10.9.09

fantastic voyage (1966)

aka Microscopia. Strange Journey.
A scientist escapes from behind the Iron Curtain with the help of CIA agent Grant. He gives the Americans the secret of miniturising people and things, but is attacked and severely injured. The only way to save him and get all his secrets is to place a team of miniturised doctors, (including Donald Pleasence and Raquel Welsh), into his body to clear a clot on his brain. Time is critical with the crew only having one hour to get to the clot, perform the operation and and get out.

A fun adventure that rolls along nicely, just don't look for any logic in it!

i'm gonna git you sucka (1988)

Jack Spade (Keenen Ivory Wayans) returns to the ghetto, on leave from the army, to go to his brothers funeral. He finds his brother had fallen out with Mr Big and owed him serious money. So Jack hooks up with his childhood hero, John Slade (Bernie Casey) and declares war on Mr Big and his gang. To help out Slade brings together all the blacksploitation characters from the 70's to help, including Issac Hayes and jim Brown.
Unlike most of the Wayan's films this is actually a decent comedy, a parody of blaxploitation movies, with a constant stream of jokes, most of which work. Watch out for Chris Rock who makes a small appearance and a performance by KRS-One at the end of the film.

9.9.09

the amazing colossal man (1957)

Lt. Col. Glenn Manning (Glenn Langan) is accidentally exposed to a plutonium bomb blast trying to rescue a crashed pilot. Though badly burned, he survives, but then he begins to grow, and grow and grow! As he grows, he starts to lose his mind. His growth only stops when he reaches 50 feet tall, but by this point he has gone insane. They have to contain him, but he escapes and makes for Las Vegas. Can the scientists and his fiancee Carol (Cathy Downs) stop him?
One of those films that has adequate special effects and fantastically campy and quotable bad dialogue. A b-movie drive-in classic.

beach blanket bingo (1965)

There's trouble in teen paradise when Frankie (Frankie Avalon) and Dee Dee (Annette Funicello) clash over his friendship with singer Sugar Kane (Linda Evans). Meanwhile while the rest of the gang are off learning to skydive, Bonehead (Jody McCrea) meets a mermaid and becomes infatuated, with everyone thinking he's finally lost it. Frankie comes up with a plan to snap him out of it by teaming him up with Sugar, but then Eric Von Zipper (Harvey Lembeck) and his Rat Pack kidnap Sugar.
The fourth beach party in the series sees the gang having the most fun with their parts and their most demanding of plots. Some nice comic turns by Paul Lynde as Sugar's manipulating manager and Don Rickles gets to insult the oldest teenagers on the beach! The songs are nothing outstanding with various characters getting to sing this time. No groups get to appear, other than the Hondells.

7.9.09

the warrior and the slave girl (1958)

aka La rivolta dei gladiatori.
A villainous princess slowly poisons her younger brother, the king. So she can eventually claim the Armenian throne when he dies. But the Roman army is on hand to eventually quash her wicked plans and prevent the Scythians from taking over.
The usual toga wearing fantasy, men with muscles fight each other and the odd lion. Whilst the wicked and beautiful princess tries to manipulate everyone. It passes the time, but little else.

6.9.09

muscle beach party (1964)

The 'kids' find their beach invaded by a troop of bodybuilders, led by coach Jack Fanny (Don Rickles). Complications then arise when a wealthy Italian Contessa (Luciana Paluzzi), turns up. She takes a shine to top muscleman Mr Galaxy, but then ditches him for Frankie (Frankie Avalon), causing Dee Dee (Annette Funicello) to become jealous and plot revenge.
The second beach party movie sees the gang do their thing on the beach, which consists of lounging, larking around, singing and the tiniest amount of surfing. They also manage to fit in some bands into their tightly packed schedules, including Dick Dale and Stevie Wonder. Otherwise its the usual hi-jinx.

naked fury (1959)

aka The Pleasure Lovers.
A gang botches a jewel heist and think they've killed the security guard. They take the guards daughter as hostage and hide her in a disused and crumbling warehouse, as they await the ship that will be their getaway. Eddy (Reed De Rouen)
is the gang leader, and ubiquitous American star. Johnny (Kenneth Cope), is the young and headstrong troublemaker, and Carol (Leigh Madison) is the kidnapped girl stuck in the middle. Nerves fray as the various gang members bide their time in different ways, causing the inevitable frictions and trouble.
A good example of a Butchers brit noir, the actors do their bit with the usual minimal script and it's enhanced by a fine score by Edwin Astley.

dr. who and the daleks (1965)

Eccentric scientist Dr. Who (Peter Cushing) invents the TARDIS, a time machine, bizarrely disguised as a police telephone box for some reason! The Dr shows off his invention to his two grand-daughters, Susan and Barbara, (Roberta Tovey and Jennie Linden), and Ian (Roy Castle). Ian (Roy Castle) accidentally sets it off, sending them through time and space to the planet Skaro. There they find a race war underway. The peaceful Thals are being attacked by the mutated and vicious Daleks, who are determined to take over not only Skaro, but also the universe. Can the Dr help the Thals defeat the Daleks and get himself and family back to earth?
Based on the long running BBC series Doctor Who, this is a slight deviation from the series plot lines, with the Dr being an Eccentric English scientist, rather than a time lord. This was so that there need be no exposition about where the Dr was from for world-wide audiences who had never seen the TV series. That said Cushing gives a good account of himself and the film fairly romps along, in a more light-hearted and comic manner than the TV series. The story itself is an adaption from a TV script broadcast the previous year. Good old fashioned family entertainment.

side by side (1975)

Max Nugget (Terry-Thomas) and Gary (Billy Boyle) run rival clubs, next door to each other. Max and his son (Barry Humphries) compare a variety show featuring strippers and comedians. While Gary's club puts on the latest groups. Unfortunately they don't get on, and even more unfortunately the local magistrate has decided that only one club will get a new license. Which one will survive? They both set out to out do the other with their acts and both unwittingly approach Julia (Stephanie De Sykes) to help them.
This is a string of lame gags and set ups used as a way to show as many pop acts of the day as possible. If the music of Fox, Mud, The Rubettes, Desmond Dekker, Kenny, Hello, Stephanie De Sykes, and Mac and Katie Kissoon means something to you then you'll want to sit through the uninspired plot. Otherwise its just a curio of its time.