If you want to look for a fitting genre, Kadin Düsmani has to be classified as a giallo. Well, a Turkish giallo. Made in 1967. A time when even the Italians weren’t thinking of mass-producing films in this genre.

If I seem a bit reluctant to underscribe Kadin Düsmani as a giallo wholeheartedly, it’s because my own description of a giallo is a ‘film noir with more blood and nudity’. Judged merely on that account, Kadin Düsmani fails to deliver:  you may get to see some disrobing, but nudity is not around. For that we have to refer you to Thirsty for Love, Sex and Murder (the Turkish ‘remake’ of Sergio Martino’s The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh).
Hair-splitting issues aside, not every giallo was conceived to make actresses strip as much as possible. Believe it or not, some directors went for a thing called ‘atmosphere’. And, while we’re at it, let’s also drag in Mario Bava’s The Girl Who Knew Too Much, a 1963 case-study for the upcoming giallo genre and an ode to Hitchcock. Kadin Düsmani feels much closer to that sort of film.

Oscar winner Karl Malden has died at his home in Brentwood, Los Angeles, three years shy of his 100th birthday. The Streets of San Francisco star was born in Chicago, Illinois in 1912.

A former steelworker and teacher, Malden studied acting at the Goodman Theater Dramatic School in Chicago and chose to take his talents to New York, where he became involved with the fabled Group Theater.

He made his stage debut in 1937 and struck up a theatrical partnership with legendary director Elia Kazan, who cast Malden in a host of successful Broadway shows.

After serving in World War Two, the actor landed his big movie break in 1940's They Knew What They Wanted and he quickly became an in-demand film star, winning an Oscar for his performance as Mitch in A Streetcar Named Desire in 1951.

He also landed roles in classics like On the Waterfront and Baby Doll.

It's amazing what you can get from Thailand.... their own DVD's these days are almost completely without English subtitles for reasons and logic that just escapes this lil' Catgirl.

However, be that as it may,... it actually is a pretty good place to get Russian or European films with English subtitles that somehow missed receiving them in their own country.

My latest such acquisition is the Russian Sword & Sorcery epic "Wolfhound". I watched it just the other evening, and so now it's time to wade in with my review....

Our synopsis reads: "The last remaining member of a slaughtered tribe escapes his enslavement and grows up to become a fearless warrior. As he pursues revenge against all odds for his family's murder, his quest intertwines with a princess's larger war against a brutal tyrant who would destroy everyone in his path."

Hmmmmm? It sounds all "Conan-ish" alright, but do the Russians know didddly about that whole barbarian ethos thingee? Will we get sufficient sword swinging testosterone fueled vengeance to satisfy our need for bloody and vicarious thrills?

I guess it's up to your Favorite Catgirl Princess to find out!

So... whatcha waitin' for? "Read On", o' gentle reader!!

With the news that longtime DV member Fractal has finally gotten his short art house film "The Spooky Healing" listed over at the IMDb... it only seems right that I celebrate the event and take a close look at it again to give you my thoughts....

But first... the synopsis:  "An intimate world wrapped up in bass clarinet music. A solitary, mysterious woman whose gasps are punctuated by water drop sounds.  A threatening curtain slides across.Something is not quite right with what we are looking at.

On the other side of a shaking door a rag doll inside a man's black shoe. The woman takes him to bed. Darkness and nightmares. She sends herself a message in Morse code.

Next morning, after watering an onion, she starts a loving relationship with him. But suddenly, in a dreamlike state, she feels anger and throws him away. She leaves him in a narrow corridor and vanishes without trace climbing up the walls.

When she returns home, however, something moves her to bring him back. He's full of thorns now.

Then a healing takes place..." - Written by Marcel Garbi aka "Fractal"

And trust me.... that just about sums things up. So how does it all play out?

Let's "Read On" and find out, shall we?

As you may have noticed, we're still trying to find all the bugs on this new DV url before gearing up to full power once again. We thank you for your understanding.

That doesn't mean the news escapes us. Actor David Carradine has been found dead in a hotel room in Bangkok, where he was shooting a new film. Carradine leaves this planet with a memorable CV of cult movies, even though he'll probably be remembered most for Death Race 2000 and Kill Bill as well as the tv series Kung Fu.