The Raven

The Raven ~ Vincent Price was my gateway drug to Edgar Allan Poe. I remember in tenth grade, Mr. Tomasello apparently didn't like teaching English all that much and we had movie days pretty often. Perhaps it had to do with him being in charge of the A/V department or perhaps he just needed naps, but we had movie days a lot. Trust me, no one minded, and sometimes we really dug what was shown. Case in point, Price and Poe.

Vincent Price did these terrific, dramatic, and scary readings of Poe stories. The movies were just him, a dark background, and the mad words of Poe. The most dynamic was "The Tell-Tale Heart" and I'm pretty sure there was also "The Cask of Amontillado," and a third lost to the ages, perhaps it was even "The Raven." No matter my memory, I loved it, that I do remember.

That said, I've never been much of a fan of the Hammer horrors, at least not the remakes of Universal monsters, but the Poe stuff is so much fun. Seeing The Raven with Roger Corman on the TCM Classic Cruise would be the first time I'd seen it since a long lost Saturday afternoon horror feature decades before. I couldn't wait.

Robert Osborne interviewed Roger for a few minutes before the showing of the film. They talked of the difficulties of dealing with Peter Lorre who winged it as an actor and constantly ad-libbed and Boris Karloff who was always on script. As far as the rest of the cast, it included an extraordinarily young Jack Nicholson and Vincent Price, who, to paraphrase Corman, could do anything. The director got everyone to a happy medium.

The decision, after a few serious horror adaptations of Poe to do a comedy horror like The Raven. Corman felt he'd played all the horror out of Poe, and went in another direction. Based on the middle tale of Tales of Terror, also comedic, he felt it would work. They also talked about The Terror, which was created and filmed in just a matter of days because Corman still had time with the sets of The Raven. Oh, that Corman ingenuity!

The Raven begins and ends with that amazing Vincent Price recital of "The Raven" but the story has bits from the poem, mixed in with a tale rival sorcerers, culminating in a magic duel that, while long, puts similar magician's duels - like in Disney's The Sword in the Stone - to shame. The mad limited special effects are marvelous. Richard Matheson provided the script under Corman's direction. This was a lot of fun. Now I want to go back and watch all the other Corman/Poe flicks!

Mr. Holland's Opus

Mr. Holland's Opus ~ One of the treats on board the Disney Magic on the TCM Classic Cruise was seeing films on the big screen, and having it introduced and discussed by its star. Such was the case one early morning after breakfast with Richard Dreyfuss and Mr. Holland's Opus.

It's amazing to me, while waiting in a huge line forty-five minutes early, how many people are similarly amazed, but for a completely different reason. Everyone says this is their favorite film, yet they can't believe anyone else is here. What? It can't be someone else's favorite film? That's how most folks were waiting for Mr. Holland's Opus. It was their favorite film, but were stunned that anyone else felt the same way. I guess everyone thinks it's a secret.

Speaking of favorite films, this is one of The Bride's favorites, right up there with The Princess Bride and Frozen. And as I mentioned, well over a couple hundred folks agreed. So a chance to see Mr. Holland's Opus on the big screen (again) and especially introduced by the star of the film himself could not be missed.

Richard Dreyfuss loved this film and reflected on its origins, as he was interviewed by actress/director/film historian Ileana Douglas. Written in just two weeks after the screenwriter was confronted by a teachers strike and deciding that teachers are real heroes - Mr. Holland's Opus is a tribute to teachers who make a difference. In that case I'd want to thank Mrs. Pfleger, Mr. Stewart, and Mr. Lee who, much like Mr. Holland, made a difference in my life at what passed for a high school back in the day.

We watch in loose episodic vignettes as Holland, a frustrated musician and composer takes a teaching job as a last resort, a temporary measure, and stays for several decades as he raises a deaf son, and changes the lives of many students along the way, to the music of the times. It's an uplifting teacher story in a decade where uplifting teacher stories were in vogue, but it's special, it has heart, it has realism, as opposed to being overly sentimental or emotionally manipulative like lesser, but still amazing, films like Stand and Deliver or Lean on Me. This one feels real, and if you're not in tears at the end, you're heartless.

Dreyfuss in various and subtle stages of age and make-up gives the performance of his life, and co-stars Glenne Headley, Olympia Dukakis, William H. Macy, Terrence Howard, and even Jay Thomas follow suit. It's powerful, emotional, educational, and even funny. It affects me the same way every time I see it, and I have to watch it every time I see it's on. This is a must see film.

Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie!

I was never a big fan of the Cheech & Chong movies (or stoner movies in general, not being a stoner I guess), but by the time I was old enough to get most of the jokes, I was already well versed in their comedy routines. In the Philadelphia area, Cheech & Chong were staples of Sunday nights on Dr. Demento and WYSP's Comedy Hour.

One of my favorites was "Earache My Eye," a skit that included a song by 'Alice Bowie' that I always wished was longer. Much like the Richard Pryor "Wanted" album, the first three Steve Martin albums, and all the words to Monty Python and the Holy Grail - these routines were committed to memory by myself and my friends, and composed probably forty percent of our total junior high school conversations.

Such is the legacy of Cheech & Chong. These days Cheech Marin is more known for his acting, especially his tour de force in From Dusk Till Dawn, and Chong is probably known better as poor Tommy Chong, because of his run-ins with the US legal system, as opposed to his recent fame on "Dancing with the Stars." This feature, Cheech & Chong's Animated Movie!, is a throwback to those simpler, funnier times back in junior high.

This feature is a pretty simple concept, old Cheech & Chong comedy routines animated. At first it reminds me of the Cokelogic animations of Opie & Anthony radio bits, but these are better and much funnier. All the classics are here like "Let's Make a Dope Deal," "Ralph and Herbie," "Dave's Not Here," "Sister Mary Elephant," and even Alice Bowie. Fun and nostalgic, bring your own munchies.

Lost Hits of the New Wave #32

"Rock Me Tonite" by Billy Squier

Here we have another example of a rocker trying to climb on board the New Wave sound and ride it to a top charting hit. Billy Squier was always a hard rocker, probably best known for his hit "The Stroke" with its unique use of certain synth drumbeats. In his day, he was a rock god, notably opening for both Queen and Pat Benatar for two of the greatest concerts of my high school days.

I first got into him with his early AOR hit "The Big Beat" (you might not know it, but trust me, if you're a hip hop fan, you've heard it sampled hundreds of times), and rode along happily when "The Stroke" carried through to two hit albums with a string of hits from each. He was even one of those artists savvy enough to record a holiday song so he'd get played at least once a year. Then came "Rock Me Tonite," and it was all over.

Previously Billy had done only performance videos, him and the band on stage rocking out, now he decided to make a more traditional -or as luck would have it- a more bizarre video, to go along with his more pop new wave sound. The video featured Billy dancing and prancing in a pink Flashdance shirt and sliding through silk sheets. His dance, his affectations, and his gestures could at best be described as 'flamboyant.'

Here, take a peek…

Yeah. You get the idea. And that was the end of Billy Squier's rock career. Surprisingly, the song was his biggest charting hit, but the video, directed by Kenny Ortega, the mastermind behind Disney's High School Musical, succeeded in crashing Squier's career and causing many to question his sexuality.

Billy Squier continues to record and to perform today, including a stint with Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band. He does a lot of blues, jazz, and charity work, and on occasion, he does still rock. Just don't rock him tonite…

A Hard Day's Night

A Hard Day's Night ~ Confession time. Up until very recently, I had never seen A Hard Day's Night in its entirety. It came out in theaters again during my senior year of high school, and I'd asked a girl I liked (and who liked the Beatles as well) to go, and she turned me down. I never got to see it, then or later. See, what rejection will do to a guy, girls? It will stunt one's cinematic and musical growth.

Over and above the wonderful Beatles soundtrack, it's really quite a good film. Director Richard Lester allows the individual Beatles' personality shine through past the script of Alun Owen, and the charisma of the boys overpowers easily. The film supposedly depicts a day in the life of the Beatles, and feels very unscripted despite the facts. The charm of the boys, along with the music, rules the screen.

Quick cuts, unusual for the time, great songs, and Marx Brothers-like gags and dialogue acrobatics make this a terrific film. Worth seeing if only to see the Beatles smoke and Ringo dance, but those aren't even the best parts. I wish I'd seen it decades ago.

And don't forget, if you'd like to see this one on the big screen, this summer it will be re-released to theaters to celebrate its fiftieth anniversary. Bring a date!

Glee Star Dead at 31

Over the weekend, "Glee" star Cory Monteith was found dead in Vancouver, he was 31. Recently released from rehab, drugs are suspected but unconfirmed.

Acting since he was a child, he rose quickly to stardom on Fox's "Glee" a few years back playing Finn, high school footballer who joins the glee club. The musical comedy drama experienced great success in the first couple seasons, but then fell victim to what does in most high school shows - graduation. Trapped between following popular cast to college and introducing new characters, "Glee" has floundered. Finn recently returned to a bigger role as a co-teacher of the glee club.

The Canadian actor and singer had been in a relationship with "Glee" co-star Lea Michelle for a time before his death. He will be missed.

What's Your Lunchbox?

I'm old, I grew up waaay back in the 1970s. Back then, in public school at least, everything you had was a status symbol. I've talked about SSP Racers before, but the real status symbol of those elementary days was The Lunchbox.

First it was all about the lunchbox you got, whether you picked it out yourself, or your parents got it for you, you were psyched for the first day of school, so you could show it off, and show everyone how cool you were. Or not.

I was a geek, I am a geek, I mean. I was never the cool kid, never. Round about first and second grade I was all into comics and also Peanuts. I loved Snoopy and Charlie Brown, and especially Linus. Why I never had a blanket or thumbsucking problem is beyond me. But the point is I had a Snoopy lunchbox.

My lunch box was a big goofy yellow dome metal lunch box that kind of had Snoopy sleeping on top as if it was his doghouse and said, "Go to school with Snoopy" and "Have lunch with Snoopy." Again, me being a dopey kid, I had two of them, cuz I left one at the bus stop one morning. Dopey and forgetful.

At the time, and in hindsight, I really was very uncool. I still remember decades alter who had the really cool lunchboxes. "Land of the Giants" and "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea," "Johnny Lightning" and "The Archies," and the Beatles Yellow Submarine - those are the folks you wanted to sit next to at lunch, just to look at their lunchbox.

Throughout my elementary school days things changed as tin turned to plastic, the Archies turned to Josie and Pussycats, and "Land of the Giants" turned to "Six Million Dollar Man," but the lunchbox continued to be a status symbol. It faded away as I entered junior high and high school obviously. Heck, those places had vending machines - what did we need with lunchboxes any more?

As with most nostalgia however, lunchboxes, especially the tin kind have made a comeback. We have a miniature Superfriends lunchbox as a Christmas tree ornament, and The Bride uses a Nightmare Before Christmas lunchbox for her stage make-up. So what's your lunchbox?

Devil Dog

Devil Dog: The Hound of Hell ~ I'm seeing this telemovie for the first time since 1978, but I have vivid memories of the first time this movie of the week was on television.

I remember not the night it first aired so much as the next day at school. In English we were doing a creative writing exercise, and had been doing it for a few weeks, and it was finally due that morning. One kid, who shall remain nameless, but he knows who he is, and anyone reading this who was in the class remembers who he is, handed in his story and its name was "Evil Dog: Hound from Hades." I wonder what he had been doing the last few weeks, but I sure do know what he had been doing the night before! Man, would I love to read his 'story' now!

The original movie, plagiarism lawsuits aside, starred such television luminaries as Richard Crenna, Yvette Mimieux, Ken Kercheval, Lou Frizzell, and those two Witch Mountain kids Kim Richards and Ike Eisenmann. The flick was written by mediocre television writers Elinor and Steven Karpf and directed by Curtis Harrington, who actually used to be an interesting director. But it doesn't show here, the writing obviously overshadows the directing, and the performances, which are worse than the usual movie of the week.

The story is a fairly simple one. The devil mates with a dog (don't laugh, yet) and a Satanic cult sends the litter of subsequent puppies out into the suburbs to raise havoc. Our feature family receives a German shepherd named Lucky who likes to play mind games with the family, killing a maid and basically effs with everybody.

There's so much telekinetic stuff going on here I would have thought the Witch Mountain kids would have caught on right away, but no go, they quickly becomes Lucky's slaves, and total brats. Father Richard Crenna seems to be the only one hip to the dog's evil and faces off with the devil dog that has taken over his family. Great z-movie fun, this would have been prime real estate for "Mystery Science Theater 3000."

Twilight

Twilight ~ I’ve never had the pleasure (or displeasure depending on your perspective) of reading Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” books so I really had no idea of what to expect here other than teen angst and sparkly vampires. That said, I have to say that Twilight is really not bad at all. I had actually expected a bad movie from all the trashing it’s received and the critics’ usual contempt for anything with a pop culture vibe. This was a good movie however, not a great one, but a good one.

Twilight does skew to a younger demographic and while I had heard it was cast with all “90210” type pretty people, I have to say I found no one in this flick particularly attractive or unattractive, but that may just be me. The vibe of the flick is definitely “Afterschool Special” meets Judy Blume with some vampire stuff and intriguing special effects thrown in, but again, that’s not to say it’s bad.

The plot is pretty typical teenage fare. New girl in a new school trying to fit in, only the weird kids aren’t Goths, punks or geeks – they’re vampires. But that’s beside the point, everyone’s just trying to get along. Twilight high school is a whole lot different from the Mean Girls or “Lord of the Flies” high schools the rest of us went to apparently. And when the plot does take a turn toward something meatier, the good news is that Twilight doesn’t disappoint. Much. It just goes by too quickly. Good thing there are sequels.

Quite a bit of it is a bit predictable, even transparent, like the set-up for werewolves in the sequel New Moon, but it kept my attention, kept me watching, and now I am interested in the books, and the movie sequels, both finished and impending. Great soundtrack and worth seeing.

Dead Is Dead?

"Dead Is Dead."

Anyone else remember this one? And no, before you say it, I’m not talking about the episode of “Lost” that also carries the title.

Actor Godfrey Cambridge produced this 21-minute anti-drug film in 1970. I saw it at least every year I was in senior high school. Among the things featured in this powerful no-holds-barred short are footage of addicts going cold turkey, the music of Bill Withers and Curtis Mayfield, and a female heroin addict vomiting as she falls down a flight of stairs.

It seemed to be the school’s answer to show the film rather than actually talk to us about drugs, a subject many of us at that age already knew more about than the teachers did.

Still, I’d love to see this film again. Anyone else remember it, or better yet know how to obtain a copy?

Never Going Back to My Old School...

The eleventh season of the American "Big Brother" premiered tonight on CBS. The reality TV series focuses on a number of individuals living together in one house for an extended amount of time, isolated from the outside world, participating in competitions and voting each other out until only one remains to collect a huge cash prize.

I've been a fan since the first season. Notably the American edition is slightly different from the dozens of versions done in countries across the globe. You see, Americans are stupid and have shorter attention spans. That's apparently why the show seems to attract such idiots - or at least that's my theory. Basically, if I like a contestant, either America, or the rest of the idiot housemates, won't - and they'll get voted off. It's such a sure thing, I should bet money.

There are some contestants introduced tonight that I genuinely liked - Ronnie the gamer, Lydia the girl with the ink, and especially Kevin the graphic designer. But they are immediately doomed when this season's surprise premise is announced. We are always told to 'expect the unexpected' when it comes to the seasonly themes, and this season's - well, it instantly put my initial faves in the bullseye.

The theme for "Big Brother 11" is high school, as the housemates are separated by clique - just like high school. The cliques are: the Athletes, the Popular, the Brains, and the Offbeat. For the last two, please feel free to substitute the words geek, dork, nerd, or whatever works for you - the kids that the first two groups would beat on, call names, shove in lockers and give wedgies to. Hell, even the first competition included, guess what, wedgies.

When it was said the theme was high school, guess which group said they would never go back to high school, and guess which group said they loooved high school, and guess which group had looks of utter horror on their faces? And gee, I wonder who's going to win? I know I hated high school and I know I would never want to go back to high school, even for money and national television exposure.

Probably the biggest kick in the teeth is that the winners of the wedgie competition got an extra member to their clique who would become the Head of Household for the week. For beginners, the HoH is the one who chooses who gets voted out each week. That extra member (for the Athletes, because who else would be best at the art of wedgie?) was a cast member from last season - the king of idiots in my opinion, Jessie, whose muscles seem to have overwhelmed his small brain.

Hmmm... I wonder who's going home this week? I should make my cash money bet now. it'll be folks from the Brains or the Offbeat, and probably at least one of my favorites. Just like every other season of "Big Brother," and even more just like high school. I wonder if the next competition will involve being stuffed in a locker or swirlies?


.