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Archive for category New Reviews

Going out with a bang

Oct 24

Posted by lyzard in New Reviews | 2 Comments

Guess what? I found one!

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After experiencing so many disappointments while I was exploring the roots of the disaster movie, you can imagine my giddy delight when I unexpectedly encountered The Real Thing.

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THE LAST JOURNEY (1936)

A train-driver begins to develop psychological problems, which interfere with his work and lead him to believe that his wife and his best friend are having an affair. When he then finds himself being forced into retirement, he makes up his mind that his last journey will be one that no-one ever forgets…

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Liz Kingsley is the insane genius behind And You Call Yourself a Scientist!

Cat Demon Blues

Oct 20

Posted by KeithA in New Reviews | 3 Comments

We’re celebrating Halloween early on TC.

KURONEKO

kuroKuroneko is a film that feels older than it is. Shot in 1968, five years after Shindo’s more famous horror movie Onibaba, Kuroneko hearkens back to the more humanistic period pieces and sword-fighting films of the 1950s. Kuroneko is also one of my favorite films. And not just because it has cat demon ladies in it. Though, really, cat demon ladies should be an enormous draw for anyone. Cat demon ladies and ghost cats have been around long before Ju-On / The Grudge or even before Utagawa Kuniyoshi illustrated a sweet party of a lady, two cats dancing with handkerchiefs on their heads and a giant cat monster interrupted by some guy in 1835.

 

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Keith Allison is the chief Bacchanologist at Teleport City.

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The best movie from Oklahoma I’ve seen

Oct 16

Posted by Greywizard in New Reviews | 1 Comment

Cole JusticeThe vanity movie Cole Justice has, among other negative attributes, slipshod production values, laughable writing, and awkward acting. Yet at the same time, there’s something about this movie…

Keith Bailey is the proprietor of The Unknown Movies Page.

Not quite disastrous enough (Part 2)

Oct 10

Posted by lyzard in New Reviews | 4 Comments

Finally…

TH37-hurricane3

 

So at last I got around to watching and writing up another crop of short reviews about films that don’t quite qualify as “disaster movies”.

The recurrent theme this time was films starting out in a way that got my hopes up, but then letting me down badly the further the film went on. Planes, trains, storms, floods, you name it—they just didn’t make the grade.

On the other hand, this exercise gave me the impetus to finally track down a copy of John Ford’s The Hurricane which, like San Francisco the year before, is not a disaster movie, but contains one of the greatest disaster sequences of all time—and all done with practical effects. CGI only wishes it could be this effective…

Not Quite Disastrous Enough

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Liz Kingsley is the insane genius behind And You Call Yourself a Scientist!

My warning is my good deed for the day

Oct 6

Posted by Greywizard in New Reviews | 2 Comments

The Wrong GuysWhile The Wrong Guys has in its cast comic talent like Louie Anderson, Richard Lewis, Richard Belzer, Franklyn Ajaye, Tim Thomerson, and John Goodman, there are almost no laughs to be found in the end results.

Keith Bailey is the proprietor of The Unknown Movies Page.

The Golden Age of Egyptian Cinema

Oct 2

Posted by KeithA in New Reviews | 2 Comments

WELCOME TO CAIROWOOD

afrita04“Examples of Egyptian filmmaking date back to the beginning of the 20th century, with Cairo becoming a hub of commercial filmmaking in the Arab world with the introduction of sound. It was there that the country’s first “Hollywood-style” film studio, the well-funded Studio Msr (a project of wealthy financier Talaat Harb) was established in 1936. From that point until the mid-60s, when the film industry was nationalized by President Nasser, a vibrant commercial aesthetic prevailed, with a pantheon of glamorous stars churning out genre entertainments calculated for mass appeal. It was a time during which Egypt turned out a staggering majority of the Middle East’s Arab language films—nearly a hundred a year—and did so with a level of technical sophistication easily on par with that of any Western film industry.”

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Keith Allison is the chief Bacchanologist at Teleport City.

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Madness at the Sanatorium

Sep 30

Posted by KeithA in New Reviews | 1 Comment

THE HOURGLASS SANATORIUM

hs1“A gloriously perverse carnival air permeates The Hourglass Sanatorium, the sort of atmosphere that would be similarly at home in an Alejandro Jodorowsky or Fellini film. Bent figures in the threadbare finery of yesteryear — tattered cloaks, rumpled suits, crooked top hats — rub elbows with topless strippers amid the ruined relics of bygone splendor and in an atmosphere not of the timid and tempted soul seeking sin, being beckoned into the shadows by the luring finger or the sideshow barker’s promise of forbidden fruit; but instead of the brothel, the sideshow, the theater after hours, when those who labor to create our fantasies and illusions gather together to relax, to blow off steam, to end a long night’s work by unwinding in the company of one’s peers who, while not always pleasant, at least exist in the same frame of reference.”

 

And as a bonus, in case you are so inclined to read it, I moonlight as the Science Fiction Guy on a site called The Cultural Gutter and recently wrote about the first time I saw Rocky Horror Picture Show.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SATURDAY NIGHT?

featrhps“Our intention, besides parading around and making the scene, was to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I’d been preparing for this trip for days. Laying the groundwork that would allay any potential parental suspicion. Picking out the appropriate outfit. With very little in the way of codified punk rock to guide me, I had my own interpretation of what was appropriate attire for such a sojourn, whichwas a t shirt I’d sliced open in the back and stitched back up using old shoelaces. I’d then written “Joy Division” on the front in bright neon pink glitter puffy paint pen, because I thought that was a clever subversion of the gloomy melancholy one expects. I thought about fashioning some manner of Dracula cape, but it never came together. Finished off with a pair of ripped up jeans and a lot of Dep hair goo. Lookin’ cool. Or something.”

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Keith Allison is the chief Bacchanologist at Teleport City.

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A Return to Reasonable Dimensions

Sep 29

Posted by El Santo in New Reviews | 11 Comments

And to a reasonable posting schedule, as well.

 

Devil’s Pass (2013), in which a bunch of college students go to a remote locale to shoot a documentary about strange goings on, but you haven’t heard nearly as much of this story before as you might think…

The Lost Boys (1987), in which two Coreys first become The Two Coreys…

Near Dark (1987), in which the vampires would be just as threatening if they weren’t vampires at all…

Prison Girls (1972), in which some weekend prison furloughs are more enjoyable than others, but not for us…

Return of the Jedi (1983), in which every last check is dutifully cashed, even if one or two of them come up a few bucks short…

and…

The Young Playmates (1972), in which Val Guest, of all people, tries his hand at smut.

 
 
 

El Santo rules the wasteland-- and also 1000 Misspent Hours and Counting.

Avoid even a free way to see it

Sep 26

Posted by Greywizard in New Reviews | 1 Comment

Death Car On The FreewayDirected by Hal Needham, the made-for-TV movie Death Car On The Freeway gets the vehicular stuff well done, but little else.

Keith Bailey is the proprietor of The Unknown Movies Page.

You won’t have a Jones for this movie

Sep 16

Posted by Greywizard in New Reviews | 5 Comments

Mr. SuperinvisibleThe Antonio Margheriti movie Mr. Superinvisible is for the most part forgettable. However, some Dean Jones fans may be interested in seeing their idol get naked several times. Well, as naked as a G-rated kiddie movie will allow.

Keith Bailey is the proprietor of The Unknown Movies Page.