I’m a bit early this week, but that’s because there are A LOT of great titles coming out this Tuesday. And rather than spend a whole afternoon, I figured I’d get an early start and just do this all tonight. You’ll see what I mean as you read this list.
[B]Altered States /B- The Late 1970’s to the early 1980’s were a very interesting time for Science Fiction movies. Spurred on by the success of Star Wars, many Science Fiction projects were greenlit. And a few of them went into some surprisingly dark places. Whether this was to counter-program the optimism of Star Wars and the resurgent interest in Star Trek (thanks to the release of The Motion Picture), or just because studios and filmmakers just felt emboldened by Star Wars’ success and felt they now had the means to tackle such subject matter in a Science Fiction setting would be subject for a whole book. But we did get some interesting movies out of the next few years. Ridley Scott melded Science Fiction with Horror in Alien, John Frankenheimer’s Prophecy gave us an environmental cautionary tale, Outland will be discussed further, even Disney got into the act with the unexpectedly dark The Black Hole. And finally there’s Altered States.
Based on the novel by Paddy Chayefsky, Altered States stars William Hurt as Edward Jessup, a psychology professor studying the effects of sensory deprivation and other states of consciousness. Through studying the behavior of paranoid schizophrenics, he comes to believe that they are somehow tapped-in to another state of consciousness. He later meets an Anthropologist named Emily (Blair Brown), and the two marry and start a family. But over the years, Jessup becomes increasingly obsessed with his studies, eventually incorporating powerful hallucinogenic drugs into his isolation tank sessions. And he begins to believe that his experiences are bringing him closer to the beginnings of creation, and perhaps into the mind of God himself.
But Jessup’s sessions are also beginning to put his body through bizarre physical transformations as well. And as he becomes more obsessed, he distances himself from his family and colleagues. And they must try to pull him back from the brink before his experiments literally consume him.
The film was directed by Ken Russell (Tommy, Lair of the White Worm). And since Jessup’s hallucinations play a significant part in the story, it allows Russell the opportunity to let his signature visual style go to town. William Hurt turns in one of his best performances here as the well-meaning scientist obsessed on his quest for ultimate knowledge. Blair Brown is also great as his wife, not fully understanding what her husband is going through, but knows on some level his life is in danger and is determined to save him. And Bob Balaban and Charles Haid play his skeptical, but still intrigued colleagues who are curious to know what Jessup may discover. The movie also features a very young Drew Barrymore in one of her earliest roles as Hurt’s and Brown’s daughter. Blink and you’ll miss her.
This is one of my all-time favorite films. It doesn’t get much better than this. The creators of the show Fringe have even acknowledged this movie as one of the show’s main influences. And after seeing this movie, it’s easy to see the connections. That they cast one of its stars, Blair Brown, in the recurring role of Nina Sharp was probably the most obvious. I highly recommend this one. Check out the trailer below…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbYT3UclhNY
Outland (Blu-Ray)- Sean Connery plays a Marshall who has just been assigned to a mining colony on Jupiter’s moon of Io. When the deaths of several miners are reported, each of them having exhibited suicidal and psychotic behavior, Connery begins to investigate. His search ultimately leads him to the facility’s corrupt Administrator (Peter Boyle), who it turns out has been deliberately giving the miners an amphetamine-like drug to increase productivity. But when Connery tries to expose the Administrator, he finds many of the colony’s personnel - with the exception of its doctor (Frances Sternhagen) - unwilling to help him. When the Administrator decides that Connery is more trouble than he’s worth, he sends for a group of contract killers to put him down for good.
In case you haven’t figured it out already, the movie is a retelling of High Noon in outer space. And it works really well. Outland was both directed and written by Peter Hyams; an underrated filmmaker who has made a string of solid and entertaining Sci-Fi films. In addition to Outland, he also directed the 2001: A Space Odyssey sequel 2010, Capricorn One, The Relic, Timecop and A Sound of Thunder. Outland is considered by many, though, to be his best work. Check out the trailer below…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ez2XfvN8XSc
[B]Brainstorm /B- Another minor classic from the early 1980’s. Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood are a husband and wife scientist team who, along with Louise Fletcher, have developed a device that is capable of recording other people’s experiences and enabling others to play them back; an idea that in a way foreshadows the concept of virtual reality. When Fletcher’s character suddenly dies and records her death experience on the machine, the project is suspended. Later the military decides to appropriate the device, which Walken learns would be used by them as a form of torture and mind control. Walken and Wood must try to reconcile their marriage while trying to keep the device out of the hands of the military, and find out from Fletcher’s recording just what lies beyond.
The film features strong performances by all the cast, which also includes Cliff Robertson. Louise Fletcher would get an Oscar Nomination for her performance. But more significantly, this would mark the last performance of Natalie Wood, who tragically drowned during filming.
Brainstorm also marked the directorial debut of Douglas Trumbull, who supervised the special effects of such classic movies as 2001: A Space Odyssey, Silent Running, Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Blade Runner. Brainstorm had been originally intended to showcase a knew projection technique called Showscan, which could now be considered an early forerunner of IMAX. But the budget proved too prohibitive to implement it on most movie screens at the time.
[B]Coma /B- Another late '70s/early '80s Sci-Fi thriller, this one based on the novel by Robin Cook, who’s made a career of writing medical thrillers. Genevieve Boujold plays a nurse who finds that several comatose patients have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. With the help of her boyfriend (Michael Douglas), she discovers that the patients are rendered brain-dead by pumping carbon monoxide into their respiratory supply. They are then transferred to a special facility where their bodies are suspended by wires to await organ harvesting.
Blade II (Blu-Ray)- The second, and in my opinion, the best of the Blade movies. Guillermo Del Toro being the director, I think, was probably a very big factor in that. Out now for the first time on Blu-Ray.
Spawn (Blu-Ray)- From one of the best superhero movies, to one of the worst, adapted from the Todd MacFarlane comic. Features Martin Sheen in one of his most embarrassing performances, and John Leguizamo in one of his most annoying as the Violator. Avoid.
Adventure Time, Season 1- The cult hit from Cartoon Network. Have never seen it myself. But in case there are any fans, I just wanted you to know it was out there.
Earthworm Jim, The Complete Series- One of the more overlooked cartoons of the ‘90s is out now in DVD. I’ve always liked the Earthworm Jim video games, so I was glad that the cartoon retained those games’ oddball sense of humor. Dan Castellaneta (The Simpsons), plays Jim here. Along with his sidekick Peter Puppy, who as anyone knows from the games has some unique anger-management issues, he defends the universe and his love, Princess What’s-Her-Name, from such colorful villains as Psy-Crow; Evil the Cat; Bob the Goldfish; Professor Monkey-For-A-Head, and The Evil Queen Pulsating, Bloated, Festering, Sweaty, Stinky, Pus-filled, Malformed, Slug-for-a-Butt!
Jem, Season 3- More truly outrageous antics from everyone’s favorite cartoon '80s band. While not a fan, I’ll admit I’m a little bit curious to find out what Hasbro has in store for this character’s relaunch.
G.I. Joe, Season 2- The second season of the classic “A Real American Hero” series of the '80s.
Warehouse 13, Season 3- At this point, Warehouse 13 is the only reason for me to keep watching SyFy. And while the last season faltered a bit, it still had its moments.
Doctor Who: Death to the Daleks- The Third Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith land on the planet Exxilon, during what turns out to be a crucial time in the universe: a deadly plague is sweeping through space, affecting humans and Daleks alike. And expeditionary forces from both sides have landed on the planet, which is rich in a mineral called Parrinium that can provide a cure.
However, Exxilon has a strange property that drains energy from all mechanical devices, as the TARDIS has stopped functioning and the Daleks find that their Extermination beams no longer work. The answer lies in the Exxilon’s city, whose computer A.I. has developed a life of its own. And the Doctor and Sarah find themselves in a three-way struggle between the humans, the Daleks and the native Exxilons.
Doctor Who: The Krotons- The Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe land on a planet inhabited by a race called the Gonds, who are oppressed by the more technically advanced Krotons. The Krotons periodically take the more intelligent of the Gonds, to serve as “companions.” And when Zoe accidentally uses one of the Krotons’ teaching machines, she is selected as the latest candidate. The Doctor and Jamie must try to rescue their friend, and end up assisting the Gonds in a revolt against their masters.
Whew! That was a lot to go through! Until next time…