Seven Days in May (1964) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - February 23, 1964

I think this might be my favorite John Frankenheimer movie. Tense and believable from start to finish, Seven Days in May gets me to the edge of my seat every time I watch it.
 

Fright Flicks - Trading Card #38

Predator (1987)

Criminally Insane (1975) / Satan's Black Wedding (1976) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - February 20, 1976

A double-feature of two exploitation movies helmed by Nick Millard, credited as "Nick Phillips" on Criminally Insane and as Philip Miller on Satan's Black Wedding.

The IMDB has the runtime for both Criminally Insane and Satan's Black Wedding as one hour and one minute apiece. Well, okay.

Criminally Insane tells that tale of an obese woman that kills anyone that dare try and stop her from eating. Satan's Black Wedding appears to be a vampire film of some sort. Character actor George "Buck" Flower, who I know best for his appearances in numerous John Carpenter movies, shows up in Criminally Insane as a detective.

Beyond that, you are on your own!

Alien 3 (1992) - Trading Card #2

Datalog: Date and Time Unknown

In hypersleep, light-years are condensed into human seconds. And all is peaceful. None of us were aware of the chaos going on in the ship's bulkhead. The Sulaco's sprinkler system must have been automatically activated to contain an onboard fire, our cryotubes were ejected into the EEV. But a fire may not have been the only danger one board.

Colossal (2016) - Soundtrack

A dark comedy wherein giant monsters act as the embodiment of addiction and abuse? Sign me up!

Anne Hathaway and Jason Sudeikis both shine as damaged people that have very different reactions to learning they have giant monster avatars capable of wreaking havoc, destruction, and, of course, death in South Korea, of all places.

Bear McCreary's excellent score, like the film itself, is all over the place, by design. While there are grand orchestral flourishes worthy of a giant monster movie, most of the score is as quiet and uneasy as Hathaway and Sudeikis' characters. Because, despite its giant monster flourishes, Colossal is a lot more grounded and human than one would think.

All that having been said, it should come as no surprise whatsoever that my favorite track is #6 - The Most Irresponsible Thing. I think it is a perfect underscore for a truly unsettling moment when an abuser gets to flaunt and flex the power he has over the abused to someone incapable of either challenging or neutralizing that power.

Parents (1989) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - February 19, 1989

This is one oddity I really regret missing seeing on the big screen, but the unaddressed issues of untreated anxiety, depression, and childhood trauma kept me from being truly comfortable venturing out and doing things for myself, by myself. So there were quite a few cinematic delights I missed out on experiencing. So it goes.

"What were they before they were leftovers?"

"Leftovers to be."

Fright Flicks - Trading Card #37

An American Werewolf in London (1981)

 

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (1976) - Newspaper Ad

San Francisco Examiner - February 18, 1977

Great title for an okay movie. While it does have its moments, the crime(s) being unsolved keeps the movie of a satisfying ending. "The killer could be here right now, watching the movie with you," just does not work, or age, all that well.

Alien 3 (1992) - Trading Card #1

Datalog: Date and Time Unknown

All seemed well. Hicks' injuries were serious, but not critical. And Bishop was in need of major repair. But we were finally heading home. Our ship. the Sulaco, was fully operational when Hicks, Newt, Bishop and I entered the cryotubes for an unknown length of hypersleep. But it didn't stay that way.

Although neither version of Alien 3 comes close to "sticking the landing" of following-up or concluding the events and ideas of the far superior Alien (1979) and Aliens (1986). I do think that there are some admirable creative big swings taken in this compromised and unfocused film.

The major problem here, much like with the equally flawed and maligned Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), is that the story feels unfinished. The script really needed to go through a few more drafts. One that would whittle the number of prisoners down to a level allowing for a roster of more memorable, or at least identifiable, characters and, in theory, allow the film's themes of faith, suffering, and free will (i.e. choice) to be better contextualized.

The 'Burbs (1989) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - February 17, 1989