Charlie Chan in Honolulu (1938)

After the sad death of Warner Oland, Sidney Toler takes over the Charlie Chan character, the first of many films he would make in the series.

While Charlie Chan awaits the arrival of his first grand child, a call comes in about a murder that has taken place on a cargo ship. Number 1 son Jimmy (Victor Sen Yung) takes the call and decides to take the case himself. He discovers the case of a murdered man on the ship, a number of suspicious characters, a hold full of circus animals and some missing cash! Luckily, Charlie Chan turns up to save his son from being thrown overboard and he takes over the case. One complication being the rather mysterious character Dr Cardigan (George Zucco) who is acting quite suspiciously and has a live brain in a suitcase!

A great entry in the Charlie Chan series, Sidney Toler bringing some new energy to the role. The kitchen sink was thrown at the film, quite why we needed subplots involving mad science brains in jars and escaped lions is unknown. It does not spoil the film though, its superb.

A.P.E.X. (1994)

Low budget maybe but the ambition and imagination factor is pretty high.

We are in the future (2073) and mankind is sending probes back through time (quite why we don't know especially as it ends up being so dangerous). Scientist Sinclair (Richard Keats) sends a probe robot though to 1973 where it encounters a couple in a caravan and immediately trouble begins. Sinclair goes through time to make sure the robot self-distructs... but when he returns to 2073 he finds everything has changed.

2073 is now a post-apocalypse wasteland where killer robots slaughter the battered remnants of mankind. Sinclair, despite being now in a changed timeline, remembers his old timeline and seeks out his old lab to see if he can restore the timeline and see his beloved wife Natasha (Lisa Ann Russell) again.

An interesting film. Although it is rather cheap and the special effects a bit average (though the robots look good), this film isn't that bad. It has some good ideas and does a decent job to make the most of what it has to try and carry them out. The plots has some holes, but it seems so does time.

The Spider Returns (Serial) (1941)

The second serial involving the rather bizarre character, The Spider. 

The Spider is the secret crime fighting identity of socialite Richard Wentworth (Warren Hull), doesn't sound like Batman at all! In this serial, Richard/The Spider battles the mysterious (and ridiculous) Gargoyle who had launched a wave of attacks on the US war effort (naturally as we are early in the Second World War). 

This is a perfectly decent serial, including plenty of cliff hangers and fast action, though the Spider fight scenes are a bit ridiculous. The Gargoyle's henchmen are pretty useless if we are going to be honest which does rob the serial of some of the peril.

Biggles (1986)

The iconic World War 1 flying ace Biggles stories would seem to be perfect for a translation to the big screen, unfortunately this wasn't it.

New York advertising executive Jim (Alex Hyde-Wright) is working on a dreary advertising campaign when he is suddenly zapped through time and witnesses a plane crash, an old biplane. Later, he is visited by the mysterious Air Commodore Raymond (Peter Cushing) who tells Jim that he is linked to an aviator from the First World War, James Bigglesworth aka Biggles (Neil Dickson)!

Soon, Jim and Biggles are zapping to and fro each other's times. Biggles encounters the oddness of 1980s London, and Jim the trenches and aerial combat (so it seems Biggles got the better deal). Soon, they must work together to defeat a powerful German secret weapon which could win the war and change history...

If you have read a Biggles story you will wonder why they had to do the story this way, and turn it into a fairly generic time travel story. It isn't that bad a film, indeed the action sequences are often pretty good, but you can't help but feel a bit disappointed.

Split Second (1953)

A Noir with a plutonium twist!

While reporter Larry Fleming (Keith Andes) prepares to cover the latest nuclear bomb test in the desert, he is called away to cover the escape of two dangerous convicts from prison including the gang leader Steve Hurley (Steven McNalley). Larry, and young hitchhiker Dottie (Jan Sterling) are among the hostages taken by Hurley. Hurley takes them all to the ghost town which is due to be nuked in a few hours time! Will Hurley let them escape in time in the question and it isn't looking too hot on that score...

A wonderfully dark little hostage drama with the hostages knowing that they are mere hours from a dose of instant sunshine. The film has some good (if sometimes uneven) performances and plenty of tension. The film is let down a bit by the actual nuclear blast though, some details of the weapon and it's effects were probably still classified at the time.

The Thirteenth Hour (1947)

Part of the Whistler series, an anthology of crime stories.

Steve (Richard Dix) owns a trucking firm and is on top of the world after Eileen (Karen Morley) agrees to marry him. 

However, later that night a series of misfortunes befalls him including of a lorry crash which costs him his licence and later accused of murdering a policeman! Steve finds out he has been framed by a diamond smuggling gang and must capture the gang to clear his name...

This is a fine crime film with a Noir feel. The story is good and well structured and the film has a good atmosphere. The performances are pretty good too. What the film's title has to do with the actual story is another mystery though.

Equinox (1970)

A creepy horror, low on budget but high on nonsense.

Four college friends (including Edward Connell and Barbara Hewitt) head into the woods to visit their professor. However, they find his house has been destroyed and Dr Waterman (Fritz Leiber Jr) is missing. What has been left behind is a mysterious book, when they read the book they find it is an occult tome and Waterman may have opened a portal to Hell. Opps!

A demon is now loose in the woods, posing as the park ranger (Jack Woods), and wants the book. He is willing to unleash a wave of hellish horrors on the four young people to get ahold of the book. The story is told in flashback.

This isn't that great a film, though the demons are a tasty bit of stop motion animation. The budget was minute but the film makers did manage to make the most of it.