Super 8 (2011) - 4/5

Although the viral campaign had me hooked into the concept of "Super 8", the film itself wasn't the monster flick that was hinted at with its trailers but it is more like the science fiction/dramas of the 80s that producer Steven Spielberg crafted. This lends a bit of disappointment at my end, but its hard to deny the impressive writing and directing that J.J. Abrams brings to the table with this family friendly alien monster film. It hits all the right emotional cues with its young cast and it entertains was massive action sequences. It's all around just another solid film for the new mainstream king of science fiction.

When a group of young teens desperate to finish filming their zombie film happen to see a massive train derailment in their small town, the entire city is thrown into some unusual circumstances. Electronics, engines, and microwaves begin to disappear along with some of the local town folk. The military has taken up to doing rounds in the area. It's beginning to look like something has broken free from the train...something that may not be of this world.

Strip "Super 8" down to the basic details and, yeah, its a monster/alien movie. Tons of special effects, a cleverly designed alien, and some great mystery surrounding the beast makes for an entertaining science fiction film. Sometimes it can be a little ridiculous (the train derailment is seriously one of the most extravagant and over the top train crashes I have seen EVER in a film) and it takes away from the plot of the film...but it is entertaining and it works for the most part and often times seems innovative with how it fits into the plot.

Believe it or not, for an Abrams film, the special effects and explosions are not the best part of the film. Of course his style as a director crafts some very awesome sequences (like the small town being overrun with tanks), but really its his writing that makes this film what it is. Our fantastically acted entourage of kid heroes invokes a childish view of the world  where the mystique of the film is fully realistic and their plight to save one another in a world where adults don't seem to always know what's best allows the audience to pull for them in full gear...cheering on their quest and believing in their friendships and young love with vigor. J.J. Abrams might be a director know for entertaining, but he has one helluva way of combining it with enough emotional attachment to make us believe. Something that mainstream science fiction rarely establishes anymore (...cough, Michael Bay, cough).

I wasn't quite as impressed as I thought I would be with "Super 8" as the Abrams loses some of his own style in the homage to the 80s childhood wonder of Spielberg's vision, but the execution of the film with its solid writing and great acting makes for a solid science fiction romp. Occasionally it runs into a few awkward plot moves (with Coach Taylor being able to escape military?), but overall its a fantastic watch. One that I fully recommend.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Humongous (1982) - 2.5/5

Back in 1982 the word "Humongous" was a rather new and proved to be good fodder for a horror film title thus this Canadian slasher was written around that term. So we get director Paul Lynch, hot off the success of "Prom Night", returning to give the slasher genre another stab with not as congenial of results despite a promising premises.

A group of dumb-ass teens crash their fathers yacht off shore of a mysterious island only rumored to be occupied by a senile old woman and a pack of wild dogs. Well it seems that the women was raped 35 years before and the residuum of that encounter was a deformed child that grows up to be a "humongous" wild haired madman. The thing dabbles in cannibalism and since his mother's demise roams the island looking for food.

A wilderness madman was nothing new in the genre thanks to "Friday the 13th Part 2" inspiring such slasher off-spring as "Madman", "The Burning" and "Don't Go in the Woods" but what makes this one stand-out in the bunch is the unique setting of a remote island. This adds to potential suspense as our group of young adults are trapped, with no-where to run.

The wild hairy monster itself is nothing special or unique and Paul Lynch wisely keeps the thing unseen in the shadows for the most part. Clever use of shadows is the name of the game for Lynch as he drapes the creep old house and woods in darkness again adding for potential suspense.

I use the word 'potential' as Lynch sadly misses many marks to make this truly scary. The climax, if you want to call it that, is unexciting without jumps or scars, despite the clever use of shadows.

The acting is nothing special and rather poor for the most part making the characters nothing more than cannibal fodder for the slaughter. Seriously this group of teens is some of the most unlikeable I've seen in the glory age of classic slashers. One jackass even aims a loaded gun at his brother, playfully saying he's going to blow his brains out. Fuck these guys... let them become cannibal food.

"Humongous" is worth hunting down for fans of the genre as it has been rather hard to find until it's recent DVD release by Scorpion. It had major potential to be a suspenseful thriller but mostly falls flat thanks to shit characters, bad acting and a director that is unable to craft true suspense. Don't expect a slasher among the ranks of "The Burning" and you will find some entertainment value to insure it won't be a 'humungous' letdown.

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975) - 2/5

On one side of the Giallo genre you have the edgy elegance of the Hitchcock inspired thrillers among the works of Dario Argento and Mario Bava. On the other side you have... "Strip Nude for Your Killer". As one can tell from the 'in your face' title this firmly belongs on the trashy side of the Giallo genre along with the likes of such 'masterworks' as "The French Sex Murders". As a matter of fact "Strip Nude for Your Killer" very well might be the trashiest the genre has to offer... which can be a good or bad thing depending on what you look for in entertainment.

The simplistic murder mystery plot opens with a women dying during an illegal abortion procedure in which the doctor and an unseen assailant stage it as an accident. A few years later all of the friends and co-workers of the dead women are being brutally killed by a motorcycle masked killer. Now a photographer has to solve the murder before everyone in his agency ends up dead.

The plot is full of every cliché Giallo element known to fans. Main character tries to solve the murders without police involvement: check. Black gloved killer: check. Outrageous twist ending: check. Doses of bloody gore: check. Nudity: QUADRUPLE CHECK. Director Andrea Bianchi was never known for making art (his zombie film "Burial Ground" is a prime example) and he is far more interested in showing ample amounts of female skin over developing an engaging murder mystery.

Andrea Bianchi also injects plenty of odd comedy into the picture to me it just came off putting when sandwiched in-between violent murders and attempted rapes. Maybe it's a cultural barrier but I found most of the comical elements at odds with the rest of the film and rather annoying.

All of the actors are absolute mediocre but with a mediocre plot they fit right in. The sole person that shines is the gorgeous brunet Edwige Fenech, a veteran of many Gialli including "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh" and "The Case of the Bloody Iris". Don't worry... we get to see plenty of her skin too.

Violence and nudity are an expected element in the Giallo genre but they are usually done with style and pizazz without overtaking the plot. The filmmakers here say fuck the plot, fuck subtlety and go overboard with the female skin in hopes that that exploitative element alone would sell tickets. It worked as many people choose to see this trashy picture due to its title and reputation over much better films the genre has to offer. As an engrossing Giallo this fails but if female nudity is your sole element to judge a films quality then dig in.

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Cyberjack [Virtual Assassin] (1995) - 1.5/5

I have an insane, some might call unhealthy addiction for any film starring Michael "Dude"ikoff. Being a huge Cannon film buff I first saw such 'astonishing' Dudikoff performances in such films as "American Ninja", "Avenging Force" and "Platoon Leader". For the most part I haven't seen many films he did after Cannon languished... and "Cyberjack" proves it's for good reason.

The plot is nothing more than a lame "Die Hard" rip-off with healthy dose of that virtual high-tech bullshit that so many films in the early 90s tried to capitalize on. Dudikoff is a burnt out ex-cop that takes the job as a janitor for a computer virus facility. After grimacing through some sequences where he flirts with his boss's daughter, the building he works at gets high jacked by a psychotic albino (Brion James) that just happens to be the same guy that blew his partner away. Now it's time to go all John McClane on their asses.

So many plot elements are recycled from "Die Hard" that one will fill an head-ache inducing sense of deja vu waving over them. Crawling through ductwork: check. Killing guy to get machine gun: check. Hero clashing with police outside: check. Trust me, all the "Die Hard" cliché's are here.

Aside from the "Die Hard" elements the high tech futuristic portion of the plot is also completely ridiculous. Our head villain wants a computer virus injected into his body in order for him to go viral. Seriously, are we ripping off "The Lawnmower Man" also? Hell, I will admit the plot is more intriguing than "Lawnmower Man 2".

The production values are low and Dudikoff's performance is on caliber of stiff cardboard, but all this is to be expected. Veteran actor Brion James ("Blade Runner") steals the show as our villain but his appearance is so god damn hokey that he only induces laughter instead of terror. His white albino look and crazy 80's fountain hair is nothing more than absolute ludicrousness. Come on guys, this is the same guy that gave us the insane sadistic performance in "The Horror Show" so give him some dignity when he appears on screen!

"Cyberjack" is nothing more than an extremely low rent futuristic action film that serves nothing more than filler on the video store rental shelves. At the same time it proves that Dudikoff sorely misses the B-action magic of the Cannon film logo in order to make is drivel at least entertaining. My advice is to skip it unless you catch it on a midnight showing due to insomnia.

The film ironically was released under two separate titles no doubt wanting to fool people into renting such drivel twice thinking their getting a different film. The first is the more catchy and fitting "Cyberjack" and the other is the utterly generic "Virtual Assassin." The version I own on DVD is under the latter title from Lionsgate and it's obvious "Virtual Assassin" is not the original title as the font and cheap graphics look nothing like the rest of the opening credits.

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Mafia (1968) - 4/5

The simply titled "Mafia" (aka "Day of the Owl") is first of three politically charged Poliziotteschi crime thrillers that Italian superstar Franco Nero teamed up with director Damiano Damiani. Out of all three that the two collaborated on (this, "Confessions of a Police Captain" and "How to Kill a Judge"), "Mafia" is my personal favorite despite being the most somber of the three with little action and by far the most difficult to locate on home video.

Taking place in the Sicilian countryside, the film focuses on a personal war between a newly appointed police captain (Franco Nero) and Mafia boss Don Mariano (J. Lee Cobb) who both abide by their own beliefs and ethics and loyalty. Caught in the middle is a beautiful peasant (Claudia Cardinale) who's husband served as an eyewitness to a mafia hit.

This early entry into the Poliziotteschi genre is among the first to deal with the mafia (though it is never mentioned by name) and manages to avoid many of the plot trappings of films to come. Like the other two entries directed by Damiano Damiani this is a somber moving film that goes into great detail about police procedure... an approach that guarantees not much action.

What makes me like this film than Damiani's other films in the genre is the beautiful look provided by visionary cinematographer Tonino Delli Colli, a veteran of films with Mario Bava and Dario Argento, which captures the rustic landscape of Sicily wonderfully. This beautiful look is draped perfectly with a dynamic euro score by Giovanni Fusco.

The cast is also tops with an amazing international cast. A young, mustache-less Franco Nero is assured as the Police Captain and Cardinale is as complex and gorgeous as she was in Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West" which was released the same year as this. American actor J. Lee Cobb makes a surprise appearance as the Don proving the films antagonist is just as smart and determined as our hero.

The downbeat ending leaves a lot of questions open (as with most Damiani crime films) and the film lacks action but the amazing cast and professional look makes this a must see for fans of "A" level Italian entertainment that goes beyond the trappings of typical B-grade genre films. Wild East was nice enough to finally release the film on DVD, completely uncut, in a double feature with another politically charged crime outing entitled "I Am the Law."

Written By Eric Reifschneider

Blade (1998) - 4/5

Although I was never a huge comic book nerd, its films like "Blade" that make me want to be. I will admit I am fairly unfamiliar with the Blade franchise outside of the films, but if its anything like the movie then its gotta be kick ass. This film rocks almost every element to the core. It's dark and violent. Quirky. Stylish with directing and completely top notch with its casting. Although Marvel has come through recently with how good its films are, one has to give "Blade" credit as one of the films that started the ball rolling.

In a future not far from ours, the vampires that have survived in hiding so long have taken to the charisma of an up-and-coming Frost (Dorff) to ignite a prophecy to make the vampires the next species dominate over Earth. For every villain there is a hero and Blade (Snipes), a human/vampire hybrid deemed The Daywalker, is armed to the teeth with vampire slaying artillery. As it would turn out, Blade will be the key to defeat Frost or give him ultimate power...

When "Blade" was released, I was 13. I was obsessed with this film. Now watching it a little over a decade later, I still get those same feelings about the movie. The character Blade is simply bad ass. Snipes is the perfect casting for the day walker and Goyer's script may not be quite the A-list film many expect, but it embraces the darkness and comic book ridiculousness to its full benefit. Blade tears through baddies with guns, blades (including his sweet ass sword...err...pig-sticker) and spouts off cold-hearted one liners like no one's business...all while wearing shades and brandishing a badass vest - driving around in a black muscle car. Can you get cooler than that in 1998?

Stephen Norrington ably adds to the style with his modern flourishes. Fast paced action sequences galore with enough violence to please those looking for a bit of horror in the film are established right off the bat. He throws in some low end humor via Kris Kristofferson as Blade's mentor and weapon man Whistler that works for what it is and the rather basic "this is our story through someone thrown into the mix" plot gets it done with its swift pacing.

"Blade" isn't perfect though. It suffers from over use of that hodge-podge late 90s CGI and some rather awkward moments (including a fast-forward driving sequence) that halts the rather efficient pace of the film. Other than that though, its hard for me not to praise this violent extravaganza of comic book awesomeness. It's dark and fun at the same time. A great combination that works for this character that leaves us with one of my favorite action films of the 90s and one that makes Snipes' version of Blade one of my favorite castings ever.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000) - 2.5/5

How do you make a sequel to a horror film that changes the landscape of horror films in the late 90s? Make it as cliche as possible is the only answer I can gather from "Book Of Shadows: Blair Witch 2". Although there is some interesting ideas here, buried in poorly paced horror formulas and mixed executions, this sequel to the revolutionary "Blair Witch Project" is even a disappointment to someone who thought the original was overrated.

A group of young folk, desperate to investigate if the myths behind the surprise hit "Blair Witch Project" hires a local man (Donovan) to take them on a tour to where the events of the film took place. Unfortunately, their night of fun and research turns awkward when they awake to find a serious chunk of their night missing from their memories and the tapes of their recorded visit to the site holding clues to what happened. Now the lines of reality are blurred and people are beginning to die...

There is something clever about "Blair Witch 2" in idea. A film about the hype of the original film? Interesting, pseudo-documentary twist on the concept (hey, Tom Six! That means this idea was done before "Human Centipede 2"!) where the general plot perks my interest. The odd way that things play out where its told in retrospective via interrogation and some of the more thought through scares work on me a bit. There is some very clever ideas at work here in this movie and some of the directions that the movie moves can be inspired...

...but...if concepts sold everything then there would be a lot of great movies out there. This one just never gets it across like it should have. The acting can be horrendous at times, the dialogue is forced, the scares are from left field and rarely impact like they could have, and the random directing (with leaps to our main local character in a mental asylum) will leave you scratching your head at times. Although our lead actor is charming at times and occasionally the plot plays off with surprisingly solid atmosphere, the rest is extremely lackluster. It sort of lingers in a pool of mediocrity - never delving into B-movie territory, but not reaching the height of its A-horror film release either.

I might be the minority here as I don't think "Blair Witch 2" is a complete train wreck, but the film certainly isn't good either. It rocks itself on some great ideas of which almost none of them are executed in the ways they should have been. It has its moments, a few charming moments here and there, but the overall film is just plain mediocre.


Written By Matt Reifschneider

Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 1, The (2011) - 2/5

Despite my rather mixed feelings about the watered down David Slade and his work on "Eclipse", it's this first part of the fourth entry that makes me realize just how good that the last film had it. "Breaking Dawn Part 1" is a rather rehashed and anti-abortion campaign of "New Moon". The love triangle never diminishes, the action is sparse, and the melodrama is slathered on in glorious tween-girl thickness. Everything a late 20 year old male like myself loves to see in his vampire/werewolf movies.

Bella (Stewart) and Edward (Pattinson) are finally going to get hitched. Although wolf boy Jacob (Lautner) doesn't take the news too well, the wedding seems to go without a hitch. Now the human/vampire couple is off to their honeymoon on an island outside of Brazil only to find things get complicated very quickly. Particularly when Bella begins to feel something moving around inside of her...

As we've discussed before, there is an audience for this film. That audience are those who read the books and like the books. I can't say that I'm either, but as a fan of vampires and fantasy films (and who has a wife that likes the franchise) I once again found myself at the mercy of "Twilight". Unfortunately, this film is only made for those who loved the books. Outside of that "Breaking Dawn" is a sappy love story that paces like snail and gives us almost nothing to truly grab onto. It also lacks explaining certain things well enough for those of us who haven't read the books. It brushes over "imprinting" by werewolves, the random island honeymoon, and some of the subplots are very poorly explained - like the weird "cousins" at the wedding.

Like the other films in this series, this one suffers massively from a few flaws. Uninspiring dialogue, hit or miss acting, a focus on the sappy love triangle (that by this time should no longer be relevant...but yet here it is) - it doesn't seem to matter how good of a director each film gets since the writing and performances are still sub-par. Stewart is predictably awkward. Pattison is as weepingly forlorn as ever. Lautner only takes his shirt off once, but is once again the 'tough guy' with his heart on strings. Nothing new. Nothing better.

What frustrates me the most about "Breaking Dawn Part 1" is the lacking 'epicness' that should go along with a two part finale for a blockbuster franchise. The last entry at least had a solid build to it with some serious consequences in it, but this one lacks that. Firstly because its the first half of a full film (so I didn't really expect it to be quite a finished thought) and secondly because nothing happens. Sans the entire anti-abortion theme that runs rampant in the main concept, the film drags on and on about the same old things. It lacks a good villain to kick it up a notch and although Condon does a decent job staging the entire thing - it certainly feels like the first half of a movie and not a movie itself.

Although "Eclipse" was a step in the right direction for the franchise, "Breaking Dawn Part 1" is a step back. Dull plot, sappy acting, poorly explained details, and poorly written dialogue plague the film from getting where it needs to be for its impactful moral struggles. Here's to hoping that "Part 2" brings back the Volturi with a vengeance and gives us the epic finale that this franchise needs.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Batman: Year One (2011) - 3.5/5

DC animated films have seriously been far better than their live action counterparts. No offense to Christopher Nolan and the very awesome directions he has taken Batman in his films, but these animated features that focus on our favorite Dark Knight are beyond well done. Even though "Batman: Year One" takes the character into some very interesting directions (it is based on the graphic novel co-written by Frank Miller of "Sin City" fame), this latest adventure of Batman doesn't quite touch on the previous one "Under The Red Hood". Doesn't mean this noir take on Batman's first year of kicking ass isn't a blast to watch for fans though...

Bruce Wayne has just returned to Gotham after a stint of training. He has decided to fight against the scum of the city with his own skills. At the same time, an idealistic Gordon has just been transferred to the police force with his newly pregnant wife. These two men are about to find out what it takes to do what is right when it comes to fighting the corruption in Gotham...one will take justice in his own hands as the other fights to make the people of this city want the justice for themselves.

There are some very unique aspects about "Batman: Year One". Firstly, the film takes a very dark and noir style to how it tells its story. The obvious Frank Miller style of writing is up front in this animated feature with a ton of voice overs for the characters and the very adult oriented themes. The film touches on prostitution, bribery, adultery, police corruption, violence, adult language....the list goes on. The PG-13 rating might be a little light (I know...CRAZY!) and the dark themes and concepts leave Batman in the dark storytelling that makes him my favorite superhero. This part of "Year One" is very well executed.

Secondly, the film does an interesting twist and makes Gordon one of the main characters. In many of the animated features he is left as a supporting character, "Year One" places him up front as a collaborator and comparison to the Batman origin story that we all know too well now. This is a hit or miss aspect of the film though as it takes away from the mysteriousness of Wayne/Batman and takes away from some of his screen time. It's an interesting take on mythos of Gotham and one that fans will enjoy, but it does take away from our favorite hero.

On top of that, the film does have a rather intriguing animation style. An odd combination of Anime and old school American, it gives the feature a rather mixed look too. At times it works, but some of the computer generated moments seem forced and make for awkward sequences. It does give the right feel for the script and general feel for the feature and that works for it.

"Batman: Year One" might not be the expertly executed and fantastic "Under The Red Hood", but its such a unique take on the Batman mythos that its hard for fans not to enjoy it even if the action is minimized and the the screen time shared with Gordon. It might be as hit or miss as "Gotham Knight", but its hard for the Batfan in me not to be stoked with this film. Mostly for fans only though...definitely not for kids.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Transformers: Dark Of The Moon (2011) - 2/5

My horrible disdain for the second "Transformers" film certainly played a role in how long I waited to watch this third entry with perhaps the worst sub-title known to man (dark WHAT of the moon?! Dark side? Dark hole? Dark stupidity? Dark what?!?!?!) and despite my sheer anger at the plot holes of part two, its hard to say that this third entry didn't improve on it. I wasn't angry, but then again, I really wasn't anything with this one. My fear in the first film turned to anger with part two and finally spun itself into apathy for part three. It doesn't help that a rather flat and over-epic script and Michael Bay's directing did nothing to reaffirm my interest in any of the characters or their fates. The simplistic word 'meh' aptly describes my experience with "Transformers 3".

Sam (LaBeouf) has been trying to restart his life since the epic world saving events of of the last film. He's got a new girlfriend (Huntington-Whiteley) and he is desperately looking for a new job. When his new job mysteriously links him to some information about a crashed Autobot spaceship on the dark side of the moon, he has to once again call upon his Transformer friends to thwart a Decepticon plan to revive their lost planet Cybertron.

It's hard to say whether I actually liked "Transformers 3" or not. I had no investment into it. To it's benefit, Michael Bay does what he does best (again). He has a lot of visually assaulting high octane action sequences where very big robots fight other bigger robots. Granted, much of the charm of watching these bots battle it out while wrecking cities has already started to get old and this film rarely adds enough new to capture the imagination again sans a rather odd use of a giant robot earthworm that seems poorly used by the Decepticons. At times there are some very cool moments with Bumblebee thrusting Sam from the front seat to turn into the robot only to catch him and turn into a car before he hits the ground, but the style of the film isn't enough to fill in the gaping holes of logic or poorly executed concepts in the film.

This brings me to what has plagued this franchise since film one. WHERE IS THE THOUGHT IN THIS MOVIE? Our characters are once again poorly developed (despite some being three movies now) and some characters are there in random moments - I'm looking at you John Malkovich - who mean nothing to the plot or give substance to the tale. The actual plot is kind of interesting with the history of the war between the Transformers coming to the present, but rarely makes a lot of sense. Government cover-ups? Massive Decepticon/human alliances? This film feels like it should have followed the first one as it rarely even acknowledges the events of the second film (that's okay, I try to forget it too) and never explains certain things that needed to be addressed for this plot to work.

"Transformers 3" at least doesn't throw in the frustratingly awkward moments like the second film did, but it didn't necessarily fix the problems that have plagued this franchise. It still has very weak characters (when you're best actor is CGI robot you know something is wrong), the humor is rarely effective, and the plot is still massively plot hole riddled. It has some good action pieces including a very long winded finale, but its not enough to win me over yet. Too much style over substance still. Maybe if they put Jason Statham in the next one I will be excited.

Written By Matt Reifschneider