Greetings loyal airman.  Looks like I'm going to be a few minutes later posting this week.  Was a very hectic morning for your old Air Chief.  I had an early dentist appointment.  Simply a regular cleaning, but you have to know you can never get out of a dentist's office so easy.  Nope, amidst all the plaque scraping and whatever, my dentist discovered two old fillings that need replacing.  Oh joy, oh joy.  Schedule another visit at this fun emporium.  Sorry, gang, but I am too old to think of dentist offices as anything but a torture chamber.  Call it a generational thing, but that's how I'm wired.

Meanwhile, as I sat in that chair, my feet pointing to ceiling and my mouth full of someone else's hands, one of the receptionist entered the room and said I'd just gotten a call from home to stop at my mother's house after leaving.  Of course I immediately knew 83 year old Mom was going to be sending me off other errands.  By the time I finally left the dentist, ran Mom's errands, and a few of our own, it was past 11 AM and I still hadn't had anything to eat all morning.  Came home to find Val had made one of my favorites, chili, and I didn't waste any time having an early lunch.  Now noon is only ten minutes away and I here I jot this week's Flight Log.  This one is about how some movies are very much like a good wine and the last book by a true great pulp writer.

Way back in 1987, Tri-Star pictures released a wonderful little horror gem called THE MONSTER SQUAD.  It was co-written by Fred Dekker and Shane Black, directed by Dekker.  Dekker had been a long time fan of the classic horror-comedy, ABBOT & COSTELLO MEET FRANKENSTEIN, the Universal black and white movie wherein that classic comedy duo meet all the three top horror monsters, Frankenstein, Dracula and the Wolfman.  Dekker's idea was what would happen if the same monsters were to meet up with a group of kids much like the old LITTLE RASCALS gang.   And thus was THE MONSTER SQUAD born, made and released, Dekker even threw in the Mummy and the Creature From the Black Lagoon for good measure.  Sadly what Dekker didn't take into account was  the studio wouldn't know how to market the finished movie.  Sure enough, upon seeing the trailers (previews) with all those scary monsters, parents opted to keep their children away from this movie.  Couldn't have the little ones having nightmares now, could we?  And so Dekker's briliiant, funny film came and went and was relegated to the video afterlife.

And that's where things started to take a turn for the better.  You see, once released on video tape, sales did well as now parents could actually view the movie before their kids.  Once they realized it was pretty much harmless fun, the kids got to see it.  As for those of us who never saw the tape, well, God bless cable TV because, good or bad, that's where all movies do end up.  Which is where I first saw THE MONSTER SQUAD and I remember liking it a whole lot.  I love the story about how the classic monsters invade a small town in the USA and the only ones who are aware of their presence is a group of imaginative, fun loving kids.  It is up to them to battle the monsters and save the day.  I also liked that the classic monsters were extremely well respected in this outing and it was clear to see in every scene that Dekker and his crew truly wanted to make something special.
And they did.  It just took us a little longer to find it.

And find it we did, all us lovers of wonky, monster movies.  Twenty years rolled by and an entire generation of tykes grew up loving this long forgotten movie.  Of course Dekker, his crew and his cast had absolutely no idea what a cult following their efforts had garnered.  Then a few years ago Dekker was called by people putting on a monster convention and asked if he and some of the cast might like to be guests.  He and a few of the actors accepted believing they would show up, meet a few dozen fans and that would be it.  What they found instead was a long – long line of devoted, fanatical people who had grown up loving their movie!  Suddenly, after twenty years, THE MONSTER SQUAD was a hit!  Honestly, and its popularity continues to swell.  After that first convention, Dekker and company attended several others, each one bigger and better.  Finally two weeks ago, Liongates Film released a 2 Disc- Anniversary DVD of the film.  It sold out everywhere, from the shelves of the big chain stores like Best Buy, Circuit City and Wal-Mart, to all the on-line DVD sellers.  Deep Discount for two weeks ranked it as its number one seller, and within the first few days of its release had sold out their stock and was hurriedly doing re-orders.  I'm imagining right now someone at Lionsgate is both stunned and delirously happy.  They have a classic on their hands.

Perhaps the most popular sleeper movie of all time was Frank Capra's IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE.  To an refutable part of the Christmas season, the movie actual was a flop when it was released in 1946.  A complete dud at the box office.  But once it landed on TV many years later, it would build and find a receptive audience that understood what the movie goers had missed.  Very much like THE MONSTER SQUAD today.  Ergo, my thoughts on how a really good wine is one that sits in a cellar for decades before it is opened.  The aging process being a vital part of the ultimate taste experience.  So too certain movie masterpieces that somehow slip by as at the movie hall, only to ferment on the cable channel for years on end until we, the jaded audience, are ready to come around appreciate their delight.  Bravo Fred Dekker and MONSTER SQUAD FOREVER!!

                                
Finally, as most of you know my second web home is my Pulp Fiction Review column.  See the link above this entry.  I love doing these reviews and am pleased to tell you I have a very loyal core of readers.  Recently among the latest batch of books to arrive at the old Hangar 27 was the very last mystery thriller by the late Mickey Spillane, DEAD CITY.  Spillane, who died last year, was one of the finest American writers to ever spin a tale.  This final book, produced after his death by his protege, mystery writer Max Alan Collins, is a steerling effort by a master who was at the top of his game to the end.  For my full review, clink on to the lin above.

And that, loyal airmen, wraps up another week.  Thanks as ever for stopping by,
Ron – Over and out.