Blu-ray Review – Solarbabies

Brooksfilm is the company Mel Brooks created to help develop personal projects, helping them through the Hollywood system. The quality of these efforts varied wildly, but 1986 was a particularly volatile year for the company, which welcomed the release of "The Fly," arguably one of the best horror pictures of the 1980s, showcasing a thunderous directorial vision and creative freedom from David Cronenberg. In '86, Brooksfilm also shepherded "Solarbabies," an awkwardly titled take on "Mad Max" that featured a cast on roller skates, emoting to a glowing blue sphere. There's certainly no way to compare the movies in terms of artistic and dramatic reach, but it's difficult to fathom what Brooksfilm was thinking with "Solarbabies," their attempt to join the fantasy film sweepstakes of the decade, only without a defined approach to transform its vast collection of absurdities into high-flying, fast-rolling, orb-cradling fun. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com