Phantasm II [HD]

Universal should be ashamed of their treatment of this film.
The long and outrageous wait is over and we FINALLY have PHANTASM II on DVD in region one. Universal knew that fans were in a frenzy to get this one and they also knew they didn't have to bother doing anything more than a bare bones release. Fans would buy whatever version they decided to throw our way and they did the LEAST amount of work on this they could get by with. What we got was a good looking anamorphic print of the film and an unimpressive STEREO soundtrack. Thats right, only 2 channel sound (even though the other films in this series all got new Dolby 5.1 remixes Universal knew they didn't have to bother). There are NO EXTRAS on this disc (other than one faded and dirty copy of the trailer). No cool animated menus, no commentary track, deleted scenes, making of features, retrospective documentary, cast interviews, NOTHING. All of this material is available and is on the worldwide releases of this film but the North American market gets ripped off by Universal. It...

Reggie Bannister & Angus Scrimm are back.
This second Phantasm begins where the first film, PHANTASM (1979), left off and takes you seven years later. In real time it was nine years before they finally made this sequel. That is why everyone looks more mature. James Le Gros takes over as "Michael" for this film only. But A. Michael Baldwin can be seen in flashbacks. Reggie Bannister and the Tall Man Angus Scrimm are back and so are those deadly silver spheres. I'll keep the plot a surprise for you, but this sequel is more big-budget. They go all out for this one and is very enjoyable if you like suspense, horror and more gore.

Funny sex scene.
If James Le Gros looks familar, twelve years later after this film, he had a regular role in the tv series "Ally McBeal" in 2000-2001.

Followed by:
Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead(1994).
Phantasm IV:...

MORE PHANTASM PLEASE ON BLU-RAY!!!!!!!
I wonder why they decided to release PHANTASM II on blu-ray / DVD before the first movie PHANTASM?

Let's hope we can get the rest of this series with GREAT PICTURE QUALITY on Blu-ray soon...PLEASE!!!!

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Slaughterhouse-Five [HD]

Billy Pilgrim Lives...from Time to Time
A faithful adaptation of the novel by celebrated American author Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE (1972) is about the life of one Billy Pilgrim, a milquetoast of a man who has somehow become "unstuck" in time and therefore randomly ping-pongs back and forth to relive various events in his life. Although the film does depict instances when Billy re-experiences a few snippets from both his childhood and the moments immediately preceding his death, most of the time he is relegated to three major periods of his life: His tour of duty in WWII, during which he is a POW in Dresden, Germany, as it is bombed by Allied forces; his mid-life era, in which he suffers from suburban ennui while he labors in an unsatisfying career and contends with his overbearing, overweight wife; and the time he spends as a captive of extraterrestrials on the distant planet Tralfamadore, where he is kept in a dome-like cage and "forced" to mate with a beautiful soft-core porn starlet.

As bizarre and...

How's this for rare...a quality Vonnegut adaptation.
Kurt Vonnegut is one of those writers who, when you hear about a movie adaptation of one of their works, you always immediately think "How the Hell are they gonna manage that?". His books are stream-of-consciousness tirades against the madness of mankind...not exactly cinema-ready audience pleasers.

This has been proven by experimental disasters such as "Slapstick (of Another Kind)". But under the expert and fearless direction of George Roy Hill ("The Sting", "The World According to Garp", "Slap Shot", "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"), the movie version of "Slaughterhouse 5" has nothing to feel embarassed about when placed next the the excellent novel. The key to this, as in all great novel-movie transfers, is a worthy cast. And here we have one in spades. I don't think there's another movie made that has done such a bang-on job at matching the flesh and blood actors to their literary...

A Job Well Done
After seeing the mess that was "Breakfast of Champions," I was really skeptical about how the film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's masterpiece, "Slaughterhouse-Five" would turn out. It isn't the easiest book to translate into film, after all. So, I think it's fair to say that I had my doubts at first. I finally found this available on DVD, and to my surprise it was a faithful and well done adaptation. While it may not be absolutely flawless or spectacular, it does its best to stay true to the source.

Billy Pilgrim is unstuck in time. This meaning that he relives certain parts of his life in random order. There is no beginning, no middle, and no ending for Pilgrim. His life plays in scrambled portions in a continuous loop. This is something that Billy has no control over and he never knows what part of his life he will revisit next. Sometimes he relives the time he was in WW2 and was a P.O.W. in Dresden. Other times it's to his life shortly after the war...

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Dragonheart [HD]

"A knight is sworn to valor, his heart know only virtue."
I guess it helps if you place the review under the right movie. Somehow I posted this review under the other Dragonheart Movie, A New Beginning.

Dragonheart is one of my favorite movies, up there with The Last Unicorn. The music is good, the actors are fantastic, and the storyline actually has some thought to it.

Dennis Quaid is great as Bowen, the knight turned dragon slayer. He looks the part as well as acting thepart of a dragon slayer bound by the old code, who is trying to rid the world of dragons so the evil in his protégé, King Einon, will be defeated.

Sean Connery is great as the voice of Draco. According to the 'making of Dragonheart' feature on the DVD, the director had only Connery in mind for the voice, and spent 13 months trying to get the dragon to have facial and body actions that patterned Connery. I don't know if it's because Connery is so well known, or if it's because he can project life into Draco, but the dragon has a personality, and you...

Excellent movie, but get the Dolby Digital Version instead
If you are interested in this movie, buy the Collector's edition with Dolby Digital instead of this one as this DTS version offer nothing in special features and the sound is not much better than the Dolby Digital Version. And the most annoying part is when you put the disc inside your player, you are given an option to chose between DTS and Dolby Surround but you don't know which one is which as they just shift color when you chose and if you got it wrong, there is no way to get back to the option page, you have to stop the disc and open the drawer and insert the disc again. It is a pain.

The movie itself is excellent about a Dragon who gave half of his heart in order to save a dying prince. The prince turned out to be an evil king and it is up to a knight (Dennis Quaid) and the dragon (voiced by Sean Connery) to save the people. The special effect is great and the acting is good. David Thewlis is very good as the evil king. The picture quality is fine and the DTS sound is good but...

HD-DVD version
Okay folks, I am guessing you have seen this movie as it is quite a few years old now so I will not bother going into the details of it. If you wish to know more about the plot then check it out on imdb.

The big question is, how did it fare being transfered to HD-DVD? Well to sum it up I would say brilliantly. The video transfer is crisp and detailed, it does suffer a tad with film artifacts but this is the best we are ever going to see it that is for sure.

The audio transfer is absolutely superb.

You want HD-DVD? Well this is as good as it gets for this title.

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Halloween III: Season of the Witch [HD]

Watch The Magic Pumpkin
When talking about the Halloween series, you'll always get the schmuck who says, "oh yeah, then there was that one that didn't even have Michael Myers in it. That was stupid". Yup, I've heard it time and time again. Most of the time this statement comes from someone who hasn't actually seen the film or is just a victim of the general consensus that says this is a terrible film coz it's not a legitimate sequel. Sure there are people out there that honestly just don't like the film, and that's cool coz there isn't a single film that everyone agrees is good. If they have reasons for not liking the film other than the lack of Myers, that's A-OK with me. Here's a little backstory. Halloween 3 was the first and only film in an experiment of John Carpenter's. Carpenter went to great lengths to show the audience at the end of Halloween 2 that Myers is dead, terminated, gone forevermore. Carpenter hated the idea of a second Myers film, but was pressured to write a second(with the help...

Open your mind.....Halloween III is a classic!
Let me start out by saying that I love Halloween 1 & 2. When it was time for Johm Carpenter and Debra Hill to make another Halloween film, they decided that the Michael Myers character was tired and played out. So they tried something new and fresh with Halloween 3: Season Of The Witch. Being a fan of horror, Carpenter's original idea was to release a new Halloween film every few years, each one with a totally new plot and original characters. His idea was to bring in new directors and serve as a producer for these original scary tales. Well the close-minded public couldn't accept a film with the Halloween heading and no Michael Myers, so the idea was scrapped. Well I used to ditch school to watch this on The Movie Channel in the 80's, so I guess you could say I like it. A sinister warlock that wants to kill thousands of children on Halloween night. Robotic killers that can pull your head right off your shoulders. Masks that use the power of Stonehenge and ancient witchcraft to turn...

The third Halloween installment was terrifying!!
This is in my opinion one of the most terrifying films I have ever seen, the whole premise of this film is enough to frighten hell the out of anybody. The story for the film was written by Nigel "Quatermass" Kneale, and British highly acclaimed science fiction/horror writer. Nigel "Quartermass" Kneale was so overwhelmed and disgusted by the gruesomeness(blood and gore) of this picture, so he sued the producers of this film to have his name removed from the credits. The film has a deeper meaning to it. Many Americans don't realize the hedonism of Halloween or their not concerned with it. Thousands of young children in North America go trick or treating every year on Halloween, yet they don't realize what their celebrating. The film involves a Celtic warlock disguised as a CEO of large company called Silver Shamrock, who is getting ready for a Halloween like no other. Meanwhile somewhere in the rural outskirts of Northern California an old man is getting chased by a group of assilants...

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One Foot in Hell

Alan Ladd in a rare unsympathetic role
When an impoverished man (Alan Ladd) brings his ill and pregnant wife (Rachel Stephens) to a new town, their indifference and lack of compassion results in his wife's death. Feeling guilty, the town offers penance by making him a deputy sheriff and welcome him into the community. While on the surface a model citizen, he secretly plots a terrible revenge on the town to avenge his wife. To this end, he recruits a drunken ex-soldier (Don Murray), a prostitute (Dolores Michaels) and two gunslingers (Dan O'Herlihy, Barry Coe). While an intriguing and fresh premise for a western, this is no HIGH PLAINS DRIFTER. Ladd, in his most unsympathetic role, isn't a strong enough actor to register the rage simmering underneath his complacent surface. It doesn't help that he looks terrible, aged and bloated. The director James B. Clark doesn't have the edginess that would have increased the tension quotient that a film like this requires. Still, the intriguing posit is enticing enough to keep one...

Good Western
This is a good Western starring Alan Ladd and Don Murray. Let me say that this release is not a Pan&Scan like other Fox Cinema Archive releases and this is in 2.35:1 Widescreen format. This movie is also presented in color and runs for about 90mins. This movie also star: Dan O'Herlihy, Dolores Michaels, Barry Coe, Larry Gates, plus others! There isn't any special features and it only has English audio with no other languages and no subtitles. Overall this is a good Western and I would recommend this.

Arrived in listed condition and ahead of time.
The movie was excellent, good acting with enough action to keep interest. Alan Ladd looks a little hung over, but was still a good actor.

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Waist Deep [HD]

They Should've Just Given The Kid Back
Waist Deep didn't really surprise me and at the same time I was still very impressed. I think Tyrese is a very underrated actor because he did a solid job in Baby Boy but never got the recognition he deserved. Tyrese is also lucky to get roles playing characters that are based on a California lifestyle, one he has seen before growing up in Watts. Though Waist Deep may seem like the same old same movie it's really not because it's full of talent with these young stars. I knew Tyrese would be ok and play his role perfect and of coarse Larenz Tate would play his character fine but I wasn't so sure about Game and Megan Good. Game was actually a pretty good villain but besides his scarred eye he doesn't stick out as much but he gets the job done. People were probably thinking his character would be over the top just because he is a famous rapper but the director didn't go that route. Megan Good was a nice support to Tyrese and she shows that she's an actress and not just eye candy...

Predictable But I Enjoyed It Start To Finish
Tyrese Gibson and Meagan Goode heat up the big screen in the movie Waist Deep which arrives on DVD on October 10th. The movie arrived in theaters this summer and was well received. In the film, Tyrese stars as a O2 working class single father living in South Central Los Angeles. Early in the film he is the victim of a violent car jacking. Even worse his son is in the backseat of the car. A gun battle soon ensues and Tyrese finds himself on a mission to rescue his son from the hands of a dangerous street thug named Big Meat. On top of that the word on the street is that O2 has a huge stash of money hid away and Big Meat is holding his son for $100,000 cash and O2 has one day to deliver. On the street, O2 runs into a beautiful street hustler named Coco portrayed by actress Meagan Goode. After suspecting her of setting him up, he turns around and enlists her services to help him raise the ransom money. The two go on a crime spree like a urban Bonnie & Clyde hitting up hustlers and...

Hot.......Thriller
Tyrese had a strong love for his son and would do anything to keep that promise. It was a great action movie and kept me on the edge of my seat. Also, Meagan Good was a strong supporting actress and had great chemistry with Tyrese. They were a perfect match in the thriller. It had a great ending. This would be a great moive to add to your collection.

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The People Under the Stairs [HD]

Funny, Over-The-Top Horror
I've always gotten a kick out of this movie. The story line is original (or at least it seems so to me). The gore is startling in a couple of scenes but isn't overpowering. The acting is outrageously over the top but also is endearing.

Thirteen-year-old Fool (Brandon Ames) finds himself in a large suburban house owned by the two slum lords who are about to evict his sick mother and others from a ghetto tenement. He's in the house because he agreed to help two burglars make a score on treasure they heard was hidden there. Unfortunately for Fool (and his two grown-up accomplices), the owners are a brother and sister who call each other Mommy and Daddy. The man (Everett McGill) is a homicidal maniac who goes in for head-to-toe, studded, black leather bondage suits and pump action, single barrel shotguns. His sister (Wendy Robie) is just as looney and just as murderous, a screaming dominatrix. They also have a large vicious dog you wouldn't want to hand feed...that is, unless...

This movie is not cliched
An earlier review I read of this movie seems to be horribly off. It mentions that it follows a horror-movie cliche where the cops are offered food and then give up the search.

However, this reviewer is dead wrong on several accounts. One, they are not policemen at all, but rather are child services. Two, the horror movie cliche would be having the policemen not believe the little boy crying wolf. Three, instead of following cliches, this movie instead turns around and breaks all of the cliches.

Instead of being afraid, only being able to scream, and seemingly always frozen in place, Fool instead doesn't ever really scream, either runs away or TURNS AROUND, FED UP, AND ATTACKS THE VILLAINS HIMSELF. At one point, he turns around, says "I'm through running" and tackles a man-eating dog that is bigger than him.

Is a character who isn't afraid of the villains, a character who fights back, a cliche? No.

This movie was hilarious, captivating, and...

"Damn Buckshot!"
I got a real kick out of some of the previous reviews treating "People Under the Stairs" as a serious horror film! The thing with this odd movie is that it should be awful...the premise is just so goofy, but somehow things just click and it's just too damn fun! If you like horror-humor, along the lines of the second two Evil Dead films or Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, then you will enjoy "People Under the Stairs". You can't treat this film seriously, if you go into this movie expecting to be scared or frightened you are going to be sorely disappointed. There really are no tense scenes, and anytime the film approaches anything the may be deemed as frightening, something so absurd will happen that you will be smiling immediately. This movie is quite a bit of fun, just don't take it too seriously.

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