DVD & BLU RAY REVIEWS
Reviews by JAIME PINA
Rain Man
MVD/MGM
Tom Cruise takes a lot of heat for personal and professional reasons. When he first started popping up in films he was almost interchangeable with other young actors who were also appearing in comedies and dramas geared toward young people. After a couple of years he started making attempts to show his acting chops by appearing in films that were of a more serious nature while at the same time still doing films that were brainless audience pleasers.
While he received some critical acclaim for his role opposite Paul Newman in The Color Of Money it was the following year’s Rain Man that really got people taking him seriously as an actor.
Both Cruise and Dustin Hoffman give excellent performances with Hoffman disappearing into his role while Cruise marks sure to hit every mark in his character’s journey. Valeria Golino also shines as the common-sense person of the film. The color tones in the film vibrate with a real warmth on the 4K and Blu-Ray discs and the sound is clear. The 4K extras include a commentary by director Barry Levinson plus commentaries by writers Barry Morrow and Ron Bass. The Blu Ray features the commentaries plus a documentary on the film, a documentary about autism a deleted scene and a trailer.
McBain
Synapse/MVD
This action film was directed by producer/director James Glickenhaus. The name should be familiar since Glickenhaus has had his name attached to some excellent and/or interesting films. He produced Maniac Cop and the Basket Case sequels as well as Frankenhooker. He also directed The Exterminator and it shares some DNA with the film.
Chris Walken stars in the title role as a US soldier in Viet Nam who is taken prisoner. As the war ends some soldiers are being flown out in a chopper and spot a POW camp from overhead. While one feels it’s not their responsibility anymore another of the soldiers talks the rest into checking the place out for any of their fellow countryman. They find and free Walken and several others and a bond is made then and there. Years later the soldier who made the call to try a rescue is seen getting executed live on TV as he tries to lead the overthrow of a corrupt Colombian dictator. His Vet brothers, bored with their seemingly mundane lives, decide it is time for some fucking payback. And I mean some MOTHERFUCKING payback. The cast, except Maria Conchita Alonso, is like a who’s who of gnarly cinema. Walken is his cool self as always but you also have Michael Ironside (Scanners, Starship Troopers), Steve James (The Exterminator, To Live And Die In L.A.), Thomas G. Waites (The Thing, The Warriors) as the brothers in arms with Victor Argo (Mean Streets, King Of New York) as the Columbian dictator and Luis Guzman (Carlito’s Way, The Substitute) in a small but effective role as a drug dealer who lays the heavy shit about real life on the streets to the Vets (“You think these people I got working for me are gonna get a job at McDonald’s? I pay them $200 a day!”). Glickenhaus does an outstanding job of keeping the action constant and tight while creating some excellent suspense sequences. The acting is top notch and the film looks like there was a good-sized budget. Synapse always takes great care with their releases and this is another one. The soundtrack has a newly created 5.1 surround mix just for this release and the massive amounts of gunfire and explosions sound MASSIVE. The extras include a commentary by Glickenhaus and film historian Poggioli and a trailer. If you love watching scumbags get the fucking shit blown out of them then I highly recommend this release.
Convoy Busters
Cauldron/MVD
This 1978 Italian detective thriller stars Maurizio Merli (The Tough Ones) as a tough-as-nails cop who is too honest for his own good. He is known for using violent techniques and the corruption the detective is trying to expose gets too hot. He gets transferred to a coastal town with little crime but he soon discovers something is not kosher and gets on the case. This is a fun and engaging vehicle for Merli to do his thing. Merli is from the Burt Reynolds era of manly men. He’s got it all including the muscley yet sleek physique, the well coifed hair, the hairy chest and of course, the ‘stache. But in this modern era of parody the fair haired Merli now better resembles Ron Burgundy or the male stripper guy from Tacoma F.D. For the purposes of this film Merli is a perfect actor and the scene where he slaps a confession out of the spoiled rich kid is a scream! There are plenty of car chases and gunfire and fisticuffs and Merli holds it all together like the action star he is. One thing that really stands out is the cinematography by Sergio Rubini. There are some interesting tracking shots and beautiful composition.
This restored 2K release by Cauldron looks and sounds fine and comes in both Italian and English audio with English subtitles. The extras include an interview with Merli, a look at Merli’s tough guy status, critic commentary, archival interviews, trailers and more.
Shanghai Joe
Cauldron/MVD
This film has a little something in common with Hammer Films’ The Legend Of The Seven Golden Vampires in that it is a mashup trying to capitalize on the Martial Arts film craze of the 70’s. While the Hammer film combined martial arts with vampires this film is martial arts meets the spaghetti western. It was directed by Mario Caiano who had directed some Hercules films as well as Nightmare Castle and Nazi Love Camp 27.
Much like the basic plot of the Kung-Fu TV series, an immigrant from China comes to America in the times of the Old West and deals with redneck ignorance and hate. Chen Lee plays the immigrant and is very likeable in the role. As he tries to get work on a ranch he gets into fights and develops a reputation and is soon sought out by a businessman for nefarious purposes. Chen must wrestle with his integrity or once again run afoul of the white man and lose another work opportunity.
While the film is interesting and well directed, Caiano stumbles a bit when it comes to the fight scenes. It is obvious he was not prepared to film martial arts fighting and the sequences seem soft and unexciting. That aside, the acting is fun with Gordon Mitchell in a small part and Klaus Kinski shows up towards the end and is his usual magnetic self.
The case comes with a reversable cover and the extras include an interview with master Katsutoshi Mikuriya, a visual essay, a commentary, an image gallery and trailer.
Shin Ultraman
Cleopatra/MVD
With the success of Shin Godzilla it seemed likely that other kaiju related franchises would start up the redux process. Ultraman was a natural for this as the character is still wildly popular and well known around the world. The Ultra-family has been kept in the public eye in one way or another in Japan and while Ultraman himself has had several projects aimed at the US, including a Japanese/Australian TV show and a Marvel comic, he has never really enjoyed the success of Godzilla or Pacific Rim on the big screen.
The original 1966 Ultraman TV series was a big hit when broadcast here in the US for many years. While the other offshoot Ultra series were more obscure here, Ultraman never really went away in the US and imported action figures sold well and VHS bootlegs of the show were always on sale at conventions. It will be reassuring to US fans of the show that this new film is like a modern update of that beloved series.
Creating a new version of Ultraman while staying true to the original series seems to have come easy to the producers. The story has much in common with Green Lantern as intergalactic law enforcement traces an outlaw to Earth and during the apprehension a human is killed and the alien do-gooder shares his lifeforce to save the human’s life while also giving him super-powers. The story stays true to the original and the Science Patrol of old is now the SSSP Kaiju Task Force. And instead of Hiyata the protagonist is now named Shinji Kaminaga but he still uses the Beta Capsule to change into Ultraman.
The CGI is pretty good except for the flying saucers but this seems common in modern Japanese kaiju productions. Ultraman and the monsters all look cool and the opening battle is fantastic. The Blu-ray comes in both Japanese and English languages and includes a trailer. And for the hardcore fans who love the opening swirling paint effect that opens the TV show it is represented here in a very emotional way that will have even the most cynical fan getting all teary eyed.
L.A. Wars
MVD Rewind Collection
This little low-budget film is another one of those productions that doesn’t seem to have a lot going for it as far as cash and star power but is very entertaining. Plotwise it is your standard crime bosses in a drug war situation but part of what makes this film work are the actors playing the warring bosses. A.J. Stephans plays the established Italian boss and Rodrigo Obregon plays the Columbian upstart trying to move in on his territory. They both exude menace while also giving some character to their roles. Stephans is especially good in a pivotal scene that changes the course of the story. As for Vince Murdocco who is supposed to carry the picture as the hero, he does his best and is functional in the role in that he can fight and shoot guns but he doesn’t have much charisma. But with the film moving so fast and his slack being picked up by Stephans, Obregon and Johnny Venokur as the sleazy turncoat, it doesn’t matter much.
This is another release in MVD’s Rewind Collection and is a perfect film for this line. With the slipcase mimicking the look of a VHS video rental cover, the package includes a reversable cover and a mini movie poster. Extras include commentaries and interviews with the production team, a photo gallery and a trailer.