Fool's Views (1/27 – 2/16)

Use 'em or lose 'em, Doc.  Your choice.

Howdy, folks,

I gotta say, this has been the weirdest winter ever, both in terms of extreme temperatures and logy viewing parties on my part. I mean, when the polar vortex comes to town, shouldn’t it just be a natural reaction to just chill out, flip on the tube, and let the good times roll? In years past, when the weather wasn’t nearly as harsh, I’ve been known to bang out 50-60 movies in January without batting an eye. Yet, here we are with February in the rearview mirror and I have yet to crack the 45-flicker mark or even make it to the multiplex. Oh, the times, they are a-changin’. Granted, much of this has had to do with the ongoing promotion and celebration of HIDDEN HORROR (see Exhibit A), but even the Oscar race hasn't been able to spur the enthusiasm of days gone by.

That said, I’ve enjoyed the fine cinematic diet prompted by the good folks at Shout! Factory and Kitley’s Krypt, not to mention a little dose of nostalgia that sent Burnt Offerings (ergh) and Alone in the Dark (yes!) into the player in between bouts of filming a couple of horror shorts myself. Note: do not sign on for any future projects that involve lying dead in a snowbank in one’s undergarments. It just ain’t worth it.

As always, feel free to leave your two cents worth – we’ll make sure you get some change back.

Enjoy!

THE ATOMIC MAN (aka TIMESLIP) (1955) movie review

Atomic Man, The (aka Timeslip) (1955) d. Ken Hughes (UK)

A reasonably effective sci-fi programmer, although the conceit of a man’s mind having slipped into the future – such that he is answering questions 7.5 seconds before they are asked – isn’t really put to much use and plays out only as a device to sustain the mystery surrounding a Cold War spy plot. Adapted by Charles Eric Maine from his novel, the story revolves around a nuclear scientist Stephen Raymer (Peter Arne) who is fished out of the Thames and, despite the bullet in his back and a brief moment of flatline, revives in hospital but absent any memory. Further complicating matters is the fact that the scientist’s doppelganger is continuing his experiments without anyone being the wiser!