Mad Max Fury Road BLACK & CHROME Edition (Blu-ray Review)
Here’s a true fact for you. Never in a million, zillion years would I ever have believed that I could experience unhappiness while watching my favorite film of 2015, Mad Max Fury Road. Before we go there I want to take a step back. Last year the rumor was that the Blu-ray release of Mad Max Fury Road would also include the film in black and white (or as Warner Bros. now dubs Black & Chrome). That obviously never happened, which is why we’re here now over a year later with an unmistakable cash grab at getting whatever left that they can out of this phenomenal picture. However, if you already own the first Blu-ray release (see my review of it here), then you’re getting less here in my opinion. Sure you’re getting the film on Blu-ray in “black and chrome.” Big stinking deal! They don’t even give you a Digital HD file of it all. Boo! To top it all off watching this film in “black and chrome” was an absolute chore for me. When I first heard about this I was like wow that is going to look so cool. Not the case at all! Half the film’s appeal for me was the harsh, scorching , burn-your-eyes-out colors employed throughout and I hate to be the naysayer here but without said colors you lose A LOT of the detail. I didn’t think this was possible, but I hated every single minute of my viewing of Mad Max Fury Road Black & Chrome. Continue reading ‘Mad Max Fury Road BLACK & CHROME Edition (Blu-ray Review)’
The awesome and truly indie inspired Park City festival known for being self governed ‘By Filmmakers, For Filmmakers’ known as the 
The blood runs in rivers and the drilling keeps tearing through flesh and bone…now all on Blu-ray! In career that has encompassed such controversial classics as Ms. 45, Bad Lieutenant and King of New York, none of Abel Ferrara’s films have quite managed to match the shock, extremity and downright notorious nature of 
Jason Bourne needs no trailer to sell it. Let’s be honest of that fact. When Bourne Identity dropped in 2002 it rejuvenated the stale international spy franchises out there. Just look at the style of what came next in the Bond series, Casino Royale, as living proof. Suddenly Bourne-like movies infected our screens everywhere from the mainstream Mission Impossible franchise to even television series like 24. Yes, technically 24 came out first, but surely you can see the influence of the Bourne films. Ha ha. Whatevs! What I want to know is what’s up with these “character name” movie titles? Stallone resurrected two dead franchises like that. Now I guess it’s Greengrass’ turn, eh? 
They’re not staying down there, anymore! Finally making its long-awaited debut on Blu-ray, director Douglas Cheek’s cult ’80s favorite 
This December, baseball fans can bring home this year’s Fall Classic with a Blu-ray release commemorating the Chicago Cubs champion run: 2016 World Series Champions: Chicago Cubs (available December 6th). All droughts end with rain. And when the Chicago Cubs ended their 108-year World Series drought with an improbable three game run – including a dramatic Game 7 rain delay – to capture the championship, generations of Cubs fans washed away decades of disappointment, curses and superstitions. Fly the W! The Cubs are 2016 World Series champions! This December, fly the W and celebrate the Cubs history-making run to the championship with these two ultimate mementos from one of the most exciting postseasons in a generation. 
IFC Midnight and Scream Factory continue their hellish bond in bringing some of the best and unwatched in the indie horror scene to Blu-ray with The Devil’s Dolls. This is the second feature film from director Padraig Reynolds, following his other horror/thriller The Rites of Spring (Which, I’ve not seen, but has a really cool throwback retro poster). The disc isn’t just a bare bones one like some of these can be, it does come with a nice little grouping of bonus features (Including a commentary). It can be yours to own, or maybe to rent or borrow from that friend who snatches these up, on December 6th.
Dreamscape is now seeing its first double dip on Blu-ray after a rather lackluster and a bit reviled release the first time around. This time, though, we’re all lucky that the folks over at Scream Factory are the ones handling it. They seem to have heard all of the complaints from the other version and have set out to correct them. First off, they’ve got a brand new 2K transfer for the film as well as their normal slew of extras which are par for the course on their highly coveted “Collector’s Edition” series. This hopefully will please the fans as well as maybe make some new ones and possibly give some people a better second look at the film as it looks better than it has before. You can get your pre-order in for the release now, as it comes out December 13th.
The BFG, a big time collaborative effort to bring Roald Dahl’s classic story to the big screen in live action form seems like it would be a big deal, but maybe it was just past the time for excitement. Maybe its not something for this current generation. Its got a lot going for it with Steven Spielberg helming and reteaming himself with the writer from ET. A couple of great trailers as well as very good reviews couldn’t help get people to plop down the money for it or make it their choice over Finding Dory. Every summer we get more and more tentpoles and tentpoles against tentpoles in an almost weekly showdown, things get lost among the fold. The BFG was one of those, one of the biggest let downs and bombs. Critically, Spielberg is still on his run, but box office-wise its now come to a screeching halt. 
They pledge themselves to be young, stay young and die young – and all now on Blu-ray! Marking TV star Daphne Zuniga’s debut in a leading role, 
Black Christmas is a film that I’ve spent many years referring to as underrated, underseen, underappreciated, forgotten, unknown…you know the drill. But, as I review this Blu-ray and I look back at it, I wonder if it really is any more. If you’ll look at the bonus material, you’ll see there are a TON of interviews and retrospective documentaries on the film. You don’t get that if people aren’t interested in seeing that sort of thing. There was also a remake of the film. You also will see many articles on it throughout the given year as a part of lists for horror things and seasonal tidings. The film has also been remade, which is saying something too. In 42 years since it’s release, I think its finally crossed the boundary and IS the great horror classic it has always been. And for me, I’ve always called it one of my favorite slasher films, one of my favorite horror films, one of my favorite Christmas movies. But, its time I cross a boundary and just say its one of my all time favorite films. And its always exciting when one of my favorite films gets such a definitive release like this one. 
Hot on the heels of the original came the obvious sequel to The Hunger Games, Catching Fire. Since there’s, you know, multiple books in the series, anybody and everybody was expecting regardless of “how big” the first film would do. With the sequel came a changing of the guard as Gary Ross stepped away from the director role and Francis Lawrence would fill his shoes and finish out the series. Along with Lawrence came some hard hitters filling in the supporting character roles with the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright and Amanda Plummer. It was another huge success for the franchise, which is making a full on 4K UHD Blu-ray appearance, just a year after finishing its run. This thrilling second chapter, er book…or sequel will be making its Blu-ray debut on November 8th. 
I wasn’t able to get to War Dogs this past summer when it released to theaters. And I was interested in checking it out theatrically. There were a lot of factors that appealed to me. Miles Teller and Jonah Hill seemed like a natural and exciting team up. Todd Phillips is also a pretty good and overlooked director and seemed to be using his talents for something new. It also looked like a piece of cinema akin to the Pain and Gain and The Wolf Of Wall Street type of movies. Oh, and it had a true story aspect with a topic that I kind of was interested in learning more about how this all actually happened. Well, I was able to check it out on this new 4K UHD Blu-ray that just released this week from Warner Bros. 
At long lingering last this column reaches the end of a month long movie shaming festival for yours truly and I’m finishing the guilty pleasure series with a film that truly defies all normal entertaining cinematic comprehension – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick! This Boxing Day it’s me gloves to gloves against everyone as I divulge my undying love for a flick that has every bad movie cliché on the docket…and it just doesn’t matter. (Up yours Razzies!) Full of 80’s tropes (high hair, montages and leg warmers galore!), death defying dance numbers and two girls both good and bad it’s time to lay barren my affinity for the sizzling sequel that is….Staying Alive!
Don’t Breathe is one of those titles that lives up to its name. Let me tell you why. I can kid about this now because its in the past. We had the luxury of seeing a private screening of Don’t Breathe at the Alamo Drafthouse over the summer. So now answer me this. What do you do when you’re at an Alamo Drafthouse? Well, you watch a movie, but you also eat and drink a lot. Therein lies the problem with Don’t Breathe. It’s suspenseful, it’s edge of your seat, but mainly it’s super quiet for tension and shock. Who wants some num nuts chowing down next to them and ruining the movie with each and every crunch? Not I! You see my conundrum I’m speaking of here as I sat there during my theatrical experience with Don’t Breathe munching down dinner? Not only did I watch Don’t Breathe, but I felt like I couldn’t “breathe” either. Ha! 
After taking December off, Vestron Video is getting back to work in January. The first 2017 releases from the hot new cult release label with be the horror comedy Parents and the Ken Russell film The Lair Of The White Worm. Both were hotly requested titles for years and ones that most people just sort of accepted would never get to Blu-ray. Well, pigs are flying and they are flying high as these will be getting the coveted suped up bonus feature treatment when they release on January 31st. Lionsgate is really doing great work here and hopefully people are showing their appreciation with their wallets for them to continue. I also hear we are in for a big treat in February, though I don’t know what it is. 
