Fulvue Drive-In.com
Current Reviews
In Stores Soon
 
In Stores Now
 
DVD Reviews, SACD Reviews Essays Interviews Contact Us Meet the Staff
An Explanation of Our Rating System Search  
Category:    Home > Reviews > Horror > Science Fiction > Sequel > Superhero > TV > Revenge > Taiwan > Fantasy > Remake > Alienoid: Return To the Future (2024/Well Go Blu-ray)/The Flash: The Original Series (1990 - 1991/Shipp/DC Comics/Warner Archive Blu-ray Set)/Kill Butterfly Kill (1982 aka Underground Wife aka America

Alienoid: Return To the Future (2024/Well Go Blu-ray)/The Flash: The Original Series (1990 - 1991/Shipp/DC Comics/Warner Archive Blu-ray Set)/Kill Butterfly Kill (1982 aka Underground Wife aka American Commando 6 (or 4/1987/Neon Eagle Blu-ray*)/When Titans Ruled The Earth: Clash Of The Titans 4K (2010) + Wrath Of The Titans 4K (2012/Warner/Arrow 4K Ultra HD Blu-rays w/Blu-ray/*both MVD)



4K Ultra HD Picture: B & B- Picture: B+/B-/B/B- Sound: B+/B/B/B Extras: B+/D/B/C+ Main Programs: C+/C+/C/C- & D



Now for a wild mix of genre releases that all could have been better than they turned out to be, but here they are...



The second installment in the Alienoid series, Alienoid: Return To the Future (2024) is an exciting new Korean genre film that is full of action and imagination. The fantasy romp has everything from shapeshifting aliens, portals to other worlds, time travel, cool looking spaceships, and a lot more.



Written and directed by Choi Dong-hoon (The Thieves), the film stars Ryu Jun-Yeol (A Taxi Driver), Kim Tae-ri (The Handmaiden), and Kim Woo-bin (Master) who all return from the first 2022 installment, which is also available from Well Go USA.



A shaman and a modern-day woman travel through time to go up against a powerful alien that is intent on destroying mankind. The only hope is the Divine Blade, a mystical dagger that holds tremendous power.



Alienoid: Return to the Future is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and two audio choices on the disc with Korean: DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1, Korean: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (with optional English subtitles) lossy sound and dubbed tracks in English, lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 and lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo. The overall presentation delivers the same high standards as other Well Go USA discs and is a clean presentation from start to finish for the 1080p format.




I would suggest this to Hollywood blockbuster movie fans that are interested in dipping a toe into the pool of international films or to any sci-fi/action movie fans that like a foreign flair. You can read more about the first film at this link:


http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/16211/Alienoid+(2022/Well+Go+Blu-ray)/Honk+For+Jesu



The Flash: The Original Series (1990 - 1991) is a fun time capsule piece of early DC television and finally available on Blu-ray in a limited number from Warner Archive. The six disc (BD-50) set encompasses the entire run of the series and stars John Wesley Shipp as the scarlet speedster. No doubt created after the huge success of Tim Burton's Batman in 1989, the Flash series is still a fun watch and a soft spot for many DC fans.



John Wesley Shipp would step back into the Arrowverse in the CW era of DC Television decades later when they brought the Elseworlds and Crisis on Infinite Earths storylines into the more modern series for The Flash, which cleverly makes this original series more relevant. We reviewed all of the aforementioned modern Flash series on Blu-ray elsewhere on this site.




After a lab accident, Barry Allen gains superpowers and becomes The Flash. As he discovers what he is capable of, The Flash ends up a hero that must protect Central City from criminal scum and villainy.



22 episodes include the Pilot, Out of Control, Watching the Detectives, Honor Among Thieves, Sins of the Father, Child's Play, Double Vision, Shroud of Death, Ghost in the Machine, Sight Unseen, Tina, is that you?, Beat the Clock, The Trickster, Be My Baby, Fast Forward, Deadly Nightshade, Captain Cold, Twin Streaks, Done with Mirrors, Good Night, Central City, Alpha, and The Trail of the Trickster.




The Flash: The Complete Series is presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and an English DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit) Stereo mix. These are 4K restorations from the original camera negatives, and since the show was shot on film, the translation to disc is some of the best this series has ever looked. Note that the opening credits were using an very early form of high definition video (think the music video of The Cars ''You Might Think'') which was considered cutting edge at the time, but now does not look quite as impressive with digital images all over the place.



No extras.




While the series is a bit dated and some of the special effects are pretty primitive for today's standards, The Flash: The Original Series is a fun show to look back on and was pretty groundbreaking for the time in which it was made.



From a new video label, Neon Eagle Video, comes its first release: Kill Butterfly Kill (1982 aka Underground Wife aka American Commando 6 (or 4/1987).


All three cuts of the film fall into a category known as a 'black movie' - an action / exploitation sub-genre from the 1980s in Taiwan. In the film, a woman takes revenge on five men who assaulted her by employing a retired hitman and a team of other badass ladies who seek revenge in their own way. Similar in themes to Tarantino's Kill Bill, this female revenge romp offers up a satisfying bloody rampage across its various versions in this exclusive release.



There are three versions of this film in this set:


Kill Butterfly Kill - the original edit of the film


Underground Wife - presented in 4:3 /1.33 X 1 fullscreen and is a standard definition print in Mandarin language 2.0 with English subtitles.


American Commando 6 - 1987 cut which features new scenes




Kill Butterfly Kill and American Commando 6 are presented in 1080p high definition on Blu-ray disc with an MPEG-4 AVC codec, a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1, 2.39:1 and an English, DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 2.0 Mono (48kHz, 16-bit) lossless mix with optional English subtitles. This is from a 4K restoration from the original camera negative and the best that this lost film is ever going to look most on home video most likely.



Special Features include

:

Audio Commentary by Kenneth Brorsson and Paul Fox of the Podcast on Fire Network


Underground Wife cut (SD)


Trailers


and a IFD Trailer compilation.



If you're a fan of the female rape / revenge type sub-genre then it's worth checking out Kill Butterfly Kill and American Commando 6. An interesting product of its time that fits into the exploitation genre securely.



Last, a double feature. When Titans Ruled The Earth: Clash Of The Titans 4K (2010) + Wrath Of The Titans 4K (2012) contains the remake of the 1981 Ray Harryhausen-stop-motion-animation-infused romp that became more popular later after not being able to compete with the likes of Raiders Of The Lost Ark and managed to be a hit. Oddly, Warner Bros. decided on a sequel. I was not a big fan of the 1981 film, but did not like either of these very much. One of the first sets of 4K films we also reviewed in 3D, for which they were more designed then most from that 3D revival cycle, here are the links to my coverage of the Blu-rays at the time:


Clash Of The Titans 3D with 2D (2010)

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10548/Cats+&+Dogs+%E2%80%93+The+Revenge+Of+K


Wrath Of The Titans 3D with 2D & DVD (2012)

http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11668/Wrath+Of+The+Titans+3D+(2012/Warner+Blu-ray


Well, the 4K here, with the first film shot on film and sequel on early HD, look slightly better than previous versions, though in fairness to the 3D versions, we do not have a 4K 3D format version to compare to, but they are by default the best way to watch them otherwise. However, 3D is an important part of their release and they'll always be that as well.


The 2160p HEVC/H.265, 2.35 X 1 on Clash and 1.85 X 1 on Wrath, Dolby Vision/HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image is not great, but spending the money to push the films to look better in Dolby Vision does not hurt. Too bad the CGI was even dated on arrival then.


The 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image on the Clash and 1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on the Wrath Blu-rays definitely can show the age of the materials used, but I would only recommend this in 4K or just skip it.


The DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mixes on both versions of both films are decent, if nothing special and have aged fairly well considering so much else here does not work. The combinations are as good as well will ever see and hear them, if often underwhelming.

Extras are far more than the older releases offered and include an illustrated collector's book containing new writing by author and critic Guy Adams and film scholar Josh Nelson


  • Double-sided fold-out posters for each film featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Wilson


  • Six postcard sized artcards


  • Reversible sleeves featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Wilson


DISC 1 - CLASH OF THE TITANS


  • Scaling Mount Olympus, a brand new interview with producer Basil Iwanyk


  • Sam Worthington is Perseus


  • Zeus: Father of Gods and Men


  • Enter the World of Hades


  • Calibos: The Man Behind the Monster


  • Tenerife: A Continent on an Island


  • Scorpioch


  • Actors and Their Stunts


  • Wales: A Beautiful Scarred Landscape


  • Bringing Medusa to Life


  • Prepare for the Kraken!


  • Sam Worthington: An Action Hero for the Ages featurette


  • Alternate ending


  • Deleted scenes


  • Theatrical trailer


  • and an Image Gallery


DISC 2 - WRATH OF THE TITANS


  • Unleashing the Beasts, a brand new interview with producer Basil Iwanyk


  • Who Are the Titans?


  • Hephaestus: God of Fire


  • Lost in Tartarus' Labyrinth


  • Creatures of the Titans


  • Path of Men (behind the scenes)


  • Battling the Chimera


  • Agenor: The Other Demi-God


  • The Cyclops Fight


  • Prison of the Titans


  • Minotaur: The Human Nightmare


  • The Heavens Raise Hell on Earth


  • Deleted scenes


  • an Original Theatrical Trailer


  • and an Image Gallery.



To order the Warner Archive The Flash Blu-ray set, go to this link for it and many more great web-exclusive releases at:


https://www.amazon.com/stores/page/ED270804-095F-449B-9B69-6CEE46A0B2BF?ingress=0&visitId=6171710b-08c8-4829-803d-d8b922581c55&tag=blurayforum-20



- Nicholas Sheffo (4K) and James Lockhart

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



Marketplace


 
 Copyright © MMIII through MMX fulvuedrive-in.com