Chuck Russell

In 2022, BAFTA winning composer, Bryan Senti released 'Manu' - an album blending neoclassical music with his Latin American roots. "Manu - A Visual Album" is the album's striking film accompaniment, directed by Alexandra Cuesta.

Mathayus (Dwayne Johnson), is the last true Akkadian mercenary, along with his half-brother, Jesup (Branscombe Richmond), and friend, Rama. Mathayus is an incredible warrior but is also an agile street fighter who is able to get out of deadly situations by using his presence of mind and finding an escape path. This was the time before the age of the Pyramids in Egypt and a powerful warlord by the name of Memnon had swept across the ancient world. He was the greatest swordsman the world had ever seen and could deflect arrows coming straight at him, with his swords. It was believed that Memnon had access to a sorcerer who could tell him the outcome of every battle, thus enabling him to defeat all his enemies. Mathayus and his associates are hired by King Pheron (Roger Rees) to kill a sorcerer Cassandra (Kelly Hu), whose prophetic powers allow the vicious Egyptian Emperor Memnon (Steven Brand) to rule his empire with an iron fist. Pheron represents the last group of free tribes left in Egypt. Balthazar is a tribe leader who refuses to commit his troops against Memnon even if he is assured that the Sorcerer will be killed. Pheron pays Mathayus with 20 blood rubies. Mathayus sneaks into Memnon's camp and finds his way to the sorcerer's tent, where he discovers that Memnon's sorcerer is actually a beautiful woman. Unfortunately, Mathayus is discovered and caught by the guards, thanks to a tip-off by Pheron's treacherous son, Takmet (Peter Facinelli), leading to Jesup and Rama being killed. Takmet had killed Pheron and broken up the tribal alliance to remove all resistance to Memnon and now Memnon was free to hunt the tribes one by one. Before Memnon can kill Mathayus, Cassandra protests, claiming that the Gods favor Mathayus and killing him (with Memon's hands or any other hand that he commands) may incur their wrath. Unable to kill Mathayus himself, Memnon has him buried to his neck in sand for fire ants to eat his head. With the help of the horse thief Arpid (Grant Heslov), whom Mathayus had encountered earlier in Memnon's camp where he was being roasted alive, he manages to escape. In exchange for Arpid's help, Mathayus had agreed not to kill him and to share the spoils of his adventures with Arpid. At Memnon's palace, Cassandra tells Memnon that his armies will conquer the west and that Queen Isis (Sherri Howard) and her soldiers will scatter to the four winds. Memnon then gives orders to his men to have his soldiers prepare for the final campaign. Cassandra warns Memnon that his methods will never bring about peace, but Memnon refuses to listen, and states his intention to make Cassandra his queen once he has completed his conquest. Cassandra says that she will lose her powers to see the future, if she has sex. Mathayus gets into city of Gomorrah with the help of Arpid and an urchin boy, Tutu, who helps him sneak inside Memnon's palace in exchange for a blood ruby. They briefly stumble into the laboratory of Memnon's sympathetic court magician (more of a scientist, but his science experiments look like magic to the ignorant), Philos (Bernard Hill), who directs Mathayus to the courtyard where Memnon is training. Philos is working on perfecting a Chinese formula for explosive gunpowder. Mathayus attempts to shoot Memnon from above, but Tutu is caught and charged with stealing. Memnon finds the blood ruby in Tutu's possession and assumed that it was stolen. Reluctantly, Mathayus saves Tutu from having his hand chopped off by shooting the ax out of Takmet's hand, alerting the guards. Mathayus flees back to Philos, who accidentally catapults him across the building into Memnon's harem, where the women disarm him and call the guards. Next, Mathayus falls into Cassandra's private quarters. After a long chase, Mathayus kidnaps Cassandra (he says that though he was hired to kill her, but he finds himself in a position that she is more useful to him alive than dead), reunites with Arpid outside the city walls and they escape, heading for the Valley of the Dead (Mathayus' natural home), where Mathayus believes, Memnon will try to retrieve Cassandra. Cassandra attempts to flee from Mathayus, but he persuades her otherwise, on the basis that she is safe with him. Cassandra says that she will never go back to Memnon as he has kept her prisoner since she was a child. However, Memnon sends his right-hand man, Thorak (Ralf Moeller), to kill Mathayus along with a group of soldiers. With the help of a sandstorm, Mathayus is able to kill the soldiers one by one, including Thorak, but Thorak manages to stab Mathayus in the leg with an arrow drenched in scorpion venom. At the risk of her own life, Cassandra uses her powers to heal Mathayus, and they continue their journey. Memnon, meanwhile, learns of Thorak's demise and prepares to destroy his enemies the next day. Deeper in the desert, the trio catch up with Philos, who managed to escape from the city. He has been working in the desert, where he has perfected his explosive powder by the use of Saltpeter the desert has. Overjoyed to see Cassandra safe, Philos joins forces with Mathayus. The group finds an oasis, where they are ambushed and kidnapped by a group of men working for Balthazar (Michael Clarke Duncan), the Nubian King and the leader of Memnon's enemies, who distrusts Mathayus and intends to kill him, the other two men and Cassandra. A brutal fight ensues between Mathayus and Balthazar. Mathayus, albeit barely, wins the fight and persuades Balthazar that they are fighting on the same side. Begrudgingly, Balthazar allows them one night's sanctuary. However, Cassandra has a vision of Memnon and his army slaughtering the entire rebel tribe and informs Mathayus, also foreseeing that he will die if he faces Memnon. Mathayus assures Cassandra that he will make his own destiny, and they share a night of intimacy. The next morning, Cassandra returns to Memnon in the hopes of stopping him by herself. Mathayus and Balthazar decide to team up to rescue Cassandra and bring Memnon's empire down once and for all. As Memnon meets Cassandra, he wants her to prove her loyalty by picking out the empty vase out of many which contain deadly cobras. Cassandra fails in the task and is attacked by Memnon. Mathayus intervenes and takes on the warlord himself. The rebels, led by Balthazar, battle Memnon's forces as Arpid and Philos plant bags of the explosive powder under the palace's foundation stone. Balthazar makes his way into Memnon's quarters and briefly helps Mathayus battle Memnon and his men, but a fire starts, and they end up separated. Balthazar encounters and kills Takmet, avenging Pheron, while Mathayus takes his fight with Memnon to the edge of the palace roof. As seen in Cassandra's vision, Mathayus is shot in the back by a soldier, but not fatally. Cassandra kills the soldier as Mathayus uses his bow which Takmet left on a nearby table and the same arrow to shoot the exhausted Memnon. The force sends Memnon falling to his death as the bags explode, killing the bulk of Memnon's forces. With their warlord defeated, the remaining soldiers bow to Mathayus and declare him the Scorpion King. In the aftermath, Mathayus and Cassandra, now King and Queen of Egypt, bid their farewells to Balthazar, who wishes them well. Cassandra then reveals to Mathayus that her night with him did not strip her of her powers. It was a white lie to stop Memnon from taking advantage of her. She subtly warns Mathayus of a vision she has had of his horrific destiny, but Mathayus decides that they will make their own destiny.

John Kruger (Arnold Schwarzenegger), code named "Eraser", is a U.S. Marshal who works for the Federal Witness Security Protection Program (WITSEC). John specializes in "erasing" high-profile witnesses: faking their deaths and giving them new identities. U.S. Marshal Robert DeGuerin is John's mentor. WITSEC has 14,600 witnesses under their protection program. John erases mobster-turned-informant Johnny Casteleone (Robert Pastorelli) and his wife. In the process, John saves Johnny and his family from being killed by mob agents who wanted revenge against Johnny for turning informant. John is given a new assignment by his superior U.S. Marshal WITSEC Chief Arthur Beller (James Coburn). John is assigned to protect Lee Cullen (Vanessa L. Williams), a senior executive for Cyrez Corporation, a company that creates and manufactures weapons for the military. Lee has come across plans by Cyrez to sell a top-secret electronic pulse rifle to Russian terrorist Sergei Ivanovich Petrofsky (Olek Krupa). The sale of such weapons of unparalleled firepower to the wrong hands would tip the balance of power. To procure evidence, Lee copies critical data onto two discs: one for the FBI, the other as evidence in order to publicize Cyrez's transgressions. She hides the 2nd disc in her compact in her purse. However, William Donahue (James Cromwell), the corrupt CEO of Cyrez, catches wind of Lee's intentions and orders her into his office. Donahue confiscated her camera and aims the gun at Lee but commits suicide in order for him to escape punishment, and Lee barely escapes from Cyrez. Disappointed with the FBI because of failure to guarantee her safety, she delivers the evidence (The first disc) but refuses to submit herself to WITSEC, despite John's advice. The FBI's disc is secretly replaced with a fake on the orders of Under Secretary of Defense Daniel Harper (Andy Romano), the conspiracy's mastermind. Lee goes home and tries to open the 2nd disc on her computer, raising an alarm at Cyrez, who inform somebody named Morehart, that Lee is trying to access the data on the disc. The data is encrypted and can only be opened on specific computers as it requires a hardware Decryption. The same night, Lee is targeted for assassination by a group (led by "J. Scar" (Mark Rolston) the mercenary leader) wielding a couple of the aforementioned pulse rifles. The rifle has extraordinary capabilities such as an X-Ray vision and an ability to shoot through solid walls. John rescues Lee and takes her to New York City to hide her. Lee tells rescue that Cyrez was contracted by the military to scale down the Navy's Rail gun system and make a compact, hyper-velocity pulse weapon. Cyrez took millions in R&D grants from the military, but eventually said that the physics were impossible. It is likely that Cyrez found a higher bidder for the guns and hence wanted to hide them from the military. Morehart reports to Daniel Harper that Lee is alive and has a copy of the disc. Daniel orders Morehart to get the disc back at any cost. Morehart also adds that Lee called a woman named Claire Isaacs (Roma Maffia), a reporter for the Washington Herald. Soon afterwards John learns from his mentor, fellow Marshal Robert DeGuerin (James Caan), that someone, perhaps a mole within the WITSEC, is targeting witnesses in top-level cases, including Lee. They (including Marshals Calderon (Nick Chinlund), Schiff (Michael Papajohn), and new recruit Monroe (Danny Nucci)) proceed to the location of one of the targeted witnesses. DeGuerin and John kill several men inside the witness's cabin, who seem to be there to kill the witness, just like DeGuerin said it was. Turns out the men were working for DeGuerin, and he sacrificed them to lure John into a false sense of danger to the witnesses. But then, DeGuerin kills the witness personally, revealing himself as Donahue's U.S. Marshal mole and a major player in the scam, which includes even Undersecretary of Defense Daniel Harper, the true mastermind. John cannot understand why 5 assassins were sent to eliminate one woman. Schiff "finds" a photo of Lee on one of the assassins and alerts John. John says that Lee is an Atlanta, as he could sense that this was a ruse for DeGuerin to get John to divulge Lee's location. Flying back to Atlanta, DeGuerin drugs John, who manages to warn Lee on phone before losing consciousness. Lee was instructed to leave the safe-house and wait for John by a pay phone a few blocks away near the city zoo. The warning call is traced to New York City and DeGuerin kills Monroe with John's gun, framing him as the mole. Revealing he, Calderon, and Schiff are corrupt, DeGuerin explains that they are the go-between for a wealthy buyer who plans to purchase the rifle. John escapes from the plane to rescue Lee from the same mercenaries who tried to kill her before. John and Lee flee through New York City Zoo; John releases several alligators to trap and kill the mercenaries. DeGuerin has John and Lee branded as fugitives. With help from Johnny, John and Lee infiltrate Cyrez and use Donohue's terminal to Decrypt Lee's second disc. The disc reveals that a huge shipment of EM rifles has been stashed at the docks in Baltimore. The buyer is Russian Mafia boss Sergei Ivanovich Petrofsky, who plans to resell the weapons to terrorists. The company detects the intrusion, pinpoints their whereabouts, and remotely erases the disc. DeGuerin then kidnaps Lee and takes her to the docks as the shipment is being loaded onto Petrofsky's Russian-flagged freighter. Johnny contacts his mobster cousin, Tony Two-Toes (Joe Viterelli), who controls the docks; angered that he's being cut out of the deal, he has his men assist John. They kill Petrofsky, his henchmen, Calderon, and Schiff. In a struggle atop a shipping container, DeGuerin tries to shoot Lee, but John comes to her aid and destroys the pulley system on the container crane, dropping DeGuerin and the container to the ground and exposing the presence of the EM rifles. John secures DeGuerin, leaving him to be detained by the authorities. This proves John and Lee's innocence. Weeks later, DeGuerin, Harper, and Morehart are indicted for treason. However, it quickly becomes clear that without solid evidence, they will likely be acquitted in court. For their safety, John fakes his and Lee's deaths in an explosion. After being liberated, DeGuerin, Harper and Morehart (Gerry Becker) leave in a limo that stops at a railroad crossing. The driver - a disguised Johnny - locks the doors and exits the vehicle. Seconds later, a massive freight train plows through the car, killing the three men in a staged accident. Lee asks John what happened, to which he responds, "They caught a train". They then drive off for a new life.

A sweet, socially inept bank teller discovers a mask that transforms him into a superhero...but one whom you may not want to call for help.

A meteorite crashes near the town of Arborville, California. An elderly transient (Billy Beck) discovers, within the sphere, a jelly-like substance (the Blob) that attaches itself to his hand. Three high school students, Brian (Kevin Dillon), the rebellious biker whose next false step will take him to major jail, as this day is precisely his 18th birthday, Meg (Shawnee Smith) the pretty high school girl, and Paul (Donovan Leitch) the successful football player, encounter the man and take him to a hospital. After Brian leaves, Paul witnesses the lower half of the transient's body melting (or dissolving or being digested) from exposure to the Blob. As he calls for help, the Blob drops on top of him. Meg arrives to see Paul being dissolved by the growing Blob and while trying to free him his arm is torn from his body, Meg is thrown against a wall and knocked unconscious and the Blob oozes out of the hospital and oozes into a nearby manhole into a sewer. After Brian and Meg have unsatisfactory encounters with the police who refuses to believe the teens that something is going on, they meet at a diner where Meg tells Brian about the Blob. Brian's disbelief is shattered when the diner's handyman is grabbed and pulled head first through the sink drain by the Blob. It pursues them to the diner's walk-in freezer where it retreats because it cannot tolerate extreme cold. After eating the diner's owner and the town's sheriff, the Blob reenters the sewers. Meg and Brian return to the police station, where the dispatcher tells them Deputy Briggs (Paul McCrane) is near the meteor-landing site. They discover a military operation led by a scientist, Dr. Meddows (Joe Seneca), who orders the town quarantined. Brian escapes a military van and collects his motorbike. Meg is taken to town where she learns her younger brother Kevin (Michael Kenworthy) is missing. Meg learns he and his friend Eddie (Douglas Emerson) have sneaked into the local theater to see a slasher film thanks to Eddie's usher brother Anthony (Jamison Newlander). The Blob infiltrates the theater and attacks the staff and then the audience... growing with each person it absorbs and digests. Meg just manages to rescue Eddie and Kevin. Meanwhile, Brian eavesdrops on Meddows speaking to his assistant Jennings (Robert Axelrod) and learns that the Blob is a biological warfare experiment created during the Cold War. Anthony then reports that he witnessed The Blob chasing Meg, Kevin, and Eddie into the sewers. Brian overhears Meadows decide to trap The Blob in the sewers, and that he is willing to let Meg, Kevin, and Eddie die to do so. Brian is discovered listening in and evades military personnel by driving his motorcycle into the sewers. In the sewers, Meg, Eddie, and Kevin flee from the Blob. Kevin escapes to the surface by scaling a pipe and squeezing through a grate while Eddie is devoured. Meg is saved by Brian, who confronts Meddows in front of the townsfolk and Briggs. After failing to convince everyone Brian is contaminated and must die, Meddows attempts to shoot Brian, but is killed by the Blob as it drags him into the sewer with one of its tentacles. The Blob then bursts from the sewers in a massive and sicking glob of reddish-like jello proceeds to feast upon the population, proving impervious to the military's attempts to stop it (getting shot multiple times while in the sewer and blown up, which only angered it). In the ensuing panic, the town's Reverend Meeker (Del Close) proclaims the scene to be the prophesied end of the world, when a failed flamethrower attack on the Blob sets him ablaze. Meg saves him with a fire extinguisher, and in the process blasts the Blob with it. The monster backs off, and she realizes that it cannot stand cold. The surviving humans retreat to the town hall and hold the Blob at bay with furniture-barricades and fire extinguishers, but it is a losing battle, as a result with the Blob engulfing half of the building and devouring Briggs. Brian goes to the town's garage and gets a snow maker truck that has canisters of liquid nitrogen attached. Just as the Blob is about to devour Meg and her family, Brian drives to town hall and shoots snow at the creature, which is angered and knocks the truck over. As the Blob surges toward Brian, Meg lures it away from him towards the canisters which she has rigged with an explosive charge taken from a dying soldier. She tries to get clear, but snags her foot between two pieces of metal, leaving her dangling upside down. Brian regains consciousness and runs over to free her. The Blob is about to overrun them when the charge goes off, blowing up the canisters and covering the Blob with liquid nitrogen. The creature is flash-frozen, shattering into a mass of crystallized pieces. Moss Woodley (Beau Billingslea) has its remains hauled away to the town ice house. In the final scene, there is a tent-meeting church service in a field, where Meeker, disfigured by his burn injuries, is now crazed, preaching a doomsday sermon sounding like the Blob's attack. Afterwards, when an old woman asks him when the time of reckoning will come, he replies "Soon... Madame... soon. The Lord will give me a sign", and holds up a glass jar containing a fragment of the Blob that he took from the ice house... which is slowly moving.

"A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" brings back the iconic character Nancy Thompson, portrayed by Heather Langenkamp, as she returns to confront the enduring threat of Freddy Krueger. Now 23 years old, Nancy is drawn back into the fight against the dream-stalking killer when she encounters a group of teenagers at Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital who are being tormented by Freddy in their dreams. The teenagers, including Kristen Parker, Joey, Kincaid, Jennifer, Phillip, and Taryn, are all prescribed Hypnocil, a drug designed to prevent nightmares. However, Freddy's influence is so strong that he can override the effects of the drug and pull the teenagers into his dream world. Nancy, with her past experiences and knowledge, becomes a mentor and guide for the group, teaching them how to harness their dream powers to fight back against Freddy. Throughout the film, Nancy's presence adds a sense of continuity and familiarity, serving as a reminder of her heroic efforts in the past and her enduring legacy in the fight against Freddy. A ghostly nun appears briefly but does not interact with Nancy, adding an eerie atmosphere without complicating the main narrative. This installment also marks Patricia Arquette's first film appearance, though she has rarely discussed it in interviews, perhaps due to the film's horror genre or her desire to focus on her more prominent roles later in her career. As Nancy delves deeper into the teenagers' dreams, she helps them understand the nature of their fears and the power they hold within their collective consciousness. The film explores themes of unity, belief, and the strength that comes from standing together against adversity. Nancy's guidance is crucial as the story builds to a climactic confrontation between the teenagers and Freddy, where their newfound abilities will be put to the test. The film's pacing is excellent, keeping the audience on the edge of their seats throughout, and the performances by the cast are strong, making the characters' struggles and triumphs deeply engaging. "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" is a thrilling and emotional continuation of the franchise, centered around Nancy Thompson's return and her role in helping the next generation of dream warriors. The film's unique twist on the dream world concept adds a layer of depth to the story, making it a standout entry in the series. Filming Locations "A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors" was filmed at several notable locations in California: 1. **Lincoln Heights Jail**: This historic jail in Los Angeles served as the exterior for Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital. The imposing structure added a sense of foreboding and isolation to the setting. 2. **East Los Angeles College**: The interior scenes of Westin Hills Psychiatric Hospital were filmed at East Los Angeles College. The college's buildings provided a suitable backdrop for the hospital's corridors and rooms. 3. **Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden**: The arboretum in Arcadia, California, was used for the dream sequences involving the teenagers. The lush greenery and serene environment contrasted sharply with the horrors they faced in their dreams. 4. **Downtown Los Angeles**: Various streets and alleys in downtown Los Angeles were used to depict the urban landscape of the film. The gritty and industrial setting added to the overall atmosphere of dread and danger. 5. **Chatsworth, California**: The suburban neighborhood of Chatsworth was used for the exterior shots of Nancy Thompson's home. The quiet, residential setting provided a stark contrast to the nightmarish events unfolding within the dreams of the characters. These locations contributed to the film's eerie and immersive atmosphere, enhancing the storytelling and the overall horror experience. Submitted by Andy Benson June 2025