Josh's Review: Shoot Em Up - An Action Classic

I had the distinct privilege of attending the world premiere of Shoot 'Em Up this past week at Comic-Con. We were greeted with a friendly introduction from the film's director, Michael Davis, about his influences in making the film and how excited he was to be showing it for the first time to all of us. Even with such a cinematic treat as the introduction, my opinion of the film is not bias because of this. The film speaks for itself. Shoot 'Em Up is one of the best action movies I have ever seen, period.

Comic-Con Video Interview: Clive Owen and Director Michael Davis on Shoot 'Em Up

Just a few days ago, FS.net had the chance to chat with the legendary Clive Owen and the director of Clive's next movie, Shoot 'Em Up - Michael Davis. We spent a few minutes firing questions towards these two and discussing one of the most exciting upcoming action movies this year. Not only is Michael Davis just a big action movie fan himself, but Clive Owen is as charismatic and "badass" in person as he is on screen. Read on to watch our exclusive video interview.

Comic-Con Video Interview: Rob Zombie on Halloween

At Comic-Con this past weekend, FS.net spent a few minutes to chatting with writer and director Rob Zombie on his upcoming Halloween remake. In addition to chatting with Zombie, a clip from the film and a new extended trailer were shown at the presentation and Zombie and company answered questions from the fans. Anyone excited for Halloween (or not) should check out this interview, as Rob lets us in on his thoughts on all things horror and more.

Review: The Reaping Could Be The 11th Plague

The Reaping is Hollywood's latest attempt to scare religion into people by resurrecting the 10 plagues that God used to convince the Pharaoh to let Moses lead his people out of Egypt. The film relies too much on old gimmicks and offers nothing new or exciting, resulting in a uniquely disappointing experience.

Grindhouse's Action Hero Freddy Rodriguez Interviewed

Last weekend we had the pleasure of heading out to Los Angeles to screen Grindhouse and meet the cast and filmmakers behind the film. The star of Robert Rodriguez's half Planet Terror, Freddy Rodriguez (not related), plays an action hero character named El Wray in the film and delivers one hell of a badass performance. Some of his fight scenes rival those even in The Matrix and he delivers one of the most memorable performances out of any in the film.

Freddy is an incredibly nice and down-to-earth guy (rare with actors these days) who gave us a bit of insight into his character and the filming process for Grindhouse. If there is any one actor you keep an eye on, it should definitely be Freddy. He's starred in everything from Bobby to Harsh Times to Lady in the Water and now this, and has never failed to impress me in every film. Grindhouse opens this upcoming Friday, April 6th, so make sure you don't miss him in Planet Terror next weekend!

Review: Dead Silence is Freakin' Scary!

Dead Silence is the second film directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell, the deadly duo who brought us the first Saw film. It's been over 3 years since his directorial debut and resulting immediate cult status in the horror genre, and many have been eagerly waiting for his next project. This is going to be a really hard review to write because I don't want to give anything away, but let me tell you, it's one hell of a ride!

Is Adaptation The Way To Make A Film?

300's opening weekend box office domination was so successful for many reasons. It would be easy to argue that one of the biggest reasons for the $70 million opening weekend is due to the fan base already built from the Frank Miller graphic novel. It is difficult to make a film adaptation of any source, however there are many advantages, and disadvantages, of "adaptation".

How To Ruin A Franchise: 5 Ways to Kill a Good Movie Series

2007 will most likely be remembered as the year of trilogies. There are so many of them coming out this year, including Spider-Man 3, Shrek 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3, Rush Hour 3, and The Bourne Ultimatum, just to name a few. It's easy to see that many of these films are quickly becoming the cash cow franchise that the studios have been craving. Franchises have been around forever and I feel it's too easy for Hollywood today to ruin many of everyone's favorite classic films by turning them into horrible franchises with terrible sequels. Here are some tips of what not to do to ruin a classic series.

Top 5 2007 Horror Films To Look Out For

This looks like it's going to be a great year for horror fans! I've looked over all of the horror films opening this year and put together a list of what I predict will be the goriest, scariest, and most terrifying flicks to come out in 2007!

The Messengers Delivers Fun Scares

Nothing is more refreshing than a really good ghost story. One that is original, but still can grab a hold of you and pull you in. One of my favorite horror films of all time is Tobe Hooper's Poltergiest. It's one of those classics that still scares me every time I see it. The newest attempt to scare audiences with ghosts comes in the form of The Messengers. A Japanese-American hybrid that falls short on originality but succeeds in delivering a suspenseful enough story to scare us for the 84-minute running time.

The Terrifying Dead Silence Trailer!

Saw creator and director James Wan brings us his first feature since 2004.

Rob Zombie's Halloween…Let Him Do What He Wants

There have been all kinds of crazy rumors flying around the Internet regarding Rob Zombie's remake of the John Carpenter classic Halloween. The frenzy started last week when AICN and Fangoria posted two very different reviews on Rob Zombie's script for the film. After reading these critiques, Zombie decided to make a statement of his own on his personal myspace blog. Here is what Zombie had to say…

Independent Horror Being Pushed Forward

Although I personally felt like After Dark Films' Horrorfest was a terribly miss-marketed kick in the groin for horror fans, news is buzzing around about the possibility of Horrorfest 2 for 2007. This festival will once again be run by After Dark films and is tentatively scheduled to hit multiplexes the weekend of October 19. Unfortunately it is too early for any information on what films will be apart of series, however there is some exciting news on some other independent titles.

The Hitcher: Another Pointless Remake

While on a road trip to get to their unknown Spring Break destination, college students Grace (Sophia Bush) and Jim (Zachary Knighton) cross paths with John Ryder (Sean Bean), a man who needs a lift after his car gets stranded on the highway. Remember how your parents told you never to pick up strangers? It isn't until after they set out on the road that John Ryder turns out to be a psychotic maniac looking to fill his masochistic needs. Based off of the 1986 film of the same name, The Hitcher proves yet to be another attempt to scrap in on some extra cash from old and tired ideas.

Josh's Review: Alpha Dog Not the Leader of the Pack

Based on true events that led to the capture of Jesse James Hollywood, a drug dealer who became one of the youngest men ever on the FBI's most wanted list, Alpha Dog depicts the brutal lifestyle of some "gangster white boys" in California. The plot centers around the awkward kidnapping of Zack Mazursky (Anton Yelchin) from his family in order to force his brother Jake Mazursky (Ben Foster) to pay back money that he owes drug lord Johnny Truelove (Emile Hirsch). There are plenty of other stars packed in the film including Sharon Stone, Bruce Willis, and new comer Justin Timberlake.

Black Christmas Review: Only a Stocking Stuffer

Black Christmas is yet another horror remake to jingle its way into theaters before the end of this year. The original, released in 1974, claims to be one of the greatest 70's horror films of all time. Although this isn't a shot-for-shot remake, Black Christmas still retains some of the original film's classic elements, but suffers by trying to compress it into nothing more than an average slasher flick.

Krasinski Isn't Stuck Behind A Desk Anymore…

John Krasinski, known to most people as Jim from the hit television show The Office, plans on pursuing a life outside of his character on the show. John will be directing his first feature film called Brief Interviews With Hideous Men. The film has already started production and is an indie drama based on the novel by David Foster Wallace.

The movie features Julianne Nicholson suffering from a rough breakup. She decides to videotape interviews with different guys, and tries to make sense of how men work.

New and Grotesque Hostel: Part II Poster!

The folks over at IGN posted the first Hostel: Part II poster. As you can see, it is incredibly disgusting; this is something than we can expect from writer/director Eli Roth. The first Hostel, although not well received by critics, debuted as number 1 its opening weekend in January 2006, making over $19 million. I think this poster sets up some horrifying images of what we can expect in Part II. Unfortunately this is not the US poster. I still think this is an effective marketing strategy, as the international poster for the first film featured a severed head. Obviously Lionsgate still has creative and new ideas to gross us out. Read on to check it out.

Starship Troopers Might Use Some More Bug Spray; 3rd Sequel Planned

According to Moviehole.net, a third Starship Troopers movie is being planned. Ed Neumeier will be writing and directing the third chapter. Neumeier has never directed a movie, but his writing credentials include the first two Starship Troopers films, Robocop and Anacondas 2. Casper Van Dien is rumored to return and wear the uniform of Colonel John Rico yet again. I guess we can expect new bugs, more satire, and a new weapon from the Federation!

"8 Films To Die For" Horrorfest: A Lost Opportunity

The past weekend, After Dark Films took a chance and unleashed one of the most creative and original movie going experiences to ever hit theaters across America. In a span of only 4 days, After Dark Films planned to release 8 independent horror movies for a series entitled "8 Films to Die For." These films, which have never been released before, were advertised as grotesque and violent cinematic explorations into the horror genre. Our resident horror expert Josh was planning on attending all 8 films over the long weekend to see first hand what kind of experience this was going to be. Unfortunately for the folks over at After Dark Films, this "Horrorfest" turned out to be the most uncoordinated, horribly thought out waste of time for everyone who went or was a part of the series. He only ended up seeing 6 out of the 8, due to the fact that after the first 6 his mind was completely numb and there was no way he would have lasted sitting through two more of the films. Read on for his reviews and thoughts on the 8 Films to Die For Horrorfest.