Syfy’s ‘Z Nation’ draws 300,000 torrent downloads
With the Season 5 premiere of ‘The Walking Dead’ just weeks away, excitement centering around the zombie genre has peaked yet again. This past weekend saw the release of ‘Z Nation’ on SyFy, and if the piracy tracking numbers…
Val Lewton
Despite the fact that the budgets during his glory days at RKO were minuscule, Val Lewton has become an outstanding example of the movie producer as auteur, leaving a mark on his “B” horror movies of the mid-1940s that is…
Dementia 13
Back in the early 60s, filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola was taking his first steps as a director, and after directing two “Nudie Cuties” (his very first two works), he began working with legendary producer Roger Corman as an assistant in…
EXTRATERRESTRIAL
The filmmakers call themselves The Vicious Brothers, and they’ve called their film “Extraterrestrial.” That should be enough information to give you a good idea of whether or not you’ll dig their new movie. If you’re searching for subtlety, don’t come…
20 Overlooked 70s Thrillers
The 1970’s were a great decade for thrillers, as production code restrictions had been lifted in favor of a ratings system, allowing “R” rated films considerable leeway in the amount of sex and violence that could be included. Armed with…
Samurai Cop 2
Last we left the proposed Samurai Cop sequel, all we knew was that star Matt Hannon was definitely alive and available. With that critical piece in place, pre-production on the movie has apparently started in earnest: Not only is…
‘Falcon Rising’
That old saying about first impressions being the most lasting? It certainly holds true with “Falcon Rising.” In all respects, “Falcon” is the very definition of a B picture. Budget: low. Stars: second tier (and lower). Plotting: predictable. It’s a…
Open Windows
Inventive Spanish filmmaker Nacho Vigalondo, who was behind the ingenious genre-benders “Timecrimes” and “Extraterrestrial,” brings forth his first thriller shot in the English language, and mind you he’s got some celebrities on board. Elijah Wood continues to waltz through different…
Regaining The Collective Movie Going Experience
In a recent Hollywood Reporter, Faith Popcorn ,that out there forecaster of the future, was quoted as saying “Movie theaters are dying. As consumers hide out in their at-home binge-cocoons, devouring entire seasons of HBO and Netflix programming, theater owners…
‘Into the Storm’
If beings from another galaxy were to see “Into the Storm” they could come away with the impression that video recording devices make people extremely risky. For a lean ninety minutes this “found footage” styled movie about a town besieged…
Return of the bad movie buffs
ou know, the ones where the acting is rubbish, the score is cheesy and the budget is nearly non-existent. These are the films that never make it to the big screen and go directly to the bargain bins – they’re…
Tusk
It’s might be hard to grasp, given how much of his movies are composed of inactive camerawork and marginal production design, just how much of a true filmmaker Kevin Smith really is. He’s a storyteller at heart. While some of…
The Only Video Store In Atlanta
Year after year, Videodrome won Creative Loafing’s top rating as the best video store in Atlanta. Its deep stock of movie titles was matched by the staff’s deep appreciation for film history and genres. Then came online streaming and a…
Five Quick Questions with Leigh Scott and Piranha Sharks Review
Since graduating from USC School of Cinematic Arts, Leigh Scott has directed and wrote over twenty films and is credited as a producer for a couple dozen. The films he worked on include films by The Asylum which between 2005…
The Drive-In Rises Again
Iconic international restaurant chain, Johnny Rockets, today announced their Route 66 concept, comprised of four innovative prototypes to serve American families at home and on the road. Established in 1926 as one of America’s original highways, Route 66 became the…
Richard Kiel Passes
Jaws has bitten his last: Richard Kiel, the 7-foot-2-inch actor best known for playing the metal-mouthed villain in two Bond movies, has died at the age of 74. The Detroit-born actor, who appeared in dozens of other movies, including Happy…
Invasion of the killer B-movie robot monster from Mars
B-movies meet P.G. Wodehouse in the 2014 graphic novel It Came!, ‘directed’ by Dan Boultwood. Boultwood previously illustrated a series of graphic novels about The Baker Street Irregulars which were written by Tony Lee, who has also written for IDW’s…
‘Night of the Living Dead’ screening in Bay City
Fall may not have arrived yet, but for the more morbid among us, the winding down of summer means Halloween is crawling into view. In anticipation of it, and to raise money for one of Bay City’s most historic buildin…
Iron Sky. Here there be Nazis
Iron Sky drew me in with its idea alone: Nazis from the moon. An idea so infused with a raw dose of awesome I couldn’t help but be sucked in like a…well, sucker. My excitement was further cemented when I…
Cannon’s Roar
Ever wonder who’s responsible for the trove of cringeworthy, if classic, B-movies clogging up your Netflix queues? Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films, currently playing at the Toronto International Film Festival, is the inside story of the…