Oblivion (2013)

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Writers: Joseph Kosinski, Karl Gajdusek, Michael Arndt

Composers: M83, Anthony Gonzalez, Joseph Trapanese

Starring: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Melissa Leo, Zoe Bell, Abigail Lowe, Isabelle Lowe, David madison

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Earth is a memory worth fighting for.

Plot: Jack Harper is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack's mission is nearly complete. Living in and patrolling the skies from thousands of feet above, his existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Maybe.

Geez, I'm behind.  I saw this six months ago in the theater. I'm glad I saw it in the theater.  I dig sci-fi flicks like this on the big screen.  Beautiful sci-fi porn sixty feet high.  It's a great looking picture.  There's no escaping that.  Tom Cruise isn't annoying.  Another plus.  There's an interesting central sci-fi idea which I won't spoil.  Great.  But in the end it's just a neat futuristic flick with an cool premise.  The problem, if you can call it that, is that OBLIVION feels like it took some major themes from other, and often better, science fiction films and put them in a blender to form this one.  I'm not going to cry fowl about it.  Tarantino does it all the time and his movies are fun as hell to watch.  I'm OK with it but there was no escaping "I've seen that done before" every once in a while.  Ultimately it boils down to 'did I enjoy it' and the answer is, 'Yes'.  Will I watch it again and does it have any repeat watching value?  That, I'm not sure of. 

Evil Dead II (1987)

Director: Sam Raimi

Writers: Sam Raimi, Scott Spiegel

Composer: Joseph LoDuca

Starring: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Kassie Wesley DePaiva, Ted Raimi, Denise Bixler, Richard Domeier, John Peakes

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Kiss Your Nerves Good-Bye!

Plot: The lone survivor of an onslaught of flesh-possessing spirits holds up in a cabin with a group of strangers while the demons continue their attack.

My rating: 9/10 ("Groovy")

Will I watch it again? Naturally.

I've seen this and the other two films many, many times but something weird happened last night when I watched this one for the first time in probably 7 years (way too long, I know), I wasn't as thrilled with it as I had been.  This one was always my favorite of the three but now it's been downgraded to the number two spot with the first film taking the reigns. It's still a great flick but it was strange how it wasn't as perfect as I remembered it.  Anyway, Bruce Campbell is the man and with more money, Raimi was able to take the first movie to the next level with blood and gore effects and zany dark humor.  If you haven't seen it by now then you need to watch these movies in order and enjoy the hell out of yourself.  The ending is balls-out insanely awesome and a great setup for part 3, ARMY OF DARKNESS (1992).

Iron Sky (2012)

Director: Timo Vuorensola

Writers: Timo Vuorensola, Johanna Sinisalo, Jarmo Puskala, Michael Kalesnkio

Composer: Laibach

Starring: Julia Dietze, Christopher Kirby, Gotz Otto, Udo Kier, Peta Sergeant, Stephanie Paul, Tilo Pruckner, Michael Cullen, Kym Jackson

More info: IMDb

Tagline: In 1945 The Nazis Went To The Moon.  In 2018 They Are Coming Back.

Plot: In the last moments of World War II, a secret Nazi space program evaded destruction by fleeing to the Dark Side of the Moon. During 70 years of utter secrecy, the Nazis construct a gigantic space fortress with a massive armada of flying saucers.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

"I think you know what I'm talking about, ladies and gentlemen.  That's right...mother fucking space Nazis!"

I fucking love that line from the trailer.  I can't remember how long ago I first saw the trailer that whetted my appetite for this flick but it was a few years ago.  I finally saw this last year (I'm a little behind here) and while it's not as fun as the spectacular trailer, it was good and it's got a lot of things going for it.  The art design and look of the film is incredible.  The special effects are simply grand.  I love this little world they've created.  Some of the gags work and some don't.  Unfortunately there are some slow spots that need something extra or need to be tightened up a bit.  The ending was surprising serious and kind of depressing.  I'll give this one another shot one day.  It's a fun ride when you're looking for something different.

The Magic Mirror (1970)

Director: ???

Writer: ???

Composer: ???

Starring: Uschi Digard, Maria Arnold, Frank Harris, Kathy Hilton, William Howard, Michael Donovan O'Donnell, Tommy Toole, Anna Travers

More info: IMDb

Plot: Uschi purchases a haunted mirror that she is told has the effect of making one's inhibitions disappear and their dreams and fantasies come true whenever they gaze into it.  People start looking into the mirror and get naked...a lot.

My rating: 3/10

Will I watch it again? Sorry Uschi Baby but no.

#31 on the Uschi Digard Needs to Have My Babies Project

Uschi did a shittillion softcore porn flicks forty years ago and this is one of the lesser ones.  It's 98% nudity and phony sex and Uschi is in most of it.  There are four "stories".  The first has Uschi makin' it with a TV repairman with a heaping can of shaving cream (I'd like to believe it's marshmallow cream...mmmmmmm).

The second has two girls coming over to get Uschi to sign up for their protest group.  When one of the gals looks into the mirror, that naturally leads to a chick flick and the two gals get it on!

Then a couple of dudes show up...

And finally, a burglar breaks in followed by a cop who has been trailing him.  Naturally they start fucking Uschi.  Wouldn't you?  This one has the funniest bit in the film where Uschi is riding the one guy and the other punches him out cold and starts bangin' Uschi.  Nice.

"Mirror, mirror on the wall, thanks to you I've had a ball."

This one's pretty bad.  Despite Uschi being in it for most of it, the camera doesn't focus much on her, the simulated sex scenes are predictably dull and the music is horrendously hokey.  It's a stinker and for Uschi completest fans only.  Most of what I've seen her in is far better than this. 

Airport 1975 (1974)

Director: Jack Smight

Writers: Arthur Hailey, Don Ingalls

Composer: John Cacavas

Starring: Charlton Heston, Karen Black, George Kennedy, Efrem Zimbalist Jr., Susan Clark, Helen Reddy, Linda Blair, Dana Andrews, Roy Thinnes, Sid Caesar, Myrna Loy, Ed Nelson, Nancy Olson, Larry Storch, Martha Scott, Jerry Stiller, Norman Fell, Conrad Janis, Guy Stockwell, Erik Estrada, Sharon Gless, Gloria Swanson

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Something hit us... The crew is dead... Help us, please, please help us!

Plot: When the pilot of a small aircraft has a heart attack and crashes his plane into the cockpit of a Boeing 747, several members of the flight crew are killed and the pilot is blinded. Miraculously, the 747 stays in the air on auto-pilot with flight attendant Nancy Prior at the controls. Ground controllers, including her boyfriend Alan Murdock, try to teach her the basics but they soon realize they will have to get a trained pilot into the cockpit. Their first attempt fails and Murdock realizes he will have to do it. Meanwhile, various passengers have their own problems including a young girl who is destined to a life saving operation.

My rating: 7.5/10

Will I watch it again? Yes.

Fans of AIRPLANE! (1980) are going to eat this up like mad.  You will be astonished how much they goofed on from this movie.  It's staggering. I caught this one in a theater and the crowd was in hysterics for most of the movie although most of the laughs are unintentional and are often due to how brilliantly AIRPLANE! lampooned it.  Then you've got the outrageously ridiculous song that...well, just watch for yourself and imagine you're in a theater with 200 people howling with laughter...

Great stuff, huh?  There is so much to love about this picture it's crazy.  Karen Black was fun and Charlton Heston is amazing as always being the macho man that he was.  He doesn't over act as much as George Kennedy who steals that prize.  He's sooooooooo serious that it's terribly funny. The plane crash was really well handled and I dug the special effects.  The cool thing about this picture is that despite all of the laughs, warranted or not, it's a very good thriller.  I was wrapped up in it all the way to the end.  I thoroughly enjoyed this film.  I HIGHLY recommend watching this right after AIRPLANE!.  It'll make for one hell of a fun night.  I guarantee it.

Dead Meat (2004)

Director: Conor McMahon

Writer: Conor McMahon

Composer: John Gillooley

Starring: Marian Araujo, David Muyllaert, Eoin Whelan, David ryan, Amy Redmond, Kathryn Toolan, Ned Dennehy, John O'Connor

More info: IMDb

Tagline: It's not what you eat, it's who you eat!

Plot: Helena (Araújo) and her mate Martin (Ryan) are traveling by car through the County of Leitrim, Ireland, when Martin hits a man. He brings the body to his car, and the corpse returns to live and bites him. Helena looks for help in a cottage and is attacked inclusive by Martin. Sooner she realizes that the place is infested of zombies. She meets the gravedigger Desmond (Muyllaert) and they cross the countryside trying to find a safe place. They meet another couple and they become aware that the mad cow disease has infected humans transforming them in living dead.

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

This low budget zombie flick has a different take on the zombie origin, starting it with an outbreak of mad cow disease in Ireland.  The Irish location shooting is a big plus for the picture as there are some lovely countrysides and old, dilapidated buildings that have been there for hundreds of years.  There are a few nice moments of John Gillooley's score and there are moments when this picture looks and feels like a big budget production, but those are only brief spots and we're soon reminded of the budget limitations.  It's not a bad film but it does drag from time to time in an effort to reach its 80 minute length.  There is lots of gore which culminates in a huge zombie attack at the end.  The final 2 or 3 minutes was nice when the cleanup crew showed up and forced the survivors into a truck.  There was some good tension there.  It's worth a look if you dig zombie movies and would like to see one that's not made by a major studio.

The Blair Princess Project (1999)

Director: Paula Goldberg

Writer: Paula Goldberg

Composer: no music

Starring: Shannon Conlon, Paula Goldberg, Coley Sohn

More info: IMDb

Tagline: In August of 1999, 3 Jewish girls set out to a Malibu Synagogue to document their friend Blair's wedding to a doctor. -- A week later, their footage was found.

Plot: In August of 1999, two of Blair's oldest friends (Shannon and Paula) pick up one of her college pals, Coley, whom they've never met, and set out from L.A. for Malibu where Blair is getting married. Shannon puts herself in charge of the map, and soon they're parked at the base of a hill, walking up a narrow trail. Before too long, the map has been put to more practical uses, they're lost, and strange things begin to happen.

My rating: 6/10

Will I watch it again? No

At about 9 minutes you're not losing much by watching this.  It's got some laughs and it doesn't rely on your seeing THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999) although it helps.  Coley freaking out about the 3 piles of dog shit was funny as was coming across the star of David made with sticks.  It's a cute short that looks like it was a lot of fun to make.  It's practically over before you know it.