Equinox (1992)

Stylish thriller by Alan Rudolph about twins separated at birth. One becomes a cunning hit man, the other a quiet nobody. Essentially this is a noir version of The Prince and The Pauper, but given the Rudolph treatment with his love for multiple characters. Every scene is memorable and this movie seems to exist in the same universe where Trouble In Mind takes place. Rudolph is an underappeciated director and it's a shame he hasn't produced more films of this caliber.

The New Women (2001)

Hilarious black-and-white satire of feminist apocolypse literature as a group of neglected housewives find themselves the only survivors of a global catastrophe. After a major electrical storm, all the men remain in a coma, forcing the women of their town to fend for themselves. In the first meeting, they kick out the woman who's been sleeping with all their husbands. When food runs low, a group of them headed by Mary Woronov take off in a camper loaded down with supplies. They've received a radio signal from a surviving colony of women. Of course, the trip to redoubt more fun than the destination.

ROBERT TILTON AND THE GOSPEL OF GREED

If you watched any late-night TV in the early 90's, you may have encountered this whacked-out preacher. A real "put your hands on the radio" type, he was famed for suddenly speaking in tongues when he wasn't begging for money. And it all came down in a baptism of fire when it was discovered the good pastor was dumping all the prayer request letters in the trash.
This documentary was produced by The Trinity Foundation, a small church group that brought the TV preacher's practices to light. It's mostly excepts from the TV specials about Tilton's sleazy practices.
But no documentary can come close to the crazy mailers this Elmer Gantry used to send out for a little $$$. Prayer mattes, holy bread, this man had a system! I don't know who did his marketing material, but they were a genius.
A good movie to watch on a Sunday morning.

Kampus Kapers

Ah, to have been a student at a big university in the late 60's. Free love, free money, and sticking it to The Man. The only thing a male had to worry about is which girl to see on a given night. And here are three movies which lets us relive those wondrous days of yore: Three in the Attic, Down in the Cellar, and Been Down So Long It Looks Up To Me. Groovy!
The first, Three in the Attic (1968), concerns the exploits of poor Paxton Quigley (Christopher Jones). He has this problem: a compulsive womanizer, he has three different women on the string, telling each one they are his one and only. When they all find out what's been going on, Pax gets locked in an attic by the vengeful trio and is forced to have sex with them nonstop. He finally escapes, but describes himself as "the first victim of the sexual revolution."
Down in the Cellar has Wes Stern gunning for Larry Hagman, a rich Texas benefactor of a prestigious college. It seems Hagman spoiled Stern's performance art, so he decides to bring him down by seducing all the women in his life. I'm sure the movie was very topical in 1970.
And at last we have Been Down, based off a famous counterculture novel by Richard Farina. This 1970 movie has been forgotten, but a few copies are known to exist. Barry Primus plays the lead, Gnossos, a young man who is returning to college after being out in the world for a few years. He eventually ends up in Cuba at the time of the 1959 revolution, but not before taking many journeys of self discovery.
Three movies which attempted to copy the success of The Graduate (1967). In many ways they all failed, but they serve as mirrors to the 60's.

The Strange Case of Sherlock Holmes and Arthur Conan Doyle (2005)

Douglas Henshall plays Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes in this BBC production. It begins with Doyle, sick of writing "Holmes" stories, deciding to kill off his creation. The public reaction is understandably negative, prompting a row with his publisher. Added to the mix is his own wife's worsening tuberculosis. Finally, he's got a rather pretty female fan who "understands" him.
In the middle of this personal crisis, a man appears at his door who claims to be the official biographer from Doyle's publisher. He knows a lot about Doyle's background and wants to know more. Soon his biographer is probing into every bit of sad information he can get. What are the real motiviations for this biographer?
An excellent BBC production. Any fan of the Great Detective will enjoy this examination of how and why Arthur Conan Doyle created his famous literary figure.

Lifepod (1980)

In the wake of a certain movie made by George Lucas, a lot of independent producers wanted to get into the Space Epic game. Most of them didn't have the resources to do it right, but they tried just the same. Lifepod, made in 1980, showed what people could do with a lot of enthusiasm could do on a limited budget. Someone duplicated the idea with a lot more money around 1993 as a MTV movie. But I like this one much better.
Several passengers on an exclusive interplanetary ship have found themselves in an escape lifepod after the central computer on the ship declared an emergency. The usual lifeboat cast is here: the journalist, the pretty girl, the corporate exec, the administror and the crew member. Suddenly, the space ship suddenly decides to head after the lifepod. Why? And why did the central computer declare a fake emergency to get everyone off the ship?

The Good the Bad the Ugly the Ukulele

It's a rainy day.