CD Review: Five Finger Death Punch “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell, Vol. 2”

Five Finger Death Punch
“The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 2”
Prospect Park
Producer: Kevin Churko
Tracks: 12

Our Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Following hot off the heels of Five Finger Death Punch’s July 2013 release “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 1”, “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 2”
Picks ups where the previous album left off. The album like its predecessor is being released via Prospect Park and was produced by Kevin Churko.

I always have to question a bands decision when they decide to release multiple albums within months of each other. However after my first listen of “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 2” any preconceived notions I may have had were instantly thrown out the window. From the albums opening track “Here to Die” which goes from zero to sixty right out of the gate I couldn’t wait to hear the other 11 tracks. Vocalist Ivan Moody seems to have tapped in to a channel of aggression which seems to be the catalyst for every track. Songs like “Wrecking Ball” and “Matter of Time” rip through your speakers and assaults whoever maybe in the immediate listening area. Even when the band slows things down with the albums closing track a cover of the classic Animals song “The House of the Rising Sun” the band still maintains the consistency of the previous numbers. Producer Kevin Churko continues to show why he is the best producer for the job as he does a remarkable job captured all the nuances of each members playing while elevating their sound with a really great mix that was music to my ears.

If you already have “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 1” then “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 2” is a no brainer. However if you haven’t yet grab either copy I would recommend starting here with Vol. 2 as the album takes you on a rollercoaster ride filled with raw emotion an energy that keeps your attention from start to finish.

Track Listing:
1.) Here to Die
2.) Weight Beneath My Skin
3.) Wrecking Ball
4.) Battle Born
5.) Cradle to the Grave
6.) Matter of Time
7.) The Agony of Regret
8.) Cold
9.) Let This Go
10.) My Heart Lied
11.) A Day In My Life
12.) House of the Rising Sun

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Five Finger Death Punch “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 1” Signed CD Giveaway [ENDED]

THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED AND WINNERS HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL. PLEASE CHECK BACK EACH WEEK FOR NEW GIVEAWAYS!

Media Mikes has teamed up with SKH Music to giveaway 1 band signed copy and 3 regular copies of Five Finger Death Punch’s latest album “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol.1” If you would like to enter for your chance to win one of these great prizes, please leave us a comment below or send us an email with your favorite FFDP song. This giveaway will remain open until Sept. 6th at Noon, Eastern Time. This is open to our readers in US and Canada only. One entry per person, per household. All other entries will be considered invalid. Media Mikes will randomly select winners. Winners will be alerted via email.

Acclaimed hard rock band Five Finger Death Punch’s highly anticipated The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell Volume 1 (Prospect Park in North America / Eleven Seven in all other territories) has debuted as a global success. The album has achieved career highs for the band, with a mainstream chart debut at #2 in The United States, #3 in Canada, #4 in Germany, alongside impressive entries in other territories across the globe. The lead single “Lift Me Up” (featuring Rob Halford of Judas Priest) is currently #1 on the U.S. Active Rock charts for the third consecutive week. The successful debut exhibits that Five Finger Death Punch is challenging the notion that “Rock is Dead,” as they look poised to deliver a fourth consecutive Gold certified album following the successes of The Way of The Fist (2007), War Is The Answer (2009) and American Capitalist (2011). Cumulative single sales have now exceeded over 4.5 million.

Track Listing:
1.) Lift Me Up (feat. Rob Halford)
2.) Watch You Bleed
3.) You
4.) Wrong Side of Heaven
5.) Burn MF
6.) I.M.Sin
7.) Anywhere But Here (feat. Maria Brink)
8.) Dot Your Eyes
9.) M.I.N.E. (End This Way)
10.) Mama Said Knock You Out (feat. Tech N9ne)
11.) Dairy of a Deadman
12.) I.M.Sin (feat. Max Cavalera)
13.) Anywhere But Here
14.) Dot Your Eyes (feat. Jamey Jasta)

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CD Review: Five Finger Death Punch “The Wrong Side Of Heaven And The Righteous Side Of Hell – Volume 1”

Five Finger Death Punch
“The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 1”
Prospect Park
Producer: Kevin Churko
Tracks: 14

Our Score: 5 out of 5 stars

Los Angeles metalers Five Finger Death Punch are back with the first of two new albums titled “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 1”. The album is the follow up to the bands 2011 release “American Capitalist” which was certified gold in September of 2012. “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 1” is being released via Prospect Park and features 14 hard rocking songs produced by Kevin Churko.

Prepare to have your fillings knocked loose as the boys in Five Finger Death Punch pull no punches with the first of two new releases slated for 2013. “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 1” Immediately amps things up with probably my favorite song off the album titled “Lift Me Up” which features a stellar guest performance by the Metal God himself Rob Halford. The album takes you on a roller coast ride of emotion as singer Ivan Moody seems to be venting his inner most demons on tracks such as “Burn MF” and “Dot Your Eyes”.

Moody’s vocal presentation combined with the thunderous bottom end of bassist Chris Kael and drummer Jeremy Spencer and the searing tandem guitar attack of Zoltan Bathory and Jason Hook the album sounds amazing! Though I’m not a big fan of albums that feature different version of the same song FFDP was able to make it work with the addition of guest vocalists Maria Brink, Jamey Jasta and Max Cavalera. Each guest performer seemed to not only give the track a breath of fresh air but also elevate them to a higher performance level.

Solid from start to finish “The Wrong Side of Heaven and the Righteous Side of Hell Vol. 1” delivers. If the bands 13 original tracks weren’t enough for you the guys in FFDP take things a step further by throwing in a rocking rendition of the LL Cool J classic “Mama Said Knock You Out”. Whether you are a fan of heavy metal or not the latest release from Five Finger Death Punch is a must have.

Track Listing:
1.) Lift Me Up (feat. Rob Halford)
2.) Watch You Bleed
3.) You
4.) Wrong Side of Heaven
5.) Burn MF
6.) I.M.Sin
7.) Anywhere But Here (feat. Maria Brink)
8.) Dot Your Eyes
9.) M.I.N.E. (End This Way)
10.) Mama Said Knock You Out (feat. Tech N9ne)
11.) Dairy of a Deadman
12.) I.M.Sin (feat. Max Cavalera)
13.) Anywhere But Here
14.) Dot Your Eyes (feat. Jamey Jasta)

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Blu-ray Review “The ABCs of Death”

Directed by: Various
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
Release Date: May 21, 2013
Run Time: 130 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Yeah…I am not sure how to easily explain this film.  “The ABCs of Death” consists of 26 short films from 26 different directors from all over the world.  Some of these are downright awesome and some of them are absolutely terrible.  I am still recommending this film just because it is so unique and like nothing I have ever seen before. In case you haven’t caught on each director was given a letter and complete creative freedom.  The shorts range from live-action to hand drawn animated to claymation. So there is tons of variety here.  If you are a horror fan, this is easily one of the most creative films you will see this year…as long as you have a tough stomach!

I would love to list all the clever names for each show but for me finding out during the film was part of the fun. When I was watching, I was constantly trying to figure out what the hell was going on and what was the short going to be called. I will giveaway two of them since they were the most obvious. I am not going to give the premise away but I will tell you the names. One of my favorites was “D is for Dogfight”, it was well done and very clever with only one word of dialogue.  The absolute worst was “F is for Fart”, go figure it was made in Japan, which is downright stupid and just gross.  I like a good fart joke but this was terrible. That is another thing some of these shorts is that all of them don’t all fit in the horror genre either except for the fact of dealing with death.

Official Premise: Twenty-six directors. Twenty-six ways to die. The ABC’s OF DEATH is perhaps the most ambitious anthology film ever conceived with productions spanning fifteen countries and featuring segments directed by over two dozen of the world’s leading talents in contemporary genre film. Inspired by children’s educational books, the motion picture is comprised of twenty-six individual chapters; each helmed by a different director assigned a letter of the alphabet. The directors were then given free reign in choosing a word to create a story involving death. Provocative, shocking, funny and ultimately confrontational, THE ABC’s OF DEATH is the definitive vision of modern horror diversity.

This Blu-ray being reviewing is the 1-disc Blu-ray version.  It also features an alternate cover which the baby holding the book has been removed. I personally prefer the originally artwork, which is only available on the 2-disc combo pack with a Blu-ray and DVD of the film. The 1080p transfers look good for the most part but constantly various in quality since there is many different types of camera options used for each short.  The same goes for the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio tracks.  It various from short to short but all around sounds decent.

The special features are quite impressive for this release. Get ready for this…there is a filmmaker commentary track on each short. I think that is a real treat because you can get to hear the vision behind each film. There are also extras included for 14 out of the 26 shorts. Including the letter A has a visual effects featurette. The letters B, D and I have a Making Of featurette. C includes some Deleted Scenes. F, H, J, T, V, W and Z all have Behind the Scenes looks and R has a Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery with 71 photos. Lastly there is “AXS TV: A Look at The ABCs of Death”, which runs under five minutes and some trailers included.

 

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Beyond Dishonor releases first teaser trailer for upcoming album titled “Generations”

If you are not having fun, the crowd isn’t having fun—this sums up the philosophy of Beyond Dishonor. Comprised of five members with very disparate influences, styles and quirks, this stalwart of the resurgent New Jersey Metal scene combines all of those myriad differences between them and, somehow, creates music that is brutal and aggressive enough for the most hardcore of fans and yet groovy enough to be accessible to those on the fringe.The music is wrapped around the lyrics of singer Reese Dunlap, who’s literary, filmographic and intellectual obsessiveness pervades each song with hidden meanings, double entendre’, and tongue-in-cheek jabs. It is their sense of humor, their unabashed desire to be serious without appearing pretentious and a high level of stage experience that has helped shape this 5 piece. Currently they are recording their upcoming 2013 release “Generations” with Andreas Magnusson at Planet Red Studios (Oh Sleeper, Impending Doom, A Life Once Lost, Black Dahlia Murder, This or the Apocalypse).

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Five Finger Death Punch’s Jason Hook talks about new album and his signature M-4 Sherman guitar

Jason Hook is the guitarist for the heavy metal group Five Finger Death Punch who in the coming months will be releasing their 4th as yet untitled studio album.  More recently at this year’s NAMM convention held in Anaheim, California Gibson Guitars unveiled the Jason Hook signature M-4 Sherman guitar which is the first guitar to bear Jason’s name. Media Mikes was able to talk with Jason recently about the creation of the guitar and several of its aspects.

Adam Lawton: What was your first exposure to Gibson guitars?
Jason Hook: I remember reading the back of the Kiss “Destroyer” album where it said that Kiss uses Pearl drums and Gibson guitars because they want the best. I think that was in 1976. At the time I think the whole band was using Gibsons. I didn’t get my own Gibson until I was in my late 20’s. I bought it in Canada sight unseen. I think I paid about $900 for a used custom. I didn’t know anything about the guitar before I got it. I probably should have held on to that one.

AL: How did the opportunity come about to do your own signature model Gibson?
JH: I know several people who work at the company so I would periodically check in with them. I play explorers which not a lot of people play. I thought that this would be a good lead in to help push this through. It took me a little while to get that point to the right person. Everyone wants something from Gibson so they are very selective about what they give away and who they help out. I had to be patient.

AL: What was it that drew you to the Explorer model?
JH: I own several Les Paul models and they are great guitars however I developed a nerve issue with my right arm. On the Les Paul model there is a hard binding that comes across and falls under that right arm. This was causing my arm to burn while I was playing and really bummed me out. Idecided to try the Explorer and it was perfect.

AL: How much of the design process were you allowed to be a part of?
JH: Surprisingly they wanted to do exactly what I wanted to do. I started off asking them if I could do certain and things and they told me it was my guitar I could do what I wanted. They didn’t resist any of my crazy ideas.

AL: Can you give us the specs on the guitar?
JH: Everything is based off the stock Explorer. I changed the rosewood fret board to a granadillo fret board as it is a very hard and dense wood with not a lot of grain. I wanted a lower profile fret that was also wide. I looked all through the factory but couldn’t find what I wanted. After asking if they had anything else they showed me the wire that’s used on the Zakk Wylde Les Paul’s which was perfect. I literally stole the fret wire out Zakk’s material stash. (Laughs) We are using locking mini Grover tuners which is something different. We also did a bevel on the upper wing of the body as well as

scooping out a portion of the lower wing which allows the player access the higher frets. For pickups we are using a Seymour Duncan JB in the bridge and a Duncan 59 in the neck. Other than the special paint scheme the last thing we did was this special wiring harness. This idea came out of when I was still painting guitars in my garage. I would take the pick guards off to paint the bodies and there is  this channel that the wires sat in. I looked pretty gnarly the way it was so I started looking around and found some plastic conduit that I got at Home Depot to wrap around the wires.

AL: When you showed them the wiring what did they think?
JH: They told me that I didn’t have to have that in there as they could route the guitar differently so there would be no channel. I wanted to make it interesting. I think the more bizarre something looks cause people to take notice. I am a big fan of Eddie Van Halen and the stuff he did in the eighties. He was using these pieces of shit guitars that he was making in his garage but, he still played better than everyone else. (Laughs) That I thought was really unique and I said that if I ever got to operate on a professional level I was going to do something similar. My explorer was supposed to be the most unique, ugliest, beat up thing I could create.

AL: Can you give us an update where you are at with the new album?
JH: We are about 65% done. We are shooting for a deadline that is at the end of April, early May. We are working hard every day on this thing. I am at the phase now where I am laying down solos here at my home studio. Generally the first portion of the recording process I am writing and working on rhythm stuff. It’s not till the last quarter that I switch over to doing the other stuff.

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As I Lay Dying’s Tim Lambesis talks about Austrian Death Machine’s third album "Triple Brutal"

Tim Lambesis is the vocalist for the metalcore group As I Lay Dying. The group released their 6th studio album titled “Awakened” in September of 2012 after spending the summer performing on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival. Tim’s side project Austrian Death Machine is set to release their third album titled “Triple Brutal” and with the help of indiegogo.com the group is offering fans once in a life time chances to help make the new album a reality. Media Mikes spoke with Tim recently about the upcoming release and found out just how dedicated he is to this record and the fans.

Adam Lawton: How did Austrian Death Machine originally come together?
Tim Lambesis: I wanted to do something that would be light and fun. There are all these great Arnold Schwarzenegger one liners from movies I grew up watching as a kid that I thought would make great song lyrics. The project really started out as more of a joke. I started writing the music and things just began coming together. We have this sort of cult following now which is pretty cool.

AL: In the past you have been responsible for the majority of lyrics and instrumentation. Was this still the case for the new album?
TL: With this being our third release now I kind of wanted to mix things up. I wanted to bring in friends and have them work on various songs. Most of the songs on the new album have been co-written which I think gives the record a more diverse feeling. There are a couple of tracks on there where I did things the old way which had me playing all the instruments and doing most of the vocals. Having those different people come in I think has made this release the best.

AL: I assume things were a little less stressful then for you this time around?
TL: It was. The thing is that even though I wasn’t doing as much song writing I was doing a ton of coordinating. Getting everyone together took some work. We actually are still working on the solos as we speak. Once those are completed we will be able to start the mixing process. I sort of traded one stress for another.

AL: Did the recent resurgence of Arnold Schwarzenegger in films influence the new album at all?
TL: That was definitely one of the motivating factors. We kind of let the project sit for awhile after putting out 2 records. Fans of those records were always asking me when new material was going to be coming out. That is what made me decide to get things up and running again.

AL: Can you explain your involvement with indiegogo.com?
TL: One of the reps for the site had gotten in touch with me and asked if I would be interested in doing something with them as Austrian Death Machine hadn’t done a new album in awhile. Fans of this band are real diehard fans and I thought doing something like this would give those fans more of a direct connection with the group. We have come up with some really special perks that probably wouldn’t happen when working on a normal record.

AL: Can you tell us about some of the unique packages that are available?
TL: We threw a bunch of stuff out jokingly and we actually ended up using some it. It’s one of those things that will get people talking and keep things interesting.  We did have to limit some of the packages like the one where if you pledge $5,000 I will tattoo your name on my ass. That one is limited to two. One on each side will be the maximum. I came up with about 20 initial ideas and brought them to the guy at indiegogo.com I am working with. We narrowed it down to the best ones  and then we fine
tuned them.

AL: Are there plans to tour in support of the release?
TL: That sort of depends on a couple things. First we have to see how the pledging campaign goes. We still have quite a few days left on that. If there are funds and the means to do a tour we will definitely be out there. The shows in the past have always been a fun time and the guys who play with me on those dates are always asking if we can do more shows. It’s one of those things where it’s hard to put together shows when I am gone so long with As I Lay Dying. If the opportunity becomes available I would love to do it.

AL: Has As I Lay Dying confirmed any dates for the coming Spring/Summer?
TL: We are getting ready to release the info for a tour that is going to be really cool. That I think starts in May sometime. After that most of our summer will be spent over in Europe doing festivals.

To help support Austrian Death Machines new album “Triple Brutal” and get your hands on some really cool limited edition stuff head over to http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/336354/ and pledge now!

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DVD Review "Charles Band Presents: Death Comes in 3s – 9 Film Collection"

Actors: Gary Busey, Tim Thomerson, Trent Haaga, Logan Alexander, Debbie Rochon, Angeles Vargas, Jackie Beat, K-Von Moezzi, Robin Sydney, Selene Luna, Tracy Scoggins
Directors: Charles Band, Peter Manogian, Sylvia St. Croix, William Butler, Craig Ross, Tammi Sutton, John Lechago
Number of discs: 2
Rated: R / Not Rated
Studio: Echo Bridge Entertainment
DVD Release Date: March 5, 2013
Run Time: 671 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

I don’t know what it is about Charles Band and his crazy movies at Full Moon but they always draw me in.  I have been a fan of these films since I was tall enough (and probably too young) to see them on the video store shelves. This collection comes with nine horror films from three different franchises: Demonic Toys, The Gingerdead Man and Killjoy series. I mean how can you say no to killer toys, cookies and demon clowns? It is really a no-brainer if you are a fan of cheesy yet fun horror films.

Includes the films “Demonic Toys”, “Demonic Toys 2”, “Dollman Vs. Demonic Toys”, “The Gingerdead Man”, “Gingerdead Man 2: Passion Of The Crust”, “Gingerdead Man 3: Saturday Night Cleaver”, “Killjoy”, “Killjoy 2: Deliverance From Evil” and “Killjoy 3”. The main concern I have with this release is that it is technically not complete. “Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys” was released in 2004 and is not included here but that is most likely due to the fact that Echo Bridge does not own rights. Also missing is the new “Killjoy Goes to Hell”, which was just released late last year. Nonetheless, it still contains some very fun films and is a real great collection for any fan of Full Moon and Charles Band’s madness.

DEMONIC TOYS: A botched bust on a pair of arms dealers inadvertently leads to the awakening of a demon with the power to bring toys to life as his personal minions. DEMONIC TOYS 2: When an oddball group of characters gather to inspect an ancient puppet, strange things begin to happen. DOLLMAN VS. DEMONIC TOYS: Officer Judith Gray seeks the help of miniature-sized cop, Brick Bardo, and his equally small girlfriend, Nurse Ginger, when she runs into trouble with the evil Toys.

THE GINGERDEAD MAN: When the ashes of a deranged killer make their way into a secret gingerbread cookie mix, a mini-murderer is born. THE GINGERDEAD MAN 2: THE PASSION OF THE CRUST: The deranged cookie murderer “The Gingerdead Man” crashes a movie studio and leaves behind a trail of bloody murder and hilarious mayhem. THE GINGERDEAD MAN 3: SATURDAY NIGHT CLEAVER: The Gingerdead Man travels back in time to a 1976 roller-boogie contest where he causes more chaos than ever before.

KILLJOY: When an outcast is bullied to death, a killer clown exacts revenge in his honor. His name is Killjoy and he thinks murder is a laughing matter. KILLJOY 2: On a wilderness rehabilitation trip, a group of at-risk youth find themselves in the home of a voodoo woman where Killjoy’s spirit is summoned. KILLJOY 3: A group of unsuspecting college students accidentally open the portal to Killjoy’s demon realm and get trapped in a strange funhouse world with the killer clown and his friends.

When it comes to the “Demonic Toys” series, I have always enjoyed each film equally. They are all micro-budgeted but I love the use of the puppets throughout.  The first is the best in the series but I do have a special place for “Dollman vs. Demonic Toys”, even though it is barely an hour and focuses a lot of flashbacks.  The “Dollman” series has always been one of my favorites and it is fun to see him go against these killer toys! “The Gingerdead Man” is something that cannot enough be described to anyone without being looked at funny.  For this series, the best film is the first – did I mention that Gary Busey stars in this?  The second and third are both fun but very silly and over-the-top but don’t forget we are talking about a killer gingerbread man. Lastly, the “Killjoy” is a lot of fun.  Who isn’t afraid of clowns…even just a little.  Killjoy is a great character.  The first one is also the best but the second and third are a whole lot of fun as well.

Echo Bridge packed all nine of these films onto to two DVDs, which is quite a lot and I feel that the films themselves do suffer a bit.  “Demonic Toys 2” is a pretty rough copy of the film, probably the worst of the bunch.  It has a lot of transfer issues throughout. Though that is kind of expected these are not high-def films and where shot very low-budget. Besides the nine films, there are no other special features included on this release but that is expected with a massive 9-film collection like this.  Is it worth the price of less than $15? You bet you ass! Don’t miss this release for sure!

 

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Blu-ray Review "Death Race 3: Inferno"

Actors: Luke Goss, Danny Trejo, Tanit Phoenix, Frederick Koehler, Robin Shou
Directors: Roel Reine
Rated: R / Unrated
Studio: Universal Studios
Release Date: January 22, 2013
Run Time: 105 / 106 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

When Roger Corman made this original cult classic “Death Race 2000” back in 1975 with David Carradine and Sylvester Stallone, I doubt he ever though the film will be remade or turn up with two prequels either. When I saw “Death Race” in the theaters, I thought it was plain ole stupid fun. With “Death Race 2”, it feels a lot smaller than the first but I actually enjoyed it a bit more since there was no bullshit just action and plenty of Tanit Phoneix. This second prequel brings back Luke Goss (“Hellboy 2: The Golden Army”), Danny Trejo (“Machete”), Ving Rhames (“Mission: Impossible”), Fred Koehler (Death Race 1 & 2), Robin Shou (“Mortal Kombat”) and Tanit Phoenix (“Death Race 2”). So the crew is back from “Death Race 2” and it is really well-polished action film. The plot or lack of is forgivable but it is very entertaining. The scale of the film seems so much bigger than it is and shot in some really beautiful locations. I didn’t think I would say this but what’s next for this franchise? I’m still hungry!

Official Premise: Repentant convict Carl Lucas (Luke Goss)- aka Frankenstein- is a legendary driver in the brutal prison blood sport known as Death Race. Only one victory away from winning freedom, Lucas is plunged into his most vicious competition yet: the first-ever desert Death Race. Through South Africa’s infernal Kalahari Desert, Lucas is pitted against ruthless adversaries and powerful forces at work behind the scenes to ensure his defeat. Also starring Danny Trejo and Ving Rhames, Death Race 3: Inferno is an insane, action-packed thrill ride.

Universal has delivered a fantastic two-disc combo pack. This comes with a Blu-ray, a DVD and two digital copies – iTunes and UltraViolet. Count me in for the Ultraviolet, I will be adding that to my account for sure. I should note that the DVD disc actually includes both cuts of the film, which is impressive. You can tell though when it is including the unrated footage since it jumps/lags a bit. The film packs an unrated cut but only runs a minute longer than its also included R-rated version. We get some longer – very bloody kills, which is good enough for me. The 1080p looks very sharp with the locations used in the film, very impressive. As does the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 audio track, which revs up and kicks ass on my 7.1 surround sound system.

The special features for this film are quite fantastic actually. First up we have extras that are exclusive to the Blu-ray disc. There is an alternate opening, which is definitely worth check out. “Racing For Death” is a look into the cars and the work that went into them for the production. “Art Imitating Life” is a featurettes on the character Goldberg and the actor who plays him, Danny Trejo. The rest of the extras are available on both Blu-ray and DVD. There is a montage of deleted scenes to start. “The Making of Death Race 3: Inferno” is the best extra and takes us behind-the-scenes on this new version of the popular Death Race franchise. Lastly, there is an audio commentary track With Director Roel Reiné, also worth checking out for sure.

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Blu-ray Review “Bored to Death: The Complete Third Season”

Starring: Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis, Ted Danson
Distributed by: HBO Home Entertainment
Release Date: September 4, 2012
Running Time: 245 minutes

Season: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

“Bored to Death” has me hooked from episode one of season one. The show is show quirky and unique that I was instantly a fan. As the show developed, I feel that it only got better. I know it might be a bold statement but I feel that has been easily some of the best work from the three stars; Jason Schwartzman, Zach Galifianakis, Ted Danson. Like the majority of comedy shows on HBO, last year this show was canceled following this season. It is a shame because it was one of the best things the network had going for it (besides “Game of Thrones”, I know).

The third season of this show really delves deep its its characters. It also continues to develop the three stars relationships, specifically the relationship with Jonathan and George. Jonathan’s detective duties get much more in-depth as well. Bigger is not always better since he finds himself in ever more trouble with his unlicensed occupation.

On television the show might be presented in HD but only 1080i, so the show does look a lot better it is full HD 1080p presentation. It also sounds fantastic with its DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, though since its a comedy it doesn’t push the barrier. The special features are decent but not too special per se. There are 4 audio commentaries, a few deleted Scenes, outtakes and a featurette called “Inside the Episodes”.

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Blu-ray Review “The Life and Death of a Porno Gang”

Directed by: Mladen Djordjevic
Starring: Mihajlo Jovanovic, Ana Acimovic, Predrag Damnjanovic, Radivoj Knezevic
MPAA Rating: NR
Distributed by: Synapse Films
Release Date: August 14, 2012
Running Time: 113 minutes

Film: 1 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

Synapse Films is known best for delivering really great cult classic genre films, which all are beautifully presented on Blu-ray. This Serbian shocker film was more an acquisition, it is also the first film that I regret watching. Now I knew exactly what I was getting myself into prior to watching this but it didn’t make it any easier to swallow (no pun intended…well maybe some). As it is stated this film is definitely not for the faint of heart or easily offended. I am neither of those and yet I still had trouble with this film. Also the running time of almost two hours is just way to long. It might have worked better within a quick 80 minutes. Though if you are a fan of films like “A Serbian Film”, then you might want to check this out.

Premise: “During the final days of Slobodan Miloševic’s Serbian rule, a young film student named Marko becomes desperate to make a feature film. Finally getting a job as an adult film director, he quickly runs afoul of the mob and needs to get out of town fast! Assembling a traveling group of misfits into a “porno cabaret,” Marko and his new friends drive though the quiet countryside in a beat-up van performing live sex acts for peasants and farmers. But life is hard on the road, and they find it hard to earn enough money to survive.”

The Blu-ray presentation looks good enough even though it was shot to look homemade. Like most films from Synapse Films, this comes with a reversible artwork which the flip side is graphic. The special features are impressive and include some decent extras. “Made in Serbia” is a 101 minute feature length documentary focusing on the Serbian adult film industry. There is featurette focusing on the “Making of” this film, as well as some deleted scenes (which were rightfully cut). Lastly there is the theatrical trailer included.

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: bluray, death, gang, life, porno, review, ...

Blu-ray Reviews “Death Wish 2-4”

Directed by: Michael Winner / J. Lee Thompson
Starring: Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Vincent Gardenia / Kirk Taylor, Martin Balsam, Ed Lauter / Kay Lenz, John P. Ryan
MPAA Ratings: R
Distributed by: MGM Entertainment
Release Date: August 14, 2012
Running Time: 89 / 92 / 99 minutes

Blu-ray Scores: 3.5 out of 5 stars

When I think Charles Bronson, I always think about ass-kicking. I watched “Death Wish” at as young teen and was taken over by its violence. At that time in the 80’s, the violence was completely over-the-top. If you are wonderingwhere is “Death Wish” and “Death Wish 5” in the series. The original is owned by Paramount and the last is owned by Lionsgate, neither have plans for Blu-ray. My really only issue is that “Death Wish 2” is not the unrated edition, it would have been great to finally seeing it get a proper release. Nonetheless, if you are looking for some awesome revenge films, don’t miss out on these Blu-rays.

Paul Kersey takes on the role of vigilante again in “Death Wish II”. He sets out to to find and seek revenge on the the five street punks who murdered his daughter and housekeeper on the streets of Los Angeles. In “Death Wish 3”, Paul Kersey hits back on New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police detective to fight crime against a large gang that is terrorizing the neighborhoods. “Death Wish 3” also packs a great score by Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page and also the film debut of Alex Winter (“Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”). “Death Wish 4: The Crackdown” was back in the day, the first Isaw in this series (sorry).   Even though it is not the best entry in the series, it still features vigilante Paul Kersey who kicks major ass against members of a vicious Los Angeles drug cartel.  This time he is trying to stop the flow of drugs after his girlfriend’s daughter dies from an overdose.

I really enjoyed the 1080p Blu-ray transfers for these films. They are all also presented in their original aspect ratio: 1.85:1. They are not perfect presentations but they are a real bump from past DVD’s. The audio on each release come with DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 tracks. They are not really spec for Blu-ray but still sound decent. The transfer and audio are very similar to the recent Chuck Norris films released on Blu-ray, which I also enjoyed quite a bit. It is not a Criterion release but if you are a fan you should be satisfied overall just to have the films in HD.

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Filed Under: DVD/Blu-Ray Reviews Tagged With: 24, bluray, death, reviews

Takashi Miike talks about making “Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai”

Takashi Miike is know for his controversial Japanese filmmaker style. He is know for directing ultra-violent films like “Ichi the Killer” and “Audition”. His last film was the amazing “13 Assassins”, a remake of Eiichi Kudo’s 1963 film. Takashi took some time to answer some questions about his new film “Hara-Kiri” and shooting in 3D.

Q: What was your inspiration for choosing “Hara-Kiri” as your next film?
A: It just so happened that this kind of epic film was my next film after “13 Assassins”. I don’t plan to make only films like this. The touchstone benchmark is quality over quantity. By quality, I mean what kindles your heart or whether or not it makes you feel free as you devote yourself to the filming. Next fall, I will shoot a TV drama for late night television that is ruinously low-budget. But with low-budget works comes an excitement that can only be relished through low-budget.

Q: How do you compare your film to the original from 1962?
A: What excites me about resurrecting this film from the past is being able to feel first-hand the existence of the universal human suffering which “Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai” depicts at its core as it transcends time, genres and countries. My new versions share everything in common with the old films yet everything is a little off. Since things like originality or being finicky about some worthless triviality were thrown away a long time ago, one cannot compare two works by lining them up next to each other. They are only connected in tandem as part of the flow of time in which they were created.

Q: Tell us about your experience working with Ebizo Ichikawa and Koji Yakusho? A: Ebizo Ichikawa is the real deal when it comes to being the prize of kabuki. He is the king of traditional performing arts in Japan. He is a man without a net challenging frontiers with a great deal of curiosity. He made the set a fun, stimulating place day after day. I am looking forward to even more exciting things from him. Koji Yakusho is a living treasure in Japanese film. He always seams up the frayed edges in my clumsy directing in an artful way. He is a living treasure of modern Japanese film who leads you into the special world of filmmaking. He always teaches me Japan’s unique virtue of humility. Also, his wife is a lovely lady filled with elegance.

Q: Can you reflect on the film’s music by Ryuichi Sakamoto?
A: From the bottom of my heart, I really appreciated Ryuichi Sakamoto providing such wonderful music. The souls of the characters in the film squeal in the soundtrack. And these sounds aren’t rammed down-your-throat and don’t really come so far forward. His music fills the theater like air with a certain stillness and quietness yet its sureness and authority remain. Ryuichi Sakamoto is an artist who sees through the deception of the essence of 3D.

Q: Can you tell us was your biggest challenge shooting in 3D?
A: Nothing changed for me shooting a movie in 3D. It was the same on set experience as any other film for me. The only difference was that the speed of shooting was slightly slower than normal. All in all, this film will probably be a welcomed development for those who already pursue stereo spatial visuals in the world of 2D via lighting and camera angles. There was no change to my approach other than I was able to go brag to the director shooting at the studio next door and say, “Huh? Yours is flat and level? Ours is bumpy and convexo-concave.”

Q: With 3D being the big craze, what are your expectations for the audience?
A: I would be most pleased if the audience feels that what can be expressed in 2D can also be expressed in 3D. For the people who are not fans of 3D, I hope they will say, “Wow! 3D works.” It would be perfect if older audiences would say, “How interesting the way this film bursts out and sucks me up.” I guess for the next few years this situation will continue where 3D is just one option for making a movie. And the audiences will probably decide and determine what happens after that. I definitely anticipate making more 3D movies. Next, if I have the chance, I want to have things that shouldn’t come out of our bodies be hurled at the audience.

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Filed Under: Film Interviews, Interviews Tagged With: death, harakiri, making, miike, samurai, takashi, ...

Film Review “Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai”

Directed by: Takashi Miike
Starring: Ebizo Ichikawa, Eita, Kōji Yakusho
Distributed by: Tribeca Film
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running time: 126 minutes

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Takashi Miike is known for his gut-gringing films like “Audition” and “Ichi the Killer”. His last film is an amazing remake of Eiichi Kudo’s “13 Assassins”, and one of my favorites of 2011. I feel that his directorial cred has become really more mature over the years. Though “Hara-Kiri”, a re-imagining of Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 film “Harakiri”, doesn’t exceed his effort with “13 Assassins”. It is still very intense and really slow-burning samurai action/drama. The story is takes it time developing but really pays offs throughout its very visual journey.

The story follows a mysterious samurai, who requests honorable death by ritual suicide in the courtyard of his feudal lord. The lord tells him the story of Motome, a young ronin, who made similiar request only to meet a brutal end. The mysterious samurai unaffected by this story takes the feudal lord on his own tale with an ending that nobody will see coming. Told with wonderful cinematography and amazing performances, this film packs a deep story of revenge, honor and disgrace.

I must say that Masaki Kobayashi’s 1962 film “Harakiri” still holds the reign as the better film but this one comes quite close. This was shot in 3D (2D version reviewed here), but I saw no scenes that would have benefited from this format and I am a big proprietor of 3D films. I must give credit to pop star Ryuichi Sakamoto for creating an amazing score, which drives the film well. Kōji Yakusho also delivers an notable performance and is a living legend in Japanese film. Since Miike’s last two films are about feudal Samurai’s era, I really look forward to what he is planning to do next.

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Filed Under: Film Reviews Tagged With: death, film, harakiri, review, samurai

GWAR’s Michael Derks aka “Balsac the Jaws of Death” Talks “Blood Vomits”

Michael Derks aka “Balsac the Jaws of Death” guitarist for the rock group Gwar has a new project coming out titled “Blood Vomits” which is a puppet based adventure series that was fully funded through the internet donation site Kickstarter.com. Mediamikes.com had a chance to catch up with Michael to talk about the project and how he came about using Kickstarter.com

Adam Lawton: How did you first become involved with the “Blood Vomits”?
Michael Derks: I didn’t really know too much about it at first and I don’t really know why. I knew about the idea as Davis Bradley who basically came up with the idea and built the puppets used to tour with Gwar and was one of our Gwar slaves. After he left the band he was working on some other weird little projects and one of them was these puppets. A friend of Davis’s by the name of John Brennan had written a script about three Mexican banditos with one being a priest and the other two being completely evil. Davis took that script and adapted it to the puppets he was building and then had Dave Brockie and Todd Evans do the voices. I hadn’t really heard about it until I found it on YouTube. This was a couple years later as nothing had really been done with it except for the skit being put up on YouTube. I went to Davis and asked him what he was doing with the puppets and Davis told me nothing really become of the project so I asked why not? As I thought it was really awesome. I asked him if he had a problem with me using the puppets and writing some more stuff. The only problem was Davis didn’t have any money for the project and couldn’t really afford to do the project just for fun. A short time later I saw Chris Gethard from “Upright Citizens Brigade” on his comedy tour and I got a chance to talk with him and he told me about how he had funded the tour he was on through a website called kickstarter.com. I thought that sounded perfect for what I wanted to do so I asked Davis and he said sure and we just ran with it from there. We had a budget of $5,000 which is nothing but we were able to save a lot of money due to all the in house talent we had with the band.

AL: Other than writing you also did some of the voice work as well correct?
MD:  I added some writing and a few additional voices but not a whole lot. I decided that since Todd Evans wasn’t around anymore we had to recast other than Dave Brockie’s character. I thought it would be a cool idea to get a super group of Richmond, VA metal bands together and have them do something other than play music. I was able to get Randy Blythe from Lamb of God as well as Tony Foresta from Municipal Waste. It’s kind of become a collaboration between the three of us.

AL: What were your first thoughts when you reached your budget goal on kickstarter?
MD: We put it up there as kind of a test. The original idea was to do more episodes so us reaching the goal kind of gave us hope that once we have the first episode done there will be interest to do more and keep funding those episodes.

AL: What are the release plans for the project?
MD: It’s almost edited. Davis had thought it would take around a month to have everything edited but unfortunately it has taken closer to 3 months. It’s almost done we just have to get together and do the final tweaks on everything and make sure everyone is happy. I’m guessing within a few weeks we will have it out.

AL: This being just the first film/episode what are the future plans for the project?
MD: We are hoping to do a full 12 episode television season. We want to release it on YouTube for people to watch for free and just see how it goes. We want to get the funding before we make the next episode so if people like it and want more they have to help us. (Laughs) As we go along we want to get more celebrities involved doing different voices and such. When we are on the road with Gwar we run into a lot of our rock star friends so the idea is to give them the lines and record them right on the bus.

AL: Do you have any other projects your working on right now?
MD:  I have a couple things that I am sort of working on. I am thinking about another puppet based series but that’s still in the development stages.
For more info on “Blood Vomits” you can go to www.gwar.net for all the latest info.

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Filed Under: Music Interviews Tagged With: aka, balsac, blood, death, derks, gwars, ...
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