The B-Movie Film Vault GENRE WATCH!

Genre Watch: July 2010 (Week of 07/18 – 07/24)

Vault Master — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 05:35:47 +0000

Ack, I just can’t seem to keep up with all the genre releases as the weeks go by, but I refuse to give up! Welcome to another edition of the B-Movie Film Vault’s very own Genre Watch! My apologies for not updating for the last two weeks; I got a bit busy, plus I spent all this past weekend in Rochester, NY at “Fright-Rags Weekend” where I caught screenings of The Fog, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, The Monster Squad, and Night of the Creeps, plus met veteran actor Tom Atkins (again!) and Monster Squad / Creeps director Fred Dekker! What a fantastic weekend it was! In any case, its back to the daily grind for yours truly, so here’s the list of releases for this week:

(All DVDs and Blu-ray discs that are mentioned in this article hit store shelves on Tuesday, July 20th. All theatrical films mentioned here will be released in theaters on Friday, July 23rd, 2010!)

VAULT MASTER’S TOP DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS:

Forbidden World (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics) [DVD & Blu-ray] – Shout! Factory continues its sterling record with its latest batch of Roger Corman Cult Classics on DVD and Blu-ray! In Forbidden World, a bounty hunter named Mike Colby is called to planet Xarbia by scientists in order to track down and capture a genetically created monstrosity known as “Subject 20.” I personally haven’t seen this particular Corman classic, but it sounds like a fun one! The DVD and Blu-ray boast an all new Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1) transfer of the film’s theatrical version, the Unrated Director’s Cut (featured in a 4:3 fullscreen ratio), an audio commentary for the director’s cut with Director Allan Holzman, an interview with Producer Roger Corman, interviews with cast & crew (including Director Allan Holzman, Composer Susan Justin, and Actor Jesse Vint), a special effects featurette (featuring John Carl Buechler, Robert Skotak, Tony Randel And R. Christopher Biggs), a poster & still gallery, and finally a theatrical trailer! Wow! That is a lot of love for a film that even diehard Corman fans may not be too familiar with! Keep up the great work Shout! Factory!

Galaxy of Terror (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics) [DVD & Blu-ray] – The crew of a spaceship (Robert Englund, Sid Haig, et al.!) come face to face with thier worst fears when answering a distress call on the planet Morganthus. Once again, Shout! Factory has outdone themselves. Look at this ridiculous list of features for this cult classic: cast & crew commentary, five featurettes, cast interviews, theatrical trailers, extensive photo galleries (featuring production photos, posters, and designs), original screenplay (PDF format), theatrical trailer with audio commentary by Writer/Director Joel Olsen, and…. more? Egads! I need to get my paws on this disc!

The Losers [DVD & Blu-ray] – A special forces unit is sent on a search-and-destroy mission in Bolivia, only to be double crossed and left for dead. Once they regroup, they put their skills and training to the test and seek vengeance for the attempt on their life. The DVD of The Losers comes with a featurette entitled “Zoe and The Losers.” The Blu-ray as that same featurette, plus two more featurettes, a deleted scene, and a first look at Batman: Under the Red Hood. I’ve heard good things about this movie, so I’ll most likely give it a rental before I throw down twenty bucks for it.

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THIS WEEK’S CULT BLU-RAY RELEASES:
Being Human: Season 1
Evil Aliens (Unrated & Theatrical Edition)
* Forbidden World (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics)
* Galaxy of Terror (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics)
Kurokami: The Animation Vol. 2
Legends of the Dark Kings: The Fist of the North Star
* The Losers
Mother
Rin: Daughters of Mnemosyne: The Complete Series
Tin Man (2-disc Collector’s Edition)

THIS WEEK’S CULT DVD RELEASES:
2001 Maniacs: Field of Screams
Air Movie S.A.V.E
Altitude Falling
Barking Dogs Never Bite
The Bong Joon-Ho Collection (The Host, Mother, Barking Dogs Never Bite)
Being Human: Season 1
Bleach, Vol. 30
Courage the Cowardly Dog: Season 1
El Chupacabre: Las Entrevistas Perdido
* Forbidden World (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics)
* Galaxy of Terror (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics)
Kurokami 2
Legends of the Dark Kings: The Fist of the North Star
* The Losers
Mother
My Bride is a Mermaid: Season One, Part One
Night of the Living Heads
Ninja’s Creed
Shuffle! The Complete Series (Viridian Collection)
Super Friends!: Season 1, Vol. 2
Sutures
A Town Called Panic
Vampire Knight 1
Wrath of the Titans (Special Edition)
Zombies Unleashed

THIS WEEK’S NEW THEATRICAL RELEASES:
Valhalla Rising – This one is playing in LA and NY only. I’ve actually seen this movie and let me tell you… as awesome as Mads Mikkelsen is as “One Eye,” this movie is pretty terrible. It has moments of shocking brutality, but these only serve as high points in an otherwise boring Viking tale that yearns to be something epic. Check it out if you’re curious, but otherwise avoid it and see something else.

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Well that’s it for this week cult movie fans! Its a pretty decent week all in all, but really pales in comparison to the mountain of awesome heading our way next week! Next Tuesday (July 27th) boasts a multitude of awesome DVD & Blu-ray releases including: Death Kappa, Puppet Master: Axis of Evil, Night of the Living Dead: Re-Animated, The Prowler, Ip Man, and Batman: Under the Red Hood. Also be on the lookout for the awful remake of Clash of the Titans (read my review here) and absolutely nothing worthwhile in movie theaters! For the full list of genre releases, check back next week for another edition of The B-Movie Film Vault Genre Watch! (No really, it will be posted! I guarantee it!) – The Vault Master

Genre Watch: June – July 2010 (Week of 06/27 – 07/03)

Vault Master — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 05:36:47 +0000

Greetings and welcome to yet another weekly dose of The B-Movie Film Vault’s GENRE WATCH. Last week was a huge letdown, but this week is chock full of the cult films you guys and gals crave! One thing you may notice is that a slew of Asian horror flicks and thrillers make up a good chunk of the DVD releases for this week. You may also notice that theaters nationwide are giving you two ways to waste your precious time and money this weekend, so you may just want to hold off on seeing something on the big screen until next weekend (Predators will be out! Woohoo!). Here is the somewhat impressive list of genre releases you can find in stores this week:

(All DVDs and Blu-ray discs that are mentioned in this article hit store shelves on Tuesday, June 29th. All theatrical films mentioned here will be released in theaters on Friday, July 2nd, 2010!)

VAULT MASTER’S TOP DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS:

The Navy vs. the Night Monsters [DVD] – A forgotten bad movie classic finally makes its way to DVD, courtesy of Cheezy Flicks Entertainment! An army of nocturnal acid-secreting tree monsters threatens humanity and the United States Navy is tasked with defeating the creeping “coffee mugs of doom.” This movie is hilariously bad, and the first (and last) time I saw it, it was being heckled by the Mistress of the Dark herself, Elvira. I’m glad it is finally available to he public, though I have to wonder if the film transfer will be any good. Then again, the movie was just over ten bucks, so even if its just a lousy VHS transfer, it is definitely not a total loss. Plus, the DVD cover art is great; very reminiscent of classic cult movie posters!

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief [DVD & Blu-ray] – Young Percy Jackson is just an ordinary kid with ordinary problems… oh wait, no he’s not! Percy discovers that he has Olympic parentage and finds himself whisked away to a world alongside our own where creatures and gods from Greek Mythology are the norm! This is a really fun film, with fantastic effects, a good story, and a ton of mythological creatures and I readily recommend it. The DVD has a handful of extras, including five deleted scenes, and a short featurette that covers the creation of the Percy Jackson novel and its author’s surprise at its popularity. The Blu-ray disc comes with quite a bit more and boasts ten deleted scenes, the aforementioned featurette as well as four others that chronicle the making of the film, plus there’s a cool little “Discover Your Powers Quiz” as an added bonus. This is a pretty solid fantasy adventure, and I had no qualms about adding it to my collection.

Predator (Ultimate Hunter Edition) [Blu-ray] – American commandos are sent into the jungles of South America on a mission, only to be hunted down and killed one-by-one, by an alien creature that can render itself invisible. This classic sci-fi actioner finally gets the release it deserves with fully restored audio and video, and a slew of extras, including: Audio commentary with director John McTiernan, textual commentary by film journalist/historian Eric Lichtenfeld, theatrical trailers for Predator and Predator 2, a sneak peek at Robert Rodriguez’ upcoming Predators, plus a multitude of vintage and contemporary featurettes about the making of the film. Though I already had the previous Predator Blu-ray, I just had to upgrade to this, and I can’t wait to pop it into my Blu-ray player!

Uncle Sam [Blu-ray] – After being shot down by friendly fire during the first Gulf War, a dead soldier named Sam Harper comes back to life and terrorizes the unpatriotic citizens of his hometown. This is probably one of William Lustig’s worst films to date, and it is a total shame because this film has so many great actors (P.J. Soles from Halloween; the late and great Isaac Hayes) and a really fun premise. The Blu-ray boasts a beautiful print of the film, as well as DTS-HD 7.1 Surround Sound audio and comes with these extras: Audio commentary by director William Lustig and star Isaac Hayes, audio commentary with William Lustig, writer Larry Cohen, and producer George G. Braunstein, fire stunts with audio commentary by stunt coordinator Spiro Razatos, a deleted scene, theatrical trailer, gag reel, and finally a poster & still gallery! As always, Blue Underground gives a lot of love to a film that many would say, does not deserve it. (Check out my review for Bill Lustig’s Uncle Sam here!)

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THIS WEEK’S CULT BLU-RAY RELEASES:
The Eclipse
Kill Switch
* Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
* Predator (Ultimate Hunter Edition)
* Uncle Sam
Versus (Special Edition) – [Note: Disc release date may yet again be pushed back by Media Blasters.]
Wicked Lake – Director’s Cut (3-disc set)

THIS WEEK’S CULT DVD RELEASES:
The 13 Ghosts of Scooby Doo: The Complete Series
Akiballion: Battlemaids of Akihabara Complete Collection
Basilisk Box Set (Viridian Collection)
Blood on the Highway
Bonnie’s Kids
Burning Paradise
Chain Gang Girls
Death Row Girls
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1913 & 1920 versions)
The Eclipse
Female Prisoner Sigma
Gintama: Collection 2
Initial D: Fourth Stage, Part Two
KIGAI 1 and 2 (Double Feature)
Kirenji Girls’ Combat School Part 1 and 2 (Double Feature)
Makiriko & Buttler Sienne Matrya (Double Feature)
Naruto Uncut Box Set Season 3, Vol. 1
A Nocturne: NIght of the Vampire
* Navy vs. the Night Monsters
The Next Big Thing
Ninja Evolution
Pagan Queen
* Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief
Red vs. Blue – The Blood Gulch Chronicles: The First Five Seasons
Return of the One-Armed Swordsman
Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf
Sandok
Shaolin Prince
Slit Mouth Woman & Zombie Dead (Double Feature)
Snake People
Teenage Hitchhikers
Temptation
Timo Rose’s GAME OVER
Warehouse 13: Season One

THIS WEEK’S NEW THEATRICAL RELEASES:
The Last Airbender – M. Night Shyamalan brings a (somewhat) popular animated show to life in his latest effort to maintain some level of dignity in Hollywood. Truthfully, the effects and action scenes that I saw in the trailer look quite impressive, so I may actually give this movie a look if I travel to a theater this weekend. It beats the Hell out of seeing that new Twilight movie…..

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The Twilight Saga – Eclipse – UGH! We are officially one step closer to ending this cinematic “saga.” Thank the gods. In this third movie Edward and Bella ahm… stare at each other longingly? And then there’s a big brawl between good vamps, bad vamps, and CGI werewolves. And that Jacob kid’s shirt is still off! The film opened Wednesday at midnight and will probably dominate the box office for the next month or so, seeing as how July is filled with non-Summer blockbuster material. Do humanity a favor and skip this movie; either see The Last Airbender this weekend, or just wait until next week to see Predators, which looks to be quite deserving of your ten dollars!

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That’s all there is this week cult movie fans. Next week promises to be far lighter on the genre releases, however there are some noteworthy films worth mentioning. Shout! Factory delivers another quality kaiju DVD release with Gamera vs. Barugon; Jason and the Argonauts (my all-time favorite Harryhausen film) makes its Blu-ray debut; Danny Trejo and company battle tiny killer robots in the fun-looking Eyeborgs; finally, Robert Rodriguez’ Predators arrives on the big screen. I think it looks pretty awesome, and have high hopes for it! Plus, I got a free ticket for buying Predator (Ultimate Hunter Edition) so even if the movie sucks, I’ll still have ten bucks to spare! Have a great Fourth of July weekend b-movie fans; see you next week! – The Vault Master

Genre Watch – June 2010 (Week of 06/20 – 06/26)

Vault Master — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 06:11:11 +0000

Happy 35th Anniversary to JAWS, and Happy Father’s Day to all you b-movie dads out there! Welcome to another installment of the B-Movie Film Vault’s weekly Genre Watch! This is a very sad week for us movie collectors and cult movie aficionados, but the good news is that the amazing Shout! Factory release of Death Race 2000 is finally here! Read on and see the skimpy list of cult movie releases for this week:

(All DVDs and Blu-ray discs that are mentioned in this article hit store shelves on Tuesday, June 22nd. All theatrical films mentioned here will be released in theaters on Friday, June 25th, 2010!)

VAULT MASTER’S TOP DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS:

Death Race 2000 (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics) [DVD & Blu-ray] – In the year 2000, a race is held across the entire continent of the United States, where colorful characters drive deadly cars cross country and attempt to hit people for points! This campy classic from the eternally awesome Roger Corman features early roles for both David Carradine (R.I.P) and Sylvester Stallone, and it is still a ton of fun to watch. Shout! Factory recently acquired the rights to Corman’s catalog of films and has been slowly unleashing amazing editions of his movies for the past few months, and this release is no exception. The DVD and Blu-ray both boast an all new high-def transfer from original film negatives, and each release is packed with extras: Two audio commentaries, interview with cast, crew, score composer, et al., original trailers, TV and radio spots, a twelve-page collectible booklet, and so much more! Yours truly has this bad boy pre-ordered, and I can’t wait for it to arrive on my doorstep later this week!

Guyver: The Complete Collection [Blu-ray] – Back in the 1980s, the original Guyver anime strolled out into the world and kicked all sorts of ass, but sadly, the epic storyline was never completed. Skip ahead to now and the anime has been totally redone and the storyline has finally been finished! (Although the final episode frustratingly opens a new chapter that may never see completion!) This three-disc set contains all twenty-eight episodes of this awesome anime series and features the following extras: Audio commentary for four episodes with voice actors, Guyver fans, and other people involved with the (dubbed) series, “Manga to anime comparisons,” ten-minute long slideshow of production sketches, and “clean opening animation” & “clean closing animation.” I am way too tempted to get this…..

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THIS WEEK’S CULT BLU-RAY RELEASES:
Afro-Samurai: The Complete Murder Sessions
* Death Race 2000 (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics)
* Guyver: The Complete Collection
Riverworld

THIS WEEK’S CULT DVD RELEASES:
Ah My Goddess: Season 2 Box Set (Viridian Collection)
Bleach, Vol. 29
* Death Race 2000 (Roger Corman’s Cult Classics)
Fireball
Gothic Horror Collection Vol. 1 (Nosferatu, Vampyr, & Le Vampire)
Heroic Age: The Complete Series
La Corda D’Oro Primo: Passo: Collection 1
Riverworld
Suzuka: The Complete Series S.A.V.E

THIS WEEK’S NEW THEATRICAL RELEASES:
There’s absolutely nothing out this week that is noteworthy for all you cult movie fanatics. All we get this week are the latest “Happy Madison” production of Grown Ups, featuring Adam Sandler and other actors who used to be funny, and the newest action flick starring Tom Cruise, called Knight and Day. My recommendation is that you ignore these two films, and go see The A-Team; it is fun and completely worth your time!

Yikes! What an awful week for genre releases! Aside from Death Race 2000, this week was a total bust. However, that is not the case with next week’s lineup of DVD, Blu-ray, and theatrical releases. M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender will duel with Twilight: Eclipse for the number one spot in the weekend box office (we all know who will win that fight); Blue Underground is releasing its next major Blu-ray release for the awful Uncle Sam; the lost “classic” Navy vs. the Night Monsters finally makes its way to DVD; The Crazies remake, a new (and awesome-looking) re-release of Predator, and Ryuhei Kitamura’s Versus round out the major digital home video releases for the week. So have no fear b-movie lovers; save your cash this week for next week’s list of awesomeness! – The Vault Master

Genre Watch: June 2010 (Week of 06/13 – 06/19)

Vault Master — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 04:51:11 +0000

Genre Watch (much like Sho’ Nuff, the Shogun of Harlem) is back on the scene, with another dose of cult movie goodness! This is yet another slow week, though admittedly, there’s quite a few good selections hitting DVD and Blu-ray, with The Book of Eli being my main top pick o’ the week. Theatrically, all we have to look forward to is Jonah Hex, which actually looks pretty fun. Read on fellow b-movie fanatics, and see what you can spend your hard earned cash on this week:

(All DVDs and Blu-ray discs that are mentioned in this article hit store shelves on Tuesday, June 15th. All theatrical films mentioned here will be released in theaters on Friday, June 18th, 2010!)

VAULT MASTER’S TOP DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS:

The Book of Eli [DVD & Blu-ray] – A film that proves you can make a movie out of the “Fallout” game series. Denzel Washington stars as Eli in this post-apocalyptic flick, where he protects a sacred book from the evil Gary Oldman. I actually enjoyed this movie a lot, and was totally caught off guard by its twist ending. In fact, I may even pick up a copy this week. I couldn’t find any details on the DVD release, but the 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo release has the following extras: Maximum Movie Mode – 40 minutes of picture in picture commentary featuring Denzel Washington and the Hughes Brothers; “A Lost Tale: Billy” – an animated short covering Carnegie’s backstory; three featurettes about reshaping our world after a global catastrophe, the film’s soundtrack, and the mythological and historical roots behind Eli’s journey respectively.

Communion [DVD] – This extremely odd alien abduction film finally makes its way back to DVD, courtesy of Henstooth Video! Allegedly based on a true story, Christopher Walken portrays Whitley Strieber, a man who has strange dreams and visions of alien beings. Believing he may have been abducted, he seeks out a hypnotherapist to learn the truth. The DVD comes with audio commentary by director Phillipe Mora and William J. Birnes (publisher of UFO Magazine), Outtakes, Behind the Scenes Footage, Stills Gallery, Storyboards, Trailers, an excerpt from “According to Occam’s Razor,” and a brand new audio commentary by director Phillipe Mora! Henstooth Video has truly outdone themselves with this release, so if you wanted to see this movie but didn’t want to pay thirty plus dollars for a copy of the previous out-of-print DVD release, now’s your chance to get your paws on it for a reasonable price!

Darkman [Blu-ray] – Liam Neeson stars as a brilliant scientist named Peyton Westlake. After being horrifically burned in a lab explosion that was caused by a criminal mastermind, Westlake uses his synthetic skin technology and newfound superhuman abilities (e.g. he can’t feel pain and now has overactive adrenal glands that give him above-average human strength) to get revenge against the people who ruined his life! While I am truly happy to see Darkman move into the growing ranks of HD-movies, I am quite appalled that this disc is completely bare bones. What gives Universal? I guess I’ll just stick with my DVD collection for the time being, at least until this Blu-ray disc drops down to ten bucks or less.

Flash Gordon [Blu-ray] – When the evil Emperor Ming from the Planet Mongo decides to obliterate Earth, quarterback Flash Gordon and a motley crew of heroes travel across the galaxy to stop the villainous ruler from succeeding! The Blu-ray has a few cool extras, including an interview with comic book artist Alex Ross, an interview with Flash Gordon screenwriter Lorenzo Semple Jr., and finally, an episode from one of the old Buster Crabbe “Flash Gordon” serials from 1936! All I have to say about this Blu-ray release is….. “FLASH! AHHHahhhhaAHHHHH! Savior of the Uni-verse!”

Showgirls (15th Anniversary Sinsational Edition) [Blu-ray] – Paul Verhoeven’s notorious and critically panned tale of a naive young girl who works her way up to becoming the top Las Vegas showgirl. I’ve never seen it myself, so I can’t pass judgment, but from what I’ve heard, its pretty lousy. If anything, I’d watch it to see Jessie from “Saved by the Bell” nude! Apparently, this Blu-ray is just a visually upgraded version of the Showgirls VIP DVD release from a while back, which features the “unrated” (NC-17) cut of the film. The disc includes these extras: Audio commentary by Showgirls “connoisseur” David Schmader, Showgirls “Fact Up” Trivia, a Showgirls diary, Lap Dance Tutorial, and a featurette entitled “Pole Dancing: Finding Your Inner Stripper.”

Supernatural: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] – Why the Hell did they wait this long before putting the first season out on Blu-ray disc? Oh well, who really cares, because regardless of what format you watch it in, this is a great show regardless. Follow the early adventures of Sam and Dean Winchester as they travel across America and battle demons, monsters, ghosts, and other supernatural creatures! Extras on this set include a Gag Reel, unaired/extended scenes, two featurettes, a panel discussion from the Paley Festival, audio commentaries for several episodes, and a cool feature called “The Devil’s Road Map,” an interactive guide to season one’s urban legends and whatnot! I am a huge fan of this show and heartily recommend that you pick up this set!

Vengeance Trilogy [Blu-ray] – Released a month or two back on DVD, this trilogy of films is guaranteed to totally destroy your expectations and rape your mind. The set features Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance and each disc is PACKED with extras, including trailers, multiple commentaries, behind the scenes footage, storyboards, interviews, and a slew of featurettes! If you’re curious about Asian cinema, this set is a good way to test the waters and see if you have the stomach for it.

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THIS WEEK’S CULT BLU-RAY RELEASES:
* The Book of Eli
* Darkman
* Flash Gordon
* Showgirls (15th Anniversary Sinsational Edition)
The Stepfather (1987)
* Supernatural: The Complete First Season
* Vengeance Trilogy

THIS WEEK’S CULT DVD RELEASES:
30 Years to Life / Survivor
Animals
Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan (Special Dubbed Edition)
* The Book of Eli
Clannad: The Complete Collection
* Communion
The Cyberstalking / Killer Deal
Driller / Driller Killer
Gamera Super Monster (Cinema Insomnia Slime Line)
Haunting in Connecticut
Horror Hospital
The Howling Trilogy (III, V, VI)
Jackie Chan – The Action Pack
The Kid With the Golden Arm
Marked / Lost Souls
Mysterious Island (2005)
Planeta Burr Collection
Riddler’s Moon / Battle Planet
The Shock-O-Rama Horror Collection
Sleazy Sci-Fi of the 1970s
Snakes on a Train / King of the Lost World
Terror Inside
Witchblade Boxed Set (Viridian Collection)
X: The Complete Series

THIS WEEK’S NEW THEATRICAL RELEASES:
Jonah Hex – Josh Brolin stars as Jonah Hex, a bounty hunter with a horrifically scarred face who is hired by the U.S. military to track down a terrorist. Highlights include a sweaty Megan Fox in a corset and dual horse-mounted gatling guns. I never read the comic series that this film is based on, so I didn’t judge the trailer as harshly as some fans of the comics did. Truthfully, I think it looks like a lot of fun and I just may catch a midnight screening of Jonah Hex after work this Thursday night… if there is one that is.

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All things considered, this week wasn’t too bad. However, next week there’s a veritable drought of genre releases. The only DVD (and Blu-ray) release worth mentioning is Shout! Factory’s all new DEATH RACE 2000 disc, which promises audio, video, and extras that will blow away all previous releases of Roger Corman’s classic film. Theatrically……. there’s nothing. Adam Sandler and company try to make us laugh with the same ole jokes in Grown Ups and Tom Cruise pretends to be funny and an action star in Knight and Day. Yeesh! Well, I’ll see you again next week b-movie fans; same Genre Watch time, same Genre Watch channel! – The Vault Master

Genre Watch: June 2010 (Week of 06/06 – 06/12)

Vault Master — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 03:07:38 +0000

My apologies readers for I’ve been busy with other projects online, but fear not, for June 6th marks the TENTH ANNIVERSARY of The B-Movie Film Vault, so I will be updating it like a fiend to celebrate this momentous milestone! Anyway, lets take a gander at the incredibly small list of genre releases this week, which is made all the more embarrassing by the Jackie Chan and the Karate Kids boxed set, which is merely being released to cash in on the awful-looking Karate Kid redo:

(All DVDs and Blu-ray discs that are mentioned in this article hit store shelves on Tuesday, June 8th. All theatrical films mentioned here will be released in theaters on Friday, June 11th, 2010!)

VAULT MASTER’S TOP DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS:

The A-Team: Complete Series (Limited Edition Box Set) [DVD] – This set is merely a repackaging of all five seasons of this classic TV show, so it’s a good buy if you don’t own any, or just one or two of its seasons. The only big difference here, is that the case holding the discs is a replica of the A-Team van! Too cool!

Power Kids [DVD & Blu-ray] – The producers of Ong-Bak and Chocolate give us, what appears to be, another fun Thai action flick. In this film, a group of ass-kicking kids take on terrorists at a hospital, in order to obtain a donor heart for their dying friend. Hmmm…. sounds like 3 Ninjas meets John Q…. I must see this! I couldn’t find any info on the extras, but I’m sure we’ll at least get a trailer on this short (77 minutes?!) family-oriented action flick.

Metal Man [DVD] – An obvious low-budget Iron Man rip-off that came out a tad too late to truly cash in on Marvel’s blockbuster franchise. A young man named Kyle Finn volunteers to pilot a mechanical suit of armor, but gets trapped within it after the suit’s creator is murdered by an evil weapon’s dealer. Naturally, said villain pursues Kyle and terrorizes his loved ones in order to obtain the mech-suit. This actually sounds kind of fun, AND it stars Reggie Bannister, so I think I’d actually give this one a go.

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THIS WEEK’S CULT BLU-RAY RELEASES:
* Power Kids

THIS WEEK’S CULT DVD RELEASES:
* The A-Team: Complete Series (Limited Edition Boxed Set)
Bleach Uncut Boxed Set: Season 5 – The Assault
Bloodlock
Creek
Jackie Chan and the Karate Kids (8-Film Collection
Jack Says
* Metal Man
Ninja Nonsense DVD Collection
* Power Kids
Samurai Deeper Kyo (Litebox)
Tales of the Gold Monkey: Complete Series

THIS WEEK’S NEW THEATRICAL RELEASES:
Splice – Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley play God in this tale of genetics gone awry. After succesfully creating hybrids from various animal species, two scientists decide to “do the unthinkable” and combine human DNA with some hybrid DNA. The result: One angry CGI beastie that eventually must be put down by its “parents.” This one didn’t really click with me, but I’ve heard enough positive buzz to possibly give it a look.

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Wow, what an ultimately disappointing week! You’d think that distributors would crank out hundreds of genre fare to celebrate the Vault’s tenth year online, but I guess not. Next week’s slate of genre releases looks to be a lot better with Darkman making his Blu-ray debut, along with Flash Gordon (AAAAaaaaaAAAH!), The Stepfather (starring Terry O’Quinn), and The Book of Eli. Theatrically we’re getting the dumb, but definitely fun-looking A-Team movie and the “nostalgia-rape” pick of the month: The Karate Kid. Jackie Chan should hang his head with shame! That’s it for now b-movie fans; check back next week for another healthy dose of Genre Watch news! – Vault Master

Genre Watch – May 2010 (Week of 05/09 – 05/15)

Vault Master — Fri, 07 May 2010 19:40:35 +0000

Egads! Has it really been two months since my last Genre Watch post? Wow…. I am so sorry! Truthfully I sort of did that on purpose in order to conquer my addiction to buying and collecting movies. I need every penny I can get right now, and the last thing I need is to be faced with temptation. Sweet, cinematic temptation. [Sigh] Anyway, this is kind of a slow week for genre releases, with a strange focus on “tidal wave” films as well as a sensible fixation on Robin Hood movies. Let’s take a gander at what’s new, shall we?

(All DVDs and Blu-ray discs that are mentioned in this article hit store shelves on Tuesday, May 9th. All theatrical films mentioned here will be released in theaters on Friday, May 15th, 2010!)

VAULT MASTER’S TOP DVD & BLU-RAY PICKS:

Daybreakers [DVD & Blu-ray] – Ahhh… finally a film that breathes new life into the tired genre of vampire films without making it gay. In this entertaining sci-fi / horror movie, vampires have conquered the world and harvest humans for blood. However, blood supplies begin to run low, resulting in chaos in vampiric society, where everyone is degenerating into bat-like monstrosities. Then in steps Willem Dafoe as a vampire hunter with a cure, who teams up with a vamp scientist to stick it to the blood-drinking powers that be. The Blu-ray comes with audio commentary by the directors, the original theatrical trailer, a poster gallery, four “making-of” featurettes, and an early short film from the Spierig brothers. The DVD has most of the same extras, except for three of the featurettes, the short film, and Bonus View animatics comparisons that are exclusive to the Blu-ray release. Daybreakers doesn’t offer up anything truly new or groundbreaking, but it is quite enjoyable, and features some fantastic action scenes and performances. (Sam Neill is one evil bastard!) I definitely recommend this one, so give it a whirl!

Legion [DVD & Blu-ray] – God is mad at humanity and sends down a plague of angels to sow death and destruction and eradicate a child that could very likely save the human race. Michael the arch-angel disagrees with the rest of the heavenly host, and comes down to Earth in a mortal form to protect the child and kick some angelic ass. The concept here is great, but the execution is quite lacking. The human characters are given awkward moments to deliver each of their little backstories, and the plot is a bit too derivative of far better movies (e.g. Terminator and Dogma) Still, there’s enough here to justify watching, including some cool angel-on-angel violence! The Blu-ray disc of Legion contains three featurettes, a digital copy of the film, “Bringing Angels to Earth” picture-in-picture option, movie IQ quiz, and Blu-ray Live exclusive content. The DVD release only contains the aforementioned three “making-of” featurettes.

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THIS WEEK’S CULT BLU-RAY RELEASES:
* Daybreakers
Legend of the Tsunami Warrior
* Legion
Megafault
Tidal Wave

THIS WEEK’S CULT DVD RELEASES:
The Abyss (Special Edition)
Bandit of Sherwood Forest
Billy Owens and the Secret of the Runes
* Daybreakers
Disposal of a Corpse
Essential Arthouse: Kurosawa Collection
Flesh for the Beast Media Mix
Hansel & Gretel
Huntik: The Complete Season
Kid With the Golden Arm
Legend of the Tsunami Warrior
* Legion
Malice in Wonderland
Maneater Triple Feature (Croc / Sea Beast / Swarm)
Prince of Thieves
Rogues of Sherwood Forest
Samurai Harem: Complete Collection
Snatched! Curse of the Pink Panties 2
Sword of Sherwood Forest
Tidal Wave
Tsunami Beach Club
Xenosaga: The Complete Series

THIS WEEK’S NEW THEATRICAL RELEASES:
Robin Hood – Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe team up again to bring us the legend behind Robin Hood. Well, at least that’s what the trailer tells us. Personally, this looks to be a rehash of “Gladiator” set in an entirely different time period. Maybe this is all leading up to some uber-awesome time travel / quantum leap film where Russell Crowe appears across the ages to battle tyranny? Probably not, but a guy can dream.

That’s it for this week b-movie fans! I sincerely apologize for the lack of updates to this blog, but I intend to give it more attention from now on. Stay tuned for next week’s edition of The B-Movie Film Vault’s Genre Watch, which boasts a flood of bargain basement DVDs, as well as (first time!) DVD releases for Gamera and The Navy vs. the Night Monsters (!!!!), and the Blu-ray debut of the space-dragon/Beowulf epic, “Outlander!” Theatrically, the only films you’ll have to pick from are Shrek Forever After (supposedly the final film in this series) and MacGruber, which is essentially a stupid Saturday Night Live parody of MacGyver, now stretched into a feature-length film. If neither of those float your boat, you can always go see A Nightmare on Elm St. or the amazing Iron Man 2! Enjoy your weekend everyone; I’ll see you next week! – Vault Master

Genre Watch: March 2010 (Week of 03/14 – 03/20)

Vault Master — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:17:48 +0000

Greetings cult movie fanatics! My apologies for not posting anything for the last two weeks. I got caught up in getting ready for Monster Mania Con XIV during the first week of March and then left for the convention this past weekend. It was an amazing event and I walked away with a lot of cool collectibles, and many fond memories. You can read all about my adventures at Monster Mania XIV HERE! In any case, here is what you can expect to hit store shelves and theaters this week:

(All DVDs and Blu-ray discs that are mentioned in this article hit store shelves on Tuesday, March 16th. All theatrical films mentioned here will be released in theaters on Friday, March 20th, 2010!)

THIS WEEK’S NOTABLE DVD & BLU-RAY RELEASES:

Astro Boy [DVD & Blu-ray] – A brilliant scientist named Dr. Tenma (Nicholas Cage) creates a robot in the image of his deceased son, Toby. Powered by a special “blue energy” and giving the thoughts and emotions of Tenma’s dead son, “Astro Boy” must save Earth and the fantastical floating paradise of Metro City, from the evil President Stone. Both the DVD and Blu-ray disc contain the same extra features, which include: two all new animated sequences (Astro vs. the Junkyard Pirates), and six featurettes that cover Astro Boy’s leap from comics to the screen. I never really saw the appeal of this anime character, but the movie looks kind of cool; I think I’ll have to give it a look sometime.

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XVII [DVD] – Mike, Joel, and the Bots are back to riff on four more bad movies in this awesome collection, which contains these great episodes: The Crawling Eye (First episode of Season One!!!), The Beatniks, The Final Sacrifice (ROWSDOWER!), and Blood Waters of Dr. Z (a.k.a. ZAAT)! Not one to disappoint, Shout! Factory has loaded up this boxed set with some pretty cool extra features including a special intro to The Crawling Eye by Joel, the “Mystery Science Theater Hour” wraps for The Beatniks, brand new interview with Final Sacrifice star Bruce J. Mitchell (ZAP ROWSDOWER!), “The Main Event: Crow vs. Crow at Dragon-Con 2009″ featurette, Blood Waters of Dr. Z photo gallery, original trailers and promos, and (most likely) a set of four mini-posters for each movie in the set! File this under must own and order yourself a copy today before the price goes up, or worse yet, before it goes out of print!

Ninja Assassin [DVD & Blu-ray] – An orphan named Raizo (Korean pop-star “Rain”) is taken in by a ninja clan and trained in their deadly arts. However, Raizo decides to leave the clan, making him enemy number one, leading to numerous and bloody ninja battles full of CGI blood. The DVD comes with deleted scenes from the film, while the Blu-ray boasts deleted scenes, exlusive BD-Live content, and three featurettes (Training Rain, The Myth and Legend of Ninjas, The Extreme Sport of a Ninja). I heard a lot of negative stuff about this movie, but now that it is available methinks its time to give it a rental!

Pontypool [Blu-ray] – This pseudo-zombie film finally makes its Blu-ray debut! Stephen McHattie plays a radio DJ in the tiny Canadian town of Pontypool where a sudden “language infection” is turning people into mindless killers. It’s a very original horror film, and I highly recommend it, if only because of Stephen McHattie’s fantastic performance. The new Blu-ray release of course offers superior audio and video quality, and comes with these cool extras: Audio commentary by director Bruce MacDonald and screenwriter Tony Burgess, the original theatrical trailer, a teaser trailer, stills gallery, “Pontypool: The Radio Drama!,” and two short horror films entitled “Eve” and “Dada Dum.”

Quatermass 2: The 1955 BBC Television Version [DVD] – Professor Bernard Quatermass battles aliens that have infiltrated the British government in this classic serial from 1955! I believe this is the first time it has ever been available (in the U.S. at least), and as of my typing this, the entire 188-minute serial is sold out at Amazon! Craziness! If you are a fan of British sci-fi or enjoy old school sci-fi serials, this is a must own!

Vengeance Trilogy [DVD] – DVD collection featuring Park Chan-wook’s Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, and Lady Vengeance. This is a whopping eight-disc set and comes packed with awesome special features including audio commentaries, multiple documentaries and featurettes, trailers, photo galleries, a collectible booklet, and more!

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THIS WEEK’S CULT BLU-RAY RELEASES:
* Astro Boy
The Fourth Kind
Gunslinger Girl: Complete First Season
Gunslinger Girl II: Teatrino
* Ninja Assassin
* Pontypool
Twilight Saga: New Moon (Available on Saturday, March 20th)

THIS WEEK’S CULT DVD RELEASES:
The Aborted
* Astro Boy
Blood Feud
Blurried Realities: American Zombie / The Hole Story / American Shopper
Challenge the Dragon
Cinema Insomnia: Super Wheels
D.C. Sniper
Death Journey
Do Not Disturb
Eugene
The Fourth Kind
Hot Rod Girls Save the World
The Italian Zombie Movie Double Feature
Mean Johnny Barrows: Uncut Director’s Edition
* Mystery Science Theater 3000: Volume XVII
Night of the Jackals
* Ninja Assassin
* Quatermass II – 1955 BBC Television Version)
Shogun’s Ninja (16 x 9 Widescreen version)
The Sky Has Fallen
Slayers Revolution: Complete Fourth Season
South Park: Season 13
Twilight Saga: New Moon (Available Saturday, March 20th)
* Vengeance Trilogy

THIS WEEK’S NEW THEATRICAL RELEASES:
Repo Men – Wow, Hollywood has gotten to the point where they are starting to remake recent movies. I can understand retreads of films like The Crazies that are dated and can definitely be improved upon, but what the hell is the point of remaking a movie that is only two years old? In any case, this redo of Repo! The Genetic Opera features Jude Law and Forest Whitaker as gun-toting futuristic repo-men who reclaim organs from people that have failed to keep up on their payments. Naturally, Jude Law’s character ends up getting a heart from his company, but can no longer do his job (probably because he’s now just like the “clients” he reaps organs from), and ends up getting chased by his former employers. I really don’t have any major interest, but it looks like it could be a decent movie. Had this been a remake of the 1984 Emilio Estevez classic, Repo Man, I probably would give it a go, but as it stands, this movie is just going to be a future DVD rental for yours truly.

This is the biggest release slate of cult movies we’ll see for a while guys and gals, because the next few weeks are looking pretty bare. Next week’s DVD highlights include Volume 4 of the immensely popular After Dark Horrorfest (yes, there are once again, eight movies to die for) and Red Cliff a period piece set in China during the “Three Kingdoms Period.” Theatrically you can look forward to Dreamworks’ latest CGI family film, How to Train Your Dragon and the new (hopefully funny) time travel comedy, Hot Tub Time Machine. Check back next week for yet another edition of the fiendishly useful B-Movie Film Vault Genre Watch! – Vault Master

Genre Watch: February 2010 (Week of 02/21 – 02/27)

Vault Master — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 06:33:28 +0000

Egads! I can’t believe this month is just about over, can you? Greetings once again cult movie lovers; here is the final batch of genre releases for the month of February 2010. This is actually an OK week for us, with a good variety of DVDs & Blu-rays plus one (hopefully) good remake in theaters. Here’s what we get:

(All DVDs and Blu-ray discs that are mentioned in this article hit store shelves on Tuesday, February 21st. All theatrical films mentioned here will be released in theaters on Friday, February 27th, 2010!)

THIS WEEK’S NOTABLE DVD & BLU-RAY RELEASES:

The Crazies [Blu-ray] – Bill Lustig’s Blue Underground DVD label releases one of George Romero’s few non-zombie films on Blu-ray, just in time for the snazzy-looking Hollywood remake. A military cargo plane carrying a deadly virus crashes near a small town, leading to mass hysteria, murder, and major societal breakdown. Will the military manage to keep the “Trixie” virus contained? Will a small group of survivors struggle through the blockades to freedom? You’ll just have to watch and see! The Blu-ray boasts an all new high-def transfer taken from the original film stock (so there’s no reason it shouldn’t look more amazing than Blue Underground’s already impressive DVD release) and comes with these features: Audio commentary by Director George A. Romero, TV Spots, Trailers, and an interview featurette entitled The Cult Film Legacy of Lynn Lowry. Suspiciously missing from the Blu-ray (as far as I’ve seen) are the poster & still gallery and George Romero biography that were on the previous DVD release of The Crazies. It’s not like the movie and other extras take up the entire disc, so what gives?

Dead Snow [DVD & Blu-ray] – Finally, this hilarious and fun zombie action / comedy comes to DVD & Blu-ray for non-Blockbuster Video consumers! A motley crew of friends go up to a secluded skiing cabin and run afoul of an army of flesh-eating zombie Nazis! Hilarity and over-the-top violence ensue! I rented this film a few months back and it was definitely far more entertaining than I could have imagined. I am quite excited that it is finally available and highly recommend this foreign zombie film. Both the DVD and Blu-ray (which naturally has better picture and sound) apparently have the same exact extras, which include trailers, outtakes, and no less than five making-of featurettes that chronicle the film’s creation, its troubled shoot, and its eventual screening at the Sundance Film Festival.

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead [Blu-ray] – Lloyd Kaufman’s irreverent and highly unpolitically correct horror/comedy/musical which follows a dorky fast food employee named Arby, who takes up a position at a newly christened fast food shop that was built atop an ancient Indian burial ground. This film is sleazy, offensive, repulsive, and I freakin’ love it! The Troma crew makes no apologies for its antics and dishes out the sort of jokes, sex, and gore that we’ve come to expect from them. The new Blu-ray release of Poultrygeist features serviceable audio and video (c’mon guys, this is really the best you could do for your first official Blu-ray release?), but makes up for that with a buttload of extras. Check out this review from Blu-ray.com to get the skinny on the impressive list of special features!

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THIS WEEK’S CULT BLU-RAY RELEASES:
The Box
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant
* The Crazies (1973)
* Dead Snow
Ichi the Killer
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths
* Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead
Sorority Row

THIS WEEK’S CULT DVD RELEASES:
The Alcove
Beyond Sherwood Forest
Bleach, Vol. 25
Blood for the Muse [The Omega Edition]
The Box
Brides of Blood
The Caretaker
Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant
Dairugger Collection One
* Dead Snow
Fernando Arrabal Collection 2
Horror of the Blood Monsters
The Internecine Project
Justice League: Crisis on Two Earths [Single disc and 2-disc editions]
The Last Grenade
Maria-Holic: Complete Collection
Meteor Apocalypse
The Mikels’ Bloodbath Collection
Quickies
Ryuji the Yakuza
Satan’s Sadists
Sorority Row
Spaghetti Western Bible, Vol. 4: Trinity
Taxi Hunter
Tower of Druaga: Part Two – The Sword of Uruk

THIS WEEK’S NEW THEATRICAL RELEASES:
The Crazies – A viral outbreak in a small town turns victims into crazed (almost zombi-like) killers. The military quickly moves in and cordons off the town and puts the warring populace under quarantine. Naturally the sh*t hits the fan and normal survivors find themselves fighting a two-front war against their bloodthirsty neighbors and a trigger-happy military. This movie looks like it’ll be fun and scary and I expect it to be far superior to the 1973 George Romero classic. (Especially if they actually use Gary Joules’ “Madworld” in the soundtrack.) Hell or high water, you can bet I’ll be seeing this on Friday.

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Defendor – SON OF A BITCH! This is only playing in Los Angeles with no word on a wider release. That really ticks me off because this looks like a great spoof of superhero films. Woody “I was awesome in Zombieland” Harrelson plays a simple-minded fellow who dresses up as a superhero at night and sweeps the streets in search of the elusive (and fictional) villain, Captain Industry. I want to see this movie so badly, but only you lucky folks in LA will get the chance to enjoy it this weekend. For that, you get my envy and my loathing.

Well that’s it for this month b-movie fans. Next week ushers us into the month of March which can come in like a lion and go out like a lamb or vice versa. And according to what I’ve read, the cult movie releases are charging in like a (Nemean!) lion! Next week boasts a damned good list of DVD & Blu-ray releases (The Wraith gets a nice Special Edition DVD; Clash of the Titans hits Blu-ray as does The Neverending Story) and Tim Burton’s odd-looking Alice in Wonderland arrives in theaters to enchant (i.e. give nightmares to) a whole generation of children! That’s it for this edition of Genre Watch, so check back next week for the full list of flicks that you cult movie fans will drool over! – Vault Master

Genre Watch: February 2010 (Week of 02/14 – 02/20)

Vault Master — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 10:02:49 +0000

Greetings b-movie fans and a Happy (belated) Valentine’s Day to you! This week is pretty rough all around, with barely anything worth mentioning coming to DVD and Blu-ray. Theatrically, your newest choice is Leo DiCaprio’s new mystery/thriller, so you may just want to fall back on last week’s new releases or just wait until The Crazies comes out next Friday. Here’s what’s new:

(All DVDs and Blu-ray discs that are mentioned in this article hit store shelves on Tuesday, February 16th. All theatrical films mentioned here will be released in theaters on Friday, February 19th, 2010!)

THIS WEEK’S NOTABLE DVD & BLU-RAY RELEASES:

Black Dynamite [DVD & Blu-ray] – Michael Jai White (star of the awful live-action Spawn movie) redeems his entire career with this hilarious parody of blaxploitation cinema! Kung-fu cop Black Dynamite fights to get “smack” off the streets and stop a madman from giving all the black men of America “Little Richards.” From start to finish this movie is a laugh riot and I can’t recommend it enough! The DVD of Black Dynamite has an audio commentary by the director and cast, deleted & alternate scenes, and two featurettes. The Blu-ray has all of those extras plus one additional featurette and BD-Live content.

Dragonball Z: Dragon Box 2 [DVD] – Season two of the popular Dragonball Z anime. This newly released set has all the episodes from season two, now newly remastered and fully uncut. The set comes with a 48-page collector’s booklet and as far as I know is otherwise barebones.

Halo Legends [DVD & Blu-ray] – This eight-episode anthology chronicles the adventures of Master Chief and his fellow Spartan warriors as they battle the invading forces of The Covenant. The DVD comes in single-disc and two-disc special editions, the latter of which contains an audio commentary by the film makers, a making of featurette, and the “Halo Evolved” featurette which chronicles the birth and rise of the Halo game series. The Blu-ray contains all of those extras, plus has an additional featurette entitled “Halo: The Story So Far.”

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THIS WEEK’S CULT BLU-RAY RELEASES:
* Black Dynamite
Claymore: Complete Series Box Set
* Halo Legends
Heroic Age: Complete Series
Ran

THIS WEEK’S CULT DVD RELEASES:
13Teen
20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope
* Black Dynamite
Case Closed: The Phantom of Baker Street Movie
* Dragonball Z: Dragon Box Two
* Halo Legends
Hellhounds
Melies Encore: 26 Additional Rare and Original Films by the First Wizard of Cinema (1896 – 1911)
Naruto Uncut Box Set: Season Two, Vol. 1
Ninja Assassins: 4-Film Set
Phantom Racer
Quiet Nights of Blood and Pain
Red Hook
Scooby-Doo: Abracadabra Doo
She’s Crushed
Spectacular Spider-Man 6
Spectacular Spider-Man 7
To Love-Ru: Collection 2
Zorro and the Scarlet Whip Revealed

THIS WEEK’S NEW THEATRICAL RELEASES:
Shutter Island – Leonardo Dicaprio stars as U.S. Marshall Teddy Daniels, a federal officer that is seeking out the whereabouts of an alleged murderess that escaped the mysterious and creepy “Shutter Island.” This is supposed to be a pretty good mystery/thriller, but truthfully I have no interest in seeing it. If you need a horror or fantasy fix, you can still spend your money on Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief or The Wolfman. PS – Ben Kingsley is obviously the villain of Shutter Island. Watch the trailer and tell me otherwise.

Yeah, this is a pretty lousy weak for us cult movie fans, but fear not for next week is… slightly better! The Crazies hits the big screen (while the George Romero original makes its Blu-ray debut), the Woody Harrelson superhero comedy Defendor makes its big screen debut (in Los Angeles only?! Damn it!), and we get a decent, though still disappointing release slate of cult DVDs and Blu-rays (Dead Snow, Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, et al.). Check back next week, same Genre Watch time, same Genre Watch channel to get further details! – Vault Master

Genre Watch: February 2010 (Week of 02/07 – 02/13)

Vault Master — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 04:50:14 +0000

Hello b-movie fans and welcome to the pre-Valentine’s Day edition of The B-Movie Film Vault Genre Watch. I’d like to tell you that there’s plenty of stuff coming out that would make a great gift for the cult movie fanatic in your life, but sadly this is a lousy week for DVD & Blu-ray releases. Luckily we get two cool flicks in theaters that would be perfect date movies for folks like us. Here’s what to expect:

(All DVDs and Blu-ray discs that are mentioned in this article hit store shelves on Tuesday, February 9th. All theatrical films mentioned here will be released in theaters on Friday, February 12th, 2010!)

THIS WEEK’S NOTABLE DVD & BLU-RAY RELEASES:

Dante’s Inferno [DVD & Blu-ray] – Based upon the highly-anticipated game God of War 3 err… I mean, Dante’s Inferno, this new anime feature tells the tale of a knight named Dante who charges blindly through the nine layers of Hell in order to save the innocent soul of Beatrice, the woman he loves. This animated feature is a bit of an oddity and features six different directors who utilize six different animation styles (much like the animated Batman: Gotham Knight), as well as six different DVD & Blu-ray covers. (Wait…. 6, 6, and 6…. egads! This movie is ee-vil!) Both the DVD and Blu-ray are pretty bare bones with only a Dante’s Inferno video game trailer and “five animatics” comprising the extras. My copy is on its way and I can’t wait to watch it!

Dead Tone [DVD] – A new horror film that is based on a true story (or most likely, an urban legend) about a group of prank callers who get more than they bargain for when they erroneously dial up a psychotic madman! I’ve heard a few good things about this movie, and the inclusion of Rutger Hauer in the cast has me interested enough to give it a look. (If anything, it at least seems like it’d be a worthy rental.) The film is featured in widescreen; I couldn’t find any info about the DVD extras.

The Phantom [Blu-ray] – Billy Zane stars as the titular hero (a.k.a. The Ghost That Walks) in this awful superhero flick. The movie’s main problem is that A.) The Phantom is kind of on the dull side
and should have been played by someone else and B.) Billy Zane, not Treat Williams, should have portrayed the villain, Xander Drax. Still, I find this to be an enjoyable little flick and have gladly added it to my growing Blu-ray collection! The film is featured in a gorgeous 2.35:1 widescreen transfer with 7.1 HD-Master Audio. Sadly there are no extras, but for a very low price tag ($9.99 – $14.99) this is a more than worthy purchase.

The Running Man [Blu-ray] – Ah-nuld Schwarzeneggar stars in this hilariously awesome adaption of a Stephen King novel of the same name. Arnold plays Ben Richards, a soldier with a conscience that is thrust into a life or death game show after he disobeys orders to fire on civilians. This is one gloriously cheesy film that should not be missed by Arnold fans! Besides having superior audio and video quality over the previous DVD releases, the Blu-ray features two audio commentaries, two featurettes, and a theatrical trailer. At a relatively low cost (same price range as The Phantom) you really can’t go wrong in picking this one up. “Killian! Sub-Zero is now just plain zero!”

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THIS WEEK’S CULT BLU-RAY RELEASES:
* Dante’s Inferno
* The Phantom
* The Running Man
Stargate SG-U: 1.0
The Time Traveler’s Wife

THIS WEEK’S CULT DVD RELEASES:
9 Lives of Mara
Blade of the Ripper
Bushido! The Cruel Code of the Samurai
Butchered
* Dante’s Inferno
* Dead Tone
Forest Warrior
Gabriel
Gaigaigar Season 1 Litebox
Lo
Maneater
Naruto: Shippuden, Vol. 6
Operation: Blast!
Polar Storm
Sliders: The Third and Fourth Seasons
Soul Eater: Part 1
Stargate SG-U: 1.0
Stephen Romano Presents Shock Festival
The Time Traveler’s Wife

THIS WEEK’S NEW THEATRICAL RELEASES:
Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief – I can’t friggin’ wait for Clash of the Titans, so until then, I guess I’ll have to get my modern Greek mythology fix with this latest family-friendly film from Director Christopher Columbus. Percy Jackson (what a wussy name!) discovers that he is the bastard son of Poseidon (God of pools and spas!) and must somehow end a feud between Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades before the world is destroyed. This looks like a fun flick that just falls short of being epic, and I look forward to seeing it.

The Wolfman – FINALLY! Universal’s redo of the classic movie monster is here! Benicio del Toro stars as Lawrence Talbot, a nobleman that ends up succumbing to a curse that we’re all quite familiar with. With an all-star cast (Anthony Hopkins, del Toro, Hugo Weaving, et al.), effects by Rick Baker (!!!), and music by Danny Elfman, I can’t see how this movie could possibly fail. Then again…. it is directed by Joe “Jurassic Park III” Johnston…..

I hope all you b-movie gals enjoy your Valentine’s Day weekend, and I really hope that you go easy on your menfolk and approve of The Wolfman as being a proper date movie. Check back next week for yet another low dose of b-movie goodness on DVD & Blu-ray, with Halo: Legends, Cabin Fever 2: Spring Fever, and Black Dynamite being the biggest titles of the week. Shutter Island opens in theaters next Friday, but truthfully who even cares? I’m personally keeping a watchful eye on the 26th of this month because The Crazies hits screens and looks to outdo the George Romero original! Well, that’s all for now, so check back next week for another edition of the award-winning (not really) B-Movie Film Vault Genre Watch! – Vault Master