The Big One! Aliens invade our airspace and threaten our way of life. The Earth counters their incursion. Our efforts amount to naught. Surprise, surprise, it takes American ingenuity to break through the aliens’ defenses. Adrenaline fueled, special effects heavy, feel good peon to Humankind working together and preserving the sanctity of freedom and The American Way. LOL! You’ll love it!!! Pop Corn Hall Of Fame Award Winner!!! Yay!!!!
Blog
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CLOSE THE CITIES! THE MOB RULES!
Right on the heals of the Covid pandemic in the United States, we have mobs running riot in the streets. What happened to Social Distancing? How fitting then is this song?
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Halloween: Resurrection (2002) – The Michael Myers Pandemic
If you thought the COVID-19 pandemic was bad, think about the never ending plague of remakes and redoes about the immortal movie killing machine Michael Myers. In “Resurrection”, there is a group, ultimately Myers’ victims (duh!), who win a contest to appear on an live Internet broadcast that takes place at Michael’s old home. The visitors are equipped with body cameras and there are other cameras setup around the place by the producer’s of the show to capture the action. It isn’t long before the murderous mayhem begins. At this stage of the “Halloween” movie cycle, this is the eighth film, the viewer had pretty much seen all the butchery and Michael rising from his apparent grave after surely being killed (again) before. This is more of the same: characters you can care less about stack up in a corner as Michael mows them down. Think of this as the Zoom call from Hell.
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Little Richard, Rock Legend, Passes Away
It is a good thing for us that Little Richard lived to the ripe old age of 87. We have been able to enjoy his talent and wit all these years! A rock and roll trailblazer and influential icon, Little Richard was a one of a kind personality and energy source. We have been blessed with his presence. Thank you, Sir.
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Dave Greenfield of The Stranglers, R.I.P.
Dave Greenfield played the keyboards with the British punk band The Stranglers. He passed away over the weekend, Dave had to be admitted to hospital for a heart ailment but ended up contacting the corona virus and passed away. Ugh. What a shame. An amazing player and talented writer and performer. Farewell, Dave.
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Family Bliss Gets A Bludgeoning
Married man home alone for the weekend. He is also an egotistical lawyer. Begins a flirtation with someone from the office. Unknown to him, she is also rather possessive and psychotic. After their weekend fling, things go all bad. Fantastic suspense film starring Michael Douglas, Glenn Close and Anne Archer. Directed by Adrian Lyne. Watch it. It is quite creepy!
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Brian Dennehy, 81, Passes
My best movie screen memory of Brian Dennehy is playing Will Teasle, the hardheaded small town sheriff who sets off a war when he pushes Sylvester Stallone’s Rambo, ex-Green Beret character, too far in “First Blood” (1982). What a fantastic performance. Definitely worth checking out. Dennehy was a great actor!
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Building A Better Biological Bug And Then It All Went Wrong – “The Stand” (1994)
There were news items circling around where the plot from Steven King’s “The Stand” has been compared to the current global pandemic featuring the irrepressible COVID-19. King denied that there were really any similarities. As we progress through this mess, more details emerge as to the origin of the coronavirus. Did it begin in one of the “wet markets” in Wuhan, China, where a varied selection of animals are sold for consumption? It has also been mentioned that there are a couple of virology labs close by the wet markets where tests were being made on bats for who knows what reason and that a doctor involved may have been infected and took the virus and spread it amongst the general public. That theory alone would make it similar in concept to King’s “Stand” beginning. Maybe one day, we will learn about the true origins of our real life virus problems. For now, take an exhilarating trip with “The Stand” miniseries from 1994. This opening clip from the miniseries, directed by Mick Garris, which shows how an influenza strain escapes from a DOD laboratory and infects the world is really good stuff. Equally killer is the usage of Blue Oyster Cult’s “Don’t Fear The Reaper” as the soundtrack. AWESOME!!!!
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Allen Garfield, R.I.P.
Allen Garfield, a great actor known for some villainous acting roles, passed away from the Coronavirus. My favorite bad guy he portrayed was the loathsome “Rizzo”, a crime boss featured in “Busting” (1973). An unforgettable sleaze! Garfield had memorable turns in “Nashville” (1975) and “The Conversation” (1974), as well. Garfield will be missed.
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Sci-Fi Movie Sonic Weapons: Technological Breakthrough Or Budgetary Restriction?
I have had time to catch up on some reading while sheltering at home with the coronavirus pandemic raging on. I came across an interesting observation made by Kim Newman in his “Apocalypse Movies” book. He observed that in several 1950’s era science fiction movies, the military and scientists combined their efforts to rid the world of alien menaces with some new sonic based weapons. Newman imagined that the sonic weapons could have either been introduced as a safer, more progressive form of warfare, especially when having to secure the safety of the civilian population, as opposed to nuclear weapons which could definitely get messy. But another supposition of Newman’s was that the use of the audio based weapons could have been a function of the science fiction films having too low of budgets to afford more spectacular, expensive visual shows of cities exploding and similar destructive spectacle. Great point! Here is a clip full of some scientific mumbo-jumbo detailing how the good guys in “Earth Vs. The Flying Saucers” plan on using their sonic weapon to take out the offending alien threat. We’ll take their word for it.
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“Andromeda Strain’s” Virus Arrives From Space (1971)
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 exposure to the out of this world life form. The results are disastrous and deadly. After the entire town is found to be dead, a secret government biological research division goes into action and isolates the organism in a vast, underground laboratory complex. It is now up to the “experts” to prevent the bacterial strain from mutating and spreading across the globe. There are some interesting futuristic (at the time) devices and special effects used in this movie. It still holds its charm for me and is very suspenseful in spots but can be a little tedious at times as the four main protagonists go about their tests and experiments to scientifically make sense of this unknown, threatening quantity and try to find a means to eliminate it.
We don’t know how long our present pandemic will last or if the worst of it is behind us but we can certainly agree that it would be best if life did not imitate art after seeing any of the nightmare scenarios detailed in these pandemic themed works of art.
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SSSHHHHH!!!!! TOO LATE!!! “A QUIET PLACE” (2018)
“A Quiet Place” is a great horror/suspense picture about the need to keep as quiet as possible in any activity you may be involved in or chance the risk of being mutilated and dismembered by some mysterious creatures straight out of one of your worst nightmares. We don’t find out the origin of the monsters this time out, maybe more on that in “A Quiet Place 2” slated for release later this year. Speech isn’t even advised unless there is some form of audible mask such as a water fall or falling rain. Wow. That is quite a life restriction. The movie’s characters, including stars Emma Stone and John Krasinsky, must rely on sign language most of the movie. There are precious few actual exchanges of dialogue which makes this a very entrenched concept that drew me into the plight these endangered people face. Anyway, a family moves on foot (shoes are ditched. Squeaky rubber?) out of a town devoid of living beings before eventually set up their base of operations on a farm. Requisite security measures are set up amid the off grid existence but never put it past the beasties to figure out where the meal ticket is and how to breach the defenses. Well directed by John Krasinsky who stars along with his real life wife Emily Blunt. I guess no one snores in this family because that form of noise would be a dead give away to the sonically acute creatures. Also not sure how people use the bathroom or prevent the old farm house from creaking too much, etc. Still a gripping, horrifying, at times, monster movie.
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Robert Conrad Passes Away
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 syndication. Conrad as West was a very cool character who was athletic, tough and resilient. Conrad was equally memorable in his turn as an embezzling fitness center franchise peddler. Conrad’s ability to switch from a controlled, public-friendly persona to murderous, avenging madman is truly chilling. Great stuff.
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KEVIN CONWAY DEAD AT 77
Kevin Conway recently passed away. He has two roles that remind me of his involvement in the fright/fantasy movie field. Conway appeared in Tobe Hooper’s The Funhouse (1981). He appears as three different barkers in a carnival (!!!). These are pretty seamy characters and lend a creepy air to the bizarre goings on at the rundown attraction. Lawnmower Man 2 (1996) saw Conway acting as an unscrupulous, corporate scumbag who is pushing the boundaries of the virtual reality world. Nice work. R.I.P., Kevin.