Cobra Kai: Season 5 DVD Review

• Actors ‏ : ‎ Ralph Macchio, William Zabka, Courtney Henggeler, Xolo Maridueña, Tanner Buchanan
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ French
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Studio ‏ : ‎ SONY
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.78:1
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled, NTSC, DVD
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 362 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 12, 2023

         With as many streaming services as there now are, consumers must be increasingly selective about which they decide to pay for. While some streaming services boast plenty of content, others may only have a few shows keeping their subscribers. By providing the opportunity to purchase these popular shows on physical media, consumers now have the choice between viewing them on the streaming service or owning them on DVD and Blu-ray. Given the popularity of “Cobra Kai,” which was good enough to upgrade the streaming service producing it, it should come as no surprise that this is one of the shows Netflix has chosen to make available for fans to purchase and own.

 

Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken Blu-ray Review

 

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• Director: Kirk DeMicco, Faryn Pearl
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Jane Fonda, Toni Collette, Lana Condor, Will Forte
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ Spanish, French
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Studio Distribution Services
• ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0C8VBW65J
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2

• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 23 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 26, 2023

 

         About halfway through Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken it occurred to me that I had recently seen another film about a teenager discovering she has the ability to change into a large monster. Pixar’s 2022 release Turning Red has nearly the exact same premise, albeit landlocked, and I’m not entirely surprised. Monster movies have long been considered helpful allegories for the teenage experience of puberty, and after Twilight sterilized the horror genre it should come as no surprise to see animated family films adopting these narratives too. That being said, Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken doesn’t do much to elevate the formula, nor does the animation prove particularly innovative or impressive.

 

Creepy Crawly Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Chalit Krileadmongkon, Pakphum Wongjinda
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Chanya McClory, Mike Angelo, Benjamin Joseph Varney, Kulteera Yordchang, David Asavanond
• Language ‏ : ‎ Thai (DTS 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 32 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ October 3, 2023

         Thailand has been contributing to the horror genre for decades, significantly contributing inspiration for several films in the wave of Asian horror remakes coming from Hollywood in the early 2000s. Perhaps for that reason it should come as no surprise that the film Creepy Crawly (originally titled The One Hundred) is one the first horror movies to directly address the Covid pandemic within a narrative about a contagion let loose in a confined area. Unfortunately, while there is relevance in the societal context of the narrative, that does not make the quality of the filmmaking any more effective.

 

Gangnam Zombie Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Lee Soo-sung
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Ji Il-Ju, Park Ji-Yeon, Cho Kyung-Hoon
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 21 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 26, 2023

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           It has long been my belief that a great deal can be known about a society at any given time by the horror films being released. Sometimes the social issues are addressed allegorically, while other times they are explicitly included in the narrative. Given the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, it seemed inevitable that contagion narratives like those found in the zombie sub-genre would be utilized to address these fears. The South Korean horror film Gangnam Zombie makes these parallels even clearer by setting the story in the middle of the pandemic, before including the threat of the undead.

   

Bad City Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Kensuke Sonomura
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Hitoshi Ozawa, Akane Sakanoue, Katsuya, Masanori Mimoto, Tak Sakaguchi
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ English
• Language ‏ : ‎ Japanese (DTS 5.1), English (DTS 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Widescreen, Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 58 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 19, 2023

 

         Crime and gangster films coming out of Japan have a wide range of styles, approaches, and budgets. While some belong to the low budget Japanese V-Cinema straight-to-video tradition, others are more artistically respected and subtle in their depiction of organized crime and the violence associated with it. Bad City falls somewhere in the middle, leaning into the spectacle without losing sight of realism and becoming entirely exploitation.

 

Aporia Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Jared Moshe
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Judy Greer, Edi Gathegi, Payman Maadi, Faithe Herman
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (DTS 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Widescreen, Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 43 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 12, 2023

         When the independent film Primer (2004) was made and released for $7,000, it proved that the budget of a blockbuster wasn’t necessary to make a time travel film. Since Primer, there have been numerous low budget and independent productions to take on the sci-fi premise. There have been so many indie time-travel movies released that the approach in Aporia feels somewhat unoriginal, despite containing a unique twist on the premise.

 

Persian Lessons Blu-ray Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Vadim Perelman
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Lars Eidinger
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Cohen Media Group
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Germany
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 7 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ July 18, 2023

 

        I don’t envy anyone attempting to make a movie about the Holocaust at this point, as these narratives have become so common that the tragedy has turned into cinematic tropes. Aside from the occasionally unexpected unique approach, like Life is Beautiful or Jojo Rabbit, films about the Holocaust have a difficulty standing out. Although Persian Lessons doesn’t attempt to completely reinvent the formula, it does have an original premise, albeit one that requires a moderate ability to suspend disbelief. What helps to sell the storyline is the subtly expressive performance by Nahuel Pérez Biscayart.

 

Hotel Transylvania 4-Movie Collection DVD Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Genndy Tartakovsky, Derek Drymon, Jennifer Kluska
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ French, Portuguese, Spanish
• Studio ‏ : ‎ SONY
• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.85:1
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 4
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Digital_copy, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 6 hours and 5 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ August 15, 2023

 

         In an animated franchise you might naturally expect to come from Universal’s animated division rather than Sony Pictures Animation, Hotel Transylvania is built on the iconic cinematic horror monsters of the past. Much of the humor in the films comes from playing with the tropes associated with each of these classic movie monsters, headed up by the hotel-owning Dracula. Aside from the premise of a hotel that gives reason for all of the horror monsters to congregate in the same location, the Hotel Transylvania films have also been a clever reversal of themes involving the acceptance of someone different. In a film full of monsters, it is the humans who are often the different ones in need of being accepted into the world of monsters.

 

Kill Shot Blu-ray Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Ari Novak
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Rachel Cook, Rib Hillis, Bobby Maximus, Mara Ohara, Mark Murphy
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (DTS 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 33 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ August 15, 2023
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         There are many bad movies made every year, without fail, which is why it is so difficult for them to stand out. While it takes effort to be good, poorly made films are often even more impressive, because movies as bad as Kill Shot can’t be planned. Filmmakers intending to make a bad movie come off as insincere, but it takes a series of unfortunate events for something to become this terrible organically. It’s quite remarkable to see a movie this bad, which makes it stand out amidst all the unimpressive mediocrity making up most of the entertainment being watched.

 

Fast X Blu-ray Review

 

• Director: Louis Leterrier
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Jason Momoa, Jason Statham
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ French, Spanish
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Studio Distribution Services
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray, Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 21 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ August 8, 2023

 

         Years ago, Universal announced their intentions of ending the Fast and Furious franchise with the tenth movie. In order to continue the series without going back on their word, Fast X then turned into a two-film conclusion. Just before the release of the tenth installment, however, it was announced that the two-part finale was being stretched out into three films. While I would normally bemoan the money-grubbing practices of studios and the obnoxious practice of cliffhangers in film franchises, Fast X is enough fun to leave me wanting plenty more.

 

Book Club: The Next Chapter Blu-ray Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Bill Holderman
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Jane Fonda, Mary Steenburgen, Diane Keaton
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, Spanish
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Studio Distribution Services
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 48 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ July 11, 2023

 

         The premise for Book Club involving four senior friends who take new chances with their lives after deciding to read Fifty Shades of Grey together sounded like something formulated by studio heads. This low-brow high concept relied entirely on the cast of veteran actresses, who most were just excited to see on the big screen without having to be delineated to a supporting role. But other than providing entertainment for an often-ignored demographic, Book Club was little more than sitcom material repurposed for a feature film. Book Club: The Next Chapter serves the same purpose, while also feeling like an excuse to reward these legendary actresses with a European vacation in place of an improved script.

 

Day Zero Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Joey De Guzman
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Brandon Vera, Pepe Herrera, MJ Lastimosa, Ricci Rivero, Jema Galanza
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ English
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Widescreen, Subtitled
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 22 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ July 11, 2023
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         Following the sub-genre’s resurgence in popularity in the late 1990s, often thought to have resulted from the success the Resident Evil video game franchise, zombie movies have become one of the most universal varieties of horror films. Although the output of zombie films has subsided some in recent years, Day Zero proves there are still new areas for the infected hordes to explore. Perhaps fittingly on the heels of a global pandemic and universal concerns about deadly contagions, Day Zero marks the first zombie film I have watched from the Philippines.

 

The Tank Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Scott Walker
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Luciane Buchanan, Matthew Whelan, Zara Nausbaum, Regina Hegemann
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (DTS 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ New Zealand
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 40 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ June 27, 2023

         Creature features are often such a straightforward sub-genre of horror that it largely dependent on the success of the creature design and execution. Even the best script is irrelevant if the monster is unbelievable or constructed with poor CGI effects. On the other hand, The Tank proves that having believable and effective practical effects and a unique creature doesn’t mean much if the story and the characters are blandly unengaging.

 

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny ScreenX Review

 

         When Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was released in 2008, I was certain its failures would mean the end of the franchise. Instead, plans were almost immediately made to release a fifth and final swashbuckling adventure starring everyone’s favorite archaeologist hero, though they would take 15 years and multiple rewrites to reach fruition. Finally, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny has reached theaters, with Steven Spielberg stepping down as director for the first time in the franchise and James Mangold taking the helm in a production that mostly feels content to capture the style of the series without any major alterations.

 

Sakra Blu-ray Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Donnie Yen, Kam Ka Wai
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Donnie Yen, Chen Yuqi, Cya Liu, Wai Ying Hung, Wu Yue
• Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ English
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (DTS 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 11 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ June 13, 2023
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     Donnie Yen still has the ability to amaze with his martial arts ability and onscreen charisma, as was recently proved by his scene-stealing role in John Wick 4. Unfortunately, the films Yen has made recently in Hong Kong have not been nearly as impressive, though this is more an indicator of the decline of this national cinema (especially when they are co-productions with China). Criticisms of Chinese cinema lately is similar to the complaints many have about the bloated blockbusters of Hollywood. This comparison is even more apt in Yen’s latest Hong Kong/Chinese co-production, which has the structure of a classic kung fu film and the visual excess of a poorly made superhero blockbuster.

 

Bone Cold Blu-ray Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Billy Hanson
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Jonathan Stoddard, Matt Munroe, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Jennifer Khoe, Shaan Sharma
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (DTS 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 49 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ June 13, 2023

         Sometimes it can feel like there are no new or original ideas for film plots, and the steady stream of studio blockbusters looking to capitalize on the latest trends does nothing to discourage this feeling. Often even the cash-grabbing sequels in popular franchises become aware of this problem, and the quickest fix is by blending in unexpected genre elements. Bone Cold also seems to be taking this approach, creating a hybrid narrative that combines an action film with the tropes of a horror movie.