Movie Info:
Writers: Michael Mann, David Mamet, Ted Tally, Steven Zaillian, Thomas Harris
Directors: Ridley Scott, Michael Mann, Jonathan Demme
Cast: Scott Glenn, Ted Levine, Giancarlo Giannini, Dennis Farina, Stephen Lang, Tom Noonan, Kim Greist, Julianne Moore, Jodie Foster, Joan Allen, Francesca Neri, Anthony Hopkins, Brian Cox, Ray Liotta, Frankie Faison, William Petersen
Rating: R
Studio: Fox Home Entertainment/MGM

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 15, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $44.49

I am a huge fan of films involving Hannibal Lecter. I’m also a huge fan of William Petersen, Jodie Foster, Joan Allen, and Anthony Hopkins. That means I was pretty anxious to get my hands on a copy of the Hannibal Lecter Collection. This collection consists of Manhunter, Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal. While I had seen Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal, as well as Red Dragon (the feature film version of Manhunter), I had never before seen the TV movie, Manhunter. I knew it followed pretty much the same storyline as Red Dragon does, I knew it had an excellent cast, and I had heard only good things about it. This made me very curious about seeing Manhunter.

Out of this set of three movies, the best is Silence of the Lambs. It’s hard to beat the story. In fact, Silence has been one of my favorite movies of all time for years. I can’t discount Manhunter, though. While I enjoyed Red Dragon, I have to say that William Petersen really made Manhunter worth watching. While it was weird to see Brian Cox in the role of Hannibal Lecter, considering I’ve only seen Hopkins play the role prior to watching Manhunter, I don’t think Cox did too bad a job. His Lecter was quite different from the one portrayed by Hopkins. While I find Hopkins is the definitive Lecter, I can’t dislike Cox’s portrayal too much, especially since it is so different from the one by Hopkins.

The only dead weight in this set is Hannibal. The biggest problem is that Jodie Foster isn’t in this. While Julianne Moore took over the role of Clarice Starling, and I generally like Moore, I just can’t see anyone else in the role but Foster. I am of the firm belief that for a sequel to exist, it needs to be a strong extension of the first film and I don’t feel that is what Hannibal offered. It wasn’t just about replacing Foster with Moore. The story just didn’t feel as connected to Silence as I feel it should have. That being said, for what the actors are given to work with, I don’t feel they did a horrible job. It’s rather mediocre, which is expected considering the expectations a sequel has after following a movie like Silence of the Lambs.

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.

Movie Info:
Writer: Stephen King, William Goldman
Director: Rob Reiner
Cast: James Caan, Kathy Bates, Richard Farnsworth, Frances Sternhagen, Lauren Bacall, Graham Jarvis
Rating: R
Studio: MGM

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 15, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $15.99

I love the movie Misery. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen this movie, but I just can’t seem to get enough of it. Kathy Bates plays the ultimate psycho and does it well. Annie Wilkes scares me. As someone who relies on caregivers for my daily living needs, I can imagine how terrifying it is for someone stuck in a wheelchair to be in the position that Paul Sheldon is in.

When I heard that Misery was coming to Blu-Ray, I was elated. I am starting to get all the movies I own on DVD in Blu-Ray. I like the quality of Blu-Ray better, anyway, which is the entire point of this newer system. The big question that needed to be answered, for me, is whether the quality of the Blu-Ray is better than the quality of the standard DVD, and whether it is worth it to upgrade to the Blu-Ray version.

When it comes to Stephen King books, I’m usually all in. Save for some of the last books he’s written, I’m a huge King fan. It’s fairly easy to see why he’s called the Master of Horror. In the late 70s, 80s and 90s, he owned the genre. I have found the movie adaptations of his works to be hit or miss. I am especially disappointed in the remakes for movies like Carrie. When a King movie is done well, it is awesome. When it isn’t, (Dreamcatcher, for example) the whole movie falls apart. Misery falls in the hit category. In fact, this movie is one of my all time, favorite, Stephen King adaptations.

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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics, his religion (Hellenic Reconstructionism) and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.

Movie Info:
Writer: Alan B. McElroy, Turi Meyer
Director: Joe Lynch
Cast: Erica Leerhsen, Henry Rollins, Texas Battle, Daniella Alonso, Steve Braun, Aleksa Palladino, Matthew Currie Holmes, Crystal Lowe, Ken Kirzinger, Ashlea Earl, Clint Carleton, Rorelee Tio, Jeff Scrutton
Rating: R
Studio: Fox Home Entertainment

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 15, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $18.49

Horror sequels usually suffer a fate far worse than that of their film predecessors. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in this case, it is my job. Wrong Turn 2: Dead End was definitely one of those movies I did not enjoy. I found the original to be decent though not exceptional. Since the original wasn’t so stand out it deserved a sequel, I’m not exactly sure why the powers that be behind this project made one, other than to try to profit off the series.

In the first movie, Wrong Turn, the freaky, genetic mutant, incest loving cannibals are creepy, but it doesn’t take long for them to get old. By the time the action begins in Wrong Turn 2: Dead End, I was over the cannibals. Add in the fact that they become ten times more annoying and Wrong Turn 2: Dead End is already a miss with me. I was ready for the movie to end with the first viewing of the cannibals, which now includes females. And don’t get me started on the nasty, cannibals/incest sex scene. Seriously, the implications they were sleeping together was gross enough. Seeing it wasn’t gross in a cool horror kind of way. It was flat out disgusting and stupid.

The writer of the script for Wrong Turn 2: Dead End didn’t do himself any favors. I blame the director for the annoying aspects added to the cannibals and their performances, but I blame the writer for character development (or lack thereof) and writing one helluva dumb story. The characters are atrocious. I feel absolutely no sympathy for any of them. All of them, on both sides, deserved to die, except for maybe Henry Rollins’ character, though, he too, was annoying in his own way. I ask for so little in horror movies these days, but a horror movie cannot fit true horror convention if it has not one character worth sympathizing with…and that is the first place Wrong Turn 2: Dead End fails.

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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics, his religion (Hellenic Reconstructionism) and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.

Movie Info:
Writer: Alan B. McElroy
Director: Rob Schmidt
Cast: Desmond Harrington, Eliza Dushku, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Jeremy Sisto, Kevin Zegers, Lindy Booth, Julian Richings, Garry Robbins, Ted Clark, Yvonne Gaudry, Joel Harris
Rating: R
Studio: Fox Home Entertainment

Release Info:
DVD Release Date: September 15, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $17.99

Every horror movie should have a hot heroine. That’s supposed to be a horror convention, but I’ve seen some real woofers in my day. Not so with Wrong Turn. Eliza Dushku is sizzlin’ hot in this movie. Sure, this definitely doesn’t stretch her skills as an actress, but this had to be a fun little film for her to make. It isn’t one of those horror movies that is going to hurt her career, but at the same time, making this movie didn’t do her any favors.

As far as horror movies go, this is your typical hillbilly cannibal story. Yes, the cannibals are kind of weird, but I found them far more annoying in the sequel to this movie. In this one, they were pretty creepy. It made me want to avoid the backwoods of Kentucky or West Virginia just in case there were some redneck cannibals in the back woods of the state. I don’t mean to single these states out, but I’m pretty sure, somewhere in one of the movies, it is mentioned that this takes place on the backwoods of West Virginia.

The acting, for the most part, was pretty good. It wasn’t standout, but I definitely do not expect an Oscar type of performance in a horror movie such as Wrong Turn. The most annoying character had to be Carly (Emmanuelle Chriqui). It’s not that Chriqui’s acting was bad (she was much better in Zohan), but her character was just downright stupid. The stupid characters get on my nerves quite easily in horror movies. Of course, this is part of the horror convention. There has to be at least one character you just hope gets it. For this movie, that character is Carly.

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Written by Dominick - Visit Website
Dominick Evans is in his late 20's. He spends his days working as a full time writer/editor and a part time musician/composer. His passions in life include music, directing films, watching movies, reading books, watching sports, wheelchair football, politics, his religion (Hellenic Reconstructionism) and spending time with his family (fiancée Ashtyn, son Robert, and shih-tzu Oliver). Other interests include being an advocate for the disability and GLBT communities.

Movie Info:
Cast: James Earl Jones
Rating: G
Studio: Disney

Release Info:
Theatrical Release Date: April 22, 2009
DVD Release Date: September 1, 2009
Online Availability: Amazon for $24.99

Nature documentaries can be hit or miss. While the visual and audio qualities generally make them watchable some of them are seen as nothing more than snooze-worthy material. Planet Earth is a good example of that. I loved the series personally, but I know a lot of kids that couldn’t bother to be interested sitting through it. The problem is that it doesn’t have the quality needed to properly hold a child’s attention. Earth fixes that problem. Using the best and most exciting footage from the BBC’s Planet Earth, DisneyNature creates a documentary that is filled with life in all of its various forms.

James Earl Jones narrates this tale that is enthralling enough for the whole family, whether you’re a fan of documentaries or not. Both kids and adults should enjoy this. Disney manages to find some of the most animated animals on the planet. The penguins are quite funny when they sled along their stomachs to reach their destination. Seeing the reaction of some of the animals to the annual flood and how little they like water is quite amusing, too. Of course, there is more here than just cute and fuzzy moments. It seems that Disney does the best they can to retain their G rating, but in a way that keeps things real.

Among the more noticeable, sadder moments you will see a polar bear lay down to die, after a trip through the ocean that leads him to starve to death (the melting ice due to global warming slows his ability to find food until its much too late) and an elephant attacked by a pride of lions. At one point you see one animal mount and feed off another. Don’t get me wrong, you won’t see blood and guts, but adults will get the meaning. Kids, depending on their age, will not understand exactly what happens in these moments, but they will probably ask some questions.

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Written by Ashtyn - Visit Website
Ashtyn Evans is a writer, advocate, free thinker, and all around cynical person. Always quick to find the negative in anything pop culture, she loves being a part of that which she despises. Ashtyn and Dominick own numerous blogs together, as well as a full-time writing business. In her spare time she is a full-time college student studying History and Psychology. She plans to one day give up her freelance career and be a full-time blogger, novelist, and domestic goddess. She can be contacted for writing projects, fan mail, or just to say hi. She really is friendlier than we make her look.