No matter how hard you try when you see the number three at the end of the movie you're about to watch you automatically expect less from it, or is that just me?

Trilogies in the horror genre have a notorious reputation of (lets say it out loud) sucking.  I can pretty much count the kick ass horror films that end with the number three on two fingers.  Actually very few genre films even deserve a third visit and I'm not going to lie to you, I wasn't sure the MIB franchise made the cut.  I don't know about you but I could have lived without hooking up again with J and K.

But of course in this day and age if even one more dollar can be squeezed from a story idea it is all but guaranteed that said project will be greenlit and at your local theater sooner than later.

The good news is that MIB3 beats the odds and actually ends up being a fun, exciting, worth-while endeavor that actually kind of reinvents the franchise while at the same time paying homage to the very staple they created.

At its core MIB3 is a time travel tale, as J must travel back to 1969 to stop an event that will change history and end the world, as we know it.  Will Smith returns as does Tommy Lee Jones although Tommy Lee is actually in the film very little.  Instead Josh Brolin comes on board to play the younger version of K whom J hooks up with once he travels back to 1969.  Brolin does a magnificent job of keeping the character of K in tact while not copying or imitating Lee’s version.  It really is a joy to behold.

Equally impressive is the main baddie this time around, a particularly nasty fellow by the name of Boris the Animal.  Played wonderfully over the top by Jemaine Clement and unrecognizable in brilliant make up by Rick Baker.  He's as awkward to look at as he fun to watch explode on the screen.  While no real new ground is broken in the first two thirds of the film, it's all very well constructed and quite fun to watch.  The magic however lays in the last third of the film where a major plot twist is revealed that is amazingly touching and shines a whole new light on the entire franchise.

I have to admit, I really liked MIB3 and it serves as a nice ending point for what has now become a classic.  But will this be the end of the road for J and K?  Who knows for sure, they've certainly opened the door to going back in time and having younger actors hold the mantle, as I stated above Brolin is actually quite amazing as young K and I'm sure an equally impressive substitute could be found for Smith’s J. 

We'll have to wait and see if a fourth chapter in the MIB saga is meant to be but what I know for sure is that MIB3 is more than worthy of your time and money.

Go pick it up for some sci-fi/horror fun.

Yeah, brings a tear to my eye.

The mashing up of horror and the Holiday season has never really been a big hit.  Sure, you've got the original Black Christmas but really, what else is a genre fan to do when they want a little blood on the tinsel?

This season there is an answer to that age-old question.  SILENT NIGHT hits home video this coming week and not a day to soon.  A loose and let me stress, loose remake of the original (dare I say it) classic SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT this one has found the sweet spot of being the gore hounds perfect Christmas gift. 

Following the slasher formula from the good old days SILENT NIGHT weaves the tale of a psycho Santa that has taken things into his own hands and is handing out more than just a hunk of coal to those he has deemed naughty.  From its brutal opening scene to the last frame SILENT NIGHT is a non-stop, blood filled assault on the viewer.  No punches are pulled, nothing left to the imagination.  This is a balls out slasher flick.  The killer just happens to be dressed like Santa. 

Malcolm McDowell stars as the sheriff of a small town preparing for the big Christmas parade.  Problem is, wacko Santa is on the loose and dead bodies are showing up everywhere.  Since it's a Christmas parade there are more than a few Santa's running around and McDowell and his crew of deputies are having a hard time nailing down exactly which jolly old elf is the axe wielding one.

While they figure it out the body count skyrockets and horror fans are treated to a barrage of some of the more vile and violent kills in recent genre fare.  Director Steven C. Miller shows a deft hand in dishing out the creepy and throws in just the right amount of black comedy to keep you riveted to the screen.  The blood flows freely with the wood chipper scene being one that this reviewer will have a hard tome forgetting.

Crazy stuff and a film I find myself happy to recommend you pick up at your earliest convenience.  Anchor Bay is releasing it as a Blu-ray/DVD combo pack while the special features are a bit on the weak side there is a nice little behind the scenes feature that I found to be quite enjoyable.  Would have love to have seen and heard a little more for those involved but what is offered is still pretty damn fine.

Settle in horror fans it's going to be a long winter and now at least we all have something to put in the Blu-ray player to make the season bright, bright red that is!

SILENT NIGHT hits store shelves on Tuesday Dec. 4^th.  Ask Santa for a copy when you see him at the mall.

I actually watched this project several times.  The first time I'd had a very long day and actually dozed off about two thirds of the way through, actually I think I dozed of a couple times before that if I'm honest with you.  Needless to say I came away from the viewing with a less than favorable impression.

Thinking I hadn't given the film a fair shake, I watched it again, this time on a day off, nothing to blame a bad viewing on. 

Although I managed to stay awake for the entire film this time I still found myself a bit muddled and conflicted.

While I found the story arc truly original and a bit daring I also found it awkward and dare I say a bit annoying.

The film opens with a couple of dudes in office attire shooting the shit around a lunchroom.  Seems to be a pretty average work environment.  We then find ourselves following a group of horny college kids heading out on a weekend excursion of drink and fornication.  What the two environments have to do with one another is at this point still unknown but it's clear that we will soon all find out.

So the group heads on out to the titled CABIN IN THE WOODS and through a series of events a horror unfolds that is both awesome and mind-boggling.  Problem for me was the fact that all unfolds in a rather silly cavalcade of genre pratfalls that actually ends up kind of making fun of the genre we all love so dearly.

In the end it all works out pretty well actually with a nice little unexpected cameo by the always-amazing Sigourney Weaver showing up to add just the right amount of dramatic flair to a rather silly romp up till that point.

The horror is real, it's just played for laughs and jump scares instead of tension and unease.  Nothing wrong with that I guess but it makes this film seem rather disjointed and therefore ineffective.  Although project helmer Joss Whedon has concocted a truly original premise it all just gets kind of jumbled around to the point of not really having much of a point when all is said and done.

After all this rather negative sounding blathering you might be led to believe that I would warn you to stay as far away from this one as you could but actually quite the contrary.  There is some pretty cool, original shit going on here and most of it very much worth checking out.  It didn’t work for me but it might just be the cup of tea you’ve been looking for.

Some really great FX work, cool ass monsters and fantastic concept stuff, again it all seems like much ado about nothing. 

Of course, the Blu-ray looks fantastic, they all do if they are done correctly and this one is most certainly done correctly.  An impressive slate of bonus materials and all the bells and whistles that one has come to expect from a modern day, main stream release.

Go ahead and give this one a whirl.  It certainly tries hard and it really attempts to reinvent the wheel, problem is it just goes round and round to ultimately end up going nowhere.