Non-Stop: New Trailer Looks Like Taken on a Plane

The reason the 2008 film Taken is one of the best action flicks in recent years has nothing to do with its incredibly “original” plot, or the setting of the film. It has to do solely with the simple conceit of Liam Neeson being a badass. While we were given a poorly made sequel that decided to make him immobile for half the movie, it seems we might get to see him in a balls to the walls action film once more in the form of Non-Stop. In this one, Neeson plays an Air Marshall who, during an international flight, receives a menacing text that a passenger will be killed every 20 minutes. The synopsis sounds pretty neat, but the trailer takes it to insane levels, check it out:

Wow, that looks crazy. The trailer seems to go from tight psychological thriller to psychotic action with military jets shooting, Neeson snatching and shooting a gun in the air, and we also get some good hand to hand combat. This looks to be the perfect early year action film that’s nothing more than a fun time at the theater. Non-Stop‘s Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, the man behind Neeson’s other decent action movie, Unknown, and the horror film Orphan, and boasts a solid supporting cast including Julianne Moore (Crazy, Stupid, Love), Hell on Wheel’s star Anson Mount, and ‘House of Card’s Corey Stoll.

Non-Stop Movie Poster

Non-Stop is due out February 28th.

Final Hunger Games Trailer Has Arrived!

If you happened to be watching baseball tonight (Go Cards!), you might have noticed a power surge during the fifth inning. That would be because it was announced that there would be a new The Hunger Games trailer shown after the top of the inning. Not only was it new, it was the final.

That’s right, we have officially reached the home stretch. While it seems like ages ago that the first Catching Fire trailer was released, all the waiting is about to come to an end. To help make the wait a little bit more tolerable, check out the trailer below!

There has been a lot of promo material of late talking about the Quarter Quell, and Haymitch, Effie, Finnick Odair… pretty much everyone, but this trailer goes back to where it all began, Katniss Everdeen and her bow. Katniss and her sister. Katniss and the President. And perhaps most important, Katniss and Peeta.

If there was any doubt that this sequel will lack any of the intensity the first film had, just watch Peeta try to convince Katniss that “It isn’t real” and all doubt will ease away.

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire arrives in theaters on November 22nd. Do you have your tickets yet?

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Batman: Arkham Origins – What We Want To See

Batman: Arkham Origins comes out this week, and with a new developer behind it, there’s no real way to know how the third installment will compare to the previous two. Sure, we’ve seen some Arkham Origins trailers and have heard some of the core details about the Dark Knight’s next foray into video game Gotham, but there’s so much we can’t know about the game until we get our hands on it on October 25th. Here are five dos and don’ts we hope to see when we tag along for Bats’ second Christmas Eve later this week:

Don’t: Mess With the Combat.

Arkham Origins
Photo via Just Push Start

Of course, the shining heart of the Arkham series is the free-flowing combat system that forever changed the standard of the 3D brawler. A large part of what allows us to feel like the Caped Crusader in these games is being able to take down an entire mob of gangsters with one fluid dance of fists and justice. We know that Warner Bros. Montreal has made some tweaks and changes to the existing combat from Arkham City, but they seem to have been very conscientious about taking things too far away from their roots. Let’s keep things fairly grounded, here: Not too many elaborate gadgets or rooftop gymnastics, but make us capable of handling every situation with the right combo or a well-placed batarang.

Do: Mess With The Rest of Gameplay.

Arkham Origins
Photo via EGM Now

If there’s one thing that Arkham City faltered at, it was variety – Fly around, find a Riddler puzzle, give a football team’s worth of gangsters a close-up view of the pavement – We were rarely faced with a new mission type or challenge. Don’t get me wrong, I had a blast completing every single piece of the singleplayer campaign, but most of the enjoyment came from Rocksteady’s deft hand at weaving Batman lore into the world, and the sheer joy of the mechanics that I had already become used to. However there’s more to being Batman than aggressive criminal dentistry, and it looks like in Origins we’ll get to explore the side of Bats that earned him the title of World’s Greatest Detective. WB Montreal has shown off a bit of the detective gameplay wherein the player will have to piece together a crime scene in order to make progress in a mission. I really want this to be a fairly major component of the story and not just a handful of neat moments sprinkled into the game, and if the developers have even more fun ways to round out the gameplay I’ll be ecstatic.

Don’t: Sacrifice Substance for Size.

Arkham Origins
Photo via Cinema Blend

Batman: Arkham Origins is going to be the largest of the three games to date, expanding to incorporate all of Gotham City rather than the titular Arkham City and Asylum settings from the previous two titles. As good as Arkham City is, it lost the intimacy of Asylum‘s closed walls and Metroidvania style backtracking which made the iconic prison grounds feel oppressing and teeming with activity. Origins risks doubling down on that loss by adding a lot of square footage to the map. Hopefully the promises of a more varied cityscape, due in part to featuring more than desolate slums full of escaped prisoners, will liven up the environment and feature more details to discover.

Do: Play with Gotham City.

Arkham Origins
Photo via Polygon

A lot can happen in a large metropolis and there’s enough history in Batman canon to fill that space. Not all of Bruce Wayne’s world is depressingly dark and filled with villains. Arkham City was so depressing and grey that certain moments looked like a black and white movie. This is appropriate a lot of the time, but it can’t be all there is to Gotham City or no one outside the poor, the morally questionable or the colorblind could live there and keep their sanity. I want Arkham Origins to show some of the livelier side to Gotham – Give us families, car dealerships, people snapping photos of Batman on the move. I want to feel that there’s more to Batman’s world than a dank cave and a parade of creepy men to fight. Remind us of what he fights to protect.

Do: Tell  Us a Story.

Arkham Origins
Photo via Game Informer

I’m breaking pattern here, but the truth is I have way more positives than negatives to look forward to in this game. That’s because, with whatever flaws great or small that can be found in Arkham Asylum and City, what both of them achieved was a story on par with some of the better source material. Asylum, specifically, tells a much better story for some of the characters than I’d ever seen in the past. Arkham Origins actually looks like it might be far more focused on delivering a satisfying Batman story than City, with a younger, more brutish Batman, still regarded as a vigilante by the police force and a new threat by the criminal underworld. The fact that it all takes place over one night on Christmas Eve makes even more epic. If it can manage to keep a strong pace and treat the characters with as deft a hand as Rocksteady did twice in the past, this will unquestionably a wonderful way to usher in the new console generation.

VHS Vault – VHS Covers Halloween Special

When VHS tapes first came out, demand was so high that shop owners were constantly looking for copies to line their shelves.  A lot of rubbish got rented out back in the day due to the fact that, in general, there was no public resource available for additional information on these films; customers took their chances based on what looked interesting. Those days are long gone now, with On Demand and streaming services allowing us to find and watch specific titles in minutes, whenever we want. Obviously this a great thing, but we lost the mystery and grab-bag feel that renting a movie used to have. It also means the death of amazing VHS box art – Images specifically designed to catch the eye and make a sale. Horror movies were particularly good at capturing the imagination of potential viewers, flaunting covers so gory and shocking that customers were bound to pick them up. In honor of these classic freaky designs, we’re taking a look back at some Halloween-themed VHS box art that kept people on their couches every October throughout the 80’s and 90’s.

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1. Trick or Treat (1986)

VHS vault halloween special trick or treat

Synopsis: Sammi Curr was a famous, devil-worshiping rock star who died under mysterious circumstances. Now he wants to come back to life. Doing so requires possessing radio wave & automobiles and making a few human sacrifices.

IMDb Rating: 5.3/10

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2. Halloween (1978)

VHS vault halloween special halloween

Synopsis: A psychotic murderer institutionalized since childhood for the murder of his sister, escapes and stalks a bookish teenage girl and her friends while his doctor chases him through the streets.

IMDb rating: 7.9/20

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3. Hack O Lantern (1988)

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Synopsis: A kindly old grandfather is actually the leader of a murderous satanic cult which sacrifices its victims on Halloween.

IMDb rating: 4.8/10

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4. Dark Night of the Scarecrow (1981)

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Synopsis: In a small town, a wrongfully killed man exacts revenge on those who murdered him beyond the grave.

IMDb rating: 6.7/10

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5. Night of the Demons (1988)

VHS vault halloween special night of the demons

Synopsis: A group of teens decides to have a Halloween party up at the deserted funeral parlour. They accidentally awaken a demon while having a séance. The demon enters the body of one of the women, and soon the teens begin experiencing an attrition problem.

IMDb rating: 4.6/10

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6. The Midnight Hour (1985)

VHS vault halloween special dark midnight hour

Synopsis: Phil, Melissa, Mitch, Mary, and Vinnie are high school friends, who unwittingly raise the dead on Halloween night. Once the dead have returned, Pitchford Cove will never be the same again….or will it?

IMDb rating: 6.4/10

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7. Hollow Gate (1988)

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Synopsis: At a Halloween party, a young boy is almost killed by his drunken, alcoholic father. Ten years afterward, the boy goes on a murder spree.

IMDb rating: 3.4/10

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8. Halloween 3 (1982)

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Synopsis: A large Halloween mask-making company has plans to kill millions of American children with something sinister hidden in Halloween masks.

IMDb rating: 4.1/10

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9. Trick or Treats (1982)

VHS vault halloween special trick or treats

Synopsis: A baby sitter is stuck watching over a young brat on Halloween night that keeps playing vicious pranks on her. To add to her trouble the boy’s deranged father has escaped from an asylum and is planning on making a visit.

IMDb rating: 3.3/10

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10. The Clown Murders (1976)

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Synopsis: A killer targets trick-or-treaters on Halloween.

IMDb rating: 3.7/10

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 11. Jack-O (1995)

VHS vault halloween special jack o

Synopsis: In Halloween, three friends seek an ancient cemetery in the suburb for fun and remove a cross from a tomb, where Jack-O was buried many years ago by the farmer Arthur Kelly. The evil creature is unleashed, kills the trio and seeks the descendants of the Kelly family for revenge.

IMDb rating: 2.6/10

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12. Haunted-Ween (1991)

VHS vault halloween special Hauntedween

Synopsis: Twenty years ago a deadly accident forced Eddie Burber from his home. Since Eddie was younger he wanted to be part of the family business “The Burber Haunted House.” A note is placed on the local Fraternity giving permission to use the old house as a fund-raiser. While the students prepare the house, they soon are hunted down and placed in the Haunted House for amusement. One thing is for sure. Nobody knows it really happening – People are dying, and people are laughing.

IMDb rating: 6.4/10

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13. Clown House (1989)

VHS vault halloween special clown house

Synopsis: Just before Halloween, three young brothers alone in a big house are menaced by three escaped mental patients who have murdered some travelling circus clowns and taken their identities.

IMDb rating: 5.6/10

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Look out for more Halloween related articles from Grizzly Bomb soon!

Welcome to Medieval Land Fun-Time World! A Bad Lip Reading: Game of Thrones

Who thought Game of Thrones could be possible be improved on? Well Bad Lip Reading has somehow managed to do it with their brand new YouTube video. If you have never heard of this comedy musical group before then now is a perfect time to do so.

They do exactly what their name suggests. They look at a some video and replace the audio track with their own dialogue. This often results in hilarious outcomes. This one though, well it has to be their best video so far. Re-imagining the Game of Thrones series as a cheeky comedy where Eddie Stark needs to get his staff in tip-top shape for the opening of the new theme park: Medieval Fun-Time World.

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Below is the video which you will definitely be watching twice:

As you can see this video is quite simply amazing to watch. Not only does it seem to have every Joffrey slapping scene from the series, it also manages to give all the characters new personalities which are just brilliant. My favorites have to be Tyrion Lannister re-imagined as a hardcore pimp like character, and Joffrey as a self titled love god.

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The new storyline of a theme park works surprisingly well, as does the re-edited interactions between the new characters. Absolutely incredible, you can watch this countless times and find new jokes in it. Who can resist jokes that involve prolonged flatulence and kitten burgers? There is a mix of Waiting and National Lampoons Animal House here, yet it still retains a unique charm. Check out the Bad Lip Readings YouTube channel for more videos covering all kinds of topics.

Finally we will leave you with another of their videos showing all the deleted and expanded scenes they could not squeeze in. Enjoy.

[Ed. Note – The iPhone gag in the 2nd video is priceless]

I really want to go to Medieval Land Fun-Time World…

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Venom Fan Film – Eddie Brock: Truth In Journalism

Welcome to another installment of Unknown Fan Films where we delve deep into the World Wide Web and select for you some of the best and most interesting fan films that you might have missed.

This week we look at Truth In Journalism, a film which focuses on one of Spider-Man’s most ferocious enemies – Venom. Or to be more precise, it focuses on his alter ego, the disgraced journalist Eddie Brock.

Eddie has become further corrupted since his days at the Bugle, and the saddest thing is he doesn’t even know it. The only truth to be found here is in Eddie’s real personality change, or what Eddie perceives to be true journalism. Certainly Truth In Journalism focuses on a type of reporting, whether this is considered to be the best kind of journalism is left up to the viewer to decide. Here is what director Joe Lynch and producer Adi Shankar has to say about his project.

[quote] “This was 200% pure “passion project”, a dream come true for a comics ‘n cult-film loving fan to work within two distinct worlds I grew up loving. As a lover of mixing pop culture into storytelling, in a Warholian way, TRUTH IN JOURNALISM is pure ‘Pop Art’. I’ve rarely been as proud of something I’ve created as much as I had with this project and thrilled the TRUTH has been unleashed to the world. To CineMAAA!”  – Joe Lynch

“I don’t subscribe to the school of thought that as a feature film producer I shouldn’t dabble in television, web content, or even comic books … that thinking perpetuates the consumerist mosh pit we are now desperately trying to dig ourselves out of. I have a burning desire to entertain and different mediums allow me to do this in different ways. These shorts are as much a part of my filmography as the movies are. I’m here now, I’m inevitably going to die at some point, and as an artist I feel an ardent urge to constantly be creating. ”  – Adi Shankar. [/quote]

Like Man Bites Dog director Joe Lynch takes the documentary approach with a French crew following Eddie around the streets of New York. The black and white gives the film a crisp, realness to it that makes it thoroughly engaging (the scratches on the film add another element of realism to it). There are some nice little touches to – Eddie working out (which happened quite a few times in the comics), talking about the events after the Bugle (when he became Venom), talks to Venom in the bathroom and instantly gets changed, ties up villains and the shocking ending.

Unknown Fan Films truth in journalism eddie 3

Actor Ryan Kwanten (from True Blood) really brings to life the character of Eddie, more so than attempt in Spider-Man 3. Not that his attempt was bad, it’s just has more time to get engrossed in the character and bring him to life for us. And he certainly does that, with his black attired clothing and common man attitude he does come off as a likable guy but there are scenes that pop up that show the menace underneath (a key scene involving a stab victim begin one of the shocker scenes). This sense of underlining menace builds up to a truly sinister and quite disturbing ending where Eddies true self comes out. This scene alone is incredible, using the shock techniques seen in  many a homemade horror flick, but used correctly (and very similar to the ending of REC). Not to give to many spoilers away but this is handled perfectly and for once it actually makes Venom seem alien, like something not of this Earth and most important it makes Venom scary. Director kind of knows the darkness of this scene because he gives us a nice (and very funny) cameo from one of Marvel comics most well-known killers.

Unknown Fan Films truth in journalism eddie 2

A stunning short to watch and in just 15 minutes manages to tell a story that Spider-Man 3 with his compilation of characters really struggled to tell correctly. This version of Eddie is dirty, gritty and more importantly shocking. A must see for all Spider-Man fans but fans of good quality movies should also check this out to.

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