Nancy Kress-Out Of All Them Bright Stars

 "I make so little difference!"

The first word that comes to my mind when describing Nancy Kress's Out Of All Them Bright Stars, is quirky. It's a quirky fairly light hearted tale about an alien encounter that really comes across as nothing stranger than some foreigner from another country arriving at a local diner and ordering something to eat. But in this story's case he happens to be an alien with blue skin. It doesn't appear that these beings are harmful or want to blow us sky high, even though they have all the firepower in the world necessary to do so it seems that they are here willingly and for a purpose that isn't entirely known by all but one that is not the least bit confrontational. But these are aliens dang it and they don't belong here. That's the attitude that permeates throughout this short piece. It's blunt but it's true. Even Sally who feels that these strange blue men wearing "Humphrey Bogart Hats" are here to do us no harm but even she doesn't understand why they would come here. Especially since there are so many other stars they could have chosen to come to or visit instead of earth. It's a natural reaction that we all can relate to. If aliens did come and visit our world we would think the same thing that and ask the questions why are they here, and what do they want to do with us or to us? These questions are asked by the people in the story as well. As alien encounters go this one was very nonchalant. But even though the characters take this alien invasion lightly as if it's just another event of immigrants from a strange land invading the good ol' usa, the author manages to bring some weight to the situation too by showcasing the good nature of these Aliens and how it is being for the most part ignored by all. Even Sally who notices these good natured qualities and experiences them first hand at the end of the story seems more pissed at her boss and worried about keeping her job than her first hand encounter with life from another planet. I feel for these blue men. Whatever point or message they came so far away to earth to say seems to have fallen on deaf ears, and no one wants to listen. For them this must be a fate worse than death by nuclear annihilation. For them to travel so far and wide for a purpose that is just brushed off like a piece of lint on one's t-shirt? Deeply tragic. I think that is the point of Out Of All Them Stars. To show a scenario where aliens do arrive on earth but everyone just keeps on going through their everyday motions like nothing major had ever happened at all. And to be honest I wouldn't be surprised if aliens were already living among us. If they were we probably ignored them and went on with our lives years ago. Maybe they already paid a visit. Realized no one cared and went home. That would be a cold harsh truth that would be hard to stomach, and one that I hope has not already become a reality.

Arthur C. Clarke-The Sentinel

Now, I understand why people like to call Mr. Clarke the master of Science Fiction. The Sentinel is a truly spectacular work. It is very short, only a few pages long but it's impact reaches as far and wide as the universe. The crux of the story concerns a bunch of rag tag moon explorers on a seemingly routine lunar expedition in the year 1996. The story's protagonist whom I don't believe we the reader is even given a name for has long dreamed of finding life or evidence of it on the moon. He dreams that he would find it over a big mountainside and one day he decides to climb that mountain and reach his dreams and aspirations of alien life. He ends up finding evidence of alien life in a giant monolithic pyramid but nothing living in his general vicinity. He explores this mysterious pyramid and then by accident or by design activates the structure's main purpose. The pyramid was left over by an alien civilization, but it was not by accident. It was built on the moon waiting for the time when man was brave and intelligent enough to find it and activate it's innate reason for existence. To send a message to whatever lifeforms that had created it that mankind was now ready and willing to communicate and learn from these alien beings. A decision that has immense weight on the earth and the universe as a whole. The story doesn't delve into what happens after this fateful discovery, instead it leaves it up in the air and leaves the reader with a sense of anticipation and dread of what may come. I related to this story very well since I believe in my heart that if we had activated such a beacon today, we would not welcome the alien lifeforms with open arms. Instead we would perceive them as a threat and blow them out of the sky. I think Clarke felt the same way since the lead protagonist was also leery of the fact that aliens would be communicating and visiting earth very soon and he was fearful for their safety just as much as our own.

The Sentinel would go on to become the building blocks for Clarke's magnum opus, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and in many ways despite it's short length it has just as much impact as 2001 ever did. This was thought provoking and in a way somber and very tragic. The weight of the impact of this story was immense. It was a story about not just one form of alien encounter but two forms. The first was the discovery of The Sentinel, and the second is the upcoming visitations from beyond our universe from aliens who had heard the response they had been waiting decades if not thousands of years to come and share their knowledge and existence with the planet Earth believing that it is ready for such a monumental moment in mankind, but in reality due to an over eager explorer the message was sent too soon, and man is not yet ready. It takes an event so wonderful and makes it so sad and infuriating. Excellent story. I highly recommend it to anyone. Even people who aren't fans of Science Fiction. It's message is one that can touch anyone who picks it up and reads it's contents and chooses to hear it's call.

C.L. Moore-Shambleau(SF Short Story Review)

This was one wild short story. It grabbed me with it's tendrils and didn't let go. It was an amazing piece of science fiction writing by C.L. Moore. It's hard to believe that this story was written all the way back in 1933. At the core of it's plot is an alien encounter that has very obvious connotations to race relations of the time period. Especially with the way the "Shambleau is treated by the other denizens of the martian colony.  Even the alien creature's appearance is quote similar to that of an african american with it's dark brown skin. The whole story is one big alien encounter. One that starts out quite innocently enough with the rescue of what at first glance appears to be a misunderstood and preyed upon creature by the wiles of the story's hero the hilariously named, Northwest Smith. The story even goes as far as delving into man's carnal desires and how they can be easily corrupted. Anyway you put it, the aspect of interspecies sex is very controversial and Shambleau's sequences of wild, animal eroticism are no exception. As the story continues and Smith begins to take this creature under his wing, you begin to learn more about this creature and it's purpose you start to question things. Questions about what exactly this creature is and what it's purpose may be. As Smith experiences his forebodding nigthmare of swarms of slimy red tendrils the skin begins to crawl. When the vampiric and medusa like identity of the Shambleau is revealed in all it's unholy glory your skin wants to crawl right off your bones as the terror and disgust takes over your senses. Smith's encounter with the Shambleau was voluntary and seemed at least in the beginning of the tale to be one that was made with the best of intentions, but as the story progresses the encounter becomes life threatening, sinister and life changing. By the end of the story you are left both repulsed, terrified and intrigued about the Shambleau. You feel exactly the same way that Smith does after it's all over. Minus the great soulless eyes of course. But all kidding aside this was a great read.

This is an encounter with an alien species that preys on your emotions and leaves you stunned with it's sheer brilliance. Shambleau is an unforgettable alien encounter that is just as chilling as it is fascinating. I throughly enjoyed it, and I was amazed about how well written and how strong of a read it was. It was just the right length too. Enough to carry on it's narrative effectively but not overstaying it's welcome or taking too long to get to it's purpose and climax.

VHS Files-Armed Response(1986)

 

 "There's Only One Way To Challenge The Face Of Death!"

Armed Response(1986) is a low budget action flick released by RCA/Columbia home video and was financed and made on a budget of around 1,500,000. The highest budget the director Fred Olen Ray has had for a film to date.

Cast: David Carradine, Lee Van Cleef, Mako, Michael Berryman, Lois Hamilton, Ross Hagen, Brent Huff, Laurene Landon, and Dick Miller.

Director: Fred Olen Ray

My Two Cents: Ah. Armed Response. One of those films that for some reason I have been trying to find for ages now, and now that I finally found the sucker, and popped in my VCR, it turned out to be a little bit like moldy cheese. Still packed a punch, but not necessarily the good kind. I certainly was not expecting a masterpiece from schlockmeister Fred Olen Ray, but for his first and last over a million dollar budgeted flick, I expected a little more pizazz. The film begins with a useless but entertaining prologue featuring a man cutting off one of his fingers to show loyalty to the head of the Yakuza, Mr. Tanaka(Mako), and to come away with a cool 5,000 bucks.  This scene leads to nowhere however, since the man and his female accomplice are never seen again throughout the rest of the film. The randomness continues with the film's opening title sequence which consists of random shots of the cast in a bar chatting, and quick flash cuts of the credits coming in at completely random intervals, leaving the audience wondering why the director chose to edit the whole film like a kid with attention deficit disorder. The main title music by Tom Chase and Steve Rucker makes the sequences well worth it though with it's awesome guitar solo and smooth bass sounding like it came straight out of an episode of Miami Vice. The first 25 minutes or so of the film are tough sledding though. Dealing with an awkward at best bar sequence with Lee Van Cleef beating up on a couple of punks, and David Carradine having vietnam flashbacks. The first half of the film has this weird pseudo serious tone. It deals with tense issues like David Carradine's post traumatic stress disorder but then also has goofy sequences with a couple of doofy thieves played by Laurene Landon and Dick Miller, complete with laugh out loud stupid dialogue.

Here is an example of this film's ridiculous writing.

Deborah: You guys packing?

Cory: This ain't my dick I'm playing with.

That's just a taste of the ludicrous wordplay this film throws at you. I personally found it to be hilarious, but others might find it childish and immature. After Cory is done not playing with his private parts he pulls a double cross and shoots his partner, stealing the money and the statue. This statue holds great importance to the plot since it was supposed to be given to the leader of the Tong gang as a token of appreciation by Tanaka in order to prevent full out war between the Tongs and the Yakuza. This scenario is revealed to audience in of all places a strip club. Had to get in some shots of titties didn't you Armed Force? But the film isn't all just tits and statues. The film picks up pace as soon as Carradine's brother Clay is found dead, and he and the rest of his family go on a mission of revenge to bust the bad guys asses. Lee Van Cleef heads to bar and disappears until the end of the film, Carradine searches for Clay's killer on the mean streets, beats up some coke dealers, pimp smacks Ross Hagen out of his shoes, Michael Berryman makes an appearance as a ninja with a smiley face pin who promptly shoots Brent Huff with a shotgun exclaiming "Nice Try. BAD LUCK!" Complete with a new wave pop song in the background, and to make matters worse Tanaka kidnaps Carradine's wife and daughter. But all is not lost as Carradine and his pappy Lee Van Cleef gear up for war and set up a trade(The statue for his wife and daughter) Then Mako arrives with Berryman in tow along with a bunch of cannon fodder. Carradine hands Mako the jade suppository, doesn't shoot him in the face since his gun does not have a license, Lee Van Cleef shoots some guys, Mako tries to shoot Carradine but is out of bullets, Carradine blows his ass sky high with a detonator that activates the bomb he placed on the bottom of the statue, and Carradine like a stone cold bad ass gives us the one liner of the decade with "Rest In Pieces". The film isn't done yet. It still has a frustratingly lame climax to get to, complete with a random car chase leading to nothing, then followed by hilariously awful slow mo Michael Berryman shooting Carradine,  Berryman's happy ninja getting shot by Carradine's wife, Carradine showing off his bulletproof vest to the audience and ending with a random shot of Ross Hagen's corpse underwater in a river somewhere. This all leaves me the viewer befuddled, confused and a little bit angry. Thank god I only paid a dollar for this.

All in all Armed Response didn't completely fall flat on it's face since I ultimately did have some fun with it, but it never rose above so so territory throughout it's entire running time. If anything the main thing that kept me entertained was David Carradine being a Vietnam vet that should not be fucked with, the hilarious dialogue, Mako, Michael Berryman's happy ninja, the brief but satisfying shootout at the end, and the laugh out loud inept use of slow motion photography. But other than that the film was nothing special. It could have used a lot more Lee Van Cleef.

**1/2(Out of Five)

                                          
                                         Trailer

VHS Files-The Unborn(1991)

The Unborn(1991) is a direct to video sci-fi horror film released by RCA/Columbia home video, and was produced by Roger Corman. 

Cast: Brooke Adams, Jeff Hayenga, James Karen, K. Callan, Jane Cameron, Kathy Griffin, Wendy Hammers, Laura Stockman, Jonathan Emerson, Janice Kent, and Lisa Kudrow.

Director: Rodman Flender

 My Two Cents: This is one baby worth checking out. As direct to video films go, I was pleasantly surprised by how decent this flick was. Sure. It's no masterpiece but it had a certain eerie quality to it. It's not a very long movie either sitting at an hour and 23 minutes, it goes by at a fairly quick pace. The plot is a little derivative of other killer baby flicks(I.E. It's Alive) but instead of showing the killer tyke in nearly every scene, it takes a more subdued approach relying more upon psychological torments instead of special effects which adds to the suspense. There were a couple moments that made me jump, and the effects were pretty solid for the low budget. The directing is handled quite well by Rodman Flender who shows a lot more talent here than he did in Leprechaun 2. It's also fun to see early cameos by Kathy Griffin and Lisa Kudrow before they became famous. The film's score was co written by none other than 80's new wave icon Gary Numan. The score definitely has the mark of his presence throughout which makes it actually pretty awesome to listen to. It's not particularly scary but there's something about it that just sticks with you. The craptacular baby effects in my opinion look shoddy as hell, but since the film was made for peanuts I can give that a pass. It's hard not to laugh though. The acting isn't the greatest either. Especially James Karen's during his death scene. It looked as if the man had never played dead before. It was embarrassing. The ending was a major letdown. It harkens back to the end of Larry Cohen's It's Alive, and makes zero sense. Despite all of it's flaws The Unborn was a fun little creature feature that was well worth the quarter I paid for it and my time.

***

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Trailer