Dead Night


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 82 Minutes
From: Dark Sky Films
In Theaters and VOD/Digital: July 27, 2018
Get it via : iTunes

You know there is going to be trouble when a movie opens, set years ago in a vintage car, with a guy and a girl alone. One of them says something similar to, “Did you hear something?”

Why don’t these people just leave? Nope, the guy will try to be the hero, and things won’t go well for either of them.

Thus is the opening for “Dead Night.” Yup, the movie opens with the proverbial flashback to badness that will impact the folks of today.

As we get to those folks of today, enter the Pollack family. They are heading out on vacation to a cabin in the woods that supposedly has healing powers. Why? Because Dad, James (AJ Bowen), is dying. Mom, Casey (Brea Grant) seems kind of normal, and hey, why not bring Becky (Elise Luthman), the daughter’s friend, along with the rest of the family. She seems nothing like the outdoorsy type, so she will be perfect!

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The Cage Fighter


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 81 Minutes
From: IFC Films
Available on DVD and Digital Platforms:  June 12, 2018
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

“The Cage Fighter” is kind of a weird movie. First let’s get to the story.

Joe Carman is older, he’s got a family, and normal people struggles. He’s also a fighter, a mixed martial arts fighter for that fact, and most would consider him past his prime. Joe, however, doesn’t want to be past his prime and has a few demons he must work through, or as Joe puts it, “Closure.”

As the movie plays out, we see Joe with his family, him working in a boiler room, and his trying to find time to work out and train during any free time he can find. At issue, though, is he has told his family he won’t fight any longer. How long can he keep the secret?

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Chokeslam


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 102 Minutes
From: MVD Entertainment Group
Available on DVD and Digital Platforms:  February 27, 2018
Get it via : Amazon

Chokeslam movie reviewPoor Corey (Chris Marquette). In “Chokeslam” he is what one might classify as a loser, still living with mom, and going nowhere in his job at the deli. Enter a thief, Rocket, (Michael Eklund) hellbent on robbing the deli, only this is also a small town so Corey knows it’s a dude from high school. Wouldn’t you know it, now it is time for them to be best buds.

Also, wouldn’t you know it, it is time for Corey’s tenth year high school reunion, and Sheena (Amanda Crew) will be there. Sheena, it seems, is the pride of the town, if you want to call a gimmicky, female wrestler with a violent streak, a pride of a town. It seems that in senior year Corey and Sheena were best buds, and Corey proposed to Sheena in front of the school. What is a girl to do? Say, “No” of course, which also led to Corey’s tailspin into loserdom.

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Dealt


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 86 Minutes
From: IFC Films
Available on DVD and Digital Platforms:  February 13, 2018
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

“I’m Richard Turner. I represent why you should never play cards with strangers.”

You got that right! Holy crap, I thought my buddy, Aquaman, was great with a deck of cards, and I never wanted to play cards with him. Richard Turner, however, is one bad-ass card magician, or “card mechanic” as he is wont to call himself. Why? He can “fix” the cards like most no one else out there.

The thing is, as the documentary “Dealt” opens, we see Richard doing the normal things many people might do, things like doing push-ups, answering the phone, getting ready for a gig, and practicing manipulating cards in his hands. What you don’t see when the documentary opens is that Richard is trying to keep a secret – He’s blind.

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Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 118 Minutes
From: IFC Films
Available on DVD and Digital Platforms:  February 6, 2018
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

There was one point during “Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton,” when I just felt like such a schlub. It was during a scene showing Laird training. With his being 53 as I type this, and the footage not looking that old, he was probably about my age now, me being 50, or a little older. There he was, training in the gym, in the water with weights, and just being all healthy and stuff. Laird was able to love life, even with his aches and pains, and here I am struggling to get my ass out of bed most days just to get on a treadmill. I’m sure living in Hawaii kind of helps, but now I’m just making excuses.

Maybe I should let Laird’s life inspire me, even at 50, to live life instead of not let life go by, because as you watch the documentary, Laird never lets life go by.

I first heard of Laird, and that he was married to Gabrielle “Gabby” Reece, on the Tim Ferriss podcast. During the podcast they touched briefly on Laird’s past, but most of the talk was of exercise, marriage, and life in general. I found him interesting, but after watching “Take Every Wave,” I now find him fascinating. And I miss Kauai.

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Victor Crowley


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 82 Minutes
From: Dark Sky Films
Available on DVD and Digital Platforms:  February 6, 2018
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

Poor Sue (Kelly Vrooman). She was having the most wonderful of nights, and possibly the best reactions to a wedding proposal, ever. Then Victor Crowley had to show up. I don’t believe severed limbs and spraying blood is what she had in mind when she dreamt of being proposed to as a little girl. I suppose at least is was memorable for her!

It was also a fantastic way to open the movie “Victor Crowley.”

So, yea, the movie starts with exactly what one would want from a slasher film. First you get the bloodbath from many, many years ago, and then you get a quick summary of the history of said slasher, in our case, Victor Crowley (Kane Hodder).

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Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs Of Bob Dylan


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 94 Minutes
From: MVD Entertainment Group
Available on DVD and Digital Platforms:  February 9, 2018
Get it via : Amazon

Gotta Serve Somebody - A DVD ReviewI’m not a Bob Dylan fan. There, I said it. While I admire the career he has had, for whatever reason his music style just never clicked with me. Not the acoustic Dylan, not the electric Dylan, and hell, I didn’t even know there was a gospel Dylan, until now.

And guess what? I’m still not a fan, of his.

What I am a fan of, though, are the gospel singers who took his gospel songs and turned them into their own. With that I am now a fan of “Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs Of Bob Dylan.” The DVD is being reissued in conjunction with the fifteenth anniversary of the release of the Grammy-nominated album of the same name.

Opening with Ariethia Lindsey singing “Every Grain of Sand” in the subway, the documentary takes you on a look at the songs as they touched the lives of the various singers. The documentary also takes a look at the Dylan gospel era, beginning in 1979 when he decided to go gospel. Of course there was the confusion by the fans, the band, and everything Dylan, but interviews with those around him and those who covered him attempt to break down the powerful nature of gospel, and analyze if Bob could bring the spirit to the music. It appears he did.


The documentary is straightforward, mixing interviews with the singers and groups along with videos of their recordings of the various songs. Couple that with some interviews of some journalists as well as producers, and you can see that Bob Dylan was able to tackle gospel.

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100 Men


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 94 Minutes
From: MPI Media Group
Available on DVD and Digital Platforms:  January 16, 2018
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

100 Men on DVD - A ReviewPaul Oremland is a film director. He is also a gay man. He has also slept with a lot of men.

Why is this important? Without all three attributes there wouldn’t be the wonderful documentary, “100 Men,” which, through Paul’s recollection of his lovers, shows the struggle and change that has affected the homosexual community for the past 40 years.

The basic story of the documentary is that Paul began to reflect on his past lovers. He decided to rank them from 100 down to his number one. As a film director is wont to do, why not try to track down these men, interview them, and use them to tell a story? So he did.

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Viceroy’s House


Rated: Not Rated | Running Time: 106 Minutes
From: IFC Films
Available on DVD, Digital HD, and VOD:  December 12, 2017
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

Viceroy's House on DVDWell, crap. I guess I should have paid more attention in my world history classes because I don’t remember anything about India getting independence from the United Kingdom. I guess it happened way back when, in 1947 to be exact, some 70 years ago. And double-crap, I also had no idea that the creation of Pakistan was part of the deal.

Who knew “Viceroy’s House” would turn into a history lesson for me, at least in the movie kind of way.

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Zombies


Rated: R | Running Time: 84 Minutes
From: Broadgreen Pictures
In theaters and VOD:  September 29, 2017
Get it via : Amazon | iTunes

Zombies - A movie reviewIf zombies are in a movie it is usually because it’s time for a zombie apocalypse. There are also, usually, two kinds of zombie apocalypse movies, the serious, “Let’s try to pretend this could be real” kind, and the campy, horror-ish, fun kind, complete with enough blood splatter to wonder how the human body can hold so much blood.

“Zombies” is the campy, fun kind, until the ending scene. So much for fun.

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