Loups=Garous

In the wake of a devastating viral infection that wiped out more than half the world’s population, life is tightly controlled, from the government processed food you eat to the way you spend just about every waking moment of your life under the watchful eye of the Big Brother cameras located on every street corner and in every room of you house. So how is a serial killer getting away with the murder of school children? That’s the mystery that a group of young girls try to solve before they become the next victims in this new anime from director Jun’ichi Fujisaku. The story is strong and the voice acting a cut above what you hear coming from the mouths of most teenagers in anime these days. What raises Loups=Garous to the level of art are the gorgeous images that fill the screen. The style of the film does a terrific job of setting not only the scenes, but the tone of the film, perfectly capturing the paranoia the people are living with.

Zebraman 2: Attack on Zebra City

In the original movie, directed by Takashi Miike (Audition), mild-mannered teacher Shin’ichi Ichikawa (Sho Aikawa) saw his dreams of being a vigilante superhero become a reality when he turned into Zebraman to save the world from an alien invasion. This sequel, also directed by Miike, is set 15 years in the future during an apocalyptic time when the high moral standards of Zebraman have been twisted to the point where there is now a government sanctioned 10-minute Zebra Time every day at 5 am and 5 pm where murder and mayhem are not only legal, but endorsed by the government. How did things get so out of control? Don’t ask Zebraman because he’s now a homeless amnesiac. The ultimate answer to how things went wrong and what has to be done to set it right will all be revealed during the two-hour roller coaster that the movie takes you on. It doesn’t always make a lot of sense, but that’s hardly the point. It’s a hell of a lot of fun just waiting to see what Miike comes up with next as the story barrels along at breakneck speed. That, and a dementedly sexy performance by Riisa Naka as the evil Zebra Queen, makes this a keeper.

Vampires

‘They’re not scary, sexy or trendy. They’re just Belgium.’ With a tagline like that, who could resist a movie like this? The good news is that this mock-documentary, directed by Vincent Lannoo, is more than just a clever marketing campaign. It follows a film crew as it tries to capture the everyday — make that every night – life of a vampire family in Belgium. The fact that this is the third crew invited in to film the vampire community – and that the first two were accidentally eaten by their interview subjects – pretty much sets the tone for the movie. Lannoo doesn’t spare the audience when it comes to the gore factor of the film, but it’s hard to be scared or grossed out when you’re laughing so hard as you start to get to know the vampires, from the ever droll Georges (Carlo Ferrante) to his rebellious teenage daughter Grace (Fleur Lise Heuet) who dreams of one dying ‘just like a human.’ Vampires is not only the perfect antidote to all that Twilight nonsense out there in the world, but good enough to stand on its own as a vampire movie classic.

Chaos Head: The Complete Series

One of the great things about anime is that there are almost no rules the animators have to follow: if the writers think of it, they can animate it. The creative team behind Chaos Head, however, deserves special recognition for what they’ve done here. It’s not that the images themselves are so wild; it’s the way the story – and the images – plays with the idea of reality that messes with your mind as you watch it. Chaos Head is the story of Takumi Nishijō, a high school student at a private academy who is more comfortable in his imagination than he is with the day-to-day reality of his life. Takumi lives in a old shipping container on the roof of his family’s apartment building where he spends his days playing video games and watching anime. The lines between Takumi’s imaginary world and the ‘real’ world are increasingly blurred, especially when he becomes suspect in a series of gruesome murders.

West Side Story

It might have been made more than half a century ago, but watching West Side Story on this deluxe 50^th Anniversary blu-ray edition is as exciting as anything you’ve seen in theaters since. The classic retelling of Romeo and Juliet, set in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, is filled with great songs and dance numbers, the sheer physicality of which will amaze you. The acting is good throughout, too, especially from Rita Moreno, who won an Oscar for her performance as the fiery Anita. The deluxe package is filled with extras that only enhance the experience, including some amazing song-specific commentary from lyricist Stephen Sondheim and a terrific look at the dance numbers in the movie from the people who made them come alive on the screen.

The Nickel Ride/99 44/100% Dead

It’s been a long time since theaters showed an actual double feature, but this classic set from Shout Factory is a perfect example of what you might have seen back when you got two movies for the price of one. The Nickel Ride stars Jason Miller (The Exorcist) as Cooper, a small-time mobster facing some heavy competition from an up-and-coming young hood. Cooper has a plan to pull off one big score to regain his control over his territory, but he’s racing against the clock to make it happen. The second film stars Richard Harris as Harry Crown, an independent hit man hired by one mobster to kill his rival to stop a bloody turf war from getting out of hand. Both movies stand on their own as solid B-action movies, but there’s something about watching them back to back that makes for a great night at the movies.

Super 8

While making a zombie home movie with their super 8 movie camera, a group of nerdy teens witness a gigantic train wreck, inadvertently capturing the carnage on film in the process. As bad as the wreck is, it is what escaped from the train when it went off the rails that will eventually get the kids in a lot of trouble while giving audiences a near-perfect summer movie thrill ride. Directed by J. J. Abrams, Super 8 is that rare kind of summer movie that is filled with state-of-the-art special effects which are there to actually enhance the story and not just to distract the audience so they won’t realize how lame the story -- or the acting -- is. In fact, cool as some of the effects are (and some of them are really, really cool) it is the characters that stay with you long after the movie is over. The fact that the characters are played by kids, many of whom you have never seen in a movie before, somehow makes it even more enjoyable.