Magnet Releasing snaps up U.S. distribution for EUROPA REPORT.

Europa Report features NON-STOP SOLAR PANEL ACTION!

Up until now, I've never even heard of EUROPA REPORT, a new sci-fi film featuring Sharlto Copley (DISTRICT 9 and THE A-TEAM). The film follows a team of astronauts that make a trip to the titular moon of Jupiter and uh... stuff happens! Here's the lowdown on the film and its distributor:

The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnet Releasing, genre arm of Magnolia Pictures, announced today that they’ve acquired US rights to EUROPA REPORT, a groundbreaking science fiction film starring Sharlto Copley (District 9), about the exploration of Jupiter’s moon, Europa. EUROPA REPORT marks Copley's first return to science fiction since the 2009 blockbuster District 9, as well as the English language debut of director Sebastián Cordero, who once again worked with two longtime collaborators, Academy Award winning Production Designer Eugenio Caballero (Pan's Labyrinth, The Impossible) and Director of Photography Enrique Chediak (127 Hours).

The film was written by Philip Gelatt and produced by Wayfare Entertainment's Ben Browning. Executive Producers were Wayfare's Michael Maher and Jeremy Kipp Walker. The film features music by Bear McCreary (Battlestar Galactica, The Walking Dead). The film was financed by Wayfare Entertainment and China's Sil Metropole. A unique blend of documentary, alternative history and science fiction thriller, EUROPA REPORT follows a contemporary mission to Jupiter's moon Europa, to investigate the possible existence of alien life within our solar system.

Developed in close collaboration with NASA, JPL, SpaceX and other leaders in the scientific community, the film imagines the next step in manned space exploration and is based on recent scientific discoveries and theories. “EUROPA REPORT is an exceptionally smart, thrilling film that will be a revelation for space enthusiasts and science fiction fans alike,” said Magnolia President Eamonn Bowles. “Its nuanced attention to scientific detail lends it an exciting quality that elevates it above the usual genre fare.”

"Sebastián has made a unique and challenging film that looks and feels epic despite being contained, and we're confident has the potential to get into the zeitgeist. We also think it is a great example of the genre-bending films that Magnolia has had such success with, and we look forward to working with them again" said Browning. Magnolia secured the rights over several other distributors in out of market bidding, believing the film perfectly calibrated for its distribution model.

They will release the film later this year. The deal was negotiated by Magnolia’s SVP of Acquisitions Dori Begley and Director of Acquisitions Peter Van Steemburg with CAA on behalf of the filmmakers. Sierra-Affinity's Nick Meyer is handling international rights and will be screening the film at the European Film Market in Berlin.

You know, the movie could be really interesting, but Magnolia's president makes it sound like pretentious crap. It'll be a "revelation" for space enthusiasts and sci-fi fans? It has nuanced attention to detail? It's "genre-bending?" Will be part of the zeitgeist?! (i.e. spirit of the age or spirit of the time) Quit trying to impress me with your fancy words sir, and try and SELL me on this movie. As it stands, it looks like just another "we're traveling to a distant planet/moon looking for alien life.... OH SHIT WE FOUND IT! AHHHHH!" type of movie. And it appears to be another "found footage" movie as well if the teaser trailer is any indication:


Aside from the presence of Sharlto Copley, there's not much here to get me pumped for EUROPA REPORT, unless there's a randomly awesome cameo by 80's rock group Europe somewhere in the movie. Think about that for a minute: How awesome would it be if Sharlto Copley and friends arrived on Europa, and were greeted by a weird, alien hair-metal band that started belting out "The Final Countdown?" That my friends, would be cinematic perfection.

Forum gets an upgrade + Arcade (1993) returns to the ye olde Vault archives!

Well after a few false starts and numerous failed attempts, I finally managed to figure out how to upgrade the software for my forum. Though I lost a few cool mods that I had installed (the reputation system chief amongst them), I am quite happy with how things went. (Luckily I backed up the forum files before going full steam ahead with the update.) Please, feel free to swing by the BMFV forum (which is chock full of movie and DVD news) and give it a look-see.

Also, be sure to check out my refurbished (old) review for the 1993 Albert Pyun / Full Moon classic, Arcade. This is a pretty bad flick (though not nearly the worst I've ever seen) that features a sentient virtual reality game that steals the souls from anyone who sucks at video games.

Here's the trailer for this straight-to-video schlocker:


I was hoping to finally review "Godmonster of Indian Flats" before the month was over, but alas, it was not meant to be. Have no fear though, because that awful giant mutant sheep epic will become part of the Vault archives in the very near future; probably even as soon as Monday night. I'll keep you posted on my progress with that review and will announce its arrival at the Vault as soon as I get it uploaded.

Well that's it for tonight. I'm friggin' tired and I need to get up relatively early to go to the bank, so g'night everyone!

Legend of Dinosaurs review is a go!

After months of starting and stopping, I have finally completed my full-length review of "Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds!" This extremely strange kaiju film features an odd disco / funk / jazz soundtrack, inventive cinematography, and some of the most violent dinosaur-to-human violence I have ever seen in a 70's film. This film isn't particularly popular or well-liked, so naturally I enjoyed it. If you get the chance, check this cinematic "gem" out and give it the love it so richly deserves.

Then, after you do that, go see "The Dark Knight" in theaters! This movie is simply amazing and is worthy of repeat viewings. As it stands, it seems like the world at large has deemed this superhero film as one of the best movies ever made! So go see "The Dark Knight" everyone, and help it oust "Titanic" as the top grossing film of all time! Blog ya later!

A treat for fans of "Legend of Dinosaurs."

Thanks to Kevin P. from WTF-Film.com, I have a complete copy of the crazy soundtrack to "Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds." I've converted the files from 192 kbps to 320 kbps, and upgraded the quality of the mp3 files considerably. I wanted to include the entire soundtrack as a download for my upcoming review of this obscure kaiju film, but 60 MB is a bit too much, even if my bandwidth for the site has been increased. Therefore, I have put the full, "digitally mastered" soundtrack in a .RAR file, and uploaded it to my RapidShare account.

I'll still post a track or two on the review for all of you to sample, but if you don't want to wait, and want all 17 delicious tracks, JUST CLICK HERE. You are entitled to ONE free download from RapidShare if you do not have an account, so you are good to go no matter what. Enjoy this insane music (from composer Masao Yagi) and keep an eye out for my review for "Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds" next week!

Alien vs. Predator (2004) review is a go!

My late roundtable review for "Alien vs. Predator" is now online! THRILL!!! ...as Paul W.S. Anderson ruins a perfectly good crossover movie! GASP!!! .... as two-dimensional characters becoming unwilling parents! WONDER!!! ....why it took so long for this damn movie to get made! Check out my review HERE.

Also, I have to note that the "new" Vault is fully operational. It is now the mightiest power in this universe and capable of destroying entire planets with a single blast! Feel free to let me know how you like the new look and please notify me of any dead links or problems with any of the pages.

That's it for now b-movie fans, so enjoy all the new stuff. I'm going to be going down to Kutztown University this coming weekend to spend time with my buddy Chris, so I won't be updating the site again until late next week. I plan on posting a capsule review for "Dai Nipponjin" (roughly translated: Big Japanese Man), an all new and totally bizarre kaiju film. Also, expect a fresh full-length review for "Legend of Dinosaurs and Monster Birds." And if I'm feeling good enough, I'll be fixing up an old review from the ancient Vault archives and will upload that as well.

So enjoy your Monday everyone! I'll blog ya later! :-D

Death Star Cantina! Hahaha!

What happens when Eddie Izzard and animated Lego toys combine? Comic genius, that's what!



Enjoy!

Beware! The Blob (1972) review is online!

My contribution to the BLOB FAMILY PICNIC roundtable is now online! (And only three days late! I'm getting better at meeting deadlines! Hooray! ;-) Out of all the blob and slime-monster films I could have picked, I went with one of the worst in that particular sub-genre. Sure the effects are neat at times (behold the power of reversed footage!) but when the cast is full of annoying and unlikeable characters, a massive man-eating slime creature from space can't chow down fast enough. (Sigh... talk about suffering for your art....) Just click on "Beware! The Blob" (1972) on the list below to check out my review!

Here's the full roster of participating sites and their reviews:
Shadow's B-Movie Graveyard - The Blob (1958)
The B-Movie Film Vault - Beware! The Blob (1972)
Badmovies.Org - The Blob (1988)
Cinema Suicide - First Spaceship on Venus (1960)
Darksider's Realm - The Stuff (1985)
Side Order of Ninjas - The Green Slime (1968)
The Tomb of Anubis - The H-Man (1958)
wtf-Film - Enemy From Space (1955) & Quartermass 2 (1955)

Enjoy all the reviews b-movie fans and thanks for all the support you've given all our websites! Stay tuned for more new (and old) reviews at the Vault, plus, expect another roundtable event at the end of October! Blog ya later!

Space Amoeba (1970) review at the Vault!

Yup, another new review is up at the site for SPACE AMOEBA (1970)! This is perhaps my longest review yet and, in my opinion, is certainly not one of my best. With this review completed and archived, I will begin work on my next one for "BEWARE! THE BLOB" (1972) which should be up by Sunday the 23rd. I'm pretty bad at meeting deadlines and due dates, but I have a feeling that I'll make it this time. :-D

Well it's been a long day! Time for some sleep!
G'night b-movie fans!

New review at the Vault: Island Claws (1980)! + Today's DVD buying binge!

First off gang, here's some awesome news: There is an honest to goodness new review at the Vault for ISLAND CLAWS (1980)! This oft-forgotten eco-horror flick revolves around a small island menaced by an army of killer crabs. While this wouldn't seem like too big a problem, I must note that said crab army is led by a giant, roaring, man-eating crab! Fun stuff!

A review for "Space Amoeba" should be popping up within another day or two for your reading enjoyment, thus completing my contributions to July's B-MOVIE BEACH PARTY ROUNDTABLE! (Better late than never!)

Today, instead of exercising any self-control, I went on a quest to track down some of the DVDs that were released this past Tuesday. While I did not find ANY of MGM's Midnite Movie Double Features (even though I tried Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Circuit City, and Borders!!!), I still ended up with three boxed sets, and four other movies. Here's my latest haul:

The Classic Sci-Fi Ultimate Collection Volume 2 (A Best Buy Exclusive that contains: Dr. Cyclops, Cult of the Cobra, The Land Unknown, The Deadly Mantis, and The Leech Woman.)
From Beyond (The Unrated Director's Cut)
The Manitou
The Richard Pryor 4- Movie Collection (Contains "Which Way is Up?," "Brewster's Millions," "Car Wash," and "Bustin' Loose.")
Rubber Face (A Jim Carrey film from 1983 that I have never even heard of. It was only five bucks, so the price was right!)
TMNT (The new CGI Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie, for those of you scratching your heads. I actually got this as a freebie because my buddy Chris, destroyer of chairs, is one cool friend.)
And finally..... MGM's Vincent Price SCREAM Legends Collection (Which contains: Tales of Terror, Theater of Blood, Twice Told Tales, Madhouse, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Dr. Phibes Rises Again, Witchfinder General, and a Bonus Disc entitled "Vincent Price Collection Disc of Horrors."

This is going to come back to bite me in the ass big time, but I NEEDED to spend a little money today. It just felt right to slap down my hard earned money on these discs. As for the large list of movies I didn't find today, I plan on perhaps snapping up one a week off of Amazon since retail stores failed to supply me with what I really wanted.

Well I'm gonna do some work on the Vault and then watch a movie or two. Catch ya later fellow b-movie fanatics!

Andrew Borntreger and I are more than meets the eye!

After days of hard work, my review for Transformers: The Movie (1986) is finally online, thus completing my end of the "REVIEWERS IN DISGUISE" team-up with Andrew Borntreger. (And be sure to read his review of the film by CLICKING HERE!) With this project out of the way, I'll be tackling my reviews for the upcoming "B-Movie Beach Party" roundtable, namely "Island Claws" and "Space Amoeba." I'll be starting those tomorrow evening after I update the BMFV DVD Shop and should have them 100% ready to go by the July 21st roundtable date.