As you recall last time, I barely managed to get the September reviews out by the end of August, with June squeaking out just shortly before that. So, it should come as little surprise that this one coming out just before the end of the September. The good news is that I’ve done more working ahead on September, but… Life has has a way of making other plans for me lately. So… Keep your fingers crossed and enjoy this month’s offerings.
We’ve got the best superhero movie in years — or at least since Superman… We’ve got a chunk of movies — new and old — where Death chases down people that should have died in freakish accidents… We’ve got the new season of Grantchester… The return of Poker Face… And a whole lot more! Dive right in!
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.
Fantastic Four, The: First Steps (2025) ***** Reed Richards, his wife Sue Storm, his best friend Ben Grim, and Sue’s kid brother Johnny gain fantastic powers when a cosmic storm blasts their spacecraft. They become (in order), the amazingly stretchy Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the rock-hided orange Thing, and the fiery, flying Human Torch: The Fantastic Four, the super-hero team that started the Marvel Age of Comics. (Originally dubbed “The World’s Greatest Comics Magazine” — and for good reason.) In this film that accidental origin took place 4 years ago, the quartet has been protecting Earth 828 ever since, and are justly loved and admired worldwide. Now a new threat comes to their world (which is different from the usual MCU Earth), when the Silver Surfer arrives to herald Galactus coming to destroy the planet. Our heroes rocket back into space to stop him, and… Well, watch the movie and discover the rest for yourself. “This is the Fantastic Four we’ve been waiting for!” I posted to social media after seeing it. I felt that again the second time I saw it, and I still feel it. I’m looking forward to owning my own copy. For me, it may be the best superhero movie since Captain America: Winter Soldier or Avengers Endgame. Great score by Michael Giacchino, too. Highly recommended.
Final Destination Bloodlines (2025) **** The Death-as-Rube-Goldberg will catch up with you eventually, even if you avoid him the first time ’round, franchise returns with this fun update. It starts years ago, with the grand opening of a (Seattle) space needle-like building that, through the usual minor circumstances, has a catastrophic failure killing nearly everyone there. Except, of course (as usual in these films), someone foresees the disaster, and a lot of people avoid the “destiny of being killed.” Years later, Death Goldberg is still stalking those who escaped, and now their descdants who never should have been born as well. This sequel harkens back to the “great kills” concept of the original, while updating the SPFX with current CG and other tech. I really enjoyed it, and if you like the originals (especially the first 2), I think you will as well.
Final Destination 3 (2006) *** Another Morgan & Wong (who co-created the franchise with original story authorJeffrey Reddick) installment of the Death hounds people who hae escaped him movie series, The certain doom that our hapless protagonists escape this time begins with a spectacular roller-coaster accident. Despite Reddick not returning for this film, it feels very much like the first two, though obviously some of the novelty has worn off for viewers. Memorable deaths include burning to death on tanning beds, a weight machine, and by nail gun. If you can find younsters hounded to death by Death in often comical/absurd ways, you’ll dig this series, and this entry. I did.
Final Destination, The (4) *** No Morgan, Wong, or Reddick on this installment, and they tropped the number in favor of “The,” so maybe they thought this would be the last (it wasn’t). This episode starts with a fun and freakish accident at a NASCAR-style auto race, with carage on the track destroying the grandstand and killing bunches of people in the process. Naturally, one of our heroes has a premonition about the terrible happenings, allowing a number of folks to escape their fates. And Death (who is only seen through unlikely machinations and portents, as usual) then hunts down the lucky survivors, who die in interesting ways. Because of the setting, we get some redneck ways to die here. Quality Kill highlights include: truck dragged while burned alive, death by chain-link fence, and death by escalator. Not as good as #3, but still enjoyable, and the speedway opening massacre is fun.
Final Destination 5 (2011) *** The last of the original series waas originally presented in 3D, which means we get a lot of FX flying at the screen, often in a way that slows the film down and distracts, at least on normal, non-3D viewing. The catastrophy avoided that starts Death tracking people down this time is a pretty cool bridge collapse involving a bus and a requisite huge numer of gory deaths for those riding it. Naturally, a premonition allows one person to avoid it and others to follow, avoiding their pre-ordained fates. This time, the great Tony Todd shows up to help guide the victims in their attempts to avoid Death. Memorable slayings include: death during gymnastics routine, and death by falling buddha in a spa. Accidentally, the survivors discover they can “steal” another’s lifespan who dies when they should, which sets up a different survivor relatioship than the other films — but for me, ti didn’t work as well as the formula. Still, points for trying something different, and I did like the bridge disaster.
Black Scorpion (1957) **** I’ve watched this classic before, and I will watch it again. If it’s on Svengoolie, I watch it; if I feel like seeing it, I watch it. As a movie with stop-motion FX by Willis O’Brien and Pete Peterson, only Harryhausen can match it in classic cinema. A volcanic eruption in Mexico releases giant scorpions to ravage the countryside. Clever scientists manage to bury the beasts, but the largest of them digs out and heads for the city. This film has the famous “scorpion face” for closeups that isn’t very realistic, but I love it anyway. The only thing keeping this from a perfect monster-movie rating is that they ran out of special-effects money, and so, some of the animation was never matted in properlly, leaving us with scenes of only “shadow scorpions” on screen.
Funhouse, The (1981) **** Despite her parents’ wishes, teenager Amy sneaks out of the house and goes with her friends to the traveling carnival in town. There, the group acts up in ways teens will, and decide to sneak into the funhouse operated by a nasty barker and his masked assistant. Inside after closing, the teens witness the masked assistant, revealed to be the barker’s deformed mutant son, kill the fortune teller after having sex with her. Trapped inside the funhouse, the teens are discovered and stalked by the hideous mutant and father to prevent them telling anyone what they’ve learned. Directed by Tobe Hooper (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Poltergeist), this thriller has a lot going for it, including a cool monster makeup.
Patience (S1) **** Patience Evans is a neuro-divergent (autistic) woman happy working by herself deep in the bowels of the police records division in York, England. DI Bea Metcalf, divorced and struggling with an austistic child of her own, discovers that Patience’s strong memory and observation skills make her a true asset in solving difficult crimes. Bea has trouble convincing the rest of the department that working with Patience is worth the autistic woman’s quirks. Interesting character interactions and intriguing cases make this series worth watching. The acting is excellent, and Ella Maisy Purvis, who is autistic in real life, outstanding in her role. I look forward to season 2.
Croods, The: A New Age (2020) **** The Crood family and Guy are still struggling to survive in the prehistoric wilderness when they stumble upon an amazing valley that seems like a garden paradise. The valley is run by the Betterman family, who seem to have mastered their environment and have only one rule: don’t eat the bananas. This doesn’t sit well with dad Grut, who loves the fruits. Also, the Betterman’s knew Guy’s parents, and are determined to have him remain with them, while forcing the Croods back into the desert wilderness. Eep and young Dawn Betterman have become besties, though, with Eep teaching her about adventure. And there’s a secret behind the bananas… A highly amusing follow up to The Croods, with some unexpected twists and plenty of excitement.
Grantchester (S10) ***** Grantchester returns with another strong series, and though the mysteries remain engaging, what really sucks me in is the character plots, which continue in the tradtion of last season (9) which was one of the best ever. Alfie struggles with his unknown past and whether to try to find his missing mother. Leonard struggles with alcohol and his lover’s bigoted parents. Geordie is worried about his young son’s sexuality, while his wife and Mrs. C. want to start a clothing store focused on more modern fashions. Of course, all these angles (and more) tie in with the mysteries, and we get a very satisfying wrap-up including a wedding. Next season is going to be the last. Let’s hope it proves as good as seasons 9 and 10.
Nate & Hayes (1983) *** Released as SAVAGE ISLANDS in the rest of the world (a better title), Nate & Hayes tells the story of roguish sea captain “Bully” Hayes, naive missionary Nate and his fiancée Sophie, whom Hayes also takes a shining to. When Sophie is kidnapped by Hayes’ arch enemy, Ben Pease, Nate & Hayes must team up to brave various south seas island dangers, including prototypical angry natives. This film has some fun moments and nice production, and certainly doesn’t deserve its terrible reputation. Yet, it has flaws, including a framing segment that kills a lot of Hayes’ crew members before we get to know them in the body of the story, and the usual colonialist cringe stuff. The change of title from the more aventureous Savage Islands is baffling, as is the decision to make Hayes, a historical a-hole and “blackbirder” (slaver) into a heroic figure. But, if you can ignore that, there’s fun to be had here.
John Carter (2020) ****(*) Cavalryman John Carter is mystically transported to Barsoom (Mars), where the lower gravity make his Earthly muscles superhuman in this adaptation of Burroughs’ classic A PRINCESS OF MARS. On Barsoom, Carter battles and befriends the four-armed green Tharks, falls in love with the books’ titular princess, Dejah Thoris of the Red Martians, and battles the evil Therns and their Red Martian thralls. The film is filled with really good SPFX, and follows the original story fairly closely — including the framing sequence at the start. Sure, they shouldn’t have saved the full title John Carter of Mars until the end, and Carter didn’t need the extra Confederate widower storyline, but the film is a rolicking old-stle SciFi adventure with brave heroes and heroines and plenty of action and imagination, as well as high production values. If you like that kind of thing, give it that elusive 5th star.
Doctor Dolittle (1967) *** This lush adaptation of the classic children’s stories has everything the filmmakers could cram into it, including some pretty good songs. In fact, it has too much of everything, diluting its lush production values and whimsical story. Rex Harrison plays Doolittle, the veterinarian who becomes the best vet in Englad after a super-smart talking parrot teaches him to talk to the animals. He then becomes a proto-animal-rights type vet, which leads him to be charged with murder, after smuggling a seal ot the coast in women’s clothing and throwing her into the sea. A trial follows, and Dolittle ends up leaving the country and traveling to the tropics where he meets well educated natives while looking for the Great Pink Sea Snail. It’s all pretty fun, save for being too long and the fact that Harrison speaks most/all of his songs, rather than singing them — a serious error, in my estimation. Still… Looks great, and the other singers are good.
Hidden Fortress, The (1958) ***** Two comically quarreling peasants find themselves caught between warring factions in feudal Japan. After being caught and sent to work as slaves, they escape and plot to get to another province, but on the way there, they discover the titurlar hidden fortress and a secret cache of gold. They also discover the brave general and the feisty girl (princess) who the gold belongs to. The general and princess impress the peasants into their service, and together, they try to secretly reach the safety of the neighboring province, where the princess can rebult her army and regain what is rightfully hers. Famously, this film by master director Akira Kurosawa formed part of the inspiration for Star Wars, and it is that, but also so much more. Kurosawa fills the film with adventure, suspense, and humanity seldom matched in cinema. A truly great film, in turns thrilling, funny, and sad, amid an unmatched career of great films.
Werewolf of London (Sven 1935) **** Universal’s first werewolf movie isn’t as good a The Wolf Man, but still has plenty of great and spooky moments. Henry Hull is Dr. Glendon, a botanist obsessed with a rare flower that blooms only in moonlight. He travels to haunted Tibet (really Vasquez Rocks) where he finds the flower but is also bitten by a strange creature. Back in London, recovered, he tries to get the flower to bloom, but is confronted by Dr. Yogami (Warner Oland), a fellow botanist who says the flower can restrain “werewolfery.” Glendon soon turns into a werewolf, in a fairly restrained Jack Pierce makeup that allows Hull to talk and emote, as the actor requested. It’s not Wolfman cool, but pretty cool anyway. The rest of the movie is Glendon battling his Hyde-like personality problem, struggling with Yogami (the werewolf who infected him), and dealing with marital problems. All in all ,it’s pretty darn cool.
Fantastic Four, The: First Steps (2025 – second review) ***** Yeah, I went and saw it again. And then I wrote another review, forgetting I’d done one at the start of the month. Compare and contrast, if you like. In a slightly different Marvel Cinematic Universe the Fantastic Four have become their Earth’s mightiest heroes and protectors, in the 4 years since a cosmic ray accident turned them into superheroes. Their huge popularity takes a hit, though, when the Silver Surfer arrives to tell Earth that it will soon be devoured by Galactus. Off into space to confront the godlike being our quartet goes, despite the fact that Sue is pregnant. What follows is a lot of cool science fiction superheroing, as well as by far the most faithful adaptation of the FF ever brought to the screen. I love everything about it: the actors, the story, the SPFX, the production values, the music.. Just all of it. Along with Superman, it’s the best superhero film we’ve had in ages. (Though I liked Captain America: Brave New World.) And I can hardly describe the thrill that seeing all these characters brought faithfully to the screen — from the Human Torch to Galactus — gives me. And yes, Reed Richards has a mustache. He’s the smartest man in the Marvel Universe. Get over it.
Poker Face (S2) **** Charlie Cale is back in a rockin’ second season that sees her settling things with her mob problems — in unexpected ways — and then settling down in a rent-controlled NYC apartment for a while. And of course, there are killers and con men and even a friend or two to test Charie’s paranormal bullshit detector. The mysteries/crimes are good and varied, and there are a couple of nice twists, though I remain ambivilent about the biggest twist of the season, as I’d settled nicely into the new normal. But you can’t have a Fugitive-style show in one location with a continuing cast of characters, can you? In any case, a really fun tilme. I look forward to more.
Captain Sinbad ****(*) Sinbad is returning home to marry the princess when his ship is sunk by giant birds (rocs) dropping boulders. He and his crew make it ashore, only to discover the kingdom taken over by a brutish dictator with the local wizard under his control. Sinbad tries to kill the man in a duel, only to discover that running a sword through him won’t kill him. Clearly, black magic is involved, but Sinbad will have to escape the arena before going on a quest to end the tyrant’s reign and restore the his lady-love’s father to the throne. I won’t reveal more, because you should really see this. Guy Williams (Zorro TV show, Lost in Space) stars as Sinbad in this flick for kids of all ages. It doesn’t have the magic of a Ray Harryhausen Sinbad movie, but makes do with clever and very sincere practical and special FX. I first saw it as a kid, and it inspired my life and work in fantasy. I still love it. If you’re a kid at heart like me, give it that extra star.
Rawhead Rex (1987) **(*) A man, Howard, and his wife and family go to Ireland to research local history and lore. Unfortunately, just as they arrive, a local headstone is struck by lightning, releasing the demon trapped beneath it: Rawhead Rex. The monster then begins a reign of murder through the quaint countryside. During a family outing in the countryside, Howard’s son is briefly left at the van where RR finds, kills him, and carries the body away. Howard vows revenge, seeking a holy relic that may destroy the demon. The monster outfit/makeup looks pretty good in this flick from a screenplay by Clive Barker, and there’s plenty of transgressive elements and gore. The storyline and continuity doesn’t hang together super well, though, so only lovers of similar material will give it that extra star up to the “good” rating.
Nobody (2021) **** Bob Odenkirk (Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul) is Hutch Mansell, a family man leading a dreary routine life as an office worker in a family business. When burglars break into his house, he doesn’t fight back as fully as we sense he could have, letting the burglars escape and leaving Hutch and his son injured. Though he takes the criticism from his inlaws ad even his family, we sense rage building up inside him. When Russian gangsters look likely to rape a woman on a late night city buss, Hutch lets loose, beating them all to hell, leaving one brain dead in the hospital. He, too, is injured, but the Russians vow to take revenge on this “nobody.” They don’t know his backstory leaves him with, as they say, certain skills. I really enjoyed this action/revenge flick with its feet-of-clay hero who gets battered and bruised but never gives up. Looking forward to seeing the recent sequel.
Beyond Paradise (S2) **** The spin off of Death in Paradise returns with Detective Humphrey Goodman trying to make his way as the lead cop in a small British town while also managing his tricky relationship with his fiancée, Martha, and her mother, Barbara, while living on a boat at a tock beside Barbara’s house. The mysteries are good but often take a back seat to Humphrey & Martha’s relationship issues, which include her running a small local eatery and the couple wanting children but deciding to foster. Martha’s mom is also dating again (with a good role for Peter “Doctor Who” Davison), and naturally the business has problems including a partner who may have eyes on Martha. The relationships are interesting enough to keep me coming back.
Vera 4-3 The Deer Hunter **** The hunting and poaching community comes under scrutiny as Vera and her team investigate the body of a young man who may have been killed in a hunting accident — or deliberately. Two poachers quickly come under scrutiny, as they’ve tried to dispose of a stag they illegally shot in a burned out car. And it turns out the dead man was a published author, with a first book that may have had reflections in the community and the local aristocratic family. Not a lot of people seem unhappy that the man’s second, possibly life-based fantasy novel will not be published. Who was in it, and what was the relationship to life. Takes Vera a good long while to sort out the threads.
Horror of Dracula ***** Hammer’s original Dracula, and the iconic Christopher Lee’s first foray in the title role, remains the strong pillar on which — along with the Frankenstein series — the Hammer Horror reputation is built. In this adaptation, Jonathan Harker comes to Dracula’s castle to root out the counts evil, only to fall victim to the vampire. Dracula then traces Harker’s fiancée, Lucy Holmwood, to her hometown to make her his next victim. Van Helsing, who had been working with Harker, traces the count to the Holmwood house, where Lucy’s brother Arthur is living with his wife Mina, but arrives too late to save Lucy from Dracula. If you know the book, just what I’ve said shows how much this movie diverges from the source, yet, it’s all done with Hammer’s soon-to-be-trademark style and produciton. And with Lee as Dracula and Peter Cushing as Van Helsing, you can’t really go wrong. Not true to the original, but a great take on Dracula.
Great Alligator, The (1979) *** This Italian “Jaws with a gator” movie stars a dubbed Barbara Bach (The Spy Who Loved Me), Alice, and photographer Daniel visit a new jungle river resort catering to a posh clientele. Soon, though, their model friends and others start disappearing. It turns out that the local natives aren’t too happy about the resort tearing up native lands, and would rather sacrifice the tourists to their “alligator” god. (Unclear where this film takes place, as it’s clearly not the US, which last I knew is the only location native to the type of crocolylia known as an alligator.) So, there’s a native uprising going on, developers who are callous if not right evil, a lot of tasty tourists, and our milquetoast heroes trapped in the middle. It’s silly, but I really liked the fake alligator that keeps eating people, and the native attack on the resort is brutal and (unintentionally) hilarious. I had fun. AKA The Great Alligator River.
Cruel Jaws (1995) **(*) Italian exploitation expert Bruno Mattie directed this decades-late ripoff of JAWS. It starts with a fishing and diving boat being attacked at night, apparently by a killer shark or sharks. Meanwhile, a local aquarium struggles to stay open, despite the landlord wanting to shut it down for unpaid rent. A dead diver, killed by a shark is found nearby, and… Well, okay most of the plot elements are taken form one Jaws movie or another: Washed up corpse, Jaws; aquarium, Jaws 2 etc. And of course, the action and body count just keep escalating, mixing new footage with footage stolen from other films (including those in the Jaws franchise). Eventually, we geta a hilarious giant shark head chomping on everything, including members of the main characters’ families, a helicopter, etc. It’s absurd. But because of that, it’s kind of fun. And the photography is generally good to look at — maybe not surprising, since some of it is pilfered from actual good films. If you like this kind of nonsense, move it up to the “good” rating.
Flood, The (2023) **(*) A bus full of convicts heading to prison takes refuge in a small town jail during a hurricane. What Sheriff Jo Newman doesn’t know is that one of the convicts has a gang planning to waylay the bus and break him out. And now, they’re headed to the jail. Of course, what no one knows is that the hurricane will flood the jail and fill it with killer alligators. Yay! We have admirable cops and mostly heinous cons, plenty of small jail spaces to get trapped in, and enough Quality Kills by bad CG alligators to make this amusing — at least for me (extra star). Naturally, our sexy sheriff has to team up with a con at one point, but does he (Casper Van Dien) really have a heart of gold?
Shark Bait (2022) *** A group of friends on vacation take 2 jet skis out into the ocean for fun, but horsing around leads to a crash, disabling the power boats and injuring some of them. Worse, they soon attract the attention of at least one hungry shark. Will any of them get rescued or make it to shore alive? After the set-up, the film feels a lot like Open Water, with the people stranded having few resources to help them survive. The shark FX are generally (if not always) good, and the characters mostly interesting enough that I cared about whether they made it to the end of the film or not. Worth a look.
Bait (2012) **(*) When hung over Australian lifeguard Josh trades duties with a friend, the friend dies in the jaws of a shark. Josh is devastated, and years later has left the beach to work in a multi-level story and parking complex. But the sea isn’t done with him yet, as a tsunami sweeps in, flooding the store and trapping Josh and motley band of customers in the store and it’s below-street-level parking garage. Worse, in with the water come… sharks! (But you knew that, right? Soon everyone in the store is fighting for their lives and fighting against jerks who only want to save themselves. The most interesting scene involves a couple and a small dog trapped in the garage with water all around their car, and basically only the sunroof out of the water. There’s a lot of stilly stuff here, but if you like dumb shark movies — and I do — it’s pretty fun.
Frostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo (1995) **(**) Two friends vacationing in the Michigan woodlands accidentally break a sacred circle, releasing the Wendigo to wreak havoc on the world. A woman who feels called by prophetic dreams to investigate hires a plane to get there, but the plane crashes, and soon she’s stranded in a remote cabin with the original two guys and their friends, as the evil spirits released plague them with violence and death. Eventually, the centaur-like Wendigo (a stop-motion animated creature) appears to lord over all the rest of the wickedness, and our heroes must battle it. This low-budget SF/F/H film was obviously inspired by the Evil Dead series, as well as the works of Ray Harryhausen. The animation and other effects are quite good, or at least enthusiastic, a word which describes the film pretty well. It’s not slick, and most people might not dig it, but if you’re fond of this kind of crazy supernatural stuff — like Equinox — there’s probably plenty her for you to enjoy.
Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous (S3) **** Our plucky stranded kids return, this time spending a lot of the season trying to rehab a yacht owned by villains from last season to get off the island, and also facing down the amoral scientist who helped create the dinosaurs in the first place — and is responsible for an even more vicious mutant dinosaur. We also get more character development that by the end has made me very fond of our young protagonists — and concerned that the “older age” reboot may have killed one of t hem off.
Jack the Ripper (1959) ***(*) Jack the Ripper is loose in London in this widescreen black-and-white horror flick. Jack is terrorizing the low rent and theater district in the late 1880s, preying on showgirls and prostitutes. The police are naturally interested in catching him, and some of them also become interested in one of the more innocent showgirls. They shouldn’t get too attached to anyone, though, because every female cast member is fair game for the Ripper in this early modern shocker, which plays into the theory that Jack may have been a surgeon. It’s a good flick, and people who like Jack pictures or such shockers can give it another star. A newly released blu-ray of this Euro-Brit flick adds back a bunch of showgirl nudity that most (all?) other editions don’t have.
4 for Texas (1963) *** Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra are frenemies engaged in a one-upmanship duel in the old west. Dean teams up with Ursula Andress to refurbish her riverboat and turn it into a gambling palace. Frank thinks this will cut into his own rackets. Meanwhile, Charles Bronson, who hates the both, plots revenge against our anti-heroes. It’s all silly Rat-Pack Western fun and even includes the Three Stooges (!) delivering a nude portrait of Andress for the riverboat. Enjoyable, but only a slight diversion; not a great Western by any means.
Treasure Island (1934) **** Young Jim Hawkins sets off on a trip to find treasure, sponsored by a wealthy patron, after an old pirate comes to the inn where he works, leaving Jim in possession of a map to an island containing buried treasure — the titular Treasure Island. Before the voyage, Jim became friends with Long John Silver, a peg-legged “retired” pirate, who gets in Jim’s good graces enough to manage to get some of his old comrades aboard ship, as he signs on as a cook. Naturally, mutiny and other betrayals follow, with the good guys getting holed up in an old fort on the island while he pirates try to kill everyone. It’s a great story with some nice twists. This early black-and-white adaptation of the classic Robert Lewis Stevenson features a very strong cast, including Jackie Cooper as young Jim Hawkins, Wallace Beery as Long John Silver, Lionel Barrymore as Billy Bones, and Nigel Bruce as wealthy Squire Trelawney, among others.
Muppet Treasure Island **** The Muppets take on the Stevenson pirate tale with Tim Curry as Long John Silver, Billy Connolly as Billy Bones, and other humans as most of the main characters, with the Muppets filling in the supporting cast — like the Great Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat acting as sidekicks to Jim Hawkins. There’s plenty of fun and Muppet Tomfoolery along the way, of course, with Fozzy Bear practically stealing the show as the addle-pated Squire Trelawney. Kermit the Frog is the captain of the good guys, with Sam the Eagle as his not-too-bright first mate. If you read the review above, you’ve got a sketch of the story. So, all I can say, if you like the Muppets and Treasure Island, you’re almost sure to like this.
Leprechaun (1993 Sven Squad) *** People moving into an old house discover a Leprechauns stolen gold, and accidentally awaken the evil Leprechaun who will do anything to get it back — including killing a whole lot of people in a gory way. The start of the crazy franchise that I reviewed briefly in March of 2023, and there’s really not a lot more to this flick than at first sentence. But it is fun, if you like gory horror-comedy flicks, and IIRC, I enjoyed all the films in the series. This first one has a very young Jennifer Anniston in an early role.
Curse of Frankenstein, The (1957) **** Hammer’s domination of the horror genre began with this adaptation of Frankenstein with Peter Cushing as the Baron and Christopher Lee as the monster. Though set in the 18th or 19th century, the sensibilities of this film are modern, with Frankenstein fooling around with his chambermaid while planning to marry his cousin (a thing back then). But more important than either of those things to him, is to create a living creature of his own, built with his own two hands, with the help of his friend Paul. But Paul isn’t obsessed the way Frankenstein is, and turns against the idea quickly. So when the Lee-monster turns out badly, Paul tries to destroy it, which leads to even more bad stuff happening. If you’ve read the book, you won’t know where this is going, and that’s just fine. Great film.
Invasion UFO (1980) *** This is a compilation of several episodes of Gerry Anderson’s UFO TV series. The story they cut together concentrates on the origins of the SHADO anti-UFO organization and Commander Straker (Ed Bishop), and the of the ongoing strikes against earth by the mysterious UFO aliens. We get to see all the cool SHADO tech — Skydiver, Moon Base, Interceptors, etc. — and learn something about the aliens and their possible motives. They also get to strike back against SHADO a bit. Overall, it’s not a bad compilation, and maybe a decent intro to the series, but the series is SO much better.
Solomon & Sheba (1959) *** Yul Brynner is Solomon. Gina Lollobrigida is Sheba. George Sanders is Solomon’s older brother, Adonijah. When the dying King David passes over Adonijah and names Solomon his heir, it sets up a film-long enmity between the jealous older brother and the famously wise king. Solomon is not wise enough, though, to avoid the wiles of the stunning (and very white) Queen of Sheba (in what is now Ethiopia). And who can blame him? Though he doesn’t know she’s secretly in league with Egypt to overthrow him. Soon his lust for her has him allowing pagan rites near the Holy City of Jerusalem (lots of sexy dancing), even though God (who shows up now and again as a voice in this film) then causes a lightning storm that breaks part of the Temple. At that point, Sheba realizes that maybe she loves him, too. Eventually we get brother against brother and Egyptians and some fun battle scenes. Despite not much of a rep, this pretty standard Biblical epic amused me. Fun clever defeat of an army scene!
Carousel (1956) **(*) Rogers & Hammerstein’s hit musical comes to the screen and… Boy, has it not aged well for me, though I guess, really, I never bought into it to begin with. My friend, Australian reviewer Terry Frost, summed up the story something like this: Brutish Carnival barker knocks up a girl, gets himself killed, and then returns as a ghost to haunt his daughter. Which about sums it up. There’s SO much wrong with this story to my modern sensibilities — including the slap that “felt like a kiss” — that there’s no point in describing much more. The music is beautiful and iconic, though. And it being so beloved makes a little more sense because its themems of loss and loyalty and love from beyond the grave certainly made more sense to the generations traumatized by World War I & II. Also weirldy, “You’ll Never Walk Alone” is the official theme song of Liverpool FC football (soccer) team.
Book of Ruth, The (1960) **** This Biblical epic fairly faithfully tells the story of Ruth from her time as a pagan temple priestess to her becoming the wife and then widow of a Jew working in Moab. Subsequently, she and her mother-in-law flee the country and return to Jerusalem, where they are so poor that they glean the fields, picking up grain left on the ground after harvest. Eventually, two men related to Ruth’s late husband become interested in Ruth and rivals for her affection. But, the shadow of being a Moabite priestess follows her even into the land of her husband’s people. If you’ve read the Bible, you know how it turns out — as Ruth and her devition are important Biblical stories. If not, see the movie, which largely faithful, and I found it surprisingly good, too. I didn’t expect much, but I’d be happy to watch it again.
Primeval: New World (S1) **** This Canadian SF series carries on the premise from the original UK run: strange wormholes through time, called anomalies, are opening in our world and bringing creatures from the past — mostly dinosaurs and similar — to menace peole today. In the Brit show, there was a secret group dedicated to taming and covering up such menaces. Here, a small group of people is assembled by a rich genius to do the same job. The new twist is that the genius’ wife was killed 6 years previous by a T-Rex, and the loss drove him to figure out what was going on to try to protect society. A secret military group is also interested in the anomalies, though perhaps not with such good intentions. With that set up, we get some nide monster of the week stuff, and some nice charaterization — and the CG dinos, etc. are pretty good, probably better than the earlier Brit show. Sadly, after a very strong finish and an interesting wrap-up/cliffhanger, the series wasn’t renewed for a second season. Still worth seeing, though.
Crabs (2021) *** Radiation from an atomic plant has mutated harmless horseshoe crabs into skittering killing machines, a la the face-huggers in aliens. As they creep up from shore, we are introduced to a paraplegic genius teen in a wheelchair, his perky girlfriend, her school teacher hot mom, and the boy’s hot-to-trot older brother. Oh, and a strange character apparently from Eastern Europe, Radu, who speaks in a crazy accent and provides comic relief. The boy genius is trying to use a mail-order atomic battery to enable him to walk, and most eveyrbody is on the make, including the crabs, which sometiems look like they have RC cars under them, and other times are puppets up to gory Gremlin-like antics. Most of the FX are pratctical, though many are CG enhanced. There’s a little nudity, a lot of swearing and buckets of gore — and even some kaiju action. I enjoyed it.
Yongary: Monster from the Deep (1967 Korean) ***(*) A nuclear test explosion in the Middle East upsets the Earth’s sub-strata with the resulting quake effects stretching all the way to South Korea, where the temblors set free the giant monster Yongary from his slumber deep within the Earth. The monster interrupts the honeymoon of our hero astronaut, and disrupts the life of his family, including the child Icho who is fascinated with the monster. He uses the same itch ray that he used on the newlyweds as a prank to make Yongary dance, which, despite the destruction, he finds charming. Science and the military spend a lot of time trying to bring the monster to bay, and eventually figure out a compound to use against it (resulting in an ignomious demise). This is a pretty good kaiju film, though it has its flat moments as well as fitting into a lot of tropes. Still, it was Korea’s first kaiju film (probably, and the newly transferred 4k and blu-ray edition of Yongary looks gorgeous. The set also has a print of all that survives of the original Korean cut — which is a half hour shorter than the US cut, if I remember, but is largely the same on the existing footage.
Dead of Night (1976) *** Dan Curtis tries to repeat the success of The Trilogy of Terror with another trio of weird tales in this anthology. The stories, all written or adapted by Richard Matheson, are: “Second Chance,” about a young automotive enthusiast who restores an old car, only to have it drive him into the past, where the car is promptly stolen, with strange connections to the man’s future. “No Such Thing as a Vampire,” about a wife who believes she’s being attacked by a vampire, but her husband (Patrick Macnee) doesn’t believe her. So he gets a second opinion. “Bobby,” is the finale, in which a woman summons her lost boy back from the grave, but was he really dead? The stories escalate in their fear factors, with the first being only mildly creepy and culminating with the real shocker at the end. Not as good as Trilogy of Terror, but not bad,
Bees, The (1978) **(*) John Saxon stars in this weird thriller/SF/horror picture from the height (as I remember it) of the US fear that swarms of killer bees would invade from Mexico and Central America. That kind of happened, and it happens in a big way in this flick. It starts with a scientist experimenting with bee hybridization to create better honeybees in Mexico. But the locals are worried about his experiments with aggressive bees and, sure enough their worries lead ot interference that sets the bees free from their laboratory environment. And thus the swarm’s rampage to the north begins, with Saxon and others trying to stop them, a lot of scenes of bee attacks on various groups of people. Somewhere along the way, the plot veers toward the bees maybe striking back against environmental degredation, and then things get Phase IV (film) weird. Unlike Phase IV, though, this is not a good film, but if you’re in the right frame of (absurd) mind, it can be amusing.
And with that, August 2025 flies by. Total for the month is a “meager” 45 shows, All of which brings the 2025 TOTAL to 456 films, series, & notable other programs.
NEXT MONTH: A bunch of Tarzans, a bunch of Falcons, some Doctor Whos, more than a few mystery series, and with any luck, the reviews out before Halloween (when there will be the usual Frost Harrow FREE story).
,Covid is still here — & other diseases we thought were licked are back — so YOU can still help!
Please… #VaxUp! #BoostUp! #MaskUp! And get your kids & family vaxed, too!
Let’s Make the World Safer for Everyone!
Remember, you can support this and all my other writing work, including Frost Harrow, Dr. Cushing’s Chamber of Horrors, Monster Shark on a Nude Beach, and more, by joining my Patreon for a couple bucks a month, or by dropping me a tip on my Ko-Fi page. Thanks!
Be the first to comment