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Film Review: Fresh Meat’s ‘Rat Scratch Fever’ (2011) Conjures Feverish Visions of Mattei’s Scurrying Scarefest

Action, Exploitation, J. Andersson, Sci-Fi No Responses »

May 082012

Brought back from a doomed space mission, an army of giant rats develop a big appetite for Los Angeles residents.

Well, the plot for this little nugget of joy was enough for me to buy the movie, especially after viewing the trailer that is a feast of loving cheese full of tacky models and full size mutant rat heads. Yes, I had to own it and as soon as the DVD arrived I sat down in front of the TV (to my girlfriends great pain. Not a fan of cheesy monster movies I’m afraid to say) and started to worry. Can this really be good? 105 minutes of low budget monsters can be painful if the heart isn’t in the right place. So, let’s get down to brass tacks. Rat Scratch Fever is essentially a throwback Continue reading »

Film Review: ‘Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale’ (2011) Brings the Native Taiwanese Struggle Against Tyranny to the Big Screen

Action, Asian Cinema, B. Woodell, Drama, Taiwan No Responses »

Apr 232012

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale is a new historical epic drama from Taiwan, which deals with a time of their history that is virtually unknown to people outside of the region. The film was Taiwan’s submission to the 2012 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

Warriors of the Rainbow: Seediq Bale takes place in Taiwan in the early 1900’s. It follows Mona Rudao (Lin Ching-Tai) as he becomes a man by taking the head of a rival tribe’s hunter, and then Mona becomes the Chief of his tribe. One day, the Japanese army comes to colonize the area, and the tribes fight back, but they’re just not strong enough to defeat the Japanese army. Thirty years later Continue reading »

Film Review: Never Forget Stryker’s 1st Commandment,’Thou Shalt Not Kill…Except’ (1985)

Action, B. Harris, Crime, Revenge, War No Responses »

Apr 132012

Thanks to a bad call by a wet-behind-the-ears commanding officer, Sgt. Jack Stryker and his team are overcome during a mission to take a Viet Cong stronghold. Forced to retreat with only a handful of injured survivors, Jack earns himself a first-class ticket back to the states with an Honorable Discharge and a limp.

Reunited with his dog Whiskey and some old friends, Jack begins to settle back in to civvy life but it doesn’t take long before the war is back on for him and his buddies when a group of bloodthirsty cult members descend upon the Continue reading »

Film Review: Shuji Kataoka’s ‘S&M Hunter’ (Kinbaku – 1986) Ropes Viewers in with Outrageous Exploitation Action

Action, Adventure, Asian Cinema, B. Woodell, Erotic, Exploitation, Fantasy, Japan, Martial Arts, Rape/Revenge, Revenge No Responses »

Feb 282012

After having viewed a few of Japans Pink films recently, I started to get an understanding of how the films generally looked and were made. S&M Hunter thus far, has been the best all around Pink film I’ve seen to date from technical aspects to having a full, story.

A man’s partner is kidnapped by The Bombers, an all female gang looking to use men as their personal sex slaves. S&M Hunter takes the job of infiltrating the group, and finding the kidnapped guy, all the while using his rope skills to train the females to serve him. He saves the day, one of the women falls for him and he knows deep down their love can’t be because he has many women to train Continue reading »

Film Review: ‘Sexy Battle Girls’ (Nerawareta gakuen: seifuku o osou – 1986) Takes Softcore Porn to Exciting Heights with Anime-Style Action

Action, Adventure, Anime, Asian Cinema, B. Woodell, Comedy, Erotic, Exploitation, Fantasy, Japan, Martial Arts No Responses »

Feb 232012

In recent years, we’ve seen a lot of crazy films coming from Japan like Machine Girl and Tokyo Gore Police, that have upped the gore factor in cinema, but also make the audience anticipate the next “out there” idea they’re going to come up with. Surprisingly, 1986’s Sexy Battle Girls gave me some thrills in the same exact way, and gave me an insight into what was probably the inspiration for a lot of the Japanese trash cinema directors out there now.

Mirai, a young girl who has to forever wear a high tech chastity belt, is transferred to a new school by her father. While there, she uncovers an underground human trafficking ring set up by the head master and his head detective Continue reading »

Film Review: Cage Returns in ‘Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance’ (2011) and Once Again Fails to Kickstart Consumer’s Engines

Action, Adventure, B. Woodell, Demons, Fantasy, Horror, Revenge No Responses »

Feb 182012

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. These words echoed in my brain while watching Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance as I went against my better judgment and gave the sequel a chance. The only enjoyment I had from the first Ghost Rider, was my friend turned to me in the theater and said, “Bennie, I’m getting sober, and this movie’s getting worse.” Sadly, with Spirit of Vengeance, I was embarking on the journey alone, with no one to share my pain.

Johnny Blaze (Nic Cage) has to save Danny (Fergus Riordan) from Roarke (Ciaran Hinds), who apparently is Satan or one of Satan’s helpers. That’s pretty much all I can tell you about the storyline because the film felt like one, giant Continue reading »

Film Review: Pine & Hardy Wage All-Out Mayhem in McG’s Action/Comedy ‘This Means War’ (2012)

Action, Comedy, War No Responses »

Feb 182012

Upon seeing the first teaser trailer three or four months ago, I have eagerly been anticipating This Means War. The idea of a spy vs. spy movie made me incredibly excited at the thought of the covert hijinks that could ensue, especially if it’s two spy’s fighting for one woman’s love. It’s something I hadn’t seen yet in a movie, and knew there would be some clever antics.

Tuck (Tom Hardy) and FDR (Chris Pine) are CIA Agents, and after an operation left multiple dead in Hong Kong, they’re benched for their excessive ways. Tuck decides he’d like to take this time and meet a woman since his ex wife won’t Continue reading »

Film Review: ‘Man on a Ledge’ (2012) Reaches Dizzying Heights of Action and Suspense

Action, B. Woodell, Crime, Drama, Thriller No Responses »

Feb 172012

There’s something wonderful about films that explain the plot in the title, and subsequently repeat that somewhere in the film, because you know exactly what to expect when going in the theater, and anything that’s beyond the spectrum of the title is a bonus and nice surprise. Man On A Ledge does not disappoint in any of those areas, and is in fact a very fun little heist flick.

Nick Cassidy (Sam Worthington) was set up and sent to jail for twenty-five years for robbing a very precious diamond from David Englander (Ed Harris), a rich tycoon in Manhattan. With the help of his brother Joey (Jaime Bell) and his brother’s girlfriend Angie (Genesis Rodriguez), he escapes from jail and sets to prove Continue reading »

Film Review: ‘Agneepath’ (Path of Fire – 2012) Sets Bollywood Ablaze with a Smoldering Tale of Revenge

Action, Asian Cinema, B. Woodell, Bollywood, Crime, Drama, India, Revenge, Thriller No Responses »

Jan 302012

Bollywood has started 2012 with a vengeance, literally, with Agneepath, a remake of a 1990 film. It includes everything you would expect from Indian cinema; romance, action, elaborate dance sequences, and lush colors, only this film has so much more violence and heartache.

As a child, Vijay’s father tries to talk the townsfolk of a small island off the coast of Mumbai out of loaning their land to Kancha, who wants to grow coke in their salt fields. Kancha will stop at nothing to get the land, so he has a little girl raped and murdered and sets Vijay’s father up, leading to mob justice and the father’s death. Vijay and his mother move to Mumbai where he comes across Rauf Lala, Mumbai’s top drugs dealer and human trafficker and becomes a member Continue reading »

Film Review: ‘The Grey’ (2012) is a Masterful Thriller and a Snarling, Howling Good Time

Action, B. Woodell, Drama, Thriller No Responses »

Jan 302012

What would you do, if you survived a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness during a blizzard? Would you have the know how and basic primal instincts on building fires and seeking shelter? Now throw into the mix a pack of vicious Timberwolves who know you and your party are injured, and are just waiting to pick you off one by one. Would you survive? The answer to these questions is answered very blatantly in Joe Carnahan’s new film, The Grew, starring Liam Neeson.

Ottway (Neeson) is a wolf hunter for an oil company who oversees the workers while they’re drilling in the Alaskan terrain. He makes sure they don’t get attacked, and is very good at his job. Upon returning home from an expedition, the crews plane goes down leaving a handful of survivors with Ottway taking charge and Continue reading »

Film Review: Yuen Wo-Ping Introduces the Action World to Donnie Yen in Kung-Fumedy ‘Drunken Tai Chi’ (Siu taai gik – 1984)

Action, Asian Cinema, B. Woodell, Comedy, Hong Kong, Martial Arts No Responses »

Jan 282012

Drunken Tai Chi is an absolute Yuen Woo-Ping gem from 1984, and is the very first film by the great Donnie Yen. Like many kung fu films made in the late 70’s and early 80’s by the Yuen clan, Jackie Chan, and Sammo Hung, Drunken Tai Chi is filled to the brim with mind bending feats of physical abilities, amazing kung fu sequences, revenge and comedy galore.

Being a revenge film, it follows the formula we’ve all come to know and love. Chan Chuen Chung’s (Yen) brother embarrasses Ta Sha, a rich schoolmate, and a rivalry ensues. It escalates to the boy having his father pay Iron Steel to kill Chan and his family. Chan is not home, but instead is fighting in a gambling hall Continue reading »

Film Review: Brad Bird’s ‘Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol’ (2011) a Thrilling Addition to the Exciting MI Franchise

Action, Adventure, B. Woodell, Drama, Thriller No Responses »

Dec 212011

Five years ago, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) saved the world from certain destruction, but lost his wife in the process. Now, mourning the loss of her, Hunt has chosen to accept a new mission, one that again would mean certain world destruction and the start of possibly World War III in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

While on a mission in Russia infiltrating the Kremlin to obtain nuclear codes, Hunt’s mission is aborted due to another spy in the premises also seeking the codes Hunt escapes just in time before a bomb explodes, leaving high tensions between the US and Russia, since all evidence points towards him on detonating the bomb. The US President declares Ghost Protocol, or the shut down of IMF, leaving Continue reading »

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