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Reviews
La nave de los monstruos (1960)
Wacky little gem among B-flicks
At a glance this title may not stand out, but it's worth your time, being a bit of a rare treat: a decently made B-flick with a sense of humor. That humor hasn't been lost in translation or obscured over time, either.
The premise: After many wars, Venus needs men, so they dispatch Gamma and Beta to scrape the bottom of the galactic barrel for any males they can manage to collect. (Seriously, any.) Next stop is Earth, where they meet a romantic, singing cowboy who's much less revolting than the others, but romance may be the least of the threats about to send the mission into chaos.
Beyond those basics, try to go in as unspoiled as you can manage. This movie has a handful of twists, and they really are more effective and funnier that way. The Ship of Monsters will certainly hit the B-sci-fi-horror spot with its black-and-white low budget aesthetic and wacky effects, but the film knows what it's doing, and entertains all on its own. Refreshing if you're used to uneven or lackluster old productions that need riffing to get through.
David Bowie & Mick Jagger: Dancing in the Street (1985)
Underappreciated delight
Video shot in a matter of hours for a charity duet cover recorded the same day. Old pals Bee & Jay do indeed dance, exuberantly, in the (empty) streets, as well as a derelict building. Bowie lip-syncs a tiny lyric wrong, but that's okay. No need to re-shoot. It's fine. About mid-video, waiting for his next line, Jagger picks up a mystery can off the ground and drinks from it, then does some light grooming.
These men were not only rock stars, but fashion icons. Bowie wears a smart trenchcoat over a snazzy onesie, which has both sleeves and both legs; this isn't Ziggy Stardust, but a refined, established, post-Serious Moonlight, pushing-40 rock icon. Meanwhile, Jagger's white sneakers introduce the video, immediately banishing any doubts you may have had as to the decade it was produced in. He tops his outfit off with a swishy seafoam blouse that could've clothed both him and Bowie.
Not that these two needed a get-along shirt; the onscreen duet is aflame with all the chemistry you'd expect. Their carefree, improvised moves range from jumping to bouncing to hopping to jazz hands to that swoopy arm thing Bowie does a lot (see: Ashes to Ashes) (and then Jagger does it too). These 3 minutes of music history are dense with rewatch value. Enjoy "DitS" with someone you love - just as Bowie and Jagger made it.