Zombies, zombies, zombies.... I love zombies. It's so nice to find a new twist on an old theme, especially one involving the undead. I've been lucky enough to have several zombie movies that have found their way to my TiVo or DVD player in the past few weeks that are new and different. It has re-ignited my love affair with the flesh eating corpses. (not that it ever went away really.) I remember seeing the trailer for 'Doghouse' quite a while ago and thinking that I wanted to add it to my Netlfix queue, but it wasn't available at the time. This little gem came out in 2009 and hit Netflix just recently. Most of you will probably recognize the star, Stephen Graham. He was Jason Statham's partner in 'Snatch'.... the one looking for the caravan. He's spot on in this movie and is equal parts funnyman and the hesitant hero. His friends are all likeable characters and you can find at least one that you'll relate too. They're a nice cross section of the male gender. The special effects are well done and each zombie is unique and a character all by themself. It seems in the zombie films of the past, zombies were all kind of interchangeable and a lot of them just blended together. Nowdays, zombies are as much of a main character as the main characters. They're all done as though they'll be the main focus of the movie. You can quickly identify each one. Granted, they may not have a specific name.... but like the 'Baseball Girl' in 'Land of the Dead', you remember who they are. The plot here involves six guys who all leave their significant others to go to a little town called Moodley for the weekend. They take a little bus and leave one guy behind, who just couldn't get away. When they arrive in the quaint little town, the guys are let down that it looks like a little mountain town from the old days. Afraid that they will die of boredom, they begin to rethink coming. One of the blokes notices a woman walking down the street, when he approaches her.... she turns on him and he discovers she's a zombie. But she's not the only one, every woman in town has been affected by a government made virus that only turns females into the walking dead. There is not a single man in sight. The boys make a run for the bus, but their female bus driver has turned now and they make a 180 turn back towards the town. While seeking shelter, they have to dodge hordes of zombies. Soon they get seperated and it's almost every man for himself. Things get cranked up at this point and build to the finale. 
See what I mean about a new twist on an old theme? It's not quite re-inventing the wheel, but if it ain't broke.... don't fix it, right? Regardless, it's still nice to see something different. The zombies are, as always, disgusting looking. Each one has an obvious look to them that leads you to draw a conclusion about who they were before they turned. Like the butcher that one guy runs into. Even if she hadn't still been in the butcher shop chopping up a victim, you'd still be able to tell who she was. That's kind of a nice little touch that they've added here. There are a few fun little 'inventions' that they create to fight the undead. Like a remote control car with model plane fuel or the old fuel in a water gun trick. Some of these things are more effective than others, thus lending itself to some funny moments. All in all, a solid story with solid characters and solid zombies.
I couldn't say this was nearly as good as 'Shaun of the Dead', but it has a similar feel to it. Maybe it's because it was made across the pond? It's not nearly as clever or as strong as that movie was the whole way through. I wouldn't be surprise, however, if it was a strong influence on the writers of 'Doghouse' and I wouldn't say that's a bad thing. I narrowed it down to a 3 out of 5 star attempt. One that probably won't make it into my DVD collection, but one that I might watch again in the future. It's available to rent from Netflix, but not OnDemand sadly. It's worth the rental and worth your time to watch it. I don't know how readily available it is from any other source, but I'm sure you can find it if you dig around. So before you head out for a boy's weekend out, think about 'Doghouse' and make sure you're prepared to defend yourself if they female gender takes a turn for the worse.
If you like this, you'll dig: 'Shaun of the Dead', 'Dead Alive aka Braindead' and 'Cemetary Man'
I just posted this update on Facebook, but I also wanted to include it here for those who aren't on my Facebook. I've spent another 3 days updating my blog. This time, I decided to post trailers for every movie I review from now on. However, I couldn't just leave it at that.... I had to go back to all the old reviews and add them there too. So from now on you can expect on each review: 1 poster or DVD cover for the movie being reviewed, 1 screencap from the movie, the trailer for the movie, tags so the movies are easier to find, suggestions for other movies and of course my review. I know I'm probably going off the deep end by doing this, but I haven't been 100% inspired to write reviews.... so this allowed me to be creative and made the blog more coprhensive for you all and any new readers. I want to make this the best blog I can. So, that's it.... this should be the last changes I make. (i think.) Pretty soon I'll post a new review, but until then.... I leave you with this: 
'Titanic II' a movie I don't think I ever need to see. It just seems wrong all on kinds of levels. Why make a "sequel" to the worst oceanic tragedy that ever occured and make it basically the same thing in modern times? I guess some more out of work actors needed something to do. Also, the direct to DVD market isn't saturated enough.... they had to add one more piece of crap that will eventually land in the $1.00 cutout DVD bin. Look for that coming to a DVD store soon. Enjoy! 
Ah, yes.... the French horror cinema. Yet again another movie from across the pond. It stars Beatrice Dalle and Vincent Gallo in a story of erotica and canniblism. Sounded like an interesting mix and I am a fan of Vincent Gallo, so it seemed like a no brainer. Well, what I didn't count on was the fact that this was from the first half of the 2000's. At that time, the French still felt like a movie had to be pretentious to be good and by my count there hasn't been one good horror movie that was pretentious. I'm not saying that they don't exist, I'm just saying that they're like oil and water.... they don't mix. Now this movie isn't in French, not the whole thing anyway. It's a mix of French and American.... I suppose so Vincent Gallo wouldn't need to learn the language. The cover for the DVD, the stills from the movie and some certain scenes in it were just beautiful. Very well done images of a bloody woman doing different things. All things pointed to a good movie going experience. Well, things didn't work out that way. If this movie had been made last year and was like this, then I might have lost faith in the French horror cinema. Luckily it was from long enough ago that I can forgive the error in judgement. 
This movie was not good. Maybe I missed the point, I hope that was the case. It was just so slow and there was hardly any dialouge and when people did speak, it didn't seem to move the plot along much. A lot of things are implied and a lot of that leads to confusion. The scenes mentioned earlier of blood and the woman are the only parts of this movie that were worthwhile. They're shot in a way that's very flattering even with the subject matter involved. I really wanted to like this movie. It had the recipe for something that could have been great. It's not because it was slow, I like movies that build to a climax no matter how slow. It's not because it was a bit pretentious, movies can be pretentious and still be good. It's not because of the actors, they're good actors.... it was just that they were in a bad movie. 
I love a good cartoon getaway. To lose yourself in a fantasy world for an hour and a half is a refreshing change from the everyday crap. It seems lately that most of the CGI cartoons that have been coming out are really good. I haven't seen too many in the past few years that were terrible. And the fact that 'Megamind' has Brad Pitt, Steve Carrell, David Cross, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill made it sound like a winner right off the bat. Sadly, I didn't have a chance to see it in the theater.... and my kids school have a movie night once a month, so we got to see it there. I liked it right as soon as it started. The storyline was original, the characters were a lot of fun and the writing and animation were crisp and well done. I can tell you right now, before the review really gets going that I recommend this movie to kids and adults alike. There is a bunch of good stuff for everyone. 
After you've read that synopsis, you can see how this takes the superhero concept and turns it on its ear. It's a fun change of pace after seeing so many of these stories be so similar, to find one that's fresh and unique. It also doesn't hurt that you have quite a few actors who are committed to the comedy of the movie. It doesn't always come through in the CGI format, but it's pulled off well in this case. The only real drawback of having actors that are so well known, is that their voices come through loud and clear as voices we all know. Because of that, it does take a little bit to get into the characters. After a while, that no longer becomes an issue. If you don't mind that one flaw, then I bet that you'll enjoy this movie. 
after seeing that today, it just makes me want to continue doing this....
I think i've shared my info here before, but to anyone who's new.... here you go. If you want to find me on Facebook, you can locate me here: (and be my friend?)
Now, in a different kind of medium.... you can find me podcasting on 'The Undercover Unitards'. So if you've ever wanted to hear my lovely voice on a weekly basis talking about my week, movies, TV, video games, stupid stuff on the internet and porn (including she-males).... then maybe you should check us out. You can find us on iTunes or directly at our site:
I am very thankful for all of my friends, listeners and readers that check out my blog on a regular basis and that take their time to write their own. As a thank you to them, I'm going to put together a list below of some of the other blogs to check out. Here we go:
As I've said in earlier posts, it's really hard to find anything new in the zombie genre. It seems like everything has been done and re-done. However, I was pointed in the direction of 'AAAH! ZOMBIES!!' and what I saw was something new. It proved that there may still be some life in the undead. Before I get into why it was fresh and new, I have to confess that I HATE talking zombies. By "talking", I mean ones that speak in complete sentences. Zombies are basically a shark. One track mind to kill and eat, nothing else. They grunt, goan and moan but they do not talk. 'AAAH! ZOMBIES!!' had talking zombies, but they presented them in a way that I didn't hate! It was a unique twist on how zombies might communicate with each other. It shows how zombies might think and what it might be like to turn into the walking dead. Haven't you ever wondered what it's like on the flip side of the undead coin? I know I have.
i just updated every single blog entry on my blog....! i've added 1 screencap to every post to go with the movie posters.... and i also tagged the posts so you can search based on title, actor, keywords, genre, etc.... i also made sure that all pictures were active and that all posts were well laid out.... go check it out, i'm really happy with it....!
I praise the French on a regular basis for their expertise in horror filmmaking. I have yet to see one of their films that I didn't like. I recently watched the French survival horror film called 'Vertige aka High Lane'. One part 'The Descent' (in regards to going 'off the beaten path' for adventure storyline) and one part 'Wrong Turn'. However, the comparison to these two other films only goes so far, as 'High Lane' never really got off the ground. It started out strong enough and showed some promise, but the further into into the story I went the less and less I cared what happened. It really pains me to say that because I love the French horror cinema so much. However, I am not going to lie to you about what I saw.... it was only mediocre at best. I mean, any film that starts out heading in one direction and then makes a bit of a left turn suddenly, it better have a good reason for it. I just never saw it here.
I really wish this would have been better. The biggest problem is that this territory has been rehashed a lot in the past decade and finding a new story to tell is nearly impossible. And this film only had one inbred mutant guy and he was uninteresting and uninspired. I could've cared less if he was even in the film. As far as I'm concerned, this would have been just as interesting if it was strictly about the friends trying to get back to civilization. Not too mention that the Netflix OnDemand version of the film was dubbed, not subtitled. That always makes foreign films really hard to watch because you focus more on the dubbing than the acting. 'High Lane' did however leave a little bit of a positive impression. I actually gave it a 3 out of 5 rating, even with all the flaws it was still better than a lot of garbage that's out there. I just wish the filmmakers had realized the changes they needed to make before they made this. It could've been a whole lot better. 
A LOT has been written, said and joked about regarding the up and coming singer, Rebecca Black. She's a 13 year old 8th grader and the girl with the hottest internet music breakout in a long time. The sad thing is that it's not a positive breakout, she's the butt of just about every joke online and has spawned a meme all her own. You can't get online, visit a website or turn on the TV without hearing her mentioned in one way or another. As of the last check on 
i tend to be a stickler about DVD covers being accurate depections of what the movie is about.... this one is only half-right.... the actress, Lori Heuring, is never in her underwear during the film.... there is no need to mark the days off on the wall as there is a clock in the room they're kept in that counts down the days.... and finally, there is no hacksaw in the film.... that being said, i really enjoyed this film regardless.... 
this film, i guess, falls into the cannibalism genre.... but i don't want to sell it short by sticking it into a corner.... it's more of a survival horror.... it asks the question, "How far would you go to survive?".... and this also gives you an idea how a lack of food will affect you over a long period of time.... the desire for food goes way beyond your desire to have some, it goes deep into the hard-wiring of humanity.... we all have a breaking point where we'll do anything to get what our body craves.... from eating bugs, moss off the walls, dirt, anything that's edible.... but would you give up your humanity to eat another human being....? that's where this gets really interesting.... because you can actually see the psychological side-effects of going down the road to ruin.... it's like once you make that choice, you can never go back to who you were before.... and for some people, they don't want to go back.... it twists you into something dark and souless.... and i can imagine that the people who've actually had to experience this are probably scarred beyond saving.... i wouldn't think that a lifetime of therapy would fix the deep seated destruction of the mind.... as you can see, this film raises some interesting questions.... or at least it did for me.
The first Jack Ketchum adaptation I saw was 'The Girl Next Door', it was horrifying. It wasn't a 'horror' movie, but the subject matter was extremely hard to watch. The next one I watched was 'The Lost'. I still haven't made it the whole way through. For some reason I just couldn't get into it. Recently I've been reading alot about a movie called 'The Woman'. From what I understand, it's the sequel to 'Offspring'.... therefore I thought I should watch this one first. 'The Woman' has gotten a lot of positive notice's and was directed by Lucky McKee with Angels Bettis starring in it. Perhaps I should start re-thinking my habit of being a "completionist". I could have lived my entire life without sitting through the movie 'Offspring'. 1) I'm not a fan of the zombie sub-genre of cannibalism. 2) I've not seen too many Ghost House Underground productions that I've enjoyed.... in fact, I can't even think of one right now. 3) With my Jack Ketchum track record, why would I put myself out on a limb to undertake another one? But I did it anyway and now I kind of regret it.
This movie tries to do something, I just don't know what it is? Is it a horror? Is it a crime drama? Is it a thriller? Is it a gore-fest? I just don't know. This was dull and uninspired filmmaking and I wonder why Jack Ketchum keeps putting his name on these things? I also wonder how in the hell this thing has a sequel coming out? One with a well known director and star and a recurring character from the first movie. It just shows that things get made regardless of quality or the public's taste. Perhaps I'm missing the point of this? Or perhaps I just wasn't in the mood for a cannibal movie? I mean, I was never a fan in the first place.... maybe that's it. I gave it 1 out of 5 stars as soon as it ended. I barely turned it off and I was already rating it. The problem is, once 'The Woman' comes out, I'm afraid that I'm going to want to see it. I really enjoy Lucky McKee's movies and I enjoy Angela Bettis's work, so what's a movie lover to do? I suppose we'll find out when that day comes. Until then, I'm going to stay away from the cannibal's and let the zombie's do the flesh chewing.
When I made my decision to go back to school, it was a big deal. When I made my decision to enter the Medical Assistant program, I had my concerns about the math involved and giving injections. When I started school and realized that I would also have to be dissecting a cow eyeball and performing EKG's to people with their shirts off, I got really nervous. Having completed all of these tasks and having little to no problem with any of them, I felt pretty good. I was able to do them all because of a decision I made to overcome any obstacle thrown at me because I wanted to do my absolute best while I was in school. However, once I heard we were going to a cadaver lab and taking apart a human being, I started to second guess my career choice. Here I am now, done with the lab and how do I feel? I am so thankful that I made the decision early on to face all of my fears. I have learned more than I ever could have hoped for by not letting anything hold me back. Granted, it was not the easiest thing to see a body cut wide open and having to take all of the parts out to examine them. But.... I did it and I would do it again. It was an excellent use of $30 and 3 hours of my time. 
I assume most of you have seen a dead body by now. The way it looks like it's made of plastic and fairly pale. Well, this body looked like it was made of plastic, but it also looked like some kind of jerky. I think part of it was the fact that it was a year and a half gone, but the man had also been fairly large.... so when they removed all of the fat, he had a lot of loose skin. His chest was completely removed and just resting on top of his organs. His shoulders and thighs were cut open so you could flip up the skin to view what was underneath. His throat was wide open so you could see everything from his chin on down. His penis was exposed and uncircumcised. We were told that he was in his 80's when he passed. I found out that the myth about hair and nails continuing to grow after death was wrong. Rather that the skin retracts from the nails and hair, so it gives the appearance of growth. Weird. Our guide instructed a couple of people to remove the chest and flip it over to put it on his knees. As it was removed, you could see all of his organs gray and lifeless. There were stringy bits all over the place and it had the look of overcooked pork. At first it was difficult to discern the different parts, but upon closer inspection, things started to take shape. From that point on it was taking one body part out after another. Talking about each one and trying to determine a cause of death. We saw stiches left from open heart surgery. We saw that he had an enlarged heart. We saw where they'd sown up his chest. We saw where an extra artery was attached. It was amazing. Funny thing is that I found it unusual how much his ribs looked like any full slab of ribs I've ever seen. If they'd have had bar-b-q sauce on them, they would have looked appetizing. Soon, his chest cavity was spread out all over his body. We then took a look at the inner workings of his legs and shoulders. We could take out the femur and see how large it is. Then something happened that made me cringe.... our guide took his penis and bent it in the middle and that's when I saw that it was cut in half. You could see all of the veins inside and how the urethra was underneath them. It made the functionality of it all so amazingly clear. Sadly, my penis felt sad or his, but the knowledge I gained made it worth it. Finally, the body was propped up on a neck brace and the skull cap was removed. There was no brain inside and there were little pins stuck into the pituitary, the optic nerves and the eye sockets. It was kind of bizarre that you could look inside someone else's head, literally. 
it's hard to find an original twist on an old theme anymore.... and the old zombie/virus/outbreak movie is one of the hardest to find something fresh.... but 'Pontypool' succeeds at the task.... it doesn't carry it far enough to make this movie hold up until the end, but it caught my attention from the get-go and held it for quite a while.... Stephen McHattie does a wonderful job as the lead character of Mazzy, the radio shock jock who's reporting the violent outbreaks occuring in the town.... he had the perfect voice of a radio personality and he's always interesting to watch as an actor, i can't seem to take my eyes off of him while he's working.... the script was fairly well thought out and paced.... i think my biggest problems with this movie was the explanation of the outbreak and the way it all ended.... i'm all for an attempt at something new, but this concept was pretty far fetched and unusual.... the way the virus works is that it's tramsmitted through speech.... ie: the person hears certain things and that sets the virus in action and makes the person violent and they begin attacking others.... therefore, Mazzy, who's reporting the story is also the one causing it.... that presents a difficult scenario for the people at the radio station, report the news or let it happen and avoid spreading it further.... here's the full synopsis from 
the "slaughter" they're referring too is only seen, roughly, once.... there is an extended scene where some of the infected attack the station and get inside.... that's it, nothing else really happens with the "zombies".... i think that was something else that kind of bummed me out.... when i watch a movie like this, i usually expect more "zombie" action.... so if you're going to go the "zombie" route, either include lots of outbreak victims or none.... don't tease.... i went with a 3 out of 5 star rating for this one.... it's not great, but it's not terrible.... it has its good points, but it also has its bad points.... it's not OnDemand right now, so you'll have to rent it or track it down somewhere.... there are many other movies of this type out there that are better, but this is a decent little time waster.... i just wish it had a stronger ending and would have maintained a healthier pace.... and that's all i have to say about that.... now you know, the rest of the story.
i'm sorry if anyone that was involved in this movie reads this blog and is offended.... but did you ever think that this was honestly going to be a good movie....? really....?!?! and after all is said and done, it's too late to go back now and get my wasted time back.... take it as a lesson learned, "If the movie poster looks like it was made on MS Paint, it's probably a strong indicator that the movie itself will be made with the same level of craftmanship."
i had somewhat high hopes for this movie.... the reviews were generally positive, the plot sounded somewhat interesting and i had nothing better to do.... i really should have found something better to do.... i really should have.... this movie was terrible.... i don't even have enough words to describe how awful this was.... it started out okay, but it's like a piece of chicken sitting out in the hot sun for three days.... it went from okay to putrid and rotted.... it's been awhile since i've seen a movie with such a lame ending.... and just when i thought it was done, it got worse.... it was almost as if they wanted to prove how bad they could make it if they tried.... i'm sure it made their mothers proud.... sadly, it just made me sad.... 
i suggest you avoid this one.... no matter how curious you are about it, trust me, it's just not worth it.... i can't wash out my eyes or my brain.... 1 out of 5 stars and the only star that i gave this was for the short running time.... how do these things continually get made....? 
honestly, i had to watch this twice.... i was so exhausted the first go around, that i had to stop it because i didn't want to fall asleep.... in hindsight, i'm glad i made that decision.... the second time around i was able to fully focus on the storyline and enjoy it.... this is not the best French horror film i've seen this year, but it's still quite a bit better than most of the other horror movies i've watched, American or otherwise.... it is shot beautifullyand the creature effects are superb.... the sets and locations are amazing and it has a strong beginning, middle and end.... if anything i could say that's bad about this....? it's that it does slow down a bit too much in the 2nd act.... if you're not 100% committed to the viewing experience than you may lose interest.... but if you can hold on, you will be satisfied by the end.... this is a one off film in my opinion.... it would lessen it to make a sequel.... i can't say that i'll own this one, unless i find a really good deal on it someday.... however, i am glad that it finally found it's way into my DVD player so i could enjoy a short trip from reality.... i gave it a 3 out of 5 star reception and wonder if it might get better with repeated viewings....? it is only available to rent at this time.... i think that it's worth it.... just be well rested before you settle in for this dark little gem.
i was requested to have another way to be notified of updates on here.... so i've created a Facebook page for this blog.... it's a way for you to get updates, connect with other readers and to share this blog with anyone who'll listen.... the link is: 
alright.... so now what....? i'm in the middle of a movie that i'm not really enjoying but for some reason, i can't turn it off.... i don't know that i can even feel good about rating it, until it's over.... but i'm pretty sure we're looking at a 1 out of 5 star effort and a movie that i won't ever need to see again, unless i run out of Advil PM.... are we on the same page....? 
this film set the standard for many films to follow.... it's use of German expressionist background sets.... the state of the art make-up effects.... the great backdrops that create the feeling of something larger than just a soundstage.... the over the top dramatic acting.... and of course, the monster.... what's not to like about this film....? it is a bit dated and some of the effects are laughable by todays standards, but when i think of some of the horrific CGI i see in movies today i would prefer what they made work back in the 30's.... this film is expertly shot.... almost every frame of the film looks like a photograph that you could hang on the wall.... the story is universal.... and you can't help but feel a bit sad for the monster.... he's just a mere victim of circumstance.... he was given when life should not have been given.... and he is merely acting on his most animal instincts.... he doesn't seem to know any other way to act then by doing what a trapped animal would do.... i should also point out the scene with the little girl by the lake.... it is frightening still today.... what starts out as a harmless back and forth between the monster and the little girl, soon goes horribly wrong and results in tragedy.... once again proving that the monster is merely acting on instinct or rather re-acting....