We just lost another great performer. Actor Bill Paxton just recently passed away. I have fond memories of Paxton as the cowardly but ultimately heroic Private Hudson in “Aliens”. There were also noteworthy acting turns in the science fiction and horror genre films “Predator 2” and “Near Dark”. He had another great role as a treasure hunter in “Trespass”. I have heard many good stories of Paxton, the man. He was described as being a very friendly, warm human being. Our sympathies go out to his loved ones.
A real creepy premise in this flick: giant, mutated ants are on the loose and stalking victims in isolated areas of the God forsaken desert! I bring you this cinematic, sci-fi gem because of a recent summer time invasion of the small variety of ants in our house in pursuit of the cat’s food. These little beasts are annoying enough in their present miniature state as they scamper in all directions as you try to eradicate their presence inside your home. In addition to the trouble of getting them picked up and removed, you get the sinister feeling that the [More]
With our world’s current battle with COVID-19 on everyone’s mind, a lot of folks are looking back on similar storylines that occurred in works of fiction. I know there are a lot of examples but I will discuss “The Andromeda Strain” (1971), a big-budgeted science fiction film from the Seventies based upon the novel by Michael Crichton. It explored an alien virus piggybacking on a speck of meteor that ends up embedded in a space-borne satellite. The satellite crashes down near a small desert town. The natives naturally are curious about the object and examine it but not before getting [More]
James Caan was an energetic actor who had a great run of movie appearances from the 1970’s to the early 1980’s. Caan started showing up in Westerns like “El Dorado” and oddball psychological pics like “Lady in a Cage” and “Games” in the 1960’s. His acting fortunes took a turn for the epic when he was cast in “The Godfather” (1971). Playing loose cannon Sonny Corleone, son of Mafia Don, Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) showcased Caan’s ability to go from a (relatively) tranquil state to kinetic maniac in the wink of an eye. Such explosive acting pyrotechnics would continue to [More]
The sad passing of this very unique sounding vocalist for Iron Butterfly. Check out the trippy, gothic vibe of this epic song in our video link below.
I am a sucker for some of these vids. This clip is intriguing because the object in question is “very strange” and changing in appearance. The video was taken in the daytime which allows more detail to be examined. As in a great many of these UFO videos, there is a lot of blurry, shaky handheld camera work.
“Below” is a nifty, submarine, World War II, ghost story all rolled into one. A submarine on search and destroy patrol in the Atlantic Ocean seems to be itself a cursed, doomed vehicle. Creepy events unfold and ghostly ambience abounds as the submarine meets with one disaster after another. I’ve watched it a couple of times at night and creeped myself out! Nice performance from Bruce Greenwood as the “new” captain of the boat.
Very influential, big budget science fiction film from the 1950’s. In the future, a starship from earth ventures to a remote planet to check on the well being of a colony established by earlier explorers. Only two survivors are found from the previous expedition but they flourish in their compound with the assistance of their super workhorse robot, Robby. It seems that survivor Dr. Morbius has learned a few tricks from the previous inhabitants of the planet, the uber advanced Krell. But not all knowledge is necessarily good to have. Morbius harbors some dark secrets of his own that have a [More]
Legendary, ultra violent western from director Sam Peckinpah. A group of aging outlaws plan just one more big heist before “peacefully” riding off into the sunset. OK. That was really lame! But it’s a familiar tale of thieves taking down one more score before disappearing with the loot and presumably staying out of any more trouble. The really electrifying action takes place at the end of the film when the four man bunch takes on a Mexican stronghold of soldiers numbering in the hundreds. You will witness tons of graphic blood splattering, grenade tossing, and Peckinpah’s patented usage of slow [More]
Fantastic, other worldly, freaky music video, “Ashes to Ashes”, from the late, great, departed, David Bowie. If you haven’t explored his music yet, do so now. What a magnificent, innovative talent! He literally owned the 1970’s and continued in to the early 1980’s. Bowie explored many personas and musical styles and penned some of the great classics of rock music. I count this song as one of his strongest. A bleak, melancholy reexamination of character Major Tom, the lonely, depressed astronaut stuck in his “tin can” in outer space wanting nothing more than to return to Earth, who was originally [More]
I came across an interesting article today. You may have heard this story before. There has been conjecture circulating through the years that “Poltergeist” (1982), a tale of a suburban household plagued by ghosts was NOT directed by Tobe Hooper but was in fact helmed by an on-set Steven Spielberg who otherwise was listed as the film’s producer. It was noted that certainly the end result’s film style reflected a Spielbergian touch. Well, here are some long after the fact confessions from some of the crew that Spielberg WAS the man in charge of direction. I don’t really know what [More]
Sadness at the passing of great character actor Dick Miller. A wise cracking, world weary, dependable presence in many horror and science fiction pictures including “The Terminator”, “The Howling”, “Gremlins” and an early starring role in the Roger Corman directed “A Bucket of Blood” which is linked to here. Macabre in the extreme, “Blood” is the tale of a destitute artist who turns his fortunes around and becomes the darling of the local Art crowd after he adopts a shocking new change to his sculpting style. Can you guess how? A twisted, enjoyable romp made back when Miller was younger [More]
Actor John Saxon just passed away. I recently watched him in the Clint Eastwood Western, “Joe Kidd”. Nice turn. I will always remember him from “Blood Beach” where he plays a detective assigned to a case of mysterious disappearances at a local beach. He is allowed to utter, completely straight-faced, the immortal riff which borrows from the “Jaws” film legacy about people in his community having difficulty even getting to the water. Classic! A well recognized and respected actor. We are sad to see his passing.
Author Michael Crichton made a career of fabricating yarns about scientific pursuits which are intended for the advancement and betterment of Man going horribly awry. Whether it be an unfailing belief in the infallibility of scientific advancement being a good thing and absolutely essential to our well being or just a catastrophic domino effect of good intentions and can’t fail scientific method crumbling into chaos, Crichton offered up a bevy of such cautionary tales about our experts overstepping their bounds with regard to natural order and development. Case in point: The Terminal Man. This cinematic take explores what would happen [More]