Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
The Exorcism of Molly Hartley is destined to be… yet another bad and forgettable supernatural horror flick and a reminder why The Exorcism is such a classic. This has so-so performances though I guess it’s nice to see Devon Sawa back but everything else is just bad.
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Blood & Lace is quintessential 1970s with a catalogue score, bad ADR work and so-so performances, though Gloria Grahame is meticulously menacing and Melody Patterson has some charisma in the lead role. The Blu-ray released by Shout Factory offers OK video and audio and while the features are limited, the commentary is well worth listening to.
“Black Sails”: The Complete Second Season is another success for Starz with a compelling story arc and even better cast led by Toby Stevens and Hannah New while newcomer Zach McGowan from “Shameless” as the latest pirate villain, Captain Vane.
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Messenger of Death is an unusual turn for a Bronson film and is a bit more nuanced in terms of the story (vs. something like the Death Wish series) but performance wise he’s not bad and has one heck of an opening to draw in the audience.
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Although Vampires isn’t John Carpenter’s strongest non-Halloween movie, it’s still a fun, and bloody, romp made even better by an energetic performance from James Woods playing a frickin’ vampire slayer; that combo alone makes the movie worthwhile.
Back in Time and its filmmakers had such a golden opportunity with the number of participants they managed to interview and instead we get an aimless focus on subject with the first half starting off well enough before meandering into the fan aspects and nearly completely ignoring the two sequels. As it stands, it might be worth streaming off of Netflix but nothing more than that.
Some Kind of Hate actually isn’t a bad flick with decent enough acting from Ronen Rubinbstein, Grace Phipps and Sierra McCormick, but it is uneven with the story and doesn’t pack quite the punch filmmakers wanted. However, there is some entertainment value and might be worth a rental.
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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…