THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO (2009)

  In the 2010's(when this was released in America) this seemed to be a pretty big deal, it was based on a series of books and garnered a big fancy Hollywood remake in 2011, but since then it seems to have dropped off of everyone's radar and I never see it referenced at all. That's kind of a shame since this is a really well-done movie that mixes drama, thriller, horror and action. There's Nazis, rape, serial killing and our main character(Noomi Rapace) is a brooding goth/punk chick. The one downside is that this film, and each of the subsequent sequels, are over 2 hours long! They do move quickly enough that it's not a drag but it certainly makes me never want to rewatch any of these very often. 

BEN (1972)

  I haven't seen the original WILLARD since I was a little kid back when it used to play on TV and I'd never seen this sequel so I figured it was about time(It also helped that the local weirdo movie theater was having a showing). It definitely falls into that goofy animals-run-amok subgenre that was so popular in the 70s. We get a little boy character that veers from being annoying to sympathetic depending on your tolerance level, lots of silly-looking rat attacks, singing marionettes, a big final battle that takes forever and let's not forget the Academy Award-nominated best song( a love song about a boy and his best friend who's a murderous rat) sung by Michael Jackson.  Worth a look but I recall WILLARD being a bit more classy. 

 

                                                               The #1 hit!:

 

                                                                Italian poster:

RAZORBACK (1984)

  This giant-pig-on-the-loose-in-Australia epic is way more stylish than it has any right to be. This is obviously due to it's director Russell(HIGHLANDER) Mulcahy who started off being a music video director before embarking on his feature film journey. I've seen this compared to that wild Australian classic WAKE IN FRIGHT and while this might have some of the same energy as that it is clearly something made with a very 80s sensibility(especially with Duran Duran on the soundtrack). Check it out for something that's elevated above the average trashy JAWS-inspired animals-run-amok dreck. 

THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS (1974)

 Jack Hill-directed sexploitation classic featuring cult favs Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith from MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH and Colleen Camp of DEATH GAME fame. Our main cheerleader(Jo Johnston who is really good in this and would sadly go on to do no other acting roles) is actually an undercover journalist writing about the oppressive world of cheerleading. The main theme of this film is that you can't always judge people by their outward appearance. The mood swings wildly from serious social commentary to slapstick comedy and while not the best Hill flick(SWITCHBLADE SISTERS from the following year might be my choice for that honor) is still worth a look for some vintage drive-in thrills. 

Rereleased at some point as LOCKER ROOM GIRLS. 

Released in the U.K. and the U.S. on video as H.O.T.S. II which is kinda weird since the first H.O.T.S. wasn't made until 1979!:

NAUGHTY CHEERLEADERS (1985)

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SPECIAL AGENT L.K.: OPERATION KING MIDAS (1967)

  Eurocult director Jess Franco goes the comedy route this time. Not just a comedic take on James Bind but a simulation of a comic book with captions and word balloons that pop up from time to time. There were quite a few of these silly Bond cash-ins made in this era and I'm not a huge fan of any of them but this was mildly amusing and something outside of the usual Franco sleaze milieu. 

 More commonly known as LUCKY THE INSCRUTABLE. 

DAY OF THE ANIMALS (1977)

   This is that movie where Leslie Nielsen takes off his shirt and fights with an angry grizzly bear. It's not done for laughs though since this was years before Nielsen became known for being a funny man. In fact in this he's about the biggest douchebag you could imagine!

  Directed by William Girdler, who just one year earlier had given us the similarly-themed nature-run-amuck epic GRIZZLY, this one throws dogs, snakes, birds, wolves, mountain lions and few other creatures into the mix of revenge-seeking animals. There's also a pretty dumb ecological message about the ozone layer thrown in to explain everything that's going on. Good goofy 70s fun that would make a great double feature with FROGS. 

Re-released as SOMETHING IS OUT THERE to trick people:

    Also released on VHS under this title(there are sadly no crazy monkeys in this movie):

THREE LITTLE PIGSKINS (1934)

  Before watching this 3 Stooges short I had no idea that Lucille Ball had ever appeared with Moe, Larry & Curly. I also had no idea Roger Moore, who shows up briefly as a henchman, did! Besides these cameos this one isn't all that exceptional. The Stooges get mistaken for football heroes and end up playing ball very badly and that's about it.