Joseph Baneth Allen's Blog, page 6
August 20, 2025
Zagor - Zombies In Darkwood
Just finished reading "Zagor - Zombies In Darkwood" by Marolla Samuel and Palo Bisi, originally published in Italy in 2020, and the English translation published by Epicenter Comics in 2025.
A fun side fact, I had originally ordered "Zagor - The Forest of Crossed Destinies" but had received "Zagor In Darkwood" by mistake, and I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the package - Dad really liked zombie stories for some reason I still can't fantom.
Oh, it just occurred to me that some people my think the links I post in my reviews are affiliate links - they're not. I have one firm rule about reviews I post on my social media - I don't accept pay for them or peddle books, CDs, and/or DVDs for side income. If you send me a book, movie, music CD, and/or audio drama to review, I will eventually get around to reviewing it.
One of the things that makes Zagor so endearing is that his adventures take place across many genres - horror being one of them and it's put to effective use in "Zombies In Darkwood" which opens with outlaws discovering a secret that an Indian tribe is hiding a terrible secret in a cave in Red Hook Valley, which is an Indian who has been infected with a new strain of Beelzebul Syndrome, and soon the contagion has spread to the river town of Red Hook where Zagor and Chico and their friends are soon engaged in a desperate fight for their lives as zombies are turning people into zombies with one bite. It's classic horror in the tradition of an old fashioned EC Comic.
This edition also includes the short zombie themed tale "The Contagion," which puts Zagor in a desperate race to save Chico's life when a madman infects him with a modified version of the Beelzebhul Syndrome.
Great Classic Zagor Fun and Adventure!
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.epicentercomics.com/index...
A fun side fact, I had originally ordered "Zagor - The Forest of Crossed Destinies" but had received "Zagor In Darkwood" by mistake, and I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the package - Dad really liked zombie stories for some reason I still can't fantom.
Oh, it just occurred to me that some people my think the links I post in my reviews are affiliate links - they're not. I have one firm rule about reviews I post on my social media - I don't accept pay for them or peddle books, CDs, and/or DVDs for side income. If you send me a book, movie, music CD, and/or audio drama to review, I will eventually get around to reviewing it.
One of the things that makes Zagor so endearing is that his adventures take place across many genres - horror being one of them and it's put to effective use in "Zombies In Darkwood" which opens with outlaws discovering a secret that an Indian tribe is hiding a terrible secret in a cave in Red Hook Valley, which is an Indian who has been infected with a new strain of Beelzebul Syndrome, and soon the contagion has spread to the river town of Red Hook where Zagor and Chico and their friends are soon engaged in a desperate fight for their lives as zombies are turning people into zombies with one bite. It's classic horror in the tradition of an old fashioned EC Comic.
This edition also includes the short zombie themed tale "The Contagion," which puts Zagor in a desperate race to save Chico's life when a madman infects him with a modified version of the Beelzebhul Syndrome.
Great Classic Zagor Fun and Adventure!
STRONGLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.epicentercomics.com/index...
August 13, 2025
The Extinction Of Fireflies
Just finished watching "The Extinction Of Fireflies" released by Gravitas Ventures back in 2024, which I'm just now gotten around to watching and reviewing.
"The Extinction Of Fireflies" originally saw life as a stage play by James Andrew Walsh, who also wrote the screen play adaptation of his play and produced and directed the movie version of his stage play for his Rhode Trip Pictures production company.
"The Extinction of Fireflies" comes across as a too well rehearsed stage play set on the stage which is the home of a middle-aged play write. The movie stars Michael Urie, Drew Droege, Tracie Bennett, and Kario Marcel.
"The Extinction of Fireflies" is set over Labor Day Weekend in coastal New England, a middle-aged playwright invites longtime friend, legendary TV diva, Charlotte Christian, and occasionally-working actor friend, Jay Mulch, to read his latest dramatic effort, "The Extinction of Fireflies", a mythological comedy based on the epic romance of Roman Emperor Hadrian and his teenage lover Antinous. But when Jay brings along his new and younger lover Callisto, the feedback is spectacular, but the tragedy of Antinous is on the horizon.
I think "The Extinction Of Fireflies" would work better on stage performed for an audience - and I have not seen this play performed on stage. The film version comes across as too crafted, far too clever and you have to be familiar with the story of Hadrian and Antinous to understand the various contexts mentioned throughout the movie.
Should you take a chance on this movie? Probably not.
Two and-a-half Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Extinction-Fir...
"The Extinction Of Fireflies" originally saw life as a stage play by James Andrew Walsh, who also wrote the screen play adaptation of his play and produced and directed the movie version of his stage play for his Rhode Trip Pictures production company.
"The Extinction of Fireflies" comes across as a too well rehearsed stage play set on the stage which is the home of a middle-aged play write. The movie stars Michael Urie, Drew Droege, Tracie Bennett, and Kario Marcel.
"The Extinction of Fireflies" is set over Labor Day Weekend in coastal New England, a middle-aged playwright invites longtime friend, legendary TV diva, Charlotte Christian, and occasionally-working actor friend, Jay Mulch, to read his latest dramatic effort, "The Extinction of Fireflies", a mythological comedy based on the epic romance of Roman Emperor Hadrian and his teenage lover Antinous. But when Jay brings along his new and younger lover Callisto, the feedback is spectacular, but the tragedy of Antinous is on the horizon.
I think "The Extinction Of Fireflies" would work better on stage performed for an audience - and I have not seen this play performed on stage. The film version comes across as too crafted, far too clever and you have to be familiar with the story of Hadrian and Antinous to understand the various contexts mentioned throughout the movie.
Should you take a chance on this movie? Probably not.
Two and-a-half Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Extinction-Fir...
August 12, 2025
Wendel All Together
Just finished reading "Wendel All Together" by Howard Cruse, published by Olmstead Press back in 2001.
"Wendel All Together" is another example of a review copy that I had been given a copy of to review when it was first published, but for some reason or another, I never quiet gotten around to taking the time to read until this past week - and even now I'm almost hesitant to review it because of the recent hoopla a lesbian member of the Camp Lejeune Alumni Association reaching out to me this past week. Hint: You really shouldn't make assumptions about a person or who they may or may not sleep with based on positive or negative reviews they have given of gay media they have watched and/or read; and then get upset because I'm not living up to your expectations.
I would be interested in learning how Greg Fox, the creator of Kyle's Bed & Breakfast," thinks of the Wendel comic strips - which originally appeared in "The Advocate" back in the 1980 on up to 2001, when Cruse brought Wendel's adventures to an open ended conclusion. Full disclosure, while the fabulously talented writer and artist Greg Fox and I are friends here on Facebook and other social media platforms, he and I have never met, and we have only exchanged less then half-a-dozen messages over the years. I would be interested in learning of Wendel had any influence on his work.
Cruse drew Wendel in a style similar to the style used by underground comics in the 1970s. [Yes Selma, Zack, and Jeff, I actually did have a few underground comics from that time frame.] And what probably made Wendel so groundbreaking - apart from being the first gay comic strip mentioned in the mainstream media of the time, was that it showed Wendel and his boyfriend/husband Ollie as gay fathers being parents to Ollie's son from his marriage to his former wife. Cruse did address social issues in Wendell, but there is a lot of stereotyping in the comic strip - this may have been an editorial choice.
Wendel is a historical time capsule and it was daring for "The Advocate" to publish it in the 1980s. Yet while Cruse does tackle series social issues, he doesn't take the hard look at the consequences like Greg Fox does, and perhaps that is coloring my judgement - too much time has passed for Wendel and his friend - it's not contemporary for now.
Perhaps the best way to view Wendell is to think of him as "The Yellow Kid" of his era. "The Yellow Kid" comic strip was created by Richard Felton Outcault an American cartoonist. who also created Buster Brown and is considered a key pioneer of the modern comic strip.
Recommended.
Three and-a-half Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Wendel-All-Tog...
"Wendel All Together" is another example of a review copy that I had been given a copy of to review when it was first published, but for some reason or another, I never quiet gotten around to taking the time to read until this past week - and even now I'm almost hesitant to review it because of the recent hoopla a lesbian member of the Camp Lejeune Alumni Association reaching out to me this past week. Hint: You really shouldn't make assumptions about a person or who they may or may not sleep with based on positive or negative reviews they have given of gay media they have watched and/or read; and then get upset because I'm not living up to your expectations.
I would be interested in learning how Greg Fox, the creator of Kyle's Bed & Breakfast," thinks of the Wendel comic strips - which originally appeared in "The Advocate" back in the 1980 on up to 2001, when Cruse brought Wendel's adventures to an open ended conclusion. Full disclosure, while the fabulously talented writer and artist Greg Fox and I are friends here on Facebook and other social media platforms, he and I have never met, and we have only exchanged less then half-a-dozen messages over the years. I would be interested in learning of Wendel had any influence on his work.
Cruse drew Wendel in a style similar to the style used by underground comics in the 1970s. [Yes Selma, Zack, and Jeff, I actually did have a few underground comics from that time frame.] And what probably made Wendel so groundbreaking - apart from being the first gay comic strip mentioned in the mainstream media of the time, was that it showed Wendel and his boyfriend/husband Ollie as gay fathers being parents to Ollie's son from his marriage to his former wife. Cruse did address social issues in Wendell, but there is a lot of stereotyping in the comic strip - this may have been an editorial choice.
Wendel is a historical time capsule and it was daring for "The Advocate" to publish it in the 1980s. Yet while Cruse does tackle series social issues, he doesn't take the hard look at the consequences like Greg Fox does, and perhaps that is coloring my judgement - too much time has passed for Wendel and his friend - it's not contemporary for now.
Perhaps the best way to view Wendell is to think of him as "The Yellow Kid" of his era. "The Yellow Kid" comic strip was created by Richard Felton Outcault an American cartoonist. who also created Buster Brown and is considered a key pioneer of the modern comic strip.
Recommended.
Three and-a-half Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Wendel-All-Tog...
Bugs Bunny Cartoon Annual 1980
Just finished reading "Bugs Bunny Cartoon Annual" published by World Publishing back in 1980.
It was my cousin Hannah who introduced me to World Annuals when she sent me the BBC TV Doctor Who Annual 1980 that featured original prose stories and comic stories of Doctors 1-5 for my birthday and there was an original prose short story which established Susan not only as a Time Lord, but a member of the ruling royal family of Gallifrey who escaped with her Grandfather when her parents and family were murdered by her fellow Time Lords.
So it was Hannah who got me interested in collecting World Annuals, and as my beloved baby sister Selma, and naughty minons Zack and Jeff who left me to mow the lawn this weekend despite having a fractured knee - yes my beloved minions, I will throw you under the bus - my collection of World Annuals, which were and still are published in Great Britain include "The Lone Ranger," "Land of the Giants," "Doctor Who," Star Trek," "Space Family Robinson," Bugs Bunny," "The Road Runner," "Richie Rich," "Tarzan," "The Girl From Uncle," ect... Annuals are now published by other publishing firms in Great Britain with the demise of Western Publishing here in the United States in the early 1980s.
The 1980 "Bugs Bunny Cartoon Annual" is a curious mixture of four-color panels followed by black and white panels printed on a cheaper quality of paper then the color panels. This may have been a cost saving measure by World. The annual collects stories highlighted in the Bugs Bunny Comic Book published by Gold Key Comics, which were owned by Western Publishing during the 1979 12-issue run.
Elmer Fudd does get a rather ingenious revenge on Bugs Bunny in a couple of stories where he actually outwits Bugs by tricking him to take a one-way trip overseas, and by making him a highly sought after wildlife model.
Great Classic Looney Tunes Fun!
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/385326832854...
It was my cousin Hannah who introduced me to World Annuals when she sent me the BBC TV Doctor Who Annual 1980 that featured original prose stories and comic stories of Doctors 1-5 for my birthday and there was an original prose short story which established Susan not only as a Time Lord, but a member of the ruling royal family of Gallifrey who escaped with her Grandfather when her parents and family were murdered by her fellow Time Lords.
So it was Hannah who got me interested in collecting World Annuals, and as my beloved baby sister Selma, and naughty minons Zack and Jeff who left me to mow the lawn this weekend despite having a fractured knee - yes my beloved minions, I will throw you under the bus - my collection of World Annuals, which were and still are published in Great Britain include "The Lone Ranger," "Land of the Giants," "Doctor Who," Star Trek," "Space Family Robinson," Bugs Bunny," "The Road Runner," "Richie Rich," "Tarzan," "The Girl From Uncle," ect... Annuals are now published by other publishing firms in Great Britain with the demise of Western Publishing here in the United States in the early 1980s.
The 1980 "Bugs Bunny Cartoon Annual" is a curious mixture of four-color panels followed by black and white panels printed on a cheaper quality of paper then the color panels. This may have been a cost saving measure by World. The annual collects stories highlighted in the Bugs Bunny Comic Book published by Gold Key Comics, which were owned by Western Publishing during the 1979 12-issue run.
Elmer Fudd does get a rather ingenious revenge on Bugs Bunny in a couple of stories where he actually outwits Bugs by tricking him to take a one-way trip overseas, and by making him a highly sought after wildlife model.
Great Classic Looney Tunes Fun!
Strongly Recommended!
Five Stars!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/385326832854...
August 10, 2025
When The Earth Was Green - Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance
Just finished reading "When The Earth Was Green - Plants, Animals, and Evolution's Greatest Romance" by Riley Black, published by St. Martin's Press.
Dinosaurs always spring to mind when doing dives into the deep time of Earth's prehistory. Plants almost never do. Yet evolution encompasses all forms of life here on Earth. Each chapter covers a different geological period and era within Earth's history. Each chapter describes the plant life , the overall climate and how the animals and plants interacted and how these interactions shaped or spurred the continued evolution of plants and animals. Insightful reading.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1PJPWL1/...
Dinosaurs always spring to mind when doing dives into the deep time of Earth's prehistory. Plants almost never do. Yet evolution encompasses all forms of life here on Earth. Each chapter covers a different geological period and era within Earth's history. Each chapter describes the plant life , the overall climate and how the animals and plants interacted and how these interactions shaped or spurred the continued evolution of plants and animals. Insightful reading.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1PJPWL1/...
August 3, 2025
Big Business
Just finished watching "Big Business" released by Disney through their Touchstone Pictures film distribution company back in 1988.
Touchstone Pictures was created by the Walt Disney Company in an attempt to reach a more "mature and adult" audience to recapture it's declining market share of the movie going public which viewed any movie with released by Disney as a "Kiddie Movie."
While Mom, Dad, Selma Franz, and I did not see "Big Business" when it first premiered on the silver screen back in 1988, we did watch it when it premiered on cable television - back then a first run movie premiering on cable was a "big event," though not so much anymore I suspect.
In 1948, wealthy businessman Hunt Shelton and his pregnant wife are lost in rural West Virginia when Mrs. Shelton goes into labor near the town of Jupiter Hollow. At the local hospital, they are turned away, because it is exclusively for employees of Hollowmade, the local furniture maker. Mr. Shelton purchases the company on the spot, and Mrs. Shelton is then admitted. The Ratliffs, an impoverished couple, arrive moments later with Mrs. Ratliff also in labor. Both women give birth to twin girls, and the elderly nurse attending the doctor confuses and mixes up the sets of twins. Mr. Ratliff overhears the Sheltons deciding to name their daughters Rose and Sadie, and suggests the same names to his wife.
Forty years later, the Shelton sisters are now co-chairwomen of Moramax in New York City, a conglomerate that is the successor to their father's business interests. Sadie Shelton is ruthless and focused on her career to the detriment of her family, while Rose Shelton is less business-savvy and out of touch with the needs of the company, wishing instead for a simpler life in the country. As part of her business plan, Sadie plans to sell Hollowmade but must get the Moramax stockholders' approval to proceed. Knowing that the board (which includes Rose) is sensitive to potential bad publicity harming the company's already diminished public image, Sadie assures them that the residents of Jupiter Hollow are completely on board with the sale and that operations at the factory will continue as normal. In Jupiter Hollow, Rose Ratliff has risen to the position of forewoman at the Hollowmade Factory and is also very career-driven. Meanwhile, Sadie Ratliff has always felt misplaced in rural life, and wishes for a more sophisticated life in a big city. Rose discovers Moramax's plans to sell Hollowmade and sensing trouble, makes plans to travel to New York City to stop the sale. Wanting to see the city, Sadie agrees to join her sister.
While Sadie Shelton makes plans for the shareholders' meeting, she learns from her employee Graham Sherbourne that an "R. Ratliff" plans to come to New York with his sister to stop the sale. Sadie orders Sherbourne to locate "R. Ratliff" to prevent them from appearing at the meeting. A series of mixups at JFK Airport leaves the Shelton sisters stranded while the prospective buyer of Hollowmade, Fabio Alberici, takes their limousine with the Ratliff sisters back to the Plaza Hotel, where the shareholders' meeting is set to take place the next day. The Ratliffs are checked into the Sheltons' suite, which Rose Ratliff assumes is a bribe from Moramax but begrudgingly accepts. The Sheltons eventually arrive at the hotel and take the suite next door, leading to a series of near-misses between the four sisters.
As the day unfolds, Sadie Shelton meets Alberici and becomes enamored with him as they flirtatiously discuss the upcoming sale. While out exploring the city, Sadie Ratliff is approached by Sadie Shelton's ex-husband Michael, and their spoiled and unruly son Jason, both assuming they are speaking to her Shelton counterpart. Sadie Ratliff calls out Jason for his behavior, which greatly impresses Michael. He later approaches her at the Plaza and asks her out, which she accepts. In the meantime, Graham and his assistant/boyfriend Chuck assume that a visitor from Jupiter Hollow, Rose Ratliff's beau Roone Dimmick, is actually "R. Ratliff". Worried that he will disrupt the sale, the two men attempt to keep Roone distracted while enlisting the help of Rose Shelton. Roone, believing that Rose Shelton is Rose Ratliff, attempts to woo her, with great success. Meanwhile, Rose Shelton's ex-boyfriend, Dr. Jay Marshall, attempts to propose to her, unaware that he is in fact speaking to Rose Ratliff. Assuming by mistake that he is a Moramax employee sent to buy her silence about the sale, she harshly rebuffs him. As the night ends, Alberici, believing that he is speaking to Sadie Shelton, inadvertently gives Sadie Ratliff a copy of the Hollowmade sale plan, wherein it is revealed that he has no intentions of continuing operations at the factory, opting instead to shut it down and strip-mine Jupiter Hollow so that he can use the land for other purposes- all done with Sadie Shelton's full knowledge and approval.
All sisters eventually discover the mix-up the next day when they run into each other in the lobby bathroom. After Sadie Shelton feigns that she will call off the Hollowmade sale, Rose Ratliff calls her out on the plans to strip-mine Jupiter Hollow. Rose Shelton realizes that her sister has been lying to her, and she helps Rose Ratliff to subdue Sadie Shelton. Sadie Shelton tries to convince Sadie Ratliff to help her by promising her a life of luxury and glamour. While conflicted at first, Sadie Ratliff ultimately sides with the two Roses and the three women trap Sadie Shelton in a nearby broom closet. At first, Rose Ratliff plans to go into the stockholders' meeting to demand they say no to the sale of Hollowmade, but Rose Shelton warns that they won't believe her as Sadie Shelton is the one who always does the speaking. Rose Ratliff sits outside the broom closet to keep Sadie Shelton trapped, while Rose Shelton and Sadie Ratliff attend the shareholders' meeting. Though Sadie Ratliff is initially awkward, Rose Shelton takes over, and the two are ultimately successful in stopping the sale by appealing to the stakeholders' self-preservation, telling them that the sale will bring immense negative publicity. Both sets of twins later leave the Plaza Hotel with their newfound loves.
It's great comedic fun and Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin shine in their dual roles.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Business-B...
Touchstone Pictures was created by the Walt Disney Company in an attempt to reach a more "mature and adult" audience to recapture it's declining market share of the movie going public which viewed any movie with released by Disney as a "Kiddie Movie."
While Mom, Dad, Selma Franz, and I did not see "Big Business" when it first premiered on the silver screen back in 1988, we did watch it when it premiered on cable television - back then a first run movie premiering on cable was a "big event," though not so much anymore I suspect.
In 1948, wealthy businessman Hunt Shelton and his pregnant wife are lost in rural West Virginia when Mrs. Shelton goes into labor near the town of Jupiter Hollow. At the local hospital, they are turned away, because it is exclusively for employees of Hollowmade, the local furniture maker. Mr. Shelton purchases the company on the spot, and Mrs. Shelton is then admitted. The Ratliffs, an impoverished couple, arrive moments later with Mrs. Ratliff also in labor. Both women give birth to twin girls, and the elderly nurse attending the doctor confuses and mixes up the sets of twins. Mr. Ratliff overhears the Sheltons deciding to name their daughters Rose and Sadie, and suggests the same names to his wife.
Forty years later, the Shelton sisters are now co-chairwomen of Moramax in New York City, a conglomerate that is the successor to their father's business interests. Sadie Shelton is ruthless and focused on her career to the detriment of her family, while Rose Shelton is less business-savvy and out of touch with the needs of the company, wishing instead for a simpler life in the country. As part of her business plan, Sadie plans to sell Hollowmade but must get the Moramax stockholders' approval to proceed. Knowing that the board (which includes Rose) is sensitive to potential bad publicity harming the company's already diminished public image, Sadie assures them that the residents of Jupiter Hollow are completely on board with the sale and that operations at the factory will continue as normal. In Jupiter Hollow, Rose Ratliff has risen to the position of forewoman at the Hollowmade Factory and is also very career-driven. Meanwhile, Sadie Ratliff has always felt misplaced in rural life, and wishes for a more sophisticated life in a big city. Rose discovers Moramax's plans to sell Hollowmade and sensing trouble, makes plans to travel to New York City to stop the sale. Wanting to see the city, Sadie agrees to join her sister.
While Sadie Shelton makes plans for the shareholders' meeting, she learns from her employee Graham Sherbourne that an "R. Ratliff" plans to come to New York with his sister to stop the sale. Sadie orders Sherbourne to locate "R. Ratliff" to prevent them from appearing at the meeting. A series of mixups at JFK Airport leaves the Shelton sisters stranded while the prospective buyer of Hollowmade, Fabio Alberici, takes their limousine with the Ratliff sisters back to the Plaza Hotel, where the shareholders' meeting is set to take place the next day. The Ratliffs are checked into the Sheltons' suite, which Rose Ratliff assumes is a bribe from Moramax but begrudgingly accepts. The Sheltons eventually arrive at the hotel and take the suite next door, leading to a series of near-misses between the four sisters.
As the day unfolds, Sadie Shelton meets Alberici and becomes enamored with him as they flirtatiously discuss the upcoming sale. While out exploring the city, Sadie Ratliff is approached by Sadie Shelton's ex-husband Michael, and their spoiled and unruly son Jason, both assuming they are speaking to her Shelton counterpart. Sadie Ratliff calls out Jason for his behavior, which greatly impresses Michael. He later approaches her at the Plaza and asks her out, which she accepts. In the meantime, Graham and his assistant/boyfriend Chuck assume that a visitor from Jupiter Hollow, Rose Ratliff's beau Roone Dimmick, is actually "R. Ratliff". Worried that he will disrupt the sale, the two men attempt to keep Roone distracted while enlisting the help of Rose Shelton. Roone, believing that Rose Shelton is Rose Ratliff, attempts to woo her, with great success. Meanwhile, Rose Shelton's ex-boyfriend, Dr. Jay Marshall, attempts to propose to her, unaware that he is in fact speaking to Rose Ratliff. Assuming by mistake that he is a Moramax employee sent to buy her silence about the sale, she harshly rebuffs him. As the night ends, Alberici, believing that he is speaking to Sadie Shelton, inadvertently gives Sadie Ratliff a copy of the Hollowmade sale plan, wherein it is revealed that he has no intentions of continuing operations at the factory, opting instead to shut it down and strip-mine Jupiter Hollow so that he can use the land for other purposes- all done with Sadie Shelton's full knowledge and approval.
All sisters eventually discover the mix-up the next day when they run into each other in the lobby bathroom. After Sadie Shelton feigns that she will call off the Hollowmade sale, Rose Ratliff calls her out on the plans to strip-mine Jupiter Hollow. Rose Shelton realizes that her sister has been lying to her, and she helps Rose Ratliff to subdue Sadie Shelton. Sadie Shelton tries to convince Sadie Ratliff to help her by promising her a life of luxury and glamour. While conflicted at first, Sadie Ratliff ultimately sides with the two Roses and the three women trap Sadie Shelton in a nearby broom closet. At first, Rose Ratliff plans to go into the stockholders' meeting to demand they say no to the sale of Hollowmade, but Rose Shelton warns that they won't believe her as Sadie Shelton is the one who always does the speaking. Rose Ratliff sits outside the broom closet to keep Sadie Shelton trapped, while Rose Shelton and Sadie Ratliff attend the shareholders' meeting. Though Sadie Ratliff is initially awkward, Rose Shelton takes over, and the two are ultimately successful in stopping the sale by appealing to the stakeholders' self-preservation, telling them that the sale will bring immense negative publicity. Both sets of twins later leave the Plaza Hotel with their newfound loves.
It's great comedic fun and Bette Midler and Lily Tomlin shine in their dual roles.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/Big-Business-B...
Silent Running
Just finished watching "Silent Running" released by Universal Studios back in 1972.
I do remember watching "Silent Running" with Mom, Dad, and Selma, when it aired on cable television back in the 1980s when cable television finally gained access to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Back then cable television was akin to the streaming services offered today - although original programming was few and far between on cable television in its youth.
I also remember that the was a novelization of "Silent Running" published by Scholastic Press - and yes, Mrs. Sanders, the woman who was the "teacher" of my sixth grade class at Stone Street Elementary School at Camp Lejeune tried to prevent me from reading the novelization by refusing to give it to me until I threatened to tell Mom and Dad that she was withholding another book order of mine from the Weekly Reader Book Club because she didn't approve of the books I wanted to read. Mrs. Sanders relented and gave me my books that I had ordered - she didn't like dealing with Mom and Dad and she didn't like it when I told Mom and Dad about her actions and words. [Ironically, Mrs. Sanders would probably be fired from her teaching position today if she tried to prevent me or another child from reading a book she didn't approve of.]
"Silent Running" was one of Hollywood's thought provoking science fiction movies from the 1960s and mid-1970s that focused on the environment.
In the future, all forests on Earth have become extinct from careless environmental exploitation. As many specimens as possible have been preserved in a series of enormous greenhouse-like geodesic domes serving as closed ecological systems attached to large cargo spaceships, forming part of a fleet of eight "American Airlines Space Freighters", stationed outside the orbit of Saturn.
Freeman Lowell, played by actor Bruce Dern, is one of four crewmen, is the resident botanist and ecologist on one of these ships, the Valley Forge. He carefully maintains a variety of plants for their eventual return to Earth and the reforestation of the planet. He spends most of his time in the domes, cultivating the crops and attending to the animal life.
The crew of each ship receives orders to jettison and destroy their domes and return the freighters to commercial service. After four of the six Valley Forge domes are jettisoned and destroyed with nuclear charges, Lowell rebels and opts to save his ship's plants and animals. He kills Wolf, one of his crewmates who arrives to plant explosives in his favorite dome, and his right leg is seriously injured in the process. He then jettisons and triggers the destruction of the other remaining dome to trap and kill the remaining two crewmen.
Enlisting the aid of the ship's three service robots, Lowell stages a fake premature explosion as a ruse and sends the Valley Forge speeding toward Saturn in an attempt to hijack the ship and flee with the last forest dome. He then reprograms the drones to perform surgery on his leg and sets the Valley Forge on a risky course through Saturn's rings. Later, as the ship endures the rough passage, Drone 3 is lost, but the ship and its remaining dome emerge relatively undamaged on the other side of the rings. Lowell gives the surviving drones the names Dewey (Drone 1) and Huey (Drone 2), while the lost Drone 3 is named Louie - a nod to the nephew's of Disney's Donald Duck - Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
Lowell, Huey, and Dewey set out into deep space to maintain the forest. Lowell reprograms Huey and Dewey to plant trees and play poker. He also has them bury Andy Wolf in the bio-dome. Lowell begins speaking to them constantly, as if they are children.
Huey is damaged when Lowell accidentally collides with him while driving a buggy recklessly, and Dewey sentimentally refuses to leave Huey's side during the repairs. As time passes, Lowell is horrified when he discovers that his bio-dome is dying, but is unable to come up with a solution to the problem. When the Berkshire—another space freighter waiting to see if the Valley Forge has survived the trip around Saturn—eventually reestablishes contact, he knows that his crimes will soon be discovered. It is then that he realizes a lack of light has restricted plant growth, and he races to install lamps to correct this situation. In an effort to save the last forest before the Berkshire arrives, Lowell jettisons the bio-dome to safety. He then detonates nuclear charges, destroying the Valley Forge, the damaged Huey, and himself in the process. The final scene is of the now well-lit forest greenhouse drifting into deep space, with Dewey tenderly caring for it, holding Lowell's battered old watering can.
Fun Fact: the "Valley Forge" has appeared in other science fiction movies and television shows, the most notable being the original "Battlestar Galactica."
"Silent Running" is a solid, cautionary science fiction movies that does offer mixed hope for the future at the end.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Running...
I do remember watching "Silent Running" with Mom, Dad, and Selma, when it aired on cable television back in the 1980s when cable television finally gained access to Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Back then cable television was akin to the streaming services offered today - although original programming was few and far between on cable television in its youth.
I also remember that the was a novelization of "Silent Running" published by Scholastic Press - and yes, Mrs. Sanders, the woman who was the "teacher" of my sixth grade class at Stone Street Elementary School at Camp Lejeune tried to prevent me from reading the novelization by refusing to give it to me until I threatened to tell Mom and Dad that she was withholding another book order of mine from the Weekly Reader Book Club because she didn't approve of the books I wanted to read. Mrs. Sanders relented and gave me my books that I had ordered - she didn't like dealing with Mom and Dad and she didn't like it when I told Mom and Dad about her actions and words. [Ironically, Mrs. Sanders would probably be fired from her teaching position today if she tried to prevent me or another child from reading a book she didn't approve of.]
"Silent Running" was one of Hollywood's thought provoking science fiction movies from the 1960s and mid-1970s that focused on the environment.
In the future, all forests on Earth have become extinct from careless environmental exploitation. As many specimens as possible have been preserved in a series of enormous greenhouse-like geodesic domes serving as closed ecological systems attached to large cargo spaceships, forming part of a fleet of eight "American Airlines Space Freighters", stationed outside the orbit of Saturn.
Freeman Lowell, played by actor Bruce Dern, is one of four crewmen, is the resident botanist and ecologist on one of these ships, the Valley Forge. He carefully maintains a variety of plants for their eventual return to Earth and the reforestation of the planet. He spends most of his time in the domes, cultivating the crops and attending to the animal life.
The crew of each ship receives orders to jettison and destroy their domes and return the freighters to commercial service. After four of the six Valley Forge domes are jettisoned and destroyed with nuclear charges, Lowell rebels and opts to save his ship's plants and animals. He kills Wolf, one of his crewmates who arrives to plant explosives in his favorite dome, and his right leg is seriously injured in the process. He then jettisons and triggers the destruction of the other remaining dome to trap and kill the remaining two crewmen.
Enlisting the aid of the ship's three service robots, Lowell stages a fake premature explosion as a ruse and sends the Valley Forge speeding toward Saturn in an attempt to hijack the ship and flee with the last forest dome. He then reprograms the drones to perform surgery on his leg and sets the Valley Forge on a risky course through Saturn's rings. Later, as the ship endures the rough passage, Drone 3 is lost, but the ship and its remaining dome emerge relatively undamaged on the other side of the rings. Lowell gives the surviving drones the names Dewey (Drone 1) and Huey (Drone 2), while the lost Drone 3 is named Louie - a nod to the nephew's of Disney's Donald Duck - Huey, Dewey, and Louie.
Lowell, Huey, and Dewey set out into deep space to maintain the forest. Lowell reprograms Huey and Dewey to plant trees and play poker. He also has them bury Andy Wolf in the bio-dome. Lowell begins speaking to them constantly, as if they are children.
Huey is damaged when Lowell accidentally collides with him while driving a buggy recklessly, and Dewey sentimentally refuses to leave Huey's side during the repairs. As time passes, Lowell is horrified when he discovers that his bio-dome is dying, but is unable to come up with a solution to the problem. When the Berkshire—another space freighter waiting to see if the Valley Forge has survived the trip around Saturn—eventually reestablishes contact, he knows that his crimes will soon be discovered. It is then that he realizes a lack of light has restricted plant growth, and he races to install lamps to correct this situation. In an effort to save the last forest before the Berkshire arrives, Lowell jettisons the bio-dome to safety. He then detonates nuclear charges, destroying the Valley Forge, the damaged Huey, and himself in the process. The final scene is of the now well-lit forest greenhouse drifting into deep space, with Dewey tenderly caring for it, holding Lowell's battered old watering can.
Fun Fact: the "Valley Forge" has appeared in other science fiction movies and television shows, the most notable being the original "Battlestar Galactica."
"Silent Running" is a solid, cautionary science fiction movies that does offer mixed hope for the future at the end.
Strongly Recommended.
Five Stars.
https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Running...
The Garden of Words
Just finished watching "The Garden of Words" released by Sentai.
Based on the magna of the same name, "The Garden of Words" is from Makoto Shinka, a director, manga artist, and a writer known for works such as "your name" and "5 Centimeters Per Second;" and is a compelling tale of two people who are trying to discover themselves while trying to pursue their dreams.
On rainy mornings, Takao can never bring him-self to go to school―instead, he spends that time at the beautiful Shinjuku Gyoen gardens and finds a brief reprieve from everything else in his life among the trees and flowers. And on one of those mornings, he discovers a mysterious woman named Yukino in his haven, skipping work, and an unlikely friendship blooms between them.
A very quiet and compelling tale of discovering who your are and finding the courage to fight for your dreams and aspirations.
The animation is simply beautiful.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/GARDEN-OF-WORD...
Based on the magna of the same name, "The Garden of Words" is from Makoto Shinka, a director, manga artist, and a writer known for works such as "your name" and "5 Centimeters Per Second;" and is a compelling tale of two people who are trying to discover themselves while trying to pursue their dreams.
On rainy mornings, Takao can never bring him-self to go to school―instead, he spends that time at the beautiful Shinjuku Gyoen gardens and finds a brief reprieve from everything else in his life among the trees and flowers. And on one of those mornings, he discovers a mysterious woman named Yukino in his haven, skipping work, and an unlikely friendship blooms between them.
A very quiet and compelling tale of discovering who your are and finding the courage to fight for your dreams and aspirations.
The animation is simply beautiful.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/GARDEN-OF-WORD...
The African Queen
Just finished watching "The African Queen," released by Universal back in 1951.
Time to completely shock Zack - while I knew the basic plot of "The African Queen" for decades, I had never watched it before, though I have seen brief clips from it over the years.
Based on the original novel by C.S. Forester of the same title, many changes had to be made to the original story before it could be produced and released in movie theaters. Production censors in charge of making sure that any movie produced by Hollywood strictly adhered to the morals code imposed by the Hayes' Code, had objected to several aspects of the original script, such as the two unmarried characters cohabiting the boat - and I was kind of surprised by some of the scenes in "The African Queen" were allowed on screen - especially when Charlie and Rose slept together, fully clothed, in the same makeshift room. I would have loved to have been in the room when the censors voiced their objections.
Also keep in mind that "The African Queen" was C.S. Forester's giving voice to what many Britains' thought at the time of it's publication - that World War One had been a horrible mistake.
In the novella, Charlie and Rose fail in their attempt to sink the Königin Luise as the message in the book is: "What appears to be an impossible mission for a private citizen is shown to be just that--it remains a job best left for the professionals" The Königin Luise is instead sunk in a lake battle by a Royal Navy gunboat as Rose and Charlie watch from the shore.[39] The film presented the efforts of Charlie and Rose in a more favorable light as their struggle to bring The African Queen to the lake causes the sinking of the Königin Luise, and the Royal Navy gunboat does not appear in the film because the memory of World War Two was still fresh in the public's collective memory.
Humphrey Bogart, who brought Charlie to life, won his only Academy Award for this performance.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/African-Queen-...
Time to completely shock Zack - while I knew the basic plot of "The African Queen" for decades, I had never watched it before, though I have seen brief clips from it over the years.
Based on the original novel by C.S. Forester of the same title, many changes had to be made to the original story before it could be produced and released in movie theaters. Production censors in charge of making sure that any movie produced by Hollywood strictly adhered to the morals code imposed by the Hayes' Code, had objected to several aspects of the original script, such as the two unmarried characters cohabiting the boat - and I was kind of surprised by some of the scenes in "The African Queen" were allowed on screen - especially when Charlie and Rose slept together, fully clothed, in the same makeshift room. I would have loved to have been in the room when the censors voiced their objections.
Also keep in mind that "The African Queen" was C.S. Forester's giving voice to what many Britains' thought at the time of it's publication - that World War One had been a horrible mistake.
In the novella, Charlie and Rose fail in their attempt to sink the Königin Luise as the message in the book is: "What appears to be an impossible mission for a private citizen is shown to be just that--it remains a job best left for the professionals" The Königin Luise is instead sunk in a lake battle by a Royal Navy gunboat as Rose and Charlie watch from the shore.[39] The film presented the efforts of Charlie and Rose in a more favorable light as their struggle to bring The African Queen to the lake causes the sinking of the Königin Luise, and the Royal Navy gunboat does not appear in the film because the memory of World War Two was still fresh in the public's collective memory.
Humphrey Bogart, who brought Charlie to life, won his only Academy Award for this performance.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
TEN STARS!
https://www.amazon.com/African-Queen-...
Moon Zero Two
Just finished watching "Moon Zero Two," originally released as a Hammer Film in movie theaters back in 1969, and re-released on DVD by Warner Brothers as part of it's Archive Collection back in 2011.
My first "encounter" with "Moon Zero Two" was the novelization by John Burke, that was released in paperback by Signet Books back in 1970. I bought a copy at Twice Told Tales, a used bookstore that was located across the street from the New River Shopping Center and I do remember that I thought it was a pretty good story. Of course, novelizations can be much better then the original movie and provide much more in-depth detail and character development - think Isaac Asimov's novelization of "The Fantastic Voyage" and Orson Scott Card's novelization of "The Abyss."
And yes, I am aware of Mystery Science 3000 Theater's brutal commentary of "Moon Zero Two."
This was my first viewing of "Moon Zero Two" - promoted as "The First Moon 'Western" - and it's not a bad B-movie from the late 1960s.
It accurately stated the difficulties in mining asteroids and how an abundance of cheap and readily available would crash the market and accurately predicated how satellites in orbit around Earth and/or the Moon, could be recovered by salvagers and sold for profit. Oddly, the science is rather spot on for the time period in this movie.
Now while "Moon Zero Two" was made years before the television series by Gerry Anderson, "UFO," there were similar clothing and purple colored wigs worn by women on the moon, that were similar to woman who helped defend the Earth on Shadow's Moonbase in "UFO" and Catherine von Schell, who is oddly billed here as Catherina von Schell, is seen wearing such an outfit.
The plot concerns Capt. William H. Kemp, an aging astronaut-hero who runs a space salvage operation on the moon where he scratches out every buck for survival. He gets involved with Clementine Taplin, who is trying to find a lost miner brother on the far side of the moon. Throw in a no nonsense, do anything for a Lunar Dollar businessman and an asteroid made of sapphire and there is the standard action conflict.
Granted, "Moon Zero Two" is not a great movie; but it's not really a bad one either, and there are far, far worse movies you could watch.
Recommended.
Three Stars - mainly for getting the science right.
https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Zero-Two-...
My first "encounter" with "Moon Zero Two" was the novelization by John Burke, that was released in paperback by Signet Books back in 1970. I bought a copy at Twice Told Tales, a used bookstore that was located across the street from the New River Shopping Center and I do remember that I thought it was a pretty good story. Of course, novelizations can be much better then the original movie and provide much more in-depth detail and character development - think Isaac Asimov's novelization of "The Fantastic Voyage" and Orson Scott Card's novelization of "The Abyss."
And yes, I am aware of Mystery Science 3000 Theater's brutal commentary of "Moon Zero Two."
This was my first viewing of "Moon Zero Two" - promoted as "The First Moon 'Western" - and it's not a bad B-movie from the late 1960s.
It accurately stated the difficulties in mining asteroids and how an abundance of cheap and readily available would crash the market and accurately predicated how satellites in orbit around Earth and/or the Moon, could be recovered by salvagers and sold for profit. Oddly, the science is rather spot on for the time period in this movie.
Now while "Moon Zero Two" was made years before the television series by Gerry Anderson, "UFO," there were similar clothing and purple colored wigs worn by women on the moon, that were similar to woman who helped defend the Earth on Shadow's Moonbase in "UFO" and Catherine von Schell, who is oddly billed here as Catherina von Schell, is seen wearing such an outfit.
The plot concerns Capt. William H. Kemp, an aging astronaut-hero who runs a space salvage operation on the moon where he scratches out every buck for survival. He gets involved with Clementine Taplin, who is trying to find a lost miner brother on the far side of the moon. Throw in a no nonsense, do anything for a Lunar Dollar businessman and an asteroid made of sapphire and there is the standard action conflict.
Granted, "Moon Zero Two" is not a great movie; but it's not really a bad one either, and there are far, far worse movies you could watch.
Recommended.
Three Stars - mainly for getting the science right.
https://www.amazon.com/Moon-Zero-Two-...
