Lady Death: Dark Alliance - Trading Card #29

Best Buds

An animated smiley-face button and an undead teenager. It's one of the most bizarre buddy team ever, but one of the most endearing. Each other's conscience, advisor and pal, Ernie and Smiley are inseparable. 

Alien Nation (1988) - Newspaper Ad

Oakland Tribune - October 6, 1988

There were several reasons for why I was looking forward to seeing Alien Nation on its opening weekend, beyond its basic premise, that is.

The film was produced by Gale Anne Hurd (1984's The Terminator, 1986's Aliens) and Richard Kobritz (1979's Salem's Lot, 1983's Christine), two people whose past productions I both enjoyed and admired. Something similar could be said for the director, Graham Baker, who had made The Final Conflict (1981) and a wonderful little disaster thriller called Impulse (1984).

Then there was screenwriter Rockne S. O'Bannon, a name I recognized from a short story titled Slippage, which I had read and enjoyed in the pages of The Twilight Zone Magazine. I also knew that James Cameron had done some polishing of the script, to pump up the film's action content. Which is why I walked into a matinee screening of Alien Nation certain I was about to see a polished little cinematic gem.

Well... Alien Nation turned out to be not all that great. While the film was not all that bad, it was neither all that good. It was just a pedestrian buddy cop movie that, for whatever reason, never rose above the level of modest entertainment.

The biggest thrill, the first time I saw it, was spotting character actor Peter Jason, who I recognized from Prince of Darkness (1987), in a small role as bigoted asshat of a cop.

Alien (1979) - Sticker #14

 

Na Pali Coast on Kaua'i - A 1000 piece puzzle by Lantern Press

My YouTube channel has undergone a minor change, to better represent the diverse videos I have been making. It is no longer Chadzilla Assembles. Now it is Chadwick's Channel of Stuff. Which why I am moving my channel videos to a Chadwick's Channel of Stuff label and not Chadzilla Assembles.

Because my brain will not allow for that to happen. So it goes.

Alligator (1980) - Promo

San Francisco Examiner - October 3, 1983

Promo for a screening of Alligator (1980) at the Red Victorian Movie House in San Francisco. That would have been fun, I am sure.

Lady Death: Dark Alliance - Trading Card #28

Sacred and Profane

But which is which? Drawn to the cries of children in trouble, Ernie investigates, only to find a priest harming them. The priest never knew the meaning of the word damned - until now.

While I have read various Lady Death and Purgatori comic books, Evil Ernie is one I have yet to give a try. So it goes. 

Alien (1979) - Sticker #13

 

The Changeling (1980) - Soundtrack

Three separate composers worked on The Changeling. Howard Blake composed the Music Box Theme, which serves as an integral part of the film's storyline. Ken Wannberg was hired to compose the score, while Rick Wilkins was hired as a Canadian front in order for the production to qualify for some tax credits.

Although most of the score used in the film was composed by Wannberg, Wilkins did compose the underscore for the film's unnerving seance sequence.

"We needed a scary score," says Wannberg in Randall Larson's liner notes. "But not one that was pure scary." Wannberg and Wilkins achieved this by excising the trumpets and trombones from the orchestra, which created a somewhat off-kilter tonality within the music. The overall effect of their score is both soft and unnerving. The eschewing of aggressive jolts and jump scare stingers makes for a listening experience that is equal parts pleasant and spooky.

I consider the soundtrack for The Changeling to be one of the highpoints of my collection.

Night Gallery - Promo

San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle - October 1, 1972

The Girl with the Hungry Eyes, the second episode of Night Gallery's third and final season, graces the cover of the Examiner/Chronicle's TV Week supplement. Which is rather appropriate, considering the episode's story and themes.

This was an adaptation of a Fritz Leiber story and directed by John Badham, who helmed the far superior second season segment Camera Obscura.

Lady Death: Dark Alliance - Trading Card #27

Be Good

Run across Chastity's bad side, and you'll end up like the head in her hand. Stick to her good side though, and you'll find all new worlds of excitement.