New Release Tuesdays

 The battle continues from the home-front as I was able to escape for a few days and get up in the mountains and stare at some different walls for a few days.  It was really nice to have a change of scenery.  I see where home media sales had quite a spike in sales in the second quarter but unfortunately sales are back down this quarter because there are few new release titles for out there to buy.  Also, Disney recently said they have no plans for 4K releases for anymore of their movies besides Marvel and Star Wars titles so with that and this pandemic this may the final nails in the coffin for physical media from the studios anyway.  Niche companies will hopefully continue to license and put out movies on physical media.  Will we ever get True Lies or The Abyss on hi-def now?  Anyway there has been a nice mix of new and old stuff come out recently so let's check them out below.

War of the Worlds- A small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.  I have not seen this since I was a kid and it was on TV.  It is a title I have always wanted to get for the collection but had a feeling Criterion would put this out on blu one of these days and my patience has finally paid off. I picked this up from the B&N sale and I cannot wait to spin this again to rediscover its greatness.

The Day the Earth Caught Fire- When the U.S. and Russia unwittingly test atomic bombs at the same time, it alters the nutation (axis of rotation) of the Earth.  I do not recall seeing this but I have been reading a lot about this Shout Factory title and it sounds pretty solid.

Death Warrant- In a violent and corrupt prison, decorated cop Louis Burke must infiltrate the jail to find answers to a number of inside murders. What he finds is a struggle of life and death tied in to his own past.  This is a solid action flick that is fast paced being under 90 minutes with lots of ass kicking.

P.O.W. The Escape- Col. Cooper leads a group of American P.O.W.s, battling their way to freedom as Saigon falls to the Viet Cong.  This is from Cannon and is too much like Chuck Norris’ Missing in Action and Chuck Bronson did not seem to like playing in the jungle so Cannon had to find another Chuck and went with David Carradine.  He always looked cool in movie posters but when you first see him on the screen you are very under whelmed.  This was a solid action flick that has been out of print for a long time and is making its blu ray debut thru Scorpion Releasing.

Bruce Lee Set- Yeah, I have all these but Criterion always goes above and beyond so this has been ordered and received.

Mr. No Legs- Heads roll as two cops, Chuck and Andy, go against Mr. D'Angelo, the biggest drug dealer in Florida, and his ruthless enforcer Fred, who has no legs but does have two mean double barrel shotguns built into his wheelchair.  Looks too good not to watch.

Tender Mercies- A broken-down, middle-aged country singer gets a new wife, reaches out to his long-lost daughter, and tries to put his troubled life back together.  I consider Robert Duvall the best actor ever.  Back in his prime he could do it all and play practically anyone.  He is limited to his age these days but the guy is solid in everything he does.  This was a very good drama where he won the Oscar for Best Actor, highly recommended.

 

Death Before Dishonor- Gunnery Sergeant Burns reports for duty to an American Embassy in the Middle East. However due to the 'enlightened' views of the Ambassador, the marine security detachment he is in charge of is severely restricted in their functions and presence to avoid upsetting the host government. As a result, when terrorists attack the compound, they are able to kidnap hostages and escape with little opposition. Burns ignores the Ambassador's restrictions, and throws the rule books out the window, as he becomes a one man army in an attempt to rescue the hostages, and wipe out the terrorists.  I remember this from the day and I could have sworn this was a Cannon movie but it does not look like it is.  This was a solid action flick with TV’s Hunter doing a serviceable job.

The Outpost- A small team of U.S. soldiers battle against hundreds of Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.  Eastwood is back, not that Eastwood, but the young one is doing well and has a good looking war movie out.

Movie Poster Monday- The Delta Force

 

Movie Poster Monday- Bullitt

Movie Poster Monday- Operation Condor

Happy Birthday Sly Stallone!

New Releases

Yeah, I am still here.  I am working from home and living the good life and the new pup Rocky is doing great.  Covid is getting worse around here so we have battened down the hatches here and only go out when necessary until things get normal again.  What ever that will be.  Since movie studios are still shut down there is not going to be many new releases coming out on blu for awhile so let's look at some of the titles that have come out recently and hope good catalog titles are on the way.

Escape from LA- Snake Plissken is once again called in by the United States government to recover a potential doomsday device from Los Angeles, now an autonomous island where undesirables are deported.  When I saw this movie was announced in Fangoria back in the day I was so excited that Carpenter was making a sequel to one of my favorite movies.  I was waiting for this to come out just as much as an Eastwood or Stallone flick back then.  I remember going on opening night with some friends and when it was over, I was less then thrilled.  It was practically a remake with a different setting and the special effects were awful. I eventually have come around on this movie because it is Carpenter and Russell together again and it looks like for the last time.  Besides I love Russell’s Snake Plissken because remember, he is playing Eastwood here.  It was not until just recently I read in an interview that Paramount cut the budget on the movie right before shooting starting.  It appears the studio was hoping Carpenter and Russell would take a pay cut but they stuck to their guns and the movie had to suffer somewhere and that is why the special effects are so bad.  The score by Carpenter and Shirley Walker is awesome with its Western theme.  I do appreciate this movie more now and I am glad Scream Factory put this out even though it is a little light on the special features.  The name is Plissken.

Invisible Man- When Cecilia's abusive ex takes his own life and leaves her his fortune, she suspects his death was a hoax. As a series of coincidences turn lethal, Cecilia works to prove that she is being hunted by someone nobody can see.  I glad to see Universal hand this off to Blumhouse because Universal’s version of The Mummy with Tom Cruise just about buried the whole Universal Monsters franchise and Blumhouse know what the fans want and does not go overboard on their budgets.  I have been watching a ton of stuff but I still have got around to this one yet.

Atlantic City- In a corrupt city, a small-time gangster and the estranged wife of a pot dealer find themselves thrown together in an escapade of love, money, drugs and danger. This is one of those movies I have heard about but has been out of print for a very long time.  I am very glad some of these old movies get blu releases because you sure cannot find them streaming anywhere.

Bad Boys for Life- Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett must face off against a mother-and-son pair of drug lords who wreak vengeful havoc on their city.  The first two movies we a lot of fun and this one is too.  What took them so long to make this?  Oh yeah, Will Smith keeps chasing an Oscar.

Narrow Margin- A Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney is sent to protect a woman who accidentally witnessed a Mafia murder.  Anytime a Gene Hackman movie gets a blu release it makes me this the guy that much more.  This is a great action thriller that takes place on a train and is very good.  Highly recommended.

Universal Collection Volume 5- I love that Scream Factory has been putting these out.  I only have a couple of these so I need to get caught up.

Hills Run Red- A group of young horror fans go searching for a film that mysteriously vanished years ago but instead find that the demented killer from the movie is real, and he's thrilled to meet fans who will die gruesomely for his art.  I remember this being a solid horror movie and I need to upgrade from my burned copy I have of this title.  Nice job again from Scream Factory, over six hours of special features on this baby for a 81 minute movie.  Bravo!

New Release Tuesday

The battle continues here from home base as the kids are wrapping up school soon and we have got a case of the stupids and adopted a puppy this past week so we are keeping busy and healthy here from home.  Let's take a look and a few of the good titles that have come out the past couple of weeks and let's take a look at Rocky:

The Great Escape- Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.  This is still has to be the best escape from prison movie period.  The large scope of this movie and the cast is filled with a who’s who of some of the all-time greats makes it the best.  I have bought this movie many times over on various formats but this is from Criterion so I will upgrade once again and probably for the last time on this classic.  Highly recommended.

Idle Hands- A teenage slacker's right hand becomes possessed with murderous intent.  I have never seen this and it has become quite a cult classic over the years and kind of hard to find but Scream Factory has rectified that for you.  From what I remember this came out around the time of Columbine so it basically got buried with its time sensitive material and did not get noticed until much later.

Justice League Dark: Apokolips War- A Sequel to Justice League Dark (2017) involving Jack Kirby's New Gods.  I enjoy Warner’s Animated DC films quite a bit, sometimes I think they should be running the live action movies.  I picked up the Steel Book for this and will be checking it out tonight.

Creepshow- The fictional Creepshow comic books come to life in this anthology series of terrifying tales hosted by the silent Creepshow ghoul.  Based on the greatest horror anthology so what is not to like?   I really need to get Shudder but I have got more than plenty of things to watch around here and I do not feel the need for another streaming service right now.  I will get around to it.

Evil of Frankenstein- Upon returning to his home village to continue his experimental research, the destitute Dr. Frankenstein revives his old creature, but a hypnotist wants the monster to control for himself.  I love the old Hammer films and I need to revisit this one soon.  Anything with Cushing or Lee is usually pretty good.

Brahms: The Boy 2- After a family moves into the Heelshire Mansion, their young son soon makes friends with a life-like doll called Brahms.  The first one was descent and I did not even realize this sequel had came out theatrically back in February.  I guess that’s what you get for having Katie Holmes in your flick.