Highlander Season 4 (1995)

Directors: Various

Writers: Various

Starring: Adrian Paul, Lisa Howard, Stan Kirsch, Jim Byrnes, Philip Akin & Peter Wingfield

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103442/episodes#season-4

 We open up this season with Duncan (Adrian Paul) traveling back to his native Scotland to find out who's been robbing the family graves. We get some more background info on Joe Dawson (Jim Byrnes) in episode two. Learn how he lost his legs and how he became a watcher. Kenny (Myles Ferguson), the 800 year old immortal in the ten year old body, returns to stir up some shit. Duncan experiences a "dark quickening" and becomes evil. Joe gets put on trial by the watchers for letting the immortals know about him and befriending Duncan. This was a great cliffhanger for the next season, on Netflix they give the first episode of Season 5 (One Minute To Midnight) as the last episode for Season 4.

 This seasons guest appearances again weren't that high-profile. A lot of people that made there careers in television. It did however pick up in storyline. There were a few episodes that took the spotlight off of Duncan and onto some of the supporting cast. When you're in the middle of a six-season marathon, that's a good thing.

Verdict: * * * *

- Xtoph

Highlander Season 3 (1994)

Directors: Various

Writers: Various

Starring: Adrian Paul, Lisa Howard, Stan Kirsch, Jim Byrnes & Philip Akin

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103442/episodes#season-3

 The Highlander marathon continues with Season 3. This season Duncan (Adrian Paul) finds a new love interest in Anne Lindsey (Lisa Howard) an ER Doctor. So she's around most of the season. Things start off light with one of Richie's old girlfriends show up claiming he's the father of her baby, and he's dumb enough to fall for it even though immortals can't have children. Also, episodes where Duncan has to babysit newly immortal 18 year olds or comes across an 800 year old in a ten year old body. Things get darker mid-season when Duncan starts having hallucinations and fighting demons that aren't there in "Shadows". By episode 14 we are introduced to Kalas (David Robb), a real bad dude that Duncan has a long-going feud with. Methos (Peter Wingfield), the oldest immortal, also shows up this round. Turns out he's been posing as a watcher. For the season finale, another two-parter, one of the watchers decides to copy all of the watcher files and take them to a news agency to expose all the immortals.

 This season was pretty good, as they all are, no complaints here. Not as many high-profile guest stars. Chandra West from Puppetmaster 3 & 4 was in an episode and so was Brion James form Blade Runner. A lot of good music was featured though. Jim Byrnes who plays Joe Dawson is a blues musician so we got some of his music. His character started a club called "Joe's Place" so more blues was featured in a few episodes.

Verdict: * * * *

- Xtoph

DC Showcase: Superman/Shazam!: The Return of Black Adam (2010)

Director: Joaquim Dos Santos

Writer: [Superman/Shazam!] Michael Jelenic, [The Spectre] Steve Niles, [Green Arrow] Greg Weisman and [Jonah Hex] Joe R. Lansdale

Starring: [Superman/Shazam!] Zach Callison, James Garner and Josh Keaton [The Spectre] Gary Cole, Alyssa Milano and Jeff Bennett [Green Arrow] Neal McDonough, Malcolm McDowell and Steve Blum [Jonah Hex] Thomas Jane, Linda Hamilton and Jason Marsden

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1701223/


 The feature on this is the Superman/Shazam! cartoon with running time under a half hour. Each of the bonus shows are just over ten minutes each. Pretty lame, they need to be given full treatments.

 "The Return of Black Adam" teams up Superman and Captain Marvel against Black Adam. What's cool is Captain Marvel and Black Adam are basically like Superman as far as strength and general powers, except that they are fueled by magic... which happens to be one of Supe's weaknesses just under Kryptonite. This is actually the origin story for Captain Marvel. He's just a ten year old kid who is pure of heart, so the wizard Shazam bestows the power of the Gods upon him. All he has to do is call the wizard's name and a lightning bolt strikes him and turns him into a bad-ass.

 "The Spectre" is definitly the coolest of the bunch. Written by Steve Niles (30 Days of Night) and has a kind of film noir feel to it. A lot darker than the feature. Definitely my pick of the bunch.

 "Green Arrow" was a let-down. The story felt rushed, just jumping right into an adventure. Seemed more of a showcase for his toys than an actual story. The voice actor was a total mismatch for Ollie. Malcolm McDowell was cool for the villain though. Brief appearance by the Black Canary, but still couldn't save this short.

 Finally we have "Jonah Hex". This one is of a darker nature as well. Joe Lansdale happens to be another of my favorite writers. Just a short episode of a Jonah Hex story. He's a lesser known character, but I guess since the live-action movie had just come out they didn't feel the need to go into origins.

 All in all this collection wasn't too shabby. I think another Superman or Captain Marvel short would have been fitting, but I'll probably go out and buy it just for Jonah Hex and The Spectre. Especially since Niles was involved. The direction was great. Animation was definitely top-notch.

Verdict: * * *

- Xtoph

a/k/a Tommy Chong (2006)

Director: Josh Gilbert

Writer: Josh Gilbert

Starring: Tommy Chong, Shelby Chong, Paris Chong, Cheech Marin, Lou Adler & Raven Blast

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0478090/

 As ridiculous as it sounds, back in 2003, Tommy Chong of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong was arrested and sentenced to nine months in federal prison for selling bongs on the internet. This documentary tells the story as well as about Tommy's life. With interviews with Tommy, his family, celebrities, politicians and more as well as news and television clips, clips from his films and his stand-up comedy.

 This is a pretty good little film. Entertaining, hell... when is Tommy Chong not entertaining? It also shows how "half-baked" our government can be. Fan of Tommy or not this is worth checking out.

 Stick around after the credits for a great bit where Cheech and Tommy both talk about the creation of one of their most famous bits, "Dave's Not Here".

Verdict: * * *

- Xtoph

Highlander Season 2 (1993)

Directors: Various

Writers: Various

Starring: Adrian Paul, Alexandra Vandernoot, Stan Kirsch, Jim Byrnes & Philip Akin

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103442/episodes#season-2

 Season 2 brings us another 22 episodes beginning with "The Watchers", where we are introduced to Joe Dawson (Jim Byrnes) the watcher Duncan (Adrian Paul) becomes friends with and is a mainstay in the series. Later in the series Duncan has to take on a mortal serial killer that likes to kill immortals. Tessa (Alexandra Vandersnoot) & Richie (Stan Kirsch) get shot by a mugger. Duncan moves to a dojo after Tessa's death. Richie takes his first head and Duncan gives him the boot without so much as a handshake. Xavier St. Cloud (Roland Gift) returns and really fucks shit up for Duncan while teaming up with the renegade watcher, Horton (Peter Hudson). Towards the end of the season Richie returns to ask Duncan for help because another immortal is killing humans and framing him for the murders. Then for the two part season finale Horton comes back yet again, this time giving a convicted murderer plastic surgery to look like Tessa in his attempt to kill Duncan.

 This was a pretty wicked season. Had a few cool guest stars as well. Geraint Wyn Davies (of Forever Knight), Traci Lords & Sheena Easton all show up early in the season. Dustin Nguyen (of 21 Jump Street) returns playing a completely different character than he did in Season 1. Wtf? Rowdy Roddy Piper kicks some ass in episode 10, but still should have been used a lot more than they did... And Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals) reprises his role as Xavier St. Cloud, one of the greatest villains ever.

Verdict: * * * *

- Xtoph

Highlander Season 1 (1992)

Directors: Various

Writers: Various

Starring: Adrian Paul, Alexandra Vandernoot & Stan Kirsch

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103442/episodes#season-1

 I haven't really been keeping up the reviews as of lat because I've been on a Highlander kick. Just finished season 1 yesterday and didn't plan on talking about it until I realized there are people that have no clue what "Highlander" is. I was talking to one of my friends and she has never even heard of it. Such a disappointment... Anyway, I figured what with prospect of a new movie in talk. Maybe I should go ahead and give a little run-down on it.

 Highlander the series, a spin-off from the feature film franchise, follows the immortal Duncan MacLeod (Adrian Paul) of the Clan MacLeod. (Not to be confused with Conner of the movies, as they say in the show "Same clan, different vintage".

 For those who don't know. The Highlander, in this case Duncan (In the movies Conner, the animated series Quentin and the anime Colin) is a legendary immortal from the Highlands of Scotland. Hence... Highlander. Being a highlander has nothing to do with being immortal. The immortals are a race that no one knows the true origins of. The basics are this: They don't die unless you cut off their heads. They live by the rule "There Can Be Only One". They all fight for the prize. To be the last immortal. When they cut off another's head they gain all of their knowledge and power (the quickening). They won't fight each other on holy ground. That is the basic rundown.

 So the series follows Duncan in modern times (the 90's) and has flashbacks to all kinds of different eras. The other two main characters are his girlfriend Tessa (Alexandra Vandernoot) and a kid he takes in, Richie Ryan (Stan Kirsch). There are all kinds of stuff going on it this series. The opening episode, "The Gathering" features both Duncan and Conner (Christopher Lambert). He takes on people that are not immortals as well... Episode 6 they are held hostage in a courtroom by a convicted killer (Andrew Divoff). Or in episode 8 where a mad scientist (Joe Pantoliano) kidnapping people from the emergency room to experiment on them.

 If you're a music fan like me, some of the guest stars include Joan Jett, Vanity, Roland Gift (Fine Young Cannibals) and Roger Daltry (The Who). Or if your a genre fan people like Andrew Divoff (The Wishmaster) and Marc Singer (Beastmaster). This season we are also introduced for the first time to Amanda (Elizabeth Gracen) who became a mainstay in the series and star of the spin-off Highlander: The Raven, and in the 22nd episode the secret society of watchers. A Great place to leave us hanging for season 2.

 So, obviously I'm a nerd for this series, but I think it stands the test of time. I love re-watching this show. It ran for six seasons, so I'll be dropping off a few more season run-downs. You can watch it on Netflix. I'm sure it's on syndication in televison somewhere as well...

Verdict: * * * *

- Xtoph

Buried (2010)

Director: Rodrigo Cortés

Writer: Chris Sparling

Starring: Ryan Reynolds, José Luis García Pérez and Robert Paterson

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1462758/

 Paul Conroy (Ryan Reynolds) is an American civilian truck driver in Iraq delivering supplies. His convoy gets attacked and he wakes up in a coffin buried alive. This is the premise of the film.

 This movie was pretty amazing. I wanted to see this when it came out, but I have not been able to until now. It never came to the theater in Oklahoma. Say what you want, but I've been a fan of Ryan Reynolds a long time. In spite of Van Wilder, that boy can act. I love the whole idea of this film, the low budget and not having any locations. When I told my buddies about 'Buried', their reply was, "Oh, so it's like 'Phone Booth'". After watching it... no... it's nothing like Phone Booth. 'Buried' is much more claustrophobic and terrifying.

 This film, 90 minutes in length, never leaves this coffin. Paul is trapped with nothing but a cell phone and a lighter. Trying to contact his the U.S. Government, the company he works for, his wife. Anything to help him get out. This film starts off slow but the intensity levels rise to extremes and leave you at the edge of you're seat waiting to find out what's going to happen. This seemed real. Ryan Reynolds portrayed it how I would imagine it if I were in the box.

 The only problems I really have are these: 1. They used Ryan Reynolds. I mean, he's good. Damn good in this film, but it's still a recognizable face, which makes it a little difficult to totally lose myself in the film. 2. The rental DVD has absolutely no features whatsoever. Not even a little 5 minute featurette or a commentary track. Nothing. Pretty fucking lame.

Verdict: * * * *

- Xtoph

Please add "Nightmare Alley" to your Netflix queue

A Re-post from our friends at Nightmare Alley:

We need over 1000 people to add "Nightmare Alley" to their Netflix queue before Netflix will pick up the movie! Please add us, rate the movie so we know how many have added it, and invite your friends! Your help is hugely appreciated!

Even if you own or have seen the movie, please add us to your queue as well! You can remove it once they actually pick up the movie and it would be an enormous help in getting "Nightmare Alley" out... there!
CLICK AND SAVE:
http://www.netflix.com/Movie/Nightmare-Alley/70144844?trkid=226872

Coming Soon - H-P Presents: They Came From The Grave

 Coming soon from Horror-Punks.com: They Came from the Grave Vol.1 Featuring videos and trailers from the members of Horror-Punks.com with videos from: Mongrel-Others-Dragnun-Under a Nightmare-The Murdersquad t.o.-Dead United-Chef Brandon Perry-Spawn Atomic-Dr. Spookenstein-ZOMBIE!-The Spectremen-Ghost of Penely Chase-Werevilsdare-The Cloister Fuck-Fear Incorporated-Christophe-Pussing Eye Productions-Derek Young (Family Property)-The Quintessentials-Creep Creepersin (Creepersin, Creepersin Films)-The Monistats-Nightmare Alley-Six Gun Salvation-Lurking Corpses-Lugosi's Morphine-Batsupsidedown-Von Bones. Background Music "Bride of Frankenrock" by Batsupsidedown

You're Gonna Miss Me (2005) DVD

Director: Keven McAlester

Starring: Byron Coley, 13th Floor Elevators and Evelyn Erickson

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0791268/

 You're Gonna Miss Me is about one of the unsung heroes of Rock'n'Roll, Roky Erickson. The most amazing voice of our time. This man was a founding member of the first psychedelic rock band, The 13th Floor Elevators, and did a lot of early punk and horror-rock influencing... everyone. This film is about him and his struggles. Drug abuse, schizophrenia and poor health. It shows how he has risen above all this to keep bringing us this amazing music to this day.

 This is on the Netflix "Watch Instantly", but I suggest buying or renting the DVD so you can check out all of the awesome bonus features. There is a ton of live footage there too!

Verdict: * * * * *

- Xtoph

Wicked Little Things (2006) DVD

Director: J.S. Cardone

Starring: Lori Heuring, Scout Taylor-Compton and Chloe Moretz

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470000/

 Wicked Little Things is about a recently widowed woman and her two daughters. She was left kind of broke with only an old home inherited from her husbands family. The home is on land next to an old mine where a bunch of children died. Needless to say the ghosts of the dead children are not happy with the hand they've been delt. Not the most original of the bunch, but still well written and filmed. I enjoyed this one.

 This was originally in the After Dark line... One of the cool things about it is that it gives us an early look at two awesome talents in the genre Scout Taylor-Compton (Rob Zombie's Halloweens) and Chloe Moretz (Let Me In & Kick-Ass). Currently it's in the Netflix "Watch Instantly" so stop by and check it out!

Verdict: * * *

- Xtoph

White Lightning - DVD - Angled Doors Review

 Any movie with Burt Reynolds running booze is good. This one caught me off guard. This is real, not no comedy. Starts off with Burt in prison. His brother gets murdered by some small town sheriff (Ned Beatty). He decides he needs to get revenge. He cuts a deal with the state to bring in moonshiners so he can get out early. This has all the fast cars and fast women you'd expect, but this one's got a darker tone. This is a must have film in my collection.

- Xtoph

Unrest - DVD - Angled Doors Reviews

 One of After Dark Horror Fest's 8 films to die for, Unrest, is a pretty suspenseful little horror/thriller. Very well written and directed it follows a young med student as she starts her gross anatomy class. She gets some weird vibes from her cadaver and wants to know more about her... then people that have come in contact with the cadaver start dropping off. Pretty cool movie and not what you've come to expect from most horror films. Worth checking out.

- Xtoph

Transylvania Twist - DVD - Angled Doors Reviews

 An 80's classic. If you liked films like Transylvania 6-500 or My Best Friend Is A Vampire then you'll dig this movie. Tongue in cheek from the start with lots of nods to classic horror and pop culture in general. Horror fanatics will enjoy Angus Scrimm's small role. Plus this dvd has scenes that were cut from the original video release.

- Xtoph

Semi-Pro: Unrated - DVD - Angled Doors Review

 Another Will Ferrell vehicle. Wasn't the best, but like any Will Ferrell movie it's still a lot of fun. In this one he is some disco one hit wonder that bought a basketball team with his royalties. He's the teams owner/coach/team-member. The team is making no money at all, they are fixing to have to shut down. The NBA is going to pick up a couple of the minor league teams, but Jackie (Will Ferrell) has to get people into the stadium and prove his team is worth picking up. So he does a bunch of silly antics to pull in a crowd. That pretty much sums up the movie. Doesn't sound worth watching, but Will Ferrell always makes movies like that. Remember Elf? Freaking hilarious. So yeah. Worth getting.

- Xtoph

Scene It? - X-Box 360 Game - Angled Doors Review

 Our family was always a fan of the board game scene it. We are movie addicts. I picked up Scene it for the X-box 360 to give it a try. Hit it off even more than the board game. It's great. It comes with 4 big button controllers that are laid out so easy that even my mother can play with us. Plus, I can play single player when no one else is around. One of the great things is if you have a gamer profile set up on your X-box for everyone. Nobody will get the same question twice... even when they pick up to play a few weeks later. The X-box will remember what all questions everyone has received.  This game is a hit!

- Xtoph

The Sasquatch Gang - DVD - Angled Doors Review

 Also known as The Sasquatch Dumpling Gang. This flick was made by the same people that made Napoleon Dynamite. You can tell... all the characters act just like the people in Napoleon. It's nuts. The guy from Jeepers Creepers is gonna lose his car, so he fakes Bigfoot footprints... and a Bigfoot turd, so he can sell things on the net to make some money. That's the basic plot, but not really at all what this movie is about. If you liked Napoleon you'll dig this one too. Josh Heder has a cameo too.

- Xtoph

Penny Dreadful - DVD - Angled Doors Review

 One of After Dark Horror Fest's 8 films to die for. Penny Dreadful is about a girl who survived a bad car wreck. It leaves her real jacked up and she won't even get in a car, let alone drive. Her doctor (Mimi Rogers) decides to take her on a road trip to overcome her fears. Big mistake. Shit gets all fucked up. She's trapped inside this car and... well... just watch the movie. Along the way we also get to see small roles by Mickey Jones (A biker in 100 movies and member of The First Edition) and Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes).

- Xtoph

P2 - DVD - Angled Doors Review

 This chick is working late on Christmas Eve. She gets locked in the parking garage by the creepy bag guy from American Beauty. He's been obsessing for her for a long time and instead of asking her for a date decides to kidnap and terrorize her. It's not really for the horror fanatic, but for the average movie goer it's a good thriller. A couple good shots in it though. My mom watched this one based on my review and called me up and said "Never Again!!! It was so gory!!! I don't know how I made it to the end!". But, it's not really that gory at all. Just one scene. one.

- Xtoph

Osaka Popstar And The American Legends Of Punk - CD - Angled Doors Review

 Osaka Popstar & The American Legends of Punk are kinds of a pop-punk supergroup. This band sounds nothing like any of their original bands, but is comprised of Punk Legends. Fronted by John Cafiero (Vox on Misfits "NY Ranger" and "Project 1950". Director of Insane Clown Posse's Big Money Hustlas) with Dez Cadena (Black Flag), Ivan Julian (Richard Hell & The Voidoids), Marky Ramone (The Ramones) & Jerry Only (The Misfits). This project is a lot poppier than any of their previous bands, but its still really good. There are a lot of covers on this album, but they are really fun. If your an anime fan you'll love the covers of the theme songs for "Astro Boy" and my favorite off the album "Sailor Moon". They throw in a couple Voidoid songs and also a punked up cover of "Man of Constant Sorrow", an early American folk standard dating back to 1913, but most recently known for the bluegrass version from the film "Oh Brother, Where Art Though?". This album ain't deep, but it is a lot of fun and you'll find it in your player a lot more than you'd expect.

 - Xtoph