For a Fistful of Diamonds (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)It starts out kinda slow, but the ending has a really cool twist to it! Great movie to watch with a date or drinking with the buddies and making fun of it

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A briefcase loaded with diamonds goes missing in the middle of the desert… And the Mob wants it back. On the hunt for the diamonds is an escaped murderer. But so are his ex-girlfriend and her new lover. Hot on their heels is FBI agent Franco Valle, whose mission is to stop them and recover the briefcase.

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The Order - From Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle 3 Review

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(More customer reviews)The Order: From Cremaster 3 (Matthew Barney, 2002)
First off, let me just say that the disc is misrepresented by most people. Yes, it's a teaser DVD released in anticipation of the full Cremaster boxed set (which was supposed to be out 16 September 2003, and is now pushed back vaguely to "sometime in 2004"). No, it's not a hundred twenty minutes of Cremaster 3, which ran three hours in the theaters. It's thirty minutes of Cremaster 3 that occur towards the end of the film. So at the prices you're seeing it selling for at amazon, ebay, etc., it's not worth it unless you already know you love Cremaster (for reasons specified below).
As a rental, though, The Order is an absolute must. I don't know whether Matthew Barney created the subsection of Cremaster 3 called The Order with an eye towards releasing it as a teaser, but one way or the other, it works fantastically.
The Cremaster Cycle is that rarest of oddities, a series of films that have managed to become wildly popular despite having content that would leave the average filmgoer walking out scratching his head and saying "what on earth did I just sit through?" For that matter, most film snobs will wonder the same thing. Cremaster is like the Ezra Pound's Cantos of modern film; you'll enjoy it on the surface, but there's much more to be found if you happen to be up on such topics as Biblical history, the Masonic initiation rites, the Paralympics, and other such cultural obscurities. But don't let such a thing stop you. I know there's a lot of you out there who just have a thing for men in kilts. You get that, too.
Cremaster 3 is an allegorical tale detailing the construction of the Chrysler Building and linking it to the construction of the Temple of Solomon. The Order is a piece of this (filmed in the Guggenheim Museum, a gorgeous space made even more so by the film's set decoration) that deals far more with the Temple of Solomon aspect and the focus on the Masonic initiation rites. The protagonist is the Masonic Entered Apprentice (played by Barney). He starts at the bottom of a large cylindrical room with a spiral walkway that goes up five levels, with each level being a degree of Masonic initiation. Needless to say, this is not easy; he can't just walk up, but must climb, and each degree has a particular challenge he must face; an aggressive chorus line, a battle between two New York punk bands (Murphy's Law and Agnostic Front), a love interest (Paralympic gold medalist and Olympic athlete Aimee Mullins), The Five Points of Fellowship (you tell me, I have no idea) and, at the pinnacle, the Architect of the Temple of Solomon and the Chrysler Building himself (played by artist Richard Serra).
Like the rest of the film, the Apprentice's assent is not a linear thing; he bounces back and forth between levels, trying to figure out what's going on as much as we are. Pieces of each puzzle are scattered throughout, giving the whole thing an odd, Myst-like feel. (In fact, the Apprentice does not end with Serra, but on a lower level; non-linearity at its finest?)
Where the DVD of The Order may become purchasable for the average Joe who finds himself enamored with the Cremaster films is in the bonus material, which is what stretches the disc out to the promised 120 minutes. There are six full songs from each band to be found if you dig around enough, and a whole lot of outtake footage from each degree; various shots taken from various angles that extend each degree into a mini-film of its own (for example, the chorus line on the first level, who actually get maybe four minutes of screen time in the finished piece, do a whole fifteen-minute routine. The choreography is wonderful, and one wonders why you never see such things in actual chorus line performances).
For most of us, though, The Order is bound to do exactly what it set out to do: what our appetites for the whole boxed set. If there's as much bonus material in the box as there is on this disc, it's going to be huge, and wonderful, and worth whatever Palm Pictures ends up charging for it. See this now. **** ½

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Item Name: The Order - From Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle 3; Studio:Palm Pictures / Umvd

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An Erotic Werewolf in London (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)An Erotic Werewolf in London tells the story of a lesbian lycanthrope (Anoushka, Play-Mate of the Apes) -- do I need to mention that the film doesn't even bother to give us character names? -- who is seduced by a bartender (Misty Mundae, Spiderbabe). After some post-coital biting, the bartender now suffers from the werewolf curse. Meanwhile, our initial lycanthrope heads to London to tell her story to a British tabloid. This plot device allows for a lot of flashbacks involving werewolves and lesbians. Meanwhile, our bartender is ill from the effects of the bite and is tended by a number of naughty nurses. Eventually, Misty's werewolf turns and meets a tragic fate.
The previous paragraph makes the film sound a lot more coherent than it really is. In reality, the 68-minute film skips from lesbian scene to lesbian scene with a minimum of dialogue and narrative drive. The couplings themselves are above average for Seduction Cinema, with some real chemistry between the participants and no annoying interruptions from guys in gorilla suits. Those looking for wicked werewolves should go elsewhere, as this film sticks with a minimalist aesthetic. We're talking claws, fangs, and the barest wisps of hair to preserve the erotic half of the "erotic werewolf" equation.
Ostensibly, the film's star is Anoushka, although her silicone-enhanced assets are atypical for Seduction Cinema films. However, fans of Misty Mundae need not despair, for she commands almost as much screen time as Anoushka, and gets the better pairings of the two, including encounters with Ruby LaRocca, Darian Caine, and Julian Wells.
Shot on three different formats, the video is a predictably mixed bag. It doesn't look horrible by Seduction standards, but it won't win any awards. The best I can say about it is that there are no problems which make it difficult to make out the ladies. The audio is slightly worse, with a lot of variability in the quality and volume of the various effects and dialogue. But, since there wasn't much dialogue in the first place, it's hardly a huge complaint


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In My Skin Review

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(More customer reviews)Looking at the reviews, the average reader may decide that this movie sounds harsh, but surely nothing too bad. Trust me, It really IS that harsh. If you cannot stomach pain, blood, etc., then In My Skin isn't for you. I'm not talking about Hollywood violence here; the scenes in this film look very real and are therefore more disturbing. That being said....
This movie does an excellent job pulling the viewer into the main character's (Esther) world. She really is a tragic character, a (highly) updated Ophelia for the modern viewer. As bits of her life have the possiblilty of coming together (new apartment, successful boyfriend, job promotion) things simultaneously begins to fall apart. Like a wound that quickly turns to gangrene, her initial gash soon engulfs her body and emotions. As you watch her descent, scene after scene unfolds where you wish that there was some way to stop her. Yet Esther is moving too quickly as she begins to uncover the deep-seated tendencies that lead to her ultimate undoing.
Who would like this film? I would guess that fans of psychodrama, feminist film, and experimental film may find a lot of worthwhile material here. If you enjoy the films of Michael Haneke (The Piano Teacher) or even Maya Deren's "Meshes of the Afternoon" will likely see some interesting resonances.
My bottom line opinion: if you can handle extremely realistic and graphic scenes showing self-inflicted violence and mental illness, and are interested in highly personal / psychodrama, then this is a worthwhile film to see.

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After suffering deep gashes to her leg from an accidental fall, Esther (Marina de Van), a young research analyst, becomes preoccupied with her body and skin, especially her wounds.At first, she merely caresses her arms, pinches her excess skin, or traces the cuts on her legs, but it isn't long before she is carving wounds directly and aggressively into her own body.Her boyfriend (Laurent Lucas) becomes understandably concerned and angry, but his inability to understand forces Esther into reclusion to explore her newfound passion.Increasingly unhinged - to situations of perverse dark humor - Esther seems determined to continue her compulsion until the removal from her own body is complete.

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Silent Night, Deadly Night (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)NOTE: The four stars are merely for the film and it's earlier DVD presentation.
I've been waiting for December 11th, 2007. Why? Because I'm a huge fan of the "Silent Night, Deadly Night" film series. Most folks either love the films or loathe them. For me, they're all guilty pleasures. Never 100% genre classics in the conventional sense (the first is the closest, while the 3rd has the benefit of a most-skilled director, Monte Hellman), but fun nonetheless.
Of course, this isn't the first time "Silent Night" has appeared on DVD. Anchor Bay previously released a double feature DVD in 2003, containing the original film in it's uncut, restored form along with the notoriously bad "Silent Night, Deadly Night, Part 2". While I was thrilled to have these films on DVD, it always irritated me that neither a theatrical trailer nor TV spot was included for the first film (there was a trailer included for "Part 2"). How could this be? Anyone who knows the history of SNDN also knows that the film itself wasn't the cause for the tremendous uproar from parental groups, everywhere. Rather, it was the actual publicity materials (movie posters and televised commercial spots, especially) that sparked the true controversy. There had already been Christmas-themed horror films, some even involved Santa-suited psychopathic slasher fiends, but none of which received the degree of SNDN's multimedia marketing saturation. These were the ads that freaked out the mass public and ultimately won SNDN it's forbidden reputation. Overwhelmed by the astounding negative attention (including a slew of horrible reviews), the film's distributor, Tri-Star Pictures, withdrew it from circulation and eventually disowned the film entirely. Ironically, Tri-Star distributed "Santa Claus: The Movie" the following year.
I've come to expect such goodies from Anchor Bay and was truly disappointed to find that no trailers or TV spots were made available. So, when I learned of a new edition, I was hopeful that it might include SOMETHING more.
With the latest DVD firmly in hand, my eyes delighted to the words "theatrical trailer" advertised prominently on the back cover. That was all the incentive I needed to plop $13 at the checkout counter. Sadly, after a quick spin in my DVD player, I discovered these words held no such relevance. No trailer to be found. Even though the packaging boasts "one of the most controversial slasher films of all time... uncut, uncensored and back like never before," this is the exact same pressing as the '03 release. Such a phrase should indicate a "fresh presentation" of sorts. If by "like never before" Anchor Bay meant that this release features newer, over-blurbed packaging and that the disc is no longer a double-sided one containing a sequel, then perhaps the statement is correct.
On the subject of having no new special features, why didn't Anchor Bay consider doing an interview with Miss Linnea Quigley just for this disc? It could have been easy. They actually had such an opportunity after previously interviewing her for their "Night Of The Demons" release. "Hey, Linnea... might we ask about 'Silent Night' now... for a possible future DVD re-release?" Guess not.
To summarize, really what we have here is a re-hash of Part 1 only, in exactly the same presentation as before. The catch being that this DVD is in print while the other is not. I want my thirteen dollars back... like never before! NAUGHTY! NAUGHTY! NAUGHTY!

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Guinea Pig Flower of Flesh and Blood/Making of Guinea Pig Double Feature Review

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(More customer reviews)I think nearly every horror movie fan is aware of the notorious "Guinea Pig" series by now. If you like horror films or gory curiosities and aren't aware of this explosive series of Japanese movies, you ought to rush out right now and see a few of them. Made throughout the 1980s and 1990s, "Guinea Pig" pushes envelopes few people in this country would ever conceive possible. After viewing one of these repugnant films, a natural impulse is one of extreme revulsion. Why would anyone create such soul shattering images? It's important to remember that Japanese audiences possess a different attitude about horror films. As far as I can tell, in Japanese cinema anything and everything is fair game. A typical jaunt through the wilderness of Asian horror cinema (in which Japan plays a significant role) typically reveals graphic scenes of dismemberment, torture, and other no-no nasty behavior that rarely, if ever, appears in American films. Some films containing such stomach churning themes do occasionally rear their heads on this side of the pond, but these films rarely play to a wide audience. In Japan, the "Guinea Pig" franchise was a spectacular hit.
I haven't seen all of the films in this series, but out of the two installments I have watched, "The Flower of Flesh and Blood" easily wins the prize for outright sleaze and nastiness. It's difficult to imagine any film approaching (or descending to) the levels seen in this mind blasting forty-minute movie. Even Pier Paolo Pasolini's sickening homage to the evils of fascism, "Salo," fails to invoke the visceral sensations that "The Flower of Flesh and Blood" wallows in. This movie is a sledgehammer blow to the head and stomach with its unrelenting scenes of carnage and depravity. They ought to sell copies of this wrapped in a barf bag.
Manga artist Hideshi Hino directed this nightmarish look into the activities of a sadistic serial killer. That we know this guy is a serial killer and that he likes to stalk his prey before committing a brutal murder constitutes the plot in its entirety. There simply isn't much more here than a short stalking scene at the beginning of the story followed by a thirty-minute dismemberment filmed in nauseatingly sadistic detail. That's right, folks: "The Flower of Flesh and Blood" exists to show the viewer what it might be like to watch a snuff film.
Forget about character development. Two characters exist in this movie: the poor young woman picked up by the killer, and the killer himself. At least they made the murderer look like a complete psycho, as the guy wears a samurai helmet, a full body leather apron, and some sort of black caps on several of his teeth. This gentleman does not fit the bill of a role model in any way, shape, or form. He's a degenerate who likes to wax philosophic between removing arms and legs, blurting out weird lines about how his next activity will imitate blooming flowers and the like. At the end of the movie, he sings a melancholy song about sending people to the underworld. He also shines a different colored light on his victim at various times, although why he does this makes little sense. The majority of the film takes place in some seedy basement splashed with blood and filled with numerous tools of pain. Then you watch this guy commit his atrocities and that's it. There is nothing more to "The Flower of Flesh and Blood" than close up shots of bloody mayhem.
The DVD contains many interesting extras. There are several trailers from the other installments in the "Guinea Pig" series, one for the zombie film "Junk," several text interviews with director Hideshi Hino, an overview of the controversy involving Charlie Sheen (who supposedly saw this film and believed it was a real snuff film), a behind the scenes look at the special effects involved in the series, and a reproduction of a manga comic book with loose ties to the film written and illustrated by Hino. The documentary on the special effects provides some comfort after watching the gruesome movie, showing that it is all nothing more than a well made horror film. Still, I'm uncomfortable with the knowledge that "The Flower of Flesh and Blood" made such a big splash with Japanese audiences. Remember, this is the same country that committed the atrocities in Manchuria during the late 1930s, and there are still people living in Japan today who were intimately involved in mass murder and mass torture throughout Asia during World War II.
I think this entry in the "Guinea Pig" series ultimately fails to deliver the goods. As a gorehound, I appreciated the awesome special effects displayed in the movie, but the movie never rises to the occasion in terms of character development and plot. I watched the other Hino directed entry in the series, "Mermaid in a Manhole," a few years ago and I thought it well developed and interesting. In that film, which contained numerous graphic scenes, Hino developed a plot heavy on human suffering that showed emotional pain as a real tragedy. In "The Flower of Flesh and Blood," he indulges in sadism for the mere sake of sensationalism. If you really want to see this movie, just steel yourself for the depths of degradation. If you have kids in the house, don't even think about buying this film if there is any chance your children might find it. This is not acceptable viewing for youngsters, and it probably isn't acceptable viewing for most people. Beware, oh beware! "The Flower of Flesh and Blood" is upon you!

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Broken (Unrated) Review

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(More customer reviews)I was watching the previews on the DVD for "Black Sheep" when the trailer for "Broken" came on. In that week's rentals I had a film called "Broken," but it was an Indie film starring Heather Graham and Jeremy Sisto and not this film, which turns out to be another example of the torture porn horror film, albeit with pretensions. What is interesting is that that both "Broken" films came out in 2006 and that apparently both have just been released on DVD in the past month. This brings to mind the possibility that somebody would recommend the Heather Graham "Broken" and rent this one by mistake (Don't laugh, I recommended the Academy Award winning "American Beauty" to a co-worker once and they went to the video store and picked up "American Pie" and could not figure out why anybody would give Jason Biggs and the gang the Oscar). But the thought of people watching the wrong "Broken" was enough to make me check the other one out to see how much damage could be done to the psyche of some unsuspecting soul.
At the start of the film a title card informs us that "The slave girl is reared in an atmosphere of fear." The quote is from Harriet A. Jacobs (1813-1897), an American abolitionist who wrote the 1861 book "Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl." Written and directed by the tag team of Simon Boyes and Adam Mason, this movie is about Hope (Nadja Brand), a woman who puts her young daughter to bed one night and wakes up trapped in a coffin-like box. We know from the opening scene of the film that whatever is about to happen to Hope has happened to another woman, who clearly has been pushed beyond her limits. Consequently, given the Jacobs quote the implication is that the title of this horror film has to do with a woman's broken spirit. However, in the final analysis most of what gets broken here is physical rather than spiritual.
Hope is being held in the forest by a man (Eric Colvin), whose goal in dragging women out there is not to torture, rape, and kill them, but to help them get their minds right to being his domestic slave (unless the tending the garden bit is supposed to reference "Candide" in some way I have not yet figured out). So when his victims are required to use a pointed stick to open up an incision in their abdomens while bound by the neck to a tree while balanced on a perch nailed several feet off the ground, it might involve blood (and sometimes guts), but it is not torture but a test. One of several as the man attempts to break Hope. But unlike previous victims, who have not worked out as the man has intended, Hope has something to hang on to: the possibility that her daughter is still alive.
This is a low budget film and if you go through the DVD's special features you will find out that Boyes and Mason came up with the script as something that they could afford to film: if you shoot in the forest you do not have to worry about building sets and if one of you is married (at the time) to the lead actress that explains how you get somebody to make a movie like this when you are shooting outdoors in England during the winter. If the movie delivered more of what it promised, it would have gone over better with me, especially given that opening quote which put me in a particular frame of mind. "Broken" is different from most splatter flicks in that it takes place over several weeks, which is appropriate to the psychological dimension. Just do not expect to understand how this nut gets his victims out there in the first place, because that is not part of the game here.
For all of its shortcomings, the end game of "Broken" is probably the best part of the movie. What happens to Hope and the man, respectively, struck me as being different and quite possibly original for this type of genre, and I ended up rounding up on the movie because of that (usually the ending of a splatter flick is the weakest part, especially when they contrive some stupid way for the killer to get killed). There are other decent parts of the film as well: the parts that are suppose to revulse you in this movie do so, the cinematography does not look low-budget, and there were several nice cuts to good effect, so this is not a case of just wallowing in blood and gore. "Broken" is not the torture porn film its trailer makes it out to be, but there is enough here to recommend checking it out.

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Hope and her young daughter are abducted and brought to a remote forest by a mysterious and nameless man. As Hope is forced to undergo a series of humiliating, violent, and degrading trials, she fights desperately to escape and discover the fate of her missing daughter.

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The Phantom of the Opera (1989) Review

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(More customer reviews)First off I rated this movie based on how much I enjoyed it... which is obviously quite a lot. The movie does have some inconsistencies and some acting that could have been better. (mostly in regards to American actors trying to sound British)
But if we're going to review this film fairly, we're going to have to quit comparing Englund's Phantom to Freddy. They have very little in common other than they're both hamburger-faced, viciously kill people and that they're played by the same actor. But what about the Phantom's one-liners in this film? Well, the Phantom is a bitter misanthrope, so that is where his hateful sarcasm comes from. Freddy's humor comes from the fact that he's gleefully toying with his victims. That said, I think this is a very interesting take on the Phantom legend. The story goes something like this; a young singer auditions for an Opera using a piece of music by an unknown composer, who also happened to be a murderer. She's hit in the head when a stagehand drops a sandbag and in a dream state experiences her past life in the 19th century London Opera. (the setting is changed from Paris to London, possibly to give the Phantom more of a "Jack the Ripper" edge) The familiar story then begins. Christine is tutored by her "Angel", becomes a big star and the Phantom then does anything and kills anyone to ensure her continuing success. The biggest differences in this film (besides its London setting) from the original story are that rather than being a genius born with a horrible deformity, the Phantom is a man who sold his soul to the devil for the immortality of his music. The price happened to be his face. He also gains supernatural powers and immortality for himself, as long as his music remains. (a concept borrowed from The Picture of Dorian Gray and De Palmas Phantom of the Paradise) Also instead of wearing a mask, this Phantom skins his victims, patching up his own face, using crude proto-Plastic Surgery with their scraps. There is no chandelier fall in this film, but it is the first version since 1925 to include the masquerade party, where the Phantom shows up in his Red Death costume. There's plenty of blood and guts in this film as the Phantom slashes his way through his enemies. One great scene has him facing a group of would-be muggers in a dark alley. The imagery is overwhelmingly gothic. Very moody. The phantom's underground sanctum, riddled with candles and a pipe organ is classic. The film did badly, I think mainly because it came in the wake of Webber's extremely popular romantic stage musical. Everyone had their idea of what a Phantom film should be, and this just wasn't it. This Phantom was too evil to pity, and he wasn't very romantic. But when you look at the movie objectively, it's pretty good. Much better than most horror films in the 80's. And next to Freddy, Eric Destler-The Phantom is one of Robert Englunds best performances. He's absolutely wonderful. He makes him a very complex character. On one hand he's a very sensitive, brilliant artist with a kind of nobility to him. On the other hand, he's an almost diabolical character. Evil and power-mad. Englund plays this out very well. As I said there are problems. Some things are never properly explained. How the Phantom retains his reign of terror over the Opera isn't fully explored. How did the Phantom go from being a superstitious "theater tradition" to a legend about a man who sold his soul to the devil for music? How did Christine know the words to the Phantom's music? Why didn't she seem surprised at all when her "Angel" turned out to be a recluse living underground? Anyway, I'm nit-picking. Over all a very enjoyable film and a must see for Robert Englund fans.


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In this house of music, evil strikes the final chord! Horror legend Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street) assumes the classic role of the Phantom in this shocking, nerve-jangling retelling of Gaston LerouxÂ's timeless tale of music, madness and murder!An aspiring opera singer finds herself transported back to Victorian-era London – and into the arms of a reclusive, disfigured maestro determined to make her a star. The silver-throated Christine (Jill Schoelen) enjoys success through the arrangements of her new lover (Englund)Â...until she realizes that he has been committing unspeakably grisly murders in her honor and wonÂ't stop until heÂ's completed his masterpieceÂ...in blood!

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All Night Long Collection (2003) Review

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(More customer reviews)Japanese people are just plain scary. I'm not being prejudiced, because I love the Japanese but they have created some of the most gut wrenching and mortifying movies ever made. Audition and the Guinea Pig series come to mind. But this puts those to shame (except maybe Devil's Experiment, and Flowers of Flesh and Blood) as one of the most unsettling films ever made.
All Night Long:
The story in this one is three guys are one day standing at a railroad crossing waiting for the bars to raise up, when a crazed man comes up to a girl. The man kills the girl right in front of the three guys. And then was about to murder one of them when another rams the guy with his motorcycle. The three decide to celebrate by having a "party" in which they are all to bring a girl over for some fun. One of the guys actually falls in love with the girl he was going to bring to the party, but is murdered by a group of young men that bully and harass people. The guy goes insane and gets the others to come with him to kill the group. When one tries to back out. He is threatened that when they are done with the group they'll come and kill him.
The movie is quite unsettling and quite graphic in its portrayl of rape and murder. It especially show rather effectively one of the character's descent into insanity.
All Night Long 2: Atrocity:
The best of the three on this collection in my opinion. The story focuses on a nerdy student named Shinichi during his summer vacation. Shinichi is a shy and quiet individual who's only solice in life comes from painting a model of a nude manga girl. One day A rich kid and his gang of thugs start picking on Shinichi. They beat him up and torch his model. Then one day Shinichi is visited by the leader of the thugs. Claiming that he wouldn't be harmed, Shinichi takes the invitation to go to the leaders home. There the leader shows Shinichi a girl that one of the thugs have kidnapped, and raped. the leader shows Shinichi how he is capable of being abusive, and cruel to people that are "trash." This movie is more F***ed up than the first ANL movie. Maybe it is because it looks like it was filmed with a personal camcorder, and was made on a relatively low budget. This movie was actually more upsetting than the most vile of the Guinea Pig movies. This one is definitely not for the weak of heart or stomach.
All Night Long 3: Final Atrocity:
First off I would like to say that the title is misleading, there are two more All Night Long movies that were made after this one. This one was actually sort of a letdown, especially after the great horror that was Atrocity. Although this one is a bit more offensive. It focuses on Kiku, a mentally handicapped guy who works in a love hotel. He is a normal person until one night he comes across some of a female neighbor's garbage. He takes it home and nails some of it to his walls. I'm talking everything even used tampons. He then starts becoming obsessed with this girl. Always stealing her garbage, leering at her at her work. He even gets pissed when a guy takes her to the love hotel he works at. He also meets up with an old man who has been doing the same thing Kiku has been doing, stealing people's garbage, but he's been doing it for years. Kitamura (the director) really shows off the message of the movie series, that message being, humans are garbage, in this movie.
In short this is one of the most f***ed up series of movies to ever have been released. If you are the type that is easily upset by this style of movie you should avoid it like the plague. It is deeply disturbing and makes you say WTF more than once after you have watched them. If your into Guinea Pig, Audition, or Ebola Syndrome you would like this collection. Just be prepared for a sickening experience. Also if you're thinking about buying these movies, buy the boxset. It only costs thirty dollars, for all three of them. That is more cost effective than buying all of three of them seperately for around ninety dollars.

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Bleach Movie 1: Memories of Nobody (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)Many anime movies based on a TV series are basically like extremely long episodes, though often with with better animation and music.
And such is the case with the first movie based on the hit anime series, "Bleach: Memories of Nobody." It's not a perfect movie adaptation -- several regulars are reduced to brief cameos -- but it is graced with some extremely solid action sequences, lovely animation, a solid mix of comedy and tragedy, and a nice little storyline for the perpetually stressed-out Ichigo.
After disposing of a Hollow, Ichigo and Rukia encounter puffy creatures with pointed red heads. When the things start getting pushy, a strange Shinigami girl named Senna appears and wipes many of them out.
Turns out these things are Blank (amnesiac) souls from the Valley of Screams in the Severed World, and the only way to get rid of 'em is to find the Memory Rosary, a being that contains all their memories. As Ichigo struggles to keep an eye on the flighty Senna, he is charged with finding the Memory Rosary and protecting it from the mysterious man who is leading the Blanks.
Guess who the Memory Rosary is. I'll give you a hint: it's someone not in the regular cast.
Anyway, a bunch of Soul Reapers are dispatched to bring the Memory Rosary back with them, only to have her snatched away by a strange man named Ganryu, who has a grudge against the Soul Reapers. Ichigo and Rukia discover the portal into the Severed World -- but there's only an hour before the worlds of the living and the dead collide, with devastating results. And even with the help of all his Soul Reaper friends, Ichigo may not be able to prevail...
Anyone not familiar with Tite Kubo's "Bleach" series will probably be utterly lost during "Memories of Nobody," especially given the vast cast of Good Guys who show up without introduction. The entire movie plays out like a very long anime filler episode, but with a lot more new characters, villains, and introducing an entire dimension between the Soul Society and the living world. And an accidental Ichigo-Kon kiss.
Fortunately "Memories of Nobody" does a good job preserving the flavor of the "Bleach" anime series. It starts off rather lightweight and a bit talk-heavy until Ganryu decides to show himself, leading into a clash between the Soul Reapers and his nasty little minions. Those rapid-fire battles are astounding -- quick, lethal and full of special powers (including Ichigo riding on Renji's zanpakuto). And the climax is simply spectacular -- a bloody savage duel between Ganryu and Ichigo on a vast leafless tree, even as the Severed World starts falling apart.
And the writers strike a good balance in "Memories of Nobody" -- we have acrobatic battles, flashy powers, a bit of Hollow-slaying, and some poignant moments for Ichigo and Senna. Fortunately amid all this serious stuff, there's some humor as well -- including a running gag about ambulance crews trying to resuscitate Ichigo's soulless body, which he has a bad habit of simply dropping any old place. I've always wanted to see that happen.
Even the animation has been souped-up here. It's a little more detailed and defined than animation for a weekly TV show, and there are some lovely visuals -- sprays of maple leaves, the nighttime lights of Karakura, and the explosive battles between Soul Reapers. And the soundtrack -- particularly the violin solo -- is simply lovely.
The characterization is one weak spot, though. Most of the main cast -- including Uryu, Chad, Orihime and all of Urahara's little gang -- are reduced to standing on a bridge waiting for Ichigo to come back. And somehow Ganryu is never quite compelling -- we never find out why he was exiled, or what motivations he has beyond wanting revenge on the Soul Society.
But this is a well-written story for Ichigo Kurosaki, -- his gruff, slightly awkward personality is captured beautifully, as well as his iron-clad determination to protect anybody he's become fond of. Senna is a character so completely flaky that she makes Orihime look like Eeyore, but she does manage to be likable and good-hearted despite that.
"Bleach: Memories of Nobody" is not quite as good as it could have been, but it's a solid adventure for Ichigo and his assorted Soul Reaper friends. An entertaining, fast-paced little ride.

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A 2-Disc Set Loaded with Special Features!After unidentified beings known as "Blanks" start popping up, they are soon followed by a Soul Reaper named Senna who makes them disappear. Puzzled by these unknown beings and the even more mysterious girl, Ichigo and Rukia set out to learn more, but uncover an evil plot when a menacing clan tries to kidnap Senna. Banished from the Soul Society long ago, the clan's leader is sending the World of the Living and the Soul Society on a collision course, and Senna seems to be the key to his diabolical plot for revenge. Can Ichigo and his fellow Soul Reapers save the two worlds from annihilation?Disc 2 Special Features Include:*Inside Bleach The Movie *Japanese Production Interviews *US Theatrical Trailer*Original Japanese TrailersAlso included: Original Japanese Movie Booklet (translated version)Bilingual (English & Japanese with optional subtitles)

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The Mist (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)On the two disc edition of The Mist, on disc 2 there is a glorious Black and White version of the film, with an introduction by the director Frank Darabont. Darabont says he originally wanted The Mist to be in B&W and be a throwback to the 50's and 60's horror movies such as Night of the Living Dead, which I felt it had a lot in common with. Darabont says this can be considered his director's cut. I knew he directed two other King favorites The Shawshank Redemption (Two-Disc Special Edition) and The Green Mile, but I didn't realize his other contributions to the horror genre, until I checked out IMDB. Starting in 1980 as a production assistant on Hell Night and going on to write the screenplays for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 - Dream Warriors, The Blob, The Fly II (Collector's Edition), and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
The Mist is an entertaining, at times infuriating, tragic horror film filled with fun scares in the form of 50s and 60s era monsters lurking in the mist outside and the uglier monsters inside that apply to our present day, a true creature double feature.
Darabont reminded me of Romero and his use of horror and social commentary. Here he makes an atmospheric horror movie, our main character, David Drayton, played by, Thomas Jane, (Deep Blue Sea) designs posters for horror movies, followed by a big storm, and ultimately has David and his son (mom at home) trapped in a supermarket with the towns people. Similar to the mall in Dawn of the Dead [Blu-ray] evil lurks outside the market, not in the form of zombies that can be seen, but old school monsters that lurk out in the mist. That's the surface of the film, but as we go through the layers we find much more, such as the monsters that lurk inside the supermarket. Human nature, when afraid and backed into a corner and the role the military plays once the smoke clears are some of the movie's other factors.
The Black and White Version is the way to go, to get that old school feel the director intended, even the way the title on the dvd is written is like an old monster movie. Highly Recommended, one of King's best film adaptations.
2 DISC DVD FEATURES (FROM BACK OF DVD)
DISC I Features Commentary by Writer/Director Frank Darabont - Deleted Scenes with optional commentary - Drew Struzan: An appreciation of an artist - Behind the scenes webisodes - Trailer Gallery Dolby Dig 5.1
DISC II - Frank Darabont introduces The Mist in Black & White - The Director's Vision: The Complete Feature Film in Black & White - When Darkness came : The Making of the mist - Taming the beast - The making of scene 35 - Monsters among us: A look at the creature FX - The Horror of it all: The visual FX of the mist. Dolby Dig 5.1

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From legendary frightmaster Stephen King and 3-time Oscar-nominated director Frank Darabont* (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) comes "one of the scariest King films since Stanley Kubrick's The Shining" (Tasha Robinson, The Onion A.V. Club). After a mysterious mist envelopes a small New England town, a group of locals trapped in a supermarket must battle a siege of otherworldly creatures...and the fears that threaten to tear them apart. Starring Thomas Jane (The Punisher) and Oscar winner* Marcia Gay Harden (Mystic River) in one of the year's most talked-about performances, The Mist is riveting, with "tension like an ever-tightening clamp" (Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune).

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