Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 27th, 2008
Despite being very thoroughly dead, Jigsaw is up to his old games again. This time, SWAT commander Rigg must race against time to rescue to kidnapped fellow officers. Jigsaw's messages send him all over town, to one gruesome event after another. Meanwhile, the FBI is also on the case, interrogating the killer's ex-wife, which means the audience finds out quite a bit more about Jigsaw's backstory.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on January 12th, 2008
The trailer trash Myers family (inexplicably living in a pretty big house) is a powder keg waiting to go off, what with the rampaging abuse and a young Michael (the admittedly creepy Daeg Faerch) butchering small animals and looking like he’s mad as hell and soon not going to take it anymore. Snap he does, going on a killing spree, before he is captured and locked up for years, while eccetric shrink Dr. Loomis (a shameless Malcolm McDowell) making a career out of trying to learn what makes him tick. Growing to Godzilla proportions, Michael makes his escape, and proceeds to pick up his spree where he left off in his home town of Haddonfield.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 10th, 2007
So in a summer where a film directed by Judd Apatow and starring Seth Rogen made a truckload of money, another film released a couple months later where Apatow produced and Rogen co-wrote made almost the same truckload of money, yet both films were funny for different reasons.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on December 10th, 2007
Will Ferrell, arguably the last funny member of Saturday Night Live has picked some strange movies to be in since leaving the sketch comedy show. Appearing first as a co-star in Old School and then later in the kid-friendly (but cute) Elf, Ferrell took his time in getting to what fans wanted, a good PG-13 or better comedy for him to stretch his comedic talent.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on November 16th, 2007
Despite its lame title, I've been excited about seeing Live Free or Die Hard since it was announced. The Bruce Willis franchise has been a favourite of mine for a long time, thanks to the original Die Hard which stands as one of the greatest action films of all time.
Willis reveals in the commentary that he and director Len Wiseman (Underworld) set out to make a Die Hard movie that surpasses the middle two in the series and is as good as the first. While Willis apparently feels they succeeded, I beg to differ. Live Free or Die Hard is certainly a good action flick, but nothing can ever surpass Die Hard in my book. Opinions of the film aside, this DVD set is sure to satisfy John McClane fans of any stripe.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on October 14th, 2007
Quentin Tarantino's Deathproof need no longer be sad and alone on your DVD shelf. Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror - Extended and Unrated (Two-Disc Special Edition) streets October 18, completing the one-two-punch release of the directors' Grindhouse double feature.
Separating these two schlock-fests begs the question, which one's better? Don't ask me. I didn't catch Grindhouse in theatres, and haven't gotten around to Deathproof on DVD. All I can tell you is Planet Terror throws down 105 minutes of mindless, campy and gory fun. So pop your lid, take out your brain and enjoy. But don't leave that brain unattended, 'cause there be zombies about.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on October 4th, 2007
Scientists Edward Pretorious (Ted Sorel) and Crawford Tillinghast (Jeffrey Coombs) successfully construct a machine (dubbed the “Resonator”) that links our world with another, hostile dimension. Pretorious gets his head bitten off by something summoned by the machine, while Tillinghast is incarcerated in an asylum. Psychiatrist Katherine McMichaels (Barbara Crampton) believes Tillinghast’s story when she discovers his pineal gland is growing enormously, and she has him released into her custody to recreate the experiment. Baaad idea.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on August 29th, 2007
Maybe you're wondering why there's a movie starring Zach Braff (Scrubs) and Jason Bateman (Arrested Development) that you never heard about. That's what I was doing when I first received this disc. I'm a big fan of Braff, and a moderate fan of Bateman, so why was I not in the know on The Ex?
I'll tell you why. The Ex had only a limited North American release in late 2006, and under a different title: Fast Track. It bombed. Then it disappeared for all but a handful of foreign markets, before washing ashore in DVD-land.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on July 6th, 2007
It’s no secret that horror films these days severely lack originality and overuse violence and gore instead of actually scaring the audience. Sometimes this works and when coinciding with an actual story can make for a good movie. The Hills Have Eyes remake from 2006 wasn’t half bad because there was a tiny amount of depth in the story, combined with the violence that audiences have come to love. But ultimately for me, it didn’t hit the mark, it was just another typical horror movie. I really don’t think the s...
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 29th, 2007
Hannibal “the cannibal” Lecter is widely recognized as one of the most compelling villains in modern fiction. This film, Hannibal Rising, based on the Thomas Harris book of the same name, presents the origin of the cannibalistic psychopath.
Quick context for this review: I’ve seen all of the Lecter films, and read none of the books. I liked Silence of the Lambs best, followed closely by Manhunter and more distantly by Hannibal and Red Dragon, the 2002 Manhunter remake.