Change Your Image
BrianShirley
A few years later came b-wear.biz which introduced the lovable alien (now an alien bee) on merchandise selling out all around the world including 46 states and 12 countries including Iraq. The merchandise which included everything from t-shirts to koozies had a steady run for close to 6 years and then morphed into the Alien Bee which now also included sci-fi and horror news.
Then in 2008 a new entertainment news site emerged called GeekTyrant and with it came �real� fans of the horror and sci-fi industry with some comic book and geek news added. Six months later Brian teamed up with �Dr. Venkman� aka Joey Paur becoming known as Brian S because Captain Awesome was taken and GeekTyrant and has never looked back. Brian created his �Versus� column where he has had the privilege of interviewing many great people from actors and actresses to writers, directors and even a puppet. Brian also gives his main focus to Independent film where he feels is where the real heartbeat and passion of filmm aking lives.
To this day GeekTyrant has reached over 2,000,000 hits a month and growing at a steady pace, GT has over 27,000 followers on Twitter and has a loyal fan-base on Facebook as well. Brian has also become involved in comic books being associated with Comic Book Divas and also his own Crocaloctopus comic book that debuts in spring 2011. Brian is partnering up with director Rob Masciantonio for a zombie story like you�ve never seen or heard before. Brian has also teamed up with scream queen Deneen Melody for the TerrorTyrant blog talk radio show that airs on Friday nights at 10 pm Central focusing on the �positives� in the biz and is involved with some upcoming indie horror and sci-fi films. Brian will also voice the character GT in the upcoming animated web series 'Astronoir: The Fixers' and has a few movie roles in the works along with his own film 'Scarecrow'. Brian says, �this is just the beginning�.
Reviews
The Barrens (2012)
'The Barrens' is a must see!
Watching Darren Lynn Bousman's THE BARRENS on this Blu-ray+DVD Combo Pack I immediately saw that there was something going on with this family that we follow. I got an uncomfortable vibe from the beginning as they hopped in their SUV and went camping in southern New Jersey, to bond. This vibe slowly reveals itself as the movie plays along with something dark and deadly added as an unwelcome bonus.
When the family arrives at their camping destination they see that there's a group of younger campers around the area as well. The father (Stephen Moyer) also begins to take a deep plunge into paranoia and a dark instability as he makes his wife (Mia Kirshner) just a little uncomfortable. He keeps seeing things, dead animals and creatures moving around in the woods, you know, that kind of stuff. the thing is, he;s always alone when this happens and it makes the viewer believe he may actually be going mad or have rabies, which actually gets brought up during the movie. While all this happens their children become more afraid of their father. By the end of the movie all is revealed and with out letting too much out, I as a horror fan, got an ending to a movie that I enjoyed!
Dissecting the movie; Bousman once again does a great job telling a story and bringing this one to life. The movie really doesn't reveal its true mystery until the very end and I loved that because so many movies fail with it. Heading out to the woods in the middle of nowhere with the myth of the Jersey Devil running around is just cool and then you top that off with a person going through some mental/health issues. All of the characters were great, especially Moyer and Kirshner's uncomfortable chemistry plus the cool cameo we get at the beginning of the movie. Getting back to Moyer, not only does he give a cool performance but the looks he gives with his eyes sometimes reminded me of Jack Torrance from The Shining, just creepy and evil looking. There's plenty of blood and gore for the horror fans out there plus some cool SFX that make up something really horrifyingly wicked and cool! I really got a kick out of this! One last thing, most horror/thriller types pretty much end in a certain way and Bousman, being a horror fan himself, gives us a present at the end with this one. Call me dark, twisted or black hearted but I liked it!
Bottom line is, 'The Barrens' Two-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo was a really cool watch. It draws you in at the beginning and keeps you there until the very end. Be sure you pick this one up!
The Victim (2011)
'THE VICTIM' DVD Review
Michael Biehn not only stars in THE VICTIM but he also made his directorial debut with it plus he write the thing too!
The movie follows two girls (Jennifer Blanc-Biehn and Danielle Harris) who get caught up in a bad situation with some bad cops out in the middle of the woods, something bad happens and only one survives. The survivor runs for her life and she comes upon a cabin in the woods, no pun intended. She bangs on the door, crying and screaming and the recluse (Michael Biehn) opens the door and quietly takes her in. She wants to show him where her friend's body is but it's gone and from there things get deep.
From there things become twisted as the two bad cops (Denny Kirkwood and Ryan Honey) begin to look for her and yes, everyone's paths meet up in what becomes a showdown of sorts. There are some cool twists to the neat story that eventually unveils itself accompanied by a few fight scenes and a little blood shed along with these cool characters we get to know along the way.
Let me say for THE VICTIM to be Biehn's directorial debut he gets it all right! I love the camera shots, the grittiness and grind house feel we get, the cinematography is also done very well. Even though the cast is ultra small they all make a huge impact and have great chemistry with each other, the good guys and gals and the not so good guys! I even like the music/soundtrack to the movie. A couple of the songs are stuck in my head!
The cool thing about this is there can actually be more than one "victim" in the movie if you look at it in other ways. The way I look at it but I'm a little warped in my ways of thinking so there you go. I personally counted a total of five! Yeah, you heard me, FIVE! Another bonus is Biehn gives us that trademark "crazy eye" look of his by movie's end. Good guy, bad guy, we still get it and have to interpret what's going on behind those eyes of his!
THE VICTIM already holds kind of a special place in my little black heart because I got the opportunity to interview with entire cast just as they wrapped production.
Bottom line is, THE VICTIM is everything I thought it would be! A gritty, dirty and sexy little movie that packs a big punch and is a lot of fun to watch! Definitely check this one out when it drops on Tuesday, September 18th.
Distributor: Anchor Bay
Run Time: 83 Minutes
Rated: R
Special Features: Good stuff!
Audio Commentary with writer/director Michael Biehn and producer/actor Jennifer Blanc-Biehn THE VICTIM Behind The Scenes
The Witches of Oz (2011)
Dorothy and the Witches of Oz is a modern day classic!
There have been several attempts over the years to do a sequel, a spin off or totally redo The Wizard of Oz but none have come close to match the original classic, until now... This is a movie I think the original filmmakers and cast would be proud of... DOROTHY AND THE WITCHES OF OZ is that movie! It was written and directed by Leigh Scott, it's also an independent film which means there are no huge studios behind this special gem that could absolutely go up against any movie the studios are throwing at the multiplexes this weekend or any other weekend!
The movie follows a grown Dorothy who now lives in New York City and writes children's books. She has a team that surrounds her, some you can tell are good and some you question. As the movie goes along she finds out her books are actually based on her repressed memories and she begins to remember all of the events that have happened, everything and everyone from her past to present day. This ultimately leads to a battle with the Wicked Witch of the West and her new army. All of this takes place in New York!
Now, there are quite a few standouts in the movie so first up is the story, which to me there hasn't been a movie to even come close to the original Oz and Scott has pulled this off with an abundance of imagination! Next we have Eliza Swenson who portrays Billie Westbrook, Dorothy's agent. There is no way I'm going to spill too much on her character or any other but let's just say I was totally impressed by her performances. Now we get to some of the cast and there's really too many to mention so let's just get to Paulie Rojas who pulls off her character Dorothy to a perfection. I could tell she went back and watched the original or at least it comes across like she did with her mannerisms and how she interacts with others at times. Other standouts include Lance Henriksen, Jeffrey Combs, Barry Ratcliffe (who is fun to watch), Mia Sara (yes she is in this!), Billy Boyd, Sean Astin and Ethan Embry who play Frick and Frack. All of the acting is great and each one makes their characters their own in Dorothy and the Witches of Oz.
Another major standout in the movie is Scott's camera and the special F/X which are all pulled off beautifully for an indie film. There is so much imagination and hard work that has been put into this movie and it all shows and pays off on screen! When you add these to the great cast and story and you top it off with some really cool background music/score, it just makes this movie something really special, dare I say a modern day classic? The right music/score always makes a scene better! Yes!
Bottom line is, Dorothy and the Witches of Oz is an instant classic! It has a PG rating and clocks in at around 1 Hour 40 Minutes which is a good running time, not too short and not too long It's a movie for all ages and a project some studios could definitely take a few notes from! I have fallen in love with this movie!
Review by Brian Shirley from Alien Bee
Humans vs Zombies (2011)
Humans Versus Zombies Rocks!
OK, I've been following HUMANS VERSUS ZOMBIES for almost a year I guess and finally getting a chance to see the final product is like little kids waiting all year long for Christmas morning and getting to tear into that big present they had asked for. Christmas came early for this big kid!
Getting to HVZ. Director Brian T. Jaynes gives us a new approach to the zombie virus with H1Z1 aka the zombie virus, we've all heard of H1N1, right! There are several very slick "what if scenarios" thrown into the movie. We've seen movies where rabies is thrown into the story and develops into the rage virus but what if there are other animals or even insects that could carry a virus like this? Oh yeah, could this really happen?
The movie follows a group of students who team up with a paranoid security guard to take on fellow classmates and some local townspeople who have all been infected with this "swarm" virus. Outnumbered, the small group keep fighting while they look for safety and ultimately find refuge in a small church and a preacher who answers a few questions about the virus.
Dissecting the movie, as if I was dissecting an "ant" is easy. HVZ starts off strong. We have some really cool aerial shots that I really liked. The movie does focus more on our surviving characters than some other zombie movies that simply rely on blood and gore. We get way more than that with this movie! The FX and makeup in the movie are great and look awesome! We get some cool up close shots from the camera of blood and brains getting splattered all over the place. Music always sets up a scene but you have to use the right music for the right scene! The music plays a cool part in the movie and it all fits in really well. The HVZ story is original and very unique and is a breath of fresh air for this zombie fan!
The character development in the movie is great! We have all types too, the hero and heroine, the funny guy, people you'll question, plenty of victims and lots of zombies! The movie definitely has its stand outs too. Madison Burge plays Tommi, the strong female lead who in the beginning is a little too standoffish but ultimately ends up kicking zombie ass. Frederic Doss plays Frank who is a paranoid, shell-shocked campus security guard who is the movies anti-hero and is a lot of fun to watch. Chip Joslin also stands out as the funny side-kick friend who ends up being one of the movies heroes and delivers some great one- liners while battling the undead and his timing is great. Watching these characters come together to kick zombie ass and try to survive while watching their relationships build as all this happens is a cool watch.
Humans Versus Zombies takes a whole new approach to zombie story telling! I always go into reviewing a movie by asking myself, can I watch this again and HVZ gets a big HELL YES!
Bottom line is if you're looking for a new zombie movie with a great story and fresh approach I highly recommend Humans Versus Zombies!
III Slices of Life (2010)
Slices of Life delivers!
This is by far the best indie horror film I've seen, and I've seen many! The production quality is that of any studio offering. The wrap around ties each story together nicely. There's enough zombies to make any Romero fan happy, enough demons to make Hell feel full and enough blood to fill up an Olympic sized swimming pool, oh yeah and a parasite that is sure to become the film's mascot. what Anthony Sumner and company has made is a future horror classic. This anthology is simply right on par with last years Trick 'R Treat and it's earlier predecessor Creepshow. A welcoming anthology that all horror fans should check out. Don't miss this movie!