Iron Mask is hardly good though a few good-bad moments, but I found it to be an inoffensive fantasy-adventure flick and if anything, gives you a chance to see Schwarzenegger sport an old-fashioned wig, so there is that.
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.
The Sonata does have its moments and the performance from the young Freya Tingley was one of the highlights. However, the film does plod along somewhat and yet also at the same time, felt like there needed to be more.
Blast is a dumb 1997 action-thriller that had the potential to be the right kind of ‘bad’ movie and instead it was just plain bad, from the poor acting, the terrible writing (both in terms of story and dialogue) to the direction.
The 9 Lives Movie Collection is the usual cheap release put out by Mill Creek mostly recycling Sony movies they have the rights for and probably were part of a collection in the past. Considering the movies here, you’re really not getting high quality work but some entertaining flicks mixed in with some bad ones
Batman Begins is perhaps one of the best superhero origin movies ever made, maybe slightly behind Superman but ahead of Iron Man. The performances from (most) of the cast is solid and Bale was genius casting helped by a legendary supporting cast.
Blade Runner: The Final Cut is one of the best science-fiction movies ever made and still holds today as it did when I (finally) first saw it several years ago. And now it is the latest to get the 4K treatment and it is by far the best presentation in the format I’ve seen yet, putting others to shame.
This 2005 TV adaptation of The Poseidon Adventure is pretty awful. Not only is the acting bad, I honestly expected a bit more from Rutger Hauer and even Peter Weller, it’s a story stretched across 170+ minutes, it is quite tedious to sit through.
Beyond Valkyrie: Dawn of the Fourth Reich is an interesting historical drama that features some great production and costume designs and an earnest performance from Sean Patrick Flanery.
Nighthawks has elements that is quintessential for the time and features a Stallone performance that I doubt anyone would remember while Rutger Hauer basically stole the show in spite of Stallone cutting down that role and beefing his up during the edit process.
I give a brief breakdown on Mill Creek’s June 7th multi-movie pack releases, specifically Streets of Fear and Midnight Movie Madness. None of these movies are of high-quality and are mainly remembered for the stars sometimes in smaller roles. At basement bargain prices, these might be worthy for collector’s of these cheap sets.
Eureka is a bit of a forgotten film from the 1980s, one that is doubtful to be mentioned amongst Gene Hackman’s greats with an uneven story that goes from an adventurous first half, the best part, to a Citizen Kane-like story for the second and a third act playing out like a bad episode of “Law & Order”.
The Scorpion King 4: Quest for Power is what you think it would: really dumb and it doesn’t pretend to be otherwise so on a certain level, for as bad as it might be, it’s a harmlessly bad flick that many can enjoy and at the very least has mock value to hold an “MST3K” movie night. The Blu-ray released by Universal actually has good video and audio transfers and a decent selection of special features.