Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 16th, 2004
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 16th, 2004
Film
Ah, Baltimore. The Inner Harbor, Camden Yards, Preakness, corrupt government officials, devastating crime rate, as well as a nasty STD epidemic to boot. You gotta love my hometown. But what Baltimore has in negative traits, it makes up for it with creativity. If you have caught HBO’s The Corner or The Wire, you see that Baltimore’s issues can make for captivating television. While Little Red isn’t on the level of these excellent shows, it does have a certain level of amateur charm ...hat makes up for what it lacks.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 16th, 2004
The Frightening, as the DVD cover says, is “a new class of horror”. This play on words foreshadows the premise of the movie. There’s a “new kid” at Hallows End High School. His name is Corey (Matt Twining), and he’s having a few problems “adjusting”. Corey has a “past”. But that’s not the “real” problem of this school. Okay…I’ll stop using quotation marks. The major problem at Hallows End High School, nicknamed “Halloween High” (sorry…I couldn’t stop), is that the corpses are piling up. Someone…or som... thing…or some group of things….is killing the students. Who or what is behind these murders? Why are students being killed? It’s just one spoiler note away, or you can just rent the movie.
The Frightening is direct to DVD horror cheese. It’s laughable and not to be taken seriously. The deaths aren’t realistic, as every corpse-to-be (no matter how they die) seems to spurt fake looking blood from their mouths. The acting is mediocre at best, even though Matt Twining has a natural Ryan Phillippe pouty quality. And I guess…a nice bod? This is why (I gather) there are many scenes of Twining, among other male cast members, walking around in nothing else but boxer briefs. The writer, Matthew David Walsh, pulls out elements from a lot of horror movies like The Shining to downright ripping off The Sixth Sense.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 16th, 2004
If you were one of the few of people who were waiting with bated breath for a sequel to the low-budget laugher, The Circuit, well thank your lucky stars because the day has finally come. If you sense sarcasm, you are right, because The Circuit 2 is even more of a stink-fest than the original, which is a feat in and of its self.
When we last left Dirk Longstreet (Olivier Gruner), he was recovering from infiltrating an underground fighting circuit to save his brother who had become wrapped up i... it. Now, Dirk is about to propose to his reporter girlfriend, Nicole (Gail Harris), who is once again trying to uncover an illegal-fighting ring, this time in the local state prison. As she is researching the story she is brutally attacked and left for dead. Dirk isn’t too happy about this and becomes an undercover inmate in the prison to learn more about the attackers. This time another reporter friend aids him, played by Lorenzo Lamas.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 16th, 2004
Synopsis
Vampire slayer Reeve takes on a new partner in a young woman named Gypsy. As Reevetrains Gypsy in the art of killing the undead (of which there seems to be a constant plague),Reeve’s sister Helen is starting up a new relationship with Kazef, who just happens to be theFifth Prince of Vampires. Kazef is a nice enough sort, however, limiting himself to bottled blood,and genuinely in love with Helen. Unfortunately, the Duke, a European vampire, is killing offthe other royal families, g...thering all their power to himself.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 15th, 2004
Synopsis
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2004
Cyborg 009 (pronounced zero zero nine, not double oh nine) is a show about a group of people who are half-human and half-robot – a.k.a. cyborgs. Abducted and experimented on against their will, these cyborgs are revolting against the person who made them, the evil Black Ghost.
This show has the look of an old fashion anime program. Based on a manga strip that started in 1969, the character designs are from that era, with exaggerated facial features (most evidently big noses), sleek lines and big feet. B...t that’s not all this show owes to classic anime, it also has the feel of an old show. This program harkens back to a simpler day, when everything was black and white. Black Ghost is evil. He’s not misguided and doing what he thinks is right or trying to punish the world or anything like that. He’s just evil, he even admits it. The good guys don’t kill people, even if they are bad. They always manage to let the pawns of Black Ghost jump out of their tanks before it’s destroyed. That gives the show an old-time feel, and that’s not bad.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2004
Synopsis
Michael Vartan plays Tyler Briggs, a man who separates from his redneck family in order to leave the past behind him and start a new life for himself. Following the passing of his mother, his father tries to re-establish contact with him and tracks him to his new home, a secluded beach town where he spent time as a child. Accompanying his father are his law breaking brothers who continue their lawless ways after Tyler decides not to return to their ways. They assault his girlfriend and bruta...ize his town. He then has no choice but to revert to his family’s ways to defend himself and those he cares about.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2004
Following in the tradition of This Is Spinal Tap, Mark Hamill’s Comic Book: The Movie is a “mockumentary” that delves into the lives of those obsessed by comics and those that try to make money off of these people i.e. heartless Hollywood types who want to cash into the comic book craze by bastardizing a classic comic book hero into a major Hollywood blockbuster. Hosted by longtime comic geek Donald Swann (Hamill), this new ‘documentary’ shows the evolution of legendary character Commander Courage. Orig...nally a 1940s-era Nazi-fighting patriot, Courage has evolved into a post-9/11 terrorist-fighting vigilante, and Swann is against this evolution every step of the way. A new movie starring the revamped character (Codename: Courage) is in the works, and Swann is lobbying to bring the once-classic hero back to his original roots. With the help of some friends, he just might pull it off.
Most of the footage was shot in just 4 days, during the San Diego Comic Convention. It must have been quite a challenge to put everything together amidst the chaos, but the spontaneous nature of the movie really works to its advantage. It almost seems as if everyone who’s anyone shows up here, from Hugh Hefner (a long-time fan of comics and once-aspiring cartoonist), to Ray Harryhausen (pioneer of stop-motion animation), to Bruce Campbell (cult movie icon), to the Godfather of Comics himself, Stan “The Man” Lee. In fact, most of the supporting characters are noteworthy voice actors from the wonderful world of animation, including Billy West (Ren & Stimpy, Futurama), Jess Harnell and Robert Paulson (Animaniacs), the legendary Gary Owens (Space Ghost), and many more! In short, Comic Book: The Movie is a treasure trove of pop culture comedy gold, and it’s a winning effort from start to finish.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 13th, 2004
Cyborg 009 (pronounced zero zero nine, not double oh nine) is a show about a group of people who are half-human and half-robot – a.k.a. cyborgs. Abducted and experimented on against their will, these cyborgs are revolting against the person who made them, the evil Black Ghost.
This show has the look of an old fashion anime program. Based on a manga strip that started in 1969, the character designs are from that era, with exaggerated facial features (most evidently big noses), sleek lines and big feet. B...t that’s not all this show owes to classic anime, it also has the feel of an old show. This program harkens back to a simpler day, when everything was black and white. Black Ghost is evil. He’s not misguided and doing what he thinks is right or trying to punish the world or anything like that. He’s just evil, he even admits it. The good guys don’t kill people, even if they are bad. They always manage to let the pawns of Black Ghost jump out of their tanks before it’s destroyed. That gives the show an old-time feel, and that’s not bad.
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