I have to admit, I feel slightly embarrassed that I am 25 years old and this is the first time that I have seen this movie. I am a huge fan of B-movies, campiness, and cheesiness. "Barbarella" delivers beyond my wildest dreams. The basic story is that Barbarella (Jane Fonda) is sent on a mission from Earth to travel to the planet Lythian to find a man named Durand Durand. On her travels, she has to crash land and gets in a number of life or death predicaments that harken back to the old "Batman" cliffhangers on the TV series (except with sexual connotations). She does battle with evil dolls, black robot guards, and an evil queen played by Anita Pallenberg. This is one of the most entertaining B-movies I have seen in a long time due to it's sheer creativity. Where else will you see dolls with razor sharp teeth biting a scantily-clad female as evil children watch and blue bunnies hop around. John Phillip Law from "The Golden Voyage of Sinbad" is the male lead as Barbarella's blind angel friend, Pygar. If you want to kick back, turn off your brain, and have a good time, check out "Barbarella".
I saw this the first time with my parents when I was 12 years old. I remembered being very uncomfortable watching it with them as it had a lot of nudity. A couple of months ago, I decided to go on a quest for it because I remembered something about piranhas and zombies as well. I found it on Beta at a local video store for $7 without a cover and after much haggling with the capitalist clerk, I managed to talk her down to $5. Still a scam, but I had to see this movie. Well, friends, I am thoroughly impressed with myself for spending my hard earned cash on this classic. In addition to the heaps of nudity, this flick has almost everything else: the aforementioned zombies and piranhas, white slavery, kung fu, Cameron Mitchell, a Bruce Lee wannabe, a karate babe named Cookie, a Hitler look-alike, graveyard shootouts, a whorehouse, etc. With Jewel Shepard and Camille Keaton ("I Spit On Your Grave") in small roles.
The Lords of Discipline (1983)
The Carolina Military Institute is a military school for boys. I will never understand why people would subject themselves to this voluntarily but on with the review. The year is 1964 and a black man named Pearce has enrolled himself in the school. It is full of racists and a legendary group called "The Ten" that want to rid the school of undesirables. Our hero, Will (David Keith from "An Officer and a Gentleman"), is asked to keep an eye on Pearce and make sure nothing happens to him. As the film goes on, Will is dragged into defending Pearce and finding out the horrible truth behind "The Ten". Strong performances abound and the cast is a veritable who's who of actors who would make it big in the following decade. Michael Biehn ("Aliens") and "Wild" Bill Paxton play racists, Rick Rossovich (Slider from "Top Gun") plays a kindhearted jock named Pig, and Judge Reinhold, Matt Frewer, and William Hope all appear in smaller roles. David Keith is very believable as the nice guy who wants to find out the truth and stop the hate. What ever happened to that guy, anyway?
Fred Williamson stars in this rippin flick which tells the tale of Tommy Gibbs. Tommy is a young black man who wants power over the streets of Harlem. He infiltrates the mob and steals some ledgers which make him the most powerful man in Harlem. Soon, he finds that he has made enemies with almost everyone he knows and when his woman and best friend turn on him, he is completely on his own. This was a blast to watch with Williamson being as cool as ever. It's great to see him still active these days in movies like "From Dusk Till Dawn" and "Original Gangstas". This was directed by Larry Cohen who did many of the classic blaxploitation flicks. Co-starring Gloria Hendry and Julius W. Harris both of whom were in the James Bond classic "Live And Let Die". Williamson returned as Tommy Gibbs in "Hell Up In Harlem".
I was really excited to see this and was really disappointed when it was over. John Saxon ("A Nightmare On Elm Street") and John Morghen ("Make Them Die Slowly") star as Vietnam vets who develop a disease that makes them want to chow down on human flesh. I found this movie very boring and actually almost fell asleep. I was conscious, however, for a cool bowling ball sized hole through a character's stomach. Unfortunately, this effect was the only redeeming quality this film had.
Epic, much? This was watched on a whim on a Sunday night and it was completely engrossing. A Bible epic which tells the story of Ben-Hur who is exiled by his best friend, Messala, and his quest for his mother and sister. Oh yeah, he is also on a quest for revenge on Messala as he has turned into a power hungry Roman who sent Ben-Hur's family to prison for crimes they didn't commit. This is the definitive epic film (which is why I have used the word three times so far). All performances are fantastic with standouts being Charlton Heston as Ben Hur, Stephen Boyd as Messala, and Jack Hawkins as a Roman who takes Ben Hur under his wing. The chariot race sequence has to be seen to be believed especially when you think that this movie was made in 1959. Today's filmmakers may want to take a look at this as the effects are much more convincing than much of the CGI dreck that has been invading movie screens lately.
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