Movieman's Guide to the Movies
The Final Word on Physical Media
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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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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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 final season of “Nurse Jackie” culminates a solid series for Showtime and allows for Edie Falco to carry the show and remind just how strong of an actress she is dating back to “The Sopranos”. The show itself has never been a favorite of mine or anything but it’s entertaining enough. The Blu-ray released by Lionsgate is fine and includes excellent video and audio transfers and a adequate selection of bonus material.
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Dope is one of the sleeper hits of the summer with its throwback music to the 1990s, a compelling and interesting story, well written characters and fine performances all around but especially from a young and mostly unknown cast.
This Horror Classics: Volume One set of four Hammer Studios films is a solid selection of some decent flicks from the late 50s to early 70s that any classic horror hound will love. For me, I found these four fun enough especially for the cast including Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing.
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Hidden is an effective, if not low key, independent drama thriller with some solid psychological underpinnings and solid performances by Alexander Skarsgård and Andrea Riseborough. It’s not an entirely memorable flick and probably will one day air on SyFy. Unfortunately there’s not much to this release with no features, OK video/audio transfers and not even a scene access menu…
Tales from the Crypt Presents Demon Knights is a fun horror-comedy with some good performances, though none better than Billy Zane who chews the scenery like no other and has a good old time playing the outlandish villain. The movie itself is quite entertaining and features some impressive make-up effects and even the VFX, for its time, isn’t all that bad.
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Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief is an interesting if not disturbing expose on the well known yet unknown religion focusing on former members, their experiences as well as a detail history of its origins, belief systems and ideas and why, in spite of certain abuses, has a foothold on some members.
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“Forensic Files”: The Best of Volumes 1-3 are a fine selection of episodes and for fans, like I am, it is nice to have these finally to watch at home although it seems at any given moment there is a marathon on Headline News. That said, the SRP on this is a tad much but if you can nab it for under $10, it might be worth it.
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On some level, even though I didn’t much expectations for Aloft going in, I was somewhat disappointed especially with Jennifer Connelly and Cillian Murphy starring and while both actors were perfectly fine in their respective roles, the screenplay falters and doesn’t quite deliver with an unfocused message, partially about faith I guess, culminating with what could’ve been a powerful climax.
Mark Nocturna as the latest in a long line of independently finananced vampire horror films and frankly, this one just melds in with the rest. The performances are standard, though striking how far Estella Warren has fallen, and the story is fairly forgettable.
Tales from the Crypt Presents Bordello of Blood, despite the chaotic and haphazard production, might not be a very good film beginning with questionable casting and so-so acting, even when considering the genre, yet the outcome is a cheesy and semi-enjoyable flick, the kind worthy of a late Saturday night viewing.
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Return to Sender is a mixed bag, wanting to be both a revenge film and drama but doesn’t do either very well. However, the acting isn’t half bad led by Rosamund Pike playing well opposite Shiloh Fernandez.
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