“Bloody Pit Of Horror” is a seriously goofy Italian horror flick from the 60s. It’s got arguably one of the cheesiest villains ever put to film. Don’t expect to be even vaguely scared by anything this movie but do expect to chuckle at how ridiculous it all is.

A group of people arrive at a castle in Italy for a photoshoot. They believe that the castle is empty. However, it is inhabited by a reclusive man (Mickey Hargitay “The Loves Of Hercules”) and his servants. The castle owner reluctantly agrees to allow the photoshoot to proceed. Dead bodies start turning up as the group discovers that this castle was the resting place of the sadistic Crimson Executioner serial killer.

The Crimson Executioner is just hilarious. He has one of the dumbest costumes I’ve seen. He’s got a bright red hood and it looks really cheap. Also, he never seems to wear a shirt. He has a ton of traps that reminded a lot of the traps Béla Lugosi uses in “The Raven”. I’m sure modern audiences would compare the Crimson Executioner’s traps to that of Jigsaw in the “Saw” franchise. The other characters are terribly boring. Many of the women are just there to be stripped down to their underwear before being tortured.

“Bloody Pit Of Horror” is undeniably stupid and I certainly found myself amused by many parts of it. While some of the movie is a little dull, it’s all over pretty quickly. It’s definitely not a good movie by any means but films as cheesy as this are so much more enjoyable than many of the soulless blockbusters that we get bombarded with. If you love low-budget nonsense from Italy then maybe you’ll have some fun with “Bloody Pit Of Horror”. Maybe one day, the Crimson Executioner can be in another movie.

“Reservoir Dogs” directed by then-newcomer Quentin Tarantino (“Jackie Brown”, “Pulp Fiction”) does a lot with very little and that’s what I like about it. It has a unique style, which is similar to Stanley Kubrick’s masterpiece “The Killing”. Both films are about heists by criminal gangs.

In “Reservoir Dogs”, a jewellery heist, which we never see, has gone horribly wrong. The robbers, who are each given a colour for their name, start to regroup at a warehouse. They begin to suspect one of them has betrayed the team. The film then keeps showing us both before and after the heist and for a film that could have more action than it does, it chooses to be a very talky picture and it proves to be one of its strengths.

Harvey Keitel (“Fingers”) is incredible here as Mr. White. Steve Buscemi (“Fargo”, “Monsters Inc.”) is also very good as Mr. Pink. I found Michael Madsen (“Donnie Brasco”) to be really threatening and scary as Mr. Blonde as there is a scene where he dances around to a track on the radio whilst torturing a policeman. It’s truly brutal. Tarantino saves a small part for himself and that’s a shame because he has the potential to be very good as an actor.

“Reservoir Dogs” could tone down the dirty talk and the violence (I think it is a little unnecessary at times) and then it would be even better but as it is, the film is very fun and stylish. It gives you interesting characters and while it lacks the slick execution of films such as “The Killing”, it tells the story in an intriguing way. The torture scene is arguably a classic sequence in movie history because it serves as one of the most menacing scenes ever. For a debut film Tarantino does exceptionally well as he assembles a wonderful cast in a great picture.

“Rescue Dawn” is another movie about the Vietnam War, it’s another film in which an American military man finds himself trying to survive by himself and it’s also another film in which Christian Bale (“Reign Of Fire”, “Empire of the Sun”) is in a P.O.W. camp. I went into it expecting a lot but I found myself unable to enjoy the film’s slow pace.

In “Rescue Dawn”, Bale stars as pilot Dieter Dengler. Dengler gets shot down over Laos while on a secret bombing run. He is soon captured by the Viet Cong and placed in a P.O.W. camp. From there, he plots his escape but some of the other prisoners aren’t so eager to try and break out.

Christian Bale is a fine actor but I really felt like this film didn’t offer him enough. I tried my hardest to enjoy his performance but I just couldn’t quite do it. Steve Zahn (“Sahara”) plays one of the other prisoners in the camp. It’s a decent performance but like Bale’s, I found it was hindered by the film’s script. The Viet Cong don’t really do much in this film and certainly none of them really stuck out. The characters in this film made me wish I was watching something more memorable such as “Full Metal Jacket”.

The film is very slow and the characters aren’t too interesting but the film looks very good and some of the scenes near the end are quite impressive. It’s meant to be a moving and interesting piece but although it was better than something such as “Behind Enemy Lines” (a film that was also about a downed pilot trying to survive), it lacked the punch of other Vietnam War movies such as “Full Metal Jacket” and other P.O.W. films such as “Empire of the Sun”. Maybe my expectations were too high but I think if you’ve seen those movies then you’ll find yourself pretty bored by “Rescue Dawn”.

“Invasion of the Bee Girls” is a film with nothing to offer except a few nude shots. It’s bad science-fiction, bad acting and bad everything else. It knows what it is and it knows that it doesn’t need to try any harder to entertain its target audience.

A small Californian town has a mysterious problem. The men are dying after sexual intercourse and the problem is baffling experts. Is it a disease or something else? Tough restrictions against sexual activity are brought in, which angers many in the local community. Could the spate of deaths be linked to science experiments going on nearby?

The characters in this movie are so incredibly dull and the acting is as wooden as you can possibly get. We do get to see a handful of attractive women shed their clothes. They look pretty good but don’t expect them to say anything of value or do anything interesting, the writers don’t know how to make the women any less one-dimensional than the men in this movie. I was actually pretty disappointed with the women here because I was hoping for something like the hilarious costume in “Wasp Woman”. You know your movie has a problem when it delivers less impressive monsters than “Wasp Woman”.

“Invasion of the Bee Girls” is solely about seeing some women strip off. The rest of the movie is so bland that it’s hard to comprehend. One particularly stupid sequence shows an ‘educational’ film that incorrectly classes spiders as insects. This whole movie is lousy and so incredibly lazy. You could cut the movie down to ten minutes because the rest is just to pad it all out between the nude scenes. Unless you really love your low-budget 70s schlock movies then don’t waste your time with “Invasion of the Bee Girls”.

“Street Fighter Alpha” is yet another disaster based on the popular “Street Fighter” games. Not only is it probably the worst “Street Fighter” movie, I think it might also be the worst anime I’ve ever seen and even the worst film based on a videogame. This terrible O.V.A. is just so incredibly dull and unwatchable.

A dark power threatens to seize control of Ryu, a champion fighter. He is visited by a young boy, who claims to be Ryu’s long-lost brother. Beyond this, it just got so confusing with the different characters and a ton of different plot points. I just lost all interest as the film refused to decide what the main story really was.

The film contains many characters from the games so fans are likely to recognise many of them. They do at least look like their videogames counterparts but the animation on them is horrendous. They all look really faded and weird. Like the other “Street Fighter” movies (both animated and live-action), there are just too many characters for the film to juggle. There is Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Akuma, Dan and just so many others that it becomes almost impossible to follow. It’s okay for a videogame to have a ton of characters to give you more choice when you play. However, it just doesn’t work for a movie. To say these characters are one-dimensional would be an insult to the first dimension.

“Street Fighter Alpha” might be even worse than “Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li”. It’s definitely worse than the live-action “Street Fighter” movie with Jean-Claude Van Damme. Japanese animation can look great but this movie has a rather amateurish visual style and that just makes the whole experience even worse. Other bad anime movies usually offer some good visuals but that just isn’t the case here. It’s hard to express just how mundane and unlikeable this movie is. I’d rather sit and have to play the “Street Fighter” games until my thumbs became numb than sit through this O.V.A. again.

This is a cartoon series that is intended for kids but it’s based on the popular “Mortal Kombat” videogame series and the 1995 movie adaptation. It’s definitely not perfect by any means but for what it is, it’s actually surprisingly entertaining. It’s also a lot more enjoyable than the awful “Mortal Kombat: The Journey Begins”.

Shang Tsung and his forces are attacking Earth. It’s up to Raiden and the various Mortal Kombat heroes to save the world. Using their supernatural powers and martial arts skills, they must overcome the various threats posed by Shang Tsung’s army. If they don’t succeed, the planet will fall victim to the tyranny of forces from another world.

It’s great to see the various characters from the “Mortal Kombat” games and movies. I’m not especially familiar with all the characters from the different games but I have seen the movies so I know most of them. You have heroes such as Liu Kang, Raiden and Sonya. You also have enemies such as Scorpion and Reptile. Fans of the games will no doubt love seeing all the characters. The animation on the characters is quite good and reminds me of some of the DC cartoon shows such as “Superman: The Animated Series” and “Batman Beyond”.

“Mortal Kombat: Defenders of the Realm” is cheesy and it’s not going to win any awards. It lacks the violence of the games but this is a cartoon aimed at children so what do you expect? The 1995 live-action movie should have had gore but I can accept that cartoon for kids is not going to have it. The action sequences are pretty good and it feels a lot like a superhero cartoon from the 90s. If you want to see an animation that is more faithful to the violent style of the games then check out “Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge”.

“Batman Beyond” perfectly managed to combine thrilling superhero action with a great cyberpunk aesthetic. It compliments “Batman: The Animated Series” wonderfully by giving us a futuristic Gotham and a new Batman. Here’s a list of my personal favourite episodes.

10. Earth Mover

“Earth Mover” is easily one of the darkest episodes in the series. A schoolgirl fears she may be being stalked. When Batman Beyond investigates, he uncovers a shadowy mystery relating to death of the girl’s father. The big reveal is definitely a little disturbing for a cartoon show aimed at kids.

9. Mind Games

Batman Beyond keeps getting visions of a young girl in need of help. It turns out that she has psychic powers. In order to rescue her, he must tackle a group with various psychic abilities. This is another pretty unsettling one but it’s also got some really impressive and creative action scenes.

8. Heroes

2-D Man, Freon and Magma are the Terrific Trio. They are clearly meant to be modelled on the Fantastic Four as they start off as heroes. Unfortunately, they become emotionally destroyed and lash out rather violently. It’s great to see some other heroes and I think it’s quite funny to this episode take a shot at Marvel.

7. Shriek

Batman Beyond tangles with a dangerous criminal, Shriek, who uses soundwave manipulation as a weapon. The fight scene where Shriek manages to stop all the sound inside a factory is very creative. It’s also great seeing Derek Powers pulling the strings.

6. The Call Parts I & II

If you were wondering about what the futuristic Justice League must be like, “The Call” shows you. Batman Beyond teams up with the Justice League. We get a thrilling plot where the whole world is at stake and Batman Beyond must defeat all the members of the Justice League when a sinister entity takes control of them. It’s so satisfying to see Batman Beyond fight Superman.

5. Black Out

Batman Beyond faces Inque, a shapeshifting mercenary. She’s got some impressive moves and proves to be a real challenge for our hero. It’s a solid episode with some spectacular action.

4. Out of the Past

Talia al Ghul returns and promises the elderly Bruce Wayne that he can have his youth restored so that the two of them can live their lives together. However, not everything is as it first seems and Batman Beyond must ultimately rescue his mentor from the clutches of an old foe. While the twist is undeniably a little creepy, it’s actually pretty clever.

3. Spellbound

The episode that introduced Spellbinder. His powers allow for some really creative sequences where Batman Beyond is forced to figure out the difference between fantasy and reality if he hopes to survive. It reminds me a lot of some of the Scarecrow episodes from “Batman: The Animated Series”.

2. Meltdown

Mr. Freeze is back. It seems that he is now a law-abiding citizen. However, when he’s betrayed, he reverts to his vengeful ways. We also get to see a three-way fight between Batman Beyond, Mr. Freeze and Blight (Derek Powers).

1. Rebirth Parts I & II

The episodes that started it all, “Rebirth” brilliantly introduces us to characters and the setting. We meet the young Terry McGinnis as he is eventually taken under Bruce Wayne’s wing and becomes the new Batman. It also introduces the Jokerz gang as well as businessman Derek Powers, who becomes a recurring villain.

Honourable mentions:
Zeta and The Winning Edge

If you have ever even considered taking drugs then maybe check out “Requiem For A Dream”. This unsettling film showcases the extreme lows of drug addiction. The movie has some wild editing and several graphic moments that will make you wince. At times, it maybe goes a bit too far in terms of what it shows.

Harry (Jared Leto “Suicide Squad”, “Fight Club”) and Tyrone (Marlon Wayans “Scary Movie”, “White Chicks”) will do anything to get their hands on some drugs to fuel their addiction. The two plan to sell drugs as well in order to escape their current situations. Harry has dreams of having a business with Marion (Jennifer Connelly “Rocketeer”, “Hulk”), his girlfriend (and another drug addict). While all this is happening, Harry’s mother, Sara (Ellen Burstyn “The Exorcist”), has become addicted to weight loss pills after she becomes convinced that she will be a contestant on her favourite game show.

Jared Leto is the least entertaining of the four main performers here. He looks most like a drug addict out of any of them but his performance is mediocre at best. He is never engaging and I never sympathised with him. Jennifer Connelly is really great as Marion. Marlon Wayans is surprisingly good here. I’m used to seeing him goof around in comedies but he’s convincing here. Ellen Burstyn gives a rather disturbing performance as Sara. Christopher McDonald (“Happy Gilmore”) appears throughout (usually via a television) as Tappy Tibbons, the presenter of Sara’s favourite show. He’s okay.

“Requiem For A Dream” is very disturbing at times and some of the sexual imagery near the end is a little too much. However, I think this movie is very powerful. It shows you the different ways that you can lose when you use drugs. Never having experienced drugs for myself, this movie is fascinating as we get to really visualise the effects of drugs on a small group of characters. This is a very good film from director Darren Aronofsky (“Noah”, “Black Swan”).

“Reptilian” (also known as “Yonggary”) is a South Korean monster movie with an American cast. I assume that it’s meant to be South Korea’s answer to the “Godzilla” and “Gamera” franchises but I can assure the Japanese that they do not have anything to worry about. This is an over-the-top film that will make you laugh because it’s just so cheesy.

In “Reptilian”, palaeontologists discover the bones of an ancient dinosaur monster known as ‘Yonggary’. However, alien invaders resurrect the creature and send it to destroy an American city. The military then battles against Yonggary in a fight where it seems impossible for mankind to triumph.

The acting in “Reptilian” is just absolutely awful. Some of the dialog is just laughable. I also don’t why they casted American actors and actresses instead of Koreans. Yonggary is sadly not played by a man in a rubber suit but is instead just a C.G.I. monster. He looks absolutely atrocious. The special effects for the film make the “Godzilla” movies from around the same time look like “Jurassic Park” by comparison. At least Yonggary can breathe fire like Godzilla (and unlike the American Godzilla from the 1998 film). There’s another monster that appears near the end and it looks even worse than Yonggary. The aliens look rather unimpressive and like something from “Power Rangers”.

“Reptilian” features fighter jets, jetpacks, fire-breathing monsters, aliens and lots of explosions but everything looks so terrible and the acting is just absolutely horrendous. The special effects make monster films such as this a lot less appealing to me than the rubber suit monster films. There’s just something so synthetic about C.G.I. creatures such as Yonggary. If you want a better South Korean monster film then check out “Dragon Wars: D-War” because that has a lot of the same ingredients but looks so much better.

“Replicant” is a surprisingly good sci-fi/action flick starring Jean-Claude Van Damme (“Bloodsport”, “Hard Target”) in dual roles. Van Damme is no stranger to the sci-fi genre and this is not the first time he’s played dual roles either. The script here is not without its ridiculous moments but it undeniably fun and engaging.

Jake Riley (Michael Rooker “Days Of Thunder”) is a cop on the hunt for an elusive serial killer (Van Damme). Riley gets approached by government agents that want to test their cloning technology to catch terrorists by providing him with a telepathic clone of the killer. Will this be the breakthrough that Riley needs or will this clone prove to be as dangerous as the original?

There’s no getting away from the fact that Van Damme is not a great actor but his physical performance here is great. Some of the moves he pulls off are incredibly impressive. As I mentioned, he’s done the whole dual role thing in other films such as “Double Impact”. I think the killer is the more interesting character than the clone and I think Van Damme is often better in a villainous role than a heroic one. Michael Rooker is also really good here as the cop character.

“Replicant” has plenty of cheesy moments but it also some intelligent ones. The action scenes are really exciting and enjoyable and that’s really the most important thing. This is one of Van Damme’s better movies and it’s unfortunately really underrated. I guess this just came out at time when most people were no longer looking to Van Damme for their martial arts thrills. Van Damme often gets lumped together with Steven Seagal (“Hard To Kill”) and while both have made plenty of bad films, Van Damme always looks like he at least cares about what’s going on.