Food of the Gods II (1989)

"No, obesity-breath. This is no ordinary flamethrower. See, I modified this baby myself. I just find the rat, aim, and... kazoom."

One of the reasons as to why I started this blog (back when it was solely for film reviews) was that I was sick of reading 3 or 4 line reviews of films that I felt needed a bit more analysis. You know, the 'I saw this film ten years ago on video, and I don't remember much, but boy was it crummy' kind of reviews that you tend to find on sites like IMDB, especially if you are a viewer of older, less well remembered films as I am. The ratings too can really irk me. I'm a firm believer in not putting a numerical rating on anything I watch; firstly, I don't think that people should just jump to a number on a review and make a decision on whether to watch it or not, and secondly, without context that rating means absolutely nothing. Just because I rate Taxi Driver and say, The Evil Dead the same, does that mean an individual can come to the conclusion that both films are of the same quality or possess the same entertainment value? Of course not, and it's why I don't do it. But sometimes a film gets such a low rating that I have to wonder if those scoring it have actually even seen it. Which brings us to Food of the Gods II.

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The Twilight Zone - Season One: 'Where is Everybody?' and 'One for the Angels'

"The place is here, the time is now... and the journey into the shadows that we're about to watch could be our journey..."

It's hard to know where to start talking about a show as iconic and influential as The Twilight Zone. Despite airing several decades before I was born, it had already become so deeply embedded in pop culture lexicon that I felt I knew it before I had ever even watched an episode. Growing up we watched plenty of re-runs, with shows such as The Lone Ranger, Rawhide, Star Trek and Lost in Space playing as vital a role in our regular TV schedule as Thundercats and He-Man. It was a great time to be a kid, getting the best of both worlds. By the time I was growing up, the legacy of Serling's work was already visible on the TV landscape; in its wake came a some truly fantastic shows, classics such as The Outer Limits, Night Gallery, Tales From the Darkside, The Ray Bradbury Theatre and eventually, the show got a a re-boot itself to mixed results. Not only was the format successfully translated to other shows, but it was a great introduction to the masses for ideas in film and television that moved beyond just being science fiction and horror, but fell into the weird place that could only truly be found in The Twilight Zone...

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Soundtrack Spotlight: The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974)

Last week I received a mystery package from my good chum-pal Bill over at Spartak Mixtapes, and when this beauty popped out I was suitably blown away. Bill introduced me to Death Waltz Records last year, when he was showing off his lovely edition of Halloween III's incredible score. Since then they've been high on my radar, but I had yet to thrown down for any of their releases. So thanks Bill, for busting my Death Waltz cherry!

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Private School (1983)

"Bubba says we did it once and it was very good for both of us, but I was passed out, so I don't remember a thing."

Private School was the very definition of the type of film I wasn't allowed rent when I was a kid. My mother definitely wasn't stupid; sure, if you looked at the poster and saw just the sweet couple kissing, you might think it was innocent enough. But then the girls mooning comes into focus, as does the tag line, "You won't believe what goes on and what comes off in...". It's no surprise I wanted to watch this one. But as we all know, what one might find funny and titillating as a kid can be very different as an adult - so how does this one hold up?

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Night Shift (1982)

"Oh, that Barney Rubble. What an actor!"

There must have been something in the air between '82 and '83, what with the glut of films that came out involving generally straight-laced guys becoming pimps. Risky Business is probably the best known, while the Dan Aykroyd starring Doctor Detroit is nearly forgotten about at this point. Sitting somewhere in between these two is Night Shift; not exactly a cult classic, but not destitute and dusty on the shelf, either.

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The JAWS Log by Carl Gottlieb

The summer has definitely arrived, and it's time for me to take a break from the kindle and enjoy catching up on the ever-increasing stack of paperbacks I have here. There's just no better feeling than catching a cool breeze in the shade while dipping in and out of a book. Wes M over at Plutonium Shores  is diving head first into film documentaries currently, and inspired me with his break downs to get back into this book that I started a few weeks back.Besides, if there ever was a film or novel that truly feels like 'summer', then surely it's Jaws?

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