Frozen(2010)

A film that actually lived up to its expectations

Review:Piranha(1978)Blu-ray

Piranha....it's no Jaws but guess what,that's a good thing.
The release of Jaws inspired summer blockbusters and the of course the influx of B movies to the mainstream.People thought Hell if a movie with such a simple premise as a killer shark devouring people can make millions why can't we do it.So it lead to many cheap rip offs,some so close to being rip-offs that theatres wouldn't even play them.But one did get released that kind of formed its own legacy and found its own fans...Roger Corman's production of Piranha,directed by Joe Dante.

Dante and company were well aware that Piranha's premise and life is indeed owed to Jaws.But despite that Dante crafted a very funny,campy and entertaining movie that has stayed popular through the years mainly because it never tries to take itself too seriously.Spielberg himself is a fan of this film which says something.Made Long before the days of cgi,the lengths they went to make the attacks seem authentic is a true testament all of them.Puppet Piranha's attached to sticks with triggers to open their mouths somehow still looks better than cgi would in todays world.It took a bunch of the crew to pull this off especially during the raft attack scene.Ive said it many times but I wish more filmmakers today would forget about cgi and do it the old fashioned way...with hard work.



The Plot-A group of Piranha are accidentally released into Lost River Lake by Maggie McKeown,who is on the search for two missing teenager, and by Paul Grogan.Soon however they find out that these are not your normal Piranha,they are genetically engineered Piranha with a taste for human flesh thanks to experiments from Dr Rober Hoak,who is now in a panic over what has been released.Thigs do from bad to worse as Grogan and company realize that these Piranha are in for a treat,since the river connects to a summer campground where Grogans own daughter is at and a newly opened riverside resort area.



Memorable Scenes:There a quite a few from the opening where 2 teenagers are attacked in a swimming pool to the raft attack scene.This is also somewhat no holds barred if you would as the Piranha even have a taste for little kiddies..awwwww.All the attacks are flat-out fun to watch as you seen flashes of the Piranha and their mouths opening,I also love the music played during the attack scenes.Kudos to Pino Dinnagio

Acting:For a movie as campy as this you would think the acting would be bad but it's actually quite good.Bradford Dillman as Grogan and Heather Menzies as Maggie lead the way.Both are likable and the two have some nice chemistry between them as well.Kevin McCarthy pulled off that mad Doctor type quite well.

Gore:You get a shot of chewed up feet, bit off cheek and a surfacing corpse with tons of red water also.



The Blu-ray
Picture-Definitely a treat,the lush greens along the riverbanks looks surprisingly clear and colorful and since most of the film is in the daytime there is also very little debis or grain present.People's faces are also quite detailed and looks fairly natural.The only bad thing I could say is some of underwater scenes are a bit less detailed but that's all right since its suppose to be somewhat murky under the water.

Extra's
Audio Commentary – with Director Joe Dante and producer Jon Davison....self explanatory.
Behind-the-Scenes Footage-again...self explanatory
The Making of Piranha - the crew shares memories of making the film
Bloopers and Outtakes -you know the drill
Additional Scenes-lame scenes that were added for the network release since a lot was cut
Stills Gallery-some cool pics
Behind-the-Scenes Stills Gallery-more cool pics
Radio and TV Spots-you know the drill once again
Trailers-old school trailers rock
Booklet-You get a nice little booklet with some pics and some info on the film
Closing-Piranha is definitely a self aware film that really works quite well because of this and because of how fun it is to sit down and watch and go back in time.The attack scenes are great and with the blu-ray this is the best way you'll ever have to watch this classic.
9/10

Shout Factory makes sweet blu-rays

Reversible covers is just one nice little touch!

Great White Shark spotted in Florida waters

Being shark week I found it ironic.Anyways I've been told it's not the first time one has been spotted in Florida but its the first I heard of it.I always thought they preferred cooler waters and waters where there are seals and shit like that to eat.I don't know what it'll eat here,other smaller sharks and turtles maybe?I just went snorkeling the other time and though the actual chances of bring attacked by a shark,yet alone a great white shark are very slim its um making me think twice about going snorkeling again.I definitely don't want to come face to face with Jaws.Anyways it was Way up near Jacksonville where some fisherman thought they had something big,turns out it was somethig giant,they got some pics of it also. and experts are 90% sure its a great white...so to the great white I say why can't you go home!are you too good for your homeeee!!!???

Piranha 3-d=horror movie of the summer

Yes,this most definitely looks like a hell of a good time of carnage,blood,sex and nudity,the kind of summer movie where you can sit back and forget everything serious for an hour and a half.And the best part,I won't have to hypothesize if what I just saw was real or a dream!I for one expect this to be a hundred times better than The Final Destination which was last summers 3-d horror release.Another reason this can't go wrong.....KELLY BROOK!..In a bikini and NAKED!!!!!!

On blu-ray this week!

Eager to pick but these up,haven't seen them since I was a kid!

Quick Review:Black Water(2007)

The Open Water of fresh water?...nah,much better


Black Water came out on dvd around the same time as Dimension Extreme's Rogue which I already reviewed.Black Water like Rogue also features a salt water crocodile that has attacked a boat, and is based on true events like rogue,but the difference here is Black Water is a bit more realistic in that the croc footage they used was real,as directors David Nerlick and Andrew Traucki insisted no cgi be used,and the integration of the croc into some of the attack scenes is a treat, Black Water in my opinion was also much more suspenseful,grim and intense than Rogue. The budget was also way,way lower.20x lower actually!


The plot:Grace (Dianna Glen), her partner Adam (Andy Rodoreda) and her younger sister Lee (Maeve Dermody) take a holiday to Northern Australia, where they decide to go on a river tour,but unluckily for them they have missed the tour which leads to tour guide Jim taking them on a tour of the river with his own small motor boat.They drift into some mangroves and feel some bumps and then before you know it they are all in the water and the boat is capsized thanks to a croc attack..and Jim is no longer around.Grace and Adam make it to one of the hundred trees in the mangrove while Lee is left stranded on the top of the capsized boat, before she eventually makes it to the tree to join Grace and Adam.And thats pretty much where most of the film takes place as the three mull over all the options to somehow get out of this hopeless situation.Now i know this may sound boring to some people or sound like open water only with a croc but trust me,its not.Its much more exciting than Open Water and it may not have as much action scenes as Rogue and for people looking for an animal attack film that is all attacks and body limps flying,you need look elsewhere.Because here less is more as the tension is ratcheted up gradualy as directors David Nerlick and Andrew Traucki give us just enough glimpses of the croc to keep us interested and scared while giving us action at the perfect moments. And I assure there is action here,as eventually the three of them decide they must take their chances getting to the capsized boat and soon learn maybe the situation is hopeless afterall.This croc is a truly terrifying character that knows exactly what is going on at all times and has no intention of letting anyone out of his territory alive.Probably the best scene is when the croc comes at nightfall for its dinner meal,really creepY and effective. Oh and despite the effective cgi in Rogue,the real croc here just blows away Rogues,not even close.


The acting:The acting is fantastic as its pretty much just 3 characters the entire movie,and they all come across extremely likable and put out very real and believable performances.You felt for them all and at times put yourself into their shoes,what would do in their situation?who has the better idea?would you wat for help or takes your chances?All 3 were pretty much unknown and ended up doing better than many more mainstream and well known actors.

Gore:Not that much on display,we do see an ear floating in the water.

Closing: Black Water is really a treat to watch,its got great tension,good characters and enough scares and action sequences to keep most people interested.The fact that all this was done with such an ultra low budget makes it even more impressive,proving that you don;t over the top Acton,gore or cgi to make an truly realistic, appealing and scary animal attack film.

8.5/10