Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

1956's "Ilya Muromets" was intended to be a major moviegoing event for Russian audiences, with director Aleksandr Ptushko throwing everything he had into the creation of the Cinemascope epic, which is inspired by "Russian heroic folk tales." The feature wasn't welcomed with open arms in America, soon recut and retitled by Roger Corman (presenting the more eye-catching "The Sword and the Dragon"), who aimed to transform the endeavor into a matinee distraction. And a copy of the picture eventually found its way to the "Mystery Science Theater 3000" gang, who riffed the re- edit in a particularly amusing 1994 episode of the show. "Ilya Muromets" has now returned, restored by Mosfilm, who hope to present the effort the way it was originally seen by Russian viewers, reinforcing the amazing scope of the feature as Ptushko's imagination is celebrated throughout the viewing experience, with the helmer striving to bring fantasy to life. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1994's "No Resistance" offers a look at Houston in the future, where gangs are plentiful, the economy is in disarray, and a man with a portable computer can infiltrate and manipulate any system he's paid to invade. So, basically, this is Houston, 1997, but for co-writer/director Tim Tomson, "No Resistance" is his chance to play with the world of cyberpunk, doing so with a shot-on-video thriller that looks to present heated confrontations and online warfare with a no-budget production effort, forcing Tomson to get as creative as possible with his limited resources. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Nicolas Maury has been acting for a few decades now, perhaps best known to international audiences from his turn in 2018's "Knife + Heart." Creating an acting opportunity for himself, Maury co-writes and directs 2020's "My Best Part," which puts him front and center in a drama about a long- suffering actor trying to take some type of control of his seemingly spiraling life. A thespian showcase is exactly what "My Best Part" is, allowing Maury to stretch as a screen presence, bringing in French film industry legend Nathalie Baye for support as he undertakes a character study with elements of dark humor and drama, questing to generate an appreciation for an emotionally wounded man and his many experiences with rejection and depression. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After making a name for himself with artier endeavors in the 1960s and '70s, director Dusan Makavejev aimed to establish a career for himself in the 1980s, settling down with slightly more accessible fare, including the 1981 dark comedy, "Montenegro." 1985's "The Coca-Cola Kid" was the second of Makavejev's offerings in the decade, presenting the helmer with more defined steps toward a mainstream hit, dealing with known actors and the exotic, idiosyncratic ways of Australia, which provides the picture with a special energy during a time of growing trendiness. "The Coca-Cola Kid" is based on short stories written by Frank Moorehouse (who also provides the screenplay), and the picture retains such narrative limitations, putting Makavejev in charge of conjuring a sense of playfulness for the movie while it struggles with a general disinterest in storytelling authority. Amusing interactions and a pleasing sense of location is in play here, keeping the effort buoyant enough to pass, and Makavejev retains much of his visual and tonal impishness, trying to twist the feature into something odd when the plot threatens to keep the whole thing a conventional fish-out-of-water study, with slight romantic comedy additions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Leave it to a rock band to make the most entertaining horror comedy in recent memory. Foo Fighters have been around in one form or another for nearly 30 years, but there's something about a pandemic that inspires strange ideas. For frontman Dave Grohl, the downtime presented a chance to develop an idea for a demonic possession story, with screenwriters Jeff Buhler and Rebecca Hughes hired to flesh out the concept of a band experiencing a developing nightmare while attempting to record their latest album inside a haunted house. There's a single setting but lots of ideas for bodily harm in "Studio 666," which updates the concept of a "band movie" for genre fans, asking members of Foo Fighters to play slightly cartoonish versions of themselves while the tale delivers blasts of ultraviolence and moments of silliness. "Studio 666" is tremendous fun, and while it's aimed at the fanbase, there are gore zone delights for all. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Mr. Jones" presents the story of journalist Gareth Jones, who not only managed to make his way into the Soviet Union during the early years of conflict before World War II, he witnessed the ravages of the Holodomor in Ukraine, exposed to the horrors of a man-made famine utilized by Joseph Stalin to destroy the country, using its riches as "gold" to demonstrate power to the rest of the world. Such a dire tale of political exposure isn't an easy sell, but in director Agnieszka Holland's hands, the feature becomes a riveting study of reporting and corruption that mirrors the world's struggles and horrors of today. "Mr. Jones" maintains a steady pace and sense of dramatic urgency throughout, giving Holland one of her most effective movies in years, and one smartly designed by screenwriter Andrea Chalupa (making a fine debut), who encourages suspense while delivering a powerful message on the value of the press. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1964, legendary screen comedian Buster Keaton was hired to make "The Railrodder," a silent short used to showcase the natural beauty and personality of Canada. Director Gerald Potterton (who would go on to helm 1981's "Heavy Metal") was put in charge of assembling the picture, teaming with Keaton, who was 69 years old, embarking on the creation of his 87th movie. Hoping to capture this moment in film history, director John Spotton was brought on to make a documentary, "Buster Keaton Rides Again," about the production experience, observing Keaton at his most unguarded as the icon toured the country, trying to perfect gags for "The Railrodder." Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Jeff Baena has made a positive impression during his emerging career, pulling off a horror comedy with "Life After Beth," and achieving a cinematic miracle with "Joshy," a movie about male bonding that wasn't basted in ugliness. "The Little Hours" proves to be his greatest tonal challenge yet, mounting a comedy that's not always pursuing laughs, and its target is repression found in organized religion. It's a gamble from Baena, likely alienating a great number of potential viewers right out of the gate, but he mostly sticks the landing, finding ways to scrape out the blasphemy by playing it all so broadly, making a film that certainly has the potential to reach farcical highs, but pulls back a bit too often, perhaps afraid to really dive into the weirdness of the material. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Stephen Hopkins isn't the most refined filmmaker, but there's always been something about his career that suggests he'd rather be making high art than genre entertainment. He broke through in Hollywood with his work on 1989's "A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child," and built a reputation for violent thrillers with 1990's "Predator 2," 1993's "Judgement Night," and 1994's "Blown Away." All of these features have significant creative problems, but Hopkins still found gigs, and 1995's "The Ghost and the Darkness" seemed like a project capable of taking the helmer to the next level of respectability, offered material (scripted by William Goldman) that carries a frightening atmosphere while supported by some of the finest cast and crew in the business at the time, giving what's essentially another "Jaws" knock-off some true cinematic regality. "The Ghost and the Darkness" plays like a production aching to achieve event movie status, but it never quite reaches such ambition. It's an entertaining picture with a cracking pace for the first hour, but Hopkins is a strange choice to guide the endeavor, stuck trying to find a balance between the grisliness of the true story behind the Tsavo Man-Eaters experience and the character study of Goldman's writing, which is often obscured through mangled editorial moves. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

As pop culture deep cuts go in 2022, "Inspector Ike" certainly has the weirdest inspiration in recent memory. Co-writers Ikechukwu Ufomadu and Graham Mason (who also directs) head back to the 1970s, looking to parody the state of television mystery movies, inventing a faux world for a gifted NYC detective and his periodic run-ins with murder. The pair concoct a comedy, and one created on a shoestring budget, limiting the technical replication of the picture, but Ufomadu and Mason manage to score some hearty laughs with this extremely specific valentine to the "Columbo" world of small-screen cops and their expert ways with sleuthing. "Inspector Ike" isn't built for bigness, remaining a modest offering of silliness, and it largely succeeds through engaged, playful performances and occasional ideas that deliver on the promise of such a strange spoof. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Some credit is due to co-writer/co-directors Harpo and Lenny Guit, who certainly understand how to identify the exact tonality and level of humor found in "Mother Schmuckers," doing so right in the opening scene. We meet siblings Issachar (Maxi Delmelle) and Zabulon (Harpo Guit) while they mess around in a kitchen, with their mother, Cachemire (Claire Bodson), instinctively knowing the two are up to no good. Turns out, she's right, with the siblings in the process of cooking a lump of feces, preparing to taste it because the pair are morons. Mom catches the sight of it, and eventually throws up right on the camera lens. And this, dear readers, is how "Mother Schmuckers" begins, making for a long 65 minutes before the Guits find their way to a conclusion. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The Blu-ray packaging for 1975's "The Mob" ("La Gammick") lists the film as "Almost completely unseen outside of Quebec." Not a lot of movies can make that claim, giving the endeavor a unique identity as a crime picture that never found a wide audience, remaining a Canadian viewing experience for a select crowd. Now unleashed on disc, "The Mob" has the challenge of meeting expectations, offering a story of a criminal where his violent actions aren't explored in a cinematic manner for the most part. He's the talkative type, keeping the feature to a series of conversations, confessions, and modest confrontations, which is about as Canadian as it gets. Expectations for something more explosive should be lowered, as co-writer/director Jacques Godbout enjoys playing more of a psychological game with his characters. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

2015's "They Look Like People" is sold as a horror feature to attract viewers, but the material actually concerns the disintegration of reality for a very ill character. Writer/director Perry Blackshear explores the insidious ways of mental illness, using the intimacy of friendship and all the trust it requires to capture a dangerous situation of instability. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Jackass" is the success story. The MTV show was an immense hit, bringing the world of skate video shenanigans and backyard stunts to the masses, helping to inspire the early imagination of the YouTube generation. However, before Johnny Knoxville, there was Ralph Zavadil, an Ontario native who spent time between 1990 and 1995 working to entertain cable customers with his special brand of insanity. He became Cap'n Video, a figure of stunts and cartoonish behavior attempting to bring lunacy to the small screen, using a wild blend of humor and recklessness. Zavadil loved playing the part, and for five years, he was the king of his castle, offering a one-man-band production push to sell himself as an entertainer with an unusual appetite for destruction. "Beauty Day" is director Jay Cheel's effort to catch up with the star of "Cap'n Video," exploring a bizarre career and a weird man as he gears up to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his cable debut. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

A hunt for identity drives the plot of 2019's "Take Me Somewhere Nice," with writer/director Ena Sendijarevic offering a semi-biographical tale of exploration and isolation. The writing tracks the experiences of a young Dutch woman (Sara Luna Zoric) as she makes her way to Bosnia, hoping to find her estranged father after learning about his hospitalization. A road trip movie of sorts emerges, but the helmer isn't interested in a lighter understanding of travel. She maintains her distance with this static celebration of filmmaking, leaving the storytelling tremendously underwhelming. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Ted K" examines the developing madness of Ted Kaczynski, a man who, for decades, terrorized America with threatening manifestos and homemade explosive devices, earning the nickname, "The Unabomber." Screenwriters Gaddy Davis, John Rosenthal, and Tony Stone (who also directs) don't create a biopic of the monster, instead looking to understand the corrosive nature of his thinking while living in isolation in the Montana wilderness. The details of such a life aren't prioritized by the production, with "Ted K" more interested in the subject's screaming mind and his management of extreme intelligence, which led him down a deadly path of action that wounded and killed innocent people, much to his delight. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Video Murders" is an ominous title for a movie that's not exactly threatening. It's sold as a slasher, highlighting the menace of an unstable man as he develops into a serial killer, and one who enjoys filming his ghastly acts of violence. However, the actual picture is more of a psychological drama with some periodic supercop action, with director Jim McCullough Sr. ("Mountaintop Motel Massacre") trying to make his feature more meaningful than just another cheap horror endeavor. And there is a little more to the effort than simple bloodshed, but restraint doesn't equate pace, as there's little forward momentum to "Video Murders," which fails to come up with enough incident to fill the run time. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1971's "Born to Win" offers actor George Segal a chance to showcase a bit more of his range, challenged to portray a drug addict in all stages of desperation. Segal's casting takes a little time to get used to, with the star working against his usual charms to detail the deterioration of a once stable person who now lives a life of constant risk, craving only a fix as his reward. "Born to Win" carries a strange darkly comic tone for such a bleak subject matter, with co-writer/director Ivan Passer attempting to juggle moods for the endeavor, striving to make the feature approachable while still respecting the downfall arc Segal is very eager to inhabit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Vik Rubenfeld attempts to manufacture his own take on film noir with 1989's "Alien Private Eye." It's a detective story with sci-fi touches, but the whole endeavor is trying to replicate movie classics from the 1940s, putting an investigator in the middle of a criminal mess, lured in by feminine powers while forced to fight for his life as trouble intensifies. Rubenfeld has his fandom, which offers some very light energy to the effort, but this is his moviemaking debut, and inexperience is a major issue for the picture. "Alien Private Eye" has an idea, but no real clue what to do with it, with Rubenfeld managing limited resources and wooden performances, with the stiffness of it all eventually shutting down any possible fun factor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Before experiencing some creative appreciation for his 2018 film, "Knife+Heart," director Yann Gonzalez was already hip-deep in artistic experimentation in 2013's "You and the Night." It's his ode to the passions, madness, and the comfort of strangers, sold in a highly visual manner that establishes his cinematic interests to come. Only here, there's distinct coolness to the execution, with Gonzalez trying to turn theatrical material into a cinematic show of force. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com