3.5 stars for this nicely tweaked version of an Eighties cult classic.
Lifeforce was first released in 1986 and was directed by Tobe Hooper (Poltergeist, Texas Chainsaw Massacre) and based upon the novel "The Space Vampires", written by Colin Wilson (Max Headroom).
This sci-fi thriller starts when the deep space probe Churchill investigates Halley's Comet and finds an unidentified object located within the head of the comet.
This proves to be a ship of alien origin, on first inspection filled with giant bats, but also containing three life pods containing naked humanoids, one female (Mathilda May - Naked Tango, The Tit And The Moon), and two males.
See the rest of our review for this epic tale of tits and vampirism over at Road Rash Reviews
4 Stars of Beautiful Manga, Masamune Shirow's Saga Goes on.
We gorged ourselves on each amazing 30 minute episode with "oohs and ahs and oh my god that's amazing" at every frame turn.
We see City-Olympus bathed in beautiful sunlight,World War 5 is over,
Planet Earth has avoided a nuclear holocaust and Olympus has become the
centre of the World and the human race is under the eye of the Bioroids
(Human Clones made from only the best DNA) and they are working towards a
human utopia.
But not everyone is happy with this idea. Some
despise the very idea of the Bioroids, The Human Liberation Front for
one and their very heavily armoured allies the Argonauts who live on a
self-propelled city-Fortress.
Sharknado
is a great title for a film, there is no denying that. So it does come
as rather a surprise that armed with such a good idea, they managed to
produce a film which has no visible redeeming features (other than the
title, that is).
Sharknado is directed by Anthony C. Ferrante (Boo, Scream Of The Banshee) and written by Thunder Levin (American Warships, AE: Apocalypse Earth). With a pedigree like that, I was expecting great things.
Find out what else we thought about this fintastic adventure at Road Rash Reviews
This
is part 2 of the TV series Steins; Gate and picks the story back up at
episode 13 "Metaphysics Necrosis", just one of many mind-boggling titles
to follow.
Our hero Okabe (J. Michael Tatum - Hetalia Axis Powers), a self proclaimed mad scientist and his friends and colleagues Daru and Kurisu (Trina Nishimura - Deadman Wonderland)
have finally succeeded in creating a device that is capable of sending
messages into the past (D-mails),but in doing so, make some significant
changes to the past and attract some very unwelcome attention in the
form of SERN, an evil corporation who Okabe suspects of trying to
manipulate time to their own ends.
4 stars for this well made tale of swords and sorcery.
Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works is directed by Yuji Yamaguchi and is based upon and features the characters from the TV series of the same name.
This film finds us firmly in the middle of the war for the Holy Grail ( a powerful artefact, able to grant any wish to it's owner), a war in which the seven Mages compete against each other in a fight to the death.
To assist them in their endeavours they can each summon a powerful ally in the form of any one of seven hero classes, Saber, Archer, Rider, Berserker, Lancer, Caster and Assassin.
The Last Exorcism Part II is directed and written by Ed Gass- Donnelly (Small Town Murder Song, This Beautiful City) and produced by Eli Roth (Aftershock, Cabin Fever).
It takes off directly after the end of the first film, with Nell Sweeter (Ashley Bell - The Last Exorcism, The Day) trying to recover from a harrowing exorcism, knowing little about what happened except that she is the only remaining member of her family.
5 stars for this outstanding psychological thriller.
The Body (El Cuerpo) is directed by Oriol Paulo (writer of Julia's Eyes) and is a Spanish film, subtitled in English, with well deserved rave reviews after its screening at the London film festival.
After Ángel Torres (Miquel Gelabert - Box 507, El Greco), the night security guard at the local morgue, sees something that frightens him so badly that he runs in front of a car and falls into a coma, the police are called in.
4 stars for this tense thriller, familiar names with unfamiliar faces.Hannibal is the latest incarnation of the well known characters created by Thomas Harris (Red Dragon, Silence Of The Lambs, Hannibal) and is set during the time of Red Dragon.
The series was created by Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies, Heroes) and directed by David Slade (Twilight: Eclipse, 30 Days Of Night).
Hannibal tells the story of Will Graham (Hugh Dancy - Black Hawk Down, King Arthur), a brilliant and talented FBI criminal profiler, struggling to come to terms with his own demons, while trying to catch the worst of the hardened criminals that society has to offer.
Find out what we think about this well thought out TV series over at Road Rash Reviews
Tiger and Bunny Part 4 is the final installment in the Tiger and Bunny Saga and is directed by Keiichi Sato.
For those not familiar with the franchise, Tiger and Bunny is set in a world where law and order is maintained by super heroes, called "Next", people who have unique abilities and who are offered corporate sponsorship to fight crime on camera for the news network Hero T.V.
Find out what else we thought about this great bit of animation over at Road Rash Reviews
All Stars is directed by Ben Gregor (D.O.A., Straight 8) and tells the story of a group of kids who fight to save their youth club, The Garage, from the evil local council, who wish to close it down to make way for a car park.
The Garage is run by Gina (Ashley Jensen - Ugly Betty, Nativity!) who is trying to raise enough money to keep it open. Enter Jaden (Akai Osei-Mansfield - Streetdance 2, winner of Sky's "Got To Dance"), with the bright idea to throw a talent show to raise funds. He enlists a reluctant Ethan (Theo Stevenson - Horrid Henry: The Movie, In Bruges), a young entrepreneur with a crush on the girlfriend of the leader of a street dance crew. The ideal finale for a talent show, a dance off between rival crews.
The White Queen is a lavish affair, a great example of the glee with which the BBC throw themselves into the production of a period drama.
It is based upon the series of novels "The Cousins War", written by Philippa Gregory (The Other Boleyn Girl) and is set towards the end of the 15th century, before the rise of the Tudors and during the height of the conflict between the houses of York and Lancaster.
This rich tale of love and hate, deception and intrigue is told through the intertwined stories of three women, each powerful and influential in their own right.
Find out what else we thought of this great looking production over at Road Rash Reviews.
4.5 Stars of Awesomeness, Space Battleship Yamato Lives.
This a live action version of the very popular animé series from 1974 of the same name. 2194 Captain Okita (Tsutomu Yamazaki,
Departures) finds himself and his armada near the orbit of Mars, as
Earth has come under fire of an alien race that knows nothing about,
apart from they use massive meteors as weapons to bombard the surface of
the planet and cover the surface with radiation.
They fire on the
enemy but little happens; they have underestimated the power of these
aliens, as they return fire the Earth ships are torn asunder as they try
to flee, Captain Mamoru Kodai (Shin'ichi Tsutsum, A
Lone Scalpel) contacts Okita and tells him to get back to Earth as he is
about to put his ship in harms way, sacrificing his ship and crew so
someone can tell the story of what happened that day.
From the
outset this space battle opens your eyes as the graphics are awesome
competing at the same level as any Hollywood production. It's a frantic
battle and in Blu-ray you don't know which way to look.
Evil Dead is a remake of the cult horror film The Evil Dead, revealed to the world in 1981. This new version bears all the signatures of the original, directed by FedeAlvarez, a relative newcomer, but produced by SamRaimi and Robert G. Tapert (The Evil Dead, Hercules: The Legendary Journeys) , the maestros responsible for the first incarnation.
It is also produced by the mighty Bruce Campbell who played Ash in the original film and who makes an un-credited appearance in this one.
This is a very entertaining piece of Anime, 3.5stars for this one.
Naruto Shippuden: Movie 3 - The Will Of Fire is brought to us by Manga and is the latest in a long running franchise started in 2002, which includes TV series', a number of feature films (including Blood Prison and the Lost Tower) and also computer games (various platforms, but mostly only in Japan).
Read what we thought about the adventures of Naruto and his gang of Ninjas over at Road Rash Reviews
Well that was a complete waste of a morning. I'm going to give this 0.5 stars, simply because it seems rude to give it none at all.
Le Pont Du Nord was first released in 1981 and is directed by the"masterful" French director Jacques Rivette (Va Savoir, Celine And Julie Go Boating) and is taken from his so called legendary middle period. I sincerely hope never to have to watch a film from any of his other periods, or indeed another from this one. If that is the culmination of his work, I dread to think what delights led up to it.
See what else we thought about this wonderful film over at Road Rash Reviews
I have no idea what this is all about, grudgingly I have given it 0.5 stars.
Possession was originally released in 1981 and is now making its apparently long-awaited debut on Blu-ray.
Rather unbelievably, this film was banned in the eighties under the "video nasty" list. If there was a ridiculously weird list it would have fitted much better there.
Possession was directed by Andrzej Zulawski (Fidelity) and tells the story of Anna (Isabelle Adjani - Subway, Toxic Affair) and Mark (Sam Neill - Jurassic Park, The Hunt for Red October), a married couple whose relationship is beginning to unravel.
A modern and well made British thriller, 3.5 stars.
Welcome to the Punch is written and directed by Eran Creevy (Shifty) and is fast paced and energetic, featuring some excellent stunts.
The film introduces us to Max Lewinsky (James McAvoy - Wanted, The Last King of Scotland), a hard nosed London detective who has devoted his career to the capture of Jacob Sternwood (Mark Strong - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Sherlock Holmes). Lewinsky is shot in the knee by Sternwood in the high-octane opening sequence and will do anything it takes to bring him to justice.
This month, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone will appear on Blu-ray™ and DVD to amaze and astound you. Pre-order your copy here or, if you can’t wait, it’s now available now to download on iTunes!
The all-star comedy sees Burt Wonderstone (Steve Carell) and Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi) struggle to update their languishing cheesy magic act in order to compete with guerilla street magician Steve Gray (Jim Carrey), whose extreme stunts have made him a cult hit on the Vegas strip.
Boasting their own standout, individual comedic styles, Carell and Buscemi may not be the most obvious pairing. But, it’s oddball duos that often produce those instantly cult, quotable moments. Coupled with Jim Carrey’s signature brand of zany humour, The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is set to be one of the funniest films you’ll see this year. To celebrate the release of the film on Blu-ray™ and DVD 29th July, we take a look at the greatest double acts in comedy.
Jack Lemmon & Walter Matthau (The Odd Couple – 1968)
In the definitive representation of how far friendships can be pushed when actually forced to spend a significant amount of time together, The Odd Couple charts the fallout when pals Felix (Jack Lemmon), a highly-strung neat freak, and Oscar (Walter Matthau), a charming slob, move in together. The pair had such great chemistry that they starred in ten films together throughout their careers, including ‘The Front Page’ (1974), JFK (1991) and Grumpy Old Men (1993).
Laugh out loud moment: After moaning about Felix’s nagging notes, Oscar finds a message reading “We’re all out of cornflakes. F.U.” and gets offended – only to realise later that “F.U.” are Felix’s initials.
Richard E. Grant & Paul McGann (Withnail & I – 1987)
One of the UK’s best-loved cult comedies, Withnail & I follows two young, out-of-work actors who decide to escape from their squalid Camden flat and travel to the countryside. Staying in the privileged Withnail’s (Richard E. Grant) Uncles cottage, the pair’s relationship is tested as they realise they are out of their depth in the rural conditions. In a memorable scene where Withnail downs a bottle of lighter fluid, director Bruce Robinson actually filled the canister with vinegar - though told Grant it was water in order to get a better facial reaction in the take.
Laugh out loud moment: Almost too numerous to decide – but for pure hilarity the scene where the pair face an angry bull is tough to beat. Withnail immediately abandons his friend, but nonchalantly offers advice, as the petrified city boy shouts: “A coward you are Withnail, an expert on bulls you are not!”
Ben Stiller & Owen Wilson (Zoolander – 2001)
Widely considered the first successful ‘Frat Pack’ comedy, Ben Stiller plays Derek Zoolander – a dimwitted male model who, after being replaced by Hansel McDonald (Owen Wilson) as the new it-guy on the catwalk scene, is brainwashed into attempting to assassinate the Prime Minister of Malaysia. Featuring brilliantly quotable putdowns and an unsurpassable walk-off, Stiller and Wilson took comic rivalry to a new height. Since Zoolander, the pair have appeared as enemies in the Meet The Parents series and Night At The Museum (2006).
Laugh out loud moment: Pre-walk off the two simpletons try to have a war of words, culminating in Zoolander’s failed put down: “You think you’re too cool for school, but I’ve got a news flash for you Walter Cronkite…you aren’t”
Simon Pegg & Nick Frost (Hot Fuzz – 2007)
British favourites Simon Pegg and Nick Frost star in Hot Fuzz, in which a dedicated London police officer (Pegg) is relocated to sleepy Sanford and partnered with a slow, but well-meaning, small-town cop (Frost), only to find his suspicions aroused by a series of gruesome deaths in the village. Pegg and director Edgar Wright wrote the comedy as a humourous homage to crime dramas after watching over a hundred action films as inspiration.
Laugh out loud moment: After Nick (Pegg) puts a dangerous villager in the freezer, Danny (Frost) asks whether he said “cool off” as he did it. The two cops then discuss awesome lines they have said after taking criminals down.
In The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, comedy legends Steve Carell and Jim Carrey prove once again to be a dynamic duo, trading comedic insults and retorts as masters of their field. Playing warring magicians, Burt Wonderstone’s (Carell) old school tricks are ousted by Steve Gray’s (Carrey) thrilling street stunts, so Burt must rediscover his love for illusions to remind the public about what magic really is. Legendary magician David Copperfield served as a technical advisor on set as director Don Scardino had insisted that illusions should be credible feats, and therefore shouldn’t be dependent on camera tricks.
Laugh out loud moment: Burt performs at a child’s birthday party in a bid to win back his show on the Vegas strip. But refusing to even give him even that much of a chance, Steve outdoes each trick with progressively bigger but more inappropriate stunts.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is on Blu-ray™ and DVD July 29, 2013.
We're thrilled to announce that Manga Entertainment UK have launched a unique opportunity in relation to Steins;Gate Part 2. They are giving people the chance to vote on what cover design they would like to see used on their DVD and Blu-ray release.
With Steins;Gate Part 1 out now on DVD and Blu-ray some of you good folks may have noticed that Manga Entertainment have used unique artwork. This is actually the original Japanese design that the licensor has given special permission to use, making this artwork a UK exclusive in English speaking territories.
The three options are below. When you have decided then head over here to vote for your favourite.
For Steins;Gate Part 2, Manga Entertainment have been given that same privilege, but they would like the Manga UK community to vote for which design they want on their shelf.
There are three designs to choose from and the cover that receives the most votes will be the one submitted for approval. The closing date to vote by is 11:59pm on Thursday 25th July. Only one vote per person!
We would be most grateful if you could spread this cool news by any means you can, or of course, head on over here to cast your vote today!
Steins;Gate Part 2 comes to DVD and Blu-ray on September 30, 2013.
This is a pretty enjoyable film and I have given it 3.5 stars.
Red Dawn is a remake of the 1984 film of the same name (starring Patrick Swayze and Charlie Sheen).
The basic premise of the film is almost identical, but it has been brought up to date with the introduction of North Korea as the main protagonist. After an unexplained blackout, our heroes Jed (Chris Hemsworth - Thor, Snow White and The Huntsman) and Matt (Josh Peck - Wackness), two brothers from Spokane, Washington awaken to see North Korean paratroopers descending from the sky.
3.5 stars for this nicely tweaked version of an Eighties cult classic.
This proves to be a ship of alien origin, on first inspection filled with giant bats, but also containing three life pods containing naked humanoids, one female (Mathilda May - Naked Tango, The Tit And The Moon), and two males.
Hannibal is the latest incarnation of the well known characters created by Thomas Harris (Red Dragon, Silence Of The Lambs, Hannibal) and is set during the time of Red Dragon.
