Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957)

Teenagers versus little green men, not as terrible as you might expect!

A UFO lands near a small town, the aliens having large heads and eyes and fingers that spread venom. They are encountered by some of the town's "teenagers" (who look on average 27) who are busy on Lover's Lane doing teenager things. When Johnny (Steven Terrell) and Joan (Gloria Castillo) run down one of the aliens all their troubles start, especially with an incredulous police force. Little green men eh? 

The US military know about the UFO though, and manage to blow it up. They blame the explosion on a jetplane crash, however a group of the aliens are still running rampant through the countryside worrying cattle. Looks like the teens may have to save the day...

A low budget science-fiction film, and often pretty silly and cheesy. However, the film holds together, remarkably well despite everything. Its a fun film and a decent watch.

Martial Law (1991)

This low-budget direct to video and somewhat cheesy martial arts crime movie could have been terrible but luckily/somehow it isn't...

The dangerous Rhodes (David Carradine) is a crime boss involved in gun smuggling and sports car theft, he is also a master of martial arts. So, who best to investigate him then than two cops who are also martial arts masters in the form of Sean (Chad McQueen) and Billie (Cynthia Rothrock)? However, Sean's younger brother Michael (Andy McCutcheon) has been dragged into a life of crime and comes under the wing of Rhodes...

So, you kind of know what this film is going to be like. A series of action set pieces held together by a serviceable though pretty flimsy and unoriginal plot. However, the action set pieces are in fact pretty good with plenty of violence and well planned fighting scenes. 

Much of the rest of the film is of variable quality but the sometimes unintentionally hilarious acting and storyline makes the film very entertaining indeed.

Gang War (1940)

A low budget "race movie" starring, made by and aimed at black Americans, and a fast moving snappy crime tale.

Killer Meade (Ralph Cooper) takes over a Harlem gang and then enters a war with a rival gang leader (Laurence Criner). Meanwhile, he is wooing Maizie (Gladys Snyder) though she is engaged to another man. Maizie doesn't want Killer to end up... er... killed. When Killer goes to finally finish off his rival, Maizie calls Lieutenant Holmes (Jess Lee Brooks). Killer ain't going to be taken alive though...

A breezy and cool film, much of the plot is detailed via newspaper front pages displayed in the screen. This gives more of the limited run time to more interesting things like shooting, and a lengthy scene at the club with various acts. The film is exciting though suffers at times from the low budget and limited acting abilities of some of the cast, though not the leads who all do a decent job. In fact this is a surprisingly good film.

Mars Needs Women (1968)

A rather bizarre science-fiction film, about the Martian need for Earth women...

Mars is dying due to reasons, the Martian Dop (Tommy Kirk) leads a team to Earth to find some suitable fertile females for breeding purposes. Dop announces this plan to the US military beforehand for some reason. Dop and his team begin selecting suitable females. Pole dancers and flight attendants seem to be the preferred choice (natch). 

However, Dop selects the female scientist Dr Bolen (Yvonne Craig) for his target and falls in love with her. The authorities are meanwhile searching high and low for the Martians...

This is a pretty awful film to be honest. The overall premise is sound perhaps though crudely implemented and overall the film is pretty sleazy and cheap. The story makes little sense of course and often is (unintentionally) hilarious.

Thru Traffic (1935)

Amiable melodrama that ironically doesn't get into high gear.

Two rival racing car drivers Martin (Paul Kelly) and Dan (Russell Hardie) have their careers cut short in a bad accident. They decide to go into business together with a garage. However, crooked politicians who want to involve the garage in their kickback scam and a love triangle with Pat (Marguerite Churchill) put their friendship in peril... 

It's a decent enough film, a typically fast moving B-movie that lacks a bit of depth. Everything is a little rushed due to the short B-movie running time. Its fine though, a perfectly inoffensive film but could have been better.