Posted in: Disc Reviews by J C on June 5th, 2013
“Each director was given a letter of the alphabet and asked to choose a word. They then created a short tale of death that related to their chosen word. They had complete artistic freedom regarding the content of their segments.”
It’s easy to see why 26 talented filmmakers from across the world leapt at the chance to show audiences 26 different ways to die. Obviously, you can’t exactly be squeamish when you sit down to watch an anthology called The ABCs of Death. But I still wish fewer directors had interpreted “complete artistic freedom” as “make the most ridiculous and disgusting movie you possibly can.”
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jonathan Foster on January 3rd, 2013
The Hippocratic Oath all doctors take is simple: “First, do no harm.” Dr. Martin Blake (Orlando Bloom) throws that ideal out the window when a young woman named Diane Nixon (Riley Keough) comes under his care. After getting treated like a nobody by his fellow doctors and disrespected by nurses he feels are beneath him, Diane is the first person who appreciates what Martin does and makes him feel special. As he treats her, Martin becomes obsessed with Diane, going so far as to alter her medication to keep her sick. As Martin’s obsession grows, his actions become more and more drastic.
This is supposed to be a dark thriller, and I suppose it is from a script standpoint. The Good Doctor has a decent (if slightly over-used) plot of girl-meets-stalker, with the interesting twist of the stalker being her attending physician. It could have been a good suspense movie like Kiss the Girls with the whole “I’m going to keep the girl I’m obsessed with close to me” vibe had someone given the cast some espresso to wake them up before the cameras started rolling.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on December 13th, 2011
“Oh hidy ho officer, we've had a doozy of a day. There we were minding our own business, just doing chores around the house, when kids started killing themselves all over my property.”
A carload of preppie college kids set off for a Memorial Day weekend of partying deep in the backwoods of West Virginia. They encounter a couple creepy looking hillbillies leering at them on the highway. Stopping to gas up they encounter the two rednecks again, but this time one of the two approaches the girls holding a scythe over his head and laughing like a madman. Feeling threatened, the kids get in the face of the rednecks warning them to back off. Later, deep in the woods, an urban legend is shared around the campfire about the Memorial Day Massacre, a series of unsolved hillbilly murders which took place in that same forest twenty years ago to the day. To shake off the scary story the kids decide to go skinny dipping. Unknown to them, the two backwoods hicks watch from offshore in a small fishing boat…
Posted in: Disc Reviews by M. W. Phillips on July 29th, 2011
In 2007, writer-directors Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza created [REC], a truly frightening horror film. Considering their subject matter is so familiar to audiences it proved a major challenge not to fall into clichés. Somehow, against all odds, [REC] remained fresh by blending the elements so well… nasty contagion and fast zombies ala 28 Days Later captured in documentary-syle videography made famous by The Blair Witch Project. Add likable lead characters, natural dialog, horrific gore and scream-at-the-screen suspense; sprinkle in clues of a disturbing spiritual origin to the mysterious virus and you end up with one of the scariest and most effective additions to both the zombie and “found footage” horror sub-genres.
To appreciate the sequel, [REC]2, one should take the time to watch the first film, but if you haven’t, here is a brief spoiler filled synopsis of [REC]. A local Spanish TV journalist and her cameraman are embedded with a group of firefighters for the night as part of a human interest segment on their magazine news show. A routine call to an old apartment building on the outskirts of Madrid immediately leads to the team being sealed inside by a government quarantine trying to contain the origin of a ferocious viral pandemic. The news team chronicles the firefighters’ efforts to battle the frenzied, ravenous infected and escape the building, avoiding viral contamination or getting shot by government snipers.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on July 15th, 2011
"Delivering justice one shell at a time."
Sometimes you look at a movie title and you really can't decide what kind of movie it might be. It could cause you to avoid a movie you might have really liked. Scent Of A Woman was like that for me. I avoided it for years because I thought it must be some hyper-romantic film. Of course, it was anything but. Hollywood has a habit of trying to get too clever sometimes, and it leaves us just wondering what the heck are we in store for here. Then there are films that tell you everything you need to know in the title. When you see a title like Hobo With A Shotgun, you know exactly what it is you're getting.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 26th, 2010
Written by Diane Tillis
Raging Phoenix is a film of particular tastes and appeal. As someone who has very little experience with martial arts films, I may be the wrong person to comment on the quality of the fighting sequences or how it compares to other martial arts films. I will leave those comments to the people who are devoted fans and love these films. I can comment on the quality of the DVD so that those who are looking for a great addition to their martial arts film collection will know what to expect.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 24th, 2010
Written by Diane Tillis
If I had to pick two words to describe Ondine, I would pick hauntingly beautiful. Neil Jordon, the popular Irish director and writer, comes up with an unusual modern fairy tale. Ondine is a film about people from different worlds hoping that dreams really can come true. It is a film about redemption and hope, harsh reality versus fantasy. Ondine is a journey of self discovery to be experienced from the darkness back into the light. It reminds us that enchantment and darkness are a part of every story.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 8th, 2010
"We went AWOL around the time the rest of the world did. We became stick-up guys, stopping people on the road, taking whatever they had. We held up this bunch of kids in a Winnebago shooting a documentary about themselves. Went out on the internet. Millions of hits. I became notorious. Could have gotten an agent. Made a fortune if there was anybody left to care. It had become an us-versus-them world. All we were looking for was a place were there was no them."
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 2nd, 2010
One of the most difficult types of films to pull off is the black comedy. By its very nature the film has to be somewhat morbid and exist in a world of the absurd. As much as I am often drawn to this kind of movie, I haven't found more than a handful that were able to pull it off. The black comedy usually involves someone's death, often by some bizarre means, and almost always in a world of moral ambiguity, where such things fail to affect the emotions or consciences of those involved. The death has to appear almost matter-of-fact. Probably the best example of a good black comedy is Michael Caine's A Shock To The System. Bad examples include the Weekend At Bernie's films. Now you can add The Job to one of the better examples of the genre.
Meet Bubba (Flueger). He's a typical down-on-his-luck kind of guy. He can't hold a job and has been in these dire straits for over a decade. He spends most of his time hanging out at the diner where his girlfriend Joy (Manning) works the counter. Usually all he can afford is a cup of coffee. He whiles away the time listening to Joy talk about her acting career. As a child she was in a popular show, but hasn't found a part since that time. It doesn't help that she possesses an exaggerated limp, dragging one of her legs as she walks. Apparently, it's a lifetime disability. When we see footage of her as a child on her series, the kid is dragging the same leg. Enter Jim (Perlman). He's dressed in an urban cowboy outfit and sits next to Bubba and asks what's good. Bubba recommends the trucker's special, which Jim quickly orders. But suddenly Jim doesn't feel so hungry and offers the food to the obviously very hungry Bubba. The two talk a spell, and eventually Bubba offers to let Jim park his car to sleep in at his spot next to his apartment. Feeling obliged for the favor, Jim offers him a sheet of paper given to him by a man he helped in Baltimore. The slip is for a job interview at someplace called Be Your Own Boss. Bubba figures “why not”, and goes to the office.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on June 30th, 2010
"Cursed (kur'sid) adj. To be afflicted with, suffer from the calling down of calamity on someone by a spirit, deity, demon, or one of the dead, esp. from a desire for revenge, resulting in an evil, malevolent being."
I'm well aware of the popularity of the Twilight series. I have to admit that I've pretty much avoided the films, mostly because after 7 years of teaching high school I've had more than my fair share of teenage angst. Let's face it. These films are not really for the die-hard vampire, werewolf, or horror fans. They're genre chick flicks full of all of that overflowing romance and adolescent hormones. While I've been successful at avoiding that particular series, I have now finally succumbed to one of the inevitable copies. When something is as profitable as the Twilight books and movies certainly have become, there will be attempts at imitation. It's a Hollywood law, chiseled into the unwritten statutes that all filmmakers pledge their allegiance to. Wolf Moon, also known as Bad Moon Rising, appears to be one of the first.
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