...and a child shall lead them.
AUSTRALIA
Journey Into Dreams
A fast-paced overview of this visually orgasmic film. I actually refused to see this in theaters because the trailer was awful. I was kicking myself later when I rented the DVD and realized that if there was one film that year that I absolutely should have seen on the big screen, it was this. Beautiful cinematography, great performances all around and a wonderful story. So here it is...in two minutes. (May 1st, 2009)
Music
"Divide and Conquer" by Immediate Music
BORDERLINE
Relentless
Character study of Ed Baikman, a stalker with borderline psychosis who is released from prison after twenty years only to develop delusions of a relationship with his prison psychiatrist, who he feels deeply connected to due to their similar histories of childhood abuse. Baikman is frighteningly disturbed yet strangely sympathetic, so I thought I'd tell the story from his warped point of view. (September 20th, 2011)
Music
"Descending Darkness" by Grip Inc
CHILDREN OF THE CORN
A Nightmare in Gatlin
Theatrical-style trailer for the horror cult classic, structured to promote the 2005 Divimax special edition release. I didn't think the original trailer remotely represented the story or atmosphere, so this is my take on how it should have been done. (December 10th, 2007)
Music
"Gothic Monsters" by X-Ray Dog
DOG SOLDIERS
Midnight Rising
A trailer for one of my favorite films, in which a group of soldiers on a training exercise find themselves used as bait in a botched special ops mission to capture a pack of werewolves. Why do I love this film? Perhaps because it's one of the few "scary movies" where the characters aren't a bunch of dumb fucks. Or perhaps because the monsters are actual people, not CGI. Or maybe because it's completely character-driven and you want to cry when someone dies rather than cheer. Really, it's not so much a horror flick as a war drama that just happens to have werewolves. Genius dialogue and wonderful, realistic characters played by an extraordinary cast with incredible chemistry. (May 15th, 2009)
Music
"Dog Soldiers" from Dog Soldiers OST
"Humanity Sector" by Pfeifer Broz
DOG SOLDIERS
The Last Stand of Dying Men
Pverview of the film, highlighting the final hours of an unfortunate group of soldiers on a training mission as they face off with a pack of werewolves in the middle of the highlands. This was basically an experiment in doing something very different from my usual genre, purely atmospheric. (June 3rd, 2009)
Music
"Counting Bodies Like Sheep" by A Perfect Circle
DONNIE DARKO
Collision Course
The wonderfully weird and terribly tragic world of Donnie Darko. A general overview of this unusual mood-driven film about time travel, parallel realities and inescapable destiny as a series of strange events cause two worlds to collide. (January 24th, 2012)
Music
"The Sum of a Body" by Ray Koefed
THE EMERALD FOREST
Irreversible
A Tommy-centric overview of this beautiful film about a child abducted by natives of the Amazon. Looks at the contrast between Tommy's life and the outside world as the natives are increasingly exposed to "civilization," the destruction of their rainforest home and the dire consequences of conflicting worlds, as well as how Tommy's situation changes the views of his engineer father. (August 23rd, 2009)
Music
"Earth Song" by Michael Jackson
THE FRIGHTENERS
Paranormal Activity
"Death ain't no way to make a living." Before he made Lord of the Rings, he made one of the most enjoyable horror-comedies of all time. Done as a holiday gift, this is an overview of Peter Jackson's awesome, quirky movie about a psychic hustler who uses his connection with earthbound spirits to con people...until he and his ectoplasmic friends get caught up in a murder spree committed by the ghost of a brutal serial killer with a link to Frank's past. (December 20th, 2010)
Music
"Night of the Hunter (Flood Remix)" by 30 Seconds to Mars
NAKED
Bastard Children
Atmospheric trailer for one of my favorite indie films. David is nothing short of brilliant here. The film has no actual story to speak of but revolves around a sadist as he encounters various bizarre characters, psychologically destroying them with his Nihilistic views of life. It's an unusual combination of hilarious sarcasm and wit, philosophical ranting, and awkward grittiness. (October 8th, 2010)
Music
"Extinction" by Marilyn Manson
POWDER
Strange and Beautiful Things
The sad story of Jeremy "Powder" Reed, a gentle albino boy with an unparalleled intellect and supernatural abilities, who is discovered in a basement when his grandparents die. Attempts to integrate him into the outside world prove tragic as he is tormented by those around him. (September 28th, 2011)
Music
"Roslin and Adama" by Bear McCreary
SECRET SMILE
Anatomy of an Obsession
A look at the story through Brendan's disturbed eyes as his seemingly random obsession with Miranda grows stronger and more dangerous and he increasingly spirals out of control. (February 12th, 2008)
Music
"Addicted" by Kelly Clarkson
STAR TREK VI
Brave New World
Theatrical trailer for The Undiscovered Country, the last original cast film, a whodunnit suspense about a conspiracy to sabatoge the potential end to the bloody history between klingons and the Federation. This is one of my top favorite Trek movies and just a great flick all around. More exciting and thriller-esque than the others, it keeps you guessing and on the edge of your seat all the way through. (May 29th, 2009)
Music
"Burning Sands" by Brand X
"When Justice Fails" by Brand X
"Captivate" by Brand X
STAR TREK XI
Keep Trekkin'
Action-packed overview of the 2009 reboot. I expected this film to be a total travesty and ended up being pleasantly surprised. Never in my life would I have thought that a modernized version with a new cast could possibly do anything but insult the original crew, but JJ Abrams proved me wrong. The characters and charm of old school Trek are here in spades. It's not perfect, it had some major problems, and it'll never come close to the original show, but it's still quite fun. (January 1st, 2011)
Music
"88 Rounds Per Minute" by Blue Stahli
