The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)

The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)

The Sword and the Sorcerer (1982)

Day five of #Junesploitation was the hardest choice for me so far, Magic, a really broad subject that takes so much into it, so I chose to go for an evil nemesis magic user to narrow it down a bit.

I was going to go with Conan the Barbarian from the same year as this but one of the things I decided to do with this challenge is have a bit of fun and only watch films I’ve never watched before.

Now sort of wishing I’d gone with Conan, this is  another film where the script got the better of no one and the actors came from the apathetic school of acting.

Also trades description or what as it was so Sorcerer light that he may as well as not have been in it an it wouldn’t have made much difference to the plot.

Wooden acting, stilted fight scenes that sometimes went on for far too long, cardboard sets, and shoddy physical effects all gave this a really thrown together feel.

The story line outside of banished royalty feels so similar to Conan, especially the long, long introduction to Talon as an adult regaling us with all his exploits which sounded eerily similar to Conan’s that I’m sure they were writing a Conan film and couldn’t get the rights to the name so changed some of the plot points to cover it.

And the biggest weird part of the film for me is I thought Talon was the eldest heir to the throne and that Alana was his younger sister, eeew.

Overall another just perfect for my current streak in Junesploitation.


The Sword and the Sorcerer | April 30, 1982 (United States) 5.5
Summary:

Bamboo Gods and Iron Men (1973)

Bamboo Gods and Iron Men (1973)

Bamboo Gods and Iron Men (1973)

Day four of #Junesploitation and it’s Blaxploitation time with a little bit of martial arts and I love a good 70s martial arts film, this wasn’t a good 70s martial arts film…

The opening credits made me think I was in for a bit of treat, a funky soundtrack over a kung-fu montage is just the perfect opener, especially if it includes a bald bloke head butting a load of breeze blocks.

But unfortunately this was the high point of the whole film.

This really feels like it was jumping on the bandwagon of martial art films that were beginning to make a mark on Western cinema and especially Bruce Lee films and this had certain tropes that were similar to Enter the Dragon but my god could two films be so different!

Pace was way off with another terrible script where there was no real feel of where the film was going, the first third felt like a serious crime caper with a possible world threat, then it sort of descended into a bit of a farce, with a Clouseau type character as the police officer investigating the case in Manila.

The fight sequences and choreography were lacking so much.

So much, it was actually quite painful to watch the mugging of the actors as they were going through the paces and fumbling everything, again I’m comparing this to other films of the time which did it so well.

I think this was my least enjoyed of the four I’ve watched so far, made a bit worse by the obvious black-face right at the end with big grins.


Bamboo Gods and Iron Men | January 1974 (United States) 4.7
Summary:

Q: The Winged Serpent (1982)

Q: The Winged Serpent

Q: The Winged Serpent

Day three of #Junesploitation and today it had to be a film that had David Carradine in it, again I could have gone with a couple of the obvious ones including Death Race 2000, but went with this one instead as it had Richard Roundtree in it as well.

The winged terror over New York turns out to be Quetzalcōātl as imagined by Victorian palaeontologists stopping by Jim Henson for some advice, it was terrible rather than terrifying.

Carradine had a small and disjointed role in this and never seemed comfortable or in a flow until he was all dressed in black with a gun in his hand.

This really wasn’t helped by an awful script that was totally unsure of where it wanted to go and was so stilted it felt like a school production.

Richard Roundtree got to play an asshole cop with a massive attitude and a story arc that was appropriate for the role.

The end section with the beast was very reminiscent of the King Kong Empire State ending though with the viewer having very little sympathy for the beast.

Got to say that I’m enjoying this ‘challenge’ as it’s letting me watch films I would never have thought to put on without it, tonight’s film is going to be ‘Bamboo Gods and Iron Men’ blacksploitation and kung fu all in one package!


Q: The Winged Serpent | October 29, 1982 (United States) 6
Director: Larry CohenWriter: Larry CohenSummary:

Cockney vs Zombies (2012)

Cockney vs Zombies (2012)

Cockney vs Zombies (2012)

Film two of #Junesploitation and this wasn’t my first choice but I think Sean of the Dead would have been way too obvious.

Though this did have a similar scene to the pub scene and the guts being picked out of the belly of a character.

Loved the vulture right at the start, let you know the level of seriousness this was going to be taken at, though the title should have been enough.

Geezers, a heist, knees up, guns, and high-speed zimmer frame exploits, this had it all, even Chas and Dave.

It even had a few Carry On moments harking back to the time most of the older actors were making most of their work.

Full of Cockney stalwarts and British up and coming, I really hope everyone was having as much fun as they seemed to.

As would be expected with a film like this the effects weren’t top notch but were good enough to carry the film all the way through.

A laugh from start to end if you’re able to go into it looking for an hour and a half of fun as that’s all this was, a nice little escape.


Cockneys vs Zombies | August 2, 2013 (United States) 5.9
Director: Matthias HoeneSummary:

Watch Me When I Kill (1977)

Watch Me When I Kill (1977)

Watch Me When I Kill (1977)

This is my first watch in this year’s Junesploitation extravaganza!

A lot of face action going on in this twisty post-war Italian thriller, lot’s of close ups of actors emoting loudly toward the camera.

Pretty standard thriller with a couple of juicy red herrings to throw you off the trail.

Absolutely loved the taxi driver and main character shooting off in a taxi from the scene of a crime rather than staying and helping the police but then there wouldn’t have been much of a film if they hadn’t.

The Tango during the opening credits!

It wasn’t a straightforward film, especially with some of the subtitling, but it was an OK enough watch especially for a schlock film from the 70s, and those clothes brought back nightmares!

Couldn’t link the film to the title though, there was no ‘Peeping Tom’ vibe at all.

Showed Italy as a bit of a dump, all greys and muted tones, even the clothes were muted.

Another of those abrupt as hell endings which left a lot in the air really.

 


Watch Me When I Kill | September 3, 1982 (United States) 5.9
Director: Antonio BidoSummary:

Junesploitation! 2025

Fire and Ice, Darkwolf

Fire and Ice, Darkwolf

This is the first time I’ve heard of #Junesploitation, but this is one of the really good things about Bluesky, I’ve seen so many different things since not being beholden to the almighty algorithm.

This has been running for twelve years now, hosted by F This Movie! who give a daily prompt list of film genres to choose from and you watch a movie that is suggested to you by that prompt.

The #Junespolitation Primer is here (and I’ve added it below) with a long list of prompts, I’ll be adding my list of films below and linking to any little reviews I end up doing.

I’ve got a film in mind for tonight and will fill out the list as I can over the next couple of days.

June 6 – Giallo! – to watch at another time
June 7 – Kung Fu!
June 8 – Heists!
June 9 – Free Space!
June 10 – Jess Franco!
June 11 – ‘90s Action!
June 12 – Cartoons!
June 13 – Friday the 13th!
June 14 – Free Space!
June 15 – Revenge!
June 16 – ‘80s Comedy!
June 17 – Fulci!
June 18 – Rock and Roll!
June 19 – Free Space!
June 21 – Westerns!
June 22 – Teenagers!
June 23 – New World Pictures!
June 24 – Hong Kong Action!
June 26 – Eurosploitation! (Any European exploitation/sleaze)
June 27 – Free Space!
June 28 – Cannon!
June 29 – ‘80s Action!
June 30 – Italian Horror!
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