Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on August 1st, 2012
We all have That Friend. We've known him/her most of our lives, and he/she was a perpetual screw-up even when we were kids. We hoped they'd grow out of it as adults, but they always seem to rope us into their drama or cockamamie schemes. Yet we can't completely cut them off because, even if it's sometimes hard to remember why you're still friends, it's hard to get rid of anything that's been a part of our lives for so long. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, I regret to inform you that you probably are That Friend.
In Heaven Strewn, Mickey (Wyatt Denny) is That Friend, a small-time counterfeiter looking to recover his losses from a botched transaction. Jasper (Rob Tepper) is the more responsible buddy who gets drawn into accompanying Mickey on his ill-advised quest. Mickey has one too many DUI's and needs Jasper to drive him to the spot where the cash will be buried. To convince Jasper to come, Mickey lies and says they're going meteorite hunting.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on July 31st, 2012
"More than two out of three U.S. adults are overweight or obese. During the past 30 years, adult obesity rates have doubled."
After watching this documentary — developed with the Institute of Medicine, in association with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as the National Institutes of Health, and in partnership with Kaiser Permanente and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation — I feel like I should be typing this review while walking on a treadmill instead of planted on my couch like a lazy lump.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 31st, 2012
Perhaps one of the best known science fiction authors ever, Phillip K. Dick’s short stories and novels have been the basis for many film adaptations including The Minority Report, Paycheck, A Scanner Darkly, Blade Runner, and the upcoming release Next. Of course the reason I mention Phillip K. Dick is because Total Recall is based upon his story We Can Remember It for you Wholesale. In the past Total Recall has been known for quite a few reasons – its achievements in special affects, its high budget, the re-launch of Sharon Stone’s career – but ultimately when we think of Total Recall we all think of the big guy himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Set in 2084, Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is an average-joe construction worker who as of late can’t stop dreaming about being on Mars. Though there is in fact a population on Mars, it is a conflict zone unsafe for travel as the tyrant Vilos Cohaagen has a monopoly on the oxygen which is heavily disputed by a group of rebels. Instead Quaid goes to Rekall – a company which will implant memories into his mind making him believe he was in fact on a vacation to Mars. Quaid opts to go for the vacation where he is a secret agent on a special mission on Mars called “Blue Skies on Mars.” While undergoing the procedure alarms start going off, it turns out that Quaid’s mind has already been altered; he has an outburst which results in him being subdued and his memory of ever going to Rekall erased.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on July 31st, 2012
“Loyalty is what you can hold in your hand.”
I know it doesn’t completely fill the bill as a pirate film, but ever since I saw The Goonies up on the big screen I became obsessed with all things pirate related. Even one of the first books I read as a child was the Robert Louis Stevenson classic Treasure Island. The bad part with being an 80’s kid was growing up in an era where pirate films simply were hard to come by, and when they did they weren’t very good; I’m looking at you Cutthroat Island. I think most of us can agree it wasn’t until Pirates of the Caribbean came along that we pirate fans finally got the movie we had been waiting a long time for.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by M. W. Phillips on July 31st, 2012
“Miami Beach. Used to be the average age around here was, like, 82. And then that broad Madonna decides that this is the place to be, and the next thing you know, everywhere you turn, it’s women with big breasts, men with big breasts. Breasts are very big here.”
This is one of those budget triple-feature DVD’s presenting three of Touchstone Film’s underperforming comedies, The Crew, Oscar, and Big Trouble. I must say I enjoyed the fact I hadn’t seen any of the films before. Although none of these titles are especially funny, they mostly proved entertaining and decent enough with extra points for great casts.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on July 30th, 2012
Most people who read my reviews can realize that me and prison films just do not mix. Far too many of them are incredibly hokey and if I hear one more cliché about dropping the soap, I swear I might just go watch about a 12 hour Golden Girls marathon. However, our film today deals with a psychiatric hospital for criminals. It sounds a lot like a prison to me, but perhaps today’s review will take on a much gentler tone and provide us with something just a little different.
Allen Meneric (played by Nick Stahl) and his girlfriend (played by Haley Webb) drive up to a house. Allen is angry, upset and tells his girlfriend to get in the car and drive home. Apparently, the girlfriend was raped by a guy who just so happens to be here at the house ready for Allen to strike. The girl drives away sobbing. Meanwhile, Allen proceeds to pick up a wrench. That is when everything goes black.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by M. W. Phillips on July 27th, 2012
“I'm a rolling stone, man-child. I'm a hoochie coochie man.”
While touring the states in 1981, The Rolling Stones found themselves with a rare night off in Chicago and decided to take advantage of it by attending a Muddy Waters concert. They owed Waters for their initiation into blues, and they even took their name from the title of one of his songs.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by M. W. Phillips on July 27th, 2012
“This island is cursed.”
Like a viral plague spreading across the land, zombie movies, television series, games and books rise around us in great numbers and threaten to eat the very genre they spring from. We have officially moved well past the vampire craze, and now the undead crave flesh instead of blood. Much like the zombies themselves, they come in many varieties, some remain fresh and move quickly, while most are rotten, shamble along slowly, and quite frankly stink. Dead Season falls in the latter category.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on July 27th, 2012
While I have watched a ton of cartoons, the same really can not be said of anime. Sure, I know my classics like Akira, Ghost in the Shell, or Vampire Hunter D but by and large I am not up on my anime. I certainly like it but when I look the shelves and shelves of television episodes or movies, I’m mostly overwhelmed. However, a little bit ago I saw a commercial for some Marvel Anime on G4, I was instantly interested. Little did I know that a couple of the series would end up on my doorstep.
Eric Brooks hunts vampires. He is half human and half vampire. He is what is known as a day walker, able to harness the strengths of the vampire but not exhibit their weaknesses such as death by sunlight. Eric is on a mission to hunt these monsters for they infected and killed his pregnant mother. The vampires call Eric by another name, Blade. He is on the hunt…
Posted in: Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on July 26th, 2012
After a family moves into a new home, they are taken hostage by a group of hitmen who are searching for money that has been stolen from a crime-boss. The film's title, “Aggression Scale,” refers to a psychological evaluation that measures the tendency for an individual to act in aggressive ways that may harm others. This applies to our hero Owen, the son of the family, whose violent/survivalist tendencies are worrisome and detrimental in all situations except this one, where he may be the savior of the family.
Many other reviews, including those quoted on the DVD box art, refer to this as a hyper-violent version of Home Alone. This is in reference to the sort of traps the Owen sets out to harm the hitmen. Granted, the climactic final trap does have a couple nods in that direction (with the use of nails and Jacks as booby traps) but Owen's devices are less comical and complex (save for the aforementioned climactic trap) and more brutal and reminiscent of something Rambo might construct. I suppose the comparisons are made less because of the traps, but more the cat-and-mouse game being played between a child and a group of career criminals. Since Owen never speaks, the communication between these two parties is purely through acts of violence upon each other. This bare bones dynamic saves us some groans from any redundant, cheesy banter...which I appreciate.
