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A mad journey into the mind of the depraved!

A mad journey into the mind of the depraved!
Recommended for devolved primates only!

Monday, April 23, 2018

WONDER WOMEN (1973)



 The plot of this movie seems like something some knucklehead would have made up to make one of those modern day throwback "grindhouse"-type flicks but strangely enough this was actually made back in '73. It deals with mad-scientist/gang boss lady  Dr. Tsu(Nancy Kwan) who has a whole island of female kung-fu killers that she sends out to kidnap the world's top athletes so she can cut them up and create a sort-of super-jock/Frankenstein creation. Also Sid Haig(back when he had an almost full head of hair) acts as her sidekick/money-man. There's lots of groovy 70s fashion on display, gargantuan afros, kung-fu and gun-fu fighting, a ridiculously long chase scene and nekkid supervillainesses. Our hero, Ross Hagen, comes of as a bit dull to me but overall I still find this one more entertaining than any of the big James Bond flicks from this era that it seems to be emulating/spoofing? Just make sure to skip over the Filipino cock-fighting scene if you're a big rooster lover.




                                                       That's one clunky tagline!!:




Thursday, April 12, 2018

A MINUTE TO PRAY, A SECOND TO DIE (1968)


 As far as spaghetti-westerns go this one doesn't really stand out much. The main character here(Alex Cord) has to deal with developing a shaky gun hand and generally doesn't come off as being all that exciting. There's a bunch of political corruption, vigilante gang justice, a corrupt marshall(Arthur Kennedy, who would go on to be that inspector jerk in THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE) and many shootouts. This isn't a bad film overall, and it's shot really well, but there's probably a zillion more entertaining Euro-westerns you could watch before this one. AKA DEAD OR ALIVE and OUTLAW GUN





This movie does have a great title and The Flesh Eaters must have agreed:

Saturday, April 7, 2018

THE BEATNIKS (1960)


 Since I don't think you could really consider anyone in this movie a beatnik of any sort the title is a just a tad misleading. The plot actually deals with a group of street hoodlums/petty thieves who, after robbing a convenience store, happen to run into a talent agent who offers the gang leader(Tony Travis) a shot at becoming a pop star. The film is pretty clunky(like for example; why does this producer guy offer this piece of shit hoodlum anything after he just smashed into his car?) but moves along at a brisk enough pace that it still works as an entertaining look at 50s juvenile delinquents. My favorite character, who only appears briefly, is the old lady owner of a craphole diner named "Mama" who possesses the most cartoonish accent I've possibly ever heard. The original working title was SIDEBURNS AND SYMPATHY which is a lot more accurate. Give it a watch for some old-timey knife fights, Sinatra-esque crooning, and various 50s hooligan shenanigans. The director of this "raging teenagers in their 30s" epic was Paul Frees who is most well known for being a voice actor in tons of animated stuff and maybe most importantly on THE BANANA SPLITS program. This would be his only directing job which is kind of a shame because he certainly had that exploitation movie feel down.

"Revealing as it holds the answers to the beatnik questions all America is asking!":



 

Tuesday, April 3, 2018

THE GREAT SILENCE (1968)


 A couple of years before this, director Sergio Corbucci made the great DJANGO, which is one of my favorite spaghetti-westerns ever. After seeing this one, in it's revamped, restored and re-beautified version, at a recent theatrical showing in NYC, I'm thinking this actually tops it. Perhaps it's Klaus Kinski's standout performance, though all the acting in this is pretty top-notch, or the snowy setting which reminded me of THE CUT-THROATS 9, another favorite. Most of all though it's probably the bleak ending that makes this one really stand out for me though it's probably not everyone's cup of tea. . Corbucci drives home quite the anti-capitalist message here which I'm not even sure I totally agree with but it's all done so well that it's hard to find any other faults here. 
 There's an alternate cut of this that actually has a happy ending which I think really reduces the films power and effect.
 The hot and sexy Vonetta McGee would go on to be in BLACULA and that women-in-prison flick THE BIG BUST OUT. This was only her second role and while everyone blames the movies downer ending on it not getting a release in America or England I can't help but think that her interracial love scene played at least a small part in this being viewed as pretty controversial for the times.