Sorority Row (2009)

1983's The House on Sorority Row gets an update this weekend and stars Briana Evigan, Rumer Willis, and Carrie Fisher as the stalked sorority sisters and house mother by a cloaked killer bent on revenge for the death of one of their sorority sisters. As you would expect, there is plenty of T & A but not from the main cast which is a little disappointing but the death scenes are ok even if they lack any real gore. As for being the stereotypical lead bitch sister, Leah Pipes does a great job and delivers a fun performance that makes you love and hate her character from the get go. All in all a mediocre horror film but not really a waste of a matinee viewing. The highlight for me was seeing the trailer for Avatar again before the movie started and damn if it does not keep looking cooler each time I see it.

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Knockaround Guys

So it will be mobsters tonight and what better than a film staring Dennis Hooper, John Malkovich, Tom Noonan, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel and my favorite little dude Seth Green. The premise is that Matty, played by Pepper, is trying to win the favor of his mobster father and enlists his friends to do a job that goes horribly wrong when Green loses the package to some stoner kids and then corrupt local cops. The stand out performances here are by Diesel as a tough street thug, who would have guessed, and Malkovich as the second in command with his own agenda. Is there any role that Malkovich can not play and not play well? A fun little movie along the lines of Mobsters and Sleepers but not as deep if that can be said with a straight face.

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Domino

A DVD still in the wrapper and unopened until now and it's a movie I have not seen or watched on cable to date. Keira Knightly stars as Domino Harvey a former model turned bounty hunter that gets caught up in a money scam ran by her bail bondsman boss that is ripping of the mob to save the life of his little girl by one of his many mistresses while being filmed for a WB reality show. Also starring are Mickey Rourke and Edgar Ramirez as fellow bounty hunters Ed Moseby and Choco, Delroy Lindo and Mo'Nique as the bail bondsman and his mistress, Jacqueline Bisset and Christopker Walken as social climbing mom and the WB executive, and Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering as themselves and the hosts of the reality show. The plot is crazy and entertaining as hell and supposedly based on the life of the real Domino Harvey who passed away in 2005. A fun film and you do get to see Keira topless like in her other fine films like The Hole and The Jacket - WOOHOO!

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Werewolf

As my return to TV series of my youth continues, I just completed a marathon viewing of another 80's classic from Fox TV and the USA Networks thanks to Midtown Comics' collection of bootleg VHS to DVD videos. The series starred General Hospital's John J. York, The Rifleman's Chuck Connors and genre character actor Brian Thompson as the principal werewolves of the show with York's werewolf always being on the run from the part Indian bounty hunter, Alamo Joe aka Lance LeGault. The show is quintessential 80's fair from its visual style and soundtrack with the episodes still holding up for me sporting Rick Baker's werewolf designs refined from his work on An American Werewolf in London but brought to life each week by the talents of Greg Cannom. The werewolf effects are what brought me back each week and the thirty minute episodes kept the shows tight but ultimately very formulaic where you could see the repeated use of shots from previous episodes to save on effects costs. If you love werewolves, in-camera effects and classic mask and suited monster makeups, you will want to check out this series again and add it to you home entertainment collection just like me.

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Man From Atlantis

After realizing I was pissing away money on digital cable TV and Tivo service, I decided to cancel my services in an experiment to see if I could watch all the shows I like online via one method or another for the upcoming fall season . While waiting for new fall season episodes to update for online watching via Hulu and the various TV network websites, I have started working my way through old TV shows from my youth that I picked up from places like Midtown Comics to see how they hold up like this week's selection, Man from Atlantis. Although the series is quite dated and it is a hoot seeing old TV stars that have fallen off of the TV landscape, a gem of an actor has risen from the TV land of my past that I would like to acknowledge here - Victor Bruno aka Dr. Schubert. Victor Bruno was the go to villain in all of the shows of my childhood and had, no has, an unforgettable screen presence. For the old Adam West Batman fans you would remember his as the wonderful villain King Tut.

All About Steve

Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper, both fresh of the box office hits The Proposal and The Hangover this year, co-star in this ugly-duckling based story plot and it is not a romantic comedy as you would think. Other comedy notables Thomas Haden Church and Ken Jeong flesh out the news crew with Cooper who is being followed from assignment to assignment by Bullock after their blind date is disrupted. Comedies seem to be the thing for Sandra these days and she is doing them well. Cooper has come along way from his Alias days and horror outing The Midnight Meat Train - based on a favorite Clive Barker short story of mine from the Books of Blood. A good movie and an easy pick for date night.

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Extract

Jason Bateman takes the lead in this latest Mike Judge big screen comedy. Although this does not rank up there with the cult classic Office Space, it is very funny and delivers fun performances from Ben Affleck, Mila Kunis, J. K. Simmons and Kristen Wiig. Judge has the ability to take mundane situations and build them up with interesting and likable characters that delivers working class comedy gold. I have always been a fan of Bateman's comedic performances since his first staring TV series, It's Your Move, back in 1984. Just Like Paul Rudd in I Love You, Man, Jason has proven he can carry a movie on his own here and his fans will love it.

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Gamer

Gerald Butler continues his reign on the big screen this year in this action thriller cross-over with a Sims fetish community. The action and carnage are fun to watch and the Society gaming piece kinky and fun until you get to see the human controllers behind the Society avatars. Michael C. Hall from Dexter is the master mind behind Society and Slayers and delivers an eccentric performance that will not be forgotten. Kyra Sedgwick is a pleasant surprise to see back on the big screen as well and outside of The Closer TV series. A good flick for adult gamers but definitely not a kids movie and deserves its R-Rating.

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The Final Destination 3D

3D is back to supposedly reinvigorate another stale franchise. Unfortunately, it can not over come the cliches and wooden acting that permeate this installment. To seal the deal, a key scene is an audience getting killed while watching a 3D movie. Really? The one plus is that outside of the cartoonish 3D effects there was some good practical effects carnage for the gorehounds like me.

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Halloween II (2009)

Everyone's favorite slasher is back in Rob Zombie's follow to his 2007 re-imagining of John Carpenter's Halloween. Zombie continues his exploration of the mind of Michael Myers and delivers incredible imagery that let's us know just how fractured the Myers family really is. Scout Taylor-Compton is back as Laurie Strode and keeps delivering terrified performances that are hard to watch and gut-wrenching. A master stroke in this sequel is the realization of the Dr. Samuel Loomis and his profiting off of the Haddonfield carnage and aftermath. A good sequel for Rob Zombie and Michael Myer fans alike.

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