Death
Has Blue Eyes (1976/Arrow
Blu-ray*)/Escape From Area
51 (2021/Cleopatra
Blu-ray w/CD*)/F9 4K
(2021/Fast & Furious
9/Universal 4K Ultra HD
Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Hanger
(2009/Unearthed Blu-ray Set*)/One
Dark Night
(1983/Blu-ray*)/Return Of
Swamp Thing: 30th Anniversary Edition
(1989/DVD/*all MVD)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B+/B+/B/B-/B-/B- Sound:
B+/B+/B+/B+/B/B- Extras: B/C/C/B+/B/B Films: C/C-/C-/C/C+/C
Our
latest group of genre films are more rag tag than usual, but here
they are...
Death
Has Blue Eyes
(1976) is
presented in this new restored Blu-ray edition from Arrow Video. The
first film from Nico Mastorakis, the film takes place in 1970s Greece
and revolves around two gigolos who are always up to no good. One
day, a wealthy woman and her telepathic daughter encounter them in
the midst of a scheme and they soon hire the boys as bodyguards.
Things get even crazy as truths are revealed and some things are not
what they seem when the telepathic girl ends up witness to a
political crime. The film has some interesting ideas, but tends to
take some time out just for the sake of love scenes, which feels a
little much at times.
The
film also stars Jessica Dublin, Maria Aliferi, Peter Winter, Hristos
Nomikos, Maria Elise Eugene, and Clay Half.
Death
Has Blue Eyes is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray
disc , an MPEG-4 AVC codec with two presentations - in 1.85:1
widescreen and 1.33:1 full screen depending on which edition you
choose. The audio mix is in English LPCM 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 24-bit).
The film was originally shot in 35mm and is restored here in 2K high
definition. The film looks pretty good overall here with minimal
film noise in the image.
Special
Features:
Exclusive
new interview featurette with Nico Mastorakis
Exclusive
new interview with actress Maria Aliferi
Dancing
with Death: tracks from the Death Has Blue Eyes original soundtrack
Original
theatrical trailers
Image
gallery
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham
Humphreys
and
First Pressing Only: Illustrated collectors' booklet
featuring new writing by Julian Grainger
If
Ed Wood was a modern filmmaker with a limited budget, he probably
would make something almost as bad as Escape from Area 51
(2021), a film which you can tell was hastily slapped together in the
editing room using lots of stock footage and disjointed sketches that
barely resemble a complete thought. If you're expecting a film with
production design, cool aliens, or naked women fighting aliens as the
cover eludes... you're out of luck. Nothing much happens in this
movie and not even the special effects are interesting. This is pure
camp crap.
A
sexy alien warrior woman (played by Baywatch star Dana
D'Errico) ends up on Earth and escapes Area 51, only to run into
three bumbling teens. Another alien warrior is sent down to find her
as she attempts to find a friend who is also in hostility in space.
Produced
by Girls with Corpses Magazine, this B-Movie also stars Chloe Amen,
Anouk Samuel, and Chris Browning. The film is directed by Eric
Mittleman, the producer of Comic Book: The Movie and Stan
Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels.
Escape
from Area 51 is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray
disc with a 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a Dolby Digital 5.1
mix. The film is shot all digital and was shot on several different
video formats. The special effects are mostly really bad, and
purposefully so. The image is consistently clear and the overall
presentation isn't terrible however.
Special
Features: A CD soundtrack which includes a track / music from The
Prog Collective featuring the late Chris Squire (Yes), Patrick Moraz
(Yes, The Moody Blues), Billy Sherwood (Yes), Alan Parsons and Steve
Stevens.
This
Sci-Fi B comedy isn't very good. There isn't much redeemable about
it really. I'm sure for the cast there are plenty of inside jokes.
I'm pretty sure there was no screenplay for this movie whatsoever and
that it was mainly improved. It feels very slapped together. You
can even see boom mics dropped into frame in a few scenes. Ouch.
When
any popular series loses one of its main actors and/or characters, it
risks a serious downturn and finds itself past its prime. When Paul
Walker died unexpectedly, he was becoming a beloved actor and big
star with more possibilities than just commercial films. At first,
the Fast & Furious series handled his loss with respect
down to the brotherly relationship (on and off screen) with co-star
Vin Diesel, who has been in most of the films since the beginning.
After the film that served as a tribute to Walker, they probably
should have called it quits. Instead, we get Justin Lin's F9 4K
(2021 aka Fast & Furious 9).
In
another superfluous heist caper with some action and a few 'twists'
thrown in, Diesel's Dom Toretto discovers his long lost brother Jacob
(John Cena?!?!?!) is still alive and isa now a hired killer, so
faster than you can say Racer X (and maybe grab a Bible), they'll be
at each other's throats as Dom tries to move onto a quiet, happy life
to no avail. We get no peace either for about 2.5 hours per cut!
Yes,
both cuts are equally awful because this is the worst installment in
the series with Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell and Charlize Theron
showing up to pick up quick paychecks as they steal their
badly-written scenes, part of the storyline sends some characters to
outer space (making Moonraker look like Star Wars) and
we get endlessly bad jokes, predictable situations and digital visual
effects that are a step backwards from previous recent entries in
this series. There are even some other questionable parts to the
film I will skip, but the illicit appeal to family drones on and on
and on and on.
Yet
the worst part of this debacle and the nadir (give or take the horrid
Hobbs spin-off) is the unbelievably pathetic performance by
one-time wrestler Cena. Wow, is he bad here!!!
Besides
being miscast as Diesel's brother (I could see the spoof with Kermit
and Fozzie If The Muppet Show was back in production) and
looking more like a very, very distant cousin versus brother, the
move (intended or not) slaps at the Diesel/Walker relationship, but
even if that was not so, Cena's performance has him just show up,
have a blank expression that conveys nothing and then talk in a
monotone we are supposed to take as his 'serious acting voice' as he
badly delivers line after line after line after line of bad and
badly-spoken dialogue. A mannequin could have given a better
performance and as soon as he shows up, ruins any chance this could
be watchable. He recently said he'd love to play Captain America (a
nightmare Marvel, for the sake of humanity, stopped) in a future
film, but after this, it ought to be 'Captain Razzie' because this is
one fo the worst performances of any kind we have had to suffer
through in the last few years.
One
bad wrester-turned-bad-actor was already enough for this series, but
here are two of them. Yes, its that bad and would it have really
happened if Walker was still alive? No!
Even
the vehicles are junkier than usual, including an odd use of a
Pontiac Fiero with too much irony to go into. Other regulars from
the past films (Michele Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson) are back, but
everyone looks so bored, as if they also knew this was not working.
I
hope this is near the ned of the road for this series, but this one
did make money (pandemic nostalgia and/or fan base?) and we will
likely have one or two more films. Do they have to be this awful?
We'll see.
The
2160p HECV/H.265, 2.35 X 1 Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image looks good enough, but
it is one of the narrowest improvements over the also-included 1080p
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition Blu-ray I have ever seen after
seeing a huge bunch of these sets. It is odder since Dolby Vision is
the ultimate upgrade with 12-bit color, but it is no demo disc. Both
discs offer lossless Dolby
Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older
systems) sound and it also has its punch, but it not that great and
since there is plenty of talk, the tracks take a break too often for
such a film.
Extras
(per the press release) include a GAG REEL, plus...
F9:
ALL IN: The Fast family invites you to be part of the crew as they
give you an intimate look at how F9 propels this epic franchise to
even greater heights. This bonus feature, with more than 46 minutes
of content, includes returning characters, new cast members, huge
stunts, big surprises, and so much more.
PRACTICALLY
FAST: When it comes to stunts, it seems each film in The Fast
Saga outdoes the last. In this piece, we examine how Justin Lin and
his team go to great lengths to shoot as many stunts as they can
in-camera and practically, giving the film an authenticity that
cannot be achieved solely through visual effects or CGI.
SHIFTING
PRIORITIES: We first met many of these characters when The Fast
and the Furious was released in 2001. In the 20+ years since,
not only have the characters themselves grown and evolved, but so
have the actors that portray them. Art often imitates life, and we
look at how that's particularly true in F9.
JUSTICE
FOR HAN: Han is back! Sung Kang and Justin Lin discuss the genesis
for the return of this beloved character, while the cast reveals how
much it means to them to have Kang back along for the ride.
A
DAY ON SET WITH JUSTIN LIN: The job of a director on any movie
production is huge. The job of a director on a production the scale
of F9 is immeasurable. Spend a day with Justin Lin and see
just how demanding it is to navigate a production day when you're
the one with all the answers.
JOHN
CENA: SUPERCAR SUPERFAN: John Cena is a real-life car expert, and no
franchise does cars like Fast. Watch John jump from exotic
car to exotic car like a kid in a candy store, giving you a true
fan's look at some of the rarest and most expensive automobiles in
the world.
and
a FEATURE-LENGTH AUDIO COMMENTARY (THEATRICAL AND DIRECTOR’S CUT)
WITH PRODUCER/CO-WRITER/DIRECTOR JUSTIN LIN
The
late filmmaker Ryan Nicholson (Gutterballs) directed this wild
independent film, Hanger (2009), which is appropriately
released by the gore-friendly label Unearthed Films. This revenge
tale centers on a pregnant prostitute who is forced to have a bloody
abortion and as a result, a brutal revenge is taken by the grown
survivor named Hanger (Nathan Dashwood) years later on the pimp who
ordered this act of cruelty. This is definitely not a film for those
who have a weak stomach.
Hanger
stars Debbie Rochon, Lloyd Kaufman, Candice Lewald, Wade Gibb,
Alastair Gamble, and Dan Ellis.
The
presentation of the film here isn't exactly stellar, but I don't
think that was the aim of the late filmmaker Ryan Nicholson here.
The film is shot in the now extinct 1080i format, a widescreen
presentation of 1.78:1, and an overall poor video presentation, which
is supposed to give the viewer a more retro grind house style feel.
The audio is significantly better than the image, however, with two
mixes in lossless English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and in English
LPCM 2.0 Stereo.
Special
Features are aplenty. In fact, there's over sixteen hours worth of
material here including...
2.0
Stereo Audio Commentary with Director Ryan Nicholson
Behind
the Stoma: The Making and Taking of Hanger
Taking
of Hanger Enough Dope to Hang Yourself With: On The Set with Lloyd
Kaufman
Deleted
Scenes
Rose's
Bush: Starring Leroy Washington
Blooper
Reel
and
Trailers
With
over 16 hours of never before seen takes, behind the scenes and
outtakes, there is plenty to see here, even if the film offers only
so much.
One
Dark Night
(1983) is
a supernatural horror film that is finally available on Blu-ray in
this new special edition from MVD that is similar to the release from
88 Films and Code Red. This new 2K restoration looks pretty good
overall, but isn't without flaws. The film itself is a fun ghost
story that's very atmospheric and has an excellent creepy soundtrack,
fun special effects, and some interesting cinematography. It takes a
while for the story to build, but the second and third acts of this
film are spooky fun.
The
film stars Meg Tilly, Melissa Newman, Robin Evans, Donald Hotton, and
Elizabeth Daily. The late Adam West even has a small part in the
film!
As
part of an invitation into a girl's club, a woman must send a night
inside a dark mausoleum that may just be full of foolish college
tricks or could really be haunted by a supernatural entity. Soon,
the girls realize that on this dark night they could be running for
their lives.
One
Dark Night is presented in 1080p high definition with a
widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and a fine sounding English: LPCM
2.0 Mono mix. The one thing I noticed from this new 2K scan that
seemed a little weird were green scan lines on the far right of the
screen during a few scenes and some noticeable film grain. The
colors overall aren't bad though, and this is the same scan also used
in the Code Red edition.
Special
Features:
Audio
commentary with Director & Co-Writer Tom McLoughlin and Producer
Michael Schroeder
Audio
commentary with Director & Co-Writer Tom McLoughlin and writer
Michael Hawes
Interview
with Director Tom McLoughlin
Interview
with Actress E.G Daily
Interview
with Actress Nancy Mott
Interview
with Cinematographer Hal Trussell
Interview
with Production Designer Craig Stearns
Interview
with Producer Michael Schroeder
Interview
with Special Effects crew member Paul Clemens
Alternate
Director's Cut / Work Print Version of the film (SD, 1.33:1 Aspect
Ratio)
Behind
the scenes footage
Paul
Clemens photo gallery
Original
Theatrical Trailer
Reversible
Artwork
and
a Collectible Mini-Poster.
One
Dark Night is pretty fun spooky movie that is very 1980s and is
captured here in a pretty fun collector's edition.
Finally,
Swamp Thing is one of the more overlooked DC Comics' character and
also one to have a comic book film series before it was 'cool'. The
follow-up to the Wes Craven original, The Return of Swamp Thing
(1989) continues with Dick Warlock's portrayal of the creature which
is fun and quite heroic. This hammy sequel, co-starring Heather
Locklear (Dynasty, T.J. Hooker) as the plant obsessed
love interest, the film is pure cheese from frame one but like other
genre films in this era, however, the film still manages to have some
heart behind it.
Return
Of Swamp Thing: 30th Anniversary Edition also stars Louis
Jourdan, Sarah Douglas, Ace Mask, and Monique Gabrielle.
Abigail
Arcane (Locklear) visits her mad uncle Dr. Anton Arcane in his
laboratory, where he is experimenting illegally with genetic
mutation. Soon, she encounters the infamous Swamp Thing (Warlock)
who is hell bent on fighting these creations. Along the way the two
find action and love as they battle against Dr. Arcane's inhuman
creations.
Return
of Swamp Thing is presented in anamorphically
enhanced, standard definition with a widescreen aspect ratio
of 1.85:1 and an original, lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo and 5.1
Surround Audio mixes. The presentation is fine for DVD, but not up
to par as the also available 1080p high definition Blu-ray edition
also available and reviewed elsewhere on this site.
Special
Features:
New
filmmaker commentaries
New
Interviews
6
Promotional TV Clips
2
Greenpeace Public Service Announcements
1989
Promo Reel
and
a Photo Gallery.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (4K) and James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
