
Very sad news as Edward Woodward has passed away, the Equalizer is no more!
More info over at the BBC
Monday, November 16, 2009
RIP: The Equalizer
Sunday, November 15, 2009
DVD Review: Craving Desire

CRAVING DESIRE
Italy 1993
Dir: Sergio Martino
Screenplay: Sergio Martino, Maurizio Rasio, Umberto Lenzi
Starring: Vittoria Belvedere, Ron Nummi, Simona Borioni, Andrea Roncato, Serena Grandi, Hal Yamanouchi
Cert: NR
Running Time: 101 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Full Frame
Audio: Dolby Digital Mono Italian, Dolby Digital Mono English
Subtitles: N/A
Released: Mya Communications
Region: 0 NTSC
The Film
Skeletons like their closets. For when exhumed they are liable to collapse, shattering the surrounding silence with their spare secrets. Craving Desire opens with the disinterment of a wealthy family’s grand matriarch, as she is moved from tomb to grave. A pair of undertakers tie the yellowed shoulder blades to the ribcage, the long-buried framework now held together by thin strips of ribbon. Once they unravel there will be hell to pay; expect a few broken bones and splintered sockets.
Luigi (Nummi) would appear to be a robust example of youthful bourgeoisie with an executive job, rich fiancée (Cinzia, played with gusto by Borioni), and privileged family spurring him forward. So far, so slick, until his cousin Sonia (Belvedere) shows up at his apartment and begins to insinuate herself into his life, first casually flashing her endowments at him during breakfast, before interrupting our hapless yuppie mid-flow with his bride-to-be. Sonia’s soft, attentive charms prove to be far more appealing than Cinzia’s nitrous nagging and hedge-trimmed hair, and it is not long before Luigi is fully greased in her oily charms and ready to produce genetically-deficient offspring. He promptly dumps Cinzia and publicly declares new love, much to the disgust of his stern parents. To celebrate, our kissin’ cousins go to a nightclub and bring back a reveller, Francesca, to join them in a kinky threesome. Luigi’s once staunch foundation is disintegrating. The twine is beginning to fall apart.
As is Sonia, her motives gradually unfurling as Luigi sinks further into her seductive thrall. Once Francesca discovers a book of witchcraft belonging to her lusty hostess, the film veers from erotic soft-core thriller to something altogether more demented and unpredictable. Ricocheting between sweet sexiness and bitter, destructive desire, Vittoria Belvedere plays Sonia as a Michelin-starred bunny-boiler. A lot of the fun to be had in this pulpy slice of fiction is in seeing to what extremes she will go to in degrading her cousin’s ivory-white reputation; shoplifting, robbery, and even a spot of swinging with a woman who sports a hairstyle like the pop singer Yazz once had. The only way is no longer up for Luigi- brittle and spiritually jaundiced; he is close to breaking point.
Director Martino underlines the empty sterility of Luigi’s well-heeled lifestyle, allowing his camera to prowl through the dry, neutral tones of the character’s penthouse apartment with its décor at once nondescript and vulgar, a brashly turquoise floor exposed by the grey illumination from an ostentatious skylight. Any other colour that is present threatens the bland comfort of his existence: the ruby lips and flame hair of his boss’s wife, a temptation that would spell career suicide; the bright, flattering costumes worn by Sonia, a candy-coated cyanide pill to be greedily gulped down. Despite the character’s presentation as a spoilt rich kid, Nummi manages to imbue Luigi with enough childish naïveté to make us see him as a victim. Towards the end of the film, Sonia splays Luigi against the domed skylight, which bristles under his weight; it is as if he is being crucified on his own bourgeois livelihood, so transparent and fragile. A bubble of lofty affectation ready to be burst, Sonia strikes at its tainted root.
If her appearance rekindles a repressed attraction between the two cousins from their youth, there are other hidden fractures to be unearthed from this family vault. Craving Desire’s denouement is gloriously over-the-top, dripping with violence and macabre revelation. Sonia, clad in black PVC and high heels as a deathly dominatrix, brutally tortures Luigi and delivers a lengthy piece of exposition divulging grim childhood trauma. The skeletal spectre now hauled out of the cupboard, it can only be dashed against the ground.
A taut, twisted psycho-thriller, Craving Desire hits its mark with a bone-crunching thud.
The Disc
Presented in the original full-frame 1.33:1 aspect ratio, the transfer is, for the most part, immaculate. Neutral tones are rendered with clarity, whilst the explosions of colour are richly saturated (check out Luigi’s glowing green telephone for truly alarming kitsch value). Two audio mixes in English and Italian; both presented in Dolby Digital mono, which does not quite do justice to Natale Massare’s electro-flecked score, although the dialogue is free from surface noise. And for those purists who prefer subtitles to dubbing, there is no need to fear as the English dub is of top quality and unobtrusive, with dialogue delivered sincerely. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the disc is a little, ahem, bare-boned in terms of extras: a small documentary on Belvedere might have been nice. But maybe that’s just my own desirous craving…
Reviewed by James Kloda
BUY From Amazon.com
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
SKY+HD Movie Party
Nice idea from Sky UK if you are in the mood for some movies on TV as the cold, dark and wintry nights are drawing in!
"Sky are giving their UK high definition customers a complimentary ticket to watch Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and The Hangover on Sky Box Office HD in their homes the same week that the films are being released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK.
It is part of the Sky+HD Party campaign, a chance to share the Sky+HD experience with friends. To help the party give customers the best experience of Sky+HD, Sky are offering their HD customers a complimentary Sky Box Office HD movie and a £10 M&S voucher.
Customers can take their pick from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Angels & Demons or The Hangover, showing exclusively from 11th – 13th December.
All customers need to do to set up their party is visit http://sky.com/hdparty and use their account number to sign up.
Customers must set up their party and get 3 or more friends to accept their invitation before 5pm on 17th November."
Halloween Hubba Hubba
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Host your own Windows 7 Torrent Party!
Very funny parody of Microsoft's "cool" Windows 7 video
Friday, October 23, 2009
Eva Amurri on Californication!
This show always demands your attention for it's smart writing and excellent performances...but now Susan Sarandon's daughter, Eva Amurri along with her amazing assets is simply smoking hot in Season 3 as one of Hank Moody's (David Duchovny) latest conquests! Hank is a lucky man! Eva Amurri, remember the name!
Monday, October 12, 2009
DVD Trash: The Interview!

Everyones ego needs stroked once in a while, so thankfully the Only Good Movies Blog has done just that with an interview with yours truly! It's very cool and informative movie site that deserves your attention, so go take a gander!
The Interview
Tuesday, October 06, 2009
DVD Review: Italian Sex (Sesso in Testa, 1974)
Italy 1974
Dir: Sergio Ammirata
Screenplay: Sergio Ammirata, Marino Onorati
Starring: Pilar Velázquez, Didi Perego, Mario Carotenuto, Toni Ucci, Lino Banfi, Sergio Ammirata
Cert: NR
Running Time: 90 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Letterboxed Widescreen
Audio: Dolby Digital Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
Released: Mya Communications
Region: 0 NTSC
The Movie
“The vernacchio is produced by the vibration of the tongue on the lips,” demonstrates the sweaty teacher to his (scantily-clad) student with gusto. If you thought the above referred to a lewd deed, you are symptomatic of the condition affecting most of Italian society according to this 1974 film- a dirty mind, or ‘Sex In The Head’ as the title literally translates. For the gentleman is referring to the creation of a certain type of fart noise, acceptable to be used in the presence of ladies and archbishops. The innuendo is apt: not only does it court a sex-addled imagination but the lip-smacking trumpeting could be seen as an auto-erotic substitute for an oral act of coitus. (If you think I’m delving too deep into the film’s unconscious, feel free to practice your own vernacchio now.) Italian Sex is thus a surreal exposé of the prurient psyche of modern life, the feisty fantasies and pulsing perversity that seep beneath a routine bit of how’s-yer-father. Homoeroticism, sex with nuns, incest, necrophilia; it’s all here in a film that would make Alfred Kinsey blush.
Similar to that prominent sexologist, sociology student Diana Tornetti (Velázquez) has decided to research the wanton desires of Italian men for her PhD dissertation. Her methodology is one of strenuous fieldwork, going undercover as a prostitute for three eventful months. Before she can be awarded her doctorate, she must relate her exploits to an academic board, comprised of a flustered vicar, a monocled aristocrat and one prudish woman who chokes violently at the mere mention of the word “enticement”, presided over by the great Italian smut star Lino Banfi. Consequently, her encounters are presented as episodic vignettes as if they were chapters from her thesis. Brimming with colourful characters and bawdy burlesque, Sergio Ammirata’s only film as director (with veteran Fernando Vacanze Per Un Massacro Di Leo providing uncredited ‘academic’ supervision) plays like an Italian version of a British sex romp; heck, it could be called Confessions Of A Post-Grad. Or Carry On Swotting.
Inevitably, the content of her thesis is hit and miss. Some sequences are very funny, if based around a single punch-line: a camp hotel waiter (played by Ammirata himself) only poses as a homosexual so that women will crave sex with him in order to cure him of his ‘deviance’; an impotent Mafioso, Frank, has to slap his women around to protect his macho image; and a decidedly ugly man, who looks like a cross between Frank Zappa and Bruce Forsyth, reveals only after he has had sex with our heroine that the money he proffered was a gift from her mother.
The film is at its best with scenes that rock with a dark undertow below the comic bounce of the carnal capers: a recent widower attempts to seduce Diana while his wife lies embalmed in a coffin next door- when she scarpers he looks at his ex and proclaims, “You’re ruining me even in death, huh? Go to hell twice.” This evidence leads our student to surmise that men take pleasure “to profane every sacred thing”. In another episode, what appears to be a traffic jam turns out to be a queue of men waiting to drill a nun; as she lifts her habit, Ammarita shoots through her legs capturing the look of nervous excitement on the punter’s face. Not only does this link voyeurism with forbidden privilege, but the camera position also reflects Diana’s desire to examine the world from a different angle, one that sprouts from the loins.
The licentious fantasy and libidinous technique on display is crystallised in the performance of Velázquez. Donning multi-coloured wigs and negligees like a hyperactive cabaret star, her energy and humour toward her predicaments is what gives Italian Sex its distinctive honours. As the horrified splutters of the judging panel transform into approving coos, the film itself further loosens up and plunges into manic surrealism: one of the clients is a deranged man in a Mickey Mouse jumper who, it is claimed, has wandered in from another film; Ms. Torrentini acts as a stage manager to a bizarre piece of physical theatre with thriving naked lesbians accompanied by wild animal noises, all watched by a horde of ageing critics, scrutinising the participants through opera glasses and taking detailed notes. Sex is a theatre of the absurd, full of exaggerated role-play, styled (and stylised) perversity, and performed with a cheeky self-awareness.
After Frank has executed his wife-beating charade, he looks into a mirror and blows a raspberry at his own spurious image. Likewise, Italian Sex irreverently trumps a cloud of spittle on the cultural portrait of a wholesome, chaste society. We all secretly enjoy a healthy vibration of the tongue on the lips.
The Disc
Presented in 1.85:1 letterboxed widescreen, the transfer is decent with colours bright and suggestive. Only minor pops and scratches evident from the source material. Contrast is good, with the stylish black and white décor of Diana’s apartment room looking particularly ravishing; however, some of the detail in the darker scenes is fuzzy. Audio-wise, the Dolby Digital mono mix is in Italian with removable subtitles in English. Some of these are riddled with grammatical errors, which add to the sense of chaos: “He took me in a desert place” (she’s not referring to bedding Bedouins). No extras, perhaps unsurprisingly for a release of a fairly niche title.
Reviewed by James Kloda
BUY FROM AMAZON.COM
Monday, October 05, 2009
Too many DVD's?

An article from the Guardian by Charlie Brooker certainly struck a chord with me today as he describes that he now has too many unread books and unwatched DVD's, basically they are going to outlive him. I really do not know if I will ever get through my unwatched pile...anyway read on and see what you think!
"I'm fairly certain I recently passed a rather pathetic tipping point, and now own more unread books and unwatched DVDs than my remaining lifespan will be able to sustain. I can't possibly read all these pages, watch all these movies, before the grim reaper comes knocking. The bastard things are going to outlive me. It's not fair. They can't even breathe.... READ MORE
Thursday, October 01, 2009
DVD Competition - Win Vinyan & Just Another Love Story on DVD
Coming from Revolver Entertainment on October 5th are "Vinyan" and "Just Another Love Story"
We have 3 copies of each up for grabs, so all you have to do is send an email to dvdtrash@another.com with "DVD Competition" in the subject line to be in with a chance to win!
Vinyan (Buy now from Amazon or out in Cinemas October 2nd Nationwide in the UK)

Based on one of the biggest disasters of the century, VINYAN follows Paul (Rufus Sewell – The Illusionist) and Jeanne Belhmer (Emmanuelle Béart – 8 Femmes) who like many other parents of their time journey to Thailand in search of their son, lost during the Tsunami of 2004. Glimpsing a boy who looks like Joshua in video footage from a village of orphaned children on the Thai-Burmese border, Jeanne becomes convinced that her son was kidnapped by traffickers.
Unwilling to shatter his wife’s last hope, Paul remains sceptical as she throws their money at a sinister smuggler who promises to take them by boat into pirate-infested waters to find their son. As they continue their quest through the dark jungle, the traumatized couple is pulled into a primeval hell created by their own obsessions and mutual desperation for some sense of closure.
Vinyan is a stylized, intense journey through the emotional pain of losing a child set against the visual vibrancy of the Thai jungle. The feature is written and directed by Fabrice Du Welz (Calvaire). Vinyan is a Michael Gentile and Film 4 production in association with Wild Bunch and Backup Films.
Just Another Love Story (Buy now from Amazon)

Bornedal’s signature style, combining stark realism with surreal violence, stars ANDERS W. BERTHELSEN, REBECKA HEMSE and NIKOLAJ LIE KAAS (Angels and Demons). In this jaw‐dropping thriller, Jonas (BERTHELESEN) is restless living his own suburban fairy tale life, only to find an escape from the trap of routine in the most unlikely of places. But when the past catches up with him he is utterly unprepared for the horrifying consequences. Like Hitchcock meets WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING, with gruesome results.
Monday, September 28, 2009
DVD Capsule Review: Return of the Gladiator (1971)
DVD released: May 19th, 2009
Approximate running time: 86 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 Letterboxed Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono English, Dolby Digital Mono Italian
Subtitles: N/A
DVD Release: Mya Communication
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $24.95
The Movie:
Rome, 310 A.D. The Roman Empire is beginning to collapse, and Proconsul Tullius Valerius (Albert Farley) fears that provincial governor Gaius (John Barracuda) has been secretly working with those Germanic barbarians seeking to end Roman rule. Valerius then orders to former gladiator Marcus (Brad Harris) to go undercover and investigate this situation. In Gaius' territory also lives Lycia (Maria Pia Conte), the beloved of Marcus. Gaius soon learns of Marcus' plans, and has him captured and unfairly accused of murder. Led to believe that Marcus is guilty, Lycia turns against him, and Gaius condemns the gladiator to be pulled apart by teams of horses.
Bitto Albertini (Yellow Emanuelle) directs this average Peplum epic that although no great shakes, will definitely let you while away an afternoon snoozing in front of the TV without needing to pay too much attention to the plot! Throw in some unintentional comedy and dodgy acting and you have yourself some classic Italian Peplum action!
The Disc:
The 2.35:1 image is fine and in good condition, with very little in the way of any print damage. The mono Italian and English audio are both fine, but I recommend Italian with English subs for a more enjoyable presentation with the English dub none too clever! Once again no extras for a fairly rare title is perhaps not surprising!
BUY from Amazon.com
DVD Capsule Review: Revenge of the Crusader (1964)
DVD released: April 28th, 2009
Approximate running time: 90 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Letterboxed Widescreen
Rating: NR
Sound: Dolby Digital Mono Italian
Subtitles: English
DVD Release: Mya Communication
Region Coding: Region 0 NTSC
Retail Price: $24.95
The Movie:
Seriously wounded in a skirmish with a group of bandits, Count Sigfrido of Treviri (Alberto Lupo) is taken to the nearby castle of the Duke of Brabant, where he is tended by Duke’s daughter Genoveffa (María José Alfonso). The two gradually fall in love and marry shortly after. Once back in Treviri, Sigfrido leaves for the Crusades and asks to his counsellor Golo (Stephen Forsyth) to look after his wife while he’s away. Attracted to Genoveffa, Golo tries to force his attentions on the Countess who rebuffs him. Golo then has her imprisoned and accused of adultery, until she is condemned to death...
This medieval epic borrows from the Peplum or Sword & Sandal movies that were being made in Italy at the time with some nice action scenes and loads of scenery being chewed by the cast. However it's a perfect Sunday afternoon movie if you fancy some swashbuckling action!
It is also interesting to note that the score was done by Carlo Rustichelli who worked on many a Mario Bava movie!
The Disc:
The 1.85:1 image is fine if unremarkable but overall in pretty good shape with no major problems to speak of! The Italian mono audio track is also very clear and concise and comes with removable English subtitles! No cracks, pops or hiss. There are no extras, but given the relative obscurity of this title, perhaps not surprising!
BUY from Amazon.com
DVD News: Bronx Warrior Trilogy

In November, UK outfit Shameless Films will release the Bronx Warriors trilogy in a fantastic tin boxset, harking back to the days of the fantastic Anchor Bay Tins, definitely a set to look out for! More specs when they are available!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
UK Blu-Ray News: Dawn of the Dead
Great news for UK horror fans - a quite fantastic package from Arrow Films! Read on...
"Ok people some breaking news here - lots of good news, one little hiccup but an interesting solution has come of it.
The Argento cut of Dawn is not going to be in HD - it's simply not up to scratch - not by a long way.
So the package is going to work as follows - we'll have the lead Blu-ray disc which will contain the theatrical cut in HD and then two DVDs - one with the directors cut and one with the Argento cut - anyone with a Blu-ray player will be able to play the DVDs which will upscale and anyone who doesn't yet have a Blu-ray player can now own the Argento cut on DVD without having to import it plus enjoy some previously unavailable extras."
The overall line-up and the extras that have been assembled should make this a rather tasty package. Here's how it looks:
Disc One (Blu Ray):
* Theatrical Cut in High Definition
* DTS HD and Stereo Audio.
* Commentary 1 with George A Romero, Tom Savini and Chris Romero.
* Commentary 2 with Richard P. Rubinstein
* Document of the Dead - the classic documentary
* Document of the Dead: The Lost Interview and Deleted Scenes
* Fan of the Dead (mad French dude goes to visit the locations!)
Disc Two (DVD):
* Director’s Cut of Dawn of the Dead
* The Dead Will Walk Documentary (the stunning 2004 documentary)
Disc Three (DVD):
* Argento Cut of Dawn of the Dead
* Scream Greats (brilliant Tom Savini documentary)
* Publicity Vault containing:
* US and German Trailers
* TV and Radio Spots
* Reviews
* Giallo Trailers (Macabre, Sleepless and House by the Cemetery)
Buy it exclusively from October 19th at HMV UK
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Trailer: Harry Brown
Wow! How good does this new flick starring Michael Caine look? Caine stars as Harry Brown as an ex marine who is fed up with today's youth causing problems where he lives and when an old friend is murdered, it's time for Harry to come to the fore!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Zombies are coming to Edinburgh too!
http://www.picturehouses.co.uk/cinem...x?venueId=edbg
Yup, on the 25th, Cinema One at Edinburgh's LEGENDARY Cameo Picturehouse (which has the comfiest seats known to anyone) will present DAWN OF THE DEAD, with Mr. Ken Foree live and in-person, and DAY OF THE DEAD, with star Joe Pilato in attendance.
You don't need me to tell you what an INCREDIBLE double bill this is! DON'T MISS IT!
We're also gonna have some cool giveaways at this one.
I will let you all know when tickets are on sale.
So what does that leave?
Oh yeah... Ireland.
I'll have news on that one soon!
Remember: As with the Italian Terror Weekend, by supporting these screenings you help to cement future events like this, with iconic guests and a great atmosphere.
For more info head to the Cult Labs forums !
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Night of the Zombie Hunters!

Romero Fans Rejoice!
Following the phenomenal success of the sold out Weekend of Italian Terror Event at the Glasgow Film Theatre Arrow Video has teamed up with the great Cult Fiction store in Edinburgh (www.cultfictionmovies.com) to celebrate the Blu-Ray launch of DAWN OF THE DEAD.
Yes, just before Halloween, Glasgow horror buffs will be treated to NIGHT OF THE ZOMBIE HUNTERS: a delicious double bill of DAWN OF THE DEAD and DAY OF THE DEAD on the big screen on MONDAY, OCTOBER 26TH.
Once again, this will take place at the fabled Glasgow Film Theatre (www.gft.org.uk) and, once again, we will be bringing you some quality guests!
Attending the screening of DAWN OF THE DEAD will be horror icon Ken Foree - conducting an exclusive Q and A with the audience afterwards.
And for DAY OF THE DEAD we will be bringing you Captain Rhodes himself: Mr. Joe Pilato - one of fear-film's most memorable villains, live and in-person!
The show is expected to kick off at 5.30pm. Tickets will be on sale soon - I will confirm when just as soon as I know myself!
We have TWO more dates still to announce: One in Ireland and another Scottish one!
Stay tuned for more details! (Including news of a particularly gnarly aftershow party!)
Please visit: www.arrowfilms.co.uk
Please visit: www.cultfictionmovies.com
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Comics: Italian Style!
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Book Review: Taboo Breakers

Title: Taboo Breakers
Author: Calum Waddell
Publisher: Telos
Buy it now from Amazon.co.uk
The 1980’s in the UK was a time of political unrest coupled with recession and strikes, so pretty much like 2009, however some politicians had decided that we could not think for ourselves and watch some movies that had been unleashed onto the fledgling home video market. Along with the 1984 Video Recordings Act (which has been in the news recently), some films such as Cannibal Holocaust and the Texas Chainsaw Massacre became taboo, and as a result , like anything that is banned, they became much more interesting and sought after. Calum Waddell’s “Taboo Breakers” delves deep into the background of these and many other movies in an attempt to discover why these cinematic treats stood out at the time and why they are still relevant today.
The author has chosen 18 films to scrutinise and they range from genres such as blaxploitation (Coffy) to classic XXX (Behind the Green Door) and Video Nasties (Cannibal Holocaust) to modern day shockers (Hostel).
The films covered are:
Blood Feast, Night of the Living Dead, Behind the Green Door, Fritz the Cat, The Tenderness of Wolves, Coffy, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Ilsa – She-Wolf of the SS, Candy Tangerine Man, Halloween, Cannibal Holocaust, Maniac, Nightmares in a Damaged Brain, The Plague Dogs, The Evil Dead, House of 1000 Corpses, Oldboy and Hostel.
Each film is tackled with the outline and basic plot of the movie, the controversies they caused and a very in depth analysis of the film followed by a “what happened next” detailing what the cast and crew did after the movie’s release, did they disappear or breakout to even greater success? Each chapter is then rounded off with one to one interviews with many of the main protagonists of each feature that help to give a deeper understanding of the film and what really happened behind the scenes!
If you are a fan of controversial and challenging genre movies this extremely well researched and well written book cannot fail to enlighten and entertain. We learn that despite opinion at the time these movies did leave a mark and stimulate the creativity in up and coming directors, such as Eli Roth for example, whose love of Italian genre cinema sparked him into creating Hostel. Indeed, Hostel if released during the 1980’s would surely have become a famed Video Nasty!
While horror fans will undoubtedly enjoy the chapters on Halloween or Maniac, the author’s style will seduce you into reading about another type of genre you had not considered and by the end you will be heading to Amazon to order it on DVD!
However, take note, this is not a genre movie love fest with the author spouting plaudits with the films he has chosen, he is fearless in his criticism for some films and does not hold back, but at the same time he is astute enough to pinpoint and appreciate why they came to the fore in the first instance.
A clever and analytical foray into another side of cinema but most of all a hugely enjoyable read! An essential edition to your cinema library!















