Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 14th, 2012
There are two films that are on the main disc; an experimental film by Nicholas Ray and a documentary by Susan Ray about the making of said film. They are perfect companions on this release and I feel one is crucial for the other, therefore I'm going to treat neither as simply a “Bonus.”
We Can't Go Home Again
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 13th, 2012
As a moviegoer, I love my share of epics. The bigger the storyline, the bigger the world, the more I probably enjoy it. Oh, it has to be sci fi/fantasy related too. Fantasy worlds in particular are often amazing since the creator is making it up from scratch. Today, we visit the world Aradius, a land where a very special mineral plays a very important part in the story. The story you ask? The story of Hirokin, the Last Samurai. Let’s explore, shall we?
Let’s start with a little back story. Humans came to the planet of Aradius to trade for Aradium. This special mineral allowed massive metal objects the ability to float. Well as with any precious mineral, it was soon depleted and most of the humans left. However, the planet of Aradius was left with its kinfolk succumbing to disease, refuse and infertility. The Arid people (who we could tell the difference from humans from the veins in the palm of their hands) were ruled by humans who wanted them wiped from the planet.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 13th, 2012
People make fun of us Floridians for a variety of reasons. (Some of them don’t even involve our performance in presidential elections.) One of the most popular ways out-of-staters in the northern part of the country — as well as our Canadian readers — mock us is by chuckling whenever we dash to our closets and dust off our winter wear as soon as the weather dips below 60 degrees. So I can’t even imagine how we’d handle a full-blown Snowmageddon!
Snowmageddon is the latest disaster — in every sense of the word — courtesy of SyFy Original films, which has already brightened countless Saturday nights with tastefully-titled flicks like Stonehenge Apocalypse, Piranhaconda and Snipers vs. Vipers. (Have fun figuring out which one of those I made up. No Googling allowed!)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on November 12th, 2012
“Every man’s got his dark side”
This is the most fitting quote to describe the exploration of Fire with Fire. My intrigue began with the film’s title, I just love that title. Nowadays most film titles have been reduced to using the name of one of the characters or including “the” in the title; it’s refreshing to have a title that encompasses the overall plot of the film. TV director and reputable stunt coordinator David Barrett takes the director seat for his first feature film (a quick IMDB search would tell you that this step was long overdue), and given the all-star cast he managed to put together, he couldn’t have picked a better film to start with.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 10th, 2012
After watching Tyler Perry’s Awkward Attempt at Action Stardom less than a month ago, it was oddly comforting to see the multi-media superstar back in his wheelhouse. Don’t get me wrong: I like to see a performer expand his horizons. It’s just that Perry looks infinitely more comfortable in his signature character’s wig and muumuu than tracking down a serial killer and grimly saying things like “I will meet his soul at the gates of hell before I let him take a person that I love from me.”
So it’s no surprise to see the actor/writer/director’s latest in-house production truly comes to life whenever Perry throws on heavy makeup or an outrageous costume. Unfortunately, the rest of Tyler Perry’s Madea’s Witness Protection isn't very good.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 8th, 2012
My favorite genre of music to make fun of is Metal (even though I like listening to it). As an example, This is Spinal Tap, the best musical mockumentary ever, we learn that metal can be freaking hilarious. That’s why when my webmaster offered me Metalocalypse Season Four on Blu-Ray, I eagerly said yes even though I had only seen the cartoon once or twice. However, once I opened it up, I realized before me was perhaps one of the funniest dark comedic cartoons I have ever seen.
This site has not really touched this series since Season One, so I will go ahead and go over the basics. Metalocalypse is about a band, possibly the world’s greatest death metal band, Dethklok. This band has become so successful that they are considered the seventh largest economy in the world. Dethklok consists of five members: Nathan Explosion (lead singer), Skwisgaar Skwigelf(lead guitar), Toki Wartooth (rhythm guitarist), Pickles (drummer) and William Murderface (bassist).
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on November 7th, 2012
Please put down the torches. The mediocre rating you see attached to this review is in no way an indictment of Queen, one of rock history’s most iconic bands fronted by, arguably, the best male vocalist of all time. No, this mediocre rating is specific to this two-disc DVD collection of Freddy Mercury and Co’s music video oeuvre.
Queen: Greatest Video Hits features 33 clips starting with the band’s mid-1970s breakthrough, continuing through their reign as the kings of stadium rock in the early and mid-1980s, and concluding right at the dawn of the 1990s. (Mercury died in 1991 of bronchopneumonia resulting from AIDS.) For the most part, the music videos — especially the earlier clips on Disc 1 — seem relatively primitive by today’s standards, but they serve as a great time capsule of the burgeoning art form. Plus, the music is undeniably terrific.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on November 5th, 2012
For those who do not know, I am half polish. My mother was born in Poland during the 1950’s after the second World War. Often through my youth I would ask my mother for stories of World War II from her father. However, this was met with much resistance as my grandfather was rather tight lipped about anything that happened in that time period. It was understandable, but I still wanted to learn. In fact, today we visit World War II and more specifically the Nazi Collaborators in our dvd review.
This documentary set includes thirteen hour long episodes spread over four discs. All of these deal with a different section of Europe including Poland, France, Belgium, and Finland. The specials also deal from right within Germany itself as it examines delicate subjects like Jews inside Germany and the Killer Police. This is six hundred and fifty minutes that covers virtually everything about leaders and people who would later be labeled as collaborators. Here are a few examples.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 4th, 2012
“Quirky, messy women whose problems only make them endearing are not real.”
On the surface, Ruby Sparks could be mistaken for the Manic Pixie Dream Girl biopic no one asked for. In case you’re not familiar with this particular cinematic archetype, MPDG derisively describes any unabashedly artsy, quirky young female character that inevitably brightens the life of a brooding, young male protagonist. However, the quote at the start of this review only hints at the fact that this whimsical romantic comedy isn’t afraid to stare down the ugly side of relationships.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 31st, 2012
"Fairlake, West Virginia, established in 1814. The entire population disappeared in 1817. To this day nobody knows what happened to them."
I know what you're thinking. When I look at a direct-to-video horror series and see a number 5 next to the name, it's usually time to roll my eyes and reluctantly place the disc in my Blu-ray player so that I can warn you guys just how bad it really is. But we're not talking about just any horror title. We're talking about the Wrong Turn franchise, which has actually gotten better since it went into sequel-hell. We're also talking about a director in Declan O'Brien who knows that his job isn't to create the next museum piece of art. He doesn't care one bit if he's inspired conversations about form and style. He's a horror film fan himself who has only one goal in mind each time he takes over a project: let me entertain you. And as hard as you might not want to believe it, Wrong Turn 5 does just that. You will be entertained.
