The Trevi Collection (Kolchak: The Night Stalker TV series 1974/5)

Jul 10, 2020

“You have no idea why Mickey Patchek would jump off the top of your saloon here?” Carl Kolchak innocently asks. “Its sa-lon. Please leave my salon” hisses nasty hotshot designer Madame Trevi (Nina Foch) in reply. “Saloon, salon…” mutters Carl as he saunters off to interrogate somebody else. Doesn’t our hero know he is in the company of the great? This is Chicago’s “chi-chi” district after all. Haute couture. High fashion. Madame T will not tolerate camp or kitsch. No cartoon T shirts either. Its 1975 Kolchak. Get with the program or get out!

The Lost World (Arthur Conan Doyle)

Jun 28, 2020

Published in 1912, The Lost World focuses on a story about an expedition in the South American Rainforest, leading its four protagonists on a plateau which seems to surround a world believed to be long-gone. Confronted with dinosaurs like pterodactyls, iguanodons or stegosaurus, our main characters have to solve many difficult and dramatic situations, and it’s one enjoyable short novel to read. It is written from the perspective of Edward Malone – at first as part of a recollection of the events leading up to the expedition, and later in the form of a notebook Malone wrote in order to portray the events during their expedition.

Grease (1978 USA)

Jun 25, 2020

Forget the bird, Grease is the word. Grease has to be one of the most irresistible motion pictures ever made. I generally dislike most musicals but can watch this from time to time and get sucked back into the maelstrom of that opening blast of the title track, Travolta’s facial expressions, Newton-John’s soaring vocals, ultra feel–good catchy songs, the squeaky clean vibe and colour (sorry for the un-American spelling there) of 50s high school angst.

Clash Of The Titans (1981 UK/USA)

Jun 10, 2020

If you like Mythology this is the flick you are looking for. This movie is imaginative and enthralling, made even more charming by the use of Ray Harryhausen’s stop motion effects. Fantasy films really shouldn’t look 100% real anyway. That’s why it’s myth/fantasy. The monsters are excellent, especially Medusa. I wouldn’t want to see them done with today’s special effects. The old ones make the film more resonant. The stop motion is life–like, the pinnacle of its day and more than enough to stand against the over blown CGI-fest of today.