THE CROOKED MAN -- Movie Review by Porfle

(THE CROOKED MAN premieres Saturday, October 1st on the Syfy Channel, kicking off their "31 Days of Halloween.")

There's an old saying: "If you build a website about a song that kills you after you sing it, they will come." 

Well, maybe those aren't the exact words, but in the Syfy Channel original movie THE CROOKED MAN (2016), somebody does build it, and, sure enough, some little girls who are having a sleepover stumble upon it while searching for some creepy fun. 

What happens after one of the girls sings the song is creepy all right, but it isn't fun when the Crooked Man himself shows up and kills one of them in a rather horrible way, leaving behind a crooked corpse with one of the other girls standing over it holding a bloody knife.

 

Six years later, Olivia (Angelique Rivera, LOCA, "American Crime"), the girl with the killer singing voice and the only one to witness the murder, returns to town to visit her now-single dad and to discover that, after being accused of murdering her friend that fateful night, she's still widely shunned as a pariah. 

But with her return comes a new series of horrific deaths, the victims consisting of anyone who was in the house along with Olivia six years before. When the truth becomes clear to her, she takes on the task of warning her dubious former friends who are marked for death and, if possible, finding a way to end the curse of the Crooked Man.

As Olivia gains allies such as old sleepover pal Charlotte (Reilly Stith) and a handsome young town cop named Noah (Cameron Jebo, WALKER PAYNE, "Power Rangers Megaforce") who becomes her obligatory romantic interest, people continue to die in scenes that don't exactly terrify us but do deliver a few chills and a fair amount of icky gore effects as the victims are mauled, broken, and even beheaded.

There's a decent jump scare here and there, especially with the Crooked Man skittering in and out of the shadows and looking like a spindly, skeletal apparition not unlike the fabled Slender Man with a hint of Freddy Krueger (minus the wisecracks), but with jerky movements and a hideous rictus for a face.

After the opening sleepover sequence sets the appropriate tone, THE CROOKED MAN settles into an autumnal, somber atmosphere that's the antithesis of the jokey and satirical horror stylings of films such as SCREAM.  

The script is terse and serious, which fits this story perfectly and adds to an overall sense of unease that keeps us on edge despite a few slow spots.

 

Lead performances are adequate, with my favorites being familiar faces such as Marco RodrĂ­guez (THE CROW, INTERNAL AFFAIRS) as Olivia's dad and Dina Meyer (STARSHIP TROOPERS, STAR TREK: NEMESIS) as the obsessively overprotective mother of one of the potential sleepover victims.  Michael Jai White (THE DARK KNIGHT, SPAWN) also appears as a mystery man with a secret connection to the case.

Production values are good for a Syfy flick, and thankfully devoid of the usual fake-looking CGI.  Director Jesse Holland does a good job of staging scenes of shuddery mayhem and maintaining a decent level of mystery and suspense. 

The big finale itself (which, incidentally, contains the film's only cringe-inducing one-liners) is decidedly short on terror, but I found it eventful enough to avoid being a disappointment.

If you're looking for genuine EXORCIST-style terror, you're howling up the wrong tree here.  But for a pleasantly spooky experience to put you in the Halloween mood, THE CROOKED MAN might be just the thing to make you feel like a kid shivering through scary sleepover stories again.

THE CROOKED MAN -- Movie Review by Porfle

Syfy Original "THE CROOKED MAN" Airs October 1st

"THE CROOKED MAN" KICKS OFF SYFY'S "31 DAYS OF HALLOWEEN"

THE ORIGINAL MOVIE SET TO AIR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 1 9/8c

"The Crooked Man" airs this Saturday, October 1 on Syfy 9/8c as part of "31 Days of Halloween."

This Syfy Original film, starring Michael Jai White (SPAWN), Amber Benson (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer”) and Dina Meyer (STARSHIP TROOPERS) kicks off Syfy's 31 Days of Halloween.

 

Synopsis: While at a slumber party, twelve year old ‘Olivia’ is blamed for the horrific and mysterious death of her friend after singing a song, created by a reclusive mastermind, ‘Milo’ (Michael Jai White), which summons a demonic figure known as "The Crooked Man".

Returning to her hometown six years later, a string of unusual deaths lead Olivia (Angelique Rivera) to believe that she's still being haunted by whatever she saw that fateful night. Once you sing the rhyme, everyone in the house is cursed to die by his hands.

                            Watch the Trailer

Syfy Original "THE CROOKED MAN" Airs October 1st

ICE QUAKE -- DVD review by porfle

ICE QUAKE (2010) is one of those made-for-SyFy movies that you can take or leave without it having any noticeable effect on your life either way.  If you take it, the extended forecast is "bland" with scattered moments of mild excitement. 

When a massive ice shelf collapses in the Russian arctic, one consequence is that people in a small town in Alaska start falling into gaping fissures, freezing to death from the escaping gases, or getting nailed by erupting ice geysers.  Most of this is occurring on a particular mountain, which--naturally--is where geologist Michael Webster (Brendan Fehr) takes his whiny family to look for a Christmas tree.  It isn't long before they're all menaced by the aforementioned natural hazards plus an avalanche or two.

Back at the base of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Col. Bill Hughes (Victor Garber) and his geek squad follow the impending disaster in the "Oh, My God" room, the place where people in SyFy Channel movies look at computer screens and say "Oh, my God" a lot.  They discover that a massive amount (gigatons, even) of methane gas is flowing underground and creating havoc wherever it goes.  As is typical of this type of low-budget disaster flick, the event has the potential of ending all life on earth, which gives the characters something exciting to talk about.



ICE QUAKE is the kind of effort that chugs along as well as it can within its limited resources without ever managing to be more than mildly watchable.  A big drawback is the Un-Steadicam camerawork that's distractingly wobbly (not counting the earth-tremor scenes that are supposed to look that way) and tends toward unintentional Dutch angles.  Performances aren't all that strong, either--Fehr is so bland as Michael that one wonders who the heck he beat out for the role, while Holly Dignard as his wife Emily expresses extreme emotion by putting on a "yucky" face. 

As a scientist trying to alert the military to the impending methane menace, Rob LaBelle (WATCHMEN, DARK STORM) isn't bad in his brief screen time.  Jodelle Ferland and Ryan Grantham are also pretty good as kids Tia and Shane Webster--Ferland, who was in THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE and has been on "Stargate" a couple of times, even gets second billing.  The big puzzle is what Victor Garber (TITANIC) is doing in this, especially since he's pretty miscast as a military officer.  He spends much of his time in the "Oh, My God" room with a coffee cup grafted to his hand, and whenever he has a dramatic line he neutralizes it by taking a long swig of java.

The frequent use of CGI is pretty well done because, I suppose, it's hard to mess up snow and ice effects compared to rendering dinocrocs and sharktopi.  There's also an impressive shot of a helicopter in distress while trying to reel in an injured man on a stretcher, although the actual crash looks typically fake.  Some other vehicle-related CGI is similarly unconvincing, while the massive explosions seen in the finale are about as good as can be expected. 



The rest of the action consists mainly of people either running around in the snow dodging fissures or gaping at their computer monitors.  The film does manage to generate a moderate amount of suspense at the end as a series of detonations intended to stop the methane flow threaten to blow up some of our beloved main characters. 

The DVD from Anchor Bay is in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound and English and Spanish subtitles.  Bonus features consist of "The Making of 'Ice Quake'" and a trailer.

I didn't actively dislike ICE QUAKE, and it serves its purpose as a time-waster, but apart from that there really isn't much to say for it.  It's the kind of movie that you watch because the remote control is out of reach and you don't feel like getting up.


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ICE QUAKE -- DVD review by porfle

GHOST HUNTERS: SEASON SIX, PART 2 -- DVD review by porfle

From what little I've seen, SyFy Channel's "Ghost Hunters" is a pretty fun show to watch.  We have a paranormal investigation group called TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) traveling to celebrated haunted sites around the U.S.A., spending a night collecting "evidence" and personal experiences, and then analyzing it all for proof of ghostly manifestations.  Sounds like fun to me.

None of this is really terrifying--if it were, in fact, you'd probably hear even more cries of "fake!" from the show's skeptics.  But it is pleasantly creepy, as I found from watching the 3-disc DVD set GHOST HUNTERS: SEASON SIX, PART 2.  The team sets out to either prove or disprove the ghostly accounts related to them for each location, seemingly with equal enthusiasm, which adds some credibility to the show's "100% real" claims. 

Of course, we have no way of knowing how much of the supernatual stuff shown is real--if any--or whether or not SyFy and TAPS are just pulling the wool over our eyes.  But that doesn't really matter if the show succeeds in making us suspend disbelief for a while, which, in my case, it does.  And something about the earnest nature of the participants tends to make me think they're pretty much on the level.  Does that make me gullible?  Maybe, but I still find the show entertaining.

The group is headed up by a couple of plumbers named Grant and Jason, who "moonlight" as paranormal investigators.  Some episodes open with them in full plumbers' regalia as they unstop somebody's toilet before getting called into ghost-hunting action.  These scenes, like several others along the way, are obviously staged, but that's to be expected in a show like this.  After being briefed on the latest mission by the team's case researcher (resident babe Kris Williams performs this duty for most of the episodes before being transferred to "Ghost Hunters International"), they set off for their destination along with fellow investigators Steve Gonsalves, Dave Tango, Amy Bruni, and whoever else happens to be in the line-up at the time. 

A site representative--usually a docent or tourist liason, sometimes a resident--gives them a tour of the place and a rundown on reported ghostly activity.  The team sets up their cameras and other equipment and waits until sundown, when it's "lights out."  That's when things start getting spooky.  Wandering around in the dark in groups of two or three, they urge the spirits to reveal themselves in some way, which is something that you will never, ever catch me doing, ever.

Much of the time nothing happens, but occasionally there are footsteps, knocks on the walls, and disembodied voices that can't be explained.  (Later analysis often reveals things that were missed first time around, although the interpretations of these anomalies as "supernatural phenomena" can be pretty loose.)  Some of the encounters result in what appears to be an interaction with unknown entities, as when questions are "answered" by a blip on an instrument or a flicker on a flashlight.  In some cases, video seems to reveal a shadowy humanoid shape lurking in the room, but there's never anything really definitive. 

Then again, the mere possibility is enough to raise the hackles on the back of my neck.  The show, naturally, is designed to do just that, with shock editing and strident musical cues working overtime to make everything that happens seems as creepy as possible, compounded by the overall ghostly look which the night-vision cameras lend to the participants and their surroundings.  Add to this the sudden banging noises, footsteps running across the room, doors opening or closing by themselves, and team members freezing with apprehension upon seeing something weird (often accompanied by Grant breathlessly asking "What wuzzat?"), and you've got the makings for some BLAIR WITCH PROJECT-style chills. 

The locations are a big factor, with the TAPS team finding themselves in some of the scariest places I can imagine.  One of them is the Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama, one of those dangerous old industrial complexes where several workers died due to nonexistent safety measures.  (Ghost enthusiast Meat Loaf joins them on this one, and turns out to be a pretty good team member.)

Another is the Lemp Mansion in St. Louis, a dark place with a cloud of death and suicide hanging over it, and the Ulster County Jail in Georgia where a lot of bad things have happened over the years.  These locations with violent and otherwise tragic histories, whose spectral inhabitants are the most troubled or malevolent, are the spookiest.  An old school in Illinois where a young girl was raped and murdered by a janitor is another shudder-inducing spot, as is the imposing Buffalo Central Terminal, location of the 2006 indy horror flick PRISON OF THE PSYCHOTIC DAMNED.

Other locations are a bit more on the lighter side, relatively speaking.  A visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown to try and commune with the ghosts of Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, whose voices are said to emanate from their wall plaques, is more fun than frightening.  Ditto for the boyhood home of author James Thurber, whose true-life account "The Night the Ghosts Got In" is investigated--and pretty much debunked.  As always, Grant and Jason seem to derive just as much satisfaction from successfully debunking a ghost legend as they do validating it, often discovering them to be misperceptions of the most mundane things. 

The 3-disc, 13-episode DVD set from Image Entertainment is in 16x9 widescreen with Dolby 2.0 sound.  No subtitles or extras. 

You'd have to be a total skeptic to discount everything that happens in GHOST HUNTERS: SEASON SIX, PART 2 as fake.  Personally, I can't, because I've heard disembodied footsteps in an empty room myself, while visiting a friend whose house was purportedly haunted.  Maybe that's why I'm open to all this stuff, and why I find this show to be as unsettling as I do.  In a fun and entertaining way, that is.  As long as I'm safe at home with the lights on.  Wait--what wuzzat?


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GHOST HUNTERS: SEASON SIX, PART 2 -- DVD review by porfle

"GHOST HUNTERS: SEASON 6: PART I" coming September 13 to Blu-ray and DVD from Image Entertainment

“GHOST HUNTERS: SEASON 6: PART 1”

COMING TO BLU-RAY™ AND DVD FROM IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT

Syfy Channel Ratings Champ is back with Another Season of Fright and Chills August 11, 2011

“Ghost Hunters,” America’s favorite paranormal investigation series, brings ever more astonishing discoveries, eerie historical facts and tingling revelations to light with the release of “Ghost Hunters: Season 6: Part 1.”  On September 13, Image Entertainment once again joins forces with Grant Wilson, Jason Hawes and The Atlantic Paranormal Society as they investigate and reveal shocking stories of the netherworld.  The DVD set will be available for an SRP of $24.98. The series will also be available on Blu-ray™ for the first time, at an SRP of $29.98. The 3-disc set includes the series’ 100th live broadcast, deleted scenes and additional creepy content. Pre-book is August 16.

“Ghost Hunters,” currently in its seventh season on the Syfy Channel, continues to be the #1 paranormal franchise on cable television.  In Season 6, the TAPS gang takes on their biggest case yet: Alcatraz, the former military prison known worldwide for the countless claims of paranormal activity witnessed within its walls. Other spine-tingling investigations this season include some of the team’s most thrilling locales, including cases at the famous Philadelphia Zoo, the historic Otesaga Resort Hotel in Cooperstown and the home of abolitionist and author Harriet Beecher Stowe.  Prepare to be scared with some of the most unforgettable episodes of the series.

The spine-tingling adventures taken on “Ghost Hunters: Season 6: Part 1” will certainly keep any fan of the series awake all night:

Alcatraz Live
Fort Ticonderoga
Shamrock Spirits
Phantoms of Jersey
Touched by Evil
Haunted Reform School
Ghosts in the Attic
Inn of the Dead
Spirits of the Night
Norwich State
Haunted Hotel
America’s First Zoo

The more they uncover, the more questions arise.  Somewhere lays the truth between myth, reality and folklore.  The fun is in the frights as “Ghost Hunters: Season 6 Part 1” takes on a whole new world of adventure! 

“Ghost Hunters: Season 6: Part 1” Blu-ray™
Genre:             Mystery/Suspense, Special Interest, Television, Ghosts, Haunted Houses, Myths/Legends
Rating:             Not Rated
Languages:      English 
Format:           Enhanced for 16x9 TVs
Audio:             Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles:          N/A
Year:               2010
SRP :                $29.98
Street Date:     September 13, 2011
Pre-Book:       August 16, 2011
UPC:               014381722055
Cat#:               ID7220PGBD

“Ghost Hunters: Season 6: Part 1” DVD
Genre:            Mystery/Suspense, Special Interest, Television, Ghosts, Haunted Houses, Myths/Legends
Rating:            Not Rated
Languages:      English 
Format:           Enhanced for 16x9 TVs
Audio:             Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Subtitles:         N/A
Year:              2010
SRP :               $24.98
Street Date:     September 13, 2011
Pre-Book:       August 16, 2011
UPC:               014381718829
Cat#:               ID7188PGDVD

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"GHOST HUNTERS: SEASON 6: PART I" coming September 13 to Blu-ray and DVD from Image Entertainment

ROADKILL -- DVD review by porfle

One of the most fun movies named "Roadkill" that I've seen since they started making movies named "Roadkill", ROADKILL (2011) is the rare example of a SyFy Channel movie with a CGI monster that doesn't totally suck.  It's as though my TV suddenly had a "fun" knob that I was able to turn up after the opening scenes heralded imminent boredom.

With some of the most excruciatingly obvious expository dialogue imaginable, we learn that Kate (Kacey Barnfield) has moved to Ireland to work and her American friends have joined her there for one last reunion vacation.  This includes old flame Ryan (Oliver James), best friend Anita (Roisin Murphy), med-school brother Joel (Colin Maher), clownish nerd Chuck (Diarmuid Noyes), not-so-best-friend Hailey (Eliza Bennett), and token black guy Tommy (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith), who, no kidding, says "Yo, yo, I'm down wit dat" in his first scene.

Of course, we want all of these people to die horribly as soon as they open their mouths, which looks like a pretty good prospect when their motor home pulls up in front of an isolated store that looks like something out of "The Irish Chain Saw Massacre."  Anita wants to purchase a necklace worn by an inbred yokel named Luca (a very effective Ned Dennehy), and after a dispute the kids make off with it, running over an old gypsy woman in the process.  Before she dies, she puts a curse on them--one by one, they will all be snatched away by a giant mythical bird, which, needless to say, threatens to put a damper on their vacation.



After a stupid beginning, this Irish backwoods stuff actually starts creating some ominous atmosphere, especially when the fleeing youngsters get hopelessly lost in a creeping fog and start hearing scraping sounds on the roof of their van.  Not only that, but the stock characters start acting kind of like real people and we begin to slightly care about them.  It isn't long before we see the massive Roc dive-bombing at them with its giant claws outstretched, and surprisingly, the CGI is pretty good.  Then we get our first shockingly gory death scene, and it's a humdinger.


Now I'm enjoying ROADKILL instead of dreading it.  The kids run into all sorts of trouble including a flat tire that somebody's gonna have to go out there and fix, the usual lack of cell phone functionality (didn't see that coming, did ya?), and the serial reappearance of an increasingly hostile Luca along with his yokel brethren.  It turns out that Luca needs that necklace as a talisman to ward off the Roc, whom he also appeases by staking out hapless passersby as sacrificial bird food.  Drina (Eve Macklin), Luca's really hot sister or cousin or whatever (I don't think it really matters), also gets into the act with a sawed-off shotgun, heightening my interest level to an unhealthy degree.



The rest of the film manages to keep the tension pretty taut with several scenes of suspense and a few character moments that are unexpectedly resonant.  Performances seem to improve as the situation gets more frantic, and the fact that nobody's safe from the rampaging Roc keeps us on edge.  Stephen Rea (THE CRYING GAME) even shows up at one point as a local cop who isn't quite as helpful as he should be.  The ending, far-fetched as it is, puts a satisfying capper on the whole thing.

The DVD from Vivendi Entertainment is in widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound.  There are no extras or subtitles.

Don't get me wrong--ROADKILL isn't some kind of wonderful flick and I'm not guaranteeing that you'll love it.  It's just that when my expectations are so low, being surprisingly entertained by a movie like this tends to make me regard it rather fondly.  And as far as these SyFy Channel monster-of-the-week potboilers go, it Rocs. 


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ROADKILL -- DVD review by porfle

FEROCIOUS PLANET -- DVD review by porfle

About halfway through the TV-movie FEROCIOUS PLANET (2011), star Joe Flanigan brings viewers who have joined the film in progress up to speed:  "This is a hell of a day...a science experiment goes wrong, sticks us in a monster-filled parallel dimension with six hours to get home."  Viewers looking for something really good to watch immediately switch channels, while those of us with nothing better to do stick around and are mildly entertained for awhile.

If you catch the movie from the beginning, it doesn't take long to see that this entry in the SyFy Channel's "Maneater" series is one of those bad-CGI "monster of the week" flicks that they seem to churn out like sausage these days.  Alternately lighthearted and lightheaded, it at least manages to rise above its much stupider brethren by avoiding, for the most part anyway, the farcical and ridiculous.  Even so, this is hardly ever more than just a bunch of people in the woods running away from some fake-looking monsters.

Joe Flanigan plays a wrongly-disgraced Army colonel now doing security work in a lab where Dr. Jillian O'Hara (Dagmar Döring) and her nervous assistant Brian (Robert Soohan) are demonstrating their new invention to a skeptical senator (John Rhys-Davies with a really bad accent) and the President's science advisor, Dr. Karen Fast (Catherine Walker) in hopes of securing more funding.



Sort of a parallel-worlds viewer, the machine malfunctions and sends the group, along with part of the building they're standing in, into one of those hostile worlds filled with large creatures who want to eat them.  With only six hours to fix the device and return home, they must venture into the woods to find fifty gallons of water to power it (I didn't catch why) while avoiding the jaws and claws of numerous hungry whatsits.

Filmed mostly in the woods in Ireland, FEROCIOUS PLANET plays kind of like one of the more run-of-the-mill episodes of "Stargate: Atlantis" with Flanigan pretty much doing his Lt. Colonel John Sheppard character.  The humor is weak ("We're gonna need a bigger boat!" Flanigan incongruously quips upon first sight of a big creature) as is most of the other dialogue. 

Direction and camerawork are bland, while the performances are competent enough.  I liked Catherine Walker as Dr. Fast, whose dedication to scientific discovery compels her to set off on her own toward a distant building in hopes of meeting extraterrestrial beings.  What happens to her is pretty much the only thing in the whole movie that I cared anything about.
 


The rest of the story is your basic "fix the machine in time to get back home before the monsters get us" stuff, with various supporting characters periodically snuffing it in semi-gruesome ways.  This usually involves CGI gore, which isn't real gore like they had back in the good old practical-effects days so it has little dramatic effect.  The creatures come off okay in closeup, but for the most part they're so artificial-looking that they constantly took me out of the movie.

The DVD from Vivendi Entertainment is in widescreen with English Dolby 5.1 sound.  No subtitles, but does feature closed-captions.  There are no extras.

As a made-for-TV creature feature, FEROCIOUS PLANET isn't one of the worst I've ever seen but it definitely doesn't come close to being one of the best.  While watchable and even kind of fun at times, it isn't something I'd go out of my way for.



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FEROCIOUS PLANET -- DVD review by porfle

"STARGATE: ATLANTIS" Complete Blu-Ray Collection Available July 26

THE CLASSIC SCI-FI TELEVISION SERIES AND PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD WINNER ARRIVES ON BLU-RAY FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER--THE COMPLETE SERIES BLU-RAY COLLECTION


Loaded With Special Features, The Thrilling Cosmic Collection Lands In A 20-Disc Collectible Set July 26

LOS ANGELES, CA (June 10, 2011) – Explore the celestial wonders of an unknown world and experience the ultimate Sci-Fi adventure in stunning high-definition with “Stargate: Atlantis” The Complete Series Blu-ray gift set, arriving July 26 from Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment. From award-winning Executive Producers Brad Wright and Robert C. Cooper, “Stargate: Atlantis” is anchored with a compelling ensemble cast including Jason Momoa (Conan the Barbarian, “Game of Thrones”), David Hewlett (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Joe Flanigan (Ferocious Planet), Rachel Luttrell (Imposter) and Torri Higginson (The English Patient).

Continuing the journey of “Stargate: SG-1,” television’s longest running sci-fi series, “Stargate: Atlantis” explores the great city of Atlantis built thousands of years ago by the Ancients and the new home base for an elite expedition team from earth. Overflowing with exciting quests and surprises, fans will experience every captivating, and spine-tingling mission of the Intrepid Team from their first hostile encounter to their last rescue mission.

Winner of the 2008 People’s Choice award for Favorite Sci-Fi show and three-time Emmy® nominee*, “Stargate: Atlantis” The Complete Series Blu-ray is the perfect gift for any sci-fi aficionado filled with all 100 episodes from seasons one through five and tons of commentary and special featurettes. Prebook for the 20-disc collection is June 29.


Complete Series Specs:


Disc 1 (Season 1):
“Rising” (Parts 1 and 2)
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood and Actor Joe Flanigan
“Hide and Seek”
--Commentary by Actors Rachel Luttrell, Torri Higginson and Paul McGillion
“Thirty Eight Minutes”
--Commentary by Actors Rachel Luttrell and Paul McGillion
“Suspicion”
Extras
--“Stargate: Atlantis” Set Tour with Directors Martin Wood and Peter DeLuise

Disc 2 (Season 1):
“Childhood’s End”
--Commentary by Writer Martin Gero and Actors Rachel Luttrell and Rainbow Sun Francks
“Poisoning the Well”
“Underground”
“Home”
“The Storm”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood, Writer Martin Gero and Actor David Hewlett
Extras
--Wraithal Discrimination: It’s Not Easy Being Green
--Diary of Rainbow Sun Francks

Disc 3 (Season 1):
“The Eye”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood, Writer Martin Gero and Actor David Hewlett
“The Defiant One”
--Commentary by Director Peter DeLuise and Stunt Coordinator Dan Shea
“Hot Zone”
--Commentary by Writer Martin Gero and Actors Rachel Luttrell, Rainbow Sun Francks and Paul McGillion
“Sanctuary”
--Commentary by Actors Rachel Luttrell and Torri Higginson
“Before I Sleep”
Extras
--Mission Directive: “The Storm/The Eye”
--Mission Directive: “Sanctuary”
--Mission Directive: “Before I Sleep”

Disc 4 (Season 1):
“Brotherhood”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood, Writer Martin Gero and Actor David Hewlett
“Letters from Pegasus”
“The Gift”
--Commentary by Director Peter DeLuise and Actor Gary Jones
“The Siege: Part 1”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood, Writer Martin Gero and Actor David Hewlett
“The Siege: Part 2”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood, Writer Martin Gero and Actors Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett
Extras
--Mission Directive: “The Siege”
--A look back on Season One with Writer Martin Gero

Disc 5 (Season 2):
“The Siege: Part 3”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood, Writer Martin Gero and Actors Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett
“The Intruder”
--Commentary by Director Peter DeLuise and Actor Gary Jones
“Runner”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood and Actor David Hewlett
“Duet”
--Commentary by Director Peter DeLuise, Writer Martin Gero and Actor David Hewlett
“Condemned”
--Commentary by Director Peter DeLuise and Actor Gary Jones
Extras
--Mission Directive: “The Siege: Part 3” featuring Director Martin Wood
--Mission Directive: “The Intruder” featuring Director Peter DeLuise

Disc 6 (Season 2):
“Trinity”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood and Writer Damian Kindler
“Instinct”
--Commentary by Director Andy Mikita and Producer Paul Mullie
“Conversion”
--Commentary by Writer Martin Gero and Actors Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett
“Aurora”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood and Co-Producer Peter DeLuise
“The Lost Boys”
--Commentary by Writer Martin Gero and Actors Joe Flanigan and David Hewlett
Extras
--Mission Directive: “Instinct” featuring Director Peter DeLuise
--Introduction to a Character: Ronon Dex

Disc 7 (Season 2):
“The Hive”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood
“Epiphany”
--Commentary by Director Neil Fearnley
“Critical Mass”
--Commentary by Director Andy Mikita, Actor Rachel Luttrell and Director of Photography Brenton Spencer
“Grace Under Pressure”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood, Writer Martin Gero and Actors Amanda Tapping and David Hewlett
“The Tower”
--Commentary by Producer Paul Mullie and Director Andy Mikita
Extras
--Profile On: David Hewlett
--“Stargate: Atlantis” Stunts

Disc 8 (Season 2):
“The Long Goodbye”
--Commentary by Director Andy Mikita, Actor Torri Higginson and Director of Photography Brenton Spencer
“Coup D’etat”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood, Writer Martin Gero and Actor David Hewlett
“Michael”
--Commentary by Director Martin Wood and Supervising Producer/Director Peter DeLuise
“Inferno”
--Commentary by Director Peter DeLuise and Actor Gary Jones
“Allies”
--Commentary by Director Andy Mikita, Writer Martin Gero and Actor David Hewlett
Extras
--Road to a Dream with Martin Gero
--Profile On: Paul McGillion

Disc 9 (Season 3):
“No Man’s Land”
--Commentary by Producer/Writer Martin Gero and Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood
“Misbegotten”
--Commentary by Executive Producer Paul Mullie and Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood
“Irresistible”
--Commentary by Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood and Director of Photography Michael Blundell
“Sateda”
--Commentary by Executive Producer, Writer and Director Robert C. Cooper & Director of Photography Brenton Spencer
“Progeny”
--Commentary by Director Andy Mikita and VFX Supervisor Mark Savela
Extras
--Mission Directive: “Sateda” featuring Director Robert C. Cooper
--Mission Directive: “Progeny” featuring Director Andy Mikita
--Inside the Stargate: Atlantis Visual FX Department
--Profile On: Rachel Luttrell

Disc 10 (Season 3):
“The Real World”
“Common Ground”
--Commentary by Director William Waring and Director of Photography Brenton Spencer
“McKay & Mrs. Miller”
--Commentary by Producer/Writer Martin Gero and Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood
“Phantoms”
--Commentary by Co-Executive Producer Carl Binder and Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood
“The Return, Part 1”
--Commentary by Producer/Writer Martin Gero and Executive Producer Paul Mullie
Extras
--Mission Directive: “Phantoms” featuring Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood
--General O’Neill Goes to Atlantis

Disc 11 (Season 3):
“The Return, Part 2”
--Commentary by Producer/Writer Martin Gero and Executive Producer Paul Mullie
“Echoes”
--Commentary by Director William Waring and Director of Photography Brenton Spencer
“Irresponsible”
--Commentary by Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood and Director of Photography Michael Blundell
“Tao of Rodney”
--Commentary by Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood and Director of Photography Michael Blundell
-“The Game”
--Commentary by Director William Waring and Director of Photography Brenton Spencer
Extras
--Mission Directive: “The Game” featuring Director William Waring
--Masters of the Alien

Disc 12 (Season 3):
“The Ark”
--Commentary by Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood and VFX Supervisor Mark Savela
“Sunday”
--Commentary by Producer/Writer Martin Gero and Director William Waring
“Submersion”
--Commentary by Director Brenton Spencer and VFX Supervisor Mark Savela
“Vengeance”
--Commentary by Director Andy Mikita and Creature Effects Designer Todd Masters
“First Strike”
--Commentary by Producer/Writer Martin Gero, Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood and VFX Supervisor Mark Savela
Extras
--Mission Directive: “First Strike” featuring Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood
--“Stargate Atlantis:” A Look Back on Season 3 with Martin Gero

Disc 13 (Season 4):
“Adrift” 
--Commentary by Co-Executive Producer/Writer Martin Gero, Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood 
“Lifeline” 
--Commentary by Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood and Actor Amanda Tapping
“Reunion”
--Commentary by Executive Producer/Writer Joseph Mallozzi and Director William Waring 
“Doppelganger”
--Commentary by Executive Producer, Writer and Director Robert C. Cooper and VFX Supervisor Mark Savela 
“Travelers”
--Commentary by Executive Producer/Writer Paul Mullie and Director William Waring
Extras
--Mission Directive: Doppelganger with Robert C. Cooper 
--A New Leader: Amanda Tapping Joins Atlantis 

Disc 14 (Season 4):
“Tabula Rasa” 
--Commentary by Producer/Writer Alan McCullough and Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood and Actress Amanda Tapping 
“Missing” 
--Commentary by Co-Executive Producer/Writer Carl Binder and Producer/Director Andy Mikita 
“The Seer”
--Commentary by Producer/Writer Alan McCullough and Director Andy Mikita
“Miller’s Crossing”
--Commentary by Co-Executive Producer/Writer Martin Gero and Producer/Director Andy Mikita 
“This Mortal Coil”
--Commentary by Executive Producer/Writer Joseph Mallozzi and Director William Waring 
Extras
--“Stargate Atlantis” Bloopers
--Mission Directive: “This Mortal Coil” with Director William Waring 

Disc 15 (Season 4):
“Be All My Sins Remember’d” 
--Commentary by Co-Executive Producer/Writer Martin Gero and Producer/Director Andy Mikita 
“Spoils of War”
--Commentary by Producer/Writer Alan McCullough and Director William Waring 
“Quarantine”
--Commentary by Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood and Actress Amanda Tapping 
“Harmony” 
--Commentary by Co-Executive Producer/Writer Martin Gero and Director William Waring 
“Outcast”
--Commentary by Producer/Writer Alan McCullough and Producer/Director Andy Mikita 
Extras
--Mission Directive: “Quarantine” with Director Martin Wood 
--Mission Directive: “Outcast” with Director Andy Mikita 

Disc 16 (Season 4):
“Trio” 
--Commentary by Co-Executive Producer/Writer Martin Gero, Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood and Actress Amanda Tapping 
“Midway”
“The Kindred” 
--Commentary by Executive Producer/Writer Joseph Mallozzi and Director Peter F. Woeste 
“The Kindred, Part II” 
--Commentary by Producer/Writer Alan McCullough and Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood 
“The Last Man” Commentary on “The Last Man” by Executive Producer/Writer Paul Mullie and Director/Supervising Producer Martin Wood 
Extras
--The Making of “Trio”
--A Look Back at Season 4
--Deleted Scenes 

Disc 17 (Season 5):
“Search and Rescue”
--Commentary by Executive Producer Martin Gero and Director/Producer Andy Mikita
“The Seed”
--Commentary by Director William Waring 
“Broken Ties”
--Commentary by Executive Producer Joseph Mallozzi and Actor Jason Momoa
“The Daedalus Variations”
--Commentary by Supervising Producer Alan McCullough and Director/Producer Andy Mikita
“Ghost In The Machine”
Extras
--Mission Directive: “Search and Rescue” with Director Andy Mikita and Producer Martin Gero
--Showdown! Ronon v. Tyre
--Bringing “The Seed” to Life

Disc 18 (Season 5):
“The Shrine”
“Whispers”
--Commentary by Executive Producer Joseph Mallozzi and Director William Waring 
“The Queen”
--Commentary by Supervising Producer Alan McCullough and Director Brenton Spencer 
“Tracker”
--Commentary by Executive Producer Carl Binder and Director William Waring
“First Contact”
--Commentary by Executive Producer Martin Gero and Director/Producer Andy Mikita
Extras
--Mission Directive: ”Whispers” with Director William Waring and Executive Producer Joseph Mallozzi
--Mission Directive: “Tracker” with Director William Waring and Executive Producer Carl Binder
--Tricks of the Trade: Submerging the Stargate
--Joe Flanigan: A Conversation with the Colonel

Disc 19 (Season 5):
“The Lost Tribe”
--Commentary by Executive Producer Martin Gero and Director/Producer Andy Mikita
“Outsiders”
--Commentary by Supervising Producer Alan McCullough and Director William Waring 
“Inquisition”
--Commentary by Director Brenton Spencer and Actor Tobias Slezak
“The Prodigal”
--Commentary by Executive Producer Carl Binder and Director/Producer Andy Mikita
“Remnants”
--Commentary by Executive Producer Joseph Mallozzi and Director William Waring 
Extras
--Building a Humanoid with James Robbins and Martin Gero
--Dr. Jackson Goes to Atlantis
--The Life and Death of Michael Kenmore
--Deleted Scenes (Part One)

Disc 20 (Season 5):
“Brain Storm”
--Commentary by Executive Producer/Director Martin Gero
-“Infection”
-“Identity”
-“Vegas”
--Commentary by Executive Producer Robert C. Cooper, Producer John G. Lenic and Editor Mike Banas
-“Enemy at the Gate”
--Commentary by Executive Producer Paul Mullie and VFX Supervisor Mark Savela
-Extras
--Mission Directive: “Brain Storm” with Director Martin Gero
--“Stargate Atlantis” Goes To Vegas
--Deleted Scenes (Part Two)

“STARGATE: ATLANTIS” THE COMPLETE SERIES GIFT SET BLU-RAY (Catalog #M124525)
Street Date: July 26, 2011
Pre-book Date: June 29, 2011
Screen Format: Widescreen – 1.78:1 (All)
Audio: Audio: English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 83 hours
MPAA Rating: NR
Closed Captioned Yes

STARGATE ATLANTIS ™ 2010 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc

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"STARGATE: ATLANTIS" Complete Blu-Ray Collection Available July 26

DINOCROC VS. SUPERGATOR -- DVD review by porfle

Roger Corman strikes again with another mutant monster fest that's actually a cut above the rest.  The rest, that is, of these bizarro beast brawls that the venerable producer has been churning out for the SyFy Channel lately.  While DINOCROC VS. SUPERGATOR (2010) never strives to be more than the addlebrained B-picture that it is, it's still better than the likes of SHARKTOPUS.  And, for once, the CGI is pretty darn good.

In his final film appearance, David Carradine plays Jason Drake, a shady millionaire who commissions some scientists to develop techniques for growing oversized food, then orders them to apply the same science to living animals so he can sell the results to the military.  Two of the results, a dinocroc and a supergator, escape from the secluded lab and gobble up all the scientists they can eat before heading off to more populated areas.  This opening sequence is pretty cool and lets us know right away that the SPFX in this movie aren't going to be all that painful to look at.  In fact, they're rather impressive at times.

Not so impressive are the acting and dialogue, but in a movie called DINOCROC VS. SUPERGATOR I don't exactly expect to see Sir Lawrence Olivier doing "Hamlet."  Carradine, who does most of his scenes lounging in a chair by the pool, is there to grab a paycheck and soak up the Hawaiian scenery.  Rib Hillis is adequate as crossbow-slinging tough guy "The Cajun", whom Drake hires to kill the escaped monsters, and Amy Rasimas is suitably plucky and hot as Cassidy, who is some kind of game warden or something so she gets to wear a skimpy uniform.
 


Corey Landis plays the role of FBI investigator Paul Beaumont, assigned to collect evidence against Drake, with an enjoyably light touch.  (His hideous Hawaiian shirt is a nice running gag.) I especially liked Lisa Clapperton as Drake's bad-girl assistant Victoria, a heartless hitwoman who likes to kill people.  Former Penthouse Pet and softcore sex film star Delia Sheppard appears as a scientist who escapes the initial carnage and tries to warn the world of the impending lizard attack.

It's all very tongue-in-cheek, with director Jim Wynorski (as "Jay Andrews") giving it all a dynamic visual quality that includes some really nice camerawork and a fairly brisk pace despite some draggy spots.  Shot mostly on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, the scenery is often spectacular and there's no shortage of bikini girls running around serving themselves up as reptile treats.  Quite a few people get eaten, in fact, including some mercenaries sent in by Drake to kill the escaped animals and finish off the surviving scientists.  Two of them have a dialogue exchange I found amusing:

"Man, I don't think I could stomach shooting civilians like that."
"Don't think of it as civilians.  Think of it as dollar signs."
 


In most shots the creatures' movements are relatively fluid and natural, and they seem to have weight and substance.  A sequence with the supergator chasing a speeding jeep down a dirt road (a la JURASSIC PARK) features some outstanding CGI and is just one of many effects scenes that I found particularly well-done for a film of this kind.  The final battle between dinocroc and supergator is handled nicely as well, although this title altercation comes as a brief, one-sided letdown.

The DVD from Anchor Bay is in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound.  Subtitles are in English and Spanish.  Extras include a laidback commentary track with Roger Corman and Jim Wynorsky, and the film's trailer.

Unlike some of the other films in this oddball sub-genre, DINOCROC VS. SUPERGATOR actually feels sort of like a real movie that you can enjoy without lowering your expectation level to rock-bottom.  Still, it never takes itself seriously enough to try and be anything more than what it is--a competently-made and fairly enjoyable junk film.    



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DINOCROC VS. SUPERGATOR -- DVD review by porfle

MEGA PYTHON VS. GATOROID -- DVD review by porfle

Usually, a combination of the phrases "SyFy Original Movie" and "giant bad-CGI monsters" is enough to give me a severe case of the heebie-jeebies.  Especially if the movie they're referring to has a really dumb title.  Well, unbelievably enough, MEGA PYTHON VS. GATOROID (2011) is the rollicking, rip-roaring, and divinely ridiculous exception to that rule.   

The highlight is a blood-curdling death duel between two of the most horrifying monsters to ever walk the face of the earth.  I'm referring, of course, to 80s teen queens Tiffany and Debbie Gibson.  Debbie, who's gotten a bit wiry in her middle years but is still cute, plays eco-terrorist Nikki with loads of energy.  Tiffany, on the other hand, has filled out considerably since her younger days and, as Seminole State Park Chief Ranger Terry, marks off a few boxes on my fetish checklist with her generous figure, skimpy uniform, and sidearm.  (Sorry if that's too much information.)

When Nikki and her cohorts break into a lab and let loose a bunch of mutant pythons, they grow to gigantic proportions and start eating all the alligators, throwing the local gator hunters out of work.  This is fine with Nikki because she believes pythons belong at the top of the food chain, even if some of the lower links consist of bumbling park rangers, ill-fated fiancĂ©s, and comical rednecks.
 


Terry, meanwhile, has the bright idea of loading up a bunch of dead chickens with super-steroids and feeding them to the gators, thus bringing nature into balance again.  ("What's crazy about this--feeding steroids to gators?" she asks her partner, Angie.  "I mean, what could go wrong?")  The result is a horde of colossal alligator-monsters that feast on anything that moves.  Naturally, the pythons start eating their steroid-enhanced eggs and get even bigger, leading to mega-python vs. gatoroid pandemonium throughout the Everglades and eventually in the very streets of downtown Miami. 

Surprisingly, Roger Corman's name doesn't show up anywhere in the credits for this freaky flick.  Horror veteran Mary Lambert (PET SEMETARY, THE ATTIC) directs with a sure hand and keeps things moving at such a rapid clip that the story never has a chance to get boring.  The creature attacks are exciting, suspenseful, over the top, and even a bit nerve-wracking at times, despite the lighthearted tone and resolutely fake-looking CGI.




Willfully cheesy, this movie is positively frothy with deadpan comedy and campy dialogue.  Tiffany and Debbie get off to a good hostile start, nearly sideswiping each other on the road and growling "Bitch!" in unison.  Their environmentalist wacko vs. park ranger animosity is stoked throughout the film ("Looks like somebody had 'bitch' for breakfast!" Debbie taunts during their initial clash), building to the eventual catfight that pays off like a slot machine of fun.  When these legendary rivals go flying over a table during the fancy outdoor ball that Tiffany's throwing to raise money for the park, you can bet all those whipped cream-laden pies aren't just sitting there by accident. 

Another old fave, A Martinez (THE COWBOYS), plays Diego, a scientist who tries to convince the oblivious Terry that her park is becoming a human buffet for ravenous reptiles.  His skills as a pilot and demolitions expert will come in handy during the story's frantic climax, as Terry and Nikki join him in trying to lure the rampaging beasts out of the city and into a dynamite-laden deathtrap.  As Terry's elderly partner Angie, Kathryn Joosten has some of the best lines and delivers them with an exquisitely dry wit.  Ex-Monkee Micky Dolenz shows up at the fund-raising ball, upping the film's nostalgia value even more.



The DVD from Image Entertainment is in 1.78:1 widescreen with Dolby 5.1 surround sound.  No subtitles.  Extras consist of the film's trailer and a making-of featurette. 

Now, please don't take all of my giddy ravings as an indication that MEGA PYTHON VS. GATOROID is some kind of a great movie, because it isn't, of course.  But compared to all the other goofy "hybrid-creature" SyFy Channel flicks of its ilk that I've sat through recently, it's freaking CITIZEN KANE. 


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MEGA PYTHON VS. GATOROID -- DVD review by porfle