In the 1970’s Pat Morita was pretty much a staple of the American television landscape. It’s fair to say he often got work in a less politically correct era as a token Asian on situation comedies. He landed iconic recurring roles as Arnold, who owned the burger hangout in Happy Days, and Ah Chew, the target of Redd Foxx’s bigoted antics on Sanford And Son. His is a long career in the annals of 70’s television. While he did appear in a few feature films, none of these appearances had the lasting fame or adoration that he experienced as Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid franchise. The role would define him for the remainder of his days. When Karate Kid appeared in 1984, it delivered a modest return at the box office but found some enduring returns in the young home video market. It was enough to score a sequel in 1986 that would become the best moneymaker of the franchise’s original collection of four films. It pulled in enough scratch to warrant a third film, and that’s pretty much where it all went downhill faster than a speeding bullet which might have mercifully ended the movies on a high note.
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Any time you make a low-budget film that for a majority of the film takes place in a single location, it can be a bit of a risk.  Factor in shooting a film on a small budget, small cast, then you have to hope that the idea can hook an audience, and it’s a script that will keep an audience hooked for the duration of the film.  The problem After Darkness has from the get-go is it doesn’t have the budget to match its ambition, nor does it have the script to help the actors carry the burden of this film.  Even with Kyra Sedgwick and Natalia Dyer (Stranger Things), this film was a struggle to get through. For those brave souls who want to know more, it’s time to hunker down, ‘cause this one was a doozy.
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Ever have trouble finding two matching socks when trying to get ready in the morning? Ever had to go to school or work with mismatched socks? It is an uncanny phenomenon; all over the world people are losing socks, for them never to return. Well, according to this animated film, we now know who is the cause for the predicament. Apparently living among the human race are little creatures that feed off our socks for sustenance, but they adhere to a strict motto of never eating the full set. OK, obviously that is ridiculous, but it made for an intriguing story for The OddSockEaters, an animated movie based off a popular foreign book series. Looks like another great movie to get the Nalyce stamp of approval on.
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Pick of the Litter indeed. I never quite understood that phrase until I saw this documentary which follows the 18-month training period from the birth of a service dog to their placement with blind people to act as guides. I also didn’t realize how extensive a process that it was to train a guide dog, but when you think about it that makes sense given the importance these animals will play as people’s eyes. According to statistics, out of 800 dogs born to be service dogs, only 300 make it through the training process. So that means that 500 dogs don’t become guides. That’s surreal, but after watching the documentary, and seeing how in-depth the training is and the importance for the dogs to have the right temperament; I am glad to see how seriously the trainers take this task.
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Though this wasn’t a film I remembered first seeing, the VHS box art is one I’ll never forget for how cheesy it was.  For those who don’t know, it had a man having a kebab impaled into his mouth.  While the cover art isn’t the most appealing, what got me interested was seeing that the film was directed by J. Lee Thompson, who has a fun and diverse body of work.  With films like The Guns of the Navarone, Conquest of the Planet of the Apes, Cape Fear (the one starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum) and numerous others, for film lovers this should be enough to garner some interest to want to check out. Does the film hold up as an 80’s slasher, or should this be a title that should have remained shelved to collect dust?  It’s time to strap on those party hats and find out.
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Family Guy has reached a level of impact upon the American pop culture where I believe the characters need little to no introduction.  Is there anyone really that doesn’t recognize Stewie? After all, he’s reached the status of icon and has even become a fixture of the Thanksgiving parade as one of the many floats.  Where The Flintstones, then later The Simpsons, were at one time the dominating animated family on the television tackling day to day struggles of the modern American (each in their own and unique way), Family Guy (love it or hate it) now seems to be the go-to animated family.
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