catch us if you can (1965)

AKA Having A Wild Weekend.
"But you missed the journey."
The Dave Clark Five play a group of film extras/stuntmen living in the midst of swinging London. Whilst shooting a TV advert Steve (Dave Clark) decides to ditch his life and heads for the road (in a stolen car) with Dinah (Barbara Ferris) the star of the Ad in tow. They head off to Devon, but will their dreams lead to happiness or disillusionment?
So here we have an attempt to big up the Tottingham sound. Unfortunately Clark has none of the personality needed to carry a film, being tasatern and sullen and the pop musings of Boorman and his stark cinamatography only serve to highlight this. Still for all that, it is one of the better pop films of the 60's, due to Boorman, the downbeat script, and almost inspite of Dave Clark appearing in it. Mind you I'd still watch Smashing Time or Head if I wanted to view a film about mass media manipulation in the sixties.

geordie (1955)

"Everybody can't be big."
Geordie (initially played by Paul Young, then Bill Travers) is a wee laddie (as they say in Scotland), long on knowledge, but short on stature. He gets fed up with everyone calling him wee and enrolls in a correspondence course to build himself up. And against all the odds so it does. Watched over all the time by Jean (Norah Gorsen) who holds a romantic candle for him, which Geordie is blissfully unaware of. Meanwhile Geordie shows a talent for hammer throwing and is selected for the Olympic games.
A charmingly delightful look at a Britain that probably never was, but that all older Brits hanker for. It may come across as simple and twee, but follow the story closer and there are clues to the politics of the day, and some very barbed comments intertwined through the piece.

the day the earth stood still (1951)

"I won't resort to threats, Mr. Harley. I merely tell you the future of your planet is at stake."
A spaceship lands in Washington, DC and the lone alien, Klaatu (Michael Rennie) exits to impart a message to
the united nations, but is shot by a twitchy soldier. Gort, a robot, appears to save him, melting the soldiers weapons and tank in the process. The wounded alien orders a halt to the carnage and having talked to the politicians gets nowhere. So he escapes to travel incogneto to learn about people and how to impart his important message. To do so he rents a room with a family who eventually start to suspect he is not who he says he is. When confronted he tells them that Gort is a super-robot invented to keep peace in the galaxy, and will destroy the earth if provoked. But how is he going to deliver his message to the whole world at the same time.
A classic cold-war sci-fi where an alien arrives to try and protect people from themselves.

the crawling hand (1963)

AKA Don't Cry Wolf. The Creeping Hand.
"I am not out of my mind."
A space capsule is blown up whilst in orbit and a teenager Paul Lawrence (Rod Lauren) finds some wreckage and a severed arm. Unfortunately the arm seems to have a life of it's own and takes over Pauls mind in order to kill.
Indifferent acting, cheap sets and extremely flawed logic do nothing to stop the enjoyment of this sci-fi romp.
Sure it's bad, but it's good bad. Why it even features "The Bird's The Word" by The Rivingtons which is always a plus point!

blue velvet (1986)

"I can't figure out if you're a detective or a pervert."
Returning to his idylic hometown of Lumberton to visit his family, Jeffrey Beaumont (Kyle MacLachlan) stumbles upon a human ear in a field. The police are no help so With the help of a friend Sandy (Laura Dern), Jeffrey decides to undertake his own investigation, starting with Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini), a nightclub singer who 'sandy thinks may have something to do with it. Unfortunately this leads them into a dark underworld and brings them into conflict with pychopath Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper) who holds something over Dorothy.
Lynch can weave a story into a nightmare like no other director, get ready for the everyday to become strange, and depravity to become the norm. A brave mix of horror, sado-masochistic sex and extreme black comedy, that digs into a world that exists out of sight of the normal suburban existence.

the hand of night (1968)

AKA Beast of Morocco.
"You have come to the court of the servants of night!"
Paul Carver (William Sylvester) is a man tortured by the tragic deaths of his wife and family in a car crash, for which he blames himself. In an attempt to escape his grief he takes a business trip to Morroco to visit an archaeologist and comes under the influence of the mysterious Marisa (Aliza Gur). He is lured to her desert home, but in the morning he awakes to find it derelict! Chantal (Diane Clare), the archaeologist's assistant, tries to help snap him out of his morbid obsession with death and defeatism, chiding him for giving up on life. But who is this Marisa, does she really exist and what does she want with Paul? Will Paul choose the darkness
that is Marisa, or go to the light that is Chantal?
Lots of meandering around and dancing courtesans pad out this slight story of Vampirism and morbidity. Long on
atmosphere and suspense, short on thrills, not that that is a bad thing.

destroy all monsters (1968)

AKA Kaijû sôshingeki.
"I didn't think Tokyo would escape this terror, but Rodan, Godzilla and Manda are all here at the same time."
The year is 1999, and the United Nations has established a base on the moon and quarantined all the monsters on Ogasawara Island, otherwise known as Monsterland. There the authorities are studying Godzilla, Rodan, and the rest of the creatures. Unfortunately an alien race, the Kilaaks, take over the island and control the monsters and scientists based there. They then try to use them in an attempt to conquer the world. It falls to astronaut Katsuo Yemabe (Akira Kubo) and his crew to stop the Kilaaks and get the monsters back onto the island.
Like the WWE of monster movies, they are all here, wreaking havoc all over the planet. Unplug your brain, and enjoying the smashing. There goes Tokyo again...

UHF (1989)

"Lesbian Nazi Hookers Abducted by UFOs and Forced Into Weight Loss Programs... all next week on Town Talk."
George Newman ('Weird Al' Yankovic) is cruising from one macjob to the next, dreaming his life away. Until his uncle is persuaded to give George a job managing a low rent UHF television station with no viewers. Soon George, his quirky new staff and weird programmes catch on, much to the annoyance of R.J. Fletcher (Kevin McCarthy) the evil boss of the other local TV station that UHF 62 has usurped in the ratings.
A comic mix of spoof films, programmes and music videos done in the inimitable Weird Al style intertwine a vague plot.

earth girls are easy (1988)

"Let's face it, inner beauty is for losers."
Valeria (Geena Davis) is about to get married to Dr. Ted Gallagher (Charles Rocket), but he's a jerk. Only she doesn't seem to know it, that is until she walks in on his latest attempted conquest. Just when she is in turmoil three aliens (Jeff Goldblum, Jim Carrey and Damon Wayans) crash land in her swimming pool, turning her world upside down, as they teach her to lighten up and party!
Having pandered to Malcolm McClaren's wish to create a mythological version of the Sex Pistols in The Great Rock And Roll Swindle, Temple then pitched up in Hollywood and created this ode to 50's B Movies and kitch 80's Americana in this one long MTV music video. It's light and airy, very bright and colourful, and pure uninvolved entertainment, which is just what you need occasionally.

the day the world ended (1955)

"There are two forms of life fighting for survival here in this valley, and only one of them can win and it's got to be us."
A rancher, Jim Maddison (Paul Birch), his daughter Louise (Lori Nelson) and friend Rick (Richard Denning), have their home invaded by Tony Lamont (Mike Connors), an unsavory character, and his girlfriend Ruby (Adele Jergens). This disperate group of people have come together to survive the mutants that now roam a post nuclearholocaust world. Whilst Rick and Tony fight over Louise, further complications come when Rick brings back a high irradiated man, who against all odds survives and spends much of his time alone in the woods.
An early Corman production, that features a decent enough tale, nicely played out by all concerned. As usual Corman comes up with a better then average film, from the limited resources available to him.

the monster that challenged the world (1957)

"From the instant they're born, they're hungry."
An earthquake unleashes a giant sea-monster into California's Salton Sea, near a military base. With the mysterious death of three naval personnel, Lt. Commander John Twillinger (Tim Holt) is sent to investigate the case, but this case may be more than he can cope with!
A 50's creature feature that follows the usual patern, hero military guy, with love interest in tow, this being played by Audrey Dalton, (unusually for the times playing a single parent). One of the better 50's monster films, with better special effects than one should expect from the budget and some nice character development to sustain the interest whilst waiting for the creature to appear.

x (1963)

AKA x: the man with the x-ray eyes.
"My dear doctor, I'm closing in on the gods."
Dr. James Xavier (Ray Milland) is a scientist determined to develop man's eye sight, convinced the eyes are not used to their potential. To do so he develops some eye-drops, which in true sci-fi style he uses on himself. The drops change his sight giving him the power to see through objects and people. Unfortunately due to a surgical accident he ends up on the run, in need of money to continue his work. With Dr Fairfax (Diana Van der Vlis) a former assistant trying to help him, he sets out to get as much as possible, before his sight develops any more and his increasing perception of the universe and how it is put together possibly sends him mad...
A fine sci-fi by Corman, that delves into the possibility that there are some things that scientists are not meant to tamper with.

the amazing transparent man (1960)

"Imagine what our counter intelligence could accomplish if they were able to become invisible whenever necessary."
Paul Krenner (James Griffith), an ex army major helps safe cracker Joey Faust (Douglas Kennedy) escape from jail. He forces him to act as a guinea pig for scientist Dr. Ulof (Ivan Triesault). Ulof is developing a way of turning things invisible using radiation and Krenner needs more radium. How better to get it but use an invisible safe breaker? Krenner ultimately plans to create an invisible army that he can then sell to the highest bidder, but will Faust continue to take Krenners orders once he is invisible?
An entertaining enough b grade thriller, without being earth shattering, but then little is!

what a carve up! (1961)

AKA No Place Like Homicide!
"He's dead!"
Ernie (Kenneth Connor) is summoned to the wilds of Yorkshire as an uncle he never knew has just died. There he finds out that he and his eccentric relatives have to spend the night in the spooky ancestral home in order to claim the inheritance. Soon things start to go wrong and one by one the guests begin to drop dead.
A mediocre film, that throws some mildly diverting comedy into the mix with Sid James, Shirley Eaton and Esma Cannon amongst other stalwarts of the Carry On films popping up alongside the more obviously spooky Donald Pleasence and Michael Gough.

seven days to noon (1950)

"I think he's lost faith. I think he lost all the faith in the value of his work."
An amiable nuclear scientist, Professor Willingdon (Barry Jones) comes to the conclusion that his work could potential do more harm than good. He sets out to convince the world that they should abandon such work permanently the only way he thinks will work, by threatening to blow up central London if the government does not comply within seven days. The hunt is on to find Willingdon before he enacts his plan.
A fine suspense thriller, due to it's believability and the use of a psudeo documentary style concentrating on the human elements, with great character studies by Jones and the few people he comes into contact with as he hides out in London.

cemetery of the living dead (1965)

AKA Cinque Tombe Per Un Medium. Terror Creatures From The Grave.
"This is a place of horror, where thousands of men have died..."
Albert Kovac (Walter Brandi), an attorney arrives at the Hauff villa, to read the will of its owner, but when he introduces himself he is told by the man's wife, Cleo (Barbara Steele), that he died over a year ago. Cleo and his daughter (Mirella Maravidi) relate their fears to Albert that his spirit is roaming the house, and furthermore he had summoned the souls of many plague victims. Soon the inevitable happens and the householders begin to die gruesome deaths, leaving Albert to puzzle the mystery out.
Benefits from the presence of Barbara Steele, but is generally a mediocre piece of Italo-horror. Though there are a few atmospheric scenes that make it worth a watch.

the sadist (1963)

AKA Profile of Terror. Sweet Baby Charlie.
"I have been hurt by others. And I will hurt them. I will make them suffer like I have suffered."
Ed, Carl and Doris, (Richard Alden, Don Russell and Helen Hovey), are on their way to Los Angeles but have some car trouble and have to pull into an old garage in the middle of nowhere to try and get the car fixed. At first the place seems deserted, but then they come across Charlie (Arch Hall Jr), an on the run psycho and his equally deranged girlfriend judy (Marilyn Manning).
A simple premise that is allowed to rack up the tension as the unfortunates have to deal with the whims of a deranged killer. Equally disturbing is his girlfriend who seems the more sadist of the duo, egging him on to further and more dramatic violence, and getting an obvious sexual thrill out of events. Where other films would have a hero standing up to the bully, here we have a more realistic reaction to the threat of death: panic, terror and fear. Cinematically the film lingers on the violence, sometimes fixating on the dominance of the gun and the terror it instills, at other points the deranged villains and their obvious delight at the fear they create. A film that deserves to be more widely known, but probably isn't in part due to the brutality and bleakness of the story.