Battle Beyond the Stars (1980)

Galactic bully John Saxon arrives at planet Akir and lays down his terms. The planet's defenceless farmers are boned if they don't take action; i.e. hire mercenaries to defend them. So John-Boy Walton hops in a ship that looks like the ass-end of the Enterprise made out of slug and uterus and flies boldly into a Seven Samurai (1954) situation in space. The addition of Robert Vaughn as one of the hired-guns directly references The Magnificent Seven (1960), too.
It's a charming B-Movie that's as bizarre as it is fun. Add George Peppard with the best utility belt ever, Sybil Danning as a Valkyrie warrior, and a ship's computer that acts like a sarcastic but protective aunt and you have a film that might not qualify as 'one for the ages,' but is memorable in its own way.

3 hotblood forms out of 5

Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)

A slightly better than average suspense/thriller penned by Horror maestro John Carpenter but directed by Irvin Kershner. Fashion photographer Laura Mars experiences flashes of actual murders seen through the eyes of the killer and, worst luck, it’s people she knows.
Faye is believable in the Laura role one minute and the Queen of melodramatic overacting the next. Tommy Lee Jones gives support and looks weird being so young (I assumed he was born old).
It’s essentially an Argento style Italian Giallo film in English.

3 frustrated voyeur types out of 5

Pet Sematary 2 (1992)

Don’t you just hate sequels that bring nothing new to the table? This one follows the basic plot of the first, more or less. Kid takes his deceased pet to the forbidden cemetery, it comes back to life, then later tests it out on a human. This time there’s an undead dog (you can tell it’s evil because its eyes are red) and an asshole sheriff who comes back a nice guy…for the time being, anyway. It’s not as bad as I remember, but probably better than I give it credit for.

2 bicycle spokes out of 5