What Will $3 Buy Nowadays? My Flea Market Adventures...

I know I've talked to you about this already, but I ahve to share once again the things that happen to me while I am out and about in this great mystic land I call Dopelvania.

You see, every weekend I set aside an hour or two to set out to a location just a mile or so out of town that was once a bustling department store (Rink's, I believe the name used to be) but after the chain folded it became just an empty shell of its former glorious self.

...That is until some enterprising men came along, bought the property outright and turned it into an outright flea market where the locals can set up little mini shops inside and hawk their wears.  And lemme tell ya, they have everything: auto parts, tools, clothes, fresh produce, vinyl albums, ATVs, books, furniture, every manner of video game system and game to go with it (from the original Nintendos to Xbox 360s) even a little trailer outside where you can turn in your hard-gathered aluminum cans and copper and so forth for some cold hard cash - a nice little resource to have around, believe me.

And, of course, they also sell videos, too.

Why else do you think I'd be talking about it?

We're talking VHS tapes by the briefcase load, even laserdiscs (remember those, brothers and sisters?), DVDs, HD-DVDs and Blu-Rays as well.  Bunches of stuff.

And do you want to know the best part of this?  THE PRICES.

On average, you can get these things pretty reasonably (well, the laserdiscs may be a bit pricey...), say for $4 or $5 each...but I have a connecting where I can get a good deal on the discs, being a regular customer and all.  So, he lets me get the DVDs I want for $3 each.

And so what do I get for my money?

Well, I'll tell ya:

Yeah, I already bragged about getting this one, but what a deal for 300 pennies!

Anything from the poisoned mind of Herschell Gordon Lewis is good in my book.















One of the best trailer compilations I've seen (since the Something Weird: Extra Weird Sampler I extolled the virtues of some time back).

The 2-disc Anchor Bay version, Limited Edition and all (mine is #27879 out of 50,000)!

Amazing how many of these were laying around all over the place there, these and a bunch of those Extreme Wrestling compilations.  Strange.

This just got put out on the floor, and I grabbed it up; it's a 2-disc-er, of COURSE I want it!

I think I'm one of the few people who even knew this movie was made.  You better believe a review will be coming on this one.

Yes, a 1985 one, but where do you think I got a bug up the hoo-hah that 1985 was such a bad year?  THIS.

I heard a lot about Ichi.  It was all true, I found out.

Now all I need is Jaws 2, but I think I'll wait a while for that one... (and for those keeping track, that's the THIRD movie with Michael Caine I mentioned so far).

I love the big monkey, even in bad flicks I love him.  And this is probably as bad as it gets.

Any particular reason I got this one?  Yes: this version is in WIDESCREEN!  Not so easy to find Last Action Hero in widescreen.  Try it sometime.

Very rare 2-disc version of this one.  I like the movie anyway, but all the extra bells and whistles make it even sweeter!















All four of the best reasons to have Mel Gibson in a movie...with Danny Glover...and Joe Pesci.

"Special Edition", to boot.  Accept no substitutions; stick with the original!















I have a warm fuzzy spot in my heart for warm fuzzy giant killers.
















Emilio Estevez when he was still a smart-alec punk...and younger.  This is a favorite of mine.

All three RoboCop films in one pack.  This is something that's hard to find for cheap, let alone three bucks; that's $1 a movie!

 Two discs worth of darkness and despair.  For a good price.  Why not?

 Because there's always room for giallo.

I remember this one back when Ted Turner's TNT Network had that "100% Weird" show on late late at night in the late 80s - early 90s.  Love it.
















Yes, these are all good flicks (in that some of them are so bad.  It's complicated...).  But I saved the best one or last.  This is my latest acquisition in my never-ending mission to...uh, get movies. 

So ladies and gents, my latest movie got for $3 at my "connection" is....

Heard of it? 

This is apparently one of the wildest, most insane, bloody and outright high body count-ish movie sever released by a company called Tokyo Shock. 

With a name like Tokyo Shock, I guess that it stands to reason they'd make something that the box itself calls

"an unholy, non-stop, over-the-top kill fest"

That's what they call a challenge to someone like me. 

And I picked up the challenge readily.

...after wiping the drool from my lips.

I'll let you know if it lives up to the hype. 

Or at the very least, if it lives up to this incredibly bloody, nasty and unsavory (i.e.: GREAT) trailer.  Oh, and as if I should have to say anything else, NSFW:



So yeah, that's what I get for MY $3 worth.  I hope you get your money's worth with your purchases.  Until next shopping spree, kids...

Dope out.

- TGWD

Are YOU A Bronx Warrior? I Am Now!

Well, I went and did it; in one of my many weekend excursions to my nice little local community yard sale/flea market, I wandered into one of my many "suppliers"...

You collectors out there know what I mean.  We have "suppliers"; the shops where they get just about every hard-to-find, one-of-a-kind movie that you just salivate over every time you pick up the case and swear that you have to get it for yourself.  I get most of my fondest possessions from this one "supplier" and I know, since he expects me in every weekend, he's gonna give me a fair shake as far as prices go.  Nice guy.

Anyway, to what should my wondering eyes appear, but a magical shelf, containing the 1982 classic Italian action/adventure trying to pretend it's an American action/adventure, 1990: The Bronx Warriors.  Sound familiar?  It should, if you live, breathe and eat such films as I do.

This is the poster everyone knows and loves:

And didja get a load of that cast?  Vic Morrow?  Fred Williamson?  Excuse me?...oh yes, Vic had in fact died in 1982 in that whole nasty Twilight Zone: The Movie business.  But he was busy right up to that point in his career, too, rolling out product such as this.  And Fred?  Well, if a career like his can survive Fist Of Fear, Touch Of Death, then the man's stainless steel, Teflon-coated and bulletproof.

The plot is purely a combination of The Warriors and Escape From New York, with a little bit of Spaghetti Western thrown in, as if you were at all surprised.  And if nothing else, a beginning credits segment such as this MUST be watched and rewatched to be appreciated.  Oh yes, it must be:



So yes, now I own 1990: The Bronx Warriors, right up there on my shelf between 1941 and 200 Classic Cartoons.  Looks good up there, too.  I'm watching it tonight; I may even get a review up for it one of these days, as well.  Who knows; I'm feeling pretty good about things now.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go see if that old leather vest still fits me....

Dope out.

- TGWD

My Most Offensive Post Yet! (...maybe...)

Now I know a lot of you have movies in your collections that you're kind of afraid to talk about - you know, ones that only you understand why you have them, watch them, mull over them and repeatedly look over the cover again and again.

I know you do; don't deny it.

The thing is, I have a few of those DVDs myself and, admittedly, I don't spend as much time talking about them because...well...I don't feel comfortable talking about them in mixed company.

What is The Dope talking about; I'm starting to freak out...

Don't worry; it's nothing like DVDs of boatloads of nuns and orphans being torpedoed by narwahls or anything like that. See, I just got an order filled from an online movie store and got my product in today. Soon I'll be watching it, mulling over it, viewing the cover time and again and so on.

So why the title of this post? Well, to be perfectly honest, I guess I should have put the word "potentially" in there, since there is every indication that as a result of the DVD itself that I now own, someone out there is going to be offended. Eventually. In due time. Because you know my penchant for reviewing things that I watch.

And the movie I got today?

THIS:




























Yes. The Message. Also known as Mohammad: Messenger of God. Yes, it's about the creation of Islam. Yes, it was a labor of love for producer/director Moustapha Akkad (whom regular readers will recognize as the producer behind John Carpenter's Halloween films). I'd first heard about it from one of my many indispensable books "The Hollywood Hall of Shame", since it not only cost $10 million to make and has yet to report that is as much as made its budget back, but also had the incredible bad luck to be about a central character that Islamic law forbids to have any representation thereof - not to mention that any showing of his wife, children and other immediate relatives is strictly outlawed.

I mean, just look at the news; you see what happens when cartoonists try to bend Islamic law! And let's not even get into Salman Rushdie....

Not that I am wanting to infuriate any Islamic practitioners out there - I just want to see this movie that I have heard so much about and then post my opinion of it. Which I plan on doing.

This means I'm going to have to tread pretty darned lightly on this particular review, I know; after all - it's not like I'd be reviewing Rock: It's Your Decision Part 2.

So if you happen to be reading this and also are Islamic, please know that I'm not going to be posting any pictures of Mohammad or slandering Islam or anything; I'm just going to review The Message. That's it. Period.

And belief in a religion has never been a deciding factor in any review I've ever done. Just wait till you see a future review I'm planning on a movie steeped in Satanism. Whew....

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to crack open the cellophane on this puppy and start watching it; I have an opinion to build on. Stay tuned....

Dope out.

- TGWD

My Latest DVD Acquisitions (Haters Gonna Hate Edition)

As many of you already know, I'm a collector.

Plain and simple, I love movies, I watch movies, I collect movies to watch and admire over and over again.

It's an illness, sure, but one which I am NOT ashamed of and which I do NOT want to be cured from.

So it was purely by surprise that I found myself out and about again this weekend, looking at stores and never expecting to find DVDs which I not only wanted but were completely superlative in presentation.

Today, I found TWO.

The first DVD set I found was of a little movie you may have heard of.

Casablanca - know it?

Well, do you know of the Ultimate Collector's Edition set?

This is what it looks like:
























This is what it has in it:
















And these are the specs:

Disc One: • Introduction by Lauren Bacall • Commentary by film critic Roger Ebert • Commentary by film historian/author Rudy Behlmer

Disc Two: • 1988 TCM special: "Bacall on Bogart": Lauren Bacall´s candid and moving reminiscences about her husband´s life and career • "You Must Remember This: A Tribute to Casablanca": Bacall hosts this spellbinding backstage tour • "As Time Goes By: The Children Remember": Stephen Bogart and Pia Lindstrom remember their parents, Humphrey Bogart, and Ingrid Bergman • Production history gallery • Additional footage • Deleted scenes • Outtakes • "Who Holds Tomorrow?" - Premiere episode from the 1955 "Warner Bros. Presents" TV series, starring Charles McGraw • 1995 WB Cartoon: Carrotblanca • Scoring session outtakes • Audio-only bonus: April 26,1943 Screen Guild Players Radio Broadcast • Theatrical trailer • 1992 re-release trailer

Disc Three: • 1993 documentary: "Jack L. Warner: The Last Mogul"

Note: The premium giftset is elegantly boxed in an intricate laser-cut Moroccan design that contains a number of Warner studio documents, a branded passport holder, a luggage tag, a forty-eight-page photo book, and a mail-in offer for a reproduction of the original movie poster.

But WAIT! There's MORE!

I also stumbled upon a collection of movies made by a group of mice...no, uh, several rodents...no, that's not it...oh right: The Rat Pack!

Frankie? Sammy? Dino? Those guys.

I was able to pick up yet another Ultimate Collector's Edition, containing Ocean's 11, Robin and the 7 Hoods, 4 for Texas and the newly-released Sergeants 3, all in wide-screen and very nice, thank you very much.

Again, this is what it looks like:






















This is what's in it:
















And these are the specs:

Disc One: Ocean's 11 (1960)
letterboxed (2.35-to-1)
chapters
commentary by Frank Sinatra Jr.
Tonight Show clip w/ Frank Sinatra and Angie Dickinson
two trailers
on-screen map of Las Vegas

Disc Two: Robin & The 7 Hoods (1964),
letterboxed (2.35-to-1)
chapters
commentary by Frank Sinatra Jr.

Disc Three: 4 For Texas (1963)
letterboxed (2.35-to-1)
chapters
trailer

Disc Four: Sergeants 3 (1962)
letterboxed (2.35-to-1)
chapters
commentary by Frank Sinatra Jr.

Additional bonus materials: Rat Pack playing cards, 10 exclusive behind-the-scenes photo cards, 8 card lobby card reproductions from Sergeants 3, 18-page reproduction of the original 1960 Ocean's 11 Pressbook, mail-in offer for free posters from all 4 movies.

So yeah, I think it was a pretty good haul, especially considering they originally cost somewhere around $50-$60 each and I got them both for...

oh...

...less than $20.

You may now begin hating.

I'll be over here watching my new movies and playing solitaire with my Rat Pack cards.

Dope out.

- TGWD

The Essentials: TGWD-Style!

Hey, kids:

On one of my favorite websites, badmovies.org, there was a thread in their forums asking you to name your "essential" bad movies - that is, bad films that you feel are absolutely important for every person who wants to get started in the world of "b-movies". Must-sees, as it were.

I think it's important for everyone to broaden their horizons, experience new sensations and view things they never have before. So for that small percentage of you viewers of this blog who have not yet dipped into the pool of "b", allow me to bring you gently into the shallow end, and start you out with 10 important bad movies that every beginner should watch, own, possess, experience, what-have-you.

These are in no particular order, so you can watch them in any order and they will still benefit your mind, soul and well-being equally. Here we go:

1. They Saved Hitler's Brain (1966) - Every collection should have a good old "what if?" speculative exploitation film. In this one (as if you didn't know) Nazi scientists in post WWII South America have kept alive the head of...oh, take a wild guess. This is, in fact, an older film with framing material filmed before and after to make it a flashback-type story of "what almost happened". There is ineptness of story, of acting, of special effects and especially of overall tact in this film, so it makes a good starting point for any serious "b" watcher.

2. The Choirboys (1977) - A bad adaptation of a good book makes for interesting viewing, if not necessarily better than reading the source material, at least good referencing. Joseph Wambaugh wrote interesting books in his career, "The Choirboys" being one of them, but this movie, directed by none other than Robert (The Dirty Dozen, Emperor of the North) Aldrich, and starring a veritable who's who of mid-'70s 'average guy' actors, it also had the standing record for rampant racism, misogyny, misplaced violence, death and nihilism. Oh, and it's a comedy.

3. War of the Gargantuas (1966) - Monster movies are a welcome addition, even when they're 3rd generation stories with dubbed dialogue and has-been Americans headlining them. Russ Tamblyn is an American scientist in Japan who, with his team of doctors, tracks down two gigantic, mossy monsters who threaten to destroy Tokyo and all the surrounding property. It's basically guys in rubber monster costumes stomping around miniature sets while other actors look off-camera in terror. It IS a lot of fun to watch, and entertaining in a Saturday Afternoon TV Classic kind of way. And you'll find yourself researching all you can find about Kipp Hamilton afterward, too. Go ahead, in fact; then find this movie.

4. Dracula 3000 (2004) - They say nowadays they just don't make the same caliber of bad film they used to. What it takes, it seems, is to add a space theme to a tried-and-true formula. In this case, a Dracula movie. And with actors the likes of Casper Van Dien, Coolio, Tiny Lister, Udo Kier and Erika Eleniak, the cheese is through the roof and makes the viewing of all the familiar terror movie conceits far more entertaining (in an extremely bad sort of way). And as far as the first view of this movie's Dracula character goes...well, just wait until the ending for the movie to "redeem" itself.

5. Invasion U.S.A. (1985) - Over-the-top violent action, all-American bravado, venomously evil Russian bad guys and Chuck Norris - it MUST be the '80s! This is one of those films that leaves the viewer slack-jawed, disoriented and amazed at just how manipulative an art form movies can be. That you know Chuck Norris is going to come out in the end with a mountain of dead bad guys at his feet isn't news; but the implausibility of his heroic actions, his ability to materialize out of nowhere, the arsenal of endless weapons he has at hand and Chuck's ability to do things that would make Superman shake his head and say, "No way!" - now THAT is news. No wonder his cult spreads far and wide...Invasion U.S.A. most certainly had to have helped.

6. Starcrash (1979) - Foreign adaptations of familiar American movies are a must-have. Turkey is a good source (as I have mentioned here more than once...) and so is Italy, on the basis of Starcrash, their entry in the late-'70s Star Wars sweepstakes. And directed as it is by Lugio Cozzi, you will witness multi-colored stars, many scantily-clad women, Joe Spinnell at his most over-acting-est, the worst stop-motion effects ever committed to a large-scale spectacle and David Hasselhoff (pre-"Baywatch" and even pre-"Knight Rider" for that matter). And Caroline Munro. Mmmm...Caroline Munro.

7. Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959) - It is a general rule for every bad movie watcher that they have at least one Edward D. Wood movie in their collection (I have two. Nyah.), and Plan 9 is his most famous, rightly so. The poorest special effects, the chintziest sets, the clunkiest dialogue, the bad movie trifecta of Tor Johnson/Bela Lugosi/Vampira and one of the absolute worst scientific explanations of alien technology ever committed to film. Their stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!

8. Inchon! (1982) - Now talk about a holy grail; this is a film not only funded by Moonies and so over-budgeted and clandestinely paid-for that it could never make back its (undisclosed) budget. After all, it was able to get none other than Sir Laurence Olivier to play General Douglas MacArthur - not that it helped the film as a whole any, but still: Laurence Olivier! Large-scale action abounds, as does Ben Gazzara, Jacqueline Bisset, Richard Roundtree, David Janssen and The Little Angels (Reverend Sun Myung Moon's troupe of child singers), all sharing the screen and the blame, along with scenes of unbelievable war film cliches that you never knew you remembered but are reintroduced to time and again herein. Yes, I've seen it and plan to see it again very soon. Just look for it; you'll find it if you look hard enough. I did.

9. Rat Pfink A Boo Boo (1966) - Bad ripoffs of television fads sometimes make for entertaining "b" flicks. Even if they are as bad as your average Ray Dennis Steckler movie. You know; the guy who made The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies, only here, Ray made a film to cash in on the "Batman" craze with music, fight scenes kind of like if Jackie Chan was a narcoleptic and a great scene with none other than Kogar the Swinging Ape. This is definitely a necessity. Even when director Steckler has been quoted as saying about Rat Pfink "To this day, I don't know why I did it", you know you're witnessing greatness. FIGHT CRIME!

10. Supersonic Man (1979) - Speaking of foreign ripoffs of popular American films, Superman: The Movie made a lot of foreign superheroes spring up after the fact, including Italy's own Supersonic Man (named Kronos in the original Italian-language version), who saves the world from the evil scheming of Doctor Gulik (none other than bad film standby Cameron Mitchell - Google his name; it's a stunning list of achievements). Most people, once having seen this film, will remember most vividly the plywood steamroller and the stereotypical Italian bad guys as Gulik's henchmen, including more sight gags and pratfalls than any typical Superman entry (well, maybe not as many as Superman III) and even a comic relief drunk for good measure. It's bad, but in a good way - heck, it was directed by Juan Piquer Simon, the same man who did Pod People, for crying out loud! What did you expect???

There's quite an eclectic selection for you to go and seek out yourself. And that's not all, I also have:

THE RUNNERS-UP:

11. The Star Wars Holiday Special (1978)
12. At Long Last Love (1975)
13. Skidoo (1968)
14. Dunyayi Kurtaran Adam (The Man Who Saves The World, Turkish Star Wars) (1982)
15. Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (1972)
16. Pinocchio In Outer Space (1965)
17. Jekyll & Hyde...Together Again (1982)
18. Legend of the Lone Ranger (1981)
19. Nukie (1987)
20. The Message (Mohammad: Messenger of God) (1978)

Go look up those titles and see what is so essential about them. You'll be glad you did!

And now you know; and knowing is half the battle!

Dope out.

-TGWD

Yeah, I Got Some Movies....

Many people who know me personally are aware of one thing about me if nothing more: when it comes to movies, I am a collector.

Let me explain: I love movies and watch them as often as I can (work, family and personal responsibilities allowing) and my great joy is to read or hear about a movie on a website, much like the ones listed on the side, over there, and then go out of my way to secure a copy of said film and watch it at my leisure.

As I mentioned earlier, however, there is very little leisure time in my life right now (not complaining, just saying) and so I have quite a few movies that have not yet been given my strict, undivided attention, and even more that I am still looking for.

So there you have it. A collector.

And as I notice while looking at the voluminous rows of tapes, DVDs and such at my disposal, I realize that I haven't really been giving you guys the reviews that I could, either. So how about this: for my post today, I'll give you a big messy handful of short reviews of what I have seen in my collection that first comes to mind. Okay?

Well, okay or not, here we go.

FRANKENSTEIN ISLAND












A few posts back, I mentioned wanting to get this and, if you backtrack a bit you'll see I have it now. And have seen it, also. My opine? It is every bit as bad as people say it is and then some. John Carradine as a superimposed ghostly head, Cameron Mitchell playing it drunk as an imprisoned sailor and a cast rounded out by no one you're really ever heard of (unless maybe you've seen Jerry Warren's Wild Wild World of Batwoman (I have. ;D ) It's clunky but, God love it, it is endearingly watchable like listening to your beloved Grandpa trying to tell a spooky story only he's forgotten most of it and thrown in bits and pieces of war stories, sexy girls in bikinis and other odd business that just tapers off into nothing. You'd probably want to watch it once; I've seen it six times so far and intend to do so more often. Bless you, Jerry Warren.

SKIDOO











This is a legendarily bad movie made by the legendarily great Otto Preminger. A drug comedy released in 1968 that would have been funnier in...say...1966, and had negligible laughs from beginning to end. Sure, you may be saying, but there were a lot of bad drug comedies in the '60s, what makes Skidoo so unusual that you have to own it, Dope? Well, just the fact that THIS particular drug comedy starred none other than Jackie Gleason, Carol Channing, Mickey Rooney, Cesar Romero, Frankie Avalon, Groucho Marx and a cavalcade of stars that simply boggles the mind. SEE FOR YOURSELF HERE. Anyway, this turns out to be not so much of a comedic experience for the viewer nowadays, or even a social commentary for that matter, as much as it is one of those filmic time capsules of another era, and not a good one, either. Not even a funny one, for that matter - the jokes fall flat, the actors seem embarrassed, Groucho seems too old and tired to do anything funny, even the hallucination scenes don't have the laughs that they should. Hell, Carol Channing does a striptease for Frankie Avalon. I sure wasn't laughing. But that doesn't mean I haven't watched it repeatedly. It certainly is a spectacle at least, and how many other movies sing their end credits?

STARCRASH











A bad Star Wars ripoff by any means, but still a whole lot of fun. Caroline Munro wearing various skimpy suits and traveling through the multi-colored stars of the galaxy with Marjoe Gortner, David Hasselhoff (yes, THAT David Hasselhoff), Christopher Plummer (!!), space cavemen, bad special effects and some of the absolute worst stop-motion puppetry you will ever see. OH! And Joe Spinell as the cape-wearing, hair-teased, toothy, cackling bad guy Count Zarth Arn (kinda like Darth Vader with a few missing letters, see?). If for no other reason you must see this movie just to see Spinell strut around, growl out his lines, wave that cape around with more flourish than Liberace in his prime and stare wide-eyed at everything. Sure, Darth Vader was really evil, but he never had as much fun with his cape as Zarth Arn does here. And remember, this was all done in Italy, so you can see first-hand how talent, creativity and originality DO NOT travel well overseas. But you'll be laughing all the while; I guarantee it.

RIKI-OH: THE STORY OF RIKI










This is an experience unto itself: like the Super Bowl or Communion on Christmas morning or the cry of a newborn baby - only without any boring stuff! Riki-Oh is based on a super-violent Japanese comic (Manga? Anime? Whatever...) dealing with a man with superpowers who is imprisoned and beats up/kills/disembowels/crushes the evil prisoners/drug dealers/superhuman beasts in the prison at which he is incarcerated. Not a spray of blood, body organ, punch, kick, feint or explosive death is missed and it is most certainly intent on giving you, the viewer, your money's worth. If you're well-aware that this is all movie magic, no actual blood was spilt and these guys all probably had a good laugh over the day's filming at the commissary over a nice ham on rye, then not only will you be able to take this but it will probably be your favorite movie of all time. It certainly is in my top five!

Wow. There you go: four new reviews in one post. I didn't think I could do it.

Huh.

Well, I've got more movies to watch/catalog/collect. What do you think I do; write about movies all day?

Dope out.

-TGWD

I Got Some Early Christmas Presents!!

Yes indeedily-do, I done did. :D

Okay, no more goofiness. I shall now continue.

The last few weeks, things have really been turning around for me and the family in general. Work is going well - nothing but compliments from my boss and co-workers (always nice). I'm in the middle of rehearsals for a local production of a stage adaptation of Stephen King's "Misery" (I play the James Caan part, for those who saw the movie), so that's sweet plus infinity. My wife got a part-time job and is looking for further employment after the holidays, so more money is trickling in little by little. And the best part of all is -

(drum roll)

Through some judicious trades and gifting, I got some very verrrrry nice DVDs!

Let's take a peek, shall we?

STARCRASH (aka: FEMALE SPACE INVADERS) - I mentioned this one a few posts back; a Star Wars ripoff from Italy that is as goofy and stiltedly bad as anything you're liable to see. And the special effects - hoo man, you have to see 'em to believe 'em.

See?



SUPERSONIC MAN - Yes! Hong Kong Cavalier got me the English language version of this absolute treasure (I already had the Spanish language version). And this is one that didn't disappoint...not by a long shot. Cameron Mitchell as a maniacal bad guy? Stereotyped buffoons as henchmen? A boxy robot from a cartoon show as a diabolical weapon of destruction? an aloof nobody as the hero? Thorough ripoffs of the Superman legacy left and right? All here, baby.

And I know I've shown this before but please, bear with me: I'm giddy.



PIECES - From the same director and a lot of the bit players from the movie just above this sentence. A lot of blood, guts, stupidity and a small part for Paul Smith, the guy who played Bluto in the movie Popeye and Beast Rabban in David Lynch's Dune. Oh, an done of the absolute best last scenes ever made. What is it? Rent it and see, bubba.



KING OF KONG ISLAND - And yes, it involves apes. It's also the messiest (as in "involves blood"), stupidest and most lazy movie I've seen in awhile. I'm glad it's mine.

For a rundown and other information (since I can't seem to find any flippin' videos online of this), click here, won't you? Thank you.

And a few better known discs in the fray as well (Mission: Impossible, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Clue: The Movie), but yes, I got me some more movies!!

The best part of all of this? It ain't even Christmas yet!! The worst part? Now I need more shelf space for all my DVDs. :(

Ah well. Into every life, baby, the rain must fall.

Dope out.

-TGWD

So, What Movies Do I Own?

...or, at least ADMIT to owning?

Well, it may surprise some of you to know that I, personally, have quite an eclectic taste in films and own several that few people, in fact, have even heard of.

Case in point: the clips you are about to watch are scenes from movies that I own. I didn't make the clips themselves but you get the idea.

Here's a "good" one from Mars Needs Women - beats me why after this one Tommy Kirk's career didn't explode (instead of bombing).



This one is from Hudson Hawk - underrated or overblown? Your call.



Here's a full-blown (up) scene for a film I'm proud to call mine - MegaForce.



And lastly (for now) here is a nice little trailer from the non-derivative film Message From Space (in no way connected to Star Wars, believe it or not).



So, now you know my taste in films. Aren't you glad you asked? Or did you?

To be continued...maybe.

Dope out.

-TGWD