Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
This “Collector’s Edition” for Army of Darkness brings together all versions available and a great selection of bonus material, that I believe also ported over from previous releases, to go along with great video and audio transfers.
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Max is a nice if not forgettable family flick, featuring good performances from the cast including Josh Wiggins, Thomas Haden Church and relative newcomer Mia Xitali. It’s nothing extraordinary and has a bit of the cheese factor in some scenes yet, and in spite of the thematic elements, is well worth watching especially for families as it does highlight an important part of the military.
The Meteor Man is hardly a good movie but it has its charms and I can see why it has somewhat of a following of late. It’s a Robert Townsend pet project but I think it would’ve serviced the movie more if he decided to not also star. As it is, I suppose its passable entertainment but nothing more.
Devil in a Blue Dress is a fine drama/thriller propelled by its performances more so than the plot. Denzel Washington, Jennifer Beals and even Tom Sizemore, who straddles the line of hammy acting, all are good and make this a worthwhile venture. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time is decent but not great with so-so bonus material though the video and audio transfers are nice.
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Toy Story That Time Forgot isn’t as good as Toy Story of Terror but it’s still a fun little short special where you get to see our old friends together again with a nicely constructed story and good voice work, in particular Kevin McKidd. Given the low $15 MSRP, this has the right amount of bonus material as well as good video/audio transfers to make it worth a purchase.
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Old 37 isn’t an entirely bad horror flick though it doesn’t pave new ground in the genre either. Kane Hodder solidifies his standing as a horror icon and Bill Moseley is making his own play. For gore-hounds this will probably be satisfying, others this is just another shelf-filler.
Charlie’s Farm might quench the thirst for some gore-hounds out there but for myself the acting is subpar, and you get a good idea why Tara Reid is slumming it with these kind of flicks, while Kane Hodder once again plays the role as the killer.
Lavalantula is the latest SyFy Original Movie trying to capitalize on the Sharknado trend hoping something else will catch on. One thing I will say about this one, it’s not quite as fun as Sharknado but it has some moments and its nice seeing Steve Guttenberg in the lead…
Scream and Scream Again is an odd duck of a film with jolting editing style which I guess was supposed to mimic something like the old “Mission: Impossible” television series. The acting isn’t at all bad but that’s almost a given with Vincent Price, Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing in your cast. The Blu-ray released by Twilight Time is so-so with some OK features but average video/audio transfers.
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Terminator Genisys will (and has) no doubt pissed off plenty of fans but taking emotion out of it, I actually didn’t think it was awful. The action scenes, albeit generic at times, were at least well shot, and the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger as Guardian was welcome and helped overshadow some of the shortcomings. In spite of those, it’s at least a passable and entertaining flick, though don’t go in expecting much.
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Black Widow is uneven but still a fun little thriller that probably was influenced by any number of Brian De Palma’s films. The performances by the two leads really make this entertaining and well worth a watch. The Blu-ray released through Screen Archives offers good video/audio transfers but is lackluster in the features department.
Strange Invaders is by no means great but co-writer/director Michael Laughlin does achieve its attempt at nostalgia alien science-fiction and the performances from the adequate cast isn’t bad either. The Blu-ray released through Screen Archives looks and sounds good though the features have much to be desired.
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Jurassic World could’ve been special but instead we get thinly developed characters, a plot that’s a rehash of the original and a subplot that even Dr. Evil would think was ridiculous. But all of that could be overlooked if it were fun and entertaining; instead I found it to be on the dull side with little suspense to help mask the film’s imperfections.
Escape from Alcatraz is one of my personal favorites from Clint Eastwood and although it’s hardly perfect, it is efficient in both its story telling as well as character development giving us just enough to care about the outcomes.
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The Vatican Tapes is the latest of the poorly made exorcism/possession films. Is it the worst of the bunch? Not quite but considering at least a respectable enough cast, and a lead actress who could have a future, it was still in some sense disappointing.
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