Cinefantastique Online

You are browsing the archives of 2009 June.

INKHEART is a film you may not have heard much about because it was rather unceremoniously released into theaters in January, 2009.  Even if you’ve heard about it, the odds are mighty high that you missed its brief theatrical engagement—which managed to eke out only $17,303,424 at the domestic box-office.  Well, you wouldn’t be alone; [...]

“Zombie Nazis” sounds like an unbeatable combination, but it turns out to be one of those great ideas that cannot sustain itself purely on the concept alone (unlike, say the “Soup Nazi” episode of SEINFELD, which could have earned classic status merely on the basis of its title). Although DEAD SNOW has its heart in [...]

[ January 8, 2010; ] DAYBREAKERS is a futuristic film in which the world is overrun by vampires, who have drained the human population dry until they face a serious food shortage. Ethan Hawke plays Edward Dalton, a researcher hoping to find a synthetic substitute before the human population reaches extinction.  He hooks up with a band of humans intent on [...]

In another sign that cinefantastique rules the summer box office,  TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN made its debut at #1 despite spite of overwhelmingly negative critical reactions. Michael Bay’s explosive sequel to TRANSFORMERS earned an estimated $112-million in over 4,200 North American theatres over the three-day span from Friday through Sunday. The added revenue from [...]

Variety reports that Duncan Jones’ debut feature MOON has won the Michael Powell Award for new British feature at this year’s 63rd Edinburgh International Film Festival.
“Moon,” a sci-fi thriller directed by Brit rookie Duncan Jones and starring Sam Rockwell, was arguably the fest’s biggest success. Arriving with Internet buzz from its Sundance premiere, it was [...]

According to the trailer, the title is “Halloween II” with a roman numeral, not “Halloween 2.”

Read more about Halloween 2 (2009) by clicking the links below:

Halloween II opens August 28
The Score: All This and Halloween II – Interview with composer Tyler Bates

Trade paper Hollywood Reporter has posted a review of GIALLO, which recently screened at a festival in Edinburg. Their assessment is that the film, directed by Dario Argento and starring Adrien Brody,  is a “clunky by-the-numbers Euro-thriller” that “wastes the talents of its star and veteran director.”
This unlikely-on-paper, underwhelming-in-execution collaboration between Oscar winner Brody and [...]

Very funny coming attractions for the comedy horror film starring Woody Harrelson as a self-styled zombie-killer.

Read more about Zombieland (2009) by clicking the links below:

Zombieland opens

Smarting by the anemic box office and angrily negative fan reaction to FRIDAY THE 13TH PART V: A NEW BEGINNING, Paramount brought in writer-director Tom McLoughlin (whose only previous directorial experience was the well regarded ONE DARK NIGHT back in 1983) to revive the franchise. McLoughlin – under studio directive to bring Jason back to [...]

Michael Bay’s TRANSFORMERS sequel is less science fiction spectacle than an excursion into abstract cinema
No other critic is going to admit it, so it falls to me to declare  that director Michael Bay is an abstract artist whose work is continuously misinterpreted. The conventional wisdom is that Bay is a no-talent uber-Hollywood hack, who churns out formulaic [...]

At the risk of redundancy: zombie Nazis!
Listening to this episode, you might get the impression that I’m really hooked on the phrase, “zombie Nazis.” I am. I really am. Look at it this way: Two of my favorite film titles of all time belong to the Troma releases SURF NAZIS MUST DIE and CHOPPER CHICKS [...]

IFC will release ANTICHRIST – the sexy, violent, controversial art house shocker from Lars Von Triers (KINGDOM) – on October 23. Charlotte Gainsbourg and Willem Dafoe star; Gainsbourg won the best actress award at Cannes this year for her role. After the limited bow, IFC will expand to more venues, depending on how well the [...]

In this video clip from the live-action adaptation of the popular anime title, Saya (Gianna Jun) fights off a horde of blood-thirsty demons while Allison (Alice Mckee) tries to avoid getting in the way.