Bloodrayne

Pleasure and Pain

...I saw this film recently. What can I say .... It's kind like havin sex with Pamela Anderson while her twin sister beats my ass with a cricket bat, both pleasure and pain. Uwe Boll has done it again, he created another incredible f*ckin train wreck. That said ( and please don't kick me in the balls ) I kinda liked it. I guess the easiest way to explain would be to use the age old adage " It's so bad it's good." This movie is a disaster in every respect. The movie is based on a video game (nuff said) the story choppy as hell, jumping from one plot point to the next with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer , its badly acted, badly edited, badly scripted. The set design looks like a reject episode of Zina Warrior Princess, and the violence and gore right over the top. I spent as much time laughing as I did cringing. Soon as it finished I returned the rental and marched right out and bought the darn thing. I couldn't help it...If you are willing to turn off your brain and just go with it you'll find that this film is an exciting, absurd, amusing, grotesque and absolutely outrageous ride. Kristanna Loken does a great job in her roll as "Rayne" a mixed breed of human and vampire called a Dhampir, it also stars Ben Kingsley, Michael Madsen and Michelle Rodriguez. This movie ain't for everyone that's for sure, but I myself liked it, how it ever made it to the theaters I have no frickin idea.

Arthur C. Clarke Passes.

Any time J-Lo takes a shit it seems to make top news headlines, yet one of the greatest authors of our time passes away and it's hardly even freakin reported... Sir Arthur C. Clarke, the science fiction writer, died on March 18 he was 90. He wrote more than 70 books most notably the The Sentinel", which was later adapted for Stanley Kubrick's film "2001: A Space Odyssey"., nominated for a Nobel Prize he was also credited with inventing the concept of communications satellites in 1945. Rest in peace Mr. Clarke, a life well lived.

Logan's Run Re-make

I will update this blog as more info becomes available...For the time being it's enough to say that there's a re-make in the works...

This is an absolutely fantastic film, based on a novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson it was a spectacular screen adaption albiet not entirely true to the novel. This pre 1977 Sci-Fi film was unfortunately forgotten by most movie fans with the advent of Star Wars, it is never the less a absolute master piece which I consider to be one of the top 5 Science Fiction films of all time. Superb acting by Michael York, Jenny Agutter and Peter Ustinov combined with academy award winning special effects made this movie one of the most memorable I've ever seen. Some people feel this film is dated, I've never really understood what the hell that means, and I could not disagree more. This is a perfect movie without faults. It was nominated for three Academy awards back in 1976 Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Special Effects (won). I wait with anticipation and hope they don't f*ck it up...can anyone say "Rollerball Remake" ???

The Movie No One Wanted

On May 25, 1977, George Lucas's “Star Wars” movie opened in theaters, kicking off my three-decade-long fascination with a story from ''a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away ". The movie went on to revolutionize Hollywood and ushered in the era of the big screen special effects epics. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, didn't start out as a blockbuster. It took a lot of convincing by creator, George Lucas, just to get a studio to take a gamble on the film. In fact, when it opened on May 25, 1977 only 32 theaters across the country agreed to show it..... In true Hollywood fashion, the film no one wanted to make went on to become the most successful movies of all time. The film earned $215 million dollars in the U.S. and $337 million worldwide during its initial release. Star Wars also went on to earn 10 Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture...

Who is it, and when was it taken ?

This one is for you thirty to forty somethings, the youngins won't know what the f*ck I'm talking about even after I'm done. This photo was taken in 1969, what I find fascinating is that it doesn't look dated ( at least I don't think it does ) It's none other than Erin Grey, she was only 19 when it was taken.

...Bet ya didn't know she was one of Sports Illustrated first swimsuit models?...Erin Grey played Wilma Dearing on Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, if you've never heard of the show then go away right now and never return! It was a motion picture and TV series developed by Glen A. Larson and ran for two seasons, from 1979 - 1981. I'm sure I'm in the minority when I say I actually liked this series, campy as it was, and pretty low budget as well, I still thought it kicked ass....below is a a picture you should be more familiar with...

Flash Gordon 1980

I freakin love this movie...It took such a long time to finally be released on DVD but it was well worth the wait. This is perhaps the most under-rated movie of all time. Staring Sam Jones, Max Von Sydow, Topol and Ornella Muti this high energy Sci-Fi action adventure is among the best of its genre. It is one of my favorite movies and it has held up increadably well over the years. It enjoyed massive successful in Europe but failed to do well here in North America which may explain why it took the studio so long to release it. Flash Gordon is not your typical Science Fiction movie, with regards to set design and costume design the film attempted ( successfully ) to remained true to the original 1950's TV serial, it has a look un-like any movie I have ever seen. The dialog, the acting, the action sequences are campy and over the top yet it works so well for the film. If you have not yet seen it I strongly recomend that you do, I believe this is one of the greatest films Ever, a true classic...

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Universal Studios

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Director: Mike Hodges

Rambo 2008

OK, I finally saw this movie today, I bought the DVD about three hours ago and just finished watching it. What a ride, it was absolutely fantastic, I swear I almost shit myself it was so good. I felt kinda guilty about not seeing it in the theater cause I have to admit I'm kind of a fan of Stallone, and perhaps one of just a few people on the entire planet that thinks he's a great actor...yes I said GREAT!!! This film far exceeded my expectations, but a word of warning to those who may have a week stomach...Stay Away!!! The violence and gore are right over the top, I've never see so much blood guts and body parts in my entire life, and I lost track of the body count somewhere around two hundred. This latest instalment makes the first three look like Cinderella with regards to the violence and some people may have a problem with it...I myself am not one of those people... I hope this isn't the last we've seen of Sylvester Stallone and the Rambo movies, he's definitely proven to me that he's still got what it takes. I think right now Hollywood is desperate for a good old fashion 80's style action hero, the newer guys ( Vin Diesel and The Rock ) don't seem to be working out. I'm glad we still have Stallone and to fill the void, I think it will be a sad day we he calls it quites. And one final note for the clones continue to preach that Stallone can't act. You have no clue what yer talking about !!!. His brilliant performance should be recognized and acknowledged by critics, but as per usual it won't be because they're all a bunch of pretentious bastards... what a shame ...two thumbs up and four out of five stars from me, a definite must see.!!!

.....On a more serious note I also think this is an important film as well. We have just recently become aware of the events in Burma because of the Cyclone. The military government is forcing victims out of refugee camps and "dumping" them near their devastated villages with virtually no aid at all. What this film has does is show the true face of the regime that controls this nation, it shows them for what they really are. Rambo has become so damaging to the government that anyone caught with a copy of the film in Burma is either imprisoned for life or immediately executed. Hopefully it will increase world awareness of the people's plight and hasten the aid they so desperately need. I can't help feeling (and I hope I'm not alone) that Sylvester Stallone has done a very good thing here, I feel this is much more than just another action movie. It's a good hard kick in the balls to the free nations of the world. This movie tells us we should get of our ass and do something about the great many tyrants that still exist on this planet. When human rights violations occur it shouldn't matter weather a nation has oil (or some other commodity) when a decision is made to intervene.

Peter Parker The Spectacular Spiderman #1

Marvel Comics Volume 1 No.1 December 1976 a Stan Lee presentation, the name of the story is "Twice Stings the Tarantula!". One from my personal collection I like this book very much. Based on the Comic Values Annual 2007 ( Krause publications ) the current value is approx. $65.00 of course as you can tell by clicking on the image above mine has been printed slightly off center and there is a tiny bit of damage in the lower right corner so mine is probably worth less, but can anyone really put a value on Spiderman...

Writer/Editor : Gerry Conway

Artist : Sal Buscema

Inker : Mike Esposito

Letterer : Joe Rosen

Colorist : Dave Hunt.

Katee "Starbuck" Sackoff. says goodbye

Directly from the Philadelphia Inquirer Saturday May 31st..."As sci-fi fans begin the process of mourning the demise of BSG, Sackhoff will bid adieu to her fans with an appearance at the Convention Center from noon to 4 p.m. tomorrow as part of the three-day sci-fi confab, Wizard World Philadelphia. "I'm ready to move on from Starbuck," Sackhoff says."And that means all the things that go along with her" - including sci-fi conventions." ...Not that I don't think she has a career after Battlestar Galactica because I seriously think she does, Katee is a very beautiful and talented actress. But that said staring roles in hit TV shows are normally few and far in between, plus Hollywood (including Hollywood north) can be an extremly fickle town. My advice to Ms Sackhoff is don't be in too big a hurry to hang up that flight suit. Sci-fi Geeks...errr I mean fans will always be there for you, Hollywood most certainly WILL NOT. Once the looks fade and the roles stop coming the Sci-Fi fan will still line up to see you ...unless of course you piss them off.

Terminator 4 in Production

OMG I'm so excite, when I heard about this I almost sh*t myself. I absolutely love these movies ( yes that includes the third one ) Director McG updated his T4 blog today, shedding some light on what we can expect in the film and addressing the possibly spurious online chat concerning the ending that has been doing the rounds on the Net in recent days.Here are some of the more interesting nuggets: "This movie takes place several years after Judgment Day, but prior to 2029. Just like it took a long time to get an HD plasma screen in our world, it took Skynet a lot of research and development to get to the T-800, and this movie explores that 'space between.' We have all been fascinated with the world after Judgment Day. Here it is." He also described some of the robotic critters we'll get to see: "In this film, there are Hydrobots that patrol the water, Transports that move human prisoners around, Harvesters that collect human beings as lab rats for Skynet and Aerostats that survey all that is going on with the resistance the world over...

The Blog and the entire article are here...

http://rss.warnerbros.com/terminatorsalvation/

I can't wait for this one...

Ed McMahon bankrupt ?

LOL...OK, I'll admit I'm not the sharpest pencil in the case so perhaps I'm missing something here, but could someone please explain to me how a guy who should be worth 200+ million can get $644,000 behind on his mortgage payments. The guys going bloody bankrupt after years and years of making more money than God. McMahon bought the six-bedroom, five-bathroom, 7,000-square-foot house in January 1990. The mansion, which is listed at $6.25 million, is in a gated hilltop section off Mulholland Drive called The Summit. Britney Spears is among his neighbors. Of course when asked about his money problems he sighted the usual bullshit, the economy, divorce, legal cost for various endeavours including the home witch he's been trying to sell. Call me a cold hearted bastard if ya want but I hope they foreclose on his ass and throw him out on the street.

Ultraviolet

I just recently watched this film despite many warnings not to. Nasty...I can't say it any other way. This was a very bad bad movie and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I like Milla Jovovich and most of her movies I will usually buy, even if they aren't particularly good, but this is the exception. Like I'm sure it's been mentioned previously this movie was kinda like watching someone else play a video game for two hours. Mila plays our hero, a vampire-virus-mutated "Hemophages" (don't ask) living in the 21st century. The plot basically has her trying to steal a super weapon off some bad guy named "Daxus" who intends to use it on her and her people. That's pretty much it... Her performance is dry expressionless, the movie has no real story to speak of. It's one long boring CGI chase through a non descript futuristic soft focus city... Don't bother with this one.

The Mist

I saw the film recently, Adapted from Stephen King's short novel "The Mist" this movie was alot of fun to watch. The Horror landscape has been littered with many substandard projects recently so this movie comes as breath of fresh air. It's is perhaps the best horror film of the year and I highly recommend it. The special effects are fantastic, this is a scary, action packed and fun filled roller coaster ride of a movie. It's superbly acted by Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden and especially Marcia Gay Harden, who deserves to be nominated for her performance of the psychotic bible punching Mrs. Carmody. If you enjoy the horror genre then you will like this film.

Natalie Gulbis

As I get older, my damn eye sight is not all that good anymore. Can you please help me with this? Is that, or is that not, a graphite shaft?

Damn I'm taking up golf...or at least taking up watching it...

Tricia Helfer in Toronto

Every year at the end of August the Fan Expo is held at the Toronto convention Center. It is Canada's largest Sci-Fi / Anime / Horror show of the year. In fact I believe it now ranks in the top five Cons in North America last year over 43,000 people attended. Since I'm a big geek I always go, I took this picture last year. I was impressed with Trisha she seemed to be genuinely having a good time. She was always in smiling and greeted each and fan that lined up to get her autograph, she even allowed photo's ..without flash of course. Every year I look forward to the Toronto Fan Expo, and the 2008 edition is fast approaching. Anyone who might be interested in attending the link to the web site is below, there's fantastic guest list this year...

http://www.hobbystar.com/fanexpo2008/index.html

Eva Mendes Calls Substance Abuse Joke "Tacky"

Get over it sweetheart...The actress snapped at a reporter for Interview magazine who joked that Alcoholics Anonymous would have to be changed to Alcoholics Unanimous because of the prevalence of problems in Hollywood. Not that I don't feel some sympathy for these pathetic idiots because I do. But I have to be honest, at the end of the day they've pretty much been given the keys to the kingdom, they have more money and power than most of us will ever see. If they choose to snort that money up their nose or drink it away then they better bloody well expect to the butt many jokes. She goes on to say ...

"I'm proud of people who have the determination and the fearlessness to actually go and face their demons and get better," she says. "This is a life or death situation."

Determination and fearlessness ??? ...give me a break. Its easy to deal with an addiction when you have access to a $2000.00 a day facility like Cirque Lodge. There's nothing fearless about it, try doing it like the rest of us sweet cheeks, with NO help at all. Weather it's quiting smoking, drinking, or a heroin addiction, in real world people for the most part are forced to quite on their own, that's fearlessness and determination.

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Cheers.

Hellboy II

All these super hero movie, I guess I can't blame the studios, they really are like a license to print money. I wasn't overly impressed with the first film, but this one is getting decent reviews so I guess I'll be seeing it. "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" pulled in $35.9 million to debut as the No. 1 weekend film. Universal's "Hellboy" sequel, starring Ron Perlman as the red-skinned devil fighting for the good guys, took over the top spot from Will Smith's superhero tale "Hancock," which slipped to second place with $33 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

TRON 2

I'm very excited about this because I've always felt that this movie never got it's due credit. There was a big surprise revealed today at the end of Walt Disney Pictures' movie presentation at San Diego Comic-Con: the debut of the trailer for Tron 2!The trailer begins with a cityscape shot that leads into a multiplane, cyber-reality gaming level. A bearded man in a blue and black battlesuit runs into frame, hiding momentarily from his foe: a black-and-green clad biker whose face is obscured behind a biker helmet. The bearded man and his opponent become engaged in a Light Cycle chase through the various stages of the course. Just when the bearded man thinks he has evaded his foe, the black-and-green cyclist bolts out in front of him. The bearded man screams as he crashes through his foe's Light Cycle trail, smashing into a virtual wall of colored light. His Cycle destroyed, the bearded man lies broken and beaten as his opponent approaches him.The trailer then cuts to the real world where we see an older Kevin Flynn -- yes, once again played by Jeff Bridges! -- rising to his feet inside of a virtual reality computer room and holding a device in his hand. Bearded and with his longish silvery hair slicked back, Flynn is far more menacing and cold than he ever seemed in the 1982 original.

Paris Hilton `like, totally ready to lead'

Another one of my guilty pleasures, I won't Deny it. I like this chick I think she's like totally cool, she's alot smarter than you people think. Every time you sit at the water cooler bitching to yer friends about how much you hate her, remember that all you're really doing is increasing her notoriety. Cha- Chinngg!!!!

WASHINGTON–"I'll see you at the debate, bitches."

With that tongue-in-cheek rejoinder to Barack Obama and John McCain, the latest collision of American politics and popular culture was complete, with the comic entry of Paris Hilton into the U.S. presidential race.
Hilton, famous for simply being famous, has posted her own video response to McCain's earlier campaign ad in which he painted Obama as a shallow celebrity in the same vein as Hilton and troubled pop singer Britney Spears – as a man known worldwide, but not necessarily ready to lead.
Hilton's campaign ad became an immediate online hit on comic Will Ferrell's FunnyorDie.com website with more than 4 million views in 24 hours.
But the socialite's intervention in the ongoing debate over gas prices here is just the latest trivialization of the overriding issue in the presidential campaign.

In the video, Hilton calls McCain "that wrinkly, white-haired guy" and refers to the presumptive Republican presidential nominee as the world's oldest celebrity.
As she reclines on a lounge chair in a bathing suit, searching a magazine for the world's best tanning locales, she assures Americans she is "like, totally ready to lead," then weighs in on the number one campaign issue: high oil prices.

The link is here...

http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/64ad536a6d

Go Paris !!!!

She's got my vote, unfortunatley under U.S. law, Hilton would not in fact be eligible to hold the office of the presidency for eight more years, she's still way too hot...errr, I mean young.

Dark Knight does another 26 M

From August 11 2008...The Dark Knight" should surpass "Star Wars" to become No. 2 on the revenue chart by this coming weekend, but take that with a very large grain of salt. The numbers reflect today's higher admission prices, and "The Dark Knight" will not approach "Star Wars" or "Titanic" in terms of actual number of tickets sold. Taking inflation into account, "The Dark Knight" would need to pull in about $900 million to match the number of tickets sold for "Titanic" and about $1.2 billion to equal "Star Wars."

Kristanna Loken

Kristanna Sommer Loken born October 8th 1979, she may not be the most recognizable or well known actress in history but she's definitely got that Oh so special something that keeps me coming back. I first saw her in Terminator 3 were she gives a stellar performance as T-X, the killer cyborg/robot out to destroy John Conner, since then I've been hooked. Among her impressive resume are films like BloodRayne, Lime Salted Love and most recently In The Name of the King: Dungeon Siege. These films aren't for everyone, that much is certain, but for me they are the Cats Ass. As talented as she is beautiful, I think she is one of the more underrated actress's in Hollywood. I know I'm not alone when I say I hope to see her in many more films in the years to come. She recently married Dalton Danby (son of the late world famous realist painter Ken Danby) which to tell you the truth sort of upset me cause I kinda wanted her for myself. Oh well, shit happens...

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Lime Salted Love at The New York International Independent Film & Video Festival...

1) Best Directorial Debut - Danielle Agnello and Joe Hall for Lime Salted Love. ( won )

2) Best Feature Art house – Lime Salted Love (Genre Awards) ( won )

3) Best Supporting Actress – Kristanna Loken in Lime Salted Love. ( won)

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Terminator 3 - Rise Of The Machines

1) Saturn Award - Best Supporting Actress ( nominated )

2) MTV Movie Awards - Sexiest She-Villain ( nominated )

Jenny Agutter

Jenny Agutter born on December 20, 1952, in Taunton, Somerset, England and is one of my favorite actress of all time. I knew it would'nt take long before I talked about pretty little Jenny, one of my first adolescent crushes, she also stared in one of my favorite films of all time Logan's Runs where she played opposite Michael York in the co-staring role of Jessica 6. With the ability to portray in her character qualities of both strength and vulnerability at the same time ( sorry if that sounded cornie ) she is in my opinion one of the most beautiful and talented actresses of all time. Working steadily in both TV and cinema her filmography is extremely extensive and includes movies like Walkabout, An American Werewolf in London, Man In the Iron Mask and The Eagle Has Landed. Although now in her mid 50's she is still a very attractive lady who continues to work steadily. With all this beauty and talent there was also the added bonus that Jenny didn't mind taking her clothing off in front of the camera...and ya gotta like that... she defiantly rocks.

WarGames 2: The Dead Code

I saw then film the other night and while it may not have been the worst movie ever made it was never the less a total hunk of shit. This straight to video release is the sequel to the 1983 classic film WarGames. (which incidentally is one of my favorite films) It was badly written by Randall M. Badat and Rob Kerchner directed by Stuart Gillard and filmed in Montreal last winter by MGM Studios on a shoe string budget.

....The movie stars Matt Lanter as a computer whiz named Will Farmer who engages a government super-computer named R.I.P.L.E.Y. in an online terrorist-attack simulation game. Little does he know that the online game he plays is actually part of a sophisticated piece of U.S. government spyware designed to find potential terrorists, just in case you think it sounds interesting, trust me it wasn't...

... The only positive thing I have to say about this mess is that I liked the performance of Amanda Walsh who played opposite Matt Lanter as his girlfriend Annie D'Mateo. She's easy on the eyes and and her acting ain't half bad either. This is the first staring role I've seen her in since she left Much Music approximately two years ago. ( although I'm sure she's done all kinds of other work ). My advice is to stay away from this one, its a wast of time...

The Dark Knight.

After all the hype I though I'd be disappointed, but I certainly was not. It was a spectacular film, it has all the key components, a great story, great acting great special affect and they didn't screw up the ending like alot of films do. Superbly acted by Christian Bale and Heath Ledger, it also boasts excellent supporting cast of more people than I care to mention, but most notably Morgan Freeman, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Gary Oldman. The film is just over two and a half hours long but it felt alot shorter. It just flies along never losing the audience with useless overly long action sequences or any of that pesky character development that normally pisses me off. It's a very dark as story not really targeted form the kids although I'm sure they'll all want to see it. Now that I've seen the film I also think I understand a little better the true tragedy of Heath Ledgers passing. A great actor to be sure, in a role deserving of an academy award nomination, the fact that we will never be allowed the see him again in another film is saddening to say the least...

Toronto Fan Expo 2008

What a great weekend, 50,000 fans perhaps more emerged on the Toronto Convention center for what has become the third largest Con in North America. The Toronto Fan Expo is an event that caters to fans of Science Fiction, Horror, Comics, Japanimation ( Anime ) and Gaming. The annual event was bigger than ever this year and many personalities were in attendance, to name just a few Edward James Olmos, Wes Craven, Jeremy Bulloch, Buzz Aldrin, Sean Astin and Laura Vandervoort. I spend the entire three days in Toronto and it just wasn't enough time to take it all in. I've included a couple of shot above, incidentally the guy dressed as a Stormtrooper is me ( for those of you that are clueless that's the one in white ) yes I'm a big geek, what of it ?!?!. The only negative thing can can say about this event is the prices they charge for food, I paid $11.20 for a small box of Sushi and a coke, a slice of Pizza and a coke would run you about $10.00 bucks. It's comforting to know you don't need a girlfriend to get screwed.

Here's a link to the entire albumn, I took about a hundred shot this is'nt all of them but it's all I had time to upload...

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http://picasaweb.google.com/Lunatic.Entrails/FanExpo2008#

Virus (1980)

Welcome to the Dead Of Winter.

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Another hidden gem that's been lost in time. This relatively un-know film was the production of a Japanese film company (the name escapes me) and released in the early eighties. It had an all star cast that included George Kennedy, Glenn Ford, Robert Vaughn, Olivia Hussey an Chuck Connors. Directed by Kinji Fukasaku this ingenious film did not nearly get the credit it deserved and to my knowledge is not even available on DVD. I took my old VHS tape and made a DVD burn so I can continue to enjoy it, and not a moment too soon, the Tape has deteriorated badly. The premise of the story in not really original but well done none the less... As the result of a private plane crash, a deadly chemical warfare weapon is unleashed on an unsuspecting world and as a result all hell breaks loose. Soon thereafter, the only humans left alive are the members of international antarctic research teams from various countries who must all work together in order to survive. The story well thought out and well scripted, the set design it excellent especially the shots of Washington a year after the out break, the acting needless to say is fantastic and the ending is appropriate, almost as if leaving room for a sequel that of course never got made. Virus is a difficult film to come by, I suggest checking the video tape (VHS) section at your local Flee market, if you come across it, I highly recommend it.

The Unholy

Today this is a pretty much un-known or forgotten movie but in it's time it received a relativly wide release in theaters across North America. Many of the horror films produced today tend to range from substandard to just plain crap. They are for the most part lousy story's with bad scripts, and horribly cast with teenager that can't act. I saw the re-make of the Lost Boys recently and I almost puked it was so shit. This film made in 1988 is the story of priest that battles a demon that kills sinners in the act of sinning. The evil demon takes the form of a major hot babe and that's always a bonus, but it's not what makes this film great. There's a definite well though out story line to this film, without giving too much away the main character Father Michael played by Ben Cross investigates a series of deaths that lead to a satanic cult in the New Orleans underground. Father's faith is tested almost to the breaking point as the demon endeavors to destroy him like it has to so many others in the past. Excellent special effects and superbly acted by Ben Cross, Jill Carroll, an Peter Frechette, and Ned Beatty this is a film well worth picking up, especially considering all the dung they've been filming in the horror genre lately.

Halloween ( 2007 )

I'll admit I haven't been a big fan of Rob Zombie thus far, so when I heard he was doing a re-make of this classic film I cringed. One of the most notorious slashers flicks in screen history and Rob Zombie was about to butcher it, so to speak. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised, it was actually not too bad. I like the fact he didn't stray to much from the original story line albeit he cranked the violence into overdrive, which I'll comment on shortly. As in the original it follows the story of Micheal Myers on his one night rampage through the town of Haddonfield, unlike the original it gives us alot more of the back story, the chain of event that turned this seemingly normal boy into the cold blooded killer that he is. We also get alot of insight into Micheal Myers time in prison before his eventual escape, I think this part of the film was incredibly well done as we get to see the gradual deterioration of Myers Physic over time. Of course as we all know this ends in the creation of the psychotic monster we've all become so familiar with. The film has an excellent cast that includes Malcolm McDowell, Brad Dourif, Sheri Moon Zombie and Daeg Faerch who plays the roll of Michael Myers (age 10) and does an absolutely incredible job. With regards to the violence a word of warning to those with a week stomach, THIS MOVIE AIN'T FOR YOU. Were John Carpenter relied more on suspense in the original film, Rob Zombie relies on blood and guts, and believe me there's alot of it. All in all this is a good film and I highly recommend it.

Dark City

This is another absolutely fantastic film that's often overlooked by critics and fan alike. Filmed in Australia on a budget of only 27 million dollars they put every penny to good use I can assure you. It was directed by Alex Proyas and is a kind of Gothic, Sci Fi / Thriller film unlike any I've seen before, I find myself watching it over and over again. Not only is it a truly original story but it also has some the best cinematography I've seen since perhaps Blade Runner. Done in the classic film noir style , it wasn't a major box office hit when originally released but has developed a considerable cult following over the years. The story concerns the main character John Murdoch waking up in a hotel room with no memory, which soon proves to be but one of many troubles. He is sought by police, who believe him to be a serial killer, and also by a group of mysterious men with psychokinetic powers. As the story progresses we discover the reality the Dark City the home of John Murdoch and thousands of others that comprise the population ,in this dark urban environment, nothing is as it appears. The film has an excellent cast that include Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly and Richard O'Brien. If you have not seen this movie I strongly suggest you do.

Note: Roger Ebert liked this film so much he did commentary tracks for the original DVD of "Dark City" and the 2006 Director's Cut. So trust me when I say, it aint half bad...

James Bond Blu-ray Collection Vol. 1 and Vol. 2

I promised myself I aint gonna replace any of my old DVDs with Blue-ray, I'm not gonna frackin do it!!!.. not a chance... But for those idiots that do like to burn cash... spread over two collections on high definition Blu-ray. Volume 1 includes decked-out ultimate editions of "Dr. No," "Die Another Day," and "Live and Let Die," while Volume 2 features the Bond classics "For Your Eyes Only," "From Russia with Love," and "Thunderball." ...enjoy.

The Happenning

I was somewhat optimistic about this film as the trailer looked pretty good. I liked Sixth Sense, Signs, and Unbreakable, but thought he kinda fell off the rails with The Village and Lady In The Water. Without putting to fine a point on it, this movie was a total hunk of you know what. I can now say without any shadow of doubt that M. Night Shyamalan has officially lost it. All I can say is the next thing this guy films outta be a soap commercial. I'm not going to waste much time on this one because it's such a nothing movie. The basic premise of this film has something in the air turning normal people into suicidal freeks trying to off themselves in anyway possible, prone to flinging themselves off buildings, blowing their brains out with a pistol or slashing their own wrists. Without giving too much away I'm sure Shyamalan was attempting to making some kinda environmental statement but it came off so dumb and stupid that by it's conclusion I was the one that wanted to fling myself off a building. Its been said in other reviews that plays out like a two hour episode of the "Twilight Zone" and I agree with this analogy. It starts off with bang and for the first 15 minutes I had the impression I was in for a wild ride... but then it stales, or rather it hits a brick wall and disintegrates. Shyamalam is successful for a short time building some suspense but there's no pay off. The Film stars Mark Wahlberg and Zooey Deschanel, who both do an acceptable job but of course there ain't much to work with on this turd. Stay away, this one it ain't worth it...

Micheal Crichton

We lost another great man this month, Michael Crichton, passed away on November 4, 2008. I have to admit I've never been a big reader, not because I don't like it... I just never seem to find the time, but I was always a big fan of his work. I have read the following Crichton books: The Andromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, The Lost World, Congo, and Sphere. It is always sad when a great storyteller dies and we are left wondering what other great stories we may have read if he had lived. He died of cancer in Los Angeles early this month, he was only 66. He will be missed...

Ghost Ship

Sea Of Evil

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I throw this in the ole' DVD player at least once or twice a year I absolutely loved this film. With regards to an original story line I doubt they broke any new ground, but it was still incredibly well done. As usual the critics got it wrong the general consensus being that this movie was substandard . I think there outta be a law preventing critics that are not fans of the horror genre from reviewing films like this. Or perhaps rather that a law lets just tar and feather the bastards and force them to run naked through the village square, I know we can't shoot-em. First off without giving anything away the opening death scene was unlike anything I'd ever seen before, I swear I almost shit myself. For that unbelievable scene alone it should have been nominated for something. The basic premise follows a salvage team that discovers a abandoned cruise liner the "Antonia Graza" that disappears over 40 years ago without a trace. Shortly after they board the decaying and decrepit vessel they discover that it is indeed still inhabited by a force so evil and horrific that it's unlikely that any of the team will survive. The story follows our hero's as the desperately try to save their own skin, thwart the evil within and perhaps make a little coin along the way, Yeah there's treasure on board go figure... I loved the look of the film, the set design was very believable and the special effects were very well done, it has an excellent cast staring Gabriel Byrne , Julianna Margulies , Desmond Harrington , and Ron Eldard. If you like horror films this is a must see.

Warner Brother 2002

Director: Steve Beck

Producer: Gilbert Adler , Joel Silver , Robert Zemeckis

Box Office Take: $30,079,316

New Star Trek trailer

When I saw this I almost crapped myself I can't wait, I never get tired of these movies, I even like the bad ones...actually that ain't entirely true, Star Trek V The Final Frontier was pretty f*ckin awful. Anyway here's the latest trailer the film's schedualed for release sometime in 2009...

Cult Of The Cobra (1955)

I enjoyed this film, If you're a fan of the 1950's horror flicks this movies worth watching. Released by Universal Studios International in 1955 it's the story of six G.I. buddies that are stationed in India and bear witness to a secret ceremony performed by a cult that can turn from humans to snakes. After interrupting the the ceremony while in progress the guys are forced to make a daring run for it barely escaping with their lives. After returning to the United States it seems as though they're all falling victim to a curse that one of the cult members has put upon them. One by one our band of bothers are killed off by a revenge driven femme fatal Lisa Moya ( played by Faith Domergue ) who is determined to destroying them all. The film stars Richard Long, Faith Domergue, Marshall Thompson, and Kathleen Hughes other notable actors in supporting roles include William Reynolds, Jack Kelly, and David Janssen. I think the old films like this are really important, not only are they a helluva lot a fun to watch but they also provide us with a window to the past. The horror genre in the 50's was a much more innocent age, free of the blood, guts and gore prevalent in today's films they had a certain charm that is of course been lost forever. Try comparing Cult of the Cobra with Rob Zombies remake of Halloween and you'll see what I mean, its like night and day. Both films fall in the to the same Horror / Thriller category but what a difference 50 years had made to Hollywood. I'm not gonna comment on weather it's good or bad, to be truthful I'm not entirely sure, it is what it is I guess... If you have a chance to see this film I think you'll enjoy it, just don't expect to see people with burned-out eyes gettin their heads lobbed off, it ain't gonna happen. Movies such as this remind us that the the horror genre did exist long before Halloween and Carrie.

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Universal Studios International
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Director.....Francis D. Lyon
Producer....Howard Pine
Writer.......Jerry Davis, Cecil Maiden, Richard Collins

Logan's Run - Fort Worth Water Gardens

Second only to Star Wars, Logan's Run would have to be the film I find myself watching more than any other. A cinematic master piece released in 1976 it still has a very large and loyal cult following. The Water Garden in Fort Worth Texas was the location used to film the the beautiful exterior scenes of the Dome City as Logan and Jessica return home after searching for sanctuary. Designed by Phillip Johnson, the Water Garden is an architectural and engineering marvel, I hope to visit one day. It has remained relatively unchanged over the years although there was some minor modifications done last year due to an unfortunate drowning accident. Here's some pics to show what it looks like today, it is truly spectacular...

"Runner this is the last gate, use your key..."

Christiane F once again hooked.

This news is pretty recent and I was sorry to hear it...
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Thirty years ago, a bestselling book about Christiane F's experiences as a 15-year-old heroin addict shocked Germany and the world. Now, after years spent trying to overcome addiction, she is taking hard drugs again, according to Berlin media reports. German social services have taken the 12-year-old son of Christiane F. into care amid media reports that she is back on hard drugs. Now 46, she came to prominence in the late 1970s when two journalists wrote an international best-selling book about her life in the West Berlin drugs and prostitution scene.
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"She can no longer cope with bringing up her child and with her duty to look after him," a spokeswoman for the social services department in Potsdam-Mittelmark near Berlin said.

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Her boyfriend Joachim S., 37, told Bild newspaper that she was regularly snorting heroin and drinking alcohol. Horst Rieck, one of the two authors who wrote the book "We Children from Bahnhof Zoo" about Christiane's slide into addiction and prostitution in and around the West Berlin train station called Bahnhof Zoo, said she had seemed "very tense" when he last saw her 14 days ago. The book was translated into 15 languages and was made into a film in 1981. It tells how Christiane became dependent on heroin aged 14 and prostituted herself to pay for drugs. The success of the book gave her financial independence but she had trouble settling down and getting away from the drug scene. She lived in New York, Zurich and Greece before returning to Berlin in the 1990s where she gave birth to her son.

Christiane moved from Berlin to Amsterdam earlier this year, taking her son with her. Reports said she started taking drugs heavily in Amsterdam and that her son was taken away from her during a visit to Berlin.

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Above is a photo of the real Christiane F during the height of her heroin addiction, it was taken sometime in the mid to late seventies but I can't say exactly when it.

Hawk the Slayer

I think I would have been about fourteen at the time and probably in grade 8 when I first saw this film. Being a super geek and totally into Dungeons & Dragons it was almost a religious experience the first time I saw it, I was completely, totally and absolutely amazed. A fantasy world full of Wizards, elves, giants and Dwarves, a world were good battled evil, and hero's like "Hawk" with his magical sword emergered victorious and triumphant. Of course that was then and this is now, and in the here and now I've had the opportunity to once again see this film. For the first time in almost 25 years I sat down to watched it on DVD... it was an interesting experience to say the least.

.....To say this film doesn't hold up would be putting it far to lightly, some people have voiced the opinion that this is the worse move ever made and they might very well be correct , but it is also one of the most amusing. I personally like to refer to films like these as Cheestastic. This film is like junk food for the brain, a guilty pleasure, and a movie you don't admit to liking in front of fans of true cinema. Hawk the Slayer was produced as a knockoff of the Hobbit/Lord of the Rings fantasy genre. Somehow the producer mixed those elements up with the budget of Dr. Who. The resulting mutation is quite vile with cheesy effects, unintentional hilarity, and a sound track straight from hell, I absolutely loved it. The story is simple, the dialog ridiculous, the action sequences are badly staged the special effects are laughable, the set design was anywhere from cheap to non-existent, despite purporting to be a different locations check out Hawk's journey through the forest, he rides past the tree covered in skulls about three times!, I think Ed Wood would be proud.

........Hawk the Slayer is an English production done in 1980 it was co-written & directed by Terry Marcel & Harry Robertson, it stars John Terry as Hawk and Jack Palance as Voltan. It follows the story of Hawk our hero who has watching both his father and fiancée die at the hands of evil his brother Voltan. Hawk sets out for revenge. equipping himself with the "mind-sword" and recruiting a group of henchmen that include a Giant, a Dwarf, a one-armed man with a machine-crossbow and an elf that fires his long bow so fast, it's more like an AK-47 than a bow. Hawk leads the battle against his brother to free the land from the forces of evil and avenge his loved ones.

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Hawk the Slayer is a great bad film, best viewed with Friends after drink alot of beer or smoking alot of errr, you know what... I think we've all been spoiled recently with films like the new Star Wars and Lord of the Rings and it's easy to forget that this is the way fantasy films were done back in the 80's. I did like Hawk The Slayer for reasons previously mentioned, but I have to say Thank God for progress...

Chips Productions Ltd

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Writer.......................Terry Marcel, Harry Robertson

Director.....................Terry Marcel

Producer...................Harry Robertson

Box Office Take..........your kiddin right ?