Archive Page 449
October 24th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
John Carpenter’s Body Bags is a an oft forgotten film of his and horror anthology. It was a Showtime movie back in 1993, back when it wasn’t as “cool” to have an original idea on Showtime (Showtime did do Psycho IV as well). In Carpenter’s mind, this was a one shot. But Showtime wanted this to go to series and be their Tales From The Crypt. Carpenter got his way as he didn’t want involved in it if it was going to go to Canada and not shoot in LA. The film itself has been pretty nonexistent in the home media form for over a decade. There was a DVD release from Artisan at the turn of the century but that went out of print rather quickly and Artisan went out of business as well. Thankfully, saving the day as always, is Scream Factory, who gives this film a treatment we never thought possible. And this is a film that upon looking back, is actually deserving. It’s a fun little movie that I think people have forgotten and will be pleasantly surprised when venturing back to it. Continue reading ‘John Carpenter’s Body Bags – Collector’s Edition (Blu-ray Review)’
October 22nd, 2013 by Brandon Peters
On the day following my birthday, Scream Factory will be treating us to two very different vintage horror films. We first take it back to one of Scream Factory’s favorite periods, the 80s. A ‘Collectors Edition’ of Paul Scrader’s cult classic, erotic horror remake of Cat People. This title was one of their big SDCC announcements from last summer. The film stars the likes of Natassja Kinski, Malcolm McDowell, Ed Begley Jr., John Larroqutte and very young and very fine Annette O’Toole. The other release is that of the Boris Karloff starring Die Monster Die! The film is a loose adaptation of a Lovecraft story and has Scream Factory again saving a classic 60s horror film. Both films are hitting Blu-ray for the first time, with Cat People boasting some brand new interviews done specially for this edition. You can find the full press release, as well as an Amazon pre-order link below! Continue reading ‘Scream Factory’s CAT PEOPLE & DIE MONSTER DIE! Detailed!’
October 22nd, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
Taiwanese pop sensation Jay Chou (The Green Hornet, The Viral Factor), drawing on his years as an actor, director, and recording star, creates a fantasy playground of music, moves, and magic as a backdrop to an action comedy which pays homage to the wondrous musicals of the past, while exploding to life with today’s sound and spirit in THE ROOFTOP, debuting on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital December 10th from Well Go USA Entertainment. Described as “Writer-director Chou’s ambitious Luhrmann-esque merging of musical numbers, kung fu, vaudeville and dippy romance is set in a candy-colored world with a deliberately retro vibe. (Think afros, polyester, vintage cars and bowling.)” by The Los Angeles Times, Chou composed 11 original tunes for this buoyant musical. In addition to Chou, THE ROOFTOP stars Alan Ko (Goodbye May), Eric Tsang (Ip Man: The Final Fight), Wang Xue Qi (Iron Man 3, Reign of Assassins), Fan Xu (Saving General Yang, Back to 1942), and newcomer Hsin Ai Lee. Continue reading ‘‘The Rooftop’ on Blu-ray and DVD December 10th!’
October 21st, 2013 by Brandon Peters
2013’s highest grossing live action comedy hits Blu-ray in a release loaded with extra humor. Paul Feig follows up his smashing success Bridesmaids with another female driven comedy, this time taking on the buddy cop genre. Up until the recent opening weekend of Gravity, The Heat was Sandra Bullock’s highest grossing weekend of all time. The opening weekend was quite the eye opener, improving upon Bridesmaids opening weekend significantly. But, then again, adding the undeniable star power of Sandra Bullock and rising stock of Melissa McCarthy can give something its extra bump. The film deemed quite popular among moviegoers, finishing as the summer’s 8th highest grosser and just until this past weekend, top 10 for the year. Say what you will about the film’s quality, it proved big enough a success that we’ll be seeing The Heat 2: Your Sister Is A NARC Cop sometime in the next few years. Continue reading ‘The Heat (Blu-Ray Review)’
October 20th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
The highest-grossing silent film of all time, as well as the first realistic war drama, The Big Parade tells the harrowing story of a young man’s (John Gilbert) front-line experiences in World War I. The film was adapted by Harry Behn and King Vidor (who wasn’t credited) from the play by Joseph Farnham and the autobiographical novel Plumes by Laurence Stallings. The film was directed by King Vidor and it stars John Gilbert, Renée Adorée, Claire Adams, Karl Dane, Robert Ober and Tom O’Brien.
Continue reading ‘The Big Parade (Blu-ray Review)’
October 19th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
The big question, when it comes to remaking classic horror films, is, “why?” What is the purpose of taking a popular film and giving it another try? Money is one of the easy answers, but what else? Carrie seems like a film that does not exactly lend itself to being remade; as the story’s basic structure holds up today. With that, sure, let’s take away the fact that the original, Academy Award-nominated film from 1976 still plays well enough today. I guess one could argue that having a redo opens up the story to a new generation of viewers. That is all well and good, but I am not so sure this new version of Carrie overall knows what makes the original film so effective. Making it more frustrating is how there actually is a good hunk of movie within this new iteration of the old Stephen King story. At least Prom was fun while it lasted.
Continue reading ‘‘Carrie’ Is Back, With A Vengeance (Movie Review)’
October 18th, 2013 by Laney Feeser
It’s a well-known fact that the world’s highest mountain peak is Mount Everest. But within the mountaineering community, it isn’t necessarily the most notable claim to fame to conquer its summit. Mount Everest has had some 3,000 people successfully reach its peak, but to the northwest between Pakistan and China, lies K2— the second highest mountain just 784 feet shy of Everest. With less than 300 successful summit attempts and a 20% higher death toll amongst its climbers compared to Everest, climbing K2 has proven to be one of the most difficult and deadliest mountains in the world. The Summit uses interviews, footage and photography shot by the climbers, and reenactments in an attempt to recreate the deadliest and most controversial day in K2 history.
Continue reading ‘Climbing Up is the Easy Part– K2’s The Summit (Movie Review)’
October 18th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
While assembling a dream team of 80s/90s action stars in The Expendables films may not have panned out to be something as epic as I would have wanted, Escape Plan more or less captures the sense of fun that I like out of these sorts of films. It may have to do with limiting the cast to two iconic action heroes. There may also be something to be said for the restraint seen on the amount of action they actually have to perform. Really though, it must come down to the fact that I really haven’t seen these guys play in a film like this before. Escape Plan is a very silly movie, full of cheesy dialogue, and plays into a lot of clichés, but at least the premise never stopped being interesting and the film remained fun throughout.
Continue reading ‘Nothing Wrong With Having A Good ‘Escape Plan’ (Movie Review)’
October 17th, 2013 by Blu-ray Brian
Like we really need a reason to talk about all these, huh? Well they may be double dipping, but who cares?! You now get iTunes Digital Copies with these legendary films too! Isn’t that worth the price of admission? I think so! Despite how you feel, they’re all coming again! And regretfully, that also includes that fourth entry too. But beggars can’t be choosers, can they? No they can’t! So just be happy with what Paramount is bringing us! Again…I am! So in the meantime, while you salivate over the inclusion of Digital HD versions, check out the full press release below in addition to the all individual Bu-ray cover art courtesy of Paramount. Enjoy! Continue reading ‘The First 3 Films of the INDIANA JONES Saga Will be Available Individually’
October 17th, 2013 by Gerard Iribe
Based on the ancient Chinese folklore of the seven brothers who fought against all odds to rescue their legendary warrior father, the acclaimed action drama SAVING GENERAL YANG debuts on Blu-ray(tm), DVD and Digital December 10th from Well Go USA Entertainment. The international box office hit is an epic tale about the renowned Song Dynasty’s military defense headed by the clan of Yang against a nomadic Northern nation. Head of the Yang clan is the charismatic old general, Yang Ye, who is also the father of seven sons. The seven young men possess differing temperaments, characters and are each a master of their own kung fu discipline, but they have to join forces and wits to save their father from enemy forces. Directed by Ronny Yu (The Bride With White Hair, Fearless, Bride of Chucky), SAVING GENERAL YANG stars Adam Cheng (Drunken Master Killer, The Legend), Ekin Cheng (Storm Warriors, Treasure Hunt), newcomer Yu Bo, Vic Chau (New Perfect Two), Li Chen (Aftershock), Raymond Lam (The Emperor and the White Snake, The Jade and the Pearl), Wu Chun (14 Blades), newcomer Fu Xin Bo, Xu Fan (Back to 1942, Aftershock), and newcomer Ady An. The film had its world premiere at the 2013 Hong Kong International Film Festival. Bonus materials include a behind-the-scenes featurette “The Making of Ip Man: The Final Fight,” plus interviews with the cast and crew. Continue reading ‘‘Saving General Yang’ on Blu-ray and DVD December 10th!’
October 17th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
Horror anthologies might be making a comeback on the smaller stage. The V/H/S films have found a big audience recently and may have kicked off more people doing them. The horror network Chiller TV has put into commission an anthology of their own. And they went as they should with taking young filmmakers, having each create a short story of horror. This is a nifty avenue to serve as sort of an audition for the filmmakers to possibly lead to them helming their own full length feature down the road. And what better avenue to get this seen by horror lovers than to release it through the Scream Factory label. Scream Factory’s mission to to put out vintage titles, but every once in a while there comes a modern title being added to the catalog. And because they are so few, the titles they do pick to release probably should have your attention. Continue reading ‘Chilling Visions: 5 Senses Of Fear (Blu-ray Review)’
October 17th, 2013 by Jami Ferguson
Image Entertainment, has officially announced the release of The Colony on DVD, Blu-ray and Digital Download on Oct. 15, 2013 from Director Jeff Renfroe (One Point O). Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), Bill Paxton (Aliens) and Kevin Zegers (Dawn of the Dead) headline an all-star cast in this savage and unrelenting thriller about mankind’s greatest enemy: himself. The Colony opens as an endless winter engulfs Earth. Humans struggle to survive in remote underground outposts. When Colony Seven receives a distress call from a nearby settlement, Sam (Zegers) and Briggs (Fishburne) race through the snow on a dangerous rescue mission. What they find at the desolate base could mean mankind’s salvation—or its total annihilation. Terrifying discoveries will unfold that will change the rules of survival forever. Continue reading ‘The Colony (Blu-ray Review)’
October 16th, 2013 by Blu-ray Brian
Happy National Boss’s Day! That’s right, today is the day you get to tell your boss how thrilled you are to work on Saturdays or on your sick day OR your vacation day or child’s birthday. LOL. You get the picture! To celebrate the special person in your life who signs your checks, as well as the Blu-ray and DVD release of
The Internship, Fox has created the below fabulous ecards featuring Dylan O’Brien, Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson!
The Internship is available now on Digital HD and will be in stores nationwide on October 22 courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment.
Continue reading ‘Happy National Boss’s Day with ‘The Internship’ on Blu-ray!’
October 15th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has released the 60th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray ,of André de Toth’s House of Wax 3D Blu-ray, which stars Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk, Carolyn Jones, Paul Picerni and a young Charles Bronson. This new edition features 3D and 2D presentations minted from a 4K scan and restoration, a new featurette and the original 1933 film that this was based on, Mystery of the Wax Museum. This classic movie tells the tale of Professor Henry Jarrod (Price) who’s the owner and figure sculptor in a wax museum whose specialty is historic figures. When he and his business partner, Matthew Burke (Roy Roberts) quarrel over the choice of exhibits displayed, Burke suggests it would be more profitable to burn down the museum in order to obtain the insurance money. As they fight, the museum burns and Jarrod is left for dead. It’s not until much later at a new museum that the fate of Jarrod and the mystery of how the lifelike waxed figures are created becomes gruesomely evident. Continue reading ‘House of Wax 3D (Blu-ray Review)’
October 15th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
It can be a challenge to express why certain dramas work on a viewer more than others. A film like 12 Years A Slave, which is based on the true life chronicle of man kidnapped and forced into slavery, could function on a level that dwells purely on misery and offers little beyond sadness for the viewer to walk away with, but it is much more effective than that. 12 Years A Slave is a truly gripping story that most certainly serves as an unflinching look at a horrible period of a man’s life, within a time period where injustice against man may have been at its peak in America, but does so with a mood that seems to distinguish itself from other period dramas. It may have to do with the filmmakers behind this feature, the emotional rawness of the performances, or other factors, but the film sets a high-water mark for torturous odysseys portrayed on film, such as this, set during an awful time like slavery.
Continue reading ‘‘12 Years A Slave,’ A Powerful Memoir Skillfully Brought To Life (Movie Review)’
October 15th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
It is almost funny how long I put off actually writing a review for The Fifth Estate, the Bill Condon-directed film, which adapts two different books that focus on the news-leaking website WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. The delay is not because I had a lot to consider, after seeing the film. It is actually quite the opposite. The Fifth Estate left me feeling with almost nothing, as the film is all over the place in presentation, one-sided in its overall viewpoint, and stands more as a shell containing a great performance from stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Daniel Bruhl, which would break apart quite easily without them. It is unfortunate, as I believe there could have been a way to make this story more interesting, especially given the talent involved.
Continue reading ‘‘The Fifth Estate’ Has Plenty of Leaks (Movie Review)’
October 14th, 2013 by Sean Ferguson
After Dr. Doofenshmirtz’s latest “-inator” scheme accidentally removes the powers of some very well-known Marvel Super Heroes (Spider-Man, Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk), the heroes enter the world of Danville and team up with Phineas and Ferb to relocate their powers, defeat the Marvel Super Villains (Red Skull, MODOK, Whiplash and Venom) – who have also shown up to steal Doofenshmirtz’s power-draining technology – and save Danville from ultimate destruction! Continue reading ‘Phineas and Ferb: Mission Marvel (DVD Review)’
October 14th, 2013 by Aaron Neuwirth
2011 saw the release of a remake of Fright Night, which I quite enjoyed. The original Fright Night is not quite a classic, but it is a fun film (with some terrific makeup effects) that has a premise that was easy enough to remold on top of a modern day film. What if your next door neighbor turned out to be a vampire? It is a simple idea for a premise that lent itself to a successful horror-comedy and a remake that managed to be a lot of fun. Sequel-izing these films has continued to be a problem. The original film had a sequel, which is not looked to highly upon and now the remake has a sequel, which is fairly inconsequential as well. “Sequel” is even a questionable term, as Fright Night 2: New Blood is just a recreation of the same plot (including the characters) once again, but in a new location.
Continue reading ‘Fright Night 2: New Blood (Blu-ray Review)’
