Corvette Summer

Corvette Summer ~ I guess it's impossible to relay to those who weren't there at the time just how huge this dumb little movie was when it came out. Corvette Summer was Mark Hamill's first film after Star Wars, and his much anticipated non-Luke Skywalker debut.

In the eighth grade, this was the biggest movie of the summer, period, and must see. If you didn't see it, you just weren't cool. I guess that's why I finally saw it on a Friday night on ABC-TV. It is worth noting that as I remember it, no one was really talking about this flick after they saw it. It's not Shakespeare, but I wouldn't be as rash to say it was all that bad either.

Other than Mark Hamill as a possibly slow high school shop jock, and Annie Potts in her film debut as a 'prostitute in training,' Corvette Summer is pretty much just a pretty typical teenage romp. It had a bit more heart than most, and could have easily been a TV movie of the week, but it wasn't bad.

Surprisingly it follows the Hero's Journey template as Luke, I mean Mark, tracks the shop class' prize Corvette Stingray across country to Las Vegas, where he learns some hard truths.

Annie Potts is fun, and look out for an awkwardly older Danny Bonaduce, there's also a cast of great 1970s TV and film character actors. Hamill is good, but after all these years I still wonder if his character is just mental because he's so obsessed with finding the car, or if he's just mental, period.

Corvette Summer was harmless and enjoyable, and a nice time capsule to high school and the seventies. I dug it then, and I dig it now.

The Twonky

This bizarre comedy science fiction gem from 1953 was directed, produced, and co-written by Arch Oboler, who was the genius behind the brilliant radio series "Lights Out."

Hans Conreid has to contend with an apparently sentient TV set that is delivered after his wife goes away on trip. The TV lights cigarettes, does the dishes, creates money, even brainwashing, and much much more. And much like a woman, it will not be ignored.

The TV, called the Twonky (something you don't know what it is) by Conreid's friend, Coach Trout, played by Billy Lynn, annoys the heck out of Conreid by being helpful. The coach is an added source of amusement, for me at least, because he keeps comparing women to French fried potatoes, and as you may or may not know, I also write French Fry Diary.

The Twonky is a nice little movie with a good cast that manages to stay the fun and whimsical side of creepy. Fun, worth watching.

Nuclear Family

I know I am late to the party on this one as it was made two years ago. But let's be honest, how often does anyone peruse the Syfy website or phone app? Unless they're looking for the next giant crocodile movie starring Debbie Gibson - nobody. Nobody but me, I suppose.

"Nuclear Family" stars Corin Nemec as the dad, who along with his wife are searching for their son in a post nuclear apocalypse world. They were on the brink of divorce as they see the mushroom cloud, the ties that bind, eh?

However, nothing is ever as it seems in this terrific plot-twisting mini-mini-series. Ray Wise, who previously and delightfully played The Devil in "Reaper," is the prime bad guy here as well. His evil is delicious and Emmy worthy.

Like the other SyFy online mini I loved, "The Mercury Men," I wish they would make more programming like this, and actually broadcast it.

The Big Brother Racists

I haven't really talked about "Big Brother" this year, mostly because I've been bored by it. There was no one I liked, no one I wanted to root for. They even included Rachel's sister in the cast this season. One would think, as a Rachel fan, I'd be excited, but no. Please take this the wrong way, but her sister, Elissa, is just Rachel with all the charisma and sexiness removed. And her personality consists of just her being Rachel's sister. Yawn.

There is even a new twist with the eviction process, an added candidate, but none of it was really enough to catch my attention. It really comes down to cast. Cast someone I'll want to like, not a bunch of bland rejects from "90120" auditions. No one here clicked for me.

Then something happened, something both exciting, and fully explaining why I didn't like anyone. There wasn't anyone to like, except for a couple racists, whom are just built for the audience to hate. Trouble is, we haven't been privy to their hate until just recently. Now CBS has opened the doors to reveal these imbeciles to the world.

Houseguests Aaryn, and to a lesser extent, Ginamarie, have been showing their 'true colors' as they have made serious anti-Asian, anti-black, and anti-gay remarks about their fellow houseguests. Really? A twenty-two year old with views like this? I am shocked in this day and age. Are there really monsters like this still walking around in America? Thank the gods she has lost her job while in the house. At least someone is clear thinking.

Now I have a reason to watch "Big Brother" this season, and someone very specific to root against, boo, hiss, and wish misfortunes upon. Don't cry, Aaryn, maybe the neo-Nazis are looking for a new cover girl…



I cannot wait for Aaryn's exit interview …with Julie…

Prometheus

Prometheus ~ First things first, get any notion out of your head that this flick has anything to do with the Alien series. It may, but waiting for those bits that connect it, or even expecting them, will lessen your enjoyment of this otherwise fairly good scifi horror. It's Ridley Scott, it's terror in space, but Alien it is not.

Motivated by ancient cave drawings, a space mission in the future travels to a distant planet described in those drawings. The assumption is this is where to find the origin of man, our creators, who the scientists in charge call The Engineers. Yes, it's vague, and attempts are made to explain it along the way, but in the end it gets us to the planet, and starts the action moving.

The Prometheus and its crew land on the planet, explore an abandoned complex full of dead Engineers and one by one get picked off by various horrors from within and without in Alien-like suspense. Ghosts, monsters, mystery goo, infections, its all here. There is also the obligatory robot we don't know whether to trust or not. Paranoia is the name of the game, and Scott does it well.

Now for the cringeworthy spoiler alert and reason you might not want to see this flick. After being quite suddenly impregnated, Noomi Rapace (from the original, and superior, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo), playing a character named Dr. Elizabeth Shaw (yeah, I couldn't get the Doctor Who reference out of my head either), gives herself an abortion. It is every bit as horrifying, and more so, as it sounds. Definitely one of the hardest things for me to watch in a movie in quite some time. Consider yourself warned.

There's a terrific ensemble cast including Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Benedict Wong, Guy Pearce, and the always terrific Idris Elba. Can that man do no wrong? There's also Sean Harris, who played the assassin Micheletto, the best thing about Showtime's "The Borgias." He is equally as good at scene stealing here too.

Worth seeing, but with several provisos, you have been warned.