Lack of updates.....

As you all have noticed there has been a SERIOUS shortage of updates during December of 2013, this is due to private circumstances. I´m posting this update just to let you know that I´m still here and that I´m slowly getting back up on my feet.

/JL

Review: Terror Island Overkill: Blutgericht in Todeszone 13 (2013)

First I´d like to thank Marius Thomsen for providing me with a screener.
On a forgotten and solitary island a group of evil guys organize special hunting seasons. A place where everybody with no moral but enough money can go for a hunt on humans. The former soldier and cop Even Harder (Dennis Jürgensen) is kidnapped and declared the next prey target. But he turns the tables and starts a one-man war against the organizers and their clients... Terror Island Overkill: Blutgericht in Todeszone 13 is shot, produced written and directed by Marius Thomsen. The acting is decent and a lot of it is tongue in cheek, the camerawork and editing is good. This flick is of course not meant to be taken too seriously and the violence is over the top, I laughed out loud several times. The pacing is great. The soundtrack is good. Terror Island Overkill: Blutgericht in Todeszone 13 is very violent and gory!!! Muzzleflashes as guns are fired, explosions and some squibs are computer rendered but I think all the gore is done practical. We get beheadings, eye poking, chopping of arms and much much more. The use of overkill in the title is very fitting as the set piece killings just keeps coming. There´s no T and A in this.
This review is based upon a DVD-screener which I got from the director and it is german language only. Terror Island Overkill: Blutgericht in Todeszone 13 will be getting a DVD-release in the near future from Maximum Uncut Productions.
Rating: 6 out of 7.  This made my day! Terror Island Overkill: Blutgericht in Todeszone 13 made me think of Peter Jackson´s early splatterfeasts Bad Taste and Brainded and their mix of splatter, action and comedy and that is a very good thing! Sure there are some flaws but those can be attributed to the obviously limited budget. If you are a fan of splatter movies then Terror Island Overkill: Blutgericht in Todeszone 13 is a must for you! Highly recommended for splatterfans worldwide!

/JL

 

Review: Wild Justice (2013)

First I´d like to thank Brain Damage Films for providing me with a screener
An ex-military man Daniel Wilson and his wife Lisa share a life which seems perfect in an environment of family people and cozy surrounding of trees and greenery. When they head to a local pub for a drink, the barmaid is raped by a gang member Frankie Harris. Wilson intervenes, beats up the thug Harris and throws him out of the place much to the pleasure of the other patrons. Later, the thug brings his gang and they beat up Daniel in a park. Daniel and Lisa comfort each other in their home unknowingly watched by the gang members outside. One night, Lisa is kidnapped from the house. Upon returning home, Daniel receives a ransom note and a phone call. He agrees to pay the gang but the trouble does not stop here and escalates to a full-scale war on both sides. Jennifer manages to track herself to the lair of the villains. Realizing that they lack people and weapons, the heroes approach a rival gang of the villains and meet Jack and Ashlee. The five of them: Daniel, Shane, Jennifer, Jack and Ashlee proceed to the villains' lair in the Australian outback and engage in a long and final battle with the gangsters where only one side will emerge victorious. Wild Justice is written by Calvin Wong and Terry 'Watto' Watkins and is directed by Julian Cheah. The acting skills ranges from pretty bad to pretty good. The camerawork and editing is for the most part good (look at my comments on the topic of the fight scenes). The soundtrack is good. The pacing is pretty good. This being a actionflick, the main question gotta be "how are those sequences?" Well the martial arts/fight scenes are uneven both due to the choreography and how they are shot and edited. I like to be able to see the moves, the techniques but in Wild Justice the action is partly obscured due to the way that scenes are staged. There´s no gore, there computer rendered squibs as people get shot, I do know why some film makers choose to go that route but honestly practical bloody squibs is so MUCH BETTER than cgi.
There´s brief female topless nudity.
Wild Justice will be released on VOD in January 2014 by Brain Damage Films.
This review is based upon a passwordprotected online screener provided by Brain Damage Films.
Rating: 2½ out of 7. Wild Justice is a bit uneven but it´s not too shabby, had it had practical gore, better shot fight scenes, showcasing the characters martial arts skills, I would surely have given it a better rating.

/JL