Tuesday, February 28, 2023

R.I.P. RICOU BROWNING...

While Ben Chapman roamed the land as the Gill-man, you bestowed him grace underwater. 

Your fluid movements toward Julie Adams' understudy, Ginger Stanley, were pure poetry, not to mention the nuanced pathos you conveyed toward the svelte, young lady. 

Your reprisals of the Gill-man in Revenge of the Creature and The Creature Walks Among Us were just as influential, making you a faithful, common denominator in one of the best trilogies ever rendered. 

You also co-wrote, co-created and co-produced the original Flipper movie and its sequel, Flipper's New Adventure, co-wrote Island Claws and performed aquatic orchestrations for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea '54, Sea Hunt, The Aquanauts and Weekie Wachee's The Spring of the Mermaids Show. Plus, to extend your already impressive resume, you directed the cult classic, Mr. No Legs (aka Gun Fighter), as well as the water and stunt sequences for Salty, Hello Down There, Thunderball, Never Say Never Again, Raise the TitanicAround the World Under the Sea, The Heavenly KidHot Stuff, Nobody's Perfekt; Police Academy 5; Opposing ForceCaddyshack and Island of the Lost.

Fans adored you, Mr. Browning, for you always gave them your utmost care and attention. That counts for a lot, which is why you'll be an everlasting star in their memories, whether at the convention floor or the deep, blue sea. 

Saturday, February 18, 2023

SUPERBABES #13: GARGANTA GORGEOUSNESS

AC's all-color Superbabes #13 stokes the libido with a new wave of Garganta gorgeousness. 

For the featured tall tale, Garganta is, quite obviously, the focus, with Ms. Victory and Roberta Strock entering aquatically and Nightveil and She-Cat guest starring. And to accompany the prime chapter, there's even an insightful glimpse into Garganta's towering past. Cool!

Creative contributors Bobby Ragland and Mark and Stephanie Heike ensure that this issue's content hits the spot with breathtaking artwork and sky-high storytelling. Yes, indeed, #13 surfaces as another winsome classic in Femforce's continuing, sexy saga. 

Buy the latest Superbabes at your preferred, online source or favorite comic-book shop. (I acquired mine at Steve's Comic Relief on Quakerbridge Road, Village Commons, Lawrenceville, NJ: a satisfying spot for every superheroic need.) 

And don't forget: Superbabes #14 is close at hand. From its Black Phantom/Synn/She-Cat cover, it looks like a real, 4D enchanter!

GOODBYE, STELLA STEVENS...

You were one of the most engaging women ever to bless film: a pin-up thespian who more than held her own with the incontestable best. 

   

As such, your presence made a slew of imaginative movies even better: The Nutty Professor '63; The Poseidon Adventure '72;  The Silencers; The Ballad of Cable Hogue; A Town Called Bastard (aka A Town Called Hell); Wanted: The Sun Dance Woman; Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows; The Terror Within II; Wonder Woman '75; Slaughter; Arnold; The Day the Earth Moved; Li'l Abner '59; Girls! Girls! Girls!; Kill Me, Kill Me; How to Save a Marriage and Ruin Your Life; Nickelodeon; The Courtship of Eddie's Father '63; Advance to the Rear; Point of Seduction: Body Chemistry III; Bikini Hotel; Invisible Mom; Blessed; Pop Star; Megaconda; Hell to Pay; Murder in Peyton Place; The Nutt House; Last Call; Exiled in America; Man Against the Mob; The Secret of My Success; So! Madrid; Stand Up and Be Counted; Wacko; No Man's Land; Synanon; Amazons; Cleopatra Jones and the City of Gold; and Las Vegas Lady

On television, you were also fruitful, lending your charms to Highway to Heaven; Bonanza; The Oregon Trail; Frontier Circus; Magnum P.I.; Banacek; Father Dowling Mysteries; Ben Casey; Alfred Hitchcock Presents; Ghost Story; Hawaiian Eye; The Love Boat; Fantasy Island; Flamingo Road; Santa Barbara; Hotel; Newhart; Night Court and more. 

Your inimitable mark will never fade, and your legacy will never be denied. You were one of the unforgettable greats, Ms. Stevens: an inspiration for audiences who made you an important part of their lives--not to mention those yet destined to do so. 

An Alternate Reality/Time Travel Time: I saw Quantumania (Ant-Man 3)...

 

Big-screen, MCU Multiverse fun has resumed in the inner-dimensional (Phase 5) Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania

The movie holds its own with previous submissions that have (co)featured Ant-Man (ersatz Giant-Man, when the need calls) and The Wasp, Paul Rudd's Scott Lang and Evangeline Lilly's Hope van Dyne. That means this chapter isn't afraid to fly when it comes to double-whammy humility and twofold determination. 

Directed by Peyton Reid, who ensured the affability of the prior Ant-Man movies, and written by Jeff (Rick and Morty) Loveness, this new outing teams our heroic couple with Kathryn Newton's Cassie, aka Stinger, their conscientious daughter, in a quandary that keeps the deceiving, time-tripping, Kang the Conqueror, Loki's eloquent Jonathan (Creed III) Majors, at the chaotic core, as he seeks to shackle every speck of space (and all related, tributary realities) to eradicate all versions of those who banished him.  

Michael Douglas' Ant-Man Sr., Hank Pym, and Michelle Pfeiffer's Wasp Sr., Janet van Dyne, dominate the throwback gaps (with Janet being most significant, since she knows the Quantum Realm so well). The devoted couple establishes a nice, congruent buzz for our wee, dynamic trio, but so does Corey Stoll's big-headed MODOK (the villain formerly known as Darren Cross/Yellowjacket); Bill Murray's duplicitous Lord Krylar; William Jackson Harper's brow-beaming telepath, Quaz; Katy O'Brien's jaded warrioress, Jentorra; and David Dastmalchian's gooey guide, Veb, who's aligned with other diverse and uncanny, Quantum people.

The fantastic voyage (get it?) zips with zealous zest, staying big even in its small parts, thanks to Reid's deft direction and Loveness' omniscient script, and like the earlier, Ant-Man movies, this one remains a concealed, heist picture, for Kang forces Lang to attain a coveted device to cement his contemptuous conquest.    

 

Despite its galactic grandeur (kaleidoscopic and often garish in a Tron-ish sorta way), Quantumania's twisting vibe never once depletes its wonderment, though it's a tad different this time, giving Lang more serious (i.e. parental) reins to grip. 

The notion of turning tiny to trek into a folded niche holds enormous appeal, enough to justify further exploration in another sequestered sector, beyond the obvious, upcoming Avengers romp, The Kang Dynasty

And if we're traveling that route, wouldn't it be nice if the movie's microscopic five met Scott Carey's The Incredible Shrinking Man down the line? It shouldn't be too hard to arrange. The Hulk is Universal-based and Spider-man, Sony/Tristar-sprung, both mingling with other MCU icons (like Paramount's Captain America, Iron Man and Thor), all under the Disney banner (skewed though the brand may be these polarizing days). On this basis, inserting Universal's '50s science-fiction mythology into the saga would click without a hitch, and while the going is good, hire Richard Christian Matheson to develop the story. Now, that could birth the most exciting, inner-space, generational crossover (for)ever conceived!  

Wednesday, February 15, 2023

FAREWELL, RAQUEL WELCH...

You were an icon among icons, a beauty beyond compare who stoked fantasy upon fantasy, in film after film, but humble enough to help the gracious Bob Hope entertain our boys. 

Your cameos in House Without a Home and Elvis Presley's Roustabout propelled your phenomenal rise, and from there an auspicious queue grew: Hammer's 1966 One Million Years B.C.; Fantastic Voyage; Fathom; Bedazzled; The Oldest Profession; The Legend of Walks Far Woman; Hannie Caulder; Bandolero!; 100 Rifles; Fuzz; Mother, Jugs and Speed; Lady in Cement; A Swingin Summer; Sex Quartet; The Magic Christian; Kansas City Bomber; Bluebeard '72; The Last of Sheila; The Three Musketeers '73; The Fourth Musketeer; The Prince and the Pauper '76; Myra Breckinridge; Animal; Naked Gun 33 1/2; The Wild Party; How to be a Latin Lover; Right to Die; Chairman of the Board; Forget About It; The Biggest Bundle of Them All; Get Bruce; Tortilla Soup; Legally Blonde; Raquel!; Really, Raquel; From Raquel, With Love; and Raquel Total Fitness, not to mention guest-starring stints on Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; The Virginian; Bewitched; McHale's Navy; Seinfeld; Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In; American Family; Central Park West; 8 Simple Rules; Spin City; Happily Ever After; Wendy and Me; Date My Dad; The Cher Show; The Baileys of Balboa; Saturday Night Live; Welcome to the Captain; CSI: Miami; The Muppet Show; and Mork & Mindy.

An impressive resume to say the least, Ms. Welch, but it's breadth isn't surprising, for you were an impressive actress with an impressive persona, a legend of good cause, a queen configured for everlasting reign.