Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

In 1969, The Who unleashed "Tommy," their electrified stab at a rock opera after years of tinkering with the complex creative format. A musical achievement of impressive ambition and crunchy stacked-amp rock theatrics, "Tommy" understandably became a sensation with critics and fans, justifiably branded the defining album of the band's extensive career. The material soon embarked on a marathon tour of different interpretations, eventually making iconic leaps to Broadway in 1992 and a feature film event in 1975, handed over to cinema's most persistent rascal, daredevil director Ken Russell, who's never shied away from offering excess and volume, always delighting in some form of chaos. It was a match made in cinema heaven. The official tagline for the picture stated simply: "Your senses will never be the same." In this world of "Tommy," which touches on religion, violence, and insanity, it was a promise delivered in full. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"The Joy of Sex" was released in 1972, offering an illustrated manual for carnal activities to help illuminate taboo subjects. It was a popular sex education tool and literary event, billed as a "gourmet guide to love making." It wasn't built for a screen adaptation, but Hollywood had to try, especially during the post-"Porky's" rush of teen horndog cinema, attempting to bend the material into an R-rated comedy for adolescent audiences. 1984's "Joy of Sex" brings in director Martha Coolidge (fresh off 1983's "Valley Girl") to help add some dimension to inherently flat material, but there's not much she can do with the project, which is a lifeless offering of juvenile antics and concerns, at times barely even making sense. "Joy of Sex" is a DOA offering of shenanigans, and while a bit of effort is made to disrupt the usual in this type of entertainment, it's not enough to support a mess of a movie. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Rock and roll will never die! Unless, of course, the band chooses a remote area of Sweden to shoot a music video in, triggering the rage of feral locals desperate to defend their terrain. Then, obviously, rock and roll will die. And painfully too. 1985's "Blood Tracks" is a riff on Wes Craven's "The Hills Have Eyes," putting director Mats-Helge Olsson in the mood to generate some sex and violence in the middle of a snowbound location, using musical trends of the day to keep things hip while going through the same old stalk-n-kill business. It's not inspired work, as the production deals with tired material and thin characterizations, and while horror isn't known for its stunning displays of drama, "Blood Tracks" is too routine and bland to make an impression, even for exploitation entertainment. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1989's "Iced" brings slasher cinema to a ski resort, giving director Jeff Kwinty a playground of snow and cabin action to help deliver a lively feature. And yet, there's very little spirit found in the picture, which intends to be a mystery and a horror film, but spends most of its run time dealing with uninteresting characters and their personal problems. It's not a terribly satisfying adventure into genre moviemaking, finding Kwinty generally reluctant to participate in an alert endeavor that's heavy with violence. Exploitation interests are there, but the execution of the offering isn't, keeping "Iced" quite glacial as it waits for over an hour to really summon more active screen experiences. It's a long wait for extraordinarily little payoff. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

With the development of the internet and virtual reality in the early 1990s, Hollywood wasn't about to let such futuristic fun simply walk on by. Instead, producers dabbled in tech-thrillers, trying to make sense of difficult concepts while playing to the mass audience. One of the most successful of these odd pictures was 1992's "The Lawnmower Man," as co-writer/director Brett Leonard endeavored to transform a bizarre Stephen King short story into a VR nightmare, generating unusual visual effects to create a film that strived to be scary and sensual. The approached clicked at the box office, giving Leonard a career to manage, making himself a valuable player in uncharted cinematic territory. 1995's "Virtuosity" provides Leonard with a bigger budget to examine the ways of digital horrors, but instead of creating another creeper, he goes the action route, working with a promising manhunt tale from writer Eric Bernt that explores the wrath of an A.I. entity in the real world. The feature has the potential to be real fun, and the work has a few moments of B-movie clarity, but Leonard isn't the proper fit for a bruising thrill ride. His vision tends to turn "Virtuosity" into a cartoon, which might connect for certain viewers, but promise of something more suspenseful and demented isn't met in this mediocre offering. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Eat the Night" has crime story momentum, observing rising tensions between drug pushers looking to protect their territory, but it's also an interesting study of isolation in the digital age. Co-writer/directors Caroline Poggi and Jonathan Vinel (who made their helming debut in 2018's "Jessica Forever") attempt to merge more visceral encounters with intimate ones in the endeavor, as it details a collection of characters trying to find some form of stability and love as human connection enters their lives. "Eat the Night" goes a little deeper into private thoughts and feelings, giving it a fascinating understanding of the personalities as they deal with so much in their lives. There's texture to the writing to sustain the viewing experience, and gaming elements to help create a diffe Read the rest at Blu-ray.comrent appreciation of loneliness, especially when it comes to an end-of-life situation occurring in a virtual world. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writers/directors Alexi Pappas and Jeremy Teicher were previously focused on the wide world of sports. They explored the troubles of a long- distance runner in 2016's "Tracktown," and spotlighted an outbreak of love for a cross-country skier in 2020's "Olympic Dreams." They ditch athleticism for a different kind of competition in "Not an Artist," which follows the general anxiety and collision of personalities that occurs at a retreat for creative minds and all the insecurities they can carry. It's another winner for Pappas and Teicher, who do very well with characterization and mood, exploring the semi-comical ways of the getaway and all the internal chaos it inspires. "Not an Artist" eventually moves too far away from humor, but up to this point, it connects, presenting an amusing take on self-imposed pressures and life woes, sold with terrific performances that capture a few complex emotions. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

There's been no shortage of "The Count of Monte Cristo" adaptations across all forms of media. The 1854 adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas offers a lengthy and intricate revenge story to dramatize, making it irresistible to storytellers, and many have tried to construct excitement with the material, which was notably adapted in a 1975 television movie starring Richard Chamberlain, and a 2002 feature with Jim Caviezel. A plan of vengeance returns in the new "The Count of Monte Cristo," and directors Matthieu Delaporte and Alexandre de la Patelliere take the filmmaking challenge very seriously. The helmers intend to go epic with the offering, overseeing a nicely produced, three-hour-long take on the return of Edmond Dantes and the many scores he plans to settle after being imprisoned for crimes he didn't commit. The French production hopes to bring a little more action and psychological gamesmanship to the screen, and while the run time is a bit much, the effort is polished and strongly performed, finding a few peaks of suspense. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1976's "Lifeguard" visits Californian beach life for some fun under the sun…and an early midlife crisis. Screenwriter Ron Koslow examines the heart of a seasoned lifeguard as he confronts the reality of his employment and life choices, aiming to cut a little deeper when it comes to a character study of a man in professional and personal turmoil. Director Daniel Petrie ("Fort Apache, The Bronx," "A Raisin in the Sun," "Cocoon: The Return") is clearly fighting to preserve a more meaningful examination of doubt, but there's always time for a little goofiness in the endeavor, which keeps introducing high jinks involving the crazy people out to enjoy the water (and participate in some crimes), though the material never quite commits to the silliness. "Lifeguard" is uneven at times, but when it attempts to grasp the struggles of the main character and his emotional battles, it finds interesting places to go, boosted by fine acting from star Sam Elliott, who really captures the push and pull of a guy living a breezy life until the day his age catches up with him. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Co-writer/director Mike Cheslik takes on an unusual filmmaking challenge with "Hundreds of Beavers." He's resurrecting a silent movie approach to a cartoon-style study of survival and fur-trapping in the 1800s, going wild and wacky with the story of a man and his desperate need to bring in enough beaver pelts to win the hand of a young woman in the middle of a frozen forest. Silliness is the name of the game in "Hundreds of Beavers," which is non-stop nonsense from Cheslik, who shows remarkable creativity with his limited budget, working with whatever he can to bring his war of animal vs. man to life. It's a wild ride, and an exhausting one too, but before the feature loses steam with its parade of shenanigans, the production achieves an enjoyable level of madcap antics, sold via a charmingly tireless lead performance from Ryland Brickson Cole Tews (who co-scripts with Cheslik). Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1987's "Street Trash" is a bizarre feature. It was part of the "body melt" filmmaking movement of the decade, as moviemakers hunted for new ways to deliver exceptional gore to a rabid audience. Director J. Michael Muro and screenwriter Roy Frumkes actually managed the impossible, putting thought and care into their low-budget gross-out, which had something to share about the cruel disposability of life while turning characters into multi-colored puddles of flesh and blood. Co-writer/director Ryan Kruger bravely tries to recapture the vibe of the original picture with a remake of "Street Trash" (billed as "A Ryan Kruger Thing"), taking the action to South Africa for a new round of disgusting events and miserable people. The update doesn't match the '87 endeavor, as Kruger struggles with uneven tone and weak humor throughout the offering, which only really comes alive when destroying bodies. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Writer/director Mike Leigh went uncharacteristically big in his last picture. Working under a sizable budget (for Leigh at least) and a different sense of scope, the helmer launched a historical epic in 2018's "Peterloo," but audiences weren't very interested in watching the lengthy endeavor. Instead of trying to top himself, Leigh returns to the intimacies of a domestic drama in "Hard Truths," which plays to his strengths as a storyteller favoring tough tales of distraught people recognizing the difficulties of their lives. Leigh doesn't go easy on the audience with the effort, taking a close look at a woman managing all sorts of mental health issues while handling family demands. "Hard Truths" cuts to the core with its study of emotional and physical pain, and while the cast is exceptional here, the feature fully belongs to star Marianne Jean-Baptiste, who provides a full-body understanding of a calcified person unwilling to participate in the world any longer. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 1993, there was "Jurassic Park." The feature was born to become event cinema, putting director Steven Spielberg to work transforming a Michael Crichton book into a must-see movie, and even better, the effort delivered on a huge scale. It was a technical marvel and a thrilling ride, and because "Jurassic Park" fulfilled its monetary and creative potential, Hollywood clearly wanted another one. "Congo" is also based on a Crichton book, and one that returns to the deep jungle to revisit exploration and animal threats, but there's no Spielberg to be found here. Instead, there's Frank Marshall, Spielberg's trusty producer who helped bring classics such as "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Poltergeist" pass the finish line. Marshall's directorial career started with promise, finding some sensitivity in 1993's "Alive," and he channeled his boss's way with suspense in 1990's "Arachnophobia." "Congo" seems like a slam-dunk production, but the dino odyssey was smoothly crafted and superbly acted. The gorilla chiller is clunky, campy, and strangely ineffective when summoning big screen thrills. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

After dealing with the demands of supporting work and bad movies for a decade, Sharon Stone finally broke through to the big time in 1992's "Basic Instinct," making her mark in a charged erotic thriller. Naturally, Hollywood wanted another one just like it, positioning 1993's "Sliver" as Stone's next step toward superstardom, playing to her physical and performance strengths as another character caught up in a murder mystery and sexual games. Director Phillip Noyce (fresh off the success of "Patriot Games") and screenwriter Joe Eszterhas (who wrote "Basic Instinct") are certainly prepared to deliver a spicy, spooky understanding of personal issues and primal attraction, but "Sliver" is slippery, and it eventually succumbs to stupidity (courtesy of clumsy reshoots). However, all is not lost, finding mood to the offering that's initially appealing, as Noyce attempts to craft something seductive and disturbing with this take on voyeurism. It has its moments before it completely falls apart. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriter Steve Kloves would go on to help create the cinematic world of the "Harry Potter" franchise, and even contributed to the bigness of superhero cinema in "The Amazing Spider-Man." In the early 1980s, he was just a struggling writer trying to sell a script, finally landing an opportunity with 1984's "Racing with the Moon." Kloves crafts a literary style understanding of youth during the tense years of World War II, following the exploits of two young men dealing with the reality of military service as they cling to the frivolity of their teenage years. It's a coming-of-age tale in many ways, giving director Richard Benjamin opportunities to explore sensitive days of concern and excitement as the characters come into contact with emotional experiences at home while facing possible finality oversees. "Racing with the Moon" commences with interesting scenes of friendship and courtship, as Benjamin really captures the wartime mood, also doing well setting up relationships. It's the last act that takes the material to a dramatic place it can't handle, as Kloves struggles to find a way out of the story, heading in the wrong direction as melodrama floods the endeavor. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Ghost Cat Anzu" is an adaptation of a manga series that began in 2006. Directors Yoko Kuno and Nobuhiro Yamashita have quite the dramatic challenge in the material, which initially delivers a mild sense of comedy and episodic experiences, only to end with a battle between supernatural forces. The first half of the picture works the best, capturing a very strange but amusing sense of oddity with the eponymous character and his daily adventures. Once heavier plotting and fantasy worlds join the endeavor, "Ghost Cat Anzu" loses most of its appeal. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Before "South Park" dominated pop culture, before "Team America" could save the world, and before "Orgasmo" could…gasmo, there was 1993's "Cannibal! The Musical." Initially conceived by writer/director Trey Parker as a student project for the University of Colorado Boulder film program, the effort was soon stretched to a feature-length undertaking, exploring the days of convicted cannibal Alferd Packer with help from a little song and dance. The picture is really the first shot fired in Parker's movie musical career (developed throughout "South Park" before graduating to Broadway with "The Book of Mormon"), and while "Cannibal! The Musical" is rough around the edges and could use a great deal of editorial tightening, it remains a striking achievement in low-budget cinema. Filled with humor, creativity, and an accomplished soundtrack of memorable tunes, the offering is something of a triumph for Parker and his team, who manage to show real talent in their debut, and these gifts would go on to be developed with help from Hollywood money. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Screenwriters Tesh Guttikonda and Kurtis Harder (who also directs) wade into the murky waters of social media domination in "Influencer." They're not making a horror movie with the subculture's frightening ways, but a slow-burn thriller, clearly influenced by author Patricia Highsmith and her novel, "The Talented Mr. Ripley," looking to replicate some of the same character tensions. The story follows the dangerous days of a young woman who's tired of culture invaders, looking to mess up many lives as she executes a special plan of torment for her victims and their narcissistic ways. "Influencer" captures a unique intensity and level of psychological corruption in its first half, only to lessen suspense as the tale becomes something of a detective story as it nears its conclusion. It's not consistent, but it mostly works, giving viewers a decent ride of eeriness and mental illness on both sides of the criminal situation. The writing also pokes at the business of social media, challenging a few points of power as it gradually shapes an examination of doom. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Gregg Araki. He's a filmmaker specializing in provocative features that largely explore the ways of sex and violence. He emerged in the 1990s, riding an indie film wave with his hostile endeavors, charming art house audiences with his aggressive viewpoint and creative freedom, amassing cult fandom with releases such as "The Doom Generation," "Nowhere," and "Totally F***ed Up." In 2004's "Mysterious Skin," Araki dared to go a little deeper, exploring the abyssal pain of abuse and neglect, shedding most of his artistic hostility to be sincere for a change. Perhaps such a deep dive into the horrors of life was too much for the helmer, who tries to shed his funk in 2007's "Smiley Face," which is as polar opposite a production as possible. Instead of inspecting depression and personal ruin, Araki turns to a streak of silliness for a stoner comedy, out to capture the comedic experience of a young woman battling her impossible high, pulling herself beyond the confines of her apartment to deal with the challenges of society and responsibility. It's pure stupidity from Araki, who's not known for his light sense of humor, and this lack of practice is quite evident in "Smiley Face." It has Anna Faris in full goofball mode, which is a treat, but she's the only element in the effort that's worth following, as the rest of the offering can't rise above dismal ideas for comedy. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Bart La Rue was a working actor during the 1960s and '70s, trying to land choice parts like so many of his peers. He had the benefit of a defined speaking voice, but not much luck when it came to professional success, handling small parts on television shows such as "The Brady Bunch," "Star Trek," "Bonanza," and "Mission: Impossible." La Rue also tried his luck in filmmaking, launching directorial ambitions with 1975's "The Ark of Noah," playing into the decade's interest in documentaries about strange phenomena and legends. His helming career promptly died with 1979's "Satan War," and perhaps for good reason. La Rue attempts to follow the Satanic Panic trends of the decade during this take on a haunted house tale, observing a married couple and their minimal efforts to do something about an evil presence that won't exit their newly purchased home. "Satan War" is a no- budget offering from La Rue, who doesn't have a story to share with the endeavor, just ideas for haunted moments. It's a long journey with the characters and their inability to accept obvious doom, and La Rue is in no rush to get anywhere in the picture, making for a painfully dull sit. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com