CNAMB Presents: Presents! Part two

Christmas has finally ended and now would be a good time to reflect on the important things about this most wonderful time of year. Quality time spent with family and friends, being thankful for all you have, helping the less fortunate and spreading joy to those who need it the most. Well, that's nice and all, and sure, giving over receiving is a novel concept, but I don't care about that crap as much as I care about getting PRESENTS! Call me selfish. I don't mind. So long as you give me a gift first. In fact, give me two!

What I assume would be the case with most cinephiles (does that term apply to someone that loves Brain Scan?), I generally ask for movie related stuff for Christmas. And because I'm sure none of you care about the awesome Keurig or the badass Omaha steaks that we got this year from family, I'll play show and tell you what movie crap made its way to that warm spot underneath the Christmas tree thanks to my better half.

The only relevant none DVD swag I was gifted this year is The Walking Dead Compendium One. I was a comic book kid, which is something that was a big part of my life for many many years. I haven't collected comics since my mid-twenties, let alone read them, but on occasion I'll make an exception and catch up with a random graphic novel or compilation book here and there. I have always wanted to check out the zombie series, and now with this massive collection that covers the first 48 issues, I will have more than enough of The Walking Dead to hold me over till the next season of the TV series.

Okay, enough with that reading crap, let's move on to the DVDs!

For A Few Previews More – As the title alludes to, For A Few Previews More is a collection of Spaghetti Western trailers. A whooping 36 of them to be exact. There are a handful of films on this compilation that I have seen, and a whole lot more I haven't, so I look forward to finding out about some new films from this collection. Plus, trailers are always a lot of fun to watch and that DVD cover art is pretty sick (sick? Really, Matt?!).

The 8 Diagram Pole Fighter – A Shaw Brothers classic martial arts film that I had been dying to see since Cinema Diabolica covered it way back when. Directed by Lau Kar-leung and starring Gordon Liu and Alexander Fu Sheng, I already had a chance to check the film out (we open our presents much like Jewish people do on Hanukkah…one a day until Christmas eve), and it was not a let down in the least bit. I know this will make its way back into my DVD player a few more times in the future, that's for sure.

Memories of Murder – Bong Joon-ho is best known to horror fans for his solid character driven monster flick, The Host, but the one film of his I had been itching to check out was Memories of Murder, staring Kim Roe-Ha and the great Song Kang-ho. I totally missed out on this one when it was on Netflix watch instantly for a short time and had been kicking myself ever since, so I'm thrilled to have finally caught up with this wonderfully crafted little crime drama.

Undisputed III: Redemption – Completely skipping over Undisputed 2, I watched and absolutely loved Isaac Florentine's Undisputed III. In fact, I loved it enough to where my girl thought it would be a great DVD for me to own, and she was right. I will certainly be talking about this one again in the near future, as well as seeking out the second film in the series!

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy – I have been wanting to see this crazy four hour long documentary for sooo long, and thanks to the power of Christmas, I now own it. I am a Freddy guy up and down and have seen all of the films more than most horror fans of my generation pretend to have seen them (why do I act proud of that?). The Nightmare series is my favorite horror series and with a true love for film docs, this was like being in heaven. I blasted through the doc in a two night span during the hours when I should have been sleeping (how fitting), and I can't believe how fast it flies by. Fantastic!

Now that I've shared with you the great movie related gifts I received this holiday, I would love to hear what wonderful gifts you may have been given.