Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

I need to kick my own butt into gear as I have several books and DVDs/Blu-rays piled up on my desk that need to reviewed, such as the Western Double Feature Blu-ray which was sent to me by Mill Creek Entertainment way back in the spring. The two movies on the single-disc Blu-ray (Not Rated; 3 hrs 21 mins; $14.98) are Fort Yuma Gold and Damned Hot Day of Fire. These are films are two of Quentin Tarantino's favorite spaghetti westerns. There are no special features or bonus extras. 

Fort Yuma Gold (also known as For a Few Extra Dollars) was originally released in 1966. It's technically the second installment in a trilogy that started with One Silver Dollar and ended with Wanted. Directed by Calvin J. Padget, the film stars Montgomery Wood (a.k.a. Giuliano Gemma) as Gary Diamond, a captured Confederate solider who agrees to lead  Union soldiers against Major Sanders, a leader of Southern followers who want to attack Fort Yuma. The cast also includes Dan Vadis, Jacques Sernas, and Sophie Daumier. The film's score is by Ennio Morricone and Gianni Ferrio.

Damned Hot Day of Fire (also known as Machine Gun Killers and Gatling Gun) was originally released in 1968. Directed by Paolo Bianchini, the film stars Robert Woods as Chris Tanner, a Union Captain who must clear his name after bandits kidnap the Gatling gun inventor, Richard Gatling, for a million dollar ransom. To make things worse, the bandits also stole Gatling's new gun with the intention of selling it to the Confederates. The movie also stars John Ireland and Evelyn Stewart. The film's score is by Perio Piccioni.

Final Thoughts

• ALADDIN’S VIDEO JOURNAL: A NEW FANTASTIC POINT OF VIEW – Watch behind-the-scenes moments captured by Mena Massoud (Aladdin) in this fun, fast-paced look at his personal journey.
• DELETED SONG: “DESERT MOON” – Experience a moving duet performed by Jasmine and Aladdin, fully shot and edited, with an introduction by Alan Menken. 
• GUY RITCHIE: A CINEMATIC GENIE – Discover why director Guy Ritchie was the perfect filmmaker to tackle this exhilarating reimagining of a beloved classic.
• A FRIEND LIKE GENIE – Discover how Will Smith brings talent, experience and his own personal magic to the iconic role of Genie.
• DELETED SCENES
• Falling Petals Into OJ
• Jafar’s Magic Orrery
• Anders’ Gift o Wrong Wishes
• Silly Old Fool
• Post Yam Jam Debrief
• BLOOPERS – Laugh along with the cast and crew in this lighthearted collection of outtakes from the set.
• MUSIC VIDEOS
• "Speechless" – Music video performed by Naomi Scott
• “A Whole New World” – Music video performed by ZAYN and Zhavia Ward
• “ A Whole New World” (“Un Mundo Ideal”) – Music video performed by ZAYN and Becky G. 

Final Thoughts

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

Late last night, I watched an old movie starring Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson called Songwriter, a musical drama that was original released to theaters to in 1984. I would have been a three-year-old back then, so I had no clue this movie even existed until it was released earlier this year to Blu-ray by Mill Creek Entertainment, which is part of their VHS Retro-Look Blu-rays.

Songwriter (R; 94 mins; $14.98) centers around country singers Doc Jenkins (played by Willie Nelson) and Blackie Buck (played by Kris Kristofferson). After working together for many years, the duo separate just as Doc's personal life becomes a huge train wreck. His wife, Honey (played by Melinda Dillon) kicks him out of the house and his manager, Rodeo Rocky (Richard C. Sarafian), steals the rights to his music.

In the attempt to get his career back on track, Doc becomes the manager for Blackie and a newbie singer, Gilda (played by Lesley Ann Warren).

Final Thoughts

Amazon; Best Buy; Walmart; Target

Arriving tomorrow on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is this year's creature feature Godzilla: King of the Monsters (PG-13; 132 minutes). It's already available to own on Digital HD.

AMAZON

Wouldn't you've believed a comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson would be funny?

Unfortunately, that's not the case with The Hustle which was just released to Blu-ray and DVD this week from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. It's also available on Digital HD and On Demand.

Directed by Chris Addison, the film is a gender swapping remake of 1988's comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which itself was a remake of the 1964 classic Bedtime Story.

The Hustle centers around Penny (played by Rebel Wilson), a small-time con artist who makes a living by defrauding wealthy men. On a trip to the French Riviera, Penny runs into Josephine Chesterfield (Anne Hathaway) who just happens to also be a con artist. Eventually, the duo make a bet on who can swindle a young tech billionaire (Alex Sharp) out of his money.

The movie was critical failure but it did manage to pull in $95 million at the box office on a $21 million budget.

Blu-ray Special Features include:

• Hitting the Mark – We’ll reveal the plans behind the film: from Anne Hathaway’s initial discussions with Jac Schaeffer and Rebel Wilson about updating the story for a modern era to Chris Addison’s collaboration with the cast to craft the comedy on set.
• Comedy Class – Every actor in the film brings a very different comedic style to their roles. This comic clash helps sell the conflict between Josephine, Penny, and the other characters in the film.
• Con Artists – The artists behind the camera help bring the story to life…in this case costume designer Emmer Fryer and production designer Alice Normington show off their skills.
• Feature Commentary by Director Chris Addison 

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

There were a slew of teens in peril movies released in the 1980s. A few of these titles became classics and many others have mostly been forgotten, such as 1985's The New Kids starring a young Lori Loughlin and James Spader.

The New Kids was released this week to Blu-ray (R; 90 mins; $14.98) for the very first time by Mill Creek Entertainment. There are no special features or bonus extras. It does come with an '80s VHS-style DVD slipcover. 

Directed by Friday the 13th's Sean S. Cunningham, the film centers around Loren and Abby McWilliams (played by Shannon Presby and Lori Loughlin), whose parents were killed in an accident. With no were else to go, the siblings pack their bags and move to a small Florida town to live with their Uncle Charlie on his roadside amusement park.

After helping their uncle get the amusement park in working shape, Loren and Abby start school at the local high school, where I guess you can say things don't go so well there. Unknowingly to Abby, Dutra (played by James Spader) and his redneck gang make a bet to who can take Abby's virginity. However, Abby rejects all their attempts to sweep her off her feet. This leads to Dutra and his goons harassing, stalking, and tormenting Abby and her brother.

The film was critically panned and bombed at the box office; taking in under $200,000 on a $6 million budget.

Final Thoughts

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

To celebrate Shark Week, I'm featuring a review for the recently released Shark Bait DVD ($19.98; 10 hrs and 13 mins) from Mill Creek Entertainment, which features 6 killer SyFy films - Ghost Shark, Mississippi River Sharks, Ozark Sharks, Santa Jaws, Swamp Shark, and Zombie Shark. 

There's also a bonus film - Alligator Alley. And, yes, I'm well aware these movies destroys the purpose of Shark Week.

The two-disc set comes with a Digital code that can only be redeemed on Mill Creek Entertainment's new streaming service - Movie SPREE - which is available as an app on Roku Channel Store, Amazon Appstore (Fire TV), Google Play, and the Apple App Store. You can also redeem the Digital code on movieSPREE.com/redeem.

Ghost Shark (2013; Not Rated; 87 mins) - Directed by Griff Furst, this supernatural film has a shark coming back from the dead as a vengeful spirit and it will kill anybody who is near any type of water source, even a Slip 'N Slide. The cast include Richard Moll and Mackenzie Rosman.


Mississippi River Sharks (2017; Not Rated; 86 mins) - Directed by Misty Talley, the film centers around a group of sharks attacking a "fish rodeo" on the Mississippi River. The cast includes Cassie Steele and Jason London.


Ozark Sharks (2016; Not Rated; 86 mins) - Directed by Misty Talley, the film centers around a family traveling to the Ozarks for a simple vacation, but, sadly, they're being stalked about a group of bull sharks. The movie stars Allisyn Ashley Arm, Michael Papajohn, Ross Britz, and Ashton Leigh.


Santa Jaws (2018; Not Rated; 88 mins) - Directed by Misty Talley, this holiday tale centers around a grounded aspiring comic book artist teenager who uses an antique pen to draw (and imagine) a great white shark wearing a Santa's hat to get revenge on everyone he's mad at. The shark comes to life and kills anybody who has the Christmas spirit. The movie stars Reid Miller, Jim Klock, and Ritchie Montgomery.

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

Long before MOTHRA appeared in this year's Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the giant moth made its debut in 1961's MOTHRA Japanese feature film. It was distributed by Toho Studios in Japan and was released the following year in United States by Columbia Pictures. Like most Toho films released in U.S., MOTHRA's running time was shorten to 90 minutes, which is 11-minutes shorter than the Japanese version. And, of course, the USA version featured an English dub.

Mill Creek Entertainment will be releasing MOTHRA on Blu-ray (Not Rated; $24.98) for the very first time in the United States. And it's not just a standard release either! It's a Steelbook release featuring both the original 101-minute Japanese classic and the 90-minute English version.

Directed by Ishirō Honda, the film centers around an expedition to Infant Island, a supposedly deserted atomic bomb test site. After a typhoon destroyed a ship, the four surviving sailors take refuge on Infant Island. Infected by radiation, the island natives saved them with a juice.

Upon returning home, the survivors tell their story to the media. The Rolisican Embassy quickly assembles an expedition to Infant Island, where they discover two tiny female fairies called "Shobijin" who guard a scared egg. The fairies (played by Emi and Yumi Itō) are kidnapped and sent to Tokyo to perform in the Secret Fairies Show.

The Infant Island natives performs a ceremony that hatches the egg and unleashes a huge caterpillar named MOTHRA. The caterpillar swims across the Pacific Ocean, builds a cocoon, and becomes a giant moth that is hellbent on destroying Tokyo.

Special Features include:

• U.S. Version
• Japanese Version (11-minutes longer)
• Trailer
• Audio Commentaries with Authors and Japanese Sci-Fi Historians Steve Ryfle & Ed Godziszewski (U.S. Version Only)
• Photo Gallery

Final Thoughts

WALMART

Back in the spring, Disney released their live-action take on the 1941 animated classic Dumbo to theatrers in-between Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame. Against a $170 million budget, as well as poor marketing, Dumbo didn't impress the mainstream critics and it underperformed at the box office, bringing in near $352 million.

Dumbo landed on 4K Ultra HD, Digital HD, Blu-ray, and DVD this week from Disney Home Entertainment, giving the film a second change to find an audience.

Directed by Tim Burton, Dumbo centers around Holt Farrier (played by Colin Farrell), a WWI  amputee who comes home to learn that his wife had died. Along with his two children, Milly and Joe (played by Nico Parke and Finley Hobbins), Holt returns to work at the Medici Brothers' Circus as the caretaker for the newest attraction -  a pregnant Asian elephant named "Mrs. Jumbo".

The circus is nearly bankrupt and the owner & ringmaster, Max Medici (played by Danny DeVito), put all his faith on the soon-to-be born calf.  Lets just say everyone is in shock when the calf is born with  unusually large ears, resulting in the public believing the calf is a fake and naming him "Dumbo."

Still mourning over the death of their mother, Milly and Joe bond with Dumbo, and this is when they learn, with a little help of a feather, that Dumbo can fly!

Dumbo becomes a sensation for the Medici Brothers' Circus and catches the attention of V. A. Vandevere (played by Michael Keaton), a wicked businessman who will do anything to have Dumbo as the main attraction at his "Dreamland" amusement park.


BLU-RAY & DIGITAL HD Special Features:

• CIRCUS SPECTACULARS: Dumbo’s cast share their experience of making the film—and get to the heart of a story about family and believing in yourself.

• THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM: Explore how one of Disney’s most lovable characters went from an animated classic to a stunning live-action retelling.

• BUILT TO AMAZE: Get a closer look at the film’s production and costume design.
• DELETED SCENES: A compelling collection of scenes that almost made the final film.
• Roustabout Rufus
• Pachyderm Plans
• The Other Medici Brother
• Monkey Business
• A Star Is Born
• Where’s Dumbo
• Elephant Heist
• A Seat at the Show
• EASTER EGGS ON PARADE: Discover the hidden and not-so-hidden nods to the animated Dumbo in this narrated tribute to the Disney classic.
• CLOWNING AROUND: Laugh along with the cast in a collection of big-top bloopers and goofs from the set.
• “BABY MINE”: Visual video performed by Arcade Fire.

DIGITAL EXCLUSIVE Featurette:

• DREAMLAND – ANATOMY OF A SCENE: From Final Script to Final Scene: The filmmakers and cast talk a lot about the feeling of “grand intimacy” in the film. Step right up as they bring the Dreamland parade to life, accomplishing the rare marriage of a massive spectacle combined with an emotional tenderness.

Final Thoughts

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

The silly comedy Encino Man was of my favorite guilty pleasure movies from the early '90s. Yes, it was completely stupid, but for some reason it appealed to me during my pre-teen years. Pauly Shore was one of the co-stars in the film and he went on to star in several similar comedies during the '90s, including 1995's Jury Duty, which was released to Blu-ray earlier this month from Mill Creek Entertainment as part of their Retro VHS series.

Directed by John Fortenberry, the film is more of a spoof of 12 Angry Men, where an unemployed Tommy Collins (played by Pauly Shore) finds himself out of a home when his mother and her boyfriend take their mobile home to Las Vegas to get married. Tommy and his chihuahua Peanuts are now homeless, well, that is until he receives a jury summons!

Tommy becomes one of the 12 jurors for a murder trial and as jury foreman he deliberately delays the verdict just so he can be paid $5 per day, get free meals, and live in a nice hotel room (also for free). While attempting to convinced the other jurors of reasonable doubt, he begins to believe the murderer is actually innocent.

Rounding out the rest of the cast is Tia Carrere, Brian Doyle-Murray, Stanley Tucci, Abe Vigoda, Charles Napier, and Shelley Winters.

Final Thoughts

AMAZON

Now available on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital from Lionsgate Home Entertainment is the racing drama Trading Paint ($22.98; R; 87 minutes). Directed by Karzan Kader, the film stars John Travolta, Toby Sebastian, Shania Twain, Rosabell Laurenti Sellers, Michael Madsen, and Kevin Dunn. There are no special features or bonus extras.

The film mostly centers around the estranged relationship between the dirt racing father and son duo, Sam and Cam (played by John Travolta and Toby Sebastian). Sam is a former dirt racer who's a big racing legend in his hometown. His racing rival is Linsky (played by Michael Madsen), a local car dealer owner, who convinces Cam to join his racing team.

Devastated (and mostly pissed off), Sam puts himself back into the driver seat to race against his son and find a way to mend their broken relationship.

Final Thoughts

AMAZON

This week marked the Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital release of the drama-thriller A Vigilante ($22.98; R; 91 minutes). Written and directed by Sarah Daggar-Nickson, the film first premiered at South by Southwest in 2018. Saban Films picked up the U.S. distribution rights and released the film earlier this year.

The film stars Olivia Wilde as Sadie, a woman who had barely escaped the wrath of her abusive husband (played by Morgan Spector). Unfortunately, her young son was killed during the aftermath. Since that  night, her husband has went off the grid and is on the run from the authorities.

Still grieving and broken, Sadie teaches herself boxing, martial arts, and other survival skills. She uses these new abilities to help protect other battered women and abused children.

The only Special Feature on the Blu-ray is the featurette Catharsis: Creating A Vigilante. The Blu-ray does come with a DVD and a Digital code.

Final Thoughts

AMAZON

After being a little upset at the way the fantasy drama Game of Thrones ended last Sunday, I ended up spending my Memorial Day evening watching a different (& better) dragon tale - How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (PG; 104 minutes), which landed on Blu-ray and DVD last week from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

The Hidden World is the final chapter in the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy, which is based on the children book series of the same name by Cressida Cowell. Written and directed by Dean DeBlois, the film features the talented voice cast of Jay Baruchel, America Ferrera, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, F. Murray Abraham , Kit Harington, Craig Ferguson, Kristen Wiig, Jonah Hill, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

Picking up one year after the second film, Hiccup, Toothless, the other dragon-riders, and their entire Viking village must go on a journey to find a new home after being threatened by the legendary dragon hunter Grimmel the Grisly and his army of minions (and a few evil dragons). At Grimmel's disposal is a female Light Fury who easily captures Toothless's heart and sets the stage for the the dragon-riders' final battle.

Bonus Features include:

• Alternate Opening with Intro by Writer/Director Dean DeBlois
• DreamWorks Shorts:
• Bilby – Directed by Liron Topaz, Pierre Perifel and JP Sans; produced by Jeff Hermann and Kelly Cooney Cilella. Threatened daily by the deadly residents and harsh environment of Australia’s Outback, a lonesome Bilby finds himself an unwitting protector, and unexpected friend, to a helpless (and quite adorable) baby bird. 
• Bird Karma – Directed by William Salazar and produced by Jeff Hermann, the beautifully artistic 2D short film Bird Karma tells a delightfully lyrical and fully unexpected tale of a long-legged bird’s journey of blissful joy, inescapable greed and the accidental discovery of the consequences when too much is not enough.
• Deleted Scenes with Intros by Writer/Director Dean DeBlois
• How to Voice Your Viking – Go behind the scenes with the cast as they record the Viking voices of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD. 
• Creating an Epic Dragon Tale – Discover what filmmakers learned while crafting this epic dragon trilogy.
• How I Learned from Dragons – The diverse cast of characters reveal why they think the dragon trilogy is so special. 
• Brave Wilderness Presents: Nature + Dragons = Awesome – Join Coyote Peterson, host of Brave Wilderness, as he explores what it takes to make the dragon’s characters come to life. 
• The Dragon Sheep Chronicles – Protecting sheep from the dragons of Berk is no easy task but Hiccup has a plan. 
• A Deck of Dragons – Observe four new dragons as Fishlegs unveils his original deck of dragon trading cards. 
• Growing Up with Dragons – After years of being with these characters, hear the lasting effects of the dragon trilogy from the filmmaker’s perspective.
• The Evolving Character Design of Dragons – Cast and crew reveal what it was like to evolve not only the characters of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON: THE HIDDEN WORLD, but themselves as well. 
• Drawing Dragons – Get a glimpse of what goes in to designing a DreamWorks dragon. 
• Epic Villain – A different kind of villain, Grimmel brings great challenges to the village of Berk. Go behind the scenes as filmmakers breakdown this epic character.
•  Astrid’s Whole Dragon Trilogy in 60 Seconds – Hold on tight as Astrid sums up the whole dragon trilogy in a legendary 60 seconds. 
• Welcome to New Berk – With Hiccup as your guide, get a firsthand look at the updated Viking village of New Berk.
• Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Dean DeBlois, Producer Bradford Lewis and Head of Character Animation Simon Otto.

Final Thoughts

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

Here's a little fact about me: I'm a big of fan of Italian spaghetti westerns, especially the Man with No Name Trilogy starting Clint Eastwood, as well as The Call Me Trinity and Trinity Is Still My Name starring Terence Hill and Bud Spencer.

Over the past month, I've been watching the Outlaws & Con Men: 4 Movie Collection ($9.98; 5 hours 46 minutes), which was recently released on DVD + Digital by Mill Creek Entertainment. There are no special features or bonus extras on the DVD. The digital code can only be redeemed and streamed on the Mill Creek Entertainment's website.

The movies on the one-disc set include:

• Sting of the West (1974; PG; 92 minutes) - Directed by Enzo G. Castellari, the plot involves a young man named Tedeum (played by Giancarlo Prete) trying to sell the ownership of mine that he just inherited. A lot of things occur, and he eventually teams up with con man Buck Santini (played by Jack Palance) and two con ladies, Betty and Wendy (played by Mabel Karin and Francesca Romana Coluzzi), as they try to outrun the villainous Mr. Grant (played by Eduardo Fajardo). The film also goes by the title Tedeum.

• Bad Man's River (1971; PG; 87 minutes) - Directed by Eugenio Martín, the film centers around Roy (played by Lee Van Cleef), a leader of a band of outlaws who get suckered into destroying an arsenal owned by the Mexican Army; only to be setup by his ex-wife (played by Gina Lollobrigida). Roy and his pals must plan an elaborate scheme to outsmart the Mexican Army and steal a million dollars. The film also goes by the title El hombre de Río Malo.

• Django's Cut Price Corpses (1971; Not Rated; 84 minutes) - Directed by Luigi Batzella, the film stars Jeff Cameron as the bounty hunter Django, who heads into Mexico to rescue his fiance who has been kidnapped the Cortez brothers. The film also goes by the title A Pistol for Django.

• Django Shoots First (1966; Not Rated; 82 minutes) - Directed by Alberto De Martino, the film centers around Django (a.k.a. Ringo, played by Glen Saxon), a bounty hunter who kills the bounty hunter who'd killed his father. Confused yet? Instead of burying his father, Django collects the bounty on his father's deceased body. After learning his father was framed by a former business partner, Django goes on a quest to avenge his father's death and clam his rightful inheritance. The film also goes the title He Who Shoots First!.

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

At one point in my life, I would never take the time out to watch westerns from the 1940s and 1950s. Yes, that means I'm not a John Wayne fan; I'm more of a Clint Eastwood fan, which would explain why I own every season of Rawhide on DVD. Besides from John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, one of the biggest (or more recognizable) star of the western genre was Roy Rogers. Yep, the King of Cowboys, who appeared in over 100 movies and starred in his own television series from 1951 to 1957.

Why am I talking about Roy Rogers?

Well, over the last few nights I have been watching The Roy Rogers: Happy Trails Collection DVD Set ($19.98; Not Rated; 21 hrs 2 mins) that was recently released by Mill Creek Entertainment. It's basically a re-release of the Timeless Media DVD set that was released in 2010, but with a new artwork on the DVD jacket.

This release features 20 films from the "Happy Trails Theater" which aired on TNN in the late 1980s and was hosted by Roy Rogers and his wife Dale Cooper. There would be a short segment at the beginning (sometimes with a special guest), followed by a feature film, and then there would be a wrap up segment at the very ending. A few of the western guest stars included Gene Autry, Iron Eyes Cody, Pat Brady, Ruth Terry, Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr., and Pat Butram. The original running time for the films were shorten to fit within the 90-minute television spot with commercials! All the of the movies on the four-disc set are the edited versions, except for Cowboy and the Senorita, which doesn't have the "Happy Trails Theater" segments.

The film titles are:

• Sons of the Pioneers (1942; 62 minutes)
• Trigger, Jr. (1950; 64 minutes)
• Pals Of The Golden West (1951; 63 minutes)
• Young Bill Hickok (1940; 62 minutes)
• Don't Fence Me In (1945; 61 minutes)
• Down Dakota Way (1949; 62 minutes)
• The Golden Stallion (1949; 63 minutes)
• Man From Oklahoma (1945; 62 minutes)
• Rainbow Over Texas (1946; 62 minutes)
• Trail of Robin Hood (1950; 64 minutes)
• Sunset in El Dorado (1945; 63 minutes)
• North of the Great Divide (1950; 64 minutes)
• Bells of Coronado (1950; 63 minutes)
• South of Caliente (1951; 63 minutes) 
• In Old Amarillo (1951; 64 minutes)
• Along The Navajo Trail (1945; 61 minutes)
• Twilight in the Sierras (1950; 64 minutes)
• Susanna Pass (1949; 63 minutes)
• Spoilers of The Plains (1951; 62 minutes)
• Cowboy and the Senorita (1944; 77 minutes)

Bonus Features include:

• Roy Rogers Biography
• "Sidekicks" starring Gabby Hayes, Pat Brady, Pinkie Lee & more!
• Tour of the Roy Rogers Museum hosted by Roy "Dusty" Rogers Jr. 

Final Thoughts

AMAZON

Does anyone remember hearing about a the movie Replicas being released to theatres back in January? If your answer is no, don't worry you're not the only who's never heard of it either!

Replicas landed on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital earlier this month from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. 

Directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff and written for the screen by Chad St. John based on the story by Stephen Hamel, the film stars Keanu Reeves as William Foster, a neuroscientist who moved his family to Puerto Rico when he took a job working for the Bionyne Corporation. Along with cloning scientist Ed Whittle (played by Thomas Middleditch), William is attempting to transfer the mind of dead soldiers into robots. Despite many attempts, their experiments have failed.

While on a family trip, William, his wife Mona (played by Alice Eve) and their children Sophie, Matt, and Zoe are involved in a car crash. William is the only the survivor. Instead of calling the authorities, he ends up calling Ed to help him recover their bodies and take them back home, where he plans on cloning their bodies with technology that Ed sort of borrowed from the Bionyne Corporation. Sadly, there were only 3 cloning tank available, so William must make a horrible decision not to clone one of his children.

The cloning process only takes 17 days per clone, and during that time William brainstorms on how to successfully copy the human mind's neural pathways to an artificial mind. Luckily for him, he succeeds just in the nick of time. However, bringing his family back from the dead will have deadly consequences.

Blu-ray Special Features include:

• Audio Commentary with Director Jeffery Nachmanoff and Executive Producer James Dodson
• Imprint Collection: The Making of Replicas
• Deleted Scenes

Final Thoughts

Rated R; $19.98; Amazon

There are not very many horror movies that can actually give me the hibbie jibbies. Sure, last year's A Quite Place and the Halloween reboot sequel were scary fun, but I was never once on the edge of my seat. However, that wasn't the case with the supernatural psychology The Hole in the Ground, which will land on DVD from Lionsgate Home Entertainment on April 30th! My expectations are always pretty low for horror films that I've never heard of before, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn the movie is truly frightening!

Directed and co-written by Lee Cronin, the 90-minute movie centers around Sarah O'Neill (played brilliantly by Seána Kerslake), a young woman who flees from her abusive husband to the Irish countryside along with her young son Chris (played by James Quinn Markey). Upon arriving at their new home, Chris disappears during the night and later reappears perfectly fine. Or is he?


After an odd encounter with their neighbors,Des and Noreen Brady (played by James Cosmo and Kati Outinen), Sarah starts to wonder if there's something not quire with her son, who isn't quite acting like himself. She fears something else from the beyond has replaced Chris. Scared for her life, Sarah is determined to learn the truth, which is somehow connected to the huge sinkhole located in the forest near their home.

Final Thoughts

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

Yes, I know it's been awhile since my last Midnight Horror Review, but between putting my grandmother in a nursing home, moving her belongings into a storage unit, and dealing with a flu/ cold bug, I haven't had a lot to time to watch any horror flicks until a few nights ago when I binged watched the Apocalypse: 4 in 1 Collection DVD (Not Rated; $19.98; 5 hrs 49 mins), which will be released on April 16th by Mill Creek Entertainment. The two-disc set features four made-for-SyFy television movies: Arachnoquake, Ghostquake, Miami Magma, and Weather Wars. There are no special features or bonus extras.

Let's start with the best first and work my way down to the worst that this release has to offer!

Arachnoquake first aired on SyFy in 2012. It's a B-spider flick from director G.E. Furst, who also serves as supervising producer for the other three titles on this release. Plus, Furst also acts in the movies as well. Ignore Arachnoquake's 2.9 rating on IMDb as the movie isn't that bad. It stars Bug Hall, Tracey Gold, Edward Furlong, Dane Rhodes, and Ethan Phillips. The plot centers around a dangerous species of giant fire-breathing spiders being unleashed after several earthquakes occur in New Orleans. An alcoholic tour guide ends up leading a group of tourists in a quest to kill the "queen" spider, who basically controls the life of all the other spiders.

Ghostquake aired on SyFy in 2012 under the title Haunted High. Jeffery Scott Lando directed this horror-comedy, which stars M.C. Gainey, Lauren Whitney Pennington, Jonathan Baron, Mark Donato, Shawn Phillips, and Danny Trejo. Charisma Carpenter has a cameo as a librarian. The plot centers around a time capsule at a private high school being knocked open, which releases the ghosts of a cult leader, Danforth, and his female assistant. Danforth unleashes a series of supernatural earthquakes that traps several students and teachers inside the school.

Weather Wars aired on SyFy in 2011 under the title Storm War. Directed by Todor Chapkanov, the disaster flick stars Jason London, Wes Brown, Erin Cahill, and Stacy Keach. The plot is ridiculously dumb! It involves a recently fired scientist seeking revenge on the government by unleashing a series of dangerous lighting strikes across Washington D.C. Only two people in the entire city who can stop him are his estranged sons!

Miami Magma aired on SyFy in 2011. Directed by Todor Chapkanov, this boring disaster flick stars Rachel Hunter, Cleavant Derricks, Melissa Ordway, Griff Furst, and Brad Dourif (more like a cameo). Thanks to an oil company that's been illegally drilling, a super-volcano erupts underneath Miami. Vulcanologist Antoinette Vitrini (played by Rachel Hunter) and her much younger sister attempt to expose the oil company.

Final Thoughts

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

It seems like there is a new superhero movie in theaters every other month, and almost every single one of them makes gobs of hundreds of millions at the box office. However, rewind back to the mid-1990s, a time when comic book movies weren't taken as seriously and many were complete flops, such as 1996's Barb Wire starring Pamela Anderson.

The movie was recently released on Blu-ray from Mill Creek Entertainment. There are no special features or bonus extras.

Based upon the Dark Horse Comics' series, Barb Wire (R; 99 minutes; $14.98) centers around Barbara Kopetski (a.k.a. Barb Wire), the owner of the nightclub Hammerhead in the war zone city of Steel Harbor in the year 2017. When she isn't bartending, she's making a little extra cash as a bounty hunter and mercenary. Her world is turned upside down when her former lover Axel Hood (played by Temuera Morrison) reenters her life.

Axel is a freedom fighter who's trying to help a former government scientist Dr. Corrina Devonshire (played by Victoria Rowell), escape the corrupted government by sneaking her into Canada. In order to fly out of the city, she'll need a special pair of contacts to bypass the airport's retinal scan, and of course Barb Wire is the only person who can help her get the contacts.

Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

Why is it I have a nostalgic feelings towards anything related to the 1980s? Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I was born in 1981. Plus, everything "entertainment" related is better than anything being released today. 

Studios are well aware of the 1980's nostalgia craze, such as Mill Creek Entertainment, which has been releasing several 1980s films to Blu-ray with retro VHS-style slipcovers. 

The 1981 cult comedy classic "Neighbors" ($14.98; R; 95 minutes) starring John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Cathy Moriarty, and Kathryn Walker arrived on Blu-ray earlier this month. It's a bare bones edition with no special features or bonus extras.

Based on the novel of the same name by Thomas Berger and directed by John G. Avildsen, the film centers around Earl Keese (played by Belushi), a middle age man with a boring job who lives in the middle of nowhere with his disconnected wife, Enid (played by Walker), and their rebellious teenage daughter (played by Lauren-Marie Taylor). After a long day at work, Earl wants nothing more than a peaceful and relaxing night at home, but that doesn't occur on this particular night, as his new neighbors, Vic and Romona (played by Aykroyd and Moriarty) decide to crash his plans.

Vic is extremely obnoxious, rude and downright crazy at times. Ramona is overly sexual and just as insane as Vic. The duo invites themselves over for dinner and end up turning Earl's entire life upside down.

Final Thoughts