Back To Bond: Talking SPECTRE & Never Say Never Again

These are late and I haven't posted in who knows when.  I figured people might be interested in my thoughts on the new 007 film SPECTRE.  I guested on Out Now with Aaron & Abe to share those thoughts.  During the same week, my podcast, Cult Cinema Cavalcade (you'd better be listening!) took on Never Say Never Again.  Both podcasts are super fun, so give them a listen.  And I know the question you're currently asking...James Bond Will Return, but what about Naptown Nerd?  And to that, I never say never...this blog is just currently on her majesty's secret service as of late, so it will have to die another day.

Ranking The Gates Of Hell Trilogy

The Gates of Hell trilogy is an interesting little nugget.  This truly is one in theme and feel as the movies, while not directly connected, feel related to one another.  Some of that is in the thematics, but I'm sure a lot has to do with Lucio Fulci as well.  its interesting as these just started basically with Fulci wanting to continue exploring an idea with a film he just finished.  I do wonder if this was always meant to stop at three movies, or did he just never get the opportunity to return to this well.  He did return to do Zombi 3/Zombie Flesh Eaters 2, even if he wound up not finishing the film.  I do like the Gates of Hell Trilogy and it comes in the middle of the heart of Fulci's best work.  Aside from this Trilogy, his quality straight horror and non-giallo work would probably only latch Zombi 2/Zombie/Zombie Flesh Eaters, New York Ripper and Cat in the Brain to the list.  Yeah, Zombi 3/Zombie Flesh Eaters 2 is a hoot, but I'm not going to call it anything great.

Gates Of Hell: The House By The Cemetery (1981)

The House By The Cemetery

1981

Director: Lucio Fulci

Starring: Catriona MacColl, Paolo Maclo, Ania Pieroni, Silvia Collatina, Dagmar Lassander, Giovanni De Nava

Rating: Unrated

Mae, time to go home and remember your manners. Now that Bob is staying with us, be sure to treat him like a Freudstein. For other guests are surely destined to drop in.

                   ~Mary Freudstein

Gates Of Hell: The Beyond (1981)

The Beyond

1981

Director: Lucio Fulci

Starring: Catriona MacColl, David Warbeck, Cinzea Monreale, Giovanni De Nava

Rating:  X

Woe be unto him who opens one of the seven gateways to Hell, because through that gateway, evil will invade the world.

               ~Emily

Gates Of Hell: City of the Living Dead (1980)

City of the Living Dead*

1980

Director: Lucio Fulci

Starring: Catriona MacColl, Christopher George, Carlo de Mejo, Janet Agren, Antonella Interlenghi

Rating: Unrated

It's her... Mrs. Holden. This morning she was inside a coffin at the funeral home, and now she's here in my kitchen!

                   ~Mary Woodhouse

Rankenstein: Ranking The Universal Frankenstein Films

Ah, the end of a big retrospective.  This wound up being bigger than anticipated, eh?  I had a lot of fun with this one.  Its one of my favorite horror franchises and movie monsters of all time.  Its always great to see the chances, jumps, tropes and many other things that were originating with this very series.  And its incredible the legacy that these films have left that is still going strong.  Go out looking at Halloween decorations (hell yes, tis the season) and you'll see its the image of Karloff from Whale's film that is THE definitive one.  

Now comes the time to put an order to all these films, which is not too tough of a task until we get to the very top.  Thanks for keeping up with this one and I hope you enjoyed all the "extra" little pieces and films that got thrown in with it.  I also hope you'll come along and enjoy the direction I'm going next.  Thanks again!

Back To Bond: The Living Daylights COMMENTARY

It was very much around 3 years ago that I did my first podcast commentary guest spot on Out Now With Aaron & Abe to discuss From Russia With Love and then subsequently 3 more Bond films.  Apparently I did decent enough as I've been honored to have found myself as a mainstay on the Out Now bonus commentary episodes ever since (And will continue to do so every time they ask me).  We covered 4 Bonds during that time (Connery, Moore, Brosnan, Craig), so now we move on to Timothy Dalton with The Living Daylights.  As most of you know this is one of my favorite all time Bond films (Both of Dalton's are).  Scott Mendelson returns and joining is one of the coolest MI6 agents around, Randy Shaffer.

Frankenweenie (1984, 2012) - BONUS

Frankenweenie

1984, 2012

Director: Tim Burton

Starring:  Shelley Duvall (1984), Daniel Stern (1984), Barrett Oliver (1984), Joseph Maher (1984), Sofia Coppola (1984), Winona Ryder (2012), Catherine O'Hara (2012), Martin Short (2012), Martin Landau (2012), Tom Kenny (2012)

People are weird.

      ~Victor Frankenstein

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994) - BONUS

Mary Shelley's Frankenstein

1994

Director: Kenneth Branagh

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Robert De Niro, Helena Bonham Carter, Ian Holm, Aidan Quinn, John Cleese

Rating: R

And what of my soul? Do I have one? Or was that a part you left out?

               ~The Creature

Frankenhooker (1990) - Because I Want To

Frankenhooker

1990

Director: Frank Henenlotter

Starring:  James Lorinz, Patty Mullen, Joseph Gonzalez, Louise Lasser, Jennifer Delora

Rated: R

Wanna date?

    ~Elizabeth (Frankenhooker)

Young Frankenstein (1974) - BONUS

Young Frankenstein

1974

Director: Mel Brooks

Starring: Gene Wilder, Teri Garr, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Gene Hackman

Rated:  PG

Hallo. Vould you like to have a roll in ze hay?

          ~Inga

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)

Abbott & Costello Meet Frankenstein

1948

Director:  Charles T Barton, 

Starring:  Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Lon Chaney Jr, Bela Lugosi, Lenore Aubert, Jane Randolph, Glenn Strange

Rating:  "Passed"

You're awful silly to call me all the way from London just to have your dog talk to me.

                       ~Wilbur Grey

House Of Dracula (1945)

House of Dracula

1945

Director: Erle C Kenton

Starring: Lon Chaney Jr, Onslow Stevens, John Carradine, Marta O'Dricscoll, Lionel Atwill, Glenn Strange, Jane Adams

Rating: "Approved"

Now, Mr. Talbot... You broke your promise to me, didn't you? Told the police. I don't like people who break their promises, Mr. Talbot.

                      ~Dr. Edelman

House Of Frankenstein (1944)

House of Frankenstein

1944

Director:  Erle C Kenton

Starring:  Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr, John Carradine, J Carrol Naish, Anne Gwynne, Elena Verdugo, Lionel Atwill

Rating:  "Approved"

Talbot's body is the perfect place for the monster's brain that I will add to and subtract from in my experiments.

                       ~Dr. Gustav Niemann

Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man (1943)

Frankenstein Meets The Wolf Man

1943

Director:  Roy William Neill

Starring:  Lon Chaney Jr., Ilona Massey, Lionel Atwill, Maria Ouspenskaya, Bela Lugosi

Rating: "Approved"

I only want to die. That's why I'm here. If I ever find peace I'll find it here.

                              ~Lawrence Talbot

The Ghost Of Frankenstein (1942)

The Ghost of Frankenstein

1942

Director:  Erle C Kenton

Starring:  Bela Lugosi, Lon Chaney Jr, Cedric Hardwicke, Evelyn Ankers, Lionel Atwill, Ralph Bellamy

Rating: "Approved"

The lightning. It is good for you! Your father was Frankenstein, but your mother was the lightning!

                                     ~Ygor

Son Of Frankenstein (1939)

Son of Frankenstein

1939

Director:  Rowland V Lee

Starring: Basil Rathbone, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lionel Atwill, Josephine Hutchinson

Rating: "Approved"

One doesn't easily forget, Herr Baron, an arm torn out by the roots.

                             ~Inspector Krogh

Bride Of Frankenstein (1935)

Bride of Frankenstein

1935

Director: James Whale

Starring: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Valerie Hobson, Ernest Thesiger, Elsa Lanchester

Unrated

She hate me.

     ~The Monster

Universal Frankenstein Retrospective - Frankenstein (1931)

Frankenstein

1931

Director: James Whale

Starring: Colin Clive, Boris Karloff, Mae Clarke, Edward Van Sloan

Unrated

Oh, in the name of God! Now I know what it feels like to be God!

                ~Henry Frankenstein

Introducing CULT CINEMA CAVALCADE!

Hey readers!  Something fantastic has just happened, though its been in development for over a year, I started a podcast.  Myself and Cullen, who you may know from A Touch Of Crass or the terrific Freddy's Nightmares article he wrote for me last year, launched Cult Cinema Cavalcade yesterday!   Its being hosted on the Dead Radio Entertainment network (where you can find additional podcasting entertainment) We're very excited to be finally on the internet airwaves sharing our discussions of the crazy movies we've been watching together for over two decades now.

Click below or head on over to cultcinemacavalcade.com and check out the first episode where we discuss the 1988 stop motion with pixelation classic, The Wizard of Speed and Time.  The podcast is bi-weekly and drops every monday, so our next episode will be in 2 weeks.  That gives you plenty of time to check out the film we'll be discussing on it.  On the podcast, we not only tell you what the film will be, but also the cheapest and most legal ways you can go about seeing it.  As always, your comments, feedback, reviews, etc is appreciated!  

Impossible Rankings - Ranking the Mission: Impossible Film Series

Its something that seems to slip my mind until the next comes out and was really cemented with Ghost Protocol, but I really think this is one of my all time favorite film franchises.  Minus one entry, every film here is terrific high end entertainment.  Why it slips my mind is that we've only had 5 films in 19 years from it and its never been rebooted.  Plus, each film is so different from one another that its almost like its not a series.  I was a bit of a fan of the reruns, but wouldn't go as far to call myself a "hardcore" Mission: Impossible TV fan.

One that was weird for a film series I'm a big fan of, the rankings for this was one of the easiest tasks I've done.  My picks came right to me and are pretty much definite.  This franchise is full of stunts, suspense, Tom Cruise and tons of fun.  Here is my ranking of the series, from end of fuse all the way to the stick of dynamite.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation

2015

Director: Christopher McQuarrie

Starring: Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Jeremy Renner, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Alec Baldwin

Rated; PG-13

You have your seatbelt on?

              ~Ethan Hunt

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol (2011)

Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol

2011

Director: Brad Bird

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Paula Patton, Michael Nyqvist, Lea Seydoux, Josh Holloway, Ving Rhames

Rated: PG-13

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

        ~Ethan Hunt

Mission: Impossible III (2006)

Mission: Impossible III aka M:i:III

2006

Director: JJ Abrams

Starring: Tom Cruise, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Ving Rhames, Michelle Monaghan, Simon Pegg, Maggie Q, Billy Crudup, Keri Russell, Laurence Fishburne, 

Rated: PG-13

That look in your eyes is pain in my ass, you know that, right?

                 ~Luther Stickell

Mission: Impossible II (2000) - with Commentary!

Mission: Impossible II aka M:I-2

2000

Director: John Woo

Starring:  Tom Cruise, Thandie Newton, Ving Rhames, Dougray Scott, Anthony Hopkins

Rated; PG-13

You know, that was the hardest part about having to portray you, grinning like an idiot every fifteen minutes.

                                  ~Sean Ambrose

Mission: Impossible (1996)

Mission: Impossible

1996

Director: Brian De Palma

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Beart, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emilio Estevez, Henry Czerny, Vanessa Redgrave

Rated; PG-13

RED LIGHT! GREEN LIGHT!

~Ethan Hunt

I'll Be Back - Talking TERMINATOR: GENISYS as Well As Commentaries On Out Now With Aaron & Abe

Hey everyone!  How have you been?  Is your summer going good?  I know I've been away, but I've had quite an eventful and very busy few months and Naptown Nerd had to be placed on the back burner for a bit.  I would've like to have done some retrospectives for all these franchise films coming out this summer (Poltergeist, Insidious, Jurassic Park) but when the time is needed by either work or family, those come first no question.

Mad Max Retrospective: Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985)

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome

1985

Director: George Miller, George Ogilvie

Starring: Mel Gibson, Tina Turner, Bruce Spence

Rated; PG-13

Who run Bartertown?

Two men enter, one man leaves

Yes, those are quotes to live by!

Mad Max Retrospective: The Road Warrior aka Mad Max 2 (1981)

Mad Max 2 aka The Road Warrior
1981
Director; George Miller
Starring: Mel Gibson, Bruce Spence, Vernon Wells, Virginia Hey
Rated: R

They've got you wrong.  You're not a coward.  Stupid, maybe.  But not a coward.
                  ~Gyro Captain

Mad Max Retrospective: Mad Max (1979)

Mad Max

1979

Director: George Miller

Starring: Mel Gibson, Joanne Samuel, Hugh Keays-Byrne, Steve Bisley, Roger Ward

Rated: R

They say people don't believe in heroes anymore. Well, damn them! You and me, Max, we're gonna give 'em back their heroes!

            ~Fifi

PODCAST: I Talk FURIOUS 7 On Out Now With Aaron & Abe!

I didn't have time to follow up my Fast & Furious Retrospective with a piece on Furious 7, but this should more than do.  Once again, I was honored to be back on Out Now With Aaron & Abe for a regular episode talking about this past weekend's box office smash, Furious 7.  Also guesting is /Film's Angie Han.

If you missed it, I also did a commentary with Out Now for 2 Fast 2 Furious featuring Maxwell Haddad.  Find that clicking HERE.

Take some time today and give it a listen.  We also talk some trailers and a few other topics.

Leprechaun In Tha Rankings

Well, we got through Leprechaun and we survived.  Its an iconic franchise mainly because it was one that had no shame.  Warwick Davis in the role was indeed something special, but its the desire to get silly for mainly the shock of just the idea of the film when someone is perusing the video store and seeing the boxes.  "They did what with the Leprechaun".  There are children's movies scarier than this series.  But where it relishes is in the joy of watching Warwick Davis and watching the films be just as dumb as you'd think and pull of some good humor from time to time.

Where do we go from here with the franchise?  Honestly, I hope we've really seen the last of the Leprechaun.  Unless its some kind of classic horror team up that brings back Warwick Davis and mixes him with the likes of Chucky or other monsters.  Aside from that, I think they've gone as far as they can with him.  And this new one, the quicker its forgotten the better.  Nobody wants to see any more of that.  

Leprechaun Retrospective: Leprechaun - Origins (2014)

Leprechaun: Origins

2014

Director: Zach Lipovsky

Starring: Dylan "Hornswoggle" Postl, Stephanie Bennett, Andrew Dunbar, Melissa Roxburgh, Brendan Fletcher

Rated: R

What exactly in the f*** was that?

     ~Brandon Peters

Leprechaun Retrospective: Leprechaun Back 2 Tha Hood (2003)

Leprechaun Back 2 Tha Hood

2003

Director: Steven Ayromlooi

Starring: Warwick Davis, Tangi Miller, Laz Alonso, Page Kennedy, Sticky Fingaz

Rated: R

What's up, ninjas?

    ~Leprechaun

Leprechaun Retrospective: Leprechaun In The Hood (2000)

Leprechaun In The Hood

2000

Director: Rob Spera

Starring: Warwick Davis, Ice-T, Anthony Montgomery, Rashaan Nall, Dan Martin

Rated:  R

A friend with weed is a friend indeed, but a friend with gold is the best I'm told.

         ~Leprechaun

Leprechaun Retrospective: Leprechaun 4 - In Space (1997)

Leprechaun 4: In Space

1997

Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith

Starring: Warwick Davis, Jessica Collins, Brent Jasmer, Rebecca Carlton, Miguel A Nunez Jr, Debbe Dunning

Rated: R

The King is dead.  Long live the Queen.

    ~Princess Zarina

Leprechaun Retrospective: Leprechaun 3 (1995)

Leprechaun 3

1995

Director: Brian Trenchard-Smith

Starring:  Warwick Davis, John Gatins, Lee Armstrong, Caroline Williams, John DeMita

Rated: R

Casear's...Palace...

     ~Fazio

Leprechaun Retrospective: Leprechaun 2 (1994)

Leprechaun 2

1994

Director: Rodman Flender

Starring:  Warwick Davis, Charlie Heath, Shevonne Durkin, Sandy Baron, Clint Howard, Kimmy Robertson

Rated:  R

I think the second movie could be the worst, only because it is highly forgettable. I can recall parts from all the other parts of this series, but I cannot remember a single thing from Leprechaun 2.

~Cullen

Leprechaun Retrospective: Leprechaun (1993)

Leprechaun

1993

Director: Mark Jones

Starring:  Warwick Davis, Jennifer Aniston, Ken Olandt, Mark Holton, Robert Hy Gorman, John Sanderford

Rated: R

Fuck you, Lucky Charms!

          ~Alex

Talkin' Bout Terminator! (Commentary Podcast)

The Out Now With Aaron & Abe commentary track for James Cameron's 1984 masterpiece, The Terminator is up and running!  I guest as well as Forbes' Scott Mendelson (I think you may have heard of him).  Give it a listen!  We'll also be doing Terminator 3 in a few months as well.

Support Both SPARKSHOOTER & SOLO ACOUSTIC On Patreon!

My friend Troy Brownfield is one of the hardest working writers in comics these days!  He's currently taken his comic Sparkshooter and its sister comic Solo Acoustic to Patreon for help and support from readers like YOU.  If you've never read them, now is the time to check them out.  Those who live or have lived in the Indianapolis area will possibly get an extra kick out of them due to local business and events being referenced.

You can get more information and a taste for what they're like by LIKING their respective Facebook pages.  Click to jump to either

Quickie Retrospective: Mannequin Two: On The Move (1991)

Mannequin Two: On The Move

1991

Director: Stewart Raffill

Starring:  Kristy Swanson, William Ragsdale, Meshach Taylor, Terry Kiser

Rated:  PG

Once again, left holding the bag

          ~Hollywood Montrose

Quickie Retrospective: Mannequin (1987)

Mannequin

1987

Director:  Michael Gottlieb

Starring:  Andrew McCarthy, Kim Cattrall, Estelle Getty, James Spader, Meshach Taylor, GW Bailey, Carole Davis.

Rated: PG-13

Two things I love to do is fight and kiss boys!

                ~Hollywood Montrose

The Favorite Films Before My Lifetime: 1951

Here we are, the final year of this series.  Thanks to everyone who followed along the whole damn way.  I appreciate it.  Apology to Gary Swafford, as I am not continuing on past 1951 at this time.  Maybe in the future we'll crawl and scrape all the way to 20s or something.  Well, here we go, one last time for now.

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (aka The Favorite Films Before My Lifetime: 1952)

This weird thing happened when I got to 1952.  I hadn't seen a lot of movies from this year or of the couple I had seen, I didn't really remember or know much to talk about them.  Don't worry, I had plenty to pick from for tomorrow's finale 1951.  However, the one film that was there and one of the easiest and best picks of the entire series was that of the cinematic perfection that is SINGIN' IN THE RAIN.  Why not just give the film its own full day?

The Favorite Films Before My Lifetime: 1953

Hey everyone!  1953 is here.  Once again, I'm short on time, but wanted to go ahead and throw my picks out there.  I will mention that while there's a Stanley Kubrick film on the list, I'm not too big on it, but I find it a fascinating look at his early work and skill.  And also, for the second time, both an original and remake have made the list.

The Favorite Films Before My Lifetime: 1954

1954 turned out to be a pretty strong year for me.  Featuring a nice range of prestige, camp and fun.  This list is one of those years I'd take all picks with me to somewhere forever to watch.  

The Favorite Films Before My Lifetime: 1955

This is the year lightning struck the clock tower.  The "Enchantment Under The Sea" dance went over incredibly well and Calvin Klein inspired Marvin Barry.  People may not have enjoyed all of this back then, but their kids would go on to love it.

The Favorite Films Before My Lifetime: 1956

1956 was a year that I found to have some films (at least in my picks) that inspired a lot of filmmakers in the 70s and beyond.  Whether it be remakes, ideas, plots, or details, something of this group wound up coming back around.  Pretty neat.

The Favorite Films Before My Lifetime: 1957

Welcome to 1957, another entry with some great great movies, but a bit more brief captioning on them.  Its just how it is, some days I get the time to give them some meat, some days I'm not.  The important thing to me is that I get them up and the choices are made.  Thanks to those of you who have been looking forward to these and keeping up with them.  Its a lot of fun!