“SECONDS” (1966) – A Truly Forgotten Classic

ROCK HUDSON is The Star of JOHN FRANKENHEIMER’s 1966 Flick “SECONDS”

In MY Opinion, “SECONDS” is HUDSON’s BEST-EST-EST Flick, PERIOD. It’s A Rather Unique Blend of Sci-Fi, Horror, and Drama…

…That Truly Becomes An Even MORE-Unique THRILLER Because Of It All. Add In The Film is Directed By JOHN FRANKENHEIMER (“French Connection II”, “Black Sunday” & “Ronin”) and We’re Left With A TRUE-BLUE FORGOTTEN-CLASSIC!

What’s The Skinny On “SECONDS”?? Well… You Just Pay The Fee, And We’ll Fake Your Death, And You Can Get Out Of Your Current-Life, and Start Fresh & Anew Somewhere Else. Something MOST PEOPLE Have Thought About At-Least ONCE In Their Life…

…Only You’d Best Be Happy With The NEW-Life, Since All You Get Is ONE SECOND CHANCE. They Just Don’t Bother To Tell You That Part When You Sign-Up AND Go-Through-With-It The FIRST TIME!!!

SECONDS

A Truly UNIQUE Flick…

…And A Truly FORGOTTEN CLASSIC.

I Can TOTALLY RECOMMEND It To ANYONE…

…Who’s A Fan Of SCI-FI, HORROR, DRAMA, THRILLER Films.

ESPECIALLY With…

JOHN FRANKENHEIMER In The Director’s Chair…

…And ROCK HUDSON Giving Us His BEST PERFORMANCE EVER!!!

CHECK IT OUT, My Peeps, Fo SHO!!!

πŸ˜‰

“You Don’t Know What Death Is.” –DR. SAM LOOMIS (Donald Pleasence in “HALLOWEEN II” (1981))

picture-of-donald-pleasence-in-halloween-ii-large-picture-number-5 (via releasedonkey.com)((DONALD PLEASENCE as Dr. SAM LOOMIS in HALLOWEEN II))

HALLOWEEN II (1981)

BRADLEY -Vs- “DARK CITY”: A Rematch 15 Years In The Making!

Opening Night.

1998.

I Was There.

I’ll Never Forget That Night, Honestly.

Dark_City_poster (via Wikipedia)

My Friends And I Had Decided Long Before It Was Released We Would Be Seeing This One On Said Opening Night.

Back In The 1980s And 1990s, That’s What Everyone Did On A Friday Night. You’d Meet-Up With Your Friends And You’d Head To The Local Movie Theater.

It Was Almost Like A Ritual. We Simply HAD HAD HAD To Go See Something.

Living In A Small Midwestern Town, It’s What We Had To Do.

It Was Our Best Option For Having A Good Time. It Was Either That, Or Go Walk Around The Mall.

I Know, Right, We Were Lame.

ANYWAY…

…We All Loaded-Up And Drove A Few Towns Over To The Much Larger Theater.

It’s About A 25-Minute Drive.

(((well we probably made it in less than 20-minutes, but it's SUPPOSED to take longer)))

Upon Entering The Theater, I Was Immediately Horrified To Find It Totally Packed.

The Only Seats Left Weren’t Ideal, To Say The Least.

We Took Said Seats, Anyway.

We Weren’t About To Miss This Flick.

Period.

Sadly, The Theater Was BLAZING-ASS-HOT!

Not Hot As In “Hip & Cool”…

…No…

…I Mean It Was F-in’ HOT HOT HOT Like Hell’ishly HOT!

Like 714-Degrees HOT!

It Was February, And Therefore Cold Outside.

So, The Theater People Had The Heat Cranked Allllll The Way Up.

That’s How It Felt, Anyway.

Couple That With A Totally Packed House, And Yeah.

HOT HOT HOT!!!

The People Sitting In Front Of My Friends And I Never Stopped Gabbing. Someone’s Pocket-Pager Went Off Like 10-Times. I Couldn’t Follow The Plot Very Well Because Of The Distractions And Became Very Confused As To What The Hell Was Really Going On.

It Was All Too Much.

Add In The Fact That “DARK CITY” Is A Dark, Slower-Paced Thriller And It Becomes Easier To Understand Why I Left The Theater Afterward Vowing To NEVER Watch This Flick Ever Ever EVER AGAIN!

And I Didn’t.

For 15 Years, My Vow Stood Strong And Unwavering.

That Is, Until Very Recently.

Seeing “DARK CITY” On Opening Night Was THE WORST THEATER EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE.

Period.

It Had Totally Tainted My View Of The Movie.

You See, I Took-Out My Frustrations Of The Night On The Film. I Shouldn’t Have, But I Did.

My Bad.

Upon Watching It Again, Finally, After 15 Years, I Finally Realized I Had Made A Horrid Mistake.

DARK CITY” Really Is A Quality Flick, My Peeps.

Watching It In The Comfort Of My Own Home, Without Distractions, I Was Able To Finally Appreciate It For What It Is.

A Very Good SCI-FI THRILLER.

It’s Well Acted.

(((starring RUFUS SEWELL, KIEFER SUTHERLAND, JENNIFER CONNELLY, and WILLIAM HURT)))

It’s Well Directed.

(((craftily done by ALEX PROYAS whom also directed another favorite of mine "THE CROW")))

The Sets And Special F/X Are Very Cool.

The Plot Can Be A Touch Confusing At Times, But You’ll Eventually Get It In The End.

All In All, I Was Saddened It Had Taken Me So Long To Finally Give It Another Chance.

BUT, In The End, I’m Super Glad I Did.

DARK CITY” Deserved Better Than What It Got.

It Deserved Better Than What I Gave It.

SO, Here I Am, Trying To Rectify The Problem.

πŸ˜€

If You’ve Seen This One, GREAT.

If You’ve Not, Well, DO SO.

Some People Can’t Get Enough Of “DARK CITY“…

…Some People Can’t F-in’ Stand It.

WHICH ONE ARE YOU?!??!?

My Curiosity Abounds.

πŸ˜‰Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜‰

So... Are YOU Jivin Me -questionmark-

((QUICKIE)) Random Movie Mention: SEAN CONNERY As JAMES BOND -007- In “FROM RUSSIA With LOVE” (1963) !!!

From Russia With Love (1963)

The Truest Example Of An Espionage Thriller In The JAMES BOND Universe Is This Flick…

FROM RUSSIA With LOVE

…Starring…

SEAN CONNERY AsΒ  (Secret Agent -007-) JAMES BOND

…And Also…

DANIELA BIANCHI As (Soviet Defector) TATIANA ROMANOVA

LOTTE LENYA As (SPECTRE Agent #3) ROSA KLEBB

PEDRO ARMENDARIZ As (Special Agent) ALI KERIM BEY

…And…

ROBERT SHAW As (SPECTRE Assassin) DONALD “RED” GRANT

The Film Was Directed By…

TERENCE YOUNG

…Whom Had Previously Directed The BOND Caper…

DR. NO

…And Whom Would Go On To Direct My Fave Fave FAVORITE Of The SEAN CONNERY As BOND Flicks…

THUNDERBALL

πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€

This Is SEAN CONNERY‘s Second Outing As JAMES BOND, And It’s A Real Treat For Anyone Whom IsΒ  A Fan Of The Long Running Franchise.

Here, BOND Is Trying To Get The Soviet Defector, TATIANA ROMANOVA, And A Secret Soviet Decoder-Machine ((The LEKTOR)) Into The Hands Of Her Majesty’s Government And The American CIA.

But, Standing In His Way Are The Evil SPECTRE Agent ROSA KLEBB And Her Trusty SPECTRE Assassin “RED GRANT.

***{{{PLOT SUMMARY HERE}}}***

!!! !!!! !!!

πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€

Some Film Highlights?!?

The Gypsy Camp.

That Awesome Rifle AND Briefcase.

That Even MORE Awesome WristWatch.

A Nifty Boat Chase.

An Even MORE Nifty Helicopter Attack.

But, My Favorite Is The Train Trip On The Super Classic “ORIENT EXPRESS“!!!

πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€

So, My Peeps, If You’re Really In The Mood For A Very Classic BOND Adventure…

…Then I’m Sure You’ll Get A Real Kick Out Of This One!!!

FROM RUSSIA With LOVE

…Is A Super Sweet Spy Thriller, And One Of The Best Flicks In The Series.

You Should Really Give This One A Go, Kiddies, If You Haven’t Already.

For Those Of You Whom Have Already Seen It, I Hope You Dug Its Jive!

Y’all Take Care, Now.

HAPPY MOVIE WATCHING, Fo SHO!!!

πŸ˜€

So... Are YOU Jivin Me -questionmark-

(ALMOST) Random (MIDNIGHT) Movie Mention: “UNKNOWN” (2011)

UNKNOWN (2011)

UNKNOWN

…Stars MY MAIN MAN Himself…

LIAM NEESON

πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€

…And Stars…

AIDAN QUINN

JANUARY JONES

DIANE KRUGER

&

FRANK Skeletor LANGELLA

πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€

It’s Also Produced By “Mr. UBER PRODUCER“…

JOEL SILVER

πŸ˜€

Alright, My Peeps…

…Check-It-Out…

LIAM NEESON

Is

Dr. MARTIN HARRIS

…He Thinks?

But, Is He Really?

Well…

…We Really DON’T KNOW.

((wink wink))

You See, Shortly Into The Flick, He’s In A Car Crash.

He Hit His Head Hard.

He’s Now In The Hospital.

And, He’s Just Awakened From A Four (4) Day Coma.

He’s In Berlin.

He Doesn’t Speak German.

He Has No Official Identification.

He Might Know Some People, But We’re Not Really Sure.

He Just Remembers That He’s Dr. MARTIN HARRIS And That His Wife ((played by JANUARY JONES)) Doesn’t Know Where He Is, Nor What Has Happened.

He Then Remembers She Should Be At The Hotel They Were Originally Going To Stay In, And He’s Got To Go Find Her.

BUT…

…When He Does Get To The Hotel, And He Does Find His Supposed Wife…

…SHE DOESN’T CLAIM TO KNOW HIM AT ALL.

And Now Another Man ((played by AIDAN QUINN)) Shows-Up And Says That HE’s ActuallyDr. MARTIN HARRIS!!!

W.T.F.

?!?!?!?!?!?

And NOW The Flick Really REALLY Begins!!!

πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€

UNKNOWN

…Is Really A MUCH BETTER Flick Than A Lot Of Folks May Have Told You.

It Just Had The Bad Luck Of Coming Out After LIAM NEESON‘s Surprise Mega-Hit-Flick…

TAKEN

😦

UNKNOWN

…Is Fun.

It’s Exciting.

It’s Suspenseful.

It’s Clever.

It Was Good Enough For Me To Wanna Buy It, My Peeps.

I’d Say That’s PLENTY Good.

πŸ˜‰

Some People Told Me “UNKNOWN” Was Slow In Too Many Places, Which Ultimately Hurt The Overall Presentation.

To Those People, I Simply Say…

YOURE IMPATIENT!”

Dammit.

I Thought This Was A Classically Paced Thriller.

I Could EASILY See ALFRED HITCHCOCK Directing Something Like This.

HITCHCOCK Loved The Whole Idea Of The MISTAKEN IDENTITY Caper.

I Think He Would Have Relished In Directing This Flick.

Or, At Least, A Flick Like It.

I’m NOT Saying “UNKNOWN” Is The Greatest Flick Ever, My Peeps.

I AM Saying “UNKNOWN” Is A Lot Better Than You May Realize.

It’s Also Got MORE DEPTH And A THICKER PLOT Than People Gave It Credit For.

It’s Got MORE DEPTH And A THICKER PLOT Than “TAKEN” Had.

And That Is A FACT.

Period Period.

If You Haven’t Seen “UNKNOWN” Yet, Give It A Go, Kids.

If You’ve Seen It Once, And Didn’t Bother Going Another Round…

…Please…

…Do Yourself The Favor Of Checking-It-Out AGAIN.

It’ll Only Cost You 113-Minutes Of Your Life.

A Drop In The Bucket, Ya Know?!

πŸ˜‰

πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€

So... Are YOU Jivin Me -questionmark-

What’s On Now?! ORSON WELLES’ Production Of “THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI” (1947)

The Lady From Shanghai (1948)

THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI

…May Not Be Exactly What ORSON WELLES Had Envisioned…

(((His Original-Cut Was About 155-Minutes, The Studio Release-Cut Was About 87-Minutes)))

…But You Can Totally Still See Plenty Of His Vision.

I Will Say It’s Loaded With Intrigue…

…Murder…

…Plot Twists…

…Exceptional, Quirk’ish Acting…

…And Quirk’ish’ly Exceptional Directing.

The Film Stars…

RITA HAYWORTH as Elsa Bannister/Rosalie

(((HAYWORTH Was Actually Still Married To WELLES At The Time This Flick Was Made)))

ORSON WELLES as Michael O’Hara

(((WELLES Also Wrote The Screenplay, Produced AND Directed)))

&

EVERETT SLOANE as Arthur Bannister

(((SLOANE Was Also A Performer With WELLES' "Mercury Players")))

*** *** ***

Michael O’Hara, against his better judgement, hires on as a crew member of Arthur Bannister’s yacht, sailing to San Francisco. They pick up Grisby, Bannister’s law partner, en route. Bannister has a wife, Rosalie, who seems to like Michael much better than she likes her husband. After they dock in Sausalito, Michael goes along with Grisby’s weird plan to fake his (Grisby’s) murder so he can disappear untailed. He wants the $5000 Grisby has offered, so he can run off with Rosalie. But Grisby turns up actually murdered, and Michael gets blamed for it. Somebody set him up, but it is not clear who or how. Bannister (the actual murderer?) defends Michael in court. Written byΒ John Oswalt <jao@jao.com> (Via The IMDB ((http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040525/plotsummary)))

*** *** ***

THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI

…Is Now Over 65-Years-Old.

Yet, It Remains As Wildly Fun As It Ever Has.

As Others Have Said Of This Film…

…It Is TOTALLY Classic ORSON WELLES.

Kinda Hard Not To Be Since He Wrote, Starred-In, Produced, And Directed It.

CITIZEN KANE

…Is The Flick Most People Remember When Thinking About ORSON WELLES.

Of That, There Can Be No Debate.

But, Sometimes I’d Much Rather Kick-It-Back And Watch…

THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI

Period.

It’s A Lot More Fun, That’s A BIG Fo SHO.

When I Watch “CITIZEN KANE” I Say…

"Well, Now I've Seen It. I Can Totally Understand Why It's Such An Important Flick. I Might Watch It Again At Some Point."

When I See “THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI” I Say…

"Did I Just See What I Think I Just Saw?! I'm Gonna Have To Watch This One Again!"

See The Difference?

Trust Me, Watch Them Both.

Then You’ll Totally Get My Jive, My Peeps.

And It’s Worth It!

It’s So VERY Worth It!

No Foolies, Kids.

Sooo…

…If You Like Quality Murder-Mystery-Noir-Thrillers…

…And ORSON WELLES‘ Unique Filmmaker Qualities…

…I Say Give This One A Go.

THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI

…May Very Well Be Right Up Your Proverbial Alley, My Peeps.

You Really Should Trust Me On This One.

Give It A Go, Fo SHO Fo SHO!

M’Kay?!?

MMM’KAY!!!

πŸ˜‰Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€

What’s On Now?! Gene Hackman in Francis Ford Coppola’s “THE CONVERSATION” (1974)

Filmed In 1974 In-Between…

THE GODFATHER

…And…

THE GODFATHER Part II

…It Has Always Been Easy To Consider This Flick…

THE CONVERSATION

The Conversation (1974)

…As An Almost Totally Forgotten Classic.

It Was Written, Produced AND Directed By…

FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA

And I, Honestly, Don’t Know Too Many People Whom Have, Honestly, Seen It.

I Hadn’t Seen It In Many Years, Until Borrowing It From A BFF ((Whom I Sincerely Need To Be Hanging With More Often, Anyway)).

I Saw It There In His Movie Collection And Immediately Said To Him…

“I Need To Borrow THE CONVERSATION, Dude.”

To Which He Replied…

THE CONVERSATION?! Sure, Sure!! It’s A Good One!!”

And Ya Know What, My Peeps?

It Is.

It’s A Good One.

It’s A Very VERY Good One, Indeed.

GENE HACKMAN

…Is Generally Known For Playing…

…Hmm…

…Rather Volatile Characters?

(((I.E. "Popeye Doyle", "Reverend Scott", "Lex Luthor", "Little Bill Daggett", "Captain Ramsey", etc etc etc)))

But, In This Flick, He Gives One Of The Most Quiet, Understated Performances You’re Likely To Ever Find.

And It’s Brilliant.

Quiet, Understated Brilliance.

Period.

His Performance Is So Spot On Perfect, It’s Almost Tooo Good.

I’ve Known People Like “HARRY CAUL”, The Reserved Wire-Tapper Character He Portrays.

You See, “HARRY CAUL” Is A Professional Surveillance Expert.

He’s Been Hired To Bug A Conversation Between Two People; A Possibly Unfaithful Woman And Her Possible Lover.

Sounds Simple Enough, Right?!

But, Now Those Whom Hired Him Want The Tapes, And It Appears They’re Willing To Kill For Them.

Now “HARRY” Is Listlessly Lost Within A Web Of Deceit, Mystery, Paranoia And Murder.

This Is Very Honest Acting, Writing, AND Directing, My Peeps.

It’s Very Nearly Priceless.

In Short?

I Loved It.

I Still Love It.

I’ve Now Watched “THE CONVERSATION” TWICE This Week, Just To Be Sure I’m Sure Sure Of What I’m Saying.

And NOW…

…Well…

…I Suppose I Should Get Crackin’ On Viewing Number THREE.

I’ve Gotta Make Sure Sure Sure, Ya Know?!

Right?!

RIGHT!!!

πŸ˜‰Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ™‚Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€

Random (Blu-ray) Movie Mention: “RESERVOIR DOGS” (1992)

RESERVOIR DOGS

…Stars…

HARVEY KEITEL

TIM ROTH

MICHAEL MADSEN

STEVE BUSCEMI

CHRIS PENN

…And…

LAWRENCE TIERNEY

…And Was Written AND Directed By…

QUENTIN TARANTINO

πŸ˜€

Let Me Just Say This, My Peeps…

RESERVOIR DOGS

…Is Still My Favorite Flick To Be Directed By…

QUENTIN TARANTINO

.Period.

It’s Nothing Too Fancy.

Just Great Actors…

…Playing Great Characters…

…Spewing Forth Great Dialogue In All Directions.

Scenes Of Crazy F-IN’ Violence…

…An Interesting AND Engrossing Storyline…

…Punctuated Throughout By A Killer Soundtrack.

It’s A Minimalistic Motion Picture…

…Driven By All That I’ve Said Above…

…Making A Need For Anything Else To Be…

…Well…

…Unneeded.

πŸ˜‰

I Actually Saw This Flick For The First Time In 1993.

I Was 13-Years-Old.

My Father Had Rented It, And I Decided To Stay-Up-Late And Watch It In Secret.

After Everyone Else Was Asleep, I Popped-It-On In My Room And…

…Honestly…

…Was Totally Blown Away.

I’d Never Seen…

…Nor Heard…

…Anything Quite Like It, Before.

I Remembering Going To School (Jr. High) The Next Day…

…Talking About It With My Friends AND Others…

…Discovering Quickly I Was The Only One Of Us To Have Seen It.

That Simply Added o The Excitement Over The Whole Situation.

Knowing That I Was Sooooo Coooool To Have Seen This Flick (Though I Wasn’t Supposed To Have Seen It) That None Of My Buds Had Had The Chance To Give A Look See Of Any Kind.

That’s Right…

…Sooooo Coooool, Ineed.

πŸ˜‰

I Was The Only One Of Us To Have Witnessed First Hand The Gritty Wonder That Is The Fi;m…

RESERVOIR DOGS

…And The Introduction Of…

QUENTIN TARANTINO

…To My (And Everyone Else’s) Humble Little World.

Other Flicks Would Follow.

PULP FICTION

JACKIE BROWN

KILL BILL

…But None Had The Impact On Me That…

RESERVOIR DOGS

…Had On Me.

It Stands Out.

It Stands Alone.

It STILL Stands As MY FAVORITE Flick From…

QUENTIN TARANTINO

.Period Period.

The Blu-ray Treatment Is Breathtakingly Awesome…

…And Well Worth The Time (And Money) Invested In It.

Check-It-Out, My Peeps.

You Shant Be Disappointed.

It’s THAT Good.

πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜‰Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€

πŸ™‚Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ™‚

πŸ˜€

-Science Created Him. Now CHUCK NORRIS Must Destroy Him.- It’s “SILENT RAGE” (1982) My Peeps!!!

Alright, My Peeps…

…In This Wild Little Flick…

CHUCK NORRIS

…Is A Tough-As-Nails Sheriff Of A Small Town In Good Ole Texas…

…And Now He’s Facing-Off Against A Mentally Deranged Psycho Killer Whom Is, As Far As We All Know, Totally INDESTRUCTIBLE!!!

No Shit, Sheriffs!

CHUCK NORRIS

…In A “B-Movie” ACTION/HORROR/SLASHER/SCI-FI/THRILLER!!!

I KNOW, RIGHT!!!

WOOT!!!

I Promise, I Couldn’t Make This Up If I Tried!

Well…

…Ok…

…I Could…

…But I’m So SO NOT!!!

πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€

Our Killer Is “JOHN KIRBY”…

(Played With A Brute Viciousness By Mr. BRIAN LIBBY)

…A Man Who Was Recently SHOT-TO-PIECES By The Police After He Took An AX TO HIS FAM!

He Died On The Operating Table…

…Under The Careful Care Of Three Doctors/Surgeons/Geneticists…

(Played By RON SILVER, STEVEN KEATS, And WILLIAM FINLEY)

…Who Are Now Using “KIRBY” As Their Ginni-Pig For A Genetic Super-Healing Serum.

Guess What?!

IT WORKS!!

Only, Not In How They’d Planned.

“KIRBY” Has A Totally Static-Brian, And A Body That Can Perpetually Heal Heal HEAL!!!

Do You See Where This Is Going, Kiddies?!?!?

SURE YOU DO!!!

“KIRBY” Flies The Coop And Sets Out On A Murderous Rampage…

…And…

…Of Course…

…It’s Up To…

CHUCK NORRIS

…To Stop Him!!!

It’s A KILL Or BE KILLED Type Of Situation, Fo SHO!!!

πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€

Trust Me, My Peeps…

…You Haven’t Lived Until You’ve Seen…

CHUCK NORRIS

…In…

SILENT RAGE

…And That Gets A BIG…

FO SHO!!!

πŸ˜€

SILENT RAGE

…Is Easily One Of the Most Fun, Most Awesome, And Most Underrated Flicks In The Realm That Is…

CHUCK NORRIS

!!! !!! !!!

And, I Mean, Come On, At Least With This Flick You Know EXACTLY WHY The Killer Just WON’T DIE!!!

That’s Gotta Count For Something, Right???

RIGHT!!!

πŸ˜‰

πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€Β Β Β Β Β Β  πŸ˜€