The system has failed but the Reel Nerds won’t when they review Peppermint and Wade Gardner talks to us about the DocuWest Film Festival.
Henry flies solo this week as he takes you on a cinematic tour of New York City.
Welcome to the Scream Factory Crypt! In this binge series I will be watching all my Scream Factory titles I own alphabetically! Scream Factory is my favorite imprint of Blu-Ray’s because they take movies that studios and the public might not adore but have fans and deserve to be given respect. This will take a long time as I have over 120(!) titles and counting, I know I will have more before I finish, so stay tuned! Not only will I talk about them on the podcast but I will review them here as well so you can see how I feel about aspects of each release. Part 16 is The Boy!
The Boy is a slow burn horror film that is wonderfully acted. It stars Jared Breeze as Ted. A young boy that that is a sociopath. He also really likes killing things. At first it’s animals but slowly (and I mean, slowly) onto bigger things. Ted lives at a Motel ran by his father John (David Morse) one day Ted meets a drifter named William (Rainn Wilson), who is hiding a secret in his room that Ted is determined to find out.
The Boy’s strength lies in the acting of not only veterans like Riann Wilson and David Morse, but also Breeze who must of caught the eye of producer Elijah Wood who produced this film and stared in Cooties with Breeze. Director Craig Macneill is able to get great mileage out of his young star which is important when a kid is the star of your horror film. The Boy does suffer from pacing issues and not being surprising in the least. When a horror film is slow it doesn’t always mean a bad thing, however when the tension doesn’t quite build it can make watching a film like The Boy quite a chore. The performances and the direction however make up for most of The Boy’s short comings.
The video on the blu-ray of The Boy is solid. Colors are vivid with great detail. Although this is a small budgeted film it doesn’t look it. Wonderfully shot with a nice use of the barren land the film takes place on.
The audio also stands out for a film that is relatively quiet. The mix is stellar and pops at just the right time.
The extras leave a lot to be desired but getting even the brief 16 minute featurette is better than nothing. It’s not that interesting but not bad, worth a watch once.
The Boy is solidly acted and the ending is cool. It does however take a long time to get there and if you are not willing to sit through some of the quieter, slower moments of the film, it will be a tough watch.
Film: B-
Video: B+
Audio: B+
Extras: C-
Overall: B-
EPISODE 12: CLINT CATCH UP (PART 2)
Greetings once again you eager seekers of Eastwood knowledge…. well maybe not knowledge so much as an opinion by an insane dork… yeah that sounds about right.
Anyway, we are back with more category catch up and we have 1 more category to complete. We will be diving back into the topic of the very first installment, “Strange Place, Familiar Face”, as there were two films neglected foolishly by yours truly.
The two films covered in this section of “Clint Catch Up” are unique in the respect that they each carry the burden of very peculiar settings, plots, and/or characters. Both somehow represent just how Clint is able to utilize his presence to sell you on a crazy journey.
Interestingly, one of these films also will observe the unavoidable fact that not every Clint Eastwood film is above aging beyond its abilities given the changes of the world.
So lets look at the two remaining films in “Strange Places”, where we examine John Malkovichs concern for a duck and a climbing expedition in the Alps.
IN THE LINE OF FIRE
3 outta 4 Presidents Saved
IN THE LINE OF FIRE marks the final time until TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE where Clint was directed by someone other than himself. This outing is helmed by Wolfgang Peterson, who’s style in this film I can only describe as “Excitingly Eccentric.” The film has Clint playing a Secret Service agent who was once on the job protecting the president, who returns to that position after receiving mysterious threats against the current president from an assassin who calls himself Booth.
The film operates on a level of emotional weight involving Clints character having failed to properly protect JFK, thus leading him down a dark road to personal redemption. While it isnt the deepest Clint has dug, he pulls it off with his usual grace in these particular films. The film moves efficiently thanks to Petersons direction and it is definitely a blast to watch for the performances, particularly from John Malkovich as Booth. The one thing that is extremely evident in the film, is watching Clint move through it with his ease, you can tell that he is pretty much done (at least until Trouble With The Curve) taking direction from others.
THE EIGER SANCTION
2 outta 4 Mountains
Where… where to begin. Well if I were to pitch this briefly to you, THE EIGER SANCTION is a movie where assassins fight each other while climbing the Swiss Alps. Fun, right. Well yes and no. Theres no denying that the film is well directed by a then “fresh to directing” Clint, with his visual acumen soaring to new heights with his direction on the many scenes with mountain climbing and high level terror. Sadly though, this is a well grilled hot dog that is wrapped around a stale bun of exposition and plot (yeah, I did a Hot Dog metaphor and I’m not proud of it). The conceit of the exhilarating events in the Alps involves an obvious “James Bond” style set up of a Assassins society that features a eccentric and often annoying set of side characters, other than George Kennedy of course.
Thus it takes us much too long to dive into the events that frankly are the selling point of the experience. It’s also interesting to point out that this film has aged rather terribly in regards to its content and situations regarding the B-Plot and individual scenes. To say its a bit cringing is an understatement and it makes Dirty Harry look like a saint in comparison. This isnt so much a flaw as an observation and worthy of note if your going in for a revisit. It is VERY MUCH of its time. Still, it may be worth it to observe the unique direction and cinematography that Eastwood pulls off here in the latter half of the film.
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There.. now we caught up with the ever in momentum Mr Eastwood. In the next article we will be exploring Clints non- Dirty Harry cop roles.
The Reel Nerds are no sesame, all street when they review The Happytime Murders.
The Reel Nerds review Eighth Grade! Gucci!
Welcome to the Scream Factory Crypt! In this binge series I will be watching all my Scream Factory titles I own alphabetically! Scream Factory is my favorite imprint of Blu-Ray’s because they take movies that studios and the public might not adore but have fans and deserve to be given respect. This will take a long time as I have over 120(!) titles and counting, I know I will have more before I finish, so stay tuned! Not only will I talk about them on the podcast but I will review them here as well so you can see how I feel about aspects of each release. Part 15 is the John Carpenter Anthology, Body Bags!
Released in 1993, Carpenter tried his hand not only in directing a cable television horror series but he also serves as a Crypt-Keeper knock off host known as The Coroner. Now Carpenter says that this was to serve as sort of pilot for Showtime, however in the commentary, Sandy King (producer and also Carpenter’s wife), says that is not the case. That Body Bags was intended to be a horror movie on TV to show everyone else on how to do horror. King is right at least one of the three tales as the final tale, “The Eye”, not directed by Carpenter but by Tobe Hopper is pure horror bliss.
The first tale is “The Gas Station” that is a straight up slasher film starring Robert Carradine from “Revenge of the Nerds”. A woman named Anne is starting her first day at a remote gas station. After her co-worker leaves she is unsettled by several customers, the best being a man played by the great Wes Craven. Besides some cool horror cameos, “The Gas Station” is pretty ho-hum and it’s those cameos that save it from being totally forgettable. Carpenter does have some clever shots as well, however “The Gas Station” is just average.
Second up is a more comedic tale, “Hair”. Starring Stacy Keach as a man who is going bald, looking for anything to give him a full head of hair. He finds it in a wacky doctor who gives what he wants a beautiful mane of hair. Featuring more awesome horror legend cameos, “Hair” works better than “The Gas Station.”
The final tale is easily the best and maybe the best segment ever in a horror anthology, “The Eye” is mean and violent. Mark Hamill stars in a tale as a Major League baseball player who suffers a horrendous car accident that costs him his right eye. With the help of doctors, he receives an eye transplant. His new eye comes with a side effect however, as now he has violent visions and a violent temper. Hamill is amazing, his descent into madness is something to behold.
Body Bags is a little uneven. Carpenter, who admits he’s no actor and his Crypt-Keeper/Beetlejuice knock off, The Coroner is just not as good as the those two horror icons. That might not be fair to Carpenter, but when you do a horror anthology, being introduced by a dead guy, the comparisons are inevitable. Also, the first tale, which should have been right in Carpenter’s wheel house suffers from predictability. Body Bags is saved by the other two tales being better, with “The Eye” a straight up classic.
The video on Scream Factory’s Collector Edition of Body Bags is solid but won’t blow you away. The colors a little muted but the detail that appears on the makeup and clothing is great. The image does have some scratches and a big red dot pops up during “The Hair”. I am also betting that because this is a TV movie from the early 90’s might also have something to do with the inconsistences in the video.
No issues with the audio. It sounds clear with dialogue coming through very well. It won’t test your home theatre system but it does the job.
For being a Collector’s Edition, Body Bags is a little light on extras. The extras that are included however are pretty good. The better of the two is the commentary that is supplied by Carpenter and a few of the actors, specific to their segment. Sandy King pops up to give some great insight to the production of the film on “The Eye”. King is great at giving some really great behind the stories of the making of Body Bags. The only other new extra is a short 20 minute making of featurette.
Body Bags is a fun horror anthology. It never reaches the heights of Creepshow, but it doesn’t have to. It does entertain and deserve a place on a horror movie fans shelf.
Film: B-
Video: A
Audio: B+
Extras: B-
Overall: B
Welcome to the Scream Factory Crypt! In this binge series I will be watching all my Scream Factory titles I own alphabetically! Scream Factory is my favorite imprint of Blu-Ray’s because they take movies that studios and the public might not adore but have fans and deserve to be given respect. This will take a long time as I have over 120(!) titles and counting, I know I will have more before I finish, so stay tuned! Not only will I talk about them on the podcast but I will review them here as well so you can see how I feel about aspects of each release. I’m cheating on this entry as I review the latest Collector’s Edition, a long overdue film to blu-ray, Part 14 is Return of the Living Dead: Part II!
Return of the Living Dead Part II, revolves around a group of teenage boys that stumble upon a canister of the deadly Trioxin. The boys accidently open the canister and unleashes the Trioxin into a nearby cemetery, where a threesome of Ed, Joey and Brenda go into a mausoleum to rob graves.
Soon the living dead rise from their graves to reign terror on the local town.
Return of the Living Dead II is an odd movie. The first Return of the Living Dead is a brilliant blend of horror and comedy. Directed with flair, it’s a horror classic. Part II almost completely abandons all hints of horror and goes right for screwball comedy. Much of the comedy comes from not so scary zombies. Some of the comedy falls flat which makes for an uneven viewing experience. Even the famous tar man zombie makes another appearance in the film, but the lighting and the way tar man is shot he loses a lot of what made him great. The performances also are a little uneven. Thom Matthews and James Karen return from the first film, but playing different characters that end up with the same fate. They are pretty fun, so too is Jesse the young hero. The rest of the cast is ok, nothing that stands out. There is one true horror scene, Jesse is being stalked by a zombie in the basement of a hospital that lends itself to some great horror and gore moments. It is fun seeing a bunch of practical effects used to some gory goodness that only a film from the 80’s can deliver.
I do enjoy the film and any sequel to one of the greatest horror film ever was most likely to be a step back. But the director’s choice to make it more of a straight up comedy really hurt the overall quality of the film. Flawed but fun.
Return of the Living Dead II had never looked better. The brand new 2K scan does wonder to the film. I’ve seen the film many times but watching Scream’s new transfer it was like watching it again for the first time. Textures can be seen. Colors truly pop. This is a great transfer.
The dead have also never sounded better. One of the biggest issues with the previously released DVD is the not so great replaced soundtrack, well Scream has fixed this by including the original music from the theatrical release! That makes Return of the Living Dead a must for fans. I have never heard the original mix and it makes for a much more satisfying experience. The rest of the film also sounds great. From dialogue to gore this film is thumping.
Scream Factory has packed Return of the Living Dead II with some great new features. A whopping three commentaries can be found on the disc, two brand new, and one ported over from a previous release. All three are great with my favorite being with Gary Smart and Christopher Griffiths it’s full of history and is lots of fun. Also included is about an hour and a half of new interviews. I love when the participants are candid about their time on a movie. 0The disc has fun and very honest interviews, all a must watch.
Return of the Living Dead Part II is not the best zombie movie, but that’s ok. It’s a fun B-movie that has some really fun moments. It deserves to be on blu-ray. Scream Factory once again delivered an amazing disc that fans of the film and fans of the zombie genre will surely devour.
Film: B-
Video: A
Audio: A+
Extras: A
Overall: A
The Reel Nerds open wide when they review The Meg.
Sooner or later your past catches up with you when the Reel Nerds bring Corinne in to review Christopher Robin.