LETTERS to Unknown Movies

Letters are arranged from newest to oldest.

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July 1, 2010

Dear Greywizard,

When referring to the woman with all the breasts covering her body in American Raspberry 1977 that was a parody of an old milk commercial. The original commercial went something like this "milk it does a body good". That also explains the "milk can't get enough of it" parodies in the movies. The stay down parody was just that, the man uses stay down so he won't have an unwanted erection. I was 23 in 1977, so I remember everything they made fun of.

Michelle Jones-Hall

Thanks for your information about the breast woman. As for the "Stay Down" commercial, I could swear it was a spoof of a commercial for a completely different product (maybe for an anti-perspirant product?)

June 6, 2010

[re: The Asylum movie studio]

Looks like you were ahead of the curve on this one by about a year and a half:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/06/the-most-ridiculous-holly_n_602146.html

a1a45127

May 17, 2010

hell-o!

i like your page very much, i discovered it about two weeks ago and since then it inspired me to watch two films that you reviewed, i liked them a lot, thanx :)

another movie that i watched before reading your review was Troll 2, maybe if you don't know that fact already, sometime ago it became a cult classic and even a documentary about it was made. There are some links to nice article about the documentary:

http://www.fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=865:george-hardy-having-
the-best-worst-time&catid=36:demo-articles&Itemid=56

http://www.fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=716:best-worst-movie-film
-review&catid=50:movies-tv&Itemid=181

greets :)

jacek

ps. sorry for my bad english, i live in some third world country and i've learned your language by reading comics using some ancient dictionary to translate them ;)

May 16, 2010

Hi Greywizard, I was just trolling around Unknown Movies and came across your review of Emperor Of The Nort h. Reading it reminded me of a movie that was on TCM a couple of months back, called Wild Boys Of The Road (I think that was it). It was actually made in the early 30s, and dealt with what was apparently a common phenomenon back then: teenagers deciding to hit the road because their fathers were out of work and couldn't afford to feed them. Sometimes the fathers suggested that they leave. And it wasn't just boys. Anyway, our hero (Frankie Darrow) starts riding the rails and living in hobo camps, along with a loose group of other teens ( one of them is a very young Sterling Holloway !). One girl gets raped by a railroad guard (Ward Bond). The others surround him and start closing in, as the picture fades to black, though we are never told if they just beat him or killed him. When they get to a new town, the police are waiting, and if they don't have friends or relatives who might take them in, they are told to get back on the train - even in big cities like Chicago. Its a pretty bleak movie, up to the unrealistically happy ending. But interesting, and not just from the point of view of social history.

You mention in one of your reviews that you like post-apocalypse movies. One I like I first saw under the original title of Battletruck. It later turned up with a generic title: Warlords Of The 21st Century. Why not just call it Warriors Of The Post-Apocalypse and be done with it ? It was filmed in New Zealand in 1982, before it became a fashionable location. Its far from a great movie, but what I liked was that it made more of a stab at realism than most of the genre. (In Mad Max I always wondered what people were eating.) The Hero (Michael Beck ) is a loner, but he's not the usual homeless wanderer. He has a nice little homestead, with a cabin, a vegetable garden and a flock of chickens, who provide both protein in their eggs and fuel for his motorcycle in the methane he extracts from their dung. He also maintains friendly relations with the local farming commune. It appears to be a mutual-backscratching arrangement: he shares the wild game he hunts with them, and if he needs something they can provide (clothes, boots, motorcycle repairs ) he can get it. Into this semi-idyllic arrangement comes the titular vehicle, owned by The General (James Wainwright) who uses it and his private army of thugs to steal, rape and murder his way across the desolate landscape.

Any likelihood of you reviewing The Road or The Book Of Eli ? I saw the former, and the basic premise seemed poorly thought out. Its supposedly not more than 10 or 12 years since the (unexplained) apocalypse ( we know this because flashbacks show that the boy's mother was pregnant when it happened) but the few survivors are starving and most of them have turned to cannibalism. There must be milions of tons of canned food in North America. It can't have run out so soon. Also, the father has a pistol with only one bullet. In gun-happy American, he can't find either a gun or bullets for the one he has ? why doesn't he check the glovebox of every abandoned car they pass ? The attempt at a 'happy' ending was unconvincing. I couldn't help wondering how they feed that dog.

Sandra

Thank you for your suggestions. There is indeed a movie called Wild Boys Of The Road, and the description seems to fit what you saw. I'll have to keep an eye out for it.

I did see Warlords Of The 21st Century many years ago, and I remember I enjoyed it. However, I haven't seen a copy of it for a long time.

The Book Of Eli did enough business that I don't think it's an unknown movie. As for The Road, I guess it's currently unknown enough, though I have a feeling it may find an audience when it's released on DVD. By the way, I did see it when it was in theaters. Though I liked it better than you did, I have to admit I wondered how they fed the dog.

April 29, 2010

Hello Greywizard,

another movie you should seriously consider for your list is Bloodbath At The House of Death starring Kenny Everett, English comedian. It's a spoof on many of the Hammer House of Horror type movies, with reference to more modern ones such as Jaws, Aliens and ET. Not quite as funny now as it was when first released, however, it is a classic of its time and is billed as the original scary movie.

You may also be interested in Undercover Brother - another send off, this time of the blacksploitation - meets Austin Powers mix.

Michelle

Thanks for the suggestions. I actually saw Bloodbath years and years ago, and I though it did have some funny moments. Haven't seen a copy around for years, however. As for Undercover Brother, I don't think this major studio move is unknown enough right now. Maybe in a few years...

April 19, 2010

I totally disagree with your review of The Magic Garden of Stanley Sweetheart! It is my favorite movie! 1. Holly Near ( fat Fran), who became a revered folk singer and activist, feminist and lesbian advocate. In her biography she confesses to having an affair with Johnson while filming the movie, before she came out as a lesbian. http://www.hollynear.com/ 2. The wonderful sights and clips of New York City, including footage of the actual building of the World Trade Center. 3. The fantastic soundtrack, for example the song, written by the Bee Gees, the Sound of Love, that can still be heard on the myspace page of Angeline Butler, http://www.myspace.com/angelinebutler/playlists Her rendition of Keepin That Man in the film too, is a sweet pre- woman's liberation stand- by- your -man love song 4. The era. I am about the same age as Don Johnson. As a then apolitical "hippy" privileged native New Yorker, the film is remarkably true to (my) life and that of my friends of the time. Thank you for allowing me to share my opinions. I think it is a shame that this film was never officially released to public for home viewing.

Robin Marion

Actually, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the movie. I'd rather hear someone felt a movie was good rather than hearing that they suffered through it. Anyway, I just couldn't connect with the movie. I suppose it's possible that someone who grew up in the era might find more they could identify with, but this more modern reviewer didn't.

April 7, 2010

[re: Didn't You Hear]

Just wanted to give my take on the movie as well as a bit more “family history” first off a shout out to my cousin Ashley you will not remember me last time I recall you were in diapers and I was like 5 years old. I am in contact 04/2010 with Skip. Your history did provide additional information and as off beat these movies are that Skip worked on including the cast, crews, backers, writer’s at that time this was very innovative and creative at the time. There were few what we call them Inde films being made because of cost but as a total sum this one movie did open up and start the independent film makers in Seattle and through the use of the mog also create a creative music scene in Seattle that now include some very well known acts. So the impact of the film its self may not hold much but what it created was the start of independent producers of music writers and the strangle hold Hollywood and large producers had on what we see, hear or watch. The people involved in this up to and including David Carradine and later movies were the true innovators in their day and I will say that Skip in many ways was ahead of his time as others of his period that started true Independent or Inde stuff. So the film has it place few B rated movies up to this one were ever produced outside Hollywood so it did start a movement if only because if he did it why can’t I?

Michael

March 17, 2010

I am not sure when you wrote your review for Earthbound. I was curious about the movie because my family and I were in the film. I think I was three at the time living in Utah. My parents were involved in the acting business and were in other things also. Last night over dinner my parents and I were reminicing over Earthbound. My father was one of the searchers who had to walk by Burl Ives and catch him in case he fell. I remember being in the crowd in town who had to scream and run. My mom then commented on a pool scene. I do not remember that one. I remember seeing the movie once, probably on tv. Fun memories!

Thank you for your input on the movie. I wish I could see it again. Even if it is so bad, it would be for a good laugh!

Thanks again,

Margee

March 16, 2010

Hello. I recently stumbled upon your fine website the other day, and was delighted to see that it had an extensive collection of well-written reviews for my reading pleasure. I enjoyed immensely your take on some of the Troma library (including the oft-ignored Troma's War), some MST3K classics, and even some films I haven't seen yet enjoyed reading the reviews of, whether I still don't intend to see them (APE) or now really really really want to (Sonny Boy).

While browsing through your list of films, however, I found a very disturbing review. It seems that you consider Boondock Saints an unknown film. Seriously? Have you not seen the constantly replayed television advertisements for it's sequel? Or the fact that numerous men who are still young enough to adorn their walls with pictures held up by thumbtacks choose to buy one of the myriad of posters based off the film almost as much as they choose the film it completely ripped off, Pulp Fiction? (You try
apologizing for this fact in your review, but come on man. It's obvious as the sun itself).

I'm not asking you to take this review off your site - I'm not asking you to do anything, in fact, since your site does very well on it's own, without the input of some random jackoff with a gmail account and a seething hatred of rubbish action films. I just couldn't handle reading your review and staring at the "EMAIL" button at the bottom of the page without throwing in my two cents, and letting you know that there are cinema lovers out there who appreciate a good trash film, yet truly despise Boondock Saints.

When you started talking about what makes a "real" movie, my heart sank. I really, REALLY hoped you weren't going to go into how real Boondock Saints is. But you did, and not only that, you called it "film-making at it's most powerful." Seriously? Watching people's heads get blown in is not "powerful
film-making." Powerful film-making exists when technically proficient directors (i.e. not Troy Duffy) take a concept that is actually worthwhile and intelligent (not a overwrought story about two brothers "pushed two far" who get a sign from god, represented by a voice over and the ultra-cliched
"waking up in bed in a cold sweat" trope, who go out and start killing people as an excuse to kill more people and have the obligatory cold-blooded detective track them), turn it into a good screenplay (not one that looks like a couple cliched action vignettes drawn out over a plot so thin it makes Family Guy look like Park Chan-Wook - you acknowledge these holes in your review as well), then direct fine, capable actors (not actors who are usually good but seem to be not trying at all, as you've acknowledged in the review, again) and release it. Boondock Saints does none of that, and was
never capable of any of it from the beginning. If I did want to be my own judge, jury, and executioner at film's end, it was only because this shitty film would make me want to kill people and rob their corpses for the 3.99 I spent on the damn rental.

After reading that paragraph of your review, and the one in parenthesis right after it (ESPECIALLY the one in parenthesis - dissing Kurosawa films to make Boondock Saints look better is just not good film criticism), I was fairly certain your review was a joke. Not a serious review with humorous sarcasm, but a complete prank, and a joke. In fact, I'm still not completely sure it isn't, if only because you run a movie-related website. But later on, you write a statement that is just so full of blatant contradiction that
I wonder if you were just high off your ass while writing it. The claim that this movie isn't supposed to be taken seriously because if it took itself seriously it would diminish the realness is just absurd. Did you proofread that one? it makes absolutely no sense. And the claim that the song and dance numbers were "added" To Singin' In The Rain is equally stupid - the whole f**king movie is ABOUT singing and dancing. it wasn't added - it's based off of that, just like Boondock Saints' basing itself off of every cliche in the book (crawling through air vents to get to the boss' hideout, the "pushed too far" trope, the detective going to a strip club for clues, etc.) is the entirety of the film, not an addition to witty dialogue or great characterization. The entirety of this movie just. plain. sucks.

Approximately half of your review is spent apologizing for the inadequacies of the script, Troy Duffy, and the two main actors. In fact, about half the review is just apologies for the technical retardation evident in the final film product. Even when you try to give a nod to the supposedly "brilliant" dialogue, it just comes off as sarcastic - a stream of "f**ks' doesn't do anything talented toward showing a character's frustration. It's just lazy. Then you try to excuse the critical derision this film rightfully suffered by saying your parents loved it, and they loved Dead Alive, so there. This just perplexes me - if you're talking about films, cite a noted critic who's job it is to study these things and analyze them for a living, not your
parents who have nothing to do with film or it's appreciation. Oh, wait, everyone who knows anything about film and film-making hated Boondock Saints. Guess your inverse ad hominem argument had to suffice, huh?

Anyway, I just wanted to get that off my chest. Other than that you have a great site, but I don't think I'll be re-visiting it. That review left a bad taste in my mouth and cut all hopes of finding true insightfulness in your writing (not that mine's much better, as you can tell. Then again, I don't purport to the entire internet to be an authority on such things), and the "well my cool parents liked it so there" argument makes me think you're 14.

You know what the worst part is though? I just know that for every email you get about the movie that reads like this, there are 10 more in your inbox that say something like "BETAR THAN PULP FICTIN! DUFFY ROOLZ!" And maybe that's why I come off as so bitter in this review.

Whatever. We're all entitled to our own opinions, I guess.

Michael Power

Whew! Let me answer your long letter. First of all, I agree that Boondock Saints is no longer an unknown movie. But it was when I put up that review - that review is several years old.

Second, I was never trying to indicate that Boondock Saints is some kind of artistic masterpiece - I WAS KIDDING! In my review, I was trying to give the impression to readers that the movie is a violent, simple-minded, foul-mouthed, trashy experience... but a FUN violent, simple-minded, foul-mouthed, trashy experience... if you are in the mood for something like that. When I talked about what "real" filmmaking is, I wasn't being serious - that was a JOKE! I can't believe you actually took seriously my comparing the movie to Kurosawa and Singin' In The Rain - do you think any sane person who wasn't joking would say things like that? As a matter of fact, I've watched Kurosawa and Singin' In The Rain, and I think those films are artistic masterpieces.

I suggest you go to the "Drama" section of my site's genre index - there you will see plenty of serious dramas I have reviewed in a sober tone. Many of these same dramas I have enjoyed.

Oh, and I don't like everything about Boondock Saints - a couple of days ago I watched the sequel, and I was quite disappointed with it. It was sloppily-made and lacked the spark of enthusiasm that made the first movie a lot of fun to watch on a trash level.

March 15, 2010

Hello, I just wanted to take a minute to thank you for putting together such a great collection of unknown movies. I too am a B movie activist and it's refreshing to find some so dedicated to the cause as your self.

I recently started an RSS feed of B movie reviews. It doesn't quite compare to what you do but it's fun for me. I update it quite frequently so I figured you might get a kick out of it.

http://www.flixster.com/api/v1/users/kurtastbury/ratings.rss

If you'd rather just peruse my most recent ones you can see them on my blog.

http://bmoviereviews.blogspot.com/

Again, thanks for all of the great information. I hope to one day enjoy as many B movies as you. Take care.

Kurt Astbury

March 11, 2010

[re: Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day]

Just wondering, do you ever plan on reviewing this film? Considering how much you loved the original i'd be very surprised if you didn't.

Michael Prymula

Probably not. In the years since I first reviewing the original, the first movie has become so well-known that it's no longer an "unknown movie". The sequel got plenty of publicity and did well in its limited theatrical release (grossing more than $10 million), so I don't think it's "unknown". But I'll definitely watch the sequel. I was planning to rent it today, but every copy at the video store in my neighborhood was out.

March 10, 2010

[re: The Stranger]

Hey just wanted to let you know that there's a easier way to see this film-get a DVD-R of it from Ioffer.com, that's what I did, it was reasonably priced at $10.00 and i'm sure there's plenty of others around the same price. You can get lots of rare, expensive and unreleased films on DVD-R on Ioffer, heck maybe they even have a copy of The Farmer! P.S. on an unrelated topic, did you know that there was another Die Hard-in-a-water treatment plant- film that came out the same year as Lethal Tender? It's called Demolition University and it stars Corey Haim (who just died of an overdose today sadly) and Robert Forster, I actually thought it was more enjoyable then Lethal Tender as it had a bigger body countand a more likeable main character, so you might want to check that film out.

Michael Prymula

I think I'll have to check out that web site, since I learned that the original DVD company that had the rights to release The Farmer on DVD no longer has the rights. Thanks also for alerting me about Demolition University. Haim and Forster together in a movie? The results should be... interesting.

February 14, 2010

[re: The Stranger]

There are, I guess, similarities to High Plains Drifter - the supernatural ambiguity of the character (or do I mean "ambiguous supernaturalism"?), etc., but I think it owes a lot more to Leone's Once Upon A Time in the West.

(And I know you said you wouldn't do our research for us - but if you happen to know where I can get a (***Reasonably-priced***) copy ... I'd love to know - I see the cheapest VHS copy on Amazon is $60...
Wish I'd taped it when it was on satellite.)

Mike Weber

Thanks for your letter and comment. Since my mailbox has been pretty empty lately, I decided I would make an exception in your case and look for a used copy of the movie for you. Unfortunately, I couldn't find what you wanted. I did find DVDs, but they didn't seem to be legitimate releases. My suggestion is to regularly check Amazon, as well as eBay.

January 23, 2010

[re: The Angel Levine]

Am I the only person to think that Levine is the guy who stole the fur in the first scene and was killed?

David Phillips

I pulled out my copy of the movie and rewatched that scene. I am pretty sure you're right.

January 8, 2010

I was an "extra" in Raw Force in the bar scene at the bar in Manila [I was the tall, bearded white guy in the orange Hawaiian shirt].

Not only were the drinks served in paper cups, it was actual alcohol. Everybody was so drunk [I don't drink so was about the only sober one] that continuity completely fell apart.

The naked dancer is used so much because the director was trying to make his own little blue movie of her and probably shoot hours of just her dancing. I talked her into insisting on more money since she had not been hired to dance naked....

There was a Filipino AD who kept getting yelled at by the American director since most of us thought the American guy was a teenager making his first movie and took our director from the Filipino.

Cameron Mitchell was nice to everybody but he defiantly liked his liqueur.

The bar itself was a real one in a very seedy [and dangerous] part of the port of Manila.

I was an American university student in Manila [my dad was an engineer for the US Navy in the RP] and often got bit parts as a token American in local movies.

I never saw this movie until I found it online last year. It's working title, Warriors Island, was what my pay slip said and I never knew the real title and it wasn't on Cameron Mitchell's filmography. Until I found it last year, I had no idea what the rest of the movie was about.

The "Asian" fighter in the bar was a relatively well-known Filipino, as I recall, and most of the other guys were habitue's of films but I remember this one guy who sat outside and read poetry with his girlfriend between scenes.

Gary Arturo Flossmann

January 3, 2010

Howdydo.

Re: Who Killed Mary Whatsit?

I dimly recall a Dick Cavett interview with Alice Playten, who was nonplussed by the indifference of director Ernie Pintoff. When she or Red Buttons would suggest a re-shoot to improve a scene, they were
stonewalled with "The last take's good enough." Big hairy-assed surprise that Pintoff soon landed in television.

Recommended: Family Enforcer, a.k.a. Death Collector. Quirky mob ultraviollence filmed in 'Jersey with goombahs like Joe Pesci and a smokin' Joseph Cortese (who must kick himself to this day for not
landing a part in Goodfellas.)

Mike Mueller

December 27, 2009

[re: Naked Killer]

Hey, did you know there's actually a sequel to this film that came out 10 years after this called Naked Weapon? It stars Pei-Pei Chung of Crouching Tiger fame and Maggie Q, I came across at my Hollywood Video store but unfortunately never got around to renting before the store closed down. Maybe you should check that film out, it certainly sounds like your type of movie!

Michael Prymula

I rented Naked Weapon when it first came out, and I was disappointed by it, in large part because it didn't strive to be anywhere as outrageous as the original.

December 25, 2009

Hello there!

I came across your review for Hugo The Hippo on your website, and I laughed so hard while reading it. Hugo was one of my favorite animated films while growing up, ad while I'm old enough to recognize the flaws now, I still feel that tug of nostalgia while watching it. On a side note, the original Hungarian version is currently posted on YouTube under the title of Hugó, a víziló (no subtitles), if you're interested in feeling the pain again.

Also, I was wondering if you have heard of a couple other obscure animated films that were once a huge part of my childhood (sadly, my VHS tapes that once held these films are sitting in a garbage dump somewhere). The first is a rare Danish film called Strit Og Stumme, known as Dreaming Of Paradise
in America and known to the rest of the English-speaking world as Subway To Paradise. The story is about the remnants of humanity living underground because the world has been over-polluted, and they try to make a living beside a river of lava while avoiding a group of anthropomorphic rats that wish to steal their dreams (don't ask). After years of searching, I finally found a copy of it, though it's the original Danish language. Still, I do believe English VHS copies are available on eBay if you're interested (part of the Danish version can also be found on the Tube of You).

The second film is Marco Polo Junior Versus The Red Dragon. This 1972 film actually has the distinction of being Australia's first animated film, and yet it languishes in obscurity. The story is about how Marco Polo Jr must sale back to Xanadu to return a medallion piece to a kidnapped queen, and you can pretty much guess everything from there. Sadly, the title has recently been partially resurrected as Return To Xanadu, an abomination that hacks up the film and adds in new animation and subplots (mainly to draw out the appearance of the talking dragon...again, don't ask). It's a travesty that the butchered remake is currently available on DVD but the original is nowhere to be found. If you can find a copy of this film, grab it - I'm still looking.

Keep up the good work with the website, and may you find some obscure gems among the septic slime.

Gareth

I hadn't heard of those two animated movies before. But after reading your description of them, I'll definitely check them out should I happen to come across them.

December 9, 2009

I just read your very perceptive review of Your Three Minutes Are Up -- I could add some comments but everything you said mirrors my memories of that gem. I saw it in in Italy, where I was stationed. Twice in a couple months they showed it at the base theatre--I made sure to see it again the second time cause I liked it so much.

So--do you have any idea if this will ever get released? The actors are well known enough. I tell friends about this movie all the time--but t doesn't exist except in your and a few other short reviews on the internet.

Just wanted to see if you have any inside info and to say again how great your review was.

Phil Budig

Currently, the only version out there for sale is the edited-for-TV print, from bootleg movie outfits. It doesn't look good for an uncut, official DVD edition, seeing how obscure the movie is as of this date.

December 3, 2009

Hello,

I was doing one of my occasional web searches, hoping that someone has come to their senses and put Lee Marvin's Monte Walsh on DVD, when I found your review. I loved this movie when I first saw it in the theater and share your feeling that it really ought to be a classic. I have always thought that the movie never took off because fans of the classic Western would not have liked it, and people with the intellect to appreciate it wouldn't have gone to see a Western. The movie is an undiscovered gem. That bronc ride through the china shop, flattening the town and tipping the water tank is unique.

You said that you reviewed a taped-from-TV version which is why you said that Monte never really said why he quit the Wild West Show. He did give a reason, but it couldn't be said on TV (at least not until recently). When he turned in the costume he said "I just can't sh*t on my whole life!"

If you are still there, I'd like to ask if you ever viewed the Tom Selleck remake. What did you think of it? I haven't seen it and wondered how it stacked up.

Thanks for your review. It made great, nostalgic reading.

Cyn

I have seen the Tom Selleck remake. In fact, I have a review of it in my files. I have not put it up on the website because I am not sure if it's currently "unknown" enough. Maybe sometime next year, after memories of it have faded some more?

November 25, 2009

Hi.

I read your reviews on the Unknown Movies web page with much much enthusiasm. One of the best movie websites on the net, I don't mind saying.

Now, onto the question.

Have you ever seen this movie called Hu-Man?

Here's a link to the movie on IMDB -

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0139371/

I don't even know so much if this movie would qualify as just an unknown movie. Because I'll tell you something....this movie is virtually as hard to find as The Day The Clown Died.

In other words, nobody has seen this movie. Of course, someone somewhere has seen it....but hardly anyone. And for those who have...I don't think they remember it....or if they do, vaguely.

Writing this email to you just made me remember another movie with Terence Stamp that I saw when I was very very young. I remember it as being quite strange.

That movie was called The Mind of Mr. Soames.

If I recall, it's about a man who wakes up from a coma that he's been from the time he was a small small child.....so he's in a sense....still an infant in the body of a man.

Anyway, love your web site.

Tom Waits

Never heard of Hu-Man before getting your e-mail. The plot description does sound intriguing, however. I don't know why it seems to be lost, but there may be a dispute over rights.

As for The Mind Of Mr. Soames, I did see it on TV several years ago, and I enjoyed it. I don't remember why I didn't review it for the site.

November 19, 2009

There was a horror film from the early eighties called Hysterical, starring the Hudson Brothers and Julie Newmar, kind of a Leo Gorcy meets Beach Party ghost story. You might get a kick out of reviewing it.

vnfelix

Uh, I did review the movie! You can read the review here.

November 5, 2009

[re: Goliath Awaits]

Thanks for being there on the unknown movies. Bermuda Depths...me and my sister have been wracking our brains for that one!

Whew.

Maura

November 3, 2009

Hi, I just wanted to thank you for your movie review of The Brothers Lionheart, and also to leave a comment. It has been over 15 years since I saw that movie. I saw it as a little child, and have always
remembered it being one of my very favorite movies ever, especially the ending. When you asked if kids would ever sit through that movie or enjoy it, I most definitely did. And when you asked if the ending
would be too much for children, I must heartily say no. That was my favorite part about it. I have only ever seen it that once as a child, but it had such an impact that I have always remembered it. And
in fact, the way that I found your review was that I was thinking about that movie after all these years, and wanting to watch it again, and so looked it up online to see if I was even remembering the title
correctly. Thanks for your plot summary for the clarification I was looking for.

Best wishes,

Eve

November 1, 2009

[re: Outlaw Force]

Hey, you were wondering about whether Border Of Tong or Loner existed? Well they both have entries in IMDB and they're found under the alternative titles of Massacre and Ragin Cajun respectively, and they both have DVD releases in the U.S. in case your wondering, oh and if you want to see a good David Heavener (yes, such a thing does actually exist!) then I would recommend checking out Fugitive X: Innocent Target, it's a pretty competent Most Dangerous Game rip-off, it's professionally made so well that it almost looks as good as a PM film (Ok maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration, but it's still looks way better then you'd expect a Heavener film to look) and Heavener also acts much better, that films available very cheap on Amazon.

Michael Prymula

October 24, 2009

[re: Goliath Awaits]

Ok, I suddenly came across this line in your review.

"Then there was this foreign animated movie I saw at a theater in the '70s which had a little blue dog in it; I did find out the name of this movie years later, but darn it, as time continued to progress, I forgot the title again!"

I think I know answer.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Puppy

Andrey Zhuravlev

Thank you for taking the time to try and help me, but that wasn't the cartoon I saw. What I saw was a feature-length animated movie (running way more than 19 minutes), and the artwork was more slick than what the picture at the Wikipedia site shows.

October 18, 2009

Hello there!

Have you ever heard about 1994 French movie Giorgino? Although I'm sure that answer will be "no"... :)

Believe me, it's worth to watch, but before you start to search...I suspect, that only one way for US citizen to watch is YouTube or Dailymotion.com

Thanks

Andrey Zhuravlev

Thanks for your suggestion. I hadn't heard of that movie until you e-mailed me. I did some quick research, and found out that the movie (which runs three hours long!) hasn't been released in North America. So it seems unlikely I'll get to see it.

September 24, 2009

Hey about Sidaris, why out of all his films did you pick Seven to review? It's easily his worst film and it's lacking the one thing all his other films after it have-incredibly sexy ass-kicking women who frequently show their breasts, you said you were enjoying Seven at the beginning for it's crazy opening scene, well Sidaris's other films are all chock full of scenes even crazier then that one! And they rarely ever slow down unlike Seven, So I think you should honestly give Sidaris another chance, I mean you said it yourself in one review, I forget which one exactly that any film could be at least partially redeemed by the presence of frequent female nudity, something that Sidaris other films definitely have plenty of! I seriously don't know why Sidaris is so hated, I mean aside from Seven his movies have everything you could possibly want from a cheap B-movie, I think you should watch one if his other films like Savage Beach, Hard Ticket To Hawaii, Malibu Express, Picasso Trigger, etc, hell ANY Sidaris film other then Seven! Or Stacey for that matter. I can guarantee you'll enjoy them on some level, so what do you say huh? Give him the guy another shot, Sidaris didn't deserve to be compared to hacks like Albert Pyun. P.S. in case you didn't know, Sidaris died about 2 years ago, just thought you should know.

Michael Prymula

I mentioned in my review that I have seen other Andy Sidaris movies - that's why I said with confidence that his movies are awful. I like the idea of Sidaris movies - mixing R-rated action with good old fashioned T&A - but Sidaris screwed up the execution of his own formula each and every time.

September 12, 2009

Howdydo.

RE: The logic-challenged If Footmen Tire You...

I find indie religious films irksome in the way "Christian" music can be annoying: If the artists are so inspired by Jesus, why is their product even crappier than secular stuff?

Like Ed Wood's Plan 9, Estus Pirkle's gullible churchgoing investors were "rewarded" with bit parts. Cecil Scaife, the jowly "commisar," was a Columbia records promoter @ the time, and played the hapless sap
beaten to death with his own severed arm in the Ormonds' Monster And The Stripper. Cult mag Psychotronic (#26) reported that Burning Hell ('74), the Ormonds' feverish follow-up, played Columbus, Oh's "Free Christian Drive-In" as late as fall of '96.

While pillaging a 50 -cent LP bin @ a rat-bitten thrift store- damn, again no peelable Velvets covers - I unearthed Pirkle's album bearing the Footmen title (Moffit MPLP 2368). The curious cover art would be apt for a kiddie record, but reverse text reveals that the contents are one of Pirkle's sulfurious rants, recorded @ Camp Zion, MS, Jan '66, predicting commie takeover of America by 1972 "unless God intervenes." The tirade's paperback transcript sold for $1.75.

I passed on the platter, but changed my mind a month later. Returned to the site and found it abandoned and shuttered...much like most video shops.

Recommended: Winter Kills, a conspiracy crank's wet dream.

regards

Mike Mueller

September 9, 2009

Hi:

Your site is terrific! Very informative and fun.

I just watched American Raspberry for the first time. To my amazement, it's currently available via Comcast's "On Demand" library. (They get some interesting things -- right now they're also showing Hot Bubblegum and Gorp, neither of which is available on DVD and which aren't easy to find on VHS, either. Over the summer I was stunned and delighted to find the 1976 made-for-TV movie Smash-Up On Interstate 5, which has never been released on DVD *or* VHS.)

Anyhow, the reason I knew about American Raspberry in the first place is that Nancy Parsons (of Porky's and Motel Hell fame) is listed in the credits as "Lady Mailperson." However, after watching the movie, I did not spot her; I can only assume either that her scene was cut out, or there are different versions of the movie floating around.

I'm wondering if, by any chance, she was in the version you saw. (In the version showing now on Comcast, there was a scene involving mail delivery -- a handicapped guy delivering mail -- but there was no "Lady Mailperson" anywhere in sight.)

I figured it was worth a try asking ...

Thanks,

Jon Putnam

I still remember a lot about American Raspberry even though it's been years since I last saw it. I don't remember any scene with a female mailperson in the version I saw. It's possible she was cut out of the movie at the last second, or that other versions of the movie exist with her in it.

August 25, 2009

I just stumbled across your site while looking for information on Raggedy Ann & Andy. My younger siblings loved it and I thought the animators must have been high. I recently picked up a copy for my daughter and professional animator husband and wanted some background :)

Since you appear to like blaxploitation and horror, I thought I would mention a couple of my favourite unknown movies.

Sister Street Fighter - is possibly where the arcade game got their inspiration. It is public domain now and excellent Japanesexploitation (?).

Zombies On Broadway - is one of the first zombie movies ever made, when 'zombies' were still a Haitian drug-induced haze, with a pair of bumbling Abbot & Costello rip-offs. It's got Bela Lugosi going for it and it's actually really funny.

Cheers,
Maren

August 21, 2009

Thank you so much for the list of relatively unknown family movies! It is so hard to find new, interesting movies to watch with my kids.

I read about your trouble finding family movies to review in the Local Boys piece, and I thought I would share two suggestions with you. Now, I realize they have star-studded casts and may be more well-known than I realize. (I am sort of lost in a child-focused world lately.) However, in my circle of friends both these movies seemed to slip by and have been relatively unnoticed. Both were very surprising to me and actually quite enjoyable.

Stardust
City Of Ember

Laura Way
Newark, DE

Thanks for your suggestions! While I am not sure those movies are as of now "unknown" enough, since they are currently still prominent in video stores, they both look like they have a good chance of slipping into obscurity as the years go by. I'll keep them both in mind and consider them for review a few years from now.

August 16, 2009

Howdydo.

Your Son Of Frankenstein review was fairly balanced, but jeez, why slam a 4 1/2 year- old kid?

Like poor Gary Coleman in more recent times, Donnie Dunagan was taken advantage of by kin. On the Frankenstein set, he played checkers with a costumed Boris Karloff for quarters.

A broke has-been at 18, Dunagan joined the military and became a career Marine. (Met him @ a horror convention. Tall and fit in his 70's, he could still kick your ass.)

Dunagan retired to his home state Texas, and invested his life savings in a rising local energy concern... Enron.

Hence, horror convention appearances.

Speaking of bad investments...you mentioned admiring old man Turner's TCM. Abstain from a subscription to its "magazine," little more than a puny listings pamphlet prefaced by that old queen Bob Osborne. Worse yet, the mag arrives over TWO MONTHS after you've reimbursed American Express.

Regards

Mike Mueller

I suppose the bad performance could be blamed on the director - he obviously saw the performance and did nothing about it. But I've also seen plenty of good performances from other youngsters in movies and TV over the years.

July 30, 2009

[re: Collision Course]

Hey, you mentioned that you'd like to see Leno's opinion of this film or something like that? Well as a matter of fact, on an episode of The Tonight Show in December 2005, Steve Martin appeared on the show and there was a game called "name that clip" being played. Leno was supposed differentiate clips from Martin's films - Cheaper By The Dozen 2 and Shopgirl, but the last clip was from Collision Course, which Leno immediately said was a horrible movie. Martin said Leno was right, but that he still had to pay 20 dollars for making it! Pretty funny eh? Even though I'll admit to liking Collision Course myself though.

Michael Prymula

July 29, 2009

After logging on to tour site about four hours ago I'm hooked. I was wondering if you could review an early seventies B horror movie called The Severed Arm about miners trapped in a cave. I remember it being pretty spooky. Keep up the great work.

Javi

I saw The Severed Arm ages ago, though I don't remember too much about it. I do know that it's now in the public domain, so if I see it in the cheap bin with other low-cost DVDs, maybe I'll give it another try.

July 27, 2009

My friend,

You are responsible for the fact that I didn't manage to finish any work today! I stumbled across your site and I kept reading for 3.5 hours! I was instantly hooked. Dude...you must have some sort of cinematographic developer running through your veins instead of blood. Your passion for movies obviously has no boundaries. Respect!

Take care.

Filip Keyaert (Belgium)

BTW Some of the introductions you've written on your site are hilarious. Your Blair Witch / Cannibal Holocaust reference made me laugh non-stop for 10 minutes. I've written several reviews myself (not sure you will agree with all of them but hey...that's cinema).

July 9, 2009

Hello,

First of all, I think your site is great! What a good idea.

I have a suggestion for your site. It would be great to have a search button, so that when people want to search something within the plot (let's say they remember something in the movie, but not the title) they can do so and find that movie they have been looking for. I am one of those people who remembers movies by the plot but not the title, and have asked many people to help me with certain movies/short films and they were unable to.

So anyways, A search engine would greatly improve the site.

Thanks,

Andrea

Though I would love to add stuff to my site like search engines, I have to admit that my web editing and construction skills are very limited. I have no idea how to make and put stuff like that on my web site. Maybe one day in the future...

July 5, 2009

Howdydo.

Just returned from a horror convention where I met, among others, Gary Conway (I Was A Teenage Frankenstein). Quizzed him about availability of The Farmer, long on your want list.

Conway, now a winery co-proprietor, couldn't provide a date, but emphatically replied that it would "definitely" be rereleased. Said he's asked about it alla time.

Recommended: The Carrier ('88), a feverish slab of paranoia that could only have been made in militia-mad Michigan. Available for trade.

regards

Mike Mueller

June 21, 2009

Hello,

Here is a list of movies you need to review:

* The Day Time Ended
* Winterbeast
* Equinox
* We Are The Strange
* Godzilla's Revenge
* Ong-Bak: Muay Thai Warrior

Also if you care here is my site:
http://kaijuworld.piczo.com/?cr=7

Jake McConnell

June 19, 2009

[re: Free Money]

Your wondering why this film is so inconsistent at times and why Brando chose it? Well according to the DVD commentary Brando didn't choose this project, because Free Money was actually Brando's project from the beginning. The director pretty much did whatever Brando told him to do, he rewrote significant portions of the script every day to accommodate whatever new ideas Brando came up with, that explains a lot about why the film is so surreal and unfocused. Despite all that though, I will admit to getting some enjoyment from this film from the sheer weirdness of it.

Michael Prymula

June 13, 2009

Your Sinbad Of The Seven Seas page is a gold mine for people like me who love the movie's camp value and unintentional humor. I discovered the movie in a video rental about ten years ago, got up to the snake rope, and realized, dang, I've seen good-bad movies before, but this is transcendent.

So I started showing it to my friends, and it caught on with them as well. It has become a staple of the culture of the regulars at my web site, http://www.rinkworks.com/.

Finally I decided I needed to pay the movie the kind of tribute it deserves. I started a webcomic for it, in the vein of DM of the Rings and Darths and Droids. The first comic is here:

http://www.rinkworks.com/sinbad/?c=1

I thought that, since you are obviously a fan of the movie in the same way I am, that you would be interested to know of this. If you cared to link to it from your review page, that would of course be welcome. But I didn't write this email just to ask -- honest. I first read your site many years ago now
and consider it among the very best bad movie sites on the web. Keep up the great work.

-- Sam.

June 12, 2009

THANK YOU SO MUCH for having a review of The Godsend (1980) on your site.

I saw this movie at the drive-in when I was about 7 and never forgot the movie... but I did forget the title. I posted a few years ago on a horror site asking if anyone knew what movie I was describing and someone just recently responded with The Godsend. Doing a search to see if that could be the movie I was remembering, I found your site.

After reading the review... IT'S THE MOVIE! Seriously, I have been trying to think of the title of this movie for YEARS. Not a few or 5 or even 10... but 25 or so years!

I found a copy of it on eBay and now I wait for it to arrive and I'll probably be disappointed in it HAHA. I'm prepared that a movie I liked when I was 7 won't be as good now that I'm 36.

Thanks again!

Shelley

There are plenty of movies I have reviewed that I have wondered if anyone else has seen, or will see. The Godsend was one of those movies. I'm glad to know someone else has seen it, and I'm glad to know I helped your search. Thank you for your e-mail! But let me warn you again before you get your copy - it's a pretty crummy movie!

June 2, 2009

[re: New York Cop]

In this film you were wondering about why the film seems to jump ahead so abruptly, well on IMDB the US version is listed as the cut version, whereas the Japanese one clocks in at 93 minutes, meaning a whole 5 minutes were trimmed for the US release, and I'm pretty sure important continuity related material was most likely cut from the film.

Michael Prymula

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