18) End of the World (1977)

(1out of 5)

"Unfortunately, there is no more time!"

Director

John Hayes

Cast
Christopher Lee - Fr. Pergado

Kirk Scott - Prof. Andrew Boran
Sue Lyon - Sylvia Boran
Dean Jagger - Ray Collins
Lew Ayres - Commander Joseph Beckerman
Macdonald Carey - John Davis
Liz Ross - Sr. Patrizia

After previously reviewing a bunch of more appreciated and well-remembered science fiction movies from the 1980s that current audiences seem to recall fondly, it's time to get to some the best of the worst shlocky and cheesy movies sci-fi has to offer. These are the movies I really created this platform for.

After a trip to Omaha a couple weeks ago, and visiting one of my favorite bookstores, "Half-Price Books," I found a set of 50 sci-fi movies packaged as "Nightmare Worlds." And among these 50 "Nightmare World" movies was the 1977 sci-fi you never heard of, "End of the World."

Released by a company called Mill Creek Entertainment, I often stumble upon these 50-film sets and have a few of the horror and thriller collections in my movie library. They're the only way to acquire some of these hard-to-find, "so bad, they're good" flicks people once thought needed to be filmed. These sets often run on the cheap side, especially when they're used sets which they normally are. These sets come in basically all genres. The movie quality is often poor. There's no digital enhancements or quality improvement. They're often too dark, grainy, and with poor sound quality. Yet, they still manage to be appealing. Chalk it up to good marketing, I guess?

Mill Creek Entertainment DVD collections might look sophisticated in a movie library, but the movies they normally include you wouldn't find in a $5 Walmart bin. 

So, why have I bought a few of these collections despite the negativities? I think its the appeal, and the feel that they're a deal. A sucker and his money are quickly parted.

So far, they're just plain B-movies with an emphasis on "plain." Not that I expected anything more. Still, I might just get one more set. And yes, I plan to watch as many of them as I can, if not all of them.

In the movie "End of the World," some actor named Kirk Scott plays Prof. Andrew Boran who works for NASA and is looking into unusual radio signals floating around space. The really unusual part is that these signals seem to be coming from Earth. What's even more unusual is that the signals are predicting severe natural disasters taking place around the globe. 

Christopher Lee, Kirk Scott and Sue Lyon doing absolutely nothing
in "End of the World."

Andrew pinpoints the source of the signals and goes to that precise location to check it out. Of course, like all NASA scientists tend to do, he takes his wife Sylvia (Sue Lyon) with him. It turns out the signals are emanating from a Catholic convent where a community of nuns are living. 

A Catholic priest named Fr. Pergado (Christopher Lee) is the chaplain for these sisters. 

What Kirk doesn't realize is that the sisters along with Fr. Pergado are actually aliens from a utopian planet plotting to destroy Earth through several natural disasters. These aliens replaced the actual nuns as well as Fr. Pergado and have taken on their appearances.

Zindar, the leader of this alien species, is posing as the priest. When he finally reveals his true identity, he tells Andrew and Sylvia that Earth has to be destroyed because it's nothing but a source of disease and violence. It's making the entire galaxy look bad, so it has got to go. 

Zindar, however, holds Sylvia hostage as a way to force Andrew to steal a crystal from NASA which he needs to transport himself and his alien pals back to their utopian planet. Andrew has no choice. 

He steals the crystal and surrenders it to Zindar. 

There's really nothing Andrew nor Sylvia can do to save their planet and the millions of people who are unaware of what's really going on with this surge of natural disasters. 

So, they don't do anything. In fact, Zindar, proving he's not such a bad alien despite destroying a cloister of holy nuns and their parish priest. and then working to destroy an entire planet and all the innocent people living on it, invites Andrew and Sylvia to live on his utopian home planet and learn their utopian ways. He thinks with their intelligence, they might be an asset to his people. 

With barely an ounce of guilt or sadness, they agree and beam themselves up to this alien planet after Zindar and the other aliens return. 

Then, Earth explodes. The end! 

The movie lives up to its title, at least. 

Movies like "End of the World" are the reason why the series "Mystery Science Theater 3000" exists- to give forgotten, and quite often deservedly so, movies some much needed substance.

Christopher Lee is the only worthwhile presence in this flick. Everything else us dull, except for a few explosion scenes. 

It's worth noting that Sue Lyon is famous for her role as Lolita in Stanley Kubrick's 1962 movie "Lolita." 

However, Lyon, along with her co-star Kirk Scott don't do much of anything in this movie. They don't

Sue Lyon, Liz Ross, and Kirk Scott.

even act. They just talk, and then barely react, and then talk some more. 

You'd think their characters would do everything they possibly could think of to save their planet. They barely even try to formulate a plan outside of leaving the convent and flag down a passing motorist. Once that leads to absolutely nowhere, they give up. I guess I failed to mention that Zindar can control things with his mind and when they flag down that passerby, he blows up the car and its driver with his mental ability. 

So, the two protagonists ditch Earth to go live in the utopian alien world with the same aliens who made Andrew and Sylvia an endangered species. If you can't beat them.... 

They're complete sell outs, and all that's left for them is making more humans on this new planet they're going to have to call home. 

It's a story that brings Douglas Adams' book "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" to mind. Andrew and Sylvia are like Arthur and Trillian after Earth is destroyed in that story.  

Except in this movie, we really don't know what happens to the last of the earthlings once they ditch the planet they barely lifted a finger to defend. 

For an oddball sci-fi movie starring the talented and exception Christopher Lee, "End of the World" is boring and uneventful. The movie thinks its bold and daring, mixed in with explosions and such. 

My copy of this movie has terrible picture quality as I mentioned above regarding the 50 movie sets. There's so much shadow and night shots, I couldn't tell what was happening. And it's all talk and no action. Not even Christopher Lee could make this movie worthwhile, though his performance is nothing short of fantastic. He's the only actor who emotes. The two main characters can't even bother to act shocked or scared. The movie almost doesn't deserve Christopher Lee's presence. 

"End of the World" plays out like a vintage thrift store paperback turned movie, and shot verbatim. It if was a book, at least my own imagination would fill in what's lacking in the movie. If only "End of the World" got the Mystery Science Theater 3000 treatment. That would have made it worth watching!

17) Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)

(2.5 's out of 5)

"I never noticed how important it is to be seen."

Director

John Carpenter

Cast
Chevy Chase - Nick Halloway
Daryl Hannah - Alice Monroe
Sam Neill - David Jenkins
Michael McKean - George Talbot
Stephen Tobolowsky - Warren Singleton
Jim Norton - Dr. Bernard Wachs
Pat Skipper - Morrissey


Despite the term "invisible man" in the title of the 1992 sci-fi comedy "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" as well as the movie's obvious nod to Director James Whale's 1933 movie based on the book "The Invisible Man" by H.G. Wells, I have to emphasize the word "an" also in the title. It's the memoirs of "an" invisible man. It's not "the" invisible man. 

The character that is the Invisible Man tends to be linked horror despite Well's story being a science fiction book. The 1933 film maintains a bit of that science fiction feel. The 2020 remake of "The Invisible Man" has a much heavier sci-fi tone than the original film. Yet they're both thought of more as horror movies likely due to Both versions keep the story's dramatic side, however.  

"Memoirs of an Invisible Man" is based on the novel of the same name by H.F. Saint which has been described as a thriller. Regardless, this movie has all the feels of science fiction with thrilling elements thrown in. So, I'm posting my thoughts about it on this platform. 

In this movie Chevy Chase plays stock analyst Nick Halloway who's working out in San Francisco. After work one evening, he heads to his favorite high-end club for a drink.
There, he runs into his buddy, George Talbot (Michael McKean). George introduces Nick to a friend of his, Alice Monroe (Daryl Hannah) whom Nick takes a keen interest in. 

She works as a documentary producer and the two hit it off really well. In fact, they both set up a lunch date. 

Nick ends up getting drunk that night, and has a nasty hangover the next morning, Still, he has to get to a company shareholders meeting at Magnascopic Laboratories. 

During the meeting, he sneaks off to find a place to sleep off some of his hangover. He finds a quiet spot in someone's empty office. 

Meanwhile, some lab tech accidentally spills his coffee on a computer, which causes a shortage that leads to a small explosion. 

Some kind of fluke of science occurs resulting in parts of the building turning completely invisible, including Nick.

This odd situation grabs the attention of corrupt CIA agent, David Jenkins (Sam Neill), along with other agents, while they investigate the invisible building. 

Nick panics as he tries to wrap his head around what just happened to him. After all, he suddenly can't see himself as he moves objects around. Jenkins sees these objects moving by themselves, obviously meaning someone turned invisible. 

They rescue the invisible Nick out of the building and place him in an ambulance. 

While he's in the ambulance, one of the agents makes a comment about how Nick will be studied by scientists for the rest of his life. 

Naturally, Nick freaks out even more at this notion and escapes. 

Rather than inform CIA headquarters, Jenkins decides to pursue Nick and turn him into the ultimate CIA secret agent. 

Nick goes on the run, trying to hide from Jenkins and his CIA stooges. They've already broke into his apartment in an attempt to locate Nick. So it's no longer safe there. Instead, he hides at the club, and then approaches Dr. Bernard Wachs (Jim Norton), who was speaking at shareholders meeting at the time of the incident, to ask him if he can reverse his invisibility. 

From there, he hides out inside George's beach house out near San Francisco, unbeknownst to George. In fact, no one except Jenkins knows he's invisible. They don't know what has become of Nick.  

Jenkins gets a hold of Nick's background information and considers him a nobody - somebody who was already invisible before he literally became so. 

Nick sneaks into Jenkins office, which is more like a villain hideout, and tries to see what information they have on himself. 

Jenkins eventually figures out Nick is in there and tries to talk him into recruitment. But Nick is appalled at the thought of killing people. 

However, Jenkins goes out of his way capture Nick and force him into the CIA's service. Meanwhile, Nick frantically tries to figure out a way to live as an invisible man, and be able to support himself in this unfortunate situation. He reveals himself to Alice shortly after she, along with George and a couple of their friends, suddenly arrive at the beach house for a vacation. They have no idea he's as they settle in for a few days. 

The only interesting parts of the movie are Chevy Chase function as an invisible man, and the early special effects that surround that, as well as watching the two main characters work out a 

Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah in "Memoirs of
an Invisible Man."

relationship under these unusual circumstances. 

A lot of those invisible man details are clever, such as one scene in which the audience can see cigarette smoke fill Nick's lungs. In another scene, Nick sees the Chinese food he's eating start digesting in his stomach, which makes him throw up. 

Everything else in the story seems contrived, which is weird when considering the movie is about an invisible man. Sam Neill's CIA character, and the entire villainous CIA agents, act more like mafia thugs than actual agents. They get in the way of the story, despite the sense it makes that government officials would take keen interest in a man who's suddenly invisible. This plot point is badly written. 

In fact, if the CIA agents weren't so villainous nor such a big part of the story, and the film focused more on Chase trying to function as an invisible man along with Daryl Hannah's character trying to work out their relationship, the movie would be more memorable and entertaining. With Chase being cast in the lead role, less chasing would leave more room for him to be the comedian he's good at being. The way the story is, he's forced to focus more on surviving and escaping capture than throw in more comedy. It also doesn't give Chase and Hannah enough time to work off of each other. What a shame!

The movie doesn't need this evil, sinister antagonist from beginning to end. 

All "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" has to depend on for its entertainment value is the invisible man parts, and the special effects.  

16) Starman (1984)

(3 's out of 5)

"Please come and visit our planet Earth!" 

Director

John Carpenter

Cast
Jeff Bridges - Scott Hayden / Star Man
Karen Allen - Jenny Hayden
Charles Martin Smith - Mark Shermin
Richard Jaeckel - George Fox
Robert Phalen - Major Bell
Tony Edwards - Sergeant Lemon
John Walter Davis - Brad Heinmuller
Ted White - Deer Hunter


If our government... heck, if several governments around the world got together and sent a message into the vast spaces of space inviting whomever is out there to come visit Earth, and someone from another planet accepted that invitation and showed up, these governments would probably welcome them with a lot of firepower. If aliens are visiting us, that's probably why they do so cautiously and secretly. Such a global welcome wagon doesn't seem far-fetched and alies are too smart to put it past us.

On a personal note, I've unwittingly focused on sci-fi movies about charming and likeable aliens released during the 1980s in my last few reviews. Maybe I ought to toss in a few movies with hostile aliens trying to take over Earth and ruin everyone's good time. Remember in "Ghostbusters II" when Dr. Venkman (Bill Murray's character) said, "And that is the whole problem with aliens, is you just can't trust them. Occasionally you meet a nice one: Starman, E.T. But usually they turn out to be some kind of big lizard!"

John Carpenter's 1986 sci-fi romance "Starman" is a movie that pops up in conversation from time to time. Not often but comes up.  

In this movie, Marion Ravenwood from "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and...uhh... the last two Indiana Jones movies, "Crystal Skull" and "Dial of...weak characters," hooks up with "the Dude" from "The Big Lebowski" who's actually an alien from Alienland. 

In 1977, in "Starman" time, a space probe is launched carrying a gold LP. That's a record for anyone who has no idea what an LP is. This record has a message inviting any alien civilizations with record players that might exist out there to come visit Earth. 

Well, an alien civilization picks up the invitation and accepts the offer.

Karen Allen and Jeff Bridges in "Starman."

So, they send a scout to Earth to see if it's safe to visit and worth their time, because these aliens aren't stupid. To nobody's surprise, the U.S. Government shoots down the alien scout spacecraft, which was sent to make contact with earthlings. 

The ship crashes somewhere in Wisconsin. 

The alien scout, which looks like a ball of glowing energy, makes its way into the home of Jenny Hayden (Karen Allen). She's a widow living on her own.

While she's asleep, it rummages through some photo albums of her late husband Scott (Jeff Bridges). She keeps a lock of his hair in her album. The alien extracts some of her husband's DNA from that lock of hair, and is able to take his form. 

Jenny witnesses the alien's quick development from baby to grown man right in her own living room. Once the shock where's off, she thinks this thing that looks just like her deceased husband  must be hostile. So, she tries to escape.

The only English this alien knows is what he and his race heard from the message sent by the government. 

He doesn't know how to ask Jenny to drive him from Wisconsin to a rendezvous point in Arizona to meet up with the head ship his people are sending to pick him up. He only has a few days to meet up with them, or they'll ditch him and he'll die. 

Jenny thinks he's kidnapping her and forcing her to drive him to Barringer Crater in Arizona. He finally reveals to Jenny that he means no harm, and is really a friendly entity. He's here to observe.

National Security Agency director George Fox (Richard Jaeckel) is able to determine that the spaceman's ship was initially heading to the Barringer Crater before being shot down. So, he sends scientist Mark Shermin (Charles Martin Smith), who helped develop the original invitation, to find the spaceman and capture him on behalf of the U.S. Government. 

Shermin manages to figure out that the spaceman is disguised as a human, and that he and Jenny are travelling across the U.S. towards Arizona.

Meanwhile, as Jenny and the Starman drive day and night to get to Arizona, the spaceman closely observes how people of Earth behave. He also has special alien powers, like the power of healing and reviving dead things. 

As expected, Jenny falls in love with him, which is understandable considering he's a clone of her deceased husband! The Starman, meanwhile, is a kind-hearted loveable alien who just wants to see how people on Earth behave, and do good things along the way, like revive a dead deer.

I have to take some points off for a weird sex scene that's presented as charming. Since the alien is basically a clone of Scott, he and Jenny have sex on board a box car. And afterwards, he tells her, "I gave you a baby tonight." It's awkward!

Earlier, Jenny told the alien she and Scott had tried to have a baby but couldn't due to medical issues.

So, since he has Scott's DNA, he says the baby is from both himself and from Scott's. The baby will have his huge alien intellect and special alien powers. It's creepy and anything but touching. 

Jeff Bridges doing weird alien things in "Starman."

Anyways, "Starman" is basically E.T. turned science fiction romance. The main character comes to Earth for a visit (like aliens tend to do) and then has to get back home quickly. 

The movie could easily go into the realm of being a silly fish-out-of-water flick, but it doesn't. It narrows things down between two characters and makes them interesting and memorable. It's a more personable and relatable film, with some feel-good elements. I'm not referring to that weird sex scene.  

How Karen Allen could maintain a straight face working alongside Jeff Bridges as he delivers his lines like he's impersonating an dubbed monster movie while moving his head like a timid canary deserves a round of applause. 

Director John Carpenter needs no introduction. He's directed some fantastic and popular movies. Carpenter is a legend in the realm of horror and sci-fi.  

I've mostly seen his horror movies, which is what Carpenter is best known for - "Halloween," "Christine," "In the Mouth of Madness," and "The Fog" to name a few titles, his science fiction movies don't normally go the route of romance. "The Thing," "They Live," and "Village of the Damned" are certainly not light-hearted feel-good sci-fi flicks. 

His 1992 comedy-drama "Memoirs of the Invisible Man" with Chevy Chase and Daryl Hannah, which I watched over 20 years ago, might be considered a bit similar to the kind of story "Starman" is as far as its romance is concerned. Carpenter's style is something I'm eager to dig into and discuss at some point. That'll be another post at another time. 

Until then, there's one or two more friendly alien movies from the 80s I plan to get to. Whether I do them next, or avert my attention to the hostile aliens, I haven't decided yet. 

15) Flight of the Navigator (1986)

(4.5 's out of 5)

"Compliance!" 

Director

Randal Kleiser

Cast

Joey Cramer - David Freeman
Veronica Cartwright - Helen Freeman
Cliff DeYoung - Bill Freeman
Sarah Jessica Parker - Carolyn McAdams
Matt Adler - Jeff Freeman (16 years old)

Albie Whitaker - Jeff Freeman (8 years old)
Howard Hesseman - Dr. Louis Faraday
Paul Mall (aka Paul Reubens) - voice of Max 

Disney's 1986 sci-fi adventure film, "Flight of the Navigator" is a movie I loved in my youth. 

I had the impression it was a movie not too many people noticed. If that was the case years ago, it seems to have been pulled from the ranks of minor obscurity where a number of Disney movies from the 1980s remain. It is a much appreciated and fondly remembered movie now, looked fondly upon with nostalgia. 

That certainly isn't the case with some of their other movies which Disney probably wants to keep hidden under the secretive Disney vault rug such as "Midnight Madness," and "The Devil and Max Devil" which I've mentioned before. 

The story begins in 1978, in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., as 12-year-old David Freeman (Joey Cramer) and his family are set to celebrate July 4th on their boat out in the water where they'll shoot off some fireworks. 

David has to go fetch his kid brother, Jeff (Albie Whitaker) at his friend's house. 

Walking through a wooded area, Jeff scares him by jumping out of a tree and then runs home. Before going home himself, David peers into a ravine, falls in and is knocked unconscious. 

Joey Cramer as David in "Flight of the Navigator."

When he wakes up and returns home, someone else is living in his house. His own family is nowhere to be found. 

David doesn't know that the year is 1986 and that he has been missing for eight years. 

When police reunite him with his family, he's shocked to find his family has aged, but he's still 12. His younger brother, Jeff, is now older than David. 

Meanwhile, an alien ship crashes into some power lines. NASA confiscates the ship and brings it back to the space center in Florida. 

While in the hospital for observation, doctors notice his brain wave patterns are creating images that match the design of the downed space craft. His brain is also filled with star charts.  

Dr. Louis Faraday (Howard Hesseman) over at NASA is told about the images coming out of David's head. He persuades David's parents to allow their son to spend 48-hours at NASA for observations, promising them he'll get answers as to where David has been the last eight years, and why he hasn't aged a day. 

By examining David's brain waves, Dr. Faraday and other NASA scientists deduce that the boy was taken to the planet Phaelon 560 light years from Earth. 

To get there, the ship travelled faster than the speed of light for over two hours. Time passed slowly on Earth causing everyone to age normally. For David, the trip was only a couple hours causing him to barely age at all. 

Faraday is going to need to break his 48-hour promise and keep David there longer.

The ship starts to telepathically communicate with David. 

He manages to sneak out of his room at NASA, thanks to the help of NASA intern Carolyn McAdams (Sarah Jessica Parker - yeah, she's in this), make his way to the hanger where the ship is being kept, and sneak onboard. 

David meets the ship's robotic commander (voiced by Paul Reubens, aka Pee-Wee Herman, who is credited as Paul Mall), which introduces itself as a Trimaxion Drone Ship. David calls the robot commander "Max" for short. 
And Max makes David the navigator. 

Max says that since humans use only 10 percent of their brains, he took David aboard to keep additional information needed for an experimental project inside his brain. Max has been travelling the spans of the galaxy to collect specimens from other planets. 

David agrees to undergo a mind transfer so Max can collect the information in his head. This introduces Max to human emotion and behavior. 

The two travel around the world, and out into space, as David tries to get back to his family.  

He wants to return to his own time when he was picked up. But Max thinks going back into time could prove deadly. 

"Flight of the Navigator" starts off on a serious, dramatic tone and then shifts into an adventure. 

It glides along the realm of goofiness, especially when Max transfers information from David's mind and starts speaking like Pee-Wee Herman. 

David also adopts one of the alien species called a Pukemaron collected on board the ship as his own personal pet/ sidekick. There's also a music sequence with "I Get Around" by the Beach Boys which might have been hip, or rad, or cool back in the 1980s. It's a sequence that didn't age well. Cheesy! But I'm happy to look past all that.

Thankfully, the silliness knows when to say when. In other words, the silly factor doesn't overstay its welcome. It entertains the kids in the audience for as long as it needs to, and then jumps back into the serious mode it needs. 

Joey Cramer gives a respectable performance. This works especially when his world is changed drastically completely at random, and he cannot wrap his head around why his life has changed. 

He makes David a sympathetic, memorable and very likeable character. It doesn't surprise me that fans of the movie have flocked to him at conventions and appearances all these years later.  

It's a well-performed fun family movie with decent special effects and a tight theme on the importance of family.

I don't know if "Flight of the Navigator" was an obscure sci-fi movie. Like a lot of movies from the same decade, it has since had a resurgence among nostalgic fans thanks to its inclusion on the streaming app, Disney+ as well as the 2020 documentary, "Life After the Navigator."

The "Trimaxion Drone" ship from "Flight of the Navigator" on
display at Hollywood Studios in Walt Disney World.

photo by Mike Sellman

Joey Cramer had a fall from grace after various arrests including one in 2016 in connection with a bank robbery up in Canada. But it looks as though he has amended his rough past and embraced the joy and thrill the now 38-year-old movie continues to give audiences. Kudos to Joey Cramer!

It's an innocent movie with a captivating plot. It's likeable. And like most off-the-radar movies, especially from Disney, "Flight of the Navigator" has its cult following. This following is well deserved.

Randal Kleiser has directed some favorited movies - "Grease," "The Blue Lagoon." "White Fang." and "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid." Not great films but enjoyed never-the-less. 

I give "Flight of the Navigator" a high rating due to its enjoyability, emotion, innocence, complexity alongside its simplicity, warmth, respectable special effects, and depictions of the importance of family. 

I recall seeing the Trimaxion Drone ship from "Flight of the Navigator" on the backlot tour at Disney World's Hollywood Studios back in 2014. I wondered if I was the only person on that tram who recognized it and knew where it was from. I'm sure I wasn't but I like to think I was. 

There has been chatter online about a reboot. Selfishly, I want "Flight of the Navigator" to remain that smaller innocent film I enjoyed time and time again so many years ago. 

14) Cocoon (1985)

(4 's out of 5)

"They say if we go with them, we'll live forever."

Director

Ron Howard

Cast
Don Ameche - Art Selwyn
Wilford Brimley - Ben Luckett
Hume Cronyn - Joe Finley
Brian Dennehy - Walter
Jack Gilford - Bernie Lefkowitz
Steve Guttenberg - Jack Bonner
Barret Oliver - David

Maureen Stapleton - Mary Luckett
Jessica Tandy - Alma Finley

Gwen Verdon - Bess McCarthy

The 1985 alien movie "Cocoon" is, I admit, another well-known sci-fi movie I haven't seen before in its entirety...until now. 

I recall this airing on television several times, but it never really piqued my interest enough to sit through it. 

Directed by Ron Howard, "Cocoon" includes a cast of A-list actors - Don Ameche, Wilford Brimley, Jessica Tandy, Maureen Stapleton. It's no obscure movie. It also stars Barret Oliver from that one well-known 80s movie..."D.A.R.Y.L.!" Oh, yeah... he was in "The NeverEnding Story." 

The story begins in a retirement home where a trio of old cusses, Art Selwyn (Don Ameche), Ben Luckett (Wilford Brimley), and Joe Finley (Hume Cronyn) often sneak into the big empty house next door for a dip in the indoor pool that's somehow still maintained.

Pretty soon, a small expedition team, lead by Walter (Brian Dennehy) rent the house, much to the disappointment of these old sneaks. 

Walter and his crew rent a boat from Jack Bonner (Steve Guttenberg) to recover some large, unusual rocks from the bottom of the ocean. 

What Jack doesn't know is that Walter and his crew are actually peaceful aliens from the planet Antarea, disguised as humans. And the rocks they're retrieving are Antarean cocoons that were left on Earth. 

Evidentially, the Antareans created an outpost at Atlantis 10,000 years ago. 

After Atlantis sank into the ocean, so did 20 cocoons with Antareans still developing inside. The other aliens left them behind. 

The Antareans keep the recovered cocoons in the swimming pool where the old guys sneak in for a dip. 

While on the boat with Walter and his crew, Jack peeps in on crew member Kitty (Tahnee Welch) through a hole in the cabin wall.

However, to his shock, she sheds her human disguise revealing she's actually an alien. 

Meanwhile, Joe, Ben and Arthur trespass into the pool with the cocoons stored in the water. They ignore them and take another dip. Little do they know that a life force emanates from the cocoons which gives the elderly men an invigoration and youthful energy the likes of which they haven't felt since their younger days. And, their respective ailments also disappear. 

Later, when back for a swim, the crew return early. The guys freak out and hide inside a storage closet in the pool house. 

Through slits the door, they witness the crew members shed their human disguises, revealing their true alien forms. And one of the aliens finds the guys hiding. They run out in a panic! 

After some time passes and the shock wears off, Ben apologizes to Walter and asks permission for himself and his pals to continue using the pool. 

Walter agrees only if they don't touch the cocoons and they don't tell anyone else about swimming in the pool, and how it's changing them. 

Of course, the other tenants in the retirement home notice how different Art, Ben and Joe have been acting. 

One of the retirement home residents, Bernie Lefkowitz (Jack Gilford) also notices and is bothered by the entire thing. The guys even take Bernie along for a swim, but he refuses to get into the pool. He insists that he and his wife have no need for feeling young, but would rather age gracefully.

Like Steven Spielberg's classic "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial," this alien flick is family oriented with warmth and likeability. It has memorable characters and a relatable message. 

This is the fourth movie Ron Howard directed, after "Splash" with Tom Hanks which came out the year before. 

I think Howard is the next best thing after Steven Spielberg. Howard's movies often remind me of something Spielberg would come up with. 

Howard can capture similar emotions Spielberg often does in his movies - the drama, the warmth, the trepidation. Howard's line-up of movies covers a wide range of genres like Spielberg. And those movies can be huge blockbusters like "Apollo 13" or attention-grabbing like the recent "Hillbilly Elegy" from 2020.

"Cocoon" could easily be a Spielberg movie. But Howard is just inches from reaching the spectacular level Spielberg can.  

Wilford Brimley, Hume Cronyn, and Don Ameche in "Cocoon."

The basis of the movie reminds me a little of Stanley Kubrick's movie. "A Clockwork Orange." Where "A Clockwork Orange" deals with man's free will to choose good or evil versus the good of society, "Cocoon" depicts aging versus our desire to stay young. Though old age isn't for the weak-hearted, there's no reason to hide from it. 

I know that's a major leap comparing "Cocoon" with "A Clockwork Orange" as they're completely different movies. I think it's the way each movie uses a character to depict both sides of their respective stories. 

In "Cocoon" the tenants of the retirement home want to be young again. However, Bernie Lefkowitz insists he and the rest of them grow old as they're meant to. 

"Cocoon" is a unique extra-terrestrial movie. I think it should be on level with "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" though each of the movies are very different. 

Concept designer Ralph McQuarrie, who also worked on a variety of science fiction movies such as "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," "Battlestar Galactica," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and the original "Star Wars" movies, is the conceptual artist for "Cocoon." 

"Cocoon" runs a little heavy with its sentimentality, but the story is well balanced. It doesn't rely so much on the aliens as it does with the experiences the main characters are going through. 

It's a sci-fi version of the fountain of youth. And, thankfully, the movie doesn't take itself too seriously. It's an enjoyable, thoughtful family movie that leaves its audience with the understanding that perpetual youth is a mere fantasy, and that aging isn't necessarily something to run away from or disguise. 

It spawned a sequel, "Cocoon: The Return," in 1988 which received negative reviews. I'll get to that soon enough...reluctantly. 

13) Explorers (1985)

(2.5 's out of 5)

"We're going where no man has gone before."

Director

Joe Dante

Cast
Ethan Hawke - Ben Crandall
River Phoenix - Wolfgang Müller
Jason Presson - Darren Woods
Amanda Peterson - Lori Swenson
Bobby Fite - Steve Jackson
Dana Ivey - Mrs. Müller
James Cromwell - Mr. Müller
Robert Picardo - Starkiller, Wak, and Wak and Neek's Father
Dick Miller - Charlie Drake

A sizeable handful of 80s and 90s movies have Joe Dante's name attached to them.

His movies have passed on through the tunnel of pop culture with seemingly flying colors, landing gracefully into modern times where they're enjoyed with nostalgic glee.

Dante directed "Gremlins" and "Gremlins 2: The New Batch," as well as "The Howling" "InnerSpace" (which I'm trying to get my hands on so I can comment on it here), and "Small Soldiers" among other popular titles. 

But his movie 1985 sci-fi adventure "Explorers" doesn't quite seem to reach the same lofty nostalgic heights of wide-range appreciation as some of his other movies. 

I only remember "Explorers" from seeing it on the rental shelf of my childhood video rental store, "California Video" back in the 90s. I've never watched it until a few days ago. 

Ethan Hawke, in his first big screen role, plays Ben Crandall - a teenage boy who is having a reoccurring dream where he's flying around in the sky until he's flying over a circuit board that resembles a city like something out of "TRON." 

He wakes up as the TV in his bedroom is still on, playing "War of the Worlds" from 1953. Classic! 

Right away, he scribbles the circuit board image he saw in his dream into his notebook..  

He can't wait to tell his friend, Wolfgang Muller (River Phoenix) about his vision. This is also Phoenix's first big screen appearance, by the way.

Wolfgang is a young genius who's interested in computers and science. You know... smart stuff.
Ben also has the hots for a girl in his class named Lori Swenson (Amanda Peterson). Like most boyhood crushes, Ben is preoccupied with the uncertainty of whether Lori likes him or not. Other than that, she serves no real purpose to the story outside of being the object of the main character's affection. 

Wolfgang and Ben invite Darren Woods (Jason Presson), a kid from their school, into their clique. 

Like most other 80s movies with child cliques, the boys are often bullied by the worst bullies imaginable. Darren helps Ben get out of near beating by the school bully, so he's in. 

River Phoenix, Ethan Hawke, and Jason Presson in "Explorers."

Once Ben shares his vision, Wolfgang jumps right into building some kind of computer microchip based on Ben's sketches. 

This newfound tech somehow generates a solid floating electromagnetic bubble. This zany bubble of his has the capability of travelling great distances at high rates of speed. 

Wolfgang observes that it's unhindered by inertia. The possibilities are limitless as to what they can do with this free-floating bubble technology. It can surely take them places where they otherwise can never get to...like outer space!

Darren manages to sneak Wolfgang and Ben into a junk yard where the boys help themselves to parts, including a car from a carnival ride. 

Together, they build a space craft which they name "Thunder Road" after Bruce Springsteen's song. 

Later, Ben has more dreams about flying through the sky towards a massive circuit board. And Wolfgang meanwhile creates a device to produce unlimited oxygen. 

With all these amazing scientific breakthroughs, the three boys come up with a plan to explore space and search for alien life. 

Their test flights take them all around above their town. Of course, they crash into things like the local drive-in. They're also spotted by police flying in a police helicopter. One of these local officers in the copter, Charlie Drake (Dick Miller), sees one of the child-pilots and thinks he's an alien. 

This close encounter spurs Drake to investigate this "UFO." He finds their ship hidden in a ravine and realizes it's clearly the work of kids. This somehow means something to him, reminding him of something from his past. 

The boys finally launch their ship into space - the final frontier. 

While cruising around in space, their picked up by an alien ship somewhere far away from Earth. After exploring the unusual spaceship, they meet some of the aliens who inform them that everything they know about Earth, they've picked up through television signals. 

There are some well-known names in this movie. To begin with, it stars Dick Miller and Robert Picardo. These two have appeared together in some of Dante's other movies. Both are in "Gremlins 2," "InnerSpace," and "The Burbs" which stars Tom Hanks. 

Dick Miller, a veteran actor, was also in the first "Gremlins" as well as "Matinee," "Small Soldiers" and several more recent Dante movies. 

There's even a 2014 documentary about him called "That Guy Dick Miller." He's been in a large number of Roger Corman movies as well, including "Little Shop of Horrors." Miller is an absolute legend in my book. 

Aside from these guys, and not to mention the young River Phoenix and Ethan Hawke, there's more big

names associated with this picture. Composer Jerry Goldsmith does the score. His tunes can be found in a ton of well-known movies and TV programs. 

Voice actor Frank Welker adds some voices in this movie. And my personal favorite detail, the name of the school in this movie is Charles M. Jones Junior High. Charles, as in Chuck, as in Chuck Jones, the animator. Looney Tunes fans know who he is! 

Chuck Jones has a cameo in "Gremlins" by the way. Otherwise, he's one of my favorite artists. In my book, he's as iconic as Norman Rockwell. And I love his work as much as that of Mort Drucker, Al Jaffee, Jack Davis, Angelo Torres, Sergio Aragonés and the eternally ever popular Don Martin. You know... the "usual gang of idiots!" 

Alright, enough fan boy-ing.

"Explorers" is a love letter to the sci-fi genre. It feels like a mix of "E.T: The Extra-Terrestrial," TRON," "The Goonies," and a hint of "The NeverEnding Story" mostly because of Ben's flying dream sequences. It also reminds me a little...just a little... of "Ghostbusters." The kids' personalities are similar to the personalities of the three initial ghostbusters from the first movie, which came out the year before. 

Wolfgang is a scientific whiz like Dr. Egon Spengler. Ben has a happy-go-lucky spunk and eagerness like Dr. Ray Stantz. And Darren has an unimpressed temperament like Dr. Peter Venkman.

"Explorers" came out the same year as another masterpiece of science fiction cinema, "Back to the Future." So, it had some rough competition in the theaters. Another popular sci-fi movie also came out that same year. I'll get to that one in my next review. 

There are dozens of science fiction movie references throughout this movie - "It Came from Outer Space," "This Island Earth," "War of the Worlds," "Star Trek" and of course the mother of all sci-fi flicks, "Star Wars." 

"Explorers" is a fun imaginative family adventure movie. It moves along nicely... until the kids make contact with aliens. And then it crash-lands from there. It goes from imaginative and fun to absurdly cartoonish, obnoxious, and irritating. 

The aliens they meet think earthlings communicate like way people present themselves on television - in cartoons, in gameshows, in news programs, and so on. Their nerve grinding contact with these absurd looking aliens drags out well past its welcome. 

And then the movie ends on an underwhelming note. 

At a screening of "Explorers" at the New Beverly Theater back in 2008, Dante said, "The problem for me is that the movie you'll see is not the movie I wanted to make. It's the movie I got to make up to a certain point and then had to stop. It's hard for me to look at it, cause it's not the film I quite had in mind." 

I can see that! It really shows. 

There must have been more backstory to Dick Miller's character. Unfortunately, it's built up and then remains unvisited. That subplot is a bit of a letdown.

Generally, Dante's movies are imaginative and relatable. They're creative and often have a lasting power. The fun Dante must have in making his movies shines through them. His stories are often adventurous without leaving the backyard (except for this, of course, since the kids are leaving their backyards for outer space). He manages to keep the elements simple though the stories have some complexities within. 

Still, "Explorers" is what it is. And what it is, is enjoyable...to a point. Watching it, my thoughts went from "this is pretty good" to "what the hell am I watching?" That's no exaggeration. 

I'm really curious to know what kind of movie Dante wanted to make. I know I've said this before about other movies, but if there's a movie that should get a remake, it's this one. And if that were to happen, I really hope Dante directs, and makes the "Explorers" he initially wanted to make. 

12) Rollerball (1975)

(3's out of 5)

"Understand it!"

Director

Norman Jewison

Cast
James Caan - Jonathan
John Houseman - Mr. Bartholomew
Maud Adams - Ella
John Beck - Moonpie
Moses Gunn - Cletus
Pamela Hensley - Mackie
Barbara Trentham - Daphne
John Normington - Ballard
Shane Rimmer - Rusty

Before there was "The Hunger Games," "The Maze Runner," "Squid Games" and even before Arnold Schwarzenegger was "The Running Man," there was "Rollerball." 

In fact, in the realm of dystopian sports movies, there's not too many before "Rollerball." The movie is based on the short story, "Roller Ball Murder" by William Harrison which was published in "Esquire" back in 1973. Harrison wrote the screenplay for this movie, which came out in 1975 - the same year another dystopian sports movie called "Death Race 2000" starring Sylvester Stallone and produced by Roger Corman was released. "Rollerball" is older by a few months. 

There were a few survival sports movies released before the 1970s. The earliest one I can think of is 1932's "The Most Dangerous Game." That was remade in 1942 with the title "A Game of Death." The 1961 horror movie "Bloodlust" about a young couple who's hunted by a deranged lunatic on a desert island has a similar premise. But these movies aren't really futuristic dystopian films like "Rollerball." 

Honestly, I never heard of "Rollerball" until I bought a copy of "Top 100 Sci-Fi Movies" by Gary Gerani. It's a wonderful companion for this blog, and the last book of his I needed to complete my set that includes, "Top 100 Fantasy Movies," "Top 100 Comic Book Movies," and my personal favorite, "Top 100 Horror Movies." 

In this movie, the future took place six years ago in 2018. James Caan plays Jonathan E., the captain and star player for the Houston rollerball team. In this movie's version of 2018, large corporations control society. So, that's not too far-fetched from current reality. Corporations have some much dominance that, before a rollerball game, fans stand to sing the corporate anthem instead of the National Anthem. 

Rollerball is a savage contact sport that looks like roller derby but involves beating opponents while trying to chase a metal ball around a rink, capturing it, and then throwing it into a hole for points. Anyways, Energy Corporation is one of those said ruling corporations, with Mr. Bartholomew (John Houseman) as acting chairman. Energy Corporation also sponsors the Houston team. 

Mr. Bartholomew tells Jonathan to announce his departure from rollerball. In return, he offers Jonathan a cushy lavish retirement. He instructs Jonathan to make this announcement during a televised special about his career in rollerball. 

It sounds like a sweet deal, but Jonathan refuses. Before the story begins, the corporation took his wife, Ella (Maud Adams) because one of the scummy executives wanted her for himself. 

So, obviously Jonathan is weary of the corporations. 

His friend and former coach, Cletus (Moses Gunn), who now works as an executive, is convinced that the powers-that-be within Energy Corporation are scared of Jonathan. But Cletus doesn't understand why that's the case. 

John Beck and James Caan in "Rollerball."

Meanwhile, the rules for rollerball are changed to make the game much more senseless and violent. The corporate execs make it that way as an attempt to get Jonathan to retire. These new rules are to be implemented immediately at the next game between Houston and Tokyo. This time, there will be limited substitutions and no penalties. 

The violence that's allowed in the game is turned up several notches as well. That way, the chance of Jonathan getting seriously hurt to the point of no return is greater than before. Jonathan isn't deterred. 

The violence is so bad that some of Jonathan's teammates are beaten to the point of death. His buddy, "Moonpie" (John Beck), is beaten on the cranium by three opponents during the game and left in a coma. 

After the Tokyo game, a bunch of unsympathetic executives along with Bartholomew decide the next game will be played with no penalties, substitutions or limits whatsoever. The idea is that this'll be Jonathan's final match as he'll surely die during the game. 

The executive powers think if Jonathan keeps playing, and continues exciting the fans, the greater the risk he poses in arousing thoughts of individuality among the controlled masses. 

As Bartholomew says, "The game was created to demonstrate the futility of individual effort."

Ella returns to Jonathan and tries to convince him to retire. She tells him that the next game against New York will be played to the death. Obviously, the executives set him up and are using Ella to get him to leave the game.

Regardless, Jonathan decides to play anyways. The game is an all-out free for all where anything goes. Jonathan just needs to play until the end. 

"Rollerball" has some Stanley Kubrick vibes to it. Thanks to its soundtrack, particularly Bach's "Toccata and Fugue" played in the opening, it feels a little like Kubrick's dystopian crime movie, "A Clockwork Orange." 

The dystopian feels are there with the deep corporate influence over society that demands allegiance while cramming the notion that individualism is a futile way of thinking. 

The story boils down to one man, disenchanted with the system, up against that system and then getting the better of it. 

It's eerily similar to our modern society. And it gets that point across with such ease.

There are so many lines of dialogue to consider. 

In a scene after the game at the beginning of the movie, Bartholomew and his hoard of suited up execs visit the locker room. Bartholomew, stiff necked and strutting his dominance, focuses some attention on Moonpie as he reclines. 

"Sweet dreams, Moonpie. That's a bad habit you've got there. You know what that habit will make you dream, Moonpie? You'll dream you're an executive. You'll have your hands on all the controls, and you will wear a gray suit, and you will make decisions. But you know what, Moonpie? You know what those executives dream about out there behind their desks? They dream they're great rollerballers. They dream they're Jonathan. They have muscles, they bash in faces."

One depiction that's particularly relevant is the corporate bosses attempts to erase history. This happens when Jonathan goes to a library to access a supercomputer known as "Zero" which stores digitized copies all books - heavily edited in accordance with executive ideologies. It's also a global source of all human knowledge. 

However, it turns out "Zero's" memory has mysteriously become corrupted. 

"The whole of the 13th century. Misplaced the computers, several conventional computers," the librarian tells Jonathan. "We can't find them. We're always moving things around, getting organized, my assistants and I. This - this is Zero's fault - Zero, he's the world's file cabinet. Pity, poor old 13th century....Now, we've lost those computers with all of the 13th century in them. Not much in the century, just Dante and a few corrupt Popes, but it's so distracting and annoying!"

Even with the overall decent writing, the only exciting parts of "Rollerball" are the actual rollerball scenes. There's barely any emotion in the talking scenes. It gets dull after a while, especially when sandwiched in between the high energy full-force sports scenes. 

James Caan, who was a fantastic actor with many memorable performances, and who is greatly missed, does well with what he's given. He delivers a character the audience can get behind and rally for. John Houseman, who's an actor that deserves much appreciation, also delivers a great performance and carries a lot of this movie on his shoulders. Houseman is like a poor man's Alfred Hitchcock. He has the voice and mannerisms for horror movies, and can use that same talent to be funny. 

Moses Gunn deserves recognition here. His name tends to randomly pop up in movies and television, and it gets my attention each time. No two of his performances are alike. It's no exception here in "Rollerball." 

Gunn has been in some of my favorite movies such as "The NeverEnding Story" and "Firestarter." I've seen him on "The Cosby Show" and on my favorite horror anthology series, "Tales from the Crypt." I've mentioned him before in a review I wrote on the TV movie "Bates Motel." I've never seen a performance from Gunn I didn't like. He also plays Booker T. Washington in the 1981 movie, "Ragtime" which I've been trying to get my hands on for a while as it's directed by "Amadeus" director, Miloš Forman.

Before I forget, Richard LeParmentier (Admiral Motti from "Star Wars" and Lt. Santino in "Who Framed Roger Rabbit") is in this movie, too. So, there's that. 

I'm being generous with my rating of 3 out of 5 flaming roller skates because of its cast, some of the dialogue, and John Houseman's performance 

Director Norman Jewison has directed some respected films such as "The Thomas Crown Affair," "Fiddler on the Roof," and "Moonstruck." Sadly, he passed away in January, 2024.

"Rollerball" tries to be a true thought-provoking flick, hoping to be taken seriously as a 'one man against the system' story. It has been a trope repeated so many times before and after. It works to some extent. Like I said, this movie is really only worthwhile when the actual game is on.

"Rollerball" was remade in 2022, which the Los Angeles Times called one of the most expensive box office flops of all time. I have no desire to watch it. Seeing the original film was good enough for me. As far as Gary Gerani's book...I guess "Rollerball" is among the top 100 sci-fi movies.