Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

With 1979's "The Passage," director J. Lee Thompson returns to the Men on a Mission formula that served him well during 1961's "The Guns of Navarone," out to mastermind a cinematic take on Bruce Nicolaysen's novel. It's a return to a World War II landscape, this time taking the action to the Pyrenees mountains, where a story of survival is allowed time to explore numerous physical and psychological challenges. While Thompson brings a meaty, action-centric mood to the feature, he's less certain with its dramatic capabilities, rendering "The Passage" a strange mix of indulgence and inattentiveness, with the production as a whole struggling to define its tone as the effort swings from nobility to camp without warning. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1983's "Pauline at the Beach" is regarded as an installment of writer/director Eric Rohmer's "Comedies and Proverbs" series, with the French New Wave veteran continuing his examination of human behavior as its challenged by deception, painful truths, and disappointment. For this production, Rohmer takes his fixations into the sun, adding the sensuality of beach bodies and the lure of a long vacation to ornament a coming-of-age exploration, puckered by sketchy characters and extended dissections of romantic need. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There's certainly a faceless man provided here, but it's the curse part of the title I'm not so sure of. A horror effort from 1958, "Curse of the Faceless Man" is small-time programmer with an interesting plot, pitting science and art against an unexplainable discovery found at the site of the Pompeii disaster, unleashing a stone creature who's not above killing anyone who stands in the way of longstanding love. Actual scares aren't generated by the production, but "Curse of the Faceless Man" remains an agreeably odd B-movie that keeps its macabre star front and center. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1966's "Ambush Bay" has the impossible task of selling Mickey Rooney as a grizzled career Marine, handing the diminutive actor a machine gun and some choice lines to build him into a force of nature. To the production's credit, the transformation works, with Rooney one of the highlights of this meat-and-potatoes war film, joined by Hugh O'Brian and James Mitchum in a World War II story that explores the price of valor and the fatigue of combat. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Pieces" is a tale of murder and the assembly of a particularly macabre puzzle, offering filmmaking that's just as challenging to put together. It's a weird, wild effort from 1982, with director Juan Piquer trying to both pants and celebrate the slasher genre, using giallo training to create a suspenseful journey into absurdity, with a black-gloved killer the star of this lively show. "Pieces" isn't cohesive, more about chasing whims than telling a story, but it's undeniably fun, with patient genre fanatics rewarded with another gory chainsaw massacre, and one built with intriguing self-awareness, knowingly making a screen mess with familiar cinematic elements. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A towering talent and beloved personality, John Candy was a special screen presence. An expert with timing and temper, Candy contributed to some of the finest comedic works during his media reign, with projects such as "SCTV," "Stripes," "Uncle Buck," and "Planes, Trains & Automobiles" just a few of his achievements. He was the best, but there's a painful truth to Candy's legacy: he wasn't always a good judge of quality when picking jobs. He never gave a bad performance, but he toplined more than a few stinkers, with gigs like "Armed and Dangerous," "Summer Rental," and "Wagons East" helping to temper enthusiasm for Candy's filmography. 1991's "Delirious" is one of those lesser Candy offerings, though it never lacks in sheer velocity. Director Tom Mankiewicz certainly has a vision for a romp through soap opera clichés, but there's very little successful humor in the feature, which usually doesn't have the writing to back up the satire. It's broad work, never boring, but "Delirious" periodically comes across winded and unprepared, stranding Candy in the middle of a farce that never catches fire, dependent on its star to handle much of the silly business. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As much as "Edge of Seventeen" appears like a standard coming-of-age movie, it carries itself in a different, more dignified manner. Dealing with issues of identity and freedom, the picture uses its cheery 1984 setting to dig deeper into character concerns, with director David Moreton and screenwriter Todd Stephens taking their time with the emotional needs of the participants, working through moments of sexuality and shattered trust with unusual care. Although it has every opportunity to devolve into a screamy, pouty melodrama, "Edge of Seventeen" keeps itself together through fine performances and good taste, trying to make sense of a special conflict without torching the entire production. Its restraint is remarkable at times, investing in sensitivities instead of volume and cynicism. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The tour of tattered innocence continues in 1989's "Pretty Peaches 3," with director Alex de Renzy recruiting star Keisha to portray the titular temptress, a nymph who once again is in search of a bad education. Slowly leaving the adult film aesthetic of the 1980s behind, the helmer builds a more confident and plot-loaded "Pretty Peaches" event with the second sequel, sending his heroine into a world populated with questionable people looking to exploit and contain the wonder of a sexually eager young woman. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1987's "Pretty Peaches 2" is technically a sequel to the 1978 Alex de Renzy adult movie, but the helmer isn't connecting the dots with this follow-up. It's more of a thematic continuation, once again retuning to a cartoonish depiction of innocence to explore sexual experimentation and awakening. It's episodic, but de Renzy certainly has a vision for his title character, creating a strange collection of opportunists and accidents that brings out pleasing mischief during this surprisingly eventful feature. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

When "National Lampoon's Animal House" destroyed the box office competition in 1978, a string of knockoffs were all but guaranteed. One of the strangest to emerge from the mist remains 1980's "Gorp," a summer camp festival of sophomoric behavior that strains to ape "Animal House" tomfoolery in every way. Director Joseph Ruben ("Sleeping with the Enemy," "The Stepfather") and screenwriter Jeffrey Konvitz largely invest in chaos to bring the strangely titled "Gorp" to life, believing that noise and aggressively odious behavior is the key to acquiring audience approval. Unable to land a single joke, the feature quickly transforms into an endurance test with painfully exaggerated characters and dispiritingly desperate attempts at juvenile humor. There's not even a plot to help tie it all together, rendering the effort a highlight reel of unimaginative monkey business that often feels like it's never going to end. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The producers of "Up the Creek" were smart. Instead of trying to mimic "Animal House" and "Porky's" with a group of nobodies, they went out and hired the actors partially responsible for the success of those films. Playing into trends of the era, 1984's "Up the Creek" is quite open about its creative pilfering, arranging a playful rafting chase that barely pays attention to the water, more consumed with pranks, bare breasts, and frat-house shenanigans, looking to become the next big thing in beer-stained, sophomoric entertainment. It's refreshing to find a picture that's honest about its intentions, but clarity of direction doesn't make the feature any funnier. Strangely designed to avoid the one element of the plot that gives the effort a distinct personality, "Up the Creek" is a winded affair that's always one step behind punchlines and sight gags, far too obsessed with other movies in the marketplace to land an inspired moment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The best cult films don't know they're cult films. It's difficult to manufacture oddity; it truly has to come from the heart, with complete incompetence instinctual. 1991's "Samurai Cop" has built a reputation as a B-movie wonder over the years, charming audiences with its earnest goofballery, born from the mind of writer/director Amir Shervan. Sadly, the helmer passed away a decade ago, but his legacy continues (via crowdfunding) with "Samurai Cop 2: Deadly Vengeance," a follow-up that tries to hit all the same low-budget, no-talent beats as the original effort, only here the extravaganza is served up with a towering side of self-awareness. Die-hard fans may rejoice at the prospect of revisiting the "Samurai Cop" universe 25 years later, but it's clear from the start that the production isn't interested in building the potential of the brand name, content to replicate its severe limitations with a noticeable dip in enthusiasm. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A geek, as defined in "Luther the Geek," is a disturbed carnival sideshow performer who bites the heads off snakes and chickens, usually for a reward that helps to calm urges of alcoholism and drug addiction. It's not the geek as we know it today, making future trips to Best Buy all the more uncomfortable. "Luther the Geek" is a horror film that plays around with the nightmarish vocation, transporting a Depression-era celebration of the macabre to a slightly more modern setting, with writer/director Carlton J. Albright creating a slasher-type event with a truly disturbing murderer. It's a weird movie, but one that owns its strangeness through a commitment to character and unusual encounters between the (clucking) hunter and his understandably confused prey. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the 1980s, the Wayans Family was just beginning their reign in Hollywood, with Damon Wayans finding his way to "Saturday Night Live," while Keenan Ivory Wayans established his sense of humor co-writing "Hollywood Shuffle" and the opening of "Eddie Murphy: Raw." 1988's "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" was the debutant ball for the clan of comedians, with Keenan making his directorial debut guiding a good chunk of his family through a send-up/celebration of the blacksploitation genre, ordering some of the men who were there originally to return to duty. Taking on a deadly serious set of films with an enormous reservoir of silliness, "I'm Gonna Git You Sucka" is a gem in the vein of "Airplane" and "The Naked Gun," using satire and slapstick to generate huge laughs from unlikely sources. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A famous proverb states: "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions." This ominous ambition also drives the production effort behind 1991's "Highway to Hell." A zany, special effects-intensive chase picture, the feature has a specialized sense of humor from screenwriter Brian Helgeland, who takes the potential of an extended underworld visit seriously, filling the story with all types of weird characters and demonic encounters. Director Ate de Jong (who also helmed the reprehensible "Drop Dead Fred") doesn't have the proper curveball necessary to bring the writing to life, but "Highway to Hell" manages to engage through sheer enthusiasm and enticing make-up work, providing the movie with some creature feature highlights as the helmer figures out how to sell a rather peculiar story. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1989's "The Dead Next Door" is the end result of a horror movie fan, J.R. Bookwalter, looking to bite off a piece of the genre for himself. Inspired by titans such as George Romero, Sam Raimi, and John Carpenter, Bookwalter cooks up his own smorgasbord of death with this scrappy feature. Replacing Hollywood polish with Ohio ingenuity, the production gets surprisingly far with its vision of a zombie apocalypse, with Bookwalter trying his hardest to make "The Dead Next Door" as entertaining as possible, filling the effort with incredible amounts of gore and mildly effective humor. Backyard production touches take some getting used to, and the script is a weird collection of expositional moments, but the core viewing experience remains engaging, delivering on promises of grotesqueries and silliness as the viscera flows. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In its quest to find a suitable replacement for "Downton Abbey," PBS turns to the Civil War for inspiration, with its wealth of class and combat-based conflict providing ample dramatics to fuel a limited series. Created by Lisa Wolfinger and David Zabel, "Mercy Street" is primed for grittiness, observing medical chaos and battlefield woes during the devastating conflict, setting the series in Alexandria during a transition period of power between the Union and Confederate armies. However, subtle antagonisms aren't encouraged here, with the production team going the soap opera route, encouraging heaving chests and wild-eyed close-ups, leaning more towards "Gone with the Wind" than a Ken Burns documentary. While the show only lasts for six episodes, it remains a struggle to work through the tepid conflicts contained within "Mercy Street," which seems allergic to any scene of authentic emotion, caught trying put on an opera with material that's best served as soberly and respectfully as possible. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Suicide is an impossible topic for a movie to explore, especially one that's hoping to trigger a few smiles along the journey. Many films have tried to include such self-inflicted violence, but the act provides a tonal tightrope walk few are able to master. Perhaps the lone example of success is Wes Anderson's "The Royal Tenenbaums," which explores the sinking feeling of desperation felt by one of the main characters as he slits his wrists, and somehow the production manages to rebound from such horror to reach even greater comedic heights. A long form test of mood is undertaken by 1978's "The End," where Burt Reynolds (who also directs) portrays a terminally ill man who wants to end it all before medical suffering begins. And it's played for laughs. Thankfully, Reynolds brings his rascally wit and love of exaggeration to "The End," trying to create silly but life-affirming story about a man's darkest hour, bringing in a lively supporting cast to help him achieve jocularity instead of extended anguish. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Australian comedian Paul Hogan has enjoyed a lengthy career, entertaining audiences for over 40 years. However, he will forever be known for his work on "Crocodile Dundee," the 1986 blockbuster that turned him into an international star, known everywhere for his easy charms, twisty slang, and deep tan. Finding gargantuan big screen success with "Dundee" and its 1988 sequel, Hogan was challenged to find a follow-up that might allow a softer, more human side of a personality to shine, away from the Outback and considerably large knives. 1990's "Almost an Angel" was intended to be a slight change of pace for Hogan, scripting himself a more peaceful role of a crook urged by heavenly forces to become a heavenly hero. However, it's not easy to pull the star out of his comfort zone, with "Almost an Angel" a ridiculously mild affair that's supported entirely by Hogan's easygoing sense of humor. Trying to play it cool, the production slips into a coma instead, barely fighting mundane plotting as Hogan does what comes naturally. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Heartbreakers" has every opportunity to become a flavorless collection of antics and quirks concerning the world of con artists and their elaborate schemes. And yet, under the direction of "Simpsons" vet David Mirkin (who also helmed the delightful "Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion"), the feature turns into a surprise. Sure, twists and turns await viewers, remaining true to the spirit of criminal misdirection, but "Heartbreakers" stuns with its robust sense of humor, never fearing a chance to sample silliness as it explores an extended sham. Lively atmosphere and a deep appreciation for the absurd keep the picture not only approachable, but downright hilarious at times. While excessive length takes the wind out of its sail in the third act, the movie remains a delight, offering wonderfully spirited lead performances from Sigourney Weaver and Jennifer Love Hewitt. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com