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/