Oblivion (1994)

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The Full Moon space western “Oblivion” certainly is one of the most creative films to come out of Charles Band’s imprint. Surely, it can be silly and hard to follow, but it works well as a space western, and a western without the science fiction conventions. I was surprised this even had any monsters or aliens, as “Oblivion” works as a typical Western. Sans the giant man eating scorpions, of course. I digress. “Oblivion” is written by comics scribe Peter David and is admirably ambitious considering its obviously low budget.

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The Ref (1994)

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It’s only fitting that a comedian so devoted to working against the norm would star in a Christmas film that’s very much against the idea of the holiday. “The Ref” is very much a hilarious and laugh a minute dramedy about familial dysfunction and the idea of Christmas being much more of an obligation than a time to celebrate the loved ones and family.

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Crave (2013)

I really wanted to like Charles de Lauzirika’s “Crave,” because while it is painfully boring, it plants seeds for some chaos and havoc when it begins. The problem is that it never follows through on those seedlings of story potential. At least Charles de Lauzirika doesn’t seem to know how. What could be a demented look at a descent in to darkness turns in to a soapy, dripping melodrama with a hint of violence added all for a very lame pay off.

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Battle of the Year (2013)

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The only thing more shamelessly stupid than the utter self-congratulatory premise behind “Battle of the Year” is the god awful product placements. One thing about these stupid dance movies it that they’re a gold mine for corporations to advertise to an audience that likely can’t afford their crap. So we’re shown images of Braun in the background in the first minutes of the film, Josh Peck has a new Sony Ipad because “It’s the future,” he tells main character Josh Holloway. Then there’s an insert of him renting “Planet B-Boy” on Netflix, menu and all.

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The Big Gundown (1966) (Blu-ray/DVD/CD)

Lee Van Cleef is a man who makes it look easy to dominate the screen with his presence, no matter what the film. “The Big Gundown” is purely a western thriller for the Lee Van Cleef fans that want to indulge in the sheer finesse and charisma of Van Cleef when he takes turns as the hero. Or in this case, the anti-hero. Van Cleef takes on the role of John Corbett, a man who is not afraid to gun down people that threaten him, but is never trigger happy. He is one of the best bounty hunters in the west, and is a man devoted to his duties. As Corbett, he’s asked by an aristocrat to hunt down a vicious criminal named Cuchillo. He’s wanted for raping and murdering a young girl, and is currently on the run in the west, giving the law a difficult time of finding him.

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The Insatiable IronBabe (2008)

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Say what you want about Seduction Cinema productions. Their films are cheap and flimsy, but they’re just never boring. The budget for “Ironbabe” was probably less than the budget for the opening animated sequence, and boy does it show. One of the few films from Seduction Cinema I’ve seen that didn’t star Misty Mundae, “The Insatiable Ironbabe” tackles the “Iron Man” craze of 2008 with about the level of humor and soft core sex you’d expect.

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No One Lives (2012)

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It’s always some sort of karmic justice when a group of utterly inept killers get what’s coming to them, and director Ryuhei Kitamura delivers not only a comeuppance horror film, but a potentially excellent new horror icon with Luke Evans at the helm. “No One Lives” is that classic comeuppance about a band of moronic and bitter thieves that think they have everything about their operations in check, until their members begin to lose sight of their mission to make money and end up screwing themselves in the process.

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