MUTANT LAND

MUTANT LAND (2010)
US
Directed by Phil Tippett

CAST:
William Elder-Groebe - (Voice)

PLOT:
     As the sun goes down in the dark and terrifying Mutantland, hunters are lured into a forbidden zone in their quest for food only to find themselves candidates for the main course.

REVIEW:
      I know it's been a while since I last did a review, and for those that have sent me links for movies to review I apologize for not getting to them sooner. Well as you can tell I'm back and I'm getting back to it watching good, bad, and terrible movies. The good thing is is that I'm still not going to be nice if a movie sucks. But, if a movie is good I will sing it's praises. A great movie to me is one that makes me feel something, whether it be sadness, complete shock, or just makes me laugh till I cry (comidies for me are the hardest to watch sometimes due to me growing up in the 80's). So for my first foray back it's a animated short film.

     I always had a soft spot for animation in general. From classic Bugs Bunny to old Mickey Mouse (not the new crap Disney calls cartoons that have no soul or fun in it.) One of the best things about those old cartoons is that the setting is simple and you knew right away what it was or where it was without really knowing. Mutant Land has that going for it in spades as the story, while simple, speaks volumes. There is only two lines of dialogue in the whole four minutes of running time. What is spoken is simple and to the point.

     As for the animation itself is very fluid. While the what I can see as humans are hidden under protective gear the true treat of this short are the mutants in all sizes and shapes. From the cute hairless rabbit, to what I can only describe as the mother of all giant mutant rabbits with bad, no scratch that, the worst case of skin problems I've seen. While the short is dark (in tone) and nihilistic, there is something missing from it. While I applaud Mr. Tippett for putting this out, it just leaves you wanting more as you want to see what caused the world in the short to happen and how things got so messed up. And where all those wonderful creatures came from. Mutant Land is a quick and fast watch that sets you in a world that's dirty and scarred and just fun but leaves you kinda empty.

BEST DEATH:
     The main course of the last hunter.

BEST LINE:
     Welcome to dinner!

FUN FACTS:
     You can watch the short over at Aintitcool.com. Just click the link and you'll be taken there.

BEEN A WHILE

Hi,

It's been a while since I posted anything here I know. Sorry about that I truly am other things popped up that needed to be taken care of. The good news is new reviews will be coming shortly.

Yet today I'm going to be just mentioning a couple of news bits of interest.

First up is that there might just be a complete directors cut of the 1950's version of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers. With no hospital beginning and no voice over. I'll watch that with ease!

Those that read this blog know how much I was disappointed with Sucker Punch. Well it seems like there's a fight to get the true director's cut out. That means a hard, hard "R" rating if not unrated with all musical numbers put back in. It's basically a high school fight of someone doesn't want to be proven wrong about the theatrical cut. Good luck Snyder!

I got to see the PROMETHEUS trailer, and all I can say is WOW!! It can also now be said that this pseudo-prequel is now an official prequel from what I've seen and read of the some of the plot points. Let's just hope that the studio does NOT get final cut of this film.

It looks like the Road Warrior movie that's shooting is going to be a trilogy of movies with Tom Hardy in all of them. Sold just with George Miller writing all the scripts and with him directing, sold even more.

The third Riddick movie is supposed to start shooting next month finally and brings Riddick back to his more animalistic roots. Thank you Diesel and Twohy.

And the last bit of news. If you live near Ft Bliss, TX, make it a point to go and see the restored 130 minute directors cut of The Boondock Saints on the December 7th at the Grand Theater. Lucky bastards!

I'll be back with reviews soon so stick around!

GWAR

R.I.P.

GWAR guitarist Cory Smoot (aka Flattus Maximus)

STILL HERE

     Hi to all,

     Just to let everyone know I'm still around, it's just that I've been working on a music project that has been in the works for a while now. I'll be back with new reviews soon though.

     If you want to hear or download a free copy of one of Caller Of Black's songs, Ghost, just follow the link below. It's free, no charge, so have fun with it!

     And the group's name, as some of you can tell, is based on a Brian Lumley short story from one of his Mythos works, The Caller Of The Black!

Caller Of Black

GHOST

     Two of my friends and me have been working on a project called Caller Of Black. The project is a music project with one foot in the industrial music pool. Well long story short I finished the first song tonight (I engineered, mixed, programmed, played guitar, among other hats). My friend Sarah kind enough to sing and my friend Chris, who I've played music with off and on for the past almost 15 years ( I think it's been that long) played bass and keyboards.


     To listen to the song just follow the link below, and let me know what you think!

     That's right...FREE!

     That's one song with the name Ghost from Caller Of Black free!

Caller Of Black

THE DEAD

THE DEAD (2010)
UK
Directed by Howard J. and Jonathan Ford

CAST:
Rob Freeman - Lt. Brian Murphy
Prince David Oseia - Sgt. Daniel Dembele
David Dontoh - The Chief

PLOT:
     When the last evacuation flight out of war-torn Africa crashes off the coast, American Air Force Engineer Lieutenant Brian Murphy emerges as the sole survivor in a land where the dead are returning to life and attacking the living.

REVIEW:
     I was watching AMC at the start of the week, as they're showing horror movies till the end of the month, and AMC starts out by showing Romero's Survival Of The Dead. As I was watching it I just couldn't let go of the feeling that Romero has completely lost his touch. The movie had no suspense or terror to it, or any part that makes you want to jump. Not to mention his sly commentary on society. So needless to say after watching it, yes, I watched the whole movie, I felt somewhat cheated. It was if Romero just stopped trying on this one. Though I will admit I watched it to get ready to watch The Dead.

     Now this is a zombie movie in vein of classic Romero. The zombies shuffle, and look lost when not close to their one food source. The one time they truly move quickly is when they are mere inches from live humans, and damn it if I didn't jump at least twice in this movie because I wasn't expecting a zombie attack. Yet it's due to not expecting an attack which makes you lower your guard, and you let yourself relax is when the zombies attack. In recent years zombies have became fast and can hang from ceiling piping, yet it's the slow moving ones that don't scream or yell, the type that sneaks up on you, that I will always like the best due to it brings to mind the classic boogey man almost.

     Now the acting does have to be talked about. It seems like most of the time I start the acting part of the reviews like that, I guess I have to find some other way to start from now on. Anyway, I have to mention that another difference in this movie than with other zombie movies is that during half the run time there isn't any talking what so ever. Most of the acting is shown by facial expressions and the fatigue shown in the actor's  eyes, as well as the body language of both the principle actors. Rob Freeman, who we spend most of the time with, plays Lt. Brian Murphy who is more of a classic hero. He doesn't say much and lets his actions speak for him. And this is shown very well when Murphy is faced with a fellow soldier that left him after Murphy gets a vehicle. So much is said about his character during this brief scene. As well as toward the end of the movie when he is asked to kill a mother after she hands him her baby for safe keeping. He doesn't want kill her, and even pleads to her not to go through with it. Prince David Oseia is does well as Sgt. Daniel Dembele, a African soldier who deserts his post to find his son. The sad part about this character is that he is his own worst enemy. Even though he tries to be stoic, his emotions get in his way and cause him to take to many chances that puts him and Murphy in more danger than they already are. Oseia, even though he's only been acting professionally for over a year does an amazing job.

      The look of the movie is just a thing of beauty. Part of this I think is due to the use of 35mm film instead of digital cameras, which adds a certain amount of grain to the film that gives it a almost dirty look in places. But yet in other places the film is just amazing, specially when it shows the main protagonist in silhouette. The pacing in the film is steady for the most part, though it does slow down and almost drags in parts, though it does pick back up after a short time. For a film genre that is filled with sub-par zombie movies that are more laughable and harder to watch than the latest attempts at mass released  horror in theaters, this is a treat of a movie that harkens back to the 80's ideal of film making that is a joy to watch. And as a plus there is no CG blood and all the effects are practical. Complete old school which is something that is needed badly at the moment.

BEST DEATH:
     Murphy's revenge on a soldier that left him for dead.

BEST LINE:
     Perhaps nature has put in motion the ultimate solution to it's problem.

FUN FACTS:
     The directors used actual amputees in the movie to add believability to scenes.

   

HELLSING OVA V

HELLSING OVA V (HELLSING: ULTIMATE OVA V) (2008)
JP
Directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka

CAST:
Jouji Nakata - Alucard
Yoshiko Sakakibara - Sir Integral Fairbroook Wingates Hellsing
Fumiko Orikasa - Seras Victoria

PLOT:
      The mission of Hellsing, that was founded by Abraham Van Helsing, is to protect Queen and Country from the undead and other supernatural forces of evil. Yet as the scale and frequency of incidents involving the undead escalate in England and all around the world, Sir Integra discovers that the remnants of a Nazi occult group called Millennium that wants to bring back into power the Third Reich by creating a battalion of vampires.

REVIEW:
      As those that have been reading this blog know by now, I've talked about having a backlog of movies and films to watch. It ranges from sci-fi to martial arts to horror to anime. So needless to say, I won't be hurting for movies to review here. But somethings get put on the backburner sometimes, such as when a director contacts me about reviewing their film. Or when a newer movie is opening up, I tend to review those first just to try to stay somewhat current. So Hellsing: Ultimate OVA V is one of the ones that I've been sitting on for about a year now and I decided to go ahead and watch it.

     As this is the fifth volume of the series, those that don't really know what is going on will be completely lost as there is no rehash of what has gone on before. Yet the best way to put this volume for the first half of it is the quiet before the storm. Sir Hellsing is talking to the British military leaders about the invasion that is about to happen, to their dismay at that, and not quite getting through to them that England is in the greatest danger it has ever been in. This is after her servant, Alucard, has found out that the Millennium group has already put their own members into power in the military. All the while having to deal with veiled threats by the Vatican secret special forces, Section XIII Iscariot, to take care business or they'll take care of it for them.

     Back when anime was first really starting to become a big deal in the U.S. there was a movie called Fist Of The North Star that came out and had the moniker of the worlds first "splatter toon". I am happy to say that Hellsing: Ultimate carries on this proud moniker with ease considering that half of London is either blown to hell or is being eaten. The animation is smooth and more detailed than most other anime. The story will be confusing to anyone that hasn't watched the previous OVAs (Original Video Animation) or hasn't read the manga. But for the ones that have will love it considering that nothing is censored or considered to over the edge. Even the weird dream sequences Alucard has is left in due to his boredom while aboard a carrion ship that used to be naval battleship that he's modified to more his liking. Hellsing: Ultimate can almost be considered art with the look and feel throughout its short runtime, yet there is plenty that is happening to keep everyone enthralled.

BEST DEATH:
     This one is hard to narrow down due to the last half is almost all bloodshed.

     Such as decapitation by wire,

     And by blade.

BEST LINE:
     You are all newborn, baby vampires, and I am in the business of destroying such vampires.

FUN FACTS:
     The first four Hellsing: Ultimate OVAs were released in the States by the now defunct Geneon Entertainment.

      Hellsing: Ultimate is based directly on the Hellsing Manga.