Horrorscopes and Movies

Horrorscopes! Ah yes! Most people love to pick up there daily newspaper and read what's in store for them on that particular day! We hope it's all good news at least and anticipate the events to unfold before us true to the printed word! Some may think it's all rubbish but there are those among us which take them very seriously and are almost religeously guided by the prophecies of future events . Personally I think there is definitely something in the mere act of believing which somehow makes things happen. A mystery for sure but in most cases an uncanny fact!

Two of my favourite films which have a psychic theme are ' The Gift ' starring Kate Blanchett and ' The Dead Zone' with Christopher Walken. Well worth checking out these two , especially The Dead Zone! What would you do if you could foresee the president pressing the red button and letting the missiles fly!!

Share , Download & Make Movies

The internet is a goldmine for sharing, downloading and making your own movies.

With the massive global interest in such sites as Itunes and Youtube, never before has there been seen such
an explosion in video sources on the web. Whether you want to download movies or venture into making your own, create music slideshows and share them, there are a vast array of sources out there to suit your needs. Be aware though , it can be quite mind boggling and you could easily get lost with so many sites offering videos to choose from, but a good honest no frills ( faster speeds included ) is the way to go and there are many to be recommended.

THE THING (1951)

Produced by Howard Hawks and directed by ( in all but name ) Christian Nyby 'The Thing From Another World ' ( which it is also known as ) still remains a classic film,whose imagary has stood the test of time extremely well. OK No big special effects here by todays standards but this film
more than makes up for that with it's rich atmosphere.

Based on J W Cambells story 'Who Goes There ' TTFAW deviates somewhat from the original concept, with the monster resembling more of a kind of ' Intellectual Carrot' ; whereas John Carpenters remake is much closer with it's shape changing monster and its ability to take on human form, however this is far more gory and gruesome horror fare compared to Hawks's version.

Considering TTFAW was made on a budget the arctic wastes and mounting paranoia are beautifully realised. With a cast of B actors headed by ' Kenneth Toby ' TTFAW has most definitely an 'Hawksian' stamp to it with his use of typically overlapping dialogue and characters. Not your usual Sci fi/ horror fare at all here.

Favourite scenes has to be when the group set out by plane to track down what is apparently thought to be a meteorite and come across a spaceship frozen under the ice which has seemingly crashlanded. It's more of what one doesn't see here, which make these scenes so powerfull. In fact all that's glimpsed is a tail fin of the craft protruding from the ice and the vague shadowy figure of it's occupant.

The 8 foot tall monster, which somehow lost it's ability to mimic others along the way is played by ' James Arness , he of ' Gunsmoke ' fame, although you would never recognize him here! In fact he supposedly was so embarassed by the role he refused to eat with the rest of the cast.


The climax in which the creature becomes trapped on the wire and electrocuted where he gradually decreases in size was by all accounts achieved by using different proportioned actors ( height ) until in the final scene a midget in costume was used. However ridiculous this all may sound it is very effectively done and in my opinion adds more realism.

Definitely worth a watch then this one if you havn't seen it! Even if you have, another screening is highly recommended. One of those films i guess which just seems to get better each time it's viewed!

CRYSTAL EGG

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea

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I've never actually read Jules Verne's original story but this film has always been a favourite of mine. It was made when Disney, in the 50's, were branching out into more live - action films rather than animation.The combination of adventure and science fiction are splendidly realised here and James Mason makes for an excellent Captain Nemo.Production costs were very high for the time and no expense spared to give the tale a very lavish cinematic treatment.Disney hired Richard Fliescher as director, who has made several excellent films such as ' The Armoured Car Robbery ' and ' The Narrow Margin ' etc. Under his reins Fleischer mounts ' 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea ' as a really spectacular film. Cinemascope and the Technicolor process with beautiful underwater photography are a sight to behold and the special effects stand up very well by todays standards.As i mentioned earlier ' James Mason ' makes for an excellent brooding ' Captain Nemo ' and ' Kirk Douglas ' too as just an ordinary seaman who is full of charm and charisma, bringing some wonderfully entertaining humor and even one or two
songs.....that IS him singing by the way! Whereas ' Paul Lukas ' as Professor Aronax and Peter Lorre as his apprentice seem just a little miscast.Minor quibbles here though! One blooper to look out for by the way is in the scene near the end when water is filling up the submarine, Kirk Douglas begins fighting with a member of the crew to escape. As Douglas hits him his false sideburn falls off and flies across the screen.

So Climb aboard the Nautilus ... and plunge into a strange undersea world of spellbinding adventure . Join shipwrecked survivors taken captive by the mysterious Captain Nemo ,who wavers between genius and madness, as he launches a deadly crusade across the seven seas while exposing his evil plan to destroy the whole world? Believe me you won't be dissapointed!

GOOD EGG

Lost In Space ( 1965)

Lost In Space was and still is one of my favourite television series of the sixties. I remember coming home from school trying to watch these at tea time on a channel that was never very clear. Having now this DVD collection of the entire first series and with such excellent quality video to disc transfer is a real treat.

Created by Irwin Allen, who's series included 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea', 'The Time Tunnel' and 'Land of the Giants' Lost In Space was very similar in some ways to 'Roddenberrys' 'Star Trek' which incidentally was rejected at the time by CBS in favour of the aforesaid series.

Filmed in black & white the first season was much more serious in tone than the latter ones, which tended to be more camp because of the competition of Batman which was being aired around the same time. The series revolved around the adventures of the space family 'Robinson' and the evil stowaway 'Dr Smith ' ( Jonathan Harris ) who beacame , along with Bill Mummy and the robot the runaway stars of the show. In fact after watching again today Dr Smith comes across as even more evil as i had remembered him and his antics at trying every devious method in the book to return to earth even more entertaining and comical, as are his constant ranting and ravings to the robot.Seems like he spent ages coming up with new phrases such as ' My mechanical Friend' ' Bumbling Bucket of Bolts' 'Bubbleheaded Booby' and ' Bellicose Bumpkin' to name but a few.

Lost In Space can be enjoyed by anyone of any age which is probably it's main appeal.Although predictable and the settings restrictive it was probably Irwin Allens finest series.The 'Jupiter' spaceship looks particularly nice too by the way! Favourite episode probably has to be ' Wish Upon A Star' where the brainless Dr Smith stumbles across a derelict spaceship on the castaways planet and in it finds a helmet which apparently has the power to grant anyones wishes.Conjuring up a wealth of luxuries smith gets more than he bargains for when the owner of the helmet turns out to be a terrifying graoaning alien bent on destruction. An excellent episode this one, as is ' The Keeper ' the only two parter in the series starring 'Michael Rennie 'which unfortunately is somewaht let down by the ridicoulous looking monsters!

Having excellent ratings at the time Lost In Space went on for 3 seasons before being canceled.

A splendid eight disc box set beautifully packaged with a booklet and an added bonus of the unaired pilot episode.

This Island Earth


Universals ' This Island Earth ' is a very good example of Sci Fi in the 50's. Directed by ''Joseph Newman ' it is a very energetic , colourfull film which begins in familiar enough territory but journeys much farther out into interstellar travel and interplanetary war. The star of the film ' Rex Reason ' is unfortunately stolidly innapropriate in the part of the young physicist.Faith Domergue fares little better either......being rather flat. But what makes this film so stand out is the special effects , colourfull photography and the ethereal looking settings , which are all splendidly realised.

Cal Meachams (Rex Reason ) jet is mysteriously encapsulated in green light, after his plane malfunctions and is mysteriously landed for him . Arriving in his laboratory next day an electronics catalogue offers him instructions on how to build an ' Interocitor ' Provided with the necessary parts he finally finishes the project. The result looking dissapointingly like a colour TV set with an inverted triangular screen. The face that appears congratulates him on having passed the test and later asks him to join some strange company called Unit 16. After the machineis destroyed ' Meacham ' is taken aboard a plane ( with no pilot !! ) from where he is taken to his secret destination.Working alongside fellow scientists ( some romantic moments here with colleague Faith Domergue ) they soon discover they are under control by aliens who have specially chosen earths best minds to save them and there planet ' Metaluna ' from being dstroyed in an interplanetary war.Eventually being taken to there homeworld in a flying saucer they arrive to witness the planets final destruction.Escaping just in time the saucer returns to earth and burns up but, not before our heroes are safely lowered in there plane.

Although a year later the film was completely overshadowed by ' Fobidden Planet ' this is still a very enjoyable film.......dated yes ..but nicely so. This is much more than just a variation of the monster movie.....yes there is a bug eyed one.....Cleverly presented and produced by ' William Alland' he knew what the accent should be on and that was special effects.Alland who also worked on films with the great ' Jack Arnold ' definitely brought a lot of his unique imagination to bear.Seen from space the Shattered surface of ' Metaluma ' is splendid , as is the planet itself, wrapped in a shroud of gases as meteors collide and explode.The interior of the saucer too is nicely designed. This Island Earth also has it's fair share of gadgetry. All of this rather compensates for the laclustre characters. Even with it's shortcomings though' This Island Earth ' is most definitely worth a watch.......personally i would much rather see this than a lot of todays Sci Fi films.

Credits :
Director : Joseph Newman
Screenplay : Franklin Coen
Edward O'Callaghan
Novel by : Raymond F. Jones
Photography : Clifford Stine
Designers Alexander Golitzen
R. H Riedel
Producer : William Alland

GOOD EGG