Norman Checks In (1984)

The Norman short comedy films were rather strange, Douglas P MacIntosh made four films about his loser character Norman every five years between 1974 and 1989. So, this is the third film, made five years after Welcome Back, Norman. Norman has checked into a hotel but his desired room has been overbooked due to a taxidermy convention.

Instead he is given the hotel's room from hell. Noisy, cramped, with a broken shower and Norman ends up exposing himself to a maid! This is a very strange little film, amusing if not rip roaringly funny. Quite why it exists is still a mystery, but i am kind of glad it does.

From Soup to Nuts (1928)

A good Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy comedy short though not quite the best. Mrs Culpepper (Anita Garvin) wants to show off by holding a posh dinner party. She requires a couple of waiters, but unfortunately she gets Stan and Ollie! Mayhem obviously ensues. The mayhem is a little predictable though, when Ollie walks into the dining room carrying a huge cake you know he is going to end up with his face in it... and indeed he does, several times!

Mrs Culpepper also has a lot of trouble with a cherry but when Stan walks in to serve the salad in his underwear (he was told to serve the salad undressed of course) the cherry is soon forgotten. Good old fashioned fun.

Fun in Balloon Land (1965)

Many of the films reviewed on this blog make little sense, this film makes no sense whatsoever. The film is a child's dream, and his dream seems to involve giant inflatable characters who sound like they are shouting down tunnels, and a host of dancing characters. To be honest if this is what the child dreams of then they are probably in need of a child psychologist. They spend most of their time in their dream looking bored and confused, like everyone else, though it's their fault.

Then we see a parade to pad the film out, though to be honest it goes on so long it's more like the dream part of the film is the padding. Quite what this all means is unknown, but if you are of a sober inclination but you have wondered what it's like to be completely stoned out of your mind then this film is for you. Very weird indeed. It was probably made to advertise the Giant Balloon Parades Inc., or maybe psychedelic drugs.

Omega Cop (1990)

An incredibly low budget, high violence post-apocalyptic movie. It makes no sense naturally.

It is 1999 and society has broken down, due to solar flares which turns people into crazies (somehow). Travis (Ronald Marchini) is one of the last cops in the city (and soon the last one), sent by Prescott (Adam West) - with whom he has a hate-hate relationship - to stop slave traders. The raid, against the leather clad warlord Wraith (Chuck Katzakian) and his gang, goes badly and all of Travis' buddies die. He does save Lena (Meg Thayer) from a life on her back however.

As Travis wanders around the broken down city he also picks up two other women, and regularly fights gang members for almost any reason, including to get back his hat! After endless martial arts and gun battles, Wraith descends on Prescott's compound. Travis heads in for a showdown with Wraith... which doesn't actually happen.

The film is rather grubby and seems mostly to contain lost extras from Mad Max ripoffs and late 80s pop videos. The story is nonsense, the action isn't bad, the cheese factor is high. This makes Omega Cop quite a reasonable entry in the post-apocalypse movie genre to be honest.

A Candle for the Devil (1973)

A wonderfully dark and erotic horror. Strict religious sisters Marta (Aurora Batista) and Veronica (Esperanza Roy) own a Spanish guest house. Their religious sensibilities are offended by a new generation of young women whom they consider have low morals, though Veronica is sleeping with the servant boy half her age. When one young woman is accidentally killed, Marta regards it as judgment from God and the sisters cover up their crime. When the woman's sister Laura (Judy Geeson) turns up looking for her, things start to get tense and awkward questions get asked...

An erotic film with lots of nudity and lots of violent and grisly murder. The film portrays the divide between the old traditional religious morals and the new freer secular way. It also shows the hypocrisy of both worlds. A tense and exciting film.

I Believe in Santa Claus (1984)

A Christmas movie with a bit of a difference. Simon (Emeric Chapulis) is sad for a number of reasons, including being bullied at school, menaced by the evil caretaker and because his parents are missing in Africa. He writes his letter to Santa asking for him to bring them back. When he and his friend Elodie (Alexia Haudrot) end up on a plane to Lapland, he gets to meet Santa (Armand Meffre) and ask him to help for real!

Santa goes to Africa (this isn't narrowed down any, let's face is "Africa" is quite a big place) with the Good Fairy (Karen Chéryl) - who also looks rather like Simon's teacher at school, must be a coincidence. Once in Africa, Santa and the Fairy discover Simon's parents are being held hostage by some rebels. To get them freed, Santa needs the help of some children with guns (yes this is a strange Christmas movie!) Meanwhile, in Lapland Simon and Elodie have wandered off and are about to be eaten by an Evil Ogre (Dominique Hulin)!

Although a bit odd at times, this is a lovely Christmas movie which doesn't overdo the saccharine. Karen Chéryl also provides a number of musical numbers in her various guises. 

He Walked by Night (1948)

A superb crime drama, showing the real life of a detective (i.e. much of the time it's pretty boring paperwork!) After a policeman is shot by Roy Martin (Richard Basehart), Captain Breen (Roy Roberts) and Sergeants Marty Brennan (Scott Brady) and Chuck Jones (James Cardwell) are put on the case. However, Martin has no record, leaves no traces, and knows police procedures. Finding him proves to be impossible, even after a sting to try and capture him when he goes to pick up his loot fails. Marty wonders if Martin is a cop and a long trawl through personnel records begins...

The film is shot in semi-documentary format with a voice over and more detail given to police procedures than was common in crime films at the time. This includes the early use of a photo-fit and forensic examination of cartridge cases. It isn't all CSI 1948 though, there is plenty of action including a final chase and shoot out in the LA storm drains.

The criminal Martin is also different to the usual wise guys and hardened criminals shewn in crime films of the time, Martin is a loner and a bit of a sociopath. His cool and calculated method makes finding him all the harder. A tense and atmospheric film.