Short movie Rosa demands your attention

In an already great year for short movies we can now add another one, and that is the animated short Rosa. If the gorgeous poster doesn't suck you in then the movie itself surely will, and you can check it out below. Thanks to the ever reliable Twitch for bringing this one to my attention. The fact that it was created by one guy, Jesús Orellana, with no money over the course of one year makes it all the more impressive.

ROSA is an epic sci-fi short film that takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where all natural life has disappeared. From the destruction awakes Rosa, a cyborg deployed from the Kernel project, mankind's last attempt to restore the earth's ecosystem. Rosa will soon learn that she is not the only entity that has awakened and must fight for her survival. 

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Trailer debuts for Statham flick Safe

If you know me then you will know I am a fan of Jason Statham's flicks. Whether it's the mockney gangsters in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch, serial killers in Blitz or the crazy action in the Crank or Transporter flicks, I'm in there. So I am more than happy to share the new trailer for Safe, which opens in theaters on March 2nd 2012, and is about a former mixed martial arts fighter's struggle to protect a young girl who holds the secret behind an extremely valuable set of numbers. Judging from the trailer Statham is back to his ass-kicking best!

Official Site

Facebook Page

Director: Boaz Yakin

Cast: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, James Hong, Reggie Lee, Robert John Burke

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A second-rate cage fighter on the mixed martial arts circuit, Luke Wright lives a numbing life of routine beatings and chump change...until the day he blows a rigged fight. Wanting to make an example of him, the Russian Mafia murders his family and banishes him from his life forever, leaving Luke to wander the streets of New York destitute, haunted by guilt, and tormented by the knowledge that he will always be watched, and anyone he develops a relationship with will also be killed. 

But when he witnesses a frightened twelve-year-old Chinese girl, Mei, being pursued by the same gangsters who killed his wife, Luke impulsively jumps to action...and straight into the heart of a deadly high-stakes war. Mei, he discovers, is no ordinary girl, but an orphaned math prodigy forced to work for the Triads as a "counter." He discovers she holds in her memory a priceless numerical code that the Triads, the Russian mob and a corrupt faction of the NYPD will kill for. 

Realizing he's the only person Mei can trust, Luke tears a swath through the city's brutal underworld to save an innocent girl's life...and perhaps even redeem his own.

Corman's World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel

Roger Corman is truly one filmmaker that can be safely called a legend. Now there is a documentary that celebrates the man and his work, and features contributions from a plethora of directors and actors, just cast your eyes on the poster above for a taster.

The documentary is directed by Alex Stapleton and is set for a theatrical release on December 16th through Anchor Bay. In the meantime you can check out the trailer below.

The Collapsed secures US and German distribution

The Collapsed have received a fair bit of coverage here at the Lair, and for good reason as it is a bloody good movie. Now I have more great news to share with you. Recently it was announced that Anchor Bay Canada had picked up The Collapsed for Canadian distribution. Today it has been announced that it has been picked up for distribution in the US by Otter Creek Motion Pictures, and by MoreFilms for distribution in Germany. Terrific news and well deserved!

Links to previous posts

Review of The Collapsed

Interview

PRESS RELEASE – AFM 2011: THE COLLAPSED closes U.S. and German 

distribution

November 10, 2011

The post‐apocalyptic horror/thriller THE COLLAPSED has been acquired by

distributor Otter Creek Motion Pictures for release within the US, as well as

MoreFilms for Germany.

The US deal was brokered between Michael Paszt of Raven Banner

Entertainment, David Partridge of Blue Window Media, and Tom Sykes of Otter

Creek Motion Pictures. The film will see release across the US, sharing a February

28, 2012 release date with the already announced acquisition by Anchor Bay

Canada.

In addition to standard VOD and rental options, the film’s release will include

hours of special features, including a feature‐length behind the scenes documentary,

exclusive interviews, two commentary tracks, and more.

New Poster and Blu-ray Art for 13

Further to my previous post here about the upcoming 13, which is a remake of 13 Tzameti, I now have the new poster and Blu-ray art to share with you. The DVD and Blu-ray were released November 8th by Anchor Bay.

Vince Ferro is a man in desperate circumstances. While on a quick fix-it job, he steals an envelope containing instructions for a mysterious job that promises a potential fortune. He assumes a false identity and follows the instructions, only to find himself a numbered participant in an underworld Russian roulette competition, where gamblers place bets on who'll survive when the trigger is pulled.  The stakes are high, but the payout is more than he can resist. Many are competing for the first time, and a precious few have even returned to play again, but are his odds any better than other players in this most deadly game? What will it take to be the last man standing?

New Still for The Woman in Black

With it's February 3rd release date still a few months off yet, a new still has been release for the new spookfest The Woman in Black starring Daniel Radcliffe. From what has been released so far, such as the cool motion poster, accompanying viral site (link here) and trailer below, I have to say I am really looking forward to catching this. The fact that it is the latest prduction from the revitalized Hammer Studios is just a bonus.

You can also check out my previous posts on The Woman in Black here and here.

A young lawyer (Radcliffe) travels to a remote village where he discovers the vengeful ghost of a scorner woman is terrorizing the locals.

The Blood Flows West - Hell on Wheels

Not content with spoiling us with a new season of The Walking Dead, AMC have just premiered a new series which debuted straight after The Walking Dead on November 6th. God bless them, because to tell the truth on the strength on the first episode I know what show I am looking forward to each week, and it doesn't feature the Undead. Don't get me wrong, I love The Walking Dead, it's a masterclass of television, yet we are well into season 2 and I am still more of a fan of the comic than I am of the show.

Hell on Wheels is a fiery and bloody breath of fresh air. Now, not everyone digs a Western but I do, and so far they have nailed this one. The show is set in the late 1860's after the Civil War and follows Cullen Bohannon as he travels west, working on the railroad that is being constructed. The title of the show refers to the traveling town, named Hell on Wheels, that moves as the construction moves. To go into more detail would really spoil the enjoyment you should get from it, as I am sure it will be repeated several times. Suffice to say there's corrupt politicians, slavery, Native Americans, prostitutes, preachers and booze, among other things, and it gets violent and bloody, oh there is plenty of blood.

There's a stellar cast on display which, whether intentionally or not, features Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine) AND Francis Dollarhyde (Tom Noonan), as well as rapper-turned-actor Common, the ever impressive Colm Meany and Anson Mount, who recently starred in the Straw Dogs remake. 

The tagline on the poster states that "Blood will be spilled, lives will be lost, men will be ruined". They should have added that "Sunday nights got even better". I personally thought AMC went a little off the boil with the flawed The Killing but they have come back screaming with vengeance with Hell on Wheels. It's dirty, it's gritty and it's damned good fun.