Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 1st, 2021
"We're 10 years in now. I was a little kid. I can barely remember the Night The Sky Fell, let alone what the world was like before. We still live behind walls, and the dead still have this world. And I think that with everything that went away, with everything we lost, with everyone we lost, some people think it can happen again. Some people think that what we have can't last. Some people can't believe. But I'm certain of our home city and our alliance with Portland, with the Civic Republic, and I'm certain what's ahead. We are monuments to the past, but everyone here, all of you, you are the future. We are the future. I'm sure of it."
There is life after death. For The Walking Dead that life has a pretty solid run. What started with a graphic novel turned into one of the most unique television shows in years. The series has now become a franchise. The original show has 10 seasons behind it. The first spin-off was Fear The Living Dead, which took us across the country to the West Coast and has now run six seasons of its own. The franchise has just recently branched out again. This time it's The Walking Dead: World Beyond, and it covers a different aspect of this post-zombie-apocalypse world. This time it's not so much a change in location, which it is, but a change in perspective. This time it's, in the words of my old late friend Conrad Brooks, for the kids.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on June 18th, 2021
Ever since the release of Godzilla in 2014, just the possibility of this film has been highly anticipated. The last time we got to see these two titans go head to head, it was in the 1963 version of Kong vs, Godzilla. Sure, it has some value as a campy romp, but you’ll have a difficult time convincing anyone that it was actually a good movie. No matter what fans may think of the new Monsterverse that we’ve gotten, I feel what can be agreed upon is that each of the films has given us an impressive look at these monsters, not just in their design, but in their fights. While I’m pretty open about my affection for these titans and how happy I am to see them finally get their due beyond the man-in-suit films (which of course I still enjoy and adore), it’s still no surprise to me that the weakest parts have always been the human aspect of the films. While I believe Peter Jackson’s King Kong may be the best of all the monster films by blending story, FX, and monster mayhem, Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) was quite simply a beautiful take of just monster mayhem, and it really amped up everyone’s expectations to finally get to see Kong and Godzilla finally do battle with a budget and FX that are deserving of them both.
Right from the start the film is setting it up that Godzilla is the “bad guy” while he destroys a tech facility in Florida called Apex Cybernetics. Is it a random attack, or is there something more sinister going on at the facility? Of course, something is rotten in Denmark there, but just what is going on we don’t get the full details on till much later. For fans seeing Godzilla as the villain isn’t anything new; he’s a force of nature that just enjoys destroying cities and getting into scraps with any giant monsters that get in his way. When we meet up with Kong, he’s pretty much the polar opposite. It’s been about 50 years later since his last romp on Skull Island, and he’s just trying to live his life and be happy. Apparently Skull Island has been destroyed, and Kong is really housed in a giant facility where he is under 24-hour watch. In this time he’s made himself a friend, Jia ( Kaylee Hottle), a girl with a hearing disability that has developed a sweet bond with the giant ape. For Hottle this is her first role, and as an actress with a real hearing disability, well, she’s impressive and does a great job as being the heart of this film. How she’s able interact with this giant CGI character and have it look so genuine is definitely what saves this film on the human side of things.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on June 4th, 2021
By David Annandale
It is 1979. While filming a Super 8 horror movie, a group of young friends on the cusp of adolescence witness a spectacular train wreck. They later discover that they accidentally captured evidence that there was an alien creature on the train, and it is now loose in their small town. But if the mysterious disappearance of dogs, engines, and (increasingly) people wasn’t trouble enough, the military descends upon the community with an agenda far more merciless and inhuman than that of the alien itself. I was 12 in 1979, and I was shooting Super 8 monster movies, so I get the nostalgia that writer/director J.J. Abrams is going for here, and this is an utterly unapologetic exercise in nostalgia. Abrams is out to recreate the experience of a Spielberg movie from that era, and with the man himself acting as producer, the mission is accomplished. Super 8 plays like the Lost Spielberg Movie, with all the wonder, thrills, and sentimentality one would expect. There is so much here that works beautifully. The young cast is terrific, the dialog crackles, the effects are spectacular, and the creature is both menacing and sympathetic, like some unholy version of ET reworked by H.P. Lovecraft.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 1st, 2021
"I can see it now... Supernatural: The End. And the cover is just a grave stone that says 'Winchester'. Fans are gonna love it. Welcome to the end"
The brothers made an emotional announcement during the airing of the previous season that the 15th year would be the final season of the show. It's hard to believe that we'll soon know a television landscape without the Winchester brothers. It's the last show that goes back to the original WB Network that eventually lead to the current CW Network that has become more and more the home of the Warner Brothers-owned DC Comics television universe. But in the middle of speedsters, archers, aliens, and time travelers, there was always room for the Winchesters. It'll be a bit of a culture shock to have them gone. Hard to imagine, but if you were a young 15-year-old kid when you started to watch the show, you're now 30, likely with kids of your own. You live in an entirely different world than you did when you first came aboard. How will you feel without it? We'll always have over 300 hours and 15 seasons to watch whenever we want thanks to these wonderful releases on Blu-ray from Warner Home Entertainment. So let's give the boys one hell of a sendoff. If you have no idea who these guys are, you are in for one sweet treat, I can tell you that much. But you can't start here. You'll never understand what's going on, and it will taint your experience. You have a lot of watching to do to be ready for this release. Check out our long list of reviews here and start binge-watching fast. Once you're caught up, continue on. Caught up? Excellent. On to the final season.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 24th, 2021
“It’s not the end of the world.”
Just in time for the delayed release of Godzilla vs. Kong, we get a look back to the very beginning of this particular string of films. Of course it all really started back in 1954, but for our purposes this was the beginning of the current Warner Brothers/Legendary Pictures franchise featuring the true king of the monsters. Now Warner has released the film on UHD Blu-ray and in glorious 4K. So before you head to the cinemas or (God forbid) your phone screens for the latest battle, check in here to relive round one.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on February 12th, 2021
Despite the pandemic going on, 2020 managed to deliver when it came to the horror genre. The Invisible Man and The Dark and the Wicked were definitely some of the highlights, and then there was Freaky, a horror comedy that was delivering a twist on the body-swap story. I’ll admit I was a little hesitant with embracing this idea, but when I saw it was being helmed by Christopher Landon, who brought us the Happy Death Day films; well, it gave me a little more confidence. This is one of the few films that managed to get a theatrical release, but I’m still a bit hesitant on actually returning to the theaters. Now that I’ve seen the film, I have to admit I’m a little bummed I didn’t get too see this with an audience. This is definitely one of those films that is a little more fun when you see it with an enthusiastic audience. It’s pretty much Freaky Friday meets Friday the 13th, and, well, slashers always tend to play better with crowds.
From the opening sequence you pretty much know what you’re getting into. It starts up like a very standard (clichéd even) situation with teenagers talking about a local serial killer and whether homecoming will be cancelled because of him. How this sequence plays out reminded me of Scream, mostly in how it was self-aware and how that opening sequence with Drew Barrymore stands alone a well crafted cinematic slice of horror. From the get-go, the humor is well mixed with some nicely done gore effects. What’s slightly problematic, and what I feel some horror fans may take issue with, is that the film is very much a riff on the mainstream 90’s horror style. It’s really my biggest issue, but I’m slightly more forgiving of this, because this is a style choice that’s obviously done in a tongue-in-cheek manner. As a reminder, Vince Vaughn also played a serial killer in the 90’s when he took on the role of Norman Bates in the awful remake of Psycho. Thankfully, just from the opening sequence alone, Vaughn redeems himself and actually plays a great menacing killer.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on December 17th, 2020
When I first saw The Strangers, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by how much that movie stuck with me. Sure, there have been plenty of home invasion flicks over the years, but The Strangers is definitely right up there with the best like Funny Games and Inside. Writer and director Bryan Bertino is one of modern horror’s underappreciated creators. He is so good at keeping things simple, utilizing small casts and single settings, and keeping the horror relatively grounded in reality. With The Dark and The Wicked, he gives us his best work to date, and for me one of the best horror films in years. Personally, this is my favorite new horror release since 2016’s The Autopsy of Jane Doe. I’m sure plenty of people will disagree with me, and for as much love as I have for Hereditary, what The Dark and The Wicked did that honestly very few horror films manage to do is genuinely get under my skin. This movie actually creeped me out, and it didn’t use big gory FX or go for cheap jump scares. This literally is a master class in creating tension and delivering a story to audiences that starts off in familiar territory but takes us in new and fresh directions.
“You shouldn’t have come here.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 8th, 2020
I always get a little worried when I’m handed a low-budget western. Despite it being one of my favorite genres, I’m just quickly turned off by a film when it visually doesn’t look authentic. I like my westerns dirty and rugged, so when I see characters in costumes that look too clean as though they were just pulled from the rack, it’s a giant pet peeve. What had me intrigued with the film was the involvement of Joe R. Lansdale, who happens to be one of my favorite writers, and he somewhat specializes in the “weird” western genre. Bubba Ho-Tep or The Hap and Leonard series are what most would be familiar with from Lansdale. He may not have the name strength that Stephen King carries, but I’ve come to expect a good time from Lansdale. Granted The Pale Door only has Joe R. Lansdale attached as a producer, though his son was involved at some point with the writing of the script, so is that enough to make this film worth a watch, or is it a disappointment?
Right from the start I just want to say this film gets off to a bad start. I know it’s setting up the relationship between the brothers in the film, but the first 15 or so minutes of this film should have been left on the cutting room floor. In my opinion the film could start right up when the Dalton Gang is robbing the train and the film would have been stronger for it. As for the train robbing sequence, I’m glad the filmmakers openly admit they are “ripping off” the train sequence from The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. If you are going to rip off a sequence, it’s better when you steal from the best. If you haven’t seen the film, you at least should watch it for the train sequence alone…but keep watching because it’s simply a beautifully shot and well crafted western. Sure, the film is shot on a budget, but I appreciate the effort put into this sequence, and in the commentary the filmmakers reveal this wasn’t even what had been intended in the script, and for what they manage to get with the final product, well, good for them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 24th, 2020
Ever since The Walking Dead first aired. it seems the zombie genre was not only revived but milked for all it was worth, and still studios continued to bleed the genre dry to the point even most diehard horror fans are sick of the sub-genre. I’m a sucker for zombie films, and even I have tired of them, but I’ll always hold out hope for some writer or filmmaker to come along and inject some creativity into the genre. It’s possible; I mean, look how long the vampire stories have been around, or even ghost stories, and yet there still are new takes on the subject matter that get us excited about them again. That’s where Blood Quantum gave me some hope. Zombies on a Native American reservation. I was hopeful for some indigenous lore being injected into this, giving us a fresh perspective…but alas, we get a watered-down, unoriginal, snooze-fest with a little bit of gore to keep viewers somewhat interested.
The film starts off promising enough as we see an old man gutting his freshly caught fish, and then suddenly they all seem to come back to life and flop around him. We are then introduced to the main characters that reside on the Red Crow reservation; there is the Sheriff Traylor (Michael Greeneyes), his son Joseph (Forrest Goodluck) and his ex-wife Joss (Elle-Maija Tailfeathers). To basically inject a little bit of drama, there is also Joseph’s troublemaking best friend Lysol (Kiowa Gordon) and Josephs pregnant girlfriend Charlie (Olivia Scriven). Honestly, without these two characters there wouldn’t be much in the way of character drama, but to be honest, even adding them to the dynamic, this still is a far cry from being a compelling story. The first third of the film honestly works well as a self-contained story as we see the start of the zombie outbreak. It’s on a small and believable scale as we see dogs and eventually humans coming back from the dead, and the chaos of not knowing what is happening on the reservation is compelling enough, especially when we see certain people get bitten. Then the film throws a curve ball and sends us six months later into the outbreak, and those who were bitten and should be goners are somehow still amongst the living. It’s found out that for some reason that the indigenous people are immune to the bites, and this is where the film becomes really problematic for me.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on September 3rd, 2020
“Beetlejuice…Beetlejuice…Beetlejuice…”
Before Michael Keaton put on the cowl to become the dark knight of Gotham City, he and director Tim Burton came together to create a film that helped launch a career and a trademark “gothic” style that would catapult Burton’s career. Sure, Tim Burton has made a name for himself doing CGI-bloated films lately, and though they’ve made money at the box office, they don’t quite have the same magic that his films had in the 80’s and 90’s, though I’ll make an exception with Big Fish (2003). It’s impossible for me not bring a little bias to the table when discussing Beetlejuice. I loved the film as a kid and rewatched my VHS copy of it a ridiculous amount of times, and as I watched it again, I still continue to have giddy joy at seeing this film. If for some reason this film has managed to escape you over the years, or perhaps it’s been a while since you’ve dusted off this classic, allow me a moment to reminisce.
