Friday the 13th Midnite Jinx Show(s) - Newspaper Ad [Oakland Tribune - February 13, 1953]

Fox West Coast Theaters held a bunch of Friday the 13th-themed Midnite Jinx Shows throughout the East Bay on Friday, February 13, 1953. What did they show?

Richmond's Fox theater, along with its Grand theater, showed a double-bill of The Cat Creeps (1946) and She-Wolf of London (1946).

Berkeley's California theater offered a questionable double-bill of Kansas Pacific (1953) and Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla (1952).

East Oakland's Eastmont had The Black Cat (1941) and something called Phantom of Paris, which might be a retitled Mystery of Marie Roget (1942).

North Oakland's Senator theater had the best of the bunch, though. A triple-bill of Dracula (1931), Frankenstein (1931), and The Monster Walks (1932).

Although both the Grand Lake and the Paramount are named in the ad, there were no listings for either theater. So it goes.

But there was a separate ad for the Friday the 13th Midnite "Jinx" Show at the Paramount Theatre:

It appears the Paramount had a double-bill that included a major studio preview. Might this have been a sneak preview of The War of the Worlds (1953)? No idea.

The live show was hosted by one Russ Byrd. Not recognizing that name, I did a quick search of the Oakland Tribune's archives and learned Byrd was a well-regarded entertainer and show host. He passed away in 1995.

Another search revealed that "Tiny" James was an absolute legend of a pipe organ performer. He died in 1989.

Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) - Soundtrack

This fifth and final entry in the first set of Planet of the Apes films is, for the most part, considered to be its weakest, cheapest, and most uninteresting installment. Which is true. Battle for the Planet of the Apes was the last gasp of an empty creative tank. But even those fumes had something to recommend for a diehard Planet of the Apes fan.

First were all the thematic and storyline "Easter Eggs" that tied the series continuity together into a self-contained unit. Second is Leonard Rosenman's score for the film. A score that Lukas Kendall's liner notes describe as being "driven by a four-note motif expressive of the concept of 'battle' itself." Okay.

Rosenman's score for Battle is all-new music, save for one artistic flourish. The track March to the Dead City contains "the same rising, oppressive brass and winds, along with harp doubled by piano, that characterized his Forbidden Zone music [for] Beneath the Planet of the Apes." Rosenman understood the assignment,

Alien (1979) - Trading Card #17

Shortly after rising from hyper-sleep, Captain Dallas disappears into the recesses of his spaceship to investigate a transmission from 'Mother' - the ship computer. 

Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969) - Newspaper Ad [Oakland Tribune- February 12, 1970]

The Solano Drive-In still exists and is open for business. I saw Tenet (2020) there, back when drive-ins were getting a pandemic fueled boost in business.

Battle Beyond the Stars (1980) - Soundtrack

Long ago, during the Before Times, I was listening to a Torture Cinema episode of the Skiffy and Fanty Podcast wherein one of the hosts made a snarky comment about James Horner's score for the 1983 science-fiction/fantasy mash-up Krull. This person commented that significant portions of Horner's score for Krull were repurposed sections of his score for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

"Wait just a damn minute," I thought so hard that I stopped the podcast and had to start conversing with myself, "Horner's score for Wrath of Khan repurposed sections from his scores for both Battle Beyond the Stars and Wolfen! He repurposed his compositions all the time!"

But great music is great music, repurposed or not, and Horner's robust score for Battle Beyond the Stars is an entertaining blast to listen to.

The Blair Witch Project (1999) - Trading Card #19

About Mr. Parr

On their first day, Heather and her filmmaking crew stopped several Burkittsville locals for quick interviews. Some of the younger people had never even heard of the Blair Witch, and a few old-timers were steadfast in their refusal to accept the supernatural as a possible explanation. A few brought up the case of serial killer Rustin Parr. His bizarre, ritualistic slaughter of children "practically tore this community up," according to one resident.

Jaws by Peter Benchley - Newspaper Ad [San Francisco Examiner - February 10, 1974]

Before the movie there was the novel. Producer David Brown once said that if he and Richard Zanuck had stopped to think through the budgetary logistics of actually making a movie adaptation of Jaws, they might never have done so.

I tried and tried to read the novel, having seen and loved the movie, but just kept bouncing off it. It would not be until late 1980, or maybe even early 1981, that I would manage to get through the entire book, from start to finish. 

The movie was better. Much, much better.

Companion (2025) - Review

"Iris, wake up."

Although I saw Companion on opening day, I wanted to let my thoughts about the film settle and marinate in my mind for a bit. During this time I saw all manner of reactions and critiques of both the film and its marketing campaign. 

Regarding the latter, I think I favor an observation that argued the reveal of Iris (Sophie Thatcher) being a robot in the film's trailer was not all that different of a spoiler, storytelling wise, from the trailer for Terminator 2: Judgment Day revealing who was the 'good' terminator and who was the 'bad' one. Even though the "first act" of both films play out as if the audience does not know this information.

Which leads me to another comment, this one made by a longtime friend, lamenting how the film's opening narration spoiled its ending. A complaint so literal minded it left me baffled.

I hope I am not alone in thinking Companion is not about what happened between Iris and Josh (Jack Quaid). It is about how and why it happened. 

Knowing that Iris is a robot, that she is eventually going to kill Josh, is just a variation of Hitchcock's Bomb Theory. The difference between surprise and suspense.

Nothing in Companion's trailer made the film any less suspenseful or, in a truly shocking surprise, laugh out loud funny to me. There were surprises and shocks throughout the film's brisk runtime that both thrilled and delighted me. One moment I would be laughing, the next I would gasp in horrified shock. I loved every minute of it.

The Batman (2022) - Soundtrack

Michael Giacchino's score for The Batman captures and embodies the film's brooding gothic-noir vibe perfectly. There are, at least, three separate themes at play in his score. First is the dark and brooding theme for Batman himself. Second is the creepy and almost lullaby like theme for the Riddler. Third is the slinking, slithering theme for Catwoman.

One might not have left the theater whistling or humming any of those themes, but hearing them on the soundtrack returns you to the dark and borderline spooky world of The Batman.

Then there's the action cue Highway to the Anger Zone, which underplays the almost monster movie style reveal of the batmobile, followed by an almost apocalyptic car chase with the Penguin. Great stuff.

Now I want to watch The Batman again, go figure.

Alien (1979) - Trading Card #16