Thursday, October 16, 2014

Review - Ash and the Army of Darkness



Ash and the Army of Darkness
by Steve Niles, Dennis Calero and Nacho Tenorio
Publisher: Dynamite Entertainment
Pub. Date: October 21, 2014
ISBN: 978-1606905166
Pages: 192
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:
 
While I consider myself to be a horror-buff, I never knew the Evil Dead films even existed until I caught the last half of Army of Darkness on the Scifi Channel (now known as Syfy) in the late '90s during my teenage years. Being a fan of Bruce Campbell ever since he starred in the short-lived series The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., I instantly took to liking to what little I saw of the movie. Luckily, the movie reaired the following weekend, so I could watch it.  I was able to find the VHS (Remember those?) of Army of Darkness at Best Buy, along with Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn. I later rented the original Evil Dead and eventually bought it on VHS, so, basically I saw the movies in reverse. And of course I saw last year's remake.

There have been several comic books based on the character Ash from the series over the years, but none has picked up directly where Army of Darkness left off - well, until Dynamite Entertainment released a brand new series last year called Ash and the Army Darkness. The eight issue series is now available in one volume.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

DVD Review - From Dusk Till Dawn: Season One





From Dusk Till Dawn: Season One
Starring: D.J. Cotrona Zane Holtz, Eiza Gonzalez, Jesse Garcia, Madison Davenport, Brandon Soo Hoo, Wilmer Valderrama, Robert Patrick, Don Johnson
Studio: Entertainment One
Release Date: September 16, 2014
Retail: $39.98
ASIN: B00KYL80SO
Running Time: 452 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Before George Clooney suited up as the Dark Knight in the godawful Batman & Robin and before he started winning Oscars, he played in the cult 1996 horror flick From Dusk Till Dawn. The film was directed by Robert Rodriguez and written by Quentin Tarantino, who also co-stars. While receiving mixed to positive reviews from critics, the film barely made back it's budget while in theaters, tough it did do better in rentals. Three years later a direct-to-video sequel, From Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money was released, but was criticized for the horrible plot. A year later a prequel, From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter, was released direct-to-video, though it was better than Texas Blood Money, the film put the final nail into the coffin for the franchise. That is until rumors of a fourth film surfaced on the internet in 2010, but the film seemed to be abandoned when From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series premiered on the El Rey Network earlier this year, a channel created by Robert Rodriguez.

Instead of picking up where the movies left off, the series is a complete reboot of the original movie with D.J. Cotrona and Zane Holtz taking over the roles of the deadly Gecko brothers, whom have just killed four Texas Rangers during a bank robbery. Texas Ranger Earl McGraw (played by Don Johnson) stops by Benny's World of Liquor, but he was unaware that the Gecko brothers are also there. After a long standoff, McGraw is killed and the Gecko brothers escape, but McGraw's apprentice, Freddie Gonzalez (played by Jesse Garcia ) vows to avenge his death.

With the law not too far behind them, Seth Gecko is worried about his brother, Richie, who sees a little unbalanced, especially when Richie claims a beautiful woman appears to him, telling him to kill. They have no other choice, but to kidnap the former pastor Jacob Fuller (played by Robert Patrick), his daughter Katie (played by Madison Davenport) and his adopted son Scott (played by Brandon Soo Hoo), whom are traveling in an RV to Mexico. This is the only way Seth and Richie can get across the border where they are to meet their partner in crime Cartel boss Don Carlos (played by Wilmer Valderrama) at the Titty Twister bar, but what is waiting for them is a group of hungry vampires.

4 Quick Fixes to Spruce Up Your Home's Exterior



The exterior of your home is the first impression neighbors, friends, family and anyone else has of your home. It can make your home look more welcoming to guests, and it can make your home look more appealing to potential buyers if you were looking to sell. Having a nice exterior of your home can greatly increase your home’s value, whether you’re looking to sell or not. And unlike certain interior areas of your home, such as kitchen and bathroom renovations, caring for and up keeping the exterior of your home is not difficult or expensive to do. Check out the following four quick fixes to spruce up your home’s exterior.

1. Wash your windows.

The exterior of your windows experience a lot, and cleaning them can help improve the exterior of your home. Give the outside (and inside) of your windows a thorough cleaning to remove any dirt and debris. If you have double hung windows, you can clean the exterior from the inside by flipping the window. If you don’t have double-hung windows, you’ll have to clean these from the outside. You can do this the old fashioned way with a ladder and window cleaner, or you can invest in a special product like Mr. Clean Window to make the project easier and less time consuming.

2. Wash or paint your exterior.

If the exterior siding of your home is looking dated, you don’t have to spend a fortune replacing it. Instead, you can give your home a quick fix by washing or painting the exterior. You can wash your siding the same way you would wash your windows, or you can use a power-washer to make it easier. (Just be sure to test it on a small section of siding first to ensure the pressure is not too hard to damage it.)

You also have the option of painting your siding, especially if you have wood or even vinyl siding. Be sure to use exterior paint, and spend a weekend making your home look like new.

3. Fix your driveway.

Having a like-new driveway can also improve your home’s exterior, and it’s not something that will cost a fortune to accomplish. If you have an asphalt driveway, repair the asphalt by either patching or completely recoating to cover cracks or problem areas. If you have concrete, you can also patch the problem areas to make your driveway look like new. These are easy weekend projects that you can do on your own, and they will greatly improve the look of your home.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

DVD Review - Paw Patrol: Winter Rescues


Paw Patrol: Winter Rescues
Voice Cast: Owen Mason, Devan Cohen, Kallan Holley, Gage Munroe, Stuart Ralston, Tristan Samuel, Alex Thorne, Katherine Forrester, Ron Pardo
Studio: Nickelodeon
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Retail: $14.99
ASIN: B00LN8786M
Running Time: 92 minutes
Rated: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Now available on DVD fro Nickelodeon is Paw Patrol: Winter Rescues, featuring seven exciting episodes. The single disc DVD can be watched in English, Spanish and French.

Paw Patrol is an a Canadian/American preschool animated program that debuted in the fall of 2013, airing on Nickelodeon in the United States and  TVOKids in Canada. The series has become popular with children and is currently in its second season.

The series centers on six puppies, Chase, Marshall, Rocky, Zuma, Rubble, and Skye, whom all spend their days rescuing animals and humans and saving the day from whatever bad thing that comes their way. They are lead by Ryder, a tech-savvy ten-year-old boy.

Episodes on the single-disc are:

Release Day Tuesday - October 14, 2014


If you would like to have a book, DVD or Blu-ray featured on a Release Day Tuesday post, please email me at billyburgess20@hotmail.com!

Werewolf Rising
Studio: Image Entertainment

Desperate for a break from big city life, Emma heads to her family’s cabin deep in the Arkansas hills. As she settles in for some much-needed R&R, she learns that something unspeakable lurks in the surrounding darkness. As the full moon rises, a bloodthirsty werewolf emerges from the shadows, slaughtering everyone in its path and revealing a sinister underworld Emma never knew existed. Thrown into a fight for her life, and her very soul, Emma will need to escape these big bad woods before it’s too late.





Under Wraps
Studio: ARC Entertainment

Danny and older sister Eleanor fall into an adventure of a lifetime when Danny accidentally unleashes a centuries old curse involving mummies, phaoroahs and nefarious villains! When their archeologist parents go on an expedition to an ancient Pharoah’s last resting place, Danny sneaks into the tomb and finds a sacred amulet, which he takes home. When he accidentally breaks the amulet, all sorts of chaos follows, starting with his parents turning into mummies! Eleanor and Danny frantically look for clues to solve this nightmare but the police, an evil assistant, and a mysterious visitor from the past are suddenly getting too close for comfort.

The Wrong Turn Saga


For the last fourteen years, the horror genre has been watered-down into PG-13 cliched flicks and badly-written remakes. The over the top gory movies are a thing of the past, well at least in the theaters as a few decent horror films have found their way straight-to-DVD/Blu-ray over the years including the Wrong Turn franchise.

Remember Wrong Turn?

Wrong Turn was a backwoods horror film that was released to theaters in 2003. It was directed by Rob Schmidt and starred Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Eliza Dushku. The plot centered on a group of travelers stranded in the back roads of West Virginia, where they are being hunted by three inbred disfigured cannibal brothers. Despite receiving mixed reviews the film did alright at the box-office, taking in over $28 million on a $12 million budget.

The film was almost forgotten about by horror fans until the sequel Wrong Turn 2: Dead End went straight-to-DVD & Blu-ray in 2007. The sequel centered on a survival reality game show being filmed in a remote area of West Virginia where Three-Fingers and his inbred cannibal family live. Of course one by one the cast and crew are killed off in a gory fashion. Filmed on the small budget of $4, the sequel raked in $9 million dollars in rental and video sales. It also received positive reviews from both critics and horror fans.

Wrong Turn 2
Two years later, Wrong Turn 3: Left for Dead was released to DVD and Blu-ray. This time Declan O'Brien came aboard to direct (along with the next two sequels as well), which was considered a bad move by horror fans as the film was horribly written and filmed. The plot involved a group of prisoners escaping a prison bus and takes a few hostages while escaping in the West Virginia woods, but Three-Fingers happens to be in the area, so you know what happens next.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Review - Agents of the Apocalypse


Agents of the Apocalypse
by Dr. David Jeremiah
Publisher: Tyndale
Pub. Date: October 7, 2014
ISBN: 978-1414380490
Pages: 304
Buy Links: Amazon

Review:

For the last twenty-years, there has been a slew of  "apocalypse" or "end of times" fiction & non-fiction books being published. I have read a few of these books, including the Left Behind series. You don't have to be a believer to become interested in the book of Revelation, as I know a few non-believers that have read a few books on the "end of times."

Released last week to bookstores is Agents of the Apocalypse by Dr. David Jeremiah. It isn't his first book based on Revelation, but it is his first "end times" book that uses fictionalized stories "to drive the message of Revelation into the human heart." The author received assistance from Thomas Williams with the ten fictional stories - The Exile, The Martyrs, The 144,000, The Two Witnesses, The Dragon, The Beast from the Sea, The Beast from the Earth, The Victor, The King and The Judge. Each chapter is divided into two sections - the fictional story followed by "The Scripture Behind The Story."

With the use of fictional stories, the author is able to explain the main events that occurred in the Bible to believers and non-believers alike. This is also a great way to explain the meaning behind scriptures and tell the stories that contains the biblical prophecy.