Canis_Lupus Reviews

Captain Kangaroo (1955–1992)

Captain Kangaroo's successful Life's Mission was to make glad the Heart of Childhood!

[10/10 · 17 January 2007]

Rare in all time is one placed upon this earth who truly makes glad the heart of childhood. The Captain is most assuredly one of these most special people. Captain Kangaroo was a dear friend to me growing up. Captain Kangaroo stayed true to the core convictions of promoting positive self esteem, placing high value on education and stressing humane ideals of caring in childhood. Captain Kangaroo lived his lofty honorable child mental and physical health centered ideals his entire life.

When networks tried to modernize or update (Bastardize) the honorable core values and morals of the original Captain Kangaroo shows he rightly had the gonad's to tell the people he would have nothing to do with the new mess they were creating. Captain Kangaroo was not just some lame dude doing a children's show. Captain Kangaroo really cared about the young people he spoke to. Captain Kangaroo always behaved as if the children watching his shows were placed directly in his care during the time spent together via Television. Captain Kangaroo's ship was both a ship of state advocating on issues affecting young people and a battleship that fought to protect the hearts and minds of young people from the perverse things this society exposes its children to in the name of generating huge profits. Captain Kangaroo dared stand up for the children and in my heart that gives him the heart of a real captain as such he has my undying respect.

Few people with the possible exception of Mr. Fred Rodgers had a honest respect for children that was the equal of that held by Captain Kangaroo. Captain Kangaroo gave all his children a moral anchor that if used properly insured they would grow up to be fine honorable upstanding people. There really are not enough words to define exactly how much I thank Captain Kangaroo for making my heart glad in childhood so I will just say thank you Captain Kangaroo, Mr Moose, Grandfather Clock, Dancing Bear and Mr Green Jeans and others for being part of my life in the 1960's.

Thank you Captain!

Space: 1999: The AB Chrysalis (1976) Season 2, Episode 12

One of the Best Of The Weirder Yer 2 Episodes!

[10/10 · 3 September 2006]

I suspect this will have what humans define as spoilers so if you hate spoilers logic suggests you leave now and read no further! That out of the way, The AB Chrysalis is easily one of the better episodes of the Space 1999 Year 2 Journey. I concede the dialogue was sparse and what little action there was hardly excited a die hard action adventure fan. This particular episode plodded along at a snails pace most of the time.

In general the only thing that consistently recommended Space 1999 Year 2 was its lively music score thanks to Derek Wadsworth. Compared to Barry Gray's wholly uninspired painful scores for the much better written, executed and acted Space 1999 Year One Year Two Music rocks. Barry Grays music scores always leave me feeling as if I spent 900 years listening to music appropriate for listening only if you are confined to a Funeral Home in the Twilight Zone.

What made The AB Chrysalis cute were the sets. The cute little black and or white balls bouncing rolling hopping about from one pedestal to another was a really wild version of a computer that for once felt really alien in concept. The architecture of the space stations on the ring of moons was weird enough to make me believe this was really a world that developed completely different than we have.

What I so loved about The AB Chrysalis is that its sets were not familiar. the computer was not designed using familiar human like logic. In The AB Chrysalis I honestly felt like a visitor to a strange world. Too much of Space 1999 in Year 2 looked too familiar too common place. The aliens breathed chlorine gas. The aliens had an odd sleep \ life cycle so much of what made The AB Chrysalis different was not tangible. The beauty of The AB Chrysalis was in those things you experienced indirectly and for me it makes for batter science fiction when the place shocks me more than the odd looking aliens do.

Given Space 1999 Year 2 was dumbed down in general this episode still had a few small tidbits left for an intellectual soul!

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966)

Awesome way old skool comedy movie

[10/10 · 8 March 2006]

If you like vulgar brash in your face comedy that is modern hip and happening this is not your movie. This movie hails from the traditional straight laced crowd in the 1960's a period in time when the amercian rush to old world family values based suburban perfection was at its Zenith.

The jokes are plentifiul and funny if quaint. There are absolutely no shockers here at all. As a black man I must say it was nice to see the people making the movie showed a restaurant scene where one of the patrons was a dignified black man. Having lived through that era in the 1960's that was a daring gusty thing to do in the context of those times. Don Knotts earned my respect for being a part of social change when it mattered most.

This movie drips with some really funny one liners and recurring gags. The Ghost and Mr Chicken is a laugh fest on the most simplistic levels. The Ghost and Mr Chicken does not take itself seriously and anyone saying the jokes tire out in the middle have just lost touch with the child they once were. If your are still a child at heart you will laugh your self silly watching The Ghost and Mr Chicken. Part of the comedic beauty of The Ghost and Mr Chicken is the very fact that the people, the actions and the laughs over time become so predictable.

Add the wild creepy music, the good ladies vibrating for hours ( to the psychic emmenations of the cosmos ) and The Ghost and Mr Chicken is a sure fire laugh fest. I love that wild organ music... and wild wild maniacal screams!

Lucan (1977–1978)

Just to correct a fellow Lucan Supporter

[10/10 · 11 August 2005]

The Show you saw was called "ONE PUNCH WOLFSON". Lucan was convinced he could use the money gained by becoming a small time prize fighter to pay a detective to help in his quest to find his parents. The private eye proves to just be using Lucan's fervent desire to find his parents to line his pockets while doing nothing to help Lucan. Lucan is befriended by an inner city youth involved in the boxing game. Many intrigues occur but in the end Lucan wins a fight. His doctor friend uncovers the detectives low motives forcing him to return money wrongly taken from Lucan for services not rendered.

Lucan eventually continues his trek to find his parents. Take it I am a real Lucan fan. I know most of the Lucan episodes by heart.

Walk Like a Man (1987)

One Of The Best Movie's I've Ever Experienced!

[10/10 · 23 March 2005]

This is a totally awesome movie not because of awesome special effects, not because it is particularly well written, not because it is at all believable because trust me it's not very realistic at all. The Walk Like A Man works because, it is funny and it has an awesome message. I am very disabled and this movie shows why it is OK to be different. The movie shows how sometimes what people see as different is in many ways better than what most people call "normal". For all Walk Like A Man Lacks in traditional movie POP and FIZZ it makes up for in its message of heart. The movie is more slap stick comedy than serious. If you want a more serious Boy Raised by Wolves Tale I would suggest LUCAN.

This is a movie to watch if you still have the heart of child like innocence and you are down and just wanting to feel good afterward. This is not the movie for those who want something deep, meaningful and spiritual. Walk Like A Man is an hour or so of weird fun with an awesome message at the end. I brought a copy of Walk Like A Man from Amazon.COM on DVD and at 46 I still enjoy watching it, but who knows if I will ever grow up.

Topper Returns (1941)

Topper's Having That Girl Trouble Again.

[10/10 · 21 December 2003]

This film is a case of the black stereotyped bigotry of the time backfiring on the makers of this movie. Eddie (Rochester) Anderson a black driver set in what should have been a typical step-n-fetch it role quite literally stole this movie from the white cast. Don't get me wrong the rest of the cast do a bang up job making this movie at once old sckool erie, creppy and dark yet a constant humor runs so obviously down the middle of every scene that it refuses to be missed. It is just Rochester does a great perfect job of breathing a real life and fun into his character that has dignity of a sort that the others lack. At times Rochester becomes the straight man playing to the back drop of his cast mates silliness. Others got top billing as was the custom of that bigoted time but in this movie Rochester RULES Baby!

The movie starts as Cosmo Topper a New York banker on his way to his vacation home is ambushed by two ladies fresh from a car wreck wanting a ride to their destination a creepy old mansion estate on a huanted hill overlooking a tempest tossed sea. Cosmo Topper kind man that he is at heart takes the 2 ladies and their suitcases in his smallish car. On their way to the old mansion strange woman upon his lap it just happens husband Cosmo passes by his home where a stunned Mrs Topper is there to see a young lady sitting upon her husbands lap another in the back seat. Topper caught with a "Carload of Ladies" does the only thing he can do which is speed on to his destination. Now upset e-gad for her Topper did not even have the decency to return her wave as he rode past with a young lady on his lap Mrs. Topper remarks later in scorn! This Mrs. Topper is not the same actress as stared in the first Topper Movie and is not as good but is adequate. The first Mrs Topper had a killer voice and comedic timing so weird she could not be duplicated.

Well as is typical in a Topper movie the friend gets killed and her ghost needs closure with Cosmo Toppers help to move on. Only Cosmo Topper see's and interacts with this ghost. The rich lady who was the real target of a scheming greedy man is still at risk of death by murder. The ghost of this now murdered friend seeks out her one true friend (locally anyway) Cosmo Topper. Hey she did sit in Cosmo's lap after all sounds chummy enough to me. The madcap escapades begin there and never end as the ghost leads poor compliant dullish but dutyful friend Topper on one adventure after another following up leads to her murder till the murderer is exposed. The murderer is exposed no thanks to keystone cop like local police. The real hoot is throughout the movie Rochester see's "things", doors opening and closing by themselves, people talking to nothing and gettin answers, extra set's of footprints in freshly fallen snow he can't account for insights he shares with others even if he is ignored. Rochester reveals he had a brain by in effect becoming this movies voice of reason and sanity as all about him seem just a bit crazy in some weird odd ball way. There are over worked cheap shots where Rochester is played with by a seal but its done in a way that while demeaning are almost funny. All in all a good performance is done by all here. This third and final of the movie series while darker than the other Topper movies was in many ways the best in that it was killer funny while being enough of a mystery to keep you interested and focued on the murder plot.

The absolute funnest scene comes at the very end of the movie where the murderer is now a ghost and appolligises for drunking Rochester into the water. "Sorry for drunking you into the water old man" the murderer says... The response again while slightly demeaning is hallarious. This movie is a must for anyone who loves comedy or wants to see how racial stereotyping was used in mass media to promote the brutish ignorant bigotry commonplace in the United States of the 1930's\1940's.