The Pyramid (Blu-ray Review)
May 19th, 2015 by Gregg Senko
I am a sucker for anything regarding Egyptology. Even if it’s semi-related and mostly imaginable, I still \want to know what it’s about. When The Pyramid debuted in theaters last December, I made it a point to catch it on the big screen. Unfortunately, this picture was in and out of theaters in record time, relegating the anxious to wait until a disc release. Here we are five months later and the waiting has come to an end! But was it worth it? Based on the quick exit from the cinema, I didn’t have high expectations. Continue reading ‘The Pyramid (Blu-ray Review)’
Unjustly ignored on its release, director Kurando Mitsutake’s tale of a modern day blind swordsman assassin turns Japanese genre conventions upside down. Fans have long requested this wild mix of Tarantino and ZATOICHI in HD, and Synapse Films has pulled out all the stops to create an awesome special edition for release only on Blu-ray. If you’ll remember, Mitsutake is the director of GUN WOMAN, a film that I reviewed last weekend and is coming to Blu-ray the same day. Set in nowhere and in no time, SAMURAI AVENGER: THE BLIND WOLF is a bloody sushi-western and a modern day action film with a classic samurai essence. 
Independent U.S. distributors Blue Underground have revealed that they are planning to bring to Blu-ray Luigi Bazzoni’s western Man, Pride and Vengeance (1967), starring Franco Nero, Tina Aumont, Klaus Kinski, Guido Lollobrigida, and Karl Schönböck. The preliminary release date set by the distributors was March 24, 2015, but was then changed to May 26th, 2015. So, now after two months of waiting its finally here. Blue Underground continues to be one of the premiere American Blu-ray distributors committed to transferring many of the Franco Nero spaghetti westerns to high definition. I believe this is one of the many non-Django lot that gets labeled as such for sales/promotional reasons and the fact it has Nero and its an Italian western. But, I’m pretty certain this has nothing to do with those. 
Black or White from writer/director Mike Binder (The Upside of Anger, Reign Over Me) concerns the custody of Eloise, who after her white mother died in childbirth, is raised by her white grandparents, Elliott (Kevin Costner) and Carol (Jennifer Ehle). After Carol dies in an accident, a custody battle ensues between Elliott and Eloise’s black paternal grandmother Rowena (Octavia Spencer). The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival before received a wide theatrical release on January 30th, 2015. 
Okay. I am sure that I will probably never hear the end about this, but I really, really enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey. Now don’t get me wrong – I’m smart enough to say it’s not great, but it’s not terrible either. To be completely honest, this is exactly what I expected from the film. Fifty Shades of Grey is based on the EXTREMELY popular and unfortunately poorly-reviewed novel of the same name by E.L.James, but boy did it ever get the housewives talking. And better yet…it’s on Blu-ray now! 
American Sniper saw a limited release theatrically last year on Christmas Day. So if you are in the know with my usual rants, then you have already guessed it and hit the nail on the head. It wasn’t released or screened anywhere near me last Christmas, hence why I did not see this masterpiece until January this year and also why it’s sorely missing from my Top 10 Films of 2014 post here. It juts goes to show you that you can’t have your cake and eat all the time too. You either pay the high taxes and live in a shoebox in LA or you stuff your face with fatty BBQ, sip back on sweet tea and watch the world pass you by, but I digress. We really do have a movie to discuss here. So ladies and gentlemen, let me be the first to formally welcome you to my much-anticipated and all-American Blu-ray review of American Sniper. 
The witty caper comedy, Mortdecai, arrives on Digital HD and on Blu-ray
From one Monty Python veteran’s film to the other, Olive Films is also giving Terry Jones’ Erik The Viking a Blu-ray update. Terry Jones’ also wrote the children’s book The Saga Of Erik The Viking several years before shooting this movie. Aside from the titles being very much in common, the book and the movie have really nothing to do with each other and in common. As you can quickly see in the opening scene, the movie is definitely not for the kiddies that the book was pleasing. Like Yellowbeard, I guess you could call refer to this as one of the Monty Python “spinoffs”. Where, one of them either wrote or directed it (In this case both), it carries the same kind of vibe, and then has one or two of them take roles in the movie. I dunno, but I like to see it that way. 
Yellowbeard has plenty of Monty Python members in it, but its not of their official canon of films. This was some sort of Graham Chapman passion project that he spent many scripts and years trying to get funding. The late The Who drummer Keith Moon wound up being that benefactor and was supposed to be the lead in the film until his health went south. Other such as Sting and Adam Ant were supposed to play the role at one point, but it wound up being played by Chapman himself in the end. Other members of Monty Python such as John Cleese and Eric Idle have roles in the film and both have claimed it as one of the very worst (If not THE worst) films they’ve ever taken part in. So, of course that means its ripe for going back and analyzing in a new Blu-ray release from Olive Films. 
Ski School is a little cult film from 1991 revolving around…yeah you guessed it, a Ski School. The film is a little sex comedy that didn’t make a tick at the box office but managed to attract a crowd on VHS. So much of one that a sequel was made and released in 1994. Now, there is cause for celebration for this Olive Films release of the film by its fans because the DVD of the film was a complete miss. Released in 2007, the DVD for the film only featured the film in a Pan and Scan edit. SUCKFEST! Apparently the DVD even said it was widescreen on the box. Rest assured Ski School enthusiasts, you can now see the film as it played in theaters and was meant to be seen courtesy of Olive Films. 
A lost soul has just received the wounds of Christ… and a shocking message that will alter history. Featuring performances from Patricia Arquette (TV’sMedium, Boyhood) and Gabriel Byrne (The Usual Suspects) with a cutting -edge score by Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins and Elia Cmiral, the visceral thriller Stigmata will make its blu-ray debut courtesy of Scream Factory. Stigmata comes loaded with bonus features, includingthe featurettes Incredible But True – Stigmata: Marked For Life and Divine Rights: The Story Of Stigmata, which have been previously unavailable in the US; as well as audio commentary with director Rupert Wainwright, deleted scenes and more! 
Brace yourself for a mind-blowing thriller that delivers high-octane action, blood-soaked violence and a riveting tale of revenge in equal measure. From director Kurando Mitsutake, who dazed genre fans with his Samurai Avenger: The Blind Wolf, comes GUN WOMAN, a dark postmodern film-noir starring Japanese gore queen Asami (The Machine Girl, Dead Sushi). Watch crazy meet crazier in this no-holds-barred revenge flick whenGUN WOMAN arrives on Blu-ray™ and DVD from SCREAM FACTORY™. This film is a blood drenched revenge thriller with a a lot of disturbing elements wound into its finer details. Its one of the most extreme things I’ve seen Scream Factory put out as well. 
