13 Ghosts (1960) - Review

13 Ghosts (1960)

I feel really bad that most older sci-fi and horror movies are no considered B movies. At the time of their released most were on the cutting edge of film technology. The stories might not be considered the best by todays standards but for the time they were made, these plots were just as normal as any normal flick we watch today. The giant ants of "Them!" could be compared to any normal horror flick today, just with more story and less mutilated bodies. So looking at this movie should be looked at with not just eyes of today, but through the eyes of the golden age of cinema.

I know more people have probably seen the 2001 "remake" (and I use that term in the absolute loosest terms possible and I mean lose like a 96 year old prostitute who has been working everyday for 86 years.) However, that movie is blasphemous to this wonder and classic film.

This film was directed by William Castle who was a master director and movie magician of his time. He made some great horror movies in his day and he loved having gimmicks for his flick. His 1959 movie, "The Tingler", rigged up seats to vibrate and were used to scare people during the movie whenever the monster showed up. Likewise, this movie was filmed in "Illusion-O". The audience would put on special glasses when the characters in the movie did. This allowed only those wearing the glasses to see the ghosts. Wonderful, classic '60's movie nostalgia. The movie also stars Martin Milner who played Pete Malloy in the wonderful "Adam-12" series.

Buck Zorba (isn't that a cool and creepy last name?) is having trouble providing for his family. Their power has just been turned off and their furniture is reprocessed. However, lawyer Ben Rush (Milner) contacts Buck and informs his that Buck's reclusive uncle, Cyrus Zorba, has passed away and left his house to Buck. There's just one catch, through his world travels, Cyrus has captured 12 ghosts and invented some special glasses to see them. Ben also informs the family that Cyrus has hidden a great deal of his wealth in the house somewhere. Seeing as the movie is called "13 Ghosts" and not 12 ghosts, someone in the story will become the 13th. But who?

Grade - A+

Although I was never able to see the movie with the Illusion-O glasses, I was very impressed with the visuals in this movie. I remember the first time when I saw this when I was young, the movie did scare me. The ghosts are both funny and scary. The housekeeper who looks like witch is one of the most entertaining characters just the way she plays the creepy personality. The kid in this movie is pretty entertaining too. This is a perfect example of why old horror movies are superior than today's flicks. This movie relied on showing ghosts, sure, but it also has a great story line. You get scared by some of the ghost and the sayonce scene. Then you have to guess who is going to be the 13th ghost, where the money is, and what's going on. If you're a fan of old horror movies, this is a must see.

Dragon Wars - D-War - Review

Dragon Wars - D-War

Alright, now we're talking! This is a bad movie! Yep, that's right, I am giving you the grade first! Grade - F. But that's no fun to judge B movies based on the standards of good movies. How could I take such glee in watching movie greats like "Killer Klowns From Outer Space" and "They Live" and countless others that I cherish.

I guess this movie is a big hit in Korea and was writen and directed by South Korean native, Hyung-rae Shim. This movie just has two stars of interest. Jason Behr plays our hero in this flick. You might remember him from that great, yet short lived, TV show "Roswell". I really like him in the show and it's too bad we haven't seen him in anything good. This movie has has "the black guy from 'The Office'". The black guy from "The Office"'s name is Darryl Philbin and is played by Craig Robinson.

I just want to start out by saying that whatever else I write about this movie will not do it justice. This is a movie that should be experienced through viewing more than reading a review. What I describe the story as is not as complete as it should be and is not as funny to see. The "complaint" I make are not as funny to read about, but watch it with the review and checkoff what you see and find it as hilarious as I did.

Every 500 years a group of lizards, who are really gods, do battle with the help of good and bad human subjects. So far, the good guys have thwarted all attempts for the bad guys to destroy the world. However, in the modern era, the people do not believe in dragon anymore and so are unprepared. Can humanity survive? Reporter "Ethan Kendrick" (Behr) has been chosen to be the protector and savior of humanity. Actually he is being called again because in his past life he was Korean and the protector 500 years ago. He must stop the bad dragon that is coming, the Imoogi, from eating a girl who has a mysterious illness. If the bad dragon eats her, he will gain the power to destroy the world. The girl is living in LA and so the dragon starts to wreaking havoc and destruction on the city. Ethan finds Sarah (the girl with the illness played by Amanda Brooks) and tries to protect her from not only the Imoogi but its minons who have the ability to summon dinosaur like creatures (both tank like and flying types). We later find out that there is a good dragon to come and protect them. Will Ethan and Sarah save not only themselves, but all of humanity?

I will give the grade on a B movie level scale first and then I will go into all the things to look for that make this movie so fun to watch.

Grade - C+

This movie is hilarious. It is so odd that I can't believe Shim wrote this sober. Maybe it's a Korean thing like "Pom Poko" is a "Japanese thing" movie.


1) There are flashbacks within flashbacks. This is a pet peeve of mine. It's like holding up two mirrors parallel to each other and seeing how far you can look back.

2) This movie tried to inject Korean words into the dialog and uses them. I got so mixed up on what was what that I just rooted for the destruction. The way the story is written or told through narrative make it very hard to figure out which dragon was the good one and which was the bad one.

3) There are 3 people in this movie who use to be Korean/Asian in a previous life. In this life, they have acceded and attained the level of whiteness. Then it goes on to say that the higher level above whiteness is godhood. I am not lying here. If you're Korean, in your next life, you will be white. After you die when you're white, this movie teaches, that you will attain godhood. I love it! It's like when Japanese anime base all their character looks as white people and not at all like them.

4) The bad monster is a moron. He needs to eat one person in order to be the supreme ruler of the world. However he goes from traveling 100 MPH chasing the girl and when he has her cornered, he, for some odd reason, slows down and drag it out, which means that he looses his prey and the win. He will seriously corner her on top of a building and after snaking up it with no problem, he will go towards her like she's going to hurt him. Towards the end of the movie he does the same bloody thing, which means he gets stopped.

Along those same lines, any minor distraction has to be dealt with by him instead of just quickly gobbling up his prey and THEN taking care of the minor problems after he's obtained his supreme power. A car will slam into him and he will scream, sure, but the car is destroyed and is therefore no longer a threat. Just eat the girl and then take vengeance!

5) There are helicopter pilots who believe as they are about to crash into the sides of buildings are going to avoid all injury by throwing their arms animately around their face.

6) There is an amulet Ethan wears for protect. What does it do? Why does he have to wait until he's tied up to use it? It didn't really seem to protect him at all.

7) The bad human-ish guy towards the end, instead of cutting off Ethan's head and taking out the girl's protector, he touches the amulet with his sword lightly and it suddenly destroys him. What reason is given? None. I don't know why he dies by lightly touching the amulet with his sword. I also don't understand why he did it. He makes a sarcastic comment on how well it has protected Ethan. Hey buddy! Don't touch the one thing that, for some reason, makes you evaporate!

8) Why does it take till the end of the movie for the good dragon to come help? He comes for no reason either. Also, the good dragon can somehow make the girl's energy ball, that the bad dragon needs to take over the world, to come out of the girl and he can ingest it. This causes him to transform into a super-dragon.

9) The Korean name of the movie is called D-War. But the American version is called Dragon Wars or Dragon Wars- D-War. That means you have a singular and a plural in the same title! So is the movie really Dragon War or Dragon Wars?

These are just 9 funny things about this movie. Watch it and send me others to add to the list.

This movie isn't all bad either. The animation looks pretty sweet. The biggest chunk of money was given towards the animation. The dragons fighting is awesome and the military fighting the dinosaurs are great battle scenes. If they put even half the thought and talent into the actual story that they did the graphics, this wouldn't be such a bad movie. This is definitely a great B movie though!

Ever Since The World Ended

Ever Since The World Ended

I love post-apocalyptic movies. Humanity laid to waste for whatever reason. Now they must fight to survive or band together to survive or take out the guy with the butt-less chaps so he doesn't steal their oil.

This movie incorporates the story of the destruction of humanity to a very few and a first hand perspective mocumentary (aka fake documentary). So basically you have a cross between "The Postman" and "The Blair Witch Project". The main question I had before seeing this movie was, "Is this going to suck as much as "Blair Witch" did?"

Twelve years have passed since a plague swept the planet killing out most of the population. The film revolves around two guys who decided to document the post-destruction era they live in on video for future generations, if any. They live in San Francisco where they are only 2 of 186 people remaining alive. So the film makers give us a taste of what life is like. They interview a kid who is a "finder of anything you need" by raiding houses of the dead. We see the group council deciding how to carry out punishment. We see how family life has changed and how children who have grown up post-plague feel about the "times before" that they never knew. A bunch of subjects, if properly done, could make for a very interesting movie.

Unfortunately, this movie fails at telling the story they wanted to.

The production value isn't the best, but I hold that against no movie. I hate to see Hollywood have a monopoly on movie making so I will watch a movie shot on a 1980's home video recorder and appreciate the story for what it is (and I have to!).

Grade - D+

This movie is horrible. I know people will and have picked on it for having little production value but I don't hold that against anyone...unless you're "Blair Witch", and your movie has nothing in it. This movie at least tells the tale of how people would be like after they grow accustomed to the notion that the world just started from scratch again. I liked that it showed a wide selection of people. Kids who knew little to nothing about the "time before", people starting families again, "deviants", etc.

The real gripe I have with this movie is that it allows people to talk too much and doesn't show much about the daily struggles that the people have to face. It's mostly about how people came to this point and what they do now. We're only treated to a small insight of the new "governing body" making a decision about a "deviant". What happens after that is a bit confusing (not wanting to give anything away). Also, they never explain why they wanted to film outside the city at all. We're just suppose to guess. There are also no fun shots of a deserted city or any aftermath shots. It's a nice talking points movie...but not much of anything else.

Fracture (2007)

Fracture (2007)

Thrillers are one of the best movies for audiences who want to think. If done correctly, you can give all the clues out that would allow someone to figure who/what/when/where/why/how something was done. If done perfectly, you can give out all that information and still not have the audience figure it out.

Anthony Hopkins plays Ted Crawford, a rich, brilliant, and meticulous structural engineer. He finds out that his wife is cheating on him and so he comes up with a cunning plan to not only carry it out, but how to get away with murdering his wife. The audience is given everything but the how of the movie. Crawford is arrested where he confesses but pleads not guilty to the charges and represents himself. His prosecutor is Willy Beachum (Ryan Gosling). This is Beachum's last case as a public assistant district attorney before he goes to a high priced private firm. Beachum has hardly ever lost a case and already has one foot out the door. That is, until he agrees to prosecute what he sees as an easy case involving Crawford. Twists and turns happen in the course of the case that tears apart this "simple" case and Beachum's near perfect streak and new job are on the line. He learns that Crawford is up to something. He just hopes he can figure out all the questions before Crawford gets away with murder.

This is a mixed movie for me. It really has some great parts and some not so great parts.

First of all Anthony Hopkins, once again, is spectacular in this movie. There has rarely been a movie he has acted in that hasn't been wonderful. It really says something about an actor when you expect greatness from him because of his past roles and he keeps surprising you with his greatness in his current one. You find yourself almost rooting for his character in this movie. The only problem with that, aside you're rooting for someone who wants to murder his wife, is that the movie switches gears towards the end of the movie and tries to force you to switch your allegiance to rooting for Gosling's character. That didn't work out too well for me.

Second, the way in which the story is told is a credit to both the writers (Daniel Pyne and Glenn Gers) and the director (Gregory Hoblit). Again, this movie gives you all the clues you need to piece together the how. The not so good part I had with the story was the focus on Beachum's new job and showing a lot of his arrogance. There is a lot of filler that could have been cut and you wouldn't have lost much. If you need to show his arrogance you can write that into the character, I don't need to see specific scenes that add very little to the overall story.

My biggest problem with this movie is Ryan Gosling himself. I know a lot of people liked him from "The Notebook" but he shows himself to either be a rookie actor or he gave himself/was giving a big character flaw. Throughout this entire movie he is always touching his face. When I say throughout the entire movie, I mean in every scene and all the time. It's one of those habits you see rookie actors have when they don't know what to do with their hands. If that's not what it was, then putting this flaw into his character is makes him not likable at all and they shouldn't have let him do that if we're suppose to root for him towards the end. It was so distracting that I cannot write enough on how stupid it was. I wanted to reach through into the movie and take two huge railroad spikes and drive them into his hands and his thighs so he would stop touching his face!

Grade - B-

Any movie where I can't figure out how the killer did it is good in my book. I'm pretty good at figuring out these types of movies but this one did such a good job that it stumped me; it was quite enjoyable to. This movie would be better if the ending was different (not wanting to give anything away) and if you watch the extra features and notice the alternative endings you know they picked the best one. Still I understand why a certain person couldn't win because that's what the whole point of the movie was about. Still, even Hannibal Lecture got away! Anthony Hopkins is, without surprise, the best actor in the movie and he definitely has a gift for knowing how the play a role, especially the eccentric role he has in this movie. There's no way Ryan Gosling could even come close to outsmarting Anthony Hopkins. It's a good movie, just don't expect a whole lot from half of the main actors involved.

The Number 23 - Review

The Number 23

I was torn between watching this movie or not. On one hand you have a movie about the "secret life of numbers" and an interesting twist on numerology. The trailer for this movie made it appear interesting (TV Spot). These types of stories I've always been a fan of. On the other hand you have Jim Carrey once again, trying to act in a serious role and those rarely turn out good. Then reading the reviews on the film by not only "professional" movie critics but also "normal" people, my interest sank a little bit more.

The film is directed by Joel Schumacker, who has always been a hit or miss director. Jim Carrey plays Walter Sparrow who starts out as your normal, everyday dog-catcher family man. This movie relies on fate a lot so it might take multiple viewings of this movie to notice everything and maybe even understand it completely. Don't worry though, it's not like "Donnie Darko" where my 15th viewing of the movie still doesn't explain everything to me.

On Walter's birthday a dog bites him which causes him to be late to meet his wife, Agatha (Virginia Madsen). As she is waiting for him, she wanders into a bookstore and picks up a book that revolves around the number 23. She gives it to Walter for his birthday and after reading a bit into it, Walter is captivated by the book. He also notices that the book seems to have parallels to his own life. He then notices how the number 23 plays out in his own life. After becoming obsessed with the number 23 and finding out what connection the number and the book has, he goes off in search of the author and why it was written.

From all the bad coverage of this movie I was let down after I decided I wanted to see this movie. It was hard to put those negative comments out of my head while watching it. Maybe they made me like it then.

Grade - B

This movie is pretty good. The cinematography is pretty good and Jim Carrey does a pretty good job at acting in a somewhat serious role. I wanted this movie to drag out more of the numerology aspect. The progression of the story is fairly quick and well presented. The movie reveals certain pieces of information quick enough not to leave you bored and watching filler. I won't give too much away but I do have to mention that the least believable part is that the person who moves the body would actually do that...no matter who the other person was. One of the most decent thrillers I've seen in a while. They just don't make movies like Se7en anymore.

The Gambler (1980) - Review

The Gambler (1980)

There is something pretty romantic about old west movies. There are movies where you can't tell who the good guys are and who are the bad guys. Those are movies like Clint Eastwood's "man with no name" character. Then there are western movies where the good guys are clearly defined and the bad guys could only be more identifiable if they rubbed their mustaches and tied women up to railroad tracks. "The Gambler" is one of the latter.

Kenny Rogers plays Brady Hawkes who is one of the countries most respected and high ranking card gamblers. He meets up with Billy Montana, played by Bruce Boxleitner (from "Tron" and "Babylong 5" fame) on a train going to visit Hawkes' son that he never knew he had. Brady teaches Montana a few things about cards and just because you say you're the best, doesn't mean you are. You have to back it up. The two become friends and help each other get out of a few scrapes they encounter on this train ride.

Kenny Rogers' biggest hit song was made for this movie too. It's one of those kinda country songs that gets stuck in your head after watching the movie.

Grade - C+

As far as gambling, western movies go this is probably one of the best you could watch, other than maybe "Maverick". I still get a kick out of Bruce Boxleitner in this movie. I still remember him from Babylon 5 so maybe some of that charisma carried over to this movie. Kenny Rogers isn't a GREAT actor but he's at least believable. He plays Hawkes like how he should be played. Hawkes has class, he's got a bit of smart thinking, and he can read people and situations pretty well. You got to have a gambling cowboy who knows everything that's happening, even if it's a sharpshooter hiding on the second story of the saloon that you can't even see and you know where he's at. I digress. Kenny Rogers isn't that great of an action hero either and the scene in the saloon where he's fighting is almost like watching a bad kung fu movie where the hero could never take out the entire gang; good thing he had Bruce Boxleitner though! John Sheradon can free Mars from Earth oppression, he can take out a few galoots in a saloon! The Gambler is a decent movie, especially one that has the bragging rights to say "hey we liked this song...and we made a frickin movie out of it!"

Patrick's Guest Spot

I got to have a conversation with a few people on another podcast that I wanted to give a shout out to.

Sound Check, which is hosted by Chris K (aka CK), is on every Thursday at 10:30 PM EST here - http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/45577

It's such a great show with great people coming on to voice their opinions about a lot of subject. Also Chris K is a wonderful host who has some intelligent topics as well as opinions on them and he has no problem turning control over the mic. to one of the many guests he has on each week.

I have been visiting this show for a number of times now and have become one of the regulars. If you get a chance, check out his past shows and join him and the rest of his regulars!

I wanted to especially highlight this week's show...well...because I did a lot of talking in it. So what? I like to hear myself talk, ha ha. I got to play the devil's advocate...hopefully better than Keneu Reeves did in that movie. Not all the opinions I state on this episode were ones that I believe in, it can be pretty clear if you listen closely enough. I

t was a great episode and it gives me a chance to pay back in my small, menial, almost insignificant way CK for the many plugs he has done for "Film Geeks" and allowing me to be on and speak my mind on his wonderful show.

Give it a listen, and if you don't like this one and want to listen to a four hour show with a few call girls as real guests...listen to episode 39!

http://recordings.talkshoe.com/TC-45577/TS-105858.mp3?dl=1
The above is the link to show 40 - the one Patrick was on.