John Carpenter’s “Halloween” has been a favorite of mine over the years. When I first heard about this new edition, I was excited because the film was getting a new transfer and the fact that this looked like this was going to be a very good blu-ray.

The classic horror film follows Michael Myers, a mental patient who escapes from the hospital on the eve of Halloween. He goes back to a town called Haddonfield, IL fifteen years later after killing his sister in cold blood. There, he begin to stalk a young girl and her friends. Once the night comes, his reign of terror begins and the only person that can stop him is his psychiatrist that knows that he has come home to finish what he started.

One of things that made this film a classic was John Carpenter’s direction. He does a very good job making sure the scenes build up tension. Whether it was the way the film was shot to Carpenter’s score of the film, everything kept you on the edge of your seat. It helped enhance the story and it kept my interest. The other thing that made his direction work was the way he directed the action sequences. Those scenes were suspenseful and scary at times. It kept you on edge of your seat, especially with last twenty minutes of the film. Every time Michael Myers appeared on screen, I felt scared which is very rare for a masked villain of this genre. It’s a combination of the look of the mask and the way the finale played out that has kept my interest for almost fifteen years, when I first saw the television version of the film.

The acting was also as good as the film itself. Carpenter does a very good job making sure the performances were as good as his direction. He takes his time to make sure the performances fit the film’s dark tone. It made the characters interesting and you’re invested in them. The other thing that I like about the acting was that both Jamie Lee Curtis and the late Donald Pleasances did a very good job making sure that the characters stood out from the film’s main character. The film can be as good as your villain, but you need actors to help make the villain feel scary. Whether it’s Curtis as one of the three stalked babysitters or Pleasances as the person trying to stop Myers’ reign of terror, both of them did a very good job making sure their performances were also crucial parts of the film to the film’s success.

The screenplay written by Carpenter and Debra Hill also was a major part in why the film is a classic today. One of the things that this did very well was to make everything have a dark and frightening tone to them. Whether it was the beginning of the film to the film’s final scene, it gave me that terrifying feel that you don’t see in many slasher films. The other thing that the screenplay does very well, it manages to keep you scared. The writers did a very good job writing scenes that were scary and kept you on the edge of your seat. That’s what made the film’s story work very well, as I was interested where the film was going and providing some very scary moments that are still scary to this day.

Blu-Ray Extras:

The extras start off with a brand new commentary track featuring direction john Carpenter and Actress Jamie Lee Curtis. This was a very good commentary track. The track goes over a lot of things like how the film was shot to how some of the scenes were created. They also provide interesting stories about the film and talk about Carpenter directing style. It’s definitely worth a listen for fans of the film.
After the commentary track, the next featurette is “The Night She Came Home”. The featurette goes into James Lee Curtis appearance at Horrorhound Weekend that took place back in November 2012. The featurette an interview with Jamie Lee Curtis along with interviews from Halloween fans talking about her appearance in the film. This feels more like a reality piece than a documentary. It goes more into her appearance at the convention than about her talking about the film. It was okay, but it felt too long.

The next featurette is “On Location: 25 Years Later”. The featurette is imported from the film’s first blu-ray edition. The featurette goes into the locations that were used in the film. It was a good look at the locations that were used in the film, even though it felt short.
The disc wraps up with scenes from the TV version of the film, trailers and TV spots. The only problem that I have with this release was that it could’ve used a retrospective documentary on the film. It would’ve been nice to have it on the disc given the importance of the film, as I’m interested in that.

Final Summary:

“Halloween” 30th anniversary edition blu-ray was a good disc, even though it lacks a retrospective documentary. It’s worth the purchase for its great HD remastered look and it’s commentary track with John Carpenter and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Review Rating: Five Stars
Blu-Ray Extras: Two and a Half Stars

“Hands of the Ripper” is the fourth Hammer film that yours truly has gotten around to see. The film is widely known as one Hammer’s most gruesome films. Still, I was interested in seeing because of the good luck that I’ve had with a couple of other previous Hammer films.

The film follows Anna, who witnesses a murder of her mother at an early age. The person responsible for her death is Jack the Ripper, aka her father. Years later, she is living with a fake psychic and forced into a horrible life of prostitution. One day, her caregiving is killed mysteriously. A doctor (Eric Porter) believes that Anna killed her, but can’t understand why she did it. He begins to use new Freudian psychoanalysis to find out why she committed the crime. He finds that she’s possessed by the spirit of the notorious killer. Now, he has find a way to stop this unspeakable evil before it too late.

Going into this film, I knew that this was going to be different from the other Hammer films that I’ve previously seen. Still, I enjoyed “Hands of the Ripper” for its dark gothic tone.

The direction here was very good. Director Peter Sasoy does a very good job establishing the film’s tone. Everything had a dark and eerie tone to it, which helped build tension for many of the film’s scenes and made everything feel very gloomy. He also handles the death scenes very well, as its very gory. The gore come off as very horrific and bloody and severed a purpose to the film. It made those death scenes feel a little more shocking for its time period. The performances were very good. I liked the way that he directed his cast. Sasoy does a good job making sure that the performances were good and the cast had good chemistry. It made the characters interesting to watch and kept my interest with the material.

The screenplay written by L.W Davidson was a good one. One of the things that I liked about the screenplay was that it had an interesting story. I liked how, the story focuses on its main characters. Davidson does a very good job with the way that he handles both Anna and Dr. Pritchard. He makes sure that he develops those characters enough that you’re interested in Dr. Pritchard’s obsession in finding out why Anna is murdering these people. The other thing that I liked about this was the way that Davidson made the tone of the film work so well. He does a good job making sure the films has this very distinct tone to it. Whether it was the way the death scenes were written to the psychological and supernatural aspects, everything had a very dark feel to it. It made the horror aspects of The film work so well. It’s a very solid screenplay from this time period of horror.

Blu-Ray Extras:

The first featurette is “The Devil’s Bloody Plaything: Possesed by Hands of the Ripper”. The featurette features interviews from film and Hammer historians, director Peter Sasoy and actresses Jane Merrow and the late Angharad Rees through voiceover. This was a very good featurette, as you got perspective on the film from a historical and filmmaking standpoint. From the production of the film to the various cuts that happened due fights with the censor board, everything was informative and interesting. If you like this film, this worth checking out after watching the film.

The next featurette is “Slaughter of the Innocents: The Evolution of the Gore – Motion Stills Gallery”. This features gory stills from past hammer films such as “Curse of Frankenstein, “Quatermass 2”, “Dracula” and “Kiss of the Vampire” to name a few.

After that, its “Hands of the Ripper” – Motion Stills Gallery. This featurette features a mixture of photos that includes film stills, lobby cards, theatrical posters and behind the scenes photos.

The disc then wraps up with U.S television introductions, original U.S. Theatrical Trailer and TV spots.

Final Summary:

Overall, “Hands of the Ripper” is a very effective psychological horror film with good direction and a solid screenplay. It’s not my favorite Hammer film, but it’s still a very solid gothic film.

Review Rating: Four Stars.
Blu-Ray Extras: Three Stars.

Continue the trend of reviews of remakes today. Going into this year, “Evil Dead” was one of the films that I was most curious about considering that the original film is one the great horror films ever made in my opinion. Even though there was good press from horror sites, I still was cautious about it.

The film follows a group of friends who head to the woods in hope of curing Mia’s (Jane Levy) drug addiction. Once they get into the house, they stumble upon the powerful book that can summon the undead. A person from the group accidently reads from the book and accidently releases unspeakable evil. The friends are forced to fight this bloodthirsty force before they become possessed by it. “Evil Dead” also co-stars Shiloh Fernandez (Deadgirl), Lou Taylor Pucci (Carriers) and Jessica Lewis (Cloverfield).

Going into “Evil Dead”, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy this as much as I did. I liked the original and hold it in high regard, but I was very surprised that this was equally as good as the original.

One of the reason that made the “Evil Dead” remake work was Fede Alvarez’s direction. I was surprised that I enjoyed the direction considering that this is his first feature film. Alvarez does a very good job with the way that builds tension to the scenes. It allows for some of the horrific scenes feel scary and intense. The gore scenes were also done effectively. Alvarez and his effects team did a very good job in making the gore feel more horrifying than cartoonish. It made for a very effective horror film.

The acting here was very better than I expected going in. Alvarez gets very good performances from his main cast including Jane Levy, as the heroine Mia. Levy does a very good job making the character interesting, as you’re interested in the character and her struggles. It was a key component to making the character work for me. The supporting performances were also very good, as both Shiloh Fernandez, Lou Taylor Pucci were very good, as they carried the film well during the time when the main character was possessed. Levy’s performance and the supporting performances is what helps make the film work so well from an acting standpoint.

The screenplay written by Alverez and Rodo Sayagues was very good. I liked that they didn’t try and copy things from the original movie. This film felt different. First, I liked that they didn’t include Ash in the film. I know that this might anger fans of the original. But if the character was in the film, you would had some sort of backlash that would’ve been a distraction for some as Bruce Campbell should only be playing Ash in the first place. The other thing that made the screenplay work was the fact that it had its terrifying moments. The writers did a very good job making the scenes intense. They were well thought out and had tension to them that generated scares. It made the film fun to watch.

Blu-Ray Extras:

The first featurette is “Directing the Dead”. The featurette focuses on the film’s director Fede Alvarez. It features interviews from Alvarez and couple members of the cast. It goes into Alvarez’s direction and how he approached this reboot. It also shows how he created some of the film’s most gory scenes, which made it more interesting.

The next featurette is “Making Life Difficult”. It goes into some of the intense scenes were created and how it took its toll on the film’s cast and crew. Interesting featurette on this subject.

After that, the next featurette is “Being Mia”. A good featurette that goes into the film’s main character. It features a brief interviews with actress Jane Levy and director Fede Alvarez along with some behind the scenes footage that Levy shot during the filming of the film.

There are also a couple of Blu-Ray Exclusives on the disc.

First, it’s the cast and crew commentary track that features Director Fede Alvarez, co-writer Royo Sayagues, actor Lou Taylor Pucci and actresses Jane Levy and Jessica Lewis. It’s a good and entertaining commentary track. They all going into the production of the film. Whether its came from an actor’s perspective or from a writing and directing perspective, there were a lot of stories about the behind the scenes of the film. It also provided interesting information why certain scenes were cut or altered, which made it even more interesting. This is worth checking out, as this gives an interesting look of the film’s production.

The next featurette is “Evil Dead: The Reboot”. This was a very good featurette that fans of the original and new one will like. It features interview from producers Rob Tapert, Bruce Campbell, writer Royo Sayagues, actress Jane Levy and director Fede Alverez. They went into the behind the scene of how the reboot was conceived and talked about the comparisons of the old film to this film.

The Blu-Ray exclusives wrap up with “Unleashing the Evil”. The featurette goes into the book of the dead that was used in the film. An interesting featurette that features interview from producer Bruce Campbell and actor Lou Taylor Pucci, as they talk about the book behind the demonic hauntings in the film.

After that, the disc wraps up with trailers for upcoming Sony Pictures releases.

Final Summary.

I hope we get to see Fede Alvarez direct another horror film, as his direction is one of the reason that makes this reboot work so well. “Evil Dead” is as terrifying as the original. It’s a frightening thrill ride that keeps a hold of you from start to finish.

Review Rating: Five Stars.
Blu-Ray Extras: Four Extras.

“The Producers” is one of a couple Mel Brooks’ trademark films that I’ve never have seen. It’s one of those cases where I’ve been meaning to see but never getting around to it. The film recently was released for the first time on Blu-Ray from Shout Factory. This was the perfect time to see it.

The film is about Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel), a producer that has been down on his luck and he barely pay the rent. One day, he meets Leo Bloom (Gene Wilder), a high strung accountant that joins up with him after meeting him for the first time. They discover that they could make more money on a flop than a hit. The two find the worst show that they could find and produce it on Broadway. Things backfire for Maz and Leo, as the show becomes a big hit. Now, the two find themselves in the middle of Boardway blitz that they could’ve never imagined.

After seeing “The Producers” for the first time, it made me wonder why I haven’t seen it sooner. This film ranks right up there with great Mel Brooks films such as “Blazing Saddles” and “Young Frankenstein”.

This film was a laugh out loud riot from start to finish. Most of the credit goes to Mel Brook’s direction. One of the things that I liked was the fact that Brooks made sure the humor on the page translated well onto the screen. There were a lot of funny moments here. Brooks does a very good job getting the timing down, as everything felt funny in the performances and on screen aspects. I was enjoying every minute of it and wishing that style of comedy would return, as that has been missing in comedy films. The other thing that I enjoyed about this was the performances. Brooks does a very good job making the performances very funny. He takes his time making sure that both Zero Mostel and Gene Wilder’s performance are energizing and funny. If there performances weren’t that way than the chemistry between the actors wouldn’t have worked on screen.

The screenplay also written by Brooks was very good. Everything was well executed in the comedic department. The humor was written very well and the jokes were very creative. Whether it’s the situations or the way the dialogue was written, it made for a very enjoyable and funny comedy. The other thing that makes this screenplay work was the way that everything was developed. Brooks does a very good job making sure the story was entertaining as the jokes. He allows his story to develop during the course of the film in a way that isn’t too over the top. It doesn’t make you forget about it during the film’s funny parts. It makes the story aspects work to the point that you’re fully into this film. From start to finish, this was a very funny film.

Blu-Ray Extras:

First on the disc is “The Making of Producers”. The featurette is imported from the special edition DVD that was released by MGM. It’s a very interesting look into the film. Most of the film’s cast and crew including Brooks, the late Gene Wilder and most of the cast and crew go into the production of the film. There were a lot of stories shared about what happened during filming and its eventual release. This is worth checking it out.

The next featurette is “Max and His Movies: The Producers”. An original featurette that was produced for this disc. This featurette features an interview with Mel Brooks talking about the film. He goes into great detail about the pre-production and some of the filming aspects of the film. It’s a very good featurette that is also worth also checking out.

After that the disc wraps up with a short featurette called “Peter Sellers’ Ad in Variety”, theatrical trailers, sketch gallery and a deleted scene. Overall, the quality of extras help make the extras department a winner.

Final Summary:

If you’re a serious fan of comedy, I urge you to check out this film and the other films of Mel Brooks. “The Producers” is a laugh out loud riot that keeps you entertained throughout.

Review Rating: Five Stars

Blu-Ray Extras: Four Stars

“Dark Skies” is one of those films that didn’t interest me in the beginning. The film’s trailer looked like another boring film. When I feel that way, I usually don’t watch the film. Still, I figured I give the film a shot since I enjoyed the films that producer Jason Blum has recently produced.

The film follows a husband and wife who are struggling with everything but still live in a nice quiet neighborhood. One night, they witness something mysteriously has going on in their house. The events become more disturbing and soon effects the whole family. Soon, they begin to notice that they’ve been marked by a mysterious and terrifying force. Now they must fight to survive and unravel the mystery of what or who is after them and their family.

Film Review:

Going into “Dark Skies”, I was expecting to not like this film, considering that the film’s trailer didn’t interest me. It looked like another of those boring alien abduction films. Surprising, this was an interesting film that keeps my interest throughout.

One of the reasons for that was the way that Scott Stewart handles the direction. He does a very good job making everything feel dark. From the look of the film to the film’s tone, he does a good job making sure that everything has gloomy feel to it. If the film didn’t have that feel to it, then it would’ve lost my interest immediately since I’m not too fond of alien abduction films. It also helped the film overcome its low budget especially in its final act. The performance were also good. Stewart makes sure the performances kept your interest, as it’s hard to do with a film like this. He does that very well, by making the performance have an intensity to the situation. It made me interested in both Keri Russel’s and Josh Hamilton’s performances, as I was interested in this film.

Stewart’s screenplay was also good. One of thing that he does right is making sure the film had a consistent tone to it. The tone of the story was dark from the beginning to the end of the film. It made the story more engaging to me and suspenseful than what you usually see from alien abduction films. The other thing that I liked about the screenplay was the fact that the character and the action is developed. Stewart does a good job making sure that he takes his time developing everything. Whether it’s the way he develops the family’s history to how the action builds up, it doesn’t feel rushed or forced. It made it into a better story and also helped with the film’s twist at the end. It made me more into the story then I would be with a film like this.

Blu-Ray Extras.

There isn’t many extras on the disc. First, the film’s audio commentary track with writer/director Scott Stewart and producer Jason Blum. This was a good commentary track. I liked how the both of them go into the various aspects of the production and the film’s screenplay. It provided interesting stories about the film. It worth a listen, as this provides the information that you’re looking in a track like this.

After that, the disc wraps up with deleted scene with optional commentary.

The only grip that I have with this disc was there weren’t any behind the scenes featurettes. It would have been nice to hear the cast talk about the film and their characters. It would’ve added another perspective on its making of. Instead, you only have the commentary track to go by.

Final Summary:

“Dark Skies” is one of those films that surprises for the quality of acting and storytelling. It’s worth checking out, if you’re into alien abduction thrillers.

Review Rating: Three and a Half Star

Blu-Ray Extras: Two Stars

“Lay the Favorite” is the latest film that is released under the new Radius-TWC label. The film is based on the best-selling memoirs “Lay the Favorite: A Story about Gamblers” by Beth Reymer.

The film is about a former stripper (Rebecca Hall), who aspires to be a cocktail waitress. Everything changes for her, when she meets a professional odds maker (Bruce Willis). He introduces her to the world sports gambling. While she begins to turn his world upside down, she also learns that she has a knack for numbers. The business of sports betting will never be the same. Catherine Zeta Jones, Joshua Jackson and Vince Vaughn co-stars in this film.

Film Review:

I might be the only one that actually liked this film, as I’ve heard a lot of bad review for this one.. Going into this film, I thought this would end up like Radius-TWC's last film "Butter". A film where a lot of big name talents got together to phone in their performances and had a good time in the process. But I'm very surprised, this film wasn't like that. I'm very thankful that "Lay the Favorite" was actually a good film with solid performances that I enjoyed.

One of the main reasons for that was Stephen Fears' direction. What I liked about the direction was the fact that he carefully made sure that everything worked well on screen. Whether it’s the way the scenes were carefully set-up and shot to the way that they are captured on film, Fears does a good job making the scenes work. It's important to do that to keep the viewer interest. The other thing that made the direction good was the way the acting was handled. Fears does a very good job making sure that the cast made their characters interesting. It adds to the quirkiness that I liked about this film.

Speaking of the acting, I thought Rebecca Hall was very good, as the film's lead. She made the character interesting, by giving the character a very quirky personality that keeps you watching. It also made the film and the performance fun to watch. The film also has good supporting performances from Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Vince Vaughn in an uncredited performance.

The screenplay was written by the film's producer D.W. DeVincentis was good. One of the things that makes it good was the way the dialogue was written. It had a quirkiness to it. Whether it’s coming from the main character to some of the supporting characters, it had that kind of tone where it kept me interested and created some funny moments. The other thing that makes it work was the character development. DeVincentis does a good job following the main character through the underworld of gambling and how it never changed her. It made the story interesting and it didn't lose its quirky tone.

Blu-Ray Extras:

Sadly, there isn't much in the way of extras. The only extra on this disc were seven minutes of deleted scenes. It would have been nice to have had extras on the making of this film. It would've added something to the disc.

Final Summary:

"Lay the Favorites" is a nice film filled with good performances and good direction from Stephen Fears. It's a film that you should take a chance with even though it hasn’t receive many positive reviews.

Review Rating: Three and a Half Stars
Blu-Ray Extras: One Star

"Ultramarines: A Warhammers 40,000 Movie“is based on the internationally successful war strategy game. It’s about a group of marines in the 41st millennium, where war has been happening across the galaxy. A group of ultramarines gets distress call from an Imperial Shrine World, where a group of Imperial Fist happened to be stationed there. But what they find out is that they’ve disappeared and an alien race is out to eliminate everything that stands in its path. It’s up to a group of super enhanced marines to stop the various alien races before they can take over. The film features the voices of Sean Pertwee (Doomsday, Dog Soldiers) Terrance Stamp (Superman, Get Smart) and John Hurt (Alien, Hellboy).

Film Review:

Adult CGI films tends to geared more toward the fanboys than a regular audience, so I usually don’t review these types for film. But I couldn’t resist taking a look at this film, after hearing that such great character actors like Terence Stamp and John Hurt were involved with this project. It was a good thing that I decided to take a look at this film as this was an entertaining and action packed film.

“Ultramarines: A Warhammers 40,000 Movie” is an action packed journey from start to finish. Director Martyn Pick does a very good job with the direction. What makes the direction good was the fact that I was caught up with the film’s universe. I was caught up in that universe because the way the animation was handled. The animation was video game like, from the way that the characters move to the gory effects that were used during the kill sequences. It makes the film’s universe more effective. I don’t think the film would’ve had the same result, if it was a live action film. Another thing that Pick does very well, the way that he gets the vocal performances down. Everything is synced with the character’s movements, which doesn’t make it distracting. That’s important when making an animation film work. He also does a very good job getting his actors to make the vocals work with the tone of the film. It’s very important for a film like this, because if the vocals don’t fit the tone then the film’s tone doesn’t work and leads to various problems.

The screenplay also did a good job making this film entertaining. Screenwriter, Dan Abnett does his best making this story an entertaining one. I liked how he’s able draw you into this universe with the storytelling. Abnett does that, by focusing on the characters journey, as they find out what happened on the planet and making the film‘s tone, very dark. It gets you interested in the story. The action sequences were thought out well, especially with the death scenes. It brought some intensity into the film that was needed due to the film’s dark tone.

The only thing that I didn’t like about this film was the fact that the story was short. I wished, Abnett added more stuff into the screenplay like a backstory or some character development. It could’ve make it more special, but that’s the only grip that I have with this film.

Blu-Ray Extras:

The discs has a good amount of informative extras for a release of its kind. The first featurette is “Into the Void: Making Ultramarines”. This was a good featurette, as it goes really goes into the production, the story, the cast and the fan base behind “Ultramarines”. It provides a lot information on these things and gives you a glimpse to how the CGI was created. It made this featurette a good watch.

The next featurette is “Between Chaos and Darkness: The Space Marines”. This goes into the art direction and the look of the space marines. This was a very brief but good featurette. Everyone who is interviewed here does a very good job going into how they created the look of the space marines for this film.

“Creating the Demon is the next featurette. It’s a very short, but informative. Through the voiceover of director Martyn Pick, he goes into the various stages of how the demon was created for the film. From the voiceover to the look of the demon, everything is explained fully here.

The disc wraps up with an animated graphic novel “Ultramarines” prequel which sets up the stage for this film and the film’s official trailer.

Final Summary:

“Ultramarines: A Warhammers 40,000 Movie” is an action packed film that’s filled with good CGI animation and action sequences that rock.

Review Rating: Three and a half stars
Blu-Ray Extras: Three Stars

“Looper” is one of those films that you’re not sure that you’re going to like, because of the film’s complex nature. Still, I decided to see it anyway considering that it has Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis in it.

The film is takes place in the future, where time travel has been invented and has also been outlawed. The only way that the mob can get rid of someone is to send them to the past, where the looper kills them. For Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), he is getting rich by getting killing his targets from the future. Life has been going good for him, until the mob decides to close his loop. They send Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) for assassination. But Joe’s future self has other plans, as he escapes from his past self to change his future. Now, Joe must find his future self before either he or the mob kills him first.

Film Review:

One of the reasons that the film works so well was Rian Johnson’s direction. He does a very good job keeping the tone of the film very dark and on edge. That’s what helped make the film entertaining. Johnson is able to do that, by directing the action sequences and making sure that the twists keep you guessing to see how the film ends. It really helped make this a very dark and entertaining sci-fi film. The acting here was very good. He focuses on getting his performances to fit with the film’s tone. It helped make the action interesting and keeps you interested.
Speaking of the performances in the film, I thought the performances made the film even better. Joseph Gordon-Levitt really does a very good job, as the film’s lead. I remember seeing his other most recent release “Premium Rush” before this film and thinking that I was going to have mixed feeling about his performance in “Looper”. My thoughts proved to be wrong, as he is much better in this film than in “Premium Rush”. He performs the character better and he also make the character more interesting and engaging. The supporting performances were also good, as I truly liked Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt here. Having them there also helped make the performance aspects work so well.

The screenplay written by Rian Johnson was also very good. He doesn’t make many things complicated, as this could’ve been a film where you could’ve gotten lost with all the time travel stuff. You don’t have that here, as everything feels simplified and you’re not wondering or feeling confused. The other thing that I also liked about the screenplay was the character development. Johnson did a very good job making his character very dark with his out of control lifestyle in the beginning of the film then completely change the character as the film goes on. It allows the main character to be more than a one-dimension character and makes the character interesting. If this was a one-dimensional character, then a lot of things would have went wrong with the story. Thankfully that didn’t happen, as I liked the main character here.

Blu-Ray Extras:

The extras start off with the film’s commentary track with writer/director Rian Johnson and two of the film’s stars Joseph Gordon-Levvit and Emily Blunt. I enjoyed this commentary track a lot. I liked, the way that they go into the film’s production. They provide very interesting stories from the set to how some of the film’s scenes were filmed. It’s worth a listen, if you’re a fan of this film.

After the commentary track, it’s the disc’s making of featurette “The Future from the Beginning”. Not a bad start to the featurettes. The cast and crew talk about the film, its characters and the film’s production.

The next featurette is “Scoring Looper”. This featurette is divided into three chapters; Field Recordings, Percussion and Melodic Instruments. It was an interesting featurette, where the film’s composer Nathan Johnson talked about the various things and instruments that he used when creating the film’s score. Overall, this was a very interesting featurette.

The featurettes wrap up with “The Science of Time Travel”. The featurette goes into the subject of time travel. It goes into some of the science and theories about it while talking about its use in the film.

The disc wraps up an animated trailer of the film and 22 deleted scenes with commentary.

Final Summary:

“Looper” is a very well executed sci-fi thriller that has a very good screenplay and very good performances from its main cast. This truly would’ve been on my best of 2012 list, if I saw it last year.

Film Review Rating: Five Stars
Blu-Ray Extras: Four Stars

The “Resident Evil” series is one of my favorite guilty pleasures series. You know that there isn’t any plot to them, but you’re hooked to it nonetheless. “Resident Evil: Retribution” marks the fifth film in this seemingly never ending series.

This time around, Alice (Milla Jovowich) wakes up in a Umbrella research facility, after being captured by them. She wakes up to find that her friends from the last film have disappeared. Now trapped in the facility, she must make her way through the simulated cities to escape. If matters weren’t any worse for her, some of her old friends have become enemies through brainwashing or have become one of Umbrella’s clones. Alice must battle and escape the research facility, before time runs out.

Director Paul W.S. Anderson does a very good with the way that he handles the action scenes in this film. He carefully takes his time to make sure the sequences are done right. The scenes felt more intense than the previous two films. It felt like, the film had a rollercoaster type feel to it. What also makes the action sequences good was that it builds up intensity to the story. Going into this film, I was expecting the action to start to die down considering that this is the fifth film in the series. Was I every wrong? Anderson does a very job making some very good intense sequences. It keeps your interest and you’re having fun watching it. The acting in this film for the most part was okay. Anderson does a very good job directing his wife Milla Jovovich and most of the cast here. He does a good job making sure that they’re interested in the material and bring intensity to the film’s action scenes. The only problem that I had with the performances was that they felt video game like in the way that they deliver the dialogue. It could have been done better, but it didn’t affect my enjoyment that much.

The screenplay written by Anderson does a very good job with creating some very good action sequences. I liked how, he manages to put some thought into the scenes. By doing that, the action feels more intense. This was by far, the most action packed film out of the bunch. The other thing that I liked about it, I got the sense that their almost ready to wrap up the whole series. With this being the fifth film in the series, I was happy to see that Anderson and the producers are starting to think about wrapping this whole series up. If there was one problem with the screenplay, I thought he didn’t spend time developing Ada Wong and Leon Kennedy. It felt like they placed there to please the fans of the video games. Either Anderson didn’t care about doing that or he already assumes that you also watched the two CGI films that are based on the video game.

Blu-Ray Extras:

There are two audio commentary tracks to start off this loaded disc. The first track features director Paul W.S. Anderson with actress Milla Jovovich and actor Boris Kodjoe. This wasn’t the best of tracks that I’ve had listened too. It felt like it didn’t give you enough information on the way the actors approached the film. They do go into some stories about the film’s production, but for the most part it felt like they were having too much of a good time with all the crazy stories that happened during filming. It hurt the track somewhat.

The other commentary track features Anderson and producer Jeremy Bolt. Unlike the first track, this track was very good. I liked how there was more emphasis on what happen during production and how some of the scenes were created. A very interesting track and worth a listen for those who are fans of the film.

After the commentary tracks, there are six featurettes. “Drop (Un) Dead: The Creatures of Retribution” is the first featurette. This featurettes goes into the creatures that are seen in the film. It shows the process of how they were created through make-up and special effects. Overall, this was a good featurette.

Next on the disc is Maestro of Evil: Directing “Resident Evil: Retribution”. A very good featurette focuses on Paul W.S. Anderson and how he approaches the film.
The third featurette is “Evolving Alice”. This goes into the main character in the film’s franchise and how the character has evolved. It was a very good look into the character. Both Jovowich and Anderson talk about how the character has evolved from the first film to this entry in the franchise.

Next, it’s “Resident Evil: Reunion” This featurette focuses on the characters that are returning for this installment. Overall, this was a nice featurette.
The next featurette is “Code: Mika”. This pretty much focuses on J-Pop girl Mika, who is popular in Japan for her singing. It pretty much focuses on her appearance in the film. It doesn’t go into her as a person, which would have been nice as I had no clue about her.

The sixth featurette is “Design and Build: The World of Resident Evil: Retribution. A nice featurette that goes into the creation of some of the background was created.

The featurettes wrap up with “Resident Stuntman”. This goes into how the stunts were created for this film. This was a very informational featurette that explains about how the filmmakers handled that aspect.
After that, the disc wraps up with outtakes, deleted and extended scenes and Project Alice: The Interactive Database.

Final Summary:

Fans of the previous “Resident Evil” films will enjoy this film, as its filled with good action sequel and non-stop action. “Resident Evil: Retribution” is by far the best of the series, even though it’s not say much.

Review Rating: Three and a Half Stars
Extras: Four Stars

Going into “Butter”, I was really not looking forward to this film. The main reason for it, the fact that it seemed like one of those films where a bunch of A list actors get together and have a good time. Hopefully, I’m wrong about that assumption.

The film takes place in Iowa, where butter cutting is like a presidential election. It’s plagued with scandal, greed, blackmail and sex. When a champion butter sculptor (Ty Burrell) is forced to not defend his crown, his wife Laura (Jennifer Garner) enters this competition to preserve the couple’s status as butter royalty. Everything seems guaranteed, until an enigmatic 10 –year-old African-American foster child enters the competition. Now Laura will do anything to sabotage and win this competition. That includes seducing her idiotic ex-boyfriend (Hugh Jackson) to help her. Olivia Wilde, Rob Corddry, Ashley Green and Alicia Silverstone also co-star in this comedy.

Film Review:

Sadly, I was right my assumption. There are some films that you have to sit through as a reviewer, where you really want to shut the film off completely and do something else. That was my thought with “Butter”, as this was the worst film of 2012.

One of the reasons for it was its lack of direction. Director Jim Field Smith doesn’t bring any excitement to the way that he handles this film. Most of the supposed funny scenes felt boring or unfunny. It didn’t help that he had a very bad screenplay to deal with. I’ll was bored sitting there and watching this film, as ninety percent of the comedic scenes feel unfunny. You can’t have that in comedy film and expect to enjoy it. The other thing that I hated about Smith’s direction was that almost all of the performances were annoying. Every character in the film was one dimensional in the performance aspect. Smith doesn’t make sure that his cast stands out from each other. It may have maybe made this film more tolerable to watch. Also if you’re putting a gag reel at the end of the film to pad the running time, then there’s most certainly a problem with your film.

The screenplay was very mean spirited. Screenwriter Jason Micallef doesn’t good a very good job with the way that he approaches the story. One of the things that I don’t like about the characters was the fact that they were unlikable. They come off more aloof and lighthearted than interesting and fun to be with. Maybe it was the fact that he added political stereotypes, which even made the characters even more annoying than they were. It didn’t make me laugh. Instead, it made me not interested in the film. The other thing that I didn’t like was the fact that you’re having the narration from each of the two main characters. It’s was completely written wrong and was very unnecessary for this film. It made a very dull film, even duller. It did nothing but hurt the film even more.

Blu-Ray Extras:

There are very little extras on this Blu-Ray. You only have a gag reel and deleted and extended scenes. It would have been nice to include a behind the scenes featurette or commentary track to get some information on the film.

Final Summary:

If this film was in a competition with other films to see who would win, “Butter” would finish in last place. It’s a very boring film with annoying characters with tedious screenplay.

Review Rating: One Star
Extras: One Star

When I heard that Echo Bridge Home Entertainment was going to release most of the Dimension Films library on Blu-Ray for the first time, I was very excited. So far, they’ve released some of my favorites from that studio including “The Crow: City of Angels”, “From Dusk to Dawn” and “The Faculty” to name a few. Today, I’m here to review David Cronenberg film “eXistenZ”, which I haven’t seen yet.

The film take during a demonstration of a new virtual reality game called eXsitenZ. Allegra Geller (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is violently attacked by a deranged man that is obsessed with killing her and her creation. Now in hiding, she enlists a man (Jude Law) to help her with the damaged system by getting inside the virtual reality game. Everything becomes out of control with the two, as both virtual reality and reaility merge with the fantasy of the game. The features an all star cast that includes Ian Holms (The Lord of the Rings), Sarah Polley(Dawn of the Dead (2004)), Christopher Eccleston(Shallow Grave) and William Defoe(The Boondock Saints).

Film Review:

I was hoping that I would enjoy this film considering that this boasts an interesting cast and it was one of Cronenberg’s earlier films before I became fan of this his. After watching this film, this made me want to dive more into his film catalogue. I enjoyed this film a lot.

One of the things that made this film very good, Cronenberg makes his imagery very surreal. He does a very good job making it that way, so it keeps your attention. It helps make the virtual world in the film interesting and it also keeps you interested with the film’s story. The other thing that Cronenberg does with his direction, he gets the performances to help make this world come to life. I liked, how he focuses on getting the performances to fit the weird tone that this film has. The lead performances here were very good. Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law did a very good job making the character very interesting. They had very good chemistry that was much needed to offset all the bizarre action.

Cronenberg’s screenplay was very interesting. There’s lot of bizarre action that goes on in this film. What he does so well here, he’s fleshes out the characters. It helps make the characters interesting and makes the main relationship work on all levels. It makes those characters interesting. It makes you want to follow them, as they’re placed into some very bizarre sequences. The other thing that I liked about it was the way that Cronenberg fools you into thinking a certain way and then in go in completely different direction. It leaves you surprised at the end result. I liked it, when screenwriters of Cronenberg’s caliber do that. It makes the end result of the film unpredictable and you’re left in shock of what just happened. That’s what makes genre films like this interesting and entertaining.

Blu-Ray Extras:

There isn’t much in the way of extras on this blu-ray. The disc boasts interviews from actors Jude Law, William Defoe and Special Effects Coordinator James Isaac who passed away earlier this year. I thought they were a welcomed addition to this disc. The interviews go in-depth especially with Isaac’s interview which went on for almost a half hour. It was nice to see more depth into each of the interviews, as they didn’t seem like the typical interview that you usually see on most of these releases.

Sadly, we don’t get didn’t interviews from David Cronenberg or Jenifer Jason Leigh here on the disc. It would’ve also been interesting in listening to interviews as well. At least, it’s better than the previous DVD release of the film in 2000, where there was only a theatrical trailer.

Final Summary:

After seeing “eXistenZ”, I was very impressed with how the film was made and written. It makes me more interested in search for more of David Cronenberg’s earlier work and makes me even more looking to the upcoming Blu-Ray release of his latest film “Cosmopolis”.

Film Review: Five Stars
Blu-Ray Extras: Two Stars

“Bedevilled” is another of a long line of Asian horror films that have recently hit the DVD and Blu-ray market. The film follow Hae-won (Seong-won Ji), a woman who is on the edge after incidents at her job causes her to go on a forced vacation. She travels to an island that is remote, after her best friend Bok-ham (Yeong-hie Seo) asks her to. Unknown to her, the island that she’s visiting harbors some very dark secrets. Bok-nam is falling apart as she has to constantly face violence, an abusive relationship and fear with no way out. This unleashes a rage within her. If Haw-won can’t help her escape the island, she may have to take matters into her own hands and unleash her anger towards everyone on the island.

Film Review:

Going into this film, I knew that this was my type of film, but was leery considering my track record with Asian films. But I was kind of surprised that I liked “Bedevilled”, considering the film was 115 minutes long. It’s the first horror film from Asia that I’ve enjoyed in a quite a while.

One of the reasons that I enjoyed it was the direction. Director Chul-soo Jang does a very good job with the way that he’s able to establish the film’s dark tone from the screenplay. He does that, by making building tension between the film’s three main characters. One of the reasons that it works so well, Jang does a very good job making the shocking elements in the screenplay feel very shocking and dreary. It helped build the tension up to the film’s final act. The other reason was the way that he handled the film’s death scenes. The scenes were very graphic and bloody. Jang does a very good job making the scenes effective and horrifying so that it adds to the film’s shock value.

The acting here was also very good. Jang does a very good job making the performances fit the film’s very dark tone. I thought the cast had very good chemistry, as they worked well with each other. He also gets his cast to be interested with the film’s material, which helped with the overall performances.

The screenplay written by Kwang-young Choi does a very good job bringing suspense and shocking action. One of the things that makes this screenplay good, the characters are developed very well. I liked, the way that he takes his time to develop the characters. It makes the characters become more interesting or more hated, which is needed for a film like this. It makes you engaged in the film. The other thing that the screenplay does well, the story keeps you on edge. There are a lot of shocking scenes in the film, but Choi makes them effective. Whether it’s the exploitive elements or the brutal deaths, he was effective in getting a reaction to those scenes. That helped move the story along and made it horrifying to watch.

Blu-Ray Extras:

There aren’t a lot of extras on this disc. First, it’s the behind the scenes featurette to the film. This was a very boring featurette. It focuses on the some of the film’s main scenes. It provides no information on the production and there aren’t any interviews from anyone involved with this film. When I watch a behind the scenes featurette, I want different perspectives on how the film was made. I don’t get that here, as this is a very boring featurette that should be skipped.

After that, the disc wraps up with the film’s original trailer.

Final Summary:

I was surprised that I enjoyed this film, considering I heard nothing about it going in. “Bedevilled” is a very dark horror film that will keep you on edge with it brutal deaths and shocking suspense.

Film Rating: Four Stars
Extras Rating: One Star

“V/H/S” is one of those films that I have been waiting to see, since first hearing about during this year’s Sundance Film Festival. One of the unique things about this film was the fact it’s directed by six directors. These directors are Adam Wingard (A Horrible Way to Die, You’re Next), David Bruckner (The Signal), Ti West (House of the Devil, The Innkeepers) Glenn Mcquaid (I Sell the Dead) Joe Swanberg (Hanna Takes the Stairs) and Radio Silence.

The film follows the found footage format and is about a group of thieves that are hired by a mysterious person to break into an isolated house and find a rare tape. They discover a dead body, a hub of old televisions and hours of cryptic footage on V/H/S tapes, when entering the house. What they find on those tapes is something more horrifying than they ever imagined.

Film Review:

The directing was very good here. I liked, the way that each of the directors brought something different to their segment of the film. Each of them did a very good job making their segment different from each other. Whether the films dealt with supernatural occurrences, paranormal activity, slashers with an identity being totally obscured, demonic monsters attacking people or mysterious stalkers, each director does a very good job making their segment differ from each other in both direction and screenplay. I didn’t feel like I was watching the same film in every segment. Also, each of the directors does a very job making their story intense. This was one of those films where the blood and gore added to the story, as it made the moments shocking. If the moments weren’t shocking and bloody, then I might be talking about this film differently.

If you had to tell me, what were my favorites out of the bunch? I enjoyed Ti West’s “Second Honeymoon”, with the stalker stalking a couple, Glen McQuaid’s “Tuesday the 17th” with the digital obscured slasher and Joe Swansberg’s “The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger” which has a very good performance from Helen Rogers and is inventive in the way the segment was filmed.

Blu-Ray Extras:

The extras on this disc start off with the Cast and Commentary track. There are too many people to list, as various cast and crew members are coming in and out. Everyone on the track made the track fun to listen. The only drawback was the fact that there wasn’t much information on the production and stories about the filmmaking process, but I still liked this track.

After the commentary track, there are a couple of interview featurettes. First, you have the “Cast and Crew Interviews”. It was a very good featurette, as I watched all of them as one. All the interviews were in-depth interviews about the filmmaking process of “V/H/S”. They all looked like the unedited form, as bits and pieces of some of the interviews can also be found on “AXS TV: A Look at V/H/S” featurette that can also be found on the Blu-Ray. The other interview featurette is Webcam Cameras. I also hit the Play All button for this interview segments. These were both conducted by Joe Swanberg and done on Skype, which was also used when filming “The Sick Thing That Happened to Emily When She Was Younger”. It features interviews from the segment’s writer Simon Barrett and actress Helen Rogers. I liked both of those interviews, as it went into the film’s segment and how each of them approached it.

After that, the disc wraps up with deleted scenes from the film’s segments “Tuesday the 17th” and “Amateur Night”, Alternate Ending another segment called “(10/31/98)”, “AXS TV: A Look at V/H/S”, Behind the Scenes Photo Gallery, Conceptual Design Gallery – Lily, and Theatrical Trailers.

Final Summary:

I was very surprised that “V/H/S” was very effective horror film, considering the experimental nature of this film. Very effective filmmaking and entertaining segments made this a very fun film. I cannot wait for the upcoming sequel “S-VHS”, which will be coming out next year.

Review Rating: Five Stars
Extras Rating: Three and a Half Stars