Ah!!! Here is a delightful little trifle called “Race with the Devil”. Two vacationing couples take their RV out into the wild and make the mistake of setting up camp smack dab in the middle of human sacrifice country! Truly terrible luck. After this unfortunate incident, the movie becomes one long chase sequence as the blood thirsty devil worshippers continue in hot pursuit of the couples. Great action and some nice turns by the always dependable actors Warren Oates and Peter Fonda. This one is definitely not an Easy Ride.
All posts by Andrew Swartz
THE GODFATHER EPIC
Spend this Labor Day weekend absorbing this 7 plus hour combination of Frances Ford Coppola’s two finest “Godfather” entries. There is a lot of footage included that didn’t appear in “GF I or GF II” that fills in some of the storyline and weaves these two productions together. Beautiful cinematography, outstanding acting and eminently watchable storytelling all combine to make this a 7 hour viewing experience well worth the effort put in. Coppola’s directorial masterpiece, in my opinion, and magnificent acting from Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. You’ve got three days. Watch it more than once!
Riddick vs. The Rock – 2016
Check out the details of this juicy feud which erupted on the set of “Fast and Furious 8”. Seems Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and co-star Vin Diesel are at odds. This story unraveled on August 9, 2016. Don’t you just want to go see the latest installment of this franchise now?
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/the-rock-and-vin-diesel-are-beefin%E2%80%99/ar-BBvslBg?ocid=spartandhp
STRANGE VIDEO SHIT
Creepy compendium of weird shit caught on video. We’ve got UFO’s, Bigfeet, ghostly mirages of floating cities. I mean, what else do you need to keep you entertained for a few minutes? Crack open a few cold ones and enjoy.
IN THE YEAR 2889 – OVER 2 MILLION VIEWS!
I like this talky, little tale of a group of characters trying to hole up in a cabin and ride out a nuclear holocaust. We see some stock footage at the start of this thing that compiles various angles of mushroom clouds. A prophetic voice over accompanies the footage. Great start! We get more rehashed, archive films of mountains, trees and the outdoors to enable the finishing up of the audio narrative. The folks who end up reluctantly spending time together are running out of space and time. Radioactive fallout may soon be encroaching onto their turf and the surrounding countryside is inhabited by unfortunate, radiation poisoned mutations who are hungry! Still, there are folks who would rather venture outside the compound to take their chances somewhere else. That’s what creates drama, after all! This is a rather plodding flick but it has a quaint, amateurish style that I find attractive. 2 million YouTube viewers CANNOT be wrong!
Suicide Live at Hurrah – “Ghost Rider”
Alan Vega was the vocal half of the synth duo, Suicide. Vega is no longer with us. Rev’s scary, repetitively sequenced synthesizer drives their songs accompanied by Vega’s frenzied, reverb-drenched rockabilly delivery. A very influential band whose work would impact many future musicians. Their early stuff is rawer and more intense.
Led Zeppelin Live at Knebworth Festival 8/11/79
Superb live document of this legendary rock band. Led Zeppelin seemed to be performing near their peak. They had by 1979 been recording and performing together for over a decade. The band sounds strong and tight. But, alas, things don’t always work out for the best, and this would be their last tour. A great sounding set from this great rock band.
PROG ROCK 101
Here is an easily digestible grouping of profiles on popular progressive rock bands from England. Witness some brilliant footage of King Crimson, Genesis and those lovable space cadets, Hawkwind in concert. This video might get you to start searching in depth for more clips on these bands. I am investigating Genesis. Such theatricality! The King Crimson segments featuring the lunatic percussion playing of Jamie Muir are also most memorable.
“HOEDOWN” – EMERSON, ELP IN THEIR PRIME
Another sad passing. This time it is Keith Emerson. A maestro and master of the keyboard instrument if ever one existed. His bands included The Nice, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, 3, and The Keith Emerson Band. Emerson fully integrated the newly emerging performance synthesizer into his already stellar piano and Hammond organ on stage arsenal. A true virtuoso and legendary performer, Emerson’s style and compositions will continue to influence far into the future. Seek out other clips on you tube and marvel.
FATAL ATTRACTION – 1987
Always a favorite Valentine’s Day view, “Fatal Attraction” documents a married man’s fling while the wife’s away that turns out to be the biggest mistake of his life. Rather than obediently disappearing after their wild weekend, Michael Douglas’ love interest, Glenn Close, chooses instead to hang around and try to become a more permanent fixture in his life. Of course, this was not a part of the plan in Douglas’ mind. Close is very single minded in her pursuit and will not think of hearing “no” as a response in her quest top become Douglas’ primary love interest. There is the matter of his present wife standing in the way. Therein lays the dramatic conflict…Get ready for plenty of psychotic outbursts and general pandemonium! Douglas is hilarious when trying to mumble and lie is way out of his current predicament. Very entertaining flick!
THE THAW – 2009
Your skin will crawl. You’ll feel things scampering over you….But, worst of all, these things will be nesting inside of you. That is the unfortunate aftermath that goes down after a wooly mammoth fossil is unearthed and an ages old parasite is exposed to the light of day once more and unleashed on a unsuspecting group of scientists in “The Thaw”. The parasite seeks new hosts and exhibits a very nasty habit of multiplying at an alarming rate. The group soon becomes infected and becomes the latest host for the hoards of creepy crawlies. Very unpleasant portrayal of hosts with festering wounds, vomit launching and crippled humanity. There is little hope of rescue as this would expose the rest of the world’s population to this scourge. Ugh! Val Kilmer briefly appears.
ASHES TO ASHES – BOWIE – 1980
Fantastic, other worldly, freaky music video, “Ashes to Ashes”, from the late, great, departed, David Bowie. If you haven’t explored his music yet, do so now. What a magnificent, innovative talent! He literally owned the 1970’s and continued in to the early 1980’s. Bowie explored many personas and musical styles and penned some of the great classics of rock music. I count this song as one of his strongest. A bleak, melancholy reexamination of character Major Tom, the lonely, depressed astronaut stuck in his “tin can” in outer space wanting nothing more than to return to Earth, who was originally imagined in the tune, “Space Oddity”. I think it is safe to say that Bowie’s music and contributions to popular culture were triumphant. A truly, unique individual.
LEMMY KILMISTER LIVES ON!!!
We have lost another Great One. We now live in a world now without Lemmy Kilmister and that void will never be filled. Lemmy was a well known, larger than life personality. He played a very distorted, loud, bass guitar with his rock and roll band, Motorhead. He was also a key figure for many years in the space rock outfit, Hawkwind. In the distant past, Lemmy was renowned for his large drug intake. It probably is amazing that he lasted this long! He was outspoken, crude, hilarious. Lemmy was a true believer in the spirit and power of rock and roll. He made a great career in rock music. His unique guttural growl singing voice and his bass guitar sonic barrage were one of a kind and will be missed. Have a good rest, Sir.
People Who Do Noise (2008) Full Concert Movie Documentary
Very sweet documentary covering people who shape sound in any manner or way they see fit. Call these noise practitioners, the new Punks. Some of those shown performing describe what they do as a new form of punk rock, a DIY mindset of artist creation, made with whatever musical instrument, effect pedal, electronic device or mechanical apparatus is at hand. Whatever label you put on these sounds, the end result is a collection of unique individuals who are producing, performing, and espousing noise. It is all very liberating and refreshing. Granted the documentary is seven years old by this date but the sonic attacks presented here remain vibrant and vital to these loud music abused ears.