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4. SUPER 8 (2011)

So, apparently the makers of Stranger Things took a lot of notes during this flick.  That’s it. That’s my review.
Verdict: Well-done, but extremely derivative of every other movie that’s exactly like it.

5. STORM OVER EVEREST (2008)

Stop me if you’ve heard this –a bunch of mountaineers get trapped on Everest during a storm, and most don’t know what they’re doing, a lot of them die.  This is a very good telling of the 1996 Everest Disaster, with jaw-dropping visuals, and vivid interviews from survivors, some of whom gaze at the camera through rebuilt faces and gesture with fingerless hands.
Verdict: Good stuff, especially if you’ve read Jon Krakauer’s “Into Thin Air” (also highly recommended).
Watch it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=So3vH9FY2H4

6. MISSILE TO THE MOON (1958)

A kinda-sorta a remake of that timeless masterpiece “Cat Women On the Moon,” this is great in that cheesy low-budget ’50s way.  It also includes one of my favorite bad 1950s cheese movie monsters. Behold.

Seriously, it’s right up there with the angry space carrot from “The Beginning of the End.” God bless the makers of these movies, seriously.  
Verdict: Stupid and fun. Is it more stupid, or more fun? Nobody knows.

Here’s a new feature: my movie diary! I will show you the trailers of what I’ve seen and offer a short review, for your delight and amusement. Or you can skip it and just get on with the pictures.

1. THESE THREE (1936)

In a nutshell, this is “The Children’s Hour” minus the lesbian subplot. This is replaced by a scandal that happens because two women are in love with Joel McCrea at the same time. Like there’s anything totally not normal about that. The acting is outstanding by all involved, and there’s a really great turn by Bonita Granville, who plays the original celluloid demon seed. Wow, is she a piece of work.
Verdict: First-class melodrama. Highly recommended.

2. DAVE NOT COMING BACK (2020)

Spoiler alert: the focus of the documentary is a guy named Dave. The plot concerns his uniquely perilous mission to dive to a ridiculous depth to retrieve the body of a diver who had died there a decade earlier. It’s an act of both ridiculous recklessness and selflessness, and it makes the tale a strangely moving one. See it here if you’re so inclined:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p24wxGo0otg
Verdict: If find the topic uninteresting or you are the least bit claustrophobic, you might want to stay far away from this one.
Addendum: Heads up — Dave was filming his dive, and while the film does not show the entire clip, it does show the moment where he realizes what is going to happen to him, and it’s not for the faint of heart.

3. THE BARKLEY MARATHONS: THE RACE THAT EATS ITS YOUNG (2015)

The title says it all.  Especially the subtitle.  But it doesn’t begin to describe the twisted, perverse humor of both the event and the film.  You root for the competitors, who all seem a bit odd, laugh at the insanity of the race itself, and leave mystified as to why anyone puts themselves through this kind of physical and psychological torture. 
Verdict: Recommended if this kind of thing sounds good to you. You can see it here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbl0jhbpiM0