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Sci-fi movies often contain their fair share of action, so its no surprise that plenty of action movie heroes have appeared in some fantastically strange science-fiction films. The nature of sci-fi stories means they embrace unbelievable concepts and tap into innate human fears around technology and progress. While this can lead to some undeniable movie classics, it also means that major box office stars sometimes end up participating in movies that were just downright strange and destined to become beloved cult classics or, in other instances, reviled box office bombs.

Many of the best sci-fi movies of all time have leaned into the bizarre and unusual sides of the genre, as technological tales of transcendent terror have captivated audiences and pushed narrative boundaries. While some strange sci-fi movies with acclaimed action stars have struck a chord with viewers, others were doomed to fester in obscurity. While they may not all...

There’s a lot of great content spilling out onto Blu-ray, so I thought I’d play catch-up with Vinegar Syndrome’s avalanche of titles, which offer a little bit of everything for horror folks. Strap yourselves in!

Evil Town (1977): Two, two, two movies in one! Curtis Hanson started this project in the ’70s, then left; released, it did nothing. Enter (in)famous producer Mardi Rustam, who decides to film a bunch of new footage (some of it also used in his Evils of the Night) in the ’80s that only highlights the clear difference in the eras in which they were filmed. Dean Jagger and James Keach are on hand for this “wacky doctor and the dead bodies he loves” flick. It’s… an interesting picture, mainly from the point of view of its weird production. There’s a solid audio interview with co-director Larry Siegel, and a...

Stage West presents Liz Lochhead's wry and funny Good Things. 

49-year-old Susan is going through what is generally described as a bit of a rough patch. Her husband has left her for a much younger woman, she has lost her job, her father is slipping into senility, and her teenage daughter is behaving like-well-a teenager.

Now she's volunteering in a resale shop, and maintaining a (mostly) cheerful determination not to fall into victimhood, in Liz Lochhead's comedy Good Things, beginning Thursday, October 29 at Stage West's Vickery playhouse.

Susan's co-workers, the nurturing and possibly gay Frazer, and the micro-managing Marjorie, are eager to see Susan's life sorted out in appropriately fairy-tale fashion. They've encouraged her attempts at online and speed-dating, though she herself is less than enthusiastic. It hasn't worked out very well so far; she's currently having to dodge the attentions of one particularly creepy match-up. And then into the shop comes David,...