OCTOBER MOVIE CHALLENGE (10/9 - 10/10)

Challenge Totals to Date:

Movies Watched Today: 4
Total Movies Watched: 13
Total First Time Views: 2
Amount raised: $64.35

Today's showcased SCARE-A-THON Charity:

MO MONEY FOR PIGS, sponsored by April Atwood

To showcase your charity, send an email to drach101@gmail.com with your pledge amount and the charity's website!

OCTOBER MOVIE CHALLENGE (10/6 - 10/8)

Challenge Totals to Date:

Movies Watched Today: 3
Total Movies Watched: 9
First Time Views: 2
Amount raised: $43.65

Today's showcased SCARE-A-THON Charities:

GRAMEEN FOUNDATION, sponsored by Alan Ball

AND

THE FRIENDS OF CHILDREN, sponsored by Jeff Cummings

To showcase your charity, send an email to drach101@gmail.com with your pledge amount and the charity's website!

 

OCTOBER MOVIE CHALLENGE (10/4 - 10/5)

Challenge Totals to Date:

Movies Watched Today: 2
Total Movies Watched: 6
First Time Views: 1
Amount raised: $29.10

Today's showcased SCARE-A-THON Charities:

MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY, sponsored by Christine Thom

AND

THE COMIC BOOK LEGAL DEFENSE FUND, sponsored by Whit Spurgeon

To showcase your charity, send an email to drach101@gmail.com with your pledge amount and the charity's website!

OCTOBER MOVIE CHALLENGE (10/2 - 10/3)

Challenge Totals to Date:

Movies Watched Today: 3
Total Movies Watched: 4
First Time Views: 1
Amount raised: $14.55

Today's showcased SCARE-A-THON Charities:

 TRILLIUM PERFORMING ARTS, sponsored by Sheila Jordan

AND

THE TIME COMMUNITY THEATER, sponsored by Gavin Schmitt

To showcase your charity, send an email to drach101@gmail.com with your pledge amount and the charity's website!

OCTOBER MOVIE CHALLENGE (10/1)

Challenge Totals to Date:

Movies Watched Today: 1
Total Movies Watched:1
First Time Views: 1
Amount raised: $4.85

Today's showcased SCARE-A-THON Charity: REACH COUNSELING, sponsored by John Pata

To showcase your charity, send an email to drach101@gmail.com with your pledge amount and the charity's website!

SCARE-A-THON 2014: PICK YOUR POISON

WELCOME TO SCARE-A-THON 2014!!!!!

It's that time of year again. After a brief sabbatical, the Doc is back at it, watching as many scary movies as possible during the month of October to raise funds and awareness for a charitable cause. In the past, we've raised thousands of dollars for Season of Concern, AmeriCares, and The Friends of Children. However, this year, I'm trying an experiment: Rather selecting the beneficiary of our efforts, it's up to YOU to choose where your hard-earned dollars go.

Whether it's a high-profile entity (American Cancer Society, ALS), a local support house for women and children, a favorite arts organization, animal rescue, or your friend's Kickstarter, here's that oft-needed push to do something good for someone else with no ribbons or ice bucket videos required. Plus, you will also be raising awareness about your particular cause, as I will be posting links to the organizations' respective websites right here on the daily H101 blog posts and as well as on Facebook.

My usual donation suggestion is 10 cents ($0.10) per film, but you can go as high or low as you like. For the price of a jumbo pack of Halloween candy, you can make a huge difference in someone's life.

Mmmmm, philanthropy tastes delicious...

Fool's Views (9/1 – 9/30)

"You don't think AC's losing his touch, do you? Oh, shhh, here he comes..."

Howdy, folks!

Yep, the whole month of September has come and gone with only 14 flickers taken in. Chalk it up to a hectic performance schedule and a renewed commitment to physical fitness – funny how when you’re putting in up to three hours sweating it out, there are fewer left in the day for the Views. Luckily, a number of DVD screeners, two platelet donation sessions, a group outing to the multiplex, the continued blessing that is Turner Classic Movies, the Kryptic Army, and a trickling of random flicks filled out the bill. That said, considering I’ve built up a head of steam for the upcoming October Challenge, I think it’s only right to have taken it a little easier this month – things are about to get keeeeeerazy up in here.

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

Enjoy!

LUCKY BASTARD (2014) DVD review

Lucky Bastard (2014) d. Robert Nathan (USA)

Fading porn producer and director Mike (Don McManus) runs the “Lucky Bastard” website, which arranges and records the sexual exploits of their devoted male fans with adult film professionals. Against her better judgment but in need of cash, sexy starlet Ashley St. Clair (Betsy Rue) is cajoled into pairing off with eager amateur “Dave G.” (Jay Paulson) for a bout of interweb wank material. Unfortunately, Dave turns out to be a little too eager both in and out of the bedroom – he surprises his co-star by revealing her real name and then prematurely loses the crew from his pink submarine. Emotions run high and devil-deals are made, all captured within the hidden-camera laden lair, but as the crime scene footage that opens the film makes clear, there is no “happy ending” in store for anyone.

PIECES OF TALENT (2014) movie review

Pieces of Talent (2014) d. Joe Stauffer (USA)

Charlotte (Kristi Ray) is an attractive twentysomething trapped in her small town, paying the rent by working as a waitress at the local titty bar as she dreams of a career as a film actress. Her drunken, chain-smoking mother (Barbara Weetman) living with her (not the other way around) demeans these fantasies, and given Charlotte's string of failed local independent auditions (her resume consists of “a few music videos”), it seems unlikely she will ever see her name in lights.

One night, the young would-be starlet strikes up a friendship with a bedraggled misfit photographer after he is beaten up for shooting inside the club. When he regains consciousness, David Long (played by “David Long,” a pseudonym for co-screenwriter Dustin Lewis) reveals that he is a filmmaker, and he thinks Charlotte would be perfect for his next project. We quickly learn, however, that David is a bona-fide wackjob whose idea of art has some nasty and twisted edges, the type that snag and rip and rend flesh from the bone.

THE DEAD 2: INDIA (2013) Blu-ray review

The Dead 2: India (2013) d. Howard J. Ford / Jonathan Ford (UK)

The Ford Brothers made a big splash in 2010 with their zombie flick The Dead set in the epic vistas of Africa, chronicling the journey of two human survivors – one American, one African – who must form an uneasy alliance in the face of their common undead enemies. The combination of gorgeous location shooting, solid portrayals, impressive practical and digital f/x, and an atmosphere of sunlight-drenched dread proved a potent one, and the film was embraced by audiences and critics alike. Unfortunately, in this tenuously connected companion piece, the writer/director siblings (with Jonathan again serving as cinematographer) bring nothing new to the table except tired clichés and horrendously mannered performances, neither of which aid their cause.

THE LEGEND OF HELL HOUSE (1973) Blu-ray Review

Legend of Hell House, The (1973) d. John Hough (UK)

In the pantheon of top-notch haunted house movies, this fine, moody offering ranks just below Robert Wise’s outstanding The Haunting, to which it owes a great debt. The familiar premise concerns a team of spiritual sleuths – a scientist, his wife, and two mediums – assigned to investigate Belasco House (aka “Hell House”) to prove (or disprove) the notion of life after death. However, unlike the ambiguity of Shirley Jackson’s story or the subsequent 1963 film version, Richard Matheson’s screenplay (adapted from his 1971 novel Hell House) elects to make the existence of the malevolent presence within the so-called “Mount Everest of haunted houses” undeniably explicit. According to Matheson, his personal dictate was “I’m going to do a haunted house story where you damn well know it’s haunted and there’s no question in your mind.”

Fool's Views (8/11 – 8/31)

Nothing phallic about this shot at all.

Howdy folks,

Well, once again, the good folks at Kitley’s Krypt saved my horror bacon, as my required monthly Kryptic Army mission were the only two fright flicks caught during the last three weeks of August. I lay the blame squarely at the feet of Cincinnati Playhouse’s long rehearsal days and the fact that my little apartment came fully stocked with a subscription to Turner Classic Movies; needless to say, my viewing priorities shifted almost immediately. In addition to the full features listed below, I enjoyed catching 20, 30, or sometimes 60-minute snatches of literally dozens of others. And, thanks to a TCM-sponsored viewing of Three Days of the Condor, I was further inspired to try out the Chicago Public Library’s downloadable video option for two other Redford flicks (bringing 2014’s total to nine), as well as paying tribute to a recently deceased comic master by watching what many consider to be his last great performance.

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

Enjoy!

PUPPETMASTER III: TOULON'S REVENGE (1991) movie review

Puppetmaster III: Toulon's Revenge (1991) David DeCoteau (USA)

True story: Prior to tackling this for this month's Kryptic Army mission theme (that of "revenge), I’d only seen the original 1989 Puppet Master and that viewing was at least 10 years in the rearview. However, having read Gert Verbeeck’s outstanding retrospective of the series for HorrorHound back in 2012, I had learned that this installment was 1) a prequel, so I wouldn’t be lost by o’erleaping the first sequel and 2) many fans consider this the high point of the franchise. Thus bolstered, I ventured in and I gotta admit, it was pretty entertaining.

PHANTOM OF THE MALL: ERIC'S REVENGE (1989) movie review

Phantom of the Mall: Eric's Revenge (1989) d. Richard Friedman (USA)

I’ll be honest – I didn’t actually believe this was a real movie when I first saw it pop up in one of my reference books (I think it might have been Legacy of Blood, Jim Harper’s fine examination of slasher films). I mean, could you come up with a cheesier title? But upon actually visiting the beast, it’s a fairly faithful repurposing of Phantom of the Opera...set in a shopping mall, so what else would you call it?

Fool's Views (8/4 – 8/10)

Sunscreen is your friend.

Well, hello!

Thanks to a week of memorizing lines and getting prepared for the awesomeness that was Flashback Weekend 2014 (celebrating their 10-year anniversary), I didn’t spend too much time in front of the tube, but I did manage to knock out a couple more Redford flicks (bringing 2014’s total to six, to which I’ve already added an additional three), as well as the glorious Blu-ray debut of a certain Hidden Horror and an impromptu Share the Scare with filmmaker pals Robert Cappelletto, David Schmidt, and Clare Martin. Remember: Frights always go better with friends.

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

Enjoy!

Fool's Views (7/28 – 8/3)

Pardon the delay. I've had a lot on my mind lately...

Howdy folks,

This week marked the mad dash of banging out reviews for Scream Factory’s awesome “Summer of Fear” as well as a long overdue return to the multiplex to check out a few of the flicks that had been generating some positive buzz. Happy to say that of the four big-screen features imbibed, all were worthwhile and two will likely land in my top 10 list for 2014 (Boyhood and Guardians of the Galaxy).

As part of this year’s ongoing Robert Redford festival, I was given the chance to introduce the femalien to the joys of 1973’s Oscar winner for Best Picture, although I’ll come clean that I only made it 20 minutes into 1960’s Play of the Week version of The Iceman Cometh starring Jason Robards; I’m not a huge fan of the four-hour play anyway, and our young Redford is just so very terrible as Parritt. This guy was on Broadway? Wow. To paraphrase Monty Python and the Holy Grail, he got better.

Also, being as I am in the throes of rehearsals for Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park’s season opener, Sherlock Holmes and the Adventure of the Suicide Club, I thought it might be fun to shine a light on a few of my favorite fellow reviewers’ thoughts for this week’s Civilian offerings (and one semi-horror flick). Follow the links provided and you will find my own sentiments captured with grace, eloquence, and in greater detail than I can afford at present.

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

Enjoy!

CURTAINS (1983) Blu-ray Review

Curtains (1983) d. Richard Ciupka / Peter Simpson (Canada)

This moderately entertaining Canadian slasher flick centers on tyrannical director Jonathan Stryker (John Vernon) as he auditions six female candidates for the lead role in his upcoming film project, Audra. However, Samantha Sherwood (Samantha Eggar), the aging starlet originally promised the part, has checked herself out of the mental institution where she was incarcerated to do “research,” arriving at Stryker’s secluded mountain cabin getaway to size up – and perhaps scythe up – the competition.

LEVIATHAN (1989) Blu-ray Review

Leviathan (1989) d. George P. Cosmatos (USA/Italy)

Days away from completing its tour of duty, the highly photogenic crew of Tri-Oceanic Mining Corporation’s Shack #7 encounters a submerged Soviet submarine and salvages one of the craft’s storage containers. A couple sips of pilfered noxious vodka later, several members are dead, with their bodies mutating into a strange and messy amphibian organism possessing tendrils, teeth, tails, and a terrible ’tude. With icy deep waters all around, the surviving rock jockeys pit their wits against the carnivorous monsters below and wait for help from the corporate monsters above (personified by oily Meg Foster), though they probably shouldn’t hold their breath.

Sorry, I had to.

MOTEL HELL (1980) Blu-ray Review

Motel Hell (1980) d. Kevin Connor (USA)

“It takes all kinds of critters to make Farmer Vincent’s Fritters.” So runs the tagline for this oddball combo of black humor and horror, featuring veteran character actor Rory Calhoun as Vincent, the proprietor of the titular establishment (the “O” on the “Motel Hello” neon sign keeps going on the blink) He and equally wacky sibling Ida (a pre-Porky’s Nancy Parsons) make their living by snaring unsuspecting passing motorists to fill up the skins of their famous, delight-of-the-county sausages. When Vincent takes a shine to potential tasty treat Terry (bland blonde Nina Axelrod), tensions rise between the killer siblings, not to mention goofy brother Bruce (Paul Linke) who serves as the local badge.

WITHOUT WARNING (1980) Blu-ray Review

Without Warning (1980) d. Greydon Clark (USA)

Despite the emphatic warnings of the local gas station attendant (Jack Palance), a quartet of hormonal teens head out to the ol’ swimming hole for a weekend getaway and find themselves in the middle an extraterrestrial’s private hunting preserve. The result is a don’t-go-in-the-woods thriller that swaps out the requisite blade-swinging psycho with a melon-headed space alien given to flinging blood-sucking parasites at myriad hapless victims (including a young David Caruso in his second screen appearance, sporting some wicked short shorts).