The Good, The Bad, and The Verdict: "Children of the Corn" (2023)

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s RLJE Film’s Stephen King adaptation Children of the Corn, the latest genre flick from writer/director Kurt Wimmer (Ultraviolet; Equilibrium). The horror outing, which gets a theatrical release on March 3 and an On Demand and Digital release on March 21, stars Elena Kampouris (Sacred Lies TV series), Kate Moyer (Our House), Bruce Spence (The Road Warrior; Dark City), and Callan Mulvey (Avengers: Endgame; Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice).

Synopsis Possessed by a spirit in a dying cornfield, a twelve-year-old girl (Kate Moyer as Eden Edwards) in Nebraska recruits the other children in her small town to go on a bloody rampage and kill all the adults and anyone else who opposes her. A bright high schooler (Elena Kampouris as Boleyn Williams) who won't go along with the plan is the town's only hope of survival.

8 From the 80s: Romantic Movies

Each installment Mike will look back to the decade of decadence and provide a list of eight things – from movies to music to memorable moments and everything in-between.  Keep in mind, this isn’t a TOP 8 list and any numerical notations are included to merely designate one item from another. Because, frankly, how can rate one thing over another when it came from a decade as totally tubular as the 80s?

80s Romance Movies – A Special Post-Valentine’s Day Installment

While the 80s were chock full’o teen sex comedies and coming of age rom-coms, there were plenty of standard romantic movies. Depending on how loosely you define a “romantic” movie, almost anything can fit, so I’m trying to keep this trip down memory lane to movies where the romance/relationship aspect is central, or at least very important, to the plot. 

8. Somewhere in Time (1980)

Maybe it was the actor’s strike at the time, or the fact that The Blues Brothers came out the same week or maybe it’s because it got bad word of mouth – for whatever reason(s) it didn’t perform well despite having Superman (Christopher Reeve) starring opposite Jane Seymour.  In the film, a playwright falls in love with a woman from nearly 70 years earlier and travels through time to find her. Somewhere in Time is one of those movies that people either like or hate, although chances are good that people from both camps will feel a tug at the heartstrings at the end of the film.

Film Review: “18½” (2021)

The Most Fun You’ll Have with Watergate Is This Movie 

by Joseph Perry

Director Dan Mirvish presents a highly amusing, thought-provoking take on the 18½ missing minutes of the Watergate tapes. Part comedy, part thriller, and all captivating, 18½ blends genres and blows minds.

Connie Lashley (Willa Fitzgerald) is an Office of Management and Budget transcriptionist, and she has just accidentally found those infamous 18½ missing minutes while going through the routines of her job. She contacts newspaper reporter Paul Marrow (John Magaro) to leak the information to him before she has to return the tape to work on Monday, when her boss would notice its absence. Meeting at a diner — a scene that sets up the story and establishes these two main characters brilliantly — Paul suggests that they check into a nearby motel, posing as a married couple because they must keep their identities secret, to listen to Connie’s reel-to-reel tape. But their plan won’t be easy to execute.

The Good, The Bad, and The Verdict: "She Came From the Woods" (2022)

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s Mainframe Pictures'  supernatural slasher, She Came from the Woods, the latest genre flick from Erik Bloomquist (Ten Minutes to Midnight). The horror-comedy, releasing only in theaters today (February 10th), stars Cara Buono (Stranger Things), William Sadler (Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey), Spencer List (Fringe), and Clare Foley (Sinister).

In this ode to '80s horror, a group of counselors accidentally unleash a decades' old evil on the last night of summer camp. As the mayhem and madness turn bloody, the staff of Camp Briarbrook are forced to confront what stories are worth telling and what secrets worth keeping. 

Mike prefers slashers, Joseph prefers supernatural chillers and they both have had this one on their radar since its festival run last year. Can She Came from the Woods deliver a horrifying hybrid that satisfies both guys?

Filmmaking Couple Reaches for the Power Sword with “Teela and the Masters of the Universe” Audition Film

 

When Emily Ashby and Jonathan Martin heard about the announced upcoming Masters of the Universe motion picture, the couple — she is an actress, and he is a filmmaker — wanted to show that Ashby would be perfect for the role of Teela. The result of their efforts is a self-tape audition called Teela and the Masters of the Universe that has been getting a great deal of media notice and racking up a huge amount of views online.

Their approach is a bold one, but it is obviously generating attention. “I believe in taking risks and really putting yourself out there, and being vulnerable as an artist is the best thing you can do,” said Ashby. “If you don’t work hard for something, then how can you pride yourself in that?” 

“The idea for Teela and the Masters of the Universe first sprung to mind when I saw an animated image from Kevin Smith’s Teela from the new Masters of the Universe series,” said Martin. “When we realized that our manager whom we both share, Scott Carlson, had worked on a previous project with the attached casting director for the announced film, the wheels went into motion to make something epic that couldn’t be ignored. After all, Emily isn’t a household name who you can just cast with an offer and a term sheet, so we decided to be bold, a little bit brave, and even vulnerable, to create something that could turn a head or two and open some discussions.”

THE SON OF THE STARS - Rarely-Seen 1987 Romanian Animated Sci-Fi Film

DEAF CROCODILE FILMS TO RELEASE PREVIOUSLY-UNKNOWN  1980s ROMANIAN ANIMATED SCI-FI “THE SON OF THE STARS”  ON BLU-RAY FOR THE FIRST TIME

Hollywood, CA – Deaf Crocodile Films announces its release of the rarely-seen 1987 Romanian animated sci-fi film THE SON OF THE STARS (FIUL STELELOR / ULTIMA MISIUNE) for the first time ever on Blu-ray. Described as a wild mid-eighties mash-up of The Empire Strikes Back, Alien, and Tarzan, was directed by the same creative team behind DELTA SPACE MISSION (previously released by Deaf Crocodile), Romanian animators Călin Cazan and Mircea Toia. Working with the Romanian National Film Archive and Cinematheque and the Romanian Film Centre, Deaf Crocodile has created a new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative and sound elements, overseen by Co-Founder and in-house restoration expert Craig Rogers. 

Joe Bob's Vicious Vegas Valentine

Shudder Original Valentine’s Day Special JOE BOB’S VICIOUS VEGAS VALENTINE Debuts Friday, February 10 at 9 PM ET

NEW YORK, February 2, 2023 - Joe Bob kicks off another year of holiday fun with the Shudder Original Valentine’s Day special, Joe Bob’s Vicious Vegas Valentine. The special debuts on Friday, February 10th live on the Shudder TV feed at 9:00 p.m. ET. Fans can also watch on demand on Shudder and AMC+ beginning Sunday, February 12th.

This Valentine's Day, legendary horror host Joe Bob Briggs makes history and officiates the wedding of two fans on-air while hosting a double helping of films about the ultimate nightmare: True Love! RSVP to join Joe Bob, Darcy the Mailgirl, and the rest of The Last Drive-In crew as they bring two young lovers together under the neon and glitz of Las Vegas.

Joe Bob Briggs said, “During this year's demented double feature, I'll be joining in unholy matrimony two young lovers thoroughly schooled in the twisted tenets of The Last Drive-In. And I'll probably need an Elvis jumpsuit to do it.”