Nerd Girl of Note #123: Rita Moreno

Rita Moreno has, frankly, so many things we could discuss that I find it hard to even begin. She portrayed Anita in West Side Story on the screen, winning the Academy Award and Golden Globe for "Best Supporting Actress" and Tony Award for "Best Featured Actress in a Play" for The Ritz. She has a Grammy Award for The Electric Company Album (1972), and two Emmy awards. She performed at Bill Clinton's inauguration, and in 2004 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George W. Bush. You can find much more on her Wikipedia entry.

Younger viewers may know Moreno from Oz where she played Sister Pete, the former nun and prison psychologist. Currently she plays Fran Drescher's mother on the TV Land sitcom "Happily Divorced."

Singing "Fever" on The Muppet Show

Rita and Morgan Freeman from The Electric Company

Short Movie Reviews

Elektra Luxx has many of the same characters as Women in Trouble. There are a few editions, but for the most part it continues where the last film left off. It was a lot of fun, though not as good as Women in Trouble, partly because it felt the need to explain everything to those who had not seen it. It is a nice wrap-up of the story, and Adrianne Palicki gets a lot of great laughs. Watched on DVD.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains is a cool rock movie starring Diane Lane, Ray Winstone and Fee Waybill (from The Tubes). It revolves a ne'er-do-well orphan and her less-than-talented band who are thrust into instant fame. Ray Winstone is the semi-slimy yet serious punk singer, and Fee Waybill plays an aging rocker at the end of his rope. There is some cool music in it. Winstone's band, The Looters, is comprised of members of The Clash (bassist Paul Simonon) and The Sex Pistols (guitarist Steve Jones and drummer Paul Cook). It reminds me a lot of The Runaways, save that The Runaways had some talent. Streams on Netflix.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was quite good. I do not remember the book very well, but I think there was a touch of straying, mainly in that it was not as grim as the book. You did not have to see as many characters die as you read about. I saw it in standard format rather than 3D, and I can tell you it should not have been 3D-ified. There was very little that warranted it. Check your theaters for a 2D viewing. Ultimately a very nice end to the much loved series, and restored some of my fascination; something previous movies had tarnished.

Mary Hartman Mary Hartman (Norman Lear, 1976)

I first decided to watch this because it was one of the shows featuring one of my earliest crushes, Debralee Scott. I only knew her from Match Game and Welcome Back, Kotter. Expanding those horizons before we decide to cancel DVD service with Netflix became a priority.

Mary Hartman Mary Hartman is a mock soap opera starring Louise Lasser and developed by television legend Norman Lear. Lear was responsible for All in the Family, Maude, The Jeffersons, Good Times, One Day at a Time, and Fernwood Tonight (Mary Hartman Mary Hartman takes place in Fernwood). While it has many absurd elements, it is not like Soap, which was more of a direct parody. Mary Hartman Mary Hartman is a dry, dry satire of the soap opera, consumerism, suburban fear, and the sexual revolution.

Louise Lasser as the titular "Mary Hartman"

The story in season one has many arcs, but the "impending doom" aspect comes from the murder of a family that no one in town really knew. It is a clever device that writers can go back to without getting to deep, and smartly without tying the show to a specific time. The impending doom could be any of the things going on in '76, but murder is universal.

Bedroom troubles plague Mary and Tom (Greg Mullavey)

Part of the show's appeal is in the straightforwardness of its raciness. They bring up topics like impotence and perversion without dancing around them. Apparently these are all things that regular soaps talk about, but use euphemisms (I don't watch soaps, though wish I had watch that crazy-ass Passions). In episode three, Mary and Tom even discuss masturbation, which was hardly television fodder at the time.

Mary and her sister Cathy reading Orgasm and You

Another big part of the show is the consumerism aspect. There is a lot of product placement here. There are almost always products in the shot, and they are not hidden. If a can of Shasta root beer is on the table, it is displayed dead on. Note the Orange Crush can above. Certainly part of this was for actual product placement purposes, but also to show how brand dependent we can be in the States. There are also story elements that discuss how much we trust brands and their advertising. In the first episode Mary is waxing the floor and says it is glowing. Her sister says it is wax buildup. Mary returns that the people who make the product say there is no wax buildup and they certainly know better than her sister.

Cathy Shumway (Debralee Scott), Loretta Haggers (Mary Kay Place), and Mary questioned by reporter Clete Meizenheimer (Michael Lembeck) about the Lombardi murders

In all this is a fun show, but dry, dry, dry. It is so subtle at times, and then smacks you with something silly, or something silly goes on in the background; you don't miss it, but it looks like reality. Well worth checking out if you have a strange sense of humor.

Fiction's Finest Nerds #44, Douche-Bag Edition: Eddie Haskell

I don't know if you watched Leave it to Beaver when you were a kid, but it was perhaps my first introduction to the elusive nerd-douche. Eddie Haskell was Wally Cleaver's friend. A guy who was sure he was the coolest guy around. He had all the parents fooled, or so he thought. In fact, he was far less cool than he let on.

I hated Eddie as a kid. He was two-faced and would always screw Wally over if he could. The way he slimed up to parents frankly made me a little sick to my stomach, and may be the main reason I have trouble giving my "superiors" the undue credit they expect.

WIP Wednesday: Chained Heat II (Llyoyd A. Simandl, 1993)

You know,if the WIP genre did not make a film with Brigitte Nielsen as the sadistic warden, well it would have to cease to be a genre. Luckily, perhaps, we have Chaned Heat II, which has Nielsen as a redheaded Soviet Warden. You may remember that the original Chained Heat starred Linda Blair and Sybil Danning. This one has little connection, save for the title.

Brigitte Nielsen is at her icy best here as warden Magda Kasar. They make great use of her height and imposing frame. She stands a head taller than most of the cast and wears an Eighties power suit with shoulder pads a mile wide. Oh, and she has a pet cougar, and this was before the term "cougar" was in wide use, though there is certainly the potential for a "big dangerous pussy" double entendre.

So, the story involves a post-Soviet prison in Prague that is all about Capitalism. Not the bullshit Capitalism we have in the States, but real, hardcore, anything-for-a-buck Capitalism. You know, the rape and murder kind.

This is a bit of a weird story. Typical WIP fare, mostly, but a bit off. For one thing, the HBIC is very much in charge of the prison, including lording over the warden. Nielsen's character swings between submissive and dominant. She has an obsession with the new fish, which seems to get her in trouble, especially since the new one is an American with a pain in the ass sister who is trying to free her. The sister's attempts threaten to expose the prison drug and prostitution trade.

The twist, of sorts, is that the US Embassy is involved in the scheme, and the judge who sentences women to the prison is a guy who gets his kicks on women using some archaic looking surgical tools.

Like I said, it is kind of weird. Not terrible as WIP goes. Certainly not a favorite, though I can watch most anything with Nielsen in it, and that includes Red Sonja and the Stallone films she was in. My recommendation: for genre lovers only.

 

Hypocritical and Insensitive?

Long time readers may know that I am not the biggest Katy Perry fan. If this was an audio blog you would notice that I always mispronounce her name. However, I will admit she is a bonafide pop star, and deserves it. Her songs are catchy and they do not all sound the same. Also, while this has no bearing on her musical ability, she has a rockin' bod, and while I am used to hating the beautiful people I often wish she'd shut up and not let her personality get in the way (that goes for you too, Brooke Hogan).

My latest issue with Ms. Whip Cream Tits is her song "Last Friday Night (TGIF)" which glorifies intoxication and risky sexual behavior. Now, I am against neither, but the song goes to my belief that she is both a hypocrite and an insensitive person.





The problem is that she is married to a drug and sex addict, Russell Brand. Now, while Brand is apparently in recovery, or however that is expressed (clean and sober?), it seems rather tasteless to put out such a song which flies in the face of your spouse's recovery. This song is not Elvis Costello's "Clubland" or even Lady Gaga's "Just Dance" — both of which have a mocking element to hooligan/drunk culture (Costello's song more so).

Frankly, if anyone else had done this song I would like it. I thought originally it was someone ripping of Ke$ha's persona and Perry's musical style. I like that Rebecca Black is in the video, as it is similar to her song in many ways. The take on Eighties nerd-gone-cool movies is appealing, even if the nerd look is a bit heavy handed.

Maybe it is just me? Maybe I should just shut up and listen, and care less what is going on with an artist? That used to be easy. Do I care if Elvis Presley or Britney Spears mean every word they say? Not really, but they were less likely to be vocal about their opinions. I don't care what opinion you express, just be consistent. Also, this song was obviously going to be a hit. Recording a song that should be highly offensive to your spouse just to sell records is just the kind of behavior I dislike in an artist. If the song had a satirical edge to it I would not have an issue.

I'll shut up now. Carry on with what you were doing. Feel free to yell at me in the comments.

PS: The video does actually rock.

Amy Winehouse

I don't eulogize often, and I am not sure this will even be a eulogy in the traditional sense. If you did not hear already, British singer Amy Winehouse died from a drug overdose this weekend.

I really loved Amy's music, and her voice was one of my favorites. I don't know that she was that likable of a person, but drug addicts seldom are. I am not overly saddened by her death, but more that it took so long. By the time she got any press in the States with Back to Black (her second album) she was already pretty bad off. In a Rolling Stone interview she was painted rather horribly, and while I am no fan of that magazine it seemed an honest account of the meeting. Frankly, I never expected to see another album from her either due to her death or perhaps she would simply vanish. I do blame a lot of her problems on her husband, Blake Fielder-Civil, who reportedly started her on harder drugs. Whether this is fact or not, it is pretty clear he is a major scumbag who was imprisoned "following his guilty plea on charges of trying to pervert the course of justice as well as a charge of grievous bodily harm with intent." [link]

Now, certainly one could conceivably refuse the descent into severe drug addiction, though for many I find this concept hard to swallow. When you are already a troubled person, and a bit of an odd-ball (Russell Brand mentions how odd it was that she was a jazz singer) you often look for anything to alleviate the pain. When someone you think loves you offers an escape you are likely to take it. The same could be said for extreme exercise regimens or religious zealotry.

Anyway, I loved Amy's music, and my only regret is that she did not die quickly enough to avoid becoming a joke. She had one of the great voices and that is what I'll remember.

Fan-Boy Icon #50: Timothy Olyphant

I first came across Tim Olyphant when I watched Deadwood. He played Seth Bullock, the de facto law in town, whether he wore the badge or not. Despite there being more powerful elements in town, namely Al Swearingen, Bullock was not a man to be pushed around. Olyphant played him with a sort of menacing craziness that I think all crusader types have.

After Deadwood, Olyphant played über-creepy-guy, Nick, in A Perfect Getaway with Milla Jovovich. He has also done a number of other films and tv show, such as Scream 2, Sex and the City (tv), Go, No Vacancy, Gone in Sixty Seconds (remake), Rock Star, The Girl Next Door, My Name is Earl (tv), Live Free or Die Hard, and Elektra Luxx. Also, I never realized he was "Agent 47" in Hitman.

While very often Olyphant gets cast as either cowboys, lawmen, or cowboy-lawmen, he always adds a lot to the part. He is typically not the same cowboy or lawman each time, which is a good thing.

Nerd Girl of Note #122 - Emmanuelle Chriqui (@echriqui)

Emmanuelle Chriqui may be familiar to some of you as Dalia from You Don't Mess with the Zohan, or as Sloan McQuewick from Entourage, or as Bambi in Women in Trouble and Elektra Luxx. She also does a lot of voice work, and is expected to be Cheetara on the forthcoming Thundercats television series. She has done voice work on Phineas and Ferb, American Dad, Robot Chicken, and voiced Hisea Aoki in the English version of Kyûketsuki Miyu (Vampire Princess Miyu). Oh, and there are video games... I gotta stop, but you can see where this is going, right? Much nerd-love for EC.

Premature Game Review: Pocket RPG

So, I drank the Kool-Aid and got an Apple product. An iPad to be exact. Sometimes I just want the stuff thats "in." Forgive me.

While not the first game I purchased (that dubious honor goes to Adult Swim's Robot Unicorn Attack) Pocket RPG is the first I purchased on my very own iPad.



Pocket RPG is a sort of run-and-gun fantasy game. It is a little like Gauntlet, a little like Golden Axe, and likely a little like a one-player World of Warcraft. You get a choice of three characters; the Blade-Master, the Dark Ranger, and the Mage. Each have different styles of play, but go through the same set of levels, or "quests" (thus far, at least). It is a top down game with a slight skewing for 3D effects. There are weapons and equipment to find, and you are able to train skills and weapon proficiencies. You do not carry found items from quest to quest, but they give you points to spend on skills and proficiencies.

So far it is a fun little time killer. If you leave the game the application stays where it is, so it is easy to get away from and back into quickly. I have only had luck with the Blade-Master. The Dark Ranger and Mage involve too much thinking, having to run and aim. Once they get mobbed, it gets ugly fast. Most everything I have encountered is meat-wagon work, so I stick with the grunt.

Gameplay is handled through dual touch pads on the screen. One is for movement and the other for attacks. Sometimes movement gets a little awkward, but I guess that is to expected with new games. There is an inventory screen that let's you equip items you find along the way. Primarily you find weapons, amulets, and rings. Weapons have different properties, and amulets and rings typically augment attacks, or provide protection.

The one issue I did have initially was that the application would only rotate one way. My iPad cover acts as an easel, and the application was turned the wrong way. Then, suddenly, it would rotate the other way. No idea if I did something, or if it just took some time to warm up to me.

I find it to be a lot of fun. At $2.99 you could do worse, and I have gotten a fair bit of play time for that three bucks. It is available for the iPhone as well, though I cannot imagine it working on such a small screen.

WIP Wednesday: Prisoner (1979-1986)

We like to think of American and British television as being the best, but we rarely think of Australia for tv. Australia is all Mad Max and Crocodile Dundee, right? Think again, friends. Australia brings us a huge chunk or WIP awesomeness in the form of "Prisoner," a WIP soap opera that ran for an astonishing 692 episodes between 1979 and 1986.

Now, while I enjoy what I have seen, it is only a small sampling of the first four seasons. Twelve are available from Netflix on DVD, and about twenty-two total are available from Amazon for around $20US. The problem, however is the lack of continuity. Twenty-two episodes is a mere 3% of the total show. What you do a get a feel for in the small portion I have seen is the head bitch in charge, Bea Smith, and the main antagonist, Joan Ferguson.

Bea Smith, played by Val Lehman, runs all the illicit activities in Wentworth prison for women. In a switch from the standard WIP formula, she is also very much the hero. She is, say, the Tony Soprano of the show. Other prisoners get a lot of play. Chrissie Latham (Amanda Muggleton), is sort of the good girl, though she is no angel. Lizzie Birdsworth (Sheila Florence), is the elderly troublemaker, being a drunk who makes alcohol in a rather careless fashion, much to Bea's chagrin.

One part that is definitely off book, formula-wise, is that most of the prison staff seems to genuinely care about those in their charge. Series one has a dick-head male sub-warden who is all about discipline, and alienates both prisoners and staff. However, series regulars Officer Meg Morris (Elspeth Ballantyne), Deputy Governor Colleen Powell (Judith McGrath), and Governor (warden) Erica Davidson (Patsy King), are not out to get the prisoners, and even understand that there is going to be a top dog, and take Bea's leadership with a grain of salt and wary eye.

Of course the devil is always the best part of any story, and our devil here is Officer Joan Ferguson, played with awesome malevolence by Maggie Kirkpatrick. She is diabolical, almost literally. It seems to take her until series four, but she eventually kicks Bea out, getting her transferred to another prison, then places a puppet HBIC over the prisoners. Joan is evil and corrupt, known as "The Freak" by inmates. Here is the first meeting between Ferguson and Bea:



In all it is an interesting show, as well as a different take on the genre. Perhaps Australia's prison background changes the way they see things versus America and England? Thanks to Tommy Salami for reminding me to check this out, and Ruby Tombstone for giving me some background (she says it is her favorite show).

Fan-Boy Icon #49 - Vincent Price

You know, we discuss a lot of awesome people here (at least I think so), but for my money no one compares to Vincent Price. Sure, his contemporaries Lugosi, Karloff, Lorre, and later day similes Lee and Cushing all have their own brand of awesome, but Price is one of a kind.

If you have never seen a Vincent Price film, well, I don't know what to say. His film career spanned the years 1938 to 1993 (the year of his death). He has done everything. He was a film noir heavy, he did beach movies, comedies, television, and of course horror. I would argue that Vincent Price is more important to horror than any other figure.

One of my favorite stories about Price comes from Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands. As I understand it Burton was a huge fan of Price, and wanted him in the film. The part was small, but at 79 years of age the actor was having some difficulty. Apparently the producers were upset about the extra time Price was adding to production and wanted him replaced. Burton refused, threatening to leave the film if the studio forced his hand.

The scene from Edward Scissorhands. Price comes in around the 2:40 mark.



The wild and weird Dr. Phibes:



Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine



I kind of enjoy this. Bill Hader on Saturday Night Live does occasional Vincent Price TV specials that never existed.

Nerd Girl of Note #121 - Pearl Future (@PearlFuture)

Old school 8-bit sound, early hip hop, and collaboration with Nicki Minaj that takes some shots at Willow Smith... I gotta tell you, Pearl seems pretty awesome.

I know a few of her songs; mostly the ones available at Amazon.  "Lookin' At Me" (video below) features Nicki Minaj who does Willow Smith's "I Whip My Hair Back and Forth" rap on it. "It's Bad" does a call back to Rick James' "Super Freak" and "Shop Song" is a bit of a consumerism/bling-bling satire (perhaps).

Pearl has a great voice, and a cool throwback sound that has some '80s feel and a bit of video game music vibe to it. She's worth looking into, music fans.

Short Movie Reviews

Requiem for a Vampire by Jean Rollin is an odd film. It is like the best haunted house ever for a while, having very little dialogue or story. It begins with a car chase/gun fight between two cars. The male driver is killed, and the two females, dressed as clowns no less, escape their pursuers only to become lost. They finally discover a seemingly unoccupied castle. Of course, this is where the vampires are. It is not the best vampire movie I have seen, but is interesting. (Streams on Netflix)

Demoniacs, also by Jean Rollin, also has a girl in a clown costume (what's up with that?), but is about a group of semi-pirates and the two girls they rape. The girls are mutes, but bent on revenge. The leader of the semi-pirate gang is a little loopy, and sees them everywhere he goes. Eventually the girls make a deal with... supposedly Satan, but he's not very Satanic. He's kind of  decent guy. Anyway, their plot for revenge goes a bit strangely. I liked this one. The bad guys are well acted, and the film has a weird trippiness to it. The last, say twenty minutes, looks and feels like a silent film. It appears they shot in slow speed, so everything is sped up just a bit. While the story has some holes in it, it is pretty enjoyable. (Streams on Netflix)

The Man Who Wasn't There is a modern film noir by the Coen Brothers which stars Billy Bob Thorton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini and Scarett Johansson. This is one of my favorite films. It can take a bit to get into, but is worth the effort. Thorton plays a cuckolded barber who decides to blackmail the man sleeping with his wife. It turns into a murder. It is a smart movie with a lot of great performances. (Streams on Netflix)

The King's Speech is one I might have skipped due to the notoriety, but as Collin Firth is one of the wife's favorites we decided to watch it. It is a tad too "feel good" for my tastes, but on the whole is an enjoyable film. It does not get as constantly sappy as movies about someone overcoming a disorder can be. It definitely has its sappy moments though, and a few uncomfortable attempts at humor that don't quite work. I enjoyed it, despite the flaws. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter all bring their respective A games, and do not clash. It tends to get a little Royals happy from time to time. Well worth watching. (DVD)

Women in Trouble is the movie prior to Elektra Luxx. It is a tangential story of ten women whose lives/stories become associated. It is no Lifetime Original Movie, but is not as dirty as it might be sold (Netflix tags it as "raunchy"). Two characters, Elektra Luxx (Carla Gugino) and Holly Rocket (Adrianne Palicki, the newly aborted Wonder Woman) are porn stars, and Bambi (voice actress and future Cheetara, Emmanuelle Chriqui) is a prostitute, but aside from some subject matter and cheesecake it is hardly raunchy. If you are looking for titties and faux lesbian sex, look elsewhere. It is a fun, rather interesting film, and I am looking forward to Elektra Luxx. (Streams on Netflix)

Planet of the Vampires does not really have any vampires, or even undead for that matter. What it does have is a creepy paranoia similar to John Carpenter's The Thing, and direction by Mario Bava. While not as good as Danger Diabolik! Bava gets the most out of his sets, which were likely quite expensive for a B movie. There is excellent use of colored light, miniatures, matte paintings, and sound to increase the overall creepiness. The acting is not bad, and the story makes for a somewhat plausible sci-fi horror film. A little slow at times, but has a nice twist at the end. (Streams on Netflix)

Vampire Circus is not one of my favorite Hammer films. It is a bit like they had some good ideas and some bad ideas, a bunch of unknowns, and a skeleton of a story. It likely could have been a good movie, but frankly it did not hold my interest in the least. (Streams on Netflix)

Not trying to be whiny, but some thoughts on the Netflix price increase.

All last night I kept seeing mentions about the Netflix price increase for Streaming plus DVD service. I won't say "I told you so," mainly because I didn't tell you so, but I think it was obvious.

Prior to this week, Netflix provided streaming and mail-order DVD rentals for roughly $10US. Frankly, I don't know how they handled the shipping. I seriously thought they were owned by the US Post Office, a belief I have not considered looking into. I can only imagine what their streaming costs them. Even if they have their own server farm, they are looking at high ISP rates. If their servers are owned by a third party, well they are getting charged a ton.

The increase is natural on two points. First, they were building a user base. You have to spend money to make money. They have enough customers now that they are literally driving video store chains out of business. Second, now that they are the best option for DVD rentals, they can turn up the heat. "You want what we don't stream? Pay me." Sure, there are still those DVD vending machines, but I can only assume they have a limited selection. Certainly my local Red Box does not have a copy of  Girl Slaves of Morgan Le Fay. Why would they?

The question for me, now, is how will they proceed? Will new movies still be primarily available through DVD, or will they expand their Instant selection? If they don't, why would I go to them for new DVDs? The Red Box and their ilk are perfectly fine for that, and I'd be lucky to get seven DVDs a month for the extra $7US which I could spend with Red Box for the same number.

Frankly, the only people getting hurt here are people with odd tastes, like me, and people without high speed internet access. Yes, there are people without broadband in this country. It is actually the majority. Now, I make a good living, and if I have to buy Chained Heat 2, then I guess I will. Also, the hurt to those without broadband will not be so great. A DVD only plan's cost does not change significantly from last week, and if you were not watching on Instant, then you won't miss it. Of course expansion of Instant movies will likely start replacing the availability of DVDs, and I can foresee DVD rentals becoming a thing of the past for Netflix. Good for me, bad for those without broadband.

The worst part about the whole thing is not related to the price change; not directly at least. Now the content wars are starting. Hulu+ is Netflix's main competitor, and recently made a streaming deal with Criterion. Criterion's catalog will start disappearing from Netflix, and if they are your cup of tea, you will have to go to Hulu. Say goodbye to another $15US. Eventually more distributors will follow suit. It will be the Coke and Pepsi of the internet.

Bottom line: this is a "white people problem." Yeah, I don't want to pay any more to Netflix, but I am just going to spend that $5-$7 on some other meaningless crap. If I don't like it, I'll drop Netflix. Maybe I'll do something productive, or read another book a month? When (according to the article cited above) an estimated 40% of the US population still has dial-up internet access, and another 30% have no in-home internet, it seems a tad petty to bitch about $7 a month. Privilege is not free. It wouldn't be privilege if it was.

Three the Hard Way (Gordon Parks Jr., 1974)

When Jimmy Lait (Jim Brown) returns to his home and finds an old friend has been held in a off-the-books prison he decides to take action. When the bad guys kidnap his woman, there is going to be hell to pay. Times three.

Lait contacts his friends, some of the baddest cats around. Jagger Daniels (Fred Williamson) and Mister Keyes (Jim Kelly). The three try getting Lait's girl back, but soon discover there is much more to the story. Namely, genocide. It seems a group of neo-Nazis has created a drug they plan to disperse through the water systems of Los Angeles, Detroit, and Washington DC. It apparently does not effect white people, based on some sketchy science based on sickle cell anemia.

This is a pretty awesome film, both by action and Blaxploitation standards. Jim Brown is the weakest actor in it, but is pretty awesome in his action scenes. Fred Williamson is, well Fred Williamson (which is pretty damn good), and Jim Kelly adds a little traditional Kung-Fu personality to his role, particularly by shunning firearms.

One part that is interesting, on a few levels, is the brief inclusion of Countess (Pamela Serpe), Empress (Irene Tsu), and Princess (Marie O'Henry). They are special interrogators that Jagger knows, and are brought in to get info out of a henchman. They are highly cruel, though their methods are not show. Once they have softened the henchman up, Jagger and Keyes try talking to him and the man is a mess. Keyes does not like what is going on, nor the three women. It is nice to see some difference of opinion where methods are concerned in an action film.

Countess, Empress, and Princess

The story has some flaws, particularly the way the Nazis start celebrating before their troops have notified them of success. Also, I am not sure we ever find out about Lait's friend from the prison, or even what happened to it. I can appreciate when a film leaves some doors open, but they just kind of forgot about the whole thing. Plus the Nazi leader appears to escape, but it is impossible to know for sure.

Jagger Daniels, Mister Keyes, and Jimmy Lait

In the end, it is an awesome film. It is not as heavy on standard Blaxploitation elements as many films of the genre. Sure, their are many, notably the racist bad guys and cops setting Mister Keyes up on a phony possession charge, but otherwise it is a pretty standard shoot-em-up action film. Well worth watching, despite its flaws.

Fan-Boy Icon #48 - Dani Moreno (@amazing_mask)

I did a brief bit about this web series in the past, and Strange Kids Club did one recently, but it just keeps creeping back into my consciousness. The Amazing Mask is, to the best of my knowledge, a Mexican supernatural crime fighting web series. Moreno created/directs/acts, and I must say it is full of awesome. I do not know if there will ever be any more of it, but apparently the longer clip below is a pilot of sorts, titled "Amazing Mask Contra La Sorenatural Mujer Voodoo." The story, as I understand it is, The Amazing Mask is a luchador who fights crime with his teammate Little Boy. Their main enemy is "Calavera Maligna" (played by Moreno), an evil luchador, but in the pilot the main enemy is "Sugar Brown" as played by Brazilian porn star Dunia Montenegro. Together the baddies are creating a zombie apocalypse, which The Amazing Mask must stop.

The show is full of elements I love. Zombies, Voodoo and cartoon violence. A bit of sexiness and evil, evil bad guys. I wish I knew more about Moreno, as he certainly seems like my kind of guy. Unfortunately, the last post on their blog is from April of this year, and says a new episode is coming in a few days... their website is also apparently down... I'd love to see more. Rob Zombie, if you're reading this, give this dude a call muy pronto!












Lastly, a commercial, I assume for insurance, which proves that Spanish television is vastly superior to American television.

Nerd Girl of Note #120 - Mamie van Doren (@mamievandoren)

There were three power-blondes in the 1950s, and only one of them is still with us: Mamie van Doren. This post will be a bit picture heavy, as not only has Mamie had a longer life than her counterparts, she is also less staid in her appearance. Her look has changed with time, and now at 80 years of age she is still modern looking, and frankly quite the hottie. You'll see below. Aside from her many films Mamie also has put out albums and appeared in Playboy twice.

My favorite film with Mamie has got to be Girls Town (my review). I saw it on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and it was a riot, but it also one of the better films featuring Mamie for more than her cheesecake value. She gets to do some good acting in it.

You can find Mamie on Twitter here, or at her official site.

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Not sure what year this is, but it is recent.