What was the last movie you watched? Part 2

[Batgirl0202]

8/10

 

[C. Lee]

It's got a real pulpy charm!

7/10

@C. Lee have you seen it?

Yep. SPY SMASHER RETURNS is the around 4hr and 30min serial SPYSMASHER cut down to a feature length of around 1hr and 15min. Both are fun watches with lots of action. It's based on the comic book character of the same name.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Yep. SPY SMASHER RETURNS is the around 4hr and 30min serial SPYSMASHER cut down to a feature length of around 1hr and 15min. Both are fun watches with lots of action. It's based on the comic book character of the same name.

They actually did a pretty good job cutting it together, but there were some parts that had a big jump. I enjoyed it, the stunt men did some tremendous work. I didn't realise it had been a comic book as well, were any of the other episodes made into a movie?

 

[Mysteryman]

Not without my daughter

I saw that.
Liked it.

 

[C. Lee]

They actually did a pretty good job cutting it together, but there were some parts that had a big jump. I enjoyed it, the stunt men did some tremendous work. I didn't realise it had been a comic book as well, were any of the other episodes made into a movie?

Nah, they only made one feature by editing episodes together. A bunch of serials were edited into feature length, but most only had one feature made.

Off the top of my head, the only serial I can think of that had two features edited from it was TARZAN'S NEW ADVENTURES (starring Bruce Bennett). The shorter versions were named TARZAN AND THE GREEN GODDESS and if I remember right TARZAN AND THE LOST GODDESS. This was an interesting serial and movies. It was filmed on location in the jungles of Guatemala, and this led to them having serious sound recording problems. Of importance to note is, it was co-produced by Edgar Rice Burroughs and was the first film to showcase the Tarzan from the books where he is intelligent, articulate, and speaks perfect English and French. He spends a lot of his time at the beginning in a suit.

And speaking of serials, I am currently working my way through the ROCKET MAN serials - KING OF THE ROCKET MEN, RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON, ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE, and COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE. A couple of those were cut into feature length, but I haven't watched them yet.

 

[Frodo]

 

[P Supreme]

Mulholland Drive

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Suspiria (2018)

Completely forgot Mia Goth was in this.

 

[Sculder]

Swept Away (2002)
Kaze no tani no Naushika / Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Infinity Baby (2017)
Hooking Up (2020)
The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee (2024)
Balota / Ballot (2024)
Sing: Thriller (2024)
It Ends with Us (2024)
Treasure Hunt (1952)
The Pledge (2001)
Det kom en gäst... / A Guest Is Coming (1947)

 

[squeekness]

Iron Man 2

 

[C. Lee]

In 1973, ABC TV tried a weekly rotating mystery movie night like NBC was doing with COLUMBO, McCLOUD, and McMILLAN AND WIFE. Their lineup was HAWKINS starring Jimmie Stewart and SHAFT starring Richard Roundtree. There were seven SHAFT TV movies made. Today I watched the first of them.

SHAFT: THE ENFORCERS (1973) starring Richard Roundtree, Robert Culp, Richard Jaeckel, Rafael Campos, Dean Jagger, and Melissa Sue Anderson.

Printed on the disc is the title THE EXECUTIONERS. I got the title used in my review from it's IMDB page. Although set in New York City it was obviously filmed in LA. These were filmed right after the third theatrical film had been released. Even though we are treated to having Roundtree reprising his signature role, they are very toned down for television broadcast. The plot, used many times in the future on TV and at the movies, is of a group of high powered and well respected men who form a committee to determine what criminals are deserving of death and then executing them. A police detective friend of Shaft's asks him to look at the files on the 6 murders they have determined are related to get his perspective. While looking into the case, he ticks off the leader who orders Shaft to be killed. He survives the attempt, investigates harder, and solves the crime. All in all, a rather lackluster and bland movie. There are a couple of standout performances, but they are not by the big name stars. Barbara Babcock as the survivor of a brutal rape and assault gives a sensitive rendition of a woman now institutionalized by it. Kaz Garas as a cruel pimp does a bravura job as the tough guy when beating women but pisses himself and cries like a baby at the prospect of his own death. I will try to watch the second one tomorrow.

 

[Frodo]

 

[Ash J. Williams]

 

[Frodo]

Starring Charlene Tilton ( Dallas), Dick Van Patten ( Eight Is Enough), Katherine Helmond (Soap), Christopher Knight ( The Brady Bunch) , Dominque Dunne ( Poltergeist) and
Craig T. Nelson ( Poltergeist)

 

[KaijuDude1992]

 

[emielaen]

A ★★★★ review of In Water (2023)

A comfortably naturalistic approach from Hong lets him slowly creep into the pockets of doom and doubt that cloak one of our three characters in In Water. There is a shared uncertainty for us and this aspiring director; we don't know what he wants to do for his short film. To go beyond this...

boxd.it

 

[Hunter Rider]

7/10

5/10

Nah, they only made one feature by editing episodes together. A bunch of serials were edited into feature length, but most only had one feature made.

Off the top of my head, the only serial I can think of that had two features edited from it was TARZAN'S NEW ADVENTURES (starring Bruce Bennett). The shorter versions were named TARZAN AND THE GREEN GODDESS and if I remember right TARZAN AND THE LOST GODDESS. This was an interesting serial and movies. It was filmed on location in the jungles of Guatemala, and this led to them having serious sound recording problems. Of importance to note is, it was co-produced by Edgar Rice Burroughs and was the first film to showcase the Tarzan from the books where he is intelligent, articulate, and speaks perfect English and French. He spends a lot of his time at the beginning in a suit.

And speaking of serials, I am currently working my way through the ROCKET MAN serials - KING OF THE ROCKET MEN, RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON, ZOMBIES OF THE STRATOSPHERE, and COMMANDO CODY: SKY MARSHAL OF THE UNIVERSE. A couple of those were cut into feature length, but I haven't watched them yet.

That's a shame, I was up for more Spy Smasher, was the original serial a hit back in the day?

That Tarzan serial sounds interesting, given we don't see that version of Tarzan portrayed all that often, and is that the only time Edgar Rice Burroughs has been involved with a live action adaption of Tarzan?

I looked up those ROCKET MAN serials on Prime, they're all selling as full price DVD's! But I did find a Green Hornet movie that is an edited together collection of the original serial.

 

[C. Lee]

7/10

5/10




That's a shame, I was up for more Spy Smasher, was the original serial a hit back in the day?

That Tarzan serial sounds interesting, given we don't see that version of Tarzan portrayed all that often, and is that the only time Edgar Rice Burroughs has been involved with a live action adaption of Tarzan?

I looked up those ROCKET MAN serials on Prime, they're all selling as full price DVD's! But I did find a Green Hornet movie that is an edited together collection of the original serial.

Hey Hunter....from what I remember, the SPYSMASHER serial was a hit, but I don't remember why a sequel wasn't made.

I don't remember ERB being involved with producing any other movies. The filming of this serial was hard on everyone involved.

I pulled out my Green Hornet DVDs to look things over. There were two original serials, filmed in '41 and '42. Sometime in the late 50's or early 60's they cut a feature version that was 1hr24min. In 2010, to bank on the then upcoming Seth Rogan theatrical GH movie, they released the original 2 serials on DVD in one box. They also released the feature cut on DVD separately. This DVD is pretty cool. Who ever worked on it did a great job. The picture quality is clearer and sharper than the picture on the full serial DVDs (I checked my discs to see the quality. I hadn't watched them since 2010). They also edited green tint periodically into it and would do scene shifts by making the picture turn to frames in a coming book and the scene it jumps to be a frame on the next page. Then it continues on as the movie. As a bonus, for those who don't like the green tint or the comic pages they have a copy of the feature cut as it originally looked on the DVD too. I'm about to watch that now because I had forgot how cool it looked.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Terrifier 3

Following the events of Terrifer 2, final girl Sienna Shaw (Lauren LaVera) has spent the last five years in a mental health facility, suffering from PTSD and survivor's guilt. Released just in time for Christmas into the care of her aunt and uncle, she tries to put the trauma behind her and rebuild her life. Nevertheless she is plagued by nightmares and hallucinations. Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) - along with victim-turned-killer Victoria Heyes (now possessed by the Little Pale Girl) - has also been out of circulation since the second film, hibernating in an abandoned house. As Sienna is released, Art and Victoria are awoken by two demolition workers checking the house before they knock it down. Killing the workers, Art and Victoria launch into a fresh killing spree of horrific escalation which, despite her fears and initial denial, Sienna knows that she alone has any chance of stopping.

Lauren LaVera and David Howard Thornton are as terrific as they were in the second film. Thornton's mime skills are front and centre (making you laugh even as he does the most appalling things), as is former stunt girl LaVera's impressive athleticism. The gore is as OTT as we expect ('kill of the movie' for me is the mother of the poor family butchered near the start). Special mention to Samantha Scaffidi, returning as Victoria Heyes. She's given more to do here, and her appearance (her face was eaten by Art in the first film) really is the stuff of nightmares. The timeline is not straight-forward: the first film was released in 2016 and seems to take place contemporaneously; the second was released in 2022 but takes place just a year after the first; whilst this one (released last year) takes place five years after the second. So, it goes T1 - 2016, T2 - 2017, T3 - 2022. Presumably T4 (which is set up) will return to the present day? The minus here is the runtime. Whilst not the ridiculous 2hrs 18mins of the second film, it still run 2hrs 5mins. Director/creator Damien Leone obviously wants to explore the lore of Art etc, but when all's said and done it's a slasher movie. It needs a certain pace; when secondary stuff starts to interfere with that it's time to rethink. A good ten - fifteen minutes could have easily been trimmed; Leone obviously needs some oversight.

I gave the first one 7/10, the second (despite its length) 8.5/10. Whilst this is far better than the first, it doesn't reach the heights of the second. Nevertheless, it does have some great effects, makeup, set-pieces, and is at times very creepy. 8/10

 

[squeekness]

The lovely bones

 

[Ash J. Williams]

The second one is High Heels.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

The Howling

 

[squeekness]

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Hey Hunter....from what I remember, the SPYSMASHER serial was a hit, but I don't remember why a sequel wasn't made.

I don't remember ERB being involved with producing any other movies. The filming of this serial was hard on everyone involved.

I pulled out my Green Hornet DVDs to look things over. There were two original serials, filmed in '41 and '42. Sometime in the late 50's or early 60's they cut a feature version that was 1hr24min. In 2010, to bank on the then upcoming Seth Rogan theatrical GH movie, they released the original 2 serials on DVD in one box. They also released the feature cut on DVD separately. This DVD is pretty cool. Who ever worked on it did a great job. The picture quality is clearer and sharper than the picture on the full serial DVDs (I checked my discs to see the quality. I hadn't watched them since 2010). They also edited green tint periodically into it and would do scene shifts by making the picture turn to frames in a coming book and the scene it jumps to be a frame on the next page. Then it continues on as the movie. As a bonus, for those who don't like the green tint or the comic pages they have a copy of the feature cut as it originally looked on the DVD too. I'm about to watch that now because I had forgot how cool it looked.

Thanks Doc, I guess it might have been the amount of stuff they were putting out at that time didn't leave an opening for a second season I guess.

I watched the Green Hornet yesterday, this was a feature cut assembled in 1990, so it didn't have the upgraded picture quality but it was 1 hour 40 minutes in length, so might it have been the full 2 serials just spliced together? I also watched a feature edit of the old Dick Tracy serial, it was essentially 3 separate cases cut together, each with a different villain, including the hilarious Heels Beals!

Me and my Uncle started the Rifleman last night, all 5 seasons are currently on Prime.

 

[Hunter Rider]

5/10

6.5/10