 Plot Synopsis: Dr. Horatio Kane has been kidnapped, and is being forced to create an army of martial artists who will help take over the world. His daughter, Kandy Kane, enlists the help of Steve Chase (and a few of his friends) to rescue her father before it's too late.
Just what is the greatest martial arts film ever made? Most people say Enter the Dragon. Some say Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The Octagon is quite popular. I know a few people who would say Bloodsport. There all idiots! Kill and Kill Again is hands down the greatest Kung Fu film ever made! It's so good I still have the Beta-Max video tape. It has everything you could want in a film. Action, comedy, romance, evil villains. Everything a serious film watcher would love. I absolutely adore this film. I first saw it when I was a little boy. It played on cable no stop in the 80's and I watched it every time it was on. This was the film that made me love martial arts. I watch it at least once a year to this day. I can recite the film verbatim, and even mimic all of the fight scenes. Kill and Kill Again stars James Ryan as Steve Chase, the worlds greatest martial artist. The film starts with him at a hotel to receive an award for being the worlds best martial artist. Didn't know there was such a thing. Well hes running late as he's busy beating the crap out of a couple of guys who tried to assault a hot blond chick. Turns out it was a set up and the blond, named Kandy Kane wanted to see just how good Chase is. She liked what she saw and tells him she need him to rescue her father who has been kidnapped by the evil Marduke! See her dad was working on a formula to extract fuel from potatoes, and turns out he discovered a by product which is a mind control serum. So Marduke somehow not only found out about this, but got his hands on it and has taken over an entire town and renamed it New Babylonia. He holds Enter the Dragon style matches with his champion The Optimist, and plans on releasing this potato mind control serum into the worlds water supply. I have to say Marduke is a great villain. Not because he;s evil, but because he wears a fake beard. Yes a fake beard. How do I know it's fake? Because it is so cheap you can tell its glued on. So Steve Chase must go into new Babylonia and save the world. But he needs a crack team. Joining him will Be Kandy Kane, a martial arts master, Gypsy Billy, a former world kick boxer. Gorilla, a former pro wrestler who now has a lifetime ban from the sport for biting peoples ears off. Hot-Dog, a fast talking con man. And The Fly, who is not only a Kung Fu master, but he can levitate, and walk down walls as well. As Marduke knows Steve and his team are coming for them, he has traps set up around every corner. By traps I mean about 50 guys to attack the group, and also for Marduke to see if Chase is as good as they say, as he wants him to fight his Optimist. Basically this is an excuse to have a large scale martial arts fight every 5 minutes. Which is a good thing. In fact in this 90minute film, I would say 70minutes of it are fight scenes Basically Chase and his team drive about 10 miles get stopped by a group of Marduke's evil martial artists and a fight ensues. Of course Chase and his team make it into the town, are caught and each have to fight in a martial arts tournament, where Chase does his final battle with The Optimist. It's really not that much of a battle as Chase handles him almost with ease. The town is saved, and the potato mind control serum is destroyed. This really is my favorite martial arts film. Its fun, has almost nothing in it but action, and the chemistry between all the leads is actually very good. I have seen this well over 100 times easy. It's the best martial arts film ever. Some idiots will say "No, Enter The Dragon is the best martial arts film ever made." Like I said, their idiots. The bad guy in Enter The Dragon had a fake hand. This bad guy has a fake beard! Overall 5 out of 5 Stars!  Plot Synopsis: Ken has just moved from Kansas with his mother. He talks to a girl named Julie, not knowing that her boyfriend Tom is very possessive of her.
I like this film, it;s like a hidden treasure that most people have never heard of, let alone have seen. It has nothing going for it on originality or acting, but its good fun. Billy Blanks, who is the male version of Katherine Hegil when it comes to being a wooden actor stars as Billy, see he's not trying to stretch anything already. He's cop who accidental kills a kid during a scuffle at a party he and his partner go to break up. The kids brother vows revenge. Kind of, he just yells for a few seconds. Billy runs off, and turns in his badge. Beat's doing all the paperwork I guess. Flash forward about 6 months and we meet Ken, a kid at a new high school. Turns out Ken has just smiled at the head high school bully's girlfriend, played by a young Christine Taylor. Can you guess where this is going? Ken gets beat up, by Tom the Bully, who just happens to be a Karate master. Luckily Billy, who is now the school janitor helps clean him up. Ken gets beat up the next day, then the day after that. Pretty violent beating actually, but the film is rated R. Finally....wait for it.....Billy agrees to train Ken in martial arts to stop this bully. I know, I know your already groaning, but here's the cool twist. The evil sense training Tom, is the kid who swore revenge against Billy when his brother was killed. Ok so not really a shock, but I forgot to mention, there not fighting in a tournament. They fight in a underground arena where there are no rules! I thought that was a cool twist. Usually I would bitch about the fact some guy who trains for 3 months could not beat a guy who has trained half his life. But I finnaly figured if it's a janitor training you they must know how to speed up the process. You know what would be cool, if the re-edited the training scenes and had Billy yelling "punch, punch, punch" in his Tae Bo outfit with the Tae Bo music in the background. Ok, back to the review! The film is cool, the acting is horrible, but I liked they fight in a underground arena. Billy Blanks did the choreography, and the fight scenes are very well done. The film was made before Tae Bo, but when Tae Bo hit big it was repacked as starring the Tae Bo Master. It didn't help sales. Luckily for fans MVD Rewind released this as a special edition Blu-ray so you have no reason to not watch this. Overall 3.5 out of 5 Stars  Plot Synopsis: A trucker has to come home to help fight mobsters after his brother who embezzled $5,000,000 from them.
Lorenzo Lamas stars in Bad Blood. A very above average action film, that features Joe Son as the bad guy, I mention this because he really is a bad guy. He got sentenced to life for a torture gang rape rape a few years ago. See in this one Lorenzo plays a scrap metal truck driver guy who coaches pee wee softball. We know this because he's coaching a game when some hoods start hassling his sister in law. He grabs a bad guy and beats the crap out of all of them. Then gets in his truck and goes to a strip club where his girlfriend works. He picks her up and they go back to his double wide trailer for a night of sex. Oh I forgot to mention his sister in law needs help! See Lorenzo's brother just got done embezzling 5 million from the mob, and there out to kill him. So Lorenzo goes in his scrap metal truck to see his brother, and father, and its there we learn Lorenzo used to be a highly decorated cop, but his brother committed a crime, and knowing he wouldn't be able to survive in prison Lorenzo took the fall for him. This brings up a few point that were not covered. If Lorenzo's brother stole 5 million, and looked like he was already wealthy to begin with shouldn't he have cut him in on some of the profits? I mean this dude is living in a mansion, while the guy who went to the clink for him is in a double wide trailer. Also why would you help a dude like this. If it was my brother I would have killed him when I got out of jail! But that wouldn't make for a good film. So Lorenzo has a plan. His plan is to give the money back. That's is, just give it back, no questions asked. Forget the fact his brother knows there entire operation of criminal gain, I guess he figures they just say thanks, sorry we have ben trying to kill you and just walk away. Too get the cash back Lorenzo has to go to his brothers partners house. But theres a catch, this guy has hired a big bodyguard to protect him. Doesn't matter, Lorenzo beats him down, and gets the cash, which might I say was perfectly tucked into a leather satchel. Yes, he had 5 million in a satchel. He didn't launder it, or spend it, or even put it in a safe. It was just in a satchel. Meanwhile Lorenzo's stripper woman, sees Lorenzo's sister in laws phone number, and notices that he's been gone for a few days. She doesn't know the woman is his sister in law, so she decides to tell the mob guys where to find them. They find his dad, who Lorenzo has decided to hid with an old hippy friend of his. Of course you know they kill his dad, leading for the revenge battle scene. Lots and lots of car chases, and fight scenes happen. Did you know Lorenzo can do double black flips in the air like a Power Ranger? He can, well he can in this film. It all leads to a cool climax in an old metal yard, that Lorenzo has rigged with all kinds of traps. He and Joe Son have a cool final battle, and everything ends happy. Well, except for the fact his dad is dead, and he has to go back to his double wide trailer, and his scrap metal job. And don't you think his boss would want to know why he isn't at work, or where the company truck is? Oh well. This made the round heavy on HBO in the mid 90's and still does not have a DVD release. But it can be purchased on VHS from Amazon. Next to Final Round its my favorite Lamas film. I highly recommend checking it out. Overall 4 out of 5 Stars!  The following Blu-ray was provided to me by Warner Brother for review. Thought and opinions are my own. Krypton was a good show that never had a chance to get going. I mean, Smallville got a 12 year run, Krypton could not even muster 3, and they were short seasons. It’s a shame as it was a really cool show that focused on Superman’s Grandfather. The first season was a great introduction to the mythology and the follow up was even better. Especially with the addition of Lobo. Yes, The Main Man for DC Comics finally got a chance to shine in a live action show. And he was portrayed to perfection by Emmett Scanlan. Season two picks up 6 months after the events of season one with Seg trapped in the Phantom Zone with Brainiac. Zod has taken over Krypton and he and Lyta are trying to locate Doomsday to be used as their ultimate weapon. Jax is leading a resistance and with the help of Adam Strange and a little trickery from Braniac Seg is able to escape the Phantom Zone (With Braniac) to help defeat Zod. The problem here is that Braniac has fused with Seg to get out and when they make it to Colu, Braniac’s planet they are reunited with Adam Strange, but jumped by Lobo. Yes Lobo is after Braniac and he can see that he is inside Seg. They do decide on helping each other to separate Brianiac from Seg so Lobo can just kill him, or turn him in or whatever it is Lobo does, but there are a few obstacles in the way.  The show does continue with the main story. As Seg does reunite with everyone in the hopes of stopping Zod and Doomsday. Complications do include not only Braniac, who is hard to kill, and the fact that Zod has taken Seg’s child to raise as his own. Unfortunately we are left with a cliffhanger ending or sorts that we will not see resolved as this was the shows final season. And it’s a shame, as a Lobo spin-off was in the works
The show was fun. Great acting, great special effects, and very interesting to watch the story’s of Superman’s family. The addition of Lobo was huge as I am a big fan. He was definitely a dream come true addition for fanboys, so it was a shame when he disappeared for a while. The story evolved nicely and in many ways this was a much better season than the first in terms of storytelling and pacing. If you missed it on Syfy you can now pick it up on a beautiful Blu-ray set. Fully remastered this set looks better than the actual broadcasts. The visual effect look stunning and the sound is amazing. This show had some very well done effects and this set really brings it out. You even get a few special features to go along with all 10 episodes The Fate of Superman Villains: Modes of Persuasion 10 ONE-HOUR EPISODES Light Years From Home Ghost in the Fire Will to Power Danger Close A Better Yesterday In Zod We Trust Zods and Monsters Mercy Blood Moon The Alpha and the Omega A good show that really should have gotten another season. It was fun for not only comic book fans but science fiction fans as well. If you missed it when it aired you really should check it out. Seasons one and two are available, as well as a complete series set as well. Overall 3.5 out of 5 Stars!  What do you get when you roll up parallel time lines, romantic comedy, chance destiny, and Gwyneth Paltrow? You get the 1998 film Sliding Doors. Not Sliding Doors like a patio door but like the sliding doors of a train in which the movie unfolds. The film opened fairly low at the box office but word of mouth helped it climb the charts and become successful. On top of that, due to the unique nature, it became a cult film of sorts. Now The good folks at Shout Factory are releasing this on a collector’s edition Blu-ray as part of their Shout Select Series.
Paltrow plays Helen. She’s an advertising executive who has just lost her job. As she doesn’t have to be at work she goes home, early. She barley makes it through the sliding doors of the train and meets a young man named James who strikes up a conversation with almost instantly. The two talk until she gets to her stop. She goes home and catches her boyfriend sleeping with another woman. She freaks out and leaves him, moving in with her friend. Over the course of this scenario she reconnect with James, falls in love, gets pregnant, and then has a great twist ending. Well not so much “Great”, but shocking to say the least. Then we get a flash and…. We See Helen just missing getting on a train, and getting mugged. She has to go to the hospital so when she gets home in the scenario she doesn’t catch her boyfriend, Garry, cheating on her. She ends up taking two jobs (she lost her ad job in both versions) and works so much she doesn’t find out about Garry’s cheating ways. She does however become pregnant. If that’s not enough Garry’s girlfriend want him to herself so she decides to help Helen figure it out. This also leads to a hell of a twist ending. The film is good, although I don’t find as much humor in it as I think I’m supposed to. I find it a bit sad, and very ironic at times. Paltrow is amazing in it. I have always been a huge fan, and this is one of her best film roles. She is just a pleasure to watch on screen. John Hannah is fantastic as well as James, and the two have fantastic chemistry together. He’s incredibly charming and plays off of Paltrow perfectly. Throwing in the time loop, or alternate version is a great touch. Not science fiction or anything, just a nice difference. It really goes to show you that things in your life can change in a split second. Out of the two scenarios I enjoy the second one better. Not saying there is anything wrong with the first, I just felt the later gave Paltrow a bigger chance to show her range and shine. Shout Factory has done a remarkable job, as always with the transfer in terms of look and sound. This is a fantastic print. Everything is clear and sharp, and the soundtrack, which I thoroughly enjoy sounds great remastered and playing in surround sound. As its Shout Factory they even have a nice amount of special features to include as well. NEW Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Peter Howitt NEW “The Sliding Doors Moments” – A Feature-Length Documentary Looking Back At The Making Of The Film; Including Exclusive Home Movie Footage And Brand-New Interviews With Peter Howitt, Stars Gwyneth Paltrow And John Hannah, And More NEW A Stroll Through Sliding Doors London With Peter Howitt Trailers Fans of romantic comedies will really get a kick out of this one. It’s a great twist on an old theme to say the least. I enjoyed it, and that’s saying something as I am very hit or miss on these types of films. If you like Paltrow, romance, comedy, and something a bit different pick this one up. Overall 3.5 out of 5 Stars!  The following Blu-ray was provided to me by Warner Brothers for Review. Thoughts and opinions are my own.
I wont lie, when the Joker movie was first announced I cared less. When the first pressers went out saying it would be nothing like the comics, I really cared less. But as I am a comic book fan, as well as a film fan I still followed the production. The more I read and saw the more interested I became. No lets make one thing clear for the people who have not yet seen this, based off the fact it does not take place in the comic book world. In the comics the Joker is a complete nut case. Schizophrenic to say the least. So he has several versions of his origin that he tells as he’s insane. Now the Joker origin that fans consider the defining one is from Alan Moore’s “The Killing Joke”. No the motto of this entire story is that it only takes one bad day to make you go insane. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) is a clown for hire in a bad part of Gotham City. He lives with his mom, who clearly has issues. She constantly writes letters to Thomas Wayne of who she used to work for as a maid. When the film opens we see Arthur spinning a sign around when a group of punks steal it. Arthur runs after them but is assaulted in an alley. He goes back to the office he works and one of the other clowns gives him a gun for protection. Arthur rides the bus for transportation and when he is traveling home he begins making faces at a little girl to make her smile. Her mother becomes upset and starts yelling at Arthur. He begins laughing uncontrollably and hands her a medical card stating his laugh is actually a medical disorder. He gets medicine from the Social Service Department but he has also just been informed they have lost their funding and will no longer be treating him. Arthur goes home after all of this and escapes by watching The Murray Franklin Show. Its essentially Gotham’s version of The Tonight Show and is hosted by Murray Franklin (Robert DeNiro). He dreams of being a stand up comic, and a guest on the show. He also meets his neighbor down the hall named Sophie Dumond (Zazie Beetz) who he develops feeling for and even invites her to a stand p comedy show he is doing. Things unfortunately go downhill fast for Arthur as the gun he was given falls out of his pocket during a job he’s doing at a children’s hospital. This leads to Arthur being fired. He takes the subway home but is assaulted by a group of upper class yuppies who work for Wayne Enterprises. They were harassing a female passenger, which caused Arthur to have his laugh so they turn their attention to him, beating him pretty good. Arthur snaps and pulls his gun and murders them. Thomas Wayne goes on tv talking about how good these murdered men were which causes the lesser class citizens to start getting behind the “Clown” who murdered them and rise above the rich that control Gotham. Arthur has his stand up show and when he turns on the Murray Franklin show he finds his act being played while Murray mocks him. Throw in the fact that he finds one of the letters his mom is sending to Thomas Wayne implicating that he is Arthurs Father really causes Arthur to fully snap and his actions cause mass riots in Gotham, all because of one bad day. To say this film is a masterpiece is almost not giving it enough credit. Beautiful cinematography gives it that very derepressed 70’s look and feel. The film definitely has a Taxi Driver vibe about it in terms of setting, look, and even plot development, but its something more. It’s a great look into a mentally challenged man who just one day explodes. Phoenix, who lost over 50lbs for the film gives the performance of a lifetime. From the laugh to the voice, to the little quirks he possesses he truly gives an Oscar Winning performance. The adding of a medical card for his laugh was a fantastic touch. DeNiro is great in his small part as he really is the final straw for Arthur to fully snap, and I have to say that Frances Conroy as Penny Fleck, Arthurs insane mother is amazing as well. You know she is not all there, but you are able to go from feeling sorry to hating in a matter of seconds. A great performance by the entire cast to say the least. This is my second favorite film of 2019, and I wont lie, this is the version of the Joker I want to see in DC Films moving forward. Warner Brothers has done a fantastic job on this Blu-ray transfer. The colors look fantastic. This film really has a drive in kind of vibe going for it, and this film has the look. The crisp vibrant colors especially the yellows really pop out. The score, which is fantastic sounds amazing bellowing through your surround sound. I have re watched the “Stair Dance” several times with the volume up high. It’s a must add to your collection. The film was met with such criticism for fear of sparking violence, but that should have never been the case. The Joker is a character study of a mentally challenged individual who finally can take no more of what life dumps on him and snaps. The real message that should be taken away is simply be nice to people. This is a must see film, that I hope wins Phoenix an Oscar. Its also a film in which the Joker, the greatest of all DC Villains is really a sympathetic character who you end up cheering on. Pick this up today. Overall 4.5 out of 5 Stars!  In 1998 a little Dark Comedy came out called Very Bad Things. It boasted a stellar cast consisting of Christian Slater, Cameron Diaz, John Favreau, Daniel Stern, Jeremy Piven and more. It came and went fast, flopping heavily in theaters but over time it has gained a pretty large cult following. Its offensive, wrong, vulgar, and downright hilarious if you can appreciate what director Peter Berg was going for. I was one of the films biggest fans when it came out and I still love it to this day.
Very Bad Things is about a group of guys who head out for a bachelor party in Las Vegas. Kyle Fisher (Favreau) is getting married to his dream girl Laura (Diaz) and wants one great night of debauchery before he takes the plunge. He invites Robert (Slater), Charles (Leland Orser), and Adam and Michael Berkow (Stern, and Piven) to help him go out with a bang. When they get there Michael pay on of the hookers to have sex with him in the bathroom. Problem is during the deed she hits her head and dies. As the guys a freaking out a security guard comes up to see what all the noise is. Robert freaks out at this and stabs the guy to death. So being what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas Richard talks the guys into cutting up the bodies and burying them in the desert. No they get away with this, but there’s one problem. The entire group are paranoid. But in different ways. Robert is paranoid someone will crack and frame him. Adam feels bad, and actually already has written a confession. Michael is worried Adam will talk to the cops. And Kyle just hates the whole situation and eventually cracks and tells his fiancée Laura (Diaz) about the entire thing. She freaks out, but not because they killed some people, but because she wants her dream wedding to happen without any problems. What follows is a comedy, albeit a dark one, of errors in which people start getting murdered by their friends and loved ones. Everyone in this movie is a scum bag plain and simple. I mean sure some of them are funny, hell I was downright rooting for Slater, but they are all creeps. No one is slightly sympathetic or for that matter likable. And to me that’s what makes this so funny. I mean there have been films where there’s one or two guys who are the bad seed in a group, but this time its all of them. Even Diaz as the woman dreaming about her wedding is total scum. And I love it. I mean why does there always have to be a good guy, or a voice of reason? Does every movie need a happy ending? No and this solidifies it. It doesn’t start and or end well, and that’s what makes it so good. Shout Factory under their Shout Select Banner, which is growing in leaps and bounds is releasing this on Blu-ray and it’s a great transfer. Shout Factory has these transfers down to a science at this point so to say it looks and sounds great should come as no surprise. The audio and video are great. The films boasts a pretty good soundtrack that sounds great blasting through your surround sound. Its even got a nice amount of special features. NEW Audio Commentary With Film Critics Witney Seibold And William Bibbiani, Hosts Of The Podcast Critically Acclaimed NEW Interview With Actor Jeremy Piven NEW Interview With Actor Daniel Stern Theatrical Trailer Still Gallery Although definitely not a film for everyone its defiantly a film to see. Like I said there really is no good guy or bad guy in this film, they are all very bad people doing very bad things. If you like dark humor this is a must see. I highly recommend it Overall 4out of 5 Stars!  Walter Hill is one of my favorite directors. Specializing in action he made classics like The Warriors, Southern Comfort, and Streets of Fire. All classics, all action packed. Well in 1985 he made his one and full-fledged comedy, Brewster’s Millions starring Richard Pryor and John Candy. A quick little known fact, its actually based on a book of the same name, and has been adapted into 13 films worldwide. It’s a fairly “Clean” comedy that received a PG Rating when it was released to moderate success.
Richard Pryor plays Monty Brewster, a baseball pitcher in a minor league team. John Candy is Spike Nolan, his best friend and catcher in the same team. One night the two get arrested after a huge bar fight and are bailed out my a lawyer from a high profile law office in upper Manhattan. They represented Monty’s great uncle Rupert who as it turns out has left him his entire fortune, but with a catch. See Rupert was a millionaire and has a fortune of 300 million dollars. Monty can inherit all of it under the condition he can spend 30 million in 30 days. He can also select to simply take 1 million dollars upfront. He accepts the challenge to try for the entire amount with the rules that he can tell no one. If he fails he gets nothing and it the law office will be placed in charge of the money. So from there it becomes a pretty madcap outing with Monty spending money left and right. Making bad bets on purpose, renting a suite at the Plaza, running for mayor, even at one point hiring the Yankees to play an exhibition game against his minor league team. His buddy Spike who is unaware of the conditions of this starts actually making good bets and investments leading to Monty getting more money he must dump. And of course the law office wants the money so they have placed Warren Cox, a Jr Partner to sabotage Brewster so they can get the money for themselves. I had not seen this film in over 20 years and I can honestly say its just as funny today as it was back then. Pryor and Candy have great chemistry together, with Pryor actually being more of the straight man of the two. It’s a shame they were not able to work together more. The film is also very cleaver. The ways Monty comes up with to dump money are hilarious. If you haven’t seen it I won’t spoil anything, but the part where he buys a priceless stamp and gets rid of it is classic in my opinion. It’s also like I said PG so it’s definitely something you can watch with the entire family. Shout Factory, under their ever growing Shout Select Banner is releasing this on Blue Ray and I must say it looks and sounds great. The picture is crisp and vibrant and the audio is crisp and clear, everything you have come to expect from a Shout Factory release. The transfers they pull off are essentially works of art in terms of quality. And it even has special features NEW Audio Commentary With Film Critics William Bibbiani And Witney Seibold, Hosts Of The Podcast Critically Acclaimed NEW Interview With Screenwriter Herschel Weingrod Brewster's Millions – 1945 Adaptation Starring Dennis O'Keefe And Helen Walker (1080p, 1.33:1, B&W, 79 Minutes) Theatrical Trailer Still Gallery This is a criminally underrated 80’s comedy that needs to be seen. Great cast, great story, and lots of laughs make this as good today as it was back then. If you’re a fan this is the version to own. If you have never seen it, pick it up. You will have a fun laugh filled evening to say the least. Overall 3 out of 5 Stars!  Severin films is at it again. Only this time with a kids film. Yes, one of the fastest growing horror and exploitation labels is launching a line of family friendly films called Severin Kids. And let me tell you they have hit the ground running with their first release, The Peanut Butter Solution. It’s a weird blend of ghosts, kids, balding, and peanut butter. It was a staple of cable television back in my day and I was delighted to get it in the mail the other day. I could not wait to sit down and show my son the awesomeness that this film brings to the table.
The Peanut Butter Solution is about a young boy named Michael Baskin. He’s a normal kid, who one day when hanging out with his friends finds out that an old house in his neighborhood has burned down. They all decide to check it out but when Michael goes inside he runs into a couple of ghosts and runs out, and blacks out from fear. When he wakes up the next morning he discovers that he has gone bald from this little ghost encounter. He tries a wig out of desperation but another kid at school rips that off quick. He runs home upset and goes straight to his room and to bed. That night he is visited by the ghosts who tell him he is suffering from “The Fright” they are essentially good ghosts and feel bad for what they did so they present him with a recipe that will cure his baldness. The main ingredient being peanut butter. The catch is you cant use too much peanut butter or it will result in disastrous consequences. Making the recipe, but ignoring the peanut butter rule Michael paints his head and wakes up with a full head of hair. Now there is only one slight problem to this magical concoction. As Michael used so much Peanut Butter the hair wont stop growing. Its actually growing out of control to the point he’s getting in trouble. He cuts it, it comes right back. To make things even worse and evil teacher from Michaels school finds out about this potion and kidnaps Michael, along with a bunch of other kids to use the formula to make paint brushes that can paint anything to sell and get rich off of. This is a fun film. If you have yet to see it its worth watching immediately. It’s a great fun film that kids and adults of all ages can enjoy. It features and enjoyable cast that all have great chemistry together. The film moves at a fast pace and never slows down. You get the uncut release on this print (93min) which is a must. The film has a fun soundtrack as well and features the first English sons by Celine Dion. Severin picked a great one to launch the Kids line with as this is not only a great kids movie but it incorporates the ghost element as well. Friendly ghosts though remember. The transfer is pristine. Its incredibly crisp and clear and looks better than I remember it. They even loaded this up with special features Extended U.S. Theatrical Release Version New Commentary with Producer Rock Demers and Actor Matthew MacKay, Moderated by Filmmaker Ara Ball Human Beings Are The Same All Over: An Interview with Producer Rock Demers Conrad’s Peanut Butter Solution: An Interview with Siluck Saysanasy Tales for All: Paul Corupe on Rock Demers and the Canadian Kids Film Alternate U.S. Theatrical Release Version Canadian Trailer Original U.S. Trailer This is a great film that really is a must see. A staple of cable television in the 80’s it sadly became almost a lost classic, but remained a cult favorite. I cant thank Severin enough for releasing this, and cant wait to see what they have planned next. Pick this one up right away. Overall 4 out of 5 Stars!  I haven’t seen a ton of Russian horror films, in fact I may have only seen one vampire movie from there. I don’t even remember the name, so I could be wrong. I have however seen almost every film that Severin has released so when I received their two newest releases I immediately popped one in. The one I decided to go with first (don’t worry I’ll review the other one later) was called Viy, which means Spirit of Evil. I had no clue what it was, as I must be honest and say I have never heard of it, but it did make the book “1001 Movies You Need To See Before You Die”
The film focus’s on Khoma, a young man studying to be a priest. One night when he and the rest of his class get lost in the middle of the night they seek refuge in a nearby farmhouse. The woman who answers lets them in and everything seem good until she returns to the barn where Khoma is sleeping (she made them all sleep in separate areas) she casts a spell on him, climbs on him, and starts flying around with him. He awakens from her spell and beats her to death because she’s a witch. Now she is an old lady but when he beats her she suddenly turns young. He freaks out even more and runs away. When he arrives back at the school he finds out that he has been personally requested to go and pray for a young women who is dying. The request came from the girls father. Unfortunately for Khoma the girl in question is the witch he beat to death. She’s dead by the time he gets back to the farmhouse, but no one knows he killed her. Her father is quiet rich and tells him if he stays with her body and prays for her for three nights he will reward him. If he doesn’t he will get a thousand lashes for refusing. He agrees and is locked in with the young lady inside a large church. Now things are a bit weird, I mean he’s locked up with a dead body, by they go from weird to horrifying when night falls and the girl rises from her coffin trying to kill him. Luckily she is now blind so he basically prays while avoiding her. This is a cool film that has an amazing claustrophobic feel about it. I love how Khoma is so scared of what will happen he keeps returning every night drunk as a way to help numb his fear. The film is silly, unintentionally of course but silly none the less. Now I will say that the scenes that Khoma is with the witch at night are really well done. They do have a great feeling of terror and helplessness about them that I haven’t seen in a modern film in many years. The rest of it is a bit much, but those nighttime scenes are fantastic. Severin Films has once again outdone themselves on the transfer. I never heard of this film but when I found out it was Severin I knew it had to be a good one. A masterful transfer on their part everything looks awesome. Everything is clear and the audio is fantastic. This picture is as clean as can be. All the colors are crisp and clear and the sound, especially the classic style score just bellows through your speakers. Severin just keeps doing such amazing work they have it down to a sweet science at this point. They even managed to include a nice amount of special features Viy the Vampire: An Interview with Richard Stanley The Woods To The Cosmos: John Leman Riley On The History Of Soviet Fantasy And Sci-Fi Film Short Silent Films – Satan Exultant, The Queen of Spades, and The Portrait Trailer English Track This is a good, weird, surreal, humorous, and sometimes frightening film all rolled into one. I still don’t know how it escaped me all these years but thanks to Severin we can all sit back and enjoy it. Overall 3 out of 5 Stars! |