Movie Review: "20ft Below: The Darkness Descending" (2014; Blue Dragon/Vertical Entertainment)

...yeah, yeah...I know; go ahead and say it..."...sheesh!! Another Danny Trejo flick??" Well, far be it for this viewer to diss ol' Danny...clearly the hardest working character actor, working today, as well as the most formidable, reputable and dynamic...even in his most minimal presence, in some of his films. And yet, far be it for this viewer, in beating a dead horse, with repeated commentary about that very thing; in brief, just check out Danny's work to date, over at the IMDB website...what he has done, what he is presently doing, and what still waits in the wings (...your jaw will assuredly drop). Anyways, 'nuff said about that, right??...

...speaking of 'wings', this viewer cannot help but appreciate having initially viewed a screener of Danny's latest direct-to-video entry, "20ft Below: The Darkness Descending"...once again, he's headlining, but making minimal presence, here; the advance screener comprised of just the disc, bearing the cover art, as depicted here, and did not include anything else...and for anyone out there, haunting the dollar-rental obelisk, just outside their local convenience store, 'anything else' might well be manipulatively deceptive, as "20ft Below..." is most assuredly something different...dare I say, something perhaps better, on a genre or exploitation film level, than what is seemingly promised in the sensationalist synopsis, on the DVD cover, which this viewer was later privy of (...yep, bought this one outright, myself). In short, there's no denying that this Trejo entry has bite, but at the same time, it also has something important to say...and to the fine advertising folks, who scribbled the synopsis, this viewer cannot help but say, "...hey, let the film stand on it's own merit, OK?? A respectable force unto itself, the film didn't need any help from the sensationalist peanut gallery..."...

Movie Review: Antiviral (2012, Alliance/IFC Films)

...uh, ladies and gentlemen...if you please, let me ask you something. Just how far would you go...in whatever way, shape or form...to embrace your favorite celebrity?? Would you merely follow their media exploits, published in tabloids, or broadcast on the exploitative TMZ?? Would you instead wait hours in line, just for a celebrity's autograph?? (...ahem, with hand raised...been there, done that) Would you pull them aside, upon chance or planned encounter, and snap a quick and spontaneous, albeit annoying (...to them) paparazzi shot?? Would you dare sneak into the celebrity's house, just to sleep in their bed...drink their orange juice, in the 'fridge...use their toilet?? Would you go so far as to spend your life's savings on a complex surgery, which would make your nose look like your favorite celebrity's nose?? Doctors have coined a genuine name for such blatant obsession...call it 'celebrity worship syndrome', or as definition serves, 'an obsessive-addictive disorder in which a person becomes overly involved with the details of a celebrity's personal life'...and admit it or not, just about everyone engages this syndrome, whether it be to the smallest degree (...i.e., 'I really like that person's music; it's a favorite of mine, and I listen to it, whenever I can'), or to a level much more grandiose and disturbing (...i.e., '...uh, like, I've had this plastic surgery, see...to alter my entire body to look like my favorite celebrity, as well as legally having had my name changed to match his/hers, and because of this, I, um...I have had a legal injunction issue against me, forbidding me to come within 100 yards of him/her')...