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Hack! , a review by addicted2dvd

Hack! (2007/United States) Allumination Filmworks Director: Matt Flynn Writing: Matt Flynn (Writer) Length: 89 min. Rating: Rated R : Strong Horror Violence and Gore, Nudity, Sexuality, Language and Drug Use Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.78:1 Audio: English: Dolby Digital: Dolby Surround Subtitles: None

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Stars:
Kane Hodder as First Victim
Jay Kenneth Johnson as Johnny
Travis Schuldt as Tim
Gabrielle Richens as Sylvia
Danica McKellar as Emily
Justin Chon as Ricky

Plot:Extras:

• None

This is a movie that is on a Triple Feature DVD called Gritty Horror Tales. I got this disc in a box of DVDs that a friend gave me. This movie has several familiar faces in it. Of course Kane Hodder who played Jason Vorhees in several of the Friday the 13th movies. Then there is Danica McKellar Who I am sure a lot of people would remember as Winnie Cooper on Wonder Years. any fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer knows the name Juliet Landau... she of course played the absolutely crazy vampire Drusilla. And finally there is Burt Young who played Paulie in all the Rocky movies.

Watching this one... I was loving every minute of it. I was enjoying the storyline... loving all the horror film references... and it has some pretty decent killings/gore. Being such a lover of all things horror as I am.... I didn't think this was possible... but they crammed so many film references into this one that it just plain became too much. So much so that it just couldn't help but effect my rating. I still feel I enjoyed it quite a bit... but in this case a little less would have been more. I realize this was one of the main points of the storyline... but it got to the point that almost every killing and every other thing coming out of someone's mouth was a film reference. By the time I got to the last half hour of the movies I was thinking... Come on! Enough is enough! Other then that one problem though... I enjoyed it quite a bit.




(From Weekend Movie Marathon: Unseen Horrors on July 24th, 2011)

The Birds, a review by Rich

Title: The Birds

Movie Count:25 
TV Ep. Count:15 

Runtime:119
Certificate:PG-13
Year:1963
Genres:Horror, Suspense/Thriller

Plot:Nothing equals THE BIRDS for sheer terror when Alfred Hitchcock unleashes his foul friends in one of his most shocking and memorable masterpieces. As beautiful blonde Melanie Daniels ('Tippi' Hedren) rolls into Bodega Bay in pursuit of eligible bachelor Mitch Brenner (Rod Taylor), she is inexplicably attacked by a seagull. Suddenly thousands of birds are flocking into town, preying on schoolchildren and residents in a terrifying series of attacks. Soon Mitch and Melanie are fighting for their lives against a deadly force that can't be explained and can't be stopped in one of Hollywood's most horrific films of nature gone berserk.

My Review:
Superb film, not necessarily horror (at the beginning probably better described as comedy) but 2nd half must have been disturbing at time of release. Tippi Hedren is a babe, totally gorgeous and from her screen test you can tell she was a bundle of fun. The effects are convincing for an early 60's movie, and as always with AH it's the character depth, long silences, pace, suspense and tension that keep you glued to the screen.
I am sure there is some underlying message hidden deep within this film, possibly frustration, human weakness, mother/son relationships aka Psycho?? Whatever it is, I was happy to sit back again and marvel at another great job by the director.




(From Rich's October Horror Fest on October 21st, 2009)

"Friends" Marathon, a review by Rogmeister

I started this marathon as part of my "What Rogmeister's Been Watching" thread...but have now decided I want to go ahead and do this as a regular review of the full series so I'm copying here what I wrote there and will then continue my Friends marathon here.  I've started watching from the beginning, of course, and am curious how long it'll take me to get through all 10 seasons.



"The Pilot" and "The One With The Sonogram At The End".

My Thoughts: I don't feel I need to do too much set-up...everyone knows "Friends", right?  It was a sitcom that lasted a full decade telling us the romances and escapades of brothers Monica & Ross Gellar, Chandler Bing, Joey Tribiani, Phoebe Buffay and Rachel Green.  The first episode has five of the six gathered (as usual) at Central Perk when an old friend of Monica's, Rachel, comes in wearing a wedding gown.  She has run out on her wedding and winds up as Monica's new roommate and (at first) becomes a waitress at Central Perk.  There's more back story which we'll find out about in future episodes.

One thing that's a bit surprising when you go back to these earlier episodes is how thin everyone was, especially Joey.  He was a nice-looking slender Italian...he would beef up a bit in later episodes.  You wonder how a starving actor could look so well fed...lucky for him he lives across the hall from Monica who is a chef.  In the second episode, we meet Barry (the groom who Rachel ran out on) and Carol, Ross' ex-wife who left him because she decided she was a lesbian.  In later episodes, Carol would be played by Jane Sibbett, but a different actress plays her in this early episode.  Everyone is pretty well defined in these early episodes...flighty Phoebe, wise-cracking Chandler, woman-crazy Joey, etc.  I've seen every episode multiple times but it's still a show I enjoy seeing again whenever I have the opportunity.  I always preferred this to NBC's other hot comedy of the time, Seinfeld...and the main reason is that, unlike the Seinfeld cast, the characters here were imminently likable.  Heck, I wouldn't mind if they were my friends.

The One With The Thumb--A lot of little things going on in this episode...Monica's new beau Alan (who everyone loves) might be considered the main storyline....Chandler starts smoking again, and Phoebe gets a soda with a human thumb in it..."...and on the way over here, I stepped in gum.  What is up with the universe?"  I noticed Gunther in the background at Central Perk but at this point, I don't think he's gotten any lines yet.

The One With George Stephanopoulos--Rachel gets her first paycheck which prompts this funny line..."Who's Fica?  And why's he gettin' all my money?"  The girls get together for a pizza party while the guys go to a hockey game where Ross gets injured when a flying puck hits him in the face.

At this point in the series, nothing too serious is going on...it's basically a few small events with a lot of sharp witty dialogue going back and forth.  I think I started watching this show because of Courtney Cox...but the quality of the show kept me tuning in.

The One With The East German Laundry Detergent--In this one, we see how the friends pair off and spend an evening.  Ross and Rachel do laundry together in which Ross brings the title object..."It's Uberweiss!  It's German, it's extra tough..."  This is the episode where Ross and Rachel share their first kiss, after which Ross immediately hits his head on a dryer door.  Another first...we meet Janice, Chandler's shrill-voiced on and off-again girlfriend.  Here he breaks up with her right after she gives him Bullwinkle socks.  What, is he mad?  A fun episode.

The One With The Butt--In this episode, we get to see Joey at work...first we see him in a play, a musical about Freud...hey, Joey has the lead role...and he sings!  Then we get to meet Joey's new agent Estelle.  Joey gets a part in an Al Pacino movie...he gets to be his butt double!  Chandler meets a stunning  young woman at the play...the only problem is she's married...and has a boyfriend.  But she and Chandler start going out anyway!  Oh yes, Joey gets fired because his butt overacts...we also get a  look at how compulsive Monica is.  Yes, all the friends have some weird quirk or another...

(From "Friends" Marathon on July 12th, 2009)