Overview: Ryan Gosling stars as Colt Seavers, a battle-scarred stuntman fresh off an almost career-ending accident. Colt is persuaded to return to his stunt career when he’s told his ex, Jody (Emily Blunt), is directing a film and asked for him specifically.

With hopes of winning back the love of his life, Colt returns to set only to find the movie’s leading man missing and production in peril. Ensnared in an increasingly wild conspiracy, he must solve the mystery to save Jody’s film and get one last shot with her.

What could possibly go right? David Leitch (director of Bullet Train and producer of John Wick) delivers a hard-hitting, hilarious action-thriller with The Fall Guy.

Blu-ray Verdict: Many film fans and industry professionals have been calling for stunt people to be given the credit and acknowledgement they deserve. Well, there may not be any big awards for them yet, but this film certainly celebrates the craft in a great way. The Fall Guy is a big popcorn action flick that I’ve been waiting to see for a while now, and I have to say, it was very entertaining.

Indeed, you could just tell the filmmakers involved were making this a love letter to stunts, while also trying to tell a very fun story at the same time. So if you’re looking to have a good time at home with the family, and maybe, just maybe you remember the Lee Majors TV show from the early 80s of the same name, then I wholeheartedly recommend this brilliantly fun, action-packed new rendition of an old gem!

After an injury, stuntman Colt Seavers (Ryan Gosling) saddles back up and returns to a new film set, where his crush happens to be the director (Emily Blunt) of the film and the main star (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) has secretly gone missing. You very soon realize though that he was hired onto this film by the producer so that she can send him on a hunt to find the movie star.

With a nice relationship between Blunt and Gosling, this film sings with charisma and humor, while the rest is about celebrating Hollywood and the stunts that go into a movie. I thought the overall story was ridiculous and fun, while the romance was adorable. OK, sure, the movie could’ve been a little funnier at times, but that’s a very small nitpick.

In terms of where the story goes, I predicted most of it throughout, but the cast is so good that I was able to ignore the formula. Winston Duke as Colt’s friend/boss is terrific and their scenes together were some of my favorites in the movie and Hannah Waddingham as the film’s producer stole a few moments as well.

I will say what perplexed me was that the main credits at the start of the film listed Teresa Palmer when I believe she briefly appears twice and maybe has one or two lines. I was shocked to see her in the top billing without even really being in the movie. Aside from that, this cast was incredible together. Now, let’s wrap this up by diving into why a lot of people will likely enjoy it.

The Fall Guy, as I said, is a film that celebrates stunts, and throughout almost every single frame, it all looked like it was shot on location and without many visual effects. That is rare for a big-budget movie these days and that just put a smile on my face. The explosions looked real, the car stunts looked real, and most importantly, it didn’t seem like a lot of green screens were used for certain settings.

It felt like this film was 90% in-camera and that’s never going to be a bad thing in my book. Director David Leitch began his career as a stuntman himself, and after now directing five feature films, I can confidently say that I think The Fall Guy is his best work so far. For action, romance, or comedy fans, I recommend this one. It’s not amazing by any means, but the story is good enough to service a big, fun, entertaining popcorn flick.

As for what makes this version extended, well, viewers get the theatrical cut of the film as well as the titled extended edition clocking in at an extra 20 minutes that further fleshes out secondary character development and prolongs a few of the frenetic fight scenes.

Oh, and stay away from the check out button on the remote when you think the movie is done as the credits reveal some great behind-the-scenes looks at how things were done and the laughs the cast had at Ryan’s expense (sometimes).

Extended Cut Blu-ray & Digital Extras:
Extended Cut & Theatrical Version
Gag Reel
Alternate Takes
Stunts on Stunts and so much more!

Overview: Relive every punch from one of the most iconic and beloved sports drama franchises with the ROCKY I-VI 4K Collection, newly remastered in stunning 4K Ultra HD. Sylvester Stallone stars in the greatest boxing saga of all time and triumphs as one of the most inspirational characters in cinematic history.

Witness every epic, action packed fight and unforgettable moment as Rocky punches his way to the top against impossible odds when the ROCKY I-VI 4K Collection is released on July 16, 2024.

The ROCKY I-VI 4K Collection includes the MGM feature films ROCKY, ROCKY II, ROCKY III, ROCKY IV, ROCKY V and ROCKY BALBOA, along with the ROCKY IV Ultimate Director’s Cut, ROCKY VS. DRAGO and the ROCKY BALBOA Director’s Cut.

The collection contains a Blu-ray disc featuring the hour-long behind the scenes documentary on the making of the extended director’s cut of ROCKY IV, Sylvester Stallone’s commentary on ROCKY BALBOA along with an alternate ending, deleted scenes and four behind the scenes featurettes from the film. The disc also includes a selection of previously released special features.

In addition, ROCKY V and ROCKY BALBOA will be available individually in steelbook packaging.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Warner Bros. Entertainment is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the always-a-pleasure-to-view Rocky 6-Film Collection (4K Ultra HD + Digital) in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this July 16th, 2024.

For my money, this Rocky 6-Film Collection (4K Ultra HD + Digital) sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have are the first six films in the series presented to us over 7-Disc’s with a sheet for a Digital HD Copies. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10, Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 and Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable. For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision, we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color, which makes the eyes draw in, for sure.

As for the audio, well we get the choice of: Rocky 4K: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit), English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit), French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono (192 kbps) and Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono.

Rocky II 4K: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit), English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit), French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps).

Rocky III 4K: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit), English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit), French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps) and Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps).

Rocky IV 4K: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit), English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 16-bit), French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), German: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Italian: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps), Japanese: Dolby Digital 5.1, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps) and Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps).

Subtitles: English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish, and Dutch.

Overall, these are all very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentations, and, for the most part, the audio tracks remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the stories to hand, well, first up is the leader of the pack, Rocky (1976). This rousing underdog tale from writer/star Sylvester Stallone and director John G. Avildsen struck a chord with audiences around the world and won three Academy Awards, including Best Picture. When flamboyant heavyweight champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) announces a Bicentennial bout in Philadelphia, local pug boxer Rocky Balboa (Stallone) gets a dream shot at taking the title.

Rocky is a terrific film in every aspect. The acting is what amazed me the most. Stallone gives such an impressive performance it is very hard to believe he is also the star of films like Over the Top, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot and Judge Dredd, and from the other Rocky films for that matter.

Not only Stallone is impressive, Shire, Young and Meredith find perfect notes for their characters as well. Every little thing that happens seems natural through their acting and of course Stallone’s screenplay does a great job here.

Director John G. Avildsen serves this material the way he should and it shows throughout. Of course, he is no Martin Scorsese, for Raging Bull stays the better directed film, but he knows how to tell this story.

Next up is Rocky II (1979) where Rocky is struggling in family life after his bout with Apollo Creed, while the embarrassed champ insistently goads him to accept a challenge for a rematch.

Rocky II is just one of those sequels that is just as good as the original, if not better in some aspects. I can’t say it’s better than the original, because you can’t have the second film without the first one. Meaning that this film does not stand on it’s own, you need the first film to understand the characters and back stories of everything in this film. But, all in all, I think Rocky II is slightly more enjoyable than the original Rocky without outshining it.

In all honesty, I think this film is better directed than the first film. The story seems to flow quite nicely and is slightly faster paced than the original. Not only that, but the main fight in the film is much more exciting and longer than the original one, which is nicer for us to view.

Then we get Rocky III (1982) where Rocky faces the ultimate challenge from a powerful new contender, and must turn to a former rival to help regain his throne as the undisputed fighting champion.

For a series as long running as the Rocky movies, it’s only natural for there to be the occasional need for a breath of fresh air - a fresh perspective on a tried and tested formula. After the last movie relied heavily on the first movie, a fresh rethink was called for by creator/writer, director and star Stallone despite the previous film’s box office success.

After meddling with scripts and the movies editing on his last two pictures Stallone is back in full creative control. And it’s to the movies benefit. Stallone is at his best when playing Rocky - it is his vision and his creation - and despite what Hollywood wants us to think, he is not a bad director either.

From the supercharged Eye of the Tiger opening this film just does not let up. All of the cast are great, none more so than Stallone himself. The scene of Mickey’s death after Rocky’s destruction at the hands of Clubber Lang is brilliant. But the Masterstroke here lies in making Apollo a far more central character after Mickey’s death.

All of this and I still haven’t even mentioned CLUBBER! Mr .T is perfect as Clubber Lang a great adversary for Rocky and the power and intensity his character displays in the ring is ferocious!

Then comes Rocky IV (1985) where Sylvester Stallone is back as heavyweight champ Rocky Balboa, this time squaring off against towering Soviet boxer Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren), an unstoppable fighting machine who has already killed one man in the ring. All this, and a plea for global understanding, too.

The sheer effort Dolph (Ivan Drago), Sylvester (Rocky Balboa) and Carl (Apollo Creed) must have gone into training for this film must have been truly awesome. They all look amazingly fit and sculptured. I think more so than any current modern day boxer.

Kudos to Dolph who in almost his first major feature film (his first was View to a Kill) made, at least for me, a major impact. Despite his lack of dialog I must break you is right up there with Schwarzenegger’s I’ll be back. He looked amazingly strong - a freak almost - just as the plot intended. Scary. He looked even taller than the 6 inch difference between him and Stallone.

Oh, and the movie did give us some great music too, like Hearts On Fire by John Cafferty, No Easy Out by Robert Tepper, and Living in America by James Brown, and which are all great songs. Still, I was really hoping for the Bill Contri Gonna Fly Now to make appearance in the film, but regardless, Vince DiCola did a good job with the soundtrack.

Next up is Rocky V (1990). The fifth entry in the ever-popular series finds Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky down-and-out-of-moolah in Philadelphia. He takes talented young boxer Tommy Gunn (Tommy Morrison) under his wing, but the fighter betrays him and signs with a sleazy promoter. Rocky goes up against Gunn, but does he have the stuff to clobber his powerful, deceitful opponent?

Stallone recruited his own son for the role of Robert (Rocky’s son) and the result is one of the best father son relationships ever committed to celluloid. The scene where Rocky realizes that he has been a negligent father and must make his peace with the boy is affectionate and heartfelt and could never been as realistic without the real life history behind these two people.

OK, there are some flaws and I am not too naive to suggest this movie is worthy of an Oscar. The casting of Tommy The Machine Gunn could have been better as real life boxer Tommy Morrison sometimes appears wooden and is never really threatening enough to Rocky for the final fight to have any tangible tension.

Similarly, aside from the final tune of Elton John’s The Measure of a Man the music does not measure up to the awesome and inspirational anthems that have accompanied previous installments. Any flick in the early nineties that used rap music as its primary soundtrack has ultimately dated for a modern audience and so too this is the case here sadly.

The final scene provides the usual over done fight with, well, if you’ve seen the others and enjoyed them, the fights and the stories, you should like this, too.

Lastly we get Rocky Balboa (2006). Sylvester Stallone wrote, directed, and (of course) stars in the sixth film in the beloved franchise. In the wake of Adrian’s death, the once-great Rocky agrees to an exhibition bout with current heavyweight champ Mason The Line Dixon (Antonio Tarver), who wants to fight the living legend to earn some respect. Will stepping into the ring one last time give Rocky’s life the meaning it’s been missing?

In Philadelphia, the retired former champion Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone) misses his beloved deceased wife Adrian; tries to get closer to his son Robert (Milo Ventimiglia) and has a routine life helping people, running his restaurant telling his past glories to clients and taking pictures with his fans.

When the television shows a virtual fight between Rocky and the unappreciated undefeated heavyweight titleholder Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver) wined by Rocky, he feels the need to return to the ring to practice boxing in little fights as a sport.the fight of the century. And fighters gonna fight!!

In my humble opinion, this is Stallone’s best acting ever. The only downfall, I thought was the soundtrack, as Mason Dixon (Antonio Tarver) entrance music to the fight is great, and of course the theme to Rocky is great, but other than that the soundtrack was not good at all. However as we all know we cannot judge a movie by its soundtrack and so this is, as a stand alone cinematic piece, a true must see!

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray will include an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc with each feature film in 4K with HDR, a bonus Blu-ray disc with the documentary and a selection of pre-existing special features, and a Digital version of the feature films.

Ultra HD Blu-ray showcases 4K resolution with High Dynamic Range (HDR) and a wider color spectrum, offering consumers brighter, deeper, more lifelike colors for a home entertainment viewing experience like never before.

For the complete 4K Ultra HD experience with HDR, a 4K Ultra HD TV with HDR, an Ultra HD Blu-ray player and a high-speed HDMI (category 2) cable are required.

The Ultra HD Blu-ray disc featuring the films ROCKY, ROCKY II, ROCKY III, ROCKY IV, ROCKY IV Ultimate Director’s Cut, ROCKY VS. DRAGO, ROCKY, ROCKY BALBOA and the ROCKY BALBOA Director’s Cut will feature Dolby VisionTM HDR that dramatically expands the color palette and contrast range and uses dynamic metadata to automatically optimize the picture for every screen, frame by frame.

Overview: Almost a decade after Lucky McKee burst upon the indie horror scene and became a ‘Master of Horror’ in the making thanks to his directorial debut May, he teamed up with legendary cult author Jack Ketchum for his most shocking and brutal film to date: The Woman, an instant cause célèbre on its Sundance premiere.

The Woman (Pollyanna McIntosh, The Walking Dead) is the last surviving member of a deadly clan of feral cannibals that has roamed the American wilderness for decades. When successful country lawyer Chris Cleek (Sean Bridgers, Room) stumbles upon her whilst hunting in the woods, he decides to capture and “civilize” her with the help of his seemingly perfect all-American family, including his wife Belle (Angela Bettis, May) and daughter Peggy (Lauren Ashley Carter, Darling). The Cleeks will soon learn, however, that hell hath no fury like The Woman scorned!

Experience McKee and Ketchum’s uncompromisingly twisted vision of the dark side of the American family in a definitive edition, including a 4K remaster, a slew of bonus features, and a bonus disc featuring a restoration of its gut-churning 2009 predecessor Offspring, also starring McIntosh.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: This is a very strong movie, centralized around the concept of the strength of the human nature - not the weak and/or mind crippled end product of the 21st century, but the pure core of it. This is where the difference between this and the other movies starts.

Usually, the victim of the killer-freak breaks instantly, getting into panic, horror and so on. Here, The Woman just can’t be broken - she sees all of this just as another battle for survival, the thing she does all her life. She doesn’t have a feeling for good/evil, just for what is right and wrong.

All of the actors play especially strong, showing (as I see it) all possible types of reactions to the madness of their world (coming from the pretty messed up father, think of it as Dexter, but at the same time exactly the opposite of Dexter). The mother, who wants to protect his children, but is too afraid to stand up against her husband.

The son, who got messed up just like his father. The big daughter which is in constant shock and horror, and the little daughter who is trying to block by not acknowledging the evil (she is too old not to be able to understand all of this, and she never cried or got afraid, even in the brutal scenes).

At the end of the movie, The Woman prevails in the situation too quick (I was expecting a longer battle), but, I think that is the right way to do it - she is just too good compared to the father and the son - they are just the typical mad people, they don’t have what she has.

I find the contrast between her and the human-dog thing a very nice final touch to the movie. Without it, it would seem that the movie makes a comparison between the father, an educated human-beast and her, an uneducated beast. But she clearly shows that she has more humanity than the father, and more humanity than the dog-freak.

Also I liked how she took care of the father - at the beginning, with the ring, she gave him that special look of determination while she ate part of him, and at the end she looked at him the same way, as if saying Told you it will end that way.

Also, for the record, the sound effects are superb, and the standard visual horror special effects are used carefully, so they are pretty darn good also. Sure the movie could use some more suspense in the last 20 minutes of it, and a better first scene, but aside from those little moans, I implore you to watch this film tonight and see how it affects you soon thereafter (as most assuredly will). [M.O.M.]

4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
4K restorations of The Woman and Offspring, supervised and approved by Lucky McKee and Andrew van den Houten
Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork for both films by Vanessa McKee
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing by Michael Blyth, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Kevin Kovelant

DISC ONE - THE WOMAN (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
4K restoration supervised and approved by Lucky McKee
4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with director Lucky McKee, editor Zach Passero, sound designer Andrew Smetek and composer Sean Spillane
Audio commentary with star Pollyanna McIntosh
Audio commentary with critic Scott Weinberg
Archive commentary with director Lucky McKee
Dad on the Wall, a 75-minute fly-on-the-wall behind-the-scenes documentary filmed by the director’s father Mike McKee
Being Peggy Cleek, an interview with star Lauren Ashley Carter
Malam Domesticam, an archive making-of featurette
Meet the Makers, a short featurette on the making of the film
Deleted scenes
¡Mi Burro!, a short film by editor Zach Passero
“Distracted” music video by Sean Spillane
Frightfest Total Film Panel Discussion, a 2011 onstage chat about the future of American indie horror at the popular horror film festival, featuring Lucky McKee, Andrew van den Houten, Larry Fessenden, Adam Green, Joe Lynch and Ti West
Theatrical trailers
Image galleries

DISC TWO - OFFSPRING (4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
4K restoration supervised and approved by Andrew van den Houten
4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with director/producer Andrew van den Houten and digital colorist Matt McClain
Archive commentary with writer Jack Ketchum, director/producer Andrew van den Houten and producer/cinematographer William M. Miller
Interview with Pollyanna McIntosh and Andrew van den Houten
Fly on the Wall, a behind-the-scenes documentary
Extended interview with Jack Ketchum
Restoration comparison
Audition comparison
Progeny: The Birth of Offspring, an archive behind-the-scenes featurette including interviews with cast and crew
First Stolen’s Bailout, an archive behind-the-scenes featurette
Webisodes, short featurettes used to promote the film online
Archive Easter Eggs
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery

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Overview: The ultimate struggle for power. Men against kings, kings against gods. From such conflict legends are born! In Clash of the Titans, Perseus (Sam Worthington), son of a god but raised as a man, is helpless to save his family from Hades (Ralph Fiennes), vengeful god of the underworld.

With nothing to lose, Perseus volunteers to lead a dangerous mission to defeat Hades before he can seize power from Zeus (Liam Neeson), king of the gods, and unleash hell on earth. Battling unholy demons and fearsome beasts, can Perseus accept his power and defy fate to create his own destiny?

Wrath of the Titans picks up ten years on from his heroic battle with the monstrous Kraken, with Perseus now living a quiet life by the sea with his young son. But war is raging between the gods and the Titans, and Perseus learns of a treacherous plan for world domination by his power-hungry uncle Hades and godly half-brother Ares (Édgar Ramírez).

No longer able to ignore his calling, Perseus joins forces with warrior queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon’s demigod son Agenor (Toby Kebbell) and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy) to enter the underworld, rescue the banished Zeus and overthrow the Titans once and for all.

A star-studded cast delivers legendary performances under the direction of Louis Leterrier (The Transporter, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance) and Jonathan Liebesman (Darkness Falls, Battle: Los Angeles) in two action-packed tales of mythic high adventure, presented for the first time on home video in stunning 4K Ultra HD.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Opening with Clash of the Titans (2010), born of god but raised by humans, Perseus, the demigod son of mighty Zeus, the king of the gods, vows to take his revenge on Hades, the terrifying ruler of the Underworld, when he sees his mortal family perish. As the race of men summons up the courage to rebel against the gods of Olympus, the doomed city of Argos becomes a battlefield, as Hades threatens to unleash the legendary sea-monster, Kraken, unless the fair Princess Andromeda willingly offers herself as a sacrifice.

Now, having nothing more to lose, Perseus embarks on a daring, peril-laden quest to stop the forces of evil before Hades plunges the world into chaos and darkness. But, to survive the relentless onslaught of demons and terrible adversaries, Perseus must first embrace his destiny. Will Perseus defy the gods, and save humankind in the clash of the Titans?

Cherish your fond memories of the cult film favorite Clash of the Titans (1981) with Harry Hamlin, because Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier’s remake twists virtually everything inside out! The superior remake eliminates some characters, replaces them with others, and alters the line-up of scenes.

Indeed, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer’s Clash of the Titans revised the Greek myth of Perseus, but the Warner Brothers redux gives the legend a heavy-duty overhaul. Scenarist Travis Beacham along with Æon Flux co-scripter’s Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi have taken even more liberties with Greek mythology than Beverley Cross dared in the original.

Comparatively, Leterrier and his scribes have surpassed the original simply because special effects technology has come so far since stop-motion guru Ray Harryhausen dazzled audiences with the 1981 version. Leterrier assembles gargoyles, gigantic back-hoe sized scorpions, a reptilian Medusa with writhing vipers for locks and a gaze that turns men into statues, and a humongous sea monster that resembles the adversary in Leterrier’s Incredible Hulk sequel.

Unlike the tongue-in-cheek, juvenile-oriented original, the Clash of the Titans remake takes itself pretty seriously and its solemn, larger-than-life shenanigans boast a brawny, believable look. Gone is the toy mechanical owl from the original, but the remake acknowledges Bubo the Owl before it consigns it to oblivion. The chief error that Warner Brothers made with this $126-million remake is they converted it from 2-D to 3-D. No Clash of the Titans was not lensed in 3-D. Indeed, some shots display some extraordinary depth from the foreground to the background.

Nevertheless, you will miss nothing if you watch Clash of the Titans without your glasses. The edges around some characters and objects may appear fuzzy, but not as fuzzy as usual. The dead giveaway that the action was not photographed in 3-D is the absence of anything being hurled at you throughout this 106-minute melodrama.

Then we get Wrath of the Titans (2012) where a decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus-the demigod son of Zeus-is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius. Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans.

Dangerously weakened by humanity’s lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld.

Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus’ godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramírez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans’ strength grows stronger as Zeus’ remaining godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth. Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon’s demigod son, Argenor (Toby Kebbell), and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), Perseus bravely embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, overthrow the Titans and save mankind.

The Wrath of the Titans comes with action right out the gates of Tartarus! I was a little surprised that the fun began so quickly, but it didn’t last. We get this great battle as Perseus (Sam Worthington) faces the Chimera, and then we are taken to school for a Greek mythology lesson. This film does look deeper at the Gods, specifically the relationship of the top brothers. The three major Gods seen in the Clash of the Titans have returned, including Liam Neeson as Zeus. Fortunately, his role is so much more expanded this time around and not completely defined by one catch phrase!

Releasing the Titans was exactly what takes place in this story and it is pretty spectacular to witness. Practically every mythical creature ever conceived in Greek mythology was on display and in some battle with Perseus. Since he pretty much lost everyone who fought beside him the last time he now teams up with some new comrades, Andromeda (Rosamund Pike) who is leading the Greek army into battle and Agenor (Toby Kebbell) who is a bit of a scoundrel.

The entire film took a very somber serious tone, I kept thinking man this is dramatic. It wasn’t until well into the 99 minutes running time that we get some comic relief from Hephaestus (Bill Nighy). The tone lightened up for a minute, then Ares (Edgar Ramirez) makes a really cool entrance and then into the labyrinth we go, which was absolutely stunning. I was very impressed by the special effects in this film. Aside from how realistic all the titans appeared, a few other things crossed my mind, one that I really liked and the other I considered must have been for realism.

This series is the first time that I have seen Pegasus as a black beauty, which coordinated very well with how dirty everyone stayed throughout the entire film. In battle who has time for a shower before, Action! Good thing Perseus is a demi-god otherwise he would have never survived all the times that he was hurled into a rock or a stone pillar. This story is not plot driven, it’s not character driven and with all the different accents in Greece, which were a bit distracting, but if a film could stand solely on the special effects and the realism that you would expect in the chance that you meet a Cyclops, then this it that film! [E.D.]

2-DISC 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
4K Ultra HD (2160p) Blu-ray presentations in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of both films
Original 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Illustrated collector’s book containing new writing by author and critic Guy Adams and film scholar Josh Nelson
Double-sided fold-out posters for each film featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Wilson
Six postcard sized artcards
Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Wilson

DISC 1 - CLASH OF THE TITANS:
Scaling Mount Olympus, a brand new interview with producer Basil Iwanyk
Sam Worthington is Perseus
Zeus: Father of Gods and Men
Enter the World of Hades
Calibos: The Man Behind the Monster
Tenerife: A Continent on an Island
Scorpioch
Actors and Their Stunts
Wales: A Beautiful Scarred Landscape
Bringing Medusa to Life
Prepare for the Kraken!
Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages featurette
Alternate ending
Deleted scenes
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery

DISC 2 - WRATH OF THE TITANS:
Unleashing the Beasts, a brand new interview with producer Basil Iwanyk
Who Are the Titans?
Hephaestus: God of Fire
Lost in Tartarus’ Labyrinth
Creatures of the Titans
Path of Men (behind the scenes)
Battling the Chimera
Agenor: The Other Demi-God
The Cyclops Fight
Prison of the Titans
Minotaur: The Human Nightmare
The Heavens Raise Hell on Earth
Deleted scenes
Theatrical trailer
Image gallery

www.arrowvideo.com

Overview: A Tex-Mex tornado of fire and fury, writer-director Robert Rodriguez’s astonishing ‘Mexico Trilogy’ broke fresh new ground in American independent and action cinema, catapulting the filmmaker and his largely Hispanic cast and crew into the Hollywood stratosphere.

Rodriguez’s ingenious 1993 debut El Mariachi (infamously filmed for only $7000) sees a naive young musician entering a godforsaken border town and finding himself in the middle of a deadly case of mistaken identity. The major studio follow-up Desperado sees Antonio Banderas take up the mantle of the mysterious Mariachi, stalking the Mexican underworld with enough bullets up his sleeves for every bandito in his path.

Finally, 2003’s Once Upon a Time in Mexico sees Rodriguez use every cutting-edge technological innovation in his arsenal to bring the trilogy’s explosive conclusion to the screen, as the Mariachi finds himself in the center of a bloody war for the soul of Mexico itself.

Fun, fast and full of invention and inspiration, this deadly trio cemented Robert Rodriguez’s reputation as an action auteur worth following, and are accompanied here by insightful new interviews with the director and his crew of collaborators.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: The trilogy opens on El Mariachi (1993), which tells a simple tale of mistaken identity. The protagonist and title character is a mere wandering mariachi looking for work, until he is confused with an escaped prisoner. Then of course, all hell breaks loose. Bullets fly and the fun begins.

Strictly on its cinematic merits, El Mariachi is not as great as you have probably heard. The story, as I described, is nothing special. The acting doesn’t detract at all from the movie, but no one stands out either. There are a number of continuity errors; shots within individual scenes are inconsistently lit; some of the cuts seem unusual; and the special effects are elementary. The technical aspects, except the necessarily innovative cinematography, are not quite up to Hollywood standards. All of this would not seem to add up to a classic independent film.

But the borderline crude nature of all these pieces add up to a fascinating film, and they do that for one reason: Robert Rodriguez. His creativity and vision collide with his lack of money to produce a fascinating film. Filling virtually every major role on the crew, he creates a style all his own. Within this style, all of the problems are transformed into resourcefulness and creativity, the product of which is a consistent look akin to what he forged in Once Upon a Time in Mexico and his other films.

Next up is Desperado (1995) and the no-named Mariachi player is now being played by Antonio Banderas. He is after Bucho (Joaquim de Almeida), the big boss who was pulling the strings when his old flame was killed. He will go from town to town and bar to bar leaving a trail of dead bodies in order to find Bucho.

Helping him is his friend played by Steve Buscemi. Also helping him is his new flame, Carolina (Salma Hayek). Like I said, upgrades all around.

This is a shoot ’em up action flick with a Mexican flare. It’s somewhat of a throwback to Spaghetti Westerns, yet with a modern day flare. Looking purely at body count and bullet count, this movie could be virtually indistinguishable from your typical Hollywood action movie. But, just the subtle change of location, accents, and substituting white faces for brown faces and suddenly the new packaging makes the entire product much better.

Banderas is brilliantly-cast as a brooding longer on the hunt and leaving a very large trail of dead bodies behind him. The gorgeous Salma Hayek plays his love interest in what I guess was one of her first ever roles, and, on a personal note, I loved Buscemi’s contribution!

Lastly is Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003), an all out action, thriller movie starring, once again, Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, but now they are joined by stars such as Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, Eva Mendes, Danny Trejo, Enrique, Marco Leonardi, Cheech Marin, Ruben Blades and Willem Dafoe.

The fugitive couple from the last film (Hayek and Banderas) are still on the run from the criminals who’ve survived their last gun battle. We finally learn who’s behind all of the EL Mariachi’s troubles. Will he and his bride ever find peace and solace in the desert towns of Mexico? Can they ever settle down and raise a family?

The visual effects are also pure Rodriguez, which is both good and bad. Rated R for strong violence, Mexico earns its rating time and time again as men are blown ridiculous distances by bullets and explosions. Over the top? Yes, but somehow they almost seem possible in the portrayed world.

LIMITED EDITION CONTENTS:
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray presentations of all three films
4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) of Desperado
Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Carlos Aguilar and Nicholas Clement
Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper
Double sided posters featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper
Collectable poster featuring Robert Rodriguez’s original poster concept for El Mariachi

DISC 1 - EL MARIACHI (BLU-RAY)
Original uncompressed Latin-American Spanish stereo audio, plus an English dub in lossless stereo
Optional English subtitles, plus English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Commentary by writer-director Robert Rodriguez
Big Vision Low Budget, a newly filmed interview with Rodriguez
The Original Mariachi, a newly filmed interview with producer/star Carlos Gallardo
The Music of ‘El Mariachi’, a newly produced featurette on the music in the film, featuring interviews with composers Eric Guthrie, Chris Knudson, Alvaro Rodriguez and Marc Trujillo
Ten Minute Film School, an archive featurette produced and narrated by Rodriguez
Bedhead, a 1991 short film by Rodriguez
Theatrical trailer and TV spot

DISCS 2 & 3 - DESPERADO (BLU-RAY / 4K ULTRA HD BLU-RAY)
New 4K restoration from the original camera negative by Sony Pictures
Original uncompressed stereo audio and DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Audio commentary by writer-director Robert Rodriguez
Lean and Mean, a newly filmed interview with Rodriguez
Shoot Like Crazy, a newly filmed interview with producer Bill Borden
Kill Count, a newly filmed interview with stunt coordinator Steve Davison
Lock and Load, a newly filmed interview with special effects coordinator Bob Shelley
Game Changer, a newly filmed appreciation by filmmaker Gareth Evans (The Raid: Redemption)
Ten More Minutes: Anatomy of a Shootout, an archive featurette narrated by Rodriguez
Textless opening (“Morena de mi Corazón”)
Theatrical trailers

DISC 4 - ONCE UPON A TIME IN MEXICO (BLU-RAY)
Original DTS-HD MA 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo audio
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard-of-hearing
Commentary by writer-director Robert Rodriguez
The Revolution Will Be Digitized, a newly filmed interview with Rodriguez
Troublemaking, a newly filmed interview with visual effects editor Ethan Maniquis
Eight deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Rodriguez
Ten Minute Flick School, an archive featurette narrated by Rodriguez
Inside Troublemaker Studios, an archive featurette on Rodriguez’s studio in Austin
Ten Minute Cooking School, an archive featurette in which Rodriguez shows you how to cook Puerco Pibil
Film is Dead: An Evening with Robert Rodriguez, a presentation by the director given in 2003
The Anti-Hero’s Journey, an archive featurette on the arc of the Mariachi
The Good, the Bad and the Bloody: Inside KNB FX, an archive featurette on the film’s special effects
Theatrical trailers

www.arrowvideo.com

Overview: Weary of the rigid codes of the underworld, gambler Tokijiro (Kinnosuke Nakamura, Goyokin) wanders Japan in search of freedom. But escape proves to be impossible when an obligation to a gang boss leaves him with no choice but to kill a man.

To atone for his crime, he vows to take care of his victim’s widow and young son. But the gang won’t rest until they’ve killed the entire family - including the man who stands in their way.

With this breathtakingly stylized film, Tai Kato broke all the conventions of the yakuza genre, fusing blood-spurting action with melodrama worthy of Japanese cinema’s greatest masters.

Blu-ray Verdict: The brilliant Kinnosuke Nakamura stars as Kutsukake Tokijiro, a wandering Yakuza traveling the countryside who bound by honor code kills a man in a duel as a favor to a clan who gave him shelter. With his last words, the man asks Tokijiro to take care of his wife and son, seeing them to safety with a distant family member.

What a film! Tai Kato’s direction is utterly superb, bringing together all the classic elements of the Ninkyo genre into a stunning, and beautifully shot piece of cinema that is both highly emotional and also delivers some fantastically choreographed (and extremely bloody, for its time) swordplay.

Kinnosuke Nakamura’s performance is truly excellent, bringing his highly charismatic screen presence and skill with a blade and meeting it with a deeply nuanced role where he gets to show off his range. I particularly loved his bond with the young boy and the genuine way they interacted.

But man, I would be remiss not to mention the beautiful Junko Ikeuchi who almost steals the show with her strong willed and completely believable performance as the widow. She really shines in a role that much like Nakamura’s pulls off a wide range of emotions that packs quite a punch by the end.

As you can tell, this film really knocked me for six, a tremendous Ninkyo that comes with the biggest possible recommend for genre fans. It’s a real treat to finally be exploring Kato’s work and I couldn’t be any more excited to dive deeper into this particular one, now it is out via Radiance Films and with a smorgasbord of lovely special features included.

Special Features:
High-Definition digital transfer
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
Interview with film critic Koushi Ueno about the film’s place in genre cinema history
A visual essay on star Kinnosuke Nakamura by Japanese cinema expert Robin Gatto
New and improved English subtitle translation
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by scholar Ivo Smits and a newly translated archival review

www.radiancefilms.co.uk

Overview: As the Spanish Civil War draws to a close, Fando, a young boy, is tormented by violently conflicting feelings towards his mother, who he suspects may have had a role in his father’s capture by fascists; feelings that manifest themselves as a nightmare onslaught of terrifying and bizarre imagery.

Based on Fernando Arrabal’s own brutal experiences during the Civil War, Viva la Muerte is a shockingly provocative work of surrealist cinema from the artist and film-maker, who co-founded the Panic Movement collective alongside Alejandro Jodorowsky.

Acclaimed on release by critics and scorned by censors, Viva la Muerte would later achieve notoriety as a midnight movie, and was a favorite film of John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Restored in 4K with the collaboration of Fernando Arrabal, Radiance is proud to present Viva la Muerte on English-subtitled Blu-ray for the first time ever.

Blu-ray Verdict: Viva la Muerte (Long Live Death) is a surrealist assault on church and state. The semi-autobiographical film discerns the brutalities of his childhood existence after his mother reported his father as a communist, who was subsequently arrested and detained by Francisco Franco’s regime.

Arrabal was a co-founder of the Panic Movement, a collective concentrated on chaotic surrealness, and this film features some striking images as the child protagonist is continually disturbed by the mental visualizations of his father being tortured or executed. These thoughts are represented through a filtered selection of primary pop art colors, and the cognitive turmoil generates a bombardment of strangeness and motivates some contradicting emotions towards his mother.

Arrabal repeatedly allows the creativity of his unconscious mind to recall the work of artists like Luis Bunuel frequently, and the film overall feels like the output of a man who has been driven insane after coming of age under a repressive and authoritative dictator.

It’s a real treat to finally be deep diving back into this film after all these decades, and I couldn’t be any more excited to take a run through all the great new special features included on this new Blu-ray, out now via Radiance Films.

Special Features:
New 4K restoration of the original 35mm negative by the Cinémathèque Toulouse in collaboration with Fernando Arrabal
Audio discussion from the Project Booth podcast featuring Mike White, Heather Drain and Jess Byard (66 mins)
Sur les traces de Baal - a short documentary by Abdellatif Ben Ammar in which the filmmaker followed Arrabal’s film and captured him at work on Viva la Muerte! (1970, 20 mins)
VIDARRABAL - a feature-length documentary on Arrabal by Xavier Pasturel Barron capturing the life and work of this singular filmmaker, playwright, painter and essayist, featuring interviews with admirers, friends and family, including members of the Panic
Interview with scholar and Spanish cinema expect David Archibald
Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork
Booklet featuring new writing by Sabina Stent and archival interview with Fernando Arrabal

www.radiancefilms.co.uk

Overview: In a bitter divorce settlement from her billionaire husband Rupert Mannion (Anthony Head), Rebecca Welton (Hannah Waddingham) becomes the new owner of AFC Richmond, a struggling British English Premier League football team. She’s assisted by her garden gnome Director of Communications (and later Director of Football Operations) Leslie Higgins (Jeremy Swift), who formerly worked for her husband.

Her first order of business is to fire the team’s current manager and replace him with American football coach Theodore [Ted] Lasso (Jason Sudeikis). Formerly a small-time coach from Wichita Kansas, Ted and his friend, assistant Coach Beard (Brendan Hunt) cross the pond to take up the management of the team’s long, albeit modest history.

Although he is nationally ridiculed for doing something so stupid, Ted works to change the team’s profound mediocrity. Richmond is about to change the way they’re doing things, from now on, it’s the Lasso way!

All 3 seasons of the Emmy-award winning series are available in this box-set which includes a double sided BELIEVE poster Included as a Gift-With-Purchase, While Supplies Last. Quantities Limited.

Blu-ray Verdict: He walks onto the pitch with a folksy charm, a Kansas drawl thicker than treacle, and a biscuit tin in hand. Meet Ted Lasso, the American football coach turned unlikely leader of AFC Richmond, a floundering Premier League team in England. What follows is not your typical sports drama, but a heartwarming odyssey of kindness, resilience, and, yes, even a healthy dose of biscuits.

Ted Lasso, the show, is a triumph of heart over cynicism. Jason Sudeikis embodies the titular character with infectious optimism and genuine warmth. He’s a walking Hallmark movie come to life, radiating positivity like a beacon in the often cynical world of professional sports. But don’t mistake his niceness for naivete. Ted’s folksy wisdom and unwavering belief in people, combined with a surprising tactical mind, slowly chip away at the cynicism of those around him.

The supporting cast is a delightful ensemble. From the gruff yet endearing Roy Kent to the ambitious and conflicted Rebecca Welton, each character is richly drawn and relatable. Their journeys of growth, intertwined with Ted’s optimistic influence, form the emotional core of the show. Be prepared to laugh, cry, and maybe even cheer for a team you never knew you cared about.

This isn’t just a show about football though. It’s about the human condition. It tackles themes of grief, betrayal, and self-doubt with surprising depth, all while maintaining its feel-good charm. It’s a show that reminds you to believe in the good, to find humor in the face of adversity, and maybe, just maybe, to try a biscuit with your tea.

Is Ted Lasso perfect? Perhaps not. Some might find its unrelenting optimism saccharine, and the occasional football jargon might fly over the heads of non-fans. But these are minor quibbles in the face of the show’s overall brilliance.

And as much as I can praise Jason Sudeikis all day, for he is truly wonderful as the eponymous character whose positivity and folksy attitude keeps him and the team going, despite his mental trauma (I mean, it was a genius move for him to take this character he created on NBC Sports to AppleTV where he, Brendan Hunt, Bill Lawrence and Joe Kelly developed in a character who we can all relate to), but allow me to take some time and highlight most all the other mainstay characters also.

For much like the Lasso character, it is all about the team, and the supporting cast pounce their claws into their characters and make them memorable. Hannah Waddingham is marvelous as Rebecca who starts out as a vengeful owner, but changes into a charming, caring woman who finally appreciates what Ted is doing and develops a mind of her own. Brendan Hunt is wonderful as Beard, the brains and voice of reason. Jeremy Swift is great as Leslie, Juno Temple is sassy as Keeley, Phil Dunster settles very well into Jamie Tartt, James Lance’s deadpan sarcastic wit is a perfect fit for Trent Krimm, and Toheeb Jimoh is great as Sam.

Continuing onward, and Cristo Fernandez is funny as Dani Rojas, Kola Bokinni brings in both toughness and vulnerability as Isaac, Billy Harris is very good as the closeted Colin, Nick Mohammed finally gets his breakthrough as Nate Shelley and the rest of the team contribute memorable moments.

But, for me personally, it is Brett Goldstein who is the true second star of the show. Literally coming out of nowhere, he towers over the supporting cast by giving the most memorable character ever created, Roy Kent. For within that acerbic, icy foul mouthed persona is a wholehearted lover of football and Richmond who can’t leave. And we root for him throughout, did we not!

In closing, Ted Lasso is a must-watch for anyone seeking a heartwarming escape, a reminder that kindness can be a powerful force, and a testament to the fact that sometimes, all it takes to win is a little bit of belief ... and maybe a well-timed shortbread dunk! Just remember, you might shed a tear or two, but don’t worry, they’ll be happy tears. After all, as Ted would say, Football is life, but also, life is biscuits.

It’s time to BELIEVE! The heartwarming and critically acclaimed comedy series, Ted Lasso, is making its highly anticipated debut on Blu-ray and DVD, bringing its infectious blend of humor, heart, and hope directly into the homes of fans.

Experience the magic of the series all over again, or for the first time, with all 34 episodes from Seasons 1-3 in one special box-set that will include a limited edition, double-sided BELIEVE poster, available while supplies last.

Ted Lasso: The Richmond Way will be available for purchase online and in-store at major retailers on July 30, 2024. Pre-order your copy now!

Overview: Starring Jimmy Wang Yu (The One-Armed Swordsman) and directed by Lo Wei, the man behind the smash-hit Bruce Lee vehicles The Big Boss and Fist of Fury, A Man Called Tiger is a martial arts extravaganza released at the height of an international kung fu craze.

Chin Fu (Wang Yu) is a formidable martial artist who suspects his father’s apparent suicide was actually a cold-blooded murder. His desire for answers - and revenge - leads him to Japan, where he becomes entangled with the yakuza.

With the aid of his fellow countryman Liu Han-ming (James Tien, Hand of Death) and a nightclub hostess (Maria Yi, Fist of Fury), Chin Fu sets out to infiltrate Tokyo’s underworld, expose a criminal conspiracy and uncover his father’s true fate by any means necessary.

Long rumored to have been planned as the third collaboration between Lo Wei and Bruce Lee before Lee made his directorial debut with The Way of the Dragon, A Man Called Tiger instead became a vehicle for another martial arts superstar in Jimmy Wang Yu.

Eureka Classics is proud to present the film for the first time ever on Blu-ray from a brand new 2K restoration.

Blu-ray Verdict: To me, Jimmy Wang Yu is one of the all-time Kings of Cool. He is the precursor to Chow Yun Fat — this long lean inscrutable action star who wears cool suits, stares down bad guys with a dispassionate heat, then proceeds to kick their asses even if the odds are 15 to 1. And he does it believably too, with all legs and arms akimbo!

The last time I watched a Wang Yu movie, it was Beach of the War Gods — a period piece. As a matter of fact, most of the Wang Yu flicks I’ve seen are period. So this one was extra cool — he was a Chinese guy in Japan who joins up with a yakuza group to help them collect money from a rival yakuza.

At first glance this really seemed to be a Yojimbo/Fist Full Of Dollars reboot quickly segued into a REVENGER. Which is what all the best Wang Yu movies are. He attacks revenge with a cool attitude. Hardly breaks a sweat. Hardly makes any announcements of anger on his face. He just whips his head around, stares down the barrel of the camera and gives a little nod: Let’s fight!

All the women love him. All the dudes want to be him. The movie is confusing despite its simple premise — who killed his dad and who will eat fist for doing it and yes, it does careen a little all over the place. Gets kinda crazy trying to follow it. I got lost a few times, sure, but never lost my grip on what was unfolding action wise. I also never got tired of the fights and trust me when I say this one ends in an absolute BANGER!

The movie withholds the bloody fights that Lo Wei has done in the past — ending in a blood soaked battle that is beyond thrilling. It has been a while since I ventured down this path with Jimmy Wang Yu, but now this has just been released as part of Eureka’s 1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray from the original Hong Kong theatrical cut, itself from a brand new 2K restoration, well, this latest flashback rewatch was just as exciting to me!

Special Features:
1080p HD presentation on Blu-ray of the original Hong Kong theatrical cut from a brand new 2K restoration (79 mins)
1080p HD presentation of the rarely seen extended export version from a brand new 2K restoration (112 minutes)
Original Mandarin and classic English dub audio options (original mono presentations)
Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release
Brand new audio commentary on the Hong Kong version by East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
Brand new audio commentary on the export version by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
Reversible sleeve featuring original poster artwork
Trailer

Overview: The Bikeriders captures a rebellious time in America when the culture and people were changing. After a chance encounter at a local bar, strong-willed Kathy (Jodie Comer) is inextricably drawn to Benny (Austin Butler), the newest member of Midwestern motorcycle club, the Vandals led by the enigmatic Johnny (Tom Hardy).

Much like the country around it, the club begins to evolve, transforming from a gathering place for local outsiders into a dangerous underworld of violence, forcing Benny to choose between Kathy and his loyalty to the club.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Warner Bros. Entertainment is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the new blockbuster The Bikeriders (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital) in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this August 13th, 2024.

For my money, this Bikeriders (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital) sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is The Bikeriders presented to us as a two-disc with a 4K UHD + Blu-ray + sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), HDR: HDR10 and Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable. For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision, we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color, which makes the eyes draw in, for sure.

In particular, one scene (amongst many) that stood out for me was the Take The Jacket Off Scene, where set in a dingy bar, Butler is told he cannot wear his biking colors inside, and what follows, well, I won’t give it away, but it is just so well lit for where it is that along with Hardy out there doing his best Brando, the film just glides sumptuously along.

As for the audio, well we get the choice of: English: Dolby Atmos, English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) and Audio descriptive.

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the film itself, well, in 1960’s America, Kathy (Jodie Comer) is a young woman trapped in a relationship that’s growing increasingly volatile. She starts to get noticed by Benny (Austin Butler), a young buck hoping to make it big in The Vandals, a notorious biker gang, led by Johnny (Tom Hardy), a cool, calculated character who sees promise in Benny.

When Kathy and Benny become an item, his commitment to her and his loyalties to The Vandals become dangerously inter-wined, coming to a head when young buck, Sonny (Norman Reedus) offers some credible rivalry with his gang, The Renegades.

The biker gang has always held a magnetic sway with that contingent of movie-goers that relate to the appeal of belonging to a gang, most notably the 1969 film Easy Rider, and various other incarnations over the years. With The Bikeriders, writer/director Jeff Nichols, attempts to compartmentalize the format into an autobiographical, true life account of life in that world, taken from true life accounts from the 50’s/60’s period. An idea with great potential, that sadly (and although it does hold your attention in check), never feels fully realized here.

Comer’s strong, improvised Brooklyn accent over the voiceovers, combined with the oldies 50’s/60’s soundtrack and the freeze frame interludes, give the film a Goodfellas-lite kind of feel, albeit switched from the Italian mafia to a biker gang, but with the same basic set up and characters.

Performances wise, Butler has presence as the dreamboat young pretender, while Hardy manages his trademark intense persona, as the mean, moody head boy, while fellow big screen tough guy Michael Shannon makes a surprise return in a lesser role as a grizzled old timer, whose brain’s so fried he no longer makes any sense.

There’s an all star cast in dynamic, promising roles. But while there’s enough to make you care about these characters and their outcomes, all-together it’s ultimately a definite workmanlike effort that doesn’t really offer anything surprising or new.

That said, as personally, I enjoyed it as a home theater, 4K cinematic experience immensely, The Bikeriders totally hit the mark for me. It manages to be extremely entertaining without ever skimping on the characters or it’s heavy themes.

Furthermore, it tackles such an interesting era in history and one that has now left me with a real itch for more movies about this period of time in our lives that I never actually bore witness to myself.

The Bikeriders 4K UHD Disc includes the following special features:

Johnny, Benny & Kathy
The Era of The Bikeriders
Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Jeff Nichols
And More!

Overview: In COCAINE WEREWOLF, cocaine, cash and a crew filming a low-budget horror movie in the eerie woods of northern Pennsylvania clash when an unexpected visit from a blood-thirsty werewolf literally enters the picture!

A Gothic Industrial and Psychobilly Rock soundtrack featuring music from THE 69 CATS, PINK FAIRIES, HAWKESTREL, FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY, SWITCHBLADE SYMPHONY, THE BRAINS, MIKE PINERA, HOLLYWOOD AFTER DARK and more perfectly sets the mood for one wild and crazy howling at the moon affair that DEADLINE called “a thrilling yet humorous ride”!

Blu-ray Verdict: As we all can only hope, in cinematic life, what low budget movies lack in effects they make up for in writing and story line and thank fully that is exactly what Cocaine Werewolf does.

Apparently it’s not linked to Cocaine Bear, but the same team produced Cocaine Shark, so that leaves me a little confused, but whatever. Regardless, this is a low budget horror comedy that works on most all low levels. Indeed, it’s one of those films that’s (at times) so bad it’s just that bloody good! It’s the kind of movie you would watch with friends for belly laughs galore, as they are provided throughout (intentionally and unintentionally, of course!)

As for the movie itself, well, around nice guy Mark Polonia has made a movie about doing so much cocaine you turn into a werewolf! Yep, that’s about that, but still, and regardless of all the meta stuff about making micro-budget movies along with some throwaway dialogue about pronouns, and a lot of misplaced music that was no doubt shoehorned in by one of the producers, Cocaine Werewolf is truly a blast of a home viewing, small screen ride!

The Bonus Features includes exclusive “Director’s Commentary,” Trailer and even a Slide Show.

www.cleopatra-entertainment.com

Overview: Mistaken as a witness to a crime, Nino (Giuliano Gemma, The Iron Prefect), learns from a friend he has been put on a Mafia hit list and is being stalked by an assassin (Michele Placido, Romanzo Criminale). A man with a troubled past, Nino knows only too well what he faces and uses all his strength and cunning to keep himself and his family alive.

Featuring stunning performances from both leads, Damiano Damiani (The Day of the Owl) applies his trademark realism and socio-political commentary to A Man on His Knees, charting Nino’s desperation as he refuses to kneel before the power of organized crime.

Newly restored in 4K, Radiance Films is proud to present one of Damiani’s finest films on Blu-ray for the first time in the world.

Blu-ray Verdict: In the mafia films made in Italy in the late 1960s, the mob always wins, and the individuals trying to stand up against it are, again and again, shown to be naïve and childish in their belief they can make a difference. A Man on His Knees, however, tells a different story.

Targeted by the criminal powers that be in Palermo for his alleged role in a kidnapping plot in which he was uninvolved, ex-con Nino Peralta (Giuliano Gemma) decides to stand up to the threat. He would rather, as the title suggests, live on his feet than die on his knees, so he confronts the man who has been hired to kill him repeatedly, eventually beating him up in the hope of driving him away. But then things get complicated.

What does living on your feet look like? How much can you compromise before you realize you’re kneeling after all? And how bad is it, really, to kneel, if it means your life, and that of your family?

The proud Nino is forced to consider and reconsider these questions as he tries to simultaneously stay alive, protect his family, and not compromise his personal principles. Sometimes, that looks like collaborating with his own would-be killer. Sometimes, it means calling that man a friend. At other times, though, it means returning to his former life of crime, and even committing murders of his own.

Though Damiano Damiani’s (he of 1968’s excellent mafia film — also set in Sicily — The Day of the Owl) film takes at least 30 minutes to truly get going, once it does it’s awfully good. Rather than the broad examination of corruption that was at the heart of those earlier films about organized crime, A Man on His Knees offers instead a close look at one man in crisis, and whether or not individuals can ever survive when facing the overwhelming power of the mafia.

As Nino, Gemma is excellent: still, serious, and resolute, showing little on his face, but expressing emotions loudly through his body language and posture. It’s an impressive performance from a man who is typically best in roles that offer him the opportunity to show humor, one that deservedly earned him a major acting prize in Italy. And just as good as Gemma is Michele Placido as Platamona, Nino’s would-be killer.

Where Gemma is all contained rage, Placido is vociferous indignation, offering noise and aggression in place of Gemma’s wary reserve. Always clad in a sharp suit, Platamona is an alluring, often overwhelming presence, one that is sometimes cocky and dangerous and, at others, tentative and desperate. It’s a wild, riveting performance and, ultimately, the one upon which the film hinges.

By the end of A Man on His Knees, nothing has been resolved. Nino lives to fight another day, but whether or not he’ll win is very much an open question, and the power of the mafia seems to go on forever, no matter how many fissures Nino is able to open up in its facade. It’s perhaps a less grim conclusion than the ones that ended films like The Day of the Owl and We Still Kill the Old Way, but there’s also no assurance that, ultimately, Nino will make any more difference than did the protagonists of those earlier, superficially darker films.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
New 4K restoration from the original negative
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
Archival interviews with stars Giuliano Gemma, Tano Cimarosa and assistant director Mino Giarda
New interview with Alberto Pezzotta, author of Regia Damiano Damiani
Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista
Booklet featuring new writing by Roberto Curti
Limited edition of 3000 copies, presented in full-height Scanavo packaging with removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and marking

www.radiancefilms.co.uk

Overview: Tetsuo (Hideki Takahashi, Fighting Elegy), a low-level yakuza is double-crossed by his boss and attacked. His younger brother Kenji (Kotobuki Hananomoto, This Transient Life), an aspiring artist with no connections to crime, comes to his aid and kills Tetsuo’s assailant.

Fearing repercussions from the yakuza they flee to Manchuria where they risk coming under suspicion of rival gangs. Seijun Suzuki (Branded to Kill) remains loyal to the conventions of the yakuza film, but Tattooed Life contains flashes of his later creative genius, including a final act of explosive visual excess that has become one of the director’s all-time classic scenes.

Blu-ray Verdict: Suzuki is back into the yakuza genre with another movie where two siblings see themselves not only finding love, but also on the run from the criminal group and the police after the killing of one of the former’s members in a double cross.

Unsurprisingly, the action is well choreographed, though I wouldn’t personally place it on the top list from the director. Well, maybe except for the climax. There’s some great and subtle work done with the blocking of the scenes. The cinematography is also excellent and held me throughout, especially the little moments; such as the killing scene of the boss with the rain and all. The main performances are also really great, especially by our two on-screen siblings. I mean, the final shot had me in tears!

All in all, another very good entry in the director’s filmography that sees him once again nailing the action with the romance. Not his best work in this regard, but still an enjoyable one.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
High-Definition digital transfer
Uncompressed mono PCM audio
Audio commentary by William Carroll, author of Seijun Suzuki and Postwar Cinema (2024)
Newly edited archival interview with director Seijun Suzuki
Newly edited archival interview with art director Takeo Kimura
Trailer
Newly improved English subtitle translation
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Time Tomorrow
Limited edition booklet featuring new writing by Tom Vick and a newly translated archival review of the film

www.radiancefilms.co.uk

Overview: Watching television can be hazardous to your health ... and bring the end of the world! There’s a scary movie on television and the residents of a luxury high-rise apartment building have their eyes glued to their sets. Unfortunately for a young birthday girl, an eternal demonic evil is released through her TV and partygoers soon find themselves fighting an army of murderous monsters!

Acid blood, demonic dogs, possessed children and rampaging zombies wreak havoc on the trapped tenants! As more and more people are infected and transformed into blood-thirsty demons, a young couple fights to survive as they try to escape hell on earth! From the minds of Dario Argento and Lamberto Bava comes Demons 2, the sequel to the surprise horror masterpiece, Demons!

Starring Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni (Dario Argento’s Opera), Bobby Rhodes (Demons), and Asia Argento in her very first film role, Lamberto Bava’s Demons 2 is a jaw-droppingly gory fright-fest from the golden age of Italian splatter films!

Features an amazing soundtrack of 80’s alternative/new wave music by The Smiths, The Cult, Dead Can Dance, Art of Noise, Peter Murphy and MORE!

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Italian Horror icon, Lamberto Bava’s grisly Demons rigorously revivified horror in the mid-’80s no less emphatically than fellow movie maestro, Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator, so a splattery sequel was inevitable. Just like AC/DC, you have to create something ostensibly new to appease loyal fans, but resolutely keeping the winning formula intoxicatingly undiluted.

Audaciously, the prodigiously talented, Lamberto Bava not only successfully maintains the hyperbolic hysteria that abounded so phantasmagorically in the original, Bava miraculously ups the day-glow demented ante! The spectacularly slime-slathered, skin-shredding sequel is an outrageously gruesome, pyrotechnically perverse explosion of deliriously demonized death dealing that should satisfy the hardiest of splatter mad hatters!

In an austere, Ballardian, seemingly impregnable Tower Block a broad demographic of characters have their upwardly mobile lives diabolically descended into brutal, carotid-shredding torment by the Videodrome-esque return of exquisitely evil, permanently pus-seeping, razor-toothed, gut-guzzling demons!

The innocent-looking birthday party for pretty protagonist, Sally Day (Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni), a singularly overwrought young lady, is to be ghoulish ground zero for the feral flesh-filleting, bravura body-melting carnage that gorily ensues after her polite soirée is impolitely crashed by a maniacal, plague-bearing fiend!

Once this eldritch contagion spreads rapidly throughout the demon-besieged building, Demons 2 unleashes a fantastically gory display of deliciously demented deviltry that no horror fan should miss.

Demons 2 (1986) remains a jawsome ’80s blockbuster, in my humble opinion. The production values are exemplary, the garish, neon-splashed aesthetic and gruesomely realized creatures make for horrific-looking hell-raisers. No one watches lurid Italian horror films for the nuanced acting, I shall therefore bestow deserved, Neon-hued praise upon the many innovatively shriek-inducing, plasma-soaked set pieces.

The sepulchral, Gothrock-enshrouded score also works remarkably well and the uproariously welcome return of the eternally bellicose, magisterially moustachioed, sleek-headed figure of cult demon-killer, Bobby Rhodes was a marvel to behold once more! [W.W.]

SPECIAL FEATURES:
Newly remastered in 4K from the original camera negative in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Uncompressed DTS-HD MA English 5.1 & Italian 5.1/2.0 audio mixes derived from the original archival audio masters
Uncompressed DTS-HD MA English 2.0 true stereo theatrical mix
New audio commentary by film critic Travis Crawford
Bava to Bava: interview with Luigi Cozzi on the history of Italian horror
Creating Creature Carnage: interview with Sergio Stivaletti
Demonic Influences: Federico Zampaglione Speaks
The ‘Demons’ Generation: Roy Bava discusses a legacy in lacerations
The New Blood of Italian Horror featuring Sergio Stivaletti
Screaming for a Sequel: The Delirious Legacy of Demons 2 with Lamberto Bava
A Soundtrack for Splatter: interview with composer Simon Boswell
Together and Apart: a new visual essay on the space and technology in Demons and Demons 2 by author and critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas
Original Italian and English theatrical trailers
Newly translated optional English SDH subtitles for the English version
Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian version

www.synapsefilms.com

Overview: Spinning a modern-day allegory of the turbulent times we’re living in, Terror Firma is a sci-fi thriller and debut film from writer-director Jake Macpherson. It weaves a dark, out-of-this-world mystery of family, betrayal, and deadly floral.

Blu-ray Verdict: When struggling artist Lola has nowhere else to go she uncomfortably leans on her older brother Louis for help. They haven’t seen each other in over a year and the awkwardness is hard to hide as he welcomes her to stay with him in his run-down East Hollywood home.

There’s one catch though ... Lou has a strange roommate named Cage whose instant interest in Lola is made agonizingly clear.

Within minutes of Lola’s arrival, the city of LA goes into a vague, mysterious lockdown with not much information for anyone other than the occasional police message from a circling helicopter. As the city keeps everyone inside, a packet of seeds arrives from the outside with no label and no answers.

Curiosity gets the best of a locked down Lola so she plants the seeds and waits. What follows is a hypnotic journey down a psychedelic-juice-covered rabbit hole as reality bends and the three must grapple with the ever-changing landscape. While Lou is warped out of this world and Cage is turning violent, Lola is trapped in the middle.

All culminating into a twisted, bloody affair in which she must fight to survive her own creation. With a heart-pounding, electric-synth score reminiscent of classic John Carpenter this film will rock your senses, leaving you with a sense that there is more to this world than meets the eye.

What secrets does this plant hold? Will its answers set Lola free? Or will it drive this trio to madness? To answer these questions we implore you to buy this Blu-ray now as it is a first class, small screen, inventive cinematic experience, of that you have our word.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
Director’s Commentary on the main feature
Terror Firma Extended Director’s Cut
Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery
Optional English Subtitles (main feature only)
Theatrical Trailer

www.darkartsentertainment.com

Overview: From the early 60s, Film Masters brings you two independently produced films, both with their own cult following. Representative of the neo-noir crime films of that era, these regional films make for a perfect back-to-back viewing late at night!

The more famous of the two, Door-to-Door Maniac, originally released in 1961 as Five Minutes to Live. Starring Johnny Cash as a hardened criminal (Johnny Cabot), the wife (Cay Forester) of the bank vice president is taken hostage in her own home. What follows is a robbery gone awry in every way! Directed by Bill Karn, this thrilling crime-drama also stars Donald Woods. Also look for a very young Ronnie Howard in a small role, and Vic Tayback (best known as Mel from the TV show, Alice).

In the little-known film, Right Hand of the Devil, Aram Katcher makes his bid to become the next Hitchcock. While prominent movie director he is not, Turkish-born Katcher does star in the film ... and not just on-screen. Producer, story creator, editor, title designer, and costume designer are just some of the other roles he took with his magnum opus.

Katcher leads the cast as an ingenious criminal mastermind who hires a motley crew of questionable henchmen who are intent on robbing a sports arena. Along the way, and critical to their plans, he seduces a middle-aged cashier, but she is not so easily convinced as she may appear. Will Katcher triumph in his hard won leading role?

Blu-ray Verdict: Up first is Door-to-Door Maniac and it really says something about the general misogyny of the time that a star vehicle like this would feature said star murdering a woman in cold blood and shooting another in the face! That said, I did like how Cash conveys getting nuts the same way Keaton does in Batman, grabbing a fire poker and smashing things on a mantle, but definitely could have done without the sexual assault, sorry.

Not sure what anyone behind this was thinking, to be very honest as to my mind it would have been easy to solidify Cash’s outlaw persona with a Western or something, but they opted to have him running through suburbia using a kid as a bullet shield! That he’s sad when the kid appears to have been shot doesn’t do a lot to absolve him, in my humble opinion.

Interestingly, the title card suggests the film was once called Five Minutes to Live, same as its tie-in song, but was renamed Door-to-Door Maniac, evoking those obsolete jobs like milkman and waterman, the latter of which I didn’t know was a thing until I saw it in another old movie last night, but I digress.

In closing, and as much as I have said all that, the film is still very much something of a cult favorite today. Chiefly for it’s inclusion of the aforementioned Johnny Cash as a sociopath thief/killer, one of a mottle who embark on a killing spree in a small U.S. town, ringing doorbells of random homes, then slaughtering whomever answers, of course.

Oh, and Cash’s performance has a neophyte charm, but is delightfully weird and he even manages to sneak his musical talents in a few times, which was unexpected, and yet works seamlessly.

Along next is The Right Hand Of The Devil, which is, for all intents and purposes, an ultra cheap, violent crime gem from the early sixties. Aram Katcher, wrote, starred and directed himself in this B-movie that benefits from Los Angeles location shooting in its first half.

For me, it’s always fun to see what a major city looked like so long ago. The movie itself is fun too, but not always for intended reasons. Katcher seems to be reading cue cards in an early scene where he recruits a cohort for a heist. He’s never really convincing as an actor, but fortunately the movie is more interested in action.

After romancing and taking an older woman for a hilarious beach romp, Katcher assembles his gang of three. They pull off the robbery, but Katcher has a nasty way to pay them off. He also has to deal with the older woman, who was a witness (which doesn’t end well either!) Fleeing to Rio (all shown in stock footage), Katcher lives the high life, until an unexpected associate shows up one day for an absolute WOWZER of a finale!

Somewhat famous for a graphic acid-bath death scene, the violence is crudely done and not a single actor shows any real chops, sure, but the movie was nearly impossible to see for a long time and now that it’s available again here via Film Masters, well, it’s definitely worth a look for those drawn to it.

Special Features:
Feature length commentary for Door-to-Door Maniac by Author/Podcaster Daniel Budnik and Film Historian Rob Kelly
Feature length commentary for Right Hand of the Devil by the Monstery Party Podcast
Visual essay, by Someone’s Favorite Productions

Overview: BE CAREFUL: no-one’s safe as long as the evil kung-fu masters of the Qi Sha clan terrorise the land. Can they be stopped? The authorities have placed a spy in their ranks, but the clan - and their mysterious, unknown leader - won’t go down without a fight or six!

Barely pausing to catch its breath between brawls, To Kill A Mastermind was produced by Hong Kong’s legendary Shaw Brothers studio and features the astounding acrobatics and mind-blowing martial arts skills that make their films so special.

Long unavailable, and famously difficult to see, 88 Films are proud to present this essential rediscovery in a beautiful new Blu-ray edition.

Blu-ray Verdict: To be honest, this kind of feels like Masked Avengers without the masks. A bunch of randos try to take on a group of eight assholes. The rando’s go down. The assholes go down. Who is an asshole? Who is a rando? Sometimes the assholes are secret rando’s. Sometimes not. The assholes often team up on other assholes. Everyone dies screaming and in agony though, of that you can be assured!

Shaw Bros films are a litany of hatred and vile abuse. Life is colorful until you lie down on the cardboard stones, red paint seeping from the bruises of your sundered carcass. You look down upon the ruinous remnants of what was once your proud flesh, and weep.

No matter how righteous, how kind, how loving one may be, strength is all that matters here. Without it, gruesome death is assured. There is no surviving the crucible of a Shaw Bros film, not intact.

Weirdly, the lead characters come into focus only in the final five minutes of the film, the other similarly faceless hordes gradually reduced to a red mountain of corpses. And that is because besides the titular Mastermind, there are no characters, only slayers and the slain.

And so, as you can see, To Kill A Mastermind, despite its title, is more of an action-oriented wuxia film with unique characters playing the assassins and stylishly choreographed weapon fights than a complex, plot-driven one.

Thus, in closing, if you have seen and liked Sun Chung’s other action-oriented Shaw Brothers wuxia films, you’ll likely enjoy this too!

The Martial World is indeed a treacherous place, my dear friends, and this movie is a prime time example of just that.

Bonus Features:
High Definition (1080p) Presentation in 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio
Original Mandarin Audio

Official Purchase Link

Overview: Although most famous for their kung fu movies, Hong Kong’s legendary Shaw Brothers studio made more than just chop socky; taken from a (famously saucy) classic novel, Golden Lotus is an epic tale of a passionate - and sometimes destructive - love affair between a rich man and a poor women, a potent story of lust and power.

Co-starring no less than Jackie Chan in one of his earliest roles and directed by the award-winning Li Han Hsiang, Golden Lotus reveals the true strength and diversity of Hong Kong filmmaking.

88 Films are proud to present this under-seen masterpiece on Blu-ray.

Blu-ray Verdict: To be honest, this is yet another movie where I’ve been fooled into watching because my man Jackie Chan was noted as being front and center throughout, and yet he only actually pretty much appears at the very beginning!

Anyways, that aside, Chan (in what has been described as being his first ever big movie role) was pretty good in the little screen time he had, as was pretty much all of his noisy comic relief. The rest of the cast are also noteworthy, as a whole, but namely Hu Jin (I loved the way she conveyed so much through her physicality, especially her piercing eyes, which spoke more than a thousand words).

I mean, she delivered on the vulnerability, of course, but also the almost “femme fatale” aspects of the character. I’ve seen steamier and hotter sex scenes, but the erotic stuff here was pretty good. The melodrama is very soapy, but pretty solid, and there’s some good intrigue that keeps you glued to the story.

The production design and cinematography are also pretty good, so all in all, in conclusion, a lot of people down the years have praised this movie for its cinematic endeavor in adapting the novel, but having never read it, I cannot comment. But if you’re a fan of it, or spicy melodrama, I’d say its worth checking out, for sure.

Bonus Features:
High Definition (1080p) Presentation in 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio
Original Mandarin Audio

Official Purchase Link

Overview: In the wake of Encounter of the Spooky Kind, the Hong Kong film industry launched headlong into a prolific genre cycle that drew upon taoist folklore.

Popular throughout the 1980’s and into the next decade, these films combined elements of horror, fantasy, comedy and martial arts as they pit their protagonists against hopping vampires, vengeful ghosts and evil sorcerers.

Here, Eureka Classics is proud to present two of the most mind-bending tales of taoist magic ever committed to film: Taoism Drunkard and Young Taoism Fighter!

Filled with imagery both fantastical and thrilling - not least Taoism Drunkard’s banana monster - and featuring some of the most jaw-droppingly inventive fight sequences in the history of martial arts cinema, Taoism Drunkard and Young Taoism Fighter are cult classics from the celebrated Yuen Clan that need to be seen to be believed.

Both films are presented on Blu-ray for the first time ever from brand new 2K restorations.

Blu-ray Verdict: Directed by and starring Yuen Cheung-yan (The Miracle Fighters), Taoism Drunkard (1984) follows a man with a love for wine who accidentally damages a sacred statue. To atone for this blunder, he is asked by an enraged taoist priest (Hsiao Hou-tao) to find a virginal boy (Yuen Yat-chor) to aid in defending his temple from a demonic sorcerer (Yuen Shun-yi).

The Yuen brothers are back but this time, Yuen Woo-ping is absent and Yuen Cheung-Yan takes over the directing duties. Not as offensive as Shaolin Drunkard but is less elaborate in the fighting choreography.

The film is heavy on the comedy that is uneven most of the time but there are some elaborate and unique fighting sequences. The Watermelon (Banana was indicated in the subtitle of my version) monster is definitely the highlight of this film. There’s also a rat mobile and a zombie because, well, why the heck not. They needed to get creative to come up with different variations from the earlier films.

And so, in conclusion, if you seen the two previous films, you owe yourself to watch this one too.

Then, in Young Taoism Fighter (1986, and directed by Police Story’s Chen Chi-hwa), a practitioner of taoist kung fu (Yuen Yat-chor) manages to separate his soul from his body before teaming up with a vengeful young woman (Hilda Liu Hao-yi) to take on a sinister sorcerer (Kwan Chung) and the evil leader of a rival kung fu school (Yen Shi-kwan).

Now, a lot of people consider this the fourth installment in the Miracle Fighters movies, but I’m not subscribed to that thought. Sure the lead is the same as the other three films and the wacky nature of the Yuen clan is followed through here, but it’s just this movie feels more like a spin-off than a sequel.

For one, the whole cast is different aside from the lead who is vivacious as ever. Yuen Yat-Choh really is a hidden gem despite him being very Jackie Chan-like. It’s clear that SNAKE IN THE EAGLE’S SHADOW and EXECUTIONERS FROM SHAOLIN inspired this film. You still have the crazy effects, spiritualism, con-artists and the series’ staples, but the plot is just confusing and not up to par with even TAOISM DRUNKARD, in my humble opinion.

To be fair though, I did watch this installment late at night / early morning, but that’s by the by as I was still glued to the screen and enjoying it, for the most part. A lot of these older, rarer Chinese martial arts films I enjoy, and usually regardless of any real depth of plot or character deployment, still, I don’t see this per se as a Miracle Fighters 4, rather another part of the Yueniverse that tries to show more located on the outer boundaries of the film’s scope.

Special Features:
Both films presented in 1080p HD from brand new 2K restorations Original Cantonese audio and optional English dub tracks (original mono presentations)
Optional English subtitles, newly translated for this release
Brand new audio commentaries on both films by East Asian film expert Frank Djeng (NY Asian Film Festival)
Brand new audio commentaries on both films by action cinema experts Mike Leeder and Arne Venema
Brand new interview with director and actor Yuen Cheung-yan
Brand new interview with critic Andrew Heskins (easternKicks)
Brand new interview with Leon Hunt, author of Kung Fu Cult Masters: From Bruce Lee to Crouching Tiger
Trailers

Official Purchase Link

Overview: This groundbreaking animated feature, My Love Affair With Marriage, follows Zelma (Dagmara Dominczyk, HBO’s Succession) who navigates through a series of romantic encounters, each one shaping her understanding of love and marriage.

With unflinching honesty, she grapples with the conflicting forces of passion and disillusionment, her own desires, fears, and insecurities, painting a raw and intimate portrait of the human heart.

From acclaimed writer / director Signe Baumane (Rocks in My Pockets) along with an amazing voice cast that includes Matthew Modine (Stranger Things, Oppenheimer), Cameron Monaghan (Showtime’s Shameless, The Giver) and Stephen Lang (Avatar), this award winning film features striking visuals, poignant storytelling and a cinematic experience that will linger in the hearts and minds of viewers long after the credits roll.

Blu-ray Verdict: In truth, it’s hard to describe the movie to someone used to American cinema. It is about deep introspective feelings, reminiscent maybe of Pixar, but without the happy happy, joy-joy animation style and forced funny dialogue.

The story of an Eastern European girl growing up from childhood and then through several marriages, she slowly learns to understand and accept herself and others.

It is partially a musical, but only in the context of the story and the songs themselves convey information and are not a platform for someone to flaunt choreography or voice talent. The style of the animation is simplistic, but without the obligatory bits of craft that are there to show the animation was intentionally and meta-artistically simple, because they could have done a lot more.

There are important parts about being a bit (or a lot) different from others, but it’s never a fist down your throat situation blaming society or the system for one’s personal predicament or treatment from others. The story is realistic and deeply meaningful, but without the overt intention of manipulating your feelings.

In fact, when something relevant happens, here comes a narrator device to explain the neurological and hormonal mechanisms that led to infatuation or some specific response to a specific situation. And it’s real science, not some colorful circles and arrows with dumbed down explanations from a happy voice. It’s a feminist movie, without it being misandrist.

In short, well, I hope you can tell that I loved it! It’s smart, poignant, well done, purposeful at all times. The story is probably more accessible to middle-aged people, but if a kid can grasp the concepts there, it would be a gold mine of education, as well. More people should see more films like this. Watch it today, I implore you all! [S.R.]

Bonus Features:
Penny Stamps Distinguished Speaker Series Presents Director Signe Baumane on the Making of My Love Affair With Marriage
Original Theatrical Trailer
Optional English, Spanish, French and Latvian Subtitles

Official Purchase Link

Overview: They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be your tombs. A masked man offers tickets to a horror movie sneak preview at the mysterious Metropol cinema. When a patron is scratched by a prop displayed in the theatre lobby, she transforms into a flesh-ripping demon!

One by one, the audience members mutate into horrible creatures hell-bent on destroying the world! Can anyone escape this gory orgy of terror?

Regarded by horror fans the world over as one of the greatest Italian splatter films ever made, Lamberto Bava’s Demons is not only major cinematic nightmare fuel, but also a hugely entertaining gore-fest of the highest order.

Produced by Dario Argento (Suspiria, Tenebrae, Phenomena), Demons features an amazing soundtrack of 80’s rock/heavy metal music by Billy Idol, Scorpions, Mötley Crüe, Accept, Saxon and MORE!

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: They will make cemeteries their cathedrals and the cities will be your tombs. With that aforementioned line, you know that what you’re about to watch better be the most mind-blowing horror film possible! Good news - Demons is all of that and then some, the kind of movie that has everything that I watch movies for.

I can’t be silent or still while it runs, growing more excited by every moment. It is the perfect synthesis of 1980’s gore and heavy metal, presented with no characterization or character growth whatsoever. It’s always the most awesome movie you will ever watch.

This is an all-star film, if you consider Italian 80’s horror creators to be all-stars. There’s Lamberto Bava directing and doing special effects, Dario Argento producing, a script written by Bava, Argento, Franco Ferrini (Once Upon a Time in America, Phenomena) and Dardano Sacchetti (every single Italian horror film that was ever awesome; a short list includes A Bay of Blood, Shock, The Beyond, 1990: The Bronx Warriors, Blastfighter, Hands of Steel and so many more), and assistant director and acting from Michele Soavi.

The movie starts on the Berlin subway, where Cheryl is pursued by a silver masked man (Soavi) who hands her tickets to see a movie at the Metropol. She brings along her friend Kathy (Paola Cozzo from A Cat in the Brain and Demonia) and they soon meet two boys, George (Urbano Barberini, Gor, Opera) and Ken.

The masked man has brought all manner of folks to the theater: a blind man and his daughter and some interesting couples, including a boyfriend and girlfriend, an older married one and Tony the pimp and his girls, one of whom is Shocking Dark’s Geretta Giancarlo. As they wait for the movie to begin, a steel mask in the lobby scratches her.

The movie that unspools - a slasher about teenagers who disturb the final resting place of Nostradamus - also has that very same steel mask. When it touches anyone in the movie, they turn murderous. At the very same time, one of the prostitutes scratches herself in the bathroom and her face erupts into pus and reveals a demon. From here on out, the movie becomes one long action sequence, as the other prostitute transforms into a demon in front of the entire audience.

Meanwhile, four punks do cocaine in a Coke can and break in, releasing a demon into the city as the rest of the movie audience attempt to escape and are killed one by one. Only George and Cheryl survive, as our hero uses a sword and motorcycle to attack the demons before a helicopter crashes through the roof. But then the masked man attacks them!

I’m not going to ruin the rest of the movie, only to say that even the credits offer no safety in the world of Demons! And oh yeah - Giovanni Frezza (Bob from House by the Cemetery) shows up!

Also look for Argento’s daughter, Fiore as Angela and Ingrid the usherette is played by Nicoletta Elmi, who was the baron’s daughter in Andy Warhol’s Frankenstein, as well as appearing in Baron Blood, A Bay of Blood and Who Saw Her Die?

In conclusion, Demons is ridiculous (but for all the right reasons!) Pure goop and gore mixed with power chords, samurai swords, punk rockers and even a Billy Idol song which had to blow the budget. It also looks gorgeous - filled with practical effects, gorgeous film stock and amazing colors, no doubt the influence of Bava’s father. The scene where the yellow-eyed demons emerge from the blue blackness is everything horror movies should be. [B.A.M.]

SPECIAL FEATURES:
Newly remastered in 4K from the original camera negative in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
Two versions of the film: the full-length original cut in English and Italian, and the shorter U.S. version featuring alternate dubbing and sound effects
Uncompressed DTS-HD MA English & Italian 5.1/2.0 audio mixes on the original cut derived from the archival audio masters
Uncompressed DTS-HD MA English 2.0 U.S. theatrical mono audio
New audio commentary by critics Kat Ellinger and Heather Drain, co-hosts of the Hell’s Belles podcast
Audio commentary with director Lamberto Bava, SPFX artist Sergio Stivaletti, composer Claudio Simonetti and actress Geretta Geretta
Produced by Dario Argento: a new visual essay by author and critic Michael Mackenzie exploring the legendary filmmaker’s career as a producer
Dario’s Demon Days: interview with writer/producer Dario Argento
Defining an Era in Music: interview with Claudio Simonetti
Splatter Spaghetti Style: interview with long-time Argento collaborator Luigi Cozzi
Carnage at the Cinema: Lamberto Bava and His Splatter Masterpiece
Dario and the Demons: Producing Monster Mayhem
Monstrous Memories: Luigi Cozzi on the making of Demons
Profondo Jones: The Critical Perspective
Splatter Stunt Rock: interview with Ottaviano Dell’Acqua
Stivaletti Q&A at the 2019 UK ‘Festival of Fantastic Films’
Original Italian and English international theatrical trailers
U.S. theatrical trailer
Newly translated optional English SDH subtitles for the English version
Newly translated English subtitles for the Italian version

www.synapsefilms.com

Overview: This forest isn’t charted on any map. Every car breaks down at its treeline. Mina’s is no different. Left stranded, she is forced into the dark woodland only to find a woman shouting, urging Mina to run to a concrete bunker.

As the door slams behind her, the building is besieged by screams. Mina finds herself in a room with a wall of glass, and an electric light that activates at nightfall, when the Watchers come above ground.

These creatures emerge to observe their captive humans and terrible things happen to anyone who doesn’t reach the bunker in time.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Warner Bros. Entertainment is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the highly-anticipated The Watchers (4K Ultra HD + Digital) in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this August 27th, 2024.

For my money, this The Watchers (4K Ultra HD + Digital) sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is The Watchers presented to us as a one-disc with a sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10, Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 and Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable. For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision, we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color, which makes the eyes draw in, for sure.

As for the audio, well we get the choice of: English: Dolby Atmos and English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit).

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the story to hand, well, the film is the debut by Ishana Night Shyamalan, daughter of the renowned M. Night Shyamalan, and thus comes with high expectations given her cinematic heritage. As a first effort, the movie shows Ishana’s potential, particularly in her direction, which highlights her ability to create a visually compelling and tense atmosphere.

However, while the concept of the film is intriguing, the execution leaves much to be desired, and I found myself wanting more depth and a more satisfying conclusion.

The characters in The Watchers feel flat, and the dialogue often comes across as forced and unnatural. This made it hard for me to connect with the characters or care about their journeys. Despite these issues, the film does have its moments, indicating Ishana’s promise as a filmmaker.

With stronger character development and a tighter narrative in future projects, she could definitely establish her own unique voice in the film industry.

The deeper story line is that we are presented with a rather monosyllabic American Mina (Dakota Fanning) who works in an animal shop in Galway. One day she receives the order to bring a certain parapet (a Schelm) to a zoo in Belfast.

On the way she finds herself in the forest of Connemara. Not everything is right there. This she senses. And unlike the naive Ciara (Georgina Campbell) and the inexperienced Daniel (Oliver Finnegan), Mina, who is plagued by a dark family secret, finds it easier to rebel against the soon-to-be-imposed hostile living conditions and more!

In conclusion, in capturing unique shots using excellent camera work it is these shots that help immerse you in the film. I still highly recommend that you buy this 4K movie, if nothing else then to see what Ishyana Night Shyamalan does with her time behind the camera, and what I hope she does in the future, because much like her father, she has my attention now.

Special Features:
Featurette: Welcome to the Show - The Making of The Watchers
Featurette: Creating The Watchers
Featurette: Constructing the Coop
Featurette: Ainriochtán and the Irish Fairy Folklore
Deleted Scene – Lair of Love

The Watchers stars Dakota Fanning (Ripley, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), Georgina Campbell (Barbarian, Suspicion), Olwen Fouéré (The Northman, The Tourist) and Oliver Finnegan (Creeped Out, Outlander). The film is produced by M. Night Shyamalan, Ashwin Rajan and Nimitt Mankad. The executive producers are Jo Homewood and Stephen Dembitzer.

On June 28, The Watchers will be available for early Premium Digital Ownership at home for $24.99 and for 48-hour rental via PVOD for $19.99 SRP on participating digital platforms where you purchase movies, including Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Fandango At Home, and more.

On August 27th, The Watchers will be available to own on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD. The Watchers will also continue to be available to own in high definition and standard definition from participating digital retailers.

Overview: In an alternate world history set in 1985, the murder of a government sponsored superhero draws his outlawed colleagues out of retirement and into a mystery that threatens to upend their personal lives and the world itself.

4K UHD Blu-ray Verdict: Warner Bros. Entertainment is expanding their 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray catalog offerings this month with the release of the highly-anticipated Watchmen: Chapter 1 (4K Ultra + Digital) in the expansive 4K Ultra HD video format this August 27th, 2024.

For my money, this Watchmen: Chapter 1 (4K Ultra + Digital) sharpness takes a fairly large step forward from others in their 4K Ultra HD catalog and even comes with HDR (High Dynamic Range) for the complete 4K Ultra HD experience, of course.

So, what we have is Watchmen: Chapter 1 presented to us as a one-disc with a sheet for a Digital HD Copy. Other stand out points you should know are: Codec: HEVC / H.265, Resolution: Native 4K (2160p), HDR: HDR10, Aspect ratio: 2.39:1 and Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1.

Featuring Dolby Vision and HDR10 for brighter, deeper, and way more lifelike colors, as with most all 4K UHDs, everything that we watch features these qualities - but somehow, this film gloriously shines within them all.

Noticeably crisp with the overall clarity receiving an obvious boost here on this release, what is more is that it is enjoyably noticeable. For as well as some new nuances to the somewhat drab palette courtesy of Dolby Vision, we also get to witness sudden bright pops of color, which makes the eyes draw in, for sure.

As for the audio, well we get the choice of: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, French: Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1.

Overall, this is a very strong 4K HDR Blu-ray presentation, and, for the most part, the audio track remains fairly similar to its DTS-HD counterpart; with much of the action occupying the surrounds with outstanding directionality and placement where effects flawlessly pan between the sides and rears.

As for the story to hand, well, I’ve accused both the Zack Snyder adaptation and the HBO continuation of Alan Moore’s Watchmen of missing the point in the past, that’s for sure. You may be wondering what exactly it is I’m looking for. The answer is nothing. Pretty much any attempt to adapt this novel is to miss the point (although some adaptations miss the point more than others by trying to make Moore’s characters, which serve the argument that IRL masked crimefighters would be a piteous bunch, into legitimately cool heroes).

Its cinematic presentation was remarkable precisely because it was a graphic novel -- with angles, match cuts, and shots that aren’t as striking when they’re in, well, an actual film. Moreover, the comic book format was thematically relevant; it allowed you to spend any amount of time on a given page and read the panels in any order you please even as the ending remains the same, not unlike the way the godlike, ultra-powerful nudist Dr. Manhattan perceives time.

Watchmen Chapter 1 translates the intent of the images instead of just their basic appearance -- meaning it’s better than the Snyder film in that regard -- but the What If...?-esque cel-shading makes them less than stellar to look at. They’re too expressionless to convey either the tragedy of the panels or the omg so cool and sexy-ness of Snyder. Even when the images are successful/potent, they’re never as creative or purposeful with the colors and framing as Dave Gibbons’ artworks.

Last, but not least is the voice work, which is good, but as a gigantic fan of the source material, it’s hard not to imagine how you want these voices to sound, of course.

I know this sort of thing doesn’t make a film worse, but this is the kind of movie that you’re not gonna watch unless you are, indeed, a gigantic fan of the source material (and likely have those same nitpicks while viewing it). I never got the impression that this film was aiming to introduce new fans to the IP; too many key moments are breezed past, in my humble opinion.

To put things in perspective, this first chapter crams in more elements from the novel than even the Ultimate Cut of Snyder’s Watchmen, yet the full two-parter will be shorter than that film. Go figure.

In conclusion, and with all that said, the pace is deliberately slow, but this is not a Tik Tok era piece of media. It’s supposed to be slow. But at the same time, every frame and sentence is packed with information and details you can miss.

In 2024, we are living a decay of the success of superheroes, after being a huge thing. But also superheroes have a nostalgic past, that only outcast nerds (like myself) care about and miss. Perhaps today is a good time to revisit Watchmen because of this. Why we liked them? Why we got tired of them? Why some people hate them?

So, if you’re ready to have your mind expanded and your perceptions challenged, then join me on this journey into the world of Watchmen. I promise you, it’s a ride you won’t soon forget; but then again, it is also a captivating and thought-provoking introduction to a seminal work in the graphic novel genre.

So if you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and dive in - but be prepared for a complex and mature reading experience!

Special Features:
Featurette: Dave Gibbons and Watchmen: Worldbuilding [Chapters I-VI]
Featurette: The Art of Adaptation - Introducing the Story

Watchmen: Chapter I will be available on August 13 to purchase digitally from Amazon Prime Video, AppleTV, Google Play, Fandango at Home and more. On August 27 the film will be available to purchase on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Discs online and in-store at major retailers.

Watchmen: Chapter II will be released later in 2024.

Overview: The greatest DC Super Heroes unite to uphold justice, supported by their young protégés. Produced by Hanna-Barbera and featuring the Justice League of America, the animated TV series Super Friends ran from 1973 to 1985 as part of a Saturday morning cartoon lineup.

DVD Verdict: Just Imagine! The greatest heroes of our time, banded together to stamp out the forces of evil wherever and whenever they might appear! Based on DC Comics’ long-running Justice League Of America series, the show featured the Justice League (Superman, Batman & Robin, Aquaman, and Wonder Woman together with apprentice super-heroes Marvin, Wendy, and Wonder Dog! Other DC luminaries such as the Flash and the Atom made periodic cameos and, boy, what an incredible run it had from 1973 to 1985.

Oh, and before I deep dive into the show, it should also be known that Superman (Danny Dark) and Robin (Casey Kasem) were the only two characters voiced by the same performer in every Super Friends series! Until I did my research here today, I actually did not know that, but now it makes things fun to look back at some of the episodes knowing this.

And, believe it or not, Adam West - who performed as Batman in Batman (1966) - lent his voice to animated depictions of the title character in Super Friends (1973) and Super Friends: Galactic Guardians (1985). He performed that same role in Legends of the Superheroes (1979).

OK, sure, as cheesy, goofy and as predictable as every Super Friends episode was, it has a special feel to it throughout. The classic sound effects and animation along with a basic fun story to it is what makes this show great. Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman are mostly the focus of the shows and the rest are sidekicks (indeed, a lot of the sidekick heroes I had not heard of at that time).

The show featured a lot of villains from the DC Universe and so it was cool seeing Batman face of against Lex Luther and Superman face off against The Riddler. The Legion of Doom are the Super Friends enemies and so it was always a little exciting seeing them face off against each other.

My own personal favorite episode was the one where Wendy, Marvin, and Wonderdog were exposed to massive amounts of radiation from a cosmic gamma ray burst and were transformed into the Wonder Twins and Gleek. Sure, they were still of little practical use to the real superheroes at the Justice League, who grew accustomed to the nonstop Troubalerts telling them that the Wonder Twins had somehow screwed up in some inconceivable way and needed to be rescued yet again!

But, and back to Batman, he was especially known for responding to these alerts with a bemused sigh, then muttering some expletives followed by What have they done this time? which always made me smile. Sure, one might think that the best response to Lex Luthor’s threat of global thermonuclear annihilation would be a giant rat with a bucket of water, but only if you’ve been seriously tripping!

Not everybody appears in every episode. They are usually team-ups between two and four characters. Most of the episodes are standalone but there is a minor subplot in several episodes involving Darkseid, where he is clearly obsessed with taking over Earth and making Wonder Woman his wife!

All this said, it should be noted that at the start of the 1975-1976 season, Wendy, Marvin and Wonderdog were completely eliminated and were replaced by The Wonder Twins - which consisted of the aforementioned Jayna, Zan, and their space monkey Gleep (which was a recycled version of Hanna-Barbera’s Space Ghost, which itself consisted of Space Ghost’s two sidekicks Jan and Jayce and space monkey Blip).

Unlike Wendy and Marvin, they actually had superpowers. Hailing from an alien planet, they were able, whenever they touched hands, to take on the form of an animal and the shape of some kind of water. At least the Twins were not helpless idiots like Wendy and Marvin! Most importantly, the new format had more to offer too - more superheroic adventure and some reasonably interesting plots and the occasional addition of new members of the Justice League; including Hawkman and Green Lantern and others that featured insulting ethnic characters too like Apache Chief, Black Vulcan,and Samurai.

Zan and Jayna were given their own format adventures as well featuring them helping hopeless teens in tight situations. By the end of the 1977-1978 season Zan and Jayna were eliminated from the group. By the start of the 1978-1979 season, the Superfriends FINALLY get the fight their villains which was the next incarnation of the show which in my opinion was one of the coolest and innovative shows ever the grace Saturday Mornings in the late 1970’s.

The Challenge Of The Superfriends premiered during the 1978-1979 season and it featured the Justice League battling the Legion Of Doom (which consisted of Superman’s arch nemesis Lex Luthor) and other diabolical villains not to mention once again saving the world from doom and total destruction.

You also get time travel, inter-dimensional travel, background stories of both the good and bad guys, peril and destruction and doom in every episode. The lack of cuteness in the form of juvenile superhero wannabees is replaced as the years went on by a sense of urgency to hurry up and save the world and you won’t miss it. And the hand-drawn animation style has a kind of warmth and humanity to it that is annoyingly absent from more modern day equivalents.

In closing, it felt so magical and epic watching the goodhearted superheroes save people’s lives, defeat the bad guys and visit strange worlds. Sometimes the episodes were a bit scary as well, with giant monsters and weird villains, but the episodes always had a happy ending. The episodes I remember the best are the ones from The World’s Greatest Superfriends, like The Lord of Middle Earth and Superfriends Meet Frankenstein.

In truth, I miss good, clean shows like Superfriends where the heroes behaved like heroes and inspired kids to do good. They didn’t torture or kill the villains. The villains didn’t have to skin people alive for us to know that they were evil. Shows like Superfriends and He-Man had positive messages and moral characters. What do the most popular shows these days have? Yelling and screaming, weirdness for the sake of weirdness, crude jokes, disturbing images and so much more!

Special Features:
Super Friends (1973, 1978, 1980-1983)
The All New Super Friends Hour
Challenge Of The Super Friends
The World’s Greatest Super Friends
Super Friends: The Legendary Super Friends Show
The Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians

Overview: From the legendary Lau Kar-leung (The Spiritual Boxer; Eight Diagram Pole Fighter) comes one of his finest - and wildest - rides, following a pair of very special undertakers who transport dead bodies by magical means.

But their latest trip is proving tricky; it’s bad enough that a strong-willed young woman has invited herself along for the ride but, even more awkwardly, one of the corpses might not actually be dead.

Pretty much inventing the kung fu horror-comedy, and a huge influence on later films like Encounter of the Spooky Kind and Mr. Vampire, The Shadow Boxing stars Gordon Kill Bill Liu and features the sort of action only the great Lau could serve up.

88 Films are delighted to unleash this Hong Kong classic on Blu-ray.

Blu-ray Verdict: As it turns out, The Shadow Boxing (or The Spiritual Boxer Part II, which I actually haven’t seen the original of) is pretty light on horror. Well, ok, very light on horror. But that’s okay. The film is a lot of fun, and when I do these massive challenges like the 100 horror movies in 92 days one, you need a lot of variety to avoid burnout!

The plot: when a person dies while out of town, “corpse herders” are tasked to bring them back to their home village. But they are not dragging a coffin around like Django or anything. They use black magic spells to turn the corpses into “vampires” who hop around during the journey. But one corpse seems to be giving the corpse herders difficulties, not completely responding to the spells and seems to have its own agenda.

I’ve heard some people compare this film to Mr. Vampire, a film I also haven’t seen, so I’m not sure how the two films actual compare. But I found this one to be a fun mix of (again, very light) horror, comedy, and action. I’m usually not into comedies, so it is always nice for me to find one that I enjoy. I usually do have better luck with these Asian comedy/action hybrids. Something like The Iceman Cometh springs to mind as a film that was able to blend genres successfully for me; much as this one also does.

In closing, the entire cast was great here, leaving me with yet another solid viewing experience from the Shaw Brothers. Hopefully we can get some more of these hybrids out of the vault in the next few years as I am now rather looking forward to them.

Limited Edition Special Features:
LIMITED EDITION Slipcase with brand-new artwork by Mark Bell
LIMITED EDITION 4 x collectable artcards
HD Transfer From the Original Negative in 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio
High Definition (1080p) Blu-ray Presentation
2.0 Mandarin Mono with English Subtitles
Trailer
Stills Gallery
Reversible sleeve featuring original Hong Kong poster artwork

www.88-films.myshopify.com

Overview: When the University of Perugia is rocked by a string of murders committed with red-and-black scarves, four co-eds retreat to a countryside villa where the killer is closer than they think.

Blu-ray Verdict: A talented and versatile journeyman, director Sergio Martino (The Case of the Scorpion’s Tail, Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) has lent his talents to multiple genres across his long and varied career, but it is undoubtedly his giallo thrillers from the early ’70s for which he is best known.

Among the most highly acclaimed of these, 1973’s Torso revels in the genre’s time-honored traditions while simultaneously laying the groundwork for the modern slasher movie.

A sex maniac is prowling the streets of Perugia, targeting picturesque university town’s female students. Alarmed at plummeting life expectancy of the student body, Jane (Suzy Kendall, The Bird with the Crystal Plumage) and her three friends elope to a secluded country villa - only to discover that, far from having left the terror behind, they’ve brought it with them!

Also known as Carnal Violence, Torso was released in Italy towards the end of the giallo boom before enjoying a second life on the American grindhouse circuit. Co-starring Tina Aumont (Salon Kitty) and Luc Merenda (The Violent Professionals), the film finds its director at the top of his game, delivering copious levels of violence, sleaze and one of the tensest cat-and-mouse games ever committed to celluloid!

As aforementioned, all the elements of the classic giallo are on hand here. The killer being an unseen entity, face never revealed and in this case masked. The black gloves. The point of view shots from the killer’s perspective. And at the heart of it all a mystery as to why the killer is murdering, what his/her motivation is. It is the mystery in a giallo that makes them worth watching, trying to figure out who the killer is before the final reel.

For all its notoriety the film truly didn’t have near as much gore in it as I expected to find. Perhaps it’s another case of a movie where the viewers were so stunned at the time that they imagined seeing more than was actually there. TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE has the scene of the girl placed in a meat hook that people still claim to have seen popping through her chest though it never happens. PSYCHO fans insist they saw the knife enter Janet Leigh but it never happened. This might be the case here. There is plenty of blood on hand but as for gore I’m struggling to remember much.

Special Features:
New audio commentary by Kat Ellinger, author of All the Colours of Sergio Martino
New video interview with co-writer/director Sergio Martino
New video interview with actor Luc Merenda
New video interview with co-writer Ernesto Gastaldi
New video interview with filmmaker Federica Martino, daughter of Sergio Martino
New video interview with Mikel J. Koven, author of La Dolce Morte: Vernacular Cinema and the Italian Giallo Film
2017 Abertoir International Horror Festival Q&A with Sergio Martino
Italian and English theatrical trailers
Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalais

www.arrowvideo.com

Overview: As the heroes of multiple universes find themselves helpless to stop a wave of destruction destined to wipe out EVERYTHING, they must make a terrible choice: which Earth, if any, will be saved.

Blu-ray Verdict: After some rather iffy entries in the DC Tomorrowverse, I’m quite ecstatic to report that Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths, Parts One, Two and Three are a damn good superhero multidimensional crossover with Barry Allen/Flash being the emotional core of the movie.

Sure, combined, they are very overstuffed and there is notably a lot going on, but split here into three parts, well, the larger trilogy mostly works, in my humble opinion. That said, not every Justice League member gets equal screen time and Wonder Woman’s role is noticeably given the short end of the stick, but it is what it is by now.

For me, this was a much better Flash movie than The Flash live action movie from a year or two back and Matt Bomer does an excellent job voicing Barry Allen/The Flash, whilst also bringing a ton of sincere humor and emotion to the scarlet speedster.

Where the first installment of the Crisis trilogy, which was supposed to wrap up the Tomorrowverse, was a rousing time-tripping event, and Part Two was more of a character study of two of its main characters instead of an actual story, this third chapter is a thrilling conclusion to the epic storyline all of itself. For the Justice League, along with their allies, must face their greatest challenge yet as they battle to prevent the destruction of entire universes.

The Anti-Monitor’s plan to destroy the multiverse is finally revealed, and the Justice League must act fast to stop him. The fate of countless universes hangs in the balance, and the stakes have never been higher. Iconic characters make the ultimate sacrifice, leaving a lasting impact on the DC Universe.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths storyline has been building towards this moment, expertly weaving together characters and plotlines from across the DC Universe. The multiverse concept, once a complex and daunting idea, is finally brought to a satisfying conclusion.

The story is expertly paced, with each page building towards the climactic final showdown. The artwork is stunning, capturing the scope and scale of the Crisis. The Justice League, led by Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman, must use all their skills and strength to defeat the Anti-Monitor and his minions.

As the battle rages on, the true extent of the Anti-Monitor’s plan becomes clear. He seeks to destroy not just the multiverse, but the very fabric of reality itself. The Justice League must stop him at all costs, no matter the sacrifice.

And sacrifice there is. Iconic characters fall, their deaths a poignant reminder of the stakes. The Flash, in particular, makes a heroic sacrifice, using his speed to save the universe.

In the end, the Justice League emerges victorious, but not without scars. The multiverse is saved, but at great cost. The aftermath of the Crisis sets the stage for a new era in the DC Universe, with a renewed focus on the surviving characters.

The Crisis on Infinite Earths has left an indelible mark on the DC Universe, streamlining the multiverse and setting the stage for new stories and characters. This iconic storyline has become a benchmark for comic book events, influencing countless other tales of heroism and sacrifice.

Overall, Justice League: Crisis on Infinite Earths Part 3 is a must-read for fans of the DC Universe. The conclusion of this epic saga is both thrilling and emotional, providing a satisfying end to the multiverse concept. With its expert pacing, stunning artwork, and poignant character moments, this storyline is a true classic.

Special Features:
A Multiverse of Inspiration and John and John: Stewart and Constantine