Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954) Horror

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954) - Dr. David Reed (Richard Carlson) and is fiance and assistant Kay Lawrence (Julie Adams) are brought into the search for a fossil of a strange part humanoid part fish creature. Financially backed by Kay's former boyfriend Dr. Mark Williams (Richard Denning) the three and other Red shirts head deep into the Amazon searching for the fossil. What they find is the legend of the black lagoon and the creature, the gill man that still lives there. Driven to make the greatest capture in history, Williams commands the plans for capturing the creature. Things go poorly and even after the initial capture the creature is too strong to be held. Now the survivors must fight for their lives while trying to escape down river. First though they must remove the barricade that has blocked their way. Someone must enter the water, remove the trees blocking the way and risk confrontation from the creature. IN the end sadly the creature is killed along with five members of the starting crew.

This film is a favorite. It is really a sad tale and a love triangle and the outcome leaves no doubt who was meant to be the lead in what initially looks like a film with more than one lead. Julie Adams is worth fighting over in this, the beautiful actress who is still working as late as 2008 is captivating. The story has a very modern pace and their is very little slow time in this film. The creature is great and the underwater scenes are clear and top of the line water photography. An exceptional movie that stands the test of time. I look forward to see what they do with the remake in 2011.

Rating (7.6)

The Descent: Part 2 (2009) Horror

The Descent: Part 2 - The original The Descent was a horror revelation with its all women cast, dark and terrifying confines and scary and menacing monsters. Now four years later we have the sequel, starting just after the American ending in which Sarah (Shauna Macdonald) makes it out of the cave system we open with the search for the women at the cave they were supposed to have explored before Juno switched things up. Hard nosed and headed sheriff Vaines (Gavan O'Herlihy) forces Sarah, who says she can't remember what happened down there, back into the cave system with a rescue team, himself and officer Rios (Krysten Cummings). The scenes that set this up are poorly written with a mine entrance as the access. To get there the sheriff send a deputy with a dog to pick up Sarah's trail, but we know from the first film that she did not come out a mine entrance and thus there is no way the dog could pick her scent up there. It is just an excuse to have a way back down with out revealing too much about the creatures to come.

There is quite a bit of this clunky screenwriting, and example is before they go down the lead rescuer Dan (Douglas Hodge) asks the cops to leave their guns behind because of the danger of a shot causing a collapse down in the caves. Naturally Mr hard head Vaines keeps his gun and you can guess what happens in the cave. Even worse is when they get to that scene Dan points out some rocks and how it looks unstable right before the gunshot starts the collapse scene. grrrrr...

In the caves they quickly have trouble and soon stumble upon the creatures who are meaner and maybe not so soft as they were in the first movie. We also get to see the dead bodies of two of the cavers from the first movie. Sarah remembers and soon turns into the fierce fighter we saw at the end of the first movie. Remarkably the cave experts are all killed off first leaving Sarah, Vaines and Rois fighting for their lives while looking for a way out. They then run into Juno (Natalie Mendoza) who is still alive even after the last movie left her surrounded by creatures and wounded. What a fighter that Juno is! There are some bigger and harder fought encounters from the first movie and the gore factor was increased for the sequel. In the end there is a twist that certainly is setting up for part three so watch your straight to DVD review sites for that. Overall the film is a poor little sister to the first movie lacking a singular vision or writing creativity that make you care about the characters.
Rating (3.2) Skip it , no really, not worth the trouble.

The Bare Wench Project 2: Scared Topless (2001) Adult

The Bare Wench Project 2: Scared Topless - It is what it says it is really a movie styled after the Blair Witch project with topless women. The story pics up with Nikki (Nikki Fritz) out looking for her twin sister who never came back from the original Bare Wench Project. I have never seen that one so I can't tell you about it. The one who does give a repeat performance is Lunk (Lenny Juliano)who only remembers entering a cave and seeing a bright white light and then waking up in his motel room. He is there primarily to add whiny oohs and ahs when the girls are performing, and to carry a couple empty backpacks around. They are after all camping while hiking through the woods in there search. The women are attractive for the most part and the legend of the bare wench seems to include that she can't get them if they all take there tops off. So there are many scenes of what appear to be badly ab libbed or bare bones dialog enhance with ab libbing while going topless. The women include Samantha Phillips, a music video queen and actress. Arban Ornelas who later would be Vampirella. The lovely Juliet Cariaga, and Alexus Winston and a special appearance of legend Julie Strain as the Bare Wench.

After many sessions of removed tops and walking around the woods they come to the cave where Lunk saw the light. From there the story takes an extraterrestrial turn. The plot though is not the point of this movie, I am not sure guys getting off is the point either as mostly the story and plot just get you really annoyed. I will leave you with a teaser though. Chocolate syrup orgasms.

Rating (3.0)

Basketcase 2 (1990) Horror

Basketcase 2 (1990) - In honor of the lovely ladies at zombiegrrlz.com who in their last podcast covered the crazy assed Basketcase I am reviewing the sequel Basketcase 2. Starting moments after the first film ends. Duane Bradley(Kevin Van Hentenryck) and his growth leftovers brother Beliel both survive the fall from the hotel window. Escaping the hospital the two are whisked away to the house of Granny Ruth (Annie Ross) and her daughter Susan (Heather Rattray). Hidden and recovering they learn that Granny Ruth has been harboring deformed people for years. There is recovery time where Duane falls for Susan and Beliel falls for a deformity in female face. Unfortunately for them a reporter is on their trail and soon they must do what is necessary to keeps Granny Ruth's collection of freaks out of the news. Duane seems never to be able to have the relationship he desires. In this case Susan has a secret that is really funny. There is Beliel freaking out and killing and Duane looking for love away from his brother. There is a hilarious scene of mutant afterbirth making it when Beliel gets it on with his female counterpart. Hot sweaty lumpy love making, that is what we needed. The climax, of the movie rolls in without a spoiler here and in the end you are like "What the fuck?" really though if you take it for what it is it is not horrible. At least this one had less yelling.
Rating ( 4.3)

Avatar (2010) Science Fiction

Avatar (2009) - James Cameron's computer generated animated film about a soldier who goes native on a distant planet called Pandora. Jake (Sam Worthington) a paraplegic marine is recruited to take his twin brothers spot in the Avatar project. Avatars are lab grown bodies that appear like the local natives, the Na'vi, Jake being a twin can make the neuro connection to his brother's and soon in learning the ways of the Na'vi and feeding intelligence back to the military.
When the corporation move prematurely on the Na'vi home tree, Jake must choose sides and does just that. A mix of people and animation I found the world beautiful but also distracting. I have never really been able to get into movies with a lot of animation and I had that problem again. I thought that Cameron did a great job but in the end it just is not my thing.

The story itself was a bit silly, having the rock the mining company is after being called Unobtainium. The story just a moral play about respecting native cultures vs the exploitation of their resources. A mix of native American and eastern philosophies the Pandora, Na'vi connection is nothing really original. As I think about this review I really don't want to dislike the film. It really does hit many of the points of good storytelling. I am sure for people who can get into anim,ated characters this may have seemed really refreshing. I on the other hand am more like thinking the movie was a bit Disney for my liking. The humans in the story are secondary characters and since I just can't seem to connect to cartoons I am not impressed.
Rating (7.1)

Religulous (2008) Documentary

Religulous (2008) - Bill Maher host of Real Time with Bill Maher stars as the atheist asking questions. The strange group of religious people he finds, from a truck stop church, to Creationist museum in Kentucky, to Holy Land an amusement park in Florida. Attempting first to show the irrationality of belief and then the illogical leaps into real world problems created by those belief, Maher uses his skepticism and humor to make his points. He argues against the United States being a Christan nation by using the writings of the founding fathers as evidence as well as historians. Maher in the end, after first exposing the hypocrisy of religion then calls on the growing group of self identified non-religious people to get active and use there votes to change this country.

Rating (6.4)

The Wolfman (2010) Horror

The Wolfman (2010) - Spoiler Alert! Yeah there are spoilers in here! It seems the classic never fade into the past but instead get re imagined into a new (better?) version of themselves. Case in point is the new feature The Wolfman, which in its re imagining stays very true to the 1941 Lon Chaney Jr film about a man attacked by the creature and cursed to transform into a wolf man on the full moon. In the new version Lawrence Talbot (Benicio Del Toro), is bitten and has the curse. He has returned to his fathers estate after the death of his brother also killed by the beast. There he learns to love his brother's widow Gwen (Emily Blunt) while seeking the answers to his curse and finding the origin of the beast that harmed him. His Father Sir John Talbot (Anthony Hopkins) is distant and also the original werewolf which leads to a father son wolfman showdown. This was an improved story point and made the dynamics of this film interesting. They did not dwell on the fact the full moon last three days as they did in the original but still it did not really take away from the film either. The senior Talbot after years of locking himself away was now letting his wolf out and the only one able to stop him was the son he had cursed. Overall this movie was very good. You can see how some people would not like it because it was paced like and older movie, but that aside the story and the effects and the music makes this a real winner.

Rating (7.7)

Shutter Island (2010) Thriller

Shutter Island (2010) - Spoiler Alert! Yeah all over this blog entry! Shutter Island is the new thriller from director Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Ruffalo and Ben Kingsley. It is set in 1954 and DiCaprio's character Federal Marshall Teddy Daniels arrives at an asylum for the criminally insane to investigate the disappearance of a patient. They enter with really too loud and disorienting music that had the audience covering thier ears and questioning the decision making of Scorsese early on in this film. Teddy his new partner they begin an investigation that does not end where the viewer would first think. As they work there way through their interviews of staff and patients it is clear that the agents are not in on the full story. It becomes more and more clear to the audience that Teddy is not the most solidly put together agent in the world. The hints are not subtle in this film and questioning the writing as too on the nose in some scenes seems reasonable, but it is a complicated enough plot and the acting is decent. Choices in the writing and directing just did not work real well. The reoccurring hallucination of Dolores Chanal (Michelle Williams) as Teddy's wife was probably the best of the choices. Her reveals were subtle and then she become more important in the end. We become aware as the story unfolds that Teddy may be a patient, which seemed a bit obvious in the previews without ever seeing the movie. His final realization comes when he confronts Kingsley's Dr. Cawley and learns that Cawley is trying this one final ruse to let Teddy play out his agent fantasy and come to terms with his real life tragedy. Again in a really not needed scene after learning in real life that Teddy's wife had killed his children and then Teddy had killed her, we are subject to watching the melodramatic scene. It did not really seem necessary other than a big time actor like DiCaprio was not going to pass up the chance to flex his acting muscles. So everyone in the asylum were putting on this elaborate play to break this one, supposedly the most violent person out of his Marshall Teddy fantasy and hopefully avoid having to lobotomize him. It seems to work to, but the big point is still to come. After the confrontation will Teddy slide back into that character the day after the confrontation? Can he live with his guilt and pain and change his life?
This was a decent movie, it was unfortunate that advertising has to give so much away in order to attract an audience. The director makes some questionable decisions that pull you out of the movie instead of enhancing it and the writer (Laeta Kalogridis) was not shifty enough to "not give away" the plot before its time. Still the acting was good and it was an interesting and engaging film. After listening to the writer talk to creative screen writer it is obvious the things I picked out were intentional decisions, but I still dont think they worked out.
Rating (6.3)

Creative screenwriting interview with Laeta Kalogridis

35th Boston Science Fiction Marathon

The Boston Science Fiction Marathon is the country's oldest continually running science fiction. Febuary 14th and 15th from noon to noon, 14 features plus shorts and other goodies were shown for a rabid audience of enthusiasts.

12:00 Moon (2009) - A wonderful acclaimed science fiction film starring Sam Rockwell as the sole employee on a lunar base. This film was creative and engaging, an older style sci-fi movie in pace and detail. Rating (8.3)

13:40 Colossus: The Forbin Project (1970) - Although the scenerio may be dated this film still addresses the idea of how much responsibility for our safety a "thinking" Super computer should be given. Well acted over a stilted scrfipt the film was enjoyable. Rating (6.6)

15:30 9 (2009) - A muddled fantasy computer animated movie about the creatures left behind when man meets his self caused demise. The characters named 1-9 struggle to survive against the machines that want to get them. They finally find a way to accomplish the purpose they were designed for. Rating (5.1)

17:10 The Giant Gila Monster- Not Viewed

18:45 Labyrinth (1986) - Jennifer Connelly and David Bowie in this Jin Henson directed fantasy about a teenage girl trying to save her baby brother. This semi musical foray into silliness is not a great movie but for many has nostalgic value. Rating (4.0)

20:45 Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman (2009) - Very loving documentary about the man who coined the term Sci-Fi, the genre's number one fan. Check out a longer review Rating (7.7)

22:00 District 9 (2009) - A great action sci-fi film with subtext that connects on many levels, see the longer review. Rating (9.0)

00:20 The Thing (1982) - One of the greatest sciencefiction movies of all time. The Thing directed by John Carpenter is a masterpiece of atmosphere and special effects. Rating (8.6)

02:15 Lathe of Heaven (1980) - Not viewed

04:00 Night of the Creeps (1986) - Not Viewed

05:30 Rabid (1977) - Daviv Cronenberg's slow and not great film about a woman experimented on in surgery after an accident who has unwanted consequences. Rating (4.1)

07:05 The Day the Sky Exploded (1958) - Meteors are heading for the earth and arch enemies the US and USSR must work together to stop them. Rating (5.0)

08:55 Night of the Comet (1984) - Silly 80's sci-fi fluff about the end of civilization where the valley girls who survive spend more time shopping than trying to survive. Rating (5.3)

10:30 Sleep Dealer (2008) - Even better with a second viewing this politically spice science fiction future also has a compelling personal story. See the longer review Rating (9.4)

Science Fiction Film Fest - Famous Monster etc.

Thursday night's event:

Replay of FRANK DAN COOLO: PARANORMAL DRUG DEALER

Dir. Andrew Jones. 8 min., USA, 2008.

A legendary monster stalks Neo-Mega-Ultra Tokyo.Featuring CGI and cool stop-motion animation.

Third viewing of this short, and I appreciate it all the more with each viewing. The style of color mixed closeups, Stop motion animation, rat-a-tat dialog, and a cool science fiction premise combine for a fun trip. New Rating (8.1)

Conlang (2009) - A love story wrapped in the premise of a club that is working on a new language. It has Trekkies and other "Con" character types working on this language. When a bully challenges for the club presidency the struggle that ensues pushes the main character towards what is really important in life. Short and inventive this film has its heart in the right place. Rating (7.4)

Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman (2007) - Documentary about science fictions number one fan Forrie Ackerman. Before people collected poster, books and props Ackerman was out there putting together the greatest collection ever, over 50,000 items. Before there was Comic Con, and Science Fiction conventions, Ackerman was there putting together gatherings. Ackerman attributed for coining the phrase Sci-Fi was the genre's number one fan. Ackerman went from being fan to participant in many movies to science fiction icon. With James Warren he created the popular science fiction magazine "Famous Monster of Filmland" which indoctrinated a generation of kids into the world of science fiction and horror films. Although not in the film Ackerman and Warren are also responsible for creating the comic book character Vampirella. The film is a very loving look a man and his passion and how he made science fiction the popular genre we all cherish. Rating (7.7)

The Boston Science Fiction Film Festival has been going on since Feb. 5th. It continues through Saturday night. Each nights events start at 7pm @ the Somerville theater. Sunday noon to Monday noon is the 35th Boston Science Fiction Marathon.

Fri. Feb 12th

World 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 where an ominous underground compound raises more questions than answers. Threatening encounters, the bizarre and reclusive Church of Lunology, mysterious secrets, alternate histories, time travel, and more.

Sat. Feb 13th

New 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 and the fight for her soul begins INK is a cult classic in the making -- see it with an audience!

Tickets are still available for the Marathon! at the Somerville Theater Feb. 14th to 15th noon to noon.

Science Fiction Shorts Night 3 - Planetary Paranoia

The Boston Science Fiction Film Festival - This new event connected to the Boston Science Fiction Marathon Feb. 14-15 noon to noon is a wonderful addition. Each night from now until the Marathon there will be a feature or a night of Shorts at 7pm at the Somerville theater. I encourage you to look into getting tickets for these events.

Reminder I recommend anything with a 5 or above rating. I am not the toughest guy to please.


SITA (2008) - Tchaiko Omawale directed this story of a faerie who helps and then loves a mental health patient. She brings him back from the brink with her invisible(to him) arms. As he recovers he begins a relationship with a woman and the faerie is jealous and starts her own journey of acceptance. Artistic and fluid with great music. Rating (6.1)


RATS (2006) - Humans are isolated, each living and staying in their space only interacting through the share computer network. Fear of going outside is strong but when the system is in error one man decides to go. Outside is tainted and he worries about safety. When he discovers the problem, he handles it in an appropriate manner. Filmed in polarized black and white it is a distracting choice but does give the comic feel to the world. Rating (4.8)

1:03 AM (2009) - A man brings his paperwork to the government agency in charge and the papers are approved. His time will be 1 minute starting at 1:03 AM, from that time he has one minute to legally murder his cheating wife. Good reveal and pacing, with a decent turn at the end. Rating (6.1)

The Replicant (2009)- Writer and director David Walton Smith did this short about a man getting a new synthetic body. Now immortality is possible, but what happens to his old body. Well it wakes up and runs of course. A quick chase scene and resolution make this short work. Maybe not the most original of ideas but very adequately executed. Rating (6.0)

Die Schneider Krankheit (2008) - A spaceship with a monkey in it lands behind the iron curtain in post WWII (50's?)Europe loosing a deadly disease. The communist science community works for solutions and cures in this part newsreel part propaganda film. Ending with the facts that the cure had not been found but that life could continue but with wearing gas masks. Rating (6.1)


Under God (2009) - President Eisenhower visits UNIVAC the countries first supercomputer. A skeptic of its intelligence Ike is challenged to as any question. He asks "Is there a God" the computer works and then spits out an answer. Writer Director Richard Farmer wraps that answer into some history of the era creating a cool short that mixes science, religion and politics together into a nice package.
Rating (7.8)


Afterglow (2009) - Two local new militia men investigate a report of surviving aliens from a failed invasion of earth only to find something very unexpected. They run out of gas and in the process of finding some they come across an older couple. The couple is suspicious and soon it become apparent they are hiding something. The reveal is a good showing the depth of their paranoia after the near invasion. Rating (6.5)


Oxygen (2009) - A worker in the maintenance department in an isolated community find out things are not what the government has told them. In a constant storm the people of the community have been told the air outside is poison and will kill them. The worker Xavier find out the truth when he discovers a hole in his apartment wall that has been letting in outside air. The police are on to him though and soon he must flee the city for his own good. New and amazing realizations still await him on his journey. Rating (5.8)


Lifeline (2009) - Animated story of a man attempting to travel back in time to be with the woman he loves. The problem is that in order to have love he has to cut the lifeline back to his own time. Rating (5.5)

Attack of the Nebula-5 Robots (2008) - Amusing seven minute short about a mentally ill man who believes that robots from nebula 5 are going to attack and destroy the planet. Each day about the time he saw for the attack he sits in what he believes is the only safe place. Writer Director Chema Garcia Ibarra does a great job at developing character and a story full of humor. Rating (8.1)

Science Fiction Shorts Night 2

The Boston Science Fiction Film Festival - This new event connected to the Boston Science Fiction Marathon Feb. 14-15 noon to noon is a wonderful addition. Each night from now until the Marathon there will be a feature or a night of Shorts at 7pm at the Somerville theater. I encourage you to look into getting tickets for these events.

Reminder I recommend anything with a 5 or above rating. I am not the toughest guy to please.

Night two of Shorts...

Perfect Companion (2009) - Story about a lonely woman, Annie (Laurie Slater) who after some reluctance turns to the online dating service perfect companion to meet a guy. The short shows their getting together, dating and love making. One night Greg (Derek Osting) starts to say he loves her but breaks down, literally because he is a robot. The film from shows how the spell is broken and now she can see him as nothing but a robot. Well done the short uses the robot edifice to explore relationships. We could easily substitute a human man with some other character flaw and have the same movie that is not Sci-fi. Connection in humans is so delicate at times and we get into these fantasies about what a perfect relationship is. What real connection is and then a angry outburst, a drunken night, or a program malfunction removes the perfection veil. The Actress came to the screening but Since I get up so early in the morning I could not stay for the Q&A. Rating (7.3)

Escape From Death Planet (2009) - A quick action filled short that has little point or meaning. It quickly drops us into a story of giant centipedes and things going horribly wrong. Three survivors try to find a way off this rock before they are eaten. The car driving through the background at the end was exceptional. Rating (2.9)

TypeA - The Osiris cryonics lab will liquid freeze you dead corpse but they can't guarantee you will stay that way. Workers in the lab are hunted and killed by the frozen. Other than the facility is failing mechanically no explanations are given to why. Three workers hold up in an office to fend off the dead,, for a while. Rating (4.0)

Mr Bojagi (2009) - This was a pleasant little moral tale about gift giving, the two characters were well developed for a ten minute piece. Kudos to writer Kat Wood for that. Mr. Bojagi (Brian Blessed) was over the top but in a Santa Claus kind of way and The Women (Hildegarde Neil) gives a wonderfully subtle performance as a person in need of a lesson. Rating (7.6)

All Systems Go: Neil Armstrong (2009) - A music video with space animation short with a thumping beat by Robert Dohrmann Rating (4.8)

The Kirkie (2009) - The story of three friends who break down on the way to a science fiction convention. The least dorkie one who is not dressed like a Stormtrooper or a character from Tron enters a bar to call AAA. He meets a girl on the date from hell, and is soon drawn into a fight where he must deploy the Kirkie, a two handed chop used by Captain James T. Kirk on Star Trek. The little fantasy that leads into this is funny and the outcome expected but also funny. Done with humor and for laughs with many sci-fi references this one was fun to watch. Rating (7.0)

The Latest Thing (2009) - Should the human brain get added software if it can improve efficiency? After watching the number of patches on my windows box I would say no. This light came to the screening but Since I get up so early in the morning I could not stay for the Q&A.hearted short by Hamilton Scott says the same thing. When a family man is upgraded with buggy software some very funny scenes follow. Shot through his eyes we see him interact with his family and the guys writing and selling the software. The director came to the screening but Since I get up so early in the morning I could not stay for the Q&A. Rating (6.6)

Enigma (2009) - Like last night the best was saved for last. Enigma a half movie 42 mins was the best of the night. Very good special effect and set design surround this story of a military experiment that will help the human side win a war against the alien Cnidarians. A Cnidarian prisoner is transported on a ship called Genesis only to escape and kill the crew. The alien ends up dead too, but how? This is the mystery solved by the unfolding of the story. The acting was good and the story very interesting, like I said earlier there was a cgi budget in place and special effects looked good. The twist at the end was decent and you came away feeling the like this was well executed and exciting at times. Rating (8.5)

Science Fiction Shorts Night 1

The Boston Science Fiction Film Festival - This new event connected to the Boston Science Fiction Marathon Feb. 14-15 noon to noon is a wonderful addition. Each night from now until the Marathon there will be a feature or a night of Shorts at 7pm at the Somerville theater. I encourage you to look into getting tickets for these events.

Night One of Shorts...

Theosaurology (2009) - Animated short about the nature of dinosaurs, and their super powers. Yes that's right superpowers, in fact when dinosaurs realized what they were the awesomeness of them covered the planet and set off a superpowers race that eventually was their demise. In an effort to prove their awesomeness the pachycephalosaurus' used their mental powers to pull a meteor to the planet. Unfortunately it meant the end of these Super cool and totally awesome creatures. Alex Austin wrote this cute, under animated short.
Rating (6.3)

Empathy (2009) - Writer / Director Benjamin Pascoe executed this concise story about a man who learns a hard lesson in empathy. Shot in blck and white a father is having an ideal life with his beautiful daughter. Creating the too perfect images is a good turn in this case, forshadowing quickly that things can't be what they seem. When the little girl is hit by a car and killed Stanley must face the grief of loosing his girl. Cut to Stanley in a program that gives him these memories as part of an experiment to Punish(?) people who have killed others while drunk driving.
Rating (7.2)

The Package (2009) - Ah, the days of VHS tape... Dave (Justin Hosking) and Lisa (Liza Catherine-Dennis) are having a horrible fight, well written and passionate by writer Tim Anderson. Director Oliver Waghorn keeps it simple and when Lisa leaves Dave is standing in what could be the aftermath of his relationship. A VHS tape is delivered to the door and Dave immediately plays it. It is him 40 years in the future, future dave relays how this is the moment he makes a string of catastrophic decision in his life. He is sending this tape back to tell past Dave how to avoid them. Good predictable laugh when the tape breaks in the player.
Rating (6.5)

Destination Day (2010) - Tim (Richard Pappas) travels back in time to fix a relationship before it goes wrong. Only can we really change the past and have it come out the way we want in the present? Writer Chris Lassig references Perth's Destination Day where people in the present invited time travellers to a gathering. No one showed up of course which leads one to believe that in the future 1. There is no time travel 2. Human don't exist 3. They have lost records of this event and thus can't visit 4. Have no interest or can't contact those in the past. or 5. anynumber of other reasons. This story though focuses on Tim and Valerie (Audrey Lamont) who work together and have slept together. This is the day after the intimate encounter where future Tim is trying to change the outcome.
Rating (4.9)

Operation Blast (2???) - It is 2017 and the war with the taliban continues, except now little turban wearing robots are attacking us and we are naturally defending ourselves with our own little GI Joe robots. This stop motion animation short by Jeffrey Hollins is cute but sort of pointless.
Rating (3.7)

VHS Reporter (2009) - Stange little film about a group of people coming together and waiting for a ride. Pretty much some introductions to some somewhat strange characters and then the twist that most of them are aliens heading back to space. Nothing really made this stand out.
Rating (3.7)

Dimensional Meltdown (2009) - Parallel universes where a man's girlfriend dies repeatedly and he can not deal. He travels through wormholes to try to change the outcome. Do these things ever come out well?
Rating (4.2)

Frank DanCoolo: Paranormal Drug Dealer (2009) - by Writer director Andrew Jones, Neo-Mega-Ultra Tokyo is the setting for this stylish story told through the investigating of reporter Holly Malone (Priscilla McEver). She follows leads at crime scenes to the Super Natural pill Pucher Frank DanCoolo (John Charles Meyer). He is sells his phsycic brain fluid but has to deal with the side effects of creatures from the other side crossing into this reality. A wonderful mix of 1940s style ratatat dialog, CGI and stop motion monsters this over the top short was a great way to end the night. Although I loved it this coul really not hit spots for everyone.
Rating (8.0)

Mutant Swingers From Mars (2003) Science Fiction

The Boston Science Fiction Film Festival - This new event connected to the Boston Science Fiction Marathon Feb. 14-15 noon to noon is a wonderful addition. Each night from now until the Marathon there will be a feature or a night of Shorts at 7pm at the Somerville theater. I encourage you to look into getting tickets for these events.

Mutant Swingers From Mars (2003) - This parody starts as a mockumentary celebrating the deceased movie maker Orton Z. Creswell (Pete LaDuke), with interviews with actors he worked with, clips from his movies and a short biography. Some of this first part was amusing although at times I was distracted by the makeup work to make the actors look older. The script in this area was good except some of the interview material seemed less focused than the narration. Certainly there were odes to B movie maker Ed Wood, and the film uses multiple references to real science fiction movies. In fact some of the funniest bits were the clips of Creswell movies all rip offs of real movies.

Then we get to see the Creswell film "Mutant Swingers from Mars" a standard low budget 50's era science fiction movie, or in this case a 2003 parody of a 50's movie. Martians come to earth to force a mad genius doctor to create a super swinging reanimated dude Fez Fleckman (also Pete LaDuke). He is to hypnotized women of earth for the purpose of the Martian men taking them back to mars and replacing their frigid females. There was an amusing similarity to the Coneheads including the female Martian hiss. The inept aliens actually pull off there plan. Things are going well except that a local cool Dude Rusty Rave (Michael East) keeps is creating a rivalry with Fleckman. They vie for the attention of beauty Mitzy Nussbaum (Colleen Nash) and Fez does well until he mentions Rave's name and then she comes to her senses and Fez has to re hypnotize her. Eventually there is a hip dual between the two for her affection. The Alien plans go wrong and Rave saves the day. The references in this film were fun as I watched I tried to name the other movies this one was quoting, but again the script was a bit unfocused. It makes sense in an Ed Wood kind of way. Writer / Director Michael Kallio does only a fair job here but should get some real points for getting this fun film made. It certainly looks like a good first early career outing.

Rating (5.2)

Sleep Dealers (2008) - Science Fiction

The Boston Science Fiction Film Festival - This new event connected to the Boston Science Fiction Marathon Feb. 14-15 noon to noon is a wonderful addition. Each night from now until the Marathon there will be a feature or a night of Shorts at 7pm at the Somerville theater. I encourage you to look into getting tickets for these event, if the rest of the movies are even half the quality of Sleep Dealers it will be a treat for anyone who comes.

Sleep Dealers (2008) - The setting for this film is a near future in Oaxaca Mexico, a young man named Memo (Luis Fernando Pena) is dissatisfied with his life. He seems destined to follow his father as an existence farmer on a small piece of family land. Once a more prosperous man his father now barely get by. The change on his fortunes came when the water source for the valley was privatized and the river dammed. Now the family pays most of their earnings for water to grow just enough food to live on. Here are a couple of very interesting ideas in the movie. The traditional turned upside down by a futuristic and not too unrealistic idea about resource management. Milpa farming of corn, beans and squash have been a tradition in Mexico through its history and the movie takes the time to recognize this. It is not using the location to exploit the character but to give a sense of them in the story to come. Memo sees this change with the dam as a trap and struggles with his father's idea about living on his own land at such a disadvantage. He would rather be somewhere else earning more money.
On his self constructed radio intercepting radio he hears the voices of people talking about working in the north for the Sleep Dealers. They are companies who import labor through virtual factories. Employees have implants that allow them to plug into a network that routes them to control machines in the United States. The labor force never has to actually be in the US, from the factories the workers all standing in a room can slaughter pigs in Iowa, to build a skyscraper in San Diego. Hearing about the success of the workers compared to sustenance farming is appealing to Memo. He listens in the evenings and dreams about a new life in the day.
One night while listening in of the airwaves he intercepts the signals of the US drone air force. This branch of the military is in charge of flying drone aircraft to enemy targets and destroying them. It has been popularized in a television show and unfortunately for Memo they trace his signal. This was another very interesting idea that is current but the movie takes to the next incarnation. No longer does the military just fight wars, but have been expanded into a corporate strike force protecting resources around the world being ship to the United States. They intercept the signal from Memo's house and put it on the list for investigation. When the drones arrive controlled by Rudy (Jacob Vargas) a new pilot serving in the military following in his families footsteps. A bit cliche for movies but certainly true for many servicemen of today. Rudy is commanded to blow up Memo's home, unfortunately Memo's father is in the house. Memo is at his uncles and sees the Drones show live and runs to try to save his father. The house is bombed and his father crawls out and looks into the drone camera, Rudy is ordered to kill him and does.
Two stories begin at this point, Rudy filled with doubt and guilt wants to know more about the man he killed and Memo without his father's will to hold him decides he must go north to earn money for his family.
We follow Memo as he moves north and meets a girl on a bus named Luz Martinez (Leonor Varela). She is a young woman who earns a living, collecting and selling her memories. She takes an interests in Memo and when she uploads her memories of him she is found by Rudy online. He thinking this young man is part of the story of his kill asks her to continue to collect information about Memo's father show he can be sure. There are again some very interesting ideas at play in Luz's relationship with Memo. On one hand she is doing business but because we are human she is also making emotional connections. The idea that she sells her memories of him is cold, but the thing this market finds valuable is that human connection. I think social networking is similar to this. In one way it is a superficial connection to more people on a daily basis but it also gives us more chances at actually making more deep connections if we choose to use it that way. Being human ultimately is about meaningful emotional interaction, we strive for that and feel healthy in our lives when it can happen. Social networks although allowing us to avoid deep contact also give us more opportunities to pursue them if we choose to.
Memo and Luz develop a fine relationship, she helps him get the implants he needs to work for the Sleep Dealers and gives him a friend in a strange place. He works and send money back to his family. Rudy learns that this is indeed the son of the man he kills and that he was not a terrorist and begins to doubt his mission. He decides to travel to Mexico and meet Memo. The storyline with Memo explores his work and draws a very nice parallel he is like the water in his home village a resource being drained by a foreign power for its gain but not a mutual one. Is this the solution the corporate world is looking for in our free market society? A workforce that is just a resource but not people?
The film climaxes with the meeting of Memo and Rudy and the interactions contained in that powerful relationship. Rudy agrees to do anything for Memo to somehow make up for his horrible error. I won't go into it here but it was satisfying.
Rating (9.3)

Phoenix the Warrior (1988) - Action

Phoenix the Warrior (1988) - The copy of this I have is titled "She Wolves of the Wasteland" waste being the significant word fragment here. This late eighties post apocalyptic adventure is about a world that is lacking men, in fact other than two characters the entire cast is women, with big eighties hair and a severe lack of appropriate clothing. It is a world where one woman, the Reverend Mother (Shiela Howard) runs a desert shanty town of gun toting leotard draped warriors. She is a wheelchair bound hag with wires and tubes sprouting from her head set on controlling the last sperm in the world and building her perfect world. When one of her experiments escapes, the pregnant Keela (Peggy McIntaggart) she is hunted by the Reverend Mother's team lead by Cobalt (Persis Khambatta). Helped by travelling warrior Phoenix (Kathleen Kinmont) Keela escapes. This starts a strange jumping through time adventure where the viewer is repeatedly subject to scenes of women walking across the desert, interspersed with them being found and the worst choreographed fight scenes I have seen in a long time. They escape the first time by finding a cave in the desert that leads to an oasis where women warriors bath topless in a waterfall. They are identified by the white paint masks across there eyes. Suddenly it is nine months later and Keela is giving birth. Then the bad girls find them and so we are not confused they have red paint on their faces, a battle ensues and only Phoenix and Keela and the baby boy escape. Suddenly it is five years later and the women decide to try to get to some island, so more walking across the desert. They are again found and the dune buggies are sent out to get them. They hide in a shack, and wow there is a man there, he escaped from the Reverend Mother years before. Soon more silly fighting takes place, Phoenix is captured while the other three escape. Phoenix becomes a gladiator while her friends set out to rescue her. They do and this time there are driving across the desert scenes since they steal a car. They head to the wastelands where they are caught by some deformed mutant people who worship the TV Guide. The men are sent back to the Reverend Mother while Phoenix and Keela are left as sacrifices to the Guide. The women escape with the help of another former gladiator who just happens to be tracking them. Then the three women head back to save the boy child and man. There is the inevitable battle between Cobalt and Phoenix, Keela confronts the Reverend Mother to save her child, and we learn that all the people of this time are actually the children of the Mother. She is rebuilding humankind, why we are not sure, and why she chose the desert, or to be militant are questions we just can't answer here. In the end though, Keela wins and the Mother is no more. There are now two very lucky men in the world, End Credits.

Rating (3.2)

The Hangover (2009) - Comedy

The Hangover (2009) - After so much time and so many people saying how great this comedy was I finally pulled it down and gave it a watching. Now before we start with the summary let me be honest about me and comedy. We have a hot/cold relationship, so much depends on the mood I am in when I see a comedy, what I find funny on one day I don't on a different day. Except Monty Python which is wacky fun at a funeral. This night I was in a very good mood and so found myself enjoying this story of four guys trying to piece together a drunken night in Las Vegas. It is a collection of revelatory bits, why is there a tiger in the bathroom, where did that baby come from? Where is Doug (Justin Bartha), is his wedding really in a few hours? We follow Doug's three friends ( Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms and Zach Galifinakis) as they try to piece together the night before, find Doug and get him to his wedding on time. Spoiler: It was Mike Tyson's tiger! Slowly one clue leads to another until they save their friend from the roof of the Hotel, return the Tiger, have self realizations and make it to the wedding. Along the way there are some truly funny bits.

Rating (6.6)

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)