An American Werewolf in London 4K Ultra HD Review

 



  • Director ‏ : ‎ John Landis
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ David Naughton, Griffin Dunne, Jenny Agutter
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Surround Sound, Widescreen
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 37 minutes
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ March 15, 2022
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Arrow Video



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             Following his massive success with the college comedy Animal House and musical comedy The Blues Brothers, John Landis made the unexpected decision to switch to the horror genre for his next project. While there are some comedic elements to connect the director’s other work to An American Werewolf in London, it was the creature transformation scenes that the film was initially praised for. Rick Baker’s work aside, Landis’ werewolf film revised and reinvigorated the sub-genre of horror.

     

Come Drink With Me Blu-ray Review

 

  • Director ‏ : ‎ King Hu
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Cheng Pei Pei, Yueh Hua, Yang Chih Ching
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, Widescreen, NTSC
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 31 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ March 22, 2022
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Arrow Video
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Hong Kong
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1


 

         Those who watched Mulan and praised the use of a female driven narrative may be surprised to know that this was merely a return to a popular trope from the martial arts genre. The story of Hua Mulan has a long history of cinematic adaptations, but that was not the only story with a female heroine at the center, nor was it the only one with a protagonist hiding her gender from other characters. Following Mulan Joins the Army (1939) and the emerging popularity of the wuxia sub-genre pioneered in Shanghai, Hong Kong and the Shaw Brothers contributed with Come Drink with Me.

 

To Sleep So as to Dream Blu-ray Review

 

  • Director ‏ : ‎ Kaizo Hayashi
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Morio Agata, Kenji Endo, Fujiko Fukamizu
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 23 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ March 22, 2022
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Arrow Video
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Japan
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1


 

         As a film critic, or even just someone who watches far too many movies, I find that I am rarely ever surprised anymore. To Sleep So as to Dream is the exception. This is the kind of film that can keep even the most avid film viewer on their toes. At the same time, it is a film made for film fans, specifically those familiar with the history of Japanese cinema.

 

The Long Night Blu-ray Review

 


  • Director ‏ : ‎ Rich Ragsdale
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Scout Taylor-Compton, Nolan Gerard Funk, Jeff Fahey, Kevin Ragsdale, Deborah Kara Unger
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled, Widescreen
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 32 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ April 5, 2022
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1



        There have been enough home invasion films released in the last two decades to establish the tropes of the sub-genre, and The Long Night contains many of them. A couple travel to a remote location before they are trapped in a home by invaders, who seem to have the ability to enter the house any time they want. Phone lines don’t work, pets are early victims and warnings of violence to come, and the sudden arrival of additional visitors leads to their demise. The Long Night adds in occult and supernatural elements, but it is far from the first home invasion film to do this. It isn’t even the only home invasion film I watched this week to use this hybrid revision.

 



Monkey Kung Fu Blu-ray Review

 

  • Director ‏ : ‎ Mar Lo
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Chiu-Sing Hau, Siu-Tung Ching, Hui-Huang Lin, Feng Kuan
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 29 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ March 22, 2022
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ 88 Films
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Hong Kong
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1



 

         Monkey Kung Fu feels like a Jackie Chan film in the way the fight scenes were choreographed. Not only are everyday items integrated into the fight scenes, but there is also a comedic tone to the entire endeavor. It makes for a highly enjoyable and entertaining experience all the way through, while also being one of the more impressive of the Shaw Brothers kung fu films. Released as Stroke of Death in North America, Monkey Kung Fu is hardly the most famous Hong Kong martial arts movie, but it deserves to be better known. Hopefully the new 88 Films Blu-ray release will introduce the 1979 film to new audiences.

 

Shaolin Mantis Blu-ray Review

 

  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Chia-Yung Liu, David Chiang, Lily Li, Cecilia Wong
  • Director ‏ : ‎ Liu Chia-Liang
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 36 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ March 22, 2022
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ 88 Films
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Hong Kong
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1




 

         The 1978 Shaw Brothers martial arts film Shaolin Mantis (also known as The Deadly Mantis) is almost like several films in one. While the first half is heavy on romantic and comedic elements, the second half provides nearly non-stop showdown sequences. Even with tonal inconsistencies and a twist ending that could be seen as frustratingly unearned, Shaolin Mantis is engaging from beginning to end.

 

The Outfit (2022) Review

 


6:45 Blu-ray Review

 


  • Director ‏ : ‎ Craig Singer
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Michael Reed, Augie Duke, Armen Garo, Joshua Matthew Smith, Remy Ma
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Widescreen
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 36 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ March 22, 2022
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1



         As many time loop narratives have been used in TV and film in recent years, new approaches to the trope are likely to be met with critical comparisons. This does not work in favor of 6:45, a horror film with a time loop set-up but none of the entertainment value found in Happy Death Day. At the same time, even if there was nothing to compare it to, 6:45 is unobjectively bad filmmaking.

 

A Journal for Jordan Blu-ray Review

 

  • Director ‏ : ‎ Denzel Washington
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Michael Jordan, Chanté Adams, Jalon Christian, Robert Wisdom, Tamara Tunie
  • Producers ‏ : ‎ Michael Jordan, Jason Blumenthal, Todd Black, Steve Tisch, Denzel Washington
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray, Digital_copy
  • Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ Portuguese, French, Spanish
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ Korean, Thai, English, Portuguese, French, Mandarin Chinese, Spanish
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 11 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ March 8, 2022
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1


         When it comes to filmmaking, good intentions are rarely enough, and A Journal for Jordan is a spectacular example of that. Based on Dana Canedy’s memoir A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor, the film follows the former New York Times journalist’s romance with 1st Sergeant Charles Monroe King. While the true story is showed respect in the efforts to adapt it into a movie, this often comes at the expense of good filmmaking.

 

Hard Hit Blu-ray Review

 

  • Director ‏ : ‎ Kim Chang-ju
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Ji Chang-Wook, Jo Woo-jin, Kim Ji-ho
  • Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Mpi Home Video
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC, Subtitled
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ South Korea
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 35 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ February 22, 2022



 

         Hard Hit is a remake of Retribution, Dani de la Torre’s 2015 Spanish thriller, but the story transplants easily into South Korean culture. There have been a number of revenge-themed thrillers in Spanish cinema in recent years, though South Korea still seems to have the strongest hold on these themes. Along with being a remake, the premise shares similarities with a few American thrillers, like Speed, Vehicle 19, and Cellular. It should also come as no surprise that Hollywood also has plans to remake Retribution with Liam Neeson in the lead.

 

Deadly Games Blu-ray Review

 



  • Director ‏ : ‎ Scott Mansfield
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Sam Groom, June Lockhart, Colleen Camp, Steve Railsback, Jo Ann Harris
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 32 minutes
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ NTSC, Surround Sound, Widescreen, Anamorphic
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Arrow Video
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ February 22, 2022


 

         The 1982 slasher Deadly Games begins like many others of its type, with the murder of a nubile young woman at the hands of a masked killer. Unfortunately, it is pretty much downhill from there. After an intense opening sequence, the narrative becomes more preoccupied with the bed-hopping going on with the local married couples. When the sister of the initial victim shows up, her efforts to find the killer are put on hold while she becomes entangled in the romantic sub-plots that threaten to take over the film. With too few kills to be a satisfactory slasher, and too obvious of a mystery to work as a whodunnit, Deadly Games is mostly a deadly bore.



 

Legendary Weapons of China Blu-ray Review

 



  • Director ‏ : ‎ Chia-liang Liu
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Chia-Yung Liu, Kara Wai, Sheng Fu
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 49 minutes
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Hong Kong
  • Distribution ‏ : ‎ 88 Films
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ February 8, 2022



 

         What’s surprising about Legendary Weapons of China, at least in comparison to most Hollywood films, is the fact that the younger martial artist performers in this film don’t end up being the hero. Or the villain, for that matter. By the time the final fight comes around, the young threat played by Gordon Liu quietly excuses himself. And the original protagonist (however confused and misguided he is for much of the film), steps back from the final fight. It comes down to the oldest member of the cast, who also happened to be director Liu Chia-Liang.


 

The Flag of Iron Blu-ray Review

 



  • Director ‏ : ‎ Cheh Chang
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Chung-Fung Kwok, Sheng Chiang, Li Wang, Feng Lu
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 53 minutes
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ 88 Films
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Hong Kong
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ February 8, 2022




For The Flag of Iron, director Chang Chen brought back Chiang Sheng, Philip Kwok, and Lu Feng from his previous film, The Five Venoms (1978). Many of the actors who would become known as the ‘Venom Mob’ were trained in the highly acrobatic Chinese opera and skilled in the use of martial arts weapons, creating a carefully choreographed spectacle within their kung fu films, especially when directed by Chang. Anyone who doubts the similarities between dance and martial arts needs look no further than The Flag of Iron for proof of the connection. Even when brutally violent, there is a graceful beauty to the action of Chang’s film. 




Seobok: Project Clone Blu-ray Review

 



  • Director ‏ : ‎ Lee Yong Zoo
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Gong Yoo, Park Bo Gum, Jo Woo Jin, Jang Young Nam, Park Byung Eun
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Subtitled, Widescreen
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 54 minutes
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ South Korea
  • MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ February 15, 2022


         I’ve seen science fiction films with a similar premise, action films with similar set-ups, and South Korean films with similar themes. In other words, there is little original about Seobok: Project Clone, but with genre films that is not always a bad thing. Seobok delivers on the sci-fi premise, spectacle-filled action sequences, and a character-driven narrative balanced between themes of revenge and redemption. While it may resemble other movies I have seen before, that did not prevent me from enjoying Seobok.

 

Shawscope: Volume One Blu-ray Review

 


In 1925, three Shaw brothers named Runje, Runme, and Runde founded the Tianyi Film Company in Shanghai with a fortune the family had made in a textile factory, and in 1957, Runme and the youngest Shaw brother (Run Run Shaw) shifted focus to their sister studio in Hong Kong, establishing the “Shaw Brothers” company. With a 49-acre film studio named MovieTown which opened in 1960, they treated the studio like the textile factory, demanding much from performers who lived on the studio lot under constant supervision.

 

They made over 1,000 films until the studio suspended productions in 1987 and were best known for popularizing the martial arts film. This spectacular limited edition box set from Arrow Video includes twelve films released by the studio. Some of the films in this collection are kung fu masterpieces, while others are shoddy exploitation rip-offs of better movies, but collectively they represent the broad genre appeal of Shaw Brothers during this period.


 


 

Giallo Essentials Collection Vol. 2 Blu-ray Review

 


  • Director ‏ : ‎ Massimo Dallamano, Sergio Martino, Andrea Bianchi
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Claudio Cassinelli, Giovanna Ralli, Suzy Kendall, Tina Aumont, Edwige Fenech
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 6 hours and 13 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ December 21, 2021
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Arrow Video
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 3



 

Before slasher films exploded in popularity in the United States, Italy had a wave of horror-driven thrillers known as giallo films, named after the often-yellow covers of the popular crime novels the movies draw their inspiration from. The word ‘giallo’ itself means yellow in Italian, which is why the second volume of Arrow Video’s Giallo Essentials Collection is so fittingly colored as such. The first volume was in a red box, while the second is given a bright yellow box to contain the three films inside. Stunningly presented in high definition from a 2K restoration, these Italian crime thriller classics have been given the treatment they deserve, including a handful of extras for each. There is currently no better way to watch these films, and no better treatment of the exploitation classics.

 

Red Angel Blu-ray Review

 

  • Director ‏ : ‎ Yasuzo Masumura
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Ayako Wakao, Shinsuke Ashida, Yusuke Kawazu
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 35 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ January 18, 2022
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Arrow Video
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Japan



 

         I wasn’t prepared for the intensity of Red Angel, a 1966 Japanese war film told from the perspective of a dedicated young military nurse. Directed by Yasuzo Masumura (Giants and Toys, Blind Beast), Red Angel may be artistically shot in black-and-white, but the film is grounded by the realism in its depiction of the effects of war. Although there are scenes of military warfare, the action at the center of the film is primarily concerned with the violence of medical operations carried out on the frontline. The other aspect of the film is much more psychologically driven, centering on the impact wartime has on the sexual drives of doomed soldiers.

 

Lies and Deceit: Five Films by Claude Chabrol Blu-ray Review

 

  • Director ‏ : ‎ Claude Chabrol
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 9 hours and 17 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ February 22, 2022
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Isabelle Huppert, Emanuelle Beart, Lucas Belvaux, Francois Cluzet, Stephane Audran
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Arrow Video
  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B09MSP9DRN
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
  • Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 5


 

Claude Chabrol began as a film critic for the French film magazine/journal Cahiers du cinema before he got his start as a filmmaker, and his films have always been an intellectual playground because of this. While not as widely celebrated as some of his fellow critics-turned-filmmakers, Chabrol had the ability to blend arthouse sensibilities with genre narratives, often compared to Alfred Hitchcock in his approach and preoccupation with thrillers. The Arrow Video release of Lies and Deceit contains five classics from the French New Wave filmmaker, including Torment, Betty, Madame Bovary, Inspector Lavardin, and Cop Au Vin.

 

Shock Blu-ray Review

 

  • Director ‏ : ‎ Mario Bava
  • Actors ‏ : ‎ Daria Nicolodi, John Steiner, Ivan Rassimov
  • Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Widescreen
  • Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 35 minutes
  • Release date ‏ : ‎ January 18, 2022
  • Studio ‏ : ‎ Arrow Video
  • Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Italy





 

         Mario Bava’s final film was only made with the encouragement of his son, Lamberto Bava, his filmmaker son who helped with the process of writing the screenplay for Shock (and may have had a hand in directing as well). While it isn’t the crowning achievement of his career, Shock was a worthy final film, a hybrid haunted house and possession film with a worthy mystery at the center.