I purchased these today... opinions?

[The Strange German]

My local videostore has a "Buy 4 used tapes for 5 Euros" (roughly 5 $) sale, so I couldn't resist and bought 8 for 10 :-)

I bought most of the tapes (seven, to be honest) after evaluating cast and and cover blurb, maybe you've seen the one or other and can tell me what you think...

"Checkered Flag" - seems to be a "Days of Thunder" rip-off, set in the CART series instead of NASCAR. Directed by John Glen (!), starring "the new Hollywood dream couple" (at least that's what the box says) Rob Estes/Amanda Wyss and "Trapper John" Pernell Roberts (I guess he's not a part of the dream couple thing). Can it be as "good" as "Driven"? (shudder)

"Falling Fire" - in 2051 a team of specialists is mining an asteroid, several mysterious deaths occur and terrorists intent to hurl the asteroid at Earth. Produced by Roger Corman and starring Michael Paré. Should be goofy enough...

"No Retreat No Surrender II" - that's the one I know (and love - it's one of my guilty pleasures), the film that introduced me to Cynthia Rothrock waaay back in the 80's. Tried to get this one for years... it's a happy day...

"Murder Rock" - a Fulci giallo I honestly haven't ever heard of. The usual crazed killer stalks a dancing school, so I figure heaps of barely clothed females will be involved. Probably cut to get the "16" rating, but since I'm not the biggest Fulci fan that may very well be ok with me.

"Future Fear" - "Outbreak" clone that honestly tries to sell Jeff Wincott (of all people!!!) as determined scientist. Since the box prominently displays Wincott in camouflage and holding a Really Big Gun I suppose he's more one of them practical scientists. Could be worth a chuckle, as it's produced by the Almighty Corman, too.

"American Cyborg" - the same old plot once again. Hero has to guide last fertile woman through post-nuclear holocaust world, chased by a cyborg. What teased me into buying that one: it's a Yoram Globus production, the Cannon logo is slapped on for good measure and the box cries "starring Joe Lara, Cannon's new star". In which dark dimension Joe Lara is considered a "star"???

"Naked Souls" - an "erotic thriller" starring Pamela Anderson, Dean Stockwell and David Warner. Written and directed by people you never ever heard of (Lyndon Chubbock, anyone?). I'll probably claw my eyes out after viewing that one.

"Attack on Devil's Mountain" - TV action fare starring the one and only Hulkster as well as Shannon Tweed and Carl Weathers. Sucks mightily, I suppose.

After all, for 10 bucks I should have some entertaining evenings :-)

cheers
       Markus

[yaddo42]

I've seen NAKED SOULS, but I found it so boring that I remember very little about it.

Haven't seen ATTACK ON DEVIL'S MOUNTAIN, but I have seen the TV movie it's a sequel to, ASSAULT ON DEVIL'S ISLAND. That one could be fun to watch if you're drunk I suppose. IMDB make the second one sound like more of the same.

Good luck with the rest of them.

[peter johnson]

Get them all!!
One thing I have discovered is that everything you may believe is not worth your while is ultimately considered treasure by someone else.
Buy it now & save it to sell to someone else . . .
peter johnson

[The Strange German]

Actually, the Hulkster film is indeed "Devils Island", not "Mountain" (stupid error on my part).

Went out today and bought some more, this time two films I already know:

"Alien from the Deep" - cheap italian monster movie - if my memory serves me well, this is good fun.

"Girls in Prison" - the McNoughton made-for-cable version. When I saw the film first I immediately developed a little crush on Ione Skye...

With the other two I took chances:

"The Killing Box" (aka Ghost Brigade) - heard some good things about it (undead soldiers vs. southern soldiers in the civil war). First rate B-movie cast: Corbin Bernsen, Ray Wise, Martin Sheen. I'm looking forward to that one.

"A Whisper to a Scream" - Dancers, who were imitated by a pretty wanna-be-actress on a phone-sex line, get killed. Could suck big time.

And now I think it's time to actually watch the one or other film

cheers
Markus

[The Strange German]

So, I watched the first one...

"Murder Rock", directed by Lucio Fulci

Not half bad, if you can stand the irritating music (irritating as in "very cheesy eighties pop" - the score by ELP's very own Keith Emerson is a bit better). Basically a simple whodunit, but the mystery isn't obvious, the actresses are easy on the eyes, the dance scenes are not as moronic as in D'Amato's "Dirty Love". It's a bit on the slow side and it's not really graphic (at least not the version I got and it didn't look like heavily edited), but it's a decent giallo. I've seen much worse.
Greatest line (translated from German): "He's not a psycho, he's an a***ole!" (The police lieutenant's opinion of a suspect).

cheers
Markus