Midnight Movie Madness 50 Movie MegaPack (DVD/Digital)

Posted on July 19, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

For movie buffs and collectors looking to gather up some classic schlock and silly horror films, “Mill Creek Entertainment” brings us a 50 Movie MegaPack DVD Set of some their worst and most infamous horror films. Thrown in to the mix, there are some science fiction, juvenile terror movies like “I Accuse My Parents,” and even the George Hamilton starring “Evel Knievel.” Further digging in to the selection of fifty titles, there’s 1944’s “Delinquent Daughters,” the Francis Ford Coppola horror classic “Dementia 13,” the slasher “Driller Killer,” and 1977’s “Drive In Massacre.”

There’s the deliriously bad but hilarious science fiction action film “Future Hunters” starring Robert Patrick, and Bruce Le, William Castle’s fun “House on Haunted Hill,” the early Brandon Lee starring stinker “Laser Mission,” the classic MST3K spoofed “Manos-The Hands of Fate,” the so bad it’s great drug hysteria movie “Reefer Madness,” the goofy science fiction film “Slipstream,” the classic dwarfsploitation movie “The Terror of Tiny Town,” and the Fred Williamson post apocalyptic science fiction film “Warriors of the Wasteland.” All movies come packed in a cardboard box by Mill Creek and in paper sleeves. I have to say I miss the plastic clam cases, but maybe it’s a cost thing.

This year movie collectors might enjoy knowing that Mill Creek Entertainment has taken to the digital world, allowing their consumers to redeem their fifty megapack purchases for digital libraries for their laptops, cell phones, and Ipads. Much like every other home release, the consumers will be given a unique code with their purchase, allowing them to redeem their movie packs in digital form at Mill Creek’s new service Watch.MillCreekEnt.Com where they can watch them, stream them, or download them.

Hunt for The Wilderpeople (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on July 17, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Director Taika Waititi has a keen and admirable understanding of humanity as well as the relationship with death and loss we have every waking moment of our life. Whether it’s a gory horror comedy like “What We Do in the Shadows” or a family drama like “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” Waititi is never above examining our everlasting relationship with death that begins when we’re very young. “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” is destined to be a classic drama comedy that pits two men against the wilderness in their efforts to make sense of life and come to terms with death.

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Creature Designers: The Frankenstein Complex (2016) [Fantasia International Film Festival 2016]

Posted on July 15, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Film buffs will be elated to see “Creature Designers,” a very technical cogs and gears documentary that spotlights the grueling process of creating creatures for movies. Directors Gilles Penso, and Alexandre Poncet mold a love letter to the classic master creature creators, as well as a very down to business film that shows the technology behind some of the most iconic creatures and monsters of all time. It’s a thrill to see how the directors have such a reverence for these artists, as we get to visit with a ton of unique artists and concept designers that are enthusiastic about their work. Since the beginning of film, special effects and creature have found a wonderful marriage with filmmaking.

That’s thanks in part to Lon Chaney who was able to use his make up kit to build some amazing monsters out of his face and own features. From there it’s been a rising tide of artists and creators that have added to the cinematic experienced and helped advance storytelling as a whole. Both filmmakers visit with iconic masterminds like Rick Baker, Joe Dante, and Guillermo Del Toro, all of whom explore their love for special effects, and convey the process of building creatures for some of their films. What becomes apparent within “Creature Designers” is that the advancement of special effects would lead in to less and less necessity for suits and machines, and more need for computer technology.

This darker period is chronicled in “Creature Designers” where we’re able to view a more vulnerable side of these individuals, all of whom had to adapt to the shift in technology or risk losing their livelihoods. Thankfully, the documentary doesn’t depict the introduction of CGI and motion capture as the bane of the special effects industry. Directors Gilles Penso, and Alexandre Poncet explore some of the amazing advancements made in computer technology, from motion capture, facial recognition, and how they’ve used this kind of programming to bring to life amazing characters like Golum from “Lord of the Rings” and the T-1000 from “Terminator 2.” No stone is left unturned, as every interview is informative, exciting, and filled with amazing anecdotes.

For folks that are seeking a career in the special effects industry, or for films buffs very invested in the special effects element of filmmaking, “Creature Designers” is a wonderful documentary that brings us up close and personal from the fan viewpoint and a technical viewpoint.

Howard the Duck (1986)

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

Long before Marvel Cinematic Universes and James Gunn, there was the bastard child of the Marvel Universe “Howard the Duck.” Adapted from the comics during the decade of “ET” and other assorted attempts at cuddly cinematic creatures, “Howard the Duck” takes a dive at some of the good old “ET” buck, while also presenting itself as the anti-“ET” of a sort. “Howard the Duck” is a childhood favorite of mine; it’s one I watched over and over whenever it aired in all of its edited form on network television. There was just something about “Howard the Duck” that I loved. Whether it was the surreal nature, the actual talking duck from another planet, or Lea Thompson being devilishly sexy once again in a fantasy film, I loved “Howard the Duck.”

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Iron City Chronicles: Bitter Heart (2015)

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

NOW SEEKING FUNDING ON KICKSTARTER – It’s a real testament to Jason Turner’s talent that he’s able to pull off such a unique neo-noir with such a low budget. “Bitter Heart” is kind of a sequel to the original adventures of robotic private investigator Iron Joe. After being plagued with nightmares of a lost love, Joe is contacted by his ex-colleagues from Iron City’s police force when a young man is mysteriously assassinated. Linking evidence on the scene to a specific culprit, Iron Joe goes looking for the minds behind the murder and runs afoul a lot of interesting thugs willing to protect some secrets.

In particular, Iron Joe is on the track of a lead named Stoker, who is a CEO of Teknika, a corporation responsible for the robotic augmentations in the entire city. What link this assassination has with Stoker remains wholly ambiguous, but it’s intriguing to see how far Iron Joe is willing to go to take aim at corruption in the city. With some neat special effects both CGI and traditional, Turner unleashes this bold and unique wasteland where Iron Joe has somewhat bitten off more than he can chew with his assistant J.E.S.S. I hope we get to see how Iron Joe fares in the future, as “Bitter Heart” is a wicked prologue to an epic crime thriller.

Sentinel (2015)

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Felix Vasquez

NOW SEEKING FUNDING ON KICKSTARTER – Jason Turner’s “Sentinel” reminds me a lot of the Harry Canyon segment from “Heavy Metal” except so much more of a neo-noir cyberpunk love letter than the former. Presented as a motion comic, Jason Turner plays Ex-Cop Alex Calibourne, a man with enhanced body augmentations that lives in a crime ridden albeit futuristic city named Iron City. Calibourne lives and breathes by his robotic enhancements, and uses his artificial intelligence J.E.S.S., a sassy female AI, to guide him through his adventures in the underworld.

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