News

As my tastes change and I get a chance to watch more and more movies, largely due to wonderful companies like Severin, Vinegar Syndrome, and Synapse putting out forgotten or lost movies, this also changes what I’m willing to call a Black Sheep. The Howling series is kind of a Black Sheep series in horror. It has 8 films over a 30-year span from 1981 to 2011 and while the first one is typically held in high esteem because of its pedigree, and, well, because its good, there’s a lot to watch and unpack here. You can look at which movie is the black sheep of the series but let’s get even more granular with it. Let’s look at which of the two Howling movies directed by Phillipe Mora deserves the moniker. While the third one has that specific Ozploitation flair to it that admittedly I am an easy mark for,...

How many Captain America movies will be made in the MCU? It remains to be seen, but so far so good. Captain America: Brave New World is currently doing decent numbers at the global box office, and even though critics are divided about it, fans have been impressed. On Rotten Tomatoes, the MCU movie has an 80% audience score, confirming that it’s as entertaining as any superhero movie can be. The fourth installment picks up where The Falcon and the Winter Soldier left off, following Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) as he dismantles a conspiracy surrounding President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford).

Before that, fans had been treated to three Captain America-centric movies starring Chris Evans as Steve Rogers. The first one was tame enough, but the second one raised the stakes by introducing the Winter Soldier, while the third covered an internal feud between the Avengers. After he and his fellow superheroes defeated Thanos,...

Quick LinksGrowing Up, I Thought Marvel Would Never Make It Onto the Big ScreenThe Marvel Era of Movies Began at the Same Time I Became a FatherThe End of the Infinity Saga Marked My Child's Transition Into Adulthood

My mother is an old-school nerd. She watched Star Trek: The Original Series as it aired. When the crew of the USS Enterprise impossibly got a second act for the movies, she made sure to take me with her. In fact, I remember watching Star Trek III: The Search for Spock in the theater and being very upset that the movie began with my favorite Vulcan dying. Sharing movies like this with a parent is more than just a fun escape.

Kids see the artifice of parenthood slip away a bit. My mom was a "fan" just like me. When I became a father, I got to live the other side of...

Few franchises have gone as far off the rails as the Howling franchise did, and it did so very quickly, going to one of the best werewolf movies ever made with director Joe Dante’s The Howling to director Philippe Mora’s oddball follow-up Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf. Still, Howling II does have it charms and its fans, so Vinegar Syndrome have given the film a 4K release – and they’ve brought it to 4K with a ton of bonus features! Copies are available to order on the Vinegar Syndrome website and go for the price of $37.99.

Directed by Philippe Mora from a screenplay by Robert Sarno and Gary Brandner, Howling II has the following synopsis: Ben is mourning the recent death of his sister, Karen, whom he believes to have been killed in a savage wolf attack. At her funeral, Ben is approached by the mysterious Stefan,...

Killer Collectibles highlights five of the most exciting new horror products announced each and every week, from toys and apparel to artwork, records, and much more.

Here are the coolest horror collectibles unveiled this week!

Sewer Slashers Figures from Toy Snobs

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles become iconic horror villains with Toy Snobs’ Sewer Slashers mashup figures. They’re $50 each or $190 for the set of four.

The line includes Raph Voorhees (with machete), Leatherface Leo (with chainsaw), Mikey Meyers (with knife), and Donny Krueger (with claw glove).

Each 5.5″ toy is packaged on a retro-inspired cardback. Pre-orders are open through October 4 and are expected to ship in Spring 2025.

Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf 4K Uhd from Vinegar Syndrome

Howling II: Your Sister Is a Werewolf transforms on 4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray on October 29 via Vinegar Syndrome. The 1985 werewolf sequel has been newly restored in 4K from the 35mm original camera negative with Dolby Vision Hdr.

“I can do this all day.” The first time Chris Evans delivered that line, then in the form of stick-thin pre-Super Soldier Serum Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger, fans knew that Marvel had found its Cap. After live-action misfires that saw Reb Brown and Matt Salinger, son of Catcher in the Rye author J.D. Salinger, throw Captain America‘s mighty shield, Evans proved that he could play the famously upright character without any cheesiness.

But Evans initially stalled taking the part after realizing he wouldn’t just be doing this all day. He’d be doing it as long as Marvel wanted him, which resulted in eleven film appearances (including a cameo in Thor: The Dark World) between 2011 and 2019.

In a recent breakdown of his most important roles, Evans told GQ that he knew about Marvel’s “big plans, that the goal was to create this tapestry...

Paul Schrader’s Hardcore is one of the writer-director’s most unabashedly autobiographical films. The opening montage of winter in Grand Rapids, Michigan, contains shots of the street where he grew up, his family members, and places he worked. Schrader has also mentioned in interviews that George S. Scott’s Calvinist furniture manufacturer, Jake Van Dorn, is an equivocal portrait of his father.

That entire sequence is shot through with ambivalence. The Van Dorn clan is depicted with warmth and hominess, but there are cracks evident in the facade: the disapproving comments about modern media; the passive-aggressive way in which the emotionally distant Jake talks down to a female employee; and the absence of a presiding maternal figure.

When his daughter, Kristen (Ilah Davis), inexplicably goes missing on a church trip to California, Jake is determined to track her down with the help of Andy Mast (Peter Boyle), a morally...

First appearing in Marvel Comics in 1941, Captain America is a symbol of all true American values: honesty, loyalty, humility, courage, and integrity. As a result, his suit needs to be a shining beacon of hope for not just Americans but all the world over. Each live-action adaptation of the iconic Marvel superhero has had its own take on Captain America's recognizable suit.

Captain America first appeared in live-action in 1944, and since then, 14 different versions of his suit have been designed, including the most recent one for Marvel Studios' upcoming Captain America: New World Order. Although time is often a factor in the design of Captain America's apparel, there's always a consistent color motif of the red, white, and blue of the United States' flag. From the baggy costume, to the sleek uniform, to the fugitive Captain America's darker attire, each suit has its little quirks to talk about.

Dick Purcell...

Before Chris Evans grabbed a star-spangled shield and donned the mantle of Captain America, and even before the late, great, B-movie maestro Albert Pyun directed the straight-to-video 1990 "Captain America" movie, there was Universal's failed "Captain America" feature-length television film, which aired in 1979. Now a footnote in the history of superhero cinema, director Rod Holcomb's "Captain America" fits neatly next to the studio's 1978 "Dr. Strange" adaptation as similar attempts at seeing how Marvel's comic book characters could (extremely loosely) translate to low-budget, live-action TV material. Unfortunately for Holcomb, the project was a bit of an embarrassment.

Holcomb had already directed three episodes of Universal Television's "The Six Million Dollar Man" before taking on the task of adapting "Captain America," but the director was frightened that the production ended his career before it barely even began. The film starred Reb Brown, also known in B-movie circles from "Yor, the Hunter from the Future,...

Man, Bruno Mattei sure loved making movies. It’s there in every frame he ever shot; his passion for film is responsible for countless classics like…okay classics is such a loaded and pliable word depending on one’s outlook. But he sure made enthusiastic films, eager to please; and most importantly he made movies that he thought audiences would want to see based on what they already loved. Case in point: Robowar (1988), a Predator “homage” mixed with a dash or two of Robocop that ends up being uniquely Italian. And if you think anyone other than Severin Films would gift you a Bruno Blu you need a timeout in the boiling jungles of the Philippines.

Where does one even start? Mattei and his frequent cohort Claudio Fragasso headed to the Philippines to make two films, both from Drudi’s scripts: this one, and After Death (aka Zombie 4) which Fragasso helmed.

A year before their jaw-dropper Shocking Dark, director Bruno Mattei (Violence in a Women's Prison) and co-writers Claudio Fragasso & Rossella Drudi (Zombie 4) first collaborated on the brain-melting mash-up of Predator, Robocop and a Philippines war movie that is... Robowar!

When a team of badass commandos is hired for a jungle rescue mission, they'll instead find themselves hunted by a kill-crazed creature that is part man, part machine and all glorious '80s ItaloSleaze.

Reb Brown (Uncommon Valor), Catherine Hickland (One Life To Live), Massimo Vanni (Rats:...

Mark Harrison May 7, 2019

Who’s strong and brave, here to save the American way? We salute Chris Evans’ turn as Marvel Studios’ star-spangled man

This article comes from Den of Geek UK.

This feature contains Major spoilers for the ending of Avengers: Endgame.

When it comes to comic book movies, Captain America: The First Avenger was far from Chris Evans’ first rodeo. Having previously appeared in films like the Fantastic Four movies, The Losers, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, and Push, he may have played more comic characters than any other actor working today. And yet, his turn as Steve Rogers in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is unquestionably his best work.

But to look back on his eight years in the part is to ask not what Captain America has done for the actor, but what Chris Evans has done for the character. Marvel Studios essentially embarked on its initial...

Only two weeks have passed since Marvel welcomed the arrival of the first Avengers: Infinity War teaser and already, Joe and Anthony Russo’s starry tentpole has racked up a staggering 100 million views on YouTube.

That number continues to climb at an exponential rate, so it’s small wonder why Infinity War now holds the title as the most-watched trailer debut of all time within 24 hours. But YouTube content creator and all-around video wizard Darth Blender has produced a decidedly different take on the Avengers: Infinity War trailer.

Much like Darth Blender’s videos for Justice League, Injustice II and Spider-Man: Homecoming, this latest sizzle reel (see below) gives Infinity War the retro treatment, and is edited in such a way that Reb Brown and Burt Reynolds take point as Iron Man and Captain America.

With Thanos’ arrival imminent, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes begin to fall into place, including Lou Ferrigno’s Hulk,...

I know a lot of you are excited about Avengers: Infinity War, so while we wait for it to be released, which seems like a lifetime away, we have a great retro mashup trailer for you to watch! It comes from Darth Blender and it features a mashup of footage from several classic superhero films that were made in the 80s and 90s. I'm sure you'll remember some of these if you were up to speed with what Marvel was doing during this era. Below the video, you'll find a list of all the films that were used and all the characters that the actors are meant to play.

I love that Chuck Norris in The Punisher! It also features Burt Reynolds as Iron Man, David Hasselhoff as Nick Fury, Jean-Claude Van Damme as Winter Soldier, Dennis Quaid as Star-Lord, Eddie Murphy as Falcon and more!

You are welcome to...

By Tim Greaves

Titling a film is no trivial matter, especially from a marketing perspective. As history has proven, there have been numerous films made which have little more to offer than a cracking title. A really sharp one can help sell the poorest product, conversely a stellar piece of movie-making can be undermined by something uninspired. When you're trying to make your movie stand out in a marketplace awash with alternatives, an attention-grabbing title is a crucial consideration and you'll probably be aiming for something that harbours intrigue, allure, and is capable of fostering curiosity and anticipation. When it was first unleashed theatrically in 1985, Howling II: Stirba – Werewolf Bitch was certainly an attention-grabber. Whether the film itself turned out to be good, bad or indifferent, as enticing titles go the suffix Stirba – Werewolf Bitch sure did the job, sending out a premium come and see me you know you...

Face front, true believers! Class is in session! Let’s call this “Doctor Strange 101”, an introduction to the newest member of the “Marvel movie-verse”, although, as you’ll soon learn, the sorcerer supreme is one of the oldest heroes. So, to get you up to speed before heading to the multiplex, we’re giving you a top ten list of facts about the “master of mystic arts”. First, a look at his lineage….

1. Doctor Strange Has Lots Of “Magic Hero” Predecessors Let’s go back over a 100 years, when magicians where a popular part of live entertainment. Many real-life stage performers like Houdini and Blackstone branched out into the printed page, starring in fictional exploits via booklets called “penny dreadfuls” which became the lurid pulp novels. In 1931 a radio show presented the adventures of the mysterious “Chandu the Magician” (one big fan was young Stan Lee). Edmund Lowe battled master...

Arrow Video has now given horror fans several big reasons to look forward to November, as they will keep the scary spirits alive post-Halloween with Us / UK Blu-ray releases of The Initiation and The Driller Killer, a Us Blu-ray / DVD release of C.H.U.D., and a UK Blu-ray / DVD release of Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf.

From Arrow Video’s official Facebook page: “New Us Title Announcement: C.H.U.D Dual Format Blu-ray & DVD

The ultimate underground movie experience

North American Blu-ray pre-order link should be live soon!

They’Re Not Staying Down There, Anymore!

From the subterranean depths it crawls! Finally making its long-awaited debut on Blu-ray, director Douglas Cheek’s cult ‘80s favorite C.H.U.D. is the ultimate underground movie experience.

In downtown Manhattan, a police captain’s hunt for his missing wife leads to the discovery of a series of mysterious disappearances in the area.

Superheroes are everywhere these days – I don’t need to bring up Box Office Mojo to show you that the most popular movies of the last five years usually feature characters who’ve leapt from the pages of a comic book! Hell, even “Batman V Superman”, a movie which was universally panned by critics, still managed to make close to a billion dollars solely by virtue of having two of the most popular comic book characters in there! That’s insane, and it doesn’t extend to movies – we’ve got numerous TV shows (the CW alone has five shows based on comic books, and that’s just one channel), animated series, videogames, and of course, more weekly comic books than you could ever hope to read while maintaining a healthy adult life. You might be wondering why we suddenly have such an influx of superhero media, and the short answer is,...

Captain America: Civil War has some big shoes to fill if it wants to live up to... Captain America (1979) Director: Rod Holcomb Stars: Reb Brown, Len Birman, Heather Menzies-Urich Fledgling artist Steve Rogers and his Street Van of Justice™ are the only things standing in the way of America receiving the business end of a neutron bomb. Marvel... Read More...

Scream Factory will release slithering scares on home media tomorrow with their Blu-ray release of the 1973 snake-centric horror film Sssssss, and we’ve been provided with three copies to give away to Daily Dead readers.

————

Prize Details: (3) Winners will receive (1) Blu-ray copy of Sssssss.

How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “Sssssss Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am Est on May 1st. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

————

From the Press Release: “Before Venom, Anaconda, Python, or Snakes on a Plane, there was the seminal snake-centric horror film, Sssssss. The story of a mad scientist hell bent on turning humans into snakes and using these hybrids...

Back in February, it was announced that Bernard L. Kowalski’s Sssssss would be coming to Blu-ray courtesy of Scream Factory on April 26th. With just four days to go, two Blu-ray clips—one featuring an interview with Dirk Benedict—and the film’s official trailer have been released, and we have them for Daily Dead readers to enjoy. “Don’t say it, hiss it.”

From the Press Release: “Before Venom, Anaconda, Python, or Snakes on a Plane, there was the seminal snake-centric horror film, Sssssss. The story of a mad scientist hell bent on turning humans into snakes and using these hybrids to get revenge on those who have wronged him, Sssssss is every Ophidiophobe’s nightmare. Making its Blu-ray debut April 26th, 2016 from Scream Factory, Sssssss comes loaded with bonus features, including a new interview with actor Dirk Benedict, a new interview with actor Heather Menzies-Urich, a photo gallery,...

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s snakes! This time, Scream Factory has passed the Blu-ray torch to Bernard L. Kowalski’s Sssssss. Packed with bonus features that include but are not limited to new interviews with the cast, Sssssss is available for pre-order now.

Press Release: Before Venom, Anaconda, Python, or Snakes on a Plane, there was the seminal snake-centric horror film Sssssss. The story of a mad scientist hell bent on turning humans into snakes and using these hybrids to get revenge on those who have wronged him, Sssssss is every ophidiophobe’s nightmare. Making its Blu-ray debut April 26th, 2016 from Scream Factory, Sssssss comes loaded with bonus features, including a new interview with actor Dirk Benedict, a new interview with actor Heather Menzies-Urich, a photo gallery, theatrical trailers and more! Fans can pre-order their copies now by visiting ShoutFactory.com

In Sssssss, Strother Martin...

Best known for playing Norman Bates in the Psycho films, Anthony Perkins played a plethora of other cinematic characters in his career, including roles in Destroyer and Edge of Sanity, both of which will come out on a new double feature Blu-ray this year from Scream Factory.

Originally planned to be released last summer as a double feature release with Scarecrows, Destroyer—along with Edge of Sanity—will finally get its high-def due on April 12th from the fine folks at Scream Factory.

Also slated to slither onto shelves this spring is the snake-centric horror film Sssssss, which is scheduled for an April 26th release. Below, we have Scream Factory's official details on both upcoming Blu-rays, as well as a look at the cover art:

From Scream Factory: "Another wild & crazy retro double feature (both featuring Psycho star Anthony Perkins) is planned for release on blu-ray this Spring!

Their hissing can cause you to stop dead in your tracks... or pick up the pace. Snakes are often the source of slithering scares, and Scream Factory's set to release the 1973 snake-centric horror film Sssssss on Blu-ray for the first time next year.

Sssssss will make its Blu-ray debut in the spring/summer of 2016. No special features have been revealed yet, but we'l keep Daily Dead readers updated on further announcements.

From Scream Factory: "If you're into snakes then we have a film for you: The 1973 cult classic called Sssssss (don't say it, hiss it) will be slithering its way to the Blu-ray format for the first time sometime in late Spring/early Summer! Stars Heather Menzies (Piranha), Dirk Benedict (Battlestar Galactica) and Reb Brown (Yor, the Hunter from the Future).

No other details to report at thissss (sorry, we can't help ourselves) time."

Synopsis: "Strother Martin and...

Stephen Harber Oct 24, 2018

The Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf is more than just a crazy title and a disappointing sequel. Much more. Much, much more. Trust us.

Do you remember the first time you saw Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf?

For me, it was a sunny winter’s day in 2004. I was working at a local grocery store, one that still had a video rental department. As anyone who used to hunt down video nasties knows, these merchants were hotbeds for abandoned VHS treasures like Bad Channels or Retribution.

Even though the Blockbuster down the street had a fantastic offering of faded ‘80s horror gems, they were missing the first - and best - sequel to The Howling. It was weird. They had everything else, even the franchise’s sixth entry. Needless to say, I was kind of perplexed. I knew my life would never be...

We’re currently in a boom period for superhero films, with plenty more on the way. It’s the golden age for comic book fans. Characters like Wonder Woman, Dr. Strange and the Justice League are all coming to theaters, joining established franchises like Thor and Captain America. But some of you may not know that these characters all had live-action movies made about them before. Cinelinx looks at 7 obscure super films you probably haven’t seen.

#1. Doctor Strange: In 1978, a two-hour made-for-tv movie aired about the master of the mystic arts. Dr. Strange was meant to be a pilot for a proposed weekly CBS TV series. Peter Hooten played Doctor Strange and Jessica Walters played villainess Morgana Le Fey. CBS was already airing Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk and was trying to go for the hat trick, bringing the Doc to TV. However, it was not to be.

As much as I hate to admit it now, I didn’t always love Howling II. But over the years, as I’ve revisited this cult classic time and time (and time) again, mostly due to Christopher Lee and his badass punk rock attitude in the film, I’ve grown to appreciate Phillippe Mora’s wonderfully surrealistic take on lycanthropes that feels like a modernized twist on the classic Hammer films I grew up loving. And while it may not be a flawless effort by any means, I can’t help but adore a film that gave us Sybil Danning as Queen of the Werewolves, put Lee in a New Wave night club (complete with zany sunglasses and leather jacket) and also gave the modern lycan mythology a bit of an unexpected twist.

Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf picks up right after Joe Dante’s original The Howling...

July 14th may not have a lot of genre-related titles arriving on DVD and Blu-ray, but the films making their home entertainment debuts this week are a rather stellar bunch nonetheless. For anyone who may have missed two of the best indie films this year in theaters—Ex Machina and It Follows—you’ll have a chance to catch up with both this coming Tuesday.

Scream Factory is also keeping busy this week with their high-def release of Philippe Mora’s cult classic, Howling II: Your Sister is a Werewolf, and they also have two double feature Blu-rays coming out as well. Severin Films has put together an extensive special edition release of the recent documentary Lost Soul, which follows the troubled production of Richard Stanley’s Island of Doctor Moreau and looks pretty incredible and for all you X-Men fans out there, the Rogue Cut version of Days...

Scream Factory's bringing full moon frights to their Summer of Fear Part 2 with tomorrow's Blu-ray release of Howling II. To give Daily Dead readers a look at the film's high-definition upgrade, we have clips and trailers from the upcoming home media release.

Synopsis: "Your Sister Is A Werewolf!

After countless millennia of watching, waiting and stalking, the unholy creatures known as werewolves are poised to inherit the earth. Legendary horror icon Christopher Lee faces off against sexy cult favorite Sybil Danning (Battle Beyond the Stars, Chained Heat, Grindhouse) in this terrifying descent into a world of nightmares that turns out to be all too real!

After newscaster Karen White's shocking on-screen transformation and violent death (in the original The Howling), her brother Ben (Reb Brown, Yor, the Hunter of the Future) is approached by Stefan Crosscoe (Lee), a mysterious man who claims that Karen has, in fact, become a werewolf.

Scream Factory's bringing full moon frights to their Summer of Fear Part 2 with next Tuesday's Blu-ray release of Howling II, and we've been provided with three copies to give away to Daily Dead readers.

Synopsis: "Your Sister Is A Werewolf!

After countless millennia of watching, waiting and stalking, the unholy creatures known as werewolves are poised to inherit the earth. Legendary horror icon Christopher Lee faces off against sexy cult favorite Sybil Danning (Battle Beyond the Stars, Chained Heat, Grindhouse) in this terrifying descent into a world of nightmares that turns out to be all too real!

After newscaster Karen White's shocking on-screen transformation and violent death (in the original The Howling), her brother Ben (Reb Brown, Yor, the Hunter of the Future) is approached by Stefan Crosscoe (Lee), a mysterious man who claims that Karen has, in fact, become a werewolf. But this is the least of their worries.

In addition to getting their Blu-ray horror and sci-fi fix from Shout! Factory's booth #4118 at this year's Comic-Con, fans can also experience exciting future Scream Factory title announcements at the "Inside Look" panel taking place Friday, July 10th at 7:30pm in Room 24Abc:

Press Release: "Now a mainstay at San Diego Comic-Con International, Shout! Factory returns to the convention in 2015 with a dynamic line-up sure to delight pop culture enthusiasts of all ages. Shout! Factory is a leading multi-platform entertainment company, and its Comic-Con offerings, which span its popular Shout! Factory, Shout! Kids and Scream Factory™ brands, are sure to please devoted fans of popular home entertainment properties, collectors and pop culture enthusiasts alike. This year, Shout! Factory unveils an exciting panel event, new home entertainment products, Comic-Con exclusives and engaging booth activities. Fans and attendees are invited to join in on the excitement at the Shout! Factory...

Howling II – Bluray Debut Announced

Outrageous, Over-the-top Sequel to the Original Cult Hit The Howling Debuts for the First Time on Blu-ray™! Howling II A Film by Philippe Mora Starring Christopher Lee, Annie McEnroe, Reb Brown, Marsha A. Hunt and Sybil Danning Arrives On Home Entertainment Shelves Everywhere July 14, 2015 From Scream Factory™ Pre-Order This Definitive Edition Today! After ...

Hnn | Horrornews.net - Official News Site...

Scream Factory's bringing full moon frights to their Summer of Fear Part 2 with the Blu-ray release of Howling II, starring Christopher Lee and Sybil Danning. Howling II hits Blu-ray on July 14th and we have release details on the werewolf sequel:

Press Release -- "After countless millennia of watching, waiting and stalking, the unholy creatures known as werewolves are poised to inherit the earth. Legendary horror icon Christopher Lee (The Lord of the Rings, Count Dracula) faces off against sexy cult favorite Sybil Danning (Battle Beyond the Stars, Chained Heat, Grindhouse) in this terrifying descent into a world of nightmares that turns out to be all too real! Fans of the popular Howlings movies rejoice as the long-awaited Blu-ray edition of Howling II hits home entertainment shelves everywhere on July 14, 2015 from Scream Factory™. This high-anticipated release contains extensive bonus content, including all-new interviews with actor Reb Brown, actress Sybil Danning,...

Last week, we attended our local comic convention, Rhode Island Comic Con, with the goal of interviewing some of the cons amazing guest lineup for Hey You Geeks. Turns out, the con was a case-study on how not to run a convention. The geeks came in force, but the con just wasn’t equipped to handle the masses. This got us to thinking about the state of geek culture. As experiences have shown, geek culture is booming, but we wonder; Is this the peak? In the long shadow of geekdom, a sub-culture built from outcasts and niche obsessions, what does it mean to be a geek today? After pondering these questions, we end the show with the two fun interviews we did manage to grab at Ri Comic Con, one with Reb Brown, the first Captain America, and the other with Sesame Street and Great Space Coaster puppeteer, Jim Martin.

CBS Films is teaming up with Dreamgirls producer Laurence Mark to bring the hit Broadway musical 13 to the big screen.

Bert V. Royal (Easy A) has signed on to write the screenplay, which centers on a teenage boy who is at the top of his social circle in Manhattan. In the aftermath of his parents' messy divorce, he is transplanted to a small town in Indiana, where he finds himself "uncool" for the first time in his life. With his bar mitzvah coming up, he hatches a plan to become cool again, which doesn't go quite so well.

Dan Elish and Robert Horn wrote the book for the play, with Jason Robert Brown penning the music for the play, which debuted at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2007, before moving to Broadway in 2008.

Laurence Mark will produce alongside Robert L. Boyett, who produced hit TV shows such as Bosom Buddies,...

Call it Dreamboys. Laurence Mark has signed to produce a big-screen version of Jason Robert Brown‘s smart teen tuner 13 for CBS Films. Mark will team with Bob Boyett, the TV veteran (Happy Days, Bosom Buddies)-turned-theater producer who mounted the Broadway show. It’s about a Bar Mitzvah boy unsettlingly transplanted from Manhattan, where he’s cool, to an Indiana burg, where he’s not. Until he is. David Blackman is exec producing.

Bert V. Royal (Easy A) is writing the screenplay based on Dan Elish and Robert Horn’s book for the show. Smart-alecky and featuring a bevy of sorta-teens, 13 flopped on Broadway in 2008 despite kudos for the game score by Brown (Tony winner for Parade and The Bridges Of Madison County whose adaptation of Honeymoon In Vegas is Broadway-bound this season). CBS Films VP Production Mark Ross and creative exec Winnie Kemp are overseeing the project.

It’s the worst-kept secret of the season: Honeymoon in Vegas, the new musical adaptation of the 1992 movie starring Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker, will finally open on Broadway this fall. Tony Danza will star as Tommy Korman, a Vegas gambler who meets and falls in love with a woman (Brynn O’Malley) who has landed in Sin City to tie the knot with her marriage-phobic boyfriend Jack (Rob McClure).

The long-rumored Broadway production will play the Brooks Atkinson Theatre beginning November 18, with opening night slated for January 15, 2015 (one of the longest preview periods in recent memory). With a...

New York — Following its well-received tryout last year at New Jersey's Paper Mill Playhouse, Honeymoon in Vegas has booked a Broadway opening for this winter. Tony Danza, Rob McClure and Brynn O'Malley will star in the roles played in Andrew Bergman's 1992 screen comedy by James Caan, Nicolas Cage and Sarah Jessica Parker, respectively. Directed by Gary Griffin and choreographed by Denis Jones, the show begins previews Nov. 18 at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, with official opening set for Jan. 15. Veteran screenwriter Bergman adapted the book, with music and lyrics by Jason Robert Brown, a two-time

read more...

Well, the big day is finally here! After leading the Avengers in stopping an alien invasion Summer before last, our favorite shield-slinger returns to the multiplexes in an all new solo adventure (well, he’s got some help from the Black Widow and the high-flyin’ Falcon)! Before you head out, you may want to brush up on all things Steve Rogers (don’t worry, this won’t be on the final!)! Have fun and buy bonds!

Read my original review of Captain America Here.

Here’s my original article that ran on Wamg before Captain America: The First Avenger was released in 2011.

The very first appearance of the sentinel of liberty.

Okay fellow movie geeks! Ready for a bit of pop culture history? Before you head out to the multiplex this weekend to see Paramount’s Captain America: The First Avenger, let’s get better acquainted with the story of this star-spangled superhero.

Yor, the Hunter from the Future isn’t just a bad movie; it’s that special breed of stupendously fun bad that leaves a lasting impression, and nothing about Yor left more of an impression on me than its astounding, borderline incomprehensible, rock anthem theme song.

Reb Brown looks more like Fast Times at Ridgemont High’s Spicoli than any sort of prehistoric barbarian, running around the land before time in furry boots and loin cloth, setting out on a journey to learn the truth of his lineage.

In between romancing a sexy cave girl and a sexy space girl, Yor’s quest for fire will see him battling dinosaurs, Neanderthals, Dark Helmet look-a-like cyborgs, and futuristic spacemen living on an Atlantis-like island ruled by a goateed man in a black cloak called The Overlord, whom York eventually kills via impalement with a piece of a giant candy cane.

People...

Incredible advances in special effects have enabled characters such as Spider-Man and Thor to captivate cinema audiences

Gallery: Marvel superheroes in film

Marvel Comics revolutionised the superhero genre in the 1960s with comic book characters such as Spider-Man, Thor, Iron Man and the Hulk. Colourfully costumed adventurers who fought criminals and alien monsters primarily on the streets of New York City, and who, despite their incredible superpowers, struggled with personal and social problems. Stan Lee, the architect of the Marvel universe, routinely addressed readers as "true believers".

Almost 60 years later the same Marvel characters are making true believers of us all. The success of Marvel feature films over the last decade has moved superheroes from just an obsession of comic book fanboys to an international phenomenon. The superhero blockbuster trend shows no signs of slowing down, with upcoming releases of Thor: The Dark World, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, X-Men: Days of Future Past...

Feature Mark Harrison 9 Jul 2013 - 07:01

Back in the 70s, a pair of Captain America pilots appeared on Us TV. Mark looks at two cult curios, and ponders the series that never was...

In the late 1970s, Universal Television optioned the rights to make TV shows based on characters from the Marvel Comics library, and created a number of pilots based on heroes such as the Hulk, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange. In retrospect, The Incredible Hulk was by far the most successful of these - it's arguably still the definitive version of the character on screen, outside of last year's Avengers Assemble.

Even though it never led to a series, 1978's two Captain America TV movies came second-closest to success, by the virtue of even getting as far as a second movie. The first, known as Sentinel Of Liberty, establishes a different origin story for Steve Rogers, while the second,...

I remember sitting in my bedroom in Inglewood, CA in my teens reading yet another awesome issue of The Amazing Spider-Man. The early ’90s: some would say that this was the apex of the golden years for Marvel’s marquee character. Howard Mackie and Tom DeFalco (who must have been under mind control or something) were waiting in the wings to ruin everything, but I digress. This article is about comic book movies.

Back in those days there was already talk about Marvel taking the movie business seriously, up until that point they relied on studio’s like Troma Films (Toxic Avenger) to handle their films, which as you might imagine produced less than stellar results (Dolph Lundgren as Punisher, Reb Brown as Captain America and the immediately and mercifully killed original Fantastic Four film starring who cares honestly).

Their cross town rivals had the luxury of being owned by Warner Bros.

With a title like Only God Forgives, you know a movie's going to be one of two things.  It'll either be an action flick where Jason Statham/Sylvester Stallone/Arnold Schwarzenegger/Dolph Lundgren/Reb Brown/ Jean-Claude Van Damme kills everything that moves, or a smart foreign film.  This is the latter, though it still involves the killing of many things that move.  Drive fans out there should be excited to see this, as it reteams Ryan Gosling with Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn.  Trailer after the jump.

Howling II: … Your Sister Is a Werewolf

Written by Robert Sarno, Gary Brandner

Directed by Philippe Mora

USA, 1985

If you couldn’t tell from the ridiculous title, Howling II: … Your Sister is a Werewolf is quite a bizarre film. Blending together the myths of Lycans and vampires to craft a profoundly confusing feature.

Starting off with a brief Christopher Lee intro then picking up immediately after the events of the first Howling. For those who are unfamiliar with that film let’s just summarize it as a female reporter, Karen White, who discovers a community of werewolves, gets bitten and then transforms on live TV to expose the world to the werewolf threat. It seems that somehow this broadcast was cutoff and covered up so the film takes place in a world still ignorant of the lycan existence. At the funeral of said reporter we are introduced to her brother...

The Gallery Players, now in its 46th season, will start off the New Year with Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown's Parade, running January 26 to February 17, 2013. Tony Award winner for Best Book and Best Score in 1999, Parade is based on the true events of the 1913 trial of Leo Frank, a Jewish man from Brooklyn who runs a pencil factory in Marietta, Georgia. Frank is accused of the murder of 13-year old Mary Phagan, a factory worker under his employ. Already guilty in the eyes of everyone around him, a sensationalist publisher, determined district attorney and a janitor's false testimony seal Leo's fate. His only defenders are a governor with a conscience, and eventually, his assimilated Southern wife who finds the strength and love to become his greatest champion. 2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the crime.Check out a behind the scenes look at the show with the cast and...

The Gallery Players, now in its 46th season, will start off the New Year with Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown's Parade, running January 26 to February 17, 2013. Tony Award winner for Best Book and Best Score in 1999, Parade is based on the true events of the 1913 trial of Leo Frank, a Jewish man from Brooklyn who runs a pencil factory in Marietta, Georgia. Frank is accused of the murder of 13-year old Mary Phagan, a factory worker under his employ. Already guilty in the eyes of everyone around him, a sensationalist publisher, determined district attorney and a janitor's false testimony seal Leo's fate. His only defenders are a governor with a conscience, and eventually, his assimilated Southern wife who finds the strength and love to become his greatest champion. 2013 marks the 100th anniversary of the crime.

We have another exclusive for you cats. On tap right now is an exclusive clip from Night Claws, the latest sliver of Sasquatchploitation which is available now on DVD from Midnight Releasing. It asks: What would you do to get away from a monster?

What if Yor, the Hunter from the Future (Reb Brown), Sharon Stone's lesbian lover from Basic Instinct (Leilani Sarelle), the star of a host of 80s/90s made-for-video action b-movies (Ted Prior), the King of the Kickboxers' girlfriend (Sherrie Rose), and Sylvester Stallone's brother (Frank Stallone) got together to star in a new Sasquatchploitation flick called Night Claws from the director of such horror movies as Killer Workout and Mardi Gras for the Devil (David A. Prior)? Throw in traditional special effects (i.e., No CGI!) from Bruce Larsen and Bill “Splat” Johnson, and you have a recipe for old school Bigfoot mayhem.

Disc...

It would be easy to dismiss Night Claws as just another low budget Bigfoot movie, but if you’re a lover of b-movies then the pedigree behind this latest piece of Sasquatchploitation makes it a must-see.

I first reported on this movie back in April of 2011 and I feel compelled to repeat a paragraph I wrote back then explaining why the film is a b-movie lover’s wet dream:

What if Yor, the Hunter from the Future (Reb Brown), Sharon Stone's lesbian lover from Basic Instinct (Leilani Sarelle), the star of a host of 80s/90s made-for-video action b-movies (Ted Prior), the King of the Kickboxer's girlfriend (Sherrie Rose), and Sylvester Stallone's brother (Frank Stallone) got together to star in a new Sasquatchploitation flick called Night Claws from the director of such horror movies as Killer Workout and Mardi Gras for the Devil (David A. Prior)?

Throw in traditional special effects (i.

This past weekend saw Marvel reveal “Phase 2″ of their film line-up at the San Diego Comic Con so I thought what better film to pick for today’s Movie of the Day than a movie based on a Marvel character. Only this film is one of the most vilified, yet at the same time celebrated, of the early Marvel movies, Captain America.

I know what you’re thinking “Hang on, Captain America only came out last year”. Well yes, That Captain America movie came out last year, but there have been numerous other Captain America films released over the years – a Republic serial, two TV movies in the 70s starring Reb Brown and the movie that is my pick for Movie of the Day, 1990′s Captain America.

Directed by prolific talent Albert Pyun, who in the late 80s and early 90s was an unstoppable force in low-budget movie making – Cyborg,...