Doing things for family can leave you feeling a little strange sometimes. While you can never really say no to anything that they ask of you, you still need to think twice about those questionable activities. Putting family before anything else has always been the way I have lived my life and while I might not be on the best of terms with all of my family members, I will still do anything that I can to ensure their health and wellbeing. There is nothing wrong with putting family first, especially these days with all of the craziness that is taking place in the world but remember if it puts you in a compromising position, maybe offer something a little different than they are asking.
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Waking up from another night of passion, Chase Walker is curious what has brought another strange woman to his door. Getting a sack with a shark tooth inside, Chase has been summoned by his brother and due to it being family; he is not allowed to pass up what is going to be asked of him. Seeing his brother Jake for the first time in several years, Chase wonders what the shady character has been up to, since he was always a menace as a child. Jack is very forthcoming about what he needs his brother to do, as he had a shipping mishap that has left a giant diamond in the stomach of a Black-Finned Great White Shark and he does not want it to end up in someone else’s hands.

Getting a list together about what he needs to make finding this rare predator possible, Chase reveals to his new friend and partner Jasmine that he does not like water. Finding this very interesting, Jasmine tries to get to the bottom of how this could be, yet Chase will not fess up. Arriving at the wreckage site where the diamond was lost, Chase forces his new friend to take the first dive, but when finding nothing, Jasmine plays a woman in distress and gets Chase into the water after all. With it all being a joke, the two are surprised to see that the Black-Finned Shark has remained at its newly found feeding ground. Not being able to get a shot at it to start with, Chase needs to come up with another way to bring the shark and its treasure up to the surface.

Arriving back at his hotel and meeting a group that wants to take him for a ride, Chase finds out that his brother is into something a little more outside the box. Meeting with Nix and finding out that it is his diamond in the shark’s belly, Chase needs to decide who to retrieve it for. But the shark has other things on its mind when it makes its way into the small marina that the Chase and Jasmine returned to, since it has discovered that the feeding is great there as well. Now with a town of fishers looking to find the shark, it is a race against time and the amateurs to claim the prize of the lifetime, or at least die trying.

This is really one of those good-natured shark movies that makes you happy that you watched it. With the cute flirting that takes place between Chase and Jasmine, you know that there will be a little love story thrown into the mix no matter what. The relationship between Chase and his brother Jake being put to the test to mount a mission to save his new partner was pretty fun, yet I do not know how Chase could ever trust his brother in the end, because he really is a slimy individual who only puts his needs first. With a budding romance, some fun banter, some gun fire, plenty of sharks, a betrayal, a badder bad guy, plenty of blood and a big ass gun, this is a movie that will make you wonder if putting family first is really the best idea. Happy Viewing.

Well, SyFy has outdone themselves again. Sharknado will have to go down as one of their all-time classics, just like Sharktopus. Now I must admit, I am a lover of the SyFy original movies and after watching this epic, I was far from disappointed with the results. Most of the time when watching movies, I am a stickler for continuity, but with SyFy originals, I know that I would fill up three to four pages with the mistakes, for instance their stock footage is always terrible, sunny when there is a hurricane or looking at past Katrina footage, but if you are looking to just be entertained, you need to look past these downfalls. 

A quick look into this movie, you will be following Fin, a divorced father, with two kids, neither that really seem to have feelings for him. His good surfing pal Baz who is more than willing to take shots at his friend whenever the opportunity seems to present itself. A bar regular George who only comes out to the coast for the drinks, his chair and the scantily clad women, along with Nova, the hot waitress at Fin’s bar that is only looking for love, but in all of the wrong places.  

A hurricane is creeping up the California coast line, and the reporter, Joni (with an I) is sure to point out that the sharks seem to be missing in its wake. Hurricane David, not just a normal storm that hits the outskirts of California is going to be brining massive flooding, along with another great terror…sharks. As the storm hits the coast, flooding hits the streets, along with the sharks swimming up and down them.  Fin, anxious to keep his family safe tries to get off of the coast and up to his ex-wife’s house in Beverly Hills. Little known to April, Fin’s ex, the sharks are already up the hill and swimming around in her pool.  

​Fin, knowing the danger, wants to get his family to higher ground to escape the flood and the impending tornados that will surely accompany them battles with L.A. traffic and his family to get on the move.  Losing a friend while on the move does not stop the young father as he saves a school bus full of children on his way to safety.  Fin is a hero in everyone’s eyes but his own, for he does not know how to save the city from the Sharkpocalpyse that seems to be at hand.

Now onto the fun stuff, if you are looking for take-a-ways from this movie, you need to keep on looking. Nothing is based on what would really happen…like Sharktopus, but you have to give it a chance. There are numerous ways to kill a shark in this movie and they seem to find plenty of fun ones, with a pole cue being jammed into one, shotgun blasts, nine milimeter fire along with my personal favorite, chain sawing them in half! The sharks are not Super or Mega like in some of the other SyFy originals, but they are hungry for human regardless how high the water rises. The water spouts that hit the land are filled with Sharks and no matter how far you try to run, they will eventually catch you.  

If you need more to save this movie than just out right shark carnage, the dialog will do you right. With classics of, ‘Why is there a retirement facility next to the airport?’ response, ‘Because they’re old’ And ‘we’re gonna need a bigger chopper.’ Just overall a fun ride. You cannot hate on a SyFy movie, ‘cause if you are watching it, you know what you are getting into from the very beginning. Also, you have a great flying shark kill…or did you since someone was swallowed whole. You will just have to sit back and wait for the encore. Enjoy and make sure to keep your propane ready…for the end of the world.

Being one of a kind is something that most of us strive to accomplish in life. Being able to be just enough different from everyone else so we are noticed for our accomplishments, along with not being confused for someone else. Having to be your own person with your own moral values can sometimes be hard to live with as others will not agree with your views, but they are your own and no one will be able to take them away from you.

Evey is a young woman who only wants to live her life the way it should be, free. Living in a police state as a new and fascist regime has taken over the United Kingdom. Instituting a curfew for everyone and controlling the news that comes through to its viewers, the Party is more powerful than the population is willing to admit. Giving this power to the High Chancellor Adam Sutler seemed like a good idea at the time, but Sutler has used his power to the full extent and the citizens are quietly getting fed up, they only need a way to say this without fearing the consequences the Party can bring down upon them.

One man is willing to take a stand against the High Chancellor and he calls himself ‘V’, a charismatic man whose face is always covered by a Guy Fawkes mask.  Wanting the people to stand alongside him in his fight against the government, ‘V’ breaks into a news station and broadcasts his message to everyone that is willing to listen. Saying what no one else has the nerve to say, ‘V’ has become an underground hero to the general population and even though no one will stand against the Party alone, they might feel safe being in a group that has all the same goals.

Being saved by Evey as he tried to escape the station, ‘V’ is faced with a decision that could change her life forever as she lays unconscious in front of him. Deciding that it would be safer for her to not be picked up the Party’s secret police, ‘V’ takes young Evey to his home as he sees greatness behind her.  Although ‘V’ has an alternative motive of revenge against every member of the Party that helped to make him who he is today, he implores Evey to join his fight. When she refuses and runs away from the freedom fighter, she is captured and locked away in a numberless cell.  All alone, she finds that there is a person in an adjoining cell that passes her notes.  Her story changes Evey’s outlook, but will she be strong enough to survive, much less escape?

Remember, remember, the fifth of November. Those words have stuck with me for many years, and although it is a catchy line, it is the movie that makes it just that much more memorable. Watching as each character has to grow in their own right, along with plenty of action and the always popular story line of having to fight the power, this movie presents an extreme example of what to do when the government gets too strong. The situations in this movie do not seem too farfetched and I would be very concerned if something like this ever happened, for it has happened in the past. Happy Viewing.

Searching for artifacts from the past can either be your cup of tea or not, but either way, exploring yesterday opens up so many doors. Being able to find something that has not been seen or touched for hundreds of years just makes you understand how little time we actually have on the planet. As you get the bug for treasure hunting or relic hunting for your own profit or that of museums, you also find that it is not a cheap thing to do. Needing to prove your theories about why an artifact is in fact, where you want to dig is very important, because time is money. Do your research, follow your leads and somehow, in some way all will be revealed and hopefully pay off some of the debt you have piled up while trying to help bring history back to life.
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On the verge of losing her Jeep to some debt collectors, Victoria Carter’s team in Jordan stumbles upon the find of a lifetime. Finding a hidden tomb with a sarcophagus waiting in its shadows, she is ready to have her funding extended, but seeing that it is empty, she will have to do something else. But the search is not over as she spots a change in one of the walls and is able to find something else that will bring her back to the top of her game as an ancient parchment is pulled from the depths of the tomb. Seeing that the old scroll talks about Solomon’s ring, Victoria is on the verge of discovering something incredible, but will need some help in finding out what the scroll really means.

As old Professor Elgar is packing up from the last speaking engagement of his trip, he is happy to see his old student Victoria has come to visit. Seeing photos of the old scroll, the two are able to put some things together, but Elgar urges the woman to seek help from the foremost expert on Solomon and the legend, her father. Not wanting to try to reconnect with her old man since he was not there for his wife’s passing three years ago, Victoria is shocked to see that he has come for a visit. With the promise of helping her uncover all of the clues that are being put in front of them, Teddy has a plan of his own and steals the scroll from his daughter. With nowhere else to turn to get funding without the scroll, Victoria turns to an unlikely resource and is happy to see that the Vatican is in fact interested in the ring as well.

Getting teamed up with Treasure Guard Angelo and his little brother Luca, Victoria and her new crew are in for an adventure that will change their lives forever. With the Vatican computers being able to decipher some of the writing, the group has three clues that they will follow to find the Ring of Solomon. But they are not the only ones on the hunt as they arrive in the catacombs to find that a clue has been removed before their arrival. Knowing that the search is only getting underway and her father was very much into this legend, Victoria is able to pinpoint what was taken from his old files. Finding out that her old man was much closer to finding out the secrets of Solomon’s ring, along with the location of his legendary mine, Victoria is able to get in front of the search, but there might be more trouble ahead as you never know what the promise of becoming rich will do to people.

This was a pretty cool little treasure hunting movie I must admit. While you have seen the story before, with a race against time to find the treasure and meeting the opposition, this movie gives you more of a back story as to where the group is coming from. With Angelo turning to the cloth to find meaning for his life and his little brother Luca being a semi successful con man, Victoria is able to keep the group together and moving forward in their search for riches. I must admit that I liked how the group worked together, even the little backstory as to why Angelo had become a priest, but Victoria’s past really came front and center throughout. With a treasure hunt, guns, bullets, some old contacts, an RPG, diamonds, Solomon’s mine being the prize and a double cross from a trusted friend, it is just a fun movie to get caught up in. While you might think that a good old-fashioned treasure hunt will go off without a hitch, it is easy to see that if you don’t have the right people on your side during it, you may be digging your own grave. Happy Viewing.

It does not matter what field you work in these days, all employers are trying to find a cheaper way to get things done. While it may not be hitting the human workforce quickly, there is always the fear that there will be a fresh student that is willing to work for cheaper or even worse, that the boss will take the human element out of the job altogether. This has to be the most frightening thing to think about, as we have all seen what happens when robots and computers take over the world in fiction. While the stories always show that they have the best interest in mind for the human race, they also show that not listening to the humans is very important for their own survival. While artificial intelligence continues to grow in our technology, I hope we have a way to control it, because there is no worse thought than waking up to see that the world has changed overnight and there is no way to stop it.
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After the world faced its apocalypse, a few small bands of people were able to survive and were forced to depend on their technology and androids to keep them alive. While the production of the new breed of robots has slowed down in recent years, Doctor Varrta is trying to get them turned back on as he knows that they are the key to mankind’s future on the planet. After showing a great demonstration to Mrs. Carlson who almost lost her son to the dangerous elements outside of the dome that covers Phoenix, Varrta knows that there will be little hesitation to bringing his plan to life. Pulling his newly prized Android who was able to save the boy to the side however, Varrta sees that there is a little emotion starting to be seen in the android and he decides to send him to the outpost in Terminus to get him reprogrammed, but little does he know what that trip will yield for the future.

Working in the underground of one of the last remaining cities, Jute is shocked when he sees yet another COG (android) taking the position of a hard-working human. Being laid off, Jute needs to blow off some steam and stops off at the local bar for a drink on fight night. Seeing that the new unbeatable competitor in the ring tonight is a COG, Jute has the perfect way of taking out all of his frustrations, but the fight is shortened when the police show up. Taking his madness to the streets with his buddy Polton and a bottle of booze, Jute is shocked to see his competitor from the ring making his way down the street and wants to finish what they started. But being able to beat the COG and end its lifecycle will be the biggest mistake for Jute, especially when the police come looking for him.

Being tossed in the back of a transport vehicle and being shipped off to Terminus, Jute sees that the world outside of Phoenix is not very habitable, especially when the transport comes under attack. Watching as the infected mining probes drill through the truck and take out humans and androids alike, he decides it is time to leave, but little does he know that he is with one of the better probe killers. Watching as the android DeeCee is able to save their lives, Jute is ready to return home and continue his life and while DeeCee does not understand why, the android starts to share the same ideas. Little does Jute know that by talking to the machine, he starts to feel like the android is actually something special and not like the others. Forming a little bond on their walk through the badlands, the man and machine need to come up with a plan as they are not only be hunted by the out of control probes that terrorize the landscape, but Doctor Varrta and his goons as well who have a much more sinister plan in place.

Pretty cool end of days scenario being put on the screen here, especially when you find out what Doctor Varrta is really planning for the future. I really liked the DeeCee character, as he was straight faced throughout the movie and the little smile when he was able to crack a joke was epic. The growth that Jute was forced to go through, from wanting to kill every COG that ever existed to one becoming his best friend was fun, even when the two were fighting from the start. With a small town in a dome, renegade probes that are looking to kill, badlands, an out of control doctor, a tightly forced bond between man and machine and a woman who will not let her husband go out like that, this is actually a pretty good feel good movie overall. Although you don’t have to agree with everything that is being put out before you, once you find out the master plan for the remaining human race, you might start to question who you can really trust as security is important, but not the only thing we need. Stay Scared and Happy Viewing.

I'm not sure what it is all of a sudden, but classic films from my childhood, or at least the vague memories I have of some of them have been at the top of my mind as of late, and I keep seeking them out to fire up those memories and experiences. It could be because I recently celebrated a birthday. It could also be because of the fact I'm a nostalgia nut, who knows. 

But when it comes to today's review, my re-discovery of it came about in strange fashion. You see, as a child, I loved trains. I loved playing with toy ones, seeing them in person and any movie or show that featured them, I simply had to watch. I'll never know what made them so fascinating when I was a boy, but my love of them allowed for some interesting and awesome things to be committed to memory forever, including vague recall of a movie where a giant train crashed into a train station, something I recall was just the coolest thing ever at the time.

So naturally, when a discussion with my brother came up over the fact that my nephew Gabriel was suddenly into trains, my mind wandered to those magical days and I decided it was high time to find that movie and find it I did. It turns out that it was entitled Silver Streak, and I found myself hopeful to watch this one after all this time because not only did it feature trains upon trains, but I completely forgot that Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor happened to star in it and well, when all is said and done, there was also a touch of trepidation on my part because the big question that comes into play here is whether or not this film was as awesome as I remembered it. The good news is, the answer is a surprising yes, followed up with, it was actually better than I remember it as well.

​You see, I'm a sucker for quite a few things. I love Richard Pryor, I've made no secret of the fact that I'm a huge fan of Gene Wilder and a good crime story always sucks me in and that's what Silver Streak has to offer since Wilder plays George, a man on a mid-continental trip on the famed train that shares the namesake of the film's title and it appears at first that this story is about to become a romance flick when George meets a lovely lady named Hilly. But their puppy love is quickly interrupted when George comes to realize that the man she has been traveling with, an art historian named Professor Schreiner, has been murdered and George is quickly drawn into a world of intrigue and murder as he tries to save Hilly and bring Schreiner's killers to justice. 

If anything, we are going to leave the plot at that for several reasons. For one, anything I say more than that spoils this intricate tale that outright sucks you in and it's a story that needs to be experienced to say the least, and also because...we need to talk about the pairing of Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder. This film as I later uncovered, served as the beginning of their comedic partnership and it's easy to see why these two were paired for three more films after this one. They are simply comedy gold when on screen together and it doesn't matter which scene they are in, the chemistry between these two is outright fantastic and the laughs just keep coming once they get rolling and the wonder of seeing these two on screen together, combined with that top notch plot allowed for me to see this motion picture in a whole new light.

Now don't think I forgot about the train stuff for that matter, because that was equally as awesome. In fact, the crash sequence I referred to earlier was ten times more incredible than I recall it being all those years ago, but all that really matters is that revisiting Silver Streak is one of those perfect moments when nostalgia pays off. Because sometimes looking back on a fond memory like this can backfire horribly when it turns out the movie just plain stinks, but in this case, I have newfound respect for this film, for everything it tried to accomplish and its high time that I add this one to my collection. If by chance, you haven't seen this one yet, it's available for rental on Amazon and On Demand and I highly recommend that you do. For one, to enjoy a pair of comedy legends in Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor in their prime and to enjoy a flat-out entertaining film that leaves you smiling long after the credits have come to an end.