Category: Movies

“Invisible Ghost” (1941) Starring Bela Lugosi / Z-View

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Invisible Ghost (1941)

Director:  Joseph H. Lewis

Screenplay:  Al Martin, Helen Martin

Stars:  Bela Lugosi, Polly Ann Young, John McGuire and Clarence Muse, Laurence Criner and Emil Van Horn

Tagline:  THE PHANTOM KILLER STRIKES! Only a terrified woman knows the secret of this ghostly murderer…who strikes in the night and leaves no clues—but his victims!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Dr. Charles Kessler (Lugosi) hasn’t been the same since his wife left him several years ago.  Kessler hasn’t seen or heard from her since.  His grown daughter, Virginia (Young) and Evans (Muse) their butler accommodate Dr. Kessler’s  eccentricities.  When one of the Kessler’s servants is killed, Virginia’s fiancée Ralph Dickson (McGuire) is arrested, tried, sentenced to death and executed in the electric chair!

Soon Ralph’s twin brother, Paul shows up.  He doesn’t believe that Ralph could have committed the murder… but if  Ralph didn’t, who did?  As Paul, Dr. Kessler and Virginia follow the clues, they get closer to the unbelievable truth that could get them all killed!

Surprisingly, Invisible Ghost features no one that’s invisible and not a single ghost.  Perhaps the title is evidence to how much thought was put into the story.  Bela Lugosi deserved better… and so did poor Ralph.

Invisible Ghost earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Law of the Jungle” (1942) / Z-View

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Law of the Jungle (1942)

Director:  Jean Yarbrough

Screenplay:  George Bricker, Edmond Kelso (additional dialogue)

Stars:  Arline Judge, John ‘Dusty’ King, Mantan Moreland, Arthur O’Connell, Laurence Criner and Emil Van Horn

Tagline:  A Story to Thrill You and Chill You to the Rhythm of Jungle Tom-toms!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Enemy agents attempt to blackmail Nora Brooks (Judge) into transporting important papers out of Africa.  Brooks refuses instead running into the jungle.  There she meets explorer Larry Manson (King) and his assistant, Jeff Jones (Mantan).  With enemy agents leading hostile natives after them, Manson, Brooks and Jones have little chance for survival…

Not even Mantan Moreland’s comedy relief can save Law of the Jungle.

Law of the Jungle earns 2 of 5 stars.

“Harlem on the Prairie” (1937) Starring Herb Jeffries / Z-View

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Harlem on the Prairie (1937)

Director:  Sam Newfield, Jed Buell

Screenplay:  Fred Myton, F.E. Miller (additional dialogue)

Stars:  Herb Jeffries, F.E. Miller, Mantan Moreland, Consuelo Harris, Maceo Bruce Sheffield and Spencer Williams

Tagline:  KING OF THE JUKE BOX AND RADIO NOW SEEN IN FULL FEATURE!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Jeff Kincaid (Jeffries) is riding to the next town when he comes across Doc Clayburn’s (Williams) medicine show.  Kincaid joins them for dinner and a few songs.  Kincaid and Clayburn’s daughter, Connie (Harris) are obviously attracted to each other.  What no one knows is that outlaws have their eye on Clayburn.  Years ago, Clayburn ran with a group of bank robbers.  Clayburn was the only one who wasn’t killed and the outlaws want the gold he has hidden.  After some more songs and comedy from Crawfish (Miller) and Mistletoe (Moreland) things will come to gunplay when the outlaws attack.

Herb Jeffries was a popular singing radio star who decided to try acting.  Jeffries wanted to play a black singing cowboy leading man along the lines of Roy Rogers and Gene Autry.  Harlem on the Prairie is played straight (with some comedic moments) just like a Rogers or Autry film.  Jeffries riding a beautiful white stallion makes a serviceable lead.  Spencer Williams has great facial expressions telling more of his story without a word.  Mantan Moreland and F.E. (Flournoy Eakin) Miller provide comedy relief.  If you’re a fan of singing cowboy films, then give Harlem on the Prairie a shot.

Harlem on the Prairie earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Black and Tan” Starring Duke Ellington and Fredi Washington / Z-View

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Black and Tan (1929)

Director:  Dudley Murphy

Screenplay:  Dudley Murphy

Stars: Duke Ellington and his Duke Ellington Orchestra, Fredi Washington, Edgar Connor, Alec Lovejoy and Arthur Whetsol

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Duke (Ellington) is an out of work jazz musician struggling to make ends meet.  When his girlfriend, Fredi (Washington) tells Duke that she’s scored them a job – her dancing and him with his orchestra, Duke reminds her that the doctor said she shouldn’t exert herself  because of her heart condition.  Despite the doctor’s warnings, Fredi is determined to perform since they need the money…

For a short, the film employs creative camera work.  We see many of the dances from the view of a mirrored floor.  As Fredi waits to perform and is feeling ill, we see the performers from her perspective.  Black and Tan was the film debut of both Duke Ellington and Fredi Washington.  Black and Tan was inducted to the National Film Registry in 2015.

Black and Tan earns 4 of 5 stars.

“All Quiet on the Western Front” – The Second Trailer is Here!

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Here’s a second trailer for All Quiet on the Western Front.  Deal me in.

All Quiet on the Western Front tells the gripping story of a young German soldier on the Western Front of World War I. Paul and his comrades experience first-hand how the initial euphoria of war turns into desperation and fear as they fight for their lives, and each other, in the trenches. The film from director Edward Berger is based on the world renowned bestseller of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque.

“The Ghost Talks” (1949) Starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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The Ghost Talks (1937)

Director:  Jules White

Screenplay:  Felix Adler

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Shemp Howard and Nancy Saunders

Tagline:  It’s Historical!  It’s Hysterical!

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Larry, Shemp and Moe are movers hired to empty out a spooky old castle.  A suit of armor contains the ghost of Peeping Tom.  Tom tells the boys that 1,000 years ago he heard a commotion outside.  When he looked out the window he saw Lady Godiva making her famous ride.  Tom was hit in the face with a pie and his ghost trapped in the suit of armor.  Tom warns the Stooges that if they try to move the armor, bad luck with follow.  You guessed it, they try to move the armor and bad follows… they even are visited by Red Skeleton!

The Ghost Talks earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power” – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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Today we have the poster and trailer for Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power.  The trailer drew me in and I’m interested in seeing the film.  The line, ““If the camera is predatory, then the culture is predatory,” is a powerful one.  Definitely deal me in.

“If the camera is predatory, then the culture is predatory.” In this eye-opening documentary, celebrated independent filmmaker Nina Menkes explores the sexual politics of cinematic shot design. Using clips from hundreds of movies we all know and love – from Metropolis to Vertigo to Phantom Thread – Menkes convincingly makes the argument that shot design is gendered. Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power illuminates the patriarchal narrative codes that hide within supposedly “classic” set-ups and camera angles, and demonstrates how women are frequently displayed as objects for the use, support, and pleasure of male subjects. Building on the essential work of Laura Mulvey and other feminist writers, Menkes shows how these not-so-subtle embedded messages affect and intersect with the twin epidemics of sexual abuse and assault, as well as employment discrimination against women, especially in the film industry. The film features interviews with an all-star cast of women and non-binary industry professionals including Julie Dash, Penelope Spheeris, Charlyne Yi, Joey Soloway, Catherine Hardwicke, Eliza Hittman, and Rosanna Arquette. The result is an electrifying call-to-action that will fundamentally change the way you see, and watch, movies.

“Dizzy Doctors” (1937) Starring The Three Stooges / Z-View

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Dizzy Doctors (1937)

Director:  Del Lord

Screenplay:  Al Ray from a story by Charlie Melson

Stars: Moe Howard, Larry Fine, Curly Howard and Bud Jamison

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Larry, Curly and Moe are told by their wives if they don’t get jobs, they will be getting divorces.  The boys find work as salesmen of a new potion called Brighto,  They mistakenly believe that Brighto is a polish.  In attempts to make sales they ruin customers, shoes, jackets and cars. When they learn that Brighto is actually a health aide, the Stooges go to a hospital.  Who needs a health aide more than folks in a hospital?  What could go wrong… other than Brighto is as good a health aide as it is a polish.  Wait, there’s more — the hospital Superintendent is one of the customers who had his car ruined by Brighto!

Dizzy Doctors earns 3 of 5 stars.

“Echo 3” Starring Luke Evans and Michiel Huisman – The Poster and Trailer are Here!

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I don’t care for the poster but the trailer for Echo 3 has me on board.

Luke Evans and Michiel Huisman star in Echo 3, a new series about a brilliant scientist kidnapped in Colombia, and her brother and husband who will stop at nothing to bring her home. Stream Echo 3 on November 23 on Apple TV+ https://apple.co/_ECHO3

Echo 3 is an action-packed thriller set in South America that follows Amber Chesborough (Collins), a brilliant young scientist who is the emotional heart of a small American family. When Amber goes missing along the Colombia-Venezuela border, her brother, Bambi (Evans), and her husband, Prince (Huisman) – two men with deep military experience and complicated pasts – struggle to find her in a layered personal drama, set against the explosive backdrop of a secret war. Echo 3 also stars Martina Gusman as Violetta, a prominent political columnist. The series features James Udom, Maria Del Rosario, Alejandro Furth, Juan Pablo Raba and special guest star, Bradley Whitford. Echo 3 is also based on the award-winning series “When Heroes Fly,” created by Omri Givon, and inspired by the eponymous novel by Amir Gutfreund.

“Creed III” – Two Poster and the First Trailer are Here!

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Above are the two posters and below the first trailer for Creed III.  I’d be more excited if Sly Stallone was involved, even if not appearing in the film.  Creed III doesn’t look bad, but for a diehard Stallone fan like me, it’s missing the magic.

There’s no enemy like the past. From director Michael B. Jordan, watch the official #Creed3 trailer now and see the movie in theaters and IMAX 3/3/23.

CREED III

Directed By: Michael B. Jordan
Screenplay By: Keenan Coogler and Zach Baylin
Story By: Ryan Coogler, Keenan Coogler, and Zach Baylin
Cast: Michael B. Jordan, Tessa Thompson, Jonathan Majors, Florian Munteanu

“Firestarter” (2022) / Z-View

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Firestarter (2022)

Director:  Keith Thomas

Screenplay:  Scott Teems based on Firestarter by Stephen King

Stars: Zac Efron, Ryan Kiera Armstrong, Sydney Lemmon, Michael Greyeyes, Gloria Reuben, Kurtwood Smith and John Beasley

Tagline:  None.

The Overview:  Beware of spoilers…

Andy McGee (Efron), his wife Vicky (Lemmon) and their daughter Charlie (Armstrong) are living off the grid.  Andy and Vicky were part of an experimental drug test conducted by a secret government organization.  Andy gained telepathic powers, and Vicky developed telekinesis. Charlie was born with the ability to cause objects to burst into flame. Her ability is becoming more powerful and Charlie hasn’t yet learned to control it.  The organization is looking for them to take advantage of their powers.

When Charlie is bullied at school, she runs to the bathroom in an attempt to control the fire she feels coming.  Her rage at being picked on causes a flame burst that school officials think was a small explosion set off by Charlie.  This incident brings Charlie and her family to the attention of the secret government agency.  They send Rainbird (Greyeyes), to bring back the girl even if it means killing her parents.  Things are about to heat up…

Firestarter (2022) doesn’t hold a candle to the 1984 version.  Before Andy uses his telepathic powers he does an exaggerated neck crack which just comes off as silly.  Charlie is made less sympathetic when she accidentally unleashes her fire burst and roasts a cat.  We see the cat badly burned and then Charlie is told to put it out of it’s misery, so she lights the cat up again.  We hear a final cry from the cat.  Charlie accidentally sets her mom on fire and then later tells her dad, “I meant it to be you.”  The movie ends — big spoiler alert — with Charlie willingly going off with Rainbird, the man who brutally killed her mother, captured her father which lead to his death, and forced Charlie to kill many folks who worked for the organization.

Usually movies I watch all the way through earn at least a two star rating.  Sadly, Firestarter (2022) doesn’t.

Firestarter earns 1 of 5 stars.