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Blu-ray Review: ivansxtc (2000)

ivansxtc begins the only place it could; the end. You see star Hollywood agent Ivan Beckham (30 Days of Night‘s Danny Huston) has died of lung cancer, which shocks his co-workers who would have bet that his demise would have been from the absolutely bonkers amount of drugs n’ booze he quaffed on the regular. Speaking of that wild life, we see Ivan’s last days laid bare via flashback ya dig… and what days they were; full of high-stakes Peter Weller-focused wheelin’ and dealin’, static from his girlfriend Charlotte (Lisa Enos), family and client drama… and of course plenty of full on illicit substance fueled hanky-panky! A raw as hell blend of Hollywood excess and Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Illyich, ivansxtc posses an almost documentary feel, and that brings us closer to the titular character’s swirling insanity than we may be comfortable with. Shot on digital video by Bernard Rose (most famous for fright fans from his 1992 cinematic

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DanXIII

Sep 28, 2020

MoviesReviews

4K Ultra HD Review: Flash Gordon (1980)

Before I begin jawin’ about the movie itself, I feel it appropriate to share some thoughts on Flash Gordon. If you aren’t interested in such things… or having your’s cruelly uncharacteristically lay his soul bare, just skip down a bit. Anyway, back in December of 1980, my desire to see Flash Gordon was at an almost unbelievable level…and my parents blew my mind and agreed to drive me, and the prettiest girl in the second grade who agreed to be my date, many towns over (yes, I grew up in the literal middle of nowhere) to see the film… but mother nature had other plans; and a nor’easter (to those not in the know; Upstate New York has about 14 months of winter per year… at least it did back then) kept us in town, and Altman’s Popeye was what it had to be (and for the record, that is a charming film and a ton of fun… but it

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DanXIII

Sep 6, 2020

ForeignMoviesReviewsThriller

Blu-ray Review: Black Test Car (1962)/The Black Report (1963)

Our putrid pals over at Arrow Video and MVD Entertainment have got a couple of flicks from Japanese maverick director Yasuzo Masumura that they are set to release on one lil’ ol’ Blu-ray; 1962’s Black Test Car, which deals with corporate espionage in the auto industry, and 1963’s The Black Report, which is a murder mystery affair. In Black Test Car we meet Asahina (Jiro Tamiya), who works at Tiger Motors, a company which is tryin’ like unholy hell to get a new car constructed and on the road before those sons of bitches at rival company Yamamoto Motors are any the wiser. Of course that’s going to be near impossible as their is a spy in Tiger’s outfit, and the company will go to great lengths to sniff ’em out! For a pic about rival auto companies, Black Test Car certainly is filled with a cast of cuthroat bastards, willing to do anything to get their company over. Honestly,

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DanXIII

Aug 25, 2020

MoviesReviews

Blu-ray Review: Bloodstone (1988)

The Bloodstone, giant-ass ruby of antiquity, has been pinched by small potatoes thief Paul Lorre (Jack Kehler) at the behest of Ludwig Van Hoeven (Christopher Neame, Johnny Alucard from one of my all time fav fright flicks; Dracula A.D. 1972) down India way. Enter: corny-as-fuck American newlyweds Sandy and Stephanie McVey (Brett Stimely… who has played President Kennedy in like four million films, and Anna Nicholas… who was on an episode of Mr. Belvedere once). While these two ham it up to the Nth degree, Lorre secretly slips them the ruby to avoid being arrested by the Indian authorities headed by Inspector Ramesh (Charlie Brill… more on this guy in a bit)… a man so bumbling and full of pratfalls it’s near impossible to imagine him being able to walk and chew gum successfully, let alone actually perform his job… but anyway… These two don’t keep the stone for long, as one wild-as-fuck taxi ride later, courtesy of Shyam Sabu

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DanXIII

Jul 29, 2020

ReviewsThriller

Blu-ray Review: Black Rainbow (1989)

Gary Wallace (Tom Hulce) is all hot and bothered to prove that nomadic psychic medium Martha (Rosanna Arquette) and her professional alcoholic manager (and father) Walter (Jason Robards) are nothing but first class bullshit artists… although the shit they sling does make the audience feel better that their tits up relatives are havin’ a swingin’ time behind those ol’ Pearly Gates, ya dig? About all that; Wallace is half right as Martha has indeed been faking that shit for years… but as of late her predictions have been actual paranormal events… events that spell doom for those who’s deaths she predicts… you know, now that I think of it, that will be really shitty for creating return customers… Personally I had never heard of this flick until it arrived across my dread doorstep for a revoltin’ review, and now that I have I simply can’t believe it! Directed by Mike Hodges (who directed one of my all-time fav flick’s, 1980’s

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DanXIII

Jul 29, 2020

ForeignMoviesReviews

Blu-ray Review: Zombie for Sale (2019)

A diabolical pharmaceutical company has been experimenting on college kids and turning them into the shamblin’ dead. One such unfortunate is Jjong-Bi (Ga Ram Jung) who has went on the lam and found himself the houseguest of a wacky-ass family that owns a rural gas station (though most of their dough comes from scamming motorists). Before long our undead hero bites the family patriarch, but instead of turning him into a flesh-eating ghoul, it fills the ol’ boy with vim and vigor! Ever the entrepreneurs, the family sells invigorating zombie bites to the geezers of the village for a profit. Of course this plan goes tits up when the folks he’s bitten actually do pass on the zombie virus… which also results in the family having to fend of the fiends as well as the authorities all while saving their own bickering asses from the fire! Let’s just get this out of the way; Zombie for Sale is mostly a

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DanXIII

Jul 23, 2020

MoviesParanormalReviews

Blu-ray Review: Dream Demon (1988)

Ol’ Diana (Jemma Redgrave) is all set to get hitched to a military hero, so everything is right as rain in her world, right cats n’ creeps? Fuck no! You see, she keeps having terrifying gore-drenched… and completely surreal dreams on the F’n regular! Along with that, she’s hounded by a duo of pervert reporters… and it’s an incident with them that leads to a meeting with Joan Jett clone Jenny Hoffman (Kathleen Wilhoite), she of the tough talk and mysterious past. Soon our heroes are off on a journey to explain Diana’s dreams… and their nasty habit of spilling over into the real world… but will they survive that eerie expedition? Possessed with a fever dream logic, some great visuals, and engaging leads, Dream Demon is a fantastically freaky fright flick adventure! at it’s core, we get a bit of the ol’ Gothic thriller; the innocent girl alone in a grande manse, plagued by dark family secrets… but the

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DanXIII

Jul 23, 2020

ForeignMoviesReviewsThriller

Blu-ray Review: Solid Metal Nightmares: The Films of Shinya Tsukamoto

Shinya Tsukamoto is one of cinema’s most daring auteurs, willing to tackle any number of dark subjects through a multitude of genres, and Arrow Video’s new box set; Solid Metal Nightmares: The Films of Shinya Tsukamoto will surely show you that in spades! Starting things off, Disc 1 (of 4 total) contains Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989), Tetsuo II: Body Hammer (1992), and The Adventure of Denchu-Kozo (1987). Tetsuo: The Iron Man features Tomorô Taguchi as a businessman that has the misfortune of committing vehicular homicide on the metal fetishist (Tsukamoto, who as you will see acts in nearly all of his films), a strange vagrant that is slowly becoming more machine than man… a condition he can spread like a disease as our hero soon comes to realize, as not only is he becoming a cyborg (complete with a whirling drill for a cock) but those around him are too… and they are out for his blood… or oil…

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DanXIII

Jul 2, 2020

ForeignMoviesReviewsThriller

Blu-ray Review: Inferno of Torture (1969)

In nineteenth century Japan, Yumi (Yumika Katayama) is balls deep in trouble with a capital “T” and that stands for “loan shark”. Okay, it doesn’t, but a loan shark is on her ass for debts owed. To that end she accepts a job as a geisha… or so she thinks, as it soon becomes obvious she’s workin’ the ass trade. Yumi ain’t exactly wild about that fact, but in her position she doesn’t have much of a choice. Another thing she has no say in is the tattooing her madam, Otatsu (Mieko Fujimoto), forces the women in her employ to get to appear more exotic to the high paying Caucasian clientele. Said tattooing is administered by Horihide (Teruo Yoshida), whom Yumi develops a relationship with much to Otatsu’s chagrin. This makes Yumi’s life even more of a living hell, as does the arrival of a rival tattooist that wants to make her body his canvas! Directed by Teruo Ishii, Inferno

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DanXIII

Jun 26, 2020

ForeignMoviesParanormalReviews

Blu-ray Review: The Mad Fox (1962)

Down Medieval Kyoto way, the skies are ablaze with a fucked-up, ill-omen, phenomenon… a phenomenon that sets the royal palace on it’s collective, superstitious, arse. To that end, the Court Astrologer, Yasunori, is summoned to the palace, but as he journeys forth, he gets himself an incurable case of the murders. Come to find out, Yasunori’s wife is a bit of a black widow, and now that her hubby is tits up, she can focus on her paramour Doman (Shinji Amano). And since the deadly duo seem to have a knack for bumpin’ folks off, they also kill Yasunori’s adopted daughter for shits n’ grins. Fortunately, her main-squeeze Yasuna (Hashizô Ôkawa) escapes their evil clutches… but he’s half-way to Crazy Town when he’s waylayed by bandits. Naturally he’s rescued by masked fox spirits, as is so often the case, and his destiny will never be the same! The Mad Fox is a delirious hodge-podge of kabuki theater, stagey sets, period

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DanXIII

Jun 26, 2020

Arrow Video

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