HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Teri Hatcher is 50, Rick Baker is 64, Mary Woronov is 71, and Dewey Martin is 91.

TERROR FROM THE YEAR 5000 (1958) (DVD-R)

Revisiting one of my favorite sci-fi films.

A scientist and his assistant, located on a small island off the Florida coast contact a future race with their time projection experiments.

John Stratton is the young scientist who wants to push the experiment even further and when he does he is attacked by a hideous figure of a woman. The scratches she gives him are highly radioactive and he is put in the hospital, which he quickly leaves.

The female from the far future steals a nurses face and attempts to take the scientist back with her in order to have some pre-atomic war genes introduced into her society. Joyce Holden is the woman who tries to stop the invader from destroying the man she once loved, and Frederic Downs is the elder scientist who created the machine.

Lovely Salome Jens is the creature from the future, and she looks great when not mutated. This film is always overlooked when people talk of 50's horror films, an I am hoping in my lifetime to see this film get a proper DVD release.

CURSE OF THE SWAMP CREATURE 1966 (SINISTER CINEMA)

More Texas made horror from Larry Buchanan.

Remake of "Voodoo Woman", this low budget funfest stars Jeff Alexander as Dr. Trent, a mad scientist who is conducting secret experiments deep in the swamps of Texas in an effort to create life.

All seems to be going well until a small party from an oil company show up. Trent invites them to stay at his home and he introduces his sexy wife played by Francine York. he tells them she is mentally unbalanced and so nobody believes her when she tells them of the monsters he has created.

Members of the party meet their demise one by one until only one man is left, an that is Barry Rogers, played by none other than John Agar. He and the doctor's wife hit it off very well. Lucky bastard.

This is a fun film with very limited funds. The monster is somewhat cool looking an I love the fact the doctor throws the dead bodies into a swimming pool and then we see stock footage of gators in a swamp.

Great viewing for early Saturday mornings.

THE TOP 50 RELEASES OF 2014 ( PART 1)

Well, it's that time of year again when we count down the 50 best DVD an Blu-ray releases of the year. 2015 was a pretty good year for releases, and so here is part 1.

50...POSEIDON REX (ANDERSON DIGITAL).....A typical giant dinosaur film from 2014...not too bad however.

49...THE DEMONS (REDEMPTION)..A liberal dose of witchcraft, torture and sex from Jess Franco. It was good to see this finally out in an totally uncut form from Redemption.

48...THE THREE STOOGES COLLECTION (MILL CREEK)...Six classic films featuring the three masters of physical comedy. The prints are in excellent shape and the price was right for collectors.

47...GODZILLA TOKYO SOS/GODZILLA FINAL WARS (SONY)...The Blu-ray debut of the most famous of Japanese monsters was a very pleasant surprise this year, and Sony turned them all out in various sets.

46...GODZILLA VS DESTROYAH/GODZILLA VS. MEGAGASAURIUS (SONY)...Another great double bill on Blu-ray. Godzilla fans were really pleased with these.

45...MEGA SHARK VS. MECHA SHARK (THE ASYLUM)...A classic and fun monster romp from our friends at The Asylum. This film was good fun and packaged like a Japanese giant monster film.

44...NOSFERATU (SHOUT FACTORY)...Klaus Kinski stars as a bloodsucker who comes to England for new blood and brings terror and disease. Understated horror..well made. Good Blu-ray release.

43...GODZILLA VS. MECHA GODZILLA/GODZILLA VS. SPACE GODZILLA (SONY)...Another great double feature on Blu-ray with the big guy fighting to save the planet from various monsters.

42...CULT MOVIE MARATHON 2 (SHOUT FACTORY)...Shout and Timeless bring us four great films...Angels From Hell...Chatterbox....Naked Cage and Savage Island. All good fun and a great set from a great company.

41...JERRY WARREN COLLECTION VOL. 2 (VCI)...I know,,everyone thinks I'm crazy for including this, but I do love these films. The three movie set includes ATTACK OF THE MAYAN MUMMY, CREATURE OF THE WALKING DEAD, and HOUSE OF THE BLACK DEATH.

An there you have it...part 1 of my 50 best DVD releases of the year. Next Saturday will be 40-31

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Christina Lindberg is 64.

COMING ATTRACTIONS.....

Kino will be releasing the uncut version of the long awaited "Curse of The Crimson Alter" starring Boris Karloff, Christopher Lee and Barbara Steele.

This is the first time this film has ever been released in digital media in the US, and it is slated for a Blu-ray release in April.

GOLIATH AND THE DRAGON 1960 (ALPHA)

A very good muscle popper.

I do love my sword and sandal films, and this is one of the best. Mark Forest is Emilius a very powerful man who finds himself fighting an evil King named Eurystheus, played by Broderick Crawford.

Emilius has to fight three headed dogs, giant flying bats and a vicious dragon in order to save his people and the woman that he loves. Gaby Andre is Ismene, the woman Goliath (Emilius) loves.

A lot of people nit pick with this film, but I say it is enjoyable and a fun watch. Alpha actually had a good widescreen print they used and it looks fine. Crawford's voice is dubbed by someone else and that takes some getting use to, but all in all, this is a good film and one worth seeking out.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO.......

Morgan Brittnay is 63.

DEMON LOVER 1977 (DVD-R)

This movie just screams for a good DVD release.

A small group of people at a party anger a priest of the occult, so he brings forth a huge demon monster to kill them all one by one.

That is the very simple plot of this film, but it really goes much deeper. This is the work of director Donald Jackson, who has gone on to do other low budget gems such as "Hell Comes To Frogtown", but this is the one that started it all.

The demon monster is pretty cool looking, and like the rest of the film, it isn't easily forgotten. The acting isn't much but there are some great scenes such as the young woman who is apparently possessed by the demon running over her friend and her blood splatters all over the hood of the car.

This has has several retitling and the most common one is "Devil Master" on VHS. It exists in several different versions, but no matter which one you see, it is still a shock to the system. There is an 83 min. documentary called "Demon Lover Diary" which is far more shocking than the film. One of the people involved actually cut off their finger to get insurance money to help finance this thing!

Well anyway, if you get a chance you have to see this truly bizarre shocker from Michigan. You won;t forget it.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO....

Jeff Bridges is 65, Tyra Banks is 41, Tony Todd is 60, and Brooke Adams is 30.

SIN CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR 2014 (ANCHOR BAY)

A follow up to the original that took nine years to reach the screen.

This is a goo film in my opinion anyway. Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller co-directed this film that brings two of Miller's tales together into some new stories.

Mickey Rourke is Marv, who still walks around Sin City killing people and protecting sexy Nancy Callahan (Jessica Alba) from unsavory people in the place she works.

There is a lot of violence and murder with the inter connecting stories. Powers Booth has the most interesting role as Senator Roark, a very cruel and vicious politician that will stop at nothing to remain in power. His son was killed by a man named Hartigan in the original film. Hartigan is again played by Bruce Willis.

All I can say is I liked the film, found the characters very interesting and the story was easy to follow. Behind the scenes trouble has kept this out of the theaters for a long time, but it finally arrived and it may be the last one as it was not as successful as the first.

If you get a chance I would recommend you see it. The rest of the cast includes Josh Brolin, Rosario Dawson, Eva Green (in a great performance), Ray Liotta, and Christopher Lloyd.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO......

Holly Marie Combs is 41.

KISS KISS KILL KILL 1966 (RETROMEDIA)

The very first Kommisar X film with Tony Kendall and Brad Harris.

Kendall is Jo Walker and Harris is Tom Rowland, two investigators who are looking into the murders of several politicians and scientists.

They soon find that a group of super hit women are behind the plot to take over the world. Again, there is a lot of action and adventure in this film as well as euro babes such as Maria Perschy and Christa Linder.

The plots for all of these films are very simple an they were simply made to cash in on the Jame Bond films that were the talk of the world. Kendall and Harris do a great job together as the two men who are thrown into incredible situations.

This is the first of three films based on "Kommisar X" by John Island, an it it considered the best. If you like action and adventure I am sure you'll go for these. The presentation from Retromedia is good. The prints sometimes look a little worn, but hey, that's the way we all saw these back in the day, so enjoy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO......

Britney Spears is 33, Cathy Lee Crosby is 70, Arch Hall, Jr. is 71, and Lucy Liu is 46,

SO DARLING SO DEADLY 1966 (RETROMEDIA)

Fun 60's spy film.

Tony Kendall and Brad Harris are two super spies who must help a scientist who has created a filter that can increase the power of a laser to a death ray.

A top criminal organization wants the device and will stop at nothing to get it. Kendall is Jo Walker and Harris is Tom Rowland, both work together very well. There are plenty of fist fights and gun play to keep action fans happy.

Barbara Frey is one of the many euro babes on display in this film. During this time period a lot of these kinds of films were made to cash in on the James Bond films which were highly popular at the time.

If you like 60's action and adventure you might like this film. It is one of three movies based on "Kommisar X" by John Island.