A big batch of DVD releases hit store shelves this week, led by SPIDER-MAN 3. The summer blockbuster comes in a Widescreen DVD,  a Two-Disc Special Edition DVD, and a Blu-ray disc. Also available is a new box set, Spider-Man - The High-Definition Trilogy. In case that is not enough for you, this week also features the DVD debut of DAY WATCH, the Russian follow-up to last year’s NIGHT WATCH. Other big DVD releases include Twin Peaks - The Definitive Gold Box Edition; Angels - Complete Series Collector’s Set; Dark Shadows: The Beginning Collection 2; The Outer Limits (Original Series) - Volume 3; and a set of The Outer Limits (Original Series) Volumes 1 - 3. Lots of old films show up this week as well, including The Amicus Collection, which includes three ’70s films from the British company: ASYLUM, AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS, and THE BEAST MUST DIE. Giallo fans can take heart in the release of several Italian thrillers, including A BLADE IN THE DARK and STAGE FRIGHT. Lucio Fulci’s cool thriller THE PSYCHIC, starring Jennifer O’Neill, arrives on disc, along with his less well-received MANHATTAN BABY; the Lucio Fulci Collection Volume 2 double-packs that latter with THE NEW YORK RIPPER. Finally, if all the cult films start to seem merely bad - instead of enjoyably campy, there is The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection, Volume 12.

Check out these and other DVD releases below the fold. Continue Reading »

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Finally, after a freaky week of fires, evacuations and bright red skies at night, things are settling down in San Diego, and so it is with great joy that my mind has settled and I can fill everybody in on what turned out to be the first film festival that I have ever attended. How appropriate is it for me (an Asian film fan, gladly boasting a video collection of over 3300 Chinese martial arts films - almost half of them on betamax) that my first festival was the 2007 SAN DIEGO ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL. It was also an honor to have the festival ask me to be an official blogger, providing me with a press pass, and of course now that I live in San Diego, I was there 8 days out of the week and took in about 24 films.  As they say in mandarin Chinese, “Hao” (good).  Continue Reading »

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Variety’s Todd McCarthy thinks that BEE MOVIE - the computer-animated comedy written by and starring Jerry Seinfeld - is no match for the stand-up comedian’s wonderful television show.

Amiable but no more, “Bee Movie” puts a hiveful of potent talent at the service of a zig-zigging, back-of-an-envelope story that’s short on surprise and originality. Long sought for animation work, producer-writer-star Jerry Seinfeld contents himself with whimsical notions and mild jokes in creating an independent-minded bee who breaks with protocol to forge a relationship with a human, to less than inspired results. Seinfeld’s name, a huge push by Paramount/DreamWorks Animation and venture’s mainstream innocuousness should combine for sweet if not blockbuster B.O.

Read the entire review here.

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RATATOUILLE remained tops at the overseas box office for the fourth time in a row, earning $21.9-million in 31 markets this weekend. The numbers were particularly impressive because the film has already opened in all the major; there were no new debuts to boost tickets sales this weekend. So far, the foreign sales ahve accumulated to $345.8-million.

SAW IV made a solid debut with $12.6-million in 15 territories, and STARDUST earned $11.2-million. With foreign sales totalling $60-million so far,  the fantasy film is far exceeding its anemic U.S. numbers.

RESIDENT EVIL: EXTINCTION added $3.5-million to its $55-million overseas accumulation, which puts its $5-million ahead of the U.S. box office totals.

Finally, the Spanish-language ghost story, THE ORPHANAGE, topped the box office in Spain for the third straight weekend with $4-million earned in 373 theatres. The total stands at $20-million.

Read the complete overseas box office tallies here.

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Actor Mario Van Peelbes will direct his science-fiction script THE UNITER for producers Don Kushner and Brad Wyman. Production is slated to begin in January. According to Variety, the story “chronicles the journey of a political fugitive who escapes from the future back to the present to teach a 13-year-old how to use his powers to unite the warring factions of the world before it’s too late for planet Earth.” Peebles is said to have been developing the project for years, since he was inspired during travels to India and “the mythology of the Aztec calendar terminating in 2012.”

Peebles previous genre experience consists of playing a lead role in JAWS IV and playing the title role of SOLO - a terminator clone who learns some touchy-feely lessons about humanity during a military mission in South America.

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“Razor,” the two-hour episode that launches the final season of BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, will makes its debut in theatres on November 12. The free screenings will take place in eight cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston, Dallas, and Seattle.

In Los Angeles, four theatres (in Palmdale, Huntington Beach, Orange, and Ventura) will screenig the film twice, starting at 7:00pm. Because the series is rated TV-14 (which comes closest to the theatrical R-rating), viewers will have to be 17 and older.

The episode will air on Sci Fi Channel two weeks later. Ten days after that, an unrated version will arrive on DVD.

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Stop-motion master Ray Harryhausen has been selected by the Art Directors Guild to receive its annual award for Outstanding Contribution to Cinematic Imagery. The 12th annual Art Directors Guild Awards will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 16. Previous recipients include Terry Gilliam (12 Monkeys), Steven Spielberg (WAR OF THE WORLDS), Robert wise (THE HAUNTING), and John Lasseter (TOY STORY).

In the days before computer animation, Harryhausen used miniature models with metallic armatures to bring dinosaurs and monsters to life in such films as JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS, ONE MILLION YEARS B.C., and THE BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS. In 1992, the science and technical brand of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his work with a lifetime achievement award.

RELATED ARTICLES: Harryhausen discusses his work on BEAST FROM 20,000 FATHOMS. Or see the video version below.

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Variety informs us that monster designer Patrick Tatopoulos will be directing UNDERWORLD 3: RISE OF THE LYCANS, a prequel to the two UNDERWORLD films. The screenplay by Danny McBride will fill in details of the back story glimpsed in the previous films, depicting the origins to the feud between vampires and werewolves: a young Lycan leader rouses his wolfen brethren to cast off the shakcles of their undead overlords (sounds a bit Marxist, no?). Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy, and Rhona Mitra will headline the cast.

“For the first time we will experience the ‘Underworld’ universe through the eyes of the Lycans,” [producer Len] Wiseman said. “Patrick has always played such an essential part in helping to create ‘Underworld’ from the start. … So I feel it is both exciting and fitting that (he) now takes the helm.”

The two UNDERWORLD films, which starred Kate Beckinsale, were modest hits, but the prequel story does not leave room for her character (who was unaware of the vampire-werewolf back story in the first UNDERWORLD). Without her presence to draw in the fans, theatrical prospects for the prequel seem diminished.

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ComingSoon.net alerts us to the imminent production start on a second X-FILES film. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will return as Mulder and Scully; creator Chris Carter will direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with Frank Spotnitz.

Over at Cinematical, Erik Davis ponders whether X-FILES 2 may be too little, too late. The show has been off the air sinc 2002; the movie version came out in 1998. Of course, the fanbase is still out there, but is that enough to sustain a sequel at the box office, especially when the first film was not a blockbuster?

So far, the only good sign is that X-FILES 2 is supposed to be a stand-alone story, not a sequel to the movie and not a continuation of the series. If the script leaves the convoluted conspiracy plot behind and focuses on telling a good, self-contained story, maybe this could be something interesting.

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Well, it seems that reports of the death of the torture-porn genre were exaggerated. Although HOSTEL 2 tanked, the debut of SAW IV more or less matched the opening of last year’s SAW III, earning an estimated $32.1-million in 3,183 theatres. Even if the film shows a sharp drop-off over the next couple of weeks, it could go on to earn over $80-million, which would make it the most successful horror flick of the year (an honor that currently belongs to ROOM 1408).

With the rest of Hollywood pretty much ceding the Halloween season to the SAW franchise, there was little else of note in terms of box office results for horror films.

Last weekend’s #1 film, 30 DAYS OF NIGHT suffered a well-deserved slip down to #3, where it earned only $6.7-million That added up to a meagre total of $27.32-million after two weekends of release.

The 3D reissue of Tim Burton’s THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS earned another $3.35-million dollars, while playing in 564 specialty theatres (capable of screening the digitally enhanced 3D version). After two weekends, the 1993 film has added another $10-million to its already sizeable box office total from its original release.

RELATED ARTICLES:

• The Los Angeles Times has an article about the weekend box office, in which an exec for Lionsgate, the company that releases the SAW movies, promises there will be a Part V for next Halloween.
• Variety has a brief profile of Twisted Pictures execs Makr Burg and Oren Koules, who have turned the low-budget SAW films into a blockbuster franchise while eschewing pricey promotional methods favored by the rest of Hollywood.

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October Shadows is a fantastic exhibition of Halloween-themed art, on display at Oscar-winning makeup artist Rick Baker’s Cinovation studio in Glendale. We attended the opening night reception on Friday, October 13. Check out our video report below.

The exhibit last through Halloween, but you better hurry - several of the works on display in the video have already been purchased. Viewings are by appointment only. Get more information at Creature Features.

In case you can’t make it, a gallery of orignal work and prints will eventually be posted at Creature Features.

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Screamfest  has announced the winners from its 2007 horror film festival. The big winner is the fine Thai ghost story ALONE, which topped five categories. Fest highlights PARANORMAL ACTIVITY and STORM WARNING also won in multiple categories.

• Best Student Short: ANGEL directed by Nikolas List
• Best Editing: ALONE - Vijja Kojew and Thammarat Sumetsupachuck
• Best Score: STORM WARNING performed by Jamie Blanks
• Best Short Film: IN THE WALL directed by Mike Williamson
• Best Cinematography: ALONE - Niramon Ross
• Best Screenplay: THE PALACE by Adam Aresty and Jon D.A.
• Best Special Effects: STORM WARNING Justin Dix and Gab Facchinei
• Best Makeup: INSIDE (A’L’INTERIEUR)
• Best Actor: Everon Jackson Hooi (DEAD END)
• Best Actress: Katie Featherstone (PARANORMAL ACTIVITY)
• Audience Choice Award: WASTING AWAY
• Boost Mobile - Best of the Next in Horror: STEM directed by Iqbal Ahmed (won $10,000 awarded by Boost Mobile)
• Honorable Mention: PARANORMAL ACTIVITY
• Best Directing: Banjong Pisanthanakun and Parkpoom Wongpoom (ALONE)
• Best Picture: ALONE

This is a pretty respectable list of winners, although (as always) there is some room for disagreement. I am sorry not to see ROOM 205, THE SIGNAL, or SHROOMS among the winners. TIMBER FALLS was also quite good, although I could see why it might be edged out by the somewhat similar STORM WARNING.

Frankly, I am surprised to see that WASTING AWAY took the audience award, but I do have to say that director Matthew Kohnen is an extraordinarly fine fellow, considering the gracious e-mail he sent me after I trashed his movie.

In case you missed my previous posts on the fest, I covered INSIDE here; ALONE and DEAD END here; and STORM WARNING, TIMBER FALLS, SHROOMS, and THE SIGNAL here.

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Eagerly anticipating THE MIST, Frank Darabont’s adaptation of the Stephen King novella? Then check out the official website for the movie, which has been recently updated.

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E-Splatter.Com has the latest news on MOTHER OF TEARS, the third film in Dario Argento’s “Three Mothers Trilogy (which includes SUSPIRIA and INFERNO). The soundtrack album is due in November. The movie will screen at the American Film Market in Santa Monica, California this February. A DVD will come out in the UK in February or March, possibly preceded by a theatrical release.

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[EDITOR’S NOTE: Since Tim Burton fans are showing up today in response to our preview of SWEENEY TODD, we thought we would offer up this review of Sweeney’s closest antecedent in Tim Burton’s ouevre.]

The Headless Horseman rides hell bent for leather in Tim Burton’s elaborate 1999 horror film, derived loosely from Washington Irving’s “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” There may be some problems in the storytelling and exposition departments, but no one would deny the effective visual scheme that creates a fairy tale world in which the existence of a malevolent Headless Horseman - who returns from the grave to decapitate his victims - is completely believable. Burton’s work is a triumph of style over substance – a visual tour-de-force in which the director’s fairy tale horror aesthetic (so charming in THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS) is rendered in live-action to stupendous effect, overwhelming the weaknesses in the storyline.

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