Insidious Chapter 3 (Blu-ray Review)
Let’s start this one off with act of admission. Insidious Chapter 3 isn’t exactly going to get any brownie points in the original title category. That much can be determined without even sitting down to witness the feature on Blu-ray. And unlike the first and second films, this “third” chapter does not follow the timeline nor does it mesh with the conclusion set up in the second installment (although that’s not completely true, but still boo). Instead, it’s one of those dreaded prequels! Boo on that if not done right! However, let’s not be too hasty and judge a book by its cover. Every movie is subject to a trial and that’s what we are here today for. It’s the critic in me versus Insidious Chapter 3 coming to Blu-ray on October 6th courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Who will prevail? Read on to find out. Bwahaha… Continue reading ‘Insidious Chapter 3 (Blu-ray Review)’
Sam Ellis is a man on the rise a hot-shot prosecutor on the cusp of a bright future. When an impossibly gorgeous intern at the office becomes infatuated with him, Sam unwisely attempts to quiet his desires by seeing a high class escort only to discover that the experience is more fulfilling and exhilarating than he could have imagined. A second appointment with an escort soon follows, and a third, sending his once idyllic life spiraling out of control. In the midst of wrestling with his demons, he suddenly finds himself being groomed to run for U.S. Congress thrusting him into the public spotlight, and forcing him to take increasingly dangerous measures to keep the press, the law and his wife off his trail. Sound like something you want to own? Well, good! Read on to find out how to be one our lucky two Blu-ray winners. 
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders, out now on Criterion Collection Blu-ray, really does its best to defy categorization and synopsis. Is it a coming-of-age fantasy? A horror movie? A surreal experimental film? An art project? Is it a film that followed the traditions of Czech filmmaking during the late ’60s and early ’70s? What is for certain is that what director Jaromil Jireŝ does with all of these elements to make Valerie and Her Week of Wonders is brilliant, beautiful, thoughtful, dreamy, disturbing, and, well, full of wonders. 
The brutal assault at the hands of a racist cop will inform the life of Tommy Gibbs (Fred Williamson, Hammer), who will grow up to become the reigning head of Harlem’s black mafia in Black Caesar. Fred Williamson held the reigns as the prominent male lead in several of the blaxploitation era’s most popular films including Hammer, Legend of Nigger Charley, Three The Hard Way and Hell Up In Harlem. Larry Cohen (Hell Up In Harlem), working from his own script, directs the blaxploitation film Black Caesar that co-stars Art Lund (Bucktown), Val Avery (Donnie Brasco) and D’Urville Martin (Sheba, Baby), featuring a score by James Brown. 
A twisted killer is on the loose. He tortures and dissects his victims as part of a primitive ritual. If you’re a wealthy, attractive woman, stay out of isolated desert community, because you are fair game. Housewife Joan White gradually comes to suspect that her opera-loving husband Paul might know more than he’s letting on… All the clues lead to one man who is clearly innocent. But nothing is as simple as black and white in Donald Cammell’s 1987 suspense thriller WHITE OF THE EYE, arriving for the first time on Blu-ray™ in a special Blu-ray + DVD combo pack on November 17, 2015 from SCREAM FACTORY™.
Two-time Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington (Best Actor, Flight; Best Supporting Actor, Glory) headlines the entertaining crime thriller The Mighty Quinn. Under bright skies and sandy beaches, paradise hides some ugly truths in The Mighty Quinn. Based on the A.H.Z. Carr novel Finding Maubee, Denzel Washington (Flight) brings his charismatic star power to the role of Xavier Quinn. Directed by Carl Schenkel (Knight Moves) from the Hampton Fancher (Blade Runner) screenplay, The Mighty Quinn co-stars James Fox (Patriot Games), Mimi Rogers (Street Smart), M. Emmett Walsh (Blood Simple), Keye Luke (Gremlins), Alex Colon (Red Scorpion), and Esther Rolle (TV’s Good Times). 
Get ready for some high seas action as the cast and stunt crew of Black Sails discuss the preparation behind some of the show’s biggest fight scenes in a new Season Two bonus feature! Oh and by the way…in case you did not know…Anchor Bay Entertainment will be bringing the thrilling second season of the STARZ Original series to Blu-ray + Digital HD with Ultraviolet and DVD on November 3rd, in a three-disc set containing all 10 episodes and NEW exclusive extras. Check out the bonus feature video down below! 
This Jim Brown blaxploitation vehicle directed by Jack Starrett (Cleopatra Jones) is the tale of an ex-Vietnam, ex-Green Beret captain known to his friends and enemies alike by one name …Slaughter. Gunplay, fist fights and all-out action lies around every corner in Slaughter, co-starring Cameron Mitchell (The Klansman) and Don Gordon (The Mack) and written by Mark Hanna (Gunslinger) and Don Williams (Blood, Black and White). Academy Award-nominee Rip Torn (Best Supporting Actor, Cross Creek) stars as the psychotic Mafioso who goes head-to-head with the out-for-vengeance Jim Brown in Slaughter. The success of this film would later lead to a sequel the following year, which was titled Slaughter’s Big Rip-Off. Hopefully with continued success of these Olive Films blaxploitation releases, that follow-up can see the light of day on Blu-ray. 
This fall, sink your teeth into Bloodsucking Bastards (a.k.a. Bloodsucking Bosses), an action-packed vampire comedy in the vein of Office Space and Shaun of the Dead. Directed by Brian James O’Connell and penned by the popular comedy troupe Dr. God and Ryan Mitts, Bloodsucking Bastards takes audiences on a hilarious, blood-spattered roller coaster ride in the most terrifying locale of all: the American workplace. This film boasts an all-star cast, including Fran Kranz (Cabin in the Woods), Pedro Pascal (Narcos, Game of Thrones), Emma Fitzpatrick (Significant Mother, The Collection), Yvette Yates (Inherent Vice) with Joel Murray (Mad Men) and Joey Kern (Cabin Fever).
The notorious Human Centipede films will be available as a complete set for the first time with the release of 
Comedian Bob Saget (TV’s Full House) makes his feature film directorial debut with Dirty Work featuring cameos from Saturday Night Live alums Chris Farley, Chevy Chase and Adam Sandler. Dirty Work is written for the screen by Frank Sebastiano (Beer League), Norm MacDonald (TV’s Norm, Saturday Night Live) and Fred Wolf (Grown Ups). It stars MacDonald, Artie Lange (Madtv, Elf), Jack Warden (12 Angry Men, All the President’s Men), Traylor Howard (Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, Monk) and Christopher McDonald (Happy Gilmore, Requiem for a Dream). Its one of my personal favorite comedies from the 90s and I was very happy to see Olive Films picking it up to put onto Blu-ray! 
A romantic confection, Mannequin Two On The Move is a comic look at reincarnation, lost love and fabulous window displays. This sequel to the popular Mannequin finds the outrageous Hollywood Montrose (Meshach Taylor, TV’s Designing Women) promoted to Prince & Company’s display department. Joining Hollywood on the job is new assistant, Jason Williamson (William Ragsdale, Fright Night) who in a past life was the prince of the Hauptmann-Koenig kingdom. Stuart Raffill (Mac and Me) directs from a screenplay by Edward Rugoff, David Isaacs, Ken Levine and Betsy Israel based on the characters created by Rugoff and Michael Gottlieb.
Did you hear the exciting news?! The first season of Better Call Saul, the hit prequel to the award-winning Breaking Bad series, arrives November 10th in a Limited Collector’s Edition Blu-ray, along with a standalone Blu-ray and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. Still boasting a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, Better Call Saul enjoyed one of the biggest series premieres in U.S. cable history (6.9 million viewers) and garnered seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Drama Series, Lead Actor in a Drama Series (Bob Odenkirk), Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Jonathan Banks) and Writing for a Drama Series (Gordon Smith). Better Call Saul also received two nods for Single-Camera Picture Editing and one for Sound Mixing. Check out the full press release below for more information! 
ZATHURA: 10th ANNIVERSARY EDITION stars Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games franchise), Kristen Stewart (Twilight franchise), Jonah Bobo (Crazy, Stupid, Love.), and Dax Sheppard (“Parenthood”) in the story of two young brothers who are drawn into an intergalactic adventure when their house is hurled through the depths of space by the magical board game they are playing. The all-new bonus features include an animated storybook version of the book narrated by author Chris Van Allsburg and the original theatrical trailer. The film is directed by Jon Favreau (Iron Man, Cowboys & Aliens, Chef). ZATHURA has a run time of approximately 101 minutes and is rated PG for fantasy action and peril, and some language. 
JUMANJI: 20th ANNIVERSARY EDITION stars Academy Award® winner Robin Williams (Best Supporting Actor, Good Will Hunting, 1997), Kirsten Dunst (Spider-Man trilogy) and Bradley Pierce (The Borrowers). When two kids find and play a magical board game, they release a man trapped for decades in it and a host of dangers that can only be stopped by finishing the game. The all-new bonus features include animated storybook excerpts from the book, narrated by author Chris Van Allsburg, two episodes of the 1996 “Jumanji: The Animated Series” TV show and the original theatrical trailer. The film is direct by Joe Johnston (Captain America: The First Avenger, The Rocketeer).
