In late May my boss Frank invited me to lunch at work. He really likes movies, so I explained to him what Junesploitation! is and showed Frank the daily categories. He made some suggestions, and one of them was "The Three Musketeers" starring Gene Kelly. 'Gene Kelly starred in a "Musketeers" movie? I had no idea,' I said. 'Not only did he star in one,' Frank replied, 'it's the best "Musketeers" adaptation ever put to film.' So off to TCM streaming from DirectTV I went. Directed by George Sidney ("Show Boat," "Ziegfeld Follies," etc.), this Technicolor swashbuckler started strong and just kept getting better. Though Lara Turner gets top billing (and earns it during the 2nd half) this is Gene Kelly's movie from frame one. Kelly's dance training came in handy when his D'Argtanan character (whose resemblance to Errol Flynn isn't a coincidence) springs/jumps around during numerous sword fights. And whether it's near a beach, palatial castles, public parks or the many inns they stay at, the brawls with Richelieu's men are constant and furious. It's a little over two hours, but this '48 "Musketeers" goes by fast and never outstays its welcome.
Even better, unlike most latter "Musketeers" movie adaptations concentrating on the first half of Alexandre Dumas' novel, this one squeezes in the whole book. And it's in the latter half that Lana Turner's Lady de Winter quietly steals the show. Her past with Athos (Vance Heflin, whose couple of scenes recounting his relationship with de Winter are emotional acting highlights), her cunning resourcefulness seducing D'Argtanan and The Duke of Buckingham (John Sutton), and manipulation of kind-hearted Constance (June Allyson) are exquisitely evil. Who knew Angela Lansbury (as Queen Anne) was such a hottie, or that Vincent Price made Richelieu such a fun villain? I came into this "Three Musketeers" adaptation a skeptic, and came out a big fan. Thanks, Frank. 😁👍5 INNS WITH CONVENIENT VENTILATION TO HEAR THE BAD GUYS' PLANS (out of five).
'BIG 'SPLOSIONS' TWOFER! 035.- THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT (1996, ARROW 4K UHD)
Too bad Geena Davis stopped making action movies after this one. Yes, her and hubby Renny Harlin's "Cutthroat Island" was a mid-90's studio-bankrupting disaster. But follow-up "The Long Kiss Goodnight" had a more solid foundation (a Shane Black script thick with outrageous action scenes and witty dialogue), better supporting cast (post-"Pulp Fiction" Samuel L. Jackson firing on all cylinders, Brian Cox, Patrick Malahide, Craig Bierko chewing scenery, etc.) and 90's New Line Cinema production values. And if you want big 'splosions they don't come bigger than the bridge blowing up at the end of this movie, a combination of miniatures and real-life pyro (cars on fire dropping from above) that blew my mind in '96 and are mighty pretty to watch (and rewatch, and rewind to watch again in slow motion 🤓) in Arrow's pristine 4K transfer. Physics-defying jumps/explosions and car/trailer wrecks notwithstanding, "TLKG" just plain rules. 4.25 SAMANTHA CAINE NIGHTMARE MIRRORS (out of five).
This was a Junesploitation watch for me from early in this decade. Time does fly. It was funny to see my home area (The Poconos) as the setting, though I remember reading that the film was shot in Canada. I go to Stroudsburg all the time. The town of Honesdale, about an hour north from here, was the inspiration for the Christmas song "Let It Snow".
Wow. I thought Tommy Lee Jones' over-the-top performance as Harvey Two-Face in 1995's "Batman Forever" was either him trying to keep up with Jim Carrey's Riddler or bad direction from Joel Schumacher. But Scott Hopkins' action thriller "Blown Away" (released a year prior) shows that TLJ was already hamming it up big time. Escaped-from-Irish-island-prison IRA bomber Ryan Gaerity (OMG, TML's Irish accent! 😳🥵) is in Boston seeking revenge against former-ally-that-turned-against-him James Dove (Jeff Bridges, not even trying to fake a faint trace of an Irish accent). Things start blowing up spectacularly big as Gaerity targets Dove's Boston P.D. brothers with tricky detonation devices that the latter's bomb squad colleagues aren't prepared for. A relatively stacked cast (Suzy Amis, Forest Whitaker, John Finn, Lloyd Bridges, etc.) is mostly background fodder for the inevitable face-off between Bridges and Jones. Pyro ramps up nicely, leading to the final 'splosion of an abandoned boat that had to break a few records and nearby windows... that fireball is gigantic! 😰🫣
4 ACCIDENTAL CAMEOS BY JOHN WILLIAMS IN ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE CONDUCTING BOSTON POPS ON THE 4TH OF JULY (out of five). Seriously, fast-forward to 1:42:15 on the Kino disc... that's John Williams center left! 😍😁
Was gonna rent this on Amazon for $3.99, but it was on sale as a $4.99 digital purchase... I HAD NO CHOICE! 😉😅 Seriously though, I'd never seen "Encino Man" before and was expecting to at the very least enjoy young Brendan Fraser pulling the savage-in-an-advanced-world, 'babe in the woods' routine while getting by on his good looks. What I wasn't expecting was falling in love with Pauly Shore's performance as Sean Astin's bestie, who starts annoying (because he's Pauly freakin' Shore) but by the end of the movie has shown more common sense, more heart, better reasoning and a truer friendship with 'Link' (Fraser) than top-billed Samwise Gamgee. Yes, it's early 90's as eff (so many fashion/learning montages, Richard Masur and Mariette Hartley as clueless parents, Michael DeLuise as a bully, etc.) and soaked in SoCal culture. Like "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," though, it's a smarter comedy than it appears to be, one where the character growth of Link and Stoney (Shore) ultimately overshadows Dave (Astin) pursuing the affections of the chick he's after. I so wish we had gotten an "Encino Chick" sequel based on this one's final scene. 😃🥸 3.5 RICK DUCOMMUN BACKSTORY-APPROPRIATE MUSEUM FIELD TRIPS (out of five).
VALENTINA THE VIRGIN WIFE (1975, dir. Marino Girolami)
The Italian title is LA MOGLIE VERGINE.
Edwige Fenech was the queen of Italian s-e-x comedy in the 1970s. This is one of her films that I missed when I did a deep dive into the genre many years ago. In Valentina, Fenech portrays the newlywed spouse of a man having certain s-e-x-u-a-l issues. The farcical nature of Italian sex comedy comes into play early as the family gets involved in trying to resolve the couple’s problems, which tends to only makes matters worse. There are plenty of h-o-r-n-y scenes spread throughout the film. VALENTINA is middle-of-the-road as far as these kind of films go, but Fenech makes anything she is in better.
Being an Italian genre fan in general, my standards can shift very low, which is necessary to watch many of these la commedia sexy all'Italiana films. I also had to watch most of them in Italian without subtitles - mainly on Youtube back in the day - figuring out the situations from my limited Italian and the visuals. And plot summaries online. Being a Bud Spencer fan, Mikko, you probably saw at least a few movies with no subtitles just to be able to watch them.
Edwige's films are probably the best ones to test out a tolerance of the genre. Wife on Vacation... Lover in Town (with Barbara Bouchet); The Inconsolable Widow Thanks Those Who Console Her (La Vedova Inconsolabile); La Pretora (directed by Lucio Fulci).
The male characters tend to be pigs, and there frequently is a leering tone to the n-u-d-i-t-y. A lot of v-o-y-e-u-r-i-s-t-i-c scenarios happen. The lead male characters also tend to be middle-aged types who do not match the general standard of male attractiveness. A '70s thing, I guess? Typical of Italian genre cinema, the same guys kept showing up in the movies, too.
James Kondelik's previous directorial work ("Airplane vs. Volcano," "Dam Sharks") couldn't have prepared me for "Pitfall" punching slightly above its survivalist horror weight. A hulking, menacing hunter (Randy Couture) threatens, plays with and ultimately goes after campers lost in a dense forest. "Pitfall" periodically cuts to two random girls lost in the woods (!), the main group of ill-matched friends (think "Cabin in the Woods" stereotypes) and separated-from-the-pack Scott (Marshall Williams) impaled at the bottom of a spike-filled pit trying to free himself. Flashbacks to the damaged relationship between Scott and his sister (including an incoming car crash telegraphed so far in advance my theater audience got testy and openly mocked what should have been a tragic moment), plus Scott imagining his alter ego torturing him, make us sympathize with these characters more than your typical cannon fodder slasher victims. Gore/violence is infrequent and sporadic, but when it comes it's the graphic type that lingers and doesn't cut away (because no 'R' rating restrictions). Wish "Pitfall" was shorter than 108 minutes, but it's that long because it at least tries to make us care for the human characters about to be 'Coutured.' 'It's fine.'3 BEAR MACE CANS (out of five).
A torture p@rn endurance test, "Corporate Retreat" at least has Alan Ruck hamming it up as the fired founder of a successful upstart company that gets revenge on the young executives that conspired to oust him. Rosanna Arquette gets third billing for minutes of on-screen sulking before her character is dispatched very early on (lucky her). Locked in a SoCal luxury building with armed cult followers (Zión Moreno stands out) willing/eager to pull the trigger, Ruck's Arthur pushes body-mutilating challenges on the remaining survivors to move on to the next level of enlightment/challenge. No 'R' rating equals graphic body horror galore, which loses its impact after the 3rd or 4th time someone removes their left eyeball with the same bloody spoon. 🤢🤮Not even final girl Odeya Rush (who wasn't even supposed to be there) is immune to the horror. Should have rewatched "Backrooms" or "Obsession" instead. 1.75 CHEKHOV'S LOADED GUNS UNDER THE INFINITY POOL OUTDOOR SOFA (out of five).
Forgotten COVID effort from Paul WS Anderson. Mila Jovovich is Action Woman, who goes through a time portal and wakes up on Arrakis. Meets up with Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and battles dragons. A true #Junesploitation special.
BONUS: 30 DAYS OF PINK PANTHER & FRIENDS, DAY 7! 040.- THE PINK PANTHER: PINK, PLUNK, PLINK (5/25/1966, DVD). Available to stream on YOUTUBE.
Since I gave The Inspector cartoon the three-way treatment yesterday, turnabout is fair play for The Pink Panther... especially since we have two live-action movie reviews coming up in the chronology. 🧐🙄 "Pink, Plunk, Plink" has the Panther crashing the Hollywood Bowl to try to perform variations of his theme song during a performance of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Naturally The Little Man conductor's having none of it. Worth seeing for the end of the cartoon featuring a video cameo by Henry Mancini. 🤓🤩4.5 ROCKET-STRAPPED CONDUCTOR BATONS (out of five).
041.- THE PINK PANTHER: JET PINK (6/13/1967, DVD). Available to stream on YOUTUBE.
The Pink Panther wants to become a famous pilot (most of the cartoons feature the same motivation), so he hops aboard the experimental X-13 propulsion jet and starts pushing buttons. This is the first cartoon in this series I remembered liking, but the actual tune is really bad. The Panther doesn't do much and he's mostly reactive to the plane flying itself. Somehow he can wave his arms fast-enough to fly after the X-13 jet after he's ejected from it... WHAT?! 😧🫣2.25 CITY CIVILIANS RUNNING FOR COVER (out of five).
042.- THE PINK PANTHER: PSYCHEDELIC PINK (3/13/1968, DVD). Available to stream on YOUTUBE.
Most of these DePatie-Freleng Enterprises cartoons (Pink Panther or The Inspector) mirror or copy the plots/gags from the classics (Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, etc.) their creators worked on in previous decades. "Psychedelic Pink" is one of the few that dabbles in the 60's youth counterculture. Even the usually flat opening credits have optical distortion effects and bongo drums added to the theme song. The Panther enters a 'Psychedelic Library' with a hypnotizing eye for a door. All sorts of crazy shit happens: a loose 'F' letter becomes a shotgun, ladders spring out of suitcases, playing hole with the dot above 'J,' a broken books gets rushed to an ER operating room, etc. In a sea of traditional animated settings/scenarios, this little gem stands out. 4.65 EUREKA! THOUGHT BUBBLE LIGHT BULBS ON A LAMP (out of five).
In the 1800s a mountain man (Chuck Norris) is gunned down by bandits in the woods. As his body rests in a mystical glade, a forest spirit resurrects him and grants him immortality and the ability to shape-shift between eagle, wolf, bear and man. Now in modern times, a group of kids learn of this legend as they embark on a weekend camping trip in the same woods. Norris appears and helps them battle dangers both natural and manmade (at the hands of the villainous land-developer Terry Kiser and his henchmen). Pretty standard 90s kids fare, but it is unintentionally hilarious to see Norris swoop in (literally) and kick a bunch of dudes asses in the woods. Chuck Norris morphing into a bear is a Junesploitation miracle.
Outside of the Flint and Matt Helm series, i believe theres an entire genre of bond inspired films. Id heard about this one from early Tarantino film festivals. Overall the production quality is reallllly good with beautiful locations, soundtrack, and 60s vibe. The focus is on the henchwomen assassins moreso than the big bad. And the Bond surrogate, Bulldog Drummond and his Dick Grayson like ward is passable. Regrettably theres almost no plot nor action, a shame really as i think a little more focus there could have given a decent overall bondsploitation flick.
Yay, freedom! 🤠
ReplyDelete034.- THE THREE MUSKETEERS (1948, TCM)
In late May my boss Frank invited me to lunch at work. He really likes movies, so I explained to him what Junesploitation! is and showed Frank the daily categories. He made some suggestions, and one of them was "The Three Musketeers" starring Gene Kelly. 'Gene Kelly starred in a "Musketeers" movie? I had no idea,' I said. 'Not only did he star in one,' Frank replied, 'it's the best "Musketeers" adaptation ever put to film.' So off to TCM streaming from DirectTV I went. Directed by George Sidney ("Show Boat," "Ziegfeld Follies," etc.), this Technicolor swashbuckler started strong and just kept getting better. Though Lara Turner gets top billing (and earns it during the 2nd half) this is Gene Kelly's movie from frame one. Kelly's dance training came in handy when his D'Argtanan character (whose resemblance to Errol Flynn isn't a coincidence) springs/jumps around during numerous sword fights. And whether it's near a beach, palatial castles, public parks or the many inns they stay at, the brawls with Richelieu's men are constant and furious. It's a little over two hours, but this '48 "Musketeers" goes by fast and never outstays its welcome.
Even better, unlike most latter "Musketeers" movie adaptations concentrating on the first half of Alexandre Dumas' novel, this one squeezes in the whole book. And it's in the latter half that Lana Turner's Lady de Winter quietly steals the show. Her past with Athos (Vance Heflin, whose couple of scenes recounting his relationship with de Winter are emotional acting highlights), her cunning resourcefulness seducing D'Argtanan and The Duke of Buckingham (John Sutton), and manipulation of kind-hearted Constance (June Allyson) are exquisitely evil. Who knew Angela Lansbury (as Queen Anne) was such a hottie, or that Vincent Price made Richelieu such a fun villain? I came into this "Three Musketeers" adaptation a skeptic, and came out a big fan. Thanks, Frank. 😁👍5 INNS WITH CONVENIENT VENTILATION TO HEAR THE BAD GUYS' PLANS (out of five).
'BIG 'SPLOSIONS' TWOFER!
ReplyDelete035.- THE LONG KISS GOODNIGHT (1996, ARROW 4K UHD)
Too bad Geena Davis stopped making action movies after this one. Yes, her and hubby Renny Harlin's "Cutthroat Island" was a mid-90's studio-bankrupting disaster. But follow-up "The Long Kiss Goodnight" had a more solid foundation (a Shane Black script thick with outrageous action scenes and witty dialogue), better supporting cast (post-"Pulp Fiction" Samuel L. Jackson firing on all cylinders, Brian Cox, Patrick Malahide, Craig Bierko chewing scenery, etc.) and 90's New Line Cinema production values. And if you want big 'splosions they don't come bigger than the bridge blowing up at the end of this movie, a combination of miniatures and real-life pyro (cars on fire dropping from above) that blew my mind in '96 and are mighty pretty to watch (and rewatch, and rewind to watch again in slow motion 🤓) in Arrow's pristine 4K transfer. Physics-defying jumps/explosions and car/trailer wrecks notwithstanding, "TLKG" just plain rules. 4.25 SAMANTHA CAINE NIGHTMARE MIRRORS (out of five).
This was a Junesploitation watch for me from early in this decade. Time does fly. It was funny to see my home area (The Poconos) as the setting, though I remember reading that the film was shot in Canada. I go to Stroudsburg all the time. The town of Honesdale, about an hour north from here, was the inspiration for the Christmas song "Let It Snow".
Delete036.- BLOWN AWAY (1994, KINO LORBER BLU-RAY)
ReplyDeleteWow. I thought Tommy Lee Jones' over-the-top performance as Harvey Two-Face in 1995's "Batman Forever" was either him trying to keep up with Jim Carrey's Riddler or bad direction from Joel Schumacher. But Scott Hopkins' action thriller "Blown Away" (released a year prior) shows that TLJ was already hamming it up big time. Escaped-from-Irish-island-prison IRA bomber Ryan Gaerity (OMG, TML's Irish accent! 😳🥵) is in Boston seeking revenge against former-ally-that-turned-against-him James Dove (Jeff Bridges, not even trying to fake a faint trace of an Irish accent). Things start blowing up spectacularly big as Gaerity targets Dove's Boston P.D. brothers with tricky detonation devices that the latter's bomb squad colleagues aren't prepared for. A relatively stacked cast (Suzy Amis, Forest Whitaker, John Finn, Lloyd Bridges, etc.) is mostly background fodder for the inevitable face-off between Bridges and Jones. Pyro ramps up nicely, leading to the final 'splosion of an abandoned boat that had to break a few records and nearby windows... that fireball is gigantic! 😰🫣
4 ACCIDENTAL CAMEOS BY JOHN WILLIAMS IN ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE CONDUCTING BOSTON POPS ON THE 4TH OF JULY (out of five). Seriously, fast-forward to 1:42:15 on the Kino disc... that's John Williams center left! 😍😁
037.- ENCINO MAN (1992, AMAZON PURCHASE)
ReplyDeleteWas gonna rent this on Amazon for $3.99, but it was on sale as a $4.99 digital purchase... I HAD NO CHOICE! 😉😅 Seriously though, I'd never seen "Encino Man" before and was expecting to at the very least enjoy young Brendan Fraser pulling the savage-in-an-advanced-world, 'babe in the woods' routine while getting by on his good looks. What I wasn't expecting was falling in love with Pauly Shore's performance as Sean Astin's bestie, who starts annoying (because he's Pauly freakin' Shore) but by the end of the movie has shown more common sense, more heart, better reasoning and a truer friendship with 'Link' (Fraser) than top-billed Samwise Gamgee. Yes, it's early 90's as eff (so many fashion/learning montages, Richard Masur and Mariette Hartley as clueless parents, Michael DeLuise as a bully, etc.) and soaked in SoCal culture. Like "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure," though, it's a smarter comedy than it appears to be, one where the character growth of Link and Stoney (Shore) ultimately overshadows Dave (Astin) pursuing the affections of the chick he's after. I so wish we had gotten an "Encino Chick" sequel based on this one's final scene. 😃🥸 3.5 RICK DUCOMMUN BACKSTORY-APPROPRIATE MUSEUM FIELD TRIPS (out of five).
VALENTINA THE VIRGIN WIFE (1975, dir. Marino Girolami)
ReplyDeleteThe Italian title is LA MOGLIE VERGINE.
Edwige Fenech was the queen of Italian s-e-x comedy in the 1970s. This is one of her films that I missed when I did a deep dive into the genre many years ago. In Valentina, Fenech portrays the newlywed spouse of a man having certain s-e-x-u-a-l issues. The farcical nature of Italian sex comedy comes into play early as the family gets involved in trying to resolve the couple’s problems, which tends to only makes matters worse. There are plenty of h-o-r-n-y scenes spread throughout the film. VALENTINA is middle-of-the-road as far as these kind of films go, but Fenech makes anything she is in better.
Agree. Edwige Fenech improves any movie just by being in it. 😍😘
DeleteWhat are the best Fenech s-e-x comedies? Asking for a friend...
DeleteBest ones? That is tricky question.
DeleteBeing an Italian genre fan in general, my standards can shift very low, which is necessary to watch many of these la commedia sexy all'Italiana films. I also had to watch most of them in Italian without subtitles - mainly on Youtube back in the day - figuring out the situations from my limited Italian and the visuals. And plot summaries online. Being a Bud Spencer fan, Mikko, you probably saw at least a few movies with no subtitles just to be able to watch them.
Edwige's films are probably the best ones to test out a tolerance of the genre. Wife on Vacation... Lover in Town (with Barbara Bouchet); The Inconsolable Widow Thanks Those Who Console Her (La Vedova Inconsolabile); La Pretora (directed by Lucio Fulci).
The male characters tend to be pigs, and there frequently is a leering tone to the n-u-d-i-t-y. A lot of v-o-y-e-u-r-i-s-t-i-c scenarios happen. The lead male characters also tend to be middle-aged types who do not match the general standard of male attractiveness. A '70s thing, I guess? Typical of Italian genre cinema, the same guys kept showing up in the movies, too.
'CONTEMPORARY UNRATED HORROR' DOUBLE FEATURE!
ReplyDelete038.- PITFALL (2026, THEATER)
James Kondelik's previous directorial work ("Airplane vs. Volcano," "Dam Sharks") couldn't have prepared me for "Pitfall" punching slightly above its survivalist horror weight. A hulking, menacing hunter (Randy Couture) threatens, plays with and ultimately goes after campers lost in a dense forest. "Pitfall" periodically cuts to two random girls lost in the woods (!), the main group of ill-matched friends (think "Cabin in the Woods" stereotypes) and separated-from-the-pack Scott (Marshall Williams) impaled at the bottom of a spike-filled pit trying to free himself. Flashbacks to the damaged relationship between Scott and his sister (including an incoming car crash telegraphed so far in advance my theater audience got testy and openly mocked what should have been a tragic moment), plus Scott imagining his alter ego torturing him, make us sympathize with these characters more than your typical cannon fodder slasher victims. Gore/violence is infrequent and sporadic, but when it comes it's the graphic type that lingers and doesn't cut away (because no 'R' rating restrictions). Wish "Pitfall" was shorter than 108 minutes, but it's that long because it at least tries to make us care for the human characters about to be 'Coutured.' 'It's fine.' 3 BEAR MACE CANS (out of five).
039.- CORPORATE RETREAT ('26, THEATER)
ReplyDeleteA torture p@rn endurance test, "Corporate Retreat" at least has Alan Ruck hamming it up as the fired founder of a successful upstart company that gets revenge on the young executives that conspired to oust him. Rosanna Arquette gets third billing for minutes of on-screen sulking before her character is dispatched very early on (lucky her). Locked in a SoCal luxury building with armed cult followers (Zión Moreno stands out) willing/eager to pull the trigger, Ruck's Arthur pushes body-mutilating challenges on the remaining survivors to move on to the next level of enlightment/challenge. No 'R' rating equals graphic body horror galore, which loses its impact after the 3rd or 4th time someone removes their left eyeball with the same bloody spoon. 🤢🤮Not even final girl Odeya Rush (who wasn't even supposed to be there) is immune to the horror. Should have rewatched "Backrooms" or "Obsession" instead. 1.75 CHEKHOV'S LOADED GUNS UNDER THE INFINITY POOL OUTDOOR SOFA (out of five).
Monster Hunter (2020):
ReplyDeleteForgotten COVID effort from Paul WS Anderson. Mila Jovovich is Action Woman, who goes through a time portal and wakes up on Arrakis. Meets up with Turok: Dinosaur Hunter and battles dragons. A true #Junesploitation special.
BONUS: 30 DAYS OF PINK PANTHER & FRIENDS, DAY 7!
ReplyDelete040.- THE PINK PANTHER: PINK, PLUNK, PLINK (5/25/1966, DVD). Available to stream on YOUTUBE.
Since I gave The Inspector cartoon the three-way treatment yesterday, turnabout is fair play for The Pink Panther... especially since we have two live-action movie reviews coming up in the chronology. 🧐🙄 "Pink, Plunk, Plink" has the Panther crashing the Hollywood Bowl to try to perform variations of his theme song during a performance of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. Naturally The Little Man conductor's having none of it. Worth seeing for the end of the cartoon featuring a video cameo by Henry Mancini. 🤓🤩4.5 ROCKET-STRAPPED CONDUCTOR BATONS (out of five).
041.- THE PINK PANTHER: JET PINK (6/13/1967, DVD). Available to stream on YOUTUBE.
DeleteThe Pink Panther wants to become a famous pilot (most of the cartoons feature the same motivation), so he hops aboard the experimental X-13 propulsion jet and starts pushing buttons. This is the first cartoon in this series I remembered liking, but the actual tune is really bad. The Panther doesn't do much and he's mostly reactive to the plane flying itself. Somehow he can wave his arms fast-enough to fly after the X-13 jet after he's ejected from it... WHAT?! 😧🫣2.25 CITY CIVILIANS RUNNING FOR COVER (out of five).
042.- THE PINK PANTHER: PSYCHEDELIC PINK (3/13/1968, DVD). Available to stream on YOUTUBE.
DeleteMost of these DePatie-Freleng Enterprises cartoons (Pink Panther or The Inspector) mirror or copy the plots/gags from the classics (Looney Tunes, Tom and Jerry, etc.) their creators worked on in previous decades. "Psychedelic Pink" is one of the few that dabbles in the 60's youth counterculture. Even the usually flat opening credits have optical distortion effects and bongo drums added to the theme song. The Panther enters a 'Psychedelic Library' with a hypnotizing eye for a door. All sorts of crazy shit happens: a loose 'F' letter becomes a shotgun, ladders spring out of suitcases, playing hole with the dot above 'J,' a broken books gets rushed to an ER operating room, etc. In a sea of traditional animated settings/scenarios, this little gem stands out. 4.65 EUREKA! THOUGHT BUBBLE LIGHT BULBS ON A LAMP (out of five).
Forest Warrior (1996, dir. Aaron Norris)
ReplyDeleteIn the 1800s a mountain man (Chuck Norris) is gunned down by bandits in the woods. As his body rests in a mystical glade, a forest spirit resurrects him and grants him immortality and the ability to shape-shift between eagle, wolf, bear and man. Now in modern times, a group of kids learn of this legend as they embark on a weekend camping trip in the same woods. Norris appears and helps them battle dangers both natural and manmade (at the hands of the villainous land-developer Terry Kiser and his henchmen). Pretty standard 90s kids fare, but it is unintentionally hilarious to see Norris swoop in (literally) and kick a bunch of dudes asses in the woods. Chuck Norris morphing into a bear is a Junesploitation miracle.
'Chuck Norris morphing into a bear is a Junesploitation miracle.' 😅🐻😂 Thanks, l needed a laugh so bad at work right now. 🫤😁
DeleteMovie: Deadlier Than the Male (1967)
ReplyDeleteSploitation Genre(s): Bondsploitation
Outside of the Flint and Matt Helm series, i believe theres an entire genre of bond inspired films. Id heard about this one from early Tarantino film festivals. Overall the production quality is reallllly good with beautiful locations, soundtrack, and 60s vibe. The focus is on the henchwomen assassins moreso than the big bad. And the Bond surrogate, Bulldog Drummond and his Dick Grayson like ward is passable. Regrettably theres almost no plot nor action, a shame really as i think a little more focus there could have given a decent overall bondsploitation flick.