Hellraiser (1987)

This is my first ever Blu Ray review! Yes, I have joined 2007! 1987's Hellraiser is one movie that certainly needed a bit of an overhaul, I remember buying a budget release of it when I first got a DVD player and it looked abysmal! The print was faded, dirty, and completely let down the whole movie. Fast-forward 6 years (or so) and here it is all polished up and looking fantastic! Full colours, great sound, it looks like new!

If you've never seen it, it's about a middle age couple, Larry and Julia who move into Larry's childhood home, Larry's brother Frank has also been there and opened the door to another dimension where pleasure and pain are synonymous and the kinky Pinhead and his fellow Cenobites spend eternity torturing curious perverts in all manner of twisted (and painful!) ways. Frank escapes and enlists Julia to help him regenerate his body which has been torn apart by the Cenobites.

(picture from SD version)

I loved watching this again, perhaps more so than ever before because it's been cleaned up so well. There is some grain on the picture which is evident in the scenes that rely on back lighting, especially the scenes in the loft of the house, but it's still extremely well done. The the gore is especially sharp and vile! Some of the effects are a bit past it, but I think that adds a certain camp appeal, and lets not forget this was made in 1986 for New World Pictures, the then home of cheap movies!

Speaking of which, there are distinct hints of melodrama scattered throughout the movie, mostly involving the character of Julia who is just is fantastic. Masterfully portrayed by Clare Higgins, who gives what must be one of 80's horror's best performances. It's great to see such a complex character in a movie like this, and don't even get me started on the outfits! Think high-end 80's department store, which really helps the movie stay fresh as people still wear that stuff, her bouffant mullet and pink eyeshadow are a dead giveaway though.



Anyone with an interest in horror should check this out. It's also an excellent example of how effective a small budget can be. With decent actors and an original concept Hellraiser really raised the bar. I thoroughly recommend it. I can't wait for Hellbound: Hellraiser II to make it's Blu Ray debut, I haven't seen it for years! I can't remember much about the other sequels, but I think I've seen most of them over the years, a remake is currently in the works.

Special features are apparently from a recent DVD release, but are quite interesting if you don't know anything about the movies.

Melba Moore - I'm In Love (1988)

Melba's 1988 LP kicks off with Love and Kisses, a mid-tempo track which is only really saved by the sparkly production and Melba's excellent vocals, it's all a bit throwaway for my liking...

I'm In Love is up next, a slow jam duet with Kashif, who also wrote, produced and played all the instruments on this track. It's quite a nice one, the vocals are lovely. I can almost smell the satin sheets and incense sticks, this just reeks of 80's love.

I should say at this point that the artwork for this LP is just lovely from Melba's oversize black jacket with diamante pin-stripes to her pearl accessories, and her fetching gold sequin dress on the inside, perfectly complimented with a single gold ear-thing! Looks like she robbed Lt Uhura's wardrobe for that one.

Love Always Finds A Way To Your Heart is kind of weak, but the chorus is lovely, and again it's really the vocals that make it, from the soft cooing on the verses to her trademark wail, just lovely!

I Can't Complain with Freddie Jackson is next, and however good they sound they can't save this from snoozeville. I'm starting to think someone should've sent Melba to Full Force at this point, this and the following track I Don't Know No One Else To Turn to are both with producer Gene McFadden, I don't like them. I've just noticed that Melba has shoes to match her jacket! I'm not gripped, am I?



Side B starts out with I'll Never Find Another You which is a bit better, some nice piano, but I'm itching for some upbeat stuff now - where's the Love's Comin' At Ya? on this set? There's only so many much well sung filler I can take, am loving the choir on this one though! Sing it, Melba! "I'm never, no never, gonna, ever, gonna, find another man like, you Oooo Ooooh!"

OMG some beats! Oh Yes, Keeps Me Runnin' Back is more like it. Okay, so maybe I'm desperate by this point, but I'm loving this! It's got soul, some good beats, a bit of guitar, a nice percussion section. Everything I love in 80's soul pop. I hope this was a single!

First Love drops the pace, it's tender and sweet, but again average. This Time is better, and Test Of Time closes the album, and while it hardly goes out with a bang, I'm In Love is a reasonable LP, but I couldn't recommend it.

After a decline in in popularity and the demise of her marriage in the 90's, poor Melba went bankrupt and there were rumours that she became homeless, having to be taken in by friends and family. I like to think she maxed out her credit card on fabulous gowns and spangly accessories, but the reality was probably a lot less glamorous. Thankfully Melba has since forged a career as a gospel singer and has even put out a few 12" dance singles. In 2003 she appeared in The Fighting Temptations in a sizeable role alongside Beyonce and Cuba Gooding Jr. I hope she puts out a pop CD again one day with some killer dance mixes.

Let's enjoy one of Melba's biggest UK hits:

Donna Summer (1982)

I took this soulful gem out for a spin in the car yesterday and it stuck me that it's probably one of the best of her 80's album, certainly better than The Wanderer, Cats Without Claws, or the dreadful All Systems Go!

Donna decided she was a going to go a bit more rock as the 80's kicked in and the result was The Wanderer album, which earned her a GRAMMY nod for the single Cold Love. She quickly recorded a follow up, I'm A Rainbow, which was eventually scrapped - only the track Romeo was released on the Flashdance soundtrack, until the album was finally put out on CD in 1996. It was felt that Donna needed to appeal to her base, and so she was sent to work with Quincy Jones.

The Donna Summer album was a much bigger hit in the UK, peaking at #13 on the charts, and gave her two modest hits in Love Is In Control and State Of Independence, which hit the Top 20 again in 1996. But what of the album?

It kicks off with the funky Love Is In Control (Finger On The Trigger), which harks back to Donna's disco roots, with electronic vocal effects, and disco-ish beat, with loads of horns. It also has some great gospel inspired background vocals, which feature prominantly thoughout the album. To me this is a classic Donna single, up there with any of her 70's stuff, I especially like the rawness of her vocals, something that had become a feature of 1980's The Wanderer.

Mystery Of Love is a nice one, it goes for a more mid-tempo funk for the verses, Donna sings them softly, before gliding into the soulful chorus. It really gets going after the second the verse. Next up is The Woman In Me, the final single taken from the album. It's a ballad, and a fantastic one at that. It's very 80's soul, the track is driven by Donna's powerful vocals and some sparse (by 80's standards) production, it's very sexy! "I don't need an excuse, it's so easy with you, to be the woman in me,"...

State Of Independence featuring the All Star Choir (including Michael Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Lionel Richie, and many more) is the third track. It's a bit of an 80's classic, with elements of soul and gospel. I have no idea what the State of Independence is, but I am guessing it's probably America, who cares? This is an amazing collaboration that doesn't get anywhere near enough airplay on oldies radio or TV these days.

Livin' In America is next, and I love this one! Again, it's pure tat, it starts off with an air of cool funkiness about it. This one is all about living the American dream! I think the chorus would make most people cringe! Especially when the kids start singing along with her, "You're living in America, you're living in the home of the dream! You can be what you wanna be!"

Protection was written by Bruce Springsteen, and as such is pretty rocky, I believe this one was going to be a duet at one point. I think it's great, I especially like its fast pace! I also love the way Donna's vocal tracks are layered over each other at times, a great effect! This could've been a good single. It was nominated for a GRAMMY.

If It Hurts Just A Little is such a filthy title, and there's some great vocals on this one, it's not the best song on the set, but the excellent production and the gorgeous harmonizing between Donna and the background singers is perfection. Love Is Just A Breath Away builds up beautifully with Donna's soft high vocals steadily getting louder and forceful as the track gets going. Sadly it's a bit fillerish, but it sounds good so it can be forgiven.

The album closes with some old fashioned style with the jazz standard Lush Life, now I'm not an expert on the genre, but Donna does a good job, although I have a feeling it was an afterthought, as it isn't as well done as the rest of the album. With Donna's range you'd have thought she'd make more of it, but it's fine. It was apparently a hard album for Donna to complete as she was heavily pregnant while making it, nevertheless overall I think it's well up there and for anyone else would've been seen as quite an accomplishment. The mix of rock, funk, and soul makes this a must have for me.

Upcoming treasures in September!

As if Kathy's fantastic TV show My Life on the D List (which airs on E! in the UK), her CD, and her standup shows weren't enough for her growing army of fans, now she's gone and written a book! She's also on Facebook too!



The legendary DIV-A! returns with a new album, I don't care what people say about her comeback single, I Didn't Know My Own Strength, I think it's brilliant. We all know what Whitney has been through, the humiliation of Being Bobby Brown, her 'crack is whack' interview with Wendy Williams, the drug paraphernalia pictures in the Enquirer, the divorce, and worst of all that horrible duet with Cissy, Auntie Dionne and Little Bobbie Christina! This is the comeback of the year, after La Toya's of course!!! Can't wait.



Who'd have thought these two would ever get a record deal again after the horrible underperformance, I mean 'distribution problems', of their last album, Drama. Well Fascination Records/Universal have taken pity on them and September 2 sees the release of their quite frankly exquisite new single, Love Comes! I love the title especially. The album Viva is out the week after, and the single is being released as a CD and two retrotastic 7" picture discs, with exclusive b-sides!

Return of the B-Movie Queens!

The 80's had so many memorable Hollywood leading ladies, but there was also a whole host of B-Movie Queens, here are some of my favourite stars in some fun scenes:

Linda Blair in Savage Streets - Linda takes revenge on a gang of vicious punks after they rape her handicapped sister one day after school...



Sybil Danning in The Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf - This is the genuine ending to this crazy ass movie! The movie theme is performed by Steve Parsons with footage of good old Sybil ripping her top off over and over again with reactions from other cast members taken from scenes in the movie, poor Christopher Lee! Pure trash!



Sandahl Bergman in Hell Comes to Frogtown - Sandahl has been captured by King Toty and she is forced to perform the Dance of the Three Snakes, hotness!



Pia Zadora in Butterfly - Pia won a Golden Globe for this, she plays a young girl who lives out in the Nevada Desert, when her estranged father comes to visit their relationship takes a forbidden turn...



Brigitte Nielsen in Red Sonja - Brigitte plays the feisty Sonja in this bad movie classic, in this clip she fights to the death with evil Queen Gedren (Sandahl Bergman).



Linnea Quigley in Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers - The Virgin Dance of the Double Chainsaws, this movie is TERRIBLE! hehe



Morgan Fairchild in Phantom of the Mall - This terrible movie is elevated by the presence of the fabulous Morgan, the patron saint of this blog!

Anita Pointer - More Than A Memory (12") (1987)

This was the second single from the one and only solo album by Anita Pointer of the Pointer Sisters, Love For What It Is! The 12" came with two mixes the East Coast Mix and the West Coast Mix.

http://www.mediafire.com/?todzm3gtuy1

Check out the video for the first single, Overnight Success

Trog (1970)

I first read about this legendary crap classic in The Official Razzie Movie Guide, which is a great read if you're interested in this fascinating sub-genre.

Oscar winner and Mommie Dearest herself, Joan Crawford stars as a anthropologist who attempts to train and tame the unfortunately named, Trog, which is short for troglodyte if you hadn't guessed. A tragic prehistoric creature who has been frozen for millions of years, only to be uncovered by some scantily clad zoology students. Dr Joan thinks that Trog is the missing link and tries to protect him from the justifiably anxious locals. Armed with her trusty proto gun (which shoots tranquiliser darts) she spends the next 80 mins chasing after Trog as he inevitably escapes and kills people.

I really enjoyed Trog, yes the plot and sets are woeful, and Trog's costume and makeup 'effects' are worse than you'd see on even the most shoddy 1970's episode of Doctor Who. Nevertheless I think it's got a lot of charm, and Joan really gives it all she's got (this was her last movie!). Some people say she was pissed when she made this, but whatever! She still had it, although the outfits will make the more fashion conscious viewer wince as each one is worse than the last! Trog is a perfect afternoon no-brainer and it's funny as hell to boot - recommended.

La Toya Jackson - Home

Please support La Toya's new single, Home! All proceeds go to one of Michael's favourite AIDS charities, and of course it's a great song!

It's available on iTunes worldwide!

Gloria Estefan Live in Liverpool (27 July 2009)

Yes, the Queen of the Conga was in the UK for one night only yesterday and I was lucky enough to catch this international treasure in action! Before I briefly review the show (you just know it was fantastic!!!) I have to say that I am a big fan of the magnificent Glo, ever since I was little I've admired her killer party tunes and her beautiful balladry, and of course her amazing outfits and hair-do's! I remember her Greatest Hits was one of the first CD's I 'forgot' to take back to the local library when I was very young, and getting dirty looks from my neighbours for playing You'll Be Mine (Party Time) at full blast when I was about 11 years old, those people had no soul! It goes without saying that Gloria (1998) is one of my all time favourite albums, ever!

Needless to say, said album was well represented last night, not only did she open with a storming rendition of Oye! But Heaven's What I Feel and I Just Wanna Be Happy featured prominently. God, even thinking about it is getting me in the mood for a Gloria afternoon! The legend amongst legends was in fabulous voice and even the Spanish songs were compelling, and I don't think you can get less Latin than bloody Liverpool! But somehow it all worked so well, probably due to Gloria's glory days as one of the world's biggest live acts. Times may have changed, and her popularity in the UK has careened in recent years, 2003's Unwrapped flopped as did 2007's Very Best Of. As such, this show wasn't that well attended, but that didn't matter to the thousands of fans who did turn out, or Gloria herself who gave it her all. Another highlight was I Wish You from Wrapped, as well as personal favourites Everlasting Love and I Love For Loving You, as well as all the hits you'd expect to hear - Anything for You and Don't Wanna Lose You, as well as Dr Beat, Rhythm Is Gonna Get You, and Conga, of course!

Gloria's trips to the UK may be few and far between, and increasingly fleeting, but I'd defy anyone to go to one of her shows and not come away full of energy and some great memories! 10/10!

Check out a clip of her tribute to Michael Jackson from last night

Love Music Hate Racism

Last weekend I went to the Love Music Hate Racism concert at the Britannia Stadium in Stoke on Trent. The event was organised as a protest against the far-right British National Party and their political presence in the city. The show ran over the whole weekend but I was mainly interested in the Sunday as British soul queen Beverley Knight and Kelly Rowland were headlining.

Before I go into the performances I think it's important to say that it was good to see so many people out supporting the issue as well as seeing somewhere as deprived as Stoke being able to attract such decent acts. There were at least 5 thousand people there and it was one of the best days we've had this year for the weather - so it was a perfect day all round.

Beverley Knight was excellent, she wore a sort of blue 80's jump suit with white boots. She belted out her hits Keep This Fire Burning (I know I said hits...), Shoulda Woulda Coulda, Peace of My Heart, and a new song she'd done with Jam & Lewis - hopefully she's going all 80's soul for her new CD!




Kelly Rowland kicked off her set with Work as well as performing Like This, Emotion, How Deep Is Your Love (the Bee Gees song), Dilemma, and her new song Love Takes Over. Both Kelly and Bev seemed very pleased to be there and really got into the spirit of it - if only they on longer!

Madonna Scam!

I just wanted to warn any readers who may have bought tickets from a company called Smart Hospitality who are basically another of these online ticket touts that are so common these days. My friend purchased our tickets thought Smart Hospitality and this afternoon after remarking that the tickets hadn't arrived yet, we saw this, and this, and this! Luckily they were paid for by credit card, but still it's very disappointing. I know these things happen, but how shitty! The only reason people have to resort to ticket touts is because reputable sites allow unscrupulous people to order tickets in their 100's in the first place. Luckily Ticketmaster have a few seats at the back and we can still go

I thought I would name and shame the person who registered the Smart Hospitality Tickets web site here as well.

Registrant:
simon jones
6 stratford court, Victoria Way, woking
surrey, NA GU21 6AN
GB

Domain name: SMARTHOSPITALITYTICKETS.COM

Administrative Contact:
jones, simon mentes@smarthospitalitytickets.com
6 stratford court, Victoria Way, woking
surrey, NA GU21 6AN
GB
+1.4484561834
Technical Contact:
jones, simon mentes@smarthospitalitytickets.com
6 stratford court, Victoria Way, woking
surrey, NA GU21 6AN
GB
+1.4484561834

Registration Service Provider:
Ecommerce, Inc., registrars@ecommerce.com
800-861-9394http://ecommerce.com
UNLIMITED Storage Space, 3 TERRABYTES of Monthly Transfer & up-to 16
domains, starting at $3.95!

LIFETIME FREE DOMAIN REGISTRATION + FREE FEATURES INCLUDED. ONLY AT
ECOMMERCE.COM

Registrar of Record: TUCOWS, INC.
Record last updated on 09-Jan-2009.
Record expires on 12-Aug-2009.
Record created on 12-Aug-2008.

Registrar Domain Name Help Center:
http://domainhelp.tucows.com

Domain servers in listed order:
NS11.IXWEBHOSTING.COM
NS12.IXWEBHOSTING.COM

Domain status: clientTransferProhibited
clientUpdateProhibited

Crappy movie Saturday

Sleeping Beauty (1987)

Part of Cannon Film's movie tales series, Sleeping Beauty is a faithful adaptation of the classic fairy tale. Morgan Fairchild stars as a queen who longs for a child of her own (as she tells us in a badly dubbed song - since when do Hollywood actresses have Eastern European singing voices?). An elf (Kenny Baker - R2D2!!!) recognises the queen's longing and makes a special potion to help her and soon after she is with child, and decides to invite all of the 9 fairies in the land to a celebration. Unfortunately fairies can only eat from gold plates, and they only have 8 of them. This angers the evil Red Fairy (Sylvia Miles) so much that she curses the child, on her 16th birthday she will die when she pricks her finger on a spindle! Fortunately the White Fairy (Jane Wiedlin from the Go-Go's) sings a sweet little song and casts a spell so that Rosebud will only sleep, not die, luckily the spell can be broken if a true prince finds her and kisses her. Still fearful the King and Queen ban all the spindle's in the land.

This movie is pretty terrible, the songs are just hideous, Spin Spindle Spin being the worst of the lot. The best bits are with the Red Fairy ,who is just terrifying, from her scary cackle, to her blood red dress and bellowing voice. Her old lady mask in the scene where she tricks Rosebud should have been enough to warrant this an 18rating - it was absolutely horrific. Tahnee Welch on the other hand is just gorgeous and does a good job. Like most Cannon movies this is so cheap and cuts every corner imaginable, and that really lets it down, especially the script! Some of the visuals are quite impressive though. It was made in Israel.



Subspecies (1991)



Much like Sleeping Beauty this one got better as it went along. As the ads on my favourite movie channel on cable, Zone Horror proudly boast, this is part of their season of Full Moon Vampire Movies that they are premiering throughout June. This is the kind of crap that I love about this channel, they like this junk as much as I do! Subspecies is about two vampire brothers, one good and one very bad! The opening scene was just dire, perhaps it was because this scene was the most 'special' effects intensive - lets just say stop motion animation should have been confined to the 80's, and bad stop motion should always remain on the cutting room floor! This stuff is the pits!

For a movie on a very tight budget this one is quite effective, it's pretty gory and there is a lot for fans of vampire movies to enjoy. Some things I particularly enjoyed were the realistic gore effects, and of course any mention of shooting rosary's at vampires ticks all the boxes for me. That, and of course the damsel in distress who gets chained up just so happens to have her shirt ripped in perfect symmetry - conveniently exposing both nipples! Classy stuff! I'll be sticking with this series to see where it goes, Subspecies is by no means a good movie, but I enjoyed it. Romania always provides a spooky location too.

The very bad trailer, who thought those shitty creatures would sell this to anyone - they're hardly even in it!



The Wiz (1978)



Diana Ross as Dorothy, Michael Jackson as the Scarecrow, it can only be a Motown movie!!! Adapted from the Broadway musical of the same name, this movie was heavily criticised upon it's release and I can see why. Leaving the fact that this is an all African-American cast, Diana Ross is very plain as Dorothy and her acting is patchy, as is her singing. But as soon as Michael comes along things really pick up, they really worked well together (and continued to do so into the 80's with hits like Muscles and Eaten Alive). I think The Wiz is a fun and inventive adaptation of the Wizard of Oz, it's also pretty freaky! I would not show this to a child - the makeup effects are garish and disturbing and it's seriously trippy. In one scene our heroes are chased around a subway by ferocious storage lockers, trash cans with teeth , and goodness knows what else! Mabel King as the monstrous Evileene was great too.

I read a review that said essential the probelm is that it was too scary for kids and too silly for (most) adults, and I think that sums it up perfectly. However, you can't deny the amazing special effects and the impressive sets make The Wiz a visual feast. The use of the Manhattan landscape is brilliant too. Diana and Michael's song Ease On Down The Road is another highlight. Richard Pryor is also pretty good. The Wiz is coming back to Broadway later in the year.