DVD Review: Snapped

I've been out of commission for a while and THIS is the movie I pick to start reviewing again?! Damn me! A crapper through and through, Snapped is a movie made with a bunch of cast-offs that can't get parts in regular B-movies and they prove it the entire time. Granted, the main character wasn't as bad as the rest of the cast, but she's no Angela Bettis! The plot follows a young woman, who gets hired by a strange art house that specializes in displaying death art. Feeling the need to be the best she can be and prove her doubters wrong, she goes to some extreme measures in the name of her art. All this while dealing with a breakup with her druggie boyfriend, who happens to look like a bad Keanu Reaves impersonator (and who's acting happens to make Keanu's look like Lawrence Olivier!). Pass on this one, the subtitle says it all--You'll be better off Picturing Yourself Dead than watching this stinker. 0 out of *****.

DVD Review: Sleepover Nightmare

Seven years ago, while partying with his friends, a seemingly fine upstanding young citizen loses track of his girlfriend. While he was away getting hamburgers, it turned out she was in the mood for a hotdog, and not his! The clean cut lad goes carayzaay and does a number on the hotdog deliveryman. Then drives his car over the bonfire, oh the humanity! Fast forward to him being transported to a different prison in one of the most secure vehicles around, the Ford Aerostar! While playing around, the driver loses control and the madman is freed! He happens upon a gaggle of twenty-somethings having a party on an isolated estate on the lake. They begin to drop like bored flies in variously lame ways. As crappy as a film I've watched in a while! Very bland and not very entertaining. The house on the lake was the star of this film, that's how bad it was. I wonder what it is about the insane that enables them to have superhuman strength, the silent capabilities of a cat and the dissapearing qualities of Houdini? Maybe it's the straw hat. Sleep through this one. 0 out of *****.

Remember Your Favorite Hosts

An upcoming DVD titled American Scary will soon be released and it has a coffin-load of footage from the old television horror shows with hosts like Zacherley, Svengoolie and Cecil Creepe just to name a few. Check out the trailers for the film HERE.

BOO! Just in Time for Halloween

The DVD release of the haunted hospital film Boo is scheduled for October 25th. I know I can't wait for this one either. Perfect timing for the release if you ask me. Also on tap for the Halloween releases will be George A. Romero's Land of the Dead hitting the shelves on October 18th.

Rejects Release Date

My favorite film of the year so far, The Devil's Rejects, will be released unrated on DVD on November 8th. Oh I can't wait!

Movie Review: Ichi the Killer

I had the opportunity to catch Takashi Miike's violent film Ichi the Killer the other day on the Sundance Channel. Everything I heard about this movie was how utterly violent and brutal it was. I thought the film was very good and not the hardcore gorefest everyone makes it out to be. The story is very engaging, the acting very good and the direction was pretty ahead of it's time for a film made in 2001. When an underworld Boss gets brutally murdered, his main hitman, Kakihara (pictured on the cover) goes on a rampage to find his killer. Kakihara is a sadomasochist and anxiously awaits the showdown. The killer of course is Ichi, a young man so troubled internally that he constantly cries and can't control his killing tendencies. The duo have a date with fate that ends with very questionable results, I have my own theory about what happens at the end of this film. If you would like to discuss it, leave me a comment and I'll tell you what I think. I really liked the movie and will search out Miike's other films to see how they stack up against this one. I give it **** out of *****.

CD Review: X&Y by Coldplay

I didn't want to like this CD, I really didn't. But I do. It's mellow melodies flow from your speakers enveloping your ears in cool soothing sounds. Coldplay finally finds its style and sticks with it throughout the album. You can forget all the Radiohead comparisons, they come into their own on this album. The album starts off with Square One, a song that says we're all the same and finishes with the beautiful Twisted Logic. Their hit Speed of Sound isn't even the best track on the album. It truly is a beautiful sounding CD and their best so far. It gets ****1/2 out of *****.

DVD Review: Hide and Seek

It really doesn't take much for people (mainstream movie reviewers mostly) to be frightened by a movie. I say that because there was alot of talk about Hide and Seek while it was out at the theaters. It got mainly good reviews and did well at the box office. Many reviewers said the movie was truly scary. They're all lame and pawns to the Hollywood machine. This is just a run of the mill thriller, tailor made for the Hand That Rocks The Cradle type moviegoers. Despite having some top notch actors involved, the movie plods along at a snails pace and any decent horror lover can figure out the "twist" long before the mid point of the movie. On a good note, it did have good sound, the 5.1 surround was very good. But it takes more than sound to make a movie. I give it **1/2 out of *****. Oh yeah, as for the 4 alternate endings, they're just different variations of the same thing and not much of a bonus.

See the Masters of Horror!!

The website for Showtime's upcoming Masters of Horror series is now live with a fantastic trailer for the season's episodes. I must say that it looks like it rocks! I now have to consider getting Showtime just for this show. At present, there will be 13 one hour episodes directed by many of horror's biggest directors. Click HERE for the site.

Book Review: Dance of Death by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Ah yes, another Agent Pendergast novel from Preston and Child, and what a top notch story it is! When we last saw Pendergast, he was bricked up in a wall in a castle in Italy, left for dead. This novel picks up only a few months after those startling events with D'Agosta left to try to solve the puzzling note from Pendergast's brother Diogenes all alone. Diogenes gave them a note with only a date written on it, a date that he promises to pull off a terrible crime. D'Agosta has only seven days to figure out the riddle, when one by one Pendergast's friends and associates start being murdered. Diogenes turns out to be just as wiley as his brother but insanely insidious. This novel is an exciting, intriguing and action packed one and a perfect way to spend these hot, lazy days of summer. I give it ****1/2 out of *****. Would have been perfect but for all the shameless plugs of their other novels, kinda bugged me after a while.

Two More Trailers

The Men Who Fell
http://themenwhofell.com/trailer.php

The Dark Hours
http://www.twitchfilm.net/darkhours_trlr.mov

Trailers!!!

Gingerdead Man
http://www.fullmoondirect.com/trailers/Gingerdead_Man_Trailer/gdead_trailer.mov

Serenity (Trailer #2)
http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/serenity/trailer_2/

A Sound of Thunder (Trailer #2)
http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/asoundofthunder/trailer_2/

Deep Blue
http://www.apple.com/trailers/miramax/deep_blue/

Transporter 2
http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/transporter_2/

News and Updates

George Lucas has noted that his next project will be for television and it will be an animated Clone Wars series as well as a previously noted Star Wars live action series.

Internet rumors have Indiana Jones 4 getting under way with Paramount eyeing a Feb. 2, 2007 release date. The rumors also have Harrison Ford agreeing to star.

Another franchise that refuses to die, Highlander, is gearing up for another installment to be called Highlander: The Source. It's the first of a trilogy detailing the Immortal's quest for the Holy Grail of their world.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, the Hugo Award winning novel by Susanna Clarke is in the works for movie adaptation with Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons) penning the screenplay.


Greg Grunberg (Agent Weiss) told TV Guide Online that he will be leaving ABC's Alias this fall after four seasons. Also on the Alias front, ABC has released this synopsis for the upcoming season starting on September 29:"After they both survive the crash, [Sydney] learns that the man she has known as Michael Vaughn is under investigation and suspected of being a double agent. She questions whether their business and personal relationship over the years had all been a lie. When Sydney discovers that she is pregnant with Vaughn's baby, she is determined to uncover the truth about him. Meanwhile, because of Jack's [Victor Garber] past betrayal by Irina [Lena Olin], he begins to worry that his daughter may suffer the same fate as he did. He will also have to deal with the fact that he will soon become a grandfather, while still learning how to be a dad. Sloane [Ron Rifkin] will have to do some soul-searching of his own, as he makes an unholy alliance in his desperate fight to find a cure for Nadia [Mia Maestro], who is still in a coma." Alias will be on Thursdays at a new time slot, 8:00.

Congratulations go out to Battlestar Galactica for winning a Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form. It's fraggin' great!

Final Destination 3 is set to be released in theaters on Feb. 24th, and the Texas Chainsaw prequel, subtitled The Origin, is scheduled for an October 6th, 2006 release.

CD of the Month (August): Octavarium by Dream Theater

Dream Theater's one of those bands that you never know what you're going to get. So, needless to say, I was very surprised when I heard this disc. I feel it's easily one of their best, good enough to be this month's pick. The album starts off with a rocking tune (Root of All Evil) in classic DT style, then slows down a bit with Answer Lies Within. I was taken back by that song, it wasn't what I'm used to with DT but it is a great track in itself. They have an homage to 9/11 on the disc called Sacrificed Sons that is very moving and the intro itself is hard to get through. The title track is an epic of an opus clocking in at 24 minutes but the styles used in the song evokes memories of Rush, Kansas and Yes to name a few. Only eight songs on the disc but each is a journey of it's own and you'll find yourself listening to it constantly. Beautifully produced and masterfully orchestrated, this is one hell of a good album. It gets ***** out of *****.

DVD Review: Devour

Warning, Warning! When a cover of a DVD is all red, stay away, stay away! Just like Cursed, this movie sucks! Both covers are all red. Coincidence? I think not! This crapfest was like watching Dawson's Creek with a little satanism thrown in. The emotions, the sound, the filming. Everything felt like I was watching a teen drama on television. When kids start playing a computer game called "The Pathway", it starts taking over their life, telling them to kill people and then themselves. Unbeknownst to them, it was created by a satanist! And they're being possessed by Lucifer himself! Oh no! Why am I watching this crap?! Pass on this one, please. May the director of this never work again! 0 out of *****.

DVD Review: Tremors 4-The Legend Begins

Just as the title says, this is the beginning of the long running Tremors series. The only problem is they never say where the worms came from! They were just there all of a sudden. Besides that little snafu, the film was entertaining. I've always liked the Tremors films, some more than others, but they are all fun, and this one fits right in. Here, we find out the original name of the town was "Rejection" and up at the silver mine, people are dying. When no one will enter the mine, the town starts to shut down. The owner of the mine (Michael Gross) comes to town to find out what's happening and upon finding out about the killer worms, hires a gunman (Billy Drago) to take care of them. I must say Drago is great in his role as Black Hand Kelly. This is a good little flick without all the computer generated monsters that ruin alot of films. Nicely shot and acted, when a series gets into it's third sequel, they rarely have the quality that this one does. I give it ***1/2 out of *****.

Movie Review: The Devil's Rejects

Best film of the year hands down! What Rob Zombie accomplishes in only his second feature film is absolutely mesmerizing. He takes the most foul, mean, low down and dirty group of miscreants known to man and makes you fall in love with them. I liked House of 1000 Corpses, but this sequel blows it away. I didn't want the movie to end. It's a shame popular Hollywood refuses to acknowledge this genre because both Bill Moseley and Sid Haig deliver award worthy performances. Their facial expressions alone convey more than most actors can with a book full of dialogue. This film picks up where House left off, the Firefly family coming under attack by the police and Otis and Baby escaping to hook up with Captain Spaulding. A sherriff obsessed with revenging his brother's murder is shadowing them the entire time and he takes to extreme measures to extract his revenge. I can't convey how good this film is, Rob Zombie is the man! It gets ***** out of *****. It's about time a movie delivered the goods!

DVD Review: Urban Legends- Bloody Mary

The third in the Urban Legend series starts out slow but after it gets going, it turns out to be a good little movie. When Mary Banner dies in 1969 on her prom night, her body is hidden by her date and she's never found. Fast forward to current times and when a group of high school jocks kidnap the school newspaper reporter who printed a scandalous photo of them and her two friends, Mary decides to come back for little payback. It's actually better than that quick synopsis. The film is shot very good, the acting is decent and the sound's not bad. This is a movie that could have easily been a crapper, but the director put enough care into it to make it better than alot of Direct-to-DVD fare available. I give it ***1/2 out of *****.

DVD Review: Deep in the Woods

Another taste of horror from France and after seeing the trailer for it, I was excited to see it. I thought it was going to be a better film than Haute Tension. I was wrong. It was not better than Haute Tension and I was wrong to be excited about it. A group of actors are hired by a wheelchair bound man to put on a show for the strange little boy that lives with him in his sprawling wooded estate. I don't know if the kid is his son, nephew, friend or what, it's never revealed. Anyway, one by one the actors start to bite it. Oh yeah, plus there's a subplot dealing with a mad rapist running around the countryside. All this adds up to a crappy, hard to follow piece of French filmmaking. Don't get fooled by the trailer like I did, pass on it. 0 out of *****.

Book Review: The Loch by Steve Alten

What a ride! Steve Alten's latest book is his best so far and I'm wondering how he's going to top this one. He gets better and better with each book and The Loch blew me away. I've said it before on my site that I love everything about Nessie and hands down this is the best book about the old girl out there. Packed with action and more information about Scotland and Loch Ness than I ever thought existed, this is one entertaining and educational read. I actually learned things from this book. The plot follows Zachary Wallace, a fallen from grace marine scientist, who's called back to Scotland for his father's murder trial. While there, the beast attacks some tourists and Zach gets caught up in trying to find the reason why and put to rest his own "demons" from the past. The explanations of what Nessie is and how things got to be the way they are are all very believable and I have to say the best theories I've ever read on her. The best read of the summer, order it now from the picture on the right side of the site, you will love it and you won't be disappointed! I give The Loch ***** out of *****.