DVD Collectors Online

Blast from the Past, a review by DJ Doena

January, 3rd


Brendan Fraser    ...    Adam
Alicia Silverstone   ...    Eve
Christopher Walken   ...    Calvin
Sissy Spacek   ...    Helen
Dave Foley   ...    Troy
Nathan Fillion    ...    Cliff

Synopsis: During the cuba crisis Calvin Webber a rich but eccentric (doesn't this always come in the same package?) inventor locks himself and his pregnant wife in a fallout shelter because he thinks a nuclear war has broken out. They live there for 35 years with their son Adam until one day the locks unseal themselves.  Now Adam goes out to buy supplies in huge numbers and he's looking for a wife - no mutant and from Pasadena, if possible. But then he meets Eve.

My Opinion: I love this movie. It's so great to see Adam and his seemingly outdated manners to win Eve's heart (and the heart of nearly any woman in that movie for that matter). I have to admit I love romantic movies, the number of such movies in my collection is nearly twice as big as my science fiction movies. I can watch them until I'm totally overdosed.
Too bad that Alicia Silverstone isn't seen more often on screen. I can't describe it but she has something about her that I totally like.

(From DJ Doena's movie watchings 2009 on January 4th, 2009)

ZAAT, a review by Jimmy

Title: ZAAT (1971)

Genre: Science-Fiction / Horror
Director: Don Barton
Rating: NR
Length: 1h40
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1:78.1
Audio: English
Subtitles: Spanish

Stars:
Marshall Grauer   
Wade Popwell
Paul Galloway
Gerald Cruse   
Sanna Ringhaver   

Plot:
Brace yourself for one of the craziest, silliest, most notorious (and most sought-after) underground monster movies of the 1970s.
Strange occurrences begin to plague Cypress Grove after a disgruntled ex-Nazi scientist (Marshall Grauer) disappears into his makeshift lab on the outskirts of town, only to re-appear as a half-human, half-catfish monster. As part of his sinister plan to rule the world, he also takes to polluting the local waterways. mutating the local aquatic wildlife. The mismatched duo tasked with keeping the townfolk safe is made up of of a young biologist (Gerald Cruse) and grizzled redneck sheriff (Paul Galloway). But quickly realizing they're in over their heads, a call goes out to the Inter-Nations Phenomena Investigations Team (INPIT for short). Before you can say "catfish po'boy" a groovy RV rolls in to the small southern town, driven by a pair of special agents (Dave Dickerson and the lovely Shanna Ringhaver) armed with a six-wheeled dune buggy-like Amphicat. But will it be enough to take on the deranged creature and his army of deadly mutant catfish?

This one was a really nice surprise as I expected some silly man in cheap suit non-sense. Sure it's a man in a suit, but he is a good physical actor. This is more or less a "remake" of Creature from the Black Lagoon and it is much better than most of the other remakes of this Universal classic. Evidently this is a low budget production but they had a lot of cooperation from Marine Land so the lab set is impressive. The underwater cinematography is also professionally done.

This is really an enjoyable movie that you can watch with your kids since there is no real violence and nudity in it. Give it a try you won't regret it at all believe me.

Rating :

(From Jimmy's - 2013 Ooctober Horror Marathon on October 8th, 2013)

"Stargate SG-1" Marathon, a review by DJ Doena

Synopsis: An asteroid closes in on Earth from a strange direction and it will hit Earth. SG-1 tries to repair a crashed Tel'tak (cargo ship) and then to land on the asteroid and to blow it up with the help of a Naqahdah-enhanced nuclear bomb.

My Opinion: Great moment, when Jack comments "I've seen that movie!" in the beginning, obviously referring to Armageddon. They nonetheless found a good, typical Stargate solution to the problem.

Synopsis: On a planet that isn't ruled by a Goa'uld is a base of Jaffa. Some of their "gods" have been killed, some Jaffa simply deserted. Their leader is K'tano, former First Prime of Imhotep, who killed his "god". But the ways of the Jaffa and the Tau'ri are different and Jack cannot recommend an alliance as long as K'tano is in charge.

My Opinion: This episode shows, how convincing charismatic leaders can be. It also shows that they haven't necessarily the best for their followers in mind. I also liked the Matrix-like fight sequence.

Synopsis: On a planet whose population has been wiped out, SG-1 finds a disabled android in the forum of a young woman. After she's been reactivated they find out that she doesn't know about her artificiality and her state of mind is that of a child. But then she builds a present and toy for Daniel that is terribly familiar to SG-1.

My Opinion: Another episode where Jack and Daniel crash into each other about the way they should handle a very dangerous situation. But I honestly didn't know whith whom I should've agreed.

Synopsis: A planet that is supposed to have a protection mechanism is attacked by the Goa'uld. Obviously the inofficial NID commando broke it when they visited the planet 2 years ago. Now they have to accompany SG-1 to fix it.

My Opinion: What I didn't like about this episode was that they were killed in the end. That was to forseeable. And the fact that the Colonel sacrificed himself to save Jack didn't match with the facts we learned about him in this very episode.

(From "Stargate SG-1" Marathon on April 6th, 2008)