Distributor: Accent FilmsSRP A$24.95 DVD Release Date 20 Aug 2014 Director: Michael Lee Genre: Documentary Rating: R18+ (High impact sexual images) Run Time: 80 mins Visual Format: 1.78:1 Audio Format : Dolby 5.1 Language English BUY FROM ACCENT FILMS Author: John Mathews Hustler the back story, is a documentary that goes behind the scenes of the famous or infamous hustler magazine. The incredible thing about this movie is that you may will learn so many more secrets about Larry flynt and the magazine than the film that starred Woody Harrilson. It exposes various truths and a takes first hand accounts from staff that worked in the magazine during its hey days. Directed by Michael Lee , his father was one of the main art directors for it during the 70's and 80's. The documentary starts out going through the magazines that were out at the time, that being Playboy and penthouse. Larry ran a club and wanted to make something more raunchy that focused on sex. The other magazines were too lifestyle based. After getting the company off ground with a few flyers, he struck a deal and was able to bring the magazine nationwide. The magazine so generally speaking was all about the "pink", exposing the vagina more than any other publication. We get first hand account from the original staff during the 70's and the controversy that arose from it. One issue involved a nude photo of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy, which was enough to put Larry Flynt on trial for obscenity. We begin to have sympathy towards Flynt as he appears more to us than a sleazy salesman. As the documentary progresses it successfully creates an image of an intelligent, political and self aware business man. It also focuses on his shocking near murder attempt by a madman, which left him in a wheelchair for life; Harry never stands down. The documentary splits it's focus between him and the magazine very well, as after all it is the magazine we want to get to know about. The film is split into four decades from the 70's onwards, having a wonderfully colourful montage of the magazine covers. The films also had a very energetic punk soundtrack which suits the vibe very much, punk is about rebelling, Hustler is about rebelling on a larger political scale. We get first hand account with porn stars such as Rom Jeremy and Nina hartly (she still looks amazing in her 50's) in a typical shoot. Ron Jeremy discusses a funny story where if a shoot was cancelled they would go snorting and have lobster for dinner, giving and idea behind the culture of the company. We also see the budget and effort that goes behind a shoot, with a focus on budget.
Video: 4 The DVD is presented in it's original aspect ratio 1:78:1 and comes off clean. The colours are rich, shot digitally so there is a great deal of contrast. It's as clear as you would expect, even as an upscaled DVD on a HD TV, it loks great. There are no signs of digital noise and it remains consitant with no digital glitches in the video print. Audio: 4 The Dolby 5.1 mix is strong, dialogue comes off clear and the rocking punk soundtrack will keep you engaged. It is a very effective mix and was obviously well recorded by The documentary filmmakers. Extras: 2
Unfortunately no extras, but we do ge the usual entertaining and awesome trailers for Accent upcoming releases. Make note this is the only country in the world currently where you can fins this movie on DVD, that alone is something rather unique.
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Audio - English (DTS-HD 5.1) Subtitles - English Captions Running Time - 106 Aspect Ratio - 2.35:1 Region Coding - B (Blu-Ray) TV Standard - PAL Rating - R18+ Year of Release - 2014 Primary Format - Movies/TV - Blu-Ray Every slasher needs a sequel, but with the original Wolf Creek it did not feel necessary. Sure the killer Mick was still at large, but it told its tale and involved elements of the so called 'torture porn' genre. How can you make a sequel, well thankfully the producers have decided to take the wacky route, rather than rehashing the same old formula over and over again. As a sequel if the original Wolf Creek was the Texas chainsaw massacre, this is 'The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2', the wackier, funnier and more entertaining sequel.
After Mick takes care of the police in a very humours intro we jump to a German backpacker couple who are traveling the outback of Australia. The couple see the sites of the outback, and let me say the cinematography is quite stunning in some scenes with the vast outback shining. After a day camping the couple decide to take camp on a vast land, when conveniently Mick arrives in his truck. Mick tells the backpackers they are on a protected area, but they refuses to listen; after the boyfriend is stabbed, the girlfriend is kidnapped. Now one thing for fans of gore, this one ups the guts level. We see Mick chopping up a body with meat being exposed to the camera. The German girl manages to escape when her paths are crossed by a young British man called Paul, he picks her up. He is then chased by Mick in his small car. From here the film becomes a game of cat and mouse, and this is essentially the main premise. There is a large amount of action in this movie that will keep you in suspense, especially when Mick is chasing after Paul in a massive truck. It reminded myself very much of say 'Mad Max 2' where we have these long open chase scenes. The third and final act is probably the strongest leaving you frightened at how well John Jarrett can pull off a serial killer. Overall: 3/5 CURIOUS FILM WEBSITE Year of Release 2013 Run Time (minutes) 82 Language Polish Audio Format Dolby Digital 5.1 - Polish Transfer Aspect Ratio 16:9 DVD Region 4 Disc Packaging Box set Number of Discs 1 Video Format PAL Distributor: Madman EntertainmentRelease Date: 06/08/2014 Languages: English Director: John Slattery Runtime: 88.0 mins Format: DVD, Region 4 (PAL) Catalogue: MMA9008 Buy Direct from Madman Distributor: Accent FilmsGenre: Horror Rating R18+ (High impact violence) Run Time 94 mins Visual Format 2.40:1 Audio Format Dolby 5.1 Language Spanish (Optional English Subtitles) BUY FROM ACCENT FILMS DIRECT Author : Glenn Misztal Bellflower (2011) Rating: 3/5 Cast: Evan Glodell, Tyler Dawson and Jessie Wiseman. Director : Evan Glodell Studio: Accent Films Video 2.35:1 Audio : Dolby 5.1 Extras: - Behind the scenes. - Medusa Unknown : An in-depth look at the hand built car. Length: 102 minutes Bellflower was a movie that fooled me in a couple of ways. The movie gives the impression that it is a post-apocalyptic film. This isn’t exactly true. It can be described as more of a melodrama where the characters have a post-apocalyptic interest. The film introduces Woodrow (Glodell) and Aiden (Dawson) that are two free spirits that are very interested in the movie Mad Max (sound familiar?). They take this love of Mad Max to a whole new level by emersing their minds in a a post-apocolyptic world and doing things in the movie such as using flame throwers and incorporating them into cars. I have to envy the actors as they get to use flamethrowers and blow up gas tanks in the movie - let’s face it, who hasn’t ever wanted to do that? Actress Jessie Wiseman plays Milly, the love interest of Woodrow. Wiseman really put herself out there as an actress. She reminded me of a young Christina Applegate in some of the scenes. I’m sure we’ll be seeing her again on screen. The second way in which the movie fooled me was the budget : Shot over 3 years for $17,000 you’d think that by watching it that the movie has a very large budget to draw from. In some places, the video was very grim and gritty and one has to guess how this certain effect was achieved. The movie is very time-displaced and in some segments it has you wondering whether the sequence of events that happened chronologically or whether a particular scene would be better off being in an alternate ending or extra. I was waiting for a turning point in the movie and indeed one does happen. That’s not to say that Bellflower is a boring film, but soon enough those relationships, the rockabilly fashion and lifestyles easily formed in the first couple of minutes in the film soon become unravelled. A great movie in terms of budget and how it was presented : the cover promotes it as Mad Max meets Reaility bites , but It was more like ‘Mad Max meets Natural Born Killers’. Not bad for a movie that the director starred in as well. BUY FROM ACCENT FILMS Resolution (2012) Extras:
- Behind the Scenes -Directors’ Commentary - Cast & Crew Commentary - Alternative Ending - Extended Scene - Outtakes - Crazy Chris Length: 93 minutes ‘The Resolution’ follows Michael, a married man that decides to visit his childhood best friend, Chris, and rekindle their friendship. Michael soon finds out that his best friend is a drug addict, so he handcuffs Chris to a drain pipe in a rented cabin and attempts to rehabilitate him using the cold turkey method. The movie isn’t as straight forward as two guys are stuck in a house and they have humorous interactions as shown here. There are a couple of subplots intertwined : Chris owes drug money and unfortunately for them they the house resides on native american reservation land and the owners want them out of the house. The resolution did have a little bit of a Twin Peaks vibe to it - there are a supernatural twist to the movie, that I did not expect. A real contrast to the characters, and very entertaining. BUY FROM ACCENT FILMS Author : Glenn Misztal Distributor : Madman Entertainment Directed by Nick Ryan “For every two climbers that set out to conquer the K2, one will die trying.” Movie : 2.5/5 I have a confession to make : I’m not an outdoor person. At all. I’d rather curl up with a nice steaming cup of coffee and a good book (or movie) rather than get outside for any kind of physical activity. That said, the Summit was a very challenging movie for me to review. The Summit (2012) is a documentary movie that chronicles a 2008 expedition to the K2 in Pakistan. 18 Climbers went over the K2. Only 7 returned. So many questions run through your mind when watching a film like this: What went wrong? Are these people crazy to do this? Why did these people decide to do this? The Summit puts together a good explanation in this case of why people do the things they do, why the people who love them support what they do and what went wrong on this expedition. It is said in the documentary that only experienced climbers that have climbed Mt Everist and other mountains went on this expedition. These guys aren’t just drunk thrill-seekers that wanted to tick one box off the bucket list. These folks have a real love of mountain climbing, love a challenge and it shows when they talk about it. Upon first watching the movie, this switch between real footage and re-enactments is not so obvious, but as time goes on, it’s easier to tell which is which thanks to shaky camera work and multiple camera angles. As interviews roll on, the climbers try to draw you into their world and environment on the K2. They explain the harsh environment they are facing, the elements they are up against and the conditions their minds are bodies are under. Some of it is shown through X-Rays of their lungs and brains and how they are effected in such air-thin environments. Others show their fingers and toes being affected by frostbite. Others still go without sleep because they know if their do, they will lose their lives. However, its very clear why things went wrong according to the people interviewed in the documentary. The climbers explain the situation clearly and said that heavy snow and other things were amongst the team. To be honest you can’t help but think there is a bit of finger-pointing going on in some of the interviews. There are times in the movie when you ask yourself those questions again : ‘What on Earth are these people thinking?’, but you have to remember - just as you and I live for the things we do everyday, so these adventurers live for what they do. The film did wear me down emotionally and just when things can’t get worse, they do - team member after team member loses their life to the K2. I don’t feel the movie was nerve-wracking as it claimed on the cover. I just felt sad for every time someone lost their life. Just seeing these climbers die one after the other is disheartening and disturbing at the same time (even though some scenes are re-enactments). More disturbing than any scene horror movie can offer - these are real people. Video : 2.5/5 Shot in a 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Aspect Ratio, I’m sure in a movie cinema this would be breathtaking to watch. The cinematography of the scenes shown is beautiful. Mostly made up of white snow-filled mountains of the K2 the DVD of ‘The Summit’ is also limited to DVD technology. The video isn’t so clear as some graininess and diagonal pixelation is clearly evident at times. I’m unsure if this because some of the videos are re-enactments and others are actual footage shot by the climbers using their cameras on the expedition, whilst retiring for the night inside their tents and on the climb. Being a DVD release I’m not so sure a blu-ray release could offer any improvement on this. Audio : 2.5/5 The discs audio utilises Dolby Digital sound. Again, integrating re-enactments and real footage, The Summit overlays these scenes with orchestral and electronic music. You can hear the avalanches rolling and the ice breaking loudly. The music by Nick Seymour is very haunting as well - he also makes a point to use music during a scene of devastation or whenever a climber loses their life. Extras : 3/5 The Disc comes with Four ‘Behind the Scenes’ Special Features. : - Test Shoot - Reconstructions - I found this one the most interesting as they were attempting to re-enact some scenes. - Filming K2 - Music by Nick Seymour - Theatrical Trailer. Overall : 2.5/5 M: 2.5/5 V: 2.5/5 A: 2.5/5 E: 3/5 A very emotional, non-therapeutic movie. If you're after a tension reliever, this isn't it. I found myself thinking back to when I saw ‘Vertical Limit’ (another K2 movie) in the cinema, but I had to remember : this is real life. BUY FROM MADMAN ENTERTAINMENT |
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