A child is discovered wandering aimlessly in a desert in the Southwestern United States. Trying to locate her parents, a police investigation starts to uncover a series of abandoned and destroyed homesteads in the area. The evidence is confounding but scientists are brought onboard and their discoveries are unsettling. Could it be that an area located near nuclear testing could be harboring mutations created by the bomb blast radiation? Of course it could! This movie was one of many made at the time that posited that giant ants, grasshoppers, humans could be the horrific result of our dabbling with nuclear [More]
Three dimensional film effects highlight the hijinx in the continuing adventures of slasher Jason Vorhees. The filmmakers trot out a new batch of interchangeable teen characters and proceed to have Jason creatively dispatch them in novel ways. It all becomes tedious and nauseating before long as objects like spears and knives thrust into the camera on their way to impaling and destroying said teens. Jason himself receives a machete to the cranium but never fear, he cannot die and his useless spirit continues on for at least seven more film adventures. Similar in nature to the “Halloween” franchise that lumbers [More]
I was intrigued with finally seeing this film as it starred Forrest Tucker, who made a few of my favorite 1950’s science fiction films namely “Abominable Snowman of the Himalayas” and “The Crawling Eye”. “Monsters” is my least favorite entry. I found it very difficult to follow the action for a couple of reasons: What I can glean from this snoozer is that scientists are conducting experiments concerning magnetism and cosmic rays and seem to have F’ed up and ripped a hole between our dimension and an unseen parallel dimension thus allowing an unwelcome invisible intruder to enter our space [More]
Andy Warhol was famously known as a leading practitioner of the Pop Art movement in the 60’s and as a constant admirer and pursuer of Celebrity/celebrities through the course of his life up until his death. Warhol was also interested in all kinds of art, namely, sculpture, painting, filmmaking and music. All of these art forms were utilized by Warhol in an idea he had for a mixed media freakout event. Films would be projected onto walls, dancers and Warhol film actors and pulsating, colored lights and strobes would illuminate a performance space that was sonically assaulted by the cacophonic [More]
Edited NASA CLIPPY 071613 movie Unidentified space junk floating by the space shuttle, the Russian space station Mir, Skylab, Apollo spacecraft and transiting the Moon’s surface. Who’s to say what these films truly reveal? Judging by the abundance of activity displayed, space is one crowded place.
I always liked this song by Black Sabbath but being performed here by the essentially the same band with a new moniker, “Heaven and Hell” to avoid infringement with Ozzy over the BS name. Tony Iommi’s finger picked guitar alternates with a sledge hammer guitar riff. Very sinewy, melodic bass work by Geezer Butler, too. And, of course, Iron Lungs Ronnie James Dio, in a performance shortly before his death. Epic.
“An American Werewolf in London” gets my vote for the best realized hybrid of the horror and comedy movie genres. But, to be sure, the emphasis is clearly on the horror of the entire situation. Two young Americans are on a backpacking trek across the lonely expanses of Britain when they encounter the completely unexpected. Both are savagely attacked by a giant wolf creature. One is killed but the other unlucky soul lives to experience the nightmare of werewolf transformation. Humor in the style of “Animal House” and “The Blues Brothers” but what would you expect from the director of all three [More]
Have you ever noticed the greatly relied on device used in the movies where a character will emotionally discharge a big gun of some type? I guess the reaction is supposed to characterize a last gasp burst of attack against a nearly undefeatable opponent (Independence Day: Resurgence). Terminator Salvation has multiple examples of actors unloading weapons’ magazine after magazine in an attempt to stop a non human juggernaut. To get an idea of what I am referring to, please go to the clip. You can probably get away with this type of behavior at the target range.
Actor Robert Conrad recently passed away. I know him best from his role as super government agent, James West, from “The Wild, Wild West” TV series. He played a crime fighter in the mold of James Bond but in an earlier century, namely the Old American West! James West was an avid fan of hidden gadgets, throwing daggers, multiple firearms, explosives, what have you, that he sprung on the maniacal criminal masterminds that he confronted on a weekly basis. This was pretty exciting stuff for a young kid. I caught many of these TV episodes when they eventually went to [More]
I have mixed emotions about this twisted little horror film. I remember watching it as a kid and being terrified of many parts of it. There is a lingering memory of the mutated bullfrog chants of the human/aquatic monstrosities created from a ruptured barrel of hazardous radiation waste. The warped soundtrack music careening between creepily plodding to crazed, primitive synthesizer driven fury. Meanwhile, you’ve got a bunch of blood thirsty, shabbily costumed creatures marauding around in the dark looking for unsuspecting human victims. I think I covered my eyes more than once during this mayhem. I probably covered my ears [More]
We sadly mark the passing of exploitation giant, Roger Corman: a tireless, budget minded producer/director who was creatively involved in some very memorable science fiction, horror, western and action genre pictures. Many of these movies have become classics and provide a blueprint of how to manufacture films quickly and cheaply without sacrificing all quality. I will reference “A Bucket of Blood” (1959) as being one such example of a low budgeted, though engaging story of a homicidal “artist” who finally runs out of luck. A very engaging movie. It was in the 1960’s that Corman turned his attention to adapting [More]
Great thrill ride of a movie that I never get tired of. Alien terrorizing a camp of isolated military men. The men must use their human ingenuity to rid themselves of the blood drinking outer space thing. Truly influential.
Pretty harrowing moviefare as a man and his son wander a wasteland attempting to survive a post apocalyptic North American landscape. The cause of the cataclysm is never fully divulged. We do know that most plant and animal life has been wiped out and resources such as food and water are in short supply. Based on Cormac McCarthy’s book of the same name.
It is with a heavy heart that I comment on the passing of our very dear friend, Leonard Nimoy. Nimoy proved to be a man of many talents. Among his accomplishments were successful turns as actor, director, writer, singer, and photographer. We all best remember him for his iconic portrayal of the Vulcan First Officer aboard the starship Enterprise, Mr. Spock. The “Star Trek” role endeared him to fans and established his place as one of the most beloved fictional characters in the history of, well, the world! Nimoy’s work as psychologist Dr. David Kibner in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is to me [More]