Thunder on the Hill

Thunder on the Hill (1951)

Runtime: 84 minutes

Directed by: Douglas Sirk

Starring: Claudette Colbert, Ann Blyth (RIP), Robert Douglas, Anne Crawford, Philip Friend

From: Universal 

RIP Ann Blyth

Some will be as surprised as I was to learn that she was still alive at the age of 98 until passing away last week. The circumstances were eerie: an account on Twitter noted she would be turning 99 later in the year, then praising both her and Joan Crawford for 1945’s legendary Mildred Pierce, where Blyth played her evil teen daughter. Indeed, both performances were great. Right after this post was made, her death was announced. As I’ve already reviewed Pierce, instead the choice was made to check out a Douglas Sirk picture starring Claudette Colbert. It’s nun noir, to steal a phrase from a mutual. Hey, Kino released it as part of a box set on film noirs…

The plot for certain intrigued: Colbert is a nun at a convent attached to a hospital. Torrential downpours and flooding are in the area of Norwich, England (I’m sure the UK would prefer that to the brutal heatwaves they and most of Europe have received as of late) have not only resulted in a jam-packed building, Blyth and her cop escorts are stuck there… she was convicted of murdering her invalid brother. Claudette believes she’s innocent so while mainly stuck in the convent, she attempts to prove that Blyth’s Valerie is innocent.

Yes, you can tell this was based on a stage play. “Old newspapers” is one way she attempts to be a sleuth.

The scenario is admittedly far-fetched; be that as it may, I was still entertained by this malarkey. The viewer has to accept that more than one man is rather tiresome and his behavior is especially bad by 2026 standards. I was entertained by the drama, the petty squabbles between the nuns & nurses, an oppressive doctor, a “half-wit” groundskeeper named Willie (the movie’s term, not mine), and all the rest. The score was solid as was the direction from Sirk and the sets created for this Universal production.

The key reason why I enjoyed Thunder on the Hill were the powerful performances from Colbert and Blyth. The former was always likable despite the resistance she received from multiple characters, especially a nurse who was a hater through & through. The latter was bitchy at first, although if it was the night before you were to hang from the gallows by the neck until dead… my mood wouldn’t be cheery either.

While the mystery was solved by me quicker than usual for the genre, Thunder was still a nice way for me to tip my cap to who was one of the last few famous names from that era of Old Hollywood still around.

 

Spaceballs, Revisited

This was how I celebrated the 100th birthday of Mel Brooks. Around these parts an explanation should not be required why me and most everyone else consider him a legend. Sure, only half of his directorial efforts have been reviewed here so I could have done something not discussed by me before. However, Flashback Cinema (who have provided retro movies to smaller non-national chains for years) played this yesterday & it felt only fitting to pay tribute this way... by viewing a movie I've loved since childhood & reviewed on Letterboxd once before, many years ago.

Yes, once the Internet entered my life in the late 90's I realized many don't care for the film-their opinion ranging from “annoyance” to downright “hatred.” It's not hard to see why—admittedly the movie is quite silly in spoofing sci-fi, but mainly Star Wars. Well, Star Wars and Star Trek were both viewed by me as a kid, and I was a kid in the 80's & 90's... perhaps it shouldn't be a shocker that the movie would be appealing, nevermind its faults or how it isn't transgressive like Blazing Saddles or is seen as hysterical by more people like a Young Frankenstein or The Producers.

Personally, I'd like to think it's not just nostalgia which explains my high rating, although that can be argued. Regardless, even if the movie hasn't been watched by me in ages (and note that not everything I revisit is mentioned on Letterboxd by any means), I am still greatly entertained by the parody of Star Wars characters, the quality cast, the puns, the wordplay, the sight gags, the dialogue-much of it still tickles me pink now-the 4th wall breaks, and how they poke fun at Star Wars while not being malicious. No wonder George Lucas was a big fan of this flick.

In my 45 years on this planet, Spaceballs is one of the films watched the most by me-there was more than a few childhood viewings. The film drew a decent-sized crowd at my screening; I was amused that beforehand, the trailers were for kids entertainment, due to the PG rating Spaceballs has... ignoring that this is the 80's version of PG, meaning there's an F-bomb and a few vulgar phrases, especially “I bet she gives great helmet!”

The sequel coming out 40 years after this—I am quite cautious how that will turn out. I'd appreciate a score like John Morris which successfully aped the John William sound and nice practical sets/effects like we got here-aided by ILM. This probably won't be the cast but I'll be crestfallen if the humor is modern and/or millennial; look at my review of the new Masters of the Universe to learn the strong degree which that is considered a repellent. I'm glad the main cast has returned & it will be great to see Rick Moranis again. Leaving Hollywood to raise his children after his wife died of cancer is tragic although of course the right thing to do. No matter how Spaceballs: The New One turns out, I'll always love the original.

The Replacement Killers

The Replacement Killers (1998)

Runtime: 87 minutes

Directed by: Antoine Fuqua

Starring: Chow Yun-Fat, Mira Sorvino, Michael Rooker, Kenneth Tsang, Jurgen Prochnow

From: Columbia

As sometimes occurs, messageboard discussion spurned my viewing of a film. The past few days, there was discourse concerning both this and The Big Hit (which I won’t watch soon but perhaps one day years in the future that’ll occur) concerning hazy memories of late 90’s video store rentals. Despite being the proper age-a teen in the late 90’s… yes I’m old!-neither were ever rented by me.

The opening w/ The Crystal Method blasting in a club as Chow Yun-Fat stylishly gunned down fools got this started on the right foot. He’s an assassin hired to kill the son of police officer Michael Rooker as a revenge killing… before anyone panics, Rooker kills a criminal in self-defense so it’s justified; the killer’s father is the one who hires Chow. He develops a conscience & won’t murder a 7-year-old boy. That’s why he’s on the run, needs the assistance of forger Mia Sorvino to flee the country, and that’s when the titular replacement killers enter the picture.

In less than 90 minutes-I wish more pictures like this were so economical-Antoine Fuqua (in his debut, believe it or not) created a movie full of style, was fast-paced, had a nice cast full of familiar faces, and had action beats which weren’t epic like in Hong Kong yet was still delightful. Fat does duel-wield pistols by the end, much to my gratification. I bemoan Chow not succeeding in Hollywood due to no fault of his own… I should shoulder a tiny part of blame as both this and The Corruptor (another pretty good time) could have been viewed on the big screen in ’98 by myself but failed to do so. Why Sorvino did not have a better career in Hollywood is again due to no fault of her own, but of course is much more horrifying if you don’t know the reasons.

On a lighter note, especially these days I greatly appreciate a serious movie that don’t constantly wink at the camera, is shot well, features some quality lighting for the aesthetics, has a nice score/soundtrack, the team of Til Schweiger & Danny Trejo, and Mr. Magoo! As lamented by me many times by this point, I wish there was more modestly-budgeted R-rated theatrical movies out in the United States for me to view… then again, the effort for me is to go & see those when they’re available.

Citizen Vigilante

Citizen Vigilante (2026)

Runtime: 89 LONG minutes

“Directed” by: Uwe Boll!

Starring: Armie Hammer! Also, there’s Costas Mandylor and many others you’ll never have heard of

From: Companies that should be embarrassed for themselves… that includes Boll’s own production company

Hey, I didn’t pay any money to see this!

To elaborate, yesterday it was discovered that the movie was released on Twitter (!) for free (!!) but only for a limited amount of time, due to purported claims that governments are “banning” the film due to its
“inflammatory content”… claims that likely are nothing more than hogwash. As it’s a new Uwe Boll (!) flick starring Armie Hammer (!!) which has received “worst of 2026” buzz already, morbid curiosity was too much for me. Releasing a new movie on social media is silly, especially when it’s so easy to download such streams… or so I’ve heard.

The reason for the outrage: in “Europe” (that’s as specific as the movie is), Hammer enters the country and rages against “immigrants”-meaning, people with darker skin-in sanctimonious lecturing towards the viewer, to borrow a phrase. For those not in the United States, for years now the issue of “immigrants” (again, meaning those with darker skin) has been THE controversial issue that divides people.

I am not offended because this portrays minorities so poorly, or that older movies like Death Wish w/ similar themes addressed such topics with MUCH more subtlety, grace, and ambiguity. There also isn’t a hint of satire in that Hammer’s character (a former military man called Sanders; to steal another line, he should have been Colonel Sanders!) is an immigrant himself, from America. Instead, this is an edgelord movie from someone trying his hardest to be provocative. No kidding, he wanted to originally title this motion picture… THE DARK KNIGHT.

“Grifting” is another term-like “slop”-which is overused. Perhaps “carnival hustler” is the more creative way to go. Many people seem to be hustling for a certain audience-many in America alone will agree with the message of Citizen Vigilante. The pre-credits scene is a “migrant” with dark skin who randomly stabs a blonde white woman in the neck. The acting in general is bad-I was disappointed that Costas Mandylor delivered the worst performance.

The rest of the filmmaking is rather lousy-to put it nicely-including some horrendous-looking CG blood, the lack of actual plot (unless you consider Sanders is also a dick landlord (?!) and he really hates black mold… please don’t ask) and other details that Boll clearly will never learn despite his decades as a filmmaker.

The movie’s inept, mind-numbing, insufferable, laughable… unlike Vigilante’s message (which can be hotly debated), it is much harder to argue that this isn’t a terrible cash-grab carnival barker motion picture attempting to earn some cash from the looniest of the right-wing audience.

What are they to think of Sanders graphically shooting law enforcement who attempt to arrest him (or for that matter, that scene being set to a modern jazz song!), the Neil Breen speeches the lead delivers in lieu of actual commentary on a contentious topic-yes, I’m stealing another quote-or a judge who has the surname REINHOLD and is addressed by dialogue as JUDGE REINHOLD. How can I take this failure seriously? The monologue at the end includes both “we the people” & “the woke left.”

Sure, there’s some graphic violence but even that wasn’t too satisfying except for a moment where he is-rightfully-against bullying. There are much better vigilantism pictures out there… I mainly know the ones from the past but I’m sure even modern ones are more worthwhile than Citizen Vigilante. Don’t even hate-watch this or be like me and view it out of morbid curiosity-that’s what the filmmakers want. I say this nonsense isn’t even worth the effort, a squandering of a topic worthy of contemplative discussion.

I’m sure the same goes for the upcoming Daily Wire picture where Jonathan Majors makes his comeback with a plot that by description sounds anti-Muslim. I wouldn’t expect anything better from the incredibly dry and unappealing Ben Shapiro…

In the Dust of the Stars

In the Dust of the Stars (Im Staub der Sterne) (1976)

Runtime: 98 groovy minutes

Directed by: Gottfried Kolditz

Starring: Jana Brejchova, Alfred Struwe, Ekkehard Schall, Milan Beli, Silvia Popovici, Violeta Andrei

From: DEFA

I didn’t quite know what to expect from a 1976 East German/Romanian sci-fi flick, but it wasn’t this! Sure, some Soviet sci-fi from various decades has been viewed & reviewed before, yet something from the 70’s elsewhere behind the Iron Curtain was a mystery.

Turns out, this was incredibly groovy while concurrently addressing at least one philosophical argument. The crew of one planet are on a trek to another planet after hearing a call for help. Those residents on another planet purport that this call was in error and in fact throw a wild party full of scantily-clad women, a buffet, random women naked, and pythons slithering about, but of course the crew is in danger for reasons that won’t be revealed.

I can reveal that this contains the standard groovy 70’s sci-fi sets, hilarious period clothing, the ship’s AI assistant possessing a robotic voice, etc. I was also delighted that filmmakers behind the Iron Curtain knew of such period filmmaking techniques as split screen & mirror images. The inclusion of a 70’s synth score was appreciated by me. However, because the villains were thinly-veiled capitalists, we also got to see…

* Them using breath spray but it was portrayed as a drug they were addicted to. In essence, different-flavored vapes
* The leader’s a random pudgy balding middle-aged dude who randomly dyes what hair he has different colors, just because
* These people also do random interpretive dance, just for the hell of it
* They have pen guns

In the midst of those wacky details, the crew of 4 women and 2 men are led by a woman, who thankfully was not portrayed poorly. Our explorers are tasked with making the right decision concerning a philosophical question, like genre fans would expect in the most austere of science fiction. Yes, at times this did feel like a rather peculiar episode of Star Trek mixed w/ Barbarella!

As methodical as the pacing can be, that didn’t bother me too much & even if it does for you, hopefully the groovy moments can keep your focus from wavering. This is another gem from Deaf Crocodile that delights me-thank goodness some of their offerings are on Eternal Family. What esoteric foreign films they select for release.

Incubus

Incubus (Inkubo) (1966)

Runtime: 74 minutes

Directed by: Leslie Stevens

Starring: William Shatner, Allyson Ames, Eloise Hart, Robert Fortier, Ann Atmar, Milos Milos

From: Contempo III Productions/Daystar Productions

My English review is below the review in Esperanto-translated by Google, as I don’t know the language myself. I’d only post this review in Esperanto (the language spoken in this movie) except that I am sure most people reading this will do so on mobile, requiring a download to have it translated and it’s just be an annoyance for them.

Esperanto

Mia anglalingva recenzo estas sub la recenzo en Esperanto - tradukita de Google, ĉar mi mem ne konas la lingvon. Mi afiŝus ĉi tiun recenzon nur en Esperanto (la lingvo parolata en ĉi tiu filmo), escepte ke mi certas, ke plej multaj homoj legantaj ĉi tion faros tion per poŝtelefono, bezonante elŝuton por traduki ĝin.

Estas multe por diskuti pri ĉi tiu filmo. Reĝisoro Leslie Stevens - post kreado de The Outer Limits - faris ĉi tiun nigrablankan filmon, kiun multaj rimarkis esti inspirita de Bergman. La kopiaĵo estis timita perdita dum jaroj, ĝis unu kun bruligitaj francaj subtekstoj estis trovita en '96. En la lastaj jaroj, alia kopiaĵo en multe pli bona stato estis trovita; ĉi tiu estas kion Arrow uzis por kaj fizika kaj flua eldono. Konsiderante ke kelkfoje, vi nelonge vidas francajn subtekstojn aperi... tiu nova kopiaĵo verŝajne ne estis kompleta. Estas pli, sed mi klarigos ĉe la fino.

Unue, klarigo pri Esperanto verŝajne necesas. Ĝi estis kreita en 1887 de L.L. Zamenhof kiel rimedo por krei "universalan duan lingvon", kiun ĉiu povus lerni. Tiu ideo estas nobla, kvankam ekzistas tre malsamaj raportoj pri "kiu parolas ĝin"... ĉie de 30 000 ĝis 2 milionoj! Kvankam ne esprimita tiel, oni konjektis, ke ĝia uzado en Incubus estis ĉefe por plifortigi la strangajn vibrojn tra la tuta programo.

Finfine, la filmo temas pri sukuboj (la pluralo de sukubo) vivantaj en fora regiono tuj apud puto supozeble havanta magiajn povojn. Tiuj virinoj celas pekulojn, kiuj vizitas la puton, kiel oferojn al Infero. Unu el ili - Kia - decidas anstataŭe celi bonan viron, kiu vizitis tiun puton... William Shatner! Alia sukubo provas ĉesigi la ĉikanadon de Kia kontraŭ Shatner kaj lia fratino, sed tio montriĝis vana.

Ne ĉiuj ŝatos ĉi tiun filmon 60 jarojn post la faktoj; la ritmo estas sufiĉe metoda kaj religio fariĝas ŝlosila temo. Mi trovis Incubus sufiĉe bona, mia atento neniam ŝanceliĝis. Vikio (kie mi akiris multajn fonajn informojn por ĉi tiu recenzo) asertas, ke parolantoj de Esperanto ne ŝatas kiom malbone ilia lingvo estis parolata ĉi tie — sed tio estas atendebla. Por ripeti penson el alia recenzo, Shat almenaŭ parolis siajn dialogojn memfide. La ceteraj aktoradoj estis bonaj.

La reĝisorado kaj muziko estis bonaj, sed la kinematografio estas rimarkinda. Ne nur ĝin ĉefe filmis Conrad Hall (poste gajnis Oskarojn pro Butch Cassidy kaj la Sundance-Infano, Amerika Beleco, kaj Vojo al Pereo) sed ankaŭ William A. Fraker - kiu estis nomumita por Oskaro kvin fojojn - la vida aspekto estis altkvalita, precipe dum fantomaj nebulaj noktoj.

Se ne jam estus sufiĉe da historio, la filmo estas supozeble malbenita. Milos Milos (jes, tio estis lia nomo. Interalie, li estis unu el la korpogardistoj de Alain Delon) mortigis la fremdiĝintan edzinon de Micky Rooney, poste sin mem, alia aktoro - Ann Atmar - memmortigis sin baldaŭ antaŭ ĝia mallonga publikigo, kaj du jarojn poste la filino de alia aktoro - Eloise Hardt - estis murdita en ankoraŭ nesolvita krimo.

Incubus ne plaĉas al ĉiuj gustoj; tamen, mi ĝojis, ke mi finfine provis ĝin. Se vi amas ion kiel Carnival of Souls, tiam vi devus almenaŭ provi la filmon ankaŭ.

English

There’s plenty to discuss w/ this motion picture. Director Leslie Stevens-after creating The Outer Limits-made this black-and-white flick that many have noted was inspired by Bergman. The print was feared lost for years, until one w/ burnt-in French subtitles was discovered in ’96. In recent years, another print in far better condition was discovered; this is what Arrow used for both physical and streaming release. Given that on a few occasions, you briefly see French subtitles appear… that new print must not have been complete. There’s more but I’ll explain at the end.

First, an explanation of Esperanto is probably needed. It was created in 1887 by L.L. Zamenhof as a means of creating “a universal second language” anyone could learn. That idea is a noble one although there are wildly different accounts of “who speaks it” … everywhere from 30,000 to 2 million! While not expressed as such, it’s been speculated that the usage of it in Incubus was mainly to strengthen the eerie vibes throughout.

After all, the film concerns succubi (the plural of succubus) living in a remote area right by a well purported to have magical powers. Those women target sinners that visit the well, as offerings to Hell. One of them-Kia-decides to instead target a good man who visited that well… William Shatner! Another succubus attempts to stop Kia’s harassment of Shatner & his sister, but that proved to be futile.

Not everyone will care for this film 60 years after the fact; the pacing is rather methodical & religion becomes a key theme. Me, I found Incubus to be pretty good, my attention never wavering. Wiki (where I got plenty of background info for this review) alleges that Esperanto speakers don’t like how poorly their language was spoken here—but that’s to be expected. To echo a thought from another review, Shat at least spoke his dialogue confidently. The rest of the performances were fine.

The direction and music were fine but the cinematography has to be noted. Not only was it mainly shot by Conrad Hall (later won Oscars for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, American Beauty, & Road to Perdition) but William A. Fraker-who was nominated for an Oscar on five occasions-the visual aspect was quality, especially during spooky foggy nights.

If there wasn’t already enough lore, the movie is allegedly cursed. Milos Milos (yes, that was his name. Among other things, he was one Alain Delon’s bodyguard) killed the estranged wife of Micky Rooney then himself, another actor-Ann Atmar-took her own life shortly before its brief release, then two years later the daughter of another actor-Eloise Hardt-was murdered in a still-unsolved crime.

Incubus is not for all tastes; however, I was happy to have finally given a shot to. If you love something like Carnival of Souls, then you should at least give the flick a shot as well.

I Review a Short from 1908

This is a short one today. I discuss 1908's The Electric Hotel: 

For those unfamiliar with the game from influential Spanish filmmaker Segundo de Chomin… my schedule only allowed a review of something short. As he was a contemporary of Georges Melies (typically, both created pictures full of camera/editing tricks along w/ plenty of phantasmagoria as there were wild sets, usually bizarre creatures, demons, ghosts, etc.), Chomin deserves more attention from cinephiles. The three from the director I’ve seen before last night fit this category: Legend of a Ghost, The Red Spectre, and The Bewitched House.

The Electric Hotel is by contrast a light-hearted silly thing. What they mean by “electric” is “when a couple check into the hotel, every item-including ones that they own-becomes sentient & via stop-motion, the viewer sees the likes of tables, razors, clothing, & brushes moving on their own.” To steal a line that more than one mutual uttered in their reviews, “it’s more like the hotel is haunted.”

This plus a funny last minute that’s a great punchline meant that this was a delightful 9 minutes. Those that enjoy the output of Melies yet have never given the works of Segundo de Chomin a shot—you might become a fan