633 Squadron (1964)

Director: Walter Grauman

Starring: Cliff Robertson, George Chakiris, Maria Perschy, Harry Andrews, Donald Houston, Michael Goodliffe, John Meillon, John Bonney, Angus Lennie, Scott Finch

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The greatest adventure since men fought on earth...or flew over it!

Plot: An RAF squadron is assigned to knock out a German rocket fuel factory in Norway,, which is part of the Nazi effort to launch rockets on England during D-day, by flying up a well-defended fjord at low level.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

After getting through half of D-DAY THE SIXTH OF JUNE (1956) before realizing the dull love story wasn't going to disappear in favor of some WWII action, we popped it out (for me to finish later) in favor of this picture.  See, my friend and I were jonsing for a good WWII actioner and something had to give so I popped in 633 and it was great.  Well, it was a lot of fun.  One of the best things it had going for it was the Cliff Robertson.  This guy oozes with charisma.  He's so damn likable in everything I've seen him in.

It's just a fun picture no matter how you slice it and it's got a rousing score by Ron Goodwin.  They really do a great job with the tension in the final assault that it kept me guessing the whole way through if they were going to pull it off and, if they did, who would survive because the odds were stacked against them.  The Germans were nicely handled as smart soldiers, not the knuckleheads you often get in these pictures. That was refreshing. It wasn't until I was searching the net today for movie posters and a trailer that I came across folks saying that George Lucas used this movie as one of his main inspirations and one that he copied for the Death Star assault at the end of STAR WARS (1977).  Check this out.

Now, there's a video and audio edit job done on it but he's not lifting bits and pieces from all over the movie.  This is all from the last twenty minutes and in order.  It's just tightened up to help sync with the audio.  Being the huge STAR WARS fans my friend and I are I'm surprised we didn't pick up on this in some small way when we watched it last night.  It's a valid comparison.

D-Day the Sixth of June (1956)

Director: Henry Koster

Starring: Robert Taylor, Richard Todd, Dana Wynter, Edmond O'Brien, John Williams, Jerry Paris, Robert Gist, Richard Wyler, Ross Elliott, Alex Finlayson

More info: IMDb

Tagline: The Greatest Love Story of the War

Plot: On the night before D-Day, one ship, carrying Special Force Six, leaves ahead of the main invasion on a dangerous mission. On board are British Colonel Wynter and American Captain Parker, who each, in flashback, reminisce about their separate involvements with beauteous Valerie Russell.

My rating: 4/10

Will I watch it again? War is HELL, NO!

Say, kids, how much Nazi ass-kickin' action would you expect in a 106 minute movie called D-DAY THE SIXTH OF JUNE?  How about 7 minutes worth, AND not until 90 minutes into the picture?  Yeah.  Had I seen the movie poster before watching it instead of the DVD cover (bastards!) I might have been less disappointed.  Check out this horseshit.

That screams WWII action to me.  Not a vagina in sight. Hell, they don't even put Dana Wynter's (the female love interest) name on the cover!  Bullshit, Man, bullshit.  It's crap like this that puts a bad taste in my mouth from 20th Century Fox.  I don't get how Robert Taylor got to be such a popular movie star.  He's dull.  I didn't care for him in IVANHOE (1952) and I don't like him here.  His performance is as bland as...

Maybe he's good in Westerns or crime flicks but he's got no business being the love interest in this picture.  He's got so little charisma I can't get behind anyone like Valerie (Wynter) for digging on this guy.  The ending was OK since it at least went somewhere I didn't expect.  What a let down.  I'm selling this DVD at the flea market.  Cash monies here I come!

The Legend of Drunken Master (1994)

Director: Chia-Liang Liu

Starring: Jackie Chan, Lung Ti, Anita Mui, Felix Wong, Chia-Liang Liu, Ken Lo, Kar Lok Chin, Ho-Sung Pak

More info: IMDb

Tagline:  Don't Cross His Path When He's Drunk!

Plot: A young martial artist is caught between respecting his pacifist father's wishes or stopping a group of disrespectful foreigners from stealing precious artifacts.

My rating: 8/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

Boy, it's been too long since I watched a Jackie Chan flick and longer still since I saw this one.  I seem to recall he did another Drunken Master movie in the 70s that was better than this one.  Chan is a work of art in fluid motion.  His physicality is uncanny.  The fight choreography (by Chan) is superb and most of all, fun as all hell.  I also dig his sense of humor and playfulness.  This picture oozes with fun from start to finish.  Any video clip from this movie speaks volumes more than I could ever muster up.

THE AWESOMENESS STARTS HERE!

My Kid Could Paint That (2007)

Director: Amir Bar-Lev

Starring: Amir Bar-Lev, Anthony Brunelli, Elizabeth Cohen, Jonathan Crosby, Ron Curtis Jr., Michael Kimmelman, Laura Olmstead, Mark Olmstead, Maria Olmstead, Zane Olmstead, Celeste Russi, Tara Sands, Stuart Simpson, Jackie Wescott

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Inspiration or Manipulation? You Decide.

Plot: A look at the work and surprising success of a four-year-old girl whose paintings have been compared to the likes of Picasso and has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars.



My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? Nah.

This is an interesting documentary.  It flows like most documentaries where there is a controversy involved.  It starts at the beginning, telling us about how this kid started and then the media attention followed by questions about the authenticity of the paintings (did she have any assistance or were these 100% created by the kid) to a public outcry and abandonment by the art community.  It's quite a ride.  It's well worth watching.  The film feels like it's leaning toward one view but it did leave me asking questions (that I know how I would answer) like, what is the true value of art, does it matter all that much if an adult did guide a child with a painting?  It seems to me that art collectors, generally speaking, are petty and pretentious.  I realize this might not generally be the case but it certainly applies to a lot of those portrayed in the documentary.  Do they have valid complaints and concerns?  Possibly.  Definitely as they see it.  But the big question I have for them is, what are you buying, the art or the artist?

Captain Apache (1971)

Director: Alexander Singer

Starring: Lee Van Cleef, Carroll Baker, Stuart Whitman, Percy Herbert, Elisa Montes, Tony Vogel, Charles Stalmaker, Charly Bravo, Faith Clift

More info: IMDb

Tagline: They Trailed Him...Tailed Him...Tried to Nail Him...NO WAY!!!

Plot: Lee Van Cleef as a Native American born US Army officer, Captain Apache, investigating a murder, uncovers a presidential assassination plot. Captain Apache wears a funky coat, trips on psychedelics, beats up twin gay gunslingers and constantly gets called red ass, all while trying to find out what the words "april morning" mean, a dying agent's last words. With very few leads, he starts a tense alliance with a corrupt gun-runner named Griffin (Stuart Whitman), but finds he'll have to work quicker if he's to find out information as his contacts have a rather annoying habit of dying - and just before they tell him as well.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? Probably not.

#11 on A FISTFUL OF TRAILERS (part of the TRAILER TRASH PROJECT)

I'm a HUGE Lee Van Cleef fan so I was primed and ready to like this one only...I didn't really.  Sure, it's strange seeing LVC with a full head of hair and no mustache and it's a little odd that he's playing an Indian but that's not where I have a problem with the picture.  The characters spend the entire movie trying to find out what the hell the dying words of a man, "April Morning", meant.  LVC gets into scrapes and there are some kills from time to time but we don't really get closer to knowing until the final few minutes of the picture.  What we discover is pretty damn cool and then once that's over it's really cynical (which I liked).  There's not much that's interesting enough to pull me back in for another viewing.  There are way too many Spaghetti Westerns to watch (and re-watch) before I'd ever be convinced to come back to this one.  Another reason to stay away is LVC sings not one but two songs!  The first one over the opening credits isn't so bad but the one that accompanies the end credits is just awful.  I'm glad he didn't give up acting for a singing career.  I'm sure he was, too.

Sniper (1993)

Director: Luis Llosa

Starring: Tom Berenger, Billy Zane, J.T. Walsh, Aden Young, Ken Radley, Reynaldo Arenas, Gary Swanson, Hank Garrett, Frederick Miragliotta

More info: IMDb

Tagline: One Shot. One Kill. No Exceptions.

Plot: Tough guy Thomas Beckett is a US Marine working in the Panamanian jungle. His job is to seek out rebels and remove them using his sniper skills. Beckett is notorious for losing his partners on such missions. This time he's accompanied by crack marksman Richard Miller, who's more of an office-type. Together they plan to seek out an important rebel leader, whilst avoiding a rogue marksman who frequents this part of the jungle.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No.

While it's a nicely paced film and slower than what you'd expect, it's still got too much action.  Since the sniper life is all about the monotonous waiting I was hoping for something even more subdued. I dig Zane but did they have to make his character an Olympic medal winning shooter who's never killed?  And why would they put him on an important mission that, you know, means he has to kill?  Not buying it.  But suspension of disbelief aside, it's not a bad picture but it's not as good as it should have been.

Cloistered Nun: Runa's Confession (1976)

Director: Masaru Konuma

Starring: Luna Takamura, Yoko Azusa, Nobutaka Masutomi, Aoi Nakajima, Shin Nakamaru

More info: IMDb

Plot: Before leaving for a mission in Africa, Runa, a nun, visits her sister three years after entering the convent when her sister stole Runa's boyfriend. Runa comes to forgive and to help her sister make enough money buying and selling some convent property so she can marry. The old boyfriend has new women in his life, but he and the sister tell Runa they're a couple in order to keep the property deal. To make even more money, Runa's sister wheedles large gifts from various men she's stringing along. There are flashbacks to Runa's sexual initiation at the convent. Has this taught meekness to Runa?

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Part of the Nunsploitation Project (July & August 2013). Click here for more naughty nun insanity! 

This Nunsploitation picture is different than what I've seen so far.  What makes it so is that it takes place outside a church, convent or any other religious location.  It's also a revenge flick from the get go although you won't know it until you're near the end.  It's got some great Japanese weirdness you've come to expect.

 

I'll say!

That's right, she paints her nethers.

What does she do with it?  She gives it to her boyfriend.

Well, it turns out she's sold them to several men telling them that she'd marry them!

Boy, if I had a nickel every time I heard that line.

This looks to be a slam dunk, fun as shit movie but it's not all that.  It's rather slow but not without some bits to keep you interested.  The sex scenes dragged.  There were  a couple or so that went on seemingly forever.  Combine that with an already leisurely pace it can get boring pretty quick.  I did enjoy it despite that but not enough to give it another go.  I'd rather watch any number of Pinky Violence flicks from the 70s instead.