THE EXPLOSIVE REVIEW

Starring: Michael York, Richard Jordan, Jenny Agutter, Peter Ustinov, and Farrah Fawcett.

Directed By: Michael Anderson.

Story:
In the 23rd Century, the world has fallen due to overpopulation, pollution, and war. The last survivors continue life inside a giant domed city, putting the world outside behind them. Within their contained ecologically balanced world, the human race lives for the sake of pleasure, the only problem is: Once you turn thirty, you must die or become born again in a fiery ritual known as the Carousel.

Characters:
*Logan (Michael York): A sandman turned fugitive.
*Francis (Richard Jordan): Logan’s best friend, also a sandman, who pursues him.
*Jessica (Jenny Agutter): A woman who holds the secret to finding sanctuary, also on the run with Logan.
*Box (Roscoe Lee Browne): A large cyborg gone insane.
*Old Man (Peter Ustinov): An elderly man living outside of the domed city whom Logan and Jessica meet and partner up with.

Overall:
Welcome to the world of “Logan’s Run”. Based on the novel by George Clayton Johnson, the story centers around Logan 5 (Michael York) who is a sandman - the police, so to speak, of the domed world, although instead of providing ’sleep’, they provide termination for ‘runners’ (the thirty-year old citizens who refuse to become reborn in the Carousel) - He often wonders what exactly is beyond the domed city and what actually happens to people on the Carousel, but his fellow friend Francis 7 (Richard Jordan) always assumes the obvious and reminds him not to bother with such questions.

We are treated to a carousel sequence early on in the film after the first scene - While the effects and such seem a little dated here (as it does in other places), the whole concept depicted here actually seems pretty scary - It is never mentioned whether the carousel brings survival or reincarnation to its members, but it takes place inside a large circular arena where the participants are decked out in white hoods, face masks and bodysuits painted with flames. The floor rotates while the participants float upwards toward a huge rosette on the ceiling of the arena. While floating up, they are each vaporized one by one while everyone watching cheers and chants “Renew!”

Sometime later, Logan finds himself ‘in the mood’ so he looks for a woman on what’s known as “the circuit”, a teleportation-like device which (by remote control) can summon someone from the circuit - Here he summons a beautiful girl named Jessica 6 (Jenny Agutter). She, unfortunately, is not in the mood but happens to be wearing an interesting collar with an ankh pendant hanging from it. Later, at the Sandman headquarters, Logan returns the personal items he gathered from the runner he and Francis killed at the beginning, which includes another ankh, the computer informs him that it is a symbol for an underground railroad ran by a group assisting runners who are trying to reach a safe haven known as “Sanctuary”. Here, the computer assigns Logan a special mission: Find Sanctuary and destroy it. In order to do this, there’s a catch: The computer advances Logan’s life clock to thirty so that he can qualify as a runner (runners are identified by the red blinking light in the palm of their left hand).

Logan is reluctant to accept but has no choice. He confronts Jessica again and before you know it, they’re both on the run, through the domed city to the sewers and to the mysterious caverns beyond. This is a great cult film which became often overshadowed by “Star Wars” which came out a year later. The special effects may look a bit on the cheap side, but as far as entertainment and fun goes, “Logan’s Run” certainly delivers. Also, Jenny Agutter is such a gorgeous babe to watch here. It should also be noted that a remake has been in development hell since 1994. While I am not a huge fan of remakes (many of them stink), I think this film could use one - especially the carousel sequence, picturing what could be done with that today is even scarier than what’s seen in the original here.

Rating: ****

Starring: Tim Matheson, Peter Riegert, John Belushi, James Widdoes, Bruce McGill, Douglas Kenney, Thomas Hulce, Stephen Furst, James Daughton, Mark Metcalf, Kevin Bacon, John Vernon, Verna Bloom, Karen Allen, Donald Sutherland, Sarah Holcomb, DeWayne Jessie, Mary Louise Weller, Martha Smith, and Cesare Danova.

Directed by: John Landis.

Story:
The setting is within the fictional Faber College in 1962. Freshmen Larry Kroger (Hulce) and Kent Dorfman (Furst) want to get accepted in a fraternity with a good reputation. First, they try out for the most prestigious one on campus, the Omega Theta Pi House consisting of militia-minded elite students like Gregg Marmalard (Daughton) and Doug Neirdermeyer (Metcalf), which they are kicked out from because they’re way out of their league. That leaves them with the option next store - The Delta Tau Chi House - a group of campus misfits where people like John “Bluto” Blutarsky (Belushi) and D-Day (McGill) dwell at. Fortunately, they are sworn in and given their fraternity names “Pinto” (for Larry) and “Flounder” (for Kent).

The Omega house is not Delta’s only problem - Dean Vernon Wormer (John Vernon) is in the process of removing Delta from the entire campus. Partnering with the Omegas, they put their minds to work to find a way to rid of the Deltas once and for all. What results is an all-out war of hilarious pranks between both sides that will knock your socks off.

Characters:
*Eric ‘Otter’ Stratton (Tim Matheson): Smooth playboy type, the delta’s unofficial leader.
*Donald ‘Boon’ Schoenstein (Peter Riegert): Otter’s best buddy, always caught up in between his girlfriend Katy and his Delta friends.
*John ‘Bluto’ Blutarsky (John Belushi): A crazy, insane, and drunken degenerate in his 7th college year and practically a zero GPA.
*Robert Hoover (James Widdoes): The fraternity’s clean cut President, always struggling to maintain normalcy amongst them to avoid trouble from the Dean.
*Daniel Simpson Day ‘D-Day’ (Bruce McGill): Tough biker type, also with no GPA.
*’Stork’ (Douglas Kenney): A delta member with suspected brain damage.
*Lawrence ‘Pinto’ Kroger (Thomas Hulce): Shy but normal type. He’s a newbie to the frat along with Flounder.
*Kent ‘Flounder’ Dorfman (Stephen Furst): Overweight and clumsy type who joins the Delta along with his friend Pinto.
*Gregory Marmalard (James Daughton): President of the Omega House, one of the main villains here.
*Douglas Niedermeyer (Mark Metcalf): ROTC Cadet officer and military-family bred Omega pledge who is a Nazi type.
*Dean Vernon Wormer (John Vernon): The Dean of the college who is trying to kick out the deltas.
*Marion Wormer (Verna Bloom): Vernon’s wife who has no problem sleeping with younger men, even if they are one of the deltas.
*Katy (Karen Allen): Boon’s frustrated girlfriend who spends a lot of ‘time’ with her professor.
*Professor Dave Jennings (Donald Sutherland): An English professor who seems practically bored out of his skull.

Overall:
Things go bad from worse in the laugh-out-loud campus comedy “Animal House”, which tells the tale of a misfit pack of fraternity boys who take on their college administration, no guts, no glory. Based on the real-life fraternity experiences of screenwriters Chris Miller at Dartmouth College and Harold Ramis at Washington University in St. Louis.

“Animal House” is the film that launched what’s known as the “gross-out genre”. The film consists of spectacular performances by an all-star cast ranging from Kevin Bacon, John Belushi, Karen Allen, John Vernon, Tim Matheson, Peter Riegert, Donald Sutherland, and many more. The story contains sheer levels of manic energy and anarchic action-packed humor. Director John Landis handles the comic pitch very carefully and with great skill. The script is filled with hilarious highs of tummy-buckling laughter that culminates in one of the most epic, action-packed, laugh-out-loud finales ever depicted on film since 1972’s “What’s Up, Doc?”. “Animal House” may be gross, it may be tasteless, but the one thing for sure is that it’s unbearably funny, and that’s why it’s so lovable.

Rating: *****

Starring: David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott H. Reiniger, Gaylen Ross, David Crawford, David Early, Richard France, Howard Smith, James A. Baffico, Rudy Ricci, Tom Savini, Taso N. Stavrakis, Marty Schiff, Nick Tallo, William George, and Larry Valra.

Directed by: George A. Romero.

Story:
Set approximately three weeks after “Night of the Living Dead”, the zombie plague has now escalated to new heights as opposed to the end of ‘Night’ where it seemed like everything was under control - A state of martial law is now in effect in all major cities of the United States, the plague has begun to spread overseas as well, some people are listening to what the scientists and media tell them, but many aren’t, many are reluctant to give up their deceased loved ones to be discarded of completely, adding to the ever-growing ranks of the army of the living dead spreading across the globe.

The story opens in a chaotic news station where all hell has broken loose, the hosts debate back and forth, old and incorrect information fills the TV screens, and people are abandoning their posts left and right. A News chopper pilot, Stephen Andrews (David Emge), meets up with his camera operator girlfriend, Francine Parker (Gaylen Ross), to steal a chopper and escape the ever-growing zombie threat. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia SWAT team is forcing a raid on a ghetto tenement building where its residents refuse to give up their revived loved ones for proper extermination. Part of this raid is SWAT operative Roger DeMarco (Scott H. Reiniger) whom finds himself in a more of a bloody massacre than he bargained for upon working his way into the building with his teammates. He soon runs into Peter Washington, part of another SWAT unit raiding the building, whom he connects with and offers a getaway ticket from the end of the world.

The two SWAT officers, the pilot and his girlfriend all meet up to escape Philadelphia via helicopter. The group flies cross-country Pennsylvania, stopping for fuel and supplies wherever they can and running into the undead everywhere they go. They soon stumble across a massive shopping mall in Monroeville, a suburb just outside of Pittsburgh, which the dead are already starting to invade. The group lands on the roof and set up shelter in one of the mall’s storage rooms on top. But what starts as a short break soon turns into a long-term stay as they decide to take over the shopping mall, blocking all the entrances with trucks, taking care of what’s left inside, and keeping the place all to themselves - And they have everything they will ever need right there.

Characters:
*Stephen ‘Flyboy’ Andrews (David Emge): The clumsy traffic helicopter pilot who needs a lot of practice firing a gun as well as getting his priorities straight.
*Peter Washington (Ken Foree): A big and tough SWAT team member who is pretty much the brains and backbone of the group.
*Roger ‘Trooper’ DeMarco (Scott H. Reiniger): A wildcat SWAT team member who’s close friends with Stephen and partners up with Peter.
*Francine Parker (Gaylen Ross): A news camera woman who is also Stephen’s girlfriend and is pregnant with his baby.
*Blades (Tom Savini): An important member of a biker gang that wants to loot the shopping mall.

Overall:
“Dawn of the Dead” is the best sequel since “The Godfather, Part II”, a classic piece of 1970s cinema that has been heavily praised ever since. The cast of four each hold their own. Romero once again casts an African-American hero and, just like the original, there is no mention of race anywhere to be found. Much like James Cameron did with “Aliens”, George A. Romero tops himself in many ways with this epic-scope horror sequel with its setting, gore, action, and characters.

The ending is not necessarily a happy one, but there is a slight glimmer of hope as not every single one of the cast members die, but their secluded shopping mall haven comes tumbling down in one of the most fashionable, disgusting, and action-packed showdowns ever depicted. The music is a huge plus this time around, much thanks to Dario Argentino and Goblin, while it does have a 70s streak, it is some of the most creative and unconventional tracks ever recorded for a horror film.

As the first sequel to “Night of the Living Dead”, “Dawn of the Dead” deserves its rightful place next to the likes of “The Godfather, Part II”, “Aliens”, and “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”.

Rating: *****

Starring: Roger Moore, Michael Lonsdale, Lois Chiles, Toshiro Suga, Richard Kiel, Corinne Clery, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Geoffrey Keen, Walter Gotell, Emily Bolton, and Blanche Ravalec.

Directed by: Lewis Gilbert.

Story:
In “Moonraker”, Bond must stop the billionaire owner of a space shuttle-manufacturing company, Hugo Drax, from proceeding with his plot to wipe out the whole world via nerve gas and re-create mankind in the form of a master race. Aiding him this time is Bond girl Holly Goodhead, who turns out to be a CIA agent who is also trying to foil Drax’s genocidal plans.

Characters:
*James Bond (Roger Moore): M16 agent 007 investigating theft of a missing space shuttle, Moonraker.
*Sir Hugo Drax (Michael Lonsdale): A villainous industrialist intent on poisoning all of mankind so that he can begin civilization anew in space.
*Jaws (Richard Kiel): Now Drax’s right hand man, afflicted with gigantism.
*Holly Goodhead (Lois Chiles): CIA agent working undercover for Drax, ends up joining 007.
*Chang (Toshiro Suga): Drax’s bodyguard and martial arts expert.
*M (Bernard Lee): Head of M16 Secret Service.
*Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell): M’s secretary.
*Q (Desmond Llewelyn): Bond’s master of gadgets.

Overall:
At this point in the Bond franchise, it seemed as if each and every film was tailored for a certain style or theme rather - Caribbean Bond (”Dr. No”), Railroad Train Bond (”From Russia With Love”), Gold Bond (”Goldfinger”), Aquatic Bond (”Thunderball”, “The Spy Who Loved Me”), Asian Bond (”You Only Live Twice”), Swiss Alps Bond (”On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”), Las Vegas Bond (”Diamonds Are Forever”), Voodoo Bond (”Live And Let Die”), Midget Bond (”The Man With The Golden Gun”), and now we have Space Age Bond - “Moonraker” - the eleventh film in the series and the fourth time with Roger Moore as 007.

At the end of the previous film, “The Spy Who Loved Me”, the credits stated that James Bond will be back for “For Your Eyes Only”. However, after the success of “Star Wars” in 1977, “For Your Eyes Only” was delayed so that the sci-fi space-tailored Bond adventure “Moonraker” could cash in on the whole “Star Wars” craze which consisted of green-lighting every sci-fi script on the studio desk at the time, from “Alien” to “Star Trek: The Motion Picture”.

“Moonraker” comes off a bit silly in some parts and many people (and fans alike) will tell you this, however, the film itself has more than enough exciting and exhilarating moments to make it very redeemable and enjoyable. It doesn’t hold up to “The Spy Who Loved Me”, which is one of the best, but it certainly is no “The Man With The Golden Gun”. One big plus is the return of the 7 ft. tall henchman from the last film, “Jaws”, who later sides with Bond in the film’s climax (don’t worry, it’s rather clever how this was pulled off in the script). “Moonraker” has more than enough memorable action sequences in it, ranging from an opening skydive battle from an airplane to the huge laser battle on Drax’s space station which happens to hold the world record for the largest number of zero gravity wires in a single scene. Cringe at the silliness if you must, but whatever you do, don’t skip “Moonraker”.

Rating: ***1/2

Starring: Roger Moore, Barbara Bach, Curt Jurgens, Richard Kiel, Caroline Munro, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Geoffrey Keen, and Walter Gotell.

Directed by: Lewis Gilbert.

Story:
The story of “The Spy Who Loved Me” has practically nothing to do with the novel by Ian Fleming and is instead focused on a reclusive megalomaniac known as Karl Stromberg - a madman who is hellbent on destroying Planet Earth in return for a new civilization beneath the oceans He plans to do this by capturing Soviet and British nuclear submarines with intentions of having them fire intercontinental missiles at two major cities. 007 joins forces with the gorgeous Russian Agent Anya Amasova in an attempt to stop Stromberg.

Characters:
*James Bond (Roger Moore): M16 agent 007 who is assigned to investigate missing submarines.
*Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach): Agent XXX, a Soviet KGB who is investigating the same case as 007. She falls for Bond not knowing that he unknowingly killed her lover.
*Karl Stromberg (Curt Jurgens): A megalomaniac villain who wants to initiate World War 3 so that he can start a new civilization underwater.
*Jaws (RIchard Kiel): Stromberg’s right hand man who was born with gigantism.
*M (Bernard Lee): Head of M16 Secret Service.
*Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell): M’s secretary.
*Q (Desmond Llewelyn): Bond’s master of gadgets.

Overall:
Roger Moore returns for his third round as James Bond in the franchise’s tenth entry. Also returning is Director Lewis Gilbert, who also directed “You Only Live Twice” starring Sean Connery as James Bond; surprisingly enough, this film depicts a plot that is almost similar.

The plot elements borrow quite a bit from other James Bond films - Destroying mankind with captured nuclear subs and aiming them at major cities was done in “You Only Live Twice” and “Thunderball”, and destroying the human race to start a new civilization was done in “Moonraker” which happened to be the next James Bond film following after this one. On the other hand, “The Spy Who Loved Me” is very sexy, smart, dangerous, and lavishly designed.

It is one of the better Bond films out there and this is Roger Moore at his best as James Bond. Both he and Barbara Bach shine immensely together with their chemistry; and Bach was the Jessica Alba of the 1970s, a true hottie.The gimmicks and sets are the most spectacular seen in the franchise thus yet. The characters appear more realistic than in other Bond chapters, there’s also a minimal amount of slapstick humor used here, just the right touch. It’s nice to know that there other worthwhile films to see in the Summer of 1977 besides “Star Wars”.

In addition, we have two very well-thought villains - The reclusive Karl Stromberg and his tall, gigantic henchman Jaws. Jaws encounters Bond and Anya on several occasions throughout the film, narrowly escaping him each time, until they face off in the film’s explosive and aquatic climax involving submarines, a tanker, Stromberg’s Atlantis hideout, and plenty of water. Gadget seekers will be satisfied with the Espirit car which has aquatic capabilities, making it the best thing to happen since the Aston Martin DB5 in “Goldfinger”. “The Spy Who Loved Me” makes up for the lackluster previous entry that was “The Man With The Golden Gun” and actually makes use of its big budget.

Rating: ****

Starring: Roger Moore, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland, Maud Adams, Herve Villechaize, Bernard Lee, Lois Maxwell, Desmond Llewelyn, Clifton James, Richard Loo, Soon-Tek Oh, and David Hedison.

Directed By: Guy Hamilton.

Story:
As the ninth film in the franchise and the second to star Roger Moore, “The Man With The Golden Gun” sends James Bond after a device known as the Solex Agitator, which is capable of harnessing the sun’s powers. The villain who has this device is Francisco Scaramanga (cough *Count Dracula* cough, Christopher Lee) and his little sidekick (and by little, I mean literally… little) Nicknack. 007’s sidekick, err Bond girl, this time around is Mary Goodnight.

Characters:
*James Bond (Roger Moore): Agent 007 who now seeks out the source of a golden bullet which happens to be Scaramanga.
*Francisco Scaramanga (Christopher Lee): A villainous assassin who enjoys gun duels and plots to misuse solar energy.
*Mary Goodnight (Britt Ekland): The Bond girl who assists him in his adventures throughout the Far East.
*Andrea Anders (Maud Adams): Scaramanga’s dissatisfied mistress who helps Bond track him down.
*Nick Nack (Herve Villechaize): Scaramanga’s little servant.
*M (Bernard Lee): Head of M16 Secret Service.
*Miss Moneypenny (Lois Maxwell): M’s secretary.
*Q (Desmond Llewelyn): Bond’s master of gadgets.

Overall:
Performances by Christopher Lee and Roger Moore light up this Bond adventure and give it some flair. Beneath that all, however, is a Bond film that feels rather boring or uninspired in some ways. There are fantastic concepts behind the two villains here, but the movie’s overall script lacks a sense of invention or freshness, elements that the previous entry “Live And Let Die” had.

The film pays a rather tedious comedic return visit to Sheriff Pepper from “Live And Let Die” but it goes on longer than it should, it worked for that film but here it just feels like they’re trying to remake that sequence all over again. The movie does contain one of the coolest car flips ever captured on cinema however. In addition, the film doesn’t really get remotely interesting until the last 30 minutes when, after a long car chase which he loses to, Bond tracks the villains down to their private island and goes there in a Seaplane. He is greeted by Scaramanga and Nicknack, shown around the facility, and even has lunch with them. Scaramanga then challenges Bond to a gun duel in his funhouse fortress which was carefully crafted by him.

While the end of the Gun duel doesn’t have a satisfying finish, the film makes matters worse with a tacked on “the whole place is going to blow” sequence (in how many Bond films have we seen this before?). “The Man With The Golden Gun was fairly successful box office-wise, but it was also the lowest earning Bond flick. Perhaps releasing it within a week of “The Towering Inferno” and “The Godfather, Part II” wasn’t the smartest idea on the studio’s behalf.

Rating: *1/2