We're on a mission from SAY-TON!

 By Stephen Mezo

HEAVY TRIP (2018)

Heavy Trip is one of my absolute favorite Metal movies. And it earned that spot because even though it's a great comedy, Metal of any kind and it's fans aren't the joke or even the punchline of them. 

All of the characters immediately remind you of yourself or close friends that you have, or had the honor of having before life or fate separated everyone. There's even the girlfriends dad that couldn't stand you, chuckleheads that hate or hated you for being a Metalhead, the couple of years older than you douche club act that happens to like the same girl as you. And of course being the only Metalhead at work. Now don't let that change your mind because it is all part of the relatability that takes you right into it.

But I have to warn you that there is a sequence that will kick you square in the junk...

Again it's all part of the relatability that draws you right in.

But the rest of the story is great ride down memory lane or going to make you laugh till it hurts because it's your current life experience.

The main story is the adventure of a Death Metal band the started out as a enjoyment for four friends that do all cover songs of all kinds of influences by more Black and Death Metal bands than I feel like typing. And after doing it for seven years in Finland in the Guitarist parent's basement they got really good. 

Then accidentally creating their own sound/style "Symphonic-Post Apocalyptic-Reindeer Grinding-Christ Abusing-Extreme War-Pagan Fennoscandian Metal" along with the lyrics written by their lead singer called "Flooding Secretion" then a chance meeting with a Norwegian concert promoter gets them to come up with the band name Impaled Rektum.

Then the fun really starts!

      

It's on streaming and TUBI has it for free with ads. And once you get a chance to recover from laughing so hard the sequel "HEAVIER TRIP: ROAD TO WAKEN" will be coming out November 29. 2024 and you can see the trailer for both on YouTube. 

Talking about Ninja VS Shark

 

By Steve Mezo

Todays pick is one that I would have written myself if thirteen year old me were asked. And I mean this as the highest compliment possible because outside of what the Antihero did early on, everything else would definitely have been thought up and typed.

 

Ninja VS Shark (2023)

This one has it all! Magic Ninjas, a Giant Shark, a Wereshark, a Zombie, Shrouded Cult Members and more blood spraying than a GWAR show. It has the standard storyline of a Antihero being hired to protect a village and find some kind of retribution for things that they've done in their past. But the movie has absolutely no problem with immersing you into it's universe. 

Another thing I really liked about it is the CGI, because Sci-Fi Channel had turned me off to constant okay CGI sharks being pumped out. Especially after seeing amazing work from Hammerhead Productions that were done by Jamie Dixon, Dan Chuba, Thad Beier and Rebecca Marie when they decided to form their own production company in 1994, then getting their names and faces out there from their work on Deep Blue Sea (1999).  

But the CGI Shark in Ninja VS Shark did the job even in HD. I can't be a complete snob with the look after growing up with stop motion and Bruce's mechanical embodiment. But there is a big difference with the detail alone in what went into past CGI sharks VS this one.

Like I said the story is pretty standard to the ones that a lot of us older fans watched on Black Belt Theater when we were kids or early Westerns and The Mandalorian now. But the crew did an excellent job of making me root for the good guys and keeping me entertained. 

The only thing that could have made it any better was if it came with a free two dozen Hot Wings delivery.