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Top Films That Went Straight To Video

February 26, 2013 by Myko

As rare and ridiculous as it seems in today’s frenzied dog-eat-dog world, we’ve all been in that situation where we end up with a free night with nothing to do and nowhere to go. With no other alternatives presenting themselves, we end up ordering some take-out and dropping by the video store or something.

 

At the video store, however, your options suddenly take a turn for the seemingly endless, with rows and rows of films you haven’t seen yet. Your first instinct would be to reach out for the latest film you missed on the big screen, but why not give those straight-to-video flicks a chance? Not everything on the big screen is gold, y’know.  And not everything that goes straight to video is crap. Here are some examples:

 

DC Animated Films

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If you’re a comicbook fan, you already know how awesome Warner/DC’s animated video offerings are. From the Batman titles like Under the Red Hood, Year One, Gotham Knight, and The Dark Knight Returns to the other heroes such as Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, and of course Superman, DC’s animated offerings are some of the best direct to video titles around.

 

 

The Boondock Saints

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An action-packed tale of two brothers who take it to themselves to rid their city of the mafia, The Boondock Saints is without a doubt one of the best straight to video films on the market spawning a cult following, a seque,l and a ton of movie merchandise. The film stars Willem Dafoe, Sean Patrick Flanery, and Norman Reedus.

 

 

Interstate 60

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A trippy adventure of self-discovery and much metaphysical existential awareness. With superb casting (James Marsden, Amy Smart, Gary Oldman, Christopher Lloyd, Kurt Russell, Michael J. Fox) and a clever storyline, Interstate 60 is sure to amuse.

 

As it is, the quality of films that make it to the silver screen and those that go straight to video still remain greatly varied – with hits and misses from both sides. If you’re not going to be watching on the big screen anyway, you might as well give straight-to-video a shot – or even hook up with TV service providers such as GetDirectTV.org.

 

About the guest author:

Matt is a real homebody who thrives in front of the couch and is an advocate of the equal treatment of film reels and DVDs.

Thor 2 Getting Script Rewrite

January 11, 2012 by Will Pease

Thor was one of the more accomplished superhero movies last year. Okay, the bar I may have set is low but you’ll be surprised with how many superhero movies still manages to fail to meet the standards I’ve set (I’m looking at you Wolverine).

I loved the fact that Thor was directed by accomplished actor/director Kenneth Branagh, who is actually a personal idol of mine. He engaged me with his tactic to inject a little Shakespearean tragedy to the Thor movie, which other directors would have ignored. Unfortunately, he won’t be back for the sequel. [Read more…]

Movie Review: Solomon Kane

August 6, 2010 by Jacob

Solomon Kane, from the title alone, evokes the same mental image as “Alan Quatermain” or “Abraham Van Helsing” – either the movie will be about a swashbuckling hero or a sage protagonist with a wealth of knowledge used to help others.

But Solomon Kane is neither of these fictional characters. Based on the character created by pulp writer Robert E. Howard, Solomon Kane is a wandering puritan who lived in the 17th century and whose goal is to vanquish evil wherever he encounters it. The character appeared in many stories in Weird Tales, the seminal title that brought many high quality pulp horror stories.

I am not thoroughly familiar with Solomon Kane as a character so I’ll base this review solely on what I have seen in the movie and based on what I have just seen, Solomon Kane is a character that should really be given as much focus as the other comic book characters enjoying the adoration of the public.

Solomon Kane revisits the same familiar tropes of faith and repentance but given a deliberate Hollywood polish of expansive cinematography and special effects. Michael J. Bassett, who both wrote and directed the movie, tried to do his best to cram as much of Solomon Kane’s origins in order to give the audience a heftier idea of why he seeks redemption. As “origin” movies go, Bassett also had to contend with trying to cram in as much background story as he could without eating up too much of his available screen time. It’s a worthwhile effort and I feel that even though he has not fully achieved his goal, it was still a passable effort that gave us a good glimpse of Solomon Kane before he repented and began his quest for the deliverance of his soul.

Luckily, Bassett had a very capable actor in James Purefoy who injected just enough pathos in his performance that by the middle of the movie, the audience really roots for him. It is quite easy to ham it up in a movie like this but Purefoy managed to evade this easy trap. His Kane is fractured, conflicted and tortured but there is a nobility that shines through and a goodness that emerges naturally in his performance. Speaking of actors, I was quite happy to see the great Pete Postlethwaite as the well-meaning William Crowthorn. Actors like him always give any movie a worthwhile sheen and as always he delivers here. I feel that Jason Flemyng is thoroughly underused as the villain Malachai. His screen time is just not enough.

The cinematography was a bit hit and miss. I don’t know if it was the copy that I was viewing but there were some scenes that were a bit too poorly lighted. But it’s undeniable that Bassett has a great eye. There were some gorgeous scenes that would put to shame most of the hacks in Hollywood — which makes me wonder why Bassett is not being given more high profile projects. Solomon Kane is loads better than the very poorly made Van Helsing. To compare him to Stephen Sommers is an insult to Bassett.

I am also a bit underwhelmed by the movie’s ending. You get this feeling of wanting more but from the looks of it, it seems that the people behind the movie are hoping to make a franchise out of it. Hopefully, the movie has performed well enough to actually merit a sequel.

All in all, Solomon Kane is one of those action/fantasy movies that are not being noticed because it doesn’t have the pull of an A-list actor. But I think the beauty of this movie is precisely the fact that it is not totally consumed by Hollywood’s touch. Fantasy/action fans would be well advised to check this movie out.

Rating: B+

Whedon to helm Avengers movie

April 14, 2010 by Will Pease

Joss Whedon’s projects on TV always gets bad breaks. Almost all of them have been cancelled or scrapped by TV execs. The latest casualty of this spate of bad luck is Dollhouse, which starred Eliza Dushku. It’s a shame really because Whedon is a true maverick and one of the most exciting talents working on TV and Film today. In a perfect world, he should be right up there with JJ Abrams as celebrated wunderkinds.

It’s a good thing that Whedon is not lacking in offers. Word is that he has been chosen as the director for The Avengers. He was initially rumored to be in the short list for directors but it looks like he’s got it in the bag. The movie is expected to be released on May 4, 2012.

I’m pretty sure Whedon is going to have a lot of fun directing this movie and he’s going to bring all he’s got in order to make the fans happy.

Johnston talks Cap

April 13, 2010 by Will Pease

Chris Evans was recently announced as the actor chosen to play the role of Captain America in the movie The First Avenger: Captain America.

Director Joe Johnston chimed in about the casting choice, especially since Evans also played The Human Torch. Johnston said that with the way the movie is written, Steve Rogers (Captain America) will be shown before and after he is given the super soldier serum. Rogers is originally a mere 98 pounds and very lanky. But the transformation turns him into the perfect human being. But instead of hiring two people, Johnston said that Evans will play both roles but he was mum on how exactly they will do it.

I’m guessing that they will probably use the same technology employed in making The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

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