As The Light Goes Out (Blu-ray Review)
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. Continue reading ‘As The Light Goes Out (Blu-ray Review)’
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. 
Disney’s Maleficent was not only one of the biggest hits of summer, its one of the biggest movies of the the 2014 cinema-going year. The film has grossed over $241 million just domestically and dominated worldwide taking in over $757 million. Its another instance in helping prove that female-led and driven blockbusters should be more commonplace in our theatrical release slate. The film also goes to show Angelina Jolie is just a genuine superstar. She doesn’t do many films of this ilk anymore, but when she does, people will flock out to go and see it. Plus, there’s also the perfect joining of her and Disney to take on this character for the film. A film that tells a different angle on a classic fairy tale.
Back in 2oo6, I was a big big fan of the sort of musical film Once. Love the movie, loved the soundtrack even more. It was a daring film, because above all else, that music had to be excellent in order for the film to truly work, and it did. Then, it wound up winning an Academy Award for one of its songs, all was great and then I never really followed anyone involved from the film afterward. Writer and Director John Carney has made two films since, but I didn’t know about them until I looked him up for this review. He returns to craft another music based film, this time focused in a bigger city, with bigger stars and a story dealing with a similar musical mission to Once, but this one with a little more promised success and bigger ambition. And wow, Keira Knightley isn’t too bad of a singer. I was surprised to learn she actually sang for her own songs that were performed in the film. 
Life Of Crime interested me because it features characters from Jackie Brown. On any given day, Jackie Brown is either my absolute favorite Quentin Tarantino film or at the very least Top 3. Life Of Crime takes place with Ordell, Louis, Melanie and brief appearance from Ray in the year 1978. This was a festival touring film that wound up playing in theaters finally around the end of August. A side note, I’m just curious, but the film takes place in 1978 and features a scene with Will Forte trapped in a closet and he begins smashing his way out of the door just like Michael Myers did in the original Halloween. I’m wondering if this was intentional, as Forte strangely knocks the pieces of the door out in the same manner that Michael did even. Oh well, the Halloween season is upon us, so I thought I’d take note of that. 
Remember that huge 4th of July weekend this past summer that everyone overly criticized, yet didn’t realize no “majory” blockbusters or anything were released? You know, that the film Tammy got most of the blunt negativity from? There was another film that showed up, the found footage kids sci fi movie Earth To Echo. Earth To Echo was deemed a disappointment, but a further look at it…it was actually a pretty nice success story. The film only had a budget of $13 million and wound up taking in $38.9 million domestically. Factoring in overseas money, it made an additional haul for a total of over $45 million dollars. That’s almost four times its budget back. A very very very good investment. So, this movie was actually a pretty darn big success even if it was huffed at by “experts”. The film is hitting Blu-ray to the possibility of just adding to that financial success and possibly bringing in some more fans. 
Don’t look now, but apparently we are on Wrong Turn number 6. Personally, I haven’t seen any of them past the original. That one had Eliza Dushku, Jeremy Sisto, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Desmond Harrington and was the only one of these released theatrically (Others played at events like ScreamFest and the like). When I signed up for Vudu I got Wrong Turn 2 for free but I’ve not watched it. That one was directed by Joe Lynch and actually was critically acclaimed with a unanimous approval that its better than the first film. I’ve still not had a chance to check it out, but I want to. Every one following has been reviled though. So, of course I’m going into part 6 with the lowest expectations. And I hope I can keep up having missed the 4 previous installments. 
The Prince is brought to us from producers behind last year’s films Lone Survivor and Escape Plan. That’s a weird balance as I really enjoyed one of those quite a bit and sort of despised the other. And if you want a clue as to which, lets just say its the one that wasn’t based on a true story. The film boasts an impressive one-two punch of actors for me as I’ve never seen two of my favorites, John Cusack and Bruce Willis in a film together before. According to my research this film did play in theaters, but seems to be more of a straight to video or Video OnDemand kind of film. And no, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that as there have been some truly terrific films going by way of VOD over the past couple years and sort of the replacement of sorts for an outlet for independent genre films. 
