atomic shark poster

SyFy’s Sharknado Week chomps all over your tv!

If you want a whole pack of shark movies to tide you over for the summer, then SyFy has got you covered with their Sharknado Week! Not only are we getting a fourth Sharknado film, but there are tons of other shark films being aired, including a few other premieres. Everything is detailed below, including a copy/paste of their press release. And not everything has a trailer yet, so BOOOO!!! First the new films:

Atomic Shark premieres July 24, with further airings July 27 & July 31.

What’s worse than a hungry shark? An atomic hungry shark, of course.

Atomic Shark is directed by Griff Furst (Ghost Shark) and written by Griff Furst and Jack Snyder (Fatal Exam) It stars Rachele Brooke Smith, Jeff Fahey, David Faustino, Bobby Campo, and Isaiah LaBorde
I’ve never seen a bad Griff Furst movie, they’ve all been fun and amazing, so Atomic Shark will be the must-watch film of the group! The poster suggests that there is a big bomb strapped to the shark, so that should be awesome!

Dam Sharks! premieres July 25 and is reaired on July 31.

Sharks in a dam. The worst.

There isn’t a lot of information about Dam Sharks! yet, but it’s directed by James Kondelik, Jon Kondelik the brothers who directed Airplane vs. Volcano and Age of Tomorrow, and stars Matt Mercer, Kabby Borders, Robert Craighead, Ashton Bingham, and Eric Paul Erickson. It’s from Asylum, so it should be good fun.

Ice Sharks premieres July 26 with further airings July 29 & July 31.

A group of ravenous sharks break into a military base, forcing all the scientists to escape before they are eaten alive.

It’s directed and written by Emile Edwin Smith, who is an ice expert, having directed Asylum’s Age of Ice! Kaiwi Lyman and Edward DeRuiter star. Don’t you hate it when sharks break into buildings, especially sharks that swim through ice? I sure do…

Planet of the Sharks premieres July 27 and is reaired on July 31.

In the near future, glacial melting has covered 98% of earth’s landmass. Sharks have flourished and now dominate the planet, operating as one massive school led by a mutated alpha shark.

Sadly we don’t get a world where man evolved into sharks, but maybe someone will still damn everyone all to hell (or damn then to Dam Sharks!) It’s yet another Asylum flick, this time directed by veteran Mark Atkins (a bunch of Asylum films including Princess of Mars!) He wrote it along with Marc Gottlieb (Cousin Howard), and Alex Anlos, Brandon Auret, Stephanie Beran, Angie Teodora Dick, and Lindsay Sullivan star.

Ozark Sharks premieres on July 28 and is reaired on July 31.

A picturesque family vacation to the Ozarks goes sideways when a group of bull sharks show up to take a bite out of the town’s big fireworks festival.

Shark Island director Misty Talley returns with more shark bait, along with writers Marcy Holland (Caught) and Greg Mitchell (SnakeHead Swamp). Good writing crew so hopefully something fun is done with the film besides just being a bunch of redneck jokes. Ozark Sharks stars Laura Cayouette, Dave Davis, Allisyn Ashley Arm, Michael Papajohn, Ashton Leigh, Thomas Francis Murphy, and Terence Rosemore.

Sharknado: The 4th Awakens premieres July 31. Yes, they made a fourth one. Yes, I didn’t bother with the third one, and might not bother with this one, but who knows? At least they didn’t get into a gigantic fight with a union or pack the film with a bunch of right wing nuts this time. But still…

And the rest!

3-Headed Shark Attack (July 25 at 7p/6c; July 28 at 5p/4c; July 30 at 11a/10c)
Cruise passengers fight to survive when a hungry, three-headed great white shark tries to feed on them.

Atomic Shark (July 24 at 9p/8c; July 27 at 7p/6c; July 31 at 12p/11c)
What’s worse than a hungry shark? An atomic hungry shark, of course.

Bait (July 27 at 1a/12c; July 29 at 5p/4c)
A powerful tsunami sends ocean waters rushing into an underground supermarket, prompting the terrified shoppers to fight for their lives as vicious man-eating sharks glide down the aisles in search of a fresh meal.

Beast of the Bering Sea (July 26 at 7a/6c)
Two siblings hunting for gold get more than they bargained for when they strike an underwater cave that’s occupied by sea vampires.

Bermuda Tentacles (July 27 at 11a/10c)
An elite Navy rescue team is dispatched to the Bermuda Triangle after Air Force One goes down with the president on board. Unfortunately, efforts to save the commander in chief end up putting the entire country at risk from a vicious sea monster.

Beyond Loch Ness (July 27 at 9a/8c)
A cryptozoologist in search of the infamous Loch Ness monster discovers that the malevolent, 40-foot-long reptile from Scotland has traveled to Lake Superior via an elaborate series of subterranean tunnels, and that she’s brought her hungry offspring along for a feeding frenzy.

Chupacabra: Dark Seas (July 29 at 3:30a/2:30c)
A ship’s crew takes on a scientist’s latest discovery: a mythic Caribbean creature. Featuring John Rhys-Davies, Dylan Neal and Giancarlo Esposito.

Croc (July 26 at 9a/8c)
A crocodile hunter (Michael Madsen) tracks a reptile menace at a beach resort.

Dam Sharks! (July 25 at 9p/8c; July 31 at 10a/9c)
Sharks in a dam. The worst.

Dark Tide (July 24 at 11p/10c; July 25 at 2:30p/1:30c; July 28 at 11p/10c)
A renowned shark expert attempts to recover from a tragic diving mishap by taking a wealthy businessman swimming with the deep-sea predators, only to get stranded in a dangerous feeding ground known as Shark Alley.

Dinocroc vs. Supergator (July 24 at 9a/8c; July 28 at 3a/2c and 11a/10c)
Enormous reptiles escape from a research facility on a tropical island and feast on unwary tourists, culminating in a clash between a prehistoric crocodile and a monstrous alligator.

Dinoshark (July 24 at 1p/12c; July 26 at 11a/10c)
A dinosaur-shark hybrid terrorizes a resort in Mexico and it’s up to a young fishing-boat captain to stop it.

Eye of the Beast (July 27 at 7a/6c)
A giant squid terrorizes a small fishing town after overfishing causes a shortage of food. Featuring James Van Der Beek.

Ghost Shark (July 27 at 5p/4c; July 29 at 1:30a/12:30c)
Two locals work to uncover the truth about their town’s dark past in hopes of putting a stop to a ghost shark that can hunt on land and in the sea.

Ice Sharks (July 26 at 9p/8c; July 29 at 3p/2c; July 31 at 3a/2c)
A group of ravenous sharks break into a military base, forcing all the sceintists to escape before they are eaten alive.

Jersey Shore Shark Attack (July 25 at 3:30a/2:30c)
Sharks menace the Jersey shore on July 4th weekend and it’s up to the locals to stop them.

Lake Placid 3 (July 25 at 11p/10c; July 26 at 3p/2c)
A game warden (Colin Ferguson) moves into his aunt’s lakeside cabin with his wife and young son, and the little boy feeds the resident baby crocodiles until they grow up into monstrous predators that become a menace to the family.

Lake Placid: The Final Chapter (July 25 at 1a/12c; July 26 at 5p/4c)
A new sheriff has a big problem on her hands when a poacher unleashes the wrath of giant crocodiles in this fourth installment in the franchise.

Malibu Shark Attack (July 27 at 11p/10c; July 29 at 1p/12c)
A tsunami brings goblin sharks to Malibu after a massive wave cuts lifeguards and construction workers off from dry land.

Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus (July 28 at 1a/12c; July 28 at 1p/12c)
Two colossal prehistoric monsters terrorize the California coast while battling for supremacy of the sea. Featuring Lorenzo Lamas and Deborah Gibson.

Mega Shark vs. Kolossus (July 25 at 5p/4c; July 26 at 11p/10c)
Russia’s search for a new energy source accidentally reawakens a giant robot doomsday device from the Cold War. But that isn’t the only threat to humanity when a new Mega Shark swims onto the scene.

Ozark Sharks (July 28 at 9p/8c; July 31 at 8a/7c)
A picturesque family vacation to the Ozarks goes sideways when a group of bull sharks show up to take a bite out of the town’s big fireworks festival.

Piranhaconda (July 24 at 11a/10c; July 25 at 8:30a/7:30c)
A piranha-anaconda hybrid terrorizes a movie crew after a scientist steals an egg from the creature’s nest.

Planet of the Sharks (July 27 at 9p/8c; July 31 at 1a/12c)
In the near future, glacial melting has covered 98% of earth’s landmass. Sharks have flourished and now dominate the planet, operating as one massive school led by a mutated alpha shark.

Ragin Cajun Redneck Gators (July 28 at 7a/6c)
A Louisiana family live to regret dumping a bad batch of moonshine into a nearby swamp when it transforms the bayou’s alligators into dangerous mutants on a killing spree.

Robocroc (July 25 at 12:30p/11:30c; July 28 at 9a/8c)
A crocodile is transformed into a killing machine that’s let loose in a water park.

Roboshark (July 28 at 3p/2c)
All hell breaks loose when a great white shark sinks its teeth into an alien space probe in the Pacific, creating a Roboshark that invades Seattle and devours everything in its way.

Sea Beast (July 27 at 1p/12c)
Mythic creatures from the deep sea emerge to feed on the residents of a sleepy bay village. Featuring Corin Nemec.

Shark Assault (July 25 at 1:30a/12:30c; July 25 at 10:30a/9:30c)
At the whim of a wealthy madman, a group of strangers is forced to confront a gauntlet of deadly sharks on his island compound.

Shark Attack (July 29 at 9a/8c; July 30 at 1a/12c)
A marine biologist (Casper Van Dien) investigates the death of a colleague who was attacked by a hammerhead shark off the coast of Africa, where the scientist discovers some unsettling news about the creatures’ new eating habits. Featuring Ernie Hudson, Jenny McShane, Bentley Mitchum.

Shark Attack 2 (July 29 at 11a/10c; July 30 at 3a/2c)
A shark expert, a hunter and a scuba diver join forces to kill mutant great white sharks that are terrorizing a shoreline metropolis. Featuring Thorsten Kaye, Nikita Ager.

Shark Killer (July 27 at 3p/2c; July 29 at 7a/6c)
A deep-sea diver accepts a shark-hunting assignment from his criminal brother, who wants to recover a missing diamond.

Sharknado (July 30 at 7p/6c; July 31 at 2p/1c)
A freak storm brings hundreds of vicious, man-eating sharks ashore in Los Angeles and a group of friends struggle to steer clear of their violent and destructive path.

Sharknado 2: The Second One (July 30 at 9p/8c; July 31 at 4p/3c)
In this sequel, Fin Shepard and April Wexler are the only hope for saving the population and iconic landmarks of New York City when a freak weather storm unleashes a whirlwind of vicious, man-eating sharks on the Big Apple.

Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (July 31 at 6p/5c)
The entire East Coast comes under threat when shark-infused storms wreak havoc on Washington, D.C., and Orlando.

Shark Night (July 29 at 7p/6c; July 30 at 9a/8c)
Vacationing college student Sara (Sara Paxton) and her friends fight for their lives against man-eating sharks during a trip to her family’s island cabin.

Sharktopus (July 24 at 3p/2c; July 30 at 1p/12c)
A scientist (Eric Roberts) working for the military develops a monstrous shark-octopus hybrid, which goes on a killing spree on the resort beaches of Mexico after the mechanism that controls the beast is accidentally destroyed.

Sharktopus vs. Pteracuda (July 24 at 5p/4c; July 30 at 3p/2c)
A shark-octopus hybrid confronts a beast that’s half pterodactyl, half barracuda.

Sharktopus vs. Whalewolf (July 24 at 7p/6c; July 30 at 5p/4c)
The aquatic villain faces off against another hybrid beast created by a mad scientist.

Snakehead Swamp (July 26 at 1p/12c)
Genetically altered snakehead fish bring terror to the swamps of Louisiana.

Snakehead Terror (July 27 at 3a/2c)
Mutant, amphibious snakehead fish feast on humans as they close in on a Maryland village where the only obstacle is the local sheriff (Bruce Boxleitner). Featuring Carol Alt, William B. Davis and Ryan McDonell.

Supergator (July 25 at 6:30a/5:30c)
Brad Johnson and Kelly McGillis star in this big-reptile flick about a team of geologists menaced by a monstrous alligator in Hawaii.

Swamp Shark (July 28 at 7p/6c)
An animal-smuggling deal gone bad puts a man-eating shark into a swampy backwoods river, where it stalks swimmers and boaters and imperils the town’s annual Gator Fest. Featuring Kristy Swanson and D.B. Sweeney.

Zombie Shark (July 26 at 7p/6c; July 30 at 11p/10c)
A perfect getaway weekend turns into a nightmare for four friends who find themselves fighting for their lives against an experimental shark.

via SyFy!

atomic shark poster

MST3K riffrax reunion postcard

MST3K Reunion Show – RiffTrax Live Trip Report

RiffTrax is ten years old, and to celebrate they put together their latest RiffTrax Live event packed to the gills with most of the cast of MST3K, leading to an amazing entry of RiffTrax Live. Not only do we get Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett, but they are joined by Mary Jo Pehl, Bridget Jones Nelson, Trace Beaulieu, Frank Conniff, Joel Hodgson, and newcomer Jonah Ray, making this the largest collection of MST3K alums performing at the same time ever! Some of it even helped erase the bad taste that was left in the mouths after the MST3K revival Kickstarter that came as news for practically everyone in the original cast except Joel, but mostly it was just a hilarious time that was one of the best RiffTrax Live events ever!

From the start there were MST3K songs during the preshow slides (usually it’s a mix of funny songs from various artists), and the large volume of slides referenced a lot of RiffTrax episodes over the years including things like Setting Up A Room, Manos, and Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny. There were even references to a some of the RiffTrax VODs I haven’t even had time to watch, which shows not only how behind I am on RiffTrax watching but also how familiar I am with bad cinema that I recognized what they were from. That’s a weird thing to be happening, but it is.

To start, each group of riffers got their own short, followed by the megariffing session where everyone came out. Mike, Keven, and Bill started things off with a ridiculous mess of a car safety short – A Talking Car, about a careless child brought before a tribunal of talking cars, one of which seems to want to feel that kids blood ground beneath its tires. Luckily for the kid, the two cooler-headed cars prevailed and we aren’t witnesses to child murder. Not that I would have been sad had this annoying child been destroyed. The kid is accompanied in the dream car tribunal by his loyal dog (it is unclear if the dog is also dreaming this), and the dog will growl and bare its teeth practically every time the old cranky car that wants the kid dead talks. Later the trio also tackled Shake Hands With Danger, a ridiculously gorey safety short that I saw them do live years ago and it was just as hilarious this time out.

Bridget Nelson and Mary Jo Pehl paired up for a short about the kitchen of the future in a modern home, and how you women can conspire to teach your husband to buy you a new kitchen. Which in this case meant buy a new house with a new kitchen inside it! It featured Darren McGavin (best known to modern eyes as the dad from A Christmas Story) as the husband, and of course there were plenty of references to that as well as other good lines. Mary Jo and Bridget have become a regular team at RiffTrax with their own series of shorts that focus more on the types of films they’d make the girls watch in home ec back in the 1950s.

Frank Conniff and Trace Beaulieu were up with More Dates for Kay, which I think is supposed to be a followup to the MST3Ked short What To Do On a Date. A hapless young lady who mopes around at home complaining that she doesn’t have a boyfriend gets a talking too from her older (married!) sister, who talks about her friend Kay (why this married, older woman is friends with a high schooler is not addressed!) The advice switches from basically go out and have fun and meet people and be friendly to the bizarre like do favors and pretend to be interested in every random boy that comes along in the off chance one asks you out. Also, the sister is totally not approving of Kay’s calling of boys. Frank and Trace straddle the border of working dirty with some of their lines (the short makes it soooooooooooo easy to turn everything sexual it’s crazy!) and Mike, Kevin, and Bill even joke about how Frank is dying to go blue but can’t. Probably the best riff of the night.

Jonah Ray and Joel Hodgson come out for Americans At Work: Barbers, an AFL-CIO joint about how barbers and hairdressers are totally valuable workers, and also women take forever to look good. There was a hilarious running gag with a hairdresser who looked like Frankenstein that just got funnier and funnier. Jonah did well and showed he’ll do a good job as the new MST3K host, despite a line flub that got its own riff by Joel.

Then it was time, the Riff-a-palooza! Everyone came out for a special short with the 1950s Superman selling saving stamps to young children! Shockingly, though we finally got Joel and Mike riffing at the same time (and everyone else!), this wasn’t as good as I thought it would be, because the short itself was pretty darn tepid. Far too talky and not enough cheesy. Luckily, they seemed to pick up on this while putting the show together because we got a second short that was also riffed by everyone, and it was a recurring favorite: At Your Fingertips: Grass! That short is so awesome it alone is worth the price of admission, even with a lot of repeated lines. And now we can finally find out if corn is grass or not!

Before I got I want to also mention there was a ten years of RiffTrax highlight video that was great and hopefully shows up online somewhere (and also reminded me there are a few of the mp3 riffs I haven’t watched yet, either!) Overall, this show ruled, the non-Superman shorts were largely amazing, and it was great seeing the old gang back together, even in a new together form. Hopefully this leads to more collaboration between the groups with more RiffTrax and more guest spots on the new MST3K. If you are someone how is more cautious with what you spend your money on but are a nominal fan of MST3K, it is well worth your dollars to go either see the rebroadcast or get the VOD when it is released.

Disclosure: I donated to the Kickstarter for this RiffTrax.

MST3K riffrax  reunion postcard

Broken Promise Lifetime

Broken Promise betrays on Lifetime!

Broken Promise Lifetime

You can’t get more evil than a man standing around drinking a Big Gulp!


Broken Promise tells of a love story of a young couple who accidentally murder someone while doing a home invasion, the guy takes the rap and believes the girl when she says she’ll wait for him. Ha! Of course she’s married with a family of her own when he gets out and wants to rekindle things, which is inconvenient for everyone. Lifetime hijinks ensue, but since the woman isn’t as innocent as usual, maybe she’ll not get out of this unscathed? We shall see…

High school couple Mina and Reese break into a mansion for a night of rebellion, but their evening takes a dark turn when the mansion’s owner appears with a gun, and ends up accidentally killed at the hands of the teens. Twenty years later, Mina lives a perfect suburban life with her husband and teen daughter, while Reese, who took the fall for the crime, has spent the past two decades in a state penitentiary. Now he is up for parole, and upon release, goes straight to find Mina ready to make up for lost time and have the perfect family he thinks is rightfully his.

Broken Promise stars Ashley Scott, Louis Mandylor, Lauren York, Nick Baillie, Kinga Philipps, Angeline Appel, and Mickey River. It’s directed by Nadeem Soumah (6 Ways to Die) and written by Steven Palmer Peterson (Presumed Dead in Paradise)

Broken Promise premieres Sunday, July 10th on Lifetime!

via Lifetime

Hidden Truth Lifetime

Hidden Truth uncovers the secrets on Lifetime!

Hidden Truth Lifetime

Oh, Chad, you pick the most romantic spots for murder!


Murder in a small town where people immediately declare someone the town hates as guilty while a lone hero uncovers the truth and finds the real killer may be a cliche, but it is usually a good time as the mystery is figuring out which one of the town jerks is a killer, and will it even matter if they are exposed? Hidden Truth is the latest Lifetime incarnation of this tale, and because I’m familiar enough with the director’s work it already shows some promise, and maybe even some nice Lifetime twists.

After a teenage girl is found murdered in a California town, a young woman is forced to prove her brother is innocent of the crime, discovering a disturbing dark side to the community and the hidden identity of the killer.

Hidden Truth stars Diana Hopper, Sarah Lind, Shawn Christian, Heidi Fielek, Brendan McCarthy, and Brittany Underwood. It is directed by Steven R. Monroe (Online Abduction, Wyvern) and written by Richard O. Lowry (By Appointment Only)

Hidden Truth premieres Saturday, July 9th on Lifetime!

via Lifetime

Assassin

The Assassin (Review)

The Assassin

aka 刺客聶隱娘 aka Nie yin niang
Assassin
2015
Written by Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Chu Tien-wen, Hsieh Hai-Meng, and Zhong Acheng
Based on a story by Pei Xing
Directed by Hou Hsiao-Hsien

Assassin
The Assassin is a great film that will bore the living crap out a whole bunch of people thinking they’re going to see something that it’s not. It’s one of those films that makes me feel like a bad movie review website guy because it should be a film I’m jazzed for, but I just don’t really have strong feelings for it. I’ve even seen some of director Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s other work, thanks to a particularly well-stocked Blockbuster that had Millennium Mambo (great!) and Flowers of Shanghai (greater!). This was before I moved to an area with great independent video stores, and also way before movies became easy to find on the internet, but that’s a whole different topic! But that meant The Assassin should have been right up my alley. And yet, I never really connected with it.

The Assassin has beautiful cinematography, some of the best I’ve seen in a long time. If anything the cinematography is too beautiful, every shot of the landscape looks out of a storybook, it’s a wonder how anything was ever done in 9th century China as everywhere people looked they would just see beautiful landscapes and spend all their time admiring them. The plot is steeped in historical characters as the story is literally dropped in the middle of actual history. I don’t know if Shu Qi’s character actually existed, but much of the rest of the characters are actual historical figures. Historical spoiler alert, Tian Xing, the guy who is exiled, will eventually have Tian Ji’an’s job. If anything, The Assassin got me to read up more on Chinese history, something I hadn’t done as much as I would have liked before.
Assassin

Honeymoon From Hell Lifetime Alice Flagg

Honeymoon From Hell is a Lifetime travel nightmare!

Just when you thought you were done with being Newlywed and Dead, suddenly the Honeymoon From Hell starts! This time, it isn’t because of a marriage to a mystery person, but because of a random stalker terrorizer who will probably turn out to have a connection to one of the newlyweds. So maybe it is a marriage to a mystery person after all! We shall see! My advice is not to get stranded at a bed and breakfast during a hurricane. It’s called The Weather Channel, people. Use it!

Actually it is a ghost story movie, because Honeymoon From Hell was originally called The Legend of Alice Flagg, based on the actual ghost story tales of Alice Flagg! Finally, it isn’t the internet or evil people that are the enemy, but dead evil people!

While honeymooning in South Carolina, Julia and Rivers McCoy are terrorized by an unknown assailant when they are stranded at a bed & breakfast during a hurricane. Are they victims of an elaborate prank, or is someone—some thing—after them?

Honeymoon From Hell stars Lexi Giovagnoli (12 Dog Days Till Christmas), Adam Hagenbuch (The Brittany Murphy Story), Catherine Hicks (Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home), Cameron Richardson (Alvin and the Chipmunks), Christian Brunetti (Obamaland), and Ciara Flynn (Online Abduction). It’s directed by Jake Helgren (Varsity Blood) and written by Ralph McCloud (producer on A Dogwalker’s Christmas Tale) and Jake Helgren.

Honeymoon From Hell has been rescheduled to Saturday, July 16th on Lifetime!

via Lifetime

Honeymoon From Hell Lifetime Alice Flagg