Movies

Movies

Sat
28
Nov

Hobbit / LOTR Get Simultaneous 4K Release

Hobbit LOTR 4K

With much of the world being risk-averse to crowds of shoppers this year, it doesn't take a crystal ball to predict that online sales are going to be through the roof for Black Friday and beyond. And with shipping times factoring into the gift-buying (and sending) equation, the earlier you get started with your list the more likely it is you'll have everything wrapped and ready in time for Christmas.

Fri
20
Nov

Black Pumpkin "Yummy Halloween Fun!"

Black Pumpkin

In Jungian terms, the collective unconscious involves those concepts we humans instinctual identify regardless of cultural boundaries, and abstract symbols come to be imbued with deeper meaning: a flag becomes not merely colorful fabric, but an emblem of national identity, just as a cross represents spiritual salvation for a Christian adherent. In horror cinema, the mask, and indeed the slasher subgenre in particular, is the one most singularly representing silver screen terror in the minds of the general populous the world over. Sure, vampires, zombies, werewolves and Hell-born spawn may be catalysts for insomnia, but since the commercialization of the killer-run-amok tale in the late-70’s odds are more people at Halloween associate hockey with Jason Voorhees than the Stanley Cup.

Tue
17
Nov

Giant Starfish Bring Humanity a Warning From Space, Now on Blu-ray

Warning from Space

Four years before DC Comics founded the Justice League team to take on the interstellar horror of Starro the Conqueror, screenwriter Hideo Oguni teamed up with artist Taro Okamoto to bring us the strangest, not-quite-kaiju of them all: the Pairans. These alien beings were slightly larger than humans, and looked like giant starfish with a large, unblinking eye in the middle.

Sat
14
Nov

Cup of Cheer Pantses Hallmark Under the Mistletoe

Cup of Cheer

Tis the season to lose control of your television to the more sentimental members of the family. So if you're going to watch anything from now through the end of the year, it's going to be a Christmas movie, and it's probably going to be either Lifetime or Hallmark (not that you'll be able to tell the difference). The romantic holiday genre has grown so pervasive that we even had to come up with an alternative a few years back, when we put out our Nine Christmas Movies for Guys Who Hate Christmas Movies.

This year, we may just have to round out that list to ten (or bump one off -- we'd hate to ruin the gestalt of our nine ladies dancing).

From Director Jake Horowitz comes CUP OF CHEER, a slightly bawdy sendup of just about every heartfelt holiday homecoming you've ever watched.

Tue
10
Nov

Not Bogus, But Not Righteous: Bill and Ted Face the Music

Bill and Ted Face the Music on Blu-Ray

Thirty-one years ago, two righteous California teens with guitars and a dream had an excellent adventure in a time-traveling phone booth. It was so much fun, they had to do it again, but it ended up being a totally heinous bogus journey.

Along the way, Bill S. Preston, Esquire (Alex Winter) and Ted "Theodore" Logan (Keanu Reeves) learned they had a destiny. Their band, Wild Stallynz, would create a song that would unite the world. But decades later, the band has fallen apart, but the boys still have the dream, even if they have fallen to playing wedding receptions. Their music skills are actually incredibly well-rounded, in every technique. But what they produce is the result of obviously trying too hard, seeking that special combination that will finally unite the world.

Sat
07
Nov

Sasquatch Among Wildmen Takes Bigfoot Research Abroad

Sasquatch Among Wildmen

I've been fascinated with the paranormal almost since I knew how to read. Early influences on me were the television movie of the week that told the Betty and Barney Hill abduction story, and films like THE LEGEND OF BOGGY CREEK (not to mention the few appearances of Bigfoot on THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN). I clipped articles from the World Weekly News like it was gospel.

I'm pretty sure Bat-Boy isn't still out there waiting to attack, but I remain fascinated with UFOs and cryptids. And while the media has become suffused of late with multiple Bigfoot hunting series, they skew strongly to "reality entertainment" than anything remotely investigatory. If you need to do a CGI recreation of your Bigfoot encounter, I really don't ned to see it.

That's what makes Darcy Weir's SASQUATCH AMONG WILDMEN stand apart from this crowd. It's a true documentary, eschewing any sensationalism or fakery. 

Tue
03
Nov

Tokyo Home Stay Massacre Brutal, But Dull

Tokyo Home Stay Massacre

“…When he captured Friola he ordered a massacre accompanied by torture. Everybody was to be blinded, have their noses removed and have arms and legs chopped off. After this, they were left to die in the open. He walled up a whole family of his enemies in their castle and left them to starve to death…”

Humankind has a macabre fascination with atrocity. From the above description of the thirteenth century Italian warlord Ezzelino de Romano to Eli Roth’s Hostel films, each of us possess a morbid voyeurism that easily explains the undying allure of horror cinema, and there’s a direct link between lurid tales of medieval torture and the depravity of movies like Tokyo Home Stay Massacre, the latest release from Tokyo Bay Films Entertainment.

Mon
02
Nov

Housesitter...The Night They Saved Siegfried's Brain!

Housesitter; The Night They Saved Siegfried's Brain!

The road to Hell, so the saying goes, is paved with good intentions. Nowhere is this more apparent than the world of cinema, which is littered with the corpses of well-meaning mega-buck misfires, inane studio fare and independent duds alike. Nothing leaves a bad taste in a collective audience’s mouth more than a movie marred by shabby directing, faulty performances or bland pacing when there was ample opportunity for success. Yet there are two strains of bad film: those that are of unintentional poor quality, and those that are not. For every hundred Plan 9 From Outer Space and Waterworld that aspires to greatness and fails, a Rocky Horror Picture Show (or, indeed, a Bad Taste) rises from the depths to celebrate its own campiness with tongue planted firmly in cheek.

Tue
27
Oct

Toys of Terror Unwraps Rampant Cliches to Woeful Unsatisfaction

Toys of Terror

The idea of utilizing toys, dolls and puppets as the antagonists in horror films is a risky endeavor for filmmakers. While it’s true that such figures oftentimes contain an inherent creepiness to them--who hasn’t been convinced the round, unblinking eyes of a doll have watched them from afar?--the absurdity in making a mere child’s bauble the vehicle for purest evil is frequently too great to overcome. From Chucky to Annabelle to Full Moon’s Puppetmaster series, every possible permutation of this (very) limited subgenre has seemingly been toyed with already to anemic effect, yet Hollywood still believes it can bleed another imaginative drop from the storytelling corpse.

Fri
23
Oct

They Reach Brims with Retro Charm

They Reach BD

Ahhhh, sweet nostalgia. To yearn for those simple, bygone days of Camaros with cassette decks, high school science projects and hopeless crushes, of listening to Heart LP’s and praying a freshly-resurrected demonic entity doesn’t possess your best friend. Who could forget such blood-splattered innocence?

Thu
22
Oct

Call Me Brother a Comic Look at the Awkward Side of Incest

Call Me Brother

Tony and Lisa are two awkward teenagers, stumbling through life cluelessly, interacting with peers mired down in their own quirks of hypersexuality and impulsivity. Among all of them, Tony and Lisa are perfect for each other. They're shy, inexperienced, and ready to take that next step with each other.

There's just one problem: they're siblings. Not "Greg and Marsha Brady" siblings. Not half-siblings. Full on same set of parents siblings.

CALL ME BROTHER is a slice of AMERICAN PIE, baked up by MALLRATS and served by NAPOLEON DYNAMITE. It's distinctly independent, and not as prurient as the plot may lead you to believe. While the film is full of sex acts and innuendo, it's off panel or well blocked -- not a stitch of nudity, so if you're looking for that, keep it in your pants, perv.

Wed
21
Oct

Fugue Engrosses Viewer in Intricately Crafted Story

Fugue movie poster

Fugue (fyoog), n, a period of amnesia which the affected person seems to be conscious and make rational decisions, yet upon recovery remembers nothing of the period.

There is an easily identifiable link between the remote location of the Rock Street Films North production, Fugue, and the foggy isolation associated with memory loss. When Malcolm (Jack Foley) awakes in the mid-afternoon, dressed in his pajamas and unaware of his identity, the vast secluded countryside surrounding his house mirrors his own deserted mental state, and the calm opening scenes as he gropes for tiny familiarity amid everyday routines eases viewers into a world where no one is who they seem and time itself becomes a puzzle.

Sun
18
Oct

Darkness in Tenement 45 a Timely Tale of an Unsettled World

Darkness in Tenement 45

Horror has always been a land of allegory. From the nervous awakenings of the sexual revolution in Rosemary’s Baby to the zombie-consumerist underpinnings of Dawn of the Dead and the politico-anarchism of The Purge, the darkest of all entertainment genres allows creators an outlet for societal commentary unmatched in other venues. Romantic comedies, after all, aren’t known for gazing deep into life’s abyss to see what stares back at them.

Fri
16
Oct

10 Most Favorite Students' Superhero Movies and TV Shows

Students Watching Television

Superhero movies are mostly seen as overly expensive special effects flicks that carry a fraction of artistic value. Nevertheless, even through their simplified narrative, superhero movies and tv shows point out the value of friendship, positive attitude, and persistence towards achieving a goal. All these messages are vital for college students because they can provide a guideline for overcoming the challenges of academic life.

We asked students for their opinion, and here is a list of 10 favorite superhero flix among college students.

Tue
13
Oct

Acute Misfortune: A Dark passage into an Artist

Acute Misfortune

When I went to art school in my attempt to be creative, I came across many talented people in various mediums such as drawing and painting.  Although many of these extremely gifted people were affable and had wonderful demeanors, there were a few that flaunted the stereotype of the “temperamental artist”.  Arenamedia and Dark Star Pictures film Acute Misfortune wades into the deepest and darkest end of the pool with a based on a true story of renowned Australian artist Adam Cullen.

Journalist Erik Jensen (Toby Wallace) is tasked to writing an article on acclaimed artist Adam Cullen (Daniel Henshaw) who lives in South Wales.  After his article is published in the Sydney Morning Herald, Adam asks Erik to be his official biographer.  Erik agrees and Adam drags him into a jet-black world of nihilism, male toxicity, depravity, and self-destruction in addition to his talent as a painter.

Mon
12
Oct

Blumhouse's "Evil Eye" Tense but Predictable

Evil Eye Blumhouse

If there's one thing genre cinema had taught audiences over the years, it's that a wise omen should never be ignored. Whether it's Gregory Peck waving aside all evidence that little Damien is an infernal spawn or Crazy Ralph's unheeded warnings to arriving counselors to stay away from Camp Crystal Lake, rejecting Cassandra-like forewarnings, particularly from your elders, is one of the surest and quickest theatrical paths to dire disaster.

Fri
09
Oct

The Five Most Exciting Upcoming Superhero Movies

5 Most Exciting Superhero Movies Upcoming

With dozens of superhero movies in the pipeline or in-production right now, there are plenty of comic book capers to look forward to over the next few years. Here’s a look at five of the most exciting ones to look out for.

5. Morbius

Scientist Michael Morbius suffers from a rare blood disease. After attempting a dangerous cure, he finds he has become afflicted with a type of vampirism. The bloodthirsty character with amazing superpowers, Morbius, has been a Marvel-fan favorite for some time, and he finally gets to star in his own movie. Jared Leto plays the title character, and Doctor Who actor Matt Smith joins him as Loxias Crown. Morbius will hit cinemas in 2021. But if you can’t wait until then, you could get into the superhero mood in the meantime by playing the Super Heroes slot game, which is available at Casumo casino.

Wed
07
Oct

Marc Munden's The Secret Garden Can Stay Secret

Secret Garden 2020

THE SECRET GARDEN is one of those literary and film classics that, for whatever reason, has evaded my radar. Even the original version with Margaret O'Brien and Dean Stockwell has somehow gone unseen by me, despite may years of having watched such family classics on television, VHS, and DVD.

Would that I could have continued my streak -- or, perhaps, have seen it in one of it's prior versions.

Mon
05
Oct

Lack of Energy Bogs Down Blumhouse's "The Lie"

Blumhouse The Lie

There’s nothing like a murder to bring a broken family together.

That’s the core conceit of Blumhouse Films’ latest release, The Lie, and there are not-so-subtle parallels between the bleak wintry setting and the cold emotional distance of a once-happy family shattered by divorce and miscommunication. The frigid cinematography of the opening scenes in upstate New York, where teenaged Kayla admits to her divorcee father that she purposely pushed her friend from a footbridge into the freezing river waters below serve to set up the icy tone of lies, deceit and eventual bloodshed that follows.

Mon
05
Oct

Blumhouse's Black Box Has Seriously Creepy Atmosphere

Black Box Blumhouse

Let's begin with an existential exercise: Who are you? Or put another way, How do you know who you really are? The most obvious answer is that you are, in a way, your memories--that you know who you are because you remember you are. Take away or alter those recollections and you cease to be who you once were. We become the epitome of Heinlein's Michael Valentine, a stranger in a strange land.

The core of the Blumhouse release Black Box is rife with such philosophical pickings, an intricate, million-piece psychological puzzle that immerses the viewer in the travails of professional photographer Nolan Wright's struggle to find his identity after surviving a car accident that killed his wife Rachel and left him with brain damage-induced amnesia. His is a lost world, where his grade-school age daughter Eva must take the reins with cooking and keeping her father on a daily routine with sticky-note reminders to do everyday activities.

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