"My first two kung fu movies consisted of a double feature of super-cheap, super-obscure flicks at my local cinema one night back in the early 70s. The titles have long receded into the sodden recesses of my memory but I wouldn't be surprised if their trailers appear somewhere on this disc."
My review of the previous kung fu trailer collection from Severin Films, KUNG FU TRAILERS OF FURY, began with this poignant moment of wistful nostalgia, and the same goes double for this new follow-up disc.
RETURN OF KUNG FU TRAILERS OF FURY, or "The Night the Kung Fu Trailers of Fury Came Home--Again", is more and more, and yet still more (35, to be exact) gloriously goofy previews of all those cheapo kung fu flicks that were being churned out by the rickshaw-load in Hong Kong back in the 70s.
Rest assured, this bursting-at-the-seams batch of fists 'n' feet potboilers contains no CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON-level epics. It's all gloriously grade Z, as though Ed Wood himself had opened up a school for action directors in Hong Kong.
Often these condensed versions are better than the actual feature films, because they cut out all the boring exposition and lame character interplay and get right down to the pure, unadulterated chop-socky action.
And that's what this non-stop parade of trailers is--just one furious clash after another, accompanied by some deathless dialogue and hilarious text exclamations such as "Intriguing story!" and "Good Actors From Many Nations Makes This Film Outstanding!"
The collection features about an equal ratio of contemporary urban dramas and historical tales with lots of flowing white hair and bushy eyebrows. Regardless of the technical quality of each individual film, the stuntwork and choreography are rarely short of amazing.
First up is THUNDERBOLT, and right off the bat there's some of that incredibly fake-looking wirework that we all love. YELLOW-FACED TIGER is yet another "new Bruce Lee" flick, this time offering Don Wong as the hero and none other than a young Chuck Norris as a formidable bad guy with an equally formidable moustache.
THE STORY OF CHINESE GODS, described as "China's first full-length color animation feature!" boasts a 3-eyed Bruce Lee character and some not-so-hot animated action.
Other titles include BRUCE AND THE IRON FINGER, SHAOLIN INVINCIBLE STICKS, INVISIBLE TERRORIST, REVENGE OF THE SHAOLIN KID, HELL’S WINDSTAFF, THUNDERING MANTIS, THE LEGENDARY STRIKE, KUNG FU KILLERS, CRAZY HORSE & INTELLIGENT MONKEY, THE AVENGING BOXER, and SNUFF-BOTTLE CONNECTION. They add up to a full 134 minutes.
My favorite moment comes during the preview for a wacky comedy called KUNG FU MASTER NAMED DRUNKEN CAT, which, in addition to its distinct Benny Hill influence, makes this bold promise to potential viewers: "It's John Cheung vs. The Midget! Funny!"
It's interesting to see these trailers in Blu-ray since they're so wonderfully battered and scratched-up in the great grindhouse style. Are we supposed to be happy that all the scratches and imperfections that make these old trailers so distinctive are now in high-def?
Having grown up watching old movie prints in theaters and on late-night TV, I love that old beat-up look. These trailers have it in abundance, and it suits me just fine to see it so well-preserved here.
The Blu-ray from Severin Films is widescreen with Dolby 2.0 sound and English subtitles. The wall-to-wall commentary track is highly informative thanks to a panel of kung fu cinema experts including writer Ric Meyers ("Films of Fury"), Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival), Ric Stelow (Drunken Master Video), and martial arts instructor Greg Schiller.
If you got a kick out of Severin's first volume of kung fu trailers, then RETURN OF KUNG FU TRAILERS OF FURY should strike your fancy as well. It's solid entertainment for lovers of no-frills kung fu cinema.
My first two kung fu movies consisted of a double feature of super-cheap, super-obscure flicks at my local cinema one night back in the early 70s. The titles have long receded into the sodden recesses of my memory but I wouldn't be surprised if their trailers appear somewhere on this disc.
For fans of Hong Kong chop-socky cinema, Severin Films' KUNG FU TRAILERS OF FURY doesn't disappoint. I mean, how could they mess up something as simple as a collection of kick-ass martial arts movie trailers?
This baby is wall-to-wall chops, socks, kicks, flips, bad subtitles, insane wirework, and general weirdness of a kind that can only be found in the wildest and most creative examples of the martial arts genre.
These newly-rediscovered trailers give us an overview of the early Hong Kong action films, whether contemporary crime dramas or the period mini-epics that mix fanciful Chinese historical atmosphere with furious kung fu action.
Many of them are part of the "Bruce-ploitation" wave of films that followed the death of superstar Bruce Lee, who helped popularize such films in the West, by cashing in on his image and offering a series of clone versions such as Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Dragon Lee, and Bruce Leung.
We also get to see Jackie Chan and Chuck Norris in some of their early screen moments, as well as the young Sammo Hung who played up his "weighty" stature in such films as ENTER THE FAT DRAGON.
Since the majority of these films were churned out like sausage, they're cheap, quick, and usually a lot of bad-movie fun with some amazing martial arts on display. Given the rushed schedules on these films, much of the fight choreography is amazing.
Their frenetic trailers are an interesting montage of the evolution of the genre, how it became Hong Kong's equivalent of the matinee western, how it came to capture the imaginations first of a country and then an entire world, and how it was eventually refined into something of an art form in itself.
To keep us abreast of who's who during this dizzying parade of film highlights, the disc offers an informative commentary track by experts Ric Meyers (author of "Films of Fury"), Michael Worth (author of "The Bruceploitation Bible"), Martial Arts Instructor Greg Schiller, and Rick Stelow of Drunken Master Video.
I was going to watch the film first and then watch it again with the commentary, but soon realized that since I can't understand anything the actors are saying and it's all subtitled anyway, I might as well just put on the commentary track to begin with.
This turned out great since Rick and company are fountains of knowledge and enthusiasm for these films and to hear them discuss the trailers as we watch gives a whole new level of appreciation for them. (I especially enjoyed hearing about the first meeting between Bruce Lee and Sammo Hung.)
The Blu-ray from Severin Films also contains the featurettes "A Brief History of Kung Fu Cinema" with Meyers and fellow expert Frank Djeng, and "The Way of the Cube", the story of a UK cinema devoted to showing martial arts films (where the original 35mm trailers were rediscovered).
Some of the trailers included in this collection are: THE WAY OF THE DRAGON, FISTS OF BRUCE LEE, KUNG FU VS. YOGA, DEATH BLOW, TWO CHAMPIONS OF SHAOLIN, DAGGERS 8, SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW, SHAOLIN WOODEN MEN, THE DAMNED, THE STORY OF DRUNKEN MASTER, ENTER THE FAT DRAGON, and BRUTAL BOXER.
While the Blu-ray's picture quality is fine, the trailers themselves still retain their aged "grindhouse" look, just the way you might've seen them on the big screen way back when. For me, this is a nostalgic plus.
KUNG FU TRAILERS OF FURY is non-stop kung fu action without plots or dialogue scenes to get in the way--just a potpourri of freaky, frenetic, and often dazzling kung fu filmmaking that's done on the cheap but with lots of skill and, more importantly, lots of heart.
THE VAULT OF AMICUS is exclusive to "THE AMICUS COLLECTION" (Blu-ray 4-volume box set) from Severin Films. (And Now the Screaming Starts/Asylum/The Beast Must Die!/The Vault of Amicus)
So you like Amicus Pictures, and you also like trailer compilations, eh? Well then, Severin Films has just the thing for you--namely, their new Blu-ray collection entitled THE VAULT OF AMICUS (B&W/color, 63 min.), which gathers 30 or so Amicus trailers from 1960-81 together into one nice, watchable batch and also adds a commentary track and a couple of lengthy interviews with the company's founders, Max Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky, for good measure.
It's exclusive to Severin's new 4-volume boxed set, THE AMICUS COLLECTION, which also contains Amicus classics ASYLUM, AND NOW THE SCREAMING STARTS, and THE BEAST MUST DIE! The trailers for these show up later, of course, but the disc begins with Rosenberg and Subotsky's pioneer foray into film, a pre-Beatles teen music show called "Ring-a-Ding Rhythm" which is delightfully out of touch with where pop music was headed at the time.
What follows is an account of how the producing partners followed trends, tried new things, learned their craft through trial and error, and ended up putting out a widely-varied body of work which happened to concentrate mainly upon horror and science-fiction, the two most lucrative genres for the independent filmmakers.
Some of the more familiar titles in the latter category are "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors", "Dr. Who and the Daleks", "The Skull", "Daleks Invasion Earth: 2150 A.D.", Robert Bloch's "The Psychopath", "The Terrornauts", "They Came From Beyond Space", "The Mind of Dr. Soames", "Torture Garden", and one of their least successful efforts, "The Deadly Bees."
A departure for them was the spy thriller "Danger Route" with Richard Johnson. Forays into more high-brow and/or experimental territory would come with such films as "The Birthday Party" with a young Robert Shaw (who would later play Quint in "Jaws"), "What Became of Jack and Jill" (a psychological thriller), and "Thank You All Very Much" with Sandy Dennis.
But it's the good stuff (as far as I'm concerned, anyway) that Rosenberg and Subotsky kept coming back to. As the commentary points out, experience taught them what worked and what didn't, so they just kept doing what worked as well as they could.
This resulted in a string of classics and near-classics that gave Hammer Studios a run for their money in the 60s and 70s, with such titles as "The House That Dripped Blood", "Scream and Scream Again", "I, Monster" (Christopher Lee doing Jekyll and Hyde), "Asylum", "And Now the Screaming Starts", "The Beast Must Die!", "From Beyond the Grave", "Madhouse", and that beloved duo of EC Comics adaptations, "Tales From the Crypt" and "The Vault of Horror."
Later, Amicus would venture into Edgar Rice Burroughs fantasy-adventure romps with "The Land That Time Forgot", "At the Earth's Core", and "The People That Time Forgot." Rosenberg and Subotsky's partnership would conclude with "The Uncanny" and "The Monster Club."
This is the stuff I read about in "Famous Monsters" magazine as a kid and was occasionally lucky enough to see on the big screen. I particularly recall seeing "Dr. Who and the Daleks" as the second half of a double bill with "Night of the Living Dead." The colorful and relatively cheerful "Daleks" came as quite a relief for a kid who just endured Romero's grueling nightmare of terror for the first time.
The trailers, as usual for a collection such as this, are a mixed bag with some more interesting than others, but all in all it's a splendidly entertaining set. Casting was an Amicus strong point, so many of them are jam-packed with familiar faces such as Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee, Vincent Price, Jack Palance, Burgess Meredith, Patrick Magee, Caroline Munro, Ingrid Pitt, Diana Dors, Harry Andrews, Carol Lynley, Robert Vaughn, Nigel Davenport, Patrick Wymark, Doug McClure, Robert Powell, Terence Stamp, and many others.
The commentary track by horror authors Kim Newman and David Flint is knowledgeable and fun, with nary a dead spot. The bonus menu consists of very lengthy, in-depth interviews and remembrances by Rosenberg and Subotsky themselves (with accompanying pictures) which should prove absolutely invaluable to any interested parties.
The trailers themselves have that wonderful grindhouse look that fills me with nostalgia--most of them look like they've been around the block a few times. (Look for the really cool Easter Egg for some fun TV spots.)
THE VAULT OF AMICUS, like any good trailer compilation, is a treasure trove of juicy clips from lots of great movies, in this case the best of a legendary production duo whose solid genre output kept us horror and sci-fi fans going back in the days before such things became mainstream and plentiful. It's the kind of nostalgia that you just want to settle into and wallow around in for awhile.
Small Town Monsters Explores the Dark Side of UFOs
First Trailer for On the Trail of UFOs: Night Visitors
Takes Viewers into the Most Disturbing Aspect of UFOlogy
Wadsworth, OH--Do cattle mutilations still plague the American West? According to the latest documentary from Small Town Monsters, the phenomenon, which was popularized through references in shows like "The X-Files" and "Unsolved Mysteries", continues to this day.
On the Trail of UFOs: Night Visitors unveils a detailed look at the ongoing UFO activity occurring across the country through interviews with investigators and eyewitnesses. The feature-length documentary promises to take viewers on a journey into a side of the subject that they’ve never explored.
Small Town Monsters has released the first-look trailer for the new film which begins to hint at some of the incredible eyewitness accounts and mind-boggling nuggets of information contained therein. Night Visitors is the follow-up to the wildly successful 2020 miniseries, On the Trail of UFOs, and 2021’s On the Trail of UFOs: Dark Sky.
The film is directed by Small Town Monsters founder Seth Breedlove and follows investigator Shannon LeGro (host of Into the Fray podcast) as she searches for answers across the stunning mountains and prairie lands of Colorado. Her search takes her deep into often-overlooked and deeply disturbing sides of the UAP topic; cattle mutilations and human abductions.
WATCH THE TRAILER:
Along with the teaser, Breedlove and company have announced their film production lineup for the year which includes three additional titles: On the Trail of Bigfoot: Last Frontier, American Werewolves and Bloodlines: The Jersey Devil Curse.
Bigfoot is a followup to last year's On the Trail of Bigfoot: The Discovery which spent over 8 weeks on Amazon Vdeo's best-selling overall titles list. American Werewolves explores the topic of upright canids in North America, while Jersey Devil seeks to blend narrative, fictional story elements with Small Town Monsters' tried and true documentary format.
All four titles are headed to Kickstarter on February 3rd where they will be seeking funding throughout the month. A slew of rewards sure to please the UFO, paranormal or cryptid enthusiast in your life are up for grabs for backers of the campaign.
On the Trail of UFOs: Night Visitors will debut on VOD this spring.
Trust, identity, and the danger of unchecked power push a covert operative to the edge in director Mark Williams’ intense action thriller Blacklight.
Travis Block (Neeson) lives and fights in the shadows. A freelance government “fixer,” Block is a dangerous man whose assignments have included extracting agents out of deep-cover situations.
When Block discovers a shadowy program called Operation Unity is striking down ordinary citizens for reasons known only to Block’s boss, FBI chief Robinson (Quinn), he enlists the help of a journalist (Raver-Lampman), but his past and present collide when his daughter and granddaughter are threatened.
Now Block needs to rescue the people he loves and expose the truth for a shot at redemption. Nothing and no one is safe when secrets are hidden in Blacklight.
WATCH THE OFFICIAL TRAILER HERE:
Directed By: Mark Williams Written By: Nick May and Mark Williams Starring: Liam Neeson, Aidan Quinn, Emmy Raver-Lampman Produced By: Mark Willams, Paul Currie, Myles Nestel, Alevé Loh, Coco Xiaqlu Ma
AVAILABLE NOW IN SELECT THEATERS, THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH PREMIERES GLOBALLY ON APPLE TV+ TODAY, JANUARY 14
NEW YORK, NY – Milan Records announces the release of THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH (SOUNDTRACK FROM THE APPLE ORIGINAL FILM) by award-winning composer CARTER BURWELL. Available everywhere now, the album features music written by Burwell for the Apple Original Film based on the play by William Shakespeare, written for the screen and directed by Joel Coen. The film is the latest in a career-spanning partnership between Burwell and Coen, whose prolific partnership dates back to 1984 and has gone on to include almost every film from the four-time Academy Award-winning filmmaker including Raising Arizona, Fargo, The Big Lebowski, No Country for Old Men, True Grit and more.
WATCH THE TRAILER:
Speaking of his approach to the score, composer CARTER BURWELL says, “Among the ways one might play Macbeth musically are to let the witches run the show, or make Lady Macbeth a bully, or play Macbeth as a blood-thirsty madman. I did none of these in The Tragedy of Macbeth. The way Joel Coen adapted the play, and the way the actors played it, the Macbeths are human and supportive of each other. Loving even. And culpable. But the music also plays the film as a thriller. A murder sets a mechanism in motion that will unwind with greater pace and greater stakes until the end.”
The soundtrack finds Burwell weaving string-heavy instrumentation with onscreen dialogues performed throughout the film, with vocal contributions by Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand and more featuring on nearly half of the album’s 13 tracks. Burwell’s orchestra of strings further showcase the melodic quality of the Shakespearean dialogue, of which the composer says:
“In any adaptation of Shakespeare, the language is the featured player, and Joel and I often discussed how much or little the music should play during the great monologues. We arrived at the maxim that, in these scenes, the dialogue was the melody and the score its accompaniment. With this in mind I tried to write around and below the words, placing much of the score in the lowest registers – cellos and basses – where it wouldn’t fight the speech. This also accentuates the darkness of a very dark story.”
The score’s ominous tone is punctuated by moments of solo violin Burwell describes as “taking flight out of the darkness.” Eerily alien and slightly off-kilter, these portions reflect a conscious decision by Burwell to find something “rough-hewn like a fiddle, but not a fiddle from any place we know.” Burwell enlisted award-winning violinist Tim Fain to help create a folk-style sound from unknown lands, crediting the musician for his ability to go “off the page” enough to give the compositions character and life. From Shakespearean speeches to simmering, otherworldly textures, Burwell’s score coalesces into a darkly foreboding and propulsive soundscape that ultimately captures the essence of the story as well as its nuances.
Starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand, The Tragedy of Macbeth is available now in select theaters from A24 and premieres globally on Apple TV+ today, January 14.
ABOUT THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand star in Joel Coen’s bold and fierce adaptation; a tale of murder, madness, ambition and wrathful cunning.
Apple Original Films presents an A24 and IAC Films production, The Tragedy of Macbeth, based on the play by William Shakespeare and written for the screen and directed by Joel Coen. The film stars Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling and Brendan Gleeson. The producers are Joel Coen, Frances McDormand and Robert Graf. The film features casting by Ellen Chenoweth, music by Carter Burwell, costumes by Mary Zophres, editing by Lucian Johnston and Reginald Jaynes, production design by Stefan Dechant and cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel.
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH (SOUNDTRACK FROM THE APPLE ORIGINAL FILM)
TRACKLISTING –
1. Fair Is Foul (feat. Kathryn Hunter)
2. My Black Desires
3. Come What Come May (feat. Denzel Washington)
4. Leave All the Rest to Me (feat. Denzel Washington & Frances McDormand)
5. Blood Will Have Blood
6. Is This a Dagger? (feat. Denzel Washington)
7. Something Wicked This Way Comes
8. Be Not Found Here
9. Out Damned Spot (feat. Frances McDormand, Nancy Daly & Jefferson Mays)
10. Birnam Wood
11. Come Seeling Night
12. Tomorrow and Tomorrow (feat. Denzel Washington)
13. The End of Macbeth
ABOUT CARTER BURWELL
Carter Burwell has composed the music for more than 90 feature films, including Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller's Crossing, Barton Fink, The Hudsucker Proxy, Rob Roy, Fargo, The Spanish Prisoner, Gods and Monsters, Velvet Goldmine, Three Kings, Being John Malkovich, O Brother, Where Art Thou? (BAFTA Nominee for Film Music), Before Night Falls, A Knight’s Tale, The Rookie, Adaptation., Intolerable Cruelty, No Country for Old Men, In Bruges, Burn After Reading, Twilight, Where the Wild Things Are (Golden Globe Nominee for Best Original Score), A Serious Man, The Blind Side, The Kids Are All Right, True Grit, Twilight: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 & 2, Mr. Holmes, Legend, Anomalisa, Hail, Caesar!, The Founder, Missing Link and The Good Liar.
For television, Burwell wrote the music for Apple’s drama series The Morning Show starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Billy Crudup and Steve Carell which had it first season premiere on November 1, 2019. The second season of The Morning Show premiered on September 17, 2021. Burwell also wrote the music for the first season of the comedy series Space Force starring Steve Carell which premiered on Netflix on May 29, 2020.
In 2017 Burwell wrote the music for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri starring Frances McDormand, Woody Harrelson and Sam Rockwell, written and directed by Martin McDonagh. Burwell received an Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe Award nomination for his work for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and won the British Independent Film Award for Best Music on behalf of the film.
In 2015 Burwell wrote the music for the drama Carol starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara directed by Todd Haynes. Burwell received his first Oscar nomination for Best Original Score for Carol, as well as nominations for a Golden Globe and a Critics’ Choice Movie Award. Burwell won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association’s Award for Best Music Score for Carol and Anomalisa.
Other recent films include Wonderstruck which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2017 and was Burwell’s fourth collaboration with director Todd Haynes, and the Coen Brothers’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, a six-part Western anthology film for Netflix which marked their 17th project together and premiered in November 2018. His original score for The Ballad of Buster Scruggs was named to the 2019 Oscar shortlist.
Burwell also previously worked with Todd Haynes on Velvet Goldmine and HBO’s mini-series Mildred Pierce starring Kate Winslet for which Burwell was nominated for two Emmy Awards, winning in the category of Outstanding Music Composition for a Miniseries, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score).
His most recent project is the upcoming The Tragedy of Macbeth directed and adapted by Joel Coen starring Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand which opened in select theatres on December 25, 2021 and will be available to stream on Apple TV+ on January 14, 2022.
His theater work includes the chamber opera The Celestial Alphabet Event and the Mabou Mines productions Mother and Lucia’s Chapters of Coming Forth by Day.
In 2005 he developed a concert work for text and music titled Theater of the New Ear, presented in New York, London and Los Angeles. The text, by Joel and Ethan Coen and Charlie Kaufman, was performed by a dozen actors including Meryl Streep, Steve Buscemi, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Hope Davis, Peter Dinklage, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. The music was performed by the 8-member Parabola Ensemble, conducted by Mr. Burwell.
Burwell’s dance compositions include the pieces The Return of Lot's Wife, choreographed by Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig, and RABL, choreographed by Patrice Regnier. He has performed around the world with his own ensembles as well as others, such as The Harmonic Choir.
His writing includes the essays "Music at Six: Scoring the News Then and Now," published in the inaugural issue of Esopus magazine in 2003 and reprinted in Harper's Magazine in 2004, “No Country For Old Music” in the 2013 Oxford Handbook of New Audiovisual Aesthetics, and “How Nino Rota Saved Me from a Subterranean Freakout” in Arcana IX, 2021.
Burwell has taught and lectured at The Sundance Institute, New York University, Columbia University, and Harvard University.
Junta Yamaguchi's Temporal Paradox Comedy "Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes" Takes a Trip to VOD
Following Critical Acclaim on the International Festival Circuit
Available on Digital HD and Cable VOD January 25th Across North America from Indiecan Entertainment
"what Yamaguchi has created here is pure magic" -- Daily Dead "one of the most clever time travel movies in years" -- RogerEbert.com "takes a simple premise and turns it into one of the most enjoyable features you will see this year" -- Cinema Axis "elevates well above its micro means as a thought-provoking science fiction mystery without a single bell or whistle" -- WhatToWatch
Toronto, ON - Following a wildly successful run on the global film festival circuit, Indiecan Entertainment has the North American VOD premiere of Junta Yamaguchi's acclaimed debut feature film Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes made its North American premiere at Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival, followed by a wildly successful UK premiere at London's Arrow Video FrightFest and a US Premiere at Austin's Fantastic Fest. The timewarped workplace comedy will be available on a number of digital and cable platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, VUDU, iNDemand and DISH, beginning January 25th.
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes had its world premiere at Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, beginning a global tour of critical and audience acclaim. The film has taken home several awards to date including White Raven and the Critics Award at BIFFF, Best Director and the Audience Award for Best Feature at Fantaspoa, the NETPAC Award at BIFAN, the Golden Bat for Best Film at Fantafestival and the Nippon Visions Audience Award for Best Director at the Nippon Connection Japanese Film Festival. The film most recently took home a Jury Award for Outstanding Achievement in Filmmaking and the Gold Audience Award for Best Asian Film at Fantasia.
Since the world premiere at Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes has been praised by critics. Comic Book Resources hailed "Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes cost next to nothing compared to the megabudget Tenet, yet it manages to be equally inventive in its portrayal of time travel and far more entertaining to watch" while Cultured Vultures called the film "intricate and wonderfully creative" and "a dazzling sci-fi gem".
Film Threat gave the sci-fi comedy "10/10" and boasted "there is nothing to not love about Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes." Flickering Myth proclaimed that "Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes delivers a rare truly fresh take on the time travel movie."
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes was produced by Kazuchika Yoshida and Takahiro Otsuki, with Junta Yamaguchi directing from a script by Makoto Ueda.
Kato is a middle-aged shop owner in Kyoto, Japan who lives above his cafe. He spends his free time playing in a local band and sometimes thinking about Megumi, the woman in the barbershop next door with whom Kato is infatuated. One evening, after closing up the cafe, Kato is in his room when suddenly he appears on his own computer screen. The Kato on the screen is using the computer from downstairs in the cafe and claims to be from two minutes in the future. Kato is understandably confused and skeptical, but things get really strange when he goes down to the cafe computer, sees himself sitting back in his room, and begins to deliver the same message he heard two minutes before. It’s not long before Kato’s friends discover the phenomenon – which they dub “Time TV” – and devise a plan to go beyond the infinite two minutes.
"GHOST RIDERS" Coming February 8th 2022 For the first time ever on Blu-ray & DVD via MVD Entertainment Group
THE OLD WEST MEETS OLD-SCHOOL HORROR IN VERDUGO ENTERTAINMENT’S ‘GHOST RIDERS’ MAKING ITS LONG-AWAITED DEBUT ON BLU-RAY AND DVD VIA MVD ENTERTAINMENT GROUP
Revenge is a hearty meal for phantoms of the prairie! On a dark and haunting night, all that is visible by the campfire light is the breath of vicious lawmen. The local preacher and townspeople gather on a lonesome prairie as the lawless career of desperado Frank Clements is about to end. Just as the hangman’s noose tightens around his neck, the most feared outlaw of 1888 shouts a curse of revenge on the town preacher – a curse which will haunt the preacher’s family through generations.
One hundred years later, unsuspecting of the events in 1888, the town is prospering. Frank Clements and his gang return from hell to seek revenge against the preacher’s grandson and his family. The fight against the phantoms from the past proves futile, and they become unwilling victims of bloodthirsty outlaws. Weapons are defenseless against the phantom cowboys – you can’t kill what’s already dead!
WATCH THE TRAILER:
GHOST RIDERS hails from the producers and writing team of the cult classic action extravaganza Action U.S.A. and boasts a great cast that includes legendary stuntman Bill Shaw (The Dirt Bike Kid), Jim Peters (Challenger), Mike Ammons (Action U.S.A.) and Arland Bishop (Black Snow).
Verdugo Entertainment has teamed up with distribution partner MVD Entertainment Group to bring collectors a fully loaded special edition Blu-ray packed with hours of all-new bonus material produced exclusively for this release including an audio commentary with producers Thomas L. Callaway & James Desmarais and moderator Steve Latshaw, a new making of documentary, a vintage making of featurette, photo galleries, trailers and more!
MVD Director of Acquisitions Eric D. Wilkinson coordinated with Verdugo Entertainment to put GHOST RIDERS in the hands of collectors. “I’m proud to say that MVD continues to be the perfect distribution partner for cult classic films and “Ghost Riders” is yet another video store staple from the 1980’s that was long overdue for its release on physical media. I’m excited to add this to my collection and I’m confident my fellow collectors will too!” “Ghost Riders” will also be making its debut on standard DVD.
"GHOST RIDERS" SPECIAL FEATURES
· NEW! Audio Commentary with director of photography / producer Thomas L. Calloway, writer/producer James Desmarais and moderator Steve Latshaw · NEW! “Bringing Out the Ghosts: The Making of Ghost Riders” (new original documentary) · “Low Budget Films: On the Set of Ghost Riders” (vintage documentary) · Movie Stills & Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery · English Subtitles · Original Theatrical Trailer · New Reissue Trailer
Additional information:
North American release date – February 8, 2022 Available exclusively on Blu-ray and DVD via MVD Entertainment Group BLU-RAY: MVD8076BR / UPC: 760137807681 / $29.95 SRP / RATED R DVD: MVD8075D / UPC: 760137825999 / $19.95 SRP / RATED R
VERDUGO ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS AN ALAN L. STEWART PRODUCTION “GHOST RIDERS” STARRING BILL SHAW JIM PETERS RICKY LONG CARI POWELL MIKE AMMONS ARLAND BISHOP WRITTEN BY CLAY McBRIDE AND JAMES J. DESMARAIS PRODUCED BY ALAN L. STEWART THOMAS L. CALLAWAY AND JAMES J. DESMARAIS MUSIC BY FRANK PATTERSON, III DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY THOMAS L. CALLAWAY DIRECTED BY ALAN L. STEWART
“The Tragedy of Macbeth” is now playing in select theaters and will premiere globally on Apple TV+ on January 14, 2022
Today Apple & A24 unveiled the new trailer for the Joel Coen film, “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand star in Joel Coen’s bold and fierce adaptation—a tale of murder, madness, ambition, and wrathful cunning.
Apple Original Films presents an A24 and IAC Films production, “The Tragedy of Macbeth,” based on the play by William Shakespeare and written for the screen and directed by Joel Coen. The film stars Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling and Brendan Gleeson. The producers are Joel Coen, Frances McDormand and Robert Graf. The film features casting by Ellen Chenoweth, music by Carter Burwell, costumes by Mary Zophres, editing by Lucian Johnston and Reginald Jaynes, production design by Stefan Dechant and cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel.
Apple TV+ offers premium, compelling drama and comedy series, feature films, groundbreaking documentaries, and kids and family entertainment, and is available to watch across all your favorite screens. After its launch on November 1, 2019, Apple TV+ became the first all-original streaming service to launch around the world, and has premiered more original hits and received more award recognitions faster than any other streaming service in its debut. To date, Apple Original films, documentaries, and series have been honored with 183 wins and 702 awards nominations.
Apple TV+ is available on the Apple TV app in over 100 countries and regions, on over 1 billion screens, including iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac, popular smart TVs from Samsung, LG, Sony, VIZIO, TCL and others, Roku and Amazon Fire TV devices, Chromecast with Google TV, PlayStation and Xbox gaming consoles, and at tv.apple.com, for $4.99 per month with a seven-day free trial. For a limited time, customers who purchase and activate a new iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Mac or iPod touch can enjoy three months of Apple TV+ for free.
Director And Writer: Joel Coen
Cast: Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling, Brendan Gleeson, Kathryn Hunter, Moses Ingram
Producers: Joel Coen, Frances McDormand, Robert Graf
4Digital Media has released the new official trailer and poster for THE JACK IN THE BOX: AWAKENING. Lawrence Fowler returns with his second installment of the heart stopping horror with one very demonic clown - JACK IS BACK!
Terminally ill heiress Olga Marsdale acquires a mysterious gothic box containing a captured demon - Jack. The powerful entity within makes a deadly deal with Olga and her devoted son Edgar - deliver six victims to Jack and Olga will live.
They trap several unsuspecting victims for him within the vast crumbling mansion - but can they deliver all six before it's too late? Or will Amy, the young and innocent woman recently hired to look after the estate turn out to be more than a match for both the family and the Jack?
WATCH THE TRAILER:
FILM INFORMATION: Release: Jan 18, 2022 (VOD, Digital HD & DVD) in the U.S. & January 3, 2022 in the UK Directed/Written by: Lawrence Fowler Produced by: Lawrence Fowler, Geoff Fowler Cast: Matt McClure, James Swanton, Mollie Hindle, Nicola Wright Distributor: 4Digital Media Production Company: Fowler Media Limited Genre: Horror Rating: N/A Language: English Runtime: 93 minutes Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Audio: 5.1 Surround and 2.0 Stereo Bonus Features: Bonus: 'Creating the Score'
A Bullied Teen Comes of Age with a Bloody Twist Shout! Studios Presents "THE UNHEALER"
Available Nationwide on AVOD and SVOD Available Now on Blu-ray, Digital HD and Cable VOD
"Any fan of classic Stephen King should definitely check out The Unhealer" -- Horror DNA "an original and entertaining tale of bullying and revenge"-- Screen Queens "like one of those shiny mid-career Wes Craven movies" -- Dark Eyes of London
Los Angeles, CA - Following a wildly successful run on the global film festival circuit and a wide physical and digital release, Horror Business Films and Shout! Studios have announced the ad-supported and subscription based release of Martin Guigui's The Unhealer. The blood-splattered supernatural thriller, a twist on the superhero's coming-of-age story, will be available on Roku and additional platforms this month. It is currently available on Blu-ray, DVD and a number of digital and cable platforms, including iTunes, Amazon Video, Vudu, Comcast, Spectrum, and Cox.
Directed by writer, producer, and filmmaker Martin Guigui (Beneath the Darkness, The Bronx Bull, Future World), the film stars genre favorites Natasha Henstridge (Species, The Whole Nine Yards) and Lance Henriksen (Aliens, Near Dark). The cast is rounded out by TikTok superstar Elijah Nelson ("Crazy Ex-Girlfriend", "S.W.A.T."), Kayla Carlson ("Why Women Kill," "Widow Detective"), Adam Beach (Suicide Squad, Cowboys & Aliens), Chris Browning ("Westworld", "Bosch"), Cristi Harris (Night of the Demons 2) and Branscombe Richmond (The Scorpion King, Hard To Kill).
The Unhealer had its world premiere at Grimmfest in the UK, beginning a global tour of critical and audience acclaim. The film has taken home over a dozen awards to date including Best Sci-Fi Feature at the Studio City Film Festival, Best Supernatural Feature at the Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival, Best Sci-Fi Feature at the Berlin Independent Film Festival, and swept the awards at the New York City International Film Festival, taking home Best Feature Film, Best Director, Best Lead Actress for Henstridge, Best Lead Actor for Nelson, Best Supporting Actress for Harris and Best Supporting Actor for Beach.
A production of Horror Business Films in association with 7 Ideas, Gard Dog Productions, Sunset Pictures, and Bloodstone Films, The Unhealer, a Martin Guigui Film, is produced by Galen Walker, Cristi Harris, J. Shawn Harris, and Tony Hannagan. Executive producers are James Gardner and Hamish Gibson.
A bullied teenager gains the means to fight back when a botched faith healing bestows supernatural, shamanistic powers upon him. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that causes the death of someone he loves, the teen uses his newfound abilities for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.
VMI Worldwide Celebrates "MR. BIRTHDAY" December 17th
Family Comedy Stars Jason London and Academy Award Nominee Eric Roberts
Available Nationwide on Digital HD and Cable VOD
Los Angeles, CA - VMI Worldwide has announced the December 17th VOD release of Dan Hunter's family comedy Mr. Birthday. The heartwarming comedy will be available on a number of digital and cable platforms, including iTunes, Amazon Video, Vudu, Comcast, Spectrum, and Cox.
Mr. Birthday is anchored by a first-class cast, including Jason London (Dazed and Confused, The Man in the Moon, Wildfire) and Oscar nominee Eric Roberts (Runaway Train, The Dark Knight, The Expendables). The comedy also stars Anna Marie Dobbins, Charlotte Ciano, Fred Sullivan, Tanya Melendez Lynch, and Mike Messier.
Mr. Birthday was directed by Dan Hunter (Agent Toby Barks) and written by Matthew Luke Tucci (Broadcast, Sad in the Walls). Tom DeNucci, Paul Luba, Matthew Luke Tucci, and Chad A. Verdi Jr. produced. Executive producers include David Gere, Tanja Melendez Lynch, and Chelsea Vale.
A Press Day is currently planned for December 13th
WATCH THE TRAILER:
While working his maintenance job at an upscale hotel, Barry encounters the mysterious Mr. Jay. He introduces Barry to the International Birthday Network, an agency that helps children across the globe suffering from miserable birthdays.
“Red Snow might just be your new favorite vampire movie for the holidays.” - Nightmare on Film Street “Pumps fresh blood into the vampire romance genre” - iHorror “A fun and fast paced story” - Killer Horror Critic “Misery meets The Lost Boys” - Horror News “Comfort food for the soul” - Nightmarish Conjurings
A struggling vampire romance novelist must defend herself against real-life vampires during Christmas in Lake Tahoe.
When an injured bat transforms into a handsome vampire, struggling horror novelist Olivia Romo hides him in her garage to protect him from a vampire hunter. Besotted by the creature, she feeds him animal blood, but any chance of romance is soon thwarted when a gang of fellow bloodsuckers invade her home in search of their missing friend.
WATCH THE TRAILER:
Release Date: December 28, 2021 (DVD, VOD, & Digital) Written/Directed By: Sean Nichols Lynch Produced By: Alrik Bursell
Starring: Dennice Cisneros, Nico Bellamy, Laura Kennon Distributor: 4Digital Media Production Company: 26th Ave Films, Bursell Productions, Evolve Media Production
Genre: Horror Rating: N/A Language: English Runtime: 80 minutes Aspect Ratio: 2.39.1 Audio: 5.1 and 2.0
A disillusioned famous novelist, unable to talk while recovering in his remote mountain home from major reconstructive jaw surgery, is exposed to a life-threatening secret when he receives an unexpected visit from his estranged daughter.
WATCH THE TRAILER:
Release Date: November 30, 2021 (Digital & VOD) ; 1/25 (DVD) Directed By: Alexander Sharp Written By: Peter Malone Elliott (Story by, Screenplay by), Alexander Sharp (Story by)
Starring: Blake Stadel, Natalie Sharp, Behtash Fazlali Produced By: Peter Malone Elliott, Alexander Sharp Cinematographer: Martin Taube Distributor: 101 Films Production Company: Sharpy Genre: Horror, Thriller Rating: N/A Language: English Runtime: 94 Min
