Change Your Image
kyyankee
Reviews
Car 54, Where Are You?: Boom, Boom, Boom (1962)
Had me in hysterics in 1962
When I saw this as an 11 year old I truly collapsed watching Jan Murray's descent into madness. The genius of this show, unappreciated at the time, was the skilled construction of plots made from simple premises turning into unexpected wild conclusions. The actors and writers were veterans of vaudeville and burlesque. The tried and true comedy elements of repetition, inside jokes and stock characters are refined sharply in each episode. This is one of the best episodes of a classic sitcom.
By the way, Fred Gwynne does a little singing in other episodes, and he was a bass baritone. So his tenor voice here was a dubbed performance of someone else.
Who's Minding the Mint? (1967)
Very funny, terrific cast
I hadn't seen this film in years. It is available from 3 or 4 pay sites, but I lucked into a freebie (albeit with commercials) on the Cinevault streaming channel. It's a great take on the heist genre. It's a little slow to get going, and Jim Hutton has to do a lot of early heavy lifting until the heist itself.
The film is able to use the specilaties from some of the best comedy actors of that time. Bob Denver is a nice guy, Milton Berle a conniver, Walter Brennan the old grampa and so on. Every one of them fits and advances the story. Even an then unknown Jamie Farr makes an appearance.
A little seen gem, now available on DVD.
Moby Dick (1956)
An epic, operatic treatment of a classic
I saw this great film in a theater in 1956. It had the same effect on me that the great whale had on Ahab himself. I was only a child, but the vivid images, tremendous performances and the lyrical words of Herman Melville transmitted through the mind if Ray Bradbury made for a riveting experience. It remains my single favorite film, one that I've watched dozens of times.
Julie and Jack (2003)
James Nguyen's first stink bomb
Former computer chip salesman Nguyen creates a film about a romantically challenged computer chip salesman who finds love with a virtual reality woman. A concept that might have produced a decent film in the hands of an even marginally talented director and cast, but this bunch makes Ed Wood and his merry band of loonies and drunks look like the Royal Shakespeare Comapany. Justin Kunkle (Jack) has a total of 3 credits. Jenn Gotzon (Julie) left acting to become the Queen of the Christian Movies. And Nguyen was just warming up with this snooze fest, going on to the immortal Birdemic and Birdemic 2. Watchable only when being being mocked by the boys at Rifftrax.
The Conquest of the Air (1931)
A dry telling of an interesting tale
The most interesting parts of this film are the docudrama installments at the beginning. At the same time, the reenactment of medieval and renaissance pioneers leaping off the tops of buildings to their inevitable splattering needs only a calliope or an MST3K accompaniment to be completely ridiculous. But the content is very interesting for anyone who loves aviation. It could be more entertaining, though.
The date for this film is puzzling. It is listed as being 1936, but contains footage of the Hindenburg disaster and the loss of Wiley Post and Amelia Earhart, distinctly mentioning the year 1938. Was there an updated re-release as the need to inform the British public about air power on the verge of WWII?
Saps at Sea (1940)
Horns! Horns!
Ollie has hornophobia. Stan drives a car with the engine in the back seat. A refrigerator plays music, while a radio is frozen. Ollie tries to milk the wrong end of a goat. And so on and so on. Little bits of genius in the boys' swan song with Hal Roach. As well as Jimmie Finlayson, Charlie Hall and Ben Turpin. They would never be this good again, but it was a great ride.
J'ai rencontré le Père Noël (1984)
The French equivalent of The Wizard of Oz...
If The Wizard of Oz had terrible songs, a nonsensical plot, a trip to Africa, crocodiles and a puppy eating ogre. I have to admit if my elementary school teacher resembled Karen Cheryl I would have enjoyed those years much more. This would be a perfect kid's film if it wasn't for the cruelty to children and animals and depiction of Africans as either violent mercenaries or ignorant peasants.
Rifftrax makes this steamy pile at least partially bearable.
Habeas Corpus (1928)
The answer to a question we've all asked:
What would happen if Dr Frankenstein sent Laurel and Hardy to get a dead body instead of Igor? This is a very funny silent for the boys, and something of a departure. The scared stiff shtick wasn't usually their thing, but they pull it off nicely. They're still developing their chemistry here, but it works very well. The more familiar gags abound along with the Eek! a ghost! bits. Very worth a watch.
Krampus (2015)
A meandering journey to a terrific finish
Way too much exposition up front. Your extended family is a nightmare, thanks we get it. Take out 20 minutes. Krampus is coming to get you and he has creepy helpers. We get it. Take out 10 minutes. You're left with a solid hour of horror. And then keep a really imginative finish. So it's a good extended Twilight Zone episode.
Anyway, an underrated film, generally. Worth a look, maybe a second look.
Rollergator (1996)
Bottom of the barrel
A would be filmmaker saw Howard the Duck and figured he could do better. He also saw Martin Sheen and figured a relative of his would be a fine actor in this film. He figured endless guitar riffs would be the perfect soundtrack. It gets worse by the minute. This is even a step down for Ed Wood veteran Conrad Brooks. Only bearable, and even then by a razor thin margin, in the Rifftrax episode.
Hockey Homicide (1945)
I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out!
My favorite Goofy cartoon. I love hockey, but sometimes the absurdities of the game overwhelm the sport. This gem captures the lunacy of "let the boys play" to perfection. The whole set of Goofy sport cartoons are masterpieces of slapstick and imagination. Some are to be found on Disney+: why not this one?
The Tingler (1959)
Spicy William Castle baloney, thick cut
This is a ridiculous movie, with a "monster" that an elementary school art class would be ashamed to produce. Add William Castle's gleeful introduction and gimmicky and this should be a forgotten film.
But it isn't because everyone concerned is completely professional. Vincent Price always gave his all to whatever he performed, and he is restrained and sympathetic in this role. Despite Castle's one-shot-Willie style of direction the script is literate and the production values far above the actual budget.
A special mention to Phillip Coolidge, as the plotting husband. His friendly guy next door portrayal would fit well in a film by a much more well known and respected filmmaker.
Satanis: The Devil's Mass (1970)
Satanic snoozefest
I caught this on TCM. You have to wonder if the message of the filmmakers is that all Belief Systems are just that: BS. The Satanists are bored and boring. The black house is a second rate curio shop. The naked ladies, to be charitable, could use some time in the gym. The red lighted rituals are pointless. The Christians are predictable: gosh, how were they able to find 2 young babbling Mormon in white shirts and ties? Where did they come up with an old priest to take us back 1700 years to the Gospels? The only thing missing is a sweaty guy in a straw hat yelling "Hurry, hurry, hurry! Right this way to the weirdos!"
A good tool for insomniacs to get some needed sleep.
Fire and Ice (1983)
Juvenile sword and sorcery
Ralph Bakshi, the Ed Wood of animation, joins forces with Frank Frazetta, the illustrator who found clothing a hindrance to drawing muscles and breasts. Supported on a flimsy story derived from a thrilling evening of D&D, half naked heroes and a juicy princess fight a mad sorcerer Prince and his subhuman army of dark skinned fanged warriors. Bakshi produced and directed, but missed the Woodian trifecta by having someone else write the "script". With the blond, blue eyed hero and brown animalistic enemies in endless battle to dominate the world, I suspect the author was Heinrich Himmler using a pseudonym.
Best enjoyed if your libido is stuck at 12 years old, it's worth a watch for the animation, if not much else.
The Outer Limits: A Feasibility Study (1964)
One the best episodes
If you watched Outer Limits back in the day, you probably were watching Twilight Zone as well. Outer Limits was the scifi show with rubber monsters, Twilight Zone was the home of the speculative, the bizarre and the conduit for the social beliefs of Rod Serling. It was this last that separated the two shows. Outer Limits rarely produced the kind of thoughtful episodes that touched the feelings of the viewer.
This episode is one TZ would be proud of. It starts out as many OL shows do, with aliens taking Earth people way for nefarious purposes. But as it develops, and at it's memorable conclusion, there is a moral intellectual message that is the equal of the best of TZ or anything else that was broadcast at the time. The writing, the cast, the premise are all superior to most of the other shows. This is a very worthwhile viewing experience.
The Outer Limits: Production and Decay of Strange Particles (1964)
5 Seconds of Nimoy, 59 minutes of ???
I first saw this episode when it aired in the original run and it made very little sense. I thought that seeing it with a more seasoned eye might add to my comprehension and that the presence of Leonard Nimoy in the cast would make it watchable.
Well, our Star Trek buddy has about 3 lines before sticking his arms into some unexplained thing and turning into another unexplained thing. The rest of the time George Macready and Signed Hasso wander around looking very concerned, while being confused as we are by the whole deal.
Subpar for the series.
The Outer Limits: The Sixth Finger (1963)
A fine piece of classic science fiction
What happens when you take an ordinary laboring man and accelerate his mental and physical evolution? A very familiar question posed over the years in sci fi literature, and one addressed here in one of the best shows in the series. A very good cast, a believable premise and execution.
The Outer Limits: The Architects of Fear (1963)
A thoughtful episode about fear and love
Robert Culp appeared in 3 Outer Limits shows, and all are high quality. In this one he is a volunteer to undergo a complete modification of his body to frighten the world uniting in an effort to repulse a supposed invasion from another planet. His new body is modeled on something in a box which we never see, and which apparently came from another world without much explanation. It's Culp's usual underplayed hero that keeps the episode focused.
The Outer Limits: Tourist Attraction (1963)
Silly episode
A phony rubber suit monster, that is aquatic, yet gives off scuba diving air bubbles constantly, is the object of characters that you can't possibly care about. And you absolutely know that as soon as the scientist tells the peasant night watchman that the temperature is not to be changed that somebody is going to change the thermostat as soon as possible. A poor entry in a mostly well done show.
The Outer Limits: The Borderland (1963)
Switches, generators and blather
This episode is one I would expect a high school kid to write after a couple of weeks in electrical shop. The characters keep yelling about polarities and switches and REVERSE!!! without ever really trying to make sense of what they're actually doing. Who in his right mind would step into a high voltage field after less than an hour of not particularly successful testing? Why does his wife not make a more strenuous case for not doing it? And how in the world do a two bit medium and her nutty assistant just stroll into a power plant while a dangerous test is being attempted? Not up to the standards set by most of the series.
Moby Dick (1930)
No Ishmael or Pequod, just Joan Bennett and a paper mache whale
160 years ago, Herman Melville put all humanity on a ship and sent them off to find out what God was thinking. In 1930 the Warner Bros. figured since nobody had read this book but might have heard of it, why not make a ripping sea movie with John Barrymore? Barrymore spends a great deal of the movie drinking and/or drunk, which I'm sure cut down on rehearsal time since it came naturally to him. The rest of the time he is the shell of the legendary actor that we have come to know. The love story is ridiculous, Noble Johnson is at least an interesting Queequeg and when at sea the film is undoubtedly salty. Just forget the source material and it's an enjoyable bit of early sound film making.
Kolchak: The Night Stalker (1974)
A regular guy fights monsters
I'm binging the series on E! channel off my Roku. It is simultaneously nostalgic, loopy, just cheesey enough and always fun.
No one but Darren McGavin could pull off the weary, bedraggled hero in the $2 straw hat that well. I think what I love most about the show is that there's absolutely nothing slick about it. The monsters are guys in Don Post masks, the stunts are obvious (monster attacks cops, so stunt men in cop uniforms perform somersaults off trampolines), the music, sets, costumes scream 1970s TV movie. But for a show that was obviously not a network priority it's way more fun than the vast majority of it's contemporaries. So glad I can see it again.
Orgy of the Dead (1965)
Not that bad in small doses
By 1965 Ed Wood was a helpless, hopeless alcoholic writing pornographic novels at an astonishing rate. Riding to his attempted rescue came Bulgarian born nudie filmmaker Steve Apostolof, who knew that bare breasts were always a good sell. Eddie provided him with what had to be the barest (pun intended) of scripts whereby strippers perform in the afterlife. Now there's a concept!
But as any kid who's tried to devour all his Halloween candy in one sitting has found out, there is too much of anything. The excellent color photography is of a static set, and most of the movie is topless girls grinding it out. After a while the audience becomes as bound and tortured as the two victimized cast members. No matter how pretty any of the girls are, it it becomes an exercise in stultifying excess.
So, best watched in its entirety, if necessary, in small bites. Hard to take for more than 20 minutes unless there are other diversions.
But in all, worth it to see a zonked out Criswell, Fawn Silver doing a post Vampira/pre Elvira turn, a werewolf and mummy as comedy duo and lots of smoke. Favorite line, as a redhead is doing her semi alluring best: Nothing like that could be alive!
Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
First rate Harryhausen
I was lucky enough to see many of Ray Harryhausen's work on the big screen when they first came out. I was a terrified 5 year old watching a giant octopus attack San Francisco, and an adult who enjoyed the Clash of the Titans. None of his films showed the invention and complexity of this one. A great bronze warrior, harpies, gods appearing and dissolving and of course, the skeleton army. This will always be a fun movie. Good score by Bernard Herrman as well.
Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (1954)
1950's Space Fun
This was one of my favorite shows as a kid. When Sputnik was launched and everyone was concerned I couldn't imagine why. I had no idea what a Russian was to begin with, and besides, if there was something bad in space we'd just send Rocky Jones to shoot it down.
I was young enough to not realize how fetching Sally Mansfield was in her short skirts and was really jealous of little Bobby getting to fly around with Rocky and Winky, not to mention hanging out with a scientist.
Nobody thought Dr Newton's relationship with Bobby was creepy. No one questioned Veena doing her knitting while serving as ship's navigator. It was space, it was new, it was great. And they pulled it off with a budget of $12.46 per episode!