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Treasure Train (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Brent Lorentson on March 26th, 2012

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Released back in 1982, Treasure Train tries to capture the imagination of kids as Disney had for years but with a much smaller budget. Helmed by surrealist artist and director Fernano Arrabal, he crafts a film heavy on the power of a child’s imagination and sense of adventure. To be fair I had to give this movie a second viewing not because I liked it but because it was so weird I had to make sure what I saw was real.
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Cinema Paradiso (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 19th, 2011

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In case you were not already aware, the makers of Cinema Paradiso wanted you to know just how acclaimed their film happens to be. So, before the film itself starts there’s something akin to a credit roll with a long list of awards and acclaims the film has received since its release in 1988. To say that it is a film held in high regard would be a terribly unfair understatement. The movie is an undisputed classic and for good reason.
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The Fox and the Hound / The Fox and the Hound Two (Three-Disc 30th Anniversary Edition) (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by BABY on August 24th, 2011

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Baby here again. No, you’re not seeing double unless you’re seeing two of me. That would be very bad since you’re reading this and I’m not really there at all. No, you’re not seeing double. But, thanks to the guys at Disney and a little bit to the guys at UPS who somehow got this thing through my tight security net, we get not one but two classic Disney animated movies on one Blu-ray release. This thing has so much canine content that you’re gonna need a doggie bag for all the leftovers.
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Bloody Birthday

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on August 1st, 2011

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Three children are born at the moment of a total solar eclipse. On the even of their tenth birthday party, we discover that these kids, for astrological reasons, are complete sociopaths, and are having a merry time offing anyone in the community who even vaguely annoys them. The only ones who even gradually suspect that something is going on are high school senior Joyce (Lori Lethen) and her little brother Timmy (K. C. Martel). They soon become the target of the psycho kids’ wrath.
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The Baby

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 30th, 2011

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Ann Gentry (Anjanette Comer) is a social worker with a new case, one that she specifically sought. She has been assigned to the Wadsworth family. It consists of a terrifying matriarch (Ruth Roman), sexpot daughters Germaine (Marianna Hill) and Alba (Suzanne Zenor), and Baby (David Mooney, credited as David Manzy), a grown man with, apparently, the mental development of an infant. But Ann suspects Baby is capable of more, and that there is something fundamentally wrong going on at the Wadsworth residence. The Wadsworths, meanwhile, do not take kindly to Ann’s prying, and will stop at nothing to preserve their way of life.
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New York, New York (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 6th, 2011

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World War II has just ended, and the recently discharged Robert De Niro hits New York on the prowl for sex. He runs up against WAC Liza Minnelli, and the more she resists his advances, the more determined he becomes. There is more: he is a saxophonist, and she (of course) is a singer). So begins a tempestuous relationship between two artists whose enormous talents and equally enormous personalities mean they can neither live with nor without each other.
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Dirty Tricks

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on May 27th, 2011

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Dirty Tricks stars Martin Clunes as Edward, an underachieving English teacher. Edward meets an accountant (Neil Dudgeon) and begins an affair with his wife, Karen (Julie Graham). When Karen unfortunately passes away, the aging detective (James Bolam) assigned to the case, suspects Edward is involved. Edward is a charming protagonist at first and suddenly the lies and absurdities begin piling up.
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Blue Valentine (Blu-Ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Michael Durr on May 11th, 2011

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The real world will try to teach us many things. It teaches us that only two things are certain, death and taxes. Unfortunately, one of the things that is not always certain is the wonderful mystery of love. Sometimes, it lasts for a lifetime but more often than not it can be a cruel device and become fleeting. The movie, Blue Valentine deals with this difficult subject and explores one such relationship that is clearly on the ropes.

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The Dorm That Dripped Blood (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 30th, 2011

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When you want to get the most bang for your buck in a low-budget 1980’s slasher film, you could do a lot worse than The Dorm That Dripped Blood. It’s an elusive film that has never really enjoyed much of any kind of wide release even in the video market. It was really nothing more than a student film put together as a thesis for UCLA students Stephen Carpenter and Jeffrey Obrow. Like most student films, the piece utilizes locations on the UCLA campus and makes use of local talent both in front of the camera and behind.
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Vampire Circus (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 23rd, 2010

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“And now I wish to present an entertainment which has given pleasure to many of the crowned heads of Europe. Ladies and gentlemen, tonight for your eyes alone…”

In the 1950’s and 1960’s Hammer picked up where Universal had left off. They became the studio for the very best in horror films. With names like Lugosi, Karloff and Chaney finally reaching the end of their reign, Hammer offered up the likes of Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. They resurrected all of the famous Universal monsters in their own image. Now we had a new cycle of Dracula, Frankenstein, The Wolf Man and The Mummy.
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Death of a Snowman

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on December 12th, 2010

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A mysterious figure or organization going by the name of War on Crime is apparently engaged in just that in the streets of Soweto. Known drug dealers are being gunned down. On the case is Lt. Deel (Nigel Davenport). Caught up in the case is newspaperman Chaka (Ken Gampu), who is contacted by War on Crime and given tips as to when the next attack will take place. Deel and Chaka are friends of long standing, but their friendship is challenged by the fact that the police captain now views Chaka as a possible accomplice in the vigilante killings. The question, too, is whether there is more to these killings than meets the eye.
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Fantasia / Fantasia 2000 (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on December 2nd, 2010

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“How do you do? My name is Deems Taylor, and it’s my very pleasant duty to welcome you here on behalf of Walt Disney, Leopold Stokowski, and all the other artists and musicians whose combined talents went into the creation of this new form of entertainment, Fantasia. What you’re going to see are the designs and pictures and stories that music inspired in the minds and imaginations of a group of artists. In other words, these are not going to be the interpretations of trained musicians, which I think is all to the good.”

Just three years after Walt Disney introduced the world to the animated feature in 1937, Uncle Walt was already experimenting with the idea.
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Seven Deadly Sins

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 9th, 2010

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Grace, California is the kind of “small” town that all the young people wish to escape. Why? I suppose it is because they have ambitions for “greater” things. What are their ambitions while they have to stay? To be as catty and backstabbing as possible while living out a teen soap opera existence. Such is the groundwork for Seven Deadly Sins, a two-part mini-series created for the Lifetime network and based on a series of books of the same name. On this DVD the two parts are merged into a monstrous movie (clocking in at over 3 hours).
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Christmas in Canaan

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on November 1st, 2010

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Two young boys start a rivalry that is forged into a friendship by way of helping an ailing dog. As one boy’s caregiver passes away, the other boy’s family takes him on as one of their own. This family struggles through tough times on their farm as well as tensions from bigoted neighbours because the boy they took into their home happens to be black. Such is the “family bond” thesis of this highly sentimental Xmas film, co-authored by Country superstar Kenny Rogers, and starring country star turned famous dad, Billy Ray Cyrus.
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The Rocky Horror Picture Show (35th Anniversary Edition) (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on October 28th, 2010

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“So come up to the lab and see what’s on the slab.”

It was 1975. Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa goes missing. South Vietnam falls. The Superdome opens in New Orleans. Elizabeth Seton becomes the first American saint. Patty Hearst ends her fugitive run. George Carlin hosts the first episode of Saturday Night Live. Phil Collins replaces Peter Gabriel as the lead in Genesis. And The Rocky Horror Picture Show opens to absolutely terrible box office numbers.
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James and the Giant Peach (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on August 4th, 2010

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“This is James Henry Trotter. He lived with his mother and father in a cozy little house by the sea. It was a wonderful life. They had each other, and they had their dreams. Then, one day a terrible thing happened. An angry rhinoceros appeared out of nowhere and gobbled up his poor mother and father…”

Pretty bizarre for a kiddie flick, wouldn’t you say? Not when Roald Dahl is penning the story. Roald Dahl was no stranger to children’s movies. Some of the most beloved classics in that genre were once just a thought in Dahl’s rather eccentric and delightfully twisted head
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Cinema Pride Collection

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on July 26th, 2010

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As the name suggests, this is a collection of ten movies on LGBT themes. In chronological order, here’s what we have:

The Children’s Hour (1961): Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn are the headmistresses of a girl’s school, and their lives are turned upside down when one ghastly little child accuses them of being romantically involved. It is clear, though, the MacLaine would very much like to be. This was director William Wyler’s second stab at adapting Lilllian Hellman’s play, and this time was able actually to deal with the play’s central issue, rather than disguise it as he had to
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The Great Mouse Detective (Mystery in the Mist Edition)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 20th, 2010

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You’ve seen me talk with a certain element of affection for the remarkable work that the Walt Disney Studios have done in the way of feature animation. Who can really argue with me when I state categorically that the studio invented that particular medium? The long line of classics could certainly fill a lot of space in this review, but these are things you already know. Left out of the list of classics, and deservedly so, is this 1980’s Disney feature. the studio’s take on Sherlock Holmes, The Great Mouse Detective.
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Steven Seagal Lawman: The Complete Season One

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on April 12th, 2010

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“I make a living in the movies, but for the past 20 years I’ve also been a cop. And, along with some of the finest deputies on the force, I serve the people of Jackson Parish, Louisiana. My name is Steven Seagal. That’s right, Steven Seagal, deputy sheriff.”

We’ve all seen Steven Seagal kick the bad guys butts in the movies. Since 1988’s Above The Law, Seagal has gained a reputation for playing a tough guy. What most people didn’t know is that for just about as long he has been a fully commissioned police officer working a beat in Southern Louisiana
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Heist

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on April 7th, 2010

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A young criminal (I assume he’s a criminal of some sort) owes a major debt to a Columbian kingpin and he enlists his brother, K, for help. K bumps up a planned armoured car heist by a month in order to help, and the adventure starts there as we see a rag-tag gang pull of said heist and then plan their final moves in a rented warehouse.
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Carny

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on March 27th, 2010

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When people reminisce about the great match-ups of all time, talk will inevitably hone in on Ali vs. Frazier, Tunney vs. Dempsey, or, for boxing non-enthusiasts, Eckersley vs. Gibson. For film fans, talk will likely drift to Godzilla vs. Mothra, McClane vs. Gruber, or even Feddy vs. Jason. Well folks, a new movie has thrown its hat into the ring, and it is called Carny. What potentially legendary match-up does Carny feature, you ask? Why, nothing less than Lou Diamond Phillips vs. the Jersey Devil. Will these two foes unseat any of the classic brawlers mentioned above? Read on and see.
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The Fernando Arrabal Collection 2

Posted in Disc Reviews by David Annandale on March 20th, 2010

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Cult Epics here presents us with their second box set of films by ex-pat Spanish surrealist/’pataphysician/provocateur Fernando Arrabal. These are more recent works, and are, arguably, even more of an acquired taste than the earlier set, though not necessarily for the reasons one might think.
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Knights of Bloodsteel

Posted in Disc Reviews by William O'Donnell on October 12th, 2009

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A monstrous emperor sets out his orcs to find an ancient item that would grant him enormous power. Goblins come out of the woodwork as the side of good assembles a small group of humans, elves and other species to seek out this same item and end the evil emperor’s quest for domination. Sound familiar? It should, after all, this is the Fellowship of the…err…Knights of Bloodsteel.
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Wallace & Gromit: The Complete Collection (Blu-ray)

Posted in Disc Reviews by Gino Sassani on September 30th, 2009

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Wallace and Gromit is the brainchild of animator Nick Park. The British filmmaker tried for years to bring his clay creations alive, but on his own finished a mere 10 minutes in a little over 2 years. When he met up with Aardman Animations, he was teamed up with the creative talents he needed to make his dream come alive, and come alive these two characters did indeed. They’ve become an overnight sensation in the UK and now all over the world. I was introduced to the characters with the full length feature Wallace And Gromit In The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit. Sadly this “complete” collection does not include that longer film.
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The Shooter Series, Volume One: Brett Ratner

Posted in Disc Reviews by Archive Authors on September 30th, 2009

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Written by Adrienne Ambush

Anyone who has tuned into MTV or VH1 in the last 10 years has probably seen at least one music video that is featured in this collection of videos by Brett Ratner, but they probably couldn’t place a name or face to the man that is behind the camera–that is, until now.
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