Independence Day Saster 2013 5 out of 10

Independence Day-Saster 2013  5 out of 10

Tom Everett Scott and Ryan Merriman star in this Independence Day rip off.   I guess putting that weird title on the movie was supposed to get people to want to watch it near July 4th....   In this Alien Invasion a bunch of Alien ships start digging their way out of the Earth and then send a bunch of drones around to take out world leaders and start terraforming the Earth for the big spaceship that is currently out in space.   The low budget feature spends most of its time following the President of the United States that was downed in a helicopter and his brother both trying to come up with a way to stop the Alien invaders with the help of some random tech geeks and a scientist from SETI.   We don't actual ever get to see any aliens in this alien invasion movie,  just  a bunch of CGI flying balls.  It was okay for a low budget rip off of Independence Day,  but nothing special.

RIPD= Good vs Evil the TV show

Here is trailer for the TV show

I hope this new movie is half as good as the cool low budget show it must have been influenced by.   I was shocked when I saw the trailer for this new movie because it was something so familiar that I figured it had to be a reboot of the cool TV show called Good vs Evil.      They are too much alike not to be related somehow.   G vs E was a great show with humor and funny guest stars.   Itself basically being a Men in Black type show focusing on demons instead of aliens.   RIPD looks interesting as well, but seeing this trailer made me just long for the old TV show.

Here is trailer for new movie.

The Beast from Hollow Mountain 1956 5 out of 10

The Beast from Hollow Mountain  1956  5 out of 10

I felt like Jeff Goldblum at the beginning of Jurassic Park wondering if there was going to be any beast in this beast from Hollow Mountain story.   We don't see any signs of a beast at all until at least an hour into the movie.   Instead what we get for the first hour is a story about two competing cattleman in a Mexican town.  The one gets jealous about the other guy talking to his girl in they get in pretty good brawl in the streets of the town.  Then an hour into the movie the old town drunk disappears and we finally meet the beast and get some distant for the time  (but Land of the Lost level)  dinosaur action.   The Beast look just as bad in the movie as he does in the poster.... The last 15 minutes of the movie just throws away the plot that had nothing to do with the dinosaur and we get a bunch of action pieces featuring the beast.  The beast tries to attack the lead female of the story through the roof of a building, then it chases the hero and finally the bad guy that was chasing the hero.   The movie ends with a silly climax of the hero swinging on a rope over some quicksand in order to trick the beast into the mire.    You have to love the over the top trailer for the movie  "Unforgetable Excitement  Exploding on the Screen"    Well I don't know about that.

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Termination Point 2007 3 out of 10

Termination Point  2007   3 out of 10

The plane that his wife got on today crashed yesterday???  and it is all Lou Diamond Phillips fault.   Jason Priestly runs around in a Hawaiian shirt trying to retrieve a remote controller that will help bring the plane that his wife in on that is stuck in a time vortex and save planet Earth from certain destruction from a wormhole.

Lou Diamond Phillips is a scientist that stole his own teleporter to keep it out of the hands of the government that wants to use it as a weapon.  The film is just plain cheesy --from the special effects to the acting making for one of the most boring time travel movies I've ever seen.  Even the trailer is cheesy.

The Girl in Black Stocking 1957 6 out of 10

The Girl in Black Stockings   1957   6 out of 10

The description for this movie on IMDB reads " A Party girl is murdered, and everyone at a Utah motel is a suspect."   This murder mystery is plodding in its pacing, but has a good pay off at the end that makes the journey worthwhile.  The suspects include  a weird guy in a wheelchair that owns the motel that can't move his arms or legs,  a creepy dim wit drunk, a man that just arrived in town and several other mysterious characters.  As the mystery unravels several more people die including the always gorgeous Mamie Van Doren.  The story slowly unravels with several red herrings leading you down possible paths.   The problem with many old mystery stories is that you can get stories just as good if not better in many of the detective or crime TV shows that have come since.

Vice Raid 1959 4 out of 10

Vice Raid 1959     4 out of 10

This B Crime movie plays like a boring episode of a TV cop drama.  A police sergeant is framed while trying to clean up the city as a part from prostitution.  He then turns the tables on the gangsters after the main models sister is attacked by one of the gangsters.   The movie was very average with the exception of Mamie Van Doren's  Marilyn like presence on the screen.  

Sex Kittens Go to College 1960 4 out of 10

Sex Kittens Go to College  1960  4 out of 10

There isn't really much a plot to this movie at all.  It is madcap for no reason and the whole theme seems to be that Mamie Van Doren   is too blond to be a genius?    (Spoiler alert)  The paper thin plot line has several gangsters after something while hottie Mamie Van Doren causes trouble by being too good looking.   It turns out in the end that a sleep walking football lunk is getting Thinko the Robot to figure to make gambling bets that are making the silly gangsters lose money.    Again a very thin plot to a wacky movie that seems to have no focus or direction other than having Mamie Van Doren on the screen  (which is enough to get this silly movie a 4 out of 10).

Much to Do About Nothing 2012 8 out of 10

Much to Do About Nothing    2012  8 out of 10

It is a modern retelling of Shakespeare Joss Whedon style.  The movie was stylishly shot in black and white and features actors from many of Whedon's  other shows.   The film had a great look and feel to it.  The adaptation is fun, quirky and very witty.  The Whedonverse cast does and excellent job at bringing a freshness and sense of fun to  Shakespeare's words and it was great to see these recognizable Whedon actors in completely different roles.  I enjoyed watching the juxtaposition of the bard's words in a modern setting.  It is crazy that this movie was shot in 12 days at Whedon's house while on a break from filming The Avengers.  It seems very polished and is a delight for any fans of Whedon or Shakespeare.

At this point I'm convinced that Whedon can do no wrong.   Dr. Horrible, Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Dollhouse and now  even making me like  Shakespeare.    

The Magic Sword 1962 5 out of 10

The Magic Sword 1962   5 out of 10

An Evil Wizard (Basil Rathbone of Sherlock Holmes fame)   captures a princess which he will feed to his pet dragon unless he gets what he wants.  The son of a bumbling sorceress takes a magical sword and goes on a quest with some knights to rescue her.    The quest like all quests is filled with danger (7 curses to be exact.)  Most of the curses involve terrible makeup like the giant Ogre that was bascially someone in a bad used  Wolfman costume made to look huge by green screens.    The concept for the film was interesting so it gets points for that, but the execution was silly  which made for a really cheesy movie.   It could be remade today with a more serious tone and better effects.  This fantasy adventure was just odd like Santa Claus vs the Martians or some other weird film.

The Great Race 1965 7 out out 10

The Great Race  1965  7 out of 10

A car race that goes around the world.   Two arch rival daredevils   race around the world in this madcap adventure by Blake Edwards that stars a great cast.   The Great Leslie (Tony Curtis)  clad all in white and his nemesis Professor Fate (Jack Lemmon)  clad all in black (with sinister mustache included) battle it out in this silly adventure comedy with  Peter Falk and Natalie Wood along for the ride.   It is fun film that I revisited after probably about 20 plus years after a friend recently suggested it as a possible movie he would like to see  remade.    This movie was clearly the inspiration for Dastardly and Muttly and those Hanna Barbara  Wacky Race adventures you may remember having seen as a child.   The highlights of the include a  good old Western town bar fight scene, a terrific sword fight in a castle and a great pie fight near the end.  The cast was great especially Jack Lemmon as the villain and a drunken prince in one of the stops they make along the way.   Check out this fun adventure/ comedy.

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Here is the Wacky Races intro to jog our memory

King Kong Escapes 1968 7 out of 10

King Kong Escapes  1968    7 out of 10

Two King Kongs fight to the death!   How fun would it be to make a Godzilla type guy in a monster suit movie stomping around models doing wrestling moves on some other guy in a monster suit.   For me most of the the guy in a suit monster movies are around the same level.  If you like the genre  than you will probably enjoy this one as well even if King Kong looks terrible.

Monster in a suit movies are fun, yet extremely cheesy.  In this adventure the Evil Dr. Hu is trying to mine some mystery element that will help to  conquer the world and creates a giant King Kong robot to do so.  The robot fails and the real Kong is gassed and brought in to finish the job.   Of course Kong is a sucker for blonds and a good giant ape at heart which leads him to help out the good guys and an  eventual showdown with the robot Kong in Toyko on the Toyko tower.   The highlights include Kong battling a drop kicking T-Rex on his home island and the big battle with robot Kong at the end.  It is standard  guy in a monster suit fare.

The posters for this movie are awesome!.

Check out the trailer

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It Came From Beneath the Sea 1955 3 out of 10

It Came From Beneath the Sea  1955   3 out of 10

Despite some cool Giant Octopus stop motion work by  Ray Harryhausen this monster movie was a dud.  The plot was too slow to get to anything that could be considered exciting.  It came from beneath the sea--but it spent way to much time to get here so that when it did we didn't really care.   From the era of giant animals of all shapes and sizes this atomic age monster movie was a disappointment.  Watch the trailer and skip the film..

Satan met a Lady 1936 5 out of 10

Satan Met a Lady   1936   5 out of 10

This was basically a silly, light detective movie.  A remake of The Maltese Falcon with the character names changed and the horn in place of the bird statue.   It was still an effective story although the light and silly tone of the film made what would normally be tense and gritty moments have less weight.   Five years after this remake the film would be remade yet again this time with Humphrey Bogart in the lead role which was a classic.   This version was okay --but especially compare to the much better Bogart version it palls in comparison.  

Triassic Attack 2010 4 out of 10

Triassic Attack 2010    4 out 10

I watched this one with a couple of friends a couple of years ago and it was one of those really bad syfy channel movies that is so absurd that you can't help but laugh at it and make fun of it when you watch it.   If I had watched it alone it probably would have been a 2 out 3 out of 10....but I think the non-stop  Mystery Science theater like commentary track we had going while watching the film brought it up to a 4 out of 10.     The story is about a native american that brings to life some dinosaur bones to get revenge.  The Dino skeletons cause a bunch of chaos as the small town tries to take them on.  These are no normal Dino bones come back to life--they can be blown completely apart and put themselves back together again.   It is a completely silly movie with bad special effects and bad dialogue.  

The tagline for this stinker....."Their Anicent,   Their angry and they are out for revenge"

Crime by Night 1944 7+ out of 10

Crime by Night   1944   7+ out of 10

Detective Sam Campbell ( Jerome Cowan) and his secretary (Jane Wyman)  find themselves in the middle of a murder case.   They must prove that an ex concert pianist is innocent of killing his ex father in law during a custody case.  The pacing of the story is quick with some twists and turns in the case that eventually lead them to uncover that the real killer is actually a spy.  It has the feel of  a subtler version of a  Fletch movie set in the 1940's. The dialogue was crisp and the acting was good which makes for a good watch.

The Mysterious Doctor 1943 5 out of 10

The Mysterious Doctor  1943   5 out of 10

The Mysterious Doctor is a quickly paced war time movie that features a headless ghost that kills people in a British town that was once used for mining tin.  The plot of the moive could have easily been an episode of Scooby Doo and probably would have been much more enjoyable if it was.   A mysterious doctor comes into the town at the same time that a parachuting unknown individul is seen landing somewhere near the town.  The quickly paced story features several red herrings before the true nature of the headless ghost is revealed  (which I won't give away--other than to say once again think Scooby Doo).   At under an hour it is a quick watch--but there is nothing special about the story---skip it and watch any episode of Scooby Doo instead.

This is 40 2012 7 out of 10

This is 40    2012    7 out of 10

This is 40 stars Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann reprising their supporting roles from the movie Knocked Up.  This time around Judd Apatow directs again this time focusing on the couple. 

  The movie does a good job of mixing  comedy with the sometimes tough reality of turning 40 years old.

Both of the characters are having a mid-life crisis at the same time while trying to juggle kids, family issues and money problems which leads to arguments both funny and somewhat serious.    Albert Brooks is great as Paul Rudd's characters dad that is always mooching off his son.    

Mission Impossible 3 2006 8 out of 10

Mission Impossible 3    2006    8 out of 10

I had tuned out the Mission Impossible series after the disaster that was Mission Impossible 2.  MI2 was one of the worst big budget sequels I had seen at the time and I just really didn't want to see number 3 after my experience with number 2.    Well MI3 played the other night on TV and I decided to DVR it and give it a chance since its director J.J. Abrams will be at the helm of my beloved Star Wars franchise.  Having not liked the Star Trek reboot ...but having liked some of his other work I wanted to see what he did with Mission Impossible.    I'm glad to say that MI2 was actually pretty good.   Tom Cruise again stars as Ethan Hunt a spy that always seems to be dealing with double crosses (if I was this dude I wouldn't trust anyone).  Mission Impossible 3 delivers with some exciting action sequences and a good story, plus the bonus of having the strong acting of Phillip Seymour Hoffman who makes for a much better villain than the recent Bond flick (which I thought was just odd).   Mission Impossible 3 is a solid 8 out of 10.  I'll have to check out the well received MI4 now.  As far as my thoughts on Abrams......I think he is a capable director that has a good chance to do Star Wars right......but I'm still a little worried for the Star Wars franchise to be in his hands.

Plane Crash Double Feature: Five Came Back 1939 and Back from Eternity 1956

Five Came Back 1939  7 out of 10

Back from Eternity  1956   7 out of 10

This movie description applies to both movies since Back from Eternity is a total remake of the original even being done by the same exact director.   It is like watching a play twice and just having different actors playing the roles. Both versions are equally effective .   The movies are about a plane bound for South American with a wide range of passengers including a hooker,  a couple about to get marrie, and older couple and a murderer.  It is like a dramatic Gilligan's Island.  They crash land in uninhabited area that has a tribe of cannibals.  It deals with the how the crash survivors deal with the crash and struggle to repair the plane to hopefully get out before the cannibals find them.  They fix the plane but it will only get airborne with 5 of the original 12 passengers.   The story concept is good and in both cases of the almost identical films the plot and acting were good.  In both films the tension builds over the near perfect backdrop of the sounds of the cannibals drums in the background.  Once the drums stop the final decision of who leaves needs to be made.

Five Came Back starred a young Lucille Ball (way before he I Love Lucy days)  and Chester Morris .  The 1956 remake features  the beautiful Anita Ekberg, Robert Ryan and Rod Steiger. 

Here is a trailer for Back to Eternity