Greetings loyal airmen.  I thought we'd talk about one of my favorite things this week, movies.   My father got me hooked on motion pictures when I was little guy not much older than six or seven.  He would drag me to the local movie house on Saturday afternoons to catch the matinees.  Thus I grew up loving movies; mostly all kinds of movies.  Oh, there are one or two movie genres I won't visit, but I'll talk about them at a later date when I'm feeling more self-reflective, ha.  For right now, let's talk about some movies that have entertained me mightily, old and new.

First up is a movie that debut just last year and this past week arrived in DVD form in stores everywhere.  It is called THE ILLUSIONIST and stars a truly wonderful Edward Norton as a stage magician named Eisenheim who has come to his home town of Vienna to perform.  Upon arriving, he discovers his long lost love is also there, played by the lovely Jessica Biel, and that she is soon to marry a cruel and sadistic prince, deliciously played by Rufus Sewell.  Once the lovers are reunited, it is clear they can never be together because the prince will not be content to simply allow his fiancee to leave him for a commoner.  No, he will most likely have them hunted down and assassinated.  All this Eisenheim learns from both the princess and a chief of police named Uhl, brilliantly acted by Paul Giamatti.  Uhl sympathizes with the magician, but is weak and afraid to go up against royalty.   In the end Eisenheim must devise the greatest illusion of his life, or else he and his beloved will be doomed.  But can even the greal Illusionist escape the clutches of the grim reaper?   THE ILLUSIONIST is a very moving, entertaining experience that is both romance and mystery in the best sense of both.  If you've already seen it, you know what I mean.  If you haven't, I would strongly suggest you do so.  You will not be dissappointed.

Next up more of what Santa brought your Air Chief over Christmas.    I was fortunate enough to get some extra spending funds and immediately logged on to my favorite DVD site on the net, Deep Discount DVD.  (I've a link to them on my links page.)  They sell thousands of movies, old and new, at the cheapest prices with absolutely not shipping and handling fees, ever.   So taking that bonus cash, I went and ordered a bunch of things I've had on my wish list for a long-long time.  Two days ago the mailman delivered my box of movies.   Inside was….

THE MALTESE FALCON 3 Disc-Special Edition.   One of the finest mystery classics of all time, with a superb cast that included Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet.  All of them directed by John Houston based on the novel by Dahiell Hammett.  Along with the film and a great documentary, this set also included two earlier versions of this same movie; the 1931 Maltese Falcon starring Ricardo Cortez as Sam Spade and the 1936 Satan Met A Lady, starring Warren Williams and a very young Bette Davis.  Truly..”…the stuff dreams are made of.”

THE GREEN ARCHER – From 1940 comes this 15 Chapter serial out of Columbia studios starring Victor Jory, Iris Meredith and James.  (Hits The Bull's-Eye For Thrill Lovers)  Serials were the cinematic versions of pulp adventures and I have a few dozen in my collection.

LUST FOR A VAMPIRE – 1970.  One of the last vampire movies produced by the popular British studio, Hammer.  Growing up in the 50's & 60's, I was a major fan of the Hammor horror movies and their wonderful reinterpretations of the old classic monsters ala the Wolfman, Frankenstein's Monster and of course, Dracula.  Towards the end of their operations their films, like this one, became a little more adult orirentated, adding a touch of eroticism to their brand of terror.

STAR TREK VI THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY – Clearly the second best Old Trek movie produced, after the WRATH OF KHAN, thanks in large part to the writing and directing skills of Nicolas Meyer.  There is something wild about a Kligon warrior, played to over-the-top perfection by Chirstopher Plummer, quoting Shakespear that is just too funny.  But at the same time, Meyer wisely addressed the age of this beloved cast and the fact that this will be their last mission together. And that they go out with so much dignity and class is what has endeared this particular movie to me.

SAMURAI  JACK – SEASON 3 – One of the most original action-adventure cartoons ever produced by an American stuido..ever!!!  And now I own all three amazing seasons.  Yahooo.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN : DEAD MAN'S CHEST – Okay, so it wasn't as good or funny as the first one, but then again Johnny Depp is back as the most ridiculously bad sea rover of all times, Captain Jack Sparrow.  I do like the fact that it was a cliff-hanger and will wrap up when #3 comes out later this year.
And actor Bill Nighy's octopus-head make-up as the legendary Davey Jones was just too plain freak!!

There you have it, airmen, my lastest stash of celluloid magic.   Now the real trick is going to be finding the time to watch half of them.   Ha.  Sincerely, since getting the new year kicked off, I've been up to my elbows in tons of great new pulp projects.  I'l be giving you a sneak-peek at one of them next week.  Till, then, have a great week.

Ron, over and out.