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Hayden Christensen has signed with Independent Artist Group, indicating potential future projects beyond Star Wars. His role as Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars has had a significant impact on his career, both positively and negatively. The success of the recent Star Wars series, including his portrayal of Anakin, has led to a resurgence in Christensen's career, and he is looking to take advantage of it.

It seems that Hayden Christensen wants to conquer the big screen again, and not just within the world of Star Wars. The actor has now signed with an agency, Independent Artist Group, which could mean new projects coming for him in the future. Although the Canadian actor began working almost 10 years before his debut in the universe created by George Lucas, there is no doubt that the role of Anakin Skywalker has marked his career. Sometimes for the better, but other times for the worse.

Happy Monday, dear readers! We have a brand new slate of home media releases to look forward to as we head into a new month, and there are some great films coming out on Tuesday that genre fans will definitely want to pick up. Rlje Films is finally releasing Horror Noire on both Blu-ray and DVD this week, and they’re also bringing home arguably the most talked-about horror film of 2020 as well: Rob Savage’s Host. Kino Lorber is showing some love to Dark Intruder with their new 2K Blu, and Code Red is giving us more reasons to fear the water with their Blu-ray for The Great Alligator.

Other releases for February 2nd include Satan’s Blood, Sky Sharks, Deadcon, and Hellkat.

Dark Intruder

Brand New 2K Master! Dark Intruder stars Leslie Nielsen (Forbidden Planet) as Brett Kingsford, an Occult expert who is brought in by police to help...

Featuring: John Saxon, Franco Nero, Henry Silva, Ottaviano Dell’Acqua, Leonard Mann, Richard Harrison | Written and Directed by Mike Malloy

Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the ’70s, to give the film it’s full title, is a welcome and affectionate look at the Italian poliziotteschi films of the 1970s, films such as High Crime, Milano Calibro 9, Street Law and Napoli Violenta which, whilst heavily influenced by 70s Us cop and gangster films like Dirty Harry and The Godfather, also touched upon real Italian issues – the Sicilian Mafia and the Red Brigade – and amped up the sex and violence to often ridiculous levels.

Those film fans familiar with Italian genre cinema will know that Italian cinema has a reputation of hitching itself to the nearest bandwagon and bleeding it dry. If Italian filmmakers could find a fad that people liked they’d stick with it. From...

Stars: Debbie Rochon, Christian James, John Kap, Jason Vail, Suzie Haines, Elizabeth Mears, Patrick G. Keenan, Kirsten Ray, Leah Wiseman, Nick Alexander, Mary Tabor | Written and Directed by Tommy Faircloth

Ahhhh, the early days of DVD. When anything and everything was released to capitalise on the burgeoning desire for people to buy discs but not pay the extortionate prices the big studios were charging. The “Music Zone years” as I like to call them, when you could walk into any of the companies many high street shops and buy DVDs for a fiver (about a third of the regular price of studio fare). From companies like Marquee Pictures, Prism Leisure, Ilc Prime…

Why am I reminiscing about this? Well because it was also at this time that I was also busy buying up unwanted VHS tapes from people upgrading to the new-fangled disc format, snapping up horror films like there...

Horror and sci-fi home entertainment titles are really picking up this week, as we have almost 20 different Blu-rays and DVDs coming home this Tuesday. Universal is keeping themselves busy with several notable releases including Death Race 2050, Ouija: Origin of Evil, 12 Monkeys: Season Two, and a Ouija double feature.

Scream Factory is dusting off two cult classics, Slumber Party Massacre II and III for a special Blu-ray featuring the slasher sequels, and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment is getting you guys pumped for the upcoming release of Resident Evil: The Final Chapter with several new Blu-ray releases for the franchise's first four films.

Other notable releases for January 17th include Revenge of the Blood Beast, 24 Hours to Die, Wolf House, Mountain Devil, and Space Clown.

Ouija: Origin of Evil (Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Blu / DVD / Digital HD & DVD)

It was never just a game. Inviting audiences again into the lore of the spirit board,...

Revenge of the Blood Beast

Blu-ray

Rarovideo

1966 / Color / 2:35 widescreen / 79 min. / Il lago di Satana, La sorella di Satana, The She-Beast / Street Date January 17, 2017 / 29.95

Starring: Barbara Steele, John Karlsen, Ian Ogilvy, Mel Welles, Lucretia Love

Cinematography: Gioacchino Gengarelli

Film Editor: Nira Omri

Original Music: Paul Ferris

Produced by: Paul Maslansky, Michael Reeves

Written and Directed by Michael Reeves

It’s back into the genre argument pits with the interesting director Michael Reeves. Reeves has persisted as a cult figure far longer than most directors with only three credited feature films. The movies are uneven but promising, and certainly the artistic equal (or better) than most of the work being turned out at the time by American-International and the majority of the Euro-horror crowd. The second half of the 1960s saw a general depression in the horror field, with Hammer losing touch with its audience and continental fare turning to sex content to generate interest.

Readers of all ages can experience Batman's Gotham and its surroundings in uniquely different ways this summer with collected volume editions of four new Batman-related titles—Grayson, Batgirl, Batman: Arkham Knight, and Gotham Academy—and we have details on the summer releases in our latest round-up. Also included this time around are details and a look at the cover art for three upcoming Blue Underground Blu-ray/DVD releases: 1990: The Bronx Warriors, The New Barbarians, and Escape From the Bronx.

DC Comics' Batman Collected Editions: Press Release - "Whether you’re a lifelong or novice comic reader, a teen reader or a mystery lover, DC Comics is releasing a highly diverse lineup of Collected Editions this June that revolve around the world’s most popular Super-Hero, Batman, and are perfect for your summer reading lists!

For young readers 12 and up, Gotham Academy Vol. 1 is a vibrant take...

Bond is back.Early this morning, Sony announced the official cast for the 24th film in the James Bond franchise, "Spectre." The title, of course, refers to SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion, a terrorist group from the early 007 films like "You Only Live Twice"" and "Thunderball." The group was led by Ernst Stavro Blofeld in those films -- and the character is rumored to return for this new flick.Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomi Harris and Ben Whishaw will all return, along with new additions including Christoph Waltz, "Sherlock" star Andrew Scott and David Bautista. Waltz will be playing Bond's former ski instructor named Oberhauser ... but many believe he'll actually be Blofeld. Bautista's role is that of a henchman named Mr. HinxFollowing in the oh-so-sexy footsteps of women like Ursula Andress, Barbara Bach, Jill St. John, Denise Richards, Halle Berry, Eva Green and, most recently, Berenice Marlohe,...

Wasting no time following her honeymoon, Amal Clooney was busy taking care of business in Athens, Greece on Wednesday (October 15).

The 36-year-old newlywed, who married George Clooney last month, was joined by barrister Geoffrey Robertson and Greek Minister of Culture Konstantinos Tasoulas as she began discussions on the return of the Parthenon Marbles.

Amal’s Doughty Street law firm told press that she’ll be in Greece until Thursday as she assists Robertson on the proceedings.

“Mr. Robertson and Mrs. Clooney were first asked to provide legal advice to the Greek government on this matter in 2011. They will be holding a series of meetings with government officials during their stay, including the Prime Minister, Mr Antonis Samaras, and the Minister of Culture, Mr Konstantinos Tasoulas.”...

We have great news for those of you who subscribe to Full Moon Streaming. It has been announced that fifty Blue Underground titles have been acquired by Full Moon Features for their new streaming service:

“Los Angeles, CA, February 3, 2014 – Full Moon Features is proud to announce their most exciting acquisition yet – fifty of cinema’s most obscure and beloved classics from the Blue Underground label will debut on their new subscription-based video streaming service, Full Moon Streaming (www.fullmoonstreaming.com), home to the entire Full Moon Features library. The Blue Underground titles will be released once per week beginning in March, and titles will include Venom (a beloved thriller about a killer snake starring Klaus Kinski, Susan George, and Oliver Reed), Mondo Cane (the Award-Winning documentary that launched the whole “mondo” craze of the sixties), Contamination (a gory Italian homage to Alien), Violent City (the Charles Bronson action classic), Don...

Full Moon has been steadily beefing up its streaming service, and if you haven't had a chance to check it out yet, this latest announcement should persuade you and then some. Read on for details, and get those smart TVs ready!

From the Press Release

Full Moon Features is proud to announce their most exciting acquisition yet – fifty of cinema’s most obscure and beloved classics from the Blue Underground label will debut on their new subscription-based video streaming service, FullMoonStreaming.com, home to the entire Full Moon Features library.

Blue Underground titles will include Venom (a beloved thriller about a killer snake starring Klaus Kinski, Susan George, and Oliver Reed), Mondo Cane (the award-winning documentary that launched the whole “Mondo” craze of the Sixties), Contamination (a gory Italian homage to Alien), Violent City (the Charles Bronson action classic), Don’T Torture A Duckling (horror/thriller from Italian godfather of...

Writer Lee Gambin calls them Natural Horror films, other writers call them Revenge of Nature or Nature Run Amok films and writer Charles Derry considers them a type of Apocalyptic Cinema.

Of course we’re speaking of one of the great horror subgenres for which we’ll employ writer Kim Newman’s tag: The Revolt of Nature.

Since the end of the 1990s, lovers of animal attack films have been subjected to copious amounts of uninspired Nu Image, Syfy Channel and Syfy Channel-like dreck like Silent Predators (1999), Maneater (2007) Croc (2007), Grizzly Rage (2007) and a stunning amount of terrible shark attack films to name a few that barely scratch the surface of a massive list.

These movies fail miserably to capture the intensity of the unforgettable films they are imitating and the recent wave seems to carry with it the intent of giving the Revolt of Nature horror film a bad name.

Eurocrime!

Featuring: John Saxon, Franco Nero, Henry Silva, Ottaviano Dell’Acqua, Leonard Mann, Richard Harrison | Written and Directed by Mike Malloy

Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the ’70s, to give the film it’s full title, is a welcome and affectionate look at the Italian poliziotteschi films of the 1970s, films such as High Crime, Milano Calibro 9, Street Law and Napoli Violenta which, whilst heavily influenced by 70s Us cop and gangster films like Dirty Harry and The Godfather, also touched upon real Italian issues – the Sicilian Mafia and the Red Brigade – and amped up the sex and violence to often ridiculous levels.

Those film fans familiar with Italian genre cinema will know that Italian cinema has a reputation of hitching itself to the nearest bandwagon and bleeding it dry. If Italian filmmakers could find a fad that people liked they’d stick with it.

★★★☆☆ If the titles Milano Calibro 9 (1972), Street Law (1974) and Napoli Violenta (1976) mean anything to you, then you might want to check out Mike Malloy's new doc Eurocrime! The Italian Cop and Gangster Films That Ruled the '70s (2012), which affectionately documents Italy's decade-long love affair with the cop film genre. The film explores exactly why Italian directors suddenly started churning out this style of exploitation cinema and also what the public found so appealing about it.

Read more »...

Blue Underground released the first batch titles from their Midnight Movies collection, which include a number of cult horror releases. For those that may not be familiar with some of these movies, a new trailer has been released that contains highlights from each film.

It has also been announced that a second wave of Midnight Movies will be released this August and includes two zombie and two cannibal films.

Blue Underground introduces the Midnight Movies Collection, a series of double and triple feature special edition DVDs. Available for a very limited time only. Buy them all today because once they’re gone, they’re gone…

Available July 31st:

Midnight Movies Vol. 1: Horror Triple Feature (A Blade In The Dark / MacAbre / Shock) Midnight Movies Vol. 2: Western Triple Feature (Companeros / Four Of The Apocalypse / Run Man Run) Midnight Movies Vol. 3: Action Triple Feature (The Big Racket / Heroin Busters / Street Law) Midnight Movies Vol.

“The Lincoln Lawyer,” starring Matthew McConaughey in his first courtroom-centric role since “A Time to Kill,” throttles its way into theaters today. And, frankly, it’s good to see McConaughey back in business suits (and, alright, the errant wife beater – but who’s complaining?) He proves charismatic and commanding in the role of smooth-talking criminal defense lawyer Mickey Haller, who operates out of the back of a Lincoln town car -- or, as Haller calls it, his “office.”

While the rest of the stellar ensemble cast (which includes Marisa Tomei, John Leguizamo, Michael Peña, Bryan Cranston and Josh Lucas) complements McConaughey pitch-perfectly, it’s clear that this is Matthew’s movie – we can only hope this means more crime thriller leading man roles for him in the future!

McConaughey’s street-savvy, nonconformist character got us thinking: how many other lawyers have found themselves practicing under unconventional or uncomfortable circumstances? What...

Faster has a hell of an opening. Dwayne Johnson -- imposing, singularly determined and looking like The Rock for the first time in quite a while -- is released from prison. On foot, he trucks over to an auto scrap yard containing a shrouded Chevelle. As the car is revealed, the song 'Goodbye My Friend [1]' by the De Angelis Brothers kicks in. The man, the car and this theme from a '74 Italian police thriller called Street Law make as good a statement of purpose as any. The suggestion is that Faster will be a movie that plays like The Rock looks: muscular, mean and single-minded. If only that were true. While the Rock cuts an impressive figure as a violent anti-hero, the movie around him is as misconceived as they come. There aren't enough auto wreck metaphors to get across how thoroughly Faster demolishes a simple revenge movie premise.

While there are parts of “Faster” that are wonderful, there is so much unfulfilled potential that the film ultimately fails to deliver. The set up is so promising—a convict known only as Driver (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, again proving himself to be a competent movie badass) gets out of prison after ten years, accompanied by one of the best theme songs of all time, “Good-bye My Friend” by Guido and Maurizio De Angeles (the song is the main theme from “Street Law”, a 70s Italian crime starring Franco Nero). He picks up a sweet muscle car, a big gun with big bullets, and a list of names of people to kill. Immediately, he walks into a building and blasts a hole in the head of that ginger guy who played a Crip in “Colors” (Courtney Gaines). Billy Bob Thornton is the grizzled, beaten down, ten-days-from-retirement cop who, along with Carla Gugino,...

So last year I joined Twitter and desperately struggled to figure out a good use for it. Assuming most people following my account might come from the Film Junk podcast, I thought it might be an idea platform to keep track of what films I've been watching and what ratings I give them. My first post was March 9th, 2009 with David Cronenberg's The Brood (3.5/4) and since then I've managed to check out a good number of great films over the last year. (Jacques Tati's Play Time and Wim Wender's Paris, Texas are definitely two stand outs on this list.) Many of these are first time viewings, but a there are also a lot of movies I just felt the urge to revisit. So what do you think? Any favourites? Have a look for yourself after the jump! The Brood, (Cronenberg, 1979) 3.5/4 Operation Crossbow (Anderson, 1965) 3.5/4 Watchmen, (Snyder, 2009) 3/4 Pontypool, (McDonald, 2008) 4/4 Pinocchio,...