Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on April 2nd, 2009
A heavily armed group descends on a small-town supermarket. They gun down a customer, and announce that they are robbing the place. More killings ensue, but it soon becomes clear that this is no ordinary robbery. A strange form of triage is taking place that determines who is shot and who is allowed to live. Before long, only a handful of employees and customers remain, and it becomes clear that the attackers are not thieves at all, but in fact humanity's last hope against an insidious alien invasion.
The title is utterly generic. It might as well be “Sci-Fi Horror Thriller.” And sure, the flick has its share of scenes of people creeping around nondescript interiors in the dark. But while one would be understandably tempted, at first glance, to dismiss Alien Raiders as yet another bit of filler for the Sci-Fi Channel (oops, sorry, that should be SyFy Channel) and the like, it is, on the contrary, a most engaging and reasonably suspenseful exercise. The monster effects are (wisely) kept in the shadows, making a virtue out of low-budget necessity, and the performances and writing are both sharp, making a very familiar scenario fresh again. The conclusion is telegraphed a little clumsily, but in the end, that's a minor problem. There's a real aura of desperation surround the characters, and one can't help but root form them.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2009
Long before the magicians of movie special effects had computers to conjure up monsters and otherworldly creatures, or even talking dogs, they relied on more physical tricks of the trade. One method, used perhaps most famously in 1933’s King Kong, is stop-motion animation. Kong inspired a young boy who would go on to master the art form and establish himself as a legend of fantasy filmmaking: Ray Harryhausen. Over a career spanning more than 40 years, Harryhausen produced some of the most delightful moments ever captured on film, wowing audiences and inspiring people to believe in movie magic.
Harryhausen’s mastery is showcased in 1977’s Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger, the third film in a trilogy about the legendary swashbuckler. Eye of the Tiger has its flaws, but the animation is still captivating after all these years.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 16th, 2009
My Grandfather used to tell me if you can’t find something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Still, Grandpop never had to watch and then review a film like Black Swarm. This is another one of those Sci-Fi Channel original films that just can’t seem to find the quality bottle when mixing ingredients. Can someone please tell me how a network that could bring us Farscape and the Stargate franchise can’t seem to give us even one good original film? They must have produced a hundred films by now, and I can’t honestly say I’ve seen even a halfway decent movie yet.
Remember the killer bees scare back in the late 1970’s? While there were some legitimate threats, Hollywood seems to have been the only place where clouds of Africanized honey bees amass over some innocent remote town and start knocking off the local inhabitants. The latest entry in the “Swarm mentality” comes from The Sci-Fi channel, and on DVD courtesy of RHI Entertainment. In this case it’s not the old killer bees we have to worry about. Here we’ve got genetically altered wasps that cause all the damage. The idea is pretty much the same, however, and maybe somebody needs to have these guys wake up and smell the 21st Century.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2009
Marvel has been pretty busy lately. Since starting their own film studio to work on their iconic characters, we’ve seen a lot of the Marvel universe of late. This past summer saw not one, but two of Marvel’s stable characters enjoy blockbuster releases on the live action front. Iron Man captured world wide attention and the hundreds of millions that go with it. While the new Hulk film didn’t bring with it the same kind of financial bounty, it was a well respected film that won over much of the character’s fan base, lost when Ang Lee put together his horrible Hulk feature some years ago. If anything, the unlikely casting of Ed Norton brought that film closer to the beloved television series than the classic comics from the 1960’s and 70’s. Now Marvel’s animation lines have been churning out full length animated adventures of many of their popular heroes. Most recently Iron Man got the predictable full length treatment. Now it’s The Hulk’s turn, but there is a bit of a twist to the formula. Instead of one longer effort, Marvel decided to go with two shorter stories, likely to bring in as many of the other Marvel franchises for the ride. In case you’ve been sleeping on another planet, Marvel is inching toward a grand Avenger film. The plans include more live action movies featuring Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, and, of course, The Hulk. There is also an aggressive slate of these direct to video animated efforts, all leading toward an Avengers project.
We all know that by himself, The Hulk can be an awkward character. He has always shone best in the comics when he had someone else to beat up on. These “Clash Of Titan” titles have been milestone events in the green monster’s legacy. It’s no great surprise that anyone who loved these moments in the comics would expect to see them as part of a new animated Hulk franchise. Enter the new Hulk vs. series. This release contains two such pairings:
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on February 4th, 2009
The second season of The Invaders saw a shift in the show’s focus. Vincent has started to get his message out there, and some of these people are organizing. There’s no doubt, that if left to continue, the show might have taken on a more resistance center much like Kenneth Johnson’s V mini-series. If you’re looking for a conclusion, you won’t really get it. Vincent’s still out there, and so are the Invaders. Unfortunately, The Invaders only lasted for two seasons, and David Vincent never did manage to warn the world. While he was able to defeat the many tasks The Invaders were plotting, all he was able to do was delay the inevitable. There was a revival mini-series in the 90’s that did include Roy Thinnes reprising his role of David Vincent, but he was not the central character. Instead it was Quantum Leap’s Scott Bakula that took on the job of trying to warn the world and stop the Invaders from completing their tasks. The mini-series was intended as a back door pilot for a new show, but whether it be ratings or lack of network interest, the new series never materialized, leaving the invaders and their plots to dissolve in the otherworldly existence of cancellation. There is some talk that the Sci-Fi Channel has considered at potential show, but again nothing has ever really come of those rumors.
Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not really out to get you. That old axiom has never been more true than for David Vincent in the Martin Quinn series The Invaders. Quinn was best known for his police procedural shows like The FBI. At the time of the The Invaders Quinn was going into the final season of one of his most popular shows, The Fugitive. While most people over the years have compared The Invaders to that Quinn production, they were really not as similar as all that. In The Fugitive the hero, Richard Kimball, played by David Janssen, had a very specific mission. He was wrongly convicted of killing his wife and was on the trail of the real killer, whom he had witnessed. The “one armed man” became an iconic figure in television history and provided Dr. Kimball with his “Holy Grail”. David Vincent’s mission was far more complicated and seldom so cut and dried. He was honestly more akin to Dr. Bennell, played by sci-fi favorite Kevin McCarthy from Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. In both cases you had one man who knew that aliens were invading and even replacing humans. As I watched this collection of Invaders episodes, I couldn’t help but be reminded of McCarthy’s famous scene running down the street trying to convince the world of the impending invasion.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Archive Authors on January 21st, 2009
Posted by Ken Spivey
In a box, the men of importance placed a secret. They then created an underground city capable of complete autonomy, isolated from the outside world in hopes of shielding them from the trials of time. The box was given to the first mayor of “Ember City” and passed on to each successive mayor. After two hundred years the box was to open, revealing to the mayor's descendant the way out of Ember City. Yet, somewhere along the way the box was lost. Meanwhile, the city has fallen into a major state of disrepair. Houses are crumbling, pipes are corroding, and the household robots are malfunctioning. The current mayor seems unconcerned with the welfare of the city, while its residents are terrified of the impending failure of the city's power reactor and the end to their civilization. Ember City's only hope lies in the hands of a plucky young girl, Leena, who has found the box left by “the builders.” Leena is now in a race against time to figure out the mystery of the box before the reactor fails. The fate of “The City of Ember” lies in the box and the hands of young Leena.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 15th, 2008
When I was young I used to love to eat oranges, but it wasn’t only the taste or the benefits of some good old fashioned vitamin C I was necessarily after. I would cut the fruit in half and then carefully peel the rind, attempting to keep the halves in one piece. I’d cut one of those pieces in half again. I would then place them around my mouth and there you’d have it… instant Apes makeup. Then I would twitch my face muscles to imitate Roddy McDowall’s clever facial movements intended to make the foam prosthetic pieces come alive.Talking through those orange rinds, I’d imagine I was one of those intrepid apes from the films or television series and have all sorts of ape adventures. My playtime had the extra unintended benefit of protecting me from colds. Of course, as an adult I have long since abandoned such childish ways and no longer fill my face with orange peels, at least while anyone else is looking. But the Apes films and shows have never lost their -- I guess you could call it appeal, for the 10 year old I still carry around inside. When Tim Burton went to work on his remake of the franchise, a little bit of that kid emerged, and I might have picked up an extra orange or two at the grocery, just in case. Unfortunately, while I am a fan of almost everything
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 15th, 2008
For 4 years now, Lost has taken us through mystery after mystery. I’m beginning to think that the show’s title is more a mission statement for where they want to take the viewers. Each time Abrams appears to answer a question and move on, closer examination proves that nothing has actually been revealed. The series has become the poster child for misdirection and script sleight of hand. When I examine the 13 episodes from season 4 I’m left with the inescapable, pun intended, feeling that nothing significant has really happened here at all. But at the same time it’s the most significant event of the series. All the while I find myself compelled to watch episode after episode. Abrams would have been a great drug dealer if that producing gig hadn’t worked out for him. The show started out with enough directions and plot devices to put our brains into overload. From that point on he’s been cutting each dose a little bit so that we find ourselves drawn to each hour fix chasing the high we got in the beginning. Of course, we already know we’re never going to feel that way again, but we’ll keep coming back for more as long as he continues to make us believe that we will. I’m not saying the show has declined at all. I’m saying that it doesn’t really ever go anywhere. Abrams continues to introduce major plot lines such as the hatch, the others, and now the freighter with promises of linking it all together into some kind of epiphany, and for a short time he actually does. But hindsight leaves us scratching our heads, because once we come down we can’t really explain what the high was all about. And so, we’ll continue to tune in or buy the DVD’s to see where it’s all headed, even if we already know that we’re doomed to remain lost no matter how it all ends.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 12th, 2008
Up to now we have not cared how you solved your petty squabbles. But if you threaten to extend your violence, this Earth of yours will be reduced to a burned out cinder. Your choice is simple. Join us and live in peace. Or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We will await your decision.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 12th, 2008
“Klaatu Berada Nikto…”
As a fan of Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness, I just had to do that. But Raimi’s masterpiece is not the subject of this article; rather a concerned alien visitor in the classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still, now available on 2-disc special edition DVD from Twentieth Century Fox. No doubt the spawn of a marketing machine looking to cash in on the remake starring Keanu Reeves, this release should still be a welcome addition to the shelf of any classic cinema fan.
![Planet of the Apes [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/planet-of-the-apes-blu-ray-large.jpg)
![Lost: The Complete Fourth Season [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/lost-the-complete-fourth-season-b-large.jpg)
![The Day the Earth Stood Still (Special Edition) [Blu-ray] dvd cover art](https://upcomingdiscs.com/ecs_covers/the-day-the-earth-stood-still-spec-large.jpg)
