Future Zone (1990)

Apparently we needed a sequel to Future Force? In the future (which looks uncannily like 1990) law enforcement is now in the hands of bounty hunters, with Tucker (David Carradine) the top gun. When he tangles with a drug gang he needs help (though doesn't realise it), help does come in form of young hot shot Billy (Ted Prior) who has a secret... he is Tucker's son from the future... (Though as this is already supposed to be set in the future he is from the future's future!)

Billy can't tell Tucker this though and instead tries to win his confidence during a series of badly choreographed action scenes, culminating in a brawl in an alley way. The gangster boss Hoffman (Patrick Culliton) wants his cocaine back and Tucker dead, he kidnaps Tucker's wife Marion (Gail Jensen) leading to a final show down in yet another junkyard...

This sequel probably holds together slightly better than the original but is still a fairly low budget and low energy action film with little to justify the "future" tag and little in the way of coherence. Now there is Tucker's robot laser firing glove but as with the previous film he seems to forget all about it until he has almost been defeated!

Sing and Swing (1963)

Before the Beatles... there indeed was a British pop music scene which was thriving though somewhat overshadowed these days. Young hopeful Dave (David Hemmings) wants to hit the big time with his band of young post boys. Despite a few near misses though including Dave having an accident in a studio and meeting Kenny Ball success eludes them especially when he loses the demo tape. His relationship with Jill (Jennifer Moss) also becomes a bit rocky at times...

Well the story is very familiar, the basic template used so many times in films like this. A bit of light drama interspersed by plenty of pop tunes. Guest appearances by real pop stars including Gene Vincent, Patsy Ann Noble and those who would one day become pretty famous indeed including Richie Blackmore and Chas Hodges. A fascinating if not explosive period piece. Swinging!

A Man About the House (1947)

Two stiff upper lip single Englishwomen Agnes (Margaret Johnston) and Ellen (Dulcie Grey) own a school in rainy London but are pretty hard-up. Then they unexpectedly inherit an Italian villa near Naples from their uncle. They go out to Italy with the expectation to quickly sell the villa but are quickly seduced (in more ways than one) by Naples and the hunky Salvatore (Kieron Moore) who likes to go about shirtless as much as possible...

However Salvatore was originally promised the villa by his ex-master. Others note that he seems to be taking the loss of his inheritance pretty well. Or does he have a secret plan? When Agnes, who by now is smitten to Salvatore, falls ill is there a darker reason why?

The contrast between the repressed English and the happy Italians is amusingly large, especially as both sides are pretty heavily sterotyped in their own way. An enjoyable film though not without it's flaws.

Magnum Force (1973)

For this blog 600th review another of our all-time favourites...

"Dirty" Harry Callaghan (Clint Eastwood) faces a new threat in this film. Not criminals this time (although he does get to waste a few of course) but an enemy within. Someone, probably a rogue cop, is shooting the city's bad guys who use the court system to avoid justice. Harry at first thinks it is his old buddy Charlie (Mitchell Ryan) who has gone a bit crazy but when Charlie is killed himself he knows the answer is somewhere else...

A group of young cops who graduated together raise his suspicions. Led by Davis (David Soul) they have formed a sub-culture, a death squad. When Harry is getting too close he finds himself under fire himself. But who is their leader, he asks his superior Lieutenant Briggs (Hal Holbrook)...

A tough, sometimes sleazy, sometimes a bit exploitation-ish crime drama. There is a warning about vigilantism but really this is all about Clint Eastwood acting cool and shooting lots of people. It is of course completely ridiculous and quite over the top and very violent. It is also incredibly 1970s.

Incident in Shanghai (1938)

A love triangle in the chaos of a war zone. While Japan batters Chinese forces in the Shanghai international settlement Dr Linden (Derek Gorst) is trying to hold his group of Western and Chinese survivors together. Complication number one is when his estranged wife Madeleine (Margaret Vyner) turns up as a nurse. Complication number two is when a British pilot Pat (Patrick Barr) fighting for the Chinese arrives on the run from the Japanese...

Dr Linden treats his wife terribly, his jealously intense. Things take a turn for the worse when Pat starts to fall for Madeleine. When Pat is seriously injured only Dr Linden can save his life but will he?

A rather short and rough film with a good ensemble, with some incredibly dated stereotypes as you can imagine. It is also padded out quite a bit including a rather odd Chinese variety show though the dialogue is pretty good.

Piccadilly Third Stop (1960)

An excellent little British crime drama with noir touches. Dominic (Terence Morgan) is a toff (but poor) crook in early 1960s London who introduces US crook Joe (John Crawford) to some nice gambling dens - and soon he in danger of sampling the excellence of the NHS if he doesn't pay his bills. Dominic meanwhile has hooked up with Fina (Yoko Tani), the daughter of a foreign ambassador. During pillow talk she tells him of a ton of cash in the embassy safe and how to get to it. However Dominic is really planning on running off with Joe's wife Christine (Mai Zetterling).

Dominic lures Joe in on a plot to break into the safe, getting into the embassy basement via the London Underground. To break into the actual safe the Colonel (William Hartnell) is recruited, a professional through and through as long as he gets regular scotch. Naturally there is no honour amongst thieves, both Dominic and Joe plan to stiff the other...

A superb slice of the London underworld, ruthless amoral gangsters who think nothing of using people for gain and discarding them without a second thought - though always impeccably dressed. The film builds slowly but surely up to a grand (though pretty dark) finale and some exciting scenes on the underground tracks.

Ghosthouse (1988)

A strange horror film, poorly done at times but quite inventive. Years ago a young girl (Kristen Fougerousse) who likes killing cats quickly progresses to killing her parents with the help of an evil doll. We fast forward to the present and radio ham Paul Rogers (Greg Rhodes) hears strange music and screams over the radio waves. Naturally he decides to track down the source of the signal with his girlfriend Martha (Lara Wendel) to an empty old house in the countryside...

There they find another bunch of young people, the guy Mark (Ron Houck) is also a radio ham and it is his and his girlfriend's Susan (Mary Sellers) voices Paul heard... though they haven't made these noises.... well yet. The attacks soon come though as do the reappearances of the young girl. The attacks involve various grisly attacks involving exploding jars, killer fan blades and even a guillotine which literally cuts a teen girl in half! Meanwhile weird caretaker Valkos (Donald O'Brien) is wandering around menacing them...

The film is terrifying... as in terrifyingly badly made with the film often cutting randomly mid-scene and the usual indifferent-to-bad acting. However the horror is inventive and frequently gruesome. It is also unintentionally hilarious, especially Martha who spends most of the film in a bad mood.