Reviews
Frankenstein (1910)
THIS IS IT !
Before Karloff and DeNiro had their shot at the main role of "The Creature" Charles Ogle was the originator of the role of "The Creature" Thomas Edison who had no intention of making what would today be motion pictures just wanted to be the first to get them patented under his name. For almost a century the only known existence of this movie was a still picture featuring Charles Ogle learing at the camera. Now that this movie is in limited video release the whole Frankenstien Movie Legacy can now be rendered complete.
The Dream Team (1989)
This movie is a classic comedy
4 mental patients and their Dr. are on their way to see the New York Yankees Baseball team play at Yankee Stadium but get sidetracked by a witnessed murder. This movie is a comedy re-make of Ken Kesey's "One flew over the cuckoo's nest" minus Nurse Wratchett. Michael Keaton (Batman and Batman Returns) takes on the role of the Jack Nicholson character while Christopher Lloyd (Back To The Future Trilogy) plays a patient with an obsessive compulsive disorder for having everything neat and clean. Peter Boyle (Young Frankenstien) is a patient who suffers Messiah Complex, he thinks the key to life is to be as naked as God created Adam and Eve. And finally Stephen Furst (National Lampoon's Animal House and Midnight Madness) plays a Catatonic Patient who says nothing except when tv is on and he repeats everything said on it. The highlight of this movie is the group while looking for shelter use a giant cardboard box to move across town during a rain storm. This movie is currently not available on DVD yet but hopefully will be soon. If you're crazy enough (Big Time Pun) order this movie from Amazon.com
In Search of... (1976)
I love this show and wish it were on DVD
Leonard Nimoy made this show very entertaining. His story telling is far better than Jack Palances' on Ripley's Believe It or Not. I do watch this show on History Channel alot and wish Universal Pictures who owns total rights to In Search Of... would digitally restorate this show to DVD. Hey Universal if you ever get a hint of irony, put this show on DVD.
Smokey and the Bandit (1977)
TRUCKER MOVIE CLASSIC
Spoiler Alert !
There is a large shipment of Coors Beer in Texarkana, Texas and Big and Little Enis Burdette want it badly. They hire "The Bandit" from a Truck Rodeo to make the run. The main problem Bandit faces is that trucking Coors Beer over statelines without proper permits is bootlegging. The Burdettes make the deal even sweeter by putting $80'000.00 on the line and that grabs Bandits attention real quick. The set time is 28 hours round trip. Bandit being the game one he is accepts the challenge and proceeds to haggle for extra money to buy a speedy car to block for the truck and that speedy car is a 1976 Black Trans Am Firebird. Bandit also calls upon his old trucking buddy fresh out of jail "The Snowman". Together they race across the South from Atlanta, Georgia to Texarkana, Texas to pick up the 400 cases and then start back. Bandit stops to pick up a girl on the run from a shot gun wedding. Her name is Carrie but during the movie she is nick named Frog for always hopping around in Bandits car. They are being chased by the reason she hops around so much. On The Bandit's tail is a wildly obsessive compulsive Texas County Mounty named Buford T. Justice. His son Junior was the unfortunate Groom to be and Justice is out to get things straight with Carrie and force her back up that aisle. For some reason or another Buford decides to try and apprehend Bandit by declaring High Speed Pursuit. The race is on back to Atlanta for Snowman and Bandit with Buford not far behind. By movies' end Snowman and Bandit and Carrie slip away only this time they are heading North to Boston to pick up some clam chowder on a bet of Double or Nothing and with a set time of 14 hours. Sherriff Justice keeps right on chasing the Bandit declaring "I'm not giving up".
The Death of Ocean View Park (1979)
Saw it come down
After Playboy TV decided to toss it bunny rabbit ears into the amusement park gone wrong movie arena they made this made for tv trash hit in my hometown of Norfolk, Virginia. Yes I lived in Norfolk, Virginia from the year I was born in 1974 till 1980 when the family decided to move to Charlottesville. The plot of this movie was just like Roller Coaster and Amusement Park, something just might go wrong despite everything feeling right. The destruction of the The Skyrocket Roller Coaster was a devastating sight on tv. Local News Teams covered the making of the movie and the actual blowings up of the wooden coaster. After several failed attempts the final explosion which I can not recall the number was the one that brought down it down and Norfolkians stood in silence and total shock as the hills and turns came tumbling down to the ground. The roller coaster that had brought such fun to Ocean View Residents and to all residents of Hampton Roads was finally gone. Today most of the coaster beams that were not scorched or destroyed in the blasts now make up some of the colonial houses and barns in Williamsburg, Virginia. Today Ocean View is a crack addict neighborhood where only the dregs of society live. Thanks alot Playboy TV you ruined one fine beach neighborhood.
The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
THIS CIRCUS NEEDS A CLEANING
I have been watching this movie since it first came out on Paramount Home Video in the early 1980s on a single video cassette. When Paramount decided to re-release this movie on 2 tapes I thought My God they lost their ever loving mind. This movie is not 4 hours long but they tried to make that way being that Charlton Heston is in it and Cecil B. DeMille directed it. The same went for Cecil's earlier Bible story Samson and Delilah starring Victor Mature and Hedy LeMarre. Getting back to Greatest Show on Earth this movie has really bad editing because post production was rushed and not given enough time. In Hollywood there is never enough time to make the movie the way the Director really wants. Its always rush rush rush and in the end result a good movie with both chopped up scenes and chopped dialog. Steven Spielberg says this movie is his childhood favorite and the reason why he got into movies in the first place. Steven Spielberg should put his money where his mouth is, get over to Paramount Pictures, buy out the rights to this movie, and digitally restorate this movie like he and Martin Scorsese did Lawrence of Arabia back in late 1980s early 1990s. Charlton Heston is the last survivor of the original cast who are now resting at peace. Steven and Charlton could do a voiceover if and when the DVD comes out. There is always talk in Tinsel Town about film preservation and I know for fact AMC TV overlooks this one. Seems you can resorate any movie out there all you want but not this one because no ever thinks about it, at all ! With computer restorating this movie would look and sound 100 times more better than it ever has. This year 2002 marks the 50 Year Birthday of Cecil B. DeMille's Circus Film, The Greatest Show on Earth and although it would be a year late next year Paramount Pictures and Steven Spielberg along with Amblin Entertainment could release a 50th Anniversary Copy on 2 DVDs featuring all kinds of bonus materials and those ever seekable DVD easter eggs that everyone chases after.
Metallica: A Year and a Half in the Life of Metallica (1992)
The Black Album and Tour
This is a really good DVD despite the fact Metallica is on the fringe of non existance. You go through the whole process of Metallica making their self titled Metallica cd a.k.a. "The Black Album" ! And then time to hit the road as Metallica brutalises the world with a bombastic blast of songs from both the black album and classic hits from And Justice For All and earlier hits from the days when Cliff Burton was alive. This dvd actually makes a perfect companion piece to The Metallica Box Set: Live Shit Binge and Purge.
The Buccaneer (1958)
Needs to be digitally remastered and remixed !
Yul Brynner is Louisiana's greatest folk Hero/Pirate/Privateer/Patriot/Gentleman and the most condemned and pardoned man in American History. Charlton Heston is Old Hickory himself Andrew Jackson the wild and crazy Tennessee General who would go on to be President of The United States. The storyline is simple ! The British fresh from the battles with Napoleon are coming and have already got a hold of Washington D.C.. It is up to General Andrew Jackson and his fresh raw inexperienced troops to stop them from coming into New Orleans. Lafitte the pirate is running an illegal buying and selling operation in the Bayou but no one really seems to care except Louisiana Governor Claibourne who would rather see Lafitte hanged. I won't spoil all of the Buccaneer for you so go and get a copy on video. And if Paramount Pictures reads this posting please do me a favor and get this movie digitally remastered and remixed onto DVD where it belongs. Use all the amenities of DVD with picture and sound and make this movie look and sound better than it ever has been please !
The Stöned Age (1994)
This movie sucks, 2 thumbs down !
I saw this movie on USA Up All Night back in 94 and it sucks monkey nuts. This movie tried to be like Dazed and Confused but it didnt work at all. My opinion of this movie is it should be locked deep in a vault somewhere in Siberia, Russia and never be seen again by anyone untill sometime in the early 22nd Century. Maybe by then the late 90s early 2000 generation will see this movie as a Historic film depiction of the 1970s.
Patton (1970)
Better than most World War II movies were.
Patton is the best war movie ever made. There have been many war movies like it, but this one is forever. You cannot say that this movie is not accurate without looking at the real news footage about Patton. Granted there was a physical difference between the real Patton and Scotts portrait but when the movie rolls across the big screen, size does not matter ! George C. Scott's version of General Patton will always be the most mimicked version of all time. The version played by George Kennedy is dull and does not deliver the deep impact that the original did. The video release of this movie has been through the many different formats including the Selectavision Disc, VHS, Beta, Laser Disc, and now DVD. Why Patton the movie survives the different format changes is because what would a video store and a video collection be without a copy of one of the greatest war movies of all time. Be sure and check it out or buy it and you will not be disappointed. Rest assured, THAT'S AN ORDER SOLDIER!
Melody in Love (1978)
THIS MOVIE NEEDS A COMPLETE AND TOTAL DIGITAL OVERHAUL !!!!!!
I am a sucker for DVD and classic softcore sex films like this one. This movie like Young Lady Chatterly was meant for total DVD exploitation. Digital Sound, Digital Picture, and restored to original running time uncut. The sex scenes in this movie are not as blatant as todays' porno films but they were hot for the time period this movie was made in which was of course the celluloid using 1970's. If Anchorbay Entertainment reads this posting I pray that they take a big hint and get this movie out in a collectors edition.