Another cult comic book comes to the big screen that should have been left under the bed. JONAH HEX makes Will Smith’s horrendous feature version of the classic tv series, WILD WILD WEST look like an Academy Award winner. The film seems to last longer than the Civil War. The director (a Pixar animator attempting to upgrade his job description) is trying very hard to emulate the hackneyed directing career of Uwe Boll.
LA CONJURA DE EL ESCORIAL
Almost every historical movie is mostly movie and very little history. The fault of LA CONJURA DE EL ESCORIAL is that for once it might be too much history. The action takes place in the court of Spain’s King Philip ll. The year is 1578 and the crisis is about the war against the rebels, Protestant supporters of William of Orange in the Netherlands. There are two views at the court. The aging Duke of Alba, a blunt military man, would go to all out war, and the young and progressive Prime Minister, Antonio Perez (Jason Isaacs), objects to the expense of the war and argues for a negotiated settlement.
REVOLT OF THE BARBARIANS aka LA RIVOLTA DEI BARBARI
Another Italian muscle man gladiator movie of its’ time, the film is better than most in respect to storyline and acting. As usual, there are the epic battle scenes. The original copy source is a bit worn and grainy but a true fan will excuse this.
THE MAGNIFICENT GLADIATOR aka IL MAGNIFICIO GLADIATORE
Here is a great example of 1960’s Italian muscle-bound gladiator movies starring Mark Forest. Getting past the somewhat cheesy script and the poorly dubbed scenes, you’ll find a well laid out action packed film.
NAZTY NUISANCE aka DOUBLE CROSSED FOOL
This is a really moronic film, but as it went along within its own context I must admit I was amused. So my warning is to dump it in the first 5 minutes if you don’t like it or you will kill another 40 minutes. As it is even low comedy has a floor and this is in the basement. The humor is that of the burlesque theater and it wouldn’t surprise me if the writers came from that discipline.
SEX AND THE CITY 2
Overall, it’s a cute movie to watch, it’s relatable to everyone and there’s so many hilarious jokes and beautiful things to gawk over.
NEW YORK AUTO SHOW 2010 – THE COOL CARS
The NY Auto Show is one of the highlights of every Spring. This year was no exception. For me, the pop culture movie/tv concept cars is why I go. Beauty speaks for itself as you will see.
THE RUNAWAYS
THE RUNAWAYS biopic tells the story of two rock & roll girls, Cherie Currie and Joan Jett, who are introduced by manager/svengali Kim Fowley and become that first major all girl rock & roll band with the girls played their own instruments. This film gives a very good account of how the band started out in small clubs and became huge rock stars in Japan within a year. This climb to the mountaintop was quickly followed by the downfall of singer Cherie Currie, along with the split up of the band caused by the underlying friction between members
TOMMY JAMES – “ME, THE MOB, AND THE MUSIC: ONE HELLUVA RIDE WITH TOMMY JAMES & THE SHONDELLS”
Basically this book was in the works for almost 10 years. Martin Fitzpatrick and I started out writing an autobiography that was to be about music, which we were going to call ‘Crimson & Clover’, but we soon realized that we weren’t telling the whole story. It had to be the Roulette Records story. The book was incomplete without that part of the story, but it was not in our best interests to tell the whole story at the time because most of the Roulette people were still alive. I was just uncomfortable about it. A few years went by and the remaining Roulette regulars passed away in December 2005. We felt it was time that we finished the book and felt okay about doing it then. So, we did it and told the whole story and got a deal immediately through Simon & Schuster, which we were surprised about because they do more literary works and very few pop culture kinds of projects.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: WASHINGTON, D.C. A TOURIST CAPITOL
New Yorkers should feel right at home in Washington DC for numerous reasons ranging from culture, points of interest, fine restaurants, to a first class mass transit system. You really don’t need a car because Washington’s subway, better known as the Metro, can get you to almost anywhere in the Beltway. The trains are clean, the service is frequent, and it only costs $1.35 during off-peak hours.