Testy Area 51 (5 Viewers)

[Steve Christou]

[skids into frame] Well I had my testy break... I'm back! *crickets sneezing*
Not sure I can recommend The Black Dahlia sadly, LA Confidential this isn't.
Based on the novel by James Ellroy who also wrote Confidental, what a convoluted mess De Palma's film is. The film deals with the 1947 "unsolved" murder of Elizabeth Short, her mutilated body was found in Los Angeles, cut in half at the waist.
Unsolved, but not in the film (or novel) which seems to have all the answers in a ludicrous finale which has to be seen to be believed. What has happened to this once great director? De Palma's trademark stylistic flourishes seem almost old fashioned and cringeworthy now. Josh Hartnett? Was Paul Walker unavailable? Keanu Reeves too expensive? Where are todays great actors? Where are todays great 'young' actors?
One film I can happily recommend is Thank You For Smoking, starring Aaron Eckhart (who was also in The Black Dahlia), he plays Nick Naylor who's job is to reassure the public that smoking isn't hazardous to their health, and try to persuade Hollywood bosses to get it's biggest stars to smoke on film and make lighting up look 'cool' again. A hugely entertaining black comedy which doesn't outstay it's welcome at just 90mins. Eckhart is superb as our smooth talking, quick thinking, morally dubious 'hero', who tells his son "if you argue correctly, you're never wrong."

 

[Steve Christou]

Hmmm interesting, a lot of people still pop in here for a look even if posting activity is down considerably from past years. In the 1 hour 10mins since that last post this thread went up another 128 views!
Not bad for this whale of a thread.

 

[ChristopherDAC]

Major Premise : Every mad scientist has a monster.
Minor Premise : ChristopherDAC is a mad scientist.
Conclusion (modus ponens) : ChristopherDAC has a monster.
Major Premise : Any monster, if functional, will terrorise the countryside.
Minor Premise : ChristopherDAC has a monster.
Conclusion (modus ponens) : ChristopherDAC's monster, if functional, will terrorise the countryside.
Major Premise : The countryside is not being terrorised.
Minor Premise : ChristopherDAC's monster, if functional, will terrorise the countryside.
Conclusion (modus tollens) : ChristopherDAC's monster is not functional.
Major Premise : Any mad scientist, if his monster is not functional, will try to repair it.
Minor Premise : ChristopherDAC is a mad scientist.
Conclusion (modus ponens) : ChristopherDAC, if his monster is not functional, will try to repair it.
Major Premise : ChristopherDAC, if his monster is not functional, will try to repair it.
Minor Premise : ChristopherDAC's monster is not functional.
Conclusion (modus ponens) : ChristopherDAC will try to repair his monster.
Not hard to follow at all, is it?

 

[Cees Alons]

Major Premise : ChristopherDAC (the proven mad scientist) will try to repair his monster.
Minor Premise : ChristopherDAC's monster is still not functional.
Conclusion (modus tollens) : ChristopherDAC, is a bad mad scientist.

Cees

 

[RickER]

It is 6AM, been up since 5 AM. I am OFF today, and here i sit wondering if DAC needs Monster cable for his monster?
I guess since i am up, i might as well fog up the glass doors at Best Buy at 10 AM. Gotta get Frankenstein: The True Story.
Have we had 1 movie this year that was better than we heard. I have not gotten good word of mouth for 75% of the movies i wanted to see. I do hear Cranked is not bad. I want to see it.

 

[Steve Christou]

I saw 'Crank' Rick, crazily over-the-top actioner, enjoyable but no classic. Here's the plotline from IMDB -
A hit man (Jason Statham) learns that a poison injected into his body will kill him if his heart rate drops too much. Now he must exact his revenge on the people who injected him before he takes his last breath. -
How nutty is that? So the guy is always running or fighting all thru the film, he even finds the time to shag a young lady in front of shocked pedestrians, just to keep his heart beating fast and stay alive. Who thinks up these things.

 

[Joe Fisher]

Good morning all.
Bit of a brain knocker here. I just picked up The Desert Fox with James Mason. Heres my question. At the end of the movie there is some narration that sounds like Michael Rennie from The Day the Earth Stood Still.
There are no credits for him in the movie and IMDB lists nothing. But Im almost sure its him. Either that or I'm going bananas here.
Can someone please confim this for me.
Later.

 

[Ruz-El]

Hmmm interesting, a lot of people still pop in here for a look even if posting activity is down considerably from past years. In the 1 hour 10mins since that last post this thread went up another 128 views!

That's because they see my name as the last poster. I'm famous.
Joe, in answer to your question:

 

[Steve Christou]

That's because they see my name as the last poster. I'm famous.

Well thanks to that video of you dancing, singing and making hot dogs you may have become a cult figure among testyphiles Russell, good that eh "testyphiles", for all we know frame captures of you are stuck on the walls of quite a few 'testy nuts' out there Russellmania could have taken off and you'd never know about it Russ, sad innit?
Joe, that was definitely Michael 'Klaatu' Rennie's voice narrating and dubbing the voice of that English major whatever. I watched The Desert Fox and The Desert Rats recently, unmistakeable.
Edit - And the reviewer at DVDSavant seems to agree - http://www.dvdtalk.com/dvdsavant/s829fox.html
Damn that dvd cover looks a lot better than the region 2 version!

 

[Ruz-El]

recently, unmistakeable.

I've never seen these, are they worth it? James Mason chasing the Nazis across africa sounds like a pretty good entertainment.

 

[Joe Fisher]

Thanks for the confirmation Steve.
Uh Russell........James Mason is a Nazi in The Desert Fox. He plays German commander Irwin Rommel.
Oh by the way Russell. Have you ever seen what happens to 3 Oscar Mayer hotdogs in a microwave after 2 minutes. Pretty ugly if I say so.
Gotta go mails here. OOOOO a package. Lets see whats inside. (Sounds of cardboard being torn apart.)
And the newest addition to the collection is.............

 

[Zen Butler]

When my bandages are removed; I will tell you the story of how my GF just about killed us and all living in our building.

 

[Steve Christou]

Zen? What did she do? Set fire to the building? We gots to know!
Mason plays a 'good' Nazi in The Desert Fox, which deals with Rommel's alleged involvement in an attempted assassination of Der Fuhrer! [salutes]
Joe, I bought all the Corman Poe's a few years ago, region 1, great value for money and in their correct ratio, and first time I'd ever seen them wide [wipes tear].
Here's what I'm watching tonight -

I don't think I've seen it before, made in 1957, giant mutated grasshoppers, that's right grasshoppers, attack Chicago. The army is called in to 'knock em down', must have appeared on Mystery Science Theater surely!

 

[RickER]

I have the MST3K of Beginning of the End. That was back when Rhino gave you the movie as well on the same disc. What a fun movie. Now how about a disc of the Deadly Mantis.
Speaking of James Mason. I love how this always works out for me, to speak of.
Right, James Mason. I am watching Frankenstein: The True Story right now, and of course he is in it. I have not seen this thing in 30 years. Still a lot of fun, and back when TV movies could be good, and fun! How can you go wrong with anything that has Tom Baker in it too!
Its a good thing you will be OK Zen. Is a new G/F in order? If mine tried to kill me id be worth about $200,000 to her...avenge me!
Oh, and have fun!

 

[Haggai]

Whoa, I hope everything's OK with you guys, Zen. What flashed before my eyes is that you might be dating Left Eye, but then I remembered that she's dead.

 

[ChristopherDAC]

Do you know how hard it is to get parts for an obsolete Monster? I'm just lucky it isn't the Brazilian PAL-M variety.

 

[Ruz-El]

.

Sounds even better, I HAVE TO HEAR JAMES MASON DO A GERMAN ACCENT!
Zen blowed up?? This is terrible.

 

[Zen Butler]

Well. we came home after one of my shows. All the drunks (about a pack of 20) went to the flat across the way and 5 of us smokers went over to mine to kind of unwind. Well, the girfriend gets the munchies and she proceeds to preheat my oven. It's a 1920-30's stove it must be lit everytime.....more smokin' ...meh 40 minutes pass and she goes "will you go light the stove so I can make muffins." So, I light an insence stick....turn the knob to the broil/light part of the dial(she had only put it to like 150-200 so I didn't notice the position of the dial) and all I saw was a blue light; the kitchen went bloom! and lit up the entire kitchen in this very neon blue flash. My rings were starting to singe to my fingers but my absent-minded girlfriend got them off. All the hair on my hands are gone.....and there is a distinct smell of human flesh. So, off to the ER.......standard and after an hour wait; I'm getting incredible munchies.......Our friend that Nascar'ed me to the ER had went home, baked chocolate chip cookies and snuck the plate of them into the ER which just about made the night all worth it. Funniest line of the night?

ER Nurse- "MR. Butler do you smoke?"

Zen- "Only about a 1/2 a pack"

ER Nurse- "No.........Cannabis....illegals?"

Zen-+giggling with a melted hand+ "You can smell it huh?"

Moral-buy premade munchies

 

[Holadem]

Sorry bro, but that was an awesome story.

Do get well. Apparently you can type, so I trust your hands are relatively fine.

But man, that was hilarious!

--

H

 

[Cees Alons]

Oh no. Those half-stoned, aging flower power junkies not only endanger themselves, but other people too.
I wish they got their senses together, just a bit, and learn to show some responsibility.

Great you're still with us Zen, and mainly intact.

Cees