As I write this article the original Red Dawn is playing on the Ecnore channel.  As the movie plays I would like to write about how times have changed since the 1980s.  Please take this in jest, as the article is not intended to be serious.

Chevy truck has a gun rack in the back window.  This would have probably drawn a response from the FBI for a terrorist activity on school property.  There was once a time when high school kids had guns in their vehicles so they could go hunting after school.  But today, schools are gun free zones.  And we wonder why crazy people are drawn to schools?

White man shooting black teacher, racist.

Kids riding in the back of a truck, which is now illegal.

Adult giving guns to a minor.  Obvious example of terrible parenting.

Keeping a handgun in the glove box?

Pissing in a radiator probably voided the warranty.

After the kids reach the wilderness there is a discussion about what their parents would want.  Today, it is not what the parent wants, but what the government wants.

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Red Dawn released in 2012 starring Chris Hemsworth, Josh Peck, Josh Hutcherson, Adrianne Palicki, Isabel Lucas, Jeffrey Dean Morgan is loosely based off the 1984 Red Dawn.

First Impressions – the overall acting was good. For the most part the actors played their parts well.

The writing was pretty lousy. The characters lacked any kind of development, except for the viewer knowing Chris Hemsworth served in the Marine corps, little else is know about the other characters.

Character development

In the original Red Dawn the commander of the invading force is seen writing to his family. In his letters he talks about how is growing tired of the war.  In the remake there is no such character development with the commander of the invading force.

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Want to know why our ancestor hated banks, just watch the movie “Inside Job.”

The documentary was well done, except where Glenn Hubbard got pissed off. If he would have talked to me like he did the interviewer, I would have bitch slapped him.

Inside Job starts off with Iceland, a nation that was financially sound. that is until regulations on the banks are reduced and government oversight is laxed.

The Inside job talks to various people about what helped create the crash of 2008.

Long story short, the working class people are screwed and the banks are going to keep getting richer.

There is a saying I saw awhile back that stuck in my head – “privatized profits and socialized losses.” Meaning, when times are good, the banks keep their profits. When times are bad, the tax payers have to foot the bill.

When the federal reserve is there to hand the banks whatever money they want, who worries about losing money?

So, everyone that voted for obama, how is that change working out for you.

Inside Job should be required watching for everyone who votes for the two major parties.

What really amazed me was the lack of remorse in ripping off millions of investors, and ripping off people with predatory lending.  Its as if the people working on wall street are sociopaths.  If everyone acted like bankers, the world would be in some serious trouble.

Now that the banks have control of our government, things are just going to get worse.

If Inside Job is an indication of things to come, we are in some serious crap.

The Goebbels Experiment is a reading of the diaries kept by Joseph Goebbels from 1924 to 1945.

Release date: 2005
Run Time: 108 minutes
Narrated by: Kenneth Branagh
On Netflix: Yes
Director: Lutz Hachmeister

Its one thing to read history that has been written by the victors, its another thing to read it from the people that were there.

The Goebbels Experiment is an amazing film that provides insight to the workings of German life and the Nazi party.

I had hoped Joseph Goebbels would explain why the Jews were exterminated during world War II. There were a couple of comments that stated “the jews do not respond to kindness”, and the “jews are parasites.” Besides that there was no in-depth explanation as to why the jews were hated by the German people.

There was no explanation as to why Germany invaded France.

There was no explanation as to why Germany attacked England.

There was no explanation as to why Germany attacked Russia.

In the mid-1930s Joseph Goebbels says that peace must be maintained. If war broke out, that it would affect the entire world.

By the early 1940s Joseph Goebbels was promoting total war on Russia.

What happened between the mid-1030s to the early 1940s that caused a change of heart?

How could a man that says he loves his children call for a total war against his enemies? For someone that was supposed to love his children, why did Goebbels have his children murdered?

It ok to declare total war on Russia and call for its total destruction, but Goebbels was not ready to accept the fate Hitler had condemned upon others?

A couple of issues came out during the movie, Joseph Goebbels battled depression and questioned his self-worth, which most of us also deal with.

Goebbels has some harsh words for jews, but then again he seemed to have harsh words for a lot of people. He mentions deporting jews from Berlin, but there is no mention of the concentration camps or exterminating the jews.

At around 53:00 into the movie, there is mention of a jewish book called “murder in devose” (not sure of the spelling). Joseph Goebbels says the following about the book – “a nasty jewish effort that could turn you into an anti-semite if you were not not already one. This jewish plague needs to be eradicated.”

As of yet I have not been able to find the book Goebbels was referring to. What “exactly” about the book was so offensive?

If one can get past the hatred for nazis that has been instilled upon us, The Goebbels Experiment is insightful, to say the least.

Holy crap, what a waste of time. After watching Prometheus, its difficult to understand what Ridley Scott was trying to do? Its even more difficult to understand why Ridley Scott was unable to bring back the horror of the original Alien movie.

Some of the scenes were long, drawn out, and uncalled for.

Alien + Ridley Scott = horror that has lasted through the generations.

Prometheus + Ridley Scott = what a waste of time, what did I just watch?

If you are wanting to watch Prometheus, do not buy the DVD. Wait to rent it on redbox, or wait until it goes on the discount rack in a few years.

In the original Alien, we had a villain (the face hugger) who evolved into a much larger and nastier villain, the Alien.

In Prometheus, the movie goes villain after villain with nothing really evolving. At the end of the movie we have a little “something” that “might” hint at the original of the Alien species.

I felt like I was watching a remake of John Carpenters The Thing instead of another Ridley Scott Alien movie.

Where was the magic from Blade Runner, where was the story line of Gladiator, where was the action of Black Hawk Down?

Prometheus lacks all of the magic of previous Ridley Scott movies.

Holy crap am I disappointed in streaming Netflix.  Lets just say Netflix online service has a major letdown, and that is putting it lightly. When my wife signed up for steaming Netflix, I thought cool.  Then I looked though the video selection and was disappointed.

This is the 21st century, why does netflix online streaming selection suck so bad? This is just about the online streaming service, and not the DVD rental. In the age of high speed internet, why do I have to wait several days for a DVD to be delivered? When my wife and I have company over, we want movies available right then, and not several days later.

Clockwork Orange – nope
Tin Drum – nope
Germinal – Nope
Superman Returns – nope
Jaws – nope
Thor – yes
Captain America: The First Avenger – yes
Dune – nope
Enter the dragon – nope
Troll hunter – yes

The Expendables – yes
The great escape – nope
Rio Bravo – nope

John Wayne appeared in nearly 250 movies, and had the leading role in 142 of those movies. So why does netflix only have 14 John Wayne movies available online?

Star Wars – nope
Lord of the rings – nope
Alien – nope
Aliens – nope
Mars attacks – nope
Ghost of mars – yes
Small Soldiers – yes
Demolition Man – yes

There is no sort by date, no sort by rating, no sort by director,,, nothing to help you find the movie you are a looking for. If a search result brings back 5 pages of movies, you have to search through 5 pages.

One of the main uses that I see coming from netflix is being able to play sponge bob for the grandkids.

Where are the X rated / adult movies on netflix? My wife and I are adults, why cant we have an adult movie selection on netflix?

It seems the netflix streaming video selection is rather narrow, or would “limited” be a better term? How long has netflix been offering online streaming video? And they still do not have famous movies like A Clockwork Orange or even Alien?

There has been some talk on the net about amazon offering a streaming video option. I tell you what, with netflixs sorry selection, its probably not going to be difficult to knock netflix out of its top spot.

Netflix better get its act together before someone drives netflix into bankruptcy.

Quarantine was released in 2008 and stars Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez, Columbus Short, Greg Germann, Steve Harris, Dania Ramirez, Rade Šerbedžija and Johnathon Schaech.

The only thing that could have made this movie any better, is if Jennifer Carpenter had not been wearing a bra. That way her perky nipples could have been poking through that skimpy tee-shirt she was wearing.

Unlike a lot of movies that wait 30 – 45 minutes for the plot to kick in, Quarantine throws you into the action at about the 20 minute mark. There is some minor character development at the beginning of the movie, but once the action starts, it really starts.

*** Spoilers ***

Unlike a lot of zombie style movies where there is no clear explanation of who things kicked off, the story plot is spelled out for the viewer.

Towards the end of the movie there are news paper clippings of someone being obsessed with the end of the world. By the lab the news clippings were found in, its apparent that someone was developing a rabies based virus that was intended to bring about the end of the world.

Unlike the rabies virus that could take weeks before people develop symptoms, the new virus only takes a few hours, or even a few minutes. Once symptoms started to show, it was like 28 Days Later all over again.

Towards the end of Quarantine I was wondering if its over yet, is it over yet,,,. The movie seemed to get a little drawn out there towards the end.

Overall, if you looking for a nail-biter, zombie, end of the world if there is an outbreak type of movie, rent Quarantine.

Have you watched Quarantine? If so, what did you think about it?

Nazis at the Center of the Earth gets a five beer +  a couple of shots rating. The lower the beer rating the better.

Pros:

Jake Busey is in the movie. Watching Jake is like watching a young Gary Busey, its just awesome.
Several hot women. These are not the funky, fake looking hot women. The hip-to-waist ratio and hair length is just about perfect.

Cons:

Some of the gore is a “little” over the top. Ripping a guys face off, come on, we could have done without that.

The Movie:

Nazis escape in a plane during World War II, and “somehow” make an underground base under one of the poles. I did not catch if it was the south or north pole, but either way I dont think it really matters which pole the base is at.

A research team finds the nazi base. The nazis take everyone hostage.

Why would a bunch of nazis want to take some hot babes hostage? Why not have a party? Bunch of guys, bunch of hot women, all they need is some steaks on the grill and something to drink.

This is the typical movie of one social group inflicting violence on other groups.

The best part of the whole movie is when the nazi cuts the bra off the hot babe and there is a split second of perky nipples.

Nazis at the Center of the Earth seriously lacks three things – sex, nipples and consensual sex.  Why do all of the nazis have to be nasty zombie looking?  Why couldn’t one of the nazis fall in love with one of the hot babes?

Less gore, more nippies.

But anyway, if you have $1.20 to rent Nazis at the Center of the Earth from redbox, have something to drink, and some free time, why not?  But be warned, you will probably say “what the hell did I just watch?” at the end.

Wow, what a crappy movie.

Nicolas Cage did a good job of playing the part, but not as good as in the original ghost rider.  The least the directors could have done was tie the two movies together.  Reusing some footage from the original movie would have been nice.

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was long, drawn out, and in some places downright boring.

Good thing I only spent $1.20 to rent the movie from redbox, or else I would have been pissed off. Definitely not worth the price of a DVD.

After the success of Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, there is no excuse in making a crappy movie like Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

The plot makes me wonder if the movie company went with the cheapest writer? Did the movie company run an ad in the local newspaper, “wanted, one story plot for Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, will pay $20.”?

The camera angles were great, but the plot was just awful.

With some movies the more you drink, the better the movie gets. Ghost Rider Spirit of Vengeance is an “all you can drink” movie. I doubt any amount of alcohol will improve the movie. The most you can hope for is that you will drink so much you pass out.

On a lazy rainy day, what to do then to watch some movies about SHTF situations.  My personal favorites movies are kept separate from the rest of the families movies – this make them easier to find and keep track of.

In no particular order or preference:

Book of Eli – starring Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson and Jennifer Beals. Released in 2010, Book of Eli is about a man sent by GOD to deliver a Bible. The film touches on important issues, such as scarcity of resources, safe drinking water, gang violence, religion and rebuilding post-SHTF.

My favorite parts of the Book of Eli:

When Denzel Washington gives the mouse a piece of meat and says something like “go ahead, its cat.”
When the old woman played by Frances de la Tour brings out some tea, and her husband puts on some music.
When the bad guys outside the house are firing their weapons, and out rolls the gatling gun.
The printing press is cranking out pages of the Bible.

Shaun of the Dead – starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Kate Ashfield, Lucy Davis and Dylan Moran. Released in 2004, Shaun of the Dead is about some young adults that suddenly find themselves in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. When I need to good zombie SHTF humor, Shaun of the Dead is the movie I usually turn to.

My favorite parts of Shaun of the Dead:

The introduction cut scenes and music.
When Shaun and Ed plan on killing Shauns’ step dad because the step dad has been bitten.
When the Shauns group meets another group of survivors, both groups look quit similar.

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It was on January 16, 2010 when my son and I went to go see the Book of Eli. If I remember right, it was cool night, not too cold through. To say that the movie is a “survival movie” might be a little misleading. Through the course of events the hero of the movie, Denzel Washington runs into several situations that might be considered “survival” in nature – such as personal hygiene post SHTF, finding food and water and dealing with thugs.

Lets just fast forward to the end – the Book of Eli probably has one of the best endings that a movie could ever have. Denzel Washington recites the Bible to Malcolm McDowell, who in turn takes notes and has the Bible published.

Power struggle – Whats interesting in the movie, is the power struggle. Water is rationed as a hold over the peoples head, when in fact there are underground streams with enough water for everyone to have plenty. The antagonist of the Book of Eli (Gary Oldman) restricts the flow of water to maintain a control over the people. Since the people do not know how to access the streams except by a water pump, they become submissive.

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The first episode of “The Walking Dead” aired last night on AMC.  And I must say, I was impressed.  Unlike a lot of other zombie movies out there, The Walking Dead is not a 90 minute movie, its going to be a series.  This gives the producer time to develop relationships and build characters to a greater degree then what could be done in the limited time frame of a 90 – 120 minute movie.

At first I thought The Walking Dead was a mix of 28 Days Later and The Crazies.  The main character is a cop – like in The Crazies, and he wakes up after the situation has developed – like in 28 Day Later.  But instead of being in a major city, this is a rural community.

The story unfolds, the main character meets other people, makes some friends, and tries to find help in Atlanta, Georgia.  A lot of people may not understand why Atlanta, Georgia is important – the Centers for Disease Control main office is in Atlanta.  So it makes sense that if someone wanted to find out information about a new outbreak, Atlanta Georgia would be the focus point.  The CDC address is 1600 Clifton Rd. Atlanta, GA 30333, and is listed on the bottom of the CDC website. I was not paying attention to the street signs last night, so I don’t know if they showed Clifton Road.

So far The Walking Dead seems to be holding true to the classic zombie style movie. To kill the zombie, you have to destroy the brain or remove the head. Unlike in Shawn of the Dead, we Americans use baseball bats instead of cricket bats.

Instead of people having AK47s or AR15s, they had what you might expected to see middle America – a bolt action rifle and some pump shotguns.

Lets stay tuned for next weeks episode to see how things turn out.

Rambo First Blood was released in 1982, stared Sylvester Stallone, Richard Crenna and Brian Dennehy and I was 14 years old. From what I witnessed in the 1980s, Rambo was released at a pivotal point in our nations history. The Vietnam conflict ended in 1975. 7 years had passed from the time the Vietnam conflict ended to when Rambo First Blood was been released. 7 long years for our nation to lick its war wounds and start to recover.

Sylvester Stallone plays the roll of John Rambo, a Special Forces Green Beret.

Brian Dennehy plays the roll of the local sheriff.

Richard Crenna plays the roll of Rambos commander from Vietnam.

In away, Rambo addresses some of the issues that all soldiers deal with – the memories, finding a job, a non-understanding public, and integration back into society.

These are the same issues that society dealt with after Vietnam, and we are dealing with now with Iraq and Afghanistan.

Having worked with some Vietnam vets in the 1980s and 1990s, it seems to me that they went through a tough time re-joining society. Vietnam Vets served this great nation, and what did they get in return? I remember one of the vets telling how when he landed back in the USA and was walking through the airport, anti-war protesters were lined up spitting on him and his war buddies. That is no way to welcome back people who served this nation.

Rambo addresses the anger and hatred surrounding the Vietnam conflict; but instead of anti-war protesters, its a small town sheriff and his deputies.

Besides addressing the difficulties of integrating back into society, John Rambo sets an example of what 1 well trained and determined man can do. Not only did he escape from a jail, but he highjacked a motorcycle, escapes into the wilderness where he survives through his training, wits and well honed survival knife.

The Rambo Survival Knife – Talk about an American icon. After the release of Rambo First Blood, survival knifes were the hot fad. There were TV commercials about hollow handled knives, they were in just about every outdoor gear magazine,,, lets just say they were the hot item of the day. Most of the Rambo Survival Knives came a survival kit, which usually consisted of a wire saw, hooks, line, maybe some matches,,,, just a bunch of small items that did not take up a lot of room.

The problem with the Rambo hollow handled survival knife, is that without a full hilt tang, the blade can bend and break off where it attaches to the handle. In other words, they look nice, but their not very strong. Just dont use it as a pry bar, and everything should be fine.

Over the past few days the AMC (American Movie Classics) channel on Dish Network has been playing Rambo First Blood almost everyday. This is not a movie that gets old or boring when its watched over and over. Its an ageless movie that never gets old. This is not a movie that is outdated in 2, 3 or even 10 years. The issues that Rambo addresses hold true whether its 1982, 1992, 2002, or 2010.

Post your comments in this forum thread about Rambo First Blood.

First impressions – this is a pretty good zombie flick. Maybe not a great movie, but it is good. Diary of the Dead addresses some real issues that would face our society if a wide spread disaster were to strike.

During the 1918 flu pandemic, governments did not want want the public to know that was a world wide flu pandemic going on. News outlets were asked not to talk about the seriousness of the outbreak. The Spanish flu is called the Spanish flu because a news agency out of Spain was the first to report the seriousness of the pandemic.

Has too much really changed between 1918 and today? I highly doubt it.

In the movie Diary of the Dead, the government tries to suppress the truth of the outbreak. From previous real life examples, could we really expect any less if there was an outbreak of the plague or bird flu today?

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