Power Poll - Week 5

1. Baltimore Ravens (4-1) (-) - Beat an average Broncos team, you got to beat those average teams to remain on top.

2. New York Jets (4-1) (-) - They played a pretty good Vikings team and handled them at home, I think they could be the class of the AFC, but the one loss was to the Ravens.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) (-) - On a bye week, but they just gained a lot by getting Big Ben back at qb.

4. Atlanta Falcons (4-1) (-) - They could be the class of the NFC, but so could the Cardinals at this point...

5. Indianapolis Colts (3-2) (8) - There D showed up at home and they handled a tight game, Manning threw no touchdowns for the first time it seems like forever.

6. New England Patriots (3-1) (-) - On a bye week, they end up losing Randy Moss because he didn't like Brady's hair.

7. Chicago Bears (4-1) (11) - They showed that they can win without even throwing the ball. Todd Collins was 6/16 for 32 yards! Mike Martz is still a genius.

8. New Orleans Saints (3-2) (5) - They suffered a huge set back in losing to a Cardinals team who was giving a first time start to QB Max Hall.

9. Philadelphia Eagles (3-2) (13) - They seemed to have hit an injury bug but still managed to handle the 49ers on the road. They get Vick back next week, he will be playing Atlanta.

10. Green Bay Packers (3-2) (7) - They also got a ton of injuries, two tight ends, their best line backer (Matthews), and to add insult to injury Aaron Rodgers got a concussion on his last play!

11. Tennessee Titans (3-2) (19) - They showed that they could hang around with the talented Dallas Cowboys, this team could be a surprise contender.

12. Miami Dolphins (2-2) (-) - They were on a bye week.

13. Houston Texans (3-2) (10) - I think only getting 11 carriers for 25 yards from stand out RB Arian Foster doomed them. But to get beat 34-10 at home is no good.

14. Kansas City Chiefs (3-1) (15) - They hung around on the road with a good Colts team, I think they will gain a lot of confidence even though it was a loss.

15. Washington Redskins (3-2) (23) - This team seems to keep every game close. They have already had two overtime games, winning this past week against the Packers.

16. Minnesota Vikings (1-3) (16) - Randy Moss was suppose to help them more! I still feel they have a chance to turn this around, but that needs to happen sooner then later.

17. Jacksonville Jaguars (3-2) (20) - This team seems like they can just as easily beat the Colts one week and then let the Bills score 26, oh wait! They did!

18. New York Giants (3-2) (25) - They have a ton of talent on both sides, and getting two wins in a row against the Bears and Texans easily moves them up.

19. San Diego Chargers (2-3) (14) - This team seems to kick themselves down, something new always goes wrong for the Chargers. I won't count them out but they need to step up.

20. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (3-1) (-) - I apologize to the Buccaneer organization, I felt they were one of the worst teams and have already have one more win then I thought they would have.

21. Dallas Cowboys (1-3) (9) - Playing at home after a bye week should have been enough for this talented squad to win. I don't really get whey they are doing so bad.

22. Denver Broncos (2-3) (17) - Broncos at least have that awesome Orton to Lloyd combo. Seriously, this is not a joke.

23. Arizona Cardinals (3-2) (27) - Yes they are 3-2, and yes I moved them up but I still think this team is all smoke and mirrors. Maybe they will prove me wrong.

24. Cincinnati Bengals (2-3) (18) - At least T.O. is getting his catches!

25. Oakland Raiders (2-3) (29) - The Raiders played a good game and blocked two punts which lead to a dramatic win over their hated rivals the Chargers.

26. Seattle Seahawks (2-2) (24) - On a bye week, they signed Marshawn Lynch and he could give them a boost.

27. Detroit Lions (1-4) (28) - This team is actually much better then I think they have been given credit

for. They blew out the Rams 44-6. Shaun Hill keeps teams in games, I sure wish he was on my team...

28 . St. Louis Rams (2-3) (22) - Rams suffered that crushing loss when they were coming off a great win, at least they know while they lose Sam Bradford is learning.

29. Cleveland Browns (1-4) (26) - Wallace and Delhomme both got banged up in a loss to the Falcons. They know Peyton Hillis is a white running back, right?

30. San Francisco 49ers (0-5) (-) - They have hung around with some good teams, but it's sad to say the season is pretty much over.

31. Buffalo Bills (0-5) (32) - Ryan Fitzpatrick has been doing well, 7 tds to only 2 interceptions in 3 games so far.

32. Carolina Panthers (0-5) (31) - This is a sad day for the Panthers, who usually field good teams. They are trying to break in rookie Qb Jimmy Clausen but it's been a very tough road.

KONGA (1961) - filming location found!

Finally found a local horror movie location...

I recently visited what was left of Merton Park Film Studios, close to where I live, and wrote about its run of low-budget horror movies such as Horrors of the Black Museum and Konga. The full article is here, including a list of the cult movies shot there. But I couldn't find any recognisable locations from any films there, or in any nearby streets. I've continued to search among photos and the films themselves and found my first recognisable match. No big deal, but after years of looking, my first success. Admittedly it's not in quite the same league as Frankenstein's lake...


This shot of Konga towering over a parade of shops represents a scene from the film - but publicity photos like this were rarely frame enlargements. Like the bewildering and misleading photos and lobby cards for the older Godzilla movies, this will have been a literal 'cut and paste job', taking two photos and gluing them together. This was the standard practice at the time to represent a film's special effects. Below is a frame from the film itself.


And here's the location as it stands today...


It was easy to find - I remembered these shops over the road from the studio headquarters, known as the Long Lodge - the only building that still exists 40 years after closing its doors as a film studio. In the photos, the wall on the left is the side of the Long Lodge itself. Even the street lighting (at right) is in roughly the same place as 50 years ago, when Konga was made.


Here's a closer look - so many of the building's features, like the chimneys and brickwork, have remained unchanged. They're all still shops!


Looking right, the shops curve round a corner away from the main road, (there's the new street light) to another location used in the film, for several shots of crowds running past parked cars and shops (framegrab below).


While the story was set in an unspecified part of London, Konga was supposed to rampage to the Houses of Parliament. Producer Herman Cohen couldn't get permission to film there (so he claimed) and used Croydon High Street instead (a suburban town a few miles away from Merton Park Studios) for scenes of the crowds and army gathering to watch Konga pose in front of Big Ben. The shopping centre in Croydon has since had so many facelifts that I've had no luck finding any locations from the cheap but memorable climax. I'm also trying to find the mad doctor's (Michael Gough) house from the film.

I've marked the location on Panoramio, which adds photos to Google Maps.

My review and more photos from Konga, linked here...

More about Merton Park Studios and their horror movies, here...

October Goal: First Sequence

As I stated in my previous blog, my goal for this month was to watch 31 horror movies during the month of October. I felt that I should update with the movies I have watched, during this first week (it being October 7th and all).

So far I have watched 6 movies, leaving me 24 more days to watch 25 more movies. So far I am happy with the goal. It is tough to find time when you work two jobs twice a week and work 6 days in the week. I am still set on my goal. Here are the movies I have watched so far, in order of how I saw them. I will include a small write up on my thoughts of the film.



1. Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter (1984) -- C+
I had it set that I would complete the the missing pieces of the Friday the 13th series. That included the "final" chapter of the Friday the 13th series. This was the only Friday movie to have some star power, in the young Corey Feldman and Crispin Glover being the star power (OK so maybe in 1984 that was star power?). Anyway the movie was average and Feldman's character Tommy Jarvis would star in 2 more movies after this, making him Jason's greatest foe.

2. Friday the 13th: A New Beginning (1985) -- C
I enjoyed the opening of the film, and it was nice to see Feldman back, even if it was for a cameo. They keep the Tommy Jarvis arc going, this time he is older and messed up because he killed a homicidal maniac when he was kid (wow they went with a somewhat realistic story). The whole story takes place in a mental camp for teens, Tommy just got in and now people are dying. I did like the mystery, I really didn't know who the killer was and I thought it was a fresh take on the Friday the 13th films.

I have heard most people hated this movie because Jason was not officially in it, but trust me there was a much worse movie with Jason in it (Part 8). The only thing that made me dislike the movie was the ending. Basically instead of taking off with is Jarvis the new Jason, it waits all the way until the end to ask the question, a question they already asked at the end of the movie before it, ugh.


3. The Funhouse (1981) -- C
I checked this one out because it came highly recommended by a fellow slasher fan and it was directed by Tobe Hooper. The story starts out dead slow, I mean nothing really happens at all but there was a nice homage to Psycho and Halloween to start the film. The movie could have used more atmosphere but instead tends to go the route of a teens wanting to get into trouble by sleeping the night in the funhouse even though they were warned type story. The reveal of the killer was nicely done, I didn't see that surprise coming.



4. An American Werewolf In London (1981)-- B+
I was looking forward to seeing this movie for a long time. I knew how the special effects were really well done for the time, and they still hold up amazingly well in 2010. It was nice to not see it all done in some CGI. What I didn't know was how comical the movie was. Personally, I enjoy some nice horror comedy if it is done correctly. Then I saw it was directed by John Landis, he of Animal House and Blues Brothers fame and it all started to make perfect sense. The dream sequence with the Nazi was crazy fun. The ending had me laughing, how they cut right from something graphic then the fade black with Blue Moon playing, classic!



5. Dracula (1931) -- B
I decided to get out the 1980 horror films and go really old school, and watch the original Dracula, starring Bela Lugosi. The movie starts out well enough and the atmosphere and sets are pretty amazing. I found the movie very slow, but taking in account the time it was made I am okay with it. Any time that Lugosi was not on screen the movie suffered for I felt. Edward Van Sloan as Van Helsing also was very good and Dwight Frye's Reinfield has some great facial expressions and steals every scene he appears is in. I am watching another classic monster film from the same year as we speak...

6. Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan (1989) -- D-
I am sad to say I had to watch this movie to finish off seeing every Friday the 13th. I am sure glad I watched it last because I found this movie to be just an utter waste of time. Jason now has more to say apparently, and getting rid of his classic KI KI KI MA MA MA sound is unforgivable. The director seemed like he was trying to do something new with Jason, and I guess I could applaud him for that if he didn't fail miserably. Oh well, I am glad I never have to see this again.

New to DVD: WHO? (1973) - mystery cyborg spy game

WHO?
(1973, USA)

An unusual cold war thriller verging on sci-fi territory

(Updated article, first posted in November 2008)

First time on DVD in the US, on November 23rd...

Lucas Martino, a top US scientist literally crashes and burns near the Russian border, at a time when the two superpowers were enemies. His life is saved by soldiers who cross the border and rush him to hospital. Months later, he's returned to the west, but the rushed and experimental surgery that saved his life now obscures his identity. His head and chest are now encased and partly replaced with steel and prosthetic parts. It's up to US security chief, Shawn Rogers, to verify whether it's still the same man behind the mask, before returning the scientist to a top secret project. He soon finds out that Martino has been in the hands of a senior KGB agent, Colonel Azarin, who may have sent back his own agent in place of the scientist.


Based on a book by the late Algis Budrys, the movie uses the same parallel timeline structure - alternately following Roger's attempts to debrief the scientist, while also flashing back to the events behind the Iron Curtain, between Martino's accident and his release. We see Martino being interrogated both by the Russians, and subsequently by the Americans.

The film is a straightforward re-telling of the novel, but adds a couple of silly action scenes, like a decidedly low-budget car chase, to try and open up the story. It also misses the opportunity to explore what's going on with the man behind the mask.


The film looks almost like a TV movie, not helped by me watching it on a cut-price VHS release, in NTSC EP mode, full of strange edits that even chopped lines of dialogue. It was also retitled RoboMan, with terrible and misleading cover art. The novel on the other hand has had some far more interesting covers through the years.


Elliott Gould (Capricorn One, MASH), as security agent Rogers, holds the film together. Trevor Howard (11 Harrow House, The Offence) plays the devious Azarin, the Russian mastermind behind the entire subterfuge. Though they never meet, the film plays like a chess game between the two men. Joseph Bova as Martino, evokes sympathy as the mystery scientist at the centre of it all.


This used to be an intriguing premise, the possibility of actual identity theft, and there are similar tales such as the recent K-Pax. But nowadays with DNA testing, the mystery could presumably be cleared up in days. Admittedly in Who?, the use of fingerprints and retinal scans are considered, so I'm sure a modern plot twist could outfox DNA tests as well.


Who? was released on DVD in Germany in 2008 as Der Mann Aus Metall - but all online information indicated that there was only German audio, no English subtitles.

The good news is Amazon.com is taking pre-orders for the first-time US DVD release on November 23rd - the cover art is at the top. The details on Amazon also promise this will be a new anamorphic widescreen transfer, with two commentary tracks, one from Elliott gould and one from the director Jack Gold.

Not essential viewing, but Who? is of interest to fans of the author, or those who may remember it from late-night TV twenty-odd years ago. I'll be interested to see the new digital makeover, particularly with extras.

Power Poll- Week 4

1. Baltimore Ravens (3-1) (8)

2. New York Jets (3-1) (3)

3. Pittsburgh Steelers (3-1) (2)

4. Atlanta Falcons (3-1) (4)

5. New Orleans Saints (3-1) (4)

6. New England Patriots (3-1) (9)

7. Green Bay Packers (3-1) (7)

8. Indianapolis Colts (2-2) (1)

9. Dallas Cowboys (1-2) (11)

10. Houston Texans (3-1) (13)

11. Chicago Bears (3-1) (6)

12. Miami Dolphins (2-2) (12)

13. Philadelphia Eagles (2-2) (10)

14.San Diego Chargers (2-2) (19)

15. Kansas City Chiefs (3-0) (17)

16. Minnesota Vikings (1-2) (15)

17. Denver Broncos (2-2) (20)

18. Cincinnati Bengals (2-2) (14)

19. Tennessee Titans (2-2) (16)

20. Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2) (26)

21. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (2-1) (22)

22. St. Louis Rams (2-2) (23)

23. Washington Redskins (2-2) (24)

24. Seattle Seahawks (2-2) (18)

25. New York Giants (2-2) (25)

26. Cleveland Browns (1-3) (32)

27. Arizona Cardinals (2-2) (21)

28. Detroit Lions (0-4) (27)

29. Oakland Raiders (1-3) (29)

30. San Francisco 49ers (0-4) (28)

31. Carolina Panthers (0-4) (31)

32. Buffalo Bills (0-4) (30)

Thank You Giants

I learned about baseball through the love my father had for the game. He grew up in Detroit, his idol was hall of famer Al Kaline of his beloved Tigers. My dad always remained a Tiger fan growing up, but when he came west and decided to stay in the bay area he also took on a love of all bay area sports teams. He never said he disliked any of the bay area teams (A's, Giants, Raiders, 49ers, Sharks, or Warriors). But what I recall most of all is us sharing the highs and lows of the Giants. I remember in the last few years we would get down on the team a lot but never give up hope or stop watching every game we could. The last time I saw my father he was asking for the score of the Giants game, and also still saying he was going to be watching it on his Dvr when he got back home.

I can recall a time when he was living in Daly City, not too far from San Francisco. We ended up getting tickets to see the Giants play on a Friday night. The only thing I can recall is that Matt Williams fouled a pitch off his foot and broke it, ending his season. I was pretty sure the game ended with the Giants losing, and the stadium seemed half empty that night. I think my dad really wanted to see a win, so the next day we went right back to the stadium and watched another game. It is still the only time I have ever seen back to back games.

So today, The San Francisco Giants are National League Division Champions. I wish with all I could that I can share and talk about this with my father, I believe he would be focused on the road ahead and we would talk about how the Giants match up against the Atlanta Braves. But he would for sure be happy, probably gloating.

I just wanted to thank the Giants for winning and doing it for a team my father watched, this season had some magic in it and I feel a connection between watching the Giants and knowing this is the same team my father watched before his passing. If the Giants were somehow able to win it all, I would probably be ecstatic yet mournful. A team like the Giants is a family tradition (ahem, for most of us) and I know my cousin Bryan and my father are up there enjoying this win today.

September Screening Log

23) Friday the 13th: A New Beginning / Netflix Instant/ C
22) Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter/ Netflix Instant/ C+
21) Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time/ DVD/ C-
20) Sherlock Holmes/ DVD/ B+
19) Billy Madison/ DVD/ B+
18) Glory Daze/ DVD/ B-
17) Devil/ Theater/ C
16) Bitch Slap/ DVD/ C+
15) Waiting/ DVD/ B
14) The Town/ Theater/ A-
13) Resident Evil: Afterlife/ Theater/ B-
12) Jaws 2 / On Demand/ C
11) Kick-Ass / DVD/ B
10) Benny & Joon/ DVD/ B
9) The Dead Pool/ DVD & Netflix Instant/ B
8) Hang 'Em High/ DVD/ B+
7) Close Encounters of the Third Kind/ Theater/ A-
6) The Sure Thing/ DVD/ B-
5) Machete /Theater/ B
4)The Other Guys /Theater/ B-
3)Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever/On Demand D-
2) Operation: Endgame/ DVD/ C+
1) The Expendables/ Theater/ B

Stand out movie of the month was The Town, directed and starring Ben Affleck. It was a really well done movie, and I would like to see it again. I was helped out this month by my uncle Dennis who came to hang out with me and we ended up seeing 5 movies in one day. Next month will be mostly horror movies.