Collection ID 1435
Director: Robert C. Hughes
Starring: John Kerry, Mark Mears, John Caso, Lesa Lee, Jimmy Justice
Genre: Horror, Thriller
Studio:   Release date: 1989   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: Campers on a holiday are terrorized by an axe-wielding maniac.
My Rating:
My Review: A low budget 80s (released 1989) slasher movie filmed on location at Gold Creek Ranch, just north of Burbank, California. With a low budget cast, a crappy script and some former porn stars, just about anyone can make a movie. This movie was supposed to be a horror/slasher flick, but it was so bad it made me cringe. Not quite fitting into the "so bad it's good" category, this movie just made me sad. What a waste of my time. The plot - It's memorial day weekend and rumors of bad karma and a dead dog in the well won't stop the 'Memorial Valley' campground from opening, staying open, or becoming the setting for a crazed caveman's killing field. A group of campers are ready for the weekend, and the bosses son is worried that things could go badly. He really has no idea how badly this film is going to get. The cheap production, poor editing, horrid script, terrible camera work and campy casting set the scene for a highly forgettable movie. The only bright spot is the legendary actor William Smith playing a retired General on vacation with his aging trophy wife. As the movie gets going we find a campground caveman who slaughters campers one after another. Apparently they're disturbing his sense of solitude, and that can't be allowed! Die campers, Die! At times the movie became so comedic that I laughed. Unfortunately, it was sad laughter. The movie wasn't trying to be funny, it was just that bad. The only thing that could have made this movie better? More boobies - There were some scenes with topless hotties, but nowhere near enough to make this movie more than a sad excuse for a 90 minute schlock job. Thankfully this movie was only one of many on a 15 movie compilation. I give this movie a 1 out of 5.

Collection ID 999
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn
Genre: Action
Studio: Columbia Pictures Corporation   Release date: 1997   Rated: PG-13   
Language (Country): English, French, Spanish (USA)
Summary: Two men who keep an eye on aliens in New York City must try to save the world after the aliens threaten to blow it up.
My Rating:
My Review: Great entertainment. A hollywood blockbuster with some great characters. Starring, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn and Tony Shalhoub, the acting by D'Onofrio and Shalhoub was excellent. As usual, Will Smith played himself, or the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air or himself? Two super secret special agents are keeping the peace among extraterrestrial refugees. Saving the earth from a giant bug is just part of the job. Some great cgi, costumes, sets, props and locations add to the vivid comic-book character of this movie.

Collection ID 289
Director: Barry Sonnenfeld
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn
Genre: Action
Studio: Columbia Pictures Corporation   Release date: 1997   Rated: PG-13   
Language (Country): English, French, Spanish (USA)
Summary: Two men who keep an eye on aliens in New York City must try to save the world after the aliens threaten to blow it up.
My Rating:
My Review: Great entertainment. A hollywood blockbuster with some great characters. Starring, Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith, Linda Fiorentino, Vincent D'Onofrio, Rip Torn and Tony Shalhoub, the acting by D'Onofrio and Shalhoub was excellent. As usual, Will Smith played himself, or the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air or himself? Two super secret special agents are keeping the peace among extraterrestrial refugees. Saving the earth from a giant bug is just part of the job. Some great cgi, costumes, sets, props and locations add to the vivid comic-book character of this movie.

Collection ID 792
Director: Grant Heslov
Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Stephen Lang
Genre: Comedy, War
Studio: BBC Films   Release date: 2009   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, Arabic (USA, UK)
Summary: A reporter, trying to lose himself in the romance of war after his marriage fails, gets more than he bargains for when he meets a special forces agent who reveals the existence of a secret, psychic military unit whose goal is to end war as we know it. The founder of the unit has gone missing and the trail leads to another psychic soldier who has distorted the mission to serve his own ends.
My Rating:
My Review: Written by Peter Straughan, this movie is inspired by the non-fiction book (same name) by Jon Ronson. Directed by Grant Heslov (better known for his TV Acting career). Starring Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges and others. The premise intrigued me (I have an interest in the premise/subject), and I really liked the movie. Loosely (very loosely) based upon the unsubstantiated rumors of U.S. military involvement in paranormal research (documented in the non-fiction book (with same name) by Jon Ronson), here is a wild spoof on conspiracy theories and military secrets in general. George Clooney starred as Lyn Cassady - a Jedi Warrior trained by the U.S. Army to use psychic powers against the enemies of freedom. Instead he became disenfranchised when the ideals and new age, hippie, peace-loving tenets of his mentor (Played by Jeff Bridges) were subverted and compromised by the egotistic, slightly antagonistic character played by Kevin Spacey. The movie contains numerous bright spots - The casting, acting and camera work were great. I loved the subdued underplayed humor. The quirky, eccentric vibe was rich and rewarding. However, the film lacked urgency or conflict. The antagonist was hardly that, and the premise for the movie escapes examination. I didn't like the excessive exposition, which kept the viewer informed throughout all the flash back, fast forward, editing. The political message revealed in the films closing had little impact, seemed out of place, and failed to pull together the lightly covered tongue in cheek satirical spoofs bandied about during the films hour and a half airing. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Collection ID 1577
Director: Grant Heslov
Starring: George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Spacey, Stephen Lang
Genre: Comedy, War
Studio: BBC Films   Release date: 2009   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English, Arabic (USA, UK)
Summary: A reporter, trying to lose himself in the romance of war after his marriage fails, gets more than he bargains for when he meets a special forces agent who reveals the existence of a secret, psychic military unit whose goal is to end war as we know it. The founder of the unit has gone missing and the trail leads to another psychic soldier who has distorted the mission to serve his own ends.
My Rating:
My Review: Written by Peter Straughan, this movie is inspired by the non-fiction book (same name) by Jon Ronson. Directed by Grant Heslov (better known for his TV Acting career). Starring Ewan McGregor, George Clooney, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges and others. The premise intrigued me (I have an interest in the premise/subject), and I really liked the movie. Loosely (very loosely) based upon the unsubstantiated rumors of U.S. military involvement in paranormal research (documented in the non-fiction book (with same name) by Jon Ronson), here is a wild spoof on conspiracy theories and military secrets in general. George Clooney starred as Lyn Cassady - a Jedi Warrior trained by the U.S. Army to use psychic powers against the enemies of freedom. Instead he became disenfranchised when the ideals and new age, hippie, peace-loving tenets of his mentor (Played by Jeff Bridges) were subverted and compromised by the egotistic, slightly antagonistic character played by Kevin Spacey. The movie contains numerous bright spots - The casting, acting and camera work were great. I loved the subdued underplayed humor. The quirky, eccentric vibe was rich and rewarding. However, the film lacked urgency or conflict. The antagonist was hardly that, and the premise for the movie escapes examination. I didn't like the excessive exposition, which kept the viewer informed throughout all the flash back, fast forward, editing. The political message revealed in the films closing had little impact, seemed out of place, and failed to pull together the lightly covered tongue in cheek satirical spoofs bandied about during the films hour and a half airing. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Collection ID 327
Director: Harold Becker
Starring: Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Miko Hughes, Chi McBride, Kim Dickens
Genre: Action
Studio: Universal Pictures   Release date: 1998   Rated: R   
Language (Country): German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech (USA)
Summary: Bruce Willis is an outcast FBI agent who protects a 9 year old autistic boy who is the target for assassins after cracking a top secret government code.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 1022
Director: Harold Becker
Starring: Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, Miko Hughes, Chi McBride, Kim Dickens
Genre: Action
Studio: Universal Pictures   Release date: 1998   Rated: R   
Language (Country): German, English, French, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Czech (USA)
Summary: Bruce Willis is an outcast FBI agent who protects a 9 year old autistic boy who is the target for assassins after cracking a top secret government code.
My Rating:
My Review:

Collection ID 750
Director: Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz
Starring: Michael Greer, Marianna Hill, Joy Bang, Anitra Ford, Royal Dano
Genre: Horror
Studio: V/M Productions   Release date: 1973   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: A young woman goes searching for her missing artist father. Her journey takes her to a strange Californian seaside town governed by a mysterious undead cult.
My Rating:
My Review: A hidden gem among the crud of a $10.00 horror compilation collection. I had no idea that this movie was a Cthulhu Mythos movie. The Cthulhu Mythos is one of my favorite genres, and here's a release that I wasn't aware of. Nowhere in the description is the term 'Cthulhu' mentioned, but it's clearly a child of that misshapen genre. Released in the 70s (1973) the transfer to DVD was absolutely abysmal. All the color was washed out, the sound was terrible and there were plenty of artifacts in the video. Despite all that, the film was quite good. The story - A young woman (Marianna Hill playing Arletty) has returned to the sleepy seaside town of Point Dune. She's trying to find out what happened to her father the artist. He's been missing for some time now, and no one seems to know what's happened to him. All that remains is his abandoned studio on the coast. As Arletty arrives in Point Dune she encounters Thom and his two companions (two seductive women). The movie is filled with unexplained characters and situations. Dark and mysterious dead ends and a blood red moon. Clearly inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, the town is infested with some sort of undead cult of moon worshipping cannibals. Mix in the two hippy chicks and you've got one groovy, gruesome, Cthulhu masterpiece. If only there were a better quality release. I give this movie a 3 out of 5.

Collection ID 1436
Director: Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz
Starring: Michael Greer, Marianna Hill, Joy Bang, Anitra Ford, Royal Dano
Genre: Horror
Studio: V/M Productions   Release date: 1973   Rated: R   
Language (Country): English (USA)
Summary: A young woman goes searching for her missing artist father. Her journey takes her to a strange Californian seaside town governed by a mysterious undead cult.
My Rating:
My Review: A hidden gem among the crud of a $10.00 horror compilation collection. I had no idea that this movie was a Cthulhu Mythos movie. The Cthulhu Mythos is one of my favorite genres, and here's a release that I wasn't aware of. Nowhere in the description is the term 'Cthulhu' mentioned, but it's clearly a child of that misshapen genre. Released in the 70s (1973) the transfer to DVD was absolutely abysmal. All the color was washed out, the sound was terrible and there were plenty of artifacts in the video. Despite all that, the film was quite good. The story - A young woman (Marianna Hill playing Arletty) has returned to the sleepy seaside town of Point Dune. She's trying to find out what happened to her father the artist. He's been missing for some time now, and no one seems to know what's happened to him. All that remains is his abandoned studio on the coast. As Arletty arrives in Point Dune she encounters Thom and his two companions (two seductive women). The movie is filled with unexplained characters and situations. Dark and mysterious dead ends and a blood red moon. Clearly inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, the town is infested with some sort of undead cult of moon worshipping cannibals. Mix in the two hippy chicks and you've got one groovy, gruesome, Cthulhu masterpiece. If only there were a better quality release. I give this movie a 3 out of 5.

Collection ID 706
Director: Fritz Lang
Starring: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich, Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Fritz Rasp
Genre: Action & Adventure
Studio: Paramount Pictures   Release date: 1927   Rated: Not Rated   
Language (Country): English (Germany)
Summary: Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" belongs to legend as much as to cinema. It's a milestone of sci-fi and German expressionism. Yet the story makes minimal sense, and the "theme" belongs in a fortune cookie; to experience the film's pagan power, you have to "see the movie". But for decades we couldn't, not really--not with so many versions, all incomplete, often in public-domain prints like smudged photocopies. This Murnau Foundation restoration changes all that. Some shots, scenes, and subplots may be lost forever, but intertitles indicate how they fit into the original continuity and the characters' individual trajectories. Most crucially, the images are crisp, vibrant, and three-dimensional instead of murky and flattened. The composite sequences (the Tower of Babel, a sea of lusting eyes) have been restored to their hallucinatory ferocity. And there's one moment when you can see a bead of sweat roll down a man's cheek--in medium long-shot. "--Richard T. Jameson"
My Rating:
My Review: It's an old black & white silent movie, but it's magnificent. A sci-fi throwback from 1927. This movie illustrates a dystopian future where a strict social caste forms the basis of revolution and romance. The directing, music and scope are fantastic. The only drawback is the over-dramatic acting.