TALES FROM NETFLIX: Land of the Lost OUT NOW!

Out this week on DVD and Blu Ray, be sure and pick up Land of the Lost, as no one went and saw this in theaters. Which was a shame. Land of the Lost was an amazing visual treat, packed with fun and humor. And while not for everyone, if you ever watched 70's kid shows, dig Farrell or McBride, or enjoy sci-fi and/or dinosaurs, what are you waiting for?

But don't just take my word for it, here's Harry's latest plug for it...

Also, here's my original post from the movie release, with plenty of screen grabs, and even some fan art...

TALES FROM NETFLIX: '09 catch-up

Haven't watched many movies this year... between a 2 plus week vacation in February, prepping for Wondercon later that month, catching up in the office, and trying to keep up with the DVR... well our usual mass movie intake has gone slack. However, there are quite a few recent comic book related DVD's as well as a number of flicks worth talking about since I last checked in, so here we go!

First, the comic book movies:
PUNISHER: WAR ZONE - Okay, not much to say here positive, but I did enjoy the cartoonish over the top violence, however, it's so over the top, especially in the first scene, I can see this one positive for me, being just another con for many others. I did love the first scene with Frank though, where he crashes a mob dinner with more knifes to the skull and snapped necks per frame then perhaps ever seen (can't help but think Stalone's hyper violent recent Rambo led them on this path). Anyway, from there it's all woe is me Punisher, as he shambles from his subway lair (please) to neon set piece... As much as I enjoyed Ray Stevenson in HBO's Rome, he's dull and lifeless here, but that's his character, and the script. Don't even get me started on the clichéd villains here...

Skip it!

NOT RECOMMENDED

WONDER WOMAN - Like Punisher (wow, who'd think I could draw a parallel from that film to an animated take on DC's princess of power!?!) Wonder Woman comes out guns blazing... or in this case, the amazons come out swords swinging, in an epic battle with Ares god of war, and his forces of man's evil. It's a glorious sword and sandal meets fantasy throw down, amazingly crafted, choreographed, and slickly animated. We meet all the Amazonian side characters that will make up Diana's supporting cast, because this all takes place before her birth. Wonder Woman is an origin story, and when it's focused on Themyscira and the mystical aspects of her story, it really shines. For me though, once they introduce them and the story into modern times, and specifically Colonel Steve Trevor, I have a hard time buying into all of it. I think they could have skipped the outsider crashing into the land of the amazons plot, and just used the device they already do to get Diana off the island and into our world, and made things much more believable. Instead we're treated to a forced fish out of water love story, by way of Wonder Woman coming to NYC with love struck everyman/jet pilot. It's too contrived, and we've seen this story time and again before. The movie truly shines though when Diana is in action as Wonder Woman, with smartly written action and kinetic visuals. And the big finish in Washington DC, reprising the battle of Amazons vs Ares and his minions, is also lots of fun.

All in all, Wonder Woman is a smart, well produced, enjoyable work. It's worth noting the stellar voice cast, with Keri Russell as Diana, Nathan Fillion as Col Trevor, and Rosario Dawson among many others. Also, Wonder Woman is rated PG-13 and takes full advantage of that, by being fully mature in tone, while also keeping things light enough to play to a wide audience.

I'd like to give this one a stronger recommendation, but it's just a bit too unbalanced to do so. Still very good though.

RECOMMENDED

HULK VS - Meanwhile, the Marvel universe continues to get animated too, and like the current DC offerings, they're skewing more mature here, and bringing the animation style more in line with current sensibilities. Marvel's first few animated offerings were ambitious, but widely missed the mark, watering down mature storylines and needlessly changing things with the Ultimates, or completely failing with Iron Man (I skipped Doctor Strange, so I don't know how that came out, I've my suspicions though). This is all encouraging, especially when the last work was aimed squarely at kids, with Next Avengers, which was otherwise a very strong work.

Hulk VS brings two short features, one featuring Thor, and the other featuring Wolverine. Both showcase strong animation, that's clean and stylized, and both also feature a deep supporting cast from each respective character's mythos. For me, I enjoyed the Thor story a touch more, mainly because I thought they brought the Norse characters to life for me, in a way they've never been able to on the comic page. But Wolverine's story, and it's inclusion of Weapon X, felt a bit as if the Hulk was just forced into the story, or an afterthought once things got going. I think these would've worked better as either straight up battles between the characters here, or focused more on the characters they featured, sans the Hulk.

Still fun and very well made though.

RECOMMENDED


Next, the horror movies:
EDEN LAKE - A horror/terror import from England, Eden Lake is one of those works with a simple premise, a young couple alone in the remote wilderness being terrorized, that completely succeeds by capturing the vibe of menace and fear. Similar to the French import, Them, which was remade stateside last year as The Strangers (of which, Them is far superior), it's the simple notion that when you're all alone, miles from civilization, faceless teens can fuck with you to no end if they want. How far will things go? Will anyone survive? These films work if they can put you in the shoes of the hunted, and just like Them, Eden Lake slides you right in from the get go, then it gets all kinds of fucked up, and increasingly bloody as we go.

Eden Lake is well shot, cast, acted, and realized. Everything about it rings true, which helps you merge into the story. It is unflinching in it's presentation though, so be prepared, but if you can take it, it's truly gripping, and haunting. And Kelly Reilly makes for one of the better scream queens in recent memory...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

AMUSEMENT - At times inspired, especially in it's jump cut presentation at the start, seemingly switching from different horror films mid story, both familiar, but deliciously different, Amusement is a solid effort at sending up horror and torture porn that doesn't quite hit the mark.

If however, you're a horror fan, that watches it all, you'll likely get a kick out of it, even though it fails to seal the deal.

RECOMMENDED

STORM WARNING - If like me, you've seen the ads for this one before untold numbers of other horror flicks, you likely thought it looked as lame and unoriginal as I did. However, it turns out Storm Warning is actually damn entertaining, and suffers from a truly uninspired trailer...

Like Eden Lake, with the success of Them (and The Strangers), we seem to be getting a fair amount of similar tales. But like all of those cautionary tales for couples in remote parts of the world, Storm Warning pushes all the right terror buttons, and offers up enough left field bizzaro Australian spun lunacy to engage the most hardened horror fiends (I'll just say there is a scene that involves a baby kangaroo, among other things). Also like some of those works, be prepared to face your fears in over-the-top, in-your-face fashion!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

MIRRORS - NOT RECOMMENDED

BAGHEAD - Okay, while Baghead is not a true horror movie, it is an indie comedy send up (of sorts) of horror though. From the same team that brought us the offbeat 2005 indy The Puffy Chair (recommended), Baghead messes with the viewer by way of messing with the cast in what's presented as a real life inside indie filmmaking weekend retreat. It's all good fun for four friends in a remote cabin, til someone with a brown paper bag over their head, may or may not be lurking outside the windows.

Worth a watch.

RECOMMENDED

RESIDENT EVIL: DEGENERATION - Watchable and mostly high quality CGI animation, that either you need knowledge of the games to properly engage with, or more likely, just doesn't really connect on many levels. It's entertaining enough though, and does (sort of) feature zombies...

MILDLY RECOMMENDED


And now, a quick run down of the non genre stuff:
THE ROCKER - If you like Rainn Wilson (The Office's Dwight), this isn't a bad way to while away an hour and a half. Just don't expect anything special.

MILDLY RECOMMENDED

KABLUEY - Offbeat black comedy that follows Lisa Kudrow, a left behind Iraq mother who struggles to support her two sons... Enter their uncle, a slacker/loser who takes a job as a local giant blue mascot in the rural town... character and comedy developments ensue.

Unique, heartfelt, and enjoyable.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

ROCK'N'ROLLA -If you like Guy Ritchie UK crime films, it's a must see as he's back to form here. Not as special as Lock Stock, but a solid watch.

RECOMMENDED

PINEAPPLE EXPRESS - It's Cheech and Chong meets Rambo. Which is cool, but the cast here are what make this one shine (especially Franco). And since I was on the fence between RECOMMENDED, and HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, well, highly won...

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

HAMLET 2 - Entertaining, funny, and a bit inspired.

RECOMMENDED


Okay, outside of some offbeat recommendations I want to highlight separately, that should catch up most the noteworthy viewings so far this year. Now go check these out if you haven't already, there's some good stuff here!
(And, as always, click on the Netflix label below to see all of the Tales From Netflix recommendations)

TALES FROM NETFLIX: Turning Japanese

Watched a couple of off-the-beaten-path Japanese flicks recently, VERSUS and Takeshi Miike’s SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO, so thought I’d give them a mention together...

First up, VERSUS

Just finished watching this one, and it’s a bit older, been kicking around since 2000, but I’d heard of it quite a ways back and put it in the queue, since it was supposed to be gonzo action with a touch of zombie, then when it got a plug on Attack of the Show’s Asian Underground, I dug it out and bumped it up.

To be honest, as much as I wanted to like it, I did have a really hard time not ejecting it, several times, but, I am glad I stuck with it. As much as it has really cool action and staged conflicts, and stylish anime style camerawork and characters, it does move very very slow when not in action, and get a bit repetitive. However, things do escalate, and get cooler.

Also, it’s not really a zombie flick, and I knew that, but don’t get it expecting that. Basically, an escaped prisoner intervenes in some kind of gang incident in the woods, but it turns out everything ties together, and the woods aren’t what they seem, when bodies start dropping, and then getting back up.

Choreographed sword fights, gun fights, fist fights, and 50 caliber damage!

RECOMMENDED if this sounds like your type of thing, it's definitely worth a watch, just be patient.

Along the same lines is a recent release from Japanese gonzo master, Takashi Miike (Ichi the Killer), SUKIYAKI WESTERN DJANGO

Takashi Miike has built a strong brand for himself as the cutting edge Japanese director, who traffics in the extreme, plus he’s quite prolific. Now, I haven’t seen too much of his work, but what I have seen is definitely gripping, if you can stomach it. With his latest release though, Miike is giving us his take on the spaghetti western genre, and is in safe mode by comparison. Django also features Quentin Tarantino in a cameo, so it’s gotten a bit of buzz.

As with Versus, I found Django a bit tough to get into at first, and contemplated giving up, but just like Versus again, I’m glad I stuck with it. Django plays like a straight western, but thematically it’s purely Japanese. Only, instead of choosing subtitles or dub, Miike has the cast here learn their lines phonetically in English, just as he did with his Masters of Horror feature, Imprint (also recommended, but very very dark), which is a bit strange, and so is the movie.

Stick it out though, because it’s a solid story, and has some fun and imaginative standoff/showdown sequences.

A ballet of gunplay, costumes, and blazing gatlins!

RECOMMENDED, again, if you’re ready to be challenged with some offbeat Japanese spaghetti western craziness.

_____
For more Netflix gems, hit up the TALES FROM NETFLIX archives HERE

TALES FROM NETFLIX: From Dusk Til Dawn and on and on

So, I'm a huge Rodriguez, and Tarantino fan (especially Tarantino), but I didn't much care for From Dusk Til Dawn when it first came out, I can't stand Juliette Lewis, and the whole vampire twist wasn't my thing at the time... I'd never been much of a horror movie buff, til more recent years. Now I get the whole inspiration and everything behind it, and just love horror movies of every variety yadda yadda.

Anyway, re-watched Dusk Til Dawn earlier this year, and didn't realize they ever made sequels, so I'd been checking those out.

I watched Dusk Til Dawn 2 (Texas Blood Money ) a month or two back, and while it was fun, it didn't tie into the first movie too much, and wasn't really that good. It has it’s moments, and some flair here and there, but is otherwise pretty forgettable…

However, I just watched Dusk Til Dawn 3 (The Hangman's Daughter - 1999) tonight, and that is a hell of a lot better... a really fun movie.
It's well done, great cast (mostly), great costumes, designs, sets, music, you name it, all very solid.
The story is also great too, as it's a prequel this time, set in Mexico in the early 1900's, that has outlaws, Christians, lawmen, and more all colliding, and eventually having it out at the infamous vampire pyramid home that would become the Titty Twister in the later films.

Some great gunplay, humor, gore, and damn, Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison, the clone man himself) as a hangman/Indiana Jones bad ass. Not to mention Michael Parks (Grindhouse) is super cool throughout, and Machete (Danny Trejo as the barkeeper) as the only actor to appear in all three films (I think).

From the imaginative story, to the quality production, and colorful cast of characters, the movie is full of quirky touches that make Dusk Til Dawn 3 stand out as an overlooked camp/horror/action/adventure gem!

Check it out if you haven't!

And for the die hards, Texas Blood Money might be worth a look, there's nothing to great about it, but it's not a bad way to spin up your DVD player...

FROM DUSK TIL DAWN 3 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
FROM DUSK TIL DAWN 2 - MILDLY RECOMMENDED (If only for the Bruce Campbell cameo!)

Dusk Til Dawn 3 TRAILER:


And who can forget this scene, man woman or child, from the original?

TALES FROM NETFLIX: Feast 2

A tag team midget luchador Dirk Diggler...
A vengeful bad ass twin biker queen...
Monster on cat beastiality...
Monster farting, spewing, spooging dissection orgies...
Group vomiting...
Baby tossing...
Decomposing grandma catapulting...
Feast 2 is truly a feast of foulness and depravity, and god damn I love it!
Give me the craziest shit you can think up, any day of the week.
Does it cross the line? Or every line? Yes. Okay by me, if you tell a fun story, and although Feast 2 (and the original) revel in the taboo, they've got a hell of a lot more going for them.

I absolutely loved the first film, the Project Greenlight season 3 winner was a ballsy in your face send up of the survival horror genre, mixing 2 parts Tremors with equal parts Tarantino and Truama films. Mysterious beastial creatures cornering a dozen or so desert drifters in a hole in the wall bar, and literally fucking with them. Sprinkle in a couple oddball cameos and supporting actors, like Jason Mewes (Jay of Jay and Silent Bob fame), Trech (of OPP fame), Judah Friedlander (of VH1 trucker hat video/Best Week Ever pseudo fame), along with Henry Rollins to kick some ass in pink sweat pants, and the quirk ratchets up a few notches.Feast quickly establishes that it will mercilessly fuck with any and all survival horror formulas, and constantly use that to it's advantage. With the sequel literally picking up from the final frames of the first, we're fairly certain we're in for more of the same. And while the sequel breaks new ground, like taking the production outside the walls of the only bar setting of the first for instance, it mostly suffers for it. The opening act is a bit manic, and not near up to par with what's come before, but once things come together, and the setting gets dark again, it really hits it's stride.
This time out we have an entirely new cast of misfits (mostly, a couple familiar faces do welcomely return), and a broader scope, along with more monsters, but the trademark bat shit crazy characters and situations are very in keeping with the first film! And again, Feast 2 Sloppy Seconds is daringly nasty, so if you can't throw down with no holds barred cinema, don't bother. If however, like me, you're overjoyed at the prospect, Feast 2 is an instant classic, just like the first. And while the original was a buzzer to buzzer success, the second does falter a bit as I said at the start, and also have some spotty effects at times, but in the end I could care less, it's still a hell of a good time.So, if you didn't see the first film, and somehow missed my mad joyous ravings about it, here's a sloppy second chance to throw in on the Feast bandwagon... because with this one's ending, the creative forces behind this franchise (the original director and scriptwriters returned for the sequel) are clearly down for more!

HIGHEST RECOMMENDATION!

RECENT RUNDOWN

HELL RIDE - Tarantino produces what seemed like it could've been a "Grindhouse" feature, but you quickly realize why it's not... All the elements of a Tarantino work are there, Michael Madsen, desert setting, soundtrack, jump cut timeline, but all the substance is lacking. It's a confusing mess with a questionable cast, but shot really nice, and is cool to look at...

MILDLY RECOMMENDED

TALES FROM NETFLIX: The Fabulous Stains

I think it was Rolling Stone (side note, my wife has us subscribed to nearly every magazine, literally, for next to no money I guess, I dunno, but I do enjoy RS and Entertainment Weekly) who had a blurb about this 1982 gem a few issues back...

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: THE FABULOUS STAINS is an early 80's punk rock mockumentary of sorts, and stars a very young Diane Lane as bandleader to would be punk trio The Stains (who also sport a very young Laura Dern on bass). It seems Diane's character was featured on a 60 Minutes style TV expose after telling her boss off on camera (in a cameo from a moustache sporting Data from Star Trek TNG no less), which launches her into an orphaned teen angst fueled journey of empowerment and media manipulation, yeah. It seems her refusal to fit into the accepted path for America's youth, specifically women, with her white striped hair, risque fish netted outfit, and "don't put out" mantra are exactly what other young women are looking for in their lives.

Stains is not only quite a unique story, but it's told in gritty style, perfectly capturing the darker side of the times, showcasing punk music, and road weary rockers, as they take a cross country run down tour bus (complete with rasta driver/manager) that never makes it out of the mid-American tri-state PA setting. Like a time capsule, of punk music, clothes, and attitudes from the dawn of the 80's, and with a line up of radically younger actors still around today, also including Ray Winstone (most recently as Beowulf, and Indiana Jone's "buddy" in Kingdom of the Crystal Skull), and punk/rockers (members of Sex Pistols, The Clash, and The Tubes are featured) the Stains is the perfect rock movie and feels as snarky fresh as if it were shot now, with an eye for campy details from then.

Great music, great cast, and a solid story make LAGTFS a really fun trip to another era, that's as relevant (both musically, and socially, it's mixed messages are as grey as reality) now as it was all those decades ago, even with the uneven ending.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED


RECENT RUNDOWN

FIVE ACROSS THE EYES - This no budget horror is shot in shakey cam as 5 girls take a backroad home from a football game that gets them lost, and colliding with a seriously pshycho Toyota Fourunner... chaos ensues. It's at times gripping, capturing the manic vibe of the situations, but ultimately a scene or two too long, and contrived. MILDLY RECOMMENDED

MOTHER OF TEARS - Dario Argento's final in his witch trilogy is a solid occult outing, complete with freaky demonic monkey, but daughter Asia, and the overall arc, come over poorly in the end. MILDLY RECOMMENDED

REST STOP: DON'T LOOK BACK - The first one sucked, this one is better, but don't bother.

TALES FROM NETFLIX - Dance of the Dead

Ever since first hearing about DANCE OF THE DEAD on AICN last year, I've been anxiously awaiting it's release on DVD. Well, it came out last week, as part of the new Lions Gate Ghost House Underground series (which I'm assuming has replaced the annual Horrorfest releases?)...

SYNOPSIS: On the night of the big High-School Prom, the dead rise to eat the living, and the only people who can stop them are the losers who couldn't get dates to the dance.

While the movie is a lot of fun, and has some really great moments, it doesn't quite achieve full on greatness. It is however a really solid watch, and very much recommended, especially for the zombie fans.

Also, for the zombie faithful out there, while it's your standard bio-waste driven zombie virus plaguing a community style set-up slash send-up, in keeping with the zom/com formula minted by the classic original Return of the Living Dead (and popularized more recently by Shuan of the Dead), it does offer some really fun flourishes to the tried and true, especially about mid-movie, when the cast begin to engage the zombies in hand-to-hand combat! It's fucking worth a viewing for that alone!!

This is not one of the darkly serious horror spins on zombies, it's tongue bitten off in cheek, zombie frenchin', prom crashin', copious amounts of a Pat Benetar cover song soundtrack spinnin' good time! It also should be noted the production on this one is top notch. If you're into Dance of the Dead, you might also check out Night of the Living Dorks, or Dead and Breakfast (which was much more enjoyable, yet a much lower rent production)!

RECOMMENDED

TALES FROM NETFLIX - Starship Troopers trilogy?

STARSHIP TROOPERS (1997)

With the recent release of a third Starship Trooper movie (direct to DVD), it was time to revisit the 1997 original, and it's 2004 follow up. I'd really enjoyed the feature when it came out, for the mash up of Paul Verhoeven's stylings, and Heinlein Sci-Fi bug warfare, but was ultimately disappointed by it's anti-climatic ending. Over a decade later, how would it hold up, was it as fun and well polished as I remembered? Would it age well? Would I still hate the ending??
The answers were yes, yes, and sort of.
It does hold up really well, with the cheeky "would you like to know more" military adverts coming off just as fresh and fun as they did way back in the 1900's, along with the special effects, I always really loved those nasty Arachnid bug designs! Hell, even the cast, the much maligned Denise Richards, where is he now Casper Van Dien lead (why he's in Starship Troopers 3), and Melrose Place cast off Rico rival, are all really fun here regardless.
Sure the story, as broad and epic as it is, gets too cute with the circumstances of our three school chums crossing paths (again, and again, and again), but hey, it's NPH! (back in the day it was Doogie, but now he's made a name on his own dammit!) Plus, fuck yeah, Jake Busey was never better as a chip off the ol insane block!
I still really enjoy this film, and riding along with the cadets as they enroll in the war against the bugs (cause the only good bug is a dead bug, that'll never change!), the cool in-your-face sci-fi warfare, and all the winking and nodding along the way, that is til we get to our Brain Bug ending, and things kinda fall apart for me. It's not that it was too much to buy, with everthing played loose all along, it just feels off to me, rushed.

But hey, Starship Troopers is a great, an almost perfect sci-fi movie, despite it's flaws! It may be goofy, but I love it!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED


STARSHIP TROOPERS 2: HERO OF THE FEDERATION (2004)

Years later we got a decidedly different follow up, gone were the original cast, along with most the themes of the first film. Sure we still had the Federation recruiting feed bookend, the trademark arachnids, and titular troopers, but this time, things were decidedly more focused, and of a much more horror nature. This film, which I really like and enjoy, is more of a "Tales of the Starship Troopers" than a proper sequel. It doesn't feature any of the first movies characters, or advance the overall story much, but it is a fun and cool side story, in the same universe.
The only cast member to carry over is Brenda Strong, which is a bit confusing, because her smaller supporting role in the first film is of a starship pilot who's killed, and here she's a bad ass infantry Sargent??? But anyway, doesn't matter, the key to Trooper 2, is to be prepared for a bit more gore and horror, than just in your face sci-fi war fare...

However, the story, centered around an abandoned infantry post on a bug world, and all it's cool anti-bug defenses, as well as a mysterious Captain that may be a real life hero, or a murderous decenter, is a pure sci-fi horror gem. Well, gem might be a bit strong, but it is very solid and a lot more fun than you might expect, and all with the trappings of the Starship Troopers universe. Just don't get this anticipating a true sequel, but a darkly fun movie!
Also of note, the under appreciated Richard Burgi (24, Hostel 2) stars as the no nonsense titular Captain, and the Nip Tuck siren, Kelly Karlson, appears as an (SPOILER WARNING) often nude bug-controlled private!
RECOMMENDED

STARSHIP TROOPERS 3: MARAUDER (2008)

Now, this is a proper sequel in all but budget.
Here, we have the triumphant return of Lt. Rico, now a Colonel, and a wider focus back on the entire federation forces and their efforts against the bugs. New bugs, new leadership, and eventually new advanced "marauder" tech are showcased! However, the whole thing is uneven production wise, as it's clearly hampered by it's limited direct-to-dvd finances. Whereas with 2, the story turned inward to offset the reduced made-for-dvd budget, here, the original film's writer returns to both write and direct, and restore the scope to a more epic scale, regardless of the diminished effects capabilities. The effects aren't terrible (most the time), they're just more in line with television sci-fi than feature film.

The story and acting are also uneven, so there's nothing about this effort that's superior in any way to the original (that just keeps it on par with the first movie doesn't it?), but despite all of that, once the dust settles, it is a fun story, with plenty of cool stuff to make for an enjoyable watch. At the mid-point, I'd written it off as a loss, but they won me back by the credits.

Other key notes on this one, is the addition to the cast of Jolene Blalock (the vulcan from Star Trek: Enterprise), and the return of the captured brain bug (sans NPH)!

It's kooky, and a bit of a mess at times, so just don't expect too much and you'll do fine.RECOMMENDED (for fans of the series, or sci-fi fans only)

Starship Troopers, sex, bugs, and violence, for fans of low grade sci-fi!

TALES FROM NETFLIX - Diary of the Dead

Just got around to watching the new Romero zombie movie, DIARY OF THE DEAD, last night. The new first person/handheld cam reboot of George Romero's classic zombie universe. I'd heard a mixed bag of reviews on it, and well, that's pretty much what it was.

It was good, maybe better than Land in terms of story, but man, I had a hard time with some of the cast, whereas the cast on Romero's last, modern, zombie feature Land of the Dead were mostly pro/recognizable/quality actors, Diary had a cast made of unknowns, and featured just some bad acting in spots (especially the lead Eliza Dushku wannabe girl, they shoulda just got Dushku)...
Plus, a lot of the situations and situational dialogue didn't ring true... like their reactions and motivations... come on, put the camera down an help the girl getting chased by a zombie, etc
It seemed Romero was too keen on driving his point home, to a fault.
If not for that stuff getting in the way, it would've been great.
It's too bad, but like with the Star Wars prequels, not sure if it was bad acting, or just bad direction... I mean in Romero's defense, these were unknown actors, whereas George had a stable of thoroughbreds.

Also, with both Land and Diary, I felt the ever present vibe of menace was mostly mia, and that's a staple of a good zombie flick.

However, there was some really cool creative zombie stuff though... zombies trapped in swimming pools, hydrochloric acid skull melts, shock paddles to the head, etc!!
And I loved the deaf mute Amish dood! He was BAD ASS!!!

I'm a huge Romero and zombie fan, so this was a must see for me, but for those who aren't, it's a mild recommendation. If you wanna see some kick ass zombies, rent the recent Dawn of the Dead remake, or the original.

MILDLY RECOMMENDED

TSL CATCH UP WEEK: DAY 2 - Tales From Netflix

Another batch of passed by comic culture recommendations, this time from the DVD department...

DOA: DEAD OR ALIVE

This is not just a worthless video game movie built around cheesecake, it's actually a must see for comic book/anime fans! Is it pure fluff? Sure, but it knows that, and has a great time anyway!
Non-stop action, cool cinematography, and sleek design propel this fun thrill-ride!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

EVIL ALIENS

This UK romp blends horror and sci-fi with plenty of in your face camp, gore, sex, and humor! The film opens with some graphic probing... you've been warned!!RECOMMENDED

MURDER PARTY

Quite simply the most innovative, riveting, and righteous film journey since PULP FICTION!

Yeah, it’s that good (though not AS good as Pulp Fiction mind you)!!

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED


PUZZLEHEAD

A purely cerebral sci-fi indie that draws you into the life of a scientist and his cyborg clone. That is to say, it's sci-fi, without any of the trappings, but only the ideas, and none of the budget or effects...

RECOMMENDED

SEVERANCE

Another UK blending of black comedy and horror setups. Unique and engaging (but much more mainstream than Evil Aliens).RECOMMENDED

WRONG TURN 2: DEAD END

Henry Rollins goes AHnuld on mutant hillbillies!!
You need more than that?!?This movie was a blast, and way better than the first!

RECOMMENDED