Track the Films You Watch (2009) - Page 26

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

I agree that time hasn't been overly friendly to THE HOWLING. I still enjoy the movie but it's dated very badly since I first started watching it as a child. On the other hand, the uncut version of THE HOWLING 2 is a pure, campy delight due to the over the top gore, which was missing on the VHS when I first saw it years ago. The film is still bad but the gore is great. I also agree that AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON is very good. I haven't seen the sequel since opening day at the theater but I wasn't too fond of it but I might revisit it at some point. I was glad that the sequel came because an art house theater played the original film at the midnight movie where I ended up seeing it three times after a few months. I somewhat enjoyed the first GINGER SNAPS film but didn't care for the other two. CURSED I thought was awful. I haven't watched BLOOD AND CHOCOLATE yet even though I heard it was a semi-remake of I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF. Nicholson's WOLF is another one I enjoy of the recent films. MOON OF THE WOLF is a TV Movie from the 70's that I liked as well.

THE WOLF MAN (1941) is still #1 to me though.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Ruth Orkin: Frames of Life (1997) Mary Engel

Nice. low-budget documentary short takes a look at the career of photographer Ruth Orkin. That name might not be too familiar to people, it wasn't to me, but this documentary does her justice in showing why those who do know her love her work so much. We get some really beautiful clips of her work, which includes photographs of the likes of Tracy, Brando and other Hollywood stars. We also get a brief intro to some of the autographs she collected as a child including one by Clark Gable. The documentary also briefly goes over her marriage with filmmaker Morris Engel who she also worked with on his picture LITTLE FUGITIVE. The movie runs a very short 18-minutes but it packs in some nice information and in the end turned out to be a fitting tribute. Julie Harris narrates.

Sunday Round-Up, The (1936) William Clemens

Effective and highly entertaining musical short from Warner benefits from the use of Technicolor as well as its nice cast. The film deals with a Pastor (Dick Foran) who can't get people into church because they're at the local bar where they can play cards and see various musical acts. The pastor decides to fight fire with fire by hiring a few music acts for his church. I wasn't sure what to expect with this thing but I've always enjoyed watching Foran and he's in fine form here as the tough as nails pastor with a great voice. Foran is a lot of fun in the film as is a young Jane Wyman and horror fans even get to see a young Glenn Strange who of course is best known for playing Frankenstein's monster in the last three Universal films of their famous series. It's also funny seeing him credited at Glen "Peewee" Strange. The music is very good, the performances fun and the Technicolor adds a lot to the film. This was certainly a nice little gem well worth checking out the next time it's on TCM.

Background Beat, The (1965) No Director Credtied

Semi-documentary talks about the 1965 film ONCE A THIEF as director Ralph Nelson sits down with composer Lalo Schifrin to talk about what would work best in the film. We see the two discussing the psychological impact that the film needs and the best way to get this out of the score. I haven't seen the film in question but it did look mildly interesting but as far as this short goes it was okay but more could have been done. I think the film works best as we get to see the director and composer discussing what should be done

Glimpses of California (1946) No Director Credited

Another entry in the long running MGM series TravelTalks with James A. FitzPatrick. This time out we take a look at California and learn why Spanish settlers wanted to come there after Columbus reached the country. Also on hand are various sites, which centered around the famous gold rush. We also see some wide ranging railways, flowers and other sites. This is pretty middle ground in regards to the series but it does manage to have some great eye candy, which is brought out even more by the nice print shown on Turner Classic Movies. The movie shows us some nice scenery and FitzPatrick's narration is always good.




Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964) Japanese version Ishiro Honda

Original title: Mosura tai Gojira

During a typhoon a large egg washes up on shore and it turns out to belong to Mothra. She wants it back but a greedy developer decides to keep it for his own financial gain. Soon the mean Godzilla wakes up and starts tearing up Japan so now the greedy people need the help of Mothra to destroy him. I've read several reviews calling this the best of the original series and while there are plenty of nice things, overall I couldn't help but walk away disappointed because all of the bad things in other films like this are also on display here. Perhaps I'll get booed for saying this but when I watch a movie called MOTHRA VS. GODZILLA, I want to see the two of them do battle. We get a great battle sequence between the two but this lasts less than ten minutes and that leaves us with another 79-minutes of talk, talk and more talk. For the life of me I can never figure out why we get a campy film yet the screenwriter takes it so serious to bog it down with one dumb situation after another. We have men fighting in rubber suits with some other bad special effects yet the tone of the movie is fit more for a Bergman film. The movie has a few nice action sequences but I must admit that I was bored during the final battle, which has Godzilla going up against two of Mothra's offspring. I've never been impressed with the matte work in these films and that holds true here and I also wasn't impressed with the two small women. The special effects behind them were quite silly as was another sequence where the Japanese heroes go to their island to try and ask for Mothra's help. In the end, this is a mildly entertaining film but it has way too many flaws to completely work. Akira Ifikube's brilliant music score is certainly the highlight of the film.

Godzilla vs. Hedora (1971) Yoshimitsu Banno

Original title: Gojira tai Hedora

Better known as GODZILLA VS. THE SMOG MONSTER, this entry in the Japanese series is considered by many to be one of the worst. I personally wouldn't call it the worst and I say this because the movie is so bad I couldn't help but laugh at it and have a good time. The people of Japan are polluting their land and soon all of this leads to the oozy Hedora showing up and spreading more pollution everywhere. Thankfully Godzilla isn't doing anything and shows up to help them destroy the creature. There's no denying that this is a very poorly made film and an embarrassing one because of its message that it keeps trying to pass off. As laughable as the screenplay is you can't help but some of this had to have been on purpose and this starts with the music score, which just doesn't fit the film at all. Another hilarious sequence deals with Hedora's ability to throw polluted mud pies at people and one of the funniest bits is when one hits Godzilla upside the head. Godzilla's reaction is priceless and had me laughing so hard tears were about to come out of the eyes. Even wilder scenes include strange animated sequences, wannabe hip Bond-like sequences and another strange sequence where Hedora flies over some people turning all of them into skeletons. The wildness doesn't stop there as there's constant puss flowing from the mean guy. The fight sequences with Godzilla aren't anything special but they did contain a fair amount of charm.

Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975) Ishiro Honda

Original title: Mekagojira no gyakushu

Sequel to GODZILLA VS. MECHAGODZILLA has aliens picking up the broken pieces of Mechagodzilla so that they can rebuild him. They plan to use him to destroy the Earth but thankfully Godzilla comes to have some fun. After the opening, which uses stock footage from the previous film, there's very little going on in this movie until the wonderful final twenty-minutes. The beginning hour is just downright horrid and had me fighting back sleep because of how dreadful it got. Once again we have three different monsters in the film yet the screenwriter just wants to spend time with some stupid scientist and police officers. This might work is we actually had an interesting story for them to work with but that's not the case. Instead we have some of the dumbest aliens on this side of an Ed Wood film and, as was the case in PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, the filmmakers take a cheap way out and have the aliens looking like humans only here they're wearing silly silver outfits. Once Mechogodzilla and Titanosaurus start to tear through Japan is when the film becomes fun and ends up being some of the best stuff from the series. The battle sequences are all very good as Godzilla must battle both bad guys as all sorts of things go flying through the air. The buildings crashing down still look incredibly fake but it's still fun. I really wish more would have been done in the middle so I could enjoy this film more but as it stands, just watch the final twenty-minutes and leave the rest alone.

Godzilla vs. Monster Zero (1965) Ishiro Honda

Original title: Kaiju daisenso

A couple astronauts (one played by Nick Adams) travel to Planet X where they are shocked to find an alien race asking for their help. Apparently King Ghidorah is holding them hostage so they ask for the help of Godzilla and Rodan. The astronauts agree to help since the aliens promise to tell them the cure for cancer but sure enough there's a twist, which has all three monsters threatening to destroy Earth. This is a pretty fun film from start to finish, although I'd argue it runs about ten minutes too long. With some editing down of the talking scenes this here would have played much better but as it is the movie remains one of the better ones I've watched from the series. As with many others, the budget is obvious very, very low and this is clear in how many things look incredibly fake but this has a certain charm here because it all looks rather unique. The outer space sequences have a surreal nature to them and the aliens are somewhat enjoyable even though they look just like any other human except for the weird clothes. Adams is fun to watch in the film as is the supporting cast, which is something I haven't said too often while viewing these movies. The final battle sequences are a lot of fun with Godzilla getting to do some boxing and Rodan doing his thing. AKA: INVASION OF THE ASTRO MONSTER



Let the Good Times Roll (1973) Robert Abel, Sidney Levin

Concert/documentary covering a Rock 'n Roll Revival, which toured the country and featured legendary acts like Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Bill Haley and the Comets, Chubby Checker, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, The Five Satins and many other bands who probably hadn't been seen since the 1950's. I'm not sure if this tour or the film was done due to the success of AMERICAN GRAFFITI but they could have called this film a live version of the soundtrack to that film. The movie will certainly have your foot a shakin' throughout the running time as we get one classic song after another. If it was a hit in the 1950's then more than likely its being played here. There's just so much wonderful energy in each and every performance that you can't help but love this thing. The film was shot 2.20:1 so there's a lot of wide shots to perfectly capture all the performances. Much like WOODSTOCK, this film uses split screens to capture a lot of the action and this works out nicely. We also get some archival clips from the 1950's with various people preaching about how rock music is evil. It's always fun seeing these clips just to see how foolish those people still look. Also thrown in are clips from various films from that era including THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL, THE WILD ONE and I WAS A TEENAGE WEREWOLF. Fans of the classic rock 'n roll will certainly be doing themselves a favor by watching this great gem.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

I thought this would get a post out of ya.


Well, I'm not sure anyone outside of die-hards enjoy these movies. They are all incredibly poorly made and that includes the original. When a film deals with special effects and all of those effects are so incredibly fake and I'm meaning faker than something we'd see in an Ed Wood movie, there are going to be problems. I'm sure fans can get this out of their head but when a plastic tank starts shooting off fire crackers, all seriousness goes out the window for me.


I don't really think you believe this because you use to throw a fit when people would question why you keep enjoying certain films. As bad as Godilla films are they're still quite better than countless others I watch. Hell, Franco and Lommell included. These Superman cartoon, so far, have been very disappointing but that's not to say they won't get better.


Not 90 minutes of 90 minutes but perhaps an hour or 45 minutes of monsters. Perhaps interesting characters. Not bad acting. Overdramatic stories that I'm sure have a heartful meaning in Japan but not here.

I watched THE H-MAN last night, another Toho film and once again we have a monster movie where the brilliant monster has very little to do in the film. This worked in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN but not in Japan cinema.


At least the first film had a good director behind the wheel. THE SMOG MONSTER was poor filmmaking from the start. Wasn't this the last of the series? I'm getting mixed reports on that in my (low) research on the subject. It was funny but my girlfriend walked in while I was watching SMOG and she couldn't believe how fake everything was. She started laughing and I'm sure many people feel this way.


It was my 21st Franco film that turned me into a fan.

Now, what are you feelings on the recent Godzilla films? I've got them coming and from what I've read these are movies that CRITICS and FANS both enjoyed more than the original kid movies.


I hope so too but it's doubtful. They used film clips from LionsGate, Fox, Warner and MGM so Columbia might have a problem getting it released. TCM showed it 2.20:1 one so get that recorder out for the next showing.


Depends on what you see. PAUL BLART: MALL COP isn't exactly THE WRESTLER.


$150 million of third place (or are they second now?).

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

[quote=Joe Karlosi]



We probably won't agree on the subject but I do think stuff like THEM or even the Universal sci-fi films were better. I'd even take the original KING KONG as having the better effects but my original comments were meant in regards to critics, not necessarily fans or even people like me.


I'd agree with the fun part to a point. For me it's fun seeing the monsters but the plots, to me, are just dull and take away from the entire film being fun, which would be the reason I couldn't revisit these each and every year like some of the "bad" American movies I rewatch.


To be fair, two-star ratings aren't exactly BOMB ratings.


A blank screen over a nude Romay???


You caught me in a goof, as I did mean TERROR as being the last until 1985. I do have some of them on my queue but some are showing a long wait so I'm not sure I'll get them on. I got GODZILLA RAIDS AGAIN sitting here but the rest are going to have to come from Blockbuster.


Hell, you know I'm asshole enough not to worry about what they think. Childhood memories can never be touched so I wouldn't want to rain on them unless they pushed me to do so. Of course, one of them might be the one who calls me a bastard each time I post a Godzilla review at IMDB.


I apologize because I wasn't clear in my original post. It seems critics LOVE these recent films and "younger" fans support them for being more "real". I certainly didn't expect those at CHFB to enjoy them as much. It seems critics in the major cities praised the newer Godzilla films while the original still took some beatings when it was re-released. Of course these are critic proof movies so....


I'd agree in regards to Hollywood blockbusters. Not to mention those who I feel spend the most time going to movies.


I fight with my father all the time over the Yankees. It looks like both NY teams would learn to build a team and not a money machine. I was happy to see the Braves won tonight but it really doesn't matter as they've fallen too far back.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Wish I had listened to them in regards to that American GODZILLA in the 90s.


Oh, I've said that same line countless times over the years. I do prefer the Euro sexuality though.


I'd never consider it a waste of time since I've yet to see one that made me want to stop watching them. I'm pretty sure I've seen the rest of the ones you mentioned back when I was a kid. I remember buying the Goodtimes versions of them back when Suncoast was open and had that budget section.



I was going by the IMDB and their "release date". Appears some of them played a few cities like San Fran and Chicago but nothing like a wide tour. GODZILLA: FINAL WARS came today, which had me smile until I saw it ran 125-minutes, which got me a little worried.


I don't think real teams blow leads like the Yanks did to the Red Sox (up 3-0) or the way the Mets lost it the past few years. I don't blame them for spending cash since, like you said, they still haven't won anything. Don't think they will this year either.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

Natalee Holloway (2009) Mikael Salomon

Lifetime Movie Network produced TV movie tells the story of Beth Twitty (Tracy Pollan) who headed to Aruba after her 18-year-old daughter Natalee went there for a trip and turned up missing. The prime suspect was a local named Joran Van Der Sloot but his changing stories and possible cover ups by the police leaves this case unsolved. I admit to being one of those who heard about this case early on and followed most of it so I really didn't learn anything new by this movie. If you're familiar with the case then this movie isn't going to teach you anything and if you haven't heard of the case then I doubt the movie is going to tell you enough to get a full view of the case. There were many different stories told by the suspects and a couple of them are looked at here but in the end the movie just isn't strong enough to work. I found Pollan to go over the top way too many times and at points in the film she'd become quite annoying. The big prayer sequence was so over acted that I wanted to look away. Some could call this TV acting, which to me is unfair to say but I wasn't impressed. The direction is decent but the screenplay could have used some work. The film tries to tell a big message of being careful when you're overseas but I think it overlooks the biggest flaw in the real story and that's 18-year-old girls shouldn't be given the keys to run wild in a foreign place and getting drunk. The drinking issue is the real message that should have been given off because sadly, this isn't the first girl to get drunk and have something bad happen to her by the hands of a guy.

H-Man, The (1958) Ishiro Honda

Original title: Bijo to Ekitainingen

Toho film has some excellent special effects but a story that made me want to punch the television. A man gets hit by a car but when the driver gets out to check on him he discovers that the man is gone and only his clothes remain. More and more stories of people being killed only to have their clothes remaining start piling up and soon it's learned that a blob-like substance is doing the killings. This Japanese film, from the team who brought us GODZILLA, is pretty much another version of THE BLOB and while there are some great moments we also get sucked into some pretty bad ones. I've often complained that the Godzilla films were weak because they didn't center their attention on the monsters and that holds true here as well because we get a subplot of gangsters, which ends up taking up nearly an hour of the 79-minute running time. The monster really doesn't take center stage till nearly the 50-minute mark, which is just crazy because of how good it is. There's an early sequence on a ship that is highly effective but moments like these are few and far between as we get too much dialogue with a boring subplot. The special effects for the blob creature are quite good and better than what we saw in the earlier American classic. I watched the P&S, American dubbed version, which was recently on Turner Classic Movies but will revisit the film when Columbia releases it later in the year. Rumored to include the Japanese version I will certainly give it a second take in its original language.

Are You in the House Alone? (1978) Walter Grauman

Made for TV drama is actually disguised as a horror movie. The film starts off as teenager Gail (Kathleen Beller) is being taken to the hospital after being beaten and raped. We then flashback and see the events leading up to the rape, which include her dating a new guy, being made fun of by her old boyfriend and having several other men set themselves up as red herrings. The first hour builds itself up as a horror movie in the same vein as BLACK CHRISTMAS but things take a turn in the final act when the rape happens and I must admit that the movie got rather disgusting to me. This was made for TV so everything is very tame but at the same time I thought the rape stuff was very poorly handled and in the end it come off more distasteful than anything else. To make matters worse is the fact that the build up really isn't anything special because it's obvious from the first five minutes who the attacker is going to be. I caught onto the bad guy right from the start so each additional red herring they threw at me had little effect. The screenplay is full of those "made for TV" holes but that's to be expected. Beller does a pretty good job in her role, although she does go over the top from time to time. Scott Colomby stole the film for me with his very strong and believable performance. Dennis Quaid has a nice supporting part and Ellen Travolta (John's sister) also has a small role. This TV movie seems to have a decent cult following but there really wasn't enough here to keep me interested.

Without Lying Down: Frances Marion and the Power of Women in Hollywood (2000) Bridget Terry

Turner Classic Movies documentary about screenwriter Frances Marion who was the highest paid writer in Hollywood for nearly three-decades. She got her big break by being the exclusive writer for Mary Pickford and after that she's go onto win two Oscars as well as write for nearly every major star working during that time. Her credits include THE BIG HOUSE, THE CHAMP, DINNER AT EIGHT, ANNA CHRISTIE and the silent masterpiece THE WIND. This documentary, narrated by Uma Thurman and Kathy Bates, does a great job at painting Hollywood during the silent era and into the early talkies. It was interesting learning how mostly women were working as writers and how much freedom they had as workers compared to how women were being treated throughout the rest of the country. I wasn't too familiar with Marion's personal life but hearing about the death of her actor husband was an interesting listen as were stories of her friendship with Pickford. The most fascinating part was how she would write screenplays for people she knew who needed the work. Fans of silent films will certainly want to watch this documentary, which gets shown on TCM once or twice a year.

Captain Thunder (1930) Alan Crosland

Early talkie has Victor Varconi playing El Captain Thunder, a Mexican bandit who causes as much trouble as he can but he'll always keep his word. The bandit goes from one form of trouble to the next until he meets and falls for a lady (Fay Wray). I had heard some incredibly bad things about this film but it didn't turn out as bad as I had feared, although this is still one of lesser films I've seen from this era. Director Crosland is best known for THE JAZZ SINGER and other films from that era including DON JUAN and OLD SAN FRANCISCO and I must admit that I've never been a big fan of his work. That trend continues here but to be fair I'm not sure how much blame should go towards him and how much on the screenplay. Even as I write this I can't be certain to what this film was even trying to do. I'm going to guess it was meant as a low-budget version of THE CISCO KID but I'm still not sure if the title character was suppose to be a good or bad guy. Either way he is 100% annoying and it doesn't help that the first time we see him he's pretty much trying to get laughs by harassing women. Wray, playing a Mexican woman, doesn't earn many acting stripes but she did have KING KONG coming in a few years. She certainly looks great, which at least gives the viewer something to do in the film.

Pursuit (1935) Edwin L. Marin

A pilot (Chester Morris) is asked by a woman (Sally Eilers) to take a small child (Scotty Beckett) across the border into Mexico so that his mother doesn't lose him in a custody battle with his evil aunt. The pilot agrees to do it for the money but soon he begins to grow fond of both the child and woman. This was a fairly decent "B" picture that features a nice cast doing fine work but the film would eventually run out of steam before it could really pack any sort of punch. Being a major fan of Morris added some entertainment as he is a constant joy to watch. The screenplay offers him very little but he manages to have some nice comic touches and his chemistry with Eilers is right on the mark. Former Our Gang star Beckett certainly delivers a lot of charm and cuteness in his role as the kid and it's rather shocking to see the young kid here who would grow up to have a very destructive lifestyle. After seeing him here it's still rather shocking to see how his life would end. The film has a lot going on in the first thirty-minutes and this is where the film is at its most charming. Everything possible happens and the director keeps everything moving at a fast pace but things come crashing down when Henry Travers character enters the film. After this things slow down and eventually crash at the end. The most shocking thing is the ending where we see the three stars in blackface.



Private Screenings: Ann Miller (1997)

Ann Miller is the quest this time out in Robert Osborne's ongoing series, which takes stars from the past and interviews them in today's time. Miller opens up about several of her classics including STAGE DOOR, YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU, ROOM SERVICE, TOO MANY GIRLS, EASTER PARADE, ON THE TOWN and KISS ME KATE. She also tells some pretty nice and at times strange stories about some of her co-workers including which Marx brother she was scared of. We also hear about her relationship with Lucille Ball and how she introduced Ball to her future husband. Miller also tells a strange story of how Louis B. Mayer became obsessed with her and then tried to kill himself after she refused to marry him. Another stranger story is Miller saying when she was 9-months pregnant, her husband beat her and threw her down a flight a steps. She would eventually have to give birth with a broken back. With the serious stuff aside, there's a lot of wonderful talk here about the MGM Factory and various other aspects of her career, which makes this episode a lot of fun.

Private Screenings: Leslie Caron (1999) Tony Barbon

Leslie Caron sits down with Tuner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne as they discuss her career in Hollywood, which she got started with the help of Gene Kelly. Her first film, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, made a huge impact on her career and this led to other films like LILI, GIGI, THE STORY OF THREE LOVES and IS PARIS BURNING?. All of these films are discussed here with Caron who interviews quite well as she has an answer for everything that's asked. Osborne, as usual, does a great job at keeping the conversation going with his always interesting questions. I must admit that I haven't seen too many of Caron's films but hopefully that will change in the near future. This interview certainly does a good job at highlighting her career and making one want to see the movies. She also discusses Kelly, Francois Truffaut and Cary Grant.




Governor C.C. Young Hails Greater Talkie Season (1930) No Director Credited

Three minute short film was not only an early talkie but an early color picture as well. Actor Ronald Colman introduces California Governor Clement C. Young who stands up and speaks to the camera. The Governor tries to tell people that Hollywood can police itself to keep cinema clean and that they didn't need a Production Code. Of course, we know what would happen as Hollywood would avoid the "rules" laid down until 1934 when a P.C. was put in place. This really doesn't work too well as a short or as entertainment but it does remain interesting as a part of history. I couldn't help but wonder how much Hollywood had to pay this guy to get him in their pocket. This film certainly isn't a great piece of art but the history behind it makes it worth viewing by film buffs.

Isham Jones & His Orchestra (1934) Roy Mack

Warner short has (as the title says) Isham Jones showing off his stuff with a couple musical numbers, which are pretty good, although he had much better work out there. "You're Just a Dream Come True" and "Why Can't This Go on Forever" are the two tracks and they make for a good short but at the same time you can't help but wish "It Had to Be You" or "I'll See You In My Dreams". The 9-minute short goes by very fast and the songs are quite catchy and the dancing nice. There's certainly nothing ground breaking here but if you're a fan of musicals then you'll want to check this out.

Paree, Paree (1934) Roy Mack

Bob Hope plays a millionaire American touring Paris and falling in love with a woman (Dorothy Stone) who doesn't know he's rich. The man bets his friends that he can make her fall in love with him without telling her how much money he's worth. This musical-short is actually a remake of 50 MILLION FRENCHMEN, the 1931 Cole Porter film. I was pleasantly surprised at how charming this film was because of its two leads who turn in nice work and we've also got some very good musical numbers. We get five different musical numbers and they are all quite good and the dance sequences are handled very well by director Mack who was an old pro at this type of short. Stone really steals the film with her charm, which makes it easy to see why someone would fall for her. I think Hope's comic timing was still a little weak but he too is quite charming in the film.

Know Your Money (1940) Joseph M. Newman

Part of MGM's "Crime Does Not Pay" series, this short takes a look at how the Secret Service makes sure counterfeit money doesn't end up switching hands in America. The film centers on a small group of people passing around fake ten-dollar bills and how the Secret Service eventually catches them. This entry in the series takes great pride in telling us we're actually seeing how counterfeit money is made and passed around. We get a title sequence at the start of the film letting us know what we're watching is real and that adds some fun to the movie. I'm a big fan of this series and this here is yet another worthy entry as it contains some good thrills as well as telling a good story. The performances are all quite good, the direction tight and in the end this is well worth viewing if you're a fan of crime dramas.

Hong Kong: The Hub of the Orient (1937) No Director Credited

James A. FitzPatrick's TravelTalks series through MGM continues in this trip to Hong Kong where we learn about their people, customs and their land. The most entertaining aspect of this film is its look at the local fishing communities, which contain some pretty strange "rules" about the women and some neat looks at the things they come up with by using the fish. We see many small shops where the people of Hong Kong try making money and we also learn about how other counties are trying to make a mark there. Whereas a lot of Hong Kong is still old fashioned, new customs are trying to work in to where people can make good for themselves. As is the usual case, the narration is top-notch and we get some beautiful places to look out in all their Technicolor glory.

MGM Jubilee Overture (1954) No Director Credited

Johnny Green leads the MGM Orchestra in this short, which was showing off the studios 30th Anniversary by playing some of the music from their most famous films. We get the title track from SINGIN' IN THE WIND plus the songs "I've Got You Under My Skin", "The Last Time I Saw Paris", "Over the Rainbow" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside" among others. If you're a fan of any of these songs then you'll certainly want to check out this 9-minute short as the orchestra is very tight and Green does a great job bringing this old classics to life. The cinemascope doesn't hurt things either as we get a grand view of the band at work.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

My comment was towards the Yanks but..........

http://letsgomets.vox.com/library/po...s-atlanta.html



Madman (1982) Joe Giannone

Minor slasher has a group of kids and their councilors in the woods telling scary stories when one is told about Madman Marz, a deranged farmer who killed his wife and kids with an axe. Before the night is over Marz is called out of his cabin to start chopping people up one by one. This film has gathered a small cult following over the past few years and it's easy to see why because there is some good stuff here but overall the movie just doesn't work well enough to put it along side such classics like FRIDAY THE 13TH and THE BURNING. What does work is a very good killer and it's somewhat of a shame that he was never brought back for any sequels. The visual look of him is quite good and it perfectly captures the mood of the story being told at the start of the movie. Another good segment is the start of the film when his backstory is being told. This small sequence is qutie good and actually manges to build some nice atmosphere. We get some interesting kills as well but the biggest problem for me is the pacing of the film, which is all over the place. There never seems to be any real pace built as everything just seems to be falling over itself and never really flowing together. This eventually makes the film seem a lot longer than it actually is and there are some very (unintentional) funny scene like one loving making sequence in a hot tub that just falls flat on its face. Seeing Gaylen Ross, from DAWN OF THE DEAD, is always fun but neither her nor the rest of the cast adds too much to the film. One more thing that does work is the fact that the filmmakers don't play by any rules, which leads to characters being killed off and those you'd expect to survive end up being slaughtered early on. It terms of a slasher this movie isn't too bad but there's still a lot of work that needed to be done with it in order for it to become a classic.

Old New Mexico (1940) No Director Credited

Another entry in James A. FitzPatrick's TravelTalks series, this one taking a trip to New Mexico where we start off in Santa Fe, the oldest capital in the U.S.. We learn how Indians were pretty much the founders of the land and see various other sites including famous churches, various ruins and prehistoric cities. As is to be expected, we get a lot of nice visuals in this episode, which once again features terrific sites via the Technicolor. This episode also features a lot of time talking about how the state is still populated by Indians (7% according to FitzPatrick) and how they are now adapting to today's times. We also get some interesting stories about their past and how they helped shape the state. Considering how many Westerns were showing Indians, all of this talk comes off rather refreshing.

Re: Track the Films You Watch (2009)

My job allows for quite a bit of reading time so I might check the book out. I really wasn't aware of her connection to Pickford, which is something I'd like to hear more about.