The Wizard (1989)

A charming if somewhat troubling film. Poor Jimmy (Luke Edwards) is a troubled kid, bad affected by his broken family. He keeps trying to run away to "California", finally his brother Corey (Fred Savage) helps him get out of his children's home. After meeting Haley (Jenny Lewis), who also seems to be wandering around small town America without anyone batting an eyelid, they discover that Jimmy is ace at video games so plan to head to LA to take part in a lucrative video game competition...

Complicating matters is that a creepy lost child hunter (Will Seltzer) has been sent after them, though amusingly Haley accuses him of being a child molester to get them out of one jam. Jimmy and Corey's father Sam (Beau Bridges) and big half-brother Nick (Christian Slater) are also after them...

So, a fun children's adventure in some ways, and a feature length Nintendo advert. However, the film does include a number of adult themes and in reality the kids would have probably ended up dead (or worse). But if you just enjoy the fantasy for what it is then it's a very enjoyable film.

Daleks - Invasion Earth 2150 A.D. (1966)

Peter Cushing returns as this non-canon version of Dr Who. After young police constable Tom (Bernard Cribbins) stumbles into the Tardis, Dr Who and his companions Susan (Roberta Tovey) and Louise (Jill Curzon) head into the future. To 2150AD in fact, London appears to be a grim hole full of ruins, sure it wasn't the 1970s?

Dr Who and company quickly discover the reason for the devastation is the Daleks! The Daleks have invaded Earth and conquered humanity. Dr Who joins a resistance movement and fights the Daleks alongside David (Ray Brooks) but everything points to Bedfordshire and a mysterious hole the Daleks are having dug in the ground...

This is quite a strange film, campy and light in feel with a jazzy soundtrack but also a huge bodycount. The Daleks and their robot slaves seem rather easy to defeat (a tarpaulin is enough to defeat one Dalek!) Although set in the future, everyone dresses like... well in the 1960s. A fun watch if odd.

Dick Barton Strikes Back (1949)

Fast moving, and bonkers, spy capers.

Secret Agent Dick Barton (Don Stannard) and his partner Snowey White (Bruce Walker) uncover a plot (by dastardly foreigners of course, led by the devious Sebastien Cabot) to kill everyone in the kingdom using a sonic weapon. The plotters have a secret leader (who is so obvious it is laughable). Dick and Snowey, who seem to operate by bungling their way into one dangerous situation after another, are assisted by the tragic Tina (Jean Lodge). A final showdown and heroic fight by Dick takes place atop the Blackpool Tower!

This is very early-post war British stuff, plucky and ridiculous in equal measure. It is a very Boy's Own Adventure with straight forward plotting and very one dimensional characters. It's fun and exciting, and should be enjoyed for what it is.

Rescue Me (1992)

What on Earth is going on in this film? Nerdy Fraser (Stephen Dorff) is obsessed with Ginny (Ami Dolenz) at High School, so much so that he takes lots of photos of her and stalks her on his moped, its ok though this film takes place in the early 1990s when being a stalker of High School girls was cool. 

However, everything changes when Fraser accidentally stumbles upon some kind of criminal activity involving two dumb thugs and another thug and Ginny ends up kidnapped by the two thugs (William Lucking and Peter DeLuise).

Fraser blackmails the other thug, Mack (Michael Dudikoff), a former Vietnam vet to rescue Ginny. Mack wants to get back his stamps and/or his cash from the thugs. Fraser and Mack follow the pair across America to California, just a bungled attempt to stop them, a shoot-out in a hotel, and a car chase along mountain roads to report. Fraser and Mack begin to bond and Mack introduces Fraser to the joys to sleeping on beaches and with teenage prostitutes. Ginny meanwhile has escaped her hapless captors in Los Angeles but Fraser and Mack are in town too...

Quite a ridiculous film which makes little sense though is definitely fun in the great trash film tradition. The film is played pretty light, almost comedic though most of the humour is unintentional of course. Low on thrills, high on early 90s cheese.

Virgin Witch (1972)

A very good film, a 1970s supernatural horror with lots (and lots) of nudity. Sisters Christine (Ann Michelle) and Betty (Vicki Michelle) run away to London to seek their fortune as models, despite the warnings from Johnny (Keith Buckley) who befriends them (and has more than friendship in mind with Betty). Christine gets work with Sybil (Patricia Haynes), who obviously lusts for her, and the girls get invited to a remote country house for a photo shoot.

There, Christine discovers that the master of the house, Gerald (Neil Hallett) is a witch and heads a coven with Sybil the high priestess. She joins the coven and immediately uses her powers to take over. Putting everyone, including Johnny who has managed to track them down, under her power...

There isn't a great deal of horror though there is a lot of sex and nudity. The story is straight forward and moves along a pace with plenty left unanswered at the end.

Norman Checks In (1984)

The Norman short comedy films were rather strange, Douglas P MacIntosh made four films about his loser character Norman every five years between 1974 and 1989. So, this is the third film, made five years after Welcome Back, Norman. Norman has checked into a hotel but his desired room has been overbooked due to a taxidermy convention.

Instead he is given the hotel's room from hell. Noisy, cramped, with a broken shower and Norman ends up exposing himself to a maid! This is a very strange little film, amusing if not rip roaringly funny. Quite why it exists is still a mystery, but i am kind of glad it does.

From Soup to Nuts (1928)

A good Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy comedy short though not quite the best. Mrs Culpepper (Anita Garvin) wants to show off by holding a posh dinner party. She requires a couple of waiters, but unfortunately she gets Stan and Ollie! Mayhem obviously ensues. The mayhem is a little predictable though, when Ollie walks into the dining room carrying a huge cake you know he is going to end up with his face in it... and indeed he does, several times!

Mrs Culpepper also has a lot of trouble with a cherry but when Stan walks in to serve the salad in his underwear (he was told to serve the salad undressed of course) the cherry is soon forgotten. Good old fashioned fun.