This post is going to be all about the things I have been watching on YouTube. I will start with Films (both full length and shorts).
I thought I would start with the bad, or good depending on your point of view 😀
Let us start with an old horror, by old I mean 1969 and by horror I mean the cast and acting more than the story 😀 I stumbled across this film whilst looking for another, better, 60's British horror film. The film I found is called The Haunted House Of Horror (also known as Horror House). It is an American International Pictures film, but is a very British film. The first thing you have to get past is the casting of Frankie Avalon as a thuggish druggie, along with his druggie friends played by Mark Wynter, Richard O'Sullivan, Julian Barnes and Robin Stewart. Then there is George Sewell as a creepy, dirty old man and Dennis Price as the police Inspector. The plot, what there is of it, is fairly basic 60's/70's horror fodder with no great surprises. It is not very well written or acted, on the whole it has all the factors needed to make it a brilliantly bad film, unfortunately it just doesn't quite reach those high standards. Here is a link for you to judge for yourselves, if you want to:-
The Haunted House Of Horror
Ok, sticking with horror but moving on to short films, here are a few of the many dozens that are on YouTube that I've watched and liked. Firstly there is Rasp, a fairly decent short shock film that is well made and works well. It almost feels like part of a longer, bigger budget film. Here is a link to it:-
Rasp
The next one is called So Pretty, an interesting short film about the romanticism around vampires. Again very well made, if a little lacking in some areas of acting and dialogue, but on the whole very good. Here is a link to it:-
So Pretty
The last horror, although it is listed as a thriller, is called Amy. While some of the acting isn't as good as it could be, the story is good and it is filmed well. Here is a link to it:-
Amy
As a break from the horror stuff I watched a few other films, one of which that I liked was called Plastic. It is a look at the obsession with looking 'right' and is a really well made film with excellent effects. Here is a link to it:-
Plastic
Now we move on to Sci-Fi and start with two full length B-Movies that are worth a look for different reasons. The first is called 4D Man. I really don't know what to say about this film. It is a 1959 Universal-International film, starring Robert Lansing and Lee Meriwether. The plot sounds better on paper than it looks on film and the film itself is more than a little slow and dull. A sort of Sci-Fi/Crime film I honestly wasn't sure I would be able to watch it to the end, I did make it and when the film finishes and on the screen comes up "The End?" all I could think was "I really hope so!" Here is a link for you to judge for yourselves:-
4D Man
The second full length Sci-Fi B-Movie is called The Giant Claw. This is a well known monster movie with brilliantly awful special effects and not much better acting. It is a 1957 Columbia Pictures film starring Jeff Morrow and Mara Corday. It is one of the best bad movies I've seen in ages and is more than well worth watching. Here is a link to it:-
The Giant Claw
Next is a full length Sci-Fi film which is amazingly good. I have always been a fan of time travel and this indie film works the time travel/paradox theme brilliantly. It is called 41. It is an Australian film starring Chris Gibson. I was blown away by how good the story is and how well put together the film is. I would recommend this film to anyone, especially if you are into time travel stories. Here is a link for you to see it:-
41
And so on to Sci-Fi short films. I have watched a few of these and are the ones I liked best. After watching 41 I decided to start looking at time travel films. The first one I watched is called Stealing Time. Again it deals with time paradoxes, this time in a more amusing way. Here is a link to it:-
Stealing Time
The next one is called Beyond and this deals with time travel in a more serious way but also covers time paradoxes. Here is a link to it:-
Beyond
Another more light hearted, although at the same time making a good serious point, in called One-Minute Time Machine. Here is a link to it:-
One Minute Time Machine
Ok, so now on to TV shows on YouTube. Here I have been watching something a little different. I saw an American clip show on YouTube which was all about TV pilots that were not picked up and made into full series. There was some odd stuff on it, especially in the Sci-Fi part, so I decided to look for some of the full pilots and managed to find most of those I was interested in. So here they are.
Firstly, as some people might know, I recently posted on Facebook asking what old TV series people thought should be brought back, one I chose was Time Tunnel. Imagine my delight to find that a new pilot had been made for Time Tunnel in 2002, unfortunately it wasn't picked up. Having now seen it I can see why that might have been but I still think it had, and as an idea has, many possibilities for series development. Anyway, here is a link to the pilot for you to watch:-
Time Tunnel (2002)
Next is a brilliantly laughable idea that was basically just a vehicle for British actor Trevor Eve to break into America, it didn't work. It is called Shadow Chasers and, like all of these shows, is worth a watch even if it's just for a laugh. Unfortunately, as with many of these things, I could only find the opening credits and trailer. Here is a link to the opening credits:-
Shadow Chasers (opening)
Not all of the series pilots I watched were Sci-Fi, this one is a crime/detective series starring David Rappaport, it is called The Wizard. I don't have much to say about this one, just watch. Here is a link to it:-
The Wizard
Another non Sci-Fi pilot is called Six O'Clock Follies. I'm still not completely sure exactly what this was really about or who it was aimed at, but it's worth a look. Here is a link to the opening credits:-
Six O'Clock Follies
Back to the Sci-Fi now and a thing called Time Express. With Vincent price in it, it should really have worked but obviously didn't. Some of these series, even though they weren't picked up, had more than just the pilot made. From what I can work out they made at least two episodes of this show but I could only find clips and opening credits on YouTube. Here is a link to the opening:-
Time Express (opening)
Staying with the Sci-Fi theme we move on to a series with one of the most laughable titles and intros I've ever seen, it is called The Man With The Power. A half alien that becomes a government agent, why wasn't this huge? Anyway, here is a link to the opening titles:-
The Man With The Power (opening)
Another series that I find it incredible that it wasn't picked up is called Exoman. He was the Tony Stark of his age. For some reason this pilot has been put up on YouTube in parts. Here is a link to part one:-
Exoman (part 1)
A much more bizarre series is one called Steel Justice. A man's son is reincarnated (not sure that's the correct term) into a toy metal, electric dinosaur which grows to massive size in order to protect him from the bad guys. I don't know why they said no to this one. This is another one that is in parts. Here is a link to part one:-
Steel Justice (part 1)
Next is a "people shifted out of time and trapped" romp called The Outlaws. A bunch of gunslingers from the Wild West moved to modern America. Here is a link to it:-
The Outlaws
Well, that's about all from the YouTube files for now, and the last part of these blog entries. Please feel free to leave any comments at all about my blog or these films/TV shows. Thanks.
23/07/2017
Things I've been watching on TV and on-line, good and bad (Pt 2)
Continuing my look at some things I've been watching recently, I am going to move on from superheroes to other films and TV series.
I am, to a certain degree, a creature of habit, as are we all I suppose. With films and TV this means that I often like to re-watch things, especially those things I liked in my youth. This habit can bring both happiness and disappointments. I was recently reminded of a few shows that I watched as a child and so decided to revisit them, to my joy I still found H. R. Puffenstuff a complete load of nonsense that raised a smile and even the odd silly laugh, I was also pleased to find that I was still entertained by Land of The Giants though maybe not as much or in the same way as I was as a child. Timeslip, on the other hand I found dull and slow and really not very good, and I found The Champions boring and cheesey. I may try again with some other series but I think I might leave it a while and choose carefully. While revisiting old TV series may not always give the results you expect, most of the time, the same is not true of films. I have been re-watching some films that I saw as a child and loved, and also some that I have seen as an adult and loved. First up is the absolutely brilliantly surreal Rubber, I would urge everyone to watch this film even if it's only once. I am not going to spoil it for anyone that hasn't seen it but let's just say that it is an interesting film with a unique take on serial killers. Another film by the same people who made Rubber that I also watched again is Wrong, whilst it is in a similar style to Rubber it is a very different and slightly more surreal film in many ways, but equally worth watching.
And now to new ground, well in some cases old new ground. Moving on to films and TV series that I haven't seen before. Let's start with TV shows.
I missed out on watching Broadchurch when it was on TV so have now made up for it by binge watching all 3 seasons. I now understand why so many people were praising it so highly. Brilliantly written and filmed, the editing, soundtrack and cinematography were second to none. Added to that was a fantastic cast that acted their socks off. One of the best things on UK TV for some time. Another great series that I watched and then caught up on the older seasons was Line Of Duty, again it was brilliantly written and well made with a strong cast, I am hoping they do another season soon. I have also dipped into a few other programmes but not watched as fervently, one of the better ones is Night Shift which reminds me a little of MASH with a big helping of ER mixed in. My good lady wife introduced me to a series called Master Of Photography, which is a competition between European photographers where they are given set tasks each week, it was really interesting, as was Landscape Artist Of The Year.
Now on to films. I must admit that most of the films I've watched of late have either been superhero films or will be covered in my next blog entry, but I did watch a few other films. One was London Has Fallen, it is (to parphrase a footballing term) a film of two halves. The first half of the film is a well thought out action movie that has a good story that is moved on well by the action sequences, but the second half is more like action for action sake, too much unnecessary violence that didn't move the story on and just seemed to be there to add to the body count. Another was the film of Spooks, I loved the TV series and was looking forward to the film, I must say it was ok. It wasn't as good as the series but, by keeping connections to the series in a number of places it worked as part of the whole. Lastly there was the James Bond film Spectre, while I don't think it was as good as either Skyfall or Quantum Of Solace, it was a good film with some excellent set pieces and was made to the high quality that you would expect from the Bond series.
Well, that's it for this time, the next post will be entirely about films, TV shows and odd bits I have watched on YouTube. As usual, if you have any comments please leave them on here. Thank you.
I am, to a certain degree, a creature of habit, as are we all I suppose. With films and TV this means that I often like to re-watch things, especially those things I liked in my youth. This habit can bring both happiness and disappointments. I was recently reminded of a few shows that I watched as a child and so decided to revisit them, to my joy I still found H. R. Puffenstuff a complete load of nonsense that raised a smile and even the odd silly laugh, I was also pleased to find that I was still entertained by Land of The Giants though maybe not as much or in the same way as I was as a child. Timeslip, on the other hand I found dull and slow and really not very good, and I found The Champions boring and cheesey. I may try again with some other series but I think I might leave it a while and choose carefully. While revisiting old TV series may not always give the results you expect, most of the time, the same is not true of films. I have been re-watching some films that I saw as a child and loved, and also some that I have seen as an adult and loved. First up is the absolutely brilliantly surreal Rubber, I would urge everyone to watch this film even if it's only once. I am not going to spoil it for anyone that hasn't seen it but let's just say that it is an interesting film with a unique take on serial killers. Another film by the same people who made Rubber that I also watched again is Wrong, whilst it is in a similar style to Rubber it is a very different and slightly more surreal film in many ways, but equally worth watching.
And now to new ground, well in some cases old new ground. Moving on to films and TV series that I haven't seen before. Let's start with TV shows.
I missed out on watching Broadchurch when it was on TV so have now made up for it by binge watching all 3 seasons. I now understand why so many people were praising it so highly. Brilliantly written and filmed, the editing, soundtrack and cinematography were second to none. Added to that was a fantastic cast that acted their socks off. One of the best things on UK TV for some time. Another great series that I watched and then caught up on the older seasons was Line Of Duty, again it was brilliantly written and well made with a strong cast, I am hoping they do another season soon. I have also dipped into a few other programmes but not watched as fervently, one of the better ones is Night Shift which reminds me a little of MASH with a big helping of ER mixed in. My good lady wife introduced me to a series called Master Of Photography, which is a competition between European photographers where they are given set tasks each week, it was really interesting, as was Landscape Artist Of The Year.
Now on to films. I must admit that most of the films I've watched of late have either been superhero films or will be covered in my next blog entry, but I did watch a few other films. One was London Has Fallen, it is (to parphrase a footballing term) a film of two halves. The first half of the film is a well thought out action movie that has a good story that is moved on well by the action sequences, but the second half is more like action for action sake, too much unnecessary violence that didn't move the story on and just seemed to be there to add to the body count. Another was the film of Spooks, I loved the TV series and was looking forward to the film, I must say it was ok. It wasn't as good as the series but, by keeping connections to the series in a number of places it worked as part of the whole. Lastly there was the James Bond film Spectre, while I don't think it was as good as either Skyfall or Quantum Of Solace, it was a good film with some excellent set pieces and was made to the high quality that you would expect from the Bond series.
Well, that's it for this time, the next post will be entirely about films, TV shows and odd bits I have watched on YouTube. As usual, if you have any comments please leave them on here. Thank you.
21/07/2017
Things I've been watching on TV and on-line, good and bad (Pt 1)
I am lucky to have Netflix, Now TV and Amazon, as well as the many channels on free view. So I have been spending some time recently watching some films (some old and some newish, that I didn't get to see in the cinema) and TV series on them, I have also been trawling the endless weird world of YouTube watching films (both feature and shorts) and TV programmes and pilots. So the next few blog entries are my opinions of some of the good, bad and odd things I've watched recently.
So let's start with a blog entry about the many different offerings from Marvel and DC, and firstly look at some films.
Firstly DC. I have long been of the opinion that whilst Marvel always had the best heroes (with the exception of The Flash), DC always had the best villains. It was with this in mind that I was looking forward to watching Suicide Squad. I have to say I was somewhat disappointed. They seemed to build the whole film around the character Deadshot played by Will Smith, but the best and most captivating character in the film was Harley Quinn, played brilliantly by Margot Robbie. In my opinion she stole the show completely but wasn't the focus of the film which didn't make sense to me. On the whole it was an ok film but nowhere near as good as it could have been. The same could, unfortunately, not be said of Batman Vs Superman. I know it is purely my opinion but to be honest I found the entire film dull and even the action scenes were lacking something. The major fight at the end showed exactly what it was that was missing, Wonder Woman. She was the best thing about the whole film. There really isn't anything more or better I can say about this movie, except that Ben Afflick was better in DareDevil (now there's something I never thought I'd say). Not seen the Wonder Woman film yet but looking forward to it.
Now on to Marvel. I have managed to catch up on the X-Men movies and have now seen all of them to date, all I really have to say is that they were all up to the standard that you would expect from that series, no major surprises or disappointments. Just Logan left to see as far as those are concerned. I was massively entertained by Ant Man, a good and fairly typical Marvel romp as was Captain America: Civil War, another entertaining film in the well tried and tested style that we've come to expect. Something a little different was Deadpool, an irreverent spin on the superhero movie and definitely not a kids/family movie, I loved it. It was funny and action packed, well made and with some unexpected bits, they are making a sequel but I'm not convinced that the joke won't wear a bit thin unless they find something special to add to it.
Moving on to TV series and looking at DC again, I have been pleasantly surprised by what I've watched. I have to admit that I wasn't overly impressed with and I really couldn't get into The Arrow at all, so I was interested to see what they would do with my favourite DC superhero, The Flash. I watched the pilot and was hooked straight away, I loved it so much I watched both seasons in the space of two weeks (watching in the early hours of the morning after everyone else had gone to bed) and I am looking forward to season 3. Then I decided to try Legends Of The Future and, again, I was hooked immediately and watched the first season in a week and am also looking forward to the second season. I have considered watching Super Girl but am not sure because I have never been a huge fan of the whole Super family and it's pet, but we shall see.
And so on to Marvel TV series. I wasn't impressed at all with the Dare Devil series, I found it a bit dull and, amazingly not as good as the film. So I bravely started watching Iron Fist, I really enjoyed it. I watched it episode after episode for about three quarters of the first season, then just started to loose interest. It became a bit dull and each episode just felt like the last and I just stopped watching, to be honest I haven't missed it. It has put me off watching any of the other series.
On the whole, as far as the whole superhero thing is concerned, I would say Marvel have the film side won hands down, while DC make better TV series.
Next time a look at other types of films that I've been watching. If you have a comment on anything I've said here please leave a comment on here.
Thanks, see you soon.
So let's start with a blog entry about the many different offerings from Marvel and DC, and firstly look at some films.
Firstly DC. I have long been of the opinion that whilst Marvel always had the best heroes (with the exception of The Flash), DC always had the best villains. It was with this in mind that I was looking forward to watching Suicide Squad. I have to say I was somewhat disappointed. They seemed to build the whole film around the character Deadshot played by Will Smith, but the best and most captivating character in the film was Harley Quinn, played brilliantly by Margot Robbie. In my opinion she stole the show completely but wasn't the focus of the film which didn't make sense to me. On the whole it was an ok film but nowhere near as good as it could have been. The same could, unfortunately, not be said of Batman Vs Superman. I know it is purely my opinion but to be honest I found the entire film dull and even the action scenes were lacking something. The major fight at the end showed exactly what it was that was missing, Wonder Woman. She was the best thing about the whole film. There really isn't anything more or better I can say about this movie, except that Ben Afflick was better in DareDevil (now there's something I never thought I'd say). Not seen the Wonder Woman film yet but looking forward to it.
Now on to Marvel. I have managed to catch up on the X-Men movies and have now seen all of them to date, all I really have to say is that they were all up to the standard that you would expect from that series, no major surprises or disappointments. Just Logan left to see as far as those are concerned. I was massively entertained by Ant Man, a good and fairly typical Marvel romp as was Captain America: Civil War, another entertaining film in the well tried and tested style that we've come to expect. Something a little different was Deadpool, an irreverent spin on the superhero movie and definitely not a kids/family movie, I loved it. It was funny and action packed, well made and with some unexpected bits, they are making a sequel but I'm not convinced that the joke won't wear a bit thin unless they find something special to add to it.
Moving on to TV series and looking at DC again, I have been pleasantly surprised by what I've watched. I have to admit that I wasn't overly impressed with and I really couldn't get into The Arrow at all, so I was interested to see what they would do with my favourite DC superhero, The Flash. I watched the pilot and was hooked straight away, I loved it so much I watched both seasons in the space of two weeks (watching in the early hours of the morning after everyone else had gone to bed) and I am looking forward to season 3. Then I decided to try Legends Of The Future and, again, I was hooked immediately and watched the first season in a week and am also looking forward to the second season. I have considered watching Super Girl but am not sure because I have never been a huge fan of the whole Super family and it's pet, but we shall see.
And so on to Marvel TV series. I wasn't impressed at all with the Dare Devil series, I found it a bit dull and, amazingly not as good as the film. So I bravely started watching Iron Fist, I really enjoyed it. I watched it episode after episode for about three quarters of the first season, then just started to loose interest. It became a bit dull and each episode just felt like the last and I just stopped watching, to be honest I haven't missed it. It has put me off watching any of the other series.
On the whole, as far as the whole superhero thing is concerned, I would say Marvel have the film side won hands down, while DC make better TV series.
Next time a look at other types of films that I've been watching. If you have a comment on anything I've said here please leave a comment on here.
Thanks, see you soon.
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