The Lords of Salem “Beasts” Clip: You Can Run, But… You Know The Rest.

Posted on April 19, 2013 by geelw

I happen to like Rob Zombie’s horror films and more particularly, how he’s grown as a director since House of 1000 Corpses, which blended horror and black humor in the style of a bunch of 1970’s genre flicks. The Devil’s Rejects worked even better as a sequel thanks to his darkening the characters and comic relief even more in favor of a relentless sense of dread and some truly shocking violence. The soundtrack was also amazing for its use of classic 1970’s radio songs that drove some key scenes (the ending of the film is particularly brilliant). His takes on the Halloween films were really cool because he gave Michael Myers a back story that made you actually feel for the disturbed kid who’d become the unstoppable killer of your worst nightmares. I keep meaning to see The Haunted World of El Super Beasto on cable, but I keep missing that animated feature or finding it on somewhere in the middle and I want to see it from the beginning. Anyway, The Lords of Salem looks pretty creepy based on the clips and trailer I’ve seen, so I just may have to check this out at some point. Of course, I’m so busy that it’ll probably be on cable late at night with me half hiding under a blanket…

Two More Reasons To Grab Message From Space On DVD…

Posted on April 18, 2013 by geelw

Sure, it’s not the best sci-fi flick out there, but there’s a certain crazy exuberance in these clips that makes Message From Space pretty hilarious in its own right. Yeah, I like bad films as well as great ones, so sue me. or at least watch this one and some of the others I recommend from time to time. You’ll get an education on cinema and not have to pay too much to some silly film school where all you’ll learn is you’ve gone into debt and no one will hire you to work on a feature film because you spent too much time in class listening to some old guy telling you there’s nothing better than Citizen Kane. Which is true in some respects, but there are a LOT of great (and not so great) movies in other genres worth seeing…

Shout Factory Thaws Out 1990’s Captain America (And Its Camp Awesomeness)…

Posted on April 18, 2013 by geelw

I remember seeing this at a convention and being floored at how cheesy some parts were but overall, it being really fun it was to watch. Cap with those wings on his head straight out of the comic book, battling the Red Skull and a bunch of Nazi creeps worked well for what it was, but of course, Marvel buried this budget flick for ages soon afterward. It’s actually not bad at all and LIGHT YEARS better than the terrible TV series that ran for a short time in 1979. Then again, it seems that Cap has gotten better with age in terms of his film and TV appearances. The most recent flick was sheer fun from start to finish and even the video game kinda-sorta based on that flick wasn’t half bad, warts and all. Anyway, if you loved that new Cap flick and want to check out one that’s in the same vein, defintely hit up Shout Factory’s site and grab this comic book flick if you like your heroes imperfect yet still able to put a boot up the butt of the bad guys

Iron Man 3 Featurette 2: Tony Stark Certainly Doesn’t Buy His Suits At Men’s Wearhouse…

Posted on April 18, 2013 by geelw

Another week, another Iron Man 3 making-of feature bound for the home video release (mark my words). It’s fun seeing Marvel set up their universe through these recent flicks that do an interesting job at condensing that huge history from their comics into two-hour (or less) chunks easily digested by the masses. Granted, for some reason Spider-Man, Ghost Rider and some other heroes haven’t yet gotten that “perfect” reworking as film properties (at least in my opinion), but it’ll be interesting to see how the characters from other films cross over into the more popular ones over time…

Man of Steel Trailer #3: NOW We’re Going Somewhere…

Posted on April 16, 2013 by geelw

Yeah, that’s more like it. Of course, given the buzz building up around this one, it’s still going to be polarizing at the end of the day because of the new, darker tone and weird Superman costume some still hate with a passion. Of course, I say let’s see this as a nice restart to a franchise that went off the rails after the second film (and even then, that second film was half of what it could have been thanks to a directorial change that added a wee bit too much funny stuff). If this new flick IS as amazing as it looks, I’m hoping there’s a story arc sitting in a safe somewhere that can be whipped out to ensure the same quality goes into that (inevitable) sequel…

After Earth Trailer: Isn’t There A Happy Future Flick Out There?

Posted on April 16, 2013 by geelw

OK, OK, I get it. We’re totally screwed in the future. SPOILER ALERT: “Soylent Green is people!!!” Oops. Wrong movie. Anyway, as good as these films look with all those fancy effects and enotional performances, it’s turning into a parade of “We’re DOOOOOOMED!” cinema, which for my dime, was done better back in the days of cheaper and campier “B” flicks. Don’t get me wrong, folks – I like watching these films from time to time, but it seems that Hollywood LOVES to follow trends and run them into the ground to an overly numbing degree. Of course, try telling that to the masses who end up plopping down the cost of a movie ticket on a regular basis to see these similar flicks and you’ll probably catch a popcorn bucket to the head…

Review: The Croods Prehistoric Party (DS/3DS)

Posted on April 15, 2013 by geelw

Platform: Nintendo DS/3DS

Developer: Torus Games

Publisher: D3Publisher of America

# of Players: 1 – 4

ESRB Rating: E (Everyone)

Official Site: (3DS) (DS)

Score: C (70%)

Like the Wii and Wii U versions, The Croods Prehistoric Party is a collection of 30 mini-games that range from pretty darn fun to slightly (and temporarily) baffling. While colorful and lots of fun to play, both of the portable versions miss the golden opportunity to add any sort of multiplayer modes. In terms of design decisions on a handheld that has a number of fine multiplayer and party-themed games, this is actually a lot more baffling than that occasional mini-game you won’t get right away. As for how this is as a solo game, well, playing against the AI is at best, a bit too easy and at worst, way too easy once you find a few exploits too tempting to pass up… Continue reading →

Random Film of the Week: Message From Space FINALLY Gets A DVD Release!

Posted on April 15, 2013 by geelw

Way back in 1978, if you somehow STILL didn’t see Star Wars even when the film got its big re-release (or was still running in some theaters), this was another one of those “replacement” flicks you may have gotten taken to instead (or had to settle for if it was running at a theater nearby the one where Star Wars was playing). Famed Japanese director Kinji Fukusaku (Battle Royale) whipped up a first-rate “B” movie that yes, takes a lot of inspiration from George Lucas’ space opera, but also adds bits from anime and Japanese samurai flicks plus a few other things and the result is an instant cult classic (well, in my book). The effects team did some pretty amazing things in the model shots that give many of them a more kinetic look than what ILM did earlier, but the tradeoff is the acting in the latter film sticks to everyone mugging it up for the camera in their own ways… Continue reading →

THIS IS THE END Trailers: Oh, Don’t Give Me Hope, Hollywood!

Posted on April 14, 2013 by geelw

Heh. OK, this disaster comedy whatever is probably going to do a ton of business when it hits theaters on June 12, but I know there are some who just want Hollywood to break off and float away into the ocean. I’m not one of those folks, mind you, but I do wish these writers and other creative types could come up with something a good deal more original than retreading Irwin Allen flicks and adding more modern humor and celebrities I could care less about if they did fall into a hole somewhere in real life. Eh, I’ll catch this on cable when it pops up in… let’s say January of February of next year. Er, provided we’re still here and not sucking down atomic dust from a few of those “now they’ve got a decent range!” North Korean missiles. Duck and cover, indeed…

Warner Bros. Pictures Wants You to Know That YOU ARE NOT ALONE

Posted on April 14, 2013 by geelw

Oh, you already knew that? Well, good for you. Here’s some double assurance (or just single assurance for you out there having a lonely Sunday in front of the TV with a big bowl of whatever) which is actually a really nice tickle and tease for Zach Snyder’s upcoming Superman reboot, The Man of Steel if you’re paying close enough attention. I like the way this plays on elements of Richard Donner’s film a tiny bit, but you know that Snyder’s got his own style working. Hmmm… I wonder if we’ll see other characters in the film get their own themed teasers? It would be nice to see, but that’s all up to the boys and gals in marketing and the director or an ad agency whipping up the right ad. Personally, I just want to see the film and less hype, but so it goes…