Thursday, September 10, 2015

Frank D'Angelo's 'Sicilian Vampire' to open Big Apple Film Festival

Loyalty And Trust Is Everything


Sicilian Vampire


There's always room for another vampire film. Here's another one for horror fans to sink their teeth in to. 

"Sicilian Vampire," Frank D'Angelo's fourth feature film, has been selected as the opening film of this year's New York City 12th Annual Big Apple Film Festival taking place November 4-7, 2015.

Big Apple Film Festival has been named one of MovieMaker Magazine's '25 Festivals Worth The Entry Fee' and '25 Coolest Film Festivals'. "And we're ecstatic to have our film be chosen to open the festival," says Frank D'Angelo. "It's ironic that I started my first business selling apples and now here I am 30 years later producing and directing movies and showcasing it in the Big Apple."

"Sicilian Vampire" stars notable actors James Caan, Daryl Hannah, Paul Sorvino, Robert Loggia, Armand Assante, Robert Davi, Michael Paré, Eric Roberts, Daniel Baldwin, Tony Nardi, Frank D'Angelo, Art Hindle and Phil Esposito. Having just been completed and entered into a few film festivals, the film has also been selected to showcase in the 2015 AOF Festival XI in Monrovia California where it has been nominated for several categories including best director.

Written, directed and produced by Frank D'Angelo, "Sicilian Vampire" from In Your Ear Productions, is equal parts "Goodfellas" and "From Dusk till Dawn." It tells the story of reputed mobster Sonny Trafficante who was hoping to get away to the family hunting lodge for a little rest and relaxation and create some memories. Instead what he got was a night he will never forget. From there we're taken on a journey of action, suspense and drama that can only come from the mind of Frank D'Angelo.

Frank D'Angelo has written, produced, directed and acted in a total of four feature films in the last three years and is now in pre-production of his fifth film, "The Red Maple Leaf," which he plans to shoot in fall of 2015.

His other films include "Real Gangsters" (the story of the Lo Giacomo family, one of the most successful crime syndicates in New York City), which is currently in worldwide release on VOD. Another, "The Big Fat Stone" (a story of a homeless man who, simply by being at the right place at the right time, gets a chance at a new life), is now on VOD worldwide. And "No Deposit" (a story about a family man, who falls from grace through a series of downward spiraling events beyond his control), has been in theaters in Canada and USA and will be available on VOD in October 2015.

Frank D'Angelo is a modern renaissance man who excels at many things. He is a screen writer, director, actor, musician and Canadian talk show host. As a performer, he knew there was a big void in Canadian television for Canadians to promote their talents and so he created "The Being Frank Show," a late night talk/variety show which broadcasts nationally in Canada and is just about to start its 6th season. It has boasted guests and show business luminaries such as Al Pacino, Paul Newman, Tony Bennett, Graham Greene, Bill Fichtner, Kim Coates, Estella Warren, Bai Ling, Reggae Rapper Snow, Pavlo, Dan Hill, Ian Thomas, Murray McLauchlan,Missi Pyle, Kevin Hearn of The Barenaked Ladies and many, many more.


For more information you can visit the films official website.


Read More »

Friday, July 31, 2015

The Stuff - Blu-ray Review - Arrow Video

Are you eating it... or is it eating you?


The Stuff Blu-ray


Released by: Arrow Films
Release Date: March 10, 2014
Production Year: 1985
Region Code: B
Running Time: 1:26:31
Audio: English LPCM Mono
Video: 1080p (1.85:1 Aspect Ratio)
Subtitles: English SDH



THE FILM:

The Stuff is the new dessert taking supermarket shelves by storm. It’s delicious, low in calories and – better still – doesn’t stain the family carpet… What’s not to like?! Well, for a start it has a life of its own, and we’re not talking friendly live bacteria…

Young Jason seems to be the only one who doesn’t love The Stuff – in fact he won’t go anywhere near it, after having seen the pudding crawling around the fridge one night. What’s more, everyone who eats The Stuff has started acting really weird… Now, teaming up with wise-cracking industrial saboteur “Mo”, Jason must put a stop to The Stuff and the organization behind it or face a gooey, gloopy demise.

Coming courtesy of horror auteur Larry Cohen (director of the It’s Alive series and scribe behind the Maniac Cop trilogy), The Stuff is a titillating treat for the taste-buds which blends elements of films such as Street Trash with the straight-up B-movie flavor of The Blob. So grab a spoon and dig on into The Stuff – the taste that delivers… much more than you bargained for!


This films brings back fond memories. The first time I saw the film was on VHS in the late 80's. A friend who had already seen the movie, introduced me to it. What a fun time we had! From the wacky commercials to "The Stuff" oozing and moving about... it was a blast! I was happy to hear the news when Arrow Video announced they would be releasing it on Blu-ray. I've had it for awhile now but reviewing this release gave me another reason to watch it again. 


The Stuff Blu-ray


AUDIO:

This Blu-ray comes with an English LPCM Mono track as its only audio option. The track does a great job balancing the dialogue, score and sound effects. Dialogue is easy to hear and understand. The sound effects and score do a nice job and sound very good as well. I did not notice any negative issues with the audio on this release. There are English SDH Subtitles included which can be accessed from the Setup menu. 


VIDEO:

"The Stuff" oozes its way on to Blu-ray via a high definition restoration of the film from a new 2k scan of the original camera negative, courtesy of UK distributor, Arrow Video. The film is presented in 1080p with a 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. Arrow has done a terrific job with making this Blu-ray look incredible. The color and skin tones look great and very natural. Black levels look nice as well. There is an abundance of fine detail present with close ups looking excellent. A nice layer of film grain is present throughout with it getting a little heavier in some darker scenes, which is to be expected. This is a very welcomed and amazing upgrade in video quality over the Region 1 DVD that I own.


The Stuff Blu-ray


SPECIAL FEATURES:

Can't Get Enough of The Stuff (52:10) - This documentary features interviews with Larry Cohen (Director), Paul Kurta (Producer), Andrea Marcovicci (Nicole), Steve Neill (Mechanical Makeup Effects Creator) and Kim Newman (Critic). Many topics are discussed including practical effects, the cast, the actual 'stuff' used in the film, and the films cult classic status. This was interesting and definitely worth watching. Fans of the film should particularly enjoy it.

Darren Bousman Trailer Commentary (1:48) - Trailers From Hell segment with Darren Bousman giving his opinion about the film.

Original Trailer (1:35)

Reversible Cover Art


IN CONCLUSION:

Arrow Video did a great job with this Blu-ray & DVD Combo Pack. The audio and video quality is amazing. This is easily the best that the film has ever looked and fans should not hesitate to upgrade. The one unfortunate thing is that the commentary track from the Anchor Bay Region 1 DVD was not ported over. So if you own it like I do, hold on to it, unless special features are not important to you. 


OVERALL: 4 / 5



Read More »