Nameless [Blu-ray]

Get the more expensive version.
This is a great movie.
It will scare you.
It has a excellent story
It has good special effects,
BUT, this budget label version from EchoBridge Entertainment is listed as widescreen and it is not. ITS FULL FRAME!!!!
I am glad I waited and did not get rid on my Spanish import.
You can purchase the $17.99 version on the old Miramax label (its the one listed above this one on Amazons search page for The Nameless).
Such a shame-this budget version would have been a great deal for $6.99 if it was really widescreen.

Lost in Translation
The film starts off with the gruesome, ritualistic-style murder of a young girl that's more graphic and disturbing than anything you'd see on CSI. This accurately sets the stage for the disturbing, underlying plot: that there's a secret society of pathological killers operating just under the radar and they're committing incredibly unspeakable acts of all kinds - without conscience, for the sake of evil itself. All the makings are there for a great psycho-drama, but too much happens in a vacuum for it to be believable. While the film does keep you on the edge of your seat, I found myself yelling at the screen asking the characters "how could you be so stupid?"; people going into potentially dangerous buildings alone, being forewarned about impending doom and yet still casting common sense aside and putting themselves in harm's way. If it wasn't for the the lack of intelligence of the characters portrayed in the film, this secret society couldn't stand on its own.

Putting...

A Spanish example of horror done absolutely right
It was only as the opening credits of this film rolled that I realized the story was based on a novel by Ramsey Campbell - one I had read a few years ago. The only thing I clearly remember about the novel is the horrible ending, which I described as a betrayal of the evil Campbell had spent so much time creating. This movie, on the other hand, does things absolutely right in my book, creating a bold, shocking ending that made me want to stand up and cheer - not for what actually happened, but because the filmmaker ended the film in such heroic fashion - American filmmakers always seem to cowardly sell out at the end of films. The Nameless is in fact a Spanish production (Los Sin Nombre), directed by Jaume Balaguero, the same man behind the film Darkness. The film is dubbed in English, but I have no complaints about the dubbing whatsoever.

I love European horror. There is a completely different mood and feel compared to American horror films, which at this point...

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Fresh [Blu-ray]

"Anything lost can be found again, except for time wasted."
Michael, a.k.a. "Fresh", is a 12-year-old drug dealer who lives in a run-down house with his aunt and other orphaned children in a dangerous Brooklyn neighborhood. Having grown up in a harsh culture, he is a boy who shows little emotion despite witnessing the revulsion of street life on a regular basis. His mother is long gone, his sister has resorted to prostitution, and his father is completely estranged-although every now and then he meets with his father to play speed chess, through which he is taught street knowledge. At first Fresh aspires to live the life of a powerful drug dealer, but one day a heartrending incident causes him to rethink his dreams and consider a better possible future.

Directed by Boaz Yakin (who also directed "Remember the Titans"--a *completely* different film), "Fresh" is an astonishingly well-done film that left me stunned long after it ended. By depicting a brutal life through the eyes of a young boy, the film tells a bleak story by taking its viewers...

An INCREDIBLE movie that suffered from lousy distribution
With the exception of a audio track that sometimes gives the impression that students were hired to record the sound, this is quite possibly a perfect movie. Given two thumbs WAY up by Siskel and Ebert, this film is a tightly written and well acted. The initial opening, which confused me at first, on later viewings revealed itself to be the setting of the chessboard upon which the title character plays his most important game -- Namely, his life. If you are a lover of suspense, intelligence, or chess (Fresh uses chess tactics to checkmate his opponents and save the "queen") than This is the film for you. Because, at first glance, this film is about African Americans and drugs -- but with relatively little violence, the distributors had no idea what to do with it and it received lousy distribution and little advirtising. It is NOT however so much a film about drugs and violence, as it is about an incredibly intelligent, hard working kid who uses all the resources...

An Overlooked Gem
This is a very recent film that I watched at the suggestion of one of my co-workers (Hey Harlan!). I was captivated by this film from beginning to end. Its raw power is undescribable, and the performances by the lead actor in particular (Sean Nelson) was brilliant. The story deals with a young boy who has become a pint size drug runner. He, however, is extremely intelligent and knows that there is no future in this type of life. He sets out to become a man, and in the process many lives are changed, most importantly his own. It is a film of astonishing and unrelenting power which should be seen by everyone. I was very impressed with screenwriter/director Boaz Yakim's decision not to put the usual soundtrack that befuddles urban films, instead, the instrumental score brings yet another dimension to this already multi-layered motion picture. Kudos to Giancarlo Esposito in the role of Esteban.

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Hellraiser VII: Deader [Blu-ray]

This re-release is in fullscreen, 1.33:1 & devoid of extras...
...but the bargain price was right up my alley to see these later Hellraiser films for the 1st time. I only owned the 1st 3 on DVD and saw Hellraiser IV: Bloodline back in the 90's, a title I was initially disappointed with back then but have more appreciation for now despite being not as good as the classic earlier films.

The fullscreen presentation right off the bat cuts off the beginning credits as all the names of the stars & crew get cut off at the sides, such as star of the film "Kari Wu"! She's not even Asian. The sound quality is a bit lacking also as some dialogue is hard to understand versus the music, and there are NO subtitles or closed captioning. No anything on the menu screen except "Play" and "Scene selection".

The previous release of Deader on DVD according to Amazon's page is 1.85:1 widescreen, but I don't own that disc but those out there may want that version if bothered by the boxiness of this newer disc.

not your normal hook and chain
We've all gotten use to the cult classic masterpiece that we know as Hellraiser. Our beloved Pinhead, the beautiful and mysterious puzzle box that gets the ball rolling, and Kirstie Cotton's character going head to head with one of our favorite movie monsters. This story takes a slightly different angle, as does "Inferno" and "Hellseeker" even though one of our favorite heroins reprises her role from the first two films in "Hellseeker". It does get confusing at times but if you pay attention and stick with it, its worth it. The story takes on the journey of others who have the misfortune of crossing paths with the beautiful and mysterious puzzle box that unleashes utter chaos on those who are stupid enough to open it cause it's pretty. The story was interesting and well played and the actors were very good. It pleases me to say how much I enjoyed this movie. It's not our traditional Hellraiser tale but it kinda puts Pinhead's role more in perspective and reveals a little more to...

Hellraiser: Deader
I think if Hollywood were to take anything away from the Hellraiser franchise it would be this: quit being such cheap bstrds out to save a little cash and spring for an original friggin' script! HELLRAISER 7, aka HELLRAISER: Deader (2005) is just yet another in a long line (the third so far) of Hellraiser movies that began life as entirely separate entities. Neither HELLRAISER: Inferno, HELLRAISER: Hellseeker nor HELLRAISER: Deader were written as Hellraiser movies, but Dimension films decided they wanted to make more Hellraiser movies and, to not have to pay for a new, original script, they took some old unproduced scripts off the shelf, did some re-writes to include the Lament Configuration and the Cenobites, and they made their movie. And with each one, they just drive the franchise further and further into the ground. Gone is the once-great mythology, gone is the feeling of menace the Cenobites once inspired, and definitely gone is any of the heart Clive Barker put into his...

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