The Raven

Instead of trying to adapt Poe's poem, Roger Corman's The Raven is primarily about a trio of squabbling magicians played by Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff. Much like in Tales of Terror, Price and Lorre have great comedic chemistry together. While Karloff is mostly there to lend gravitas to the picture. Hazel Court is lovely as the devious Lenore and a young Jack Nicholson plays Lorre's son Rexford. Despite indulging in many of the same tricks and tropes, The Raven is much more of a straightforward comedy than any of Roger Corman's prior Poe pictures. There are plenty of jokes throughout the movie but the climactic magician's duel at the end of the film goes for broke with big, Looney Tunes energy.

Rating: 62%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Leprechaun 3

Leprechaun 3 opens with a desperate man selling a Leprechaun statue to a pawn shop in Las Vegas. The seller warns the shop owner not to remove a magical medallion from around the Leprechaun's neck. So, naturally, within moments of the seller leaving the pawn shop, the owner removes the medallion, which revives the Leprechaun and kicks off a killing spree. Once again, there is no real continuity between Leprechaun 3 and its predecessors. In this installment, the Leprechaun's weakness is his own gold. Destroy the Leprechaun's gold and you destroy the Leprechaun himself. Leprechaun 3 is, not surprisingly, very cheap looking. There are really only three locations in the movie and all of the shots of the Las Vegas strip were apparently filmed without permits. Leprechaun 3 tries pretty hard to be funny at times, fairly unsuccessfully. Unless, of course, you're really into shitty limericks.

Rating: 57%

(Image from Wikipedia)

The Talons of Weng-Chiang

There's a lot of good stuff in The Talons of Weng-Chiang but it's a hard serial to recommend because it's awfully racist. The bulk of the story centers around a Chinese stage magician, played by a white actor in yellowface, who's been kidnapping women off the streets of Victorian London for the benefit of his master, a war criminal from the future. The serial is steeped in Yellow Peril stereotypes and all of the white characters are comfortably racist towards the Chinese characters. The serial likely could have aged better if the Doctor had been shown to be more enlightened in his attitude towards the Chinese characters but the Doctor really isn't put out by any of the racism and he even playfully stokes the prejudice of some of the characters. The story is probably so well regarded by fans because some of the characters are incredibly well written and performed. The bloviating theatre owner, Henry Gordon Jago, is a particular highlight. And the scenes between Leela and Professor Litefoot, riffing on Pygmalion, are iconic.

Rating: Nothing complimentary%

Terror Train

Three years after an initiation prank went too far, some fraternity brothers decide to throw a New Year's Eve party on a train. Because, according to movies, this was something that people did. What they don't know is that they're not alone. Of course, they were never actually going to be alone alone on the train. It's not like these kids were going to conductor school, they're pre-med students. What I mean to say is that someone has crashed their party. Someone who just might have something to do with the prank that I mentioned earlier. Released the same year as Friday the 13th and Prom Night, Terror Train is part of the first wave of post-Halloween slashers. Setting the action on a moving train gives the film a claustrophobic tone. And even though the movie isn't shot or scripted well enough to be a proper whodunnit, Terror Train is still a must-see for fans of classic slashers.

Rating: 67%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Hip Hop Magician

I just saw a commercial for the Hip Hop Magician during the Chappelle Show. At first I thought it was a sketch and then realized that no, it seeemed to be a REAL commercial for an ACTUAL Hip Hop Magaician. To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure, but god do I hope it is real. The commercial tells me it's the perfect thing for my kid's birthday party. Fuck that--I don't have kids, but I do have a law school graduation coming up. Someone please get the Hip Hop Magician for my party?

Rating: hellyes%



Bonus picture of the Hip Hop Magician apparently entertaining for Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons. I guess he really is who celebrities call for their kid's party.