DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 31, 2019

The War of the Worlds (1953)  Sure, it's not the most faithful take on H.G. Wells, but still a masterpiece that proves spectacle can be both satisfying and artistic. TIL: "Humanity was saved by the littlest things which God, in His wisdom, had put upon this Earth." Well, duh.

Still Voices - War of the Worlds (1953) "Men are from Mars, women are from Venus." - John Gray

Dad Rock Daily: Jeff Wayne - The War of the Worlds (1978) Prog/disco/rock opera adaptation of Wells' novel with Richard Burton narrating. Should be ridiculous, but it just works. Laudable Lyrics: If just one man could stand tall, there would be some hope for us all.

And finally, it's All Hallows' Eve, so over at  Aleteia  I'm taking a look at 5 Horror movies with a Catholic sensibility that aren't The Exorcist!

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 29, 2019

Beauty Queen Butcher (1991) Portly pageant participant seeks revenge for her cat's murder in this okay, but insanely slow shot-on-video horror comedy. TIL: Due to its varying causes, obesity is not considered a sin in and of itself. Gluttony on the other hand is right out.

Still Voices - The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) "What comes out when life squeezes you?  When someone hurts or offends you? If anger, pain and fear come out of you, it’s because that’s what’s inside." - Wayne Dyer

Dad Rock Daily: Raspberries - Raspberries (1972) So every song isn't Go All The Way. Boo hoo. Take that song away and this is still just good, catchy pop music. Laudable Lyrics: When will I know, how will I know where to take my place?

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 28, 2019

Terror of Tiny Town (1938) Lighthearted western cast entirely with little people. Honestly, you barely notice after about 15 minutes. TIL: The tax collector Zacchæus in Luke is often interpreted as a little person, showing again Jesus' willingness to hang with the marginalized.

Still Voices - The Grudge (2004) "May we never risk the life of our souls by being resentful or by bearing grudges." - St. Gregory of Nyssa

Dad Rock Daily: Buffy Sainte-Marie - It's My Way! (1964) Auspicious debut, but oh so serious. Doubt they ever played The Incest Song on Sesame Street. Laudable Lyrics: I heard the voice of Jesus callin', singin' of his rest, "If you're lost in the wilderness, come lay up on my breast!"

And finally, just for fun, I’ve thrown together a few tunes on Spotify that deal with some of our favorite subject matter. Enjoy the Spook Show Spectacular! You can also listen over in the sidebar if you prefer.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 27, 2019

Hocus Pocus (1993) Three witches awaken to terrorize Salem yet again. Standard comedy that apparently all 90's kids are required to love. TIL: “Hocus Pocus” is speculated to be word play on the moment of consecration where priests used to say in Latin, "Hoc est enim corpus meum."

Still Voices - The Skeleton Dance (1929) "The self-righteous scream judgments against others to hide the noise of skeletons dancing in their own closets." - John Mark Green

Dad Rock Daily: The Clash - London Calling (1979) Punk? Nah! Genre-hopping power pop classic deserving of the accolades heaped upon it? Sure. Laudable Lyrics: The money feels good and your life you like it well, but surely your time will come, as in heaven, as in hell.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 26, 2019

Giant from the Unknown (1958) Revived conquistador runs rampant in California. Well, as rampant as its minuscule budget will allow. TIL: Not that the conquistadors cared, but priests threatened to excommunicate whole dioceses if they didn’t cease exploitation of Native Americans.

Still Voices - Meet The Feebles (1989) “Golf: A plague invented by the Calvinistic Scots as a punishment for man’s sins.” - James Barrett Reston

Dad Rock Daily: Justin Hayward and John Lodge - Blue Jays (1975) Not quite the Moody Blues, but close enough so that you'll barely notice the difference. Laudable Lyrics: I could live a lie for you, but truth is the road I choose.

And finally, for Aleteia this week I take a look at Love and Mercy, the new docudrama on St. Faustina and her vision of the Divine Mercy image.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 25, 2019

Strange Invaders (1983)  Estranged wife returns to take back her child... to another planet.... because she's really a weird extraterrestrial. If only Kramer vs Kramer played out this way. TIL: See, this kind of problem is just one of the reasons the Church opposes divorce.

Still Voices - Masters Of The Universe (1987) "A man's face is his autobiography. A woman's face is her work of fiction." - Oscar Wilde

Dad Rock Daily: Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble - Texas Flood (1983) Yikes! Believe the hype. This blues rocker blisters right from note one and never stops. Laudable Lyrics: I'm tellin' you one thing right now little baby, I won't be the one to pay for your mistakes.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 24, 2019

Errementari: The Blacksmith and the Devil (2017) Fantastic fairy tale has the meanest man on Earth and a little girl matching wits with a demon. TIL: Polls show most people believe demons are not real, and yet numbers also indicate the demand for exorcisms continues to rise. Hmm.

Still Voices - The Toxic Avenger (1984) "Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind." - William Shakespeare

Dad Rock Daily: Triumph - Just A Game (1979) Somewhere in the multiverse is a planet where every 80's action movie ever had this album as it soundtrack. Laudable Lyrics: Another day, another dollar, another pretty face, another chance to lose yourself in the endless race.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 23, 2019

Saint Bernard (2013) Composer carries severed dog's head through one surreal metaphor after another. Requires a high tolerance for artsiness for full enjoyment. TIL: As what God is cannot be fully comprehended, scripture often relies on metaphor and anthropomorphism to help out.

Still Voices - Howard The Duck (1986) "If it looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, we have at least to consider the possibility that we have a small aquatic bird of the family anatidae on our hands." - Douglas Adams

Dad Rock Daily: Ultravox - Vienna (1980) Look, a seven minute synth opus opens the album, so don't act like you don't know exactly what you're getting. Laudable Lyrics: Moments caught across an empty room quickly passes. Time goes, time goes by too soon.

And finally, while I gave Joker a positive review, Alexi Sargeant over at First Things has a somewhat different take. His advice, don’t go see it. Obviously I disagree, but arguing has always been part of the fun of the moviegoing experience hasn’t it?  Read’em both and then let’s squabble.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 22, 2019

Chopping Mall (1986) Plan to replace mall cops with laser wielding robots goes horribly wrong for trespassing teens. Ah, Wynorski of old, we miss you. TIL: The Church sees labor as part of human dignity, so prudential judgement should be used before replacing jobs with machines.

Still Voices - Oblivion (1994) "Never approach a bull from the front, a horse from the rear, or a fool from any direction." - Anonymous

Dad Rock Daily: Box of Frogs - Box of Frogs (1984) Yardbirds rhythm section and a bevy of recognizable guitarists crank out solid, though nonessential, 80's rock. Laudable Lyrics: Another day, another wasted day, I've gotta beat this thing before I waste away.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 21, 2019

House of 1,000 Dolls (1967) Stage magician Vincent Price hypnotizes women for sex traffickers. Alas, even Price can't save this lukewarm mix of dull and tame. TIL: For those who need to escape, Catholic organizations around the world operate rescued sex victim's mission centers.

Still Voices - Super Mario Bros. (1993) "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." - Martin Luther King

Dad Rock Daily: Badfinger - Straight Up (1971) Ignore the critics and love it for what it is, a power-pop version of the Beatles produced by Todd Rundgren. Laudable Lyrics: There's no good revolution, just power changing hands. There is no straight solution except to understand.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 20, 2019

Kuroneko (1968) Raped and murdered mother/daughter team return as seductive samurai killing cat demons. Yet another lyric, beautiful Japanese ghost story. TIL: Catholic theology admits that God might allow certain souls to manifest to the living. But for vengeance? Not his M.O.

Still Voices - Fright Night (1985) “There is no weapon in the feminine armory to which men are so vulnerable as they are to a smile.” - Dorothy Dix

Dad Rock Daily: Ohio Players - Honey (1975) To the absolute surprise of no one, Love Rollercoaster dominates, but there's plenty good sweaty soul here to back it up. Laudable Lyrics: This song I'm about to do today is like a spiritual song, it's a piece of my heart.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 19, 2019

I Was a Zombie for the F.B.I. (1982) G-Men fight aliens and their lobotomized lackeys. Endearing homage to no-budget 50's sci-fi. TIL: Following WWII, Fr. Edwin Conway, S.J. spied for the FBI to help ferret out communists on the National Committee for Atomic Information (NCAI).

Still Voices - Used Cars (1980) "The devil is a cross between a really good used-car salesman and a game-show host, but with a lot more style and charm." - Ray Wise

Dad Rock Daily: The Marmalade ‎- Reflections Of The Marmalade (1970) Sweet soft-psych from Scotland should be found in any respectable 60's collection. Laudable Lyrics: Never ending battles roar, people die of strife. I'd like to be of help to them and weep the joys of life.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 18, 2019

El Topo (1970) Don't fret, it's likely Jodorowsky himself doesn't even know what this film is about. Just relax and bask in the glory of its impenetrable weirdness. TIL: While God allows us to know him personally, his ultimate depths remain incomprehensible to human intellect.

Still Voices - The Unknown Terror (1957) "To be prepared against surprise is to be trained. To be prepared for surprise is to be educated." - James P. Carse

Dad Rock Daily: The Flock - The Flock (1969) Jazz/rock doodling displaying a heaping dose Jerry Goodman's violin before he hauled it over to Mahavishnu Orchestra. Laudable Lyrics: See that clown spreading love around? Let him be.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 17, 2019

Riders to the Stars (1954) Astronaut training drama is sometimes the right stuff, but more often the stodgy and wildly inaccurate stuff. TIL: In 1994, astronauts Sid Gutierrez, Thomas Jones and Kevin Chilton became the first Catholics to receive Holy Communion in space.

Still Voices - Hellboy (2004) "Burdens become light when cheerfully borne." - Ovid

Dad Rock Daily: Ann Peebles - I Can't Stand The Rain (1974) Al Green's team helps with some slow funky grooves, but it's Peebles' style that ultimately delivers the goods. Laudable Lyrics: There's a troubled man, confused within, stumbling in darkness because of sin.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 15, 2019

Heavy Metal (1981) Magazine for horny teens gets turned into animated movie for horny teens. Non-horny non-teens may enjoy the soundtrack. TIL: The Catholic journal The Wanderer has been publishing continually since 1867. No movie for horny teens has been made from its contents.

Still Voices - Howling III (1987) "From silly devotions and sour-faced saints, good Lord, deliver us." - St. Teresa of Avila

Dad Rock Daily: Head East - Flat As A Pancake (1974) Perfectly fine Midwestern rock that really doesn't get the airtime on AOR stations that it deserves. Laudable Lyrics: People, stop your pushin' and try to learn that nothin' can be gained by tryin' to hurt.

DAILY CALL SHEET: OCTOBER 14, 2019

Repo Man (1984) Infinitely quotable cult classic follows one punk's meaningless journey into the intense world of debt collectors and alien hunters. TIL: God calls us to service, not servitude. It's our culture which urges us to spend beyond our means, making us slave to debt.

Still Voices - Mesa of Lost Women (1953) "You have given my heart more joy than they have when grain and wine abound. In peace I will lie down and fall asleep, for you alone, Lord, make me secure." -Psalms 4:9

Dad Rock Daily: Billy Preston - Encouraging Words (1970) The Let It Be sessions gang reunites for some nice gospel-tinged funk. Laudable Lyrics: You know sometimes when I stop and think about how good God has been to me, I have to raise my voice and sing one to him.