Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

The future belongs to skateboarders. That's the general idea driving 1990's "Shredder Orpheus," which is a punky update of the Orpheus and Eurydice story, with writer/director/actor Robert McGinley bringing the Greek legend down to a more manageable, underground cinema size. It's an ambitious undertaking with an extremely low budget, but McGinley is determined to do something with his idea, offering a surreal adventure that's filled with music, challenges, and skateboarding. The scale of the feature is impressive, especially with the limited resources available to McGinley, making production appreciation easy. Sitting through "Shredder Orpheus" is much more difficult. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Meg Ryan doesn't act much anymore, and when she does, she's been using her star power to support her directorial endeavors. In 2015, there was the little seen "Ithica," and now there's "What Happens Later," which returns Ryan to the screen in a major part, also handling scripting duties with Kirk Lynn and Steven Dietz, adapting his 2008 play, "Shooting Star." Ryan's playing to her strengths with the effort, which returns the actress to the romantic comedy subgenre that boosted her career over 30 years ago, but general sweetness is limited here. The material is more interested in the ways of aging and soured relationships, getting into the unfinished business between two people who loved each other long ago, reuniting for a night during an airport layover. "What Happens Later" isn't big on tingles, but it does have Ryan and co-star David Duchovny, who share decent chemistry in this tale of regret, helping to bring an otherwise static but deeply felt picture to life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1974's "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" is an adaptation of a 1959 Mordecai Richler novel, and director Ted Kotcheff is certainly dedicated to the preservation of the literary experience, with Richler handing the screenplay himself. It's a layered study of ambition and self-preservation, daring to present unlikable characters doing unmistakably human things, creating a viewing experience as itchy as its eponymous character. There's a lot to work through in the feature, and there's definitely an expiration date with this story, but Kotcheff nails an opening hour of unfiltered desire from the players and the plot, creating an interesting journey of a hustler without game, struggling to assign himself importance by any means necessary. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It's fitting that a bio-pic of "Weird Al" Yankovic doesn't contain a single authentically biographical moment from his life. "Weird: The Al Yankovic Story" isn't out to deliver an honest overview of the subject's life and times, it's a "Funny or Die" co-production, presenting not just an exaggerated take on Yankovic's career, but a complete farce concerning the twists and turns of his existence. It's in the tradition of "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story," delivering a parody of bio-pics for the master of song parodies, turning his experiences into an operatic understanding of career determination and the intoxication of ego. "Weird" is often hilarious and always on the prowl for silly business, with director Eric Appel (who co-scripts with Yankovic) really going wild with this examination of one man's quest to win the world over with his accordion and love of wordplay, facing incredible odds against his success and physical threats from Pablo Escobar. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The worlds of art and crime connect in "The Kill Room," which is largely being promoted as a reunion for stars Uma Thurman and Samuel L. Jackson, who last acted together in 1994's "Pulp Fiction." A lot of time has passed since the release of the Quentin Tarantino film, but not everything has changed, as "The Kill Room" has Thurman portraying a rattled woman turning to drugs and dangerous men to keep herself distracted, while Jackson once again inhabits the part of an easily agitated, profane man caught up in a criminal situation that slips out of control. Slightly fatigued Tarantino- isms are certainly present in the screenplay by Jonathan Jacobson, intended or not, but the story launches with compelling oddity, highlighting the strange ways of art appreciation and manipulation, which is far more interesting than underworld entanglements that come to claim the effort's second half. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The "Police Academy" film series was put to sleep after 1989's "Police Academy 6: City Under Siege" failed to entice practically anyone into theaters to keep up with the kooky cops. For producer Paul Maslansky, death was only the beginning, working to launch "Police Academy" as a live-action television show, an animated program, a theme park stunt experience, and there was even a short-lived toy line to keep the brand name alive. Sensing a shot to revive the franchise with another theatrical endeavor, Maslansky assembles 1994's "Police Academy: Mission to Moscow," sensing the exotic nature of a picture set in Russia, and actually shot there, might be enough to capture audience attention. He's wrong, and while using Russia as a backdrop for American police shenanigans is certainly different, there's absolutely nothing in "Mission to Moscow" that's fresh, interesting, or entertaining. It's a chore to sit through, almost playing like a parody of a "Police Academy" production. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1989's "Police Academy 6: City Under Siege" returns the franchise to an urban setting after spending time in education (1986's "Back in Training," 1987's "Citizens on Patrol") and making its way to Florida (1988's "Assignment Miami Beach"). Perhaps producer Paul Maslansky is looking to cut costs for the fifth sequel of the series, as the picture largely remains smaller in scale while dealing with a more defined enemy. Screenwriter Stephen Curwick brings a mystery of sorts to the "Police Academy" saga, with "City Under Siege" pitting the cops against an unknown kingpin looking to do harm to the community. As with the last chapter, plot helps the cause, and director Peter Bonerz definitely has something approaching a vision for the feature, which has a beginning, middle, and end, and attempts to make some noise with physical comedy gags. Actual laughs are in short supply, but some effort is there to keep viewers interested in another round of policing mishaps and broad antics. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After spending the last two sequels on the Police Academy grounds, producer Paul Maslansky hopes to shake things up with a little fun and sun for "Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach." Well, maybe not the fun part, but there's plenty of Floridian sights and sounds in the endeavor, which is the first without star Steve Guttenberg, making more room for the supporting cast to shine. Director Alan Myerson has a better grasp on slapstick for this installment, doing relatively well with physical comedy, but the screenplay by Stephen Curwick isn't rich with amusing antics. What the writing does contain is more of a storyline for the series, giving viewers something to follow as the production lines up the usual in pranks and humiliations, finding staleness generally holding back the merriment Myerson is looking to communicate. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Following the lead of 1986's "Police Academy 3: Back in Training," 1987's "Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol" hopes to maintain the slowly dwindling fan base by bringing back old faces. In this case, the film welcomes Lt. Harris back to the series after taking the last two sequels off, rewarding actor G.W. Bailey with an unexpected starring role in the endeavor, with the production using the frequently humiliated character as much as possible. It's nice to have Bailey back, but "Citizens on Patrol" isn't creatively reenergized by the change, with director Jim Drake and writer Gene Quintano basically extending the vibe of "Back in Training," serving up the same old antics and freak-outs as before, only here there's noticeable fatigue with the shenanigans, which works to make the viewing experience a drag at times. With so many characters and quirks, it's often bizarre to watch the production put very little effort into dreaming up wild events for the ensemble. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1985's "Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment" was a quickie production, meant to cash-in on the raging success of 1984's "Police Academy," giving fans another shot of slapstick while they were still digesting the original endeavor. For producer Paul Maslansky, speed helped, and while "Their First Assignment" wasn't as big a hit as the first film, it managed to make a substantial amount of money on a limited budget, proving that quickness was preferable to quality. Once again, Maslansky slaps together a new adventure for the Class of '84 in 1986's "Police Academy 3: Back in Training," which was released 51 weeks after the first sequel, cementing a marketplace plan that would carry on for nearly the rest of the series. Recognizing that urban adventuring probably wasn't the true way to go with the premise, Maslansky, screenwriter Gene Quintano, and director Jerry Paris return to the essentials of tomfoolery with "Back in Training," which makes a noticeable effort to reinstate original characters and revive the "institution" atmosphere for the comedy, once again pushing weirdos through the law enforcement educational system. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Hopes were high for 1984's "Police Academy" to do some business, but nobody could've predicted its massive success. The little comedy managed to enchant audiences for months, ending up as the sixth highest-grossing feature of the year (sandwiched between "The Karate Kid" and "Footloose"), putting producer Paul Maslansky in a position to launch a potential franchise with a superb chance for low-budget profitability. Instead of mulling over his creative directions, Maslansky slammed "Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment" into production, with the picture arriving in theaters a mere 53 weeks after the original offering of cadet mischief. Setting the tone for future sequels, "Their First Assignment" isn't concerned with plot and it doesn't do much with character, moving forward with pranks, stunts, and general tomfoolery with a new PG-13 rating and a desire to bring in a wider audience for the brand name. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1984's "Police Academy" is not a film that was pulled out of thin air. The monster successes of 1978's "Animal House" and 1981's "Stripes" certainly inspired the feature, with co-writer/director Hugh Wilson in charge of creating a wily, wacky, crude "institutional" comedy for the masses, pitting social rejects and mild people against an establishment trying to mold them into authority figures. The formula is there, and Wilson isn't challenging it, but he does manage to make a refreshingly light endeavor that's purely out to charm viewers with an enormous amount of screen shenanigans. The first bite of the "Police Academy" apple is appealing and amusing, launching with a freewheeling attitude and surprisingly excellent casting, with the ensemble contributing quirks and craziness to give the picture a wonderful sense of community. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The terror of witch trials in 18th-century Austria provides atmosphere for 1970's "Mark of the Devil," which examines the horror of weaponized accusations and frightening torture methods used to extract confessions. The production looks to sell itself as a fact-based study of history, but viewers will quickly realize the movie is merely exploitation, with a heavy emphasis on human suffering and exposed bodies. Co-writer/director Michael Armstrong isn't shy about focusing on agony, but there's some effort to put a story together, dealing with the drama of lustful people and their battle with political and religious order, which makes for an acceptable soap opera. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1971's "The Christmas Martian" isn't really a holiday film, but something wackier and stranger. The Canadian production is the first of an ongoing series, with the "Tales for All" franchise looking to provide family entertainment, and the producers really go for a younger demographic with the initial endeavor, which provides 65 minutes of pure Great White North adventures and slapstick featuring an alien visitor clad in netting who's stuck on Earth. "The Christmas Martian" gets tiresome fairly quickly, but there's a spunky moviemaking spirit on display that could work for some viewers. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1991's "Point Break" is one of those films that either attracts unintentional laughter or lifelong fandom. The picture contains a special screen magic, with director Kathryn Bigelow trying to make something different in an oversaturated action movie marketplace, approaching the screenplay (by W. Peter Iliff) with a wonderful sincerity, aiming to transform a potentially wacky premise about cops on the hunt for bank-robbing surfers into a superbly adrenalized viewing experience, and one that's loaded with flavorful performances and spiritual attention to help ground the bizarre tale. It's a wild one that asks viewers to accept its craziness, to go along with all the plotting and characterization, with the reward being Bigelow's utter command of the genre, providing a hard-hitting, philosophy-spittin', cinematic ride of unusual temptation, sold with technical excellence. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1980's "Mother's Day" is part of a surge of horror entertainment from the late-1970s, with small, enterprising young filmmakers trying to cash in on a growing trend kickstarted by the success of 1978's "Halloween" and turbocharged after the release of "Friday the 13th." Enter Charles Kaufman, brother of Troma Entertainment's Lloyd Kaufman, and he has a plan for a screen mess in line with 1978's "I Spit on Your Grave," turning to the wilds of New Jersey as a setting for a semi-revenge tale that's heavy on violence and the general torment of women. "Mother's Day" is basically the usual stuff when it comes to exploitation, with Kaufman lingering on suffering and wild antics involving unhinged characters. What's surprising here is the craftsmanship of the B-movie, with Kaufman putting in a little effort with atmosphere and performances, maintaining some control over the endeavor while struggling with the usual issues involved in this type of material, including pacing and resolution. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

I initially reviewed "Rabid Grannies" in 2015, with Troma Entertainment releasing the 1988 film on Blu-ray, and quality control wasn't prioritized by the company. It was an atrocious Blu-ray offering, with incorrect colors and aspect ratio, and the run time was shaved down to just under 70 minutes. The movie didn't make much sense, and the presentation was even more confusing. Vinegar Syndrome now steps in to fix all things "Rabid Grannies," restoring the work to a 96-minute run time, also completing a fresh scan of the picture, presenting it the way the filmmakers intended. Narrative clarity is certainly new to the viewing experience, but it's difficult to state that the effort is one of quality. Director Emmanuel Kervyn is going after a B-movie mess with the "Evil Dead"-inspired offering, but production sloppiness certainly holds the splatter event back, fighting iffy editing and performances as it tries to make a proper screen mess for superfans of the genre. It's not a particularly strong feature, but at least it's a complete one now. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A little boy's imagination goes wild in 1971's "Benny's Bathtub," a Danish animated short from directors Jannik Hastrup and Flemming Quist Moller. The picture is a freeform viewing experience about the ways of childhood, exploring the high adventure of the mind and the dismissive ways of adults. While it has every opportunity to be oppressive, "Benny's Bathtub" remains playful and, at times, surreal, following a specific tone of inspiration to have some fun with musical numbers and strange encounters, but also touch on the liberty of youth during its most magical years. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Certainly the ways of competing productions is nothing new in Hollywood, with studios periodically doing battle with the same ideas, often racing to reach the screen first to at least claim some freshness before comparisons begin. We're used to it with animated pictures ("Shark Tale" vs. "Finding Nemo," "Antz" vs. "A Bug's Life"), but dueling takes on "The Most Dangerous Game" featuring the physical might of homeless men on the run from a pack of relentless human hunters? 1993 and '94 were a wild time for this stuff, with Universal first to the market with the wonderfully furious Jean- Claude Van Damme actioner, "Hard Target." New Line Cinema showed up eight months later with "Surviving the Game," which traded Van Damme's muscular hustle and capable goon-smashing presence for Ice T and his less credible offering of self-defense. The two features share the same idea, but they're truly worlds apart in execution, with "Surviving the Game" dismally directed by Ernest Dickerson ("Juice," "Demon Knight"), who presents a viciously overacted take on rabid acts of survival, unwilling to control his hammy cast as they try to out-crazy one another, leaving Ice T to carry the little dramatic weight in the endeavor, and that's…not happening. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1986's "Magic Crystal" is a Hong Kong production that hopes to bring some Steven Spielberg magic to the world of martial arts action entertainment. It's an odd mix, but director Jing Wong makes it work for the most part, putting on a terrific display of fight choreography to help support the endeavor, which is also interested in sci-fi elements and heavy doses of slapstick comedy. It's not the sharpest offering of screen mayhem and silliness, but "Magic Crystal" is immense fun, and the production's love of Spielberg is something to see, with the helmer ripping off a much as he can without triggering interest from Hollywood lawyers. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com