Murder A La Mod (1968) De Palma's first flick is (naturally) a highly stylized murder mystery. It's also a nigh incomprehensible mess that reeks of film school. So, fun. TIL: The commandment to not murder also includes prohibitions against slander, scandal, and excessive anger.
Still Voices - Matinee (1993) "Not to engage in this pursuit of ideas is to live like ants instead of like men." - Mortimer Adler
Frozen Scream (1975) A Bill Haley ripoff named Jack Around The Shack and dialog that sounds like they just learned to read highlight this tale of zombies in refrigerators. TIL: While at least 85% of his contemporaries were illiterate, one verse in Luke suggests Jesus could read.
One Sheet Words of Wisdom: Nightmare (1981) “Sometimes a scream is better than a thesis.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Night Hunter (1996) Don "The Dragon" Wilson kills vamps using the traditional method of... snapping their necks? Or maybe its the overly-literal use of shaky-cam that does it. TIL: In western mythos the most effective weapon against vampires is actually the consecrated Eucharist.
Tinseltown Testaments: Pulp Fiction (1994) "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of the darkness."
Blood (1973) The Wolfman's son has problems with finances and his arranged marriage to Dracula's daughter. Typical talky Andy Milligan weirdness. TIL: For the Church to see a marriage as valid, it must be entered into with full knowledge, freedom, and consent from both parties.
Dad Rock Diary: Soft Machine - Third (1970) Only one song with lyrics as the band's jazz-fusion transmutation nears completion. Actually great if rockers dabbling in jazz doodles does it for you. Laudable Lyrics: So before this feeling dies, remember how distance tells us lies.
Carnival of Blood (1972) A lady killer stalks Coney Island. Could it be hunchbacked disfigured Burt Young? Not great, but a fantastic time capsule. TIL: Coney Island, County Clare, Ireland is the location of one of the original monasteries founded by St. Brendan in the year 550.
One Sheet Words of Wisdom: The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966) "We look forward to when the power to love will replace the love for power. Then will our world know the blessings of peace." - Dr. William Ellery Channing
Darklight (2004) Adam's first wife Lilith must become a Milla Jovovich character to save Earth from demons. Feels like a failed TV pilot. TIL: The only biblical mention of Lilith is in some translations of Isaiah where the name means night-monster and has nothing to do with Adam.
Still Voices - Willard (1971) "The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat." - Lily Tomlin
Hey Good Lookin’ (1982) Ralph Bakshi turns his tasteless toons loose on the fabulous 50's. It's Bakshi, so American Graffiti/Happy Days this ain't. TIL: Some theologians argue that a nostalgia which prevents us from living fully in the present is a form of the sin of sloth.
Funny Book Philosophy: The Phantom Stranger 030 (1974)
