LATEST ADDITIONS

Anton van Beek  |  Apr 10, 2009  |  0 comments

Ever since I caught the first episode of Batman: The Animated Series on ITV back in the early '90s I've been a huge fan of producer Bruce Timm. His animated incarnation of the Dark Knight quickly became my favourite screen version, capturing the essence of the character and his comics perfectly. Over the years Timm and his team have continued to wow me with the likes of Superman: The Animated Series, Justice League and DTV movies like the spell-binding adaptation of Darwyn Cooke's The New Frontier.

Anton van Beek  |  Apr 08, 2009  |  0 comments

The past couple of years have seen the DVD release of some great feature-length documentaries pandering to fans of exploitation films. Going to Pieces took a look at the rise and fall of the slasher genre, while the Friday the 13th and Halloween franchises have both been treated to celebratory retrospective documentaries in the form of His Name Was Jason and Halloween: 25 Years of Terror.

Anton van Beek  |  Mar 23, 2009  |  0 comments

When British cinema’s enfant terrible Ken Russell claims that a filmmaker’s work ‘went right over my head and seemed a little terrifying, but I’m all for it’, it’s understandable that you might be worried about what you’re getting yourself in for. Suffice to say, GAZWRX: The Films of Jeff Keen is unlike any Blu-ray release this writer has seen before. But that’s one of the reasons I treasure the BFI so highly, it’s ability to constantly surprise and challenge viewers with releases that would simply be unlikely to find a release anywhere else.

Anton van Beek  |  Mar 12, 2009  |  0 comments

Based on the first of Stephenie Meyer's popular series of novels, Twilight was the surprise success story at the box office late last year. Produced for less than $40million, the film took more than four times that at US cinemas alone. Having never heard of the franchise before, I was even more surprised to discover that this wasn't just a US phenomenon, but that the books shared a similarly rabid fanbase here in the UK. So, when the Blu-ray review copy of Twilight arrived in the HCC office, I was intrigued enough to volunteer to review it. Frankly, I wish I hadn't bothered...

Anton van Beek  |  Nov 05, 2008  |  0 comments

Tobe Hooper's seminal 1974 shocker ranks up there with Army of Darkness and Dawn of the Dead when it comes to the number of times it has been released on DVD. Previous Special Edition discs on both sides of the Atlantic appeared to have done a damn fine job with the movie, so why should anybody care about this new (and rather ridiculously titled) three-disc set?

Anton van Beek  |  Oct 05, 2008  |  0 comments

Reviewing Wes Craven's 1972 debut feature The Last House on the Left isn't an easy thing. For those, like myself, who became horror devotees during the early 1980s the film has a significance and impact that is often lost on younger audiences. In this way it is much like those other '70s genre classics The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Exorcist, which are often greeted by hoots of derision rather than screams of terror these days.

Anton van Beek  |  Sep 26, 2008  |  0 comments

I’m no stranger to the world of bad movies. After all, I’m the guy who reviewed Ratman and Loch Ness Terror for this website, and managed to find plenty to enjoy in both of them. However, even I was not prepared for the sheer awfulness that was about to be unleashed by the made-for-TV Anaconda 3: Offspring.

Anton van Beek  |  Jul 25, 2008  |  0 comments

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of George Lucas' acclaimed sci-fi flick Star Wars. So it came as something of a surprise (to this writer, at least) that there was no sign of any cinema activity to celebrate this fact. There was no re-release of the film (not even in a 3D incarnation, something that has been rumoured as being in the works for several years now), and the all-new CG-animated Clone Wars movie is only getting its cinema release this summer.

Anton van Beek  |  Jul 24, 2008  |  0 comments

Loch Ness, 1976. After finding a massive (not to mention suspiciously light) egg at the bottom of the famous Loch, an American scientist and his two colleagues are devoured by an angry Nessie. The only survivor is the scientist’s young son, James, who hid under an upturned boat.

Anton van Beek  |  Jul 24, 2008  |  0 comments

Welcome to the world of bad cinema. A world where films about tiny killers tormenting swimsuit models are perfectly normal, and where dialogue like the following flows freely…

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