Saturday February 23 through Thursday February 28, 2008

Saturday, February 23, 2008
Automatons - 2006


This is an odd little flick. Black and white, kinda dumb and dull until the final half hour. Then some good gore and special effects (those in the beginning are almost laughable - windup robots on the battlefield).


Other extras includes behind the scenes featurette, which is almost as long as the movie itself. Very detailed, they sure put a lot of effort in what looks like a cheap, crappy movie. Obviously a labor of love.


Sunday, February 24, 2008
Snoop Dogg's Hood of Horror - 2006


Wow, look at all the stars! Danny Trejo, Lin Shaye, Billy Dee Williams , Jason Alexander . Well, what it lacks in finesse it makes up in gore. I mean, a 40 oz bottle of malt liquor thru the head is pretty novel. This is a pretty good anthology, really.

Other Extras includes a behind the scenes which is pretty good. And a very short Bringin' the Gore. It is surprising what's CG and what's practical.

Monday, February 25 - Thursday, February 28, 2008
Carnivàle, Season One - 2003

I put this in my queue because I just finished reading Adrienne Barbeau's autobiography There Are Worse Things I Could Have Done. It was a really good read, very enjoyable because it's very down to earth. Which is interesting, because Adrienne reveals she's really kind of a "fall for anything" kind of person. But she talks so well of this show, I had to put it in my queue.

Tons of good actors here, most not very well known. I suppose that Adrienne Barbeau is probably the best known, but I like Patrick Bauchau (who was great in The Pretender), Clancy Brown (who you should at least know from Buckaroo Bonzai), Clea DuVall (in Hero's and on Buffy). And the unknowns are really great too. I think that everyone is good here, which really helps make it good. It could be really stupid and dull, but the actors really sells it.

There was a commentary on the pilot, but it had a ton of spoilers, so I had to stop. And there's a making of on the sixth disc that is very good.

This was as good as I had hoped. Really engaging. As soon as I get disc 6 from season two, I will be happy to jump in there. This was lots of fun, and I like the dark nature. Don't watch this if you are sensitive to casting religion in a less than good light. And I like the "dark is light/light is dark" aspect. Enjoy!