Well, hopefully you are waking up to not only a Hangover, but a little V-Day morning whoopie. If that’s the case, you know it isn’t gonna last all that long and since you’re already up, I have a lot of early morning crap for you to digest. First up, AMC get’s all Gangsta on yo ass when they have an all day marathon of Gangster films! Starting with The Untouchables (1987) at 10:30, Goodfellas (1990) at 1:00, The Godfather (1972) at 4:00, and heading into the late night hours of 8:00 with, The Godfather II (1974).
Outside of the AMC gangster's paradise and starting bright and early at 9:00 AM, Godzilla (1998) is playing on ABC Family. God, I remember a time when I thought this was going to be the greatest movie ever. When I watched The Big Hit on VHS, the teaser for this monstrosity was at the beginning and I was pumped! Godzilla1998 is one of ten thousand reasons I hate Roland Emmerich…’nuff said.
Still wicked early - at 9:30 Death Sentence (2007) is showing on FX. A movie I have never seen, and while I have never heard anything great about it, it still piques my interest. It’s a revenge movie and I love revenge movies (but don’t we all?!) and I like Bacon too, so Death Sentence is certainly worth a shot.
SyFy is playing Open Graves (2009) at 10:30, and while the idea of a killer board game sounds great, it looks like Open Toilet might be a better title for this crap fest. I was surprised to see it only came out last year since I have never heard anything about it, which may speak of the quality. I would probably still watch it though, but that’s just me.
And the only late afternoon Hangover movie worth any note is at 2:30 with Joshua (2007) on SyFy. I have heard some good things about this one and I love a good creepy killer kid movie. Sam Rockwell is in it, which is certainly not a bad thing at all and it’s kind of funny that Vera Farmiga plays the mother in yet another killer kid flick. I’ll give my pick of the week to Joshua, only because every time I say the title in my head, it is in the voice of Diana Waits.
That about does it kiddies…hope you all have a fabulous day and an even better evening. Peace!
…so you can read my semi-quick review of the (kinda) road horror film, Shuttle. Also, while you’re here, take a look at that badass banner that I got going on up there…yeah, badass. I must give a shout out to the wonderfully devious Rev. Fred Phantom of Midnight Confessions for making it, and only doing so for nothing more than out of the kindness of his blackened heart. Thanks a bazillion, Rev…one day, I hope you can be the one to marry me! Wait, I don't mean you and I actually get married, I just meant that I hope you perform the ceremony. Man, this is all going downhill…just head over to Paracinema…The Blog already and read my review of Shuttle!
With it being Valentine’s Day weekend, I thought I would give you all a Valentine to show how much I love you. This may be one of the most mesmerizing clips I have ever seen and chances are, you will have this catchy tune in your head for weeks!
I have no clue who made this or who crafted this captivating song, but I love it and watch it at least seven times a day. The clip is taken from the 1984 classic Hip-Hop dance film, Breakin’, where this "brief" scene was the extent of Jean-Claude’s role. And what a job he did! He really takes the moves and makes them all his own, and never have I been so enchanted by a man’s hips moving back and forth in a onesie, like I am with JCVD in this clip. With the creation of this video, there is no more need for anti-depression medication anymore – one watch and your whole day is instantly made!
Over at the LAMB, there is a piece I wrote for the Academy Awards best original screenplay category. It’s a pretty quick read and actually has absolutely nothing to do with the nominees, mainly because I only saw one of the movies that were nominated. It’s really just some pointless jibber jabber about the importance of a script and shit like that. Read it, eat it, and love it. Kisses!
I’ve had this $30 Amazon gift card burning a whole in my pocket since Christmas. Actually, it wasn’t in my pocket and the hole is only there to do a little undercover scratching if need be and the burning is more than likely related to that scratching, but I digress. I have been holding on to it for a few months now and I finally buckled after seeing that James Gracey’s upcoming Argento book, Dario Argento was on pre-order sale for under $14 bucks, which is a fucking steal if you ask me. I have mentioned the book more than once here on this blog, and I’m very excited that it’s finally on the horizon, so I encourage everyone with the love of Argento in their hearts to head over to Amazon and pre-order that shit! On a related side note, there is an awesome interview with the book’s author, James over at Fascination With Fear, so give it a read when you’ve got a moment.
As I said, the book was only like $14 greenbacks, so I had some more money to spend, plus I wanted to save on shipping. Back when it released a few weeks ago, I almost used the gift card to buy The House of the Devil DVD/VHS pack, but resisted mainly because it cost $30 bucks and I didn’t want to blow my whole gift card load in one shot. Still, I have been wanting to see the movie wicked bad, and when I saw it was on sale for the slightly lower price of $25 beans, I buckled. I rarely blind buy, especially for such an amount, but knowing my taste, I should enjoy the film. If not, heads will roll. Hopefully I’ll get the movie soon so I can review it and say I liked it even if I didn’t, just so I don’t look like a chump who’s $25 poorer!
I know my Amazon purchases must be fascinating, but what IS fascinating is the trailer for the upcoming Belgian film, Amer which I bumped into over at Twitch. Maybe I just didn’t notice (which is probably the case), but I haven’t heard much about this movie which is described as a Neo-Giallo film from Helene Cattet and Bruno Forzani. One look at this trailer, and I am filled with anticipation and am looking forward to checking this one out as soon as possible.
It looks funny, but plays fine.
So it all comes full circle…House of the Devil is a throwback to 80’s Satanic films, Amer is a throwback to classic Gialli, and Dario Argento is about a director of Gialli.
Born in Gary, Indiana on March 5th 1938, Fred “The Hammer” Williamson has had a career that is more than important to cinema, especially when it comes to cult and midnight movies. Williamson got his start as a successful pro-football player and is a three time defensive pro-bowler who played for the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I.
He got the nickname, “The Hammer” while during practice, one of his coaches asked him to stop hammering on the other players. Always the ego, Williamson took that term and made it a nickname, using it in a boisterous way when talking smack on and off the field, often saying he will "Put the hammer on" his opponents. He even developed a karate-chop styled offensive move fittingly called, "The Hammer" which he used on other players.
After retiring from the NFL, and with his fall back college degree, Williamson did some architectural work, but being a guy nicknamed “The Hammer,” he decided that it just wasn’t for him. He went into acting and did some television work with small roles in things like the original Star Trek series and played the romantic lead opposite Dianann Carroll on the TV show “Julia.” His first staring film role was in 1970’s M*A*S*H, which jump started his illustrious career in film.
At an intimidating 6’3 and with black belts in Tae-Kwon-Do, Shotokan Karate, Kenpo, and charisma, Williamson had (and still has) what it takes to be an amazing action film screen presence. With his film work now spanning forty years and counting, Fred Williamson has made a major impact on some of cinema’s most entertaining of genres. His work in Blaxploitation movies makes him probably the most recognizable male star of the genre outside of Richard Roundtree, and Jim Brown.
To add to his midnight cinema cred, Williamson appeared in numerous Italian film productions and between those, and his Blaxploitation movies, he has worked with many cult fan favorites. His work with the great Larry Cohen, resulted in one of my favorites of the genre, 1973’s Black Caesar (along with that films follow up, 1973’s Hell Up in Harlem). Some of the Italian directors of note are Antonio Margheriti with Take a Hard Ride, which also sported an impressive cast that consisted of Jim Brown, Jim Kelly, and Lee Van Cleef! Yowza! Williamson did a handful of Post Apocalyptic movies with Enzo G. Castellari, but the most prominent film the pair worked on is certainly 1978’s The Inglorious Bastards. The Hammer even worked with Lucio Fulci on the less than stellar, The New Gladiators (1984).
All of this is just the tip of the iceberg in a film career that runs deep, a career that he has taken and made all his own, his way. Williamson formed his own production company in 1974 called Po’ Boy Productions, and with what he learned from working with people like Cohen and making films in Italy, he has created nearly forty movies on very meager budgets over the years. Writer, director, producer, actor, stuntman, NFL player, and sex symbol, what can’t this man do?
What may have set “The Hammer” apart from the rest of the pack, is his ability to self promote and the way he carries himself in such an incredibly cocky and flamboyant fashion. These are the qualities that make him so awesome and he is not afraid to tell you about himself…he is completely upfront and even with such an ego, he carries himself with a genuine kindness. This is a man that has posed in playgirl, was a spokesman for King Cobra (a malt liquor that I used to drink in my high school days...shit got me cocked!), and was even nominated for an Emmy for the television series, Police Story. Hell, he even stole the show with his bit part as a flashback suffering ‘Nam vet in 1996’s From Dusk Till Dawn, which maybe where most horror fans were first introduced to him.
Being in the “biz” for as long as he has, Williamson has seen a lot and retained a great amount of memories. Besides being super entertaining, his interviews are always insightful, filled with stories from behind the scenes of the movies he worked on as well as the directors and other actors he worked with. With his trademark cigar, Williamson is one of a kind, and as cocky as he is, he wears it on his sleeve and is really just an honest guy that loves to talk about movies…and himself, of course. He is a true cinema badass and a legend in his spare time.
“'There's only two things that I demand of my scripts, and they're the same things my audiences demand. First, I have to get the girl. And second, I have to win all the fights. We don't need suspense. With those two ingredients, the picture is assured of being a hit.” - Fred “The Hammer” Williamson -
Solo is the perfect weapon, a machine created to do deeds that any normal human cannot accomplish, Solo is a super soldier…with a heart of gold. And to the U.S military, it’s a big no-no to have the ultimate killing machine being able to make decisions that can jeopardize missions, due to a conscience. Deciding to fix the problem, the military think it best if Solo were shut down for some reprogramming. However, Solo ain’t down with that and being programmed to preserve himself, he jacks a helicopter and fly's away to safety. He is chased down by the military, but after Solo crashes into the side of a mountain, they lose sight of him as he escapes into the vast surrounding jungle.
How on Earth 1996’s Solo (directed by Norberto Barba) ever received a theatrical release is beyond me. I’m not saying it’s a bad movie, well, it is a bad movie depending on your taste, but it reeks of direct to video, yet it was released in theaters. It speaks to no one that is not a hardcore fan of mindless action movies, anyone else, would scoff at the sheer lack of original story telling involved and the silliness of it all. Solo is a menagerie of the action film’s and tries to deliver multiple messages as well as tries to be too many things at once.
Solo befriends a young kid and that whole storyline would seem to be tailor made to make this PG-13 movie, an action movie for the whole family. That’s not something that really works for adult action film fans as seen with movies like Robocop 3. Even Terminator 2 brought in the kid aspect, which worked great when I was young, but that film hasn’t aged well for me and I have a much lesser appreciation for it in my adult years. I think a lot of it has to do with how the Rambo films became socially acceptable for children maybe. Though, the Rambo movies never catered to kids and always remained rated R film’s with a copious amount of violence and sweat.
With the young kid that Solo meets, comes an entire village who take Solo in after he is found hurt and low on battery. The villagers are plagued, or better yet, enslaved by a militant group of guys that do bad stuff. What kinda bad stuff do they do? I didn’t catch that part, but they have automatic weapons and speak a foreign language, so they must be bad. The villagers see a chance to be liberated by Solo and he is soon thought to be an ancient savior sent to help them through their dark times. Solo teaches the villagers how to fight for themselves and in return, they let him use their generator to recharge his battery.
Are you won over yet?! Maybe the idea of Solo, the leader of the villagers, wearing a burlap vest without a shirt underneath will sell you?! No?! How about the cute young female villager looking to get a “charge” from Solo? Still no? Maybe the military teaming up with the bad news militant group to take out Solo catches your attention? No? Really?! What if I were to tell you Solo was played by MVP? You know, Mario Van Peebles?! Now I gotcha! MVP is one of those guys that is very hard to put a finger on…he comes from the loins of the well respected, DIY creator of Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, Melvin Van Peebles and has made his own splash in a positive way with New Jack City.
MVP has also made many a splash, right into the toilet with some of his character choices, as well as some of his actual acting. He can be good, but that would not be the case with Solo. He physically can handle the part and Solo was totally something meant to launch a franchise, as well as make MVP an action star. But even playing a robot, he still comes off as wooden, and playing a robot should be pretty easy, one would think.
Like I said, if you are not someone that can get into a mindless action movie, then stay far away, but if you don’t mind a little sacrificing of your brains, then there is some fun to be had with Solo. William Sadler plays the villainous Colonel Frank Madden, whom is in charge of hunting down, and bringing back Solo. Sadler is, as always, fantastically menacing and he hates Solo for no apparent reason and will do whatever it takes to take him out. Maybe there is an undercurrent of racism with the character, like he doesn’t dig the thought of a “brotha” stealing his shine and being the best of the best? Or it’s just plain old jealousy.
So there’s a great villain, but what’s better than a great villain? Well, Solo is guilty of using a major amount of “Solo Vision!”
Yep, that’s Adrien Brody! Oscar winner and co-star of SOLO!
I love any type of “Vision” in a movie…especially animal or robot vision and Solo, has a ton of it!
What makes Solo worth every second comes in the form of a big time SPOILER ALERT!! Not that spoiling Solo would ruin many film lover’s day, but I shall not spoil anything without warning. At the end of the film, when Solo has prevailed and beaten Sadler’s character Frank Madden and all the bad guys, and just when you think it’s all over…Super Solo shows up! Super Solo is the next level of Solo, the even more advanced, advanced machine/bringer of doom, and he is here to take out, Solo! It doesn’t end right there, oh no siree bob, Super Solo is modeled after another soldier, and that soldier just so happens to be Frank Madden strapped with an oversized, badass gun arm to top it all off!
For a movie that is essentially a thoughtless action flick, there sure is a whole lot going on. I didn’t even get into how Solo tries to connect with humans and their emotions either, but he does, thus showing that even though he is a hunk of metal and wires, he is capable of feelings too. Solo is a movie, where an incomplete killing machine is asked what he wants to look like and after seeing an Air Jordan commercial, he says “Like Mike”…need I say more?
