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Lifetime Channel’s Drew Peterson: Untouchable aired last night

 

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-drew-peterson-calls-rob-lowes-portrayal-of-him-hysterical-20120121,0,7761764.story

Drew Peterson had been in the news for quite a bit. He is the retired Bolingbrook Police Sergeant who is accused of killing one wife and possibly a second wife and having a total of four wives. The dude is definitely shady and I don’t think any woman will be marrying him again. I do want to see the movie because I think Rob Lowe will be hilarious in it. Check out the story at the above link. They also posted the best line of dialogue in the film: “I’m untouchable, bitch!” Yeah, the movie just might rule.

The movie aired last night (Saturday, Jan. 21st) but will be aired again:

  • Sun Jan 22 at 8 PM
  • Mon Jan 23 at 12 AM
  • Mon Jan 23 at 8 PM

 

 

January 22, 2012 | Categories: Lifetime, television | Tags: , , | Leave A Comment »

Changes on site

As of late, I have taken a hiatus from writing posts on the site to revamp and explore options in the way I want to present content to readers. I have decided on a way to make it more interesting to read, as well as easier for me to produce posts more often. Fear not, SHU-IZMZ is going to still be around for years to come bringing readers my views on all sorts of sick and twisted films, as well as movies in the Indie circuit, the mainstream and mass-produced, and the piles of remakes and sequels Hollywood throws at us month after month. I only write because I, for the most part, enjoy writing. Sometimes only writing reviews on films gets to be a little bit mundane and boring, so I will use this site as a means to reach out to my readers and inform them what is on my mind and what films I am interested in, whether they be horror, sci-fi, action, cult, or films of an adult nature. Expect more posts on a more frequent basis, just not as long in duration. I shall save that for some of the reviews. Right now, I am going to go back to watching a wretched Irish film, starring Mike Meyers and Alfred Molina, about a meteor that has crashed into a lower-class Irish neighborhood and stirred things up entitled Pete’s Meteor. Of note is that Brenda Fricker is in the film. You may have remembered her as Mike Meyer’s Scottish mother in So I Married An Axe Murderer. She was far more entertaining in that film.

January 22, 2012 | Categories: Uncategorized | Tags: , , , | Leave A Comment »

DVD REVIEW: MORE BRAINS! A RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD (2011)

DVD REVIEW: MORE BRAINS! A RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD (2011)

MORE BRAINS! A RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD is the most exhaustive documentary, to this date, that I have seen on any particular movie to this day. The film is over 240 minutes long, filled with a plethora of extra features and featurettes. The documentary, narrated by Brian Peck (“Scuz” from ROTLD) and directed by Bill Phillput (KILL YOURSELF: THE MOVIE, HIS NAME WAS JASON: 30 YEARS OF FRIDAY THE 13TH, NEVER SLEEP AGAIN: THE ELM STREET LEGACY), is the only definitive, in-depth look at one of my favorite zombie films of all time. The film is considered a cult classic, taking the legacy of George A. Romero’s zombie films and giving them a large does of comedy injected into them, filled with plenty of gore, scares, and laughs. This documentary digs deep into the bowels of the film and the filmmaking process, which created one of the most memorable zombie films to this day.

 

The use of very atmospheric set pieces and backgrounds used during the interviews, set pieces and props from the film as well as cartoon animation and comic book-style fonts and artwork complementing the various segments gave the whole feature a very refreshing and fun look to the documentary. Some docs can get so dry and dull, filled with interview after interview and no break in the testimonies (such as PAURA: LUCIO FULCI REMEMBERED Vol. 1) and the viewer loses interest, no matter how interesting the subject matter is. A good documentary needs to have visuals and edits filled with clips or photos to illustrate further what the individual speaking is talking about…or else things get pretty dry pretty fast.

 

TARMAN

Thankfully, most of those involved on the film chose to be a part of the documentary, including Clu Gulager, Don Calfa, James Karen, Tony Gardner, Thom Matthews, Brian Peck, Dan O’Bannon, Miguel A. Nunez Jr., Linnea Quigley, Beverly Randolph, John A. Russo, and Jewel Shepard. For the most part, I think all the influential characters and crew were represented in the doc.

 

Since this documentary is on RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, already a very fun and fast-paced horror film it would only be fitting for it if the documentary also had some of the style and pace of its original subject matter. While some docs just have static shots, never deviating too much from the individual speaking but director Philputt has crafted a movie that is better intended for the short-attention span viewer, one that may be suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder. The use of piecing together the various answers to off-screen questions from various individuals and adding them all together to paint a vivid picture through various sources to answer the same question or describe the same event is genius. Just because I love a film does not mean I would like to be bored to death by every little detail and aspect of it in a documentary. Thankfully, Bill Philputt sees it that way, too.

 

This is not the first documentary Philputt has directed that I have seen. Upon looking up him in IMDB.com I was surprised to find that he directed, wrote, and produced the movie about the New York hardcore thrash band S.O.D. (Stormtroopers of Death), entitled KILL YOURSELF: THE MOVIE. I love the band S.O.D. (as well as M.O.D. fronted by Billy Milano as well as fellow-thrashers Anthrax) and the documentary followed S.O.D. around for a year while they toured, as well as filming all the antics and craziness that happened behind the screen. I can see from watching MORE BRAINS! that Philputt has a way with crafting a solid documentary that keeps things visually and aurally appealing through its use of sharply edited scenes and use of music.

 

Sadly director Dan O’Bannon died more than two years prior to this doc having been made and it was very memorable to hear the final interview that O’Bannon gave within the film. The movie also plays as sort of a memorial to the great writer, responsible for writing ALIEN, ALIENS, and TOTAL RECALL (to name just a few) and ROTLD is the first feature he directed- one of only two films.

 

Brian Peck did a wonderful job narrating the film and one can tell that the actor had so much fun and fond memories, filling the screen up with his exuberating personality. The film does an incredible job at going in-depth in regards to the off-screen questions being asked, describing specific situations in great detail. The film does not cut any corners. I enjoyed the manner in which MORE BRAINS! goes into the personal aspects of each player involved with making the movie, adding some spice and panache to the whole back-story of the film. For instance, I never knew that one of the actors was homeless when he earned the role, or that one of the actresses was discovered in a strip club dancing just before getting a role in the film.

the late DAN O'BANNON

Some of my favorite portions of the film were the lengthy discussions on one particular scene where actress Linnea Quigley performs her infamous stripping scene in which all involved discuss the full-frontal nudity in the film and the actors’ responses to that specific scene filmed in the movie. I, personally, have fond memories of that very scene and it seems many cast members did as well.

 

If over 2 hours of testimonies and insight into ROTLD with all of the actors, actresses, and filmmakers involved (those still living—R.I.P. Dan O’Bannon and Mark Venturini) isnt’ enough, then how about an additional 2 hours of extra features, including a look at the sequels to ROTLD, Parts 2 and 3, as well as the final interview with the late Dan O’Bannon, a return to the filming locations of ROTLD, and a music video by Stacie Q performing the hit song, “Tonight”, which was used in the film.

 

MORE BRAINS! is a documentary that does a great job at digging deep into the high-points and low-points during the filming process, including doing in-depth into how it came about that the original zombie make-up artist working on the film had to be fired. The documentary also serves as a nice study on what low-budget filmmakers working on a small budget (around a few million dollars) have to go through. Dan O’Bannon has worked in Hollywood writing screenplays but this is his first job directing a movie.

 

I highly recommend viewing this incredibly in-depth and interesting doc on one of the most influential zombie films ever created incorporating elements of comedy. Presented by Michael Perez Entertainment and Hutson Ranch Media, one can head over to the website www.getmorebrains.com for further info on the film, as well as viewing a trailer for it.

 

December 19, 2011 | Categories: CAV Distro, documentary, horror, Huston Ranch Media, Michael Perez Entertainment | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

BLU-RAY REVIEW: WRONG TURN 4: BLOODY BEGINNINGS (2011)

20th Century Fox’s Blu-ray/DVD Combo release of director Declan O’Brien’s WRONG TURN 4: BLOODY BEGINNINGSstarts off with the origins of the West Virginian cannibal hillbillies from their days locked up in an insane asylum. The previous WRONG TURN films- WRONG TURN (2003), WRONG TURN 2: DEAD END (2007 Video), and WRONG TURN 3: LEFT FOR DEAD (2009 Video)-all took place in the backwoods of West Virginia, none of which took place during the winter with any snow. The seasons looked to be summer for the first three films, maybe even spring, but with the fourth the series decides to take it to a cold, brutal blizzard. It makes sense that the film was also released in the second half of October for the Halloween season as well as winter right around the corner (for me in the Midwest, at least).

 

The opening scene goes over ten minutes before the opening credits roll and to be honest, I wish the scene went even longer! The scene shows Dr. Ann Marie McQuaid (Kristen Harris) getting a tour of the facility by Dr. Ryan (Arne MacPherson) who, when both come to the cell of One-Eye (Dan Skene), Three-Finger (Sean Skene), and Saw-Tooth (Scott Johnson). The doctor warns his peer that these three individuals, even though they are children, are the most dangerous patients in the whole hospital. This foreboding statement could be no truer because the following scene is purely orchestrated chaos with Strauss’ Blue Danube playing in the background as the three cannibal youth escape with the help of a fellow patient who manages to pick up the new doctor’s hairpin and use it to pick the lock of the cells.

The following sequence has one of the goriest and fun kill scenes in the whole movie, as well as showing viewers just how sick and evil the three cannibal brothers truly are. In one scene their doctor is strung up with barbed wire, each limb tied to a contraption that pulls in a separate direction, eventually imitating the effect of being drawn and quartered. All of his limbs are slowly stripped of their flesh, slowly peeling off until the limbs are ripped right out of their sockets. I applaud O’Brien for choosing to use a limited amount of CGI and choosing to go the practical effects route. The gore in the scene looked so much more realistic because practical effects were used. Latex and fake blood always looks better than computer generated effects. The scene continues to get even nastier as the other doctor, Dr. Ann Marie McQuaid (played by Kristen Harris) is hooked up to the electrocution chair for the inbred cannibals version of electroshock therapy. The scene is pretty nasty and mean-spirited, with One-Eye (Dan Skene), Three-Finger (Sean Skene), and Saw-Tooth (Scott Johnson) laughing gleefully with each agonizingly painful piece of leg and arm are torn right off of the bone. Again, practical effects were mostly used for the sequence of gore shown. Once the two doctors are murdered off, the shot pans to capture the chaos of the rest of the inmates and the remaining staff getting tortured and killed off by the rest of the dangerous nut jobs. I was grinning ear to ear at this point. I can’t really recall enjoying any of the entries in the WRONG TURN series as much as this final entry.

 

The film then jumps to present day and the next scenes are four college kids having sex with their respective partners. Bridget (Kaitlyn Wong featured in Maxim Magazine) and Sara (Temika Davis of Canada’s Next Top Model) are completely naked and having sex in a very sexy scene. At the same time around the corner in the same room is Vincent (Sean Skene) banging Jenna (Terra Vnesa) in their college dorm room. Within the first 15 minutes there was a good amount gore, violence, and nudity. With the fourth entry in a films’ series, the last three of which two of which were direct-to-video releases, I was not expecting an award-winning cast and plot. I was expecting gore, violence, fun and creative kills, and hopefully some gratuitous nudity. So far, the film was delivering on all accounts.

 

The group of kids then drives out to the woods where they drop their car off and jump on their snowmobiles and head off to where they think is their friend’s cabin. Little do they know they are heading in the wrong direction and have made a “wrong turn”. The rest of the film consists of the cannibal hillbillies dispatching the boys and girls one by one. The film has some great death scenes, one of my favorites being the agonizingly slow and painfully torturous scene in which One-Eye, Three-Finger, and Saw-Tooth are having a cannibal fondue meal in which one of the characters shouts,

 

“They’re eating him alive like some sort of fucked-up fondue!”

 

The scene goes on for a decent amount of time, slowly showing the hillbillies slicing pieces of skin off or plucking off a chunk of flesh here and there, then dipping it in the hot oil and eating it. The camera unabashedly catches every bite and delicious morsel of flesh being consumed by the hungry brothers. These particular scenes almost made me want to run down to the kitchen and throw some bacon on the stove and cook up some crispy pieces of pork. Yeah, it is kind of sick and bizarre how a film showing cannibals eating human flesh can cause one’s appetite to be triggered. I guess animal flesh and human flesh is not all that different. One is just socially acceptable and the other isn’t. Of course, eating a human being alive while strapped to a metal table is not allowed but strapping an animal on a meat hook and carving it alive is totally cool. Go figure.

 

The film continues at a decent pace with our group of college kids trying desperately to escape and/or defend themselves from attack after attack. Another fun scene is where one of the ladies get gored in the midsection from an ice boring drill. The drill is huge and this is again another practical effect and looks fantastic. Doug Morrow was the Special Makeup designer and created One-Eye, Three-Finger, and Saw-Tooth’s masks, as well as many of the other practical effects involving latex and tons of blood. The visual effects team of Chris Peterson and Mark Hennessy-Barrett, who are credited to having worked on HOSTEL III, complemented the practical effects.

 

The Blu-ray of WRONG TURN 4 has a very informative commentary track on it with director Declan O’Brien and the Behind-the-scenes producer, as well as a plethora of extra features including the director’s Die-aries, Making Another Wrong Turn, Lifestyles of the Sick and Infamous, a WRONG TURN 4 music video featuring the Blackout City Kids, and some deleted scene. The dvd of the movie only has the film itself in Standard Definition. I do like when a studio puts out the Blu-ray along with the dvd so if one brings the movie over to a buddy’s place who does not have a Blu-ray player the film still can be enjoyed.

 

Director O’Brien also directed the previous entry in the series, WRONG TURN 3: LEFT FOR DEAD, of which I think is the weakest entry. I remember there being a great deal of computer-generated effects versus practical effects and the gore being lighter than I had previously remembered. That and most of the victims were men because of the film’s plot leaving no reason for some pretty ladies to be gracing the screen. I think that O’Brien has redeemed himself  (in my book) with WRONG TURN 4: DEADLY BEGINNINGS. The film is a horror film full of adequate acting, sexy heroines and victims, strong female characters, nasty villainous cannibals, tons of gore and lots of violence. The film was surprisingly well shot and had some artistic merits held within. I recommend seeing all the WRONG TURN films in the series, saving WRONG TURN 4, the best for last.

December 19, 2011 | Categories: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, blu-ray, horror, review | Comments Off

ANCHOR BAY SCREAM 4 CONTEST WINNER

We have a SCREAM 4 Contest Winner, folks. Oddly, we would have had a second one but the dude never replied to me via email when I asked what his mailing address was, he never replied, so I guess I will extend the SCREAM 4 DVD Giveaway Contest and make it even easier. If you want to win a free DVD, just repost this link on Twitter with @shuizmz in the body and the hash tags #shuizmz #anchorbay #giveaway and repost this link on your wall on Facebook, tagging Bryan Schuessler in it (That is me, guys and gals!) . I am making it even easier. If my 2nd winner does not get back to me in a timely manner, then I will have two more dvds to give away. The winners of the extended contest will be picked at random and will be limited to winners whose addresses are in the continental United States because I am a very poor bastard and shipping overseas will hurt.

In the meantime, lets take a look at the copy CHUD won, sitting at his place amongst a bunch of other awesome horror collectibles and paraphernalia, as well as his winning entry.

SCREAM 4 DVD winner CHUD holding his prize!

 

As far as my favorite of the Scream series, I’d have to say that the first one does it for me. Despite being the one that starts it all and spawned spoofs like Scary Movie, it is the one that means business. Even though it is quite funny, as far as the horror aspect, it takes itself quite seriously.
IMO the best death scene is Tatum Riley, played by Rose McGowan. While most deaths were caused by knife, this one was the most inventive having her crushed by the garage door. It also makes for a more surprising corpse discovery by other cast members.

My top ten list in no particular order:
1)Nightmares in a Damaged Brain aka Nightmare- the final death scene is epic, the blood flow rivals that of the Shinings elevator scene
2)Maniac- Tom Savinis FX are top notch, the shotgun head explosion being of particular note
3)the Prowler- great atmosphere, certain deaths had me believing they actually died because the FX were filmed so believably
4)Candyman- one of my all time favs, knowing Cabrini Green was a real place just made it creep me out more
5)Halloween- the grand master, Carpenters classic still holds up today. Has been ripped off so many times, you know its one of the greatest
6)Resurrection- little known Christopher Lambert flick where the psycho is collecting body parts for a shocking revelation
7)the Midnight Meat Train- very slick adaptation of one of my favorite Clive Barker tales
8) Hitcher- Rutgers Hauer is great in this, constantly staying one step ahead of the dopey C. Thomas Howell
9)Psycho- another awesome Slasher that spawned a slew of sequels, the original definitely beats out the rest in atmosphere and tension
10)From Hell- based on one of my favorite persons out of history, this one brings the legend to life like no other film has done so before. Great acting by a top notch cast and it gives you its take on Jack unflinchingly

Thanx for the contest,
Chud

Great entry CHUD! I am going to have to check out RESURRECTION. I love CHRISTOPHER LAMBERT!

December 10, 2011 | Categories: Anchor Bay, contest, giveaway, horror | Tags: , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

BLU-RAY REVIEW: A BETTER TOMORROW (2011)

Anyone that knows anything about Hong Kong action films knows director John Woo and his 1986 gangster film A BETTER TOMORROW starring Chow Yun-Fat, Leslie Cheung, and Lung Ti, containing some of the greatest shootout scenes between villains and police officers. Along with Woo’s THE KILLER, I rank A BETTER TOMORROW among some of my favorite action flicks from Hong Kong and the rest of the world for sheer indulgence  of violence, on-screen killings, and excessive waste of bullets and human life. If one is going to make a gangster film, then I expect their to be over-the-top gun shootouts with gun cartridges that carry an infinite amount of bullets so the user doesn’t have to stop the action to reload his/her weapon. Although highly unrealistic, it makes for one hell of an adrenaline rush when watching it unfold on-screen.  All that I have just mentioned is generally in most of John Woo’s films, most noticeably in the Hong Kong productions and not quite AS MUCH as in his films made in Hollywood.

But enough about John Woo and his film A BETTER TOMORROW because this review is about the South Korean remake from Hae-sung Song, a director that according to my research has not directed an action/gangster flick before in his career. He has directed a couple of romantic comedies (MAUNDY THURSDAY (’06) and FAILAN (’01), and a biographical pic about a South Korean wrestler entitled RIKIDOZAN: A HERO EXTRAORDINARY (’01). I am guessing that his resume still gives him enough potential to have a chance at remaking a classic action film from Hong Kong, with respect to paying homage to it and not creating a giant mess that will infuriate HK Action purists, as well as those particular about what favorite films of theirs are being remade by who.

Myself, anyone that knows me will tell you I am not a fan of remakes and what I define as a remake is a direct interpretation of a film made within the same format and media. If a play was written and performed on Broadway and that same play is put on film and made into a movie, I don’t really consider it a remake because the artistic mediums are so different. I can live with that. I can also live with books, stories, animated projects, and short films being remade into feature length films. To me, there are so many differences between the original and the finished project that I have no problem watching both and not really even comparing one to the other. When a movie that is far outdated from the original comes along, I usually can let that slide also because (depending on how far apart in years the two projects are) generally the technology, setting, and story can become so different and fresh because the film is so much more modern (in many cases) and seems as if the story and idea is a totally original and unique one.

With Song’s A BETTER TOMORROW, we have a remake that is 25 years newer than the original. Both movies are not far apart enough in years for me to consider one to be given a “pardon” and not undergo large scrutiny by me. I had to watch Song’s South Korean film while making comparisons to Woo’s Hong Kong film the whole damn time. It is just in my nature if a film has been made after the other film. The ironic thing about both films is that there is another A BETTER TOMORROW out there. This one dates back to a 1967 Cantonese film called Ying xiong ben se (Story of a Discharged Prisoner). I have not seen this film nor remember hearing about it when I originally watched  Woo’s A BETTER TOMORROW for the first time nearly 22 years ago.

When I found out that Woo’s A BETTER TOMORROW was a remake, I was kind of shocked. I truly loved a film that is a remake, less than twenty years old from the original. Now I was watching a film whose story has been made into a film not once already, not twice—but now THREE TIMES. I did not know what to think when I learned of this so I just sat down and watched Song’s South Korean remake of A BETTER TOMORROW and really hoped it didn’t suck and wish that I could enjoy the film for what its worth.

Having not seen STORY OF A DISCHARGED PRISONER, I can make no comparisons or allusions to, so I will just be mentioning and referencing Woo’s A BETTER TOMORROW from time to time. The stories of both films are very similar. Both films tell the tale of a brother going the life of crime, and being rather successful at it, and having a younger straight-laced brother whom is not a criminal and grows up to be a police officer. The rest of the film varies a bit with the story. The main plot of the film in Woo’s version is that the father of both sons dies due to the older sons’ actions as a gangster and the younger brother blames him for their father’s death and wants to bust him as a cop. Song’s version is a bit different because it takes place in South Korea so he has both brothers flee from North Korea into South Korea with their mother. Older brother leaves behind his younger brother and mother. The mother dies and the younger brother is locked up, all the while getting beaten and tortured for trying to escape (North Korea is pretty messed up). Woo’s version has Chow Yun-Fat (HARD BOILED) as the older gangster brother and Song casts Joo Jin-Mo (THE WARRIOR)  as Kim Hyeok, the older brother who abandons his family. The role of the mobster’s best friend and partner in Woo’s film is played by Lung Ti (A BETTER TOMORROW 2) and in Song’s version the role is portrayed by Song Seung-Heon (SO CLOSE). The role of the younger brother who joins the police academy and becomes a hard-driven cop is played by Leslie Cheung (FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE) in Woo’s film and portrayed by Kim Kang-W00 (MARINE BOY) in the updated version of the film. I only mention what actors play what characters in both films because as I watched the newest A BETTER TOMORROW, I watched the film thinking in my head what actors played the character in the original film so I thought I would just give readers some insight to what I had swirling in my brain during the whole movie.

Even though the film has subtle differences, such as taking place in South Korea instead of in Hong Kong and having the family escape from North Korea (all of which make sense since Song’s movie is taking place in the port city of Busan, South Korea and the cast and crew is mostly Korean), the stories are almost identical. Kim (Joo Jin-Mo) is a high-ranking mobster and his closest friend Lee (Song Seung-Heon), also a fellow mobster, get screwed over royally while traveling to Thailand with a new gang recruit Jung Tae-Min (Jo Han-Seon) for a meeting with some Thai gangsters. It is a set-up planned by the new recruit Jung and Kim is caught by the cops, locked up for quite a bit, reformed, and comes out planning to live a crime-free life and be a productive member of society. During the time Kim is locked up, his best friend Lee enacts revenge upon the Thai gangsters in Pusan and goes to kill their boss. During the shootout Lee is shot in the leg, forever crippling him and being the beginning of the downfall as his career as a successful gangster. Jung, on the other hand, rises to power and is still bitter over the once-successful gangsters who know firsthand of his treachery and deceit.

The film moves along at a great pace, filled with decent performances by all actors involved, and keeps the story interesting with the drama between the two fighting brothers, as well as showing the path they each chose and their current situations. Foreign films are kind of difficult for me to judge the acting on because I am reading subtitles of what the actors are saying and I can’t gauge the dialogue as it is delivered because I have no idea what the hell they are saying. If the subtitles are incorrect, it can be even more difficult. As far as I could tell, the performances were pretty good. Their body language and actions fit with the dialogue that was translated on the screen. I will say that at times, it was VERY confusing figuring out which character was which. With the time gaps of past and present, I almost had to take notes on which character was which. There were parts of the film that really moved fast and the introduction of new characters was not very long before some major turning point in the plot occurred, causing the story to jump back to a much earlier point in the timeline or to shoot forward quite a bit.

Besides that, I really enjoyed the film. I don’t think Song fully captured the action and violence of Woo’s A BETTER TOMORROW, as I believe Woo’s gun-play scenes were far superior and had a distinctive flair to them, but Song’s shootout scenes were pretty solid. One could tell that he was going for the slickness and trying to re-create the intensity that Woo had. The one thing I was hoping for was a lot of quickly edited and well-shot shootouts. If the action in the film was lacking, the film would have been a major flop but the action was there. It may not have been as awesome as it was in Woo’s film, but it still was quite entertaining and briskly paced. I tend to loath downtime in action flicks and was glad that Song did not throw in some cheesy, steamy sex scene that are prevalent in so many action flicks from the ’80s and ’90s. I come to think of a bunch of films starring Steven Seagal and Jean-Claude Van Damme as having some needless romance within them.

The major difference were the acting in Song’s film, as well as the shootout scenes. Although he really tried to achieve the same intensity as Woo’s action scenes, Song’s sequences of violence are not on par with Woo’s. Of note, though, is the fact that John Woo did serve as an Executive Producer, as well as there being a 30-minute interview with him in the Bonus Features of the film. Looking at the film and making no comparisons whatsoever to John Woo’s A BETTER TOMORROW, Song’s A BETTER TOMORROW is still a well-done action film. It is not the greatest action film I have ever seen, but it is better than average and was a very enjoyable viewing. I think that there is enough action and violence for the action fans, along with the right amount of dramatic dialogue and plot about the past of brothers Kim Hyuk and Kim Chul. Personally, I felt that in-fighting between the two just got in the way of the revenge Kim was seeking towards Tae Min (Han Sun Jo). I could have been perfectly happy with a massive bloodbath. I also noticed there were no nasty villains in the movie. The “bad guys” were bad, but not really evil. There was no torturing, hacking off of limbs, brutal stabbings or dismemberment. The murders were pretty much straight-forward shootings and the victims either died instantly or were injured without the camera lens dwelling on their agony. I kind of missed having a villain that is larger than life in a movie, much as with how Hollywood films portray them, as well as in comicbooks. I guess Song was not going for a flashy stylized film. Too bad.

As well as having the John Woo interview, Well Go USA’s Blu-ray/DVD combo (I love when distributors put out combos because not all of my friends and family have updated to the digital age yet!) has Deleted Scenes, Actor and Director Interviews, a Theatrical Trailer, and a Photo Gallery. The film runs 124 minutes and is not rated.The Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack retails for $29.98 and the DVD for $24.98.

Sadly, when one remakes a film as great as the original (or in this case, the earlier remake) such as John Woo’s, one really has to raise the bar VERY high to come anywhere near the quality and impact that Woo’s A BETTER TOMORROW. As you read, I was continually making comparisons to Woo’s film. How could one not?!? My advice to anyone wanting to see this film is to just watch the film and pretend it has nothing to do with Woo’s movie because it would be like going to a dinner party and having to choose between Filet Mignon and a Steak & Shake burger. There really is no comparison.

 

 

 

 

December 10, 2011 | Categories: blu-ray, DVD, review, Well Go USA | Leave A Comment »

RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES inspires street art?!?

Not only was RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES a solid update on the talking ape saga, but it also held a bit of inspiration for a famous artist, too. If one has got nothing to do this weekend and is in the L.A.-area, then one will not want to miss this arty event.

On December 9th,  Australian street artist and painter Anthony Lister will begin working on creating a fabulous piece of street art inspired by the Rise of the Planet of the Apes! Lister will be arriving in Southern California straight from Art Basel Miami Beach, the most prestigious art show in the Americas, where he painted several murals across the city. The mural will be painted at 7769 Melrose Ave in Los Angeles across the street from Fairfax High School, and Lister will be there from Friday until Monday afternoon.

Street artist LISTER

  CAESAR IS COMING….

Don’t forget you can pre-order your copy of Rise of the Planet of the Apes on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Planet-Two-Disc-Digital-Combo-Blu-ray/dp/B004LWZW4W/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323376394&sr=8-1

December 9, 2011 | Categories: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Art, blu-ray, news | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

The waters are no longer safe on SHARK NIGHT!

Sink Your Teeth Into Something Terrifying

 

Take a bite out of the New Year with Shark Night 

on Blu-ray and DVD January 3rd

                                                                                                                   

Your deepest fears are about to surface with this frightening tale of seven vacationers whose fun weekend at a lake house turns into a nightmare when they become victims of a series of hellish shark attacks.  From David R. Ellis, the director of The Final Destination, SHARK NIGHT features a sexy ensemble cast who bring a whole new dimension of terror to the screen.  Jam packed with exciting extras including “Shark Night Survival Guide” – everything you need to know to avoid becoming human chum – the Blu-ray and DVD comes up for air on January 3rd from Twentieth Century Fox  Home Entertainment.

 

The moment Sara (Sara Paxton) and her friends arrive at her parent’s Louisiana lake house, the party is in full gear. Everyone is having a blast until Malik (Sinqua Walls) loses his arm in what initially appears to be a tragic wake-boarding mishap. Determined to get him to the nearest hospital as quickly as possible, it isn’t until they’re far from shore that they realize the lake is teeming with hungry sharks, and a tiny speedboat isn’t about to stop them from getting their next meal. As the feeding frenzy begins, Sara and her pals realize that their only hope for survival is to swim for their lives!

 

SHARK NIGHT features performances from Sara Paxton (Superhero Movie), Dustin Milligan (Slither), Chris Carmack (“The O.C.”), Katharine McPhee (“American Idol,” House Bunny), Chris Zylka (My Super Psycho Sweet 16, The Secret Circle), Alyssa Diaz (“As the World Turns”), Joel David Moore (Avatar) and Sinqua Walls (The Second Half).

 

SHARK NIGHT is available on Blu-ray and DVD on January 3rd.   Incentive Film Entertainment and Sierra/Affinity’s SHARK NIGHT was theatrically-released by Relativity Media on September 2, 2011.

 

SHARK NIGHT DVD Features:

·         Shark Attack!  Kill Machine! – Use this feature to jump to your favorite kills quickly

·         Ellis’ Island – A cast appreciation of what Shark Night director David Ellis brought to the film

 

SHARK NIGHT Blu-ray Disc Features:

All of the DVD features, plus…

·         Shark Night’s Survival Guide – Everything you need to know about the sharks in the movie to avoid becoming human chum!

·         Fake Sharks Real Scares – This behind the scenes featurette focuses on the use of both animatronic and CGI sharks in Shark Night

·         Digital Copy

SOURCE: 20th Century Fox

December 9, 2011 | Categories: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, blu-ray, DVD, press release | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

ONE-EYED FILMS handling Chilean TERATHROPUS: THE ABERRATION

London based ONE EYED FILMS is handling development and pre sales of Chilean feature Teranthropus: the Aberration’ , to be Directed by duo Lucio A. Rojas and Cristian Toledo, their second feature after the recently completed ‘Blind Death’.

 

This excerpt was posted today at DreadCentral.com:

 

Get ready for the longest international teaser trailer you’ll ever see:

Lucio A. Rojas and Cristian Toledo’s Chilean’ Teranthropus: The Aberration’.

 

Based on historical facts – a  biological experiment programme created by the Allende Government in the 70′s using genetic intervention to create super–soldiers to defend against a possible US invasion. The film picks up from where things go badly wrong and as a result, a half man, half beast roams the land attacking whatever it comes across.

 

“To create Teranthropus, we used horror/action elements for a result that has many similarities withfilms like Predator, The Thing, and Dog Soldiers but adapted to a political context“ explains Cristian Toledo. Teranthropus is set to strike a new vein in the military horror zombie flick.

 

Synopsis

A half-beast/half-human creature, the product of a biological experiment carried out during Salvador Allende’s government, has escaped from a laboratory and will kill with no mercy anybody whoever crosses his way. Military soldiers, on a mission to capture a group of militants, are forced change their target in order to combat the monster on the loose.

 

SOURCE: DREAD CENTRAL

 

ONE-EYED FILMS sent me the press release shortly after I talked to one of their people while they were out looking for films and gathering info on possible acquisitions for the company. As readers know, I have reviewed a few films from their roster and will continue to review films and be in contact with them. They have released some very unique films, many of them from around the world. Keep an eye for more reviews from the roster of ONE-EYED FILMS over here at SHU-IZMZ. 

 

 

Teaser

 

 


 

 

December 8, 2011 | Categories: horror, news, one eyed films, press release | Tags: , , , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

REVIEW: POUND OF FLESH (2010)

Malcolm McDowell is an actor whose voice and performance always seems to mesmerize me, no matter how horrid the pile of crap film he happens to be starring in. With POUND OF FLESH, I think it would be fair to rename the title POUND OF CRAP because from what I saw, that was what I thought of the movie. What made matters even worse was the fact that the review copy that was sent to me was defective. From the moment I popped the blu-ray disc in my player, the film’s menu was showing glitches on it. The picture was pixilated. The sound was making weird noises. At first, I thought it was part of the gimmick for the menu but when I could barely get it to play the main feature, I popped it in and started it up again I realized the blu-ray was screwed up. If one has ever watched a defective blu-ray, continually trying to rewind portions because the film skipped 10-30 seconds of integral plot development (or utter nonsense in this case) than one knows how difficult and aggravating watching a film in this manner is. Let us not dwell on the negatives of this film and get right to the positives of POUND OF FLESH.

 

My favorite part of the whole film aside from the fact that Malcolm McDowell stars in it and plays a pretty cool character is the opening sex sequence. It was filmed in a cool manner, artistically shot on par with some of the finest soft-core porn films and even showed a full-frontal shot of some dark bush from the brunette actress who was lustfully getting “railed” from a man whose fetish was using firearms during intercourse. I thought this film looked fairly promising. But then it all went downhill from there.

 

The rest of the film played out like the most confusing and shoddy detective crime-drama ever to grace cable television. I felt as if the film was a puzzle and a handful of the most important pieces of it were missing. Earlier I mentioned how the disc was not playing correctly, having issues with the picture and sometimes having the picture freeze and the sound continuing and not being correctly in sync, but this did not happen until past the halfway point. There were glitches, but they were just annoying but not hindering the story or scenes of the film in any way. I was able to follow the discordance in plot and flow of the film, but as the film went on, the technical errors just grew to be larger and infinitely more annoying. The film was almost 80% of the way through and the plot, to the best of my knowledge, involved a college professor who traded grades to attractive students for sexual favors or dates administered to fellow faculty members and rich donators to the institution of learning.

 

Dee Wallace is in the movie for a few scenes as the Dean of the college, Dean Jean Clark, and Malcolm McDowell plays the charismatic Professor Noah Melville who teaches literature classes and perversely woos his mostly female-filled classes with his swarthy knowledge of Shakespeare and other literary giants. Looking at how old McDowell is and the character he played who had the twenty-something pretty ladies eating out of the palm of his hand, I just kept thinking of Adam Sandler in BIG DADDY describing his ex’s new (I mean OLD) boyfriend and his “…old balls?! Gross!” line. No offense to McDowell, but the scenes with him and those young vixens look to be far less than believable. This was only the beginning of the unrealistic scenes played out within the film. The city detective who was demoted to working in the small college town of Somewhere, CA (the filming locations of POUND OF FLESH were Los Angeles and Santa Monica so it must have been a nice vacation for whomever was working on the film if they were not from the West coast), Detective Patrick Kelley (Angus MacFadyen) was not a terrific actor and the chemistry between him and Sgt. Rebecca Ferraro (Elizabeth Rodriguez) was missing. Rodriguez gave a decent performance acting and it was evident in some of her scenes with McDowell, but the scenes with MacFadyen were dull and lacked energy. The film really was just full of confusion. I do not remember what distributor sent me the film and it is a good thing because I don’t even care to ask for a new copy of it, one that actually works, because it is not even worth it. The film was pretty awful and I do not care to relive the viewing experience.

 

Director Tamar Simon Hoffs, known for THE ALLNIGHTER (1987), a film about college kids and partying (which is what POUND OF FLESH should have just been about instead of throwing a murder subplot and some sexual escort service into the mix minus the sex!) and I am assuming- having some good ol’ sex! Do you feel my distaste for this film?

 

Generally, with most films, I can find a few good things within the film to write about but the only good part of the film I enjoyed was the first six or seven minutes. I think that if the film would have actually thrown in a butt-load of gratuitous nudity and gave it a ‘80s slasher look and feel—it might have been enjoyable and fun to watch. I just could not get into it and there was no appeal for me to get a chance to enjoy anything with a messed-up disc. I am thinking that maybe my blu-ray player just didn’t feel like playing the crappy movie and wanted to take the disc out and chuck the damn thing out the window.

 

I did not even get a chance to check out the special features because the third time I tried to access the menu it went all batshit crazy on me. I was done dealing with the film and its screwed-up disc. From what I saw, maybe it was a blessing in disguise that the film crapped out before it was completely finished because I might have even more fuel to add to this already brightly burning fire of contempt for POUND OF FLESH. If one is not aware, “pound of flesh” is a shylock term for loaning money out in reference to Jewish culture, or something of that nature. I looked up the title on Google to see if there was any other press on the film and that came up. I don’t even think the film is actually referencing that or not, but it may be due to the fact that one of the characters, Cameron Morris (Timothy Bottoms), is giving money to the University in exchange for young, fresh students (which is how the murder in the beginning of the film came about to be). The young girls get a scholarship and the Mayor, Chief of Police, and chairman of the school board get some hot, young, college tail to sexually gratify them. After a girl is murdered, shown at the beginning of the film, a lackluster investigation coupled with horrible acting ensues. I suggest reading the synopsis online so most of the movie makes much more sense. I also suggest never watching this film if one can help it. I really hated this movie. There are a few movies a year that I really loathe writing reviews for and this is one of those films. I may be only SLIGHTLY less bitter towards it if the damn disc played correctly. Avoid this film. You have been warned.

December 6, 2011 | Categories: blu-ray, review | Tags: , , , , , | Leave A Comment »

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