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Category:    Home > Reviews > Horror > Slasher > Mystery > Thriller > Police > Mental Illness > Crime > Western > Action > Smuggling > Russi > Eye See You (2002)/Reach Me (2014/DVD**)/A Soldier's Revenge (2019/Well Go Blu-ray)/White Fire (1984/Blu-ray*/**)/Why Don't You Just Die! (2018/*Arrow Blu-ray/**all MVD)/Winter Flies (2018/Film Moveme

Eye See You (2002)/Reach Me (2014/DVD**)/A Soldier's Revenge (2019/Well Go Blu-ray)/White Fire (1984/Blu-ray*/**)/Why Don't You Just Die! (2018/*Arrow Blu-ray/**all MVD)/Winter Flies (2018/Film Movement DVD)



Picture: B/B+/B+/B+/B- Sound: B/B+/B+/B+/B- Extras: D/D/B/B/C+ Films: B- & C+/C-/C+/C+/C+



A new mix of new and old genre films, which all worked out more weirdly than expected...



If you're in the mood for a Sly Stallone double feature then look no further than MVD's explosive new DVD combo of Eye See You (2002) and Reach Me (2014). While a bit different in tone, the two films compliment each other fine watching back to back. A Blu-ray version of both would have been more welcome, this at least gets the films out there again, though See is on Blu-ray (more below).


Eye See You (2002), also known as D-Tox (among other titles), is a pretty strong crime drama about a FBI Agent (Stallone) whose wife gets murdered by a psychotic killer. As the killer stalks Stallone, he ends up attempting suicide, and lands up in a rehab center for law enforcement in a remote location. Set during the cold winter, the killer shows up again to come after Stallone, killing many along the way...


The film also stars Robert Patrick, Tom Berenger, Kris Kristofferson, Charles S. Dutton, Polly Walker, Dina Meyer, and Jeffrey Wright. The film is directed by Jim Gillespie (I Know What You Did Last Summer.)


There's plenty of recognizable faces in Eye See You, and it has some vibes that reminded me of John Carpenter's The Thing (minus the horror and supernatural element.) All in all, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this flick.


Eye See You is presented in anamorphically enhanced, standard definition on DVD with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 English track, both of which are of the norm for the format. Compression issues are evident and native to the format, but otherwise it looks fine.


Reach Me (2014) features an older Stallone and is more of an inspirational drama than revenge thriller like Eye See You. The film (which also features Tom Berenger oddly) centers on a self help book and its inspiration on a journalist, a former convict, and an actor and how it helps each of them improve their lives.


The film has a top notch cast with Thomas Jane, Kelsey Grammer, Nelly, Danny Aiello, Danny Trejo, Tom Sizemore, Lauren Cohan, and Kyra Sedgwick to name a few.


Reach Me is presented in anamorphically enhanced, standard definition on DVD with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a lossy 5.1 Dolby Digital mix. As with Eye See You, the film looks as good as it can for the format.


No extras on this double feature DVD, but we have an extensive review of the Eye See You Blu-ray elsewhere on this site with extras, if you are interested.



A Soldier's Revenge (2019) is a modern low budget western that has hit home video courtesy of Well Go USA. While the costumes, locations, and overall production design aren't terrible, the film can't escape its overall mediocre acting and lack of stylistic direction. The film's most notable cast member is Val Kilmer, who tries his best, but is obviously not in great health here and it's a little sad. Also, Jake Busey pops up too and tries his best with the material, but what the film is lacking in most is a more charismatic lead.


The film stars Neal Bledsoe, Rob Mayes, AnnaLynne McCord, Val Kilmer, and Jake Busey.


A Civil War Veteran turned bounty hunter ends up helping out two young children, whose mother has been abducted. During the mission, he ends up extracting his own brand of revenge.


A Solider's Revenge is presented nicely in 1080p on Blu-ray disc with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix, both of which are standard for the format. The image is clean with as much detail as the format allows. The film isn't terribly stylized and the score seems to be a bit generic sounding overall.


No extras.


There really isn't a better word to describe this western attempt other than mediocre.



In need of a retro action flick? White Fire (1984) is an interesting treasure hunting, flame throwing, action extravaganza that is seeing a nice new release from Arrow Video. The film centers on a brother and sister duo (Robert Ginty and Belinda Mayne) who are smugglers/employees at a diamond mineshaft company that aren't afraid to play dirty to get their jewels. They end up going after a legendary 2000 carat radioactive diamond that is sure to be their greatest treasure yet, but it will also prove to be their most difficult and dangerous mission. The film also stars Fred Williamson, and Jess Haun to name a few with direction by Jean-Marie Pallardy.


The film has some great action sequences and a '80s action vibe similar to the Cannon Films. It has everything from chainsaw fighting, nude women. That being said, there is some weirdness going between the relationship of brother and sister here which comes across a bit incestuous. Particularly a scene where Ginty catches Mayne swimming nude in a pool and refuses to give her her towel back. This scene is only one example of how dated this movie is compared to 2020 in terms of content.


White Fire is presented in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and an original English Mono track. The film has a great 1980s theme song that plays during the credits and promotional material for the film that is very suiting and fun on its own. The presentation is up to Arrow's high standards and looks great on Blu-ray disc.


Special Features include:


Feature length audio commentary by critic Kat Ellinger


Surviving The Fire: a brand new interview with writer-director Jean-Marie Pallardy


Enter The Hammer: a brand new interview with actor Fred Williamson


Diamond Cutter: a brand new interview with editor Bruno Zincone


and FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by Mike Gingold.



Why Don't You Just Die! (2018) is a Russian action flick that's a battle to the death that fans of obscure cult cinema might enjoy. The feature debut of Kirill Sokolov, is a wild ride from frame one. The film is released in the US for the first time here courtesy of Arrow Video.


When Matvey (Aleksandr Kuznetsov) has just one objective: to gain entry to his girlfriend's parents' apartment and kill her father Andrey (Vitaliy Khaev) with a hammer to restore her honor. This is no walk in the park, however, as the two mean prove to be an equal match for one another.


The film features Russian stars Evgeniya Kregzhde, Yelena Shevchenko, and Mikhail Gorevoy to name a few.


Why Don't You Just Die! is presented in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and audio mixes in original lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and PCM 2.0 Stereo lossless soundtracks. The presentation is nice here and the film is very well shot and lit from a production standpoint.


Special Features include:


Brand new interview with author and critic Kim Newman, exploring Why Don't You Just Die! within the context of the long-standing tradition of single location cinema


Exclusive behind-the-scenes footage from rehearsals and the film set


Four short films by Kirill Sokolov: Could Be Worse, The Outcome, The Flame and the award-winning Sisyphus is Happy (Best Director and Gold Frame awards, 2013 Unprecedented Cinema International Festival of Short Film)


Theatrical trailer


Kirill Sokolov's complete original storyboard for the film (BD-ROM content)


and a Reversible Sleeve featuring two choices of artwork.



Finally, we have the foreign road drama, Winter Flies (2018), sees a stateside release on DVD courtesy of Film Movement and is an interesting trip indeed. Two teenage boys who can't stay out of trouble end up on a road trip of self discovery. Along the way they pick up an attractive hitchhiker and bond with her before clashing with the police.


The film stars Jan Frantisek Uher, Tomas Mrvik, Eliska Krenkova, and Lenka Vlasakova to name a few with direction by Slovenian filmmaker Olmo Omerzu. The film has won many awards on the festival circuit, including the Czech Lion Award for Best Director.


Winter Flies is presented in anamorphically enhanced, standard definition on DVD with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and a lossy 5.1 Dolby Surround Sound mix (2.0 stereo mix is included on the disc as well.) Despite the obvious compression issues with the format, the film looks and sounds fine.


Special Features include:


Bonus Short Film: Jackie


Winter Flies is a well made and interesting looking film with some comedy thrown into the mix.



- James Lockhart

https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/


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