Despite its super low budget, eager cast of hokey actors and rather brief running time, this 1957 mix of sci-fi and comedy manages to work quite well thanks to a solid sense of humor and effectively scary use of special effects in one memorable sequence. That the film purports to be “A true story of a flying saucer” right at the beginning is the first in a long string of eyeball-rolling chuckles it hits you with.
After a teen couple out on a late night make-out session run over an alien with their car, they’re soon caught up as murder suspects once the remaining big-headed, bug-eyed, and short of stature creatures replace the body of their comrade with a human they’ve eliminated. Given that the aliens kill with finger needles that inject pure alcohol into their victims (ouch, *hic!*), it’s initially easy to see the couple’s alibi easily shot down by the cops.
Amusingly enough, that movie poster on the left calls Rocketship X-M a story about man’s “conquest of space”, but spoiler alert: it’s not quite that triumphant a voyage at all. Yeah, man makes it into space in that fancy silver craft, but if there’s a conquest here, it’s presented in a pretty stark manner that’s not conducive to anything resembling a “happy” ending. That said, this one’s yet another highly recommended classic that’s worth a look if you’ve never seen it before and yes indeed, it’s worth grabbing a few sci-fi loving friends to take along for the ride. Pack that space ice cream, some popcorn and maybe a clean hanky, but leave your thinking cap on that bedpost, buddy…
While the actual “science” in this low-budget 1950 sci-fi flick isn’t exactly realistic and indeed, laughable (hey, we didn’t send a man into space until over a decade later), this is still a pretty powerful film that manages to be memorable for a few reasons. Granted, it was rushed to theaters to beat out the superior (in every technical aspect, at least) Destination Moon, but the anti-nuke/anti-war message presented makes this gem resonate a bit more than George Pal’s classic (which can be seen as the 2001: A Space Odyssey of its time thanks to all that attention to detail). What works in this little film (shot over 18 days for under $100,000) is the script (from an uncredited Dalton Trumbo – look him up if you don’t know who he is) that adds an interesting layer of sentimentality to the characters. Oh, and the acting is first-rate as well all around.
Of course, you’ll probably be too busy rooting for the crew of the X-M to get out of the rather crappy situation they’ve found themselves in after their moon rocket ends up going WAY off course (as in not scientifically possible) rather than look to deeply for hidden messages. Then again, that excellent Ferde Grofe score plus the decent acting are compelling enough reason to sit down and enjoy this one for what it is. In other words, flush the insulting (but yes, quite amusing) Mystery Science Theater 3000 version and watch the original movie instead. Some films deserve to be better remembered for what they were back when they were released and not someone’s bastardized joke-book version that pays no respect to something that tried to bring a certain er, gravity to a formerly not so serious genre.
Yeah, it’s a short review, but this is one of those films that just needs to be seen more and talked about afterward. Enjoy the trip and as the old saying goes: be nice to the people you meet on the way up – you’re going to meet (most of) the same ones on the way back down…
Nicely striking image (and slightly reminiscent of the Batman variant poster for The Dark Knight) for the upcoming film starring Karl Urban, Olivia Thirlby and Lena Headey set to hit theaters across the US on September 21. Early reviews from those who saw screenings at San Diego Comic Con have been quite good, so hopefully the folks who think that first Judge Dredd flick was somehow “great” will get a true head check in a month or so (no Rob Schneider is a big plus for me and I sure won’t miss Sly and his helmet-less ways). That and hell, hopefully, the film will get a better critical reception that the Total Recall reboot, which is getting some unfair slams from people who’ve never read the original story (which had absolutely nothing to do with Mars)
Well, well, well… Not only are we getting a new Godzilla film (that, based on fan reaction to a brief clip shown at SDCC, is going to be a must-see), Guillermo Del Toro’s next film is looking like the ultimate kaiju-style action flick that will be talked about long after its theatrical run. In poring over some stills and the teaser poser above, I really think Del Toro is the perfect candidate to do an Earth Defense Force film if some studio ever decides to take that challenge, but then again, Sandlot’s EDF games are practically epic films of their own in terms of the all out chaos they provide. Anyway, next year will be a pretty amazing one for genre fans if both flicks are worth all the time and money spent on making them. I’ll be keeping an eyeball peeled for the plethora of upcoming trailers that will no doubt be rolling out as each film gets closer to its release.
Well, OK… a movie poster is JUST another slice of the hype cheese wheel, so at the end of the day it’s actually meaningless if the film it advertises stinks. That said, after reading the plot synopsis, I have a feeling that Judge Dredd’s second Hollywood outing will be a hell of a lot better than that first travesty, where the acting performance by a “robot” made it worth watching (yes, Mean Machine was the best thing in that flick).
Still, I did do a double take when I read the press release, as I mixed up Keith Urban and Karl Urban in my head and nearly choked on a bagel. Good thing I remembered who was who before it was too late or you’d all be wondering why I hadn’t posted in a while. Anyway, September 21, 2012 is the release date and I’m imagining the commercials will start dropping sooner rather than later if the studio thinks it’s got a winner on their hands. One thing I DO want in this one is Anthrax’s “I Am The Law” playing over the end credits, so let’s hope that’s been taken care of.
It’s been a while since I did this column (again!), but here you go, thanks to Ubisoft’s upcoming Wii U exclusive (which isn’t based on this flick, btw), I’m inspired to scribble a bit about one more of my old horror faves. Here’s the ZOMBI 2 poster I forgot to run in my Zombi U post earlier this week. Seeing that happy, smoochy undead mug once more made me think of being freaked out then amused by the commercial for the film when it ran here way back around 1980, I think.
I recall that I actually didn’t see the film until about 1983 or ’84 thanks to a friend of a friend who worked at some place that cut together TV ads. Everyone who worked there was pirating every movie that came in the door and making themselves huge movie libraries, and I recall his was pretty damn impressive and packed with stuff I’d never seen before but always wanted to. I think I only borrowed two or three tapes from him, as I was SUPER paranoid about some dark sunglasses-wearing agent types kicking my door in and busting me for whatever I was doing that was illegal (was it even illegal to watch a copied movie you borrowed back then? Who knows?).
Anyway, Back to the movie for a sec: It was (and still is) pretty gory, but also a bit funny in spots. Well, HILARIOUS, as a zombie (well, a guy in undead makeup) actually fights a REAL (and drugged, from what I remember reading later) shark in probably the craziest moment in the movie. The scene I remember most vividly was a woman getting her eyeball poked out with a piece of wood (eww!), but there were a few other shocking bits throughout. The beginning and ending made me laugh, so that’s a trade-off I guess. Celebrity sort of alert: Mia Farrow’s sister, Tisa is in the film – but she’s not the one who loses her eyeball. So, yeah, it’s not a family flick at all this time out, but if you can track it down, it’s a funky, chunky scare-fest worth your popcorn time.
If you’re REALLY in the mood for this sort of stuff, I say pair it with Mario Bava’s gore/splatter classic, Bay of Blood (aka Twitch of the Death Nerve, the inspiration, at least in terms of special effects for the first two Friday the 13th movies about a decade later).
Now, I haven’t even seen The Grey yet, but it’s getting decent reviews and this is Neeson’s what, third or fourth action movie role where he’s basically not taking any crap from anything on two (and now four) legs. Meanwhile, Old Fart, Texas Walker hasn’t made a decent film in ages, is shilling a janky exercise machine on late-nite infomercials, stumping for desperate political candidates who need an old-ass “star” power endorsement and oh yeah, he might be playing World of Warcraft. *snore…*
Yeah, yeah… so what if he’s a BIG internet meme with a huge following from back when he was younger, stronger and starring in some bad-ass action flicks where he always came out ahead. Whatever. I always see him as the hairy guy who got a beat-down he didn’t get up from in Way of the Dragon, so perhaps I’m a little biased. Anyway, I’m sure Chuck-O can lay out Liam in an actual fistfight (at some point), but I’d bet he’d break a hip throwing that knockout punch. And hell, you’re not taking down any Irishman without a good fight, last time I heard…
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