“Matango” (also known as “Attack of the Mushroom People”) is an interesting Japanese film from director Ishirô Honda (“Godzilla”, “Destroy All Monsters”). This is one of those movies that has a slow start and a lot of it feels rather uneventful but then the ending makes it all worthwhile.

A group of people on a boat encounter a harsh storm and find themselves shipwrecked on a mysterious island. They soon struggle to find food and start mentally suffering from the stressful situation. They resort to feeding on the island’s mushrooms. This will have horrifying consequences for the group as its members begin to physically transform.

The characters in this movie are not the most exciting. They are still better than the ones that you see in most films where a bunch of survivors are stranded. The highlight is of course the Mushroom People. You don’t really get to see them properly until near the end but they look great. They remind me of some of the creatures from the original “Star Trek”. The make-up during the transformation sequences almost led to the film getting banned in Japan as it made the characters look similar to people affected by the nuclear radiation after Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

I can see a lot of people getting bored with “Matango” and abandoning it but if you stick with it, I think you may be won over by the end. Although the costumes look cheesy, the film is surprisingly disturbing at times. The decision to rename it “Attack of the Mushroom People” in some territories is intriguing. It’s a fun title that certainly caught my attention but I can’t help but wonder what it would have been like seeing this without knowing there would be strange creatures on the island. Either way, this is an enjoyable film worth watching.

“Master With Cracked Fingers” has a rather confusing distribution story (even by martial arts movie standards). Originally released as “The Cub Tiger From Kwang Tung” in the early 70s, it was later re-edited and re-released multiple times with a host of different names including “Master With Cracked Fingers” and “Ten Fingers Of Death”. New scenes were filmed as well as some shots taken from “Drunken Master”. It stars a very young Jackie Chan (“Police Story”, “Twin Dragons”) and is entertaining despite being a mess.

Jackie Chan stars as a young warrior that is trained by an old beggar (Siu Tin Yuen “Drunken Master”) despite his father forbidding him from engaging in fighting. However, despite protests from his family, he will need all his strength to beat a gang of criminals.

Jackie Chan is very young here and this was before he was doing all the crazy stunts and creative fight choreography. This was at a time when he was doing more pure martial arts movies such as “Drunken Master”, “Snake In The Eagle’s Shadow” and “Dragon Lord”. Still, it’s very impressive to see him show off his moves. Sadly, the fight scene at the end features some stuntman, who is clearly not Jackie Chan. It’s fun to see Siu Tin Yuen in another Chan movie.

The editing makes this film a real mess and it’s so obvious when they are using stand-ins, stuntmen or footage from other Chan movies. It’s still not quite as noticeable as a Godfrey Ho movie such as “Ninja Terminator” or Bruce Lee’s “The Game Of Death”. Still, I have a soft spot for these more simplistic martial arts movies such as “Drunken Master” and the other films I mentioned. There’s something admirable about them because the fighting is so good despite the production overall being so cheap. If you liked the other early Chan films such as “Drunken Master” then you will enjoy “Master With Cracked Fingers” (or whatever it is called).

Based on the novel by Jules Verne of the same name, “Master of the World” is a terrific film that remains impressive several decades after its release. It’s an imaginative and engaging movie that is just not talked about and that is a true shame.

Set in 1868, government man John Strock (Charles Bronson “The Dirty Dozen”, “Death Wish”) enlists the help of some scientists to discover the source of a strange phenomenon. The group is soon kidnapped by Robur (Vincent Price “The Fly”, “The Ten Commandments”), a mad pacifist that hopes to end all war by threatening the armies of the world with destruction using his airship known as the ‘Albatross’.

Charles Bronson and Vincent Price are two of the most entertaining performers of their era so it was a great treat to see them together onscreen. Bronson plays the tough Strock, who likes to keep quiet while he nurtures his plan to stop Robur. Vincent Price is delightfully fiendish as Robur. Both Strock and Robur display a significant amount of respect for one another even though they know that their loyalties mean that they must be opponents. Henry Hull (“High Sierra”) is also highly enjoyable as Prudent, a scientist and weapons manufacturer. The other characters are very entertaining too.

The scenes of the Albatross on the attack really help make this feel like a truly global event. The Albatross itself is a fantastic vehicle and I just wished that it was real and that I could have a go on it. The effects throughout still look rather impressive and of course, the performances are wonderful. If you have not seen “Master of the World” then I strongly urge that you search for it. As I said, I think it is a real shame that this film is not given more attention because it definitely deserves it.

Get ready for some darn good nautical thrills with “Master And Commander: The Far Side of the World”, a film that seems to capture the spirit of the Colonial era. Russell Crowe (“Gladiator”, “Virtuosity”) stars while Peter Weir (“The Truman Show”) directs this very entertaining film.

Set during the Napoleonic Wars, “Master And Commander” follows the uncompromising Captain Aubrey (Crowe), who will push his ship and crew to their limits. He is the leader of a British ship tasked with pursuing a formidable French vessel off the coast of South America. Literally outgunned (28 cannons to 40), Aubrey will need all his intelligence and his determination to guide his men to victory.

Russell Crowe does a fantastic job as Aubrey; he is exactly like how I imagine naval men of his era to be. I also really like a particular scene where he tells an anecdote about meeting Lord Nelson. Crowe supposedly learned to play the violin for this film and his dedication to his acting career shows with performances such as this. Paul Bettany (“Iron Man”) plays the ship’s surgeon and naturalist, Stephen Maturin, and he does a decent job. The other crew members are all fine. In a way, I actually quite like it that you do not really see the enemy as it is more like a lot of real warfare.

“Master And Commander” looks terrific, you really believe that you are back in the early 1800s and sailing the high seas. The film is supposedly also the first to film on the Galapagos Islands and the scenes there also look stunning. If you are waiting for me to list the faults, I cannot really think of any (besides Bettany being a little underwhelming), the only really issue is that it is not longer. I highly recommend this film for fans of historical war films and I think most people are going to really enjoy it.

“Clementine” is an entertaining film from South Korea that mixes together drama, action and a little comedy. Steven Seagal (“Under Siege”, “Out For Justice”) was featured prominently in the movie’s marketing yet only appears briefly in the movie.

In “Clementine”, Taekwondo champion Kim (Jun Lee) abandons his fighting career to look after his young daughter SaRang (See-woo Eun). He becomes a tough cop to but after angering a group of mobsters, he is forced into becoming a fighter again if he wants his daughter to live. It all culminates in a rigged fight with cage fighting champion Jack Miller (Seagal) where Kim must lose the fight or lose his daughter.

Jun Lee is moderately entertaining as Kim. He shows he can fight during the action sequences. His language skills are not so great though during the scenes where he speaks English. See-woo Eun is good as SaRang, a little girl with a smart mouth. We only really get to see Steven Seagal near the end of this film. He speaks only a few lines but the fight scene is probably the best of his career as he battles with Jun Lee. Just don’t go into this expecting to see much of Seagal.

“Clementine” has received poor reviews but I imagine a lot of the criticism comes from people that were confused by the lack of Seagal. It’s undeniably misleading to have him feature prominently on the poster. The action sequences are entertaining but the movie also has some heart. Some of the more dramatic moments are surprisingly good. A lot of the comedy falls flat though. This is worth checking out if you like martial arts movies and want to see one with some good acting and an enjoyable storyline. If you are out to see every Seagal movie then you will also need to give this one a watch but you can probably get away with skipping to the end.

“Deathstroke Knights & Demons” is a stylishly violent superhero flick. It feels a lot like the recent “Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge” as they have a similar animation style and both feature a lot of gore. However, I don’t this is quite as bloodthirsty as the “Scorpion’s Revenge”.

In this movie, Slade Wilson is a family man with a secret life as the unstoppable mercenary ‘Deathstroke’. His son is kidnapped and severely injured so Wilson decides to distance himself from his son. A decade later and his son has been taken again. Deathstroke will stop at nothing to get him back as he embarks on a dangerous mission where the fate of the entire world is at stake.

I’m not really a comic book fan but I know that Deathstroke is usually a villain. I fondly remember him as the main antagonist in the “Teen Titans” cartoon show. It’s interesting to see him as the hero here (it’s like Venom in the Tom Hardy film). The other characters in this movie are not quite as entertaining and the main villain is rather forgettable. Still, some of the characters have fairly profound conversations about the impact of violence. I really like the animation style. It’s somewhat like “Venture Bros.” so if you are familiar with that show, you’ll know what to expect.

“Deathstroke Knights & Dragons” is another exciting DC animated film and worth checking out. Do be aware that this is not aimed at kids though; this is a very gory flick with some strong sexual references and bad language. Expect to see people shot, stabbed, blown to smithereens and sliced to pieces. I would like to see more DC animated films focus on characters that we traditionally view as villains. I also like that this a standalone piece so it can be it’s own thing without having to tie directly into any of the other movies or shows.

Scott Adkins (“Ninja”, “Triple Threat”) and Dolph Lundgren (“Red Scorpion”, “Rocky IV”) star in “Legendary”, a rather underwhelming picture. With two action stars, you would really expect there to be a lot of action in this movie but this is definitely more of an adventure film.

Travis Preston (Adkins) has chosen to dedicate his life to finding mysterious and dangerous creatures. However, he is facing legal challenges from an ex-colleague, Harker (Lundgren), after an attempt to capture a giant bear went wrong. Now, Travis and his team have gone to China, in search of a ‘monster’ attacking a construction site. Travis must race against the clock to capture the creature as Harker is also there and he intends to kill it.

It’s so disappointing to see a talented martial artist such as Adkins not get to show off any of his fighting skills. He gives an okay performance here but I’d have preferred him do his native English voice rather than his less convincing American one. Dolph Lundgren gets barely anything to do. Why cast these two and have them do next to nothing? The other characters are a bore. The special effects are the creatures look really unconvincing. This movie came out in 2013 but it doesn’t come close to matching the effects of 2005’s “King Kong” or even 1993’s “Jurassic Park”. However, the effects here do look better than the ones for the snake in “Anaconda”.

“Legendary” is a pretty dull movie. The idea of hunting for giant creatures is quite interesting but the execution is weak. The casting of two action stars is just frustrating when there are no real fight scenes in the movie. Unless you really want to have seen every Adkins or Lundgren film, there’s no real point in seeing this movie. The “Jurassic Park” franchise as well as the “King Kong” films will do far more for you than this movie ever could.

“April Fool’s Day” is an unconventional slasher flick yet it’s still abysmal. This is easily one of the most boring movies to ever have been created. It’s not a long movie but it feels like a real endurance test. It makes the original “Friday The 13th” look moderately entertaining by comparison.

A group of university students stay at a house belonging to their friend, Muffy (Deborah Foreman “Real Genius”, “Valley Girl”). Everybody is out to pull pranks on one another but is somebody taking the festivities too far? Dead bodies are piling up but nothing is at it first appears.

The characters in this movie are some of the worst I’ve ever encountered. Even by horror film standards they are excruciatingly bland. None of them are likeable and none of them are even tolerable. I wanted somebody to come and kill them all just so I didn’t have to spend another minute with these absolute losers. The revelations about some of the characters are not remotely impressive. Among the cast, you may even recognise Thomas F. Wilson from the “Back To The Future” franchise. I don’t imagine that many people come up to him and ask him about “April Fool’s Day” though.

“April Fool’s Day” has a twist ending that has become notorious because it feels cheap. Fans of slasher films are likely to be very disappointed by this movie because there is hardly any gore and the whole thing is just a mess. There is a whole mystery to solve but I had virtually switched off so I didn’t care about any of it. I literally cannot think of any reason to watch it and I cannot think of a demographic that would actually enjoy this mundane flick. Seriously, go and watch almost any other slasher film and you will find something of more value.

“Alien Abduction” is yet another atrocious found-footage film. Honestly, I must warn people that I wouldn’t be at all surprised if the opening sequence is capable on causing some people to have seizures as the camera spins out of control. It’s a painful opening to a painful movie.

A family take a trip to Brown Mountain, North Carolina. It seems like an idyllic place until they encounter a terrifying alien presence. At least, I think that is what happens. It’s kind of hard to see what is going on when the camera violently shakes all over the place and keeps pretty much anything of interest hidden.

The family in “Alien Abduction” is not horrendous and the performances are not terrible but the movie is so bad overall that I just didn’t care about any of the character. How am I meant to empathise with the main kid as we barely get to actually see him with everything we see being recorded from his camera. The aliens look absolutely pathetic; they look like some guys wearing cheap Halloween costumes. There is also a man that lives in the area that the family meet. He is easily the worst character in the movie and serves no real purpose.

It’s the same nonsense we got with the “Blair Witch Project” and “Cloverfield” with all the best bits being obscured by the camerawork. You can’t find any of this movie scary because you just have no clue what is happening most of the time. The film ends with real people discussing alleged encounters with aliens in the Brown Mountain area but it’s just a total bore. The only positive thing about this movie is that it’s pretty short and it’s not quite as frustrating as “Cloverfield”. Skip this movie unless you are into the found-footage genre.

“Dark Skies” is a surprisingly disturbing sci-fi film that seemed to go under most people’s radars. It’s almost as unsettling as “Fire In The Sky”. Both films make the idea of alien encounters much more plausible than the majority of alien films. It’s certainly a lot better than the movie “Signs”.

A suburban family struggle to cope with a series of increasingly strange events. Everything from their image in the local community to the relationships they have with each other are affected as they search for answers. They eventually must come to the realisation that they are dealing with a dark presence that is not of this world.

The main characters in “Dark Skies” are not actually all that exciting but that’s sort of the point. They are a normal family they find their world turned into a living nightmare. Keri Russell (“Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”) is good as Lacy and she probably gives the best performance. J.K. Simmons (“Spider-Man”, “La La Land”) appears briefly as an expert on dealing with the aliens. I enjoyed the scene where he explains the encounters. The aliens themselves are not seen very clearly. They don’t look amazing but their appearance is sinister.

“Dark Skies” is a movie that works really well because it knows how to keep the tension building and it has some really disturbing ideas in it. The twist at the end is brilliant as it some truly sinister implications and I love the fact that the clues were hiding in plain sight the whole time. I must warn people that this is a genuinely scary film and it is not some light sci-fi romp. It’s way better than I thought it would be. If you really want to give yourself a fright then why not watch “Fire In The Sky” and “Dark Skies” back-to-back?