Recently I've been revisiting the numerous 1950's sci-fi "creature feature" movies. They all generally have at least one thing in common: a giant, irradiated insect, mutation or alien mutation. The Deadly Mantis, directed by Nathan Juran and theatrically released by Universal in 1957, is one of my all time favorites. A long frozen giant mantis is inadvertently thawed out by atomic bomb testing, escapes its icy hibernation and flies away, subsequently beginning an immediate campaign of terror on mankind. A dedicate scientist(played by William Hopper) and an equally dedicated U.S. Air Force officer(played by Craig Stevens) become the movie's heroes and requisite military-scientific "brain trust", tasked with tracking and ultimately stopping the "deadly" giant mantis. The film's conclusion features a downed, gravely injured giant mantis against a group of miltary personnel inside the Washington(DC) tunnel. (no other spoilers)
As much as I hate to admit it, one of my favorite aspects of this movie is the mantis' ability to roar like a dinosaur. The idea of a "roaring" insect is obviously preposterous...but it absolutely works in this fun, entertaining '50s monster flick.
This movie has long been available on VHS. Universal released The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection Vols 1 and 2(sold separately or packaged together) in 2008 to official R1 DVD and this release includes The Deadly Mantis(1957). I own both of these DVD sets which also feature some of Universal's most recognizable and successful sci-fi monster movies from the decade of the 1950's.
I was watching a documentary the other night about tarantulas and other large arachnids. I've always been fascinated by spiders and also creeped out by them all at once. I'm also a sucker for just about any horror/sci-fi film featuring a giant spider run amok. My favorite giant spider creature feature will always be the 1955, Jack Arnold directed Tarantula. I also like the "other" giant spider schlocker from the 1950's as well despite it's even more scattershot and uneven special effects. I'm referring to THE SPIDER , aka "Earth Vs The Spider" which was written, produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon.
This film is available for viewing on YouTube, Vimeo and even DailyMotion and comes in at 73 minutes for viewing. There's a lot of things that annoy me about this movie: the inconsistent renderings of the giant spiders' size during its forays into the neighboring town and countryside outside its cave abode. I also dislike the almost banshee like wail that the monster spider emits. That said there are some huge positives for me with The Spider, none more so than the performance of Ed Kemmer, the local schoolteacher who is the film's primary protagonist, married family man(and father) and also who lends a helping hand to the town sheriff and his deputies in figuring out how to stop and ultimately destroy the mysterious, menacing giant spider. I also like the spider's main raid on the town and the sequence where it escapes the high school gym after its temporary capture. Some level of suspense is maintained because the initial attempt to kill the enormous spider, while it's still inside its cave lair, fails. The spider is instead captured but escapes a high school gym and crawls around again, understandably scaring the hell out of everyone who is unfortunate enough to see it. (no spoilers on the movie's ending)
The score is actually decent for this movie and there are ample enough scenes of chaos, mayhem and grisly images of the spiders' victims to make this movie a "keeper" for die hard sci-fi and horror movie fans. I remember when I first watched The Spider on television as a kid. It was this movie and others like it that helped kick start my long time interest in horror movies, especially those from the 1950's and 1960's.
A trailer:
THE SPIDER(1958) is available on official DVD. This movie was released as a double feature DVD along with 1958's War Of The Colossal Beast by Lions Gate in 2006. To see this DVD for sale at Amazon click the link: EARTH VS THE SPIDER/WAR OF THE COLOSSAL BEAST double feature DVD
I rarely endorse any commercial products of any kind but I'm making an exception in this case for CopperFit products, specifically their elbow and knee sleeves. These cloth support sleeves are designed to be worn by athletes and other ordinary folks like me who are active either from their work and/or their exercise routines. CopperFit support sleeves(and their other wearable products), and as the name implies, are made with copper filaments blended into the fabric. These products are machine washable, non-bacterial and are also very affordable.
I'm nearly fifty three years of age and while I'm not ready for the retirement home just yet I am obviously not a young man anymore and with middle age, coupled with my line of work, comes expected joint aches and pains.
I've been a gardener and landscaper for over nineteen years and I've been fortunate to avoid major injuries. That said I suffered a strained right knee and strained patella tendon(a workplace injury) back in 2004. My recovery time was two weeks. Ever since that injury, and usually at least twice per year, my right knee gets stiff, swells and becomes quite painful. I invested in several magnetized, velcro style cloth knee wraps last year and while they seemed to work the real success I believe came when I started wearing a CopperFit knee sleeve on my right knee. I have had no significant pain in my right knee for nine(9) months since I started wearing the CopperFit knee sleeve.
I also have suffered from gout(since 1997) and in recent years have experienced flare ups of gout and bursitis in my right elbow. I bought a CopperFit elbow sleeve in early 2014 and began wearing the sleeve on my right elbow whenever it began to ache. Within two days the pain was gone. These sleeves promote joint "warmth" and the compression afforded by the sleeve to the joint helps with joint stability.
I am not in any way suggesting that these CopperFit sleeves are a cure all. They're not and I would(and do) encourage anyone with lingering and chronic joint pain to consult a physician. My doctor has always encouraged me to try different products for joint ache relief and I've taken his advice.
I do think anyone who suffers from joint aches and pains as a result of bursitis, tendonitis, arthritis and/or gout should consider giving a CopperFit sleeve a try.
Here's a link to CopperFit's main website for access to specifics about their products and product ordering: GetCopperFit.com
I don't own a lot of DVD box sets despite the fact I've been purchasing DVDs since 1998, shortly after the first DVDs hit retailers. Suncoast Video(at Northlake Mall in NE Atlanta, GA) was a regular hangout for me on Saturdays in the late 1990's through 2002. It was at this retailer that I bought(in 2001) what was then and is still my absolute favorite DVD box set in my DVD collection:PLANET OF THE APES-THE EVOLUTION Limited Edition.
This six(6) disc release from Fox Home Entertainment includes all five "Planet Of The Apes" films: PLANET OF THE APES(1968), BENEATH THE PLANET OF THE APES(1970), ESCAPE FROM THE PLANET OF THE APES(1971), CONQUEST OF THE PLANET OF THE APES(1972) and BATTLE FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES(1973). There is a sixth disc that is essentially a "making of" and "behind the scenes" featurette hosted by actor Roddy McDowall.The bonus disc delves into the backstory of the films and the specifics of the stellar makeup effects.
These movies are based on a 1963 novel by Pierre Boulle and for anyone who hasn't seen any of these movies I'd recommend watching the first one, 1968's Planet Of The Apes, directed by Franklin Schaffner and starring Charlton Heston, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans & Roddy McDowall. In the film a small group of astronauts inadvertently crash land on Earth in the year 3978 A.D. to discover that apes are the dominant species on the planet and humans are regarded as nothing more than pack animals and vermin. I consider the first movie in this franchise to be among the greatest science fiction films that have ever been made.
A theatrical trailer for the first film in the "Planet Of The Apes" film franchise:
I recently gifted myself THE AMITYVILLE HORROR TRILOGY Blu Ray DVD set, a very nice 2013(October) release from Shout! Factory that includes the movies THE AMITYVILLE HORROR(1979), AMITYVILLE II-THE POSSESSION(1982 - a prequel to the first installment) and AMITYVILLE 3-D(1983), aka AMITYVILLE 3-THE DEMON. I've owned all three of these films on DVD for a while(MGM single disc releases) but wanted to upgrade to Blu Ray.
Demonic possession themed horror movies have always managed to unsettle me which is saying a lot since I've been watching horror movies for over forty years and found only a handful really able to put any kind of scare into me.
The "Amityville horror" films are all based on a purported real life haunted house and the malevolent, often vicious spirits within this house that have driven its various occupants insane and even compelled them to murder and other mayhem.
In The Amityville Horror, and without giving too many details away for those who haven't seen this film, the "Lutz" family(George & Kathy, played by James Brolin and Margot Kidder, respectively and their kids), move into a house in Amityville(Long Island). Shortly upon moving in all hell literally breaks loose on the family and these terrifying occurences that occur inside the house prompt the Lutz family to flee the house in terror, all after only a single month living inside the home!
The first installment in the trilogy, 1979's THE AMITYVILLE HORROR, is my sentimental favorite although the overall special effects in the 1982 prequel are more entertaining to watch. Here's an HD trailer:
The Amityville Horror Trilogy Blu Ray set is available at Shout Factory's website and also at Amazon. To see this BD set for sale at Amazon click the link: AMITYVILLE HORROR TRILOGY BLU RAY set
Amazon also sells all three(3) of the films as a DVD set as well with a bonus fourth disc included: AMITYVILLE HORROR DVD set
For the past year I have discussed and debated(the latter to a lesser extent to be sure) the true affordability of the Affordable Health care Act, aka "Obamacare". This law has had a polarizing effect on all working Americans, no doubt about it. But how affordable is health insurance with the ACA now existing law?
Before the ACA was passed into law I could have obtained very basic health insurance from Blue Cross-Blue Shield starting at $150 per month. Browsing the government website by which people can check out "Obamacare" health insurance plans and their accompanying monthly premiums, I found that the same basic plans start at $309 per month.
I've talked with several people I know, all male, all over 50 years age(like me) and all non smokers. These guys came up with the same starting rate at the ACA's website, based on health insurance for a single, non smoking white male.
Last I checked $309 per month is a good bit more cost than $150 per month. I have no doubt that the ACA law has helped many people. The thing is, I believe it's also screw a whoe hell of a lot more Americans over.
The ACA is a monstrosity borne from the minds of liberal Democrats and others whose share the idea that they know what's best for the American people and that working class Americans can't possibly know how to run their personal or professional lives, much less make day to day decisions that affect our health and finances in a positive way.
It was difficult enough for me to afford basic health insurance before the ACA was passed into law. With "Obamacare" now law, I flat out cannot afford the lowest monthly health insurance premiums offered on ACA's government run website. My doctor tells me every year that more and more of his patients are also compelled to drop their insurance plans because of increased monthly premiums they can no longer afford to pay. The increases in these patient's premiums are the result of their insurance carriers coming into compliance with, you guessed it, the ACA and its veritable ocean of regulations and requirements.
For those who would argue that subsidies I could apply for and receive would help me pay my health insurance premiums, I say this: according to the ACA's health insurance website I'm not eligible for ANY subsidies. I don't make much money now but I still make too much for a subsidy or other financial assistance. My guess is that unless I'm on welfare I wouldn't get a subsidy, period.
Liberal Democrats who helped our president pass the ACA into law are, I believe fully committed to making as many Americans poor(or poorer) and dependent on the federal government as much as possible. The more dependent Americans are on welfare and other entitlement programs, the more votes the Democrat Party gets come election time.
One of my personal goals for 2015 is to obtain health insurance but at this point I'm not real confident I'll be able to afford it. For anyone else who has this problem(single or married), you can thank your liberal friends, business associates or other liberal acquaintances who voted Democrat in the 2008 and 2012 U.S. national presidential elections.
Every now and then I like to give a "shout out" to an action film I like. The "action" movie genre has provided me with a lot of thrils and fun over the decades and it's a film genre I like almost as much as horror and science fiction...almost.
The props in this post go out to the film Cobra, a co production of the Cannon Group, Warner Brothers and Golan-Globus which was originally theatrically released back in May, 1986. This action film is directed by George P. Cosmatos and has a final worldwide box office figure of about $160,000,000.
This movie's primary "star" is Sylvester Stallone. Stallone, who gained worldwide fame portraying boxer "Rocky Balboa" in the various Rocky films as well as ex Green Beret "John Rambo" in the First Blood films, was peaking in terms of his box office appeal by the mid 1980's. In Cobra(1986), Sylvester Stallone plays loner, tough guy Los Angeles Detective Lieutenant Marion Cobretti(nicknamed "Cobra"), a guy who relishes in taking on the cases that no other cop in the LA police department wants. Those cases typically involve tracking and stopping some of the city's most violent and psychotic criminals. As Cobretti declares to an armed criminal during the early part of this film: "You're the disease...and I'm the cure." You can be sure that Stallone's character "cures" a lot of people in this movie. The cast for Cobra(1986) includes Andrew Robinson, Reni Santoni, Brigitte Nielsen, Brian Thompson and Art LaFleur.
The film's story:
A lone figure clad in a dark overcoat walks in a Los Angeles supermarket and begins randomly firing off shotgun cartridges into any shoppers nearby. The L.A. police congregate outside the supermarket, contemplate a raid into the store but instead opt to call in their resident "cleaner", Lt. Marion Cobretti. Cobretti roars up in a vintage 1950 car. "Cobra" enters the supermarket and eventually dispatches the crazed shooter with his customzied 9mm Colt pistol.
Later, supermodel Ingrid Knudsen(played by Brigitte Nielsen) witnesses a brutal roadside murder committed by several masked assailants. Her problem: she sees one of them and these killers, who we learn are a radical group calling themselves the "New Order", make it their mission in life to hunt down and kill the supermodel who has witnessed their random attack on a motorist. Enter Lt. Marion Cobretti who, along with his partner Sgt Gonzalez(played by Reni Santoni), is tasked with protecting Ingrid Knudsen from the "New Order" killers. Actor Brian Thompson plays the leader of the "New Order" and is very effective in the role. Thompson's character is a worthy adversary for the "Cobra".
Lt. Cobretti, his partner Gonzalez and another female cop travel north of L.A. to try and better protect their witness, Ingrid Knudsen but the female cop with them is secretly in cahoots with the "New Order" and phones in their location(a motel along the northern California coast) to them. The "New Order" descends on Cobretti's location and all out war ensues. Cobretti and his "New Order" adversaries are all armed to the teeth. Cobretti employs grenades, his pistol and a machine gun as he battles it out with the killers. The body count definitely ramps up at this point in the film. Most of the deaths in this movie come courtesy of firearms but at least one individual(a bad guy) is incinerated alive and another "New Order" killer is doused in gasoline and torched.
A final showdown eventually ensues between "Night Slasher", the leader of the killers and Lt. Cobretti inside a giant foundry. (no other spoilers)
This movie has been put through a meat grinder by critics and I would be the first to admit the acting Cobra(1986) is rather pedestrian. Art LaFleur is fairly straightforward as Cobretti's boss "Captain Sears", a square jawed, no nonsense type who, while wary of Cobretti's "take no prisoners" method, also realizes that the "Cobra" is a needed resource for dealing with the criminal dregs of the city. Andrew Robinson plays smarmy, sarcastic "Detective Monte", a by the book cop who is more bureaucrat than police officer and who opposes Cobretti at every turn during the movie.
As average as the acting is in Cobra(1986) I don't watch this and other action films for the acting. I watch these movies for the action, fights and shootouts and in that regard this movie doesn't disappoint. Recommend any action movie fans who haven't seen this movie put it in your Netflix queue or rent it from your cable TV provider.
Cobra(1986) is available on single disc DVD and BD. To see them for sale at Amazon click the link: COBRA(1986) Blu Ray
