Disc Type

“We came up here to get lucky.”

What do you get when you combine Predator with The Twilight Zone and throw in an 80’s television star and do a movie of the week? You get High Desert Kill and a preview of the kind of thing that would start appearing on Sy-Fy in a few decades. Universal was actually the king of these kinds of films throughout the late 70’s and 80’s, and director Harry Falk was one of television’s steady directors of the time. There’s real experience here that allows this film to at times rise above its limited budget and offer a few compelling moments. There was actually a time the film was considered for theatrical release and did find a few box office dates in Europe. That was the dilemma in the 80’s. Made-for-television would eventually give way to direct-to-video, and today, of course, it is streaming that provides the same kind of outlet.
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So this is not a movie that I would say aged well with time. However, if you could put yourself in the mindset of the time period of its release (1987), I could see the appeal. Lori Singer of Footloose fame and Anthony Edwards of ER fame star as married couple Roxy and Aaron Walston, whose life and relationship becomes strained in rural North Carolina in the post-depression late 1930s, when a young drifter named Jack Ruffin (Bruce Abbott, Re-Animator) comes to their tobacco farm to be a farmhand. Roxy, a shelter girl who married young and had a child is unable to resist the temptation that is Jack Ruffin. As expected, things do not end well. Based on a 1984 novel, Here to Get My Baby Out of Jail, the film shows the tragic results of the affair, which in this modern setting may appear cliché, but during that time likely would be engaging.
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“I think this is just the beginning.”

Walker is out on DVD. No, this is not the next spin-off of the zombie Walking Dead franchise. There’s a new ranger in town, and his name is Cordell Walker. I know what you’re thinking: “Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss.” That’s where you’d be wrong. They might share the same name and job, but this Walker is nothing like the Chuck Norris version that lasted for over a decade when you include made-for-television movies. This Walker is much younger. He was a Marine who had joined after 9/11. He has a family. His wife was killed a year ago, and now he’s trying to raise his son and daughter with the help of his parents, who were no longer living in the Norris series.
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“If you’ve got the money you can do what you like. Buy another man’s life? Why not?”

There are few writers in the 20th century who have had the kind of career Graham Greene had. He was recruited by England’s secret service MI6 where his sister was also an agent and spent time around the world. These experiences likely helped him write the kinds of international thrillers that made him one o the most successful writers in the 20th century. His final novel went a little against the grain of his reputation. The Tenth Man doesn’t take us too far afield, and it’s far more of an intimate tale than he was known for. It would also be his final novel before his death in 1991. But he lived to see it filmed, albeit as a Hallmark Television made for TV film in 1988.
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“There is an old saying that blood is thicker than water.”

We’ve had Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Gene Simmons with his Family Jewels, and even Snoop Dog’s Father Hood. It’s become a bit of a trend to follow these celebrity families around and watch the drama of their privileged lives unfold on our television screens. You might think it’s a relatively recent phenomenon, but would you believe they were doing it back in the infant days of television when we followed around a musician named Ozzie and his wife way back in 1952? No, we’re not talking about Ozzie Osbourne and his family. I’m talking about Ozzie and Harriet Nelson. They were television’s darling family before we ever heard about Lucy and Desi.
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Not crazy about the title. Personally, I think that the title of the novel on which this film is based  would have been better suited given the film’s plot. Based on a 1989 Sara Bird novel by the name of The Boyfriend School, this 1990 comedy tells to story of Gus Kubicek, a depressed and overweight cartoonist who is in love with a woman that won’t seem to give him the time of day. I’ve heard some excuses for getting out of having to go out with someone, but lying and saying you have to have dental surgery; that’s pretty low. Despite seeing numerous movies that utilize the “judging a book by its cover” trope, I still was able to see the appeal of the film, as soon as I was able to put myself into the mindset of the film’s time period. By doing this, I was able to avoid perceptions of it being cliché. This was a necessary measure to take, especially if you would like to be able to enjoy the film in 2022. Even so, I’m still not a big fan of the title.
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“So much for easing back into things.”

This season sports a huge change as the fifth season of SEAL Team hits DVD from CBS Home Entertainment. For the first four seasons the show has enjoyed a pretty well-rated run on CBS’s prime time schedule. Season 5 starts out exactly the same way until after the first four episodes. The series was switched suddenly from the television network to the Paramount + streaming service, and with the switch there are several huge changes. The first is in the number of episodes shot for each season. On CBS most shows run from 20-24 episodes a season. This year because of it being a hybrid year, you get 14 episodes. Starting next season you will get only 10 going forward. Another change is that the production values are going up, with a wider span of locations for the team’s missions. Finally, you will notice they can now do and say things they could not on network television.
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Now here is a series that me and my wife just didn’t seen eye to eye on. For her, the series was a triumph and had great depth. For me, it made me wonder whether we were watching the same thing. Because outside the beautiful scenery, I did not discern any great depth to this anthology series, which appeared to feature unhappy people. The series featured a cast of recognizable faces, which included Alexandra Daddario, Connie Britton, Steve Zahn, Sydney Sweeney, and Jennifer Coolidge; however, their characters weren’t what I would call loveable. It was difficult to find anyone pure or worth cheering for. Granted, the characters had varying degrees of sins, and none of them were what I would call evil, but none of them were worth investing in. Of course that is merely this humble critics opinion, as it would appear that many people have found something to love, given the series recent award success, such as two Critic’s Choice Awards and five Primetime Emmy Awards, including for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series, and Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. I guess this explains the series being granted a Season 2, which is scheduled to premiere in October 2022.
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In 1978 when Good Guys Wear Black came out, Chuck Norris wasn’t the global superstar that he would later become, but this was one of the films that helped establish him as an actor and not just some martial arts guy on the big screen. This is definitely a movie that was a product of its time, and it can be argued how well it has actually aged over the years. Personally I have a hard time calling this an action film. When you compare it to most of the other films that Chuck Norris has in his filmography, this is very much one of the more tame ones and comes off more as a thriller, a fun little espionage film that actually leans heavier on Norris and his acting abilities than his ability to take down bad guys with spin-kicks, though the film does offer a few kicks to please the action-hungry audiences.
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“Gentleman, I’d like you to meet Matt Logan. He’s a karate man.”

I still can’t decide if that line of dialog is awful or genius. In 1979 martial arts movies were going strong in the states, but they were certainly lacking in quality as compared to what was coming out overseas. Chuck Norris was the “American” answer to make a successful martial arts film, but it wasn’t till A Force of One where I feel Chuck Norris finally arrived as not just a martial arts star but a bonafide guy who was worth watching on the big screen. The story may be a bit farfetched, but this is a film that is fun. It’s something I’d throw on when I’m wanting to have a late night movie marathon. It’s what “midnight movies” were made for.
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Revamping old shows and movies is the latest trend in television. CBS has made several attempts at this with varying success. Such was their attempt when they tried to convert Rush Hour into a TV series. It failed badly. But then there was Hawaii Five-O, which got 10 seasons and was pretty solid. The MacGyver reboot gaining a fourth season puts this attempt somewhere in the middle. The show has been on the bubble for the last two seasons and this year it was finally cancelled. But that wasn’t quite the end of the story. Part of the reason was an inability to renew the rights from Universal at the kind of money CBS thought the show was worth. Now NBC, which is owned by Universal, has given the show a second chance with a 2-year renewal. The cast and crew appear to be intact, but with some contract negotiations it’s possible that someone may drop out, leaving room for something new. So Magnum is back
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