Van Nuys BLVD

Welcome reader to my last 2010 movie review and how proper was for me to watch this drive-in flick since it's a movie about having fun and not doing much thinking, something a responsible teacher such as yours truly thanks with both arms wide opened.

Van nuys Boulevard, a 1979 movie produced by Crown International Pictures takes us back to those youth years where everybody wants to have fun, get laid and experience borderline adventures.

It is said that today's Van Nuys has changed radically, Ghettos, gangs and porn movie studios plus LAPD are held responsible for this, but if someone wouldn't explain me about how real was this movie I simply wouldn't have believed it, I mean girls willing to get laid by everyone, anywhere and all the time? that's as Sci-Fi as a Star Trek movie could be!!!!

The movie plot is really easy to follow since it tells us some country boy named Bobby gets sick of his life and decides to move to L.A. to find out what all the Van Nuys fuzz is all about. After that, the fun begins: truck races, nice MOPARs everywhere, chicks willing to show her boobs on every scene, getting laid all the time, and well, some of romance to perhaps, avoid being considered an exploitation movie, which by all means defines quite well what this movie is all about.

This movie probably is the American Graffiti  exploitation version, why? well little plot, lots of nude girls and sex scenes that had almost nothing to support on the plot line, the first scene where Bobby is on his trailer has his girlfriend completely nude all the time for no reason and, she never shows up during the rest of the movie, so for me, that's exploitation and don't get me wrong, cause I'm not against it, in fact  I totally dig these kind of movies.

This blonde has no clothes on the first scenes and that's it for her.

The amount of pop culture references on the movie is huge and the "Youth way" is very much built around those years standards: Trucks, muscle cars, beer, parties, the early golden age of arcade games and the timeless idea of being young, free and capable of going everywhere and doing everything we dream of with no worries at all.

So, the story is country boy Bobby (Bill Adler) driving his van to Los Angeles in search of kicks and competition. Bobby falls in love with a lady driver Moon (Cynthia Wood) and befriends hip, brawny, Chooch (David Hayward), Chooch's nympho Wanda (Tara Strohmeier), Greg (Dennis Bowen), and Greg's foxy gal pal Camille (Melissa Prophet).

William Sachs' airy, aimless, virtually plot-less episodic script follows the sextet's silly misadventures as they ride roller coasters at the amusement park, cruise the strip, disco dance to flickering strobe lights at the local clubs, play pinball at the arcade, race their mean machines, and fall in love under the twinkling California stars. Sach's throwaway direction lets the rickety narrative ramble in enjoyably ramshackle fashion, neatly capturing a righteously funky lowdown cool tone, offering up a highly satisfying plenitude of bare female flesh and simulated soft-core sex, and punctuating the sub-"American Graffiti" antics with frequent dashes of sophomoric humor. 

The DVD transfer is quite good, at first I was surprised cause it started with this Popeye cartoon, which made my wife think like "What the hell is that? is this the right DVD?" after the cartoon some trailers from other releases from the era  and finally the Crown logo announcing the begining of a very entertaining movie, easy to follow,  even easier to understand and most of the photography of the movie is very well done, plus the acting which make you believe what you're seeing could be real (except for the extremely easy access to sex)

Here's the movie trailer and happy new year everyone, See you on some more drive-in reviews:

Single Room Furnished

Today Ill tell you about the last movie starred by the gorgeous blonde Jayne Mansfield. Released as a postumous movie after the unfortunate death of Mansfield on a car accident.

This movie is recognized by many known critics as the greatest performance ever done by Jayne Mansfield due to the nature of the story which required a high amount of talent to express the scripts sadness of each character.

The movie basically tells us the story of the destruction of a character, which starts from being an innocent dreamy girl named Johnny, that soon changes her name to Mae a waitress who, being about to get married with the man of her life is let down by her prince and every plan she had gets lost in the way of her dream time line.

So, we see Mansfield acting as one leading role divided on three stages of her life and persona. After the dissapointment Mae is no more and now she changes her name to Aileen and decides to go mean and becomes a prostitute.

The plot line tells us about unfortunate people who didn't make it. Every character lives in an old building  that represents the sad living they all share. You see some other characters a few times but again, it is Mansfield character the one that leads the way.

Umm it is kinda tough to review this film since I'm not used to watching drama only movies, but I guess the effort is worth the movie, cause we as movie watchers, receive the sadness and constant failure feelings Mansfield delivers on her three stages of her character's life.

Some have stated that this was Mansfield's masterpiece and they're probably right, I felt however, the whole movie acting of every actor involved was a bit of a play rather than a movie cause it feels very overacted on most of the important scenes.

Overall it's just another of thousands of movies which tell you about the road to destruction followed by people who never made it, and probably there are greater movies about this all over the world.

Worth watching? mmm, I would say yes for those into these kind of drama films or Jayne Mansfield fans, not for non familiars to this genre, besides as I stated before the plot line feels very wick on these days where we're used to watch more explicit content about failed lives, but probably in 1968 this was a    movie with some controversy I don't know.

Blood Mania...What?

Alright after watching non drive-in movies I decided to return to my Drive-In Cult Classics collection. Today I watched Blood Mania and Single Room Furnished, two interesting films in their own wicked way.

First, Blood Mania, a title that would be the honey pot of gore lovers but beware! at first I thought I was actually going to see plenty of blood and murder with a lame plot but strong enough to make it a worth watching B classic.

The storyline sets us in the last days of ternimally ill rich doctor Ridgeley Waterman under the cold care of his older daughter Victoria Waterman. Everyday there's this hotshot doctor Craig Cooper, an employee from Mr. Waterman's private hospital, coming to check his health status, obviously Victoria gets immediately infatuated or let's say it, literally horny with Dr. Cooper but despite her many efforts he seems to be interested in different stuff.

The plot line divides into two simple paths. Path N°1  tells us Dr. Cooper has a dark past he wants to get rid of, but of course, there's this lawyer who's willing to blackmail him for $50,000 grands! now you may ask why? Well, this unnamed lawyer happened to help Dr. Cooper get patients to earn money from illegal abortions. Now the huge amount of money requested for silence it's an absolute impossible for Dr. Cooper so the situation leads his girlfriend to have sex in exchange for Cooper's dark past, and that's all you'll see from Cooper's girlfriend in the entire movie, that's not so good since you get no explanations at all why she's not mentioned anymore.

So, Path N°1 leads to Path N°2 which takes us back to Victoria and her huge desire for being boned by Dr. Cooper all day long. Now that Cooper has no chances of getting the money to literally buy the lawyer's silence and all of sudden he finds himself having sex and getting lots of dope with this horny vixen. It is there, where Cooper reveals Victoria how dangerous it could be for someone with a heart condition to take those kinds of drugs, and how good it'll do to him to get money for his "tax problem"

Then, Voila! Victoria comes up with the perfect plan: Murder his father with the dope, inherit his fortune and get Cooper by the balls with her irresistible offering.

After Victoria rids of her father, Cooper comes to her house mostly for letting her know how sorry he is ,  but as soon as she reveals the truth he becomes partner in crime...

Reading Will day comes, and everyone around, even Cooper gets a good piece of Waterman's will, soemthing that could lead Cooper to clean his hands from his past. Victoria's expectations are buried when the Will announces her younger sister Gail...

I've written too much, I'll go straight to the point. After the plot lines explanation you see more sex, some blackmailing from Victoria to Dr. Cooper and a new relationship between the doctor and Gail, something that fortunately will lead to the movie title (after an hour or some you wonder is the correct movie for such a title?)  Victoria's revenge!!!!!!!!!! she will murder her sister with a copper candlebox and yeah, there will be some blood...but as in every drive-in or B-Movie you'll find the ending of the movie way too dissapointing, or at least so unfinished that instead of being frightened you'll be like "WTF" literally.

But that's what makes these movies so unique, so go and get it!




Tomorrow I'll let you know about Single Room Furnished, the last movie of blonde legend Jayne Mansfield...

THX 1138

And so begins Lucas journey.

Some of you, younger watchers or regular movie watchers without the "fan" factor added to the equation might have heard or seen THX before. Yes! THX one of the many special & sound effects deparments developed, designed  and managed by the holy George Lucas and used not only for his flicks but for many others, as well as for games since the Super Nintendo years (I'm not that old if you're wondering, I'm only 29) But THX goes a long way back from where you think. THX 1138, was one of the earliest sci-fi attempts of Mr. Lucas himself and somehow, thanks to the little help from the right friend who acted as producer (Francis Ford Coppola) He couldn't go wrong.

So today, after the Christmas celebrations I'll tell you about THX 1138, a great worth to buy film that could be next to your Star Wars DVDs growing your movie home list. Being a debut movie, THX 1138 after 40 years seems to be a correct futuristic vision of a society controlled by a big brother-like entity which  back then was probably a silly portrait of our society but now it is indeed something to take into account.

Love is forbidden.

The film centers around the life of THX 1138 who is played by Robert Duvall. He is a man living in a futuristic society where everyone is drugged up, nobody is allowed to have sex, and big brother always seems to be watching. Citizens are expected to just take their meds and conform. Order is kept by a bunch of chrome-plated robots dressed as police officers. They speak softly but carry big sticks to keep people in line. People are constantly being reminded over loud speakers to increase productivity and remain cost-efficient. There is some semblance of religion, but it's hardly compelling as a source of strength to these future citizens. The world which we are shown seems to be entirely underground and synthetic. Emotion is not encouraged, and the meds help with that aim.

We see THX go through his usual routines. He appears to work at an assembly plant where the police robots are constructed. It's dangerous work, and we see a meltdown occur in a nearby facility in one of the best early scenes of the film. The work is apparently too stressful for a person to do it unless they're highly sedated. THX 1138 is experiencing some personal problems the society cannot tolerate. He and his female roommate have been going off their meds, and having sexual relations. They are about as in love as two people can be in this strange world, and the powers that be quickly try to re-program THX 1138, and take him away from his woman. All of this happens within the first half hour. What follows is mostly ponderous, and the story drags somewhat.

Robo police.

Futuristic motorbike chase.

THX 1138 is placed in a virtual prison with others who cannot seem to conform. One of these persons is played by Donald Pleasance. He has designs to lead the others out of their prison, but we find that he can only talk the talk. When the possibility of escape is presented to him, he panics and tries to get back inside the only world he knows. Our hero THX 1138 simply "keeps his wits about him" and climbs out of the city to a freedom we can only speculate about. 

The film has its strengths. Considering the limited budget it had, the film is an absolute treat in terms of its appearance. The color white is certainly dominant in the sterile society these people live in. Lucas even at this early stage of his career showed his ability to dazzle the audience with sound. The film has a unique kinetic energy in some scenes, but then goes flat as a pancake in others. The CGI that Lucas added for the director's cut is unnecessary, but pleasant to look at.

cool rides.

Sex is forbidden in the future.

Overall, THX1138's story needed some buffering. Even at 88 minutes, you may be tempted to hit the FF button. There are a few scenes that really don't amount too much, and many questions are left unanswered. Lucas obviously had 2001 in mind when you consider some of the ambiguity we are presented with. The conclusion of THX 1138 is in some ways a rebuttal to the ascension of man's intellect we saw in 2001. In THX 1138, the objective seems to be for the hero to break away from the futuristic society and retreat back to a more primitive existence.

Here's the official trailer:

Tron

CGI at its best.

Last night I decided to watch for the first time in years, a Disney movie that probably wasn't very much like the Disney traditional movie style...

In 1982, TRON was originally panned by critics, despite the fact that the film had very interesting references to look at a little deeper, but being a child watching it as a re-run on TV still my interest was aimed at enjoying the special effects and the 3D technology used in the movie, rather than trying to understand the plot, or at least a few lines of the story. You know, as a kid, I only cared about the good guys beating the bad guys and that was enough pleasure for me.

One of TRON's greatest achievements is a reference to a dual layer world, a sort of parallel reality where two worlds are about to collide. There is the world of the user, contrasted with the world of the programs. The users are like the owners of the programms, more accurately users are godlike characters and the programs are very much like our real world worshipping these gods.

3D is here to stay.

Wonderful worlds.

The obvious parallels are with the use of the same actor for each character's counterparts in the digital world (did that inspire portions from The Matrix Trilogy?). So the duality of the characters is Flynn and Clu, Alan and Tron, Laura and Yori, Gibbs and Dumont, Dillinger and Sark. Somehow I feel this movie inspired way more future sci-fi than we'd like to admit.

I find it surprising that many are critical of the 'unbelievable' aspect of this film. However, never is the audience expected to believe that this is the way the computer world really works or that a person could ever be zapped into a computer. In fact, to allude to the type of story that the audience is being presented with, TRON does a near-quote of Alice In Wonderland, with 'Stranger and stranger.' Perhaps Kevin Flynn fell down the rabbit hole…. And – for those who think TRON is a Disney film – watch the production notes and you'll discover that this is not a Disney film despite the logo and their fundings.

Of most obvious interest is the fact that TRON pushed the computer graphics technology of the time to its limits and beyond. And – despite many who have said that its graphics are primitive, they're confusing resolution with texture-mapping. The truth is, the number of colours displayed and the resolution shown in the computer-generated components in TRON is higher than most desktop displays – even today. To output to film with the level of sharpness and smooth gradients seen in TRON, you'd need at least 24 or 32-bit colour, with a horizontal resolution of approximately 3000 to 4000 pixels. On top of that, it was the first film to use transparency in 3D CGI (the solar-sailor simulation). To my knowledge, texture-mapping didn't exist in 1982. Fortunately, the lack of texture mapping works well with the stylized look of the film's 'world inside the machine.'

As a film, TRON is definitely both unique and entertaining. And, for those who are visual in nature, it's full of splendid eye-candy. The design work is top-rate, and is best appreciated when viewed on film.

Mr. Bad Guy.

Good guys.

The plot for TRON is actually quite simple. Despite this simplicity, it is cleverly used for the purpose of -- hopefully – making the audience think about our world, and how it may relate to some 'higher world.' If we are programs, then who are our users? Is there a level up from us, and do they know all the answers? There is certainly a metaphysical angle to TRON, which the audience can ether pay attention to, or disregard in favour of the simple thrill of watching Light Cycles square off against each other on the Game Grid.

Many elements are combined in this film: the gladiatorial film, the exodus, the revolution, the sentient AI, the battle of good vs. evil, and – of course – the almost prophetic depiction of the computer industry. Encom and Ed Dillinger are very much parallels to real themes that took place in the computer industry in the years that followed the release of TRON. These themes are very much repeated in more recent trilogy of films. I think the actual name for the Light Cycle game that Flynn mentions will give you a clue as to which trilogy I'm referring to.

Virtual fan.

Finally, there's Kevin Flynn. Some may be surprised that I left this one to the end. However, I thought I'd leave the best for last. Fact is, Jeff Bridges did a brilliant job with this character. He made the character believable. And, this carries over to the film itself.

TRON is a movie that really entertains. I like to think of it as a big small movie. One that was definitely ambitious and is presented in 'glossy' and vivid wide-screen, yet has a sort of nice-light-snack kind of feel to it. It's a movie with a great deal of replay value, and one with compelling characters. 

The official movie trailer here:





A reference from Family Guy:





And the breathtaking trailer for the forthcoming sequel Tron Legacy

I due superpiedi quasi piatti

Crime Busters movie poster.

Crime Busters (Italian: I due superpiedi quasi piatti also known as Trinity: In Trouble Again and Two Supercops) is an Italian action-comedy movie directed in 1977 by E.B. Clucher. It was one of the three movies awarded with the Golden Screen Award in 1977 along with The Exorcist and The Towering Inferno.

Big, burly Wilbur Walsh (Bud Spencer) is looking for work on the docks in Miami, but all he gets is grief from local mob enforcers. Being superhumanly strong, he beats the bad guys to a pulp then smashes a sledgehammer into their expensive automobile. Shortly thereafter, stowaway Matt Kirby (Terence Hill) arrives on the scene also in need of a job, only to run into the same bunch of bullies. It just isn’t the mobsters’ lucky day because wiry Matt proves equally tough. After kicking their collective asses, he takes a forklift truck to trash their new car. Matt and Wilbur meet up and bond after turning the tables, yet again, on the gun-toting gangsters. Desperately low on cash, the pair hatch a plan to rob the nearest supermarket, only bumble into a police station instead. So the boys promptly sign up and join the force as motorcycle cops under the ball-busting Captain McBride (David Huddleston). It’s all part of Matt’s brilliant plan to set out and be the worst cops possible, get fired, then collect their severance pay. Of course, things don’t quite work out that way. 

Their engine won't start.

Terence Hill and Bud Spencer - real names: Mario Girotti and Carlo Pedersoli - were a couple of amiable Italian actors who had modest success on their own, but really took off when paired together. First in the “straight” spaghetti western God Forgives... I Don’t! (1967) wherein Hill played a gunslinger called Cat Stevens and which spawned the sequels Ace High (1968) co-starring Eli Wallach and Boot Hill (1969), then in the knockabout comedy smash They Call Me Trinity (1970). Though reviled by so-called “serious” spaghetti western fans, Trinity and its subsequent sequels and inevitable rip-offs were huge international hits that propelled the careers of not only Hill and Spencer, but also cinematographer-turned-director Enzo Barboni under his pseudonym: E.B. Clutcher. He stuck with the team well into the late Eighties, though later tried to resurrect the Trinity franchise with two new actors in Sons of Trinity (1995). Other notable Italian directors continued cranking out comedy hits with Hill and Spencer well into the new millennium when their international stardom dimmed but their European fanbase proved loyal as ever. 

They don't make 'em like they used to.

By the late Seventies, Hollywood took notice. Hill got his chance to headline two big American movies, March or Die and Mr. Billion, while Warner Bros. invested money in Crime Busters, an Italian co-production that ironically proved a far bigger hit. This was the first of an increasingly grandiose run of Hill/Spencer vehicles, shot on location in Miami although the interiors were filmed in Rome. Barboni sticks rigidly to the formula he established with the Trinity films. Hill plays a feisty, fast-talking wiseguy with a heart of gold, Spencer is surly and strong as Hercules, hiding his amiability beneath outward bluster. Like two overgrown kids, the stars spend two thirds of the film playing pranks on each other with wisecracks that border on the surreal (Hill repeatedly calls Spencer “you big banana”) suggesting something got slightly lost in translation. Episodic and far too leisurely, the film trades largely on the charisma of its stars along with the fights, car crashes and stunts that are energetic and choreographed with acrobatic flair. It is a style of comedy, Hollywood later co-opted wholesale for knockabout romps like Smokey and the Bandit (1977) and Every Which Way But Loose (1978).
After an hour of slapstick misadventure, the plot finally kicks in once Matt discovers a Chinese immigrant who once helped him out has been murdered. He also strikes up a romance with the dead man’s niece, played by none other than Laura Gemser, star of Emanuelle in America (1977) and Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals (1977). See? She did make a movie where she kept her clothes on. Her family are among those broad caricatures that behave like holdovers from the Ming Dynasty, speaking in sub-Confucian proverbs and addressing their elder as “honorable grandfather.” Has anyone ever met any Chinese people who really talk like this? Anyway, our heroes discover their dead friend was forced to smuggle drugs hidden in Chinese dolls for the friendly neighborhood mobsters. Mob boss Curly (Luciano Catenacci) sends two beautiful blonde sisters, Angie (April Clough) and Galina (Jill Flanter), posing as Russian royalty to distract Wilbur and Matt, but the boys turn the tables on the temptresses and smash the drugs ring. 

Heroes on duty.

Italian films set in the United States often have an eccentric view of the nation wavering between the satirical and the insulting. Over the course of their misadventures, our heroes meet two brothers eager to sell their dead father’s corpse to a medical college, lock wits with a street gang who all wear red masks led by a whip-wielding gay delinquent, and play a lethal game of American football against another gang dressed like the Village People led by a faux Native American named Geronimo (Luciano Rossi). “Remember the Alamo!” he absurdly cries before leading the charge. Whereas heroes in American movies typically lend their strength and skill to a philanthropic cause, Italian pastiche westerns and action comedies often focus on antiheroes who survive by their wits. In the case of Crime Busters, the main joke appears to be that Italian working class rogues like Matt and Wilbur do a better job keeping the streets safe than the square-jawed, gun-toting American cops. Equally however, the film has an amiable theme about downtrodden folks banding together against oppressors, a message that is very American. Which may be the reason why, although Hill and Spencer made much better films, Crime Busters is the most widely known, stateside. The dynamic duo returned to clean-up the sunshine state capital in Miami Super Cops (1985). 

Here's the trailer for a slapstick fight classic:

See you imaginary readers!

Here come the Pink Angels!

Original Movie Poster

The Pink Angels is a 1971 comedy movie about a very special bikers gang. Somehow I guess this is a parody of bikers movies such as Easy Rider and Hell's Angels to name a few.So, this flick is an 'independent' film attempt of a different reality seen from the funny side of it. Probably this is not a  movie that will satisfy everyone's personal taste, but the surprise factor here is something you're gonna love for sure. I mean tough looking bikers from an era of tough bikers movies, make you think you know about the violent plot about to explode but hell,  the story goes to a very different road.

The plot line is really simple to follow even if you're drunk (that's why it's a Drive-In movie) these bikers are on their way to Los Angeles to participate on a Drag Ball, so all of their efforts on the movie are leading to that direction. So far, I liked the movie but I'd like to ask someone who belongs to the gay community about how they feel portrayed by the movie, cause at least for me the gay part of the acting is a bit overacted, it looks as if the director wanted to make fun of the gay behaviour these bikers had ,still for us as viewers it must be ok and funny  but if you want to get serious it feels as if they were trying to make fun of the gay people. I'm not gay, but i'm a tolerant person and I feel that the direction this movie takes is more meant for non gay viewers who want to laugh at gay behaviour rather than understanding it, but again that could be a bit of too much thinking since this movie was made under the 1971 standards. If this movie could be categorized under grindhouse, exploitation or B movies it's because the qualifier doesn't know a thing about the categories above mentioned. This is a simple comedy movie, a parody and a joke, that's all.

Worth watching? maybe, if you're ok with stereotypes.

Now here's the trailer for thouse unconvined haha:

The Monkeywrench

1991's Promotional Picture for their debut album "Clean as a Broke Dick Dog"

Today I'm gonna pause the movie reviews to talk about my  first passion: Rock and roll yo!

The chosen band for today is a spectacular obscure side project led by Mr. Mar Arm from the mighty Mudhoney...

The Monkeywrench was born in 1991 after Mark Arm and Steve Turner  met Tim Kerr, the former guitar player of obscure underground classic punk bands the Big Boys and Poison 13.

After Turner and Arm befriended Kerr, Kerr himself suggested that they get togother to start a new musical project based on their common musical taste. Kerr would handle guitar duties; Arm would play bits of piano, some harmonica and of course do the singing; and Turner would pick up the bass. The lineup was completed with the deluxe addition of second guitarist Tom Price of probably the first grunge band to record an album,The U-Men, as well as Australian drummer Martin Bland, known for his collaborations with  Lubricated Goat, the Primevils, and Bloodloss. The latter of these bands also included Arm on vocals and guitar.

When Sub Pop Records was informed of the new supergroup in 1991, they signed the band immediately, thinking they could blast media with another influential album. Later in that year, the group spent time at Egg Studios in Seattle with producer Conrad Uno recording their first LP, Clean as a Broke-Dick Dog. The album was released in 1992, along with a 7" that included two tracks from the LP -- "Bottle Up & Go" and "Cold Cold World" -- as well as a cover of Blue Cheer's "Out of Focus."

The group took some time off in the mid-'90s, due to the fact that Arm and Turner were still involved with their full-time band, Mudhoney. However, they still managed to release a split 7" of the Germs' song "Shut Down" on Gasatanka Records in late 1995. The song also appeared on the following tribute album to the Germs, titled "A Small Circle of Friends," on Grass Records.

Kerr had also been getting more involved with Dave Crider at Estrus Records in the latter part of the '90s, helping to produce many of the label's bands, as well as joining their roster in groups like Lord High Fixers and Jack O'Fire. In turn, this led to the Monkeywrench signing to Estrus in 1999. The band entered Private Radio Studios in November of 1999 along with producer Jack Endino to record their second full-length LP, Electric Children. The album was released on April 4, 2000, followed 8 years later by Gabriel's Horn.

These are the album covers:

Clean as a Broke Dick Dog 1992

Electric Children 2000

Gabriel's Horn 2008

And now for more fun some videos for you to taste the refined art of these gentlemen:

"Bottle up & Go" from their debut "Clean as a Broke Dick Dog"




A live presentation in Las Vegas




"On Your Arrival" the first single for their latest album "Gabriel's Horn"




See you some time soon...

Weekend with the Babysitter

Weekend with the Babysitter original movie poster.

The babysitter fantasy comes back to life in this early 1970 classic flick which would be the sequel to the original 1969 Babysitter, produced and starred once again by Mr. George E. Carey. This flick is a classic in its own right, Weekend with the Babysitter captured the 1970's scene both the good and bad stuff going on and I mean clothes,  music, drugs, parties, and the summmer of love generation. Susan Romen is perfect as a 70's teenager who is just one of many girls of her generation playing with a certain naive rebellion. Her beautiful innocents leads her into seducing a married man and making him see how much he truly loves his wife. For this sequel Romen replaces Patricia Wylmer in the role of Candy Wilson, AKA, the Babysitter.

Despite the suggestive title, and the fact that it was produced by the wonderful Crown-International Pictures (masters in sleazy drive-in movies)

To start with, the movie's male character is not a typical dirty old man who has a thing for lolitas. He's actually ok from early on. It is stated on several scenes of the movie that his marriage is in trouble, and apparently the one to blame for is his wife. Then when he subsequently meets with Candy Wilson (the babysitter you dummi) who is willing to teach him about the way young people hangs out, talk and behave, something that Mr. Jim Carlton finds quite appealing to help him on the production of the final storyboard of the latest flick he's been asked to produce, so it's nothing like Mr Carlton finds the willing teen and starts boning her immediately. In fact that's what makes this movie better in comparison with the prequel, you know, there are more believable scenes that lead to the romance in opposition to the prequel where Candy wanted to be boned all the time at no effort by the main character.

Babysitting done 70's style.

Also a pleasant surprise is how our lead role deals with the babysitter circle of friends. He doesn't talk down to them, in fact he seems to be genuinely interested in their activities. Also pleasing is that these same young people don't seem to have a problem with him being much older than them. They are very friendly to him, and gladly teach him of his ways which is a very good thing for the plot line that doesn't just go straight to the inevitable nudity and sex scenes.

In fact, the movie is actually very dialogue-driven for its first half, giving you a sense of a high quality of written material from which the movie came. 

Mona Carlton will do what it takes for dope.

The movie is probably far from being a masterpiece; the last hour has boring bits which are felt as fillers and there seems to be no clear resolution between Mr. Carlton, the babysitter and his wife but still, the topics depicted here are quite interesting, and described in a moderate fashion to give the viewer the chance to decide who's good, who's bad and who's ugly. Mr Carlton, somehow, represents the "good" in the film, as he is nothing but a naive husband who's been living a frozen relationship with his wife for too long. He needs to see and experience the world, he needs to feel alive again and that's where Candy Wilson delivers. She is not that naive, what she wants she gets, and she's groovy enough to teach Carlton how do new generations get the kicks. On the other side, there's Mona Carlton a sexually absent wife (despite being a bombshell herself) who secretly spends his husband's money in coke & heroine. She doesn't seem to care about reclaiming her marriage and instead prefers to spend her days with drug dealers. Mona hits rock bottom easily and gets involved into a drug smuggling deal that will lead her to more suffering (including begging for a heroine shot & getting involved in lesbian sex) it is this twisted reality that drives Mr. Carlton into Candy Wilson and her friends. Nevertheless by the time he decides to go back for her wife, Candy doesn't seem to care and it's more than ok with it despite the fact they spend a whole weekend fucking like mad. The reasons behind Mr. Carlton going back to her wife are not explained though...

Overall, quite an entertaining piece with bikers, chicks, teenage sex, junkies, pot and lots of good ol' rock music.

Here's the movie trailer:



and here the entire film for your viewing pleasure courtesy of the public domain right:

Megazone 23 Part I

Megazone 23 Part I poster

Megazone 23 is probably one of the most groundbreaking animé along with Akira, Macross and Ghost in the Shell. Originally titled Omega Zone 23 オメガゾーン23 (read as Omega Zōn Tsū Surī) before the title was changed just before release to Megazone 23. Written by Hiroyuki Hoshiyama, and directed by Noboru Ishiguro, Ichiro Itano, Kenichi Yatagai and Shinji Aramaki.

Megazone 23 was conceived as a 12-episode television series, but it was changed to a direct-to-video project after the sponsors withdrew their support mid-production. According to Noboru Ishiguro, the end result was a "compilation movie" of already produced episodes. Megazone was not conceived as a multi-part story. As such, the original release of "Part I" lacks the subtitle that has been added to subsequent re-releases.

The Garland is the main character in the trilogy.

The best Mecha design of all times.

Original mecha designs for the OVA series were created by Shinji Aramaki, while character designs were made by Toshihiro Hirano and Haruhiko Mikimoto, who would provide Eve Tokimatsuri's character designer for all three parts. For "Part II", Yasuomi Umetsu was the character designer, and for "Part III", Hiroyuki Kitazume took over.

The original planned title was "Omega City 23," then "Vanity City" and "Omega Zone 23," but trademark issues compelled the producers to a title change. The number "23" was originally a reference to the 23 municipal wards of Tokyo. In the retroactive continuity established by Part III, the number refers to the 23rd man made city-ship, with Megazone 1 named "Big Apple". However, the title is pronounced "Megazone Two Three" as referenced by several reference books and anime magazines published during the release of the series, the Japanese Wikipedia entry, and even within the series itself in "Day of Liberation".

Bad guys feel love too.

Yui & Shogo's after sex ritual: television!

The movie (OVA) was released on March, 9, 1985 and licensed for distribution to ADV Films for the USA, and Canada and for the UK it was distributed by Manga Entertainment. However, the first official western release date came ten years later in 1995.

Harmony Gold, (you know, the instigators of Robotech) got interested in the OVA, so they bought the rights and turned it into the awful Robotech: The Movie AKA The Untold Story.  This "original" film would tell the story of a secret weapon (the Garland) while The Southern Cross army would fight the Robotech Masters in space. Also, Harmony Gold commissioned a new ending (because the original was uhm, maybe too dark and sad?) more on the side of what could be called a happy ending (not the happy ending from porn films) The nude, sex & graphic violence scenes were removed as well.

The film was a disaster from start to finish but it allowed many growing Animé fans to look for the original film in which the Robotech movie was made upon.Nevertheless, the growing Animé fandom allowed some lucky people to get their hands in import tapes where there were no dubs or subs of any kind, just plain Japanese language.

Garland or "Bahamut" in action

Eve: AI.

The events in Megazone 23 take place in a post-apocalyptic future, where Tokyo only exists as a simulated reality (The Matrix has you Neo)  The story follows the main character Shogo Yahagi, an apparent delinquent motorcyclist whose possession of a government prototype bike leads him to discover the truth about the city and the human race destiny as well.
 
I'm sure you've all seen The Matrix by now. The creators of The Matrix say that it is 'anime inspired'. Just from watching the trailer to this classic, you can see where they took the plot from.

The film is sort of set in 1980's Japan, and it really shows. The costumes, music and words(in the recent English Language version by AD Vision) are all like they've been directly lifted from the era. I believe it was made in that time also, but due to certain plot points, this doesn't date the film!

As you probably guessed by my referencing to The Matrix, the world isn't real. It's not really the 1980's. In fact, it's something more like the 2480's. After a nuclear war, the Earth AKA Biosphere Prime's ecosystem was destroyed. The survivors were forced to escape into space, where the conflict continued. Once the planets (or "Biospheres") were all abandoned, people began to live in space fortresses known as Mega Zones - cities inside of spaceships, where, via hypnotism techniques and Truman Show-esque illusion, they were made to believe they we're back on earth, in the most peaceful time in recent memory... The 1980s. When young Shogo obtains a mysterious advanced looking motorcycle, it leads him to find out more than he's supposed to know... The Garland (a bike which becomes a mecha), a weapon from the 2400's, aids Shogo in his escape from the pursuing military. As more and more is discovered about the MegaZone, the war comes closer to home, and due to conflicts between the military and the computer, the war comes to the MegaZone too... I apologize if those points are seen as spoilers, but the plot is outlined basically that way on the synopsis.

Operator 7G, the chosen one.

the Garland, a masterpiece.

Emotions run high in this movie, more so than The Matrix. You really do believe the war is going on, and Shogo really does become quite scarred by what he's discovering. What starts off as an uber-happy cool 80's flick becomes a tragic tale of war and unreality. These characters are real people, not the cardboard cutouts we saw flipping around in bullet-time in The Matrix. There really is the sense of the suffering people can go through after being caught up in such a conspiracy, and a war. It may just choke you up towards the end... I know it did me.

When it comes to character development, the film doesn't fall short either. Shogo Yahagi is a youngster who's living a life of ease sharing with friends, and clearly enjoying being a fan of the pop diva known as EVE. Obviously, this changes once he discovers the secret weapon his new bike is. Shogo wants the world to know the truth and despises war or violence of any kind. BD, The antagonist, is a top gun who will stop at nothing to ensure the truth doesn't come out. While he seems to be the bad guy, the second film reveals him to be more human than previously seen on part 1. Yui Tanaka, is a hot dancer and Shogo's love interest. Mai Yumekano & Tomomi Murashita are friends in common with both Yui & Shogo. They're planning to film a science fiction romance movie, so they rely on Shogo's Garland for the action/adventure supply. While other characters appear, the previously mentioned are the ones with more on screen time.

Better than Lynn Minmei.

Girls from the 80's.

Animation is pretty impressive for it's day, and the picture quality on the ADVision DVD is unbelievable for it's age. The artwork style is beautiful and reminiscent of traditional anime, very cultural. Be prepared for quite a lot of violence and blood, there's also an erotic sex scene.

The ending can be seen as a 'there can be no ending', similar to the Matrix, or, supposedly can be followed by the sequel.

I have to say that this is one of the best Animé I've seen, in fact, one of the best movies I've seen, and considered by many to be one of the greatest Animé of all time.

Sex in an OVA!

Boobs!

Overall, Megazone 23 Part I is definitely the best out of the three OVAs as it sets up an original story with great characters, action, music and high quality drawing style. This film raises the bar in what comes to standards in animation and despite being a 1985 OVA new generations can enjoy as much as the original target audience. 

I must recommend the ADVision DVD, as their take on the English Language is incredible, and does the movie justice, and can be purchased with an artbox for holding the two sequels when they are released, which will have the same vocal cast. All in all, MegaZone 23 is an incredible movie, and deserves to be held highly, and should be an essential in any anime fan's collection.

Here's a fan made video which shows the most important fragments of the plot and it's accompanied with the main song sung by Eve "Sentimental over the shoulder": 

And here's the official trailer for the film: