Ray's X-Blog

Somewhat noticeable damage. I think it's a goof, at least a distracting detail. I noticed it when rewatching The Man From U.N.C.L.E. TV episode The Four-Steps Affair.  One night a wounded U.N.C.L.E. agent (one of the good guys for those not aware) seeks help at a secluded home in the countryside owned by the seductive Angela who is really a Thrush agent (one of the bad girls.) Angela has a portrait studio on the second floor with a large sliding window.  Angela lures the U.N.C.L.E. agent in front of the window, urging him to sneak away on the roof. As soon as he slides open the window bright studio lights snap on, silhouetting him, the perfect target.   A Thrush agent waiting outside opens fire with his automatic weapon, bullets drilling into the doomed U.N.C.L.E. agent and everything behind him.  An array of large holes erupts in the wall.  Shelf splinters.  Cups shatter.  Water sprays.  Palette suffers a few flesh wounds. Top U....

Venus needs men. After the last one dies off it's decided to restock on fecundating males.   Assigned to this mission are Gamma and Beta, two curvaceous babes in swimsuit space suits.  They rocket off into outer space to fill the reproductive needs of Venusian women with ticking biological clocks. In case you're unaware women on Venus look just like women on Earth -- well, that is,if all terran females filled the requirements to win a Miss Universe contest.  But the main point is that Venusian women are completely similar to Earth humans, ergo, no compatibility problems with DNA and interlocking body parts. So with the right stock next door one would think they would go to Earth and grab what they need.  Instead Venus sends its rocketship to Mars and other worlds, rounding up four different bipedal bizarros. There's Taugul who looks like a radiation-deformed Kewpie doll, his brain swelling outside his skull.  Next is Uk, a fanged critter with one e...

(C) 2016 Ray X Yes, I'm still using steam engine technology, a VCR.  And until my budget situation changes I'm stuck with videotape for recording TV programs. But the VCR includes closed captioning which can be activated.  My hearing is a bit off. Instead of blasting the audio from cult movies, disturbing other renters around me, I hit CC and follow the story that way. But note it's hard to understand what is happening with the captioning is nothing but garbled nonsense.  "Godzilla is stomping Tokyo" becomes "gxR metyT ghhu." So I'm watching "Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle For Earth" (1992) and when I switch on CC it's the worse indecipherable crap I've ever seen.  For example check out this image from the movie: (To enlarge click on image.) Of course all the ads are OK, perfect captioning.  But I don't think a G-Fan with a hearing impairment wants to know about the latest douche product as opposed to following ...

An image from the first Fantastic Four movie, the never-released-to-the-public low budget 1994 version by Roger Corman.  Despite its great flaws it got the FF basics right.  And unlike the three that followed it, this movie is entertaining  (in its own way.) I won't waste time writing a disparaging review of the latest Fantastic Four movie (2005).  I wasted enough time watching it. Instead I want to focus on one controversy that erupted before the movie was released.  The FF are a superhero family even though only two of them are related by blood.  Susan Storm (Invisible Woman) and Johnny Storm (Human Torch) are brother and sister, blond-haired Caucasians. For the 2015 FF movie it was decided to make Johnny Storm black.  No problem there per se; in this new version Susan was adopted by Johnny's father. But why was this change made? Over the years I've heard many cynical stories about dumb decisions made by movie studio executives.  ...