30 in 30....DAY ELEVEN...NIGHT OF THE COMET (1984)

And the hits just keep on coming! I didn't catch this until a few years ago, so I missed its nostalgia inducing aspect that I would have latched onto had I seen it back in the day. Basically a comet approaches and passes earth and turns everyone to red dust who went outside to see it. Two girls who happened to be inside during the passing wake up to a world all their own...except for a few random placed Zombies who for whatever reason didn't turn to dust. Haha! One wears a cheerleader outfit the whole time and the other is a video game high score freak who works at the local cinema. Catherine Mary Stewart (who would later be in Weekend At Bernie's) and Star Trek Voyager's Robert "Chakotay" Beltran star in the camp fest. Very fun with lots of good 80s scenery...and don't forget the zombies.

The girls trying out their Uzi machine guns...in full 80s garb.





Robert Beltran as Hector...

Sketches...The Gill Man

Gill Man finished almost - may add some small details tonight but overall pretty close to done. Very pleased with this one.

30 in 30...DAY TEN...SATURN 3 (1980)

A movie I have not seen since it was the ABC Movie of the Week or something WAYYY back in the early 1980s. There are literally only three cast members in the entire film - Kirk Douglass, Farah Fawcett, and Harvey Keitel. The entire film takes place on a remote base on one of Saturn's moons. A giant robot goes haywire - imagine that - and a couple is threatened by the Captain who arrives with it in tow. Bad special effects and even worse wardrobe decisions run amok, but its an incredibly inspiring film. By that, I mean even though its clearly riding the coattails of Alien and Star Wars at this point in cinema history, so many films that came after it borrow or either outright STEAL some of its more creative elements, most notably Aliens, The Terminator, and Event Horizon just to name a few.

Yes even in space, they still wear sweat pant suits...



One of the "inspired" spaceship designs from the film...



Hector - first of the Demi-God series...collects a prize.



Really cool sets.



Kirk Vs. Robot...Kirk Douglass I mean.



If you are into cult films, this is really fun. A recent updated Blu Ray release is coming from Scream Factory so that should be fun. Also of note is a making of site I found while researching this...lots of neat info here:

http://saturn3makingof.com/

30 in 30...DAY NINE...28 WEEKS LATER (2007)

The sequel to the 2002 virus outbreak film. 28 Days Later is one of my favorite horror films of the last 10-15 years so it was going to be hard to top that. This film is much bigger and bloodier but not better. The original had such great atmosphere, music, and a core of well rounded actors that were nearly perfect in their roles. A huge cast is employed here - Jeremy Renner, Rose Byrne, Robert Carlyle, Idris Elba, Harold Perrineau (LOST), Catherine McCormack (Braveheart) but my favorite cast member name has to be IMOGEN POOTS. How does she not get more work with a name like that?







There is a meandering subplot throughout the whole movie of a cure that resides inside the cells of one of the kids and how their infected father - played by Carlyle - keeps popping up to hunt them down. They literally travel across the entire city of London and parts of England via car and helicopter in an attempt to escape. Man those Rage Zombies can travel fast! LOL. Still I don't hate this movie, its a worthy sequel - only not as personal and as fully realized as the original. I will give it points for quite possibly the best Zombie Kill ever put on screen...it involves a field full of oncoming zombies and a helicopter...



I hope that the third rumored film in the franchise gets made - 28 Months Later? We shall see.

30 in 30...DAY EIGHT...A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET PART 2: FREDDY'S REVENGE (1985)

I have to be honest, this is the Elm Street I like the least. I've seen it maybe ten times over the years. It's not that doesn't have good moments, but it isn't as inventive or as fun as most of the other installments. It comes across as a generic sequel with a few gags to keep you interested. At least they got Freddy's appearance right in this one:





Extra points for the Power Station poster in the background, as they were a hit band back in 1985! haha!



No major stars of note, other than the jock guy from Weird Science. And of course this one copies the original's "Gotcha!" ending...

Sketches...Classic Montage...

Two quickes last night...first off, a really crappy Michael Myers in pencil only. Face is too fat but not bad for 10 minutes I guess...





Next up, one I'm really excited about - The Creature from the Black Lagoon! Will probably end up inking this one, but its in pencil for now.





Now with eyes!

30 in 30 DAY SEVEN - The Monster Squad (1987)

How in the world did I miss seeing this movie as a kid? All the classic monsters appear in this one - Dracula, Wolfman, Frankenstein, The Mummy and the Creature from the Black Lagoon. A group of kids have a "Monster Squad" that meets in secret and they discover the monsters are coming to steal an amulet and unleash evil on the world. It's definitely made for the PG-13 Goonies crowd that was the popular thing at this point in the mid to late 80s. I honestly don't remember much hoopla over this movie when it came out, but it has a huge cult following today. It's unfortunate this one didn't garner more praise and success upon its initial release.

Some spectacular creature suits, of course - Stan Winston created them. My favorite was the Gillman - some obvious Predator influence can be seen!



Frankenstein...



The Posse...



We get another triple threat of recognizable actors here as well!

First off is The Wayner aka Jason Hervey of The Wonder Years as a school bully...



And the award for "that guy with that face" goes to Leonardo Cimino...known simply as Scary German Guy. He has been in several bit parts over the years, including Dune as the baron's doctor.



Also appearing is Jon Gries as the Wolfman - also known for playing Laslow in Real Genius and more recently as Uncle Rico in Napoleon Dynamite. His character is also involved with the best line of the movie - "WOLFMAN'S GOT NARDS!!!" Hahahahah...