Captain Creepy's Crazy Cult Cinema - "Late Phases"

Late Phases is a quiet little werewolf movie that harkens back to films like
Silver Bullet. It has a slow moving laid back feel that is somehow very
comforting as you experience it. 
We begin with a widowed blind military veteran named Ambrose McKinley, played by Nick Damici. He is a proud man that doesn't expect or want any help or sympathy from anyone, especially his son, played by the always effective Ethan Embry (Freakylinks). Ambrose moves into a
nice retirement community that is next to a large woods and almost immediately
finds himself in the midst of some strange goings on. There are dog attacks that
have been happening in the community that have resulted in the deaths of some of
the residents, including the previous occupant of his new house. It doesn't take
the grumpy assed Ambrose long to figure out that these are not typical animal
attacks that are occurring every month during the full moon, especially after
his seeing eye dog Shadow is killed during an attack. For the rest of the movie
we watch as Ambrose prepares himself for battle he plans to wage against the
lycanthrope.
The effects are rather cheese laden. The werewolf is a far cry
from great looking, but that's not the thing with this movie. It is a "feel"
type of movie instead of a visceral gore fest.
My favorite performance in Late Phases is the always amazing Tom Noonan as the chain smoking and odd local pastor. Noonan is a great actor and I wish he was in every film. Such a strange
and awe inspiring presence he brings to the screen. Also of note is Lance Guest
in a strong supporting role and Tina Louise, frickin' Ginger from Gilligan's
Island, as a neighbor of Ambrose. Actually a tremendous cast all the way around.
Late Phases is not a great movie, but it's a pretty darn good one. Captain
Creepy says check it out.

TV Talk - "Broadchurch"

Every once in a while I come across a show that I have never really heard of or paid attention to, but when I sample it I am blown away by the quality and awesomeness. One example that comes quickly to mind is Dexter. I think Dexter was in its second season when I finally decided to check out the first few episodes of season one, after multiple people had been telling me how good it was. Well, needless to say, they were correct. I found Dexter to be one of the most well written and best overall shows that I had watched in years. This is basically what happened recently with Broadchurch. After viewing the first few episodes I was absolutely hooked. I had to burn through the episodes as fast as possible to find out what happened next.
The set up of the show is one morning in a coastal town in Britain the body of a young boy is discovered on the beach. The season is eight episodes long and is a single arc trying to unravel the mystery of the boys murder.
What sets this series apart from most other shows is in the incredible quality of the entire production. The acting is first rate with David Tennant from Doctor Who leading the way as the Detective Inspector in charge of the investigation. His partner, played by Olivia Colman, is equally impressive. Her performance comes across as so real and raw that it would be difficult to find anyone better in that role. Just overall the acting is great. The story is great as well. It is such a powerful season that my nerves were frazzled by the end. One of the things I appreciate about many British shows and Broadchurch in particular is that they don't always pepper the cast with 25 year old models. The cast looked like regular people, acted like regular people, and dressed like regular people. Colman as the female lead is a normal looking woman that wore a simple windbreaker for much of the season. It lends an aire of realism and credibility that many shows are lacking.
The eight episodes provide a roller coaster ride of emotion as the viewer attempts to solve this twisted whodunnit. There are numerous suspects and great cases to be made for any of them to be the killer.  The final show of the season gives the payoff to the viewer, as the mystery is resolved. What I find interesting is that as much as I enjoyed the season, when I learned that there was a second season that had begun airing I had mixed emotions. I was happy that a show I love was going to continue on with new content, but I am also of the opinion that sometimes it's better to go out at the right time rather than automatically continue on because of the ratings. In other words, the storyline of season one was so good that I would have preferred they just ended the series at the conclusion of the original eight episodes. Crazy idea I know. As a matter of fact I enjoyed the second season quite a bit, and recently learned that a third season is on the way. This is good news. It will be tough to surpass season one in Captain Creepy's eyes, but maybe they will find a way to make that happen. In any event, anyone that hasn't watched season one of Broadchurch needs to rectify that situation as soon as possible. It's a great television show.

TV Talk - "iZombie"

iZombie - Based on a DC Comics Vertigo (Mature Readers) title from a few years ago, iZombie is the tale of a girl named Liv Moore (ironic name), who was attacked at a party and woke up as a zombie. She works at a morgue, which comes in handy because if she doesn't eat brains every so often she begins to deteriorate and turn into an actual zombie. If she eats brains she appears normal and can maintain a somewhat normal existence. She assists a local homicide cop on cases because he believes her to be psychic. What really happens is when she eats the brains of a corpse in the morgue she obtains some of that persons memories, feelings, and abilities, and has inside insights into their demise. This show is like a cross between Psyche  and Veronica Mars. A fun, light hearted show about a murder victim sustaining herself on other people's brains. I like it. The show was recently announced that it was picked up for a second season. That's great news! The comic series was also a lot of fun. In that version our heroine worked at a cemetery as a grave digger. The comics were different but equally well done. Fun stories by Chris Roberson and amazing artwork by Mike Allred. Both versions are worthy.