Calvin and Hobbes Monday 01-12-1986

 I feel for most mothers having to endure this- not only after school, but on Saturdays as well.  All day on Saturdays.

554. Frankenstein sort of meets a Space Monster in 1965!

               I still want to like this movie more than I do.  Alas, this didn't help.

Duel of the Space Monsters (1965)

 It is not much of a duel, actually.  Wish it had been better (as I have said several times here before, the last time in 2021).

553. Return to the 36th Chamber... if you dare!

                This is a rather underrated sequel, overshadowed by the the first movie.  Sure, it isn't that great, but it is very enjoyable.

Death Rides a Horse (1967)

From Wiki- Death Rides a Horse (Italian: Da uomo a uomo, lit. 'From man to man') is a 1967 Italian spaghetti Western directed by Giulio Petroni, written by Luciano Vincenzoni and starring Lee Van Cleef and John Phillip Law.  Back to me: This starts out as a typical revenge western, but Lee Van Cleef steals the show.  I will be reviewing this sometime in the near future, so I would check it out if you want a good movie to watch.  It is available on the Internet Archive.

552. 7 Canadian Song Friday, eh!

             It is only six songs, since one of them (not the artist's fault, don't blame him) didn't want to be heard.

Robo-Astronaut Freezes Up During Press Conference ("FRANKENSTEIN MEETS T...

             Wow, Sven aired this about four years ago, and I did not remember it.  The trailer is up, so here's a brief clip.

551. Robot Detective 21-23, secrets revealed!

          The penultimate chapter in the Robot Detective series is here!  Many secrets are revealved!

Return to the 36th Chamber (1980)

 

From Wiki- Return to the 36th Chamber (少林搭棚大師, Shao Lin ta peng hsiao tzu, Return of the Master Killer or Master Killer II) is a 1980 Shaw Brothers Studio Hong Kong martial arts comedy film starring Gordon Liu. It was directed by Lau Kar-leung and written by Ni Kuang. The film is the second in a loosely connected trilogy, following The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978) and preceding Disciples of the 36th Chamber (1985). In the first and third films in the series, Liu portrays the Shaolin monk San Te, but in Return, he portrays an imposter monk.^[1]  I reviewed this some 15 years ago here.  I have watched it a time or two since then and still enjoy it. Back to me:  

550. Returning to Casa Bonita!

                  Here was my most recent visit to the landmark place, Casa Bonita!  So much fun was had!

HOTW- Liberty Belle

From Wiki- The first Liberty Belle was Libby Lawrence.^[1] Her powers of enhanced speed, strength, and stamina were linked to the ringing of the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia. Early in her mystery-woman career, she had an arrangement with Tom Revere, a guard at the Liberty Bell. When she signaled him, he would ring the bell for her and trigger her powers.^[2] In her later years, after decades of super-strength many began to theorize about the nature of her powers. Some believed the sonic vibrations of the bell triggered a metahuman gene, some believed that it was mystical because Libby is connected to the power of the Spirit of America, like the heroes Uncle Sam and General Glory. Most of the Liberty Belle's heroic exploits took place during the Second World War, and she was one of the founding members (and later chairwoman) of the All-Star Squadron.^[3] In her public identity, she was the famous radio columnist Libby Lawrence, and therefore well-known both in and out of costume. During the war, she married speedster Johnny Quick. After the war, they had a daughter, Jesse, who shared both their powers and took the codename Jesse Quick. Libby Lawrence is a descendant of Bess Lynn, alias Miss Liberty.  Back to me:

549. Village of the Damned Cuckoos! (1960)

                    I really enjoyed this movie, even watching it twice in a row.

The Phenomenauts- Cyborg

             Be careful when you make something you think will be perfect for you... At least this creation didn't kill its creator, right?

548. Dirty Pair 17-20, dolls and dinosaurs!

               We are about done with this series, but here's a solid set of episodes.

Calvin and Hobbes Monday 01-11-1986

 The phase of Calvin being in the Boys Scouts, or more likely, Cub Scouts, was very short-lived.  Watterson himself said it wasn't a good fit.

547. Dinosaurs: The Terrible Lizards (two versions!)

                    Here are two versions of basically the same short educational movie.  I knew about it in the 80s, but somehow we got the prehistoric mammals one.

Here on Gilligan's Isle, 1992, Russell Johnson

I am not the biggest Gilligan's Island fan- I am sure I saw almost every episode as a kid, as it was broadcast in every market I ever went to.  I liked it enough, since the cast is good and it was funny for an 8-12 year old.  It was always the same plot, "where that innocuous dunderhead Gilligan mruined it for everyone."  Thanks Brain (I so love that show)! With three full seasons, there were plenty of episodes to "strip" for syndication.  Looking at this book, there were 98 episodes.  This doesn't include the two Filmation cartoons or the movies.

546. The King Boxer of DEATH!

          Here is the first international smash hit kung fu movie!  It isn't my favorite, but it is pretty darn good.

Dinosurs: The Terrible Lizards (1970, 1986)

From Wiki- Dinosaurs the Terrible Lizards is an American stop motion animated film. It is directed and produced by Wah Cheng with the narration script written by Aylsworth Kleihaur and Ruth S. Zick. The technical consultant is Dr. J. R. Macdonald; it is animated by Douglas Beswick and edited by Stuart O’Brien. The eight-minute long film was released twice, once in 1970 following the Kleihaur script and again in 1986 edited with the Zick script. The film was distributed by AIMS, Instructional Media Services, in both the 1970 and the revised 1986 version.  Back to me:

545. OK, fine, Valley Girl (1983) fer shure fer shure!

            OK fine, it's totally awesome and everyone should have seen it already, right?

The Bloodening

             We know all your secrets... Since The Village of the Damned is playing tomorrow on Svengoolie, I think I will review it.

544. Robot Detective K 17-20! Freezing, melting, and Bombs!

                 Here we have four more episodes of the most fun Robot Detective, which contains a storyline I have never seen in a program like this.

Valley Girl (1983)

 

From Wiki- Valley Girl is a 1983 American teen romantic comedy film directed by Martha Coolidge and written and produced by Wayne Crawford and Andrew Lane. Loosely based on the tragedy Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, the film centers on the romance between a valley girl (Deborah Foreman) and a city punk (Nicolas Cage). Michelle Meyrink, Elizabeth Daily, Cameron Dye and Michael Bowen appear in supporting roles. Valley Girl was released in the United States on April 29, 1983, to critical and commercial success.^[3]  Back to me:

543. The Album of Dinosaurs from 1972!

              Here's a lovely book I have had for a long time.  From my prehistory, even!

HOTW- Jocasta

 From Wiki- Jocasta Pym is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Jim Shooter and George Pérez, the character first appeared in The Avengers #162 (August 1977).^[2] Jocasta is a robot built originally as the bride of the supervillain Ultron from the brainwaves of Janet van Dyne, and is commonly associated with the Avengers.

Jocasta was built by the robot Ultron in an abandoned aerospace research center in Nassau, Long Island, New York, in order that Ultron might have a mate. To better allow this robot sentience, Ultron based her mind and brain patterns on the Wasp (Janet van Dyne). To animate this bride, Ultron also brainwashed Hank Pym into transferring the Wasp's lifeforce into the feminine robotic shell.^[4] Ultron named her after the wife/mother in the legend of Oedipus (a reference to Ultron's obsession with his own creator/"father" which reflects a real-life manifestation of the Oedipus Complex). Realizing that the Wasp would have to die for her to live, Jocasta alerted the Avengers and the team defeated Ultron and reversed the process, leaving Jocasta a mindless husk.^[5]

Pym retained custody of the inanimate Jocasta, intending to study her. Upon the Wasp's urging, Pym had her moved from their residence to the Avengers Mansion. There, Ultron revived Jocasta with a remote link, activating the Wasp's mental "residue" left behind. She escaped from Avengers custody and led the Avengers into Ultron's trap. Jocasta was programmed to be loyal to Ultron. Even though she loved Ultron intensely, she could not abide her master's evil.  Back to me:

542. The Spirit of '87!

             Yes, I rather enjoy this movie for what it is, and would have watched the (probably one season of it) series.

NO MORE KINGS - Schoolhouse Rock

           This is from 1975, and so it is a bit dated, and obviously whitewashed.  

541. Dirty Pair 13-16 Lovecraft from M78?

                 Here are four more fun episodes with little to no mass destruction.  Lots of comedy and action, though.

Calvin and Hobbes Monday 01-10-1986

 

It is hard to find the right strip from today if you type in the year 1968 instead of 1986, I'll tell you what.

540. The 72nd Anniversary of the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms!

                  Yep, the movie is now 72 years old.  I'm not that much behind!

Eek! A Spirit from the 80s!

I have never read many of the actual The Spirit comic books.  I tried in the 90s or so, but just couldn't do it.  The artwork was great, though. Which is rather redundant, but by that time the book was barely about the actual hero the Spirit.  I dunno, I just couldn't get into it.

539. Zatoichi meets his equal, the One Armed Swordsman!

               Here is another great team-up, one that gets better the more times you watch it.

Technical Effects creator

 This was a credit Ray received a few times early in his career.  Someone else, one Willis Cook, got the credit for special effects in general. Harryhausen would talk about the differences he perceived between "special effects," "technical effects," and "optical effects" at times.  I think he eventually accepted the sobriquet of Special Effects Master later on, but since this was early in his career, he was probably happy to be working in his chosen field back then.

538. Rock and Rule on the road to Ruin!

                  What an interesting and rather beautiful movie this is.  It is even touching to me, this irascible old soul that I am.

ZOLTAN: HOUND OF DRACULA (1978; trailer)

            Zoltan is a great name!  This movie has a less interesting history than I thought originally.

can rock rule?

 

If this computer has anything to say about it, it just might rule!  Yes, this is indeed a hint about the next podcast episode.  It is a movie that was a huge flop in the theaters way back in the early 80s, but has since found a following on home video.  I have seen it a total of two and a half times.  I am still not sure how I would have enjoyed it had it gotten a wider release back then. Naturally, even with six theaters in Fossil Bed, I don't remember it being shown here.  Which doesn't mean it didn't get shown.  I might have been on assignment.

537. Robot Detective 13-16 Blinded by BAD!

               Here we have a slight shift in the tone of the episodes.  Gone is the darker setting, and K himself gets to pose more.

536. Two Gun Kid #89 is too-fun kid!

              and now for something completely different... a Marvel Western comic book review!

HOTW- Robot Detective K

From Fandom- K (ケイ, Kei) is a criminal investigation robot that has been assigned to the special forensics team of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. He has both a high degree of intelligence and emotions comparable to humans, and when he is off duty, he also makes his own poem to understand the human mind from the advice of his mother^[1].

The color of his eyes also vary with changes in emotion, becoming yellow in normal times, red when angry or in combat, and blue when power is exhausted or sad^[1][2] (It turns white when blind.). Usually, he wears a yellow hunting cap and a red double-breasted blazer (sometimes wearing a trench coat^[1] made of special metal fiber with bulletproof function), but when fighting a criminal robot of BAD, he took it off with a shout of "Go!" (ゴー!, Gō), demonstrate five times more competitive the fighting power than normal.^[2] Back to me:

535. The Green Slime have been here since 1968!

                  Here's my favorite movie about slime monsters.  I really enjoy it a lot.

Born In East L.A. (Cheech And Chong) [HD]

                  Never cared too much for Cheech and Chong back in the day. I like 'em a bit more now.

534. The Dirty Pair episodes 09-12

               Here we have the third podcast about The Dirty Pair, and these are some good episodes.

Calvin and Hobbes Monday- 01-09-1986

 Hobbes was always presented as a lot more mature than Calvin, though I don't think this aspect was present for very long.

533. The savage Land Unknown of 1957!

             I didn't make too many lost valley of lands jokes, since this movie predates those shows.  I like it, as mentioned earlier.

a slimy preview!

Here's a hint of an upcoming podcast episode.  I am sure it is not going to be a surprise to anyone.

532. The Deadliest Five Venoms of 1978!

           This movie is so great. 

The Land Unknown

 

This unknown land is pretty darn savage!  We have talked about it on this blog a few times, and featured the creatures way back in the "Monster of the Week" posts.  I didn't even remember posting that oddball Super 8 trailer a couple years ago.  It sure will make for a great addition to the future podcast episode I have planned.  I like the movie, though I kinda wish Universal had put a bit more money into the movie, since it is a cracking good adventure movie.  Very pulp-like, if you will.

531. Where are we? Xanadu!

               Well, I don't hate it, but it really could have been a lot better.

Xanadu (1980): Trailer HQ

               Sorry, Sven, this week's movie is not interesting to me at all.  So here's the trailer for today's episode.

530. Robot Detective 09-12, springs and lockers!

            Here are four more episodes- reviews, that is, of the legendary Robo Detective!

Xanadu (1980)

 

Boy, this movie was hyped to the moon in back before it came out, with a few songs being released.  It has a pretty stellar cast as well.  Olivia Newton-John was the star, with all her star power shining.  Then the movie was released and it tanked at the boxoffice.  There are probably a lot of reasons for this- I never saw it then, and have only watched it once about fifteen years ago.  It sure seemed like it ran a lot longer than 96 minutes, I'll tell you what.

529. The Rocketman book from 2017!

           Another fun book from my collection, which makes me want to watch some of these serials again.

HOTW- Arcanna

 From Wiki- Arcanna Jones, created by J. M. DeMatteis and Don Perlin, first appeared in The Defenders #112 (October 1982).^[328]

Arcanna's magical abilities allow her to become a professional crime fighter to support her family, and she joins the Squadron Supreme.

Arcanna Jones, working initially as a medium, started an activity as a professional crimefighter and adventurer, and the Squadron Supreme asked her to join the group as Arcanna. With the Squadron, she was brainwashed by the Overmind, and battled the Defenders. She was cured, and battled the Overmind and Null, the Living Darkness alongside the Defenders.^[3]

With the Squadron, she travels to a different universe.^[329] When they return, Arcanna discovers the nature of magic changed while she was away and that she will have to relearn all of her skills. Instead, she chooses to retire from adventuring to be with her family.  Back to me:

528. The Monster of Terror, Daimajin (1966)!

                      The first Majin movie was a complete surprise to me, since I hadn't seen many samurai movies in the mid-70s.

The Priscillas - All My Friends Are Zombies

             Once again, a band I only recently found out about.  So much good music is out there, and thanks to YouTube, it is pretty easy to find.

527. The Dirty Pair episodes 05-08!

 These are the next four episodes about the Lovely Angels (AKA, the Dirty Pair, but don't let them hear you say that)!

Calvin and Hobbes Monday- 01-08-1986

 I like the way Hobbes thinks!  I am quite sure Hobbes has seen the wonderful Some Like It Hot which features a mostly all female band.

526. The Valley of Gwangi on National Dinosaur Day!

                 I love this movie unabashedly.  Go figure.  Had the coloring book by age four, and saw the movie some four years later.

National DInosaur Day 2025

 

Today is the National Dinosaur Day- sort of.  In looking up information, I have found this: From the page, International Dinosaur Day on October 8th, 2015 (the day of the page's creation): "Beginning on May 17th, 2016 the first International Dinosaur Day will be celebrated. Our goal is to encourage student interest in Science, all things Fossilized and certainly all things Dinosaur. Join in your own capacity and help promote this new celebration to help students all over the world develop a deeper interest in Dinosaurs and the peripheral fields of Scientific Endeavor."

525. Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976) review!

                Yes, it is time to review this most awesome movie, and that's no lie!