Hardware: You Can't Stop Progress

Hardware (1990)

Directed by Richard Stanley
Cast: Stacey Travis, Dylan McDermott, John Lynch

Opening Thoughts: I was loosely aware of Hardware for quite awhile thinking it might be one of those cheap second rate knockoff films by a company just wanting to capitalize on the Terminator. The film may have popped up a few times on Cinemax, but I avoided Hardware at all cost. That was until recently Dr. Svet Atanasov of Blu-ray.com called this film the best BluRay release of 2018. So I was curious as to what I was missing and how could Ronin Flix who never released a film before on BluRay pull off this magnificent feat.

Plot: In a post apocalyptic world, jobs are hard to come by and the fastest way to make money is scavenge the wastelands for parts that are still useful to humanity. A mysterious nomad comes across what appears to be a normal android and decides to take what is useful left of the android and sell it to a junk dealer.

Only the junk dealer is not in when the Nomad enters the building. The Nomad ends up selling the robot to Mo, a former soldier now scrapper, and his friend Shades. Mo plans on giving this android to his girlfriend Jill to use in her artwork.

There is just one thing nobody realizes this android is apart of the prototype M13 series. The M13 is a highly advanced war machine designed to self repair and kill its enemy no matter what the cost. What is wrong with bringing a war machine into an apartment complex? Jill and the residents are about to find out first hand.

Review: OMG let's talk about the opening  sequence in the wastelands. The gorgeous sepia tone sequence is to die for. I actually backtracked that scene 2 times just to watch it over again to take in the sheer beauty of that sequence it felt like something filmed by Nicolas Roeg.

Once you get past that sequence other colors and the city were introduced to the film leaving you feel like you were in the slums Detroit seen in Robocop. A very effective setting for a film with a low budget. I couldn't ask for more.

The story was kept simple with some erotic sequences featuring Stacy Travis and then the machine versus Jill. That is where the fun of this film begins. A machine that can hack into anything and control your apartment. A machine that can once injured use anything to repair itself even if that means changing the structural design just to acomplish the mission.

The world is essentially the M13's Guinea pigs waiting to be picked off one by one and there is nothing you can do to stop it. The tension is real.

While yes this film is like the Terminator you can easily say this film combines elements of Alien and Gremlins as well. The film is a well put together low budget indie film. The biggest letdown of the film is Dylan McDermott I have a hard time buying him in this role he still reminds me of an actor best suited for light hearted comedies. Other than that the film has not aged as well as it could while I love cameos of Motorhead, Gwar, and Iggy Pop plus British styles of the 80s and low tech computer screens you can definitely pinpoint when this film was made.

Closing thoughts: Hardware will be on my list of regular films to watch probably replacing The Terminator on that list. Just because I like the setting better and I find the M13 to be more dangerous. Not to mention Hardware is more fun to watch. While the positives outweigh the flaws of the film, I can't give the film more than 7 out of 10.

I do think a shout out should be given to Ronin Flix for their stellar transfer. The detail is there, gorgeous colors, and yet the ability to make this film look like it was filmed when made by not doing an over the top restoration is fantastic. For their first effort this is amazing and I'm excited to see what they do to other properties I like.

Is it the best restoration of 2018 maybe, but I give that to Criterion's Sisters.

Spotlight Release: Animal Factory (2000)

Animal Factory (2000)

Directed by Steve Buscemi 

Based off of a book by Edward Bunker

Cast: Willem Dafoe, Edward Furlong, Danny Trejo, John Heard, Mickey Rourke, Mark Boone Junior, and Tom Arnold

Opening Thoughts: I'll let you all in on a little secret, I love prison films. There is just a sense of raw, grittiness, and beauty to films that use real prisons as their sets. As a result you feel just as much as a prisoner as both the prisoners and guards do. Then there is the characters inside the film. A prison movie allows you to cast character actors to give you a large diverse feeling of the craziness.

All that said I had never heard of Animal Factory until Arrow put the film on their release schedule. Honestly, that kind of shocks me with a cast like Willem Dafoe, Danny Trejo, John Heard, and Mickey Rourke this film should have been on most people's radar when released. So I hope this film can live up to the extraordinary talent cast in the film. Considering the film did less than 50,000 at the box office that leaves an uneast feeling in my stomach, but that doesn't mean this film isn't good.

Plot: Ron Decker (Edward Furlong) has been sentenced to serve 5 years in San Quentin for the possession of marijuana. Despite protest from Decker's lawyer, Decker recieved the maximum sentence because he grew up in a family with everything given to him and as a result knows right from wrong.

With this being Decker's first offense and have never going to prison before, Decker is scared because he is going to have to learn the rules on the fly. One wrong decision by Decker could mean the difference between life and death. So Decker better choose his friends carefully in prison.

One thing is for sure, Decker has come to the attention of Barnboss Earl Copen. Copen is a prisoner that has learned how to manipulate the system to where he controls everything on the prisoners end. Whether Decker survives depends on how much Copen is willing to help him.

Does Decker live or die? You will have to watch for yourself to find out.

Review: I can't for the life of me figure out why this film isn't talked about more. The film has everything going for it. Beautiful cinematography from the overhead shot of Holmesburg Prison to the tight up close shots inside the cells. The tension from those shots made me feel uneasy and glad I am not in prison.

Survival  from those rough conditions is what this film is about. It's not about some big major event, but about the little things a prisoner does to have little victories to make it through prison. Whether that be pulling something small over a guard or conning another convict. Try to focus on the big picture you will go insane.

Edward Bunker, the writer, knows this better than most people because he did time in prison. That is what sets this film apart from other prison films in many ways. Bunker may have delivered the most realistic story for prisoners.

He doesn't deliver a large scale film like Shawshank Redemption, but instead delivered a story with many different stories going on at the same time. To show just how chaotic prison can be because at any moment your situation changes.

With changes like that to pull them off convincingly a special cast is needed to pull this type of film off. Danny Trejo did time in prison so he is perfect in his roll. Edward Furlong plays the new prisoner who is cocky, moody, and naive at times, while his acting is a little lacking at times one thing is for sure Furlong looks like  a person who would get raped in prison. Mickey Rourke in drag as Decker's cellmate was astonishing. Willem Dafoe I really don't need to talk on his credentials because he loses himself in the roles that he plays to where je could get nominated for best actor as much as Meryl Streep does.

This all leads to a great slice of mouthwatering Chicago Deep Dish Pizza to take in. As a lover of prison films I really couldn't ask for that much more.

Closing Thoughts: It is a little premature, but I am going to list Animal Factory as one of the top five prison movies I have ever seen. It's not perfect, but it is the most realistic prison film I have ever seen. If you are looking forna great prison film to watch this is it as long as you are not wanting to see something on the grand scale. 8/10 feels just about right for this gem that you don't want to miss.

The Mutilator aka Fall Break (1985)

The Mutilator (1985)

An OK Productions film

Written and Directed by Buddy Cooper

Music Score: Michael Minard

Cast:  Matt Milter as Ed Jr.

Jack Chatham as Ed Sr.

Ruth Martinez as Pam

Frances Raines as Linda

Morey Lampley as Mike

Bill Hitchcock as Ralph

Connie Rogers as Sue

Opening Thoughts: The Mutilator is the start of my New Year's goal for 2019 and that is to own and eventually review every film Arrow Video distributes in the United States. With Barnes and Noble's 50 percent off Arrow sale this week and an additional 20 percent off using the code CHEEERS online. I am now down to 19 releases I am missing altogether. 

The Mutilator marks my first purchase BluRay purchase of 2019 along with the 4K release of Bad Times at the El Royale. So I am starting my Ne Year's Resolution on the right foot. As far as the Mutilator goes, I don't know too much about the film other than it is a slasher film with what many horror fans consider one of the goriest scenes in the history of horror. I am not easily phased so let's see of the horror fans are right.

Plot: Ed Jr.'s father's birthday is today. Ed wants to give his father a special gift from the heart for his birthday. Ed decides to polish his dad's rifles that are in his dad's cabinet. Really what can go wrong with that? An unlocked gun cabinet that a young child can take out a rifle at anytime without adult supervision.

Ed Jr. in the process of cleaning his father's rifles shoots and kills his mom. Ed Sr. walks in shortly after melts down and chases his son off with a gun. 

Fast forward to present day Ed Jr. is now in college and has a great group of friends Ralph the comedian, Mike the Jock, and Pam his girlfriend along with her friends Connie and Linda. Like all college students they are looking forward to Fall Break. The group just doesn't know what they want to do. That is until Ed's dad calls and asking that he goes to his beachfront condo for the weekend and prepare it for the winter.

Ed doesn't want to because he doesn't get along with his father very well, but his friends talk Ed into the trip. A weekend at a beachfront condo for fallbreak sounds great. That is until his friends arrive at the condo to find out Ed's dad is the Harbinger of Death for animals and enjoys the hunt.

Like any man who hunts just for the game, Ed Sr. has a wide variety of weapons at his disposal. While Ed Jr., sees nothing wrong with a weapon missing amongst his dad's collection. The others are afraid a person has broken had a party and stole some stuff.

The truth is scarier than they all think. They are now the game they just don't realize it.

Will they survive or be stuffed and mounted?

Review: The Mutilator is a very unique film in the slasher genre. Not because of the killer by any means or even that an event that leads a simple man to become a killer. All the normal things you would expect to see in a slasher film this film has. The unique aspect of this film is the small subtleties that could easily have made this film a romantic dramedy instead if the slasher was not in the film.

Those subtleties start with Michael Minard's score. The score for love scenes has elements of Burt Bacharach's score for Arthur making the mood very lighthearted and then comedic scenes has a bit of Ralph Burns's Vacation score. Honestly those subtle touches are a stroke of genius because you don't know when some of the deaths are going to happen because this style of music is on. Then the score suddenly switches to Manfredini style similar to Friday the 13th at the exact time death happens or the group realizes they are in danger. Leads to one or two moments that had me jumping out of my seat.

The other subtleties come from the cast who also play the film off as a light hearted comedy. Matt Milter as Ed Jr. perfectly plays the story teller comes across a little Keith Gordon like. Bill Hitchcock playing Ralph is my favorite character of the bunch. Ralph is the jokester of the bunch and comes across like Stifler always having fun likeable, but needs a slap every once in awhile to put him in his place. It's a shame this is Hitchcock's only role because I would have loved to see more of him in other films.

So the film does have alot going for it until you come to the slasher. While Ed Sr. is interesting in concept he just comes across a little boring I wish he had a little Billie Whitelaw in him to make him more menacing,  but it is just not there. That is the downfall of this film I am not sure if it is Chatham's performance or a lack of writing and vision on Cooper's part.

However the film more than makes up Chatham's performance in gore value. There is one sequence that gives a whole new meaning to penetration. While some of the effects are unintentionally bad it adds a certain charm to the film that makes me warm inside.

Closing Thoughts: The Mutilator is far from perfect and not for everybody. If you love slasher films then you will love this film especially in a group setting. There is at least one scene that leaves you in a state of shock for a second. 

I wish I could rate this film higher, but I can't the film is a solid 6.5/10 mainly because you wish for more from the slasher and a little more substance in the story. Yet it does get a 9 on the gore scale of 10.

Warning Do Not Watch This Film If You Plan of Having Sex that Night. The film is total buzzkill in that department.

Microwave Massacre - Sure genius or Run at All Costs

Microwave Massacre

Director: Wayne Berwick
Cast:
Jackie Vernon as Donald
Claire Ginsberg as May

Opening Thoughts: Microwave Massacre was given to me as a Christmas gift this year. This film was on a shortlist of films I wanted to watch that I have not seen based on concept. The concept is was pretty simple a man devolops the taste for human meat after he wakes up from a blackout after a rage in which he killed a person.

A comedy that sounds like Eating Raoul at heart sounds fun. Especially with comedian Jackie Vernon, who I remember as a child as the voice as Frosty the Snowman. What can go wrong?

The Plot: Donald is a simple man who works at a construction site and just wants a good meal. The issue Donald has is since his wife, May, got a Microwave she thinks she is Julia Childs. Now Donald wouldn't mind her cooking if it was actually good, but unfortunately for Donald gis wife's cooking should land her on Worst Chefs in America.

Now that would be ok, but May is constantly nagging him and questining his manhood. One day Donald flips out in a rage, blackout, and wakes up not remembering much. The only thing Donald knows is thathe has developed a taste for human meat and somehow he killed his wife.

Donald, a free man, decides to cook May in various  ways becoming a well respected cook to his friends. Now that May is gone, Donald has became a ladies man again, but there is just one catch what makes him hard is the thought of killing the ladies after he makes love to them.

Review: The tone, mood, and setting for this film is set up within the opening credits of the film. A hot lady is walking through the streets and stops turns and gets her breasts stuck in a whole that is exposed to a construction site. Two of Donald's coworkers notice and drop everything they are doing to run and take advantage of her all while disco porn music is playing in the background. The actions don't really matter it is just thrown in there as stupid humor to keep the film moving.

Honestly that is what this film feels like a bunch of stupid humor thrown together that makes you want to hurt yourself to make the insanity stop. Jokes on crabs, sex, and food that just seem forced to deliver humor.

Then you come to Jackie Vernon he just seems out of place for this role. This is Jackie's first leading role in film and his last. I'm not sure if this was because Jackie's lackluster performance or he accepted a role that seemed written for Rodney Dangerfield who may of read the script and said no. Caddyshack 2 was written for Dangerfield and he said no. I was hoping for a Eating Raoul like film, instead I got a piece of Elephant dung.

Closing Thoughts: This film wants to be so much more, but there is only so much forced stupid humor I can take. I can't take this much stupid humor no matter how good the premise sounds. There is an audience for this film, but I'm just not that audience and can't recommend this film. That says something because I am a very forgiving person. Even I can't forgive this trash of forced humor by filmmakers whohad bo business making a film. Luckily for us we all can remember Jackie Vernon for Frosty the Snowman.

I am giving this film a 1/10 I see no redemption to this film at all making me glad I watched the film. Instead what the film made me do was pull out a film called Eating Raoul  written/directed/starring Paul Bartel and featuring his wife Mary Woronov. As you can see picture below it's a film that takes itself seriously.

I'll be working on a Facebook and Twitter page this week so updates can be seen there

How to Buy for a Cinephile

How to Buy for a Cinephile 

You have a family member, friend, or a colleague at work that you have decided to get a gift for a special occasion. You know that person has a special interest in a certain area and decided to get that person a gift towards their interest.

You thought you did your due diligence and got that person a great gift only to find out later the person didn't like the gift, couldn't use the gift, or returned the gift for one reason or another. That person's reaction made you feel bad and questioned what could you have done differently.

As a Cinephile I can be a hard person to buy an item for. There are so many factors that come into play and like other cinephiles we all have our likes and dislikes. Well there are a few things you can do to come out a winner.

Simple Rules
A gift card would be the simplest answer, but then that for alot of people is the easy way out and not going to give them the satisfaction of the reaction they are looking for.

Last year I was at the Hollywood Show, when my friends at BS Movies screened Pieces at the Film Bar Phoenix. Lynda Day George the star of that film was at the show I was at. A simple gift from the heart for Brian and Shelly was to have Lynda do a quote from the referencing the screening with a cute little play on it. That one gesture on my part made it a unique gift for two Cinephiles that could only work for them. The reaction gave me all the satisfaction I needed.

The issue is what kind of gifts are going to do that? A gift card is not going to do that. If you buy a Cinephile a film chances are the Cinephile owns the film. If you try to get the person merchandise related to a film or an actor may have that merchandise, may not be into that type of collectible, or you just bought the person a collectible for an actor they love for a film they don't love.

Like I said it gets tricky buying for cinephile when you want to give from the heart.

The Key is Research

Your best way of getting a great gift for a Cinephile is do your research on their Facebook and Twitter accounts and ask friends and Family about the Cinephile. My family and friends might say Michael is into this and this is some of the stuff he has been working on. Yet just be careful on the info the person gives you.

I can tell you I love framing posters and hanging them on the wall. I have a quite a few waiting to be framed, but even if a family member or friend hands you an unframed poster from my collection it's probably best to tell them no.

So the idea is listen to them to find out is there a film a person hold to their heart for various reasons. Like above the film Hello My Name is Doris is a special film to me. I loved the film so much I based my service dog's name tag on the film. So when I recieve something like a signed BluRay copy of the film well then I associate that gift with my partner Gaston.  It takes on a whole new meaning.

That may be a perfect route to go. Yet maybe you will find out that person has been looking for something for years just can't find it that is another good route to go.

Other good options also include signed Vinyl LP soundtracks to films Cinephiles love. They are relatively small compared to a poster and make nice wall art.

Closing thoughts

Buying for a Cinephile can be hard it just means a little extra work, but don't worry that extra work will get you a reaction you will not believe.

Spotlight Release: Bloody Birthday

Bloody Birthday 

Director: Ed Hunt

Writer: Ed Hunt
Music: Arlon Ober
Cast: Lori Lethen, Billy Jayne, K.C. Martel, Julie Brown, and Susan Strasberg

Opening Thoughts: Certain subjects for films just seem taboo in the minds of the public. Like for some reason you are the most dispicable people in the world if you  take part in the production or choose to watch the end product. Films with killer kids, psycho Santa Claus, and any other thing that is supposed to be family friendly. I swear I hear Gene Siskel screaming at me "Shame on you, Shame on you, Shame on you!" Just for watching this film.

Guess what I don't care. My main concern is whether or not a film with Killer Kids can work as a genre of horror. Honestly, I am scared I met end up watching a film with cute children I just want to smother to death like the rabbits in Night of the Lepus.

I can tell you this I do enjoy the strange, unique, and weird when it comes to films, but knowing next to nothing about this film going in other than concept leaves me very open especially with a cast of nobody in the lead roles.

Plot: Timmy Russell (K.C. Martel of E.T. and Growing Pains) is struggling to fit in school with the his peers amd the teaching staff. To Timmy's teacher, Miss Viola Davis, he is a bad apple and to his peers he doesn't share a common bond with them even though he wants to be their friends.

Yet for Timmy to share a common bond would mean he had to have been born on the same day as Curtis Taylor (Billy Jayne), Debbie Brody (Elizabeth Hoy), and Steven Seton (Andrew Freeman). Those three kids were born on the same day, prematurely, during a solar eclipse.

That seems to give them some strange type of bond to where the kids are connected to each other mentally, psychologically, and spiritually. It's as if they have a power over the town and if you don't fit in or anger them you better watch out.

Timmy wants to be friends with this group, but after multiple attempts he realizes all the kids want to do is take advantage of and play tricks on him and the others in town.

Joyce Russell (Lori Lethen), Timmy's sister, starts to see the strange patterns across town. People dying and cruel tricks. If Tommy and Joyce want ti live they will have to come up with a plan to take these kids down. Who will succeed the Russell's or the Eclipse kids?

Review: To try and describe this film by any means will make you think I am bonkers, ridonkulous,and just a little insane in the brain for even attempting a review. This film is like I took the Twilight Zone episode "It's a Good Life" and threw ot into the blender with Halloween.

These three kids are simply evil to the core whther it is Debbie charging kids so they can have a peep show of her sister Beverly to having rhe other two kids kill her father. Then there is Curtis the film wants you to believe he is the most evil person in the film willing to kill anyone in a moment's notice.  I so want to believe that he is that evil, but he looks like Alex P. Keaton's friend Skippy from Family Ties. I just can't instead I find myself laughing  at his actions.

Then you have the sequences like the one above to where the kids try to run over Joyce Russell  and while the scene is effective watching kids being serial killers and their methods let's just it looks more cute than terrifying.

All while at the same time the adults in this film mean mext to nothing. They serve little purpose in the film like the Russell's parents don't show up until the end of the film. Some of the other adts even know what is happening, but they choose to look away. The adults are nothing more than puppets. Even Beverly who finds out about the peephole does nothing about the situation to fix it.

All this combined together leads to a film so terrible on an epic level like Plan 9 From Outer Space that the film turns into a comedy that I want to watch over and over again. I shouldn't love this film, but I do.

Closing Thoughts: I am actually going to have to hide this film or lend it out. I could honestly watch the film any day of the week because Blood Birthday had me on the ground laughing. Even  my service dog had to check on me a few times to see if I was alright. I so want to give this film a 10, but I can't for an overall grade it is a 6/10. That is because some people will watch this film and not see the beauty of what the director created a cheesy flick that should been long forgotten, but instead is begging ro be watched with a large group of friends. I'll give this film a 10 on the cheese and campiness level. All I ask is if you choose to watch this film don't take it seriously because if you do that you will not enjoy the film at all.

Spotlight Release: All the Colours of Sergio Martino

All the Colours of Sergio Martino 
By Kat Ellinger 
Publisher Arrow Films
Release Year: 2018

Opening Thoughts: I've been collecting films since I was a kid on VHS and Laserdisc. I am always looking for those films that leave me on awe wanting more. By 2016, I had amassed a collection of films that few can rival, but still feel like the best is yet to come.

In 2016, at a BS Movies screening I was introduced to the distributor Arrow Video USA. I wasn't unfamiliar with them because I had a few UK releases like Who Dares Wins on BluRay, but this was the first time I got a US release given to me. Blood Rage was the film and that film was bad on a legendary level cheesy, terrible acting, and special effects that left me on the floor laughing I wanted to see more this distributor had to offer.

What I discovered Arrow is a line of cult classics, underappreciated, foriegn, and exploitation films that really deserved another look at. They are films chosen maybe they are not the best in the world like Criterion, but they are films that have a lot of rewatch fun value with friends or by yourself.

In 2017, again BS Movies peaked my interest again during an all night Scream Fest when they chose Stage Fright. That film opened up my world to Giallo. A style of horror with a murderer on the loose that can go in almost any direction with no rhyme or reason with a black glove usually involved. In this case it was a killer with a bird mask on terrorizing the cast of a theater production. The film was simply bonkers and I wanted more. I just didn't know where to start looking other than Arrow Video and through Cinephile guides.

The Author: In my search for more Giallo, my paths crossed with Samm Dieghan and Kat Ellinger. Kat the latter because she is partners with Samm Dieghan on a podcast called Daughters of Darkness. Samm wrote the book Lost Girls: The Phantasmagorical Cinema of Jean Rollin. A fantastic book about the horror films of Jean Rollin. My favorite director in the genre of horror.

I started listening to their podcast after I fell in love with Samm's book. What I noticed when listening to Kat, she seemed to echo alot of my thoughts and gave a perspective to certain films why should women love certain horror films and why certain films shouldn't be looked at negatively just because there are sex scenes in the film. Whether the scene is looked at negatively should depend on how the sex is displayed. I finally heard someone who echoed my thoughts. That is when I started following Kat Ellinger on a regular basis.

 Kat is the editor of Diabolique Magazine and a regular contributor to small specialized Home Media labels retrospective looks at older films like a commentary on a BluRay release. If you own alot of Giallo you probably have Kat somewhere in your collection. The nice thing is Kat is a fresh perspective compared to some the more established horror historians like Kim Newman. I like fresh perspectives of people closer to my age and from both genders.

So when I saw Arrow released the book of All the Colours of Sergio Martino by Kat Ellinger. I got excited because she is already on a few of my releases and her suggestions on Giallo never led me wrong plus I can use more input in that area beyond Massimo Dallamano and Dario Argento.

The Book: What can I say if you follow Italian Cinema enough, you might notice a certain trend. The Italians tend to take a popular new fad in American cinema and create their own genre out of that fad then beat that new genre into the ground until their is nothing left to make or the genre is dead. Mix that in with weird what the stories?, outlandish  scenarios, and unexpected endings they sure know how to make some of the most fun yet weirdest movies you will ever see. I'm actually surprised we haven't seen Django in Space yet.

The director Sergio Martino maybe the best director that crossed multiple Italian genres of films with an almost endless catalog of films to watch. So a book that focuses on his work is a great idea. There was two ways you could go with this book one being  the retrospective of Clint Eastwood's career by Richard Schenkel that did a large in depth look at each and every film Clint ever made. The other option is a smaller look on each film, but more of a Cliff Notes guide or Home Media guide to a director. Kat went with the Cliff Notes version. Each has their advantages and disadvantages.

If you are expecting a large super in depth guide to Sergio Martino this book may not be your cup of tea, but if you are a novice looking for suggestions in a certain genre of Italian film and want a more condensed version of Martino then this book is perfect for you.

I fell in love with certain stories where Kat used actual quotes from Martino and her background knowledge of the director to bring you in and get you hooked. In the first few pages Kat brilliantly described Martino's youth. I actually felt I was in that room surrounded by smoke as a kid looking up at the greatest filmmakers of Italian cinema like Martino was exposed to as a child. I couldn't put down the book.

Then Kat split the book into various parts mostly keeping certain genres together without having them mixed and a home media guide. Splitting the book into multiple parts is brilliant because if all I wanted to focus on is comedy then I can read that section and if I wanted to focus on Giallo I can read that section without having to read to the others.

The nice thing about each section when describing the film Kat would compare films to other directors' films and gave names. So when looking for suggestions and maybe more of a background if I had seen the other material that helped decide whether I wanted to see Martino's film or in some cases I love Martino's film so much I want to see the other directors' film mentioned.

That is what film guides should do make you want to explore more films and give you some background knowledge. The other thing nice was the home media releases guide. Kat lists all the films that have a home media release on BluRay and DVD in what country you get those releases in. So while a film may not be available in the United States if you have a region free player you can import his films to watch them.

Closing Thoughts: I am not going to go out and call this the perfect book by any means. Sorry Kat if you read this. Yet I will say this book is a good gateway drug into the world perfect for the novice or medium level person who has some knowledge on Sergio Martino, just not enough info to make a decision on which films to watch from him. All the Colours of Sergio Martino would be a great purchase to guide you.

If you are that expert on Martino and want super in depth info on him then again this may not be your cup of tea. Where it may be a good for the expert is handing the book to a friend who expresses interest in him.

I found the book quite enjoyable myself. Will be using it more as a reference guide from here on out specifically the home media section. Though I will see if I really enjoy a film what other films compare to it in the sections.

As I write this post some of the home media options are already out of date with new and better releases coming out like All the Colours of the Dark with a brand new Kat Ellinger commentary. So do your research before you buy a release.