Solomon Kane 2009
Published July 30, 2012 | 
SOLOMON KANE: DARK, GRITTY AND BRUTAL… DON’T BRING THE KIDS
In 1982 Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian was brought to the screen by writer director John Milius. What we were given was a violent epic adventure worthy of the source material. I had known Conan only through comic books at the time so Imagine my glee seeing Conan realized on film for the first time. It was amazing to say the least. What John Milius achieved with his script and film is a testosterone filled adventure that is amazing considering the film was made in the early… Continue reading
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[REC] 3: Genesis 2012
Published July 27, 2012 | [REC] 3 GENESIS: ZOMBIES, CHAINSAWS & A BRIDE’S BIG DAY
In 1999 The Blair Witch Project solidified the the Found Footage format as a bona fide mainstream money making format. This unleashed a flurry of films that delivered great Horror experiences that although familiar felt fresh because of the Found Footage format. In 2007 Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza, two filmmakers from Spain, gave us the amazing [REC]. [REC] gave the over saturated zombie film genre a jolt in the arm that it sorely needed. Jaume Balaguero and Paco Plaza followed up [REC] with [REC] 2 that… Continue reading
The Dark Knight Rises 2012
Published July 25, 2012 | THE DARK KNIGHT RISES: PHENOMENAL ENDING TO THE NOLAN BATMAN TRILOGY
Before 2005 and the release of Christoper Nolan’s Batman Begins, the film adaptations of DC Comics Batman were to put it simply goofy campy affairs. New millennial superhero films have risen the bar quite high since Sam Raimi’s 2002 Spiderman. Go back and watch Tim Burton’s Batman or any of the Joel Schumacher Batman films. They are not good… garbage even. These filmmakers and their films approach making a comic book film adaptation as something that must be dumbed down. What I mean is that… Continue reading
The Unnamable 1988
Published July 23, 2012 | THE UNNAMABLE: I LOVES ME SOME LOVECRAFT
My first exposure to H. P. Lovecraft came from a viewing of Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator (1985). I saw the film with a bunch of friends from the back of a pick up truck at a local Drive-In theater with a six pack of beer. It was fall at the time so it was cold… very cold. Even under these extreme conditions I was mesmerized. I knew even then, not knowing a thing about H. P. Lovecraft, that I was watching something special. I knew that I was watching something that would affect… Continue reading
The Punisher 2004
Published July 20, 2012 | THE PUNISHER: PUNISHED BY THE STINK OF TRAVOLTA
It took a lot of work and a lot of time for comic book characters to make the transition from news print paper to the silver screen and to do so successfully. IMO the tipping point was the success of The Matrix (1999). Although The Matrix was not a comic book to film project, it felt like one and I would bet my left nut that without comic books that film would not have come to be. Next came The X-men (2000) that was not that great but the… Continue reading
Punisher: Dirty Laundry
Published July 19, 2012 | PUNISHER DIRTY LAUNDRY: A TRAILER, A SHORT… I DON’T KNOW BUT IT KICKS ASS!
It may be that Thomas Jane knows his 2004 The Punisher film was weak. Ray Stevenson’s Punisher: War Zone was violent and punishing as it should have been but still not a big money maker. I enjoyed War Zone much more than the 2004 Punisher but I concede that War Zone had its issues but I appreciated the extra attention to the violence.
Now Thomas Jane and some friends, Ron Perlman, have put out a fan made film that runs a bit over 10… Continue reading
Rites of Spring 2012
Published July 18, 2012 | RITES OF SPRING: DOUBLE WHAMMY TERROR… LOVE IT!
Rites of Spring is a new film written and directed by Padraig Reynolds. Who is Padraig Reynolds? After watching the movie, I asked the same question. When a filmmaker delivers something interesting, I immediately want to a bit more information. Maybe there is something else on offer. Padraig Reynolds has a couple of short films under his belt, Green Arrow Fan Film (2004) and The Election (2007). Reynolds has also written a television mini-series Buried Alive (2007). I focus a bit on Mr. Reynolds because having watched Rites of Spring I… Continue reading
Dredd 2012 Trailer
Published July 17, 2012 | DREDD: MORE BULLETS, LESS ROB SCHNEIDER
In 1995 Judge Dredd, starring Sylvester Stallone Armand Assante and Rob Schneider, was released. The film was and is panned by many. I totally understand why. Stallone approaches the role in a very over the top way. No subtlety. Armand Assante seems to follow Stallone’s lead. Rob Schneider just does what Rob Schneider does. He is there for comic relief. What all of this produces is campy futuristic tale. Again, I get why people put this film down and to a certain extent I agree. The problem I have with people who… Continue reading
Chernobyl Diaries 2012
Published July 16, 2012 | CHERNOBYL DIARIES: ALL FLUFF, NO SCARES… EMPTY CALORIES
Oren Peli and his Paranormal Activity came onto the seen in 2009. Why he gets to be the darling of the Found Footage format I don’t know. The Blair Witch Project (1999) made the term Found Footage common place. Even before the TBWP we had the cult classic Cannibal Holocaust (1980), Alien Abduction: Incident in Lake County (1998), and The Last Broadcast (1998), The Last Horror Movie (2005), The Zombie Diaries (2006), The Poughkeepsie Tapes (2007), the amazing [REC] (2007), Cloverfield (2008), Romero’s Diary of the Dead (2008) and [REC]… Continue reading
The Resurrected 1992
Published July 13, 2012 | THE RESURRECTED: DAN O’BANNON DOES LOVECRAFT
Peanut butter and chocolate are not the only things that go great together. Sometimes the great stories of a great story teller like H. P. Lovecraft and the film making and writing skills of a man like Dan O’Bannon (Alien (1979), Dead and Buried (1981), The Return of the Living Dead (1985), Lifeforce (1985), Total Recall (1990), Screamers (1995) and more) can also come together to produce something good. Such is the case with 1992′s The Resurrected which is based on the short story by H. P. Lovecraft called “The Case of… Continue reading
V/H/S 2012 Trailer
Published July 12, 2012 | V/H/S: LOST FOOTAGE ANTHOLOGY GOODNESS
One look at the trailer for V/H/S and you know this is a must see film. Just the premise alone gets the interest of people when I describe it to them. The film is a Lost Footage film so those that don’t like don’t watch but for the rest of us… Yay! One problem that Lost Footage format films have is that you have to stretch a limited idea, because of the format, into a 90 minute film. Consequently, Found Footage films require some patience as the films plod along saving the… Continue reading
The Amazing Spider-Man 2012
Published July 11, 2012 | THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN: BEEN THERE, DONE THAT… STILL GOOD
In 2002 Sam Raimi, the creator of The Evil Dead (1981), delivered unto the world Spiderman. In 2000 Bryan Singer gave us X-men, the first new millennial super-hero film. Whether Singer’s X-men was a success among fans was debatable but with Raimi’s Spiderman there was no debate. Raimi delivered a true superhero film that changed everything. Raimi’s Spiderman felt true to the comic books. It did not feel comic book-like, it just felt true to the comic book story lines. There is a difference. As… Continue reading
