Alien
Code (2017)/Big
Take (2018)/Blackmark
(2017/all 3 Sony DVDs)/Lucifer:
The Complete Third Season
(*DVD)/Razorback
(1984/Umbrella Region Free Import Blu-ray)/Supernatural:
The Complete Thirteenth Season
(Blu-ray/*both 2017 - 2018 Warner Sets)
Picture:
B-/C/B-/B-/B+/B+ Sound: B-/C+/B-/B-/B/B+ Extras: D/D/D/C+/B/B
Main Programs: C/C-/C+/C/B/B
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Razorback
Import Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Umbrella
Entertainment in Australia, can play on all Blu-ray players and can
be ordered from the link below.
We
start with A low budget alien flick with more conspiracy theories
than anything, Alien
Code
(2017) has some interesting ideas but ultimately is affected by
average acting and un-stylistic enough filmmaking. Starring Kyle
Gallner, the film is a DaVinci
Code-esque
inspired take where an extraterrestrial message is deciphered and a
dying cryptographer who becomes aware of visitation around him before
his inevitable death.
The
film also stars Azura Skye, Mary McCormack, Richard Schiff, Neil
Arnote, Aaron Behr, and Tate Birchmore.
Presented
in anamorphically
enhanced standard
definition with a 2.40:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy 5.1
Dolby Digital mix, the film looks and sounds fine for the DVD format.
As mentioned, the film isn't too stylized and is pretty natural
toned and brightly lit for the most part. Perhaps that was the
Director Michael G. Cooney's attempt at playing against the norm.
Either way, it would have worked better with more style.
No
extras.
Justin
Daly's The
Big Take
(2018) is trying hard to be another story about the dark side of
trying to make it in Hollywood and the makers even got Robert
Forster, Ebon Moss-Bach, Zoe Bell and Dan Hedeya in the cast to their
credit, but the combination of predictable cliches, uneven acting on
the part of the unknowns and the inability to compete with actual
violence and terror in Hollywood today (the awful supermarket
shooting incident being the latest, not counting the massive fires of
Summer 2018) males some of this quaint.
A
movie star is blackmailed with a video, so he goes the private eye
route, but it all quickly becomes a mess and unfortunately, no
surprises or unknowns standing out. When the dialogue began with
someone admitting to kill to get a film made, it needed to quickly do
something different than you might expect. Instead, it seems like a
late relic of the pre-sexual harassment wave in Tinseltown, so let
hope we don't see any more like this.
The
anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is a little soft throughout
and the HD shoot might have a consistent look, but this is more by
default and the scope frame is never used to any good effect. The
lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 is a little better, clear at best, but also
nothing special or memorable sonically. No extras either.
Blackmark
(2017) is a low budget action flick with a big budget screenplay and
would likely be a blockbuster if it had Brad Pitt starring in it.
While it's certainly better than its badly photoshopped cover art may
have you believe, the film takes place in 1963 where Military
Industrialist Arthur Blackmark must race against the clock to stop an
international incident (with nuclear consequences) which threatens to
end the world as we know it. Can he save the day? The clock is
ticking!
The
film stars Kaiwi Lyman, Timothy Oman, Jeff Hatch, Corey MacIntosh,
and Jon Briddell to name a few.
Presented
in anamorphically enhanced
standard definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and a
lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, the film is shot cinematically and has a
high end feel to it. There's a lot of stock footage from the era
included to give it a more unique and realistic effect, and the
editing is fast paced and well done.
No
extras.
While
it may not have too many recognizable faces, Blackmark
is better than you might expect for a lower budgeted political
thriller.
Based
on the Vertigo comic and a story by Neil Gaiman, Lucifer
returns with a third season that's basically a police procedural with
some satanic/religious undertones. Starring Tom Ellis as Lucifer,
the show brings the fallen angel to life as he abandons the
underworld for modern day Los Angeles. Using his powers any way he
pleases, he clashes with various murder plots, beautiful women, and
otherworldly encounters.
Season
Three
consists of 26 episodes which span five DVD discs and include They're
Back, Aren't They?, The One with the Baby Carrot, Mr. and Mrs.
Mazikeen Smith, What Would Lucifer Do?, Welcome Back Charlotte
Richards, Vegas with some Radish, Off the Record, Chloe Does Lucifer,
The Sinnerman, The Sin Bin, City of Angels?. All About Her, Til Death
Do Us Part, My Brother's Keeper, High School Poppycock, Infernal
Guinea Pig, Let Pinhead Sing!, The Last Hearbreak, Orange is the New
Maze, The Angel of San Bernardino, Anything Pierce can do I can do,
All Hands on Decker, Quintessential Deckerstar, A Devil of my Word,
Boo Normal,
and Once
Upon a Time.
Presented
in anamorphically
enhanced
standard definition on DVD, the show has a standard 1.78:1 widescreen
aspect ratio and a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. Though evident with
compression issues (as is the norm with the aging format), the show
looks as good as can be expected here.
Special
Features...
3
new Featurettes
Gag
Reel
and
Deleted Scenes
In
short, Lucifer
isn't anything too new or exciting to this reviewer, but if you're a
fan this is a nice edition with a commercial free presentation that
makes it easier to binge watch.
Spielberg
and Tarantino naturally both love Razorback
(1984), an Oz-Ploitation genre horror gem that somehow slipped under
my radar all these years. Thankfully, Umbrella's new Beyond Genres
label (which also put out the Re-Animator
Trilogy
and H.P. Lovecraft's Dagon
(reviewed elsewhere on this site), went all out in delivering this
must have edition of this all but forgotten classic.
Think
Jaws
was scary? Try Razorback!
A ginormous wild boar that is as unforgivingly relentless as he is
unbeatable. When the Razorback kills a man's granddaughter and
another man's wife, a group of hunters attempt the wild outback to
try and capture the wild beast. However, that's not a walk in the
park as nothing can stop one of Earth's mostly relentless creatures!
The
film stars Arkie Whiteley, Bill Kerr, David Argue, Gregory Harrison
(Trapper
John, M.D.,
TV's Logan's
Run),
and is directed by Russell Mulcahy (Highlander,
The
Shadow).
Razorback's
most unique feature is its breathtaking cinematography by Dean Semler
(Dances
with Wolves),
which
is captured quite nicely on 1080p Blu-ray disc here. The film is
presented in its original 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ratio that edges
out the previous Umbrella Blu-ray (also reviewed on this site) and
paired with a newly remastered DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless
mix. Needless to say, this is the best the film has looked or
sounded to date.
Special
Features...
Audio
commentary with director Russell Mulcahy and Shayne Armstrong
Audio
interview with actor Gregory Harrison
JAWS
ON TROTTERS: Featuring interviews with director Russell Mulcahy,
producer Hal
McElroy,
Razorback creator Bob McCarron, composer Iva Davies and cast Judy
Morris and Chris Haywood.
Extended
interviews with cast and crew from Mark Hartley's NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD
Grisly
deleted scenes with new optional audio commentary
RAZORBACK:
THE VHS CUT - the original uncut 4:3 Australian home video version
Theatrical
trailer/ VHS trailer
A
CERTAIN PIGGISH NATURE: Looking Back at Razorback
and
an Image gallery
Be
sure to track down this genre classic if you're a fan of killer
monster pig movies. (Who isn't?) Seriously, though, I was surprised
by how entertaining this film really is.
Sam
and Dean Winchester return for the Thirteenth
Season
(!?!) of Supernatural,
which is making its way onto Blu-ray disc courtesy of Warner Bros.
Starring Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki as the infamous monster
hunters, the show has some fun fantasy elements and has matured over
its many seasons. This season especially has a very funny Scooby Doo
crossover episode that fans won't want to miss.
23
episodes span four Blu-ray discs and include Lost
and Found, The Rising Son, Patience, The Big Empty, Advanced
Thanatology, Tombstone, War of the Worlds, The Scorpion and the Frog,
The Bad Place, Wayward Sisters, Breakdown, Various and Sundry
Villains, Devil's Bargain, Good Intentions, A Most Holy Man,
Scoobynatural, The Thing, Bring 'em Back Alive, Funeralia, Unfinished
Business, Beat the Devil, Exodus,
and Let
the Good Times Roll.
Supernatural
is presented on 1080p Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect ratio of
1.78:1 and a nice sounding DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix
that far outweighs its original network broadcast. Commercial and
watermark free, this is the way to see the show the way it was meant
to be seen. Also included is a digital copy.
Special
Features include...
5
New Featurettes
2
audio commentaries
Unaired
Scenes
and
Gag Reel
To
order the
Razorback
Umbrella import Blu-rays, go to this link for it and other
hard-to-find releases at:
http://www.umbrellaent.com.au/
-
Nicholas Sheffo (Big
Take)
and James
Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
