Death Wish (2018 remake/MGM Blu-ray w/DVD) + 4 (1987) & 5 (1994/Cannon/Umbrella Region Free Import Blu-ray)/Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018/Universal 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)

4K Ultra HD Picture: A Picture: B+ & B/B/B/B+ Sound: B+ & B/B/B/A Extras: C+/C/C/B Films: C+/C/C/C+

PLEASE NOTE: The Death Wish 4 & 5 Import Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Umbrella Entertainment in Australia, can play on all regular and 4K Blu-ray players and can be ordered from the link below.

Heres a group of loud action films, sequels, remakes and otherwise...

Bruce Willis stars in Eli Roth's remake of Death Wish (2018) which ends up just being another average run-of-the-mill vigilante action thriller. Willis seems to be in auto-pilot throughout this whole movie and pretty much plays himself, while the violence level is a tad above normal but could have been even more memorable.

Death Wish also stars Vincent D'Onofrio, Elisabeth Shue, Camilla Morrone, Dean Norris, and Beau Knapp.

Surgeon Dr. Paul Kersey (Willis) has the picture perfect wife (Shue) and daughter (Morrone) and all is well... until a violent act sets them apart. Forever changed, Kersey transforms from mild mannered Doctor to lean mean killing machine as he seeks out those who destroyed his family. Soon catching media attention, Kersey becomes something of a vigilante and dares anyone to cross his path of vengeance.

Presented in 1080p high definition Blu-ray with a 2.40:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a standard DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix, the film looks and sounds fine on disc. Colors throughout the film are pretty natural and maybe a tad more stylized than normal but not as impressive as 4K UHD. An anamorphically enhanced standard definition DVD is also included here with a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital mix and a digital copy.

Special Features:

Audio Commentary w/Eli Roth & Roger Birnbaum

Deleted scenes with optional commentary w/Eli Roth & Roger Birnbaum

Mancow Morning Show Extended Scenes

Sway in the Morning Extended Scene

Vengeance and Vision: Directing Death Wish

Grindhouse Trailer

This remake is slick and nicely produced, however, isn't much more than your typical revenge flick and doesn't feel as raw as the original.

The original had a few sequels, eventually working itself into a bad B-movie series thanks to the reactionary 1980s and infamous Cannon Films. Charles Bronson remained the lead in all these films. Death Wish 4: The Crackdown (1987) and Death Wish 5: The Face Of Death (1994) have arrived as an import double feature on Blu-ray. While not as memorable as the original few films, they have more of the same over the top violence fans come to expect. Both films have been nicely restored for this Blu-ray disc thanks to the good folks at Umbrella.

Death Wish 4: The Crackdown

The film also stars Kay Lenz, John P. Ryan, Perry Lopez, and Danny Trejo.

Paul Kersey (Bronson) returns in the battle for drugs in 1987 Los Angeles as the daughter of his new girlfriend dies of an overdose. In order to make things right, he seeks down the suppliers of the drug and stops at nothing but each one of them gets what's coming to them!

Death Wish 5: The Face of Death

Kersey (Bronson) decides to settle down and get married to Olivia and put all his life of death and murder behind him... though that happiness doesn't last for long as his girl is assaulted by a thug (Robert Joy). Tracing the thug back to a mob boss Tommy O'Shea (Michael Parks), who has it out for Kersey's girlfriend as she is testifying against him. Of course, Kersey is having none of this and the two tough guys go mano a mano.

Presented on 1080p Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a 2.0 DTS-HD MA Stereo track, both films look a lot sharper here than they did on previous releases. There's a bit of grain on both but that doesn't detract away from the overall presentation.

Special Features...

Commentary by film historian Paul Talbot

Trailers/ TV spots/ Broadcast Promo/ VHS Previews/ Image Gallery

For more on the first two sequels, MGM & Umbrella did a double feature of those and you can read more about them at this link...

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/15052/The+Black+Room+(2017/MVD+Visual/Cleopatra+B

Visionary Guillermo Del Toro's original Pacific Rim film is one of those love it or hate it kind of genre films. I'm on the side that loves it as I've always had an affection of giant monster movies (especially Japanese ones) and I'm also a giant robot fan (though I'm terribly bored of the Transformers films). Surprisingly, as the first film wasn't necessarily a box office smash, a Steven S. DeKnight directed sequel, Pacific Rim: Uprising (2018), has arrived which stars John Boyega (Star Wars) and Scott Eastwood (Suicide Squad) and gets it kind of right though it's impossible not to wonder how much better this film would have been had it been in Del Toro's hands.

While much of the original film took place at night with rain and darkness, this film is bright and sunny with many of the main battles taking place during the day. It also brings back a few original cast members including Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, and Rinko Kikuchi. It is a bit weird that the first film's main character isn't even so much as mentioned throughout the sequel but it doesn't hurt the film too much. Uprising also stars Cailee Spaeny and Jing Tian to name a few.

The war between man and kanji has taken a break, however, ten years later they are back. Jake Pentecost (Boyega), the son of Idris Elba's character from the first film, tries everything he can to not be like this Father. But after he gets entangled with the law, he finds himself forced to jump inside a jaeger and take on the bad guys. Crossing paths with a young hacker (Spaeny), they join the elite defense force as the giant monsters attack in new form.

Presented in a stunning 2160p HEVC/H.265, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and a highly detailed 11.1 Dolby Atmos 11.1 lossless track, this is a fantastic way to watch the film. The wide range of colors and definition in the characters is more evident than in the also included 1080p Blu-ray version of the film, which has a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown as well. Also included is a digital copy.

Special Features (per the press release):

Feature Audio Commentary with Director Steven S. DeKnight

Deleted Scenes with Commentary by Director Steven S. DeKnight

Hall of Heroes - John Boyega takes us through the awesome weaponry and cutting-edge enhancements of the latest generation of Jaegers featured in the film.

Bridge to Uprising - The cast and crew discuss how the world of Pacific Rim has changed in the ten years since the events of the original film.

The Underworld of Uprising - Humanity won the Kaiju War, but every war has casualties. John Boyega and Steven S. DeKnight give a tour of the coastal "Relief Zones."

Becoming Cadets - Step into the Shatterdome, and learn the grueling physical and mental preparation required of the young actors who portrayed the PPDC cadets.

Unexpected Villain - Learn the secret reason that turned one of the most beloved heroes of the original film into a villain obsessed with humanity's destruction.

Next Level Jaegers - The cast and crew discuss the amazing technological advances of the Jaeger program in the years since the events of the original film.

I Am Scrapper - Actress Cailee Spaeny shares the backstory of Scrapper, Amara's incredible self-built Jaeger and its many unique abilities.

Going Mega - Filmmakers take us through the technical and creative challenges of creating the most deadly threat the Pan Pacific Defense Corp has ever faced: the Mega Kaiju!

Secrets of Shao - Meet the woman behind Shao Industries. Actress Tian Jing shares her insights on the enigmatic tech tycoon Liwen Shao.

Mako Returns - Actress Rinko Kikuchi and director Steven S. DeKnight explain the significance of Mako Mori's return and her importance to the events of Pacific Rim Uprising.

While you can tell that Universal was trying to mimic a more Transformers-esque vibe with this sequel, it's not as good as it could have been. In all reality, I'm shocked it even happened to begin with! I'd say if you enjoyed the first one to at least check this one out.

To order the Death Wish 4/5 Umbrella import Blu-ray, go to this link for it and other hard to find releases at:

http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/

- James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/