Blu-Ray Review: Byzantium
Published on November 14th, 2013 in: Blu-Ray, Current Faves, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Feminism, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews |
I think it’s safe to say that Neil Jordan has a fondness for vampires. Byzantium is his second film about them, and although I haven’t seen Interview with the Vampire in a long time, I feel confident in stating that Byzantium, while dealing with similar themes, is superlative in every way.
DVD Review: Blood
Published on November 13th, 2013 in: Current Faves, DVD, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews |
Cop movies are always a difficult thing to pull off. Although there are comedies, action, and sometimes horror cop movies, the most common are cop dramas. To actually pull off a cop drama, a few things are needed in order to keep your audience alert and occupied with what is actually going on.
Blood has these qualities. A cop drama needs not only characters, but good characters. In a short amount of time, we need to establish them and give them history. We need to know that they work well together as well as if they are friends.
DVD Review: Broken
Published on November 13th, 2013 in: Books, Current Faves, DVD, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews |
Broken is an apt title for director Rufus Norris’s feature debut; viewers will be forgiven if they have a hard time choking back sobs by the end. It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Broken‘s superbly arranged 90 minutes evoke a concatenation of emotions. Certainly there is much chest-constricting dread to be found in the film, and many scenes heavy with emotional baggage, but these are often simultaneously buoyed with moments of exquisite gossamer beauty and unbridled humor, reminders that joy can be ephemeral and often intertwined with grief.
DVD Review: Evidence
Published on November 11th, 2013 in: DVD, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Found Footage, Horror, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews |
Sometimes we stumble upon a film we think we are not going to like; maybe that is because of the director, an actor, writer, or even the theme or setting. You might end up loving the film anyway or even consider it a “guilty pleasure”. Recently the film Evidence was released from the director of The Fourth Kind, which I did not really care for, so I wasn’t really expecting to like it, let alone expecting it to keep my attention.
DVD Review: The Colony
Published on November 7th, 2013 in: Current Faves, DVD, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Horror, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews |
Whenever I see a newer flick that has gone DTV with a then or now major star on the cover, I will admit I usually pass. I know that might be wrong but most of those flicks are the same: Big time actor dies within the first five minutes. Done. Rest of the flick blows.
The other day I saw a cover for The Colony and noticed Bill Paxton and Laurence Fishburne on the cover. It looked like a sequel to The Day After Tomorrow. I put it back down and decided to watch something else in my pile. I really couldn’t decide on anything and since I love Paxton and Fishburne, I went against my better judgment and put it in my player.
Book Review: A Christmas Story: Behind The Scenes Of A Holiday Classic
Published on November 6th, 2013 in: Book Reviews, Books, Canadian Content, Current Faves, Holidays, Movies, Reviews, Underground/Cult |
A Christmas Story seems like one of those films that was always part of our cultural heritage. Every Christmas, TBS broadcasts it in a 24-hour loop, phrases like “you’ll shoot your eye out” have entered the lexicon, and tchotchkes like the infamous leg lamp sell in large quantities online. Because of the film’s ubiquity, viewers can take for granted what went into getting it made. Writer Caseen Gaines (with the assistance of Jean Shepherd scholar Eugene P. Bergman and actor Wil Wheaton) lifts the curtain on the making of this beloved feature with the book A Christmas Story: Behind the Scenes of a Holiday Classic.
DVD Review: Scavengers
Published on November 4th, 2013 in: DVD, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews, Science Fiction |
Hmph. Scavengers. Well, there aren’t a whole lot of things I can say for Scavengers. I’m not going to trash this film because that is not what I do. Making an “epic” science fiction film set in space with spaceships fighting and flying through the air on a minimal budget isn’t easy and it is extremely difficult to make it not look like a cartoon. Sadly, Scavengers is one of those films.
The Five Scariest Robots In Movies
Published on October 31st, 2013 in: Halloween, Horror, Listicles, Movies, Science Fiction, Top Five Lists |
Science fiction gets short shrift in the Halloween season, with so many slashers and bashers running about through summer camps and the dreams of teenagers. Truth is, there’s some pretty creepy sci-fi out there. On an existential level, what’s scarier than something pretending to be human? The concept of mechanical creations with feelings, some of them homicidal, is strangely abhorrent. Humans can’t bear the thought of obsolescence. Take a gander at some terrifying robots. How do you say “trick or treat” in binary?
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DVD Review: Double Feature: The Pack & Razorback
Published on October 31st, 2013 in: DVD, DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews, Horror, Movie Reviews, Movies, Reviews |
There are many “animal attack” films but most are really subpar. Either they pick goofy animals for the attacks or the special effects are just awful. Warner Archive, however, has put out two great films that deal with that subject. One is The Pack, and the other is Razorback. I’m reviewing both of them here because I believe they should be watched as a double feature.
Five Amazing Horror Movie Soundtracks That Aren’t The Music From John Carpenter’s Halloween
Published on October 31st, 2013 in: Horror, Listicles, Movies, Music, Soundtracks and Scores, Top Five Lists |
If Halloween has a theme song, it’s probably the familiar interval-switching chromatic scale from the seminal 1978 horror film, Halloween. Even people who haven’t seen the movie recognize that music as soon as they hear it. It ushers in autumn and signals the beginning of Trick-or-Treatery. But the Halloween soundtrack isn’t the only one you can use for your holiday mood setting. Give these other soundtracks a listen! They’ll either warm your cockles or raise your hackles.
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