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Showing posts from August, 2014

What Jack Reacher can teach Hollywood

I know writing about a movie that came out almost two years ago might, on the surface, seem kinda behind the times, but that's one of the cool things about cinema isn't it? It's timeless. Having just watched the Tom Cruise vehicle Jack Reacher for like the fourth or fifth time, and loving it just as much as my first viewing, if not more, I've realized how much the modern blockbuster can learn from Christopher McQuarrie 's action/thriller.

John Fallon scripted American Muscle gets a new trailer

It's been almost a year -- a lifetime in Internet years -- since we last told you about American Muscle, the gritty revenge flick written by and co-starring our bro John Fallon. Well, the movie is set to debut on Blu-ray and DVD in a month, which means it's time to screen a whole new preview for your eye holes.

Take home Silent Retreat on Sept. 2

Shawn and I wrapped up Season Five with a review of the Canadian monster movie Silent Retreat earlier this year, and enjoyed the movie well enough. It didn't earn a Good, but it was still worth a watch. Now Tricia Lee's flick is poised to make its way into Canadian and U.S. homes through a variety of platforms.

Found-footage curse strikes The Pyramid

For the first 30 seconds or so, this trailer for the Alexandre Aja produced horror flick The Pyramids really had me. I dig stories about the curse of the pharaohs and the Egyptian pyramids . And yeah, I loved the first Mummy movie. You know, the one starring Brendan Fraser ? Then the found footage kicked in and I cried boo-urns. Really, man? Really? When is enough going to be enough already?

Trailer for Eduardo Sanchez's Exists delivers

We in The Basement have been pumped for Blair Witch Project director Eduardo Sanchez 's bigfoot flick Exists since it wowed audiences at SXSW earlier this year. Yeah, it's found footage , but Sanchez pretty much invented the genre, so he knows his shit . The flick has been picked up by Lionsgate , and those fine purveyors of genre cinema have seen fit to release a trailer, which we've snagged and posted for you below.

Jason versus Blood Glacier

Sometimes you just can't beat a good monster movie . Know what I'm saying? Course you do, Basementite. And that's exactly what I was in the mood for tonight. Does the Austrian import Blood Glacier deliver? Stick with me! Scientists working in the Austrian Alps discover that a glacier is leaking a liquid that is affecting the local wildlife.

Shane Black brings back Remo Williams

Surprise! Days after Warner Bros said they were moving forward with a Mack Bolan movie,  Sony Pictures announces that Remo Williams , AKA The Destroyer, is headed back to the big screen. Like Bolan, Williams is the hero from a series of adventure novels. Oldish Basementites might remember that Fred Ward played the character in the over-the-top 80s flick Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins .

The Conjuring spinoff Annabelle scares up a trailer

Although spinoffs seldom work, I've got pretty high hopes for Annabelle. First off, the doll is one of the scariest parts of James Wan 's modern horror classic The Conjuring , and is worthy of a story of her own. Then there's the fact Wan is on board as the flick's producer, which guarantees his sure hand is behind some of the scares director John Leonetti has in store for audiences.

Trick 'r Treat director helms Christmas horror tale Krampus

Michael Dougherty 's Trick 'r Treat is hands down one of the best Halloween -themed horror flicks of all time. Hell, it's even one of the best horror anthologies to ever hit the big screen . Scary, funny, awesome. So we in The Basement are pumped Dougherty is ready to make another holiday themed horror movie . This time the man has set his twisted sites on Christmas , and he's tapping into the German legend of  Krampus to make it so.

Bradley Cooper on deck for Mack Bolan movie

The Mack Bolan books were my go-to read during my early teens. At 130 pages or so, The Executioner novels were a breezy bit of escapism full of everything a growing boy needs -- guns, guns and more guns. Author Don Pendleton wrote the first Bolan book,  War Against the Mafia in 1969. Since then, Hollywood has tried and failed to bring the character to the big screen despite attracting heavy hitters like Sylvester Stallone , Clint Eastwood and, more recently, Vin Diesel .

Jason versus the Guardians of the Galaxy

Probably my most anticipated movie of the summer, I held off on seeing Guardians of the Galaxy because my wife actually wanted to watch it too. So we made Marvel's latest big screen offering a date night, and the first flick we caught together in a theatre since before our son was born. Yeah, good for you, Jay. But is the movie as awesome as everyone says it is? Stick with me!

IFC Midnight acquires The Babadook

Y'all remember that creepy looking Aussie horror flick The Babadook we told you about earlier this year ? The one that freaked out everyone at Sundance in the best possible way? Well, we've got some good news for those Basementites who are as pumped to see it as we are. Genre distributor IFC Midnight has picked up the U.S. and Latin America rights to Jennifer Kent's debut feature, which means it'll hit theatres or some other platform Nov. 28. Awesome. That's sooner rather than later.

The Expendables 3 and the Lance Henriksen interview

Jason and Shawn are back in The Basement for this, The August Special. What? They said they were taking the summer off? You should know Jason and Shawn better than that by now. Although this episode features The Basement Boys' thoughts on a major new release and revisits a conversation with a screen legend, the purpose behind The August Special is to discuss what fans can expect from this, the show's sixth season. All we'll reveal here is that some things will change, and some things won't.

First look at Schwarzenegger's zombie flick Maggie

That's right folks, Arnold Schwarzenegger is starring in a zombie film . A zombie film called Maggie . In all my years as a movie AND Schwarzenegger fan, I never thought this day would come. But it has. And Maggie doesn't sound like any old zombie film either. No, we won't see the Austrian Oak take 'ole Painless out of the bag and unleash hell on a horde of the undead. This is something . . . different.

Jason versus Captain America: The Winter Soldier

The dust has settled, the hype his over, and almost everyone and their dog has watched Captain America: The Winter Soldier . Which means it's my turn to weigh in on Marvel's latest follow up to The Avengers . Steve Rogers struggles to embrace his role in the modern world and battles a new threat from an old foe, the Soviet agent known as The Winter Soldier.

Jason versus/endures The Apparition

After a night out at the pub with bros I like nothing better than to come home, crack a wind-down beer, and catch a scary movie. There are times when I find an old gem to watch, discover a new diamond in the rough, or pass out to an unspectacular piece of drivel. Then there are movies like The Apparition .

Eli Roth's The Green Inferno pushed back into obscurity

I've been reading the news about The Green Inferno for months. This is one of those movies I really want to see on the big screen with a bunch of horror fans. I don't see this happening.  The Fangoria feed has stated that this is being pushed indefinitely. Blame marketing costs whatever, But...... what this comes down to is bad news for us, the horror fans. I like Eli Roth , I want to see this movie, Eli called it a “spiritual” homage (if I misquoted, sorry!) to Cannibal Holocaust , one of the most reviled/loved/hated movies of all time.

The Pact 2 trailer delivers

OK, I admit I didn't have high hopes for The Pact 2, given the first flick was one of the finest, self-contained horror movies I've seen in a long time. But I'm beginning to change my tune now that I've seen the trailer for Patrick Horvath's sequel. We don't apologize in The Basement, but we do admit we're wrong on rare occasions.

Spotlight on Hillbilly Horror Show Ep. 3

I'm an unashamed fan of Blu de Goyler's comedic horror anthology Hillbilly Horror Show. The Internet series debuted earlier this year and has cranked out three episodes thus far, the third of which recently landed online. Sadly, it took me a few weeks to catch up with the latest adventures of Bo (Bo Keister), Cephus (Scott Geiter) and kissing cousin Lulu (Rachel Faulkner) as they endure another round of independent horror shorts.

Meet Adam Wingard's The Guest

I've been a fan of writer/director Adam Wingard 's work since A Horrible Way to Die. Although I enjoyed his segments in the V/H/S films, I don't believe the man truly came into his own until he made the absolutely brilliant You're Next . Wingard's home-invasion thriller showed he has a flair for more than horror. In fact, some elements of You're Next slid into the action genre , which the director embraces with his latest flick, The Guest.

Monday Retro Review: Eight Legged Freaks

There was a time when David Arquette was a box office draw (kinda), Scarlett Johansson was relatively unknown, and Kari Wuhrer starred in a TV show called Sliders . During this wondrous era, a giant spider movie called Eight Legged Freaks came out, and it starred all of them. But was it good? Stick with me! A variety of horrible, poisonous spiders get exposed to a noxious chemical that causes them to grow to  monumental proportions. Then they attack a small town.

Will Vince Vaughn join Colin Farrell for True Detective?

That seems to be the latest news surrounding the second season of HBO's acclaimed cop show True Detective , which means the much rumoured about all-female cast was just that -- a rumour. In fact, Colin Farrell  is already on board and Taylor Kitsch is eyed for another role. Vince Vaughn is in early talks to join the show.

Sequel Blood Valley: Seed's Revenge slays in October

I never did watch Dr. Uwe Boll 's slasher flick Seed , mainly because I've made the effort to avoid as many of the man's flicks as humanly possible. Yeah, I dug Rampage. But Alone in the Dark and House of the Dead . . .  well, they sucked. However, enough folks must have checked out the low-budget horror film to warrant a follow up, as Blood Valley: Seed's Revenge is in the can and ready for release via Phase 4 Films .

Make a date with Briana Evigan and Mine Games

It's been a few months since we told yah  the horror flick The Evil Within was getting a title and release date change. We were informed then that Richard Gray's spookfest, now titled Mine Games , would open in September. Now we're letting you know it hits DVD , VOD and Blu-ray Sept. 16. You're welcome.