Actuarial Science Movie Reviews

Columbia Tristar has released two more episodes of the fantastic CGI animated "Roughnecks: Starship Troopers" series. "THE TOPHET CAMPAIGN" and "THE HYDORA CAMPAIGN" continue the incredible extra galactic war in proper chronological order (unlike the original TV broadcasts). Robert Heinlein's visceral and highly ironic sci-fi action (and perhaps fascist satires) are truer to the source material than the theatrical version. The animation is incredible and consistent in tone. Great characters interact in wonderfully detailed landscapes and interior spaces. A richly nuanced color palate greatly enhances the feel of these neatly arched episodic set pieces. In "Tophet" the action takes place on a desert planet where the oddly humanoid "Skinnies" make them feel way too comfortable. But alas, the bug war is not over. "Hydora" is a water planet where the advance team hopes to locate and extinguish the bugs' home base. Here they encounter the terrifying Mother insect who controls the bug universe.

I've just discovered this animated series, long after its brief and troubled TV run. I'm viewing the DVDs in the "correct" order: Pluto, Hydora, Tophet, Tesca. Having just finished Tophet, I can only say that they keep getting better! It's the best one I've seen so far. I'm perplexed by a previous review that "warns" us of its inferior visual quality. No way! It's clear that Foundation Imaging really began hitting their stride with this arc. The animation of the troopers was incredibly fluid and lifelike. Their faces look even better. The bugs, the equipment, the scenery - all fantastic. The episode with the cybernetic trooper C.H.A.S. was especially good. I can see now why I've read that it's a fan favorite. An absolutely first rate sci-fi experience.

The scripts continue to grow in sophistication, with surprise twists and startling developments. As always, the voice talent is first rate.

If you intend to buy all of the disks, then I definitely recommend viewing them in order. If you're just looking to try one out, this is the best of the first three DVDs. Tesca may well be better, but I don't know yet. I'll let you know!

A long time ago, I grew to accept the fact that all of my friends say I'm too hard on movies.

Having seen thousands of them in my life, I've grown cynical. Sure, I'm largely a sci-fi enthusiast, but I've had to look outside my comfort zone to find new, guilty pleasures. They're increasingly hard-to-find. So, I've accepted the grim reality that there is very little out there left in the land of entertainment for surprise or delight -- like seeing STAR WARS for the first time -- and one DVD is just a flick filling time until the next one comes available for rental or purchase.

Then, along came the ROUGHNECKS ...

This installment, I've already watched three times in under a week.

Call me a geek.

This outing of the Emmy-nominated ROUGHNECKS: STARSHIP TROOPER CHRONICLES only serves further evidence that this show -- utilizing state-of-the-art CGI technology along with highly-stylized fiction -- deserved a wider following that it will hopefully be treated to on DVD.

THE TOPHET CAMPAIGN is years ahead of other CGI-based adventure shows because its premise is a formula that works: action ... and plenty of it. Our heroes, the Roughnecks -- part of a futuristic Mobile Infantry fighting for mankind's survival against a race of sentient killer bugs --, are actually allowed to endure psychological as well as physical challenges, encouraged to face their own personal demons, and continue to grow in each subsequent arc of the overall story. After all, when's the last time 'Captain Planet' learned he might be wrong?

The story unfolds at a frenetic pace: the bugs have taken Tophet, where a race referred to as the Skinnies turn out to be unanticipated allies waiting to lure humanity into a trap. However, NOTHING is what it seems here, and that's perhaps the greatest attribute to the entire ROUGHNECKS series. Despite some story elements that might have been explored or even lifted from other works, the show continued to push its own bar higher, delivering plot twists almost at the same rate the soldiers deliver bullets.

The climax is an almost blockbuster-movie-caliber turn, with the adventure quotient turned up even higher, as Johnny Rico and Dizzy Flores and the rest of the troopers learn that Tophet holds far more secrets than they could've ever imagined.

One spectacular outing after another, THE TOPHET CAMPAIGN can be enjoyed by fans of the STARSHIP TROOPERS movie, general science fiction, or action/adventure enthusiasts alike. It's one DVD well worth the price.

Campaign numero two. Hydora. A water planet. After pursuing the huge Transport Bug from Pluto, the SICOM MI troopers find themselves at a water planet where the Transport Bug lands to refuel itself.

In this campaign, the characters continue to grow and develop. Carl Jenkins develops his mental powers to a new height when he confronts the first appearance of a brain bug.

Hydora is a planet of apparently dense water that doesn't allow itself too much for boiyancy and swimming. So the troopers wear a inflatable life perserver in case they fall in. Which, unfortunately happens a lot. However there is land on this planet but it's mainly just like corral reef type stuff and caves. While being a water planet, we get to see a lot of new hardware. Water skiffs, jet ski type thingies and some weapons that go kablooey.

In this campaign we see basically one type of bug. The Ripplers, who this time are animated a bit better than they were in Pluto. The Ripplers' main weapon is a volley of sharp barbs that come from their mouths. This of course provides a new problem for our MI troopers. However we do see some regular warrior bugs, but being a water planet, the Ripplers are more suited for this planet.

Now the action once again is top-notch. We see a lot of nice explosions of bugs going kablooey. There's a really great scene at the end with lots of stuff going on. Be sure to check out the technical commentary during that section.

But all in all, this campaign is quite exciting, but a bit tedious at times due to the static environment they're in.

The 2nd installment of the Roughneck series lives up to expectations. After the Pluto campaign, MI follows a bug transport to Hydora, a refueling planet populated with kamikaze flying bugs. THe battle is long and costly with MI outnumbered 75 to 1.
The 1st episode has MI landing for Recon and discovering the kamikaze bugs. Jenkins gets a meesage that the Bugs want nothing less than the eradication of humanity, to which Flores responds "Duh".
SICON wants to demy the planet to the Bugs and begins a campaign.The 2nd episode sees a meeting between Rico and Ibanez which doesn't turn out exactly like Rico wants. The 3rd episode has MI on an Egg Hunt, for the nest of the kamikaze bugs. The 4th is the most interesting. Jenkins must use his telepathic powers to probe an officer's mind to find a missing squad. What Jenkins finds is a Brain Bug that controls all other bugs. In the mental battle, Jenkins crushes, actually explodes, the Brain Bug and ends the Hydora campaign. But the war is far from over.
In the episodes, the characters mature and merge into a better fighting team. The episodes are coherent and fit together well. The narration is superb. The CGI is great, not superb. The action scenes are terrific and enjoyable.
The Series are not for just for teenagers.

I can't say I am at all disappointed with this DVD - The Technical commentary alone makes the DVD well worth the extra [money] to order it ...(since its not available in New Zealand - Only the Pluto campaign has ever been released here!!)

Techniques, bloopers, flaws, and all the inside information about how Roughnecks was made are discussed in a laid back, humourous discussion between the producer and the 3D guru's that made the show. While I enjoyed all of the Roughnecks series, the pure extra information that has been added onto the show is what makes this DVD (and the others I'm sure!) great value for money!

Unlike many examples of early sci-fi cinema, TDTECF combines a thought-provoking storyline with superb acting to create a very credible thriller about the countdown to Earth's destruction as a result of a decaying orbit brought on by nuclear testing.

Edward Judd is excellent in the role of Peter Stenning, a cynical newspaper columnist who has fallen from the top of his profession into a whiskey bottle but rises to sobriety once again admist the crisis. Janet Munro is adorable as Jeanie Crane, the weather ministry worker who leaks the story of the ages to Judd and ends up falling in love with him in the process. Leo McKern, widely known for his later role as Rumpole of the Bailey, is simply superb as Bill McGuire, the paper's science expert and Stenning's best friend. His sharp wit and tongue make his character a joy to watch.

Added into that mix is an amazingly authentic recreation of a newspaper work environment. I don't know the actor who plays Mr. Jefferson, the newpaper's editor, but he should have gotten an Oscar for his portrayal. I heard somewhere that he was a former newspaper editor--and it shows in his performance.

The special effects are minimal and unsophisticated, but the tension in the story builds as the lethality of the crisis becomes apparent to everyone and mankind makes a frantic, last-second attempt to prevent its ultimate undoing.

As far as the DVD goes, it is a very nice package. It includes commentary from Val Guest, the director; a nice set of production stills; and radio advertising spots for the movie. The audio sync does appear to be a hair off in some spots, but it wasn't all that noticeable. The picture quality is crisp and the audio is clear. I especially like the colorized (sort of) opening and closing sequences. Overall, a very nice packaging of a wonderful movie. One of the top sci-fi films of all time in my opinion.

Director Val Guest delivers one of the finest science fiction films ever made.With its real locations,literate script, documentary feel and a complete lack of the usual blaring music typical of the period this is a stand out movie of the genre.
You can almost feel the temperature rising as the film progresses.A great demonstration of what may happen if mankind continues to stupidly detonate nuclear warheads.

I have to confess the only reason that I bought "The Day the Eath Caught Fire" was due to its premsis of the end of the world. I LOVED IT! I thought that the acting and storyline was great. The Director is a excellent job. The movie kept the viewer guessing right end about the fate of the earth. A Great Job!

When I want an opinion from you I will give you one! That basically sums up the situation in this Doctor Who adventure.

As most of your readers will know by now, the BBC, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the show decided to reunite all of the actors who had played the lead role since the show's inception. Alas, the first Doctor William Hartnell, was stricken by a long and debilitating illness and was unable to play much of a part in the proceedings but to his eternal credit he did participate and made a memorable contribution showing just why he was chosen as the Doctor in the first instance.

Although the story introduced a number of elements of Timelord / Gallifrey mythology which added to the plot the main concern was the interplay between the three Doctor Whos. The villain, a larger than life nothing as it turned out pre-empts another Galliferyian renegade in the Brain of Morbius. Here his main job was to provide an opponent who was much stronger than the Doctor.

The combination of the three Doctors together is a masterstroke. Despite being debilitated by his illness, William Hartnell produced a marvellous performance although limited to brief sequences. The use of modern television techniques as well as colour helped to illuminate his Doctor as never before, brining in to question the whole idea of what Doctor Who would have been like had it been introduced in the 1970s.

Despite that level of performance, for me the characters of the second and third Doctors interacting together was the highlight of the adventure. Patrick Troughton endeared himself to many with his pouting and sulking in reaction to Jon Pertwee being arrogant and condescending. Not only did they bring out the worst but also the best in each other.

Mention should also be made of the supporting cast who were often relegated to minor positions. The long suffering Brigadier, clearly at a loss with the Doctor to begin with was all at sea with two.

This was truly a fitting testament to everyone involved in Doctor Who and must be considered to be one of the classics of the show.

Jon Pertwee, William Hartnel and Patrick Troughton each star in this Doctor Who adventure. It seems that Omega (the timelord which invented time travel) wants his revenge on his brother timelords. The 3 doctors are sent in to prevent Omega to escape from his prison. William Hartnel can only give advice and do nothing but watch.

This adventure marked a great deal of significance for Doctor Who in many ways. This adventure marked the 10th Anniversary of the program, and also brought together Jon Pertwee with Patrick Troughton and William Hartnell, the two previous actors to portray the Doctor.

The adventure itself was extraordinary, as it involves Omega, one of the founders of the Time Lord society, living in a universe of Anti-Matter that lies within the confines of a black hole, driven mad by the long years of isolation, out for revenge against the Time Lords (believing that he was abandoned). His powers are so great that the time bridge he creates (a frightening blob of ooze) threatens to tear apart the very fabric of the space-time continuum. In order to put a stop to it, the Time Lords break the first rule of time and allow the Doctor to help himself... literally. by removing his previous selves from their timestreams temporarily to assist the present incarnation.

This was a delightful adventure indeed. Upon seeing Patrick Troughton reappear out of midair to retrieve his recorder from the hands of the Third Doctor is simply priceless, and their bickering was also a highlight. And also of great importance was the appearance of William Hartnell. Although he was suffering from an illness that prevented him from being there on the set, he did provide a great deal through brief pre-recorded segments that would appear on the time scanner. My favorite part was when the two Doctors see the first Doctor on the screen, and Jo asks them both who that was, to which they both simultaneously reply, Me! then look at each in anger and say again in unison, ME!

this truly is a classic and a must have for Doctor Who fans, for at the end, the adventure also marks the end of the Doctor's exile. get a copy of this and you'll see what I mean.

The latter two movies in the Sinbad series show the decline of faith that Colombia Pictures had with Ray, and they gave him even smaller budgets to work with and not much promotion when the movies came to theaters, thus the movies did poorly box office wise. By 1977, when Eye of the Tiger was made, Colombia Pictures was nearly bankrupt. Another movie was made that saved them from going out of business, but even their really low standards of film making, I think it would have been better if they had gone out of business.

Wow. Talk about a dream collection for Ray Harryhausen fans. This is the sort of set you pop into a three-disc DVD player and watch all afternoon on a lazy summer weekend. How can you go wrong with three Sinbad adventures where you get to see an assortment of creatures that includes the cyclops, the snake woman, the fire-breathing dragon, the two-headed roc, the skeleton swordsman, the wooden siren, the winged homunculus, the six-armed Kali, the one-eyed centaur, the griffin, the chess-playing baboon, the giant walrus, the troglodyte, and the sabre-tooth tiger? (Whew, what a list.) Harryhausen brings them all to life the way only Harryhausen could: with flawless realism and painstaking attention to detail that today's CGI animators would do well to emulate.

The only reason I give this four stars instead of five is the sudden decline in entertainment value when we get to Eye of the Tiger. Too long, poorly told story, and perhaps too much reliance on Jane Seymour's charms. (Do I see an attempt at commercialism? Shame on you, producers.)

But all that aside, I do in fact pop this set into my three-disc player. For me, watching these DVD's is 305 minutes well-spent (and that doesn't even include the special features).

Oh, by the way, Mr. Alan Olsen, Harryhausen did receive an Oscar Lifetime Achievement Award, back in 1992. A long-delayed acknowledgment, as far as I'm concerned, but we should all be happy that the man got the recognition he truly deserved.

THE 7th VOYAGE OF SINBAD

By far the most "classic" of the three, this spectacular piece of cinematic adventure may very well be Ray Harryhausen's masterpiece. Legendary sailor Sinbad (Kerwin Matthews, in his signature role) is on the verge of marriage to Princess.....uh, I forget (a beautiful Kathryn Grant), and uniting their two countries. But not before the evil magician Sokurah (Torin Thatcher, in an extremely amusing performance) can shrink the princess to a doll's size in order to get Sinbad to return him to the Island of Colossa. There, Sinbad battles a giant Rok, a fire-spewing dragon, and (my personal favorite), the Cyclops...all brilliantly achieved by the greatest FX pioneer of all time, Ray Harryhausen. Oh, and there is the classic duel with the skeleton. Now I constantly hear people say, "Oh, like in 'Jason & the Argonauts'?", and it drives me crazy! Though the battle was far more elaborate and, well, better in that film, this is the original, people, the one that started it all! Indeed, this type of fight would appear again, and again, and again in subsequent Harryhausen films, ever improving (which really showed the true ingenuity of the man). "The 7th Voyage of Sinbad" is most likely, THE fantasy-adventure classic of all time, though some people say the same for the original "The Thief of Baghdad". But, I haven't seen that film, so I couldn't say. Plus, it doesn't have special-effects wizard Ray Harryhausen behind the camera to provide dazzling creatures right out of a dreamworld! A rousing, witty score by Bernard Herman, too!
Rating: 5/5

THE GOLDEN VOYAGE OF SINBAD

My favorite of all three films, even if it doesn't really deserve the title "classic" as much as "7th Voyage" did. John Phillip Law replaced Kerwin Matthews in the title role, and proves to be less impressive, but only by a little. And, hey, he actually has an accent! This time 'round, Sinbad discovers a strange map disguised as a golden treasure of sorts, and with it sets off to the magical isle of Lemuria, where legend has it that if you place the map/trasure in the Fountain of Destiny, you will be granted all-powerful, all-knowledgable, and eternal youth. But he'll have to reach the isle before the black sorceror, Koura (played to perfection by the sinister Tom Baker), who has more than a few tricks up his sleeves to stop Sinbad and his crew! This is a much different film than the first; the swashbuckling attitude is replaced by a darker, but more mystical atmosphere, which I find very cool! The score by Miklos Rozsa perfectly matches it, too (just check out the music during the scene with the Oracle; it's awesome!). The story is very inventive, with more twists-n-turns than you would guess. There is lots of suspense, too! And there is also Caroline Munro as the love interest for all you teenage boys out there! Ray Harryhausen once again provides a massive array of imaginative and expertly constructed creatures, including a flying homunculus (a spy of koura), and a six-armed statue of the goddess Kali, which is the showcase for a masterfully-choreographed sword fight sequence. As well, there is an exciting battle between a one-eyed centaur and a griffin! A first-rate fantasy-adventure.
Rating: 4.5/5

SINBAD & THE EYE OF THE TIGER

By far the least of the three, it's still enjoyable, nonetheless, though not for all the same reasons as the first two. First off, the acting is atrocious, but it is in a bad way; rarely do you feel the need to laugh out loud at its campiness. Second, the plot is pretty lame, and recycles quite a bit from the preceeding voyages. Sinbad is now played by Patrick Wayne, the son of John Wayne, though it really doesn't show. He has none of his father's prescense on screen, nor does he possess any acting abilities whatsoever! He is now on a quest to the land of *it's a really long, utterly forgetable name*, in order to return the Prince Kassim back to his human form. You see, he has been transformed into a baboon (?!) by the evil sorceress Zenobia (Margaret Whiting), but Sinbad must have the prince's permission to wed the Princess...once again, I forget her name, but it's a really hot Jane Seymour. They are joined by the wize man Melanthius (Patrick Troughton, I think) and his lovely daughter (Taryn Power). Like I said, the story is weak, so it's up to the craftsmanship of Ray Harryhausen to save the day, and he does it very effectively! The giant walrus isn't menacing in the least, but the fight between the Troglodyte and Saber-toothed Tiger is suspenseful and exciting. Indeed, the creatures (such as Kassim the Baboon) produce more emotion than the actors themselves! All except for the Minaton...I mean, he's supposed to be this unstoppable colossus, right? Well, all he does in the entire picture is row a friggin' boat! That we are deprived of seeing this brute giant in action is all but devastating. The music is overall mediocre, but the backgrounds are beautiful and mystical. In fact, the production crew shot the film in places that had never been used in any film before it, and it shows! (P.S. Why the hell is it called "The Eye of the Tiger"? It has nothing to do with any tiger, nor any eye...at least, not enough to put in the title.)
Rating: 3.5/5

CONCLUSION: This a great trilogy to add to your Ray Harryhausen collection. All three films are digitally remastered, and they're all beautiful (especially "The Golden Voyage"). They all feature the excellent documentary "The Harryhausen Chronicles", too. On a little side note, the DVD covers and great production notes inside are awesome!

A bad idea is a bad idea no matter the budget.

This film is so overrated. The acting is terrible, the script is terrible. It's all terrible. Be warned that in most cases an 'Independent movie with a difference' usually means, a terrible movie.

So many bad attempts at being funny, ridiculous accents, you've got to hear Jon Jacobs Scottish accent, it's a total joke. Christine Fulton, (with her little plastic monkey face) treats us to a 'Chinese' accent, think Charley Chan, and Mickey Rooney in Breakfast at Tiffanies.

Remember the term 'Indie' is now simply a way to market bad movies. The reason people make 'Indie' movies in most cases, is because their ideas are so lame and self obsessed that not a soul on earth will contribute a penny towards the production of these exercises in narcissism.

As for the magic, spells and booze. The witches coven look like rejects form a gender biased book club, with the type of 'good' looks associated with such individuals. Looking wild in quid ($ in the US) shop wigs.

The extras are pointless, the 'E' special follows Jacob his new haircut and the book group to Cannes, where they resort to body paint, rags, and a glimpse of breast ( the breasts dutifully obscured by our moral betters at E tv) to attract attention, now that's original. No one ever went to a film festival and got naked for the paparazzi before, well except for Baywatch flotsam, and every other dizzy starlet with the boob job which is their only job.

I wish I could give this tripe less, than one star I wish I could give, this overrated home movie, an upside down smiley face. The kind of face a smiley face would have if, the smiley face had bought and watched this movie like me. Amazon I demand a upside down smiley face as a rating from this day on. On star has not satisfied me.

This is a fabulous piece of filmmaking. Anyone who didn't enjoy it is off their rocker. It's a fun and simple story of a long lost wizard who travels to New Orleans to find his bride.

Christina Fulton and Jon Jacobs and co-star Leon Herbert are great in this movie. Very watchable, very fun, very good film. 'Nuff said. And check out Jon Jacobs' new comedy movie called HEY DJ. Look for it at http://www.heydjmovie.com and see the great official movie site for HEY DJ! It's even better than Lucinda's Spell!

I love Lucinda's Spell.... How about u?
Sexy, Subversive and ironic a perfect fantasy...

There are nine shorts on this, so the rating of 2 stars is based off of an average of the scores I gave to each, with a bit of my own tilt to it.

1 - "Animated Corpse" - 4 stars: It's a music video, and I don't often watch music videos. However, it is funny in its own way. I wouldn't normally watch it, but it's alright.

2 - "Dinner" - 3 stars: A modern fairy tale that had some good ideas and an interesting set design, but fails because of a poor script. When it tries to be funny, it fails, and when it tries to be dramatic, it is laughable. It's the sort of thing that would probably be good to remake.

3 - "Every Night and Twice on Sundays" - 2 stars: Yet another independent documentary that's meant to be funny. I thought it was boring as hell. I give it two stars, though, because there are worse films on this disc, and I could at least stand to watch this one again if I had to. If you like things like "Waiting for Guffman," you might like this (maybe - I'm saying this based off of the fact that I didn't care much for that movie, either).

4 - "Flying with the Angels" - 1 star: This is the sort of... that gives independent cinema a bad name. It is a pretentious, boring, pseudosymbolic music-video-wannabe that the filmmakers took way too seriously. It's one of those "so intelligent that nobody on Earth understands" things. It is described as the diary of a woman's subconscious - but it's actually just a woman having sex, and then crawling around naked in her apartment. It's so horrible, it couldn't even be used for pornography.

5 - "Iceman" - ? stars: Didn't watch it. Sorry.

6 - "Hidden Child" - ? stars: Didn't watch it. Looked too gruesome. Sorry.

7 - "The Passage" - 1 star: Like that "angel"..., this movie pretended to be really intelligent, meaningful, and symbolic, but it was just a plotless waste of film. It was in black and white, of course (so was "Angels"), because any snooty, silent, dull movie that is supposed to be art HAS to be in B & W (It's a rule in the Committee of Bad Independent Movies). Supposedly, this one is supposed to be about a writer's struggle between reality and insanity. Instead, a guy has a beer, smokes a cigarette, and stares off, blankly. This goes on for twenty minutes!

8 - "Today's Life" - 4 stars: A pilot in a deep space research vessel struggles to understand his existence. Do not be fooled by the reason I gave this a high rating. I believe that special effects do not make a good movie. It is a good plot, script, and acting that make a good film. "Today's Life" is the only movie on this disc with impressive special effects, but the reason it is good is because of a very interesting plot (Actually, the fact that it has any plot at all is a welcome change from the rest of the movies) and a decent pace. It is heavy-handed, which might cause you to wish they would have extended the movie, or even made it feature-length, but it as a short, it is still very good.

9 - "Zitlover" - ? stars (I would estimate 1, based on what I did see): All I know is, I saw about the first thirty seconds, and it appeared to be disgustingness for disgustingness's sake. It isn't like "South Park," where gross things are mixed in with humor. Instead, it's just gross stuff that the filmmakers HOPE would be funny. Of course, that's all based off of only the half a minute that I watched - maybe it gets really good. I will never know; I have a weak stomach.

So, there you have it. Mostly dull. A few rays of hope. I would suggest you save your money, because the few good things on this disc are really short, while the bad stuff (Like "Flying with the Angels") lasts for awhile.

I'm known by my friends and students for loving strange, short, indie films. So you'd think this collection of very strange, very short, very indie films would be my favorite. However, even I, hardcore lover of weirdness that I am, started to long for some good old fashioned plot and hollywood-style drama after watching these. Some on this disk are excellent filmmaking acheivements (Passage is comparable in style and cinematic quality to the classic cult film Eraserhead, and Today's life has some stunning sci-fi effects for a small-budget short), some are just badly-scripted, badly-acted fun (The female lead in the fairies-in-modern-LA story "Dinner" isn't what she seems in more ways than one), and some are only for those under 12 and/or with strong stomachs (if you can watch more than 1 minute of "Zitlover" then you are the type of person who will think it's hilarious and wonderful. If you can't, you aren't.)

I'd like to see you buy this DVD just to support the concept of indie short-cinema on DVD. However, I have to be honest and say that all the discs in the "Short" and "Film-fest" series are much more impressive and enjoyable introductions to the delights of modern small-budget short films. The one thing that IndieFusion does have that beats all other short cinema DVDs is a director's commentary track for EVERY feature, and the commentaries are much more creative, fun, and interesting than most commentary tracks on big hollywood feature-film DVDs, too.

So go ahead. Try it. If you're a teenager, you'll love it. If you're not a teenager, maybe you should consider becoming one. This DVD will help.

I borrowed this DVD from a friend of mine because they liked it. I liked it too. My favorite was a music video from Tilt. I really like Tilt, they are a really good punk band. The video was really good because it had a zombie and it was really funny. I liked the other films on there too. They were really good.

In Space Man, we're treated to a genuine, low bugdet, sci-fi, gangster, kung-fu, comedy, love story. I saw this as a refreshing break from the hi-tech, mega bugdet, CGI bloated features we've been seeing. It's the story of a man who was kidnapped as a young boy by space aliens and returns back to earth 25 years later. During his time away from earth, he has been trained and conditioned to be the ultimate hunter/fighter/killer and now has to try and assimilate back into earth culture. I thought this movie was pretty funny, and for it's budgetary limitations, it had some pretty good fight scenes and effects. While the movie was made for around $50,000, it looks like the director got the most out of it he could. I would be interested in seeing what he could do with a larger budget. It's nice to know that movies like this can still be made. If you liked this, I would also recommend Dark Star.

Watching this movie feels like you're goofing around and playing with a bunch of your friends. It doesn't try too hard to hide that the lead pipes they're hitting eachother with are cardboard. It lets you in on it, it feels like any one of the actors at some point are going to look at you and say, "What do you want to play now?". At one point a car drives past the guy he's supposed to pick up and inside the driver says, "Oh, I screwd that one up.". On the commentary track Scott Dikkers says how that was the actor's natural reaction to accidently missing his mark but Dikkers just left it in.
Scott Dikkers is such a genius. I wish everybody could see the stuff he's done. His cartoon Jim's Journal is so beautiful, his short films give a better idea of what he can do with more money, The Onion, and this other book "You Are Worthless" which I wrote another review of here. It's so easy to love him for the work he's let us seen.

Eugine the Spaceman is the ultimate killing machine, and he is a pretty good cashier too. This movie is about a lost warrior from outerspace that has to fight off the FBI, a group of hitmen, learn to think for himself, and serch for his true identity. I found this movie to be both action-packed and hilarious. I loved the parts where Spaceman riped out a mans vocal cords and threw a couple of forks into another guys eyeballs. Also I loved the pipe fight and kung-fu fight between Spaceman and the Japanese guy. Spaceman will never quit killing!!!

As with the original "Cat People" it is what you don't see that will spook you. Appropriately named "X- The Unknown" this move is about a creepy monster that is unknown and one has to figure out how to deal with it. This has all the "Stay in the car" type thrills that will later be used in "The blob." Soon enough you find that it is - mud out for blood. So once again we must turn to our scientists to protect us. But can they do it this time?

It has been over 30 years that I first saw X-The Unknown. When it became available on DVD I jumped at the chance to buy it.

The story while very 50ish (atomic terrors reaching out for us) holds up very well today.The acting is first rate, and even through the scientific explanations you feel that the story line is quite plausible.

I am especially impressed with the clarity of the picture. I expected a very grainy film but was surprised to see a clear sharp picture. Add to this an exciting musical score and the atmosphere is set.

X THE UNKNOWN is a fine example of a talented cast, crisp direction, and errie musical score. I recommend this highly.

While Nigel Kneale was thrilling the world- UK included - with his immensely successful QUATERMASS movies in the 50's, another name was added to Hammer Productions' list of writers- Jimmy Sangster, who wrote this genuinely suspenseful, frightening, and equally intelligent B-movie for his debut. An 'intelligent' element (a larger - than - life glob of sludge) from below the surface of the earth arises from a fissure in a Scottish bogland and wipes out anything in its path- including humans, who are either horribly burned or completely melted away from coming into close contact with it - on its way to locate and consume nearby sources of radiation to fuel its growth. To stop the titular entity, Quatermass-like scientist Dr. Alan Royston (Academy Award winner Dean Jagger, TWELVE O" CLOCK HIGH) must race against time to find its' weakness before it moves southward- towards London! He gets good acting support from Edward Chapman as his disbelieving boss and Leo McKern as a willingly-helpful police inspector named "McGuill". Although it is rather weak in direction (by Leslie Norman), the film makes a scene with production by Anthony Hinds, its dark locations are chilling, and cringing music by James Bernard. X-THE UNKNOWN certainly made an impresion for writer Sangster- he was later the recreator of Univeral's Monster Films, and the remakes had Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee as excellent predecessors to Bela Legosi, Boris Karloff, and Lon Chaney JR.!

As I indicated in my review of debunker Karl Pflock's Roswell book, there is an erroneous belief that if you can disprove the Roswell Incident, you have automatically debunked all UFO reports. How ridiculous.

This is the case they feel they HAVE to crush in order to get a handle on disempowering the pro-UFO/Alien lobby. When you watch this movie, you will understand why.

Roswell is a very well made movie, with an excellent cast, which features some powerful performances by Kyle Mac and Dwight Yoakam above all.

The UFO debunkers will hate it because it tells the story of an actual Alien incident including the recovery of at least one semi-telepathic crash survivor.

Some contemporary UFO purists will have a problem because of the artistic license taken and the fact that it seems like Marcel was stuck between a rock and a hard place, having wanted to release the true account of the crash - whereas now some people believe that Marcel was told to release an exaggerated 'crashed disk' report by Blanchard, which was then pulled/denied in true disinformation style.

Whatever the theorizing, this movie tells a fairly traditional Roswell story, which includes all of the main elements of the discovery and cover-up. If anything, as another reviewer said, a worst case scenario.

The Project Mogul balloon that debunkers keep whining about, DID have a roughly disk-shaped instrument gondola suspended way beneath it, but nobody in their right mind could EVER mistake it for a craft that was capable of independent flight, even if it had become totally separated from the mother balloon, which seems not to have been the case, per their own debunking mythology.

This movie has a feel about it that just gets under your skin, and for many reasons, flaws and artistic license or not, it flows more like a documentary of Marcel's life than a piece of pure fiction. When you compare the flow and feel of this movie with the infantile ramblings of debunkers such as the barely literate Kal K. Korff (yeah, KKK), you cannot help but feel that the movie is the closest thing we might ever know to the Truth.

The idea that the whole Incident was a piece of disinformation, to fool the Russians or whatever, falls apart instantly for 10,000 reasons and is perhaps the most ludicrous suggestion of all.

No, something unusual came down in Roswell, and until the Government comes clean, and stops fabricating seemingly deliberately absurd 'explanations', the story told in this movie may be considered a very reasonable possible scenario.

Very highly recommended.

Though I couldn't care less whether intelligent alien life exists or not (IMHO it probably doesn't, and if it does it would bear many of the same hideous flaws that any "intelligent" life has), this movie is one of thee best UFO flicks I have ever seen. Whether you like good sci-fi stories, UFO mythology, or if UFO-ology is basically your religion (sigh), this is a great movie based on the classic UFO crash myth near Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. Wonderfully filmed, with a good solid script and fine acting. The characters (even the minor ones) are lifelike and appear to be given a great deal of thought. If you want to see one of the best, earliest foundations for the 20th century take on alien life (complete with a typically awful, thankfully short, scene depicting the supposed vastly superior minds of alien life over our own), then this is it. Of course, as this movie shows, it merely scratches the surface of just how far some people take the whole UFO thing and just how much story potential there is within UFO-ology. If you want to be really disturbed by something however, consider the claim at the beginning of this movie that the story is "...based on events that happened near Roswell, New Mexico"!

Kyle Maclachlan (who stared in the original Dune, also appeared in Twin Peaks) does a real nice job here in the lead. A fine actor with a good talent for playing intelligent, inquisitive, determined characters (qualities we could all look for more here among humanity instead of looking towards outer space for them). The movie works well on different levels. Outside of a few weaknesses, the story of the whole Roswell incident itself is fairly brilliant and it's understandable that this movie would turn out pretty good. Yet, this movie also can be used to work the mind as you sit back and think of all the alternative theories possible to the ones given. Many of the alternatives are given right in front of us within the story, sometimes even painfully obviously so. The movie ends on a touching, somewhat sad note as we see further into the isolation, and perhaps self-deception, portrayed so well by Kyle Maclachlan. Perhaps in the long run it can also be seen as a good warning about obsessive-compulsive behaviors, whether one is right or wrong in their views. I think the real question UFO extremists need to ask however is, is this belief trip really necessary? Roswell (1994) helps in thinking about this.

It's about time that this made-for-cable movie sees the light of day on DVD. Whether you believe in UFO's or enjoy good sci-fi, you have to wonder what really happened in Roswell, New Mexico in July of 1947. Kyle MacLachlan is great as the disillusioned officer Jesse Marcel while Dwight Yoakam is a treat as the angry rancher Mac Brazel. The one to watch though is Martin Sheen. He manages to shadow MacLachlan at the 509th reunion until he turns him every which way but loose right at the end. Is Sheen telling the truth or serving up more disinformation? Or both? That would be best according to a Majestic-12 flashback. You decide. After all, the truth might be in here.