Movies And Their Sequels - Sometimes Good, Mostly Not !

I noticed an advertisement on one of the television stations that they would be showing another Halloween movie this weekend. I'm thinking; a) It's a re-run with commercials and b) At what point in time during the first 57 Halloween movies does one finally figure out that Jason kills everyone and doesn't ever die?

When a movie does well at the box office, a sequel is a natural next step and I don't have any problems with that premise. I do, however, have a problem with producers who make a two hour sequel that is basically inane, illiterate garbage and passing it off to the public just to make money.

Movies like Halloween, A Nightmare On Elm Street (which spawned the Freddy sequels) and even Rocky are mentally digestible once. The sequels were predictable garbage and even teenagers must have gotten the hint that, like the Energizer Bunny, they just keep going and going and going.

One of the biggest sequel letdowns was "The Exorcist II" which capitalized on the enormous success and raves of the original movie, "The Exorcist." The sequel was so bad that moviegoers who attended the 8:00 pm showing stayed to warn the 10:00 pm crowd to save their money.

In contrast, "The Godfather", perhaps one of the best movies of all time, was followed by "The Godfather II" which was equally as good and successfully continued the "Godfather" saga. Regrettably, The Godfather III", although watchable, was a letdown and ended the Godfather movie trilogy.

I must say that two movies that stuck in my memory as a youngster were in 3-D and if you never saw "The Creature From The Black Lagoon" or "The Blob," you missed two great thrillers. Three dimension was quite the rage in those days and it was unreal to see things come out of the screen right in your face. It's a shame they really don't make many more three dimension movies.

I always enjoyed Bob Hope, Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour in all of the "Road" pictures. Each picture was memorable and entertaining and were always box office hits. I also enjoyed all the Marx Brothers movies and some of the comedy in those classics still live on today.

Ultimately, for me the greatest picture ever made was "Gone With The Wind." The Margaret Mitchell book comes alive on the silver screen and the melodramatic movie is still being shown on television today. Of course you may disagree that "Gone with The Wind" was not the best movie ever made and you have every right to do so. But, "frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn!"

My ex-wivese don't suffer from stress, but they are carriers.

This Date In History: 1630: John Winthrop, the newly selected governor of the Massachusetts Bay Company, lands at Salem; he will lead the colony for the next two decades. 1667; During the Anglo-Dutch Wars, a Dutch fleet attacks the Royal Navy base at Chatham, on the Medway, capturing the Royal Charles, the English “flagship”.

1667; The world's first successful blood transfusion is carried out by Jean-Baptiste Denys, personal physician to Louis XIV, when he transfers sheep's blood into a 15-year-old boy. 1683; The Rye House Plot to assassinate Charles II is discovered.

1964; Nelson Mandela, along with other members of the African National Congress, is sentenced to life imprisonment for sabotage, treason, and conspiracy in South Africa.

Picture Of The Day: Movies are today's subject, but I'm having such fun with my pictures of CNN's James Carville (L) and Roland Martin (R), I thought I'd throw 'em at you again. In fact, these two would fit into any Jason or Freddy movies as they're both physically and politically scary. Carville looks like the illegitimate son of that creepy kid that played the Banjo in "Deliverance."

Birthdays: Charles Kingsley, clergyman and novelist 1819, E. V. Lucas, writer, essayist, and biographer 1868, Anthony Eden, British prime minister 1897, George H. W. Bush, American president 1924, Anne Frank, German victim of anti-Semitism, who wrote a diary describing her childhood in hiding from Nazi persecution in Amsterdam, the Netherlands 1929.

Printable Things I Never Told You: 1) I always yield to temptation, because it may not pass my way again. 2) One of the games that I look forward to playing in my retirement years is "Hide And Go Pee." 3) Although I like to think I'm a ladies' man, Brother Kirt is the only man I've ever watched propose marriage after having met a woman only hours earlier. Although I saw it happen many times, his salvation was always the morning after hangover which realigns one's thoughts and intentions. 4) Today's date rings a strange bell and I hope I'm not forgetting one of my lady friend's birthdays. Author's note: As soon as I finished typing the previous sentence, I realized that today's date is the anniversary of my second marriage. Brrrrr! 5) I have a memory like a steel trap - Rusty and illegal in 37 states.

The Hits Just Keep On Coming:

A guy walks into a bar with a dog under his arm, puts the dog on the bar and announces that the dog can talk and that he has $100 he's willing to bet anyone who says he can't. The bartender quickly takes the bet and the owner looks at the dog and asks, "What's the thing on top of this building which keeps the rain from coming inside?" The dog answers "ROOF."

The bartender says, "Who are you kidding? I'm not paying." The dogs owner says, "How about double or nothing and I'll ask him something else". The bartender agrees and the owner turns to the dog and asks, "Who was the greatest ballplayer of all time". The dog answers with a muffled "RUTH."

With that the bartender picks them both up and throws them out the door. As they bounce on the sidewalk the dog looks at his owner and says "Do you think I shudda said DiMaggio?".

Once upon a time, a man appeared in a village and announced to the villagers that he would buy monkeys for $10 each. The villagers, knowing there were many monkeys, went to the forest and started catching them. The man bought thousands at $10 each and, as supply started to diminish, the villagers stopped their effort.

Then, the man announced that he would buy monkeys at $20 each. This renewed the villagers efforts and they started catching monkeys again. Soon, the supply diminished and people started going back to their farms.

The offer increased to $25 each and the supply of monkeys became so scarce it was an effort to even find a monkey, let alone catch it! The man now announced that he would buy monkeys at $50 each! However, since he had to go to the big city on some business, his assistant would buy on his behalf.

The assistant told the villagers, "Look at all these monkeys in the big cage that my boss has already collected. I will sell them to you at $35 and when my boss returns, you can sell them to him for $50." The villagers rounded up all their savings and bought all the monkeys for 700 billion dollars. They never saw the man or his assistant again, only lots and lots of monkeys!

Now you have a better understanding of how Obama's Bailout Plan works!

There are very few personal problems that cannot be solved through a suitable application of high explosives.

That's it for today my little popcorn munchers. Friday's here and AREA 51 beckons, so I'll be going early so I can watch the cartoons. Have a great weekend and more on Monday.

Stay Tuned !