Fright Night
Blu-ray 3D | Blu-ray | DVD
DIRECTED BY: Craig Gillespie
WRITTEN BY: Marti Noxon
STARRING: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, Imogen Poots, David Tennant, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Toni Collette
DreamWorks Pictures
RELEASE DATE: December 13, 2011

By now we should all be familiar with the drill: whether we like it or hate it, Hollywood will and is remaking everything they can get their hands on, and that’s because people pay lots and lots of money to see them. So, knowing that, we might as well at least remain open to the possibility that every now and again a remake will be done properly (the Coen’s True Grit, for example) and in-turn, be worth our time and our money. [...]

Final Destination 5
Blu-ray | DVD
DIRECTED BY: Steven Quale
WRITTEN BY: Eric Heisserer
STARRING: Nicholas D’Agosto, Emma Bell, Miles Fisher, Arlen Escarpeta, David Koechner, Tony Todd, Courtney B. Vance, P.J. Byrne, Ellen Wroe, Jacqueline MacInnes-Wood
Warner Brothers
RELEASE DATE: December 27, 2011

The last time we had a brush with death was in 2010′s The Final Destination. As it turned out, that installment in the horror movie franchise was by far the worst of them all with horrible acting, nonsensical situations, soap opera-level acting, and just an all-around unlikable final product. And that’s coming from someone who very much enjoyed the previous installments in the series for what they are: gruesomely fun guilty pleasures. [...]

Shaolin
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-Ray
Produced and Directed by Benny Chan
Starring Andy Lau, Nicholas Tse, Jackie Chan, Wu Jing, Fan Bingbing, Xiaoliuna, Hung Yan-yan
Emperor Motion Pictures
Originally Released: January 19, 2011

Shaolin is an epic tale, made by Chinese and Hong Kong filmmakers – directed by Benny Chan – emphasizing both the peaceful path and jaw-dropping martial defense skills of the legendary Shaolin Monks. Featuring a supporting role from Jackie Chan, the film is a captivating ride from beginning to its conclusion – laced with numerous lessons and morals to make even the hardened of us reflect our own inner ethics.

One of the greatest aspects of Netflix Streaming is the instant accessibility users have to films made outside of the United States [...]

Red Hill
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-Ray
Written and Directed by Patrick Hughes
Starring Ryan Kwanten, Steve Bisley, Tom E. Lewis, Claire van der Boom, Christopher Davis
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Originally Released: December 02, 2011

Red Hill is easily one of the best movies I’ve ever seen on Netflix, and is an unexpected and understated title that grabs and keeps your attention from beginning to end. It is a solidly written and marvelously executed movie that is an exceptional viewing experience. This is a most definite “must see” movie, so when you add it to your Netflix queue, push it to the number one spot. You won’t regret it. [...]

Insidious
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-Ray
Directed by James Wan
Written by Leigh Whannell
Starring Patrick Wilson, Rose Byrne, Ty Simpkins, Barbara Hershey, Lin Shaye, Andrew Astor, Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson
FilmDistrict
Originally Released: April 1, 2011

The creative team behind Insidious, Leigh Whannell and James Wan (from my home country Australia), has done it again in the horror genre with a new take on some traditional ghost stories and horror plot devices. With a solid plot, some convincing performances from a great cast, and fantastic lighting and camera work, Insidious stands up as not only a decent firm horror movie, but as a nightmare personified [...]

The Three Colors Trilogy
Blue, White, Red
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
Starring Julie Delpy, Juliette Binoche, Irene Jacob
The Criterion Collection
Release date: November 15, 2011

Star Wars. Spider-Man. X-Men. When it comes to trilogies, the mind starts off thinking of the biggest of big summer tentpole blockbusters. However, when one must consider what is truly the greatest collection of interconnected narratives that cinema has to offer, this writer thinks the conversation starts and stops with something, a bit more minute.

From the thinking man’s auteur Krzysztof Kieslowski, Blue, White, and Red, better known as the Three Colors Trilogy, is simply the greatest threesome of films ever put to cellouloid. And the newly released Criterion Collection Blu-ray box set of this epic masterpiece is just the type of release a classic like this sucker needs, and deserves [...]

Design For Living
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Ernst Lubitsch
Starring Gary Cooper, Frederic March, Miriam Hopkins
The Criterion Collection
Release date: December 6, 2011

Now this is what this writer calls a change of pace.

Just a month following the release of what may be the company’s most important and dense release to date, The Three Colors Trilogy, the geniuses over at The Criterion Collection have come back with their sole new addition for the month of December, and it’s about as far from the meditative triptych of masterful art cinema as a single uproarious comedy could be [...]

Limitless
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-Ray
Directed by Neil Burger
Screenplay written by Leslie Dixon
Based on The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn
Starring Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Anna Friel, Johnny Whitworth
Rogue Pictures
Originally Released: March 18, 2011

Limitless is a science fiction wolf in a sheep’s clothing of a thriller. At first glance, its twists and turns evoke a deep thriller feel, but its basis lies in the realm of sci-fi. Bradley Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a struggling author dealing with a frustrating inability to focus on his new novel, competing with an overwhelming urge for procrastination. But a chance meeting with an old acquaintance will revolutionize everything [...]

Doctor Who Series 6
DVD | Blu-Ray
Starring Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Alex Kingston, Stuart Milligan, Suranne Jones, James Corden
Written by Steven Moffat, Stephen Thompson, Neil Gaiman, Matthew Graham, Mark Gatiss, Tom McRae, Toby Whithouse, Gareth Roberts
Directed by Toby Haynes, Jeremy Webb, Richard Clark, Julian Simpson, Peter Hoar, Richard Senor, Nick Hurran, Steve Hughes
BBC
Release Date: November 22, 2011

The sixth season of the new generation of Doctor Who is propelled by showrunner Steven Moffat into a web of timey wimey twists and turns, chock full of revelations and unveiled secrets of key characters: specifically fan favorite River Song. The series begins with a disastrous development for the Doctor, witnessed by his companions — and sets the tone for the rest of the season [...]

Kevin Smith: Too Fat For 40
Blu-ray | DVD
Directed by Joey Figueroa
Starring Kevin Smith
Shout! Factory
Release Date: October 18, 2011

Virtually anyone who was alive in the Nineties knows the name Kevin Smith. His movies are both epic and notorious. His ability to draw in the viewer is no different whether he is in front of the camera or behind it. Kevin Smith: Too Fat For 40 is his fourth Q&A-styled video presentation and his only one filmed on his birthday.

Filmed in the Count Basie Theatre in Red Bank, New Jersey (Smith’s hometown), this was originally aired as a two-hour special, but the video release is an uncut three-and-a-half hour version! Let me say that I have been a huge fan ever since Clerks and have thoroughly enjoyed all of his films (I refuse to speak of *cough cough* Jersey Girl *cough cough*) and his Q&As [...]

Black Country Communion – Live Over Europe
U.S.: DVD | Blu-ray
U.K.: DVD | Blu-ray
Mascot Records
Release date: October 24, 2011

One of the best supergroups of the last few years has released a live DVD to prove to those who didn’t catch them over the summer that they are just as impressive live as they are on their albums. Shot over three nights at shows in Hamburg, Munich and Berlin, Germany last summer, Black Country Communion Live Over Europe is a document of a rock band at a key period in their career.

The summer festival circuit is where bands go to make their name and spread the word. To be fair to the guys, Black Country Communion’s name was already pretty well known. After these kind of performances, their word was gospel [...]

Doctor Who: Day Of The Daleks
DVD
Directed by Paul Bernard
Written by Louis Marks
DVD Special Edition Produced by Steve Broster
Starring Jon Pertwee, Katy Manning, Nicholas Courtney, John Levene, Richard Franklin, Aubrey Woods, Nicholas Briggs
BBC
Release Date: September 13, 2011

The Daleks have been a long-term fixture in the chronicle of Doctor Who, and while the television series is two years shy of its 50th anniversary, it is when the evil enemies of the Doctor are used sparingly in the writing of the show that they tend to shine. They featured in only two adventures during Tom Baker‘s era, for example; and during his predecessor’s reign as the Third Doctor, Jon Pertwee faced them three times [...]

Dylan Dog: Dead of Night
Netflix Streaming
DVD | Blu-Ray
Directed by Kevin Munroe
Written by Thomas Dean Donnelly and Joshua Oppenheimer
Based on the comic series by Tiziano Sclavi
Starring Brandon Routh, Sam Huntington, Anita Briem, Peter Stormare, Marco St. John, Kurt Angle, Taye Diggs
Freestyle Releasing
Originally Released: April 29, 2011

Kevin Monroe‘s take on the comic series Dylan Dog, first created by Italian talent Tiziano Slavi, only bears some resemblance to its origins, but is at moments a film based in fun with a wide variety of homages.

Added to Netflix’s streaming selection quite literally just before Thanksgiving, Dylan Dog: Dead Of Night is the category of flick to watch if you enjoy movies in the vein of Indiana Jones or detective mysteries [...]

Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere: 15th Anniversary Edition
DVD
Directed by Dewi Humphreys
Written by Neil Gaiman
Created by Neil Gaiman and Lenny Henry
Starring Gary Bakewell, Laura Fraser, Paterson Joseph, Hywel Bennett, Clive Russell, Trevor Peacock, Peter Capaldi, Tasmin Greig
BBC
Release Date: November 15, 2011

This year, the BBC celebrates the 15th anniversary of fan-favorite Neil Gaiman‘s first endeavor into the world of television series. In 1996, Gaiman had established himself as a solid writer of novels and comic series, and joining forces with the phenomenal Lenny Henry, created the world of Neverwhere – an almost-unseen domain lying beneath the city of London. [...]

Doctor Who: The Sun Makers
DVD
Directed by Pennant Roberts
Written by Robert Holmes
Starring Tom Baker, Louise Jameson, John Leeson, Henry Woolf, Richard Leech, Michael Keating
BBC
Release Date: August 9, 2011

Tom Baker‘s era tends to be the most favored among Classic Doctor Who followers – and justifiably so: the man spent 7 years in the role, longer than any other Doctor, embracing the role that would help redefine the series. From his era, recently released on DVD is The Sun Makers (finally available for rent on Netflix, along with a couple others I will be reviewing as well), first broadcast in 1977 during Season 15; and Tom Baker’s fourth season in the role [...]

Doctor Who: Frontios
DVD
Directed by Ron Jones
Written by Christopher H. Bidmead
Starring Peter Davison, Janet Fielding, Mark Strickson, Jeff Rawle, Peter Gilmore, John Gillett
BBC
Release Date: June 14, 2011

It was with much nostalgia that I found myself viewing this Classic Doctor Who adventure featuring Fifth Doctor Peter Davison. Frontios is from Davison’s final season as the Doctor, which was also my first experience to new Doctor Who episodes back in that day in age. Accompanied by Tegan Jovanka (Janet Fielding, a fellow Aussie!) and Vislor Turlough (Mark Strickson), I found myself flashing back to my old Doctor Who 1984 Annual [...]

Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!
DVD
Season Cinco
Starring Tim Heidecker, Eric Wareheim, Richard Dunn, David Liebe Hart, James Quall
Cartoon Network
Release Date: May 17, 2011

To watch Adult Swim’s Tim & Eric Awesome Show, Great Job! is to subject yourself to an experience akin to sitting in the audience of a lethal injection while dwarves in clown makeup throw individually-wrapped slices of cheese on the walls and floor-mounted speakers blast out the immortal eardrum-bleeding ditty “Tiptoe Through the Tulips” by Tiny Tim at different volumes and various revolution speeds. When it’s all over you will find that you’ve laughed, cringed, recoiled in stark horror, and sat in front of your television set wondering just what the fuck that was all about. This is a show that the late comedy writer Michael O’Donoghue, a.k.a. Saturday Night Live‘s Mr. Mike, would have found immensely entertaining. After all, what is O’Donoghue’s Mr. Mike’s Mondo Video if not a Tim & Eric prototype, only much stranger? [...]

Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1: Season One
DVD
Written and Directed by Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis
Starring Carey Means, Dana Snyder, Dave Willis, C. Martin Croker
Adult Swim
Release Date: October 11, 2011

I was hesitant about watching this DVD. Being a big fan of the Adult Swim animated series Aqua Teen Hunger Force I was more than a little apprehensive when an announcement was made last year that the show was undergoing a title change and possibly having the title characters go back to being low rent detectives for hire as they were when the show premiered back in 2000. But I trusted the show’s creators Matt Maiellaro and Dave Willis and their talented creative team and hilarious voice cast to deliver on the offbeat humor and surreal plotlines that break from the confines of traditional storytelling (even for a show that airs after midnight on Adult Swim). It’s on that basis that on the new DVD Aqua Unit Patrol Squad 1: Season One they still haven’t let me down [...]

Bolt
3 Blu-ray Combo Pack
Directed by Chris Williams and Byron Howard
Starring John Travolta and Miley Cyrus
Walt Disney Pictures Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 8, 2011

When talking about the current state of Disney’s animation side of film production (and that’s Disney proper, not Pixar), things aren’t as good as they have been. Animated projects are not only seeing less and less respect with critics, but frankly, they don’t seem to be hitting the zeitgeist in general. However, there is the occasional gem.

Hitting theaters in 2008, Byron Howard and Chris Williams’ Bolt has become something of a rarity amongst the general collection of modern day Disney animation releases [...]

Tabloid
DVD
Directed by Errol Morris
Starring Kent Gavin
IFC/MPI Home Video
Release Date: November 1, 2011

With the current state of popular culture looking more and more like the pages of the tabloid rags any person is able to find at the local grocery store, it’s important to see where that storied tradition of possibly slanderous, yet shockingly gripping faux-journalism has come from. You know, it’s always important to know history.

And who better to take something like this on than Errol Morris?

Decades prior to when names like Brett Ratner or Charlie Sheen ever graced a single magazine, a woman by the name of Joyce McKinney came onto the scene, and took the world by storm with her larger than life persona, and even weirder (albeit alleged) actions [...]