|
"TITANIC II" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: The Asylum Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
It’s the 100th anniversary of the original voyage of the Titanic, and a new ocean liner has been given the doomed name of Titanic II. All precautions are made so as to not repeat the original disaster, and this ship is a state-of-the-art vessel. However, the ship, its crew and its passengers did not anticipate a massive tsunami to form when an iceberg falls off a shelf and threatens the ship.
WHAT I LIKED
Being a release from The Asylum, you can’t expect anything from “Titanic II” beyond a modern Roger Corman movie. And that’s exactly what you get. But like many of the other films from The Asylum, “Titanic II” is a lot of fun for a mindless Saturday afternoon.
The special effects aren’t brilliant, but they work well enough for a cheesy disaster movie. It is “Titanic II,” after all. In fact, considering some of the quality of work we’ve seen in previous Asylum movies, it’s great to see one of them that moves the stars out of a control room and actually tries to tell a different story... well, at least different from another “Transmorphers” story.
In the end, there’s enough happening in terms of set-up and eventual disaster with “Titanic II” to keep me watching. And its lean 90-minute running time makes it work.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The stars that director/writer/star Shane Van Dyke landed for this film aren’t the best we’ve seen in an Asylum movie. Bruce Davison ain’t bad, but I can’t say I recognize the other box cover draw Brooke Burns. Also, Van Dyke might be talented in making these low-budget schlock films, but he’s not exactly the best choice to star in his own work.
DVD FEATURES
The DVD comes with a making-of featurette, a gag reel and several trailers.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Anyone who can get past the title “Titanic II”
|
"MEGAFAULT" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) DVD EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: The Asylum Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
In the middle of West Virginia, a mountaintop-removal team detonates explosions underground and are met with a massive earthquake that literally rips apart the land. When seismologist Amy Lane (Brittany Murphy) gets to the scene, she discovers that the earthquake has exposed a huge fault that runs across the North American continent. Lane races ahead to warn people of the opening in the Earth’s crust while helping to come up with a plan to stop the devastation.
WHAT I LIKED
A few weeks ago, I had a chance to review “Abandoned,” which was Brittany Murphy’s last film she made before her untimely and unexpected death. Of course, few knew that her penultimate movie was The Asylum’s “Megafault.” While not everyone can have “The Dark Knight” as their swan song, Murphy brings a level of quality to this film that you don’t always get with the stars slapped on a cover box.
Like The Asylum’s other disaster flicks, “Megafault” manages to tell an ongoing story while throwing enough special effects at you to keep your eyes busy. It’s a low-budget disaster film, but it works... and it doesn’t take itself nearly as seriously as a film by Roland Emmerich.
Also, unlike some of the other films I’ve seen from The Asylum’s repertoire, “Megafault” manages to put the stars in the action rather than bury them in a control room. Kudos to Brittany Murphy for giving it her all in this relatively small flick.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The problems with “Megafault” are everything you’d expect from an Asylum film. The effects are a bit cheesy. The writing’s not completely polished. And the acting isn’t great. But that’s what you get with these fun little thrillers from the fun schlock house. I will give them credit in the sense that it’s not knocking off any specific movie... not even “2012,” which had its own knock off last year.
All in all, “Megafault” has some problems, but there really isn’t a mega fault that ruins the film.
DVD FEATURES
The DVD comes with a making-of featurette, cast and crew commentary, the extended version of the film and trailers.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Brittany Murphy fans and those who like The Asylum’s movies.
|
"AIRLINE DISASTER" DVD Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: ** (out of 5 stars) Not Rated Studio: The Asylum Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Domestic terrorists take control of a passenger plane by holding the pilot’s family hostage. Bonus points for them for the pilot also being the brother of the President of the United States (Meredith Baxter). The President must make some weighty decisions on how to deal with the runaway jet while she also protects the people in cities where the plane could crash.
WHAT I LIKED
Before I start talking about the film’s story and characters, I have to give major points to The Asylum for landing Meredith Baxter and Scott Valentine in the same movie for a “Family Ties” reunion. Most viewers will recognize Mrs. Keaton, but few are going to recognize Mallory’s bad boy boyfriend in the pilot’s chair because he just doesn’t look the same. They may never share the screen in the same shot, but for a child of the 80s like me, this was one of the most entertaining aspects of this film.
“Airline Disaster” is a pretty standard disaster flick, playing out like a low-budget version of “Air-Force One.” There’s tension on the plane with Marshals trying to overtake the terrorists. There’s the President in a dark conference making the hard decisions. On the whole, “Airline Disaster” hits all the points it needs to for this kind of film... at least in principle.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
Aside from some pretty awful geography set-up, “Airline Disaster” only has a few major problems outside of the low-budget direct-to-DVD flick it is. The biggest one for me is the overly dark angle the film takes when the terrorists capture the pilot’s family. “Airline Disaster” has the set-up to be a decent action flick, but it goes into R-rated territory by being a little too bloodthirsty with the terrorists killing some passengers and tormenting the pilot’s family.
DVD FEATURES
The DVD promises the following “Explosive Features” (though nothing exploded when I watched them): a making-of featurette, bloopers and trailers.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Honestly? Anyone like me who remembers the full cast of “Family Ties.”
