The end of the year always brings with it retrospectives on the preceding months. We’ll start off with this sampling of January’s Best.
HARRY FLASHMAN NOVELS – My reviews of George MacDonald Fraser’s series of Flashman novels have been very popular items. January saw three items:
FLASHMAN (1969) – CLICK HERE
FLASHMAN AND THE REDSKINS (1982) – CLICK HERE
FLASHMAN ON THE GOLD COAST – CLICK HERE
ROBERT GINTY MOVIE MARATHON – Six of the most psychotronic movies from the one and only Robert Ginty.
White Fire, The Exterminator, Warrior of the Lost World, Goldraiders, Exterminator 2 and Scarab. CLICK HERE
PUCK MAGAZINE: ROBBER BARONS THEN AND NOW – CLICK HERE
PUCK MAGAZINE: THEODORE ROOSEVELT – CLICK HERE
FACULTY LOUNGE FASCIST ROUNDUP: JANUARY 21st – Yet another look at the Theater of the Absurd known as the United States “Educational” System. CLICK HERE
DENNIS QUAID FILM FESTIVAL – Five films of the biggest DQ this side of Dairy Queen. CLICK HERE
SHARYL ATTKISSON ON FALSE STORIES IN THE “NEWS” – CLICK HERE
GENTLEMAN JEKYLL AND DRIVER HYDE (1950) – One of Canada’s most bizarrely entertaining Driver’s Ed shorts. CLICK HERE
MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY QUIZ – CLICK HERE
THE PARSIFAL MOSAIC (1982) – My review of the Robert Ludlum novel. CLICK HERE
THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR – From one of my replies to reader questions. CLICK HERE Continue reading
Balladeer’s Blog continues its annual orgy of versions of the Dickens classic as Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2019 resumes!
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2012) – This adaptation of A Christmas Carol was a noble effort to try something different that was not just a gimmick. Ignore the negative IMDb reviews which accuse this adaptation of using “Elizabethan language.” They’re off by a few hundred years, since in reality the dialogue follows that in the Dickens novel of 1843. 
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2019) – Directed and co-written by Steven Salgado, this adaptation of the 1843 novel sets the story in present-day Miami. Though some may try to pigeon-hole this indy film as “a Hispanic-American Christmas Carol” that would not be quite accurate. 
A CHRISTMAS CAROL (2006) – This computer-animation version of the Dickens classic was produced by BKN and distributed by Genius Entertainment, Kidtoon Films and Image Entertainment. Ric Machin directed. The 48 minute film had a brief theatrical run in November of 2006 before being released on home video. 
MASERATI: A HUNDRED YEARS AGAINST ALL ODDS (2019) – This fascinating documentary directed by Philip Selkirk is so riveting it flies along like one of the automobiles in the Maserati line. 
ALLEGRO NON TROPPO (1976) – Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the infamous Italian parody of Disney’s Fantasia. In our current year, where the avaricious Disney corporation has engulfed and devoured countless film properties and tried to trademark so many figures from world folklore, writer and director Bruno Bozzetto’s satirical poke at The Mouse That Ate Entertainment deserves to be revisited. 
Micheli’s character keeps his animator (Maurizio Nichetti) in chains in a dungeon as another swipe at the House of Mouse. As if that’s not enough he also keeps his musicians in a cage, letting them loose only to do their work for him. 
Terminator: Dark Fate is – as of this writing – on course to lose 120 million dollars due to its lackluster performance. (UPDATE: The projected loss has now been increased to 130 million dollars)
Halloween Month continues at Balladeer’s Blog.
Halloween Month continues here at Balladeer’s Blog, this time with the definitive horror/ sci-fi/ monster franchise in cinema. 2019 is the 40th anniversary of the original movie Alien and earlier this year six authorized (not fan-made) short films were released to mark the occasion. 
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