Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on April 23rd, 2012
“Here in Tresock, I believe the old religion of the Celts fits our needs at this time. Isn’t that all you can ask of a religion?”
In 1973 Director Robin Hardy captured lightning in a bottle with the classic The Wicker Man. Based on David Pinner's 1967 novel Ritual and loosely adapted into Anthony Shaffer’s sharp screenplay. Shaffer painstakingly researched paganism giving the film an undeniable authenticity, The Wicker Man became a genre of its own known as Folk Horror. The beauty of the film was the war of counter-religions, Christianity vs. Celtic Paganism. Both religions were well respected and represented, never sinking to the point of parody or cynicism. Of course, the lion’s share of the cultural clash leaned to the side of the pagans, robustly embracing their music and daily rituals. The film served as a horror movie for Christians and a victorious feel-good movie for pagans. Either side found it unforgettable.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 21st, 2012
The fourth Mission: Impossible entry exchanges digits for a subtitle, and brings in Brad Bird to direct his first live-action feature. So the man whose The Incredibles made fun of the sort of thing that is the bread-and-butter of the M:I franchise is brought in to revitalize said franchise. Result? Job done.
Gotcha. You thought I was going to say, “Mission accomplished,” didn’t you?
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 19th, 2012
"This is how it starts..."
You know, it's getting awfully hard to make an original alien invasion film. Most filmmakers have accepted the obvious and go for mind-blowing f/x and never mind the story. Still others go the trendy found-footage route. I was pleasantly surprised that The Darkest Hour appears to prove that there just might be more than just fumes in the creative tank after all. I'm not going to try to convince you that the film doesn't rely on much of the tried and true standby material. It covers most of the traditional formula. What I will try to convince you of, however, is that The Darkest Hour feels fresh even if it does rely on many of the standard conventions. In the end, it's a very entertaining film that proves you don't have to break the bank or take the shaky camera angle to put some quality on the screen.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on April 17th, 2012
“Won't bow, don't know how.”
More than any other show, Treme captures the very soul of the city it is set in. Where The Wire may have presented the city of Baltimore as one of the supporting players in the series, Treme is New Orleans. The haunting percussion and brass of the musicians, the lyrical shorthand of its citizens, the quiet desperation of pride after destruction, rampant political corruption and unchecked crime mix together to form an eclectic jazz tempo that makes up the heartbeat of the Crescent City.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 17th, 2012
As a nation, the United States is pretty evenly divided on most of the larger issues of the day. Nowhere is that more evident than the opinions on capital punishment. If you took a poll today, you'd likely still find a slim majority of Americans continue to support the death penalty. Unless, of course, you were to take that poll in Texas. The Lone Star State has pretty much led the way in dealing out death sentences since the practice was resumed in the 1970's. For a time in the 80's and 90's Florida was giving Texas a run for their money, but today there isn't a state that comes close. In both states Old Sparky has been retired in deference to lethal injection.
In 2001 Michael Perry and Jason Burkett wanted a red Camaro belonging to Sandra Stotler. They killed her and took the car. They also took her body to an isolated lake and proceeded to dump her in an area often used to illegally dump garbage as if she were nothing more than the trash that littered the area already. They went back to the house but found they could not get into the gated community without the code. So they waited for Sandra's son Adam and his friend Jeremy Richardson to return. They lured the two boys out to the lake where they also brutally murdered the young boys. They got themselves a car to joyride in while three innocent victims lost their lives violently. The pair bragged about their heinous deeds, and when the police came to arrest them they engaged in a firestorm shootout. They even ran one officer over with the stolen car. If ever there was an argument for the death penalty, Michael Perry and Jason Burkett were it.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 15th, 2012
I was flipping through the latest issue of Sad Trombone magazine the other day, and it contained an article revealing — through entirely unscientific research — that the general consensus appears to be, "People suck." As a result, I was already in the proper mindset when I sat down to watch The Divide, probably the most pessimistic movie of the past year.
After a nuclear attack, a group of nine survivors huddle in the basement of their apartment building. They are initially led by Mickey (Michael Biehn, looking like his Aliens co-star Lance Henriksen these days), the building's profane, racist, anti-social superintendent. With absolutely zero communication with the outside world, the days go by and the secluded group — which is afraid to go outside because of the potential for radiation poisoning — gets hungrier, crankier and more desperate. (Oddly enough, that's exactly how I got the last time I went camping overnight in a tiny tent.)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 13th, 2012
Most of us first heard about camel spiders in the early 1990's during the first Gulf War. Apparently, these 6-inch bugs were causing quite a stir with the troops and were responsible for as many horror stories as the war itself. We were told they were instantly deadly and could grow to enormous sizes in a matter of days. Rumors had it that the creatures were killing machines that roamed the Middle Eastern deserts feeding off camels of all things. Or humans if they got in the way.
Of course, the reality is that none of it is true. They aren't even really spiders. They don't have any poison at all, and they only grow to about six inches. Turns out that the camels are perfectly safe, as well. None of that comes as too much of a surprise to me. What does amaze me is that it took this long for someone to make a monster movie about the critters. And, if you're surprised that it was Roger Corman who did it, you don't know very much about the history of the B horror film.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on April 12th, 2012
- "I have a question for you. You're some random guy from the city, no one in the zoo community has ever heard of you. You know nothing about animals and you moved into a dump...why did you buy this place?"
- "Why not?"
Following the death of his beloved wife, Benjamin Mee does what any reasonable man would do under the same circumstances: he quits his job and moves his family into a zoo. I suspect you'll enjoy this movie a lot more if you simply shrug your shoulders and say, "Why not?" We Bought a Zoo certainly can't be accused of running away from its ridiculous-sounding title and premise, even though it's based on the true story chronicled in Mee's memoir of the same name.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 12th, 2012
"They're gonna rock the boat"
The Chipmunks began life oddly enough as a singing group, of sorts. They were the brainchild of struggling songwriter Ross Bagdasarian and were named after the three chief executives at Liberty records. His own alter ego David Seville’s name came from his World War II Army station in Spain. The Chipmunks first appeared in a 1958 record called The Witch Doctor, but wouldn’t officially become The Chipmunks until later that year when The Chipmunks Christmas Song was released. It is for that Christmas music that I most remember the group. They first appeared as puppets on The Ed Sullivan Show. Alvin and the boys got their own television show in 1961. When Ross died in 1972, the Chipmunks would continue on under the guidance of his son. In 1983 The Chipmunks had yet another popular cartoon show and had appeared in countless specials and films. Today they are pretty much a hallmark at the holidays, and a Christmas song collection just wouldn’t be complete without them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on April 11th, 2012
Holy chick flicks, Batman! Aye, the torture! Even all of the previews on this disc are chick flicks. There are very few that I can stand. Mostly, because they do not follow the usual chick flick script. Will this one be one I can get behind? I guess we will see. If anything I can get behind watching Hugh Jackman for a few hours. Though, looking at the cover, I prefer him as Wolverine. Oh yes. Enough drooling, on with the show.
We start with a man giving a speech about time in an earlier century. Leopold (Hugh Jackman) is in the crowd doing a sketch drawing of the monument behind the speaker. Stewart (Liev Schreiber) is laughing because the man speaking is talking wildly about the “erection” of this new monument. Heh heh, hey Beavis... He said... Erection! Leopold goes home and gets ready for a party. He is getting dressed and his uncle is talking about his need to take on a wife. He tells him what a failure he is and how he needs to marry someone with a lot of money in order to make himself useful to the family. This kind of sounds familiar... Anywho, he is told to announce his bride tonight. Or else! Dun dun dun!
