SPACE MONSTER WANGMAGWI (1967) – This attempt by South Korea to compete with Japan in kaiju films came out the same year as the much more famous Yongary, Monster from the Deep. Space Monster Wangmagwi was produced by an all-South Korean team, while Yongary was made with Japanese assistance.
Obviously, neither of those South Korean movies redefined the genre, but in my opinion Space Monster Wangmagwi, despite being in black & white, is nearly as much fun as Yongary, Monster from the Deep. That former flick begins with aliens from the planet Gamma arriving near Earth in an interesting-looking spaceship. Not revolutionary, but eye-catching.
The Gammans have oddly-colored faces but that’s all we can see of them in their suits of armor, which are like the Tin Man meets the Cybermen. The conversation among these aliens as they orbit our planet is the usual grim but hilariously contradictory alien gibberish in kaijus about how Earth stands no chance, or maybe we do, and their monster Wangmagwi will eat everyone on Earth and THEN the space fleet will move in. Or he’ll attack in unison with the fleet. Hey, just keep it cazh, dude! Continue reading
USTINOV AD LIB (1966) – This comedy special was first aired by BBC1’s anthology series Sunday Night at 8:10PM on April 10th, 1966. In addition to the venerable Peter Ustinov himself the special featured Dudley Moore and Antony Hopkins (NOT Anthony Hopkins). 
FRONTIER CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The MONTANA TECH OREDIGGERS and the CARROLL COLLEGE FIGHTING SAINTS battled for this tournament’s title. 
This weekend’s escapist, light-hearted superhero post here at Balladeer’s Blog will look at the world of Iberia Inc. Since the 1990s those Spanish-made superheroes and the detailed world surrounding them have made them – in my opinion – Spain’s premier home-grown comic book I.P. since 1996. Sadly, there’s been no new material since 2009. 
TRUENO (Thunder) 
Powers: Trueno’s cyborg parts possess superhuman strength and can shoot energy blasts of varying levels. They can also generate a force field around him. If he is separated from his artificial arms he is able to control them remotely. 
ROAR (1981) – This was one of the first bad/ weird movies I planned to review when I started writing Balladeer’s Blog back in 2010, but like 
Yes, untrained. The original movie advertisements for Roar boasted that “No animals were harmed in the making of this film. 70 cast and crew members were.” The end result is not something any human or animal should have been put at risk over, believe me.
First up, the general story: A naturalist lives in Africa in a large, sprawling home with dozens of lions, tigers, leopards, panthers, jaguars, etc. His marriage is in trouble (of course) and he’s in danger of losing his grant money. 
SUN CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY FIRE and the SAINT THOMAS UNIVERSITY (FL) BOBCATS (should be Tomcats) were the last two teams standing in this conference tournament. At Halftime the Fire were clinging to a 32-30 edge. From there Southeastern U. managed more separation from the Bobcats to win the game by a final score of 70-62. Reggie Mesidor’s 24 points led the Fire while his teammate Riley Minix logged a Double Double of 18 points and 13 rebounds. 
Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at my top horror movies of the past fifty years. It is NOT a list of my all-time favorite horror films, just the ones that fall within the round number of fifty years. 
DUNE: THE OPERA – Previously I wrote about how Philip Wylie’s science fiction novel 
STORY: My fellow Dune geeks may get annoyed with this change, but remember, adaptations for staged performances have to be made very tight. I would start out at the Arrakeen Great Hall as the family and court members of House Atreides have just arrived on Arrakis/ Dune, the desert planet. All the scenes that the book covered while the Atreides family were preparing to depart their home on Caladan would instead play out shortly after their arrival on their new planetary fiefdom. 
USA SOUTH CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME – The last two teams standing in this tournament were the MARY BALDWIN UNIVERSITY FIGHTING SQUIRRELS and the GREENSBORO COLLEGE PRIDE. By Halftime the Fighting Squirrels held a slight 30-28 edge. After the break Mary Baldwin University left their opponents further and further behind on their way to a 72-62 triumph. Luke Ogle led the Squirrels with 15 points. 
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