Where has the time gone?! I’m not entirely sure. But suddenly I’m finishing June in August and I still have July (and August), 2025 to do. Maybe I can catch up by the end of the month.
So, we’ve got the rise (and fall) of Mystery 101, the rise to excellence of Brokenwood Mysteries, a smattering of El Santo, PBS doing dinosaurs (timed for the release of Jurassic World Rebirth), and ending — as always — with my annual celebration of Ray Harryhausen’s Birthday.
Let’s get into it!
Here’s the usual ratings system:
* – This film is not good. Avoid it unless you tolerate dreck well.
** – A flawed film. You may enjoy it if you like this genre or the folks in it.
*** – A good solid film. If you like this genre, you’ll probably like this film.
**** – A superior film within its genre. Thoroughly enjoyable.
***** – An outstanding film on many levels. A great example of its genre.
Note that some shows I’ve given a parenthetical star rating, usually adding (occasionally subtracting) stars, depending on how your amusement may differ from mine. I’ve explained the meaning in the reviews themselves. Mostly.
Mystery 101 – Dead Talk (1-4 2019) *** Amy is scheduled to give a Ted Talk-like seminar in Seattle when her rehearsal is interrupted by a brash software engineer who claims to have a new program that will solve crimes for police departments, possibly putting some detectives out of work. The software might not be real, but it’s not much of a surprise when the engineer ends up dead. It’s out of Detective Travis Burke’s jurisdiction, but the case is being handled by a friend of his from the academy, Detective Rachel Knox. Since the seminar series is being run by an old beau of Amy’s, there’s plenty of romantic tension between our protagonists — Amy and Travis — to add spice to their interaction this time around. (Romantic tension being a Hallmark hallmark.) Eventually, there’s a 2nd murder revealed , the dead man’s lawyer, which happed a week or more earlier. This mystery has most of the usual elements one expects from this series. Happily, this time I didn’t pick out the culprit in the first half hour.
Mystery 101 – An Education in Murder (1-5 2020) *** Yes, these were all done as a marathon on Hallmark Mystery, & I managed to record all but the 2nd one, & I’m watching them very quickly one after another. In this one, Amy becomes interested in freeing an old colleague whom she believes was wrongly convicted of murdering his wife by putting strychnine into her asthma inhaler. A TV show about the murder not only puts Amy on the case, but also piques the interest of a young non-fiction writer, who belives she has new evidence in the case. Detective Travis, Amy’s budding beau, is also interested, but the cop who handled the case says the evidence was dead bang & resents Amy & the reporter girl digging it up again. Soon Amy & Travis turn up a similar murder of another professor, but before the writer/reporter can tell them what she knows, she turns up dead as well. Again, this is a fairly standard Hallmark mystery with the usual romance elements (and finally a kiss) thrown in. It also falls into the Charlie Chan “least likely suspect” theory of whodunit — like the others I’ve seen — but I guess I’ll have to ether forgive that or give it up at this point. Comfort viewing.
Mystery 101 – Killer Timing (1-6) *** “The Wolfman,” a serial killer who would surely be going to jail forever because of Detective Travis’ testimony escapes from the courthouse and vanishes in Chicago. Surely he will seek revenge on teacher (and amateur detective) Amy’s beau. And shortly thereafter, Travis is caught in an explosion while walking down the street near home in Garrison, Washington. He survives, but two dead bodies turn up in the house, though it’s unclear who they might be, as they’re not the people living in the house. Complicating matters further, Travis’ ex-wife, now with the FBI turns up to investigate. Tensions rise, as it appears the Wolfman is still on the hunt for revenge, and our heroes may be in the crosshairs. But all is not as it seems. There are a few more twists than usual in this episode, but it’s all still pretty cozy.
Mystery 101 – Deadly History (1-7) *** Amy’s uncle Alistair has disappeared (at the end of the last show/film), so she and Travis along with Amy’s dad, Graham (Alistair’s half-brother), travel to New York to help figure out what’s happened. Like Amy, Alistair is a professor, but he hasn’t kept in touch with the family, and naturally his life is complicated, featuring an ex-wife, a cheating wife, private tutoring, and even mob ties and a shady hotel deal. Oh, and of course there has to be a murder in there someplace, too. Eventually, Amy & Travis turn up Uncle Al, untangle all the threads, and get the proper folks behind bars, which leads to them finally having a “we’re a couple” moment, and then… This turned out to be the last in the series, which wasn’t renewed. But it’s clear the producers thought it would continue, because rather than wrapping up the ongoing romance and storylines, it ends with a time jump and our heroes having broken up at sometime in the past — though we just saw them get together! A disappointing close to a pretty good if not remarkable series.
Wolf Man (2025) **(*) This version of the Wolf Man seems more like a remake of the 1980s The Fly than of the 1940s The Wolf Man. That said, there are some good moments, but also some moments when the storytelling is confusing and not terribly well shot. (How exactly did the car get in that tree? Are we in Jurassic Park now?) The hick setting is a bit much to take, and there really aren’t many surprises, despite the sincerity of the filmmaking. A man returns home after his father’s death and becomes infected by another wolf-man (as in the Chaney movie). After that, a lot of the film takes place in a small cabin, with our putative hero slowly and grossly transforming. May have enough for horror fans to give it that extra star, but… Not a hairy patch on the original. (Or maybe even the Rick Baker makeup version from 2010.)
Santo vs. the Riders of Terror (1970) **** El santo is a hero in the old west here, no time traveling or wrestling involved, and because of that I think this works better as a film than a lot of his other flicks. Our hero in the silver mask tries to sort out who the real bad guys are, in a town plagued by scary lepers. But the film also makes it clear that the lepers aren’t’ really the villains at all, bur are rather persecuted by townsfolk stirred up by greedy villains. Naturally, there is plenty of fighting and some western action — horses and all — even if El Santo isn’t shooting silver bullets. I look forward to watching it again. (Apparently, there’s also a more-adult version of this film with some nudity, which I hope to review soon.)
Santo in the Vengeance of the Mummy (1971) *** El Santo gets involved in an expedition to find a lost tomb/treasure that is being guarded by a deadly curse. The curse is apparently a mummy bent on killing off the treasure hunters. There’s also an evil witch-like character, villainous treasure hunters, & people playing both sides. Naturally, we get some El Santo action, too. I was having more fun with this until a disappointing ending brought it back to just standard genre fare. I watched the dubbed box set, and the dubbing didn’t particularly bother me. I’m happy to see good prints/transfers of these films, even without the original Spanish language tracks.
Quatermass 2 (1957) **** Quatermass’ new project is to build an analog for a moon base on Earth. But when the base funding is suddenly cancelled, Quatermass is stunned to discover that something very much like his base has been built in a remote village. The company in charge claims it’s a new, artificial food project, but our heroes aren’t buying that. For one thing, it doesn’t explain why the village seems to be under near-nightly bombardment by strange, small meteors — one of which splits open causing some kind of infection that kills a man. Brian Donlevy is back as the titular hero, and this is a nice bit of atmospheric, black & white 1950s SciFi.
Mission Impossible – Final Reckoning (8 – 2025) **** A continuation of the previous film, and what might be the last in the Tom Cruise Mission Impossible movie. This one pits Ethan Hunt and his team, both new members and old, against the omnipresent AI program/app that they faced in the last movie. Final Reckoning doesn’t pick up exactly where the last flick left off, though, and new elements and characters are introduced as the heroes race against time to stop the AI taking over the world… Or destroying it. Amazing set pieces include trying to find the root programming for the AI in a Russian sub sunk under the ice, and an airplane sequence with Tom Cruise climbing around on actual stunt planes during a dogfight/chase. Sure, the reasoning for that chase doesn’t make a lot of sense in the scheme to confine, destroy, or control the AI, but… Still rollicking good fun with a satisfying ending. The End?
Strait Jacket *** Joan Crawford is a woman who beheaded her husband with an ax years ago and was confined to a mental hospital. Now she’s out, though, and living with her daughter, who perhaps rightly fears that mom may kill again. The star power of Joan and “daughter” Diane Baker is what helps keep this suspense film by William Castle going. It’s always better than I remember it being.
Santo vs. Frankenstein’s Daughter (1971) *** Sure, there’s ring time, as in most Santo films, but here, Frankenstein’s Daughter, needs the hero’s blood to make even better monsters. Naturally, she has her original monster to challenge the Silver Mask Man and cause trouble. Another pretty standard Santo flick, but pretty much all of them are enjoyable. And I don’t even mind the dubbing. (Part of the same big, dubbed set.)
Brokenwood Mysteries 2-3 Catch of the Day *** A severed hand found in a crayfisherman’s (lobsterman’s) pot propel Mike Shepherd and his team to find out who the hand belongs to and whether the person is still alive. Suspicions fall on the Keely family, who hae a monopoly on local lobster & clamming. And the rest of the body soon turns up; he was a local fisheries inspector, but though found underwater, he was killed with a speargun. He and his wife were also in a thruple relationship with their lawyer. They Keelys, who’s patriarch died in a boating accident, seem the logical suspects, but the dead man was also apparently looking for a sunken WWII treasure, too, so… Plenty for Mike, Kristin, and Sam to sort out.
Santo & Blue Demon vs. Dracula & the Wolfman (1969) *** Santo teams up with frequent buddy Blue Demon (perhaps the second most famous Mexican wrestler) to save the world from a plague of monsters stirred up by a mad scientist revived from death. Naturally, there are plenty of battles (and some wrestling), including against Dracula, the wolfman, Frankenstein’s monster, the mummy, and more. For me, the most memorable part is the climactic battle over and around a huge pit of spikes that the monsters want to throw their victims and our heroes. Plenty of jeopardy and more than a few, “Don’t do that!” moments there. The monster makeups are okay, but nothing to compel you to see this flick if you’re not a fan of the wrestlers.
Santo & Blue Demon vs. Dr. Frankenstein. *** With a title like this, you won’t be surprised that super wrestlers and sometime tag-team partners Santo & Blue Demon are out to stop the schemes of evil Dr. Frankenstein. The doc is performing a series of kidnappings and brain transplants to terrify the populace of Mexico City. Because this is a wrestling flick, with plenty of chances for that in the ring, it’s also not surprising that Dr. Frankenstein is intent on building a super-wrestler to defeat our heroes — oh, and thereby creating an army of super zombies. A fun climactic battle caps off this episode of the film series. If you like the others, you’ll like this.
Santo & Mantequilla Napoles in Revenge of La Llorona (1974) *** El Santo takes a break from his normal team-ups with Blue Demon, and instead spends this film hanging out with famous Cuban boxer Mantequilla Napoles, whose name means “Butter” — I guess because his fighting style was so smooth. In this case, the duo — as well as having the expected fights in and out of the ring — are looking to help gain a treasure to fund an orphanage. At the same time, part of the treasure has reactivated La Llorona, the traditional Crying Woman ghost/spirit, who’s looking for revenge against those who defiled her resting place. (She cries because she killed her children.) Can our heroes stop her — and the bandits who want to steal the treasure — before she kills again? Some nice spooky bits in this one.
Playgirls & the Vampire (1960) *** A troupe of dancing girls and their manager get stranded in a storm and end up in the proverbial old dark castle, where the handsome(ish) young lord is happy to host them, despite the fact that a “curse” is hanging over the house in the form of a vampire, who (Spoilers!) turns out to be the look-alike ancestor of the young lord. This is fun for what it is, pretty much standard Euro-horror shot in beautiful black & white and features a (somewhat) surprising bit of nudity for being such an early film in the genre. I like it, but find it fairly unmemorable — which I suppose does give it more rewatchability. 😀
Brokenwood Mysteries 2-4 Blood Pink *** A popular touring musician is found dead in her bathtub, electrocuted by her guitar. She was Detective Mike Shepherd’s favorite (he’s a bit country-western fan), so our hero and his crew (Kristin and Sam) are determined to find out if it was suicide, a drunken accident, or murder. At first the only clue is a mysterious message scrawled in lipstick on a mirror, but it soon turns out that things were not harmonious within her band. It seems she may have been about to strike out on her own, leaving the group, and a number of her fans, behind. Then, another band member is killed, and our team must figure out the mysteries before more die.
Brokenwood Mysteries 3-1 The Black Widower ***** After 2 seasons of amusing by hardly remarkable stories, Brokenwood Mysteries really hit its stride for me with this bit of fun. Since the series is set in New Zealand, it only makes sense that they might touch upon that country’s most famous film series: The Lord of the Rings. In this episode, a Brokenwood man is running “Lord of the Ringz” tours — that’s right, rings with a Z (or zed, as the Kiwis say). His delighted Asian customers don’t seem to mind, but a German tourist is outraged at his “locations” for “Helmet’s Deep” and “Myrklewood.” The fake giant spider provides a nice scare, but when one of its “victims,” the man’s wife, turns out to be actually dead, Detectives Mike Shepherd, Kristin, & Sam must navigate a tangled web of tour group jealousies and other local backbiting, with little help of the stoic “black widower” of the title. Did I mention the wife turns out to have been killed by the bite of a rare spider? Filled with clever, gruesome, and comedic bits for our crew and an increasingly amusing cast of regular Brokenwood citizens. For me, this movie-length episode brought the show to heights similar to Midsomer Murders, and the quality has remained generally high ever since. Of course, the LotR theme for this ep was practically tailor-made for me.
Brokenwood Mysteries 3-2 Over Her Dead Body ***** The funeral of a local Brokenwood author is turned upside down, when his coffin is overturned and the body of a young woman falls out. At first, the woman’s identity is a complete mystery, but then it turns out she’d been a newcomer to a local live game of Clue, set up but a group of locals who share names with the famous game’s characters. Those players now turn out to be suspects, as does the hapless funeral director, and several others. It turns out that perhaps the woman’s presence at the game wasn’t entirely by chance, and she may not even have been the target of the murder. Another strong episode of Brokenwood, and one in which the game connection plays directly into my life and interests.
Fall Guy, The – Pilot *** Though he was more famous to me as the Six-Million-Dollar Man, I guess Lee Majors was a formerly a stunt man & someone thought it would therefore be a good idea to build a series around that profession — oh, and also make him a bounty hunter, because stunt work isn’t a regular thing, and one needs to supplement one’s income. In this movie-length pilot for the series, Colt Seavers’ (Lee’s) game nephew shows up looking for work in the movie industry, and instead gets sucked into the other family business, skip tracing for a woman bail bondsman, along with Colt’s partner, Jody (Heather Thomas). Here, Colt is both trying to protect an old friend (Percy Rodriguez) from gangsters & trying to bring down a corrupt sheriff (Eddie Albert) responsible for hitting a child with his car while on a spree in Hollywoodland. Unfortunately, the Sheriff is in complete control of the small town where Lee tracks him down. A clever scheme to pretend Colt is scouting locations ensues. A fun start to the TV series.
Mystery 101 1-2 Playing Games *** Mystery & Crime writing expert, Professor Amy Winslow (Jill Wagner) is acting as a consultant to a local theater company that’s having trouble. A series of accidents in the theater have come close to taking the life of the show’s lead, Bella Brightman, a movie start who’s agreed to perform in the show. This has gotten her police protection, and given Amy’s frienemy, Detective Travis Burke something to worry about besides the series of burglaries that has put one of his officers in the hospital. Ot course, not all of the local thespians are thrilled to have a prima donna in their production. To complicate matters, Bella”s ex husband arrives, seemingly just to stir things up. And when the murder mystery play is actually staged, will the fake murder turns real? I’m glad I had a chance to complete seeing this series, even if out of order. The mysteries were amusing, even if they often had obvious solutions from early on. Too bad the series didn’t get a chance to grow further.
Revenge of the Dead (1959) **(**) This “shocker” is by well-known bad film auteur Ed Wood and features fake psychics running a scam to bilk people out of their money, and maybe a murder a few folks along the way. It has all the usual Wood hallmarks including bad sets, bad acting, Kelton the Cop, Tor Johnson, and the Amazing Criswell (as himself). What’s not to like? It also has more of a plot than some of Wood’s films, and some spooky ghost-type scenes. Also known as Night of the Ghouls, I’m lucky enough to have a blu-ray copy of the Revenge version, which I guess was — not long after its release — forced from the market by some kind of a lawsuit, probably by the well-known film bandit who looted Wood’s probably-public-domain works and claimed them as his own. In any case, I’m glad I have it, and if you’re a fan of Wood’s work, this is a great edition to see, and gets those extra 2 stars.
Son of Dracula (1943) **** Lon Chaney, Jr., plays the count — and does it pretty well — in this dark-hearted delight of a Universal vampire film, where the woman protagonist woos Dracula in order to become a vampire and obtain immortal (un)life. Of course, she has a mortal beau who doesn’t want to let her go, but things go badly for both of them when he shoots the count. This doesn’t hurt Dracula, of course, but does kill the woman the man claims to love, standing behind Drac at the time. Great twist! But she must not quite be dead, because Drac “saves” her by making her a vampire, and this clever bit of cinema darkness goes on from there. Clocking in around 80 minutes, this is another slick wartime Universal horror flick with a a deeply twisted soul. I like it more every time I see it.
Critters (1986) *** The titular monsters are little alien beasts who come to Earth when they escape the prison (?) ship they’re being transported on. They’re monsters in the vein of the Gremlins movies popular at the time and cause all kind of mayhem. Adding to the chaos, once on Earth, the critters are being chased by a pair of alien hunters who’ve taken on human bodies — but not human views on when or when it is not appropriate to use serious violence to solve a problem. This is a fun flick, very typical of the 1980s, being both a cash-in on a popular idea and willing to take the violence and gore even further. If you like that type of thing, you’ll enjoy it.
Brokenwood Mysteries 3-3 The Killing Machine **** During a Brokenwood Riverfront Beach Hop car festival, Charlie Baxter, owner of a local car repair garage, is found next to his car on the side of the road, dead from gasoline in his lungs. He’s found by one of Brokenwood’s oddball returning characters, a man called “Frodo” who’s had a number of different odd jobs during the series. Right now, he’s working driving a flashy car with a woman far above the crowd he usually hangs out with. Further, a thief was found dead, apparently having fallen while trying to rob Baxter’s repair shop, and an old friend of Jared (who often helps the cops) turns up driving “The Killing Machine.” Detectives Mike, Kristin, & Sam must sort things out as other people working at that auto shop start dying. Another good episode, if not quite as good as the previous two.
Song Remains the Same, The ***(*) This well-known concert film is comprised 3 days of concerts in New York City by Led Zeppelin, in which the band performs many of their classic tunes. Punctuating this footage, and framing it, are a series of weird interludes: band members and their kids wandering in an idyllic countryside, random meanderings of various band mates, some talk and chatter, and then odd, staged fantasy sequences — knights in armor and so forth — that may or may not relate to the songs being played. Some of the interludes are like mini-movies (or, had the film been done later, music videos), though most seem to start en media res and then just peter out. The music is pretty great, and if you’re a fan of the band, you can give this flick that extra star.
Sorrowful Jones (1944) *** Bob Hope & Lucille Ball star in this remake of Runyon’s “Little Miss Marker.” Hope is a bookie who gets mixed up in a racing swindle where a small child is left as collateral on a bet (a marker). When her father is killed by the bad guys, Hope & Ball end up having to care for the child while the criminals’ horse-racing scheme — involving a horse, allegedly owned by the little girl, throwing a race — proceeds. If it gets fouled up, Hope, Ball, & the kid may all be killed. Despite the dangerous plot elements, this is a pretty light-hearted comedy in the Runyon (Guys & Dolls) style.
Nature 43-9 Museum Alive with David Attenborough (2014/25) **** Naturalist David Attenborough does a “Night at the Museum” riff, where he stays in the paleontology seciton or the British Museum overnight & gives us a tour of the many interesting fossils there. As he tours, the fossils come alive and interact with (and sometimes threaten) him. It’s good fun. Some of the creatures gain skins — like Gigantopithecus, which looks amazingly like bigfoot — while others, like the saber-tooth tiger, remain skeletons. It’s all good fun, and come morning all the exhibits are back in their place, inanimate as visitors come in for the day. It’s all good fun.
Secrets of the Dead 20-7 Jurassic Fortunes **** For a long time, collecting dinosaurs was the provenance of museums, but recently, private dinosaur hunters have shifted the business into private hand. This may provide the hunters with more money — though in the case of Big John the largest Triceratops ever found, this may not have been true — and it definitely means big profits for auction houses. The other thing it means is that public institutions who want dinosaurs may lose out to rich individuals & families. A paleontologist from Carthage College (Kenosha, WI) bemoans this near-certain future. Though the show remains more neutral & shows several private buyers who have loaned or given part of their collection to museums — including Big John. Nevertheless the future of museum collecting dinosaurs remains uncertain in this interesting (& slightly depressing) documentary.
Paleo Sleuths (2016) *** A paleontology show, but not a dinosaur show (in dino week), this TV doc focuses on the kind of animals that existed in the western US before humans took over the place. Plenty of digging here along with info about mastodons and other mega-fauna. And of course, the scientists trying to figure out what life and ecology was like before recorded history. Less memorable for me than the other dino-week shows on PBS, but still good science.
Nature 42-7 Attenborough & the Jurassic Sea Monster ***** David Attenborough is back hunting dinosaurs — or at least their fossils. This time, he’s looking in on the recovery of what may be the biggest skull ever of a pliosaurus (a short-necked plesiosaur). The fossil is discovered when the tip of its tooth-filled jaws are found on an English beach at the bottom of some tall cliffs. The Trouble, of course, is that the rest of the fossil is buried in the stones in the middle of this sheer cliff face, hundreds of feet tall. So, this super interesting science program is a mixture of the adventure of trying to get the rest of the skull out safely, and Attenborough filling us in about the pliosaurs, what they were, and the times in which they lived. I’m a water-monster sucker, so, I really… dug this.
Brokenwood Mysteries 3-4 Merry Bloody Christmas **** Detectives Mike & Kristin are in the Christmas spirit when, after the local Christmas parade, a popular mayor — who rode in the parade as Santa — turns up dead in his house, still in his Santa suit. In a bit of quirkiness, Mike keeps insisting the officers NOT say that Santa has been killed, bur rather “a man in a Santa suit,” throughout the case. And the case deepens when a 2nd murdered person-in-a-Santa-suit turns up dead in the chimney of the house where the first Santa was killed. The Christmas trappings enhance the expected quirky characters in this outing & it’s amusing for me that Christmas is in summer, because Brokenwood is set in New Zealand, in the southern hemisphere.
Harry Wild (S4 – 2025) ***** Harry & Fergus are back for another amusing season of mysteries, with complications for this set including the return of Harry’s ex-husband (father of her son the police chief) — who may or may not still be an untrustworthy bastard. My favorite among the cases this year is “The Death of Harry Wild” in which Harry & Fergus go to a true crime conference & discover people cosplaying as them, as well as a friend cashing in on their celebrity. Then a woman cosplaying as Harry is killed by a precipitous fall, landing at the real Harry’s feet. So, some murder amid the fun and games. There are also some other arcs that run longer than one story. I really enjoyed this series.
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (aka Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster – 1971) ***(*) For the Japanese, this is clearly a kids’ film; for those of us in the US, it’s a strange mixture of goofy giant monster action & disturbing scenes of pollution, maiming, destruction, and mass deaths at the hand of Hedorah, the Smog Monster. Having scene this in its dubbed form in the drive-in as a kid, I remember it being both cool, goofy, and disturbing. And so it remains to this day, with watching it in Japanese somehow managing to bring out all those qualities. Godzilla is in full bloom in Defender of Earth mode, and Hedorah is a huge (bigger than G), toxic creature created out of pollution. (If you think humankind can’t clean up its act, check out the real-life pollution footage in this film!) As Hedorah causes havoc, Godzilla rises up to fight him in a nearly un-ending series of battles. The goofiest, when Godzilla flies. If you haven’t seen it yet, I won’t say more. If you love Godzilla and the time period, it has extra delights for that extra star.
NOVA 48-24 Alaska Dinosaurs **** Believe it or not, despite all the climate change since the Jurassic, Cretaceous, etc. eras in the time of the dinosaurs, the area we now know as Alaska was still a cold place. It wasn’t as cold as it may be now, but it still had seasonal shifts, bringing cold weather & snow, etc. Despite this, amazingly, the then-arctic thrived with dinosaurs & related life in the forests, swamps, etc. This program takes a look at all that while detailing the struggle paleontologists face trying to dig dinosaurs out of the permafrost (with chainsaws) & other situations in a landscape that is today far more inhospitable, even to humans with modern technology. A good watch.
Walking with Dinosaurs (2025 series) **** Walking with Dinosaurs is back (originally 1999) with brand new sets of dinosaurs in its new 6-episode series. As in the original, each episode combines current paleontology with imagined stories of how the fossils discovered came to be. (This also caused PBS to bring back a number of other dino-related TV shows, which I have reviewed here — though this comes almost last in sequence, because I review in air date order, and the series wrapped up next to last.) If you like dinosaurs, you’ll enjoy this, though we know that they’re all dead in the end, which is kind of a bummer. The main dinosaurs covered in the six episodes are: 1) a baby triceratops (vs. T-Rex), 2) a spinosaurus dad tries to take his kids to a seasonal hunting ground to eat ancient ray-type-fish, 3) a group of gastonia (ankylosaur-type dinosaurs) must defend themselves against Utahraptors (large carnivores, close to what the Jurassic Park-type films mistakenly call velociraptors), 4) a pack of Albertasauruses (smaller T-Rex cousins) must find prey or risk starvation, 5) a huge herd of Pachyrhinosauruses (ceratopsian dinos) face predators & natural disaster on their migration, 6) an old Lusotitan, one of the largest living land animals (like huge brachiosaurus) tries to find one last mate. Overall, an enjoyable nature series with good — but not JPark level — SPFx for the dinos.
NOVA 49-6 Dinosaur Apocalypse: The New Evidence (2022) ***(*) The title says “new evidence,” but for me this was mostly a recapping the theory that an asteroid strike hastened the demise of the dinosaurs — and why we believe that to be true, and what the evidence for it is. It’s all well done and well explained — and focuses on normal dinosaur life, and what it was like, before the big hit sent them and a lot of the world’s animals spiraling toward extinction. So, if you haven’t seen this kind of thing before, give it that extra star.
Spider Baby (1967) ***(*) Lon Chaney, Sr. is the “patriarch” of a strange clan of three charmingly odd but murderous siblings two teen girls and one boy — living in an old dark house that is (perhaps) going to be sold by relatives. But when the new folks come to visit, the girls decide to make them part of their “spider games. The newcomers also get treated to a questionable feast caught by the “boy” (Sid Haig). This black comedy/horror film has lovely black & white photography (make sure to see a good print/transfer) & is great fun, if you like this kind of thing. I do! It’s also the last role for the great Mantan Moreland, who I wish was on the screen longer.
Bog (1979) **(*) There’s a fishy swamp monster on the prowl for victims in this low-budget monster movie. Awakened by dynamite fishing, naturally, the creature needs the blood of human women victims to survive. It has all the kind of things you’d usually expect in this kind of film. Sadly, it doesn’t give you a really good look at the monster, even though it may not be a bad-looking fish monster. Sure, it’s cheesy, but… Embrace your cheese, if you’re going to do this. Hiding the monster in the shadows doesn’t make you a batter film. It just makes it look like you lack conviction.
Underwater City, The (1961) ***(*) A group of scientists decides to crate an underwater city from a series of domed habitats to try to ensure both abundance of food and homes for future humanity. A sincerely made SF drama with the expected 1950s-60s type of love story complications. Special effects are pretty good, and the clever use of soap bubbles filled with helium makes the dry for wet shots fairly convincing, though the underwater creature stuff is pretty dodgy on the science. Still, a good attempt if not very quick moviing. Fans of this kind of thing or of Julie “Creature from the Black Lagoon” Adams can give it that extra star.
JAWS (1975) ***** Classic Spielberg adventure shocker with Amity Island being terrorized by a rogue shark taking up residence off its shores. Police Chief Brody, scientist Hooper, and crusty fisherman Quint team up to try to bring in the killer fish. Plenty of suspense and shocks with a huge number of memorable and quotable scenes. The cast, including Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfus, Robert Shaw, and Loraine Gary are all great. The famously difficult and over-budget shooting schedule ended up pushing everyone to their limits but created an all-time classic. Rush right out and see it on the biggest screen possible if you haven’t. Happy 50th Anniversary!
Into the Deep (2025) *** A woman who lost her father to a shark when she was a child grows up to lead ocean expeditions diving for treasure. She seems to be coping pretty well until she and friends find a sunken treasure wreck that also happens to be filled with drugs. Their boat is then hijacked by murderous drug-running pirates, who force the treasure hunter to dive into shark infested waters to retrieve the drugs. Fairly well produced for a lower budget, though script could have been eighter. Richard Dreyfus plays the grandfather of the main character traumatized as a child. He also makes an impassioned speech about saving sharks from finning and overfishing over the film’s credits.
Village of the Damned (Sven) **** Classic SF film based on the story “The Midwich Cuckoos,” in which the village of Midwich experiences a strange event that causes all of the residents to fall unconscious at the same time for a few hours. Nine months later, every woman in the village of childbearing age has had a child with blond hair and strange glowing eyes — which, as you might imagine, causes a social ruckus, even before the glowing eyes show up. The children develop at a rapid rate, seem to share some kind of a hive mind, and have the ability to psychically harm people who they don’t like. Starring George Sanders, Barbara Shelley, and a fine cast of British actors, this is a serious, dark bit of science fiction, beautifully produced, and well worth seeing. (Better than its sequel or the John Carpenter remake.)
Day of the Dead (House of Sven) 1995 **** It’s been ages since I’ve seen this George Romero film, following up on Night of the Living Dead and Dawn of the Dead, where the zombies/ghouls have overrun most of the world, so a small group of survivors have taken over an underground military base (salt mine?) and from there are conducting forays to get supplies and lure zombies into their underground pens, where a slightly mad scientist type can experiment on them. But does he want to “cure” the undead or end their dominance, or just make them compliant “pets”? Filled with Romero’s usual blend of chills, gore, and satire, seeing this on the Svengoolie-related broadcast TV show, “House of Svengoolie” (a fun show) made me realize I have to revisit the uncut version soon.
Making of Jaws, The (1995) ***(*) The twentieth-anniversary celebration of the making of JAWS likely contains all of the stories you already know about how the classic film came bo be — malfunctioning shark, cantankerous islanders, script being written/rewritten on the fly, difficult shooting conditions, etc. — but this version feels pretty flat to me compared with the more recent documentary updates. It’s a great film, and if you haven’t’ seen one of the other “making of” documentaries, you can give this version another star.
Necromancy (1972) *(**) Pam Franklin is a young woman who moves to a new town with her husband (Michael Ontkean) only to be haunted/recruited by a local coven — headed by Orson Welles — whose motives for her seem maddeningly unclear for much of the film, but may have something to do with her saving the life of a friend when she was a girl. Turns out the bad (?) guys believe that Pam’s character has (Spoiler!) a resurrection power, which will allow Orson to resurrect his dead son, possibly at the cost of her life or something. Piled with interesting elements, this Bert I. Gordon (BIG) of Amazing Colossal Man (etc.) fame, never makes quite as much sense as it thinks it makes. Yet, maybe because of that, it becomes a “so bad it’s good” fest — for which you can give it those extra stars. One of the worst-made of BIG’s films, despite the fine cast, for sure.
Night of the Bloody Apes (1969) **(*) A mad scientist tries to cure his son’s leukemia via heart transplant (!) and decides that the best way to do this is to give him the heart of an ape — I guess because it’s stronger or more moral to not use a human heart of something. Because this is a horror movie, things go horribly wrong, and soon the son is doing a Jekyll-Hyde type transformation into an ape-man (natch) and rampaging through Mexico in very gory and un-Politically Correct ways. Sure, it’s predictable and more than a little gross, but if you like this type of Mexi-horror, you can give it that extra star.
Brokenwood Mysteries 4-1 Fall from Grace ***** The 4th season of The Brokenwood Mysteries starts off with a bang — or more accurately a splat — as a skydiver falls out of the blue and just happens to land in the same park where amusing Russian ME Gina is staging a “surprise” birthday party for Detective Inspector Mike Shepherd. Even more surprising is that the victim is a man that Detective Kristin Sims used to date. Detective Constable Sam Breen is there when it happens, too, of course; it’s a small party. Kristin’s personal connection means that the dead man’s family look to her as an ally, which makes working on the case much harder than she anticipated. It turns out, the dead man — a real playboy — had both his parachute ripcord & the backup system sabotaged. The family was all skydiving with him, something they did fairly frequently at a local skydiving school. The case becomes complicated when another family member dies, apparently of suicide, but you can bet there’s plenty of business, love, & other interest to keep our heroes busy. A really good mystery with an interesting and surprising end. Great start to S4!
Love After Death (1968) **(*) A man declared dead comes back to lose his virginity, in this weird black & white horror comedy that feels a little like an Ed Wood film, and in places has some eerie atmosphere. But it also has a lot of awkward comedy centered around both leching on and being bumbling/fumbling around nude women. If you’re expecting narrative consistency, this is not your bag. But if you dig1960s female nudity and 1960s Madman-type atmosphere, you may dig this. It also has a surprising and abrupt ending. Beautifully restored by Vinegar Syndrome on a double feature with The Good, the Bad, & the Beautiful. (Review of which follows.)
Good, the Bad, & the Beautiful, The (1970) **(*) A man running for office is caught up in the typical male-dominated 1960s world of being married and fooling around on the side. In this instance, he also has wife who’s from an asylum, who his campaign wants to be both there as a prop and not too present because she might still be crazy. In fact, it’s unclear, at least for a while, whether burglars and other unsavory types are actually after her, or if it’s all in her damaged imagination. The cinematography feels a little like a sleazy version of the Outer Limits, so there’s a certain charm there. If you’re wanting a horror-suspense, neo-roughie with sleazy men and some nudity, this is for you. Being on a double bill with Love After Death makes it a good buy if any of this is your bag.
Brokenwood Mysteries 4-2 Stone Cold Dead **** In a quaint village seemingly living in a previous century, the school mistress is shot through the head with an arrow. This is unexpected and inconvenient, because the village is a historical recreation of early Brokenwood, and the murder happens right before the start of one of their big public visitation days. Naturally, detectives Mike, Kristin, & Sam are called in to sort things out. They quickly discover that the murdered woman not only owned the village & worked there, but she also lived there, keeping her life as it would have been hundreds of years ago. Not only that, but her husband disappeared 7 years ago, and has finally been declared dead, from suicide, though his body has never been found. Our heroes quickly turn up the hidden conflicts behind the Historic Village’s happy, pre-19th century facade. Oh, complicating matters, Mike has broken his leg during the case, and spends a lot of time at his house in a wheelchair. Though I figured out some facts about the method of murder before the team, this mystery still had plenty to sort out before its final solution.
Brokenwood Mysteries 4-3 The Scarecrow **** A local farmer who keeps bees is found dead in one of his fields, his body strapped to a the crosspieces that formerly held up a scarecrow. The farmer’s organic methods, and insisting his rare type of honey was organic, have brought him into conflict with numerous people — including a man who’s interested in buying the farm, people on the two neighboring farms — who also keep bees — and even his twin brother who’s helped him finance his operation. One of his neighbors is Māori who saw the dead man quarreling with his other neighbors, a couple where the husband’s family has owned his farm for generation, and the man’s wife who’s the slightly creepy tavernkeeper we’ve seen in some previous episodes. Things become even more complicated when it’s learned that the dead man wasn’t tortured to death, as it appears he might have been at first, but the victim of poisoning — from tainted honey. Another good ep in what’s turning out to be a great series 4.
Curse of the Crimson Altar (1968) a.k.a. The Crimson Cult ***(*) A man (Mark Eden) looking for his missing brother, who was on an antiquing expedition, winds up interrupting a wild mod party at a typical old mansion where he thinks the brother was last scene. Invited to stay by the people there, including Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee, Virginia Wetherell, and Michael Gogh, he’s soon caught up in weird dreams, including those of a green-skinned priestess (Barbara Steele) leading a weird sacrificial cult. Or are they dreams? And how does this tie into his missing brother? I really like this film, produced by Tigon in England, even though it’s likely that working on it caused the illness that led to Karloff’s death. The plot is (very) loosely based on H.P. Lovecraft’s “Dreams in the Witch House.” Make sure you see it with the original soundtrack, not the later (and inferior) re-scoring.
Nude Vampire, The (1970) **(*) Dreamlike French film in which a seemingly mute vampire girl wanders through the night, seeking victims. All the while, scientists keep drawing her blood and performing experiments on her. The somnambulist quality of this film makes it hard for me to remember any plot details between viewings. But the vampire is pretty and, indeed, nude for quite a bit of the time. If you like this kind of weirdness, give it that extra star.
Twins of Evil (1971) **** The last of Hammer’s “Karnstein trilogy” of films is another good one. Peter Cushing is a puritan-style witch hunter, who together with a band of thugs roams the countryside finding “witch” girls and burning them at the stake, usually just for the crime of being a young and pretty outsider. Into his house come his orphaned nieces (Playboy’s Collinson Twins), one of whom is sweet and meek, the other spicy and adventurous. Naturally, the adventurous one falls under the sway of the local vampiric Count Karnstein, who then joins him in undeath to plague the countryside. Naturally, Cushing can’t tell the two twins apart, and wouldn’t know a real supernatural menace even under his own nose. There is a milquetoast hero int he film, too, but it’s villains and anti-heroes that make this fun to watch. A bit of Playmate nudity doesn’t hurt, either. Not as good as The Vampire Lovers, but better than the middle in the series, Lust for a Vampire, reviewed below.
Lust for a Vampire (197??) **(*) 40 years after the events in Hammer’s classic The Vampire Lovers, the evil Karnsteins have managed to reincarnate the slain Carmilla, and set her out to prey upon innocent victims in a new guise. Novelist Richard LeStrange comes to Miss Simpson’s finishing school for girls, in the shadow of Karnstein Castle, to research his book about witches. Once there, he immediately falls in love with Mircalla Herritzen, a lovely and mysterious blond student. Soon, people start dying, and eventually LeStrange realizes that Mircalla/Carmilla is responsible. He offers himself to her, in hopes of satisfying her strange desires… Not nearly as good as the other 2 films in the set, I liked my recent rewatch of this film better. It still has issues — it’s slow and not well constructed, and the nudity isn’t as compelling as in either of the other flicks — but it does have its charms. If you’re a Hammer fan and can put up with those, give it that extra star.
Brokenwood Mysteries 4-4 As If Nothing Had Happened **** Detective Mike & his team find a nursing home full of suspects when a rich man — who has bilked almost everyone there, among other senior citizens, turns up dead with a samurai short sword in his back. The nursing home seems to be full of suspects, and even houses the victim’s dad, who is suffering from dementia, often slipping into his past fights as a boxer. The other residents are all dealing with other age-related ailments, too, which seems to make them less likely suspects. One of them is even convinced he’s seen Batman lurking around the premises. Plenty of tricky situations for detectives Mike, Kristin, & Sam to figure out, here, including matters of possible inheritance & a nursing home that’s convinced that no one could sneak in or out of the facility — though that quickly becomes obviously untrue. Whodunnit and why? Good with interesting twists.
Jurassic Park 3 **** The 3rd film in the Jurassic Park series is probably better than you’ve heard or remember. When their boy is lost paragliding, his parents sucker Alan Grant into an expedition to Isla Sorna, the 2nd dinosaur island. Grant thinks it’s a sightseeing expedition, but when their plane is attacked and downed by a Spinosaurus (a great Stan Winston studio dino), the expedition is trapped, and must not only figure out how to be rescued, but also to rescue the lost boy. The combination of animatronic/puppet monsters with CGI is a strong mix in this The dinos are new to the series some of the time, and we even get some scenes based on the original book. I actually prefer this film to the 2nd, which is chock full of stuff but has a crazy false ending, followed by a prolonged off-island sequence that, while thrilling, makes no sense. This story is much tighter, and the cast is very good, too.
Early Man (2018) **** Though it starts with some dinosaurs, this BC epic from the creators of Wallace & Gromit, details what happens when a group of cavemen encounter a more advanced bronze-age type city. Soon, they’re sucked into a soccer-style match to determine if the cavemen will remain free or become slaves to the city state’s tyrant. The results are very funny, with numerous caveman antics and clever references to our modern day. I knew nothing about this going in, and maybe I’ve already said too much, to give you the amount of surprise enjoyment it gave me. Check it out.
Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster (196??) *** This low-budget monster/SF flick is likely better than you’d expect. A scientist has created the first humanoid robot (or perhaps cyborg), a man who seems like the perfect astronaut. This way, men can be sent into space without risking human lives. What none of them are counting on is that there are aliens up in orbit planning to take over. They shoot down the astronaut’s spacecraft, but he isn’t killed, just badly damaged — now the Frankenstein monster of the title. Naturally, the aliens have a monster kidnapping women for them, and by the end, the two will fight. If you like cheesy SF/H flicks, you’ll dig this.
Croods, The (2013) ***(*) Life was rough back in the stone age, fighting the elements, animals, other humans and near humans… So, father Grug Crood (Nicholas Cage) has invented many rules to keep his family — mother, father, grandmother, daughter, son, and feral baby — safe. Most of these rules involve hiding in the cave and not taking any chances, though the Croods are a very tough bunch. Daughter Eep (Emma Stone) chafes under the restrictions, especially after she meets a wandering boy, Guy (Ryan Reynolds) interested in adventure. Soon, the whole family must leave their safety and seek a new home, with Grug, Guy, and Eep often at loggerheads. A fun family animated film has plenty of comedy and some heart, too. If you like caveman antics, give it that extra star.
One Million Years BC (Euro Cut 1966) **** Starting my annual celebration of Ray Harryhausen’s birthday by continuing my caveman jag and watching the film that made Raquel Welch and her fur bikini famous. Caveman Tumak (John Richardson) is kicked out by the chief of the Rock Tribe, and must wander the beast filled wilderness for survival. He stumbles onto Loana (Welch) and the Shell Tribe, who are much more cooperative and take the brutish Tumak in. Eventually, the couple leave there and a war between the tribes begins. But even beyond Raquel’s spectacular bod, what’s special about this film is Harryhausens dinosaurs, which include an allosaurus attack, a battle between a triceratops and a Ceratosaurus, a brontosaurus, two flying dinosaurs, and more. I watched the Euro cut (with more ape-man gore), but any version of this you watch provides plenty of stop-motion dino fun!
Animal World, The (Dino sequence) & other Harryhausen Rarities (1950s) ***(*) I watched the Harryhausen & Willis O’Brien dinosaur sequence from Irwin Allen’s Animal World, which is easily the best part of the movie. The stop-motion dinosaurs are great, the puppet models of them not so much; they don’t really match well. Still for little time or budget, worth seeing. Then I watched films of Ray’s early work with the Armed Forces in WWII, his home-made projects, and commercial pitches. These involve everything from self-building bridges to dinosaurs to alien invaders. All the pieces are interesting, and if you like Ray will be even more enjoyable for that extra star. Thanks to my late friend Arnold Kunert for pushing hard to get the double-disc set of Harryhausen rarities made.
Jason & the Argonauts (1963) ***** Jason goes on a quest to find the Golden Fleece to help him secure his kingdom back home from the usurper that killed the rest of this family in this fantasy classic. The cast is good, with Nigel Green a standout as a virile and manly Hercules, though the lead actor and actress were dubbed (well enough this is hard to detect). The real star of the film, though is the stunning stop-motion creature from Ray Harryhausen, including the metal giant Talos, harpies, the hydra, and the iconic fight with many skeletons at the end. Tom Hanks said that this film was to him what Citizen Kane is to others, and I’ll agree with that. It’s one of Harryhausen’s best, and if you haven’t seen it, find yourself a great copy without commercials and enjoy.
Sinbad & the Eye of the Tiger (1977) ***(*) The last of Harryhausen’s Sinbad movies has Patrick Wayne in the title role, and though that’s a bit of miscasting, it — and the other lesser production values — only really hurt in comparison to Ray’s other two Sinbad movies, which are among the best (if not the best outright) films in the Arabian Nights genre. Here, Sinbad travels to the far north in search for a cure for a prince who’s been turned into a baboon — the animal masterfully animated by Harryhausen. Other creatures by Ray include Minoton (a metal minotaur), a giant bee/wasp, a giant walrus, a troglodyte, and the titular tiger. I’d have preferred more fantasy creatures, but this is still a fine family fantasy film (with just a flash of nudity). If you’re not comparing it to Ray’s other Sinbad films, give it that extra star.
Mighty Joe Young (1998 remake) **** This remake of the O’Brien Harryhausen classic features both an ape suit (by master Rick Baker), trick photography, and CGI and blends them pretty seamlessly to create Joe Young, a huge gorilla adopted by a human, Charlize Theron, when they were both small. The two have grown to be inseparable companions, protecting an area of African jungle from poachers and other malefactors. Bill Paxton is a scientist, and when the three get tangled up with some bad guys, they decide that Joe would be safer in a California open-range zoo, where he could be both studied and protected. Naturally, that doesn’t work out, the bad guys follow, and chaos ensures. While not a classic like the original, the film and its special effects hold up very well more than 25 years later. Look for the banquet cameo by Ray Harryhausen & original star Terry Moore.
It Came from Beneath the Sea (1955) **** Mysterious shipwrecks and an incident with a submarine bring two scientists, Faith Domergue, and Donald Curtis, and a submariner, Kenneth Tobey, to investigate. They quicky discover that the problem is a giant octopus, who can no longer catch its normal prey because its radioactive. (Damn atomic testing again.) This follow-up to the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms cemented Harryhausen as one of the kings of monster FX, and together with Beast helped inspire the entire Atomic Monster craze of the 1950s — and a hell of a hot of Japanese kaiju movies, too. And the FX are fun, from the ship attacks, to pulling down the Golden Gate Bridge, to assaulting San Francisco. The characters are also good, with Domergue’s Lesley Joyce being an early feminist model (and Curtis staunchly supporting her). LIme many of Harryhausen’s films, this one is a classic.
So, that’s it, finally, for June 2025. Long-delayed June totals are 67 shows (which is quite a lot to review)… Bringing our 2025 TOTAL to 350 films, series, & notable other programs.
NEXT MONTH: Lot’s more reviews! More Brokenwood Mysteries! More dinosaurs — and sharks! Hopefully out before the end of August. Stay tuned!
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