Rambo III

Colonel Sam Trautman and the CIA track down John Rambo in Thailand, hoping to enlist him in a dangerous mission to supply rebel forces in Afghanistan fighting against the Russians. Initially, Rambo refuses to go. Other than competitive stick fighting for money, Rambo has mostly left violence behind. But after Trautman gets captured, Rambo goes to Afghanistan and joins up with the Mujahideen (yes, that Mujahideen) to fight the Russians and rescue Trautman. Rambo III is basically a rehashed version of Rambo: First Blood Part II. It feels very formulaic, it’s a little too quippy at times and, if you’ve read the summary above, you may have noticed that the movie’s politics have aged like milk left out in the desert sun. That said, the action set pieces are all well done and the movie moves at a decent pace. I didn’t hate it as much as I thought I might on this recent viewing and, spoiler alert for a future review, it’s definitely not the worst entry in the series.

Rating: 63%

(Image from Wikipedia)

Mawdryn Undead

There’s a lot going on in Mawdryn Undead, almost too much if I’m being honest. Despite that, it still manages to be among the very best Fifth Doctor stories up to this point. It introduces us to Turlough, who will become one of the Doctor’s companions by the end of the story, even though he’s been tasked with killing the Doctor. It reintroduces us to the Black Guardian, the big bad from the Key to Time saga, who’s behind Turlough’s murderous mission. It also brings back Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, retired from UNIT, now working as a teacher at Turlough’s school. And yet all of that is just window dressing for the main storyline about Mawdryn, a scientist who’s been horribly mutated by stolen technology from Gallifrey. The rest of the plot is filled with time travel paradoxes and complicated moral conundrums. The whole story is bursting at the seams with great ideas. Plus, you get to see Turlough try to cave in the Doctor’s skull with a big rock.

Rating: What would you say if I told you I was looking for my TARDIS?%

Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend

A paleontologist and her husband journey deep into the jungles of Central Africa looking for Mokele-mbembe, a strange creature that may or may not exist. What they find is a blast from the prehistoric past: a family of living dinosaurs. But, when an evil paleontologist learns of the discovery, it’s a mad dash to keep “Baby” safe and rescue the mother from the military. Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend is an adventure movie that borrows some elements from films like E.T., Dumbo and Raiders of the Lost Ark. While I definitely saw this movie as a kid, very little of it stuck with me. And, after seeing it again, I couldn’t imagine showing it to a young child today. I know it came out in the 80s, when traumatizing children through film was commonplace, but no kid should ever have to watch the scene where Baby cries over its father’s corpse, while vultures pick at his flesh. Also, there’s a scene where Sean Young and William Katt try to get in on in front of Baby. It’s weird.

Rating: 59%

(Image from Wikipedia)