SCI-FI September!

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

If you can remember back to last year and the Cult Labs unforgettable Noir November event (It'll be back this year ). Well we are also having Sci-Fi September.

Review all the sci-fi films you want here, join in discussions, lambaste the Inspector for cut and pasting his old reviews, whatever you fancy!?

Just enjoy what we hope will be a great Sci-Fi September.

[Inspector Abberline]

Invaders from Mars (1953)

Directed by William Cameron Menzies, what drives this story so well is the paranoia and fear of its central character little Jimmy Hunt as David MacLean ,while all the stupid adults go stumbling around the sand dunes getting sucked down and lobotomised. David is the only one smart enough to believe his own eyes and know the truth,while gradually the more important towns folk are being recruited into the Martian army. Its not until some one from the Dept of Health ,Dr. Pat Blake (Helena Carter) starts to believe David that eventually we get some action from the adult populace. Again its David who takes the initiative and tries to contact the police to no avail and the local astronomer Dr. Stuart Kelston (Arthur Franz) . Also when ever David is confronted by some sort of a authority like the prison cell (seemed a bit harsh putting a little boy in the slammer) or the entrance to the police station,Menzies exploits Davids fear by making the sets seem more increasingly larger than reality,just to make the kids journey even more fraught with danger.In fact its quite a relief to the viewer when David is finally believed and then we can get on with killing them darn Martians. Again Menzies makes the Marian's huge hulk like creatures,larger than life and twice as ugly,apart from the lead Martian who is just a head and tentacles in a gold fish bowl. Invaders from Mars gets a little talky in the mid section,especially the British version as the distributor wanted some re-edits and allot more information about the invaders. Invaders is a firm favourite of mine,mixing good old scientific twaddle with a good dose of martian action towards the end. Influence on many films later on ,I especially think Dead And Buried shares similar themes of paranoia and people not being what they appear to be.Highly Recommended.

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

How weird... I watched the '53 version of Invaders from Mars yesterday too!

Along with The Man from Planet X and First Men in the Moon.

[Justin101]

I watched a Star Trek TNG episode last night does that count?
I love these themed months, I don't have a whole load of Sci-Fi on disc but there is a fair bit of it on all of the VoD services I subscribe to so I'll make up for lost time when I get home tonight

[trebor8273]

well its going to be star trek month for me, but will try to get some more sci fi in

[Justin101]

I've knocked up a quick list of films which I'm interested in watching this month for the theme. Some I've never seen, some I haven't seen for a long time and would love to catch up with.

Serenity (2005)
Barbarella (1968)
Pacific Rim (2013)
Ghost in the Shell (1995)
Return of the Jedi (1983)
Logan’s Run (1976)
Westworld (1973)
Dark City (1998)
Quatermass and the Pit (1968)
Akira (1988)
Predator (1987)
Under the Skin (2013)
Starship Troopers (1997)
Contact (1997)
District 9 (2009)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
AI Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Back to the Future (1985)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
The Fly (1986)
Children of Men (2006)
Solaris (1972)
Stalker (1979)
The Matrix (1999)
ET the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Metropolis (1927)
Brazil (1985)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Some great stuff there, Justin.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

Some great stuff there, Justin.

Just remember! Review and discuss them, don't just watch and list them folks.

[trebor8273]

ordered this with any luck it will turn up before the end of the month

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Inspector Abberline]

The Blob (1988)

Ever since John Carpenters The Thing,every monster or alien substance pretty much ooozes,mutates,slimes and just basically does nasty things to the human anatomy,The Blob being no different,dissolves bodies,and slimes it's way around Arborville, California.Throw in a government conspiracy about biological warfare experiments and you get a rather entertaining remake of a rather entertaining original monster flick from the 50's.Of course audience back in the 80's just wanted to see the next gory special effects movie,in an era chock full of em. From the start where the tramp finds the meteor,the blob makes a bee line for his hand,unfortunately not even chopping his hand with an axe can not get rid of the slimey bugger. Unfortunately for the tramp even when he was rescued and taken to the hospital by bad boy Kevin Dillon as Brian Flagg , cheerleader Shawnee Smith as Meg Penny and high school jock Donovan Leitch as Paul Taylor,the Blob manages to dissolve the tramp in halve and turn Paul into triffle. Limbs are severed bodies are dissolved and flesh is melted in what could be seen as a classier and more well made Troma styled movie.You gotta love any film that has Ricky Paull Goldin as Scott Jeske take Erika Eleniak as Vicki De Soto to some sort of lovers lane where Scott tries to get his hand down her blouse ( check out the chat up line " nice blouse" ) only for Vicki to turn into some blobbly style Thing and end any amorous feelings Scott may have had for Vicki. Director Chuck Russell of A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors fame is competent workman like director but the true star of the film is The Blob whether shooting out of sinks or just eating phone booths that get in its path,The Blob is an enjoyable 80's example of high school teens vs er Blob,make a cool double bill with Larry Cohen (Director) The Stuff. Highly entertaining stuff,there was also a lot of similarities to Phantoms which came out a year later.