PRIMITIVE SCREWHEADS

Friday Night Movies 1010

Doomed Metropolis 2 The Last War 1989 Based on the novel Teito Monogatari by Hiroshi Armata, screenplay by Kaizo Hayashi, directed by Takashige Ichise. A sequel to Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis which we watched last November 2023.

The first movie ended in 1927, the sequel starts in 1945, it's near the end of the war and the American's are fire bombing Toyko. A Buddhist priest plans to curse the Allied leaders with magic. Before that gets to happen the spirits of the local dead revive the evil demon Kato. That's him on the poster, he's the baddie from the first movie.

Kato attacks the locals and some of them fight back. A young man, a nurse and a little blind girl, all with psychic powers, take on Kato. The nurse had encountered Kato as a child and still bears the damage. The young man nearly dies fighting Kato. The shaman realizing that Japan is losing the war attacks Hitler. The nurse prays to seal Kato away.

There's a fair bit going on but it's told so slowly it becomes rather dull. The recreation of WW2 era Tokyo looks pretty good and the cast is fine. The effects people did a good job. I'm sad I didn't like it more. You can test drive a copy of the movie on YouTube. Link above.

Sky Sharks 2020 Written by Marc Fehse, A D Morel and Carsten Fehse, directed by Marc Fehse.

A German SF comedy film about a secret Nazi ship frozen in the Antarctic ice since WW2. The ship housed a secret Nazi lab that was reanimating dead Nazi soldiers. The dead men would be zombied up then be given genetically modified flying sharks for steeds. The Nazi soldiers attack air planes, kill the passengers and crash the planes. A team of soldiers has to put a stop to the Nazi plan of world domination.

There's plenty of over the top Nazi action and the effects are pretty entertaining. The effects are by DigiTale Studios, they are known for their work on Game Of Thrones. Sadly the action packed beginning phases out for non-stop explanation which sucks the life out of the room. Everyone was complaining after a good half hour of this. There's more action in the last act but by then I was less responsive than I would have liked. I enjoyed most of the movie but not enough to go buy the Blu-ray. I might not want to see it again.

Vampira 1973

Vampira 1973 Written by Jeremy Lloyd and directed by Clive Donner. A British comedy horror mix with David Niven and Teresa Graves. It was titled Old Dracula in the US.

David is Count Dracula, he's been having tours of his castle to lure in tourists for a quick snack. He's trying to find a certain blood type to resurrect his long dead love Vampira, she's been dead since the 1920s. Lucky for him some Playmates are due for a photo shoot.

Sneaky tests reveal one of the gals has the blood he needs. After the transfusion Vampira is revived. There's an unexpected side effect, Vampira is now black. She's played by Teresa Graves in full on flapper mode. The couple take off for London and have some adventures while snacking on the locals. It gets a bit dicey for the Count and Company near the end but they manage to get away to South America.

It's a weak comedy, some of the jokes were tired in 1974, they're darn near terminal today. There weren't many of them, good or bad. Most of the race based gags are benign, some might slip over the line, depends on where you draw it.

I did enjoy David, Teresa and Peter Bayliss as the Count's butler is entertaining. Carol Cleveland turns up as a mugging victim. I enjoyed it for what it was but I wouldn't need to buy a copy, you can watch it on YouTube, you might like it, maybe you won't.

Barbarella 1969

Barbarella 1969 Based on the comic book Barbarella by Jean-Claude Forest, screenplay by Terry Southern, Roger Vadim, Claude Brulé, Vittorio Bonicelli, Clement Biddle Wood, Brian Degas, Tudor Gates and Jean-Claude Forest, directed by Roger Vadim. I went to see Barbarella in the theater when it was new. I liked it then and still do.

Jane Fonda plays Barbarella, an agent for the Earth government, who's sent to Tau Ceti to capture Duran Duran and retrieve his new weapon, the positronic ray, that could wipe out humanity. Her ship has trouble and crashes on a planet in the Tau Ceti system. She has a series of adventures trying to find Duran Duran. She's almost killed by murderous dolls but gets rescued by a hairy man who captures runaway children. He introduces her to real physical sex, long gone out of favor on Earth, and send her off to the main city of Sogo.

In Sogo Barbarella meets the blind angel Pygar, Professor Ping, the Black Queen, Dildano and the Concierge. She finds Duran Duran and escapes the clutches of the evil Black Queen with the help of Dildano and Pygar. She shags a few of them along the way.

It's all pretty silly and entertaining, even after numerous viewings over the years. The sets, costumes and characters are fun and there's always something to see as the story plays out. I just picked up the Arrow 2 disc Blu-ray and that was packed with hours of extras, including a commentary by Tim Lucas. Worth picking up for the fans of the movie.

Science Fiction Sunday 803

2 + 5 Missione Hydra 1966 Written by Pietro Francisci and Fernando Paolo Girolami, directed by Pietro Francisci. A dubbed version was released in the US in 1977 under the title Star Pilot. It has a new script by Ian Danby and additional footage from other movies. I saw the US version some years ago. I picked up the Blu-ray during the current Kino Lorber sale. It has the original film and the US version. I watched both and listened to the commentary on the original version.

The movie opens as a spaceship from the planet Hydra lands on Sardinia and buries itself in the ground. Next we spend some time with a young lady on a movie set. She drives around Rome with her friend and goes to pick up her scientist father. They get involved with an accident and takes an unconscious man to a clinic at the airport. The actress, her friend and her father all take a ride in a helicopter to a remote location. The unconscious man wakes and runs off to join the suspicious guys in a big car.

At the remote camp the scientist and his team do some work, it leads them to a cave where they find and enter the ship. The aliens observe the humans and figure they might be the ones needed to make repairs to their ship. They take the scientist, his daughter and a couple of technicians hostage and make them do the work.

Once the ship is repaired the aliens decide to take the humans with them to Hydra. During the flight the humans rebel. The ship is damaged and a photonic storm sends them to a strange planet the aliens are unfamiliar with, they land and look the place over. There's some time for romance before the ape creatures attack. There's a bit of a battle and the ship leaves. They return to Earth to find the place a mess, cities have been destroyed. There's a montage of destruction and some dramatic music. They leave the Earth behind and travel to another planet where they meet some nice aliens. 

It's much more entertaining to see the Italian version of the film. It's still not a great film but the story holds together a bit better. It comes across as more satirical and camp, similar to films like Barbarella and Wild Wild Planet. The 4K restoration is nice looking with clear images and sound track. There's a spirited audio commentary with David Del Valle and Matteo Molinari. David's a film historian and Matteo works in the film industry. Matteo was born and raised in Italy until he moved to the US as a teenager. They've got a good bit of info to share. Glad I bought the Blu-ray. I'll probably watch it again someday.

They Might Be Giants 1971

They Might Be Giants 1971 Based on the 1961 play They Might Be Giants by James Goldman, screenplay by James Goldman, directed by Anthony Harvey.

George C Scott plays a businessman who's response to the death of his wife is to retreat into a fantasy world where he's Sherlock Holmes. His brother, played by Lester Rawlins, wants to have him committed so he can take over his brother's fortune. Rue McClanahan is the brother's girlfriend and Joanne Woodward is Dr Watson. She's a psychiatrist at the local mental hospital that the brother wants use to lock Sherlock up. The head of the hospital is a moron who just wants another paying customer. Dr Watson wants to study Sherlock and see what makes him tick.

Sherlock is on the hunt for Moriarty, he believes his nemesis is leaving clues around the city, clues Sherlock hopes will reveal Moriarty's next crime. Dr Watson joins him on his quest.They have some adventures, Sherlock gets shot at one point, and a bit of romance develops.

Holmes and Watson meet all sorts of characters on their trip through New York City. Jack Gilford is Sherlock's friend, he's a librarian. Oliver Clark is a psychiatric patient, Al Lewis plays a guy who wants to get his bill paid, Eugene Roche is a policeman, M Emmet Walsh is a garbageman, Louis Zorich is his co-worker, F Murray Abraham plays Clyde and Paul Benedict is the Chestnut Man.

There's plenty of activity and the movie spends a good bit of time on the streets of New York. On the commentary Anthony Harvey says they just filmed the scenes with local people in the background. It's funny, poignant and clever. I enjoyed it and was glad to have seen it. I would watch it again sometime which is fortuitous as I picked up the Kino Lorber Blu-ray last week. They've got another sale going on.

Willy's Wonderland 2020

Willy's Wonderland 2020 Screenplay by G O Parsons and directed by Kevin Lewis. One of the executive producers listed is Adam Rifkin. He directed a couple of my favorite films, The Dark Backward and Invisible Maniac. Bill Pullman, Judd Nelson and Wayne Newton are absolutely brilliant in The Dark Backward.

Nicolas Cage is driving when his car runs over a stop strip left on the road. His tires blow. Lucky for him a tow truck stops and takes him to a garage in a tiny town. He gets charged $1250 for the tow and 4 new tires. They want the money up front and they don't take charge cards. The tow driver offers him a way to make some cash.

The job is cleaning Willy's Wonderland. It's one of those annoying places like Chucky Cheese where animatonic puppets sing for your supper. The man hiring him said it had some issues several years ago and had to close down, he wants to have it cleaned so he can reopen the place.

Nicolas agrees to clean for cash but what he doesn't know is he's locked in a restaurant that's filled with evil possessed puppets who desire to kill him. In another subplot some local teens try to rescue him from the puppets. The kids fall right through the roof and the slaughter begins.

It's pretty standard stuff but I enjoyed Nic kicking the ass of some supernaturally driven puppets. I got the Blu-ray for cheap so I can watch it again sometime.

Friday Night Movies 996

Hallucination Generation 1966 Written and directed by Edward Mann. An American film that was shot in Spain. It was hyped as an anti drug movie but deep down it's really an exploitation film. It's filmed in B&W with a small bit of color for appropriate scenes. The copies on YouTube have a pinkish hue to them.

Billy goes to Ibiza in Spain to "write" on his mother's dime. He's not a writer, he's more a beatnik, he spends his days hanging out on the beach and at the local cafes, drinking coffee and beer, smoking cigarettes and cheap weed. Billy stays at the house of a local drug dealer called Eric. Billy meets and marries a German girl, they move to Barcelona where the marriage fails after Billy gets cut off by his mom. 

Billy runs back to Ibiza to stay at Eric's again. Eric thinks the layabouts need to start contributing a bit of cash to the upkeep of his casa. One of the women suggests robbing an older man she used to date. She was with him when he was robbed before and he didn't put up a fight. Eric wants Billy and another lad to do the job but Billy is scared and doesn't want to do it. Eric brow beats him into getting the rob on and off they go. Of course things don't go so well. These aren't competent young men.

As a film it's below average but interesting as a bit of social history. I can say the same for a segment of the film near the end. Billy is on the run, he's gotten back to Barcelna, he sees two cops down the street and ducks in Antonio Gaudi's Casa Mila to hide. There's a short scene of him outside, inside and on top of the building. I'm such a big Gaudi fan I decided to keep a copy of the film in case I wanted to see that segment again. You can see the film over at YouTube. You might have an interest.

Murder At The Vanities 1934 Play written by Earl Carroll and Rufus King, screenplay by Carey Wilson, Joseph Gollomb, Sam Hellman (dialogue) and an uncredited Jack Cunningham, directed by Mitchell Leisen.

The Earl Carroll Vanities were a series of Broadway revues that appeared between 1923 and 1940. The main draw was the big lavish production numbers with dozens of showgirls dancing and singing. There were other acts featuring singers, dancers and white comics in blackface. Real black entertainers had jobs too, Duke Ellington appears in the movie just like he would have appeared in the revue.

Jack Oakie is the backstage manager at the Earl Carroll Revue, he's on his own, Earl is out of town, and he's worried about failing. Carl, the main singer, is going to marry Ann after the show, she's his partner in the show. Carl's old girlfriend is upset but his mother is happy, she's the seamstress on the show but that's a secret. Things percolate as the story progresses.

That's one of the cactus ladies in the Sweet Marijuana song. That song got a lot of flack and not for the nearly naked lady. It was the weed itself that people were complaining about, there was even comment at the League of Nations. Paramount was supposed to cut the song from the film but lucky for us Paramount didn't and we can see it today. That lovely ladies is about to have blood dripped on her by the first victim of the movie. It's pre-code so it's a bit more risque than it will be for another 30 years.

There's a good cast beside Jack Oakie: Carl Bisson is the main singer suspect, Victor McLaglen is the homicide detective, Kitty Carlisle is Carl's main partner in the revue, she's the gal he's going to marry. Gertrude Michael is the ex-girlfriend and Jessie Ralph is Carl's secret mom with a bad past. There's over 100 showgirls, they're often scantily clad.

The murders ramp up and there's plenty of running about between musical numbers. The show is known for the debut of Cocktails For Two. I didn't know it was from the movie but I was familiar with the song from 60s and 70s TV variety shows. People are still singing it today. Eventually the music is over, the murderer confesses and everyone leaves the theater.

I thought it was fairly entertaining but I wasn't that keen on some of the musical numbers. I watched the Kino Lorber Blu-ray and then listened to the commentary by film histories Arthur Slide. He had plenty of info and presented it well. I'll probably give it another watch sometime down the line.

Mockingbird Lane 2012

Mockingbird Lane 2012 Based on The Munsters by Al Burns and Chris Hayward, written by Bryan Fuller and directed by Brian Singer. Bryan Fuller is responsible for three of my favorite shows, Dead Like Me, Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies.

Mockingbird Lane is the first thing of his I've seen since those 3 shows. I sort of liked it but it's not the family from The Munsters. They were monsters who were nice, the new Munster family are monsters who will kill you.

It's nice looking and there's a dragon. There's a good bit of slaughter and it's fairly amusing. It's just not The Munsters. I can kind of see why no one picked up the series based on this pilot. Life goes on, unless you run into Grandpa. He'll kill you and suck out all of your blood.

Friday Night Movies 995

A Haunting In Venice 2023 Based on Agatha Christie's Hallowe'en Party, screenplay by Michael Green, directed by Kenneth Branagh.

Hercule Poirot has retired to Venice in 1947. He's nearly forced to attend a Halloween party by mystery writer Ariadne Oliver. There's a lot of kids there when they arrive at the palazzo of Rowena Drake. Soon as the kids leave there's a séance with a medium called Joyce Reynolds. Rowena wants to talk to her dead daughter. She fell out of the palazzo and was drowned in the canal.

A number of guests join them at the table. Some odd things happen and Poirot reveals how the psychic typewriter works by revealing Joyce's assistant hiding in the huge fireplace. Soon after Poirot is attacked and nearly drown in a bowl of water. Shortly after that Joyce is tossed off a balcony and dies impaled on the lance of a statue. Poirot locks everyone in until the police can get there. A storm is delaying them until the rough water in the canal is passable. Poirot gets his little grey cells going to solve the mystery.

I found it an entertaining mystery and of the same quality of his previous two Poirot films. The story changes most of the details from the novel which takes place in the UK. I'd still watch the movie again sometime. Good thing since I bought the Blu-ray.

Seksmisja 1984 Written by Juliusz Machullski, Jolanta Hartwig and Pavel Hayný, directed by Julliusz Machulski. A Polish SF movie.

Two men volunteer to test a space travel hibernation device. Instead of waking up 3 years later they're revived 53 years later. The world as they know it is gone, ruined by the a man destroying virus created by the man who created the hibernation device. Since women are all of the human race left they've created test tube babies to increase the population. They all live underground as the surface is damaged and unlivable.

The two men are locked up and their fate is being decided on by the government. Shortly after being allowed some freedom the ruin their freedom with their stupidity. Just being there they damage the society. Eventually they get one lady on their side and she helps them escape the underground bunker. They tell her they would like to die free than be stuck down underground. Lucky for them there's a nice surprise on the surface.

It's all pretty silly and much more interesting than I was thinking it might be from the box. I enjoyed it but I'm not sold on getting a copy for myself. I'd take a download if I find one.

The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood 1980

The Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood 1980 Story by Alan Roberts and Devin Goldenberg, screenplay by Devin Goldenberg, directed by Alan Roberts.

Adam West and Richard Deacon are Hollywood film producers working for Phil Silvers. They're a trio of sleaze bags. Martine Beswick plays the Happy Hooker Xaviera Hollander, she's promoting her new book and it's going well for her. Phil wants that book for his studio, he's hoping the naughty bits will put bums on seats. He's in dire need of a cash infusion to keep his studio afloat.

Richard and Adam screw up the potential deal but Richard's nice young son helps Xaviera's  movie get made. Phil tries to steal the film so he doesn't have to pay $5 million for it. He hasn't got the money anyway. 

It's a dumb sex comedy, and that's fine, I was just disappointed that it hasn't got much by way of good jokes. It's got a good number of breasts, in fact, more breasts than good jokes. You can see it on the Internet Archive, link above. I doubt I'll get back to it.