Reviewing films slightly off the beaten path
Deep Rising is an adventure film that blends elements from The Poseidon Adventure, Under Siege, Alien, and John Carpenter films into one crazy B-movie starring Treat Williams and Famke Janssen. Kino Lorber has given the film a Collector’s Edition full of extras.
Innerspace is a strikingly original comedy that has deservedly gained an audience over the years. The Warner Blu-ray looks and sounds great.
Twilight Zone: The Movie compiles some of the greatest directors of the Eighties, but a tragedy overshadowed the project and the resulting film is uneven.
Escape from L.A. receives a Collector’s Edition from a new 4K scan from Shout!Factory. The film has its fans and detractors, but the film succeeds in providing good replay value for fans and a great cameo from Bruce Campbell.
Sonic the Hedgehog is a pleasant distraction to watch with the kids. The film is decidedly clean and innocent which puts it above most of the pack as far as family movies go. The Paramount UHD release looks and sounds great.
Warning Sign is an enjoyable science fiction film involving a pathogen outbreak. The film benefits from good casting and cinematography by Dean Cundey.
Ghosts of Mars is definitely not one of my favorite efforts from the great John Carpenter, but it was the last film he directed that still felt like a John Carpenter film. Mill Creek have provided a good value with strong visual and audio components on the disc.
Escape from New York introduced the world to one of the ultimate badass protagonists Snake Plissken and every futuristic action film made afterward owed it a debt for finding the right formula. Shout!Factory has given the film its due with its collector’s edition.
The Thing is one of my favorite horror films of all time. It is debatably the best film by legendary director John Carpenter. Shout!Factory’s release of the film provides an incredible amount of supplemental material and a strong visual presentation.
Fred Dekker’s classic cliche exploiting genre blending classic has been given an amazing release by Shout!Factory.
