Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

"Absolution" is a devious picture from 1978, continuing screenwriter Anthony Shaffer's inspection of evil and psychological gamesmanship, adding to an impressive filmography that includes "The Wicker Man" and "Sleuth." It's slow-burn cinema from director Anthony Page, who takes his time with Shaffer's subtle motivations and acts of defiance. Encompassing the pressures of religion, the cruelty of man, and the power of isolation, "Absolution" is an unexpected chiller with the most basic of ingredients, playing a convincing game of manipulation that leads to murder. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Grantchester: Season 2" is put into a difficult creative position from the very first episode. The previous year of crime-busting with Reverend Sydney (James Norton) and Detective Inspector Geordie (Robson Green) offered a more traditional take on small town sleuthing, playing up the dichotomy of religion and reality, following a priest working to share faith with his flock while witnessing horrors created by human impulse and frailty. "Season 2" doesn't particularly want to continue with the same old mix of criminal activity and sermonizing, turning to heightened dramatics to push through lukewarm material, giving the show an unpleasant soap opera vibe, only teasing grittiness and bitter characterizations. The humanity of "Season 1" has been dialed down for the follow-up year, making "Grantchester" a frustrating watch, providing only flashes of compelling chemistry between the leads, while the cases are set aside for a larger narrative arc. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When people discuss the great New York City features of the 1970s, examples tend to gravitate toward classics such as "Taxi Driver" and "The French Connection." These are movies that weren't just set in NYC, they used NYC to convey a particular cesspool of crime and indifference — the city becoming a siren's song for the mentally damaged and the desperate. A vital addition to the list in 1974's "The Taking of Pelham One Two Three," which also weaves urban illness into its filmmaking fabric, though it generally avoids introspection to pursue thriller intentions, bringing John Godey's successful novel to the screen. It's a tremendously effective picture, brilliantly cast and executed, with director Joseph Sargent investing in tight storytelling that doesn't have time to stop and consider its options. It's a splendidly snowballing effort, using the streets and bowels of the Big Apple to perfection as it details criminal activity and law enforcement confusion. Once it gets going, it doesn't stop, delivering a rare thrill ride during a production era where grit automatically equaled tight-jawed contemplation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1979's "Cuba" is director Richard Lester's attempt to fashion his own "Casablanca," boldly using elements from the 1942 classic to inspire another tale of tight-jawed love in a turbulent corner of the world. Not a helmer known for warmth, Lester keeps matters characteristically calm for this exploration of a country on the brink of revolution, showing more interest in the details of the land and its inhabitants than he does the lead characters, who often seem stuck without emotions as the picture investigates unrest and desire at the end of a political era. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

On a break from dramatic endeavors, director Abel Ferrara ("Bad Lieutenant," "King of New York") takes a moment to address the troubles brewing within Naples, Italy. It's a location the filmmaker is clearly interested in, making himself a participant in 2009's "Napoli, Napoli, Napoli," a documentary intended to dissect exactly what's gone wrong with the locals, with Ferrara visiting prisoners and community members to best illuminate the downfall of a once promising city. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

At this point, it's clear that whatever writer/director Terrence Malick wants to do with his movies, he's just going to do. There are no producers, stars, or low box office returns that can throttle his interest in esoteric journeys of sight and sound, returning to the screen with "Knight of Cups," which resembles nearly every film he's previously made. After years of dormancy, Malick has suddenly become the Woody Allen of impenetrable cinema, issuing odysseys into the mind and depths of space with surprising frequency, playing to his fan base with habitual interests and familiar technical achievements. On the Malickian scale of confusion and artfulness, "Knight of Cups" has a great deal of passion for itself. However, it's not something that's casually approached, with those unable to tune into Malick's point of view rewarded with another wandering spirit of a feature, and one that's content to recycle the helmer's particular brand of soul-searching. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It was supposed to be just another night on the highly successful "Innocence + Experience" tour, taking the band U2 to Paris for a concert intended for cable and internet broadcast. Unfortunately, plans for entertainment were quickly set aside to deal with the November 2015 Paris Terrorist Attacks, an event that shocked the world and forced U2 to rethink touring plans. Not wanting to disappoint loyal fans and preserve their reputation as one of most socially and politically-minded bands of all time, U2 returned to Paris three weeks later, refusing to bow down to terror-minded folk and put on a big time rock show to help heal a shattered city. "Innocence + Experience – Live in Paris" isn't a radical reinvention of the U2 live event, keeping to the essentials of stage presence and widescreen sound, but there's a special level of power to the show, a searing emotionality that runs through the whole endeavor, with Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr., and Adam Clayton trying their best to bring joy and catharsis to the world through their exquisite song catalog and a brilliant visual display. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In a genre known for its storytelling lethargy, credit must to be paid to writer/director Jeff Lieberman, who isn't the most polished filmmaker around, but he certainly has an affinity for oddball horror distractions. His movies ("Squirm," "Just Before Dawn") are clunky but crammed with low budget promise, and 1978's "Blue Sunshine" is no exception. A semi-coherent journey in the rainbow heart of acid ingestion and fugitive blues, the picture is a delightfully baffling concoction, lost on its own groovy trip of horror and paranoia — resting in a space where exposition is light but death by baldness is certain. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1982's "Creepshow" is famous for many reasons. While it didn't invent the anthology movie, it certainly popularized the storytelling format during the 1980s, giving filmmakers the inspiration to collect their own miniature tales of torment, most born from the mind of Stephen King. The picture was also a big hit for director George A. Romero and arguably one of his best movies, tapping into the comic book aesthetic with purity and impishness, paying loving tribute to the world of EC Comics and their frightening tales of death and punishment. "Creepshow" isn't high art, but the effort showcases an engaged Romero, who's having a blast arranging all sorts of macabre events and antagonistic encounters, scratching a boyhood itch for ghoulish fantasy that translates wonderfully through five tales of doom. It's a treat. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Roland and Rattfink" isn't big on complicated plotting. It's a mash-em, bash-em series from DePatie-Freleng Studios depicting a never-ending war waged by the titular characters, with their broad antagonisms reimagined for every short. Roland is the square-jawed hero and Rattfink is the gnarled baddie determined to ruin the day, and, throughout 17 chapters of this saga, he manages to do so in a mildly silly manner. Physical comedy carries the viewing experience, highlighting big action and stymied troublemaking with small additions of satire and stillness. It's not the company's finest creative hour, but there's plenty to like about "Roland and Rattfink," especially when it pays tribute to silent film romps, focusing intently on elastic violence and cartoon reactions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Dealing with a show like "Tijuana Toads" in 2016 is a tricky situation. Obviously, this isn't a new production, with episodes released from 1969 to 1972, capturing a time when racial and cultural sensitivities weren't exactly a priority to the entertainment business. Indeed, the animated shorts from the DePatie-Freleng Studio aren't exactly kind in their depiction of Mexicans and Asians, and it takes extra effort to look beyond dated attitudes, but there's a highly amusing series that's worth a look for those who are up to the challenge of a viewing while keeping the production era in mind. After all, this is a rare opportunity to watch two silly frogs embark on a prolonged quest for survival, avoiding danger and each other's stupidity along the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Atomic Age paranoia reaches beyond the stars in 1959's "Invisible Invaders." While the picture remains earthbound, the story carries into space, merging nuclear threat with an alien invasion, though, to keep production costs down, the aggressive extraterrestrial conquers are, as the title mentions, unable to be seen. "Invisible Invaders" eschews much of the popular research facility exposition of the day, charging ahead to the best of its ability as a monster movie mixed with end-of-days terror. As long as expectations are kept at a minimum for the feature's visual potency, the ride to doomsday is entertaining. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Directed by Karl Hartl, 1934's "Gold" has plenty to say about the state of the union in Germany. A critique of greed and abuses of science, the feature is careful to support its commentary with human interests, including the possibilities of love. "Gold" is broadly defined but competently managed by Hartl, who blends striking visual elements with melodrama, creating a somewhat slack but effective offering of entertainment that hopes to rattle moviegoer minds with its depiction of a financial apocalypse. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It's interesting to welcome the Blu-ray release of 1943's "The Ox-Bow Incident," as its story of intolerance and mob mentality is more relevant today than it was back then. It's a striking discovery and a classic motion picture, which uses traditional western elements to secure familiarity as it explores the challenges of rational thinking in a difficult situation of feverish condemnation. Director William A. Wellman guides an efficient adaptation of Walter Van Tilburg Clark's celebrated novel, wisely keeping his most powerful screen weapon, Henry Fonda's lead performance, front and center. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Rabin, the Last Day" isn't the easiest picture to acclimate to. At first, the effort resembles a television news program, offering an extensive interview with Israeli politician Shimon Peres, setting the tone as the details of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's 1995 assassination are established. The film then introduces camera footage from the fateful day, exploring the volatile public gathering that greeted Rabin. And finally, when gunfire breaks out, director Amos Gitai transforms the effort into a dramatic recreation of the fallout and preamble to murder. Tonally, "Rabin, the Last Day" takes some time to adjust to, with the helmer ambitiously attempting to dissect a specific moment in time through various perspectives and levels of confidence. It's not an especially convincing juggling act, especially for 155 minutes of screen time, but the passion that drives the feature is difficult to smother, fighting to identify Rabin's controversial vision for Israel's future and dissect the figure's cruel death any way it can. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Emerging from the wreckage of 1975's "Dolemite" with a hit movie, Rudy Ray Moore wasn't about to let a franchise opportunity pass him by. Quickly regrouping, adding director Cliff Roquemore to the mix, Moore revived Dolemite for 1976's "The Human Tornado," continuing the adventures of a nightclub comedian who does battle with white people and gangsters during the day, often breaking his routine to sleep with willing women. The formula hasn't been rethought, but the sequel is a far stranger feature than expected, finding the production taking some genuine risks with tone and abstraction to balance out issues with a limited budget. Moore's making this one for himself, indulging interests in club performance and martial arts, arranging a parade of silliness where he's the grand marshal, welcoming onlookers with heaps of violence, nudity, and comedic rhymes. It's not a better film than "Dolemite," but it never really tries to be, content to mastermind its own peculiarities and lean heavily on its moviemaking limp. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1975's "Psychic Killer" is an unusual take on a murderous rampage. The screenplay arranges the usual antagonisms and paranoia associated with the genre, but instead of detailing the movement of a bloodthirsty murderer, it remains weirdly meditative as it showcases grisly deaths and developing panic. Perhaps the effort isn't completely original, but it feels like a fresh take on old business, with director Raymond Danton paying attention to characterization and suspense while still indulging all the gore this type of entertainment needs to make a suitable impression. "Psychic Killer" is an effective but throttled romp with dangerous men and savage mental power, and its unusual approach to the routine of screen death keeps it interesting, often celebrating its strange ways as much as the B-movie budget allows. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Baseball is a game of patience and timing, but it's also a test of power. "Fastball" is a documentary about the titular pitching style, with director Jonathan Hock exploring the history of sporting velocity, attempting to summarize a century-long obsession with speed. Gathering famous player, scientists, and fans (and bringing in Kevin Costner to provide narration), Hock reflects on the particulars of pitchers, their philosophies and training, while inspecting the pursuit of the "world's hardest thrower," breaking down the fastball into segments for study. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Throughout the 1950s, paranoia cinema reigned, though most threats emerged from the sky or from beneath the earth. In 1953's "The Magnetic Monster," the villain is radioactivity, though represented here as a growing physical threat capable of destroying the planet through sheer size. It's cinema science executed with complete commitment by the production, joining 1954's "Gog" and "Riders to the Stars" as a trilogy of terror that plays liberally with facts and figures to manufacture horrors the audience isn't prepared to understand. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Before "Platoon" found enough political distance to explore the Vietnam War, resulting in a critical and commercial triumph, other productions made a similar, less funereal attempts to address the futility of the conflict. 1978's "Go Tell the Spartans" was perhaps a victim of bad timing, finding a limited audience during its theatrical release, but the clarity of its message and overall emotional authenticity is as powerful as a best Vietnam dissections, only hampered by a limited budget, which prevents the picture from achieving a truly cinematic viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com