Movies

ZOTZ! (1962) Offbeat comedy with a jingoistic cold-war twist. Tom Poston is an absent-minded professor who comes into possession of an ancient coin which gives him magical powers. I was old enough to see it in the theater when it came out but not old enough to remember much but a couple of the more spectacular scenes, though anyone who was a child at that time probably has the word burned into a secret part of their brain. The comedy is on a very basic level, so I found it quite amusing. Includes a cat being chased by a toupee, Margaret Dumont getting a cake in the face, Mike Mazurki as a Russian thug, and a surprise appearance by Louie Nye as the inventor of a death ray. Fun for the whole family. 8/10

Movies

De Noorderlingen (1992) Quirky Dutch film. Like many Quirky films there is a neutral character (in this case a child) who acts as observer of the peculiarities of an isolated community. In this case the community consists of one finished block of modern housing in the middle of nowhere, a fragment of a discontinued housing project. Bizarre, unfortunate and tragic events occur in strange circumstances and environments. Then it ends. If you like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing you will like. Kept my interest. 5/10

The Hour-Glass Sanatorium (1973) Quirky Polish film. My friend Tim Maloney sent me this because it most adequately simulates a dream. I agree - it is the most perfectly dreamlike of any film I have yet seen. As such there was no need to try to follow what was happening, and I felt I could wake up at any time, so after about an hour and a half I did. I think you could put this on loop and not even notice. Good if you like this kind of movie. Didn't keep my interest but was intriguing to see. 5/10

Movies

The Cool Ones (1967) Hip mod comedy harnesses the star power of Roddy McDowall and Phil Harris in a boy meets girl, girl accidentally invents dance craze, show biz tale. Lots of zany hats, sunglasses and dancing, bright colors and moving shapes, with music by Lee Hazlewood and Billy Strange. Introduces the song This Town, recorded by both Frank and Nancy Sinatra, and even gets a sort of a demolition derby in before the show is over. Only the plot is uninteresting. Gil Peterson as the boy punctuates a lackluster film and TV career, Debbie Watson as the girl found greater fame taking over the role of Tammy on TV and the film sequel Tammy and the Doctor, and as Marilyn Munster in the spinoff film Munster Go Home. Best music is provided by psychedelic/garage band The Leaves, most entertaining performance is by Mrs. Miller in her only film role. For me, though, the best part of the movie was the continuous presence of luscious jewess Nita Talbot as eccentric millionaire starmaker McDowall's entourage/factotum. Not entirely fun. 7/10

Nita Talbot - and personality to boot.

Movies

Le orme [Footprints] (1975) Italian psychodrama. A woman discovers she has lost three days and one earring, and finds a torn postcard from a Turkish hotel on the kitchen floor. Is she really being persecuted by a malicious science organization headed by mad scientist Klaus Kinski, that abandoned a man to suffocate on the moon - or was it just a movie she saw? Not a strong story but what appealed to me was the photography, the settings and the muted colors. The protagonist (Florinda Bolkan) almost always wears the same color as her surroundings, and her sculptural face and silent expressions of puzzlement and dread were fascinating. Dreamlike and unsettling, although not entirely satisfactory. I wouldn't mind seeing what else director Luigi Bazzoni has done. 7/10

Finding the mysterious postcard.

The Monitors (1969) Screwball science fiction comedy made in Chicago by Second City, based on a Keith Laumer novel. The Monitors are here to help us, but we don't want to be helped. Unique, experimental, radical hippie propaganda. Co-star Susan Oliver was never much of an actress, but CUTE. Avery Schreiber and Keenan Wynn add to the joy, and Larry Storch in drag should not be missed. The whole production is eccentric enough not to get too boring, and it is punctuated by oddball cameos, including Senator Everett Dirksen. Sprung it on Donna as a surprise, and she thanked me. 8/10

Movies

Press for Time (1966) Norman Wisdom gets job with small town newspaper, creates chaos. It's clear that he is just past his prime here - maybe it's the color that makes the archaic schtick seem so unfunny. The one superior sequence involves getting his bicycle hooked on a chandelier - the rest is inconsequential chasing around and pointless destruction. I have now seen all the major Norman Wisdom films readily available, and can recommend On the Beat and A Stitch In Time as the best of the lot. This I have to give a weak 5.5/10

The World's Greatest Sinner (1962) Bizarre and blasphemous amateur film by Timothy Carey, a genuine weirdo. Salesman quits job, slacks off; creates new religious cult and antimusic band, runs for president, challenges God. The SubGenius movie has already been made. 5/10

I made two earnest attempts to get through Doomsday (2008) a dreadful British video-game of a movie. Action Chick with robot eye has 48 hours to go into walled-off Scotland and steal the Virus Cure from the Road Warrior psychos. Couldn't get half way through it. After the total collapse of society I think people will have other things to do besides work on their purple mohawks and design scary looking weapons. The kind of movie where a guy with a stick sees a guy with a machine gun and runs toward him screaming, but it's supposed to be serious. 0/10