I’m picturing Thanksgiving dinner at the house of actor Martin Sheen in 1995. His wife, Janet, has cleared the table and is busy scrubbing plates in the kitchen, leaving the guys to loosen their belts and chat. “We have a lot to be thankful for,” says the patriarch. “Our family has been blessed in so … Continue reading Baby Ghost (1995)
What’s in Hong Kong’s The Cave of Silken Web? Try seven spider demons, in the shapely form of sisters clad in eveningwear from the Roy G. Biv collection, with color-coordinated webs to match. Still, I could not tell them apart — a difficult task made all the more taxing by the insistence of director Ho … Continue reading The Cave of Silken Web (1967)
For one of his myriad adaptations of Edgar Wallace works, brand-name producer Harry Alan Towers takes us to Hong Kong to meet Five Golden Dragons. Our inadvertent tour guide is Bob Cummings (Beach Party) as American bachelor Bob Mitchell, whose sole purpose for hanging at the Hilton seems to be to charm the bikinis off … Continue reading Five Golden Dragons (1967)
Jean-Claude Van Damme’s first lead role sends the Muscles from Brussels to Hong Kong, to compete for glory — and a big-boy sword — in a real Bloodsport. For a supposedly super-secret tournament, everyone speaks freely, openly and publicly about the kumite (pronounced koo-muh-tay), a full-contact, anything-goes competition held every five years among martial artists … Continue reading Bloodsport (1988)
What better time than the devil’s birthday to show your kids how racist cartoons used to be? The All Night Halloween Party compilation is ideal viewing for such harsh lessons. Oh, and to celebrate Oct. 31, of course … no matter what day of the year. The Party collects one hour’s worth of rickety, ancient … Continue reading All Night Halloween Party (2012)