Record of Lodoss War 1-13 (1991)

Hello all ! Its time for another trip to the past. The years were late 1990 early 1991 Nirvana had released "Nevermind" kickstarting the grunge movement, "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" was blowing up the U.S. box offices. Michael Jackson was still not "Black or White" and a pound of bacon was only $1.95. Those were the days. Around this time in Japan another sensation was hitting the shelves on VHS. "Record of Lodoss War!", based on a series of  fantasy novels written by Ryo Mizuno. Set in an RPG kind of world, "Record of Lodoss War" was building up steam within the anime world. Over here in the states wee little Johnny was never exposed to such things. My only exposure was "Voltron" and "Transformers." Fast forward to 2002 were I found myself working at Suncoast video and alas, I was finally introduced to the anime world. A coworker had asked me to watch anime with him and the title was.... you guessed it... "Record of Lodoss War." I gracefully declined his offer. Now here we are in 2012, a solid 10 yrs later, and I have finally sat down to watch this series. Buckle up grab some nachos and read this review.

The story: This is an epic adventure story. Much like "Dungeons & Dragons", "Lord of the Rings" and pretty much any recent RPG adventure game. You have your elves, dwarves, wizards, witches, and warlocks along with loads and loads of magic . It also has Dragonsssss! The series centers around the main hero Parn, since this is his adventure afterall. Parn sets out to find out why his father (a knight) was dishonored. Accompanying Parn on his adventure are: Etoh- the priest/healer and childhood friend of Parn, Deedlit- a high elf and love interest of Parn, Ghim - a dwarf warrior whom has his own personal reasons for coming along, Slayn - a wizard in training, and finally a thief named Woodchuck. They all set out to try and take down the Gray Witch. Along the way they meet allies and foes aplenty, ranging from humans to dark elves to demon beasts oh and DRAGONSSSSSSS.

I couldn't help but notice right away how similar this series felt to "Lord of the Rings."
From the fellowship to the quest and the dwarf's, it is oh so similar. With that said, after seeing the series it really is not like those films or books at all. If you like LOTR or D&D, this is a fun adventure. I thought the writers did a good job with character development and giving everyone their time while remaining with the story line. There were no wasted episodes, which, after reviewing several older series, I am starting to think it is more newer anime that uses filler episodes. We shall see.

The art- The animation used in this series certainly dates itself, but it's still enjoyable to watch. The dragons do not flap their wings, they kind of scoot across the sky or just hover. Several times I noticed there were no mouth movements when characters talked. Other than that it was still a very colorful series with lots of visual effects such as bright seizure inducing colors during magic battles. I feel the characters were well drawn and animated, especially druing the battle scenes. The backgrounds and landscapes were vibrant and as much a part of the series and the characters. Overall it looks like an animated series from it's era, however it still stands the test of time.

Music- The series is filled with subtle back ground music, nothing over the top or in your face. The opening song was performed by Sherry and was very enjoyable. I feel like the music went with the series, there was nothing distracting in my opinion.

Voice acting- I thought all the voices were great. I am not sure how many of these actors are still around but I really thought they worked well, one and all. I really liked the voice of Pirotess, the female dark elf played by Meg Frances. Even though she was on the wrong side of the war she was my favorite character.

Overall- I loved the story, liked the art work, enjoyed the music and the voice acting was spot on. If you are into fantasy anime this is a must see. It has taken me 10 yrs to finally see this series and what a shame for me because I really missed out.Now if someone says to me Hey Johnny if you could only take one anime title on a deserted island which would it be. I will have to say "Record of Lodoss War". It  really takes one back to better days, when times were more simple. Also I can only recall one boob shot and it was a necessary scene. Other than that, I can't recall any fan service type stuff, only good story and good times. I will make one suggestion, do not be like me and put this off, it is a great watch. I know that you the readers have probably been waiting for this so here it is... DRAGONSSSSSS!! Enjoy!

 Til next time. Keep watching anime!!

Written By John Price

Like what you see in the review? Pick up "Record Of Lodoss War" and some other choice cuts by John at the links below!!

Daredevil (2003)

Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Notable Cast: Ben Affleck, Jennifer Garner, Michael Clarke Duncan, Colin Farrell, Joe Pantoliano

After the mostly surprising success of "Spider-Man", Fox decided to not fuck around with the rights for other Marvel characters and pumped some serious money into "Daredevil" hoping to kick start another franchise. Garnering a slew of popular actors at the time and giving it to a seasoned director (and by seasoned, I mean a guy who gave us comedies like the "Grumpy Old Men" films and the horrendous "Jack Frost"), Fox piled on talent and money into "Daredevil." And that being said there are certainly some things to enjoy about The Man Without Fear and his plight in Hell's Kitchen, but many script issues and some goofy choices in execution make this one of Marvel's worst film versions.

After a horrible accident leaves him blind as a child and the mob kills his father, Matt Murdock (Affleck) vows to uphold justice by any means necessary. He becomes a lawyer by day and uses his increased senses to become a masked crusader by night known as Daredevil. As his plight continues, he crosses paths with a mysterious Kingpin of crime (Duncan) and their battle will cascade down as he tries to save Elektra (Garner) from hitmen like Bullseye (Farrell) and bring an end to the organized crime that has plagued his city for too long.

I guess she would hit a guy with glasses.

Just for the record, never, ever, ever, ever, ever watch the theatrical cut of this film. When I saw it, years ago - I had nothing good to say about it. Not a single thing. As is though, this is a review for the director's cut which is a far superior version as it actually makes sense. It has a cohesive narrative and some darker tones that are completely missing from the theatrical version. Thusly, just stick with this director's cut.

Even though this version is far superior, it's still a rather muddled affair that fails to balance its darker tones and comic book visuals. It's a film that generally misses on most of the things it could have used to kick it to the next level - and Johnson really has trouble getting the action to work either. So despite being "better", "Daredevil" is still a mess.

I figured I would post one of their fight without costumes, and one with. Ironically, this is the less cheesy of the two.

A lot of it starts with its script as it has to pack in so much to get in the origin story, characters, and main plot to fit into its two hours. There are some great artistic choices made in the film and things hinted at with its character work, including a great subtext of Murdock's struggle with his religious beliefs, but even those are required to take a back seat as it pummels the run time with far too much plot and character development. The plot structure is a fairly classic one for a comic book film, it just throws too much in there to really complete the narrative like it needed to.

But that should be okay, right? Just because "Daredevil" has trouble with really unwrapping a cohesive story doesn't mean it isn't a fun and entertaining film. Well, in this particular case, it does. With its shaky foundations in writing and plot work, Johnson struggles to handle what is happening on screen. The visuals of the film are honestly quite goofy and they really embrace this cartoonish feel to it. This ideology may have worked for "Spider-Man" but it doesn't work here. Affleck desperately clings onto his character, but he isn't give much more than ridiculous hairstyles to chew into, and the secondary cast overacts everything they do - this is one particularly punched at Farrell who's fun, but really tongue in cheek.

"I never miss...except for every time I try to hit you...like ever..."

Then to match it's over the top performances Johnson (and the script) really push the action to outrageous levels that simply don't work. Initially, our first view of Affleck as Daredevil is fucking awesome. The darkly brutal fist fight and stunt work in the bar is high octane and really embraces what Daredevil was as a justice giver. Then after that, Johnson focuses on making the action a visual feast rather than something more than that. It's jacked with too much CGI and often loses a lot of its flow. The fight between Daredevil, Elektra, and Bullseye has horrible pacing and ends with a John Woo inspired church battle that occurs partially on massive CGI organ pipes?!? And the film just can't survive its own comic bookish style at this point.

There are a few highlights in the film, the before mentioned first action sequence and Michael Clarke Duncan who was a very inspired casting choice for Kingpin, but "Daredevil" just comes off as a rather muddied attempt at blending serious ideas, dark tones of psyche, and comic book fun action. Although Johnson would actually outdo himself in shitty comic book films with the atrocity that is "Ghost Rider", "Daredevil" gives it a run for its money as one of the weakest Marvel films.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Cry_Wolf (2005)

Director: Jeff Wadlow
Notable Cast: Julian Morris, Lindy Booth, Jared Padalecki, Jon Bon Jovi
Also Known As: Cry Wolf

As if the revival slasher genre hadn't already grown insanely stale by this time, companies kept trying to reignite the failing trend by creating gimmicks and "twists" to the tried and true formula. Unfortunately it rarely works with the watered down versions that kept pumping out well into the 00s and "Cry Wolf" falls prey to its own schemes. That being said there is some cleverness to its by the basics "whodunnit" tale of murder on a private high school campus with how it goes about creating its villain, but it still ends up lumped with its peers in being too melodramatic and weak in the elements that make slashers great.

Owen (Morris) has had his fair share of trouble at previous high schools and with some string pulling his father gets him admitted to Westlake Preparatory Academy. This look up here when he meets Dodger (Booth) and brilliant and somewhat sneaky girl with the same ambitions as him and her friends who quickly form a tight bond. When a woman is killed outside of the school in the woods though, the group of friends decides to play a "urban legend" prank on the school. They create this slasher killer who repeatedly kills in the same manner at different schools to get people freaked. A problem then arises when mysterious IMs appear and threats become a reality as his friends disappear. Is the "Wolf" real or are one of the sheep cleverly disguised?

"Come on Scooby gang! Let's catch us a masked monster!"

I actually really enjoy the idea behind this film. A fictionalized killer becomes real, but our Scooby-Doo gang isn't sure if its one of them? A great murder-mystery concept there and one that could have properly followed in the self-realization footsteps as "Scream" for modern slashers. Unfortunately, it all gets so watered down by its push for a teen audience and some of its silly acting that its concept loses some of its oomph and it drowns in its own pool of cliche scares and plot progressions.

That's not to say its initially a bad film as it has its place for a "safe" young teen horror flick - but for a slasher its too childish and watered down. The acting is extraordinarily hit or miss with a decent job by Booth as Dodger, but it all sliding down hill from there to some horrible secondary cast members and the scares and plot progressions can be seen from a mile down the road. It desperately tries to throw in red herrings and various detail elements to get you questioning 'who is the wolf' but by the end is pretty damn obvious I thought - so that the twist itself wasn't the right hook it could have been.

You can cut the sexual tension with a knife. Too bad you don't see anything slasher worthy of sexual or knife.

So thusly, even with a cool concept, its a rather mundane horror film anyway...but does it work on the check list of being a slasher too? Let's hit the check list:

Awesome killer? I'd give this a check! The idea of a fictionalized killer with a hunter's outfit with a bright orange ski mask isn't necessarily all that cool looking, but director Wadlow handles how he is presented well enough and its costume of "regularly found items in the area" breeds well into the 'whodunnit' story.

Clever and unique kills? No check here. All we get here is by the book deaths in by the book places (attack in the shower room anyone?) and we don't get any deaths until the first act after a woman in shot in the opening. Shot? Pfft. I know this isn't your regular slasher (and the twist verifies that) but they could have come up with some better and more clever death sequences to make it more fun.

Masked killer in a bathroom...I've never seen THAT before! (Rolls eyes)

Abundance of gore/nudity? Nope. Wouldn't even think about giving this a check. Even on the 'unrated' DVD I watched, there is only a few scenes of blood splatter and no truly grotesque deaths for the film to really hold onto as a slasher. And if you are looking for you usual nudity, none found here as its geared for young adults who have less tolerance for that as they did in the 80s.

Relatable group of heros? I'd give "Cry_Wolf" a check in this column. Despite some horrendous acting performances as one goes into lesser roles, the group of teens we are following is fairly relatable in their wide variety of cliche styles. Punk kid. Cheerleader type. Smart ass. Jock. They are all here and do play off their stereotypes fairly well.

So in the end, "Cry_Wolf" is a half solid slasher, but it falls on insanely weak legs of acting and plot progression to get its concept moving. I admire the attempts as breathing new life into the revival slasher with its concept as a true follow up to the ideas of "Scream", but "Cry_Wolf" just fails to revive the revival. Its more often too watered down and silly to work and that will leave many horror fans hungry for more. Hungry like the wolf. To quote Duran Duran. Perhaps "Cry_Wolf" is a good gateway film to get young people into horror though?

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Kill Bill (2003/2004)

Director: Quentin Tarantino 
Notable Cast: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Lucy Liu, Vivaca A. Fox, Michael Madsen, Daryl Hannah with cameos by Gordon Liu, Sonny Chiba, Samuel L Jackson, Larry Bishop, Sid Haig, Michael Parks

*Note: "Kill Bill" is actually separated into two releases, "Vol. 1" and "Vol. 2" respectively. This review is for both releases, as it was meant to be one film initially and is best viewed back to back as one film. 

Quentin Tarantino has always been an anomaly to the system. Essentially, the man has made one helluva career by putting out Grindhouse/genre films and for whatever reason...both critics and the mainstream have bought into it. Granted I would argue that a majority of Tarantino fans really don't understand his films or why they make cult fans like the Blood Brothers rejoice in their genre glory, but they are what they are and as long as he keeps making them I'm okay with that. To get to the point though, Tarantino has always worn his influences right up front on his sleeve. Whether its the gritty 70s crime capers, blaxploitation films, or Asian kung fu cinema he puts it out there. And the "Kill Bill" series is about as obvious as it gets when it comes to collecting styles and putting it out there...sometimes to a fault.

After being left for dead by her former group of assassins during the middle of her wedding, The Bride (Thurman) sits in a coma for four years. Upon waking, she learns of the slaughter of her wedding and pines for the loss of her unborn daughter. She then begins a quest of revenge upon her former team and their leader Bill. First she must travel to Japan and seek out an illustrious sword maker before advancing on her first two targets...

The idea of having a Bruce Lee inspired outfit on a samurai sword wielding Caucasian woman is so silly it had to work.

Before I really get into the different elements of "Kill Bill", I have to say that I love this film far more than I actually believe its a good film. As a whole, the two volumes of "Kill Bill" are a dedicated homage to revenge films like no other. In that sense, despite its total of 4 hours of run time, I love them. It perfectly homages the classics incorporating different styles that all of us cult cinephiles could revel in and he does it with enough artistic merit that it still comes off as fresh. In this ideology, its hard for me not to love "Kill Bill."

Now that I've stated how much I love these fucking movies, it has to be said that I easily think they are Tarantino's weakest entries. Where films like "Resevoir Dogs" or "Jackie Brown" limited their influences to a few classic genres and really highlighted their bright moments, "Kill Bill" can be a cluster fuck of different styles and influences all mashed into one. Sometimes its rather choppy in how it jumps from one to another (the film noir sequence at the beginning of "Vol. 2" with The Bride talking to the camera while driving for example) even if for the most part the film ably navigates the tough style. At times its almost as if the film flows on a whimsy jumping from Tarantino patented monologues that seem irrelevant (but aren't) to brutal action sequences with so much blood, courtesy of KNB Effects, it becomes hilariously violent. Unfortunately, the wide variety of styles is somewhat mashed together.

"I told you NEVER to bring up "Batman & Robin" again!"

It does certainly help when Tarantino, with all of his stellar camera work and strong writing, assembles this kind of cast. Just look at the 'notable cast' list at the beginning of this review. It's fucking ridiculous how much talent he throws into "Kill Bill." Whether its a regular like Uma Thurman (who shows a wide variety of skills here - from physical work to strong emotion) or cult favorites like Michael Madsen and Sid Haig, this film is packed with stellar performances. I have to say though, David Carradine's lovable bastard in Bill is so memorable that he steals the show every time. It's a killer characters, no pun intended, and its a killer performance.

Perhaps though, the biggest thing about "Kill Bill" that must be mentioned is its the ultimate love letter to Asian cinema from the 60s/70s. And Tarantino has no issues with that, which is obvious when the film starts off with the classic Shaw Brothers logo with its distinctive music and all. He then incorporates every element of a classic samurai revenge film (a cameo by Sonny Chiba helps) and a good dose of classic kung fu into the film. Hand to hand combat. Dueling sword battles. Revenge, betrayal. Classic Asian cinema right there. Hell, he even throws in the classic kung fu character Pai Mei into the film (played by Shaw Bros regular Gordon Liu). This dedication to a rather underrated and overlooked genre makes "Kill Bill" instantly unique.

David Carradine, bad ass til the end. R.I.P.

The film does have a bit too much going on in it, it's 4 hours long, and often enough one feels like it could have been simplified quite a bit (including cutting a lot of Lucy Lui's back story for example). These issues are fairly irrelevant in the end though as its a perfect love letter to the revenge film and cult film fans will eat it up voraciously. It has brilliant actors, a brilliant director, and a very deep and thoughtful script that has far more to it then samurai swords and one eyed assassins. "Kill Bill" might be ultimately flawed, but its a fantastic film that will remain one of my favorites of all time.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm (1993)

Directors: Eric Radomski, Bruce Timm

With the rampant success of the Batman films to this point of time (that would be the two Tim Burton ones for those curious) and the massive success of the animated series that was playing on Fox, it only made sense for the box office to get a taste of what the 90s animated series was pumping out. That endeavor of love and fan worship would be "Mask Of The Phantasm", a stellar version of Batman that would come to actually out perform almost all of the live action films to come later in quality. It's the best of all elements one would want from a Batman film, regardless of its animation, and to this day remains one of the finest Batman feature length films released.

Batman/Bruce Wayne has been helping out local law enforcement for a while now in Gotham City and despite some naysayers towards his vigilante justice that he utilizes, it has been a rather smooth collaboration. That is until a new masked avenger shows up and begins killing off a series of individuals with criminal histories. Batman is ultimately blamed and without the help of the citizens of Gotham he must find this 'phantasm' before the rest of mob turns to crazier paths to survive...aka The Joker.

Born in the shadows...or at least that's where he gets dressed.

As a kid, I was enamored with this film and now looking back after almost 20 years (yipes!!) the damn thing still holds up. In fact, I would argue that "Mask Of The Phantasm" is one of the best versions of Batman to ever grace the silver screen. This animated feature may have been directed at kids, but it certainly carries a very serious and dark tone to it and its this adult oriented tale of forlorn love and a sense of purpose that really carries the heart of Batman with it.

The key to any good entrance is smoke. Definitely smoke.

Plot wise, the film is pretty complex for a kid's feature. It has a leaping structure that flashes back to Batman's integral years when he was first learning the curve and about his first (and perhaps only true) love. "Mask Of The Phantasm" focuses down a strong story and really deep character development for Bruce Wayne which is one of the reasons it works so effectively. It also builds on Batman's detective work and a rather twisty tale of mob betrayals that lead our "villain" to a murderous spree. By the time they decide to include a Batman regular, The Joker so awesomely voiced by Mark Hamill, one is already so hooked into where the story is going that it's just like icing on the cake for a wickedly slick finale.

The finale of the film goes to new heights...via a jet pack.

Really, my only complaint about the film is some of its animation. They literally ported the style and look of the television series straight over into a more epic format, but didn't upgrade. Yeah you get some clunky early 90s CGI that's new, but the animation still looks like that of a TV program and I would have wished they could have upped the ante on that a little bit. It gets the job done and still stays true to the style of "The Animated Series", but as a long time fan I would have liked to see it kicked even further (like the small upgrades they did on "Subzero").

As is, there are a few films on par with the great quality of "Mask Of The Phantasm" in the Batman universe and that says something about how awesome this film is. Even almost 20 years later (yipes!!) it holds up as a deep and fulfilling viewing experience that adds a lot of mystery and intrigue to the already kick ass nature of Batman.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Lovely Molly (2012)

Director: Eduardo Sanchez
Notable Cast: Gretchen Lodge, Alexandra Holden, Johnny Lewis

After watching hundreds upon hundreds of horror films, my resistance to fear and scare tactics has been built up like a massive callous on my psyche. Very little truly 'scares' me any more and unless the film decides to use spiders as its villainous evil doer, I find that a horror film's shenanigans rarely effect me. Yet, there are certainly films that unnerve me. Crawl under my skin. Genuinely disturb me. It's rare, but it happens and "Lovely Molly" just happens to be one of those films. Almost the bastardization cross between art and terror, "Lovely Molly" is a wickedly creepy and disorienting film that plays with the head and despite some cliche moments comes off as a fantastically executed horror ride that is certain to earn itself some significant praise from genre fans.

Molly (Lodge) and Tim (Lewis) are a newly wed couple who have decided to head back to her hometown and occupy her child hood home that was left to them when her father passed years earlier. She's a recovering drug addict and its been a tough road to recovery. With Tim constantly gone for long stretches, as is the life of a truck driver, Molly begins to see and hear things in the house. Things from her childhood long forgotten...things that might just have malevolent intent on her well being.

Meet Molly. She's a little messed up right now.

Director and writer Eduardo Sanchez has become the king of low budget subtle horror. His career peaked a little early with "The Blair Witch Project" and has somewhat been hindered by its anomaly success. That hasn't stopped him from released some decent films ("Seventh Moon" was a surprise), but its "Lovely Molly" that just might be his best film to date. The guy guts realism in horror like it's nothing and this film really caters on that feeling of subtle detail and realistic auras. It just oozes dread and atmosphere out of every second. The killer sound mix and score only add to its intensity and the stunningly disturbing performance of leading lady Lodge hits into the soul with fascinating effectiveness. The execution on screen is something to be admired for low budget horror film making and his knack for building terror out of (essentially) nothing is a force to be reckoned with in the film.

Who knew a kiss could lead to one of the most intense portions of a film?

Plot wise, "Lovely Molly" isn't all that original. It's one of those films that rides the line between psychological horror and true supernatural scares and often enough it treads on paths well worn from previous films. It loves to build the tension to a breaking point and earn its scares through creepiness and clever writing rather than cheap boo frights. Hell, just having a room in your house decorated with black and white pictures of horses was enough to give me the heebie jeebies (the horses is a thread that runs through the film in subtle ways including sounds and visuals that comes back in the finale for a nice creepy jab at the audience). At times the writing was almost too subtle for its own good sacrificing something solid enough to bite on for artistic merit - including an odd subplot with a neighbor's daughter that feels underdeveloped, but the film does create that dreadful atmosphere with vigor and success.

There are plenty of "WTF moments" in this film, this being one of the biggest. Makes you want to see it, doesn't it?

"Lovely Molly" isn't a perfect film by any means as it occasionally forces its own hand in some situations (when she has a talk with her boss for example) and tends to be too subtle, but Sanchez's direction and the powerful atmosphere he builds with the help of some stunning acting is hard to dismiss and it overrides many of the minor issues the film hits. This is a definite surprise for the year and one that any horror fan must see to believe. It's creepy beyond all measure and its one that is certain to disturb many. It has issues, but its still one of the best of the year.

 Written By Matt Reifschneider

Contraband (2012)

Director:  Baltasar Kormákur
Notable Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Kate Beckinsale, Ben Foster, Giovanni Ribisi, JK Simmons

If I was one of those witty and clever writers who I aim to be, I would be able to deliver a funny yet cynical reaction to "Contraband." The problem that I face in trying to make a memorable piece about the film is that...well, the film itself is so damn unmemorable. It's not necessarily a bad film by any means, but it very much nails the mediocre crime thriller beat for beat. This in itself is the biggest let down considering it has a relatively interesting plot and a massive cast of recognizable talent. Yet here I am, struggling to pull any sort of detail about the film to start off my review with. It's best just to start with a synopsis and move on from there.

Chris (Wahlberg) has really refocused his life. He's an ex-smuggler, but his new business and supporting wife Kate (Beckinsale) have kept him strong and life is looking great. That is until her little brother Andy (Jones) gets in some serious trouble when smuggling drugs and owes a local thug (Ribisi) some serious money. Now Chris is going to have to pull off one of the biggest smuggling jobs of his career and the clock is ticking or his family is going to pay the price.

"Didn't I see you in the TV show "Friends"?"

All right. Now that I've had enough of a refresher to sort of pull together the world of "Contraband," let's make this a quick and dirty review. For a film completely focused on showing us the universe of smuggling and how it can be done, the film doesn't do a very good job of allowing us to feel like we are part of this universe. We get plenty of high tension twists and turns to make the film exciting with shootouts, time constraints, and assaults. It strives to make itself complicated with hidden agendas for its characters to activate betrayals and spins on the story. Yet it keeps us at arms length the entire time and never lets us into the film. It's just detached.

This is partially due to the fact that the film is sort of unfocused in what direction it wants to go. It forces itself into its own traps of time constraints and overly complicated plot progressions that craft far too many ridiculous situations to keep the audience interested. Take the armored truck heist for example. The scene is a relatively strong modern action shoot out sequence, but it sort of comes out of left field for the sake of making things more complicated. They try to make it worth it when some details come around in the final act, but its not quite enough to justify it initially or how much time it eats up in the film. This happens a slew of times in "Contraband" and the film must meander through its interesting concept with forced twists that leave the audience disconnected.

Even with that much cash, I bet he would still punch you if you called him Marky Mark.

This odd way to go about its plot is only made more cliche by un-connectable characters whose shallow depth is made worse by limited screen time. This is caused by one of those weird film habits of having way too many characters. Considering some of the talent involved with "Contraband" - including another subtle supporting performance from the ever awesome Ben Foster - this script doesn't allow the actors to do their job. Never did I really feel their plight from their past sins nor did I really buy into the urgency of their present situations despite the film's desperate attempts at doing such. It wasn't until the third act did I really find myself concerned for anyone's well being and by then it was too late to salvage the entire film.

For a crime thriller with some of the on screen talent it had, "Contraband" plays it too safe and spreads itself way too thin with too many subplots and too many characters. It's unbalanced attempt at juggling it all just falls flat and creates an experience that had potential, but ended up completely unmemorable. Perhaps Wahlberg fans will really dig into the film, but this reviewer is going to quickly forget about the film and move onto bigger and better ones.

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Possession, The (2012)

Director: Ole Bornedal
Notable Cast: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Kyra Sedgwick, Natasha Calis, Matisyahu

With the general public and initial critics crying 'fail' as loud as they could, my expectations going into "The Possession" were generally low. The trailers seemed decent, but with a generic title and a well treaded horror theme like demonic possession I wasn't exactly gung ho for the film from the start. Fortunately the film did have Sam Raimi's name attached to it as producer and being the fan boy that I am, I had to see it. Now I won't go as far as many critics did to slaughter this film in my analysis nor am I going to praise it like its a film never been seen before or the scariest of the year, but I will say that I was generally (and pleasantly) surprised with "The Possession" as a film that was fairly well executed even if it was obviously castrated to a PG-13 for a larger audience.

Clyde (Morgan) and Stephanie (Sedgwick) have been having a tough time with their two daughters. Their divorce was final just three months prior and despite their best efforts to remain cordial, its obvious the change of familial dynamic has the girls in a tough spot. Clyde has done his best though and he desperately tries to be a good father and even takes them where they want to go...even if its a yard sale where his youngest Emily (Calis) finds a strange wooden box. He never gives two thoughts about the thing, until Em begins acting odd. Not herself. Strange things begin to happen around the house and it all points to her box...or something inside of the box.

If I learned anything from "Seven", it's don't open the fucking box.

"The Possession" is not a film to really bust out and break new ground. While watching the film, its obviously a very formulaic and by the book take on possession and haunting films with nods to "The Exorcist" and "The Amityville Horror" that arrive in spades. At times its blatantly apparent to wear these influences on its sleeve and it makes a good portion of the film...well, boring. The characters go through the same motions we've seen before: discovery, shock, disbelief by the leads, more discovery, belief, and action. It's the same basic plot and script I've seen a dozen times or more. Blah, blah, blah...yada yada yada. And to top it off the film desperately wants to go to the next level with some of its predictable scares, but its PG-13 rating makes sure that it stays a little safe. **Reportedly, the film was cut from R to PG-13 for release so here's to hoping that we get an unrated one on home video soon. Thusly, "The Possession" takes a rather formulaic idea and really just follows a well treaded path that most horror fans will find familiar and somewhat disappointing. Cue cheers from all the folks that called it crap.

"Was it head towards the light or don't head towards the light? Oh shit I can't remember!"

There's an ace in the sleeve for "The Possession" though that I wasn't expecting: the execution. If anyone has seen the Danish film "The Substitute" in 2007 from director Ole Bornedal, then you know the guy can mix charm and creepiness like a badass. If you haven't seen that film - do so immediately. He brings that to "The Possession" and he's easily the film's secret weapon I wasn't expecting. From the God's eye view aerial shots to his atmospheric build with editing and killer sound mix, Bornedal brings a lot to the table. His eye for the charm of its characters - that is easily handled by a superb performance from both Morgan and Sedgwick that's barely topped by a fairly impressive Calis that really brings a humanity to its underlying emotional divorce subtext - is matched by a knack for visual prowess. Sometimes the balance gets a bit thrown off (the swing and new boyfriend stand off comes in as unintentionally funny with the girl's make up) and the film can run a little dark in its scary moments (does anyone turn on a damn light at night?), but the combination of charm, atmosphere, and a few successful scary moments like the "Ju-On" like creepiness of the Cat Scan scene does have its strengths in the film.

Demonic possession or gothic hipster? You decide.

In all honesty, its hard to really recommend a viewing right now since there are plenty of great horror films floating around including the creepy "V/H/S" and the disturbing "Lovely Molly" both just getting a release, but if you have an afternoon to blow "The Possession" isn't a horrible way to waste it. It's comfortable in its formulaic writing and plot progression, but its execution is a bit stronger than what I was lead to believe and it made for a rather surprising viewing experience. That being said, I'm definitely hoping for an unrated home release to purchase as I felt this one felt a little contained. Here's to hoping it happens.

BONUS PRAISE: When I saw that singer/rapper Matisyahu was in the film, I groaned. Seriously? Turns out, he handled it quite well and had some great humor to break up the tension of the film in the last act. Believe it or not, I would have liked to see him in it more. Who knew?

Written By Matt Reifschneider

Futureworld (1976)

FUTUREWORLD

"Futurworld" is a sequel that's been getting the shaft since its release in 1976. After it's initial rental VHS release from Warner Brothers in the early 80s, it was later regulated to a crummy lower quality SLP tape from budget label Goodtimes Home Video and most recently a MOD (made-on-demand) DVD-R from MGM. Seriously, this sequel wasn't even good enough to warrant an official silver pressed disc only to become a member of DVD-R hell!? Well after all these years of studios trying to bury this sequel to the wonderful sci fi classic "Westworld" , it's due time to blow the dust off this now rarely seen film and see if it was really worth all the bad rep shoveled onto it.

Taking place a few years after the events of "Westworld", the corporation behind the futuristic vacation resort where people could relive history with human-like robots reopens but not all are happy. Due to bad PR caused their robots malfunctioning and killing all the guests, the company invites two journalists to the new resort in order to give glowing reviews to attract new vacationers. The shady corporation seems to have hidden agendas hidden up their sleeves and our journalists know too well and do their damn best to foil their plans.

This robot gives a far better performance than the "robotic" Peter Fonda

What makes this sequel work is that it goes against expectations. This is not a suspense thriller where killer robots attack our guests. Instead it's a political cover-up with an espionage plot that, without giving too much away, includes replicating humans. This plot gives the audiences something fresh yet at the same time I believe audiences were alienated by it. They wanted to see killer robots, most notably in the form of Yul Brenner, chasing and killing  people and that is not the dish they are served.

Yul Brenner returns for a rather awkward cameo

Though the plot intrigued me, what almost kills the film is an actor I have no respect for. His name... Peter Fonda. He is absolutely wretched as our lead and is miscast beyond belief. Him, along with his love interest Blythe Danner, show absolutely zero chemistry and together they are a disaster on screen. To top it off filmmakers felt obligated to give the audience Yul Brenner since he was such a memorable and pivotal part of the original. The problem is that he makes only a small, awkward appearance in an ultra cheesy dream sequence of our heroin that is guaranteed to induce laughter. Seriously why is she having a wet dream about a killer robot dressed as a cowboy? I'll tell you why... to give the audience a quick glimpse at what they were expecting.

Peter Fonda gives a big FUCK YOU to the audience with his shit acting

"Futureworld" is a flawed film, but not nearly as bad as reputation would have it. If it weren't for the miscasting and unlikeable leads (not to mention the cheesy, length padding dream sequence ) then "Futureworld" might have gone down as a minor 70s science fiction classic. Despite the departure of original writer Michael Crichton, the filmmakers were still able to craft a smart film that goes against expectations, which for me is always a plus. "Futureworld" is definitely worth checking out for fans of "Westworld" and is deserving of far more than a crummy MOD DVD-R release.

 Written By Eric Reifschneider

F/X 2 (1991)

F/X 2

Aka "FX2: The Deadly Art of Illusion"

The original "F/X" is a personal favorite of mine from the 80s when it comes to the suspense/thriller genre with a good dose of action. Even with that praise I'm hard  pressed to believe that it really needed a sequel.  The original had a solid rap-up for a good story that did not warrant the audience to revisit. Still five years after the fact "F/X 2" was released not surprisingly to a luke warm response.

Everyone's favorite intelligent movie special effects artist Rollie Tyler (Bryan Brown) returns only this time he's given up the special effects business for good and has moved on to making high tech children's toys. This doesn't stop his new lover's ex-husband to ask him to provide some nifty illusions in order to catch a killer. Obviously not learning from his first experience, Rollie accepts and predictably the stunt turns sour with his lover's ex getting his throat sliced. Smelling a cover-up, Rollie enlists the help of his old buddy Leo McCarthy (Bryan Dennehy), now a private detective, to save his life.

I'd hate to see one of his 'pull my finger' gags

Typical with sequels the plot is just a muddled down carbon copy of the original. I mean what are the chances Rollie would be part of a police cover-up twice in his life-time... seriously?!  His illusion trickery this time around also seem far more forced, shoed-in to the plot in order to meet the audiences expectations in how he outsmarts the baddies (though the mechanical clown is the most memorable). Due to this director Richard Franklin, responsible for the respectable sequel "Psycho II", is handcuffed to the script and Lalo Schifrin's music, though not bad, seems more like a rejected score  for "Romancing the Stone".

Well ain't this sequel a kick in the ass...

What helps this sequel rise above its predicable plot is the return of its high caliber cast headed by Bryan Brown and Brian Dennehy. In the first "F/X" they were mostly off screen from each other but here they get plenty of time and material to bounce off one another. I also dug how they brought back Dennehy's little crush as the cutesy computer nerd. Their flirting was one of the nice highlights of the original and it's nice to see that aspect brought back.

This movie-within-the-movie looks far more interesting

"F/X 2" is a by-the-numbers sequel. It's just plain and simple not as engaging as the first trying desperately trying to make up for the fact by shoe-horning in scenes of "movie magic" despite our character not even being in the profession any longer. The chemistry between our two leads makes it worth a watch but not worth a hunt. If you can find it in a double feature with the first "F/X" then I say go for it as it is watchable, just not memorable.

Written By Eric Reifschneider