Raw Force (1982)

In 1982’s Raw Force, the Burbank Karate Club travel to a forbidden island of disgraced martial artists for shits and giggles. And to fight zombies, mercenaries, and cannibals. It is gloriously bad, unintentionally hilarious, and so damn fun! It is currently streaming on Plex in the US.

The Real McCoy (1993)

When it comes to leaving your old life behind, Karen McCoy (Kim Basinger) just wants to start over after being incarcerated for being the top-tier bank robber of her time who unfortunately was caught. As usual, there would not be a movie if she were allowed to just start over. Instead, a dirty parole officer, old criminal partners, and an ex-husband pull her son and her new boyfriend (Val Kilmer) into her old life. Now, to save them, she has to do one more bank job. This was a film that I watched many times back in the day but had completely forgotten about. It’s a bit hokey today, but still a fun flick.

Candy Stripe Nurses (1974)

Freewheeling high school girls volunteer at Oakwood hospital in 1974’s Candy Stripe Nurses. Sandy ends up meeting a famous rock star who has some sexual difficulties that only she can help with. Dianne tries to expose malpractice as a doctor gives Cliff, a basketball star, speed. Marisa ends up with Marcos, who is falsely accused of knocking over a gas station…and only she can prove his innocence. Like many of the 1970s sexploitation flicks, there’s some nudity, a little sex, and some really weird plot diversions! It is currently streaming on Pluto in the US.

Apollonia 6 – “Sex Shooter”

The Jordache Look

The Jordache Look was an ad campaign for Jordache jeans. You know, those expensive jeans that everyone had to have but no one could afford. Yeah. Those jeans. And their ads were something else!

Professional Adventure Writer (1987)

PAW, or Professional Adventure Writer, was written in 1987 to provide a system for creatives everywhere to create graphical text adventures for the ZX Spectrum and its amazing massive 128KB of RAM. It was later ported to the PC, and now has many ports to a wide variety of systems, including browsers.

My Stepmother is an Alien (1988)

1988’s My Stepmother is an Alien was a box office bomb, but don’t let that dissuade you from watching Juliette Lewis’s film debut. It is a silly and fun film about an alien who travels to Earth because a scientist has unknowingly disrupted their planet’s gravitational force with radio waves. It also includes that always wonderful Allison Hannigan as well as 90s staples Kim Basinger, Jon Lovitz, Seth Green, and Dan Aykroyd

Demonoid (1981)

If you thought Michael Cain’s masterpiece The Hand (1981) was brilliant, or Clive Barker’s short “The Body Politic” in Quicksilver Highway (1997) was glorious fun, or even Ash fighting against his own possessed severed hand in Evil Dead 2 (1987), then have I got a treat for you. Enter Mexican horror film Demonoid from 1981. It is about as low budget as a severed hand film can get, but it is a bit of fun mayhem as the hand possesses people, causes them to murder others, and continues the severed hand murder spree through Las Vegas and LA.

Currently streaming on Plex and Tubi in the US.

Adventure Construction Set (1984)

Adventure Construction Set from 1984 was a role-playing game development kit published by Electronic Arts. It was RPG Maker before there was RPG Maker. Though limited in scope, it inspired a number of gamers to move from gaming to game development because it showed that it was an actual thing they could do.

Léon: The Professional (1994)

Léon: The Professional from 1994 was Natalie Portman’s introduction to the world of feature film. As a 12-year-old taken in by an assassin, Mathilda begins learning the trade. Controversial is its time and today, it was a profoundly stunning performance for the young actress as well as extremely solid performances by Jean Reno and Gary Oldman.

Currently streaming on Netflix in the US.

Human Experiments (1979)

Human Experiments from 1979 is a doozy. Not only was it listed on the Video Nasty list in the UK, but it has an unnecessarily convoluted plot involving a travelling country singer who ends up in a house full of murdered bodies, knows it is the young kid of the family that did it, is railroaded into a psychiatric hospital after being falsely convicted of the murders, ends up being subject to the human experiments of the title, and undergoes a psychotic break to split her personality into a new person… And that’s just touching the surface!

Nu Shooz – “Point of No Return”

Aviator glasses

When you absolutely, positively want to look like an 80s magazine model… you need Aviator Glasses. And the style really took off when Top Gun was released. Suddenly, everyone had to have a pair.

The Elder Scrolls: Arena (1994)

The Elder Scrolls: Arena is the first game in the series that includes massive hits Daggerfall, Morrowind, and Skyrim. It is an open-world first-person RPG with procedurally generated dungeons.

Romeo is Bleeding (1993)

When Tom Waits writes songs, screenwriters get excited. Romeo is Bleeding from 1993 is a story about a cat-and-mouse game from with a corrupt cop and a mobster. As usual, Gary Oldman pulls off an amazing performance.

TNT Jackson (1974)

Diana “TNT” Jackson goes to Hong Kong to take on a criminal organization she believes disappeared her brother. This blaxploitation kick-ass flick from 1974 is pure adrenaline fun!

Regina – “Baby Love”

Sword of Sodan (1988)

Sword of Sodan was an absolutely gorgeous platformer for the Amiga. It was scaled back for the Sega Genesis, but was still a ton of fun to play.

Things to Do In Denver When You’re Dead (1995)

It’s not only Tom Waits who inspires screenwriters to write movies. Things to Do In Denver When You’re Dead is a 1995 film inspired by the Warren Zevon song of the same name. Gangster Jimmy “The Saint” Tosnia, played by Andy Garcia, wants to get out of the game. He runs a business where people send VHS messages to their surviving family members and friends after they pass. A big boss gangster has a son who is a pedophile, and wants his girl to get back with him to “cure him.” So Jimmy and friends are hired to do just that…and things go terribly, terribly wrong. As always, Andy Garcia is stunning to watch in this.

The Great Texas Dynamite Chase (1976)

Candy Morgan breaks out of prison, robs a bank, and picks up Ellie-Jo Turner who was fired from the bank. They become a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, and when they pick up Slim robbing a store, they decide one more can’t hurt. Violence, nudity, and craziness blow this 1976 flick up.

Andy Taylor – “Take It Easy”

Lifesavers Holes

First there were donut holes, and then there were Lifesaver’s Holes.

Cocaine Wars (1985)

Cocaine Wars is a crime thriller film released in 1985, directed by Héctor Olivera. The movie revolves around the illegal drug trade and its impact on society, particularly focusing on the conflict between drug cartels and law enforcement agencies. Set in Miami, the story follows DEA agent Cliff Adams as he investigates a powerful drug lord named Luis Escobar, who is smuggling large quantities of cocaine into the United States. As Adams delves deeper into the case, he faces danger and corruption at every turn, risking his life to bring Escobar and his criminal empire to justice.

Weaponlord (1995)

The Pianist (2002)