Video

"From cradle to grave."

Lionsgate is really starting to crank out some original horror films under the After Dark label, and if this is any indication of what's in store for us down the road, I'm eager to see a few more of these titles hit the shelves. The films are direct-to-video low-budget films that have a more independent feel. While I wouldn't call the film terribly original, it does offer a slightly fresh face on the haunted house theme.

"People do not give it credence that a young girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father's blood. But it did happen."

Just like the book that both this and the 1969 John Wayne film were taken from, the film opens with the sad story of a young girl who has come to Fort Smith to see that justice is done for her father. The words were written by Charlie Portis, a journalist who went on to write a truly great American novel: True Grit.

There are a good number of people who have labeled Oliver Stone as a fan of conspiracy theories, out to destroy foundations of conservative ideology, while at the same time re-visiting 60’s nostalgic icons. Despite the jokes and the stereotyping, one has to admit that, as a filmmaker, he has helped bring to screen some of the most talked-about cinematic experiences of our time, including Midnight Express, Scarface, not to mention Conan the Barbarian. As a director, his works, such as The Doors, Nixon, JFK and Natural Born Killers, have generated discussion both within and aside from the technical merits

"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, release the one ignored by Heaven. 8, 9, 10 now run and hide or join her at the Devil's side. 11 comes the clocks will chime, forgotten souls erased by time. Midnight comes, it's not too late. So kill the ghost and seal your fate."

Those nursery rhymes can really be a dangerous game in the horror movie scene. You can't help but be reminded of the jump-rope rhyme that always warned us that Freddie Krueger was about. Now Phase 4 has given us something new to worry about in the above average thriller

"In the farthest corner of America lies the nation's largest swamp. A hidden world where nature rules and man fights back. Welcome to the swamp."

Leave it to History to find yet another profession that they can deliver to our living rooms and home theaters so that we can be entertained by someone else's reality. When I first heard the title of Swamp People, I had something entirely different in mind than what I ended up with. I guess I was prepared for some hidden creature-folk who might be spotted between the swamp gas and the Spanish Moss Monster from an old Kolchak episode.

"What I do requires a certain mindset. I do assignments, designated targets. Some jobs need to look like accidents. Others must cast suspicion on someone else. A select few need to send a clear message. Pulling a trigger is easy. The best jobs are the ones nobody even knows you were there."

Arthur Bishop (Stratham) is an accomplished mechanic. But you don't want to bring your Toyota to him, unless you intend to use the car to get rid of a pesky spouse.

Imagine that ‘40s tough-guy detective Philip Marlowe tangled with a billionaire mad scientist, along with the usual quota of thugs, strippers and sarcastic cops. Now suppose that writer Erik Jendresen and director Tony Krantz decided – perhaps over a meal of magic mushrooms and moonshine – to hire a fancy-pants cinematographer, rewrite author Raymond Chandler, and offer up what they obviously hoped would make them film-noir Fellinis for the new century.

I remember when I first heard that Dead Man Walking was coming out. The first news was that it was a death penalty film that involved Tim Robbins, Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon. I was not very keen to see the movie at that time. All three of these actors are known for their over-the-top liberal antics, and I just knew this was going to be nothing but a rant against the death penalty in the United States. But you see, that's why you just have to watch the movie sometimes.

"Sketch comedy, what is it? What is required? The first thing that is needed is a premise."

How about this for a premise? Lorne Michaels, who was a brainchild behind Saturday Night Live, puts together a show based on a Canadian comedy troop named The Kids In The Hall? The group gets their name from an old running Jack Benny routine where he would tell the audience that he got this next joke from the kids in the hall. Michaels struck comedy gold before; it would make sense that he would do it again. Doesn't it?

Unlike most people my age, I still have a surreal view of love despite a plethora of failed relationships and a horrendous first marriage. Sometimes, I feel like I am the only person who doesn’t have a screwed up concept of love. But thankfully I did find my true love before anything happened to my ideology. Enter the movie Year of the Carnivore, a movie that disguises itself to be about sex when in reality it is more a statement about good old fashioned love.