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What is October without horror movies? Well I have not been able to hit the cinemas as often as I like and I have missed out on more than one movie marathon the last few years, but you can’t keep a movie watcher like me down for long!

Let’s Watch Movies Together!

The Frida Cinema, down in Santa Ana has been on the revival cinema scene for a while now, since 2012. I’ve been following from afar loving their programming, wishing I could take the trek on down. Well, my time finally came as it was October and they announced their first Horror Movie Marathon event, CAMP FRIDA! This was to be camp themed and a handful of secret movies would be sandwiched between EVIL DEAD and EVIL DEAD 2. Yup two of my ALL TIME FAVES! So of course, my guy Dave and I got our tickets and counted down the days to go!

The theater is nestled in downtown Santa Ana and a Día De los Muertos event was going on, along with the High School Homecoming dance as kid were dressed to the nines ready to party. Being an L.A. nerd I worried about lining up early, but the vibe in Santa Ana is more chill when it comes to stuff like lines. So the bright side was Dave and I got to explore it up a bit, find a nice meal and power up before sitting down hours and hours.

But, yes, I did manage to get myself the FIRST in line spot, just like Riff Randall. 😉

The camp theme was in full effect with eager Counselor Aly and her pals coming out to instruct us of what was to come. The Main Lodge would house our movies and if we were 21 and up we could get some grown up drinks and bug juice throughout the night.

There was to be some fun camp activities, coloring time, a talent show, buttons for sale of all the movies to come. A Low-Budget camp, but all the fun!!! SOPHIE’S SWEETS Cupcakes were up for grabs for a little donation. There was a spinning wheel on stage! (What was it for!?!)

The Main Lodge was a small theater, seated over 300 campers if I’m not mistaken. The event hadn’t sold out, but it did fill up. Just as we filled seats counselors were in the aisles twirling around some pine scented air fresheners to give us the in the woods feel.

Listen to your Counselors on how to survive!

This event put on by the FRIDA had some promotion help from the students of CAL STATE FULLERTON, there was the #CAMPFRIDA on Snapchat filter to be used all night and more than a few selfies taken from the stage!

A while after 9pm ready to kick off the festivities, the crowd was asked by Brian, of who in the theater had never seen EVIL DEAD and about 20 people raised their hands. Someone shouted out a sort of boo, but more people rallied back with a cheer, because what’s a better place to see EVIL DEAD for the first time than in a theater, with lots of people reacting to the horror fun?! There was about another 20 plus people seeing EVIL DEAD for the first time on a big screen, though they’d see it a 100 times over. I’m in the lucky group who’s seen it so many times over and on a big screen too!

So EVIL DEAD hit the screen, this was no nonsense marathon, straight into the movies and horror of the night! I really have seen EVIL DEAD a bunch of times, and I plan to watch it many more. There’s always something special about watching it on a big screen. It still gets me to jump at times! I love seeing young BRUCE CAMPBELL. I bask in Sam Raimi’s direction. The sound assault of the Evil Dead attacking those young folks in the forest, the crowd truly enjoyed the ride! PARTY DOWN! 

Hi Camp Counselor Aly!

There was a 20 minute break next before the next film.

Say Cheese!!!! Hi Snapchat!

As a way to announce what the next secret movie to screen there was a little game! A picture was shown on the screen and people would raise their hand if they knew the answer….it was quite hard to not shout it out. There were pins made of those pictures and only a $1.00! I got myself a button or three before the night was done!

Next up was SLEEPAWAY CAMP. Yea! The crowd was so happy. Counselor Aly admitted she had only just seen the movie for the first time a while ago and was still reeling about the crop top shirts featured in the fim. I actually had never seen this one on a big screen. So that was way exciting for me. SLEEPAWAY CAMP has Angela and her cousin, who’s a camp going regular off to the woods with a bunch of other campers. Angela is a bit strange, doesn’t talk, doesn’t play the games and other boys and girls just want to pick on her. What is the secret here? People start getting injured or die! But who’s the killer? Hmmmm…I know most people are ready to spoil things, but what’s the fun in that? SLEEPAWAY CAMP is a crowd pleaser for sure!

Everyone Bunks In The Main Lodge!

After another break we were told there was to be two movies to choose from next! THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT or CABIN IN THE WOODS. It was rather nice that there was another option for those who can’t handle BLAIR WITCH shakey cam. My guy Dave was ready to go watch CABIN but stayed with me in the end. I hadn’t watched THE BLAIR WITCH since it first came out. I saw it twice in the theaters and found it to be creepy and that night was afraid of my dark room corners. The shakey cam didn’t bug me, just the creepy factor!

Watching BLAIR WITCH again was just as entertaining. The movie was quite a lightning moment back then and I’m glad I chose to watch it again this time out. Yes, I got creeped out! They just did a good job of setting up the documentary feel, and no one like getting trapped in the woods. That helpless feel, the urge to yell at the screen saying just follow the river downstream…but man, no one can scream like that Heather!

There was another 20 minute break as CABIN IN THE WOODS was still playing. I was going to watch, but had a comfy spot. Counselor Aly was out and her helpers passed out CAMP FRIDA postcards and they even offered to send them off for us!

Next up was a FRIDAY THE 13th movie! But what would it be? That’s where the spinning wheel came into play! Jason himself came to spin the wheel, but in the end he chased off Counselor Aly. UH OH!

THE FINAL CHAPTER started AND yeah we all know it was far from the Final one! There’s the handy recap from all the other movies! Yup, and though Jason was thought dead he’s soon back to killing, from the hospital to the woods. Oh, that poor hitchhiker! So who will Jason kill next? The family? Corey Feldman is a young horror make-up nut and his older teen sister enjoys the woods, hoping her divorced folks will get back together. The party Kids? A bunch of other kids are around just to party in a cabin, so we get the Crispin Glover dancing and lots of sex, sex. Jason is in slasher heaven! The viewing crowd ate this one up of course!

From Jason the back to camp times continued as our next film was THE BURNING.

Oh, before I forget…We were treated to a little video from Counselor Aly, seems she ran off to escape Jason and though she found safety in a tent, it didn’t last, poor Aly, R.I.P. (Good one Camp Friday, Good One!)

I first saw THE BURNING at a New Bev horrorthon, and I recall that the big disappointment was that the print we saw was missing some key kill scene. Well this time it was intact. I hadn’t seen THE BURNING since that last time. It’s a fun movie, I think a lot in attendance were seeing it for the first time. Especially when it came to the reaction of spotting Jason Alexander on screen. THE BURNING though got some interesting crowd reactions from the start as this one was a Weinstein production. Yup, when old Harvey’s name hit the screen twice, EVERYONE BOO-ED! Realizing a Weinstein had a hand in the screenplay, for me, it actually made all the skeezy guys in the movie MORE skeezy. GROSS!!! Yup. So we get an old camp, where a bad camp worker was burned ages ago by some mean kids, many years later that old camp guy is back for his revenge. Kids are getting killed while other teens are interested in doing it. I like seeing young Fisher Stevens in this movie. There’s good gore kills too, a fitting flick for the nights theme.

After THE BURNING we learned another movie would screen before EVIL DEAD 2! It was THE WITCH. I really like THE WITCH, but it’s a slow burn movie, takes it’s time and I was tired. The lure of EVIL DEAD 2 finale was hard to resist, but my guy Dave and I opted for an early out, so we could drive back to L.A. before AM traffic would be a bit worse for us, especially after not having slept for oh so many hours. Sadly we missed out on the end of the marathon award, but maybe next year!

I really can’t wait for the chance to get back to THE FRIDA, I had a blast, love the atmosphere and the people working there were super cool! This outing really made my October complete! Yup!

See you soon FRIDA! I shall return! Yup!

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Watching movies! That’s what I wish I could be doing all the time…(I am finally over 100 movies adding together my new and re-sees! Whew…) And writing about movies is what I should absolutely be doing more of too, yup! Too bad that I love to procrastinate! Oh, how I am easily distracted and I’ll just make up excuse as life goes on and on because the world is crazy! But that nonsense should be put aside to share the happy, and the fun and so here’s a little list and some rambling about what has filled my eyes and mind when I do find the time to sit in front of a TV or big screen. Yup.

The fun is sharing movies with friends and I got to see movies at Rosemead High with their film club back in May for a marathon! There was actually one movie I had never seen too! I am very lucky that I can join in that event with some awesome friend who love movie marathons as much as I do! Yup!

WONDER WOMAN finally hit the big screen and that was a big ball of emotions for me. (I’m wearing my Wonder Woman tiara now as I write this!) I got to see WONDER WOMAN twice, the second time was with my nieces, Celia and Effie, and that second time it still packed a teary good punch! (The tears of joy are a good thing!) It’s kind of hard to explain just what brings those tears in Wonder Woman; there’s tears of joy, tears in reaction to things going on, and the feeling that a WONDER WOMAN movie was long overdue, more tears of joy.

More highlights: My friend, Karen, was back from Ireland and we got to check out a documentary on the Kings Hockey commentator Bob Miller called VOICE OF THE KINGS! There was a Q&A and of course we got to met him too! GO KINGS GO!

Karen, Bob and I! BOB MILLER! GO KINGS GO!

 

I got to show Celia THE LOST BOYS and she dug it, she’s getting a small taste for horror things! YEA!!! I appreciated that Celia was most amused to see Alex Winter as a vampire, since she had only known him a Bill from you know what…(Oh, I know Celia finally watched GREMLINS with her mom and she loved it, I’m happy to report.)

Oh and Celia and Effie and I watched STREETS OF FIRE which was also a hit! (WHEW again!) Effie like noticing LEE VING who she recognized from CLUE! She said it’s “Not Mr. Body!” Also, funny to realize how PG STREETS OF FIRE is and what PG was then compared to now…right? Yea the 80’s!!! Good times!

 

Ok, now here’s the list, NEW MOVIES and RE-SEES! Yup!

NEW MOVIES: 

  • MST3K: THE RETURN: THE LAND THAT TIME FORGOT (1974) | 5/8/17 
  • WHERE HAVE ALL THE PEOPLE GONE? (1974) | 5/8/17 | Stream 
  • THE STREET WITH NO NAME (1948) | 5/15/17 | DVD 
  • MST3K: THE RETURN: THE LOVE OF HERCULES  (1960) | 5/18/17 | Netflix 
  • ALIEN: COVENANT (2017) | 5/20/17 | AMC Monterey Park 
  • CRIMSON PEAK (2015) | 5/20/17 | HBO Go 
  • THE JUNGLE BOOK (2016) | 5/26/17 | Netflix 
  • ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (1950) | 5/27/17 | Rosemead High 24hr Film Fest

  • DON’T THINK TWICE (2016) | 5/29/17 | Netflix 
  • ADRENALINE DRIVE (1999) | 5/30/17 | DVD

  • THE IRON HORSE (1924) | 5/31/17 | DVD 
  • MST3K: THE RETURN: YONGARY (1967) | 5/31/17 | Netflix 
  • WONDER WOMAN (2017) | 6/1/17 | Vista 
  • WILD TALES (2014) | 6/4/17 | DVD 
  • VOICE OF THE KING (2017) | 6/7/17 | NoHo7 | Q&A w/ Bob Miller

  • IT COMES AT NIGHT (2017) | 6/8/17 | AMC Monterey Park 
  • THEM (2006) | 6/18/17 | Amazon Prime 

 

RE-SEE MOVIES: 

  • THE LOST BOYS (1987) | 5/22/17 | DVD (With Celia, she loved it!…whew!)
  • ANIMAL CRACKERS (1930) | 5/27/17 | Rosemead High 24hr Film Fest
  • ALIENS (1986) | 5/27/17 | Rosemead High 24hr Film Fest
  • MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) | 5/27/17 | Rosemead High 24hr Film Fest
  • CLUE (1985) | 5/27/17 | Rosemead High 24hr Film Fest
  • SPIDER-MAN 2 (2004) | 6/12/17 | CABLE
  • WONDER WOMAN (2017) | 6/13/17 | Edwards Alhambra (With Celia and Effie)
  • MIDNIGHT MADNESS (1980) | 6/17/17 | YouTube (rental)

    R.I.P. Stephen Furst!

  • STREETS OF FIRE (1984) | 6/22/17 | DVD (Finished 6/26/17)
  • TANK GIRL (1995) | 6/27/17 | Blu-Ray

Oh, I have rented a flick or two just the other day so lookout for a rental round up popping up here soon! I’m hoping I can get my dad out to see BABY DRIVER. Slow and steady I’ll watch those movies! Oh yea, I will!

P.S. – I did watch the entire series of GLOW on Netflix in one day/night! You should check it out too if you like lady leads, wrestling, and good stories! Yup!

Now, what have you been watching?

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RENTAL ROUND UP TIME!!!!!!!!! Whew I’ve got a lot to catch up on! Hee Hee! Enjoy!

On 2/26/17 at 2:22PM we (my guy Dave and I, duh) rented CONTAMINATION (1980) on Blu-Ray and COUNTDOWN (1967) on DVD.

CONTAMINATION – “Let’s see what this mystery is all about?” This Italian/German horror movie starts out in New York City when a ghost ship comes to port and there’s a bloody gooey mess aboard and a lot of green egg gunk! There’s Coffee from Columbia that’s been tainted, with alien things! A cop, a government scientist and an astronaut go to Columbia to go on an adventure because; “national security is at stake!” It was gorey good, it was ridiculous, a RAT exploded, I am pretty sure for realz and GOBLIN did the music.

 

COUNTDOWN – Let’s race to space! Robert Altman directed this film and it stars James Caan as Mickey Stegler, the man who’s going to the moon in what could be a one way trip because we’re racing to beat the Russians! Will we make it? Mickey is getting the intense crash course and his pal Chiz, played by Robert Duvall is mighty jealous he’s not going up, but begrudgingly helps with training. It was a fun space adventure and goes to show political ‘tudes haven’t changed, people want to win and movie magic makes dreams comes true.

 

On 3/7/17 at 7:41PM we rented ZOOT SUIT (1981) on DVD, SMART MONEY (1931) on DVD, WAKE IN FRIGHT (1971) on Blu-Ray and MEN & CHICKEN (2015) on Blu-Ray.

SMART MONEY – Edward G. Robinson is Nick the Barber, he’s lucky, he gambles and usually wins, wins big. His pals stake him so he can go to the big city and play against a big high roller. When Nick finds himself in the big city, he gets fleeced from some local hoods. Well, Nick ain’t no dummy, he gets revenge and makes money and starts running gambling halls of his own much to the annoyance of the police. Nick’s best pal is Jack, played by James Cagney. Jack is by Nick’s side and helps to keep the racket going strong while he tries to keep Nick from falling for Blondes, which is Nick’s biggest weakness. I love me pre-code films.

 

MEN & CHICKEN – Oh boy! This was a weird one! Two brothers, one being Mads Mikkelsen, find out they were adopted and they venture out to seek their true father and find three more brothers. Men & Chicken, tries to unfold the mystery of man, their place in the world and how society can hold them back. How does a man leave a legacy when he can’t sire children? Oh my, well Science and or Nature finds a way. You just need a Cock to control the chicken coop. This is what I learned from MEN & CHICKEN.

 

WAKE IN FRIGHT – This was quite a follow up to the previous mentioned movie. Men just have a tough time when they can’t get what they want. A teacher, John Grant, played by Gary Bond, is stuck in a nowhere one train stop town of Australia and it has eaten away at his soul. He’s got a vacation and plans to head to Sydney and see his girlfriend. John gets stuck in another small outback town! UH OH! The town is filled with gambling drunkards and soon he becomes one too. John even goes hunting in the outback shooting kangaroos, which is a brutal sight to see. (The hunting footage was very sad, and they made a point of saying it was done by real licensed hunters.) Donald Pleasence is the town doctor, and full time alcoholic and he takes John on many of the weekends adventures. This was re-released on the big screen a few years back and since I missed it then I knew I’d see it eventually. As sobering as it is, I’m glad I did.

 

ZOOT SUIT – “An American Classic.” There was a recent production of ZOOT SUIT here in Los Angeles and Dave and I were fortunate enough to attend. This inspired me to rent and re-watch the movie which I hadn’t seen in a long long time. “Enjoy the pretense..play the myth.”

ZOOT SUIT in film form is still a relevant piece of cinema! Directed by Luis Valdez and I was excited to realize that it was Patricia Birch who did the choreography. (She directed GREASE 2!!!!!!) Based on a true incident of a gang of Chicanos who are put on trial for murder.

Henry Reyna (Daniel Valdez) is the gang leader at the center of the trail, and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture of the judicial system or our government. It’s angering even more so right now for what we’re all facing every single day! Zoot Suit says our system of justice can prevail; “no matter how slowly wheels grind.” but it sure doesn’t apologize for the error of it’s ways. People are ready to believe in hate, categorize what and who they don’t understand, let American’s kill American’s when they’re not white. ZOOT SUIT though is here to remind you to fight for your life, your race, your family, to shake up the country so they see the errors of it’s ways! #RESIST WAKE UP people, dance if you have to, just don’t let hate win!! Yup!
On 3/22/17 at 12:24PM we rented DEAD PIGEON ON BEETHOVEN STREET (1974) on DVD, BRANDED TO KILL (1967) on Blu-Ray and THE LAST SUPPER (1995) on DVD.

 

THE LAST SUPPER – 5 liberal friends all live together in a house and have a weekly Sunday meal, usually inviting an outsider to discuss the world and it’s politics. Oh 90’s…are you to blame? 😉 Anyways, this fun 90’s cast of characters includes Cameron Diaz, Annabeth Gish (SHAG!!!!), Jonathan Penner, Courtney B. Vance and Ron Eldard…oh and #DIRECTEDBYWOMEN Stacy Title.

As the film starts during their most recent things dinner goes over the edge when they kill a racist, evil man played by Bill Paxton. (R.I.P. Bill Paxton!) and so they fall down the rabbit hole of their moral dilemma. When you’re a liberal spouter do you take some action too? Could they do it again? Should they? The timid ones find new strength while some begin to feel their conscious creeping.

 

BRANDED TO KILL – A Japanese Yakuza movie that focuses on hitman #3, Goro Hanada, who finds himself on the kill list after a hit went wrong. He’s running from hitman #1, who’s tormenting him mentally rather than just taking him out the way he expects. Goro is trying to survive, trying to outsmart #1, while indulging in his fetish for white rice and women.

This movie just exudeds C-O-O-L, Cool! 1960’s Cool. It was visually beautiful and slick. Goro was a good #3 but it was a butterfly that got in his way. I really am leaning towards old stylish flicks these days and this was a great discovery.

 

DEAD PIGEON ON BEETHOVEN STREET – A film by Samuel Fuller and set in Germany. I’m a big fan of Samuel Fuller and this was an interesting discovery. It was actually part of a TV series in Germany but given a theatrical cut in 2015 UCLA Film and Television Archive put out the directors cut. This is what I watched on DVD.

An American agent dies on Beethoven Street with photos of a US official up to some dirty deeds with a woman. His pal, an American detective, played by Glenn Corbett, takes on the case and he joins up with the gang of drug dealers who delve into blackmail of entrapping officials with scandalous deeds.  Of course he plans to expose their plans, and it’s fun in Fuller’s style. The detective is an American in Germany and one of my favorite things is him talking in English to his German contact who replies in German, they just talk back and forth no subtitles on the German end but you know just what’s going on. It is a bit clunky along the way, but some cool stuff for sure and I loved Fuller’s little cameo off camera as his puff of cigar smoke is rising from a chair.

 

And our last rental was on 4/5/17;  GRAVEYARD SHIFT (1990) on DVD, NEEDFUL THINGS (1993) on DVD, HEART OF MIDNIGHT (1988) on DVD, SLEEPWALKERS (1992) on DVD, ALI FEAR EATS THE SOUL (1974) on DVD and THE DAMNED DON’T CRY (1950). Sadly we didn’t get to finish ALI FEAR EATS THE SOUL, but what I saw was quite good and a bit sad…I will have to finish it another day (I did see it was on FILMSTRUCK under their CRITERION collection!)

 

HEART OF MIDNIGHT – HEART OF MIDNIGHT is a very creepy, dark, moody piece that’s more than a little disturbing. There are some great visuals that lead to some great jump scares.

Jennifer Jason Leigh is Carol Rivers, she’s a survivor, recovering from a recent mental breakdown when she inherits her uncle’s night club Midnight. She heads there with plans to revamp it to her own style to fulfill a fantasy of her own, yet, she’s haunted by memories of her uncle’s past. Carol soon discovers his nightclub was more of a sex club with a series of fetish rooms. As Carol moves in an inhabits the building strange visions take over and local boys, one being a young Steve Buscemi, sexually assault her which only adds to the pain of sorting out her past and present. Peter Coyote comes in, who is intriguing from the start, trying to piece together the puzzles pieces of his own that involve the MIDNIGHT. I would love to delve more into this movie, but there’s so much that could be spoiled. As it started I really wasn’t too keen on where i thought it would go, but Jennifer is an amazing actress!! I actually read Ebert’s piece on the movie and it ended up spoiling some things, so don’t do that until after you watch the movie. And look out for Frank Stallone as a detective, a chauvinistic one at that.

Since this was a DVD, Dave and I  actually listened to some of the DVD commentary after watching the movie. It was great to learn about the director, his take on the movie from a recent viewing compared to when he made it. It really is a look at a women trying to survive in a man’s world and facing day to day exploitation. A fun factoid discovered, in the film commentary, Jennifer has a cast on her leg, when asked about it in the movie she says an Elephant stepped on her, the truth was she had a cast when filming started and the director said go with it instead of dropping her from the film. Yea movies! Yea Commentary!!

 

 

THE DAMNED DON’T CRY – Joan Crawford is a rich socialite Lorna who’s mixed up with the mob, she’s gone missing after young gangster Nick Prenta is found dead. Now it’s time for flashbacks as we discover Lorna was once Ethel, who came from a poor family. She was married to an oil worker, they had a kid and just worked to survive. When Ethel’s young son dies in an accident she leaves her husband determined to become someone, make some money and find another sort of life.

What we learn is Ethel is willing to take what she wants, and is ready to use men even as they use her too. Joan is an amazing woman and she plays this role so well. You see the tragedy that fuels her on the surface. As Ethel becomes Lorna she has a taste of living with money, and hopes to have happiness yet it is soon evident that a gangster lifestyle means just using others for more riches and love is not in the cards.
Next up is the Stephen King trilogy of DVD’s that my guy Dave was really keen on watching. I had seen two of the three, realizing I never watched all of GRAVEYARD SHIFT! I had rented the other two flicks back in the day, on VHS! So now re-sees on DVD! Woot Woot!

 

GRAVEYARD SHIFT – I remember catching this movie from the beginning on cable but never watch the whole thing, I must have found something else to watch because channel flipping was so much fun! Anyways, GRAVEYARD SHIFT, there’s a killer creature hiding in the bowels of a cotton factory in Maine that’s overrun by rats! David Andrews is John Hall, the latest employee to join the factory and wrangled into the basement clean up crew for double holiday pay! The things people do for money! There’s good gross out monster kills! There’s crazy rodent killer played by Brad Dourif and the cool touch chick played by Kelly Wolf. Watch this movie to learn what a slingshot and a soda pop can can do when you’re in trouble!

 

 

NEEDFUL THINGS – I had good memories of this movie when I first watched it on VHS with my dad. We dug it then and I am glad that it holds up just as good now. Dave had never seen it and dug it too! So woot! Oh and this time around I realized W.D. Richter wrote the screenplay!

Ok, let’s go to the little Maine town of Stephen King land and meet the latest tenant who has opened an antique shop, Leland Gaunt, played by Max Von Sydow. Leland has everything, especially that one thing your heart desires most, you just have to do some pranking! Leland spins the wheels to drive the town’s residents into killers. I love the twists of having one person taunt another thinking it’s someone else and so the vicious small town gossip circle spins rampant! The town though, is lucky to have newcomer Sheriff Alan Pangborn, played by Ed Harris. Will evil win? Can the human race survive it’s dance with the devil? (I’m feeling dramatic! Thanks Stephen King!)

 

AND last but NOT least!

 

SLEEPWALKERS – Oh 1992, thank you! SLEEPWALKERS are a cat like, incestuous race that need virgins! So the Mother and Son SLEEPWALKER team (Son Sleepwalker Charles played by Brain Krause and Mom Sleepwalker played by Alice Krige) are in a new town and in desperate need of that virgin goodness. From the start Charles has plans for local girl Tanya Robertson played by Mädchen Amick. There’s some cool old school effects mixed in with new computer moves (well new in 1992!) and it’s the old school bits that keep things fun. I still wonder why cat’s don’t like SLEEPWALKERS though, but maybe cause they got to be human cats and they’re still cats? Yeah, that’s my big question of the movie. I do love though how mad Mom Sleepwalker gets when those cats are around, you think she’d be better at killing ’em. Again more questions!?

 

Whew! Finally wrapped up a RENTAL ROUNDUP before I rented more movies! So now my guy Dave and I can go rent more movies!!!!!! See you soon Vidéothèque!! See you readers soon too with more movie stuff. Yup!

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Since I have fallen behind in sharing my movie views I worry about rambling in a long posts and I was thinking of combining my rental round up with my movie tally, but let me do one post for each…

I am making a promise to myself (AGAIN!) to set a regular blog schedule. But,…then again summer is around the corner (EXCUSES, EXCUSES!) and who knows what will happen!! WHAT will tomorrow bring!?!?

Right now I am here and I this is my movie tally as I put on the finishing touches on that Rental Roundup! (The coming thing, from me!) Some of the best of my movie outings since the last time I posted a tally (GEE, FEBRUARY!), was my movie outings to celebrate my b-day back in March. Oh and fun re-see’s especially with my nieces Celia and Effie, they finally got to see BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA! “It’s all in the reflexes.”

NEW MOVIES: 

  • JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 (2017) | 2/9/17 | AMC Atlantic

  • SWISS ARMY MAN (2016) | 2/10/17 | Netflix 
  • GRIZZLY (1976) | 2/12/17 | Amazon 
  • THE MASK OF DIMITRIOS (1944) | 2/18/17 | DVD 
  • VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED (1976) | 2/18/17 | DVD 
  • WOOL 100% (2006) | 2/20/17 | DVD 
  • GUMSHOE (1971) | 2/21/17 | DVD 
  • LOOPHOLE (1981) | 2/21/17 | DVD 
  • OUT OF THE DARK (1988) | 2/23/17 | DVD 
  • GET OUT (2017) | 2/24/17 | AMC Monterey Park
  • DAY OF THE TRIFFIDS (1962) | 2/24/17 | DVD 
  • THE NESTING (1981) | 2/26/17 | DVD
  • CONTAMINATION (1980) | 2/28/17 | Blu-Ray 
  • COUNTDOWN (1967) | 2/28/17 | DVD 
  • SMART MONEY (1931) | 3/7/17 | DVD 
  • MEN & CHICKEN (2015) | 3/10/17 | Blu-Ray 
  • WAKE IN FRIGHT (1971) | 3/13/17 | Blu-Ray |
  • NIGHTMARE AT BITTER CREEK (1988) | 3/14/17 | Amazon Instant 
  • HUNT FOR WILDER PEOPLE (2016) | 3/17/17 | DVD

  • MST3K: ZOMBIE NIGHTMARE (1987) | 3/19/17 | Netflix 
  • KONG: SKULL ISLAND (2017) | 3/25/17 | Edwards Alhambra
  • THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE (2017) | 3/25/17 | Edwards Alhambra 
  • THE BELKO EXPERIMENT (2016) | 3/25/17 | Edwards Alhambra
  • THE LAST SUPPER (1995) | 3/25/17 | DVD 
  • BRANDED TO KILL (1967) | 3/27/17 | Blu-Ray 
  • DEAD PIGEON ON BEETHOVEN STREET (1974) | 3/28/17 | DVD 
  • HEART OF MIDNIGHT (1988) | 4/5/17 | DVD 
  • THE DAMNED DON’T CRY (1950) | 4/10/17 | DVD
  • GRAVEYARD SHIFT (1990) | 4/11/17 | DVD
  • MST3K: THE RETURN: REPTILICUS (1961) | 4/16/17 | Netflix 
  • RiffTrax: SAMURAI COP (1991) | 4/18/17 | Edwards Alhambra

  • THE FATE OF THE FURIOUS (2017) | 4/18/17 | Edwards Alhambra
  • MST3K: THE RETURN: CRY WILDERNESS (1986) | 4/19/17 | Netflix 
  • MST3K: THE RETURN: TIME TRAVELERS (1964) | 4/24/17 | Netflix
  • MST3K: THE RETURN: AVALANCHE (1978) | 4/26/17 | Netflix
  • PATERSON (2016) | 4/30/17 | On Demand Rental
  • AFRAID TO DIE (1960) | 5/1/17 | DVD
  • GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY VOL. 2 (2017) | 5/4/17 | Arclight Pasadena
  • MST3K: THE RETURN: BEAST FROM HOLLOW MOUNTAIN (1956) | 5/5/17 | Netflix
  • MST3K: THE RETURN: STARCRASH (1978) | 5/7/17 | Netflix

 

RE-SEE MOVIES:

  • WILD BEASTS (1984) | 1/13/17 | YouTube
  • ZOOT SUIT (1981) | 3/14/17 | DVD

  • ALIEN (1979) | 3/22/17 | Blu-Ray
  • ALIENS (1986) | 3/22/17 | Blu-Ray
  • ALIEN 3 (1992) | 3/23/17 | Blu-Ray
  • WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT (1988) | 3/27/17 | Netflix (w/ Celia and Effie!)
  • ALIEN RESURRECTION (1997) | 3/29/17 | Blu-Ray
  • BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986) | 4/1/17 | Netflix (w/ Celia and Effie!)

  • NEEDFUL THINGS (1993) | 4/7/17 | DVD
  • SLEEPWALKERS (1992) | 4/7/17/ | DVD

So my movie watching total is now up to 82 movies which is including new and re-sees. Slow and steady! Watching movies yup yup yup!

 

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Round 2 of my DVD rental report is here! Yeah, renting movies like it’s 1990! (Oh days of old!) Since the last one I have rented 10 movies from Vidéothèque! There was one of the 10 that I did not watch though! You know how it is, you expect to watch them all right away and then there’s distractions! But dude…9 out of 10 rentals ain’t bad. There were some fun picks indeed.

On 1/9/17 at 6PM my guy Dave and I rented: BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET (1958) on DVD, BLACK EYE (1974) on DVD, FORGOTTEN SILVER (1995) on DVD and lastly A BITTERSWEET LIFE (2005) on DVD.

The movie we did not watch was BIG DEAL ON MADONNA STREET, but we plan to rent it again as I realized there is a sequel to it as well! Yup. I want both at the same time!

 

A BITTERSWEET LIFE – As the dvd began the movie felt pretty familiar and after a while we realized we had seen it already! But, you know what we kept on watching because a good movie is worth watching again! Looking back I realize I actually watched this movie in the early 2000’s after it had come out, but that was way before my official tally tracking.

From South Korea, the film is about a mob enforcer who’s asked to follow his bosses girlfriend to find out if she’s cheating on him and if she is, he’s got to kill her and the guy off! You can guess that he decides to not do the deed and suffers later for the choice. It’s not any easier that another enforcer is causing trouble with a rival gang so our hero has a lot to fight against. There’s action, torture and more action! If gang members just took care of each other rather than letting their egos get in the way, but then again, revenge is always a sweet thing to watch, because bad people get what they deserve.

 

BLACK EYE – Fred Williamson is private eye Shep Stone, he was once a cop and now does his own thing; solving cases and eating peanuts along the way.

An old silent movie star dies, he was involved with the local drug scene and a group of bad guys want the old man’s cane. It all happens to be going on in Shep’s neighborhood and so he’s immediately involved when his neighbor, a local prostitute, is killed. On top of that, Shep is a bit sad as his part time lady is also in a relationship with another woman. Yeah, he’s jelly, but he knows she’s a woman who can do as she pleases.

I really dug this little movie. Fred Williamson is bad ass as Shep. He’s chomping peanuts all the time and he gets his peanuts from the local bar where he takes his calls and does his private eye business.

The mystery in this film ties drugs, the pornography the film business, rich folks, a missing girl and a local cult all into one pot and you can bet Shep sorts it all out with peanuts in hand!

 

FORGOTTEN SILVER – A mockumentary, by Peter Jackson and Costa Botes, looking back at a silent era filmmaker from New Zealand. They cleverly made this documentary seem quite real and possible, and that’s wonderful movie magic from the start. Their filmmaker Colin McKenzie just about started all the trends of the filmmaking era and no one seemed to know about it as his greatest achievement was a lost film. As Colin’s film is discovered, and restored we learn about his rise and fall and it is all captivating. I really enjoyed this fun little film that jabs at the industry. Anything is possible and when you love movies! Movies let us achieve our dreams! YEA MOVIES!

 

On 1/19/17 at 3:04PM we rented: IGUANA (1988) on BluRay, THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM (1966) on DVD, DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN (1979) on DVD, CRY OF THE CITY (1948) on DVD and THE PUSHER (1960) DVD.

 

CRY OF THE CITY – I love old movies and I can’t get enough. I’m a big fan of Victor Mature! So we start our story from a hospital where a man is surrounded by family as it seems he’s on the verge of death. Martin Rove is the man in the bed, played by Richard Conte. Turns out Martin killed a cop, and is caught up in jewel heist! Detective Candella (Victor Mature) is on his trail. Candella knows Martin’s family and doesn’t want to see them hurt, but wants justice served.

Both men are from the same neighborhood and each took a different route. The film delves into family, loyalty, honor. Martin is a selfish man, he’s on the run, pushing his mother to the edge and making his life look glamorous to his younger bother. Candella doesn’t want Martin’s brother to go down the same road, and tries to be a better big brother figure. There’s a great cameo from Shelley Winters too as Brenda, a girl who helps Martin out in a time of need. Filled with suspense this film is a noir classic.

“Junior, why don’t you be a nice guy and beat it.” – Brenda

 

IGUANA – From director Monte Hellman we follow a disfigured man (Everett McGill) who’s lived his life at sea as one of the crew aboard a ship and because of his scaled face he’s been called Iguana most of his life. Since Iguana is a practitioner of Voodoo he’s soon tossed off and when he washes ashore of a small island he offers thanks to his Voodoo gods but then his crew finds him only to torture him again.

Once Iguana escapes he declares himself King of the island and vows to be the kind of ruler who is cruel yet fair. Michael Madsen is Sebastian, who was left on the island too. Sebastian becomes Iguana’s loyal subject after he lost a few fingers to Iguana’s “just” hand. As others wash ashore they must choose to obey Iguana’s law for a chance at life over death.

The film offers up questions of “Do men want to be ruled?” “What will men do to survive?” “Would you rather be free and alone or dead?” Iguana himself is a man questioning existence as he suffers with his disfigurement and being treated terribly all his life, but he only seems to knows how to return hate. Is he just a reflection of all the wrong doing he himself faced?

There’s also a side story of a young Spanish woman who’s lusting for adventure, lusting for a life of her own choosing and when she spends a night on the island with her future husband she’s captured by Iguana and forced to be at his side.

It was a movie that is rumored to come from a true old story. It’s visual and most unusual. Not easy to watch at times, but fascinating take on human nature and survival.

 

THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM – It does feel like I’m picking movies that, though they’re from days past, they’re more relevant now than ever. There’s spies, nazi, British Intelligence. At this point in time it seems the Nazi are making a return in Germany, but they must be uncovered! Quiller (George Segal) is sent in after the latest operative was killed. His handler is played by Alec Guiness!

Our big baddie is Oktober (Max von Sydow) and he wants to details on Quiller’s people. Quiller and Oktober have quite the back and forth and no one wants to give up what they know. Will Quiller bring down their operation? Can Oktober’s team kill Quiller? Will the Nazi group continue to infiltrate the current state of the country? Only time will tell, but Quiller won’t give up!

 

 

DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN, a.k.a. SNAPSHOT, a.k.a. ONE MORE MINUTE…Oh first things first, as I rented this movie the DVD title was DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN and it has nothing at all to do with Halloween! After reading up on it, those putting out the movie just decided to give it a Halloween title to capitalize on the Halloween movie at the time. So the titles SNAPSHOT or ONE MORE MINUTE are actually more appropriate.

It’s about a young and pretty girl who’s shown off her naked body as a model and is soon tormented, stalked, terrorized…I would say many days after HALLOWEEN. There’s a lot of people attracted to this girl, and every time it is a deadly attraction…the old ice cream man ex BF who’s loved by her puritanical mother, and oddly obsessed and really too old for this 17 year old girl!!! Next there’s the photographer who likes to photograph dead things, the older woman friend who knows the modeling ropes and the old film producer who is more than a little skeezy. I mean there’s a lot of skeezy and misdirect about who could be causing all the trouble. Dun, Dun, Dun!!!

 

THE PUSHER – Based on The 87th Precinct series by Ed McBain we see what a drug pusher known as Gonzo is doing to the neighborhood as he peddles heroine to kids, couples, anyone he can hook. The Lieutenant and his best detective are on the case! But, the detective is engaged to the Lieutenant’s daughter and wouldn’t you know it, she’s hooked on “the dope” and looking for a fix! Uh oh!

Smack! Dope! Fix! What would you do for that fix? It’s all bad news when smack is on the streets! The Lieutenant is ready to catch that pusher and set things straight! Oh, Keep a sharp eye out for a John Astin cameo! (And a weird coincidence, after watching this movie I got my hands on a few Ed McBain books to delve more into the Precinct stories when I find some time! READING TIME!)

 

On 1/27/17 at 7:58PM we rented: HORNETS’ NEST (1970) on DVD and THE LAST RUN (1971) on DVD. These rentals used up my rental packages so I guess it’s time to buy more! 😀 Yup!

 

HORNETS’ NEST – A group of boys see their whole town of mothers, grandfathers and children mowed down by Nazis while they were off hiding with the other fighting men and they were powerless to stop them. The same day a group of paratroopers land nearby and are also mowed down by the Nazis but one survives, Captain Turner, played by Rock Hudson (sporting his mustache).

Turner is rescued by the kids and they demand his help to avenges their town! After that he plans to uses the kids to complete his mission of blowing up a nearby dam. It’s a harsh look at war and the effect is has on people, especially children. Children who are forced to grow up fast, children who think they have the answers, children who are ready to kill because that’s all they have seen around them. Innocence lost right from the start.

It was a solid film and the kids were great, and real. Rock Hudson was pretty tough and gruff.

 

THE LAST RUN – George C. Scott is Harry Garmes, he lives a lovely lonesome life in Spain along the coast where he rents his boat to a local fisherman. Harry is getting older and is looking for something to help pass the time. He used to be a getaway driver and wants to give it another go to prove he’s still got it.

Harry makes some plans, has one last night with his prostitute gal pal (Colleen Dewhurst) and sets off to help a young guy Paul (Tony Musante) break out of jail. Paul makes Harry pick up his gal pal Claudie (Trish Van Devere) and as a trio they go on the run through the Spanish countryside.

When you’re dealing with ex-cons, cops and gangster types it’s never going to be an easy escape. Along the way Harry does his soul searching and does what he does best; DRIVE. The driving scenes were amazing along small mountain roads.  It was a great film and George C. Scott was pretty cool. It was fun to read up on George a bit more and learn that his wife at the time of this movie was Colleen and soon after they divorced (for the second time) and he then married Trish after who he stayed with the rest of his life.

 

And this now concludes my Round up!! I have already rented a new batch as I finally finish writing this piece and will be back even sooner with more movies to share! Now go out and rent some movies too! Yup! Yup! Yup! MOVIES!

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Watching movies here and there! Renting movies too and rounding up them up! I’m actually writing up Round 2 of my most recent rentals, and you’ll get a sneak peek of what’s to come with this tally list! It’s been a nice month of movie watching with a few re-sees.

My highlight was discovering one called ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO (1964) and then watching it twice, the second time with my mom.

I’m also excited to put together a new round of Movie Drinks for my Movie-holic series. There’s some fun and silly beverages and movies to share! So please stay tuned!

Now my movie tally list of new movies and re-sees, a total of 32 movies so far in 2017. Slow and steady people! Watching movies and having fun between the insanity! yup yup yup! (OH and movies in BOLD are movies I loved most of all on the Horlick 1-5 Scale!)

NEW MOVIES:

  1. RUTHLESS (1948) | 1/3/17 | DVD
  2. WAR REQUIEM (1989) | 15/17 | DVD
  3. COIN HEIST (2017) | 1/6/17 | Netflix
  4. EAT THE RICH (1987) | 1/8/17 | DVD
  5. BLACK EYE (1973/1974) | 1/10/17 | DVD
  6. FORGOTTEN SILVER (1995) | 1/12/17 | DVD
  7. SHE’S BACK ON BROADWAY (1953) | 1/13/17 | DVD 
  8. THE SHADOW OF THE CAT (1961) | 1/15/17 | Svengoolie/MeTV 
  9. TERMINAL ISLAND (1973) | 1/15/17 | TCM Underground/DV-R 
  10. ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO (1964) | 1/18/17 | TCM/DV-R
  11. CRY OF THE CITY (1948) | 1/19/17 | DVD 
  12. THE YAKUZA (1974) | 1/21/17 | New Beverly 
  13. MOONTIDE (1942) | 1/22/17 | DV-R / FXM Retro 
  14. THE QUILLER MEMORANDUM (1966) | 1/22/17 | DVD 
  15. IGUANA (1988) | 1/23/17 | DVD
  16. TERMINAL MAN (1973) | 1/23/17 | DV-R / TCM 
  17. THE DAY AFTER HALLOWEEN (a.k.a. Snapshot or One Minute More) (1979) | 1/25/17 | DVD
  18. THE PUSHER (1958) | 1/25/17 | DVD 
  19. DAY OF THE ANIMALS (1977) | 1/26/17 | Amazon Instant 
  20. HORNETS’ NEST (1970) | 1/27/17 | DVD 
  21. THE LAST RUN (1971) | 2/1/17 | DVD 
  22. THE LONG GOODBYE (1973) | 2/1/17 | FilmStruck

 

RE-SEE MOVIES:

  1. BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA (1986) | 1/1/17 | Netflix
  2. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) | 1/1/17 | Netflix
  3. GREASE (1978) | 1/1/17 | Netflix
  4. THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) | 1/1/17 | Netflix
  5. ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING (1987) | 1/1/17 | Netflix
  6. THE FOG (1980) | 1/2/16 | DVD
  7. EATING RAOUL (1982) | 1/8/17 | DVD
  8. A BITTERSWEET LIFE (2005) | 1/9/17 | DVD
  9. ONE POTATO, TWO POTATO (1964) | 1/20/17 | TCM/DV-R (watched w/ mom)
  10. THEY LIVE (1988) | 1/20/17 | BluRay

Stay tune fellow movie watcher pals! Gonna go rent more DVDs and find more movies to watch! Catch you on the flip flop! Yup! Yup! Yup!

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I’ve had a rental membership to Vidéothèque for a while now. Vidéothèque is a cool video store in South Pasadena. My guy Dave and I meander through the aisle looking for movies, just like the good old days of movie renting. It’s fun to just browse, but most times we do rent DVDs and or VHS. It’s a little game between Dave and I to find movies to watch, he picks out one, shows it to me and more often than naught I say “Seen it”! Well, I can’t lie, cause I’ve seen it!  We aim for new movies, things we haven’t seen and when we pick a re-see we get to check out DVD extras like commentaries and what not. We’ve been renting about 5 movies a time, using their 5 movies for $17.99 deal and we get them for a week. I think I’m working my way up to the 100 rentals for $199.00.

At the start of this year we began our rental adventures on January 2nd! I’ve decided to keep track and share the fun of movie renting here on my blog because that’s what this place is for! Sharing fun things that I’ve enjoyed!

On 1/2/17 at 2:32PM we rented: THE FOG (1980) on BluRay,  WAR REQUIEM (1989) on DVD, RUTHLESS (1948) on BluRay, EAT THE RICH (1987) on DVD and lastly EATING RAOUL (1982) on BluRay.

THE FOG was a re-see for me, Dave had never watched it all the way through. Who doesn’t love a John Carpenter movie? It’s a ghost story that takes place at a little town along the coast on their 100th anniversary. The ghosts of the past roll in on the fog to exact revenge on local residents! Along for the ride there’s DJ Stevie Wayne played by Adrienne Barbeau, local weird guy Tom Atkins who picked up hitch hiker Jamie Lee Curtis. Oh and Jamie’s mom Janet Leigh is the town woman in charge of the 100th anniversary celebrations! It’s a good creepy flick and still makes me jump no matter how many times I’ve seen it!

 

RUTHLESS was a good film discovery! Zachary Scott is Horace Woodruff Vendig, a most wealthy man who’s at the top of his game! He’s made it there by being ruthless and it seems he’s considering repentance as he gathers his spurned acquaintances. Through a series of flashbacks we see how he climbed up with love and support but spurned and hurt those he loved as he saw no other way to become rich and powerful.

 

 

WAR REQUIEM has no dialogue, it’s music from composer Benjamin Britten and tells the World War 1 story of a British soldier who’s trying to survive and fight. We see the toll the war takes on people and it is a most visual operatic movie that also uses old war stock footage. The cast is amazing and features the beautiful Tilda Swinton and a very young Sean Bean. It’s a movie that has to be seen and heard more than described.

 

EAT THE RICH was another discovery, something I never heard of before. And since I knew we were going to be renting EATING RAOUL, it sounded like a good double feature combo. EAT THE RICH is a British black comedy commenting on class struggles, the rich rich and politics. Alex is a waiter at BASTARDS, the very fancy place to be place where only the rich go to nosh. Alex hates his job, hates the people and is soon fired. Left unemployed and homeless he is pushed to rebel against the system when he gets a gun killing employees at the unemployment office. Alex and his fellow homeless friend are on the lamb and ready to fight and die for their new found cause! The other side of the RICH adventures is singer Lemmy as an arms dealer named Spider who’s working with another government agent (spy for Russia), who wants to use Alex’s rebellion to ruin Nosher, the Home Secretary, who is campaigning for Prime Minister. Nosher is beer drinking everyman who uses muscle and attitude, hmmmmm, yup. This ridiculous movie, with music from Motörhead, turned out to be incredibly fun! Oh keep an eye out for a Paul McCartney cameo.

 

EATING RAOUL is a cult classic and it has got Janus Film cred! I love this movie. I saw it as a young movie watcher, thanks to my dad’s good taste in movies. Directed and starring Paul Bartel he is Paul Bland. Paul is married to Mary (Mary Woronov) and they dream of opening their own country kitchen even though they lack the funds, because they’re in debt! Now, this is their dream and there has to be a way to make it come true!?! It is the 80’s! It’s a time for swingers, swingers who want sex and drugs and they happen to have lots of money! When Mary is almost raped by a swinger, and he’s killed by Paul with a frying pan, they steal his money and decide to become involved in the sex trade! The Bland’s are knocking off perverted sex maniacs taking all their money! Who would miss them, right? When Paul and Mary start making a pretty good business they cross paths with locksmith, thief, jack of all trades, hot blooded crazy Chicano Raoul (Robert Beltran). Raoul joins their scheme and helps to get rid of the bodies and evidence. He also falls for Mary and starts to plot on how to knock off Paul. This film is just sexy sleazy fun with cool cameos like Buck Henry, Edie McClurg, John Paragon and Ed Begley Jr. (which I realized watching again, this role is a reason I probably am not a big fan of his, the hippie rapist.) Anyways, EATING RAOUL holds up and is a great fun 80’s black comedy!

Stay tuned for more Rental Rounds up! We’ve already rented 4 more movies! Yup!

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Seems like these days everyone could use a good stiff drink and a good movie! I am back with another round of fancy drinks and the movies that featured them. The first few are from movies I saw in 2016 and the last one is the first of 2017!  This time out there’s some familiar beverages making the rounds and I have a couple of movies that had a Champagne Cocktail! Now, grab some old fashioned glasses, ice and shakers and let’s get started! Cheers!

leechwomanTHE LEECH WOMAN (1960) –  Whisky & Vodka over ice 
What does Dr. Paul Talbot, an endocrinologist, do when he’s in a bad marriage? Well he takes his aging alcoholic wife with him on a trip to Africa to be his test subject on a possible fountain of youth! When wife, June Talbot, realizes she’s just another experiment she gets mad! The bright side is she gets back her youth and “ditches” her hubby! The dark side is just what it takes to stay young!  She needs the pineal glands of the recently deceased! (Oh that magic Pineal Gland! What wonders you hold!)

Before June finds her youth she was turning to the bottle for her happiness, just some pure straight Whisky! Here’s to you whisky, guardian of all frustrated wives.”

Whisky! Did you say Whisky?

Whisky! Did you say Whisky?

leechdrink1

“Drinking and my feelings for you are both bad for me. I know that.”

"Just one more to numb me."

“Just one more to numb me.”

Whisky – Get yourself a clean glass, pour in an ounce, maybe two of Whisky and then sip or gulp, depending on mood.

Later in her youthful state June finds a young man to drink Vodka over ice, uh oh there’s no ice, with!

Say fella, be my bartender!

Say fella, be my bartender!

I like you and I like vodka!

I like you and I like vodka!

Vodka over ice – Get a glass, a few cubes of ice (optional) and pour in two ounces of Vodka. Cheers you minx!

 

bettewilliamSATAN MET A LADY (1936) – Whisky and Soda & Sherry
This movie is the second adaptation of THE MALTESE FALCON, and it stars Bette Davis and Warren William. Warren is detective Ted Shane who has been wrangled into finding an old jeweled horn! This is a fun take on the story before old Bogie took the reigns.

After Shane’s apartment has been turned upside down the man who did it came back for some witty banter and a libation. Shane’s drink of choice is the Whisky and Soda while the gentleman prefers a nice Sherry!

Let's be friends!

Let’s be friends! It’s only business! Come on!

Whisky and Soda – 1 part Scotch and 2 parts soda. Take a chilled glass filled with ice and pour in 1/2 oz of whisky and 1 oz of soda water. (Shane didn’t use ice, his apartment and liquor cabinet was a mess!) 

Sherry – a Spanish wine made of white grapes. It should be served in a Sherry glass, either as an Aperitif or after dinner dessert wine. Shane’s enemy really does enjoy a good Sherry after he messes a place up.

 

falldownallALL FALL DOWN (1962) – Champagne Cocktail
The Willart family is a bit unusual. Clinton Willart (played by Brandon De Wilde, to best known to me as the little kid in Shane!) is the youngest of two boys in the household. He thinks his older brother Berry-Berry (Warren Betty) is the best guy around! Berry-Berry hasn’t been home in a while and Clinton gets him to make a big return to please his quirky parents Annabell and Ralph (Angela Lansbury and Karl Mulden). Annabell loves her eldest and is so devoted to him, which is one reason Berry-Berry ran away. To make the web more tangled Echo (Eva Marie Saint) a family friend come around for a visit!

lured-1LURED (1947) – Champagne Cocktail
London is plagued with a serial killer who has been finding his victims through personal columns. Lucille Ball is Sandy Carpenter who’s friend was a recent victim. Sandy is recruited by the police to help them find the killer by replying to different personal ads. Alain Napier is one of the detectives! George Sanders is Robert Fleming the dashing debonaire gentleman and Boris Karloff has a fun cameo!

Can I trust you? Are you a murderous man?

Can I trust you? Are you a murderous man?

Champagne Cocktail – The simplest version of this cocktail includes Champagne, Angostura bitters, a sugar cube, and garnish of an orange or lemon slice in a champagne flute.

Take the sugar cube and add a 2 to 3 dashes of bitters and drop it into the champagne flute. Slowly pour in your champagne of choice and garnish with a citrus slice.

ruthlessmovieRUTHLESS (1948) – Old Fashioned & Martini
My first film discovery of 2017! RUTHLESS stars Zachary Scott as Horace Woodruff Vendig, who is one of the richest men out there!

Horace throws a big party as a peace offering that includes a major Peace donation to his country (Tax breaks!) and he hopes to make amends with acquaintances from his past. Vic (Louis Hayward) who has known Horace since they were kids is atop the list, but Vic still holds quite a grudge! When Vic shows up with Mallory (Diana Lynn) his gal pal of the last 5 years Horace is struck by the fact that Mallory looks just like Martha; his one true love. This begins the flashbacks to reveal Horace’s true nature of ruthlessness. (Look for a fun cameo from Raymond Burr!)

As Horace’s past pals gather at the party they drink to ease the pain; “You came for a drink and found a memory.”

Thanks to RUTHLESS I get to finally add Old Fashioned to my list!
Old Fashioned – The Old Fashion glass was named after this drink! So grab the glass, a sugar cube or 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, Angostura bitters, club soda (or water), bourbon (or rye) and ice cubes.
Put the sugar in the glass and add 3 dashes of bitters with a splash of club soda. Crush up/dissolve the sugar. Swirl it around to line the glass. Add a big cube of ice and pour in 2 oz of bourbon (or rye).

Martini – It is one part Dry Vermouth and six parts Gin: Pour 1/2 oz of Dry Vermouth and 3 oz of Gin, into a mixing glass filled with ice cubes. Stir well and then strain it into a chilled martini glass, now you can garnish with an olive or some oil from a lemon peel.

Good Movies! Good Drinks! Cheers! Make a drink, watch a movie or watch a movie with some nice drinks. I’m going to be on the look out for more fancy beverages! I really need a day to make these beverage and get a bit tipsy! Just stay safe no matter what, and DON’T drink and drive!!! EVER!
Just watch movies and be happy! Yup!

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on-the-road-to-conComikazie, now known as Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con, was just last weekend. Yup, one week ago! Zooom!

I hadn’t been able to attend last year, but this year I had a free Sunday and my niece Celia was able to come along too with me and my dad! As a trio, we three eagerly made our way through traffic, to the Los Angeles Convention center! Yup! VROOM VROOM down the 110 freeway! (Yeah it was not VROOM VROOM, but slow slow!)

We got inside just about 11AM and began our big adventure to walk up and down all the aisles, browsing all there was to see and buying things that said “buy me!” The floor was pretty busy for a Sunday! Lots of people all happy and having fun! It was packed but never overwhelming to get through the crowd.

WE MADE IT!!

WE MADE IT!!

 

WHICH WAY SHOULD WE GO????

                  WHICH WAY SHOULD WE GO????

 

BADGES, WE HAVE BADGES! (oldie but goodie!)

BADGES, WE HAVE BADGES! (oldie but goodie!)

One of my favorite things about conventions is the cosplay! There’s lots of cosplay too at this convention! I loved it! I’m like “OOOH! LOOK AT THAT!” I am giddy seeing the detail people put into their outfits!! I do ask cosplayers if I may take their pictures first and remember it’s the polite thing to do! (Manners, people!)

One of the first and best cosplay we saw was a couple dressed as Hawkgirl and Hawkman! Their wings were fully retractable and flapped! It was amazing!

Their Wings Move!!

             Their Wings Move!!

 

STRANGER THINGS was super popular too!!

Blurry But Still AMAZING! Winona Forever!

Blurry But Still AMAZING! Winona Forever!

WHAT IS COMING OUT OF HER CHEST?

WHAT IS COMING OUT OF HER CHEST?

And now just a one more favorite!

saumurai-jack

SAMURAI JACK!!!! JACK IS BACK!

Besides the cosplay there’s so much to see, so many talented artists sharing their work! Toys that I dream of having, Comic Books I need for my collection. Buttons, Pins, bows, wallets, handmade goods! I just LOVE going to conventions! Yup!

PLUSH! SUPER PLUSH!

PLUSH! SUPER PLUSH!

THE LOVE BUG!

THE LOVE BUG! HERBIE!!!

SUPERNATURAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SUPERNATURAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

UH OH!!!!!!!!!!!

UH OH!!!!!!!!!!!

My dad had our comic book need list, though a much more condensed version than what we usually venture out with, so near the end when we found the 50 cent comic book bins we didn’t go as crazy as we could have! Celia was awesome and helped me dig through the boxes! We filled in some good comic book gaps!

WALL-E!

WALL-E!

BB-8

BB-8

SUPERNATURAL boys!

SUPERNATURAL boys!

We walked and walked all morning and into the afternoon! Celia got some cool stuff, and a few gifts for her siblings! I scored a new bow, my dad and I got comic books! It was a success!

BYE CON!

BYE CON!

TILL NEXT YEAR!! YUP!

TILL NEXT YEAR!! YUP!

CONVENTION GOODIES!!!!!

CONVENTION GOODIES!!!!!

Yup, I had fun at Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con, whew, that’s a lot to say! (type!) Celia had fun and so did my dad! We delighted in our nerdom and are looking forward to doing so again real soon! It’s nice to share my geeky ways with my family! You got to pass on the things you love and that’s what going to Conventions is about! Wearing your fandom on your sleeve! YUP!

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So, I didn’t watch a horror movie a day during October..but I did watch SOME movies! That’s just life, being life and movies getting watched when I can watch them! Yup!

NEW MOVIES: 

  • THE  KINDRED (1987) | 10/4/16 | VHS 
  • RETURN OF DRACULA (1958) | 10/5/16 | YouTube
  • ZOOTOPIA (2016) | 10/6/16 | Netflix 
  • ISLAND OF TERROR (1966) | 10/8/16 | Svengoolie 
  • DEAR HEART (1964) | 10/8/16 | TCM 
A Love Story! Let's All Go To A Postmasters Convention!

Let’s All Go To A Postmasters Convention!

  • THE FROZEN GHOST (1945) | 10/14/16 | Svengoolie 
  • BELOW THE SEA (1933) | 10/14/16 | TCM / DV-R 
  • MASTERMINDS (1949) | 10/15/16 | TCM 
Eat Candy! See The Future! Beware of Mad Scientists!

Eat Candy! Get a Toothache! See The Future! Beware of Mad Scientists!

  • HILLBILLYS IN A HAUNTED HOUSE (1967) | 10/15/16 | TCM / DV-R 
  • THE BOOGIE MAN WILL GET YOU (1942) | 10/21/15 | YouTube
Peter Lorre carries a CAT in his coat pocket!!!!

Peter Lorre carries a CAT in his coat pocket!!!!

  • RETURN OF THE CREATURE (1955) | 10/23/16 | Svengoolie 
  • JACK REACHER NEVER GO BACK (2016) | 10/25/16 | Alhambra Edwards
JACK IS BACK! Yup!

JACK IS BACK! Yup!

  • MACABRE (1958) | 10/27/16 | TCM / DV-R 
  • LONDON HAS FALLEN (2016) | 11/1/16 | Netflix 
  • PRIDE AND PREJUDICE ZOMBIES | 11/2/16 | Starz 

RE-SEE MOVIES: 

  • HEAVY METAL (1981) | 10/2/16 | DVD
  • LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS (1960) | 10/14/16 | TCM
Little Shop! No Music! Just a hungry plant!

Little Shop! No Music! Just a hungry plant! FEED ME!

  • MURDER BY CONTRACT (1958) | 10/24/16 | YouTube
  • THE ‘BURBS (1989) | 10/26/16 | Netflix

I am now at 128 new movies and 55 re-see movies. Slow and steady, but ever watching!

My highlight of the month was just finding DEAR HEART on TCM and watching it! It had been a while since I caught a movie at it’s start to watch to the end.

DEAR HEART; Geraldine Page, a postmaster at a Postmasters’ convention, in a big city. She wants to feel special and have a good time! She’s longing for love, but won’t just settle for a convention affair. Glenn Ford, he’s a traveling salesman, ready to settle down, but has he “settled” for the woman with a kid because it’s the thing to do? These two meet and there’s some kismet, but is it meant to be? Ahhh, LOVE! Movie love!

TRIVIA: Geraldine Page is Madame Medusa in THE RESCUERS!!!! WOOT!

MASTER MINDS was another movie I found on TCM, it features the Bowery Boys. One of them boys has an incredible sweet tooth, he eats so much candy, he gets a toothache and it gives him the power to see the future! Becoming a sideshow act the boys think they’ve scored the big time! But of course there’s an evil scientist, Alan Napier, on the loose who needs a brain for his STRONG, HAIRY MONSTER MAN ARMY. A mix up, fortune telling and lots of sugar made this a sweet, cute flick.

My guy Dave found me THE BOOGIE MAN WILL GET YOU on YouTube. It was a real delight. Boris Karloff has an old home that houses his experiments. He’s trying to creature a super army race too, but seems to be killing the traveling salesman that come to his door, though it is all in the name of science!! A young woman offers to buy the house to turn it into a hotel and as she tries to fix it up, a mix of characters stop by, including her ex-husband. Are people really dying? Who’s the killer? Is it the boogie man? Peter Lorre is the town’s doctor, sheriff, tax collector and he carries a cat in his pocket. It’s completely silly, and it made me laugh!

Then last but not least, I’m just going to stick with highlighting the oldies, I re-watched the 1960 LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS!  Thanks again TCM for this one! I watched it with my niece and it’s very nice that I can get them to watch old Black & White flicks! I just love Roger Corman movies! My nieces dug it too, though Effie didn’t like the ending.

Alas, only a handful of movies viewed in October, but some fun discoveries for sure! I’ll get around to more of the new releases sooner or later! Yup! HAPPY MOVIE watching one and all! May November be filled with more movies! Yup!