The Final Countdown (1980)

An interesting time travel film that asks the question, should you change history given the chance?

Lasky (Martin Sheen) arrives aboard the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier under the command of Yelland (Kirk Douglas) before it sets off on a voyage. Before very long the ship is caught up in a mysterious storm, afterwards all of the radio channels and data links are dead. However, this isn't due to the Soviets but because the Nimitz has travelled back in time to 1941.

In fact they have arrived back in time to just before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Yelland knows his modern super carrier carries the firepower to defeat the Japanese fleet, but historian Commander Owens (James Farentino) warns against changing history. When the crew rescue a couple of 1941 Americans (Charles Durning and Katharine Ross) and a Japanese pilot (Soon-Tek Oh) things get more complicated...

Despite the set-up this isn't much of an action film (though when there is action it is well done) but poses some interesting ethical dilemmas and has lots and lots of cool US Navy footage.

The Four Skulls of Jonathan Drake (1959)

A decent horror B-movie involving ancient Indian curses and shrunken heads!

Jonathan Drake (Eduard Franz) is an anthropologist investigating a South American Indian curse that has befallen his family. Male members of his family die aged 60 and their heads go missing, this happens to his own brother (Paul Cavanagh) and Jonathan is next! The missing head brings in Lieutenant Rowan (Grant Richards) of the police. He is sceptical that something supernatural is going on, but when he discovers the mysterious Dr Zurich (Henry Daniell) is apparently a man who died two hundred years ago, and has a secret basement lair including bubbling cauldrons and shrunken heads...

The story is low budget (which shows sometimes) but has an interesting premise and is a perfectly acceptable little film. Most of the action comes from Zurich's Indian assassin Zutai (Paul Wexler) though try not to laugh when his "deadly" blade is obviously rubber and wobbles about during the fight scenes!

Sisters of Death (1976)

Rather low-rent but intriguing revenge horror.

Years before a strange female secret society initiation involves a game of Russian roulette with fake bullets, only someone adds a real bullet to the mix... Now the members of the society receive mysterious letters inviting them to a reunion. The girls, including Claudia Jennings and Sherry Boucher, arrive at the rendezvous point where they are met by two sleazy guys (Paul Carr and Joe Tata) to take them out to a secluded ranch.

Alone at the ranch (though the two guys soon return hoping for nookie) the girls find a welcome laid out for them but no host. An electrified fence is activated stopping anyone from leading. The host reveals himself as the father (Arthur Franz) of the girl who died in the game of Russian roulette and now he wants to know which of the others switched the bullets. The deaths begin, in various gruesome ways including by garot and rattlesnake. The scene is set for a final showdown... and a number of interesting twists.

The film doesn't really make much sense and includes a number of obvious and well-worn horror tropes. The initial set-up is novel though but the characters are all rather interchangable. A flawed but perfectly enjoyable romp.

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

The iconic full length feature directorial debut of Quentin Tarantino, the first of many epics packed full of pop culture, and one of the best.

Joe (Lawrence Tierney) assembles a team who all have code names like Mr White (Harvey Keitel), Mr Orange (Tim Roth) and Mr Pink (Steve Buscemi) to hit a jewellery store. The raid goes horribly wrong though and Mr White takes the badly wounded Orange back to their hide out. There they think that someone has betrayed them, but who? Is it the psychotic Mr Blonde (Michael Madsen) who caused a bloodbath? In flashbacks we discover who the police's inside guy is...

The film was a pop culture phenomenon in the early 1990s, drawing in many references but also creating many of it's own including the black suits, and of course many quotes which entered the lexicon. It has held up very well and is a simply superb film worth the hype. A very violent and cruel film, plus with lots of bad language. Don't play a drinking game every time someone swears, you'll be dead of alcoholic poisoning before the opening credits start. 

The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906)

A historic film that unfortunately now only barely survives.

This film was one of the first full-length movies, originally lasting over an hour, though less than twenty minutes of it now survives. However, despite that we can see that the film was a stunning achievement for it's day. 

The film has six scenes based on the Ned Kelly Gang story. The gang are already notorious and hunted by the police when the film starts. We see the gang carry out a number of killings and hold-ups and even attempt to derail a train. Finally the police close in and Ned Kelly (possibly played by Frank Mills) fights to the very end...

The story of Ned Kelly is legendary and this was the first film to depict the Australian outlaw and terror of the bush. Indeed the film was made just 26 years after Kelly was executed and many would still have first hand memories. It is just such a shame so little now survives.

She Demons (1958)

Rather hokey Nazis in the jungle horror nonsense.

Fred (Tod Griffin) and Jerri (Irish McCalla) are shipwrecked (along with a couple of racial stereotypes) on a remote island after a storm. After a brief setting up scene where they become an incredibly annoying couple, they discover a drowned young girl with horrific facial disfigurements. Fred, Jerri and Sammy (Victor Sen Yung) head into the island's interior where they discover native girls (who don't look very native at all) and their captors... Nazis! 

Deranged Nazi scientist Osler (Rudolph Anders) is trying to use the youth of the young women to restore the looks of his beloved Mona (Leni Tala) who was horrifically disfigured in an accident. Osler however, when he sees Jerri, considers ditching Mona or at least using Jerri for his mad Nazi medical experiments...

The film isn't that bad at all though let down by some of the main cast who are a little bland. For a 1950s horror with a little mild exploitation it could be a lot worse.

Mortal Passions (1989)

A rather lazy thriller that even a bit of erotic action can't set to life.

Emily (Krista Errickson) is cheating on her rather laid-back husband Todd (Zach Galligan) with the rather hilariously named Darcy (Luca Bercovici). She plots to get Darcy to kill Todd so she can get her hands on his inheritance. The arrival of Todd's big brother Burke (Michael Bowen) throws a spanner in the works, especially when he kills Darcy! Emily then uses her seductive powers (which are pretty hot to be fair) to try and get Burke to do the dirty for her. Meanwhile, Adele (Sheila Kelley) turns up looking for Darcy, she and Todd begin to uncover Emily's plot...

An average thriller that doesn't get out of first gear, the story plods along interspersed with a little violence and sex. David Warner adds a little class as a psychologist but the rest of the acting is fairly risible. It isn't brilliant by any means though is reasonably watchable.