Gareth’s Picks

Howard the Duck (1986)

This oddball from the Eighties is worth seeing again or for the first time if you have not seen this oddity.  Starring icons of the 80’s, Lea Thompson and Jeffrey Jones, as well as a young Tim Robbins, this film was somehow greenlit by a major studio.  Of course, it helps if George Lucas is the executive producer.  This is definitely not for the little ones, but the effects are a delightful throwback.  It is written and directed by Willard Huyck.  He also wrote American Graffiti and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.   He also directed my second pick.

Available on TUBI

Messiah of Evil (1974)

Another strange entry in the Seventies supernatural films. Here he co-directs the film with Gloria Katz, who also co-wrote his other films listed above.  It is bizarre to think that the duo who wrote American Graffiti would work on this film next. Of course, Lucas himself was making unusual films like THX 1138, so it does make some sense that these folks worked together multiple times. This one has some eerie scenes and performances.

Available on AMC/Shudder

Craig’s Picks

Heartbeeps (1981)

Think of an executive meeting at a major studio post Star Wars: “man…people sure love those robots – can we make a movie about robots? Is Andy Kaufman available?” Somehow they make a good point about AI and sentience. I mean…it also has Bernadette Peters as the robot love interest and there is a robot insult comic named Catskill. And a young Christopher Guest. Somehow they got John Williams to score this. It doesn’t help.

Available to rent on all platforms

AI: Artificial Intelligence (2001)

This was kind of a miss for Spielberg when it released in June 2001. If you haven’t revisited it lately it shockingly holds up and feels very relevant. Haley Joel Osment stars as the AI mecha child given to a grieving couple as a child replacement. It has a Pinnochio thread that gets a little worn out. But it’s visually stunning and the fact that this was originally a Kubrick project just makes it even more interesting.

Available to rent on the streams