By Dave B.

Wow. Just…wow. The Veil (2017, currently on Netflix) is DEFINITELY going on my Worst of 2018 list. The story had promise: A warrior from an aggressive empire is left for dead by his comrades. He’s miraculously brought back to health and is found by a pacifist tribe who he teaches to defend themselves against his former masters. As he teaches the tribe to defend itself, it’s members grow more aggressive and decide to take the fight to their enemy, leading to a showdown between the rogue warrior and the emperor he’s sworn to serve.

By Dave B.

"Premieres" will feature official trailers and synopses from what I feel looks like the most interesting (or the only, in some cases) original programming coming out in the subsequent week on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and elsewhere. In no way to these previews represent recommendations or reviews. My intent is to post this segment each Thursday or Friday, but we'll see. Enjoy!

Dave B.

In Gnome Alone (Netflix), teenage Chloe and her mother move to a new house. They have a history of moving to new towns and Chloe is disillusioned with always having to make new friends. As she explores her new home, she discovers a brilliant, luminescent emerald that she subsequently gives away to the “cool” girl at her new school. However, Chloe’s new home sits atop a portal to another world and that emerald was the only thing keeping the tiny, but fearsomely ravenous Troggs trapped in their dimension. With the gem removed from her house, the Troggs begin invading our world, and if they aren’t stopped, they’ll devour everything and everyone.

By Dave B.

​In Stake Land II (2017, currently on Netflix), the safe haven of New Eden is overrun by an alliance of vampires and the Brotherhood, led by an intelligent vampire known as Mother, who can control other vampires with her mind and is worshipped by the Brotherhood as an undead goddess. Martin, the protagonist from the original Stake Land, sets out on a mission to find his mentor, Mister, for help avenging himself upon Mother and the Brotherhood.

By Dave B.

In Stake Land (2011, currently on Showtime), a vampire epidemic has swept the world and shattered the United States. Martin, a teenage orphan, and Mister, the last vampire hunter wander the desolate American landscape, travelling between scattered outposts on their way to the supposed safe haven of New Eden, in Canada. Along the way. Martin and Mister acquire travelling companions as they battle vampires and the Brotherhood, an Aryan death cult that worships the beasts.

By Dave B.

​In Automata (2014, currently on Netflix) the Earth’s surface has been ravaged by solar storms and the world’s population has been reduced to 21 million people living in a few scattered cities. Humans have supplemented their workforce with millions of robots who perform fairly mundane tasks. These robots are programmed with two rules: they can’t harm any lifeform and they can’t alter themselves or other robots. When a robot intentionally sets itself on fires, violating the second rule, humanity is faced with being supplanted by their own creations. 

By Dave B.

​Operation Mekong (2016, currently on Netflix) is a Chinese action movie (loosely based on a true story) that’s centered on an elite counter-narcotics police unit. After Chinese civilians are executed aboard a cargo vessel on the Mekong River in the lawless Golden Triangle area (where Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar border each other) the unit is dispatched to capture the local cartel leader and his top lieutenants so that they can be put on trial in China. The team uses an array of advanced technology, tactics, and disguises in their attempt to infiltrate and dismantle the cartel.

By Dave B.

​Seven in Heaven (2018, currently on Netflix) follows two high school students, Jude and June, who get transported to an alternate dimension during a party. The pair find themselves fighting for their lives in a universe where Jude is accused of murdering his teenage tormentor and June is nearly murdered by her sister. As they struggle to get home, Jude and June must battle against warped versions of the people they know and love before they become trapped in a world that is seemingly designed to punish those who have the misfortune to stumble upon it.

By Dave B.

"Premieres" will feature official trailers and synopses from what I feel looks like the most interesting (or the only, in some cases) original programming coming out in the subsequent week on Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix, and elsewhere. In no way to these previews represent recommendations or reviews. My intent is to post this segment each Thursday or Friday, but we'll see. Enjoy!

By Dave B.

Trevor Belmont, Alucard Tepes, and Sypha Belnades join forces to defeat Alucard’s father, Dracula, in the second season of Castlevania (Netflix). An expanded cast of vampire and human villains await them as they plot and execute and audacious plan to finally kill the vampire lord and his minions before humanity is wiped out. However, some of Dracula’s “loyal” servants have ambitions of their own that may leave even the best plans, on either side, in ruins.