Archive for June, 2015

Movie Review – Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970)

Back in 1968, the film Planet of the Apes introduced people to a concept of a world where apes rule society and human beings are feral creatures.

Planet of the Apes followed along as astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) was forced to deal with being on a strange and hostile planet.  He was ultimately successful in proving to the apes that human beings are smarter and more resourceful than the apes gave them credit.  Planet of the Apes had a shock ending where Taylor discovered that he was really on planet Earth the whole time.  At some point in the past humanity destroyed itself in warfare, and apes evolved to become the dominant species on the planet.

We know that there’s more to the story of what really happened on planet Earth.  We know that there must be more human artifacts out there.  And we know that there’s more to be discovered.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes was released two years later in 1970.

In Beneath the Planet of the Apes, a second spacecraft (one that was sent to search for Taylor’s spacecraft) travels through a time warp and crash lands on the same planet that’s now ruled by apes.  Astronaut Brent meets Nova, he is shocked to witness the ape’s society, and he ultimately discovers a hidden underground city inhabited with mutant human beings, descendants from the war that destroyed humanity.  It’s a race against time as an army of apes advances and aims to crush the underground city once and for all.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) – movie poster

Directed by Ted Post, Beneath the Planet of the Apes stars James Franciscus as Brent, an astronaut who accidentally travels through time while he’s sent on a mission to rescue George Taylor.  Charlton Heston reprises his role of George Taylor, and so does Linda Harrison as Nova, Kim Hunter as Zira, and Maurice Evans as Dr. Zaius.  This time around David Watson plays the role of Cornelius.

Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) – (c) 20th Century Fox

Beneath the Planet of the Apes begins at the ending of Planet of the Apes.  George Taylor (Charlton Heston) and Nova (Linda Harrison) find the remains of the Statue of Liberty, and Taylor realizes that he’s been on Earth the whole time, just several thousand years into the future.  Humanity is virtually extinct and apes are in control of society.  Depressed, he and Nova ride on horseback further into the Forbidden Zone, hoping to find other signs of life.

A short while later, Taylor and Nova discover a wall of flames that appears and just as quickly disappears.  This is followed by a few quick bolts of lightning.  Taylor suspects that there’s more to the story of these phenomena, so he grabs a rifle and takes a closer look.  Just as it looks like Taylor discovers the secret behind the apparitions, he suddenly disappears into a rocky wall.  Nova is terrified by the sight, and she flees on Taylor’s horse. Read more…

Movie Review – Planet of the Apes (1968)

Imagine suddenly being placed in a world where things were the opposite, where human beings were running wild and apes were in control of society.

That’s the premise for 1968’s hit science-fiction film, Planet of the Apes.

In Planet of the Apes, George Taylor and two other astronauts crash land on an alien planet where human beings are wild with no permanent homes, no form of communication, and no real society.  They live in packs and stay on the run from the apes, advanced creatures that can speak, they have clothing and weapons, and they have a functioning society complete with their own city.  When Taylor is captured by the apes, the apes are shocked to see that he’s very different from the other human beings.  Some apes believe that Taylor is a missing link that explains their society, while other apes believe that Taylor is a mutation that must be destroyed.

Planet of the Apes (1968) – movie poster

Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, Planet of the Apes stars Hollywood legend Charlton Heston in the lead role of astronaut George Taylor.  Co-starring in the film are Roddy McDowall as Cornelius, Kim Hunter as Zira, Maurice Evans as Dr. Zaius, and Linda Harrison as Nova, one of the human beings.

Planet of the Apes (1968) – (c) 20th Century Fox

Planet of the Apes begins out in space as astronaut George Taylor (Charlton Heston) readies their spaceship for their trip back home to Earth.  Joining him are astronauts Landon (Robert Gunner), Dodge (Jeff Burton), as well as a female astronaut already asleep and in stasis.  Although there’s no mention of the spaceship’s name in the 1968 version of the film, a 2008 Blu-ray edition of the film includes a short film where it’s mentioned that the ship is called Liberty 1.

Liberty 1‘s mission left Earth in 1972, and it travelled faster-than-light through a wormhole to distant galaxies.  As a result, while the mission itself has only lasted for six months, it’s theorized that 700 years have passed back on Earth.

Taylor is the last astronaut still awake before going into stasis.  He records his thoughts into the ship’s recorder before climbing into his sleep chamber and entering a form of hibernation.  The Liberty 1 continues on autopilot and continues its journey back to Earth. Read more…

Movie Review – Piranha (1978)

Back in 1975, Jaws not only proved to be an extremely successful film in the theaters, but it also gave the audience a reason to think twice before swimming in the ocean.

Of course, the odds of being attacked by a shark are extremely slim, but you *really* don’t know what’s swimming underneath you.  Those might be some harmless fish tickling your toes, it might just be some seaweed, or it could be a sign that something much fiercer is about to attack your legs . . .

1978 saw the release of Piranha, a B-movie that’s partial parody, partial comedy, and partial bloody horror film involving swarms of aggressive fish with razor sharp teeth.  The film involves a school of genetically-modified piranha that are accidentally released into a river.  It’s a race against time to stop the fish before they attack a summer camp and, further downstream, the grand opening of a brand new water park.

Piranha (1978) – movie poster

Directed by Joe Dante, Piranha stars Bradford Dillman and Heather Menzies as Paul Grogan and Maggie McKeown.  Supporting them are basically a bunch of obscure actors and actresses including Kevin McCarthy, Barbara Steele, Melody Thomas Scott, and iconic 1980s actor Dick Miller.

Piranha (1978) – (c) United Artists

Piranha begins with two teenagers who discover a seemingly abandoned swimming pool inside of a former military research base.  It’s late at night and nobody is in sight, so the two teenagers decide to go skinny dipping.  That turns out to be a fatal mistake as the pool is actually filled with carnivorous fish, and the two teenagers are brutally killed. Read more…

Movie Review – Deep Blue Sea (1999)

Back in 1975, the movie Jaws proved that not only are sharks fearsome creatures, but they can also prove to be formidable monsters in Hollywood.

Jaws was so successful that not only did it spawn its own series of films, but for the most part, Hollywood didn’t use sharks as villains.  Other sea creatures have attempted to terrify the audiences, but sharks were overlooked.  It was almost like nobody wanted to make a shark movie because everybody would keep comparing it to 1975’s Jaws.

That notion changed with the release of 1999’s killer shark movie, Deep Blue Sea.  In Deep Blue Sea, research scientists increase the size of sharks’ brains in an effort to study diseases.  However, this increase in brainpower makes the sharks smarter, and they use their sharpened thinking skills to attack the researchers.

Deep Blue Sea (1999) – movie poster

Directed by Renny Harlin, Deep Blue Sea stars Thomas Jane and Saffron Burrows in the lead roles of Carter Blake and Dr. Susan McAlester.  Supporting them is a cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, Jacqueline McKenzie, Stellan Skarsgard, and LL Cool J.

Deep Blue Sea begins with four teenagers having fun on a boat while out at sea.  Suddenly the boat is attacked by a shark, and the teenagers are knocked into the water.  Just before the shark can attack and kill them, the predator fish is captured by a mysterious man.

Deep Blue Sea (1999) – (c) Warner Bros.

In Los Angeles, California, Dr. Susan McAlester (Saffron Burrows) is called to an emergency meeting at Chimera.  The company’s leaders are upset that one of Susan’s test sharks had escaped from the research facility and attacked a small group of teenagers.  None of them were killed or seriously injured, but the incident is still bad news for the company.

It turns out that Susan is using three genetically modified mako sharks in an attempt to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease.  These three sharks have larger brains (the brain fluid is used in the research) than their counterparts in the wild, and it’s made these particular sharks smarter and more aggressive.  The recently escaped and recaptured shark is a sign that perhaps the researchers don’t have everything under control at their research station. Read more…

Book Review – Larry Bond’s “Red Phoenix”

Recently I finished reading Larry Bond‘s Red Phoenix, a military novel depicting the outbreak of open war on the Korean Peninsula.  The war involves North Korea crossing the demilitarized zone and attacking the South Korean and American military forces stationed throughout South Korea.

First published in 1989, the action in Red Phoenix takes place in that same time period.  Naturally, when reading the book today, you have to remember which types of weapons were available back then as a lot of technology has changed throughout the military.

Larry Bond — Red Phoenix

Red Phoenix begins with the discovery of a North Korean tunnel passing underneath the demilitarized zone (DMZ) and reaching into South Korea.  To the surprise of the Americans and South Koreans, this tunnel is one of the largest ones yet.  The tunnel itself is as wide as a road, and numerous tanks and other army vehicles are being stored there.

It’s thought that the vehicles are being positioned for an invasion of the south.  Before the soldiers can investigate too much, the forces encounter a patrol of North Koreans.  There’s a brief but bloody gun battle as the two sides engage each other.  The South Koreans scramble to wire demolitions to the tanks and vehicles just as a larger company of North Koreans attacks them again.  It’s a quick dash back to the surface before the explosives are detonated, destroying the vehicles, the tunnel, and all of the North Koreans still underground.

Although the North Korean vehicles were unable to be captured, the message of discovering them was still clear —— North Korea is planning on invading South Korea, and the invasion may happen very soon.

That’s just the action-packed introduction to Red Phoenix.

The first part of Red Phoenix is mostly politics as a U.S. Congressman schemes to gain political power by taking advantage of civil unrest and college students protesting throughout Seoul, South Korea.  The protests are being instigated by North Korean spies, and the South Koreans deal with the protesters harshly.  This only further motivates the U.S. Congressman to put political pressure on the U.S. President, and begin a withdraw of the U.S. military forces stationed in South Korea.

When it looks like the U.S. is beginning to remove its military forces from South Korean, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il launches an all-out war against South Korea.  It’s viewed as a war of “liberation” for their fellow Koreans living south of the DMZ.  North Korean terrorists strike at key targets throughout the south as the main brunt of the North Korean army rolls across the DMZ and attacks everything in sight. Read more…

Movie Review – Jurassic World (2015)

Released to the theaters this weekend is Jurassic World, the fourth movie in the Jurassic Park franchise.

Back in 1993, Jurassic Park ruled the theaters with its story involving a high-tech theme park filled with dinosaurs brought back to life through advanced technology.  This was followed by The Lost World: Jurassic Park in 1997, and then Jurassic Park III in 2001.

And now, after waiting fourteen years, the next Jurassic Park film has finally been released.

Enter Jurassic World.

Jurassic World (2015) – movie poster

Directed by Colin Trevorrow and starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, and Vincent D’Onofrio, Jurassic World goes back to the franchise’s roots and returns us to the original ideas set in Jurassic Park.  A new team has taken over John Hammond’s operations and the theme park (now named Jurassic World) is open to the public.  New dinosaur attractions have been added over the years, and now it’s time to open another one.  The latest creation, a hybrid dinosaur named Indominus rex, is guaranteed to terrify the visitors and boost the audiences at the theme park.  Of course, you know what happens next . . .

Jurassic World begins with two brothers, Zach (Nick Robinson) and Gray Mitchell (Ty Simpkins) at their home.  Although Gary is still young, he has a keen interest in dinosaurs and science.  His older brother Zach is more interested in girls, and he’s practically counting down the days until he can move out of his parents’ house and live on his own.  Their parents need some time alone to sort out their own problems, so they send the boys on a vacation to Jurassic World.  The boys’ Aunt Claire happens to work at the dinosaur theme park, and she’s going to look after them and give them a personal tour of the place.

Zach and Gray catch an international flight to Costa Rica, and then they board a high-speed ferry with other guests bound for Isla Nublar, a.k.a. Jurassic World.  After that they board a monorail that takes them through the famous Jurassic Park gate and ultimately to the visitors’ complex.  While Gray is excited to see the dinosaurs, Zach is more interested in looking at the young ladies. Read more…

Gay Adoption — Is It Right For Children To Be Raised By Gay Parents?

As some of you may have already noticed, Coca-Cola has started a new marketing campaign focused on happiness.

Using the Twitter hashtag #choosehappiness, people can talk about what makes them happy along with happiness in general.  It’s meant to be a positive and uplifting message, something that people can proudly share on social media.  Naturally, the message of happiness is supposed to occur when said person is drinking a Coca-Cola product, but that’s optional.

Choose Happiness. What Are You Waiting For?

What brings us here today is that this new marketing campaign for Coca-Cola isn’t limited to the United States.  People in Europe have been seeing the same advertising.  That’s also where things have become very controversial.

Coca-Cola #choosehappiness advertisement featuring a gay couple with a child.

In the Netherlands, some of Coca-Cola’s #choosehappiness posters have featured gay couples with (presumably) adopted children.  The message on the poster states, “We choose happiness ~ over ~ tradition.”  Of course, that’s not the only message being portrayed in this latest advertising campaign.

Statements like this are going to make people talk about not only gay marriage, but gay people adopting children as well.  Are we going to be seeing more messages like this soon?  More importantly, is gay adoption going to be the next movement to sweep across the country? Read more…