Gamera vs. Barugon (1966)

Has the mighty flying turtle met his match in a creature from New Guinea which has a freeze ray?

Hirata (Kojiro Hongo) and Onodera (Koji Fujiyama) head to New Guinea to retrieve a massive opal hidden during the war. They head into a scorpion filled cave despite the warnings of native girl Karen (Kyoko Enami) and indeed find the huge gem. However, Onodera decides he doesn't want to share anymore and tries to kill Hirata. He heads to Japan on his own. But the opal actually isn't, it is an egg. It hatches in Japan, the huge monster Barugon begins to wreck the usual kind of havoc.

Gamera is attracted by the mayhem and fights Barugon though is defeated by it's freeze ray. Hirata and Karen are now in Japan and help the military with various schemes to try and defeat Barugon, despite the treachery of Onodera. The schemes fall short but Gamera is revived just in time to fight Barugon in an epic final battle.

This is the usual Japanese monster movie fare, plenty of destruction, plenty of waddling monsters destroying buildings and tanks. Barugon's rainbow ray is a rather lovely effect. The jungle scenes and Onodea's antics add a bit more interest beyond the usual monster battles.

French Connection II (1975)

The sequel to the brilliant French Connection, the story continues a few years later as Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman) continues his hunt for the drug baron Charnier (Fernando Rey). However, now Doyle has arrived in Marseilles where he is to work with (more or less) Inspector Henri Barthélémy (Bernard Fresson). Unbeknownst to Doyle he is really in France to act as bait to bring Charnier out into the open.

Doyle's relationship with the French police is rather fraught and he ends up a prisoner of Charnier. Kept in a dingy hotel for several weeks he is hooked on heroine. Finally, when back in police hands Doyle has to get over his addiction the hard way. This then sets the scene for a thrilling final fight and chase with Charnier.

A very good film, maybe not quite as good as the original though not far behind. The pacing seems a bit uneven and Doyle's lack of a sidekick (apart from Henri at times) means the film lacks some of the interplay of the first. The grime and squalor of New York is swapped for that of Marseilles. Different country but same old world of addiction and vice.

The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery (1959)

A reasonable (though not much more) bank robbery film with a touch of Noir about it.

Old blagger Egan (Crahan Denton) assembles a team to rob a bank in St. Louis. The team includes young George (Steve McQueen) as the getaway driver, although he has no experience in this kind of caper. While Egan begins to plan the heist intricately, there is a complication. George used to go out with the sister, Ann (Molly McCarthy) of his fellow bank robber Gino (David Clarke). When she sees Gino and George together, near a bank, she puts two and two together and makes five...

The film is a bit slow, though has plenty of atmosphere and some interesting and fairly dark asides including Egan explaining why he hates women so much. The action is pretty sparse though until the actual robbery near the end. The film was based on a real raid and some of the police and bank employees from the real case took part in this.

An interesting film but could have been more.

She (1935)

The search for eternal life, which apparently is in a mysterious lost world in the far North with a cast of thousands.

Leo Vincey (Randolph Scott) is recruited by Holly (Nigel Bruce) for a strange expedition. Vincey is told that his ancestor discovered the secret of eternal life, though died (so not sure how useful this secret must be?) Leo Vincey and Holly head to the Arctic. They are hustled by Dugmore (Lumsden Hare) to take him and his dogsbody daughter Tanya (Helen Mack) with them. After Dugmore dies in an avalanche, the entrance to a mysterious world is revealed. A world under the rule of a ruthless queen (Helen Gahagen) and characters in every possible combination of "ancient" outfit imaginable, She who be obeyed.

She is immortal and has loved the original Vincey for hundreds of years, thinking Leo is that man and has finally come back to to her. She says she will share the secret of eternal life with Leo though the fate of Tanya, with whom Leo has fallen in love, is less wholesome...

Highly dramatic fun, the kind of massive opulent production Hollywood used to love. The final ceremony scene does go on a little too long though is spectacular. With all the over dramatic nonsense going on all around, the oddly expressionless Randolph Scott really stands out! 

The Wizard (1989)

A charming if somewhat troubling film. Poor Jimmy (Luke Edwards) is a troubled kid, bad affected by his broken family. He keeps trying to run away to "California", finally his brother Corey (Fred Savage) helps him get out of his children's home. After meeting Haley (Jenny Lewis), who also seems to be wandering around small town America without anyone batting an eyelid, they discover that Jimmy is ace at video games so plan to head to LA to take part in a lucrative video game competition...

Complicating matters is that a creepy lost child hunter (Will Seltzer) has been sent after them, though amusingly Haley accuses him of being a child molester to get them out of one jam. Jimmy and Corey's father Sam (Beau Bridges) and big half-brother Nick (Christian Slater) are also after them...

So, a fun children's adventure in some ways, and a feature length Nintendo advert. However, the film does include a number of adult themes and in reality the kids would have probably ended up dead (or worse). But if you just enjoy the fantasy for what it is then it's a very enjoyable film.

Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966)

Peter Cushing returns as this non-canon version of Dr Who. After young police constable Tom (Bernard Cribbins) stumbles into the Tardis, Dr Who and his companions Susan (Roberta Tovey) and Louise (Jill Curzon) head into the future. To 2150AD in fact, London appears to be a grim hole full of ruins, sure it wasn't the 1970s?

Dr Who and company quickly discover the reason for the devastation is the Daleks! The Daleks have invaded Earth and conquered humanity. Dr Who joins a resistance movement and fights the Daleks alongside David (Ray Brooks) but everything points to Bedfordshire and a mysterious hole the Daleks are having dug in the ground...

This is quite a strange film, campy and light in feel with a jazzy soundtrack but also a huge bodycount. The Daleks and their robot slaves seem rather easy to defeat (a tarpaulin is enough to defeat one Dalek!) Although set in the future, everyone dresses like... well in the 1960s. A fun watch if odd.

Dick Barton Strikes Back (1949)

Fast moving, and bonkers, spy capers.

Secret Agent Dick Barton (Don Stannard) and his partner Snowey White (Bruce Walker) uncover a plot (by dastardly foreigners of course, led by the devious Sebastien Cabot) to kill everyone in the kingdom using a sonic weapon. The plotters have a secret leader (who is so obvious it is laughable). Dick and Snowey, who seem to operate by bungling their way into one dangerous situation after another, are assisted by the tragic Tina (Jean Lodge). A final showdown and heroic fight by Dick takes place atop the Blackpool Tower!

This is very early-post war British stuff, plucky and ridiculous in equal measure. It is a very Boy's Own Adventure with straight forward plotting and very one dimensional characters. It's fun and exciting, and should be enjoyed for what it is.