DOOMED! The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s THE FANTASTIC FOUR (2016)

doomed-promoThis is the story of 1994’s “Roger Corman’s The Fantastic Four.”

Adapted from the iconic Marvel Comic, the film iteration was made on a measly budget of a million dollars with a joint venture by Fox, Marvel and Neue Constantin Films. After casting and initial filming was conducted, “The Fantastic Four” was a highly anticipated film covered in major magazines like Wizard and Film Threat. After a long tour of fan meetings and interviews with the press, the cast and crew learned that their hard work would result in a film that was cancelled by the studios and never to be released. Shortly after, the folks that took part in “The Fantastic Four” learned that, much to their horror, the film was never intended to ever be released. Worse, much of the struggles to conceive a fantastic cinematic vision in a decade bereft of epic comic book movies were merely to secure the rights for the comic book property and nothing more.

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Beauties of the Night (2016) [Toronto International Film Festival 2016]

beautiesofthenightThis film documents the rise to stardom, fall, and aging of some of Mexico’s most famous showgirls.  These women did it all, they sang, danced, acted, modeled, etc. They were revered by armies of fans and had it all.  Lyn May, Olga Breeskin, Princesa Yamal, Rossy Mendoza, and Wanda Seux discuss their rise to fame, their lives, and their dreams.

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The Killing of America (1981) [FrightFest 2016]

the-killing-of-americaOriginally released in 1981, The Killing of America is a “documentary of the decline of America.”  The film is a collection of news footage and interviews about violent events that have happened in the United States up until the murder of John Lennon in Manhattan in 1980 and the violence at the gatherings following his death.

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No Control (2016)

One of the most polarizing political issues dividing American society involves gun ownership. Indeed, there appears to be little middle ground here: those seeking to increase the level of federal regulatory control on gun sales and ownership are unable to comprehend the arguments of those that see gun ownership as a basic constitutional freedom, and vice versa.

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Law Not War: Ben Ferencz’s Fight for Justice (2015)

In the realm of jurisprudence, Benjamin Ferencz is truly an icon. He is the last surviving Chief Prosecutor of the Nuremberg Trials and a primary force in the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). And at 95, he shows no signs of slowing down – at least, not in Ullabritt Horn’s documentary on his remarkable life and career.

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Raiders!: The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made (2016) [Blu-ray/DVD/Digital]

Raiders-cover“Raiders!” is easily one of the best films of 2016. It’s a compelling and incredibly emotional tale of how one movie influenced a trio of young boys, and how that piece of art not only paved the road for their future, but also save them in many ways. What becomes incredibly evident throughout the duration of “Raiders!” that makes what unfolds before our eyes a truly gut wrenching journey is that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas were men influenced by movies. Thanks to their love for serials and Westerns, they were motivated to make “Raiders of the Lost Ark” as a means of confronting their love for classic serial adventurers. After seeing “Raiders of the Lost Ark” in theaters, young Eric Zala sought out to remake of “Raiders” but with teenagers in place of the adult actors.

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In the Street (1948)

Screen capture from the 1948 "In the Street"

Screen capture from the 1948 “In the Street”

When “In the Street” was first screened in 1948, it was unusual in several ways: it was a silent film created two decades after Hollywood jettisoned the silent format for talkies, it was a view of New York’s Spanish Harlem at a time when mainstream movies ignored the growing urban Hispanic population, and it offered an unprecedented view of daily life without the benefit of a preconceived screenplay.

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