Showing posts with label Julie K. Smith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Julie K. Smith. Show all posts

Monday, 17 July 2023

The Hills have Thighs (4 Stars)


I've never had to wait so long for a film before. "The Hills Have Thighs" was made in 2010 and released on DVD a short time later on DVD, but it was a limited edition and already out of stock by the time I tried to buy it. So I've waited... and waited... and waited... until it was finally remastered for Blu-ray earlier this year. It isn't available from Amazon, it's sold exclusively by Makeflix. Click the picture above for a link.

As you might have guessed, it's a parody of "The Hills Have Eyes", a horror film made four years earlier in 2006. A man called Bill is hiking alone in the mountains of South Texas. What he doesn't know is that the area was used for atom bomb tests 60 years previously. As a result women have turned into busty mutants who capture men and use them for sex. Poor Bill. All I can say is that they wouldn't need weapons to capture me. I'd surrender to them and do whatever they demand.


When he doesn't return home, four of Bill's friends go searching for him. (From left to right: Mary, Sandy, Mark and Ben). They don't know if he's alive or dead, but they at least want to find his body. When they find his wallet, still full of money, they fear the worst. What sort of person would take Bill but leave his money behind?


The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. If that's the case, the mutant women must be pure and sinless. They don't want money, they just want men.


The four friends meet a mysterious woman called Tanya wandering in the mountains. She tells them she's been looking for her father for the last 10 years, but she's obviously keeping secrets from them. This is the weakest part of the film. The director could have added an extra 15 minutes to tell us what her true intentions are. But Tanya helps them by giving them a warning. She tells them that the women will capture men alive but kill women.


Ben and Mark send Mary and Sandy away for their own safety, so they can confront the mutant women themselves.


It's a battle like the world has never seen before. I just have one question: if the women have lived all their lives in the mountains, where have the fashionable clothes come from? Shouldn't they be running around naked?

Who will win the battle? Buy the Blu-ray if you want to find out. You can't expect me to tell you everything.


When talking about the Smallville episode "Exodus", Kristin Kreuk insisted that she hadn't used her tongue when she was kissing Tom Welling. She says it wouldn't have been professional. Obviously Julie K. Smith and Brandin Racklet thought differently when they were sharing a passionate kiss. They look like duelling tongues. In my books that's professional enough.

Thursday, 13 April 2023

The Hills have Thighs (4 Stars)


This is a delightful film written and directed by Jim Wynorski. It was made for television, and subsequent DVD releases were all limited editions and hard to find. This week it was finally released on Blu-ray. I've ordered the Blu-ray and I'm still waiting for it to arrive, but I couldn't resist watching it while I'm waiting. I shan't write too much about it today. I'll wait for the Blu-ray to arrive.

The film takes place in the South Texas Hill Country, an area I know almost nothing about. I always thought Texas was a hot part of the country, but the characters complain about the cold, and snow is visible on the mountaintops. The area was used for nuclear tests. This has led to terrible mutations. The area is populated by busty women with the intelligence of prehistoric cave women. They can't talk, they can only grunt. Bill is hiking in the area, and he's captured by the women. They keep him as a sex slave, forcing him to have sex with them every day.

A month later his friends set out to find him. Does he really need rescuing? Without help he'll eventually die of exhaustion, but is that really so bad? I can't think of a better way to die.

This is a bawdy romp with ten sex scenes in 70 minutes. It's what Jim Wynorski does best. He should make less films about giant sharks and more films about giant breasts.

Thursday, 6 May 2021

Return to Savage Beach (5 Stars)


This is the twelfth and final film in the Andy Sidaris collection, made in 1998. At the time when it was made Andy was planning a 13th film, "Battle Zone Hawaii", but it was never made. I've made enquiries, but so far nobody has told me why it wasn't made. Maybe Andy's bank account was running low. Maybe he was having health problems. Whatever the reason, he made no more films between 1998 and his death in 2007.

As the name suggests, the film is a sequel to Andy's fourth film, "Savage Beach", but it's also a continuation from his eighth film, "Fit To Kill". In the last three films there was no mention of Molokai Cargo or Radio KSXY, the cover operations for the LETHAL Agency on the Island of Molokai. Now it's the centre of operations again. We still see the Agency's headquarters in Dallas in a few scenes. Supposedly in Dallas. A street sign gives away that the Dallas scenes were actually filmed in Shreveport, Louisiana. It's unusual for Andy to make a mistake like that.


In the last 20 minutes the film twists and turns through multiple plot twists. The dead come back to life, then they're declared dead again, and then they're alive after all. The bad guys claim to be the good guys, then it turns out they're bad after all, and then we see they really are the good guys. Andy Sidaris was aware that he was pushing the envelope, so he even puts words of incredulity into the mouth of the Interpol agent Sofia: "How many endings can this story have?" Sofia herself participates in the plot twists. First she's a villain, then she's an Interpol agent, then it's claimed that she's a crooked agent, and finally we see that her motives were honest all along. It gets confusing.


Marcus Bagwell reprises his role as the Warrior. In the last film he was an international smuggler, but after three months in prison he's fully reformed and wants to help the Agency find the hidden treasure buried in the South Pacific island known as Savage Beach.


Is he really reformed, or does he just want to get his hands on Julie Strain?


Marcus should be careful where he's putting his hands. Julie Strain's real life husband Kevin Eastman also appears in the film as an agent called Harry. It's true, his physical strength is no match for Marcus, but he can tell the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to attack him.


As much as I like Julie Strain, I have to admit that Shae Marks and Julie K. Smith are the ones who attract the most attention in this film. They're a beautiful pair.


The scene where they arrive on Savage Beach is one of the sexiest scenes ever filmed. The screenshots don't do it justice. You really have to see the two girls in motion.


Gerald Okamura returns as Fu. Once more, we hardly see any of his martial arts skills.


He fades into the background when he's accompanied by Julie Strain. But doesn't everyone?

By the way, compare the screenshot from the Blu-ray (above) with the screenshot that I made from the DVD (below). I'm so thankful that the film was remastered.


It's like night and day, isn't it? I don't understand people who say they're satisfied with DVD quality.


At first I wasn't sure whether it was Drew Sidaris playing this bad guy.


Then I took a closer look at his bike. Can you see it?


It's good to see Ava Cadell return as Ava, breathing sexy coded messages into the microphone.


I'm also happy to see Carolyn Liu reprising her role as Silk after playing a different role in the last film. I wish Andy Sidaris wouldn't mess around with the casting so much.

Before I forget, here's the regular round up of Playmates and Pets.

  • Shae Marks (Tiger) was Playboy's Playmate of the Month in May 1994.
  • Julie Strain (Black Widow) was Penthouse Pet of the Month in June 1991, and she was Pet of the Year in 1993.
  • Julie K. Smith (Cobra) was Penthouse Pet of the Month in February 1993. She also appeared in Playboy in November 1995.
  • Carrie Wescott (Sofia) was Playboy's Playmate of the Month in September 1993.


Andy Sidaris and Julie Strain have both left our world. If there's an afterlife, I'm sure that Julie is flirting outrageously with Andy until the day when his wife Arlene will join them.

Andy Sidaris, February 20, 1931 – March 7, 2007

Julie Strain, February 18, 1962 – January 10, 2021

Arlene Sidaris, April 21, 1941 – forever?

Friday, 23 April 2021

Day of the Warrior (5 Stars)


This is the eleventh film in the Andy Sidaris collection, made in 1996. This time he's listed as the director again, even though he was really the director for the last two films. This is the third film in which the agency, now finally named LETHAL, is based in Dallas, not Molokai.


In this film LETHAL's security is compromised by a man codenamed The Warrior. He's a former CIA agent who's gone rogue. Judging by his appearance, it would be more accurate to say that he's gone native. The agency fears that he'll identify and kill the double agents working in his organisation.


The new head of the LETHAL agency in Dallas is Willow Black, played by Julie Strain. "Wait!" you must be asking, "Wasn't she killed in the last film?" Actually, she was killed in the last three films. Andy Sidaris had the annoying habit of recycling his actors. Julie Strain was a bad girl and was killed in the last three films. Now she's a good girl, and she survives. In a way, that's a shame. She's such a deliciously evil character when she's bad that I hate to see her being good.


There will never be another woman like Julie Strain. Six foot one and worth the climb. But when you reach the peak you'll fall to your death.


Julie K. Smith returns as Agent Cobra. No complaints there. She survived the last film.


In the last film Scorpion was played by Wendy Hamilton. Now it's Tammy Parks. It's difficult to keep up with the constant changes in Andy's films. The same actors play different characters, but the same characters are played by different actors.


A new addition to the agency is Shae Marks as Tiger. She carries a gun, and she knows how to use it. We'll see a lot more of her in the next film.


These two girls aren't named in the film, although they're called Alice and Ginger in the credits. Alice is played by Carolyn Liu, who played Agent Silk in three of the previous films. What's unusual about her non-speaking cameo in "Day of the Warrior" is that in the next film she'll appear as Silk again.


Rodrigo Obregon returns yet again, this time as Manuel, one of the crooks working for the Warrior. I've lost count of how many times he's been killed. Here he's accompanied by his assistant Kym. She's played by Raye Hollitt, a former female bodybuilder. It's not only Playmates who look beautiful.

Which reminds me, here's the regular round up of Playmates and Pets.

  • Shae Marks (Tiger) was Playboy's Playmate of the Month in May 1994.
  • Julie Strain (Black Widow) was Penthouse Pet of the Month in June 1991, and she was Pet of the Year in 1993.
  • Julie K. Smith (Cobra) was Penthouse Pet of the Month in February 1993. She also appeared in Playboy in November 1995.
  • Tammy Parks (Scorpion) was a Penthouse Centerfold, month unknown.


I'll finish with a few more photos of Julie K. Smith. She deserves it.


Even when she's in bed, Cobra's gun is never far away.


If there's a better way to die than being shot by a busty beauty, I don't know it.

Thursday, 15 April 2021

The Dallas Connection (5 Stars)


This is the tenth film in the Andy Sidaris collection, made in 1994. Like the previous film, "Enemy Gold", it was directed by Drew Sidaris, on paper at least. In actual fact it was Andy Sidaris who did everything. I can understand a father wanting his son to take over the family business, but Andy had to accept that Drew hadn't inherited his father's skills.

Like "Enemy Gold", the film takes place almost entirely in Dallas, not Molokai. Only the introductory scenes take place in other locations: Paris, South Africa and Hong Kong. Three scientists are killed, each by a beautiful sexy woman. A rocket is due to be launched into orbit which is able to see things buried far beneath the ground; things such as underground missile silos. The algorithm to see these things has been divided between four scientists. Now three are dead, and the fourth has to be protected at all costs. But as we discover, the fourth scientist is the one behind the assassinations.

I admit that the plot sounds infeasible. How can an algorithm be cut into four? And even if it really were possible, what's the point? Why not just hand it over to a trustworthy person in the American government? Splitting it between four people just increases the chance of losing the algorithm if one of them were to be killed. Let's just suspend disbelief and enjoy the sizzling action. I consider this to be the best film in the series so far.


The first assassin is Julie Strain as the appropriately named Black Widow. This is her third appearance in the Andy Sidaris films. Each time she's an assassin. In "Fit To Kill" she was Blu Steele. In "Enemy Gold" she was Jewel Panther. Both those characters were killed. Now she's Black Widow.


The second assassin is Julie K. Smith as Cobra. She's often called Little Julie to differentiate her from Julie Strain, who's Big Julie. Julie Smith is 5'6", whereas Julie Strain is 6'1½".


The third assassin is Wendy Hamilton as Scorpion. Maybe I should call her Not-A-Julie.


Mark Barriere and Bruce Penhall return as the agents Mark Austin and Chris Cannon. Is the fate of the world really in their hands? They're helpless when they face the three deadly females.


Fortunately they're assisted by Samantha Phillips as Agent Samantha Max. There has to be at least one agent who can think straight when facing a pair of bare breasts. Never send a man to do a woman's job.


Andy Sidaris does a brief cameo as a police detective.


But look! Drew Sidaris also does a cameo as a car mechanic. He appears in two scenes.

This film stars more former Penthouse pets than Playmates:

  • Kym Malin (Kym) was Playboy's Playmate of the Month in May 1982.
  • Wendy Hamilton (Scorpion) was Playboy's Playmate of the Month in December 1991.
  • Julie Strain (Black Widow) was Penthouse Pet of the Month in June 1991, and she was Pet of the Year in 1993.
  • Julie K. Smith (Cobra) was Penthouse Pet of the Month in February 1993. She also appeared in Playboy in November 1995 (after this film).
  • Samantha Phillips (Samantha) was Penthouse Pet of the Month in June 1993.


How many of you knew that Julie Strain has a sister called Lizzy? She doesn't appear in the film, but she joins Julie to help Andy introduce the film. He doesn't know which way to look.


Julie makes the decision a bit easier.


Julie helps her little sister learn how to shoot.


"You too can be a killer like me!"


"Julie, this is too easy! The men just stand and stare while I shoot them!"

Lizzy should have appeared in a film called "Battle Zone Hawaii" alongside Nicki Fritz and Victoria Zdrok. For reasons unknown to me, this film was never made. I would like to have seen Lizzy in action.

Monday, 22 October 2018

Return to Savage Beach (4½ Stars)


This is the twelfth and final film in the Andy Sidaris collection, made in 1998. It's been three months since I reviewed the eleventh film, "Day of the Warrior". No, I didn't forget about it. I just wanted to keep my readers in suspense. I was hoping someone would send me a message and ask me when the last film was coming, but no luck. Sometimes I wonder if my readers are paying attention.

I have mixed feelings about this film. On the one hand, it's the best film in the series in terms of the action and the production quality. On the other hand, I've never been able to figure out the film's premise. Every time I watch it I try to understand the explanation in the opening scenes, but it just doesn't make sense to me.

As the title suggests, the film is a sequel to "Savage Beach", which was made in 1989. In that film the secret agents Donna and Taryn crash landed on an uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean and got involved with treasure hunters searching for gold bars stolen by the Japanese army from the Philippines in World War Two. The film ends with the gold bars being found and returned to the Philippine government.

In the new film Rodrigo Martinez, one of the treasure hunters from the first film, wants to return to the island to retrieve a Golden Buddha that's still hidden. The island's location has been encoded on two floppy disks, and it can only be found if the two disks are combined. One disk is in Dallas, the other in Hawaii. He sends his agents to steal the two disks.

This is where I start getting confused. Rodrigo was already on the island, so why does he need the disks to find it again? Why did the Agency even bother encoding the island's location on two disks, because it was unimportant after the first mission ended? And even if the location really had been important, why all the trouble with two disks? It would have been easier to write the coordinates on a piece of paper and lock it in a safe.


The whole illogical plot seems to have been written as an excuse to involve Rodrigo Obregon, the actor playing Rodrigo Martinez, in fiendishly evil schemes. He's in his element. He's the most frequently used actor in Andy Sidaris' films. In the DVD bonus features there's an extended tribute to Rodrigo by Andy and Arlene Sidaris. Andy says he's one of the world's best actors. Arlene says that he appeared in ten of Andy's films: seven times as a bad guy, twice as a good guy and once as a transvestite. Curious. Does that mean that transvestites are outside of the boundaries of good and evil?

Rodrigo Martinez was shown being killed in an explosion in "Savage Beach". In this film we find out that he survived, but with facial burns. That's why he's wearing a mask that looks like a prop from a high school production of "Phantom of the Opera".


The film reunites the actresses Julie Strain (aka Big Julie), Julie K. Smith (aka Little Julie) and Shae Marks (aka Not-a-Julie) as the Agency operatives who have to return to Savage Beach to find the Golden Buddha before Rodrigo can get his evil hands on it.


A new agent is the Warrior, played by the wrestler Marcus Bagwell. We already saw him as a bad guy in "Day of the Warrior". Normally in Andy Sidaris' films actors only make the transition from bad guy to good guy by being killed and getting a new role. Not Marcus Bagwell. His character the Warrior did three months in prison and came out a reformed guy. Supposedly. My suspicion is that he just wanted to start a relationship with Willow Black (Julie Strain).


What do you think? Would you give up a life of crime to get your hands on Julie Strain? I wouldn't know. I've never been a criminal.

Without going into too many details – spoilers! – there are a series of plot twists at the end. In fact, there are so many plot twists that it looks like Andy Sidaris is deliberately parodying plot twists. It's like a ping pong ball shooting from one side to the other, not letting us know who the good guys and who the bad guys are. It's confusing. Let's just concentrate on what the film has to offer, something that everyone loves: girls with guns!


Big Julie has a big gun.


Little Julie has a little gun.


I'm sure Not-a-Julie has a gun somewhere. She must be hiding it.


As always, the film ends with the agents enjoying a glass of champagne to celebrate their victory. They have to. Without the final celebration scene it wouldn't be an Andy Sidaris film.

Here's a list of the films in the Andy Sidaris collection:
  1. Malibu Express (1985)
  2. Hard Ticket to Hawaii (1987)
  3. Picasso Trigger (1988)
  4. Savage Beach (1989)
  5. Guns (1990)
  6. Do Or Die (1991)
  7. Hard Hunted (1992)
  8. Fit To Kill (1993)
  9. Enemy Gold (1993)
  10. The Dallas Connection (1994)
  11. Day of the Warrior (1996)
  12. Return to Savage Beach (1998)

They're all excellent films in their own way. Andy Sidaris was a creative genius, and I fear that there will never be another like him again. I'm sad that better versions of the films aren't available. They need to be remastered for Blu-ray. They are all films that deserve to be preserved in the best possible quality.

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