As predicted, March was a big jump up from February — pretty close to 50 films.
Which won’t put me on track for 600 this year, but over 500 seems plausible. (More than 20 in mid March.)
Not being able to do the Academy Award Marathons at the local theater probably cut 6-8 films from the possible total — but it’s still a very respectable crop.
What matters, though, is not the numbers, but the enjoyment. And I’m still having fun. Movies are a great joy for me — though remembering to post can be a bit of a chore. 😉
Still, if y’all like it — and get some good out of it — I’m happy to keep keeping track.
Ratings are out of 5 stars.
Flight that Disappeared, The ** Airplane is “kidnapped” so that occupants can be put on trial for future nuclear war. Like long okay Twilight Zone.
Lady Bird **** Sacramento teen tries to find her true identity in this interesting & well acted coming of age story. Sure Oscar bait.
Werewolf in a Girls’ Dormitory *** Not the best werewolf in the world & pretty straightforward Euro-horror, but still fun. PD copies tend to look good.
Revenge of Frankenstein (Sven) **** Original Hammer Frankenstein sequel has great start. Cushing & cast are great, but prefer monstrous monster.
5000 Fingers of Dr. T (Sven) *** Sven says Dr. Seuss didn’t like the studio edits & interference, but there’s still enough Sussian weirdess to be fun.
Devil Doll, The **** Lionel Barrymore escapes unjust imprisonment & becomes a mad scientist using shrunken people for revenge.
Mad Love **** Peter Lorre wants Colin Clive’s wife & uses a hand transplant to try to get her. Great cast & weird science shocks.
House of Mystery (1934) ** Fortune hunters weekending in old dark house seek treasure, are stalked by Hindu curse in the form of an ape.
Beast of Borneo (1934) ** Nasty scientist enlists white hunter to capture ape for experiments. But giant orangutan & lady assistant object.
Ghost Galleon *** Publicity stunt goes wrong, stranding bikini girls, & then their rescuers, on a ship of undead Templars. Cheapo fun.
Gargoyles *** Stan Winston monsters & sincere acting by the cast make this TV movie good monster fun. If it’s on, I’ll watch it.
Mad Magician, The (Sven) *** Magician Vincent Price is done wrong by his boss & competitors & thus decideds to magically eliminte them. Fun.
Maniac (1934) ** Assistant kills mad scientist & then impersonates him in attempts to bring the dead back to life + some nudity. I liked the weird demons in the dream/hallucination sequences.
Tomb Raider **** Pretty much what you’d expect from a Lara Croft origin story, but well acted & produced with good action & cast.
Wrinkle in Time, A ** Good cast & production, but it moved too slowly for me & the themes & ideas got muddied in its love of itself.
Alien vs. Predator *** It’s monster vs. monster with humans caught in the middle in an Antarctic pyramid. Fun premise & monster action.
Curse of Bigfoot, The * Students & prof find mummy of bigfoot (?! – repurposed) in cave & it returns to life to kill. Endless walking, talking, little monster. Even glimpse of Jackey Neyman Jones (Debbie from Manos) can’t save this, but I like the fiery end.
Monster Dog ** Alice Cooper returns to his ancestral mansion to be dogged by a cursed dog/wolf/werewolf. Slight Euro horror.
Hands of a Stranger (1962) ** In this take on Hands of Orlac the transplanted hands really do turn the pianist into a maniac. Not as interesting.
Chloe Love Is Calling You (1934) ** Chloe is a black girl, apparently born white & raised by voodoo woman. Love complications end in voodoo rites.
Beast with Five Fingers, The **** Famous pianist dies, but his disembodied hand comes back to play again & plague heirs including Peter Lorre.
Riders to the Stars *** Science & astronaut selection ideas are dated, but this serious SF film has heart & exciting climax. OSI #2.
Hammer Horror the Warner Bros. Years **** Great interviews & clips tell the story of the short-lived Hammer-WB collaboration. Beautifully made. Lots of info.
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle **** Fun & funny family adventure film with a heart, good production & SFX & some lessons to convey as well.
Pacific Rim Uprising *** A good action feature with fewer monsters. Good characters but lacks imagination of original & has some tropes.
Doctor Who: The Invisible Enemy (movie ver.) *** Tom Baker & Leela (Louise Jameson) meet a malevolent virus, get shrunk tiny to kill it, grow again & gain K-9.
Magnetic Monster, The *** 1st Office of Scientific Investigation (OSI) film is sincere SF & well made. Unique “monster” & good stock footage.
Die, Monster, Die! *** Nick Adams loves Karloff’s daughter, despite her family having unearthly animals & disease in Lovecraftian flick.
Giant Behemoth, The *** Sea monster animated by Pete Peterson & Willis O’Brien attacks London. SFX sometimes dodgy. Story good.
Secret Land, The **** Amazing color documentary of Admiral Byrd’s expeditionary trip to the South Pole in 1948. Stunning photography.
Bloody Pit of Horror ** Photography crew & models stumble into real torture chamber & madman. Feels like there should be more nudity.
Werewolf Woman ** Nude dance at beginning & nudity throughout highlight tale of a raped woman who imagines herself a werewolf.
Sworn to Justice *** Cynthia Rothrock is a sexy martial artist who uses psychic powers to track down & kill the murdrers of her sister.
Ready Player One **** Players must delve into pop culture nostalgia to win the game & keep the virtual world from the evil corporation.
Kite (Director’s Cut – uncensored) ** Teenage assassin works with crooked cop to kill molestors in this gory, disturbing, sex-filled action anime.
Mezzo Forte (uncensored) *** Roguish teens try to kidnap a mob boss & end up over their heads in sex & violence filled anime comedy OVA.
Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters *** Spacefaring humans retrun to reclaim Godzilla-devastated earth. Boring talk, stupid military plans, cool anime G.
Rawhide Terror, The (1934) ** One brother becomes a lawman, the other a vengful killer after parents are slain by fake indians. Low budget.
Monster Zero (Sven) **** Superior SFX, Nick Adams, Kumi Mizuno, Godzilla, Rodan, & Ghidora make this a fab monster fest & inspiration.
Hmm… Some 4-star flicks this month, but no 5-star ones. That changes immediately in April as I get sucked into 2 old faves. See you there!
Remember, you can support this and all my other writing work, like Dr. Cushing’s Chamber of Horrors, by joining my Patreon for a buck or two a month. Thanks!
