Still More 70s Movies 4

I'll be adding to this as I go along.

1. Melody (1971)

Coming of age tale set in England.  I liked how this movie balances the male and female sides of the equation, while at the same time refraining from either idealizing kids of that age or putting them in an unnecessarily bad light.

Alan Parker wrote the script.  He'd go on to direct many classic films of the 70s, 80s and 90s, including Midnight Express, Mississippi Burning and The Road to Wellville.

Funnily enough the soundtrack features several songs by the Bee Gees, though at that time the Bee Gees sounded a lot less like the band we're all familiar with and a lot more like the Beatles.

2. Hustling (1975)

Not to be confused with Cruising, the 1980 film in which Al Pacino infiltrates (or should I say "penetrates?") the New York gay leather scene.

In Hustling Lee Remick stars as an investigative reporter, with Jill Clayburgh as a prostitute giving her the rundown on what it means to work the streets of New York.  It's something of a reaction to the Blaxploitation films of the time, but it stands on its own legs and both Remick and Clayburgh are convincing in their respective roles.  It was a TV movie, so of course it pulls some punches, but I enjoyed it.

3. The Seven-Ups (1973)

It's a little too slow in parts, and a little too convoluted for its own good, but man that car chase is awesome.  Roy Scheider stars as a cop who's a little too chummy with one of his informants, and his supporting cast is rock solid all the way down the line.

Scheider might not have been one of the top stars of the 70s, but he was definitely one of that decade's best actors.  He was also very good at picking the right script and pairing himself with the right director.  The Seven-Ups director Philip D'Antoni only directed one movie, but what he left us with is a meticulously crafted work of 70s film noir.

4. Skullduggery (1970)

Skullduggery starts out as a fairly derivative jungle adventure, takes a left turn at the discovery of a new, human-like species living in New Guinea, and ends as a courtroom drama that will leave most viewers scratching their heads.  It's all over the map in the way many late 60s movies were all over the map, and if it doesn't always succeed in dramatic terms it's at least more interesting than most of the other movies discussed here.

Burt Reynolds starred in this prior to Deliverance.  He wasn't yet a movie star, but he was well on his way.

Fun Fact 1: William Marshal, who'd go on to play the lead in Blacula, appears in this movie as the Attorney General.

Fun Fact 2: Reynolds turned down the lead in Robert Altman's hit M*A*S*H to do this film.

5. Gone in 60 Seconds (1974)

I wouldn't put it up there with Vanishing Point, Two Lane Blacktop or Smokey and the Bandit, but as "70s car chase movies" go this one is a standout.  If you're the kind of person who likes classic car shows you'll find plenty to admire in Gone in 60 Seconds.

Like Zero to Sixty (below) this one details the exploits of a group of car thieves.  The stunt driving is the highlight of the movie, but this film's more experimental aspects also make it worth watching.  H.B. Halicki, the writer, director, producer and star of Gone in 60 Seconds, died in 1989 making Gone in 60 Seconds 2.

They remade this movie in 2000 with Nicolas Cage and Angelina Jolie.  I haven't seen the remake, but as I understand it it's a far cry from the original.

6. Moonshine County Express (1977)

"Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!"

Yep, Maureen "Marcia" McCormick is in this one, playing a far sexier character, though it's John Saxon who stars in this story of Southern bootleggers.  For all his dialogue he doesn't actually do much until the end of the movie.

It's actually not bad.  Anyone who enjoys Southern-fried Exploitation will enjoy this one too.

7. Shamus (1973)

Burt Reynolds stars as hardboiled detective and ladies' man Shamus McCoy.  There are some VERY politically incorrect moments in this movie, but hey, it was the early 70s and they were either processing free love or liberating themselves from "hangups."

For me the real star of this movie is Jerry Goldsmith's score.  It adds a lot to key scenes in the film.

8. Tales from the Crypt (1972)

UK horror anthology based on the Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror comics.  It's not particularly memorable, and not nearly as good as the 80s American version, but I did enjoy the second segment a lot.

9. A Tattered Web (1970)

Not be be confused with A Tatered Web, which involved potatoes suspended from spiderwebs.  Huh?

In this TV movie Lloyd Bridges (father of Jeff and Beau) plays a detective trying to cover up his own crime.  It includes a couple WTF moments, but the script was very concisely written.  Amp up the sex, maybe go into the detective and his daughter's backstory a bit more, and this same script could make for a good feature film.

10. Little Murders (1971)

A very withdrawn photographer and a very aggressive woman fall in love in this blackest of black comedies.  If you're the kind of person able to chuckle over Dr. Strangelove you might like it, but those finding it a little too verbose, a little too drawn out, and a little too obscure will get no arguments from me.

For what it's worth Elliot Gould and Marcia Rodd are terrific in their respective roles, and Donald Sutherland offers another breakout performance as "the Reverend" who marries the two.  The opening credits claim that this was Sutherland's debut, but he'd appeared in several films beforehand, not least of them M*A*S*H, mentioned in conjunction with Shamus above.

Fun Fact: This was Alan Arkin's first directorial effort.  He wasn't entirely happy with the end result.

11. Beware!  The Blob (1972)

Fan Theory: The Blob, the Thing and the rich people from Society are all examples of the same organism, just at different stages in its life cycle.

This film is OK if predictable.  The Blob shows up once again in small town America, and after that point local residents either become food or learn how to fight it.  This movie features many faces recognizable from subsequent TV shows and films, though none of them were well known at the time of filming.  Funnily enough Larry Hagman ("J.R." from Dallas) directed this one, and he also appears in it as a hobo around the halfway mark.

Warning for Cat Lovers: The Blob's first victim is a kitten.

12. Zero to Sixty (1978)

Smokey and the Bandit-adjacent comedy about a group of car thieves.  It's strictly sitcom-level humor, even if it was kind of fun to see Lyle Waggoner ("Steve Trevor" in the Wonder Woman TV show) as a gay bartender.

13. Walk Proud (1979)

Teenage heartthrob Robby Benson plays the most unconvincing Chicano gang member ever.  For what it's worth Benson is Jewish on both sides of his family, and he won "Worst Fake Accent: Male" in the Stinker Awards for this very movie.

Pepe Serna, who plays "Cesar" in this film should have played the lead.  He's a MUCH better actor than Robby Benson.  Those casting the movie probably thought he wasn't enough of a name, and that he'd have had a harder time passing for a high school student.

Even so, which is worse, Robby Benson trying to pass for Chicano or Pepe Serna, then 35 years of age, trying to pass for a teenager?

14. Scorchy (1976)

Yes friends, there is indeed a movie called Scorchy and yes, it's as dumb as you think it is.

Connie Stevens, mother of Carrie Fisher, stars as "Scorchy," some kind of detective (?) out to catch heroin dealers operating out of Seattle.  This is one of those movies where the protagonist is really the antagonist, in that Scorchy's actions do little aside from giving the bad guys opportunities to escape and wreak further havoc upon both themselves and others.  Nothing quite says "I have a substance abuse problem" than an actress of Stevens' caliber doing a movie like Scorchy.  Did she even bother to read the script beforehand?  Was she sober enough to do so?

I enjoyed the shots of my hometown, Seattle, in the mid 70s.  The Monorail, the Seattle Center, the Seattle Waterfront -- pretty much all of Seattle's landmarks are on display.  The trip down memory lane was fun, but aside from the scenery Scorchy is a terrible movie.

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"Mistborn" by Brandon Sanderson (2006)

"'We fought our way to the palace, but there were Inquisitors.  They chased us, and Kelsier fought --' She stopped, looking at Dockson, 'Kelsier?  Is he --'"

Brandon Sanderson is a fantasy writer living in Utah, where he teaches Creative Writing at Brigham Young University.  He's the creator of the Cosmere Universe, of which his Mistborn novels are a part.  

The book discussed here is also known as The Final Empire, the first book of the Mistborn Trilogy.  My copy of the book is simply titled "Mistborn," so I'm calling it that.  Hopefully the distinction doesn't confuse anybody.

Mistborn takes place in the Final Empire, a kingdom whose geography is only vaguely outlined in the book.  The Final Empire is controlled by the Lord Ruler, a shadowy figure only seen near the end of the novel.  The Lord Ruler rules over the Final Empire with a magical ability known as Allomancy, which involves the ingestion of different metals and the harnessing of the magical qualities of each.  Standing against the Lord Ruler is a rebellion led by Kelsier, a former slave with a longstanding grudge against him, and Vin, his young apprentice.

"Mistborn" in this context refers to someone able to harness more than one metal to perform magic feats.  Ranked beneath the Mistborn are Mistings, who are only able to harness one metal to perform more specific magic feats.  Ferochemists, also introduced in this book, use different metals to store and retrieve different physical abilities, and beneath the Ferochemist is ranked the Ferring, who, like the Misting, can only use one metal instead of several.

The world in which these Mistborn, Mistings, Ferochemists and Ferrings operate is very hierarchical.  As already stated the Lord Ruler sits at the top of the food chain, often playing one side off against the other.  Beneath him are the Obligators and the Inquisitors, a kind of magical secret police force which enforces his will.  Beneath the Obligators and the Inquisitors stand the noble houses, which run the mercantile side of things, and below the noble houses are the skaa, a race of slaves without rights or legal representation.

It's a lot to take in, but keep in mind that the author sets most of it up in a very lengthy novel, and the concepts introduced above are only partly explained in Mistborn.  They are further refined and expanded on in further books, and at the conclusion of Mistborn even Vin, the main character, questions a lot of what she knows about both Allomancy and Ferochemistry.

When reviewing any fantasy novel (especially any fantasy novel forming part of a series), I tend to focus on three components, these being a) story and characterization, b) world building and c) systems of magic.  When thinking along such lines I am to some extent comparing any fantasy novel to both Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones, the two pillars of the genre and its two best-known series.

In terms of story and characterization I'd give Mistborn a passing grade.  Vin, the protagonist, is a fully realized character, but her mentor, Kelsier isn't.  Kelsier's other crew members are even less actualized, and seem to pop in and out of the narrative with little consequence.  Elend, the member of the nobility that Vin quickly falls in love with, is slightly more three-dimensional, but the Lord Ruler, the shadowy figure touching his family's life, remains an unsatisfying enigma.  The story that these characters inhabit isn't bad, but it's length is daunting and I'm still not sure if the economics (not to mention the climate) of the Final Empire makes sense.

World building?  Well, let's just say that Mistborn isn't either Game of Thrones or Lord of the Rings.  At the outset we're invited into a world that resembles the plantation economy of the Old South, but this quickly gives place to a Medieval city which somehow functions on magic first and commerce second.  None of it quite hangs together properly, and the prehistory provided by the author doesn't go far toward fleshing out or explaining any of the events in the story.  We know that the Lord Ruler has been in power for a thousand years, but there's little sense of what happened before the present day or why.

The systems of magic presented in this book, however, are its real strong point.  These systems are, if magical in nature, well explained and relatively logical, and also open-ended.  These systems of magic make for some riveting fight scenes, and the moments when Vin or Kelsier use their Allomantic powers against various adversaries are far and away the best parts of the book.

I think this is/was a strong first novel that is probably improved upon in later books.  It has a few issues -- in places it seems cardboard-thin -- but it's an inventive story that does hit the right notes overall.  It's not Lord of the Rings, it's not Game of Thrones, but it is at least a creation unto itself.  I'd be glad to read the sequels if and when I come across them.

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Still More 60s Movies 4

Worth Seeing

1. Nothing But a Man (1964)

An eloquent statement on the personal cost racism exacts in the deep South.  Star Ivan Dixon says a lot without necessarily saying a lot, and the supporting cast consists of many famous names who weren't so famous at the time.

This was Yaphet Kotto's first movie.  He doesn't have a big role, but even as a younger man he had those laser eyes that would prove so memorable in films such as Across 110th Street, Live and Let Die and Ridley Scott's Alien.

This was also Motown's first movie soundtrack, and if you look closer you'll notice Gloria Foster, who'd go on to appear as "Oracle" in the Matrix trilogy.

2. The Rain People (1969)

Francis Ford Coppola's portrait of a woman desperate to escape the confines of domestic life.  Shirley Knight is excellent in the lead role, and James Caan adds a lot of pathos as a disabled man she picks up in the midst of her journey.

In this movie, as in Never On Sunday (below) we see a new approach to telling a story on film.  The Rain People wasn't a huge financial success, but I imagine it went a long way toward both cementing Coppola's reputation and setting the stage for many of the younger directors that followed in Coppola's wake.

3. Never On Sunday (1960)

Very racy for the time period.  Not only does this film center around an unrepentant prostitute, but this character and her various male companions are shown in various states of undress.

Melina Mercouri stars as a woman who happily exchanges sexual favors with men of her choosing, while the director and Mercouri's husband, Jules Dassin, co-stars as an American trying and failing to teach her the error of her ways.  Playing out in the background is an estrangement between Western ideals of Greece and what that country actually is (or was).  Never On Sunday is a compelling tale of how idealization falls flat in the face of reality, and after its release Mercouri would be awarded Best Actress at Cannes.

She'd go on to become Greece's Minister for Culture in 1981.

4. In the French Style (1963)

An American woman falls in and out of love with Paris.  Jean Seberg carries the lead role like nobody's business, and script is pitch perfect.  It's a captivating look at both gender stereotypes and "modern" relationships.

Around the time of this film's release Seberg was appearing in many of the French New Wave movies.  Her earliest years in Hollywood were something of a disappointment, but by the time she returned from France her star was on the rise.

5. The Nanny (1965)

Screen legend Betty Davis stars as a nanny who's more than she appears to be.  The dynamic between her character and the family's young son is riveting to watch, and the film's conclusion stayed with me.  It moves slowly but it's worth the effort.

6. Pretty Poison (1968)

Anthony Perkins plays a delusional man just released from a psychiatric facility, with Tuesday Weld as a high school student with ulterior motives.  This movie reminded me why I love the original Psycho so much, and also of how Perkins, when given the right role, could elevate an indifferently directed movie.

Eh... You Could Watch It, I Guess

7. Me, Natalie (1969)

Al Pacino's first movie!  He was around 29 when they filmed this.

Me, Natalie is a coming of age story centered around a young woman insecure about her looks.  It's melodramatic in a Judy Blume kind of way, and also somewhat predictable, but I enjoyed it.

8. Modesty Blaise (1966)

The UK government hires the enigmatic criminal (?) Modesty Blaise to retrieve a shipment of diamonds (?).  That's what I got out of it anyway.  It's an extremely arty movie, featuring a lot of globular lighting and people lounging around minibars in robes.  If you liked Danger: Diabolik you might like this one too, but be warned that it's far less coherent than that later Italian film.

This movie was developed from a comic strip popular at the time, and in Modesty Blaise the director was attempting to lampoon the spy craze which resulted in films like this one, Danger: Diabolik and Dr. No.

9. Gidget Goes to Rome (1963)

The precocious, boy-crazy Gidget journeys from sunny Malibu to worldly Rome.  This was the third and final Gidget movie, featuring Cindy Carol as Gidget.  The various characters' ideas about love and marriage will seem extremely dated in 2025, but I found their relative "innocence" very refreshing.

10. "She" (1965)

Speaking of Dr. No, this one features a former Bond girl, a lost Egyptian city and a couple faces you might recognize from any number of Hammer horror films.

It has some redeeming features but it's grindingly slow.  It was a big hit at the time, and led to a 1968 sequel, The Vengeance of She, but in my opinion "She" isn't worth the effort.

11. The Split (1968)

Parts of this movie don't make much sense.  Why hire Donald Sutherland's character just to shoot out some tires with a sniper rifle?  Why test Ernest Borgnine's fighting skill?  Why take the money out in an ambulance?  Why sit there for the duration of the game when they could have taken all the money once the game was over?  Why would Gene Hackman's character have any reason to trust or cooperate with Jim Brown's character?  Why?  Why?  Why?

The Split is frustrating that way.  It starts out well enough, and Quincy Jones' score is great, but the heist is a nonevent and the way in which the criminals turn on one another afterward is completely mystifying.  Jim Brown is good in the lead role, but he deserved a better movie.

How Bored Are You?

12. Goodbye Again (1961)

A young American pursues a much older woman around Paris.  It's alright as this kind of movie goes, but it felt too much like a play to me and Anthony Perkins was far from convincing.  He was coming off Psycho when this was filmed, and yes, he won at Cannes for his performance in Goodbye Again, but his acting in this movie was a little too cartoonish, and out of step with what the other actors were trying to do.

The ending is depressingly memorable though.  Ingrid Bergman, alone, staring into that mirror.  Yeah, that one's going to stay with me.

13. Creation of the Humanoids (1962)

After an atomic war eliminates 92% of mankind the survivors are left to rely on a race of robots for their continued existence.

It's super slow, crushingly talky and extremely low budget.  Kinda fun if you're in that kind of mood, but this one was never going to win any Academy Awards.

The book it was adapted from is probably very good.  Many of the discussions in this movie are reminiscent of present discussions regarding AI and automation.

14. The Brain That Wouldn't Die (1962)

Kinda convenient how her head just came off like that.

The Brain That Wouldn't Die is exactly the sort of movie that freaks me out -- surgery, transplantation, and the ethical issues related to both -- but as it is it's very hokey and impossible to take seriously.  Johnny Got His Gun continues to give me nightmares, decades after having first seen it, but The Brain That Wouldn't Die is another kind of animal altogether.  It's Frankenstein on a lower budget, but I think you'll find that watching it can be enjoyable.

Oh, and for the record the transplantation of a human head onto another body is still beyond the reach of medical science, the biggest obstacles being keeping the brain alive during the procedure, fusing two different spinal cords, and transplant rejection.  It is technically possible to keep a human head biologically functional apart from its body, but so far we only have highly controversial experiments on animals as evidence to that effect.

15. Mr. Sardonicus (1961)

A peasant turned nobleman becomes a "ghoul" after a traumatic experience involving his father's death.  It's well acted and the dialogue is much better than what you'll find in The Brain That Wouldn't Die, but Mr. Sardonicus is somehow less memorable for all that.

I would recommend, however, skipping ahead to the last few minutes of this movie.  The "vote" conducted by Mr. Sardonicus' host is a fun idea.

The producer and director of this film, William Castle, was known as "The King of Gimmicks."  He was the driving force behind movies such as The Tingler, House on Haunted Hill and Bug.  I hereby refer you to his Wikipedia entry for details on all his weird and wonderful promotional stunts.

Don't Bother?

16. Smashing Time (1967)

NOT funny, in any way, shape or form.  There are two kinds of British humor (or is it "humour?"): the clever, ironic kind and the crude, somewhat repressed, somewhat sexual kind exemplified in Smashing Time.  Smashing Time is most definitely NOT Monty Python, but rather a film about people engaging in senseless food fights, spraying one another with liquid manure, and rape-like scenarios present for comedic effect.

For what it's worth Smashing Time details the exploits of two girls newly arrived in London, both looking for fun, excitement, fame and fortune.  In the course of their journey they find all four, but by the end of the film they've decided that life in swinging London isn't for them, and that it's time to return whence they came.  The glimpses of Carnaby Street fashions are interesting, but that's about it.

Those with keen eyes will notice the band Tomorrow in the opening credits.  Unfortunately none of Tomorrow's music actually ended up in the film, and the band would implode soon thereafter.  Steve Howe, the guitarist for Tomorrow, would go on to form Yes in 1968.

17. First Spaceship on Venus (a.k.a. "The Silent Star") (1960)

I'm only placing this above Mission: Stardust (below) because a) "Sumiko" is more attractive to me than whoever plays the blondish alien in Mission: Stardust, and b) it is, on average, weirder and less "logical" than the other film discussed below.

Oh, and it's also: c) an East German-Polish co-production, and d) an adaptation of a short story by Stanislaw Lem, one of my favorite science fiction writers.  In terms of science fiction cinema it's a pioneering film in many ways, which isn't to say that it's "good" in the way movies at the top of this entry are good.  Inventive?  Sure, but definitely not good.

18. Mission Stardust (1967)

Science fiction via the Italian film industry.  None of the plot elements bear thinking about, but most mystifying of all is why the crime lord character thinks he can capture the alien spaceship.

If you're ever wondering why the original Star Wars was so popular give this film a look.  It's everything George Lucas' movie was trying not to be.

19. The Wild Angels (1966)

Several years before Easy Rider, Peter Fonda starred in this Roger Corman picture about a neo Nazi biker gang.  It's NOT awesome, and Nancy Sinatra proves that no, not all singers are destined to become noted actresses, but it is historic in a sense.  Some credit it with restarting the biker genre in the 60s, especially in connection to the rising counterculture, but I have doubts about this claim.  There were plenty of other biker movies both before and after this one, and in my opinion saying that The Wild Angels is/was so influential is a stretch.

20. The Creeping Terror (1964)

A space monster resembling a pile of discarded rugs disrupts the daily schedules of several residents of a small town.  The weakest point of this movie isn't its low budget, but rather the narration, which all but suffocates the story it's trying to tell.

Wikipedia describes this movie as "a cult film."  I don't know what cult that is or why anyone would want to join it.

And speaking of cults, the infamous Spahn Ranch, hideout formerly used by the Manson Family, was where The Creeping Terror was filmed.

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Still More 60s Movies 3

Movies and Memories

Jaws hit theaters in 1975, the year I was born.  I didn't see it in a theater because I was, of course, not even a year old.  Jaws is a fantastic movie though.  It was on TV all the time when I was a kid.  

Cable or network TV?  For the life of me I can't remember.

The last letter of Jaws is "S."  What's another movie from around the same time period that starts with "S?"  Suspiria, I think.  Yes, Suspiria came out two years later, in 1977.

Suspiria is one of those weird, great movies that you just know the director's never going to top.  I can't remember which one came first, Deep Red or Suspiria, but they're both unquestionably great movies from Dario Argento.  

Both movies represent an Italian film industry that's now a shadow of its former self.  One thing that people often overlook about the 70s is that for every American movie there was an Italian copy, or if not an outright copy then a movie that took elements of an American film and combined them with elements of other films that the Italians thought might work together.  At their best Italian movies of the 70s had their own well developed sense of style, but there were also Italian films that were shots in the dark, combinations of different genres that didn't always stand on their own merits.

Many of the women in 1970s Italian movies were extremely beautiful.  The Italians had a great eye for stunningly attractive women.  Many of these women weren't even Italian, but rather imports from other countries.  Laura Gemser and Barbara Bach come to mind.

The last letter of Suspiria is "A."  What's another movie from that time period that starts with "A?"  American Graffiti, which Wikipedia tells me came out in 1973.

I was never a big fan of American Graffiti.  It's... OK I guess, but to me it always seemed more like a TV pilot than an actual movie.  It's cool to see latter-day stars like Richard Dreyfuss or Harrison Ford before they were famous, but beyond that I never got much out of that film.

Have you seen the sequel?  More American Graffiti brings us to 1979, the year in which the disco scene imploded.  As little as I enjoyed American Graffiti, I have to say that it feels like Jaws compared to its nearly unwatchable sequel.  A lot of More American Graffiti features a series of split screens,  all of them contributing to the movie's unintelligibility.  Who's talking now?  Which one of them should I be listening to?  Are we sure we don't want all of them to die in Vietnam?  More American Graffiti truly is a trainwreck of cinematic proportions.

The last letter of American Graffiti is "I."  What's another movie from the same time period that starts with "I?"  I actually drew a blank on this one, but Wikipedia tells me that a Brazilian film titled I Love You came out in 1981.  Sonia Braga starred in this one, who you might remember from a few American films like Moon Over Parador.

Moon Over Parador, like Jaws, was another film featuring Richard Dreyfuss.  Apparently he's a difficult person to work with.  He's a great actor though.  Mr. Holland's Opus is one of my favorite movies.

The last letter of I Love You is "U."  What's another movie from the same time period that starts with "U?"  Under the Cherry Moon, released in 1986, comes to mind.  Have I seen Under the Cherry Moon?  I'm not sure.  Looking at the poster and focusing in on the name, I want to say that yes, I've seen it, but if I have it was a long time ago.

Prince was ubiquitous in the 80s.  They played his songs on MTV and the radio constantly.  I started to hate Prince and everything to do with Purple Rain for this reason.  Is he a good guitar player?  Undoubtedly!  Do I enjoy his earlier and later music?  Sure!  But MTV and FM radio shoved Prince very far down our throats in the 80s, to the point where I can't be objective about his most famous album.

Apollonia sure was sexy though.  Anyone else remember Apollonia?  As a kid that scene in Purple Rain where Prince gets with Apollonia gave me shameful, furtive thoughts that I dared not speak aloud.

The last letter of Under the Cherry Moon is "N."  What's another movie from the same time period that starts with "N?"  Ah yes, Near Dark came out a year later, in 1987.

Near Dark is yet another vampire movie from the second half of the 1980s.  Fright Night, The Lost Boys, the oft-overlooked Lifeforce... there were a lot of vampire movies released during the late 80s.

I can understand Near Dark's cult status, and I can also remember enjoying it at the time.  Thing is that during those years a lot of us were suffering from a "vampire fatigue" not unlike the present day's superhero fatigue, and Near Dark, for all its redeeming features, was ignored by many for this very reason.  

In its way this film is also "Aliens-adjacent," in that Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen and Jenette Goldstein are all to be found in both movies.

The last letter of Near Dark is "K."  What's another movie from the same time period that starts with "K?"  Thanks again, Wikipedia: K2 brings us into the 90s.

Michael Biehn!  Yep, another Aliens connection.  In this film he plays a guy who - you guessed it - tries to climb the famously elevated mountain.  Does he succeed?  I suppose you'll have to watch the movie and find out.

If you ever find yourself wondering what happened to Michael Biehn, there are a ton of interviews with him on YouTube to that effect.  Short answer: ego and alcohol.  He could have been a lot bigger star than he was, but personal and professional problems intervened.

1993's Tombstone, released around a year after K2, was Biehn's last big movie, though in both Tombstone (and 1996's The Rock) he's largely overshadowed by other cast members.

The last letter of K2 is not a letter but rather a number, this being the number 2.  What other movie from the same time period started with 2 or "Two?"  Two Women, an Iranian film (!) brings us all the way to 1999, the year I left Seattle and moved to Taiwan, where I am now writing this.

I haven't seen Two Women, but there are good Iranian movies out there if you can find them.  I liked Taste of Cherry (which yes, sounds like porn but isn't), and A Separation, which tackles the subject of marital estrangement in a very repressive environment.

The last letter of Two Women is "N."  What's another movie from the same time period that starts with "N?"  Or, I might as well ask, how many movies have "night" as the first word of their title?  Too many, I think.  Let me settle on 2006's Night at the Museum. which is a movie I've seen many, many times.

The Night at the Museum movies are a bit sad in retrospect.  Robin Williams as Teddy Roosevelt, Robin Williams with the clock ticking over his head.  He wouldn't live much longer, Robin Williams.  He'd take his own life in 2014, and thereafter we'd all be wondering what might have been.

He was a great actor.  I'm a big fan of One Hour Photo, but even aside from that Insomnia is an excellent movie from the same time period.  Check him out in The World According to Garp, when he decides to reconcile with his wife.  That scene is completely unrealistic given the circumstances, but even so he sells it like nobody's business.

The last letter of Night at the Museum is "M."  What other movie from the same time period starts with "M?"  "M" is an easy one, so I'll pick 2010's Machete, which is a movie that most of us have forgotten about.

It's a fever dream of casting: Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Robert De Niro, Jeff Fahey (!), Don Johnson, Cheech Marin and even Tom Savini, best remembered both as the dude who gets his head blown off in Maniac and the biker disemboweled in Dawn of the Dead.

I'm thankful to director Robert Rodriguez for both Sin City and Desperado, though I think that he often punches below his weight class.  The guy has talent, but he wastes it on ephemeral things like the Spy Kids franchise or Alita: Battle Angel.  I've always felt that he could be doing a lot more with his gifts, and I'm waiting for the day when he'll surprise us all again.

The last letter of Machete is "E."  What other movie from the same time period starts with "E?"  The Equalizer 3 I suppose, which is a surprisingly good movie set in Italy.

Where else would Denzel Washington hide after the second installment?  Uh... lots of other places I guess, but they picked Italy so I'll roll with it.

Italy, that birthplace of Giallo and opportunistic employer of impossibly beautiful women.  Again Laura Gemser and Barbara Bach come to mind.  Barbara Bach, who is still married to one of the Beatles.

The Equalizer 3?  I dunno, it's OK I suppose.  It's been a while since I've seen it.

The last letter of The Equalizer 3 is not a letter but rather a number, this number being 3 or "three."  And what movie from the same time period starts with "three?"  In the 2020s I am only able to find The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan, which is a French movie that I meant to watch but later forgot about entirely.

Vincent Cassel is awesome however.  I'll watch anything with that guy in it.  Did you know he voiced one of the characters in Shrek?

And Shrek featured Mike Myers, who was also in Wayne's World alongside Rob Lowe...

...who was in The Hotel New Hampshire alongside Jodie Foster...

...who was in Taxi Driver alongside Robert De Niro...

...who was in The Deer Hunter alongside Meryl Streep...

...who was in Postcards from the Edge alongside Richard Dreyfuss...

...who was in Jaws, which was released the year that I was born.

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