10 MOVIES TABONGA! LOVES TO WATCH AGAIN!

Here are a few of my favorite movies I like, err, love, to put on while I'm working on my monster art. Generally speaking, I enjoy the schlocky titles the most because they always put me in my happy place. Born in the late forties, I was there during the atomic bomb tests, the UFO invasion, rockets, etc. I saw 67 horror and sci-fi flicks at the theater from 1953-59 and it influenced me big time. I love rubber space monsters the most, I do not like modern movies, they're too long, have too much story and are too busy, complex and glossy. Give me a simple 60 minute story, so much more enjoyable for me than the overblown crap we have today...

Although THE BEAST WITH A MILLION EYES doesn't even come close to matching the great poster art, this movie has a ton of charm and one I love to watch again! An interesting character is the mute helper, HIM! He likes to look at his girlie mags!

Eegah!! and I saw THE BRAIN EATERS when it came out, it was so whacked out. We didn't think much of it at the time, but, it has grown on me over time and may be the flick I play the most! (I have seen some of these titles like 20 times or more!!)

Damn, we love the Hell out of CALTIKI, director Mario Bava works his magic with the blobs and throws in the creepy character, Max, for a double horror treat!

MISSION MARS is just one of those movies that is so fun to watch! It stars two Dungeon Heroes, Darren McGavin and Nick Adams, and, has the unique Solarite monsters that will toast your sorry ass but good!!

ATTACK OF THE CRAB MONSTERS is another story that tickles my horror bone and have watched this one more than any other Corman title! Love this pic of the Crab Monster dicing up our poor victim into little bite-sized pieces!! Saw this one when it came out in 1957.

Love INVISIBLE INVADERS, John Agar is perfect as Major Jay in this wild sci-fi tale. Him and his pals have to capture one of the Invaders and figure out a way to put a stop to their invasion!

MISSILE TO THE MOON is another favorite of mine, it has rock monsters, a giant killer spider and features the beautiful Moon Goddess, Sanita Pelkey. A freakin' ton of fun!!

The Grimaldi Bros. gave us MUTINY IN OUTER SPACE and I thank them for it! This flick is cheap but delivers many thrills and spills as a fungus terror tries to take over a space station...

Paul Blaisdell created the rubber suit worn by Crash Corrigan in this creepy space tale. IT! THE TERROR FROM BEYOND SPACE boards the spaceship on Mars and terrorizes the crew as they head back to Earth!

Saw THE FLAME BARRIER in 1958, lots of creepiness going on here with the space blob in the cave and the skeletons covered in Saran Wrap. Another fun movie I love to watch again!.. Okay, there you go, tune in again Wednesday when we'll have more interesting junk, just for you!

FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS - Hunter S. Thompson (1998)

 By the time you read what I'm writing, I'll have been in Las Vegas for a day and a half trying my best to outdo "Fear and Loathing," and "The Hangover!" From this point on, it's just another game of craps! Read the back cover above from my own personal copy of "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas," Hunter S. Thompson was one krazy cat!

 To some people, "Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas" is unwatchable, to others, it's a living testimony to drugs, depravity and a gonzo lifestyle! The story happens over a couple of days time, it's hard to imagine what a whole life around Hunter S. Thompson would have been!

This is a quote from the actual first page of the book!

It's gonna be one Helluva trip!

I just read a Rolling Stone interview from 1998 with Johnny Depp, and it was quite insightful!
I suggest you read it yourself right here to get a true understanding of the melding of these two guy's minds!

Driving to Las Vegas, Dr. Thompson and Dr. Gonzo pick up this poor unsuspecting hippie hitchhiker! Although most of what I'm writing here is about Johnny Depp and Hunter S. Thompson, Benicio Del Toro as Dr. Gonzo is actually the wilder one of the two! You never know what this guy is going to do, and Benicio plays it to the hilt!! This is one character I have no problem describing as a mad man!!

Did you read the back cover and the list of drugs they were packing? This table full of drinks couldn't even make a dent in that buzz!

Terry Gilliam of Monty Python fame directed this film which even adds to the psychedelic/cartoon effect times 33 1/3!

My, My, how times and attitudes have changed! Should be interesting over the next 10 or 20 years to see how it all pans out! I'm pretty sure that it's the next gold rush!

As to be in good form, I re-read the book on the way over!

I'm hoping to also find the prefect Bloody Mary!

Maybe we'll meet some hot chicks!

As a journalist, Hunter S. Thompson was supposed to go to Vegas to cover this big dirt bike race!

What fun!

The last time, and I do me the last time, I stayed at Circus, Circus, it was literally a circus! There was some kid mixed martial arts event going on, and there were children everywhere ready to give you a chop at a moment's notice!

They called it Gonzo journalism! When he could no longer party like a crazy person because of age and health, Hunter S. Thompson chose to end his life at 67 in 2005. Appropriately enough, Johnny Depp paid to have Hunter's ashes shot off in a canon!

Here's a real picture I pilfered from Wikipedia of Hunter and his lawyer just so you can see the look etc. were not that far off!

In the elevator with Cameron Diaz and Dr. Gonzo wigging out bigtime!

This is more of a hallucination than a story!

Of course, the ultimate stoners are also there to cover the huge law enforcement anti-narcotics convention!

Monkey see, monkey do!

I'm not sure if there are witnesses to testify how much of this story is truth and how much is fiction, but if only 25% is true, and I'm sure the percentage is much higher than that, Hunter S. Thompson raised the bar on partying to a new level, because you can't get much crazier than this and still live to talk about it!

I'm in Las Vegas for the Las Vegas Boxing Hall Of Fame dinner and induction ceremony! I think it's going to be very interesting what with the Mayweather - McGregor match coming up in the next couple of weeks, but I'll be back home by the time that circus gets going into full gear!

But for now, it's time to get out of Dodge!

STIGMATA / Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - 1999

I just picked up this DVD for resale, so, I'm doing it... The story goes like this... A priest from the Vatican is sent to Sao Paulo, Brazil, to investigate the appearance of the face of the Virgin Mary on the side of a building and then hears of a statue of the Virgin Mary bleeding tears in a small town outside of the city! Meanwhile, a young woman in the U.S. begins to show signs of stigmata, the wounds of Christ. The priest from the Vatican finds her and then cares for her as she becomes increasingly afflicted. Her ranting and raving finally begins to make sense to the priest and he starts to question what his religion has stood for for the last 1900 years. Filmed at Greystone Park & Mansion, Beverly Hills, CA.

The movie stars Patricia (ED WOOD) Arquette, Gabriel (GOTHIC) Byrne and Jonathan (BRAZIL) Pryce in this tale about the influence of the living Christ...

Our gal Frankie has just died on the operating table, but, miraculously comes back to life right before everyone's eyes! What in the Hell's going on?!

When she's riding on the subway, she becomes possessed and the train goes out of control. She assumes the pose of a crucifixion and everything goes off the rails!..

And, Frankie ends up in the hospital again, this time she's treated for whip lashes on her back! But, how in the Hell did she get those wounds?!

Later, at an office party (she's a hair dresser) Frankie goes through another phase of stigmata, then, runs out into traffic on a rainy night, creating much confusion and many wrecks!

Frankie becomes obsessed with writing a massive message in ancient script. That's when Father Kiernan meets up with her and wants to help her deal with her unearthly powers. The beautiful photography is fairly amazing throughout the movie.

Then it happens, Frankie falls for the Father and things really heat up!......

But, Father Kiernan doesn't exactly see it that way, so, she literally beats the crap out of him! She even tosses him the Hell into walls and furniture to get her point across.

She threatens the Father with that knife but ends up cutting through her own wrist, the place where a big old nail would be if she was being crucified!

All Heck breaks loose and Frankie assumes the crucification position while floating in air!

Father Kiernan must save Frankie from the horror and takes her out of the room of illusions.

Later, the Father finds an ancient scrolls and discovers that it has the same messages that Frankie had written on her wall... What the Hell?!!.. Anyway, check in tomorrow when Eegah!! will have a special post, all for us fellow Ruskies, da?!