Urban Explorers: Into the Darkness

Urban Explorers: Into the Darkness

Director: Melody Gilbert
Release Date: 2007
Rated: NR
Run Time: 88 Minutes
Genre: Documentary

I'm not one to really adventure into dark area's or well bug infected places...But I still do find it amazing and i wish i could fight off my lil fear of bugs and such to find awesome locations. Maybe I will. I do like adventures.

After watching Urban Explorers, I would love to make my own attempt at something similar. Recording random adventures and taking stunning photos of things most people dont get to see.
Urban Explorers is a documentary about a group of people who like to spend their free time crawling and climbing to places most fear to venture.


The movie focuses some what on a group of people who have meet online to talk about the places they have found and the gear they have bought to make their adventures easier and to point out places that other may find beautiful.

The movie is very amateur in its camera work and even with the editing, the music and cuts just seem like friends putting a little something together, which in this form Im fine with.
The best part of the film and the reason people should watch is because of the still photography the team has taken on their exploration.  Its just creepy, dark and amazing.

They break up the scenes between groups of explorers to try and inform us of them and what they do different from some of the others but I didnt pay much attention to their stories of gear and life outside of exploring. I just cared about the places they found.

One place was an abandon rocket in the ever glades of Florida. It was the biggest rocket built by nasa and just to see that they left it without anyone protecting it or didnt even move it to a safer place.... But if they did that we wouldn't see it now would we?

They of course show us other locations from around the world including some caves under a city and some creepy old homes and other buildings. But Id rather leave the other places to your exploring.
Do you like to urban places? or do you stay home and enjoy movies about them?

The Human Centipede

 

100% medically accurate.

Director: Tom Six
Release Date: Oct 5, 2010
Rated: Unrated
Run Time: 92 minutes

Have you ever sat down with friends and thought about making a movie before? Come up with some stupid or insane ideas that "no one will ever think of?" I think most people have had some crazy idea and some twisted discussion when it comes to horror films.

One man that had an idea Tom Six, Who wrote and Directed this twisted tale of tourists visiting a nice charming Doctor. I have to admit with all the ideas i have ever had when thinking about making a film, the concept behind "The Human Centipede" never seemed to crawl into my mind.

The cast was nothing to stand up and shout to your friends about, Some people may know Akihiro Kitamura as he did make a small appearance in the TV Show "Heroes" and has a few other credits to his career but nothing that stands out to the everyday movie goer.  The star of the film is without a doubt Dieter Laser who plays Dr. Heiter, He has that dark and twisted look that just fits the role, Kind of reminds me of Saw star Tobin Bell. He just has that dark side that can freak you out with the most calm of looks. We also have two young ladies who are seemingly our main characters in Ashley Williams and Ashlynn Yennie.

The start of the film focus on the two woman who happen to be traveling around Germany, They go out looking for a nice fun adventure since they happen to be so far from home, why not try and get into some trouble? Of course this means the girls have car trouble and soon find themselves running around in some storm trying to find shelter.  I must say the acting from the girls at the start seemingly bugged me but I soon forgot about their acting.

Finally the movie starts to pick up as the woman find their way to Dr. Heiters home, which from the looks of it is a very nice place, minus the creepy art work hanging from the walls. Soon enough the doctor takes advantage of the cold, wet and lost women with his smooth skills.

The movie kicks into full on twisted gear from this point on, Im not sure what to really say from this point on because its just one of the movies you have to witness for yourself. It has already gained a cult following and for solid reasons. The basic idea and the twisted feel of the movie demands a view.

But with that said the movie does seemingly fail to be more than just another tourist/gore porn type of film. The Dr has his own twisted room to torture his lovely guest and thus they must try and escape without him noticing. Things get pretty tight and tense as the movie pushes on but the outcome does seem pretty simple to figure out but that might not be something that is on your mind as you watch this film.

If you happen to enjoy twisted films, Torture porn, Americans being screwed over or just something a bit different than what happens to be playing at the local cinema. Then i say why not give The Human Centipede a try, it is by no means a movie for everyone it will have a select group of fans but could you find yourself in that group?


If you happen to fall victim to Dr. Heiter what did you think of his work? was it worth the pain or was it boring you to death?

On a side note i must say I really do like the poster for this film, nice and creepy.

Freaked

 A thinking man's stupid comedy

Director: Tom Stern & Alex Winter
Release Date: 1 October 1993 (USA)
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 86 min | USA:80 min | 79 min (Netflix edition)

Movies come and go all the time, As do the actor and actress that we see each and every day talking about how they have reached that moment in their career that they will never forget and that it was their moment in time.

Freaked is not that moment for anyone really. Its more so a film that brought in some big named stars just to see what they could do with the star power but at the same time the movie ended up with a limited release and no one ever witnessed the freak show. Until it became a cult classic.

The movie "Freaked" stars Alex Winter as a former child star "Ricky Coogin" who becomes the spokesman for the EES(Everything Expect Shoes) to try and promote the toxic experimental goop called Zygrot-27 which of course has been banned in the US and Europe. Ricky finds himself and his best friend Ernie(played by Michael Stoyanov) in Santa Flan to calm the people and get the EES a good name. They run into a protestor named Julie (Megan Ward) For some odd reason they end up in Freak World that is owned by Elijah C. Skuggs(played by non other than Randy Quaid) Of course Skuggs turns out to be the bad guy and has been turning tourist into Freaks. Thus the adventure of our group becomes one of escaping...

Other wise I dont really know how to explain much else that happens in this movie from start to finish. It does have one of the best roles i have ever seen Randy Quaid in and that is no joke. He was a perfect fit in this film. We also have a few other random actors appear in the film such as Mr T and Brooke Shields. Along with a crazy appearance by "Ted" as a crazy dog man.

The special effects in this movie are some of my personal favorites, its the kind you hardly see these days because of al the computer generated stuff has become so cheap and has taken over hollywood. The costumes and make up are awesome on many of the Freaks( Beast Boy of course) and you also have the typical we didnt try make up (The sockman) but all of the costumes fit so well and just make you laugh or in some cases freak out.

If you like trippy out of this world campy films that might make you think,You should enjoy Freaked. They take little shots at cult films or just do things you may not find in films these days (The Troll character) You may also enjoy seeing how much things have changed and have focused more on CGI than actual costumes(which is a big deal to me but might not be for others) over the years. Of course some people still make cheese some what like this today but its never as good as the 90's

It is on Netflix Instant watch at the time of this rant review so who knows maybe you might get bored and check it out.. Is it a B Reel Classic?

Netflix is Go!

As most everyone that read's The B Reel knows, Im a huge fan of Netflix and their Watch it Now feature. Earlier this summer they had announced the app would be coming for the iPhone and Ipod touch, Finally that day has come.

Yesterday Netflix mobile app for iOS hit the market place, I instantly downloaded it. Its pretty slim down easy to work app, I could see some upgrades down the line that include your DVD Q as well. But as it is right now, its all about the instant streaming baby!

It works over wifi of course but as some what as a surprise to me it does allow 3G streaming. Sadly AT&T is very poor in my area so trying to stream over 3G will hardly ever happen. But even so I'm glad to finally have my Netflix instant in my pocket.

If you have an iPhone(or a Ipod Touch) and happen to be a member of netflix, I say why not have this app?

Spartacus: Blood and Sand(S1) Review

 

Some legends are written in blood.

Release Date: September 21, 2010 (DVD/Blu Ray)
Rated: Not Rated
Run Time: 692 minutes
Episodes: 13
Gene: Action/Drama/Fantasy

I love blood and guts like most male movie goers are, But when it comes to TV series some times you just dont get the right amount of it, well thats when Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Steps in and kicks you into the dirt.

This series from the get go is covered in blood, as you can tell from the name of the series it hides nothing from its viewers, which it has no real need to keep the rating down or anything of the such as it is a show on Starz(a Premium movie channel)

Before the series aired people wondered if it could be worth the time to even give it a shot, as who really watches series on starz when you still have HBO and Showtime giving us great series every season. This is when Spartacus came into view, It was that must watch event for starz, they hoped it would catch on like Weeds or Dexter and so on.

When the series finally made its debut it came with mix reactions for most, which I must agree after watching the first episode I couldn't even understand why anyone would watch this series let alone say it was so worth while.

That is the thing, the first episode is pure trash in my opinion as well as others, but I did not give up on the series after only one episode, i kept at it. I must admit it didn't take long at all for this to catch my attention. Episode two the story easily starts to grab me.

As the series goes on you quickly fall in love or find pure hate for characters, This show is all about the story which most people may find odd as it has so much blood, sex and straight up violence in it at all times. That just might be something to help the not so Story loving folks, stay viewers.

As for myself, I found love with characters. Varro played by Jai Courtney became an instant favorite of mine, As he had the good guy role placed out before him but easily showed some what of a darker side as things go on. But he was no match against Ashur(played by Nick Tarabay) as far as dark side goes. Then again this series show plenty of evil from multiple people, some are given reason pushed by good intention but others....Just for blood.

The acting is top notch surprisingly from everyone, not a single character brought me out of this series, Lucy Lawless has his best roles in years(not that it was very hard to do so) and Andy Whitfield became a star.

I Dont feel as if i should go more into the story other than what starz has already told you in the info guide, which is Spartacus is screwed over by a Roman general and then sold as a slave to Batiatus (played by a pure genius in John Hannah) to train to become a Gladiator, The basic story shows his rise to glory but we also have side stories that bleed into the over all arch, which is very well done.

I must give some bad thoughts on the series, which as i have already mentioned before hand, I personally think the first episode was bad. I do look back on it now and know it was setting things up but I just found it boring and i had no feeling for anyone, but that quickly changed as i kept watching.

Plenty of people will give hate for the blood and gore that is in this series, Its green screen CGI stuff somewhat like the scenes from the movie "300" but some of the blood defiantly feels a bit out of place or overly spilled. Some of the blood is done very well and done more from a make up point of view than that of CGI(Make up always wins over CGI for me) but I grew to not be bothered by the poor CGI. Which is also seen when they show us the stadium or selected areas of the world, That CGI is poor at all times.

On to the nudity, Some may be turned off by nudity on television, I'm not on of them as i really dont care either way but trust me if you dont find your self enjoying a Boob once in awhile, You will find hatred for this series, Boobs are not the only thing you will lay eyes upon.
A slight spoiler that must be mentioned, Penis does find plenty of time on screen, especially in one bloody scene....I guess this isnt much of a spoiler but still. That was horrific and awesome but not for the weak at heart.

I watched all 13 episodes thanks to netflix but sadly it apparently ends its streaming status come 8-20-10.

Without any doubt I think this show is a must watch for story lovers, Blood lovers, nudity freaks and anyone that just wants to watch something a bit different than some of the other stuff we find on your TV sets.

The DVD comes out next month, I hope to add it to my collection as this is a champion among Series.

Zombiemania Review

 "............."

Director: Donna Davies
Release Date: January 3, 2008
Rated: Not Rated
Runtime: 57 min


Some of my favorite movies of all time fall under the horror realm of film, Most of which happen to be Zombie features. Such as Night of the living dead and Shaun of the dead(among plenty of others)

One reason for my enjoyment of the zombie movies has to be the look and feel that they swarm you with, The art that goes into what the undead looks like, how they change with time or how everyone looks different. Always amazing and normally that could be a reason to enjoy a zombie film all in its own.

A nice example would be the work done by Tom Savini in Dawn of the dead 1978. He does some amazing work as do other folks that find a living working on the living dead.

Besides having the art feel to a zombie movie most of the time you can find some underlying message in the film which can jump from racial to government power or greed(falling in line with the works from George Romero) You have the option to take your own view on a zombie film, Blood thirsty monsters or are we the monsters?

The little rant that i have been typing is coming from a movie i just watched that is entitled "Zombiemania" it is a documentary from Donna Davies about the impact that zombies have had on hollywood or how hollywood has impacted zombies.

Its very well made talking about Early age zombies to the ones Romero made famous in his films to the new age runners that Snyder has made famous this decade. But the film doesnt focus just no the movies, We actually find some undead in books and video games.

The dead have infected our entertainment.

No doubt about that, I very much enjoy the dead in most every occasion that i find them in(Porn being the odd man out here, Looking at you Porn of the dead)
What really stood out for me was seeing my Favorite Author and one of my Favorite directors both in the same movie, Something that I never really thought i would see. Given my favorite author is famous for his Zombie novels but he still doesn't have the fame i think he deserves. The man being Brian Keene, Author of the book "The Rising"

George A Romero has plenty of screen time in this film to tell his story of how he didnt mean to make the Zombies that are now called "Romero Zombies" and his thoughts on copyrighting material and just some nice little tidbits from the man behind the undead.

Max Brooks of World War Z fame also has plenty of time to talk and i must say he is a funny guy and knows how to speak to the camera when he is given the time. If you dont own World War Z or The Zombie Survival Guide, Please go and pick them up now.

This documentary has plenty of people giving their thoughts on the transformation of the undead in hollywood and just in general. It does run fairly short in my mind but gives plenty in that time. A very cool movie I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys Zombies.

Really this wasn't a review, I dont see much of a negative in a documentary about zombies.
This is one of the best movies that i have seen on Netflix in awhile, I say go and eat this one alive.

Netflix Reels a Deal

I love movies, I also love Television shows when i find the time to watch them, But some times i just hate going to the movies as its pricey and you never know when you'll have a good group of people in the room with you, Plus whats really worth seeing on the big screen as of late? (The answer would be Inception for anyone wondering). I could always wait awhile and download whatever it is i wanted as well but at times I'd rather just sit back and watch maybe a TV show, But i seem to always fall behind on seasons even with my Tivo.

With Netflix I always have that option to find some classic movie and push play or maybe find a show i never finished or missed a season because cable bills are just way too high, Possible that my Tivo also forgot to record something here or there.


I alway notice how people complain that the selection is "poor" on netlix watch instant. I would always disagree as i have plenty on my Q that i havnt made it to and I always seem to be adding more to it. So running low on content has never been an Issue for me. (As of this article i have 75 items on my instant Q)
Come September 1st it really shouldn't be a big issue with other people either as Netflix has just announced a joint deal with the subscription based service Epix that will load the netflix servers with movies from Paramount Pictures to Lionsgate and MGM. The slight downfall people will point out is we still will have a 90 day wait between the release on DVD and the upload on Netflix.


This deal which cost netflix in the ball park of One Billion dollars in all the crazy fees and such will bring a bigger and better selection to something i already find purely amazing and robust.

What does Netflix cost now adays anyways? I've been a member for years paying around 17 bucks for two Blu rays at a time and the amazing watch now library. Very much worth whatever amount i pay right now. I suggest anyone without a netflix account to check it out.

Come September 1st you will notice more and more Big budget films coming to your watch now list. The deal with Netflix and Epix will last for around five years, I'm sure they will notice a nice surge of new members with this nice announcement as well.