Revisiting a Murder: The Crow: Wicked Prayer

By the time The Crow: Wicked Prayer arrived in 2005, the franchise was already on life support. The movie had a brief one-week theatrical premiere before being unceremoniously dumped to the video market. To be fair, the movie really isn’t that good, it looks bad even next to the prior outing, the also direct to video The Crow: Salvation. With that said, as I revisit the film now, I still see it as a bad movie, but there are things that I have come to like about it. It is like there are good elements in spite of its efforts to be a bad movie. Overall, the feel is not unlike that of the latter Hellraiser sequels, made as a reason to hang on to the license.

Revisiting a Murder: The Crow: City of Angels

If you know me, you know that my favorite movie is The Crow. I am not saying it is the best movie, but it is the movie I can return to time and time again and walk away satisfied. It is a movie that just strikes all the right chords for this fan. It was one of the first movies that I saw more than once in the theater. I can go on and on about The Crow, but this piece isn’t about that movie. It is about the first of the trio of sequels that were produced, and the only one to that made it to theaters. The Crow: City of Angels was released in 1996, a late August release where it won its opening weekend, but faded pretty quickly. It ended its run with a box office gross just shy of $18 million.

Movie Review: Peppermint

When people ask me what I thought of Peppermint, my answer is always the same. I tell them that the movie is nothing but a collection of missed opportunities. On some levels I liked it, but on other, more, levels, I just did not. I was relatively excited to see it, too. There are things to like about it, but when you watch it you will notice things, things they should have done, beats they should have taken, moments of genuine character they should have let happen. After awhile it just becomes annoying. However, anecdotal evidence proves that the people around me enjoyed it considerably more than I did.

TV Review: Wolf Creek - Season One

In 2005 writer/director Greg McLean introduced us to the dangerous world of the Australian Outback. For years there have been tales, and in some cases actual truth, to ruthless killers leaving in the Outback. Serial killers who did not take kindly to the tourist interlopers that they would find on their land. The two films (Wolf Creek in 2005 and Wolf Creek 2 in 2013) introduced us to the world of Mick Taylor (John Jarratt), a killer with wicked sense of humor and a mean temper. The films were quite the success, at least for this viewer, of delivering the horror goods and mixing in some elements of true crime. In 2016, they decided to adapt it to the small screen.

Movie Review: Karate Kill

Sometimes I long for the action movies of yesteryear. You remember, the action films that were not always preoccupied with global scale plots and an overabundance of CG effects. This is what makes films like the John Wick series so welcome. Those are films that keep the focus on the execution and entertainment value. If you dig into independent cinema,you can find what you are looking for, even if it does take awhile. The movie in question here is Karate Kill. Described as Tarantino meets Cannon, it is at apt description. The film sits firmly in the revenge action/exploitation corner of the universe.

Movie Review: Death Force aka Vengeance is Mine

Death Force is one of those movies that you are really likely to stumble across on the shelves of a brick and mortar store like Best Buy or Target. It is one of those types of movies that seems destined to be forgotten, and for a the majority, it likely is forgotten, along with so many others. This is why we should be thankful for companies like Vinegar Syndrome who go out of their way to not only obtain the rights to films like this, but to go through restorations from the best elements they are able to find. The results here are quite good. The film does show its age and some of the scratches and marks may have been printed in the source. Still, any complaints are minor next to the solid and uncut presentation.

Movie Review: I Spit on Your Grave III - Vengeance is Mine

1978 was the year that the original I Spit on Your Grave was unleashed by writer/director Meir Zachi. The movie did not have much, well, any Hollywood polish. It is a rough, grimy, dirty movie that leaves you wanting to take a shower. It was famously shredded by Roger Ebert who claimed it had no artistic merit, should not be seen by anyone, and has no reason to exist. Of course, I disagree and it appears I am not alone as the film was remade, had a sequel to the remake and now a second sequel to the remake. I am pretty sure that no one ever predicted this kind of life for a grimy no budget film such as this.

Movie Review: Rape Squad (1974)

The 1970's were a wild and crazy time. While I do not remember much of the decade do to my youth, but reliving it through the movies, well dang, it was a free for all. You could pretty much make a movie about anything you wanted, make it as sleazy and over the top as you want, make it gritty, unsavory, disgusting, anything. You would likely be able to find a home in the grindhouse/drive-in scene at the time. Think about it, what are the chances of getting a movie made called Rape Squad these days? Nevermind what it is about, the title alone would be enough to get you black listed. Of course, it did get re-released as Act of Vengeance, but still...

Movie Review: Blue Ruin

Much like The Babadook, Blue Ruin came to my attention amid a decent deal of hype. No, it was not quite Babadook level, but virtually everyone who has seen it has had nothing but positive things to say about it. Of course, this raises my level of skepticism a few notches. Surely it isn't that good, is it? I purposely avoided full reviews or plot descriptions, but I also avoided the movie as a whole for awhile. It popped up on Netflix not long ago, so I added it to my queue and there it sat, starring at sappily with its big blue letters. Daring me to watch it. The time has come and I watched it.

Movie Review: The No Mercy Man

The post-Vietnam War/PTSD/revenge flick is not a mix that I am all that intimately familiar with. With that said, my limited experience puts Rolling Thunder at the top of the heap, that is a seriously awesome movie. By comparison, The No Mercy Man, which predates Rolling Thunder by a number of years, feels like the lite version. It is much like the relationship between Man from Deep River and Jungle Holocaust. This is not to speaking of any of these films, it just shows the development of early exercises in a style compared to the lengths that others take it to a little later. A progression in extreme, if you will.

Movie Review: The Final (2010)

So, the other day I was watching a movie called The Final. It wasn't a great movie, but it was still rather effective. It is a recent horror film from the team of director Joey Stewart and writer Jason Kubati. Neither one has many credits in their respective roles, but they came together and turned out a movie that managed to sneak its way past my defenses and kept me, for the most part, interested. It is a movie I have no problems recommending, so long as you are not expecting anything groundbreaking.

Movie Review: Ms. 45

Over recent years, I have seen my appreciation, enjoyment, and love for old school horror, cult, and exploitation films grow by leaps and bounds. However, for as much enjoyment as I get from them, there is still the big question of what ones to look for and where to find them. Fortunately, my taste shift has coincided with becoming friends with a few folks whose knowledge of these films is encyclopedic and they have helped guide me, told me names, titles, all manner of information. One of those titles that came up some time back is Ms. 45, a personal favorite of one of my friends. It is now one more I can check off the list and I highly recommend that you seek it out as well.

Movie Review: Black Rat

Sometimes when flipping through choices on Netflix a snazzy poster can go a long way. It reminds me of the days when I would by an album (well, CD) based on how cool the cover art was, one of my favorite discoveries was Sepultura (that Arise art was pretty awesome). Anyway, I came across a little movie sitting oh so very lonely in my queue, its poster seemed quite inviting with a schoolgirl wearing a big rat head and holding a bat with the title, Black Rat, scrawled next to her. Hey, it's only 75 minutes long, so if it was bad it would not be a large investment of time.

Blu-ray Review: Ninja II - Shadow of a Tear

A few years ago I reviewed a copy of Undisputed III. Now, I had never seen the first two, although I did know that the first one starred Wesley Snipes and Ving Rhames. The sequel brought in a new director (Isaac Florentine) and stars (Michael Jai White and Scott Adkins). The third one (the only one I have seen) retained the second's director and one of its stars (Adkins). What I saw in that movie blew me away, Scott Adkins is a beast and Florentine knows how to make low budget action! Knowing this, I eagerly checked out Ninja (2010), another teaming of the two. While it did not excite me as much, it cemented their place as people to watch in my mind. Now we have Ninja II: Shadow of a Tear.

Movie Review: Out of the Furnace

I saw the trailer for Out of the Furnace a few times in theaters. Each time I saw it, I marveled at the quality cast that had been assembled. Also, each time I saw it, I had forgotten I had already seen it before. It is a movie that, while looking somewhat interesting, did not leave much of an impact on my mind. It is a movie that did not strike that my mind as a must see. There was, of course, a certain level of curiosity, so I was sure to head off and see it.

Movie Review: Oldboy (2013)

Way back n 2003 a film was released in South Korea that left a mark worldwide. Not everyone liked the movie, but there were (and are) a good number who consider it a classic. The movie was called Oldboy and it was directed by Park Chan-Wook. It was the middle chapter of his vengeance trilogy, book-ended by Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Lady Vengeance, a trio of films connected not by character, but by theme. All three were excellent films. So, as is the custom of modern Hollywood, a remake of Oldboy (the most famous of the three) was announced. This announcement, as is customary of fandom, was received with a resounding grumble of angrily clicking keyboards. It did not improve when Spike Lee was announced as the director.

Movie Review: The Black Klansman (1966)

The name Ted V. Mikels probably does not mean all that much to the majority of you. That's fine. In most cases it is not really a name I would expect you to know. Mikels is a writer/director who specialized in low budget, exploitative, B-movies. He is best known for Astro Zombies and The Corpse Grinders. Don't know those either? Again, that's fine. Frankly, I am not sure how I really feel about Mikels output. Still, I think I stumbled across this one at the right time. The Black Klansman (aka I Crossed the Color Barrier) is a daring, for the time, blend of social commentary and blaxploitation (before blaxploitation was a thing) about blacks and whites that live in shades of grey.

The Movies of Brandon Lee: Legacy of Rage

It is hard to believe it has been 20 years since Brandon Lee was tragically killed on the set of The Crow. The movie has gathered a cult following and I consider to be one of my all time favorite movies. It is a shame that his life was cut down at such a young age, just as he was about to become a big star, in my estimation anyway based on his iconic performance in The Crow. In any case, I have decided to revisit his brief filmography.

Movie Review: Dead Man Down

It was just a few short years ago that I found myself debating an hour long drive to see some two and a half hour long Swedish thriller called The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I has never heard of it, knew nothing about it, but I am so glad that I decided to take that drive. The movie was absolutely fantastic. It was that experience that gave me high hopes for Dead Man Down. Why? Well, it reunited the director and star of that film for the director's first English language film. This film was directed by Niels Arden Oplev and stars The original Tattoo girl, Noomi Rapace.

DVD Review: Bedevilled

When it came to revenge films, there was a time that you needed go no further than your local grindhouse. With films like Last House on the Left, I Spit on Your Grave, and Death Wish you really had no need to look elsewhere. With that said, the past decade has seen Korea has seemingly taken complete ownership of the revenge film with films like Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and I Saw the Devil. Now we have Bedevilled from first timer Chul-soo Jang. No, it is not a perfect, but it is a rather intense look at friendship and the bigger idea of being complicit through complacency.