The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds ~ This is one of those films I have very distinct memories of as a kid.  When I first got my own black and white TV in my bedroom I became addicted to late night television, especially older movies, and one of my regular fixes was WPVI channel 6 in Philadelphia's Friday night Million Dollar Movie.  And as this film was not available to home video for years, that was the only place to see it. 

When I saw it recently on TCM I was actually shocked that it wasn't a black and white movie.  That wouldn't have been odd as other movies of the time had tried black and white as an arty or attention getting stunt.  This film however had no need of such hype.  As an adaption of a Pulitzer Prize winning play directed and produced by Paul Newman and starring his wife Joanne Woodward, it was already high profile, and is an amazing film. 

Woodward plays a widow raising two very different daughters, and her performance is gritty and realistic, however the real stars are the actresses who play the daughters. The role of epileptic Ruth is Roberta Wallach, daughter of actor Eli, and intelligent and shy Matilda is the daughter of Woodward and Newman, Nell Potts, is simply stunning in the role. I am still amazed Potts didn't go on to a more promising film career. 

The long and awkward title comes from the experiment Matilda puts together for school that sets her apart, and might get her out of her situation.  Ruth seems to be walking in her mom's footsteps but Matilda could have a chance to elevate herself.  The experiment parallels her growth as a person. 

Highlighted by not only the performances but also by a wonderful score by Maurice Jarre, the film which might seem like a depressing study of late sixties small town white trash is compelling and addictive, with smart dialogue.  I love this movie, not just a great film, but a great memory as well.  Must see. 

Vertigo

Vertigo ~ On the last TCM Classic Cruise I saw Spellbound and didn't like it.  Yeah, I know, save it for someone who cares.  Anyway, at the start of this Cruise I saw Vertigo on the schedule and my addled mind got them confused, so I didn't go.  I regretted it after I realized that Vertigo was not Spellbound.  So when the second chance to see it popped up, I jumped on it.  No Kim Novak introduction this time, but still I got to see it on the big screen, and really, how can you beat that?  That aspect even made Vertigo better for me. 

Vertigo is one of Alfred Hitchcock's crowning achievements, and while I had seen it decades ago, it was at a time before remastering, before the restored soundtrack, and most importantly at a time when I had little appreciation for film, and only a black and white TV.  Believe me, that makes a world of difference.  For 1958, this film is brilliant, and for 2016, it's still brilliant. 

In this complex plot of deception and mistaken identity, Jimmy Stewart plays Scotty, an ex-detective with vertigo caused by acrophobia.  He's hired by an old friend to trail his wife, played by Kim Novak.  Things get even more complicated when Stewart falls in love with his target, and the madness spirals from there. 

The film not only features Stewart and Novak in some of their best performances, but has a (pardon the pun) spellbinding score, and masterful special effects enhancing the fear of heights and dizziness felt by the character Scotty.  The remastered vibrant 1950s technicolor also gives the visuals that extra kick. 

I love Vertigo, and after seeing it in this format, I love it more.  Now I'm kicking myself of course for missing it the first time with the introduction by Kim Novak.  Recommended, a must-see classic, it's not Spellbound. 

Badlands

Badlands ~ There is no doubt that the 1950s rampage of spree killer Charles Starkweather changed America. Even Stephen King has talked about how the events in the Midwest affected him and altered his life. Society was changing, youth was changing, and it was bloody.

The movie Badlands, written, directed, and produced by Terrence Malick, tells the Charles Starkweather story from the point of view of the fifteen year old girl who may have been his accomplice or may have been his captive. Played by Sissy Spacek and Martin Sheen in perhaps their best performances in my estimation, the two teens are involved in a tragic love story that is less based on fact and more rooted in Malick's vision of life and America of the time. Holly and Kit are some twisted Bonnie and Clyde for whom murder is in the backseat to their awkward love and journey into darkness.

Spacek narrates the film, giving a soft lens love struck version of events, even when we see what actually happens. Even when we know that Kit is a sociopath, Holly writes it off as strangeness or uniqueness with a romantic flair. In some of it however, as in when her father shoots her dog, one has to wonder if she was also disturbed, or a liar. And small part that he has, Warren Oates, who plays her dad, also gives a hell of a performance with few lines.

After killing Holly's father and burning the house to the ground, the two go on the run, but more or less go and live in the woods, getting back to nature, and playing house for a bit. The fairy tale notion of this mirage is broken by a passing truck in the background. The parallels to the hippie movement are apparent, even with Holly's off-kilter narration. In some places here the film mirrors the more artsy portions of Bonnie and Clyde but with more surreality. The haunting carnival score by George Tipton helps that illusion. And in some places it feels like a test run for Apocalypse Now with Martin Sheen.

When men come calling with guns, Kit and Holly are on the run again, more traditionally, in the badlands. Their love story is mirage-like and slow motion, her narration and even Kit's attempts at recording his thoughts lethargic but fascinating. In the end it becomes more seventies car chase than anything else, I guess because it had to, but it feels out of place after what came before.

Still, with all the surreality and illusionary love story, and wishing it was a crime story, I still love this movie, and watch it every time it comes on television, even if it's edited. One of my favorites, recommended, it sure rings the bell.

Moana

Moana ~ The Bride is a theater rat, and it's one of the few things we don't share often. I find Broadway dreary and boring. Oh sure, there are quite a few songs, even a few shows that I dig - West Side Story and Jesus Christ Superstar come to mind, but that's really it. I slept through Starlight Express, Les Miz made me want to claw my eyes out, and Cats made me question my love of those fuzzy felines. I'm not a Broadway guy.

However, there's one show I really want to see, and yet The Bride refuses, touting her dislike of rap as the cause, and that's Hamilton. I love it and would pay top dollar to see it. Of the only five albums I purchased this year, two were the soundtrack to Hamilton and the Hamilton Mixtape. I'd hoped this would bridge the gap, but the only show I want to see is the only show she won't see.

Then came Moana.

We both share a love of Disney, so much so we do a semi-regular podcast about all things Disney called The Make Mine Magic Podcast (and keep an eye out there as we'll both be reviewing Moana on the 'cast sooner or later), so we were seeing their newest animated feature the first weekend it was out. Much to my delight, and her surprise, the film featured more than a few songs by Hamilton mastermind Lin-Manuel Miranda. That said, the music is amazing, and we both loved it – the soundtrack another purchase for 2016.

The film itself has its origins in the animator/directors researching Polynesian mythology and history (both of which Moana is a gateway drug to), from which Maui the demigod emerges. Played flawlessly by The Rock, Maui is a very different kind of Disney hero. He considers himself almost literally the gods' gift to mankind as his theme song, "You're Welcome," deliciously illustrates. Originally conceived as a tale of Maui, it soon transformed into a more traditional journey for a more traditional Disney princess, Moana. Together, though at first in conflict, they save her people's way of life.

The story is not so different, but the animation improves as it always does from flick to flick, but let's be real – the music is the real star here. Several songs are written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and even a couple sung by him. As a bonus for folks who buy the soundtrack, there are also demos of these tunes and even a couple outtakes of songs not used in the movie. I loved this film, I loved the soundtrack, and maybe now I might be able to talk The Bride into Hamilton. And Moana is highly recommended.

The Kid Brother

The Kid Brother ~ I hadn't planned on seeing this one on the TCM Classic Cruise. First, much to my shame, I had never heard of this Harold Lloyd silent classic. However, after seeing his granddaughter, film historian and preservist Suzanne Lloyd wonderfully interviewed earlier in the day by Bruce Goldstein, I was primed and ready to see it that night. Unlike Lloyd favorites of mine like Speedy and Safety Last!, this was in a rural setting, rather than urban.

Harold Lloyd plays the puny kid brother in a family of tough cowboys - a sheriff father and two rough and tumble older sons - similar to the Cinderella scenario, and owing much to an earlier Hal Roach production, The White Sheep. When a medicine show comes to town, Harold falls for the daughter of the show, Jobyna Ralston (her last as Lloyd's leading lady), while the other two showmen plot to steal money from Harold's family for the county dam. Hilarity ensues.

The Kid Brother has a solid coherent plot, and the gags keep you watching. There are no popcorn or bathroom breaks here, do it beforehand. While there are no high heights in these gags and stunts, there are still right up there with the Lloyd standard. This rarely seen and recently restored film, with newer score by Carl Davis, was Lloyd's favorite of his work, and as I recommend you seeking it out and seeing it, it will be a favorite of yours as well.

Café Society

Café Society ~ I have always been a Woody Allen fan, although admittedly more of his funny early work than his later still-funny-but-in-a-different-way intellectual think pieces. Recent years have added the problem of Woody himself not being able to play his characters because he's just too old (perhaps he should write older characters? Just a thought, I like his narrative template just fine), and has employed other actors essentially playing himself, like Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris (which I loved) and here Jesse Eisenberg in Café Society.

Jesse Eisenberg is quite good here, just like Wilson he slips seamlessly into the Woody shoes and world. Also good in the Facebook film The Social Network, it seems to me that his misstep as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was just bad casting. Eisenberg can be amazing in the right role, he just has to be a bit more picky.

Café Society has Jesse Eisenberg as young Jewish New Yorker Bobby Dorfman who wants to go to Hollywood in the 1930s to make his fortune. In his element, Woody is the master here, and builds an authentic world filled with his wonderful dry wit. While in Hollywood, working for his uncle, played by Steve Carell, he meets the perfect girlfriend, Vonnie, played by Kristen Stewart, who is Uncle Phil's secretary. One glitch, she has a boyfriend, but what young Bobby doesn't know is that that boyfriend is Uncle Phil.

Vonnie has to choose between her boyfriends and eventually goes for money and stability over love. Bobby loses and goes back to New York to work in his gangster brother's nightclub. He takes to it like a fish to water, becoming a big shot in the business. And then Phil and Vonnie come to visit. She's changed, but still she and Bobby try to rekindle their romance, even though things can never be the same.

I really liked this film a lot, even with Eisenberg pinch-hitting for Woody. Surrounded by a powerful period piece and wrapped in Woody's flair for New York, the actors shine in this little flick, and the score is wonderful. Recommended. I certainly hope folks come out to see this one. When I saw it, it was a 'private screening,' as there was no one else in the theater, which was a shame.

A Million Ways to Die in the West

A Million Ways to Die in the West ~ Steven Spielberg once predicted the death of the superhero movie, saying it would soon go the way of the Western. This comes from the man who co-created Indiana Jones, a character that is essentially a superhero, lacking only a mask. It wasn't that he said it that bothered me, it was the derision with which he said it. Bad form, Mr. Spielberg.

I think it's a matter of quality not genre. Bad superhero movies may well go the way of bad Westerns, but good movies, no matter the genre, will last. When it comes to bad movies, only the really, really bad ones are remembered. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, anyone? And we shall not even speak of Batman v Superman…

They still make good Westerns, just sometimes they're in disguise. They wear the trappings of the South like Django Unchained, Japanese theatre like Bunraku, the post-apocalypse like Mad Max, or simple covered in dirt like "Deadwood." I left the remakes of True Grit and 3:10 to Yuma out because I didn't particularly like them, no matter how critically acclaimed they were.

And sometimes a good Western, like in the case of Seth MacFarlane's A Million Ways to Die in the West, it's shrouded in shameless inappropriate humor. I would never have thought it before seeing it, but I loved this flick. Co-written, produced, and directed by MacFarlane, this movie has that old time Western feel, but with that raunchy fall down funny vibe of Blazing Saddles, and even has the dirty authenticity of "Deadwood."

From the start with the opening credits sequence, MacFarlane sets the stage for this film as a classic Western. Old fashioned titles matched with sweeping colorful scenery of the Old West, overlaid with the beautiful score of Joel McNeely, made for an opening that could have been swiped from a sixties John Ford epic. I watched it twice. That good.

Once it's over though, the trademark MacFarlane humor kicks in almost immediately. This is no Blazing Saddles but it's real close, and if you liked Ted or "Family Guy," you will love this. This movie is a gift for Western fans, and piss-your-pants funny for comedy fans. Recommended.

The Killing of Randy Webster

The Killing of Randy Webster ~ This one is another lost telemovie that I remember from my youth that I thought I would never find again. One thing that made it stand out to me was the soundtrack by April Wine, a band that I had liked back in the day. Hardly anyone remembers them now.

Though largely forgotten on the mainstream rock scene, the Canadian band April Wine is still active, and had more than a few hits way back when. Among them were the Dungeons & Dragons flavored Lorence Hud cover "Sign of the Gypsy Queen" and the power ballad "Just Between You and Me" as well as my personal favorites "All Over Town" and the cleverly titled "If You See Kay." There were others, and for a very very short time in the early eighties, April Wine, with its great rock logo, was hot.

The soundtrack was not the only thing that makes this film stand out. It's also one of the lost few not found on video or DVD with any reliability. Luckily it does run on some of the nostalgia networks and is also on YouTube. It also stars three actors - Jennifer Jason Leigh, Sean Penn, and Anthony Edwards - who would all appear again together a year later in Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

The Killing of Randy Webster, a true story based on a 1977 Shreveport LA murder of a teenager by a police officer, is actually quite relevant in this age of Ferguson and "Making a Murderer." What are the facts, and who really did what? Hal Holbrook stars as the teenager's father trying to get to the truth, through a Rashomon-like maze of contraindications and controversy. Also look for a younger thinner Dixie Carter as the mom.

The movie is painfully both a product of television movie of the week-ness and the 1970s, but that doesn't ruin what is a powerful story once it gets going. Later in the movie it becomes more a father's quest and a legal drama, with Holbrook getting the bulk of the emotional action.

I have to confess that The Killing of Randy Webster wasn't as good as I remember, but the concept and the music still hold up in my book. Worth seeing if you can find it.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1920)

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde ~ We saw this on last year's TCM Classic Cruise, which of course is the way to see any movie, in the company of passionate like-minded individuals, introduced by industry professionals, and in this case - of a classic silent film - accompanied by a live orchestra.

The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra is no stranger to this kind of stuff as their name might imply. They've produced soundtracks, and performed live similarly, for The General (I even bought the DVD with their score while on board), The Mark of Zorro, and one of my favorites, as well as one of the first, movie serials - Les Vampires.

The Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra compiles and performs the film music, called 'photoplay music' in the lost vernacular, just as it was done back in the day. Silent films never had official soundtracks as we know today. Each theater had a house band that had a repertoire of various types of music appropriate to each scene. Mont Alto continues the tradition.

I can't tell you all what an amazing experience it was to arrive early for the showing in the Walt Disney Theatre to get a good seat and see and hear them performing. Wonderful to both see and hear them before they recessed below the stage so the film could be seen. The music played came from an assortment of composers like Gabriel Marie, Gaston Borch, and Wilson Smith.

The music was seamless. The Bride noted at times she had forgotten there was a live orchestra performing because the film and the score interacting in concert was so involving. Of course the music merely set the background for perhaps one of the most thrilling and frightening of the silent horrors - Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde from 1920.

New York passes well for Victorian London, but then again, it had to. Shot around John Barrymore's schedule to accommodate his title role as Richard III and you can see the character in both his Jekyll and Hyde, as well as a hearty dose of overacting. The work schedule must have been crazy, wearing pounds of armor on stage every night and then filming this flick during the day with so much strenuous physical acting.

His transformations are wonderful and his Hyde with the scarily long fingers and his simian Yeti-like head is terrifying. Notably, each transformation was designed to make Hyde appear more dominant and monstrous, but that first transformation was all Barrymore - no make up, just him. Bad girl Nita Naldi is hotness embodied, for me at least, and good girl Martha Mansfield is suitably porcelain and unspoiled, for the moment at least.

It's not just that this is the 1920 silent version of the story, or that it's John Barrymore giving one of his greatest performances, this one showing on the TCM Classic Cruise on board the Disney Magic was special for another reason - its score was being performed by a live orchestra. This was not just a classic film, this was a once in a lifetime experience.

Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher

Avengers Confidential: Black Widow & Punisher ~ This animated feature comes to us from Madhouse, the folks behind Iron Man: Rise of the Technovore, and the four Marvel Anime series - "Iron Man," "X-Men," "Wolverine," and "Blade." I wasn't too fond of the feature, but I liked the first three series quite a bit. I was initially a bit conflicted seeing this one because as happy as I was to finally see the Black Widow get some time in the spotlight, I am not a Punisher fan.

This feature does not hold back on the violence, and is definitely not for the kids. As a matter of fact, the opening scene with the Punisher, a graphic bloodbath gunfight, is everything I hate about the character. My heroes don't wholesale murder dozens of individuals just because they're in the way. No matter his motivation, even if there's a heart in there somewhere, to me, the Punisher is a murderer and a villain, no better, if not worse than the 'scum' he 'punishes.'

Most irritating of all, regarding the sequence, is that the Punisher doesn't kill the big bad in charge, a fellow named Cain, but allows him not only his life but to escape as well, after killing dozens of his underlings outright. Punisher's murder spree is interrupted by Black Widow, Nick Fury, and S.H.I.E.L.D. They manage to only distract the killer. The Punisher in this feature is superhuman, almost supernatural, as if the animators were unaware of the character's origins and 'power set.'

A deal is struck, Punisher's freedom for his cooperation in the SHIELD mission that collided with his criminal massacre. Forced to work together, the Black Widow and the Punisher pursue Leviathan, a Russian offshoot of Hydra, who were among the big bads in the first season of "Marvel's Agent Carter." When Widow describes Leviathan to the Punisher, it's startling to hear his hypocritical care for dead civilians. Again, I reiterate, villain.

Now there's some weird stuff going on in this story. There's a character who's a mish-mash of both the original Red Guardian and Hank Pym foe Egghead, an anime stereotype version of Amadeus Cho staying at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Istanbul headquarters for some reason, and cool cameos of old school Marvel villains like Count Nefaria, Baron Zemo, Taskmaster, and others. The Hulk shows up as well, ridden by Amadeus Cho in a visual that conjures both the Imperial Guard's Warstar and Rankin-Bass' animated "King Kong."

And just so you don't think the Avengers part of the title is misleading - Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, Captain Marvel, and War Machine all show up late in the third act. They help wrap up Leviathan's bio-soldiers as well as Graviton, and the Griffin, and the other villains. Quite a finale, and I would love to see more anime Captain Marvel.

Now there is a nice evolution in the Black Widow and the Punisher's partnership. They go from opponents, to bickering couple, to the Widow actually teaching him something about mercy. So I didn't hate him as much at the end as I did at the beginning, but I still have intense dislike. The score by Tetsuya Takahashi needs to be mentioned also as its one of the best parts of this feature.

The animation is spectacular, visually stunning, and the kind we've come to expect from the company who also did "Death Note," Batman: Gotham Knight, and The Animatrix. And as much as it's not the Punisher we know, it is kind of cool seeing his eyes glow in combat. As I said, it's pretty violent, but worth seeing for comics fans, and Punisher fans will probably love it.

And if you'd like to hear more discussion of this feature, or my feelings about the Punisher, please check out this week's episode of The GAR! Podcast.

Batman: Assault on Arkham

Batman: Assault on Arkham ~ I had this one tucked away for a while before I actually ever looked at it. The reason being I thought it was connected to those awful Batman Arkham videogames that I can't stand. I knew it was an animated feature, but the idea that it might be based in that weird game universe really put me off. However when I did finally get around to watching it, I was pleasantly surprised. This is nothing like I expected.

Assault on Arkham is not even technically a Batman feature, it's about the Suicide Squad, possibly a preview to hip folks as to what to expect in the upcoming film of the same name. And it's also not strictly a superhero flick either. This has the flavor and style of a heist movie circa the turn of the century, slick, cool, very new age Oceans 11. The villains are gathered, begrudgingly work together, and pull off what they need to despite clashing personalities. Yes, it has standard Suicide Squad procedure, but the way it's pulled off is so well done and heist genre. I loved it.

There were places where I was pulled out of the story, notably some weird anime bits, characters who looked too much alike, the Joker mugging for the camera, and of course the creepy Penguin with a British accent and eating fish whole, bones and all. The characters have chemistry, and the dual stories of them breaking into Arkham while Batman searches for the Joker's dirty bomb and follows them in, are enticing.

This was better than I thought it would be, highlighted by "Batman The Animated Series" voice veteran Kevin Conroy, and Hynden Walch, who does a wonderful approximation of Arleen Sorkin's Harley Quinn. An entertaining 76 minutes with a wild score by Robert J. Kral, and some great lines - worth the time.

I have to say however, if the upcoming Suicide Squad movie, despite how that trailer looks, is anything like this, I can't wait to see it now.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes ~ I have talked about my love for the Planet of the Apes movies before, actually more than once. And while Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the second attempt to reboot the series was a pleasant and superior surprise, I still had some reservations. I shouldn't have worried at all. Dawn is even better than Rise.

If you know the saga of the Planet of the Apes, you know that Rise and Dawn are covering old territory. We already know the history, we know what happens, and that's the danger of any prequels. And even though the movies in the original series, Conquest and Battle, are by far the most inferior, and provide the basis for Rise and Dawn, I have much praise for Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.

Once again, Andy Serkis and the CGI portraying Caesar, the first leader of the Apes, are the stars over and above anyone or anything else in this flick. Gary Oldman is wasted for the five to ten minutes he appears, Keri Russell continues to age badly, and Kirk Acevedo is a master of playing the same character in every project he's in. Harsh, yes, but those are the only bad things about this movie. The rest is near perfect.

The opening, outside the establishing narration of a world a decade after the last film, is without traditional dialogue. The Apes live in peace in their own home, speaking in a combination of simple pantomime and crude American Sign Language. Caesar himself only speaks aloud once man intrudes on their idyllic life, but don't be fooled, the other apes speak as well. And these apes, CGI and otherwise, out-act the human players.

There is no black and white, or good and evil here. It's man vs. ape, it's true, but factions within each group are at war as well. This tale of trust and war and family is set against another amazing score by my favorite composer Michael Giacchino. He hits all the right notes for the appropriate emotional impact. I've already gotten the soundtrack from iTunes I was so impressed.

Whether you're a fan of either Planet of the Apes franchise, or not, this entry is highly recommended. I can't wait for 2017's War of the Planet of the Apes.

Howard the Duck

Back in the day, before the internet, when newspapers (yeah, remember them?) would do their occasional slow news day story on how comics weren't just for kids any more, there would always be certain elements brought up. First off, they'd have most of their facts wrong, second the headline would have a lame Batman '66 sound effect in the headline, and third, they'd be talking about one of three characters - the Shazam! Captain Marvel, Judge Dredd, or Howard the Duck. The thrust of the article was always comics are for adults now, wow, who woulda thunk it? with an undertone of old comics are worth money. Both of these myths helped to derail how comics are perceived today.

These inaccurate newspaper articles are where I first encountered Howard the Duck, usually on the cover of the first issue of his titular series, with a cigar in his mouth, a sword in his hand, and Spider-Man on the inset of the cover. There was also a scantily dressed woman behind him and the banner that read, "Trapped in a world he never made!" I had no idea at twelve what any of that meant. So I never picked up the book.

A duck in the mostly superhero Marvel Universe didn't make sense to me. Sure he had weird scifi fantasy origins but he first appeared in the Man-Thing horror comics, and Marvel horror wasn't something I'd pick up on until much later. Howard was just weird, he looked like Donald Duck from Hell, and of course now might be a good time to mention Disney (before they owned Marvel) sued to make Howard wear pants, removing some of the litigious similarities.

When the Howard the Duck comic strip showed up in my local paper (those things again?) I just didn't get it. I dismissed it as too smart for the room like Doonesbury or any of the other political stuff. Then came Iron Duck. This was the first issue of Howard the Duck I ever picked up, almost four years into his run. This parody of Iron Man was the reason I bought it, and therein I learned not just that Howard was a master of Quack Fu, but that his foe in that issue was a guy named Doctor Bong. This villain wore a bell on his head and hit it with his clapper hand to make horrible sounds. I was sold.

I guess by then I was old enough to get it, and after that I really dug Howard the Duck. I understood what a genius creator Steve Gerber was to create a character that only entertained, but also commented on society. This was so cool. And then Marvel took Howard away from Gerber in a web of legal complexity too big to get into here, and the Duck vanished for a bit. Little did I know that when Howard returned, it would get worse.

The late summer of 1986 saw the release of George Lucas' Howard the Duck, which was, believe it or not, Marvel's first theatrical release. Although Lucas had originally intended it to be animated, it was unfortunately live-action, which of course made the idea of a talking duck ridiculous. We ended up with a little person in a bad duck costume. Things did not get better from there.

Howard the Duck is frequently acknowledged as not only one of Lucas' biggest bombs, but also as one of the worst movies ever made. The film stars Lea Thompson as a barely recognizable Bev, Howard's human female companion, Tim Robbins as a scientist, and Jeffrey Jones as another scientist possessed by a Dark Overlord of the Universe, the villain of the piece. No one shines here, even Thompson who's trying awkwardly to start a musical career. Also Broadway's Chip Zien provides the voice of Howard. I think Ed Gale was in the duck suit.

The scientists are trying open up dimensional gateways, and end up pulling Howard from Duckworld, and also pulling in a cosmic nasty called the Dark Overlord of the Universe. The thrust of the movie is all about getting that genie back in the bottle to save the Earth. As if the duck suit isn't embarrassing enough, the opening credits sequence shows us quite a bit of Duckworld, which is filled with more embarrassing duck suits. The opener also features the sad John Barry score. It's good, but so wrong for the film. Apparently Barry thought he was scoring a slow noir or a sixties melodrama.

The more modern music of the film was one of the few things I did like. How could I not like a collaboration between Thomas Dolby and George Clinton, two of my faves? Dolby did most of the music, and even those songs attributed to Lea Thompson and her band 'Cherry Bomb.' Yeah, I confess, this is a guilty pleasure, but I dig the music. The soundtrack is no longer available but I have a few of them still.

I remembered hating this flick the first time I saw it back in 1986, and I have to say, it's still pretty bad the second time around. There's so much to struggle through - Howard as a lapsed rocker who becomes Bev's manager, their bizarre relationship that was made even more bizarre in the movie, and special effects nowhere near Lucasfilm's usual output. I only laughed once, when Jeffrey Jones says, in the Dark Overlord's voice, "She took my eggs." at a diner. It's become a running joke with friends ever since. And let's not even talk about Jeffrey Jones' hentai tongue.

Rumor says that overall Steve Gerber thought the essence of Howard and Bev made it into the film. Honestly I don't see it. I really don't see Howard at all, but if it's any consolation, I don't think I've seen the real Howard since the seventies in the comics, since Gerber left him. The film is not recommended, please do check out some of the original comics though.

The Towns That Dreaded Sundown

Producer/director/actor Charles B. Pierce, perhaps best known for making Bigfoot famous in The Legend of Boggy Creek, took another 'true story' and mined it for this Sam Zarkoff American International movie that serves as the blueprint for the traditional slasher film. Written by Earl E. Smith, in 1976's The Town That Dreaded Sundown, we learn the tale of the Phantom Killer who terrorized young couples on lovers lanes in Texarkana in 1946.

The movie begins documentary style establishing the period, including narration by Vern Stierman who also did the job more than ably for Boggy Creek. His frequent voiceovers keep the film solidly in docudrama mode, which for the most part works.

Unlike the slasher flicks that would follow, this one views things from law enforcement as opposed to the kids. Veteran character actors Andrew Prine and Ben Johnson take point in the investigation with great chemistry, along with Bierce himself providing much needed comic relief as their sidekick. Also look for Dawn Wells, Mary Ann from "Gilligan's Island," late in the film.

The film looks very good, and the period is set well. I loved the music, the clothes, the cars, and even the language. Kudos go to Jaime Mendoza-Nava, an underrated composer of 1970s B-movies who deserves more credit than perhaps he's been given. He was good. The film gets all As for atmosphere. And it's not just a great period piece for the 1940s, but also 1970s cinema as well.

Stuntman and later stunt coordinator Bud Davis played the masked killer known as the Phantom. Except for the ridiculous trombone scene, he is actually pretty frightening. And his white bag mask conjures imagery of the Ku Klux Klan, which is scary enough, but notably it made me wonder what the movie was really about when I saw the video box before I ever saw it.

The Town That Dreaded Sundown was reimagined in 2014 by Ryan Murphy, the brains behind "Glee" and "Nip/Tuck," and his sometime collaborator Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, a big muckety-muck at Archie Comics, and whose credits also include The Stand comics for Marvel, HBO's "Big Love," and the 2013 remake of Carrie. It might seem like an odd fit, but it kinda works.

This is notably not a remake as much as it's a sequel, one in which the original movie is a movie based on the real events. Yeah, I know, it's a whole new level of meta. There are many

parallels, and the narration is a nice touch. With "Nip/Tuck" so many years ago, and more than a few seasons of "Glee" since then, it's easy to forget that Ryan Murphy has a very deft hand with suspense and horror.

Watching these two flicks back to back was an intense but entertaining evening of television, two generations of creators giving their take on a supposedly true story. They're both worth a look, more so for horror fans. And don't forget, it might have happened decades ago, but they never did catch the Phantom...