Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 3rd, 2007
A friend that I work with said that if Hollywood ever ran out of creative and original ideas, and that if a studio managed to make a sequel about pirate zombies that lasted three hours long, it would clean up at the box office. But the fact of the matter is that if we survived a nuclear winter, we would be well prepared about what to do when zombies took over the land, because of the prep we had from guys like George Romero. So even though Danny Boyle’s 28 Days Later might have presumably sealed the deal when it came to this particular interpretation, someone decided to dredge it up for whatever reason.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on November 2nd, 2007
This box set of three movies tries to take advantage of a college course theme to generate interest for films already available in these same editions. This collection uses Astronomy to bunch together three lighthearted science fiction adventures. The films are Killer Klowns From Outer Space, Spaceballs, and The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eighth Dimension. The lesson we’re really learning here is how corporate quests for profits can reach almost ridiculous proportions. Many studios are running low on the films in their libraries that have yet to be released but still have a market to sustain a DVD title. The obvious answer to this dilemma is double, triple, and beyond dipping.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 15th, 2007
I had a decided advantage going into the
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 11th, 2007
Apparently, someone out there really wanted to see another entry in the Species franchise, surely one of the most poorly conceived series ever. But here we go: Miranda (Helen Mattsson) is a college professor (yeah, right) who suddenly experiences a mysterious blackout, during which she transforms into monster in a rubber suit and slaughters the hospital staff. Her uncle, Ben Cross (no doubt dreaming sadly of the days when he starred in the likes of Chariots of Fire), reveals to her that the is in fact an alien/human hybrid, and the two set off to Mexico to find an ex-colleague of Cross’ who might be able to help. This unsavory sort has been making even more hybrids, which leads, in a roundabout way, to all kinds of trouble.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 25th, 2007
Shout Factory has begun to release DVD editions of Elvira’s Movie Macabre, the cult hit TV show from the 80s wherein our curvaceous goth host makes off-colour jokes and pokes fun, during the commercial breaks, of the movies she’s showing. Up on the chopping block in this set are Gamera, Super Monster and They Came From Beyond Space.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 24th, 2007
“Here’s the thing about the future. If you look at it it changes, and every time you look at it it changes again…”
If Nicolas Cage had Chris Johnson’s ability to see into the future, he might have avoided his latest film, Next. At the very least he might have been tempted to monkey with it in order to get a better box office take than it ultimately received. The film was in and out of theatres faster than I could blink, let alone catch it. If Cage had foreseen the film’s demise, it would have been unfortunate for us who got to see this film on DVD for the first time.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 21st, 2007
It’s clear watching Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer that Tim Story and company spent lots of time on the Silver Surfer and little gags for the Four’s powers, and not so much time on the actual story.
The result is a shiny hunk of refuse. There are holes all over the place, and once again the filmmakers have failed to present characters and conflicts the audience will actually care about. The world’s going to end? Big deal. On the bright side, while the film sucks, this 2-Disc Power Cosmic Edition DVD set is pretty fantastic.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 20th, 2007
Since Mystery Science Theater 3000 came to an end, fans have been having to make do with various second-best replacements. The most obvious one has been Mike Nelson’s solo commentaries on the likes of Reefer Madness and House on Haunted Hill. Though his efforts have been amusing, they have like the lunatic fun generated when he had Tom Servo and Crow to bounce off. With The Film Crew releases, we have the closest thing yet to a return of MST3K, as Nelson is reunited with Kevin Murphy and Bill Corbett (who were the ‘bots). Playing themselves, they are a trio of working joes whose job is to provide commentary tracks to undeserving films. We don’t see their silhouettes, but we hear their exchanges over the course of the film. The result is pretty damn funny.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on September 5th, 2007
In hellish vision of a near future (?) LA, Marty Malt (Judd Nelson) is an incompetent garbage man who moonlights as an even worse comedian (his jokes aren’t funny, and he is half-crippled by stage fright). His only friend is the manipulative Gus (Bill Paxton). When Marty starts to grow a third arm out of his back, he loses his girlfriend (Lara Flynn Boyle) but attracts the attention of sleazy showbiz types Wayne Newton and Rob Lowe.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 22nd, 2007
Every so often, a remake comes along that does the original proud. David Cronenberg’s The Fly is one. Philip Kaufman’s reworking of Don Siegel’s 1955 classic is another. For the three people out there who aren’t familiar with the plot, pods from outer space are replacing people with soulless duplicates. Donald Sutherland is the health inspector whose friend (Brooke Adams) is one of the early people to believe that someone close to her is no longer who he appears to be. Before long, Sutherland, Adams, Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright are running for their lives.
