Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

1958’s “The Veil” is known as the show that never aired. Only one episode of the program managed to be seen at the time, with production complications preventing the whole thing from finding release. Over the years, efforts have been made to bring to the show to the public, trusting in the appeal of an anthology series about the supernatural, hosted and starring Hollywood legend Boris Karloff, who worked his natural way with screen intimidation to offer viewers a peek at what “lies behind the veil.” The episodes basically all touch on the same idea, delivering chilling tales of ghostly encounters, soaking up the bewilderment of characters seeking answers to the unexplainable. And there’s Karloff at the center of it all, sharing intros and outros in front of a roaring fire, presenting the bizarre (albeit in mild form) with ideal thespian emphasis, also contributing fine performances for a series that contains a lot of capable acting. “The Veil” has its high and low points, but it’s largely consistent with weirdness and drama, creating an interesting “weekly” journey into the mysteries of the world and the desperation of agitated characters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

We live in a world where seven “Resident Evil” movies exist (another one is due out later this year). It’s a horror/action franchise that’s managed to endure rough critical assessment and uneven box office returns over the years, but brand recognition is mighty, with the video game adaptation managing to pull in viewers no matter the quality of the productions. This cinematic universe is largely credited to writer/director Paul W.S. Anderson, who oversaw the creation of first chapter (released in 2002) and continued on throughout most of the series. However, Anderson and his highly debatable creative talents only arrived when production company Constantin Film attempted to make a “Resident Evil” feature with George A. Romero, the man behind “Night of the Living Dead.” Romero helped to establish the zombie subgenre, and his work inspired Capcom to create a video game that highlighted frights with the undead and the monstrous. “George A. Romero’s Resident Evil: The Documentary of the Unmade Film” investigates this aborted take on the franchise, with co-writer/director Brandon Salisbury examining the evidence left behind from Romero’s days on the project, putting together an understanding of creative and tonal directions ultimately ignored by Anderson. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As a musical artist, Madonna remains one of the most iconic performers around. She’s enjoyed incredible success over the course of her career, but she was especially white hot as the 1980s drew to a close, riding the triumph of her “Like a Prayer” album into the 1990s as controversy and attention increased, giving her the media’s undivided attention. Madonna risked it all to continue pushing boundaries, with 1992’s “Erotica” attempting to stir up more trouble for the singer as she entered a hypersexual phase of her career. The record did fine, but sales were noticeably down, and Madonna was also determined to keep working on an acting career, hoping to sell herself as a viable dramatic entity while previously performing in pictures that suggested otherwise. 1993’s “Body of Evidence” was part of the “Erotica” era, giving Madonna her own erotic thriller after the success of 1992’s “Basic Instinct,” attempting to deliver the ultimate in heat for director Uli Edel (“Last Exit to Brooklyn”). And the star puts on quite a show in the endeavor, working with screenwriter Brad Mirman’s imagination for softcore events and kink play for suburbanites, portraying a femme fatale on trial for the murder of her lover. “Body of Evidence” has Madonna willing to go where the writing leads, but she’s certainly not a commanding presence in an already clunky, awkward picture. Heat isn’t present here, and legal entanglements are often less appealing, adding another misfire to Madonna’s odd acting oeuvre. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Julian Glander gets a little weird for his feature-length directorial debut, “Boys Go to Jupiter.” It’s an animated offering of absurdity and screen detail, delivering a Wes Anderson-y spin on the experiences of a 16-year-old kid trying to take on an adult world of financial responsibilities and relationships. Glander plays with dryness and video game-like visuals, but he’s fully committed to the oddity of his screenplay, which demands viewers go with its flow as it visits areas of adolescence, weird science, and late-stage capitalism while it also explores teen dilemmas of life and love. “Boys Go to Jupiter” is a creative effort from Glander, and it possesses enough humor and visual idiosyncrasy to hold attention as the tale dances with unreality and musical interests while visiting the secret lives of Floridians. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The battle of an aspiring actor trying to make it in the big, bad movie industry is, well, marginally tended to in 1984’s “Raw Talent.” The picture is scripted by Joyce Snyder, and she’s all over the place in the endeavor, looking to create a study of professional ambition that somehow involves multiple martial art fights and a semi-satire of adult filmmakers. It’s a starring vehicle for Jerry Butler, who tries to channel the energies of Travolta and Gere with his take on hungry thespian blues, putting in the work to bring meaty swings of drama to life. “Raw Talent” remains involving, but not always for the right reasons, as the feature certainly delivers some interesting elements of manipulation and despair. However, it’s also a very silly movie at times, and the tonal extremes are a little difficult to digest. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2007’s “Timecrimes” is the directorial debut for Nacho Vigalondo. He’s gone on to create such pictures as 2016’s “Colossal” and 2024’s “Daniela Forever,” offering unusual blends of dark humor and fantasy/sci-fi interests, and his debut feature introduces a helmer ready to impress with his command of twisty storytelling. A time-travel tale of increasing panic, “Timecrimes” is a small-scale study of self-destruction, with Vigalondo trying to play with confusion and dark clarity as he creates an evening of horror for a man who simply wants to rest in his house in the country. The movie runs out of steam before it finds an ending, but Vigalondo provides a good hour of appealing disorientation and mystery, making for an enjoyable brain-bleeder. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For many people, the game “Assassin” or “Senior Assassin” was a rite of passage in school. Gameplay involved organized chaos, sending players into the world with dart guns, aiming to “kill” targets using spy game wits and dedication to the spirit of the competition. Of course, the idea of young people tearing around a college campus carrying realistic-looking guns seems a little strange today, but the 1980s were a different time, and writer/director Nick Castle uses the organized specifics of the era to inspire 1982’s “TAG: The Assassination Game,” which follows the exploits of players trying to take down their targets in the middle of a college year. Castle (who makes his helming debut with the endeavor, eventually going on to oversee such efforts as “The Last Starfighter” and “Major Payne”) isn’t making a cold-blooded thriller with “TAG: The Assassination Game,” going the semi-comedic route instead, aiming to turn a tale of toy pistol elimination into a film noir tribute/spoof, blending silliness with some degree of severity as dead bodies begin to pile up in the story. It’s a big swing from the production, which is more effective as a modest tale of campus pursuit than a pulse-pounding detective tale. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Careers must start somewhere, and for so many in the film industry during the 1970s, employment was usually found with producer Roger Corman. The king of frugality was mostly happy to help hungry moviemakers, especially those he didn’t have to pay very much, and part of this roster of stars is Martin Scorsese. Having made his first feature (1967’s “Who’s That Knocking on My Door”), Scorsese was finding his way to Hollywood, eventually attracting attention for his short films, creating a path to make 1972’s “Boxcar Bertha,” which follows a Depression-era woman and her experiences with violent, desperate men. Scorsese and Corman appear to be an unlikely pair, but work is work, and the helmer puts in as much effort as possible for the producer, ready to deliver exploitation for the masses in the B-movie. Cinematic mastery would start to form in 1973’s “Mean Streets,” but Scorsese has his moments here, out to deliver the basics in Corman demands while figuring out his style and fondness for screen intensity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1969’s “Goodbye, Columbus” attempts to adapt a tale from author Philip Roth’s 1959 short story collection. As with any effort to expand on something limited in scope, screenwriter Arnold Schulman has difficulty trying to extract drama out of an experiential journey for the lead character. Director Larry Peerce works hard to make the picture memorable, leaning into the appeal of youth culture from the era to land a faint take on “Romeo and Juliet,” managing the romantic combustion of the writing with Roth’s vision of Jewish American activities and family ties. “Goodbye, Columbus” has style, with Peerce laboring to find visual energy for a feature that’s not commanding with emotional issues, lacking sharpness when it comes to matters of the heart. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Mystery is the goal of “The Dead Thing.” Co-writer/director Elric Kane (“Kissy Kissy”) isn’t open with the hard details of this story, which tracks a woman’s increasing disorientation as she pursues love with a strange man who remains elusive in more ways than one. Kane (and co-writer Webb Wilcoxen) doesn’t go for a horror experience with the picture, which contains no scares and no particular genre appetite. It’s more of a psychological study with touches of eroticism and menace, slipping into ghost story territory at times. “The Dead Thing” intends to be slow-burn, with Kane pursuing atmosphere, not intensity. However, earning audience interest in this puzzle is up for debate, as such glacial pacing isn’t rewarding. The tale plays like a short film that’s been expanded for feature-length examination, failing to deliver an interesting dramatic experience as Kane works out his cinematic influences and love of ambiguity, which doesn’t translate into riveting cinema. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The abyssal depths of addiction are explored in 1974’s “The Gambler,” with screenwriter James Toback using his experience in the world of gambling to inspire a dramatic understanding of powerlessness. Emotions are tightly controlled in the picture, with director Karel Reisz aiming to follow the tentative stability of the main character as he wrestles with a reality he doesn’t want to accept, growing more desperate as the roller coaster ride of wins and losses begin to do real damage to his life. The endeavor maintains some emotional distance from the worsening situation, but Reisz and Toback have their way with the psychology of it all, creating tense moments of blistering internalization, giving star James Caan a chance to deliver one of his finest performances. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2013’s “Doomsdays” is the directorial debut for Eddie Mullins, and he goes as indie as possible with the endeavor, also creating the screenplay, based on his original short. Story is basically ignored for a series of experiences for the lead characters, with Mullins examining the passing days of two homeless men and their addiction to breaking into houses, living their lives one day at a time. The feature is meant to be a comedy, looking to remain unpredictable with behaviors and reactions, and Mullins puts a lot of faith in his lead actors, with Leo Fitzpatrick and Justin Rice tasked with creating some sort of appeal or understanding of two practiced troublemakers and their battle with spring vacancies in the Catskills. “Doomsdays” is spare and maybe a bit silly, best served to viewers in a relaxed state of mind, as the offering contains no drama or urgency as it follows weeks of deceptive people committing property destruction. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For her directorial debut, Mira Nair elects to explore the experience of children living on their own in Bombay, India. 1988’s “Salaam Bombay” isn’t a celebration of life, but a striking feature about the death of innocence, following young characters as they’re confronted by the harsh realities of their surroundings, and the realization that nobody is going to save them. It’s a potent offering of drama from Nair, who manages amateur performances and chaotic locations with remarkable skill at times, finding a way through a difficult tale of survival. “Salaam Bombay” is unique in its screen energy and daring in its tonality, with Nair hoping to bring attention to a dire situation of living where life seems disposable. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1982’s “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains” has a cult following, with the movie’s reputation steadily developing in the decades since its original theatrical release. And there’s a reason for that, as the picture provides a pleasing shot of attitude, sold with interest in burgeoning feminist rebellion that went on to inspire a lot of musicians and viewers, especially in the alternative rock scene of the 1990s. There’s something here worth understanding and appreciating, but there’s also the reality of watching “Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains,” which has been edited and rethought into near nothingness, putting director Lou Adler at odds with screenwriter Nancy Dowd (who disowned the film, credited here as “Rob Morton”), creating two very different dramatic approaches for the endeavor, and they don’t mix well. It’s a messy offering, just shy of being incomprehensible, speeding through major moments in life and maturity to hit simplistic points of pain, creating a wildly uneven viewing experience. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There was once a time when sword and sorcery movies had their moment in the sun. It was an era long ago, known as “the eighties,” when producers, hungry for easy profits and small budgets, tried to match the success of 1982’s “Conan the Barbarian” and rising commitment to role- playing games, offering their own take on weapon-wielding brawn and adventuring. 1983’s “Deathstalker” is one of the more famous titles of the trend, eventually conquering the home video market and spawning numerous sequels. And now it’s been brought back to life courtesy of writer/director Steven Kostanski (“Psycho Goreman,” “Frankie Freako”), who loves a monster mash, bringing his vision for practical effects and tomfoolery to “Deathstalker,” which offers a fantasy saga update that focuses on the fun factor of the subgenre. It’s a new take on an old story, with Kostanski using his remarkable imagination for gore and creature effects to successfully revive the brand name with this mostly lively display of action and evildoing. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Keir O’Donnell is a longtime actor, perhaps best know for his role in 2005’s “Wedding Crashers.” He makes his directorial debut with “Marmalade,” also taking a writing credit on the picture, which follows the planning stages of a young man in love with a wild woman, with their union newly focused on a bank robbery to deal with rising pharmaceutical prices. It’s not an original study of carelessness, but O’Donnell attempts to add some turns to the plot, juicing up its potential as a mystery. “Marmalade” rides the line between quirky and clever, and one really starts to feel the length of the feature in the final act, finding O’Donnell taking his time organizing a way out of the story. But there’s charm in the movie, which is helped along by enthusiastic performances, and technical proficiency is present, adding some style to help digest the unsteady endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The inherent darkness of brothel life is blended with comedy in 1978’s “Maraschino Cherry,” with writer/director Radley Metzger attempting to bring some silliness to the screen while examining various fantasy encounters. It’s an episodic endeavor about the life of a madame and her experiences with numerous clients, and Metzger follows the natural flow of oddity and carnal intensity with the picture, but he’s always ready to stop for a joke. “Maraschino Cherry” is bizarre at times, but it makes a valiant effort to be welcoming, keeping things spirited as the story jumps from one seductive scenario to the next. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane! It’s a man dressed in gold speeding around the sky in a beam of light! After 1978’s “Superman” managed to deliver a truly epic take on the comic book superhero, also scoring big at the box office, copycats were sure to follow. One of the more bizarre riffs on the Richard Donner film is 1982’s “Descendant of the Sun,” with the Shaw Brothers trying to transform the American blockbuster into a tale of Chinese folklore. The production attempts to mirror the saga of Kal-El and his heroic destiny, going the wuxia route with director Chu Yuan, who strives to deliver a spirited take on action/fantasy cinema, keeping the endeavor loaded with violent encounters and special effects as good takes on evil for control of a kingdom. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

“Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” originally aired as an “ABC Movie of the Week” in 1973, presented as an evening with something scary for the Halloween season. It was a quickie endeavor, beginning production just over a month before it was presented to the public, but it apparently left a lasting mark on viewers, continuing to do so through the power of syndication. Much like “Bad Ronald” and “Trilogy of Terror,” “Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark” is a genre effort that’s managed to capture the imagination of many, with its offering of the creeps managing to sustain the picture’s reputation for decades, even inspiring a 2011 remake from producer/co-writer Guillermo del Toro. One certainly can’t challenge the simple pleasures of T.V. terror, and while the offering is far from commanding, director John Newland manages to summon some appealing weirdness with a tiny budget and extremely limited production time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

For 1998’s “The Phantom of the Opera,” director Dario Argento sets out to find the horror and dark romance of the story, also co-scripting the endeavor, putting his own spin on Gaston Leroux’s 1910 tale of obsession. What Argento actually ends up with is something of a mess, with a clear line between creative intent and budgetary reality. “The Phantom of the Opera” means to be erotic and sincere, but the production often veers into extreme horror and slapstick comedy shake up the viewing experience, and Argento shows very little control over the frightfully uneven, unpolished movie. The helmer hopes to deliver an overwhelming viewing experience of sight and sound, only to end up with one of his most disappointing films. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com