Laserblast (1978)

Charles Band’s “Laserblast” is one of the many, many, many productions from Band that garners an interesting nugget of an idea, but has little resources of budget to pull it off. I guess Band is one of the many filmmakers who’d rather make it themselves than sell it to another studio, it’s just a shame that “Laserblast” is so god awful. Even its remake and sequel “Deadly Weapon” is bad. Tonally uneven, terribly written, and poorly trying to pass of Eddie Deezen as a bully, “Laserblast” is a nigh unwatchable science fiction film that has endure the wrath of many movie geeks. Including the group from the Satellite of Love.

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Fangoria Presents: Inhuman Resources (2013)

gWqZNAUAfter “Saw,” you could basically build an entire sub-genre around horror movies involving a group of strangers whom wake up in an abandoned location and endure a painful series of trials that teach them some lesson and reveal secrets. Thankfully, director Daniel Krige’s film “Inhuman Resources” (once known as “Redd, Inc”) works because it’s not only unique in its delivery of the premise, but darkly funny, too.

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The Lone Ranger (2003)

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Back in 2003, Warner had the bright idea to pretty much take the “Smallville” concept and apply it to the Lone Ranger. Rather than featuring a very young superhero, we were given a very young pulp hero. Except, they changed everything about the original hero. And tried their best to pass off a white cowboy hat and black mask as cool for modern audiences. There’s even a guitar version of the William Tell Overture in the closing credits. Guitars are cool, right? There’s a reason why Lone Ranger is a pulp character. He’s a wonderful superhero, but adjusted to contemporary style is not going to work.

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The Lion King (1994)

The-Lion-KingWhether Disney did or didn’t plagiarize Osamu Tezuka’s “Kimba the White Lion,” we’ll never truly know. What I do know for certain is that “The Lion King” is still one of the best cinematic experiences I’ve ever had, and my number two animated film of all time. It’s a bold mixture of 2D animation, and amazing CGI that combines to tell a rather adult and complex tale about revenge and destiny.

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Tower Block (2012) [Blu-Ray]

Moral indifference and rationalization of cowardice is something only city dwellers can relate to. Living in ghettos will especially leave you on your own if you’re involved in a scuffle or mugging, since most–if not all–tenants in a low rent neighborhood will stand by the doors doing nothing. When the time comes to speak up, no one heard a thing, or saw a thing. They’ll even swear they weren’t even on the same planet during the time of the crime. “Tower Block” is a top notch morality thriller based around residents that end up being punished for doing nothing when the time came for them to step up.

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Jack the Giant Slayer (Blu-ray/DVD + UltraViolet Digital Copy) (2013)

I’m always of the opinion that there really isn’t anything new that we can do with classic fairytales, anymore. We can twist them, and reboot them, but in the end they’re really not going to feel fresh or inventive. It’s like that episode of “The Simpsons” where Marge couldn’t afford a new dress for her country club meetings, so she just kept re-designing the same dress over and over. “Jack the Giant Slayer” is exactly like that. Sure, it posits the idea that we’re being given a new tale, but in reality it’s just another take on Jack and the Beanstalk. But this ain’t yo daddy’s Jack and the Beanstalk! No sir! This is the true story of Jack and the Giants before the actual tale was invented.

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The Last House on the Left (1972)

Director Wes Craven’s remake of “The Virgin Spring” often gets a lot of credit, not just for jump starting the grindhouse boom, but for being influential as a veritable violent film. Sadly, “Last House” is another of Wes Craven’s films that gets too much credit. While many will argue that “Last House” has to be considered for its time period, even in context, “Last House” is a piss poor horror film with terrible production qualities.

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