Tuesday 31 January 2012

Four Flies on Grey Velvet-DVD/BLU RAY RELEASE!!



Hello Folks,
I must say it's fantastic to see the Argento classic Four Flies on grey velvet finally get a great release, The so called "Lost" Argento classic has been circulating for years and i remember seeing it on a 16mm transfer to VHS and the print was quite terrible, but i have to say on watching this i was quite blown away, the print and audio has been restored to a fantastic level as well as the missing footage restored into the film and i really did enjoy the film, seeing Argento in his better years in this movie was great.Lot's of twists and turns and the extras on the disc are quite simply astonishing, so I'll stop gushing about it now and let you go and find this release, a fantastic addition to any Argento collection, I've stuck all the details below,
Jonny T.


“THE RAREST OF DARIO ARGENTO’S GIALLO THRILLERS FINALLY COMES TO DVD/BLU-RAY – A TWISTED TALE OF TORTURED PARANOIA AND HOMICIDAL FRENZY.” – ALAN JONES.

Forty years after its release and twenty years after the film disappeared from the public eye, Shameless Screen Entertainment is releasing the first ever worldwide Blu-ray of Dario Argento’s lost masterpiece, Four Flies On Grey Velvet and, also for the first time ever, in the original version in which it was made. This special 40th Anniversary Edition has been fully remastered in HD from the original negative and includes four inserts of previously missing footage known amongst Argento fans as the legendary “missing forty seconds”. Additionally, the original pristine English audio has been remastered exclusively for this Shameless release from the original magnetic soundtrack and is being made available for the first time since the film’s initial theatrical release in the 1970s.
Described by DVD Times as “essential viewing”, this final instalment in what is unofficially referred to as Argento’s Animal Trilogy (following “The Bird With The Crystal Plumage” and “The Cat O’ Nine Tails”) is a classic of the giallo genre, featuring music by Oscar-winning composer Ennio Morricone (The Untouchables; The Mission; The Good, The Bad And The Ugly) and starring Michael Brandon (Captain America: The First Avenger; Dempsey And Makepeace), Mimsy Farmer (The Black Cat; More), Jean-Pierre Marielle (Micmacs; The Da Vinci Code), Bud Spencer (They Call Me Trinity) and Francine Racette (Au Revoir Les Enfants; The Disappearance).
Going about his everyday life of band rehearsals and socialising with his wife, Nina (Farmer), and their hip friends, rock drummer Roberto Tobias (Brandon) notices he is constantly being followed by a strange man dressed in black. He decides to turn the tables on his stalker and follows him into an abandoned theatre, where a confrontation between the two ends with Roberto accidentally stabbing the man, who falls into the orchestra, apparently dead. Suddenly, a flash of light alerts Roberto to a figure in the upper wings of the theatre, where a mysterious person wearing a bizarre puppet mask and brandishing a camera has been taking photos of the fatal struggle. Roberto flees the scene, but the next day receives the dead man’s ID card in the post. Naturally assuming it has been sent by the unknown witness, he becomes immediately concerned by the lack of any blackmail demands and is haunted by the question of what it is the masked figure wants from him. Roberto’s fear and paranoia increase, and the mystery deepens, when his and Nina’s housemaid is found murdered in a local park and it becomes apparent that an intruder has had access to their apartment.
Four Flies On Grey Velvet (cert. 15) will be released on Blu-ray (£24.99) and DVD (£15.99) by Shameless Screen Entertainment on 30th January 2012.
Special Features
- Introduction to the film by Luigi Cozzi.
- New, exclusive and extensive recent interview on the making of Four Flies On Grey Velvet with writer and assistant director Luigi Cozzi.
- Original English audio remastered in HD exclusively for this Shameless release from the original magnetic soundtrack and available for the first time since the film’s original theatrical opening in the 1970s.
- Shameless re-build edit of the complete version of the film including four inserts of previously missing footage known amongst Argento fans as the legendary “missing forty seconds” (the inserts are in Standard-Definition quality). The Blu-ray will allow for seamless branching of the four inserts giving viewers two versions of the film: one all HD without the re-inserted scenes and one longer version including the inserts.
- Restoration of all individual damaged frames, most notably with respect to the removal of the black diagonal frame line (caused by the film jumping the high speed camera gate) in the final car crash sequence.
- Optional Italian audio version in HD with English subtitles.
- Italian and English trailers.
- Alternate English opening and closing credits.
- Shameless Trailer Park (Blu-ray only).





Walking Dead season 2-Part 2 is nearly here!!


Hello all,
Well it only seems like 5 minutes when i read back last year that The Walking Dead was having a mid season break, nooooooooooooo!!! Well that's what i thought, but whilst filling my time in with another series the rather excellent Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead are nearly upon us once again, set to return on February 12th in the USA and 1 week later in the UK it's great to see that they have extended the run of the season from 12 to 16, i also follow the writer Robert Kirkman on Twitter and he announced last week that they have already sat down and started to write season 3 which in his will "Blow you away".
An avid reader of the comics since issue 1 i know that there are some indeed parts that will blow you away in case you haven't read it but i hope they do keep close to the comic and try and not to divulge too far away like the weak ending in my opinion of season 1, will Shane truly flip? will dale push Shane too far? who knows!! I have included a sneek peak for season 2 below which i personally haven't watched as it may contain spoilers so be warned.
So with a little over 3 weeks to go i personally cannot wait, bring on the dead!
Jonny T.

Sneeky Peeek season 2!!








Saturday 28 January 2012

The Shrine Comes to DVD/Blu Ray.


Hello People,
Great to see the upcomimg release in February of the very creepy looking The Shrine, I have heard only good stuff about this on American podcasts and sites so I'm very much looking forward to this release!
I've stuck all the details below,
Enjoy,
Jonny T.


“THE SHRINE IS QUITE POSSIBLY ONE OF THE BEST HORROR FILMS OF THE YEAR.” – HORRORCULTFILMS.CO.UK.

From award-winning filmmaker Jon Knautz, writer-director of the cult hit horror-comedy “ Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer”, comes The Shrine, “a wonderfully eerie slice of Lovecraftian horror” (BeyondHollywood.com) that sets itself up as a traditional genre entry before brilliantly and unexpectedly pulling the rug from beneath the viewer with a killer twist.
Starring Aaron Ashmore (Smallville; Veronica Mars), Cindy Sampson (Supernatural; Reaper) and Meghan Heffern (The Fog; Chloe), The Shrine has been hailed as “true-blue horror all the way… uncompromising and aggressively nasty” (FearNet.com) and gained plaudits for its “great story arc, solid writing and acting, and a last act that’ll blow you away” (AnythingHorror.com).
When a young American goes missing in Poland while backpacking around Europe, ambitious journalist Carmen (Sampson) links his disappearance to a number of similar events that have occurred over the years in and around the remote rural village of Alvaina. With the US and Polish authorities showing little interest in the case, Carmen decides to investigate the story herself, hoping for a scoop that will forward her career as a writer.
She convinces her photographer boyfriend, Marcus (Ashmore), and her young intern at the newspaper, Sara (Heffern), to join her in trying to uncover the truth and the trio travels to Alvaina to make some initial enquiries. On arrival at the village they immediately attract the unwelcome attention of the hostile locals who order them to leave the area. Fearing for their safety Marcus is ready to give up and go home, but Carmen and Sara become intrigued by and drawn to a mysterious fog hanging over the nearby woods. On entering the mist, they come across what appears to be an ancient statue – a discovery that leads them on the path to a revelation far more terrifying than anything they could possibly imagine.
A solid supernatural chiller that recalls elements of “The Exorcist”, “Jacob’s Ladder” and “The Evil Dead”, The Shrine is an unexpected gem of a horror film and boasts a Grammy nominated (for Best Score Soundtrack For Visual Media) score by award-winning composer Ryan Shore (Stan Helsing; Numb; The Girl Next Door).
The Shrine (cert. 15) will be released on DVD (£12.99) and Blu-ray (£tbc) by Arrow Films on 27th February 2012.





Friday 27 January 2012

The Classic That is Django.



Hello People,
Well i don't know if you are aware but there is a new podcast in town , it's called Wanted:Alive or preferably dead. Recently started up by the great chaps Stephen and Vaughn it's going to explore all things western, i heard on the preview show the title "Django" and i thought i have not seen that it years, so whilst scanning through my LOVEFILM account i found it a re-watched it, boy what a great film!
Made in 1966 staring the great Franco Nero and directed by Segio Corbucci it tales the usual western tale of a man seeking revenge for those that have done him wrong, but what lifts this high in my opinion above a ton of other westerns is the grittiness and violence not really seen before in westerns up until this point, a genre changing movie.Sergio Corbucci is often unfairly refereed to as "The other Sergio" In reference to Sergio leone, the director of the classic spaghetti westerns.This Django his very well known amongst film fans including of course Quentin Tarantino who inspired by this and the other Django movies will be bringing us this year his take on the genre with Django Unchained, in fact he is such a fan that he starred in Takashi Miike's excellent western Sukiyaki Western Django, which is also a film i would highly recommend.
Talking of Tarantino, there is a scene in Django where  a priest is revealed as a spy and they decide to take revenge on him by cutting off his ear, ring any bells?


So, back to the film, It's starts off with a classic theme song and the image from behind of Franco Nero as Django dragging a coffin behind him.He then See's a woman tied up and being whipped by a bunch of bandits, this is where we seem him do his 1st classic speech and start deliver his ultimate coolness then proceeds to rescue the lady, he enters a town where there is a feud going on between member of a Mexican gang and the KKK, Even Tarantino couldn't make that  one up!
The film proceeds with Prostitutes mud wrestling, long bar fight sequences and did i mention Django's amazing Gatling gun?Needless to say that Django is there and he is instantly at odds with the Major Jackson and the Mexicans, this gets back to the fact that you can sense the anger and hatred played brilliantly by Django and there are people dispatched left,right and centre.This is down to in my opinion Corbucci's straight to the point no nonsense film making that has few as you would call them "Slow" moments, flying along and it's over before you know it, but do not despair as Nero returned in the also great Western Django strikes again.Bizarrely it was banned in many a country on release because of it's so called violence, but being back in 1966 you can see why, it still remains cut in many countries DVD release of the film, but thanks to LOVEFILM i found it and it's a great print, so i have put the link at the bottom to their site so why not check it out,I'm off to seek more Django films! And be sure to keep your ears on Vaughn and Stephens new show, i will definitely be doing as I'm sure there is a ton out there that they know of and I'm waiting to discover,
Jonny T.



Rent Django and other classic spaghetti western's from our friends at LOVEFiLM. weather your watching TV online or renting films directly to your door LOVEFiLM is sure to have a package to suit you.


Thursday 26 January 2012

Red Scorpion-coming to Blu Ray.


Hello Folks,
Back again with some more news of yet another great release from Arrow Video, this time the 80's action machismo fest that is RED SCORPION, Somewhat overlooked at the time and in my eyes never really given the credit it deserved it's great to see this getting a nice shiny Blu-Ray release from Arrow.
All details below,
Enjoy,
Jonny T.






TAUGHT TO STALK. TRAINED TO KILL. PROGRAMMED TO DESTROY.

Following supporting roles in “A View To A Kill” and “Rocky IV” and a less than stellar turn as He-Man in “Masters Of The Universe”, in 1988 former chemical engineering graduate turned actor Dolph Lundgren (The Expendables) took on the role that would define his career as an action star playing the titular hero in the shoot-’em-up action-thriller Red Scorpion. Directed by Joseph Zito, the man behind Chuck Norris’ number one box office smash hits “Missing In Action” and “Invasion USA”, the film remains one of the most memorable and revered action movies of the 80s. Now, Red Scorpion is coming to Blu-ray, featuring a host of extra features including a UK exclusive audio commentary by Joseph Zito.
Lundgren stars as Nikolai Rachenko, a deadly, highly skilled agent for the Russian army and an all-round a killing machine whose brutal efficiency and single minded determination to serve the motherland leaves behind a trail of battered bodies and bloodied enemies.
Nikolai’s latest mission involves infiltrating an African rebel army seeking to defy its new communist rulers and take out their leader. But as he gets to know his enemies and the dignified Bushmen he encounters, he begins to slowly realize that all he has been taught was a lie. Now, this Cold War rebel is ready to turn the tables on his Soviet masters and kick all kinds of ass!
With a body count that leaves jaws firmly on the floor and a healthy disregard for troublesome logic, Red Scorpion is a classic 1980s action spectacular that doesn’t let up for a second.
Red Scorpion (cert. 15) will be released on Blu-ray (£24.99) by Arrow video on 6th February 2012.
Special Features
Brand new High Definition transfer of the film (1080p); introduction to the film by star Dolph Lundgren; UK exclusive audio commentary by director Joseph Zito, moderated by filmmaker and genre scholar Howard S. Berger; “All Out Of Bullets” – Dolph Lundgren remembers Red Scorpion; “Music With Muscles” – composer Jay Chattaway on the soundtrack of Red Scorpion; original trailer; reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork; double-sided fold-out artwork poster; collectors’ booklet featuring brand new writing on the film by author Calum Waddell; original 1.78:1 aspect ratio; original uncompressed LPCM Stereo audio; optional English subtitles for the hearing impaired.

Wednesday 25 January 2012

Dellamorte Dellamore comes to DVD.



Hello folks!
Well i must say being a Zombie fan i am very pleased to see the release of Dellamorte Dellamore-The Cemetery man, i got to see this years back at a horror festival then owned the gold old VHS but never the DVD but i certainly will be doing!!
A quite unusual take on the genre with sex, violence and great looking zombies set in a very creepy location all adds up for a great little zombie flick, I've put  the the press release and all details below,
enjoy,
Jonny T.



“SOAVI’S MAJESTIC MASTERPIECE OF SURREALISTIC SANGUINE CINEMA.” (10/10) – BLOODY-DISGUSTING.COM.

From Michele Soavi, director of “The Church” and “The Sect”, comes Dellamorte Dellamore (aka The Cemetery Man), a surreal blend of George Romero gore, Dario Argento style and ‘Monty Python’ irreverence, and arguably the weirdest zombie movie ever made. Based on the novel by Tiziano Sclavi, creator of the cult comic book hero “Dylan Dog”, the film stars Rupert Everett (Stardust; St. Trinian’s; Shrek), Anna Falchi (The Princess And The Pauper) and Francois Hadji-Lazaro (Brotherhood Of The Wolf; The City Of Lost Children).
Meet Francesco Dellamorte (Rupert Everett), gravedigger and guardian of the mythical Buffalora Cemetery where the dead just don’t stay dead. Seven days after burial, the fresh cadavers claw their way out of their coffins looking for flesh to eat. And it’s Francesco’s job to dispatch these ‘Returners’ before they escape into the local community.
But his quest to stop the dead from invading the world of the living falters when he falls in love with a beautiful and enigmatic widow visiting her husband’s crypt. For when he kills her by mistake, and is cursed to see her face for eternity, the difference between being alive and dead becomes chillingly confused in his shocked and romantically damaged brain.
Hip, offbeat, gory, funny and intensely erotic, Dellamorte Dellamore is a totally unique horror movie that demands to be seen.
Dellamorte Dellamore – The Cemetery Man (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£15.99) by Shameless screen Entertainment on 27th February 2012. Special Features include: audio commentary by director Michele Soavi and writer Gianni Romoli; exclusive booklet of Alan Jones’ personal on-set memoir; trailers; photo gallery; English and Italian (with English subtitles) audio options.


Friday 20 January 2012

Book(s) of the month-Lakewood/Ashton Memorial.




Robert R Best.



Lakewood Memorial
2009
The small town of Lakewood has been overrun by the walking dead. In a
single night, the world has descended into a madness of biting teeth
and a sickness that kills but does not kill. Caught at the centre of
it is Angie Land, young single mother and nurse's aide at Lakewood
Memorial Hospital. She and a handful of others are lucky enough to
survive the initial assault, but how long will they last? And more
importantly to Angie, how long will her kids - waiting at home -
survive?


Hello Folks,
The good old book of the month is back!
This month i have kind of cheated by having not one but 2 books, The first 2 parts in the Memorial trilogy that are Lakewood and Ashton Memorial, now you know me I'm a sucker for a great zombie book and the sad fact is that although zombies are ever increasing in popularity the books and indeed films are churned out at the rate of McDonald's burgers and the quality of these books/films are also the quality of those burgers, crap!
But i have to say that these 2 really stand out both in the fact of the characters and storyline,atmosphere and genuine twist that leaving you hanging on and me personally cannot wait for the third book, so whens it out Mr Best?
So for all you good folks, i have put the link to Roberts site below for you to try these out for yourselves and blow away those January blues,
Enjoy,
Jonny T.

Official Webpage for all the ways to get these books and more!!
www.robertrbest.com/



Ashton Memorial
2010
How long does it take for the world to fall apart, when the dead
inexplicably rise from their graves to eat the living?As they travel
to the big city of Ashton to find their families, Angela Land and
Parker Welch discover the world goes to hell fast. Angie, desperate to
find a safe new place for her and her two children, will fight any man
or animal—living or dead—that gets in her way. Meanwhile, Park hasn't
seen his twin daughters for years, but he'll need to hurry if he's
going to rescue them from their crazed power-hungry stepfather and the
chaos that is his new kingdom, Ashton Memorial Zoo. With more undead,
bat-swinging, creative-swearing action, Ashton Memorial asks the
question, What would you do to survive?
World Memorial
2012
….stay tuned…..




Wednesday 18 January 2012

Penitentiary-Comes To DVD!!



Hello all!
Well just a catch up with some news of another great release coming at you in 2012 from Arrow Video this time they delve into the archives to bring you the classic hard hitting Penitentiary, i remember seeing this way back and it's great to see it get a release at last, let's hope they bring out some more classic Blaxploitation,
all details below!
Jonny T.


“GREAT, ROLLICKING EXPLOITATION… A FUN RIDE.” – DIGITAL-RETRIBUTION.COM.

A real Grindhouse cinema original and an undisputed Blaxploitation cult classic, Penitentiary was one of the most commercially successful independent feature films of the early 1980s, inspiring many imitators and spawning two sequels. Written and directed by one of the leading pioneers of the “L.A. Rebellion” film movement, Jamaa Fanaka (Street Wars), Penitentiary comes to DVD in February 2012 with a release that boasts an audio commentary by the director and includes the full-length bonus feature Penitentiary II.
Jamaa Fanaka's raw and violent indictment of prison life is considered a masterpiece of urban cinema. A potent combination of Blaxploitation, prison movie and social commentary, Penitentiary busted genres and galvanized audiences from the art houses to the inner city, becoming a cornerstone of urban independent film for generations.
Martel Gordone (Leon Isaac Kennedy) is a hitchhiker who gets into a fight with a pair of bikers over a prostitute. One of the biker dies and Martel finds himself in prison with the moniker “Too Sweet” because of his love of candy bars. Soon, he is a hardened but pragmatic inmate who joins the prison boxing team in an effort to secure an early parole. Standing in his path however is “Half Dead Johnson”, a member of the prison's most violent gang.
Penitentiary (cert. 18) will be released on DVD (£tbc) by Arrow Dome on 13th February 2012. Special Features include: director’s audio commentary; trailers; “Penitentiary II” full-length feature




Saturday 7 January 2012

Animal Kingdom-reviewed.



Hello All and a Happy new year!
Whilst recently browsing through my love film account i was wanting to watch something on line something different from my usual watchers, i went through the horror and the action and the thrillers for a bout an hour and couldn't find anything that i really wanted to watch, you ever get that feeling?
Then i thought "Drama section? let's have a gander" so i did and Animal Kingdom came up at the top of the list with 4 stars with some great reviews along with the usual 1 star reviews that just said "Boring" ah well, I'll give it a watch and I'm pretty damn glad i did!
Made in Australia in 2010, it tells the story of a young boy Josh who's mother dies of an heroin overdose and has nowhere to go see he makes a phone call to his estranged Grandma to see if he can go and live with her, she duly obliges so he moves in but also living there are 4 of his uncles who just so happen to be heroin addicts, armed robbers and drug dealers, a real nice family, these are the kind of people you really wouldn't want to mess with at all, they slowly try and embroil him into there nasty ways but he always seems to resist or get involved in a very minimum way, partly scared by his family so for an easy life just goes with the flow, the whole town has basically gone to shit with the police openly killing criminals and always making it look like self defence, so comes the first part of the story where one of the brothers ( i wont reveal who) is talking about getting out of the game as he has made a ton of money on the "dirty" drug trade and now wants a better future and so has invested in shares, too late, he gets shot by the police who have been after him for a while, no explanation by the police is ever given and this leads to anger amongst the remaining family especially the one who is always high on coke and paranoid as hell, retribution time, one of the uncles asks young Josh to go steel him a car but doesn't say why so he does only to find out the next morning that it was used to kill two police officers in cold blood, the police swoop on the family and the are all arrested except for of course the grandma, known as grandma smurf. The film twists and weaves with a good few shocking moments and proceeds with the brothers being released on bail but the heat is very much on Josh as the paranoia spreads through them believing that Josh and his girlfriend are telling more to the police than he is letting on.


The main detective is played brilliantly by Guy Peirce whom i have seen in many a film and he always in my opinion is a fantastic actor, another high praise has to go to Jacki Weaver who plays Grandma Smurf, she is truly a great character who's love and protection for her boys knows no bounds, there is a part near the end where she his talking with a lawyer and she basically has him wrapped around her finger, the scene is great and you defiantly would NOT mess with Grandma Smurf!
So in summing up this is a very high recommend from me, it's one of those films that doesn't move at a million miles an hour but the intensity of the plot and the acting is top notch and keeps you glued through every twist and turn and double cross,
Fantastic stuff -9/10.
Jonny T.




Wednesday 4 January 2012

Z-108 Thai Zombies!! Finallly out this year!!


A Zombie film from Thailand?? Hell yeah, looks pretty good to me!
Not many details i could find as yet but looks like the usual take on the Zombie appocalypse but it does look very atmospheric and with it being a Thai film you just know they will push the barriers and definately not skimp on gore!


Z-108 OFFICIAL TRAILER