Prometheus Blu-Ray

Got a chance to check out the PROMETHEUS Blu-Ray... and as you may recall, I was one of the few in the pro column for the film upon release.
Just like John Carter, I think Prometheus was an unfair victim of expectations and marketing.

So, as eager as I was to re-view the film (I had hoped to see it again in theaters, but never did), I was even more keen to see a longer cut, that sadly wasn't in the home release (at least for now). However, all of the deleted, extended, and alternate scenes are in the home version. Oh how I wish we had most of them in an alternate version of the film... about 2/3rds of what was cut, and nearly all of the alternate material improves upon the original. Especially the alternate extended ending that features more of the climactic encounter/s with the "engineer" (I'm not a fan of the alternate opening though). Not to mention, Fifield's attack on the crew in it's intended CG enhanced take is far superior to the traditional effects version.

For all those that write this off as a failure as an Alien film, feel it's inner logic is too flawed, or were looking for more action... I'm sorry you have those hang-ups, or feel that way. For me, it's a somewhat flawed gem of a sci-fi picture, that I absolutely love!

Now I'll just keep waiting for the alternate/extended cut/s...

Tales From Netflix: late 2011

Here's a Netflix roundup from late last year, that was never quite finished...
Rather than update it with the stuff inbetween now and then, I'll just run it as is now (before it languishes as a draft even longer!):


Well, a couple months have gone by, so it's time to check the Netflix rental activity for another genre movie recommendation roundup that I like to call... TALES FROM NETFLIX!!!


There's quite a few really good recommendations here. Not sure any of them are classics, but quite a few that are pretty close, and still damn enjoyably different! 


We've got British movies, Japanese movies, Norwegian movies, and local movies!
We've got animated movies, classic movies, anthology movies, and documentary movies!
Spanish clowns, and Finish Santas!
Heck, we've even got Kevin Smith!!!
It's quite an eclectic mix...

Race to Redline!

I'd been waiting to see the just released (in the US) anime, REDLINE, for over a year. TwitchFilm.com had featured it back before it hit the festival circuit, and it was jawdropping. Insane design, technically flawless, drop dead sexy animation. It's also the directorial debut of Takeshi Koike, whom you may know from the amazing Animatrix "World Record" segment, and he was also a key animator on my all time favorite anime, the blisteringly cool DEAD LEAVES (with Redline sharing a fairly similar style). It didn't hurt that it's produced by renowned anime studio Madhouse either.

Got a chance to watch last weekend, and it does not disappoint!

The animation is sublime throughout, but where Redline maintains the next level cool is with the vision and scope of the story. Sure, it's ultimately a simple race tale, and for those amped up by it's high octane race visuals from previews and scenes online, it doesn't disappoint. However, there's more to this anime then just mindless racing action (not that it might not have been better served with more of that), but it offers a full story, on a few levels, with many sub-plots, character arcs... more than you'd expect from a title like this. Also, with it's intergalactic race circuit, it's of course rich with supporting characters of amazing variety. Basically, there's a lot to love, and that makes Redline utterly re-watchable. It did not supplant Dead Leaves at the top of my anime list though. Here's hoping we don't have to wait several years for another anime to challenge for the title!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Tales from Netfilix

It's time once again to catch up on all the cool and genre DVD's that pass through my Netflix account...
Take note, there are always some gems that most folks haven't heard of or seen.


Let's see what we had over the last few months...

TALES FROM NETFLIX:

It's once again been many moons since I've spoken about the myriad movies I and the wife view at home... I like to highlight the genre stuff that others may miss, and call it TALES FROM NETFLIX.

So, here's a big ol rundown of the last few months...

Tales From Netflix: Horror roundup

Haven't posted DVD reviews in ages (aside from my zombie reviews on my Zombie Related blog), but had a handful of exciting new genre movies at home this weekend, so thought I'd give a rundown!

LET ME IN - the 2010 US remake of the Swedish vampire hit, Let the Right One In, from the director of Cloverfield, and featuring "Hit Girl" as the young blood sucker. Let the Right One In was a huge genre hit a couple years ago, but aside from having a great tone and mood, I was fairly underwhelmed and found it pretty lackluster. So, I wasn't too excited about a US version, that was going to stick close to the original. Matt Reeves' Let Me In does just that, and I found it a challenge to sit through. He does some nice stuff, again with mood and tone, but knowing the story arc, plot, and pretty much everything to come neutralizes any improvements. Not to mention, if most of your movie is going to have one set, please make that set believable... the snow covered apartment playground looked like, and undoubtedly was covered in fake snow, with the jungle gym at it's center being capped in what looks like plastic/pizza dough snow drifts.

Cute story, but very tedious.

NOT RECOMMENDED

HATCHET II - The original Hatchet from a couple years back was somewhat heralded as a slasher on par with 80's franchise originals. It wasn't. It was a generic low rent premature effort in most every way, aside from it's filmmakers passion for the sub-genre. Hatchet II, while still a bit low rent, improves in nearly every aspect from the first. While it's basically the same plot, utilizing the Aliens twist, reversing the hunter and prey this time by arming the invaders into Victor Crawley's swampland, the story is fun.

The sequel manages to find a couple solid performances from it's very pedestrian cast too. The original had an ensemble cast of bad and uninspiring actors, and while the new effort doesn't really improve on that much, it does have a couple players who actually shine. The clown of the group Vernon, who starts out your blueprint antagonizer, turns in some genuinely inspired comedic moments (well, by comparison at least), and the much overused b-movie horror all-star, Tony Todd, aka Candyman, who tends to just sleepwalk through his endless roles, gets properly utilized here, so that he's not just a useless placeholder.

But mostly Hatchet II shines for fans of slashers and gore, because Victor Crawley, while pretty forgettable as a character, does some inspired things with his hatchets and shed tools!

If you like dumb horror fun, Hatchet II serves up a heaping bowl full.

RECOMMENDED

Here's the main event folks...

MONSTERS - Basically a mix of District 9, and Cloverfield, but with a much smaller budget, and is therefore quite minimal and character driven. That said, what they do in with the simple story, in terms of effects and effectiveness, is inspired, and haunting.

Yes it's a monster movie, but like any good genre work, it hangs on the core story of the people we follow, and how they bring us into their world and extraordinary journey. In this case, half of Mexico has been quarantined, and a photographer must help the daughter of the media mogul he ultimately works for cross back into the US safely.

The writer director, Gareth Edwards, has a background in digital effects, and he employs that craft seamlessly here to subtly change and build the Central American scenery and bring this extra terrestrial trek to life. Destroyed buildings, warning signs, fences, walls, shot out military or civilian vehicles, and fighter jets engaging giant creatures can be found at almost every turn.

Monsters is a rich, low key, character driven giant monster movie of the highest order.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

BONUS RECOMMENDATION:
FROZEN - Since we reviewed Hatchet II by Adam Green, I should also mention his last film that only just recently hit Netflix too, Frozen. Like Monsters, Frozen uses a simple horrifying setup to spin gripping character driven drama... all on a lift chair (with Iceman no less!).

RECOMMENDED

ZOMBIE RELATED: The Horde REVIEW

TITLE: The Horde (La Horde)
YEAR: 2009
DIRECTOR: Yannick Dahan, Benjamin Rocher
RATING: NR

The Horde is another well made zombie entry from France, this time mixing a crime face-off, with impending zombie uprising, to mostly good affect.

ZOMBIE RELATED: Deadgirl REVIEW

TITLE: Deadgirl
YEAR: 2008
DIRECTOR: Marcel Sarmiento, Gadi Harel
RATING: NR

Disturbing and audacious, Deadgirl is a twisted trek into some dark territory... the evils of teenage boys brought to life by a shackled zombie girl!

ZOMBIE RELATED: Aaah! Zombies!! REVIEW

TITLE: Aaah! Zombies!!
YEAR: 2007
DIRECTOR: Matthew Kohnen
RATING: NR

A zombie movie from the zombie's point of view??!!
That's certainly an original (and amazingly simple) idea, but does the movie work?

ZOMBIE RELATED: Mutants REVIEW

TITLE: Mutants
YEAR: 2009
DIRECTOR: David Morlet
RATING: R

Basically French zombies, that's Mutants.
It's a French film, in French, with subtitles, but the subtitles aren't a problem as the dialogue is light, and really, aside from the dialogue, the film doesn't feel overtly French or foreign.

TALES FROM NETFLIX: Land of the Lost OUT NOW!

Out this week on DVD and Blu Ray, be sure and pick up Land of the Lost, as no one went and saw this in theaters. Which was a shame. Land of the Lost was an amazing visual treat, packed with fun and humor. And while not for everyone, if you ever watched 70's kid shows, dig Farrell or McBride, or enjoy sci-fi and/or dinosaurs, what are you waiting for?

But don't just take my word for it, here's Harry's latest plug for it...

Also, here's my original post from the movie release, with plenty of screen grabs, and even some fan art...

TALES FROM NETFLIX: '09 catch-up

Haven't watched many movies this year... between a 2 plus week vacation in February, prepping for Wondercon later that month, catching up in the office, and trying to keep up with the DVR... well our usual mass movie intake has gone slack. However, there are quite a few recent comic book related DVD's as well as a number of flicks worth talking about since I last checked in, so here we go!

First, the comic book movies:
PUNISHER: WAR ZONE - Okay, not much to say here positive, but I did enjoy the cartoonish over the top violence, however, it's so over the top, especially in the first scene, I can see this one positive for me, being just another con for many others. I did love the first scene with Frank though, where he crashes a mob dinner with more knifes to the skull and snapped necks per frame then perhaps ever seen (can't help but think Stalone's hyper violent recent Rambo led them on this path). Anyway, from there it's all woe is me Punisher, as he shambles from his subway lair (please) to neon set piece... As much as I enjoyed Ray Stevenson in HBO's Rome, he's dull and lifeless here, but that's his character, and the script. Don't even get me started on the clichéd villains here...

Skip it!

NOT RECOMMENDED

WONDER WOMAN - Like Punisher (wow, who'd think I could draw a parallel from that film to an animated take on DC's princess of power!?!) Wonder Woman comes out guns blazing... or in this case, the amazons come out swords swinging, in an epic battle with Ares god of war, and his forces of man's evil. It's a glorious sword and sandal meets fantasy throw down, amazingly crafted, choreographed, and slickly animated. We meet all the Amazonian side characters that will make up Diana's supporting cast, because this all takes place before her birth. Wonder Woman is an origin story, and when it's focused on Themyscira and the mystical aspects of her story, it really shines. For me though, once they introduce them and the story into modern times, and specifically Colonel Steve Trevor, I have a hard time buying into all of it. I think they could have skipped the outsider crashing into the land of the amazons plot, and just used the device they already do to get Diana off the island and into our world, and made things much more believable. Instead we're treated to a forced fish out of water love story, by way of Wonder Woman coming to NYC with love struck everyman/jet pilot. It's too contrived, and we've seen this story time and again before. The movie truly shines though when Diana is in action as Wonder Woman, with smartly written action and kinetic visuals. And the big finish in Washington DC, reprising the battle of Amazons vs Ares and his minions, is also lots of fun.

All in all, Wonder Woman is a smart, well produced, enjoyable work. It's worth noting the stellar voice cast, with Keri Russell as Diana, Nathan Fillion as Col Trevor, and Rosario Dawson among many others. Also, Wonder Woman is rated PG-13 and takes full advantage of that, by being fully mature in tone, while also keeping things light enough to play to a wide audience.

I'd like to give this one a stronger recommendation, but it's just a bit too unbalanced to do so. Still very good though.

RECOMMENDED

HULK VS - Meanwhile, the Marvel universe continues to get animated too, and like the current DC offerings, they're skewing more mature here, and bringing the animation style more in line with current sensibilities. Marvel's first few animated offerings were ambitious, but widely missed the mark, watering down mature storylines and needlessly changing things with the Ultimates, or completely failing with Iron Man (I skipped Doctor Strange, so I don't know how that came out, I've my suspicions though). This is all encouraging, especially when the last work was aimed squarely at kids, with Next Avengers, which was otherwise a very strong work.

Hulk VS brings two short features, one featuring Thor, and the other featuring Wolverine. Both showcase strong animation, that's clean and stylized, and both also feature a deep supporting cast from each respective character's mythos. For me, I enjoyed the Thor story a touch more, mainly because I thought they brought the Norse characters to life for me, in a way they've never been able to on the comic page. But Wolverine's story, and it's inclusion of Weapon X, felt a bit as if the Hulk was just forced into the story, or an afterthought once things got going. I think these would've worked better as either straight up battles between the characters here, or focused more on the characters they featured, sans the Hulk.

Still fun and very well made though.

RECOMMENDED


Next, the horror movies:
EDEN LAKE - A horror/terror import from England, Eden Lake is one of those works with a simple premise, a young couple alone in the remote wilderness being terrorized, that completely succeeds by capturing the vibe of menace and fear. Similar to the French import, Them, which was remade stateside last year as The Strangers (of which, Them is far superior), it's the simple notion that when you're all alone, miles from civilization, faceless teens can fuck with you to no end if they want. How far will things go? Will anyone survive? These films work if they can put you in the shoes of the hunted, and just like Them, Eden Lake slides you right in from the get go, then it gets all kinds of fucked up, and increasingly bloody as we go.

Eden Lake is well shot, cast, acted, and realized. Everything about it rings true, which helps you merge into the story. It is unflinching in it's presentation though, so be prepared, but if you can take it, it's truly gripping, and haunting. And Kelly Reilly makes for one of the better scream queens in recent memory...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

AMUSEMENT - At times inspired, especially in it's jump cut presentation at the start, seemingly switching from different horror films mid story, both familiar, but deliciously different, Amusement is a solid effort at sending up horror and torture porn that doesn't quite hit the mark.

If however, you're a horror fan, that watches it all, you'll likely get a kick out of it, even though it fails to seal the deal.

RECOMMENDED

STORM WARNING - If like me, you've seen the ads for this one before untold numbers of other horror flicks, you likely thought it looked as lame and unoriginal as I did. However, it turns out Storm Warning is actually damn entertaining, and suffers from a truly uninspired trailer...

Like Eden Lake, with the success of Them (and The Strangers), we seem to be getting a fair amount of similar tales. But like all of those cautionary tales for couples in remote parts of the world, Storm Warning pushes all the right terror buttons, and offers up enough left field bizzaro Australian spun lunacy to engage the most hardened horror fiends (I'll just say there is a scene that involves a baby kangaroo, among other things). Also like some of those works, be prepared to face your fears in over-the-top, in-your-face fashion!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

MIRRORS - NOT RECOMMENDED

BAGHEAD - Okay, while Baghead is not a true horror movie, it is an indie comedy send up (of sorts) of horror though. From the same team that brought us the offbeat 2005 indy The Puffy Chair (recommended), Baghead messes with the viewer by way of messing with the cast in what's presented as a real life inside indie filmmaking weekend retreat. It's all good fun for four friends in a remote cabin, til someone with a brown paper bag over their head, may or may not be lurking outside the windows.

Worth a watch.

RECOMMENDED

RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION - Watchable and mostly high quality CGI animation, that either you need knowledge of the games to properly engage with, or more likely, just doesn't really connect on many levels. It's entertaining enough though, and does (sort of) feature zombies...

MILDLY RECOMMENDED


And now, a quick run down of the non genre stuff:
THE ROCKER - If you like Rainn Wilson (The Office's Dwight), this isn't a bad way to while away an hour and a half. Just don't expect anything special.

MILDLY RECOMMENDED

KABLUEY - Offbeat black comedy that follows Lisa Kudrow, a left behind Iraq mother who struggles to support her two sons... Enter their uncle, a slacker/loser who takes a job as a local giant blue mascot in the rural town... character and comedy developments ensue.

Unique, heartfelt, and enjoyable.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

ROCK'N'ROLLA -If you like Guy Ritchie UK crime films, it's a must see as he's back to form here. Not as special as Lock Stock, but a solid watch.

RECOMMENDED

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS - It's Cheech and Chong meets Rambo. Which is cool, but the cast here are what make this one shine (especially Franco). And since I was on the fence between RECOMMENDED, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, well, highly won...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

HAMLET 2 - Entertaining, funny, and a bit inspired.

RECOMMENDED


Okay, outside of some offbeat recommendations I want to highlight separately, that should catch up most the noteworthy viewings so far this year. Now go check these out if you haven't already, there's some good stuff here!
(And, as always, click on the Netflix label below to see all of the Tales From Netflix recommendations)

TALES FROM NETFLIX: Turning Japanese

Watched a couple of off-the-beaten-path Japanese flicks recently, VERSUS and Takeshi Miike’s SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO, so thought I’d give them a mention together...

First up, VERSUS

Just finished watching this one, and it’s a bit older, been kicking around since 2000, but I’d heard of it quite a ways back and put it in the queue, since it was supposed to be gonzo action with a touch of zombie, then when it got a plug on Attack of the Show’s Asian Underground, I dug it out and bumped it up.

To be honest, as much as I wanted to like it, I did have a really hard time not ejecting it, several times, but, I am glad I stuck with it. As much as it has really cool action and staged conflicts, and stylish anime style camerawork and characters, it does move very very slow when not in action, and get a bit repetitive. However, things do escalate, and get cooler.

Also, it’s not really a zombie flick, and I knew that, but don’t get it expecting that. Basically, an escaped prisoner intervenes in some kind of gang incident in the woods, but it turns out everything ties together, and the woods aren’t what they seem, when bodies start dropping, and then getting back up.

Choreographed sword fights, gun fights, fist fights, and 50 caliber damage!

RECOMMENDED if this sounds like your type of thing, it's definitely worth a watch, just be patient.

Along the same lines is a recent release from Japanese gonzo master, Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer), SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO

Takashi Miike has built a strong brand for himself as the cutting edge Japanese director, who traffics in the extreme, plus he’s quite prolific. Now, I haven’t seen too much of his work, but what I have seen is definitely gripping, if you can stomach it. With his latest release though, Miike is giving us his take on the spaghetti western genre, and is in safe mode by comparison. Django also features Quentin Tarantino in a cameo, so it’s gotten a bit of buzz.

As with Versus, I found Django a bit tough to get into at first, and contemplated giving up, but just like Versus again, I’m glad I stuck with it. Django plays like a straight western, but thematically it’s purely Japanese. Only, instead of choosing subtitles or dub, Miike has the cast here learn their lines phonetically in English, just as he did with his Masters of Horror feature, Imprint (also recommended, but very very dark), which is a bit strange, and so is the movie.

Stick it out though, because it’s a solid story, and has some fun and imaginative standoff/showdown sequences.

A ballet of gunplay, costumes, and blazing gatlins!

RECOMMENDED, again, if you’re ready to be challenged with some offbeat Japanese spaghetti western craziness.

_____
For more Netflix gems, hit up the TALES FROM NETFLIX archives HERE

TALES FROM NETFLIX: From Dusk Til Dawn and on and on

So, I'm a huge Rodriguez, and Tarantino fan (especially Tarantino), but I didn't much care for From Dusk Til Dawn when it first came out, I can't stand Juliette Lewis, and the whole vampire twist wasn't my thing at the time... I'd never been much of a horror movie buff, til more recent years. Now I get the whole inspiration and everything behind it, and just love horror movies of every variety yadda yadda.

Anyway, re-watched Dusk Til Dawn earlier this year, and didn't realize they ever made sequels, so I'd been checking those out.

I watched Dusk Til Dawn 2 (Texas Blood Money ) a month or two back, and while it was fun, it didn't tie into the first movie too much, and wasn't really that good. It has it’s moments, and some flair here and there, but is otherwise pretty forgettable…

However, I just watched Dusk Til Dawn 3 (The Hangman's Daughter - 1999) tonight, and that is a hell of a lot better... a really fun movie.
It's well done, great cast (mostly), great costumes, designs, sets, music, you name it, all very solid.
The story is also great too, as it's a prequel this time, set in Mexico in the early 1900's, that has outlaws, Christians, lawmen, and more all colliding, and eventually having it out at the infamous vampire pyramid home that would become the Titty Twister in the later films.

Some great gunplay, humor, gore, and damn, Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison, the clone man himself) as a hangman/Indiana Jones bad ass. Not to mention Michael Parks (Grindhouse) is super cool throughout, and Machete (Danny Trejo as the barkeeper) as the only actor to appear in all three films (I think).

From the imaginative story, to the quality production, and colorful cast of characters, the movie is full of quirky touches that make Dusk Til Dawn 3 stand out as an overlooked camp/horror/action/adventure gem!

Check it out if you haven't!

And for the die hards, Texas Blood Money might be worth a look, there's nothing to great about it, but it's not a bad way to spin up your DVD player...

FROM DUSK TIL DAWN 3 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
FROM DUSK TIL DAWN 2 - MILDLY RECOMMENDED (If only for the Bruce Campbell cameo!)

Dusk Til Dawn 3 TRAILER:


And who can forget this scene, man woman or child, from the original?

TALES FROM NETFLIX: Feast 2

A tag team midget luchador Dirk Diggler...
A vengeful bad ass twin biker queen...
Monster on cat beastiality...
Monster farting, spewing, spooging dissection orgies...
Group vomiting...
Baby tossing...
Decomposing grandma catapulting...
Feast 2 is truly a feast of foulness and depravity, and god damn I love it!
Give me the craziest shit you can think up, any day of the week.
Does it cross the line? Or every line? Yes. Okay by me, if you tell a fun story, and although Feast 2 (and the original) revel in the taboo, they've got a hell of a lot more going for them.

I absolutely loved the first film, the Project Greenlight season 3 winner was a ballsy in your face send up of the survival horror genre, mixing 2 parts Tremors with equal parts Tarantino and Truama films. Mysterious beastial creatures cornering a dozen or so desert drifters in a hole in the wall bar, and literally fucking with them. Sprinkle in a couple oddball cameos and supporting actors, like Jason Mewes (Jay of Jay and Silent Bob fame), Trech (of OPP fame), Judah Friedlander (of VH1 trucker hat video/Best Week Ever pseudo fame), along with Henry Rollins to kick some ass in pink sweat pants, and the quirk ratchets up a few notches.Feast quickly establishes that it will mercilessly fuck with any and all survival horror formulas, and constantly use that to it's advantage. With the sequel literally picking up from the final frames of the first, we're fairly certain we're in for more of the same. And while the sequel breaks new ground, like taking the production outside the walls of the only bar setting of the first for instance, it mostly suffers for it. The opening act is a bit manic, and not near up to par with what's come before, but once things come together, and the setting gets dark again, it really hits it's stride.
This time out we have an entirely new cast of misfits (mostly, a couple familiar faces do welcomely return), and a broader scope, along with more monsters, but the trademark bat shit crazy characters and situations are very in keeping with the first film! And again, Feast 2 Sloppy Seconds is daringly nasty, so if you can't throw down with no holds barred cinema, don't bother. If however, like me, you're overjoyed at the prospect, Feast 2 is an instant classic, just like the first. And while the original was a buzzer to buzzer success, the second does falter a bit as I said at the start, and also have some spotty effects at times, but in the end I could care less, it's still a hell of a good time.So, if you didn't see the first film, and somehow missed my mad joyous ravings about it, here's a sloppy second chance to throw in on the Feast bandwagon... because with this one's ending, the creative forces behind this franchise (the original director and scriptwriters returned for the sequel) are clearly down for more!

HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!

RECENT RUNDOWN

HELL RIDE - Tarantino produces what seemed like it could've been a "Grindhouse" feature, but you quickly realize why it's not... All the elements of a Tarantino work are there, Michael Madsen, desert setting, soundtrack, jump cut timeline, but all the substance is lacking. It's a confusing mess with a questionable cast, but shot really nice, and is cool to look at...

MILDLY RECOMMENDED