Tune in Tuesday #6 "Remote Control"

A video store clerk stumbles onto an alien plot to take over earth by brainwashing people with a bad '50s science fiction movie. He and his friends race to stop the aliens before the tapes can be distributed world-wide.

Director Jeff Leiberman made one of the best cult movies of the 70s with "Blue Sunshine " and made his idiosyncratic mark in the slasher genre with "Just before dawn". This 1988 entry is far less known/regarded. It is a unique,  campy and fun little nod to 1950s sci-fi and then current fads. Kevin Dilon is excellent as our lead, and the whole vibe is one of fascination at discovering some weird old sci-fi flick on a basic cable tv station at 3 am. 

Noirvember week 4: "Kiss Me Deadly" (screening)

A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit".

I had the good fortune to catch this at a screening at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge.  One of the most brutal main Characters of any film noir, Mike Hammer here is a fascinating deconstruction of the hard boiled tough P.I. the movie comments upon the entire idea of the "Macguffin" as something that ought not to ever really be explained in stories, all that matters is that it gets our characters moving. A last act twist turns this into a almost sci-fi or even horror noir. One of the great films of the 1950s and A perfect way to cap off Noirvember.

Noirvember week 3 "Hangover Square"

A promising classical musician finds his life poisoned by a music hall dancer -- and by the strange gaps in his memory.

A fast paced and enthralling noir,  enhanced by a mesmerizing score by Bernard Hermann and a fiery climax,plus a very daring for its time scene were a corpse is burned in a guy fawkes day bonfire that still stuns. A underseen noir that deserves more attention.

Tune In Tuesday #5 "Rabid Grannies"

These little old ladies aren't baking toll house cookies anymore! Not since a mysterious parcel from Hell turned them into bloodthirsty monsters in support hose! When relatives eager to be included in their will drop by their spinster aunties' castle home to celebrate their birthdays, an outrageous combination of terror and laughs from the makers of "Surf Nazis Must Die" ensues.

If Luis Bunuel made a splatter film. This would be it. Social commentary,  gore to rival brain dead or bad taste, and a truly one of a kind vibe. The commentary from the guys at the hysteria continues podcast is worth the price alone. A stellar disc for a movie that is highly misunderstood. 

Noirvember week 2 "The Maltese Falcon "

The story follows a San Francisco private detective and his dealings with three unscrupulous adventurers, all of whom are competing to obtain a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette.

When I think of Film Noir,  I think The Maltese Falcon. Growing up my dad had a cheap cardboard and tin picture of Humphrey Bogart, framed in shadow, holding a gun

I knew that photo Before I even knew what a Movie was. I saw Maltese Falcon before I ever knew what a "film noir " even was.

 (Dad always called them "Detective Pictures ").

This is not only one of the best  film noirs, it's simply one of the greatest achievements in cinema.Watch it for Bogart, Watch it for the incomparable Peter Lorre. Watch it for its music, it's cinematography, its,vibe

 A best in class Detective picture.

Tune In Tuesday #4 Cthulhu Mansion

After a drug deal gone wrong, a group of punks attempt to flee a local amusement park by taking a mysterious old magician named Chandu (Frank Finlay; Lifeforce) and his beautiful daughter hostage. While trying to evade the police, the punks force Chandu to take them to his secluded mansion where they plan to seek refuge for the night and wait for the heat to die down. Unbeknownst to them, Chandu's obsession with the black arts and the occult has summoned an evil that not even he can control. As the house itself begins to terrorize and kill the trespassers, the survivors desperately attempt to uncover the horrifying secret to the mansion’s magical spells, along with Chandu’s own dark past...

Directed  by the incomparable JP Simon (Pieces) and with a definite early 90s Full Moon video feel, this one pleases with its outrageous creature effects, claustrophobic old dark house setting and sense of Eerie dread coupled with a gritty, home invasion plot. A criminally overlooked early 90s gem, perfect for a friday night beer and pizza watch.

Why I love my generation

I'm writing what would be a highly controversial post if anyone read my blog

Let me go on a bit about the virtues of my generation.

That would be millennial, uh mostly.

As all of you living, living dead and esp dead know, life is not that easy. You cannot draw a canonical line in the sand and say "here ends Gen X and here begins Gen Y" .us humans are funny like that, we are not math equations. 

I say this as a man born in the hallowed year of 1986, and I would hazard to say any "millenial" born in the 80s has a healthy streak of Gen X cynicism bred right in there fuckin bones. Double if you got Gen X Siblings or cousins.

How's this? My parents were Boomers! That is right, the fave hate of the Gen X.

As much as I love my Dad (rest Easy in Vallhalla,  King) and my mother who is the queen of the universe, I would never wanna be from there era. Three channels? No home media? Gas shortage? Fuck that. 

With that being said, I grew up with this kind of smirking adoration for my Gen X elders. You must not forget that the early 90s moved much,much slower than today.  What was huge in 1987 might only trickle down to a inner city kid by 1993, if at all. That's just how it was.

Its a strange thing,  to be old enough to remember a time before the internet  but young enough to see how it overtook the world. To respect on the one hand the healthy mistrust of authority by the preceding Gen X and hold out hope that the enthusiasm of the up and coming Zoomers is warranted (even if Gen X and Boomers keep thinking we are the same)

All in all I like streaming AND vinyl. I came up in the era of special edition CDs and TV On Dvd , I like ephemera. It's not better or worse than anything else, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Its my generation.

Fascinating little 80s Computer Curio "Interface "

It was Lou Diamond Phillips's first film role, as Punk #1. Primarily directed by Andy Anderson, Interface was a production of Anderson's film program at the University of Texas at Arlington. The film was scripted, acted, and initially directed entirely by UTA students.

Released by Vestron, it boasts a truly intriguing concept and a lot of no budget charm.

The film takes place on a fictional college campus. Davies, starring as a professor, discovers a secret society of masked hackers on campus; they seemingly kill his star pupil. Hobson attempts to uncover and neutralize the society, even as he himself becomes a suspect in his student's death.

I love 1980s portrayals of computers and hacking, and the underground activist, almost cult angle with the various ritual masks makes this one a can't miss.  Stream it on youtube.

Noirvember week 1 "I Wake Up Screaming "

This 1941 noir surprises with its moody camera and light work, wickedly sharp dialogue and a menacing streak of dark humor.

The plot concerns the old  "rags to riches" story, this time manufactured by our main suspect. When the beautiful blonde is murdered just as her star starts to rise, the police and audience must figure out who killed Vicky Lynn

One detail I loved was the use of the "somewhere over the rainbow" theme throughout the film. I don't see this one get talked of a lot, but it is a wonderful little Noir to kick off Noirvember.

Tune In Tuesday #3 "The Lamp"

from the back cover:

After a group of thieves decide to ransack the home of a strange, old Gypsy woman, murdering her in the process, they unwittingly free a vengeful genie named Jinn who has been held captive for centuries in an ancient oil lamp. Soon after, the lamp is acquired by a local museum. But as Alex Wallace, daughter of the museum's curator, decides to sneak a group of her friends into the museum after hours for a night of partying, she doesn't realize that Jinn is looking for a new 'keeper' and that Alex is the perfect vessel to carry out the genie's diabolical actions...

This one gets points for taking the "group of kids in an isolated location get killed off in creative ways 1 by 1" of the slasher movie and adds the twist of it being a evil Djinn, a giant, green glowing monster . It has a handmade charm and the death scenes are creative and the monster is spectacular,  not a lost classic by any means but a fun little genre effort for those that have seen the usual and want something a little different.  

Highly Enjoyable

Wednesday Double