What is coming up next month

With next month being Black History month I have decided to review nothing but films with all black or almost all black casts. Most of what I review will be from the blaxploitation genre. Strange thing,I was a fan of this genre before I even knew it existed. Back when I was a kid we got 5 TV channels. And one of them was a independent UHF channel. Well every Saturday after they stopped showing cartoons at 12pm they would show two movies. The first film was always a horror movie. And was even for a few years hosted by the local horror host. But the second film could be almost anything. The channel did seem to show stuff in cycles. Like for a few months the second film would always be a martial art film. Then they would do a month or so of all the old Blondie movies. Then one week after they showed "Frankenstein vs the monster from outer space" they were showing a film I had never heard of. But my Dad was excited to see. The movie was the original "Shaft". I sat there and watched it with him and was hooked. Well for the next 2 months they showed all kinds of Blaxploitation films. The ones I remember are "Sheba baby","Get Christie Love" and "Blackula". I was so pissed off when after 2 months they went back to showing Blondie movies. Something about the slang,clothing and just oddball energy of the blaxploitation films appealed to me then.

Now I have no idea if I will do this like I do the Horror movie a day thing each October. But I will promise to have up a new review every Monday,Wednesday and Friday in the month of February.

Hulk Hogan -My life outside the ring

My Life outside the ring by Hulk Hogan

Back in 2004 I found the first Hulk Hogan biography in hardback at Dollar Tree for a buck. Figuring it would be worth the buck.I picked it up and while lots of it was total bullshit it was still a halfway entertaining read. Well fast forward about 7 years and I find his second biography in the bargain bin at Wal-mart for 3 bucks. I had already read a few reviews of the book and thought what the fuck it's only 3 bucks.

The book starts off with Hogan sitting in a room with a loaded pistol and thinking about killing himself. But then he gets a phone call from someone unexpected that saves his life. But we don't find out who called till way later on in the book. The next chapter has Hogan as a young kid and we get told some of the same stories he told in his first biography. But this time somethings are changed and some stuff contradicts what was in the first novel. We do get more stories about his early days wrestling in various regional feds. And this is the best part of the book.

Hogan skips ahead a few years and tells us,again,the story about how he met his now ex-wife Linda. And this book really seems to focus on how Linda and the Hulkster have been having marital problems for years now. He talks about how she drank all the time and loved to spend his money on stuff that wasn't needed . After reading the book it seems the divorce is entirely her fault. The only mistake Hogan will admit to is having an affair with Brooke assistant.

We get lots of behind the scenes info about the filming of "Hogan Knows best". Which was the short lived reality show that aired on VH1 for 2 or 3 seasons.Hogan at least admits to how staged lots of the show was. But again he puts the blame of the show being canceled squarely on Linda. I think maybe the show was canceled cause it was pretty shitty,but what do I know.

Then we get lots of info on the infamous car wreck Nick Hogan was in that left a close friend of his with permanent brain damage. Hulkster makes sure to inform us that even though Nick was speeding the wreck wasn't his fault,cause "Speeding is what teenage boys do."

Really I am wondering which of the two Hogan biography novels is more full of shit. This one has plenty of bullshit in it. But I did enjoy the sections talking about Hulk wrestling in various regional feds. My life outside the ring gets a C-.

A bunch of quick reviews from various dvd multipacks

Last night I actually managed to get to sleep at what most people would consider a normal time. But after a pretty bad nightmare I said fuck sleep and ended up watching a bunch of movies off some DVD multipacks I own. And since I haven't had a new post here in awhile I figured I would type up some short reviews of the films I watched and post them.

Savage Weekend

This is on the Mill Creek "Drive in Movie classics" 50 pack. Been wanting to watch it for months now but for some reason never did. Group of friends head up to upstate New York for what is suppose to be a relaxing weekend. But end up getting stalked by a masked killer. This starts off very very slow,but is worth watching. William Sanderson from "Newhart" is in it. And while looking it up on IMDB I discovered that a young Yancy Butler has a part in it. It seems a kind of Unofficial sequel was made in 1994. It is a short film titled "Not Another Savage Weekend". So if you happen to own the Mill Creek Drive In movie classics 50 pack give this a watch.

Mutant

This is on the Mill Creek "Pure Terror" 50 pack. Released in theaters back in 1984. This is a backwoods zombie movie staring Wings Hauser. The print on the DVD looks pretty good. It is full frame but doesn't look bad at all. Sadly the film is pretty forgettable. If you have the Pure Terror set save this one till you have already seen most of the films on the set. It isn't horrible but it also isn't anything special.

Grave of the Vampire

Another film from the Pure Terror 50 pack. Released back in 1972,this is a film that I can remember seeing the VHS cover for years at the video store. But I never rented it. A dead man rises from the grave and goes and rapes a young lady.The girl gets pregnant and has a baby boy. Who she gives bottles of blood to. When the boy is grown up he hunts down his father and confronts him. Sadly with this one the old VHS cover is way better than the film. This was so boring I kept fast forwarding to see if it would get any better and it didn't. Avoid this stinker.

The Devil's Nightmare

This is from the old Brentwood "Fright Night" 10 pack. The print is obviously ripped off from a Redemption laserdisc. You can tell cause Brentwood didn't bother removing the shot on video introduction by Ellien daily. Once we get to the movie it turns out to be a nice piece of early 70s euro-horror. A busload of tourist break down way out in the countryside. They find a old castle and the owner allows them to spend the night. But it seems the owner's dead daughter is back as a succubus. We get some good kills all based a the seven deadly sins. Overall this is a fun way to pass an hour and a half. Plus there is 2 smoking hot euro babes that have a fun little softcore lesbian scene. Worth picking up if you find it cheap.

Pieces

Another great piece of euro sleaze from the Brentwood "Fright Night" 10 pack. This is another one I can remember seeing the VHS on the shelves when I was younger. But again I never rented it. What we get is a gory,nonsensical,giallo. Lots of nice kills. Plus you have Bluto from the live action Popeye movie as a great red herring. Then there is the ending which makes no damn sense but is still a great mind fuck. I am pretty sure Grindhouse Releasing has put out a great 2 disc DVD of this. Which I might have to track down.

Sisters of Death

This is from the Brentwood "Tales of Terror" 10 pack. Released back in 1977 this plays very much like a TV movie of the week. And really if it didn't have the late Claudia Jennings in it I bet it would be forgotten now. After a Russian Roulette mishap many years ,a all-girl secret society is invited to a remote house for a reunion. But once they get there they realize something isn't right. This is the only Claudia film I have seen where she doesn't at least get topless. About the only other thing about it that is somewhat memorable is the actor that played Nat ,the peach pit owner,on 90210 is in it. Sisters of Death isn't something I wouldn't  go outta my way to watch,but it also isn't horrible.

Jack the Ripper

Directed by Jess Franco back in the 1976. This is a decent fabricated telling of the story of Jack the Ripper. Staring the insane Klaus Kinski and Josephine Chaplin. Sadly this DVD from the Brentwood "Vault of Horror' 10 pack is a rip of a VHS that isn't in the best shape. There is some decent gore scenes. And unlike most of the other Jess Franco film's I have seen,this one makes sense. Worth watching if you are a fan of Klaus and/or 70's Euro horror.

Point of Terror

From the Mill Creek "Pure Terror" 50 pack. This film was released back in 1971. I have been wanting to watch it for a few years. Mainly cause it stars Dyanne "Ilsa" Thorne. Well it is so bad I didn't make it more than 30 minutes into it before I had to turn it off. Slowly paced and really nothing fucking happens. Only worth watching if you must see every film staring Dyanne Thorne.

Hands of Steel

fi film. Released in 1986 the only person in the cast I knew is John Saxon. It is one of the better Italian made mid 80's post apocalypse films. But nothing amazing. If you are a fan of post apocalyptic films it is worth a watch. But don't go in expecting something on the level of say Battle Truck or Warriors of the Wasteland.

Twister's Revenge

From the Mill Creek "Drive In Movie Classics" 50 pack. This is one of the very last films that Bill "The giant spider invasion" Rebane did. What you get is a monster truck version of K.I.T.T. from Knight Rider versus a army tank. Lots of great WTF moments in this movie. Like when the lead villains find a fully working US army tank in a junkyard. And the tank also seems to be still fully loaded with all the ammo it needs. Twister's Revenge is a great brainless way to waste 1 1/2 hours.