The Haunting, even with its $80M production budget, was a moderate hit at the box office ($180M) and despite a spooky production design, the story was weak and the visual effects was well overdone.
The Tax Collector doesn’t really break new ground in any sense. It has a familiar story and while Shia LaBeouf was great for the amount of screen time he has, while Bobby Soto has the look of a leading man, but lacked the charisma.
Split Second is a sometimes cheesy, even messy, low budget cross between science fiction, buddy cop comedy and horror that works thanks to Rutger Hauer’s committed performance and at least some interesting cinematography copying the aesthetics from Blade Runner.
Say what you will about Eli Roth as a filmmaker, this History of Horror limited series was a lot of fun with a wide variety of participants with directors, actors and members of academia in a wide range of discussions of horror.
The Secret: Dare to Dream is inspired by the best-selling self-help book and stars Katie Holmes, Josh Lucas and Jerry O’Connell. The Blu-ray/DVD combo pack released by Lionsgate is currently available for purchase.
Reversal of Fortune as a whole has its moments and features some prominent performances, particularly Jeremy Irons who won the Best Actor award, though the script and story could’ve been better.
Shivers was a surprisingly entertaining parasite horror movie that is more or less akin to a zombie flick and works really well especially for being a low budget film. It also shows just the greatness of 1970s cinema.
The Focus Features: 10-Movie Spotlight Collection is a good selection of dramas, some better than others and one that is a personal favorite of mine (Lost in Translation). That being said, this is only worth picking up if you don’t own any of the 10 films, though the cost per movie is reasonable.
All of these films in this Blumhouse of Horrors: 10-Movie Collection have been released before. This is a good set to receive as it is a space saver from owning these individually and the price per movie isn’t bad, however you do have a few stinkers.
Michael debuts on Blu-ray courtesy of the Warner Archive Collection and stars a great ensemble cast including John Travolta, Andie MacDowell, William Hurt and Bob Hoskins.
Strike Up the Band debuts on Blu-ray courtesy of the Warner Archive Collection and stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland.
Girl Crazy debuts on Blu-ray courtesy of the Warner Archive Collection. The musical-comedy stars Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland and includes an audio commentary and miscellaneous features.
Ghost Ship is the worst kind of horror movie. It’s pretty darn dull, nothing especially frightening although I’ll give it some props for a decent set design and gore effects, just not much else going for it.
Clara’s Heart debuts on Blu-ray courtesy of the Warner Archive Collection and stars Whoopi Goldberg, Kathleen Quinlan and Neil Patrick Harris in one of this earliest roles.
Ghost in the Shell still has its influence all these years later and is telling that studios continue to re-release the movie and although I sometimes criticize double or triple dips, at least here in North America, this could be the definitive release.