Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey (Blu-ray Review)
Here is something I was really happy to enjoy this past spring. Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey is the spectacular follow-up to Carl Sagan’s award-winning series that explored the remarkable mysteries of the cosmos and our place within it. This thrilling, 13-part adventure transports viewers across the universe of space and time, bringing to life never-before-told stories of the heroic quest for knowledge and a deeper understanding of nature. With an updated Cosmic Calendar, dazzling visual effects, and the wondrous Ship of the Imagination, fans have the chance to experience an unforgettable journey to new worlds and across the universe for a vision of the cosmos on the grandest and smallest scale. Now this impressive Blu-ray is available for all to check out.
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So going into this Blu-ray review of Under The Skin I knew the following four pieces of intelligence: Scarlett Johansson is an alien, she gets naked in this, the film’s a little out there with its wild imagery and my peers here at Why So Blu absolutely love it. Armed with that knowledge how bad can this really be? I was dying to find out because unfortunately in Austin, TX it only screened in two of the dumpiest theaters that reside in the area. I was not going to fork over my hard earned money to have my feet stick to the floor, not be able to see in case some Andre the Giant sat in front of me because of no stadium seating and watch it on a screen that’s barely any bigger than my HDTV at home and that has probably been around in age longer than I have. Are you picking up what I’m dropping here? I want my money’s worth. And that’s why I salaciously waited for this flick on Blu-ray. Was it worth the wait? Read on and find out.
The Toronto International Film Festival particpant, All Cheerleaders Die is coming to Blu-ray after its short, limited theatrical run this past June. A collective effort from Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson, this horror-dark comedy feature is actually a remake of a super low budget film the duo made back in 2001. Of these two directorial names, one name interested me in the film and the other frightened me of it. Lucky McKee had made an indie horror film I really liked in 2002 called May. He also did a Masters Of Horror episode and a film I didn’t see but generated some buzz called The Woman. Chri Sivertson on the other hand, directed the abysmal Lindsay Lohan vehicle, I Know Who Killed Me. While the film is terrible it did contain one of my favorite all time bad movie lines, “Sometimes people get cut. That’s life”. Would good balance out evil here? Or was this going to be another I Know Who Killed Me. 
Olive Films continues stocking its library with A-titles of Hollywood yesteryear with 1959’s Operation Petticoat. This comedy stars two of the era’s biggest male leads in Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. It also contains a few actors who would later find success in TV land in the years to come. While I may not be a fan of everything they’re putting out, Olive Films really should be commended for saving films of the era they are plucking Blu-ray releases from. As time marches on, these are the films that could be left in the dust and they are films that still have fans and a history. Its nice to be able to have something at your disposal as opposed to waiting and hoping it pops up again on Turner Classic Movies sometime in the near future. 
Wow! What can I say about this feature(s) that hasn’t been said before? There’s a million and one ways I can spin this. Was I curious about it? Hell yeah I was. Was I scared of it? Honestly, I was a little bit. I really didn’t know what to expect when I first popped this Blu-ray title into my PlayStation 4 except for what I guessed would be a whole lot of graphic nudity. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing is it? Haha! I guess it all depends upon who you are, how you are raised and what your opinions and beliefs are on how tasteful and/or delicate nudity should be depicted and handled within a motion picture. That’s a safe and borderline way to say it, isn’t it? I think so. And that’s what I’m sticking to as I press straight ahead with nothing but forward progress in tackling this two-part Blu-ray review fully clothed. Wish me luck! 
This is going to be a hard one to write about because HBO broke some serious ground when they aired these eight episodes of I guess what can be best described as an anthology series. If you have a better way to describe it, then by all means please chime in below in the comments section. True Detective, for lack of a better explanation, is a slow building dual-character study from the moment you turn it on until the final seconds as we follow the trials and tribulations of two detectives assigned to a grisly and cultish murder case in the Louisiana bayou country, which takes place over a lengthy period of time. You know how they say everyone gets their day in court eventually? Well, I guess you can say this one’s all about redemption and getting past those seemingly unmovable barriers no matter how much time passes. However, that’s just a very high level look at the critically acclaimed show. What you’ll find under the surface, should you decide to scratch that, is so much more complex and intricately woven that it yields such a great case in being called some of television’s finest hours. 
Guilame Canet’s Blood Ties is an American-language remake of the 2008 French film Les liens du sang. The film went to Cannes and really didn’t make much noise. It wasn’t a part of the film competition but received screen in the “Out Of Competition” category. And I can tell you it was just a surprise to me to see this thing screen here in the US this year, but of course in the limited variety. When I did the press release for the film it interested me enough on two levels; the cast and the setting of the film. A 70s crime film will always harken back fond memories to stuff from the likes of The French Connection during one of my favorite decades of cinema. No, i didn’t go into thinking it would be THAT good (that’s expecting it to be a perfect film, haha). I was just looking for something to, like always, merely entertain me and have me able to find merits on some level for it. 
I’ll be the first to admit, when Scream Factory announced they were doing Lake Placid, I was kinda like “Hmm”. For one, it was a newer film (weird to call a 15 year old film that), but as we’ve seen they are starting to explore late 90s and early 2000s films. I remember watching it back when it came out on video and not really caring for it. I haven’t seen it since. It’s spawned some straight to SyFy Channel sequels over the years though. What’s great is that I get to revisit this film with fresh eyes and an older, wiser mind. I don’t think I fully grasped or appreciated films like this back when I was 17, so I feel I obviously went in realizing it was probably on me last time and I may have not been on the same wavelength as this film on my initial outing. 
As everyone knows, I’m a big fan of these VHS to Blu-ray releases. No DVD? No problem. I don’t like films to be lost, missing or unavailable in the physical formats. I also take pure joy in seeing what a film was originally intended to look like when all I’ve had to reference for years was a ratty VHS copy. The Final Terror is a double bonus because its also an early 80s slasher film and I take much joy in watching and collecting them. Scream Factory doesn’t give it a collector’s edition, but it does show this edition plenty of love. Heck, I almost think some of this “smaller” releases they do have enough bonus material on them that I think they could get away with calling them a “collector’s edition” and nobody would raise a finger. Just having it to the format with a trailer and a commentary might be special enough for some of these cult items alone. 
Wow, we’re almost nearing the end of getting all the Star Trek: The Next Generation seasons out on Blu-ray. Quite an incredible journey its been through the three seasons of the original crew and now six with TNG. Nine seasons of television with a tenth on the horizon. This sixth season faced a brief delay as it was originally scheduled to come out earlier in the month, but no bother, a couple weeks isn’t much to wait. As per usual, this season is accompanied by a separate, more “sampler”-esque or collector’s item Blu-ray that only contains the in-season two parter, Chain Of Command parts I and II. This penultimate season might be known a bit more for the guest appearance of original series cast member James Doohan reprising his role of Montgomery Scott for an episode. 
1982 is one of my favorite years in movie history. Not only was I born that year, but we got a lot of goodies that we look fondly back at and revere as “classics” now, even if some may not have been back then. The film we’re talking about today isn’t really one of those I’d be referring to, but like the rest, has achieved success as a cult classic since its rather uninspiring opening and lackluster critic and audience appreciation. Deadly Eyes (also known as Night Eyes according to the print of the film and also elsewhere simply as Rats) is definitely a fun little production that after a few years marinating and from its relevancy becomes a pretty enjoyable film of the midnight movie variety. With a group of the right friends and the right vibes, this one easily can please given the scenario. Dogs in rat suits. What’s not to love? 
