Balladeer’s Blog wraps up its end of year retrospective with this look at October’s best. In 2022 I’m going to limit the retrospective to just January through September.
LARAINE NEWMAN’S CANNED FILM FESTIVAL (1986) – After Elvira’s Movie Macabre, concurrent with The Texas 27 Film Vault and a few years before MST3K came this short-lived Movie Host show that presented bad and campy movies from the 1930s to 1960s. Click HERE.
HORROR FILM: THE NEST OF THE CUCKOO BIRDS (1965) – I review this neglected horror film about a nude female slasher in a mask, human taxidermy and a sinister, isolated Florida hotel which lets you check in but not check out. Click HERE.
FAUST: THE PRE-SPAWN VERSION OF SPAWN – A look at the 1987-2012 horror hero whose comic book adventures featured over the top violence and pornographic sexuality so extreme that the book was banned in various countries around the world. Click HERE.
MUSICAL MUTINY (1970) – My review of this bizarre film. Iron Butterfly themselves appear and do performances of several songs including In A Gadda Da Vida. Featuring a ghostly pirate, a mad scientist in his 20s and the defunct amusement park called Pirates World. Click HERE.
DUNE AS AN OPERA CYCLE – Frank Herbert’s first few Dune novels presented as a cycle of operas.
Click HERE.
EVERYBODY BELIEVES THEY ARE ON “THE RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY” – Claiming to be on the right side of history is as meaningless as claiming you have God on your side. Click HERE.
GRAVEYARD SHIFT – A review of the first three volumes of the Malin/ Poulton team of monster superheroes. Meet Professor Blood, the Monster, the Bride, Ghost in the Machine, Monster Girl and Sea Urchin. For villains you have the likes of Lady Shoggoth, Killer 99 and the Crimson Guard. Click HERE.
TWO OVERLOOKED HORROR TALES FROM JULIAN HAWTHORNE (1888 and 1893) – Nathaniel Hawthorne’s son and two of his forgotten horror stories. In this case the short stories deal with Egyptian mummies on the loose and a female vampire. Click HERE. Continue reading
It’s been a year of non-stop hatred, lies, ineptitude, intolerance and division from the Democrats, the political party I’m ashamed to say I used to belong to before I left it to become an Independent Voter. And as for the Republicans, anyone who claims they have a hard time finding items pointing out that party’s failings and scandals is lying.
As always, from December 1st through Twelfth Night (January 6th) Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at some of the old legends surrounding Charlemagne and his Paladins. These are the fictional tales about Charlemagne, so there will be magic and monsters included. 
THE ENCHANTED GARDENS OF FALERINA – We pick up from last time as the Paladins Roland and Reinold are separately heading for the Gardens of Falerina to free all the warriors imprisoned there. Reinold (at last reunited with his faithful steed Bayard) was on this quest on behalf of the beautiful Flordelis, whose true love Florismart is among the prisoners. 
ROLLER BLADE (1986) – My review of this cosmically bad post-apocalypse movie about roller-skating warrior-priestesses who wield switch-blades and perform faith healing. No, I’m not kidding. Click 
FOOL KILLER – Six Fool Killer Tales From American History 
RIKI-OH: THE STORY OF RICKY (1991) – Balladeer’s Blog’s review of this ultra-violent and transcendentally gory martial arts movie. Click 
As regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog know, December through Twelfth Night (January 6th) is the time of year in which I look at versions of the tales of Charlemagne and his Paladins. These are the legends about Charlemagne, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic. 
REINOLD BATTLES ROLAND – Regular readers will remember that when we left the Paladin named Reinold he was making his way on foot back to the Court of Charlemagne after escaping from Princess Angelica’s enchanted island. 
JOE BIDEN’S AFGHANISTAN DEBACLE – Several items regarding Biden’s inept departure from the previously decided upon withdrawal procedures, plus the needless tragedies which followed. Click 
JOE BIDEN’S BLOOD-SOAKED FAILURES – And for not covering him in 2020 the way all previous presidential candidates had been covered. Click 
ANCIENT SCIENCE FICTION – A Journey in the 29th Century (1824) 
Joe Biden, accused rapist, proven racist and career criminal who, 
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2020) – Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2021 comes to a close with this review of the criminally underrated version of A Christmas Carol that was released last year. This production is easily one of the most beautiful adaptations of the Dickens classic. 
And what thespians! The voice of Andy Serkis is heard, in addition to those of Sian Phillips, who apparently will never die, and Leslie Caron, whom I thought had already died. Serkis provides the dialogue for Marley’s Ghost and Old Joe. Phillips is the narrator whose wonderful performance ties it all together and Caron provides the voice for the Ghost of Christmas Past. 
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (1950) – This production of A Christmas Carol was shown on the BBC on December 25th and December 27th, 1950. Bransby Williams starred as Ebenezer Scrooge, John Ruddock played Bob Cratchit with Robert Cawdron as Nephew Fred. 
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