Annabelle (Blu-ray Review)
Annabelle has the success of 2013’s supernatural thriller The Conjuring to thank for its mere existence on our planet. If you take away nothing else from this Blu-ray review, make sure you please engrave that in your memory banks, the non-volatile ones. Annabelle was an evil possessed doll (think Chucky-like) whose first appearance was also in…dun…dun…da…The Conjuring too. So if I was a betting man, I would think it kind of makes sense now when I tell you that Annabelle is a prequel of sort to the events in The Conjuring, basically a story of where it all begins, for Annabelle of course. However you spin, there’s no doubt about it that Annabelle was a cash cow for New Line/Warner Bros. Let’s take a closer look at why.
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Screenwriter Hossein Amini makes a stylish directing debut with this sleek thriller set in Greece and Istanbul, 1962. Intrigue begins at the Parthenon when wealthy American tourists Chester MacFarland (Viggo Mortensen) and his young wife Collete (Kirsten Dunst) meet American expat Rydal (Oscar Isaac), a scammer working as a tour guide. Instead of becoming his latest marks, the two befriend him, but a murder at the couple’s hotel puts all three on the run together and creates a precarious bond between them as the trio’s allegiance is put to the test.
A powerfully redemptive story about a young man in search of both his purpose and his identity, The Identical arrives on Blu-ray/DVD combo pack from Cinedigm and City of Peace Films. Featuring over 20 original songs, all produced and co-written by Motown legend, Jerry Marcellino, the “wholesome and faith-friendly” (Catholic News Service) film boasts an all-star cast, including Ray Liotta (Goodfellas, Field of Dreams), Ashley Judd (Dolphin Tale 2, Divergent), Seth Green (“Family Guy,” “Robot Chicken”), Brian Geraghty (“Ray Donovan,” “Boardwalk Empire,” The Hurt Locker) and newcomer Blake Rayne. The Identical is a redemptive movie about a young man, the son of a preacher, who rejects his father’s desire for him to join the ministry and instead embarks on a career as a rock singer. 
Explore the far reaches of the galaxy in this undeniably hip series that inspired a generation – and redefined anime as an indisputable art form. The Bebop crew is just trying to make a buck. This motley lot of intergalactic loners teams up to track down fugitives and turn them in for cold hard cash. Spike is a hero whose cool façade hides a dark and deadly past. The pilot Jet is a bruiser of a brute who can’t wait to collect the next bounty. Faye Valentine is a femme fatale prone to breaking hearts and separating fools from their money. Along for the ride are the brilliant, but weird, hacker Ed and a super-genius Welsh Corgi named Ein. On their own, any one of them is likely to get lost in the sprawl of space, but together, they’re they most entertaining gang of bounty hunters in the year 2071. 
An incredible true story 66 million years in the making, Dinosaur 13 
When Scream Factory announced they were releasing Supernova many moons ago, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the distributor’s most celebrated announcement of all time. The film came out back in 2000, wasn’t liked at all and bombed at the box office pretty hard. Director Walter Hill allowed it to have some sort of historical significance by removing his name for the picture and making it the first film to use the Thomas Lee moniker as Alan Smithee had been laid to rest. Taking a quick look at Rotten Tomatoes, its one where the audiences and critics both healthily agree actually, sporting 10% critic and 16% audience appraisal. The one thing that I think made sense for Scream Factory on this release wasn’t the film itself, was likely bringing back some of its players to tell the story of what exactly happened with this release. Now, that is something that did peak my interest when they announced their extras. No Walter Hill, no Angela Bassett, nor Francis Ford Coppola – but Lou Diamond Phillips, Robert Forster, Jack Sholder and Daniel Chuba are enough to suffice. 
Writer Leigh Janiak makes her directorial debut with Honeymoon. Per the film’s interviews, she found herself inspired and felt she could be able to do big moments on even the lowest of budgets having just viewed the film Monsters. She even got to hand pick one of her cast members, Rose Leslie, because she was such a big fan of hers on Game Of Thrones. The film shot in 2013 and debuted last year at the South By Southwest film festival. The film received plenty of positive acclaim and got a small release in theaters last September. It was a film I marked that I wanted to see once I heard about it, but honestly it escaped my mind until this Blu-ray was announced. Sometimes it just sort of works that way, I suppose, but I got to see it and here’s my review. 
Girls, Girls Girls. You hear a lot about this show, whether it be good, bad or “controversial”. Having watched the show…I really don’t understand how this show is controversial at all. Just because Lena Dunham doesn’t have a supermodel figure and gets naked? Lame. There are some moments push limits, but its HBO. I think Game Of Thrones is more edgy with its sex and stuff, personally. I haven’t been with the show from the beginning. I watched an episode during its first season and was completely turned off. But then last January I sucked it up and got completely caught up. Once you get on the show’s wavelength and totally understand what it is and how to watch it (Its not for everyone I get that), its quite an enjoyable time. Part of the fun is facepalming yourself at these 20 something girls and guys making dumb decisions and choices like people during that time in their lives do. Hannah Horvath may be one of the most toxic and frustrating characters on TV, but getting pissed at her is part of the fun of watching this little dramedy show. 
On Golden Pond was a sort of swan song for legendary screen actors Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn back in 1981. The film was critically heralded and come awards season, handsomely rewarded. The film received ten Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. It wound up taking three home, but two of them being the important “farewell” awards for Fonda and Hepburn in their respective roles. The film was also well represented at rival awards ceremonies The Golden Globes and BAFTAs as well. On Golden Pond was a film that was a pretty big deal back when it arrived and for some time after, but I think has sort of been lost in the conversation over the years and I’m not sure if today’s youth or up and coming film buffs would even know what you’re talking about if it was brought up. Maybe its just one of those “in the moment” or “of its time movies” that are hot in awards season and are quickly forgotten as the years move on and because they didn’t win the big one, we become foggier on them. I had always heard of it and knew what it dealt with, but until now for this review, I’d never had the pleasure of viewing it. 
One of my absolute favorite horror films of all time is the original Candyman. Its quite possibly my favorite thing that Clive Barker has ever been associated with when it comes to film. That film still works today, and is an absolutely engaging and terrifying endeavor. When I was a kid I had trouble looking in mirrors for a while after seeing that movie. The film also created one of the last great and iconic horror villains before the Scream era, in Tony Todd’s Candyman. I still find it this way, but back in the 90s when the sequel was announced, I had found the original film so perfect, that I was against this follow up as that I thought it would taint the legacy of the original. So, I didn’t see it til later on VHS when it came out for rental. My only memory of it was that it was nowhere near as good as the first one, but I found further respect for it once they dropped that third one years later. Scream Factory has given me the opportunity to revisit this follow-up to the my perfect original, and I couldn’t think of a better guide. 
In 1984, the United Kingdom, under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher saw the start of what would be a year long strike from the National Union of Mineworkers after the government closed down twenty coal mines. With the picketing came a surprising amount of violence related to the topic as well. Hell, I mean there’s even a part of this story called the “Battle Of Orgreave” which was between picketers and the police. The view on the miners was sort of indifferent publicly at the time, but support of them came from an unlikely source that viewed their troubles as similar to their own. Lesbians and Gays Support The Miners became one of their biggest backers, which shocked a town, but also managed to enlighten them through the trials and tribulations of it all. The film we’re here to discuss today is about this very piece of history and bond between two very different peoples to link for common causes. 
Boyhood is a film that I was very interested in seeing this year, but for some reason or another I just did not get around to seeing theatrically. I kind of feared it as more of a documentary rather than a moving story. However, it’s hailed as “a moving 12-year epic that isn’t quite like anything else in the history of cinema” (Andrew O’Hehir, Salon), “a breathtaking achievement” (Ann Hornaday, The Washington Post) and “a profound viewing experience” (Manohla Dargis, The New York Times). So the real question in my opinion is not why I, but why would anyone not want to see this one? For a movie that’s filmed over a period of 12 years utilizing the same actors, and that breaks free from the conventional three Act of storytelling, write in permanent ink that I’m interested. And so here we are… 
You know that expression that says “you had me at hello”? Well the same train of thought can be applied here with this title, The Guest, because it is billed as “from the creators of You’re Next.” They really did have me at hello there – hook, line and sinker. Even though I have never seen The Guest as of yet before this Blu-ray viewing, that one line “from the creators of You’re Next” was all it took to make me want to see it almost like a tantalizing dish of your favorite food placed in front of you. It was a craving I could not deny and I just had to give myself to it. Call it brilliant marketing, call it what you want. It worked on me! So before we move on here I just want to take a quick moment for a word from our sponsor and say that The Guest Blu-ray Combo Pack will be released on January 6th from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. Now we can begin! 
