Oklahoma is a nice addition to Shout’s new “Broadway” line and being, from what I could tell, being out-of-print on DVD, it’s nice to see this rendition of the classic play be put onto Blu-ray.
Streets of Fire is a rare breed of film that features a unique yet familiar style and with some interesting casting choices, two of them brilliant with the young Diane Lane and Willem Dafoe.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe was one of the better surprises of the year (so far) with a compelling enough plot and two great performances by Brian Cox and Emile Hirsch.
Never Too Young to Die has received a cult following over the past 30 years with my first understanding only a year or two back when it was featured on Red Letter Media’s “Best of the Worst” series. Seeing it in its entirety for myself, it certainly has earned the bad its good moniker.
The Handmaid’s Tale is an unusual movie to get released to Blu-ray under Shout’s Select line though it’s likely due to Hulu producing a television series based on the novel. As it is, it’s a bit plodding at times but the acting is top notch from the Natasha Richardson to Robert Duvall as a despicable human being.
Tank 432 is certainly an interesting concept and a high-pressured psychological suspense-thriller, but instead it was meandering and the finale was anything other than satisfying.
This 1984 Red Dawn is no doubt a silly movie with Cold War fear-mongering at the forefront, but I’d be lying if I didn’t have fun watching especially with this who’s who cast from the era.
I know Firestarter has somewhat of a following, I wasn’t as enthralled with this Stephen King adaptation although the performances by Drew Barrymore and George C. Scott were great.
While my opinion of RoboCop 2 dramatically changed, RoboCop 3 is still a crappy movie made by well intentioned filmmakers. The story itself is fine but the loss of Peter Weller was felt and like most movies that add kids into the mix (Alien 3), it’s rarely a good thing.
As Collector’s Editions go from Shout Factory, this might be the weaker of the bunch (only by comparison to the others), but this RoboCop 2 does contain a few actual features including a nice audio commentary and five solid featurettes delving into the origins and making of the sequel.
Poltergeist II isn’t as good as the original, no surprise there, but there’s still some fun entertainment value amongst some truly creepy scenes even if the tone isn’t exactly consistent.
The Devil’s Dolls is a standard but effective enough horror flick with some OK performances and nice atmosphere. It doesn’t break new ground in the genre, both in terms of story and direction, but fans of the genre might get something out of it.
Black Christmas didn’t quite grab me as it has others, but there is certain creepiness and combined with a fun cast and some genuine scary moments here and there, along with a twist that’s ingrained in most people’s minds, the film at least was entertaining.
Dreamscape is a sometimes cheesy 1980s sci-fi thriller but incredibly fun featuring a great cast from a young Dennis Quaid to veterans Max von Sydow and Christopher Plummer. Not sure how much replay value it has but it was enjoyable enough.
Bubba Ho-Tep is an oft fun little flick that has garnered cult classic status over the years and features a great performance by Bruce Campbell as well as Ossie Davis. I wasn’t as over the moon with it but on the whole, it’s a unique film with replay value.