Herc Is Back!

 

 (imdb)

HERCULES UNCHAINED-1959-In this sequel, Hercules (returning Steve Reeves), his new bride Iole (also returning Sylvia Koscina) and a young Ulysses (Gabriele Antonini, also returning) are on their way home to Thebes. They encounter the giant Antius (Primo Carnera). Herc van-quishes him, even though he draws his power from the Earth. Soon, Hercules learns the king has been replaced by his son, Etecoles (Sergio Fantoni) who will not give the throne up to his brother Polonices (Mimmo Palmara), as he is supposed to. 

Hercules agrees to mediate but on his way to Thebes, he drinks from the water of forgetfulness and comes under the spell Queen Enfale (Patrizia Della Rovere), who convinces Hercules he's the king of the land and her lover. Herc seems happy but poor Iole frets at home. Ulysses helps Herc regain his memory and discovers the Queen's secret. She has her former lovers killed and made into statues. Fortunately, Laertes and his men show up and help Hercules & Ulysses escape. The queen kills herself. Later, Hercules fights some tigers and the brothers fight to the death. 

Director Pietro Francisici was back to make this fairly entertaining sequel which like its predecessor was a worldwide hit. Director of Photography Mario Bava may have directed some scenes as well. There were Dell Comic adaptions too.

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Not Really a Remake

 

 (imdb)

NIGHT OF THE DEVILS-1972-An amnesic man is found wandering in a forest. A doctor examines him. The man seems to have suffered some kind of trauma. A police inspector investigates. A woman Sdenka (Augustina Belli; later in HOLOCUAST 2000 (1977)) shows up claiming to know him but when he sees her, he goes berserk and has to sedated. She disappears.

Then while confined to a straitjacket, the man has a flashback. When his car breaks down, the guy named Nicola (Gianni Garko; star of the “Sartana” series of westerns in Italy) takes refuge with a strange family who are deathly afraid of the night. This is because a witch has put a curse on the family and one by one, they become a “Wudalaka”, a type of vampire. He also falls in love with Sdenka. Eventually everyone is cursed and Nicola has to fight them off. He goes crazy. Back in the present, at night Sdenka comes to visit him. Is she alive or not? 

Ok Italian-Spanish production with some good vampire attack scenes, it's based on the same story Mario Bava used in the third segment of BLACK SABBATH. It was the second to last film of director Giorgio Ferroni (MILL OF STONE WOMEN (1960)).

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Alita

  (IMDB)

ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL-2019-In the year 2506 after a great war with Mars, a United Republics of Mars scientist (Christopher Waltz) rescues a cyborg girl from a junk pile and calls her Alita (after his dead daughter). She (Rosa Salazar) doesn't remember who she is but has memories of fighting a battle on the moon. Meanwhile the scientist's ex-wife (Jennifer Connelly) runs Motorball, cyborg battle game owned by Vector (Mahershala Ali). A young guy Hugo (Keean Johnson) tries to help Alita regain her memory but he also works for Vector stealing parts from other cyborgs. 

It turns out Alita is an URM “berserker”, the most advanced cyborg ever. There are a lot of fights. She even fights after being chopped up in pieces. The real villain is an immortal called Nova (un-billed Edward Norton) . This movie is not bad but it kind of slows down after Alita fights a bounty hunter Zapan (Ed Skrein) when Hugo is branded a criminal. It retains a lot of anime and manga elements but I don't think it deserves a sequel. It was director Robert Rodriguez's biggest hit although there is some controversy over whether it made money or not.

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2 O'Clock

TWO O'CLOCK COURAGE-1945-Interesting early low budget film noir from director Anthony Mann. Tom Conway is a victim of amnesia who with the help of a female cabbie (Ann Rutherford) tries to figure out who he is. He might be guilty of murder! A book of matches, a play (called Two O’clock Courage), the actor and actress stars and 500 hundred dollars are all clues. Though it is a serious drama there are some comedic scenes mostly involving a a police inspector (Emory Parnell) and a newspaper reporter (Richard Lane). At a running time of only 68 minutes a lot happens.

Mann made THE GREAT FLAMARION starring Erich Von Stroheim the same year. Tom Conway was also starring in THE FALCON series at the time. Screenwriter Robert Kent later penned many exploitation films for director Edward L. Cahn. 

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