Balladeer’s Blog’s annual end of year retrospective kicks off with this look at January’s best:
DEATH MACHINES (1976) – Martial Arts meets science fiction meets spy antics in this odd, feverish cult film starring a young Ron Marchini. You can read my review of the movie HERE.
FIREPOWER (1979) – Sophia Loren, James Coburn, Eli Wallach, Jake LaMotta, O.J. Simpson and others star in this espionage/ caper film that I reviewed HERE.
UGLY MOVES TOWARD A ONE-PARTY NATION – Read it HERE.
HUNTERWALI – India’s films about their Zorroesque masked heroine who uses her sword and whip against a tyrannical Vazier and his men. There were Indian-made movies about the character in 1935, 1959, 1972, 1977, 1988 and 2017.
There was also a movie about the Daughter of Hunterwali (again with Fearless Nadia in the title role) in 1943. Read about all of them HERE.
AUSTRALIAN NEWS ON JOE BIDEN’S UNFITNESS FOR OFFICE – Watch it HERE.
BRUM (1991-2002): FORGOTTEN TELEVISION – A neglected children’s series from the U.K. I reviewed the adventures of the living toy car HERE.
CAPTAIN AMERICA & THE FALCON: 1970s CLASSICS – My reviews and cultural examinations of memorable Cap and Falc stories pitting them against the Red Skull, the Secret Empire, Nightshade, Solarr, the 2nd Baron Zemo and others.
See the Falcon get his wings from the Black Panther, see the long-lost Peggy Carter return, see Captain America get his Spider-Man level strength (that lasted from 1973-1978) and so much more HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.
JIREL OF JOIRY – Female author C.L. Moore’s short stories about her 1930s sword-wielding warrior woman Jirel of Castle Joiry.
Jirel really was what a lot of people mistakenly think Robert E. Howard’s Red Sonya (not Sonja) was. My review of Jirel’s six stories can be read HERE.
A BOTTOMLESS MORASS OF POLITICAL CORRUPTION – Multiple accounts of such covered HERE. Continue reading
FIRST SEMIFINAL – The KEISER UNIVERSITY SEA HAWKS visited the GRAND VIEW UNIVERSITY VIKINGS (should be the Zebras) in this game. The 1st Quarter ended with the Sea Hawks up 7-0 before expanding that to a 21-7 advantage by Halftime. After the break, Keiser University outscored Grand View 17-14 for a 38-21 Upset and a trip to the title game on December 17th. 
SECOND SEMIFINAL – Up next the NORTHWESTERN (IA) COLLEGE RED RAIDERS took the field against the INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY WILDCATS. A 17-0 Red Raiders lead in the opening Quarter remained unchanged at the Half. The 3rd Quarter ended with Northwestern College on top 31-0 and the 4th in a 38-7 Red Raiders win. It will be Red Raiders and Sea Hawks in the Championship Game. 
FIRST QUARTERFINAL – The COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES OREDIGGERS faced their hosts the ANGELO STATE RAMS. The Orediggers led 14-7 in the 1st Quarter and 21-10 at the break. From there Colorado School of Mines managed a bit more separation from the Rams for a 42-24 Upset victory. 
AIR MAN 
BLUE LADY 
BLACKADDER’S CHRISTMAS CAROL – Balladeer’s Blog’s 13th Annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon continues! Long-time readers know what a big fan I am of Rowan Atkinson’s work – especially his Blackadder programs. Hell, I’m even an enormous fan of his more serious work in Full Throttle. And I never tire of telling anyone who will listen that I think he’d make a perfect Dikaiopolis in Aristophanes’ comedy The Acharnians. 
News of the disastrous reaction to screenings of the unwanted and unneeded fifth Indiana Jones movie, starring a 136-year-old Harrison Ford, caused me to reflect on the 1980s flood of Indiana Jones imitators. Studios even revived the old H. Rider Haggard character Allan Quatermain by casting Richard Chamberlin as Quatermain in a few movies. 
JUNGLE JIM (1937) – This 12 episode serial from Universal starred Grant Withers as the title character in the pith helmet. The story involved Joan Redmond, a wealthy young heiress who disappeared in the African jungle with her parents years earlier. 
PART 66 – Some of the Fool Killer’s targets on both sides of the aisle in the July of 1913 edition of James Larkin Pearson’s version of the folk figure:
2nd CHANCE FOR CHRISTMAS (2019) – (Special thanks to Balladeer’s Blog reader Lee Ann for recommending this Carol to me.)
MARVEL SPOTLIGHT Vol 1 #32 (February 1977) 
Synopsis: Misled into working for Hydra, Spider-Woman is sent on a mission to assassinate S.H.I.E.L.D. chief Nick Fury on the Riviera. Nick survives her initial assault and then uses news and intelligence reports to show her how she was deceived into thinking that Hydra was a revolutionary organization rather than a criminal cabal. 
If it’s the Friday after Thanksgiving, then regular readers of Balladeer’s Blog know it’s the day when I kick off my annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon in which I review several versions of A Christmas Carol. I look at movies, television shows, radio shows and books which adapt the Dickens classic. Every year I present new reviews and a few old classics since newer readers will have missed them. 
SCROOGE IN THE HOOD (2011) – This is easily the worst attempt at a comedy version of the Carol that I’ve ever seen. It’s also a failure in terms of production values. Acting is nonexistent, props are below Cable Public Access levels, dialogue is often impossible to make out and the writing is like something from a 14-year-old trying to be edgy. 
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