Watched a lot since my last post some films some old tv shows,so let's trip arse over tit down memory lane.
Films
First up
Clown
Very good film,which I had looked forward to based on many reviews in magazines and online. It was indeed Very good & I did see the comparison with the fly. As a real estate agent puts on a clown suit which he cannot remove & gradually changes from both looking and acting normal into a deformed maniacal monster who can only exist by dining on kids. I won't say no more for those who haven't seen it but it's one you should see. 7/10
Nightcrawler
excellent film. A Lowlife with no money will steal or do anything for a quick buck,after a succession of small time thefts & stunts he accidentally falls into the world of night time journalism. Both his greed and psychosis escalate further and further throughout the film as his success at the job through vicious unscrupulous means brings him bigger cars & better contacts. A moving portrait of a narcissistic lowlifes decent from greedy bastard to stone cold psychopath. excecuted perfectly & disturbingly from start to finish without a dull moment 9/10
The Bogeyman (1980)
we've "Mostly" all seen this before but the 88 films Blu is shockingly sharp & amazing making it much easier to give the film a fairer viewing when not distorted by second rate prints that look like they've been used to wipe someones arse. not of course looking at you vipco or you vhs rip obsessives Video international! watching the film on the stunning 88 blu I appreciate it more as not a masterpiece but certainly an enjoyable yarn & one of the more worthy video nasties 6/10
Tomb Of Ligeia
Sadly for me this was probably the most boring pointless film starring the legendary Vincent Price I've ever made the mistake of watching. It's in fact the first film I've ever seen of his I disliked & I've seen nearly all of them now. It started off promising but soon demised into a cowering wreck in the corner of the room not knowing itself what the point was. 3/10
The Haunted Palace
Now this is more like it from one of the worst price films (IMO) to one of the best! This one was a treat and a half as I had never seen it like I hadn't seen Ligeia. Price as always plays his role or should I say two roles with sinister vigor. I imagine with the deformed villagers too for it's time this may have been scary. This has gone right up there into my top 5 Price films. That's quite a recommendation as anyone will tell you I'm hard to impress to the point of rating films above a maximum of 8 out of 10... 9/10
The Culling.
A film which synopsis paints it and very FALSELY as a sort of Omen come Case 39,it is about 600 miles behind either! a diabolical boring,pointless exercise that took 80% of the film to go anywhere then when it did go somewhere it was down a mineshaft head first. the acting except one actress was diabolical,the plot was well was there even one that made sense? did we even care? even at the short running time of just over an hour it managed to wear out it's welcome faster than that relative you avoid at christmas! 1/10 argg
TV SHOWS
As you may recall I picked up the "THRILLER" boxset in the network sale as it was broadcast on ITV before my time & I'd heard great things on here and elsewhere.
I'm glad I did some of the episodes were amazing & quite creepy. I imagine for their time when first broadcast many teenagers went to bed & had a sleepless of nightmare ridden night.
Although there are no "bad" episodes at all over all 43 some are much weaker & more predictable than others. whereas others especially the amazing "Coffin for the Bride" you were left gasping in shock as on a first viewing it's very unlikely you saw that coming.
Coffin for the bride sticks out for not only the eason above of being genuinely clever & with an amazing virtually unguessable twist but the fact on a second viewing even when you know what's comning it stands up & on that second viewing you can pick up all the subtle and fantastic digs at what was coming which on first viewing you would never pick up on in a million years.
The boxset as a Whole 9/10 although certain episodes deserve a full ten and some as low as 4. It is a must see for those who haven't one you'll certainly revisit many times.
I then felt nostalgic even at just 32 (LOL) So as you know with my soft fondness towards all things Australian I revisited 3 programs from my childhood.
Pugwall,Round the Twist & The Miraculous mellops (not sure i'll ever grow up)
most of you probably won't remember Miraculous Mellops it was shown on channel 4 in the early nineties at around 10.30am on school holidays. It's about a wacky family who have contacts with beings from another planet & have adventures with magic hoovers etc. their father & aunt run a nursery & they have an evil neighbour (played by aussie legend Max Phipps).
The series also boasts 1 off appearances from legends like Rowena Wallace who in a far cry from her role as evil Pat the Rat in Sons & Daughters plays a concerned martian newsreader
also Maggie Kirkpatrick makes an appearance too!! luckily for the vulnerable kids not as The Freak!
Round The twist is very likely more familiar to most as a 4 series program shown over 12 years based on the writings of the fantastic Paul Jennings. This series boasted well known Aus faces too including Judith Mcgrath "colleen po face Powell" of prisoner as the equally spiteful & sarcastic Matron Gribble in the first season.
Pugwall also had big faces including Maurie Fields who is a legend of the Aus entertainment industry.