FOLLOWING FILMS

Science fiction is a speculative form of storytelling that's often concerned with what it means to be human. In that vein IMITATION GIRL is a brilliantly crafted philosophical journey that gives viewers far more questions than answers. Imitation (Lauren Ashley Carter) is an alien who falls from the sky and lands somewhere in the southwestern United States. She finds an image of Julianna (Lauren Ashley Carter) an adult film actress and takes on her form. The film is the parallel stories of two individuals trying to figure out exactly who they are.  Imitation is somewhat devoid of self-awareness and has no idea where she is. Each piece of information she gathers is a revelation as she acclimates to her new body and environment. Saghi, and his sister, Khahar, take in Imitation. They perceive her to be a harmless simpleton. Gesture-based communication and pieces of sustenance are their lone methods of communication. However, Imitation is exceptionally responsive ...

About The Film After an F-11 gets shot down over the Mediterranean Sea, The United States government cannot afford to lose the top-secret laser tracking device that was on board. But unfortunately, the KGB team, lead by the infamous Andrei (Jean-Claude Van Damme, The Expendables 2, Universal Soldier), are beating the CIA in the race to find it. The CIA has no choice but to call in their best man, master martial-artist Ken Tani (Sho Kosugi, Ninja Assassin, Revenge of the Ninja), code name... BLACK EAGLE . In response, the KGB resorts to an all-out war, with powerful Andrei matching Ken blow for blow. From legendary action director Eric Karson (The Octagon), Black Eagle also stars Doran Clark (The Warriors), Bruce French (Jurassic Park III) and William Bassett (House of 1000 Corpses). BLACK EAGLE is one of my favorite JCVD vehicles and this MVD release gives it the kindest treatment the film has ever received. Between the limited throwback, VHS inspired slipcover and the...

LORDS OF DOGTOWN tells the unbelievable but true story of three teenagers from California who took skateboarding to heights that hadn't previously been imagined and changed the sports world forever. Stacy Peralta (John Robinson), Tony Alva (Victor Rasuk) and Jay Adams (Emile Hirsch, Into the Wild) are the Z-Boys, a bunch of nobodies until they join board designer Skip Engblom (Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight) to create a new style of skateboarding that becomes a worldwide phenomenon. But when their hobby becomes a business, the success shreds their friendship. Directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Twilight) and featuring an all-star cast including Michael Angarano, Nikki Reed, Rebecca De Mornay, Johnny Knoxville, America Ferrera, and Mitch Hedberg. The stand out performance in the film comes from Heath Ledger. I'm not sure if his turn as Skip can fully be appreciated without seeing the man himself. Once you dig into the special features it becomes clear that Heath Led...

Werewolves? Check. The plague? Sure. Pagans selling their souls? Absolutely. NOVEMBER is set in an Estonian village where the batshit crazy supernatural leanings of director Rainer Sarnet are allowed to run free. The film is essentially a twisted fairy tale about unrequited love or what a Lars Von Trier romantic comedy might look like. In NOVEMBER , the villagers' fundamental issue is how to survive the frosty, dull winter. Nothing in this bizarre universe is unthinkable. Individuals take from each other without regard, from their German house rulers, from spirits, from Satan, and Christ himself. The only moral compass is self-interest. A youthful farmgirl Liina (Rea Lest) is miserably infatuated with Hans (Jörgen Liik), a close-by farmhand, whose heart she loses to the little girl of the German estate master. Keeping in mind the end goal to recover his affection, Liina is willing to do whatever it takes, regardless of whether that implies taking advantage of the dark enchant...

THE STAR arrives on Blu-ray + DVD + Digital today February 20 from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The simple but effective animated comedy tells the story of a donkey named Bo (Steven Yeun, “The Walking Dead”), who sees himself as destined for greater things. The daily grind at the village mill leaves him feeling incomplete and longing. His ill at ease nature eventually pushes to the point where he decides to break free and follow his heart. In the same way Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead is a retelling of Hamlet through the eyes of ancillary characters, THE STAR is a retelling of the nativity through the eyes of the animals that were there that night. The human characters take a backseat to a donkey and his barnyard buddies. Along his way, Bo teams up with Ruth (Aidy Bryant, “Saturday Night Live”), a sheep who has lost her flock and Dave (Keegan-Michael Key, “Key and Peele”), a dove with lofty aspirations, along with three camels voiced by Tracy Morgan (“30 ...

1988-2010 Starring: DAVE FOLEY, BRUCE McCULLOCH, KEVIN McDONALD, MARK McKINNEY, and SCOTT THOMPSON Mill Creek Entertainment will release the complete collection of The Kids In The Hall content on DVD February 6, 2018. This complete collection will include all 100+ episodes from the show’s five-season run in addition to the reunion series Death Comes to Town with a host of bonus features including interviews, commentaries, archival footage and more! This disarming comedy show will be offered in a 12-DVD set and will be available for a list price of $69.98. The Canadian-bred comic geniuses stretched sketch comedy to its ultimate limits with hilariously off-the-wall results achieving critical and fan acclaim.  From the infamous Chicken Lady and Cabbage Head to Buddy Cole and the Headcrusher, the pioneering, edgy and ever-charming comedians created the most unhinged, unprecedented and unpredictable acclaimed cult series. The series debuted as a one-hour pilot specia...

After finishing his film Weekend in 1967, Jean-Luc Godard shifted gears to embark on engaging more directly with the radical political movements of the era, and thus create a new kind of film, or, as he eventually put it: "new ideas distributed in a new way." This new method in part involved collaborating with the precocious young critic and journalist, Jean-Pierre Gorin. Both as a two-person unit, and as part of the loose collective known as the Groupe Dziga Vertov (named after the early 20th-century Russian filmmaker and theoretician), Godard and Gorin would realize "some political possibilities for the practice of cinema" and craft new frameworks for investigating the relationships between image and sound, spectator and subject, cinema and society. Included here are five films, all originally shot in 16mm celluloid, that serve as examples of Godard and Gorin's revolutionary project. Un film comme les autres [A Film Like Any Other] Discussions betwee...

1978 Directed by - Federico Fellini A documentary television crew interviews musicians preparing for a rehearsal in a rundown church that doubles as a makeshift auditorium. Durning the interviews the musicians interrupt one another and show outright contempt. Each musician believes their instrument is the most vital to the success of the performance and calls the other performers talent and integrity into question. The conductor barks orders with an affected German accent to drive home his authoritarian role in the orchestra. He has conflicts with both the musicians and the labor reps who are overseeing the proceedings. The tension is immediate and eventual spirals into chaos and revolution. Orchestra Rehearsal is overtly political and satirical in its execution. Connections to our current political climate are in fact easy to make. This is one of Fellini's funniest and most thoroughly entertaining efforts. Rich imagery and expressive ...

YOU’RE GONNA MAKE IT AFTER ALL By Marc Shapiro Mary Tyler Moore was best known for her roles on THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW and THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW. Both wildly successful programs that challenged gender norms and inspired generations of women. Marc Shapiro had a difficult task in writing a book about the cultural icon as she laid her heart bare in two memoirs, AFTER ALL, and GROWING UP AGAIN: LOVE AND OH YEAH DIABETES. What was left to say? She was open about her battle with alcoholism, went into great detail about her fight with diabetes and had lived in the public eye for the better part of 40 years. Instead of approaching his book as a rehashing of old stories, gossip, and recycled interviews Shapiro decided to take a look at Moore’s life through the cultural lens she helped to shape. In a time where new allegations of workplace harassment are making headlines on a daily if not hourly basis this approach to the material is a fitting tribute to an important figur...

2017 Directed by: Chad Meisenheimer Starring: Tommie Vegas, Sarah Rhoades, and Brady Bond Setting NITE NITE in 1985 is clearly an homage to the babysitter slasher films of that era. Iconic films like HALLOWEEN and WHEN A STRANGER CALLS have influenced most horror films of the last 40 years, and Chad Meisenheimer's film   is no exception. This 3.5 minute short follows a 7-year-old boy (Bond) who tries to convince his babysitter (Vegas) there is a monster is in his room.  While the plot (and electronic score) might sound like John Carpenter the execution is something more akin to Tom Holland's 1985 horror/comedy masterpiece FRIGHT NIGHT . Meisenheimer injects a playfulness into his film that is never overt or distracting. He allows Bond to play with his character in a way that's difficult to read and gives the film its greatest strength. Ambiguity. Is our young boy scared or malevolent?  Short films can be forgiven al...

2017 Directed by: Stephen Gyllenhaal Starring: Talitha Bateman, Alfre Woodard, John Heard, Jessica Collins, Jacinda Barrett, Dash Mihok, and Cloris Leachman When we don't talk about our past we can't expect to understand our present. There is always a story on how we got here and the people who brought us. Our medical histories, sense of identity, cultural heritage, and family gossip deeply affect and shape who we are. The most important journeys we take are the ones where we start by looking in. Based on the bestselling YA novel by the same name, SO B. IT follows Heidi (Bateman), a precocious young girl who embarks on a journey across the country to uncover the story of her mother’s past and discovers herself along the way. Hedi is raised by her mentally disabled mother (Collins) who only uses 22 words and her agoraphobic neighbor (Woodard) who tries to protect her from inside their joined apartments. SO B. IT is structured as something of a mystery, with the sto...

1963 Directed by: Herschell Gordon Lewis Starring: William Kerwin, Mal Arnold, and Connie Mason A film like BLOOD FEAST should be considered within the time it was made. While not brilliantly executed it’s still an important window into what the US (or at the very least, its film) was like in the early 1960’s. Considered the first splatter film, BLOOD FEAST is a surprisingly gory tale woven together with groundbreaking makeup effects and amateur acting. The effects are in no way as slick as the ones we see today, but the way Lewis lingers on them will make the most hardened horror fan squeamish. You’ve probably heard of the tongue gag in the film, and yes it’s as stomach turning as you might expect. Dorothy Freemont is a socialite looking to throw a party that people will remember. She decides to hire Fuad Ramses to cater the soiree after he pitches her the idea of an “Egyptian” feast. What she expects is an authentic “ethnic” experience the invitees will talk about for ...

2017 Directed by: Angus MacLachlan Starring: Amy Ryan, Terry Kinney, Francis Guinan, Max Gail, and Steve Coulter A week after Tracy (Amy Ryan) and Jesse (Terry Kinney) bury their father on the family tobacco farm, three strangers show up to make a claim on the land. MacLachlan’s deeply personal follow-up to 2014’s GOODBYE TO ALL THAT is an intimate meditation on grief and legacy. Tracy and Jesse see the visitors in a different light. To Tracy, the visitors are interlopers who have no right to her family’s farm. Nothing more than a nuisance, who she asks to leave in subtle and overt ways. Jesse, a man of faith, views this as a chance at redemption. A way to right a wrong in their families past. People react to death in all kinds of ways, and the death of a parent can be especially volatile. It isn’t uncommon for one person to feel a range of emotions in a single day while another remains in shock and disbelief . MacLachlan beautifully captures this dichotomy in the ...

From the mind of celebrated horror author Stephen King, the man behind such classic terror tales as THE SHINING , CARRIE, and IT , comes one of his most iconic offerings- CHILDREN OF THE CORN . This was a film that prior to this release I'd only seen on VHS. I remember renting this film when I was about 11 or 12 and it was the most brutal film I'd ever seen. The meat slicer scene thoroughly scarred my impressionable young psyche. I buy sliced lunch meat from the deli every Saturday and I always think about this film when I watch the butcher do his thing. Revisiting this film close to 30 years later, I went in with some trepidation. I didn't want to undo the impression this film had left on me. I didn't want to see it as a schlocky B film with dated effects and TV movie of the week acting. Fortunately, CHILDREN OF THE CORN rose to the occasion and stood up surprisingly well. A painstaking 2K restoration from the original negative gives the film a polished look th...

2017 Directed by: Fenar Ahmad Starring: Dar Salim Country: Denmark A motion picture about requital that puts aside its comeuppance for as long as possible, DARKLAND highlights a deep dive into character that revenge tales rarely allow. Fenar Ahmads' disturbing follow-up to Ækte vare does deliver on its promise of a masked vigilante, but not before exploring all the loss, guilt and even internal prejudice driving a well-to-do doctor Zaid (Dar Salim) down a path of both self-destruction and violence against his own people. Zaid, the child of Iraqi migrants, has had it great in Denmark. He's an all-around happy guy. A well-regarded specialist and an eager father living in the midst of the more elite classes of white European culture; he's moved far from his parents neighborhood and its nearby Arab gangsters. His more youthful sibling Yasin wasn't so fortunate, using petty theft and low-level drug dealing just to remain above water. He turns to Zaid after getti...

After being released from a mental hospital, where she was coping with her schizophrenia, Elizabeth is now living in a studio apartment with her fiance, Grant. With the love and support of Grant and the help of her new and determined psychiatrist, Elizabeth is doing her best to navigate through life. Haunted by daily voices, hallucinations, failing medications and her cold and seemingly unsupportive mother, Elizabeth attempts to regain control of her mental stability Global Digital Releasing will release ELIZABETH BLUE in NY, LA, and an additional 10 markets on September 22. The filmmakers and GDR have partnered with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) and ELIZABETH BLUE is scheduled to screen at multiple NAMI Affiliate locations across the country during the film's opening weekend. NAMI is the largest grass roots mental health organization in the country and works with celebrities and filmmakers as part of their ongoing efforts to raise awareness and combat stig...

Today my guests are director Derek Herbert and producer Andrew Barcello. I asked them on the show to discuss their film TO HELL AND BACK: THE KANE HODDER STORY . Kane’s story reveals struggles and horrific experiences that encapsulates his complex life. It is the story of his dehumanizing childhood filled with torment and bullying in Sparks, Nevada; to his adolescence on a small military island; through his near-death burn accident; and his ultimate rise to the unforgettable horror icon, Jason Voorhees, in the Friday the 13th movies and the Friday the 13th video game. With powerhouse performances in over 100 movies, Kane has killed more people on screen with his hands than anyone in history. He further solidified his iconic killer status by becoming Victor Crowley in the cult-classic Hatchet trilogy. For more information about the film and how you can see it go to www.kanehoddermovie.com Click play of the embedded player below to hear the interview.

2107 Directed by: Ryuhei Kitamura Starring: Kelly Connaire, Stephanie Pearson, Anthony Kirlew, and Rod Hernandez Kitamura wastes no time in DOWNRANGE. The tension in the film starts almost immediately and never lets up. I felt like I was holding my breath for 89 minutes, this film is utterly relentless. Six college-aged students are taking a cross-country trip when they have a blow out on one of their tires. In the middle of changing that tire, they happen across the shell casing from a long range rifle and realize, it wasn't a blowout. The tire had been shot. Within moments bullets are flying towards the young travelers and they are pinned down. Unable to move out from behind the vehicle, the elusive sniper unloads a barrage of fire. On an empty rural road, in the middle of nowhere, with inconsistent cell service, they are alone with this determined assassin. Their only hope seems to wait him out, to see if another car happens along th...

Shaul Schwarz’s and Christina Clusiau’s Trophy explores the complex heart of contemporary issues of animal conservation and commodification at a time when endangered African species such as elephants, rhinos and lions march ever closer to extinction. This provocative follow-up to Schwarz’s acclaimed Narco Cultura journeys viewers across lush African forests and vast plains and into the world’s largest hunters’ convention in Las Vegas to meet breeders and hunters who passionately believe in animal conservation. A common mantra of these businesses – “if it pays, it stays” – sums up the controversial notion that if you assign monetary value to an animal, it is worth protecting. Trophy follows Philip Glass, a Texas-based sheep breeder and life-long hunter who is on a quest to collect the “Big Five” (elephant, buffalo, lion, leopard, and rhino). Philip is deeply connected to the land and animals. He spends days or weeks tracking animals in their natural environment before getting his ...

2017 Directed by: Brian Cavallaro Starring: Hannah Kleeman, Tim Tore, Luke Persiani and Frank Whaley Hank is an ambitious young filmmaker who convinces a group of his friends to set out "ghost hunting" in an abandoned prison. He pays them each $200 so can film them and use the project as a calling card to move on to bigger things. Or what he sees as undertakings more worthy of his perceived talent. He wants to make it as a legitimate director but in his estimation, the only way to make money in indie film is in ghost hunting and porn. I'm not sure if the location was found or built but it goes a long way in separating AGAINST THE NIGHT from other genre films. The prison is dripping with a rich history that feels somehow lived in and forgotten. The characters even mention how filming in this location will add "production value" to their project, and it does. The prison is setup like a wheel with the guard's station being the circular center and the...