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Truly one of the worst movies I've ever seen but that doesn't mean it has no redeeming value. I love how Patrick Roskowick's character is a totally over the top out of control ADHD brat who swears like a drunken sailor all the time. In other words, a typical American teenage boy. The kid is feisty, obnoxious and self absorbed but you know that deep down he has a heart of gold. (Just kidding!) When "Ivan" (the terrible) dons his special Aztec (or is it Mayan?) ceremonial sacrifice costume he changes his attitude.

The gore and blood spatter are ridiculously over the top and the "special effects" are as good as in any 1960s 8mm home movie shot with Dad's Kodak by a nerdy teenage boy in the AudioVisual club at school. In other words: Bad! But who cares?

I read an online review that said: "The child actor in this movie gave the all time worst performance by any child actor in history." Clearly the person who wrote that knows nothing about really bad child acting! Patrick's "Ivan" was the Sir Laurence Olivier of child acting compared to some bad child actors I've seen (yes, I'm looking at you, Jake Lloyd!) All in all, The Laughing Dead is a movie I would have never even remotely considered watching but gave it a chance. This movie actually has a few laughs in it. It really does try to be a horror/comedy. Sometimes it's funny when it didn't mean to be but that's beside the point. So, it's bad, but not all bad. As predicted, this was Patrick Roskowick's one and only movie. Too bad. I wanted to see him in The Laughing Dead 2 - Ivan's Revenge.

This is a great Film Noir crime thriller with the most fantastic cast: Mickey Rooney, Steve Cochran, Mamie Van Doren, Mel Tormé, Ray Danton, Jim Backus, Jackie Coogan, Charles Chaplin Jr., Maila (Vampira!) Nurmi, Jay North, Leo Gordon and Don 'Red' Barry.

(The real old time-movie fans will recognize all these names.)

This is a little known, obscure, film noir crime story from the tail end of the 1950s, loosely based on Jimmy Hoffa. Mickey Rooney does a totally believable job chewing up the scenery as a ruthless, corrupt union boss.

Jay North, just months away from starting his run as Dennis The Menace on TV, gives a very believable performance as a typical suburban little boy who gets kidnapped and held ransom by the criminals out to control the unions. I was so surprised at how good Jay was at a dramatic role, yet he still infuses it with his natural good natured joyfulness that makes him so lovable. This kid is far tougher and more resilient than we ever knew before! *(Note that Jay has his natural brown hair color in this.) If you like old black and white crime noir 'B' movies, this is a great one! Great music too. I give it a 9 out of 10 stars.

See the boy with the one eye of his glasses blacked out standing next to John Megna? That's Tommy Norden, better known as Bud on Flipper and ironically this Naked City episode also has Luke Halpin who played Sandy on Flipper. It's not really such a coincidence as all three boys, John, Luke and Tommy are native New Yorkers, born and raised in the City and all appeared in several New York City film and stage productions. Luke appeared on Broadway in Peter Pan. All three were tough New York kids. The next time you watch Flipper pay close attention and you can clearly hear Tommy's very pronounced New York accent.

I've watched this movie and I do not believe that the boy tied up in the photos is Johnny. Also I feel that there almost certainly has to be a connection with the two missing paperboys from the same area. The pattern of similarities in the cases is too compelling. Any FBI profiler would tell you that. Clearly (in my opinion) as with many small towns and small cities the local law enforcement was incompetent and not very interested in solving Johnny's case. One last thing: I am highly suspicious of Johnny's Mother. I do not believe her when she says she met her son at her front door in the 1990s when he was 27. Her story does not ring true. In any case I don't believe this case will ever be solved. Of course the same was said of the Etan Patz case but eventually, decades later, it was solved.

The great thing about Ronnie Howard's performance in Cry Uncle was that he did not have to be funny. He did not have to be "on" all the time, like he was in the Andy Griffith show. He could let his natural, normal self show in a casual, relaxed way and we even got to see a bit of a bad boy side to his character. It made him much more interesting I felt, than the one dimensional Opie Taylor.

The other boy (Donald Losby) clearly has anger and trust issues and needs help. I thought Losby was completely believable. The ending was a let down...not a "happy ending". But that's how real life would often be, unfortunately.

I felt this is a very good and well made movie that focuses on and revolves around the life of a 12 year old Cuban boy who in the movie is known as "the boy". This movie reminds me a lot of Two Bits, starring Al Pacino and Jerry Barone as the grandfather and his grandson. This has that same type of poignant, nostalgic affection for the mysteries of childhood, all framed around a story of a boy coming of age in a Cuba right on the cusp of losing it's traditional old ways and becoming a revolutionary state. Politics are incidental, this is a story of a boy who is obsessed with movies and is discovering love (for an adult woman).

It's a sweet, artfully filmed and directed movie starring Andhy Méndez, who was actually born in Havana, Cuba but immigrated to Miami when he was 5 years old. He then began his career as an actor and a model when he co-starred in the Mexican made telenovela Morelia (which was shot in Miami). Andhy still acts today and has been in many TV series and movies.

Dondi is a special film to me because it is one of..if not THE, worst movies ever made. It is often included in the 50 Worst Movies of All Time lists. The writing, directing, producing, acting all combine to make it a bad movie but what makes it the worst movie is the fact that little David Kory couldn't act his way out of a wet paper bag. I have long believed that David is without doubt the all time worst child actor I have ever seen, and I've seen some really bad ones (..I'm looking at YOU Jake Lloyd!) The fact that David was only 7 is no excuse. I've seen lots of 7 year old child actors who were great actors, very convincing and believable. So his age has nothing to do with it. He just could not act. Of course the script they gave him was beyond terrible. But I must say that this is one of those rare 'so-awful-it's-good' kind of movies that once every few years I summon up the courage to rewatch it just for the masochistic rush of a syrupy sweet high. It's a good thing little David is cute otherwise he'd have nothing going for him. (I have heard a rumor he is the nephew of Patti Page, one of the stars. That would explain how he got the job.) This movie got such terrible reviews when it came out (even children hated it) that David decided to retire from acting at age 9. He did act one last time on an episode of a TV series.

I will say though that I did enjoy the veteran character actors Arnold Stang and Robert Strauss. They made the most of what they had to work with. And David Janssen was at his peak of popularity when he made this. Also, I remembered the Dondi comic strip in the newspaper when I was growing up. So all in all, as moviemaking goes, a terrible movie but maybe worth watching once for nostalgic purposes.

The Killer of Dolls (1975) - original title: El asesino de muñecas, is one of the all time most bizarre movies I've ever seen! It seems to have elements of the Italian Giallo genre but with a very Spanish twist (it was made during Franco's regime.) Basically it's a study in abnormal psychology.

I found it so over the top bizarre and strange that although I'm sure it was intended to be a serious horror film it at times is so outrageously bizarre that it is absurdly humorous. And I see that as a good thing! It's a very, very weird move that does not always go where you expect it to go and may shock some viewers. They could never get away with making this movie today! The 1970s were even more weird than the psychedelic late 1960s.

One of the themes of this movie is the odd "friendship" between the protagonist Paul (...you know...the guy who likes to dress up as a doll and works in a doll factory then steals the dolls to dissect and 'kill' them...) and a neighborhood boy of around 9 named Robert (played by Rafael 'Indio' González Jr.) Paul bonds with the chubby looking boy Robert who comes to the park daily with his Grandfather. Robert enjoys smashing dolls and setting things on fire. Paul connects with the bratty kid's anarchy and rage.

There seems to be a strange undercurrent of homoerotic lust in Paul for Robert (and Robert is blissfully unaware of anything...always so cheerful, naive and guileless.) But this is not your ordinary horror movie...don't expect a happy ending. In fact it left me wondering...whatever became of Robert? Strange, weird, bizzare, absurdly over the top, sometimes disturbing movie. Keep an open mind and just go with it. If you hate weird movies you won't like it. But I liked it because it is indeed so beyond weird that it is entertaining.

A behind the scenes look at the life and comedy of Gilbert Gottfried. My impression: Gilbert is a comedic genius who is often misunderstood, misinterpreted. In real life he is a sweet, kind caring guy, a real family man with two kids and a good marriage. He gets himself into trouble (and sometimes fired) because he has no filter, he just goes right ahead and says what we all are thinking in the deep recesses of our minds, and he makes it sound hilarious....but often not "politically correct". So he gets into trouble and then he regrets it. But he's actually a brilliant comedian and, little know fact...one of the greatest impressionists in all of show business. I've actually never seen a better impressionist than Gilbert. Who else does an impression of character actor John McGiver?! It was surreal and hilarious when he went into his McGiver impression for a baby! Unfortunately he doesn't do impressions very much any more. Great documentary. I highly recommend it!