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

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

The Dungeonmaster (1984)

a.k.a. Ragewar

Directed by: Dave Allen, Charles Band, John Carl Buechler, Steven Ford, Peter Manoogian, Ted Nicolaou and Roasemarie Turko

Written by: Charles Band, Allen Actor, Rosemarie Turko, John Carl Buechler, Dave Allen, Jeffrey Byron, Peter Manoogian and Ted Nicolaou

Starring: Jeffrey Byron, Richard Moll and Leslie Wing

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0089060/


 Paul Bradford (Jeffrey Byron) is your every day run-of-the-mill computer nerd with a super computer that speaks to him. (Only in the 80's, right?) He's in love with his girlfriend (Leslie Wing) and wants to get married. Mestema (Richard Moll) is a very bored centuries old wizard looking for a good fight. He kidnaps Paul's girlfriend and challenges him to a battle of magic. Paul must complete 7 tasks to win back his woman.

 You gotta love the low-budget 80's flicks. Seven battles, means seven writers and directors each doing their own part to the anthology. What we have is something reminiscent of Sinbad's seventh voyage and Beastmaster in the modern world, pitting science vs. the occult. Only, Paul's just not as bad-ass as Sinbad or as likable as Dar. The directing ain't that great, and you can tell it's been pieced together. What I do love is Richard Moll. He is always the perfect cartoon villain. When I was a kid I couldn't look at him and not see Bull from Night Court, but he really pulls these roles off well. If you go in not expecting much but wanting to have a good time and a laugh then check this out. And if everything I mentioned wasn't enough...  Charles Band's segment "Heavy Metal" puts Paul up against none other than Blackie Lawless and W.A.S.P.!!!

Verdict: * * *

- Xtoph

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

Hated: G.G. Allin And The Murder Junkies ( 1994 ) Netflix Review

Starring:  G.G. Allin, Merle Allin, Dee Dee Ramone, & Geraldo Rivera

Directed By Todd Phillips

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107086/


     With almost no other way to describe G.G. Allin, let me put it into two words, Disturbingly Poetic.  I'm not saying that G.G. offended me or anybody else I know, as a matter of fact, I really became a fan when I saw some underground VHS tapes of his last performances.  I still remember the first time I saw him Light a Sub Pop t-shirt on fire, piss on it, then finally shit on it.  That was  before one song had even been played.  As the show went on so did G.G.'s antics.  Self mutilation, shoving a microphone up his ass, throwing feces like a mad ape at the zoo, and attacking crowd members physically at will.  These were all staples at a Murder Junkies show, that is until the cops came to shut the whole show down.

     Todd Phillips ( The Hangover, Old School ) directed this 1994 documentary with an unflinching eye for the true Murder Junkies experience.  By the time the film was completed G.G. had already died of an accidental heroin overdose.  What was caught on film was nothing short of cinematic gold.  G.G.'s infamous house clearing at a NY small college, stints in the hospital, getting arrested for abuse and lewd conduct, and finally the imprisonment of G.G. for rape and torture of a woman.  As soon as he was paroled, G.G. skipped out on a meeting to go on another tour.

     Other Murder Junkies were interviewed to give their insight on such a legend.  Merle (G.G.'s brother ) often makes comments with almost no worry in his voice about his brothers beliefs and what makes him tick.  Even Dino the naked drummer makes quite a little scene himself by playing naked on his drum kit, and is none too shy about showing off "the goods".  The biggest impact on this disc was G.G. being himself.  At one point during the movie, G.G. is doing a spoken word, and begins to cut his body, and bang his head.  When the discussion of suicide on Halloween, live in front of an audience is brought up, almost everybody interviewed seemed to blow it off.  Now, when the same thing is said to G.G. at the spoken word event, he invites a female crowd member up to say it to his face.  When she does, G.G. begins assaulting her, until some fellow crowd members come to her safety.

     The biggest impact on me was when Geraldo interviewed G.G.  When asked typical dumb Geraldo'ish questions, Allin fired back exactly what was on his mind without flinching.  Maybe being named Jesus Christ Allin when he was born didn't help ( which was changed by his mother after the divorce to Kevin Michael Allin ).  Or maybe that growing up in a log cabin and getting lyme disease at an early age might have helped form the man that became G.G. Allin, Possibly it could've been the abuse suffered at the hands of a religiously fanatical father.  Who really knows other than the man himself?

     The film really focuses on the later part of G.G.'s life.  You get a sense that this whole movement would have been an epic thing to behold if you were able to see it. 

-Mr. What?- ( * * * * )

Eating Raoul ( 1982 ) Netflix Review

Starring:  Paul Bartel, Mary Woronov, Robert Beltran, & Susan Saiger

Directed By Paul Bartel

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083869/


     Lately I have found myself watching older movies.  Maybe it's because everything nowadays seems too contrived, or has already been done.  Being a reviewer for only 2 years has taught me a lot.  One thing in particular, is the ability to give almost ANY movie a chance.  I personally feel that unless you give something a chance, then who the fuck are you to bag on it?  Twilight, The Social Network, and other countless movies today have really left me no choice but to retreat into some older, lesser known movies, and this very movie is a prime example of a good find.

     I was totally shocked that eating Raoul hasn't been talked about more than it is.  Just by reading the Netflix description got me interested.  I also noticed that it didn't get a lot of stars or thumbs up, but something about the title and brief description tugged at attention.  I was disappointed.  Watching Eating Raoul made me laugh, and shake my head at the rating all at the same time.  I understand now that even as early as 82, almost ANYTHING sexual would get you and R rating, and Eating Raoul is another example of a bad rating for a good film.

     As if if living in Hollywood wasn't enough, imagine trying to save money to live out your dreams, while a swarm of Swingers try to constantly seduce you and your loved one.  Paul Bartel wrote/directed/starred in this little indie classic.  Paul and Mary bland dream of the day when they can own/run a restaurant far away from the scum of Hollywood.  Paul can't seem to keep a job, but has an impressive collection of rare wines to keep him happy, and his loving wife Mary is a nutritionist at a local hospital.

     Finally, the day comes when an Realtor has such a place for the Blands to acquire, but it doesn't come cheap.  $20,000 will get it for them.  Paul and Mary then try almost every idea imaginable, and often met with scumbags who want sex for favors.  As if this wasn't enough stress, their apartment complex seems to be over run with sex crazed swingers who seem to just walk into the Blands home whenever.  After one such swinger dies, the two take his money, then dispose of the body.  Getting an Idea, the Blands decide to run an ad in the local underground rag advertising whatever sexual fantasy you can think of.  Once the clients show up, Mary seduces them until Paul can hit them over the head, killing them, and then take the cash.

     All goes good until the Blands decide to take advantage of a locksmith named Raoul and his locks.  Unbeknownst to the Blands is the truth about Raoul.  He's a semi-professional thief.  One night after the Blands take down a few clients, Raoul breaks in, gets caught, and the 3 decide to work out a deal that will ultimately leave everybody with A LOT of money.  As is with everything, snags to come up and that's only the beginning.  From that point on it's a constant whirl of sexual perverts getting offed for cash at a rapid rate.

     I really liked this movie for a number of reasons.  Really funny, and easy to watch with almost anybody.  I especially thought it was funny that whenever somebody died there was absolutely no blood anywhere.  Not on the frying pan, knife, or anything else the couple and Raoul seemed to use.  The only reason this movie got an R rating was because of the sexuality, but even that didn't warrant the rating it got.  The second thing I really enjoyed was the pace of the film.  At times it kind drawn on especially when Raoul was trying to seduce Mary, but it quickly bounced back.

     For all of the eye rolling moments and laughs, Eating Raoul was a very pleasant movie to watch and should be viewed.

-Mr. What?- ( * * * )

Day Of The Dead (2008)

Director: Steve Miner

Starring: Mena Suvari, Nick Cannon and Michael Welch

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0489018/


Another re-make of a Romero film. This one takes on the "Bunker" film. This is a stand-alone film, un-related to other re-makes like 'Dawn Of The Dead' (2004). This keeps a lot of character names and similarities to its 1985 counterpart, but gives it the cheesy fast moving zombies that have become so popular as of late. Long time horror director Steve Miner takes the helm, but doesn't really bring anything special to it. I'd say the best part about it is Pfc. Bud Crain (Stark Sands), he pulls off a thinking zombie pretty damn well. Still not as likable as the original "Bub" though.

This film takes place in a small Colorado town, everyone's getting sick and the military seals off the town. Cpl. Sarah Cross (Mena Suvari) goes to find her family and take her Mom to the hospital. Well, about that time all the sick start dropping off and coming back as the blood-thirsty flesh-eating undead. They make their way through town and come across an old military bunker (in the last 20 minutes of the film) and fight off the horde of zombies from there.

Not really the best film, but a good "friday night" type flick. It's got action and a small touch of gore, (More zombies looking like lepers than guts spilling across the screen) but it did keep me entertained for an hour and a half.

Verdict: * * 1/2

- Xtoph

Survival Of The Dead (2009)

Director: George A. Romero

Starring: Alan Van Sprang, Kenneth Welsh and Kathleen Munroe

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1134854/


The latest in Romero's zombie franchise. This one has a direct link to 'Diary of the Dead'. One of the main characters is the asshole military guy from 'Diary'. Basically it's him and his crew trying to survive. They make their way to an island that has a couple families at war. The Muldoon's and the O'Flynn's. Seem's the Muldoon's don't believe in killing their dead. They come from the old school and want to let the dead roam, while hoping to find a cure or a way to teach them not to eat humans. The O'Flynn's however are popping of the Muldoon's dead relatives left and right.

I was a little apprehensive about seeing this one. George has been making a lot of zombie flicks lately and I hate to see one of my heroes let me down. When I first popped it in I was more than disappointed... it started off with too much obvious cgi. I went ahead and stuck it out because it was Romero and it did get better. As always his script and characters pull you in. Although it's not his strongest venture, it's still better than anything at the local cinema.

Verdict: * * * 1/2

- Xtoph

The Legend Of 1900 (1998) Netflix Review

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore

Starring: Tim Roth, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Bill Nunn

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120731/

The film opens up with a disheveled Max (Pruitt Taylor Vince) in a pawn shop hocking his old trumpet. He tells the pawn-keeper his story, actually the story of 1900 (Tim Roth) and amazing pianist he worked with on an old ship that brought travelers to America, The Virginian. 1900 was born and abandoned on the Virginian. Apparently his parents were immigrants and dumped him there. He was raised by some of the crew and never left the ship. Turns out he was a prodigy on the piano, could play like no one else. Spent his life there never once stepping off onto dry land.

The acting and direction could be a little hokey at times, going for that main-stream appeal (Think Titanic, but not as moving). Still it's an awesome story and worth checking out. There is a dueling pianos scene that makes it worth sitting through any of the crap parts. I really dug this.

Verdict: * * *

- Xtoph

Body Melt ( 1993 ) Netflix Review

Starring: Gerard Kennedy, Andrew Daddo, Ian Smith, Regina Gaigalas, & Vincent Gil

Directed By Philip Brophy

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106450/


     Man, you gotta hand it to the Aussies.  they know how to make a good cheap ass gore film.  I clicked on this movie expecting the absolute worse, but was left with a taste in my mouth for more.  Dead Alive & Bad Taste often get mistaked by idiots as Aussie films.  Not true.  Considering that Peter Jackson did both and is from New Zealand, that would make them official Kiwi films.  Oh but don't get too down, Australia has given us yanks some fine cinema.  Turkey Shoot, Mad Max, & Patrick are just a few to name, and even in it's B movie glory, Body Melt Deserves a nod.

     Body Melt is the story of a little town called Pebbles Court, Homesville.  Not a bad little town with the usual fare that comes with small towns.  Unbeknownst to the townsfolk, they are being subjected to an experimental drug that is supposed to help you lose weight, but as we all know from past movies the initial use for a drug seems to have some nasty side effects.  The side effect in Body Melt is a nasty case of skin melting.  Think of the bums in Street Trash, who drank the Tenafly Viper and basically turned into paint.  The same effect is here, but a little more graphic.

      The poison comes in the form of a diet pill called Vimuville.  I really thought that was the seller to me.  I loved the way Street Trash focused on Homeless people and their alcoholism, and how the thing they lived for took them down so very hard.  same thing can be said about Vimuville.  You take it and some time later you see the throatscope image of the stuff coming back up.  That was pretty decent work there too.  Anytime you hear horror music and see something come up from the stomach, and go up the throat, you know it's gonna get nasty.

      I would give this movie a warning though.  The film stock itself seems cheap and grainy, but it's worth the sit down time if you can get past it.  I would also recommend this film for anybody who wants something different than the current horror movie trends.  It had me laughing and shaking my head throughout.

-Mr. What? ( * * * )

Zombiethon ( 1986 ) Netflix Review

Zombiethon [VHS]

Starring:  Karrene Janyl Caudle, Tracy Burton, Paula Singleton, Janelle Lewis, & Janessa Lester

Directed By Ken Dixon

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246345/


     Ugh.  I will keep this one simple and short.  Unless you are entirely too bored ( like me ) then watch this with caution.  This is nothing more than a clip compilation.  Stringing together 1 decent zombie film ( Zombie ) with others that were at best a D rating.  What happens is this...  Some woman gets chased by a zombie into a theater and then you get to see about 20 minutes of clips from a zombie move.  Then repeat the action and then cue up another zombie movie with 20 minutes of clips from that.  Every now and then, we get brought back to the theater with the zombie crowd growing restless at the projectionist's constant screw ups.

     The movies that are featured here are anything but decent.  The acting and FX are bad in most, but the lone one here was the film Zombie.  After that, everything else was nothing more than an exploitation film with zombies.  Boobs, Bush, and Undead people are the center of this semi bore fest.  Maybe if the heads would've gotten permission to post more clips, then maybe this would've been more tolerable.  The films they decided to use were, like I said D grade at best.  Zombie Lake, Oasis of the Zombies, A Virgin Among the Living Dead and The Astro-Zombies were the other ones featured.

     As I said before, if you are really bored and want to see some Italian bush underwater fighting a zombie, then I would suggest you check it out.

-Mr. What? ( *)

Darkon ( 2006 ) Netflix Review

Starring:  Skip Lipman, Kenyon Wells, Daniel McArthur, Rebecca Thurmond,

Directed By Luke Meyer & Andrew Neel

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0462246/


     When the 2008 Role Models came out, the world was introduced to LARP at a more mainstream scale.  what is L.A.R.P. you ask?  Live Action Role Playing.  The entire "L.A.I.R." battles that Danny attended for his "Little" Augie, were exactly what you would see at a LARP event.  The whole LARP deal isn't something new at all.  The first LARP events began back in the 1970's.  Inspired from Genre fiction and table top role playing games, LARP soon took off and spread internationally by the early 80's.  Combining fantasy stories/realms and dressing the part, LARP events offered something different from the everyday grind of reality.

     I can remember some of my neighbors participating in a LARP community.  I tagged along one weekend and was amazed at what I saw.  People dressing all medieval with clans and tribes speaking as if they were straight out of those times.  It reminded me of a HUGE community theater putting on a more violent play than normal.  Everybody dressed for the part and would give you a TON of grief if you tried to brake character or used ANYTHING modern.  Some people scoffed at these functions and called them nothing more than live action DND.  I personally found tho whole scene interesting and supported their functions.

     The Documentary Darkon follows one such outfit in Baltimore.  The story revolves around 4 central people and their characters in Darkon.  Throughout the film we see a separation from two clans.  One fronted by the more level headed Bannor ( Lipman ) and the other more aggressive head Keldar ( Wells ).  Keldar's clan is all about dividing and destroying all, with a jaded sense of diplomacy.  Tired of Keldar's clan and their bully tactics, Bannor decides to split and gather more like minded clans in overthrowing Keldars strangle hold on the world of Darkon.

     The other side of this Documentary is the human side, which at times seemed to drag on.  Yes, we all know what a drag reality is and how fun it is to dress up and play pretend, but the story was about a LARP group and not about the struggles of living with mom in her basement with a child, like one of the characters did, but at the same time I want to see more of Darkon.  I also understand that building the armor and outfits are taken very seriously and rightfully should be, but like I said at times they seemed to focus on more of the reality side than the actual game.

     For what its worth though, Darkon delivered a solid watching experience.  I was amazed at how these battles went down, and how an average soccer field can be turned into an all out attack.  Watching Lipman shed off his character and play dad was very commendable, especially when after 1 defeat by the hands of Keldar's clan only seemed to light a fire under Lipman and make him literally bring his character into the real world with battle practice and turning a kitchen table into a Warhammer/Napoleon type of map.

     If happen to have a RPG gammer friend, or you happen to be one yourself, then check out this fun little romp into the world of Darkon.

-Mr. What?- ( * * * )

Feed ( 2005 ) Netflix Review

Starring:  Alex O'Loughlin, Patrick Thompson, Gabby Millgate, Jack Thompson, Rose Ashton, Matthew Le Nevez, & Sherly Sulaiman

Directed By Brett Leonard

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0445965/


     A very strong stomach and a twisted sense of justice is needed to view this one.  I recently read a fellow reviewer's claim that Feed was nothing meant for the masses, but rather a limited target audience.  Sorry folks, but I have to call bullshit on that statement.  Yes, your typical Avatar crowd would probably turn this movie off in favor of some more typical Hollywood saccharin filled garbage, but A LOT of people would probably give Feed a chance based on the story alone.  Well, at least it would seem that way.  You never really know until you try it, right?

     Feed is the story of a Cybercrime investigator from Sydney, who happens to come upon some of the more nastier cases out there.  After a run in with some German cannibals Investigator Michael Carter almost loses it.  But after some fun filled hate sex with his off and on Prostitute girlfriend, Carter heads back to work in search of his next potential case.  What he comes across can only be described as disturbing.  A site that features women being overfed to the point of death, while everybody signed on either bets when the woman will pass away, or how big they will get before death.

      Against orders, Carter goes to America in search of the site and the person(s) involved in the possible deaths of the women involved.  What carter discovers however, is that the person behind the site is probably the last one he would suspect in such a crime.  Actually, there really wasn't any sort of crime.  Carter finds out that the women are totally consensual to what they believe is some from of love.  But as Carter soon discovers, there is MUCH more involved than love, and the substance that they are being fed is anything but ground up cheeseburgers and fries.

     I will warn you that Feed can a bit of a disturbing film.  Not like Hostel or Nekromantik kind of disturbing, but more of a nauseated feeling.  Watching women being fed  to the point of almost 700 lbs is both disturbing and very disgusting.  Especially when there is some sort of sexual feeling from it.  I often caught myself backing up the film to make sure I was seeing this correct and not imagining it.  I also expected to see some cheap ass B movie with sub par acting and terrible editing.  Not the case.  Brett Leonard should be complimented on this piece of disturbing work.

-Mr. What?- ( * * * )

Control ( 2007 ) Netflix Review

Starring:  Sam Riley, Samantha Morton, Alexandra Maria Lara, Joe Anderson, James Anthony Pearson, Craig Parkinson, Toby Kebbell, & Harry Treadaway

Directed By Anton Corbijn

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0421082/


     Early on in my life, I was exposed to the wondrous sounds of New Order.  The sound of the band left me feeling somewhat depressed, but at the same time enlightened.  It was only after my sister pointed out that New Order was the product of a tragically short lived  band Joy Division, that I had to find out more.  Not wanting to feel like an idiot, I set out to hear and see anything I could with Joy Division in it.  I soon discovered that Joy Division had that early New Order Sound, but the moment I heard Ian Curtis sing, I was completely floored.  It was as if Bowie and Iggy had a massive soul merge and added a touch of depression into the mix.  That was what I had envisioned when I saw Joy Division live on some VHS tape.

     After viewing some live performances, and watching interviews, I soon discovered that there was much more to Joy Division than I had originally thought.  Here was a band from Greater Manchester who all but pioneered the Post Punk movement of the late 70's and after being known as Warsaw changed the name to Joy Division.  Their 1978 debut  EP An Ideal for Living caught the attention of Manchester TV personality Tony Wison, who signed a contract in his own blood to get the band to sign to his label Factory Records.

     Upon signing to Factory records, Joy Division released their full length debut album Unknown Pleasures, which drew critical acclaim from the British Press.  Despite the bands fast growing success, everything wasn't so great for Curtis.  Being beset with personal difficulties, including a dissolving marriage and his diagnosis with epilepsy.  Curtis found it increasingly difficult to perform at live concerts, and often had seizures during performances, which lead him feeling embarrassed and even more depressed. 

     On the eve of the band's first American tour in May of 1980, Curtis overwhelmed with depression, committed suicide.  Joy Division posthumously released their second  album Closer, which contained the single "Love Will Tear Us Apart" becoming the highest charted single for the band.  After the death of Ian Curtis, the band went on and formed New Order, achieving critical and commercial success.

     All of the above mentioned content was almost on full display with the film Control.  Instead of making a run of the mill film about the rise and fall of the band, Anton Corbijn gave us the viewers, an absolutely beautiful piece of work.  Shot in Black and White, you almost feel as if you're with the guys when they attend a concert by fellow brits, The Sex Pistols.  Nothing was sparred at the expense of The Tragedy that was Joy Division.  Ian's seizures and the emotional aftermath, The spastic dancing, deep vocals, and pleading looks of depression were executed perfectly by Sam Riley.

      If you were ever a fan of Joy Division, or want to see an almost spot on film depicting what could've been an amazing force of music, then I would highly suggest Control to you.


-Mr. What?-  ( * * * * )