Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

A staple of teen entertainment, the Bully Situation is often deployed to explore the high school experience, tapping into a universal understanding of hallway pressure and humiliation. It's a difficult subject matter to watch, often fueling tales of underdog triumph, with some pictures, like 1984's "The Karate Kid," using cartoon extremes wonderfully to achieve a precise pitch of audience sympathy. 1980's "My Bodyguard" is far from the best Bully Situation movie, but it does retain a degree of verisimilitude when it comes to the anxiety of classmate punishment and helpless, getting viewers riled up with scenes of abuse and torment. Director Tony Bill has a natural way with his young cast, and this is definitely a feature that means well, taking sensitive relationships seriously. However, "My Bodyguard" has issues with pacing and a screwy way with the cyclical nature of violence, presenting a confused conclusion that doesn't even begin to solve all the trouble that precedes it. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Controversy tends to follow any discussion of Charlie Chan, but it's hard to deny the extensive media history the character has enjoyed, bringing his crime-solving ways to books, television, radio, and movies. It's easy to see why some would be offended, finding the Asian detective often played by white men in yellowface, struggling cartoonishly with the English language, but it's also interesting to watch the sleuth always emerge as the smartest person in the room, with little slipping past him. However, for 1981's "Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen," outrage is generally challenged by silliness, with director Clive Donner ("What's New Pussycat?") favoring slapstick for this mystery, playing up physical humor and witty exchanges to act as a rodeo clown while the production returns to a few bad habits. Sure, Peter Ustinov portraying Chan isn't the most sensitive casting, but he's solid in the role, while the rest of the picture is too busy slipping and sliding along to truly engage in hate. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1981's "Force: Five" combines the two things every fan wants out of action cinema: fists of fury and a chilling reminder of a mass murder. Using the Jonestown Massacre as inspiration, writer/director Robert Clouse ("Enter the Dragon," but also "Gymkata") finds a way to remake 1976's "Hot Potato," sending a team of heroes into an island compound, where a religious cult keeps order through manipulation and violence, occasionally carried out by a rampaging bull. I'll give "Force: Five" this much: it's never dull, with Clouse making sure to fill his feature with all types of stunts and showdowns, keeping his B-movie speeding along as it showcases questionable taste. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"August Winds" is not a film that one can fight. Director Gabriel Mascaro crafts a meditative look at the ways of life in Brazil, and he's going to take his time doing it, taking in every stare, storm, day of labor, and rolling wave for as long as he can get away with. There's a story in here somewhere, but "August Winds" isn't concerned with capturing an audience through drama. It trusts in natural beauty, sending the movie on a long journey of observation where frame details are more valued than the narrative. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1984's "Grandview, U.S.A." should've been a sure thing. Coming off massive teen-centric hits in "Grease" and "The Blue Lagoon," director Randal Kleiser was ready to return to the woes of adolescents and unknown futures, inspired by classic coming-of-age formula and the video revolution of MTV, a channel in its infancy during production. But something, somewhere went wrong with the picture, which aims to be a heart-swelling study of maturity and romantic devotion, but ends up a mess of ideas in search of consistency. Kleiser is all over the place with the feature, and while he's successful with certain ideas and performances, there isn't an overriding feeling of leadership carrying the viewing experience along, leaving the movie episodic and periodically ridiculous. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Maintaining his unique fascination with movie titles punctuated with question marks, director Curtis Harrington follows-up 1971's "What's the Matter with Helen?" with "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?" A period chiller that reteams the helmer with star Shelley Winters, the effort is a largely successful slice of nastiness that merges mystery with fairy tale motivations, watching Harrington search for a way to make the tenderness of Christmastime spent with orphans in need terrifying to the general audience. The feature isn't entirely successful with big scares, but it carries superb atmosphere and a few surprises, with Winters unleashing her traditional instability to make the film memorable, locating and molesting scripted beats of maternal agony and wide-eyed madness. "Auntie Roo" is unusual in the sense that it highlights children participating in violence and extremity, but Harrington keeps it all tasteful and well-paced, working his way to a third-act payoff that actually delivers intended shock. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Most movies don't blink when creating a romantic pairing between an older man and a younger woman. 1955's "Daddy Long Legs" actually has the bravery to call itself out on the practice, with the screenplay identifying the uneasy union between characters played by Fred Astaire (then 56 years old) and Leslie Caron (24 years old), who embark on a strange relationship that begins with financial charity and concludes as something more heartfelt. A gorgeously widescreen musical, "Daddy Long Legs" smartly calls out it most problematic element, helping to relax the picture as it spotlights song and dance. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Maybe I'm alone here, but it's strange that 1974's "Truck Stop Women," which is intended to titillate and provide good old boy fun, opens with a bloodbath, watching mafia enforcers gun down a bathing target and his topless partner. It's quite the introduction, but co-writer/director Mark L. Lester isn't messing around with this ode to skin and sin, creating a B-movie party with plenty of bare breasts and a sizable body count. "Truck Stop Women" is a lot of things, but tonally cautious isn't one of them. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The quest for life after death can easily lead to madness, but for newly widowed Fred (Barry Coe), the need to resurrect his late wife proves remarkably…casual. 1973's "Doctor Death" lives up to its title, offering a strange odyssey into spiritual switcheroo courtesy of the main character (John Considine), who takes Fred on a special journey into murder and resurrection, while director Eddie Saeta and writer Sal Ponti try to figure out ways to add gore and menace to this horror show, which often leans toward the ridiculous. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the craze to replicate the increasing box office fortunes of the James Bond franchise in the 1960s, producers went hunting for their own superspy properties, looking for material rich with style, loaded with absurdities, and capable of launching multiple sequels. Director Joseph Losey was put in charge of 1966's "Modesty Blaise," an adaptation of a British comic strip (created by Peter O'Donnell), tasked with turning static black and white images into a boldly colored adventure, soaked in the juices of the era. The merriment is there for the taking, but "Modesty Blaise" is an unnervingly inert picture that's too caught up in visual flash, offering a story that peters out after the first act. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As a farce, 1984's "American Dreamer" lacks a certain amount of verve to carry it from start to finish. I suppose this is to be expected when a European spy romp is directed by the man who made "Halloween II," and helmer Rick Rosenthal seems particularly baffled by the working parts of the picture. Although it aims to be spirited, "American Dreamer" isn't magical enough to impress, often flailing with lukewarm plotting and distant performances, unable to blossom in full. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Dukhtar" is a Pakistani production that takes a look at the cyclical nature of child exploitation in the region, often packaged as religious and cultural formality. However, instead of preaching to the audience, writer/director Afia Nathaniel uses thriller conventions to help detail the impact of female submission, highlighting the horrors and humanity of a land she clearly loves. It's nail-biter for sure, but "Dukhtar" has something more on its mind than panic, working to define its disposable characters as people struggling for a gasp of freedom. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

One of the most important visionaries of the giallo genre, director Dario Argento was in a particularly tight spot career-wise when he decided to make 1982's "Tenebrae." After experiencing a global hit with 1977's "Suspiria," which moved his creative interests toward the supernatural, Argento hit a brick wall with the atmospheric thematic sequel, 1980's "Inferno." Lacking forward momentum professionally, Argento returned to his roots with "Tenebrae," finding himself back in command of a murder mystery that emphasizes violence, playing to his strengths as a stylish conductor of hellzapoppin' goodies. Overseeing evil and mounting paranoia, Argento goes into self-examination mode as well, emerging with an intriguingly personal take on nightmarish events, dissecting his career and mental health while delivering all the bloodshed fans could want. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With disaster movies all the rage in the 1970s, producers were scrambling to figure out ways to inspire the cinematic possibilities of mass panic and destruction. Horror hit the airlines, amusement parks, outer space, and boats, but fire was a particular obsession for a few of these titles, with 1974's "The Towering Inferno" a prime example of the Irwin Allen formula that would go on to bewitch audiences for nearly a decade. Adding to screen chaos is 1979's "City on Fire," which amplifies a roaring threat to a community-wide scope, inviting a cast of the famous and the desperate to fill mediocre roles, adding a degree of recognition to a routine of burning buildings and streets. Directed by Alvin Rakoff ("Death Ship"), "City on Fire" is obvious, playing directly into subgenre expectations as it lovingly details loss of life and urban annihilation, but the helmer does manage to make an entertaining feature out of recycled parts. While it's far from a riveting dramatic achievement, the picture has its charms, blending the work of semi-committed actors with scenes of explosive panic, carrying enough hysteria to deliver a suitable disaster extravaganza. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Big skies and deep mountains dominate 1949's "Canadian Pacific," which stars Randolph Scott as a surveyor caught up in railroad development tensions, villainous schemes, and the passions of two women. It's period entertainment that trusts in pronounced emotions and action, making for a pleasingly traditional take on heroes and villains, but with an outdoorsy, pioneer atmosphere that offers escapism flavored with historical events. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Picking up where "Canadian Pacific" left off, director Edwin L. Marin and star Randolph Scott return to the Great White North in 1950's "The Cariboo Trail," selecting another tale of hard men making their way through untamed land. For this chapter, a gold rush is explored, pitting earnest cattlemen against entrenched land owners up to no good. Much like "Canadian Pacific," Marwin goes for big spirits and screen movement with "The Cariboo Trail," though this effort is noticeably more character-minded than the previous picture. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Bringing a popular radio show to the big screen requires special care, challenging the production to be ambitious with visuals to help match the theater of the mind already in progress. 1932's "Chandu: The Magician" elects to secure audience interest through spectacle, hoping to dazzle viewers with extensive and exceptional special effects, turning "Chandu: The Magician" into a cinematic showcase of artistry and awe, sprucing up the fatigued crime-busting subgenre. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Near the end of his career in silent cinema, director John Ford crafted "3 Bad Men," a western with all the emotionality and sweep that would come to define his career. A tale of moral choices and Wild West antagonisms, the picture plays to Ford's filmmaking interests, adding a sense of gravity to a routine of restless cowboys, fiendish villainy, and open expanse aching to be explored. It's a simple feature in design, but there are human textures presented here that keep it away from routine, with Ford interested in contrasting intimate moments with big screen chaos. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1975's "The Candy Tangerine Man" is blaxploitation with a different attitude, trying to turn a ruthless pimp into a something of a screen hero. Director Matt Cimber adds a dash of James Bond to the violent mix of attitude and intimidation, working to celebrate the actions of The Black Baron (John Daniels): hustler during the week, suburban dad on the weekends. While the feature struggles to maintain focus on critical elements of the genre, it gets by on oddity, with Cimber attempting to raise hell with limited resources and a wild imagination for screen excess. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Returning to the blaxploitation world in 1975, director Matt Cimber employed a different type of crime-fighting vibe for "Lady Cocoa." Replacing violence with conversation and confrontation, the feature is more a character-based thriller, finding inspiration in behavior and attitude while the story slowly builds moments of suspense. Star Lola Falana is an apt focal point for the picture, bringing chirpy moxie to the effort, greatly enhancing its charms as periodic inertia sets in, watching Cimber try to build a nail-biter that merely samples excitement. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com