Sharknado (2013): 10th Anniversary Edition

The Pop Culture Phenomenon That Took The World By Storm Comes Back to 500+ Cinemas Nationwide, fully Remastered, for Two Nights Only On August 15th & 16th. Tickets are available for purchase.

Back in 2013 a lot of people gave The Asylum guff, and could not predict the kind of pop culture sensation they would eventually produce. “Sharknado” is that classic bit of pop culture camp lightning in a bottle like “Snakes on a Plane” or “Birdemic” where the public is just infatuated with the sheer absurdity of it all. “Sharknado” took a lot of the media by storm back in 2013, leaning heavily in to its ridiculous premise to produce what is—well, still just an okay bit of cult cinema. The Asylum with Anthony C. Ferrante knew what they were giving us, and it shows in every scene of their movie.

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History is Made at Night (1937): Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]

Frank Borzage’s hybrid of genres has apparently been a film that has been neglected for a long time and not given a proper restoration. With Criterion they ensure a long lasting release of what is a pretty engaging mix of drama, comedy, romance, and yes, a disaster film. I’m not sure if I was as wild about “History is Made at Night” as most movie buffs seem to be, but Frank Borzage’s film is a success at being entertaining and engaging. Borzage is able to bounce between themes rather well, balancing out dread and whimsical romance well.

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Skyscraper (2018)

I’m a big fan of Dwayne Johnson. What ever he’s in, I’m automatically going to watch no matter what as he packs a star quality that’s been missing in movies for fifteen years. I guess with every action star, it’s an oath they take that they must have their own “Die Hard” in their repertoire, and “Skyscraper” is that inevitable point in Dwayne Johnson’s career as a big screen hero prone to playing men staring down impossible odds. I’m sad to see that “Skyscraper” is about as bland and forgettable a vehicle as it gets, which is a shame since the premise has at least some potential to be quite an exciting twist on a creaky, worn formula turned sub-genre.

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Into the Storm (2014) [Blu-Ray/DVD/Digital]

If it’s at all possible, “Into the Storm” manages to out silly “Twister” by miles. It features a giant hurricane, absolutely valiant attempts to comment on global warming, and a fire tornado! A fire tornado trumps a flying cow any day of the week, sad to say. “Into the Storm” is a silly movie without a single compelling character, but when it stops trying to create drama it’s actually a lot of fun to sit through. From the great special effects, to the absolutely tense carnage inflicted by nature, “Into the Storm” is that kind of movie you could see Paul Newman and Red Buttons co-starring in 1979.

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Airplane vs. Volcano (2014)

The Kondelik brothers’ “Airplane vs. Volcano” sadly doesn’t feature a sentient volcano battling an airplane that talks like KIT from “Knight Rider.” It’s instead a movie very much in the vein of the classic 1970’s disaster movies, with classic TV stars and all. When all was said and done, it watches like an extended episode of a daytime soap opera, with a premise that feels suspiciously like a retread of “Airplane!” Also, Robin Givens is still very beautiful.

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