DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 31, 2019

Mr. Sardonicus (1961) Nobleman demands doctor help cure his ghastly grimace. The fun includes an on-screen punishment poll to decide if the villain lives or dies. TIL: Given today's more effective systems of detention, the Church no longer believes the death penalty is warranted.

Still Voices - Mr. Sardonicus (1961) "And so let us always meet each other with a smile, for the smile is the beginning of love, and once we begin to love each other naturally we want to do something." - Mother Teresa

Dad Rock Daily: John Lennon - Plastic Ono Band (1970) Like eavesdropping on the therapy sessions of an embittered disillusioned atheist. Raw, powerful, and ultimately sad. Laudable Lyrics: Hold on world, world hold on. It's going to be alright. You're going to see the light.

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 28, 2019

The Touch of Satan (1971) Lost motorist takes up with a young witch only to find there's a catch, the old hag in the upstairs bedroom. Tries to be a slow burn, but never catches fire. TIL: As Pope Francis said, Satan knows how to seduce us with a package without letting us see what's inside.

Still Voices - Hellraiser (1987) "In all human love it must be realized that every man promises a woman, and every woman promises a man that which only God alone can give, namely, perfect happiness." - Fulton J. Sheen

Dad Rock Daily: Robert Wyatt - Rock Bottom (1974) Moody art-rock explorations from former Soft Machine drummer will likely be challenging for the melodically inclined. Laudable Lyrics: In the morning when it's time to play at being human for a while, please smile.

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 27, 2019

Dead Ant (2017) Aging hair-metal band befouls sacred land and is punished with giant ants. Don't you hate it when that happens? TIL: In Catholic-speak, consecrated ground is space that has been liturgically blessed, where some sacred object has stood, or a Christian cemetery.

Still Voices - Rear Window (1954) "There is nothing like eavesdropping to show you that the world outside your head is different from the world inside your head." - Thornton Wilder

Dad Rock Daily: Carly Simon - No Secrets (1972) Songwriter gets saccharine over all the sex she used to have. Pretty average. The songs. No idea about the sex. Laudable Lyrics: Go chase the wild and night time streets sang Daddy, and God sang, pray the devil doesn't get to you.

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 26, 2019

Hobgoblins (1988) Dirt cheap Gremlins ripoff does its best to get by on personality, though perhaps personality disorder would be a more apt description. TIL: Evil is not the opposite of good, but the corruption of it, i.e. Tolkien's hobgoblins/orcs were a corruption of elves and men.

Still Voices - The Brain (1988) "The brain is wider than the sky." - Emily Dickinson

Dad Rock Daily: Descendents - Milo Goes to College (1982) SoCal proto-skate punk is as good a portrait as any of white suburban teenage rage. Laudable Lyrics: I don't want to have sex with you, I want to be your friend. I want to be with you. I want you to marry me.

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 25, 2019

The Screaming Skull (1958) Snoozer has a nervous newlywed keep encountering the skull of her husband's first wife. Will she be the next to lose her head? TIL: See, this is why the Church recommends marriage prep even for valid second marriages. You just need to be sure.

Still Voices - PI (1998) "It is essential to have good tools, but it is also essential that the tools should be used in the right way." - Wallace D. Wattles

Dad Rock Daily: Nazareth - Hair of the Dog (1975) Milestone on the road to metal, particularly for the attitude. Laudable Lyrics: Standin' up for Jesus, that's your thing, but you're standin' on people's hearts. Charity is a virtue to be praised, better get back on Jesus' track.

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 24, 2019

The Terror of Hallow’s Eve (2017) Bullied teen wishes evil on his tormentors; evil shows up. Sort of like a gory Are You Afraid Of The Dark? episode. TIL: As Hans Urs von Balthasar noted, wishing hell on another is a grave sin because it makes a mockery of God’s mercy.

Still Voices - Zabriskie Point (1970) "All people see fires, storms, explosions, or landscapes; but how many feel the flames, the lightnings, the whirlwinds, or the harmony? How many have an inner beauty that tinges their melancholy?" - Emile M. Cioran

Dad Rock Daily: The Everly Brothers - Stories We Could Tell (1972) The Bros and their L.A. pals take a walk down an old country road; the fresh air does them good. Laudable Lyrics: Oh, God, forgive the man that drives right by the other man. Take pity on the stranger in the cold.

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 23, 2019

Viy (1967) Russian tale of a young monk forced to sit vigil in the tomb of a deceased witch is simultaneously quaint and bat**** insane. TIL: Despite the perils facing religion in Russia, including anti-evangelization laws, 65% of the population still profess a belief in God.

Still Voices - Rat Pfink a Boo Boo (1966) "Our culture has filled our heads but emptied our hearts, stuffed our wallets but starved our wonder. It has fed our thirst for facts but not for meaning or mystery. It produces 'nice' people, not heroes." - Peter Kreeft

Dad Rock Daily: Mick Ronson - Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1974) Bowie's back-up band makes a Bowie-free album that, surprise, still sounds an awful lot like a Bowie album. Laudable Lyrics: Kind of wear love like a long lost crown, now I take pride in the way I behave.

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 21, 2019

Primal Rage (2017) For those who ever wondered what it would be like if the Predator was actually a horny insane Bigfoot? You know who you are. TIL: If Sasquatch was a rational being, as in this film (sort of), then yeah, someone would need to share the Good News with him. Not it.

Still Voices - Student Bodies (1981) "He who throws away a friend is as bad as he who throws away his life." - Sophocles

Dad Rock Daily: ZZ Top - Tres Hombres (1973) No MTV gloss here; just down and dirty Southern blues-rock. If you can only have one of their albums... Laudable Lyrics: Have you heard 'bout nació te amar? Yeah yeah yeah! Well, then you could not be lost. Yeah yeah yeah!

And finally, a small correction to our Daily Call Sheet from August 11. The quote "A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in." is attributed most everywhere on the Internet as an old Greek proverb, so that’s we stated as well. However, sharp-eyed reader Foxfier informed us that may not be the case, as explained at this website. Enjoy the read, but be prepared to look up the definition of the word unexceptionable.

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 19, 2019

I Was a Teenage Werewolf (1957) Hypnotized teen goes full beast mode whenever bells ring. Michael Landon's finest moment? TIL: The use of bells in worship go back to Moses where they were sewn into priests' robes to make a joyful noise and to ward off evil spirits.

Still Voices - Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) "Better an honest enemy than a false friend." - German Proverb

Dad Rock Daily: The Supremes - More Hits by The Supremes (1965) The Holland-Dozier-Holland hit machine keeps on rolling. Even the filler is fine. Laudable Lyrics: All the emptiness I had inside you lovingly fulfilled.  I then felt born again and it feels so grand.

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 18, 2019

The Horror of Party Beach (1964) Satisfying schlock has sausage tongued sea monsters terrorizing teens while The Del-Airs rock. TIL: Rabid anti-Catholics claim the beast from the sea in Revelation is the Church; most sane people realize it's a symbol for the ancient Roman empire.

Still Voices - Female Trouble (1974) "It is better to dwell in a wilderness than with a quarrelsome wife and trouble." - Proverbs 21:19

Dad Rock Daily: The Amboy Dukes - The Amboy Dukes (1967) Serviceable garage psych slightly elevated due to The Nuge's excellent guitar work. Laudable Lyrics: Where's goodness and mercy on which life is based? Has hatred and envy taken place?

And finally, Catholic Skywalker offers his suggestions for the Top Ten Arnold Schwarzenegger movies.

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 17, 2019

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (2017) Remember the classic comic Camelot 3000? Now imagine if it were a big ol' pile of crap. TIL: There are numerous tales of Arthur meeting various Saints. Obviously dubious as history, but great insight into medieval piety.

Still Voices - Shriek of the Mutilated (1974) "A husband may forget where he went on his honeymoon, but he never forgets why." - Evan Esar

Dad Rock Daily: Jim Croce - You Don't Mess Around With Jim (1972) Sometimes wistful, sometimes winking, but always an instant cure for tension anytime you drop the needle. Laudable Lyrics: So many times I said I been changin', then slipped into patterns of what happened before.

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 16, 2019

Down (2001) Maas reimagines his killer elevator flick "The Lift" as an action movie. Doesn't make the results any less dumb. TIL: An 'elevator speech' is a 30 second +/- pitch describing your qualifications. The Church's is that she's "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic."

Still Voices - The Incredibles (2004) "The long, dull, monotonous years of middle-aged prosperity or middle-aged adversity are excellent campaigning weather for the devil." - C. S. Lewis

Dad Rock Daily: Journey - Next (1977) The lyrics may not be the strongest, but this pre-Perry Prog proves these guys were master-class musicians long before they hit the charts. Laudable Lyrics: People, always need a minute or two to think. Who says they're not going to Hell?

And finally, Mark 13:32 tells us that no one knows the hour or the day that the end times will come upon us... but there will be signs.

SHORT FEATURE: GO! GO! GODZILLA! EPISODE ONE

Heads up! It looks like the fine folks at the Godzilla Channel Godzilla (Toho Special Effects) Channel have started up a new puppet series for young kids. 

In this opening episode it appears the Big G is giving some much needed kaiju lessons to Junior and Minilla and, as is often the case, poor Minilla just can't seem to get the hang of things. It's all in Japanese, so I can't really understand a word they're saying, but it's pretty easy to get the gist of what's going on. Even with the language barrier, it's pretty apparent the Japanese appreciate the benefits of both having a good father and of being one. Oh, and fart jokes. They really seem to like those as well.

Back in early 2015, Pope Francis noted, "A good father knows how to wait and knows how to forgive from the depths of his heart. Certainly, he also knows how to correct with firmness: he is not a weak father, submissive and sentimental. The father who knows how to correct without humiliating is the one who knows how to protect without sparing himself." He also stated that "without father figures, young people often feel ‘orphaned,’ left adrift at a critical moment in their growth and development… fathers are necessary as examples and guides for our children in wisdom and virtue.”"

His Holiness didn't say anything about fart jokes.

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 15, 2019

The Deadly Bees (1966) Vacationing pop star meets madman who kills with bees. A bit too Brit; even the bees seem to keep a stiff upper lip. TIL: In order to knowingly and willingly sin, one must resist the sting of conscience. See what I did there. Sting. Bees. Sigh.

Still Voices - Fahrenheit 451 (1966) “Nothing is more disconcerting, it seems to me, than to enter a home or apartment in which there are no books and no place for books, no sign a book had ever been there.” - Fr. James V. Schall, S.J.

Dad Rock Daily: Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead (1970) Did the Dead really need studio albums or not? This offers no conclusive evidence either way. Laudable Lyrics: Nothing's for certain. It could always go wrong. Come in when it's raining, go on out when it's gone.

OUTTAKES #061

DAILY CALL SHEET: AUGUST 14, 2019

The Beast of Yucca Flats (1961) Radioactive Tor Johnson stumbles around the desert, kills a few people, and pets a bunny. That's about it. TIL: Along with setting an example for all, Jesus' days in the desert also revealed him as the Messiah and put all opposing forces on notice.

Still Voices - Dagon (2001) "When we were children we were grateful to those who filled our stockings at Christmas time. Why are we not grateful to God for filling our stockings with legs?" - Gilbert K. Chesterton

Dad Rock Daily: Black Flag - Damaged (1981) Ginn wails on guitar, Rollins snarls and spits, and one of the most loved/hated hardcore albums ever comes to life. Laudable Lyrics: We are born with a chance. Rise above! We're gonna rise above!