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[profh0011]

Tonight:
CLEOPATRA JONES AND THE CASINO OF GOLD  (1975)


I can hardly believe I've only ever seen this once before, and way back in the 80's.  This was one FANTASTIC, fun movie from beginning to end.  And here's a review that really sums up EXACTLY what I was thinking as I watched it...


http://blackholereviews.blogspot.com/2007/08/cleopatra-jones-and-casino-of-gold-1975.html

   
Yep, Tamara Dobson is like the black Mrs. Peel.  EVERY scene she has a different outfit!  Made me think, how come Diana Rigg didn't switch from spy to private eye and do something like this in the 70's?

   
Music by Dominic Frontiere-- yeah-- THE OUTER LIMITS guy.  Although this is more in the vein of Lalo Schifrin's ENTER THE DRAGON, but a bit more "fun" and ecclectic.

   
With a black woman teamed up with a Chinese woman fighting a heroin ring in Hong Kong, this feels like it could have been the inspiration for "Daughters of the Dragon" in THE DEADLY HANDS OF KUNG FU.  Only about 100 times more fun.

   
The final shoot-out has to be seen to be believed.  This film puts THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN to shame.  (As did ENTER THE DRAGON.)

[narfstar]

I just watched SUPER aka The Crimson Bolt. Love it or hate it, it is a must see for the super hero comic reader.

[profh0011]

Just watched Brian DePalma's SCARFACE, first time in 20 years. When I saw the 2 little kids step out of the hotel, about to get into the car, I started LAUGHING!!!  (I knew what was coming.)   

[josemas]

I've gotta admit I've never cared for DePalma's version of Scarface (although I do like the original Paul Muni version).  DePalma is a very hit and miss director with me.   I like some of his earlier films (Sisters, Phantom of the Paradise, Carrie) but most his later films (that I've seen) are poor to middling.  The most recent I've seen was his very disappointing adaptation of James Ellroy's The Black Dahlia.

Best

Joe

[profh0011]

Yesterday:  SCARFACE  (Brian DePalma)

Tonight:  BLOODY MAMA  (Roger Corman!)


It's funny.  My Dad tended to dislike movies that were "slow" or "too long".  SCARFACE is both, yet he LOVED it! Go figure.

Unfortunately, my copy of BLOODY MAMA was from a local UHF station, and is missing a lot of profanity (and who knows what else). After the film, I have an interview with Shelly Winters, Robert Walden & Don Stroud. At one point, Stroud jokingly asks, "How can they show this on TV?" and it's suggested it's been trimmed down to 15 minutes.

[narfstar]

Scarface never interested me because of two long and slow. I saw Bloody Mama at the movie theater way back when

[bowers]

Recently read that Hollywood is having a terrible fourth quarter this year and they don't know if it's just bad / indifferent movies or nobody has money to go see them. Probably a combination of both. The wife and I will be seeing "The Warhorse" Christmas Day and will take all the grandaughters to "TinTin" later in the week. What is everybody else going to see? Has anyone seen John Sayles' latest film, "Amigo"? Didn't get much of a release, but should be out on dvd soon- still looking for a copy. Stars Chris Cooper and takes place during the Phillippine Insurrection (or war of independence, depending upon your views). Sayles is one of my very favorite writer/directors, and does period movies very well. Most of his movies are just about regular people facing extraordinary situations, but he never fails to concentrate on the humanity (good or bad) of his characters. "Matewan", "Eight Men Out" and "The Secret of Roan Inish" are three of my favorite Sayles films. Happy viewing and Christmas Cheer to all- Bowers

[profh0011]

Scarface never interested me because of two long and slow. I saw Bloody Mama at the movie theater way back when

Strange but true: Dad and I watched both versions of SCARFACE "back-to-back"-- well, over 2 consecutive Saturday nights. Considering his age, he dismissed the Howard Hawks version because the acting was too primitive (watching it again recently, I noticed by a mile the BEST acting in the film was from Boris Karloff-- it's no wonder he went on to become a big star). I suspect he preferred the DePalma version because of the violence, profanity, and half-naked women. (heh heh)

Myself, I was actually taken with the way the DePalma film added a completley new 45-min. sequence in between when Tony kills his boss and takes his girl, AND, when he kills his best friend for sleeping with his sister (not realizing, they'd gotten married). The original was a thinly-disguised bio of Al Capone, who was still "in power", and the ending of it was Hawks' idea of what Capone should have coming-- gunned down like a mad dog by the cops. Didn't happen that way in real life, did it?

Instead, in the remake, Tony inadvertenly crosses his Bolivian partner Sosa, who sends out his private army to take Tony down. It was a sad commentary on the 80's, that the cops were powerless, but the drug lord wasn't. Watching it agan the other day, I was struck by what real UGLY ANIMALS most of that hit squad was made up of. Except for the one in the dark glasses, who quietly snuck up behind Tony and shot him in the back. A real "pro". Not like the IDIOT who charged in blasting and shot THE WRONG PERSON (Tony's sister Gina). I mean, if that guy had waited, Gina might have killed Tony herself, saved him the trouble, and most of the hit squad might have made it out of there alive. (Funny the things that go thru my head while watching something like this.)


By comparison, I learned watching a History Channel documentary about the real-life Colombian drug lord that for over a decade the authorities found it impossible to put a stop to the guy. Until, one day, during a police raid, one of the cops SHOT him IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD. Nobody could verify if it was an accident or deliberate. But it came down to the fact that it became the ONLY way the guy was ever gonna be stopped. I thought about it, and suddenly realized, Howard Hawks had predicted the outcome-- DECADES before the fact.

[profh0011]

Have finished plowing at mind-boggling speed thru the entire run of STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION (not watched at all since it was first-run) and am now halfway thru Season 6 of DEEP SPACE NINE.  Last time I watched these was on cable reruns, 5 times a week (some station was running them around 4 in the morning...) The problem facing me right now is, out of 34 videotapes, tape 29 is MISSING. I'd HATE to skip it and then find it after I was done...

Also watching my CHARLIE CHANs again, and the early TARZANs.

And just this week, started on THUNDARR THE BARBARIAN!  Damn, I love this show!!!

[josemas]

Wow! 

That's a heckuva' lotta TV watching there Henry!   

Seven seasons of ST:NG and now nearly that much of ST:DSN. 

How long did that take you?

Curious

Joe

[narfstar]

I highly recommend that everyone watch the Chinese movie AFTERSHOCK. This was far better IMHO than anything from Hollywood. Deeply impacting.
Even if you do not watch many movies this is a must see.

[profh0011]

Earlier this week: 
BANANAS

I got a much -better copy of this a few years ago off of TCM, and it keeps getting better each time I see it.  I LOVE the opening sequence with Howard Cosell.  The scene in the magazine store is priceless.  What's with the woman who keeps looking? And then after he tried to keep a low profile, the check-out guy yells across the room, "GUY WANTS A COPY OF ORGASM, HOW MUCH IS IT?"

Does anybody else find Louise Lasser INTENSELY annoying???

Who else recognized Sylvester Stallone on the subway?

You know what I wish?  I wish he'd hire somebody with some actual creativity to do his opening credits. At some point around 1980 or so, EVERY SINGLE MOVIE began to have the exact same opening credits.  It's a shock when I look at one of his early ones, and am reminded that, yes, movie credits sequences ARE supposed to be creative. Watching opening credits on most of his films is like having a paperback book with the cover ripped off.


The next night...
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX *
*but were afraid to ask

My favorite section is the one with John Carridine-- he's SO over-the-top!
"They called me MAD! --but I showed them!!"

The last sequence is also cool... it's got Tony Randall, Burt Reynolds AND Oscar Beregi in it (I know, nobody knows who that last guy is, but I always remember him for playing foreign bad guys on shows like GET SMART)

Last night:
SLEEPER  (my first "real" Woody Allen film... and still one of the funniest)

Tonight:
LOVE AND DEATH
(This movie has SO many great lines in it!!)

"You LOVE Russia, DON'T you?"
"Of course."
"You wanna make a CAREER of the army, DON'T you?"
"Well, let's not get carried away..."
"From now on, YOU'RE gonna clean the mess AND the latrine!"
"How will I tell the difference?"
"Alright-- ONE, TWO, ONE, TWO, ONE, TWO..."
"Three comes next in case you're having a problem..."

[narfstar]

Movies I loved in my teen and early 20's I often do not enjoy much now. While I enjoyed parts of Banana's when it was on not long ago, it could not completely keep my attention.  I need to watch Sleepers again as I really liked it a lot way back then.

[bowers]

Finally got to watch the last episode of the season (or possibly the series) of "Primeval". Seems like they had everything pretty much wrapped up but left an opening for another season. I guess ratings and cash flow will decide the issue. The IMDB boards spoke of a possible move to Canada for the show, with a new cast. Don't think that would turn out very well. Also found out about a new season of "Doc Martin"! Don't know when we'll get it over here, but maybe PBS will pick it up. The wife and I saw "War Horse" Christmas Day and both really enjoyed it. Sort of a chick-flick with machine guns! "Tin Tin" next week. Cheers, Bowers

[narfstar]

I started watching Doc Martin and really enjoy it. My wife and I watched 3 movies over Christmas break. The most enjoyable was Mission Impossible with lots of improbable stuff but enough fun to make them overlookable. Sherlock Holmes was OK with a really good ending. Darkest Hour was good but nothing special and not worth three D.

[Captain Audio]

A couple of days ag Turner Classic Movies showed the Dr Who feature film "Daleks, Invasion of Earth 2150 A D".

I was pleased as punch, I've wanted to see this movies for quiet a while.

I DVR'ed it, but Charter Cable's new cable box does not allow recording movies on VHS anymore.

The earlier Dr Who feature film is available for viewing on YouTube.

Peter Cushing plays the Dr in both.

[profh0011]

Lately...

BANANAS
EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT SEX *  
*but were afraid to ask
SLEEPER
LOVE AND DEATH
MANHATTAN
STARDUST MEMORIES
A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S SEX COMEDY

[narfstar]

I have both the Peter Cushing Docs on VHS somewhere if they have not deteriortated

[profh0011]

"INVASION EARTH: 2150 A.D." (as it was listed in TV GUIDE way back when) was my introduction to DOCTOR WHO. After seeing both movies (the 1st one afterwards, probably why it's always been a disappointment to me), my next exposure was "THE SILURIANS" (in color, with, as it turns out, a lot of cuts made to allow for commercials). Took quite some time for me to figure out how the heck the movies and the TV series were related.

Many years later, I got to see "THE DALEK INVASION OF EARTH" when it turned up on PBS in the mid-80's. Awesome, devastating, overwhelmingly downbeat story-- the single most frightening "alien invasion" story in the show's entire history. But I prefer the movie version by a mile. Better pacing, more visually spectacular (love the movie spaceship and Robomen). Some might think it's too "fun" for a supposedly "serious" story, but I don't care. I'd rather watch it than WAR OF THE WORLDS anyday.

Apart from Peter Cushing, Bernard Cribbns is a lot of fun, and Roberta Tovey as Susan is just adorable. I've long thought if I ever had a daughter, I'd want her to be like Susan.

Oh yeah, and Phillip Madoc's cameo role is just terrific!  (What a bastard.)  

[paw broon]

Sherlock starts on BBC tomorrow and the very last series of Hustle starts next week.  As it's Hogmanay, the t.v. is poor tonight. But the saving grace could be, yet again, Jools Holland taking us into the New Year with his R'n'B Orchestra and piles of guests.  That, with champagne, coquilles st. jacques and home made shortbread should make for a satisfying start to the New Year.  All the best.

[GeoRW]

currently at the end of Season 1 Star Trek: Next Generation and in the middle of 7th Season of X-Files. From the movies in my watching queue are Silent Hill and The Thirteenth Floor.

[narfstar]

Thanks for joining in the convo GeoRW   I loved Next Gen but prefer to watch it occasionally as I catch it on TV rather than in heavy doses. I never liked X-Files except the movie.

[GeoRW]

In the past I watched NextGen occasionally in the TV as well, but I missed a lot of the parts. Now I started to watch it properly, with a bit of nostalgia :-) Same with X-Files.

[profh0011]

josemas wrote:
"How long did that take you?"

I just finished DEEP SPACE NINE today.  The whole thing (TNG / DS9) took just about 2 months.  WOW.  I always figured it would take me years to plow thru those, if I ever got the urge to dig 'em out. I have seen a lot of the DS9's on reruns, at a rate of 5 episodes a week, when someone was running tham at 4 AM. But this was the first time I've seen them without commercials.  Much better this way!

2 things about the finale continue to bug me.

One, the structure of the story involving the Pah Wraiths, almost seems tacked on, and works against the entire "big epic climax" they spent so long building to. Having TWO problems like that going on at the same time (the war, the Wraiths), and coming to a head at the SAME TIME, is bordering on ridiculous.

Two... after they spent so many YEARS before finally letting Odo and Kira get together, he announces "it's time" he rejoined the link. I can see his feeling the need to cure his people from the plague, AND, share his knowledge and experiences with them, so they can learn to trust "solids".  HELL, if he'd done this years earlier, there might never have been a war.  (Not that that stopped the female changeling he DID link with from continuing the war earlier.) But considering the way the female changeling changes her tune SO IMMEDIATELY after linking, WHY does Odo seem to think he'll NEVER be coming back??? WTF??? It just seems like a totally out-of-left-field violation of everything they built up in his characters for 7 whole years of the show.

Of course, you also have Miles leaving for Earth, AT THE SAME TIME. And Worf going to Kronos, AT THE SAME TIME.  And Nog, becoming Grand Nagus, AT THE SAME TIME.  It just seems forced, because they figured it was gonna be the last episode.



A few days back, I found myself thinking back over a lot of the major events in the show (sort of like I did after seeing the 1897 sequence on DARK SHADOWS), and I realized something I don't know if anyone ever made note of.  Gowron, who was absent for most of Season 7 (until he showed up, started acting STUPID, and got himself KILLED by Worf!!) was, in a way, VERY much responsible for the war happenning in the first place.  Gowron attacked Cardassia, thinking they'd been taken over by the shape-shifters... when, they HADN'T.  As a result of this, Worf objected, and Gowron took all titles and properties from Worf's family. As a result of Gowron occupying Cardassia, Gul Ducat negotiated with The Dominion to make Cardassia part of the Dominion, giving them a foothold in the Alpha Quadrant.  (And someone had the stupidity to say Ben Sisko was "the man who started the war"-- HUH?? WHEN? HOW?) It's funny that Gowron was unseen for so many episodes, and when he did finally turn up again, he got himself killed because of his arrogance and stupidity, going to his death STILL insisting "You-- will not-- have--this-- day..." * A**H***!!!

[profh0011]

The last few days...

DARLING LILI
ANIMAL HOUSE
1941

It's been quite a while since I dig out 1941, and I've forgotten how many times I've seen it. But tonight was the first time I connected in my head that a LOT of thie film's style and structure reminds me of IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD.

THE highlight remains the jitterbug contest, right in the middle of the film.