Decisions
(2010/Inception DVD)/Monster Brawl
(2011/Image Blu-ray)
Picture:
C/B- Sound: C+/B- Extras: C-/D Films: C-/D
Now for
two odd, bad features that show how tired Gangster/Gangsta and Hip Hop driven
fare has become, though it usually has made for some of the worst releases
since the genre went Gangster a few decades ago.
The most
prominent point of note for the Jensen LeFlore/Duke-directed Decisions (2010) is that it is the last
acting role of troubled child star Corey Haim, who died after making it after
substance abuse problems among many. He
is not looking healthy at all, sometimes seems in great pain and it made a bad
project that much harder to watch, though he steals all of his scenes. He is a cop, some people try to rob a bank and
betrayal all over the place ensues. The
script is awful and there are as many clichés here as there are beats to the
bad music.
Inception
is giving this a DVD release a while after the fact, but unless you really like
Haim, skip it. Extras include a
behind-the-scenes interview piece with cast members and unlisted-on-the-case
Haim tribute clip.
Even
worse is the desperate Jesse Thomas Cook mess Monster Brawl (2011) which tries to combine wrestlers and mixed
martial arts fighters batting zombies in a wreck that is never funny, even
unintentionally and is just shocking bad throughout. Even Lance Henriksen (who narrates) and
comedian Dave Foley cannot save this “Hail Mary” of a genre mish-mash. Wow, is it dumb. Beware!
Extras
include Outtakes that look very much like what was not cut, a behind-the-scenes
featurette and feature length audio commentary to go to sleep by from Cook and
Co-Producers Matt White and John Geddes.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Decisions
looks soft, awful and barely has good, consistent color range, while the 1080i
2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Brawl is sloppy, inconsistent and has detail issues throughout.
The lossy
Dolby Digital 5.1 on Decisions and
2.0 Stereo version with Pro Logic surrounds are equally weak with location
audio issues, editing issues and shows its limited budget throughout, while the
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Brawl is a little better, but does not have a consistent soundfield
and makes some of the same audio mistakes and has some of the same audio
flaws. The combined results of both are
below B-movie standards.
- Nicholas Sheffo
