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The Devil Bat, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Devil Bat
Year of Release: 1941
Directed By: Jean Yarbrough
Starring: Bela Lugosi, Suzanne Kaaren, Dave O'Brien
Genre: Horror

Overview:
One of the most infamous and enjoyable of all the Bela Lugosi "Poverty Row" productions, The Devil Bat stands as an over-the-top horror tale.  Lugosi is the embittered Doctor Paul Carruthers who seeks vengeance on his employers by creating monstrous killer bats.  He begins to systematically murder his victims by offering them a sample of a specially concocted shaving lotion that attracts the flying "devil bat" with predictably lethal results.

Filmed with sly tongue-in-cheek humor and a most exciting music score provided by David Chudnow, The Devil Bat ranks among Bela Lugosi's fondly remembered and best low budget fright films of the '40s.

My Thoughts:
This was a cheap, cheesy, fun little film.  Cheap because this is a  Poverty Row film from PRC.  The lack of budget is completely obvious not only in the effects, but also the sets, the average direction, and the lack of any name actors except Lugosi.  Cheesy because what else can you call a film about a mad perfume maker who raises bats that he enlarges with electricity?  And fun, because Bela Lugosi is a superb actor who gives it his all.  He's the reason to watch the film.  His fellow actors are adequate enough, but none of them has even a quarter of Lugosi's presence or talent.  It's really a crime that his talent wasn't recognized by major studios in his own day.  Recommended for fans of ultra-low-budget monster movies or fans of Lugosi.  I had a lot of fun watching it.  Anyone else may find this little film a bit too shabby for their taste.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 2.5/5

(From Danae's 2013 Horror Marathon on October 1st, 2013)

White Christmas, a review by Danae Cassandra

White Christmas
Year of Release: 1954
Directed By: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger
Genre: Romance, Musical

Overview:
White Christmas is a treasury of Irving Berlin classics, among them "Count Your Blessings Instead of Sheep," "Sisters," "Mandy," and the beloved holiday song, "White Christmas." In this incredible Anniversary Edition, you will find the timeless musical, plus new features that include backstage stories, a look at the actors and more!

Two talented song-and-dance men (Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye) team up after the war to become one of the hottest acts in show business. One winter, they join forces with a sister act (Rosemary Clooney and Vera-Ellen) and trek to Vermont for a white Christmas. Of course, there's the requisite fun with the ladies, but the real adventure starts when Crosby & Kaye discover that the inn is run by their old army general who's now in financial trouble. And the result is the stuff dreams are made of.

My Thoughts:
This is a true Christmas classic.  It's everything you want in a Christmas film - bright and cheery, romantic, and warm-hearted, more than a touch sentimental, and it has an old-fashioned charm to it that's hard to replicate in films today.  I love Bing Crosby, and his rendition of "White Christmas" is still the standard, despite how many people have recorded it.  I love Danny Kaye and Rosemary Clooney here too (she's from my home state!), and Vera Ellen does a good job as well.  The heart of the film is Dean Jagger's general, and he's a sweetheart. 

In short, frothy, fun, and filled with wonderful songs and Christmas spirit, this will continue to be one of the best Christmas films for years to come.

Bechdel Test: Fail
Mako Mori Test: Fail

Overall: 4/5

(From Christmas 2016 on December 18th, 2016)

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete First Season marathon, a review by Tom

08. Vick's Chip (2008-03-03)
Writer: Josh Friedman (Created By), Daniel T. Thomsen (Writer), James Cameron (Original Characters By), Gale Anne Hurd (Original Characters By)
Director: J. Miller Tobin
Cast: Lena Headey (Sarah Connor), Thomas Dekker (John Connor), Summer Glau (Cameron), Richard T. Jones (Agent James Ellison), Garret Dillahunt (Cromartie), Kristina Apgar (Cheri Westin), Edoardo Ballerini (Timms), Karina Logue (Barbara Chamberlain), Andre Royo (Sumner), Jonathan Sadowski (Sayles), Matt McColm (Vick Chamberlain), Luis Chavez (Morris), Brian Austin Green (Derek Reese), Bruno Amato (Gym Coach), Joshua Wolf Coleman (Clerk), Allen Evangelista (Doug), Aki Kotabe (Kendo), Tony Raymond Wilde (Eric Carlson)

I think we can make a drinking game with Derek's line "That's what they do" (while looking at Cameron).
"She lied" - "That's what they do"
"He killed her" - "That's what they do"


One of the things I didn't like about T2 is John's incredible hacking capabilites. And here they are doing it again. He was thrown eight years into the future, so he is new to current computers. And yet he can interface with a chip from the future and hack into the memory storage of the T-888 in a few minutes/hours, what even Cameron couldn't do.

Rating:

(From Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: The Complete First Season marathon on January 27th, 2009)