Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Army Of The Dead (2021) Movie Review © 2021 Dan's Movie Report - Danny Templegod

 

Above: Army of the Dead Poster from IMDB (C) 2021 Netflix, all rights reserved, image used for review purposes only and not monetized.

Greetings valued Dan's Movie Report and Action-Flix.com readers. Time now for a brand new rapid fire review! Netflix, have to live their style and panache! The good folks at Netflix decided to give Zack Snyder and his team somewhere in the 80 million dollar range to unleash the “Snyder Cut” Zombie film! Seriously, at 150 minutes 'Army of the Dead' is perhaps too long for it's own good, but provides the viewer with a violent ballet of zombie killing and zombie munching madness.


Make no mistake about it, 'Army of the Dead' is an R rated opus, epic in scope, and probably shortened by 30 minutes could have had am even successful theater run, if not for Covid. Synder ramps up the human element by involving Dave Bautista's character Scott Ward and his on screen daughter into the fray. Oddly enough time is taken to have detailed dialogue in the midst of zombies, I mean do the undead stop for human interpersonal relationship?


My snide remarks aside, Bautisita shines as the lead, once again cementing his big budget action prowess. Actually actress Ella Purnell does a solid job playing his daughter and is given a sizable on screen presence. This brings me to a real positive point of 'Army of the Dead', strong female characters! Whoohoo! Actress Tig Notaro plays a bad ass helicopter pilot, who is sarcastic and fun. Actress Nora Arnezeder plays Lilly the Coyote, her job is to shuttle the team inside the closed city of Las Vegas. Indian actress Huma Qureshi plays Geeta, adding an international flair with style and intellect. Like I said, the ladies play a big role!

 

Above: Samatha Win gets ready for a zombie massacre! (C) 2021 Netflix, all rights reserved, image used for review purposes only, not monetized.
 


Now focusing on my favorite character and aspect of 'Army of the Dead' Actress Samantha Win , absolutely kills it as Chambers, a hard talking, action filled Jenette Goldstein model soldier, who gets rough and kills and moves with style. Win actually brings my score up a point as her portrayal of the character. Obviously modeled after Goldstein's Private Vasquez, complete with headband! I am sure we will see more of Samantha Win in the very near future.


Against the backdrop of the zombies is a plot to steal 200million dollars from a vault in a casino, inside the container walled city of Las Vegas. Many sub plots are around, and actually seem to get lost in the shuffle like Bautista's daughter searching for the mother of one of the children she watches in the camp she works in. just a bit unnecessary. Balancing out is a violent, lustful zombie queen!


Action, stunts, lighting, and set up are great, though and the movie really hits stride during the frantic action. Overall I liked it and rate 'Army of the Dead' a 7 out of 10, and Samantha Win, a bad ass 10! Unleash your zombie killing self and go to www.netflix.com for further information.

Monday, May 31, 2021

Spirit Machines – Feel Again (2020) CD Review - © 2021 Dan's Movie Report – Danny Templegod

 

Above: Spirit Machines - Feel Again CD (C) 2020 all rights reserved to Spirit Machines, image used for review purposes only

Greetings valued Dan's Movie Report readers and rock music lovers, as you all know, prior to me working on Dan's Movie Report I wrote about music for several magazines including the Florida based Jam Magazine with a 75,000 print run, and it was in virtually every venue and music store in the state. Although I love all styles of music, metal and rock is by far my favorite. Honestly I thought rock was dead, recently though my hopes were lifted upon hearing a new band from Utah, Spirit Machines. Already popular due to the band Tool sharing them online and featured in Loudwire Magazine, Spirit Machines is ready to explode on the national scene.


I like their style and desire for musical and creative independence. I spoke at length with guitarist Dave Crespo, and he basically told me that the band is ready to break out and tour in the Fall and has a few shows in the works. Singer Pepper Rose, just recently got her P.H.D. and the band recently had a live virtual stream concert to celebrate her graduation that was attended by over 200 guests online.I had a communication with Pepper and she was quite respectful and humble as well.

  

Above: Spirit Machines --- Photo from the band's Official Facebook Page (C) 2020


Musically Spirit Machines skirts the line between rock and hard pop. 'Spirit Machines' has a soulful honest sound that pierces the night. 'Feel Again' plays like a long form concert with each song smoothly and seamlessly blends like butter melting in a saute' pot. The CD begins with a rocking tune called 'Watch it Burn' with a taught, driving beat, and never lets up until the amazing final song 'Zober' which is a mashup of Led Zeppelin and Tool. Some songs like 'Portland' slide into the mellow zone, power ballad, yet melodic. No filler songs on 'Feel Again' and the musicianship is top notch as is their live set.


Spirit Machines prides themselves by not bending to the musical norm and pushing to make music for the masses, they make music for their fans. The band produced the CDs themselves, independent printing and Pepper herself works on the T-Shirts! This band is a throwback to the 80s when bands put out cassettes to sell at their shows and just put themselves out there.


The band has several ways to support them, outside of just buying their CD, which is quite reasonable. You can for about 100USD join their Inner Circle, which allows a private page to connect to the band, exclusive content and an Inner Circle T-shirt. Also for the big ballets they have a huge connection called Cecret Society the 1,000USD tier allows for a huge variety of exclusive clothing, concert meet and greets, all live shows and producer credit on their upcoming releases, and you can pick as song for them to cover and send the video to you privately. Either way they just want eyes and ears on their music and realize that not all of their fans can afford to spend so much, even a like and share of their music helps them out.


Spirit Machines enjoys their independence and honest connection to their fans, very refreshing. Kind of reminds me of how Doro and Dio are to their fans, staying to sign autographs for hours and to chat with everyone. I can see Dave and Pepper being this way for years to come, Pepper is a talented respectful young woman, with a bright future in music, I cannot wait to hear what is next from her and Spirit Machines!!


Overall, the Spirit Machines 'Feel Again' CD rates a very strong 9 out of 10, and I cannot wait to here more and look forward to a U.S. Tour in the Fall and in 2022!


For further information on Spirit Machines, please connect through their official sites:


Official site: https://www.spiritmachinesband.com/feel-again-cd-2

Facebook: https://business.facebook.com/spiritmachines/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiritmachines/?hl=en

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9W3tw-58vxwf8yu-NI2HBQ


Check out the video for Zober Live @


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGP8Z1ORQME


Prepare to ROCK!