JeffTheAlpaca

New on Hulu

"The film follows 19-year-old serial killer Bobby (Jacob Elordi) as he is picked up by a celebrity animal handler, Jim (Zachary Quinto), on a desolate stretch of Route 66 with priceless cargo in tow: Jim's chimpanzee, Spanky, an American TV darling."

Based on a true story

It was ok but could have been a lot better.

DWilson

Ex Machina Lionsgate 4K
Domhnall Gleason, Oscar Isaac. Directed by Alex Garland. 2015
In the mountain retreat of a billionaire, a young man takes part in a strange experiment: testing artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.

A well-made, intelligent SF film, certainly my favorite of Alex Garland's films as a director. The central idea is hardly new, but it's given an interesting, contemporary framework, and we get nicely layered performances from Gleason and Isaac. The ending doesn't have the "gut punch" I would have liked, but it makes sense.

JANK

Terminator: Dark Fate

DWilson

Elvira, Mistress of the Dark Arrow Blu-Ray
Cassandra Peterson. Directed by James Signorelli. 1988
Upon arriving in a small town where Elvira has inherited a rundown mansion, the famous horror host must battle an evil uncle, and townspeople who want her burned at the stake.

When I first got the Arrow Video "bug", I bought a lot of their discs just because they were "Arrow", and the price was right. Such was the case with "Elvira". I'm more discerning now.

Cassandra Peterson was being courted by NBC for an "Elvira" sitcom, but she wanted a film first, so NBC agreed to finance it. In order to please NBC and keep her options open (she envisioned a possible animated series) "Mistress of the Dark" was kept very tame and sitcom level, with lots of Teens added by NBC for additional appeal. The movie bombed and there never was a Prime Time series.

The disc is Arrow's usual Class A affair, and there's a 97-minute "Making Of" documentary I found more engaging than the film itself.

Boondock Saint

Cellar Door

Asteroid City

DWilson

Southern Comfort Vinegar Syndrome 4K
Powers Boothe, Keith Carradine. Directed by Walter Hill. 1981
In 1973, a squad of National Guardsmen on an isolated weekend exercise in the Louisiana swamp must fight for their lives when they anger local Cajuns by stealing their canoes.

"Southern Comfort" is an under-seen and under-rated Thriller, that's generally been regarded as a Viet Nam allegory. It's a topic of much debate in this disc's "Special Features", with the actors, the writers, and critics all chiming in, with Walter Hill having his say as well, though it doesn't totally resolve the issue. Watching it again all these years later, I was struck how much it reminded me of Walter Hill and David Giler's previous script for "Alien", which featured blue collar workers at odds with each other as they faced an enemy in the darkness that was closing in on them.

The film has a tremendous cast including Powers Boothe, Keith Carradine, Fred Ward, Peter Coyote, Brion James, and other familiar faces from '80s genre films.

Vinegar Syndrome improves on Shout Factory's previous blu-ray, with improved picture quality and a rejuvenated color palette, as well as a nice selection of new interviews with the filmmakers.

kahuna

Golden Kamuy (2024) - Netflix

DWilson

The Addiction Arrow Blu-Ray
Lili Taylor. Directed by Abel Ferrara. 1995
A New York philosophy grad student turns into a vampire after getting bitten by one, and then tries to come to terms with her new lifestyle and frequent craving for human blood.

This is a low-budget "Arthouse" Vampire film from New York Indie filmmaker Abel Ferrara ("Ms. 45", "Bad Lieutenant"). It's strikingly shot in black-and-white and Arrow's blu-ray looks terrific. Lili Taylor is in impressive in the lead role, and Christopher Walken, Michael Imperioli, Edie Falco, and Annabella Sciorra drop in for what amounts to extended cameos. The film gets deep into Philosophy, such as debating whether Man is essentially Good and chooses to do Evil or is Man essentially Evil or Predatory and acts accordingly. The screenwriter also adds some very Christian aspects to this story of possible redemption. There's a lot to chew on here, and sometimes all the highbrow talk gets in the way of its visceral appeal, though the climax does a lot of carnage to the final product. It's an interesting Horror film for fans who are open to something a little different.

OldBoy

F9: The Fast Saga..only 2 to go. Having a blast watching these again.

JeffTheAlpaca

Maybe if this was the aughts or 2010's this would have gotten a theatrical release.

Rare you see these low brow comedies get made.

It was ok and maybe it gets a sequel?

JeffTheAlpaca

Peacock

I thought maybe it would be a underseen gem but it was ok but nothing really special.

I think the critic score of 26% at Rotten Tomatoes is a little too harsh.

I wish David Allan Grier had more scenes.

DWilson

Forced Vengeance Shout! Factory Blu-Ray
Chuck Norris. Directed by James Fargo. 1982
A taciturn Vietnam vet begins working for an honest casino owner to help keep the gangsters after the business at bay.

I was a fan of Chuck Norris's early films; I checked out after "Delta Force", which for me was his last great film. "Forced Vengeance" was in the middle of those early films and it was a disappointment after "Silent Rage". James Fargo directed a favorite "Dirty Harry" film ("The Enforcer") and "Every Which Way But Loose", but "Vengeance" is very run-of-the mill. It just relies too much on Chuck Norris providing Personality, which is better left in the hands of his co-stars. Worse, the Final Act features a scene that kills off two likeable characters in a particularly nasty way, and for me, the film never recovered.

The film hasn't improved with time, but picture quality of the Shout! Factory disc is quite good.

DJariya

^^^ Correction. Shout Factory actually released it, not Kino Lorber.

I'm a fan of the movie. I have the old WB DVD. But, I hesitate to spend $25-30+ on the BD, especially since it's barebones.

DWilson

You're absolutely right about Shout!, and I'll correct that. It's just that as I watched it, -and the fact that there's nothing on it but a trailer, -it sure feels like Kino Lorber. Of course, Kino might have thrown on a Commentary track.

Mike86

Lilo & Stitch- my wife and sister-in-law wanted to watch it on Disney+ yesterday. This is one of the Disney movies I missed out on initially as I was at a stage where I was too cool for Disney when it came out. I found it pretty good overall. Not an instant favorite but worth a watch.

Scoobie-Doo on Zombie Island- I watched this a few times back in the day on Cartoon Network but it had been a long time since I saw it. It recently came to Blu-ray along with the sequel so I picked it up. Holds up pretty well and a fun watch.

DWilson

Dark Shadows Warner Bros Blu-Ray
Johnny Depp. Directed by Tim Burton. 2012
In 1972, Vampire Barnabas Collins is accidentally freed from his coffin and returns to find his once-magnificent manor in ruin. It is occupied by dysfunctional Collins descendants and other residents, all of whom have secrets.

This is another of my Dollar Tree "rescues".

I remember watching "Dark Shadows" over my Summer Vacation from Elementary School; it dealt with Barnabus, a vampire, David, a werewolf, and they were fighting the spirit of the evil warlock Count Petofi. I really enjoyed it, but I had to give it up when school started back up. I also watched the NBC Prime Time reboot series with Ben Cross as Barnabas.

"Dark Shadow" is a fairly typical Tim Burton affair, with a great cast, terrific production design and a Danny Elfman score. Unfortunately, the film is a bit of a disappointment. Burton mixes some genuine Horror ("Barnabus" kills a lot of people without remorse) with Broad Comedy, While I enjoy films like "American Werewolf in London" and "The Howling", their humor comes in the form of winks and asides that doesn't upstage the Horror, while Tim Burton indulges in big, campy jokes that kill the mood.

JeffTheAlpaca

HBO Max

JeffTheAlpaca

I own this

JeffTheAlpaca

DWilson

Dumb and Dumber To Netflix
Jeff Daniels, Jim Carrey. Directed by Peter and Bonny Farrelly. 2014
Twenty years after their last adventure, good-hearted yet dimwitted best friends, Harry and Lloyd, head out in search for one of their long lost children in the hope of gaining a new kidney.

I don't know exactly why I never bothered with this one before, but there it was, waiting for me. It was amusing for the most part, though there was an occasional gag that really landed for me. I've always preferred Jeff Daniels in these movies to Jim Carrey, because Carrey is giving a Comedy sketch performance, while Daniels is actually creating a character.

Mike86

I thought Dumb and Dumber To was decent for a sequel that came out twenty years later. It doesn’t top the original movie but definitely has its moments.

DWilson

On The Line Netflix
Mel Gibson. Directed by Romuald Boulanger. 2022
A Nighttime Radio host takes a call, where an unknown person threatens to kill the showman's entire family on air. To save his loved ones, the radio host will have to play a survival game and the only way to win is to find out the identity of the criminal.

For three quarters of "On the Line" I thought it was a terrific, tense little Thriller. And then, suddenly, I hated this movie. And then ten minutes later I pretty much forgave it.

Vipper II

Collateral

JeffTheAlpaca

Did you like the twist or see it coming or thought it made what you watched before a complete waste of time?