Noir Watch: Desperate (1947)

Watched:  09/19/2018
Format:  Noir Alley on TCM via DVR
Viewing:  Second
Decade:  1940s

PODCAST! A SIGNAL WATCH HALLOWEEN! "Psychomania" (1973) w/ SimonUK and Ryan

Watched:  07/21/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1970s

Watch ALL of Psychomania!

A Signal Watch Halloween BEGINS!

 SimonUK brings Ryan a spooooky film of his youth. The Easy Rider scene reaches the British suburbs as a crew of hooligans cause mischief, dabble in the occult and plan for world domination by generally making a nuisance of themselves. Frogs, the undead, shallow graves, lousy hippie music, motorbikes and locked rooms converge in a film that dares to ask: are you really going to watch all of this?




Music:
Bride of Frankenstein Theme by Franz Waxman
Psychomania Theme by John Cameron
Riding Free from Psychomania
Swan Lake - Act 2: No. 10 Scene - Tchaikovsky


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Super Reading: Superman #3 (2018)

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The Unity Saga: Part 3

Script:  Brian Michael Bendis
Pencils:  Ivan Reis
Inks:  Joe Prado & Oclair Albert (pp 12 - 13, 16-18)
Colors:  Alex Sinclair
Letters:  Josh Reed
Cover:  Reis, Prado, Sinclair
Associate Editor:  Jessica Chen
Editor:  Michael Cotton
Group Editor:  Brian Cunningham

ANNOUNCEMENT! PODCAST SERIES! A Signal Watch Halloween 2018!

Coming Soon (like, this week) - The Signal Watch will begin a series of PodCasts for the Halloween Season!

Here's our 90 second promo!

     

I'm assuming some of these movies will be unfamiliar to viewers - they were to me.  But we hope you can find them and watch along with us!

In the can:

• Psychomania!
• Late Phases and Dog Soldiers
• Horror Express and Death Line
• Isolation
• Ghostbusters (1984)

and more to come!

Music by Franz Waxman from The Bride of Frankenstein

Happy Birthday, Cassandra Peterson

Happy Birthday to Cassandra Peterson - our own Elvira, Mistress of the Dark!

These days, whether it's in full Elvira get-up or in her red-headed civvies, Ms. Peterson is doing great and seems like she's managed to make a career out of just being herself.  That ain't half-bad! 

Here's to our Queen of Halloween - whose birthday should really be considered the start of the Halloween season.

PODCAST! A Burt Reynolds Tribute via "Hooper" (1978) w/ SimonUK and Ryan

Watched:  09/15/2018
Format:  BluRay
Viewing: First
Decade:  1970s


In honor of Burt Reynolds, who passed September 6, 2018, SimonUK and Ryan watch "Hooper", a 1978 Hal Needham directed action comedy about the life of a Hollywood stuntman. And Ryan learns... Simon knows *a lot* about Burt Reynolds.


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LOIS NEWS: We Have a New Lois Lane! (CW Superhero Shows News)

If you hang around these here parts, you know we're fans of the character Lois Lane in all her forms, be it comics, television, movies, what-have-you.  She's as big of a deal in our world, practically, as Big Blue himself.

Season 2 of the CW hour-long-drama Supergirl saw the arrival of Tyler Hoechlin as Superman, and while I wish his costume had a few tweaks, the man inside is really pretty great as Superman/ Clark Kent.  We saw him talking to Lois on the phone, and Season 1 featured Lois Lane's sister, Lucy, as a romantic rival for Jimmy Olsen (this is comics canon in a way, going back to the Silver Age, but it was nowhere near as goofy as anyone showing interest in Jimmy in the comics).

Season 4 of Supergirl started production a while back (and will begin airing in October?  Maybe?), and us Superman/ Lois fans were thrilled to hear that the CW was seeking a Lois Lane for their TV multiple TV series.

People - we have our Lois.

Burt Memorial Watch: Cannonball Run II (1984)

suddenly I know where the Marvel movie poster strategy came from

Watched:  09/13/2018
Format:  Amazon Streaming
Viewing:  Oh, who knows?
Decade:  1980s

Cannonball Run II (1984) is not a good movie.  But it is a fascinating movie and an extraordinary time capsule of a certain era as an old guard is mixed with a new guard of Hollywood to make a giant Looney Tunes movie directed by Hal Needham.

You guys... simmer down - The Cavill News Sure Seemed Like Part of a Contract Negotiation

As a site that features content related to Superman, it seems that I should *probably* cover the confusion caused yesterday by The Hollywood Reporter's article that launched a million takes.

On 09/12/2018, The Hollywood Reporter posted an article saying that negotiations are going badly between Cavill and WB.  The article was retweeted and re-reported on by innumerable nerd sites, all saying "Cavill is out as Superman!"

Here's the thing: the article didn't say that.  It didn't have a quote from WB or Cavill saying that Cavill is no longer working for WB as Superman/ Clark Kent.  You saw a bunch of stuff cited that may or may not be pointing toward a direction for WB or Cavill, but... not really.

As of yesterday mid-day (US time) parties began walking back the notion that Cavill was out.

Noir Watch: The Locket (1946) - recommended

Watched:  09/11/2018
Format:  Noir Alley on DVR
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1940's

The Locket (1946) gets name dropped a lot in noir circles, but not always with a lot of context.  It starred no particular favorites aside from Mitchum, and didn't happen to cross my path til it aired on Noir Alley, so I'd not made a tremendous effort to watch it.  Turns out, The Locket is a hell of a movie with some terrific qualities, from the performances to the direction and cinematography, but it starts with a story and script that - while maybe a bit rudimentary in applying psychology as a science (a common trope of this era) - tells a unique, engaging, tragic story via unconventional techniques - and puts a new spin on the "femme fatale" (if that's accurate here, and I'll say it is) that's fascinating to watch unfold.