I guess it was only a matter of time for “Blood: The Last Vampire” to be turned in to an honest to goodness big budget movie. I mean the original short film by Hiroyuki Kitakubo has become somewhat of a cult classic in spite of its short running time and brings to the table some of the best animation I’ve ever seen in a horror oriented anime I’ve ever seen. The original take focused on a vampire hunter who had to infiltrate a girls school to stop vampires hiding among the ranks of students and teachers. You’ll find that the 2009 live action version by Chris Nahon isn’t much of a departure. In fact there are times where the movie duplicates scenes from the anime shot for shot which ends up becoming a mixed bag in the end.
Tag Archives: Thriller
Pontypool (2008)
Okay, I’m just going to throw it out there and admit that I didn’t get “Pontypool.” Maybe I’m losing my touch or maybe this is one of the most incomprehensible messes I’ve seen in years, but “Pontypool” makes no sense. It’s abrupt, awkwardly paced, and often times doesn’t even know what to do with the formula it’s set up. We’re supposed to be watching a movie about what I can assume are zombies that have turned in to the walking dead (?) due to a sudden infection that’s carried through the English language. Did you understand that? Because I sure as hell didn’t!
Friday the 13th: The Killer Cut (2009) (DVD)
Let’s face it, Platinum Dunes is a remake factory that’s managed to take some of the best horror films of all time and completely butcher them. Take “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” for one example, a bastardized MTV version of a damn good dose of indie filmmaking. But surprisingly, “Friday the 13th” isn’t a bad film and Marcus Nispel completely redeems himself. In fact it’s pretty damn good. I know I’ve become the small minority of movie viewers who see the film as a great reboot, but I just clicked with “Friday the 13th” and everything it pushed on audiences including the mean vicious SOB that is Jason Voorhees.
Star Wars Clone Wars (Season 1, Volume 1): A Galaxy Divided (DVD)
Sure its film counterpart got a lot of bad reviews at the movie theaters, but guess what kids. “The Clone Wars” does not suck. In fact as a series is a damn good dramatic science fiction opera that works its way through arcs instead of providing self contained stories, which kids shows usually consist of. “A Galaxy Divided” consists of four episodes of “The Clone Wars” and starts off strong. “Ambush” is a fine beginner to an already strong premise and probably the best of the foursome as Master Yoda takes to aggressive negotiations that bring him and three clone soldiers to the mercy of an endless army of robot drones and the empire’s worst warrior: Asaj Ventress.
Star Trek (2009)
I’ve never been much of a fan of “Star Trek” as personally I’ve always found the intelligence vastly oversold by zealous fans, but I digress. I’ve spent most times admiring the light saber than I have the USS Enterprise and I think JJ Abrams has found a great balance where even folks who have written off the franchise can enter with a clean palette. And that’s not easy considering the Trek has lost its punch over the last ten years with a waning film series and television stake. “Star Trek” is a film that reboots the aforementioned franchise with all of its guns loaded as it looks to not only show what becomes of James T. Kirk and Spock but who their parents were and how they lived as soldiers of the Star Fleet.
Push (2009)
Pushers are described as people who can make others see what they want them to see. And minutes later they’re described instead as people who can simply push things with their minds guided by their hands. Often, “Push” can never seem to make heads or tails of itself but that doesn’t mean I didn’t have a good time getting to the end of the road with Paul McGuigan’s absolutely guilty pleasure of an actioner. “Push” belongs in that class of films I call “Not Quite X-Men,” movies that play out like origin stories to comic book characters and like the previous title “Jumper,” McGuigan’s “Push” aspires to be nothing more than a super powered “Fugitive” that uses all settings and space to make the best of a pretty thin plot and a pretty thin budget that takes the story to great levels of action and thrills.
Metal Man (2008)
The very fact that the producers and creators behind “Metal Man” made this film boggles my mind and leaves me stumped. Why they didn’t seek out the folks behind this “Iron Man” rip off is a missed opportunity to inform these companies to vie for original productions and not knock offs. I will give this to them, the people behind “Metal Man” are not the Asylum film studios. This messy amateur production relies on a metal suited hero named Metal Man whose color scheme is a red and yellowed armor that enables super abilities whenever he’s fighting crime.