Saturday, November 4, 2017
War of the Colossal Beast (1958)
"The Amazing Colossal Man," believed dead after falling from the Hoover Dam, reemerges in rural Mexico, brain damaged, disfigured, and very hungry.
Quite risible sequel to The Amazing Colossal Man offers a silly plot, bad acting and abominable special effects, but entertainingly so.
Halliwell (no star): "Dull science fiction movie that runs out of ideas within the first five minutes, after which it tediously repeats not only itself but the movie to which it is a sequel. Originally, the last few minutes were in colour, though surviving prints appear to be monochrome."
Maltin*1/2: "Forget it."
Michael Weldon/Psychotronic: "Funnier than the original!"
First Lines: Johnston McCulley - The Mark of Zorro
Again the sheet of rain beat against the roof of red Spanish tile, and the wind shrieked like a soul in torment, and smoke puffed from the big fireplace as the sparks were showered over the hard dirt floor.
Friday, November 3, 2017
Hope Springs (2012)
After thirty years of marriage, a middle-aged couple attends an intense,
week-long counseling session to work on their relationship.
The
stars perform fine as a couple in a midlife crisis, but the message is
that relationships are little business enterprises which only are
'successful' with constant effort and efficiency.
Thursday, November 2, 2017
A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010)
The spectre of a dead child rapist haunts the children of the parents who murdered him, stalking and killing them in their dreams.
Superfluous remake is well-made and adds a few details to the original story, but the question remains why start the franchise all over again?
Maltin**1/2: "Surprisingly well-crafted remake...Haley does a possible job...and the scriptwriters a few genuinely clever touches while updating the plot."
First Lines: E.V. Odle - The Clockwork Man
It was just as Doctor Allingham had congratulated himself upon the fact that the bowling was broken, and he had only to hit now and save the troubling of running, just as he was scanning the boundaries with one eye and with the other following Tanner's short, crooked arm raised high above the white sheet at the back of the opposite wicket, that he noticed the strange figure.
Wednesday, November 1, 2017
A day in the life, Oct 28
A day in the life, Oct 28, ooo (Nikola Mounoud) at Kunstverein Graz, Regensburg
Westworld (1973)
A robot malfunction creates havoc and terror for unsuspecting vacationers at a futuristic, adult-themed amusement park.
Simple, but effective sci-fi thriller with a decidedly anti-consumerist and skeptical stance concerning future development.
Halliwell**: "Unusual and amusing but under-produced melodrama with slipshod story development and continuity, atoned for by memorable moments and underlying excitement."
Maltin***: "Engaging story..."
Michael Weldon/Psychotronic: "Yul Brynner is great in a silent role...Richard Benjamin and James Brolin aren't so great in speaking roles..."
