Friday B-Movie Pick: Dredd
It’s back to Mega-City One and the world of Judge Dredd. This time it’s with SciFi fan Karl Urban in the lead role instead of Stalone. Urban played this role much truer to form. As in the Comics, you never see Dredd’s face. He always wears the helmet. It’s gritty, dark, nasty, and a lot of fun to watch. The bad guys are bad, the good guys are damn harsh, but fair. In all, a fun ride for fans of gritty SciFi action films.
Friday B-Movie Pick: Looper
A nice SciFi action flick starring Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt (actually not in a RomCom!) and nicely played role by Jeff Daniels (“Kid, I’m from the future. Trust me, go to China.”) Some folks found the time looping a little hard to follow, but it wasn’t too difficult for those of us who have been watching Doctor Who for the better part of 30 years. For the most part, the acting really helped this flick shine. The story itself was interesting, and it was fun to watch the characters grow when presented with both their past and their future. Definitely worth a rental and popcorn.
Friday B-Movie Pick: Awsomest Maximus
National Lampoon’s The Legend of Awesomest Maximus
National Lampoon is back in the spoofing biz. In this one they take on Troy, The 300, Gladiator and a bit of Braveheart thrown in for flavor. They go for the cheap gag line every chance they get, which is what makes this spoof awesome! Plus they cracked open the piggy bank for the budget and sprang for topless actresses. So there is plenty of scantly clad, bare breasted, hot young blonde women in the film. This isn’t a beer and pretzels movie, it’s a six pack and ribs movie. They had fun making this movie, and you should relax and enjoy watching it.
Friday B-Movie Pick: My Young Auntie
Going with another 1970s era Shaw Brothers Kung Fu classic. My Young Auntie is the story of a young martial arts student who marries her dying Master, at his request, in order to keep his fortune out of the hands of his evil younger brother. She delivers the will and deeds to her new nephew, who happens to have a son about her age. He is going to college in Hong Kong and returns in time to join in the fun. Interesting mix of East meets West, with the college students’ love of all things western (fancy dress, dancing, music, European saber fencing,…) being introduced to the new Auntie, who is a bit old fashioned. This gives the film conflict on two levels. The first being between the Third (and only surviving) Uncle and the rest of the family over the deceased Master’s fortune, and the second being the culture clash between old fashioned, yet young, second aunt, and her great nephew (who is about the same age as her) and his college friends. It’s the Shaw Brothers, so the fight sequences are great. This film also has singing, dancing and more than its share of humor.
Friday B-Movie Pick: Heroes of the East
It’s Chinese Gung Fu squaring off with Japanese martial arts in this 1970s Shaw Brothers martial arts classic! This film stars Gordon Liu and group of actual Japanese martial arts masters recruited for this film. The fights are a real treat to watch. Three Section Staff vs. Nunchuka & Tonfa. Katana vs. Gim Sword. Sai vs. Butterfly Swords. Spear vs. Spear. Karate vs. Chinese Drunken God style Gung fu. Judo vs. Chin Na. How does this come about? Well, a young Chinese martial arts student has an arranged marriage with a young Japanese girl who is also skilled in her countries martial arts, including Ninjitsu! The fun continues from there.
Friday B-Movie Pick: Total Recall
Not the Schwarzenegger classic, but the remake that left out Mars entirely. An OK flick if you judge it on its own, but it pales to the original. Not that it didn’t try and it did have some real hat tips to the original. They also roped in the Bladerunner look and feel for the streets of “the colony”, as they were calling Austrilia in the film. There was even a Mr and Mrs Smith reference thrown in. Fun to watch for the fight and chase scenes, as well as the leading lady eye candy factor (Kate Becinsale and Jessica Biel for the double w00t!). Ok for a rental, but not worth the added cost for the less than useless Ultraviolet crap you are forced to pay for in order to get a DVD/BluRay version.
Friday B-Movie Pick: Genesis of the Daleks
Doctor Who: Genesis of the Daleks
Reaching back to 1975, we find this classic from the Tom Baker, the 4th Doctor, era. The Time Lords send the Doctor, Sarah and Harry back to the creation of the Doctor’s greatest enemy, the Daleks! It has that low budget mid 70s BBC look, but carries it off well. If you only know the new Doctor series (Numbers 9, 10 and 11), check this out.
Friday B-Movie Pick: Casino Royale
Not the recent Bond franchise reboot, but the 1967 comedy version. A great cast including David Niven as the original James Bond, Woody Allen as his nephew Jimmy Bond, Peter Sellers, Ursula Andress, Orsen Wells, and a few other cameo shots by actors you should recognize. I’m a fan of the Austin Powers movies, but Casino Royale proves that you could squeeze every last drop of Mojo out of Austin, and the whole batch would not be as cool as David Niven’s mustache alone!
Friday B-Movie Pick: The Commitements
The story of a group of young Dubliners who form a Soul group. Why, because the Irish are the Blacks of Europe, and Dublin is the Blacks of Ireland. A fun film with really good music and great characters.
Friday B-Movie Pick: The Expendables
Arnold Schwarzenegger is back again. OK, not a big role, but he is in this flick, along with most of the big action movie stars from the 80s, 90s, and a couple of kids who were doing action flicks in the early 00s. Don’t expect Oscar performances here, just a lot of action and explosions. The actors had a good time making this film and it shows. Fire up the popcorn and enjoy.