With Halloween going on, scary movies are all over the place. I should put scary in quotes, because, many horror films are violent or eerie but they’re not exactly “scary”. They’re too safe. Real scary, is the stuff that’s too disturbing to be explained away. Like that Ariel Castro asshole. He was scary because he was so far out there, it was impossible to make sense of. Well, if they ever made a biopic of that piece of filth, it might look a little like “Hidden in the Woods”, available now from Artsploitation Films. This Chilean film is supposedly based on a true story and it’s so messed up, there’s no doubt in my mind that it is. Want something terrifying for the 31st? Leave Freddy in slumberland and experience the kind of evil that can only be found in a real life psychopath. Read more
Archive for October 2013
WHITE HOUSE DOWN (Blu-Ray Review)
Ever since its release in 1988, “Die Hard” has been the action movie that spawned a million imitators. It’s almost become a joke to those who pitch films… “It’s like Die Hard on an aircraft carrier!” (“Under Siege”). There’s Die Hard in a mall (“Point Blank”), Die Hard in a prep school (“Toy Soldiers”) and even Die Hard on a mountain (“Cliffhanger”)! Bonus points to “Executive Decision” which did Die Hard on a plane exactly 6 years after Renny Harlin did it in “Die Hard 2″. Ok, well that was Die Hard in an airport, but still… close enough. In any event, Roland Emmerich the man who brought us such shallow, yet enjoyable blockbusters as “The Day After Tomorrow” and “Independence Day” presents “White House Down” or Die Hard in The White House. Even if it’s not the deepest movie out there, it sure is a fun time. Read more
OKA! (Blu-Ray Review)
One has to be skeptical when reading that a film is based on or inspired by a true story. It’s almost like buying juice boxes: how much of the stuff is real? This one’s 10% juice, this one’s 20%… this one is 100%, but it’s been diluted with apple juice. How much really occured and how much is the result of “artistic license”? There’s clearly a bit embellished upon in Lavinia Currier’s “Oka!”, coming to Blu-Ray 10/22. Based in part on ethnomusicologist Louis Sarno’s book “Last Thoughts Before Vanishing”, the film takes us on a beautiful, humorous and sometimes trippy journey through Central Africa. In some ways it reminded me of an episode of “This American Life”… but with elephant steaks and a whole lot of smoking. Read more
DRUG WAR (Blu-Ray Review)
Walter White has done what poor, old Stephanie Tanner couldn’t – he’s single handedly made meth pop culture’s drug du jour. Need proof? You could run out to Best Buy and check out “Grand Theft Auto V” with its meth dealing anti-hero Trevor. Better yet, you could go half way around the world to Hong Kong and scope Johnnie To’s new action thriller “Drug War” to see how far this trend has gone. What? You don’t want to hop a flight to Asia? You’re in luck! On 10/15 Well Go USA brings the film to Blu-Ray, right here in the States. This badass film is fun, exciting and violent… and while it doesn’t share much with “Breaking Bad”, you might think of it as a Hong Kong movie version of “GTA”. I don’t think anybody would complain about that. Read more
ASTRONAUT: THE LAST PUSH (DVD Review)
With “Gravity” pulling everybody into theaters over the last few weeks, it looks like space movies are making a comeback. I mean, what better setting for a high-tension drama than an infinite void that could suffocate or crush you at a moment’s notice. Space is one bad motha and since we don’t know all that much about it, that makes it even more intimidating. In “Astronaut: The Last Push”, available now on DVD from Vision Films, we join a crew of two looking to explore the vast unknown… and naturally things don’t go as planned. Read more