ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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Three movies that range from very bad to very good.

Laserblast (1978) is so bad it’s practically unwatchable, with the exception of a few all-to-brief stop motion scenes.

Return from Witch Mountain (1978) shows its age as badly as Betty Davis did in her last years.

Alien (1979) is a cinemagic legend which spawned a sequel that was even better.
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Laserblast (1978)

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Not a great movie. That's the nice way to put it.

A complete waste of time is the less-nice way -- except that the time you spend watching the animated aliens by David Alien will remind you how much you love stop motion when its done by the right guy.

You're probably better off just watching this Youtube clip below instead the whole move about a troubled teen who gets addicted to something other than plain old drugs, even though the end result is about the same.



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Return from Witch Mountain (1978)

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The poster is probably not right for this film — it makes this look like a dark horror movie, which it most definitely is not.

This one is less comedic than "The Cat from Outer Space", but it sill has the light touch of the Disney movies from this era. The result is a less-than-satisfying film which isn't quite light enough to be funny, not dark enough to be serious, not smart enough to be clever and original, and not dumb enough to provide something to laugh at (rather than with).

Veterans Bette Davis and Christopher Lee don't exactly shine in their rolls, and the rest of the cast is comprised of faces you know you've often seen before, but with names that just don't ring a bell. And if you tried to watch this sequel without watching (and liking) "Escape to Witch Mountain", you'd spend most of the time with your head cocked slightly to one side, wondering why so much of the story was confusing.

On a positive note, the "practical effects" (meaning physical special effects, not CGI) do an impressive job of depicting the young aliens' telekinetic powers — including one scene in which a bus is lifted quickly enough for a speeding car to drive under it.

A made-for-television sequel called "Beyond Witch Mountain" was made in 1982.

Watch the trailer from DailyMotion at this link. If I've talked you out of watching the movie, this one just might talk you right back into it.

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Alien (1979)



Certainly one of the most respected sci-fi movies ever made, but not really one of the best in my own opinion — if you'll forgive a dissenting opinion presented with respect.

The sequel fixed the problem with the basic concept that I felt lessened this film's impact — the absence of characters who ranged from truly admirable to truly despicable, some of whom we really hoped would survive, and others we hoped would not survive, depending on their nature.

This movie didn't quite work for me for the same reason the remake of "The Thing from Another World" failed to win my movie-loving heart.

I know, I know — the characters were "realistic" in both "The Thing" and "Alien", and I'm obviously complaining that they weren't a bit more on the villains-and-heroes side, like Cameron gave us in "Aliens".

But let's be honest, Ripley was pretty much Ripley in both versions, and I love her character in both movies. We just get to know her a little better in the sequel, and we like her even more because of this.

In the final analysis, comparisons are actually unfair (that old apples-and-oranges idea), so it all comes down to what floats your space-going lifeboat, eh?
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)