Director Sandy Collora is known around the country for being one of the most, if not the most talented fan filmmaker of the modern era. Collora is a skilled artist and a man capable of creating his own visions of a mythos that are nothing short of brilliant and dazzling. Not surprising, Collora eventually took time out to create his own world with his own characters and it happens to be a pure work of science fiction excellence that channels the likes of “Hell in the Pacific” to convey a wide scope of a grander story that is scaled down to the personal battle of two soldiers in the middle of a inter-galactic war. Collora paints the picture of two soldiers stranded on an island during a great war that eventually becomes their own personal battle.
Species II (1998)
I never actually understood the appeal of the first two “Species” film. The first film basically piggybacked on the revelation of sex bomb shell Natash Henstridge who incidentally ended up being a one note actress, and then the series inevitably fizzled out in to obscurity. Natasha Henstridge looks about as incredible as ever, and as Eve she presents a surprisingly significant change in personality and demeanor. This is a new shade of the monster where as Sil was much more “The Creature from the Black Lagoon” based around its predatorial habits, Eve is The Creature in “The Creature Walks Among Us,” still vicious but much more vulnerable and open to humanity, for better or for worse. It’s easy to buy that Sil and Eve are different entities, and Henstridge carries this career making role well and looks dynamite with shorter hair.
Species (1995)
Let’s face it, the only reason why “Species” was remotely a financial success was because of Natasha Henstridge. The newcomer not only radiates on-screen but her searing sexuality and ability to look incredible no matter what position or what kind of gelatinous goo she’s covered in outweighs any quality of the film. Sure, the fans can attempt to argue the film’s merits by claiming my own reasoning faulty, but let’s cut the crap here. “Species” was a hit because it offered up two key elements. It had a gorgeous woman was a decent actress, and had an iconic moment of 1995 where the predatory Sil proceeds to bust the backs of heads off of a few unlucky guys who don’t meet her standard for mating.
Assault Girls [Asaruto gâruzu] (2009)
Wow, so Zack Snyder got the idea for “Sucker Punch” from “Assault Girls.” Interesting. Watching 2009’s “Assault Girls,” it was tough not to compile that thought, considering this film and Snyder’s upcoming film all involve gorgeous women having adventures in their imagination to stave off suffering in their own reality, all the while they’re instilled with their own individual personas as applied to their personalities that reflect their powers and weapons during battle. The only difference is, “Assault Girls” chronicles this imagination through a virtual reality system called Avalon that allows the women (whom we never see in actual origin) to become warriors. With “Sucker Punch,” it’ll be based more around fantasies and delusions.
Starship Troopers 3: Marauder (2008)
I really don’t care that Ed Neumeier is behind this. I applaud his history with science fiction cinema and Robocop, but as a sequel and standalone film “Starship Troopers 3” is a terrible film. The satire I can often stomach since it was so much apart of the original film, but the fact that the satire is much too obvious to even call it respectable satire is just much too clumsy at times. “Marauder” is that film in the series many fans were anxious to watch mainly because it’s much more loyal to the novel, but that doesn’t entirely promise entertainment.
Aliens, Abductions & Extraordinary Sightings: A Paranormal Documentary Collection (DVD)
“There’s twelve hours of this?” I asked myself while watching what I can only assume are a series of completely disconnected featurettes and “documentaries” about UFO’s and abductions, all of which are about as half baked as I expected them to be.
When I put these DVD’s in my player, I almost expected documentaries in the vein of the 90’s television show “Sightings,” but in reality this is just a compilation of various documentaries and television specials that discuss UFO’s and don’t really try to decipher anything regarding the anomaly of UFOlogy. Unless you’re a die hard fan of this sort of phenomenon and want to soak in twelve hours of documentaries and specials, there really won’t be much to lure audiences in, in the end.
The Untamed Tura: A Tribute
“One of the things that I always said, and it was one of my father’s favorite sayings, ‘Always be good to the people on the way up, because you’re going to meet them on the way down.’ I have always lived by that philosophy. The one thing you’ve got to remember is that you just never accept defeat. Remember to never let life get you down, because there is always something new to learn tomorrow. Life is to be lived, and lived well.” – Tura Satana
Earlier this year, Cinema Crazed had the privilege to read Author Shade Rupe’s compendium of interviews entitled “Dark Stars Rising.” It’s a lengthy tome comprised of unedited uncut interviews with some of the biggest and not so biggest cult icons in history, all of whom were fairly deserving of their own lengthy tome. Among the interviews in the book, one of the interviews was from Ms. Tura Satana. Of course, since “Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” is one of our favorite cult films ever made, and undoubtedly one of our favorite films of all time, Satana’s interview was the first we turned to.