DVD Collectors Online

Tarantula!, a review by GSyren

Title	Tarantula! (5-050582-409741)
Director	Jack Arnold
Actors	John Agar, Mara Corday, Leo G. Carroll, Nestor Paiva, Ross Elliott
Produced	1955 in United States
Runtime	77 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital Mono, German Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles	Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish
Overview	When a tarantula, which has been injected with a special nutrient formula, escapes from a scientist's laboratory, it grows into a 100-foot beast that menaces the Arizona countryside. Professor Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) has been working on a special nutrient to help ease a predicted food shortage that is expected to come with the increase in human population. His experiments have been moderately successful but there have been some failures as a result. One day while he is gone, two of his colleagues inject themselves with the nutrient with disastrous results and die a few days later. One however goes mad and injects Deemer with the formula. During a struggle, a giant tarantula injected with the formula escapes its cage and grows even larger and starts to attack cattle as well as human beings.
My thoughts	Having recently watched Bert I. Gordons [Earth vs.] The Spider, I felt it was time to re-watch the other 50's spider movie, TarantulaTarantula is a better film than The Spider. In The Spider there is no explanation for the appearance of the big spider. In Tarantula it's a genetic experiment gone wrong. In both films the spider is very hard to kill, but in Tarantula the weapon that finally kills it  is at least believable. Tarantula has better actors than The SpiderTarantula is not really that scary. As a film monster, that is. If I had actually met it in real life I would certainly have felt differently. No chance of that, fortunately. How about the victims? How scary are they? Well, in Tarantula we don't see much of its victims. They are all just bones. Not that scary to see. The scares in Tarantula comes from the effect that the growth hormone has on people. Why it affects people so differently from how it affects animals is never really explained. What The Spider does to people looks scary, though: Tarantula has one of Clint Eastwood's first film appearances in a bit part as an air force pilot. Interesting, but certainly not memorable. John Agar is... well, he is John Agar. He had a few good roles under his belt, but he never became a star. Leo G. Carroll was always dependable is supporting roles, and this is no exception. Another fine character actor, Nestor Paiva, plays the sheriff. But a fine cast can't really save a somewhat lackluster script. Still, enjoyable if you like these old B-movie type films. I do. See this blog entry for more on The Spider vs. Tarantula.
My rating

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on March 13th, 2014)

The Final Countdown, a review by Danae Cassandra

The Final Countdown
Year of Release: 1980
Directed By: Don Taylor
Starring: Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross, James Farentino, Ron O'Neal, Charles Durning
Genre: Science-Fiction, Adventure, War

Overview:My Thoughts:
This was a fun film.  I've always enjoyed the idea of time travel, and the questions it raises - if you change history, how do you know to do so?  The plot here is straightforward but decently executed, and the performances are all very solid.  

The real star here is the USS Nimitz and her aircraft.  If you're looking for a film with lots of beautiful flying and airplane action, you can't go wrong here.  It's an entertaining film with an interesting premise, and I'd recommend it to just about anyone.

Bechdel Test: Fail

Overall: 3/5

(From Within My (Mom's) Lifetime Marathon on November 5th, 2015)

Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews, a review by Tom

Star Trek: The Next Generation
4.08 Future Imperfect
Writer: J. Larry Carroll (Writer), David Bennett Carren (Writer)
Director: Les Landau
Cast: Patrick Stewart (Capt. Jean-Luc Picard), Jonathan Frakes (Cmdr. William Riker), LeVar Burton (Lt. Cmdr. Geordi La Forge), Michael Dorn (Lieutenant Worf), Gates McFadden (Dr. Beverly Crusher), Marina Sirtis (Counselor Deanna Troi), Brent Spiner (Lt. Commander Data), Wil Wheaton (Ensign Wesley Crusher), Andreas Katsulas (Tomalak), Chris Demetral (Jean-Luc/Ethan), Carolyn McCormick (Minuet), Patti Yasutake (Nurse), Todd Merrill (Gleason), April Grace (Transporter Chief Hubbell), George O'Hanlon, Jr. (Transporter Chief)

Commander Riker wakes up in the future without a memory of the last 16 years. I always enjoyed this episode. A nice what-if episode.

Rating:

(From Tom's Random Star Trek Reviews on October 31st, 2011)