The Innkeepers Blu-ray and DVD release details

Ti West's latest flick, The Innkeepers, is all set for a Blu-ray and DVD release on April 24th. The movie is being released by Dark Sky Films and MPI Media Group and will contain two audio commentaries and a behind the scenes feature (full details below). 

The Innkeepers may have been available On Demand for awhile now but I am still a collector, so I plan on picking this up as soon as possible!

Extras

Commentary with Ti West, Producers Peter Phok and Larry Fessenden and Second Unit Director/Sound Designer Graham Reznick

Commentary with Ti West and Stars Sara Paxton and Pat Healy

The Innkeepers: Behind the Scenes

Trailers

Synopsis: After over one hundred years of service, The Yankee Pedlar Inn is shutting its doors for good. The last remaining employees -Claire (Sara Paxton) and Luke (Pat Healy) - are determined to uncover proof of what many believe to be one of New England's most haunted hotels. As the Inn’s final days draw near, odd guests check in as the pair of minimum wage “ghost hunters” begin to experience strange and alarming events that may ultimately cause them to be mere footnotes in the hotel’s long unexplained history

Commentary with 

Theater of the Deranged DVD Artwork

Due for release in June of this year through World Wide Multi Media, Theater of the Deranged is an independent horror anthology from Psykik Junky Pictures. Above is the new artwork that will accompany its DVD release, and below is the trailer for you to check out.

From Executive Producers James Cullen Bressack and Jarret Cohen at Psykik Junky Pictures, comes the NEWEST HORROR ANTHOLOGY starring horror film icons Shawn C. Phillips, JD Fairman and Cory Jacob and adult-film sensations Sophie Dee and Veronica Ricci:  THEATRE OF THE DERANGED! (theater of derange)

Join Andy the Arsonist as he shares five of his favorite short horror films in all their demented glory. The collection features never-before seen films by popular indie horror writer/directors James Cullen Bressack, Shawn C. Phillips, Liz Gilbert, Brian Dorton, and Creep Creepersin.

My Week With Marilyn Blu-ray + DVD Artwork, Stills and Release Details

Coming to Blu-ray + DVD combo pack on March 13th from Anchor Bay is the Academy Award nominated My Week with Marilyn. Michelle Williams plays Marilyn Monroe in this movie about her trip to London to film The Prince and The Showgirl, and her relationship with Colin Clark. Will Williams ever win an Oscar? She's been nominated three times now. The film also stars Sir Kenneth Branagh, Eddie Redmayne and Dame Judi Dench.  Full synopsis and stills from the movie can be found below.

During Marilyn Monroe's (Michelle Williams) first trip to London to film The Prince and the Showgirl with Sir Laurence Olivier (Kenneth Branagh), she befriends Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), an ambitious 23-year-old Third Assistant Director on the set.  As their relationship progresses, Colin's focus shifts from making his way in the film business to rescuing her from the pressures of celebrity life.  

When Monroe's new husband, playwright Arthur Miller, makes a brief trip to Paris, Clark takes the opportunity to introduce her to the world outside of Hollywood fame.  Based on the true story by Colin Clark, this memoir describes a magical week in which Monroe opens herself up to a stranger and finds in him a confidant and an ally.

Filthy Review - In Time

In Time (2011)

Review by Jude Felton

It doesn’t always take a multi-layered plotline in order to make an engaging movie. The high-concept movie has been a mainstay of Hollywood for years, and no doubt for many years to come. You know the sort of movie, the one you can sum up in just one line. That is very much the case with the Andrew Niccol’s futuristic thriller In Time. I can just see the sales pitch now, “People stop aging when they reach 25 years old, and have to earn more time so that they can continue to live”. Simple isn’t it?

Ok, so that is the plot summed up already. Actually, I will elaborate a little for you as there is slightly more to it than that.

Will Salas (Justin Timberlake) is three years past his 25^th birthday, which means that he, along with everyone else passed this age, must bust his ass working to earn more time in order to keep living. He lives in the ghetto and everyday consists of working, and running (to save time), to achieve harder quotas in return for time. Money, as we know it, doesn’t exist, everything is paid for in time.

Will lives day by day, as does his mother, just making enough time to get by. Things all change when he has a chance encounter with a man that has over a century in time at his disposal.

What we have here with In Time is a film that riffs on the 1976 flick Logan’s Run, where folk lived to the age of 30, yet still remains a highly enjoyable thriller. The plot is a familiar one at its core; the working class man must fight the elite of society in order to retain his integrity and freedom. Throw in a little Bonnie and Clyde/Robin Hood style action and you pretty much have it on a plate.

2011's In Time might like to think that it is a far more intelligent thriller than it actually is but it doesn’t take away from the fact that it is incredibly entertaining. This is in large part thanks to a surprisingly strong lead in Timberlake. Even though he has turned in some really solid performances in movies such as The Social Network and Alpha Dog, I would not have thought that the former pop singer would develop into such an engaging actor. He plays the role of Salas with just the right mix of charm and naiveity and really does act as the glue of the movie.

He is ably supported by Amanda Seyfreid, as his potential love interest, the predictably solid Cillian Murphy, as a time keeper, and Vincent Kartheiser as the wealthy mogul Weis. All play their respective parts well, even if the roles do not require all that much of them in terms of any depth.

In Time is what it is, it’s an entertaining movie that doesn’t require an awful lot of the viewer, whilst still remaining a fun and engaging good time. I personally would have liked it to have delved a little deeper into the concept of time running out at 25, although that could have taken this film into a much darker realm of moviemaking, of which it is quite apparent that the filmmakers did not have any intention of doing this.

In Time might not be all that original at its core, but sometimes a film doesn’t need to be. Well worth viewing.

In Time is available now on Blu-ray and DVD from 20th Century Fox

Sometimes They Come Back....to the UK

Some news just in here that will interest those in the UK, or those with a region-free player. The Stephen King adapatation Sometimes They Come Back, directed by Tom McLoughlin, is set for a R2 DVD release on April 9th from Second Sight. The film stars Tim Matheson, Brooke Adams and 80's stalwart Robert Russler and was originally released back in 1991. I actually reviewed the MGM R1 release from 2007 a few years back and thought it was still a fun horror flick.

Teacher Jim Norman (Matheson) reluctantly returns to his hometown to a job 

at the local school almost 30 years after he left. Bad memories linger in the 

town where his brother Wayne was killed by a local rebel gang and he 

escaped unharmed. Those responsible died in fiery car wreck, but sometimes 

the dead aren’t ready to die and come back to take care of unfinished 

business.

Roman Polanski to bring the Carnage

Carnage, the latest movie from legendary, not to mention controversial, director Roman Polanski is set for release on Blu-ray and DVD from Sony Pictures Classic on March 20th. Featuring an impressive cast, which includes Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly, the film is about two couples who go head to head after their children are involved in a playground altercation.

Synopsis

Carnage, is a razor sharp, biting comedy centered on parental differences. After two boys duke it out on a playground, the “victim’s” parents, liberal writer Penelope Longstreet and her wholesaler husband, Michael (Foster and Reilly), invite the “bully’s” parents, power couple Nancy and Alan Cowan (Winslet and Waltz), over to work out their issues. A polite discussion of childrearing soon escalates into verbal warfare, with all four parents revealing their true colors. None of them will escape the carnage.

Blu-ray & DVD Special Features include:

-  Actors' Notes – A Look at the Making of the Film

-  An Evening with John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz

-  On the Red Carpet

Filthy Review - The Phantom of the Opera Live at the Royal Albert Hall

The Phantom of the Opera Live at the Royal Albert Hall (2011)

Review by Jude Felton

One of the world’s most beloved stage musicals, The Phantom of the Opera celebrated its 25^th anniversary last year. First taking the stage in 1986, the Andrew Lloyd Webber extravaganza has run and run. Taking its inspiration from the classic novel Le Fantome de L’Opera by Gaston Leroux the story has had many incarnations on film, most notably the 1925 movie with Lon Chaney. This however is a celebration of the musical, and on October 2^nd 2011, in London’s famous Royal Albert Hall, this version of the musical took place.

Now, I cannot, and will not, claim to be an expert on this particular musical. I do remember Sarah Brightman’s rendition of the title track from when I was a wee youngster and the fact that none other than Frank Spencer aka Michael Crawford played opposite Brightman as her Phantom. I did also see the recent Joel Schumacher movie, but seeing that did not prepare me for the spectacle that this performance brought to the screen.

The plot focuses on the Paris Opera House, where lurking beneath hides the Phantom. He hides away dues to his hideous disfigurement and acts as a ghost to all that perform there. He does however take young singer Christine under his wing, and helps train her, which in turn begins a tragic love story.

Love story or not, the Phantom of the Opera is a story, and show, that is rooted in the world of horror. This is old school classic horror, although there was at least one instance when my wife let out an audible gasp of air during one of the show’s death scenes.

To the show and performance itself then, and what a spectacle it is. I may be new to the world of Blu-ray but I will tell you that this looks and sounds absolutely stunning. The picture is crystal clear perfection and the sound, even on my television, was incredible. Add in to the fact that the stage show was superb and you have yourselves almost three hours of audio-visual perfection. I was honestly amazed at how good this was. Sure, the picture is that good that you can see the wire that holds on the Phantom’s mask, but that is just being picky. Purists may also complain that the famed chandelier drop at the end of Act 1 does not happen. Maybe this is due to the venue? Regardless, I can’t imagine that this will take away any enjoyment you get from watching it.

The entire cast, which is huge, is captivating to watch, especially Sierra Bogess as Christine and Ramin Karimloo as the Phantom. Their chemistry is there for all to see and their performances will have you mesmerized. I can only imagine how many production crew members were working behind the scenes to help bring this show to life.

If you have only seen the movie version of this musical I suggest you check this out, as it is in a different class completely. If you are already a fan then I guess you will already be picking this up. Wherever you stand on musicals this truly is something special, and I recommend you grab a copy, sit back and enjoy the specatacle.

The Phantom of the Opera Live at the Royal Albert Hall is available from Universal Studios Home Entertainment on Blu-ray, DVD and On Demand on February 7th.

Filthy Review - Yakuza Weapon

Yakuza Weapon (2011)

Review by Jude Felton

The last film from Japanese production company Sushi Typhoon that scarred my eyes was the utterly ludicrous Helldriver. That was an utterly outrageous movie that left logic weeping on the floor and went full-force on delivering the action, and the action really does not stop.

So, when it came to watching Yakuza Weapon I expected more of the same. I mean it is directed by Tak Sakaguchi and Yudai Yamaguchi, who between them have brought us such delights as Mutant Girl Squad, Meatball Machine and Battlefield Baseball. With those films under their collective belts you certainly won’t be expecting a Merchant Ivory production. Don’t let the generic title of this movie fool you, there are weapons and it does feature the Yakuza, but it really doesn’t do this mental hour and forty five minutes justice.

I will tell you right now that the plot is once again secondary to the onscreen carnage that fills up the majority of this flick’s running time, but I will give you a brief outline.

Shozo is a former Yakuza turned mercenary who learns of the death of his father. He didn’t have a great relationship with his old man, but he was the boss of his particular Yakuza faction. So, after four years in exile he returns to Japan. Upon arriving there he discovers that the Yakuza he once knew has been taken over by a real scumbag. With that in mind he takes it upon himself, along with his two cohorts, to take on the new regime. This should be far easier than you would think seeing as Shozo is virtually indestructible.

Of course, he isn’t completely indestructible and after one rather explosive confrontation he finds himself with a machine gun for an arm and a rocket launcher for a leg. Yes sir, we’re heading into Planet Terror territory by the way of The Machine Girl. This could well be enough of a plotline to carry this action-packed movie throughout, alas the writers thought otherwise and have tacked on about four or five other plot strands that only really serve to bog down the action and extend the running time.

Yakuza Weapon is absolutely ridiculous; it’s outrageous, violent and gory. In other words it is damned good fun. The fight scenes kick ass and despite the film’s quite obvious low budget the computerized effects don’t really detract from the action. You will notice them, of that I promise you, but you have to take this sort of film into context. You have rockets shooting out of a woman’s most holy of holy, we’re not talking high-brow stuff here. You’re either going to dig the hell out of it or you will turn tail and run to the hills.

I really enjoyed it, probably not as much as some earlier entry’s into this warped sub-genre, but more so than the aforementioned Helldriver. Sure, it does get bogged down with a fifteen minute too long running time (this style of film is suited to 90 mins of action and no more if you ask me) and an overly multi-layered plot, but it is worth it for the wonderful action.

Tak Sakaguchi, as well as co-directing the movie, is terrific in the lead role of Shoko, he’s a mess of pissed off anger and high-flying ass-kicking and does hold the movie together. You might not really like him but he gets the job done.

These style of films truly are an acquired taste. They are infused with far more humor than the old school style of films like Tetsuo, and as such may turn some viewers away. However, if you like non-stop action, outrageous effects and a ton of blood and gore you could do a lot worse than check this batshit crazy movie out.

Yakuza Weapon is released by Well Go USA on Blu-ray + DVD Combo pack on February 7th