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Second film of the day and it starts to get better: Made for the SyFy channel, but by Active Entertainment rather than The Asylum, this is more of a thriller than a disaster film and better for it. The basic plot concerns a disgraced scientist who was working on a weather control project which was cancelled, now he is back and using his technology to seek revenge. Most reviews of this film fixate over the fact it features a scientist controlling the weather via a machine he controls from an app on his smartphone. While this is a little far fetched, so are most other sci-fi films (ie. aliens, cyborgs etc.) and since it is treated seriously by the script it never bothered me. If you can get past this fact, this is a neat little thriller with Marcus' sons trying to track him down and stop him. The special effects are actually pretty good, a lot better looking than those of The Asylum and best of all, the lead role is played by Stacy Keach, so you know this is going to be fun. I enjoyed this and it is certainly one of the better SyFy channel movies. More - Weather Wars review
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Finally a film with some colour behind the title card, a little more interesting. Another SyFy channel apocalypse thriller, this time about a super volcano below Florida that will be disrupted by illegal oil drilling operations led by the super-evil Brad Dourif, until he gets randomly killed by an exploding oil pumping machine. More good effects and a lot of quite vivid deaths make this one of the more enjoyable genre entries and there is even a gratuitous beach bikini contest. Shiny, fiery pictures and words World on Fire review.
__________________ Mondo Esoterica - Now 500!cult film and DVD reviews from Gothic Europe to the Italian West Now stay in touch with Mondo Esoterica on Twitter |
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. Yay, all four movies completed. This one was not quite as good as the previous pair, less of a thriller than a more conventional sci-fi effort but the storyline works pretty well with generally good pacing and the characters are better defined than normal. The special effects are good for the most part until the film moves to Chicago for the climax when they start to get a little Asylumy. If you like low budget SyFy films then this is certainly in the better half of these, although not as good as Storm Wars or Miami Magma. By the way, all four of the films I reviewed today are available in the Movies of Mass Destruction boxset from Signature UK, a mere £1.60 new on Amazon marketplace! They are also available on (presumably post-converted) 3D Blu-Rays from Germany, but I wouldn't bother with that. A little more Tornado Warning review and pretty pictures.
__________________ Mondo Esoterica - Now 500!cult film and DVD reviews from Gothic Europe to the Italian West Now stay in touch with Mondo Esoterica on Twitter |
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This week I have mostly been watching: X-Men: Days of Future Past (German Blu) which I still find distinctly average. All Cheerleaders Die (US Blu) this one has grown on me since I saw it at Fantasy Film Fest back in September. Housebound (US Blu) A film I saw 3 times at various festivals (and could have seen a lot more as it played almost all of the major festivals this year). One of two great horror-comedies in 2014 (What we do in the shadows being the other) Nightbreed (US Blu) I was a big fan of the original, despite its shortcomings when put alongside Cabal, when it was originally released (hell I even bought the script book) but the new cut was a revelation at Frightfest in 2012 and has (finally) made it to Blu. I bought the 2 disc edition. |
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I. Bring tidings of a must buy for All Region Blu Ray types - you can get both these movies in a double bill - excellent transfers - for £2.80 plus postage! Ship of Fools - Another Stanley Kramer issue picture but one so stuffed with great charaters and performances in never felt like a trudge. Highlights - Lee Marvin getting his ass whipped off Vivienne Leigh (sadly her last movie this, she died shortly after - you'd never have guessed it watching her here). Simone Signoret (evil personified in Les Diaboliques, heart breaking here) and her doomed relationship with a dying doctor and the relationship between the dwarf character and his naive German/Jewish friend. Only bum note - an obviously 1965 romance between 2 artists shoehorned into a 30s set narrative. Great movie. Lilith - I was sceptical at first - Warren Beatty takes a job in an asylum and happens to fall for the beautiful title character - so far so unbelievable./predictable. As the film progresses though it gets darker and darker (literally in the increasing use of nourish shadows - great cinematography), ending up almost a horror picture. Stick with this it's worth it. Just over £4 quid delivered for this pair on blu = bargain of the year. Last edited by Handyman Joe; 5th December 2014 at 06:37 PM. |
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Return of the Jedi One of the few who actually enjoys this more than a new hope. 9.5/10 The killer eye 4/10 Oblivion 6/10 A fun bit of nonsense from Charles band. Basically a western set on a alein world. With a lot of well knowing faces George takei, Andrew Divoff, Meg foster , Isaac Hayes and Julie Newmar. |
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Was at home waiting for a delivery so had time this evening to watch: Zero Theorem I saw this back in April at Imagine in Amsterdam. I would like to like it more than I do. But as the final part of a loose trilogy including Brazil and 12 Monkeys it really suffers in comparison. However, both Brazil and 12 Monkeys set the bar high, so perhaps I am unfair. It's a good film, full of ideas and imagination but not as perfectly realised as the other two films. I watched it on the Canadian blu-ray. Under the Skin A U.K. blu-ray. A second viewing after I saw it at Fantasy Film Fest. I think it is great and it will definitely feature in my top 20 of 2014. Beneath Another from Fantasy Film Fest, but this time on German blu-ray. An entertaining horror about a group of miners stuck down a pit who appear to be terrorised by the ghosts of miners who, in similar circumstances, were left to die. Last edited by SShaw; 6th December 2014 at 08:05 AM. |
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