Disc Reviews

Have you ever had a dream that you wake up from and as your head spins from the snippets of the dream you can remember it takes you a few moments to clear your head and remember where you are?  Usually this is a result from a hard night of drinking, but for Major John Cafferty (Tahmoh Penikett) it is a battle he is waking up from, and it is not a dream.  With no memory of what happened, Major Cafferty wakes up in a special military hospital with several members from his platoon, only some of his soldiers are dead, and no one has a clue as to how they found themselves in the medical facility.

What the solders do know is that they were on a mission to Afghanistan to retrieve a secret object.  To help the soldiers regain their memory, Dr Troutman (Colm Feore) administers a drug that should help stimulate their memories, but instead it causes bouts of hallucinations and even moments of intense rage.  It’s all a nice setup for what could be a fun thriller, but the result is a bit of a forgettable mess (and no pills can reverse these effects).

The tale of Little Red Riding Hood, like many other children’s stories, is so well known and influential that it has been reimagined time and time again. In fact, one of my favorite short stories, The Company of Wolves, is a loose adaptation of the aforementioned tale. While I can’t call Little Dead Rotting Hood a favorite, I really appreciate how they were able to create a unique story while implicitly maintaining key elements of the original tale. More often than not the important visuals and motifs are present. Unfortunately, the pacing of the events is a little slow and really makes the film feel empty.

Little Dead Rotting Hood focuses on a small town that recently sees a surge in wolf attacks on its residents. The most recent attack on Samantha (Bianca A. Santos) transforms the young girl into a werewolf-like creature. Concerned for the residents being attacked under his watch, Sheriff Adam (Eric Balfour) enlists the help of Officer Victoria (Heather Tom), the town’s wildlife expert. Soon the two begin to suspect Becky (Amy Argyle), a local animal activist with a record of violent protests, to be linked to the recent attacks. As the story progresses, Sheriff Adam begins to learn of the town’s folklore involving a bigger threat than wolves.

Any time I get a double feature, the first thing that comes to mind is that these two movies don't know it, but they are now in competition with one another in my eyes. It was that way for Grindhouse as well as originals subsequent sequels. This time was no different in my eyes, and after screening both features there is a clear victor. Which one, you ask? Well, I'm not telling at this moment. (Don't worry, I will, but I can't just give it up that easy, because if I do, what assurance do I have that you will watch both films?) However, I'm sure my preference will become quite clear once you start reading.

Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, seems to be the principal lesson in The House Where Evil Dwells. A century earlier in Japan, a samurai comes home to find his wife in bed with her lover and in a fit of rage kills them both, taking his own life afterwards. Since then, the home remains vacant for decades due to speculation that the ghosts of that massacre remain in the house. The unsuspecting Fletcher family, new to Japan and refusing to let a ghost story keep them from an authentic home, move in.

"Millions of people around the world believe we have been visited in the past by extraterrestrial beings. What if it were true? Did ancient aliens really help to shape our history? And if so, what if there were clues left behind, something hiding in plain sight? What if we could find that evidence?"

Ever since Eric von Daniken released his speculative book and its subsequent 1970 film Chariots of the Gods, there has been an entire field of study created around something commonly called Ancient Astronaut Theory, the idea is that extraterrestrials have visited many of our ancient civilizations. The theory continues that these visitors had a hand in shaping our development, whether it be through technology or even manipulation of our very DNA. These believers point to a world of evidence to support their claims. There are tons of images from earlier civilizations that could certainly be interpreted as depicting modern devices, concepts, or even spacemen. There is plenty of speculation that some of the knowledge and accomplishments of these peoples could not have been possible without some outside interference. There are even those who believe that aliens best explain our religious beliefs and that God himself was/is an extraterrestrial being. Whatever your own beliefs on the subject, there are certainly some fascinating points to be made. There is no question that the speculations and observations bring up some interesting queries that deserve our attention. This series attempts to document much of this evidence and the beliefs these findings have inspired.

"Four weeks ago, an invisible dome crashed down on Chester's Mill, cutting us off from the rest of the world. The dome has tested our limits, forcing each of us to confront our own personal demons... rage... grief... fear. Now, in order to survive, we must battle our most dangerous adversary... the enemy within." 

Under The Dome began life as a Stephen King novel. The basic idea was that a mysterious clear dome isolates the town of Chester's Mills from the rest of the world. Of course, the story was populated with King's trademark characters that represent his own special version of Americana. That's the kind of thing that likely makes his work best suited for a television series rather than a film. And when Under The Dome started 3 years ago it had the kind of promise that King's work often offers. Stephen King himself came onboard as a writer and producer along with the likes of Steven Spielberg. The first season lived up to most of that hope. By the third season King had pretty much stepped away and the story took some rather odd turns. It's little surprise that the dome came crashing down for good with the end of season three.