Deepsea Challenge (Blu-ray Review)
November 13th, 2014 by Nate Boss
Think about the great success James Cameron has had over the course of his career in cinema. A special effects and now camera wunderkind, the man is responsible for the top two grossing films of all time (not accounting for inflation), launching the careers of numerous Hollywood stars. Like King Midas, his every touch bestows gold, with a career trajectory that points ever higher upwards to previously unimagined heights…which is why his other passion is so fittingly ironic.
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It should be no surprise to anyone that the dynamic duo, hilarious tag team of Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum are back reprising their respective roles from 2012 in the appropriately titled 22 Jump Street (I’ll expand upon that more down below). I last talked about 21 Jump Street in my Blu-ray review over 
Jersey Boys has been an uber popular music for the last many years. It travels city to city and wows and pleases audiences across the United States. The film is a jukebox musical, meaning it features already established pop songs. But, that’s because its telling the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons so you kinda have to be that type of a musical. This film adaptation was once a passion project of Jon Favreau, but it wound up falling dead and never going anywhere. Then, oddly it was resurrected and Clint Eastwood was the guy at the helm. It seemed an odd marriage, and as you’ll see, it was one. Personally, I’d never had the pleasure of seeing the stage production of Jersey Boys and I really don’t think this film was any sort of supplement. 
Does everyone remember the Ed Harris-Eva Longoria-Michael Pena border crossing uber drama that took the box office by storm this past summer? No? Oh yeah, cuz it only opened in three theaters and expanded to a total of fourteen by the end of its run. As a matter of fact, its theatrical run ended just a few weeks ago to be precise. It only took just under $60,000 in its domestic run, but according to Wikipedia the film has wound up doing over $25 million globally. That’s not too shabby for a little film like this boasting more character acts and no real star power. The movie about border crossing, the controversies and the dangers of also marks the feature film debut of writer and director Michael Berry. 
If there is one film that deservingly has the right and proudly should be able to give the middle finger write at box office pundits (that don’t write for Forbes), its Tammy. This $20 million budgeted “one for me” film opening with a good $21 million opening weekend over 4th of July and because it didn’t do Transformers Independence Day numbers was considered a massive bomb and failure. Also people were claiming it was the end of Melissa McCarthy’s fame. WHOOPS! The film then went on to score almost $90 million to finish its run, flirting with making 5x its budget back. That’s massive success. Not a failure folks. And it was also a very solid opening weekend for a low key film that basically only promoted that Melissa McCarthy was in it and she was being one of her normal comedic characters. Despite whatever my thoughts on the film, I take great pleasure in seeing that Ben Falcone and everyone involved with Tammy got the last laugh. 
To save Hong Kong from an fiery disaster, a team of dedicated firefighters battle an out-of-control blaze that threatens to plunge the city into catastrophic darkness in AS THE LIGHT GOES OUT, blazing onto Blu-ray, DVD from Well Go USA Entertainment. Written and directed by Derek Kwok of Journey to the West, the action-packed suspense drama stars Nicholas Tse, Shawn Yue, Simon Yam (Ip Man, Election), Hu Jun, William Chan, Bai Bing, Andy On and a cameo by the legendary Jackie Chan. The film was one of the first films released this year in both Hong Kong and China as it came out the first week of January, just on the heels of New Years’ Day. To date the film has accumulated a box office tally totaling over fifteen million dollars worldwide. 
Horror is fun because there are some may sub-genres within the main one. One of those smaller, but very popular ones, is the “Creepy Doll” genre. Most recently Annabelle has fulfilled that little quotient, proving the sub-genre still has a very big audience. Even the popular Saw films have the creepy Billy puppet which those coutn in the doll genre. Predating popular 80s doll movies like Chucky, Puppet Master and the Demonic Toys was Stuart Gordon’s Dolls. Dolls seemed to set a stage and inspire some of them, mainly Puppet Master that would later come around. Dolls may have released in 1987, but it was actually Stuart Gordon’s follow up to Re-Animator. It was shot and done before From Beyond, but due to post production on the doll effects in the movie, it wound up not hitting theaters until after From Beyond had come out. And like From Beyond, Dolls has been given Scream Factory Collector’s Edition treatment! 
As is tradition in Hollywood, there are usually two films in a cinema-going year that are based on the same subject matter. We’ve had years of double Joan of Arc movies, meteor gonna hit earth movies, volcano movies and even Truman Capote biopic movies. This year was the year of Hercules. First was the Renny Harlin, Kellan Lutz led The Legend Of Hercules. I have not had the pleasure of seeing that one. Even if, the one I’d be more interested in anyway would be this one, because it contains superstar Dwayne Johnson. Unfortunately, this film came and left the box office underwhelming in the US. The marketing on the film was very light and it came at the time when Guardians of the Galaxy and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles called dibbs on August. However, this film was a pretty big hit overseas, helping the film to near $250 million total box office to help recoup the $100 million budget. It didn’t seem like anyone I knew was really excited or looking forward to this movie. But, should we have been? 
Oh Pumpkinhead II, I remember the first time I saw you quite well. I am a big fan of the first film, one of the last great practical effects monsters ever created. My uncle had bought me the VHS for my birthday and I had no clue what was coming and I was really taken by it. Its a hard movie to watch being a father now, but I can still tough it out (I just see that gut punch as making the film even stronger). Pumpkinhead II was straight to video, but I first saw it when it was the big Cinemax Friday Night premiere in the fall of 1994. Funny thing is, we didn’t even really have Cinemax. After a thunderstorm one night we suddenly got the channel slightly fuzzy, but really you could see everything going on. I remember telling my friends that I couldn’t do anything that night because I was staying in to watch Pumpkinhead II. My VCR was even set to record so I could watch again and again. Yup, this sequel was a big deal to me at the time. And I couldn’t have been the only one, I mean they did make a video game for this movie, too. Who remembers that?. 
Here we are once again. It’s the same place we were last year. It’s fall time and the leaves are changing so it must be coincidentally time for the latest Lord of the Rings (LOTR) saga…err I mean The Hobbit saga on Blu-ray in its “Extended” form. And low and behold…IT IS! How about I make a promise to you from the get go? My review below will not be as long as every LOTR infused butt numbing experience you ever had. No sir! Or no ma’am! This is the Extended Edition after all. You’re all here for all the prizes at the bottom of the Cracker Jack boxes so I promise to keep my babbling to a minimum, but just in case I get a bit tongue tied let’s get a move on it. We really do have lots to discuss here. We have a dragon to slay, elves, dwarves and orcs to feud with and possibly even a certain hobbit to toast. Ladies and gentlemen…this is second “Extended” installment in the three-part film series set to conclude with The Hobbit The Battle of the Five Armies this December…may I introduce to you The Hobbit The Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition…on Blu-ray. 
In 1972, John Wojtowicz attempted to rob a Brooklyn bank to pay for his lover’s sex change operation. The act resulted in a fourteen-hour hostage situation that was broadcasted across the nation. Three years later Al Pacino portrayed his crime in Dog Day Afternoon. Drawing upon extraordinary archival footage, the film shuffles between the 1970s and the 2000s. We gain a historic perspective on New York’s gay liberation movement, in which Wojtowicz played an active role. In later footage, he remains a subversive force, backed by the unconditional love of his mother Terry, whose wit and charm infuse the film. How and why the bank robbery took place is recounted in gripping detail by Wojtowicz and various eyewitnesses. 
Brace yourself for a gritty gangster crime drama that delivers neo-Western violence, revenge and a captivating tale of love in equal measure. Shout! Factory releases to DVD and Blu-ray the much-anticipated South American box office hit Brazilian Western. Since its theatrical premiere in Brazil and at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, this movie has been hailed by international critics and audiences alike for its passionate storytelling, melding the stylistic approach of classic genre films with a distinct and original vision. The film truly has the spirit, tone and feel in that of a modernized western film in the setting of Brazil as opposed to the old west we’re most familiar with those movies tackling. Much in the vein of something akin to a No Country For Old Men when it comes to westerns. Not the same kind of movie, but that same kind of more modernized feeling to the western tropes and aesthetic. This movie is mainly a kind of love story. 
