Star Trek - The Motion Comic

I've seen a few motion comics over the years and have enjoyed them for what they are while being not very impressed. I just don't like having my reading speed controlled by the crawling pace usually adopted by these projects. This one hasn't got that problem even if I do wish the story's pace were quicker in a few spots. Overall though, this is fun little mash up of two very different science fiction tales that shows some real talent. I would love to see more of the same as soon as the creator can spare the time. This one took four months of free time so who knows when more might show up. Enjoy!

Poster art for movies in my 'To View' pile

Not sure when I'll get to these, but I wish I could watch them right now!

Enzo G. Castellari interview

One of my all time favorite Italian directors, Enzo G. Castellari, is interviewed to talk about his cameo acting part in Tarantino's INGLOUROUS BASTERDS and his own directorial career. Even though QT only took the title and WWII setting for his film from the 1978 Italian action movie directed by Castellari the debts he has to the director are numerous and varied. I can only wish for Tarantino to tackle each genre his hero has tried and conquered. Can you image the 1980’s style post-apocalyptic movie made today with a $50 million budget? I drool at the prospect!

Of course, I may be one of the very few.

LINK

The Ballad of Jonah Hex

California songwriter Ian Frazier was inspired by the current Jonah Hex comic book series written by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray. His song is in narrative form and includes a third verse that retells Jonah's origin as depicted in the current series in issues 13-15. This well produced video illustrates the song very nicely with panels from the series. My year of westerns powers on!

Rosalba Neri - Euro Babe

For the second time in two weeks I was innocently watching a Euro-Cult film and there she was. Rosalba Neri! An absolutely gorgeous actress who pops up just often enough to remind me how evil & beauty can flow together with ease & grace. She makes me fear all attractive women just a little. I first noticed her in her starring role in the amazing LADY FRANKENSTEIN but this close-up from the poster art doesn't do her justice at all. Tonight I caught her in UPPERSEVEN - a Euro-Spy film from 1966 that was good fun and the last time I saw her she was a prostitute in Steve Reeves' final movie, the western A LONG RIDE FROM HELL. In both of these movies she is onscreen for a short while and then gone, but her presence lingers on for the entire running time. It has something to do with her eyes. Much like Barbara Steele there is just something riveting about those large, pretty eyes. They draw me in and make me long to be ensnared in her (probably) evil plans.

Looking over her list of credits I see that she was in many more movies that I've seen over the years. She was in Bava's Hercules in the Haunted World, Hercules Against Moloch, Hercules and the Black Pirates, Johnny Yuma, Slaughter Hotel, one of the original OSS-117 films, The French Sex Murders, Franco's 99 Women and Castle of Fu Manchu. She has a featured role in Hercules and the Black Pirates with the poster art for this one sporting an image in the top left corner that looks a lot more like the lady in question than any other artwork from her movies I've been able to find. The artist certainly captured her profile very well.


But enough of my blather. Feast your eyes on the lovely Miss Neri. A true beauty and a sign that the movie she turns up in has at least one good element to entertain the viewer.

Me & Jabba

I can't remember the first time I met Jabba. He was always a cheerful addition to any gathering and I'm sure he was around long before I ever really got to know him. By the time he and I had struck up a friendship over our shared interests of scantily clad slave girls and cruel revenge I felt like we were brothers under the skin. He's helped me through some hard times and I like to think I've helped him through some as well. He's always been willing to send out his minions to rectify bad situations or settle old (sometimes forgotten) scores. Jabba's kind heart often makes him seem like a big ol' softy especially when he does things to make his friends lives easier. Hell! I once complained too loudly about the crappy service in a particular restaurant and the next day it was a pile of rubble. Good times, good times!

I know that among the public at large there are mixed feeling about Jabba. Most folks love the Pod Races he sponsors, the gambling halls he maintains and the dancing girls he has trained for display. But Jabba has always been more than just a savvy business creature and a patron of the arts. Those few who are close to him know of his wonderful sense of humor and openness to hiring anyone regardless of race, creed, religion, ethnic background, planet of origin or capacity for honesty. He's really a sweet guy.

Lately he and I have been talking a little about advancing age and the 'middle age spread'. Jabba feels as if he's starting to put on a bit too much weight even for a Hutt and no matter what I say to the contrary he won't stop worrying. So I made a deal with him. We've decided to become weight loss partners! We're going to see who can lose 100 pounds the fastest and the winner gets to throw their least favorite bounty hunter into the Sarlacc Pit! It's very exciting! Of course, I expect Jabba to win- but it can't hurt to drop some of my excess fat. I don't need it all!

Evelyn Ankers - black & white beauty

Last night I watched a Lex Barker Tarzan film and was surprised to find the radiant Miss Evelyn Ankers in a supporting role as a kind of surrogate Amelia Earhart. I shouldn't have been so surprised, really. This lovely lady has popped up in so many of my favorite movies from the 1940s that I should be more shocked when she isn't in one. This newest encounter prompted me to go on a google search for pictures of the actress and also finally to check out her list of credits on IMDB. It's an impressive list! She was in THE WOLFMAN, HOLD THAT GHOST, THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN, SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE VOICE OF TERROR, CAPTIVE WILD WOMAN, SON OF DRACULA, THE MAD GHOUL, THE INVISIBLE MAN'S REVENGE and a couple of the Inner Sanctum films. She is someone I'm always glad to see in a film. It's like spotting an old friend in a photo someone else is showing me.

And speaking of photos--







Wowsa!