Last Ride
Netflix | Amazon | Google Play | iTunes | Vudu | YouTube
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Glendyn Ivin
Starring Hugo Weaving, Tom Russell, Kelton Pell, John Brumpton, Anita Hegh
Madman Entertainment
Originally Released: July 02, 2009

If any one country has benefited immensely from the dawn of online streaming and on-demand, it would have to be the independent Aussie film industry. With government funding towards independent films, Aussie movies have enjoyed extensive coverage on services such as Netflix, exposing new viewers to the down under talents of Australian filmmakers and actors. One such example is the film, Last Ride.

Directed by Glendyn Ivin, and starring the phenomenal Hugo Weaving, Last Ride follows the story of a father on the run after committing a violent crime. The movie is based on the novel of the same name by Denise Young, in which Max, the suspect, takes his son, Chook, with him on the journey – as we try to learn of the sins of the father through the eyes of the son.

We Have A Pope
Netflix | Google Play | YouTube | Amazon
DVD | DVD
Directed by Nanni Moretti
Starring Michel Piccoli, Nanni Moretti, Jerzy Stuhr, Renato Scarpa, Lucia Mascino
01 Distribution
Originally Released: April 15, 2011

With the selection of the new Pope this week, Francis I, it would be opportune to take a look at a film about the Papacy and the Vatican. Despite any criticisms or predisposition one might have about the leadership of the Catholic Church – whether a believer or not – the tradition of the Conclave in which a new Pontiff is elected has major historic significance, and is done so in a secretive manner that captures the attention of millions for a wide spectrum of reasons.

The convention of electing a Pope is not only secretive, but incredibly complicated, and has been going on for thousands of years. In the face of growing criticism from many over the scandals and cover-ups that have afflicted the Church in recent years, it’s tempting to dive into a film that perhaps examines these elements, a movie that attempts to highlight the aging tradition has no place in the contemporary.

Seed
Netflix | Google Play | YouTube | Vudu
DVD
Directed by Uwe Boll
Starring Will Sanderson, Michael Paré, Ralf Möller, Jodelle Ferland, Michael Eklund
Vivendi Entertainment
Originally Released: April 27, 2007

I recently had a long discussion with a good friend about my ever-ongoing obsession with horror films, and my quest to find more movies that were visually challenging.

"Oh, you need to see Seed," she told me. Being a horror aficionado herself, she surprised me continuing with, "I even had trouble watching it".

Naturally I added it to the top of my queue.

Directed by "love him or hate him" Uwe Boll, Seed follows the story of imprisoned serial killer Maxwell "Max" Seed (Will Sanderson). Arrested for his morbid death toll of 666 deaths (as cheesy as that sounds, it’s fitting as you will later read), he is on death row facing execution. Despite protest from the Executioner (Michael Eklund) to Warden Calgrove (Ralf Möller) on the failing condition of the electric chair, the authorities push forward with zapping Seed.

Todd and the Book of Pure Evil
Netflix | Instant Video | DVD
Directed by James Genn, James Dunnison, Craig David Wallace, David Winning, Warren P Sonoda
Starring Alex House, Maggie Castle, Bill Turnball, Melanie Leishman, Jason Mewes, Chris Leavins, Dan Petronijevic, Steve Arbuckle, Norman Yeung
Frantic Films and Pure Evil Productions
Originally Aired: September 29, 2010

Have you missed the good ole days of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on TV, as we deal with our Scooby gang dealing with the monster of the week along with an overarching storyline? Well I have some good news for you: there is something out there to whet your whistle. How about we add some over the top gore and humor to the mix — think along the lines of Hot Fuzz/Shaun of the Dead — with an added dash of stoner buddies and heavy metal. Well I can say that Todd and the Book of Evil, is a nice mix of all those things and more.

The show is a Canadian TV show that I first heard about while browsing through an issue of Geek Magazine. It’s based on a 18-minute short that was directed by Craig David Wallace, and written by Wallace and Max Reid. And luckily for those that can wait, guess what’s on Netflix Watch Instantly? I am guessing it was edited for TV, strong language, and more, but luckily it’s all there on Netflix.

Night Of The Living Dead: Re-animation
Netflix | Google Play | YouTube
DVD | Blu-ray
Directed by Jeff Broadstreet
Starring Andrew Divoff, Jeffrey Combs, Sarah Lieving, Robin Sydney, Adam Chambers, Denice Duff
Screen Media Films
Originally Released: October 16, 2012

Night of the Living Dead: Re-animation is a prequel to a remake. You read that correctly, it is a prequel to a remake of Night of the Living Dead. And the end result is as tacky as it sounds. In fact, it’s so tacky, it’s terrible. Even Russo’s Return of the Living Dead series had some nice slapstick humor to refresh the load; in Re-animation, we’re stuck with a movie that amounts to nothing more than a stale fart. Though coupled with a few good performances and some reasonable CGI zombie effects, the plot is deficient in much substance and the social commentary is laughably bad.

Set before the events of 2007’s Night of the Living Dead 3D, Re-animation aims to give the back story of how it all began. Despite the goal, the movie does very little to accomplish this, being more of a standalone weird zombie flick than just has the classic movie titled tacked on. The tale begins in a mortuary, where corpses become reanimated into zombies. And that’s about as much of the plot I want to describe, simply because this movie has wasted enough of my time as it is.