Santo vs Frankenstein’s Daughter (plus audio review)

Santo may not be for everyone, or maybe he’s an acquired taste, but more than likely if you didn’t watch his films as a kid, the attraction may never be there for you. Watching these movies now as an adult, it’s easy to pick them apart and laugh at the crazy plots and goofy sets, but there’s also a winning kind of sincerity to them and a willingness to throw everything into the the movie — not just the kitchen sink, but werewolves, vampires, the living dead, Frankenstein’s monster, you name it. Also, there are always one or two moments that can only happen in a Santo movie. Santo vs la hija de Frankenstein (Santo vs Frankenstein’s Daughter) has two such moments.

Why, Oh Why?

Every now and then, the mad  geniuses at the Motion Picture Academy drop a little bombshell of an announcement:

The 82nd Academy Awards to feature TEN nominees!

That’s AMPAS president Sid Ganis in the picture, looking all pleased with himself after making this riveting announcement.  Notice he’s backed by two posters exhorting the anniversary of what many believe to be the greatest year in American Cinema, 1939.  Perhaps Sid is under the impression that 2009 will be the next 1939.  Sid, dream on.

This.  Is.  So.  Wrong.

From the Trenches: Pin-Up Girl

While my avocation may be film, especially classic cinema offerings, my vocation is education. That doesn’t mean I have to renounce my sensibilities for popular culture rooted in a time before I was born just to effectively reach out to that posse of inner-city teens under my tutelage. True story: I actually once convinced a fetching young senior girl to adopt the following slogan for her campaign for Prom Queen: She’s Cool, She’s Keen, Vote Julia for Queen! And SHE WON! So there, hipsters, with your jive talkin’ ways.