Special Features:
- Interview with star Caroline Munro
- Interview with director Kevin Connor
- Audio Commentary by director Kevin Connor
- Original Theatrical Trailer
January 8, 2018
Blu-Ray News: AT THE EARTH'S CORE Coming 2/6
Special Features:
Zombie News: DAY OF THE DEAD: BLOODLINE Arrives on Digital HD, Blu-ray and DVD 2/6
Fight the ultimate war against the undead when the terrifying zombie
thriller Day of the Dead: Bloodline arrives on Blu-ray (plus Digital), DVD,
and Digital February 6 from Lionsgate. The film is currently available On
Demand.
Fear goes viral in
this terrifying retelling of George A. Romero’s zombie horror classic. Five
years after an epidemic nearly wiped out the world’s population, Dr. Zoe Parker
(Sophie Skelton) lives in an underground bunker among a small group of military personnel and
survivalists, working on a cure while fighting armies of the undead. When a
dangerous patient from Zoe’s past infiltrates the bunker, he just might hold
the key to saving humanity . . . or ending it.
January 7, 2018
Blu-Ray Review: BAD DAY FOR THE CUT
Starring
Nigel O'Neill, Jozef Pawlowski, Susan Lynch, Stuart Graham, David
Pearse, Anna Prochniak, Stella McCusker, Ian McElhinney. Directed by
Chris Baugh. (2017, 99 min).
I
had to look up the title's meaning. All I found was an
article from The Irish News covering this film's Belfast premiere, which stated
it's "an agri-slang expression for 'unbecoming weather'."
That's certainly fitting, considering the cold, grey, dreary look of
the Ireland locations.
The
term might also apply to its grizzled protagonist, Donal
(Nigel O'Neill), who's pretty-much a Gloomy Gus before his
mom, Florence, is brutally murdered in her own home. After two thugs return
to finish him off, Donal kills one and captures the
other, Bartosz (Jozef Pawlowski), who was forced into trying to kill
Donal by mobsters who have his sister (and turned her into a
prostitute). With Bartosz in-tow, Donal goes on the offensive,
heading to Belfast to avenge his mother and save Bartosz' sister. He
also learns why they targeted his mom in the first place: Florence has a
past he didn't know about, which connects her to vicious mob boss Frankie
Pierce (Susan Lynch).
 |
| "Yeah, he said his fridge is running. Now what?" |
Bad
Day for the Cut puts an interesting spin on the tried-and-true revenge
tale with a lovably-gruff, fallible main character who doesn't seem
to have a plan for anything beyond his next move. Donal is soft-spoken,
sympathetic and emotionally vulnerable, though not averse to burning bad guys' scalps with a scalding pot
'o beans when pushed too far. We also get the impression he knows
exacting revenge won't make him feel any better; it's simply
something he feels duty-bound to accomplish.
Less
effective are the plot revelations. Simply having Donal kill
everybody one-by-one until no one's left would have been lazy &
boring, but at the same time, overly-complicated story turns do make us a less
invested in Donal's quest for vengeance. Not helping matters is Lynch
as Pierce. She's a one-dimensional caricature from the get-go and
Lynch's performance borders on scenery-chewing, in complete contrast to
the tone and well-rounded characters writer-director Chris
Baugh worked so hard to establish.
Still,
Bad Day for the Cut is worth checking out. Moody, violent and
occasionally very funny, it gives us a main character
who's atypical of the revenge genre. The narrative backstory lessens
the overall impact and the denouement is sort-of maddening, but
until then, the film is fairly engaging.
On
side note...some viewers may want to use the subtitle option for this
one, as most of these characters have very thick accents and use a
great deal of regional slang.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
None
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD...LIKE CAT CHOW
January 5, 2018
Movie News: THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT - Brand New Official Trailer
A family’s road trip takes a dangerous turn when they arrive at a secluded mobile home park to stay with some relatives and find it mysteriously deserted. Under the cover of darkness, three masked psychopaths pay them a visit to test the family’s every limit as they struggle to survive.
THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT hits theaters March 9, 2018.
Blu-Ray News: HELL OR HIGH WATER on 4K Ultra HD on 2/13
4K Ultra HD Combo Pack to Include Both
Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos.
Nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor (Jeff Bridges), Best Original Screenplay and Best Film Editing, relive every heart-racing moment of Hell or High Water when it arrives on 4K Ultra HD™ Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray™ and Digital) February 13 from Lionsgate. Written by Taylor Sheridan (Sicario) and directed by David Mackenzie, experience four times the resolution of Full HD with 4K, which is also joined by Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range (HDR) to bring to life the stunning cinematography of this modern-day western. Dolby Vision transforms the TV experience in the home by delivering greater brightness and contrast, as well as a fuller palette of rich colors. The release also features Dolby Atmos audio mixed specifically for the home to place and move audio anywhere in the room, including overhead.
January 4, 2018
Blu-Ray Review: YOR, THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE
Starring
Reb Brown, Corinne Clery, Luciano Pigozzi, Carole Andre, John
Steiner, Ayshe Gul. Directed by Antonio Margheriti. (1983, 89 min).
"YOOOOOOR!!!!!"
the opening theme song cries out, evoking fleeting memories of
Queen as the title flashes across the screen. Cheekily called "Yor's
World," it ranks right up there with "Beware of the Blob"
as one of the daffiest themes of all time. If that doesn't put a
silly grin on your face, nothing will.
I
suppose it helps if you're of a certain age, one who fondly recalls
coming across titles like Yor, the Hunter from the Future at
the local mom & pop video store. On the sci-fi/horror shelves,
battered VHS boxes of titles you've never heard of far-outnumbered
the blockbusters and classics. Most were made by earnest filmmakers
of questionable talent who threw themselves on the flaming sword of
good taste in vain efforts to create filet mignon on a peanut butter
& jelly budget.
A
surprising number of these would-be epics hailed from overseas,
mostly Italy. Back then, there was nary a genre the Italians couldn't
knock-off faster and cheaper. A few of 'em were so endearingly
bad that they were embraced by enough fringe fans to become cult classics. So for some, this 35th Anniversary Blu-Ray
release of Yor, the Hunter from the Future will be a glorious
blast from the past (you know who you are).
 |
| Party on, Garth. |
Reb
Brown - sporting a lioncloth, Garth Algar wig and two facial
expressions (grim determination & an aw-shucks grin) - stars as the titular
character, roaming an ancient wilderness on a quest to discover his
origins. Along the way, Yor battles beasties, squares-off against
blue-skinned cave-dwellers and saves a few grateful tribes of
helpless idiots. He even finds time to swap spit with a couple of scantily
clad barbarian babes (who fight each other for his affections...one
of Yor's many high-camp highlights). This all happens before
an advanced civilization led by The Overlord shows up,
lasers blazing, to spoil the party.
But
the party is just getting started. For the uninitiated, Yor
must be seen to be believed, playing like an attempted mash-up of
Conan the Barbarian and Flash Gordon (which might also
explain the song). Nearly every aspect of the film - on both sides of
the camera, including the music - is gloriously godawful. But unlike
bad movies of today, which often wrap laziness & ineptitude in a
shroud of self-awareness, we feel everyone involved was completely
convinced they were truly making a great movie. They did do one thing
right...casting Corinne Clery, who I could stare at all damn day.
 |
| Yor's best special effect. |
If
Yor aired on Netflix today, I doubt most newbies would make it
through the opening credits before quitting. But in the VHS era (when
Yor loomed large), we had to live with our viewing choices and were more willing to stick with 'em 'till the end. Revisiting the
film decades later brings back fond memories of prowling video
store shelves, choosing titles based on their cover and having a
rollicking good time at a movie's expense. Those were great days and Yor is a great reminder.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
AUDIO
COMMENTARY - By Reb Brown
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...A GOOFY GOOD TIME
Blu-Ray News: LADY AND THE TRAMP Walt Disney Signature Collection on Digital 2/20 and Blu-ray 2/27
The
Walt Disney Signature Collection edition offers three exciting ways to
watch Lady and the Tramp—the original theatrical version, sing-along
mode and Walt's story meetings—both Digitally and via the Multi-screen
Edition (formerly the Blu-ray Combo Pack). The Multi-screen Edition
includes Blu-ray, DVD and a Digital copy, giving in-home consumers the
flexibility to watch the film on different devices. In addition to
classic bonus features, all-new extras invite viewers to enter Walt
Disney's original office suite on the Studio lot, discover Walt’s
personal passion for pups, and receive a celebrity-hosted spaghetti and
meatballs cooking lesson.
January 2, 2018
Blu-Ray Review: THE ADVENTURERS (2017)
Starring
Andy Lau, Jean Reno, Shu Qi, Zhang Jingchu, Yo Yang, Eric Tsang.
Directed by Stephen Fung. (2017, 109 min).
The
Adventurers is as old school as its title.
Andy
Lau is Dan Cheung, a legendary jewel thief who's just been released
from a five-year stint in prison for stealing one of three rare
jewels which make up an priceless Chinese necklace. He's
greeted at the prison gate by beleaguered French detective Pierre
Bissette (Jean Reno), who's convinced Cheung hasn't changed and will
go after the other two stones.
Sure
enough, Cheung and his crafty crew (Shu Qi, Tony Yang) plot elaborate heists - one in France, the other in Hong Kong - of the
remaining jewels, with plans of fencing them to crime boss/mentor King
Kong (Eric Tsang). Bissette, obsessed with nailing him, enlists the
help of Amber Li (Zhang Jingchu), Chueng's angry, resentful former
fiancée.
 |
| "Here's one of my cat, Mr. Whiskers." |
Sort-of a throwback to high-tech heist films of-old, The Adventurers walks a familiar path: elaborate break-ins, narrow escapes, sci-fi burglary toys; devil-may-care
thieves & the dedicated cop; plot-twists, double-crosses and red
herrings. We've seen it all before and even the surprises aren't
really surprises. But it's well-constructed, light-hearted and
moves along at fast clip. Lau, of course, is always fun to watch and
makes a likable anti-hero. Likewise Reno, whose face and manner
depicts a charming world weariness...and maybe some grudging respect for his
adversary.
The
Adventurers isn't really conducive to heavy scrutiny and the will
probably fade from memory shortly afterwards. Like similar
congenial crime capers, it's meant to be enjoyed in the moment, and
in that respect, it succeeds rather nicely.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
MAKING-OF
FEATURETTE
TRAILER
DVD
COPY
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD...LIKE CAT CHOW
January 1, 2018
SLAP SHOT and the Bursting Bubble
Starring
Paul Newman, Michael Ontkean, Jennifer Warren, Lindsay Crouse,
Strother Martin, Jerry Houser, Paul Dooley, Jeff Carlson, Steve
Carlson, David Hanson. Directed by George Roy Hill. (1977, 123 min).
Essay by D.M. ANDERSON
I
live in Portland, Oregon, which was never exactly a mecca for pro
sports. We have the Portland Trail Blazers, who have accumulated a
whopping one NBA championship in its five decade history. However,
the Blazers are more dubiously remembered by the rest of the world as
the team that passed up on Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. Jordan,
of course, went to the Chicago Bulls and ironically mopped the floor
with the Blazers in the 1992 finals. He'd go on to win four more
championships, while Portland hasn't been back since.
Portland
has a pro soccer team, too, the Timbers. But let's be honest...how many of us really care about soccer in this country? Oh sure, we pretend to
enjoy the game during the World Cup and support our kids on the muddy
sidelines with the other soccer moms. Professionally, though,
American soccer has never really taken off the way hipsters would
have you believe. As of this writing, the Portland Timbers are one of
the hottest tickets in town, but that's because they win a lot and
it's a good excuse to get publicly shitfaced on microbrews.
This current team is also the fourth attempt to establish pro
soccer in Portland since 1975. Each of the previous teams (all
called the Timbers) eventually folded once the novelty wore off or
they stopped winning.
Portland
is apparently not good enough for other pro sports. There's no
football because the NFL assumes the entire Pacific Northwest is
content to cheer-on the Seattle Seahawks. The MLB keeps teasing us
with a franchise, but if you've ever spent an appreciable amount of
time here, you'd know living in the perpetually damp City of Roses is
like being on the set of Blade Runner 24/7.
But
hockey? While we don't have an NHL team - though not for a lack of
trying - Portland's been a hockey town for as long as I can
remember. The Portland Winterhawks are a minor league team in the
Western Hockey League and have played in the same venue as the
Blazers for the past 40 years, often selling just as many tickets per game. Predating the Winterhawks were the Portland Buckaroos. Originally founded in 1928,
the Buckaroos played in various regional leagues until 1941, then were
resurrected in 1960 to play in the city's all-new Memorial Coliseum.
This was the hockey I grew up with in the early 70s.
We
regularly attended Buckaroos games when I was a kid, cheering our
home team as they battled the likes of the Denver Spurs, Vancouver
Canucks and, our dreaded arch rivals, the Seattle Totems. The players
themselves were heroes to us local kids. In the days before
plexiglass, we'd line-up along the rink's outer wall for autographs
after pre-game warm-ups. Some of players would even use their
sticks to flip practice pucks over chain-link fence into the
outstretched hands of eager kids. I had a few of these pucks and a
stack of autographed programs, which I treasured for years. For my
tenth birthday, my parents managed to acquire an actual hockey
stick used in one of the games and got it signed by every current
member of the Buckaroos roster. The pucks and programs were lost over
time, but that hockey stick still stands in the corner of my old
bedroom (which has since become Dad's sports den).
Players
came and went fairly regularly. Some were called up to the pros, but most made the rounds among other regional teams for their entire
careers. But the Buckaroos did have its share of stalwarts... Art
Jones, Andy Hebenton, Dave Kelly, Jimmy MacLeod, to name a few. My favorite player,
though, was Connie Madigan, mainly because he got in the most fights.
 |
| Connie Madigan, whose second address was the penalty box. |
To
me, these guys were celebrities every bit as famous as Roger
Staubach, Wilt Chamberlain and Muhammad Ali. At that age, I had no
idea the Buckaroos were just a semi-pro hockey team comprised mostly
of guys who were either on the downsides of their careers or would
never make it to the NHL, though Madigan was recruited to play 25
games with the St. Louis Blues one year (at age 38, he was the
oldest rookie ever). It's doubtful anyone outside the broadcasting
range of KPTV - the local station that sometimes broadcasted games -
even knew who the Buckaroos were.
In reality, these
players probably didn't make any more money playing hockey than my
dad did teaching middle school. I'm pretty certain I once saw goalie Dave
Kelly in a Safeway parking lot, loading his own groceries into the
trunk of a Volkswagen Beetle. Longtime team captain Andy Hebenton
had owned a small, seedy used car lot on 82nd Avenue for years, which I
later learned when shopping for my first vehicle; his office walls
were lined with old sports photos and news articles. Though he
appeared to appreciate that I remembered his glory days, it didn't
stop him from selling me a piece of shit.
The
Portland Buckaroos were just one of hundreds of hockey teams that
would pop up in places like Saskatoon, Spokane, Johnstown, Winnipeg
or Salt Lake City, their longevity as organizations largely dependent
on the local economy. In short, virtually every city with a
half-assed arena had its own Portland Buckaroos. Charlestown's was
the Chiefs.
Actually,
both Charlestown and the Chiefs were the fictional creations of Nancy
Dowd, the screenwriter of Slap Shot, arguably one of the
greatest sports movies of all time and widely considered a classic.
The film was unapologetically profane even by modern standards, featuring Paul
Newman, of all people, talking about sucking pussy.
 |
| "No, I haven't seen your German Shepherd. Why do you ask?" |
Newman
plays Reggie Dunlop, the aging player/coach of the
Charlestown Chiefs, a team on the verge of folding because, not only
is attendance terrible, the local factory is about to lay-off
most of its workers. Who can afford to take in a hockey game when
they're unemployed? However, when three simple-minded goons known as
the Hanson Brothers unleash their brutal brand of barbarism on the ice
- to the joy of the crowd - Reggie and the rest of the team are inspired to start
playing dirty. Pretty soon, the Chiefs are winning games and
selling-out the arena. None of this sits too well with Ned Braden
(Michael Ontkean), the only player on the team talented enough for a
possible future in the NHL.
Meanwhile,
with the help of a local sports writer, Reggie spreads a rumor that the
Chiefs may get a new lease on life from being purchased and
relocated to Florida; he hopes the story might inspire someone with deep
enough pockets to do that very thing. The climax - one of funniest
ever shot - has the Chiefs in the championship, squaring-off against
Syracuse, who loads their team with the most notorious and legendary
thugs who ever strapped on skates (including "Mad Dog" Madison,
played by none other than Connie Madigan!).
Admittedly,
much of Slap Shot's enduring appeal is the vulgar dialogue,
game violence and the onscreen antics of the Hanson Brothers. The
film turned the trio who portrayed them - real life hockey
players themselves - into cult heroes who still make public appearances as those
characters. Much of the mayhem is exaggerated, of course, though anyone who's
ever regularly followed minor league hockey can probably attest that
it's generally a lot more violent than the NHL, with rosters
consisting of players whose aggression exceeds their finesse. And to top it all off, few of these crazy bastards ever wore helmets (which weren't required back then).
 |
| Kylo Ren...the awkward years. |
But
for the most part, Slap Shot looks and feels authentic. When
they aren't tearing-it-up on the ice, these characters are no
different from the blue collar workers in the stands. They may be
local heroes, but don't live in luxury. They have tiny apartments, drink on weekends,
worry about their next payday, travel to games in a beat-up
old bus and share motel rooms on the road. Nancy Dowd based the
screenplay on her brother's own experiences playing in the minor leagues,
from the run-down arenas to local public events players are forced to
participate in. Though I still can't picture someone like Art Jones
whipping his dick out during a fashion show, the Charlestown Chiefs
are essentially the Portland Buckaroos.
By
the time I saw Slap Shot in
the late 70s, the Buckaroos were long gone, as was my overall
interest in hockey, so I can't say I was disillusioned. Still, I
suppose the film's reality did burst one of my childhood bubbles. The
objects of my adoration were never superstars...just a bunch of
average Joes trying to make a living in a town that wasn't considered
worthy of a real hockey team.
Much
like the Charlestown Chiefs, the Portland Buckaroos folded a few
years earlier, playing their last season in 1975. By then, interest
in them had waned to the point they were playing weekend afternoons
at the tiny Jantzen Beach Arena, which seated about 500 spectators
and probably made more money from parents dropping their kids off to
skate while they shopped at the adjoining mall. My dad remained a
fan 'till the end, though, then later threw his support behind the
newly-formed Portland Winterhawks a few years later.
Interestingly,
even though most of them originally hailed from Canada, many of the
old Buckaroos chose to stay in Portland after their playing days were
done. And as of this writing, a surprising number of them are still
alive, now in their 70s and 80s, of course. I guess they loved us as
much as we loved them.
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