Topic: Weekend Movie Marathon: Last Chance Horror

[addicted2dvd]

Weekend Movie Marathon
Last Chance Horror
Normally by this time of the year I have stopped watching horror to prepare myself for my huge horror marathon in October. This year I thought I would not watch any horror in the month of September... but when I woke up this morning I changed my mind... I decided to stop watching horror starting this coming Monday. So this weekend will be my last chance to watch any horror for over a month. I am not going to limit myself to any sub-genre or just out of my unwatched pile. Pretty much anything horror related is up for grabs.... though there is several in my unwatched pile I am interested in checking out.

Since I love my horror TV Series just as much as horror movies... I also decided to watch an episode of the following TV series set in between each movie...


True Blood: Season 1
Vampires have come “out of the closet” and are now living among us. Surviving on synthetic blood, they no longer need human blood to survive. Or so it seems…

The small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana boasts a wide array of colorful locals. Meet Sookie Stackhouse (Academy Award winner Anna Paquin*), a sweet and innocent waitress who hides her powerful ability to read minds; Bill Compton, a 173-year-old vampire who’s just moved back to town; Sookie’s brother Jason, a ladies’ man who can’t seem to stay out of trouble; tough-as-nails Tara, Sookie’s loyal best friend; Sam, the owner of Merlotte’s who tries to keep his feelings for Sookie to himself; Lafayette, a man about town who’s always cooking up something illicit and “off the menu” and a quirky cast of characters who each hide their dark secrets in the shadows of night in this series that’s like no other.

From Alan Ball, writer of Oscar-winning Best Picture American Beauty and creator of the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Six Feet Under, comes the critically acclaimed world of True Blood.

*1993, Actress in a Supporting Role, The Piano

My Goal:
I would like to watch the entire season of True Blood this weekend. So I would have to watch at least 12 movies this weekend. I really don't know if I will make it though... as I normally am lucky to watch half that amount in a single weekend... so wish me luck!

[addicted2dvd]

Dead Creatures (2001/United Kingdom) IMDb |Trailer | MTI Home Video Director: Andrew Parkinson Writing: Andrew Parkinson (Writer) Length: 88 min. Rating: Rated R : Violence/Gore, Language, Sexuality/Nudity and Drug Use Video: Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: Spanish

Stars:
Beverly Wilson as Jo
Antonia Beamish as Ann
Brendan Gregory as Reece
Anna Swift as Sian
Bart Ruspoli as Christian
Fiona Carr as Zoe

Plot:
In the center of a large and unknowing city, a group of young women huddle together in a small apartment, tending to a sick friend whose skin is rotting to the bone. These women have been cursed with a secret malady that has made them members of an urban subculture, where their only way of survival is to continually feed on humans. They have been forced to abandon their once normal lives to now prowl the dark streets and alleyways in search of their next victim. But these hunters are also being hunted. There is a mysterious man walking these same streets, who will stop at nothing until they are abolished - one by one.

Welcome to the doomed universe of Andrew Parkinson's Dead Creatures.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• Production Notes

My Thoughts:

While it has it's moments... I really couldn't get into this one. I found it to be both slow and a bit on the strange side. Half the time I had no idea where they were going in the story. But that could be because I found my attention wandering early into the film. But I did feel the film has potential. Maybe it will be better to me if I give it another chance and this time make sure I pay a bit more attention to it.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

[addicted2dvd]

True Blood: Season 1

Episode 1 "STRANGE LOVE"
Sookie falls under the spell of vampire Bill Compton. Tara begins work at Merlotte's. Jason visits a "fangbanger."

My Thoughts:

This is a series I did see when it originally aired... but I haven't seen these episodes since. So it has been quite a while. Since watching this series I have found I become a fan of Anna Paquin... who plays Sookie in the series. This is of course the episode that started it all... and I must say... I loved every second of it! I like all the characters... though I do admit it originally took me a little while to warm up to Sookie's brother Jason for some reason. Over-all a great start to an awesome series!

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Pete,

it seems you are cheating a bit: True Blood isn't exactly what I'd call "Movie".

Great show though, waiting for season 5 to be aired in Germany.

[addicted2dvd]

I always used to watch TV eps. between movies for my weekend marathons... if there was a series that fit in well with the theme. It isn't anything new.

[Achim]

This is a series I did see when it originally aired... but I haven't seen these episodes since. So it has been quite a while. Since watching this series I have found I become a fan of Anna Paquin... who plays Sookie in the series. This is of course the episode that started it all... and I must say... I loved every second of it! I like all the characters... though I do admit it originally took me a little while to warm up to Sookie's brother Jason for some reason. Over-all a great start to an awesome series!

I had the same with Jason, but really got to like him later on, especially during seaon 2. Have you seen season 2?

Since the whole series progresses somewhat slowly and Sookie's occasional supidity became grating I haven't moved on I season 3 and beyond yet. Have you seen those?

[Dragonfire]

I didn't like Jason much either.  I thought he was a jerk really..lol   I've seen most of the first season...few episodes from other seasons, but I haven't kept up with the series.  I need to catch up at some point. 

[addicted2dvd]

I seen all of season 1 and I believe all of season 2 before. After that only ever seen an episode here and there. Not because I didn't care for what I was seeing... because it is all I was able to catch. I have the season 2 DVDs on the way... but they will have to wait till October before I watch them.

[addicted2dvd]

Boa vs. Python (2004) IMDb |Trailer |Wikipedia | Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment Director: David Flores Writing: Sam Wells (Writer), Chase Parker (Writer) Length: 91 min. Rating: Rated R : Violence, Sexuality/Nudity and Language Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: 5.1, Other: Dolby Digital: 5.1 Subtitles: Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai

Stars:
David Hewlett as Emmett
Jaime Bergman as Monica
Kirk B.R. Woller as Agent Sharpe
Adam Kendrick as Broddick
Angel Boris as Eve
Mariana Stanisheva as Agent Koznetova

Plot:
Two of nature's biggest and most terrifying scaled predators square off in an action-filled battle of fangs. When a gigantic python gets loose on a private reserve, the FBI must release an equally large boa to track and capture it as a group of wealthy big game hunters try to bag the python as a trophy for themselves.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Feature Trailers
• Bonus Trailers
• Closed Captioned

My Thoughts:

I enjoy a good snake movie every now and then. Though I have found from past experience that if you are not careful you can wind up with some low budget snooze-fest. This one kind of lands in the middle... as it is an entertaining film... but not really much more then average. Not a bad way to waste an hour and a half if you are bored... but there are better ways out there. This film does has a couple Playboy Playmates... so there is some eye-candy to get some enjoyment from as well.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

[addicted2dvd]

True Blood: Season 1

EPISODE 2 "THE FIRST TASTE"
Bill saves Sookie from the Rattray's revenge. Bloodthirsty vampires greet Sookie at Bill's house.

My Thoughts:

This is still a very good episode.. but it don't entertain quite as much as the pilot episode. This episode is more story driven... not quite as much action. But it does keep your interest with no problem at all. This episode finishes off the first disc in the set. I find it odd how some of these series from premium channels (Showtime, etc.) only has two to three episodes per disc... making us need more discs and bigger sets. I guess they think we wouldn't mind the higher cost on these series if we thought we were getting more out of it. Personally I would have preferred 4 episode per disc (like most hr. long series) and less discs in the set.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

[addicted2dvd]

Beyond the Door: Uncut Version (1974/Italy) IMDb |Wikipedia |Trailer | Code Red, BCI Eclipse Director: Ovidio G. Assonitis [O. Hellman], R. Barrett Writing: Ovidio G. Assonitis [O. Hellman] (Original Material By), Antonio Troiso (Original Material By), Ovidio G. Assonitis [O. Hellman] (Screenwriter), Antonio Troiso (Screenwriter), R. Barrett (Screenwriter) Length: 108 min. Rating: Unrated Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Mono, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo, Commentary: Dolby Digital: 2-Channel Stereo Subtitles: None

Stars:
Juliet Mills as Jessica Barrett
Gabriele Lavia as Robert Barrett
Richard Johnson as Dimitri
Nino Segurini as Dr. George Staton
Elisabeth Turner as Barbara Staton
Barbara Fiorini as Gail Barrett

Plot:
Jessica Barrett lives a blissful life in San Francisco. With two kids, a record exec husband and a baby on the way, life is pretty full. But when she finds out that her new baby belongs to the Prince of Darkness, she becomes a demonically possessed beast. Her ex-boyfriend, Dimitri, a Satan worshipper, must sacrifice her child in order to renew his own twisted existence.

Extras:

• Scene Access
• Audio Commentary
• Feature Trailers
• Bonus Trailers
• Featurettes
• Gallery
• Interviews
• Introduction by Lee Christian and Juliet Mills

My Thoughts:

This DVD release has 2 versions of the movie (on separate discs)... one is the uncut version... the other the "US Theatrical Version." I watched the uncut version today. This is a pretty good movie. I enjoyed it well enough. Though there was some slow spots through-out and some strange things as well. But I definitely think it is worth checking out. I have to say... going by the trailer I did expect more from it then what I got. But that isn't surprising... they normally pick a lot of the best parts to show in the trailer. The release has a nice selection of extras as well... but out of those all I watched was the trailer and the Introduction by Lee Christian and Juliet Mills. I had to chuckle at Juliet Mills in the introduction... as she confused The Omen for The Exorcist when trying to make a comparison to this movie.

My Rating:
Out of a Possible 5

[Achim]

I find it odd how some of these series from premium channels (Showtime, etc.) only has two to three episodes per disc... making us need more discs and bigger sets. I guess they think we wouldn't mind the higher cost on these series if we thought we were getting more out of it. Personally I would have preferred 4 episode per disc (like most hr. long series) and less discs in the set.

I guess that, being premium channels, they feel compelled to provide better quality on the disc releases. Fewer episodes per disc means less compression means better looking image and better sound. Normally My rule of thumb is that say a regular DVD can hold approx. 3 hours of material without compromising the quality oo much.

[addicted2dvd]

Maybe it is because I don't have a high def TV... but I see no difference in quality between this and any other TV Series that puts 4 (hr long on TV) episodes per disc.

[Achim]

Maybe it is because I don't have a high def TV... but I see no difference in quality between this and any other TV Series that puts 4 (hr long on TV) episodes per disc.

Well, yes, the difference only matters in high definition TVs...

Generally I agree though. I even think they should put SD TV series on Blu-ray just to make use of the space... You could probably have an entire season on one disc!

[addicted2dvd]

I have to agree with you there... matter of fact when I first ever heard of BR discs... that is what I imagined happening.