kamikaze-4 Reviews

The Amazing Mr. X (1948)

Better than average (Minor Spoiler)

[7/10 · 27 April 2024]

The Amazing Mr. X is an entertaining B flick from the 1940s B outfit Eagle-Lion.

A bogus clairvoyant played by Turhan Bey is attempting to bilk his latest client out of some big bucks.

There is an interesting plot twist that works if you are in a forgiving mood. It seems that there is someone else out to get some big bucks from the latest client played by Lynn Bari, which includes murder! Will the clairvoyant redeem himself and save his client from death?

Catch this rare thriller and find out. The movie also stars Cathy O'Donnell and soon-to-be Universal contract player, Richard Carlson.

I saw this on a Sinister Cinema drive-in double feature paired with The Siren of Atlantis with Maria Montez.

The Nurse That Saw the Baby on the Highway (2023)

Short and decent.

[6/10 · 14 January 2024]

The Nurse That Saw the Baby On the Highway is interesting. The film is not as bad as others claim it is, but with its short running time of less than an hour, the film does seem padded. I guess the scenes with the lead eating Cheez-Its, walking around semi-nude, and having sex with her boyfriend counted as character development? If these scenes were deleted, the film would have ran no more than thirty minutes.

Since the film had ultra-low budget production values, I can accept the sometimes criminally bad photography. What gives this movie an edge is an inspiring Psycho finale. Hey! It worked for me.

It's a Wonderful Knife (2023)

MEH

[5/10 · 7 January 2024]

It's A Wonderful Knife

A young resident of Bedford Falls saves her town from a series of brutal murders during the Holidays by killing her attacker.

A year later, after some incidents, which include catching her boyfriend with another woman, she wishes she had never been born. The woman then goes into an alternate universe and has to stop the brutal killings that still continue in the town.

This is a mildly entertaining attempt to become a cult holiday horror classic that doesn't work in the long run. Taking liberties from It's a Wonderful Life and turning it upside down have some curiosity value. But in the long run, the film will be forgotten.

To Kill a Clown (1972)

Where's the unedited version?

[5/10 · 24 December 2023]

This movie would frequently appear on late-night TV in the late 1970s. Years later, in the home video rental days, this movie would appear on the video rental shelves waiting for a rental.

The one thing I remembered about this film was that the film was edited with a chainsaw. It seemed that big chunks of the film were left on the cutting room floor, making the movie almost senseless.

I found a used copy of the video at a thrift store. I immediately snapped it up. I put the video in my trusty VCR player, and it was the same version I remembered when I would watch this on late-night TV. This version may be the late-night TV print that played back in the days of the Movies-'til-dawn programs of yesteryear.

I did some research on the film's background. The film was over 100 minutes, not eighty-two minutes as stated on the Media VHS tape. The TV prints seemed to be edited to fit ninety-minute time slots.

If this is true, what is missing?

I got a kick out of Alan Alda playing a deranged Vietnam vet terrorizing a Bohemian couple on his island, played by Blythe Danner and Heath Lamberts.

I would like to see the unedited version so I can see what is missing, and would the original edit make a difference?

The Boxer (1972)

Camille Keaton is in this?

[4/10 · 8 June 2023]

To call Ripped Off the second half an adequate drive-in double feature is being charitable. However, the movie does have some redeeming qualities for the Drive-In community. One redeeming quality is the appearance of Catherine Spaak. If you are familiar with her, you might be entertained.

As for the movie itself, Robert Blake was probably in a career slump and did this Italian action drama filmed in Albuquerque, NM. The film was shelved or played in second-rate drive-in/walk-in grindhouse theaters and quickly disappeared from the screen. A few years later, Robert Blake hit it big with Baretta, and this film was reissued to the same type of theaters for another go-round for newfound Robert Blake fans.

A decent action film with Blake giving it his all, but I think this is the TV edit I saw a while back. I would like to see its original edit.

As of this writing, I believe Camille Keaton is in the official eighty-two-minute version of this film. My copy runs seventy-three minutes.

Blood Mania (1970)

BORING

[3/10 · 26 May 2023]

I watched Crown International's Blood Mania in my Creature Features days. I was not impressed with this feeble attempt at horror and sex.

Sinister Cinema released an extended version of this movie to their catalog. I saw the extended version. To paraphrase a line uttered in John Water's Cecil Be Demented, "The extended version? The movie was long enough as is." Since the plot of this film is discussed vividly by other posters, I will give you the low down on the extended scenes. The extended scenes? They are just character development regarding the nurse describing how she always felt ignored because of her looks.

We need a two disc set for that?

The Look of Love (2013)

Better than expected, but still predictable.

[6/10 · 19 May 2023]

Steve Coogan plays adult erotica publisher Paul Raymond. One might say that Paul Raymond was the UK version of Hugh Hefner. As expected, this movie almost becomes a visual free-for-all in its depiction of UK erotic magazines, and some might say that is not a bad thing.

I was about to dismiss this film and change the channel when a subplot occurred. That subplot? The invention of my personal fave UK Queen of erotica, Fiona Richmond! So that's how she started in the biz. I stayed with the film, and I liked what I saw.

As expected, the film follows the ups and downs of Paul Raymond's empire just like other biographies. If it weren't for the intro to Fiona Richmond, I would have just gone about my business and watched something else.

Disco Fever (I) (1978)

Fabian Goes Disco

[5/10 · 10 May 2023]

Disco Fever, alternately known as Jet Set Disco, and for some inexplicable reason, Jukebox is a time capsule of an era that has come and gone. As expected, a forgettable disco soundtrack, cliched disco dancing, and adequate acting make this movie as monotonous as any night at a disco. The cast does try, but they seem to be on autopilot throughout the film.

The plot: The owner of a popular disco persuades a faded rock and roll star to perform on the opening night of her latest creation- a disco on a jetliner! The twist is the rock and roll star, played by Fabian, is unknowingly the opening for the owner's latest disco singer, Michael Blodgett. Fabian won't go for that. And that's the plot.

This movie is slightly better than any Network TV movie featuring Disco as a plot device, but that's faint praise.

Dark Places (1974)

Dull Places

[3/10 · 20 March 2023]

If it weren't for the last ten-or-so minutes, this movie would be committing the unpardonable sin of being dull. The plot, such as it is, concerns a doctor who inherits a mansion from one of his patients. The Mansion is said to be haunted. A subplot of missing money hidden in the house also figures into this plot. The first eighty minutes consist of a collection of non-threatening scares and the introduction of Christopher Lee and Joan Collins as conniving next-door neighbors looking for hidden money. In the last ten or so minutes, there is a flashback explaining what occurred in the house that put the original owner into an Asylum. A minor twist makes the movie slightly palatable. This movie is only good as a trivia question. The question? What movie did Joan Collins and Christopher Lee star in?

Carlotta (2014 TV Movie)

WEHT to Alex Dimitriades?

[5/10 · 20 February 2023]

I was browsing for Alex Dimitriades films through the Tubi search engine and came across Carlotta. Oh well, I decided to watch the movie for Alex- billed as Angelo.

He wasn't even in this film long enough to acknowledge his presence. Of the few scenes he is in a few of the crowd scenes at the nightclub, he kisses his Transvestite lover and smacks his Transvestite lover on the behind. Later on, we, the viewer, find Angelo ditched his Transvestite lover and is shacking up with a stripper. Anybody could have played the part of Angelo. Was Alex that desperate for a paycheck?

As for this type of film, I liked I Want What I Want with Anne Heywood better.

Magic Mike's Last Dance (2023)

Mike lost is magic.

[3/10 · 14 February 2023]

I went to see this film with my family. This movie almost commits the unpardonable sin of being dull.

This time "Magic" Mike is a bartender at a wealthy woman's mansion in Miami. After giving her a lap dance, she invites Mike to visit England and turn her ex-husband's theater into a burlesque show. She wants revenge on her husband and thinks this will be sweet vengeance. Why? Who knows, and by the time the film is over, who cares?

The problem with this movie is it is cold and emotionless.

The bigger problem is there is no chemistry between Salma Hayek and Channing Tatum. That ruins the film.

The idea that Salma wants revenge on her husband by turning the upper-crust theater owned by her husband makes me think that this movie would have been better with Joan Collins as the female lead. Is Magic Mike: The Last Dance the film Joan Collins never starred in?

Terror Train 2 (2022)

Unnecessary sequel to an unnecessary remake of a not-quite cult classic thriller.

[5/10 · 8 January 2023]

In this version, our heroine boards the train only to find more murder and mayhem on the infamous Terror Train. In the first film, it was easy to figure out the killer's I. D. and motivation. I mean, you couldn't figure out who it was and why?

I give kudos to the scriptwriters for making the guessing game a wee bit harder to I. D the killer. I had the killer's I. D. pegged early on. This time, the red herrings made the guessing game difficult. Maybe the killer was this person? Maybe the other? After all, was said and done, I was right all along.

The one annoying thing was the inclusion of characters from the first film. They had nothing to offer to the plot but to remind you of their presence from the first film.

A high body count might make splatter hounds rejoice, but in the long run, this movie is slightly better than its predecessor.

Snuff (1975)

Sucker!

[1/10 · 29 October 2022]

P. T. Barnum said, "There's a sucker born every minute" and to the patrons who went to see this movie deserved everything they got. Yeah, I finally got to see Snuff! Was it worth it? NO! If you have seen this movie, you know what to expect. A Manson like leader and his female followers commit mayhem in South America leading up to massacre of movie star and her friends.

If you haven't, you aint missing much. Hard to take this movie at face value when the dubbing sounds like it was dubbed in upstate New York in a soundproof booth. The actor's voices sound Upstate New Yawk. The problem with this film? It's BORING!

Starf*cker (2022)

MEH

[4/10 · 25 October 2022]

I just don't know if I can possibly come up with six hundred characters to review this film, but I'll try.

The first part of this film is fun. An up-and-coming actor takes Hollywood by storm. And by taking Hollywood by storm, he has sexual encounters and other sordid adventures that improve his chances of being discovered.

The second half of this film drags to an automatic stop. Our hero gets an audition with his ex-girlfriend on the most toxic film set imagined.

There is a brief bit at the end which gives the movie the edge it needs. You just have to slog through the annoying second half to get there.

Terror Train (2022)

Unnecessary

[5/10 · 22 October 2022]

An unnecessary remake of the Jamie Lee Curtis slasher, Terror Train. The original is by no way a cult classic as fans of slasher films gush, but why remake the original when there are many more original ideas still out there?

The remake, just like the original, has the novelty of a guessing game about who the killer is. Surprisingly, I guessed right. Come on, folks. You couldn't guess the killer's identity and why?

For what it's worth, this movie did keep my attention, and I didn't mind the multi-racial cast. Would I recommend this film? Only if you haven't seen the original. Final thought. Most likely this movie will be forgotten in a few years.

Death Rink (2019)

Not the best

[1/10 · 6 October 2022]

What could have been a throwback to the 1980s slasher film Death Rink becomes a throwaway instead. This movie just about commits the unpardonable sin of being boring.

The main problem with Death Rink is it takes too long to get to the kills.

There is too much talk trying to masquerade as character development. And the adequate acting makes this film just tolerable.

The one plus for this film was the running time. The movie runs under seventy-five minutes. (A slow seventy-five minutes).

I was able to pinpoint the killer and why long before the revelation. You should be able to as well.

DUMB.

The Munsters (2022)

Made for TV feel

[3/10 · 28 September 2022]

I always preferred The Munsters over The Addams Family. After hearing a lot of negative reviews about this film, I still decided to watch the movie. Of all the negative rants I have read, the reviews missed one major problem- The cast doesn't have the wit to pull this film off. It's just meh for me.

The original cast (Fred Gwynne, Yvonne DeCarlo and Al Lewis) could run rings around the dialogue given. The new cast seems to not want to bother turning in a performance.

The film has too much of a TV movie feel. It might work well for children but not fans of The Munsters

I can see why Universal chose not to release this film to the theaters.

Emanuelle in America (1977)

Emanuelle and her trusty bracelet camera.

[5/10 · 27 September 2022]

Even though this movie is slow-paced and sleazy with a capital S, Emanuelle in America is surprisingly watchable. Most of the unrated hardcore scenes begin to happen after the first twenty minutes.

See Emanuelle infiltrate a Harem with her trusty bracelet camera to get the goods on the Harem keeper. Spoiler alert! The first extreme scene happens in that segment.

See Emanuelle then go to Venice, Italy. Wait! Wasn't this supposed to be in America?

See Emanuelle learn about the hedonistic styles of the rich and famous. More hardcore scenes follow.

See Emanuelle return to America and infiltrate a stud farm. More hardcore scenes follow. This segment sets up the notorious snuff segment that rounds the film to its conclusion.

All in all, I did watch the film, so there!

The Lonely Lady (1983)

Why All the Hate?

[5/10 · 23 June 2022]

To say the film The Lonely Lady is a classic is stretching it. To say the film version of The Lonely Lady is a trash classic is more on the line. I can't see how much hate this movie receives. After all, what were the viewers expecting? The Lonely Lady is a film adaptation of a really trashy Harold Robbins best seller. The viewer wasn't seeing an adaptation of Dickens's novel. Just take the film for what it is. An adaptation of a trashy sexploitation potboiler. The cast knew that and played it as such.

If you want to hate, try the Shout! Factory release which includes a second-generation copy of the network broadcast premiere. The print is almost unwatchable.

So why all the hate? Pia Zadora was interviewed on the Shout Factory presentation, and she took it with a sense of humor. You should too.

Riot on 42nd St. (1987)

Tim Kincaid's finest?

[5/10 · 21 June 2022]

I realize this is nothing to brag about, but I have seen almost all of Tim Kincaid's films. Riot on 42nd Street is probably one of his better films. I know that's not saying much but come on. When all the dust clears, the film ends, you gotta admit, you watched the movie.

Adequate acting, inept fight scenes, and stand-up comic getting a deserving death by a shotgun during a nightclub massacre, make this no-budget wonder worth a look.

Two things concern me. What caused the riot? And why did the police not investigate the nightclub massacre?

Fatal Games (1984)

Fatal Games

[5/10 · 30 May 2022]

I first saw this movie on late-night TV as Fatal Games. Sadly, the movie seemed to be edited with a chainsaw, and I couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on. It was quite apparent, to me, who the killer was, but the horrendous editing ruined the film, and I changed the channel.

Oh well, Ray Gun streaming channel featured this film under another title, and I watched the film. I was right about who the killer was .....however

MINOR SPOILER considering the political climate regarding athletes competing against each other, the revelation of why the killer was murdering the athletes was way ahead of its time.

Dumb, and badly paced, but with a revelation that is.. well I guess you will have to see it to believe it.

No classic, but worth a look.

SST: Death Flight (1977 TV Movie)

Dumb but never boring

[5/10 · 3 May 2022]

Another TV movie disaster movie of the week. Another group of stock characters is portrayed by ABC network stock players. Another way to waste a few hours. And Misty Rowe topless. HUH? This must have been one of those infamous European versions ABC would send overseas with extra footage. I know I didn't see the Misty Rowe scene on network TV. And I certainly didn't hear Burgess Meredith utter a certain four-letter word on the movie's original broadcast. Oh well, this movie isn't a thrill ride, but its never boring.

Night of the Living Dead 3D: Re-Animation (2012)

Insomnia cure

[3/10 · 1 May 2022]

The dead aren't the only things slow in this movie. This movie is so slow-moving, it just about commits the unpardonable sin of being boring. If anything, the 3D effects work, but for what reason? This would be a sure cure for insomniacs.

The Venusian (1954)

Nothing strange or special

[4/10 · 11 April 2022]

Nothing special sci-fier from the 1950s that you haven't seen before. The main problem is, that the film almost commits the unpardonable sin of being boring. Talk talk talk, a mild conflict, and minor league special effects keep this film from being anything other than a Saturday afternoon timewaster.

The Barge People (2018)

The Barge People

[4/10 · 7 April 2022]

A Mildly entertaining film if you haven't seen Doomwatch (1972). SPOILERS In Doomwatch, the government is dumping chemicals into the ocean which infects the drinking water of citizens of a nearby island. The citizens suffer from Acromegaly and suffer fits of violence.

This film has a similar theme as chemicals are turning the locals in a nearby village.... oh, you know the score.