Tag: VOD

Tanks for the Memories, T-34 roars into Home Video this Week!

Despite being glued to the action than the drama, the story of hope is what drives T-34 forward.

All-Formats-T34-front
Available to purchase on AmazonT-34


Available Now
Released by Well GO Entertainment

T-34 is not your Hogan’s Heroes. This Russian made film about such a resilient war machine is more about the people who can drive this tank, than anything else. It’s less about comedy or propaganda. The latter is inevitable, but more often than not, no matter which country the film is made in, the focus is often about the brotherhood forged.

Here, Nikolay Ivushkin (Alexander Petrov) is in the front lines. He quickly gets promoted to tank commander and despite being able to defeat a German Panzer attack, he and driver Stepan Vasilyonok (Viktor Dobronravov) are captured. They are sent to a concentration camp. Three years later, he meets his rival, Klaus Jäger (Vinzenz Kiefer) and is “coerced” to take part in local war games.

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It’s a Heavy Trip Rock n’ Roll Show

T-34
Available on Amazon to purchase or streamT-34

By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Available on Amazon PrimeT-34

Spoiler Alert

Metalheads should unite and embark on a Heavy Trip. This Finnish film sees a local band from the small town of Taivalkoski wishing to make it in the big leagues, but to do so means dealing with a lot of challenges. They have been practising for 12 years! The resistance from the residents (being bullied as queers) and a rival musician makes up the plot, but to be respected is tougher.

To create a sound they can call their own gets amusingly fixed. I do not want to say what it is since it spoils a significant part of the film. Other obstacles include stage fright and a drummer who keels over. No, this isn’t Spinal Tap, but when they are playing in the garage one day, a festival promoter discovers them and invites them to play.

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The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear Sails Away on VOD!

T-34By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The cinematic adaptation of Jakob Martin Strid‘s Den Kempestore Pere (The Incredible Story of the Giant Pear) may well have some fans of children’s works wonder how it stands to Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach? Both shine as solid pieces of family entertainment. The Danish work is getting distribution in North America courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment and is available on VOD services like iTunes and Google Play.

This delightful work is comparable to Hayao Miyazaki‘s Castle in the Sky, Laputa. This filmmaker was the key animator to notable early works like Animal Treasure Island and Puss in Boots, and for this newest film, it may have drawn some inspiration by it. When two anthropomorphic kids, Sebastian (Alfred Bjerre Larsen), an elephant, and Mitcho (Liva Elvira Magnussen), a cat, find a message in a bottle, revealing where J.B. (the Mayor of Sunnytown) disappeared off to, they embark on a wondrous adventure (in a pear).

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Mail Order Monster Delivers Love & Hope, a Movie Review

Mail Order MonsterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

Mail Order Monster is set to arrive in the inboxes of many VOD services come November 6th, and this work written by Paulina Lagudi and Marc Prey will certainly tug at the heartstrings. It’s a very family friendly film worth talking about and thematically, it wants to be like The Iron Giant.

When Sam Pepper (Emma Rayne Lyle) has no friends and she is still not over the loss of her mom, she has no one to turn to. Not even her dad is being helpful. He’s ready to move on, and this young girl wants to hold on to her past. With no one to turn to, she only has her books. When she finds an ad for a mail order monster in a comic to help, she breaks open the piggy bank.

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My Pet Dinosaur Now on VOD, A Movie Review

The Australian film My Pet Dinosaur is finally getting American side distribution. For those who remember either the plush toy made by American Greetings or the animated series made by Nelvana, some people, like myself, may wonder if filmmaker Matt Drummond drew from this product as inspiration.

T-34By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

The Australian film My Pet Dinosaur is finally getting American side distribution. It’s now on VOD platforms like iTunes and Google Play. For those who remember either the plush toy made by American Greetings or the animated series made by Nelvana, some people, like myself, may wonder if filmmaker Matt Drummond drew from this product as inspiration.

Although the pup dino looks very blue, this connection is hardly enough to say he did. When Jake Emory (Jordan Dulieu) creates a dinosaur out of mixing up random chemicals with contaminated water, the critter that emerges is cute as buttons. Eventually, an attachment forms. This lad and his brother Mike (Harrison Saunders), lost their father, and are taking it out on mom. This particular subplot does not feel as developed. Enough can be understood to realize they are not over the loss of their father, and they feel the need to act out.

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The Seven Guardians of the Tomb Aren’t Evil, They are just Misunderstood

The 7 Guardians of the Tomb Movie PosterBy Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)

  • Spoiler Alert

Anyone who has arachnophobia is best advised to avoid Seven Guardians of the Tomb, an Indiana Jones styled adventure wannabe horror film starring Li BingBing and Kelsey Grammer. It wants to be like Tom Cruise’s hackneyed take of The Mummy. The sad part is that I was buying the idea when I first heard about this work. I thought the story might follow along the lines of Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. The hunt was on ever since I happened upon mention of this film in a newsletter. It’s finally available on video and on-demand outlets—with my TV service and elsewhere Amazon Prime.

Star power helps draw attention to the film. BingBing is a wonderful talent not only on stage but also on screen. Her role is underutilized with this product. Grammer, no matter what role he takes on, always lends perfect gravitas. He’s amusing as Mason, a character with strong ties to Jia’s (BingBing) family. She has more than enough reasons to not be happy about this fact. When he contacts her to say Luke (Korean superstar Wu Chun), her brother, went missing during an archaeological dig, they form an uneasy alliance.

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