Tobor Pilot

 

 (wikipedia)

TOBOR AND THE ATOMIC SUBMARINE-1957- Professor Adams (Arthur Space), Steve (Bruce Cowling) and Talbot (Allen Reynolds) search for clues of a missing submarine. Also present are Adams' young nephew Tommy (Tommy Terrell) and the robot Tobor who Tommy can control by ESP. The adults send Tobor on a mission to the sub after they locate it. Unfortunately Tommy gets locked in the rocket they're using to send Tobor there. After some control trouble Tobor finds a bomb and throws it overboard. Later the sub is picked up by a pirate named Morgan (Gavin Gordon) and his war criminal scientist buddy Ohm (Franz Roehn). Tobor dispatches the whole crew and saves the day. 

Kind of juvenile little science fiction TV pilot for "Here Comes Tobor", a failed spin-off of the 1956 movie. It seems like it could have influenced future anime series. Director Duke Goldstone had once been an associate of George Pal, working on the "Puppetoons" series and DESTINATION MOON.

They should have made a horror movie where the robot meets Dracula. They could have called it "Tobor vs. Alucard.

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Ava

 

 (wikipedia)

EX MACHINA-2014-Computer nerd Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) meets some jerky scientist Nathan (Oscar Isaac) at his secluded lab where he's invented a computerized female robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander). He wants Caleb to administer "The Turing Test"on Ava to see if she is as smart as a human being. 

This independently made psychological sci-fi drama was a big box office and critical success even picking up some Academy Award noms but for me personally it's a sleep inducer with quirky annoying acting and dialog. Interesting finale and good use of sfx and sound though some of the original music sounds like it came from a Lucio Fulci movie. 

Personally I'd rather watch DEMON SEED. Writer/director Alex Garland wrote 28 DAYS LATER...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turing_test

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Robot vs. Mummy!

 

THE ROBOT VS. THE AZTEC MUMMY-1958-The narrator tries to say it's based on a true story. Dr. Diaz and Dr. Estelle visit the home of Dr. Amalda (Ramon Gay) and his wife Flor (Rosita Arenas). Also there is Amalda's assistant Picante (Crox Alva-rado). Once settled Amalda relates the story of an Aztec breastplate and bracelet to his guests. He tells about the time he gave a lecture on regressing past lives through hypnotism that was not well received. Depressed he hypnotized Flor and learned her past life was as an Aztec queen named Xochtil. She and her warrior lover Popoca decide to elope but are caught by some priests and after a big singing and dancing ceremony Xochtil is sacrificed and Popoca is buried alive and cursed to watch over her tomb forever. 

Accompanying her are the breastplate and bracelet that tell where some ancient Aztec treasure is buried. It's also mentioned that a guy at Amalda's lecture Dr. Krupp (Luis Aceves Casteneda) has turned into a bad guy now called “The Bat” who knows all about the “regression experiment”. In another flashback Almalda and Flor and some others visit an ancient tomb where they find the breastplate on Xochtil's skeletal remains but without the bracelet they can't find the treasure. Undaunted by a warning they find, Almalda, Picante and Flor's father Dr. Sepulveda (Jorge Mondragon) go back to the tomb. Not so lucky this time, they run into the walking mummy that is now Popoca (Angel Di Stefani). They hold him at bay with their flashlights and escape. Later Popoca tries to sacrifice Flor but is stopped by Sepulveda who uses a cross to hold off the mummy. He then sacrifices his own life to save his friends and keep the mummy entombed. Dr. Krupp manages to kidnap poor Flor and her daughter and get the sacred items. He forces Almada to translate the hieroglyphics that will lead to the treasure. Just when Krupp is ready to kill the family Popoca bursts in. He knocks down Krupp's henchman Tierno (Arturo Martinez), (who winds up with an acid scarred face) and throws The Bat into a pit of snakes. However when Almalda returns the next day with the police they discover Krupp escaped through a hidden door! 

Then Krupp and Tierno once again kidnap Flor (she's under The Bat's hypnotism) and find the mummy. When Almada and Picante find a dead body, radium and that a large amount of metal has been stolen they suspect The Bat is back! After Almada and Picante are captured by Tierno and brought to Krupp, he introduces them to his great creation, a “human robot” (Aldolfo Rojas), a big clunky cartoonish metal thing with a human head inside the frame that can disintegrate with it's claws. Krupp wants the robot to kill Popoca, so they all go off to the cemetery. When the robot and the mummy go at it, it seems the robot is getting the better of Popoca. Almada arrives with the police and shoots the control box Krupp uses. After that the mummy trashes the robot and kills Krupp and Tierno. Flor gives the breastplate and bracelet back to Popoca who, screaming, goes back to his tomb. This third and final segment of the Aztec mummy trilogy is also a compilation of the entire series as all the flashbacks are scenes from the previous entries.

Thanks for reading! Happy Pi Day!