The Satan Bug is the film version of Alistair MacLean's 1962 novel of the same name. Here the story is moved from Britain to the US and many of the character's names have been changed but the premise is the same. A madman has broken into a high-security biological warfare lab and stolen the Satan Bug. The Bug itself is an advanced, fast-acting and highly contagious strain of polio for which the scientists at the lab have not yet found a cure.
George Maharis plays Lee Barrett, the ex-head of security for the installation where the Satan Bug was stolen. He is brought back to help find the thief. There's a lot of running around through desert chasing down the virus. In the end though it isn't as thrilling as it should have been.
This is a documentary made by Danish journalist Mads Brügger. Under the pretense of a cultural exchange, Brügger brings two Danish-Korean comedians, Jacob and Simon, to North Korea to perform a vaudeville comedy show. They tell the dictatorship government that they are a pro-socialist group called The Red Chapel. However, the real intention of the visit is to explore and expose the closed society of the country. Every night the footage that is shot must be reviewed by official censors but since Jacob is physically handicapped, he is able to get away with saying things about this society that cannot translated and understood by the North Koreans. This film gives a glimpse into a tyrannical nation that is both funny and terrifying.
This homage to the Science-Fiction blockbuster films of the 1980s is written by and stars Simon Pegg and Nick Frost of Spaced fame. The duo play a couple of comic book nerds from Great Britain who are on a road trip in mid-western America to visit places of extraterrestrial sightings. During their journey they encounter an actual alien named Paul (voiced by Seth Rogan). Wise-cracking Paul is on the run from the United States Government. It seems that after over 50 years of being a secret specimen for the Feds, his usefulness has come to an end. The two friends agree to help Paul escape from the Washington agents (which includes Jason Bateman) and get him to his rendezvous with his people.
One of Marvel's oldest superheros comes to the big screen in this latest film. This is a somewhat faithful adaption of Captain America's long history is based on the ULTIMATES version.
Roger Browne plays Martin Stevens, a James Bond-like agent. He is sent to Egypt to retrieve a movie camera that has accidentally been sold to a tourist. The lens of the movie camera is made of some new radioactive, but stable, super metal. Of course the baddies are also in hot pursuit. The only problem is that only one woman knows what the man who bought the camera looks like and she's under Stevens' protection. However it's really not too hard to get to the agent since he can't say no to a beautiful woman, and there are plenty of those in this film.
Alternate Titles: Superseven Chiama Cairo, Höllenhunde Des Secret Service
Professor George Kingsley (Stanley Ridges) is accidentally run down by a gangster's car as he is crossing the street. Luckily his friend Dr. Ernest Sovac (Boris Karloff) is a brilliant brain surgeon who saves his life. However Sovac's intentions are not as benevolent as they would seem. While talking with Red Cannon, the crook injured in the accident, Sovac learns that he has a fortune hidden somewhere. The good doctor has already done brain transplants on animals and figures that this would be a good time to try it on a human. He takes the brain of Cannon and puts it in his friend's body. Then he tries to get the part of Cannon's brain that is still active to lead him to the dough. However when Cannon's part takes over, he goes on a rampage murdering his former gang members (which includes Bela Lugosi). Sovac must desperately try to find the money before he cops learn who is really doing the killings.
This western directed by Sam Peckinpah is actually more of a love story than anything else. It stars Jason Robards as Cable Hogue who was abandoned in the desert by his companions because he hesitated to shoot them when he had the chance. He is left to wander the desert for days with no salvation. Just when he is about to give up hope, he discovers water by digging at some moist sand in the wasteland. Things get even better when he discovers that this oasis is right along a stagecoach line. Industrious Cable decides to lay claim to the land and open up a way-station. With the help of a dubious clergyman (David Warner) and a prostitute with a heart of gold (Stella Stevens), Cable is quite successful until the appearance of a horseless carriage changes his happy existence.
The movie opens with journalist Gaston LeBlanc (Arthur Hansel) traveling to a sanitarium for the insane in a remote location in France to talk with the director. Once there, LeBlanc meets with Dr. Maillard (Claudio Brook) who talks about his new "soothing method" as a way to treat the mental patients. The more that LeBlanc sees, the more it seems that the lunatics are taking over the asylum. When LeBlanc is eventually held against his will, he realizes that things are out of control. He quickly makes a plan to escape with the lovely Eugenie (Ellen Sherman) who is there looking for her father.
Mario Van Peebles directs and stars in this docudrama about his father Melvin Van Peebles. The movie tells the story of how Melvin went about creating the first truly independent African-American film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song. The drama is beyond anything that could be made up. Roadblocks of all sorts keep popping up: from Union workers stopping production, SAG fees making the use of those actors totally cost prohibitive, the money-man being arrested, no distribution company daring to even touch it, etc. It's an incredible and a true tribute to the man who would never give up.
This film, directed by Melvin Van Peebles, is credited with being one of the first African-American focused films. Unlike the Blaxploitation films that were to follow, Van Peebles' film was one in which the black man "won" in his battle against The Man.
This almost surreal movie starts off with a couple of "friendly" cops looking for a black guy to bring in for questioning concerning a murder. They just need a body to make them look like they're doing their job. Quiet Sweetback (Van Peebles) is volunteered by his boss Beetle (Simon Chuckster). On the way to the station, the cops get involved in the arrest of Mu-Mu (Hubert Scales), a young black dude. They decide to take him somewhere secluded and beat the crap out of him. After a while Sweetback just lashes out and assaults the cops, hitting them with the handcuffs until they are left bloody and unconscious. After that Sweetback is on the run.
It's ten years after the end of the Vietnam War and a bunch of old army buddies have gotten together to talk about old times. While hanging out at a bar, they see a news story about a POW who has just been returned from Vietnam. The guys decide that they should go back to Vietnam and liberate any remaining American soldiers that are still held there in prison camps. However they come up against some resistance when they try to recruit professional soldier Major Morris (Italian director Enzo Castellari) and find that he has been ousted from the army by Colonel Mortimer (Gordon Mitchell). Seems the military doesn't want anyone snooping around over there. The guys decide to go anyway and get assistance from French priest Father Lenoir (Donald Pleasence). However it seems that someone has tipped off the North Vietnamese army. The guys have an uphill battle as they fight the soldiers and the Vietcong who still have resentment for the Americans.
This Austrian film is loosely based on the true story of Johann Kastenberger, a marathon runner and bank robber. It starts off just as Johann (played by Andreas Lust) is released from prison after serving a seven year sentence for robbery. Upon discharge, he starts a relationship with Erika (Franziska Weisz), an old family friend. Being a highly trained athlete, Johann enters and wins several marathons becoming a bit of a celebrity. Unknown to everyone though, he continues to hold-up banks all over Vienna.
This Philippine action film starts off (as these bottom of the barrel films usually do) with a guns-blazing, explosion-laden extravaganza. I'm not really sure what's going on but I think we are supposed to be witnessing a jungle rebel group at their violent best. Soon afterwards, this revolutionary force kidnap the governor of some region during his daughter's birthday party. The young adult daughters are also held hostage by the renegades. The army decides to re-form the "Death Raiders" commando team to rescue the Governor and his girls. We are introduced to each of the team members as they show off their skills of martial arts and cunning battle strategy. And while they are gearing up for the mission, there are those within the guerrilla camp that also have plans to save the hostages. Looks like the captives really don't have anything to worry about.
This is a British science-fiction adventure film written and directed by Joe Cornish. The story revolves around a street gang of young teenagers who are out on Bonfire Night looking to get into trouble. While they are involved in mugging a young woman (Jodie Whittaker), an object flies out of the sky totally destroying a nearby parked car. While the boys are investigating, their leader Moses (John Boyega) is attacked by an alien creature. The boys quickly chase it down and kill it. Soon though, more flaming objects fall from the sky. The boys, still pumped up from the triumph of their encounter with the initial extraterrestrial, decide to go out and kill the others. Unfortunately, these other beasts are nothing like the first. These monsters are killing machines that will stop at nothing to get to the boys and destroy them. Will the gang be able to survive or can they defend their housing estate and possibly save the world?
Michael Rapaport stars as Les Franken, a parking enforcement cop who's basically a pathetic loser. One day he decides to take part in a drug study. The drug is supposed to eliminate self doubt. However in Les' case it has caused him to have delusions that he is a super hero. This unfortunate side-effect has Les thinking that he has telepathy, can hover above the ground and walk through walls. The executive brothers (Paul Blackthorne and Ian Bohen) that run the drug company are worried that these adverse reactions will put a bad light on the drug and so they try to get Les to stop taking them. But by this time Les is so convinced that he has super powers he refuses to stop and goes after the Suits like the villains that they are.
This terrible movie stars George Nicholas as Mannigan, a mercenary that loves to scream as he double-fists a couple of machine guns. After a 9-minute opening sequence of explosions and slow-motion deaths, we fast forward to present day. Mannigan and his gang are hired to rescue some US hostages that were taken when some rebels hijacked an arms delivery in a South American country. Of course the odds are against the them as the military dictatorship closes in on them but for $1 million, Mannigan stops at nothing.
We saw this movie at its World Premiere at the DocNYC festival in New York. Director Roger Paradiso introduced the film and informed us that this work-in-progress would have a new ending which we the audience would be a part of. The film itself tells the story of The Sugarhill Gang, the first artists to record a rap record with "Rapper's Delight". Unfortunately, the group were victims of unscrupulous record producers who royally screwed them. To make matters worse, the present right-holders (the sons of the original producers) have decide to steal the identities of Wonder Mike (Michael Wright) and Master Gee (Guy O'Brien) by copyrighting their rap names and preventing them from appearing as "The Sugarhill Gang". This documentary chronicles their fight to get their names back so that they can continue to make music on their own terms.
This surreal film directed by Alain Resnais takes place at a beautiful French chateau. Among the guests is a man (Giorgio Albertazzi) who approaches a woman (Delphine Seyrig) and claims that they met last year at a similar resort. He tells her that they planned to run away together after meeting again this year. The woman denies all this saying that she has never seen him before. Also present is a man who may the woman's husband (Sacha Pitoeff). He challenges the stranger many times to a game called Nim; a challenge that he always will win. Does the mysterious guy really have a claim on this woman or is he making it all up as part of his seduction of her?
This Philippine action film starts off (as these bottom of the barrel films usually do) with a guns-blazing, explosion-laden extravaganza. I'm not really sure what's going on but I think we are supposed to be witnessing a jungle rebel group at their violent best. Soon afterwards, this revolutionary force kidnap the governor of some region during his daughter's birthday party. The young adult daughters are also held hostage by the renegades. The army decides to re-form the "Death Raiders" commando team to rescue the Governor and his girls. We are introduced to each of the team members as they show off their skills of martial arts and cunning battle strategy. And while they are gearing up for the mission, there are those within the guerrilla camp that also have plans to save the hostages. Looks like the captives really don't have anything to worry about.
