Phil sees THE DEVIL INSIDE at the Camera 12-January 21, 2012

So since I'm still healing from my severe sprang ankle, I thought it would be more fun to heal inside a movie theater. So I ventured out to the Camera 12 in Downtown San Jose to see a plethora of films! The first film I saw on Saturday was the first horror film release of 2012. Now being a horror fan, I always get excited when I hear new horror film is coming to the big screen. However, in the case with THE DEVIL INSIDE, I really wish that this was a good horror film worth seeing on the big screen.

Theatrical Movie Poster (2012)

The film is supposedly inspired by true events. In 1989, three clergy men are killed by a woman named Maria Rossi (Suzan Crowley), who phoned 911 to inform the authorities of her murders. She is tried and found to be criminally insane and is sent to a mental hospital in Italy. Twenty years later her daughter Isabella (Fernanda Andrade) travels to Italy to search for answers to what exactly happened that night. Accompanying her is Michael Schaefer (Ionut Grama), a documentary filmmaker who is filming her journey of revelations. Once there they met two priests: Father Ben Rawlings (Simon Quarterman) and Father David Keane(Evan Helmuth). When she tells them that the murders committed by her mother accrued during an exorcism, they begin to suspect that Maria is possessed and begin to perform an exorcism, without the authorization of the church. However things become more complicated as the young priests discover that Isabella's mother is suffering from a "multi-demon possession," which in turn causes havoc among the foursome.

There are numerous flaws to be found within this film. One is the so-called "found footage" that has just been done to death. Ever since the release of THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT in 1999 (jeez has it been thirteen years already?), there have been numerous films that have copied the film's idea and premise. Films like the infamous AUGUST UNDERGROUND series, the very popular and highly successful CLOVERFIELD, the cool creepiness of the Spanish series [REC.], to the overly drawn out and incredibly boring PARANORMAL ACTIVITY trilogy, the "found documentary" idea is now officially been "done to death!" If this film was released over ten years ago, it would have been hailed as a breath of fresh air, a monumental movie event in both the film world and in the horror genre. But it didn't come out ten years ago, and now the only horror caused by the film is our empty wallets.

Another factor that I didn't care for was the "documentary footage" that was found and pieced together. Now, I have seen a great many documentaries, and since I've made a couple of documentaries (and helped out on others), the aspect that removed me from the film, from almost at the very beginning, was the "look" of the documentary. It didn't look "real," like an actual documentary. It was too staged, too precised and too rehearsed. The acting was way too stiff and unbelievable for me. Nothing felt like it was actually happening, like in most documentaries. The elements of surprise, shock, and truth are important to have in the world of docs. This film didn't have any of these factors and since I was taken out of the film, almost right from the start, I had a hard time sitting through the next hour and a half.

Now the 911 audio call in the very beginning of the film really impressed me. It was creepy, very disturbing to hear, and having to hear this with just a black screen with the audio playing was very effective. Of course, I thought it was a going to be "one of the most horrifying films" to be released, but alas, that wasn't the case. Granted it was somewhat more tolerable than THE LAST EXORCISM but not as atrocious than THE EXORCISM OF EMILY ROSE. But let's face facts people, with 1973's THE EXORCIST, no other film can come close to what that film has done and therefore it is the film that all other exorcism or devil/religious films are measured by. My advise is to stay away from making a film like this. It has already been made, perfectly made for that matter, and so let's move on from this particular sub-genre.

THE DEVIL INSIDE is 2012's first worst horror film to be released. Hopefully the horror world can bounce back from this nauseating piece of cinematic rubbish. What the horror genre needs are new voices, new ideas, and new talented filmmakers that will transcend the genre into something worth being scared of. Until then, let this film rot in Hell for all eternity.

THE DEVIL INSIDE is currently playing in theaters nationwide, including at the Camera Cinemas here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit their website at www.cameracinemas.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil attends the HARLOD LLOYD double feature at the Stanford Theatre-January 20, 2012

On Monday, January 9th, at approximately 10am, I severely sprang my left ankle at work, and as a result, I was laid up at home for almost two weeks. Hence all the reviews I've been doing over on The Midnight Horror Sinema Show. But tonight marked my return to going out to the movies and I couldn't have picked a better night! Over at the Stanford Theatre in Palo Alto, they were showing a Harold Lloyd Double Feature! Tonight on the mighty Wurlitzer was my good friend, the incredible Dennis James! So let the fun and laughter begin!!

Harold Lloyd in HOT WATER (1924)

The first film of the night was HOT WATER (1924): Starring Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Josephine Crowell, Charles Stevenson, and Mickey McBan. Seeing himself as a bachelor for life, Lloyd falls for the beautiful Ralston. Fast forward a couple of months and married life has taken its toll on him, all because of his in-laws. His misadventures for today consists of riding on a crowded trolley with a wild turkey that he won from the grocery store, his in-laws showing up and causing havoc, a joy ride in his new car that turns into tragedy as the car becomes totaled and thus is towed back home, gets drunk with his neighbor, accidentally chloroforms his mother-in-law, and becomes mistaken as a ghost. Yup, life for Lloyd is tough! The film was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, who also co-wrote the film with John Grey, Tim Whelan, and Thomas J. Gray. The film was released to theaters by Pathe on October 26, 1924.

Harold Lloyd in SAFETY LAST (1923)

The second film on tonight's bill was SAFETY LAST (1923): Starring Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother, and Noah Young. Lloyd's most famous and popular film ever, our four-eyed friend heads to the big city to make it big, but unfortunately comes up short. He lives with his friend (Strother) and can barely eat and pay the rent. When his fiance (Davis) arrives, he pretends to be the manager of the department store he works at. Desperate for money for his wedding, he convinces his boss to pull off a publicity stunt to attract more customers to the store so he can claim the $1000 bonus. With his pal being chased by a police officer (Young), it's up to Lloyd to climb the outside of the department store! The film was directed by Newmeyer and Taylor again, and was released by Pathe on April 1, 1923.

The image of Lloyd hanging on to the clock while hovering above traffic is one of the most iconic images in not only silent film history, but of film history in general. Whenever you open up a book that talks about the silent film era, you will see this picture. This particular scene can also be seen in Martin Scorsese's new film HUGO. Lloyd was one of the "Big Three" comedians from the silent era (the other two being Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton). Even 89 years after the film's release, it is still being played to sold out crowds (like tonight) and it can be found on many top ten lists by both critics and fans. A true comedy classic that still stands the test of time!

What a great night for going out to the movies! Also, for all you silent fans out there, the theatre will now be showing silent film every week starting next week! So make sure you come back next Friday and see what cool silent films I will be seeing next!

Both HOT WATER and SAFETY LAST are available on DVD and can be purchased at your local retailer or at the Amazon website. So click here if you are interested in buying copy for yourself or for a friend tonight.

The Stanford Theatre is your home for classic Hollywood movies! To view their movie schedules, times, and tickets, visit their website at www.stanfordtheatre.org

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil reviews HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN for The Midnight Horror Sinema Show-January 17, 2011

Yes horror fans I just reviewed Donald G Jackson's 1985 cult classic HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN starring former WWF wrestling superstar Rowdy Roddy Piper! The DVD I reviewed was the Anchor Bay edition, which includes the film's theatrical trailer, presented in the widescreen format, and contains an audio commentary with Jackson and screenwriter Randall Frakes. Jackson died from leukemia on October 20 2003, so this commentary was one of the last ones he ever did. Anchor Bay let go several of their horror titles last year and were picked up by Image Entertainment, however these reissues do not contain any the extras found on the AB editions. So click here to read my review and if your interested in purchasing the AB edition, buy it now because these are now out of print!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil reviews JESSICKA RABID for The Midnight Horror Sinema Show- January 16, 2012

OK so you my have noticed that I've been busy reviewing a lot of cool horror movies on my other film blog The Midnight Horror Sinema Show. The main reason is that there are a plethora of really cool horror films that I must watch and report back to you my fellow creatures of the night. My newest review in on Troma Entertainment's latest DVD release JESSICKA RABID. The film was co-written, co-produced and starred Elske McCain and Trent Hagga. The film was directed by Matthew Reel and was shot on location in Tuscon, Arizona. The film is the perfect blend of underground cinema, home movies, and suff film and is one of the most disturbing film I have seen in a long time. Of course I loved it, so if you're feeling brave tonight, I dare you to watch this film. And be warned, this film is not for the faint of heart. So click here to read about it and see if you can handle this film.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil reviews MORE BRAINS! A RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD for The Midnight Horror Sinema Show-January 14, 2012

Hello there my horror fanatics! Over on The Midnight Horror Sinema Show I just finished my review of MORE BRAINS! A RETURN TO THE LIVING DEAD. This informative and interesting documentary tells the making of stories of the making of the 1985 cult classic THE RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD. Director Bill Philputt and writers Gary Smart and Christian Sellers give us some great on-camera interviews with original cast and crew member, including Clu Gulager (Burt), James Karen (Frank), Don Calfa (Ernie), Beverly Randolf (Tina), Thom Mathews (Freddy), Jewel Shepard (Casey), Linnea Quigley (Trash), and the film's narrator Brian Peck. So click here to read my review, and don't forget to sign up to my follow my horrific blog!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil gets an exclusive interview while attending the midnight sceening of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW at the Camera 3-January 7, 2012

This past Saturday night I did the Time Warp again over at the midnight screening of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW at the Camera 3 in Downtown San Jose! As I mentioned in my October review, if you have never been to a midnight show of ROCKY, then my friends you are missing out on a lot of fun! The show is presented by The Camera 3 Cinemas and by Psycho Donuts and it features the cast of Barely Legal Productions, who have been carrying the ROCKY torch here in the Bay Area for the past 16 years. These events have been so popular that they are now having shows twice a month: the first and third Saturday!

What a way to ring in the new year with a midnight screening of ROCKY, which was Barely Legal's first show for 2012. The cast and crew once again did a wonderful job! Every time I attend these shows, the crowds get bigger and bigger, plus more and more "virgins" are attending these shows, which means the ROCKY virus is spreading to a whole new generation of kids. This makes me very happy, because it means that this midnight tradition, and the film, will be entertaining people for years to come. This is their mission: to keep the legacy of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW alive and well, and to make sure audiences have the best time of their lives at their shows. I always have a blast, and all my friends that I've been taking have all had fun and all have come back several times over.

The Barely Legal Cast before Saturday's show

I had the honor and privileged to conduct an interview with two of the main actors of the Barely Legal show. Nate and Bridgid McHavoc (who just got married late last year) are what I like to call the "power couple" behind the BLP. They have been part of Barley Legal since its inception. But for Bridgid, who portrayed the infamous sweet transvestite Dr, Frank-N-Furter at Saturday's show, her involvement with the film started years earlier. "When I was dating Nate years ago, he would have ROCKY HORROR parties at his place. That's when I saw the film for the first time really." However while they were dating, "We would go out to dinner or whatever and he would leave at 10:30pm to go with his friends to see ROCKY at midnight, and I got tired of being left behind. So I told him that next time he was going that he had to take me too," Bridgid said laughingly.

Nate & Bridgid McHavoc as Riff Raff & Columbia

The first shows that Barely Legal held were at the famous UC Theater in Bekerley every Saturday night until the theater closed its doors in 1997 "After the theater closed we began to put on shows at the Parkway Theater in Oakland, " said Nate, still in his Riff Raff costume, minus the bald cap. "The crowds at those shows were incredible." The Barely Legal cast performed at the Parkway Theater for well over a decade until, like the UC Theater, it closed in 2008. "That was a real shame because we had so much fun there," said Bridgid.

With the closing of the Parkway Theater, the BL crew went on the road, having shows in San Francisco, Peteluma, and other cities before settling in at the Albany Theater in Albany and at the Camera 3 here in San Jose. It had been a long time since San Jose had midnight ROCKY screenings due to the closing of the Camera One back in 1995. For this movie fanatic, I was so happy to see it return to San Jose and back at the Camera Cinemas once again.

Nate and Bridgid live all the way up in Tracy, which by itself is a long commute. Add to the fact that both have full time jobs. Bridgid is an executive assistant at American Pacific Mortgage and Nate, "works a lot." But despite their hectic schedules, they are committed to their ROCKY fans and their passion in keeping the film alive and making sure their audiences have the best time of the lives at their shows. So to Nate, Bridgid, and to the rest of the Barely Legal crew, I would like to say "thank you" for bringing ROCKY back to San Jose, to the Camera Cinemas, and for making me forget my troubles for a while and letting me do the Time Warp once again. You guys are the best!

As I stated earlier, Barely Legal will be having two shows now every month. The next show will be on Saturday, January 28th so mark that date on your calender! If you would like to learn more about them and are interested in joining their cast, visit their cool website at http://barelylegal.rhps.org/. Also look for them on Facebook as well and to see showtimes, visit the Camera Cinemas website at www.cameracinemas.com. So what are you waiting for? Come out next Saturday and join in on all this ROCKY HORROR fun! You'll be glad you did!

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!

Phil sees WE BOUGHT A ZOO at the Camera 12-January 7, 2011

For the third and final film I saw at the Camera 12 was the new family film WE BOUGHT A ZOO. The film was directed by Cameron Crowe and starred Matt Damon, Scarlett Johansson, Thomas Haden Church, Elle Fanning and Patrick Fugit.

Theatrical Movie Poster (2011)

The film is based on the incredible but true story of Benjamin Mee (Damon), a recently widowed husband with two children: rebellious and recently expelled teenage son Dylan (Colin Ford) and adorable seven year-old Rosie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones). To give his family a fresh start, Benjamin buys an run down, dilapidated zoo, against the advice of his older brother Duncan (Church). The zoo is complete with all sorts of animals, including lions, tigers, and bears. Oh my! Helping Benjamin are the unpaid and unsure staff who think 'ol Ben here won't last. The only staff member who believes in him is the head zoo keeper Kelly Foster (Johansson). Soon Ben and the gang spend their every waking moment repairing and updating the zoo for their inspection before their grand reopening to the public.

It's be over six years since Crowe has made a narrative film since the critically panned ELIZABETHTOWN (which this reviewer really enjoyed). While he was busy making the incredible documentary PEARL JAM TWENTY (read my review for that film here), a lot happened to Crowe, mainly his publicized divorce from musician and sometimes collaborator on films Nancy Wilson from the rock group Heart. One has to wonder if he sympathized with Mee, who lost his wife to cancer.

Damon, who put on a couple of pounds to play the role of the grief husband, really gives a fine performance as Benjamin. He's believable, honest, sincere, and really makes the audience care about him. The lovely Johansson tries to downplay her hotness, but it doesn't work, she's still damn hot! But my favorite performance goes to little Maggie Elizabeth Jones, who is just so adorable! She literally makes you smile and laugh every time she's in frame. Also look for the enchanting Elle Fanning as Lily Miska, who helps out at the zoo and falls for Dylan, who is just so angry with his mom's death that Benjamin can't control him. The tension between father and son relatable.

The film starts off a little slow in the first act, but once the second act begins, the films unfolds to reveal numerous zoo keepers, animals and some hilarious sibling squabbling between Benjamin and Church. Also a great love story with Ben and Kelly, Lily and Dylan, and Ben with his kids, who begins to tell stories to kids about their mom. As Benjamin puts it, "You know, sometimes all you need is twenty seconds of insane courage. Just literally twenty seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it." Great advise that I've ever heard from a movie.

Like all of Crowe's other movies, the film has a awesome soundtrack. It contains some amazing music from Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Wilco, Cat Stevens, Temple of the Dog, The Isley Brothers. Neil Young and Swedish legend jónsi. If you find this soundtrack anywhere, pick it up! It's this winter's best mixed tape!

WE BOUGHT A ZOO is one of Cameron Crowe's best films, involving authentic emotions while simultaneously making you chuckle, and bringing some tears to you eyes. The film is an heartfelt film, which is Crowe's forte. If you're looking for a great afternoon movie that will make you leave the theater with a smile on your face, then this is the film for you.

WE BOUGHT A ZOO is currently playing in theaters nationwide, including at the Camera Cinemas here in the Bay Area. To view showtimes, visit their website at www.cameracinemas.com

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the show!