851. Visiting The Ghost Town Museum!

I really need a 'museum' label, apparently.  Since there will be another one shortly!

550. Returning to Casa Bonita!

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

Jeannie Epper, Extraordinary Stunts!

 

This is Jeannie Epper, one of the first women to do stunt work in Hollywood.  Not the first, but she has been very successful.  She is most well known for doubling Lynda Carter in Wonder Woman.  It was a good choice, since they are very similar in height and looks.  I like to think they were friendly with each other, since Jeannie did all the stunts that made Lynda look so good.  She also doubled Kate Jackson in Charlie's Angels.  I don't remember that show being full of action and dangerous stunts, but I am sure they needed doubles on occasion.  She did stunt work in Kill Bill vol. 2, which might have been for Darryl Hannah, but I am not going to watch that movie again to find out.

Inside the Mind of a Cat (2022)

Watched this fun little documentary last night.  It didn't tell me too much that I didn't already know, but come on, it's cats being cats.  It is always fun to see them doing stuff, like bossing around big dogs and such.  It is about 67 minutes long, and talks about new studies with cats.  It shows scientists talking about cats from all over the world and then lots of cats doing some experiments with them.  That is some pretty good work if you can get it.

Svengoolie Uncrypted (2022)

 

This documentary aired last night after the regular show.  It was hosted by Sventoonie, sort of, I guess, and it mostly went through how Sven came to be.  The archival footage was really fun to see, along with the original Sven.  Coming from an area that did not have any kind of horror host, I don't have any nostalgia for them.  However, I think I could have a beer with Sven, since he seems to like a lot of the things I do.  The macguffin of the show was Sven was headed to Berwyn (Berwyn).  They had decided to have a Sven Day, and wanted his original hat and rubber chicken.  So he went around Chicago to find his old stuff.  He meets several actors and such along the way.  The celebration is really nice at the end as well.

Rude Dude: The Steve Rude Story (2014)

 

I have been a fan of Rude's work since I bought the Comico Space Ghost comic book special in 1987.  It's a clean style, which I appreciate these days.  I had never read any of his other books like Nexus so I didn't know much about the man or the artist.  Nexus was a highly regarded property back then, from what I remember.  Later on I would hear things, but who knew what to believe back then?  This documentary tells you everything about Mr. Rude and more, with his complete involvement.  It also features many other comic book professionals.  I watched it a year or two ago on Amazon, and it was fascinating.

“A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament.” – Oscar Wilde

Superheroes: A Never Ending Battle (2013)

I had heard about this three part series airing on PBS, but I never got to see any of them.  Now, thanks to Netflix, I've seen all three episodes.  It's very well done, talking to so many of the living creators and using some archival footage of the ones that have passed, like Jack Kirby.  There is plenty of footage from movies, serials, cartoons and TV shows as well.  Heck, there's even some radio dramas presented, though not much of them.  So it's good to have them presented here, with no real favorites, unless your name isn't Marvel, DC or Image.

Chariots of the Gods (1970)

When I was young I really wanted to see this movie.  I never did, nor did I read the book all the way through, though mom had it in the home library.   I did like a lot of the pictures.  As a kid, I wanted to believe in these things.  Seeing it now older eyes, I am more annoyed by it than anything.  It send the trend for all the "In Search of.." movies that followed, mostly from good ol' Sun Classics, in which they talk a lot about sea monsters, yeti, UFOs and the like and NEVER once find any real evidence to prove such things existed.  By age 10 I  think I knew everything any of these types of movies would say, as most of them covered the same ground as the rest of them.

American Scary (2006)

There was no horror host in Colorado in the 70s when I was growing up.  There was just the disembodied voice over for Channel 2's glorious Sci-Fi Flicks, but that mostly just introduced the movies, if memory serves.  They did give it a scary sort of vibration as well.  Even visiting WV I don't recall ever seeing a horror host, though I saw an ad in the TV Guide for "The Ghost Host" at one point.

So perhaps that explains why I am not impressed with this doc.  It's not bad, but I have no nostalgic connection with it.  I'd be happier seeing the openings of the aforementioned "Sci-Fi Flicks" or the afternoon shows from Channel 2, but that sure wouldn't take up much time.

The Sci-Fi Boys (2006)

This was kind of a frustrating viewing experience.  They talk to a lot of great people here, which is fun for sure.  However, it kind of meanders around a lot, like there was no real direction to it.  The best parts are the archival footage talking to Forrest J Ackerman and a young Rick Baker, then seeing them in present day.  I like that a lot, and some of the clips of the home movies these monster kids were making back then.  Kids having fun, that's just great, despite the fact that only friends and family would ever want to watch most of these movies ("say, we don't wanna watch my movie again, do we?") more than once.

Trekkies (1997)

is it me, or do many documentaries not know exactly how to end?  just a question, as many I've seen tend to wander around for a bit at the end.

the other big question that doesn't get answered here is who is the best captain?  I still can't believe anyone would vote for Janeway.

I saw this doc several years ago, and enjoyed it.  it spawned a small cottage industry of similar docs about Star Wars, Dungeons and Dragons and the like.  none of the ones I saw were as good as this one.

Dreams with Sharp Teeth (2008)

 this was my introduction to Harlan Ellison.  since I was seven at the time, I certainly didn't know it.  all I know is that it had the Avengers in it.

I didn't understand the story itself for many years, but it is pretty interesting.  it probably also set the stage for me wanting to learn chess, but that's another story as well.

anyway, back to Mr. Ellison.  he is definitely one of the most polarizing people on the planet, but I've always found him very entertaining.  the one time I met him and got his autograph he pronounced my last name properly and was really nice to all the fans in the line.

Comic Book: the Movie

"Always leave them wanting more." either P.T. Barnum or some guy named Disney.

trouble with most movies these days is they don't leave you wanting more, they leave you wanting less.  ten to twenty minutes less in most cases, sometimes an hour or two in a few.

Wrestling With Shadows (1998)

just watched this documentary again.  it's still pretty fascinating, but these days I believe the whole "Montreal Screwjob" was a work.  it is really weird to see Bret Hart looking so young and fit only 13 years ago, and knowing that Owen was still alive (apparently the new DVD has a doc on that as well, which I have not seen).

I find it hard to believe Vince McMahon was surprised by what would happen in Montreal, much less with a film crew that wasn't one of his there as well.  he'd take Bret's punch for a storyline, which propelled the wwf out of the ratings tank it had been in for over a year.

it ends as Bret leaves for WCW, where he was pretty wasted.  he should have been their version of Stone Cold Steve Austin, a lone wolf only out to get the title, beating faces and heels alike, instead of having him be a heel or a face, or flip-flopping constantly.

but what do I know?

Dalekmania (1995)

this is a nifty little doc about the two movies that Peter Cushing made in the 60s.  it doesn't really talk about actual "Dalekmania"- like how it got started and that.  in fact, the television series is barely mentioned, though one of the writers or producers does talk a bit about the differences between Hartnell's Doctor and Cushing's Dr. Who (which is his surname in the movie).

the doc talks to Roberta Tovey who played Susan in the movies and then to a couple of the other players.  they are all very fun to watch and listen to.

Dalek creator Terry Nation shows up as well, in archival form, and talks about the differences as well.  this used to be available on some VHS set, but appears to be OOP at the moment.  I saw it on Netflix.

American Experience: Dinosaur Wars

this was a really cool doc about Professors Marsh and Cope, their love of dinosaurs (and other prehistoric animals) and what happens when ego gets in the way of science.

it's sad, since they could have worked well together and done a lot of good work, instead of competing against each other, misnaming animals and causing a lot of hard feelings, and basically destroying each others lives in the process.

there's neat archival footage and some good interviews as well.  highly recommended and you can  watch it free here!

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan

here's a piece on the new documentary!  it looks pretty cool, what with all the commentators that will be talking about Ray.

Quest Files 037

I love Jonny Quest.  I can't remember how old I was the first time I saw an episode, or even which episode was the first one I saw (might have been the Lizard Men episode, or the one with the seven gargoyles, very creepy) but it's just always been there in my life.

so I found this documentary made by fans of the show.  it's really good, and thoroughly exhaustive.  it runs two hours and 21 minutes, which is almost TOO exhaustive.  there's a lot of good stuff here, but there's a some repetition that could and should have been edited out.

still, I can complain as it's really well done and well researched.  there's a lot of unauthorized material in here, but since it's a labor of love, who cares?

what a great show.  here's the ending piece that got cut out of the doc- all action, Quest style!



thanks to Jonny Quest and my pal Shonokin the info.

IT CAME FROM OUTER SPACE DVD review

since this DVD came out in May of 2002 I won't be talking too much about the actual movie, aside to say it's easily one of the best that Universal made in the 50s. the print looks great and the sound is good. buy it here.

mostly I want to talk about the extras, starting with movie historian Tom Weaver's excellent commentary. I rarely listen to commentary tracks, since most of them are not that informative (maybe I've listened to the wrong ones, hello GIANT BEHEMOTH) but Tom does an exemplary job at talking about every part of the movie, from Ray Bradbury's two treatments for the scripts to the actors, directors, effects and locations used for filming. he also had a good sense of humor about some things but never treated any of the subject matter as a joke.

the other great extra is (I believe) a TCM produced documentary called "The Universe According to Universal" and it talks about many of the classic 50s sci-fi movies and aliens. not too long and not too short.

of course, the DVD itself has one glaring problem- that cover! while it's a cool looking alien, nothing like that appears in the movie at all. ever. did the moron who designed THE VALLEY OF GWANGI make this cover as well?

and for the record, I am glad they showed the xenomorphs in all their one eyed glory.