Category: DVD/BLU-RAY

Writer/director Brian Damude only made one movie during his career, and thankfully it's a terrific one. 1975's "Sudden Fury" eschews Hollywood comforts for the great outdoors of Ontario, with the helmer creating an unusual cat and mouse thriller with the simplest of cinematic ingredients. This is spare work, often avoiding music and dialogue to maintain concentration on the movement of characters, but Damude doesn't need much to create a proper nail-biter. "Sudden Fury" is engrossing, with moments of shock and sadness to present it with purpose, while Damude does everything he can with only a few locations, putting effort into characterization and editorial muscle, getting the feature up on its feet as quickly as possible before staging an unusual game of survival. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Religious fury is slowly unfurled in 1972's "Beware My Brethren" (aka "The Fiend"), a British production that's endeavoring to wind itself up with scenes of murder and holy manipulation, but it takes a long time to get anywhere of note in the picture. Director Robert Hartford-Davis and screenwriter Brian Comport definitely have ideas to share in the stagnant shocker, but takes on serial killing, motherly influence, and Godly damnation just don't have the punch they should, with most of "Beware My Brethren" coming across as a television movie that's occasionally interrupted by scenes of violence and nudity. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In 2005, director Sydney Pollack's career was in trouble. After scoring a massive success with 1993's "The Firm," Pollack stumbled with 1995's "Sabrina" and 1999's "Random Hearts," leaving the celebrated helmer in a difficult position, requiring a return to his past triumphs to help goose box office returns. "The Interpreter" is Pollack's effort to revive screen energy that once guided his work on titles such as "Three Days of the Condor," making a thriller that's rooted in real-world ills, but still mindful of audience-pleasing suspense and his trademark attention to character. It's also the penultimate film for Pollack and one of his better pictures, delivering a tight, tense look at procedural actions and political concerns, taking what would've been a B-movie in other hands and elevating it with class and thespian encouragement, giving the chase fine performances to sell the growing panic. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1983's "Mausoleum" is a horror picture, and the genre is known for its appreciation for the strange and outrageous, with most producers looking for some way to help their endeavor stand out from the considerable competition. Co-producer/co-writer/cinematographer Robert Barich goes for extremity with the effort, and while the feature isn't incredibly violent, its blend of ghoulishness and titillation is, in many ways, charming, helping to define the decade's reliance on visual appeal to support lackluster plots. "Mausoleum" isn't a finely tuned dramatic enterprise, but it does have lots of salacious material and something of a sense of humor, with Barich stopping just short of softcore material as he works to pay tribute to the everlasting appeal of B-movies and make one himself. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Last year, Guillermo del Toro won an Academy Award for "The Shape of Water," which depicted a loving, sexual relationship between a mute woman and humanoid amphibian. This year, director Xavier Gens drinks from the same creative well, only his "Cold Skin" showcases a more mysterious love triangle between two salty men and the female humanoid amphibian they both strive to possess. Gens doesn't share del Toro's love of fantasy and textures, but he does offer intermittent intensity with his latest, which is just strange enough to pass, finding oddity often competing for scene attention with overblown dramatics. "Cold Skin" struggles to maintain pace and surprise, but Gens has the right idea more often than not, staying true to an operatic take on man vs. nature, creating something that's better with the dark and violent stuff than anything psychologically profound. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1980's "The Children" is working uphill in the good taste department. It's schlock, giving it an out when it comes to considered filmmaking, with the production often aiming just for shock value, which in this case covers the use of kids as murderous zombies. There's a way to pull this premise off, giving the uneasy audience a thrill ride of outrageousness. Writers Carlton J. Albright ("Luther the Geek") and Edward Terry don't understand the care required to make a movie where children murder and, in return, are murdered. Some humor remains in "The Children," but laughs are often buried under the weight of idiotic tonal directions and an absence of pace, keeping the endeavor an absolute chore to sit through when it isn't completely wrongheaded. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

There were a good few years where a Billy Crystal comedy was generally considered an appealing event. His follow-up to "When Harry Met Sally," "City Slickers" was the comedian's "Avatar" in terms of box office success and media saturation, fitting Crystal for leading man shoe lifts via an unlikely vessel of bellylaughs and cowboy buffoonery. "City Slickers" is easily digestible as a well-crafted comedy, loaded with slapstick and sincerity, permitting Crystal a starring vehicle to exercise his best Jackie Mason impression while submitting a successful catchphrase in Mitch's greeting, "Helllllooooo." The man is genuinely funny here, distributing one-liners and pained expressions, playing beautifully off the likes of Daniel Stern and Bruno Kirby, while the producers filled supporting roles with a number of colorful character actors, including Supergirl herself, Helen Slater. And then there was Jack Palance, who clearly beamed down from his private asteroid to portray leathery cowboy Curly, a man so cured, he can light a match off his own cheek. Palance would go on to accept accolades and an Academy Award for his work here (cue the one-armed push-ups clip), and all of the love was heartily deserved, with the actor playing to his breathy strengths as a tough guy who develops a fondness for Mitch's neuroses. Palance and Crystal worked beautifully together, creating wonderful highlights along the way. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1989's "Cutting Class" (shot in 1987) is a slasher film that would normally be lost to the sands of time if it wasn't for one little detail: Brad Pitt. The now globally renown actor, as famous as a human being can get in this day and age of tribal popularity, made his starring debut with the horror endeavor, securing its position as a perennial curiosity, with most viewers drawn to the potential fun of watching an icon get his start. The good news is that there's plenty of Pitt in the feature, which gives the young, hungry actor a lot of screen time to work on his emoting, trying his best to make as big an impression as possible. The bad news is that "Cutting Class" is mostly a confused production, unsure if it wants to be frightening or funny as it works out subgenre formula. Screenwriter Steve Slavkin never clarifies his vision for the endeavor, while director Rospo Pallenberg mostly fumbles everything that's handed to him, forcing the actors, including Pitt, to make the most of their scenes on their own. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

"Extremity" uses the culture of extreme haunts to inform its screenplay. These establishments aren't regular haunted houses, but something much more personal, requiring those interested in pushing their fear factor to the limit to sign away their lives to achieve it in the hands of strangers. It's a subject that's ripe for a cinematic rendering, but "Extremity" doesn't go very far in terms of understanding what drives the daily business of such a back alley enterprise, preferring to take on therapy, not terror, when it comes to the ins and outs of an extreme haunt. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

James Bond III was a child actor, appearing in such pictures as "The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh" and "Go Tell It on the Mountain." 1990's "Def by Temptation" is the thespian's attempt to take control of his career, pouring time and energy into a low-budget horror feature, taking writing and directing duties, along with a co-starring role. For Bond III, the creative experiment delivers an odd but compelling B-movie, and one that has a little more style and enthusiasm than its competition. "Def by Temptation" isn't an offering for those who require the cleanest filmmaking standards, working as a more of a loose, intermittently inventive journey into monsterdom, adding bits of seduction and psychological inspection to help spice up the viewing experience. Bond III is a tad sloppy here and there, but his need to add his voice to the genre shows throughout the endeavor, making something unique and charmingly bizarre. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

Director Curtis Harrington creeps in the mind of a murderer in 1973's "The Killing Kind," which, in a way, could be approached as a kind of prequel to "Psycho," observing the psychological thin ice created when a son has a special relationship with his domineering mother. Harrington doesn't completely cross over into slasher territory, instead finding fright in the cracking of a young man's psyche, surveying the sinister creep of dangerous behavior as it grows over the course of the run time. "The Killing Kind" isn't lively in the least, but those able to tune into special frequency of dysfunction and dangerousness are rewarded with an unusual study of evil, brought to life by leads John Savage and Ann Southern. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

To be fair to "Big Trouble," it's not like it had a chance to be a success at the box office. A chaotic comedy that includes a subplot concerning the movement of a nuclear bomb around an airport, the movie was originally scheduled for release on September 21st, 2001, only to find its content reconsidered by Disney after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, who decided to push the release date to April, 2002. By the time the feature finally opened, it was damaged goods, lacking a refreshed marketing push and positive press, with the studio basically scraping the film off the bottom of its shoe before moving on to more important pictures in the pipeline (like "The Country Bears" and "The Hot Chick"). "Big Trouble" isn't a masterclass in cinematic storytelling, but as silly, swiftly paced ensemble endeavors about Floridian mischief go, it's very entertaining, becoming something of a highlight in the disturbingly uneven career of director Barry Sonnenfeld. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The marketing for 1938's "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" promises a throwback viewing experience for audiences looking to detach from the hustle and bustle of the modern age. Producer David O. Selznick follows this mission in the film as well, opening with a quote from author Mark Twain, selected to remind ticket-buyers that the material is meant to evoke the mischief and raw emotion of childhood. Selznick orders up a highlight reel of Twain's novel, but his intended tone carries throughout, delivering a spirited take on "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" that's big on gesturing, reaction, and episodic tangles with authority and danger. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

While "Saturday Night Live" scored a box office success with 1980's "The Blues Brothers," it was 1992's "Wayne's World" that really opened Hollywood's eyes to the potential of turning sketches into cinema. "Wayne's World" was special, with incredible spirit, timing, and charm from the cast, giving it a unique alchemy that would be difficult to repeat. But that wasn't going to stop producers (including "SNL" creator Lorne Michaels) from trying. Just two years after Mike Myers and Dana Carvey headbanged their way into everyone's hearts, "It's Pat: The Movie" showed up, trying to siphon some of the magic dust that was left behind. Perhaps the endeavor was a smart business decision, but creatively, it's difficult to understand who really thought there was potential in turning a one-line joke from a late night sketch show into a major motion picture. "It's Pat: The Movie" is horrible, no shock there, but to watch the endeavor gasp for air for an unexpectedly long 74 minutes is painful, finding star Julia Sweeney trying with every fiber of her being to keep the sinking ship moving along before it hits bottom. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

In the quest to turn Tom Selleck into a movie star, Hollywood ended up with a few decent franchise-starters to help the actor along. Audiences didn't accept the "Magnum, P.I." lead as a viable source of big screen thrills, but Selleck's efforts to forge a career found him accepting colorful roles, with one of his better starring vehicles being 1990's "Quigley Down Under," which brought the American to Australia to reexamine the western in a new land, portraying a classic genre character. Helping the cause is director Simon Wincer, who previously helmed the beloved mini-series "Lonesome Dove," trading pained reflection for grander thrills in his homeland, working to bring some classic John Ford spirit to the picture. "Quigley Down Under" benefits from such enthusiasm, with the cast (including Laura San Giacomo and the late, great Alan Rickman, here in his bad guy prime) providing a level of life to the screenplay by John Hill, who's trying to bring the traditions and concerns of the Old West to an alien land, investigating issues of racism and masculinity where few might expect it. It's not an entirely triumphant endeavor, but Selleck delivers one of his best performances as the titular sharpshooter, showcasing a full understanding of the job at hand as he gives a nicely leathered and unsettled performance for Wincer, who's also in hog heaven positioning heroes and villains, while spotlighting longstanding issues from Australia's past. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

1982's "Incubus" doesn't waste time, making sure to dump as many characters and situations on the audience as possible during the initial act of the movie, leaving them with little to invest in as the story begins to take shape. Confusion is a common feeling during the picture, as director John Hough ("The Watcher in the Woods," "Return from Witch Mountain") doesn't pay the closest attention to the particulars of this horror endeavor, electing to take star John Cassavetes's lead and just wing it from one end of the tale to the other. It's a loose improvisational quality that provides most of the production fog that clouds "Incubus," which is an otherwise competently crafted genre effort that looks and sounds like a proper low- budget chiller. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

It's easy to understand why Hollywood tried for a short amount of time to make basketball player Shaquille O'Neal a movie star. He's an unusual screen presence, with massive size and spirit, and he brings a built-in audience with him, tempting NBA fans into the multiplex to see what the star is up to when he's not on the court. There's a long list of athletes who've made the transition to acting, but for O'Neal, dramatic legitimacy was probably never in the cards. Making an impression in 1994's "Blue Chips," the hulking man made a critical error in judgement for his follow-up, trusting the Disney touch with "Kazaam," a family film that turns O'Neal into a rapping genie with a magic boombox trying to help out a streetwise kid with his daddy issues. The intent is clear, giving the star over to his young admirers for a PG-rated adventure that's heavy on slapstick. However, in the hands of director Paul Michael Glaser, "Kazaam" turns into one big chore to sit through, clinging to the comfort of formula while acting is uniformly awful, failing to hide O'Neal's lack of thespian training. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

A fright film doesn't need much more than the simple image of Tiny Tim in clown make-up staring into the camera, but director Bill Rebane ("The Giant Spider Invasion") thinks he can do better in 1987's "Blood Harvest," which has the distinction of being an offering of regional horror from Wisconsin, combining slasher entanglements with farmland events. Representing Tiny Tim's lone starring vehicle, "Blood Harvest" has the challenge of finding things stranger than the actor, who portrays a broken man obsessed with the circus, giving the "Tiptoe Through the Tulips" singer a chance to display more than just his famous falsetto (although that appears as well). Rebane has the vision for a proper genre offering, even giving the material an appealingly remote location, but his execution fails to congeal, often so consumed with exploitation interests, he forgets to make the movie scary, or at least menacing enough to give viewers a reasonable jolt. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com 

After scoring ratings gold with 1972's "The Night Stalker" and 1973's "The Night Strangler," director Dan Curtis decided to return to television with a new vision for horror entertainment on ABC, going the anthology route with 1975's "Trilogy of Terror." Trading the detective world of Kolchak for an extended freak-out with star Karen Black, Curtis reunites with writer Richard Matheson for tales of disturbing sexuality, mental fractures, and the menace of an African doll, coming up with a surprisingly bland stew of panicky encounters that aren't particularly vivid, only surging with violent energy in small amounts. "Trilogy of Terror" is largely remembered by fans for its final chapter, and for good reason, as the other two are basically filler for a production that's attempting to bring perversion and shock to network TV, not quite understanding how difficult it is to support nightmare fuel when dealing with commercial breaks and material that's decidedly more tell than show. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com

The killer cannibal subgenre receives another workout with 1978's "Slave of the Cannibal God," but director Sergio Martino has a tad more to share with the audience than a routine of ugliness and suffering. There's decent acting for a change in the picture, with Stacy Keach leading co-stars Ursula Andress and Claudio Cassinelli into the thick of Sri Lanka locations to sell the stuffing out of a jungle adventure that periodically stops to watch horrible things happen to animals and humans. Read the rest at Blu-ray.com