This week’s pick is the John Carpenter exploitation classic Assault on Precinct 13 that stars Austin Stoker, Darwin Joston, Laurie Zimmer, and Carpenter regular Charles Cyphers. Before Carpenter hit it big two years later in 1978 with the critically acclaimed financial blockbuster Halloween, his first commercial attempt came with Assault on Precinct 13.

Carpenter was a graduate of USC film school and had recently shot the now cult classic Dark Star which failed to give the young idealistic filmmaker the big break he was hoping for. Carpenter went looking for financial backers and found the CKK Corporation of Philadelphia, PA who gave Carpenter carte blanche to make whatever kind of film he wanted.

Carpenter hoped to make a Howard Hawks inspired western much like El Dorado or Rio Lobo. Due to funds in the range of only one hundred thousand dollars, Carpenter changed his mind and decided to make an action exploitation film instead.

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We’ve had some pretty interesting spec ideas come through the studio system in the past few years, from teenagers with telekenetic powers, to aliens living in the slums of Africa, and thieves that steal information from your dreams. All of those ideas, however, don’t come anywhere close to the sheer insanity of the idea that is “Nazis from Space”.

Sure, it sounds like a bad Lloyd Kaufman flick from the 70s, but consider this film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow meets Close Encounters. Here’s the not-so-basic premise.

As World War II comes to an end in 1945, Hans Kammler and other German scientists make a breakthrough in anti-gravity research. From a secret base in the Antarctic, Nazi spaceships are sent to the ”dark side” of the Moon to establish the military base “Schwarze Sonne”. Their plan is to build a powerful fleet and return to conquer Earth. The film is set in the year 2018 when their descendants finally return.

The film is having its big premiere in Berlin, of all places, this November. So while we’ve got a bit of time before us here in the States get to see it,  you have got to check out the newest trailer for the film after the jump. Motherf*cking Space Nazis!!

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This week’s pick is the final chapter of the Mad Max Trilogy, or at least it is until George Miller gets Fury Road out of the film can and into theaters after almost thirty years since the franchise dried up. Mel Gibson stars for the last time as the post apocalyptic do-gooder in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).

Thunderdome is my least favorite of the films for several reasons, mostly because of how soft Max has gotten in his old age. The film opens where it’s obvious that it has been several years (namely by Mel’s long 80s metal do) since Max helped the outpost settlers of the wasteland battle the Humungus and his barbarians.

As Max is trucking across the desert, he is knocked clear off his camel driven monster truck by a plane piloted by Jedediah (played by Bruce Spence from The Road Warrior). Jedediah steals Max’s rig and leaves him marooned in the desert with nothing. Following the tracks, Max arrives at what is known as Bartertown, a desert outpost where survivors of the nuclear holocaust come to trade precious materials.

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This week’s pick is The Road Warrior (a.k.a. Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior) (1981). Mel Gibson dons his black leather uniform once again in this second installment of the franchise.

The Road Warrior begins with a narration sequence with an elderly man’s voice as it is shown to the audience the widespread pandemonium, which has steered the world towards nuclear Armageddon. Mad Max I shows the audience the beginning of the end. The Road Warrior picks up after the world has been destroyed and society hangs by a narrow thread.

Max roams the wasteland of Australia with his battle-torn black V-8 interceptor and his cattle dog foraging for supplies mainly food, and fuel for his gas-guzzling supercharger. Much like the first film, the first several minutes of the film offer an amazing chase sequence where Max is being pursued by a band of marauding punks led by the vicious Wez (Vernon Wells) who plan to kill Max and take his vehicle and what precious supplies he has left.

Max foils their attempt and wreaks two vehicles in an amazing crash sequence. Max commanders what fuel he can from one of the wreaked cars and fends off an attack by Wez who was shot in the arm with an arrow.  Collecting what he can Max sets off again with his dog and his even more damaged vehicle.

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This week’s Monday Pick is the 1979 action thriller Mad Max, a film that lunched one of the most lucrative franchises in film history. The Mad Max trilogy has spawned many imitations over the last thirty plus years, but they fail to add up to George Miller’s fantastic vision of the ultimate dystopian future.

Mel Gibson (who was virtually unknown at the time) stars as police pursuit man Max Rockatansky. He patrols the highways of the not too distant future Australia that is on the verge of complete anarchy and lawlessness. In the first installment of the series, Miller shows the audience that in this future, resources like food, water, and gasoline are becoming scarce and society is beginning to break down. The Main Force Patrol (MFP) is the uniformed highway safety enforcement whose main purpose is to stop marauding gangs who pose a threat to the society they are desperately trying to preserve.

The first ten minutes of Mad Max are filled with some of the most impressive and dangerous stunts ever performed in any film before or since. The MFP is in pursuit of an escaped convict who calls himself the Night Rider. Along with his girlfriend, the two take off in one of the force’s fastest V-8 pursuit vehicles and are successful in evading several pursuit units.

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It is in fashion right now to bash on remakes and reboots. That line of thinking may or may not be warranted, but you should hear none of it when talking about the upcoming Evil Dead reboot.

Of all the horror franchise that have been revived in the last decade, none more than the Evil Dead series is more malleable. The franchise has always reinvented itself with each new installment, so a new, modern reboot shouldn’t cause immediate concern.

The movie is going to begin filming in a few months and Bloody Disgusting has the scoop on the first bit of casting:

Bloody Disgusting has learned exclusively that Lily Collins (The Blind Side, Priest, Mirror Mirror) is in final negotiations to play “Mia” in FilmDistrict’s reboot aiming for release on April 12, 2013.

In this version, the story centers on five friends (David, Natalie, Eric, Olivia, and Mia) holed up at a remote cabin where they discover a Book of the Dead with a demonic force unleashed possessing each until only one is left to fight for survival.

Lily Collins is a great young actress who shined in The Blind Side and even in the otherwise horrid Priest. We don’t know which of the characters is going to be the “Ash” archetype, but rumors have bubbled up that Raimi wanted a girl to fill that role. Could that be Lily Collins’ Mia? Only time will tell.

Happy New Year and welcome to another year of your favorite films here at Monday Picks. This week’s feature to ring in the New Year is the 1972 Spanish horror classic Horror Express a.k.a. Panic on the Trans-Siberian Express. The film stars both Hammer Films greats Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee who battle an alien life form which has existed on Earth for millions of years.

The film opens in 1906 Manchuria where English naturalist and explorer Alexander Saxton (Lee) has discovered an ape-like creature that has been frozen for thousands of years. Convinced he has found the missing link, Saxton and his party crate up the fossil and prepare to transport the cargo by train to Moscow, Russia.

While in Shanghai, Saxton encounters his fellow Royal Society member Doctor Wells (Cushing) who also plans to board the train bound for Moscow. While under guard, Saxton’s crate is picked by a thief who turns up dead on the station platform, his eyes turned white. A crazed monk and spiritual advisor to a Polish Count believes Saxton’s cargo is unholy. Saxton dismisses the monk’s ranting as spiritual nonsense.

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Seasons greetings! This week’s pick is a comedy holiday classic from the successful National Lampoon’s Vacation series. Chevy Chase stars as Clark W. Griswold in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation.

This third installment of the series follows the Griswolds and Clark’s quest for the best family Christmas. The film’s opening sequence follows the family into the wilderness in the ultimate quest for the perfect Christmas tree. As Clark and the fam enter a clearing a beam of light falls on the perfect tree.

Like the two previous films, Clark’s expectations exceed the rest of the family’s and he is completely oblivious to everything. As they gather around the tree, Rusty asks if Clark brought a saw. Clark’s toothy smile turns to an immediate frown as he realizes his first mistake. In the last scene the tree is strapped to the roof of the car, completely torn from the ground, roots and all. Ridiculous yet brilliant.

As the in-laws and assorted family members arrive at Clark’s home for Christmas, things begin to go horribly awry, especially when cousin Eddie (Quaid) and his family arrive unexpectedly. Greatest line ever when Eddie asks Clark if he’s surprised to see him “Eddie if I woke up tomorrow with my head sewn to the carpet I wouldn’t be more surprised than I am right now.”

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In celebration of the holiday season, this week’s pick is the 1984 cult classic Night of the Comet written and directed by Thom Eberhardt. Night of the Comet is a terrific throwback to 1950′s horror and sci-fi with a unique 80s spin to it. The film stars Catherine Mary Stewart, Kelli Maroney, Robert Beltran, Mary Woronov, and Geoffrey Lewis.

With Christmas right around the corner, the world prepares for the arrival of a comet that predicts a stellar light show that will be seen all around the world. As billions gather to await the arrival of the comet, a group of scientists have secured themselves in a secret research facility in the California desert fearing that the last time a comet like this arrived on Earth, spelled extinction for the dinosaurs.

Stewart stars as Regina Belmont, a movie theater usher who awakens the morning after the comet passes over a deserted LA. Things seem amiss when Reggie gets locked out of the theater and discovers that her boyfriend, who went to pick up some rare film cans belonging to the theater, has not yet arrived back.

Reggie sees Larry’s (Michael Bowen) motorcycle still parked in the alley and she is attacked by a zombie in overalls. Regina fights him off and takes off on the motorcycle.

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This week’s Monday pick is the Charlton Heston Sci-fi classic The Omega Man (1971) directed by Boris Sagal. The film co-stars Anthony Zerbe (Mathias), Rosalind Cash (Lisa), Paul Koslo (Dutch), and Eric Lanueville (Ritchie).

The Omega Man was adapted from Richard Matheson’s brilliant sci-fi novel I Am Legend that depicts one man’s struggle in a plague-ravaged world. The concept was tried before in Hollywood first with Planet of the Vampires and then in 1964 with Vincent Price’s amazing performance in The Last Man on Earth, which borrows heavily from Matheson’s novel.

Charlton Heston stars as Col. Robert Neville, an army doctor who survives a biological war that begins in the mid 1970s between the Soviet Union and China. Most of the world’s population succumbs to the horrible effects of the bio weapons and countless millions meet certain death.

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This week’s Monday Pick is the classic “animals run amok” monster movie Alligator (1980). The film stars Academy Award nominee Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Michael Gazzo, and Henry Silva.

Alligator is a well written, tongue in cheek horror film centered on the old urban legend of alligators that are flushed down the drain and thrive in the subterranean jungle of the city sewer. The film was penned by writer/director John Sayles who helped write the 1978 Joe Dante Jaws homage Piranha and would also help to write the upcoming release of The Howling. Sayles crafts another horror classic that pits man against a marauding beast with an insatiable appetite.

Robert Forster stars as policeman David Madison who has been investigating some grizzly murders committed in the sewers of a Missouri city. Madison begins investigating further after a pet store owner’s remains ended up in the city’s sewage treatment facility. One other baffling discovery is a women’s small dog that appears to have grown in size substantially after it was reported missing.

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This week’s Monday pick is the action thriller Blue Thunder (1983) directed by John Badham (Dracula, War Games). The film stars Roy Scheider (Frank Murphy), Malcolm McDowell (Colonel Cochrane), Daniel Stern (Richard Lymangood), Candy Clark (Kate), and in his final film performance, Warren Oates (Captain Jack Braddock).

“Blue Thunder” is the codename given to an advanced new helicopter that is chosen to be deployed over Los Angeles in an attempt to quell public disorder in preparation of the upcoming Olympic games and general crowd control from the air.

Scheider stars as officer Frank Murphy, a former U.S. Army helicopter pilot who suffers from PTSD due to his combat experiences in Vietnam. Scheider is chosen to fly the five million dollar prototype that he observes at an army proving ground in the California desert. Murphy is impressed with the chopper’s capabilities such as the ability to record a whisper from two thousand feet, search targets by infrared heat signatures, travel by silent “whisper mode”, and level a city block with a six barrel 20 mm electric cannon.

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