
Braven
(2018/Lionsgate Blu-ray)/Black
Scorpion (1957/Warner
Archive Blu-ray)/Den Of
Thieves (2017/Universal
Blu-ray)/Killer
Klowns From Outer Space
(1988/MVD Visual/MGM/Arrow Blu-ray)/Legion:
The Complete Season One
(2017/Marvel/Fox Blu-ray Set)/Major
Crimes: The Complete Sixth Season
(2017 - 2018/Final Season/Warner DVD Set)
Picture:
B+/B/B/B+/B+/B- Sound: B+/B-/B/B+/B+/B- Extras:
C/C+/C-/B/C+/C Main Programs: C+/C+/C-/B/C-/C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
Black Scorpion
Blu-ray is now only available from Warner Bros. through their Warner
Archive series and can be ordered from the link below.
And
now for more thrillers, including some horror...
Jason
Momoa has been rising up the Hollywood ranks for a while now, with
last year being especially good for his career. Landing the role of
Aquaman in DC's Justice
League
(reviewed elsewhere on this site in 4K like his underrated Conan
film) and the upcoming solo feature, Momoa has been looked at more as
a leading man than just your average supporting tough guy. In Braven
(2018), he plays the role of an average joe (his character is even
named Joe) that frankly any tough guy actor could have played but
suits Momoa fine.
The
film isn't anything special but isn't necessarily bad either... it
has some brutally violent moments that are sure to make some gasp
including Momoa throwing an axe on fire into a guy's shoulder and
then setting him on fire. There's also a pretty intense bar fight
early in the film where the highly underrated Stephen Lang (Avatar)
gets a considerable head injury.
Braven
also stars Garret Dillahunt, Jill Wagner, Sala Baker, and Brendan
Fletcher to name a few with direction by Lin Oeding.
When
Joe (Momoa), his wife, small daughter, and his hot tempered father
(Lang) arrive at their remote hunting cabin in the peaceful woods,
they're hoping for a quiet getaway weekend. What they find is a
stash of heroin, hidden in the cabin by drug traffickers, and it's a
pretty considerable stash at that. When the criminals suddenly
descend upon the cabin, Joe and his family end up in a fight for
survival against the gang... but luckily for Joe, his wife knows how
to use a bow and arrow, and his Father still has some spunk left in
him.
Presented
in 1080p on Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and
a standard English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix, the
film has a snowy look and cool colored atmosphere that is captured in
high quality on Blu-ray. The palette is mainly natural looking but
the film is pretty cinematic and shot nicely, showing action
sequences in nice wides instead of too many blurry close-ups on
action. The mix is loud and nicely done as well.
A
digital UV copy is also included.
Special
Features:
The
Braven's Views featurettes
Trailers
for other Lionsgate films
Not
a bad one timer, but Braven
is by no means a new classic. Momoa fans and the curious will want
to see it.
A
volcanic eruption gives birth to horrible giant creatures, one of
which is known as The
Black Scorpion
(1957). Directed by Edward Ludwig, the Black Scorpion heads across
the countryside and towards Mexico City, which is obviously full of
millions of people. The Black Scorpion and other giant animals end
up attacking the town and start to take over. Can the military stop
them in time? Featuring effects by Willis O' Brien (King
Kong),
this stop motion extravaganza is a must have for your stop motion
monster movie collection.
If
this was made today, it would easily be a high budgeted CGI creature
fest (much like the recent Rampage), but in this day and age,
the now laughable visual effects are fun to look back on and enjoy...
especially for sequences when the giant scorpion derails a train!
The
film stars Richard Denning, Mara Corday, Carlos Rivas, and Mario
Navarro to name a few.
Presented
in black and white 1080p high definition on Blu-ray with a widescreen
aspect ratio of 1.78:1 (original aspect ratio was 1.85:1) and a
remastered DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono lossless sound mix, the
film looks better than previous releases but isn't as sharp as
expected. Due to the age of the film and print, the film mostly
looks like but a little soft focus in some scenes.
Special
Features include...
Stop
Motion Monsters Featurette w/Ray Harryhausen
The
Animal World
Las
Vegas Monster and Beetleman Test Footage
Trailer
We
covered the film on DVD from Warner Archive and it looks like it was
popular enough to get a Blu-ray, but you can read more about it at
this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13225/Bad+Turn+Worse+(2014/Anchor+Bay+DVD)/The
It
is very hard to do a good heist film, especially one that is smart
and memorable, so the less I say about Christian Gudegast's Den
Of Thieves
(2017),
Unrated or otherwise, the better. The film's attempt to be gritty,
'street' and the like are lame, I never bought any of this for a
minute and that fact that Gerard Butler got dragged into this is just
sad. Taking place in Los Angeles, we learn the city is somehow the
capital of bank robberies and the 'crew' we're about to see in action
is the best of the best. Yawn!
Not
even good enough to be a lukewarm Heat,
this torture test goes on and on and on and on for an insane 2.5
hours!!! Yes, you read that right, running on so long, maybe the
authorities should let them keep the money if they agree never to
make another heist film.
Even
visually, it is a dud, somehow making L.A. look dull and unexciting.
I don;t know what anyone was thinking here, but the directing is so
sloppy, weak and comatose that only a smaller company like STX would
take a risk on this just to have product. It is easily the worst
thing they've issued to date. The good news is, they can't to much
worse. Let's hope I'm correct there.
So
you'll want to skip this one or the title will extend to those taking
you movie money.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer is not only
dull as noted, the editing is lame and the all-HD shoot tries to use
the scope frame to be big or go big, but this has all the excitement
and intrigue of a bad TV movie visually and there are episodes of
Columbo
and McCloud
that look like they were shot in IMAX as compared to what we get
here. Those are among the older crime shows (both Universal, by the
way) that really do look grittier.
The
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix has clear dialogue and
fairly good sound effects, though the recorders and mixers are a but
too gun shot happy. I was not impressed by the final mix either.
Extras
include Digital HD Ultraviolet Copy for PC, PC portable and other
cyber iTunes capable devices, while the Blu-ray adds an Alternate
Ending that could never save this bore, plus featurettes with title
like 'Alpha Males' and 'Into The Den', a den where there are no lions
to rip apart and eat the HD cameras used to produce this time-waster.
Avoid this one!
Arrow
continues to please cult horror fans with the new and highly
collectible Blu-ray release of the Chiodo Brothers classic, Killer
Klowns From Outer Space
(1988). Previously released on Blu-ray but
not remastered (save Arrow's import version we covered a while ago),
this new 4K transfer is definitely worth picking up if you're a true
fan. Directed by Steve Chiodo (Critters),
the film centers around creepy (and occasionally hysterical) alien
Killer Klowns who are bent on dominating the planet.. and turning
their victims into cotton candy! This a special and very fun B-movie
that mixes sci-fi, horror, and dark humor in a blender.. I still
can't believe that there hasn't been a sequel!
Klowns
stars Grant Cramer, Suzanne Snyder, John Vernon, John Allen Nelson,
Royal Dano, and Christopher Titus.
Klowns
is presented in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio
of 1.85:1 and a new English 5.1 DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless
track born of a new 4K scan of the original camera negative. I've
seen the film on various formats, including VHS and DVD, and can't
believe how much better it looks here in this newly remastered Arrow
release. Granted, for a low budget film like this, the HD clarity
sometimes exposes more imperfections in the special effects at times.
Still, the film has a sense of charm and fun that makes it
forgivable.
Extras
repeat the U.K. release including a feature length audio commentary
track with the Chiodo Brothers, The
Making of Killer Klowns:
a 20-minute featurette looking at the film's production, including an
interview with the Chiodo Brothers alongside behind-the-scenes
footage, Visual Effects with Gene Warren Jr.: an interview with
Charles Chiodo and visual effects supervisor Gene Warren Jr.,
Kreating
Klowns:
an interview with Charles Chiodo and creature fabricator Dwight
Roberts, Bringing
Life to These Things
- A Tour of Chiodo Bros. Productions. Chiodo Brothers' Earliest
Films:
a look back at the Chiodo Brothers' early homemade productions, Tales
Of Tobacco:
A brand new interview with star Grant Cramer, Debbie's
Big Night:
A brand new interview with star Suzanne Snyder, Komposing
Klowns:
interview with composer John Massari, Deleted Scenes with Director's
Commentary, interesting Bloopers, Klown
Auditions,
an Image Gallery and an Original Theatrical Trailer. Let
The Show Begin
is apparently a new piece where Punk legends The Dickies (who did the
theme song) are interviewed.
For
our coverage on the U.K. edition, try this link...
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/13119/In+Search+Of+Ancient+Mysteries+(1973/Film+Ch
Being
a fan of the X-Men
since I was a kid and being sure to see each film the day they come
out in theaters, I have to admit that I'm a bit disappointed in
Legion:
The Complete Season One
(2017). Trying to be edgy and stylistic like Terry Gilliam's 12
Monkeys
or something, the show is hard to follow, silly, and just plain
boring. While Marvel is doing pretty well with its theatrical films,
some of their series (which also includes the Netflix shows) tend to
be lacking.
Somehow
renewed for a second season, I was none too impressed with this gross
attempt at adapting sub-X-Men
storyline for a teen audience. If you are a fan, however, then
you'll find this Blu-ray release satisfactory as it has a nice
presentation and some interesting extra features.
The
show stars Dan Stevens, Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart, and Rachel Keller.
Centering
around David Haller (Stevens), a mutant who hears voices in his head
and spends his young life in and out of mental institutions, his
schizophrenia is starting to get the better of him. Knowing that he
has unusual abilities, but unable to tap into his full potential, he
meets a promising young new patient at the home (Keller) who he
starts to fall in love with. At the same time a therapist (Smart)
and her team start to realize how dangerous Haller is and are soon
hot on his trail after he escapes the mental institution... things
get even wilder from there.
Season
One features 8 episodes, all of which are called 'Chapters' and
span two Blu-ray discs.
Presented
on Blu-ray in 1080p High definition and a widescreen aspect ratio of
1.78:1 and 2.38:1, the disc also features a nice DTS-HD Master Audio
5.1 mix, all of which are an improvement over the original television
broadcast. The show isn't badly filmed with texture and detail on
characters and locations, however, obviously not quite as good
looking as a 2160p upscale on 4K UHD. No digital copy.
Special
Features include...
Deleted
Scenes
Fractured
Reality: A Different Kind of Hero
Seven
Featurettes: Uncanny
Romance, Production Design, Powers, Make-Up (Making the Devil with
the Yellow Eyes), Visual Effects, Costume Design, Location.
Legion
tries too hard to be cool and instead ends up being a convoluted mess
that barely resembles anything X-Men
related to me.
The
predecessor to the TNT series The
Closer,
Major
Crimes
checks in for its final season on DVD that's a pretty standard Police
procedural drama. If you like things by the book and technical, then
there's plenty of serious and realistic looking crime work going on
in this series. A bit predictable as it plays out, it's sure to
entertain fans of the genre and is what it is in its Complete
Sixth Season,
which is also its Final
Season.
12
Episodes include Sanctuary
City Parts 1 - 5, Conspiracy Theory Parts 1-4,
and By
Any Means Parts 1-4.
The
series stars Mary McDonnell, Anthony Denison, G.W. Bailey, Raymond
Crus, and Phillip P. Kenne to name a few.
Centering
around the L.A. crimes division, Sharon Raydor works with an
experienced crew of Detectives to help solve crimes with efficiency
and ease, however, there's drama behind the badge as well as what
comes with it.
The
show is presented anamorphically
enhanced
in its original 1.78:1 widescreen aspect ratio and has a lossy 5.1
Dolby Digital track with is up to par with the DVD format.
Commercial and watermark free, this is the best way to view the
series uninterrupted by ads. While an HD copy would be preferable,
the noise and compression issues are nothing too distracting. No
digital copy.
Special
Features...
Connecting
with Major Crimes Featurette
Blooper
Reel
To
order The
Black Scorpion
Warner Archive Blu-ray, go to this link for it and many more great
web-exclusive releases at:
http://www.wbshop.com/
-
Nicholas Sheffo and James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/