GALAXY OF TERROR (1981)

Buy the poster!

Would you recommend this? No, not really. It was clearly trying to capitalize on other scifi films of the time but ends up being a bit too melodramatic and cheesy.


Technically any good? Visually, the movie is actually kind of impressive. The sets look pretty reasonable for a movie that is essentially a cut-rate Alien. The story is interesting enough, but the dialogue is cheeseball and hokey. The acting is OK, for the most part, but there are a few, obvious train wrecks. Sid Haig (yes, THAT Sid Haig) puts in a pretty good performance for a character as underwritten as his is. Erin Moran, best known for playing "Joanie" on Happy Days, is in it and takes her job seriously enough. Other notable actors in this are Edward Albert (handsome son of Green Acres' Eddie Albert), a pre-Freddy Krueger Robert Englund and Ray "My Favorite Martian" Walston is in this, too, and is, well, he's always good, isn't he? Finally, the FX are a weird cross of solid and crappy.


How did it leave me feeling? Pretty dirty, actually. There's a rape scene it this movie between a woman and a worm. Yeah, 'nuff said. It's not even particularly convincing--it just seemed to be there to make the viewer feel gross. It worked!


Would you sit through it again? Um... NO. And you really shouldn't sit through it the first time and HEY, you're in luck! This film is no longer available on DVD. Awwww! You can click above to buy the movie poster which features a scene that doesn't appear in the film! Yay!

MATEWAN (1987)

Buy it!

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Wow--what a great movie. Powerful and depressing that these events really happened.


Technically any good? It was a little disjointed, probably due to the fact that it was based on real life, but generally, it was very well put together. The acting was great, as you would expect from a John Sayles movie and the attention to periodness also seemed spot-on. I should mention that a couple of the characters end up being very pat badguys. It's obvious who they are and I don't blame the actors for this. I blame the script and the direction, so I blame Sayles for both, since he was also the screenwriter. Still these few mistakes don't ruin the movie, not by a long shot.


How did it leave me feeling? Depressed, as I mentioned above, these events really happened. If you're curious what I'm referring to, just see the movie and you'll see what I mean. It's worth it and what's scary is that it all happened on American soil and still does happen today in other countries.


Final Rating? GSN - Go See Now - it's an important (if flawed) history lesson (a flawed history lesson is better than no lesson about this little heard-of part of American history).

Sadly, this film is no longer in print. However, I was able to Netflix it. You can probably find it used via Amazon.com, too.

After watching this movie, you might want to check out the Wikipedia.org article for the Battle of Blair Mountain which was an event that was inspired by the events depicted in the climax of the film Matewan.

SATURN 3 (1980)

Buy it!

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Haha, positive? Sure, if you count seeing Farah Fawcett's nude boobs for a split second. But definitely, if you count seeing Kirk Douglas' nude butt for much longer. Yep, before Viggo Mortensen in Eastern Promises, there was Kirk Douglas taking on Harvey Keitel in the nude. Surprisingly, Keitel was not nude (sorry, ladies!).


Technically any good? The FX, for 1980, were perfectly reasonable. A little cheezy in that there probably isn't liquid water in the rings of Saturn, but nothing that screamed "NOT REAL" at me (again, for 1980). The sets were downright gorgeous. The acting was fine, I bought Douglas and Fawcett, though their relationship seemed creepy as hell. Of course, Keitel was supposed to be bland--however, it must have been hilariously bland on set since they dubbed him with a British guy's voice. Yeah, try not giggling at that.


How did it leave me feeling? The ending was a seriously big: "WHAAAAA?"

Honestly, worst ending ever. Director Stanley Donen really should have just stuck with musicals. I do give him points for trying something else, though. Still, not sure what was up with that ending.


Final Rating? NFI - NetFlix It. While I can't really recommend this movie, it is something fun to have on while doing something else or if you're making fun of it. It's great fodder for MST3K-style quipping. Sadly, it's out of print and is currently unavailable. Luckily, you can watch it via Netflix's Instant Play and I found it on Amazon.com's on-demand service.

ORGUSS (1983) (anime)

It's Friday once again and that means a review of some random anime I've watched recently. This week is the latest in a loooong line of Macross-related series. It's full title is Super Dimensional Century Orguss and was the second part of the "Super Dimensional" series released back in the early 1980s, which started with Super Dimensional Fortress MacrossSuper Dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross.

Sadly, Orguss is not available on DVD in the US.

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Overwhelmingly so! I've watched a LOT of anime that has come out of the 1970s and 1980s and Orguss is, by far, the most imaginative and fun of any of the series. In some ways I like it more than my all-time favorite of that time period Gatchaman.


Technically any good? While the animation does look like it came out of the early 1980s, it's about a thousand times more consistent than it is on Macross and Southern Cross. The character designs are gorgeous and the mecha designs are really great. While I didn't care for any specific mecha, the sheer number of designs the story required was impressive. What's even more impressive is that the mecha are so different. You can recognize the style of the design as being from a particular country. It's really well done.

The acting is fine, though a bit melodramatic in spots. The story is pretty solid and does a nice job of getting you hooked after just the first episode or two. Most importantly, the characters in this story actually evolve. While you may have been rolling your eyes at Minmei's never-ending selfishness in the original Macross the characters of Orguss grow, change and become new, more interesting characters as the 35 episodes of the series pass by.

The only thing I had trouble with were the cultural issues. Character names and references to gender and sex were a little dated and a little annoying. However, as with most good anime, the series lets men and women occupy interchangeable roles of importance. Orguss doesn't say women can't do things. If anything, it says that all humans kind of suck (though the good humans do often do the right thing when it really matters).


How did it leave me feeling? Sadly, the series ends with a semi-classic "What the hell?" ending that is far too common in anime. However, the over all series is an immensely satisfying, well-written, character-driven, scifi epic, space opera set on Earth (sort of).


Final Rating? GSN - Go See Now! Of course, it's not on DVD. So you can't. But if you do find a copy, and enjoy great scifi and/or 1980s anime, you really need to see this. It's really a blast. The sequel series Orguss 02 is available on DVD, but I have yet to watch it. I'd start in order in order since Orguss 02 seems to directly reference events in the original series. :)

SPOILER: Usually I don't include story descriptions of things I review, in my pocket reviews, but I think since most people have never heard of Orguss before I should. So, if you just don't want to know what this show is about, don't read the following:

Premise: On an Earth plagued by spacial and temporal dimensional fractures, Orguss is the god of war in a culture that one of the crew members aboard the Glomar, a caravan of hippie-free-marketeers (!) who take in a human from another reality who may be the key to returning the dimensionally fractured Earth back to normal.

MACROSS 7 (1994)

It's Friday and come politics or high water, I've got another anime series to review!

Sadly, Macross 7 is not available in the US.

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely positive, but you have stick with it. A lot of anime series suffer from the "WTF is this?" Syndrome but you can beat it and come to enjoy the crap out of it if you can just get past the cheese.


Technically any good? Well, it's horribly cheesy, as I've mentioned, but the story ultimately got me caring quite a bit for the characters. This series takes place 35 years after the original Macross and features a few characters from that series. It is almost a complete tonal departure from the "space opera" feel of the original show, however. That said, some traditional Macross themes do show up and to great effect: transforming robot planes, music and a love triangle. The music this time out is some seriously dated 80s-style rock that, by the end of the series completely grew on me. I now rock out to "Holy Lonely Night" on my iPhone when ever I'm bored on the subway. The triangle works well, but sadly, the robot planes are secondary (or tertiary, I suppose).

The voice acting, as always, is spot-on. The Japanese take their cartoons very seriously. The story and scripts are generally solid and structurally strong, but the subject matter does take some effort to get used to. Still, it's this fanboy's opinion that it's worth that effort.


How did it leave me feeling? Pretty damn satisfied. Most anime series end with a relapse of "WTF is this?" Syndrome with endings that are either so baffling or so disappointing as to leave the viewer feeling the series ended one episode earlier. I don't think Macross 7 does this. While there are a couple of weird things that happen, the end is solidly satisfying. Of course, I may have been biased as I watched since I knew there were two more Macross 7-related projects I had yet to watch. I haven't decided if I will review them as they ultimately weren't very satisfying.


Final Rating? SIYCF - See If You Can Find - This series has not been licensed for broadcast or release on DVD in the US or in any English speaking country. However, you can get the soundtracks on Amazon.com and copies of the series are floating around. However, if you can find it, does that mean you should definitely watch it? Obviously, this anime isn't for everyone. I think if you enjoy fun, 80s rock, cheesy plots and/or are a Macross completist, you should definitely check this out. If you think the original Macross is sacrosanct and feel that its serious space opera tone should not be sullied by lighter, more fantastical plots, don't bother.

Learn more about Maross 7 (complete with spoilers) and learn why this series won't ever see the light of day in the US, check out the show's entry on Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macross_7

MACROSS: DO YOU REMEMBER LOVE (1984)

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely, though it was hard to reconcile this with the series it's based on. In someways I prefer the series-version of the story and in other ways the movie. Sheesh...


Technically any good? It's definitely tighter than the series--it covers a lot of the most important ground from the series in just a couple hours. The series needed 26 episodes and meanders at times. However, predictably enough, there are nice subtleties that got lost in this movie--the story does feel stronger in general, though. As a purist, I say watch them both. But on a technical level, I think that Macross: Do You Remember Love is better made and it's a standalone movie. The animation is also superior--I don't believe anything was recycled from the series and while the animation isn't quite Disney-class (even for 1984, when this movie hit theaters in Japan), it sure as hell beats animation on a TV budget! All the original voice actors reprise their roles, so you know the voice acting is great.


How did it leave me feeling? Definitely satisfied. The story goes further into the origins of Protoculture than the series does, so things are more clear in the end. However, I wonder why they didn't just make a sequel movie to the series and cover that extra ground, rather than retelling everything. The climax also makes more sense than the series.


Final Rating? SIYL - See If You Like. Macross is iconic in Japan. It's like Snow White or The Lion King only it involves aliens, a love triangle and epic space battles. If you're interested in Japanese culture or sweeping space operas (or both) then you shouldn't miss this movie. Of course, if you're an anime fan it's worth checking this out.

Sadly, Amazon.com doesn't carry it, so I don't know how easy it is to find it on DVD. I'd suggest checking your local mom n' pop video store and see if they have any old VHSes of this laying around. Maybe you might get lucky and find an old DVD of it.

PS. This is NOT Robotech. Robotech is an Americanized series using the same animation and story elements of the original Macross series this movie was based on. There is an English-dubbed version of this movie floating around but it sucks. There is not Robotech-ized version of this movie, however.

ALL THIS AND WORLD WAR II (1976)

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Generally, I'd say yes. Sadly, this is one of those movie that sounds so much better in theory, but finding a person to execute the story who can really make a movie like this that reaches it's potential is hard, and in this case, it didn't happen.


Technically any good? This film is simply a long sequence of World War II movies and stock footage cut together with Beatles cover songs slapped on top of it. In only very rare occasions does the movie actually take advantage of its own cinematic structure and make commentary--even silly commentary. It's a real shame this film wasn't better because the idea was so strong. However, not only did the director fail to make more than a few real comments on anything, the film ends up being pro-American propaganda. It completely ignores any footage from Dresden and shows a single atomic explosion so we see nothing about Japan.


How did it leave me feeling? VERY disappointed. I can only recommend this film to total cinema/history buffs. Sorry, but it's really not worth it.


Final Rating? NFI - NetFlix It - Again, only if you're passionate for movies and/or history. Actually, I'm not even sure it's on DVD. :(

KILLER OF SHEEP (1977)

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely. Most people would take a glance at this movie and not see how amazing it is. It's hyper-low-budget and was made thirty years ago, but if you actually engage your brain while watching it, Killer of Sheep becomes an incredible reflection of our culture.


Technically any good? While the plot is a little thin, the point of this was to present a slice of life reflecting what life is/was like for black families in Los Angeles. Very little crime, very few drugs, but a whole lot of poverty. Sadly, I saw a lot of parallels with the Los Angeles of 2007. The acting was a little weak among the supporting characters, but the leads were amazing. The cinematography was incredible as was the editing. Watch for the scene early on with the little girl in the dog mask. Slow, but powerful in the way it takes it's time.


How did it leave me feeling? VERY satisfied. Really good movie. Sure, no explosions, gun fights, drugs or gangstas, but this black movie will entertain and educate you.


Final Rating? GSN - Go See NOW - it's currently making the art house theater rounds, so look for it in a city near you for the next few months. Hopefully it'll be on DVD before 2008. It'll be in my collection soon after it makes it's digital release.

LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF (2003)

Positive Experience/Entertaining? DEFINITELY. Before I sat down to watch this movie I was worried it would be a film only Angelenos would get and while there are a lot of inside LA jokes I think this film is an incredibly valuable work for anyone who is a film buff.


Technically any good? While it's a "documentary" the same way a Michael Moore film is a "documentary" there are a lot of facts and insight the narration is able to provide. It's interesting and fascinating and there's quite a bit of humor. You may not get all the LA jokes, but you'll still learn a LOT. The narrator's dry delivery helps the film be that much more entertaining. Remember those old Motel 6 radio commercials with Tom Bodet? It's sort of like that.


How did it leave me feeling? Satisfied--but only slightly--it made me wish the movie was a series, instead of just a 3 hour stand alone film. The film covers so much but only tip-of-the-icebergs Mexican and African-Angeleno filmmaking which are two genres of film that we hardly ever hear about. I hope the director of this film does a sequel centering around the Hollywood's "second class" film industries for darker-skinned audiences.


Final Rating? GSN - Go See Now, well, if you're in Los Angeles, the only city that I've known it to play in. It shows up at the Egyptian and the Aero theaters from time-to-time so if you live here or plan on visiting, check out EgyptianTheatre.com for schedules at both theaters (both are run by the American Cinematheque a GREAT group of people that could use a donation). I'm really hoping this film will be out on DVD eventually which will mean it'll have to have a movie poster, too!

GAMERA THE BRAVE (2006)

Positive Experience/Entertaining? Definitely--Gamera for kids but in a way that doesn't insult the adults watching. In fact, for a Gamera movie aimed at kids, it's pretty dark.


Technically any good? Of course--the effects were very solid and the acting was pretty reasonable, too. Even the lead kid was pretty much believable. Oh yeah and the damn cutest turtle you've ever seen. Plus a couple wonderful homages to the Gamera films that have come before.


How did it leave me feeling? Good--it definitely left me feeling good. It's not a sequel to Gamera III (which is my all time favorite kaiju film) but it's a thousand times better than Super Monster Gamera.


Final Rating? GSN (Go See Now) if you're a Gamera fan, everyone else can probably just RTV (Rent The Video).

I hope to see this pop up on DVD in the US sometime soon.

GODZILLA FINAL WARS (2004)

Positive Experience or Entertaining? HELLS, YEAH!! This Godzilla captures all of the cheesy fun of the classic Godzilla movies from the 70s and before. They even have Minya! It's a real crowd pleaser in a good way.

Technically any good? While I can't quite remember what the aliens were trying to do, I was so thoroughly entertained with everything else, I didn't care so much. I also felt that while generally more character development of the humans is good, I sort of felt that it came in this movie at the expense of shorter fight scenes with each of the 15 montsers Godzilla takes on in this movie. FX were fairly solid, although I think they relied too much on CG.

How did it leave me feeling? Definitely psyched. While I generally prefer the more character driven kaiju films of the 90s (Godzilla Vs. Destroyah, Gamera III) there's always a place in my heart for silly, fun, shameless cheese. This film has Japan's answer to Gary Oldman in a hillarious performance from Kazuki Kitamura as the main bad guy and an equally scene-stealing-but-truly-cheesy performance from ex-wrestler/martial artist Don Frye as the commander of the good guy sub/ship/thing. In fact, Frye has what is probably the best line in the movie.

Final Rating? GSN (Hardcore G-fans will love this movie to death while relaxed fans should be able to ignore it's plot holes and enjoy it for what it is--a good cheesy film!)

STEAMBOY (2004)

Positive Experience/Entertaining?? WAS IT EVER! Great visuals (as you'd expect from the director of Akira) and incredibly imaginative story.
Technically any good? No movie is perfect--the story and characters could have been stronger, but then Japanese storytelling tends to be a bit subtle compared to what Americans are used to. It also doesn't have a traditional story structure, but hopefully, this new 1866 will be so interesting to you that you won't care that Sid Field was ignored for this script.
Final Rating? GSN (It's great for most kids (watch out for some violence) and great for any adult that enjoys having their imagination engaged.)
This movie is not on DVD yet.

QUIET EARTH (1985)

Positive Experience/Entertaining?? Definitely! Creepy, cool, low-budget atmosphere made it seem very realistic and possible.
Technically any good? While there were a couple of shots that seemed particularly low budget (one dead body and a model shot) over all the film does a great job of keeping us guessing as to what's going on and what will happen next. Great acting from the two leads, too.
How did it leave me feeling? In awe--very cool ending and it works perfectly with the rest of the film. I wish more films were made as well as this one.
Final Rating? SIYL (It's an end of the world story, so it may be a little disturbing and there is nudity (female and male).
Pick this movie up on VHS in the US from Amazon.com or Region 2 DVD from Amazon.co.uk. (They will ship to the US--just make sure you have a multi-region DVD player!)

SKY BLUE (2003)

Entertaining? On a basic level, yes.
Technically any good? I reeeally wanted to like this movie because it's the first anime from Korea that I've seen, but the voice actors were mostly terrible. I'm a bit of an animation purist so when I see a foreign film, even an animated one, dubbed in English I get annoyed--but the American voices in this were so bad it made watching the movie difficult.
How did I feel as the credits rolled? The film is definitely visually interesting and for that it's worth seeing--but will this be added to my anime collection or will it go down in history as a great anime? No on both counts. Of course, if I could see a subtitled version in Korean, I might change my mind.
Final Rating? SIYL (for the great animation)
This movie is not yet available on DVD.

THE KEEP (1983)

Entertaining? Yeah, but only barely.
Technically any good? This movie is about a group of Nazis during WWII who are inexplicably drawn to a strange stone building nestled in the mountains of Romania. Inside is something that begins killing them off, one by one. Sounds like a cool enough premise, but this movie is really poorly executed. Directed by Michael Mann, you'd think this would be a better film. Sadly, he gives it the same treatment he gave his classic MANHUNTER. However, this is not a simple plot, like that movie. This plot requires depth of character and story dynamics. The acting is solid, but everything else is not. Also, the Tangerine Dream score is about as appropriate as a screendoor on a submarine. I love their music, but this movie takes place in 1941. You try watching a movie that takes place in 1941 with electronic keyboards backing up the scenes! It knocked me out of the movie every time.
How did I feel as the credits rolled? Confused and even perplexed. How could Mann make such a crappy movie from such interesting material? I really don't know how. This film does inspire me to want to read the original novel it was based on. I'd also LOVE to see someone do a better adaption of the novel. I think you'd have to be an idiot to not make a better film than Mann has.
Final Rating? OAF - On At a Friend's (It's an interesting spectacle, but if you have ANYTHING better to do, like picking your toes, DO IT.)
This movie is NOT on DVD but may be found on VHS.

GODZILLA Vs. KING GHIDORAH

Entertaining? DEFINITELY!! This one's my second-favorite of the 80s era of G-films for many reasons.
Technically any good? Well, they TOTALLY screw up the time travel aspects of this film, but there's enough other stuff to completely distract from the HUGE plot hole that stops this movie from making sense. Good acting, effects, and one of the most exciting G-fights ever make this film one not to miss. It's got extremely cheesy parts, but it casts time-travelling white guys as the threat, so I'm all over that! :)
How did I feel as the credits rolled? Definitely satisfied, but confused as to how the writer and director of this film let such a glaring problem with the time travel survive to the final cut.
Final Rating? SAM

BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE (1959)

Entertaining? Um, no, not really.
Technically any good? While not as bad as movies like PRINCE OF SPACE and INVASION OF THE NEPTUNE MEN, BATTLE IN OUTER SPACE is missing the very cheese that makes those earlier films bearable. Cheese is why we see scifi movies from that era of Japanese film making. This is just fairly realistic stuff without much of anything interesting happening.
How did I feel as the credits rolled? Asleep. It's no fault of the actors, it's all about the execution of the very slow, boring script. Blaaaaah...
Final Rating? DNS (Rent INVASION OF THE MYSTERIONS, instead!)
This movie is not on DVD--somewhat understandably, in my opinion. :(

GHIDORAH: THE THREE HEADED MONSTER (1964)

Entertaining? The first appearance of one of Godzilla's arch-enemies is definitely a lot of fun.
Technically any good? Even the dubbed version of this movie is fun. Not the greatest dub in the world, but not terrible, either. Good character development, even some with the monsters.
How did I feel as the credits rolled? Definitely satisfied. It's not one of my favorites, but as the first appearance of the three-headed monster, it's a must for any true Godzilla fan's collection.
Final Rating? SAM (Good classic kaiju!)
(For some reason this isn't on DVD in the US--WHY???)

REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED, THE

Entertaining? Yes, but when a documentary is too entertaining, you begin to wonder how accurate it is.
Technically any good? It's a brilliant piece of propaganda. I say "propaganda" not because it's full of lies, but because it presents the Chavez side of things very well, but the opposition side is made to look very bad. Regardless of whether the opposition WAS bad or not, the docu came off unbalanced, to me.
How did I feel as the credits rolled? If everything that the docu presents about Chavez is true and if there was nothing bad excluded about Chavez from the docu, then I think Chavez is a great leader. But something tells me that no man can be that flawless and that much "of the people."
Final Rating? GSN (It's also a great example of how private corporations can manuipulate the public through the media.)

TAMALA 2010 (2002)

Entertaining? Holy crap, was it ever! This anime will baffle and entertain you! In that order!
Technically any good? Well, this is definitely an experimental animated movie - it's truly crazy, so it doesn't have to work like a traditional movie. However, I think it does satisfy for the most part.
How did I feel as the credits rolled? Fired up - it was such a bizarre film to watch - it's not really anime, but it is Japanese, but it's just not like anything... it's just weird... but in a really great way...
Final Rating? SIYL (It's very trippy and doesn't make a whole lot of traditional sense - but SEE IT! It's great.)