Voyage to the Prehistoric Planet (1965)

Directors:  Curtis Harrington, Pavel Klushantsev

Writers:  Curtis Harrington, Aleksandr Kazantsev, Pavel Klushantsev

Composer:  Ronald Stein

Starring:  Basil Rathbone, Faith Domergue, Marc Shannon, Christopher Brand, John Bix, Lewis Keane, Gennadi Vernov, Georgi Zhzhyonov

More info:  IMDb


Plot:  In the year 2020, cosmonaut Marcia (Domergue) orbits the planet Venus while five astronauts and a robot journey on the surface. Professor Hartman (Rathbone) is also on hand to observe the exploration from a distance. The explorers are attacked by prehistoric beasts, and then lose their robot (and nearly their lives!) in a volcanic eruption. They discover signs of a lost civilization and an artifact indicating that the Venusians had looked human. But what of the strange singing sound they often have heard during their exploration? Do the anthropomorphic Venusians still exist?

My rating:   5/10

Will I watch it again?   No.

This is nothing more than a re-dub of the Russion classic, PLANETA BUR (1962), directed by Pavel Klushantsev.  My preference is going to be the original film over this or any other re-use of it.  But if you don't want to read subtitles or if you're a Basil Rathbone completists (in one of his last films) then knock yourself out.  Rathbone is barely in it and he's in a single room for all of his scenes.  It's a complete waste of this great man's talents and it's a role that just about anyone could've done. The ground-breaking special effects are fantastic and are worth the price of admission alone but they were created for the original Russian film.  I can't recommend enough the documentary, THE STAR DREAMER (2002), which tells the story of the director and the mastermind behind these marvelous effects (Klushantsev) and how he struggled behind the Iron Curtain to maintain his integrity as a filmmaker.  That's a far more interesting story (as is PLANETA BUR) than this American cheapie taking advantage of it.  But hey, it's money.  I get it.

The Alien Factor (1978)

Director:  Don Dohler

Writer:  Don Dohler

Composer:  Ken Walker

Starring:  Don Leifert, Tom Griffith, Richard Dyszel, Richard Geiwitz, George Stover, Eleanor Herman, Anne Frith, Christopher Gummer

More info:  IMDb

Tagline:  They brought terror from beyond our galaxy!

Plot:  A spaceship containing specimens for an intergalactic zoo crashes on Earth near a small back woods town. The specimens escape, and soon town folk are turning up mutilated.

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I like watching low/no budget movies made by people who are passionate about making them.  Don Dohler was a Baltimore filmmaker who started with this movie and made a few others (which I'll have to check out).  He also started Cinemagic Magazine in the early 70 and sold it to Starlog in '78.  I started reading it shortly after and still have a few of those early issues around here somewhere.  Neat-O.  For an ultra low budget movie, the story is simple at first but gets more intricate as the movie goes on and there's a lot of exposition at the end which made it even cooler.  I dig Ken Walker's electronic score.  Some scenes more than others but it's largely pretty cool and effective. The special effects run the spectrum.

There's even a stop motion animated creature at the end!  I LOVE that shit.  Anyone who includes stop motion animation in their pictures gets major points with me.  The acting is on the "gather everyone you know and put 'em in a movie" quality but there are some decent performances all things considered.  Some of the lines the sheriff had were great.  I'll have to add the sequel to my list. 

Mesa of Lost Women (1953)

Directors:  Ron Ormond, Herbert Tevos

Writers:  Herbert Tevos, Orville H. Hampton

Composer:  Hoyt Curtin

Starring:  Jackie Coogan, Allan Nixon, Richard Travis, Lyle Talbot, Paula Hill, Robert Knapp, Tandra Quinn, Chris-Pin Martin, Harmon Stevens, Nico Lek, Kelly Drake, John Martin, George Barrows, Dolores Fuller

More info:  IMDb

Tagline:  A race of deadly spider-women luring men to their death!

Plot:  A mad scientist named Arana is creating giant spiders and dwarfs in his lab on Zarpa Mesa in Mexico. He wants to create a master race of superwomen by injecting his female subjects with spider venom.

My rating: 3/10

Will I watch it again? No.

Narration opens the picture and there's a lot of it.  It sounds like a bunch of jabbering and it runs on for a few minutes but it's so entertainingly spoken by silver screen veteran, Lyle Talbot, that it doesn't matter. I was rather sad to hear it stop.  This flick is dull.  Nothing much happens and it's hardly an excuse to make a movie.  Jackie Coogan (Uncle Fester from THE ADDAMS FAMILY (1964)) adds little.  Granted, he's not in it much despite top billing.  For as much as I LOVE THE ADDAMS FAMILY, I still find it difficult to see Uncle Fester under that goatee and lower voice.  Hoyt Curtin's repetitive score (of mostly quick strumming guitar and sometimes with piano) is just plain lazy and it hurts the pacing even more.  About thirty years ago I interviewed Curtin on a radio series I was working on regarding writing music for animation (he wrote the themes and music for most of Hanna Barbera's TV shows like THE JETSONS and THE FLINTSTONES) and when I mentioned this picture, his sole feature film, he chuckled and came back with, "The less said about that, the better." and laughed some more.  I agree. 

The Amazing Transparent Man (1960)

Director:  Edgar G. Ulmer

Writer:  Jack Lewis

Composer:  Darrell Calker

Starring:  Marguerite Chapman, Douglas Kennedy, James Griffith, Ivan Triesault, Boyd 'Red' Morgan, Cormel Daniel, Ed Erwin, Jonathan Ledford

More info:  IMDb

Tagline:  The Most Amazing Picture Of The Year! He's Invisible! He's Deadly!

Plot:  A crazed scientist invents an invisibility formula. He plans to use the formula to create an army of invisible zombies.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

This is one of legendary low budget sci-fi/horror director Edgar G. Ulmer's last pictures and it's pretty good.  The acting is good and there's more story than you'd think for a low budget hour long flick.  It takes a while before Joey Faust is rendered invisible (which isn't to say that it's slow or bad) but once that happens the pacing picks up and it's a reasonably entertaining race to the end.  It's not a bad way to kill an hour on a lazy day.

 

Robot Monster (1953)

Director:  Phil Tucker

Writer:  Wyott Ordung

Composer:  Elmer Bernstein

Starring:  George Nader, Claudia Barrett, Selena Royle, John Mylong, Gregory Moffett, Pamela Paulson, George Barrows, John Brown

More info:  IMDb

Tagline:  Adventures Into The Future in New TRU-3 Dimension

Plot:  The monstrous Ro-Man attempts to annihilate the last family alive on Earth, but finds himself falling for their beautiful daughter.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

This isn't nearly as bad as the internet suggests.  If you look at who this was intended for (little kids on a Saturday lineup of cartoons, maybe a chapter from a couple of serials and double feature (this film being on the bottom) of sci-fi and action or comedy), then this doesn't look so bad.  Sure, it's goofy as hell.  There's no doubt the alien villain's (Ro-Man) costume is bargain basement, "what do we have lying around to make a spacesuit?", and silly.  The bubble-blowing alien radio is just the best in dumb fun.  It's an easy target to goof on this flick which adds to the fun.  Halfway through this 62 picture, a romance blooms and it's off to make out in a field before heading back to home base to ask the girl's dad for her hand in marriage.  THE FUCK?  It's courageous that they are able to risk their lives when there's a robot monster on the loose wanting to destroy the last surviving humans on Earth.  And then they get married and the occasion is a happy one despite the murderous alien outside their walls.  Whatever.  It's a silly movie made for mindless entertainment.  As a soundtrack nerd, one of the things that tickles me the most is that this is one of the first film scores from Elmer Bernstein.

The Land Unknown (1957)

Director:  Virgil W. Vogel

Writer:  Laszlo Gorog, William N. Robson, Charles Palmer

Composer:  Henry Mancini, Heinz Roemheld, Hans J. Salter, Herman Stein

Starring:  Jock Mahoney, Shirley Patterson, William Reynolds, Henry Brandon, Douglas Kennedy, Phil Harvey

More info:  IMDb

Tagline:  Lost and Terrorized in Prehistoric Time.

Plot:  Three men and a woman crash-land in a deep crater in Antarctica, where they find a prehistoric world.

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Nope.

This simple and mildly entertaining adventure flick checks all the right boxes for a reasonable 78-minute romp for some brainless time killing.  That's hardly a winning endorsement but it's not trying to be anything else.  The cast do a fine job with everyone filling their roles nicely.  The plot is straightforward and the dialogue serves it well enough.  See the trailer to get an idea how much money and effort were spent, although I thought the integration of the giant lizard footage was handled better than usual.  The man-in-suit T-Rex is laughable.  I was pleasantly surprised by the ending but, overall, the picture is by the numbers, goofy entertainment.  The word on the street is this was originally going to be given a much better and bigger treatment until it got downgraded to a B-level production, including being shot in color.  I do, however, like that it was shot in B&W.

Life (2017)

Director: Daniel Espinosa

Writers: Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick

Composer: Jon Ekstrand

Starring: Hiroyuki Sanada, Ryan Reynolds, Rebecca Fergusson, Jake Gyllenhaal, Olga Dykhovichnaya, Ariyon Bakare

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Be careful what you search for.

Plot: A team of scientists aboard the International Space Station discover a rapidly evolving life form that caused extinction on Mars and now threatens all life on Earth.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  Nope.

I remember seeing the trailer early on and thinking it looks like an ALIEN (1979) ripoff.  Now that I've seen it, I can say without doubt that I liked it better when it was called ALIEN (1979).  I gave it the usual suspension of disbelief but it's a stretch.  The big jump in buying into this is that you're to believe a single cell organism from Mars, with the right mixture of oxygen and hydrogen (you know, air) and whatever else causes this thing to grow incredibly fast.  It consumes the only living thing on the space station (a lab rat) before growing even larger and killing and feeding off of the human crew, one by one.  Not only that, it is super intelligent.  Not bad for having such a small start in life and with only hours (perhaps as much as 2-3 days) of growth.  That's the biggest hurdle your thinking brain has to overcome.  It makes it harder still that this takes place in Earth's orbit and it's otherwise more grounded in reality.  Except for the other bullshit like the organism knocking out communication with Earth and the astronauts having to "bypass" or "override" a satellite or some mumbo jumbo typical computer-y bullshit.  You know the kind.  It's an easy out but things don't always work out for these unlucky few.

There is a lot that is derivative of other science fiction horror movies and it only sometimes gets in the way of the storytelling.  As a piece of entertainment, it's pretty good but the weight of the issues above gets in the way sometimes and drags it down.  The thing is the acting is fine, the score, effects, pacing, et al, are done well enough to serve the film.  The problem is in the story.  It's not real enough to be taken seriously but it's also not bad enough to qualify as cheesy popcorn fun.  However, the tail end of the picture was great despite my realizing it earlier than I should've.  It's maybe worth a look but don't get too excited about it. 

Upgrade (2018)

Director: Leigh Whannell

Writer: Leigh Whannell

Composer: Jed Palmer

Starring: Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson, Benedict Hardie, Simon Maiden, Michael M. Foster

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Not Man. Not Machine. More.

Plot: Set in the near-future, technology controls nearly all aspects of life. But when Grey, a self-identified technophobe, has his world turned upside down, his only hope for revenge is an experimental computer chip implant called Stem.

My rating: 9/10

Will I watch it again?  YES!

WOW!  I knew nothing except the basic plot and that's it.  I didn't even see the trailer.  I'm blown away.  It's smart science fiction that feels real enough to buy into hook, line and sinker but it's also hilarious in strange, sometimes dark ways.  But then it also has plenty of action.  And the ending?  Holy fucking shit was I strangely emotionally wrapped up in it.  It's brilliant.  I was so worried throughout the film that the ending was going to let me down but there's a point in the last act where I had the confidence of the filmmaker that it wouldn't and it delivered in spades.  There is so much about this picture that I love and I can't wait to see it again.  And it was a rare theater experience, too, as there were only about ten people there but not one person said a word the entire time.  That was just icing on the cake.  There are several scenes where the score was absent which gave the visuals room to breathe and let you take in the atmosphere.  I was so excited that as soon as I was home I was looking up the cast and crew on IMDb and I was surprised to see that this was the writer/director's second film (as director) with INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3 (2015) being his first.  Of all movies.  I haven't seen that one but it seems like a massive leap from that one to this one.  He's been a busy writer starting with the first three SAW films and later the four INSIDIOUS pictures.  I'm looking forward to seeing what he makes next and I'm also looking forward to owning UPGRADE so I can show it to all my friends. 

Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

Director: Ron Howard

Writers: Lawrence Kasdan, Jonathan Kasdan

Composer: John Powell

Starring: Alden Ehrenreich, Joonas Suotamo, Woody Harrelson, Emilia Clarke, Donald Glover, Thandie Newton, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Paul Bettany, Jon Favreau, Erin Kellyman, Linda Hunt

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Never tell him the odds.

Plot: During an adventure into the criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his future copilot Chewbacca and encounters Lando Calrissian years before joining the Rebellion.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.

SPOILERS ABOUND!!!  YARRRRRR!!!

Halfway through it occurred to me that I was bored and that mostly continued until the end.  I kept waiting for it to get better and it didn't.  I don't think the problem was with the actors.  Ehrenreich was good enough, especially given that he's got the thankless job of trying to fill Harrison Ford's shoes.  Harrelson was fun, Clarke was fine despite her character wasn't that interesting to begin with, Glover did a great Billy Dee Williams impersonation but Lando wasn't much more than window dressing and comic relief and Bettany was rather good as the big baddie despite never leaving HIS FUCKING OFFICE! (at least I can't recall a scene where he does).  Lando's droid, L3, was funny at times and annoying at others.  She suffered from too much screen time and too many jokes.  The action was OK as was the pacing but the biggest problem is with the story and dialogue.  "Look me up sometime.  I'm going to Tatooine.  Some big shot gangster's putting together a crew."  That was pretty clunky.  Also clunky was the dialogue that happened right after Han shoots first.  As if we the fan wouldn't have figured that out.

The movie plays like the screenwriters had a checklist they had to tick off one by one, a list of references from the OT.  And they handle some of them so clumsily that you'd think they were writing this for the most dimwitted movie goer.  It was insulting.  If they absolutely must include them, which they don't, then why not let things happen organically instead of making a big show of it.  Hell, there were a couple that would've only been worse if the character burst suddenly into song about it.  I did thoroughly enjoy Han and Chewie's introduction to each other.  That was one of the few things the movie got right.  But there were so many dumb choices in this picture.  I'm mildly OK with Darth Maul showing up but why the fuck did he have to force pull his lightsaber into the hologram and ignite it?  If you're that dim that you didn't recognize him from THE PHANTOM MENACE, is seeing the dual lightsaber going to be the thing that makes that work for you?  Jesus, the more I talk about this the more I don't like it.  The lighting of most the film was very dim.  I thought this was a problem with the projector until I read online that this was a widespread problem despite what Lucasfilm/Disney says.  It was awful.  Maybe they'll fix that for the home release and I'll someday catch it for free when I borrow it from someone because I'll never buy it.  Now that I think of it I haven't bought any of the Disney Star Wars movies on Blu-ray.  I'm just not that interested.  I have enough friends that own them that I'll probably never need to buy them and I'm OK with that.  Look, I'm not a hater by any stretch.  I wanted this to be good just like I want every movie I see to be good.  This one wasn't up to snuff as an action sci-fi movie much less one that shows the early days of one of screen history's most iconic heroes.  It's not good, it's not bad, it's just OK which is apparently not OK for moviegoers judging by the disappointing box office numbers (as initially projected by Disney).  Come on, people.  Spend some quality time writing a good movie.  That's all anyone cares about. 

Moon 44 (1990)

Director: Roland Emmerich

Writers: Dean Heyde, Oliver Eberle, Roland Emmerich, P.J. Mitchell

Composer: Joel Goldsmith

Starring: Michael Pare, Lisa Eichhorn, Dean Devlin, Brian Thompson, Malcolm McDowell, Stephen Geoffreys, Leon Rippy, Jochen Nickel, Roscoe Lee Browne

More info: IMDb

Tagline: In the Outer Zone... you need a friend.

Plot: In 2038, Earth's mineral resources are drained, there are space fights for the last deposits on other planets and satellites. This is the situation when one of the bigger mining corporations has lost many mineral moons except one and many of their fully automatic mining robots are disappearing on their flight home. Since nobody else wants the job, they send prisoners as a last resort to defend the mining station. Among them, internal affairs agent Felix Stone, assigned to clear the whereabouts of the expensive robots. In an atmosphere of corruption, fear and hatred, Stone gets between the fronts of rivaling groups and locates the person committing sabotage.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

There are times when the direction, pacing, sets and special effects are impressive and even more so when you consider the low budget.  Joel Goldsmith's (son of Jerry) score is very good and is reminiscent of his pop's style to the point where you'd think Jerry did it.  The problem with the film is that it drags a lot in the second half.  Between the training missions and the ship battles, there's a lot of repetition in the shots and none of them are exciting to begin with.  It helps having Malcolm McDowell and  Stephen Geoffreys but it's not enough to sustain 100 minutes.  And that's another problem in that it's too long.  There's enough good in this to satisfy any 30 year old direct to video sci-fi itch you've been having but lower your expectations.

Godzilla 1985 (1984)

Original title: Gojira

Directors: Koji Hashimoto, R.J. Kizer

Writers: Tomoyuki Tanaka, Tony Randel, Lisa Tomei, Straw Weisman

Composer: Reijiro Koroku

Starring: Raymond Burr, Ken Tanaka, Yasuko Sawaguchi, Yosuke Natsuki, Shin Takuma, Keiju Kobayashi, Eitaro Ozawa, Taketoshi Naito, Kenpachiro Satsuma, Warren J. Kemmerling, James Hess, Travis Swords, Crawford Binion, Justin Gocke

More info: IMDb

Tagline: There goes the neighborhood.

Plot: Thirty years after the original monster's rampage, a new Godzilla emerges and attacks Japan.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again?  No.

I've seen a few Godzilla pictures in my time and I don't remember one that had as much Godzilla action and screen time as this one does.  It takes a good half hour before he shows up but he's not off screen long for a lot of the next hour which is great.  You don't watch these movies for the acting or even the ground-breaking special effects (this one is still, thankfully, a man in suit Godzilla) except maybe for those of us who REALLY appreciate the great model work these films usually deliver.  The familiar Ifukube music is absent as he turned down the opportunity but the score works well enough.  In the final ten minutes when Godzilla is being driven away to his possibly impending doom, the music is heartbreaking.  I couldn't believe it.  After seeing all of the destruction this mofo had wrought over the 50 minutes I'm feeling sorry for the guy and that's all due to the beautifully tragic theme.  That theme changes into something less sad when he gets to the island and that thing happens.  My big complaint is one that unfortunately gets said all too frequently and that's the monster action happens at night.  They do this to hide the flaws in the effects and it pisses me off.  If this were a CGI Godzilla it would've been raining as well at an attempt to disguise the flaws.  But it's still an entertaining movie and a good enough direct sequel to the film that started it all 30 years earlier.