Disc Reviews

"At the dawn of the 23rd century the world is on the verge of environmental collapse. Mankind's only hope for survival lies 85 million years in the past."

You think dinosaurs are dangerous. Expectations are dangerous. Expectations can kill like a bullet straight to the brain. Expectations are merciless. Some say it was a huge meteor that took out the dinosaurs, but it wasn't a meteor at all. This time it was ... wait for it.... expectations.

"I'm Jimmie DeRamus. Folks call me Big Daddy. My family's been in Louisiana since before the Civil War. Today we run one of the largest pawn shops in the South. Where I live there's no such thing as business as usual. I'll buy and sell anything. And by that I mean anything."

The formula worked for the guys in Vegas for several years, and it's still bringing in a solid number of viewers. Like any successful series, someone decided that two shows would be twice as good. Someone was wrong.

"Ancient monuments precisely aligned to celestial events. History written in stone honoring otherworldly rulers. And a calendar accurately predicting shifts in the Earth's axis every 26,000 years. Did the Mayans of Central America really create one of the most advanced civilizations of ancient times? Or did their intelligence originate somewhere else? Perhaps out of this world."

Ever since Eric von Daniken released his speculative book and its subsequent 1970 film Chariots of the Gods, there has been an entire field of study created around something commonly called Ancient Astronaut Theory. The idea is that extraterrestrials have visited many of our ancient civilizations. The theory continues that these visitors had a hand in shaping our development, whether it be through technology or even manipulation of our very DNA. These believers point to a world of evidence to support their claims. There are tons of images from earlier civilizations that could certainly be interpreted as depicting modern devices, concepts, or even space men. There is plenty of speculation that some of the knowledge and accomplishments of these peoples could not have been possible without some outside interference. There are even those who believe that aliens best explain our religious beliefs, and that God himself was/is an extraterrestrial being. Whatever your own beliefs on the subject, there are certainly some fascinating points to be made. There is no question that the speculations and observations bring up some interesting queries that deserve our attention. This series attempts to document much of this evidence and the beliefs these findings have inspired.

Not too long before he was heading Impossible Missions, Peter Graves spent a television season in Australia on the western series Whiplash. It was a traditional western in the sense that all of the standard elements were there. There were outlaws and saloons, posses and gunfights. What made this half-hour series stand out was the genuine Australian locations. The show was filmed in the Outback and was even aired on Aussie television. The locations gave the show a unique backdrop and a scenic look that certainly set it apart from the many American westerns on television at the time. Rivers were filled with crocodiles and even sharks. Instead of Indians there were Aborigines.

Graves played Christopher Cobb, an American who started the first stage coach line in Australia. The part was actually based on the real person, but any similarities likely ended with the name. Just like in America, Cobb had to deal with an unforgiving frontier, bandits, and the usual characters who would seek to hire him. His lead driver was Danny (Wickert), who was also a pretty good draw with his gun. But guns weren't the only weapons used in this western. Look for whips and boomerangs to fly from time to time.

In the 1950's and 1960's Hammer picked up where Universal had left off. They became the studio for the very best in horror films. With names like Lugosi, Karloff and Chaney finally reaching the end of their reign, Hammer offered up the likes of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. They resurrected all of the famous Universal monsters in their own image. Now we had a new cycle of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and The Mummy. While the films were somewhat low-budget and released mostly through the drive-in circuit, these films made a bloody splash with horror fans all over the world. But by the time the 1970's had begun, the studio was falling behind in the horror genre. Anthony Hinds had left the studio, and with him went some of the passion for the horror films that made Hammer famous. The studio heads became more interested in other kinds of films, and the horror department languished for a time.

During the final years of Hammer's productions, they had branched out into television. Hammer's House Of Horror was a horror anthology that was created in cooperation with American television in 1980. By then all of the Hammer greats had moved on, and the serialized creatures had run their course. For the television series the studio relied more on the old psychological thrillers they had churned out long before the creature features. The episodes retained the Hammer level of production and are the closest to mini-features that you'll come across in horror anthologies.

Revenant: one who returns from the dead in corporeal form

Back in 2009 when I was in Austin, Texas for the Fantastic Fest (a genre film festival they hold every year) I was lucky enough to catch this film  and it was one of the standout films of the festival.  Since that night I’ve been waiting and waiting for this to finally get a theatrical release, and now three years later The Revenant has finally found its way onto DVD.  With all the vampire and zombie films that have been released over the past few years ,it is still a mystery why it took so long for this film to find a wide release.  This isn’t your standard zombie or vampire film. This is a horror comedy that gives us genre fans something fresh and simply outrageous and awesome.