Biff Bang Dishoom!

"Holy writer's block, Turkish Batman! It looks like some kind of links post."

Shut your hole, Turkish Robin! Who asked you? And, yes, you're right: It's a links post. What can I say? I got nuthin'.

Nick over at Tarstarkas.net has been doing an impressive job of spelunking to the depths of world pulp cinema, evidenced by his recent posting of a very detailed--and clip laden!--review of the typically copyright-flaunting Turkish superhero spectacle Bedmen Yarasa Adam.

Durian Dave, a notorious provocateur, has ignited yet another controversy over at his vintage Chinese cinema blog Soft Film with a photo of Hong Kong star Carrie Ku Mei and a certain Thai actor. What do you think, classic Thai cinema fans? Is that Mitr Chaibancha... or someone else? Even if you don't know, the post is worth checking out for the lead photo of Ku Mei in some kind of crazy Thai costumed hero picture. I think it's called Dark Heroine of the Distressingly Asphyxiating Looking Corset. Or something.

Over at Beth Loves Bollywood, Beth has posted a poll asking her readers to identify what they consider to be "foundation" masala films. For those of you less invested in all thing Bollywood, masala films are those sprawling, colorful entertainers made up of equal parts family melodrama, two-fisted action, romance, criminal intrigue, comedic hi-jinks and any other potentially crowd-pleasing element that could be squeezed into them that, while still made today, seemed to thrive especially in the seventies. So far the responses have been both fascinating and informative, and have resulted in numerous titles being added to my already bloated list of Bollywood must-sees.

And If you're interested in more on that subject, Rum offers a delightful travelogue of the various regions of Masala-land on her blog Roti Kapada Aur Rum.

While you're busy perusing the above, I'm going to be polishing up my upcoming Teleport City review of In The Dust of the Stars, an East German space opera that comes across like a combination of an episode of Star Trek, a Jess Franco film, and ABBA: The Movie. Intrigued? Of course, you are!