Episode 163: The Birthday Cake, Black Medicine, Alone, Blood Brothers, Trigger Point, The Mandalorian 16.5, Shade

This week we welcome back Sean Malloy from I MUST BREAK THIS PODCAST, who joins us to talk about our DTV Throwback.

But before that Mike, Rich and Steve take a look at four new releases. First up is THE BIRTHDAY CAKE , a mobster tail in which a young up-and-comer must bring a cake to his gangster uncle's birthday party. The cast is very notable here, especially Val Kilmer post throat operation!

BLACK MEDICINE really piqued our interest, a thriller set in Northern Ireland which manages to skip any mention of terrorism. In its stead there is a vulnerable yet resourceful young woman faced with the worst dilemma imaginable! 

Next up is ALONE, in which a young woman is stalked by a guy who could either be a well-meaning klutz or a serial killer...we recommend you don't actually watch the trailer and just dive straight in to this one!

BLOOD BROTHERS is a very dry, emotionally stifled costume drama which surprisingly divided the panel quite widely! 

Last but by no means least, we have TRIGGER POINT, starring Barry Pepper as the kind of character who could easily carry a series of novels, Jack Reacher style! 

Our Short Shot is a fan film which follows on from the end of Season 2 of The Mandalorian in THE MANDALORIAN: CHAPTER 16.5: THE HUNTING, a 15 minute film boasting some excellent production values - click the link to watch the whole film!

As mentioned above, Sean Malloy joins us to discuss our DTV Throwback: SHADE. Check out the cast in this and wonder how you'd never heard of it before!

Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 

Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!

Episode 162: Occupation: Rainfall, The Tomorrow War, Lapsis, Molly, Crazy Samurai 400 vs 1, The Soul Collector, The Dark and the Wicked, Witch Hunt, The Return of Dr Bees, Collision

In this episode Mike, Rich and Steve tackle another bumper crop of new releases, starting with four sci-fi movies:

We start with OCCUPATION: RAINFALL, the 2nd instalment of the Australian alien invasion franchise which a mixture of bitter grit and big flashy fx set-pieces. We follow this with another big-budget sci-fi movie, THE TOMORROW WAR starring Chris Pratt - this one is currently available to watch on Amazon Prime.

Our third sci-fi movie is LAPSIS, an off-kilter look at the plight of workers who are part of enabling a new level of technology.

Then it is off to a post-apocalyptic future in MOLLY, a sequel of sorts to a film we covered way back in episode 95 called Kill Mode. Molly features a 30 minute fight sequence made up of long takes as its finale. Meanwhile our next film goes even further. CRAZY SAMURAI: 400 vs 1 sees real-life samurai Musashi Miyamoto (Tak Sakaguchi) enter into a 77minute one-shot, unedited fight scene against 400 angry warriors! 

THE SOUL COLLECTOR (aka 8) is the first of three horror films discussed in this episode, a folk horror film set in South Africa. This is followed by the atmospheric THE DARK AND THE WICKED where supernatural shenanigans occur around a rural farm.

Finally, we discuss WITCH HUNT, a film which it is fair to say took all of us by surprise!

Our Short Shot this week is THE RETURN OF DR BEES, from animator Harry Partridge. We highly recommend you also check out his other DR Bees shorts, DR BEES and #CHANGETHEBEES!

And finally...in our DTV Throwback we stand around and gawp at COLLISION, in which a clean-shaven Frank Grillo and his femme fatale wife get caught up in a traffic accident in the Moroccan  desert! This is available on Amazon Prime but be warned there are key moments missing subtitles!

Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 

Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!

Episode 161: Final Voyage, Endangered Species, My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To, Unearth, Ripper Untold, Triumph, Tyger Tyger, Somniphobia, Final Voyage

In this bumper episode Mike, Rich and Steve face something of an endurance test...

Kicking off with FINAL VOYAGE, a German sci-fi in which two men discover and repair an old space ship, only to struggle to decide where to travel to.

Then its off to Kenya for ENDANGERED SPECIES, in which a family make some terrible choices and end up facing the consequences. 

In MY HEART CAN'T BEAT UNLESS YOU TELL IT TO, we have a teen vampire a million miles removed from the Cullens of Twilight!

UNEARTH finds farmer Marc Blucas (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) struggling to make ends meet  and also suffering from some bad decisions when a fracking op unleashes some primordial ooze...

RIPPER UNTOLD is a low budget procedural which gives an interesting slant on a possible identity for "Saucy Jack"!

R. J. Mitte (The Oak Room) plays a highschool student with cerebral palsy who has to overcome many obstacles to achieve his goal of being on the wrestling team in TRIUMPH...

and finally, we venture into a drug fueled wilderness in TYGER TYGER...

Our Short Shot is the excellent SOMNIPHOBIA - grab yourself 25min and check out this excellent horror thriller!

And our DTV Throwback is FINAL VOYAGE - yes, our first and final films share the same name! This one stars Dylan Walsh, Ice T and Erika Elaniak in a Die Hard on a Cruise Liner movie! (available on Amazon Prime).

Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 

Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!

Episode 160 - Edge of the World, Brighton, Skyjacked, Parallel, Metroid: Attack of Ridley, Men of War

This week Mike, Rich and Steve are joined by SEAN MALLOY of I Must Break This Podcast  to discuss this week's DTV Throwback!

But before that, we must review four current releases, starting with EDGE OF THE WORLD, based upon the real-life explorer Sir James Brooke, played here by Jonathan Rhys Meyers.

Then its time to get the deckchairs out and enjoy a bit of sunshine in BRIGHTON, based upon a play by Stephen Berkoff. 

Its been a while since we covered an Asylum movie so we rectify this with SKYJACKED, aka SKY BATTLE - the film is currently available on Amazon Prime under this title!

Our Short Shot is METROID: BATTLE OF RIDLEY which brought back memories of owning a Nintendo Game Cube for me!

Finally, as mentioned above, Sean Malloy of "I Must Break" This Podcast which looks at the filmography of Dolph Lundgren, joins us to talk about MEN OF WAR, now available on Amazon Prime.

Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 

Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!

Episode 159 - Imprisoned, Elyse,Safe Inside, Agony, It’s Me Billy, Eighth Wonder, Blunt Force Trauma

In this episode Mike, Rich and Steve look at a couple of films involving comatose characters!

First though, there's IMPRISONED (aka Night Walk), where a wrongfully imprisoned man seeks both redemption and vengeance. Mickey Rourke makes a brief appearance as a drug dealer who lords over the other inmates, so naturally he gets prominence on the DVD Cover!

ELYSE is an arthouse film in which an emotionally struggling woman battles for her marriage and sanity, and features a short appearance from Anthony Hopkins...

SAFE INSIDE sees an American couple in France, whose experience working as labourers on a country estate  goes awry...

Asia Argento stars in AGONY, as a woman who discovers her mother has just died, despite being told that she had died decades before...

ITS ME, BILLY is a fan-made sequel to the original Black Christmas, set in the present day. Click the link to watch the whole 42minute film!

Our Short Shot is EIGHTH WONDER, from JKK Films - we highly recommend you check out this short as well as some of their other work!

Finally, our DTV Throwback is BLUNT FORCE TRAUMA, one of my all-time favourites! Will Rich and Steve enjoy it too??

Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 

Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!

Episode 158 - Search and Destroy, The Fifth Execution, Cargo, Shakedown

This episode was originally recorded in Jan 2021.

Mike and Rich take a look at SEARCH AND DESTROY and have a very interesting debate on whether:

a. The film is MEANT to be toungue-in-cheek, and/or

b. The film is the most overtly gay-coded action flick made so far.

Check out the film on Amazon Prime and let us know if we are barking up the right trees on this one!

There's more confusion on our part with our next film, the totally bonkers THE FIFTH EXECUTION, which is definitely a film suffering from multiple personality disorders! Check out our review to hear us try and analyze just what the heck is going on in this film! (Also available on Prime as of time of publishing). 

Our Short Shot is CARGO, in which a new employee makes an unwitting and terrifying discovery on his first day!

Finally, our DTV Throwback is SHAKEDOWN, starring Erika Elaniak, Ron Perlman and Scott Wolf. Unfortunately, since recording this episode the film has been removed from Prime's library - For Shame, Prime! It can be picked up for a pittance though, and I thoroughly recommend doing so! (This is also a really bad trailer!)

Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 

Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!

Episode 157: Vanquish, No Man’s Land, A Reckoning, Behind The Trees, Oasis, Beowulf

In this episode Mike, Rich, Steve and Will take a look at four new films. We kick off with VANQUISH, in which Ruby Rose is forced to act as a courier for retired, wheelchair-bound dirty cop Morgan Freeman.

Then it's off to the Mexican border for NO MAN'S LAND, which finds a young man fleeing for his life after a bit of vigilante border patrolling goes horribly wrong.

Lance Henriksen pops up briefly in A RECKONING, a low budget western in which a widow takes it upon herself to track down her husband's killer.

Finally, we're off to India for BEHIND THE TREES, in which an American couple meddle with local beliefs and supernatural forces.

Our Short Shot is OASIS, a very visually stunning film set in a desert where water has odd properties. This is from the same people who made Bad Hit, which we covered a few episodes ago!

Finally, our DTV Throwback is BEOWULF - starring Christopher Lambert and Rhona Mitra. This is set in a post-apocalyptic land which has reverted back to the days of swords and armour. It's certainly an odd one!

Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 

Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!

Episode 156: Justice League: Snyder Cut, Batman: Dying is Easy, Darkman 2: The Return of Durant

Mike and Rich embark on the 4 hour marathon which is the JUSTICE LEAGUE SNYDER CUT and are pretty impressed by the sights along the way! In keeping with the superhero theme, our Short Shot is a Batman fan film called DYING IS EASY. The company behind this short are called Bat In The Sun and we recommend you check out some of their other shorts!

To round things off, our DTV Throwback is a DTV sequel to Sam Raimi's Darkman. In DARKMAN 2: THE RETURN OF DURANT, Arnold Vosloo takes over from Liam Neeson. Cue melting faces and big explosions!

Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 

Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!

Episode 154: The Virtuoso, Without Remorse, The Ninth Passenger, Jack Walker, The BIke Thief, Batman: Other Worlds, Zulu

Mike, Rich and Steve check out THE VIRTUOSO, in which a professional assassin takes on the proverbial "one last job". Then we tune in to Amazon Prime for WITHOUT REMORSE, featuring Michael B Jordan for some Tom Clancy-inspired mayhem! Afterwards we try to figure out just who is THE NINTH PASSENGER, before rooting for fictional ex action star JACK WALKER to make a rousing come-back! Finally, we watch THE BIKE THIEF, hiding all sharp objects beforehand.

Our Short Shot is BATMAN: OTHER WORLDS, a very wry comparison between the different iterations of the Caped Crusader. We also talk about a similar themed short, BATMAN EVOLUTION, which we recommend you take a look at also!

Finally, in the DTV Throwback we check out ZULU on Amazon Prime. This is not the Michael Cain/Stanley Baker classic, rather a taut thriller set in Cape Town and stars Orlando Bloom and Forest Whitaker!

Follow the Short Shots TWITTER page, where we will be linking to a short film every day! 

Don't forget to also check out our main show, the DTV DIGEST on TWITTER and FACEBOOK!

Episode 150 - Nemesis, Rose: A Love Story, The Night, Shortcut, Escape From North Korea, Wolves of Wall Street

To mark our 150th episode, we bring you what is probably one of our longest yet - clocking in at just over two and a half hours! 

This week Mike, Rich and Steve take a look NEMESIS, a London Gangster movie with a twist, in which Billy Murray stars as a self-exiled crime boss returning to London for some unfinished business. Then we take a look at ROSE: A LOVE STORY, a relationship drama with horror overtones.

Mike and Will then look at a pair of full-on horrors, starting with THE NIGHT, in which two Iranian ex-pats have a troublesome night in a hotel. Then we cover SHORTCUT, which feels like a John Hughes movie if he'd embarked on making horror films.

Our Short Shot is ESCAPE FROM NORTH KOREA, an 80's style parody very much in the style of Kung Fury and Cyborg: Deadly Machine - click the link to see the whole film!

For the DTV Throwback we are joined by DAVE WAIN and MATTY BUDREWICS from The Schlockpit and other endeavours (includiing some sterling work included on 88FILMS releases). They had chosen WOLVES OF WALL STREET which features a very game Eric Roberts and we talk at length about the career of director David Decoteau.

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