DVD Preview: Marillion - Out of Season

DVD Preview: Phobia

FACE YOUR FEARS…

Four of Thailand’s hottest new directors and masters of the macabre – Paween Purikitpanya (Body), Yongyoot Thongkongtoon (Best Of Times; Metrosexual; Iron Ladies) and the co-directing team responsible for ‘Shutter’, Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom (Shutter) – come together to serve up a fresh feast of fear in the horror anthology, Phobia, coming to DVD in May 2010.
Featuring four self-contained but tenuously connected tales of terror, Phobia is a visually stylish and compelling fright flick for fans of short, sharp, shock horror compendia such as ‘Tales From The Crypt’. ‘Twilight Zone: The Movie’ and ‘Creepshow’.
Yongyoot Thongkongtoon kicks things off with ‘Happiness’, a dialogue-free instalment featuring a teenage girl, housebound due to injuries received in a taxi accident, whose only connection to the outside world is via her mobile phone. Another boring evening starts to look promising when she begins receiving friendly text messages from a mysterious boy. Things take a turn for the worse when it becomes apparent that the texts are being sent from beyond the grave by a lonely corpse and he’s very keen to meet up… with…
In ‘Tit For Tat’ a group of dope-smoking school bullies face bloody, ‘Final Destination’-style retribution when their latest victim, a fellow student, seeks revenge via black magic and a terrifying curse from which there is no escape. Or is there? Paween Purikitpanya’s hyper-kinetic directing style, unexpectedly creative death scenes and generous helpings of gore deliver a thrilling tale with a suitably gruesome pay-off.
A self-referential horror-comedy that manages to give passing nods to ‘Titanic’, ‘The Sixth Sense’, ‘The Others’ and the director’s own ‘Shutter’, amongst other movies, Banjong Pisanthanakun’s ‘In The Middle’ even has one character posing the question: “Why are ghosts always females with white faces and long, straight dark hair?” That’s definitely not the case in this story of four youths on a camping and white river rafting trip that takes a creepy turn when one of their number goes missing after their dinghy capsizes. Giggles and gasps are produced in equal measure in a segment that will delight film fans, especially those who don’t like to have the endings of movies ruined by inconsiderate friends.
Directed by Parkpoom Wongpoom, ‘Last Flight’ takes the movie’s shock factor to new heights as the sole stewardess on a flight taking home the body of a deceased princess is haunted, mid-air, by the woman whose marriage she wrecked and who she accidentally killed. Taut, claustrophobic and full of unexpected scares, ‘Last Flight’ is a textbook example of effective, short, horror filmmaking.
Phobia (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£12.99) by Icon Home Entertainment on 10th May 2010. Special Features include 'Making of' featurette.

Blu-Ray Preview: Raging Phoenix

FROM THE PRODUCERS OF ‘ONG BAK’, ‘BORN TO FIGHT’ AND ‘THE WARRIOR KING’ AND THE STAR OF ‘CHOCOLATE’.

Following the phenomenal success of her explosive screen debut in ‘Chocolate’, Thailand’s young female martial arts sensation Jija Yanin returns to the screen in Raging Phoenix, an awe-inspiring action-adventure that takes the ‘full-contact’ combat thrills seen in ‘Chocolate’ to an inventive and unprecedented level.
With fight sequences supervised by acclaimed Thai producer, director and fight choreographer Panna Rittikrai, Raging Phoenix unveils a brand of never-before-seen martial arts action that combines Muay Thai techniques with Drunken Boxing and dazzling hip-hop dance moves to deliver a ‘real fights, real injuries’ action extravaganza like no other.
Yanin stars as Deu, a rock and roll drummer abandoned by her family and recently sacked from her band, who finds herself being pursued by a gang of kidnappers. She is rescued from their clutches by Sanim, a master of an obscure drunken fighting technique known as Mayraiyuth. After informing Deu that she is the target of the Jaguar Gang, a group of criminals who kidnap young women and extract their pheromones to sell as a potent aphrodisiac on the black market, Sanim and his three sidekicks – Pigshit, Dogshit and Bullshit – agree to train her in their unique methods of combat.
Her training complete, Deu insists on joining Sanim and the others in infiltrating the Jaguar Gang’s underground lair and bringing down their lucrative and exploitative people trafficking empire. Their mission brings them face to face with a horde of murderous thugs led by a fearsome she-boss who proves to be more than a match for Deu and her new friends, all of whom have their own scores to settle with this most deadly of foes.
Once again, Jija Yanin shines in a movie packed with incredible hi-impact martial arts, breathtaking free-running and bone crunching stunts that will leave martial arts enthusiasts and action movie fans desperately wondering just what Thai cinema’s latest action hero will come up with next.
Raging Phoenix (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£17.99) and Blu-ray (£24.99) by Cine Asia on 12th April 2010. Special Features include: B-Roll Action Scene footage; interview gallery; trailer gallery; Dolby Digital Thai 5.1 (DVD); DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 Thai (Blu-ray); optional English subtitles.

Blu-Ray Preview: City of the Living Dead

Arrow look to have done it again. With an excellent Blu-Ray release of Day of the Dead out today, A Fulci classic gets the treatment;

THE DEFINITIVE DVD AND BLU-RAY RELEASE OF LUCIO FULCI’S ZOMBIE CLASSIC.

One of the most revered zombie films of all time amongst horror fans, Lucio Fulci’s classic City Of The Living Dead gets the full Arrow Video treatment on DVD and Blu-ray in May 2010, presenting the film fully restored and uncut and complete with a host of unique and exclusive extras and featurettes specially commissioned for this must-have release.
Among the many extras are a newly recorded audio commentary with actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice, an introduction to the film by star Carlo De Mejo, ‘Carlo Of The Living Dead’, a 17-minute featurette in which De Mejo reflects upon his time working with the Italian master of splatter, Lucio Fulci, plus ‘Penning Some Paura’ in which the film’s screenwriter Dardano Sacchetti shares his recollections of writing an Italian horror classic.
The 50-minute ‘The Many Lives And Deaths Of Giovanni Lombaro Radice’ presents an extensive biography of the legendary screen victim, who guides viewers through the making of his most famous gut-crunching classics including ‘House On The Edge Of The Park’, ‘Cannibal Apocalypse’, ‘Cannibal Ferox’ and, of course, ‘City of the Living Dead’.
In addition to providing an alternative audio commentary to the main feature, legendary horror actress Catriona MacCall recalls playing the role of Mary in the film in ‘Dame Of The Dead’ and reflects upon the film 30 years on. Catriona also appears alongside Giovanni Lombardo Radice in a 20-minute retrospective Q&A session exclusively filmed live at the Glasgow Film Theatre following a recent special screening of the film.
Filmed in the Profondo Rosso shop in Rome, ‘Profondo Luigi: A Colleague’s Memories Of Lucio Fulci’ focuses on director Luigi Cozzi (Contamination; Starcrash; The Killer Must Kill Again) who talks about his own memories of Lucio Fulci and the Italian boom in zombie horror, while in ‘Fulci’s Daughter: Memories of the Italian Gore Maestro’, Antonella Fulci, the daughter of the legendary filmmaker, reflects upon ‘City Of The Living Dead’, the experience of visiting her father’s sets and about his enduring legacy.
Both the DVD and the Blu-ray releases of ‘City Of The Living Dead’ also come with four sleeve artwork options, double-sided poster, six postcards and a newly commissioned booklet, ‘Fulci Of The Living Dead’, written by Calum Waddell and featuring exclusive new interviews with Sergio Stivaletti (Wax Mask), Carlo De Mejo, Antonella Fulci and Ian McCulloch (Zombie Flesh Eaters) among others, providing an in depth career retrospective on the Grand Old Man of Italian Gore.
Directed by Lucio Fulci (The House By The Cemetery; The Beyond; Zombie Flesh Eaters) and starring Christopher George (Mortuary; The Exterminator; Grizzly), Catriona MacColl (The House By The Cemetery; The Beyond), Carlo De Mejo (The House By The Cemetery; Alien Contamination), Giovanni Lombardo Radice (Cannibal Apocalypse; Demons 3 and 4) and Michele Soavi (Demons; Phenomena; Tenebrae), City Of The Living Dead begins with the suicide of a priest in a church cemetery in the small town of Dunwich, New England. A sacrilegious act, the priest’s death mysteriously results in the opening of the gates of hell and, as fate would have it, it falls upon a reporter, a young psychic, a psychiatrist and his patient to team up and find a way to close the portal before All Saints Day, when the dead will rise and feed upon the living.
A hugely influential and much-admired work of horror cinema by one of the genre’s undisputed masters, City Of The Living Dead, taken purely as a stand-alone film, is a must-see horror classic. Now, this definitive special release from Arrow Video is, without doubt, a must-have for every horror fan.

City Of The Living Dead (cert. 18) will be released a two-disc DVD (£17.99) and single-disc Blu-ray (£22.99) by Arrow Video on 24th May 2010.

Special Features include: newly recorded audio commentary by actor Giovanni Lombardo Radice; audio commentary by actress Catriona MacColl and author Jay Slater; introduction to the film by star Carlo De Mejo; ‘Carlo Of The Living Dead featurette; ‘The Many Lives And Deaths Of Giovanni Lombardo Radice’ featurette; ‘Dame Of The Dead’ featurette; ‘Fulci’s Daughter: Memories Of The Italian Gore Maestro’ featurette; ‘Penning Some Paura’ featurette; ‘Profondo Luigi: A Colleague’s Memories Of Lucio Fulci’ featurette; Catriona MacCall and Giovanni Lombardo Radice Q&A session at the Glasgow Film Theatre; ‘Fulci In The House – The Italian Master Of Splatter’ featurette.
UK exclusive features directed by Calum Waddell and edited and produced by Naomi Holwill with associate producer Nick Frame.

Hopefully, I will be reviewing this nearer the release date.

March of the Dead: [REC]2

Despite my slightly lukewarm review, don't get put off. This movie is well worth watching especially if you loved the first.

[REC]2 review

March of the Dead: Apocalypse of the Dead

My review of Apocalypse of the Dead is up at Flash-Bang

March of the Dead: George Romero Interview

March of the Dead's in full swing with an interview with George Romero, courtesy of Optimum Releasing;

Romero Interview

SOTD image from www.Twitchfilm.net

March of the Dead: Interview with Joe Pilato (Day of the Dead)

March of the Dead continues with an interview with Joe Pilato - Captain Rhodes in Day of the Dead. Sadly, this took place via email and not face to face. Shortly after, I received a review disc of the Day of the Dead Blu-Ray (review pending but coming shortly, honest!). Had I seen the extra features specifically about Joe, I might have structured the questions differently as he answers similar in the interviews.


Joe Pilato Interview at Flash-Bang

DVD Preview: The Graves

N SKULL CITY, DEATH IS THE LEAST OF YOUR PROBLEMS.

The debut feature written, produced and directed by award winning comic book creator and writer and founder of Chaos Comics, Brian Pulido (whose works include ‘Lady Death’, ‘Evil Ernie’ and ‘Purgatori’), The Graves is a gory, blood-soaked shocker that begins in the ‘survival horror’ vein of films such as ‘Wrong Turn’, ‘The Texas Chainsaw Massacre’, ‘Staunton Hill’, ‘House Of 1000 Corpses’ and ‘Timber Falls’ before unleashing an unexpected supernatural twist.

A real crowdpleaser at LA’s After Dark Horrorfest in January 2010, the film stars horror genre veterans Bill Moseley (Halloween; Grindhouse; The Devil’s Rejects), Tony Todd (The Rock; Candyman) and Amanda Wyss (A Nightmare On Elm Street; Fast Times At Ridgemont High), alongside relative newcomers and future ‘scream queens’ in the making, Jillian Murray(Cheerleader Camp; Fifty Pills) and Clare Grant (Black Snake Moan; Walk The Line).

Attractive, self-assured ass-kicker Megan Graves (Grant) and her cute, Goth, kid sister, Abby (Murray), are inseparable siblings with a mutual love of comics, pop culture and rock and roll. Sadly, the offer of a job in New York means Megan will soon be moving east and leaving Abby behind. As a final send off before Megan’s departure, the pair decides to go on a wild road trip through the uncharted areas of the Arizona desert in search of kitschy roadside attractions.

The journey leads them to Skull City and its abandoned mine, rumoured to be haunted and harbouring terrifying secrets. Shortly after arriving at the dubious tourist trap, the sisters witness the brutal killings of a group of fellow visitors and soon find themselves the targets of a band of psychotic locals with a keen interest in torture, mutilation and murder. But there is far more to the perceived terrors that threaten the lives of Megan and Abby than meets the eye. In their desperate bid to escape Skull City, they fall into the hands of Reverend Abraham Stockton (Todd) and the followers of The Church of the Devout Ascension. There, they discover there are far worse things to fear than death.

The Graves (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by Anchor Bay Entertainment on 31st May 2010. Special Features include: introduction to the feature by director Brian Pulido; audio commentary by Brian Pulido and cinematographer Adam Goldfine; behind the scenes interviews; Tattoos video; Spot the Gnome; Tour of Vulture City; VCM News piece; LD comic; Mischief Night comic; Making Fun of a Bad Special Effect; Clare Grant – Faces and Botched Takes; bloopers; photo gallery; marketing materials gallery.

March of the Dead: Zombie Undead

Check out a cool trailer to film at the following link;

http://www.hivefilms.co.uk/zombie-undead.html

This movie preys on the fear of terrorist attack.

Synopsis;

Off-duty paramedic Steve rushes Sarah and her father to an evacuation centre after a terrorist bombing causes chaos unleashing a plague across the land. When she comes to Sarah joins other survivors in a gore drenched battle against an army of the living dead.

Sneak Peek: Predators

Thanks to Movie Muser, this sneak peek of the Robert Rodriguez movie does look cool;

http://www.moviemuser.co.uk/Extras/3210/Predators-Sneak-Peak.aspx

2nd TERROCOTTA FILM FESTIVAL

TERRACOTTA FESTIVAL 2010 ANNOUNCES OPENING FILM AND LINE- UP HIGHLIGHTS ON TWITCH

 

 

Terracotta Festival organisers break the news of their Opening Film on twitchfilm.net.
Jackie Chan’s latest film, ‘Little Big Soldier’, a period-action road-trip movie, will open the festival on 6th May 2010.
The film by Ding Sheng is set during the time when China wasn’t yet a country and was still comprised of seven warring states. Jackie Chan plays a reluctant conscript from one of these states and finds himself fortuitously capturing an enemy general, whom he planned to bring back to his home state to trade for discharge from army service.
Other highlights from the four- day festival include: Soi Cheang’s ‘Accident’ (which was In Competition at Venice Film Festival 2009), Japanese indie feature ‘Fish Story’ (can a punk rock song save the world from a meteorite?), and Korean gay-cake-store musical ‘Antique’ (an adaptation of the popular Japanese manga series Seiy? Kott? Y?gashite).
The festival will also include a documentary double-bill from doc-maker Yves Montmayeur: ‘In The Mood For Doyle’, which closely follows celebrated cinematographer Christopher Doyle, and ‘Yakuza Eiga’, an examination of the importance of Yakuza cinema, featuring many interviews from past and present Japanese actors and directors as well as real-life Yakuza.
Full-line up announcements will be made in the coming weeks via press release and their website: www.TerracottaFestival.com
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
ABOUT TERRACOTTA FESTIVAL 2010
The Terracotta Far East Film Festival is now into its second year. Presenting the latest films from the Far East handpicked by the festival organisers, and mixed in with parties and talks, Terracotta is a unique event for both existing lovers of the genre, as well as those wishing to start exploring this area of cinema.
The festival was created by the founders of Terracotta Distribution to widen interest in Far East film in the UK.
For further information:
Joey@TerracottaFestival.com
www.TerracottaFestival.com

www.TerracottaDistribution.com

Movie Preview:NEMESIS V2.0

NEMESIS v2.0 Teaser Promo from Albert Pyun on Vimeo.

One of my favourite low low budget movies gets a 2010 upgrade! See above for comparison shots. Go to:

http://www.albertpyunmovies.com/ for news as it's released.

DVD Review: Ninja

80's STYLE LOW BUDGET ACTION MOVIE FUN

Big Mike has reviewed Scott Adkins (The Bourne Ultimatum, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) Ninja movie which reminds me of the entertaining 80s movies that used to go straight to VHS, like American Ninja. I can't find fault with this movie. Ok, I could if I wanted to but it is what it is; a genuinely entertaining movie that doesn't try to be another. More often than not, low budget film making studios rush to get ahead of a big budget version. THIS IS NOT ONE OF THOSE MOVIES. It'd be easy to accuse it of being so because of the Ninja Assassin movie but Ninja bears no relation to that Wachowski brother produced gorefest.

I've yet to see Ninja Assassin to comment on it, but a review will appear soon.

Action film fans should find this a pleasant diversion from some of it's more cynical bigger budget cousins.

Ninja Review

DVD Review: The Dead Outside

MARCH OF THE DEAD CONTINUES....

My review for this low budget psychological horror is up.

http://www.flash-bang-movie-reviews.com/the_dead_outside.html

This is far better than the similar themed movie; Autumn and that had David Carradine in it!

Thanks to Kris R Bird for the review disc and I hope the review wasn't too long in coming.

DVD Review: Salvage

Big Mike shows that he is still capable of watching and reviewing horror movies ;o)

Salvage Review

Synopsis:
It’s Christmas Eve, and Jodie (Cocker) is being dropped off at her estranged mother’s house by her dad. Arriving earlier than expected in the cul-de-sac she grew up in, she finds her mum, Beth (McIntosh) having sex with a one-night-stand called Kieran, and promptly storms off to her friend’s house across the road. As Beth tries to reason with her, black-clad soldiers suddenly swarm through the street sealing it off, forcing everyone back in their homes. And executing one of her neighbours. Whatever is happening seems to be linked to a cargo container found on the local beach. Kieran believes that it’s a terrorist attack but Beth is only thinking about her daughter, trapped across the street.

DVD Review: Not Forgotten

Every so often, a Direct to Video movie comes out of the blue and piques interest. Not Forgotten is one of those. It's worth checking out if you want something a little different from standard crime thrillers.

Not Forgotten Review

Captain America: Leftfield Casting From The Office

See the story at link;




http://blogs.coventrytelegraph.net/thegeekfiles/2010/03/john-krasinski-reportedly-stud.html



I'm an avid fan of The Office. What started as a poor American imitation of our UK comedy show became an hilarious series in it's own right, with a quality cast. I like Jim Kravinsky as Jim, but wonder what he would be like as Steve Rogers/Captain America. The thing is this is a strong role that needs a strong personality and "Jim" might be playing that role. Marvel is gearing up a series of movies to lead into The Avengers. We have a perfect Tony Stark in the shape of Robert Downey Jnr, so it must be cast carefully. Bear in mind that I thought Daniel Craig was a poor choice for Bond and soon eat those words after seeing the second Casino Royale trailer and now he;s my favourite actor to play Bond, so I keep an open mind.

Tron Legacy Trailer

Now all you lucky people on the net can watch the TRON Legacy Teaser Trailer;

http://www.program-glitch-esc.net/

Remember: Flynn Lives!

March of the Dead

No, not the title of yet another Zombie film, although it might make a good one! It quite literally, for DVD/Blu-Ray releases, is March of the Dead.

My review for George Romero's Survival of the Dead is now over at Flash-Bang Action Movie Reviews;

http://www.flash-bang-movie-reviews.com/survival.html

Coming Soon on here and on Flash-Bang:

An interview with George Romero
An exclusive interview with Joe Pilato - Cpt Rhodes from Day of the Dead
A feature/review of the Blu-Ray of Day of the Dead
Review of [REC]2
Review of Apocalypse of the Dead

and more...well, I hope so ;o)