Death
Of A Unicorn
(2025/A24 Blu-ray)/Dinosaur
Valley Girls
(1997/Visual Vengeance Blu-ray*)/Intensely
Independent: The Micro Budget Films Of Blake Eckard
(2017/Synapse DVD/*both MVD)/Sinners
4K
(2025/Warner 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray)/Small
Soldiers 4K
(1998/DreamWorks/Paramount 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray Steelbook)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B-/B-/C/X/B Sound: B-/B-/C/B+/B
Extras: C+/B+/C+/C+/C Films: C+/C/C+/B-/C
Now
for more horror and thriller releases...
Alex
Scharfman's Death
Of A Unicorn
(2025) is not a profound or existential drama, but a film that
features the title creature(s) and starts with a young lady (Jenny
Ortega) and her dad (Paul Rudd, always good for this kind of genre
work) hitting something by accident while taking a drive. It is the
title creature, mythic as it is, apparently exists. A very bad,
powerful man (Richard E. Grant) already knows this and has very
exploitive plans for them, especially since he is one of the only
people who knows they exist.
If
you've seen E.T.,
its many bad imitators and other such fantasy tales, you pretty much
know the narrative, but cheers to all for approaching it as if it
were fresh, happening and making it as believable as they can. That
still did not sell it for new, but I can see this one getting a cult
following, starting with the fact that a smaller company pulled this
off when the major studios used to be able to do these films withy
ease. The creature designs were nto overdone to its advantage, but
the main reason to watch is the cast is better than usual for such a
film and those interested might want to five it a look. I like these
actors.
Will
Poulter and Tea Leoni top the decent supporting cast.
Extras
include six postcards with photography by Balasz Goldi, while the
disc adds Deleted Scenes, a feature-length audio commentary track by
Writer/Director Scharfman and the featurette How
To Kill A Unicorn.
Donald
F. Glut's Dinosaur
Valley Girls
(1997) is sci-fi dinosaur schlock at the highest denominator. While
it is a low budget shot on VHS film, it gets big bonus points for
stop motion dinosaurs that don't look half bad, a Jurassic Park
reference, and a Forrest J Ackerman cameo. Now out on Blu-ray in a
remastered edition from Visual Vengeance.
The
film stars Jeff Rector, Denise Ames, Beth Landau, and Karen Black to
name a few.
A
scumbag Hollywood actor (Rector) who has gorgeous women falling at
his feet at every turn begging for a cameo in his latest project,
starts to have visions of cave women in a prehistoric time era.
After bumping into a reporter, he ends up at a museum where an
ancient artifact transports him into the prehistoric time period and
a place called Dinosaur Valley. There he encounters primitive
cavemen and supermodel-esque cave women who also fall to his feet.
After he takes advantage of each and every one of the cave women, he
faces off against a scary dinosaur only to realize his true place in
the earth may not be modern day but in the prehistoric past. The
film has no problem taking full advantage of all of the tropes that
go with the exploitation genre whilst also catering to vintage sci-fi
fans. It's pretty apparent that the target audience for this film is
middle aged sexually frustrated men and in this regard it succeeds.
Special
Features are packed and include...
New
2023 Commentary with director Don Glut and C. Courtney Joyner
Archival
Commentary with director Don Glut and C. Courtney Joyner
Dinosaur
Valley Guy:
Interview with director Don Glut (2023)
Don
Glut: The Collection
- A look inside Don's legendary dinosaur home museum (2023)
The
Making of Dinosaur
Valley Girls
Dinosaur
Valley Girls
- Alternate 'PG-13' rated cut
Deleted
and Alternate Scenes
Actress
Auditions Reel
Dinosaur
Tracks
- Music Video Reel
Jurassic
Punk
- Music and Lyrics
Dinosaur
Valley Girls
- Music and Lyrics
Storyboards
Production
Image Galleries
Mu
Wang in Mu-Seum
Mu
Wang in Danse Prehistoric
Original
Promotional Trailer
Visual
Vengeance Trailer
Reversible
Sleeve Featuring Original home video art
2-sided
insert
Folded
mini-poster
'Stick
Your Own'
VHS Sticker Set
Limited
Edition Slipcase by Rick Melton
and
a Limited Edition Dinosaur
Valley Girls
logo sticker.
If
you like stop motion dinosaurs and gratuitous amounts of female
nudity then Dinosaur
Valley Girls
is your VHS dream come true!
A
collection
of bleak films from independent filmmaker Intensely
Independent: The Micro Budget Films Of Blake Eckard
(2017)
lands on DVD from Synapse Films.
Bubba
Moon Face
(2011) is the first film on the disc and follows a man who returns
home after his mother dies to see his family, only to have his car
break down which forcing him to stay with his trashy brother in the
countryside. Having been away for a while, the man ends up helping
his brother take care of his baby and later hooks up with an old
flame. Things get weird when we find out that his dad has a younger
woman in his life with a wicked plan set in motion as everyone seems
to have changed for the worse. The film stars Joe Hammerstone, Misty
Ballew, Sylvia Geiger, and Joe Hanrahan.
Coyotes
Kill For Fun
(2017) centers on a violent crime that unfolds when a backwoods
babysitter agrees to help an abused mother escape her lunatic
boyfriend. The film has a little more production value and special
effects involved in it than the former that shows the filmmaker grew
a bit from making his earlier feature. The cast includes Blanche
Eckard, Harlan Eckard, Marshall Gaddis, Brent Jennings, and Daniel
Levine.
Special
Features:
Liner
Notes Booklet
Audio
Commentary on Bubba Moon Face
and
Jost
on Eckard
- Video Interview with film legend Jon Jost.
Blake
Eckard's films are dark and dismal pieces of work that are to be
commended considering the low budget and resources the filmmaker had
to work with and for including his friends and family in the creative
process. The films leave you with an icky type of feeling as if you
know or maybe have met these trashy characters in real life before.
It
is commendable that Synapse Films went out of their way to highlight
an independent filmmaker's work in this light and so that alone
deserves to be commended.
Ryan
Coogler's Sinners
4K
(2025) is the new big hit, large frame format supernatural horror
movie set in the 1930s in the South with plenty of Blues music,
Hoodoo and vampires. Michael B. Jordan has a dual role as twin
brothers who have left their hometown, returning to start over, only
to find out something wicked has taken root and they'll have some
time to figure it all out, if they survive.
The
long-running idea that Blues somehow connected with the supernatural
and even Satan himself at the 'crossroads' in the South has been an
item for many, many decades and the film does not dwell or wallow in
the semi-cliche, but at over two hours, cannot avoid some overlap and
repetition. The supporting cast is really good here, but even as
good as Jordan is, it is sometimes hard to buy him as twins. As a
result, it is one of those films that can get really interesting and
involving if enough early parts of the film work for you, but others
might not be able to get as engrossed.
Still,
its Coogler's first non-franchise film since his debut feature film
Fruitvale
Station
(2013) though this might have a sequel somewhere down the line, but
his continued collaboration with Jordan is still one of the strongest
and most prolific in the industry right now. Warner's new 4K Ultra
HD Blu-ray delivers this as well as any digital presentation (save
the very best digital theatrical projection) and next to a
mint-condition film print. It is one of the year's better films and
in a glut of them, one of the better horror genre releases for the
year, with so many bad ones to boot. Definitely worth a look.
Extras
include a Digital Movie Code, while the disc
adds :
Dancing
with the Devil: The Making of ''Sinners''
- featurette (32:35)
Journey
with director Ryan Coogler as he makes his most personal and
powerful film yet. Featuring Michael B. Jordan and an all-star
cast, filmed on location in IMAX, ''Sinners''
is an original genre-bending experience unlike any other.
Thicker
than Blood: Becoming the Smokestack Twins - featurette (10:45)
Michael
B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler take us through the development,
creation and portrayal of the Smokestack Twins, revealing how
make-up, costumes, and visual effects come together to support
these seamless performances.
Blues
in the Night: The Music of ''Sinners''
- featurette (13:44)
Oscar-winning
composer Ludwig Goransson explores the musical landscape of
Sinners,
including the iconic sounds of the Delta Blues, and the creation
and recording of the unique and inspired performances written for
the film.
Spirits
in the Deep South
- featurette (7:58)
Prof.
Yvonne Chireau explores the backdrop of Hoodoo in the deep south
and how its beliefs and traditions in spirituality, ancestors, the
hereafter, and defense against evil inform the world and characters
of ''Sinners''.
The
Wages of Sin: The Creature FX of ''Sinners''
- featurette (10:51)
Creature
Makeup FX Designer Mike Fontaine reveals the secrets behind the
supernatural horrors that terrorize the Juke, Ryan Coogler's fresh
take on vampires, and the various gore and blood effects used
throughout the film.
and
Deleted Scenes (18:41)
Joe
Dante's Small
Soldiers 4K
(1998) was part of a sort of cycle of films at the time about toys
(including Jingle
All The Way
and Levinson's Toys)
that did not involve demonically possessed or killer toys, but toys
and the toy industry in some capacity. Most of those films bombed
and thi9s one did some business, but was not the hit expected, so no
sequels, revivals or the like. The advanced title action figures are
animated to fight an actual battle, but it seems like a 1980s film
way too late.
Frank
Langella and Tommy Lee Jones voice the lead soldiers along with
Ernest Borgnine, Bruce Dern, Jim Brown, Clint Walker, George Kennedy,
Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Sarah Michelle
Gellar and Christina Ricci, while the humans are played by Kirsten
Dunst, Gregory Smith, Jay Mour, Kevin Dunn, Denis Leary, Ann
Magnuson, Robert Picaro, Dick Miller, Rance Howard and the amazing
Phil Hartmann in his last feature film appearance. The cast is up to
it and they give it their best, but the script becomes formulaic,
predictable and offers little beyond the expected. Now a curio, 4K
is the best way to see it, even if that is by default for non-fans.
Dante
has said it was originally an edgier, more action-oriented film and
he was forced to cut it down and cut out much of what he already shot
to get a more family-friendly rating. Too bad that other version is
not here. Wonder if it exists. Could be a better film.
Extras
include Digital Movie, while the disc adds Bloopers and a
Behind-The-Scenes featurette.
Now
for a playback performance. The 2160p HEVC/H.265, Dolby Vision/HDR
(10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on
Sinners
4K is
shot in the widest film format (Ultra Panavision 70 at 2.76 X 1) and
largest/tallest (IMAX, here in 1.78 X 1) in an unusual combination
that works better than some might have expected with usually great
shots and even some demo shots throughout, though hardly any films
have been shot in the Ultra Panavision 70 format since its debut in
1957 (ten to date) and some other films have used the lenses, but
shot with Ultra HD cameras. Its well done and the
lossless Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) can
more than match the image with fine sonics throughout from the music
to unusual choices to fit the mystery and suspense of the horror
genre.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on Death
Of A Unicorn
looks good for a standard digital shoot and the CGI title creatures
look about as good as their higher-budgeted competitors, nicely done
enough to buy this for those who do and done with at least a little
more care than higher-budgeted such releases. Color is consistent
and the plays fine, but this also has its share of soft shots and
more than I would have liked. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix can be good, but is a
little inconsistent with the soundfield a little off in parts.
Otherwise, it works well enough.
Dinosaur
Valley Girls
is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4
AVC codec, a fullscreen aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and a PCM 2.0 Stereo
mix. This SD transfer to 1080p high definition is approved by the
director and is from the original tape elements. For being a film
shot on VHS, the transfer is pretty clean and the masters were
obviously well taken care of. Most of the time with some of these
shot on video movies it's a gamble, but this particular release is
probably one of the best looking transfers I have seen from Visual
Vengeance. That being said, the film looks and sounds as good as one
would expect for a low budget film from this era.
Intensely
Independent: The Micro Budget Films of Blake Eckard
is presented in standard definition (480i) on DVD with a 1.78:1
widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo mix.
The transfer is noisy and compressed which isn't overly surprising
considering the films are low budget and in standard definition.
Saturation levels are hot on some of the scenes and it looks to be
transferred from.
The
2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1 Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD
Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on Small
Soldiers 4K
is fine for its age and the age of the CGI, which holds up well
enough, but don't expect state of the art. Still, it is not bad for
a Super 35 shoot. Color is very good and consistent, richer and
warmer than the still-decent 1080p 2.35 X 1 Blu-ray also included.
Fans will be happy, but they are all lucky it has aged as well as it
has, but nothing unusually impressive visually otherwise. The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix is not bad for its age,
pushed as a DTS demo in its time early in its home video releases,
the same on both disc versions, just fine for what it is and
upgrading it would have been a mistake. It sounds as good as it ever
will.
-
Nicholas Sheffo (4Ks, Unicorn)
and James Lockhart
https://letterboxd.com/jhl5films/
