Cult Movies

What if you could record all your brain activity on tape for anyone in the world to experience? The same smells, tastes, even emotions just as you felt them. Sure you could experience things like skydiving without ever having to leave your couch. Or scale the Himalayans while riding the bus. But then there’s that stench filled cab ride you had last week where your friend threw up on your docker pants. Now a total stranger can enjoy that too. You could even eat a glazed donut burger and still technically be Vegan thus keeping your hipster street creed… because much like your hipster street cred, it’s all in your mind. In 1983’s Brainstorm, Christopher Walken plays Dr. Michael Brace an eccentric scientist who hangs out with his Chain smoking lab partner Lillian (Louise Fletcher.) Most of their day is spent poking monkeys and wearing wired up space helmets while playing rock em’ sock em’ robots. Normally this is where government grants go to die but one day they discover they can actually record a persons memories on laser tape. It’s the Facebook of the future.They decide to take the invention on the road and record everything they can find with a lab tech wearing a recording helmet. There’s racing cars, going down a waterside, having sex, trying out some equestrian (not necessarily in that order.) Things you could have never experienced yourself without the aide of “TECHONOLOGY!” Their boss loves the demo tape but then boots from the project so it can be packaged up and sold as a home console and to military contractors. Michael with some free time on his hands uses the new invention for some couples therapy. His wife Karen is played by Natalie Woods and she’s just about to sign the divorce papers until he makes a memory tape for her showing all the good times from their marriage. Scrapbookers eat your heart out. Meanwhile Lillian has a heart attack back at the lab but records her death for scientific study and likely some smut sections at Thailandese video stores. The tape is put under lock and key while the government also takes over the technology to use it for “peaceful military purpose.” Peaceful in that they’ll peacefully torture and brainwash any suspecting commies they can hook it up to. Michael’s son accidentally tries one of these brainwash tapes making him wacko so Michael goes on a crusade to destroy the project. His robot war knowledge comes in handy as he hacks into the lab computer causing the robots to go on a rampage destroying the brainstorm assembly line. He then gets access to his lab partners death tape so that he can experience some extreme chest pains and the ending to 2001: A space odyssey. While plugged into the death tape at a pay phone, his wife shows up, they hug and he mumbles something about the stars, the Wright Brothers and needing more cowbell. Wow, the hippies were out in full force on this one folks. Barry Goodall says get plugged in with Brainstorm so that you too can experience a couple hours of brainwashing torture.  Let’s just hope that Apple or Google doesn’t make one of these things anytime soon. DOS Intrigue interactive all you can eat buffets giant brain helmets virtual ardvarking interactive chimpanzee multiple heart attacks Lost IMAX footage chainsmoking lab technician 2 BLOOD just a nose bleed 5 BREASTS Virtual nookie stuck on loop 2 BEASTS Just a chimpanzee 2.7 OVERALL Check out this trailer for “Brainstorm”

It actually took a moment of consideration to decide whether to post the new trailer for the Edgar Wright/Simon Pegg/Nick Frost sci-fi comedy The World's End. It's not that I don't want to see the movie, on the contrary, I'm all up for the boys and a romp through a pub crawl that somehow is interrupted by an alien invasion, but this trailer isn't quite as good as the first. [Continued ...]

It's been a few weeks since we checked in with Franck Khalfoun's Maniac remake. At the time a new trailer had just been released to coincide with the movie's UK release in March and it's only appropriate that this new check-in involves another trailer and poster, this time for the movie's forthcoming US release. [Continued ...]

A brilliant PhD candidate at Yale, Paul is making some big changes in his personal and professional life. He's just taken the big leap and moved in with his girlfriend while on the professional front he's being prodded to submit some work on his dissertation, the project that will guide his professional future. He's doing badly at both. He's freaking out and rather than taking a step back and re-evaluating the situation, he obsesses and when it appears that he left his copy of "Little Dorrit" at his old apartment, the subject of his dissertation, he becomes obsessed with getting it back. [Continued ...]

So far they are solely working with Warners and have only licensed three teen-oriented properties; Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girls and Vampire Diaries. However, if this works, I expect to see an explosion in this sort of thing. I can only assume they started kicking the can on this idea after noting the ASTOUNDING success of the 50 Shades of Gray sex books, which apparently started out as Twilight fan fic. Those things have made like a billion dollars (maybe literally), and I’m sure others would like a piece of that action. The books would presumably be non-canon, and also I’d have to guess would be vetted by the owners of whatever franchise you’re talking about. Still, it in a way it would be like comic book work for hire; you wouldn’t own the rights to anything–I wouldn’t surprised if any characters you added to the books ended up being owned by Warners, etc., but you would earn a 35% commission on sales of your work. Legally. The ramifications are too big to figure out immediately. But presumably you will eventually be able to do crossovers (Pretty Little Liars meets Vampire Diaries!). And if this spreads, comics could start coming out like this–do your own Spider-Man comics!!–or films or whatever. Neat. I have to admit, I’m always interested in corporations who are smart enough to think outside the box like this. If this takes off, imagine what things might be like 20 years from now.

In a nutshell: Warning: This video is in Spanish with English subtitles! Renegado plays the notoriously awful Atari 2600 game E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (unsold cartridges of which are allegedly filling up a New Mexico landfill), which gets him really angry, until he realizes how stupid it is to get worked up over a video game.

Producers Ant Timpson and Tim League are releasing The ABCs of Death... as a children's book. [Continued ...]

Solomon Kane, the fabled swashbuckling Puritan from the mind of Robert E. Howard, is finally hitting Blu-ray on July 16, 2013. The film is now available for pre-order. [Continued ...]

Title: The Last Dragon (1985)Director: Michael Schultz Cast: Taimak, Vanity, Julius J. Carry III, Faith Prince, Leo O’BrienReview: Back in 1984, John G. Avildsen’s The Karate Kid (1984) was a huge success in theaters; it told the story of Daniel LaRusso, an American kid who has trouble adjusting to his new neighborhood. His school mates make fun of him, bullies have a field day kicking his ass around. Fortunately, Daniel befriends the magical Mr. Miyagi, a Japanese old man who teaches Daniel the ways of Karate and how to confront his own demons. The Karate Kid was such a hit that it spawned three other sequels after it. It also inspired producer Berry Gordy to make an all black version of The Karate Kid, which turned out to be the very eclectic, funny and entertaining flick called The Last Dragon. Both films share similarities, both are about young dudes trying to harness the powers of Karate, both have old oriental guys teaching these youngsters martial arts, but while The Karate Kid is more of a drama, The Last Dragon differs in that it’s not trying to be a serious film at all, The Last Dragon actually embraces it’s ‘cheesetastic’ roots and swims in them effortlessly. Here’s a film that mixes Kung Fu Masters, Television Dance Shows, Vanity, Music Videos, Disco Dancing, Pizza Parlor’s, Gangsters, Music Producers, Piranha’s and Break Dancing! Oh and let’s not forget the wonderful world of fortune cookie making! So as you can see, The Last Dragon is very different in tone to The Karate Kid. Yet at the same time, it delivers that “believe in yourself” message that’s so popular in cinema; the idea that once you start believing in yourself you can achieve anything. In contrast with The Karate Kid, The Last Dragon sends its message in a more lighthearted manner, with characters that don’t take themselves too seriously, hell, the movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, everything unfolds in good, goofy fun vibe, at times, the film even feels like a parody, though I am not entirely sure this was done purposely. Michael Schultz, the films director (a.k.a. the guy who directed Krush Groove (1985)) mentions in the dvd commentary that he wanted the film to be cartoony, which is pretty obvious when we take one look at the films main characters for example, one of the villains is this guy who walks around with football gear, and calls himself “The Shogun of Harlem”! So don’t expect a serious drama, in fact, expect the complete opposite, cartoonish parody of Kung Fu movies. At the same time, The Last Dragon pays homage to Shaw Bros. Kung Fu films, for example, the film opens up with Taimak throwing some Kung Fu moves, which is the traditional way in which many Shaw Bros. film start out, with a Kung Fu master displaying some moves as the credits roll on screen. Also, the whole thing with the glowing hands comes straight out of The Five Fingers of Death (1972). There's also direct homages to Bruce Lee films, so while it's a parody, the film knows exactly where its coming from. Taimak, the twenty something actor who starred as Bruce Leroy, had never done a film before this one; he basically learned how to act while making this film. He was obviously chosen because of his martial arts abilities more than his acting abilities, yet, that raw, rookie naiveté that Taimak exudes through his performance is exactly what was needed for the character of Bruce Leroy, a nerdy kung fu freak who is obsessed with all things Bruce Lee, so much so that he dresses in Chinese clothing and eats his pop corn with chop sticks while watching Enter the Dragon (1973) at the local theater. Yet, even though the guy is extremely skilled in martial arts, he’s not very skilled with the ladies. Leroy doesn’t even know how to make a move on ‘Laura’, the television host of a dance show called ‘7th Heaven’. Laura was played by 80’s pop star ‘Vanity’, whom some of you might remember from her role in the over the top action film Action Jackson (1988), where she starred alongs

We continue our look at Ghosthouse. Notice the reappearance of the doll, who periodically–by which I mean, every four or five minutes–appears like this with the ghost of this little girl. It’s like they assembled the movie from a Spooky Movie checklist. Spooky Doll: Check. Spooky Girl Ghost: Check. Spooky Ghost Dog: Check. Spooky Caretaker: Check. Spooky Homicidal Household Appliances: Check.* [*That latter because this is specially the Umberto Lenzi Spooky Movie Checklist.] I feel sorry for that young actress, who was probably blinded for life after constantly appearing under that super-bright Klieg light scene after scene after scene. Related PostsMonster of the Day #682 (May 3, 2013) Monster of the Day #681 (May 2, 2013) Monster of the Day #680 (Apr 23, 2013) Monster of the Day #679 (Apr 22, 2013) Monster of the Day #677 (Apr 18, 2013)