Wednesday, December 31, 2014

What Have We Learned in 2014?

It's time for the annual clip show - a look back at the year just ending - to prep for the one just beginning. So what did we learn in 2014?



We learned that perhaps the finest ski slob comedy ever came out in 1984...













We learned that making a low budget horror movie in the early 80's can be a wild experience...






Gonna gitcha! Gonna gitcha!








We learned that I was still doing extra work in 1993...






Working with Jeri Ryan on the beach - a GOOD day to be an extra on Matlock.










We learned that Sean Connery's brother Neil Connery got to play a plastic surgeon archer spy in an Italian movie in the 1960's!





















We learned that Jason Voorhees was so pervasive in pop culture in the late 80's he could appear on a TV talk show...



















We learned that even 85 year old character actors know good blogging when they see it...






Thankfully I didn't need to resort to this method to get him to agree to the video...










We learned that sometimes a director can be too young...







Another beautiful woman - Jada Pinkett - and another day on the beach.
I had such a tough job.









We learned that Australian filmmakers in the 1970's knew how to make a martial arts movie...even if Bruce Lee had died!















We learned that you can get from Tom Atkins to Britt Ekland in less than six costars...




















We learned that sometimes you do need to get a good look at the monster...













We learned that the walkie talkie used to be a very important piece of equipment on a film set...












And lastly, we learned that one show about two people driving a fast car was all CBS needed in the early 80's...

















Thanks for everything in 2014! See you in 2015 - and until then, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Monday, December 29, 2014

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #196!

Theme Week!
 
 
You'll figure it out...





12:01  (New Line Television, 1993)


I don't know if this was made for television or just premiered there - but it's an entertaining movie - a variation on Groundhog Day played more for thrills than laughs.











12 Angry Men  (United Artists, 1957)


The quintessential trial drama - first produced onstage, then adapted to this terrific movie. The plot has been borrowed by scads of TV shows - dramas and comedies - in the years since - and there was a very respectable TV movie remake in 1997 - but this is the one to see.












12 Rounds  (Fox Atomic, 2009)


I don't know why I haven't seen this action flick yet - a high concept plot and a wrestler starring - right up my alley!







So...what importance does the number 12 have this particular week....hmmm....








We'll see if we can sneak in one more post in 2014 - until then, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Saturday Night at the Movies 12/27/14!

Who cares what picture we see?



James Coburn would - he was pretty Zen that way - so we will pick this one...










Here's a spaghetti western from good ol' Sergio Leone - but one a little less famous than the ones he did with Clint Eastwood a few years earlier. I know nothing about this one - except that I got it as a Christmas present on Blu-Ray from my wondrous wife Suze - so that means you and I could be checking it out at any time - even tonight - if you felt like coming by!









Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas!


Let's Get Out of Here! wishes the happiest of Yuletides to one and all!









Desserts are good at Christmas...here's some cheesecake to get us started....











Now, how about some fine Christmas music...?


























And one of my favorite internet photos floating around...clever...clever...














Wishing you the very best as we near the end of 2014....until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Monday, December 22, 2014

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #195!


Since it's Christmas week - three posters for movies not usually remembered as Christmas movies - but they are...




Gremlins  (Warner Bros., 1984)


I haven't watched this in a while - but it's a very entertaining movie with one young man's Christmas present from his ne'er-do-well father tearing their world a new one - after the young man breaks the rules...




















Die Hard  (20th Century Fox, 1988)


The poster doesn't mention it - but it's a Christmas party the terrorists invade - so Ho Ho Ho indeed - now he has a machine gun...
















P2  (Summit Entertainment, 2007)


On Christmas Eve, a young woman leaves work to head out to a party - but a security guard in her office building is obsessed with her - and he chooses that night to strike...I thoroughly enjoyed this one - though it doesn't seem to be all that well loved in horror circles.
















Until next post - on the day - you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Saturday Night at the Movies 12/20/14!

Who cares what picture we see?




I know Robert Culp would - he was that kind of guy - so we're picking this one...










I first saw previews of this movie when it aired on Spike TV - I think it may have premiered there. I thought it sounded goofy and fun, so I tracked it down on disc and watched it - and thought it was pretty marvelous.


The plot is truly clever - Santa Claus is actually the son of Satan - and after losing a wager a millenium ago was cursed to be the bright and cheerful bringer of gifts to the children of the world - for 1000 years.


The 1000 years are up.


Now Santa is free to do what he really wants to do - kill everyone he can get his hands on. In the bulky form of wrestler Bill Goldberg - he's damned good at it too.



His only opposition is young Nicholas Yuleson (hm, that's an interesting name) and his girlfriend Mary - and Nick's granddad (the late great Robert Culp) who might know more about all this than he lets on.


It is indeed goofy, and a little gory - but that's all to the good - and there's some wonderful touches, like a stop motion segment calling back to those classic Christmas TV specials like Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Santa Claus is Coming to Town - and the sardonic sense of humor is something to counter the sweetness of the holiday - and we could be checking it out on the DVD in the video vault - any time - including this very evening - if you'd like to jump in your slay...er, sleigh... and come see me...






Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

The Video Vault of Mora Tau 12/17/14!

It's that holiday time of year - so let's look back to some of those wonderfully cheesy holiday specials from back in the day!




Perhaps the most infamous holiday special of all time...












Here's a night of holiday themed shows...















And three straight hours of music and comedy - back when the term "variety show" wasn't a bad thing...






I used to be glued to stuff like this as a kid - but none of the modern ones catch my attention at all, I'm afraid.








Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Monday, December 15, 2014

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #194!




The Leopard Man  (RKO Radio Pictures, 1943)
 Another corker Val Lewton/Jacques Tourneur thriller - this one a pretty creepy flick with a small town menaced by an escaped leopard - or is it? Could the killer knocking off townspeople be walking around on two legs? Well worth checking out to see which...














The Dirty Game  (American International Pictures, 1965)


Another spy flick pushed into production thanks to the success of 007 - this one tells three short spy stories as narrated by peripherally involved Robert Ryan. I haven't seen it - but with that cast it should at least be watchable.















Wes Craven's New Nightmare  (New Line Cinema, 1994)



Afetr several increasingly dreary sequels - Wes Craven returned to the franchise he inadvertently created and breathed new life in with a wild meta tale about Wes Craven making a new Nightmare movie with Heather Langenkamp and Robert Englund - only this time, Freddy's real and he's going to kill the very people who originally gave him cinematic life! Add this to the short list of fully recommended Nightmare movies - for the record, that's the 1984 original, Part 3 (The Dream Warriors), and this one.











Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Saturday, December 13, 2014

Saturday Night at the Movies 12/13/14!

Who cares what picture we see?




Larry Hagman would have - as long as we didn't ask on Sunday - so we're going with this one:











One of my very favorite movies of all time. I first saw it on the big screen - front row center. Then some time later we had installed cable in our house and weird things were going on - there was a programming feature that showed a movie not yet available to HBO or Showtime Friday night, Saturday night, Sunday night, then not the next Thursday, but the Thursday a week later. Four showings - and I watched every one of them when they showed Superman. Then Showtime showed it a couple of months after that - and I watched every showing I could.



I'm guessing I saw it a dozen times or more by the time Showtime took it off the schedule. Already by this time I could recite the movie's dialogue line for line. I still can - with a few dozen more viewings in the years since.



However, I promise I won't do that if you want to come watch it with me - from a nice DVD box set - unless you want me to...







Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Celebrity Endorsement: Ken Foree!



I first enccountered Ken Foree - on BETA - watching Dawn of the Dead in the early 80's...





I've since seen him in scads of other movies and TV shows, and it's always cool when he shows up...








He usually plays men of few words - and he applies that same principle in endorsing pop culture blogs...



















Thanks, Mr. Foree!





Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Monday, December 8, 2014

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #193!



Theme Week!
 
 
3 posters, 1 movie!




Let's check out three different posters for the same 50's Creature Feature - with Ray Harryhausen special effects.






The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms  (Warner Bros., 1956)


































I don't have a favorite here - they're all cool posters as far as I'm concerned.










Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Saturday Night at the Movies 12/6/14!

Who cares what picture we see?




This blog's buddy Lisa London most certainly does - so we are picking this one tonight...











As the poster clearly indicates - here's a movie inspired by the success of Animal House the previous year. The inspiration doesn't stop there - H.O.T.S. turns to the distaff side giving us four gorgeous young women who have been bullied by the rude sorority girls on campus - so they start their own sorority - which is the basic plot of Animal House too.



Regardless of all that - H.O.T.S. carves its own place in cinema history - because it gives us the incredible Lisa London as O'Hara - vivacious, luscious, and funny. Of course, this blog is also a big fan of Susan Kiger - after her amazing turn in Andy Sidaris's Seven and cementing her sexy screen persona here.



Basically I could watch those two ladies read the phone book for an hour and a half - but H.O.T.S. is a fun romp - and you get familiar faces like Lindsay Bloom, Danny Bonaduce, Ken Olfson, and Dick Bakalyan as well.



I just added the DVD to the video vault - and you can join me for a watch of this flick anytime - even tonight - if you want to brave the cold to see H.O.T.S.!



And if you'd like to read this blog's interview with Lisa London, go HERE.








Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Pit Stop!

Georgia Peaches  (New World Television, 1980)











Before the Camera:


Tanya Tucker  (Hard Country)
Teri Nunn  (Thank God It's Friday)
Dirk Benedict  (Battlestar Galactica)
Sally Kirkland  (Big Bad Mama)
Lane Smith  (Red Dawn '84)
Dennis Patrick  (House of Dark Shadows)
Noble Willingham  (Blind Fury)
Bob Hannah  (Invasion USA)
Jerry Rushing  (Rottweiler)
and
Burton Gilliam  (Blazing Saddles)
as
Delbert






Behind the Camera:


Directed by Daniel Haller

Produced by Roger Corman

Written by Mick Henderoth, Monte Stettin, and William Hjortsberg

Story by Mick Henderoth, Monte Stettin, and Lois Luger






Back in the day, if there was a hit movie in theaters – the next fall there would be at least one very similar TV show on one of the networks. And if that show ht big, usually there would be at least one attempt to replicate that hit on another network. (And the odds would be pretty good that the late great Glen Larson would be the creator of one of the TV shows. But I digress.) Star Wars --and-- Battlestar Galactica (ABC) --and-- Buck Rogers (NBC). Raiders of the Lost Ark --and-- Tales of the Gold Monkey (ABC) --and-- Bring ‘Em Back Alive-(CBS). Smokey and the Bandit --and-- Dukes of Hazzard-(CBS)--and-- Knight Rider-(NBC). Dukes was such a big hit for CBS there was another attempt to duplicate its success – on the same network! It seems Roger Corman decided this might be a good time to get into the television business, and partnered with the Columbia Broadcasting System to produce a pilot for another good ol’ boys and their souped up car vs the law show – only in this case they also borrowed a bit from Three’s Company and had two good ol’ girls teamed up with one guy and a souped up car.
 
Georgia Peaches, indeed.
 

Teri Nunn (later the lead singer of the pop group Berlin) plays Sue Ann Peach – owner and proprietor of The Georgia Peaches – a car repair garage. She and her boyfriend Dusty Tyree (Benedict) also run some shine on the side. Sue Ann’s sister Lorette (Tucker) has been off pursuing her dream of becoming a country western singer but has come home just in time to help Sue Ann and Dusty battle the evil Vivian Stark (Kirkland) who wants to buy the land the Georgia Peaches garage sits on for her own nefarious purposes – including drug running. After Stark frames the sisters and Dusty and gets them carted off to jail, Federal agent Randolph Dukane (surely meant to be DuQuesne – but maybe that’s a simplified spelling) (Smith) steps in and recruits the trio as off-the-book agents to help him get the goods on Stark and her partners Jarvis Wheeler (Willingham) and Wade Holt (Patrick). Much sneaking around and fast driving ensues.




I can't see how this could have gone over as a series - it's so similar to The Dukes of Hazzard it doesn't manage to scratch any itch Dukes missed - but then who could have ever thought there could be 3 CSI's, 4 Law and Order's, and 3 NCIS's all on at the same time? The main draws here are Benedict and the stuntwork - the ladies are cute - and wear some 70's TV sexy stuff - but their acting is not all that great. The bad guys are fun - and Smith brings some sparkle to his Fed role - so that helps too. In the end - it's weird watching a Corman movie like this which reeks of the drive-in but has no nudity or softcore sex scenes, but if you're a Dukes fan you'd probably enjoy this flick - and if you're into car chase movies it's also recommended. If you're not in either of those camps - this is probably one for you to miss.














Let's Get Out of Here ?


At about 21:56 Tanya Tucker throws in a "just" but definitely wants to leave the jailhouse.







Eye Candy ?

I usually have some pictures to illustrate - but there's not a lot to choose from on the interweb. I'm still giving it to Tanya Tucker, Teri Nunn, and Sally Kirkland - all in great early 80's TV fashion - welcome to the list, ladies!







Buddha Man's Capsule Review


Buddha Man says "The Georgia Peaches may not be a classic,
but it's not the pits, either!"











Thank you BM. Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!

Monday, December 1, 2014

Maniacal Movie Poster Monday #192!






Macabro  (Trans American Films, 1966)


One of those "mondo" movies with documentary footage of various strange and exotic practices from around the world. I have not watched any of these - not much on real footage of gross stuff - I prefer the artistry of the fiction film.














Sweet Baby Charlie  (aka The Sadist)  (Fairway International Pictures, 1963)


This is a cool little thriller - which I saw on VHS under its original title way back when. Arch Hall, Jr. is really good as the titular psycho, who holds three teachers hostage at the point of a gun across 80 minutes - played out in real time - one of my favorite movie gimmicks. A definite recommendation for this one.















The Big Gundown  (Columbia Pictures, 1968)

A spaghetti western that originated in its native land in 1966, then came across The Big Pond two years later - I have not seen this one - but you cannot possibly go wrong with that lead duo in an Italian western.








Until next post, you Can Poke Me With A Fork, Cause I Am Outta Here!