List Thread-Third Annual Drive-In/Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge Mar 31-Apr 30 2012
04-02-12, 02:07 PM
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Re: List Thread-Third Annual Drive-In/Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge Mar 31-Apr 30 20
JOKipper's List
I wasn't sure that I would join in this year, but I watched so many bad ones over the first weekend of this challenge that I might as well. My goal will be a modest 50 films.
March 31:
1. Hercules the Invincible (1964): Watched from the Mill Creek Warriors set as Sons of Hercules: Land of Darkness. I fondly remember watching the series as a kid, and this 2-parter brought back some good memories. The movie itself didn't seem too bad, with nice matte shots and Dan Vadis as the hero...but it's hard to tell with these faded, cropped Mill Creek prints. I'll give it a C+ grade.
2. Gladiator of Rome (1962): Watched because it's on the same disc, and it was a hard one to get through. Between the dullness of the film and the horrid red fade of the print, I had to pause it more than a few times. I think Gordon Scott was supposed to Spartacus, but I'm not really sure. The most notable thing was that the hero received the gift of a hairy chest from the gods, unusual for these films. D-
3. Maciste in King Solomon's Mines (1964): Filmed in South Africa, it's a nice change. But it does seem almost like a Tarzan film at times, and there's even a bit of National Geographic nudity in it. Reg Park was one of better stars of the genre, and helped to keep my interest despite the annoying stock footage of African fauna (say, why didn't people learn to ride giraffes? They're big and really fast. Movies like this give plenty of time for such thoughts!) The print was a nice, faded sepia and it wasn't too hard to watch. C-
April 1:
4. What? (1972): My biggest question is why Polanski would make a film like this. Did he lose a bet with Carlo Ponti? For a comedy, it's not very funny, and for an erotic film, it's not very sexy. There's some nice shots of Ponti's villa, but there's not much else going for it. Just to be open minded, I could say that it compares to a typical Wong Kar Wai film and that's being very generous. I liked the part at the end when the protagonist figures it that it's all just a movie, or maybe I liked that part just because it was the end of the movie. D
5. Operation Crossbow (1965): Perhaps a questionable entry for this challenge, but I'll argue that it belongs for several reasons.
-A relatively high budget film that bombed. It was such a failure at the boxoffice that it was pulled and renamed several times. That didn't save it from ultimately being stuck at the tail end of later double features. It's not even easy to find a good copy of this on DVD.
-It's offered as some sort of actiony romance film with George Peppard and Sophia Loren. The truth is, Loren is in the movie only a few minutes and there's no romance. Then her character dies. Maybe her husband, Carlo Ponti, lost a bet with someone.
It actually wasn't a terrible film. Some of the effects and miniatures were pretty good. I understand why audiences didn't connect with it though...the movie is just all over the place with the mixed-genre story. The inside of the German rocket facility was pretty much like a Bond set, but ultimately, audiences probably didn't like the fact that everyone in the movie dies. C+
I wasn't sure that I would join in this year, but I watched so many bad ones over the first weekend of this challenge that I might as well. My goal will be a modest 50 films.
March 31:
1. Hercules the Invincible (1964): Watched from the Mill Creek Warriors set as Sons of Hercules: Land of Darkness. I fondly remember watching the series as a kid, and this 2-parter brought back some good memories. The movie itself didn't seem too bad, with nice matte shots and Dan Vadis as the hero...but it's hard to tell with these faded, cropped Mill Creek prints. I'll give it a C+ grade.
2. Gladiator of Rome (1962): Watched because it's on the same disc, and it was a hard one to get through. Between the dullness of the film and the horrid red fade of the print, I had to pause it more than a few times. I think Gordon Scott was supposed to Spartacus, but I'm not really sure. The most notable thing was that the hero received the gift of a hairy chest from the gods, unusual for these films. D-
3. Maciste in King Solomon's Mines (1964): Filmed in South Africa, it's a nice change. But it does seem almost like a Tarzan film at times, and there's even a bit of National Geographic nudity in it. Reg Park was one of better stars of the genre, and helped to keep my interest despite the annoying stock footage of African fauna (say, why didn't people learn to ride giraffes? They're big and really fast. Movies like this give plenty of time for such thoughts!) The print was a nice, faded sepia and it wasn't too hard to watch. C-
April 1:
4. What? (1972): My biggest question is why Polanski would make a film like this. Did he lose a bet with Carlo Ponti? For a comedy, it's not very funny, and for an erotic film, it's not very sexy. There's some nice shots of Ponti's villa, but there's not much else going for it. Just to be open minded, I could say that it compares to a typical Wong Kar Wai film and that's being very generous. I liked the part at the end when the protagonist figures it that it's all just a movie, or maybe I liked that part just because it was the end of the movie. D
5. Operation Crossbow (1965): Perhaps a questionable entry for this challenge, but I'll argue that it belongs for several reasons.
-A relatively high budget film that bombed. It was such a failure at the boxoffice that it was pulled and renamed several times. That didn't save it from ultimately being stuck at the tail end of later double features. It's not even easy to find a good copy of this on DVD.
-It's offered as some sort of actiony romance film with George Peppard and Sophia Loren. The truth is, Loren is in the movie only a few minutes and there's no romance. Then her character dies. Maybe her husband, Carlo Ponti, lost a bet with someone.
It actually wasn't a terrible film. Some of the effects and miniatures were pretty good. I understand why audiences didn't connect with it though...the movie is just all over the place with the mixed-genre story. The inside of the German rocket facility was pretty much like a Bond set, but ultimately, audiences probably didn't like the fact that everyone in the movie dies. C+
Last edited by JOKipper; 04-03-12 at 01:07 PM.
04-02-12, 06:42 PM
#52
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Re: List Thread-Third Annual Drive-In/Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge Mar 31-Apr 30 20
March 31:
1. George A. Romero's "Day of the Dead" (1985)
2. "Schizoid" (Forgotten 1980 Cannon film about a serial killer; with Klaus Kinski)
3. "Roadhouse 66" (Willem Dafoe and Judge Reinhold in an 80s drive-in classic)
April 1:
1. "Beyond the Law" (1968 spaghetti western with Lee Van Cleef)
2. "Coonskin" (Ralph Bakshi's ultra-controversial animation classic)
3. "Sweet Hostage" ( Insane Martin Sheen kidnaps Linda Blair in 1975).
April 2:
1. "The Unseen" (1980 horror film; Barbara Bach, and a HILARIOUS Sydney Lassick!)
April 3: NONE
April 4:
1. "Piranha" (original 1978 version)
2. "Humanoids from the Deep" (original 1980 version)
1. George A. Romero's "Day of the Dead" (1985)
2. "Schizoid" (Forgotten 1980 Cannon film about a serial killer; with Klaus Kinski)
3. "Roadhouse 66" (Willem Dafoe and Judge Reinhold in an 80s drive-in classic)
April 1:
1. "Beyond the Law" (1968 spaghetti western with Lee Van Cleef)
2. "Coonskin" (Ralph Bakshi's ultra-controversial animation classic)
3. "Sweet Hostage" ( Insane Martin Sheen kidnaps Linda Blair in 1975).
April 2:
1. "The Unseen" (1980 horror film; Barbara Bach, and a HILARIOUS Sydney Lassick!)
April 3: NONE
April 4:
1. "Piranha" (original 1978 version)
2. "Humanoids from the Deep" (original 1980 version)
Last edited by Filmscholar35; 04-04-12 at 10:31 PM. Reason: adding to list
04-08-12, 01:27 PM
#53
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Re: List Thread-Third Annual Drive-In/Exploitation/B-Movie Challenge Mar 31-Apr 30 20
No idea how many I will watch, but will try to make it a point to check some out this month.
^^^ = First time watch
04/01 - Wet Hot American Summer (2001) ^^^
04/06 - World's Greatest Dad (2009) ^^^
04/07 - An American Werewolf In London (1981) ^^^
04/11 - Suburban Commando (1991)
04/12 - Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) ^^^
04/15 - The Cabin In The Woods (2012) ^^^
04/20 - Friday the 13th: Part 2 (1981) ^^^
04/27 - Clifford (1994)
Total Films:8
^^^ = First time watch
04/01 - Wet Hot American Summer (2001) ^^^
04/06 - World's Greatest Dad (2009) ^^^
04/07 - An American Werewolf In London (1981) ^^^
04/11 - Suburban Commando (1991)
04/12 - Evil Dead 2: Dead by Dawn (1987) ^^^
04/15 - The Cabin In The Woods (2012) ^^^
04/20 - Friday the 13th: Part 2 (1981) ^^^
04/27 - Clifford (1994)
Total Films:8
Last edited by gp1086; 04-29-12 at 02:09 PM.
