Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead // movie review // screener!

Director: Lloyd Kaufman
Starring: Jason Yachanin, Kate Graham
Genre: Cult Cinema, Exploitation, Horror
San Francisco Premiere: July 18 at the Roxie Theater [Buy Tickets]

If Grease was gross, it’d be Poultrygeist. Of course, it’d also have topless lesbian activists, explosive diarrhea gags, racism, gore, zombies, and bestiality by a pseudo Dustin Diamond (Screech), not to mention a Ron [...]

Chris’s Summer Catchup — Theatrical films and DVDs

It’s been a while since my last update, so here goes. Kris and I’ve seen quite a few films this summer – far more than we can hope to cover even in a capsule format. In an effort to weigh in on these titles (both theatrical and DVD), I’ll simply provide a one to [...]

Girl Boss Revenge (aka: Sukeban) dvd review

Rather than continuing to debate over a catchy introduction, I’ll just jump right in. If you’re reading this article you’re probably familiar with Panik House’s release of Girl Boss Guerilla. If not, no need to worry. Unlike other sukeban series (ie: Delinquent Girl Boss), the films in the Girl Boss series are pretty much stand-alone [...]

Cloistered Nun: Runa’s Confession dvd movie review

Cloistered Nun: Runa’s Confession marks our third and final review from Kino’s Masaru Konuma/Nikkatsu collection. The previous two films prompted quite different reactions from me, but from what I’ve seen, it looks like this third film was the charm. Runa’s Confession is not only the most cinematic of the three, but also provides a decent [...]

Erotic Diary of an Office Lady . dvd movie review

As mentioned in our Dreamlogic update, we’ve received three of Kinos’s recent Nikkatsu titles for review. I figured, why not start with the most provocatively titled one first? So, Erotic Diary of an Office Lady it is.
Again, this being the first film we’ve reviewed belonging to the “Roman Porno/Pinku” genre we’ve actually reviewed, an introduction [...]

Delinquent Girl Boss: Blossoming Night Dreams dvd review

Delinquent Girl Boss: Worthless to Confess was easily my favorite film of Panik House’s Pinky Violence collection, so when I heard that Exploitation Digital was releasing Blossoming Night Dreams (aka: Zubekô banchô: yume wa yoru hiraku), you could say I was fairly excited.
The first film in the Delinquent Girl Boss series, Blossoming Night Dreams [...]

Black Snake Moan, Hills Have Eyes 2, Beautiful Beast movie reviews

Yup, it’s review catch-up time again. Here are three more films that are worth mentioning, but not deserving of a full review.
Black Snake Moan . Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci star in this tale of a young nymphomaniac and the god-fearing blues singer determined to set her on a path of righteousness. Directed by [...]

Space Battleship Yamato, Naked Weapon, The Holy Mountain movie reviews

So this weekend is going to be a bit overly busy, so a full length film review is pretty much out of the question. In exchange, I offer these horse-capsule reviews. Note, for those of you repeatedly searching for Linda, Linda, Linda, I’ll have you covered in a week or so.
Space Battleship Yamato [...]

Blind Woman’s Curse dvd review early!

The third film in Nikkatsu/Daiei’s Rising Dragon series of female yakuza films, Blind Woman’s Curse marks quite a departure from the norm. This entry features a new heroine, new enemies, and a new theme: that of a period yakuza/horror hybrid. Meiko Kaji, in her first starring role, plays Akemi Tachibana, who, following the death [...]

Death Proof movie review

At just 80 minutes Death Proof is Quentin’s shortest film to date, and somehow his most interminable. Overly chatty and under-compelling, its tale of a stuntman/serial killer (a vehicular-homicidal maniac) lulls when it should wow and stalls when it should kick into high gear. The film is broken into two halves, the first concerning a [...]

Female Convict Scorpion Jailhouse 41 movie review

Way back in high-school, Female Convict Scorpion Jailhouse 41 and Black Lizard served as my introduction to 1970’s Japanese exploitation cinema. I was a bit reluctant to review this film, lest my opinion be clouded by rosy glasses and nostalgia. But, having gone back to the film again, I believe I’m prepared, and my love [...]

Strange Circus movie review

Given my reaction to Sion Sono’s Suicide Circle (you can read the rather embarrassing review here), one might be surprised I went out of my way to view another film by him. To be honest, I’m not the type to dismiss a director for a single bad run. And you know what? I’m [...]

Ten “Grindhouse” Films Worth Watching

With the arrival of Grindhouse in the theaters today, a lot of lists are coming out with “Grindhouse” films recommended by professional critics. Some of them are actually pretty good. But, for the majority of them, if you look closely at the lists, you’ll realize the recommenders never actually saw the films listed. Some of [...]

2nd Grindhouse Trailer on Yahoo

If you’re coming to this site, Grindhouse probably needs no introduction, and no explanation. This second trailer is longer and even more in line with classic exploitation trailers. Previously Rodriguez’s Planet Terror looked like the only reason to watch, but this cut actually makes Quentin’s Death Proof portion look kind of interesting. Check out the [...]

Babel movie review

Iñárritu’s latest is essentially a high minded anthology film tackling the lack of communication, compassion, and empathy in the world today. Given the amount of press this film is receiving, I’ll let you read an in-depth rundown of the narratives elsewhere. Regarding the structure of the film however, Iñárritu’s inteleaving of the tales hinders, rather [...]

Female Prisoner 701 Scorpion: Grudge Song // movie review

The last Scorpion entry starring Meiko Kaji is certainly the least of the films. Moving forward sans director Shunya Ito, this installment finds Sasori on the run from yet another gung-ho police inspector, facing threat of execution, and falling in love. That’s right, Sasori in love. When the film starts the police are hot [...]

Female Prisoner Scorpion: Beast Stable movie review

These days the term fierce has been so overused by hip-hop artists, Tyra Banks, and Inside Hollywood celebrity-trash mongers, it seems to have lost its meaning. But if one were forced to find a dictionary definition personification of the word fierce, that one person that would fit the bill would have to be Meiko Kaji [...]

[The Pinky Violence Collection] Criminal Woman: Killing Melody movie review

Criminal Woman: Killing Melody, the first film in the Criminal Woman series, marks the 10th pairing of Reiko Ike and Miki Sugimoto, and frankly, it is one of the best.
The film opens on Reiko Ike in a trendy go-go club. Dressed in everyday housewife garb and looking quite worried, she seems incredibly out of sync [...]