DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 31, 2020

The New Gladiators (1988) Evil corporation mashes-up motorcycles and Roman combat to raise ratings. Basically Fulci rips off The Running Man and that's okay. TIL: Christians were rarely, if ever, allowed to be gladiators because Rome considered it too honorable a death for them.

Tinseltown Testaments: The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957) “All this vast majesty of creation, it had to mean something. And then I meant something, too. Yes, smaller than the smallest, I meant something, too. To God, there is no zero."

Dad Rock Diary: Fairport Convention - Fairpoint Convention (1968) Folksters find their footing. The best would come later, but this debut has its moments. Laudable Lyrics: Well, I wish someone would help me, this decision is mine, and my morals and emotions are hard to combine.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 28, 2020

Sci-Fighters (1996) Roddy Piper hunts down an invulnerable virus-spreading rapist from the moon. Mediocre, but Billy Drago is reliably creepy as always. TIL: Catholics are morally obligated not to knowingly infect others with a sickness, superseding even the duty to attend mass.

Dad Rock Diary: Bad Brains - Bad Brains (1982) Who said hardcore punk was just for disgruntled white kids? Also includes bonus reggae for those who like to picture Bob Marley with a Mohawk. Laudable Lyrics: Well I say, say I'm leaving this Babylon. I'm leaving this Babylon.

Life's Like A Movie: Something about the COVID-19 precautions at my local post office sure seemed familiar. Safe to say, the contents of the certified package I was picking up were a bit different than what the State of Illinois had in their bin for Joliet Jake. Oddly enough, this delineating of spaces made me think about how much I'd love for them to bring back altar rails. They're a perfect piece of psychological architecture, accentuating the sanctuary as the “Holy of Holies” and communicating just how special communion is.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 27, 2020

Land of the Pharaohs (1955) Howard Hawk's histrionic potboiler in which a pharaoh demands a tomb be built that allows him take it all with him when he goes. TIL: A better theological phrasing of "God hardened Pharaoh’s heart" would be "God permitted Pharaoh’s hardening of heart."

Sing A New Song: U.S. Girls - Heavy Light (2020) Experimental Pop starts strong then meanders for a little bit. Even so, there's plenty of nice 60's/70's soul callbacks. Laudable Lyrics: No matter how much you get to have, you will still die.

And finally…

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 25, 2020

Onibaba (1964) Classic Japanese horror has mother/daughter-in law duo killing samurai to make ends meet. Things only get worse when jealousy over a man enters the equation. TIL: Envy, left unchecked, almost always leads to that other Deadly Sin, wrath.

Still Voices - Hausu (1977) "A merry companion is as good as a wagon, For you shall be sure to ride though ye go a foot." - John Lyly

Dad Rock Diary: Tom Tom Club - Tom Tom Club (1981) Tina and Chris' funky Art Pop side project lay to rest any claims the Talking Heads were just David Byrne. Laudable Lyrics: Call the spirit of the symbol, come to me. Allow the deity to guide you, follow me.  As above, so below.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 24, 2020

Wait Until Dark (1967) Criminals try to pull the wool over the eyes of a blind woman who "sees' more than she lets on. Excellent, especially Arkin as the Geraldine-wielding psycho. TIL: Jesus cured the blind to help them and teach the rest of us how to see the kingdom of God.

Sing A New Song: Porridge Radio - Every Bad (2020) Deceptively standard indie pop right at the start, but gains focus and intensity as it progresses. Laudable Lyrics: I’m not anything unforgivable.

And finally, Matt Chicoine of Voyage Comics & Publishing ponders what 'The Flash' can teach us about fear, death and faith in the unknown.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 23, 2020

Deathsport (1978) Loinclothed David Carradine is forced to participate in a post apocalyptic motorcycle murder game. Doesn't sound like a Star Wars ripoff, but it is. TIL: God once used the prophet Jeremiah's rotting loincloth as a symbolic warning to the Israelites. Look it up.

One Sheet Words of Wisdom: Deathsport (1978) "For, as the loincloth clings to a man’s loins, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me—oracle of the Lord—to be my people, my fame, my praise, my glory. But they did not listen." Jeremiah 13:11

Dad Rock Diary: The Byrds - Fifth Dimension (1966) Perfectly captures that magic moment of psychedelic optimism before the trips turn sour and the drugs start to take their toll. Laudable Lyrics: And I opened my heart to the whole universe, and I found it was loving.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 22, 2020

Satanic Panic (2019) Pizza delivery girl stumbles into devil cult looking for a virgin to birth Baphomet. Horror/comedy favors the latter, to its detriment. TIL: Worshiping Baphomet (a French corruption of Mahomet) was just one of the false charges leveled against the Templars.

Funny Book Philosophy - Justice League of America 057 (1967)

Dad Rock Diary: Run-D.M.C. - Run-D.M.C. (1984) Amazing game changer. One of the first rap records white kids in the 80's absolutely had to own. Laudable Lyrics: Hard times spreading just like the flu. Watch out homeboy, don't let it catch you.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 21, 2020

The Naked Witch (1964) Surprisingly clothed witch kills a few people then does a dance. The prolific Larry Buchanan's first horror(?) feature. TIL: The Church has no problem with nudity that refers to the beauty of the human body. It's only a problem when lust is involved.

Dad Rock Diary: The B-52's - Wild Planet (1980) Sophomore outing is a more down to Earth (if that's possible for this group) than their debut, but a wonderfully weird effort all around. Laudable Lyrics:: Help me! Oh, I don't wanna go to hell, I don't wanna go to the devil.

And finally…

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 20, 2020

The Black Sleep (1956) Ethics challenged surgeon experiments on human subjects. Standard plot, but c'mon. it's got Rathbone, Lugosi, Chaney, Carradine, AND Tor. TIL:  Research on humans is licit as long as it does nothing contrary to the dignity of persons and to the moral law.

Sing A New Song: Dogleg - Melee (2020) Hardcore Emo? Basically a hyperactive soundtrack to whatever video game the band had playing in their brains. Laudable lyrics: But still, I trod on, unflinching wrists. I can never tell, was I good enough? I'm never good enough.

And finally…

STORYBOARDS #031

 

 

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 19, 2020

Get Crazy (1983) Concert hall needs successful New Year's Eve rock concert to stay open. Insanity ensues. Malcolm McDowell sings and Lou Reed proves he has comedy in him. TIL: McDowell played Satan twice after this. Guess a hedonistic narcissistic rock star was a good warm up.

Tinseltown Testaments: The Great Dictator (1940) “We all want to help one another. Human beings are like that. We want to live by each other’s happiness, not by each other’s misery.”

Dad Rock Diary: Duran Duran - Rio (1982) Get past the pretty faces and perpetual hit machine and you realize these boys could play, particularly John Taylor on bass. Laudable Lyrics: I get along fine with them friends of mine, but you have to make a choice.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 18, 2020

Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds (1977) Cheap plastic plesiosaurs have Japanese for dinner while chilling to the dulcet tones of smooth jazz. TIL: In 1980, the legendary Dave Brubeck composed the "jazz mass" To Hope! A Celebration. Once completed, he joined the Church.

Still Voices - Pulp Fiction (1994) "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you." - Maya Angelou

Dad Rock Diary: Meat Puppets - Meat Puppets II (1984) Yippee Ki-Yay Cowpunks churn out a cow-tipping classic that would influence everyone from Nirvana to Primus. Laudale Lyrics: Where do bad folks go when they die? They don't go to heaven where the angels fly.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 17, 2020

Getting Lucky (1989) Drunk Leprechaun helps teen get into a cheerleader's panties... by shrinking him and putting him there. Just weird and offensive. TIL: St. Patrick was so successful as a missionary he converted an entire country. Still, some dumb stuff apparently lingered.

One Sheet Words of Wisdom: Darby O'Gill and the Little People (1959) "The Irish are the one race for which psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever... because they already live in a dream world." - Sigmund Freud

Sing A New Song: Lankum - The Livelong Day (2019) Contemporary Celts feeling down and out in the Land of Saints and Scholars. Somber and engrossing. Laudable Lyrics: When the young people dance they do not dance forever. It is written in sand with the softest of feathers.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 16, 2020

The Andromeda Strain (1971) Michael Crichton tale of eggheads in a bunker racing to find a cure for an extraterrestrial virus. Slooow... but smart. TIL: Various passages in Numbers and Leviticus instituted rules for quarantine and sanitation. Science eventually caught up later.

Dad Rock Diary: Max Webster - Universal Juveniles (1980) The boys from Rush drop by to help give their fellow power-trio Canucks a hard rocking sendoff. Laudable Lyrics: All your life you must be ready for that ride into another sphere. Life just may be one day to go.

And finally, Steven D. Greydanus has a great interview up with John Rhys-Davies for the new movie about everyone’s favorite Irish Saint, I Am Patrick. If you weren't already a slavish fan of his before, you will be after this.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 14, 2020

Demon Cop (1990) Actually, it's a werewolf ex-probation officer. Honestly, though, if you try to make it through this mess, you're not going to care either way. TIL: St. Michael the Archangel, Patron Saint of Police Officers and Heaven's chief demon fighter, might of helped here.

Funny Book Philosophy: Firebrand 009 (1996)

Sing A New Song: Prince - Originals (2019) The Purple One's personal demos for songs he gave away to others. Of course, they're often better than what the others ultimately did with them. Laudable Lyrics: Love, thy will be mine, and make me strive for the glorious and divine.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 13, 2020

Last Woman on Earth (1960) Apparently three's a crowd in post-apocalyptic times, especially when only one of the trio is a woman. A bit tame given the premise. TIL: Lust is a sin because it objectifies others rather than seeing them as individuals made in the image of God.

Dad Rock Diary: The End - Introspection (1969) Excellent one-off Psych Pop that takes its album title seriously. Alas, the spoken word interludes won't be for everyone. Laudable Lyrics: Dispensation for life, compensating for strife. Registration of facts, proving life is an act.

And finally, this week for Aleteia: Just in time for St. Patricks Day I take a look at the new docudrama ‘I Am Patrick’ starring the indispensable John Rhys-Davies.

DAILY CALL SHEET: MARCH 12, 2020

The Little Shop of Horrors (1960) Nebbish quashes his conscience to feed a carnivorous plant. Original version of the tale is delightfully weird. TIL: Aquinas says plants have only a Vegetative soul, the power that allows for the basics of nourishment, growth, and reproduction.

Tinseltown Testaments: Wayne's World (1992) "If you blow chunks and she comes back, she's yours. But if you spew and she bolts, then it was never meant to be."

Dad Rock Diary: Amon Düül II - Yeti (1970) Early 70's Pink Floyd the Krautrock way. Masterpiece, but those turned off by long rambling explorations may disagree. Laudable Lyrics: When the everywhere eye asks you "Who is the emperor of the sky?," take the Archangel's Thunderbird.