Wednesday, March 27, 2024

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 27, 2024

 

Saturn 3 (1980) Love-hate triangle on a space station turns into a square when homicidal Hector the robot wants in on the action. It has impressive set design, one of the 80's coolest looking automatons, and plenty of star power in Kirk Douglas, Harvey Keitel, and Farrah Fawcett... and yet the film is a mindboggling mess of sci-fi leftovers from the late 60's/early 70's. At some point Douglas and Fawcett drop some kind of space acid and you'll wish had some as well to help get through it all.

TIL: While not a common sight these days, the "cappello romano" was a popular hat worn by many priests for centuries. It was often called a "saturno" because its rounded top and wide, circular brim resembled the ringed planet. Unlike a bishop's mitre, the saturno had no real ceremonial use or religious meaning. Apparently, priests just liked wearing them because they looked good with cassocks.


Funny Book Philosophy: Mad Magazine 108 (1967) I haven't bothered with seeing Immaculate yet because it looks like nothing more than fancied-up nunsploitation for millennials who've never been to a drive-in before. I'll probably catch it down the line on streaming, but I hold no hopes for its portrayal of religious life. Heck, even back in the 60's, Mad Magazine knew the deal with how nuns and priests are handled in Hollywood.

Monday, March 25, 2024

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 25, 2024

 

Ninja Terminator (1985) Three ninja masters try to keep a totem of ultimate power out of the hands of an evil overlord, or something like that. It's hard to tell with Godfrey Ho at the helm. Spliced together from a pretty nifty 70's kung fu gangster film with all the dialog changed and mindboggling new footage shot in the 80's featuring aging 50's/60's stalwart Richard Harrison as the unbeatable Ninja Master Harry, this is arguably the apex of Ho's mix and match movie style of filmmaking. Forget plot and just flow with the lunacy.

TIL: With 40+ authors and 73 books (don't start on me, Protestants) written in different genres over the course of 1500 years, the Christian Bible is something of a splice job itself. However, if you understand that the overarching story is that of God revealing Himself to humankind over time then, unlike a Godfrey Ho film, it all becomes a cohesive whole.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: For better or worse, I'm still keeping a notepad nearby during my daily Scripture readings.




Friday, March 22, 2024

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 22, 2024

 

Still Voices - Cleopatra Wong (1978) "Spiritual combat is another element of monastic life which needs to be taught anew and proposed once more to all Christians today. It is a secret and interior art, an invisible struggle... against the temptations, the evil suggestions that the demon tries to plant in their hearts.” - Pope St. John Paul II

One Sheet Words of Wisdom: Beverly Hills Bodysnatchers (1989) "Pity that the only way to paradise is in a hearse." - Stanislaw Jerzy Lec

Thursday, March 21, 2024

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 21, 2024

 

Ninja Academy (1989) Losers from various backgrounds (wisecracking rich kid, bimbos, survivalist, secret agent, mime... yes, a mime) engage in hijinks while taking a crash course in martial arts mastery, but must get serious about their training when a competing dojo attacks. The ever-prolific Nico Mastorakis dips his toes into the lukewarm waters of the Police Academy genre, but barely manages to keep things afloat. Watch it out of nostalgia for the era, but don't look for too many laughs.

TIL: One doesn't have to a priest or nun to master what it means to be a Saint. Some canonized Saints who had regular day jobs include St. Isidore (day laborer), St. Thomas More (lawyer), St. Gianna Beretta Molla (doctor), St. Louis Martin (watch tinkerer), St. Zelie Martin (lacemaker), St. Gemma Galgani (housekeeper), St. Clelia Barbieri (teacher's assistant), and St. Joseph Moscati (scientist). No mimes that I know of, but the world is still young, so it could happen.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: More penciled ponderings on my daily Scripture readings.




Monday, March 18, 2024

LIFE'S LIKE A MOVIE: BACHELOR PARTY (1984)

  

Life's Like a Movie: Bachelor Party (1984) When unwelcome memories from my teenage years suddenly resurface like some long dormant disease, they're usually of something really stupid or immature I did back in the day. Not so this time around, though. Perhaps spurred on by this scene in Bachelor Party which I recently caught again on cable, I have as of late been plagued by recollections of the time a girlfriend's concerned father took me to the side for a very similar mano a mano conversation.

In language a bit gentler than what plays out in the movie, "dad" explained that even though he did like me for the most part, it was just a fact that I would never amount to much, was completely unsuitable for his little girl (or anyone else for that matter), and it would be a cold day in Hell before he allowed things to go any further with his daughter than they already had. He did this twice. And yes, being both a smartass and a movie obsessed nut even at that age, each time I was absolutely biting my tongue so as not to blurt out Tom Hanks' closing line about applying myself and becoming a changed person by the end of lunch.

The sad fact is, though, I believed him. For reasons I won't go into, I was pretty down on myself at the time and was more than willing to accept this man's assessment that I was a loser unfit for serious human companionship. So, to avoid causing his family grief, I played the bad guy and broke things off with his daughter, never mentioning these conversations to her. She cursed me then and, if she ever bothers to think of me at all, probably still does to this day. It happens.

As far as bad memories go, it's nowhere near the top, but it's irritating to have it pop up nevertheless. You know, there's a train of thought that the devil loves us to dwell on the past because such a mindset is in opposition to the way God views things. God sees us through the lens of eternity; He sees our past, present, and future as one whole. To God, we're not just the present sum of our past experiences, but also of what we will evolve into over time. And if any changes are needed along the way, he doesn't expect it all to happen by the end of lunch, which is good to know.

Sunday, March 17, 2024

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 17, 2024


Night Screams (1987) So-so slasher in which asylum escapees terrorize a high school jock's house party. While the film has its charms for aficionados of the genre, it's ultimately a slog. Put it this way, you know you're in for a rough time when a significant amount of Night Scream's running time is eaten up by its characters watching other movies on a television, and you quickly realize you'd rather be watching whatever it is they are instead of watching Night Screams itself.

TIL: For a more creepy story full of night screams, try Exodus 12 where the Israelites huddled in their homes at midnight, listening while the Lord struck down the firstborn of every human and and animal in the area. Or as the Bible puts it, "there was loud wailing throughout Egypt, for there was not a house without its dead." Yeah, Passover has its eerie side.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: More jumbled jottings from my daily Scripture readings. If you want smarter stuff, go with the Fr. Mike Schmitz & Ascension Press podcast Bible in a Year.




Saturday, March 16, 2024

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 15, 2024


Nightmare (1981) Madman George is pronounced cured, but immediately picks up his knives again following his release from the asylum. Arriving in Florida, George begins knocking off anyone associated with single mom Susan and her suspiciously George-like son, C.J. You know, when not enveloped by the haze of nostalgia, most slashers don't really live up to their reputations. Not this wretched thing, though. It's just as remembered;  brutal, dark, and grimy enough to give even Maniac a run for its money.

TIL: Care for the insane goes back to at least the temples of ancient Egypt, but it was with the advent of the Christian era that actual asylums began to take shape. The French historian Ducange notes that the first mention of a morotrophium, or home for lunatics, comes from fourth century Constantinople where the church was also helping found general hospitals.

I HAVE SOME NOTES: Jotted down thoughts (well, thoughts for me anyway) on my daily Scripture readings.