Here's a trio of trailers to start your afternoon off right! First up is the latest indie film directed by James Cullen Bressack (MY PURE JOY; HATE CRIME) called TO JENNIFER. This one revolves around a guy named Joey who thinks that his girlfriend of two years (the titular Jennifer) is cheating on him. To prove this, he and his cousin Steven take a road trip to film a video diary that is supposed to culminate in Jennifer getting caught in the act, but most likely ends in disaster since this is a found footage film.
Filmed entirely on an iPhone5, TO JENNIFER is going to eventually hit DVD but will mainly find its audience via iTunes and Zoovision. The official digital release date has yet to be announced, so while you wait on that info, why not give the trailer a look below?
Yep, things most definitely do not go well for Joey if the search for his girlfriend brings him to a crime scene....
Next up is a new Viking epic called HAMMER OF THE GODS coming to us from Magnet Releasing. Set in Viking Britain in 871 AD, the film follows Steinar (Charlie Bewley), a young viking warrior that is sent by his father, the king, on a quest. His mission? To find his estranged brother, who was banished from the kingdom many years before. Steinar’s epic journey across terrifyingly hostile territory gradually sees him emerge as the man his father wants him to be – the ruthless and unforgiving successor to his throne!
Looks watchable but it is so predictable and cliched. Steinar is not on the way to find his bro to make him a king; he's obviously been tasked to go on a quest and kill his crazy bro to become king himself. Plus all the Vikings naturally speak with a bit of an English accent... really makes me pine for the alleged Viking film Mel Gibson is working on. It doesn't look bad, but I'm worried that 90% of the gore will be CGI.
HAMMER OF THE GODS hits Video On Demand & iTunes on May 30th; look for it at select theaters on July 5th!
Finally, here's a trailer that some of you have probably been eagerly anticipating: It's the red band trailer for V/H/S 2 (formerly S/V/H/S)! I STILL haven't watched the first one, but now it looks like I should because this looks pretty bad ass! Give the new red band trailer a quick glance below.
Seriously, this looks really cool, though it's a bit more polished than you'd expect a found-footage anthology shot on "VHS" to be. Looks like we get some crazy suicidal Asians, alien abductions, doggy-cam point of view shots, murders, and monsters, so I'm down with this! Also, a really solid group of indie horror directors collaborated on this, so I have elevated expectations for this new anthology.
V/H/S 2 comes to iTunes & Video on Demand on June 6th (the Vault's 13th anniversary! Yay!) and will screen in select theaters on July 12th!
I'm gearing up to tear through this stack of screeners soon, and one of the films coming up is DEATH BY VHS (formerly THE SCREAM MACHINE), a new indie horror anthology revolving around a cursed VCR. Here is the synopsis:
A battered and mysterious VCR...A bevy of lethal video- tapes... These are the building blocks of horror in "DEATH BY VHS". A mind blowing descent into madness and death. Five shocking vignettes, designed to take your sanity and devour your soul! Mild curiosity leads to severe consequences when a couple rents a supposedly cursed video cassette recorder. An urban legend renowned for leaving a trail of agonizing and torturous death. Unbelieving, they take the plunge... And another legend is horrifyingly born... Do you dare give fate a winning hand, and test yourself against the hellish consequences of the VHS machine? Insert Cassette Press Play...DIE!
The official trailer for the film hit the web last week, and showcases some cool practical f/x, numerous bong hits, and a hatchet-wielding psycho in a pink bunny costume. Give the trailer a look below:
There's no official release date for the DVD, but you can catch the DEATH BY VHS world premiere at the Phoenix ComiCon on May 25th! Also, the DVD will have some extras, including: A teaser trailer, a music video by "Scattered Guts," and interviews with cast & crew. When the street date for the DVD release is announced, I'll be sure to let you all know! Stay tuned!
I've been following Eli Roth's (who both produced and stars in) AFTERSHOCK for a while and I'm eager to check it out. Eli plays a dorky American tourist who ends up in an underground nightclub in Chile when an earthquake hits. Stuff crumbles and collapses, people are crushed to death, and the survivors have to dig their way to the top to escape the giant deathtrap. (Kind of like a land-based POSEIDON ADVENTURE... but with lots of gore.)
Naturally things are even worse once they find a way out because a nearby prison emptied out during the quake, leaving a crowd of violent (and apparently very rapey) criminals to run amok amidst the chaos! Check out the new redband trailer below:
Wait what?! After all the awfulness the main characters survive, they get wiped out by a freakin' tsunami?! Jeez movie trailer, that's a pretty huge spoiler!
So after viewing the latest trailer what do you think of AFTERSHOCK? Would you go see it in a theater? Would you give it a rental? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below!
AFTERSHOCK gets a limited theatrical release on May 10th, with a DVD & Blu-ray release soon after.
Having just seen and reviewed TAI CHI ZERO, I was psyched and ready to pop my theatrical screener of TAI CHI HERO (obtained from the generous folks at Well Go USA) into my Blu-ray player. When we left our main characters, Lu Chan was lying helpless in a semi-coma after aiding in the defeat of the misguided Fang Zi Jing.
Unable to defend himself in any sense, its up to Master Chen and his daughter Yu Niang to plead on Lu Chan's behalf, as he stands accused of stealing Chen-style kung-fu. Nothing seems to change the mind of the village council who prepare to make it impossible for Yang to practice kung-fu ever again.... by severing his tendons with a fig bucking sword!
Luckily Yu Niang steps in and declares that she will marry the lovably moronic Lu Chan; by making him family, he will have technically broken no sacred laws! The two are quickly wed, only to have their wedding crashed by Zai Yang, Yi Niang's older brother, and his mute Japanese wife. Zai Yang's arrival kicks off yet another plot to peacefully clear out Chen Village by acting on the superstitious beliefs of the villagers. Naturally the plan doesn't quite work out, leading to another invasion by the misguided Fang Zi Jing, who shows up with an army and a half dozen cannons.
Will the fully trained Lu Chan (now seemingly healed of his "Three Blossoms of the Crown" and no longer an idiot), his wife Yu Niang, and his father-in-law, Grand Master Chen, be able to foil another violent attack on the peace-loving village? Will Western military technology and training trump ancient martial arts wisdom? Will aid come from an unexpected source? Or will Fang finally triumph and have his revenge against the people he blames for the death of his lover? Well.... all I can tell you is that this movie is set up for yet another sequel, and I greatly welcome it!
TAI CHI HERO is a much tonally different movie from the first one; it's definitely a more serious film. In the first movie, Lu Chan was none too bright and constantly getting his butt kicked. You really wanted him to succeed, but at the same time you couldn't help but enjoy his failures. In this film, he's attained his quest for the most part, healed himself, and is now really.... dull. He's totally calm, cool, collected, serene, and not in danger of randomly going into "demon mode" or dying from his affliction. Now he's just a two-dimensional good guy that makes me want to yawn.
Luckily the wayward villains of this film keep things going. Stephen Fung (Fang Zi Yang) yet again turns in a good performance as Fang Zi Jing. With his career decimated, his honor in question, and the women he loved now dead, Fang is in a pretty dark place in his life and it shows. Using the knowledge that Lu Chan was once a part of the Divine Truth Cult (a rebel sect that fought against the imperial troops of China), Fang manages to gather himself an army and some big guns. He then marches on Chen Village in force to "arrest" Lu Chan and those that aided and abetted him in the destruction of TROY NO.1, which caused the accidental death of his lover.
Then there's Zai Yang, who is only trying to scare off the locals with an ancient prophecy, partially because he has a chip on his shoulder (daddy issues), but mainly because he wants to find a peaceable solution to getting a railroad through the village. He provides us with a character we can relate to, as he left Chen Village in his youth to make his way in the world. Rather than stay home and learn martial arts (which he was never very good at), he leaves to be his own man and become an inventor. This didn't sit well with his father, Grand Master Chen, and it provides for a bit of tension whenever the two of them share the screen.
All in all, I enjoyed TAI CHI HERO, but didn't like it as much as the previous film. It's got a few cool twists, great action sequences, and has a very talented cast. Though the hero has sadly become rather boring, its the other characters in the film that keep things interesting and moving forward. And once the smoke clears during the climactic struggle at the gates of Chen Village during the final act, the film teases us with a really cool setup for the intended third part of this Tai Chi trilogy! (Spoiler: As the film fades to black, we get a very brief look at a STEAMPUNK-THEMED SKULL FORTRESS!)
Though it lacks the fun and energy of the first film, TAI CHI HERO is still a really solid martial arts flick that delivers the goods, and promises us some big things in the next installment. It's definitely worth a look and worthy of:
Got a couple of trailers for you guys and gals to scope out while I do a "ninja-vanish" for most of tomorrow. First up is the trailer for ERASED, which hits video on demand services TOMORROW and theaters on May 17th. Ever wondered what TAKEN would have been like if it starred pre-Two Face Harvey Dent? Well, then this is the movie for you!
If I found out that my dad was a CIA operative that could kill people with his bare hands, I'd be awestruck and impressed. He'd be my hero. Not so the case here. As soon as Eckhart's daughter discovers that he can murder people with ease, she freaks out and becomes a liability. Still, I'm sure he manages to save the day, rescue his daughter, and live a tranquil life as somebody else until the ee-vil government comes knockin' in the eventual direct-to-DVD sequel! Doesn't look like anything special, but I'd give it a watch.
Next up is a trailer I've been waiting for because A.) I have a man-crush on Ryan Gosling (hard to believe I ever used to dislike him as an actor) and B.) because his last team up with Nicolas Winding Refn (DRIVE) was freakin' awesome. Here is the redband trailer for ONLY GOD FORGIVES:
It looks pretty interesting to say the least. Set in Bangkok, Thailand, Gosling plays a drug kingpin that is tasked with avenging the death of his brother. Swordplay, fistfights, bloodletting, and probably a kick ass soundtrack then ensue! Look for ONLY GOD FORGIVES in theaters on July 19th!
I missed out on TAI CHI ZERO (buy it or rent it from Amazon.com) but it is definitely on my radar. It looks to be a cool martial arts flick that takes place in a steampunk universe, and apparently it did pretty well because the sequel, TAI CHI HERO is on its way to select U.S. theaters on April 26th, courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment.
SYNOPSIS: Lu Chan (Jayden Yuan) is still trying to find his place in Chen Village, the legendary town where everyone is a martial arts master…and Chen-style Tai Chi is forbidden to outsiders. But since he helped save the town from a frightening steam-powered machine, Yuniang (Angelababy), beautiful daughter of Grandmaster Chen (Tony Leung Ka-Fai), agrees to marry Lu Chan and bring him into the family.
It’s only a formality, though – she is the teacher, and he is the student – and that suits Lu Chan just fine, as the mutant horn on his head gives him incredible kung-fu power, but leaves him dumber each time, and closer to death. Chen Village still stands in the shadow of danger. A prodigal brother returns, Lu Chan’s presence invokes a curse on the town, and Yuniang’s scorned fiancée has an appetite for revenge, as well as some new partners in crime.
The second in a trilogy from the creators of IP MAN and DETECTIVE DEE, and featuring action directed by the legendary Sammo Hung, TAI CHI HERO is a full-on, steampunk-infused, video game-influenced kung fu throwdown that will knock you out of your seat.
Wait what? It's a trilogy?! Man I need to scope these flicks out for myself and prep for the third one! Check out the trailer below for TAI CHI HERO to get psyched up for some kung-fu/steampunk insanity!
As stated earlier, this film is getting a limited release on April 26th. Here is a list of theaters that will be showing the film that weekend:
Los Angeles, CA - AMC Atlantic Time Square (450 N. Atlantic Blvd, Monterey Park) New York, NY - AMC EMPIRE 25 San Francisco, CA - AMC Metreon 16, AMC Cupertino Square 16 Honolulu, HI - Pearlridge West 16 Toronto, Canada - Cineplex Odeon Yonge and Dundas Cinemas Vancouver, Canada - Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas
If more screenings are announced, I'll be sure to update this post. For more info on TAI CHI HERO, visit the official website!
I received a press release the other day about this new and odd horror/comedy that's in the same vein as COLOR ME BLOOD RED and A BUCKET OF BLOOD. How far is a man willing to go to produce his greatest work of art? Well... pretty damned far apparently. Check out the synopsis and trailer below.
SYNOPSIS: Thure Lindhardt (Keep the Lights On) stars in this quirky horror-comedy as Lars, a former darling of the art scene now slipping away into the land of has-beens and struggling with lack of inspiration.
When Lars’s art dealer Ronny arranges a teaching job in a small town as a “therapeutic measure” to stir up his creative juices, things don't quite turn out as planned. At first, life in the peaceful small town seems rosy, as he settles in and impresses beautiful fellow colleague Leslie (Georgina Reilly) by taking in the brawny, mute Eddie (Dylan Smith) after the latter’s caregiver passes away. But Lars soon discovers that the façade of serenity hides something unimaginable: Eddie suffers from a rare form of sleepwalking that transforms him from a docile, cereal-obsessed art student into a ravenous sleepwalking cannibal. Initially horrified by Eddie’s dark secret, Lars becomes enthralled by the not-so-gentle giant. Exceptional art comes at a very high price...and how far is Lars willing to go for his next masterpiece?
EDDIE: THE SLEEPWALKING CANNIBAL is a fresh, clever satire about artistic inspiration that pushes boundaries with its unique blend of offbeat humor, twisted friendships, sweet-hearted romance, and the gory realities of sleepwalking cannibalism.
Hahahaha. This sounds awesome! Let's check out the trailer and see if it lives up to the cool synopsis, shall we?
Yeah I dig it! But is it me or would this be the perfect vehicle for a Nick Frost/Simon Pegg team-up? In any case, EDDIE: THE SLEEPWALKING CANNIBAL hits video on demand services and select theaters this Friday, April 5th! Maybe I'll check it out after I see EVIL DEAD!
I recently received a heads-up from Millennium Entertainment that this new horror/thriller is coming to DVD & Blu-ray next week. Check out the synopsis and trailer below!
SYNOPSIS: Millennium Entertainment proudly announces the DVD and Blu-ray release of CRUSH for April 9, 2013. The teen-thriller stars Lucas Till, Crystal Reed, Sarah Bolger, Reid Ewing, Leigh Whannell and Caitriona Balfe and will be available DVD and Blu-ray.
High school heartthrob Scott has it all; good looks, popularity… and a secret admirer. But what starts out as a seemingly innocent crush soon turns deadly. Who's responsible? Scott’s long time friend Jules, frustrated with their platonic relationship? Bess, a shy classmate, increasingly jealous of his friendship with Jules? Or Jeffrey, a bright outcast whose crush on Bess has lead him to become increasingly obsessive? One thing's certain, time's running out and Scott must uncover the psychotic stalker before it’s too late.
The film is rated PG-13, and though it isn't something up my alley (my fiancee would probably enjoy it) I'll admit that it's good to see a woman going crazy over a dude for a change. Far too many times men turn out are the villains in these "Fatal Attraction" type films, so it's nice to see a film telling it like it really is, because WOMEN BE CRAZY!!!! (Just kidding! :: glances around nervously :: )
Once again, CRUSH hits DVD & Blu-ray next Tuesday (April 9th!) and you can pre-order it now at Amazon.com from the links below:
MOVIE REVIEW: Until just yesterday, I had never seen FUTUREWORLD before, but I have seen its predecessor, WESTWORLD, numerous times. When a copy arrived in the mail from Shout! Factory, I was extremely excited! Finally I could see what happened after the events of the first film. Would the park be opened again, and if so, would everything work correctly this time with no loss of human life?!
Beginning several years after the rampage of a murderous Yul Brenner-bot, FUTUREWORLD follows two reporters, Chuck Browning (Peter Fonda) and Tracy Ballard (Blythe Danner), who are invited to Delos' reopened adult theme park in hopes that they give it the OK and provide a some positive media coverage. Tracy thinks it's all grand, but Chuck, ever the suspicious reporter, believes that there is more going on than meets the eye.
After spending a bit of time in Futureworld (an outer space-themed addition to Delos' park) the two reporters begin to poke around and discover that something diabolical is going on behind the scenes, involving murder, villainous doppelgangers, and one of the most insane attempts at controlling the press I have ever seen!
FUTUREWORLD is a rather dull followup to the totally awesome WESTWORLD but still does enough right to be a worthy sequel. Instead of being a retread of the previous film's events, this movie smartly goes in another direction while staying firmly rooted in the world the first film created. Instead of having robots going insane and murdering Delos' clientele, there's a mystery afoot involving the giant tech company, and a secret that is worth killing over. While this is an interesting spin, the movie waits too long to deliver the big twist, which you'll easily figure out way before it happens.
Though it plods along at a lethargic pace, the film has some really cool moments: Yul Brenner makes a cameo as "The Gunslinger" within Tracy Ballard's really weird and none-too-erotic dream sequence. Though it's cool to see him reprise his role, I was really hoping he'd pop up in the abandoned ruins of Westworld to give our characters a fright! Instead, the only robotic character we get is Clark, a rebuilt automaton without a that emotes better than the majority of the cast. Oddly enough, this background character, who has no lines and only a few brief scenes, proves to be a captivating, and sadly tragic figure. Clark's reaction to the departure of his repairer/friend Harry (a rebellious maintenance worker at the resort) is heartbreaking.
Then there's the final act of the movie, where it becomes a race against time for Chuck and Tracy to escape with their lives! It's like someone shot a huge dose of caffeine into the seemingly sedated film, and we get nothing less than an old-fashioned wild west showdown, and an acrobatic battle around the outside of a space shuttle launch platform! And after all is said and done, after the bad guys think they've pulled off a big win for their (not clearly defined) evil machinations, this happens:
YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE FONDA B*TCHES!
While a far cry from the fantastic WESTWORLD, FUTUREWORLD boasts a great cast, an awesome soundtrack by Fred Karlin (listen to some of it here), and does something different while continuing to build upon the storyline and mythology created by the previous entry. It's slow paced, but hang in there if you watch it because it all builds up to a worthwhile ending!
FUTUREWORLD may be a bit on the dull side, but its definitely worth checking out. I am more than happy to give this WESTWORLD sequel:
THREE 'RADS'
BLU-RAY REVIEW
The Packaging: Nothing special here folks. Typical Blu-ray case with a yellow-tinted version of the original theatrical poster art. (Blu-ray cover art located at top right of this post.)
Audio & Video: FUTUREWORLD is showcased in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p HD! Though I haven't seen it prior to its Blu-ray release, I'm sure it is safe to say that this is the best the movie has looked in a long time. The film comes with only one audio option: DTS HD Master Audio 2.0. Fred Karlin's score, the dialogue, and sound effects all come through nice and clearly. There's really nothing to complain about here!
The Extras: This is where the disc totally strikes out. We get a theatrical trailer (featured in 1080i), two short radio spots (together they make up approx. one minute of audio), and a minute-long Still Gallery that features concept art from the film as well as domestic and foreign poster designs. (No behind the scenes photos from the set, or lobby cards, or screenshots from the movie? Tsk tsk, Shout! Factory.)
Final Ruling: Though I was hoping for more special features, overall I can't really complain about this Blu-ray release. The disc is going for under fifteen dollars at most retailers, and the movie looks and sounds great! Plus the cover art actually complements that of the Warner Bros. WESTWORLD Blu-ray that came out on March 5th. It's a serviceable Blu-ray disc for an oft-overlooked sci-fi classic that isn't overpriced, therefore I'm content to let it slide and give it:
THREE 'RADS'
As stated earlier, Shout! Factory's FUTUREWORLD Blu-ray is now available wherever DVDs and Blu-rays are sold. Currently it is going for just under fourteen dollars on Amazon.com, as is Warner Home Video's WESTWORLD release. You can order one or both of them from the following links.
I've recently discovered several new indie films that are in various stages of production (mostly by accident; God Bless the internet!), and I think you'll all be psyched about each one of them. We've got two VHS documentaries, and two horror-comedies that will have you waxing nostalgic and cheering for more gory hijinks! First up is a completed VHS documentary called REWIND THIS!
Featuring interviews with Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman, Full Moon's Charles Band, and various directors and VHS fans/collectors, REWIND THIS! takes a look at the rise and fall of the VHS tape, and its continued popularity despite being a "dead format." It looks quite interesting and just made its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival, which ends this weekend. No word on a DVD (or VHS?) release date yet, but to keep up on what's new with the film and to learn more about it, be sure to visit its official site at www.rewindthismovie.com!
But REWIND THIS! is not alone folks, for this is another, much smaller budgeted documentary in the works called ADJUST YOUR TRACKING, that takes another look at the world of the VHS tape, and the people that still collect them. Scroll down a bit for the bitchin' poster and the teaser trailer. CLICK HERE to visit the official site and learn more about this upcoming documentary!
This makes me pine for my old VCR! So cool!
Continuing on, its time to look at some new indie films that blend Horror, gore, and comedy together. First up is WOLF COP, the tale of a drunken cop named Lou Garou (HA!) who ends up becoming a drunken lycanthropic police officer! The filmmakers have created a hilariously awesome concept trailer and are currently battling it out with other indie hopefuls on CineCoup to earn a million bucks to make WOLF COP a reality. Check out the concept trailer below, then head over to the main website (www.wolfcop.com) to find out how you can help get this flick made!
Finally, I need to give some love to the most insane indie film project I've come across in a while. Imagine if Jesus Christ himself, while bringing Lazarus back to life, accidentally screwed up and created the first ever zombie plague on Earth. And hey, what if Jesus (and Judas) battled the undead hordes to save humanity?! That is the concept for FIST OF JESUS (a.k.a. ONCE UPON A TIME IN JERUSALEM).
A short film by collaborators/co-directors David Muñoz & Adrián Cardona is currently up on Youtube, and they are attempting to pull together funds to create a feature-length version. Check out the FIST OF JESUS short below (these gents are all from Spain, so keep that in mind when you are assailed by English subtitles), then head on over to the official site (www.fistofjesus.com) for production updates and to help donate to the completion of a movie that can only be described as "The Greatest Story Ever Told" meets "Dead-Alive!" Enjoy!
HAHAHAHA! Extra points for the random inclusion of ZOMBIE COWBOYS! This really looks awesome; I hope they pull together the funds to make the feature-length version.
Oh, and since we're currently on the topic of the epic tag-team of David Muñoz & Adrián Cardona, here is their short film BRUTAL RELAX, which features aquatic man-eating zombie creatures paying the price for ruining the relaxation attempts of a violently insane gentleman named Mr. Olivares. Needless to say... THIS. IS. AWESOME!
This is one of those weekends where you can take a break from the cinema as there isn't much out there worth spending ten+ dollars on. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson delivers another hardcore PG-13 action film that is supposedly based on a true story, and a new PG-13 supernatural/alien abduction type flick looks to make a tiny dent in the weekend box office. (I'm guessing it'll debut in the top five, probably at number two or three. Then again, every new Horror/thriller this year has debuted at number one in the box office, so DARK SKIES may be a surprise hit.)
So here's your first choice if you're really bored and want to take in a flick. "The Rock" goes after some drug dealers to save his kid from getting the proverbial book thrown at him for "unknowingly" delivering some drugs. To save his son from ten years in the pen, "The Rock" agrees to infiltrate a drug cartel and help the feds make arrests. This of course leads to DRAMA, EXPLOSIONS, HEARTFELT YELLING, ANGRY YELLING, and GUNFIGHTS! If anything, it looks like a solid rental; check out the trailer below and judge for yourself:
The other latest theatrical release is DARK SKIES, the tale of a family that is experiencing all sorts of strange phenomena, like legions of suicidal birds, the sudden appearance of strange tattoos, horrifying yawning, and uncontrollable head-banging. It seems like they are trying to push this as a supernatural thriller, but it's clearly an alien abduction movie. Haven't made up my mind about it, but if I do watch it, I'll be renting the DVD five months from now. Behold the trailer:
If you see either flick, feel free to leave a comment below with your thoughts. Were they good? Bad? Worth a rental later on down the road? Let us all know!
Got a trio of new trailers to show off to you guys and gals today! First up is THE SILENCE, an upcoming murder mystery/thriller (check out the new HD trailer here):
Synopsis: The Silence begins 23 years ago on a hot summer day, when a young girl named Pia is brutally murdered in a field of wheat. Now, on the exact same date in the present, 13-year-old Sinikka is missing, her bicycle abandoned in the same spot. As Krischan, the retired investigator of the unresolved case, and his younger colleague David struggle to solve the mystery of these parallel crimes, Sinikka’s distraught parents are trapped in an agonizing period of waiting and uncertainty. Meanwhile, their daughter’s fate rips open old wounds in the heart of Pia’s mother, who is visited by an unexpected guest with an eerie connection to her daughter. The unrelenting summer heat lies over the quaint family homes like a bell jar and behind closed doors, worlds begin to fall apart.
In his strikingly commanding debut feature The Silence, Swiss-born Baran bo Odar adapts Jan Costin Wagner’s bestselling novel with his own unmistakable signature. Mesmerizing performances by top European actors - headed by Ulrich Thomsen (The Celebration, Brothers), Sebastian Blomberg (The Baader Meinhof Complex), Katrin Sass (Good Bye, Lenin!) and Burghart Klaussner (The White Ribbon, The Edukators) - enrich this intense drama far beyond the crime genre.
THE SILENCE will hit limited theaters on March 8th.
Next up is the trailer for 6 SOULS, a new psychological/supernatural thriller starring Julianne Moore and Jonathon Rhys Meyers (view the new HD trailer here):
Synopsis: After the death of her husband, Dr. Cara Harding's (Julianne Moore) faith in God has been shaken, but not her belief in science. In an attempt to open her up to accepting unexplainable psychiatric theories, her father introduces her to Adam, a patient with multiple personalities who takes on some of the physical characteristics of his other personalities. Cara quickly discovers that Adam’s other personalities are murder victims and the more she finds out about him and his past, the closer she and her loved ones are to becoming murder victims themselves.
This looks pretty decent; kind of reminds me of IDENITTY. 6 SOULS will be available On Demand on March 1st, and in theaters on April 5th.
Finally, I've got a new red band trailer here for KISS OF THE DAMNED, a racy vampire romance with blood, boobs, and sex:
I'm pretty sure I caught a glimpse of a vampiric ménage à trois in there somewhere... which means this is the MUST SEE FILM OF THE YEAR!
KISS OF THE DAMNED comes to On Demand services on March 28th, and gets a limited theatrical run starting May 3rd.
I'm a sucker for a good creature feature or monster movie, and some of the better ones have been coming from overseas lately, so you can imagine how interested I am in seeing STORAGE 24!
Synopsis: London is in chaos. A military cargo plane has crashed leaving its highly classified contents strewn across the city. Completely unaware London is in lockdown, Charlie (Noel Clarke) and Shelley (Antonia Campbell-Hughes), accompanied by best friends Mark (Colin O’Donoghue) and Nikki (Laura Haddock), are at Storage 24 dividing up their possessions after a recent break-up. Suddenly, the power goes off. Trapped in a dark maze of endless corridors, a mystery predator is hunting them one by one. In a place designed to keep things in, how do you get out?
The DVD and Blu-ray for STORAGE 24 will both be available on March 12th, and will be chock full o' extras including:
-- Feature Commentary -- Creature Development Featurette -- Production Design & Costume Featurette -- Music & Sound Design Featurette -- On Set Featurette -- Video Blogs -- A Day In the Life Of: Clarke & O’Donoghue -- Scene Commentaries -- Deleted Scenes -- Photo Gallery
Now let's give the trailer a quick look and see what we can see....
Despite being a modern "Alien" rip-off and using the "Prometheus scream" in the trailer, I'm pretty game to check out STORAGE 24, if only to get a better look at the film's mon-star. It's big, it's mean, and it looks like it can bite someone's head off without breaking a sweat! Sign me up!
If you've got about fifteen minutes, then allow me to show you how to waste that time. Below are three new Youtube vids that should have most of you b-movie fans salivating. The first is a trailer for Newt Wallen's MIDNIGHT SHOW. The film is a love letter to cult, grindhouse, and trash cinema, and features a strange night out at the movies for a young couple, who will experience a barrage of trailers for non-existent films like RUGMUNCHER, ATTACK OF THE ROBOT NAZI, HER TIME OF THE MONTH, and other hilarious throwbacks to exploitation cinema! Check it out below:
For a closer look at some of the fake trailers, and a little history on the inception of MIDNIGHT SHOW, check out this new episode of UNDERBELLY:
Finally, Youtube sensation Mike Diva (a.k.a. Mike Dahlquist) teamed up with GrindHouseFlix.com and came up with a really kick-ass dubstep music video that utilizes footage, dialogue, and sound effects from fifty different grindhouse/exploitation flicks! Next to Diva's dubstep tribute to Macho Man Randy Savage, this is probably one of the greatest videos to ever exist on the internet. Watch it now!
How AWESOME was that?! Cool enough to watch again?! Was just thinking that myself.... [hits play on video for the tenth time]
All I have to say about SUSHI GIRL is.... Whoa! The cast for this film is quite simply insane, and features Tony Todd, Noah Hathaway (Atreyu from "Neverending Story" is all growed up!), Mark Hamill, Sonny Chiba, Danny Trejo, Michael Biehn, Jeff Fahey, and James Duval.
Synopsis: Fish has spent six years in jail. Six years alone. Six years keeping his mouth shut about the robbery, about the other men involved. The night he is released, the four men he protected with silence celebrate his freedom with a congratulatory dinner.
The meal is a lavish array of sushi, served off the naked body of a beautiful young woman. The sushi girl seems cationic, trained to ignore everything in the room, even if things become dangerous. Sure enough, the four unwieldy thieves can’t help but open old wounds in an attempt to find their missing loot.
Along with the amazing cast, the film boasts some kick-ass posters and a pretty cool trailer. Check it out below:
SUSHI GIRL hits DVD & Blu-ray on February 19th and will be jammed with extras including:
• Filmmaker Commentary with Kern Saxton, Destin Pfaff, Neal Fischer and Suren M. Seron • Cast Commentary with Tony Todd, James Duval, Noah Hathaway, Andy Mackenzie, David Dastmalchian, Destin Pfaff and Kern Saxton • Sushi Girl: A Documentary • Alternate Scenes • Outtakes • Fake TV Commercials á la Sushi Girl • Producer's Diaries • Sushi Girl Music Video: Victories and Consequences by Send the Sages • Cast and Crew Interviews at the International Premiere • Poster & Promotional Image Gallery • Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery • Storyboards • Trailers
Note that these are all the Blu-ray extras; the DVD shares MOST of them as well, but not all. Blu-ray exclusives include cast & crew interviews, the Sushi Girl music video, and the Producer's Diaries.
Pre-order the Blu-ray HERE. Pre-order the DVD HERE. Visit the official site HERE.
Not sure if I'll be buying this one, but I'm most definitely going to give it a rental when it comes out. Adult Atreyu being brutally tortured just sounds like a lot of fun.... plus it doesn't hurt that a naked woman covered in food will be in the movie for the majority of the running time.
I was nearly done emptying out my inbox of all the press releases, movie news, and other assorted fun stuff I get (e.g. offers for penile enhancement, breast enhancement, prescription drugs, porn, etc.), when I came across a press release concerning a new indie Horror anthology that is nearing completion, called VOICES FROM THE GRAVE.
Here's a quick synopsis:
"From master horror writer Gary Brandner, author of 'The Howling', and filmmakers Richard Stoudt and Laurence Holloway comes a relentlessly harrowing film experience. A trio of horrors that will make your flesh creep and your heart palpitate.
Deadly spirits, vengeful and maliciously spiteful give fuel to these tales of supernatural terrors. 'Invitation', based on a short story by Gary Brandner, tells the tale of loser Len Krager, who attends a party he'll never forget!
A vengeful spirit exacts revenge in the tale 'All Hallows' Eve'! An exercise in suspense and atmosphere. Robert Mundy doesn't celebrate Halloween since the accidental death of his brother on Halloween night. But this Halloween night, vengeance will rise and seek retribution.
Ghostly road hazards endanger a used car owner in the turbo-charged yarn 'Repossessed', a spine tingling 'vehicle' for absolute fright. Jeff purchases a killer car for a killer deal... unfortunately, the car really is a killer! A true exercise in style and terror, 'Voices from The Grave' will thrill and chill even the most jaded horror fan!"
It will thrill and chill even the most jaded horror fan?! That's some pretty big talk; I hope they can actually back that claim up! Let's take a gander at the newly released teaser trailer and see what "Voices from the Grave" has to offer.
Well, that was more of a highlight reel than a trailer, but I liked a lot of what I saw. Some of the effects work and camera angles/shots were pretty impressive! I'd definitely like to check this movie out, however at the moment, the film is still in production. It seems that principal photography and even the editing are pretty much done; all that's left is to finish work on the audio (foley and ADR) and put a soundtrack together!
I'll keep you all posted about a future DVD release date for "Voices." Until then you can visit the film's IMDB page for more info on the cast and crew, OR you can get further updates on the production by liking the Voices from the Grave Facebook Page!
As I was scouring the web earlier tonight, I came across two interesting things. First off, an article over at FREDDY IN SPACE concerning illegal downloading caught my eye. (READ IT!) John makes some good points and touches upon all the excuses that many folks use to rationalize what they are doing. Downloading a film for free (whether it be a shitty bootleg of a recently released Hollywood film that was shot with a camcorder, or a DVD rip) is wrong, plain and simple.
Now yours truly is no angel as I have dabbled in piracy myself, but I stay in the "gray" areas and focus my efforts on downloading obscure, rare, and out of print movies that I cannot simply purchase at a store, online or otherwise. That still doesn't make it right, but in some cases, it is the only option I have. I see it as the equivalent of buying a homemade DVD-R, that contains a VHS-rip of some obscure 80's horror flick that has long been out of print. So for any of you high and mighty "I never illegally download anything" folks who pick up fan-made DVD-Rs online and at conventions, well... you are technically pirates as well.
Anyway, the second thing that prompted me to share some thoughts and opinions on this matter was the new short that "Hatchet" director Adam Green created. It's a funny (and gory) PSA talking about the inherent dangers of illegally downloading films off the web. Give it a look; it's great!
Piracy is nothing new, especially on the web, and I doubt anyone really thinks about the possible repercussions. No, not the repercussions that you'll suffer if you get caught (fines and threats of actual jail time), but the ones that affect the film makers, actors, special f/x teams, and all those involved in creating the movies you decided you just had to watch for free. Yeah, I'm getting preachy, but it bugs me, especially when guys like Eli Craig (director of "Tucker & Dale vs. Evil") discover their movie has leaked out onto the web long before they were able to find a distributor. That's not cool.
Film piracy is chugging along with no end in sight (unless Net Neutrality ends and/or laws are passed that will block certain sites from the American public) and studios are fighting a seemingly impossible battle against the army of digital buccaneers that are plundering their film libraries. So how should the powers that be in Hollywood fight back? Should harsher consequences be implemented for those that are caught? Should a privatized web-police force be set up to go after illegal downloaders? Ummm.... NO.
Submitted for your approval, here are a few ideas I have that will not only help Hollywood battle online piracy, but will also benefit us consumers too.
1.HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS NEED TO BECOME "THRIFTIER." If it's one thing I've noticed, it is that movie budgets are becoming pretty damned ridiculous these days. Here's a word of advice to all the big studios in Hollywood: Scale back your production costs! And while you're at it, stop spending so much damned money on advertising! If a film cost $20 million to make, don't attach another $20 million dollars in advertising fees to it! Now the movie will have to make back MORE than double its budget for you to see a profit!
If studios manage to get their crazy spending under control, the savings will eventually trickle down to consumers. Theater ticket prices (and maybe even concession prices) will go down, and the cost of a brand new DVD or Blu-ray on their initial release days may drop as well. Making films is a business, therefore studios should cut costs and increase revenue. Now this sounds easy on paper, but I'm sure there's tons of red tape that would make this simple solution next to impossible. Still, think it over Hollywood.
2. EASE PUNISHMENTS ON OFFENDING PIRATES What? Go easy on those that would engage in digital piracy? Are you mad?! Well... no, I don't think so. The voices in my head say I'm perfectly fine. All kidding aside though, studios and the MPAA (who gave them all the power they have anyway?) need to chill out with their hefty fines and whatnot. Instead of charging several thousand dollars because someone has a few movies on their hard drive after visiting The Pirate Bay, why not force the downloader to pay the freakin' cost of a legal digital download or DVD? That way, they have "purchased" the film and can keep it, you turn a small profit, and walk away looking like less of a douchebag.
3. MAKE ALL DVDS & BLU-RAYS REGION 0 Who was the moron was that decided that there needed to be a whopping six (seven if you count Region 0) DVD regions in the world? That is just stupid as Hell! It is not fair to consumers when a film is available in a foreign country that is not available here. For that one reason alone, many people download foreign films off the web since they sometimes take months, even years, to reach the United States. Make all discs playable worldwide and piracy will take a hit in the gut.
If I can buy any movie I want, from any country on Earth, without having to own special equipment, that'd be amazing. Some companies already do this (Blue Underground) and it'd be awesome if others would follow suit. Then again... there's probably lots of red tape that would stop this from happening, since multiple distribution firms worldwide probably own the rights to various movies in each region (which is why the U.K. can get a "House" boxed set and us Yanks can't). If everything went to Region 0, I suppose it would most likely put a lot of them out of business. For that reason alone, this will probably never happen, but hey... the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.....
4. DIGITIZE ENTIRE FILM LIBRARIES; EMBRACE DIGITAL DOWNLOADING One thing that always brings me back to the seedy world of movie downloading is the fact that there are so many films that are out of print, or just completely unavailable anywhere. Studios need to start going through their vaults, pull out everything they can, and convert them into a digital format. Not only will this help preserve many older, lesser known titles for decades to come (its always good to have a backup copy) but once this task is completed, the films can be sold to curious consumers.
Entire film libraries can then be streamed for a small fee, or downloaded for a bit more money, or customers can pay full price and either receive an actual DVD in the mail, or download a disc ISO and burn it themselves.
Warner Bros. does something like this with its own "burn to order" DVD service, however, the prices are high and the films are burned to DVD-R discs. (Wait a minute.... now studios are bootlegging their own flicks for a profit?!) Its a great idea, but who wants to pay twenty bucks for a DVD-R of "The Green Slime," especially if it's easy to download off the web, and readily available at a vendor's table at a convention? (Totally a rhetorical question by the way.)
To sum up this idea: Make more films available to your customers, keep the pricing reasonable, and make it readily and easily available in a digital format. Get it? Got it? Good!
Now these are just a few ideas that hit me, and its doubtful that any of them would ever be implemented or actually work (#2 and #3 would totally work by the way), but I felt that I had to throw my two cents in after reading what John had to say. If you agree with me, or disagree with me, or have ideas of your own to fight piracy while simultaneously benefiting consumers, be sure to comment below or over at the Vault's Facebook Page.
Finally, before I go to bed, I'd like to let you see the fun teaser trailer for PIRANHA 3DD that was unveiled during yesterday's airing of the SPIKE SCREAM AWARDS. It looks like so much fun, with tons of big ole boobies bouncing around, and lots of killer CGI fish, and.... Ving Rhames with SHOTGUN LEGS! Give it a look, then weep because it has been shelved by those idiots over at Dimension until sometime next year:
Well it's pretty late here in my neck of the woods and my eyes are trying to close without my approval, so I bid you all a good night.
Been a while since I posted anything, so here's a dose of awesome to kick off your Tuesday. First up, the 100% official trailer for next May's THE AVENGERS has hit the web and it looks amazing! Robert Downey Jr. looks like he'll be bringing his A-game as Tony Stark, and will provide a good foil for fellow Avenger Steve Rogers, a.k.a. Captain America. Check out this trailer and get excited:
Now for something more holiday oriented. Those magnificent folks over at Fright-Rags have released SIX new horror-themed tees that are cool as hell, plus they are briefly re-releasing their much-loved "We Belong Alive" shirt design. All sales of that shirt will be donated to the ongoing war against breast cancer. (Forget saving the whales; save the boobies!) Check out the designs below then pony up some dough before they are gone!
Buy this for a very good cause.
"I'm gonna sleep in your bloody carcasses tonight!"
Laid to Rest 2: Electric Boogaloo
Is there someTHING in my teeth?!
Your bones will stay crunchy in milk!
The chocolatey goodness will drive you MAD!
Snap, Crackle, BRAIIIIINS!
All shirts are $19.95 (plus shipping and handline), except for the extremely limited (200 shirts only) Rue Morgue THING tee and the limited edition "We Belong Alive" design. Both of those bad boys are $24.95 apiece, and well worth it!
Well that's it for today b-movie fans. I'm going to try and get off my lazy arse and get some new content up on the site soon (this is after all, my month to shine). I'm thinking a few new reviews and maybe a podcast on the main site, along with some fresh new content here at the main Vault blog and over at Genre Watch, The Casual Gaming Blog, and The Riff Brothers should sate you as October rolls onward. Check back soon for new stuff and if you haven't started watching Horror flicks daily, you best start because there's only "twenty more days 'til Hall-o-ween! SIL-VER SHAM-ROCK!"
It's been a long couple of days b-movie fans; my apologies for not making any new posts (or adding new content). Saturday was a marathon of parties, starting with a birthday party for my (now) four year old niece Lily, where I was taken down by a vicious pack of children, as a pride of lions would bring down a caribou. Following a short visit to my buddy Adam's graduation party, I ended my Saturday at an engagement party (Congrats to Josh and Lorraine!) where I got SLOSHED.
In any case, it has been back to the ole grindstone for yours truly since that busy weekend, but tonight I've managed to reserve a bit of energy in order to bring you a dose of awesome. Here are some cool videos that are bouncing around Youtube at the moment that will most assuredly bring a smile to your face.
First up, how about a little music to brighten our spirits? Ever hear of that catchy song "Istanbul (not Constantinople)?" Well here's a new version of it as sung by THE BAD ASS RUSSIAN:
Wait... did I see a "Baseball Fury" from "The Warriors" sitting at the bar? I did! I did!
Next up is a video featuring actor Nathan Baesel (in character as Leslie Vernon) asking fans to help him raise funds for the prequel/sequel/remake of "Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon" (one of my favorite genre films). If you've failed to see it, definitely check it out. It does a wonderful job at deconstructing slasher films, then uses those same cliches to create a completely satisfying slasher movie climax! Here's hoping this new film comes to pass; check out the video below then CLICK HERE to donate to this worthy cause:
This next video is a fun little parody created by the special effects guru behind the creatures in Norway's awesome mockumentary TROLL HUNTER. This "explains" why one of the creatures in the film has only one arm and it is just so monumentally awesome. Check it out; then get your paws on a copy of TROLL HUNTER and watch it!
Finally, here's something that truly blew my mind tonight. I discovered the first ever teaser trailer for Troma's upcoming TOXIC AVENGER 5: THE TOXIC TWINS. While I was immediately jumping for joy, I was saddened to learn that they haven't even written the damn movie yet. Still, its a nice way to let us fans know that it is eventually going to happen, and... HEY! They used Toxie's original voice from the first movie! COOL!
Hope you enjoyed all of those videos folks. Stay tuned for more posts (and hopefully new reviews and whatnot at the Vault) and... oh wait, I have one more thing to say....
Yikes, I've been blogging like crazy lately... I hope this urge to write constantly continues!
I just got in the door from seeing "Green Lantern," but before I get into that I'll share some cool movie news with ya'll. First up, here is a photo of Hugo Weaving as Captain America's stalwart nemesis, THE RED SKULL:
God he looks freakin' awesome! While I'm still not one-hundred percent sold on the look of Captain America's WWII costume, I have no complaints about the Red Skull.
Next up, here is the all new trailer for Vivid Entertainment's next Super-Hero Porno: SPIDER-MAN - THE XXX PARODY! Apparently Vivid did a HULK porno that got rave reviews, so they decided to continue bastardizing America's mythological heroes by having them bone the comic book gals us nerds always fantasized about.
The list of characters consists of Peter Parker/Spidey, The Kingpin (played by... Peter O'Tool? Hahahahaha!), Electro, Gwen Stacy, Mary Jane Watson, Betty Brant, Black Widow, J. Jonah Jameson, Robbie Robertson, and Flash Thompson. (There's no way Marvel would OK this, so I'm assuming they are utilizing the same law that allows Weird Al to parody the work of other musicians.) And this isn't some project done on the cheap folks... this is a full feature-length film, with hardcore sex and CGI f/x! I'm not kidding; watch the trailer:
Finally, before I head off to bed, let me chat a bit about "Green Lantern" while it is still fresh in my mind. I went into the theater with lowered expectations (thanks to a heads up from Newt from Underbelly) and that helped me to not hate this movie. At best, the "Green Lantern" is a mediocre superhero film that only succeeds in being an entertaining cinematic experience because of its failures. (There are a lot of scenes here that are supposed to be dramatic, but ended up giving the audience a good laugh.)
"This suit is too dull. Let's 'improve' it with a few million dollars worth of CGI!"
Ryan Reynolds stars as Hal Jordan, a cocky fighter-jet pilot who ends up getting a Green Lantern ring from a dying alien named Abin Sur. Hal eventually learns how to access the ring's power, and makes a trip to the planet Oa where the audience is given a bunch of expository information. (If you know absolutely nothing about The Green Lantern, this section of the film will get you up to speed.) He is told of the Lantern Corps origins, and briefly trained in combat by fellow "emerald knights," Kilowog and Sinestro.
After being defeated (i.e. humiliated) by Sinestro (who literally goes all Captain America on Hal at one point), our hero goes back to Earth to mope around until he gets a taste for superheroics and receives some tender advice from his love interest. Finally accepting his role as a Green Lantern, Hal must defend Earth not only from his first major foe, Hector Hammond (the lovechild of Professor X, John Carpenter, and The Elephant Man) but also an evil fear-devouring monstrosity known as Parallax. Will Hal be able to save Earth (and his girl) from the world-devouring Parallax? Will Sinestro foolishly try to utilize the power of the Yellow Ring if Hal fails in his mission? Truthfully, you probably won't really give a damn.
This movie will be a major letdown to the hardcore Green Lantern fans, and just plain "meh" for everyone else. (Except kids; they'll probably love the sh*t out of this movie.) The characters aren't really all that interesting (except for Peter Sarsgaard as Hector Hammond), the whole subplot involving Hal's psychological issues is pretty generic and handled rather clumsily, Blake Lively is cute to look at but doesn't prove to be much more than a damsel in distress, and the effects.... Christ the effects are really a mixed bag.
CAN YOU DIG IT?!
Mere months ago I saw Marvel's "THOR" and was blown away at how well that movie brought Asgard to life. It was done so well, and the film itself managed to find a good balance between spending time on Midgard (Earth) as well as Asgard. "Green Lantern" attempts to do the same, but fails miserably. And Oa, though cool to look at, seems more like something you'd see in a video game cut scene; it fails to pull you in and make you believe that it is a real place. Also, a lot of the CGI in this is laughable; you'd think the effects artists could have done a better job, especially when given some extra time and around nine-million to do some "touch up work" mere weeks before opening day.
Overall, "Green Lantern" is a lousy start for a new superhero franchise because it fails on so many levels. However the final battle between Hal and Parallax (the giant fecal space-octopus) is admittedly cool, and Peter Saarsgard gives a memorably goofy performance as the whiny big-brained Hector Hammond. (Sarsgaard is so over the top at times and results in many of the films unintentionally funny moments.) If you're dead set on seeing "Green Lantern," then I highly suggest you catch a matinee of it. Otherwise, save your money for next month's Summer blockbusters or, better yet, go see "Super 8" instead.
John Carpenter as The Elephant Man in "Green Lantern."
Oh yeah, I almost forgot! There is an extra scene that takes places shortly after the credits begin to roll. For those of you who know the Green Lantern mythos, you won't be surprised at what happens: Sinestro takes possession of the Yellow Lantern ring (that the Guardians stupidly created) and is engulfed by the power of FEAR! So Hal and the rest of the Green Lantern Corps will now have to contest with the "Sinestro Corps" if the sequel gets made... and it most likely will. Here's hoping that Warner Bros. and DC do a better job with the story and effects (and characters) the second time around.
