The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 4K UHD Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Tobe Hooper
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Marilyn Burns, Gunnar Hansen
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Mpi Home Video
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2

• Media Format ‏ : ‎ 4K, NTSC
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 83 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ February 28, 2023

 

         When forced to choose a favorite horror movie, which is a near impossible task, I typically end up saying either The Night of the Living Dead or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Both were defining films ahead of their time, both enjoyable in a visceral and entertaining way and equally fascinating to analyze. Although Psycho (1960) and Peeping Tom (1960) are often referred to as the first slasher films, the sub-genre didn’t really take off until The Texas Chain Saw Massacre was released in 1974. It is a film that is so terrifying that audiences often mistakenly remember it as more graphically violent than it actually is. Belonging to a group of cynical and disturbing Vietnam-era horror, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has layers of depth and meaning, but none of this prevents it from simply being a thrilling viewing experience.

       

The Fabelmans 4K UHD Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Steven Spielberg
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Michelle Williams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Studio Distribution Services
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ 4K, Digital_copy
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 151 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ February 14, 2023

         As disappointed as I was to hear Quentin Tarantino announce his intended retirement from filmmaking due to beliefs that directors often begin to slip in the twilight of their careers, each new Steven Spielberg film seems to confirm this as a true statement for me. Spielberg is still a highly competent filmmaker who releases polished products, but nothing in the last two decades comes anywhere close to the first two decades of his career as a director. Perhaps it is not fair to compare The Fabelmans to Jaws or Schindler’s List, but I would be disappointed even if merely judging Spielberg’s latest on its own merits alone. Despite all of the praise that has been thrown at The Fabelmans by critics, I found myself in the minority of people unimpressed with the screenplay supposedly based on Spielberg’s own adolescent experiences.

 

Satan’s Little Helper Blu-ray Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Jeff Lieberman
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Katheryn Winnick, Amanda Plummer, Alexander Brickel
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Synapse Films
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC, Widescreen, Surround Sound, Anamorphic
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 40 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ October 25, 2022

 

         The dark premise for the horror film Satan’s Little Helper is boldly original, with just enough social satire to go with the carnage expected from the slasher sub-genre. Suspension of disbelief is a must to be able to enjoy the plot, which is more than a little absurd at times. In some ways that actually adds to the campy fun of the film, while other times it just feels like a cheaply made straight-to-DVD horror film that was sloppily thrown together. While the premise is great, the execution often leaves something to be desired.

       

Marquis de Sade’s Justine 4K UHD Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Jesús Franco
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Romina Power, Klaus Kinski, Jack Palance, Maria Rohm, Mercedes McCambridge
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Blue Underground
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ X (Mature Audiences Only)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ France
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 4 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ February 21, 2023

 

         The Marquis de Sade served as an inspiration for many of the films made by Spanish filmmaker Jesús Franco, and in the late 1960s and early 1970s he made two adaptations of his literary work. The first of these was Marquis de Sade’s Justine, a period film set in 1700 France and tracing the two diverging paths taken by sisters after they are orphaned in Paris. Justine was Franco’s largest budget to that point, including recognizable cast members such as Klaus Kinski and Jack Palance in supporting roles. It also kicked off a preoccupation Franco had with the sexual depravity of humanity, which he would continue in some form for much of his career.

 

Philosophy in the Boudoir (Eugenie) 4K UHD Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Jesús Franco
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Christopher Lee, Marie Liljedahl, Maria Rohm, Jack Taylor, Paul Muller
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Blue Underground
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ X (Mature Audiences Only)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ UK
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 27 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ February 21, 2023

 

        In 1969, Spanish filmmaker Jesús Franco released his first adaptation of a Marquis de Sade book, Justine. This started a tradition of exploitation films made by Franco, often influenced by the perversion found in the Marquis de Sade’s literary work. Only a year after the release of Justine, Franco would once again adapt a book by the Marquis de Sade, this time Philosophy in the Boudoir. The British film was released as Eugenie… The Story of Her Journey into Perversion and was only the first attempts by the Spanish filmmaker to adapt this particular novel. Along with a continued fascination with the author, Eugenie represents the type of film Franco is best known for, containing a fascination with sexuality combined with the violence and shock value of horror.

 

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ScreenX Review

 

         With a cumbersome title and promises of storylines to come, Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicks off with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Although critics and audiences have begun to show franchise fatigue when it comes to the MCU, die-hard fans will likely find plenty to love. Although I have watched all of the films and TV shows, I wouldn’t consider myself anywhere close to a fan of Marvel entertainment, so I can relate to much of the criticism placed on recent films. On the other hand, I go into these movies with very low expectations. This is junk food cinema (even calling it cinema may be a stretch, as Martin Scorsese has argued), but this also may be exactly what some audiences long for after sitting through the high-brow releases of award season. And if you are going for pure immersive entertainment, ScreenX is a fun option for ways to experience Quantumania.

 

The Grandmaster of Kung Fu Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Cheng Si Yu
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Du Yu Hang-Dennis To, Gao Xue-mei, Yang Yong-feng, Li Ruo Xi, Zhuang Han
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (DTS 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 15 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ January 31, 2023

         At just 75-minutes long, The Grandmaster of Kung Fu barely feels like a feature-length movie, despite fitting in plenty of the tropes associated with the martial arts movie. It simply moves at a brisk pace, only really slowing down the plot to savor the fight sequences, understanding that this the likely reason most enjoy the action sub-genre. By leaning on well-worn tropes, The Grandmaster of Kung Fu is able to rely on the audience’s awareness of the familiar structure, focusing instead on the fun stuff.