Letters are
arranged from newest to oldest.
To contact The Unknown Movies, click
this link
April 2,
2013
Just wanted to say thank you!
Awesome site. I love cult classic horror movies. I grew up on them at a
very young and particularly inappropriate age.,, hahaha. Great
work! Thank you for a wonderful site! I much enjoyed
looking for titles of movies I watched when I was little that terrified
me but I was much too young to remember something like a title. Keep up
the great work
Cheers!
Heidi Voigt
March 22,
2013
Just read your review for Ninja
and I think I will add that
director to my list of people to watch out for.
There has been some
interesting movies recently in the Ninja venue. The ultimate
homage movie that pokes fun is Ninja
Assassin. The Interpol agent, does exactly the right thing
at all times in it to the situation. He acts like a guy who lives
in a world with Ninja movies, and knows how people will react. As
opposed to Zombie movies, where all authority figures act stupidly at
all times.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ninja_Assassin
You asked for a movie where
the Asian lead gets the white coaches daughter. Though its not
exactly how it works in this movie, the Asian lead does get the white
women, from the get go.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_from_Hong_Kong
Finally Christopher Lambert
plays the sidekick to Haredain in the 90’s movie, The Hunted. The scene on the
bullet train is etched in memory and I need to download this I think
tonight…
David March
February 23, 2013
Hi Greywizard. It's interesting
that both Colleen Dewhurst and Trish Van Devere appear in The Last
Run. You may not know that Dewhurst and George C.
Scott were married and had two sons, Campbell - himself an actor- and
Duncan. Then George C. dumped Dewhurst and married Van
Devere. I wonder if the movie is where they met? If they
were already having an affair, it was beyond tacky to have his wife and
his mistress in the same movie, even though they probably were never on
set together.
Having married DeVere, George
C. insisted on her having parts in his subsequent movies, even though,
talent wise, she was not in his league, unlike Dewhurst. I can't
make out if it was husbandly devotion or that he wanted to keep an eye
on her. I never thought she was much of an actress, period.
The only time I ever recall
seeing him work with Dewhurst was a tv version of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, about the Salem witch
trials. Tuesday Weld was the sexy little Abigail.
Last I heard of George C., the
poor man had Alzheimer's. I haven't heard of him dying, and I
think it would have been on the news if he had. In his day, he
was one of America's best actors.
Sandra
From what
I read somewhere, Scott and Van Devere met for the first time in this
movie, and that Scott's marriage to Dewhurst at the time was already
breaking down.
Scott did
pass away several years ago, in 1999. Two made-for-TV movies and one
theatrical movie with him were released that same year, so it's
unlikely Scott had Alzheimer's when he died.
February
18, 2013
[re: Fire Sale]
I just read your review. Thank you so
much for vindicating my long held view of this gem. I have this ragged
VHS recording from television from the early nineties that I
transferred to a DVD disk. It's my only remaining link to this madcap
milestone.
I first saw this in a students
commons lounge in 1977 or 8. My housemate and I never laughed so hard
and long - just like you. We could not seem to believe a movie like
this could exist. Stomach muscles seriously ached on the way home, and
the rest of the audience loved it, too.
You know how hard comedy is.
The pacing, the rhythm, the building, and even better, thinking it
can't get any worse or crazier, yet it does. Way better than Where's Poppa?, it's easily among my
top ten favorite comedies. Who should care about the blemishes and
production value in the presence of something like this?
Anyway, I'm writing this
because I'm watching it now, and thought I'd search for supporting
critical opinions. Those two dimwits. And Mr. Maltin? Is is so hard to
be aware of what you are watching?
Tom
Manke
January
13, 2013
[re: Cage]
Interesting review, I personally enjoyed Cage and the sequel (though they do
have problems admittedly) I didn't personally find them exploitive,
though I can understand why some would.
Anyways, have you heard of a
website called Critical Condition? Like your site, it specializes
in reviewing unknown and obscure films. Both Cage films were reviewed,
the site owner loved the first film but despised the sequel, here's the
reviews for both films:
http://www.critcononline.com/action.htm#Cage1989
http://www.critcononline.com/action.htm#Cage21994
Michael
Prymula
December 22, 2012
I just read your review of Culpepper
Cattle Company. If
you are looking for 70s revisionists westerns, see if you can find Dirty Little Billy,
starring Michael J. Pollard. The tag line was "Billy the Kid was
a punk". Lee Purcell, who always reminded me of Jane Fonda's kid
sister, played the requisite prostitute.
Another very interesting take
on the Old West is The Last Hunt,
starring Stewart Granger and Robert Taylor. They play buffalo
hunters at the point where the buffalo have been driven almost to
extinction. Robert Taylor was never much of an actor, and he
always gave the impression, on camera, of being royally pissed off
about something. I don't know anything about the man personally ;
maybe he did go through life in a smouldering rage. His natural
unpleasantness proves very effective in this movie, however, as the
character he plays is a psychotic sadist, who just loves to kill.
Buffalo or people, it doesn't matter which.
Incidentally, the buffalo who
get killed in the movie really die. They got permission to film
the culling of the herd in one of the national parks, because its a
limited range, and they can only have a fixed number of bison
there. The actors didn't do the actual shooting; professional
sharp shooters did that. I saw it on TCM a few weeks
ago.
Sandra
Thank you
for your suggestions. As a matter of fact, I have a copy of Dirty Little Billy in my
collection. I did watch it years ago, but I don't really remember
anything about it. Which is surprising, since Michael J. Pollard is
usually unforgettable in his roles. But I'll remember it for the next
time I decide to review a revisionist western. And I'll definitely take
a look at The Last Hunt the next
time it comes on TCM.
November 8, 2012
[re: Santa With Muscles]
First, I want to say thanks for reviewing
this, it was cool reading your insight, it certainly is one hell of a
bizarre film (I'll bet Mila Kunis leaves it off her resume nowadays.)
For me the strangest thing in the film was that futuristic fingerprint
scanning device on the ATM, did anything like that even exist back in
the 90s? I don't think so, so I wonder why it was in the film.
Though devices like that did get invented sometime in the late 2000s,
so I guess the film was ahead of it's time in that regard.
Michael
Prymula
November 7, 2012
Hey man,
I just read your review on Mafia vs. Ninja and I must say
that it was the most hilarious thing I have read lately. Hilarious
because you manage to capture 100% the absurdity of this movie, by
phrases like:
"It looks like [the makers of
the movie] simply abandoned every chance of being taken seriously so
that they could have some fun."
LOL man, that's so true. Your writing is brilliant! (although perhaps
wasted).
Thanks, you are good.
Dimitris
Greece
October
24, 2012
[re: Pandemonium]
I really love that you see the desperate fun of
incompetence in Ninja Academy.
I was apart of that movie. Awful... just an awful experience. I
certainly grinned that you thought a movie was worse then Ninja Academy.
Thanks, I needed that laugh when perusing some need to see how a small
part of my existence on this planet has effected someone, good or bad.
No really, thanks!!
Anusha Solayea
October
18, 2012
[re: Canadian films]
The subject line might just be the best joke ever.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Kevin Rhodes
October
15, 2012
Just
wanted to offer another bit of trivia about the movie, Dogs.
One of the college student extras happens to be the late Wiccan author
and magician Scott Cunningham. A first-person account of the two days
Scott spent on the set of Dogs
can be found in chapter 9 of his biography, Whispers of the Moon, by
David Harrington.
Your review points out the "isolated" feel of the college campus set.
Scott Cunningham remembered that the film was very low-budget and was
shot while school was in session, and at night - which explains the
lack of establishing exterior shots you mention. The interior shots
were of the campus commons, which might be why it doesn't look like
"rooms at a university."
It's also interesting that you note how aloof David MacCallum's
character is, because it sounds like the actor was also coming across
that way in person. Scott said that MacCallum "finally came to the set,
looked around, and went to his honeywagon... [and] stayed there."
And regarding your observation that the dogs are noticably "hugging"
the actors, instead of attacking, Scott's account verifies that, too.
He called them "innocent pups" who were "quite sweet off-camera."
Thanks for the great reviews!
Laurel
October 12, 2012
Hey.
It's me again. In my free time, I was thinking about yet ANOTHER
possible film for you to give a glance at. It is a...come to think of
it, I'm not sure of the genre..most likely Brucesploitation, although,
that's probably not true (as will be explained later). The Film is
called They Call Me Bruce and
has a very interesting and humorous plot, namely that a Chinese cook
has a passing (by "passing" I mean if you squint and close your eyes)
resemblance to Bruce Lee, and he's employed by stereotypical Italian
mobsters, and because of his appearance hijinxs ensue with the mafiosi.
It's one helluva strange film, it dragged in some places, and almost
seemed to be two separate movies, but for the most part was crazy
enough to warrant a full viewing. I will warn you, there is a scene
with a hit-man that is..quite possibly the strangest and yet most
entertaining thing I have seen in a while (let me just say it involves
Roots, a dummy, and impressions..). I wish I knew if that actor was in
any other films worth nothing, I seem to think that was his only role,
but goddamn, that was entertaining. Anyway, I don't know if it'll be
your cup of tea, but it's sure worth a look.
The Killer Dynamo
Thank you
for sending in your suggestion.
I am familiar with They Call Me Bruce. In
fact, I have also seen the even more obscure sequel They Still Call Me Bruce. Neither
film was my cup of tea, though I could see that some people would be
tickled by these two movies.
October 9,
2012
Hello,
I read your article on The Flight of
Dragons. I enjoyed it. Anyway, I'm directing a live action
adaptation. We're working with some of the original production team, as
well as new. Please check out our website: http://flightofdragonsmovie.com
Cheers,
Jesse
October 5, 2012
Hi,
Having emailed you an opinion (on the Boondock Saints) I want to also
give you a suggestion if I may: Valhalla
Rising. I know Valhalla Rising,
a 2009 movie starring Mads Mikkelsen, is pretty new compared to many
movies on your site, but I think you may want to check it out anyway.
It is, as far as I can tell, not very well known, at least here in
North America. It stars Mads Mikkelsen, who is one of those actors who
seems to be able to just exude kickass-ness just by standing there (a
talent he demonstrates just about every time he's on-camera in this
film), plus he can actually do some acting. But furthermore, if I tell
you what kind of movie it is and you've never seen it before, you won't
believe me: It is an artsy movie about vikings, viking crusaders,
native americans, and includes at least some ultraviolence of a pretty
raw nature. And that is a type of movie that I probably would never
have believed would be made, or even conceived. And how could you not
talk about such a movie (if it was sufficiently unknown), either to
recommend it or to warn away those who might be drawn by the promise of
viking/native ultraviolence? In case you want more information on this
movie (and my own reaction), keep reading; if you know you aren't
interested you should skip the rest of this email, which is very long,
instead of wasting time reading it (the short version: people should be
warned away from this movie unless they are forced to watch an art
movie, despite the interesting premise).
On the artsy side, the plot is incomprehensible and surreal, plus the
director is a pretentious jerk in interviews (which you would be able
to guess from how the whole movie feels like a surreal metaphor that
only the director and writer can ever comprehend). Also the movie drags
on, and on, and on, and it feels like a good 1/4 of the movie was shot
in slow motion.
On the other hand, the first part of the movie includes awesome and raw
moments in which Mikkelsen's character 'One-Eye' slaughters people. The
body count isn't that high, really, but features One-Eye executing some
particularly brutal kills (as well as being treated quite poorly as a
slave). What other art movie starts out by having the main character be
roped to a pole by a collar, then ripping someone's throat out with his
teeth, and throwing the rope that holds him around a second person's
neck, taking a running dash to jerk the rope tight and snap the neck?
The bad news is that after the first twenty minutes (during which time
my wife was so disturbed by the explicitness of the violence that she
kept looking away from the screen and telling me I should never have
had her watch it), the movie suddenly comes to a much slower pace, with
limited dialogue and very little in the way of explanation or plot or
dialogue or anything cogent. Examples of unanswered questions: Why does
One-Eye have visions of the future? Why, late in the movie, is the kid
who goes around with him suddenly able to 'hear' him and tell others
what he's saying (One-Eye is mute)? Why, for the love of all that is a
real movie (in your terms), is there such a dearth of viking/native
ultraviolence once they get to north america? Why do any of the
characters do any of the things they do, especially the guy who gets
lost and shows up half-insane and covered in mud and weird symbols
(you'll know what I mean if you watch the movie)? What the f**k was up
with that 'climax,' which bitterly disappointed in every imaginable way
(those hoping to see One-Eye go on a major native-slaughtering spree
will, sadly, be disappointed, and I confess I was one of them)? Why
does one viking shove another's face into the mud and possibly drown
him in the process (although it isn't clear what the hell is going on
quite frankly)?
And WHY, for the love of all that isn't pretentious, are
so many scenes shot in slow motion which have no reason to be?
Well, you are the reviewer, and you will have to make up your own mind
about whether to recommend the movie if you do watch it and review it.
For my own bit, I'd say it seems like it is an interesting concept and
the director and writer seem to be trying to make something
thought-provoking, and they might have succeeded in doing so while also
making something to satisfy the more action- and exploitation-oriented
viewer. They had everything going for them: a decent concept (even if
they wanted to work some arty crap into it), a good cast. Then some
moron decided that the movie didn't really need any action after 20
minutes passed, and that a good art movie doesn't need much in the way
of dialogue (my wife points out that this email has more words in it
than the movie did, and she's pretty much right) as long as we shoot in
slow motion, right?
So basically, the movie is in my opinion an unfortunate
failure, but an interesting failure nonetheless. And I say
unfortunately because, like I said, they had a real opportunity to show
that movie can be both artsy and exciting and action-packed and
exploitative (the first 20 minutes are, as I said, filled with a few
rather brutal things - I don't want to give them away in case you
choose to check it out). Instead we end up with 20 minutes of a
tantalizing taste of what this movie could have been, before descending
into standard art-movie 'boring and incomprehensible' mode. Although if
I had to watch an art movie I'd probably choose this one.
One point to note: the viking crusaders accidentally wind up in Canada.
They decide Canada is hell. I will leave you, a Canadian, to analyse
this sentiment.
(Note: Mads plays 'One-Eye,' a one-eyed viking. In Norse mythology,
Odin, the chief of the gods, had torn out one of his own eyes, and was
known as 'the one-eyed god,' and if you met a stranger with just one
eye you did well to be careful lest you offend a god. It is possible
therefore that this character is meant as Odin, or a metaphor for Odin,
an idea which would explain the weird visions he has. As such you
could, without giving too much away, try to read the end of the movie
as a sort of 'Ragnarok.' Although only if you consider the
post-Ragnarok consequences. It might also explain why there are some
supernatural-type abilities associated with him. But then the problem
with art movies, apart from that they're boring, is that you can
usually interpret them in about 153000 ways thanks to all the
'ambiguity,' so I have no actual idea how much this or any
interpretation was intentional. In fact I get a vague feeling the movie
was supposed to be a weird commentary on the history of religion or
something, but frankly, who cares?)
Thanks for your consideration!
Blake
p.s. My apologies for the length of this suggestion, which my wife
pointed out qualifies as a book. I leave you with one last question,
which you will understand if you see the movie: how the hell is one
young kid supposed to build, stock, and sail a boat across the Atlantic
ocean?
Whew! I've never had a suggestion as
detailed as yours before. I checked my local video store, and they do
have a copy of the movie. Since you said the movie has its share of
problems, it's not going on the top of my list... but I'll definitely
keep it in mind, since I try to review a decent number of interesting
failures as well as good movies.
October 2,
2012
[re: Boondock Saints]
Hi,
Thanks for your site. I enjoy it and have discovered a number of movies
I probably wouldn't have heard of, but which are very much worth
seeing, through reading it.
I wanted to just send a quick note following up on Natalie's argument
that the brothers view their mission as a divine call. Specifically,
when in the jail cell, getting this idea, they both suddenly bolt up
and water drips on their foreheads. Considering how this parallels
baptism in Catholic practice, I think the brothers at least interpret
this as a divine commission. Whether this is really what was going on
or whether it is just their interpretation of a coincidence is
ambiguous in my mind.
As is the later scene where they put pennies in the mobsters' eyes. The
voiceover
speaks about divine protection for them, and it seems significant that
the only time the brothers or their father get shot is when they fight
one another, and these wounds are comparatively minor. Again one could
argue that this is ambiguous as to whether it is their interpretation
of a coincidence that leads to a false idea of divine protection or
whether it is really there.
(And just to nitpick: I don't think Smecker's change of heart was out
of nowhere. It appeared that he had thought that 'these c**ksuckers
slip through the cracks' for a while. When he realized that the
killings were being done not by criminals but by otherwise good men,
this triggered a crisis of conscience, and, with the help of a priest
held a gunpoint, he realized that he, too, should pursue justice this
way. Sudden, perhaps, but I found it very believable.
Also, the brothers are very similar, but that was clearly intentional
(witness the opening, where they walk out of church, identically
dressed, and light cigarettes in an identical way). They do have a
great deal of mutual affection and admiration, and the same background,
so their similar mannerisms are quite believable. However, they have
somewhat different personalities: one of them, Flannery I think, is a
bit more level headed and perhaps a bit colder than the other - look
for example at the scene where he argues calmly with Rocco, whereas his
brother just bursts in with 'Are you such a f**king retard?' or the
scene where he prevents his brother from helping Rocco against the
hitman, basically saying that Rocco needs to do this on his own,
although he does give him some help.)
Thanks again,
Blake
October 2, 2012
Hello,
First of all GREAT site!
Dragon
Against Vampire is actually Korean. It is likely that the
contributions of Godfrey Ho and Joseph Lai extended no more then
distributing the film internationally - and making up most of the cast
list's bogus English names. Curiously, for once, Ho doesn't seem to
have credited himself as director on this one. Eagle Han is a Korean
actor who did appear in some Hong Kong films, including Dragon Fist, an early Jackie Chan
flick.
Hope this helps!
James
Thanks for the correction, James. I have
added your information to the review.
September
29, 2012
[re: Naked Soldier]
Did you hear? Cory Yuen made a new entry in his "Naked"
series and from the reviews it sounds like an improvement over Naked
Weapon, so you might want to check it out, I'm sure Cory would
be happy
to send you a screener copy if you asked him nice enough.
Michael Prymula
Thanks
for this news. Since Sammo Hung is in this new entry in the series,
it's
definitely a movie I'll check out should it ever land on this side of
the Pacific!
September 17, 2012
Hey--
I don't know how old your review of The Crater Lake Monster on the
Internet is, but it sure was more entertaining than the "Crater"
movie-- Just a comment: that "update" from Richard Cardella was sad -
trying to blame the amateur results on Crown International -- not
giving them more money to "make it better"--- Forget money-- what it
takes is TALENT-- if they had real talent, they could have made a good
movie with half their budget!!
A fan of your site
September
10, 2012
[re: Local
Boys]
Hey, just wanted to tell you my two cents about the
film, I thought it was a pretty decent film, the surfing sceens were
well-done (though it's not Point Break
or even Blue Crush in that
department) and I found the performances effective in spite of
the somewhat cliched characters. BTW it's interesting that this
film is considered a "family" film in Canada, because it's certainly
not here in the U.S., as it carries a PG-13 rating (mostly because of
the drug use) it's in the drama section at my library.
Michael Prymula
I'm
actually glad to hear that you liked the movie - I would rather hear
someone having a good experience with a movie than a bad one. As for
classifying the movie fit for the entire family, up here in Canada the
movie ratings system is more often than not more liberal than the
American one, and has been so for some time. A PG-13 movie might get a
PG (or even a G) rating here in Canada.
August 6, 2012
Greetings
from Příbram, Czech Republic.
My name is Martin K. and I have recently read several of your reviews.
I would like to express my appreciation of your work, especially of
your reviews concerning local, Canadian cinema. It is apparent that you
do care about the state of Canadian movie industry and that you
know a lot about it. I completely agree with the existence of two basic
categories of films: the real ones, and the rest of them. As far
as the Czech movie industry is concerned, it is, according to my
opinion, currently in a much worse state than all Canadian production
companies and state organizations financing cinema. They may fund and
produce many boring TV movies and "art" flicks, but compared to our
current cinematic output, they still seem to be on a par with Fellini
and Antonioni. Today, the moviegoing folk of the Czech Republic can
only recall the days of glory when the work of the likes of Ivan Passer
or Miloš Forman was receiving awards at international movie festivals.
Today, every year, the audience in our country is subjected to heaps of
cinematic turds (if you pardon my expression) funded shamelessly by our
Department of Culture. The sad thing is that almost no real movies are
made in Bohemia, the majority of Czech cinematic output consists of
unfunny family comedies reflecting the days of Communist regime, or
pompous and quite expensive projects with great artistic ambitions
(such as Alois Nebel) which are, frankly, boring as hell. But enough of
this lamentation.... The real reason why I write (apart from commending
your reviews of numerous truly rare films) is to suggest
one, according to my opinion fairly unknown and unnoticed movie made in
Canada. Its title is Dead Stop
and it could be described as a bizarre combination of crime movie
and slasher. (My memory is not as clear as it used to be, I
havenīt watched it in years) IMDB says it was made in 2005, but I
know different since I used to own a VHS with this movie (now lost). It
was distributed in Bohemia in the 1990īs as a U.S. film directed
by Alan Smithee. Years ago, I could not find any reference to the film
on the internet. I could only assume it was Canadian because Nick
Rotundo (who unfortunately passed away in 2011) was credited as the
editor of the damn thing. Well, today, it is listed on IMDB as a
2005 SOV flick directed by Allan Smythe (I donīt believe it was shot on
video, however). It awaits 5 votes, so I guess it indicates certain
obscurity of the title. You might consider reviewing the film because
it seems to be truly Canadian and genuinely unknown. It is possible
there is some DVD release of this in the U.S. or Canada. If I remember
correctly, the movie was quite bad, but also weird in parts, with a
psychotic killer slashing female victims, a reporter who becomes
implicated and a scheme involving corrupt mayor, or something. Besides,
it stars Chris Chinchilla - who could resist a name like that?
Please, keep up the good work.
With regards,
Martin K.
Thanks
very much for your letter. I'm sorry to hear about the state of your
country's cinema, though your news did make me realize Canada's
cinematic output could be a lot worse. As for Dead Stop, I went to
Amazon.com and found out that
it did get a DVD release in North America, and they are selling it
at a pretty cheap price, so I might check it out.
July 23,
2012
Hello
Greywizard,
I sent you this email to recommend to you a movie called Wrecking Crew, an obscure (at least
I think) 1942 film. It's a very disjointed, fast paced, destruction
filled movie about a literal wrecking crew, who go around and take down
buildings. But there's also a love story and a few gags (I guess you
cold call them that) thrown in just for the hell of it.
It's...different. I didn't think it was godawful, I just found it
to be strange and a little rushed, or unfinished. It won't eat up too
much of your time (only coming in at an hour and 13) and it's not hard
to find (you can watch a copy of it at Archive.org). That's my two
cents, and I hope you can kill some time with it, or enjoy it as much
as I did.
Thanks, The Killer
Dynamo
(Below is a link to the Archive version, if you want to take a quick
look. Cheers)
http://archive.org/details/Wrecking_Crew_1942
Thank you for your suggestion. I don't know
if I'll review it, but I'll definitely take a look at it.
July 9, 2012
[re: Bunny
O'Hare]
Your sneering, ageist and misogynist comments about
Bette Davis are vile. What an azzhole you are!
LENNY
Some might consider your comments vile.
June 16,
2012
[re: The
Final Patient]
The only way immortality would be tolerable would be if
you had eternal youth as well. Jonathan Swift forsaw that in the 17th
Century. Somewhere in Gulliver's
Travels he visits a place where a small percentage of the
population are immortal; those so afflicted are pitied, not envied,
because they grow older and older, and therefore more and more
physically decrepit, without their miseries being ended by death. I
think they are called Stulbruggs.
Of course, eternal youth presents its own problems, such as having to
drop everything and move on every twenty years. That's probably the
upper limit of how long you can stay in one place without your friends
or family (assuming you have gotten married ) wondering why you don't
age. In the Middle Ages, you would have had to worry about being burned
for witchcraft, and nowadays, you would have to dodge those government
scientists you mentioned.
About the mind's storage capacity, I actually read a science fiction
novel (I have no clue what it was called) where one character turns
out to be immortal (and eternally youthful). His memory only stretches
back about 300 years (that's a ballpark figure, as I don't recall the
real one) because his memory is full and therefore every time he makes
a new memory, he loses an old one. Therefore he is unable to answer
questions about how old he is or where he came from originally. I think
it is actually hinted that he's Jesus, but I can't be sure.
I wonder if Jason Campbell Scott is the grandson of George C. Scott ?
As I recall, he had two sons with Colleen Dewhurst: Campbell (who
became an actor) and Duncan.
Sandra
May 3, 2012
DEAR
TRACI LORDS
IT WASN'T A BAD MOVIE, IT WAS A GREAT MOVIE. YOU HAD
A GREAT SPANISH ACTOR IN IT. JORGE RIVERA, ZACH
GILLIAGAN I HAVEN'T SEEN IN ALONG TIME. I HAVE
SCREENPLAY JUST FOR YOU Ms. lords It's an action/adventure
Ms. lords.
It involves two women and they, well i would like to tell
you in person. My address is [DELETED]. If you
ever
get into to Portland. I wrote this screenplay for you, I
wrote your character, the woman you would play in this
movie. With major stars i also
want in it. like Alyssa Milano, Holly
Marie Combs, Nicolas Cage.
Daubert Frekals
Huh?
May 1, 2012
[re: Dog
Soldiers]
Just wanted to say I mostly agree with your review, I
REALLY hate seeing stupid characters, especially in horror films.
One particularly glaring example is in The
Ring. After Rachel finds out that the tape might be
cursed, instead of getting rid of it or hiding it in a safe place, she
leaves it out where her son could easily find it. Though I thought Lock
Up was a decent movie in spite of the logic gaffe.
I do disagree with Ebert quite a bit on what he considers to be an
"idiot plot" For example the movie Run with Patrick Dempsey (LONG
before Grey's Anatomy, which
IMO is not a good indication of his talent) Ebert thought the plot was
idiotic, I personally didn't see it that way at all, I thought the main
character was fairly likeable and made the best decisions he could
considering the bad situation he was in. I also hate the
derogatory tone Ebert sometimes takes in his reviews as he insults
anyone who might actually enjoy the film (his reviews of The Raid:Redemption, Universal Soldier and Battle: Los Angeles being a few
examples) I also hated how he gave four stars to Knowing one of the single
stupidest and worst movies I've ever had the displeasure of seeing,
let's just say out of all the films you've given negative reviews to,
i'd gladly watch them over Knowing in a heartbeat.
P.S. I think Run would
actually be a good choice for your next review, even though Ebert
reviewed it, it got a very limited theatrical release and did pretty
poorly (it made less then a million dollars) and it's been virtually
forgotten as it's only available on VHS. I think you might enjoy
that film well enough.
Michael Prymula
Thank you
for your e-mail. I actually did see Run years
ago, and while I didn't like it, I do remember enough about it to think
it would make for an interesting review. I'll keep an eye out for it
during my regular patrols of thrift shops and Value Village.
April 6, 2012
[re: Terror House]
Thanks
for liking the film.
If you are interested there's a FB
site for it.
Best
Linda
April 4,
2012
Love
your site; your reviews are top-notch and a terrific read. Just
letting you know that Rituals has been released by Code
Red. It features a crisp transfer and is uncut. Also
includes an interview with star Lawrence Dane. Your site is one
of the few with a detailed review, so I thought you and your readers
might find the info of interest. Thanks, and keep up the great
effort!
Andrew Dowd
February 6, 2012
Hiya!
First, I wanted to say you run one of my favorite obscure/b-/genre
movie websites. It's nice to read about movies I'll likely never see,
and you have a way of opening with an entertaining digression that
always works its way back to the subject.
I also have a suggestion: Please add the film's title to the
<TITLE> tag of your reviews.
I know you probably have a template, but it'd help readers out if the
film title was up there at top. Right now each review has the same
title. But adding a unique film title, something like "Death Weekend -
The Unknown Movies," would help us readers find the right review in our
bookmarks.
Regards,
Zeus
Thank you for the nice words about my web
site. And thank you for your suggestion. Yes, I use a template, but
I'll change the <TITLE> tag for each new review from now on. I'll
also do it for my old reviews, but since I have over 500 movie reviews,
don't expect the changes to happen right away.
February
4, 2012
[re: That Championship Season]
Golan
and Globus actually made one other film that was pretty good, at least
in my opinion: Runaway Train.
It was apparently a remake of a Japanese film. John P Ryan, whom I
liked ever since It's Alive,
is the villain. I think his presence is the reason I watched it.
It also has Christopher Walken, Eric Roberts, and a very unglamorous
Rebeccca de Mornay. She must have been impressed by the script or maybe
just desperate for work, to agree to appear on camera looking like
that.
Sandra
Yes, Runaway Train is a
very good movie. I'm surprised it
didn't do better at the box office, since it has a number of
breathtaking action sequences for the mainstream crowd.
January 31, 2012
I
was the guy you referred to as the Weird Al Yankovic dead ringer in the
musician scene of Outtakes. Here is an
interesting fact about my part in the movie. I was promised
$250 for filming at Lake Point Tower in Chicago and another $250 if the
movie was ever produced. I never received a cent for
my part and my name did not appear in the credits (which is probably a
good thing). It has been a source of amusement through the
years for me and my friends. I did not however end up as a
bathroom attendant. I'm a retired police officer now.
I have to agree with your assessment of the film, it probably is one of
the baddest movies ever.
Anthony
January
27, 2012
Hello,
I
recently read and enjoyed your review of If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do?
I noticed that you made many references to Ed Wood when discussing the
film. Because of this, I thought you might be interested in knowing
that: the scene where the solders enter the Christan's home to sexually
attack the wife uses a sound track which is PROMINENTLY in Ed Wood's
1953 film Jail Bait. I just
thought it was a fun coincidence and worth sharing with someone else
who loves exploitation films.
Cheers!
J.L.
January 25, 2012
Hello,
I've known you website for ages, strictly speaking from year 2006. I
found interesting your publication Hugo The Hippo which I googled!
I'd love to use it in a project I'm involved with called "Geek
Science", so I'm seeking your permission for translation to Haitian
Creole language. "Geek Science" is a freemium-model non-English
language orientated startup with collection of scientific articles,
personal notes etc. in several languages that is collaboratively edited
by volunteers from around the world since 1999. Young and old, students
and professors - even your neighbor could be a volunteer member.
If you agree, we will credit you for your work in the resulting
translation's references by stating that it was based on your work and
is used with your permission, and by mentioning the name of my project
"Geek Science" back to:
http://www.badmovieplanet.com/unknownmovies/reviews/rev411.html
Thank you for your time and patience. I look forward to your response
next week.
Best wishes,
Susan Basen
I am flattered that you think so well of
my
review of Hugo The
Hippo that you want to use it in a project!
Yes, as
long as you give me credit, you are free to use my review.
January
22, 2012
Howdydo.
Thanks, your Choke Canyon review spared my
blowing 75 cents @ a nearby thrift store.
I could endure just 20 minutes of Bang Bang Kid before tossing it
back in the rental pool, so am only familiar with the title thru the
memoirs of its producer, Sid Pink (So You Want To Make Movies,
1989).
BBK indirectly came about
when Pink struck an insane deal with the 60's TV syndicate,
Westinghouse, to produce 36 pictues for its stations in 5 years,
(He anaged to deliver 19 timekillers in 2 years before balking over the
usual creative differences.)
You wrote that BBK was
directed by 'two Italians', Georgio Gentilli and
Luciano Leli. The film was actually helmed by Stanley Praeger, an
American theatrical director also involved with the cult 60's tv show, Car 54, Where Are You?
Gentilli was likely the AD, and Leli was paid for the use of his
name. Euro co-productions required quotas of both actors and
technicians from each participating nation to qualify for government
subsidies. (It was common in the 60's to see TV Guide list cheap
films with several countries of origin.) Although a certain
number of each nationality was represented, countries also demanded the
presence of a US actor, howeveer faded. Tom Bosley must have been
hard up for work, because the producer was surprised when he readily
accepted the initial fee.
After the film wrapped a week ahead of schedule, the editor soon
discovered why - he could only assemble 67 minutes of usable footage.
Hence, the added filler about the five hired killers, plus the medieval
malarkey.
Born pitchman Pink claimed Bang Bang
was "a love story loosely based on Taming
Of The Shrew(!), and the unreliable robot was intende to
generate yocks. I suspect the story really originated with a Twilight Zone episode, wherein Lee
Marvin managed a malfunctioning robot fighter. The finale is
suspiciously familiar.
Mike Mueller
December
22, 2011
Hey,
I've got another recommendation for you, only this time it's a
different type of film. It's a comedy called Without Men , the story revolves
around a small Mexican town where all the women end up having to fend
for themselves after the men are called off to war. Rosalba (played by
Eva Longoria) becomes the mayor after her late husband is killed, and
the women all learn more about themselves and life. it's a clever,
funny and charming film with likeable character, Eva Longoria proves
that she's more then just a pretty face, as she plays a strong, vibrant
woman who despite being a natural born leader, finds she has much to
learn from others, and she also ends up in a relationship with another
woman, the outspoken and somewhat masculine Cleotilde, their
relationship is handled very well, it's a shame gay relationships are
so rarely shown in mainstream films. This film admittedly does
have some flaws, Christian Slater's character feels extraneous to the
rest of the film and he looks somewhat out of place, but aside from
that it was a pretty good film that left me with a very warm feeling
that most Hollywood films fail to give me. So does that sound
like an interesting film to you?
Michael Prymula
Yes,
it does sound like an interesting movie. I've gone to my Internet DVD
rental service and requested it. While I don't know if I will review
it, I'll definitely watch it. Thanks for the suggestion!
December 4, 2011
[re: Skateboard
Madness]
Hello--
This is based on memories 33 years old, and I was a fairly stupid kid
at the time.
But I had a teacher, at a Montessori style school called The Children's
School, I believe it was Mike McKinney (& Mike, if you're out
there, I hope I guessed right on the spelling), who worked on the
claymation part of this film, or knew the guy who did the animation, or
both.
Somewhere shortly before I graduated (78? 79? 80?) to high school, they
brought a projector in to the classroom (I want to think a BIG
projector--maybe 16mm) and showed us that skate sequence, as well as a
bunch of outtakes and behind the scenes footage for making it.
The whole skate park seemed immense (in terms of work) when they showed
it--I want to say it was at least 8 or 10 feet on a side, maybe much
bigger.
A few years later, I caught part of the flick on TV, and was immensely
impressed I knew someone related to it. At this point, I'm
impressed and happy to find myself back in that classroom--no matter
how hazily.
Thanks for writing about it!
Rob Stafford
November
5, 2011
[re: Top
Secret]
Was this made for tv ? I think I saw it, though
the only scene I remember is the one where Sheldon Leonard tries to get
them so drunk that they will have a car accident once they leave his
house, but Cosby goes to the bathroom and sticks a finger down his
throat, thereby derailing that particular cunning plan. I
remember thinking that Hitchcock did that better.
Sandra
Yes, the movie was made for TV. However, I
don't remember Cosby sticking a finger down his throat. If he had done
that, I definitely would have mentioned it!
October 19, 2011
[re: Zoo
Radio]
Hi. I just noticed that during Jay Roach's response to
your review of this film he mentions Paul Feig; this may be the same
man who directed this year's Bridesmaids,
with Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph (both Saturday Night Live people). Did a
Google search on "Paul Feig" and "Zoo
Radio" and got a few hits so it appears it's the same guy. Just
thought you might be interested...
John Abramson
October
17, 2011
I
found your review of Goliath Awaits after searching
for the name of the movie I remembered from my childhood. Although your
review is not bad, unfortunately it is based on the heavily edited VHS
version of the TV Mini Series that aired in 1981. I do hope you find a
copy of the full version of the movie/mini series as it answers more of
your questions and fills a lot of the sub plot holes that are littered
through the edited version. I found it rather unfortunate they even
released such and edited version as it took away from the overall
element of the show. it seems at the time they were just trying to make
a few dollars off of Mark Harmon's image from that era.
Good luck,
Mike Miller
If I ever
come across the full-length version, I will definitely watch it and
subsequently update my review.
October 6, 2011
Hey!
I was doing a search for me in that FABULOUS movie Earthbound,
and I came across the "tidbits" you and I discussed over a decade ago.
Believe it or not, I FINALLY saw the movie.
Believe it or not, I actually SAW myself in the movie...
Here's the funny part (for me): I was watching the movie on video, and
about half way through it, I FELL ASLEEP!
Wow.
When I watched the movie with my kids, they could see me right away. I
was in the opening sequence at a high school track... the camera pans
on me and a few other members of the BYU track team running hurdles...
which i'd never done before (actually, I'd never run track before).
Then, the coach calls us in. The director told us "take a slow jog
across the field and kinda shake down, as though you were warming
down." Well, I'd never done that before, so while the other guys are
kinda loosly jogging, I'm doing some sort of arm and head and leg
motions. My kids said: "Dad! Were you having a seizure? WHAT are you
DOING!?!?!"
Then you can see me in the locker room sequence, right in the front of
the scene. I don't remember anything much other than that... as I said,
I didn't even stay awake through the movie!
Hope this gives you some more tidbits!
David Kuhns
October 3,
2011
Love
your website. Here is a gem I just watched via Netflix from 1990 called
Pastime. No idea why the
studio dumped this pretty darn good baseball movie that features a
surprisingly amazing performance from noted television character actor
William Russ (played Ben Savage's father on Boy Meets World). Currently
available on Netflix Instant Streaming.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105109/
Jon Pace
September 26, 2011
Hi,
I stumbled across your site and I think it's great.
Have to thank you for the review on Equilibrium. I picked this
movie up a few years ago and never watched it. I'm glad I have
now thanks to you. The action scenes are awesome. The story
line was a bit, not it wasn't even a story line, it was an idea. An
idea that wasn't thought out. I'll have to do some research to
see if this was a book or based on a book. Just remembered,
wasn't the whole better living though drugs and no emotions in some
movie like THX? Guess
I'll google that and watch that movie again.
This would have been much better than Matrix
(which wasn't all that great to me, just more FX) if some though had
gone into the story. Did you notice that some characters had no
emotion while others seemed to have too much? I mean those on the drug
that is. People seemed too docile rather than just the highs and
lows of emotion being leveled out. Why did the cleric try so hard
to be the best? No pride or joy leaves little impetus for doing a
good job.
Just some random thoughts above.
Thanks again
Danneauxs
September 18, 2011
Hi there,
Just saw Cracking
Up last night and then stumbled upon your page! Awesome that
you got a response from the director.
I just wanted to let you know that I recently launched a similar site, http://hidden-films.com, about
movies not available on Netflix (good and bad). I will certainly link
to your page--and mention it if I wind up reviewing any of those
Unknown Movies that aren't on Netflix. Any sites like this are a huge
help to me, so thanks for that.
Talk soon,
Sam
Nice
site! To anyone who can't wait for their latest fix of The Unknown
Movies, I highly recommend going to Hidden Films!
August 31,
2011
[re: Rustlers'
Rhapsody]
The boring shenanigans with Rex and Wildfire are
dressage (see Wikipedia), an Olympic sport. For the bad guys,
ranch hands who spend a great deal of their time riding horses, the
clapping is quite the show of professional respect toward their
opponent.
John Perkins
BACK to main page
|