Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

Writer/director Patricio Guzman has built a career inspecting Chilean woes and bruised history, with special attention to the years ruled by dictator Augusto Pinochet, whose violent reign still reverberates in the country today. The helmer returns to duty with "The Pearl Button," a companion piece to his 2010 documentary, "Nostalgia for the Light," with focus now put on water and its special relationship with Chile. Guzman doesn't possess the strongest directorial focus, but his passion is unmistakable, leading audiences on a journey from a tiny droplet to the outer reaches of the galaxy, in search of sanity and order. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Out of everything that emerged from the bottomless pit of brilliance that was "SCTV," who could've guessed that the antics of two Canadian brothers who love beer and conversation would be the most enduring. Bob and Doug McKenzie quickly rose to popularity after their 1980 television debut, with actors Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas embracing the opportunity to gather every Canadian stereotype around, dreaming up a public access show hosted by toque-wearing siblings who guzzled beer, cooked back bacon, and riffed on any topic that came to mind. Instead of blending into "SCTV," the characters exploded in popularity, celebrated as pop culture heroes in the Great White North while beguiling American audiences unaccustomed to such culture-specific satire. Armed with "Ehs," Moranis and Thomas managed to squeeze a successful album out of their newfound fame, while also offered a chance to direct their own feature. 1983's "Strange Brew" is pure McKenzie madness, finding inventive ways to extend the appeal of the brothers, using a Shakespearean foundation to support this wildly hilarious odyssey into brewery shenanigans and world domination. There's even a flying dog. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For their final collaboration, actor Charles Bronson and director J. Lee Thompson (who passed away in 2002) head into the darkness with 1989's "Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects," transporting their recipe for smashmouth filmmaking to the world of sexual exploitation. It's a difficult subject matter to explore with any type of lightness, but the pair give the topic a B-movie shakedown, delivering a strangely insensitive take on the death of innocence that favors scowling and xenophobia from the star, who takes on the role of a determined cop with the same lukewarm passion he brings to every role. As well-intentioned as "Kinjite: Forbidden Subjects" tries to be, it's missing a few great ideas and patience to truly understand the scourge of human trafficking, treating the topic with minimal interest in collateral damage. There's plenty of Bronson being irritable, smacking around baddies and sassing superiors, but what the picture needs is respect for the crime, not more breakaway glass. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While not an actor of any discernible range, Charles Bronson has made the effort throughout his long career to play a variety of characters. Of course, most of these performances end up in a position of violence, with the mustachioed brute facing down foolish enemies, but at least he's trying. 1988's "Messenger of Death" finds Bronson portraying a journalist for a Denver-based newspaper, marching around looking for clues and interviews to help him create popular stories. It's not an impossible stretch to picture the icon in a newsroom, surrounded by bustling writers while hammering out his latest piece, but Bronson isn't far from a threat or a weapon in the movie. "Messenger of Death" is a serviceable thriller with few surprises, but, as always, Bronson is the big draw, using his natural way with intimidation to infuse the feature with a few thrills, portraying the most aggressive, least professional newspaperman perhaps cinema has ever seen. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1966's "After the Fox" provides an unusual cinematic collaboration that features star Peter Sellers, director Vittorio De Sica, and screenwriter Neil Simon. Behind-the-scenes alchemy doesn't get much stranger than that, and "After the Fox," while never consistent, benefits from its multi-cultural take on broad comedy. Genuinely funny in fits, the picture is held together by its spirit, keeping the effort interested in the next big joke or silly encounter, noticeably trying to throw a big screen party. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1954's "Gog" happily plays into the era's interest in monsters and mayhem, only here the force of evil is a man-made machine, while science is given more of a priority than the average production allows. Directed by Herbert L. Strock, "Gog" is a thriller that doesn't exactly thrill, but it's an entertaining collection of exposition and robot rampage, delivered in your face with a 3-D presentation. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Once upon a time in European filmmaking, Anthony Hopkins was being groomed to be the next James Bond-type figure to dazzle audiences with tales of spying and seduction. 1971's "When Eight Bells Toll" is an attempt to transform the fiercely reserved performer into an action hero, working with source material from Alistair McLean, who adapts his own novel. Tough guy antics aren't a true fit for Hopkins, but "When Eight Bells Toll" is a serviceable thriller, embracing its odd take on smuggling and villainy with plenty of excitement and opportunities for the star to showcase his Connery side to a global audience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I think it's wonderful that Guy Maddin is continuing his exploration of underground cinema, refusing to compromise his vision to entice commercial success, sticking to a plan of impish, artful moviemaking that celebrates the abstract, his Canadian heritage, and the directorial process itself. He's an original, but that doesn't always make his efforts easy to endure. "The Forbidden Room" is the latest from "The Saddest Music in the World" and "My Winnipeg" director, and perhaps his most challenging feature to date, mixing visions, ideas, and humor to create a swirling galaxy of askew storytelling. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A mere two years after stunning the world with his vision of the future in "Metropolis," director Fritz Lang returns to the business of ambition with 1929's "Woman in the Moon," a film credited with inspiring the evolution of space exploration. Using research of the day, Lang constructs an epic tribute to scientific visionaries and pulp literature, taking viewers on a unique journey that utilizes bold visuals and broad characters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1978, American audiences were treated to two films about the real-world fury of African killer bees. Creating big screen disaster out of media-fueled alarm, Hollywood was ready to cash in on mounting nationwide panic. The first out of the gate was "The Swarm," an Irwin Allen production that found Michael Caine and Henry Fonda locked in paycheck mode, out to battle the titular threat with a sizable budget and major studio support. The second effort was "The Bees," a decidedly less financially endowed picture that refused to bow to the competition, offering its own scale of catastrophe, favoring chaos and bizarre turns of plot to help it stand out in a crowded field of insect-based entertainment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The mad scientist routine is disrupted to a degree in 1956's "The Black Sleep," which looks to merge surgical horrors with heartfelt motivation. Not that the production is trying to offer an especially emotional experience to the horror-hungry audience, but the screenplay by John C. Higgins manages to soften outright ghoulishness while still indulging all the shadowy encounters and stalking scenes the genre is known for. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A boost a filmmaking confidence greets viewers in 1979's "Candy Goes to Hollywood," with writer/director Gail Palmer suddenly in command of a franchise, treating the follow-up with a palpable surge of excitement. The helmer goes after the movie and television industry for this go-around of sex and comedy, using satiric takes on icons and opportunists to help amplify Candy's latest odyssey, taking the deceptively innocent, perpetually smiling blonde to Los Angeles in search of stardom. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Keeping with the spirit of most adult movies from the 1970s, "Erotic Adventures of Candy" follows a bubbly innocent learning a thing or two about the ways of the world through numerous sexual partners. It's a routine that's disrupted by writer/director Gail Palmers, who tries to class up the joint by taking inspiration from Voltaire's French farce, "Candide," and there's a charming lead turn from Carol Connors, whose daffy work as a blonde bombshell finally losing her virginity is surprisingly lively, helping "Erotic Adventures of Candy" sustain its freewheeling tone. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Richard Fleischer captures a true event movie with 1958's "The Vikings," which strives to be the most enormous film of the year. Draped in authenticity and carried by star power, the feature mostly succeeds with its mammoth plans, delivering wide swings of action and drama as the helmer aims to maintain widescreen power while keeping its tale of love and war approachable, even intimate when time allows. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Alien 3" is largely credited as the definitive AIDS allegory buried within a sci-fi tale, but 1988's "Transformations" beat it to the punch by a few years. A Charles Band production, directed by Jay Kamen, the feature isn't a subtle creation, liberally mixing sex and death to secure a horror event with real-world inspiration, delivering a tale of viral menace that's perfectly in step with a paranoid decade. "Transformations" is an obviously budget-minded effort with limited resources to work with, but to Kamen's credit, he delivers an adequate punch with this ridiculous movie, happily serving up exploitation elements while trying to keep control of the narrative, which doesn't always follow through on initial promises of alien terror. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It's somewhat surprising that the Catholic Church would want anything to do with "The Rosary Murders," with production access to churches repaid with a strangely condemning screenplay that depicts holy leaders as dim, corrupt figures bound by absurd organizational laws. However, general disapproval of religious practices and leadership is the least of the 1987 picture's problems, finding its approach to big screen mystery strangely lethargic, taking an uneventful route when detailing a serial killer's rampage across Detroit. "The Rosary Murders" has the tools to generate passable thrills with a decent whodunit, but director Fred Walton ("April Fool's Day," "When a Stranger Calls") doesn't provide the energy needed to bring the story to life. Much of the movie is put in star Donald Sutherland's hands, tasked with maintaining emotional depth and procedural surprise. The actor is good here, at least restless enough to keep the viewing experience from slipping into a coma, but he's no miracle worker. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

An adaptation of Curt Siodmak's 1942 novel, 1953's "Donovan's Brain" isn't really a horror story, with a rather leisurely command of the macabre. Instead, the picture pulls most of its power from mad science and telekinetic manipulation, achieving suspense through oddity as a brain residing in a fish tank of cloudy fluid manages to take control of the genius that put it there. Delivering a quintessential 1950s tale of sci-fi torment, there's a lot to like about "Donovan's Brain," which is generally credited as the production that inspired a rash of similar head-gone-mad features. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1954's "Beachhead" is perhaps the quietest war film I've seen in recently memory. The picture makes extensive use of sneak attacks and stealth, with dialogue exchanges largely whispered, providing an unusual acting challenge for stars Tony Curtis and Frank Lovejoy, who are asked to dig into meaty WWII lines while dialing back on intensity. Thankfully, performances are alert enough to carry the movie, which follows military formula without hesitation, looking to provide viewers with the basics in combat pressure and Men on a Mission heroics, only without the thespian volume this type of production often demands. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

While 1945's "The Southerner" isn't a documentary, it does get a few details of the American Dream exactly right, creating an unnerving realism that's softened somewhat by the picture's literary approach to storytelling (adapted from the novel by George Sessions Parry). It's directed by Jean Renoir, who offers an impressive amount of sympathy for his lead characters, striving to identify the malleability of the human spirit as it's hit from all sides by tragedy and defeat. "The Southerner" isn't quite the funeral dirge it promises to be, supporting a mood of perseverance that inspires as much as it horrifies. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There was a time in the 1980s when Hollywood was intent on making James Woods a star. An actor respected by critics and peers, Woods never made the leap to a bankable lead, starring in a string of forgettable thrillers and dramas that tried to make the most out of his manic energy and screen authority. Arguably the least effective effort from the batch is 1988's "Cop," which labored to transform the jittery thespian into a gun-swinging police superhero who's irresistible to the ladies and frequently stumbles over clues without trying. Adapted from a James Ellroy novel, "Cop" is never far away from a ridiculous moment, with writer/director James B. Harris trying to construct a suspenseful event with very little tension and a semi-baffling story, relying on Woods to simply do his lip-licking thing to boost the movie's appeal. To be fair, the star is game to do anything the script asks of him, but it's difficult to get past a basic miscasting when it comes to the trials of a bulldozing supercop on the trail of history's most uninteresting serial killer. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com