February 2021 - Seven Years Later...

This was written back in 2016 when I thought I would be coming back. However, things happened. But, for real, I am coming back to writing reviews.

I am coming back! I am all ready working on my first review after taking some time off. Cheers, people! I will be re-formatting all previous reviews and changing the cover arts to match my scans. So, for example, if I have the case and cover art intact for said release that I review, the new layout looks like this:

I hope you like. This will take some time as I have about a hundred reviews up from the past few years.

- Eastwood.

Easter Casket (2013)

Movie: 3/5
Video: 3/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 5/5
Overall: 4/5

"If Only Peter Cottontail Was This Dirty."

NOTE: This is an official release, but burned onto a BD-R for the public.

Easter Casket tells the story of Asher (Josh Eal, Bath Salt Zombies); a religious warrior of God who must fight to save the world from the demonic possession of Cottontail (voiced by director Dustin Mills).  Asher's mission leads him to protect Aubrie (Erin R. Ryan, Skinless) who is in grave danger as her friend and higher ups have all ready been killed by Cottontail.

For being a small indie production, I enjoyed how wacky as hell it was. It may feel all over the place with following Father Asher and his quest to find Cottontail. Plus, we don't really get much of our villain until the last half of the film. However, the craziness of Cottontail is enjoyable whenever he is on screen and director Dustin Mills does a good job giving him a voice. I give the film 3/5.

Video: 3/5

Presented in 1080p with an MPEG-4/AVC transfer, shot in HD, I feel a bit conflicted about the presentation of the film. Bit rates stay around the single digits and low teens, the transfer is good. There is some pixelation and macro-blocking in a few shots. Especially when Father Asher is fighting an army of hatched chicks. Also, when scanning files on my computer, the film has a small size of 7.05GB for the film. Do not let this dissuade you, I give the visual presentation 3/5.

Audio: 4/5

For the film, we have English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. For being a basic stereo soundtrack for the film, it gets the job done. No complaints regarding it. 4/5.

Extras: 5/5

Packed full of extras; we have a ton crammed onto the disc. We have an hour-forty-five minutes of behind the scenes footage that is presented in 480i. Oddly, this behind the scenes footage rings in at over 9GB in size which is odd considering the film in HD is only 7.05 GB. We also have a commentary track along with subtitled trivia track that goes on throughout the film. Also, we have two introductions that you can have before the movie starts; one by the director and the other by Cottontail. And finally, we have deleted scenes.

This release is packed with extras that are enjoyable. The 105 minute B-T-S footage is a good insight on how movies are made. Considering how packed the disc is, I give the bonus portions 5/5.

Overall: 4/5

This release is out of print and only fifty copies were made. I picked it up on pre-order for $23 shipped. It is presented on a BD-R like previous films I have reviewed like Psycho Street and Hometown. I would like to see Cottontail return, if Dustin decides to make another one. I give this Blu-ray a 4/5.

Grotesque (2009)

Movie: 2.5/5
Video: 3/5
Audio: 3/5
Extras: .5/5
Overall: 2.5/5

"Ugh..."

I wonder what possess a filmmaker to make nothing but extreme violence because Grotesque takes it to the point of overkill. While most people will bash the seven Saw films and brand them with the idiotic and very snobish term "Torture Porn", those films at least have a plot. Hostel at least had a plot. A Serbian Film had a plot. Grotesque does not have a plot. And this is why this film fails.

The film is about a crazed doctor who kidnaps a couple and performs various sexual and violent acts upon them both. That's it, a film with no plot that wants to just show human suffering for seventy-three minutes. Why do I give this film a 2.5/5? I found it somewhat creative and the effects are not a total waste.

Video: 3/5
Presented in 2.35:1 in a 1080p presentation, Grotesque looks like it was shot with a basic high definition camera. While compression artifacts are present throughout, the film does not look completely bad. It's main color scheme of green and brown is somewhat strongly preserved through the whole "film". I give the presentation 3/5.

Audio: 3/5
Media Blasters give Grotesque only one audio presentation; Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo.  For what it is, it does it well. Does it honestly matter if you hear the man and woman scream in 2.0 or 5.1 DTS-HD MA? 3/5.

Extras: .5/5
Only bonus features is a trailer in SD and a DVD copy. Fantastic, .5/5.

Overall: 2.5/5
I question how much it cost Media Blasters to get the rights to this film. A studio that has been running themselves into the ground for years and they cling to whatever shocking garbage that they can get their hands on or make themselves like Late Fee. I think I paid $13 for this, don't pay more than that. 2.5/5.

An Elf's Story (2011)

Movie: .5/5
Video: 5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 1/5
Overall: 3/5

"What's That?"

If A Walk in My Shoes taught me anything, is that there's more propaganda out there than I thought. Now, the makers of "Elf on the Shelf" have made a twenty-six minute short film that is nothing but nonsense for kids. This short revolves around Chippey (What's That?) who is sent from the North Pole to help make a child believe in Santa Clause again.

This short film is short of nothing but annoying music numbers that will make anyone over the age of six annoyed. And this biggest thing that puzzled me over this is that if someone touches an "Elf on the Shelf", it looses its power. Then how the hell do you get it out of the box? .5/5

Video: 5/5

Considering that this is completely computer animation, the video presentation is flawless. There's also the short film in stereoscopic 3D, but, I don't have equipment to view it. Despite that setback, presented in 1.78:1, the video is crystal clear. 5/5.

Audio: 5/5

There's two audio tracks for the short, English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and a LPCM 2.0 stereo track. Default track is the LPCM, why make two mixes is beyond me. It sounds fine for what it is. No complaints, I've complained enough and at the same time, I haven't. 5/5.

Extras: 1/5

There's a two minute trailer for this "short" film. However, I don't know where this trailer came from and who played it because this thing breaks down the whole twenty-five minute short in two minutes. It's like an old school digest 8mm film that you could buy back in the day.

There's a ten minute making of and I found it down right disturbing that this is a family affair. I find it so bizarre how they feel like they made a real movie. If this was fifty minutes longer than what it was, I could understand. This is only twenty-five minutes! They talk about scenes they like where these scenes only last two seconds! Smurfin' smurf, man!

Finally, we have a commentary track that is torture. Whoever the man is who is talking to the women, he sounds like Kenneth from 30 Rock. This is nothing but a self-serving commentary track that's missing lotion. These people clearly have no idea how ADR works as the woman talks about how the actor doing the voice for Santa was putting emotion in to the ADR and throwing his arms in the air.

And finally we have a DVD copy, because why not? Clearly if someone buys a DVD, they don't get a Blu-ray copy with it, so let's give the Blu-ray buyer a DVD for the hell of it. Please... Don't make me sick. I give these bonus materials a painful 1/5.

Overall: 3/5

It pains me to give this Blu-ray the score it gets. It doesn't deserve it. If you do or don't have kids, for the love of everything holy, run away! I paid $4 for this and I regret it since I watched this. Don't be fooled, it does not deserve a 3/5. Maybe Chip Chipperson will love it or at least love Chippey.

The Raid: Redemption (2012)

Movie: 5/5
Video: 3/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 3/5
Overall: 4.5/5

"German Release Does Not Contain Original Score."

Note: While the German release does not contain the original Indonesian score, I am not docking points for this release.

The Raid: Redemption tells the tale of a group of special ops who raid a building ran by a drug kingpin. Once inside, they have their cover blown and every vicious killer in the building is out for their heads. Rama (Iko Uwais, Merantau) is a tough soldier who soon takes the lead as he is cut off from his squad leader, Jaka (Joe Taslim; Fast & Furious 6) and other members from the squad. They all realize that the only way out is to go all the way to the top to face the leader of the building.

The movie is an action roller coaster. This was one of the first movies that I had seen after I survived getting hit by a car in 2012. I had to go to a small indie movie theater in Columbus, OH because it was the closest theater playing it. I was still heavily medicated at the time I saw it, so, I think the medicine I was on made me enjoy it more. The theater in my town finally got it a few weeks after and saw it digitally for my second showing of the film. Still loved it. 5/5.

Video: 3/5

Shot in HD, Koch Media uses Sony's transfer of the film. The transfer is very problematic. When I saw it on celluloid the first time, I don't remember it looking that rough. Seeing it on home video on Blu-ray, it looks rough with macro problems all over the place if it's not a close up shot. If I had to guess, this was shot in 720p. I give the video 3/5.

Audio: 5/5

We have two audio tracks for the film; Indonesian and a German dub DTS-HD MA 5.1 tracks. Both tracks sounded evenly good. I have no doubt that the Indonesian audio is probably the same track that is found on the U.S. Blu-ray. I give the audio presentations 5/5.

Extras: 3/5

While the extras in this release pails in comparison of the U.S. Blu-ray; we have the audio commentary by the director, Gareth Evans. Oddly, the commentary does not have any German subs as its in English. Claycat's The Raid which is a stop-motion animation version with cats that was done by a guy who makes Youtube videos. Then we have seven trailers and teasers and tv spots for Germany. And then finally, German dubbed trailers for Margin Call; Black's Game; and Who Killed Marilyn. While it's missing out, I do give the bonus material 3/5.

Overall: 4.5/5

I got this disc off of a Steelbook collector who got rid of the disc for about $5. While it is region free, it's not English friendly. Lucky for me, since German is my second language, this worked out in my favor that I got to experience one of my favorite films in German. If you don't speak German, please wait for my review on the U.S. release by Sony. I give the German Blu-ray 4.5/5.

[Rec.] 2 (2009)

Movie: 3.5/5
Video: 4/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 5/5
Overall: 4.5/5

"Interesting, but..."

[Rec.] 2 takes place minutes after the first film has ended. The plot is pretty simple, after the original crew is sent in, another goes in to find any survivors. This group of police are armed to the teeth in helmet cams, which transitions back and forth from one to the next.

With how we get towards the end and with what we get during the film with all the revelations about the plague kinda turned me off of this whole story line. This is just an oddball route to take; the only thing that I can compare it too is like how the first Feast film was great and then by the time we got to the third film it was just downright atrocious. But, for being a horror film that has lots of jump scares, I did enjoy it. I give the movie 3.5/5.

Video: 4/5

Entertainment One has presented [Rec.] 2 in it's original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with an MPEG4 transfer in 1080p. Shot in HD, the quality varies throughout the film. However, it's not as bad as the video quality of another shot on video film I reviewed, like Project X. Mostly the image is crystal clear but there is some video noise that is from the cameras itself, not the digitally manipulated noise that is in post that you can tell is added. I give the film 4/5.

Audio: 5/5

Entertainment One has given [Rec.] 2 two different audio presentations for the film; Spanish DTS-HD MA 5.1 and Spanish LPCM 2.0 stereo. While listening to the audio, the DTS-HD MA 5.1 sounds better of the two tracks.

Extras: 5/5

Entertainment One has given the film a small, but a lot of time consuming bonus materials. First off before we get to the menu, we have trailers for The Tormented, Rec, 7 Days, and Unthinkable. We have an almost two hour documentary of [Rec.] 2 called, In an Infected World. This documentary was all right, it covers most ground about the whole production process. And then another hour of behind the scenes footage. And finally deleted and extended scenes. Watching this all in one sitting can be very over whelming, watch in moderation if interested. 5/5.

Overall: 4.5/5

Entertainment One has given the U.K. a fine disc for [Rec.] 2. Why they couldn't have made this disc region free since they have Canadian rights is beyond me. This disc is region B locked; I managed to buy this used for $3 and for that price, I think I got myself a deal. I give the U.K. release of [Rec.] 2 a 4.5/5.

Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

Movie: 3/5
Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5

"Leave Town!"

Doug Liman's Mr. & Mrs. Smith tells the story of two lovers, John Smith (Brad Pitt; Too Young to Die, World War Z) and Jane Smith (Angelina Jolie; Gone in 60 Seconds, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow) who are married and at the same time do not know that they're both hired assassins. After going on a mission, their covers are blown and now all hell breaks loose. Jane's second in command, Jasmine (Kerry Washington; Django Unchained, Lakeview Terrace) wants everything shut down and soon a hit is put out on both John and Jane's heads.

I have a problem with how the movie ends. To give a slight spoiler to a film that's pushing ten years old, there's no resolution. It's left open for a sequel which never happened and a failed television pilot to continue the story. I'm not too much of a fan of Doug Liman as he's claimed that there would be sequels to this and other films (Jumper) which never materialized. I do think that Pitt and Jolie did a good job on this film, but, the failed resolve makes me give this film a 3/5.

Video: 3.5/5

Kinowelt/Studio Canal has presented Mr. & Mrs. Smith in it's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. Having not seeing the U.S. Blu-ray by Fox, I do not know if this is the same HD transfer. There is grain present throughout the film, but it looks somewhat scrubbed away. I can't tell if it's DNR or what. But, considering this is ten years old, I doubt this film will look any better. 3.5/5.

Audio: 3.5/5

Kinowelt/Studio Canal has given the film two different audio presentations for the film; English and a German dubbing in DTS-HD HR 7.1. For being this high in terms of audio, I found myself turning up the audio slightly. I encountered this in both audio tracks. I guess if you have the proper sound equipment to play in 7.1 channels, it might sound better. I give the audio presentations 3.5/5.

Extras: 3/5

German dubbed trailers for The Bank Job, Jumper, Meet Dave, Million Dollar Baby, P2 , Premonition, The Sentinel, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Three different audio commentary tracks in DTS; With Simon Kinberg and Doug Liman; Michael Tronick, Jeff Mann, and Kevin Elam; and with producers Lucas Foster and Akiva Goldsman. Deleted scenes. Domestic Violence: The Making of Mr. & Mrs. Smith. And Doug's Filmschool. With all this bonus material, if you're a fan of this film, it might be entertaining; but, I felt somewhat bored with all this.

Overall: 3.5/5

Like my previous review of the German Blu-ray for The Tourist, I got this disc from a Steelbook collector who sold off the Region B locked discs. Studio Canal simply re-uses the original Kinowelt disc because it was made before Studio Canal bought them out. I paid $3 for the disc and I know that the U.S. release goes for under $10. I give this German disc a 3.5/5.

Almighty Thor (2011)

Movie: 2/5
Video: 4/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: 3/5
Overall: 3/5

"Learn How to Frame Your Movie!"

Loki (Richard Grieco, 21 Jump Street) is laying waste to Valhalla in search of the hammer of the Gods. Odin (Kevin Nash) sends the hammer to Earth in his final dying breath. Thor (Cody Deal) and Jarnsaxa (Patricia Velasquez, The Mummy; Mindhunters) evade Loki and his horde of evil monsters to escape to Earth. Loki in his quest for the hammer goes to Earth to kill Thor and to try to take control of the galaxy.
For a film from The Asylum, this one is not as bad, but it's not that great either. I guess Thor running around some major city, I am guessing Los Angeles, with an Uzi was a great idea. I wish I was joking about that last sentence, he's fighting Loki head on and is firing an Uzi at him trying to lay him to waste. There's no real honor in that in my humble opinion.

Also, I am giving some harsh criticism towards whoever thought to put the film in scope. In the behind the scenes stuff, we can clearly see that it's all 16:9 and all of the other Asylum films that I have seen are 16:9. It's like they just decided to crop the top and bottom of the screen without properly adjusting the image. Because most of the top, either Thor or Loki's head is completely chopped off the frame while he is talking. That is unacceptable. I give the film 2/5.

Video: 4/5
Presented in 2.35:1 with an MPEG2 encode; Almighty Thor has somewhat of a better transfer than most of the Asylum films that I have seen. Detail is nice and solid with the bitrate being in the high 20's and even goes into the 30's. The film plays on the colors of blue and grey after the first half hour. I think it helps convey the dismal situation that Loki is putting everyone through. I give the video presentation 4/5.

Audio: 3.5/5

We have two audio tracks on the disc; English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0. While listening to the audio tracks, the 2.0 stereo track is loud and has more of a kick to it in comparison to the 5.1 surround sound track. If you do decide to watch this film, go with the 2.0 stereo track. I give the audio 3.5/5.

Extras:  3/5

Trailers for Battle of Los Angeles, 200 M.P.H, Anneliese: The Exorcist Tapes, Ballistica, Mega Shark Vs Crocosaurus, Princess and the Pony, and Almighty Thor. A nine minute making of which shows how miserable Richard Grieco looks and claims that this film has a 124 page script. Patricia Velasquez points how fast this film is being made in terms of training and shooting, which was two weeks. Cody Deal seems to have everything wrong about this film and how an audience will react. And a blooper reel which is undesirable. I give the extras a 3/5.

Overall: 3/5

I picked this up for $5. I wouldn't pay more than that for this film. I do know that it is available in a triple feature set with The 7 Adventures of Sinbad and John Carter of Mars. As far as Asylum films go, it's better than Alien Origin; Countdown: Armageddon; and 2012: Doomsday. I give this Blu-ray release of Almighty Thor a 3/5.

Robocop (1987) - Remastered

Movie: 5/5
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 5/5
Overall: 5/5

"Tastes Like Baby Food."

Paul Verhoeven's satire/sci-fi classic Robocop has arrived again on Blu-ray in a remastered version, just in time for the new remake. Alex Murphy (Peter Weller; Star Trek into Darkness) is new to Detroit and on his first day, he is brutally murdered by Boddicker (Kurtwood Smith; Fortress, That '70's Show) and his gang. At the same time at OCP, Rob Morton (Miguel Ferrer, Iron Man 3) pitches the "future of law enforcement" and it all lands in his lap.

Murphy is now the cybernetic being known as Robocop. Reborn, he is sworn to protect the law. All seems to be going well, until he defects and begins to remember his past life and the people who took his life. After chasing down Boddicker; Robocop learns that more sinster things are afoot.

The movie is a classic with humor and sci-fi elements. I used to watch all three Robocop films all the time when I was a little kid, so this film and the sequels have a special place in my heart. The casting is great as we have Peter Weller playing the protagonist with the existential crisis once he snaps and goes after Boddicker and his buddies. Kurtwood Smith always plays a great villainous role, especially as what most people know him for on That '70's Show. The effects are pretty great with props and the stop motion work on ED-209 is top notch. I give the film a 5/5.

Video: 4.5/5

While I never saw the original 2007 Blu-ray, this new remastered version looks fantastic! Presented in 1080p with an MPEG4 encode in it's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio. It's as close to perfection as we can get, but there is a few shots that I noticed that still looked somewhat rough to my eyes. Now, some of this footage is from television broadcasts with low quality, I can forgive that. How ever, when Murphy is getting killed by Boddicker, some of the shots looked somewhat scrubbed in terms of detail. I also this again when we have several shots with Boddicker's last scene in the film. But, MGM/Fox has given their second 4K remaster (first being The Terminator) a very strong which makes it look like it was shot yesterday. Quality control here is amazing. 4.5/5.

Audio: 5/5

I personally like what Fox does with catalog titles that most studios don't do anymore; make their discs for worldwide use. Universal used to do it back when they started doing Blu-rays in 2008. As my second and third languages are German and French, it always pleases me when I see that there's a German dub available on a U.S. release. The film is available on the disc in twelve different audio languages with encodes varying from DTS-HD MA 5.1 to Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. And also Fox has given the film subtitles in twenty-three different languages; that is a lot of hard work in terms of making a great disc, is it not?

The English DTS-HD MA 5.1 track sounds great. Effects sound live and flow nicely and I personally have no complaints with it. I've also watched the film with the German dub which is presented in DTS 5.1. It sounds weak in comparison. Seeing as how some of the audio tracks range in terms of encodes, I doubt these are remastered tracks. I do give the audio presentation on the original English DTS-HD MA 5.1 a 5/5.

Extras: 5/5

With the exception of the 2012 Q&A with Paul Verhoeven and Peter Weller and some of the people who worked on the film, I am going to assume that most of these bonus features were available on the original 2007 Blu-ray. The Q&A goes on for almost an hour and is insightful as are most of the other bonus features. There's four behind the scenes featurettes, two of which are from 1987; a very nice English commentary which is also available subtitled in German and French. I give the bonus material 5/5.

Overall: 5/5

FOX and MGM has given Robocop a top notch re-release which you can get for under $10. This is worth having in your library of films. This is an example of a demo disc to show off the beautiful high definition quality of Blu-ray. I give this release a 5/5.

Dracula 3D (2012)

Movie: 2.5/5
Video: 5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 2.5/5
Overall: 4/5

"Dario ... Dario ... Dario ..."

Dracula 3D is Dario Argento's take on Bram Stoker's novel. Harker (Unax Ugalde) is on a business trip to work for Dracula (Thomas Kretschmann; Blade II, King Kong). Harker meets Dracula's previous victim and now servant, Tanja (Miriam Giovanelli); and is attacked and bitten. Mina (Marta Gastini, The Rite) arrives in the village and is meet by her old friend Lucy (Asia Argento; xXx, Demons 2).

Dracula seduces Lucy and has her persuade Mina to go to Dracula's castle to find her husband. Once there, Mina cannot figure out where she knows Dracula. When Van Helsing (Rutger Hauer; The Hitcher, The Rite) is called in; Mina may not make it out alive.

I cannot personally decide if I like or loathe this movie. Argento's newer films are not as good as his older films. The film has horrible CGI effects, green screen backdrops, acting, continuity, and atrocious camera work. There are CGI animals and effects which look like they were made with computer equipment from the early 1990's; especially the opening title sequence. Most of the actors in the film do not speak English as a first language; and this film was shot in English. You can tell a good portion of the film is dubbed.

Camera work was pretty bad. Shots will linger on for far too longer than they should. Angles are pretty bizarre too. There's a scene in a church, where the angle is to a point where you can't even see both actors' faces. Who seriously thought this was a good idea? I give the film a 2.5/5.

Video: 5/5

Shot digitally with stereoscopic 3D equipment; Dracula 3D sports a very nice and strong video presentation. We have the film in it's original 2.35:1 aspect ratio and in 1080p. Sony Pictures Italy gives this film the video quality that it deserves. While I can only view the film in 2D, color and saturation and grain looks strong. Look at how nice and detailed day time scenes are. It's fantastic. 5/5.

Audio: 5/5

Sony Italy has given the film two audio presentations; English and an Italian dub, both DTS-HD MA 5.1. Oddly, for an Italian Blu-ray, Sony has only given the film the subtitles in French. The English audio sounds great; considering that a lot of sound effects used in the film are reused from the past ten to fifteen years. I give the audio track 5/5.

Extras: 2.5/5

Most of the bonus material is in Italian. Backstage with the Crew; behind the scenes that lasts for fifty minutes. Backstage with the Cast; almost twenty minutes and I was livid while watching this part.  Thomas Kretschmann is talking about how he acts and goes on about the film and flat out says; "I have no idea what we are doing here." With how this film is, I can honestly believe that. Rutger Hauer even looks lost and confused talking about this film. And finally a music video called Kiss Me Dracula, by Claudio Simonetti. 2.5/5.

Overall: 4/5

Sony Italy has given Dario's film a great release. However, I don't know if I can honestly recommend the film. I would probably choose Deep Red or Susperia over Dracula 3D. Be cautious going into this film; don't go in thinking this is his return to making great horror. You'll be sadly mistaken. 4/5.

Little Big Soldier (2010)

Movie: 4/5
Video: 5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 2.5/5
Overall: 4/5

"This is Why Jackie Chan is Better in Chinese."

Jackie Chan is a nameless soldier who rises from a field of dead bodies. While scavenging for money and whatever he can find, a general (Leehom Wang; Lust, Caution) from the opposing side rises and is soon soldier's prisoner. While being captive, the general and the soldier try to figure out who informed soldier's army about his side's whereabouts. At the same time, a young hunter from the general's side couldn't find his body and being to slay anyone in his path to find the general.

Released the same year in China as The Spy Next Door, this is the better of the two films. Jackie's comical acting and fighting is hands down the best out of all of the newer films that he's made in the last ten years. And especially when we get towards the end of the film, we see how well Jackie can convey tragedy and can really move you emotionally. I give the film a 4/5.

Video: 5/5

Presented in 2.35:1, Well Go USA has given Little Big Soldier a flawless transfer. The grain is nice and detail is clear. Colors are nice and fleshed out. I really liked how well the colors stand out whenever we have the dream sequences and we see a sea of sun flowers and yellow is strong. 5/5.

Audio: 5/5

Well Go USA has given us four audio tracks for the film; Mandarin and English DTS-HD MA 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo. Listening to the English dub was a tough sit through as Jackie Chan is not doing his dubbing for the film. Both DTS-HD MA tracks sound great. I do not understand why we have a Dolby Digital stereo tracks for both languages? Audio is pretty flawless in the action scenes. I give the audio 5/5.

Extras: 2.5/5

Trailers for Shaolin, Legend of the Fist: the Return of Chen Zhen, Kung-Fu Dunk, Ip Man 2; and both U.S. and Chinese trailers for Little Big Soldier. Music video called the Rape Flowers by Jackie Chan, in SD. And finally a fifteen minute making of, in SD. The making of wasn't really that interesting, it kept going on and on and mainly focusing on everyone talking about how great Jackie is. We know Jackie is great and that Jackie did a lot for the film, this was his passion project. And finally, a useless DVD copy of the film. I give the extras a 2.5/5.

Overall: 4/5

I picked this up for $8 used back in 2012. For the price, I can recommend it. If you are a fan of Jackie's work, don't pass this one up. This probably his best performance that I have seen. Well Go USA has given the film an amazing release and I give this Blu-ray presentation 4/5.

The Faculty (1998)

Movie: 4/5
Video: 3/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 0/5
Overall: 3/5

"Another Robert Rodriguez Classic."

The Faculty starts off with Robert Patrick (T2, From Dusk Till Dawn 2) as Willis who is the stereotypical brute football coach hounding his players as he vents his rage on a water sprinkler, an unseen person approaches him and we fade out. After a faculty meeting regarding budgeting classes comes to a close, the coach appears and begins to assult one of the school heads. We then introduce our leads Zeke (Josh Hartnett; H20, 30 Days of Night), Casey (Elijah Wood; Lord of the Rings, Maniac), Stokely (Clea DuVall; Identity), Stan (Shawn Hatosy), Delilah (Jordana Brewster; The Fast and the Furious), and Marybeth (Laura Harris). Each student represents all the basic cliques that you would probably encounter in most, if not all, high schools.

While Casey, who is the nerd/reject, is eating alone out on the football field finds a strange fish-like animal. They all gather in the science class, which is taught by Jon Stewart! Remember when he used to act in movies? Once this happens, they realize that this is possibly an alien life form and Casey suspects the coach as being one of them. The six realize that they may be the only humans left in the school as one by one students are being called into the principal's office for testing. Will they be able to kill the aliens or die trying?

Written by Kevin Williamson of the Scream series, he basically recycles the whole "teens in peril at high school" routine. However, what saves the movie is Robert Rodriguez's direction and the special effects of Robert Kurtzman, Greg Nicotero, and Howard Berger who have worked on a lot of other Rodriguez's films. Most of the casting seemed to fit as I can kind of see these actors playing these types of characters. Personally, I thought the alien looked amazing and live action version of it looked a lot better than the CGI variations that we see throughout the film. I give the film a 4/5.

Video: 3/5
Presented in it's original 1.85:1 aspect ratio in 1080p, Filmyard Holdings has given Echo Bridge another problematic transfer. I will gladly assume, like with initial release of The Crow: City of Angels and some of the previous Miramax/Dimension films that I have reviewed, that this is the original high definition transfer that Disney created back in the day. Detail and clarity comes and goes and leaves the image with more to be desired. Grain levels are also weak as well and most times it feels like it's been scrubbed away with DNR. While, it's not a complete disaster, I give the video presentation for The Faculty a 3/5.

Audio: 5/5
Here's a problem that I have with this disc, we have three audio presentations. All are English; we have a 5.1 DTS-HD MA, 5.1 Dolby Digital, and LPCM 2.0. The default audio track that plays is the DTS-HD MA track and it sounds fantastic. The LPCM 2.0 track sounds exactly the same as the DTS-HD MA. And finally, a horrifying and dull 5.1 Dolby Digital track. Why is there a need for this many audio tracks for the film? We would be substantially fine with just the 5.1 DTS-HD MA track. Do not mistake this rant, the audio is fantastic, and I give it a 5/5.

Extras: 0/5
Sadly, nothing.

Overall: 3/5
Despite the rough video, this is one of Echo Bridge's better Miramax releases. I was able to get this for around six dollars when it came out. For the price, I can gladly recommend it. And considering it was written by Kevin Williamson, it is better than all of those Scream sequels. And it also shows me what I miss about what made Robert Rodriguez a great director in the day. Now it feels like broken promises about sequels we'll never get or are delayed and all this other nonsense we get from him. I give this Blu-ray of The Faculty a 3/5.

Osombie (2012)

Movie: 3/5

Video: 4.5/5

Audio: 5/5

Extras: 0/5

Overall: 3/5

"A Somewhat Original Idea Killed By it's Niche."

Osombie is a big what if! When Seal Team IV went into kill Bin Laden, they had to fight their way through the undead just to find Bin Laden dead ... or so it seems. Bin Laden wakes up as an undead ghoul while being flown out. The helicopter crashes in the Arabic Sea and Bin Laden makes his way back to his homeland while laying waste to everyone in sight. While believing that he is dead; a group of special ops in Afghanistan come across a woman named Dusty (Eve Mauro) who is searching for her brother Derek (Jasen Wade). Derek believes that the cover up is all a lie and soon the truth comes out.

I found the film to be somewhat entertaining; it feels as if this film won't find it's real target audience because of what the film is. The film is CGI heavy and could have used a lot more blood; even though the effects didn't look that bad. Whenever the female soldier in the group is hacking through zombies with a sword, you'd expect her to be somewhat covered in blood. The acting was surprisingly better than I thought it would be. I was mainly expecting something along the lines of a bad Sci-Fi channel movie. I give Osombie a 3/5.

Video: 4.5/5

British studio Signature Entertainment has given Osombie a nice 1080/50i presentation. The film looks like it was shot with a basic HD camera. Quality is pretty good, however there seems to be a shot or two of bad interlacing. Not entirely sure what that is all about. Detail is nice and crisp. Even with the visual effects added into the image at times, it doesn't bring the quality down. I give the video source 4.5/5.

Audio: 5/5

Signature Entertainment has given the film two audio options, PCM stereo and DTS-HD MA 5.1. While I viewed the film in DTS-HD MA, it sounded it pretty great. Then, I went back through the film and viewed it in the PCM and it blows the DTS-HD MA out of the water. It's loud and clear with the stereo track. You can't go wrong with it. 5/5.

Extras: 0/5

No extras on the disc.

Overall: 3/5

The disc is region free, however, a 1080/50i presentation kills it. I do not know how the U.S. disc compares this release. I know when the film came out last year on Blu-ray here in the States, it was going for $13; I managed to score this British release for $3 used. I would say don't pay more than $10 for it. I give this release a 3/5.

Ca$h (2010)

Movie: 2.5/5
Video: 4/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 1/5
Overall: 3/5

"This is Thor, Before Thor?"

I will say this, Chris Hemsworth has came a long way from his earlier films in comparison to how great his role is as Thor. I managed to get this Blu-ray off of Grooves Inc for $10 and boy was I in for a surprise. Sean Bean plays Kubic, a man who has traveled from England to Chicago to see his imprisoned brother (also Sean Bean). His brother informed him that he threw his heist money out the window while being chased by the police.

The suitcase full of money lands on Sam's (Hemsworth) car. Sam, in anger, throws the suitcase to reveal money sticking out of it. He takes it home to his wife and they believe it to a blessing from God, until Kubic comes knocking at their door. The couple blew through $75,000 out of the $625,000. While visiting his brother in prison, Kubic is told to ignore it and the money they spent is fine. Kubic ignores his brother's plea and wants all of the money back. Kubic then puts the couple into a journey of hell trying to get the cash back.

For 110 minutes, I felt that the film dragged on and on at times. If twenty minutes would have been cut, I might have enjoyed it more. Obviously, with how it ends, sets it up for a sequel that we will never get. I've seen better performances from Sean Bean and Chris Hemsworth doesn't remotely look like how he does in Thor in this movie. He's all babyface and no muscle. I give Ca$h 2.5/5.

Video: 4/5

This looks like it was shot with a basic 1080p camera judging from how looks in movement. A lot of early HD shot films have this speed problem where it moves a bit faster than it should. The video looks a bit soft at times, but, it is pretty detailed. It's not perfect, but, I can award it 4/5 for the video.

Audio: 5/5

Ascot Elite gives us two audio tracks on the disc, English and German DTS-HD MA 5.1 tracks. The English audio fares better than the video presentation. Hearing the guns lock whenever Kubic puts the clip into the gun sounds nice and crystal clear. Hearing the sound of a plane landing as Kubic comes to Chicago in the opening sounds nice and loud. I have no complaints regarding the audio tracks. 5/5.

Extras: 1/5

Not much in terms of extras. We have an English and German trailer for Cash. Then we have German dubbed trailers for What Doesn't Kill You aka Boston Streets; Cargo; and Nothing But the Truth. And English language trailers with German subtitles for a British film called the Firm and a movie starring Melissa George called Triangle. Quality on all these trailers all look like poorly ripped Youtube videos. It reminds of all the trailers on the Blu-ray for Evil Angel. I give the bonus 1/5.

Overall: 3/5

I went into Cash with high hopes. I was somewhat let down. I don't think it was that bad, nor that great. It all felt that Sean Bean dialed it in and Chris Hemsworth was a new and upcoming actor who hadn't yet landed the role as the God of Thunder. Even Bean's performance in the remake of the Hitcher was better; even in Silent Hill: Revelation 3D where he kept flipping back and forth from his English accent to his American accent. Maybe if you're looking to see it, I can recommend it for the $10 if you can play Region B discs. Will it get a replay in my book? Down the road, one day. 3/5.

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster (1964)

Movie: 5/5
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 4.5/5
Overall: 5/5

"Germany's First Godzilla Blu-ray!"

Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster was a turning point for the Godzilla series. This is where Godzilla changes from being the destroyer that he is to Earth's savior. After a meteorite crashes to Earth, a group of scientists go to investigate. At the same time, a princess is heading to Japan when her plane explodes during it's flight. Believing that the princess is dead, a mysterious prophet claiming to be from Venus looks exactly like the dead princess. The prophet claims that the monsters are going to be awoken and it all begins to hit the fan.

The meteorite turns out to be King Ghidorah and soon he begins laying waste to Japan. Rodan, Mothra (in larva form), and Godzilla gather. Mothra tries to stop Godzilla and Rodan from killing each other and begs them to stop and to save the world from the wrath of King Ghidorah. After the monsters ignore her pleas, Mothra goes to fight King Ghidorah by herself. Godzilla and Rodan sees Mothra's sacrifice to save the planet and soon the three unlikely monsters begin the battle for the Earth and duke it out against King Ghidorah.

I remember being six years old when I first saw this film, in 1996. I had recorded it off of the Disney channel along with Son of Godzilla. Yes, Disney channel back in the day would actually play Godzilla films. Would you see something like that now a days? No. You would get the crap you see on there today.

What I love about this film is how hysterical it gets when the monsters fight and the sarcasm that they have. You can tell that Rodan is laughing at Godzilla when Mothra is spraying him down and then Rodan shuts up as soon as he gets sprayed himself. This is a film where the suits look amazing and well done. I can't recommend this film enough, 5/5.

Video: 4.5/5

Ascot Elite presents the film in 1080p and uses the Toho remaster from 2008. How does the film fare in comparison to Destroy All Monsters and Godzilla Vs Biollante? It's spectacular. It blows the HD remaster away for Destroy All Monsters. However, there's some scratches on the lens which they couldn't remove. The picture is pretty flawless for an almost fifty year old film. I give the visual presentation 4.5/5.

Audio: 5/5

We have two audio presentations of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster; Japanese and German DTS-HD MA 5.1. Both tracks sound glorious. Hearing Godzilla's roar and the other monsters roaring and fighting all sounds amazing. Both audio tracks sound great. All around 5/5.

Extras: 4.5/5

We have some great extras, however, most of them are PAL encoded which means it won't work in your Region 1 players unless your player is compatible. We have a 40 minute score version which is in HD. And we have a German commentary track; I have some issues with it. They claimed that Shusuke Kaneko liked Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster so much that he remade it as GMK. Unless I translated it wrong, I honestly don't believe that is correct. I know that Kaneko loved this film and made Shiro Sano and Chiharu Niiyama watch the film. Also, they claimed that the American title for the film was the literal Japanese translation for the film; Giant Monsters Decisive Battle.

We have an interview with Shusuke Kaneko, which is fine and good fun, but; we have scrolling German subtitles from the right side to the left side of the screen. It honestly hurt my eyes trying to read it as moved way too fast. And these subtitles are burned into the video itself. And finally, we have the trailer in Japanese and German. Basically, it's just German audio over the Japanese trailer. I do like the bonus material; however since it's all in German, it won't help all of you. 4.5/5.

Overall: 5/5

This Blu-ray is region free and is a cheaper alternative to the Japanese Blu-ray which costs about $80. I managed to get the German Blu-ray for $17 off of Grooves Inc. Like the Japanese Blu-ray, this German Blu-ray is not English friendly. However, if you've watched this film as many times as I have, you get used to watching the film despite the fact there's no English subtitles. Much like how i can watch the German Blu-ray Casshern and don't really need subtitles whenever it's playing in Japanese or German. This is classic Godzilla, remastered, and very stunning for an almost fifty year old film. I give this Blu-ray 5/5.

Plaguers (2008)

Movie: 3/5
Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 3.5/5
Extras: .5/5
Overall: 2.5/5

"An Homage or Rip-off?"

Plaguers is a film that I cannot figure out. I cannot tell if it's paying homage to space horror films of the 70's or 80's or if it's one big rip-off. A space shuttle returning to Earth gets a distress call from a nearby vessel. Once the crew goes on board, they find four somewhat attractive women and rescue them. All is not as it seems as they turn out to be space pirates. At the same time, the crew are carrying a deadly power source that is broken while fighting with the pirates. Now, the power source's fuel is turning people into blood thirsty monsters. Now the crew and pirates fight to make sure that the ship doesn't make it to Earth or else...

The monsters are not exactly zombies, but, some sort of monsters. Are re-animated corpses coming back from the dead? Yes. It felt more like Lamberto Bava's Demons set in space. It even has some effects shots that reminded me of Demons; like finger nails growing out and teeth popping out of the jaws, etc. I really like how the film wasn't that big on CGI with the exception of what was used for gun shots and bullet effects. I give the film 3/5.

Video: 3.5/5

Presented in 1080/50i, the disc is region free, however, you will need a Blu-ray player that can support this type of video format. Interlacing is seen in a few shots, but other than that; it's got a nice visual presentation. This was shot digitally, probably with an HD camera as opposed to RED. The color pallet is mostly grey as the backdrop of the sets since this is set on a spaceship, but, the green and red are strong whenever we see the Thanatos orb and the blood from the monsters. I give the video 3.5/5.

Audio: 3.5/5

We have two audio tracks on the disc, 5.1 DTS-HD MA English and German. The English audio seems to have some bad ADR work done on it. When one of the crewman starts yelling, clearly, he is yelling something quite different. I've noticed this several times throughout the film. The German dub does sync up somewhat nice to the video. However, if you do get this disc and you speak English, I doubt you'll turn over to the German dub. I give the audio element of Plaguers 3.5/5.

Extras: .5/5
The only extras on the disc are trailers for Pontypool and Delta Farce. Too bad there was nothing in terms of extras on the film itself. .5/5.

Overall: 2.5/5

I managed to buy this off a user who I have bought from in the past off of Blu-ray.com. It is region free, but the PAL menu and the film being encoded at 1080i makes it difficult for me to recommend it unless you have the capabilities to play this on you player. For what the film was, if you got time to kill, I can recommend it. 2.5/5.

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

Movie: 5/5
Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extras: 0/5
Overall: 3.5/5

Really? FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: ROUND 4!

This marks the fourth review that I have done on the Robert Rodriguez film From Dusk Till Dawn. I have reviewed this film in the individual release by Echo Bridge followed by the double feature which contained Texas Blood Money and then finally in the series release that had all four films crammed onto one disc. To get my views on the film, please visit my review of the double feature from 2011. How does the initial 2008 disc from Alliance (now Entertainment One) stack up in comparison?

Video: 3.5/5

I initially gave the video presentation on the Echo Bridge version 3.5/5. I am giving this version a 3.5/5 as well. The EB release was actually a remastered version produced sometime after or during this Canadian release. The visual presentation is opened up slightly from 1.85 to 1.78; but it's miniscule to worry about having an opened matted presentation since these two aspects are almost the same thing. The visual presentation on both releases of the film has been a debate for some time now; after watching both, I am leaning towards the Echo Bridge release.

I will be giving spoilers in these following descriptions of shots; when Jimmy is now a vampire, the blood on his white shirt in the Canadian release is almost orange. At the almost 1:23 into the film, Kate is thrown by Sex Machine; in this version, you can clearly make out the wires attached to Juliette Lewis. In the Echo Bridge version that's been remastered, wires were completely removed from the shot. Despite the somewhat orange skintones on people in the remaster, the color scheme seems more natural on blood and other things.

You might ponder why am I giving this the same score? The detail is still pretty strong in this transfer and that is a big pro for this. The biggest con on this transfer, and I assume this is why it was remastered, is that the print damage is all over the place. Another pro against the EB release is that the right side of the screen doesn't show any sort of distress which was noticeable after the gang leaves the stock room of junk for weapons. One other thing and this minor, the end credits look like it has finger prints visable throughout on the Canadian transfer. I give this transfer a 3.5/5 along with the remaster, it's all about that concept called the power of suggestion which I will leave for you to decide which version is best.

Audio: 5/5

Alliance (Entertainment One) has given this initial transfer a pretty powerful English DTS-HD MA 5.1 track along with a Dolby Digital 5.1 and French DTS-HD MA 5.1 and DD 5.1 tracks. I think they might have gone overboard on the audio tracks if you ask. To compare audio on both releases, I would give it to this disc. The sound has a more raw and gritty feel to it, whereas the DTS-HD MA 5.1 on the Echo Bridge sounds more subdued. The French dub sounds average in my opinion. I award the audio on this disc 5/5.

Extras: 0/5

Just like the Echo Bridge Blu-ray, this Canadian release has no extra features.

Overall: 3.5/5

As far as I know, this disc is out of print now. After the Echo Bridge Blu-ray came out, Alliance put out a combo pack and a steelbook and from what I read, those two releases contained the remastered version that Echo Bridge used. One of the big cons on the Echo Bridge Blu-ray is that English subtitles are rarely applied to releases and this one falls in that category. If you're a person who relies on subtitles to help you enjoy the film, this Canadian release has English subtitles. I give Alliance (Entertainment One) initial release a 3.5/5.

The Hole / Venom (2001 - 2005)

Movie: 2.5/5
Video: 3.5/5
Audio: 4/5
Extras: 2/5
Overall: 3/5

"Miramax ... Why?"

Movies: 2.5/5

The Hole: 2/5

A group of kids decide to go into an abandoned bunker from World War II while they were supposed to go on a school field trip. Needless to say, something happened and everyone ends up dead. Except for one soul survivor, played by beautiful Thora Birch. While locked up in a hospital, a detective (Embeth Davidtz, Army of Darkness and Europa Report) is trying to help her to understand the situation in which the three others died.

I am going to go into spoiler territory because I need to. If you haven't seen The Hole, please skip this review or scroll down to Venom. I hate movies about characters who have this sort of mental disorder where it has to be about "ME". Take the film I reviewed not too long ago called Roman. Roman disgusted me to no end because I sat through that garbage. I felt that The Hole was going to be ok until we got to the twist and I was like; "NO!"

Thora Birch's character is revealed to be this stalker type character who is obsessing over Desmond Harrington's character in the film. She lies to cover her ass and whenever something doesn't go her way, she kills them. It's this annoying "ME" complex where it has to be about them and not take into consideration the other people involved. It's a wreckless behavoir of someone who is disturbed and mental. Even at the end of the film, she ruins the life of Embeth Davidtz's character and virtually walks away scott free.

I hated it; is the film well made? Sure. I thought the acting was pretty good from Kiera Knightley and Thora Birch. Didn't care that much for Desmond Harrington's acting. I also find it funny how it's marketed around Knightley on the box art, including a quote about her, when she's probably only in the movie for fifteen minutes tops. 2/5.

Venom: 2.5/5

Everyone in town knows Ray Sawyer as the local and creepy tow truck driver in a small Louisiana town. While Eden (Agnes Bruckner) and Eric (Jonathan Jackson) are fighting one night, Ray drives by and has a head on collision with an elderly woman who practiced voodoo. While Ray proceeds to save the old woman, he opens the suitcase she had with her and is soon killed by the snakes living inside it. As soon as the police salvage Ray's corpse, it vanishes and soon a body count starts to rise quickly in the small Louisiana town.

This was a "so-so" slasher flick. The film was based on a video game that never got finished and released to the public. From what I could find on both the bonus material and searching on the net, Ray was originally going to be named Mr. Jangles after the keys that were on his belt loop. This film was also a casualty of Harvey Weinstein leaving Disney and was just dumped into a small run in theaters by Disney.

The acting was cheesy as hell and had a very stereotypical teenage slasher feel. It felt almost as if this was Scream with a supernatural entity instead of Ghost Face. Meagan Good was ok in the five minutes of screen time that she had. Agnes Bruckner was okay in the lead, but I couldn't really care that much. I give the film 2.5/5.

Video: 3.5/5

The Hole: 3.5/5

Presented in open matted in 1.78:1 instead of 2.35:1, Echo Bridge gives The Hole a decent HD presentation. I did notice a glitch in the video in the opening, Thora Birch's character is walking to a pay phone and the video distorts. Other than that, it's got a nice grainy transfer throughout. Would it have been better if it was presented in OAR? Sure. I give the transfer 3.5/5.

Venom: 3.5/5

Echo Bridge has released Venom several times on Blu-ray and every time has released it in this open matted 1.78:1 from the 2.35:1 source. Grain is pretty strong throughout; there was a shot were the image looked real dull in this morgue sequence. I also noticed that the shading covering the camera is visible in a shot when Bijou Philips's character is going around Ray's Happy Time shop. I give the presentation 3.5/5.

Audio: 4/5

Echo Bridge has given The Hole a very typical 2.0 DTS-HD MA English track and it sounds average. Venom on the other hand has a wide variety of audio tracks present; English DTS-HD MA 5.1, French DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0, and Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital. Why do we honestly need the English DTS-HD MA 2.0 when we have the DTS-HD MA 5.1 track? That seems like a waste of space if you ask me. I give the audio presentation on both films 4/5.

Extras: 2/5

We have no bonus material for the film The Hole; but, we do have all the extras ported over from the Disney DVD of Venom. We have a Making Of, storyboard to film comparisons, and cast auditions. The making of was only a few minutes which was ok. Storyboard comparisons shows how close everything matched up in the few scenes that were selected. And the casting auditions were so-so, especially when all of the acting was bad. I give the bonus 2/5.

Overall: 3/5

I picked this up and several others for $3.99 plus tax each during Best Buy's Echo Bridge sale. For that price, I can recommend this release. I doubt that we'll ever get these in their proper aspect ratio any time soon. Will these encodes most likely get re-used in another Blu-ray from Echo Bridge? I wouldn't be surprised, 3/5.

White Vengeance (2011)

Movie: 2.5/5
Video: 4.5/5
Audio: 5/5
Extra: 1/5
Overall: 3.5/5

"Worth the $5. I guess..."

Two soldiers form a bond to take down the Qin empire in ancient China. Liu Bang (Leon Lai, Seven Swords) is asked by Xiang Yu (Feng Shaofeng) to take back his love Yuji (Liu Yufei, Forbidden Kingdom and The Assassins) to their home. Liu agrees but sees that he's being denied from raiding the Qin empire and taking the throne; this is something Liu's comrades cry foul over. Liu agrees with them and secretly go to raid the Qin empire so Liu can take the throne. Xiang Yu is angered and seeks advice from Fen Zhang (Anthony Wong, Hard Boiled and Black Mask) and learns that this will not end well.

I managed to pick up this UK Blu-ray of White Vengeance along with A Tale of Two Sisters and Evil Angel at Grooves Inc. It has an impressive cast with Anthony Wong, Liu Yufei, and Andy On appearing in it; ultimately, the film is too long. If Daniel Lee (director of Black Mask) could have shortened this by a half hour, I would probably liked it more. Also, I noticed Chinese copyright infringement with the opening studio logos; the first uses the audio from the Sony Home Entertainment credits and the second studio logo has an altered Godzilla roar. Not making it up. I give the movie 2.5/5.

Video: 4.5/5

G2 gives White Vengeance a beautiful 2.35:1 transfer. This transfer is top notch however, I did notice some sort of stutter in the image in some spots. I do not know if that was intentional or not. Cannot complain with how it looks over all. The contrast and color scheme of the overall image is stunning. I give the visual presentation a 4.5/5.

Audio: 5/5

G2 has only given us one audio track for the film; Mandarin DTS-HD MA 5.1. Accompanying the audio is a nice variety of subtitles; English, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, and Swedish. The audio presentation is nice and loud. Audio is demo worthy during the fighting scenes. 5/5.

Extra: 1/5

Before we get to the main menu, we have trailers for Detachment and Transit. Then when we get to the main menu, we only have a trailer for White Vengeance. Kind of a bummer that there's nothing else. 1/5.

Overall: 3.5/5

For $5, it wasn't bad. I think if I had to choose, I'd re-watch Daniel Lee's Black Mask over White Vengeance. It is nice to see Anthony Wong popping up in both of Daniel's films. However, this film is far too long, as it clocks in at 132 minutes. This disc is Region B locked, you have been warned. 3.5/5.

Small Town Folk / Vanguard / Zombie Diaries (2006 - 2009)

Movie: 3.5/5
Video: 1/5
Audio: 5/5
Extra: 2.5/5
Overall: 3/5

"Standard Definition British Horror Invades France."

Small Town Folk: 3/5

A couple out on the English country side are lost and stop and ask a man and his companion (Warwick Davis, Leprechaun) for directions. They are told to stay away from a place called "Grockleton". The couple don't heed the warning and go to the quiet, empty residence. Once there, they discover that sinister beings run the place and slavery and murder are a way of life.

I'm guessing that the budget is close to nothing, or all of it went to Warwick Davis for his two minutes of screen time. The biggest problem which all will catch is that it will switch from filming on location to green screen. And the green screen work is pretty bad. The acting on the main couple was ok, I've seen better. I think Chris R. Wright as the main villain was probably the best out of all the actors. The story was not that bad either, but the green screen work will stand out. 3/5.

Vanguard: 4.5/5

Max is a deaf man who lives in the forest in a post-apocalyptic 2015. Max struggles to survive on a day to day basis in the forest with zombie-like creatures called Biosyns. Jamaal is a hunter who is searching for Max and quickly finds him when Max is attacked by a Biosyn. Max and Jamaal form an alliance and try to make their way through the forest. The duo find two other survivors and soon they all realize that the Biosyns may not be the only killers in the forest.

I really enjoyed the film. The silence in the atmosphere as we follow Max is a very nice touch to the zombie genre. The color spectrum that the film has is also a very nice touch as well. Almost like how the film Hobo with a Shotgun played with different hues. The acting was very good too. I can recommend Vanguard as a must for zombie fans. 4.5/5.

Zombie Diaries: 3.5/5

The Zombie Diaries is an eighty minute horror films from the perspective of three different groups of people during various points of the zombie outbreak. In the first portion, we have a group of journalists who are going out to the English countryside to interview a farmer. While waiting on his property, the farmer is nowhere to be found and the first zombie is found inside his house. We cut to the second story which deals with a couple looking for supplies to survive. The third group is holed up in a house who try to survive day by day.

For a horror film that is not as long, it wasn't that bad. I think it would have worked better if it was eighty minutes of just one group instead of three and kept a decent span of time throughout. The acting was very good and believable. The visual effects were good on the zombies too. I give The Zombie Diaries 3.5/5.

Video:

Small Town Folk: .5/5

At the end of the film, the film states that it was filmed on Canon XL1S and Canon XL2 cameras. I worked with XL2 cameras in my film classes in Germany and they're all SD cameras. Obviously, it means that this film is upscaled. But, I think this was shot in 4:3 or 640x480 and then cropped from 4:3 to 16:9, which is 640x360. Despite the fact that this film will never look good, it's visual presentation is better than say The Zombie Chronicles. .5/5

Vanguard: 1.5/5

I don't know if this was mastered in SD or if Emylia messed up on the transfer for this film. You can tell that portions of this film were shot on celluloid and then some was shot on digital. Whenever you do see scenes that were shot on film, you can see the print damage. However, there's scenes where you can see text on the screen and it's horrible looking! I give the visual presentation for Vanguard a 1.5/5.

Zombie Diaries: 1/5

Emylia has given Zombie Diaries a 1.78:1 presentation. In the making of documentary of the film, it shows the director with an old school 4:3 television behind him with the film playing. It seems as if this film was shot in 4:3 and cropped to 16:9 for the mastering process. The presentation looks better than Small Town Folk, but not as good as Vanguard. And there is a lot of post-production tinkering with the video to simulate damage to video source. 1/5.

Audio: 5/5

Emylia has given all of the films a DTS-HD HR 5.1 track for the English audio and French dubbing in DTS-HD MA 5.1. I think all of the audio sounds good for these films. No real complaints all around. Too bad none of these films were shot in HD to match the nice audio. 5/5.

Extra: 2.5/5

Small Town Folk and Vanguard do not contain any special features as they are on one disc. Disc two which contains The Zombie Diaries and has a collection of deleted scenes and an almost hour long documentary called When the Lights Go Out. The documentary had a decent amount of input from everyone who worked on it. Does it have much of a re-watch value to it after the first time? No. The deleted scenes do not have enjoyment to them either. You can see why they are cut. I give the bonus material 2.5/5.

Overall: 3/5

I managed to trade a sealed Canadian Alliance Blu-ray of Dracula 2000 from a nice person off the Blu-ray website. Considering it was about $10, it's worth it. I don't believe Amazon France is selling this anymore and you'll have to pick up the individual Blu-rays. It's region free, however, 1080/50i will stop you from getting past the Emylia studio screen. 3/5.