Doctor Who - Survival (1989)

I can't remember if I'd ever seen Survival back in the days of catching these stories on VHS. I know it's possible but having now watched it on DVD I can say that it is such an unremarkable story that even if I had seen it I'm sure I would have forgotten it by now.

Certainly, for a story with the master as its villain, this is a limp effort. It doesn't help that this is a perfect example of all of the things about the Sylvester McCoy years that I find irritating. I can't stand the fact that we never have scenes inside the Tardis. I'm sure this decision had something to do with lowering the budget because the BBC was quite worried about money being spent on the show at the time. Strangely, every Sylvester McCoy story I've ever seen was shot entirely on location. Why that would make this show less expensive I have no idea but we all know how the BBC works, right? Not having those scenes inside the Tardis really gets on my nerves as it never allows us to have what I consider to be the most basic Touchstone scenes in Doctor Who stories. We kind of need - or, at least I kind of need - to see the Doctor fiddling with the Tardis controls, speaking about the machine, talking about plans and destinations and ideas and stories that we will never see. This kind of thing adds mystery, flavor and depth to the character which is something the McCoy years needed to just offset the boring locations. Having all of the show's scenes take place outside the Tardis always seems artificial and silly.

Also, in what I'm sure was another cost-cutting effort, pretty much every Sylvester McCoy story I've seen or can remember takes place in modern-day London. This is irritating and mirrors my feelings about the modern Who shows! It's so obvious and cheap a choice that it does nothing but draw attention to how often it is done. It also imparts a certain sameness to everything regardless of how many deserted landfills, grassy fields, rock quarries or other places the show occasionally visits.

So, overall, not a great episode even with some pretty cool cat creature costumes. I'm sad that this was the last of the run of the original Who show. It deserved a much better final story.

ATOMIC BLONDE (2017)

From the moment I saw the first trailer for ATOMIC BLONDE I knew I was going to see the film. First of all, I love Charlize Theron and will watch her in almost anything. She's beautiful, talented and completely captivating on screen and this would be far from the first film in which she had proved herself as an action hero. Hell - she was arguably the star of MAD MAX: FURY ROAD.

The preview trailer for ATOMIC BLONDE made it clear that the movie was going to be an action filled cross between John Wick (with whom this film shares a director) and the James Bond movies. As far as spy thrillers go this one is a throwback in more than one way. First of all, plot-wise it is very old school. Hell - the plot actually involves the recovery of microfilm and even in a movie set in 1989 that's a story point that perhaps was out-of-date by even 1985. But as with any good James Bond film the McGuffin is hardly the point. We are here for several reasons, none of which involve microfilm or paper documents or anything else that the hero may actually be hunting for. We're here to revel in dark characters, interesting situations and - above all - stylish, exciting action. Luckily this film succeeds on that count easily.

Theron plays Lorraine Brown, an MI6 operative who just has just returned from Berlin and as she is debrief by her handler Toby Jones and a mysterious CIA figure played by John Goodman she explains how she may or may not have succeeded in her most recent assignment. Since we've already seen how bruised and battered she is after this little German adventure we're already interested to see just how everything went down. Watching Theron as this world weary agent trying to stay on task amide multiple nefarious players with clashing agendas is incredibly entertaining for me. One of the things I love about espionage tales is seeing the harsh price paid by field agents who often have to trust their instincts as well as their training to survive deadly encounters. Shifting loyalties, questionable motives, bad choices and hidden desires can alter the calculus of a situation for the worse leaving only seconds to decide on the correct option. ATOMIC BLONDE takes the spy thriller back to the days of more carefully plotted, dark stories that refuse to spoon feed the audience the pieces that the main character is struggling to understand right along side of us. I found that refreshing and maybe it's enough of a throwback to raise eyebrows and interest in modern viewers.

There's been a lot of talk over the past few years about doing some interesting casting in the James Bond franchise with the idea of Idris Elba possibly taking the role. I doubt that will ever happen (no matter how much I'd love to see it) but I would say that this film is probably the starting point for a parallel female James Bond series. Theron is excellent in the lead, the supporting cast is fantastic and the period detail is phenomenal all the way down to the smart choices made in the soundtrack. I'm sure there is an actual score written for this film somewhere in the mix but all I can remember are the mood setting songs from the  1970's and 1980's that set everything in place and push the story forward in interesting ways. Much like this summer's  Edgar Wright film BABY DRIVER, ATOMIC BLONDE uses songs as an integral part of it's storytelling effort. They aren't just there to set the scene and to remind you of the time. They actually become an important part of the storytelling, showing you why and how characters are acting and thinking in the ways they are. ATOMIC BLONDE isn't the best movie I saw this summer but it was damn good and it's one that I know I will enjoy revisiting many times in the future. Fingers crossed for a sequel!

Tales From the Crypt covers

MISTER X (1967)

I acquired MISTER X (1967) under the very similar title AVENGER X - Let's not go into how I acquired it. I had been told that it was a kind of Euro Spy film and I guess it almost fits into that category. The problem is that the film barely has a story and until the last act is pretty damned boring. I guess, to be  more accurate, it does have some semblance of a story but it is so poorly related that in the end it just seems like a string of events held together by the presence of some of the same actors playing characters that all seem like they should be in a Euro Spy film. It's an indifferently directed, sloppily dubbed and haphazardly scored Adventure/Crime / Thriller in which the bad guys are trying very hard to be hardened criminal types. These bad guys are involved in or scheming to become involved in the standard movie Vague Drug Trade that will net them all millions.

The main character - Mister X - is a smirking, smarmy attempt to be Diabolik about a year before Mario Bava brought that good/bad guy to the screen. As in DANGER: DIABOLIK (1968) our antihero is a master of hiding in plain sight and has the ability to disguise himself so well as to be appear to be someone completely different. This chameleon-like ability is not used very effectively in the story, much as little else in the film is all that effective. Well - until the final fifteen minutes when the action gets interesting and a few random story elements actually come together. That last act is good enough that it almost makes it worth sitting through this lackadaisical meander around some out of season European tourist locales. 

The one element of the film that I can give full marks is the presence of two of the female actors. I originally tracked this film down because the amazing Helga Line has a small role in it and she is a joy, sporting jet black hair while playing a gangster's moll with a sneaky plan of her own. Sadly, the film only gives her one good scene but at least it is opposite the other entertaining actress Gaia Germani. Miss Germani plays Mister X's sidekick/lover and she gets to shine here showing off real energy and a wonderfully expressive face. I've spotted her in a couple of other Italian films from the 1960's (HERCULES IN THE HAUNTED WORLD, CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD, the Euro Spy film YPOTRON) but it's in this one that she is so sensual and cute I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I kept wishing the film would just focus on her especially after she demonstrates her own hand to hand combat skills.

Video - How To Make A Blockbuster Movie Trailer!

It's sad to have to admit it but this trailer formula works on me every damned time! But I do now hate that BWAAA sound effect. Where did that come from originally? 

The Bloody Pit #58 - GAMERA (1965)

NOTICE - There is an audio glitch in the first couple of minutes of our conversation that pushes our voices into one channel. It clears up quickly and remains fine for the rest of the show. It is not your equipment - it was ours!

Having covered a number of Godzilla films over the past two years Troy and I finally move outside of the Toho stable of giant monsters to talk about GAMERA! The giant friend to children everywhere has gone through many iterations over the past fifty-two years but one thing remains the same - he's a flying turtle! How in the hell did that even become a thing?

Regardless, we dig into the genesis of everyone's favorite giant Testudine (yeah, we're educated) and relate our history with Gamera as well as the strange ways in which we discovered his adventures. We delve into the two separate versions of the film with attention paid to the alterations and additions made when it was brought to America. Originally a lean 75 minutes the film's extended US length adds much but is the extra time well used? We have much to say about that, let me tell you! We dig into the pathology of  young Toshio as he endlessly seeks to end his own life and the lives of his countrymen by offering himself up as bait/sacrifice to the hideous turtle monster. Rarely has attempted suicide been presented in such a positive light, much less the desire for immolation by prehistoric sea-beast. Circa 1965, truly, the Japanese child-rearing standards were well overdue for an overhaul!

I try (and fail) to contain my hatred for small, precocious, turtle obsessed Japanese children named Toshio while Troy does his best to keep the show on an even keel. We marvel over the technical achievements of the film and it's audacious move to co-opt the younger audience of the Godzilla franchise. The more serious aspects of the story are discussed along with some of the fascinating behind the scenes tales that demonstrate the difficulty of producing movies at this level of complexity. Remember - Mr. Flame is not always your friend!

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Trailers From Hell - THE GHOST OF FRANKENSTEIN (1942)

Joe Dante has such a clear vision of what makes these Universal Monster classics great even with their various drawbacks. He's one of the best people to introduce films like this to a new audience.