Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

What was it about the years 1989 and 1990 and movies concerning unknown threats from the deep blue sea? "The Rift" (also titled "Endless Descent") is a graduate from the genre class, joining fellow chillers "Leviathan," "Lords of the Deep," "The Abyss," "The Evil Below," and "DeepStar Six" in an attempt to find wonders and worries associated with initially unexplained oceanic events hitting a group of disparate, anxious personalities. "The Rift" follows the suspense routine, but it doesn't bring much in the way of cash to pay for visual highlights, emerging as a low-budget effort that tries to do much with very little. Monstrous activity and submarine voyaging are reduced to semi-silliness in the picture, but director J.P. Simon doesn't completely give up, managing to cough up an entertaining horror endeavor that's competently cast and intermittently exciting with lowered expectations, delivering a satisfying but unremarkable "Aliens" knock-off that's big on gore and panic once limited production expanse is established. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Willie Nelson seems built for the genre, but 1982's "Barbarosa" was the singer's first foray into westerns, keeping his braids and bushy beard, while adding six-guns and a horse to complete his character. Directed by Fred Schepisi, the feature uses Nelson well, pairing him with co-star Gary Busey, who adds his own unique energy to the picture, which plays up traditional western touches, mixing outlaw antics with an aborted dissection of myth. "Barbarosa" has its issues, but it also has its kooky leading men and extraordinary atmosphere, finding naturalistic beauty to go along with idiosyncratic actors and a fascinating theme of storytelling that never connects as profoundly as it intends to. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When dealing with a Ted V. Mikels production, one must collect as must patience as possible before a viewing. The cult filmmaker ("The Corpse Grinders," "The Doll Squad") has never been the best judge of pace and dramatics, and 1968's "The Astro-Zombies" has to be one of the worst, most padded pictures of his iffy career. A horror experience mixed with spy games, Mikels likes to keep the effort as elongated as possible, allowing viewers to savor every questionable directorial choice that comes along in this crushingly uneventful movie. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

On the inaugural season of "The Flash," the program showcased the wrath of the Reverse-Flash, the trials of a superhero life vs. the needs of a human one, and the duplicitous ways of Dr. Harrison. For the follow-up year, producers have decided that what worked once will work again, basically reheating conflicts to help support another go-around with Barry Allen and his struggle as a man capable of achieving speed force while wearing a tight red costume. That's not to suggest "Season 2" is a washout, far from it, but the production isn't prepared to move the narrative forward significantly to inspire a fresh series of challenges and emotional entanglements. "Season 2" plays it safe, spending more time submerging the dialogue and plotting in comic book science than it does establishing an inventive direction for a unique superhero. The mechanics of the show are fine, but staleness isn't avoided, hoping to keep fans happy by regurgitating everything they've seen before. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

He pummeled bad guys and slayed paying audiences in "Dolemite," became a god of fury in "The Human Tornado," and battled Satan in "Petey Wheatstraw." But all it took was a healthy dose of sincerity to help bring star Rudy Ray Moore to his knees, at least professionally. Setting aside goofball antics for a moment, Moore turns his attention to the plight of the inner city in "Disco Godfather," which is dressed up in bedazzled jumpsuits, but really hopes to share with the audience a sobering look at the epidemic of PCP. Sure, some of Moore's cinematic interests are represented here, including half-speed martial arts, but the majority of the film is devoted to the evils of drugs and the fight to free those hopelessly addicted to angel dust. "Disco Godfather" basically promises one viewing experience and delivers another, which would normally be a clever switcheroo. However, this one gets away from Moore in a hurry, who unwisely restrains himself to fit the real-world hero tone. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Evils of the Night" is co-writer/director Mardi Rustam's attempt to make a slasher film featuring teenage victims. Only here, there's a pronounced sci-fi element, and Rustam's depiction of adolescence appears to have originated from a magazine article on the demographic, basically paring down juvenile antics into two categories: having sex and not having sex. Oh sure, there are aliens and porn stars running around the movie, and the 1985 release is soaked in trends from era, keeping up with the competition as synth stings accompany bloodshed and bare breasts. Rustam may have a grander vision for the effort, but "Evils of the Night" is quite ridiculous in every way, which makes it an incredibly amusing bottom-shelf title that satisfies most requirements for sleaze and stupidity. There's just something appealing about space vampires and hornball kids relaxing at a local lake. This isn't a good movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it's charmingly absurd. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For his fifth directorial endeavor, Gene Wilder remains true to his slapstick-loving soul, co-scripting a tribute to the wonders of radio and the special mood of horror-comedies with 1986's "Haunted Honeymoon," reuniting with wife Gilda Radner in this, her final movie. Wilder has all the right intentions with this broad creation, but his timing is slightly off, trying to arrange silly set-pieces with interesting special effects and a game cast, but the writing isn't as strong as it needs to be, often settling for simple charms when the genre is capable of producing so much more. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After working with Mel Brooks on "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein," the spirit of silliness rubbed off on actor Gene Wilder. Taking on directorial and screenwriting duties, Wilder offers his own slapstick creation with 1975's "The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother," which takes on the legacy of the master detective, though with a decidedly more cartoon approach. Broad to a point of clowning, Wilder gives it his all, laboring to land all types of gags as he takes his Brooks-branded training and tries to make it his own. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1948's "Road House" gives the love triangle routine a solid kick to the face, delivering a noir-ish vibe to romantic unrest that eventually transforms into actual physical threat. It's a bold display of hostilities starring Ida Lupino, Cornel Wilde, and Richard Widmark, and a movie that, after introductions are made, escalates convincingly, with director Jean Negulesco ("Daddy Long Legs") generating an engrossing sense of danger and betrayal punctuated with musical performances to sell the festive atmosphere of the titular location. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I've seen my share of horror movies over the years, but few of them have decided to open with a montage of kitten play in a field to backdrop the main titles. Losing any hope for threat right away, 1972's "Beware! The Blob" establishes a goofball tone from the start, finding director Larry Hagman refusing to take the picture seriously, trying to deliver a more lighthearted chiller that still delivers plenty of the oozing titular menace. The approach doesn't work for "Beware! The Blob," which emerges as a painfully slack continuation (following the 1958 cult classic) without frights or laughs, representing more of an experiment from Hagman, who may have been trying to make history's most meandering sequel. Save for a few amusing attack sequences, he's largely successful, managing to transform a surefire premise of gooey doom into a tremendous test of patience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Taboo" has developed a reputation as one of the more beloved adult films around, with the 1980 movie presenting a potentially nightmarish plot that involves incest with a campy attitude and waves of melodrama to help temper any ickiness. That "Taboo" could stand the test of time in today's everything-extreme world of pornography is a testament to its charms and its almost friendly treatment of a sexual relationship between a mother and her son. Don't get me wrong, it's a ridiculous picture, but director Kirdy Stevens and writer Helene Terrie put effort into the production, working to build a passable motivation for these characters and their forbidden love. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A 2014 production, "Mai-Chan's Daily Life" is an adaptation of a manga first published in 2003. Detailing fantasy, sadism, and submission, the material doesn't lend itself to a cinematic inspection, but that isn't about to stop writer/director Sato Sade from trying. Armed with a commercial-grade camera, willing actresses, and a plan to work out sexual fetishes, the helmer aims to make his take on "Mai-Chan's Daily Life" as repellent as humanly possible, determined to bring most of the manga's extremity to the screen, for as cheaply as possible. It's backyard filmmaking at its worst. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Drive-in cinema receives a thorough workout in 1979's "Cheerleaders' Wild Weekend" (titled "The Great American Girl Robbery" on the Blu-ray), which blends all types of exploitation interests to come up with a bizarre mix of titillation and violence. Director Jeff Werner shows more skill with sleaze than tone, struggling to find a balance between the movie's commitment to exposed skin and its caper-style plotting, which involves a radical organization kidnapping three cheerleading squads on their way to a competition. There are guns, breasts, escape attempts, and money exchanges, and yet the whole thing feels oddly inert. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

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