1. Time Bandits (1981)

   
   
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   Written by Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin (former Monty Python member) Time Bandits is perhaps the most surreal and well casted "campy" science fiction movie of them all. Starring such actors as Sean Connery, John Cleese, Shelly Duvall, and Ian Holm this movie is not lacking in any aspect except for seriousness. In fact I generally laugh all the way through this movie. Its pokes at various historical figures as well as the portrayal of a 'common' Western family make for a fun ride through and through. (And to think when I was younger it scared me batless! I wouldn't watch this movie for the world. And now? I laugh.)
   
   A young boy is dragged into the interspatial adventure with some dwarves who have made off with a map of time portals. This map allows them to navigate time through a series of doors that open at particular times. In pursuit of the map is the Evil One and the Supreme Being. Through the wall of a room and into time they go.
   
   I love this movie because of its off-the-wall humor and its somewhat surreal nature. I always laugh when I see Sean Connery (as Agamemnon) or Ian Holm (who plays Napolean) doing their scenes. We take them so seriously now and this offers a different side of their acting careers.

2. Back to the Future (1985)

   
   
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   I will actually address all three of the Back to the Future series here simply because they can be viewed as a single contiguous work (with bathroom and snack breaks of course). Robert Zemeckis, who directed the movies, is actually credited along side Bob Gale as a writer. The level ov involvement within the movies, that is the attention to detail and polish of the films makes them classic and able to be reviewed time and again.
   
   Basically if it's a conundrum that was hypothesized about with time travel it happens in these movies. The year is 1985 and Marty McFly witnesses the death of his friend and mentor Doc Brown at the beginning of the first movie. He takes the time machine that the doc invented and goes back in time to attempt to stop the death from happening. Unfortunately he winds up a tad bit farther back than he expect. 1955. He accidentally prevents his parents from meeting for the first time.
   
   The second movie concerns the future of McFly's family. His son is dated to be imprisoned for some crime and so Doc brings Marty forward in time to fix it. By accident someone manages to bring back an almanac from the future. The past begins to change and McFly and Doc Brown race to save not just Marty this time but the whole world.
   
   The third movie concerns the past. Doc Brown is accidentally taken into the past when the time machine is struck by lightning at the end of the second movie. Marty immediately receives a telegram from Doc Brown outlaying his where-abouts. In basic Doc is slated to die five days after he arrived. Marty approaches the 1955 version of Doc and they unearth the buried time machine and send Marty back.
   
   I love these movies. They are mind bending and extremely funny. I enjoy watching these quite often (when I have an available 6 hours to use). Of any of these movies in this review I would suggest these three the most. These are truly classic, a trilogy well done.

3. Galaxy Quest (1999)

   
   
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   In some ways I pity Tim Allen. The fact that he is stuck with Christmas movies and that he's been type-cast into that kind of role I find sad. It is movies like Galaxy Quest that I consider a highlight of his career. He plays Jason Nesmith who plays Captain Peter Quincy Taggart from a Star Trek rip off show that went off air in the 80's.
   
   Nesmith, and later his fellow actors, meet some aliens in distress at a Galaxy Quest convention. Nesmith takes it as an off acting job and winds up in deep interstellar space in the middle of a battle for the very survival of their species (the aliens, not Nesmith).
   
   Plenty of pot shots are taken at the old Star Trek series and movies and the characters are given depth that most lampoons simply do away with. This is guaranteed to please the hard core science fiction fan as well as the casual viewer. May you laugh. Lots.

4. The Last Starfighter (1984)

   
   
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   This movie is here because of its unintentional campiness. This is one of those movies that took itself entirely too seriously. Not only is it a poor ripoff of Star Wars but its also based on earth. It was one of the first movies to make extensive use of computer generated special effects. Because of this it looks like a video game (much like Tron).
   
   Basically a kid has too much time on his hands and he winds up getting a high score on an arcade game. The arcade game is actually a test for skill so that pilots can be found to fight against some generic bad guy who wields a generic bad-guy staff that goes KCHING when he pushes a button. Typical megalomaniac with a big head and delusions of grandeur. This typical bad-guy manages to make a deep strike on the fighter base that housed all of the Starfighters. And this kid is the only one left. Thus The Last Starfighter. Begin the epic journey.
   
   Because this movie is so campy it is hilarious fun just to watch without a thought towards what it stole from other movies or even why. There are quite a few classic moments as well. I watch this movie from time to time to remember and to laugh at how corny it is. Watch with a loved one or like minded friends. Yell commentary at the screen and throw stuff.

5. Lost in Space (1998)

   
   
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   Lost in Space was supposed to be serious. But it falls into the trap of taking itself seriously and turns into a campfest of fun. With the best bad-guy actor on staff (Gary Oldman of 5th Element fame) and an outstanding cast of good-guys this movie is campy but also well endowed when it comes to special effects.
   
   Earth has been polluted and the recycling technologies have come online too late. So the heads of state and military are building a warp gate to another habitable planet. Trouble is there's terrorists (Sedition by name) and they actually have to send the Robinson family plus change there to supervise the building of the other end of the gate. This entails years of cryogenic sleep and no real social life once they get there. But things don't happen so cleanly. And agent of Sedition sneaks on board and breaks some stuff and the ship begins to plummet into the sun. Someone gets the brilliant idea that because they can't get out of the sun's gravity well they should use the new and untested hyperdrive technology to go through the sun in a slingshot manuever. It works. And they're lost in space.
   
   This movie is campy but also a well done adaption of the show that aired on CBS for so many years. I watch this movie sometimes on the off chance I need a reminder of what original campy scifi looks like. This one is also good for a laugh.

6. Tron (1982)

   
   
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   And last but not least is Tron! One of the greatest science fiction films of all time! Not only is it visionary (in that nothing like it was produced before or after) but it also has charm and most importantly, camp.
   
   For those not familiar Tron is about a renegade computer watch-dog program called Tron. But this is a 'fight the power' kind of movie so Tron is the good guy. Well, one of them. The evil mainframe computer is at odds with almost all of the programmers that have spent any time coding programs that run on its hardware. One night one of the programmers, Flynn, is fiddling around one night with a matter rearranger that could teleport things like oranges and the mainframe zaps him with it and sucks him into the computer world.
   
   Tron was a revolution in computer graphics. When they rendered off the computer effects for certain elements they rendered in trillions upon trillions of colors and had to dumb the final ultra-high resolution images down into something that was usable on screen. This is one of my draws to this movie. The other of my draws to this movie is that it is an original concept in the science fiction universe that hasn't been attempted since. The story is solid as are the characters and there is plenty of room for laughter as well.

1. The Matrix (1999)

   
   
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   In1999, when Matrix got into the Movie Theaters, it became a huge phenomenon, and created a new Movie Making Voice that reaches us to the present days. I never had access to The Matrix's script, but I guess it was an writing piece. So many genius ideas in just one movie. And now you ask: how The Matrix is going to help you writing a novel?
   
   The Matrix taught a very important lesson to all the fiction creators in the world, including writers. Audacity. In writing Sci-Fi and Supernatural, audacious ideas are one of the most important elements that keep the reader turning the pages of a novel. A Sci-Fi and Supernatural writer must take his craziest ideas and turn them into acceptable ones during the writing. The whole concept of reality inside reality was so weird back then (although there was something similar in the Argentine movie Vanilla Sky) that some people took a long time to understand, and yet, Matrix became a very loved movie. The execution of the story was so good that the weirdness feeling went away. When writing a novel, take your most audacious and weird ideas and write them in the way that they doesn't feel weird anymore to the reader.

2. Terminator (1984)

   
   
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   Although the poster is from the first Governator (oops, I mean Terminator), I actually refer to it and all the sequels. In Terminator a very interesting fiction phenomenon happens: the complete disregard to logic limits. Yes… that's it. In Terminator, the explanations for Time Travel and the complete lack of concern with Time Paradox or any sense at all, make Terminator a great movie. For the writer, the lesson is: when writing a novel, don't get too worried about logic.
   
   Sci-Fi and Supernatural audience are very tolerant with the lack of logic, and every now and then, this same audience actually enjoys it, as in Terminator. Michael Critchon frequently adds a whole bunch of scientific explanation that although interesting, are frequently over-explained to the point of boredom. So, when writing Sci-Fi and Supernatural novel, don't worry too much about logic; the reader won't.

3. Interview With The Vampire (1994)

   
   
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   I know that in my last article I made some jokes about the novel “Interview with the Vampire”, but I never said it was bad. In fact, it was a great piece of writing and became the great movie responsible for the destruction of any possible friendship between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise.
   
   This movie teaches a very important lesson to the writer. When writing a novel, you can touch controversial social topics as long as you do it in a tasteful way. You know what I'm talking about, don't you? If you don't, think again. Do your remember the incredible homosexual vibe in the Movie? Well... homosexuality is a controversial topic to the general audience. Homophobes are also movie watchers, and yet, I hadn't heard a single complain from homophobes about “Interview with the Vampire”.
   
   So, when writing your novel, don't be afraid to approach controversial topics as homosexuality, as long as they seem tasteful in your writing. Elegance is the trick to write a novel and put inside it anything you want.

4. Constantine (2005)

   
   
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   With that Movie, Hollywood once again entered the realm of Taboo. Religion and Anti-Religion were present in the whole movie. Well... remember when I said in the last topic about treating controversial topics with subtlety and delicacy? Well... when writing taboo you must blow it. Yes; the rule is the opposite, and if you want to bring taboo to your novel, you must write to shock and overwhelm the reader with taboo. Remember “Da Vinci Code”. I hated the novel and the movie, but the Taboo was so powerful that I was compelled to see the movie until the end, and for Supernatural and Sci-Fi writers, taboo is a friend. There are thousands of taboos, mostly religious, that can originate amazing novels.

5. Highlander (1986)

   
   
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   In this article my reference to Highlander regards only the first movie. In fact, while you read this article, let's make a pact and pretend that those unbelievably disgusting sequels didn't exist, allright?
   
   Highlander teaches the writer about an important aspect of writing "mystery". When writing a Sci-Fi and Supernatural novel, you don't need to explain much. In fact, the less you explain in your writing and the more you let the reader to speculate, the more intriguing an addictive will be your novel. In Highlander we didn't understand where did Connor Mcleod came from, how did he get immortal, and what was the purpose of becoming mortal. This mystery made a great movie, and it would be perfect if the producers didn't commit the awful crime of giving hideous explanations in the sequels (sorry; I know we made a pact, but I couldn't resist making nasty comments about these movies).
   
   So; when writing a novel, don't over-explain. The less, the better. Readers are also creative people.

6. The Lord Of The Rings (2001)

   
   
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   When writing your Sci-Fi or Supernatural Novel, you must pay attention to background and scenario; those are very important elements in these genres. In the book “The Lord of the Rings”, the background was flawless, and the movie really captured it. If you compare the book and the movie, you will get to the most important thing: details. Not all details are important and you shouldn't bore you reader writing a long description of the main-character's ear lobe. When writing your novel, you must identify the important details, the ones that really contribute in building the scenario and background. The other details you must give them to the reader. Let the reader imagine your reality as he pleases; it will certainly improve the reading experience.

7. Hancock (2008)

   
   
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   Originally this movie wasn't in the list, but I just saw this movie and loved it. The story is kind of crappy but the Hancock character is fantastic. If you need inspiration to create a character, Hancock may be a way to begin. Of course, you can also use my article Building Characters for your Novel (and that is just shameless self-advertisement). Well… really… great movie. I don't have a really good excuse to put it in this “writing your novel” list yet, but I will think in something later. Anyway… watch it.

I hope those movies help you in writing your novel. In any case, if they don't, you will have watched seven great movies.

I know I will here all kinds of snide remakes from fans of Star Trek and I'm sure I will be told that I forgot some of the crapper sci-fi out there. I'm also sure I'll here from fans of some horror of fantasy franchise that their fave's aren't on here. In order to avoid some of this as much as possible, This is about sci-fi and it's my opinion so don't give me to much crap.

I mean really, let us think about this. I will not give the entire movie away, but there was a scene where a man's legs had to be amputated because vines had grown into them. I know, you're probably thinking "gross" but that isn't really too gross when compared to how his legs were amputated, they were cut off with an army knife.

Despite the gore, if you like sci-fi horror films, the ruins may suit your palette well. I am not going to say yea or nay on whether you should watch it. I'll leave it up to your personal choice. I am just giving you fair warning.it may not be a movie suitable for a family night out. If I had to compare the ruins to any other film, I am not sure that it could be done.

Bringing Up Baby

Classic comedies such as this one remind us of how little class and humor are contained in the majority of recent comedy. Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn are perfectly and hilariously matched as an odd couple forced to endure a series of misadventures. Did I mention that the movie is about a leopard?

The Shawshank Redemption 

A story of courage and, obviously, redemption, this is a movie that no one should miss. Steven King proves his ability to understand the human condition with this excellent and moving film boasting an unforgettable performance by Morgan Freeman.

Psycho (1960) 

Alfred Hitchcock's defining work of genius takes suspense to a whole new level. Boasting some of the best performances captured on film, and surely some of the best cinematography, Psycho seems even fresher than most modern fare. While the film is mainly remembered for the shower scene, one of the most effective moments actually comes at the end of the film.

The Silence of the Lambs

Chilling in its own right, this film blurs the line between horror, mystery, and drama to create its own cinematic niche. Jodie Foster gives the best performance of her career, and Anthony Hopkins' performance is nothing short of legendary. For those that think this is about a cannibal, Silence of the Lambs is actually based on the life of Ed Gein. Hannibal is shown for less than twenty minutes in this film.

Jesus Camp

This movie is terrifying. For those that think Christian fundamentalism is not a serious problem in America, wait until they catch this documentary about a camp that trains children in the ways of Evangelical Fundamentalism. One can't help but pity the children raised in this nonsensical, dangerously militant, and separatist mindset.

9 to 5 

Sometimes excellent films become forgotten with time for no apparent reason. This is certainly the case with 9 to 5, one of the best comedies to grace the cinema screen. Both hilarious farce and feminist manifesto, anyone with a sense of humor can find something here to enjoy. A musical Broadway show of this film is set to begin shortly with music written by Dolly Parton.

Cloverfield 

Filmmakers take heed: this is how it's done! Filmed from the victim's camera, Cloverfield outdoes absolutely all of the competition for sheer believability and tension. The best monster movie of all time, hands down. (Not counting films such as "Jaws" that involve natural predators.) For those convinced that monster movies are for the tasteless and the young, take some time out to give this one a shot.

The Omen (1976)

Possibly one of the scariest movies of all time. The score is unsettling and jarring, and this is one of the first films to show a graphic decapitation on-screen. From the opening segment involving the suddenly suicidal nanny, it becomes obvious that this film is thoroughly unafraid to engage religious taboo to scare the hell out of audiences.

Hairspray (2007)

Finally, a musical that doesn't involve death, heartbreak, and murder. This is a wonderfully entertaining film with an excellent message about prejudice thrown in for good measure. Don't get me wrong, films such as Chicago and Rent are not to be dismissed, but this one is pure fun in an age that seems to have forgotten the concept. Hairspray is also safe for all but young children.

Knocked Up 

The best example of modern comedy, Knocked Up takes a serious topic and somehow manages to credibly and respectfully address it in an unflinchingly R-rated way. With dead-on performances by everyone, a rarity in cinema, viewers feel a genuine emotional connection to the characters. Knocked Up is a hilarious comedy with a heart, something that doesn't come around very often.

Of course, if Darwin were around in 1963, when French author Pierre Boulle's literary masterpiece La planète des singes (French for Monkey Planet, according to translator Xan Fielding, a noted British writer who also translated Boulle's other famous novel, The Bridge over the River Kwai, into English), more known today as Planet Of The Apes -- about a futuristic planet dominated by apes who talk and think like humans -- was first published, a best-selling novel that would spawn a successful show business franchise five years later, he might have a lot to think about. But then, both Boulle's novel and the subsequent films and TV shows it inspired have certainly also given several generations of audiences who've been entertained by them much to think about, too -- one of many testaments to how and why the science fiction genre that has flourished in mass media for over a century has both influenced and changed the real world that we live in.

By the early-1960's, Pierre Boulle was already a popular author in not only his native France, but also the rest of the world, thanks mostly to his World War II novel The Bridge over the River Kwai, first published in 1952, and which inspired British filmmaker David Lean's Academy Award-winning The Bridge on the River Kwai five years later. Boulle, a World War II veteran who was now able to write his own ticket since becoming a successful author, began to write what would become Planet Of The Apes, combining science fiction with social commentary. In Boulle's original novel, three Frenchmen take off in a spaceship that can travel at nearly the speed of light as they explore outer space -- ultimately ending up on an Earth-like planet that they name Soror (Latin for sister), which is much like our actual planet, but with one difference: this planet is run by talking apes who prove to be more advanced in terms of intelligence, while the human population whom they hunt, capture, and use for scientific experiments is primitive, just like the prehistoric humans who existed on our world centuries ago! Ulysse Mérou, one of the Frenchmen who lands on Soror, and who ends up becoming the sole survivor of the trio landing on the planet, gets captured by his ape captors, and winds up the subject of scientific experiments conducted by some of the planet's chimpanzee scientists, including Zira and her fiancé Cornelius, who end up being convinced of Ulysse's intelligence; however, trying to convince the orangutans that run the planet's ape government, including elderly scientist Dr. Zaius, is a different matter.

Ulysee ends up befriending a primitive young woman named Nova (who ends up becoming the mother of their newborn child) -- and later on in the book, learn the truth about Soror's past after coming across an archaeological dig which helps to reveal how the planet ended up in its present state, a chilling example of what is referred to as dystopia (which refers to both the horrible conditions and way of life in certain parts of the world). Naturally, Dr. Zaius and his fellow orangutans, upon learning the truth, decide to eliminate all of Soror's humans, which eventually prompts Ulysse and his new family to blast off in the spaceship that brought him here and eventually head back to Earth -- now ruled by talking and thinking apes just like those on Soror!

Needless to say, Boulle's novel became a global literary sensation when it was first published in 1963, when the world we live in was already changing greatly, due in part to the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union that would result in the former country putting a man on the moon by decade's end -- but then, science fiction in the 1960's was already reflecting the tempo of the times, including the advances in technology that were already making outer space travel a reality. But it would take Hollywood to immortalize Planet Of The Apes even further.

Arthur P. Jacobs had already proven his worth as a Hollywood film producer towards the end of the 1960's -- his first producing effort was the all-star comedy What A Way To Go! (20th Century Fox, 1964), followed by a movie musical version of Hugh Lofting's Doctor Doolittle (Fox, 1967). In 1966, Jacobs' production company and 20th Century Fox teamed up to co-produce Planet Of The Apes, and were determined to make it as a serious science fiction film and not as a camp humor-filled quickie. Both Jacobs and Fox scored several major coups by getting Charlton Heston, already a proven box office star as well as an Academy Award-winner (for the 1959 remake of Ben-Hur), to star in the movie -- and film and TV writer Rod Serling (The Twilight Zone) to write the screenplay, though the film's final draft would be written by screenwriter Michael Wilson (who won one of his two Oscars for co-writing the script for The Bridge on the River Kwai roughly a decade before); Heston would prove his show business clout by getting Franklin J. Schaffner to direct the film -- both men had previously worked together on the costume epic The War Lord (Universal, 1965). Mort Abrahams, who would join the film's production crew as associate producer, produced a short demo film featuring Heston and several actors (including Edward G. Robinson as Dr. Zaius) made up to look like humanoid apes, courtesy of then-Fox head makeup artist Ben Nye, and presented in a serious and convincing manner that would reflect the equally-serious tone that Jacobs was aiming for. It was fellow makeup artist John Chambers who would improve upon the ape makeup that Nye originated in the test reel -- Chambers' makeup innovations would prove to be a benchmark in not only that particular profession, but also the entertainment industry as a whole.

With Heston already on board to star in Planet Of The Apes, other co-stars signed on to act in the film -- including Roddy McDowall as Cornelius, Oscar-winner Kim Hunter as Zira (Cornelius' fiancée in the original novel -- later elevated to the role of wife in future sequels), and veteran stage, film, and TV actor Maurice Evans as Dr. Zaius (a role originally designated for Edward G. Robinson, until he bowed out due to both the heavy make-up and the long hours that it needed to apply it). Other co-stars in the film included veteran film and TV actor James Whitmore (as one of the orangutan leaders), and Linda Harrison (who played Nova), the latter then-married to then-Fox production chief Richard Zanuck (the son of studio co-founder Darryl).

The first Planet Of The Apes film that would appear in movie theaters in early-February 1968 was a bit different from Pierre Boulle's original novel -- for one thing, the three Frenchmen who traveled to Soror in the novel would become three time-traveling American astronauts in the movie (with Heston playing their leader, Colonel George Taylor), who ended up wearing primitive clothing later on in the film (unlike the Frenchmen who were naked for most of the novel); in truth, there were really four astronauts in the film's opening scenes -- but its sole female crew member died when the spaceship carrying it landed on the ape-dominated planet in the late-40th Century (the year 3978, to be precise). Another difference lies in the film's primitive sets, unlike the futuristic settings in Boulle's novel -- the decision to go along with the primitive sets had more to do with reducing design and production costs than the production team's creative imagination. Also, in the film, the apes spoke perfect English -- whereas in the original novel, they spoke a totally different language.

But it would be the film' final scene, conceived by Rod Serling -- which would not only be different from the ending in Boulle's novel -- but would also prove to be one of the most unforgettable in film history. Not long after Taylor, Cornelius, Zira, and Nova discover evidence in the Forbidden Zone, located near the ocean, that proved that intelligent humans once dominated the Earth-like planet before the apes took over, Taylor and Nova depart on horseback -- only to come across what's left of the Statue of Liberty, half-buried on the beach, as Taylor learns that he's been on Earth all along, the same Earth that was devastated by centuries of war before the apes conquered it, prompting him to utter one of the film's most unforgettable lines: "You maniacs! You blew it up! Damn you! Damn you all to hell!" (Another of the film's other memorable lines -- also uttered by Taylor, and which shocks the planet‘s ape population -- was: "Take your stinking paws off of me, you damn dirty ape!"; that line is ranked #66 in the American Film Institute's top hundred film lines of all time.)

Planet Of The Apes was a hit with both critics and audiences, and one of 1968's highest-grossing films, along with another sci-fi classic, director Stanley Kubrick's film version of Arthur C. Clarke's 2001: A Space Odyssey, which was a bit more optimistic in terms of its storyline as opposed to the grim dystopia-type future depicted in Planet Of The Apes. It also remains one of the best films of not only Charlton Heston's career, but also those of his co-stars -- especially Roddy McDowall, a show business veteran since his days as a child actor in the 1940's, who would be undeniably linked to the film and the franchise it helped to spawn for decades to come, even more so than Heston. The film won two Academy Award nominations for Jerry Goldsmith's original musical score and Morton Haack's costumes -- and won a special Oscar for makeup artist John Chambers' contribution to the film, the second time that a Hollywood makeup artist had received this honor. (The first was in 1965, when longtime MGM makeup artist William Tuttle won a special Oscar for his work on director George Pal's The Seven Faces Of Dr. Lao [1964].)

The success of Planet Of The Apes -- and its surprise ending -- would soon set the stage for its first sequel, Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, released in late-May 1970, over two years after that of its predecessor's. Using the final scenes from Planet Of The Apes as the sequel's prologue, associate producer Mort Abrahams and British screenwriter Paul Dehn came up with what would be the story's overall plot, for which Dehn would write the screenplay that director Ted Post would bring to life on film. Not long after the opening credits, which are transposed over footage of George Taylor and Nova exploring the Forbidden Zone on horseback -- Brent (James Franciscus), the sole survivor of a two-man spaceship crew whose vehicle crashed in another section of the area after traveling forward in time (and at first, unaware that he's on the ape-dominated Earth), comes across Nova, who has Taylor's metal I.D. tag, as the two head for Ape City. (The scene in which Brent's spaceship ends up on the future Earth also contains a continuity error, in which he tells his dying skipper that the year is 3955 -- when, in the first Planet Of The Apes film, Taylor and his crew returned to Earth in 3978.) The film‘s storyline, which continued with Ape City's gorilla city invading the Forbidden Zone, and Brent and Nova coming across an underground cavern that hides what's left of New York City (located within the Forbidden Zone), now occupied by its surviving occupants who possesses telepathic powers as a result of being exposed to centuries of radioactive fallout (and which has also left them both skinless and horribly scarred) -- and who worship a still-intact nuclear weapon -- would end with the weapon itself detonated (courtesy of Taylor), destroying both the earth and everybody -- both human and ape -- living on it, though Taylor, Brent, and Nova are gunned to death minutes before the planet blows up. Reportedly, Charlton Heston, who reprised his role as Taylor, came up with the idea for the film's final scene -- hoping it wouldn't lead to future sequels. In that respect, the success of Beneath The Planet Of The Apes would prove Heston wrong.

Roddy McDowall didn't reprise his role of Cornelius in Beneath The Planet Of The Apes -- mainly because he was busy in London directing Ava Gardner in the horror film Tam-Lin (American-International, 1970); British actor David Watson ended up taking on the role of the simian scientist. But as McDowall was working on Tam Lan, he was unaware that he'd soon reprise his role as Cornelius.

At the end of Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, the earth was destroyed, which might have brought a logical end to the film series. However, inspired by its success at the box office, the film's final scene would instead serve as a springboard for the third film of the series, and certainly one of its better sequels: Escape From The Battle Of Apes, released in late-May 1971. The film, directed by one-time actor Don Taylor and scripted by Paul Dehn, focuses on Cornelius and Zira, as they and Dr. Milo (Sal Mineo), a fellow simian scientist, salvage and repair the spaceship that brought George Taylor and his crew to 40th Century Earth and blast off into outer space before the planet blows up -- with the shock wave resulting from Earth's destruction sending both spaceship and passengers backward through time to the 20th Century, where they end up secluded, first at a military base, then at the Los Angeles Zoo, where they meet two L.A.-based scientists (Bradford Dillman and Natalie Trundy -- the latter actor who appeared in all four Apes sequels and who was married to producer Arthur P. Jacobs) who learn of the apes' advanced power of speech, and where Dr. Milo ends up killed by a non-civilized gorilla. By that time, a Presidential Commission has been formed to not only investigate the return of Taylor's spaceship, but also how Cornelius and Zira ended up in it -- after revealing their ability to speak in front of the Commission, the simians are treated first as guests, then as celebrities. However, Cornelius and Zira start to suffer a reversal of fortune, when the latter becomes pregnant with their child, causing scientist and Presidential advisor Dr. Otto Hasslein (Eric Braeden) to fear that Earth will be dominated by talking and thinking apes -- a fear that increases when he learns from Zira, via a truth serum injected into her, what she and Cornelius didn't mention before the Commission (including Earth‘s eventual destruction). As a result, the President of the United States (William Windom) reluctantly orders Cornelius and Zira's sterilization and the termination of their unborn child -- which only increases the apes' desperate plight, especially after Cornelius accidentally kills an Army orderly, and he and Zira make their escape minutes later. From there, the two apes hide at a traveling circus run by the kindly Senor Armando (Ricardo Montalban), where Zira gives birth to her and Cornelius' son Milo (later renamed Caesar) -- near the film's end, Cornelius and his family are gunned to death by both Dr. Hasslein (who is also shot to death) and a Marine sniper. But by the final scene, we find out that the infant chimpanzee who was murdered wasn't Milo -- who, unknown to the world, is now being cared for by Armando, and who utters the film's final lines: "Mama? Mama?"

Escape From The Planet Of The Apes explored many of the most important hot button social issues that were relevant in the late-1960's and early-1970's (and remain so today), including women's rights and scientific experimentation on animals, within the context of its main plot, much like the relevant issues that existed in H.G. Wells' time when he wrote such sci-fi classics like The Time Machine and The War Of The Worlds. As proof of how the film explored the issues that 1970's movie audiences had to deal with in the real world, many of its scenes were inspired by incidents in Pierre Boulle's original novel -- including Zira getting pregnant in the film, which parallels that of Nova's in the novel.

In addition, Escape From The Planet Of The Apes revealed how and why the earth's ape population eventually came to control the planet, an example of what's known in mass media as retroactive continuity -- as Cornelius explains later on in the film (and according to history scrolls that were kept a secret from his fellow apes), it started with an outer space virus that killed every dog and cat on Earth (though we never find out if the virus killed other pet animals like birds, hamsters, etc. -- or if it affected any other Earth animals, including apes), which resulted in the planet's human population adopting the apes first as pets, then as servants, the latter position eventually bordering on slavery -- until a gorilla called Aldo rebelled against his human master by saying "No," eventually resulting in him and the other apes overthrowing all of humankind. Of course, this plot twist, as conceived by screenwriter Paul Dehn, did have several flaws in terms of continuity -- for one thing, in the first two Apes films, Cornelius was as much in the dark as the rest of 40th Century Earth's ape population as far as the events leading up to them dominating the planet were concerned, something that he failed to explain in the third Apes film. Also, in the first two films, there was no mention of the apes celebrating the anniversary of Aldo's defiant move that would result in the rebellion against the human race.

Continuity glitches aside, Escape From The Planet Of The Apes was a box office success like its predecessors -- and would bring about the next film in the series, which would prove to be far more darker and violent than the first three films: Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, released in late-June 1972; the fourth film was also the first (and only) in the series to get a PG-rating from the Motion Picture Association of America for its graphic violence, unlike the other films which received G-ratings.

Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, directed by J. Lee Thompson (The Guns Of Navarone) and written by Paul Dehn, building upon the plot twist introduced in Escape From The Planet Of The Apes concerning the space virus that eliminated every dog and cat on Earth that would lead to humans adopting apes as pets and servants, takes place in the United States of America in the year 1991 (which has since come and gone in the real world, making this film sort of dated), when the country has become a totalitarian dictatorship (perhaps inspired by George Orwell's 1984), partly to prevent the world's ape population from overthrowing mankind -- a fact that isn't lost on Cornelius and Zira's now-grown-up son Caesar (Roddy McDowall, who also played Cornelius in two of the first three Apes films), who's now a bareback rider in Senor Armando's circus, as both visit Central City, which is run by the corrupt Governor Breck (Don Murray). Both Caesar and Armando try to be cautious while in Central City, yet it can't hide how they feel when they see enslaved apes forced to perform menial duties -- as well as those who are punished severely for being disobedient, which prompts Caesar to shout out "Lousy human bastards!" Needless to say, it results in unwanted attention for both Caesar and Armando (who tells the lie that it was he who uttered that exclamation, not Caesar), who soon go into hiding -- both soon part, as Caesar takes refuge among a cage full of orangutans from Borneo who are designated for slavery via brutal conditioning (with Caesar eventually sold to Governor Breck), while Armando goes to the authorities to clear up any misunderstandings.

Things then go from bad to worse, when Armando, after being interrogated by the authorities, commits suicide before they can force him to reveal Caesar's existence -- which shocks and infuriates the simian, who loses all faith in human kindness, and soon secretly trains nearly all of Central City's ape population (mainly gorillas and chimpanzees) in the combat arts, as well as procure the weapons needed for the upcoming rebellion. But then, Caesar is captured by Breck's men, and is soon forced to reveal his identity via electrical torture before he is slated to be executed; however, Mr. MacDonald (Hari Rhodes), an African-American who's one of Breck's aides -- and who sympathizes with the apes' plight, since his ancestors were slaves -- reduces the electrical power of the death device that's supposed to execute Caesar, who not only survives his punishment, but also eliminates his would-be executioner. From there, Caesar leads the ape rebellion that results in the deaths of many Central City police officers and government officials, a prelude to similar rebellions by other apes throughout the world; screenwriter Paul Dehn based the film‘s climax on the violent race riots that occurred in Los Angeles‘ Watts section roughly seven years before.

The final scene of Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes was somewhat altered from what it was already intended to be -- in the original ending, Caesar and his fellow apes would kill Breck and the other remaining residents of Central City, despite MacDonald's unsuccessful attempt to convince Caesar to show mercy for the man who wanted him dead; that ending didn't fare well with preview audiences who first saw the film. As a result, 20th Century Fox re-edited the final scene using existing footage, in which Lisa (Natalie Trundy), Caesar's future wife, convinces him to reconsider his decision by uttering the word "N -N - N - No . . .." (Accomplished by dubbing a new voice-over) -- as Caesar tells his ape army to cease with the violence, and rule the human race in a humane fashion.

Like its previous sequels, Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes has its share of continuity glitches (and whether or not Paul Dehn -- who wrote the first three sequels -- was actually aware of them when he wrote the scripts for them continues to arouse discussion today.). For one thing, as revealed in Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes, Caesar was responsible for the ape rebellion -- whereas Escape From The Planet Of The Apes stated that Aldo was credited with starting it, according to the history scrolls that Cornelius mentioned; therefore, Caesar's presence might have altered the course of history, as suggested in the fourth Apes film -- since his parents Cornelius and Zira came from the far future. Furthermore, Aldo, who was supposed to utter "No" as the history scrolls recorded, said nothing in the fourth Apes film -- that honor would go to Lisa, the chimpanzee who would end up marrying Caesar.

The final film in the Planet Of The Apes series, Battle For The Planet Of The Apes, released in mid-June 1973, and directed by J. Lee Thompson from the screenplay by the husband-and-wife writing team of John and Joyce Hooper Corrington (and based on Paul Dehn's story idea), has been considered by many to be the weakest of the four sequels, and the one with the lowest budget. The film is framed by a prologue and epilogue taking place in the 27th Century in which the Lawgiver (played by actor/director John Huston), whose statute appeared in the first two Apes films, narrates the story of how Caesar (now married to Lisa, the mother of their son Cornelius, named after Caesar‘s own father) -- now the leader of Ape City -- learns the truth about his parents via audiotapes, as well as Earth's fate in the far future, as he tries to bring about peace between both humans and ape in the early-21st Century, after the earth was ravaged by global nuclear war. However, Caesar's efforts are threatened by not only Kolp (Severn Darden, reprising his role from Conquest Of The Planet Of The Apes), an official serving under Governor Breck, then succeeding him as leader of the former Central City (now renamed the Forbidden City) after his death, who orders an all-out war on Ape City after spotting the simian and several associates within the city limits -- but also Aldo (Claude Akins), the gorilla leader, who plots to overthrow Caesar and eliminate all humans in order to become leader of Ape City, which includes injuring Caesar's son in order to achieve that end; near the film's end, Aldo dies after a duel to the death between him and Caesar. By the film's epilogue, there seems to be peace between both humans and apes in the 27th Century -- though a tear running down the cheek of Caesar's statue might tell a different story, perhaps paving the way for a future sequel. However, 20th Century Fox decided to end the Planet Of The Apes film franchise after this sequel -- but then, it was best this way, since the franchise was start to run out of creative steam. The final Apes film would also be one of the last films to be produced by Arthur P. Jacobs, who died barely over a week after its release.

The end of the Planet Of The Apes film series didn't diminish its popularity, as evident by CBS broadcasting the five theatrical films on TV during the 1970's -- not to mention a paperback reissue of Pierre Boulle's original novel, plus best-selling paperback adaptations of the four Apes sequels that were published in the late-1960's and early-1970's. In 1970, Gold Key published a comic book adaptation of Beneath The Planet Of The Apes -- in the decades to come, a number of comic book publishers, including Marvel and Dark House, would publish their own Planet Of The Apes comic books. (Currently, independent comic book publisher Mr. Comics owns the license to publish Planet Of The Apes comic books.) The films would also become one of the major licensing successes of the past few decades, as the popularity and box office success of the Apes franchise helped spawned a wide array of merchandise items, from lunch boxes and action figures to beach towels and video games -- similar to other mass media properties, both past and present, which helped spawn successful merchandising empires

Inspired by how well airings of the Planet Of The Apes theatrical films earned respectable Nielsen ratings for CBS, the network commissioned 20th Century Fox to produce a hour-long TV series, which aired during the 1974-75 prime time season, with Apes film alumni Roddy McDowall taking on the role of the simian Galen, who helps two time-tossed NASA astronauts (Ron Harper, James Naughton) who end up back on Earth in the year 3085, escape the gorilla soldiers who've been ordered to kill them. Several things made the TV version different from the film series -- including the fact that the humans living on the 31st Century Earth depicted in the TV series can actually talk, and the presence of certain forms of technology left over from past centuries. Still, the TV version of Planet Of The Apes, which first aired in mid-September 1974, was canceled three months later, unable to take away viewers from NBC's highly rated Sanford & Son and Chico & The Man; the TV series ended before the ultimate fate of the two astronauts could be answered. (When several TV-movies compiled of episodes from the TV series first aired in syndication in 1981, including ABC-affiliate stations; it was the ABC-affiliate stations which aired new prologues and epilogues as part of their afternoon movie programs, with McDowall reprising his role as a now older Galen -- and who revealed that the human astronauts from the TV series did indeed leave 31st Century Earth in the spaceship that had brought them there; it would be the last time that McDowall would don the ape makeup that was largely associated with the franchise.)

The following year, NBC aired Return To The Planet Of The Apes, an animated TV series co-produced by Fox in tandem with David H. DePatie and Friz Freleng, as part of the network's Saturday morning schedule during the 1975-76 TV series. The animated TV series -- in which three astronauts, including a female, end up on the ape-dominated Earth of the future -- is best remembered for the fact that it remained true to Pierre Boulle's original concepts, especially the technologically advanced society (complete with TV, automobiles, etc.), just like the one depicted in the novel (and which 20th Century Fox and producer Arthur P. Jacobs couldn't recreate for the first two Apes films in 1968 and 1970, due to budget restrictions). Despite the services of comic book artist Doug Wildey (who designed the characters for Hanna-Barbera's Jonny Quest back in the 1960's), who served as the series' associate producer and supervising director, and the inclusion of characters from both the Apes feature films and live-action TV series, Return To The Planet Of The Apes would only last a single season on NBC before going off the air for good in early-September 1976, with the ultimate fate of its human heroes left up in the air; it would also be the last Planet Of The Apes project that Fox would produce for the next twenty-five years.

By the late-1990‘s and 2000‘s, the science fiction film as a whole had already advanced forward in terms of storytelling and technology, as evident by the success of such film properties as Star Wars, Star Trek, and The Terminator. Also, by that time, the term "Re-Imagining" would come into vogue, referring to past film franchises like Halloween that were both revived and revamped for modern audiences.

Starting in the late-1990's, 20th Century Fox, its prestige already benefiting strongly from distributing George Lucas's Star Wars films, as well as the box office success of Independence Day (1996), decided to revive the Planet Of The Apes franchise for a new generation of movie audiences. The original film series that entertained audiences in the late-1960's and 1970's was not only still popular (thanks in part to repeated showings on the TV, plus the films themselves being released on home video since the late-1970‘s, in both video cassette and DVD disc formats), but had also become part of both pop culture and film history -- a great example of the franchise's continuing influence on the entertainment industry was found in a 1996 episode of FOX's The Simpsons, featuring a scene in which Troy McClure (Phil Hartman) starred in a stage musical based on Planet Of The Apes.

Doing a 21st Century remake of Planet Of The Apes proved to be more difficult than producing the 1968 film version and its sequels. Directors Oliver Stone and James Cameron were attached to the project at various times -- and at one point, Cameron even wanted Arnold Schwarzenegger to play the lead role in the film. In the end, the job of producing and directing the remake fell to, respectively, Richard Zanuck (who was Fox production chief when the 1968 film version was released) and Tim Burton, who was no stranger to popular film franchises, having directed the first two of Warner Bros.' Batman films in the late-1980's and early-1990's. But despite a distinguished cast headed by Mark Wahlberg (and featuring unbilled cameos by Charlton Heston and Linda Harrison, who appeared in the first two Apes films in 1968 and 1970), and the exceptional makeup work of Academy Award-winner Rick Baker (whose ape makeup that was applied on co-stars Tim Roth, Helena Bonham Carter, etc. was more realistic than that of John Chambers' over thirty years before), Burton's remake of Planet Of The Apes, though a box office success, was panned by most film critics, who like many diehard fans, preferred the earlier Apes films over the 2001 version. It should be noted that the remake's ending, in which Wahlberg's character of astronaut Leo Davidson, after his time travel trip to the apes' planet in the early-31st Century, returns to Earth in the year 2029 to find it dominated by talking apes -- and inspired by the ending in Pierre Boulle's novel -- was supposed to serve as a springboard for a possible sequel that would never happen, due to the film's mostly negative reviews.

Subsequent and unsuccessful attempts to recapture the magic has, fortunately, not tarnished the popularity of the Planet Of The Apes franchise, especially the film trilogy from the late-1960's and 1970's that started it -- a franchise that remains one of the most successful (and more often than not, thought-provoking) in show business history.

The story's main character is Takeru, a slacker high school student who figures the world isn't going to change because of anything he does, much to the irritation of his classmates Sakurako and Amika and cousin Mari, whose family he lives with. While on a delivery for his uncle, Takeru and his best friend Ryo follow a mysterious streak of light into the woods where they find a beautiful girl calling herself Hikari, who seems to have no memory of who she is or where she came from. They are then attacked by a strange, alien monster, and during the fight Takeru finds himself transforming into a armored creature himself to save Hikari.

Things don't get easier from there, but not because Takeru has to fight more monsters to protect Hikari. First off, he has to explain Hikari to his friends and family after bringing her home with him, with Hikari showing some very open affection for the flustered Takeru. Then Jennifer Portman, a sexy blonde American scientist with a habit for heavy drinking and walking around barely dressed, moves in as a border and takes an interest in Hikari. Then Ryo finds another girl in the woods, Akari, who seems to have some kind of connection to Hikari and can't seem to remember anything about herself, either. And, of course, he takes her home with him, much to the irritation of his level-headed younger sister, Kimi.

Some folks might expect from the first episode that this show would be your usual “transforming-hero-fights-the-monster-of-the-week”, with Hikari being some kind of princess on the run with monsters after her. Well, thankfully, this isn't that kind of show, since the first episode's the only one with any fighting in it. The rest of the episodes on this disc focus a bit more on the romantic comedy angle of the series, complete with all the usual elements. From Hikari's open affection and devotion to Takeru, to the jealous reactions of this two idiot friends, to the jealousy of Mari who realizes her own feelings for Takeru, to Takeru's reactions to Hikari's affections and his friends' opinions on the matter, it sounds like a typical romantic comedy done many times before. Thankfully, Gainax does a bit more serious take on the whole idea. For one thing, Takeru isn't pushing Hikari away simply because he's a clueless idiot for comedy's sake, but because he has some personal issues to deal with. That sort of seriousness is something you rarely find in shows like this, making it a bit more true to life than others.

Speaking of seriousness, there are quite a few of those moments in each episode. Every now and then, characters sit down to have serious talks about various topics, whether it's Takeru thinking he should be doing more with his life or Kimi talking to Akari about the family situation she has with her brother. There's also some talk about Hikari and Akari and where they might have come from. Rather than simply accept that aliens look like cute human girls, Jennifer shows her brains in coming up with plausible theories about how they would travel through space and look human on Earth. I have to say it's one of the most realistic and serious ideas about aliens that I've seen in a sci-fi show, especially an anime one, which makes a bit of a rare treat. It's this type of serious stuff that makes “This Ugly Yet Beautiful World” a show that makes you think while watching. Luckily, it also makes you laugh, as there are plenty of other comedic moments throughout the story, like Kimi's freaking out when Ryo brings Akari home or Akari's companion Kuon, a little ghost-like being that floats, makes a slapstick-style getaway after getting caught stealing watermelons, so it makes for a nice balancing act.

There are some who might think that the show's a bit slow-going, after kicking off with a talk about extinction then going into some type of monsters and alien girls show. Especially since there's only twelve episodes to be had in the whole series. This, however, I think is a good thing, since it shows that the show is taking the time to properly set things up, rather than cram certain things into a couple of episodes just to get the story going, or throw monster attacks in for the heck of it. You don't get that kind of storytelling in anime a lot, so here's another thing that makes this series seem fresh.

Probably the only gripe I have about the show is Takeru in his transformed state. The good news is that it's not your typical armored transformation, with it literally growing out his body and looking like a part of it. But for some reason or other, he looks a bit more cartoony in design while in this state, almost like he was drawn by a different artist than the rest of the cast. I suppose it was a way to make his form seem more alien or whatnot, but I still think he could've been drawn to match the design and look of the show.

The show has a pretty decent dub track, with the English voices being good matches for the Japanese ones in terms of tone and dialogue. Though, for some reason, a lot of the dub cast are using pseudonyms rather than their real names, even though a lot of the voices are recognizable. And a lot the names just seem like real bad puns. For example, Luci Christian is easy to spot voicing Hikari, but in the credits she's listed as “Tabitha Hickey”. There's no reason as to why this was done, but it doesn't change the fact that ADV managed to do a good recording job.

Since there some Japanese jokes and terms that are hard to translate properly, one of the bonus features on the disc is a handy list of translator notes which explain a few things. For example, “Ryo-sama” (which is what the girls at school call him) is translated in the subtitles as “Ryo darling”, so the notes explain the meaning behind it for those less in the know. They may be hard to read because the small text doesn't appear well on a TV screen, but the notes remain handy little pieces of information. It's certainly the best piece of bonus material on the disc, since the rest is standard stuff like clean opening and closing animation, some Japanese TV ads for the CD soundtrack and DVD releases, some trailers for other ADV releases and a preview for the next volume in the series. Nothing major, but worth checking out.

Slow going or not, “This Ugly Yet Beautiful World” is still a series worth checking out, whether it be the sweet but somewhat deep story or the “old school” elements that many remember from they first started watching anime. Definitely quite enjoyable.

Released by: ADV Films

Rating: Age 16+

Running Time: 4 Episodes, 100 minutes

Score: 7 out of 10

About a year into the future, a virus that was designed to cure cancer infected almost all of humanity instead, and those that were mutated killed everyone else, except for one man. Dr. Robert Neville[Smith], an army scientist who tried and failed to reverse the virus in time, is the only human being alive in the now deserted island of Manhattan.

With only the family dog to keep him company, he spends his time hunting wildlife, performing experiments to try and reverse the virus, and send radio messages to any possible survivors. But he's not really alone, as he finds out after meeting a group of infected, ultra violent mutants- who thank him for his efforts to find a cure for them by trying to tear him apart.

Richard Matheson's mid 1950's novel of isolation and mutation is put into movie form for the third time by "Constantine" director Francis Lawrence. Unlike the other versions, this one naturally has more digital toys to play with, which is a bigger advantage when you see how they empty New York of almost all life. The eerie quiet of what's normally one of the world's busiest cities, combined with some almost jungle like new features, make for quite a few unsettling moments. You think New York is scary enough after dark now?

Try watching Neville walk around a lightless building of "dark seeking" mutants, and try to survive them at night, then come back to me. That would be tense enough in a regular big city, but it's something different when there's no one else around at the time. Lawrence uses the deserted landscape to it's fullest extent for the first half of the movie, as the tension is often built to its greatest extent without too much noise. But there are times when the big, earsplitting stuff provides a jolt as well.

Lawrence is more effective showing the wonder of a deserted Manhattan than he is in showing off his monsters, who are basically retreads of the faster, rage filled zombies in the "28 Days/Weeks" series. Though there are some signs that these creatures are smarter than at first glance[particularly when they find a way to ensnare Neville], they're finally just reduced to regular old monsters and nothing more.

And once Neville actually gets a chance to talk to two normal humans, things slow down into a regular old chase film[with influences by both Shrek and Bob Marley]We're also stuck with a typical "science vs faith" debate shoved in at the last minute, ending in a supposed display of "God's plan" that almost resembles M. Night Shyamalan's "deus ex machina" ending to "Signs" Screenwriters Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman seem to take their foot off the gas just when the film really starts to get going- though considering Goldsman's spotty record, it's tempting to lay more of the blame on him.

This remake also brings to mind the likes of "Cast Away" with Smith in Tom Hanks's part and his dog as Wilson the volleyball[the dog is a bit more expressive, though]Like Hanks, Smith has the chops to hold our attention all by his lonesome, putting aside his usual larger than life wisecracking persona like he did in "Happyness" We won't see an Oscar nod repeat as well, but he captivates and shows us a more desperate, lost side than usual here without needing the help of his son this time.

In fact, he rarely needs help from any humans to do it, despite late support from Alice Braga and Charlie Tahan, and an early cameo from an Oscar winning British actress as the creator of the virus. Smith flirts with poignancy when Neville's defeats and mental state push him closer to the edge of sanity, but they stop examining that side of the story with about a half hour to go.

"I Am Legend" uses Smith and his lack of good company to often thrilling, often chilling effect. In combining a 50 year old story about the end of humanity with the high tech thrills of Smith's usual CGI spectacles, the modern day tactics help the story maintain its power, but also hold it back somewhat from exploiting all of it. "I Am Legend" gets a B.

This movie begins where the first one left off, we see a Predator lying in state at the back of a ship with his chest burst wide open. There are facehuggers loose on the ship along with the growing Predalien. The lone live Predator on the ship is unable to maintain control of the situation and is killed. The ship crashes on a lonely blue planet known as Earth.

A father and son are out hunting and see the ship crash and rush off to find the ship still smoking in the forest. Predictably, they leave the ship where it lies and go off to contact the local sheriff, but it turns out that the facehuggers survived the crash and implant both the father and the son with Aliens.

We also meet the other main characters early in the movie, the local sheriff, played by John Ortiz, and his old buddy Dallas who took a different path as a criminal. The female lead is Reiko Aylesworth as Kelly. Kelly is a female Army chopper pilot just back from the wars. And, as is almost always the case in Alien movies, we have the little girl, Molly, played by Ariel Gade. Dallas has a little brother, Ricky, played by Johnny Lewis.

This movie has a TON of homage to the original movies, but primarily plays to the title characters, especially the Aliens. Dallas, the hero of the film, is also the name of the captain in the original “Alien” movie, played by Tom Skerrit and there's no question, down to the black wife beater style tank-top worn by the female lead, that Kelly is Ripley (Sigorney Weaver) reborn. I half expected the scared, but brave, little girl in the film, Molly, to pop off a comment like Newt (Rebecca Hinn) from “Aliens”, which is among the scariest ever delivered on film. “Mostly they come at night. Mostly.”

In general, the Alien parts of the film are pretty terrifying, but the first time the Predator (Wolf) drops into the screen with his invisible body armor and all you hear is the thunder of his landing from the theater speakers, it will shake you to the core. This is a bloody, shoot-em-up with all of the violence, language and gore intact. It is a competent rendering of the Alien and Predator war by the brothers Strause.

I liked it and if you're into Aliens getting the crap kicked out of them by a single hunting Predator with humans merely incidentals in the conflict then this movie is for you. Don't expect too much out of the dialog or the actors, this movie isn't about that. It's about showing the vicious conflict between the Aliens and the Predators and how we got in the middle. Consider it too be, along with the sub-standard “Alien vs. Predator”, a set up for much better movies in the future.

Watching the movie, you can get lost in how dog is man’s best friend. Robert spends a lot of time with his dog, and tries to make him eat his vegetables. He gives the dog a bath and makes him exercise. Everywhere Neville went, the dog was sure to go. But in the end, his dog got in a fight with some other monstrous dogs of the zombies along with his master. The dog was hurt badly from poisonous bites. Robert tried to save the dog holding him like a baby. It is sad to say that he lost his best friend.

One night, Robert gets attacked by the angry zombies again in his vehicle. This time he is attacked alone without his dog. Just as one zombie was about to get the best of him, some light appeared, and he was saved by another survivor named Anna. Anna was like an angel who had a little boy. Robert made friends with them.

In the end, the zombies attacked Robert’s home again. Anna and her son were with him. To get rid of some of them, Robert turned some bright lights on which they could not stand. He blew some of them up, but they just kept on coming. Robert, Anna, and the boy went down into the basement where Robert had just found a cure. The zombies found him, and he quickly closed the lab glass door to shut them out so that they could not reach them. Robert tried to talk to the zombies and tell them that he could cure them. He tried to show them the young girl that was a zombie tied down on his laboratory bed being cured. They would not listen to Robert. They kept on trying to bust into the glass door slowly breaking it. Anna and her son got away, while Robert chose to stay in the lab and risk his life.

Did Robert Die? Go see the movie. I think it is an excellent movie that deserves 10 stars.