Lo, There Shall Come Some DVD Reviews!

It's amazing how quickly time passes.

FOG! has been up and running a year this coming January, traffic is steadily rising (tell your friends) and my planned weekly column has yet to take off as intended.

Until now.

This week I'm going to delve into the dvd stack with my thoughts on a number of recent titles, so grab a bowl of buttery popcorn and enjoy!


The Haunted World of El Superbeasto
2009, Anchor Bay Entertainment

I am not a fan of Rob Zombie's films; watching them makes me want to take a shower. That being said, his animated effort, The Haunted World of El Superbeasto, if nothing else, is a unique viewing experience that I found to be charming and pretty entertaining. Co-written and voiced by comedian Tom Pappa, El Superbeasto is a luchador/superhero/porn czar who, with his sidekick/sister/secret agent Suzi-X (Sheri Moon Zombie) protect Monsterland from the nefarious Dr. Satan (Paul Giamatti)and save the damsel in distress, Velvet Von Black (Rosario Dawson).

El Superbeasto is raunchy, over-the-top, sexist, violent and a lot of fun, often playing like the bastard child of Ralph Bakshi, John Kricfalusi and MAD Magazine and if I were twelve years old, I might think it's the greatest thing ever. Each shot is layered with plenty of background action, one liners and cameos aplenty.


My biggest complaint is that the film suffered from the very obvious Flash animation which made the film feel like it was better suited for the internet in short bursts. Other notable voices include Geoffrey Lewis, Brian Posehn, Daniel Roebuck, Danny Trejo, Harland Williams and Tom Kenny. I wouldn't mind to see more of El Superbeasto's adventures, just with better animation.

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies
2009, Warner Bros.

Bruce Timm and his team have really done no wrong in their original direct-to-dvd DC films.

Until now.

In part, that might be because I had such high hopes for it (admittedly, other films that I enjoyed like Superman: Doomsday and Batman: Gotham Knight I had no expectations).

Superman/Batman: Public Enemies packs an awful lot into it's just over an hour running time. So much in fact that it's little more than an ongoing fight scene. Based on the inital arc of the Superman/Batman comic by Jeph Loeb and Ed McGuiness, the film is an overly muscled, absurb adventure stretched over the skeleton of a script by the usual great Stan Berkowitz. Part of the problem is that the source material itself wasn't a self-contained tale and the attempt to adapt McGuinness' style isn't always successful.

DC Animation Alums Kevin Conroy, Tim Daley, Clancy Brown and CCH Pounder all reprise their previous roles and additional voices include John C. McGinley, Xander Berkeley, Allison Mack, Ricardo Chavira, LeVar Burton and Corey Burton. I'm hoping that the next project (which is previewed on the disc, Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths) fares better. Next time, no expectations.

The Hills Run Red
2009, Warner Bros.

I am not a fan of the slasher genre and less so of the current trend in torture horror. That being said, The Hills Run Red is a mixed bag. Unlike many movies in the genre, the production value is top notch, but it is an ugly film, with a level of brutal violence that actually impedes on the entertainment value.

Tad Hilgenbrinck (who is unfortunately forever in my head as the Seann William Scott replacement in American Pie Presents Band Camp) plays Tyler, a filmmaker/horror afficianado who is making a documentary surrounding the film The Hills Run Red, an independent horror film that disappeared immediately after a handful of showings, along with it's director, Wilson Wyler Concannon (William Sadler), in 1982. Along for the adventure are his best friend and his girlfriend (who are sleeping together) and the daughter of the filmmaker, Alexa (the often topless Sophie Monk) who joins the trio after Tyler weans her off of heroin in a mere three days.

And off they go, following Alexa's lead into the original wooded location where Concannon filmed his infamous horror masterpiece decades before. And there they encounter The Hills Run Red's masked killer, Babyface.

For real.

The film's pointless violence and mayhem is in contrast to the tone, which at some times doesn't seem to know if it wants to terrify you or make you laugh. In some ways, it's a less interesting rehash of Wes Craven's Scream or New Nightmare, which both focus on a blurred post-modern examination of the horror film as a self aware entity. On a side note, I thought that the Babyface character was original and fits into the 80's iconography of horror villains seamlessly. Although I wasn't crazy about the film, there is already a set up for a sequel which seems like it could easily be more interesting than the original.


Trick 'r Treat
2009, Warner Bros.

Unfortunately dumped released on dvd rather than the theatrical exhibition that it deserved, writer/director Mike Dougherty's Trick 'r Treat is an instant classic, reminiscent of Creepshow and EC Comics told in a non-linear structure reminiscent of Pulp Fiction.

With four intertwining tales all set on Halloween, the film is pure fun, often trading horror with humor. That being said, watching Trick 'r Treat deserves to be an annual tradition as the movie celebrates the holiday with every horror staple from monsters to ghosts to serial killers to it's own iconic hero, the diminutive Sam, a pint sized scarecrow who is there as a constant reminder to observe the rules of Halloween.

The cast is great with memorable performances from Dylan Baker, Tahmoh Penikett, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, and Leslie Bibb.

This is one of the few cases that I highly recommend that you believe the hype, buy it sight unseen and on October 31st throw it in while you drink some warm cider or a cold beer and enjoy.

Blood and Bone
2009, Sony Pictures

It's been far too long since there have been any solid action films like the glory days of Seagal and Van Damme (and yes, they were glory days), which is a shame. Part of the problem is that Channing Tatum isn't that interesting.

But Michael Jai White is thankfully and I was more than pleasantly surprised by how entertaining Blood and Bone is.

Jai White plays Bone who is released from prison and becomes an underground street fighter, in part to facilitate a jailhouse promise. The action is well choreographed with MMA fighters Bob Sapp, Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson, Gina Carano, Xingu Rodil, Michelle Lee, and Kumiko Nagano all appearing.

Bone catches the eye of ruthless gangster James (OZ's Eamonn Walker in another fantastic performance), who wants Bone to fight for him in a larger bout to buy his own legitimacy in the eyes of crimelord Julian Sands.

The film is a showcase for Jai White who doesn't disappoint and becomes an action icon by the time the end credits roll.

Life On Mars: Series 1 (UK)
2009, Acorn Media

I'm of the belief that the influence of British television directly caused American television to evolve. The shorter season, finite series that have become the staple of most premium cable networks have unquestionably stepped up the quality. And more often than not, their police procedural series are far more interesting.

Life On Mars is one of the best series that I've seen in some time.

Forget the U.S. remake. It's an entirely different interpretation.
Life On Mars is a reminder of how dramatically the world has changed in a very short period of time. In 2006, Manchester Detective Chief Inspector Sam Tyler is tracking a serial killer who might have abducted his partner and girlfriend. Tyler is hit by a car and wakes up in the same location, but it's 1973,and he's wearing clothes of the period and he finds papers indicating that he's been transferred to the local police station where he had been working in 2006.

What happened to Sam? Is he insane or comatose or dead? Or did he travel through time?

And to make matters worse, there's a murder in 1973 which somehow seems connected to the serial killer in 2006.

Life on Mars is in no way a kitschy love letter to the seventies. Cops take bribes, beat suspects, and use archaic investigative technique. It's gritty and original and addictive television.