Aliens destroy a space station and then bring their attacks to the Earth’s surface as well, prompting the nations of the world to work together, first to send a scouting party to find the aliens’ base on the Moon, and then to battle the aliens’ attack force. A fair amount of action and some good …
The Brain Eaters (American International, 1958)
A strange metal cone has appeared on the outskirts of a small town, and soon odd things begin to occur, including people being taken over by mysterious beings and acting against their friends and fellow citizens. It’s up to scientist Paul Kettering (Ed Nelson) and a small group of others (including a senator there to …
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Gamera: Super Monster (1980)
Uchu kaijû Gamera might be better titled “The Great Gamera Clip Show,” as the giant turtle, the friend of children, is called upon to battle his previous opponents as aliens use them in an attempt to take over the Earth. There’s perhaps not much point to seeing a Gamera film with so much footage from …
Spaceballs (1987)
Earlier this summer, to celebrate Mel Brooks’s 95th birthday, we watched two of his movies. The first was his parody of Star Wars, Spaceballs, a delightful and spot-on skewering of its target. Memorable characters abound, including John Candy as the Wookie-like Barf, Rick Moranis as the not-so-menacing Dark Helmet, and Brooks himself as President Skroob, …
Destination Moon (Eagle Lion, 1950)
Solid science fiction story of the first journey to the Moon, co-scripted by Robert A. Heinlein and produced by George Pal with an eye toward technical accuracy (insofar as possible) in projecting a realistic account of such a trip. The story is fairly basic and at times a little slow, but it does eventually ramp …
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Invasion: UFO (1974)
This theatrical release composed of portions of episodes of the British television series UFO unfortunately falls short despite some good design elements, as the portmanteau nature of the finished product leaves too many holes — e.g., characters simply disappear without explanation — and fails to deliver a sense of urgency in the battle against the …
The Strange World of Planet X (1958)
Scientific experiments involving boosted magnetism are having unforeseen impacts, and a stranger has shown up in the vicinity of the British lab where the research is going on. Said stranger purports to be an alien warning of the devastating effect of the cosmic rays reaching Earth as a result of the experiments, resulting in aggressive …
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The War in Space (1977)
Aliens operating from Venus attack Earth, and the planet’s defense falls on an experimental space battleship. The forces of Earth do send a team to Venus, and there’s a weird shaggy alien with horns that for a time holds as a prisoner the daughter of the commander of the battleship. Overall, the movie (original title: …
The X from Outer Space (1967)
Lightweight science fiction movie has a spaceship sent to Mars buzzed by a UFO and returning to Earth with a sample of alien spore that grows into a giant monster, which of course then begins devastating Japan. A love triangle plot among the space travelers provides more story than usual on the human side in …
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Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds (1977)
Disappointing monster movie, originally titled Kyôryû kaichô no densetsu, is largely devoted to plesiosaur attacks in a lake where a festival is being held, in imitation of Jaws, although at the same time a scientist is investigating reports of the discovery of a giant egg in the mountains. A fair amount of violence, including some …
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