Army in Space and Under the Sea (1971)

With US astronauts on the Moon, the US Army decided it needed to explain it's role in the fantastic achievement. So, this interesting though rather dry documentary was made to highlight the US Army's role in space exploration and underwater salvage operations. 

With a slightly quirky and jaunty soundtrack, various rockets and missiles are shown as well as special facilities built by the Army for developing things like the astronauts' spacesuits. Interesting archive footage of exciting times. It is literally out of this world though the film is ironically a bit pedestrian.

Above Us the Waves (1955)

A classic British war film, stiff upper lips in the face of certain death, but just time for a cup of tea first. The German battleship, the Tirpitz, must be destroyed but it is hiding deep in a Norwegian fjord. Commander Fraser (John Mills) concocts a plan using human torpedoes to attack the ship. Admiral Ryder (James Robertson Justice) thinks it is a folly but when Fraser's team plant dummy charges on his own ship he decides to give the go-ahead.

With a plucky team of heroes including Duffy (John Gregson) and Corbett (Donald Sinden), Fraser makes his attack but it fails even before they reach the Tirpitz. There is a plan B though, with midget submarines. Three of which make an attack, penetrating deep into German occupied territory, evading patrol boats and torpedo nets...

A very tense film, especially during the actual attack. Submarines are always claustrophobic but a midget submarine where you can't move without risking kicking a comrade in the head are even more so. The film is based on real events and is a fitting tribute to the sheer courage needed to perform such deeds.

End of the Art World (1971)

The late 1960s art scene in New York, one of the coolest places in the universe. This universe is portrayed in this quirky little documentary. It certainly has a galaxy of stars of the art scene including Roy Liechtenstein, Robert Rauschenberg and of course Andy Warhol. 

It also at times so jarring a watch it can feel like the end of the world. Experimental film making is all very well though sometimes can be a bit tiring. As a historical document this can't be faulted though, the art and the artists were fantastic. As were the times.

Yongary, Monster from the Deep (1967)

The South Korean Godzilla, bought to life by a nuclear explosion. A mysterious earthquake travels across South Korea before Yongary finally emerges and starts doing the usual monster thing of destroying flimsy model buildings. 

It is quite some time until we get to Yongary though, the first part of the film can drag a bit and includes a couple of newly weds menaced by Icho (Kwan Ho Lee), an annoying child, who borrows secret technology from the lab which has a conspicuous lack of security. For some vague reason the wedding night is ruined by the groom being ordered into space. While he is up in orbit radio contact is lost and the earthquakes begin. Finally, Yongary emerges from the Earth. Yongary is largely immune to conventional firepower, though doesn't like a certain chemical...

The film is great fun once Yongary makes his appearance and we get the usual scenes of destruction, terrible looking tank and helicopter models, and people running in terror. The film doesn't make a great deal of sense (for example the scientist Illo (Oh Yeong-il) taking his girlfriend (Nam Jeong-im) along with him on a helicopter flying above the fire breathing monster as if its some kind of day trip!) however is a decent entry in the genre.

The Goat (1921)

A hilarious Buster Keaton comedy short. Buster is down on his luck, things get even worse for him when he is pursued by the police. Things get even even worse when notorious murderer Dead Shot Dan (Malcolm St Clair) escapes prison and, due to an unfortunate mix-up, Buster's face appears on the wanted posters!

Buster seeks refuge with Virginia Fox, and she takes him home. There is just one problem, she is the police chief's (Joe Roberts) daughter!

A series of very funny comedy scenes and plenty of slap stick and visual gags. Intelligence and a dose of surrealism elevates this above most comedies. The work of a genius (of course!)

Enemy Mine (1985)

One of the better science-fiction films from the 1980s, it starts off all laser guns blazing as a bit of passable space opera nonsense but when Davidge (Dennis Quaid) is marooned on a hostile planet the film changes (and improves) dramatically. He sets off in search of the Drac enemy he shot down though tables are soon turned when he ends up the prisoner of Jeriba (Louis Gossett Jr).

However, to survive on the planet the two must work together and friendship blossoms as they struggle against meteorite storms and vile predatory creatures. They learn each other's language and culture, though Jeriba seems to think Mickey Mouse is a prominent Human philosopher. Maybe he was?

Jeriba gives birth and dies, Dravidge brings up the child (Bumper Robinson) as his nephew. Then a slaver ship led by the brutal Stubbs (Brion James) lands on the planet...

Although the film is bookended by sci-fi action, the bulk of the film is an intelligent exploration of what really makes a person and how two enemies can have more in common than different. The film had a troubled start, the director being changed during filming, the new director starting again from scratch! Despite this, the film has some magic to it.

Scared to Death (1947)

A rather strange film, and not very good though notable for being the only colour film Bela Lugosi starred in. We start in the morgue with a young woman on the slab, the coroner trying to work out how she was killed. The film then goes into flashback and we find out the young woman is Laura (Molly Lamont), estranged from her husband but still living with her father-in-law Dr Van Ee (George Zucco) though seemingly in conflict with everyone.

Laura is becoming increasingly paranoid that her husband Ward (Roland Varno) is out to get her and is being slowly driven mad. She is also dead set against being blindfolded. Strange things continue to occur, including the arrival of a hypnotist (Lugosi) and his Dwarf (Angelo Rossito), Laura receives a dummy head in a box, and what is this green masked face which begins to appear in the windows?

With awkward dialogue, frequently fluffed, the film is that well made, the story is also rather cheesy and cliche with some dubious humour and characters who don't really do anything (including the Dwarf!) However, it is great fun if you like bad films. Lugosi treats the nonsense as it should be, in his own well-worn style. Though his presence in the film is a bit of a red herring. 

The film is worth persevering with, as the final twists are excellent. The film finally gets into high gear in the final few minutes after spending the preceding hour at a slow trot.