Bedtime Stories

If you have happened upon my blog at all this week, then you have probably noticed quite a few "double features". You have probably also noticed that I have not been to your personal blogs very much, this week, either... I am just trying to clear my plate, so to speak, of the movies that I've had lying about, as I have another plate full of 'books' coming my way [two advance copies of books are currently en route, a book review for Hacker's Source is due, as well as two other novels that I need to read - also, I just finished Brian Keene's Castaways [stay tuned for that review, after this one]

Today's review was actually supposed to be a double feature as well, as the kids and I watched both Bedroom Stories and City of Ember, however I wasn't as impressed with City of Ember as I thought that I would be - the kids enjoyed it, and I rated it 3 stars on Netflix, it's just that I don't feel that it's worth blogging about.

With that said, here are my thoughts on Bedtime Stories:

Genre - Comedy/Family/Fantasy
Year Released - 2008
Running Time - 99 minutes
Directed by Adam Shankman (who also directed The Pacifier and the 2007 re-make of Hairspray)
Written by Matt Lopez (who also wrote Race to Witch Mountain as well as the upcoming The Sorcerer's Apprentice) and Tim Herlihy (who also wrote a ton of Sandler's earlier films, including Billy Madison, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, The Waterboy, Big Daddy, Little Nicky, and Mr Deeds)
Cast Includes:
Adam Sandler (who was in each of the above movies written by Tim Herlihy as well as Airheads, Bullet Proof, 50 First Dates, and of course - my favorite - You Don't Mess With The Zohan)
Kerri Russell (Honey, I Blew Up the Kids and The Upside of Anger)
Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential, Memento, and Ravenous)
Richard Griffiths (Uncle Vernon from the Harry Potter films, Sleepy Hollow, and Goldeneye)
Russell Brand (Forgetting Sarah Marshall)
Courtney Cox (Monica from Friends, the Scream films, and The Tripper)
Teresa Palmer
And of course, Rob Schneider makes a cameo [as both an Indian and a thief]

Rating: 4 Skulls

Plot Summary:
Skeeter Bronson is a down-on-his-luck guy who's always telling bedtime stories to his niece and nephew, and whose life is turned upside down when these fantastical stories suddenly turn into reality. Now, all the outrageous characters and situations that Skeeter has ever imagined have morphed into actual people and events in his life. But can he manage his own unruly fantasies now that they've come true?

Review:
The film starts off, in 1974, narrated by Skeeter's [Adam Sandler] father, who owns the Sunny View Motel. When the motel is bought out by Mr Nottingham [Richard Griffiths] Skeeter's father asks that when Skeeter becomes a man, he be able to run the motel. . .

Jump to the present day where Skeeter is indeed part of the Nottingham Sunny View Motel, however rather than running it, he is the handy-man for the motel.

When Skeeter's sister [played by Courtney Cox] informs him that the school where she is principal is closing and she needs him to watch her children, he accepts. Another teacher at the school [Kerri Russell] has agreed to watch them during the day, while Skeeter watches them at night.

This is where the "bedtime stories" come into play. [you've all seen the trailers, I'm sure - if not, check out the one below] so I am not going to go into great detail there. Just know that the stories are pretty much Skeeter's life fantasized with Medieval, Western, Gladiator, and Sci-Fi settings.

The core of the story revolves around Mr Nottingham wanting to build a better and more grand hotel. He plans on having Kendall [played by Guy Pearce] run the new hotel. [Reason being is that Kendall is dating his daughter, Violet - think Paris Hilton] However when Mr Nottingham asks Kendall to come up with a "theme" for the hotel, the best that Kendall is able to come up with is a "Hard Rock" type of theme. When Mr Nottingham isn't impressed, he informs Skeeter that if he can come up with a better theme than Kendall, then he can run the new hotel. . .

There is more to it of course, but that is all you need to know, for now :-)

Here's the trailer:

Jason

Double Feature: Tell No One & Timecrimes

Once again, I have two more foreign films to bring to your attention. . . :-)

Foreign Film from France - French Title: Ne le dis a personne
Language - French with English Subtitles or English [Dubbed]
Genre - Foreign/Mystery/Thriller
Year Released - 2006
Running Time - 125 minutes
Directed by Guillaume Canet
Written by Guillaume Canet & Philippe Lefebvre
*Based on the novel written by Harlan Coben
Cast Includes:
Francois Cluzet
Marie-Josee Croze (Munich)
Marina Hands
Kristin Scott Thomas (The English Patient & The Horse Whisperer)
Nathalie Baye
Gilles Lellouche

Rating: 4 Skulls

Plot Summary:

Eight years ago, pediatrician Alexandre Beck was the prime suspect in his wife's murder. He's put all of that behind him, but now two dead bodies have been found near his home - and once again, he's the suspect.

The case takes an unexpected turn when he receives an anonymous e-mail showing his wife alive - and eight years older - instructing him to "tell no one".

Review:

This film was produced by Luc Besson - nothing against Guillaume Canet, but I can't help but wonder how different this film would have been had Besson himself directed it [or perhaps even Pierre Morel - who directed District B13 & Taken] I have a feeling that this film would have had an even faster pace to it. With that said though, Canet still made a taut film! [in fact, he directed an outstanding chase sequence within this film]

At the beginning of the film, we meet happily married couple Alexandre & Margot, enjoying their cabin in the woods. While out on the lake, they have a disagreement and Margot leaves to go let their dog out. While out of sight, Alexandre suddenly hears Margot scream. While climbing up the dock to investigate, Alexandre is knocked unconscious and falls back into the water. . .

At first, you are hoping that Margot was only abducted - that is until her body is identified. Still, a mystery remains - who pulled Alexandre out of the water and made the anonymous 911 call?

Jump to 8 years later, where the police have just discovered 2 male bodies that were killed about 5 years prior, in the same location as Alexandre's wife. Add to that, the fact that Alexandre is receiving e-mails that can only be opened at certain times - warning him that "they're watching" and to "tell no one". . .

For those of you who have read the novel, the film has a different ending than the book [an ending which Coben himself claims is better than his - interesting]

Here is the trailer for Tell No One:


Also, for anyone who has Netflix, this film is currently available to watch Instantly.

Now, on to the Science Fiction Thriller Timecrimes:

Foreign Film from Spain - Spanish Title: Los Cronocrimenes

Language - Spanish with English Subtitles or English [Dubbed]

Genre - Foreign/Sci-Fi/Thriller

Year Released - 2007

Running Time - 89 minutes

Directed by the Oscar Nominated Short Film Director Nacho Vigalondo (7:35 AM)

Written by Nacho Vigalondo (who also wrote 7:35 AM)

Cast Includes:

Karra Elejalde (The Nameless)

Candela Fernandez, Barbara Goenaga, and Nacho Vigalondo

Rating: 5 Skulls

Plot Summary:

After accidentally traveling to the past, Hector meets himself and triggers a series of mysterious events that lead to a shocking crime.

Review:

While out in his yard, Hector sees a strange girl in the woods, who takes her shirt off, while he is looking at her. After his wife leaves the area, Hector goes to investigate - he comes across the girl's nude body, lying in the woods, when he is suddenly attacked by a man wearing a bandage around his head. [completely off subject here, but this character makes me want to watch Darkman again]

Running from the man with a bandage around his head, Hector jumps a fence onto private property and breaks into an abandoned building/laboratory where he finds a walkie-talkie and starts communicating with someone else on the property [played by the director, Nacho Vigalondo]

This is one of those films where the less you know the better, so I am not going to tell you anything else. Just know that the story will take several twists & turns, however it will form a complete circle. It also explains the time-traveling aspect very well - trust me, you will be riveted to the screen on this one!

Here's the trailer for Timecrimes:


I also wanted to mention Nacho Vigalondo's short film 7:35 AM [7:35 De La Manana] which is also included on the DVD - it is only 6 minutes and 20 seconds long, and it is worth checking out - a pretty humorous/bizarre little film!

Here are some more posters of Timecrimes for you to enjoy:

Jason

Double Feature: Chocolate & Tokyo Zombie

Today's two features are brought to us from Thailand and Japan. . .

Foreign Film from Thailand
Language - Thai with English Subtitles or English [Dubbed]


Genre - Foreign/Martial Arts
Year Released - 2008
Running Time - 92 minutes
Directed by Prachya Pinkaew (who also directed Tony Jaa in Ong-Bak: Thai Warrior & The Protector)
Written by Napa lee (who also wrote The Protector) and Chukiat Sakveerakul
Cast Includes: JeeJa Yanin, Taphon Phopwandee, Ammara Siripong, Hiroshi Abe, and Pongpat Wachirabunjong



Rating: 4 Skulls


Plot Summary:
Zen, a young autistic woman, discovers that she has the uncanny ability to absorb precision fighting skills just by watching martial arts movies. When her cancer-ridden mother's creditors come calling, Zen attempts to settle the debts by standing up to a hard-nosed gang of criminals who have wrongfully swindled money from her family.


Review:
I first heard about this one over at http://jadedviewer.com/ and as a big fan of Tony Jaa, I just had to check this one out! [basically JeeJa Yanin is a female Tony Jaa] So, if you too are a fan of Tony Jaa, then you should definitely check this one out!

The plot isn't the greatest one out there, but then again, we are only here for the fight sequences, and the fights Rock!

There are fights that takes place in an ice factory, [not only is this fight setting an homage to Bruce Lee's Fists of Fury, but Zen herself emulates the master!] a warehouse, a street fight, an aerial roof-top balcony sequence, etc. [plenty of fights!]

The only person who really gives Zen any trouble is this dude with a "twitchy" style - fortunately, Zen is able to study his moves and a "twitchy" fight sequence ensues - also, have no fear as Zen is an expert with weapons as well!

Here are some shots of some of the fights:

JeeJa Yanin is absolutely incredible - I cannot wait to see what she does next!

Here's a trailer for Chocolate:



Now, on to Tokyo Zombie:

Foreign Film From Japan - Japanese Title: Tokyo zonbi

Language - Japanese with English Subtitles or English [Dubbed]

Genre - Foreign/Zombie Comedy

Year Released - 2005

Running Time - 103 minutes

Directed by Sakichi Sato

Written by Sakichi Sato (who also wrote Ichi the Killer and Gozu)

*Based on the Manga written by Yusaku Hanakuma

Cast Includes:

Tadanobu Asano (Temudjin/Genghis Khan from Mongul: The Rise to Power of Genghis Khan - he was also in Ichi the Killer)

Sho Aikawa (Zebraman, Gozu, and the Dead or Alive films)

Erika Okuda

Rating: 3 Skulls

Plot Summary:

While training to fulfill their dreams of being jujitsu champions, Fujio and Mitsuo work in a fire extinguisher factory. But when a mob of zombies suddenly invade Tokyo, they'll have to employ their limited fighting skills to battle the undead. They soon join with other zombie fighters to try to reclaim the city.

Review:

Within the first 5 minutes of this film, you know that you are going to be in for some cheesy silliness.

We first meet Fujio [played by Tadanobu Asano, which was extremely odd after having seen him, most recently, portray Genghis Khan in Mongul - he couldn't have chosen a further character to portray] and Mitsuo - two bumbling idiots who are practicing their jujitsu during their lunch break. When their boss comes along to tell them to get back to work, they accidentally kill him.

In the below pic, Asano is Fujio [the one with the afro] and Aikawa is Mitsuo [the bald one]

Next we jump to a son who is burying his mother up to her neck, with his girlfriend standing by telling him that if he doesn't hurry, there will be "no more sex". The girl then proceeds to kick the mother's head right off her shoulders [see below caption] Again, this is just the first 5 minutes of the film! :-)

It turns out that Fujio & Mitsuo live near a garbage dump [nicknamed Black Mt. Fuji] Apparently not only is garbage dumped here, but toxic waste as well - not to mention the ton of bodies buried here as well. This seems to be the reasoning behind the sudden outpouring of zombies upon Tokyo.

This is a pretty hysterical film [one of the funniest moments in the film is when Mitsuo 'sings' Fujio a very sentimental song - I was cracking up!]

Around the 50 minute mark, the film jumps to 5 years later, where a narrated anime sequence tells us what has transpired over the last few years. It seems that a giant wall was built around the city and what the populace has created for entertainment is a combat sport where a member of the living fights a member of the dead, to the death. Fujio is now a jujitsu champion, but I will leave the rest for you to experience for yourselves.

Here's the Japanese trailer for Tokyo Zombie:


Also:

The Manga that the film is based upon

Jason

Doubt

Genre - Drama/Mystery
Year Released - 2008
Running Time - 104 minutes
Directed by John Patrick Shanley (who also directed Joe versus the Volcano)
Written by John Patrick Shanley (who also wrote Joe versus the Volcano)
*Based on the play written by John Patrick Shanley
Cast Includes:
Meryl Streep (The Deer Hunter, Sophie's Choice, Death Becomes Her, The Devil Wears Prada, Mama Mia)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Boogie Nights, Magnolia, The Big Lebowski, Patch Adams, Almost Famous)
Amy Adams (Enchanted, Catch Me If You Can, and the upcoming Nights at the Museum 2)
Viola Davis (Disturbia and Nights in Rodanthe)

Rating: 5 Skulls

Plot Summary:
In a Catholic elementary school in the Bronx, Sister Aloysius begins to have doubts about one of the priests, Father Flynn, who seems to have become overly involved in the life of a young African American pupil. But Flynn isn't the only one she has doubts about. Is she overreacting to the situation or is there a truth that needs to be discovered?

Review:
My wife is the one who asked me to add this to our Netflix Queue, though I have been looking forward to its release [released on DVD today] ever since I saw the trailer for the film.

I gave Changeling top honors for the best drama of last year, knowing that this was the only other film that could possibly best it, and I still stand by original assessment - though if I were to base my statement solely on the acting, then it would be a much more difficult decision.


The tagline for this film is: There is no evidence. There are no witnesses. But for one, there is no doubt. A fitting tagline, I must say.

The film is set in 1964, at a Catholic school in the Bronx, where Sister Aloysius [Meryl Streep] is the head principal [she is referred to as "the dragon" due to her severe strictness.

The film begins with a sermon given by Father Flynn [Philip Seymour Hoffman] - the sermon's title is "What do you do when you're not sure?" In the sermon, Father Flynn discusses the previous year's assassination of President Kennedy and the despair and hopelessness of the nation. He talks about the crisis of faith and how certainty and doubt are both just as powerful as the other.

After hearing the sermon, Sister Aloysius questions the reasons behind that particular message. [is not the fact that it is a relevant topic not enough?] She informs her other 'Sisters' to be on the lookout for any strange behaviour that Father Flynn might portray.

One of the other Sisters - Sister James [Amy Adams] - a teacher in the school, reports to Sister Aloysius that Father Flynn seems to have taken an interest in one of the newer students - Donald Miller [the only black boy in his class] Sister James states that Donald came back from a meeting with Father Flynn acting strangely, and he seemed to have alcohol on his breath. . .

When Sisters Aloysius and James have a meeting with Father Flynn about the school's upcoming Christmas Pageant, we began to realize that Sister Aloysius just doesn't like Father Flynn [this becomes ever so apparent after Father Flynn talks about how the church must change and become more friendly to its parishioners and Sister Aloysius berates Father Flynn for this belief - while in the midst of this discussion, Father Flynn takes out a notebook and begins to jot something down - he tells Sister Aloysius that he is writing down an idea for a sermon on intolerance - brilliant!]

Soon enough, Sister Aloysius confronts Father Flynn with concerns about the relationship he seems to be forming with Donald Miller. Father Flynn asks Sister Aloysius to just leave it alone. . .

The next day, Father Flynn's sermon is on gossip :-)


I am going to leave it at that. Let me just say that everyone's performance in this movie was absolutely fantastic! Especially Philip Seymour Hoffman's! [I love Philip in everything that he does, even those films that I don't necessarily love - Punch Drunk Love, Synecdoche, New York - cough, cough] And of course, Meryl Streep was fantastic. Props also have to be given to Amy Adams as Sister James and Viola Davis as Donald's mother - excellent performances!

Here's the trailer:


Let me leave you with my wife's favorite line from the film, spoken by Father Flynn:
"It's an old tactic of cruel people to kill kindness in the name of virtue."

Jason

Quadruple Feature: Savage Sinema from Down Under - Marauders, Sensitive New Age Killer, Defenceless, and Stained

For the past month or so, I have been reading Phantom of Pulp, the blog of a writer/filmmaker. Not only does Phantom write about all sorts of diverse subjects [ranging anywhere from art, books, and film to poetry and porn] he is also in "the business". I recently found out that he contributed to the screenplay of the upcoming film adaptation of Live Girls, based upon the novel written by Ray Garton [which, coincidentally, I just discussed in my previous post] Anyway, I decided to check out Phantom's earlier foray into making his own films, and I must say that I was impressed, so without further ado, onto the reviews. . .

Marauders:
Genre - Crime/Drama
Year Released - 1986
Running Time - 74 minutes
Directed by Mark Savage
Written by Mark Savage
Cast Includes: Colin Savage (the director's brother) as Emilio, Zero Montana as J. D., Paul Harrington as David, and Megan Napier as Becky

Rating: 4 Skulls

Plot Summary:
While tracking a young couple who are making their to a remote cabin, two psychotic maniacs go on a relentless killing spree, leaving behind a wake of destruction.

Review:
When I first added this film to my Netflix Queue, every single rating on the film was 1 star [which is bad!] As you can see from my own rating, I completely disagree with everyone who rated this film on Netflix. They obviously didn't appreciate the writing or the direction of the film - they must have only looked at its extreme low budget. . .

At the beginning of Marauders, we first meet J. D. - a young guy who brings people to his home in order to torture & kill them. After his mother threatens to turn him into the police, he kills her, telling her that she should have been grateful [as he gave her the money from his victims]

Next we meet Emilio [who has quite the hair-do, even for the 80's!] who is getting ready to head out for the day. When his mom/significant other [I forget which] tries to stop him, he beats her up - then, after he can't find his car keys, he goes back inside and shoots her in the head - afterwards realizing that he had the keys all along. Nice guys, huh?

Emilio than leaves to pick up his pal, J. D., just in time to witness him getting struck by a car [which keeps on going] After realizing that J. D. isn't seriously injured, they then pursue the vehicle.

Inside the vehicle are David & Becky - David is taking Becky to his father's cabin in the woods [which just so happens to be the last house on the right] in hopes of 'getting lucky' with Becky. [I enjoyed the character of Becky - she is strong-willed, and I liked her!]

While David & Becky are eating lunch, Emilio & J. D. catch up to them - they then trash David's car. . . When David & Becky return to the car, David makes Becky push it while he tries to get it started. With no luck, David decides to just steal a car. . .

While all of this was going on, Emilio & J. D. were driving around, when they came across a young woman walking along the highway. After harassing her, she runs off, and they end up chasing her through the woods where they catch her and then rape her. Afterwards, they realize that they are lost and they start blaming one another, their argument soon escalates into an excellent slugfest!

Meanwhile, a group of people [consisting of folks that Emilio & J. D. have ticked off along their journey] have formed a mob and have decided to hunt Emilio & J. D. down. All of this ends up culminating into a bloody finale with quite a shocking ending!

For Savage's directorial debut, I thought that this film was well done and very well written!

Sensitive New Age Killer [also known as S.N.A.K.]
Genre - Action
Year Released - 2000
Running Time - 84 minutes
Directed by Mark Savage
Written by Mark Savage & David Richardson
Cast Includes: Paul Moder as Paul, Helen Hopkins as Helen, Kevin Hopkins as George, Carolyn Bock as Matty, and Frank Bren as Colin "the snake" Adder

Rating: 4 Skulls

Plot Summary:
After he witnessed a mob hit by a local strong arm called The Snake, Paul Morris pledged his life to contract killing. Now, he's suddenly pitted against the same man who once inspired his profession.

Review:
S.N.A.K. starts back in the mid-70's where we first see Paul - a young boy who wants to grow up and become a photographer. After Paul witnesses a mob hit, he decides that he wants to become a hit man - we then witness his training to become an assassin throughout the opening credits.

The film then jumps to the present, where Paul has just finished killing a dirty cop [Paul has chosen to only kill bad people] However, it turns out that the dirty cop's girlfriend [who is also a cop] has caught Paul in the act. In a strange turn of events, she forces Paul to strip and then handcuffs him to the bed [and goes to town] This ends up evolving into somewhat of a relationship, even though Paul is married and has a daughter. Or does he?

You see, Paul's best friend George [who saved Paul from drowning, when they were wee lads] has a bizarre obsession with Paul's wife, who bears a startling resemblance with his dead mother [there's a whole other story there, which also reminds me of the fact that George also snorts his dead mother's ashes...]

Anyhow, Paul's cop girlfriend informs him of a big time drug dealer that is going to be in town, with a $100,000.00 contract on his head. [While Paul is attempting to find out where exactly the dealer is going to be, we are treated to one of the film's more humorous moments which takes place in the kitchen of a Chinese restaurant]

After scoping out the locale, Paul discovers that "The Snake" is also in town. Being a professional, Paul decides to talk with "The Snake" man-to-man [a great scene!] about him needing this job. . .

As for this film - it has its John Woo moments - you know, the "gun ballets" with endless ammo, close range misses, etc. The film also features a clip from another of Savage's films titled Masked Avenger vs. Ultra Villain in the Lair of the Naked Bikini [a film that I will have to look into]
Also, in order to break up the monotony of these reviews, let me leave you with the song "A Gringo Like Me" which is also featured in S.N.A.K. [you can listen to it while you read the next review] :-)

Defenceless: A Blood Symphony
Genre - Drama/Silent Film
Year Released - 2004
Running Time: 98 minutes
Directed by Mark Savage
Written by Mark Savage
Cast Includes Susanne Hausschnid as Elizabeth Peace

Rating: 3 Skulls

Plot Summary:
In this unique silent film, Elizabeth Peace, an environmentalist mother, is brutally murdered by a group of real estate developers and returns from the grave to seek bloody revenge on her attackers.

Review:
In this film, some real estate developers want to build some condos, right on the beach, however Elizabeth will not sign off on the paperwork. [I'm not sure exactly what she had to do with it all] This leads to Elizabeth's husband being beat to death with brass knuckles. Elizabeth is then sent a picture of her husband's bloodied corpse. . .

Elizabeth later decides to bury her husband's picture out on the beach. While on the beach, Elizabeth "befriends" another woman. Time goes by. . . one day Elizabeth receives a text message from her new 'friend' prompting her to go on a scavenger type hunt, which ends in Elizabeth finding a package - in the package is a DVD entitled Have A Nice Day with happy flowers drawn on it.

Upon placing the DVD into her player, Elizabeth is witness to the malicious attack/rape/murder of her new lover [why she continued to watch the DVD, I do not know, however I recommend skipping from the 23 minute mark to about the 25 minute 20 seconds mark, if you are at all offended by these types of scenes] The DVD ends with the message, "how many more have to die?".

If you are wondering why Elizabeth hasn't involved the police, it is because her son's life was threatened. . .

More time goes by until one day Elizabeth and her son are out playing on the beach, when Elizabeth is brutally attacked/raped/murdered. . .

Nine months later [which I felt was an appropriate amount of time, for some reason] a young girl is burying her treasure chest next to the graves that Elizabeth dug for her husband and girlfriend, when she discovers Elizabeth's body washed up on shore. Soon afterwards, in a cool sequence, Elizabeth begins to remember her past.

Around this same time, the young girl's step-father discovers his daughter's treasure chest, which includes her diary with entries talking about him grabbing/touching/hurting her. In a fit of rage, he chases down his daughter and begins to strangle her. Elizabeth witnesses this and violently reacts! This then leads to her following the inevitable path of revenge upon those who killed her and her loved ones.

First, I just have to say that Susanne Hausschnid did an outstanding job in playing the role of Elizabeth - she played sadistic, with no emotion whatsoever, very well!

I also loved how Elizabeth was 'tied to the ocean' and the film ended perfectly - I am however curious as to why Savage chose to only use music, with no dialogue - I feel that the film would have been better, with dialogue, but that's just me. . .


Stained: A True Crime Drama
Genre - Television
Year Released - 2006
Running Time - 35 minutes
Directed by Mark Savage

Plot Summary:
This disc, available from Netflix, gives a look at Savage's cable TV drama (based on actual events involving pedophiles) as well as 13 of his earlier short films - all of which were shot on Super 8 film with an instrumental score.

Review:
As for this final film, well it's not really a film [you will notice it isn't even listed on the cover at the top] however being that I enjoyed the other three, I figured that I would give this one a shot as well.

The feature, Stained, is 35 minutes in length and basically shows a father in search of his two missing daughters [who have been missing for about 18 months] The antagonists in the film are two brothers [one of whom has a wife and kids] who are involved in the abduction and selling of young children.

The beginning of the film tells us that what we are about to see is non-fiction. Savage hails from Australia, so this must have been a local case there. . .

The Stained disc also includes the Super 8's, [the early films] from Savage's childhood [he has been making short films since around the age of 15] The 13 shorts are broken down into The Melbourne Years and The Detroit Years - they were made with Savage's brother and best friend as well as some other friends, from when Savage was 15 to about 19 years of age. Most of the shorts were edited in-camera and they were all shot silent and music was added later. The shorts included on this disc are around 3 minutes each and include: [those with an asterisk I liked best]

Methusarla, Guardian of Hell
The Gardener
The Walker
*The Annihilator [the best of the bunch, in my opinion]
The Roadkill Ghosts
*Black Rock
Rogues [in this one, Colin Savage is starting to grow out the crazy hair-do he had in Marauders] :-)
Hitchhiker Horror
*Cemetery Spectres
Deathdreams
Friends
*Kidnapped
*The Family

Savage definitely has a photographer's eye, and I enjoyed each of the above feature films, though I would definitely like to see what Savage could accomplish, given a larger budget.

Here are the trailers for Marauders, S.N.A.K., and Defenceless, respectively:
[the Marauders trailer does include language]






Jason

Bestial

Genre - Horror
Year Published - 2009 (Published by Leisure Books/Dorchester Publishing Co, Inc.)
Length - 339 pages
Written by Ray Garton

Rating: 5 Skulls

Plot Summary:
Something very strange is happening in the coastal California town of Big Rock. Several residents have died in unexplained, particularly brutal ways, many torn apart in animal attacks. And there's always that eerie howling late at night...

You might think there's a werewolf in town. But you'd be wrong. It's not just one werewolf, but the whole town that's gradually transforming. Bit by bit, as the infection spreads, the werewolves are becoming more and more powerful. In fact, humans may soon be the minority, mere prey for their hungry neighbors. Is it too late for the humans to fight back? Did they ever have a chance from the start?

Review:
First of all, for those who may be unaware, Bestial is a sequel to last year's Ravenous - a sequel that I have been counting down the days for! [Bestial just came out, this past Tuesday]

Until I read Ravenous, Animals [written by John Skipp & Craig Spector] had been my favorite werewolf novel - that quickly changed though - in fact, Ravenous pretty much changed my opinion of werewolves in general. [I had always been a fan of werewolves, however my tastes leaned more towards the vampires written by Lumley, Wellington, and Garton himself. . .]

Ravenous changed all of that - I began to long for Garton's werewolves to take on any of the above vampires [except for perhaps Lumley's, as his could no doubt hold their own, yet I digress]

Anyhow, it looks like I may soon be getting my wish!

You see, Garton has also written two excellent vampire novels [Live Girls & Night Life] and in Night Life, Garton introduced two private investigators [Karen Moffet & Gavin Keoph] who were hired by an eccentric horror novelist [think Garton himself - in fact, Garton even alludes to this by mentioning one of the author's previous books about alien women with fanged vaginas - for those who have read Garton's 1st novel, 'Seductions', this is all too familiar!] Anyhow, the author [Martin Burgess] hired Moffet & Keoph to look into the subject matter that he writes about - to see if perhaps any of it actually exists.

Well, it just so happens that in Bestial, Burgess has once again hired Moffet & Keoph and sent them to Big Rock, California to look into the rumors of 'werewolves' [that came about in Ravenous] So, do you see where this is heading?!? I definitely sense a cross-over in the works! [especially given the way Bestial ended]

Enough about all of that though - I am hear to review Bestial - I just figured that a little background information would benefit those who have never read any of the other books mentioned - in fact, it may just be best to give a little background on Ravenous - you see, Garton's werewolves are created by a disease/wolf virus [Lupus Venerus] the catch is that it is sexually transmitted, which makes it all the more interesting! Like traditional werewolves though, silver is their weakness [a huge weakness, in my opinion, as silver only has to be introduced into their system for it to be fatal]

So, there you have it - now on to Bestial:

For anyone who knows or who has researched Garton, then you are aware that he was raised a Seventh Day Adventist. This plays a huge role in Bestial. Whether Garton was using this novel as a means of catharsis remains to be seen, however it sure felt as if Garton was exorcising his Adventist upbringing, while writing this novel. [there just seemed to be a lot of "personal bashing" towards the church and one of its founders - Ellen G. White] *On a personal note, I have actually researched this religion myself [I was not raised in the religion] and I feel that they actually have some really good doctrines, however I am not here to discuss all of that - if you wish, leave a comment, and I will be happy to discuss it in greater detail]

There is more to it than the author's past though, as all of it is integral to the plot of the story. [without giving too much away, the head werewolf, before he was turned, was also raised an Adventist, and he plans to use his knowledge of the church to exploit them - he plans to infiltrate the church, using it as a base of operations - he and his pack will then take over the businesses owned by the church members, their outreach programs, schools, hospitals, etc, spreading out into the surrounding communities - actually a very impressive and well thought out idea!]

Not only this, but a "new breed" has been born [with only a 3-month gestation period] which strengthens the werewolves' ideals that they are evolving and destined to become the dominant race!

I do not want to say anything more, in case I end up saying too much - if you doubt that this is an amazing read, then I encourage you to run out to your local bookstore and just read Garton's phenomenal prologue to this book - best 16 pages ever! :-)

If you have yet to read Ravenous, then I suggest that you read that one first [though you don't necessarily have to] I also suggest that you read Live Girls [which has nothing to do with Ravenous or Bestial] and its sequel Night Life [with the above mentioned investigators] as I feel that all of these books are heading towards an explosive cross-over event. I just know that we are going to see the werewolves from Ravenous & Bestial crossing paths with the vampires from Live Girls & Night Life. . .

Jason

Special

Is that even Michael Rapaport in the above poster?

Genre - Drama/Fantasy
Year Released - 2006
Running Time - 81 minutes
Directed by Hal Haberman & Jeremy Passmore
Written by Hal Haberman & Jeremy Passmore
Cast Includes:
Michael Rapaport (True Romance, Cop Land, Point of No Return, and The 6th Day)
Jack Kehler (Point Break, The Last Boy Scout, and Big Trouble)
Paul Blackthorne (Dresden from the Sci-Fi series The Dresden Files)
Ian Bohen
Josh Peck (from Nickelodeon's Drake & Josh series, Drillbit Taylor, and The Wackness)
Robert Baker
Christopher Darga (Bruce Almighty)
Alexandra Holden

Rating: 3 Skulls

Plot Summary:

Enrolling in a drug study to spice up his humdrum life as a low-paid meter reader, Les Franken begins taking an experimental anti-depressant, which proves to have a few unexpected side effects.

Convinced that he's actually developing special powers that can be used to fight evil, Les decides to quit his day job and focus on being a superhero. . . despite his doctor's professional opinion that his abilities are all in his mind.

Is the above actually happening?

Review:
This is a quirky little flick that I just figured I would mention, in case anyone is interested.

It stars Michael Rapaport [Dick Ritchie from True Romance] as Les, a likeable guy, who for some odd reason decides to join a trial study for an experimental medication for depression [he isn't even really depressed] The medication's name is specioprin hydrochloride and once Les starts taking it he begins to hallucinate things [such as when he is sitting on his couch, eating dinner, he suddenly begins to levitate off of the couch] He also believes that he is telepathic, can move through solid objects, and can teleport. Is this all just in his head?

After Les prevents a convenience store robbery, he decides to use his newfound abilities and become a superhero - he creates a costume and places the medication's logo on the back - he then starts running around trying to prevent crime and the local news dubs him "the mad tackler" [because he tackles people and is apparently crazy]

Eventually, the two brothers that started manufacturing the drug show up to attempt to talk Les into stopping the medication, as he has had a psychotic reaction to it. He refuses to do so and starts believing that there is a conspiracy against him. . .

Like I said, a quirky little film - if you enjoy Michael Rapaport or just bizarre films, then give this one a shot.

Here's the trailer:


Jason