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'One in the Chamber' Blu-ray Dated and Detailed[teaser]It's assassin vs. assassin in Will Kaufman's adrenaline-fueled direct-to-video action flick arriving on Blu-ray this August. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Starz/Anchor Bay is locking and loading 'One in the Chamber' onto Blu-ray on August 21. The non-stop high intensity action-thriller where a double cross is as simple as ink on paper boasts an incredible cast including Oscar® winning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. ('Jerry Maguire,' 'Radio,' 'Men of Honor'), Dolph Lundgren ('Rocky IV,' 'The Expendables,' 'The Expendables II') and Claudia Bassols (CBS’s “Rob”). The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack will feature 1080p video, a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack, and will include an audio commentary with director Will Kaufman. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $29.99. You can find the latest specs for 'One in the Chamber' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under August 21.Posted Thu Jun 14, 2012 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
HDD's Exclusive Interview with Full Moon's Charles BandBy Tom Landy Since the early 1970s, cult horror legend Charles Band has written, produced, and/or directed well over 200 B-movies featuring everything you could possibly imagine (and then some) from maniacal mad scientists and diabolical dolls to deadly drug paraphernalia and killer cookies. In the following interview, [teaser]Full Moon CEO Charles Band sheds some light on his company's latest film projects, their newly launched web site, and what's in store for high-def home video later this year.[/teaser] HDD: Hi Charles! Thanks for setting aside some time out of your busy schedule for this interview for High-Def Digest. We really appreciate it. How are things going? Charlie: This is a really exciting and intense year for Full Moon. We're scheduled to make new films every 60 days! Bringing back some amazing times and eras in the history of the company. HDD: Recently you also launched a new web site. How is https://www.fullmoonhorror.com/ a different beast from https://www.fullmoondirect.com/? Charlie: Fullmoondirect.com has been a long-standing resource for purchasing Full Moon products over the years. While the internet is great for that, it has also evolved in recent years to become more of a ‘hangout.’ We wanted a place where people can discover and explore Full Moon firsthand -- from anywhere in the world. Fullmoonhorror.com isn’t just a place to view the latest trailer, it’s an entertainment site that is fun in and of itself, with interviews, industry news, exclusive photos videos, and other fun content. HDD: I'm a big fan of the 'Puppet Master' movies and think the designs for all of the puppets (especially Blade and Six-Shooter) are awesome. Do you have a personal favorite tiny terror from Toulon's trunk? Charlie: The puppets we created for those movies really complement each other. There’s that old adage that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts,” and I think that’s very true of those guys. But it’s clear that Blade has really been the heart of those films since the beginning. There’s something about the simplicity of his design that I think is visually appealing to people. HDD: Speaking of which, you're now working on a tenth film in the franchise called 'Puppet Master X: Axis Rising.' It sounds like this film is going to be a direct follow-up to 'Puppet Master: Axis of Evil' correct? Charlie: It is. I’m very excited about this one. It’ll be the first time we’ve directly continued a previous storyline in the ‘Puppet Master’ universe, and it’s also that the first time that I’ll be directing one of these films myself. We’ve re-sculpted each of the original puppets from scratch. They’ll be the most accurate re-creations seen on film in the past decade. We’re really pulling out all the stops to make this one the best ‘Puppet Master’ yet. HDD: You're also planning on introducing four new killer puppets this time around. Can you tell us a little bit about those? Charlie: We did a monthly reveal of each of them on fullmoonhorror.com, and the fan reaction has been phenomenal. There’s Blitzkrieg, who is essentially a tiny tank with heavy firepower. Bombshell is a female a character who has been in the works for close to seventeen years. Originally we had intended to include her in a film called ‘Puppet Wars.’ That one didn’t make it very far past the scripting stage. We’ve re-tooled her for 'Puppet Master X ,' this time heavily inspired by the titular character in the Nazi exploitation film, “Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS.” Kamikaze is a Japanese fighter pilot puppet with a time bomb strapped to his chest. And Weremacht is a Nazi werewolf with razor sharp fangs. They’re really going to put Blade and the other puppets to the test. I can’t reveal too much more than that, but you’ll find photos of each on fullmoonhorror.com! HDD: Next, you've just wrapped up production on 'The Dead Want Women' with Eric Roberts. What's that about and when will it be released? Charlie: Reese (Jessica Morris) and Danni (Ariana Madix) are two realtors who purchase the house of deceased silent movie star, Rose Pettigrew, to remodel and sell it. The house has stood empty for decades, since Rose took her own life and those of her friends, Tubby Fitzgerald, Erik Burke and Sonny Barnes (Eric Roberts). As the night wears on, the girls realize that they’re not alone, and the ghosts of Rose and her friends have dark plans for them. ‘The Dead Want Women’ is scheduled for a June 19th release. It’s full of blood, pretty girls and gross ghouls, so it should be a fun time for everyone. HDD: What other new movies are you planning on releasing in the near future? Charlie: 2012 is a busy year for us. We released ‘DevilDolls,’ an anthology film of three short horror stories. It showcases some films of our past that I liked a lot, but didn’t receive much exposure at the time of their original release. It’s at Redbox now and everywhere DVDS are available, including fullmoondirect.com! In April, we’ll release ‘Goobers!’ under our recently-revived children’s label, Moonbeam Films. We just finished post-production on ‘Zombies Vs. Strippers.’ We’ve got a killer script, great cast, and Ted ('Subspecies') Nicolaou’s son, Alex Nicolaou, will be making his directorial debut. We just wrapped principal photography on the fourth installment of a fun killer clown series and this one is called 'Killjoy Goes To Hell.' Jon Lechago returns as director with Trent Haaga and most of the cast from 'Killjoy 3.' And as of now, we’re about 6 week away from principle photography on the tenth 'Puppet Master' film: 'Axis Rising!' HDD: What is the "Haunted Casinos" line of products and how did the idea for that come about? Charlie: Hauntedcasinos.com offers a totally different line of merchandise from what we usually sell on fullmoondirect.com. Shot glasses, t-shirts, zippo lighters, playing cards, and more -- all with original artwork inspired by the label’s theme. When we started doing research for ‘The Haunted Casino,’ I became fascinated by some of the stories we unearthed. It’s a subject that so few have touched on. You always hear about haunted houses, but some of these old casinos have such a rich history and have hosted some very interesting, shady and tragic characters in their past. So the overall theme was compelling to me, and one that I wanted to explore further. HDD: You also produced and directed a sort of tie-in film called 'The Haunted Casino' starring one of my favorite cult actors, Sid Haig. He seems to have a great personality. What's he like in person and on set? Charlie: Sid is an absolute pleasure to work with. He’s been in this business for years, and worked with a lot of people, so he knows what he’s doing. For a director, it can be great to work with a veteran actor like that, because there’s a certain amount of understanding and flexibility that goes with it. He fully commits himself to any given role and keeps a positive attitude. It allows us to really explore our choices from a creative standpoint. HDD: He sure makes a great mobster! Lastly, so far you've released 'Puppet Master,' 'Puppet Master: Axis of Evil,' and most recently, 'Subspecies: 20th Anniversary Edition' on the Blu-ray format. Do you have any plans for future high-definition releases? Charlie: We do. There are certain titles like those in our Grindhouse series that would lose some of their charm if they were converted to high definition. The grainy picture is part of the show, it’s become synonymous with that kind of nostalgic experience. But Full Moon has continued to thrive by adapting with the times, and HD is the way to go now. All of our new films are being shot in high-definition. 'Killjoy’s Revenge,' 'Killer Eye: Halloween Haunt' and 'The Dead Want Women' will all have HD releases in the future. We’ll be converting a lot more of our classic films and releasing them starting in Fall 2012! HDD: We'll be sure to keep an eye out for those Blu-rays. Take care, Charles!Posted Wed Jun 13, 2012 at 02:00 PM PDT by: -
'The Complete Indiana Jones Blu-ray Collection' Dated for Blu-ray?[teaser]While an official announcement is still forthcoming, over the last few days, several retail websites, including Amazon, have listed the four big screen adventures of Dr. Jones as hitting Blu-ray in September! Amazon is taking pre-orders, but the site has since removed the previously listed September 18th release date.[/teaser] As previously reported, Paramount has slated 'The Complete Indiana Jones Blu-ray Collection' for Blu-ray in the fall, but the official announcement, complete with detailed specs has yet to be released. However, based on retail listings, the suggested list price for the 5-disc set looks to around $99.99. You can find the latest specs for 'The Complete Indiana Jones Blu-ray Collection' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule.Posted Wed Jun 13, 2012 at 12:30 PM PDT by: -
'Little Shop of Horrors' Blu-ray Dated[teaser]Frank Oz's 1986 musical comedy cult classic will feed Blu-ray in October! [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Warner Brothers will release 'Little Shop of Horrors' on Blu-ray on October 9. A skid-row florist's "mean green mother" of a monster plant is the center of "the looniest, nuttiest, most outrageous movie musical comedy in years" (Jeffrey Lyons, Sneak Preview). Rick Moranis, Steve Martin, Ellen Green, Billy Murray and other comedy greats star. Specs have yet to be revealed, but the Blu-ray will come in digibook packaging and will include both the theatrical and director's cuts of the film, deleted scenes, alternate ending, commentary with Frank Oz, and and all new featurette Frank Oz and Little Shop of Horrors: The Director's Cut with a suggested list price of $34.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Little Shop of Horrors' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under October 9.Posted Wed Jun 13, 2012 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
'Cherry Bomb' Blu-ray Dated[teaser]The homage to 1980s action-thrillers will explode on Blu-ray in July. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Well Go USA is prepping 'Cherry Bomb' for a Blu-ray release on July 10. In the vein of the classic revenge movie 'I Spit On Your Grave,' Director Kyle Day’s explosive homage Grindhouse and B-sexplotation movies features an exotic dancer (Julin Jean 'Killer School Girls from Outer Space,' TV’s “Friday Night Lights”) seeking bloody revenge on the five men who assaulted her. Specs and supplements have yet to be revealed, but suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $24.98. You can find the latest specs for 'Cherry Bomb' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it is indexed under July 10.Posted Wed Jun 13, 2012 at 06:00 AM PDT by: -
Guy Ritchie: From Worst to Firstby Aaron Peck [teaser]This week's big release is 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'. Since we've already done a Top 5 / Bottom 5 article for Robert Downey, Jr. I thought this would be a good time to find out how I'd rank Guy Ritchie's feature-length films (seven total).[/teaser] Ritchie has solidified a sort of hyper-stylized world as his directorial vision. His movies tend to give way to insane bouts of action coupled with even crazier bands of characters. Usually when you go into a Ritchie film you expect your dialogue to be fast and the editing to be even faster. Below I've ranked Ritchie's films from worst to first. See if my rankings match yours. 7. 'Swept Away' Okay, everyone saw this coming right? There's no way anyone in their right mind would put 'Swept Away' anywhere on this list but here. At the bottom (er, top?), where this turd belongs. Despite his penchant for directing tough-guy, mobster-centric dark comedies, here Ritchie took on a job that screamed, "My wife made me do it." Watching Madonna in this was an excruciating way to spend 90 minutes. 6. 'Revolver' I know there are people out there who really like this movie, but honestly it's far too muddled to be likable. There's nothing worse than a movie that thinks it's really smart, but instead comes across as stupidly asinine. Besides the incoherent plot, the pseudo-intellectual dialogue really drove me nuts in this movie. 5. 'Sherlock Holmes' Now we're getting into the better movies of Ritchie's filmography. Just to be clear, there is a very steep drop off from the fifth spot occupied by 'Sherlock Holmes' and the sixth spot occupied by 'Revolver.' From here on out the movies, in my mind, are very close to each other in quality, ranging from good to great. The first 'Sherlock Holmes' was fun. I never really cared much for Ritchie's re-imagining of Holmes as some sort of old-timey action hero, but with his super-stylized style it seemed to work. Robert Downey, Jr. provided most of the believability though. 4. 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' For me, the sequel was a bit better than the original, but I'm sure there are people that would switch these two around on the list. They're pretty interchangeable to tell the truth. If you've seen 'Sherlock Holmes' you've pretty much seen 'A Game of Shadows,' except the sequel has much more action of which I guess I was in the mood for when I first watched it. The Ritchie Holmesfilms will never come close to matching the brilliant re-imagining that the BBC has done for the character, but they're pretty fun. 3. 'RocknRolla' If we journey back in time a few years you'll see that 'RocknRolla' was actually my very first review for High-Def Digest. I still think that it's an extremely fun, inventive movie that caught me off guard. I was expecting a rehash of 'Snatch's style with a slightly different story. What I got was a movie chock full of characters I ended up caring about and a zany, pin-balling story that kept me interested. 2. 'Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels' It was his directorial debut, and while his ensemble gangster style seemed to bump up rather closely to Quentin Tarantino's I still came away thinking 'Lock, Stock' was something fairly fresh and unique. Unlike 'Revolver' the dialogue, while smart, didn't seem so desperate. It had a sort of frenzied pace that made it feel that way to me. 1. 'Snatch' 'Snatch' has become somewhat of a classic. It's one of those titles that you simply must have in your collection. Yes, the movie with its gangster mentality and its litany of madcap characters seemed to mirror 'Lock, Stock,' but with an even better cast behind it the movie gained a lot of steam. It had fun with itself. It had fun with its actors. It's still one of the most enjoyable mobster movies out there. So there's our list. How does it stack up with yours? Where would you rank the two 'Sherlock Holmes' movies? Would you interchange them or move them drastically up or down the list? We'd love to know how you'd rank Ritchie's filmography, so please let us know in the forums by following the link below.Posted Tue Jun 12, 2012 at 01:05 PM PDT by: -
'Mother's Day' Announced for Blu-ray[teaser]Another cult horror classic will be slicing and dicing on Blu-ray this September! [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers Starz/Anchor Bay is planning to bring the original 'Mother's Day' to Blu-ray on September 4. Originally released by Troma Entertainment in 1980, the film shocked critics, but garnered a huge cult following among fans of the genre, including 'Hostel' director Eli Roth, and director of 'Saw II-IV,' Darren Lynn Bousman, who helmed the 2012 remake starring Rebecca De Mornay. Directed by Charles Kaufman and written by Kaufman and Warren Leight, the original 'Mother’s Day' follows three young women abducted by homicidal momma’s boys Ike and Addley, while camping. Ike and Addley are goaded by their “Mother” into violent and graphic acts of torture against the three women. While doing everything to stay alive, the three women muster the courage escape, and serve their maniacal abductors some old-fashioned justice! The Blu-ray will feature 1080p video, a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtracks, and supplements will include: Audio commentary, behind-the-scenes footage, and a newly created featurette with genre favorite Eli Roth (Producer of 'The Last Exorcism,' 'Grindhouse' and 'Hostel 1 & 2'), Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $24.99. You can find the latest specs for 'Mother's Day' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where they are indexed under September 4.Posted Tue Jun 12, 2012 at 12:00 PM PDT by: -
'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?' Blu-ray Announced[teaser]Celebrate the 50th anniversary of Robert Aldrich's classic thriller starring Bette Davis and Joan Crawford on Blu-ray this October! [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers,, Warner Brothers will release 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?' in a Blu-ray digibook on October 9. The film was nominated for five Oscars including Best Actress for Bette Davis and won for Best Costume Design (Black and White). Specs haven't yet to be revealed, but supplements will include: Commentary by Charles Busch and John Epperson; Bette and Joan: Blind Ambition; 1994 TNT feature All About Bette; 1967 BBC feature Film Profile: Joan Crawford; Vintage Behind the Scenes with Baby Jane featurette; Excerpt from the 12/20/1962 episode of "The Andy Williams Show"; Dan-O-Rama Movie Mix trailer for Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?; and Theatrical Trailer. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $34.99. You can find the latest specs for 'What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it is indexed under October 9.Posted Tue Jun 12, 2012 at 10:00 AM PDT by: -
Blu-ray Will Do It 'My Way'[teaser]The critically-acclaimed Korean war drama based on a true story is coming to high-definition July 24. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, Well Go USA is working on 'My Way' for a Blu-ray release on July 24. Jang Dong-Gun ('The Warrior’s Way,' 'The Brotherhood of War'), Joe Odagiri ('Shinobi,' 'Bright Future') and Fan Bingbing ('Shaolin,' 'Bodyguards & Assassins') star in Director Kang Je-Gyu’s ('Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War') story of two rival Olympic marathon runners who fight for Japan at the start of World War II. Captured by the Soviets and Germans, they eventually escape and meet on the beaches of Normandy in 1944. Specs have yet to be revealed, but supplements will include a making-of featurette, behind the scenes, and cast and director interviews. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $29.98. You can find the latest specs for 'My Way' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under July 24.Posted Tue Jun 12, 2012 at 08:00 AM PDT by: -
'How to Make It in America: The Complete Second Season' Announced and Detailed for Blu-ray[teaser]The second season of HBO's dramedy series is getting a Blu-ray release in September. [/teaser] In an early announcement to retailers, HBO says 'How to Make It in America: The Complete Second Season' is coming to Blu-ray on September 4. As they continue to hustle to get their CRISP line of T-shirts and hoodies off the ground following a (potentially) lucrative trip to Japan, Ben (Greenberg) and Cam (Rasuk) scour the downtown NYC scene for new business connections, following any lead they can get to get noticed in the ultra-competitive fashion industry. Among those who rub shoulders with Ben and Cam in and around the city are Ben's ex-girlfriend Rachel (Lake Bell, No Strings Attached), an interior decorator now searching for meaning after a globe-spanning trip to Africa and Europe; Domingo (Scott 'Kid Cudi' Mescudi, How to Make It in America: The Complete First Season), a well-connected street pal with his own "entrepreneurial" business; David 'Kapo' Kaplan (Eddie Kaye Thomas, American Reunion), a hedge-fund manager and high-school acquaintance; and Cam's cousin Rene (Luis Guzmán, Out of Sight), an ex-con who is eying his own get-rich scheme by marketing his Rasta Monsta energy drink. The 2-disc Blu-ray set will feature 1080p video, a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack, and supplements will include: Three commentaries with creator/executive producer Ian Edelman, executive producer Julian Farino, and actors Bryan Greenberg & Victor Rasuk; Three Days Downtown featurette; and Inside the Series featurette. Suggested list price for the Blu-ray is $49.99. You can find the latest specs for 'How to Make It in America: The Complete Second Season' linked from our Blu-ray Release Schedule, where it's indexed under September 4.Posted Tue Jun 12, 2012 at 06:00 AM PDT by:
