In the Australian thriller by director Julian Gilbey (the dreadful Doghouse), five bikers (two couples and one fifth wheel), tummies full of smoked-mackerel-and-egg sandwiches, have just embarked on their high adventure when one hears a muffled cry for help. It’s coming from a pipe poking out of the ground. Digging into the earth, the hikers […]
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The Three Musketeers
In this showy but spirited box-office underperformer, the title fighters of Athos (Matthew Macfadyen, Robin Hood), Aramis (Luke Evans, Immortals) and Porthos (Ray Stevenson, Thor) are double-crossed by Athos’ girlfriend, Milady (Milla Jovovich, Dirty Girl and Mrs. Anderson), leaving their reputations smeared. One year later, young D’Artagnan (Logan Lerman, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The […]
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Annie Hall
But is its recent Blu-Ray release a worthwhile buy for fans of the Woodman? Well, if you haven’t seen the 1977 Academy Award winner enough times to quote it verbatim, or if you have but don’t own it, sure, it’s definitely worth a purchase. But Allen movies are notoriously no-frills on DVD and Blu-Ray, and […]
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Zaat
About all it takes is a big ol’ syringe full of Re-Animator fluid, a dunk tank with electric cables, and a room full of primitive equipment resembling the games no one plays at Chuck E. Cheese. Ladies and gentleman, welcome to Zaat, a 1971 regional Z movie that no one was calling to be restored […]
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Immortals
Set in 1200-something-rather BC, it comes helmed with the same acuity of visuals Tarsem Singh brought to The Cell and The Fall, where every pixel appears to have art-directed to a near death. One may wonder why some characters look raring to go for a parade of nightmares, but one cannot deny how stunning it […]
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Justice League: Doom
It’s the latest of DC Universe’s 13 animated features for the PG-13 crowd, following the recent “Batman: Year One,” more-than-decent “Green Lantern: Emerald Knights” and dull “All-Star Superman.” A chalice-carrying lunatic appropriately named Vandal Savage (voiced by Phil Morris) offers members of the Legion of Doom (including Cheetah, Mirror Master and — timely! — Bane) […]
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Martha Marcy May Marlene
Writer/director Sean Durkin’s unsettling “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” now available on Blu-ray and DVD, explores the dark side of that need for human connection: the giving up of identity and individual will to be included. Those offering that extreme Faustian bargain are most often men, and quite often power-hungry to the point of psychosis: Jim […]
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Queen: Days of Our Lives
Only lead singer Freddie Mercury was convinced of the rock band’s royal spell on Billboard charts and radio airwaves, predicting prophetically not just “We’ll be together until we die,” but “I’m not going to a pop star. I’m going to be a legend!” Mercury demonstrated a true showman’s confidence and command of audiences, belying his […]
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Mad Detective
Welcome to “Mad Detective,” where the adjective in the title is an understatement. He and the “Bad Lieutenant” would get along swimmingly. And this is merely the prologue! In this huge Hong Kong hit from 2007 — now on a Blu-ray/DVD combo worth important from the UK’s Eureka! “Masters of Cinema” label — it’s explained that […]
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Elite Squad: The Enemy Within
It should have. Had I seen it before now, it handily would have made my list of 2011’s top 10 films. It matters not that “Elite Squad: The Enemy Within” is a sequel to a 2007 film I’m not certain I knew existed; director/co-writer José Padilha’s work is powerful and extraordinary on its own. The […]