Jimbo52 Reviews

Brideless Groom (1947)

Perhaps the best Stooges short

[10/10 · 10 December 2007]

Not wishing to repeat what everyone else has noted, I will only say this:

Nearly everybody says they loved Curly best... but I will put BRIDELESS GROOM up against ANY of other the Stooges shorts.

I think it's the most hilarious from start to finish, as well as being the most re-watchable.

The off-key singing student... Christine McIntire's "Cousin Basil" routine, and of course Emil Sitka's J.P. are highlights, but only around the Stooges' impeccable timing and the great writing too!

Nuff said.

Mata Hari (1985)

Gorgeous photography in this much under-rated WWI picture

[10/10 · 16 August 2006]

So what if some say this was "Awful"! The supporting cast under Miss Kristal is actually very good. Both the French and the Germans are believable. (What is it with lesbian German "fraulein doktors"?) :-) While the WWI battle scenes were rather poor for their lack of hundreds of extras, the details of what WAS shown is very commendable! Miss Kristal's best scene is where she stands at the edge of a trench and her coat drops to reveal for the first time her nurse's uniform (her costume for her spy duties). It doesn't sound dramatic, but the shot IS! The rest of the movie is just GORGEOUS with the European locations, set decoration and authentic props (including a steam locomotive!). It is a beautifully shot movie! You think you are back in 1916! If you enjoyed the location photography in THE BLUE MAX, you will also like MATA HARI! It may not be CITIZEN KANE but very watchable... many times, even!

Stalag 69 (1982)

Angelique Pettyjohn as a Nazi bitch!

[8/10 · 1 June 2006]

An odd one... even for a porno.

It seems to be put together with several shootings on the same sets with different casts, made over time. (The sets are quite good for a cheapo porno, BTW.) Story concerns 3 Allied agents (1 bearded male, 2 females in fatigues) who parachute into North Africa and land in the middle of a desert Nazi installation and are taken prisoner for some S&M and hardcore sex fun and games.

SEE Angelique Pettyjohn hamming it up as a sadistic Nazi bitch. She plays only with the girls, implying she is a lesbian, which makes her pay-back rape by the guy while jackknifed over a table that much more exciting!

SEE the older guy who played the Nazi kommandant in LOVE CAMP 7 reprise his role.

HEAR the befuddled actress mispronounce "Algiers" repeatedly!

SEE the exciting (?) outdoor scenes (shot in the California desert?) as the filmmakers set off dynamite to simulate bombs.

SEE the other Nazi bitch... a barfy crone in jackboots who reminded this viewer of former Senator Phil Gram. (gag!)

It's supposed to be an action-adventure, but it is unintentionally hilarious in many places! Get out some beer and enjoy yourself!

Cleopatra Jones and the Casino of Gold (1975)

Stella Stevens is HOT!

[10/10 · 2 April 2006]

A much better looking lesbian villainess for Cleopatra Jones to fight in this second one of the series! Stella Stevens as the "Dragon Lady" is a two-face: smiling and cooing to her casino guests, but a deadly bitch to those who cross her (including one of her Chinese girl lovers whom she has killed when the girl decides she prefers Black dude Albert Popwell instead of her blonde sapphic mistress.

The climatic fight to the death between the black heroine and the white villainess is totally rousing, and the outcome prompted cheers from the 1975 audience!

Rumors of Stella's nude bath scene are still unconfirmed. It would be great to see!

Roots of Evil (1992)

All cop dramas should be this much fun (sleazy)

[8/10 · 4 December 2005]

ROOTS OF EVIL's chief claim to fame (?) is that it may be the only "legitimate" movie remake of a porno flick (TRINITY BROWN, 1984 CalVista, starring Colleen Brennan and John Leslie in the Jillian Kesner and Alex Cord roles respectively as the cop duo/lovers). Both movies were helmed by director Gary Graver.

While TRINITY BROWN was an earnest effort to make a XXX hardcore detective drama, ROOTS OF EVIL started at the other end, sleazing-down the gritty, L.A. cop story. The plot and characters are mostly the same, just a slicker re-telling the second time around.

Jewel Shepard is hilarious as the near-sighted stripper who can't recognize the killer. Delia Sheppard gets back to her own (real) roots as a nude dancer. Brinke Stevens as (what else?) a B-movie queen and older rich bitch Deanna Lund set up a few surprises.

The plot twist at the end of ROOTS OF EVIL is the more effective of the two because it is more shocking.

If you see one, you should see the other, if for nothing else, Gary Graver's maturing as a director. ROOTS OF EVIL and TRINITY BROWN are both recommended for lovers of sleazy cop dramas.

The Haunting of Morella (1990)

Great T&A dramatics/fun from Jim Wynorski

[10/10 · 18 September 2005]

The late Lana Clarkson is really the star of this one! As the evil lesbian Governess towering over the budding Nicole Eggert, she seeks to reincarnate her long dead lover (Nicole's mother, "Morella") with the blood of virgins! This includes servant girls Maria Ford, Debbie Dutch, Gail Harris, and Miss Eggert herself! Memorable are the bath scenes (a Wynorski trademark) by Lana, Nicole (bathes in blood!), Debbie, and of course the midnight tryst under the waterfall with Lana, Maria, and a very sharp KNIFE! Gorehounds as well as fans of EVIL WOMEN, lesbianism, and unashamed female nudity will enjoy this one! CAUTION: Gory violence, nudity, lesbianism, and other things that make life worth living. :-) Jimbo

The Party (1968)

A funny, memorable Peter Sellers vehicle.

[9/10 · 23 August 2005]

This movie is SO funny, I can even overlook the presence of the insipid Claudine Longet.

I was rolling with laughter at the opening "Gunga Din" sequence where Sellers' character refuses to drop his bugle and expire after being "shot"(as per the script). Before long, his comrades are even shooting at him!

At the party, the stand-out is Steve Franken (previously "Chatsworth Osborne, Jr." in "Dobie Gillis") as the drunk waiter who continually trashes the spirit of the formal dinner.

Of course, Sellers' characterization as the inept East Indian actor finding himself where he shouldn't be is the classic "fish out of water" story.

Mike Hammer, Private Eye (1997–1998)

A poor knock-off of the previous series.

[15 August 2005]

I must disagree with TC-4. The "grittiness" he describes, I would call "cheap".

I think the original CBS series of 1983-87 was superior to this one. With Don Stroud as Pat Chambers, Donna Denton as "The Face" Lindsay Bloom as Velda and the other regular supporting actors, it was a class act all around.

While Shannon Whirry makes a tasty Velda, the rest of this production was just a bargain-basement attempt at bringing back a good series. Obviously, it didn't work, with so few episodes shot.

Stacy Keach was good as always, but I miss his previous co-stars.

Thrillkill (1984)

A good, dark, action flick.

[9/10 · 27 May 2005]

This is a good, dark, action flick.

Most notable is LAURA ROBINSON who plays one of the assassins, and is an ULTIMATE BITCH (you love to hate!).

She is even better here than as the evil step-mother in MIKEY.

Watch Laura strangle the girl on the glass coffee table!

Watch Laura kill her fellow assassins!

Watch Laura try to get even with her former lover and agent who has fallen for the heroine!

Watch Laura on the escalator in the final scene! WHEW!

If you are a fan of SEXY, EVIL WOMEN, see this one!

The Blue Max (1966)

The Blue Max (1966)

[10/10 · 31 January 2005]

If any war movie can be called "beautiful", it would be THE BLUE MAX. The epic's stunning CinemaScope photography (filmed in Ireland) and musical score by Jerry Goldsmith is awesome on the DVD. The aerial photography of the colorful WWI planes of both sides is top notch. (No computer trickery here... it's all real, and in the air!)

The acting/casting is superb. New pilot (and former infantryman)Peppard's ruthlessness is looked down upon by his aristocratic peers in the German flying corps. The General (Mason) builds up the young flyer as a hero while the General's young wife (Andress) has more intimate designs on the young stud. Peppard's rival (Jeremy Kemp) and his C.O. (Karl Michael Volger) are stymied by the upstart pilot's drive. Commendable job also by supporting actors Harry Towb, Anton Diffring, and Heidi von Friedl.

You want to watch this one again and again. I get goose pimples every time! :-)

Jimbo52

Legion of Iron (1990)

Great fantasy fodder!

[10/10 · 4 November 2003]

Vampy Erika Nan chews the scenery up in this! As the sexy, evil "Queen Diana" who lords it over her subterranean desert gladiator/gambling liar, she plays the deadly bitch broadly (heh heh) and with obvious relish! The twisted villainess will have most male viewers drooling!