What was the last movie you saw?

[KGeo777]

THE WOMAN HUNTER - 1972 -Barbara Eden in Mexico being stalked by Stuart Whitman. Good acting but the ending (someone being hit by a rock) is kind of humorous in how it speedily resolves the story.

MANHUNTER - 1974 - Pilot movie for a Quinn Martin show starring Ken Howard as a soldier back from China(?) in the early 1930s and is compelled to hunt down a Bonnie and Clyde gang that killed a friend and his dog. What is most surprising is how unlike the usual QM protagonists Howard is (thinking of Cannon or Barnaby Jones) He's like a Ron Ely or Bo Svenson humble but intelligent country boy without any stereotypical baggage. He's like a Captain America of the Depression era who sets out to capture dangerous bank robbers. I am not surprised it didn't last as a series though.

ZOLTAN: HOUND OF DRACULA 1977 -- Heard of this for ages--finally saw it. Surprised how well-made it is--with Jose Ferrer traveling to America to find the last of the Draculas (Michael Pataki) to warn him about a vampire dog seeking him out. The cinematography is very good for such an economical shoot, with one particular sequence where Reggie Nalder--as the creepy Dracula disciple is staring eye to eye with the dog before the latter runs off on a mission. I give them massive credit for treating it seriously until the final shot.

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

ZOLTAN: HOUND OF DRACULA 1977 -- Heard of this for ages--finally saw it. Surprised how well-made it is--with Jose Ferrer traveling to America to find the last of the Draculas (Michael Pataki) to warn him about a vampire dog seeking him out. The cinematography is very good for such an economical shoot, with one particular sequence where Reggie Nalder--as the creepy Dracula disciple is staring eye to eye with the dog before the latter runs off on a mission. I give them massive credit for treating it seriously until the final shot.

Spoiler: the last scene

Cute vampire puppy!

 

[Randy M.]

The Mad Magician (1954)

Vincent Price is the Mad Magician! Actually, he's a master of disguise/creator of stage illusions in the late 19th century. He's about to perform his first magic act on stage when a guy who 1. has a contract stating that everything Price creates actually belongs to him and 2. is now married to Price's gold-digging ex-wife (Eva Gabor!) stops the show out of sheer rottenness. This drives Price over the edge, so he kills the guy with the buzz saw that was supposed to be used in a "cut the lady's head off" illusion. Price then disguises himself as the murdered man. A lot of stuff happens, but suffice to say that the ex-wife and a rival magician are on the list, and he disguises himself as the latter as well. (The impersonations are done via very good makeup and very poor dubbing.) Obviously meant to cash in on the success of House of Wax with Price in a similar role the year before, this follow up is neither particularly bad nor particularly good.

Svengoolie showed this a week ago and I stuck it out. It must have been shown in 3D since there were things thrown toward the camera. You're right, not good, not bad, just meh. One of Price's more restrained performances, though.

 

[REBerg]

Twisters
Just because you can take advantage of visual effect advances in the last 28 years doesn't mean you should. Twister was superior to its sequel in plot and character development.

 

[KGeo777]

Twisters
Just because you can take advantage of visual effect advances in the last 28 years doesn't mean you should. Twister was superior to its sequel in plot and character development.

You know what is so funny about that is --Michael Crichton was sued by someone who claimed he stole the story idea from him--and Spielberg was a witness for the defense and he said the movie was something like 70% spfx and 30% story so he was admitting that the whole movie was an excuse for spfx!

 

[KGeo777]

Re: Zoltan

I like the scene where Pataki is looking through a trunk of keepsakes and just happens to find a picture of Dracula standing for a portrait with Zoltan.
It's rather creepy in a 1930s Universal Studios horror movie portrait kind of way even though it doesn't make a lot of sense--but it is so much more coherent than one would expect and played completely straight.
Some of the shots were amazingly picturesque with the moon visible over the dog. I assume that was the actual moon and not a spfx.

 

[JunkMonkey]

You know what is so funny about that is --Michael Crichton was sued by someone who claimed he stole the story idea from him

Has there been a financially successful film made over the last 30 years that HASN'T?

 

[KGeo777]

Has there been a financially successful film made over the last 30 years that HASN'T?

Yeah but the point is that the lawsuit was over the story value and Spielberg said Twister what not a film where the story was worth much financially since it existed mainly to showcase FX.

 

[JunkMonkey]

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023) - every time I watch a Marvel movie I wonder why I bother and swear I'll stop. And then I find one in a charity shop in the '3 for a quid' bin and here we are again.

This is the last one, honest. I'll give up... tomorrow.

 

[J Riff]

Fiend of Dope Island 1960
Sounds great, yes ? I mean... how fiendish could he BE ? Well, it turns out he's only growing weed on a remote island, and trading it for weapons, but we never actually see any marijuana being smoked. Charlie is the fiend, he laughs a lot, dominates everyone with a whip and plays a bit of drums. He's hired a pro dancer/entertainer and she shows up and there's romance at the end, with our other MC, who turns out be be a narcotics officer in diguise all along. There's cigarette and booze consumption as well, but this one is pretty mild as far as fiend/dope movies go.

 

[Jeffbert]

Kiss of Death (1947) A loser Nick Bianco (Victor Mature) who was caught after robbing A jewelry store meets a psycho Tommy Udo (Richard Widmark) while in prison. Learning that the other members of his gang did not care for his wife & child while he was in prison, he cooperates with the authorities and receives early parole. But the psycho is also free, and takes a dim view of squealers.

Supporting cast/characters:
Assistant D.A. Louis D'Angelo (Brian Donlevy) & Sgt. William Cullen (Karl Malden) among others.

Widmark apparently modelled his character on The Joker as depicted in BATMAN comics.


8/10

 

[KGeo777]

Kiss of Death (1947)

Widmark apparently modelled his character on The Joker as depicted in BATMAN comics.

Yeah I was wondering if this was the one I saw. The one where he has a creepy laugh.
Another film he did which I recommend is NIGHT AND THE CITY 1950.

 

[KGeo777]

RAPE SQUAD 1974 - Women rape victims team up to humiliate molesters, pimps, and phone creeps with the help of a woman karate expert. It's low brow exploitation but expertly made with fiery lead performance by Jo Ann Harris. . Released 50 years ago this week.

 

[Stephen Palmer]

Wicked Little Letters, a highly entertaining film set in the 1920s and based on a true story. Who is writing poison pen letters in Littlehampton...? A great cast will tell you!

 

[alexvss]

Deadpool and Wolverine (2024).

Gave me a few good laughs this sunday, and brought back many old characters from superhero movies. 10 out of 10 in cameos

 

[Jeffbert]

A Bucket of Blood (1959) Walter Paisley (Dick Miller; in his only starring role) is a busboy in a beatnik café, who aspires to become an artist. In an accident, he kills his landlady's cat, and covers it with clay, kitchen knife still sticking out of it. Upon showing to to the girl he adores, she thinks very highly of it as art. Bringing it to the café, everyone acclaims his talent. Next thing, oopsie, he just killed a man; how to dispose of the body?

I wonder if Corman was inspired by the Mystery of the Wax Museum, where Lionel Atwill's character was essentially doing the same thing, but with hot wax, instead of clay? Perhaps the remake, House of Wax may have inspired him?

8/10

 

[Jeffbert]

Buzzin' Around (1933) Cornelius (Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle) invents a liquid that can make otherwise fragile porcelain objects unbreakable. Unfortunately, he puts in a cider jug, and takes a jug of cider with him, when he goes to show it to an antiques dealer.

Along the way, he has an accident involving a bee hive. This is the funniest part!

8/10

 

[Victoria Silverwolf]

A Bucket of Blood (1959) Walter Paisley (Dick Miller; in his only starring role) is a busboy in a beatnik café, who aspires to become an artist. In an accident, he kills his landlady's cat, and covers it with clay, kitchen knife still sticking out of it. Upon showing to to the girl he adores, she thinks very highly of it as art. Bringing it to the café, everyone acclaims his talent. Next thing, oopsie, he just killed a man; how to dispose of the body?

I wonder if Corman was inspired by the Mystery of the Wax Museum, where Lionel Atwill's character was essentially doing the same thing, but with hot wax, instead of clay? Perhaps the remake, House of Wax may have inspired him?

8/10

This is a delightful black comedy, and a sharp satire of the beatnik culture. As much fun, if not as goofy, as The Little Shop of Horrors.

 

[KGeo777]

MISSION TO HELL - 1964 - Spy is sent to Thailand to bust a diamond smuggling ring and encounters other spies with their own agendas, a dopey heiress and woman scientist working with snake venom. There is an exploding rope bridge similar to the one on Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and thanks to stock footage, an African elephant goes on a rampage too.

 

[Ubergeek]

Yeah I was wondering if this was the one I saw. The one where he has a creepy laugh.
Another film he did which I recommend is NIGHT AND THE CITY 1950.

Yep , both films are absolute classics . Dripping with atmosphere and drama .