Posts Tagged ‘B-Movie’

Death Wish II / Death Wish 3 / Death Wish 4: The Crackdown Blu-ray Reviews: The Cannon Days

Posted: 19 August, 2012 in Movies/TV
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Death Wish II / Death Wish 3 / Death Wish 4: The Crackdown Blu-ray Reviews: The Cannon Days

It took eight years for someone to make a sequel to the original film adaptation of Brian Garfield’s novel, Death Wish. To this day, many speculate whether or not the film should have even bore a sequel — let alone the entire five-film franchise that came to pass over an impressive twenty-year span. Whereas the classic 1974 Charles Bronson revenge flick could have very well remained a stalwart and standout film to moviegoers and scholars alike, Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus — the boys behind the notorious production company of Cannon Films — had other ideas: mainly, to make a whole lotta moolah.

[Read the rest at Cinema Sentries.]

Outlaw Trail DVD Review: The Trails Blazers Save the Day (Again)

Posted: 5 July, 2012 in Movies/TV
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Outlaw Trail DVD Review: The Trails Blazers Save the Day (Again)

From the very first time the moving picture industry first started showing double features at the bijou every Saturday to an entire generation of bored children, the b-western became a hot commodity with no-budget filmmakers. The poorly-dressed suits at Monogram Studios — one of the most (in)famous Poverty Row film companies ever to grace the silver screen — were certainly no exception to cranking out run-of-the-mill cowboy movies for the masses, creating short-lived franchise heroes (often with has-been silent stars) after another in order to give the same recycled stories Monogram’s writers used time and time again some unlikely inkling of credibility.

[Read the rest at Cinema Sentries.]

The Last Posse DVD Review: An Overlooked B-Western Gem

Posted: 11 June, 2012 in Movies/TV
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The Last Posse DVD Review: An Overlooked B-Western Gem

There’s nothing I like more than sitting back and watching a good ol’ B-Western, and 1953′s The Last Posse is my cup of tea. But this isn’t your average cowboy film fare, folks — this one has a strange bit of intrigue and noir woven into its material. Filmed in the beautiful rocky terrain of Lone Pine, California, this forgotten Columbia Pictures gem stars the great Broderick Crawford and a young John Derek (their third feature together), and tells the tale of a small sheriff’s posse that rode out of Roswell, New Mexico one day to apprehend a trio who took off with a local cattleman’s money.

[Read the rest at Cinema Sentries.]

*DVD Review* 2-Headed Shark Attack

Posted: 4 February, 2012 in Movies/TV
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DVD Review: 2-Headed Shark Attack

Article first published as DVD Review: 2-Headed Shark Attack on Blogcritics.

There’s an old saying in Hollywood: “Anything to make a buck.” This doubly applied to independent exploitation movie makers. After the success of Piranha — campy remake of a campy Jaws spoof, it was inevitable that someone would return to the root of the killer fish genre and present us with a neo-sharksploitation flick that’s a rip-off of a remake of a spoof. 2-Headed Shark Attack — a movie that is so bad, it’s downright terrible. The lad behind this run-of-the-mill excursion to direct-to-video monstrosities is Christopher Douglas-Olen Ray, son of another B-movie auteur, Fred Olen Ray. And, just to keep up with the exploitation angle, Christopher hired Piranha actor Jerry O’Connell’s brother Charlie as the lead actor. (more…)

*Blu-ray Review* Shark Night

Posted: 25 January, 2012 in Movies/TV
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Blu-ray Review: Shark Night

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Shark Night on Blogcritics.

Anyone who willingly walks into Shark Night expecting to see something serious is bound to be disappointed. Fortunately, I knew full well what I was going to see: cheese. In 3D, to boot. For my birthday last year in 2011, we attended a late night feature in Reno, NV as part of the evening’s drunken festivities (the night ended with karaoke, if that gives you a fair inkling of how exciting my birthdays are). The movie of choice that year was Shark Night 3D, presented to a near-empty house on opening night, and in three very blurry dimensions thanks to the dimwitted kids that theaters like Century Park Lane 16 seem strangely content with hiring on a weekly basis (fortunately, they finally fixed the focus about five minutes in, the morons).
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*Blu-ray Review* Paranormal Activity 3

Posted: 24 January, 2012 in Movies/TV
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Blu-ray Review: Paranormal Activity 3

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Paranormal Activity 3 on Blogcritics.

It’s amazing how much you can get away with when you shoot for the whole “faux found footage” style of filmmaking. The people behind the original Paranormal Activity invested a mere $15,000 (which wouldn’t even cover the catering bill on a low-budget Hollywood flick) into their 2007 shocker and wound up with a gold mine. Some of you may recall another no-budget horror flick from 1999 called The Blair Witch Project that also relayed its tale via “faux found footage” — a gimmick inspired (and sometimes stolen) from cult classics such as The Last Broadcast and Ruggero Deodato’s infamous Cannibal Holocaust.
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Full Moon Announces “Bombshell,” plus Killer RedBox News

Posted: 23 January, 2012 in Event, Movies/TV
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Full Moon Announces “Bombshell,” plus Killer RedBox News

Article first published as Full Moon Announces “Bombshell,” plus Killer Eye Rental News on Blogcritics.

It doesn’t have to be All Hallows’ Eve to warrant a viewing of a “seasonal” horror flick like Full Moon’s Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt. And the proof—like many national grocery advertisements suggest on a weekly basis—is in the savings. A jaunt to your local RedBox (those things that are giving video rental stores a run for their money) may prove just that, as Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt is now available—along with several other campy Full Moon features—for you to enjoy (providing you have the right sense of humor, that is) for a buck from those big red kiosks housed within those very grocery stores that promise you proof in the savings.
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Hong Kong Confidential (1958) DVD Review: Pour Yourself a Martini and Enjoy the Fun!

Posted: 29 September, 2011 in Movies/TV, Music, TV
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Hong Kong Confidential DVD Review: Pour Yourself a Martini and Enjoy the Fun!

By 1958, Gene Barry had already established himself as something of a star among moviegoers, having won The War of the Worlds and chased down a moonshining Robert Mitchum in Thunder Road — to say nothing of wooing Angie Dickinson at China Gate whilst starring alongside jazz icon Nat “King” Cole. Despite all those accomplishments, Gene’s own singing talent had never been fully exploited by the entertainment industry. And then, somewhere around the same time his spell as Bat Masterson hit television airwaves, Gene Barry would hone in on some of the skills he would perfect in Burke’s Law as a suave Intelligence agent who masquerades as a lounge singer in the Orient. [Read the rest at Cinema Sentries.]

Stake Land Blu-ray Review: It Goes for the Throat

Posted: 2 August, 2011 in Movies/TV
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Stake Land Blu-ray Review: It Goes for the Throat

In the film industry, all it takes is one hit. Zombieland — a film that I really did not enjoy whatsoever — not only opened the door for movies like Stake Land to be made, but removed it from the hinges completely, allowing for movies like, well, Stake Land to be made. Following my initial disappointment over the fact that I hadn’t been given Skate Land like I had hoped, I settled down to check out Stake Land. The story here involves a teenage boy (Connor Paolo) named Martin (a nod to a certain George A. Romero film, perhaps?) teaming up with a guy he calls “Mister” (Nick Damici, who has a strange Harvey Keitel/Kim Coates/Fred Ward look goin’ on) after the world is besieged by a plague of vampires — bloodsuckers who no doubt had enough of the whole Twilight franchise. [Read the rest at Cinema Sentries.]

*DVD Review* Lost Lagoon

Posted: 4 July, 2011 in Movies/TV
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DVD Review: Lost Lagoon

Article first published as DVD Review: Lost Lagoon on Blogcritics.

Just a few years before he teamed up with fellow filmmaker Max Rosenberg to form Amicus Productions — to wit they produced a number of memorable anthology horror flicks in the ‘60s and ‘70s — Milton Subotsky wrote a modest little screenplay about a man that gets washed overboard during a storm, only to start life anew on a small island in the Bahamas. After being adapted by director John Rawlins, Lost Lagoon went into production with B-Movie actor Jeffrey Lynn (who is also credited with “additional dialogue”) in the lead as Charlie Walker.
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