24×36: A Movie About Movie Posters (2016) [Blood in the Snow 2016]

24x36Illustrated movie posters are explore here through their beginnings, history, the artists behind them, and their recent resurgence started with Mondo and their artist posters of older films that have become highly collectible and wanted. Directed by Kevin Burke, this documentary starts with the history of the medium and interviews with knowledgeable people and artists.  This part of the film is filled with historical facts and anecdotal stories.  The film spends a bit of time on the history, where posters can from, why are they the sizes that they are, why they look a certain way, their evolution, etc.

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Gleason (2016)

gleason-2016Steve Gleason was a New Orleans Saints linebacker whose career hit a peak in September 2006 at the Superdome, when he blocked an Atlanta Falcons punt that was picked up by teammate Curtis Deloatch for a touchdown, the first score for the Saints on their home turf since Hurricane Katrina. Gleason retired from football in 2008, and three years later his life took a double twist: he was diagnosed with ALS (more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) shortly before his wife Michel learned that they were expecting their first child.

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The Trail of Dracula (2016) (DVD)

trail_drac_dvdIt’s funny how I know so much about Dracula and still can’t get enough of the character or the concept no matter where I turn. Intervision’s “The Trail of Dracula” is an hour long look in to the history of Dracula through the ages. There are tons of interviews and accounts from the creation of Bram Stoker’s novel, and the unauthorized adaptation called “Nosferatu,” right down to his pop culture influence in the modern age like “Vampire Hunter D” and “Castlevania.” While I would have loved a more thorough examination of the vampire legend and its various incarnations of cultures all around the world, “The Trail of Dracula” explores how Dracula eventually was crafted.

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Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans (2015)

mc-queenThe 1971 feature Le Mans is mostly notable as the rare commercial flop during the height of Steve McQueen’s box office reign. Gabriel Clark and John McKenna’s documentary on the making of Le Mans offers an intriguing look at why the film failed, with most blame going on the star.

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The Last Pinoy Action King (2016) [Horrible Imaginings Film Festival 2016]

the-last-pinoy-action-kingFilipino cinema has its own culture and during its action heyday, actor Rudy “Daboy” Fernandez was one of the biggest, if the not THE biggest action star the country ever saw.  The documentary explores his films, his fame, and his life.  It also explores action cinema and cinema in general in the Philippines at the time of his rise to fame and his reign on action films. Documentary co-directors Andrew Leavold and Daniel Palisa, who previously made the Filipino cinema documentary The Search for Weng Weng put together a very informative piece on a beloved actor.

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I Am JFK Jr. (2016)

jfkjrJohn F. Kennedy Jr. was the rare American who spent his entire life in the public eye. But despite constantly being seen in newspapers and on TV since infancy, most people never heard him speak until a speech at the 1988 Democratic National Convention, and even fewer got to know him well. This documentary attempts to give us a better idea of who Kennedy really was, but the subject ultimately disappoints.

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Hostage to the Devil (2016)

hostage-to-the-devilFather Malachi Martin is fighting for the soul of those who have been possessed.  In his battle, he encounters fake and real cases.  One of the latter is the one of a young girl he truly believes is possessed.  Hostage to the Devil tells the life story of Father Malachi Martin through interviews and videos of his work. Written by Rachel Lysaght and Marty Stalker with Stalker also directing, the film has a very even style with the interviews all shot about the same and the way they are shown with straight on interview style and overlays on photos and images gives the film a very straight forward feel.

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