The Assignment (Blu-ray Review)
Its kind of a crazy world that we live in now with some of our legendary directors. William Friedkin (Director of The Exorcist and The French Connection) can’t get funding to make films, Martin Scorsese’s big reunion with Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci that also has Al Pacino will be on Netflix and someone like Walter Hill has his movies coming straight to video. Granted, Hill’s track record of late hasn’t been quite there, its just odd to think of sometimes. The Assignment, starring Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver and Tony Shalhoub, is his first film in four years, too. This, following the Sylvestor Stallone / Jason Mamoa misfire Bullet To The Head (Which is actually kind of enjoyable in a trashy way) finds the director taking a unique spin on the noir/hitman film. You can check out the movie when it comes to Blu-ray June 6th. Continue reading ‘The Assignment (Blu-ray Review)’
One of the biggest cult films of the modern era has to be Lionsgate’s Dredd. The film surprised many and was well liked by those who saw it. It’s a comic and revival property that didn’t really take the world by storm though at the box office. It pretty much wound up breaking even at the box office. Fans have been persistently pushing for a sequel, but you gotta understand for Lionsgate its pretty risky. Karl Urban still gets questions and talks about it, but who knows what will come. Right now, word is that it will now be TV series. Lionsgate is respecting the fans here though, and dropping Dredd onto the 4K Ultra-HD format very early on, acknowledging that yes, it is indeed one of their more popular titles on home video. You can pre-order from the Amazon link at the end of the review to have yours waiting for you in your mailbox on June 6th when it releases. 
While Michael Schultz’s comedy film Car Wash has had the legacy of a cult classic (Deeming it a perfect match for a distributor like Shout! Factory), the soundtrack from the film at the time of release was anything but. The 1976 movie’s songs got lots of spins on the radio, sold plenty of records and won a Grammy award (among others) for the music featured in the film. Of course, everyone knows the Disco/Funk era staple title track. Hell, just seeing the word “car wash” might have it play in your head or have you clapping your hands. Mediocre reviews for the film itself didn’t stop people from revisiting it or it finding itself a solid fan base that grew over the years. On June 20th, Shout! Factory is finally getting it to make the jump to Blu-ray. You can get your car washed today or pre-order it by clicking the Amazon link below. 
Sure, plenty of time has passed and comedy has come a long way and changed since the 1970s and 1980s, but Cheech and Chong have been lacking incredibly when it comes to the Blu-ray format. These Latino stoner brothers were a staple of their time and are much better than just the Corsican Brothers that lies on Olive Films release. That’s also easily one of their weakest efforts. Growing up in the 1990’s, these guys were still a staple. Stuff like Up In Smoke (Their debut, which, wow, how is this not out yet) and Nice Dreams were a must back when I was growing up. My personal favorite of the bunch was the first one I ever saw, which is what I’m here to talk about about today, Next Movie. Shout! Factory is putting it out via their Shout Select line. You can make sure you have it by the June 13th release date by pre-ordering it on the Amazon link below. 
When it comes to author Hunter S. Thompson, most have an image already in their head. They picture a guy wearing rather leisurely golf enthusiast-like clothes, smoking a cigarette from an elongated holder while wearing aviator style sunglasses and barking out weird nonsensical silliness while accompanied by an equally dumb mustached companion. And the quickest go-to thought of the man is usually the depiction done by Johnny Depp in the Terry Gilliam Film Fear and Loathing In Las Vegas (The “bat country” line being a very popular quote.). But, did you youngins know that Depp was merely the 2nd to play Hunter S. Thompson? Bill Murray did it 18 years prior in the film, Where The Buffalo Roam. Accompanied by Peter Boyle, they marked the adventures of the author in the late 1960s leading into the 70s. Shout! Factory, via the Select line, will be recovering this one from film history and extending it to Blu-ray on June 6th. 
As I just finished a review of Beauty and the Beast’s jump from Disney animated classic to live action blockbuster, I turn back to the past of the Mouse House’s animated legends. Bambi! One wonders if they’d ever tackle this tale with the gusto and fully lifelike CG animation of The Jungle Book and (One assumes) the upcoming The Lion King. A deer is not as exciting as a Lion or other exotic jungle animals, but…well…it could work. Make people fall in love with Thumper all over again and shed that tear and explain to the young one what happened when Bambi hears that loud blast of a rifle in the distance while escaping in the woods. Or, you can just go back and check out the original classic in this new Disney Signature Edition Blu-ray. It features some new stuff and will be available to own (again) on Blu-ray June 6th! 
Since the emergence of the billion dollar box office smash Alice In Wonderland from director Tim Burton, Disney has been going down the list of its animated classics and adapting them into live action blockbusters. Some better than others (Malificent-blah, Jungle Book-wow, amazing!), but very much these films are sure to attract an audience and big bucks. There was no more sure fire success than their best picture nominated animated classic take on Beauty and the Beast. Double that excitement with the casting of Emma Watson and maybe the director of the final Twilight films, Bill Condon (Let’s not forget he did the second Candyman film) and there is no surprise that the film took the globe by sheer force. It now comes to Blu-ray June 6th, you can “be our guest” and pre-order a copy below which not only lands it on your doorstep day of release, but it puts a smile on my face. 
There’s something about A24’s Ex Machina that brings warm thoughts to my human mind. Maybe it’s because of their 2014 sleeper hit, 
A captivating tale of desire and perception, Ido Fluk’s The Ticket will make its Blu-ray and DVD debut on June 6th, 2017 from Shout! Factory. Starring Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast, FX series Legion), Malin Akerman (Billions, Watchmen), Kerry Bishé (Halt and Catch Fire, Argo) and Oliver Platt (Chicago Med, Fargo). Dan Stevens is having himself a pretty big first half of 2017, part of the massively successful live action take on Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (as said Beast) starring alongside Emma Watson and also the lead from FX’s X-Men oriented show Legion that has garnered tons of acclaim. He appears to be breaking out from a European star and indie darling (Go friggin’ watch The Guest already) to maybe something more. Stevens did this little drama back in 2016. You can grab it when it comes to Blu-ray on June 6th. 
Logan is a film that really needs no elaborate setup to whet your appetite for. If you have not already, you should be practically dying to see this one. The mere fact that this even got made with an R-rating is no doubt thanks to the brilliance and success of last year’s Deadpool. Had it not been for that film, which proved in a world of failed Kick-Ass movies R-rated comic book films can indeed thrive, I’m quite sure Logan would have been slapped with that dread PG-13 rating. Luckily for us that’s not the case in our present scenario. 
Shout! Broadway rounds out its little spring run of musicals with another filmed stage performance, this time of the 1949 Tony Award winning show, Kiss Me Kate. Now, that’s not the actual 1949 production, but another 1999 one like Oklahoma. Cole Porter’s beloved classic Kiss Me, Kate receives “Another Op’nin’, Another Show” in this masterful 1999 London revival. With backstage shenanigans, gangsters trying to “Brush Up [Their] Shakespeare,” and a collection of Porter tunes that any “Tom, Dick, or Harry” will love, Kiss Me, Kate remains an all-time favorite of musical fans. You can check out its US Blu-ray debut by pre-ordering yourself a copy (Along with Oklahoma! while you’re at it) for its release day, May 30th! 
One of the most widely known musicals of all time from one of the most well known musical makers of all time, Rogers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! has been part of the cultural lexicon since it arrived in 1943. Sure, maybe you’ve never seen it done on Broadway, by a local theater troupe, a high school production or even the film adaptation, but you probably know a song or three from it as well as a name or a line or two. Its been that stapled into pop culture. I mean…who doesn’t know “Oh what a beautiful morning…” or hasn’t made a darkly humored joke using the song? Shout! Broadway is bringing a rendition of the classic musical from 1999 that stars Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman right before that whole X-Men thing launched. You can pre-order this to see his berzerker rage held in check to have it on release day May 30th. 
I first was introduced to the legend of Don Quixote when I was in my Spanish class in either middle school or high school (Forgive me, its been a while, I can’t pinpoint that). We learned about the story and then followed it up by watching this film, Man of La Mancha starring Sophia Loren and Peter O’Toole. And, that’s the only time I’ve seen it. And forever director/Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam was trying to get some epic based on this story off the ground. That sorta topic would ALWAYS come up in his interviews. But, that’s really my only experience with it. Shout! Factory has now launched a Shout! Broadway line of films and Man of La Mancha is going to be one of its first titles. You can order down below or from their site for this US Blu-ray debut of Arthur Hiller’s film, available April 25th. 
Its hard to believe this DC Comics animated film is turning eight years old in 2017. When it was released, it was but the fourth of these edgier cartoons with PG-13 ratings featuring the DC super heroes. Now they are somewhere around thirty with more to come. These come at a pace where they can afford to hit and miss while constantly crutching on the Batman mythos with much frequency. Wonder Woman’s debut was a big standout right away, and the best reviewed of the bunch. It got the tone, story and characters perfect. While what came before was pretty solid, this one put thing on another pedestal. I haven’t seen every one of these, but Wonder Woman still is on that pedestal holding strong. It went out of print a while back, so with the new film coming out, Warner Bros is re-releasing it with a couple new featurettes. If you didn’t have it before, now’s the time to grab it when it streets on May 16th. 
It’s a headache from hell! From Frank Henenlotter, the man behind such cult horror favorites as Basket Case and Frankenhooker, comes Brain Damage – the ultimate head-trip, now finally on Blu-ray from 
