Santo el Enmascarado de Plata vs ‘La invasión de los marcianos’ [Santo vs. the Martian Invasion] (1967)

A spaceship full of buff Mexican wrestlers from Mars show up to conquer our planet, but fortunately, we’ve got the legendary Santo, aka, the Silver Mask on our side! I grew up in the Eighties, when the whole WWF wrestling thing was at its peak, and I have never understood the appeal of wrestling. And […]

Oegye+in 2bu [Alienoid: The Return to the Future] (2024)

I have to confess that my first reaction to Alienoid: The Return to the Future was that I wished I had rewatched the original Alienoid first. This wasn’t exactly a surprise as it was part two of what was in a reality one big movie that had been released into the theaters in two separate […]

Transmorphers: Mech Beasts (2023)

If there’s anything you can count on with The Asylum it is that you really can’t count on them. Sure, they’ve made quite a few enjoyable films along the way, in that pulpy low budget made for SyFy sort of vein, the sort of non-challenging film which you can consume without worrying about being bombarded […]

When the Earth Gives Up the Dead (2022)

Ummm… Okay… And then this happened. Look, I need to say this: I’m really impressed with Matthew Cooper’s films. Particularly At the Mountains of Madness, which is near perfect. Admittedly, Markham is a first effort and it shows, but his second film has a clever story, great editing, and some pretty decent CGI monsters. And […]

Beyond the Resonator (2022)

There seems to be a desperate final stage a lot of entertainment corporations gradually reach, a point where they seem incapable of anything new or creative, but instead return to their greatest hits and relive them over and over again. In fact, looking at the current state of things in Hollywood, it seems like most […]

Kamen raidâ Zetto Ô [Kamen Rider ZO] (1993)

I’ve never paid too much attention to the Kamen (Masked) Rider phenomenon. I was more or less aware that the show existed, but never had any interest in it until Hideaki Anno announced that after the first two films of his trilogy of “Shin” movies — Shin Godzilla and Shin Ultraman — he would give […]

The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998)

(aka, The X-Files, X-Files: The Movie) I watched this one because Dave Cullen praised it. That isn’t the only favorable review of the film I’ve seen, not by a long shot. A lot of people liked this film, and most of them would agree with Dave’s assessment that it is a solid standalone thriller and […]

Sengoku machine GoShogun: toki no ihôjin [GoShogun: The Time Étranger] (1985)

(aka, GoShogun: The Time Stranger) There’s weird, then there’s Japanese Anime weird. And if you want proof you need look no further than GoShogun: The Time Étranger: here we have a children’s bright and colorful Giant robot television series, much in the vein of Voltron, which was adapted four years after the series ran into […]

Zui jia pai dang 2: Da xian shen tong [Mad Mission Part 2: Aces Go Places] (1983)

Look, it’s a Hong Kong thing. Either you accept it for what it is, or you go off and watch something safe, like a Hallmark Christmas Movie or a SyFy network original “vs.” giant monster movie. Both of which are distinctively American in the same way that HK Chopsockey comedies are so very Hong Kong, […]

A Quiet Place Part II (2020)

I’m going to tell you something you already know: A Quiet Place Part II is not as good as the first film. It is hardly a surprise. After all, the first film was a tour de force, the sort of film few mainstream directors try to make anymore. John Krasinski set several major challenges for […]

rivets on the poster

“The difference between science fiction and fantasy … is simply this: science fiction has rivets and fantasy has trees.” — Orson Scott Card

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