Friday January 18 through Thursday, January 24, 2008

Friday, January 18, 2008
Masters of Horror: Norio Tsuruta's Dream Cruise - 2007

It's supposed to be tense, but I'm just finding it tiresome. First off, it's an hour and a half long, as it was shot with a feature in mind, and cut down for the cable show. This is the full theatrical cut. It really doesn't get going until the hour mark. And it's pretty good from that point on. But boy, it's a struggle getting there.

Commentary - Actor Daniel Gillies , Producer Mick Garris, and moderator Perry Martin (?). Kinda interesting, no technical, but lots of cultural stuff. Only other extra is a making of that was pretty standard.

No Movie Saturday

Sunday, January 20, 2008
Resident Evil: Extinction - 2007

Not too bad, but I saw the ending coming a mile away. One big problem is that I don't remember 2 well enough. A lot of what happens here depends a lot on the previous movies. I guess I should have re-watched it. Still, lots of obvious homages (Mad Max, Road Warrior, The Birds). Overall, I liked this a lot better than I expected. Subtitled too. (thank you very much).


Commentary features Producer Jeremy Bolt, writer Paul W.S. Anderson (who did my guilty pleasure Mortal Kombat ), and director Russell Mulcahy . Commentary is subtitled! Excellent! Good balance of practical, tech, and personal. Lots of discussion of decision choices, direction. Very good.

Monday, January 21, 2008
Girl Gang Double Feature - SWV
She-Mob - 1968

Have I mentioned that I really enjoy sexploitation? Yeah. And you learn the most interesting stuff. Like, did you know that breast augmentation was available in 1968? Yep. Who'd a thunk it?

And why does Harry have a nursing bra on?

And now I've seen every movie in the SWV promo at the beginning of their discs. I think I should win some kind of award.

Nympho Anonymous - 1968

Even more natural boobage. And it's even funny. This one is a hoot. It's actually better than She Mob, although SM has more quotable clips in it, I think.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008
36th Chamber of Shaolin - 1978

Classic Shaw Brothers Kung Fu. Greatness - beautiful, graceful, delightful. Almost 2 hours of Kung Fu goodness. This is just a great movie. Two hours just flew by.

Commentary by Andy Klein (?) and rapper The Rza. An amazing amount of history, considering neither is an asian. I mean, Rza is a Hip Hop producer and the leader of the Wu-Tang Clan.

Other extras include Shaolin: A Hero Birthplace. History of Shaolin, and interview with the star(Chia Hui Liu ) today.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Dead Man's Hand: Casino of the Damned - 2007

Charlie Band special. But with a better than usual cast. It's got both Michael Berryman and Sid Haig. Plus a couple of hot chicks. Nice special effect of a face explosion. Where'd Charlie get the cash for that. And the credits are really nice too. And the set kicks ass. This looks like a lot more money than I know was spent. IMDB says $200K, which is pretty standard for a Full Moon production.

Unfortunately, the female lead is utterly unintelligible. Mutter, mutter, mutter. And as the movie progresses, the effects get cheaper and cheaper. Plastic looking monsters. That's more what I expected.

Only extra is a behind the scenes, which is typically nice. But the only details was about the slot machines. I want one. They still look realistic.

Thursday, January 24, 2007
Sunshine - 2007

Directed by Danny Boyle, who brought us 28 Days/Weeks Later & Trainspotting. Also featuring Cillian Murphy (Batman Begins) and Chris Evans (Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four). This is a great piece of SF. Our sun is going out. The previous mission to fix the sun has disappeared. The rest of all the fissionable materials on earth is used to build a bomb that is mankind's last chance. This movie is the flight of the crew of that last ditch effort.

At 107 minutes in length, it's a little long. But it's VERY good. It's been awhile since there's been a hardcore science SF piece. But WTF is up with the ending? Shades of 2001: A Space Odyssey (a movie this flick owes a LOT too).

Two commentaries. The first features just the director. It's very technical, but in a kinda philosophical sort of way. He is REALLY into this movie. Even more than you would expect for a director who didn't write the movie.

The second commentary was by a Dr. Brian Cox of the University of Manchester. But at over two hours, I just couldn't get to this one. If you rent this movie, please comment on what that commentary is like, as I'm kinda curious.

Other extras include deleted scenes (none missed), Web Production diaries, and short films that I didn't watch either. Sorry.