Thirst (Bakjwi) (2009) - Horror

Thirst (Bakjwi) (2009) - This South Korean film is about a priest who participates in medical experiments where most of the participants die. He lives though with the side effects that he has become a vampire. To stave off boils and other physical ills he must drink human blood regularly. Priest Sang-hyeon (Kang-ho Song) struggles with the moral consequences of his affliction. He attempts not to kill but instead to feed off coma victims in a hospital ward he volunteers at. Things are complicated further by the fact that the vamperism seems to increase his desire to sin. He finds himself lusting after the wife of a sick man. She is Tae-ju (Ok-bin Kim) and she is trapped in what she portrays as an abusive relationship with an over bearing Mother in Law (Hae-sook Kim) watching her every step. She says she is trapped and she sees the priest as a way out of the marriage. Sang-hyeon after realizing that it is too hard to follow God and his lustful ways leaves the priesthood and with the help of Tae-ju kills her husband Kang-woo (Ha-kyun Shin). Guilt is a terrible companion though and soon Sang-hyeon can not tolerate the life he has chosen and the acts he has committed. He is further driven with the knowledge that Tae-ju was never abused and lied to get his help out of her situation. He then makes a decision and executes a climactic plan that is worth the wait. Not to spoil it here it is a very in character approach for the former priest.

Rating (6.9)

Inglourious Basterds (2009) Drama / Fantasy

Inglourious Basterds (2009) - Writer / Director Quentin Tarantino has created a ass kicking conversation driven fantasy war movie that could be the Best Picture of the year. A group of Jewish soldiers lead by Aldo Raines (Brad Pitt) is dropped behind enemy lines in WWII. There mission is to Kill Nazis and sew terror into the German forces. This they did in spades. My wife, as we watched, did not like the length of several scenes but for me they all were a joy. What he did so well was allow the tension that was natural with the situations to build until the viewer was anxious to get to the finish. The dialog in these scenes was not rambling though, it was tight and reflected the characters involved. The builds were great and kept the movie interesting throughout. When it is learned that Hitler (Martin Wuttke) himself will attend a movie premiere in Paris there is not one but two separate plots to end his life. The first by Raines and his men who want to infiltrate the premiere and blow themselves up to kill Hitler and his generals. The second by the theater owner, Shosanna (Melanie Laurent) a Jewish woman who escaped the Nazis earlier in the movie and has the opportunity to kill the man responsible for the death of her family Col. Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz). She and her love will lock all the Germans in the theater and burn it to the ground. Will either of the two plots work? Can the allies gain the upper hand and possibly shorten the war by years? When it plays out it makes the movie that much more enjoyable. Brad Pitt was great as LT. Aldo Raines and Christoph Waltz is excellent as Col. Landa. With good supporting acting, and a very well written script this is a must see movie. I also enjoyed some of the movie making, camera angles from above, the spaghetti western extra close closeups, and the accenting music made the watching experience memorable.
Rating (9.4)

Boston Science Fiction Festival Schedule out!

I am very excited to have the schedule for this event, I will naturally be trying to see EVERYTHING. Naturally you can follow my reviews right here, or better yet get your ticket today and see them with me.

http://bostonsci-fi.com

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
35th Annual Boston Science Fiction Film Festival
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS(all shows except the Film Marathon begin at 7:00 PM)

Fri. Feb 5th OPENING NIGHT!
Special Revival!Sundance & Berlin Fest Winner!
SLEEP DEALER
Dir. Alex Rivera. 90 min., Mexico, 2008.
In the not too distant future, water is used for blackmail, security has reached new dimensions, and 'sleep dealers' work in factories.

Sat. Feb 6th New England Premiere!
MUTANT SWINGER FROM MARS
Dir. Michael Kallio. 86 min., USA, 2009.
MARS NEEDS WOMEN! Martians come to Earth and force a mad scientist to create a “chick magnet”!
This lovingly rendered sci-fi spoof parodies films like Young Frankenstein, The Ape Man, and The Nutty Professor with equal measures of Ed Wood and William Castle thrown in. The film features the acting debut of Jack White (pre-White Stripes and Cold Mountain) of The White Stripes, The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather.

Sun. Feb 7th World Premiere!Director in Attendance!
Q&A Following Screening
CALLER ID
Dir. Eric Zimmerman. 100 min., USA, 2009.
Caller ID is a psychological sci-fi thriller based on real voice mail messages received from a disturbed woman. A group of graduate students study advanced techniques in psychopathology while their professor leads them through a series of bizarre experiments and perverse sexual research involving mind control. The students discover how technology can be used to control minds. Each student must explore the caller’s hidden psyche – as well as their own id. Starring James Duval (Donnie Darko, Independence Day) and Peter Greene (Pulp Fiction, The Mask).

Mon. Feb 8thShorts Program #1
LITTLE SPACE ODDITIES
Boston Premiere!
THEOSAUROLOGY
Dir. Alex Austin. 5 min., USA, 2009.Animated story about the true nature of dinosaurs.
NE Premiere!
EMPATHY
Dir. Benjamin Pascoe. 9 min., USA, 2008.Tragedy sends a man on an surreal adventure.
North American Premiere!
THE PACKAGE
Dir. Oliver Waghorn. 3 min., Australia, 2009.An old VHS tape holds the key to Dave's future.
North American Premiere!
DESTINATION DAY
Dir. Chris Lassig. 7 min., Australia, 2008.Time traveler tries to change his past.
World premiere!
OPERATION BLAST
Dir. Jeffrey Hollins. 10 min., USA, 2009. Laser blasting bots fight where humans once did.
World Premiere!
VHS REPORTER
Dir. Jamie Heinrich. 9 min., USA, 2009. Old and new technologies seep into unknown territory.
North American Premiere!
DIMENSIONAL MELTDOWN
Dir. Ofer Pedut. 7 min., Israel, 2009. A lot of people die in parallel dimensions.
World Premiere!
FRANK DAN COOLO: PARANORMAL DRUG DEALER
Dir. Andrew Jones. 8 min., USA, 2008.A legendary monster stalks Neo-Mega-Ultra Tokyo.

Tue. Feb 9thShorts Program #2
EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL EXTRAVAGANZA
New England Prmeiere!
PERFECT COMPANIION
Dir. Jeff Winograd. 9 min., USA, 2009. New advances in online dating has a few complications.
US Premiere!
ESCAPE FROM DEATH PLANET
Dir. James Cadden. 7 min., Canada, 2009. Unknown lifeforms attack terraformers.
World Premiere!
TYPE A
Dir. Erik Fefferman. 15 min., USA, 2009. Techies awaken a terrifying force.
World Premiere!
MR. BOJAGI
Dir. Marco van Belle. 10 min., UK, 2009. Mind-reading machine finds the perfect gift for any occasion. Starring legendary British actor Brian Blessed.
New England Premiere!
ALL SYSTEMS GO, NEIL ARMSTRONG
Dir. Robert Dohrmann. 3 min., USA, 2009. A mysterious television is your personal guide through outer space.
New England Premiere!
THE KIRKIE
Dir. James Krieg. 13 min., USA, 2008. Enroute to Comic Con geeks get sidetracked in a bar.
World Premiere!
THE LATEST THING
Dirs. Christian Sesma & Hamiltion Scott, 6 min., USA, 2009.***Director Hamiltion Scott in attendance!Brain be upgrades blur the lines between humanity & technology.
New England Premiere!
ENIGMA
Dir. Jason and Matt Shumway. 42 min., USA, 2008. Spaceship Genesis floats dead in space. All are dead! Multiple award-winning mystery!

Wed. Feb 10thShorts Program #3
PLANETARY PARANOIA
New England Premiere!
SITA
Dir. Tchaiko Omawale. 9 min., USA, 2008. A human in love, living in a post-apocalyptic world, wants to touch someone.
World Premiere!
RATS
Dir. Giovanni Ficetola. 7 min., Italy, 2006. Based on Alberto Ponticelli's comic, a machine run world breaks down.
New England Premiere!
1:03 AM
Dir. Raymond Cinemato. 8 min., USA, 2008. A man scores a bizarre permit, the time to carry out his task - 1:03 am.
New England Premiere!
THE REPLICANT
Dir. David Smith. 13 min., USA, 2008. An underground cloning facility has a few surprises.
Boston Premiere!
DIE SCHNEIDER KRANKHEIT
Dir. Javier Chillon. 10 min., Spain, 2008. In 1958, a Soviet capsule crashes & spreads a deadly virus.
New England Premiere!
UNDER GOD
Dir. Richard Farmer. 10 min., USA, 2009.President Eisenhower gets up close & personal with UNIVAC.
North American Premiere!
AFTERGLOW
Dir. Andres Anglade. 11 min., USA, 2009. Failed alien invasion leads to recriminations and new threats.
North American Premiere!
OXYGEN
Dir. David Norris. 24 min., Australia, 2008. Air-supply repairman faces an isolated life and controlling powers in a polluted world.
North American Premiere!
LIFELINE
Dir. Andres Salaff. 6 min., USA, 2009. Dimension traveling scientist looks for his lost love.
Sundance 2009! Honorable Mention!
ATTACK OF THE NEBULA-5 ROBOTS (El ataque de los robots de nebulosa-5)
Dir. Chema García Ibarra. 6 min., Spain, 2008.Everybody is going to die, soon.

Thur. Feb 11thTBA

Fri. Feb 12thWorld Premiere!Director in Attendance!Q&A Following Screening!
LUOPOLIS
Dir. Matthew Avant. 99 min., USA, 2009.
A conspiracy radio show caller claims that people from the future live on the moon and control our every action. Filmmakers Matt and Sonny chase the story deep into Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin. A ominous underground compound that raises more questions than answers. Threatening encounters, a bizarre and reclusive Church of Lunology, mysterious secrets, alternate histories, time travel,and more.

Sat. Feb 13thNew England Prmeiere!
INK
Dir. Jamin Winans. 107 min., USA, 2009.
When we sleep, two forces emerge. One supports our hopes and gives us strength through dreams. The other leads us toward desperation through nightmares. Then there are the others with unknown purposes. They live in a shadow-world, like the mercenary named Ink. 

Eight-year-old Emma awakens in the dream world. Her soul has been ripped from her by Ink. Evil will find you. There is no safe haven. INK is a cult classic. See it with an audience!

Sat. & Sun. Feb 14 - 15th
35th BOSTON SCIENCE FICTION FILM MARATHONaka THE 'THON
Twenty four hours of sci-fi madness! Trailers, cartoons, classic '50s schlock, prizes & more!
Features (not in order):
Special Discovery! Lathe of Heaven
District Nine
Moon
The Thing
Godzilla Vs. Mothra
Night of the Creeps
9
The Day the Sky Exploded
Night of the Comet
Colossus: The Forbin Project
The Giant Gila Monster
Rabid
plus cartoons, trailers, prizes & surprises!

Omen IV: The Awakening (1991) - Horror

Omen IV: The Awakening - Delia York (Asia Vieira) the adopted daughter of Gene (Michael Woods) and Karen (Faye Grant) is not quite the nicest child in the world. She has a mean streak and her mother is worried. As the story progresses Karen begins to have doubts that the girl is as sweet as she appears in front of her father. Karen digs for answers about the girl attempting to find the story behind her. Her P.I. Earl Knight (Michael Lerner) and others in the girls life have deadly accidents. Karen though is getting information and it is leading to the conclusion that Delia is an omen for the end of times. There is a nice twist in this movie concerning Karen's second child that I will not reveal here. Still most of this movie was a big build up to an anticlimax, and in the end although watchable, many in modern audiences will find the movie a bit dragging.

Rating (4.3)

Pandorum (2009) - Sci-FI Action

Pandorum (2009) - Imagine waking from a long hyper sleep to find the ship you are in is aging and the crew seem to be missing. At first you can't remember much because of the effects of the sleep, then in bits and pieces you realize you are the last surviving humans in the universe. You are trapped in the room you woke in and it becomes clear things are not how you left them the years and years before when you entered your hyper sleep. So it is for the crew members in Pandorum. They are soon to find out through accelerated evolution has created a group of cannibalistic hunter creatures who are between them and the resting of the generators that will keep the ship functioning. Much of this movie felt like the great "The Descent" with the ultra human creatures having a run at any human survivors they come across. It is dark and atmospheric with a subplot about space sickness called Pandorum that makes people a bit paranoid and crazy. Our main character Bower (Ben Foster) is trying to navigate to the engine room to reset the nuclear generator, with the help of his lieutenant, Payton (Dennis Quaid) he works his way through hostile ground and through chance meetings with other survivors Nadia(Antje Traue) and Manh (Cung Le) learns what has happened while he was asleep. This is not a bad science fiction movie, it keeps the set tight and claustrophobic, the action quick and exciting and doles information out at a reasonable pace. The twist at the end is decent although I have seen that some people did not like it. I enjoyed the movie well enough and definitely recommend it.

Rating (6.4)

Broken Embraces (2009) Drama

(Los abrazos rotos) Broken Embraces (2009) - I really like Pedro Almodovar as a storyteller, how he focuses on the relationships and what is not said is as important as what is said. Broken Embraces is the story of Mateo Blanco (Lluis Homar)a director and writer of movies who has a passionate love affair with Lena (Penelope Cruz). Lena the wife of the powerful businessman Ernesto Martel (Jose Luis Gomez) looking for an escape from that relationship but feeling trapped. We meet Mateo as a blind writer going under the name Harry Caine and are shown the story through flashback. I liked how Almodovar shows the path Lena took to get into her marriage with Ernesto, He her boss and she in need with a father dying of cancer, a women who had already done some prostitution to make ends meet, he uses this to pull her into his orbit. She feeling trapped by circumstances allows it to happen.
We learn how when she decides to act in a movie her husband is funding she meets Mateo and they are quickly into each other. There story plays out and then meets a tragic end leaving Mateo blind and Lena dead.
Cared for by his manager/agent Judit (Blanca Portillo), Mateo is still a successful writer and hears about the death of Ernesto leading to the unfolding of the story. Blanca plays an important role in the story. The love of Mateo's life but unrequited she has her own guilt burden to bare. The revelations are wonderful slowly doled out in bits.
I will not share the twists this movie takes, some of it is too clearly foreshadowed but then there are some real surprises. If you like heartfelt drama with interpersonal turns this is a movie for you. You will have to read subtitles though, I had no problem with that as Almodovar is a master storyteller, you will be engaged and interested throughout the entire movie.
Rating (8.2)

Bucktown (1975) Drama

Bucktown (1975) - This was the story of Duke Johnson (Fred Williamson) a city guy who comes to a small corrupt southern town to bury his brother. Inheriting his Brothers bar and not able to sell it for two months Duke makes a go of it reopening the place. Through his brother's girlfriend Aretha (Pam Grier) and local drunk Harley (Bernie Hamilton), Duke learns the town is corrupt. Apparently the police in the town run a protection ring and take the profits of all the local businesses. Duke doesn't play that game though and after a fight with a couple deputies Duke calls his big city friend Roy (Thalmus Rasulala) to come down with some of his friends. The men then set about killing off the police force to end the oppression on the town. This is where the movie takes an interesting turn. Roy after seeing the money flowing through the town coffers he and his crew, TJ (Tony King), Hambone (Carl Weathers) and Steve? (Tierre Turner) take over where the cops left off. The temptation message is clear here, after fighting against the unjust cops the money they are ranking in makes becoming them appealing. Duke wants no part of it but soon Roy and his men are running things harder than the cops did. When TJ come up with a plan to cut Duke out by turning Roy against him we get to the final sequence. Duke tired of the "New Boss" Same as the old boss he goes about executing his once friends. The final battle with Roy is an agreement that whichever one wins the other leaves town.
Rating (6.5)

Valet Girls (1987) Comedy

Valet Girls (1987) - Lucy (Meri D. Marshall) wants to be noticed for her 80's Pop singing talent but how to be seen by the right record industry people? Well if you work as a valet in Hollywood you can meet them at parties, hop on stage and perform and be discovered. This is the idea Lucy is going with in 1987's Valet Girls, a screwball comedy with a lot of screw. A rival valet company messes up the new gig for the girls, Lucy, Rosiland (April Stewart) and Carnation (Mary Kohnert), and there has to be revenge. Meanwhile party hostess wants to get back at her partying and promiscuous husband and his equally sexed out friends and joins with the girls in the revenge scenario. All the while Lucy gets her big chance and we all go away thinking..."Wow! someone actually made that into a movie." Director Rafal Zielinski does what he can with this script by Clark Carlton in his only credit but really I can't believe he ever thought he was making a good movie.

Rating (2.5)

Latest Lineup for 35th Annual Boston SCI-FI Marathon

THE LATHE OF HEAVEN (1980)- Classic PBS TV SF film based on the Ursula Le Guin story. One of the best made for TV SF films. This will be a DVD projection. THE THING (1982) - The now classic John Carpenter remake of last year's Marathon hit, both based on the John W. Campbell Jr.'s SF classic story. Features Kurt Russell and Rob Bottin's trailblazing makeup effects!
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0084787/

THE GIANT GILA MONSTER - 50s creature feature with hot rods and cold lizards! http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052846/ For more on GIANT GILA MONSTER and it's star Don Sullivan, read excerpts from my interview with Don: http://sf.theboard.net/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1262918712/1

Previously announced:
DISTRICT 9 - This year's highly acclaimed SF thriller from down under. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136608/

DAY THE SKY EXPLODED (La Morte Viene Dello Spazio) - This super rare title is an interesting Italian-French co-production directed by Paolo Heusch and the Cinematographer was the great Mario Bava (PLANET OF THE VAMPIRES). http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0051951/

9 Expanded from an Oscar nominated short subject. http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0472033/

COLOSSUS: THE FORBIN PROJECT (1970): An all-time Marathon computer classic returns! http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0064177/

MOON (2009) Award-winning film by David Bowie's son features Sam Rockwell : http://us.imdb.com/title/tt1182345/

Up in the Air (2009) Drama

Up in the Air (2009) - George Clooney banks on a handsome confidence to get him through this role as a despicable axe man, know it all, who has to question, even for the briefest moments his own life path. He is the expert and there is one thing that Clooney plays well it is the expert. Working for a company that fires people for other companies Ryan Bingham is the sky warrior. He crisscrosses the country plying his trade and has created the perfect isolated life for himself. A couple things happen to interrupt this life. The first is Natalie Keener (Anna Kendrick) arrives at his company with the idea of creating a video conferencing version of his job. The idea will save 85% on the travel budget and effectively axe the axe men from there travelling ways. The second is Clooney becomes involved with another frequent flier Alex Goran (Vera Farmiga) who is looking for a guy like Ryan, and the unattached relationship he can give.

Ryan's boss in response to resistance to the new video conferencing idea send Natalie and Ryan on the road together so he can teach her the ropes about firing strangers. Here is where the philosophy lesson begins about how even the most vile human beings need to be able to have personal contact and interaction with those they are harming. For Ryan he sees his job as a gift to those who he is firing. A benefit to have a stranger say the right things and make the right connections. He is the syrup pored over the turd of being fired. Through there travels Natalie learns how hard this is but fights through to perform in ruins people's lives like the pro she is.

Ryan and Alex have a fun sexual relationship where they meet when there flights are near each other, have a shag and then happily head their separate ways. This is upset when Ryan starts to fall for her. She attends his sisters wedding with him and he tries to take the relationship further. His ideas are crushed though and she is not looking for more then they have already agreed to in their relationship. This was a really poor piece of fore shadowing when Natalie, Alex and Ryan are talking about how they see a good life, for me at least gave away what was to come.

The mini plot above this is Ryan become the youngest man ever to receive a 10 million miles of loyalty points on American Airlines (The biggest product placement ever!). There are also some very good dialog writing in this story. Using humor and candor worked to try to get the audience to like these character who in the real world may not really connect with the rest of us. It was also not a poorly made movie, in fact shots were just long enough and the music was appropriate throughout.

At the end of this movie I was not moved. I think when you are making a movie about bad people the plot has to be more than the small story arc we got here. I was left thinking boy really did not care whether these bad people learned anything. The writers (Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner) tried to give us the other side also with many clips of people talking about how it is to be laid off, but really they spend more time trying to get us to sympathize with the scumbags hired to lay them off. eh! This just did not work for me and I came away sorry I wasted $11 on the ticket. I see that the movie is rated 8.2 on imdb.com, and most of the prays shows people liked and sympathized with the Clooney character. I didn't, his ethics were flawed from the start and just because he has them does not make him likable. His big change in this movie is having his heart broken, which would have been decent if it was left at that, but no instead the writers shunt the blow by letting him reach his 10 million goal and pretty much get his travelling job back. This was a manipulative movie that did a poor job at manipulating, at least for me.
Rating (4.0)

The Chaser (2008) Crime Drama

The Chaser (2008) Chugyeogja (Korean) - I did not intend to watch this movie, I was up and watching the College Football Championship Game but with Colt McCoy out injured the game changed into an Alabama lovefest. Instead of sleeping I watched this captivating and incredibly sad film from South Korea. Joong-ho (Yun-seok Kim) is a dirty cop running a prostitution ring, things are going badly because his girls keep running away (disappearing). He is on to the guy who sees the girls just before they are gone. Using his police connections he begins looking for the guy. Mi-jin Kim (Yeong-hei Seo) is a prostitute with a seven year old daughter, she is the next to see the mysterious guy and quickly finds out he is a serial killer. Bound the killer attempts to kill her by driving a chisel into her skull, fails but is interupted by visitors to the house he has taken when he killed the owner. Mi-jin is unconciuos while he deals with the visitors. While he is out for some reason he accidently hits the car of the very cop who is looking for him. The chasing begins! The cop brings him in but because it is not his district and he does not have his badge the officers at the station treat him with hostility for beating the killer. There is a great deal here about the justice system in Korea where the guilty are often released because of either bad behavior by police or the ineffectual system. While Joong-ho attempts to find his girl in the neighborhood he found the killer in, the police bungle the processing and by morning the killer is set free. Becasue of the beating of the killer the cops also want to arrest our main character but he is out in the streets in a race against time to save his prostitute while caring for her seven year old daughter.

The end is devestating with chance being put to the test before the resolution of the story. This was very much a compelling film although it did force suspension of disbelief in random meeting odds. Director Hong-jin Na is making a movie currently in the USA and I wonder if it is a remake , entitled The Murderer is could be?
Rating (7.3)

Science Fiction Marathon Confirmed Movies

The Giant Gila Monster (1959) - A couple of teenagers are reported missing in a small Texas town, and it is thought they eloped until their bodies are found in a ravine. Sheriff Jeff turns to his friend, Clarence Winstead, a garage mechanic and leader of a hot-rod gang for help. A series of tragic motor accidents occur and it becomes apparent that a giant gila monster is roaming the area and depleting the town of its hot-rodding teen-agers. And might have plans on attending the BIG record-hop party. Written by Les Adams {longhorn1939@suddenlink.net} from imdb.com

Day the Sky Exploded (1958) italian La morte viene dallo spazio - Scientists discover that a group of meteors are hurtling on a collison course with Earth, and if they hit, the planet will be destroyed. from imdb.com

Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) - Forbin is the designer of an incredibly sophisticated computer that will run all of America's nuclear defenses. Shortly after being turned on, it detects the existence of Guardian, the Soviet counterpart, previously unknown to US Planners. Both computers insist that they be linked, and after taking safeguards to preserve confidential material, each side agrees to allow it. As soon as the link is established the two become a new Super computer and threaten the world with the immediate launch of nuclear weapons if they are detached. Colossus begins to give it's plans for the management of the world under it's guidance. Forbin and the other scientists form a technological resistance to Colossus which must operate underground. Written by John Vogel {jlvogel@comcast.net} from imdb.com

9 (2009) - When 9 first comes to life, he finds himself in a post-apocalyptic world where all humans are gone, and it is only by chance that he discovers a small community of others like him taking refuge from fearsome machines that roam the earth intent on their extinction. Despite being the neophyte of the group, 9 convinces the others that hiding will do them no good. They must take the offensive if they are to survive, and they must discover why the machines want to destroy them in the first place. As they'll soon come to learn, the very future of civilization may depend on them. Written by Focus Features from imdb.com

Moon (2009) - With only three weeks left in his three year contract, Sam Bell is getting anxious to finally return to Earth. He is the only occupant of a Moon-based manufacturing facility along with his computer and assistant, GERTY. The long period of time alone however has resulted in him talking to himself for the most part, or to his plants. Direct communication with Earth is not possible due to a long-standing communication malfunction but he does get an occasional message from his wife Tess. When he has an accident however, he wakens to find that he is not alone. He also comes to realize that his world is not what he thought it was. Written by garykmcd from imdb.com

District 9 (2009) - In 1982, a massive star ship bearing a bedraggled alien population, nicknamed "The Prawns," appeared over Johannesburg, South Africa. Twenty-eight years later, the initial welcome by the human population has faded. The refugee camp where the aliens were located has deteriorated into a militarized ghetto called District 9, where they are confined and exploited in squalor. In 2010, the munitions corporation, Multi-National United, is contracted to forcibly evict the population with operative Wikus van der Merwe in charge. In this operation, Wikus is exposed to a strange alien chemical and must rely on the help of his only two new 'Prawn' friends. Written by Kenneth Chisholm (kchishol@rogers.com) from imdb.com

Buy your THON tickets through the Marathon website , Lets meet up there! I will be the newly skinny tall bald guy named Ed.

Swamp Thing (1982) Horror (ish)

Swamp Thing (1982) - It is 1982 I am sure I am in my Chinos and Members Only jacket, getting stoned and heading off with friends to the Neponset Drive-In for a fun double feature and one of the movies is Swamp Thing. As is often the case the blurred memories of the past and the present do not always smoothly fit together. This was my experience watching this movie. I am sure, in its time I thought this movie was fun. I have always had fond feeling for it. Now it could be as a senior in high school the small (and I mean small) glimpse of Adrienne Barbeau' s assets was enough to create such memories. It could be the combination of friends, the Drive In, Pot and alcohol created the right conditions for positive reflection. Whatever it was it is no longer present for me. This movie was soooooo.... hard to watch. Miss Barbeau plays Alice Cable a government scientist/agent checking up on Dr Alec Holland (Ray Wise) who is attempting to grow plants that will survive in the harshest of climates. Hidden in the swamps for some reason, in an underground bunker that looks like a shack from the outside, but has a bunker below it he works and quickly in the movie has a breakthrough. The tone is strange early in the movie with the introduction of villains, Dr. Arcane (Louis Jourdan) and his henchmen. They are very cartoon evil while Adrienne Barbeau and Ray Wise side seem to be playing things very straight. The bad guys evil for the sake of evil are looking a for Holland's breakthrough to exploit it. They take the notebooks detailing the experiments and Holland is covered in his formula and runs out on fire into the swamp to become the creature. Alice escapes with the final vital notebook and most of the rest of the movie is the absolutely silly soldier guys hunting for her in the swamps of South Carolina, while the swamp thing protects her. Eventually the monster is captured and his formula used by both Dr. Arcane and a henchman. Arcane becomes a hairy beast who has the final fight with Swamp Thing. In this there is a lot of explosions, capturing and loosing of Alice, a romance sort of between Swamp Thing and Alice, ridiculous looking stunts where you see the landing pads are pads, Swamp Thing healing ability, silly rubber suits for the monsters, and when it is all over a feeling of regret that I had such fond memories of this film. Director Wes Craven was in a very creative time for him, between the the late seventies, The Hills Have Eyes (1977), and just before the great A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), but he seems to have lost his way on this one. It is not a very good movie.

Rating (4.2)