Objects of Desire: Special Edition Blu-Rays – Part One

As appreciated by film geeks everywhere; there is much more to a good DVD or Blu-Ray release than simply the film itself. The appeal comes equally from the packing, presentation, special features & promotional items that are included with the set. These range from well designed standard jewel cases all the way to through to full-blown promotional sets.  Here I examine a few such sets from my own collection and elsewhere.

Breaking Bad: The Complete Series (Deluxe Barrel Edition)

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This set is packaged in a stylish ‘barrel’ case in homage to the shows final season. The discs for each series are stored in plastics rings sealed with magnets (another reference to the show). Also included is a Los Pollos Hermanos apron, booklet and challenge coin. The top of the barrel contains a ‘secret’ compartment with a bonus features disc. Over 55 hours of special features are included as well as a brand new two-hour documentary.

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1OVE (2014) – ‘A Romantic Comedy For Pop Music Nerds’

1OVE is a fun internet comedy short from GDB Films; written by G. Daniel Bailey & directed by Reynaldo Rodriguez.

The ensemble cast includes G. Daniel Bailey, Laura TenZijthoff. Keith C. Wade (Burn Notice, Graceland) and Frank Francisco (Univision’s Va Por Ti).IMG_1918-0

The concept here is ‘a romantic comedy for pop music nerds‘. This is achieved through the dialogue which is mostly referencing or byorrowed from well known song lyrics (both recent and classic). With everything from Rihanna to The Who there is something for everyone here. Continue reading →

My Favourite Movie Soundtrack: Reservoir Dogs (1992)

In 1992, Quentin Tarrentino exploded onto the independent cinema scene with his violent and ferocious debut film Reservoir Dogs which featured an ensemble cast including Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Chris Penn, Steve Buscemi, Lawrence Tierney, Michael Madsen & Tarrentino himself.reservoir_dogs

This film showed the beginnings of Tarrentino’s bold and unique film-making style that was further developed in later films such as Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill. He was unafraid of using on-screen violence as a tool to shock and thrill audiences. He also created believable and relatable characters through the use of everyday conversation and pop culture references of the time; you could almost imagine these violent criminals were someone you might know.

But one aspect that really sets this film aside is the use of music. Continue reading →

5 Films That Feature Radio DJ’s

1. The Warriors (1979)Warriors

While ‘The Warriors’ gang flee from New York City to Coney Island, the radio D.J. (Lynne Thigpen) provides coded information and updates to the gangs that are pursuing them. Continue reading →

Twin Peaks Returns: Will our questions finally be answered?

By Lewis Mainwaring


Cult Television Classic ‘Twin Peaks‘ (1990 – 1991) will be making its long anticipated return to American television in 2016 on Showtime with a new 9 episode series.

TwinPeaks_openingshotcredits Continue reading →

UPDATE: Kevin Smith’s ‘Tusk’ UK Release Date & Premiere

UPDATE – 29/05/15

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Tusk is available to Buy on iTunes in the UK. Click here. Also now available on Sky Store, Amazon Instant Video and Google Play.

Tusk is already released for Pre-Order on DVD in UK. Release date currently 8th June.
Available from Amazon and Zavvi.


People tweeted (@sonypicturesuk) using hashtag #TuskUKYes to show support for a UK release. Some tweets featured below. Continue reading →

Review: Bypass (2014)

Bypass is a joint venture between Third Films and Swedish company FilmiVast with funding from the British Film Institute and Film Agency Wales; from writer/director Duane Hopkins and starring up-and-coming young actor George MacKay (Pride, Sunshine on Leith, Peter Pan) as Tim.

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Movie Gem of the Week: Coffee Town (2013) from CollegeHumor

Coffee Town is the original comedy from writer/director Brad Copeland and marks the first feature film produced by website CollegeHumor; better known for their on-line comedy videos. This continues a new trend of features created by on-line content sites; thecoffetown_poster feature iSteve (a comic look at the life of Steve Jobs) was released by site FunnyorDie earlier the same year. The film was released simultaneously in cinemas and on-demand. Continue reading →

News: Kevin Smith finds funding for Clerks III

Writer/director Kevin Smith let slip on his podcast Hollywood Babble-On (an entertainment/chat show co-hosted by Ralph Garman) that he had secured funding for the long-awaited film Clerks III. This is reportedly as a result of renewed interest following Smith’s recent horror/comedy Tusk.  

Smith made his film debut with Clerks in 1994; shooting the film for around $27,000 paid on various credit cards before selling the film to Miramax at the Sundance film festival. He went on to further successes with films such as Dogma, Chasing Amy & Jersey Girl before returning to Clerks with Clerks II in 2006. Continue reading →

Movie Gem of the Week: War, Inc. (2008)

There exists a great tradition in cinema of political satires that highlight current and future issues ironically through their use of dark comedy; whilst not actually featuring factual characters or events (i.e. The Manchurian Candidate)…this is one such film.

War Inc. is the 2008 dystopian sathttps://i0.wp.com/upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/6/68/WarIncPoster.jpg/220px-WarIncPoster.jpgire from director Joshua Seftel and writers Mark Leyner, Jeremy Pikser and John Cusack; starring John Cusack, Hillary Duff, Marisa Tomei, Dan Aykroyd, Joan Cusack and Ben Kingsley. Continue reading →