Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 18th, 2013
“On November 22, 1963, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, made a political trip to Dallas, Texas with his wife, Jacqueline, and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.”
Of course, you don't have to be an American History buff to know what happened next. The circumstances surrounding President Kennedy's assassination instantly seared themselves into the country's collective consciousness. This month marks the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's death, which has brought along the expected number of tributes, TV specials and movies breaking down the crime and its corresponding conspiracy theories. Parkland, however, serves as a microcosm of how Kennedy's assassination affected an entire nation.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on November 11th, 2013
The most surprising thing about Ambushed is that it's not quite as generic as its completely uninspired title might suggest. (Off the top of my head, I can think of at least 15 movies that could credibly be re-titled Ambushed; I'm sure you can too.) This particular straight-to-DVD action thriller is being sold as The Expendables-lite, with tough guy supporting players (and Ambushed producers) Dolph Lundgren and Randy Couture — along with Vinnie Jones, who really should've been in an Expendables movie by now — glowering from the Blu-ray cover. But this stylish L.A. drama — which liberally borrows from superior crime flicks — has a few tricks of its own.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 19th, 2013
So, it is the Upcomingdiscs.com 31 Nights of Terror and your favorite columnist, Mr. Michael "Hey, were you expecting John Ceballos?" Durr has stepped in for a review about some of his favorite subjects. Cheesy Horror flics and Alyssa Milano. Today's title is an absolute cult classic and that is the original 1995 Vampire thriller, Embrace of the Vampire. So strap yourself in, and prepare to watch something so beautiful that it brings a tear to this columnist's eyes. (Tissue please)
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 15th, 2013
Embrace of the Vampire is a remake of the 1995 erotic bloodsucker thriller of the same name. The original’s only greatest claim to fame is that it starred Who’s the Boss? cutie Alyssa Milano in her first, ahem, “grown up” role. In other words, the bar wasn’t exactly sky high for the remake. (This is not Gus Van Sant doing a shot-for-shot remake of Psycho.) The well-made newer film certainly “embraces” the erotic thriller DNA of the original. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem overly concerned with the "vampire."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on October 12th, 2013
“When people are desperate, they’ll do horrible things to survive.”
Sci-fi and horror have been exploring the dark side of human nature for as long as those genres have been around. Throw a group of people together in a high-stress situation — whether they’re running from The Walking Dead or hiding from whatever is in The Mist — and the base instinct to survive will eventually lead them to commit unspeakable atrocities. The Colony starts off as the sort of movie that explores the monstrous things people do to each other…and then the actual monsters show up.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 12th, 2013
Let's face facts. War is heck. Sure, we can go back to ancient times with the Romans or more modern offerings such as the World Wars or even Vietnam, but perhaps more recent offerings between smaller countries and territories can be just as brutal. But what can be surprising is the emotional and physical toll it takes on those soldiers even years after it happens. Our film today, Killing Season takes us into two different sides in the aftermath of a very brutal altercation, the Serbs and the Bosnians.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on August 10th, 2013
Plenty of movie critics out there like to praise the artsy movies like they are the second coming. We see it all too often. Critically acclaimed, revolutionary, captivating, all over used words to described the latest movie that often is nothing more than a good reason to sleep for two hours. For me, I love a different type of movie, in a generic term, the cult classic. A movie that is so awful, it is often fantastic in its own way. A frequent subsection of this is the campy erotic thriller. One of those films is on the docket today, and that film is the DePalma classic: Body Double.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 30th, 2013
For most modern moviegoers, Marilyn Monroe is probably more “famous for being famous” than she is for her cinematic body of work. (Of course, she’s also infinitely better known for an entirely different “body of work.”) That’s not totally fair because Monroe has at least one bona fide classic (Some Like It Hot) and a handful of indisputably indelible images among her movie credits. Those of you interested in exploring her filmography are in luck: Fox has just released two titles from her mid-1950s superstar peak on Blu-ray, including her femme fatale turn in Niagara.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 23rd, 2013
The 1970s famously produced many of the most daring, diverse and groundbreaking classics in movie history. All-time greats like Scorsese, Spielberg, Polanski, Altman and Lucas either broke out or did some of their most exciting work during the decade. But, even among these titans, Francis Ford Coppola separated himself from the pack. Four films — The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, Apocalypse Now — four undisputed classics. Batting 1.000 during the greatest moviemaking decade of all time earns you a ton of slack. In Coppola’s case, it has gotten him enough slack to make up for the fact that nothing he’s done in subsequent years can touch his ‘70s output.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 1st, 2013
The medical community seems to be split on whether or not dissociative identity disorder — previously known as multiple personality disorder — actually exists. Well, I’m here to offer a definitive answer because I’ve just seen the dreaded disease in action after watching 6 Souls. The film can’t decide whether it wants to be trashy, watchable horror movie that regularly tries to jump-scare you out of your seat or a somewhat serious meditation on the science vs. faith debate.
