B-MOVIE OF THE MONTH - WITHOUT WARNING (1980)

Greetings All - It would be cool to do a post one time called the ten most essential B-flicks, sort of a B-Movie 101 thing. If that ever happened I would have to include this sci-fi horror classic from Graydon Clark (Black Shampoo, Satan's Cheerleaders.) This one's a don't pass go and don't collect $200 folks, just see it, Or watch it again. I'm not even going to begin to explain the plot except you have these flying disc things that attach themselves to people, in this case campers on an outing and kill and feed on them. Eventually these discs are tied to an alien, a hungry alien. A forerunner to 1987's Predator sort to speak and with a flat-out goofy cast. Jack Palance and Martin Landau, say what? And looking drugged out I might add but the real surprise here is veteran character actor Larry Storch, from the '60's, a guy who knew 150 dialects and here he is in this as a boy scout leader lol. Also known as It Came Without Warning, this gem is streaming free now only on Plex. 2.75 stars/2.75

Friday, December 31, 2021

STRANGE DAYS (1995) - WAY AHEAD OF IT'S TIME KATHRYN BIGELOW BRINGS HANDS-DOWN ULTIMATE NEW YEAR'S EVE MOVIE W/ RALPH FIENNES & JULIETTE LEWIS



It's LA in the future and people's memories of specific events are bought and sold on the black market. They're called "playback" and you "jack it" into your brain, ya dig? Scumbag Lenny (Ralph Fiennes) is a dealer of such druggy material but has a dear friend (Angela Bassett) who wants to see him clean up his life. However, he can't get over an ex-girlfriend (Juliette Lewis in a total Holy Shit performance) who is really wrapped up in the underworld and she holds the key to why a famous rapper has been murdered. 

If any of that catches your attention so far, then dig in as Kathryn Bigelow, hot on the success of the magnificent Point Break, changes backdrops from the sunny beaches of Malibu to the gritty grime of downtown LA. The use of handhelds and production of action scenes in this movie is off the chart.. The story is a bit convoluted but never boring. Juliette Lewis' scenes fronting a rock band are to be seen to be believed, they're that good. That's not new ground for her of course but these scenes are stellar, not to mention her scene in Venice Beach. 

Angela Bassett really shows off her physical skills in fight scenes and Tom Sizemore is his usual very enjoyable self as one of Lenny's friends. An outstanding sci-fi that was way ahead of it's time, highly recommend. Not available in the streaming world, just DVD.  3.5 stars/5

2 comments:

  1. could you add this one to your site, thanks

    Black Hole Alien Brain Zombies!

    https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17158678/
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RprR-UY9Ww

    A secret experimental lab accident creates a black hole,
    which actually hides a highly advanced alien intelligence,
    that wants to take over the universe. Of course this begins
    by transmitting crazy trippy messages encoded to turn humanity into zombies!!
    Watch out outer space, this plan 9 goes to 11!

    A Black Hole, Aliens, Brains, Zombies and Unicorns. It has it all!
    A quirky mind bending experimental science fiction satire.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'll be nice and leave it this time. Check it out if you so desire folks!

    ReplyDelete

B-MOVIE GAZETTE RATING SYSTEM

5 Stars - Only awarded to the precious few.
4 Stars - Excellent, see by all means.
3 Stars - Very Good, you should like.
2 Stars - Fair, like a frozen dinner.
1 Star - Poor, like a spoiled dinner.

ALL B-MOVIES, DRIVE-IN MOVIES AND TV MOVIES HAVE A MAX AWARD OF 2.75 STARS.