ralphv2

If you're looking for an excellent weird WW2 film with high production values, an enthralling script straight from the pulpish pages of Startling Science Fiction Magazine, and stellar performances, this would not fit the bill. But on a lackluster Saturday afternoon with just the television and the dog to keep you company? Yeah, this would help the time pass by. And that's all it is, really, a time eraser, easily switched off with no regrets if something else comes up, or the dog has something interesting to say. Basically, it's standard SyFy Channel fare, entertainment that will pass through your life without leaving a ripple behind, not pretentious in any way, something to fill the empty hours. It is hardly the worst thing I have seen on SyFy, and certainly better than many films I've seen on the big screen that were presented with a seriousness bordering on ludicrous. The film is not good enough to seek out, not bad enough to avoid, worth neither my praise nor my angst.

Can't get the theme song out of my mind! The monster in the lake was pretty good, probably took up most of the budget, and if it had been featured more, say wreaking havoc among the two ice age tribes and having an apocalyptic fight with the toothy hero amid exploding volcanoes, hurtling moons and collapsing ice cliffs, it would have been a decent club-and-sandal flick. But it got killed after just a few minutes, spear thrown through the eye from almost the next county...ouch! The other monsters would have seemed more lame had it not been for the human actors...made even paper mache look good.

But it's set in the Ice Age, which makes it pretty unique for these types of movies, so a little more interesting than it would have been otherwise. It would make a nice Friday night double feature with "Goliath and the Dragon" if you had some pizza and beer.

SHADOW OF CHINATOWN is hardly the zenith of serials, but time has lent it a certain amount of charm as a period piece, showing a romanticized vision of a 1930s city and Chinatown, both of which would have been equally exotic to most of the serial's viewers at the time. It possesses a certain wisecracking humour, especially from Lugosi's henchman, lacking in all the later serials. The cast rise above the material, and some of the portrayals verge upon endearing; Lugosi is always a pleasure to watch, and you get a glimpse of his acting ability, his adeptness with nuances and subtleties, even when dealing with one-dimensional characters with over-the-top declarations. Say what you want about this serial, but it's on my view-annually list.