Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 22nd, 2013
I can recall with perfectly clarity my first encounter with this television series: it was rainy day and I was extremely bored; my vast collection of DVDs held no appeal, and I was eager for something new. I was in Target, browsing for something to fit the bill, and I came across the first season on sale. At this point I had heard of the show, but the only thing I knew about it was that NPH (for those not in the know, N.P.H. are the initials of Neil Patrick Harris) was involved. Now what started as a way to alleviate a boring day has spawned to watching all 184 episodes (that count does not include the season currently airing) and still being just as captivated as I was with the series as when I watched the pilot.
When the series left off last season, Barney had become engaged to Quinn (his stripper girlfriend), Marshall and Lily are now parents of a little boy that they named after Marshall’s dad, Robin is dating someone; however, the news of Barney’s upcoming nuptials hits her hard though she does her best not to show it, and as for Ted, he has been reunited with Victoria, his girlfriend from the first season. She has just run away from her own wedding and made her way to Ted and proposed that the two run off into the sunset together. The final shot of the season showed the pair doing just that.
Posted in: Contests by Gino Sassani on October 21st, 2013
31 Nights Of Terror isn't over just yet. We've got some more goodies to give away. This time it's A Monsterous Holiday from our friends at Arc Entertainment. The animated special features the voice talents of Brooke Shields, Sean Astin, Jon Heder and Kyle Chandler. It's teenage Frankenstein mayhem to be sure.
To win just follow these instructions.
Posted in: Random Fun by Archive Authors on October 20th, 2013
What is horror? It is something truly terrible that we are afraid of. War is full of horror, but we tend to compartmentalize that as a fact of life or simple necessity. So we'll put war aside, because the unspeakable atrocities that occur during war are sanctioned by international law. But it is difficult for me, because the unspeakable nightmare that is war throughout history is the ultimate in horror. When we see the enormously popular The Walking Dead or World War Z, we are seeing a metaphor for war. The unbridled frenzy that is a zombie attack comes close to making us understand what war is like. World War Z also tried to give us a clear connection to what a world wide pandemic would be like. The Black Plague and the killer flu were real things that killed millions. When we go about our daily lives we don't like to think that death is eminent, but it is always in our subconscious. Death is in our DNA. We may not want to think about it, but it always courses through our dreams. We watch horror films to confront our fears. There are very real fears.
The most obvious of our real fears is the crazed, psychopathic killer. No one would deny that this is real. I always think back to the book by Robert Louis Stevenson about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde which was published not long before a similar case took hold of the popular imagination. Jack the Ripper has been linked to another killer who built a hotel in Chicago designed specifically for his prodigious need to kill. Some suggested it was this killer who went to London to commit similar murders. There was another set of gruesome murders in Cleveland that were linked to the Black Dahlia case. The point is that horrifying mass murders have been around for a while. There is the story of a Scottish clan of 40 who ate 1000 victims in the 16th century. It supposedly inspired The Hills Have Eyes.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on October 19th, 2013
So, it is the Upcomingdiscs.com 31 Nights of Terror and your favorite columnist, Mr. Michael "Hey, were you expecting John Ceballos?" Durr has stepped in for a review about some of his favorite subjects. Cheesy Horror flics and Alyssa Milano. Today's title is an absolute cult classic and that is the original 1995 Vampire thriller, Embrace of the Vampire. So strap yourself in, and prepare to watch something so beautiful that it brings a tear to this columnist's eyes. (Tissue please)
*Warning*, the following post may contain absolute chicanery. Any attempt to make sense of this review should probably require a trip to the local psychiatrist's office for an immediate appointment. While there, you might want to ask for my mind back. I seemed to have lost it on my way to the Badminton for Divorcees convention. Thank you for your cooperation.
Posted in: The Reel World by Archive Authors on October 19th, 2013
Journalism today is in disarray. I say that not because there aren't many, many passionate journalists who want to do the best job possible. I say it because there are just many, many, many more bloggers who don't know how live up to those standards or why it's even important. The internet changes everything in the music industry, the movie industry, and the media industry. That doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing. It just means that it's chaotic, and it often seems like no one is in control. The head of Amazon just bought one of the most venerable papers in the world, The Washington Post. The head of eBay is supposedly organizing a new media venture that will adhere to the strictest journalistic standards. Again, journalism today is in disarray.
The Fifth Estate is a movie about the frenzy surrounding Wikileaks and Julian Assange. The title suggests there is a successor to the fourth estate, which is the news media (don't ask about the first three estates since they are church, state and nobility which may be irrelevant now). I don't know if anybody knows what a fifth estate is yet, but Wikileaks is a big deal. It is also justifiably considered to be extremely controversial. Wikileaks is an international online organization that claims to protect the identity of any whistleblower trying to reveal classified and secret information with the hope of undermining worldwide corruption. I've seen the documentary We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks and was able to compare that to The Fifth Estate. They are quite different, but in small ways that can add up to a lot.
Posted in: The Reel World by Jeremy Butler on October 18th, 2013
“A successful breakout depends on three things: Layout, Routine, and Outside Help.”
You know, there was a time when the public could only dream of an Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone team-up. Now thanks to a little film called The Expendables, when it comes to the realm of action star team-ups, anything is possible. Case in point: Escape Plan. When this film was first announced, I figure it would be devoid of any real substance and just another attempt to capitalize on the success of Expendables (the first one; the second is not that great) but the film surprisingly holds up on its own without having to cling to anything else.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 18th, 2013
"46,000 people died here. Do you think it's haunted?"
It would have been so much better for me if I had seen the first season of American Horror Story. Of course, it isn't necessary. This has to be one of the most clever television ideas I've encountered. You don't have to have seen the first season because, while the actors are pretty much the same, they play completely different parts in a completely different story in the second season. This kind of television takes you back to the early days of sketch television and reparatory theater. The difference is that this stuff has an edge. It has an edge so sharp that you're very liable to hurt yourself if you're not very careful.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by J C on October 17th, 2013
“Zoe Hart, you went from no boyfriends to two in one night… which one you gonna keep?”
That’s the burning question at the heart of this charming dramedy's second season. Most of the fish-out-of-water shenanigans from the previous year are done now that city girl Zoe Hart has settled into her medical practice in fictional BlueBell, Alabama. As a result, season 2 of Hart of Dixie focuses heavily on the many romantic entanglements of BlueBell’s citizens, led by the least convincing doctor since Dr. Pepper.
Posted in: No Huddle Reviews by Brent Lorentson on October 17th, 2013
The Halloween holiday season is upon us, and as kids count down till the day they can trick or treat dressed as their favorite ghoul or goblin, leading to candy binges that would put me in a diabetic coma. It’s also appropriate that the kids get to watch some films to have some thrills and chills that are age-appropriate (don’t make the mistake of showing a six-year-old Friday the 13th 2). With the release of A Monsterous Holiday, we get a short film that clocks in at 48 minutes; the cover art may appeal to some, but looks are deceiving.
Andy (Drake Bell) is one of those boy geniuses that would rather tinker on science projects in the garage than worry about sports. Finally it seems like it just may be his year to beat out a pair of twins who always seem to come out ahead. Unfortunately after one explosion too many, Andy’s dad decides to find a place for him on the football team. To make matters worse, the night of the big science fair happens to be the same night of the team’s big Halloween game.
Posted in: Disc Reviews by Jeremy Butler on October 17th, 2013
My knowledge of Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal bands can be counted on one hand with a couple fingers to spare. So as you can probably imagine, when this discs found its way to me, my enthusiasm or my confidence in it was not high. So when I say that Black Label Society: Unblackened was not what I expected, it is not an indictment; quite the opposite, in fact. The concert started right as I hit play, I expected to see the band come out, pick up their instruments, and possibly do a little introduction (that came towards the end of the concert) but that was not the case. As soon the banner drops, the group launched into the first song of their set, Losing Your Mind; no muss, no fuss. The song had a catchy and enticing chorus, but other than that, it did not resonate with me, possibly due to the fact that I had trouble understanding what vocalist Zakk Wylde was saying. I don’t attribute this inability to him but rather my ears adjusting to this new experience.
Needless to say, I did not take an immediate liking to the group and their brand of music, but by the third song of the set, Sold My Soul, I had been brought into the fold. There was palpable passion behind the vocals of that song, making it one of the most relatable songs of the set in my opinion. From then on, I was a member of the crowd; if I knew the words I would have been singing along.
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