10 Films For May the 4th

Posted on May 4, 2026 by Lisa Marie Bowman

If you want to celebrate the 4th of May but you really don’t feel like sitting through any of the Star Wars films (especially now that you know that Leia, Luke, and Han’s struggle was pretty much for naught), here are ten other sci-films that will keep you entertained without ruinng your childhood memories!

Starcrash (1978, dir by Luigi Cozzi) is not only the best of the so-called Star Wars rip-offs, it’s also one of the best space adventures ever made. In fact, I would argue that Cozzi’s film is actually more entertaining than Star Wars, just because of Cozzi’s unabashed love of the genre and the fact that Starcrash had a bit more deliberate wit than George Lucas’s film. Starcrash also had a once-in-a-lifetime cast of Caroline Munro, Marjoe Gortner, Joe Spinell, Christopher Plummer, and David Hasselhoff. Starcrash is a true pop art masterpiece.
Laserblast (1978, dir by Charles Band) — Fresh from menacing Mark Hamill in Corvette Summer, Kim Milford plays a totally 70s dude who finds a discarded alien weapon and turns into a green monster. At one point, Milford blows up a Star Wars billboard. Roddy McDowall is a small-town doctor. Eddie Deezen and Dennis Burkley are bullies. The Claymation aliens are adorable, especially when they start arguing with each other.
Moonraker (1979, dir by Lewis Gilbert) –– James Bond in space! I’m well aware that Moonraker does not have a great reputation as far as Bond films are concerned but actually, it’s one of Roger Moore’s most enjoyably ludicrous outings. Daniel Craig’s Bond could never go into space but Roger Moore could. That’s why Moore will always be the superior Bond.
The Humanoid (1979, dir by Aldo Lado) — After playing Jaws in both The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, Richard Kiel got to play a leading role. “I believe that jacket belongs to Mr. Gilmore….” No, this was before Happy Gilmore! In The Humanoid, Kiel plays the kindly Golob who is transformed into a hulking, evil warrior. Good Golob has a beard. Evil Golob doesn’t. This movie is a bit long but Kiel is always a delight to watch and it also features a cute dog robot. Barbara Bach is the evil Lady Agatha, who is kept young by space virgin blood. Ivan Rassimov, owner of the best hair in Italian exploitation, is Lord Graal.
The Visitor (1979, dir by Giulio Paradisi) — What happens when you mix The Omen, The Exorcist, and Star Wars with a bunch of basketball stock footage? You end up with one of the greatest Italian films ever! John Huston is the alien/angel! Lance Henriksen is the devil worshipper who owns a basketball team! Franco Nero is Jesus, who lives on the Moon with a bunch of bald children! Shelley Winters is Shelley Winters! The Visitor is a film that simply has to be seen.
Battle Beyond The Stars (1980, dir by Jimmy T. Murakami) — This Roger Corman-produced film never would have been made if not for the success of Star Wars. That said, it’s actually a science fiction version of The Magnificent Seven, featuring the type of cast that only Corman could put together. Richard Thomas, Robert Vaughn, George Peppard, Darlanne Fluegel, John Saxon, and Sybil Danning, they’re all in this terrifically entertaining space opera.
Flash Gordon (1980, dir by Mike Hodges) — How many people have been driven mad after getting the theme song stuck in their head? At every watch party that I host, Flash Gordon is always at the top of the list of films that people want me to select. (Unfortunately, it’s not streaming anywhere for free right now.) Like Starcrash and The Visitor, it’s a pop art masterpiece. All together now: “Godon’s alive!”
Space Raiders (1983, dir by Howard Cohen) — Roger Corman produced this film about a dumbass kid (David Mendenhall, who also played Stallone’s son in Over The Top) who stows away with a bunch of lovable space pirates and basically gets everyone killed. This is worth seeing for Thom Christopher as Flightplan. This film also features a scene where the kid tries to shout across space. “HAWK!”
Spaceballs (1987, dir by Mel Brooks) — Mel Brooks sends up the Star Wars saga as only he can. It’s not totally successful but there are plenty of funny lines and Rick Moranis and John Candy are a delight. Bill Pullman wisely plays his role straight and allows the supporting crew to get most of the laughs.
Space Mutiny (1988, dir by Neal Sundstrom and David Winters) — “GO! GO! GO!” Reb Brown yells as Dave Ryder, the new head of security for Cameron Mitchell’s space fleet. And Brown has a lot to yell about because John Phillip Law is leading a mutiny in plain sight. Space Mutiny has a reputation for being one of the worst films ever made. It may be. But I still enjoy it. Every space ship needs a disco.

4 Shots From 4 Films: Special Mel Brooks Edition

Posted on June 28, 2025 by Lisa Marie Bowman

4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.

Mel Brooks is 99! It’s time for….

4 Shots From 4 Mel Brooks Films

Blazing Saddles (1974, dir by Mel Brooks, DP: Joseph Biroc)

Young Frankenstein (1974, dir by Mel Brooks, DP: Gerald Hirschfeld)

High Anxiety (1977, dir by Mel Books. DP: Paul Lohmann)

Spaceballs (1987, dir by Mel Brooks, DP: Nick McLean)

Spaceballs (1987, directed by Mel Brooks)

Posted on May 4, 2024 by Jedadiah Leland

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A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away…

President Skroob (Mel Brooks), the evil and incompetent leader of Planet Spaceball, has squandered all of the air on his planet and is planning on stealing the atmosphere of the planet Druida. To pull this off, he arranges for the idiotic Prince Valium (Jim J. Bullock) to marry Vespa (Daphne Zuniga), the princess of Druida. (All together now: “She doesn’t look Druish.”) Vespa and her droid, Dot Matrix (voice by Joan Rivers), flee Druida with Lord Dark Helmet (Rick Moranis) and Colonel Sandurz (George Wyner) in pursuit.

In debt to the intergalactic gangster, Pizza the Hut (voiced by Dom DeLuise), a mercenary named Lone Star (Bill Pullman) and his associate, the man-dog hypbrid Barf (John Candy), accept a contract from Vespa’s father (Dick Van Patten) to track down his daughter. They take off in their space Winnebago to bring Vespa home. Though they start only interested in money, Lone Star and Barf come to learn about love, freedom, and a mystical power known as the Schwartz. (“No, the Schwartz!”)

Back when I was growing up and just being able to have HBO made you the coolest guy on the block, Spaceballs was one of my favorite movies. I watched it every time that it came on cable. As usual with Mel Brooks, there were a lot of double entendres that went over my young head but there was also enough goofy humor that I could laugh at what was going on. I could quote all the lines. I laughed whenever Rick Moranis showed up in his Darth Vader-costume. I laughed at John Candy’s facial expressions. I laughed when Mel Brooks showed up as Yogurt, the Spaceballs version of Yoda. Pizza the Hut? That’s hilarious when you’re a kid!

I recently rewatched the film. Revisiting it was a lesson in how your memory can trick you. I could still quote most of the lines with reasonable accuracy but nothing was quite the way I remembered it. Rick Moranis and John Candy were still hilarious and, being older, I could better appreciated the frustration felt by George Wyner’s Colonel Sandurz. I also realized what a good performance Bill Pullman gave as Lone Star. While everyone else mugged for the camera, Pullman played his role straight.

I also discovered that a lot of the scenes that I remembered as being hilarious were actually just mildly amusing. Mel Brooks was always hit-and-miss as a director, the type who would toss everything and the kitchen sink into his films. Spaceballs has a lot of hilarious scenes but it’s obvious that Brooks didn’t have the same affection for the source material as he did with Young Frankenstein or Blazing Saddles or even High Anxiety. Brooks is poking fun at Star Wars because it’s popular but he doesn’t seem to have any strong feelings, one way or the other, about George Lucas’s space epic.

I still laughed, though. Even if Spaceballs wasn’t the masterpiece that I remembered it being, I still enjoyed rewatching it. The jokes that hit were funny enough to make up for the ones that missed. Even with his weaker films, Mel Brooks is a national treasure.