Tag Archives: movie reviews

FOURTEEN MOVIES AND SHOWS TOO DARING FOR HOLLYWOOD

masc chair and bottleBalladeer’s Blog takes a look at several controversial pieces of entertainment too edgy for the mainstream.

… BUT NAMES WILL NEVER HURT ME (2016) – Is it real? If it is, is it MEANT to be as funny as it is? Left-wingers and right-wingers try to shame into silence the contestants on a game show. This is done by calling them “racists” if they are pro-freedom of expression and “baby-killers” if they are pro-choice on abortion.  Real or fake, this game show is sure to offend almost everybody. Continue reading →

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Filed under Fantastic Movie Reviews

THE STRANGER (1991-1995): TIME FOR ANOTHER SUCH PASTICHE OF DOCTOR WHO?

The StrangerTHE STRANGER – Given the current uproar over the disastrous Chibnall retcon, Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at the “brief shining moment” when Colin Baker was starring in what is often called a bootleg Doctor Who series. Less antagonistic interpretations call the BBV series a pastiche or a knowing “homage” to Doctor Who.  

When The Stranger series of stories first came out it was a few years after the original run of Doctor Who was over. For the many Colin Baker fans who felt he got robbed of an opportunity to shine as the Doctor for reasons beyond his control, these episodes were basically just barely-concealed stories featuring Colin’s regeneration of the timelord from Gallifrey. 

Consider:

*** Colin Baker went from playing an enigmatic traveler in time and space known only as the Doctor to playing an enigmatic traveler in time and space known only as the Stranger.     

Colin Baker*** The most popular companion of Baker’s Doctor was Peri Brown, played by Nicola Bryant. The Stranger’s companion was “Miss Brown,” played by Nicola Bryant.

*** The Doctor and his companions traveled in a time/space vehicle called the Tardis. The Stranger and his companions traveled in a never-seen vehicle coyly referred to as their “mode of transportation.” Continue reading →

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Filed under Forgotten Television

TEN WEBSITES THAT ARE NOT TO BE MISSED

Balladeer’s Blog takes a look at some sites you’ll kick yourself for not visiting on a daily basis. CLICK ON TITLES TO VISIT THE SITES.

INFOGALACTIC.COM

InfogalacticNature: Informational

Comment: Called “The planetary knowledge core,” Infogalactic.com proves you don’t ever need to use W-pedia OR the g-word. Well, you can use the g-word if you want search results that prioritize sites which PAY the g-barons to place them higher than sites that are actually more relevant to your search. And unlike W-pedia, Infogalactic.com doesn’t allow fools with an axe to grind to “edit” entries.

ETHAN VAN SCIVER’S C.A.P.S.

Ethan Van Sciver picNature: Irreverent takes on pop culture … and mummies

Comment: C.A.P.S. stands for Comic Artist Pro Secrets but don’t let that specificity fool you. Van Sciver is like a new King of All Media in the way that he irreverently addresses any and every pop culture topic that enters his crosshairs (And I think we all know how painful that can be). Called “Caesar” and “Uncle Ethan” by his fans, EVS’s YT channel makes for addictive viewing and/or listening. The jovial genius embodies the old clichés like “you know him, you love him, you can’t live without him.” Balladeer’s Blog’s regulars know that I know funny, and Ethan is hilarious! Continue reading →

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Filed under opinion

VALENTINE’S DAY MOVIE: CASABLANCA (1942)

CasablancaCASABLANCA (1942) – Happy Valentine’s Day! A few readers of Balladeer’s Blog have asked me for my opinion on this classic movie so I figured Valentine’s Day was the perfect opportunity.

People are often surprised when I like movies that so many other people rate highly. I like plenty of the old, old classics, it’s just that I prefer to blog about much more offbeat and obscure items. My favorite film of all time is Citizen Kane. Really. But I’ve never reviewed it here because I wasn’t in the mood to write the 100 millionth glowing review of that particular movie.

masc chair and bottleGetting back to Casablanca, it’s possibly the greatest “bittersweet ending” romantic flick ever made. I find that it appeals to almost everyone. If you’re young and naïve it can make you ache at the thought of persevering despite your broken heart. If you’re older and cynical it makes you nostalgic for a time when you actually thought a broken heart was the worst thing that could happen to you. Continue reading →

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Filed under opinion

CHANGE OF HABIT (1969)

Change of Habit bCHANGE OF HABIT (1969) – This review is in honor of Elvis Presley’s birthday. Change of Habit is a movie that was practically MADE to be ridiculed. You’ve got Elvis Presley, never exactly a master thespian, his sideburns, which out-perform him in this flick and Mary Tyler Moore as a nun torn between her vows and her growing attraction to The King.

Elvis himself plays a doctor named John Carpenter (yes, like the horror film director), making his initials J.C., just like another famous Jewish carpenter … Jacob Cohen. Dr Elvis runs a practice in the ghetto, which should probably be rendered THE GHETTO instead, given the ham-fisted and stereotypical depiction of the neighborhood and its inhabitants.

Elvis’ character  – if you can make it out behind his usual one-note performance – is supposed to be the perfect made-for-film physician: good looking, compassionate and willing to buck the system in order to help his patients. … And, of course, he sings.

Mary Tyler Moore’s Sister Michelle is accompanied by her sister nuns Sister Barbara, played by Jane Elliott in the years before she was a Soap Opera queen, and Sister Irene, played by African-American actress and singer Barbara McNair. Continue reading →

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Filed under Bad and weird movies, humor

BEST OF OCTOBER 2019

Balladeer’s Blog’s look back at 2019 continues with Halloween Month’s best:

Monks of Monk Hall 4THE MONKS OF MONK HALL – This eerie and macabre 1845 novel features human and supernatural menaces operating in 1842 Philadelphia. “Twin Peaks Goes To The 1840s” is how I describe this book, which was America’s best-selling novel before Uncle Tom’s Cabin. CLICK HERE

THE “RIGHT SIDE OF HISTORY” DELUSION – Only fools think that they know what the final verdict of history will be regarding the times they are living through. CLICK HERE 

Killraven the hell destroyersKILLRAVEN: THE FINALE OF THE DEATH-BIRTH SAGA – The final two chapters of the most acclaimed Killraven saga of them all. CLICK HERE  and HERE 

THE WERWOLVES – An 1898 werewolf story from Canada. CLICK HERE

ROLLING STONE’S MATT TAIBBI – The journalist blasts the Democrats’ “permanent coup attempt.” CLICK HERE

Mad MaxMAD MAX (1979) – A lengthy review of the Mel Gibson/ George Miller post-apocalypse classic. CLICK HERE

THE COFFIN – The year 2000 graphic novel about a macabre, unliving superhero. CLICK HERE

CIA CRIMES – The disgusting past of one of the most loathsome American organizations in history. CLICK HERE  Continue reading →

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Filed under Halloween Season, Neglected History, opinion

MORE CLASSICALLY BAD MOVIES

Balladeer’s Blog takes another look at some very strange movies from the cinematic hinterlands. Enjoy these four to help get over any post-Christmas blues. 

Invasion of the Bee GirlsINVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS (1973) – William “Big Bill” Smith from biker films and the old western series Laredo stars as a government agent investigating the mysterious deaths of scientists working on Top Secret projects.

Turns out a female mad scientist is creating a race of human/queen bee hybrids out of female subjects. These Bee Girls then go forth and slay their male targets by literally “loving” them to death. Continue reading →

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Filed under Bad and weird movies

BEST OF AUGUST 2019

Balladeer’s Blog’s end-of-year retrospective continues with this look at August’s best. Enjoy your Christmas leftovers of 11 + Sauce and read:

Son of SupermindDELL SUPERHERO PANTHEON – From World War Two to the Cold War, a look at the Dell Comics pantheon of superheroes. CLICK HERE  

DAVID J HARRIS, JR – Looking at yet Another Martin Luther King Person of Courage. CLICK HERE

hammett 2HAMMETT (1982) – A review of the movie depicting Dashiell Hammett mixed-up in a murder investigation. CLICK HERE

TOP MYTHOLOGICAL PANTHEONS COVERED HERE AT BALLADEER’S BLOG – My look at the gods of the Vietnamese, Ainu, Navajo, Hawaiian, Inuit and more. CLICK HERE

FACULTY LOUNGE FASCIST ROUNDUP – The August 24th edition HERE

Ethan Van SciverETHAN VAN SCIVER: THE FUTURE KING OF ALL MEDIA? – A look at the mad genius Ethan Van Sciver and his YT shows about pop culture. This man is a MUST watch. CLICK HERE

ANCIENT GREEK COMEDY: COTHURNUS (circa 405 B.C.) – An examination of the comedy by Philonides. CLICK HERE Continue reading →

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Filed under Education or Indoctrination, humor, LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion, Superheroes

CHRISTMAS CAROL-A-THON CONCLUDES: 2nd CHANCE FOR CHRISTMAS (2019)

MERRY CHRISTMAS! Christmas Carol-A-Thon 2019, Balladeer’s Blog’s TENTH Annual Christmas Carol-A-Thon, comes to a close with a review of this 2019 item.

2nd Chance For Christmas2nd CHANCE FOR CHRISTMAS (2019) – (Special thanks to Balladeer’s Blog reader Lee Ann for recommending this Carol to me.)

Directed by Christopher Ray, this is an adaptation of the Dickens classic and sets the story in the present-day. The Scrooge stand-in is a Country Western singer named Chance Love (Brittany Underwood). My fellow Carol enthusiasts will immediately be put in mind of A Diva’s Christmas Carol, reviewed previously here at Balladeer’s Blog.

2nd Chance For Christmas shrewdly stakes out its own territory so that it stands out from the Vanessa Williams flick about a pop starlet named Ebony Williams. In addition the film shrewdly used a numerical designation for the first word in the title rather than spelling out “Second” ensuring it will be listed ahead of movies whose titles begin with any letters at all.

Brittany Underwood does a very good job as Chance, the mean-spirited and selfish singing starlet who abuses everyone around her. Every step of the way Underwood is up to the demands of the storyline and manages her comedic parts well, always the toughest challenge.

In fact nearly all the comedy bits in 2nd Chance For Christmas are well-written and well-executed, so I will avoid any spoilers regarding the jokes so as not to ruin them for first-time viewers.    Continue reading →

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Filed under A CHRISTMAS CAROL

BEST OF JUNE 2019

Balladeer’s Blog’s year-end retrospective continues with this look at June’s best:

Dark ShadowsDARK SHADOWS: A review of the Phoenix storyline from Dark Shadows HERE plus the Leviathan Cult and more HERE 

THE CHOICE OF THE WORKING CLASS AND THE POOR – The title says it all. CLICK HERE

FLASHMAN’S GUIANA – Harry Flashman on the hunt for gold in the part of British Guiana being fought over by Great Britain and Venezuela. CLICK HERE

Killraven 1KILLRAVEN: WAR OF THE WORLDS – The first part of my ongoing look at the 1973-1976 Marvel Comics science fiction series about heroic rebels fighting Earth’s alien conquerors. CLICK HERE  

FACULTY LOUNGE FASCIST ROUNDUP: JUNE 6th – Another look at the Theater of the Absurd called the American “educational” system. CLICK HERE

Gladiator 2GLADIATOR: AN OPERA VERSION OF THE 1930 PHILIP WYLIE NOVEL  – An opera about a man granted paranormal abilities by science. CLICK HERE 

FIRST BATTLE OF MACHIAS – A forgotten Revolutionary War action. CLICK HERE

HARRISON FLOYD: A MARTIN LUTHER KING PERSON OF COURAGE – A courageous iconoclast. CLICK HERE Continue reading →

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Filed under Bad and weird movies, Education or Indoctrination, humor, LIBERALS AND CONSERVATIVES, Neglected History, opinion, Superheroes