Disc Reviews

Into the Deep is one of those films that offers so much promise with its setup that it is a bit frustrating when you watch the final product and it has managed to fall short in every way imaginable. When I first read the synopsis, I couldn’t help but think about the 1989 film Dead Calm. It’s one of those underrated psychological thrillers that I always felt was fun. While Into the Deep does share some parallels, unfortunately this film just goes off the rails because of its absurd plot twists and, well, let’s face it; no one in this cast is on par with Sam Neill, Billy Zane, or Nicole Kidman.  Into the Deep is a film that pretty much hopes that its audience isn’t thinking about logic, because the moment you apply any sort of critical thinking, this film just falls apart. Jess (Ella-Rae Smith) is still struggling with the loss of her mother as the anniversary of her death is approaching.

I certainly do not want to get political here, but cops as a rule have a certain extent of power that we as common folk typically do not enjoy.  It is often a plot point in many thriller movies that we sit and watch the officer harasses suspects or perhaps uses some shady tactics in order to get their man (or woman).  It's common, heck it's probably in film school 101 and some might even see it as a bit cliché.  Today's film is Unidentified, a Romanian film where a detective enters a very grey area in order to catch the perpetrator.  It's also the first film in a trilogy.  Yes, you read that right but more on that later.  Let's take a look.

Many people will agree to disagree on the existence of ghosts.  It is probably easier to agree on the point that if those ghosts do exist, they were wronged in some fashion, or there is something left to their story that is unsolved.  That mystery is what makes the concept of ghosts so fascinating.  Today, we have another GKids anime production, this time by the genius loundraw.  It's called Summer Ghost.  Let's take a trip into the paranormal.

It has been about 36 years since the release of the first Top Gun. This is one of my earliest memories as a kid, seeing the movie on the big screen with my parents at the old Main Street 6 Cinemas. I was a bit obsessed with this movie growing up. I had a copy of the film that I had recorded off of Showtime, and over the years I’d imagine I’ve seen Top Gun at least 100 times. I was obsessed with the movie and its soundtrack. Kenny Loggins and “Danger Zone” lived rent free in my head throughout my childhood.  I know I’m not alone on this when saying just how much Top Gun is a movie I just love. It’s not perfect, but I just can’t find anything I dislike about it. Even in my forties, I look at this film as comfort food.

"It's a different world out there." 

Ray Donovan: The Complete Series is out from CBS Home Entertainment, and it includes all 82 episodes and the television movie that was released to make up for the sudden cancelation without a proper sendoff for the Donovan clan. You get 29 DVD's, and the set includes all of the extras from the individual season releases. You do have to deal with those large overlapped spindles, so I suggest you create another environment to store them.

Next year we hope to return to our usual 31 Nights Of Terror. This year we are going to offer you some Halloween Spotlight titles that would be a great idea to pick up for the scary season. So... we're still your October Night Mayor and here's a great idea for Halloween from our friends at Film Detective. 

"That's just the wind banging the door, pay no attention to it. Listen to this."

Enter The Film Detective.

So whenever I am reviewing a movie, I try to identify positive things about the film. Even if I end up not liking the movie overall, I at least try to make sure to point out aspects that I think the film did well, a performance that was particularly strong, or a piece of dialog that resonated with me. It’s part of my process to ensure that I am delivering a balanced review. Even if the film isn’t my favorite, it still has the potential to provide some positive ray of light into my experience.  However, I’m not so sure that I will be able to do that this time around, as Guardians of Time was a film that I just couldn’t wait for it to be over. Now in the interest of fairness, it is abundantly clear that I am not the target audience for this film; that demographic appears to be steered towards the early elementary school crowd. I’d say no higher than second or third grade. Any higher and the production quality is not likely to hold up with them. Then again with this generation, given the technology that they have at their fingertips, it may not hold up with them now.

Next year we hope to return to our usual 31 Nights Of Terror. This year we are going to offer you some Halloween Spotlight titles that would be a great idea to pick up for the scary season. So... we're still your October Night Mayor and here's a great idea for Halloween from our friends at Paramount/CBS/Showtime. 

“Tonight’s the night, and it’s going to happen again and again. It has to happen …”

What is going to happen is that Dexter: The Complete Series has come to Blu-ray. I can’t think of a better cable show to make the leap onto high definition. More than any show, I think I’ve been looking forward to this release. Imagine what it would be like to visualize Dexter’s world in such wonderful detail. Imagine no longer. Dexter’s here, and he’s got something to show you. Now that the series has finally gotten a proper resolution with Dexter: New Blood, it's time to have a complete collection on your shelf.

Next year we hope to return to our usual 31 Nights Of Terror. This year we are going to offer you some Halloween Spotlight titles that would be a great idea to pick up for the scary season. So... we're still your October Night Mayor and here's a great idea for Halloween from our friends at Paramount/CBS/Showtime. 

"You're traveling through another dimension. A dimension not only of sight and sound, but of the mind. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition. And it lies between the pit of one's fears and the summit of one's knowledge. You are now traveling through a dimension of imagination. You've just crossed over into The Twilight Zone."

It would be very hard, indeed, to argue against the impact that The Twilight Zone has had on television. To say that the series was a milestone in that medium would be an understatement of the worst kind.

"Look at them praying for a miracle that isn't coming. Who knows? Maybe it's my curse to leave one betrayal behind only to find a greater one here amongst the stars. They could have stopped this, but none of them had the strength to do what must be done. But I do."

Crossovers have been big events in the CW Arrowverse shows. They would involve characters from all or most of the current shows, and the episodes would play across the shows themselves. The events were always huge so that they required the combined force of the many DC heroes. Times have changed, and now The Flash is pretty much the only Arrowverse show left on the air. That creates a bit of a logistic problem for the whole crossover event idea. Or does it?