, German Expressionism in film triumphs.

The black-haired beauty's luck continues in this spooky, sinister movie of the macabre. The cinema gods have offered up co-star for our daughter of darkness to toy with, John Richardson. Playing Dr. Andrej Gorobec (didn't the good doctor also win Wimbledon that year?), Richardson does everything humanly possible to save his beloved Katia from the clutches of the evil Asa.

I am aware there are several different copies of this masterful fright-flick floating around. I watched the George Higgins lll (who oversaw the dubbing) English version. Though Miss Steele claimed to have done her own voice work, that is inaccurate. It was provided by Joyce Gordon. The copy was beautiful and pristine-looking, and as far as I know, unedited. It graphically displayed the bronze devil mask being sadistically smashed into the diabolical Asa's face in the beginning. Yes!

Loosely based on a story by Nikolai Gogol, with a musical score by Roberto Niccolodi, a literate screenplay and a seasoned troupe of supporting players, the disquieting, spine-chilling Black Sunday is available on YouTube. Watch it tonight, if you dare!

"The Oblong Box" Review

 

by Daniel White

Shocktober

The Oblong Box (1969) opens with an adrenaline shot. It's a violent, surreal and disturbing scene full of action and frenetic energy. While watching it, I kept thinking, "How the heck is this horror film going to maintain the momentum of these shocking four minutes?" Well, friends it does not. In fact, it would be impossible for any movie, macabre or otherwise, to continue at that level of high-pitched frenzy. Unfortunately, nothing that follows is terribly interesting.

Which is too bad, because this is the first film where those two titans of terror, Vincent Price and Christopher Lee, are paired together. Alas, except for a brief tete a tete near the end, they never get a chance to spark off one another. Akin to the opening, and the use of an Edgar Allen Poe story in name only, it's one more example of this movie suggesting something vital, then choosing to deliver something quite vapid instead.

Directed by Gordon Hessler, Price plays Julian Markham, one of two brothers who get themselves into all sorts of trouble while managing land they own in Africa. Safely ensconced back in the ancestral home in England, Julian has his hands full with brother Edward (Alister Williamson), who has been horribly disfigured by a native "witch doctor" on the dark continent (it's this facial mutilation that impressively opens the film). What transpires next is a series of contrivances, each less interesting than the last. Lee shows up (wearing an unflattering gray wig) as a disreputable doctor involved in body snatching. Edward finds himself in the not-so-good doctor's care, after which he proceeds to go on a ho-hum killing spree.

Appearing in a role that is both secondary and slight, I had my suspicions that Lee was getting the shaft, while the opening, extremely well-crafted credits were rolling. Granted a "Special Guest Star" title by the producers, little warning bells started ringing in my head. Often times there is nothing "special" about these star turns, and alas, that proves to be the case here. Price has been granted the meatier, more substantial part as the less-than-innocent Markham, but even he is not that compelling. Williamson is the spookiest of the three male leads, running around in a crimson hood, creating all sorts of havoc. But once again, the film fails us. When the creepy covering is finally removed and we are offered a glimpse of his mangled puss, what should be terrifying is nothing more troubling than a bad case of acne. Ho-hum, indeed.

Produced by American International Pictures' British division (who knew?), the movie co-stars Hilary Dwyer as Price's unsuspecting love interest. With Sally Geeson as the resident wench and Harry Baird as a magic man who wields a mean blowgun, The Oblong Box is available on YouTube.

Kevin Hart's 'What Now?' Movie Review

 

What Now? is the latest -- number five and counting -- in comedian Kevin Hart's series of stand-up comedy films and his fourth film to be released in 2016. 

His last stand-up movie, Let Me Explain, featured stage effects akin to a rap or rock conert (i.e. flames shooting upwards from the stage floor) and boasted cameos by legendary rappers Method Man, Erick Sermon and Snoop. 

This time around Hart opted to go the Hollywood route. A-list stars Don Cheadle and Halle Berry appear as themselves in a short, but not short enough, James Bond-like sequence which features Kevin as a cross between the British superspy and Denzel Washington's Robert McCall from The Equalizer. Unlike in his scripted movies, in which he's Ice Cube's or The Rock's bumbling sidekick, Hart is the action guy this time. No one who's followed Hart's career should be surprised. He's almost been leading up to this with his Nike commercials. Only now, Hart's the hero instead of Dwayne Wade. There's even a 007-style opening credits sequence.

The stand-up takes place in front of a live audience (of course) on a stage built inside of Philadelphia's Lincoln Financial Field (the Eagles' home stadium) with its 69,176-seat capacity. After rising from a hole in the stage floor, Hart hilariously opens up about a variety of aspects of his new life as an A-list comedian and family man. He covers a wide range of topics, from his usual relationship observations to being terrified of the wildlife near his home to resenting his kids' because of their terrible gift-giving skills to not knowing what to make of his son's suburban mannerisms. And of course, he again discusses his relationship with his father -- a staple of his comic routines. As usual, there are celebrities in attendance. It's not hard to spot fellow-comic Michael Blackson near the front.

In my opinion, a comedy is worth watching if it makes me laugh. And this one did. It's nowhere near as funny as his first special, 2009's I'm A Grown Little Man, named after his first tour, but it gets the job done. And it's much better than his BET series The Real Husbands of Hollywood. 

With tears in his eyes, Kevin tells the crowd in his hometown (and mine) of Philly that he's made history by filling The Linc with 53,000 people for a stand-up comedy performance. That's an enormous step up from the 15,000-person crowd that watched him perform in 2011's Laugh At My Pain.
I guess the question now is: What Next? 

Originally Posted 10/14/16

Boyz N the Hood

"The Mummy" Review

 

by Daniel White

Shocktober

"Oh! Amon-Ra--Oh! God of Gods--Death is but the doorway to new life."

Atmosphere is everything in Universal's The Mummy (1932), and acclaimed cinematographer Karl Freund provides it by the pyramidful. In one of his few outings as a director, Freund who cut his teeth working in German Expressionism (The Last Laugh, Metropolis), delivers a phenomenally beautiful fright flick, as striking as anything produced in Hollywood at the time.

A subdued, menacing Boris Karloff stars as Imhotep, an ancient mummy who is unearthed by a team of English archaeologists. Assuming the identity of Ardeth Bey, he obsessively pursues Helen (the sultry Zita Johann, costumed equisitely, I feel compelled to point out), a half-Egyptian beauty who is the reincarnation of his lost love, Princess Ankh-esen-amun. Make up artist Jack Pierce is not credited but he created Karloff's wizened, wrinkled facial features. Perhaps not as startling and distinctive as his Frankenstein monster from the previous year but just as effective. Karloff is creepy-looking and matches his diabolical demeanor with a somber, intense portrayal.

The plot borrows freely from 1931's Dracula and the movie even employs two of the actors from that "monster" hit for Universal, David Manners and Edward Van Sloan. Bramwell Fletcher gets the Dwight Frye "loony" role as a young archaeology assistant who is driven mad by a marauding mummy. For whatever reason, this film never became quite as iconic as Dracula and Frankenstein, maybe because it's more of a mood piece than a movie of the macabre. However, it is a sumptuous and spooky slice of cinema and more than holds its own as one of the triumvirate of terror in Universal's early horror films (a blood curdling quartet if you include 1934's The Invisible Man).

With the same haunting refrain from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake that was used in Dracula, and Charles Stumar in charge of the splendid cinematography, The Mummy can be found on Tubi.

"Count Dracula" Review

 

by Daniel White

Shocktober

Recently, I came across statements that Christopher Lee made about Bela Lugosi's portrayal of Dracula. Lugosi's handling of the role did not meet the acclaimed British actor's approval. According to Lee, Lugosi was "ridiculous" and "too nice." He found fault with his smile and his hand movements, and felt he was not "sinister" or menacing enough. Okay, fair enough, Bela Lugosi was not Christopher Lee's cup of tea (bucket of blood?) as far as being a a successful vampire. But then the hypercritical (hypocritical?) thespian starts taking swipes at Lugosi's age and ethnicity. Declaring that Lugosi was "in his YOUNGER (emphasis mine) days a wonderful looking man," he proceeds to inform us that he was not the right "nationality"!! Why? Because the Hungarian actor was not a true Transylvanian!?! This coming from a guy born and raised, for the most part, in London!! Shame on you, Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee CBE CStJ. By the way, what does the CBE stand for? Complete Blathering Eejit?

Lee tackles the role once again in Jesus Franco's Count Dracula (1970), about the same age, one should note, as Lugosi was when he donned the black cape and white fangs in the 1931 fright flick.

It's a middling film, handsomely produced, that never falters, but then again, never really soars either.

The same can be said for Lee. He gives a competent, by the book performance that never stumbles. But it certainly doesn't take flight, and near the end when he resorts to attempting to kidnap Mina like a common thug he commits a grievous error. Dracula would NEVER strong arm his victims. He is above that and needs only to hypnotize them, using his compelling malevolence to bend them to his will. Like Bela Lugosi did so convincingly. Watch the Master, and maybe in time you'll improve your technique, Chris.

The film includes a near-silent Klaus Kinski, as Renfield, straitjacketed (literally and figuratively) by an ill-conceived, poorly (non) written role. Damn! Both Kinski AND Lee failing to achieve excellence!

It does have a pair of beauties (Maria Rohm and Soledad Miranda) as Mina and Lucy. But none of this makes for an inspirational movie of the macabre, just an adequate one. Pretty and polished, but as my grandfather was fond of saying, "Nothing to write home to mother about."

A multi-national production shot on location in Spain, Count Dracula (or La Nuits De Dracula) is available on both YouTube and Tubi.

"Dracula" Review

 

by Daniel White

"Listen to them, children of the night, what music they make."

Ah yes, that's Bela Lugosi as the infamous count who uttered that most memorable of lines in Tod Browning's Dracula. This month is the 140th anniversary of Lugosi's birth and I can't think of a better way to pay homage than to watch him in the role that made him a film immortal. He may not be cinema's best Dracula but he's MY Dracula - I am his faithful minion, tethered to my master for eternity.

The flick itself is not the greatest movie of the macabre but it is comprised of such eerie moments and distinct, noteworthy lines like the one above that it remains involving and compelling - an essential in the horror film canon. Released by Universal on Valentine's day, 1931 (billed as "The strangest Passion the world has ever known"), the film was an immediate hit and made a superstar out of Lugosi. Yes, the Hungarian actor was typecast as a horror performer (something he feared would happen) but if it weren't for Dracula, I doubt he would have achieved any lasting fame at all.

Though Browning was the director, cinematographer Karl Freund helmed large portions of the flick. It seems Browning was involved in several projects simultaneously and could not give the movie the attention it warranted. Freund is a genius, responsible for several critical inventions in both film and television. Any dude who was integral to the success of both Dracula AND I Love Lucy is a Hollywood god and belongs in the pantheon of artistic giants. Besides Bela as the diabolical Dracula, the fright flick also contains a riveting, mesmerizing turn by Dwight Frye as the fly-feasting Renfield. He gives an unsettling, uncompromising and most of all, unforgettable performance.

Lugosi, Frye and Edward Van Sloan as the fearless, determined Van Helsing have been provided with a pithy, juicy screenplay by Garrett Fort (adapted from the stage play). I'd forgotten how many quotable lines this movie contains! With the tragic Helen Chandler as the fragile Mina, David Manners as the hapless Harker, and the haunting music of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake, Dracula is currently streaming on Tubi.

"To die, to be really dead, that must be glorious... There are far worse things waiting man than death."

"Freedom on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom" Mini-Review

 

by John Zenoni

‘Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom' is an absolutely stunning and hard-to-watch at times documentary on the terror of war taking place in the Ukraine. This film shows the horror of the war instigated by Vladimir Putin but it also shows the courage, unity and bravery exemplified by the citizens of Ukraine. By the end of the documentary, I cannot imagine how anyone could not have respect for the people of Ukraine, who only want their freedom and peaceful way of life to be left intact.

#cinemafiends

#fullycinematic

#ukrainemovie

#freedomonfiremovie

#ukrainefightforfreedom

"The Crawling Hand" Review

 

by Daniel White

What do you get when you mix teenage angst with a failed space mission? The Crawling Hand, a 1963 horror/sci fi flick that brings new meaning to the word inept.

Working out of a Florida space center that looks like it doubles for a used car dealership, Peter Breck is Steve Curan, a frustrated aeronautics employee. Along with co-workers Allison Hayes (Attack of the 50 Foot Woman) and Kent Taylor, Steve is on edge - they've just lost their second astronaut. Where are these Interplanetary pilots disappearing to, and why are they so spooked? ("Do you read me... someone please come in... push the red... kill kill!") Three thousand miles away in a sleepy California town, two teenagers discover a severed hand while swimming. Could it belong to the latest flyguy gone bye bye? You betcha!

Misdirected by Herbert L. Strock (who also had a "hand" in scribbling the less than stellar screenplay), The Crawling Hand is bad, but not "so bad it's good" bad. Nope, my friends, it's just plain, god awful lousy. It does, however, contain a pretty interesting cast. Besides Breck and Hayes, Rod Lauren appears as Paul, the young man who found the hand (really, an arm) while frolicking in the surf with his sweetie.

Looking like Frankie Avalon, Lauren does a shoddy James Dean impersonation. I'd say it's jaw-droppingly wretched but it doesn't deserve that much attention from anyone's jaw. His main squeeze is played by Sirry Steffen, a former Miss Iceland. I have always wanted to see what a Miss Iceland looked like. Thank you, Miss Steffen, for satisfying my curiosity. Now, hop onto the nearest ice floe, go back to where you came from, and bother us no more.

Hollywood has-beens Arline Judge and Richard Arlen are here as well. Hopefully, but I doubt it, they picked up a sizable paycheck. And the pitted, fetid cherry on the top of this curdled sundae? The Skipper, from Gilligan's Island! Alan Hale is the local sheriff who's just itchin' to put a bullet in our tortured anti-hero's head. Dammit, Skipper, if you'd done that 10 minutes into this stink-fest you would have saved us all from having to endure it.

It premiered in Hartford, Connecticut, my home state in 1963, the year I was born. But don't think for a minute that grants this misconceived fright flick a place of endearment in my heart. Nothing doing folks. I don't care if my dear, departed mother pawned the family heirlooms to finance this piece of dog doo-doo. Burn it, bury it, or behead it, I never want to see The Crawling Hand again. Available on YouTube, for those who are feeling masochistic.

"The Revenge of Frankenstein" Review

 

by Daniel White

"To the laboratory, tonight we give Karl his new body!"

Films from when we are children are so powerful, so potent. They possess a magic that stays with us long after the arrival of adulthood. For example, my fondness for the Universal horror flicks from the thirties and early forties are so strong they transcend the actual quality of some of those gems. They are beyond rebuke, above criticism, free from judgment. I suspect fans of the Hammer horror movies feel the same way. I did not encounter these particular fright flicks until I was a doddering old dude so I look at them with a clear eye, free from any sentimentality. But I understand, I get it. To many others, they are irreproachable.

Directed by Terence Fisher, The Revenge Of Frankenstein (1958) is the follow up to the studio's international success from the previous year, The Curse Of Frankenstein. Both movies star Peter Cushing and it's easy to see why the producers wanted to bring back the engaging actor as Victor Frankenstein. Killed off in the first film, scenarist Jimmy Sangster employs the old bodies switched at death trick. It's a shaky premise, but who cares. Cushing is essential to the franchise. Elegant and brooding, he breathes new life into the well worn tale.

Presumed dead, the determined Dr. Frankenstein has changed his name (Stein) and relocated to another city in Germany. However he is still dogged in his desire to slap some body parts together and create a living creature from scratch. The man he builds is not the gruesome blockhead that Boris Karloff embodied. No, this man made "monster" (Michael Gwynn) is proportioned with a noble countenance. And though Stein does have his ungainly, lame lab assistant helping him (Oscar Quitak), he also is enabled in his ungodly pursuit by the well dressed and distinguished Dr. Hans Kleve (Francis Matthews).

With minimum gore but a solid story, The Revenge Of Frankenstein looks great, with vibrant colors and detailed, intricate set designs. If it doesn't set my heart a pitty pattying, that's only because I am viewing it for the first time as a staid, seen it all old man of 59. If I had been an impressionable lad of 9 or 10, I'm sure I would have reacted quite differently.

Distributed by Columbia Pictures, with cinematography by Jack Asher, set designs by Bernard Robinson, and a meddlesome missy played by Eunice Gayson, The Revenge Of Frankenstein is streaming on Tubi.

"Amsterdam" Review

 

by John Zenoni

‘Amsterdam’, ‘Amsterdam’, ‘Amsterdam’ - each of the three primary characters repeats this in key moments of the latest David O. Russell film of the same name. What I do not get is reading that this movie is on its way to being one of the biggest money losers of the year, to a tune of almost $100 million dollars! Very disappointing considering that this is a pretty good adult film that is for once NOT a horror or MCU or DC movie.

It's somewhat quirky, and not perfect by any means, but I really did enjoy the chemistry between the leads - Margot Robbie, Christian Bale, and John David Washington - and the performances by the remainder of the star studded cast: Taylor Swift (who does a pretty good job I must say), Robert DeNiro, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rami Malek, Mike Myers, Chris Rock, Timothy Olyphant and Zoe Saldana. Honestly, this film almost plays out like a Wes Anderson film, in that there are some strange characters, sequences and behaviors. But there is a good crime mystery behind the plot and I enjoyed it myself.

#cinemafiends

#fullycinematic

#davidrussell

#amsterdam

#amsterdamfilm

Joe Morton's 6 Best Movies

 

Virtuoso character actor Joe Morton has graced the screen, film and television, for over five decades, with no signs of slowing down. Here are his best feature films:

6. Ali

Morton's Chauncey Eskridge is one of the real-life attorneys hired to represent legendary boxer Muhammad Ali in his landmark case against the U.S. government, following his refusal to serve in the army during the Vietnam War. After appealing all the way to the Supreme Court, Eskridge's argument prevails and Ali's conviction as an alleged draft-dodger is overturned.

5. Executive Decision

Unquestionably the greatest of the many Die Hard rip-offs, Executive Decision centers on a U.S. Army intelligence consultant, backed up by a team of commandos, who infiltrate an airliner -- midflight -- in order to take down terrorists armed with a biological weapon. Morton portrays one of the commandos, U.S. Special Forces First Sergeant Campbell "Cappy" Matheny, the team's explosives expert. Following a serious injury, Cappy's forced to talk an aeronautics engineer through the process of disabling the terrorists' bomb.

4. American Gangster

Morton portrays Bumpy Johnson associate Charlie Williams, who, at his wake, hands a cash-filled envelope to the Harlem gangster's driver and successor, Frank Lucas. Subsequently, Williams remains an associate of Lucas throughout the heroin kingpin's career.

3. King of the Monsters

Yale-educated geologist Dr. Houston Brooks (Morton) is recruited by kaiju research company Monarch to study long-dormant prehistoric creatures initially detected because of his seismology work.

2. The Snyder Cut

Portraying another technologist, Xenoscientist Dr. Silas Stone's research into alien technology for the Department of Defense unlocks some of the secrets of an Apokolyptian Mother Box, the energy of which he harnesses to prolong the life of his badly-injured son, Victor. An unforeseen consequence of the machine's use is that it imbues the younger Stone with cybernetic enhancements, rendering him a cyborg, as well as granting him superhuman abilities.

Victor later rescues his father and other scientists following their abduction by intergalactic warlord Steppenwolf, alongside other meta-humans. 

1. Batman v. Superman

Morton's Dr. Silas Stone makes his first appearance in a self-made video, obtained by Alexander Luthor and stolen by Bruce Wayne, documenting his son Victor's treatment.

"Halloween Ends" Review

 

by Robert Zenoni

This….is Halloween Ends and it presumably is the final canon Halloween film to be made. This movie involves everything you wouldn’t want in a final iteration of such a classic film series. Let me back up and make something clear first. I HATE scary movies; I avoid them like the plague but this being the final movie to a series that scared me for months as a kid, it felt nostalgic almost to watch the final.

Now let’s get to it. This movie was…slightly disappointing. It introduces a new character that essentially becomes Michael and it just doesn’t make much sense. In fact, most of the movie doesn’t make much sense and even though it’s 2 hours long it STILL FEELS RUSHED. Everything about it feels like a Halloween movie except the plot point of an “extra” Michael Myers and that's really what kills the whole thing for me. We only got one scene where the iconic music is played -- which sucked -- and it just wasn’t scary (maybe that’s because I’m 26 now, not 8 ). And I just feel like Halloween is meant to be scary and not just a gore-and-kills movie. Overall, the ending was good and makes sense for an ending to the series. But it just lacked what the movie is about, which is just the thought that Michael is around the corner being suspenseful and none of that is present here. So I’ll close with, "Is this movie good?" No. Is it bad? No. It’s a solid ”Eh” and it further proves that the original is always the best.