Flavours of the Month: January 2015...

Sword-swinging fantasy, gut toting goons, the pleasures of world domination, and more...

Click "READ MORE" below for January 2015's looks, sounds, vibes & flavours...

Double Bill Mini Musings: Undead Nazis and Crime Fighting Geezers...

Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead:
What's it about?
Picking up exactly where the first movie left off, Martin finds himself suspected of murdering his friends at the same time as having to contend with the General Herzog's growing army of zombie Nazis ... and as if that wasn't enough, now he's got Herzog's arm sewn to his body!
Who would I recognise in it?
Vegar Hoel, Martin Starr, Orjan Gamst, Ingrid Haas.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
"The sequel you did Nazi coming" ... if you enjoyed the over-the-top gore antics of Tommy Wirkola's breakout horror comedy you can expect more of the same in this more expansive sequel. It's arguably about five-to-ten minutes too long, but the increased scope adds spectacle. Do you want to see undead Nazis do battle with undead Russians? Look no further. Not only widening its scope in terms of scale, Dead Snow 2 seeks to attract a broader audience by including three American zombie fighters (while maintaining its Norwegian heritage). Packed with plenty of gore-ific gags (think Peter Jackson's Braindead, or Sam Raimi's Evil Dead 2) and a bonkers attitude, Dead Snow 2 gives you everything you enjoyed about the first movie, but successfully builds upon it to serve up a heartier meal. Good.

Click "READ MORE" below for The Sweeney...

Ilsa: The Wicked Warden (Jess Franco, 1977) Review

Find more exploitation movie reviews here.

“Her Prison was Hotter than Hell!” First there was Ilsa: She-Wolf of the SS, then there was Ilsa: Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks, and then came Ilsa: Tigress of Siberia – but when is an Ilsa movie not an Ilsa movie? When it's a Greta movie. Jess Franco (99 Women), the prolific master of Euro-sleaze, brought the world this unofficial Ilsa movie between the second and third instalments in the official series under the original German title of Greta: House Without Men. Indeed, in classic grindhouse fashion, this seedy little flick has numerous aliases, such as Ilsa: Absolute Power, Wanda The Wicked Warden, and Greta the Torturer (aka Mad Butcher, aka Sadist). It may have morphed into an apparent Ilsa movie after-the-fact in a canny advertising move, but it does cover similar ideas: a sex-mad wardress, despicable scenes of torture, the inevitable blood-crazed vengeance … just the kind of movie your Granny would love, surely?

Click “READ MORE” below to continue the review and see more screenshots…

Update to an old DVD review...

Just a quick post to say that I've given one of my earlier reviews (from September 2011) a bit of a tidy up and included some screenshots.

To see the updated review of Shout Factory's "Women In Cages" Roger Corman's Cult Classics Triple Feature DVD collection (The Big Doll House / Women In Cages / The Big Bird Cage) click HERE.

The French Sex Murders (Ferdinando Merighi, 1972) Review

Find more giallo reviews here.

“Love is a dangerous thing in a place like this.” Police swarm in from every direction. Their mysterious suspect flees on foot and climbs the Eiffel Tower. They give desperate chase, but it all ends with a body crashing towards the ground far below. So begins the luridly titled giallo The French Sex Murders, one of the lesser known Italian thrillers to come out at a time when there was a torrent of them rushing into cinemas. Indeed, 1972 was a very good year for the giallo (featuring films such as What Have You Done To Solange?), but does this entry measure up?

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"Celebrityville" marches forth...

I got a little bit done before Christmas ... then all the usual festivities got in the way ... drinks, chocolate, presents, chocolate, roast dinners, chocolate, you know how it goes.

Then I caught a stinking, foul cold which dragged on for days. I was pretty floored by it but, eventually, it passed and I was able to get back to the twisted world of "Celebrityville" - and I'm now two thirds of the way through it...

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Double Bill Mini Musings: Undead Beavers and Space Raccoons...

Zombeavers:
What's it about?
Three college chicks head out to the sticks for some relaxation time only to wind up battling undead beavers ... as you do.
Who would I recognise in it?
Rachel Melvin, Cortney Palm, Brent Briscoe, John Mayer, Bill Burr.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
It's a schlocky low budget horror comedy along the lines of Critters meets American Pie, and it's surprisingly good. The focus on using practical beaver puppets adds a pinch of 1980s charm and there's a sprinkling of post-millennium sauciness throughout. Naturally, the script and characters aren't especially deep, but the protagonists are entertaining to be around. While the script takes a little while to get going in the beginning, it quickly finds its footing and tosses out some genuinely funny lines. In addition to the seam of humour running through it, Zombeavers also manages to subvert a few genre expectations, doing its part to blow the dust off what could have become an awful piece of trash. Certainly it's not going to win any awards or critical acclaim, and your mileage may vary, but the filmmakers are obviously having fun with a knowingly daft plot. The main feature clocks in at about 68 minutes, so it wisely doesn't outstay its welcome (the remaining time is dedicated to a blooper reel and the credits). It's a little bit sexy, a little bit sassy, and generally an all-round fun time. They could have gone further with both the nudity and the gore (and, even, the beaver jokes), but all-in-all it's a thoroughly silly slice of entertainment. Good.

Click "READ MORE" below for Guardians of the Galaxy...

Double Bill Mini Musings: Killer Dames & Spider Men...

Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For:
What's it about?
Belated follow-up to 2005's smash hit comic-to-film success from Robert Rodriguez and Sin City creator Frank Miller. Tales, new and old, interweave throughout the seedy bars, secluded mansions, and dangerous alleyways. Dazzlingly dangerous dames, brutally violent men, corrupted officials, gamblers, voyeurs, thugs-for-hire, strippers and gunslingers ... all can be found on the streets of (Ba)sin City.
Who would I recognise in it?
Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, Jaime King, Christopher Lloyd, Jamie Chung, Jeremy Piven, Juno Temple.
Great/Good/Alright/Shite?
Nine years was arguably too long to wait for a sequel, particularly as initial rumours suggested a sequel in 2006, and expectations were running high. The original film was extremely well received, so perhaps expectations got the collective best of some reviewers and audience members. Of course a sequel isn't going to be as breath-takingly original as the first - this is more of the same, you know what to expect, it wasn't going to become something different. However, comparing the established tales of Miller (e.g. the titular A Dame To Kill For) with his newly-penned chapters, you can't help but feel something's missing from the Miller of today. Whatever that something is, it's hard to pin down ... but the new material, while continuing to do much of what worked before, still lacks a certain something...

Click "READ MORE" to continue the review and check out The Amazing Spider-Man 2...

All The Colours Of The Dark (Sergio Martino, 1972) DVD Review

Find more giallo reviews here.

“You don't understand, the dreams I have are like horror stories.” Could there be a better team in the history of the giallo film than Director Sergio Martino (Torso), Writer Ernesto Gastaldi (The Case of the Scorpion's Tail), and stars Edwige Fenech (The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh) and George Hilton (My Dear Killer)? Arguably not. Striking out during the most productive years for gialli, All The Colours of the Dark sidesteps traditional murder mystery territory in favour of kaleidoscopic psycho-sexual thrills, trading black leather for black magic, and outward terror for inner turmoil...

Click “READ MORE” below to continue the review and see more screenshots…