Shout! Factory releases one of the finer animated relics of the nineties: “Beast Wars” a veritable buffet of trademark Transformers tropes that pits Autobot against Decepticon except this time they’re in animal form and are now known as the Maximals and the Predacons, two warring races of transformers descendents whom are all marooned on a distant planet from Cybertron where the two races are now fighting for control of the mysterious fossil fuel known as Energon. As a fan boy of the transformers at one time I can very much remember indulging myself in the saga of the Beast Wars.
Tag Archives: Action
Doctor Mordrid – Master of the Unknown (1992)
“Doctor Mordrid” is a change of pace for Full Moon. It’s a well made superhero movie that is about one of a kind, if you consider the Full Moon library. Of course everyone knows the story that this was originally supposed to be a Dr. Strange movie, but when Full Moon lost the character trademark from Marvel Comics, Charles Band and his wizards transformed a potential lawsuit in to an original property, Jeffery Combs is good as the heroic Mordrid, a man awaiting his fate from the almighty Monitor harnessing his powers and awaiting the time to use them.
Unknown (2011) [DVD/Blu-Ray/Digital]
The key to a great mystery is the lead in, the ultimate catch and macguffin that will bring us in to the cusp of a surprise. “Unknown” has the surprise, there’s no doubting that, it’s jut the problem that the lead in provides that makes it an entirely mediocre piece of thriller that’s almost about a nonsensical as you can imagine. The writers literally write themselves in to conundrums throughout the movie as plot points go unexplained, only for them to completely undermine their previous direction, and you can sense them almost trying not to destroy the narrative from minute one.
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights (2011)
One thing DC is really good at is providing us with animated movies that act as prologues and or inbetweenquels for their big budget movies and for the Green Lantern they’ve pulled out all the stops with a film that is something of a prologue. It’s not so much a prologue as it is a look at another day at the GL Corps, and “Emerald Knights” is an anthology of tales from the corps that isn’t just meant to give viewers a refresher course on the characters, but to give them an idea of what we’re looking at should “Green Lantern” potentially reach franchise status.
X-Men: First Class (2011)
While I did ultimately enjoy “X-Men: First Class” as a film, I found myself giggling at the very opening. I found myself giggling for the simple fact that we finally are given a biographical detailing of Magneto. You know, the one we were supposed to get with a feature film but never did? I love how the writers manage to sneak in his biography while also chronicling the story of two powerful gentlemen with vastly different ideals. Because at the end of the day, the real story behind “X-Men: First Class” is the brotherhood of ideas, and the views on mankind that separate us in spite of common goals.
Savage Streets (1984)
“Savage Streets” is one of my favorite Linda Blair Trash fests, a bona fide grind house spectacular that examines the plight of over privileged white kids who all pose as gangs upon night fall. The streets of surburbia become savage every night with the screeches and howls and Danny Steinmann’s youth gone wild cinematic trip is an exploration in to the aimlessness of this crime spree two groups of youths embark on. Part “The Warriors,” and part “The Outsiders,” there is even John Vernon to tangle with, who makes it his mission to take down the group of men terrorizing the school with drug deals.
Almighty Thor (2011)
Never ones to be outdone by the big budget action spectacular that is “Thor,” The Asylum continues their tradition of finely timed mock busters releasing “Almighty Thor” for the masses and what a dilly of a pickle it is. As a production it’s quite a creative bit of wannabe big budget entertainment, but deep down it lacks all the basic necessities of filmmaking that include competent special effects and solid performances. The second best option to Anthony Hopkins, Kevin Nash for one, is hilarious as the father Odin, who can barely squeeze out a bit of dialogue without panting.