"Dead Snow: Red vs Dead" (2014)

Starring Vegar Hoel, Orjan Gamst and Martin Starr
Written by Tommy Wirkola, Stig Frode Henriksen and Vegar Hoel
Directed by Tommy Wirkola
Rated R - Strong violence and language
Running Time: 100 Minutes
Trailer

Following the events of the first film, Martin (Vegar Hoel) barely manages to escape the Nazi zombies that killed all his friends on their mountain vacation in Norway. He crashes his car, and is brought to a nearby hospital where he's horrified to hear upon waking up that not only is he being charged with the murders of all his friends, but also that the doctors say they've reattached his severed arm. The only problem with that is it's not his arm they found — it's Herzog's, (Orjan Gamst) the zombie leader. The arm turns out to be super-strong and have something of a mind of its own and a lust for blood.

To find out why, Martin contacts the Zombie Squad, a group of Americans he thinks will be able to help him kill the zombies once and for all. The Squad, led by Daniel (Martin Starr) is actually just a trio of nerds who have seen too many movies, but they come to Norway anyway. Along with a World War II museum guide named Glenn (Stig Frode Henriksen), they'll have to figure out a way to stop Herzog from completing the last mission given to him by Hitler decades earlier: the destruction of an entire town as revenge for sabotaging Nazi war plans.

"Ultimate Avengers: The Movie" (2006)

Starring Justin Gross, Andre Ware, and Michael Massee
Written by Greg Johnson
Directed by Curt Geda, Steven E. Gordon and Bob Richardson
Not Rated - Violence
Running Time: 72 Minutes
Trailer

In the final days of World War II, supersoldier Steve Rogers, aka Captain America (Justin Gross) leads an assault on a Nazi stronghold said to contain some kind of doomsday weapon.  He discovers the Germans are working with alien creatures called the Chitauri, but sacrifices himself to stop their weapon from destroying America.

Decades later, Nick Fury (Andre Ware), leader of S.H.I.E.L.D., searches the ocean floor for the remains of Captain America.  Dr. Bruce Banner (Michael Massee) and Dr. Betty Ross (Nan McNamara) believe the captain's DNA is the secret to restarting the supersoldier program in order to combat the Chitauri, which have remained in hiding on Earth since the end of the war.  They are shocked to discover, however, that Rogers is not dead - merely preserved.  Captain America awakens in the present, a man outside of time, who has lost everything he held dear... except his country.

When the Chitauri attack a S.H.I.E.L.D. satellite and kill three astronauts, Fury is forced to gather superpowered civilians in order to protect the Earth until Banner can create new supersoldiers.  Fury contacts Hank Pym (Nolan North), Janet Pym (Grey DeLisle), Tony Stark (Marc Worden), Black Widow (Olivia d'Abo) and Thor (David Boat) to form the Avengers.  Led by Captain America, this team will serve as the planet's front line of defense against the alien invaders... if they can just learn to work together.

But all the while, Banner holds a deadly secret.  Within him lies a creature more powerful than anything anyone has ever seen.  The Avengers may find that the Chitauri are not the greatest threat to planet Earth.

"Casablanca" (1942)

"Casablanca" (1942)
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and Paul Henreid
Written by Julius and Philip Epstein
Directed by Michael Curtiz

"I don't stick my neck out fer nobody... 'cept the hotties."

I can only imagine what it must have been like going to see a movie in the 1940s.  Without the ever-present glow of the television in American homes, only the squawky harsh sounds of the radio for electronic home entertainment... a night out at the cinema must have been a big deal.  Add to that the fact that the United States had just entered World War II, and it makes me wonder what seeing a movie like "Casablanca" might have been like.  I imagine that it might have been something like the blockbusters we see nowadays, only on a smaller scale.

Back then, movies weren't released simultaneously nationwide (let alone worldwide) like they are now.  Instead, they were rolled out slowly by location, sometimes taking months to be released in certain areas.  In the mid-1970s, "Jaws" would change that...

But in 1942, a film was released that would eventually become respected as one of the finest in history.  "Casablanca" stars two giants of Hollywood's golden era, Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman as Rick and Ilsa, lovers torn apart by the politics they are so desperate to avoid in their lives.

Rick Blaine (Bogart) runs Rick's Cafe Americain in Casablanca, Morocco.  With the Nazis steamrolling across Europe, people hoping to escape their iron grip make their way on a long, expensive journey to Lisbon, last stop before boarding intercontinental trips to the United States.  On the way to Lisbon is Casablanca.  While maintaining an air of neutrality, Rick in fact uses his club as sort of a stop along this underground railroad, helping people get the money or papers they need to get to Lisbon.

One day, a detachment of Nazis led by Major Strasser (Conrad Veidt) arrives, searching for a man named Victor Laszlo - a leader of the European resistance movement against the Nazis.  It seems Laszlo escaped from a Nazi concentration camp and has made his way to Morocco.  Unfortunately, Casablanca is controlled by the Free French, and not the puppet Vichy government controlled by Germany.  In an effort to appease the Nazis, the local constable, Captain Renault (Claude Rains) will show Strasser courtesy and even do his best to keep Laszlo from escaping Casablanca, but he won't arrest him and hand him over to the Nazis.

Laszlo comes to Rick for help securing travel papers.  Although Renault would never grant him an exit visa, it seems that legitimate travel documents have been stolen from the Nazis, and are in Rick's possession.  All that needs be done is write the names on the papers, and whoever holds them has a free ticket out of Casablanca.  The one wrinkle in Laszlo's plan, unfortunately, is the sad history between Rick and Laszlo's wife, Ilsa (Bergman).

Ilsa broke Rick's heart years earlier in Paris, just before the Nazi invasion.  Now, Rick is a cynical shell of his former self, his eyes burning with a combination of hatred and desire for Ilsa.  As the Nazis close in, tensions in Casablanca begin to flare, and Rick finds his neutrality in all of this crumbling.  Does Ilsa still love him?  Does he still love her?  And what about Laszlo, who may be the key to freeing Europe from the tyranny of the Nazis?

"Casablanca" is a fine film, truly deserving of its status as a classic.  Memorable performances and a stirring storyline propel it beyond mere romantic junk.  The script is structured and staged much like a play, which the movie is based on.  In fact, with only a handful of locations and no real moving action, the whole thing could easily be put up on a theatre stage.  But with such an engrossing story, it's easy not to dwell on how simple this all seems at first glance.  Once the nuances of the performances start coming out, and once the story begins to unravel the history between Rick and Ilsa and the staggering emotional implications for the both of them, you'll forget about any problems like that.

This movie has left a lasting impression on pop culture.  A number of lines from "Casablanca" are oft-quoted (and misquoted - no one ever says, "Play it again, Sam" in this flick).  Rightly so.  This is just a great film.

Released not too long ago on blu-ray, it's also a great looking film, for one of its age.  Of course, it'll never look like it was shot recently, but the HD upgrade brings out a lot of excellent details like skin and costume textures, and wisps of smoke from all those cigarettes.  If you can view the movie this way, I highly recommend it.  There are a few questionable bits here and there where the black levels skew out, but for the most part, "Casablanca" just proves that even ancient classic films look great in HD.

"Dead Snow" (2009)

"Dead Snow" (2009)
Starring Vegar Hoel, Stig Henriksen and Charlotte Frogner
Written by Stig Henriksen and Tommy Wirkola
Directed by Tommy Wirkola

"Dead Snow" starts out like your typical young kids take a trip to a scary cabin in the woods story. As such, it takes a while to get going, but once it does, it's a non-stop, hilarious bit of violent camp. We're introduced to the main cast quickly as they make their way up a mountain to their friend Sara's cabin, far outside cellular range and miles from the nearest neighbors.

What they don't know is that Sara had arrived earlier and already been killed by the vicious creatures that inhabit the area - the reanimated remains of a garrison of World War II Nazi soldiers searching for treasure they had stolen from the locals sixty years earlier before dying in the mountains.

Of course, this treasure is buried directly under the cabin. Why is never explained, but frankly it doesn't particularly matter. Once the violence starts, any kind of plot just plain disappears. But again, once the violence starts, you'll be having so much fun nothing else matters. There are some brutal, well-made kills in "Dead Snow", and to describe any of them in any kind of real detail would just ruin the entire experience.

There are a few places in the movie where budgetary limitations rear their ugly head, but it rarely gets in the way of the enjoyment. "Dead Snow" is loaded with all kinds of fun violence, some witty one-liners and a few genuinely creepy situations. If you're looking for a good, fun-filled zombie romp, if you can't pass up the idea of ZOMBIE. NAZIS. then look no further - "Dead Snow" is for you.