W♥M

The Kids Are Alright

Sometimes, I feel I gotta get away
Bells chime, I know I gotta get away
And I know if I don't, I'll go out of my mind
Better leave her behind with the kids, they're alright
The kids are alright

- The Who

Video Nasty (2025) Read More Video Nasty For those interested in learning more about the video nasties, the banned 72 movie titles by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), there is a really terrific documentary called Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide …

Video Nasty
virginmediatelevision.ie

Virgin Media Television (Ireland’s Number 1 independent television channel) just released Video Nasty (January 8, 2025), a new television show about three teenagers and their journey to complete their Video Nasty collection.

If you don’t know what a Video Nasty is, it is a list of 72 banned movies in the UK in the 80s. What the censors really did was make a great list for horror fans (despite being illegal to own and view). There are many documentaries about the Video Nasty, one being Video Nasties: The Definitive Guide, which came out in 2014.

Anyway, the start of the show is innocent enough. We find out that the two boys Billy and Con are close to finishing their Video Nasty collection. They need video #72, the last one on their collection… and, in order to get it, they need to travel to the middle of nowhere, England, to meet Billy’s penpal Fangora Fangirl, for a tape exchange. Since they didn’t have any money, Con’s sister, Zoe, agreed go with them and split the profit from the sale of the Video Nasty collection.

This show is more of a comedy, despite the dark and murders and bodies. Think of this like Stranger Things (which incidentally is getting a fifth and final season in 2025), where you know the writers can’t harm those kids, but you’re still scared for them.

I’ve previously mentioned that I am not a fan of kid actors, but these kids are alright. I’ve never heard of these actors, but they did a terrific job, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see these kids in future shows.

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew (2024) Read More Star Wars It seems like no one is watching Andor… or at least you rarely hear people talking about this Star Wars new television show on Disney Plus. Maybe it’s because fans are tired of Star Wars or maybe …

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew
disneyplus.com

The latest Disney show, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew is a kids-friendly show about four kids who accidentally got lost in space and have to find their way home. They run into Jude Law, who helps the kids get home, but he’s only really in it for the money of the lost treasure on the kids’ planet.

What is interesting is that the reason why the kids are having a hard time just flying back home is because the existence of the planet has been erased from all-star charts. The planet was deliberately hidden, so the kids must go on clue hunt, from planet to planet.

It’s actually not a bad show, but because this is a family show, there are no real stakes. No one will believe these kids are going to die, everything just works out in the end. It's just a fun pirate kids show… which I can see why a lot of people are comparing this show to the Goonies.

This show is great if you have children and want to share television time with them, but I think most Star Wars fans might find this show a little too “not Star Wars” for them.

Anyway, I hope the next Star Wars show will be good. The next Star Wars film is called Star Wars: Dawn of the Jedi.

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Guns, gangs, and girls

Absolution (2024) Read More Liam Neeson Where we last saw actor Liam Neeson, it was for the “hitman with a heart of gold” movie Memory in 2022 - a remake of The Alzheimer Case. I mentioned for an actor in his 70s he was still very believable as an action star. …

Absolution (2024)
samuelgoldwynfilms.com

You guys know that I’m a massive Liam Neeson fan. I will see any film he stars in, including stinkers like Retribution (2023).

Neeson’s latest action thriller Absolution came out November 1, 2024, in theaters and is making its way to streaming services and home entertainment. I’ve previously mentioned that the actor is in his 70s and perhaps his time as an action star should be downgraded something a little slower.

Still, I love watching Neeson. It’s his voice or something. He plays a former boxer, now aging gangster (I’m not even sure he’s given a name!), but he’ll slip into his Irish accent sometimes. Who cares, he just sounds so tough!

I like the story, as predictable as it is. It’s one of those gangster with a heart of gold story or it’s a redemption story. Always enjoyable, but predictable. Of course, that one guy is the bad guy, of course he’s going to die soon (or contemplating suicide and has nothing to live for).

The action sequences and gunfights are the best part of the movie. Neeson is old (he looks it too!) and he doesn’t always move too fast… but when he hits a guy, “his ancestors will feel it!” It’s great. I don’t even mind that it’s a body double doing some of the action. Let’s face it, he’s no Tom Cruise.

The worst part of Absolution is the pacing. It’s a slow burn to get to the plot. Why are we spending time dining with his girlfriend? Why are we given all these dreams with his dad? I know it’s a way to tell the story of this gangster, but I felt those scenes didn’t really pay off at the end of the film. Can we just focus on trying to find out who put a hit on Neeson?

Sadly, given his advanced age, Neeson will likely stop doing action films this year (2025). His next film will be a reboot of The Naked Gun.

Dirty Angels (2024) Read More Eva Green The main character is Ethan Chandler (played by Josh Hartnett) as a gunfighter. He's recruited by Vanessa Ives (Eva Green) and Sir Malcolm (Timothy Dalton) to fight some old Egyptian evil. …

Dirty Angels
lionsgate.com

It’s been a while since I last saw Eva Green. In her prime, she was starring in various Frank Miller’s films like Sin City, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, and 300: Rise of an Empire. I love seeing her, and loved her television appearance in Penny Dreadful … but, like I said, that’s probably the last time I saw her.

I found out that she spent a few years suing a production company for not paying her, and the film, A Patroit, was ultimately abandoned. She then starred in a Philippines movie called Nocebo (it looks like a low budget movie) and a couple of French films based on Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers… which I never saw.

So, Dirty Angels is probably Green’s first major US film in quite a few years. Seeing Green on screen, it’s fascinating how much she’s changed over the years. I almost didn’t recognize her.

The story is about a military soldier who survived a hostage situation in Afghanistan, where her entire crew was killed. Years later, she returns to the country to help try and free several students captured by a group of terrorists. Green joins a group of other skilled women, like a mechanic, a technician, a weapon expert, etc. They posing as charity/medical team traveling in a dangerous country.

It does sound like a good setup for a movie, I was already picturing this as the A-Team or something, but as the story drags on, I realized it’s playing it too realistic… and too depressing.

As you can probably guess, I didn’t like this film. I think if you like military-type films, this might be really cool for you, but I just found it kind of boring and I didn’t really care for any of the characters. I wish there was also more action, and less on the terrorists.

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Justice is Blind

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman (Television Show) Read More Zatoichi If you've never heard of Zatoichi, he's a blind swordsman, who wanders Japan in the Edo period as a masseur (although he seems to make most of his money at dice games). …

Zatoichi: The Blind Swordsman
tubitv.com

Do you ever wonder why there are so many Zatoichi films (26 in total)? That’s because it was really meant to be a serial for television, but back in the early sixties, televisions weren’t as common. By the mid-seventies, almost every home in Japan had a television, so Zatoichi continues his adventures in a television show. Between 1974 and 1979, a total of 100 episodes of Zatoichi were produced.

Distribution rights for those television shows were made available on DVD via Tokyo Shock, but they are somewhat hard to find and is expensive for subtitled shows. I have a few of those Zatoichi television shows at home, but gave up on trying to collect the whole 100 episodes.

The cool thing is that you can now stream those Zatoichi shows on Tubi for free as of September 2024. Remember how I own a giant Vizio 65” TV? Tubi is one of the apps on Vizio! This is just perfect. If you don’t have a TV, you can download the free app or watch it via your web browser on your computer.

Since I do own the DVDs, I have watched the first few episodes, but let me tell you - I have no memory of it! It’s good to re-watch the first episode and remind myself of the old television aspect ratio (4:3) and how almost black-and-white and grainy it seems. They must have shot this on cheap film. I wonder if some company might re-master or enhanced the shows to add a little more color and saturation?

If you’re itching for more Zatoichi, you can purchase each film on Amazon for about $4.50 each.

Eye for an Eye 2: Blind Vengeance (2024) Read More Defiant Defiant (目中无人), aka Blind Sword, a 2022 Chinese movie, is clearly a rip off of Zatoichi. You know me, I love Zatoichi, I own all of Toho’s films on DVD and Bluray (thanks to the Criterion boxset), and even owning the …

Eye for an Eye 2
amzn.to

I was pretty sure I’ve seen the first movie, yet the title Eye for an Eye 2 didn’t sound familiar. It turns out that I’ve seen the first movie, but it was titled Defiant. Of course, it was also known as Blind Sword… so the film makers didn’t even know what to call the first movie. The film was eventually re-titled to Eye for an Eye: The Blind Swordsman when it was released on Bluray by Wells Go USA.

Just before the new year, Eye for an Eye 2: Blind Vengeance dropped on streaming through Hi-YAH! subscription, and unfortunately, because it came from the source, the film felt like it was heavily censored. There were some moments in the film that just abruptly cut into the next scene. It’s possible that the director isn’t very good and made some bad edits.

The other thing is that the trailer advertised part two as a prequel, which it is not. I wonder if something got lost in translation? If you watch the new film, there is a husband-and-wife kill team recognized the lieutenant and said they served under his direction (indicating that this happened after the first film).

Eye for an Eye 2 starts off with a good action sequence, which sees the blind swordsman kill a bunch of criminals. Then the film flashback and explains how (and why) the blind swordsman ended up there.

While the first film was China’s blatant rip off of Zatoichi, the second film doubles up and also rips off Lone Wolf and Cub. This time, the blind swordsman (I don’t think he’s given a name) is traveling the countryside with a child. The young girl (age 10?) wants revenge for the murder of her brother (?). The father-daughter bounty hunters tracks down all the people who were responsible for her brother’s death.

I find the whole child as an assassin unrealistic. For example, am I to believe that a small child can hold onto an item in a tug of war with a grown man and wins? That’s stupid. Just any scene with the girl fighting, it just looks so stupid. A small child, weighing like fifty pounds, there is absolutely no way can kill a grown man. In fact, any scenes with the girl, I absolutely hated.

I also didn’t like was the inconsistent skills of the blind swordsman. One moment, he’s clearing out a room full of deadly fighters … but in another scene he’s bumbling around and walking into tables. It doesn’t make any sense! I know they had those scenes for comedy relief, but I would take it out! That tone doesn’t belong in this serious movie.

The last thing is that the final boss feared the child assassin. He’s shaking! What??!? It’s a small kid, can’t you defend yourself against a small child? Then later he faces the blind swordsman, and he’s confident and becomes a masterful fighter that can stand his grounds against the blind swordsman. Again, it’s inconsistent.

The only thing good about Eye for an Eye 2 are the fight sequences. I think those scenes are done very well.

If they are going to make a Eye for an Eye 3, I hope they kill off the kid right away and that sets up a revenge plot. You don’t need a story, it’s all action and kills. Also, make use of more darkness/turning out the lights scenes, it’s always a hoot to see Zatoichi take advantage of darkness… it also leaves it up to the viewers’ imagination and saves on budget!

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It's Greek to Me

In celebration of the news that film director Christopher Nolan (the guy who directed Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises), will be set to adapt Homer’s The Odyssey, for Universal Studios… I have watch two recent swords & sandals films. The Odyssey will be out in 2026, according to Deadline.

The Return (2024) Read More The Returned The Returned, originally French title Les Revenants, was described as "The Walking Dead with Brains". This is clearly an inaccurate description, despite the clever zombie/brains analogy. The Returned is … Ulysses 31 It’s such a great concept. It’s about Ulysses in the 31st century. He offended the gods, and was banished to unknown space… and the entire series is Ulysses trying to find his way home from his long odyssey. …

The Return
tiff.net

Not related to the horror French show “The Returned” (or the English re-make), this 2024 film The Return is a retelling of Homer’s Odyssey. Rather, The Return is closer to Ulysses 31, which was based on Odysseus’ story (using the Latin spelling of “Ulysses”).

Anyway, the film is only adapt the last section of Odyssey, which finds our hero Odysseus, king of Ithaca, finding his way home after the Trojan War. The island, since he left, is lawless, and a group of murderous men are all competing for his wife’s hand in marriage.

Maybe I wasn’t paying attention, but after watching the film, I read that Odysseus was missing for ten years, now it made sense why no one recognized the old king or that everyone assumed he died in the war. Still, to me, it seems silly that no one would recognize Odysseus, but I suppose in those days, they didn’t exactly have Facebook or photographs…

Anyway, this is an excellent film directed by Uberto Pasolini, starring Ralph Fiennes, as Odysseus, Juliette Binoche, as Penelope, and Charlie Plummer, as Telemachus.

What sets this film apart is the wardrobe. Everyone is in Greek togas, just so weird to see with a modern eye. Once the stage is set, you find Odysseus washed on shores. He’s taken in by a stranger, who tells the old man what is going on. He brings the old man to the castle, and Odysseus asking for food. Everyone treats him as a beggar, and their cruelty turns to beating him.

Once the soldiers looking to murder Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, the old man had to fight them to save his child.

To try and save her son’s life, Penelope was forced to make a decision on her suitor. She tells everyone that if they can string Odysseus’ old bow and shoot an arrow through 24 axe-heads, then she will marry that person. The suitors all tried and failed, until the old man steps out and, indeed, stroot straight through, winning her hand in marriage.

What is crazy is this ending. Odysseus just starts shooting and killing all the suitors in the room. It was pure bloodbath, as Telemachus stepped in to help with the slaughter.

Shortly after everything is settled, Telemachus insists on sailing away to find himself and his destiny.

The Return is a little different from the books. In the original story, Telemachus went sailing in search of his wandering father, and when he returned to Ithaca, he found that Odysseus had reached home before him. The two, father and son, then slew the suitors who had gathered around Penelope.

I do like the movie a little better, only because it focuses solely on Ody, rather than his son.

Gladiator II (2024) Read More Ridley Scott What made the film interesting, at least to me, is that the soundtrack is by Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard! So throughout the movie, you do hear that ethereal vocals, similar to her efforts on Ridley Scott's Gladiator. …

Gladiator II
gladiator.movie

Guys, I love, love, love the original Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000). I never wanted or needed a sequel. Why are we getting a second film, twenty-four years later?

Gladiator II has a brand-new cast of characters. I suppose bringing back Russell Crowe was impossible, given the long-time frame and, also, I think he died in the first film. Sorry, it’s been a long time since I saw the first film.

Gladiator II stars Paul Mescal as an exiled Prince of Rome. He’s taken prisoner after a war and becomes a slave-turned-gladiator. The rest plot sees various fights in the Colosseum … I can believe various animals like baboons and rhinos, but sharks in the arena defies all logic. I love Ridley Scott, man, but bringing in ocean water and sharks - that is the worst thing I’ve ever seen. It’s so dumb, that I threw my hands in the air and gave up on following the plot.

Anyway, I don’t want to give anything away, but this film does relate to Maximus from the first film… otherwise, this Gladiator II film should be its own thing.

The new film was made available to rent and stream on Christmas Eve (Dec 24), through your favorite video-on-demand platforms such as Prime Video, Apple TV and Vudu.

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Vizio 65" 4K Smart TV

Vizio 65" 4K Smart TV 65" 4K Smart TV Details With vivid 4K picture quality complemented by Dolby Vision HDR, 4K models offer versatility and value with streaming-centric features like WiFi 6 and instant access to built-in apps. WiFi 6 Dual-Band 4K UHD Resolution Auto Low Latency Mode & VRR Dolby Vision HDR/HDR10+ Bluetooth Compatible DTS Virtual:X QuickFit™ Compatible Read More Technology I think I have my heart set on the Alienware AW3423DW 34" 2K WQHD Curved OLED Gaming Monitor. It is an ultrawide curved 2K screen (3440 x 1440), and has support for NVIDIA G-Synch at 175Hz …

We recently upgraded to a new Vizio 65” 4K Smart TV, as part of leftovers from a Black Friday campaign from Walmart. I’m very happy with the display for the price (less than $400).

It’s not a V-Series or an M-Series, this is just the base 65” Smart TV. I know Vizio strips out certain features in those other television line to bring the cost down, but whatever they took out (such as Freesync), I don’t really mind if I’m saving money. If you really need those features, you’ll have to pay more.

I haven’t purchased a new television in a long time. The last time I got a TV was when 2K was all the rage, and I got a 40-inch no-name brand. Of course, I never watch TV, so it was somewhat of a useless purchase for me. To be perfectly honest, the so-called 2K resolution of the television didn’t look good to me. Images looks too bright, and the blacks were terrible, and the details weren’t there.

Size and Resolution
The first thing about the Vizio television is the big size: 65 inches! It’s much better than the old 40-inch TV. Despite the large size, like all LCD screens, it’s not as heavy as you might think. I believe the whole thing is about 40 pounds.

While the resolution (3840 x 2160) looks great with no signs of uneven brightness that you find on very cheap displays. Image quality looks very good, sitting at a couch about 3 feet away, but when you look at the image very close up, you can see jaggedness. That’s because the DPI (dot per inch) is only 68 DPI at the large dimension.

Currently, the highest resolution consumers can buy are UHD discs, which I have been very slow on converting, simply because I didn’t really have a 4K television. You can also stream in 4K, but that requires very fast internet. The WiFi6 helps, but for the best steaming options, you need to use Ethernet, which the TV does not include (that is on the more expensive models).

Smart TV
With this Vizio “Smart TV”, it comes with its own computer built inside the television, running its own SmartCast OS. SmartCast offers all the streaming services, such as Netflix, Vudu (now Fandango), Amazon Prime, Apple TV, I Heart Radio, and, most importantly, YouTube. This has it all, and it’s not a bad interface. It’s not slow or ugly. This is amazing, if you do not own a Roku, an Apple TV, an Amazon Firestick, or Google TV… and even if you do own them, like I do, you might not want to even hook them up because it’s easier to just use Vizio’s system.

Signing into each streaming service you subscribe to was very easy. When you launch the app, like the Apple TV, you’re given a QR Code. When you scan it using your phone’s camera, you’re immediately logged in. I was streaming all my Apple television shows in no time.

My only complaint is that it took a long time to update all the apps, even using the fastest WiFi6, it felt like the Vizio television took over 15 minutes to update, restart, update, restart, etc.

Audio
The two 10-watt speakers, certified as DTS Virtual X, sounds fine to me, but if you’re an audio enthusiast, you’ll want to add in your own soundbar or custom audio setup. I think Vizio knows their shortcomings on audio, so the TV is “QuickFit” compatible. The QuickFit are standards with soundbars, designed to integrate with your TV. Eventually, I would like to upgrade the television’s audio, so I will sure to be looking for the QuickFit feature. If you prefer to use headphones, the television does offer built-in Bluetooth connectivity.

Remote
The remote control doesn’t have a numpad, instead it works like a directional d-pad, with some dedicated buttons. Like the convenient “Free TV” button, which brings up Vizio’s free tv service (it looks like Pluto TV). I do not think you can bind or change the buttons on the remote, so if you don’t use Sling, too bad that button isn’t going to change.

Anyway, Vizio prefers you to use your voice to direct the TV, but I find that it’s not good at interpreting what I want. For example, I wanted to watch the film DREDD, but all it gave me were films called “Dread”, not fuzzy search misspellings. When I asked for “Judge Dredd”, it gave me only the Sylvester Stallone film (which I did not want), and nothing else. So, the best way to get what I want is to just to type in a search bar.

Typing on the remote is unbearable, so you need to use the Vizio app… which also sometime sucks, because it sometimes just disconnects from the TV.

Summary
For the price, for the 4k resolution, for the large 65-inch display, for everything that the television offers (free programming), I am actually very happy with the Vizio television.

P.S. For whatever reason, my iTunes can’t connect to the Vizio TV’s Airdrop. So, it seems the best way is to sneakernet (by putting the movies on a USB thumbstick and using Vizio’s USB player).

Yours,

Weekend Gamer
[email protected]

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Black Birds of a Feather

Black Doves Read More Keira Knightley Admittedly I have not seen the movie, but apparently hot-girl Keira Knightley was nominated for an Oscar in her role. I have been in love with her since "Bend it Like Beckham". …

There are a couple of spy thrillers with similar names out right now.

Black Doves
netflix.com

The new Netflix series, Black Doves, just aired. This British spy thriller series was created by Joe Barton and stars skinny girl Keira Knightley (as previously mentioned I have been in love with her since “Bend it Like Beckham”).

The pilot starts off with the murder of three people, one of which was Knightley’s (former?) love affair. It sets off a revenge plot. Knightley calls back her old colleague shotgun Sam (played by Ben Whishaw), and they try to find out what is going on.

Personally speaking, I didn't really like seeing all the backstory of how Knightley got recruited into Black Doves, or “Triggerman” Sam’s backstory (or current love situation).

I also didn’t particularly like the humor of the two women assassins. They looked so beautiful, it’s like they were models doing a comedy bit as professional assassins. I think their tones were off, because the rest of the series is taken so seriously. It’s a dark thriller with lots of blood and deaths. If the two girl assassins had their own television series, with a funny tone, I would watch that… but they just didn’t belong in Black Doves.

As the show progresses, you find out that the murders involve the US, the UK, the Chinese, and some new underground modern-day “Freemasons” the Carters.

I think the show is fine as a spy-thriller… and Netflix thinks so too, so they are renewing the show for a second season. I’ll look forward to seeing Knightley again next year!

Canary Black Read More Black Canary White Canary: Basically the same character as Black Canary (who often teamed up with Green Arrow). Based on the explanation in the pilot, she was paying tribute to Black Canary (obviously I didn't keep up with the Arrow series). …

Canary Black
amazon.com

There is film called Canary Black from Amazon Prime. The movie is about a spy who is living a normal life, until her husband gets kidnapped and forced to obtain the mysterious “Canary Black.”

Originally, I thought this was called Black Canary, based on DC Comics’ super heroine... but it was apparent that this action, spy-thriller, was far from it.

The film does star one of my favorite girl action stars, Kate Beckinsale, who you may remember is the lead in those Underworld movie. I think she’s still very good looking, even though some people might say she’s aging out of that action star role.

Canary Black is a forgettable film, with a very predictable ending. Of course, Beckinsale saves the day and there's a dumb twist at the end (that everyone saw coming).

I’m not the only one that didn’t like the movie, the film got one-star reviews and the Tomatometer shows 18%. One fan/reviewer wrote that this was Kate Beckinsale’s worst film.

My favorite scene in the movie is how Beckinsale dealt with an explosive mine, it looks pretty cool (even though implausible).

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Crime Time: The Horror Edition

Read More American Horror Story I recently bought American Horror Story Season 1 and 2 on Bluray (my favorite season is still the third season Coven), and was listening to the Ryan Murphy's audio commentary for the pilot and noticed this brief Morrissey appearance. ....

Grotesquerie
fxnetworks.com

I have been enjoying Grotesquerie on FX (via Hulu).

The show is about Detective Lois Tryon trying to solve a series of gruesome murders. She unexpectedly teams up with a Catholic nun and journalist, Sister Megan. I like that they’re from very different worlds, but it’s the difference between church and state that can catch the serial killer.

The first few episodes are like something taken from the film Seven, because it’s some of the vilest and grossest murder you’ll ever see or heard described.

Although the show tells us that Tryon is an excellent detective, it’s kind of hard to believe because her character is so unprofessional and her personal life is often in her way of doing her job. She’s an alcoholic, her husband is in a coma, and she’s often in trouble with her boss. She’s not a likeable character, but it doesn’t matter, because she solves all her cases - and that’s what counts.

The first half of the series is very good, because it’s mostly about the murders and trying to catch the killer. Then it started turning to the supernatural or it seemed like a weird dream… That’s when the show started losing me.

If you stick to show and keep watching, the final episode will explain it all and it’ll suddenly make sense. Oh, that’s why she’s a terrible cop, oh that’s why the weird fire is following them, oh that’s why that thing was so fantastical… etc. All your questions will be answered and it’s a good twist of an ending.

The show was created by Ryan Murphy, who you may remember is the same guy who created American Horror Story series. I am a fan of those AHS shows, but sometime I feel like they have one good idea and the show struggles to maintain that idea for a whole eight or nine episodes. I think that’s why Murphy re-named the series to American Horror Stories, with each season contain several horror stories and ideas.

Anyway, if you like AHS or Seven, I think you’ll want to check out Grotesquerie.

Read More Silence of the Lambs Anyway, the Clarice show is based on the characters from the popular movie (and book) The Silence of the Lambs. We’re following the further development of FBI agent Clarice Starling. …

Longlegs
neonrated.com

There’s a serial killer loose. He’s murdering multiple families throughout Oregon… but how is he doing it without leaving any trace of being at the actual crime scene. These murders are horrific, and they only happen every twenty years or something weird like that.

FBI agent Lee Harker was asked to work on the case with agent William Carter, because of she demonstrated some psychic abilities. Through Harker’s skills, we find out that all the murdered families have one thing in common, that they all had a nine-year-old daughter born on the 14th day of the month. And it goes crazier and crazier as the film goes on.

For example, when Longlegs shows up in the movie, he looks like a crazy old man. What a weirdo. How is this the mastermind behind all the murders?

To me, the film works better as a cop chasing serial killer … and that’s when I am really enjoying the film. It’s the weird supernatural stuff that are introduced in the film that takes me out of the movie.

I think where it goes wrong is when it started introducing more supernatural elements into the film. It might work better if writer/director Osgood Perkins didn’t really have to explain the murders. Maybe it’s just better leaving it up to the viewer’s imagination.

The film came out in July 2024 and is Neon film’s highest grossing film (the highest-grossing independent film of the year) and it came out on Bluray and UHD on ‎ September 24, 2024.

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Dìdi

Dìdi (弟弟) Read More Trylon Cinema We caught the last showing for 7 Grandmasters, as part of the An Exploitation Extravaganza showcase, at the tiny 90-person non-profit Trylon Cinema in Minneapolis. … Sound Unseen Fat Wreck Chords (and some of your favorite punk bands: NOFX, Foo Fighters, Bad Religion, Against Me!) at the Sound Unseen Film Festival in St Paul. The film will come to VOD and Blu-ray/DVD on November 22nd via The Orchard and … Motion City Soundtrack Motion City Soundtrack can still qualify as a local band, despite their nationwide popularity and proof that they still connect in Minneapolis, was seen at a crowded main stage for their late afternoon set …

Didi, a movie about an awkward Asian teenager, won the Audience Award after its world premiere at the Sundance festival on January 19th, 2024. Although it is set for a theatrical release on July 26th it’s not making its way to Minnesotan theaters until August 9th so it was an absolute joy to see this state’s first sneak preview at the Trylon Cinema on July 25th.

The south Minneapolis theater in the Longfellow district seats 90. For every guttural laugh I had, the crowd amplified it making each hilarious scene even grander in scale. For every sad emoji moment, there were audible gasps and even exclamations, or more like whispers of “noooo....” For example, when the main character Chris decides to delete his old YouTube videos, forever lost to the ether.

The film was set in 2008, 5 years after MySpace was launched. It could be argued that at the time, this was the preferred social media platform since TheFacebook was not available to kids 13 and older until 2006. For those not familiar with MySpace, there was a huge music presence, making it a much easier way to consume the medium when the internet was young. And yes, I remember having to rate my friends, agonizing who would make it to my top 8.

There was a ton of great music reflected in the movie but the connection to MN is local artist’s Motion City Soundtrack has a song playing in one of the scenes as well as a new song titled “Stop Talking” written for the movie, that is the first song as the credits start to roll. Sound Unseen, which hosted the event, reached out to the band, but they declined, forwarded their regards but fans will be excited to find out that they were busy recording their new record. Other bands on the actual soundtrack include Belle & Sebastian, Hellogoodbye and Atmosphere.

On a personal note, growing up Asian, it felt like this movie was written for me. Like literally, my little brother is a skater who makes videos and we grew up in a town in California seriously close to Fremont where the movie is set. The subtext every time the mom, played by Twin Peak’s Joan Chen, asked Wang Wang if he had eaten yet, was one I had heard every time my own mother asked. But even if you’ve never frenched a French fry, I highly recommend seeing this movie.

DÌDI (弟弟) - Official Trailer

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Shawscope: Volume Three

Product Description High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of all fourteen films, including thirteen new 2K restorations by Arrow Films from the original negatives, and a new 4K restoration of One-Armed Swordsman by Celestial Pictures Original uncompressed Mandarin mono, plus Cantonese and/or English (where applicable) lossless mono options Newly translated English subtitles for each film Illustrated 60-page collectors' booklet featuring new writing by David West, Jonathan Clements and Dylan Cheung, plus cast and crew listings and notes on each film by Ian Jane New artwork by Tony Stella, Ilan Sheady, Tom Ralston, Jolyon Yates, Kung Fu Bob and Chris Malbon Hours of illuminating bonus features, including feature commentaries on each film, several cast-and-crew interviews from the Frédéric Ambroisine Video Archive, and the rare alternate Korean cut of Killer Constable Exclusive CD of music from the De Wolfe Music Library, as heard in The Avenging Eagle and other Shaw Brothers classics RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 26 2024 Read More Shaw Brothers Now enter Shout Factory, who also has a Shaw Brothers boxset in the works, set for release on June 13, 2023. They are releasing 11 titles, with special features yet to be announced. …

In my previous Shaw Brothers reviews, I mentioned that Arrow Video secured 26 titles from Celestial Pictures and they’ve exhausted all 26 titles in two “Shawscope” boxsets and a few single-only release like Come Drink With Me (which was not part of Shawscope Volume 1 or 2).

It would seem that the Shawscope sets were successful enough for Arrow that they’ve gone back to Celestial and licensed more titles. They’ve announced Volume 3 for release in November 2024, and perhaps a fourth volume is coming in November 2025.

Shawscope: Volume 3’s headlining title is the One-Armed Swordsman trilogy, the film that made “Jimmy” Wang Yu a star and solidify Chang Cheh as the main the director at Shaw Brothers Studio. The first One-Armed Swordsman was so successful, that almost all movies that came after followed that Cheh “Kung Fu” new style formula. Unfortunately, Jimmy Wang Yu had a falling-out with Shaw Brothers and broke his contract and went over to Golden Harvest and other smaller studios… that’s why David Chiang was brought to close out the One-Armed Swordsman saga.

Personally speaking, although I think One-Armed Swordsman is good, it’s probably not one of my favorite films to return to when I think of great Shaw Brothers-style movies. I would have to confessed that the best One-Armed stories (at least the most entertaining ones) was with Jimmy Wang Yu for One-Armed Boxer (from Golden Harvest) and its sequel Master of the Flying Guillotine (aka One-Armed Boxer vs the Flying Guillotine). Unfortunately the greatest One-Armed films weren’t done under the Shaw Brothers studio, so it’s not going to be included in Shawscope… but man, I would love a remaster of Master of the Flying Guillotine. I bought two version of the DVD, with the latter longer International or “Uncut” version had spliced in previously unseen footage. That version was hard to watch, because the longer version did not have the English dub and the video quality was not good.

Anyway, the rest of Shawscope: Volume 3 seems to be focused on wuxia films: Ho Meng-hua’s Lady Hermit, Cheng Kang’s The 14 Amazons, Taylor Wong’s Buddha’s Palm and Lu Chun-ku’s Bastard Swordsman … and lots of Chor Yuen’s wuxia films: Confessions of a Chinese Courtesan, The Magic Blade, Clans of Intrigue, Jade Tiger and The Sentimental Swordsman.

The only good titles that I see is Sun Chung’s The Avenging Eagle and Kuei Chih-hung’s Killer Constable (this one is fantastic!).

As you can tell, I’m only interested in the Kung Fu titles, basically four titles in this set… so I’m not really excited for Volume 3. Am I still getting it? Yes, of course, I’ll be buying Volume 3, but I’m in no hurry. Maybe I will wait for a sale or when I have extra cash, I just have no urgency to get this set.

It was certainly nice to save money after I last purchased the Shout Factory’s Shaw Brothers Classics: Volume Four (literally “a grand” total of about $1,000).

Read more Shaw Brothers.

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Civil War (2024)

Civil War soundtrack “Lovefingers” performed by Silver Apples “Rocket USA” performed by Suicide “Say No Go” performed by De La Soul “Sweet Little Sister” performed by Skid Row “Breakers Roar” performed by Sturgill Simpson “Dream Baby Dream - Single Edit” performed by Suicide Courtesy of radiotimes.com Read More Alex Garland I am a big fan of A24, the film distributor/producer, ever since Alex Garland’s excellent film Ex Machina in 2015. To be fair, I’m a big Garland fan, owning all his films, including Dredd (owned this twice!), 28 Days Later …

You already know how much love A24, and you know how much I love Alex Garland… so it’s no surprise that I actually really like the new film Civil War… which is the perfect film to watch this Memorial Day.

Civil War is set in the not-so-distant future of America, where there’s a war between the authoritarian American government against the secessionists (led by Texas and California). Even though it’s the “future”, it sure felt like a commentary on the current US government.

The story is about an aspiring young photographer called Jessie, who joins a group of Reuters journalists and war photographers traveling to Washington, DC, from New York to interview the President. Their journey is filled with deadly obstacles.

Every stop along the way and we get glimpses of just how dangerous the world had become. All the violence in the film were overlay with funky or rap songs, making those scenes very jarring.

Up until the third act of the film, it felt like a very low-budget film. It’s at the end of the movie, do we see where the $50 million went. They really pulled out all the stops with the tanks, the helicopters, the explosion, etc. As we see the conclusion, all this bloodshed and deaths, we have to ask ourselves: could this be us in a few years? If this is the path that we are on, let’s change direction for the better.

There are some choices that I wouldn’t have made, but overall, I think Civil War is one of the best films I’ve seen all year.

If you look at Garland’s works, he’s written everything from drama (The Beach), to horror (28 Days Later), to television (Devs), to Sci-Fi (Sunshine), to even video games (Enslaved: Odyssey to the West). Now you can add War film to his résumé. I believe it’s his goal to take on every movie genre. Can’t wait for that Western.

Read more Movies.

Civil War: Kirsten Dunst and Cailee Spaeny (photo courtesy of New York Times/Murray Close)

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