There are only a few days left to finish your Christmas shopping, and I know how difficult it is to find the perfect gift for your loved ones. If you have any family members or friends who love action films full of car chases, shoot outs, and fights, then I'm recommending getting a classic action flick on Blu-ray or DVD.

A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven – at Christmas – forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world, and with civilization falling apart around them, the only people they can truly rely on are each other.

I was sent the a DVD copy of Wild Faith (Not Rated; 101 mins; $19.98) several months ago from Mill Creek Entertainment. My originally intention was to write a review directly after I finished watching it but that I didn't occur. I did watch the movie but I had mixed feeling about the film. After rewatching it, I realized I just don't like the movie!

Wild Faith is a western drama written by DJ Perry and directed by Jesse Low. The cast is consisted of a bunch of unknowns, besides for country singer Trace Adkins who provides the narration. The plot involves a Civil War veteran who had made a promise to a dying black solider to bring his wife and daughter to his home in Michigan. Let's just say practically the entire town is against having blacks in their community and will do anything to get rid of them.

The movie is "Doved Approved" so in other words it's family friendly. It won "Best Faith Feature Film" at the Burbank International Film Festival.

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If you're a physical media collector, then you are in luck as Mill Creek Entertainment has been releasing many 1980s films on Blu-rays with retro VHS-like slipcovers. Two of the more recent releases are Roxanne (PG; 107 mins; $14.98) and True Believer (R; 109 mins; $14.98).


Directed by Fred Schepis, Roxanne is the 1987 adaptation of the 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand. The film stars Steven Martin as C.D. Bales, the fire chief of Nelson Washington, who just happens to have a x-large nose. Due to his allergy to anesthetics, he has never attempted to have a nose job so he just has to live with it.

After a beautiful astronomer, Roxanne (played by Daryl Hannah), arrives in town to study an approaching comet, he instantly falls in love with her. However, because he's sensitive about his nose, he never tells Roxanne how he feels about her and has to settle for being only friends. He later finds out Roxanne has a crush on firefighter Chris (played by Rick Rossovich). To make a long story short, C.D. writes a letter for Chris to give to Roxanne, which makes her fall in love with the dumbstruck Chris.

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Now available from Mill Creek Entertainment is the Houses of Hell Collection DVD ($19.98), featuring four horror films — American Horror House, The Dunwich Horror, House of Bones, and Mask Maker — on a two-disc set. Also included with the DVD is a movieSPREE Digital code.

Mill Creek Entertainment; AMAZON

Last month, I received a few titles from Mill Creek Entertainment to review on this blog. One of those titles was SAF3 2: Under Pressure DVD starring Dolph Lundgren. I was under the impression the film was a sequel to one of his many direct-to-video action flicks. However, that isn't exactly the case there. Yes, it's a sequel to SAF3, which was released on DVD in 2018 by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, but the 83-minute movie is the edited version of several episodes from the 2013-2014 short-lived syndicated action series, SAF3. Yeah, instead of releasing the entire series to DVD, ITN Distribution decided to combine several episodes together in the attempt to make people believe this is a new movie.

Gary Capo and Phil Scarpaci are credited as the directors for SAF3 2: Under Pressure. Along with Dolph Lundgren, the film (or series) also stars J.R. Martinez, Lydia Hull, Texas Battle, Jocelyn Osorino, Travis Burns, Katie Meehan, and Danielle Anderson.

Dolph Lundgren stars as John Eriksson, a leader of the Sea, Air, and Fire divisions of the Malibu Fire Department, which is "under pressure" after a fire lead to a firefighter, Alfonso Rivera (played by J.R. Martinez), being seriously severely burned.

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AMAZON

For a very long time, it seemed Disney was the only studio releasing animated films. However, that changed in the '90s, many thanks to direct-to-video releases, as well as a few theatrical releases from other studios. One of these films happens to be The Swan Princess, which is an adaptation of the Swan Lake ballet.

Directed by Richard Rich, the film was originally released to theatres in 1994, featuring the voice cast of Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Steve Vinovich, and Sandy Duncan.

Mill Creek Ent.; Amazon

For those of you who don't already know, The Thing was re-released to Blu-ray on Oct. 29th by Mill Creek Entertainment.

No, I'm not referring to the John Carpenter's 1982 classic scifi-horror flick, which is a remake of the 1951 classic The Thing from Another World and an adaptation of the 1938 novella Who Goes There? by John W. Campbell, Jr., but instead I'm referring to the 2011 prequel film of the same name. Confused yet?

Directed by Matthijs Heijningen, the prequel was originally going to be titled The Thing: Begins. However, due to producers and behind-the-scenes drama (more on that later), the film was released as The Thing, which made moviegoers believe it was a remake of a remake.

Set in the winter 1982, the prequel centers around Kate Lloyd (played by Mary Elizabeth Winstead), a paleontologist who is sent to an isolated Norwegian research station in Antarctica to investigate a possible buried alien spacecraft. The expedition is lead by Dr. Sander Halvorson (played by Ulrich Thomsen) and his assistant, Adam Finch (played by Eric Christian Olsen). After excavating a body frozen in the ground, they accidentally release a lifeform that takes control and mutilates its victims. The movie also stars Joel Edgerton, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, and Kristofer Hivju.

The director shot the prequel in 35mm film so it would have the same look as the 1982 film.  Animatronic special effects were used for the creatures to match the 1982 effects. However, studio politics interfered and all of the traditional effects were replaced CGI. Add in additional reshoots, which changed many scenes (especially the ending), as well as the title change, the movie ended up flopping at the box office.

Blu-ray Bonus Features include:

• Feature Commentary with Director Matthiijs van Heijningen and Producer Eric Newman
• The Thing Involves
• Fire & Ice
• Deleted/Extended Scenes
• Trailer

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The big-budget "live-action" remake of the classic Disney animated film The Lion King landed on Blu-ray Combo Pack (Blu-ray + DVD +Digital) last wek and I was lucky to receive a copy to review right here on this very blog you're currently reading.

Directed by Jon Favreu (Iron Man 1 & 2, The Jungle Book), The Lion King (PG; 118 minutes) features the voice-cast of Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, John Kani, John Oliver, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, and James Earl Jones.

Set in the Pride Lands of Africa, the movie tells the story of Simba, the son of King Mufasa and Queen Sarabi, who runs away after blaming himself for his father's death. Being a cub alone in the jungle can be dangerous so it's good thing he found two friends to protect him - Timon (a meerkat) and Pumbaa (a warthog).

Unknowingly to Simba, his evil uncle Scar has taken over his father's kingdom. Only after he has entered adulthood does he learn about Scar's treachery, which leads him to return to his homeland to claim his father's thrown.

Blu-ray and Digital Special Features include:

• The Journey to “The Lion King”
• The Music - Go inside the studio with the cast and crew as they work to honor and elevate The Lion King’s beloved music.
• The Magic - Discover how the filmmakers blended the traditional filmmaking techniques with virtual reality technology to create amazing movie magic.
• The Timeless Tale - Filmmakers and cast reflect on the story that has moved generations and share how this Lion King carries a proud legacy forward.
• More to Be Scene - Recording studio and layer-by-layer progressions of some of most iconic moments in “The Lion King.”
• “Circle of Life” – Peel back the layers of effects and go behind the scenes of this iconic musical moment from the film
• “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” – See all the effects, talent and fun that went into creating this vibrant version of “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” for the movie
• “Hakuna Matata” – Join Donald Glover (Simba), Seth Rogen (Pumbaa) and Billy Eichner (Timon) in the studio for the making of this memorable scene.
• Music Videos 
• “Never Too Late” (lyric video) by Elton John
• “Spirit” performed by Beyoncé Knowles-Carter
• Filmmaker Introduction 
• Audio Commentary by Director Jon Favreau.
• Song Selection 
• “Circle of Life”
• “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” 
• “Be Prepared”
• “Hakuna Matata” 
• “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”
• “Spirit”
• “Never Too Late”
• Protect the Pride –Director Jon Favreau, the Lion Recovery Fund and conservationists highlight efforts to protect the majestic lions and their home.
•  (Digital Exclusive) - Pride Lands Pedia --Dung beetle shares the importance of his “roll” in the African Savanna in a fun, bug’s eye view of the land and its inhabitants.

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• To Hell and Back: The Making of 3 From Hell
(Blu-ray Only - 4-Part Documentary)

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Mill Creek Entertainment; Amazon

The fifth installment of Andy Sidaris's Triple B series (also known as either Bullets, Bombs, and Babes or Bullets, Bombs, and Boobs) GUNS (R; 95 mins; $19.98) was released to Blu-ray ( with a 4K Widescreen Restoration) for the first time last month from Mill Creek Entertainment. It also comes with a Digital Code that can be redeemed on movieSPREE.

Originally released direct-to-video in 1990, GUNS centers on two female L.E.T.H.A.L. agents, Donna Hamilton and Nicole Justin (played by Dona Speir and Roberta Vasquez), being targeted by an arms smuggler, Juan Degas "Jack of Diamonds" (played by Erik Estrada). He has hired two assassins to dress up like women and murder the agents of Molokai Cargo (The Agency).

What's the purpose of this plot?

Degas is planning on smuggling advanced weapons into the United States from Hawaii and the only the L.E.T.H.A.L. agents are standing in his way. Therefore, he hires the assassins to distract The Agency. However, things don't go his way as Donna and Nicole figure out his plan and seek out to stop him with a little help from a rocket launcher.

Bonus Features include:

• Introduction by Director Andy Sidaris
• Audio Commentary
• Behind-the-Scenes Featurette
• Trailers

Final Thoughts

AMAZON; WALMART

Probably by now everyone has heard of the action film series John Wick starring Keanu Reeves. The third film, John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (R; 130 mins) was released to theatres back in May and took in over $321 million at the box office. The movie landed on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD yesterday from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. It's also available on Digital.

John Wick (played by Reeves) is a former assassin who comes out of retirement after some thugs murder his dog and steals his car. After John's vengeance was complete, he was dragged out of retirement again due to a blood marker (promise) which leads him to kill a member of the High Table (the shadowy international assassins' guild) at the New York City Continental. Killing anyone on "hollow ground" is a "no no" for the guild, so John is declared "excommunicado"with a $14 million bounty put on his head. And the bounty rises by the hour.

Chapter 3 picks up exactly where Chapter 2 ended, with an injured John trying to escape New York City but with assassins around every corner, he must fight his way out of the country. He heads to Casablanca to seek help from an ex-assassin Sofia (played by Halle Berry) in the attempt to find the Elder, the only person known to be above the High Table.

Meanwhile, the High Table sends an Adjudicator (played by Asia Kate Dillon) to New York City to clean house. She releases Winston (played by Ian McShane) of his duties as manager of the New York Continental Hotel and dethrones the Bowery King (played by Laurence Fishburne). Then she recruits a Japanese assassin, Zero (played by Mark Dacascos) to hunt down and kill John Wick!


DVD Special Features include:

• Parabellum: Legacy of the High Table
• Excommunicado
• Theatrical Trailer #1
• Theatrical Trailer #2
• John Wick Hex Game Trailer
• Behind the Scenes of John Wick Hex

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AMAZON

• Building The Fire: The Making of Into The Ashes 
• Shooting The South: On Location

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Mill Creek Entertainent; Amazon

The 1975 action drama White Line Fever was released on Blu-ray (PG; 90 mins; $14.98) last week by Mill Creek Entertainment as part of their Retro VHS Look. The movie stars the late Jan-Michael Vincent who played in the short-lived '80s television series Airwolf.

Co-written and directed by Jonathan Kaplan, Jan-Michael Vincent plays Carrol Jo "CJ" who obtains a big bank loan to buy a 1974 Ford WT9000 cabover rig (a.k.a. the "BLUE MULE") shortly after coming home from serving in the Air Force during Vietnam. He seeks work from an old friend, Duane (played by Slim Pickens) at the Red River, a produce-shipping company in Tucson. CJ's father used to haul for Red River before his death and he has fond memories of the place. However, Red River isn't the same place it used to be. The company now hauls illegal products, such as slot machines, drugs, and untaxed cigarettes.

Unlike many Red River truckers, CJ actually has morals and refuses to haul anything illegal. Lets just say CJ ends up pissing off the Red River owner which leads to him starting a small war with the company.


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