Grant Morrison on His Psychedelic Western Indie Movie, Sinatoro

Holy shitballs!
Yes, I've been lazy again. What can you do?
This one was too good to pass up

Put the words "Grant Morrison," "his," and "psychadelic indie western" together and you create a little tingly feeling in my privates. I've been a long time fan of Morrison's comic work and to see that his unique storytelling is coming to the big screen is extra exciting.

Check out the info on comicsalliance.com:

Grant Morrison on His Psychedelic Western Indie Movie, Sinatoro

The poster is pretty sweet as well

VHS Finds III

No Time To Die

(a.k.a. Hijacked to Hell)

I picked up this little beauty on Amazon recently on the ultra-cheap. I can kinda see why as it's pretty beat up, but for me there is something to be said as well for formal rental VHS tapes. I know that the video quality is most likely better on tapes from personal collections, but am I really in this for quality? It's kind of frustrating to see a slipcase cut up, but having a clamshell that was probably carried from home to home for years is pretty cool as well. This little nomad has found a nice resting place now where it will be loved despite its flaws.

As for the film itself, the low budget artwork on the front is certainly enticing to me. It really screams Indonesia, although this film is German oddly enough. The fact that Chris Mitchum and Barry Prima both are in it says Indonesia also, which is what caught my eye most of all.

And I love that alternate title. HIJACKED TO HELL!

Say it in a loud, raspy wrestler voice.

No idea about the quality of the film itself. It probably blows (it has a whopping 2.8/10 on IMdB), but as I've grown to really love these 2nd and 3rd rate 80s action flicks as of late, I'm sure I'll find something to warrant the $1.50!

What makes a good double feature?

I guess what I am looking for here more than anything is a little feedback. I have been brewing in my head lately what makes a good double bill... specifically with genre cinema.

Should the two films be related thematically?
Two films about cars?

Actors?
Coffy and Black Mama/White Mama?

Should they always be of the same genre?
Like a sci-fi event?

Should they be a complete contrast?

Or should they be some mix of these?

I'm open to any and all ideas and suggestions here. Let me know what you feel works. Give me some examples of genre films that work together if you want.

Being the OCD collector-type that I am, I lean more toward creating some sort of theme between the two films. The easy answer is to match the genres. If I were to put on a show, I'd go toward a Blaxploitation night... or a Zombie night for example. While this would entertain me (and calm that always screaming OCD voice in my head), I'm not sure it would be the best solution to entertain the most number of viewers.

Lynch Three Project

I saw this today and thought it was pretty cool. Helping to fund a documentary on David Lynch by buying (for $50) a poster-sized print of a self-portrait created by Lynch himself.

LYNCH three PROJECT

We are currently in pre-production on the third and final full-length documentary film about David Lynch entitled "LYNCHthree” and would like to give all of his fans around the world an opportunity to share in the filmmaking process.

As truly independent filmmakers, we know first-hand that raising money is always a challenge, so we’ve decided to fund this documentary through an innovative crowdfunding campaign. This is one of the best ways we feel we can engage you in the process and utilize the tools of social media to connect with Lynch fans like yourself across the globe.

Here's how it all works:

David has created a cool limited edition self-portrait exclusively for this project. If you donate $50 towards the production of the film through this website, you will become a member of the LYNCHthree project, gain access to exclusive footage and receive your choice of either a limited edition collectible print, t-shirt or tote bag.

They are available through this website for a limited time only. Once we have raised the financing for the film, these items will no longer be available. This is an excellent way to support independent filmmaking. We hope you are as excited about this project as we are. Thank you very much for supporting LYNCHthree!

If I had the funds, I would certainly pick one of these up. Check out http://www.lynchthree.com/ for all the information.

5 DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON

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Original Title: 5 bambole per la luna d'agosto
Year: 1970
Director: Mario Bava
Writer: Mario di Nardo
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065553/
Genre: Mystery, Thriller

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Synopsis:
A small group of people come to an island to relax but soon find themselves trapped on the island with a murderer in their midst.


Countdownsploitation Number FIVE

One thing you hear from many many genre fans is how fantastic Mario Bava is. I will say what little I have seen of his when taking his entire catalogue into account has looked phenomenal, but as overall films they are very hit or miss.

This was unfortunately a miss for me.

5 Dolls was a bit of an unconventional giallo. We don't get the standard first person slasher style killings found in gialli, instead getting a slightly claustrophobic tale with a limited group of suspects as well as victims. The film was decently acted and fabulously shot, but some story elements seemed a bit forced in a way, and it all felt a little slow to me overall... dragging in spots when it really did not need to.

The cast features a whole host of somewhat recognizable faces for me, but no names ring a bell outside of William Berger who was in such films as Keoma, Nick the Sting, and a fantastic looking piece of Lamberto Bava garbage called Devil Fish, and the lovely and always magnetic Edwige Fennech from all sorts of shit where she probably shows her immaculate tits. Teodoro Corrà looked very very familiar as George, but even after looking at his IMdB, I still cannot figure out where I might know him from.

The characters here were more or less believable outside of a few dips into melodrama, but no one outside the temptress Marie played by Fennech really stood out for me. What helped far more in my enjoyment of the film was the ideas and style over any performances.

The name 5 Dolls refers to bagged corpses hanging in a walk-in freezer. I don't believe that is a huge spoiler as the deaths are simply a side effect of the story's progression. I will not say who ends up in the freezer, but the image of the corpses swinging slightly along with almost playful music as if a marionette was dancing was very good. It's one that will stick with you long after the film is over. There is another amazing set up by Bava with glass balls rolling down stairs and across a floor that is a grand sight indeed.

This is what the film had going most for it - Bava's style, angles, etc. coming through and putting a very nice polish on an otherwise average film experience for me. Regardless of what I feel about the plot and acting in Bava's films, his lighting, angles, closeups, etc. are almost always very, very impressive. The film opens great with Bava slowly zooming into every character's eyes as they all sit around watching Fennech write about half nekkid on a table.

By the time the film wraps up, I was kind of confused about certain character's intentions, or where/who one of them even was. While this could certainly be blamed on my being a dumbass, I think it is safe to blame the writing just a bit as well. Characters will go from angry and distrusting to fine again in the same breath, and for a killer to be loose on a small island, so many characters seem amazingly calm. In a way it feels like a stylized stage play when all is said and done.

It's not a terrible film by any means. Bava's style alone makes this worth seeing... not to mention a little nudity here and there (but could have been more!). There are better thrillers/gialli out there from this era (as we will see in my next review).

Recommended but not highly.

Score: 6.5 / 10

VHS FINDS II

Hands of Steel
(a.k.a. Vendetta dal futuro)
This one may be very familiar to fans of The Gentlemen's Guide to Midnite Cinema. Sergio Martino's "classic" Terminator/Over the Top ripoff! This is available on a Mill Creek Set I believe, but all that is is a rip of a VHS, so I score cool points with this guy!

Paco Queruak is comin for you, bitch!

This is a sweet cover that is really only one upped by the poster that has the same image. The text underneath is a bit weak looking, but what can you do?

Countdownsploitation

Got a couple films in my personal queue coming up that are in a sense a countdown in the way they are titled. So  my anal side (my ass?) thought it would be fun to make a little series of it and review a few films that are numbered sequentially. I've never seen any of them, so we'll go on the journey together.

First review will be Five Dolls for an August Moon with the lovely Edwige Fenech, directed by Mario Bava.

Any guesses what will follow?

VHS Finds [or... Judging a Movie By Its Cover]

As I have pointed out (and had pointed out for me) lately on The Gentlemen's Guide To Midnite Cinema, I have obviously been neglecting my blog as of late. I even stopped playing Red Dead Redemption and drunk touching myself like a lazy cat.

Well, in an attempt to jumpstart my half assed creative process, I thought I'd share time to time the random VHS tapes I cheaply come across.

VHS is a format I haven't really messed with in quite awhile. To be honest, the lazy toucher cat in me hasn't even allowed me to dig my VCR out of the attic and set it up. But lately I have been in a lo-fi nostalgia kind of mood. For example, I've been playing a lot of the original Nintendo Famicom (the older brother of the Nintendo Entertainment System here) lately... games like Popeye and Excitebike.

Anyway, while I still love my small yet growing collection of blu rays, and certainly love the new trend of DVDs getting cheap cheap, I have found a new appreciation for digging here and there for inexpensive VHS tapes... really the underappreciated, never-digitized (mostly action) films that more often than not have cases and illustrations almost as entertaining as the film itself.

There is a bit of a collector's market for VHS tapes, and I am not quite there myself. I'm skipping over the stuff on DVD really, and I am just not mentally ready to pay more than 5 bucks or so for a VHS from some greedy store or seller when there are much easier ways to find the movie if I really want to see it. But these cheap tapes I am finding are a lot of fun to track down, and hopefully I'll actually sit to watch them soon.

I wanted to start a kinda-somewhat-maybe regular series here where I just kinda show off the cool cheap tapes I come across. And I am always open to suggestions from any of you loyal readers who may still be around.

I found all these tapes today at a local used book store. It's a great haul if you ask me! They came out to about 2 bucks a piece, and in my quick and dirty cell phone research, were not released on DVD unless that DVD was just a copy of a VHS anyway. And keep in mind I haven't seen any of these movies before.

And these are all my quick cell phone photographed, online edited photos of the actual cases! Exciting!

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Armed Response

Explosive action thriller, indeed. I've never seen a Fred Olen Ray film as far as I know. I do know he is known to have put out some trash of the highest (lowest?) order. But trash starring David Carradine and a very elderly looking Lee Van Cleef has to be entertaining on some level, right? Add in Michael Berryman, the bald creep from The Hills Have Eyes (or from Weird Science as I like to remember him) faded in the sky, and I can't help but drop a couple bucks on this beauty.

Not the most exciting VHS cover ever, although I do like the cheesy ARMED RESPONSE crackly type.

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P.O.W.: The Escape
(a.k.a. Behind Enemy Lines)

I guess after Chuck Norris kicked his ass in Lone Wolf McQuade, Carradine wanted to get back at him by ripping off his Missing In Action movie.

This cover rocks! I love the over the top, painted stuff that was so popular (especially for action films) in the 1980s. Again, I know nothing about the film. The gun blazing, shit blowing up... what more do you need? Oh, and for a couple bucks and no DVD. I win!

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Black Cobra
(a.k.a. Eva Nera, a.k.a. Emanuelle Goes Japanese)

I gotta admit I wasn't super stoked about this one upon seeing Jack Palance's head, especially along with "Erotic desires"..... ehhhh, but then I saw Ms. Laura Gemser.

Ms. Gemser got me through many a lonely pubescent night as Emmanuelle back in the day. I have no clue what this film is even about, but I am even happier I spent the 2 bucks since it is what appears to be at least an unofficial Emanuelle movie! Oh joy! Softcore porn doesn't hold the same place in my heart (pants) that it once did, but the pants need a trip down nostalgia lane too, right?

The director's name Joe D'Amato sounded very familiar as well. Not sure I have seen any of his work either, but he was certainly a busy man and had a film called Porno Holocaust, so yeah...

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Florida Straits
OK, I bought this one on cover alone. I mean, it has Raul Julia and Fred Ward, but those two alone wouldn't be enough for a blind purchase. The typeface at the bottom is pretty hideous, but the painted cover is certainly a selling point. I didn't even read this one, but I am disappointed to see that it was apparently made for TV.

Oh well, they can't all be winners.

Pretty sure this one only cost $1

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The Annihilators
Ohhhh baby

I've never heard of any of the actors, but look at these credits:
Christopher Stone from The Howling and Cujo..... ok
Andy Wood from Rambo First Blood Part II....... no clue but ok
Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs from Welcome Back, Kotter......... HAHAHA
then Jim Antonio from The River and Gerrit Graham from Pretty Baby..... I don't know those films at all.

Quite an ensemble cast of no names... at least to me. But it's totally the overblown image that makes this pick up a win. These badasses are BURNING THROUGH THE PAPER to come and rock your face off!

Look at the fucker in the mask! Holy shitballs!

They fought for their country,
Now they're fighting for their friends.

This tape cost the most out of the lot ($3), and has the worst rating on IMdB. Guess only time will tell on this. I am hesitant to watch it now as not to ruin the awesomeness that is the cover.

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Quite an exciting trip to the store when I wasn't even expecting to find anything. I hope to write more of these as I find cool little video treasures around town or on amazon, etc. I love just coming across these new things, and I am sure when I finally hook up my VCR, I will love that nostalgic feeling of actually using the damn things.

Stay tuned!