Tag: Blu-ray

A Quick Retrospective on Philip J. Cook, Filmmaker-at-large!

One thing that’s for certain is that everyone in one of Philip J. Cook’s film projects are passionate about what they do and are invested from start to end!

Phillip J Cook at WorkThe big difference between one of Philip J. Cook‘s early films, like Despiser, to a recent one, namely Ghost Planet, is in how well he can blend in the special effects. He uses a blue/green screen for most of his wide angle shots, and these days, they’re in those closeups too! With modern-age computer technology, he can truly create those exotic worlds, and while his skills as a storyteller haven’t changed much, what makes his films unique is that he will micromanage. That is, he’s an auteur.

Although most of his tales are populated with characters in familiar roles, I can’t fault him for his choices after watching more than these two works. He wants to make his works accessible. What I’m recognising from Despiser reminds me of Buckaroo Banzai and I had to check out the bonus features first before attempting to watch the film. They’re quite good at getting me primed at what to expect instead of tuning it out.

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Steve Wang and an Amazing 40 Years in the Makeup Effects Industry. Reflections on the Film That Defined His Career: Kung Fu Rascals

Not everyone will be aware that Steve Wang’s career as a master creature effects artist is approaching 40 years!

Kung Fu Rascals Blu-ray
Available to preorder on Amazon USA

Steve Wang’s behind-the-scenes credits are vast, and to talk to him about the work that got him recognized as an award-winning creature creator and master FX artist was an absolute pleasure. He grew up watching shows like Ultraman, Super Sentai along with many Japanese monster movies which would later influence his creations.

One movie that helped him get recognized in Hollywood was Kung Fu Rascals, which was very DIY, funded out of his own pocket when studio support faded, and it’s now finally getting a Blu-ray treatment from Visual Vengeance, a subsidiary of Wild Eye Releasing.

This film emerged in the early 90s when the tokusatsu genre was truly getting a foothold in North America. Before then, martial arts films with stars like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan were all the rage. Fans wanted more, the style that transitioned out of one decade to another certainly influenced this filmmaker. He loved all those classics and they certainly had an influence on his style.

And to know more about where he came from, I had the opportunity to talk to him.

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When These Cursed Waters Aren’t As Scary. Why Do We Love The Creature of Lake Okanagan?

Cursed Waters- Creature of Lake OkanaganNow available to view on Prime Video (USA) and purchase on the official website.

Small Town Monsters is taking a break by doing something different. Instead of searching for Bigfoot in Cursed Waters: Creature of Lake Okanagan, they are investigating the legends and recent sightings of Ogopogo! This creature that’s the mascot of Kelowna, British Columbia has been sighted several times in recent years, and it seems that’s holding steady.

Ever since it was “discovered” as early as 1872 (by settlers), and perhaps longer by indigenous tribes, what makes this documentary compelling is with what locals believe it represents. This work is better because what’s presented here differs from what Josh Gates offered when he visited back in 2009 (with the episode airing in 2010), and also the TV series Monster Quest.

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Unboxing the Huge Star Trek: Picard Legacy Collection, The Video and Expanded Review

We expand on what’s said in our unboxing video on YouTube and offer some more thoughts after giving Star Trek: The Picard Legacy Collection a proper view.

Star Trek- Picard Legacy CollectionAvailable to purchase on Amazon USA

The Star Trek: Picard Legacy Collection is huge, and for anyone new to Star Trek: The Next Generation, and wants to follow everything this captain (wonderfully played by Sir Patrick Stewart) has done, it’s the perfect jumping in point! Not everyone will have grown up watching this franchise’s best comeback. Without it, the subsequent series would not have been created. We have Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, Discovery, Strange New Worlds, Prodigy and so on. Although not every series was made avaiilable on Blu-ray, that’s the hope most long time fans crave.

In this release, all the episodes are identified on the sleeve that makes up each case. Each plastic enclosure is sturdy, and although I’d be tempted to put the series into a binder, I don’t need to rush to do that. The discs aren’t that hard to remove, and instead of forcing, I gently tugged.

And as my unboxing video shows (featured below), there’s lots of design and packaging aesthetics to like. After sitting down to view the remasters, the details are far better than what I recall from my television viewing days. Although Blu-ray isn’t as forgiving with the bits of blue screening used, some suspension of belief is required.

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On Breathing New Life to Vampires and Other Stereotypes, An Interview

Visual Vengeance release of the cult film Vampires and Other Stereotypes shouldn’t be missed for fans of indie budget horror! And we got to talk to the filmmaker!

Kevin Lindenmuth Closeup PictureKevin J. Lindenmuth is the type of filmmaker who loves his horror. One look at his filmography shows he’s covered the gamut, and instead of relying on producers from Hollywood, he’s all independent! The fact he published many books (Amazon link) about his process says it all. And along with the Special Edition release of Vampires and Other Stereotypes (Amazon link), he’s a talent worth following.

His career started much like a few other well-known names, like Sam Raimi, and as for who else he may have crossed paths with, I’m sure the list is long! Although I’m curious if he’d work with Troma Pictures since he’s based in the same State as this studio, it’s still possible for that to happen. He’s continuing to make movies and teach too! And yes, I got to correspond with him in this interview:

What made you decide to become a filmmaker, and why go indie instead of heading to Los Angeles?

I watched horror movies from a very young age, from the original Dark Shadows to whatever horror movie was on Saturday afternoons, so that was always an interest. They were these worlds that were totally separate from my current reality. So they were subjectively much better! And then I started making Super 8 mm film shorts when I was in elementary school through high school, then went to University of Michigan and went through their fledgling Film/Video program. And during all this time I was a writer, submitting short stories to small press zines.

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Getting More Into The Mitchells vs the Machines on Home Video

The Mitchells vs the Machines Movie PosterSony Pictures
Available to purchase on Amazon USA
Movie review can be read here.

There’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World to be found in The Mitchells vs the Machines. I can rewatch the Netflix film without eating up precious bandwidth, and ‘The Best Features Ever’ is just that. The additional material helped make me appreciate this work a lot more, and to see more Dog Cop helped make my day.

The deleted scenes are more than just short moments. Half of them extend and offer more backstory. I can see why they weren’t brought to production since it’d make the presentation far too long. Other featurettes include “Dog Cop 7: The Final Chapter.” This little film features the family pet, Monchi, dealing with a candy cane crook (appropriate for the season) and love at the same time. It’s animated with sock puppets and a canine stuffed doll with the arms of some actress playing Katie helping animate this beloved pug. To create this work in an opposite style in contrast to the film works for the sake of pretend realism.

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