TRAIN TO BUSAN Presents: Peninsula

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming from writer/director Yeon Sang-Ho and Well Go USA Entertainment is the exciting second chapter of the highly successful zombie movie TRAIN TO BUSAN with PENINSULA.

As the zombie outbreak reaches a fever pitch in South Korea, Captain Jung-seok (Gang Dong-won) is making his way to a ship leaving the country. In the car are his sister, her husband and young nephew as that race to get to the ship on time. In the middle of the road, the Marine Captain sees a family who needs a ride, but he is spooked and ignores the pleas driving away.

Finding their place on the ship, Jung-seok looks for answers and steps away from the family for supplies. That is when the chaos he thought he left behind happens the other side of a bulkhead door. The only family member saved is brother-in-law Chul-min (Kim Do-yoon) as the rest take over the ship.

Four years has passed and Jung-seok is still having a difficult time with what happened on the ship. Now living in Hong Kong, he and Chul-min (and two others) are brought before a nefarious type who wants them to go back to Incheon and find a food truck that has $20 million dollars in it. Their reward is some of the loot.

Thinking this was an easy job and on their way back to the harbor to be picked up, they are attacked by Unit 631, a group of rogue survivors that have grouped into a militia. Jung-seok is knocked out of the truck and Chul-min is still inside as it drives away. Driving up is Joon (Lee Re) and sister Yu-jin (Lee Ye-won) and through some very fancy driving manage to get away from the undead.

They take Jung-seok to safety and he meets Mom Min-jung (Lee Jung-hyun) and grandfather Elder Kim (Kwon Hae-hyo) who share both food, rest and information. Chul-min is immediately found in the truck and taken captive. Captain Seo (Koo Kyo-hwan) also finds the money and wants to use it to get away from leader Hwang (Kim Min-jae) who doesn't seem to lead the people these days.

Jung-seok wants to find his brother-in-law and will do whatever it takes to get him back. Joon wants to get her family out of Incheon and the only people stopping them are zombies and crazies. It becomes a race to see who will get the truck to the port and find freedom from the living and the dead!

Who really is the monster?

Dong-won takes the lead in the next chapter with PENINSULA and does not miss a beat. Starting out as a family man trying to save them from zombies, the aftermath is not only sad for his life but destructive. Returning to Incheon seemed like a way to get himself out of the darkness but instead puts him right back in it. I love watching Dong-won lead this cast on an insane ride through the film as Jung-seok still wants to do what is right and, in some way, make up for past regrets.

Do-yoon as Chul-min keeps his brother-in-law close as they try to remain a family but there is tension between the two. Once kidnapped, Chul-min discovers that perhaps he should have listened to someone who knew better but Jung-seok wasn’t about to leave the one person he still called 'brother' behind. Do-yoon's character survives by the seat of his pants and I cheered him on.

Re as Joon is a strong and no-nonsense young woman who has the driving skills that had me jealous by the end of the film. She shares one thing with Jung-seok, the love of family and always puts them first. Re is a thrill to watch and gives the film the feminine toughness that does not outshine everyone else but instead melds with the other characters - but with a lead foot! Ye-won is a younger version of Joon and has a way with electronics that has kept the family alive for the last four years. She made me laugh more than once yet Ye-won gives her character a sweet gentleness in the midst of madness.

Min-jae as Hwang is a leader of a rag tag bunch of weapons carrying lunatics - and that's being nice about it. It takes a lot to be a maniac leader and Min-jae gives it a creepiness as if the film needed anymore - excellent! Kyo-hwan as Captain Seo knows the leadership is waning and is more than happy to take over but when he sees the money, he also sees a chance to get away. Kyo-hwan wants to be the big man on top but life has other plans.

Other cast include Jang So-yeon as Sister, Kim Kyu-baek as Private Kim, Moon woo-jin as Dong-hwan, Daniel Albright as McClain and Bella Rahim as Major Jane.

Well Go USA Entertainment is a theatrical and home entertainment company specializing in bringing the best Action, Genre and Independent films from around the world to North American markets. As a leader in independent film distribution, Well Go USA Entertainment’s titles can be seen across a variety of platforms including theatrical, digital, subscription and cable VOD, packaged media and broadcast television. Well Go USA Entertainment currently releases three to five films per month. To see more please visit www.wellgousa.com.

PENINSULA is everything that I was hoping for and so very much more. A hug fan of TRAIN TO BUSAN, I was thrilled the day it was announced that there would be another chapter to the zombie saga. Six months before the film date was announced, I went into a giggle fit with anticipation.

This film takes action to another level from its predecessor on a train and gives zombies a little bit of a run around. That does not mean they do not get a meal now and then which is why we watch them in film in the first place right? The story is grave and heartbreaking, but we aren't allowed to be melancholy long because bad guys are still alive and causing trouble.

Writer/director Yeon Sang-Ho, along with Joo-Suk Park, did not try to reinvent the dead wheel but instead grabbed it and lets it spin out of control and let us all go for the ride. Speeding around and coming in at 116 minutes, PENINSULA is everything I wanted and more so buckle up because it is going to be wild!

In the end - its four years later!

Amazon Brings CHEMICAL HEARTS

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming from Amazon Studios and writer/director Richard Tanne based on the novel by Krystal Sutherland is the young romance induced by CHEMICAL HEARTS.

Henry (Austin Abrams) is a high schooler with a knack for the written word but not much for finding romance in the final years of high school. A hopeless romantic who has never been in love does not mean that he isn't holding out hope.

Called into the office of the journalism teacher, Henry is introduced to transfer student Grace (Lili Reinhart), and told that they will be co-editors of the school newspaper. Grace makes it clear to Henry that she really is not interested in writing but will play along taking care of other things for the paper.

Henry is intrigued by Grace and tries to learn more about her, but Grace has secrets and wants to keep them to herself. But something odd begins to happen between the two, Grace lets Henry drive himself home in her car and then walks away with her cane never telling Henry where she is going or why?

As the two become closer, Grace slowly shares with Henry why she is a transfer student and how one event in life can make every day an effort to find forgiveness, acceptance and where they each belong in the world waiting for them.

Then, as quickly as they find each other, it all comes crashing down and Henry learns that the love he has been waiting for brings its own share of pain.

Abrams as Henry is absolutely charming, delightful, funny, sincere and a bit naïve as all young men in their senior year can be. Yet, in all that, is a character that has the beauty of the written word to find solace in while traversing senior year. Abrams is so wonderful in this role that I kept hoping he would find what he was looking for - even if that took another shape.

Reinhart as Grace is not the easiest to get close to from the moment she steps onto the screen. With cane and secrets in hand, she is not about to let anyone inside her intense bubble. Hoping she can fly under the radar; she finds something in Henry that gives her mind peace and a person to explain things too. The problem with secrets is that there is always someone else who knows the truth and Grace knows that as well. Reinhart meshes strong and weak into a young woman who needs to separate the two if she is going to be able to move on.

The supporting cast include Sarah Jones as Suds, Kara Young as La, Coral Pena as Cora CJ Hoff as Muz, Shannon Walsh as Miranda, Bruce Altman as Toby, Meg gibson as gloria, Adhir Kalyan as Kem, Robert Clohessy as Martin, Catherine Curtin as Sarah, Anzi DeBenedetto as Elks and Jon Lemmon as Dominic.

Amazon Prime offers television shows and original content included in its Amazon Prime subscription. Original programs such as CARNIVAL ROW, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE, and THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL are hit shows. Coming soon is the next series with GOLIATH starring Billy Bob Thornton and it promises to another successful and intense series.

Krystal Sutherland is the author of the book Our Chemical Hearts which was released by Penguin in 2016 and Hot Key in Europe. She says of her book, "It involves the terribly tragic and awful experience of falling in love for the first time."

CHEMICAL HEARTS is absolutely the struggle of teen angst with those who are painfully shy, to those that are outwardly insecure and the reality that the love of your life might not be the love of this life. The latter being the most difficult the film gives us from start to finish.

Both of these actors, Abrams and Reinhart, tackle roles that are difficult because we all have been through them ourselves which makes the story so engrossing to watch. As teens I think we can all remember the secrets we held, the things we told ourselves to get by, first loves and the struggle to even understand the word 'love', friendships, parents worry - all of it.

They say love is the answer but never promised that the path toward it would be an easy one for any of us, young and young at heart.

In the end - fall in love and fall apart.

DESERT ONE Gives a Sharp Look at History

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming from two-time Academy Award winning director Barbara Kopple and Greenwich Entertainment comes a moment in history that we all can learn from with DESERT ONE.

It has been forty years since fifty-two American citizens were taken hostage in Iran during their revolution in Tehran. Then President Jimmy Carter wanted to find a way to get the Americans home without creating more hardships on the hostages.

The events happened because of the leader Ayatollah Khomeini gathered followers to have the Shah removed and a new government came into power in 1979. The Iranian people seemed joyful that he was gone. The crowds celebrating brought about verbal hostility towards America and then effigy's hostility. People at the embassy had the clear feeling that something bad was going to happen.

It did not take long before thousands of people were at the gates of the embassy as the gates were locked. That did not stop the protestors as they began tearing away doors and the building was put on shutdown. That did not stop them either as everyone inside was told to back away and stay cool. Everyone in the embassy was taken hostage not knowing what would happen to them. Split up between the embassy and Foreign Ministry building, every square inch was occupied.

As the days progressed, it became clear that President Carter needed plans draw up to rescue the hostages. Wanting diplomacy, it became clear that the military would have to find a way to extract the hostages. A plan is drawn up and the Pentagon begins to bring the best soldiers they have for the mission. Even the wives knew that the phone calls were a sign that something was happening.

Citizens were in an uproar feeling that the government was not doing enough to get the hostages back, but President Carter was making sure the hostages did not get hurt. That was his primary focus. In December 1979, President Carter makes it clear that he will do nothing that will cause any harm to the hostages, but many believed that ‘doing nothing’ made Americans look weak.

In Tehran, the hostage takers were treating the hostages in a certain way and the Ayatollah came to meet with the hostages. The meeting is covered, and both sides have their say in the situation. At the Pentagon, the rescue plans were being presented to President Carter. Using C130s and helicopters, they would land at a spot called Desert One and go to Tehran, get the hostages and fly out.

The Delta Force Commander Col. Charles Beckwith said, "it was a very difficult plan but not an impossible plan".  With their operatives also inside the embassy, the information they needed came from the most unlikely of places. The Delta Force was watching every bit of footage they could get to get intel for their mission.

Another year came and in March of 1980, the hostages were handcuffed and blindfolded going through the unimaginable. All of this brought a hopelessness to the hostages not knowing yellow ribbons were on trees. A presidential election was underway, and Ronald Regan had a lot to say and the Ayatollah refused to deal with Carter and nothing was working. Finally, the President agreed to the mission.

The White House is in constant communication with the Delta Force, on April 24, 1980, as helicopters and men make their way off the USS Nimitz. Almost immediately one transport was out and there was total radio silence. Getting ready the one thing they did not expect is a bus load of people. The helicopters head towards their goal when a dust storm makes it impossible to fly.

A minimal use of force was ordered but a series of events make that hard to accomplish. Now the risks are getting harsh but still a go order to save the hostages but there are more problems with the choppers. The Operations Schedule had the orders of what to do in certain situations and they are getting close to aborting leaving the decision to President Carter.

Planes began to leave, and soldiers were disappointed that the mission was not going forward. The weather wasn't optimal, and it was getting light as one of the helicopters took off but the pilot made a grave error. Soldiers were trying to get away as the hopeful mission had turned. Informing President Carter, the soldiers had to get out before the sun came up and more trouble came.

Sadly, those missing could not be recovered were left behind, as those that could fly out, did. News spread quickly in Iran about the failed mission. At Desert One, people arrived at the site to the destruction. President Carter gave the grave news to the people of the United States about the operation. Public criticism came about, and candidate Regan had an opinion of his own.

Days later the hostage learns what has happened and the remains of those who passed were made public by the people of Iran. With the death of the Shah, it made things more tenuous and the American elections kept moving forward as Iraq and Iran start their own war. Once Carter lost to Regan, he still wanted to bring the hostages home.

In January of 1981, Carter finally secured the release of the hostages with money. Loading up to go home, and on inaugural day, the hostages were on their way home after 444 days in captivity. President Carter went to meet and speak with them and the parades began as they are welcomed home.

They were free, they were home, and this is that story.

DESERT ONE is a serious history lesson for anyone who thinks they know something about the Iranian hostage crisis. I remember (and I am in my 60s), the craziness of that time as each evening on the news was story after story of the hostages. Until that fateful night in 1980 and the news went full force with the accident and what it could possibly mean for the hostages.

I remember the election; I remember the yellow ribbons and I remember the sadness military families felt for the losses. What I did not know was the story behind the military action and what actually caused the mission to fail.

That is what makes this documentary so interesting. Director Koppel takes us through everything step by step and allows us to hear from the hostages, the hostage takers, those in government and the one man who held himself accountable - President Jimmy Carter.

Greenwich Entertainment specializes in distinctive, theatrical-quality narrative and documentary features. Greenwich had a record setting theatrical release with the Academy Award winning documentary FREE SOLO, ECHO IN THE CANYON, LINDA RONSTADT; The Sound of my Voice and THE BOOKSHOP. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.greenwichentertainment.com

Interviews include President Jimmy Carter, Vice President Walter Mondale, Ted Koppel, former hostages, journalists and even Iranian students who took part in capturing the American Embassy. There are interviews from those who were just passing by in a bus and telephone recordings of President Carter.

"This was a roller coaster ride of a story well worth telling," said filmmaker Barbara Kopple. "It is a film about U.S. leadership and gumption, our leaders taking responsibility - even when things go wrong - and courage in the face of adversity. And, of course to address our relations with Iran - and hearing their side of the story can make us reflect. This is a story that few remember or even know, and it might inspire us now."

DESERT ONE is an intense look at a time in our nation's history where the tensions with Iran came to a boiling point. The anger and hostility pointed in the U.S.'s direction brought about a chain of events that still reverberate today. American's do not forget easily when something this significant has been done to our own and DESERT ONE is a reminder of why that is.

This is a well-done piece of filmmaking and should be required viewing and a teaching tool of our history.

In the end – an intense moment in our history!

Based on a True Story Comes THE OUTPOST

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to DVD from Screen Media is the story by author Jake Tapper and director Rod Lurie and the brave men guarding THE OUTPOST.

Staff Sgt. Clint Romesha (Scott Eastwood) and his men Specialist Ty Carter (Caleb Landry Jones), Staff Sgt. Justin Gallegos (Jacob Scipio), Sgt. Josh Kirk (Jack Kesy) helicopter ride into a deep valley in Afghanistan. Surrounded by mountains, they are attacked daily by the Taliban. First Lt. Benjamin Keating (Orlando Bloom) gives the men a tour of the camp letting them know that they must always be at the ready.

It does not take long before the new crew takes a few hits and sees what they are up against. When they get the call to take a very large vehicle to another camp, Keating takes Romesha on roads that aren’t meant to be traversed. When an accident happens, Sylvanius Broward (Kwame Patterson) is sent in telling the men that the camp is going to be shut down. What should be good news really is not.

Their own Afghan interpreter tells the men that the Taliban are coming and although they listen, they go about their mission. Each attack gets a little bolder until the capture a young man who comes into the camp taking pictures of everything he sees. When caught, Romesha along with Broward go to the town elders to explain why the promise made by Lt. Keating of funds is being held up.

Romesha is frustrated because he does not see that Broward is listening to anything the people who live at the outpost are telling him. That is until the camp is hit again. One more time the men must gather together to protect the outpost even though there are more and more Taliban in the mountains above.

When one massive explosion follows another, every takes their places to battle the men coming towards them with more weapons than the outpost has seen. Now, Romesha and his men will do what they must to protect one another and stay alive until the call for help can bring what they need to stop the invasion.

Now they wait.

Eastwood comes on the scene strong with the attitude of a military man with concerns for his men, especially when he sees the camp by the light of day. He turns in a solid performance that isn’t over the top but instead storytelling with the entire cast. Jones as Carter is a young man who is dealing with the stress and anxiety about everything happening around them. When the men need him the most, he puts himself on the line time and time again. Carter gives us the human side of those feelings.

Bloom as Keating knows they are in a raw deal with where the camp is located but tries to make the best of it for everyone. Never sending a man to do something he wouldn’t do himself, he is respected by the men. Scipio as Gallegos and Kesy as Kirk aren’t thrilled with their situation and even less thrilled with those who claim to be in charge but they follow their leader. Both men are a definite benefit to the film. Shout out to Gibson for his second time in a film dealing with war and soldiers as he was in the 2016 film HACKSAW RIDGE directed by his father Mel Gibson.

Other cast include Petar Petrov as Malak, Ahmad Sakhi as Commander Zahid, George Arvidson as Captain Cordova, Brandon Wengrzynek as Sgt. Breed, Jeremy Jones as PFC Jordan Wong, Scott Coffey as Michael Scusa, Jack DeVos as Sgt. Hardt, Ernest Cavazos as Sgt. Avalos, Jonathan Yunger as SFC Jonathan Hill, Alexandar Aleksiev as Sgt. Janis Lakis, Alfie Stewart as Sgt. Yunger, Marin Rangelov as Nasir, Cory Hardrict as Sgt. Vernon Martin, Taylor Smith as First Lt. Andrew Bundermann, Celina Sinden as Cpt. Katie Kopp, Will Attenborough as Ed Faulkner and Milo Gibson as Capt. Yllescas. 

Screen Media is an international distributor of television series and films, licensing content through theatrical, home video, pay-per-view, free, cable and pay television, and subscription and advertising video-on-demand platforms. With one of the largest independently-owned libraries of filmed entertainment in the world and license agreements across all forms of media. The company is continually looking to add films and television series to its content library. For more information please visit www.screenmedia.com.

The Bonus Content includes Inside COP Keating: Behind the Scenes, Behind the Lines, Audio Commentary with Director Rod Lurie and Scene Rehearsals.

THE OUTPOST is bases on The New York Times best seller The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor. Written by CNN journalist Jake Tapper, he tells the story of soldiers living in the remote mountains of Afghanistan and Combat Outpost Keating. It is a story about the battle to defend against a coordinated Taliban attack that later came to be known as The Battle of Kamdesh.

Bravo Troop 3-62 would become the most decorated unit of the 2009 Afghan War. Staff Sgt. Cliff Romesha and Specialist Ty Carter were awarded the Medal of Honor. Rod Lurie, the director, is a graduate of West Point and former soldier. Adding to the realism of the film, he added veterans to play various military roles including Henry Hughes and Daniel Rodriguez.

“The gates of Heaven and the gates of hell are claimed to be in the same spot. During the firefight, COP Keating was like the gates of hell: violent, bloody and full of sorrow. However, watching men sacrificing themselves to protect each other, I could see the true form of brotherhood and love, making the firefight at COP Keating like the gates of heaven as well.” Ty M. Carter, Medal of Honor Recipient.

The cast brings the story to us all in a way that allows us to care about them because they each have a story. Adding to that the fact that most of us have family members who are active military, the scenes where the soldiers are calling home are moving and intense at the same time. There is also clearly camaraderie between the cast that transitions into the people they are portraying.

In the end – the mission was survival!

The Chaos of A WHITE, WHITE DAY

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to DVD from writer/director Hlynur Palmason and Film Movement comes a story of sadness that turns on A WHITE, WHITE DAY.

Ingimundur (Ingvar Sigurdsson) is a policeman struggling with the years. After his wife dies in a car accident, he has become reclusive and has shut down his emotions. Seeing the psychiatrist Georg (Por Tulinius) feels like an effort in futility.

The one person he seems to connect with his granddaughter Salka (Ida Mekkin Hlysdottir) who seems to accept her grandfather as he is. She visits while Ingimundur works on his house doing repairs and rennovations. Having a bit of a housewarming, a box of his wife's belongings is left behind from a friend.

In a moment alone, Ingimundur opens the box and his life takes another turn. Finding a video of his wife, he also sees a man named Olgeir (Hilmir Snaer Guonason). His emotions already tangled, Ingimundur take a dangerous road to solving a mystery. He becomes so obsessed that he puts his job and loved ones in jeopardy, all to seek answers he thinks will tame whatever lives inside him.

His decisions will either give his life meaning or tear everyone apart!

Sigurdsson as Ingimundur is powerful as a man who keeps his emotions strongly out of reach of others. There is an intense barrier between himself and everybody else and although he has a relationship with Salka and it is close - there is still a small wall between them. The pain he carries has become another layer of skin and the video is a sharp knife slashing open any protection Ingimundur thought he had. That's what Sigurdsson has done with this character and it is remarkable.

Hlynsdottir as Salka is not only adorable but what an actress! She is clearly had a grasp of the character and the scene where grandpa kind of loses it is stunning, the look on that young girls face was not only believable but crushed me as a grandmother. She knows there is something her grandfather is hiding but isn't ready for the reality of the adults

Hilmir Snaer Guonason as Olgeir has a part to play in Ingimundur's life whether he likes it or not. You can not intrude on a person's life and not expect consequences. Alma Stefania Agustsdottir as Elin is the daughter who is trying to keep her own family together. Haraldur Stefansson as Stefan is the son-in-law who also sees the ravages of what is happening to him.

Sigurour Sifurjonsson as Bjossi, friend and officer who treads carefully around Ingimundur's and sees that his emotions are putting his job and life in jeopardy. Shout out to Arnmundur Ernst Bjornsson as Hrafn, a fellow officer who is like a sharp pebble in Ingimundur's shoe.

Film Movement, founded in 2002, is an award-winning independent and foreign film company that has released more than 250 feature films and shorts. Theatrical releases include American independent films, documentaries, and foreign arthouse titles catalog such directors as Hirokazu Kore-eda, Maren Ade, Jessica Hausner and Ciro Guerra and Melanie Laurent. Bluray and DVD films bring such directors as Eric Rohmer, Bolle August, King Hu, Sergio Corbucci and Luchino Visconti and many more. To discover what Film Movement is all about and find out more about what they have to offer please visit www.filmmovementplus.com.

The DVD includes the Bonus Short Film SEVEN BOATS directed by Hlynur Palmason is the story while in a desperate fight for his life, a man stranded alone on the sea surrounded by seven boats.

A WHITE, WHITE DAY is a powerful story of grief and how it can turn to something else when everything you believed about the one you love could be wrong? This amazing cast held together by Sigurdsson and Hlynsdottir allows writer/director Palmason to pain on a large canvass of emotion and beauty.

The film is 109 minutes and subtitled from Swedish and that bit of information is information only. What I mean is that it does not affect the emotion the film brings out nor does 'reading' the film stop from embracing the story.

In the gray dismal winter and fog of this Swedish town begs for happiness and it can only come for Ingimundur when he accepts, let’s go and embraces those who truly love him.

In the end - how far will grief take a person?

TRAVEL CHANNEL Brings New Series SHOCK DOCS

 

Jeri Jacquin

Now on the Travel Channel with executive producer Tom Jennings for all your spooky needs comes a new series that looks at true horror stories in America with SHOCK DOCS.

The series begins with names that are familiar to most who love the paranormal with DEVIL’S ROAD: The True Story of Ed and Lorraine Warren. If those names seem familiar, then let me refresh why! A story came to theatres in 2013 with THE CONJURING telling the story of a family dealing with a dark presence in their home calling in Ed and Lorraine Warren and bringing movie goers into the chaos. Also, the film ANNABELLE in 2014, THE CONJURING 2 in 2016, ANABELLE Creations in 2017 and THE NUN in 2018.

That is not where their story began however but instead in becoming paranormal investigators in 1952 when doing such things was not even heard of.  In their 50-years doing investigations, they claim to have dealt with thousands of cases. Ed was the demonologist while Lorraine was the extremely sensitive clairvoyant while also trying to have a normal life with daughter Judy.

The word began to spread of what this couple could do speaking on the paranormal and preternatural worlds but also created techniques still used in investigations today. I think many of the paranormal investigators know who to thank for such things as advanced electromagnetic devices!

This two-hour special delves into the 1970s and 1980s and the television show led by their son-in-law Tony Spera and never-before-heard audio of Ed Warren interviewing with a poltergeist case. Spera also provided access to footage of the series "Seekers of the Supernatural" as the couple explain their workn more detail.

The episode shows the many famous cases that the Warren's attended to such as Amityville in 1975 working with George and Kathy Lutz and the demons that overtook their home. Travelling to Enfield in London where a family was being terrorized in their home. The case of 'Not Guilty by Reason of Demonic Possession' in 1981 of Arne Johnson.

When a funeral home is claimed to be filled with demons, Ed and Lorraine Warren are there in Southington, Connecticut and author Ray Garton writes a book that later finds itself in the film THE HAUNTING IN CONNECTICUT.

This is only a small portion of the years that Ed and Lorraine Warren spent in their career with books, speaking engagements, cases and training others to continue the work they found so important.

Travel Channel knows how to start off their series and the Warren's story is the best place to start. Each installment is going to take viewers into true American horror stories and the history of these best-documented paranormal encounters. There are audio and video stories that share the terrifying tales of evil. Two of the episodes are AMITYVILLE HORROR HOUSE and THE EXORCISM OF ROLAND DOE.

"Travel Channel fans have an insatiable appetite for the classic cases that even the paranormal investigators revere," said Matthew Butler, general manager of the Travel Channel. "In these 'shockumentaries' we start at the beginning and explore why these places and cases remain the most famous - and the most haunted in the country."

The Travel Channel is for the bold, daring and spontaneous; those adventurers who embrace the thrill of the unexpected; those risk-takers who aren't afraid of a little mystery; if you're up for anything, down for whatever, and above all, love great stories, journey on to Travel Channel. We are more than you expected and everything you did not know you were looking for. Reaching more than 79 million homes, Travel Channel is the world's leading travel media brand. To find out more please visit www.travelchannel.com.

The two-hour SHOCK DOCS about Ed and Lorraine Warren is filled with information that I did not even know. I knew of their connection with The Conjuring Universe but no idea about Amityville or the other cases they investigated. That is what makes this installment so interesting, it gives the viewer a deeper look inside the story of these two remarkable paranormal investigators.

I am a huge fan of the Travel Channel and it started when I discovered the series GHOST ADVENTURES many, many years ago. I was intrigued by the GAC and the places they visited and the things that made the hairs on my arms stand up. I continue to check in on the boys (gotta love a DVR) so when I learned there was a new series from the Travel Channel, well, I had to see for myself.

It is true, this series is for those who are 'up for anything and down for whatever and love a great story' because that is what they do - bring it! I cannot wait for the next episode, especially the story in Amityville because, come on, who does not know a little about that and who doesn't want to know a whole lot more?

Tune in to the Travel Channel for SHOCK DOCS and the first special DEVIL'S ROAD: The True Story of Ed and Lorraine Warren showing now. Oh, and dim the lights because that makes everything spooky so much sweeter to enjoy.

Don't say I didn't warn you!

EMPEROR

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Digital and DVD from writer/director Mark Amin, Pat Charles and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is the story of an EMPEROR.

It is the pre-civil war South and Shields Green (Dayo Okeniyi) has an important job on the plantation where he is a slave. He makes sure that things run smoothly as the plantation owner would rather spend his days gambling his life away. In a final bet, the plantation is lost, and the new owner isn't as happy to have Shields continue.

Putting a new man in charge, he is vicious and cruel finding ways to hurt Shields. He is willing to take it for his family but when returning home one day he finds his son has been severely whipped. Wife Sarah (Naturi Naughton) knows how Shields is going to react as he attacks the overseer who did it.

Once he confronts the group of men, it is chaos and all Shields can do is run with his family. Tragedy strikes and as Shields gets farther and farther away, the more people know he is a wanted man. Finding Levi Coffin (Bruce Dern), Shields asks something from the man before being chased once again by bounty hunter Luke McCabe (Ben Robson).

Shields then meets John Brown (James Cromwell) who brings his sons along to fight slavery and all those who participate in it. Brown takes Shields to meet Frederick Douglass (Harry Lennix) who offers to help him escape to Canada to start a new life. Shields makes it clear that he is going nowhere until he retrieves his son Tommy (Trayce Malachi).

Okeniyi as Shields gives a passionate performance of a man who wanted the best for his family and was willing to whatever it took to make that happen. When he is pushed because of injustice, Okeniyi gives his character the justification for what would become a symbol for many. It is a difficult role to play but he gives it what it deserves.

Cromwell as John Brown does what he always does, put in a performance of a character that is strong in belief and sees Shields as a man to know. His ideals make him stand up and challenge anyone who gets in his way, no matter the cost. Lennix as Frederick Douglass sees Shields as a powerful image and wants to save him, but Shields has other plans. Lennix always plays interesting characters and as a fan of Frederick Douglass, he did the man justice. Dern as Coffin is a man who wants to help Sheilds and his character portrayal is unexpected.

Robson as McCabe is hired to find Shields and keeps him running. This character has a proper evil streak and it shows. Naughton as Sarah wants to protect her son and her husband but knows that there is only so much a person can take when it comes to his family. Malachi as Tommy is a young man who experiences a horrific event, but his father isn't going to let him experience it ever again.

Other cast include Kat Graham as Delores, M.C. Gainey as Randolph Stevens, Mykelti Williamson as Truesdale, Paul Scheer as Duvane Henderson, Mark Ashworth as Reverand, Brad Carter as Grady, Nicholas Logan as Gunther Bowman, Chip Carriere as Tom Affleck, Sharon Blackwood as Adel Acklen, Brian F. Durkin as Erbert Jenkins, OlConnor Hammond as Oliver Brown, David Kallaway as Sam Bowmine, Erin Boswell as Abigail Henderson, and Lil Buck as Meshach and Ben Aycrigg as Watson Brown.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us to all experience and re-experience in our own home theaters. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.com.

EMPEROR is a film inspired by a true legend and the journey of Shields Green. As part of joining John Brown at Harper's Ferry and a part of the abolitionist movement, the film gives a history of what forced Shields' hand to fight for his son and others.

There were so many historical figures that came into his life and in the short time of one hour and forty minutes, the film does squeeze a lot of history into a short period of time. Of course, there is so much more to the story as well. Fleeing South Carolina wasn't the beginning of his story, but it is where the film picks up.

His life was a short one, but the events had an impact on other still in slavery and the abolitionists who wanted to make a difference in the fight for freedom.

In the end - son of Kings and a father of revolution!