Prince Of Darkness (Blu-ray Review)
September 4th, 2013 by Brandon Peters
Another John Carpenter classic, another Scream Factory masterpiece. This title was highly requested by the Scream Factory groupies and of course, they’ve responded in full force. Not only have they delivered one of their all-time best presentations, they actually got John Carpenter to sit and give one of his most genuine interviews seen on a DVD or Blu-ray ever. Prince Of Darkness is another more “cult classic” from the vaults of Carpenter, but I think one that definitely may be more appealing to today’s audiences than when it was released. Hopefully this release will bring the film to a little more relevance again and possibly bring some newer fans along the way. Continue reading ‘Prince Of Darkness (Blu-ray Review)’
Just in time for the next Legendary Chapter of Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy, comes a 2-Disc Blu-ray set featuring not one…not two…BUT three different versions of the Film, Hours of Bonus Features, The Many Months Of Burgundy Diary and Collectible Trading Cards that will all be available nationwide on December 3, 2013. So what do you think? You down for this? Hell yeah! I am! Since I’m not an owner of the film on the Blu-ray format I’ll be sure to pick this one up in December. Oh yeah! Hey now…December 3rd! Wouldn’t this make a swell Christmas present? I truly think so! 
Salient Media and Bloody Disgusting bring you The Haunting Of Helena. The film was also known for a time during its theatrical/festival run as Fairytale. Apparently the title has been changed since. Maybe using “Haunting Of” is a way to sell more copies based on other films using that moniker? It’s a film that tries its best to make a monster of the Tooth Fairy and provide a backstory of sorts. The film very much carries that mother-child dynamic of sorts seen in films like The Ring. Sadly with dull performances and no energy, the film that could have been a nice frightfest is more of a snoozefest. It’s got some nice imagery and a few cool ideas, but it’s never really able to become a film as nice and cool itself. Let’s have a look, shall we? 
One of the best films of the year is hitting Blu-ray on October 22. Before Midnight is the third part in a trilogy from the minds of writer/director Richard Linklater and writer/stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy. It is also one of the most exciting movies about people walking and talking that I have seen. The film revolves around characters that have been developed over the course of 18 years, since they first shared the screen, and where they are now, as we watch them on a trip in Greece. The film was a huge hit with critics and certainly lived up to the expectations of those who have watched Before Sunrise and Before Sunset. Read on to learn about this upcoming Blu-ray release.
George A. Romero’s underrated Day Of The Dead gets its second run on Blu-ray courtesy of the almighty Scream Factory. This time around we are also treated to a feature-length documentary chronicling the entire production, its release and the legacy which the film has had in its 28 years. I won’t hold anything back for those antsy to know; this is definitely an upgrade over the previous Anchor Bay release. From the packaging to the extras to the presentation, Scream Factory has brought us not only the Day Of The Dead release we’ve always wanted, but the THE release of any of the Romero “Dead” films we’ve always wanted. 
Being a huge Star Wars fan all my life, who has more times than I care to admit called Star Trek boring, dull and lifeless with the exception of The Next Generation episodes Ashley Judd breathes life and beauty into, I was astonished by how much fun I had with J.J. Abrams fresh take on the franchise back in 2009. In my opinion, he resuscitated the franchise, actually made it enjoyable even to loyal Star Wars fans and brought much needed life and energy back into it, not to mention some really humorous moments too. And for that, I appreciated J.J. Abrams even more as a filmmaker and didn’t even bat an eye when this sequel was announced back in 2011. I was so thrilled and taken aback by the first one, 2009’s Star Trek, that I had actually been genuinely pumped, geeked and uber excited for this next chapter in what I would presume to be a trilogy, Star Trek Into Darkness. 
From the mind of David S. Goyer (Dark Knight Trilogy, Blade Trilogy) comes the Starz original series Da Vinci’s Demons. I knew nothing of the show other than seeing the show’s title when scrolling on my tv channel guide between AMC and Showtime and thinking that was an interesting title. I don’t watch any shows on Starz as I was turned off by their production of Torchwood: Miracle Day and the other shows have kinda looked very “wannabe” to me (I have heard good things about Spartacus though, just never got to it). So when tasked with reviewing Da Vinci’s Demons, my expectations were set a bit lower. Little did I know, I had nothing really to worry about here. The show is a surprisingly engaging historical fantasy telling a fictionalized tale of Leonardo da Vinci during what is considered the “lost” years of his life (records and journals from this time in his life apparently have not survived). 
This is one of the times of the year that many top ten lists will emerge. The summer movie season is about to come to a close and many people tend to list off their “top ten films of the summer”. This will lead to fun posts, as various writers provide reasons for what stuck out, what qualifies, which films were the worst, or why others were wrong about certain films, and I certainly love to read these varying opinions. Normally I would participate as well, given that I see so many films in the year and love to embrace the blockbusters just as much as the films in limited release, but this year feels a bit different. If I really wanted to, I probably could rank my ten favorite “big” films from the summer, but honestly my heart is not in it this year. There were a lot of missed opportunities, a lot of ambitious failures, many movies that were out and out bad ideas from the start, and some that were fun in the moment, but hardly ones that I would think back on. Given those feelings, this essay just seemed like a better idea.
For someone looking to grow some hair on his (or her) chest, Getaway is a real winner. Emanating testosterone through the entirety, the movie delivers all style and absolutely no substance. Plot and character development stay safely buckled up in the backseat, rarely making an appearance. If you make it through the first 20 minutes, you’ve seen the whole thing. 
For ten years, the world was asking for a sequel to David Cronenberg’s Scanners. And in 1991, Malofilm and Triton Pictures responded (twice). Okay, maybe not so much. Ten years following the original film a back to back set of sequels were released. This was during a period in the late 80s/early 90s when straight to video movies were becoming a hot trend. A lot of older movies (especially in the horror genre) were suddenly getting, a lot of the times, unintended sequels down this route (Silent Night Deadly Night and the Puppet Master sequels come to mind). Scanners somehow wound up a likely target and produced back to back ones. And a few years later, two more would spawn. For fans of the series or those nostalgic for their old video store days, Scream Factory has gotten a hold of and put to Blu-ray the first two sequels to Scanners for a double feature disc, before the original has even found a proper US release (it is available in other territories). 
I have to wonder sometimes how much time and consideration is put into the little details, before sending off the finished product and then being tackled by criticisms. Closed Circuit has plenty going for it at first glance. The film features a top notch cast, who are all putting forth reasonably good work as the characters they play. The premise is that of an interesting legal drama, set within the British justice system, which is not something American audiences see that much of in a wide release film. The problem revolves around the little details. The plot is entirely predictable, once the pieces are set in place, and little holes begin to emerge as the film carries on. Being a taut legal thriller and having good intentions is great, but adding up to something solid takes more than just having the big sections covered.
