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Marvel has created some of the most iconic superheroes in comic book history, so it was only a matter of time before mockbusters manifested. Whether it's Spider-Man, Captain America, or even Daredevil, filmmakers have long attempted to cash in on these legendary characters; sometimes as blatant knockoffs, other times as affectionate homages, and on occasion as baffling hybrids of both. With their low budgets and borderline intellectual property theft, most mockbusters are easy to dismiss as shameless cash grabs. However, even when a film is just Iron Man with a fraction of the budget, there is usually something to admire; whether it's the creative marketing needed to dodge Disney’s legal team, the bizarre reinventions that arise when filmmakers have not actually seen the movie they are copying, or just the sheer audacity to release something so wildly off base.

Superheroes have always existed in a world of contested copyrights and creative overlap.

Writer/director Osgood Perkins‘ feature film adaptation of the Stephen King short story The Monkey reached theatres last week – and now, a mockbuster from The Asylum called The Jolly Monkey has joined it on the big screen! You can watch the trailer for The Jolly Monkey in the embed above.

The feature directorial debut of Ryan Ebert, who has previously written the likes of Heretics, Shark Warning, Megalodon: The Frenzy, Shark Side of the Moon, Tales of a Fifth Grade Robin Hood, Apocalypse of Ice, and San Andreas Mega Quake, the film has the following synopsis: Upon their mother’s death, siblings Jenny and Marshall return to renovate her crumbling motel, The Jolly Monkey. But as they work, a deadly force tied to their family’s dark past emerges, forcing them to face terrifying truths if they want to survive.

Dominic Keating (Star Trek: Enterprise), Jane Hajduk (Year by the...

Loki's journey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe has spanned 14 years, starting with his first appearance in Thor in 2011 The origins of Norse-based characters like Thor and Loki date back over 1900 years, and they belong to both comic book companies and the public domain. The low-budget mockbuster film Almighty Thor shares a similarity with the ending of the Disney+ series Loki, although the quality of the film is far from the Thor movies and Loki series made by Disney.

Even though Loki’s story has seemed to reach an emotional finale in his own self-titled series on Disney+, a rather underappreciated sentiment that revolves around the character is the long-term life that he has in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Making his first appearance in only the fourth MCU movie, Thor, the God of Mischief went on to have a prominent place in the following year’s Avengers film, the 2013 sequel Thor: The Dark World,...

The folks at The Asylum are the masters of the mockbuster – those being lower budget movies that are made and released around the same time as bigger budget studio movies with similar titles and concepts. Some of their previous films include Snakes on a Train, Transmorphers, Almighty Thor, Battle Star Wars, Top Gunner, Jurassic Domination, and The Little Mermaid. It’s pretty easy to figure out what each one of those was trying to cash in on. Now, with a new Exorcist sequel (The Exorcist: Believer) set to reach theatres on October 6th, The Asylum has announced that they will be releasing a movie called The Exorcists on September 29th – and a trailer for the film can be seen in the embed above!

The Exorcists will be receiving both a digital release and a limited theatrical release. According to our friends at Bloody Disgusting, the movie will be showing at...

Chris Hemsworth is back as the Almighty Thor in Marvel's third installment centered on the God of Thunder himself. Thor: Ragnarok isn't just the best Thor movie, its one of Marvel's best films, period. It's loaded with great new characters, amazing action, and is easily the McU's funniest! There is just so much color and character in Taika Waititi's McU directorial debut. It's almost like watching a live-action version of the 1980's classic cartoon Masters of The Universe. If you even slightly enjoy Marvel's latest lineup of films, you are going to love Thor: Ragnarok.

Watch the 60-second review from One Minute Critic:

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A body piercing artist to the stars made a citizen's arrest against an actor whom she claims sexually assaulted her on a United flight -- something he vigorously denies. Stephanie Anders says she was flying back from her best friend's funeral last week when she fell asleep in her seat. She claims she was awakened by the man sitting next her who allegedly had his hands all over her butt.   She claims the offending passenger -- 6'5" Cody Deal,...

Stars: Johnny Rey Diaz, Christina Licciardi, Lindsay Sawyer, Talia A Davis, Trae Ireland, Isaac Reyes, Fiona Rene, Joseph Michael Harris, Nick Principe, Aaron Moses, Randall Yarbrough | Written and Directed by Jeremy M. Inman

To be fair, you know what you’re in for with any Asylum movie that is homaging a bigger-budget Hollywood flick… After all it’s become de rigueur for David Michael Latt and co. to produce what have been affectionately dubbed “mockbusters” for all the big Summer blockbusters: films such as Transmorphers, American Battleship, The Terminators, Almighty Thor, Battle of Los Angeles, and Avengers Grimm. But watching a mockbuster from The Asylum doesn’t neccesarily mean audiences are in for a terrible time, there are often sparks of genius within their films – be it some great casting or an inspired plot.

Case in point: the aforementioned Avengers Grimm, which used the Avengers film format to tell a...

Considering how insanely popular superheroes have been over the last few years, it's a little surprising that it's taken this long for someone to reboot The Toxic Avenger. For starters, the name alone should give it the same edge with confused consumers as mockbusters like Almighty Thor and Atlantic Rim, but unlike the quick cash-ins produced by The Asylum, it's a franchise with some genuine soul at its roots. First released back in 1984, The Toxic Avenger was an intentionally cheesy, sleazy comedy about a tormented janitor who has an accident with some barrels of toxic waste, turning him into a super mutant. Instead of using his newfound powers exclusively to smite his bullies, the hideous ghoul with a heart of gold decides to become a hero and starts cleaning up his...

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Shout Factory

Founded by three former Village Roadshow executives in 1997, The Asylum’s brief is simple: dirt-cheap rip-offs of popular hits, usually headlined by a washed-up performer. Made for so little money that they never post a loss, this is where lovers of bad acting, shoddy effects and dopey narratives come to get their fix.

For all their popularity, though, movies like Almighty Thor and Abraham Lincoln Vs Zombies are actually pretty dull. Executed with all the panache of a bored teenager serving fast food, the films are more interested in picking your pocket than in giving you a good time.

For the liveliest and most entertaining rip-offs, you have have to go back as far as the 1970s, when blockbusters like The Exorcist, Jaws and Star Wars helped launch the trend for fast and cheap imitations. Some of these “mockbusters” are terrifically entertaining, some are so bad they really are worth watching and,...

With "The Expendables 3" about to hit theaters, The Asylum once again needs to put out its own version. And today, we have a trailer for the company's "Mercenaries" movie, starring Kristanna Loken (Terminator 3), Vivica A Fox (Kill Bill), and Brigitte Nielsen (Rocky IV), who's an ex-wife of Sylvester Stallone. Check out the trailer below. Plot: A diplomatic official is captured and imprisoned while touring a war zone, so a team of elite female commandos is assembled to infiltrate a women's prison for a daring rescue. The new movie is directed by Christopher Ray (Almighty Thor) and will be available On Demand and in select theaters on August 8th. Trailer:...

Birthday shoutouts go to Kevin Alejandro (above), who is 38, Russell Crowe is 50, John Oates is 65, and Jackie Chan is 60.

Our thoughts are with the family and generations of fans of screen legend Mickey Rooney, who died today at the age of 93. He’ll always be the one true Fallout Boy to me.

In more sad news, model and ally Peaches Geldof has died at the age of 25.

Supreme Court won’t hear anti-gay photographer case. Nom heads just exploded.

I Was Broken, and Matt Bomer Put Me Back Together. Is there anything he can’t do?

As I’m sure you’ll agree, The Asylum is one of the great production companies in Hollywood. They’re responsible for most of the iconic Syfy Channel movies, including Sharknado, Almighty Thor, Nazis At The Center Of The Earth, American Warships, Atlantic Rim, Titanic II, and of course, Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (to name just a few.

We’re all aware of and used to the blockbuster knockoffs from The Asylum. Maybe you were reminded this past week by coming across their 2011 movie Almighty Thor while looking up Marvel’s own Thor: The Dark World. Well, they haven’t taken on documentaries yet, but there are comparably cheap versions of hit nonfiction films to be found around the web. We can’t call them all knockoffs or ripoffs or copycats or anything of that responsive nature, though, because most of the time they are produced earlier and are actually the ones being overshadowed by the new, better-known features. Last week I was going through the latest documentary additions to Netflix Watch Instantly, as I regularly do for my home viewing picks for our sister site Nonfics, and one title stood out to me: Wild Eyes: The Abby Sunderland Story. The synopsis told me simply that it was about a teen girl who “dares try...

Feature Ryan Lambie 5 Jul 2013 - 06:32

Atlantic Rim may be a cheap, DVD imitation of Pacific Rim, but it also works remarkably well as an unofficial prequel, Ryan writes...

History is full of uncanny coincidences. Mark Twain was born on the day Halley's Comet swung by Earth in 1835, and died when it hurtled around again in 1910. The writer Morgan Robertson wrote a book about the sinking of a huge ocean-going liner 14 years before the Titanic collided with an iceberg in 1912. And by an uncanny twist of fate, last month saw the release of Atlantic Rim, which appears to have anticipated Guillermo del Toro's giant-robots-versus-giant-monsters flick Pacific Rim by several weeks.

American film studio The Asylum has a spooky knack of releasing its own similarly-named film just before a major blockbuster. Transmorphers appeared just before Transformers in 2007. I Am Omega appeared at around the time of I Am Legend. Other...

For years now, "mockbuster" company The Asylum has made a decent living off of well-timed films like Transmorphers, Almighty Thor, and Abraham Lincoln Vs. Zombies, using those funds to perform the public service of keeping actors such as Mario Van Peebles and Richard Grieco off the streets. Like the grandchildren who roll their eyes yet keep their mouths shut when their poor, addled grandparents buy these DVDs for them off the Wal-Mart sales rack, most studios have simply accepted The Asylum's parasitic business practices as an annoying fact of life. However, unlike most disappointed grandchildren, sometimes they sue. Often ...

Judge cites 'likelihood of confusion' between Tolkien adaptation and film by The Asylum – famous for Titanic II and Almighty Thor

The makers of forthcoming fantasy trilogy The Hobbit have won a temporary restraining order against a so-called "mockbuster" film accused of trading on the global publicity surrounding the release of the Jrr Tolkien adaptation.

California federal judge Philip Gutierrez ruled on Monday that Age of the Hobbits, from specialist independent studio The Asylum, was confusingly similar to Peter Jackson's return to Middle-earth. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is due for release on Friday in the Us and UK, but Age of the Hobbits now looks less likely to find its way into cinemas.

The Asylum is known for its series of "mockbuster" films, including 2009's The Terminators, 2010's Titanic II and 2011's Almighty Thor. The studio had argued that its own Hobbits had nothing to do with Middle-earth, being...

Saul Zaentz submits legal complaint against The Asylum for attempting 'to divert customers away from the Hobbit films'

When a Hollywood producer made legal threats against a Southampton pub named The Hobbit earlier this year ahead of the release of Peter Jackson's latest Jrr Tolkien fantasy trilogy, the drinking hole picked up support from thousands of members of the public as well as actors Ian McKellen and Stephen Fry. A university lecturer was recently prevented from using the word "hobbit" to describe Homo floresiensis, the "little people" discovered in Indonesia. Now Saul Zaentz and his studio partners have a new target, albeit one less likely to elicit sympathy from fans of hairy-footed Shire-dwelling homunculi: low-budget flick Age of the Hobbits.

Zaentz, along with studios Warner Bros, New Line and MGM, which collectively own the screen rights to Tolkien's works, yesterday filed suit against specialist "mockbuster" production company The Asylum.

The past month or so has seen many various casting news/rumor reports for The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (the adaptation of the second novel in Suzanne Collins' highly successful novel series). Recently, we heard that Mia Wasikowska and Zoe Aggeliki were in talks to play Johanna in the highly anticipated sequel, and we've heard many rumors for who will be playing Finnick Odair (all of which were proven to be false). Additionally, Phillip Seymour Hoffman has been offered the role Plutarch Heavensbee (no word on whether or not he has accepted or refused the offer). Now, via USA Today, we have some more news for a possible cast member addition to the film. During the premiere of Magic Mike last night, wrestler-turned-actor Kevin Nash (who previously worked on films such as The Punisher (2004) and SyFy's Almighty Thor) revealed that he was in discussions for a role in Lionsgate's...

Smells Like Screen Spirit & Warner Bros. invite you to RSVP for passes to our special advance screenings of Magic Mike June 26, 2012 at 7:30 Pm in Austin, Dallas, Houston & San Antonio, TX. Synopsis: A dramatic comedy set in the world of male strippers, “Magic Mike” is directed by Academy Award® winning director Steven Soderbergh (“Traffic”) and stars Channing Tatum in a story inspired by his real life. The film follows Mike (Tatum) as he takes a young dancer called The Kid (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing and schools him in the fine arts of partying, picking up women, and making easy money. Director: Steven Soderbergh Starring: Channing Tatum (“Haywire”), Alex Pettyfer (“I Am Number Four”), Matthew McConaughey (“The Lincoln Lawyer”), Cody Horn (TV’s “Rescue Me”), Olivia Munn (“I Don’t Know How She Does It”), Matt Bomer (“White Collar”), Riley Keough (“The Runaways”), Joe Mangianello (TV’s “True Blood”), Kevin Nash...

Another big summer movie released, another cheap Dtv knockoff hits shelves! Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies (2012) Director: Richard Schenkman Stars: Bill Oberst Jr., Jason Vail, Ronald Ogden Is there a plot? Pretty much just the title. What's the damage? Go call your loved ones. The Mayans were right. The end of the world is upon us: The Asylum—the "studio" behind such beloved cash-ins as Titanic II, Almighty Thor and Princess Of Mars—has actually made...

Universal has settled a lawsuit over an unauthorized knockoff of its big-budget adventure movie Battleship. The Asylum, producer of a low-budget rip-off called American Battleship, has agreed to change the name of the film to American Warships and alter its marketing and packaging in exchange for Universal dropping the lawsuit.  The Asylum is somewhat notorious among Hollywood lawyers. It produces cheapo versions of big studio movies and distributes them via DVD, VOD and TV around the same time their "inspiration" films are being heavily marketed. Past titles include Transmorphers and Almighty Thor. Back in 2008, Fox

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Back in 1987, you could watch "21 Jump Street," with newcomer Johnny Depp, on your local over-the-air Fox affiliate for free. Today, there is a movie in theaters called "21 Jump Street," this time with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum in starring roles, and you'll have to spend money to enjoy it. As a service to you and your wallet, we answer every question that you could possibly have about the cinematic version of 21 Jump Street. Q: Is 21 Jump Street anything like the Fox television show? A: 21 Jump Street has very little to do with the television show. Though, technically, it can be considered a continuation of that series because the film takes place in the current day and the characters from the original show are not rebooted. Q: So the movie version of 21 Jump Street is considered canon. A: According to Jonah Hill, yes. Q: What about this website of 21 Jump Street...

Directed by: Christopher Douglas-Olen Ray

Written by: H. Perry Horton

Cast: Carmen Electra, Brooke Hogan, Charlie O'Connell

You never know what you're going to get from those wacky purveyors of schlock known as The Asylum. Wait, let me qualify that. You know you're going get a "bad" movie, but you never know if it's going to be a good "bad" movie (Mega Python vs. Gatoroid) or a bad "bad" movie (Almighty Thor). It could go either way, and I suppose that's part of the thrill.

I just returned from the post office with a brand spanking new copy of 2-Headed Shark Attack (which hits DVD shelves on January 31), the latest entry in The Asylum's beloved "Nature Run Amok" horror/sci-fi series. And as I drove home, I couldn't decide what to think. Sure, it has a shark, with two heads no less, and The Asylum usually does okay with sharks...

Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Jan. 31, 2012

Price: DVD $14.95, Blu-ray $24.95

Studio: The Asylum

It's twice as hard to find a safe beach in 2-Headed Shark Attack.

Carmen Electra (Scary Movie), Charlie O’Connell (TV’s The Bachelor) and Brooke Hogan (TV’s Hogan Knows Best) swim for their lives in the wacky horror-thriller action film 2-Headed Shark Attack.

The movie’s far-from-complex story focuses on the crew, students and faculty of a “Semester at Sea” ship, which is sunk by a two-headed mutant shark. The survivors escape to a deserted atoll, but when it starts flooding, the coeds and company are no longer safe from the snapping double jaws of that angry over-grown guppy.

Directed by Christopher Douglas-Olen Ray (Almighty Thor), 2-Headed Shark Attack is produced by those nuts over at The Asylum, the team that was also behind our favorite over-sized monster movie of recent years, 2009’s Mega-Python vs. Gatoroid as...

Those inmates running The Asylum stopped taking their medication long enough to choose their next target, and it's a good one.

In a few weeks, The Asylum starts production on Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies, an "homage" to the still-in-production Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter from director Timur Bekmambetov.

As you know, we're big fans of The Asylum, who are essentially the Weird Al of film production houses. They take on big-time, legitimate blockbusters or proven moneymakers and grind out a version with a slightly altered title and a batshit crazy story (examples include the Thor knockoff Almighty Thor and the Paranormal Activity knockoff Paranormal Entity).

Of course, this time, the movie being mocked already has a batshit crazy story, so it will be interesting to see how insane Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies turns out. The official synopsis is actually pretty tame as these things go: "While the brutal Civil War rages on,...

The star offers a birds-eye-view into the world of a struggling actor with this new reality series

After landing small parts in both The Hangover and Get Him to the Greek, new to Hollywood actor Cody Deal took the lead in The Asylum's Almighty Thor, which was released earlier this year in conjunction with Marvel Studio's own Thor adventure. It was a big break for this young man from Kansas, but it in no way insured his foothold in an industry that is notorious for sucking in and spitting out Los Angeles hopefuls from all across America.

After Almighty Thor hit the Syfy channel and video store shelves across the country, Cody didn't find Hollywood knocking down his door. The film served its purpose as a calling card of sorts, but the eager actor was soon pounding the pavement, heading to one failed audition after another.

Before long, broke and out of work,...

It’s the start of another week, so you know what that means – more DVD and Blu-ray releases! So here’s the rundown of what’s available to buy from today, August 29th 2011.

Pick Of The Week

Hatchet II (DVD/Blu-ray)

Picking up right where the splatter-tastic original ended, Marybeth escapes the clutches of the deformed, swamp-dwelling iconic killer Victor Crowley. After learning the truth about her family’s connection to the hatchet-wielding madman, Marybeth returns to the Louisiana swamps along with an army of hunters to recover the bodies of her family and exact the bloodiest revenge against the bayou butcher. Boasting a body count that is over double that of the first movie and once more providing ground-breaking work in Old School practical cinema special effects to deliver unapologetically unrestrained gushers of gore, Hatchet II is more, more, more of everything you loved about the original only darker,...

There will be time-travelling, but not the kind featured in the original film on this supposed "true event." Syfy is working on its own version of "The Philadelphia Experiment," bringing in "Heroes" and "Star Trek: Generations" actor Malcolm McDowell to try and draw even more fans to the project. It will be a Saturday "original movie," a popular feature of Syfy that draws typically 2 million viewers or more. The film titles have ranged from the depths of B-Moviedom (like "Sharktopus") to those similar to other movie fans are familiar with ("Almighty Thor," "Battle of Los Angeles"). Using the original story of a project to cloak a warship during World War II (widely believed to be a hoax) as a starting block, this film moves into the 21st century where the military tries to duplicate ...

At San Diego Comic-Con this past July, I had the pleasure of meeting a tall, muscular and seemingly talented young actor named Cody Deal. I didn't recognize him, probably because I don't watch the Syfy Saturday movies. But he starred in "Almighty Thor," one of those films you wouldn't recognize the director or writer, and usually released around the same time as a big box office offering (in this case, "Thor") to help either create some audience confusion, or just to capitalize on the name. Well, during a Syfy news conference call promoting the film, Deal was able to connect with Kenn Gold, one of the founders of the entertainment website MediaBlvd, and the two decided they should work on a project together. An online reality show on Deal's struggles. You see, despite this starring ...

It's been one full week since a billion sexy nerds descended upon San Diego for their annual Comic-Con event, which has become the premiere Hollywood launching pad for just about everything in the way of entertainment. This was a strange year, as no one property walked away from the grit, glitz, glamour, and geek sweat of the experience better for showing off its wares to what has become a very bored public.

It's true. If Comic-Con 2011 will be remembered for anything, it's the ennui that lingered around most attendees like the stench of the dead. They didn't want to be impressed, and even the Twihards stayed quiet when it came to their precious The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1. Maybe that's because, four years into the franchise, they know damn well what they're going to get. There was an enthusiastic showing, one of the biggest ever, for Glee's Hall H presentation.

While at Sdcc 2011, we ran into Cody Deal, star of The Asylum and The Syfy Network's hit movie Almighty Thor. We talked with the actor about The Asylum's amazing make-it or break-it work ethic, as well as his upcoming projects. Check out our exclusive video below.

Click to watch Comic-Con Exclusive: Cody Deal!

Almighty Thor was released May 10th, 2011 and stars Gerald Webb, Patricia Velasquez, Richard Grieco, Kevin Nash, Cody Deal, Nicole Fox, Leslea Fisher, Jess Allen. The film is directed by Christopher Ray.

WWF Superstar Kevin Nash stars in action-packed visual spectacular Almighty Thor.

When the Demon God Loki destroys the fortress of Valhalla and steals the Hammer of Invincibility, only the young hero Thor can protect Earth from Armageddon.

As Fate would have it, Thor is united with the mysterious and beautiful demigoddess Jarnsaxa who must guide and prepare him for his final epic battle with Loki and his army of demonic beasts.

Together they travel to the modern day on a quest to find a weapon that will be powerful enough to send the Demon God back to the underworld…

Prepare to be dealt a hammer blow by Almighty Thor

We have teamed up with Metro Dome to give away three copies of the DVD that will be released August 8th. To be in with a chance of winning a copy of the DVD just answer the following question:

Who played...

Nash is a 52 year old former pro wrestler turned actor following in the footsteps of similar entertainers like Hulk Hogan and The Rock. Nash was in 2004's Punisher as the villainous Russian and did a pretty good job. Standing 6'-11" and weighing 315 lbs, it's likely that he's playing a similar role in this film but that's just my educated guess. Numerous sites are reporting that Kevin Nash has a big role in the upcoming Ghost Rider sequel. With his participation secret until now, I have to wonder what his role could possibly be? Besides featuring in the Punisher Nash's past acting credits include: Super Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) Guard Engleheart in The Longest Yard (2005) Bass Armstrong in Doa: Dead or Alive (2006) Jayden Jacobs in River of Darkness (2010) Odin in Almighty Thor (2011) Colonel Crookshank in Monster Brawl (2011) Nash squared off...

Nash is a 52 year old former pro wrestler turned actor following in the footsteps of similar entertainers like Hulk Hogan and The Rock. Nash was in 2004's Punisher as the villainous Russian and did a pretty good job. Standing 6'-11" and weighing 315 lbs, it's likely that he's playing a similar role in this film but that's just my educated guess. Numerous sites are reporting that Kevin Nash has a big role in the upcoming Ghost Rider sequel. With his participation secret until now, I have to wonder what his role could possibly be? Besides featuring in the Punisher Nash's past acting credits include: Super Shredder in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) Guard Engleheart in The Longest Yard (2005) Bass Armstrong in Doa: Dead or Alive (2006) Jayden Jacobs in River of Darkness (2010) Odin in Almighty Thor (2011) Colonel Crookshank in Monster Brawl (2011) Nash squared off...

What if stoner buddies Harold and Kumar got superpowers? Well, they’d probably be a little like writer/director Kholi Hicks’ “Avery and Pete: Superspeeds”, an indie comedy/superhero movie with definite potential (stick with it, the trailer gets progressively better). The film stars Ricky Faust and Keye Dusan Chen as buddies who stumble across pills that grant them cool superpowers, and features Cody Deal (late of “The Almighty Thor”, not to be confused with that other Thor guy) as the sorta villain. The trailer features plenty of slick CGI, especially for the budget Hicks and company had to work with. According to producer/co-star Teresa Decher, they were working with a $17,000 budget. You could probably buy a bag of peanuts with that on a Michael Bay movie set. Set in an urban, modern-day, economic-distraught Los Angeles, Superseeds follows best friends and roommates Avery and Pete in a race to curtail disaster in their city.

Almighty Thor will return to the big screen. Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel Studios will create the sequel to their successful comic book film “Thor.” In fact, the studios even set a release date of July 26 in 2013. However, original “Thor” director Kenneth Branagh will not be returning to helm the sequel. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Branagh had the option to direct the sequel, but a “mutual parting of ways” occurred. Branagh will remain on the project as a producer. The “Thor” film made $437 million worldwide in theaters so far. It starred Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Hopkins, Natalie Portman, Tom Hiddleston, Stellan Skarsgard, Kat Dennings and Clark Gregg. Hemsworth is expected to reprise his role as Thor. No writers have been hired for the sequel at this time.Source: The Hollywood Reporter...

Disc 2 episodes are bonus / supplement episodes of The Criterion Cast. Ryan Gallagher, James McCormick, Travis George, and Moises Chiullan chat about the weeks new releases on DVD and Blu-ray, as well as what they’ve been watching. “Off the Shelf” runs through the week’s new releases on DVD and Blu-ray, while “On The Screen” is where they discuss what they’ve been watching over the past week.

What do you think of the show? Send your feedback to CriterionCast@gmail.com or call their voicemail line @ 209-877-7335 or follow them on twitter @CriterionCast or comment on their blog, http://CriterionCast.com.

Thank you for listening. Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and leave your reviews in iTunes.

Our next episode they will highlight and discuss Criterion # 319 Akira Kurosawa’s 1960 film, The Bad Sleep Well.

Add to your Netflix Queue. Watch on Hulu Plus

Show Notes:

Off...

Recent releases by The Asylum have left me debating their oddly fascinating approach, praising when they very occasionally get things right and finding myself more than a little annoyed with their gimmicks. So when four Asylum flicks landed on my doorstep for review I approached with caution but also with as much of an open mind as I could manage, as I try to with any new release.

That said the hit to miss ratio with The Asylum swings rather strongly to the miss side so in an effort to rip the plaster off quickly, if this turned out to indeed be necessary, I settled down to watch all four films in a row. A mistake you might think but contained within were some pleasures, but unfortunately a whole lot of messy half-arsed filmmaking too. Like a moth to a flame…

First up was Ballistica, a film that doesn’t...

Hayden Black is a one man powerhouse in the world of New Media web series. Previously known for the viral hit, Abigail.s Teen Diary, which featured Hayden in drag as a 13 year old with a disease making her look like, well, Hayden Black, for the comedy-horror The Occulterers, and for a previous incarnation of Goodnight Burbank done in 5 minute topical shorts, Hayden has re-launched the concept. Goodnight Burbank as the first 30 min web comedy series, which is currently finishing up season one on Hulu. Black does it all, writing, acting, producing and marketing the series which also stars comedic genius, Laura J. Silverman. The series focuses on the local nightly news, and exactly what happens when the camera.s cut away. The pair recently appeared on MediaBlvd Radio, where they were interviewed by MediaBlvd.s team (Kenn and Jamie), along with special celebrity co-host, Almighty Thor.s Cody Deal.

Welcome back to Killer Film’s New Release Tuesday for May 24th! Before we get to these releases, let us remind you by ordering through our site, you not only get the best deals around from Amazon, but this one little click will help us out at no extra cost to you! It’s what keeps us killer!

I am Number Four

D.J. Caruso’s superhero/alien film was met with some divisive reactions. Some, like our own Donny Broussard, felt it was a good time at the theaters, mixing fun, action, and story together, while others felt it was a Twilight version for superheroes. Time to find out. Feel free to re-read our interview with Ilm’s VFX Supervisor for the film here. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD) Jon says: Rent Donny says: Buy

The Great Dictator: Criterion Collection

Talk about a coincidence. In light of Lars Von Trier’s Nazi/Hitler comments at Cannes,...

Your Weekly Source for the Newest Releases to Blu-Ray Tuesday, May 24th, 2011 Andrew Scott & Fiona Glascott star in Anton Chekhov’S The Duel (2011) Richard Grieco & Kevin Nash star in Asylum’s The Almighty Thor (2011) Antonio Banderas stars in The Big Bang (2011) “5 Stories That Will Mess You Up For Life” Burning Palms (2010) Philippe Diaz’s documentary The End Of Poverty? (2010) Tom Berenger & Martin Sheen star in Gettysburg: Director’s Cut: Blu-Ray Book (1993) Gnomeo & Juliet: 3-Disc Combo (2011) Gods & Generals: Extended Director’s Cut: Blu-Ray Book (2003) James Garner & Eva Marie Saint star in Jerry Frankenheimer’s Grand Prix (1966) Charlie Chaplin’s The Great Dictator: Criterion Collection (1940) Happiness Is A Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown (2011) D.J. Caruso’s I Am Number Four: 3-Disc Combo (2011) Steve McQueen stars in Le Mans (1971) Steve McQueen & Dustin Hoffman star in Papillon: Blu-Ray Book (1973) Charlie Sheen stars in Oliver Stone’s Platoon: 2-Disc Combo (1986) Andrei...

Welcome back to Killer Film’s New Release Tuesday for May 10th! Before we get to these releases, let us remind you by ordering through our site, you not only get the best deals around from Amazon, but this one little click will help us out at no extra cost to you! It’s what keeps us killer!

Black Death

Don’t let the cover art fool you. This is one dark, brutal, interesting flick and one of our favorites thus far in 2011. Sean Bean owns as a knight sent to hunt down a witch during The Plague. The film tackles more than you think it would, crafting a vision rarely seen with the Medieval films we’ve gotten. (Formats: Blu-ray/DVD) Jon says: Buy Donny says: Buy

I Saw the Devil

Does the world really need another serial killer movie? If it’s directed by Lee Byung-hun of The...

Directed by: Christopher Douglas-Olen Ray

Written by: Erik Estenberg

Cast: Cody Deal, Richard Grieco, Patricia Velásquez, Kevin Nash

The God of Thunder had quite a busy weekend. Last Friday, he showed up in multiplexes around the country, courtesy of Marvel/Paramount's blockbuster Thor. Then on Saturday night, thanks to those lunatics running The Asylum, he materialized on television in a made-for-Syfy mockbuster called Almighty Thor.

If nothing else, this weekend proved there definitely is a Thor for every budget — Marvel's version cost about $150 million, and I'm willing to bet The Asylum made their film for an amount equal to the catering costs on Marvel's flick. Actually, what these two films really prove is that you get what you pay for.

Let's play contrast and compare. Marvel's film is filled with fine award-winning actors; is loaded with jaw-dropping special effects; and was directed by Kenneth Branagh, noted interpreter of Shakespeare. Almighty Thor...

It’s Monday and here are your DVD & Blu-Ray Releases for May 10th! We have a good release week for genre fans. For those of you that didn’t buy the Alien Anthology on Blu-Ray, the individual films are released this week as well as some other key titles that you should definitely pay attention to! Click on Read More to find all the releases.

All Descriptions of the following titles are provided by Amazon.com unless otherwise noted. If you plan on buying a flick from this list, please click on the links provided or click on the cover as it helps us pay the bills around here. Also, unlike most sites, we provide the Netflix widget which we think is pretty convenient to add these films to your queue. If you don’t have Netflix, feel free to click on “Free Trial” and try it out!

Alien

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You can always count on The Asylum for a good laugh or two. Each and every one of their shamelessly low-budget “mockbusters” seems to take great pride in delivering the cheapest and cheesiest thrills for the money, and I’ve yet to be disappointed with any of their recent efforts. Not surprisingly, director Christopher Ray’s SyFy original outing “Almighty Thor” has been scheduled for release around the same time that Kenneth Branagh’s big budget comic book adaptation “Thor” bows in theaters across North America. “Almighty Thor” is just as genuinely awful as I thought it would be, but as you well know, that’s precisely what I was hoping for. However, instead of mining the comic book for material, the filmmakers choose to plant their roots in the actual mythology surrounding the titular titan. Sneaky, sneaky. Newcomer Cody Deal portrays the whiny, snot-nosed son of Odin (Kevin Nash...

Can't get enough Norse god action this weekend? Marvel's Thor finally hits the big screen, and over on Syfy they'll premiere the new Asylum mockbuster Almighty Thor. One has Anthony Hopkins as the Norse god Odin; the other has pro wrestler Kevin Nash in the role. But which will you enjoy more after getting hammered?

Syfy has posted three clips promoting Almighty Thor. Actually, two clips and a TV spot. The TV spot comes first below.

The first actual scene from the movie showcases Patricia Velasquez's swordfighting skills as she contends with an escapee from Dragon Wars while Thor (Cody Deal) and Loki (Richard Grieco) take turns shooting each other with an uzi just like all Norse gods are known to do.

The second clip is just Thor fighting a knight in a rainstorm. The clip runs 2:30 but would probably have been only :30 if not for the use of slo-mo.

Marvel Studios’ “Thor” may be getting all the headlines, but the Asylum’s “Almighty Thor” is getting plenty of, well, underlines? (Hey, I just made up a word!) To be sure, there’s nothing about “Almighty Thor” (what, they couldn’t afford to add an “The” in front of the title?) that will make you confuse it with Marvel’s “Thor”, but then again, I’m reasonably certain you’ll get a lot of entertainment value out of it anyway. I mean, it even stars Richard Friggin Grieco, for Christ sake. Check out some videos, including a new 30-second spot, for it below. In Almighty Thor, a volcanic fissure bursts open in the fortress of Valhalla, freeing the demon God Loki (Richard Grieco), who steals the Hammer of Invincibility. Loki plans to obliterate Los Angeles using the Hammer — and Thor (Cody Deal) is the only one who can stop him.

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Because sometimes the thunder has to come at 950 rounds per minute.

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Thor with an Uzi. Richard Grieco as his archnemesis Loki. The quality you’ve come to expect from an Asylum movie (the people who brought you 2010: Moby Dick and Titanic II). All bound together in Asgardian gear on Syfy. What more could you ask for this weekend?

How about the destruction of the fortress of Valhalla? Loki stealing Thor’s Hammer of Invincibility? The fate of mankind hanging in the balance? (Bet you never saw that one coming.) The ultimate showdown between the forces of good and evil? And dragons to boot!

Directed by Christopher Ray (son of Fred Olen Ray) and written by Eric Forsberg (Mega Piranha, Snakes on a Train), Almighty Thor stars Cody Deal as your friendly neighborhood thunder god, Kevin Nash as Odin,...

Trailers are an under-appreciated art form insofar that many times they’re seen as vehicles for showing footage, explaining films away, or showing their hand about what moviegoers can expect. Foreign, domestic, independent, big budget: I celebrate all levels of trailers and hopefully this column will satisfactorily give you a baseline of what beta wave I’m operating on, because what better way to hone your skills as a thoughtful moviegoer than by deconstructing these little pieces of advertising? Some of the best authors will tell you that writing a short story is a lot harder than writing a long one, that you have to weigh every sentence. What better medium to see how this theory plays itself out beyond that than with movie trailers? Becoming Chaz Trailer Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato are the film equivalent of sociological documentarians. If ever there was a duo who have damn well...

We're proud to share with you these pictures of the two stars of a movie about the Norse god Thor. No, not that one.

The two men to the left are the stars of Syfy's movie "Almighty Thor": Cody Deal is the title character, and Richard Grieco is his nemesis, Loki. The movie premieres Saturday, May 7, one day after the somewhat more generously budgeted "Thor" arrives in theaters.

"Thor" -- the one with Chris Hemsworth and Natalie Portman -- will likely be a hot ticket. So if your local theater sells out, you can always stay home and watch "Almighty Thor." Syfy describes the movie, which also stars Patricia Velasquez ("The Mummy Returns") and pro wrestler Kevin Nash as Odin, this way: "In 'Almighty Thor,' a volcanic fissure bursts open in the fortress of Valhalla, freeing the demon God Loki (Grieco), who steals the Hammer of Invincibility.

Which version of the Norse mythical adventure wins out, Branagh's star-studded epic or The Asylum's cheapo effort?

Kenneth Branagh's Thor might have received some surprisingly positive early reviews, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's worth watching. Branagh might be able to live with Thor not being the best film of the year, but what if it isn't even the best film about Thor this year?

That might just be the case. By complete coincidence – and not, say, because it has a consistent policy of knocking out tawdry low-budget versions of almost every single big new film that's ever released – The Asylum happens to be releasing a film called Almighty Thor next month.

Only one of these Thor films can reign supreme, but which? It's time for a head-to-head trailer face-off ...

Best Asgard

Thor

An otherworldly, shimmering citadel, surrounded by thousands of monuments to the uncontested might of the Norse gods,...