January 2020 Dollar Tree Movie Challenge - Page 3 - Blu-ray Forum

tdl797 · 08-23-2020, 06:49 PM

Upon learning that Dollar Tree had 2 different Balls Out movies, it made me want to watch them. Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach stars Seann William Scott. I was hoping it would be a gem that no one had heard of. I didn't enjoy much about it. First off, the movie is on a 2 blu-ray set of 4 Comedy films. The blu-ray just brings up a menu with 2 arrows pointing to this film or Fired Up. It looks like there are only 3 chapter stops before the movie just goes back to the menu. Since it seems to have come out around 2008/2009, I think it was influenced some by Napoleon Dynamite, but they went the raunchy R route and had a lot of Farrelly Brothers disgusting type humor/gags. A lot of the line readings fall completely flat and jokes don't work. If you want to see SWS's butt, this is the movie for you. Randy Quaid is not in the movie for long, and it is apparently his last acting role. The synopsis on the back of the blu tells you what happens to his character. They have a really foul mouthed little girl character and there's one bit where something happens to her while playing with dogs offscreen. I'm not sure I want to know what they were going for, if I am interpreting it right. No Subtitles to clarify any hard to hear dialog.

2/10?

Surely the other Balls Out has to better. It has a few SNL cast members.

tdl797 · 09-27-2020, 08:13 PM

Death Wish 3
7/10 - I have seen all or most of this on TV before. Don't remember if it was edited or not. It's just a vigilante / revenge type movie and it's over the top. If that's what you're in the mood to watch, you will be very satisfied. There are a lot of shootout scenes where the antagonist is on a higher floor. They, of course, get shot and then fall. Each stuntman tries to do something unique when they fall. It reminded me of a lot of Westerns in that way. I had to watch it broken up, so the flow of it was messed up. Maybe I will watch all of the DW films in order sometime.

I was very happy to find the Bronson Triple Threat Collection blu at DT. I saw it recently at Big Lots for $5, but I held off on it and it paid off. This blu-ray does not have a Menu screen at all. The movie plays and once it's over, it just starts up again. There is a trailer. For some reason it only shows as a tiny box in the top left of my screen. There must be some setting I need to change.

jzbadblood · 10-07-2020, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdl797

Death Wish 3
7/10 - I have seen all or most of this on TV before. Don't remember if it was edited or not. It's just a vigilante / revenge type movie and it's over the top. If that's what you're in the mood to watch, you will be very satisfied. There are a lot of shootout scenes where the antagonist is on a higher floor. They, of course, get shot and then fall. Each stuntman tries to do something unique when they fall. It reminded me of a lot of Westerns in that way. I had to watch it broken up, so the flow of it was messed up. Maybe I will watch all of the DW films in order sometime.

I was very happy to find the Bronson Triple Threat Collection blu at DT. I saw it recently at Big Lots for $5, but I held off on it and it paid off. This blu-ray does not have a Menu screen at all. The movie plays and once it's over, it just starts up again. There is a trailer. For some reason it only shows as a tiny box in the top left of my screen. There must be some setting I need to change.

I love the set for a $1. The transfers are pretty good and each movie has its own disc. I was expecting a single disc with 3 flicks on it.

If you get the chance definitely watch Death Wish 2. It might be my favorite in the series.

Spootnek · 11-24-2020, 08:53 PM

2020 Dollar Tree Watch List
Page Two

Continued from Page One!

November 2020

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December 2020

[Show spoiler]

Zhuge1 · 12-09-2020, 11:05 PM

The last post also hit the limit, so starting a new one for December Dollar Tree reviews.

For anyone interested her are direct links to previous reviews from earlier in the year:

May 2021 Reviews:

Ghost Goggles -- (3/10) -- This is a very strange movie. The premise is a kid's father is attacked at his restaurant by loan sharks who he owed money to. This leaves the kid with only his eccentric great aunt to care for him. After moving into the new, large house owned by the aunt he finds a pair of glasses that allows him to see ghosts. This is a very low budget film with primarily amateur actors and some gaping plot holes. The editing is also very rough with some extremely strange transitions (and I honestly couldn't tell if that was intentional or not). I didn't think it was great, but it did hold my attention throughout because of how strange it was. It's probably mostly aimed at a middle school audience.

Help I've Shrunk the Family -- (5/10) -- This is a kids movie from The Netherlands about a young boy who happens to find a small man named Wiplala in his kitchen one evening. He befriends Wiplala and things go awry when his friend attempts to use his magic powers. The mishap results in a neighbor being turned to a statue and the boy and his family being shrunk to the same size as Wiplala, and the family is left scrambling to fix everything. Overall, this was okay. It's not quite as good as the German movies Help I Shrunk My Teacher (or the sequel, Help I Shrunk My Parents). There's a really good sequence with the shrunken people driving a remote control car that was the highlight.

Rocket Hunter -- (2/10) -- This is the sequel to Greyhound Attack. It's marginally better than the first film as there are fewer meaningless characters thrown in the mix who have no real purpose. The two brothers are back for another mission -- a followup to the one they underwent in Greyhound Attack. Overall, it's still not very good.

Greyhound Attack -- (1/10) -- This is a WWII film by Christopher Forbes. Tons of his movies end up at Dollar Tree it seems such as The Last Days of Billy the Kid, Jesse James Versus the Black Train, The Confederate, and several others. They are all bad, and this one is no different. It’s the same amateur actors that often appear in these films. Unlike the others which re-uses a number of same sets and filming locations, this one is done almost entirely with green screen. There’s little action and the story is quite boring. It’s basically about a mission by two brothers to target a secret mobile Nazi airfield. Beyond the two brothers, it’s a bit hard to remember who the other characters are and nearly impossible to care about any of them or keep track of what they are doing.

Iron Wolf -- (1/10) -- This begins in Germany during WWII when German scientists are creating a new “weapon” to combat the Russians. The “weapon” turns out to be a werewolf that they’ve trained to only attack non-Germans. When their facility is overran by Russians; the weapon is left locked away and forgotten. 65 years later, a group of German youths discover the facility as a potential spot for a band reunion. Overall, this was really hokey. It had a promising beginning for a low budget film, but that all fell apart as it went on.

House of Salem -- (5/10) -- This is a low budget, indy horror film from England that was surprisingly decent. The premise is that a group of criminals are paid by a rich benefactor to kidnap a young boy, seemingly to hold for hostage. They later discover that the rich benefactor is actually the head of Satanic sect and find themselves protecting the boy and themselves. There were a few creepy scenes and the ending is a bit convoluted, but overall worth a watch for horror fans.

Thunder and the House of Magic -- (5/10) -- This is an animated movie about a cat (Thunder) who, after being abandoned by his family, finds his way to an old mansion owned by an elderly magician. Thunder finds himself at odds with the other house pets but ultimately must work together with them to save the magician's home from his scheming nephew. Overall, this was a decent kids movie and the special features include a quick segment discussing how the basis for the movie was a 3D attraction (potentially in France where the filmmakers were from) that was interesting.

Andy the Talking Hedgehog -- (2/10) -- This is a 75 minute movie about a talking Hedgehog that feels like it lasts 3 hours. Lilly, a young girl, makes a wish to her Fairy BFF (Tara Reid) for all of her friends to talk (including her pets, other animals, and plants). The majority of the movie takes place in and around a single house with some stock hedgehog videos thrown in at times. Dean Cain plays the father. Perhaps the best part of the movie is when he realizes the animals are talking and becomes convinced he has lost his mind. He decides to just watch cartoons and eat cereal... which is probably the reaction he should have had after signing on to this movie. Also adding to the movie is an extremely annoying sound track -- there is music in the background through almost the entire film. Also, I have no idea who the target audience is for this. It's aimed at kids, but there's a lot of inappropriate stuff (such as a teenage friend of Lilly's older sister ogling after Lilly's father and the depressing tale of the family's cat).

Poseidon -- (6/10) -- This is a decent popcorn movie remake of The Poseidon Adventure. It features Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, and Josh Lucas. Emmy Rossum (Shameless) and Mike Vogel (Under the Dome) are both in the film during their early careers. The gist of the movie is that a group of people struggle to survive a cruise ship that's been overturned by a rogue tidal wave. There's a few scenes of really obvious green screen that looks awkward, but the overall action is decent.

Blue Crush 2 -- (6/10) -- This is totally unrelated to the first Blue Crush film. The premise is that Dana lost her mother as a young child. Now as a teenager about to enroll in college, she decides to throw those plans out the window after reading her mother's diary in order to try to learn more about her. She discovers that her mother always regretted not surfing one specific area and decides to fulfill her mother's dream. Without telling her father, she hops a flight to South Africa and becomes embedded in the local surfing scene. Overall, this was a decent surfing movie, particularly considering it's a mostly unknown cast and a direct-to-video film. Certainly one I could see re-watching.

Anna and the Apocalypse -- (7/10) -- This is a zombie musical comedy set during Christmas time that bills itself as Shaun of the Dead meets La La Land. Overall, I thought it was pretty good and would certainly watch it again. The music is okay and while it falls short of Shaun of the Dead in the comedy sphere, it has a few great scenes (particularly at a bowling alley). The disc has quite a number of bonus features as well. Definitely a solid pickup for $1.

The Whale -- (6/10) -- This is a made for TV movie from the BBC that covers the real story of the whaling ship Essex which was destroyed by a whale. The story serves as part of the inspiration for Herman Melville's novel, Moby Dick. The movie features a young John Boyega as well as Paul Kaye (who also appeared in Anna and the Apocalypse). Overall, it was pretty good.

April 2021 Reviews:

The Surface -- (4/10) -- This was listed as a drama/thriller but there's no thriller aspect to this. Mitch (Sean Astin) has had a tough life the past couple of years and sets out on a boat trip contemplating his future. Kelly (Chris Mulkey) has had his fair share of problems as well. Their two paths intersect when Kelly crashes his plane in Lake Michigan and Mitch manages to rescue him only to lose his boat propeller in the process. Both are stuck together while trying to get rescued. The movie started out pretty slow; had some build up that hooked my interest; and then overall sort of petered out. Overall, it was slightly below mediocre. The DVD does include a 48 minute documentary about protecting Lake Michigan (which seems sort of odd) but I haven't watched it.

SOS Tidal Wave -- (7/10) -- This is a short movie (62 minutes) about a mayoral race in NYC where one of the candidates isn't quite what he seems. When a a famous news reporter considers investigating the situation, he's initially frightened away from doing so. Later, as the race tightens, news reports of an impending natural disaster begin frightening voters away from the polls. It's not for everyone, and it's definitely not a disaster film, but overall, I liked it.

The Confederate -- (2/10) -- This was better than the other films I've watched that are directed by Christopher Forbes and distributed by ITN (Jesse James vs. The Black Train and The Last Days of Billy the Kid). It's filmed in the same locations as all of the films put out by this group and features most of the same actors. The film is based on the novel Perfect Disguise by what looks to be an amateur author from Georgia, and the story line and plot is far better than the other films. As with the other Forbes films, it mainly used community theater level actors and some disjointed scenes that often come off as hokey. Overall, it's still pretty bad and not really worth the time.

Avalanche Sharks -- (1/10) -- This is about a group of people who go on a ski trip and supernatural sharks (who swim in the snow) have infiltrated the area. Honestly, this was just boring and not even good in a "bad movie" way.

Antboy 3 -- (6/10) -- This was the final chapter in the Antboy series. Antboy and all of his friends are back to keep their small town safe as. Pelle (Antboy) is struggling with a decision about a school opportunity, while a new CEO has taken over at ExoFarm and The Flea is released from prison after being "reformed." At the same time, a mysterious new hero has emerged in Middlelund. Overall, this was a really good ending to a pretty solid superhero trilogy for kids.

Easter Bunny Adventure -- (0.5/10) -- The gist of this is that the Easter Bunny and his friend, a chicken, is looking for an Easter egg. They fly in a hot air balloon while looking for it and run into various farm animals who tell them stories (which are basically just short fables of 2 minutes or less). The animation is horrible, and the stories are told in a bored, monotone voice. During the fables, there is no animation, but the film displays some looped background animation that looks like a screen saver from the 1990's. The simple animation is aimed at very young viewers, but the fables are clearly more for much older children (who would find no entertainment value in the terrible animation). Overall, this is absolutely terrible.

March 2021 Reviews:

Antboy: Revenge of the Red Fury -- (6/10) -- With the Flea behind bars, a new villain has emerged in Middlelund. It's up to Antboy and his friends Ada and Wilhelm to stop The Red Fury. Overall, this was quite good -- the origin story behind The Red Fury is a good comic book origin and the plot plays out quite well.

Son of Bigfoot -- (5/10) -- A bullied kid ends up discovering that his father, who had been told was deceased, is actually Bigfoot. At the same time, an evil corporation is intent on capturing Bigfoot in order to use his genes to create hair re-growth drugs. Overall, this was okay. The animation was pretty good, and the storyline is decent enough. As a quick head's up Bigfoot Family is the sequel to this film and is on Netflix. It's not nearly as good as the original and mostly focuses on Bigfoot and family fighting against the oil industry. I'd give it a 3.5/10.

Straight Outta Oakland 2 -- (1/10) -- This isn't a sequel to Straight Outta Oakland (which was quite clear), but does star some of the same actors and is written and directed by the same person that did the first film. That first film (reviewed lower in this post) wasn't great; but it had a storyline that made sense and had some decent production for a low budget film. This second film is just a mess. It's basically about a guy who gets into selling a new drug called "Milk" in order to save money for his aunt's medical bills (at least that's theoretically the basis). The storyline makes little sense and is hard to follow, which is a shame since the main protagonist is an entertaining and over the top character. From looking at the past IMDb credits, it looks like maybe this was a previous movie that was basically re-cut to create this. Overall, not worth the watch at all.

Houdini -- (6/10) -- This is a fairly short animated movie (about 55 minutes), which focuses on a very fictitious story of a young Harry Houdini first learning magic while attempting to compete in a magic competition in NYC while under the tutelage of the magician, Tesla. When an evil magician devises a nefarious plan involving the statue of liberty, it's up to the young Houdini to save the day. Overall, it was pretty good and had a couple of things showing how some illusions are performed which would be of interest to kids.

Tom and Jerry Double Feature

This is a flipper disc with one movie on each side. Both movies have a couple of basic special features as well as trailers.

Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry -- (6/10) -- This is the better of the two movies. When Tom and Jerry's antics result in the destruction of their home, they enter an auto race where the grand prize is a brand new mansion. The other racers are a motley assortment of characters including a little old lady with a crazed dog, a soccer mom in a minivan, Gorthan (the destroyer of light), and an over the top heroic character. The organizers keep changing the rules of the race forcing the cat and mouse to continue their rivalry across the globe. Overall, this was a decent watch.

Tom and Jerry: Mission to Mars -- (5/10) -- Tom and Jerry end up inadvertently stowing away on a spaceship that goes to Mars. They end up stranded on the red planet and meet the alien species that live there. They eventually find their way back to Earth with help from a friendly Martian, but realize they've led some enemies back home as well. Overall, this was okay; but definitely not one of the better Tom and Jerry movies.

Animated Collection: 10 Movies

These ten movies range in length from about 45 minutes to about 90 minutes. I wasn't sure how the quality would be since this is a two disc set with 5 movies per disc. Overall, though, the quality of the ones I've watched are pretty good. One of these movies, A Monsterous Holiday, is one I found previously individually and the video quality was about the same on the single disc versus this Echo Bridge disc with 5 films.

Adventure Planet -- (5/10) -- This is a Thai movie about a situation in which the son of the President (of the US it seems) goes on a camping/hiking adventure in Thailand and meets up with two children from a Kayan tribe. At the same time, global warming is threatening the planet and world leaders have developed a cold bomb to deal with the situation. Unfortunately, there are some significant side effects of these bombs that the children learn about and must try to convince the world leaders not to launch them. Overall, this was pretty good. It's a little weird because one of the main characters is obviously supposed to be the son of the President of the US but in the movie, he's from "Capital City" (which is clearly NYC) and his father is just "the President."

Under Wraps -- (6/10) -- Danny is on a trip with his archaeologist parents when they discover a new chamber in a pyramid. Danny isn't allowed to go on the exploration but finds an ancient talisman of his own as a souvenir. Unfortunately, his new souvenir manages to turn his parents into mummies and he has to figure out a way to turn them back normal. Overall, this was pretty good.

A Monsterous Holiday -- (4/10) -- Andy is a teenage scientist whose father wants him to play football. To avoid being pulled into a sport he doesn't care for, he manages to get a teenage Frankenstein's monster to take over for him so he can continue his science experiments. When one experiment goes massively awry, it's up to Sam to save everyone. This one could have been better. It wasn't terrible but not that good either.

Thor: Legend of the Magical Hammer -- (5/10) -- This is a film from Iceland about the legendary Norse gods. Thor is a young blacksmith who comes across a magical, talking hammer (this one named, Crusher). A conflict between the Gods in Valhalla and the Queen of the Underworld results in Thor and his friends being pulled into the conflict where he finds his inner abilities. Overall,, this was okay.

Dear Dracula -- (5/10) -- Features the voices of Ray Liotta as Dracula and Emilio Estevez as his assistant Myro. The animation isn't great, and this is a shorter film at 42 minutes, but overall it was relatively entertaining. Young Sam is a big fan of horror and his favorite is Dracula. When he sees an add on TV for a new Dracula action figure, he ends up writing a fan letter to the legendary count. Surprisingly, Dracula answers by showing up at Sam's house... and helping him overcome some of his school problems. This is basically a Halloween cartoon special.

Jesse James vs. The Black Train -- (0.5/10) -- I saw this in several stores, and it looked quite terrible. I ended up streaming it on Tubi one night while struggling to sleep and it's honestly worse than it looks. It's written and directed by the same folks that did The Last Days of Billy the Kid and stars basically all of the same people. The premise is that Jesse James leaves the life of crime to start an old west show, which is successful for a while. When attendance begins to decline, he turns back to crime. At the same time, there's a mysterious black train that's run by the equally mysterious Emmett Black. There seems to be some sort of supernatural element to the train and when Jesse decides to try to destroy it with no luck. Overall, the film is absolute nonsense and as mentioned in my review of the Billy the Kid movie, the actors seem like they are a community theater troupe and/or western theme park reenactors.

The Legend of Hallowaiian -- (5/10) -- Three kids are out surfing on Halloween day when they accidentally find an underwater cave with a small box. A small totem in the box seems like a nice souvenir until they realize they've unleashed Pineapple Head, some sort of evil demi-god that goes on a path of destruction as he gains power in the moonlight. It's up to the kids to find a way to undo their major mistake.

Overall, I really expected this to be terrible. A lot of these Viva animated titles look extremely bad. In fact, there are a number of previews on the disc of animated features that look nearly unwatchable. However, this turned out to be decent enough. There are some name actors who provide some of the secondary characters voices such as Mark Dacascos, Tia Carrere, Vanessa White, and Mark Hamill. The end credits feature a cover of Rock-a-Hula-Baby by Dacascos (he only sings a couple of lines, but still strange to see in the end credits it was actually him).

Antboy -- (6/10) -- This is a Danish superhero film for younger kids. Pelle is a small boy who gets bullied in school. While hiding from the bullies in a strange yard in the neighborhood, he gets bitten by an ant and later finds that he has ant-like powers. He decides to use his powers for good, and like most heroes ultimately comes across a villain, The Flea, who kidnaps his school crush. Overall, this was pretty good -- definitely a decent live action superhero film for younger kids.

The Final Girls -- (7/10) -- This was a spoof of slasher films and quite entertaining. The daughter of an actress that starred in a well-known slasher film and her friends are somehow "sucked" into the movie itself when a fire breaks out at a theater showing the film. It features Adam Devine essentially playing "Adam" from Workaholics, and is overall an entertaining movie.

February 2021 Reviews:

Family Bible Collection: The Power of the Resurrection with 3 Bonus Movies

This is a 4 film collection and all the movies are on a single disc.

Martin Luther -- (3/10) -- This is a 1953 film that serves as a biographical account of a portion of Martin Luther's life. The quality of this particular release wasn't that good (although that's not to be unexpected considering there are four movies on the disc and it's from Echo Bridge) -- it's probably VHS level. It was certainly watchable and, while not terrible, the film was mostly boring. It's almost more of an acted out documentary than an actual biopic. There are lots of details of the specifics of his beliefs and how they differed from the Church at the time, but there was little in the film that delved into his character. Overall, I just didn't feel that this was a very engaging movie and I can't see ever wanting to re-watch it.

Straight Outta Oakland -- (3/10) -- This is a low budget film about 4 youths trying to rise above the impoverished background in the inner city of Oakland. Each has his own approach to getting out -- one is trying to make it in the music industry; one is selling drugs; one is attending college; and the fourth seems to really have no direction (or at least it's unclear). The acting is done by amateurs and the storyline is somewhat confusing (and overly dramatized) at points. Overall, it's just okay. Also, for full disclosure, I actually just streamed this on Amazon Prime rather than buying it because I saw it at Dollar Tree and saw that it had a fairly high IMDb rating; but I was still skeptical and wanted to check it out before deciding whether to buy. There's a second film (Straight Outta Oakland 2) which seems to feature some of the same actors, but playing different roles in a totally different storyline. It's another (like this film) that I would likely stream late at night while struggling to fall asleep.

The Last Days of Billy the Kid -- (1/10) -- Another DVD I saw at Dollar Tree and decided to stream on Tubi rather than watch since was from ITN, and experience has shown that the majority of stuff from them is quite bad. This didn’t deviate from that norm. The movie is supposed to be about the last, desperate days of Billy the Kid. In the 45 minutes (of an 80 minute film), Billy the Kid is in the movie for about 3-4 minutes total. The entire first half is about a One-Eyed Lilly, a saloon owner whose establishment has been taken over by the local town villains. She partners with a bunch of townspeople to bring about justice. Not surprisingly, the actress playing One-Eyed Lilly was co-writer on the film. The acting is bad. The first half of the movie is primarily scenes of the actors sitting and talking, and while the plot is quite simplistic, there’s a good portion that makes little sense (such as the very beginning and the ending). The action scenes are ridiculous as well. There can often be some gems in these low budget DVDs, making many of them worth picking up (and keeping in the collection); but this certainly isn’t one of them.

Pagan Warrior -- (1/10) -- I saw this DVD at Dollar Tree and thought about grabbing it. Luckily, I decided to stream it on Tubi, where it is listed under it's alternate title -- Vikings Versus Krampus. This is far from the worst Krampus movie I've ever seen, but it's quite bad. There's a lot of text at the beginning that sets the scene -- the movie is set in the 800's (although one of the text scenes lists it as the 1800s...) and focuses on a group of vikings that lay siege to a castle, deposing a king. They leave the king and queen for dead and take their daughter hostage. The king is nursed back to health and, with the help of witches, summons Krampus to take his revenge. The movie is quite bad -- the viking horde is maybe 7 total guys and the "kingdom" is only about 5 or 6 people (no exaggeration). And, I'm pretty sure during one fight scene, Krampus' horns get knocked sideways. Also, the two vikings shown on the cover don't appear in the film (or if they do, they look nothing like this). Overall, this is pretty bad.

The Alien Files: 4 Out-Of-This-World Movies

This is a 4 film collection and all the movies are on a single disc.

John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars -- (6/10) -- I saw this when it first came out 20 years ago, but haven't seen it since. I was a bit concerned about 4 movies being on the same disc, but the quality of Ghosts of Mars was certainly good enough in my opinion. If there was a Scream Factory release of the movie on bluray, I'd upgrade, but considering it's just only been released by Mill Creek, I'm not overly motivated to upgrade beyond this collection. The movie is set on Mars in the distant future. The planet is inhabited by humans who are terra forming the surface for further colonization. When a police force is sent to a mining colony to pick up a dangerous criminal they come across a horrific scene and ultimately find themselves in a fight for their lives against unnatural forces. I barely remembered the film, but am generally a fan of John Carpenter, so I quite enjoyed watching it again.

Alien Hunter -- (5/10) -- In 1947, a radio operator encounters a mysterious signal. When he pursues the issue, it ultimately leads to his disappearance. In present day (2003), the signal reappears and a team of researchers begin investigating. Professor Julian Rome (James Spader), who studies communication and cryptology, is invited to Antarctica to assist with the investigation. They find an alien object in the ice and begin to piece together what is going on. Overall, this was okay -- James Spader was clearly the highlight of the film. The quality of the video on the disc was not nearly as good as Ghosts of Mars, but it was watchable. There's one segment that seems out of sequence, but that could have been a choice by the film makers -- it was just odd.

The Day the World Ended -- (6/10) -- This movie was originally a Cinemax Exclusive and stars Randy Quaid. It's about a lady moving to a small town to become the new school psychologist. She meets a troubled and bullied boy who lives with his step-father. A strange, alien creature begins to kill many of the townspeople, and the psychologist begins to suspect there's a connection between the creature and the boy. Overall, this was pretty good and the video quality was also good.

Night Skies -- (4/10) -- This is a movie based on the Phoenix Lights phenomenon. A group of friends are traveling in an RV to Las Vegas along some back roads of Arizona when they crash into a broken down truck belonging to a former soldier. The crash leaves some of the party injured and luckily the soldier has some field medic training. The members of the party begin to notice odd lights in the sky and are stuck alone to deal with what's to come next. Overall this is more horror than sci-fi and it's mediocre at best. Sean Connery's son plays the soldier, which is sort of interesting. This was definitely the weakest movie on the collection.

4 Film Favorites: Modern Romantic Comedies

This is a four disc set, and I've previously not seen any of these films.

17 Again -- (7/10) -- This was really good. Mike (Matthew Perry) is a middle-aged man who is in the midst of a mid-life crisis. At the same time his wife is filing for divorce and he has a strained relationship with his children. Unexpectedly, he gets his wish to go back to his glory days and wakes up to find that he's again 17. The young Mike (Zac Effron) sets out to fix the problems in his life. The movie was quite funny and overall had a solid story.

Valentine's Day -- (6/10) -- Valentine's Day is a series of interconnected stories that all take place on Valentine's Day. The cast features lots of well-known actors and the plot interconnects really well. Overall, this was pretty entertaining as well.

January 2021 Reviews:

Alien Domicile -- (4/10) -- I streamed this on Amazon Prime since I was intrigued by the DVD cover art and wanted to see if it was worth grabbing or not. I’m okay with not having purchased it to be honest. The cover art makes it look as if it’s a cheap ripoff of the Alien franchise, but in reality it’s a low-budget sci-fi movie with a bit of a mystery component. A group of government workers wake up confused in an underground military based trapped in a compartment. They eventually realize they’ve locked themselves in and decide to explore their surroundings only to find alien lifeforms that they must defend themselves against. There’s a somewhat interesting (if confusing) twist ending. It was a decent one-time watch, but not really worth owning. I then found Alien Domicile 2: Lot 24 on Tubi and would give it a 3/10. It has NOTHING to do with the first one and very little to do with aliens. It’s about a group of friends who go camping at a private camp ground that had been owned by one of the group member’s uncle. The uncle disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The movie is quite terrible and extremely low budget (more so than the first film), but it’s quite funny given the poor acting and ridiculous storyline.

Air -- (6/10) -- Bauer (Norma Reedus) and Cartwright (Djimon Honsou) are two caretakers preserving a group of humans in a deep sleep facility after a worldwide chemical weapons attack left the Earth’s air unbreathable. They are tasked with keeping one of many underground facilities running until the outside air is expected to be breathable. The pressure of working with old technology, daily challenges to their tenuous existence, and being stuck together begin to wear on the duo. Normal Reedus’ character is basically a slightly toned down “Daryl” from The Walking Dead. Overall, this was quite good and one that I will certainly watch again as I feel like I would catch a bit more on a second watch.

Thunderstruck -- (6/10) -- This is by no means a great film, but I found it quite entertaining. The premise is Brian, a young high schooler who loves the game of basketball (but has little skills in the sport), ends up meeting his idol Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and somehow magically switches basketball abilities with the NBA superstar. The awkward teen becomes a star for his high school team while Durant’s NBA career begins to tank. The family friendly movie combines a good story, some good comedic scenes, and a good message. Overall, it was far better than I expected.

The Revenge of Robert -- (4/10) -- I’m probably overrating this at 4 because the Robert movies aren’t that great… but I do find them entertaining. The first film introduces Robert and is a traditional killer-doll horror movie. The second film is a direct sequel to the first and shows what happens after the events of the first film. The third film is a prequel and goes back in time and begins telling the true origins of Robert and the toymaker who created him. It begins by telling the story of how the book the toymaker uses to give life to Robert eventually winds up in his hands. This fourth film serves somehow as both a prequel to the third film and a sequel. The first half of The Revenge of Robert tells the story of the book’s creation and how it got to the person who got it to the person who eventually got it to the toymaker. The second half of the movie picks up where movie #3 ends and ultimately ties in nicely with the first film. Overall, I found this entertaining – both the fact that the film makers went to ridiculous lengths to further the back story in a completely unnecessary way as well as the humorously bad special effects of Robert and the other killer dolls. After this movie, there’s a fifth film which connects more of the back story of Robert and more fully bridges the gap between this fourth film and the first movie. I found it on Amazon Prime and went ahead and watched it (and will buy it if it winds up at Dollar Tree on DVD).

Mother Krampus -- (3.5/10) -- First off, this has nothing to do with Krampus. It’s a low-budget British horror film based on the legend of a Christmas witch who kidnaps children. When kids begin disappearing in a small town (and a mysterious woman in black is spotted), town elders begin to fear that a poor choice from their past may be coming back to haunt them. Overall, this was okay – far, far better than Krampus: The Christmas Devil and Krampus 2 which have shown up at Dollar Tree. Mother Krampus showed up on DVD and bluray, however I only saw the DVD in my area. In fairness, I skipped it hoping the bluray may eventually pop up, but I did stream the movie on Tubi to see if I would be interested in the physical copy.

My Giraffe -- (6/10) -- My Giraffe focuses on 4 year old Patterson, who lives in a small village in the Netherlands. When it’s time for him to begin school, he naturally assumes his best friend, Raf, will be joining him. The problem, though, is that Raf is a giraffe housed at the nearby zoo where his grandfather works. The film is aimed at a very young audience, but does have a subplot for an older audience focused on Patterson’s grandfather (who develops a crush on the Patterson’s teacher). Overall, this is a watchable kids movie. Seeing the settings of a small town in the Netherlands was also quite interesting.

Note this is a Viva DVD release and has the oddball UPC that matches several other titles as well as the 2020 Black Friday Dollar Tree UPC.

Mr. Troop Mom -- (6/10) -- George Lopez plays a lawyer and single dad who has to step in for his daughter’s girl scout troop when their normal scout mother comes down sick and the group has an upcoming camp and competition. The competition is at a wilderness lodge ran by Jane Lynch, who portrays and over the top scout master. This is a made for TV film that aired originally on Nickelodeon. It’s one of the rarer films that seems to pick up steam as it goes because the jokes and humor in the first half fall flat, while the second half works much better and ultimately saves the film overall. It’s obviously aimed at a younger girl audience, but it’s a decent family film that does provide some laughs and a good father-daughter storyline.

Surf's Up 2: WaveMania -- (5/10) -- When I watched this, I had not seen the first Surf’s Up movie. So with no foundation of the main characters, I thought this was okay. It’s basically a surfing movie about penguins (who were in the first film) that come face to face with surf heroes that are based on some prominent WWE stars. The animation is decent; the storyline is okay; and so overall, it’s mediocre.

Quick update: I watched the first Surf's Up movie which I found for $5 at Big Lots and despite the high ratings on IMDb... I found it extremely boring (it's a documentary style movie, aimed at kids, with lots of adult-aimed subtle jokes and, for me, it just doesn't work) and not entertaining. So, to me, this sequel is better and it's not necessary to see the original before watching it. Also note, some of the DVD copies do come with a digital SD code (although not all as the first one I grabbed did not).

The Swan Princess: Royally Undercover -- (4/10) -- I’ve never seen any of these films before, but there are quite a few of the Swan Princess films going back to the original one from 1994. In this film, some strangers show up in the kingdom hoping to aid a nearby town that was destroyed by a dam bursting. Unfortunately, the do-gooders turn out to be bad guys and it’s up to the young princess and her animal friends to uncover the truth and save the day. Overall, it’s okay but the animation isn’t quite up to par for a film released by Sony.

Back to the Jurassic / Khumba -- (5/10) -- This combo DVD has both Back to the Jurassic (originally titled Dino Time) and Khumba on it. It’s a two-sided, flipper disc with one movie on each side. I have Khumba on bluray and previously reviewed that movie but finally got around to watching Back to the Jurassic. This is a decent kids movie about a skateboarding kid living in a dinosaur-themed town who accidentally goes back in time millions of years along with two of his friends. It’s up to the parents to retrieve the kids, while the kids work to keep their new adoptive dino family safe in the past. This seems like a quickly written movie based on the idea of “Back to the Future” meets “Jurassic Park” for kids, but it works overall and was entertaining enough to be re-watchable.

December 2020 Reviews:

A Christmas Carol -- (6/10) -- This is an animated version from 1997 of Dickens’ classic Christmas classic. It features the voice talents of Tim Curry, Whoopi Goldberg, and Ed Asner. It’s true to the original story but targeted more at kids as it tones down the ghosts a bit (to make them less frightening) and also introduces the concept of Scrooge having a dog (named Debit). Overall, it was an entertaining take on a well-known story.

Martha's Homemade Holidays -- (5/10) -- I had this on as background noise one day over the holidays. To be honest, I’m unfamiliar with Martha Stewart Living as I never watched the show. This is basically various segments from the show (some cooking, some segments on ornament making, etc.). The cooking segments are basically the sort of thing you’d find on a Food Network show. I primarily bought this (and a few other copies) because it came in a snapper case and I wanted to have a couple of extra cases just in case any that I have in my collection break (I generally don’t buy movies at Dollar Tree to use for cases because I figure there are people or collectors who may want those films and since cases are cheaply bought off Amazon, but I did grab some of these since I couldn’t find a place to buy spare snap cases). Ironically, the first copy I opened had a busted case that can’t be used as a replacement since the hub was smashed which is honestly what prompted me just to pop the disc in and try it out. I didn’t watch all of it, but did watch all of the cooking segments and the tour of the Boston Candy Kitchen (which was fairly interesting as it showed how they make ribbon candy). So overall, it works well as background television.

National Lampoon's Vacation / National Lampoon's European Vacation -- (7/10) -- Note, this review is just for European Vacation as that's the whole reason I bought the DVD since I have Vacation on bluray already. Both movies are on the same disc, but the quality was good enough. European Vacation is certainly a funny film, but pales to both the first film as well as Christmas Vacation. The premise is that the Griswolds win a European trip while appearing on a game show and make their way through England, Germany, and Italy, and the expected hijinks occur

It looks like the previous double feature release included a number of special features, but unfortunately, there are none for either movie on this collection. Overall, though, the set is a good pickup for anyone who doesn’t have those films already.

A Christmas Story 2 -- (6/10) -- Some folks found this at Dollar Tree (both on DVD and bluray). I never did, but did find a copy of the DVD on clearance at Big Lots for $1.25. Since it’s a Dollar Tree title, I thought I would include a quick review here.

Overall, I expected this to be terrible (especially after watching sequels like Jingle All the Way 2), but it wasn’t. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. In the original movie, Ralphie is 9 and desperately wants a BB gun. In this film, he’s 16 and has that same longing for a car. While, this certainly will never become a cult classic like the original, I thought it did a good job of portraying the same family 7 years later. The writers clearly studied both the source books that spawned the first film as well as the original classic when creating the story, script, and sets. There were lots of call backs to the original movie, and while they may seem a bit overdone at times, there’s clearly a reason for it as the story attempts to parallel Ralphie’s desires changing from a boy to a teenager. As in the original, Ralphie has a vivid fantasy world and it’s clearly transitioned from boyhood to teenager years. I thought all of the actors did a good job of portraying their roles – obviously they aren’t going to be the same as the originals, but they kept the essences (Ralphie and his friend as being awkward kids in their schools; the mother as being strong yet sweet; the old man as being gruff and cheap, yet soft at heart). It’s probably not a film everyone is going to like (and in fact it only has a 3.3 on IMDb), but I found it a good follow-up to the original and worth keeping in the collection.

The Life Before Her Eyes -- (7/10) -- I first traded for the DVD of this movie, but later found it on bluray. The premise is a suburban wife, married to a college professor, begins to have flash backs to a tragic situation from her high school days as the anniversary of the tragedy approaches and she struggles on deciding whether or not to participate in the event. Uma Thurman plays present-day Diana and Evan Rachel Wood plays the high school version of Diana. Overall, this was really good. Despite seeming to have a predictable storyline, it really didn’t quite turn out that way and the movie did a good job of keeping me engaged throughout.

Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special -- (6/10) -- I’ve seen this several times before from previous television broadcasts. I’ve always found it an entertaining holiday special that touches on the essential themes of the holiday season. The DVD includes some short special features – the most interesting one is a short segment showing a chef making noodles from scratch. Overall, this was a good pickup for a dollar.

Krampus -- (6/10) -- I got this a couple of years ago and finally got around to watching it this holiday season. The comedy horror focuses on a young boy who becomes disillusioned with Christmas and his family suffers the consequences of his insolence. The horror and comedy both sometimes fall a bit flat, but overall, this was pretty good.

Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas -- (4/10) -- I recall seeing ads a few years ago for the animated version of Elf, but never got a chance to see it. Since Elf is a film I watch every year around Christmas, I was interested to see this and figured it was worth a dollar to try out. This is basically the same story as Elf, but condensed into about 45 minutes and with lots more musical numbers. What’s left out is primarily most of the funny parts of the movie. To be fair, much of that humor from the movie is based on the talents of Will Ferrell and would be hard to translate to another adaptation. The overall result is a fairly dull cartoon that pales in comparison to the movie.

Holiday Inn -- (7/10) -- This is a classic from the 40’s starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. It features lots of Bing’s singing and Fred’s dancing. It’s categorized as a Christmas movie, but it really takes place over the course of a year and features several holidays. Crosby’s character decides to quit show business and go off to a rural area to open an inn that features parties and performances around each of the holidays in the US. Astaire’s character (who had been the partner of Crosby’s before a falling out over a shared love interest) eventually reconnects with him and they renew their rivalry and friendship.

Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas -- (6/10) -- This is a Christmas special featuring Inspector Gadget from the 90’s (so after the original series) and focuses on Dr. Claw taking over Santa’s workshop. It’s up to Inspector Gadget to save the day, and he does so in his usual bumbling way. It felt pretty similar to the classic series with some of the typical Gadget malfunctions and misunderstandings. Overall, it was pretty good.

How Murray Saved Christmas -- (7/10) -- I recall seeing this at some point on TV but didn’t remember it very well and certainly didn’t have high expectations for it, yet this was pretty entertaining and well worth the dollar. There’s quite a few jokes obviously intended for adults, yet the overall cartoon is still a good fit for kids. Overall, definitely one of the better Dollar Tree DVD pickups.

This is Our Christmas (Plus 2 Bonus Movies)

This Is Our Christmas -- (1/10) – This was hard to watch. The premise is a relatively newly deceased woman wants to visit her family and is allowed to sort of do so (they can’t see her and don’t know she’s there). She watches as her daughter learns the value of Christmas when she’s sent to help her aunt who is in danger of losing her bakery. The acting was pretty bad; the storyline was pretty bad; and the characters weren’t very likable. On the positive side, the movie was professionally made.

A Christmas Tail -- (3/10) – This movie centers on Tim, a boy who desperately wants a dog, but whose parents are unwilling to buy him one. While walking home one day near the train tracks, he comes across “the Professor,” who claims to be a former college professor who now travels the rails. The Professor explains to Tim that the stars about to align in a magical way that would enable the pure of heart to successfully be granted a wish. Tim returns that evening to wish for a dog… and through an honest mistake ends up actually turning into a dog instead. It’s up to one of Tim’s friends to try to turn him back human while Tim tries to make it as a canine. This movie definitely had some good moments, but overall, it was a bit slow. The only notable actor is Gordon Jump (WKRP in Cincinatti) who plays The Professor. With a bit better editing, it could have been decent. Sadly, this movie was the best of the set.

Winslow the Christmas Bear -- (2/10) – This is mostly told through nature footage. There’s one actor in it – a small girl who is reading the story, Winslow the Christmas Bear, and imagines it being acted out by real forest animals. The narrator tells the story of how Winslow wants nothing more than to understand what Christmas is all about. Winslow visits others animals and asks each one about Christmas until he eventually learns about it. Overall… this isn’t that good. It’s full screen and not a great transfer (looks VHS quality). I was quite surprised to see that it was from 1999 as I expected it to be from the early to mid-80’s from the look of it.

Spootnek · 01-02-2021, 04:13 AM

2021 Dollar Tree Watch List
January

[Show spoiler]

February

[Show spoiler]

March

[Show spoiler]

April

[Show spoiler]

May

[Show spoiler]

June

[Show spoiler]

August

[Show spoiler]

September

[Show spoiler]

October

[Show spoiler]

November

[Show spoiler]

December

[Show spoiler]

Spootnek · 01-03-2021, 03:36 AM

2022 Dollar Tree Watch List
January
Still NOT with my collection!

[Show spoiler]

February

[Show spoiler]

March

[Show spoiler]

April

[Show spoiler]

May

[Show spoiler]

June

[Show spoiler]

July

[Show spoiler]

August

[Show spoiler]

September

[Show spoiler]

October

[Show spoiler]

PoorCampBlu · 01-03-2021, 01:47 PM

Joining the 2021 campaign - where everyone is a winner for finding $1 physical media - now including last 2 gen gaming consoles PM!!!

I have not been well of late and there may be a situation where I won't be able to post soon. (why not compound misery during a global pandemic? lol) Also I haven't bought a single DT title in months! (Sep?) Fortunately, I do have a couple(!!!) of DT movies I haven't watched and so I'll make a go of this, for as long as I can.

January

Belko Experiment (blu) 1:29
Clash of Empires (dvd) 1:49
Brotherhood of Blades (blu) 1:51
Woochi: Demon Slayer (blu) 2:15
Dystopia (dvd) 1:37

February

Clay (2008)(dvd) 1:30
Aviators (2008) Spain 1:25

Best of So Graham Norton 2:08

March

Final Girls (2015) dvd

April

May

PoorCampBlu · 01-03-2021, 01:52 PM

spot 2 reserve

For purely personal twisted reasons, I keep track of what I watch and the hours spent - so for our mutual horror and public condemnation, I will be including my running DT total of time watched. I generally break it by TV and Movies (including one time specials) and then total, on a monthly basis.

Jan
TV: 000:00
MO:009:01

Feb
TV: 002:08
MO:002:55

Mar
TV: 000:00
MO:001:31

Apr
TV: 000:00
MO:000:00

May
TV: 000:00
MO:000:00

Tots
TV: 002:08
MO:013:27
GT: 015:35

Zhuge1 · 06-06-2021, 05:18 PM

For anyone interested here are direct links to previous reviews of DVDs and blurays picked up at Dollar Tree:

January 2022 Reviews:

Viking Siege -- (5/10) -- Viking Siege is a low budget, British film in which a group of female warriors infiltrate a local monastery to exact revenge on the monks there who kidnapped several of their family members and sold them into slavery. Their plans are somewhat derailed when a group of vikings show up to the monastery in search of refuge from a group of tree-beasts that are trying to kill them. None of the actors in the film are well-established, with most only having a few other film credits to their resume (with most of those being similarly budgeted films).

Overall, this provides a recipe for a terrible movie; and yet, oddly, Viking Siege is a pretty entertaining B film. The actors do a pretty solid job (particularly when factoring in their experience level); the plot rarely meanders off onto tangents; the action scenes are pretty decent; and while there are a number of characters in the film, most of them stand out enough so that they don't simply blend together.

First off, this is 8 films on one double-sided DVD (four movies on each side). The video quality for some of the films is really bad as it honestly looks like someone took a VHS recording and simply added it to a DVD.

The Crippled Masters -- (5/10) -- After it's been decided that Lee Ho has betrayed his vengeful master, his arms are cut off as punishment and he's banished from the dojo he was a member of. With no money and no connections, things turn worse for Lee Ho when he attempts to get food in a restaurant and finds eating and drinking without his arms extremely difficult, resulting in ridicule by the other patrons, and ultimately Lee Ho is thrown out and finds himself on the run again. He soon finds himself in a rural community where he begins to learn to live life again with his disability.

Not long after, Tang, the man who oversaw Lee Ho's punishment, finds that he has also ran afoul of the evil master and has his legs drenched in acid as his punishment, leaving him crippled as well. He ultimately finds himself in the same rural village as Lee Ho while also running from the master and the two former adversaries square off before ultimately coming together to realize their true enemy is the master who they decide to seek vengeance against.

Depending upon one's viewpoint, The Crippled Masters can be seen as an exploitative film that awkwardly focuses on the disabilities of its two main protagonists, or as a vehicle that's far ahead of its time by highlighting the capabilities of the two men and showcasing them as heroes who are more the able to fight back against their adversaries.

Regardless, the real problem is that while the film is decent and watchable -- it's just not that good. The martial arts scenes certainly highlight the hard work and training put in by its two main stars, but they aren't on par with most other films of this era and genre. And while plot isn't always the main driving force in a kung-fu film, the storyline for The Crippled Masters is very basic and predictable, with some significant holes (for example, it's never explained what Lee Ho allegedly did, which began the whole conflict in the movie).

Fist of Fear, Touch of Death -- (2/10) -- Fist of Fear, Touch of Death is a faux documentary in which "TV reporter" Adolph Caesar is hosting a karate tournament in which competitors are trying to become the heir apparent to Bruce Lee. The promoter of the event, Aaron Banks, is churning up additional interest in the tournament by circulating the rumor that Bruce Lee's death was actually the result of a maneuver known as the "touch of death," a punch that would somehow cause internal damage resulting in later death. The film also features Fred Williamson, who oddly serves as a comedic element where random New Yorkers confuse him as Harry Belafonte. The film intersperses past segments of Bruce Lee in action (or in interviews) alongside interviews of the competitors in the "tournament," many of whom speculate about Bruce's death not being a natural event. There are additional segments of the competitors in "action" as well as some "biographical details" in which scenes from two older films are used to portray a story of Lee's background including the history of his "great grand-father," who ironically also died of the "touch of death."

Overall, this film is laughable, but sadly not in a way that provides a lot of entertainment. The tournament story is simply a wraparound to the segments of "The Bruce Lee Story" which fictitiously recounts Lee's background. Much of the action is poorly done (aside from the scenes from old, actual kung-fu films). Bruce Lee is prominently featured on movie posters (or DVD covers) and is only in the film via past interviews or old movie scenes (that are simply strung together to tell a "story" of his past). Perhaps the only interesting aspects are simply seeing a few scenes of New York City in 1980 in the wrap-around "tournament" story as well as seeing a truly ridiculously made exploitation film.

Jackie and the 36 Crazy Fists -- (5/10) -- Audio and video on this particular film was not good at all, so some of the initial scenes were a bit hard to understand. Up front, though, Jackie Chan is not in this film despite being on the cover and his name being used in some translations of the title. That said, it was a decent kung fu movie.

Champ vs. Champ -- (6/10) -- Champ vs. Champ begins as a mundane, run of the mill kung fu film typical of the late 70's or early 80's in which Dragon Lee finds himself attacked while wandering through a rural area. Apparently he'd been told never to return to the region as he's ran afoul of the local, villainous leader. There's additional, boring setup to establish the local villain is after a list of his enemies that are plotting against him (because apparently people wishing to overthrow him wrote down a list of everyone participating in the coup attempt) and kidnaps some of the ringleaders (one of which turns out to be the father of Dragon Lee's bride to be).

Eventually, though, things pick up when Dragon Lee loses his leg to a poison dart and has to replace it with a steel one and a run of the mill kung-fu film with a slightly convoluted plot morphs into a mixture of great martial arts fighting and laugh out loud comedy (some of which was likely unintentional). I probably would have rated this 2.5 stars, but had to round up to 3 given that it has one of my (now) favorite lines, "What are you doing here, you long-haired son of a she-goat?"

Road -- (4/10) -- Road is an independent, relatively low-budget action film from the UK which focuses on Shokka, a former criminal who is trying to track down the people responsible for killing his younger brother.

The film seems to have been a labor of love for its creator Vitae Nas as the opening credits explains that the movie took him ten years to complete and required jumping through a number of hoops. In fact, Nas served as writer, director, producer, cinematographer, editor, and basically everything else. It's worth noting that at the end of the credits is basically a letter by the filmmaker talking about his life's history which was a bit bizarre.

The majority of the actors in the film are amateurs -- most of which have few (if any) other acting credits on their resume. In fact, many are hip hop or rap artists in the UK -- such as Roach Killa (a Punjabi artist), Dr. Zeus (a notable Punjabi music producer), and Scorcher (an English rapper). Oddly, the star of the film (Cameron Caan) isn't featured on the movie poster -- instead that credit goes to Ricci Guarnaccio, who has a relatively minor role in the film, but has the notoriety of being a star on the UK reality series Geordie Shore (which is essentially the British version of Jersey Shore).

Overall, this movie isn't that good, but it's certainly not terrible. I've watched quite a few low-budget/indy films and many are abysmal and tough to get through; and for an independent film from a first time filmmaker (who directed, wrote, and did nearly everything else for the film) -- Road is somewhat impressive. The cinematography is relatively well-done as flashback scenes are handled through black and white segments; several of the action scenes are well shot; some of the fight scenes are fairly well-done; and somehow the filmmaker arranged to have a number of high end automobiles, a helicopter, and an actual tank in the film. The script and plot aren't great, but it's a cohesive storyline that works. The audio is consistently clear throughout, which is nice as poor audio quality is often a characteristic of low-budget films).

Curse of the Mayans -- (2/10) -- Curse of the Mayans focuses on an expedition by Chicago-based academic Dr. Alan Green. Dr. Green has been hired by a wealthy collector to track down a lost Mayan structure to collect an unstated object. Dr. Green seeks out Danielle Noble who puts together a team to assist with the exploration.

There are lots of problems with this film. The story build-up is very long. This is an 88 minute sci-fi/horror film, and there are about 60 seconds worth of alien/horror scenes in glimpses in the first 65 minute. The sci-fi element finally occurs about 70 minutes into the film. In addition, several of the scenes are shot in a weird slow motion style that makes them seem to be dream sequences despite the fact that they were not.

Quite a lot of time is spent on establishing that the main female protagonist (Danielle) lost her former boyfriend in an accident despite it having little relevance to the rest of the plot. Another scene in which the exploration party is accosted by bandits takes a surprising amount of time despite contributing nothing to the story. A number of actors are involved with the movie, yet only three characters really stand out -- Dr. Green and the two females in the party. Little to no time is spent establishing who the male members of the exploration party are, and it makes them nearly indistinguishable as the story unfolds (I actually found myself trying to figure out which guy was which nearly 50 mintues into the movie). The last twenty minutes are overly dark making it difficult to see what happens; and when adding that to the fact that only three characters are recognizable, it makes following the events nearly impossible. The conclusion is, as expected based on the build up, unsatisfying. Overall, this just isn't a good film.

Timecrimes -- (6/10) -- Timecrimes is a low budget Spanish film that focuses on time travel. I didn't have high expectations for the film, but I have to say I found it pretty entertaining and worth hanging on to. It approaches time travel in an interesting way -- instead of focusing on major events or massive changes, it simply focuses on one guy making a small jump in time and looking at how that can impact things. Definitely worth a watch. The DVD release also includes an interesting short film by the director, which has nothing to do with Timecrimes, but is also an entertaining and bizarre watch.

December 2021 Reviews:

Battalion -- (2/10) -- This is a low budget sci-fi film out of Australia in which the Earth comes under attack by a group of aliens who begin attacking areas in the South Pacific. The actors (who are all Australian) play American soldiers who are deployed to aid with the fight. For a low budget film, the acting and special effects are decent enough. The real problems with the film are with the script, editing, and audio. Several scenes feature audio that's tinny and difficult to understand. Also, the script writers attempted to get far too creative with the story as there are several scenes jump around from present to past. Unlike other films that effectively use that mechanism, these time jumps don't seem to have any actual purpose in telling the story -- in fact, the film probably would have been better had all the scenes simply been put together in chronological order. There were also a few minor plot points that the viewer just has to interpret as they are alluded to without any real explanation. Overall, with better editing and a slightly better script (in which some of the melodrama was trimmed out), this could have been a good low budget sci-fi watch.

Merry Christmas, Baby! -- (4/10) -- This is the fourth Christmas film to feature the Chandler family, although it's the only one in the series to be released on blu-ray (via Echo Bridge). The film is made for TV, originally airing on Up TV and centers on a large family getting ready for the Christmas season. Marci is focusing on her new event planning business which has had a rocky start; Blair focuses on being the ideal father for his new baby, particularly as they approach their first Christmas together; Myra is struggling with an empty nest; and Stephanie is struggling with starting a new career. The movie is something of a dramatic comedy, and while it does well with the comedic scenes, the drama sometimes feels a bit too forced. In particular, the scenes with Blair focusing on his role as a father seem like something from an 80's soap opera. While it's the fourth film in a five film series, it doesn't really require previous knowledge of the first three to enjoy. Overall, it's an average Christmas movie and does somewhat prompt one to check out the other films focused on this famiily.

Tiny Christmas -- (4/10) -- This is a very short film (66 minutes) from Nickelodeon aimed primarily at a pre-teen audience. The premise is that an elf delivering presents from Santa accidentally shrinks a girl and her cousin using a pair of special goggles. Through a series of predictable events, they end up at the home of their nearby neighbor and must find their way home to return to their normal size before the end of Christmas. Despite being fairly predictable, it's a cute movie that many older elementary school kids will enjoy. The acting is solid and professional -- the two lead girls starred in TV series on Nickelodeon and a few of the supporting actors are recognizable from shows on the SyFy network such as Panou (Flash Gordon, Sanctuary) and Matty Finochio (Day of the Dead). Overall, it's a fun, quick holiday watch.

Black Nativity -- (5/10) -- This is a film adaptation of a play by Langston Hughes, and is primarily a musical. Overall, I thought it was pretty good.

Mariah Carey's All I Want for Christmas Is You -- (4/10) -- There are lots of animated Christmas movies and specials that have been made. Many are good, and quite a few are fairly poor. This one fits more into the latter category. At 90 minutes, it feels overly long -- like a 40 minute cartoon that's been stretched with pointless filler to get to feature length. In addition, there are elements of the story that are just questionable for a Christmas special. For example, a young Mariah's grandfather is overly envious of his neighbors to the point of trespassing onto their property to try to disable or damage their exterior Christmas decorations. That might work in the right context, such as irreverent or goofball comedy (South Park, The Simpsons, or even the Christmas special Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer), but seems out of place in a special that's aimed at younger kids and is more of a straightforward story of finding the true meaning of Christmas. The animation isn't very good given that this is a Universal release. Overall, it's okay, but certainly no Christmas classic.

A Merry Friggin Christmas -- (6/10) -- This doesn't get great reviews, but I thought it was a pretty solid Christmas film. Joel McHale plays the estranged son of Robin Williams and while spending the holidays with his family (who he struggles to connect with) he realizes on Christmas Eve he's left his son's presents back at their home several hours away. He and his father set off to retrieve the presents. It's a good family story and has some very funny moments (mostly from the awkward brother, played by Clark Duke).

Krampus: The Reckoning -- (3/10) -- Basically all of the low-budget Krampus movies are bad, so in watching them, it's often a matter of trying to determine if one isn't completely woeful. With that, Krampus: The Reckoning is one of the better entries in the low budget Krampus genre. While it's plot is generic, formulaic, and predictable, it's at least cohesive and sensible. The filmmakers don't try to get overly creative -- they put together a basic low budget horror movie (with many of the typical components, including amateurish acting and some gratuitous nudity) that isn't great cinema, but is certainly watchable.

Krampus: Origins -- (1/10) -- One of the problems that I often notice with low budget films, particularly ones in the horror genre, is that they try to get a bit too creative with the storyline. They often try to introduce too many concepts or characters, resulting in a convoluted plot that doesn't have a cohesive beginning, middle, and end. Krampus: Origins falls prey to this fallacy. The film begins in World War I where a soldier finds a mysterious artifact that an enemy soldier was somehow using. At the same time, the soldier's wife takes up a new position as a teacher at a parochial school (or orphanage) which is ran by an alcoholic priest. Several of the students are engaged in witchcraft (although not for nefarious purposes, it seems). Krampus doesn't play an actual in the movie until an hour into the 90 minute film. Ultimately, there's simply too many elements that don't come together well in the end as the plot wraps up relatively quickly, leaving some questions that most viewers simply wouldn't be interested enough to learn more about.

The Munsters' Scary Little Christmas -- (4/10) -- Overall this was a decent Munsters film. Certainly not as good as the original cast, but a mediocre watch.

November 2021 Reviews:

Coven -- (1/10) -- I really thought when I first checked into this movie, it had mixed to mediocre reviews on IMDb, but it's currently sitting at a 2.7 and that's way too high for this film. It's pretty bad. It's 80 minutes, mostly boring, has amateurish acting, and is clearly inspired by The Craft to a point where it copies aspects of that movie. For such a short movie, it takes quite some time to really get moving into the storyline; some aspects don't make a lot of sense or connect well; and the majority of "what happens" occurs in the last 20 minutes. Overall, it's just not worth the time.

The Dalton Gang -- (1/10) -- This is another Christopher Forbes movie (which means it's bad) and it's probably on the lower end of his films (which means it's really bad). It's basically about the Dalton Gang from the Old West and culminates in the Coffeyville Bank Robbery. The acting is bad, but that's a staple for Forbes' films. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) the audio is also bad in some scenes making it very difficult to hear the dialog. There's very little action; but that's often the case in these films -- they are primarily scenes of dialog as one would see in a play with a few interconnecting "action" scenes scattered in. The ending gunfight is over quite quickly, which probably aligns with history, but makes for an anti-climactic movie scene.

October 2021 Reviews:

Little Monsters -- (7/10) -- Little Monsters is an Australian zombie romantic comedy where a group of young children go on a school field trip to visit a well-known kid's entertainer only to be caught up in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. Josh Gad plays the kids entertainer and is far from his normal "good guy" role. Lupita Nyong'o plays the kids' teacher who focuses on keeping the kids safe and oblivious to the dangers around them. Overall, the movie is quite funny as well as entertaining throughout. Definitely a solid pickup from Dollar Tree.

Family Bible Collection: The Power of the Resurrection with 3 Bonus Movies

This is a 4 film collection and all the movies are on a single disc.

The Power of the Resurrection -- (3/10) -- This was probably the best video quality of all the movies on the disc. Unfortunately, it's fairly boring. Peter is in prison with another young man who fears impending torture by the captors. Peter reassures the man by recounting the last days of Christ's life and his resurrection. It wasn't bad -- just not overly interesting.

I've previously reviewed the other 3 films on this DVD:

[Show spoiler]

I Beheld His Glory -- (5/10) -- If I recall correctly, this film (which is about an hour in length) features the first TV appearance of James Dean. The film focuses on a Roman centurion who is sent out to recount the last days of Christ's life. He finds a group of people eager to listen to his story and he goes through the events from the Last Supper to the Crucifixion. Overall, it was decent. The video quality is not that great -- I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was simply a transfer from a VHS recording. Dean's role is pretty minor overall.

Hill Number One -- (5/10) -- This film is actually an episode of "Family Theater," which was originally a radio show started by Patrick Peyton (the priest who popularized the phrase, "the family that prays together stays together" back in the 1940's) that eventually became a television show. Anyways, this is set in the 1950's during the Korean War and begins with a wraparound story in which a company from the US Army are discussing the difficulties in taking one of the hills. When the company priest visit, he recounts the story of the first hill (referencing the hill of the Crucifixion). The story then transitions to a speculative account of the time period between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Again, the video quality isn't the best, but it was relatively entertaining.

Martin Luther -- (3/10) -- This was previously reviewed in February:

This is a 1953 film that serves as a biographical account of a portion of Martin Luther's life. The quality of this particular release wasn't that good (although that's not to be unexpected considering there are four movies on the disc and it's from Echo Bridge) -- it's probably VHS level. It was certainly watchable and, while not terrible, the film was mostly boring. It's almost more of an acted out documentary than an actual biopic. There are lots of details of the specifics of his beliefs and how they differed from the Church at the time, but there was little in the film that delved into his character. Overall, I just didn't feel that this was a very engaging movie and I can't see ever wanting to re-watch it.

Beyond Skyline -- (6/10) -- I re-watched this while watching the Skyline trilogy all together since I recently picked up the third film in the series (Skylines). Overall, I thought it was a solid trilogy and this second film in the series is quite good. While it works as a standalone film for folks unfamiliar with the other movies, it's far better to watch it right after watching the first movie in the series since it helps connect everything together.

Rise of the Mummy -- (3/10) -- This is a low budget British horror film in which a group of university students studying a newly discovered mummy become the victims of an ancient curse. YouTube personality coolduder makes an appearance in the film as a YouTube expert on paranormal things. Overall, it was okay. It definitely could have been better, but had some interesting aspects beyond what you find in a typical low-budget horror film.

Woman in the Woods -- (5/10) -- This was a weird one that grew on me as I watched it. Jason is a Canadian of Filipino decent whose father just died. For years, his father had always told Jason about growing up in the Philippines and about all of the legends of the place. He spoke about wanting to take Jason there to show him all of these fantastical things. After his father died, Jason takes off to the Philippines without telling his family and ends up experiencing many of the legends his father told him about. The movie is narrated by the father and many of the other characters in the Philippines don't speak English (and there's no subtitles) so you don't always know what they are saying -- but I think that's the point of the movie because Jason often has no idea what people are saying to him. While not a great movie, this was still pretty entertaining and will be one I'll hang on to.

A Haunted House -- (5/10) -- I know some people found the bluray of this film at Dollar Tree. I actually got the DVD in a trade (which may or may not have been a Dollar Tree purchase for the other person). Anyways, the film is similar to Scary Movie and mostly spoofs Paranormal Activity. It's not great, but it was entertaining enough for what it was.

Vampire's Kiss -- (7/10) -- So this is one of the MGM titles that seemingly got a Dollar Tree specific release. The DVD has no special features and no menu -- the movie starts up as soon as you plug it in. That said, the quality was okay, and the movie itself was quite entertaining. Nicolas Cage plays a higher up at a publishing firm who is struggling with his romantic relationships as well as his mental health. When he meets a mysterious woman one night, he becomes convinced she's a vampire who is slowly turning him into one as well. Cage is extremely over the top and quirky in the film, which really enhances the whole story. Overall, definitely entertaining.

Crying Wolf -- (6/10) -- This is not at all what I expected it to be. I was anticipating a low budget werewolf movie (which it is). But it's really more comedy horror (specifically British comedy) than just low-budget horror and I thought it worked quite well. It was definitely worth the watch.

September 2021 Reviews:

The Answer -- (3/10) -- This is a pretty forgettable movie about a guy with special powers who, after receiving a mysterious gift from his long-dead mother, is being hunted by a mysterious group with superhuman powers. The first 10-15 minutes was entertaining enough but it fell apart after that and became cheesy, predictable, and boring.

Krampus Unleashed -- (3/10) -- Decades ago a group of fortune hunters find the lost treasure of a German immigrant including a summoning stone that unleashes the Krampus. Many years later, a family visiting relatives in the American southwest find the stone and accidentally unleash Krampus on themselves and the nearby locals. Overall, for a low budget Krampus movie, this wasn't overly terrible. I had very low expectations after watching some of the other "Krampus" films. It's certainly not great, but it is better than some of the others.

Donnybrook -- (6/10) -- Jamie Bell is a former marine who is down on his luck and living in poverty. He believes the only option to help his family is to enter the Donnybrook -- an underground bare knuckle fighting competition. Frank Grillo is a brutal meth dealer who exerts his brutality on all who cross his path, including his own sister. Margaret Qually portrays the conflicted sister who struggles between her loyalty to her brother and her own self-preservation. Overall, this is a pretty good (if difficult) watch. It's difficult both in content as well as the visuals -- some scenes are so dark that they are almost unviewable. Definitely a title I'll probably hang on to.

LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: The Flash -- (6/10) -- This was pretty good. The Justice League are working to stop Joker when Flash ends up in a time loop. He later ends up facing off with Reverse Flash. Not quite as funny as some of the other LEGO DC Superhero movies, but overall, entertaining.

My Pet Dinosaur -- (4/10) -- The premise of this movie is that a group of kids live in a town where a number of people are getting cancer (although that whole plot point seems to disappear). They find a mysterious substance while wandering in the woods to work on a science project and take samples. Later, a baby dinosaur appears from the substance in one of the kid's rooms. The kids keep it a secret until it begins growing at an exponential rate. More dinosaurs begin to show up in the town and the military shows up to deal with the situation (and seemingly keep information bottled up). The kids work to save the dinos despite the "evil" military leader. Overall, it's okay for a low budget kids movie.

The Dwarves of Dragon Mountain -- (4/10) -- This is a fantasy movie in which three dwarves who are miners get trapped in a cave-in. The acting is good. The costumes are great. It's filmed well. But, overall, it's just okay. There's not a ton of action as it's mostly a character-driven piece. There are components that connect them to their outside world, but you don't learn a lot about what's going on overall. This feels almost like a short story that exists in a larger world that would work better if you're familiar with that larger world scenario.

CJ7 -- (2/10) -- CJ7 is about a poor father and son pair in China who cross paths with a cute alien that attempts to help their family. The movie is written by, directed by, and stars Stephen Chow (Kung Fu Hustle, Journey to the West) and is released by Sony. It has a pretty decent rating on IMDb, so I thought this would be pretty good. However, there are tons of problems with this film. For a movie aimed at children -- it's not that good. Granted, there are cultural differences between the US and China and this was created for a primarily Chinese audience. That said... the movie features scenes in which the father beats the boy for wanting a toy; locks him in a small wardrobe; yells at him; etc. The father (a poor construction worker) has a physical fight with his boss at his job. The kid beats on the cute alien and throws it in the trash can after it doesn't aid him in cheating on a test. The cute alien defecates on the boy in retaliation for the poor treatment it received. Overall, it was hard to get through this film. Luckily I have a friend that's a huge Stephen Chow fan, because this one won't stay in my collection.

Monolith -- (5/10) -- The premise of this is a woman is taking a surprise visit to see her husband with her kid driving a new, state of the art vehicle with a lockdown feature. After an unexpected accident, the child gets locked in the car in lockdown mode and it's up to the mother to figure out a way to save her child while in the middle of nowhere. I expected this to be hokey, and while I wouldn't say it was a great movie, it definitely kept me entertained and invested in the story. Most everything is predictable -- you see every mistake coming before it happens, but again, the movie does a good job of keeping one invested in the story. Additionally, the desert scenery where the film is set is very visually appealing. Overall, this was a pretty good watch.

August 2021 Reviews:

The League of Legend Keepers: Shadows -- (2/10) -- This is about a "family of archaeologists" (although it's really just the father) who have traveled around the world looking for 5 pendants that supposedly relate to the Holy Grail (although that plot detail later gets seemingly lost). Their most recent stop is California where Sophie, the eldest daughter (and star, and co-writer of the film), is having trouble with many of her new classmates. Simultaneously, an ancient spirit is also on the hunt for the pendants, but there is also a super secret organization (The League of Legend Keepers) who work to keep the world (and, as they mention, galaxy) safe from such evil. This is a Dove approved movie that's supposedly a horror film for kids. The problem is some of the scenes would be a bit too much for younger kids while the plot is too much of a mess for older kids to be entertained with. It's co-written by the movie's star (Isabella Blake-Thomas) and directed by her mother. There are some competent actors in the film that have been in other things, but the movie just doesn't come together. It's quite short (at 72 minutes) but feels like a longer watch as it's fairly dull (and at times convoluted).

July 2021 Reviews:

Amityville MT Misery Road -- (0.5/10) -- This almost has to be seen to be believed. A Florida couple receive a letter from a friend who went out to the haunted area of Mt. Misery Road in NY. The letter included photos of floating "orbs" that were apparently supernatural. The couple decides to take a trip there and records their journey. They are warned to stay away from the place by some local guy in Florida who grew up near the area as well as a "historian" in NY who researched and published about the area. Ignoring the advice, they push onward and document everything with their cell phone. The real-life couple that star in this film directed, produced, wrote, created the music, etc. etc. (literally the end credits list the two of them in every category). Chuck Morrongiello is the lead and he's apparently a guitarist that previously played with Marty Balin (of Jefferson Airplane). His wife features prominently in the movie and often seems to enjoy displaying her physical attributes. Overall, the story is a mess. The acting is a mess. The camera work seems to primarily be done with a cell phone and a selfie stick. I'm somewhat amazed that it actually got a DVD release.

The Jurassic Games -- (5/10) -- This is basically what it sounds like -- Jurassic Park meets Hunger Games. The premise is death row inmates are put into a live virtual game show in which they must face off with dinosaurs. If the contestants die in the virtual world, they are immediately given a lethal injection in the real world. The final survivor wins their freedom. Overall, for a B movie with a hokey premise, I thought this was pretty entertaining. It has at least a couple of actors I've seen before including Perrey Reeves who was Mrs. Ari Gold in the HBO Entourage series.

Can You Keep a Secret? -- (5/10) -- This is a fairly standard straight to video romantic comedy which stars Tyler Hoechlin (Superman in DC's Arrowverse) and Alexandra Daddario. The premise is a woman is returning on a plane from a bad business trip experience and gets a bit too tipsy on the plane. When they experience turbulence, she spills all of our closest secrets out to the man sitting next to her who she later discovers is the CEO of the company she works for. Overall it was a pretty fun, light watch.

Alien: Reign of Man -- (1/10) -- This is from the same writer and director as The Dawnseeker and stars one of the same actresses, who plays a character by the same name (however, it seems the movies are not connected). The movie focuses on an attempt to save Earth, which has been ravaged by a virus that's turned humans into zombies (as best I can recall -- honestly the whole virus thing is mostly in the background). A group of eternals (who have survived the virus?) are on a mission to get a device that will somehow turn time back and prevent the virus. Honestly, I could be wrong about some of the plot details -- the movie is hard to follow, it's boring, the acting is poor, and the dialog is often pompous and over-written. Overall, this is terrible and not worth the time.

The Dawnseeker -- (1/10) -- I'm okay with low budget sci-fi (and can understand cheesy effects for a movie that's micro-budget). One can also understand acting that's amateurish in these types of films. The real problem with this movie is it makes little sense. There's an opening scene prior to the beginning credits that... doesn't seem to connect with the rest of the film. Then the story moves to a ship of mercenaries are headed to a planet to get a substance needed to save Earth's sun (which is dying). On board, they have a Predator-like captive called a Dawnseeker, which is designed/bred(?) to kill all species that are different from it. Not surprisingly, the ship crashes and the mercenaries find themselves up against the Dawnseeker. Again, the effects are... bad (for example, the Dawnseeker has a rubber mask on that looks quite similar to a Predator). I won't mention anything else that happens so as not to spoil it for anyone brave enough to sit through it, but then it simply ends in a fairly confusing manner.

June 2021 Reviews:

Consumed: Includes 2 Bonus Movies

This is a 2 disc set with Consumed on the first disc and the two bonus movies (Jewel and Taking Back Our Town) on the second disc.

Consumed -- (6/10) -- A single mom who works at a local diner and is taking night classes discovers a rash on her young son that the doctors can't explain and medicine doesn't help with. She lives in a town that is essentially owned by a large corporation that specializes in genetically modified food. When she begins to suspect that GMO foods are the cause of her son's condition, she finds herself afoul of a large connected network that spans from the company to the local university, police agency, and even her friends. The lack of help and stress of the situation begins to test her mental health as she deals with a large scale conspiracy to cover up what may be going on with the corporation. Overall, this movie is decent. It has some high level actors (Danny Glover, Anthony Edwards, Griffin Dunne, Taylor Kinney) who do a solid job with the script. It does require some suspension of disbelief though (or at least an interest in conspiracy theories) to avoid cringing at times as it was definitely an agenda-driven film. So far of the Echo Bridge (includes 2 bonus movies) this is probably the best one I've watched.

Taking Back Our Town -- (5/10) -- This was a Made for TV movie from the Lifetime Network that was okay. It's based on a true story and is set in rural Louisiana. It focuses on a local teacher and a group of other townspeople who band together to combat a corporation attempting to bring in a new plant that will provide few jobs for the town but lots of potential pollution. The group finds pushback not only from the company, but also from their neighbors and state-wide politicians. Overall, there are some notable actors in the film and it was a decent watch.

Jewel -- (7/10) -- This movie focuses on a woman (supposedly in her early 40's) in the 1940's who has an unexpected child that is born with Down Syndrome. The movie stars Farrah Fawcett and really focuses more on her drive to give her child as normal a life as possible while also dealing with the family demands of all of her other four older children. It's a drama that's also made for TV (although I don't know what network). Overall, it was the one film in this set I was least interested in, and yet, it was easily the best movie of the bunch. Fawcett did a great job and overall this one was far more memorable than the other two films.

Family Bible Collection: The Power of the Resurrection with 3 Bonus Movies

This is a 4 film collection and all the movies are on a single disc.
I Beheld His Glory -- (5/10) -- If I recall correctly, this film (which is about an hour in length) features the first TV appearance of James Dean. The film focuses on a Roman centurion who is sent out to recount the last days of Christ's life. He finds a group of people eager to listen to his story and he goes through the events from the Last Supper to the Crucifixion. Overall, it was decent. The video quality is not that great -- I honestly wouldn't be surprised if it was simply a transfer from a VHS recording. Dean's role is pretty minor overall.

Hill Number One -- (5/10) -- This film is actually an episode of "Family Theater," which was originally a radio show started by Patrick Peyton (the priest who popularized the phrase, "the family that prays together stays together" back in the 1940's) that eventually became a television show. Anyways, this is set in the 1950's during the Korean War and begins with a wraparound story in which a company from the US Army are discussing the difficulties in taking one of the hills. When the company priest visit, he recounts the story of the first hill (referencing the hill of the Crucifixion). The story then transitions to a speculative account of the time period between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection. Again, the video quality isn't the best, but it was relatively entertaining.

Martin Luther -- (3/10) -- This was previously reviewed in February:

[Show spoiler]

The Night Crew -- (6/10) -- I had very low expectations of this and found this thoroughly entertaining. The premise is a group of bounty hunters are sent to Mexico to retrieve a Chinese girl who has recently escaped from a cartel leader. After recovering her, they find themselves on the run from the forces of the cartel and end up pinned down in an abandoned motel. There, they find there's more to their captive than they expected. Overall, this was good -- I'm hopeful that the bluray will show up in a future wave.

Follow That Bird -- (5/10) -- I recall seeing this in the theater as a kid when it was first released and may not have seen it since. It was quite fun to re-visit. The premise is that Big Bird is given a new family to live with (the Dodos). When that doesn't work, he tries to find his way back to Sesame Street only to be captured by a traveling circus. His friends from Sesame Street set out to find him initially (and eventually to rescue him). Overall, it was pretty entertaining and there's a special feature of an interview with the actor behind Big Bird that was interesting.

Amazing Zorro / Treasure Island

Amazing Zorro(4/10) -- This is basically the story of Zorro. Overall, it was one of the weaker DIC movies that I've seen. It wasn't bad, but just not as good as several of the other films I've watched that DIC released around this time period that I've managed to pick up at Dollar Tree.

The Take Down -- (2/10) -- This movie is written and directed by David Newton, a career stunt man who has worked in some major motion pictures, and stars Jake Jagodka, another stunt man who has worked on some of those same movies. Honestly, the movie is an absolute mess. Jake is a hitman who botches his latest assignment (although the rationale is a bit odd) and finds himself on the run as a result. He attempts to get his family to safety (although it's not clear who is protecting them or their relationship to Jake), and finds himself the target of a number of assassination attempts. The majority of the movie is literally fight scenes in which he squares off with a would-be assassin and takes them down. The movie ends about as confusingly as it begins. I give it a 2 only because the action scenes are at least alright.

Zhuge1 · 02-27-2022, 04:55 PM

For anyone interested here are direct links to previous reviews of DVDs and blurays picked up at Dollar Tree:

November 2022 Reviews:

Self/less -- (5/10) -- Self/less is a 2015 sci-fi action film starring Ryan Reynolds and Ben Kingsley. Kingsley portrays Damian, a dying real estate mogul who finds a way to escape death by undergoing a process called shedding which is a process that transfers his consciousness into a new, younger body (Ryan Reynolds). The procedure, created by the secretive Professor Albright, requires Damian to continue to take medication while in the new body, one that he's been told was simply grown in a lab. The medication supposedly suppresses vivid hallucinations, that Damian is told are side effects of the procedure. When Damian accidentally misses a dose of the medicine, he begins having flashbacks and and begins to suspect he may not have been told everything behind shedding. The secretive organization behind the process is determined to ensure Damian doesn't reveal any of their secrets.

Self/less has an interesting concept (despite the fact that it's not completely original) and a great cast headlined by Kingsley and Reynolds. Unfortunately, the movie just doesn't pay off that well. The movie starts off well enough, but once it enters the second act in which the action should pick up, there are just significant lulls that result in some fairly boring segments. In addition, Reynolds has shown that he can shine in movies (such as with Deadpool, Free Guy, or even Red Notice), but there wasn't much in the script of Self/less that lets him really show off his talents. Overall, the movie is mediocre at best.

The Guest -- (7/10) -- The Guest stars Dan Stevens as David, a mysterious stranger who shows up at the door of the Peterson family claiming to have served alongside their now deceased son. Initially, David says that his whole goal was to simply let the family know that their son tasked him with being sure to tell them all that they were loved by the son and that it was important he get that message to them as he was dying. The Petersons, still struggling from the loss, end up taking in David who begins assisting them with various tasks -- picking up young Luke from school, helping with laundry, etc. Shortly after David arrives, though, several troubling deaths occur (that ultimately benefit the family) and Anna, the older sister, begins to suspect David isn't who he seems and starts investigating.

Overall, I thought this movie was very entertaining -- Stevens plays a total bad-ass sociopath who calmly deviates between anti-hero and villain, leaving the audience both pulling for him and appalled by him. Maika Monroe does a great job as Anna Peterson, the older daughter who is suspicious of David and Brendan Meyer (as Luke Peterson) does a great job of portraying the younger brother who is totally taken with what he sees as a new role model (that has also ensured no bullies will be messing with him in the future). The pacing, script, and ending are all well-done resulting in an entertaining thriller.

October 2022 Reviews:

Dead Space: Downfall -- (5/10) -- Dead Space: Downfall is a 2008 animated film that serves as something of a prequel to the video game from the same year. The movie focuses on a space ship (the Ishimura) which is investigating a mining colony on the planet of Aegis VIII. The miners on the planet found a large monolith that mirrored a religious artifact in the current dominant religion. Unfortunately, this alien relic creates havoc resulting in the reanimation (and subsequent mutation) of corpses on the planet. Without fully understanding what exactly is happening, the captain of Ishimura brings the survivors of the mining colony as well as the monolith on board. This results in chaos as the religious members of the crew begin to worship the object, while it begins to create the same problems that broke out on the planet surface. The result is a sci-fi horror story that's almost a mix of Aliens and Resident Evil. Overall, the movie is pretty entertaining and doesn't require previous knowledge of the video game series to enjoy.

Unkindness of Ravens -- (6/10) -- The Unkindness of Ravens is a low budget Scottish horror film that seemingly takes some interesting inspiration form Edgar Allan Poe. The film focuses on a Scottish soldier (Andrew) who returns from Afghanistan and is suffering from PTSD after being involved in some very difficult situations during war time. While working with his therapist, she suggests that he consider going to a remote cabin in the country to spend some time alone away from the stresses of the city.

Andrew travels to the cabin and begins to have flashbacks of some of the horrific experiences he had while in Afghanistan. At the same time, he keeps seeing strangers lurking around the cabin dressed in dark cloaks with raven-like masks. Things take a steep decline when Andrew begins arguing with himself and realizes he's struggling to distinguish reality from the horrors of his imagination.

Honestly, for low budget horror -- this was pretty good. James Scott Gordon portrays Andrew and while there are a number of people credited in the cast of this movie, nearly all of them are in very brief roles as Gordon carries the majority of the film while he's alone in cabin in the countryside. Surprisingly, he's not had very many roles (and all are of the low budget variety); but at least in this film, he was quite convincing as the PTSD-stricken soldier.

Overall, this was certainly worth the watch.

Slender Man -- (3/10) -- Slender Man is a 2018 horror film based on the creepypasta Internet-based legend of a supernatural entity with oddly long appendages that captures children. The film opens when a group of teenage girls decide to summon the Slender Man monster one night because of a rumor that some boys they are interested in were planning to do the same thing. Things go awry the next day when one of the four teens goes missing from a school field trip. The remaining girls begin investigating to try to find their missing friend.

There are definitely elements of the film that are somewhat creepy -- the filmmakers leverage the Internet-aspect of the legend by using creepy Internet videos of child abductions, ominous anonymous chats with random Internet users who seem to know more than they'll fully disclose, etc. Ultimately, though, the scares are mediocre at best and the target audience is probably more younger high school age (similar to the ages of the stars of the movie). The movie isn't terrible, and there are aspects of it that are well-done, but it can be a bit boring to watch in certain sections, which isn't good for any movie, but is especially problematic for a movie that's trying to churn up scares. That said, the movie isn't very good either, and many sections are so dark, it's nearly impossible to actually see what's occurring in the movie.

Overall, the filmmakers probably did the best they could with the what they had. Unlike more established legends (werewolves, vampires, etc.), there's not as much to the mythos of Slender Man to really work with for a story.

Tower of Silence -- (3/10) -- Tower of Silence takes the viewer to a fantasy world in which Kae, a powerful sorceress, has been captured and imprisoned by Groth, who is aided in his villainy by a powerful necromancer. Kae's students and other heroes join together to rescue Kae and defeat the evil forces.

This film is a low budget fantasy film that's well shot, well put together, and fairly well scored. As with most low budget films, it features primarily amateur actors, but they do a decent job overall. Although the special effects are basic, they look pretty good for a film that's this level. It's quite clear that a lot of work was put into this film.

However, while the film looks good visually, it's script is seriously lacking, resulting in a very frustrating watch -- that level of effort that went into it doesn't result in a suitable payoff. Characters are introduced with very little backstory, and their connections to each other are never fully defined. In addition, there are long scenes of extremely boring dialog that does little to advance the story or explain fully what's happening in the film. And, while the score is pretty good, the combination of the dramatic, slow orchestral music with long-winded, dull dialog makes for an overall boring watch. It's truly a chore at times to stay awake through some of the scenes. Also, it's a bit awkward and odd that some of the soldiers in the film are decked out in what appears to be Spanish, conquistador armor.

I included this movie in my Halloween 2022 watch list because I (mistakenly) thought there was more of a horror component given that there are undead, zombie-like creatures that the heroes face off with in the trailer. Overall, I certainly can't recommend this for a Halloween or horror watch-list, but I also can't recommend it for fantasy enthusiasts as its strengths in visual appeal are strongly overpowered by its weaknesses in the writing.

Point of Contact -- (1/10) -- Point of Contact is a 2006 horror film starring Buddy Dolan (who is also the writer and producer), Mikki Padilla, and James Kyson Lee(best known for Ando in the Heroes television series). Jake McCormick (Dolan) experiences an accident in his youth resulting in him being in a coma for 12 years. Despite being clinically dead for 9 hours, Jake survives somehow and amazingly loses no muscle mass during his coma. Upon waking up from the coma unexpectedly, Jake finds he has an odd ability to "sense" people, including spirits. A year later, Jake has began a relationship with a nurse that cared for him during his coma, and still struggles with interactions with the spirit world. Ultimately, Jake begins working with a team to help those spirits.

To be blunt -- this movie is an absolute mess. According to IMDb, it was originally shot as a 60 minute pilot for a TV series, and then an additional half hour was added to make it into a feature film. As a television series, it would have been horrible. As a 90 minute film, it's somehow worse. The film opens when Jake is a youth; then there's a time jump of 12 years; then a jump of another year; then another jump of 3 months; and finally a time jump to "present day" with no indication of when that really is. The actor portraying Jake (Buddy Dolan) wears a ridiculous wig throughout the first 30-40 minutes of the movie, which is really distracting. "Present day" Jake has gone from long, thick hair (that didn't thin out or change during his time in the coma or afterwards) to a heavily thinned and receded hairline, making him almost unrecognizable as the same actor.

In addition, the movie has tons of "filler" scenes of spirits swirling around the live actors and/or flashbacks in which Jake "senses" the spirits. Unfortunately, these scenes make little sense and are never really clarified later on. There's also a nearly 2 minute scene of Jake walking through a hotel in slow motion to rock music while looking to meet a psychic book author (after being encouraged to meet her by a spirit). Sadly, the scenes with actual dialog aren't much better in terms of cohesiveness. Jake's relationship is seemingly over (with no explanation) in "present day." The scene between Jake and the author is awkward and nonsensical. And there's ultimately no ending -- the movie simply stops, which seems oddly appropriate as there was no resolution needed, given that there wasn't anything resembling a coherent storyline.

It feels as if they had enough story for about 30 minutes of film and stretched that originally to 50-60 minutes for a TV pilot, and then again to 90 minutes to make a feature film. The movie ends up being something of an incomplete puzzle -- many of the pieces are there for a story and the viewer has to try to assemble them into something sensible; but overall a few key pieces in the center are clearly missing, making for an incomprehensible image.

Incident in a Ghostland -- (6/10) -- Incident in a Ghostland opens with a mother and her two daughters move to a spooky old house that the mother inherits from her recently deceased sister. Moments after moving in, they are faced with murderous home invaders who have vile designs on the three females. Years later, the younger daughter (Beth) has developed a successful career as a horror writer despite still struggling with the nightmares about the events that occurred. When she receives a horrifying call from her sister (Vera), who still lives in the house with their mother and deals with severe psychological trauma, Beth decides to go back to try to help.

As with many horror movies, there's a twist in this one; and if you pay close attention, it doesn't come as much of a surprise. This is certainly a difficult movie to watch and not for the faint of heart. The actors do a great job in their roles. It's a bit difficult to say much about the movie without spoiling it, but overall it's a solid watch despite being one I would want to watch again.

Anger of the Dead -- (3/10) -- Anger of the Dead opens with a woman discovering she's pregnant, only to seconds later discover she's in the midst of a zombie apocalypse through a very brutal sequence. After being trapped in her apartment with a zombie, she eventually escapes and finds rescue from a samaritan who happens by. Simultaneously, another woman is held hostage in some sort of oddball institution where the staff seem to experiment on and abuse her. Overall, it's an awkward opening.

There's so much that doesn't work with this movie. First off, there are two distinct story-lines, and while they do intersect, it isn't until 65 minutes into an 85 minute film. Secondly, there are some plot elements that don't quite make sense -- for example, in one scene, the antagonist runs away and leaves someone to fend for themselves during a zombie attack, yet somehow he finds himself behind the person he just left to fend for themselves moments later while avoiding the horde. In addition, the ending is just terrible -- there's a faux ending (which is bad) followed by the real ending (which is worse).

The film features some good camera work, professionally done audio, and some well-done scenes. The acting is also solid, so while it's likely a low-budget film, it doesn't have the feel of a low budget movie. That said, it's definitely going to be difficult for some viewers to get through as it seems to feature a lot of violence towards women, and while a post apocalyptic zombie world would be a rough environment, the world of Anger of the Dead seems especially brutal for women and young girls.

Ultimately, the movie feels like a bad episode of Tales of the Walking Dead. It's not absolutely horrible, but it's far from good, and really not worth the time.

100% Wolf -- (5/10) -- 100% Wolf focuses on Freddy Lupin, the son of the current alpha of a werewolf pack. The pack acts as something of a local group of heroes in their town -- they rescue people from burning buildings, they save children, etc. -- although the local populace has no idea of that. While attempting to rescue a misguided ice cream vendor from falling off a cliff, Freddy's dad goes missing, leaving Freddy to be raised by his uncle Hotspur (who is now leading the pack). When Freddy finally comes of age, the pack celebrates as he is expected to inherit the new mantle of alpha... only for things to fall apart when Freddy transforms into a poodle, rather than a wolf, when hit with the moonlight. Freddy is left to deal with the confusion of being a poodle, a crazy scientist focused on building a machine to turn dogs into wigs, and a bumbling group of dogcatchers while also hoping to one day find his long-lost father.

While 100% Wolf isn't a great animated film, it was far better than expected. The animation is decent; the story is focused, has reasonable subplots that don't detract from the main theme, and concludes nicely; and the voice cast does a solid job in the film. Overall, the end result is a decent watch.

The Mermaid's Curse -- (4/10) -- The Mermaid's Curse is a low budget British horror movie centered around Jake, a newspaper reporter living in a seaside town that meets a mysterious, silent woman that he inexplicably begins to fall in love with. The woman, a siren, has disfiguring "sores" on her face that seem to magically heal when she's able to eat human flesh.

In terms of low budget horror films, this one isn't terrible. The acting, which is handled by a cast with few notable credits, is reasonably well done. The audio (which can often be inaudible in many low budget productions) is fairly good; and the camera work is handled fairly well. The movie does also feature a cameo by Shawn C. Phillips (coolduder of YouTube "fame").

The original title for the film was Witches of the Water and that's a far more appropriate title. In addition, the poster art for the film which features a demented looking mermaid crawling out of the ocean is very misleading. But overall, for low budget horror, this was certainly watchable.

Felix and the Hidden Treasure -- (4/10) -- Felix and the Hidden Treasure centers around Felix, a young boy who lives on the coast in Canada. The movie opens with Felix's mother leaving a babysitter in charge of Felix and his young sister while she prepares to go on a cruise vacation. Taking advantage of the overwhelmed sitter, Felix pretends to go over to a friend's house, while in fact going to search for his father -- a fisherman who went missing years prior. Felix joins up with Old Tom, a fisherman who lives in a nearby lighthouse in order to search for his father who he is convinced is still alive. He's also accompanied by his faithful pet cat, Rover (who thinks he's a dog).

While on the search, they stumble across a secret island where rich people are being "transformed" (in which they are made younger) that is run by the mysterious Morgaa. Years prior, Morgaa found a secret treasure that led to a "fountain of youth" she could use to transform her customers. The only catch is that once they are transformed -- they can't leave the island.

The film's animation is fairly basic and the storyline is fairly straightforward. While the movie is aimed at a younger audience, there's plenty of humor in the dialog that's aimed at adults. Overall, though, this approach doesn't fully work. The plot is a bit too advanced for the elementary aged children that are the target audience and the rest of the film is too basic to attract an older audience. Overall, the movie ends up being mediocre at best.

September 2022 Reviews:

Teen Titans Go! vs Teen Titans -- (6/10) -- The Teen Titans Go! team attempt to break up a robbery attempt by The Gentleman Ghost. Things go awry when the ridiculously kind ghost attempts to take over the body of Raven inadvertently unleashing her demon side entirely. Things go from bad to worse when The Master of Games sets up a tournament pitting the Teen Titans Go team against other versions of themselves. From there, the silly superheroes must face off with Raven's demonic father, Santa Claus, and the whole multiverse in order to save their teammate Raven.

Although the movie is a crossover between the two teams (and the interactions between the silly Go team and their more serious counterparts is entertaining), it's the Go team that are the focus of the movie. As expected with anything dealing with Teen Titans Go!, the film is ridiculous, yet entertaining for both kids and adults (with the usual number of Easter eggs and other references thrown in at various points).

Overall, it's a pretty entertaining watch.

June 2022 Reviews:

American Buffalo -- (6/10) -- Don (Dennis Franz) runs a second-hand store in a run-down section of the city. After recently selling a buffalo nickel to a customer, he begins to experience regret and resentment when he starts to question whether or not he sold the item too cheaply. He begins plotting with his young friend Bob to break into the house of the buyer to get even for the perceived slight. The plan escalates when another local, Teach (Dennis Hoffman), convinces Don he'd be a better partner in the crime.

American Buffalo is very much a character driven movie as it's based on a stage play from the 1970s -- and the film has that gritty look and feel of the early to mid 1970s. The story explores how resentment and innuendo can quickly spiral out of control. The majority of the film takes place in Don's store, leaving little overall action. The dialog-driven story may not appeal to all viewers, but the performances by Franz and Hoffman were excellent and can certainly keep one engaged in the story. Overall, it was definitely worth the watch.

Paper Soldiers -- (5/10) -- Paper Soldiers focuses on a small-time criminal, Shawn (Kevin Hart in his first major role), who is trying to learn the art of breaking and entering from his bumbling friends. In addition to money problems (and his newfound criminal ways), Shawn has to deal with his hot-headed friend and a girlfriend that is not enthused with his new plans.

The film credits Jay-Z as one of its stars, however the musician only had a non-speaking cameo of less than a minute. Similarly, Damon Dash (who also serves as co-writer and co-director) shows up in a brief cameo.

Overall, the movie is okay -- it's not incredibly funny, but has a few moments. That said, most of the laughs are more a result of Charlie Murphy than Kevin Hart.

May 2022 Reviews:

Stalled -- (4/10) -- Stalled is a British zombie comedy set almost entirely in the ladies' restroom of an office complex during an annual Christmas party. The film begins when the disgruntled office janitor attempts to clean the restroom while avoiding the holiday revelers. However, two women walk in soon after he begins cleaning and rather than walk out, he makes the awkward decision to simply hide and wait for them to leave. Unfortunately, a zombie outbreak occurs and he finds himself trying to survive in one of the restroom stalls.

The cover of the DVD proclaims that the film is a worthy successor to Shaun of the Dead. Unfortunately, the film falls far short of those lofty ambitions. It has a few humorous scenes, but they are simply too few and too far between. Overall, Stalled ends up being "just OK."

Sins -- (1/10) -- A priest and a blind man find themselves sitting together on a train in Italy where they begin to discuss life, and in particular their pasts. Both have checkered backgrounds that have led them to their current situations, and the two discuss those prior sins while passing the time. Father Leonard (Danny Glover) recounts his past criminal involvement that ultimately led him to murder a friend in front of the friend's family. Davide (Giovanni Martorana) recounts his past transgressions as a member of a Sicilian mafia family. The film also features Michael Madsen channeling one of his Tarantino characters as a transplanted American mob boss warring with the other families in Palermo.

The positive aspects of the film is that there are a few nice shots of the Sicilian countryside. And that's it.

The rest of the film is amazingly bad:
- The overall plot is excruciatingly boring. The film is 83 minutes, but it's a VERY long 83 minutes.
- The script is horrid.
- It seems as though the actors are simply doing improv in several scenes (like perhaps the director/writer gave them a general idea of what to say and let them go for it -- this is especially the case with most of Madsen's scenes).
- There is a mix of Italian and English, but in a nonsensical way where the American actors spout out their lines in English while Italian actors in the same scene reply in their native language.
- The audio levels are nearly inaudible in several scenes, including many of those on the train with Dannny Glover.
- There are scenes and segments which make little sense and don't contribute to the plot.
- The film ended in an awkward, jarring way that seemed to make little sense.

Overall, this was a terrible movie.

Black Wake -- (1/10) -- Black Wake is a found footage movie in which an outbreak begins affecting inhabitants of Montauk, New York. A research group attempts to discover the foundations of the affliction. Dr. Luiza Moreira (portrayed by Nana Gouvea) begins to piece together what really happened, while seemingly devolving into madness. She serves as the primary narration for the film, and specifically tracks down random video footage of various incidents across the country (or maybe just the east coast -- it's not clear). At the same time, she's seemingly under surveillance by the FBI (or some group).

The cast features a number of known actors (many of whom are now known for low budget, bad movies) -- Tom Sizemore, Eric Roberts, Chuck Zito, Vincent Pastore, and J.W. Cortes (from the Gotham television series).

There's no way to sugar coat it -- this movie is godawful. Gouvea, who originally hails from Brazil, speaks with a thick accent which makes understanding some of the narration challenging. That said, it may all be for the better, as much of the film is total nonsense and a little hard to follow. There are a few time jumps that also make piecing together the timeline difficult. The film is comprised pretty much completely of video journal entries and poorly staged found footage (some of which was clearly recorded on cell phones).

I've watched a lot of terrible movies. This one ranks pretty high up on that list.

Brennan -- (3/10) -- Brennan is a 2016 independent film focused around Brennan Manning, a Christian author and speaker best known for his book, The Ragamuffin Gospel. It's unclear how true any of the events in the film really are as it feels like the film uses Brennan more as a character in a film that focuses more on his writings/teachings. The film centers around the relationship between Brennan and Jim English, the son of a New Orleans pastor who is living out of his car in San Diego. Jim struggles with many of his past decisions, most notably the choice to give up his child (born out of wedlock) years ago. By happenstance, Jim randomly finds Manning's book (The Ragamuffin Gospel), and later meets the man himself. When Manning is desperate for a ride to New Orleans to save his marriage, Jim agrees to help and the two set off cross country on a trip.

The film is clearly low budget, and that's best illustrated by some poor audio as some scenes are nearly inaudible and some rough editing. Despite that, it does feature relatively decent acting for the caliber of film it is. David Schultz (who portrays Jim) struggles a bit with the more dramatic scenes, but does well in the lighter, comedic scenes. Hal Alpert does solid job as an older Manning who sways dramatically between caring tenderness and rage-filled ranting.

Overall, the film isn't terrible, but it's not great. The DVD cover bills it as a sequel to the film, Ragamuffin, which was a biopic of Rich Mullins, a Christian musician popular in the 1980s and 90s. The connection is loose in that Mullins and Manning had very similar viewpoints (with Mullins having been heavily influenced by Manning's writings). Again, the film seems to focus more on Manning's teachings more so than his life, so it's not a typical "biopic" -- particularly since it seems the scenario and the character of Jim were potentially fictitious. It's certainly a film that will appeal to fans of Manning or his teachings, and may not be that interesting to average viewers.

Drunk Parents -- (3/10) -- Alec Baldwin and Salma Hayek play Frank and Nancy Teargarten -- an upper class couple that have just dropped their daughter off at a high-priced college, while hiding the reality of their financial ruin from her, their friends, and their neighbors. The Teargartens are about to lose their house, their car, and their upper class lifestyle. To deal with the problem, they resort to drinking and begin a series of schemes to attempt to quickly recover some money.

In addition to the two main stars, the film features appearances by a solid group of actors and comedians -- Jim Gaffigan, Will Ferrell, Colin Quinn, Treat Williams, Joe Manganiello, and Aasif Mandvi. With such a solid cast, it seems that this movie should be a solid watch. Unfortunately, it isn't. Out of the 97 minute run time, there are roughly four funny scenes which account for maybe 5-6 total minutes of the film. The rest is simply a mess that doesn't work.

The title implies that Hayek and Baldwin are drunk throughout, and yet, that really only applies to the first major scene of the movie. After that, the focus shifts to their schemes of making quick money, including renting out the house of their neighbor (who is out of the country) to a registered sex offender (Gaffigan). Unfortunately, while the premise seems funny, the overall writing is woeful for the film with most of the jokes falling flat, and the overall plot being far from focused. It seems the actors did the best they could with the script -- Gaffigan approaches his role with his usual, awkward everyman style; Baldwin takes his usual deadpan approach; however Hayek struggles by delivering her "comedic" lines by speaking in a loud, overemphasized manner with awkward facial expressions (potentially to try to make something out of nothing). The scene with Ferrell and Quinn comes off like a mediocre SNL skit, completely wasting their potential.

Overall, the movie just isn't good. The plot, while basic, meanders without focus, and the comedy, aside from a very few segments, simply isn't funny.

April 2022 Reviews:

Paws to the Rescue -- (3/10) -- When a former employee of the cigarette industry decides to testify against Big Tobacco over their practices, his former employers decide to engage the services of two bungling criminals to kidnap his son in order to convince him to change his testimony. The bungling criminals find kidnapping the son to be far more difficult than expected when the family's two loyal dogs attempt to thwart them at every step of the way.

Overall, the film is sort of a mash-up of a dog act from America's Got Talent and Home Alone. The dogs set up traps for the kidnappers and work creatively to protect the young son of the family.

Oddly, the film focuses more on the criminals than the boy or his family (in fact, the whole setup of the father testifying is mostly lost as the movie progresses). The criminals struggle to kidnap their target due to the interference of the family pets, struggle to keep the boy imprisoned due to the rescue attempts of the dogs, and ultimately struggle to get out of prison when their mission fails. This last part is especially odd because the movie shifts focus away from the primary story to delve into what happens to the bad guys when they ultimately fail in their endeavors. That said, perhaps it's not as odd of an approach when taking into account the fact that the film's writers are also the actors portraying the bungling kidnappers.

Overall, this is not a great film, but the slapstick antics coupled with the cute dog tricks will appeal to some younger viewers.

Bab -- (4/10) -- Bab takes place in a 1950's post apocalyptic world where a town is under the tight control of Mr. Bascum, a highly religious leader who controls what people can hear on the radio as well as what they do in their everyday lives. The film actually begins in the early 1940s when Donnie is a young boy whose mother (Bab) drives to a mental health treatment center to get help for her "problems." Donnie is told to wait outside in the car with his young sister, but ultimately sneaks into the center and witnesses the bizarre treatments that Bascum is subjecting his mother to.

Years later, a grown-up Donnie is approached by Milt, a mysterious traveler with a plan to take down Bascum once and for all. The benefit to Donnie is money to get actual treatment for his mother, who has long been held in the facility.

This movie is as bizarre as it sounds. It's a low budget film with a fairly strange premise and an even stranger execution -- in particular we get to what seems to be the obvious conclusion of the film only to find out there's another 40 or so minutes of movie that meanders about. The most notable actor in the film is probably Sarah Dumont (Scout's Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse), who portrays Bab; however the cast as a whole put in good performances. Overall, the movies is a mediocre post-apocalytic film.

Rise of the Fellowship -- (4/10) -- Randall is a high school student who spends his time focused on gaming -- specifically Lord of the Rings Online. He has a job at a local gaming store (that caters to the role playing game crowd), and he's also a regular target of the football team, who enjoy tormenting Randall and his friends. When an opportunity arises to compete in a national Lord of the Rings online tournament in Florida, he and his friends feel it's the quest they need. Unfortunately, the expected path to the competition gets completely upended, leaving Randall and his friends with a very difficult path to the tournament that leads them on a difficult quest that mirrors their favorite fiction.

Rise of the Fellowship is an indy film (previously released as The Fellows Hip: Rise of the Gamers) that features primarily amateur actors and a fairly low budget. It's an homage to Lord of the Rings (which is obvious from the poster and storyline), specifically the first book in the series. The film starts off a bit dull and slow, so it's easy to see how it could lose an audience in the first 20 minutes. That said, the film begins to pick up after that initial opening and does move into a more engaging story (and ends up being a decent watch). Although it's billed as a buddy comedy, there are only a few comedic lines that work, however it works better as a low budget coming of age, high school story. Overall, the movie has a promising premise and some pretty good acting (despite the lack of experience among the leads), but it does fall a bit short of where it could have been.

March 2022 Reviews:

Les Boys, le Documentaire -- (5/10) -- Les Boys, le Documentaire follows an adult, amateur hockey team from a suburb of Montreal as they ultimately make their way to Paris to compete against similar teams from around the world. The team is comprised of players of all walks of life -- a baker, a singer (who seemingly entertains at nursing homes), a grocer, a millionaire (and oddly, his brother), a couple of father and son combos, and many others. From some quick reading, the team (La Bande à Jap's) is one of the oldest adult, amateur teams in the Montreal area.

The documentary gives you a bit about the team members' background, with the first half of the film being quite sparse on actual hockey footage (aside from a few scenes of practice). Ultimately, the documentary attempts to establish more about the people and the team itself initially. The second half of the film combines the team site-seeing around Paris while also showing off their skills on the ice while competing against international teams in a tournament.

Overall, it was relatively interesting for a documentary that follows an amateur sports team. Viewers should be aware though that the film is entirely in French and the DVD release does not have the option for English subtitles (so some knowledge of French is helpful in viewing). The film also features some interesting music at times (although this is a bit inconsistent -- there are sections of the film where some background music would be appropriate and there is none). The DVD release also includes ten minutes of extra scenes that delve a bit more into the day to day lives of some of the players.

Napping Princess -- (?/10) --

Doctor Foster -- (6/10) --

Young Adult -- (6/10) --

Black Rose -- (3/10) -- Black Rose is a joint Russian/US production that focuses on a Moscow police officer who travels to California to assist in hunting down a serial killer who is targeting Russian girls in Los Angeles. The movie stars (and is directed by) Alexander Nevsky, a bodybuilder and action star hopeful. The movie also features more experienced actors such as Robert Davi, Kristanna Loken, and Adriian Paul.

Unlike a lot of direct to video films, Black Rose clearly had a decent budget behind it (some sites report it having a $7 million dollar budget) -- it's professionally shot with good camera work; the sound is well done; and the actors around Nevsky are all good with their roles. Unfortunately, though, the movie just isn't that good. The plot and story are something out of a typical weekly TV crime series episode. Nevsky is extremely stiff as an actor and struggles with the direction of the film as well -- despite a short 83 minute run time, there are several scenes that are superfluous and add nothing to the plot, resulting in a short film that drags at times.

Overall, the solid production budget prevents it from being totally terrible, but it's far from good.

The Postcard Killings -- (7/10) -- The Postcard Killings is based upon a novel by Swedish author Liza Marklund and American James Patterson (author of the Alex Cross novels among others). The movies focuses on Jacob Kanon, an American detective who learns his daughter and her husband, newlyweds, have been murdered while in Europe. While identifying the bodies, Kanon soon discovers that his daughter's murder fits a pattern of other murders in which newlywed couples are killed and shaped into grizzly scenes depicting well-known art. Working with police agencies in various countries, Kanon sets out to find his daughter's killer.

The film stars Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Famke Janssen, and Cush Jumbo. All of the cast put in solid performances, with Morgan channeling a bit of The Walking Dead's Negan in his role. The plot is solid, the twist is interesting, and the story kept me engaged throughout. Overall, it's an entertaining and solid movie.

Bus Driver -- (4/10) -- A normal day goes bad for Gooch Garibaldi, a high school PE and Health teacher, when he discovers he's been assigned to escort a group of misfit students on a field trip to a lake in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately for Gooch, things get far worse when the bus they are traveling on suffers a blow out in an area with no cell signal and a group of drug dealers who aren't too happy about intruders in their territory. Luckily for Gooch, the new Bus Driver is a mysterious man with plenty of military and survival training.

The film is a low-budget, direct to video action film with mostly inexperienced actors and some cringe-worthy dialog. Despite this, though, it does have its moments and at only about 75 minutes is a decent time killer. Overall, not great, but not terrible either.

The Opening Act -- (6/10) -- Will Chu works an 8 to 5 that he hates where he deals with an annoying and intrusive boss. His life's passion is to become a stand-up comic, because stand-up comedy is the one area he was able to connect with his father after the untimely death of his mother when he was still a kid. When he gets an opportunity to emcee a comedy show featuring two noted comedians, he jumps at the chance to finally try to make it. The film features a number of notable comedians in both starring and cameo roles. Overall, it's pretty entertaining and fairly funny.

Blue Call -- (4/10) -- Blue Call stars Katie LeClerc as Haylee, an EMT who went through a traumatic experience in which someone died in her ambulance. After taking some time off to recover from her trauma, Haylee finds herself in the uncomfortable situation of trying to assist someone whose only wish is to die. When Haylee ultimately decides to go through with the person's request, she begins a descent into a dark place where moral lines get blurred.

The premise of this indy film is good; the set and scene design is solid; and the acting is pretty good as several of the actors have been in larger roles. That said, shakey (and overall shoddy) camera work leaves a lot to be desired as several scenes show the camera not only bobbing up and down but also side to side making for frustrated viewing. In addition, there are a few plot points that seemed strange and/or confusing.

Overall, it's an okay watch.

February 2022 Reviews:

Napoleon -- (5/10) -- Napoleon is an Australian film about a Golden Retriever puppy named Muffin who longs for adventure (as well as a name change to Napoleon). During a kids birthday party, Napoleon wanders into a basket attached to a batch of balloons and floats away from his home. He gets a view of Sydney but ends up floating across the harbor to another area where his adventures living in the wild begin.

Overall, this is a cute dog movie aimed at young kids and shows off some of Australia's wildlife. The story is fairly basic and predictable; there's some music sequences; and the ending ties up everything nicely.

Satellite Girl and Milk Cow -- (7/10) -- Satellite Girl and Milk Cow is Korean film about a satellite designed to take photographs of the Korean peninsula that stops functioning. Adrift in space, the satellite detects a song being played down on Earth that attracts it. As the satellite plunges to Earth, it encounters a situation in which a milk cow is being pursued by a walking incinerator that's the size of a small building. When the wizard Merlin (who has oddly been transformed into a roll of toilet paper) rescues the cow, he inadvertently transforms the satellite into a girl. And thus sets up the movie in which the three main characters are a satellite (transformed into a girl), a human musician (who transformed into a milk cow after having his heart broken), and a wizard (who has the form of a roll of toilet paper). The villains are the walking incinerator and a guy who is poaching organs from heartbroken people that have somehow transformed into animals.

That premise sounds absolutely bonkers, and the movie follows suit -- it's quite strange. But despite that oddness, it's pretty entertaining and actually is quite rewatchable. While the target audience is younger kids, the uniqueness could easily draw in adults as well.

The bluray release of the film (from Shout Factory) also includes the short (30 minute) film "Coffee Vending Machine and Its Sword" which features an ancient swordsmen who reincarnates as a coffee vending machine, but still finds that he has to combat his ancient enemies. Much like the main feature, it's both insane and entertaining.

Broken Swords: The Last in Line -- (3/10) -- A group of warriors have found themselves holed up in a small barn while they try to evade their enemies. The group bicker and try to defend themselves through the night against an impending onslaught. Overall, this movie is strange. It's literally as if you're thrown into a new world where you have no context or knowledge and begin witnessing a group of folks over a period of 10-12 hours. You find out a little (but not enough) about their origins, why they are there, who they are fighting and why, etc. It's honestly a bizarre film and may require an appreciation for role playing games to have more context or understanding (since I don't have this -- maybe something was lost on me). The DVD (and I assume the blu-ray?) has quite a few special features that are not typical of an Echo Bridge release including a director's commentary track as well as several featurettes that explain more about the world and background of the film. Those extra features are actually somewhat helpful in understanding the movie, and at some point I may re-watch this with the director's commentary just to have a better sense of what the movie is about.

Murphy's Law -- (6/10) -- Jack Murphy (Charles Bronson) is an LA police detective who is having an extremely bad day. Everything that can go wrong... has. His car is stolen; his ex-wife is murdered; he gets framed for the murder; and he ends up in jail with a foul-mouthed younger woman who had kicked him and evaded capture from him earlier. Things continue to get worse for Jack as he attempts to escape and find the true killer. Overall, this was very much a film of the early 1980's. I was primarily interested in grabbing this DVD when I saw it show up at Dollar Tree because I had noticed Kino Lorber was releasing a blu-ray of the film and I wanted to see if it was worth the cost to upgrade. Overall, the movie is pretty good; but it's one that I'm okay just having on DVD.

The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course -- (6/10) -- The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course is aptly named as three separate storylines --- Steve Irwin and his wife filming their television show; a woman protecting her cattle farm from a large crocodile; and two US Special Agents looking for a crashed satellite component -- collide in a fairly humorous film. While the movie isn't great, the writers really did a good job of finding a vehicle to get Steve Irwin (whose Animal Planet televised show was immensely popular at the time) onto the big screen. The overall plot of the movie is a bit silly, but it does it's job which is to showcase Irwin. In fact, a large part of the movie is almost simply an episode of The Crocodile Hunter in which Irwin tracks down dangerous animals and educates the audience about them. The last third of the movie in which Irwin has to square off with the US agents (who are the villains in this film) is also quite entertaining and really allows the popular Aussie to illustrate his showmanship. Overall, this isn't a great film -- but it's a very fun watch.

Deadland -- (2/10) -- While traveling from California to south Georgia to reconcile with his wife, Sean Kalos stops at a gas station just in time to witness the outbreak of WWIII. Five years later, Sean is still searching for his wife in post-apocalyptic America that has devolved into militaristic (and misogynistic) factions. In addition, everyone is infected with a virus that requires constant medication to control. While the virus dilapidates most, there's a select few that have a positive reaction. When Sean finally makes it to Georgia, he finds himself afoul of one of these militaristic factions and must continue his search while also avoiding his enemies.

Overall, this movie had the opportunity to be a solid independent film -- but, unfortunately it falls flat. For low budget indy film, it has a very solid beginning, a decent story background, and a solid cast (most of the main actors have been in much larger budget pictures) which includes William Katt (The Greatest American Hero). Unfortunately, the script results in a movie that is boring at times and just doesn't pull things together very well. A solid beginning is followed by a boring middle and a finale that just fizzles out. Very little time is spent going into the virus that impacts everyone, and while the makeup artists do a great job, that effort is wasted by leaving the viewer somewhat confused about what specifically is occurring (radiation poisoning? virus? something else?). In addition, while flashbacks show us Sean's life before things go awry, many of those scenes feel unnecessary and redundant. More time could have been devoted to fleshing out exactly what's going on and less time could have been spent on some meaningless action scenes. The DVD release of this film includes a 30 minute "Making Of Deadland" featurette that was ultimately more interesting than the movie itself. It's clear from that documentary that the people behind this film really put a lot of effort and time into it, so it's unfortunate that it just didn't quite come together.

Zhuge1 · 12-18-2022, 01:45 AM

For anyone interested here are direct links to previous reviews of DVDs and blurays picked up at Dollar Tree:

February 2023 Reviews:

Termination -- (2/10) -- Termination is a 2020 Sci-Fi anthology film told in 6 parts -- a wraparound story broken in half sandwiches 5 relatively standalone short films.

Successful anthologies work when there's a cohesiveness between the various parts. Typically that requires a wraparound segment that navigates and connects the various segments -- such as with Tales From the Darkside: The Movie.

Termination is lacking in two major ways. First, there's no connecting story. The main segment is just split into two sections and isn't impacted in any way by the various "chapters" (segments) of the film. Secondly, none of the short films make much sense. It's totally unclear what happens in several of them.

Overall, this is 90 minutes of time that's simply not worth it. None of the shorts are terribly entertaining and the lack of cohesiveness makes it more frustrating than worthwhile.

The Better Half -- (4/10) -- Calista Ryan is a middle-aged mother of two who has seemingly lost herself. Her marriage is struggling -- her husband is a chief at the local fire station, and she's oblivious to some of the stress he's under. Her relationship with her high school aged kids is superficial -- she obsesses over her daughter's weight/figure and seems barely aware of her son at times. And ultimately, Calista seems fairly unaware of her family dynamics. However, this comes shockingly to the forefront of her attention when a freak gym accident leaves her near death and in Purgatory, with her soul split into her fun-loving younger persona (Callie) and present-day, no-nonsense persona (Calista). In order to address her familial problems, both sides of her soul are sent back to life and given 48 hours to mend the family dynamic. Hijinks ensue as her fun-loving side and her super-serious side try to address her marital problems, her daughter's insecurities, and her son's bully.

The Better Half features a solid cast of recognizable actors: Kathleen Rose Perkins (Colony) plays Calista/Callie, Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) plays her husband Jeff, Chris Parnell (Saturday Night Live) is her contact in Purgatory, C.S. Lee (Dexter) is the local high school principal, Eddie Jemison (Ocean's 11, etc.), and Christine Rose (Heroes) portrays Calista's mother (also a resident of Purgatory). Yet, despite the competent cast and an interesting premise, the romantic/family comedy falls just a bit flat as much of the humor doesn't quite land and the plot meanders at times. Overall, The Better Half ends up being watchable, but below average.

January 2023 Reviews:

Luis and the Aliens -- (4/10) -- Luis and the Aliens focuses on 12 year old Luis, a 12 year old struggling both at school and at home. At school, he has few friends and is often teased by his classmates. At home, he lives with his aloof father, an obsessed ufologist (UFO researcher) who sleeps all day and barely interacts with Luis, leaving the kid to mostly fend for himself at home. Despite his father's obsession with aliens, it's Luis who actually runs across a trio of odd aliens who have come to Earth with the goal of obtaining a massaging mattress, called a Nubbi Dubbi. Luis agrees to assist the odd aliens if they will help him deal with the school administrators who suspect that Luis is poorly cared for and should be moved to a group home. Oddly, it's discovered that the aliens have the ability to morph into the physical form of humans if they eat their hair.

The cast primarily features Will Forte as the voice of one of the aliens. Overall, the movie is pretty basic and just not that entertaining -- the animation is fairly basic; Luis' somewhat sad living situation is basically glossed over in order to get to scenes of aliens saying and doing goofy stuff resulting in a story that isn't very good or engaging; and honestly, none of the characters are really that interesting.

December 2022 Reviews:

The Adventures of Young Van Helsing: Quest for the Lost Scepter -- (3/10) -- The Adventures of Young Van Helsing: The Quest for the Lost Scepter is low budget, direct to video release from 2004. The movie looks like it may have actually been filmed years earlier despite the 2004 release date. Things begin in London in 1905 where Professor Abraham Van Helsing is in combat with a vampire, setting the stage for the rest of the film. Later, in present day, Professor Arad, an archaeologist (or professor of some sort), is overseeing a dig in London in the same setting as the epic fight nearly a century before hand. When things go awry as an ancient evil is unleashed at the dig site, Arad and his faithful assistant, Estabon, escape to find a solution to the evil menace. They discover that Professor Van Helsing's descendant, Michael Harris, is alive and is attending high school where he spends much of his time playing in a garage band.

Like many low-budget films, Young Van Helsing features unknown, predominantly amateur actors who struggle with their performances -- often overacting or coming off very wooden. In addition, the script certainly has plenty of plot holes as it's unclear how the characters from London wind up in America; why a college kid is also hanging out at (and taking classes at) the local high school; or how a high school popular girl can analyze substances biologically "on a cellular level" among other things. It certainly has some questionable choices -- such as a boy in brown-face portraying an Indian child named Aki (who acts and sounds like Short Round from The Temple of Doom) as well as an off-color joke about having curry for dinner when Professor Arad shows up at the home of young Michael Harris. And the build-up and resolution of the main conflict in the movie all happens too quickly, with far too much time given to the non-nonsensical intro of Professor Van Helsing; and an ending that is primarily features "Young Van Helsing" and his garage band lip-syncing songs at the big high school dance. Oddly, the end credits don't actually provide the name or details of the band that actually did the music.

What's bizarre about the film, however, is that the special effects, score, and sets are all fairly well-done -- in fact, they are far better than what's typical for this level of movie.

Overall, the movie comes off as a bit of an attempt at mashing up Indiana Jones (the title font is a clear copy of that); Van Helsing/Dracula; with a pinch of King Arthur thrown in. Is the film good? Absolutely not, but it's far more engaging and interesting than most low budget movies.

DataSync · 01-06-2023, 06:40 PM

Damascus Cover (2017) -- (6.5/10)

[Show spoiler]

Frank (2014) -- (6.5/10)

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What Just Happened (2008) -- (6.5/10)

[Show spoiler]

Traded (2016) -- (5/10)

[Show spoiler]

White Bird in a Blizzard (2014) -- (7/10)

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Brooklyn's Finest (2009) -- (6/10)

[Show spoiler]

The Sum of All Fears (2002) -- (5/10)

[Show spoiler]

Skin Trade (2015) -- (3/10)

[Show spoiler]

Abduction (2018) -- (6/10)

[Show spoiler]

Slasher Season 1 (2016) -- (4/10)

[Show spoiler]

tdl797 · 03-05-2023, 03:23 AM

Dark Was the Night (2014) - 6/10 - 1x watch via Dollar Tree DVD. Pretty solid for a low budget horror/thriller. I recognized Lukas Haas from Witness and the actress Bianca from Halloween Resurrection. There is no explanation for the type of creature it is and you finally see it at the end. Nothing spectacular, but still well made, but nothing I need to see again. 6 may be a little generous. 3/4/23.

There are multiple movies called Dark Was the Night. I have another one, too. I tried to Search this Thread to see if anyone else reviewed this, but it just brought up large posts and didn't focus on this, so I don't know if anyone else did. I'm wondering if this will be similar in quality to what Chris Stuckmann's movie will be? One thing I noticed is that they really desaturated the colors in this. When it started, it almost looked black and white, and sometimes a flag or something would pop out a little.

11-24-2020, 08:53 PM	#44
Spootnek Special Member Top contributor Member since:Feb 2019 Location:Ohio Blu-ray collection:574 DVD collection:4925 Trading Score:6	2020 Dollar Tree Watch List Page Two Continued from Page One! November 2020 [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] December 2020 [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] Last edited by Spootnek; 01-01-2021 at 04:35 AM.

12-09-2020, 11:05 PM	#45
Zhuge1 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Jan 2019 4K collection:128 Blu-ray collection:4413 DVD collection:3875 MA collection:810 Digital collection:214 iTunes collection:1 Prime collection:1 Trading Score:133	The last post also hit the limit, so starting a new one for December Dollar Tree reviews. For anyone interested her are direct links to previous reviews from earlier in the year: January 2020 through May 2020. June 2020 through November 2020 May 2021 Reviews: Ghost Goggles -- (3/10) -- This is a very strange movie. The premise is a kid's father is attacked at his restaurant by loan sharks who he owed money to. This leaves the kid with only his eccentric great aunt to care for him. After moving into the new, large house owned by the aunt he finds a pair of glasses that allows him to see ghosts. This is a very low budget film with primarily amateur actors and some gaping plot holes. The editing is also very rough with some extremely strange transitions (and I honestly couldn't tell if that was intentional or not). I didn't think it was great, but it did hold my attention throughout because of how strange it was. It's probably mostly aimed at a middle school audience. Help I've Shrunk the Family -- (5/10) -- This is a kids movie from The Netherlands about a young boy who happens to find a small man named Wiplala in his kitchen one evening. He befriends Wiplala and things go awry when his friend attempts to use his magic powers. The mishap results in a neighbor being turned to a statue and the boy and his family being shrunk to the same size as Wiplala, and the family is left scrambling to fix everything. Overall, this was okay. It's not quite as good as the German movies Help I Shrunk My Teacher (or the sequel, Help I Shrunk My Parents). There's a really good sequence with the shrunken people driving a remote control car that was the highlight. Rocket Hunter -- (2/10) -- This is the sequel to Greyhound Attack. It's marginally better than the first film as there are fewer meaningless characters thrown in the mix who have no real purpose. The two brothers are back for another mission -- a followup to the one they underwent in Greyhound Attack. Overall, it's still not very good. Greyhound Attack -- (1/10) -- This is a WWII film by Christopher Forbes. Tons of his movies end up at Dollar Tree it seems such as The Last Days of Billy the Kid, Jesse James Versus the Black Train, The Confederate, and several others. They are all bad, and this one is no different. It’s the same amateur actors that often appear in these films. Unlike the others which re-uses a number of same sets and filming locations, this one is done almost entirely with green screen. There’s little action and the story is quite boring. It’s basically about a mission by two brothers to target a secret mobile Nazi airfield. Beyond the two brothers, it’s a bit hard to remember who the other characters are and nearly impossible to care about any of them or keep track of what they are doing. Iron Wolf -- (1/10) -- This begins in Germany during WWII when German scientists are creating a new “weapon” to combat the Russians. The “weapon” turns out to be a werewolf that they’ve trained to only attack non-Germans. When their facility is overran by Russians; the weapon is left locked away and forgotten. 65 years later, a group of German youths discover the facility as a potential spot for a band reunion. Overall, this was really hokey. It had a promising beginning for a low budget film, but that all fell apart as it went on. House of Salem -- (5/10) -- This is a low budget, indy horror film from England that was surprisingly decent. The premise is that a group of criminals are paid by a rich benefactor to kidnap a young boy, seemingly to hold for hostage. They later discover that the rich benefactor is actually the head of Satanic sect and find themselves protecting the boy and themselves. There were a few creepy scenes and the ending is a bit convoluted, but overall worth a watch for horror fans. Thunder and the House of Magic -- (5/10) -- This is an animated movie about a cat (Thunder) who, after being abandoned by his family, finds his way to an old mansion owned by an elderly magician. Thunder finds himself at odds with the other house pets but ultimately must work together with them to save the magician's home from his scheming nephew. Overall, this was a decent kids movie and the special features include a quick segment discussing how the basis for the movie was a 3D attraction (potentially in France where the filmmakers were from) that was interesting. Andy the Talking Hedgehog -- (2/10) -- This is a 75 minute movie about a talking Hedgehog that feels like it lasts 3 hours. Lilly, a young girl, makes a wish to her Fairy BFF (Tara Reid) for all of her friends to talk (including her pets, other animals, and plants). The majority of the movie takes place in and around a single house with some stock hedgehog videos thrown in at times. Dean Cain plays the father. Perhaps the best part of the movie is when he realizes the animals are talking and becomes convinced he has lost his mind. He decides to just watch cartoons and eat cereal... which is probably the reaction he should have had after signing on to this movie. Also adding to the movie is an extremely annoying sound track -- there is music in the background through almost the entire film. Also, I have no idea who the target audience is for this. It's aimed at kids, but there's a lot of inappropriate stuff (such as a teenage friend of Lilly's older sister ogling after Lilly's father and the depressing tale of the family's cat). Poseidon -- (6/10) -- This is a decent popcorn movie remake of The Poseidon Adventure. It features Kurt Russell, Richard Dreyfuss, and Josh Lucas. Emmy Rossum (Shameless) and Mike Vogel (Under the Dome) are both in the film during their early careers. The gist of the movie is that a group of people struggle to survive a cruise ship that's been overturned by a rogue tidal wave. There's a few scenes of really obvious green screen that looks awkward, but the overall action is decent. Blue Crush 2 -- (6/10) -- This is totally unrelated to the first Blue Crush film. The premise is that Dana lost her mother as a young child. Now as a teenager about to enroll in college, she decides to throw those plans out the window after reading her mother's diary in order to try to learn more about her. She discovers that her mother always regretted not surfing one specific area and decides to fulfill her mother's dream. Without telling her father, she hops a flight to South Africa and becomes embedded in the local surfing scene. Overall, this was a decent surfing movie, particularly considering it's a mostly unknown cast and a direct-to-video film. Certainly one I could see re-watching. Anna and the Apocalypse -- (7/10) -- This is a zombie musical comedy set during Christmas time that bills itself as Shaun of the Dead meets La La Land. Overall, I thought it was pretty good and would certainly watch it again. The music is okay and while it falls short of Shaun of the Dead in the comedy sphere, it has a few great scenes (particularly at a bowling alley). The disc has quite a number of bonus features as well. Definitely a solid pickup for $1. The Whale -- (6/10) -- This is a made for TV movie from the BBC that covers the real story of the whaling ship Essex which was destroyed by a whale. The story serves as part of the inspiration for Herman Melville's novel, Moby Dick. The movie features a young John Boyega as well as Paul Kaye (who also appeared in Anna and the Apocalypse). Overall, it was pretty good. April 2021 Reviews: The Surface -- (4/10) -- This was listed as a drama/thriller but there's no thriller aspect to this. Mitch (Sean Astin) has had a tough life the past couple of years and sets out on a boat trip contemplating his future. Kelly (Chris Mulkey) has had his fair share of problems as well. Their two paths intersect when Kelly crashes his plane in Lake Michigan and Mitch manages to rescue him only to lose his boat propeller in the process. Both are stuck together while trying to get rescued. The movie started out pretty slow; had some build up that hooked my interest; and then overall sort of petered out. Overall, it was slightly below mediocre. The DVD does include a 48 minute documentary about protecting Lake Michigan (which seems sort of odd) but I haven't watched it. SOS Tidal Wave -- (7/10) -- This is a short movie (62 minutes) about a mayoral race in NYC where one of the candidates isn't quite what he seems. When a a famous news reporter considers investigating the situation, he's initially frightened away from doing so. Later, as the race tightens, news reports of an impending natural disaster begin frightening voters away from the polls. It's not for everyone, and it's definitely not a disaster film, but overall, I liked it. The Confederate -- (2/10) -- This was better than the other films I've watched that are directed by Christopher Forbes and distributed by ITN (Jesse James vs. The Black Train and The Last Days of Billy the Kid). It's filmed in the same locations as all of the films put out by this group and features most of the same actors. The film is based on the novel Perfect Disguise by what looks to be an amateur author from Georgia, and the story line and plot is far better than the other films. As with the other Forbes films, it mainly used community theater level actors and some disjointed scenes that often come off as hokey. Overall, it's still pretty bad and not really worth the time. Avalanche Sharks -- (1/10) -- This is about a group of people who go on a ski trip and supernatural sharks (who swim in the snow) have infiltrated the area. Honestly, this was just boring and not even good in a "bad movie" way. Antboy 3 -- (6/10) -- This was the final chapter in the Antboy series. Antboy and all of his friends are back to keep their small town safe as. Pelle (Antboy) is struggling with a decision about a school opportunity, while a new CEO has taken over at ExoFarm and The Flea is released from prison after being "reformed." At the same time, a mysterious new hero has emerged in Middlelund. Overall, this was a really good ending to a pretty solid superhero trilogy for kids. Easter Bunny Adventure -- (0.5/10) -- The gist of this is that the Easter Bunny and his friend, a chicken, is looking for an Easter egg. They fly in a hot air balloon while looking for it and run into various farm animals who tell them stories (which are basically just short fables of 2 minutes or less). The animation is horrible, and the stories are told in a bored, monotone voice. During the fables, there is no animation, but the film displays some looped background animation that looks like a screen saver from the 1990's. The simple animation is aimed at very young viewers, but the fables are clearly more for much older children (who would find no entertainment value in the terrible animation). Overall, this is absolutely terrible. March 2021 Reviews: Antboy: Revenge of the Red Fury -- (6/10) -- With the Flea behind bars, a new villain has emerged in Middlelund. It's up to Antboy and his friends Ada and Wilhelm to stop The Red Fury. Overall, this was quite good -- the origin story behind The Red Fury is a good comic book origin and the plot plays out quite well. Son of Bigfoot -- (5/10) -- A bullied kid ends up discovering that his father, who had been told was deceased, is actually Bigfoot. At the same time, an evil corporation is intent on capturing Bigfoot in order to use his genes to create hair re-growth drugs. Overall, this was okay. The animation was pretty good, and the storyline is decent enough. As a quick head's up Bigfoot Family is the sequel to this film and is on Netflix. It's not nearly as good as the original and mostly focuses on Bigfoot and family fighting against the oil industry. I'd give it a 3.5/10. Straight Outta Oakland 2 -- (1/10) -- This isn't a sequel to Straight Outta Oakland (which was quite clear), but does star some of the same actors and is written and directed by the same person that did the first film. That first film (reviewed lower in this post) wasn't great; but it had a storyline that made sense and had some decent production for a low budget film. This second film is just a mess. It's basically about a guy who gets into selling a new drug called "Milk" in order to save money for his aunt's medical bills (at least that's theoretically the basis). The storyline makes little sense and is hard to follow, which is a shame since the main protagonist is an entertaining and over the top character. From looking at the past IMDb credits, it looks like maybe this was a previous movie that was basically re-cut to create this. Overall, not worth the watch at all. Houdini -- (6/10) -- This is a fairly short animated movie (about 55 minutes), which focuses on a very fictitious story of a young Harry Houdini first learning magic while attempting to compete in a magic competition in NYC while under the tutelage of the magician, Tesla. When an evil magician devises a nefarious plan involving the statue of liberty, it's up to the young Houdini to save the day. Overall, it was pretty good and had a couple of things showing how some illusions are performed which would be of interest to kids. Tom and Jerry Double Feature This is a flipper disc with one movie on each side. Both movies have a couple of basic special features as well as trailers. Tom and Jerry: The Fast and the Furry -- (6/10) -- This is the better of the two movies. When Tom and Jerry's antics result in the destruction of their home, they enter an auto race where the grand prize is a brand new mansion. The other racers are a motley assortment of characters including a little old lady with a crazed dog, a soccer mom in a minivan, Gorthan (the destroyer of light), and an over the top heroic character. The organizers keep changing the rules of the race forcing the cat and mouse to continue their rivalry across the globe. Overall, this was a decent watch. Tom and Jerry: Mission to Mars -- (5/10) -- Tom and Jerry end up inadvertently stowing away on a spaceship that goes to Mars. They end up stranded on the red planet and meet the alien species that live there. They eventually find their way back to Earth with help from a friendly Martian, but realize they've led some enemies back home as well. Overall, this was okay; but definitely not one of the better Tom and Jerry movies. Animated Collection: 10 Movies These ten movies range in length from about 45 minutes to about 90 minutes. I wasn't sure how the quality would be since this is a two disc set with 5 movies per disc. Overall, though, the quality of the ones I've watched are pretty good. One of these movies, A Monsterous Holiday, is one I found previously individually and the video quality was about the same on the single disc versus this Echo Bridge disc with 5 films. Adventure Planet -- (5/10) -- This is a Thai movie about a situation in which the son of the President (of the US it seems) goes on a camping/hiking adventure in Thailand and meets up with two children from a Kayan tribe. At the same time, global warming is threatening the planet and world leaders have developed a cold bomb to deal with the situation. Unfortunately, there are some significant side effects of these bombs that the children learn about and must try to convince the world leaders not to launch them. Overall, this was pretty good. It's a little weird because one of the main characters is obviously supposed to be the son of the President of the US but in the movie, he's from "Capital City" (which is clearly NYC) and his father is just "the President." Under Wraps -- (6/10) -- Danny is on a trip with his archaeologist parents when they discover a new chamber in a pyramid. Danny isn't allowed to go on the exploration but finds an ancient talisman of his own as a souvenir. Unfortunately, his new souvenir manages to turn his parents into mummies and he has to figure out a way to turn them back normal. Overall, this was pretty good. A Monsterous Holiday -- (4/10) -- Andy is a teenage scientist whose father wants him to play football. To avoid being pulled into a sport he doesn't care for, he manages to get a teenage Frankenstein's monster to take over for him so he can continue his science experiments. When one experiment goes massively awry, it's up to Sam to save everyone. This one could have been better. It wasn't terrible but not that good either. Thor: Legend of the Magical Hammer -- (5/10) -- This is a film from Iceland about the legendary Norse gods. Thor is a young blacksmith who comes across a magical, talking hammer (this one named, Crusher). A conflict between the Gods in Valhalla and the Queen of the Underworld results in Thor and his friends being pulled into the conflict where he finds his inner abilities. Overall,, this was okay. Dear Dracula -- (5/10) -- Features the voices of Ray Liotta as Dracula and Emilio Estevez as his assistant Myro. The animation isn't great, and this is a shorter film at 42 minutes, but overall it was relatively entertaining. Young Sam is a big fan of horror and his favorite is Dracula. When he sees an add on TV for a new Dracula action figure, he ends up writing a fan letter to the legendary count. Surprisingly, Dracula answers by showing up at Sam's house... and helping him overcome some of his school problems. This is basically a Halloween cartoon special. Jesse James vs. The Black Train -- (0.5/10) -- I saw this in several stores, and it looked quite terrible. I ended up streaming it on Tubi one night while struggling to sleep and it's honestly worse than it looks. It's written and directed by the same folks that did The Last Days of Billy the Kid and stars basically all of the same people. The premise is that Jesse James leaves the life of crime to start an old west show, which is successful for a while. When attendance begins to decline, he turns back to crime. At the same time, there's a mysterious black train that's run by the equally mysterious Emmett Black. There seems to be some sort of supernatural element to the train and when Jesse decides to try to destroy it with no luck. Overall, the film is absolute nonsense and as mentioned in my review of the Billy the Kid movie, the actors seem like they are a community theater troupe and/or western theme park reenactors. The Legend of Hallowaiian -- (5/10) -- Three kids are out surfing on Halloween day when they accidentally find an underwater cave with a small box. A small totem in the box seems like a nice souvenir until they realize they've unleashed Pineapple Head, some sort of evil demi-god that goes on a path of destruction as he gains power in the moonlight. It's up to the kids to find a way to undo their major mistake. Overall, I really expected this to be terrible. A lot of these Viva animated titles look extremely bad. In fact, there are a number of previews on the disc of animated features that look nearly unwatchable. However, this turned out to be decent enough. There are some name actors who provide some of the secondary characters voices such as Mark Dacascos, Tia Carrere, Vanessa White, and Mark Hamill. The end credits feature a cover of Rock-a-Hula-Baby by Dacascos (he only sings a couple of lines, but still strange to see in the end credits it was actually him). Antboy -- (6/10) -- This is a Danish superhero film for younger kids. Pelle is a small boy who gets bullied in school. While hiding from the bullies in a strange yard in the neighborhood, he gets bitten by an ant and later finds that he has ant-like powers. He decides to use his powers for good, and like most heroes ultimately comes across a villain, The Flea, who kidnaps his school crush. Overall, this was pretty good -- definitely a decent live action superhero film for younger kids. The Final Girls -- (7/10) -- This was a spoof of slasher films and quite entertaining. The daughter of an actress that starred in a well-known slasher film and her friends are somehow "sucked" into the movie itself when a fire breaks out at a theater showing the film. It features Adam Devine essentially playing "Adam" from Workaholics, and is overall an entertaining movie. February 2021 Reviews: Family Bible Collection: The Power of the Resurrection with 3 Bonus Movies This is a 4 film collection and all the movies are on a single disc. Martin Luther -- (3/10) -- This is a 1953 film that serves as a biographical account of a portion of Martin Luther's life. The quality of this particular release wasn't that good (although that's not to be unexpected considering there are four movies on the disc and it's from Echo Bridge) -- it's probably VHS level. It was certainly watchable and, while not terrible, the film was mostly boring. It's almost more of an acted out documentary than an actual biopic. There are lots of details of the specifics of his beliefs and how they differed from the Church at the time, but there was little in the film that delved into his character. Overall, I just didn't feel that this was a very engaging movie and I can't see ever wanting to re-watch it. Straight Outta Oakland -- (3/10) -- This is a low budget film about 4 youths trying to rise above the impoverished background in the inner city of Oakland. Each has his own approach to getting out -- one is trying to make it in the music industry; one is selling drugs; one is attending college; and the fourth seems to really have no direction (or at least it's unclear). The acting is done by amateurs and the storyline is somewhat confusing (and overly dramatized) at points. Overall, it's just okay. Also, for full disclosure, I actually just streamed this on Amazon Prime rather than buying it because I saw it at Dollar Tree and saw that it had a fairly high IMDb rating; but I was still skeptical and wanted to check it out before deciding whether to buy. There's a second film (Straight Outta Oakland 2) which seems to feature some of the same actors, but playing different roles in a totally different storyline. It's another (like this film) that I would likely stream late at night while struggling to fall asleep. The Last Days of Billy the Kid -- (1/10) -- Another DVD I saw at Dollar Tree and decided to stream on Tubi rather than watch since was from ITN, and experience has shown that the majority of stuff from them is quite bad. This didn’t deviate from that norm. The movie is supposed to be about the last, desperate days of Billy the Kid. In the 45 minutes (of an 80 minute film), Billy the Kid is in the movie for about 3-4 minutes total. The entire first half is about a One-Eyed Lilly, a saloon owner whose establishment has been taken over by the local town villains. She partners with a bunch of townspeople to bring about justice. Not surprisingly, the actress playing One-Eyed Lilly was co-writer on the film. The acting is bad. The first half of the movie is primarily scenes of the actors sitting and talking, and while the plot is quite simplistic, there’s a good portion that makes little sense (such as the very beginning and the ending). The action scenes are ridiculous as well. There can often be some gems in these low budget DVDs, making many of them worth picking up (and keeping in the collection); but this certainly isn’t one of them. Pagan Warrior -- (1/10) -- I saw this DVD at Dollar Tree and thought about grabbing it. Luckily, I decided to stream it on Tubi, where it is listed under it's alternate title -- Vikings Versus Krampus. This is far from the worst Krampus movie I've ever seen, but it's quite bad. There's a lot of text at the beginning that sets the scene -- the movie is set in the 800's (although one of the text scenes lists it as the 1800s...) and focuses on a group of vikings that lay siege to a castle, deposing a king. They leave the king and queen for dead and take their daughter hostage. The king is nursed back to health and, with the help of witches, summons Krampus to take his revenge. The movie is quite bad -- the viking horde is maybe 7 total guys and the "kingdom" is only about 5 or 6 people (no exaggeration). And, I'm pretty sure during one fight scene, Krampus' horns get knocked sideways. Also, the two vikings shown on the cover don't appear in the film (or if they do, they look nothing like this). Overall, this is pretty bad. The Alien Files: 4 Out-Of-This-World Movies This is a 4 film collection and all the movies are on a single disc. John Carpenter's Ghosts of Mars -- (6/10) -- I saw this when it first came out 20 years ago, but haven't seen it since. I was a bit concerned about 4 movies being on the same disc, but the quality of Ghosts of Mars was certainly good enough in my opinion. If there was a Scream Factory release of the movie on bluray, I'd upgrade, but considering it's just only been released by Mill Creek, I'm not overly motivated to upgrade beyond this collection. The movie is set on Mars in the distant future. The planet is inhabited by humans who are terra forming the surface for further colonization. When a police force is sent to a mining colony to pick up a dangerous criminal they come across a horrific scene and ultimately find themselves in a fight for their lives against unnatural forces. I barely remembered the film, but am generally a fan of John Carpenter, so I quite enjoyed watching it again. Alien Hunter -- (5/10) -- In 1947, a radio operator encounters a mysterious signal. When he pursues the issue, it ultimately leads to his disappearance. In present day (2003), the signal reappears and a team of researchers begin investigating. Professor Julian Rome (James Spader), who studies communication and cryptology, is invited to Antarctica to assist with the investigation. They find an alien object in the ice and begin to piece together what is going on. Overall, this was okay -- James Spader was clearly the highlight of the film. The quality of the video on the disc was not nearly as good as Ghosts of Mars, but it was watchable. There's one segment that seems out of sequence, but that could have been a choice by the film makers -- it was just odd. The Day the World Ended -- (6/10) -- This movie was originally a Cinemax Exclusive and stars Randy Quaid. It's about a lady moving to a small town to become the new school psychologist. She meets a troubled and bullied boy who lives with his step-father. A strange, alien creature begins to kill many of the townspeople, and the psychologist begins to suspect there's a connection between the creature and the boy. Overall, this was pretty good and the video quality was also good. Night Skies -- (4/10) -- This is a movie based on the Phoenix Lights phenomenon. A group of friends are traveling in an RV to Las Vegas along some back roads of Arizona when they crash into a broken down truck belonging to a former soldier. The crash leaves some of the party injured and luckily the soldier has some field medic training. The members of the party begin to notice odd lights in the sky and are stuck alone to deal with what's to come next. Overall this is more horror than sci-fi and it's mediocre at best. Sean Connery's son plays the soldier, which is sort of interesting. This was definitely the weakest movie on the collection. 4 Film Favorites: Modern Romantic Comedies This is a four disc set, and I've previously not seen any of these films. 17 Again -- (7/10) -- This was really good. Mike (Matthew Perry) is a middle-aged man who is in the midst of a mid-life crisis. At the same time his wife is filing for divorce and he has a strained relationship with his children. Unexpectedly, he gets his wish to go back to his glory days and wakes up to find that he's again 17. The young Mike (Zac Effron) sets out to fix the problems in his life. The movie was quite funny and overall had a solid story. Valentine's Day -- (6/10) -- Valentine's Day is a series of interconnected stories that all take place on Valentine's Day. The cast features lots of well-known actors and the plot interconnects really well. Overall, this was pretty entertaining as well. January 2021 Reviews: Alien Domicile -- (4/10) -- I streamed this on Amazon Prime since I was intrigued by the DVD cover art and wanted to see if it was worth grabbing or not. I’m okay with not having purchased it to be honest. The cover art makes it look as if it’s a cheap ripoff of the Alien franchise, but in reality it’s a low-budget sci-fi movie with a bit of a mystery component. A group of government workers wake up confused in an underground military based trapped in a compartment. They eventually realize they’ve locked themselves in and decide to explore their surroundings only to find alien lifeforms that they must defend themselves against. There’s a somewhat interesting (if confusing) twist ending. It was a decent one-time watch, but not really worth owning. I then found Alien Domicile 2: Lot 24 on Tubi and would give it a 3/10. It has NOTHING to do with the first one and very little to do with aliens. It’s about a group of friends who go camping at a private camp ground that had been owned by one of the group member’s uncle. The uncle disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The movie is quite terrible and extremely low budget (more so than the first film), but it’s quite funny given the poor acting and ridiculous storyline. Air -- (6/10) -- Bauer (Norma Reedus) and Cartwright (Djimon Honsou) are two caretakers preserving a group of humans in a deep sleep facility after a worldwide chemical weapons attack left the Earth’s air unbreathable. They are tasked with keeping one of many underground facilities running until the outside air is expected to be breathable. The pressure of working with old technology, daily challenges to their tenuous existence, and being stuck together begin to wear on the duo. Normal Reedus’ character is basically a slightly toned down “Daryl” from The Walking Dead. Overall, this was quite good and one that I will certainly watch again as I feel like I would catch a bit more on a second watch. Thunderstruck -- (6/10) -- This is by no means a great film, but I found it quite entertaining. The premise is Brian, a young high schooler who loves the game of basketball (but has little skills in the sport), ends up meeting his idol Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and somehow magically switches basketball abilities with the NBA superstar. The awkward teen becomes a star for his high school team while Durant’s NBA career begins to tank. The family friendly movie combines a good story, some good comedic scenes, and a good message. Overall, it was far better than I expected. The Revenge of Robert -- (4/10) -- I’m probably overrating this at 4 because the Robert movies aren’t that great… but I do find them entertaining. The first film introduces Robert and is a traditional killer-doll horror movie. The second film is a direct sequel to the first and shows what happens after the events of the first film. The third film is a prequel and goes back in time and begins telling the true origins of Robert and the toymaker who created him. It begins by telling the story of how the book the toymaker uses to give life to Robert eventually winds up in his hands. This fourth film serves somehow as both a prequel to the third film and a sequel. The first half of The Revenge of Robert tells the story of the book’s creation and how it got to the person who got it to the person who eventually got it to the toymaker. The second half of the movie picks up where movie #3 ends and ultimately ties in nicely with the first film. Overall, I found this entertaining – both the fact that the film makers went to ridiculous lengths to further the back story in a completely unnecessary way as well as the humorously bad special effects of Robert and the other killer dolls. After this movie, there’s a fifth film which connects more of the back story of Robert and more fully bridges the gap between this fourth film and the first movie. I found it on Amazon Prime and went ahead and watched it (and will buy it if it winds up at Dollar Tree on DVD). Mother Krampus -- (3.5/10) -- First off, this has nothing to do with Krampus. It’s a low-budget British horror film based on the legend of a Christmas witch who kidnaps children. When kids begin disappearing in a small town (and a mysterious woman in black is spotted), town elders begin to fear that a poor choice from their past may be coming back to haunt them. Overall, this was okay – far, far better than Krampus: The Christmas Devil and Krampus 2 which have shown up at Dollar Tree. Mother Krampus showed up on DVD and bluray, however I only saw the DVD in my area. In fairness, I skipped it hoping the bluray may eventually pop up, but I did stream the movie on Tubi to see if I would be interested in the physical copy. My Giraffe -- (6/10) -- My Giraffe focuses on 4 year old Patterson, who lives in a small village in the Netherlands. When it’s time for him to begin school, he naturally assumes his best friend, Raf, will be joining him. The problem, though, is that Raf is a giraffe housed at the nearby zoo where his grandfather works. The film is aimed at a very young audience, but does have a subplot for an older audience focused on Patterson’s grandfather (who develops a crush on the Patterson’s teacher). Overall, this is a watchable kids movie. Seeing the settings of a small town in the Netherlands was also quite interesting. Note this is a Viva DVD release and has the oddball UPC that matches several other titles as well as the 2020 Black Friday Dollar Tree UPC. Mr. Troop Mom -- (6/10) -- George Lopez plays a lawyer and single dad who has to step in for his daughter’s girl scout troop when their normal scout mother comes down sick and the group has an upcoming camp and competition. The competition is at a wilderness lodge ran by Jane Lynch, who portrays and over the top scout master. This is a made for TV film that aired originally on Nickelodeon. It’s one of the rarer films that seems to pick up steam as it goes because the jokes and humor in the first half fall flat, while the second half works much better and ultimately saves the film overall. It’s obviously aimed at a younger girl audience, but it’s a decent family film that does provide some laughs and a good father-daughter storyline. Surf's Up 2: WaveMania -- (5/10) -- When I watched this, I had not seen the first Surf’s Up movie. So with no foundation of the main characters, I thought this was okay. It’s basically a surfing movie about penguins (who were in the first film) that come face to face with surf heroes that are based on some prominent WWE stars. The animation is decent; the storyline is okay; and so overall, it’s mediocre. Quick update: I watched the first Surf's Up movie which I found for $5 at Big Lots and despite the high ratings on IMDb... I found it extremely boring (it's a documentary style movie, aimed at kids, with lots of adult-aimed subtle jokes and, for me, it just doesn't work) and not entertaining. So, to me, this sequel is better and it's not necessary to see the original before watching it. Also note, some of the DVD copies do come with a digital SD code (although not all as the first one I grabbed did not). The Swan Princess: Royally Undercover -- (4/10) -- I’ve never seen any of these films before, but there are quite a few of the Swan Princess films going back to the original one from 1994. In this film, some strangers show up in the kingdom hoping to aid a nearby town that was destroyed by a dam bursting. Unfortunately, the do-gooders turn out to be bad guys and it’s up to the young princess and her animal friends to uncover the truth and save the day. Overall, it’s okay but the animation isn’t quite up to par for a film released by Sony. Back to the Jurassic / Khumba -- (5/10) -- This combo DVD has both Back to the Jurassic (originally titled Dino Time) and Khumba on it. It’s a two-sided, flipper disc with one movie on each side. I have Khumba on bluray and previously reviewed that movie but finally got around to watching Back to the Jurassic. This is a decent kids movie about a skateboarding kid living in a dinosaur-themed town who accidentally goes back in time millions of years along with two of his friends. It’s up to the parents to retrieve the kids, while the kids work to keep their new adoptive dino family safe in the past. This seems like a quickly written movie based on the idea of “Back to the Future” meets “Jurassic Park” for kids, but it works overall and was entertaining enough to be re-watchable. December 2020 Reviews: A Christmas Carol -- (6/10) -- This is an animated version from 1997 of Dickens’ classic Christmas classic. It features the voice talents of Tim Curry, Whoopi Goldberg, and Ed Asner. It’s true to the original story but targeted more at kids as it tones down the ghosts a bit (to make them less frightening) and also introduces the concept of Scrooge having a dog (named Debit). Overall, it was an entertaining take on a well-known story. Martha's Homemade Holidays -- (5/10) -- I had this on as background noise one day over the holidays. To be honest, I’m unfamiliar with Martha Stewart Living as I never watched the show. This is basically various segments from the show (some cooking, some segments on ornament making, etc.). The cooking segments are basically the sort of thing you’d find on a Food Network show. I primarily bought this (and a few other copies) because it came in a snapper case and I wanted to have a couple of extra cases just in case any that I have in my collection break (I generally don’t buy movies at Dollar Tree to use for cases because I figure there are people or collectors who may want those films and since cases are cheaply bought off Amazon, but I did grab some of these since I couldn’t find a place to buy spare snap cases). Ironically, the first copy I opened had a busted case that can’t be used as a replacement since the hub was smashed which is honestly what prompted me just to pop the disc in and try it out. I didn’t watch all of it, but did watch all of the cooking segments and the tour of the Boston Candy Kitchen (which was fairly interesting as it showed how they make ribbon candy). So overall, it works well as background television. National Lampoon's Vacation / National Lampoon's European Vacation -- (7/10) -- Note, this review is just for European Vacation as that's the whole reason I bought the DVD since I have Vacation on bluray already. Both movies are on the same disc, but the quality was good enough. European Vacation is certainly a funny film, but pales to both the first film as well as Christmas Vacation. The premise is that the Griswolds win a European trip while appearing on a game show and make their way through England, Germany, and Italy, and the expected hijinks occur It looks like the previous double feature release included a number of special features, but unfortunately, there are none for either movie on this collection. Overall, though, the set is a good pickup for anyone who doesn’t have those films already. A Christmas Story 2 -- (6/10) -- Some folks found this at Dollar Tree (both on DVD and bluray). I never did, but did find a copy of the DVD on clearance at Big Lots for $1.25. Since it’s a Dollar Tree title, I thought I would include a quick review here. Overall, I expected this to be terrible (especially after watching sequels like Jingle All the Way 2), but it wasn’t. In fact, I quite enjoyed it. In the original movie, Ralphie is 9 and desperately wants a BB gun. In this film, he’s 16 and has that same longing for a car. While, this certainly will never become a cult classic like the original, I thought it did a good job of portraying the same family 7 years later. The writers clearly studied both the source books that spawned the first film as well as the original classic when creating the story, script, and sets. There were lots of call backs to the original movie, and while they may seem a bit overdone at times, there’s clearly a reason for it as the story attempts to parallel Ralphie’s desires changing from a boy to a teenager. As in the original, Ralphie has a vivid fantasy world and it’s clearly transitioned from boyhood to teenager years. I thought all of the actors did a good job of portraying their roles – obviously they aren’t going to be the same as the originals, but they kept the essences (Ralphie and his friend as being awkward kids in their schools; the mother as being strong yet sweet; the old man as being gruff and cheap, yet soft at heart). It’s probably not a film everyone is going to like (and in fact it only has a 3.3 on IMDb), but I found it a good follow-up to the original and worth keeping in the collection. The Life Before Her Eyes -- (7/10) -- I first traded for the DVD of this movie, but later found it on bluray. The premise is a suburban wife, married to a college professor, begins to have flash backs to a tragic situation from her high school days as the anniversary of the tragedy approaches and she struggles on deciding whether or not to participate in the event. Uma Thurman plays present-day Diana and Evan Rachel Wood plays the high school version of Diana. Overall, this was really good. Despite seeming to have a predictable storyline, it really didn’t quite turn out that way and the movie did a good job of keeping me engaged throughout. Kung Fu Panda Holiday Special -- (6/10) -- I’ve seen this several times before from previous television broadcasts. I’ve always found it an entertaining holiday special that touches on the essential themes of the holiday season. The DVD includes some short special features – the most interesting one is a short segment showing a chef making noodles from scratch. Overall, this was a good pickup for a dollar. Krampus -- (6/10) -- I got this a couple of years ago and finally got around to watching it this holiday season. The comedy horror focuses on a young boy who becomes disillusioned with Christmas and his family suffers the consequences of his insolence. The horror and comedy both sometimes fall a bit flat, but overall, this was pretty good. Elf: Buddy’s Musical Christmas -- (4/10) -- I recall seeing ads a few years ago for the animated version of Elf, but never got a chance to see it. Since Elf is a film I watch every year around Christmas, I was interested to see this and figured it was worth a dollar to try out. This is basically the same story as Elf, but condensed into about 45 minutes and with lots more musical numbers. What’s left out is primarily most of the funny parts of the movie. To be fair, much of that humor from the movie is based on the talents of Will Ferrell and would be hard to translate to another adaptation. The overall result is a fairly dull cartoon that pales in comparison to the movie. Holiday Inn -- (7/10) -- This is a classic from the 40’s starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire. It features lots of Bing’s singing and Fred’s dancing. It’s categorized as a Christmas movie, but it really takes place over the course of a year and features several holidays. Crosby’s character decides to quit show business and go off to a rural area to open an inn that features parties and performances around each of the holidays in the US. Astaire’s character (who had been the partner of Crosby’s before a falling out over a shared love interest) eventually reconnects with him and they renew their rivalry and friendship. Inspector Gadget Saves Christmas -- (6/10) -- This is a Christmas special featuring Inspector Gadget from the 90’s (so after the original series) and focuses on Dr. Claw taking over Santa’s workshop. It’s up to Inspector Gadget to save the day, and he does so in his usual bumbling way. It felt pretty similar to the classic series with some of the typical Gadget malfunctions and misunderstandings. Overall, it was pretty good. How Murray Saved Christmas -- (7/10) -- I recall seeing this at some point on TV but didn’t remember it very well and certainly didn’t have high expectations for it, yet this was pretty entertaining and well worth the dollar. There’s quite a few jokes obviously intended for adults, yet the overall cartoon is still a good fit for kids. Overall, definitely one of the better Dollar Tree DVD pickups. This is Our Christmas (Plus 2 Bonus Movies) This Is Our Christmas -- (1/10) – This was hard to watch. The premise is a relatively newly deceased woman wants to visit her family and is allowed to sort of do so (they can’t see her and don’t know she’s there). She watches as her daughter learns the value of Christmas when she’s sent to help her aunt who is in danger of losing her bakery. The acting was pretty bad; the storyline was pretty bad; and the characters weren’t very likable. On the positive side, the movie was professionally made. A Christmas Tail -- (3/10) – This movie centers on Tim, a boy who desperately wants a dog, but whose parents are unwilling to buy him one. While walking home one day near the train tracks, he comes across “the Professor,” who claims to be a former college professor who now travels the rails. The Professor explains to Tim that the stars about to align in a magical way that would enable the pure of heart to successfully be granted a wish. Tim returns that evening to wish for a dog… and through an honest mistake ends up actually turning into a dog instead. It’s up to one of Tim’s friends to try to turn him back human while Tim tries to make it as a canine. This movie definitely had some good moments, but overall, it was a bit slow. The only notable actor is Gordon Jump (WKRP in Cincinatti) who plays The Professor. With a bit better editing, it could have been decent. Sadly, this movie was the best of the set. Winslow the Christmas Bear -- (2/10) – This is mostly told through nature footage. There’s one actor in it – a small girl who is reading the story, Winslow the Christmas Bear, and imagines it being acted out by real forest animals. The narrator tells the story of how Winslow wants nothing more than to understand what Christmas is all about. Winslow visits others animals and asks each one about Christmas until he eventually learns about it. Overall… this isn’t that good. It’s full screen and not a great transfer (looks VHS quality). I was quite surprised to see that it was from 1999 as I expected it to be from the early to mid-80’s from the look of it. Last edited by Zhuge1; 06-20-2021 at 01:40 AM.

01-02-2021, 04:13 AM	#46
Spootnek Special Member Top contributor Member since:Feb 2019 Location:Ohio Blu-ray collection:574 DVD collection:4925 Trading Score:6	2021 Dollar Tree Watch List January [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] February [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] March [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] April [Show spoiler] May [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] June [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] August [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] September [Show spoiler] October [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] November [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] December [Show spoiler] Last edited by Spootnek; 07-26-2022 at 09:10 PM.

01-03-2021, 03:36 AM	#47
Spootnek Special Member Top contributor Member since:Feb 2019 Location:Ohio Blu-ray collection:574 DVD collection:4925 Trading Score:6	2022 Dollar Tree Watch List January Still NOT with my collection! [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] February [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] March [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] April [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] May [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] June [Show spoiler] [Show spoiler] July [Show spoiler] August [Show spoiler] September [Show spoiler] October [Show spoiler] Last edited by Spootnek; Yesterday at 03:24 PM.

01-03-2021, 01:47 PM	#48
PoorCampBlu Expert Member Member since:Jun 2018 Location:S-Central IN Home Theater Gallery:4 4K collection:10 Blu-ray collection:584 DVD collection:2541 MA collection:16 Digital collection:18 iTunes collection:2 Prime collection:41 Trading Score:5	Joining the 2021 campaign - where everyone is a winner for finding $1 physical media - now including last 2 gen gaming consoles PM!!! I have not been well of late and there may be a situation where I won't be able to post soon. (why not compound misery during a global pandemic? lol) Also I haven't bought a single DT title in months! (Sep?) Fortunately, I do have a couple(!!!) of DT movies I haven't watched and so I'll make a go of this, for as long as I can. January Belko Experiment (blu) 1:29 Clash of Empires (dvd) 1:49 Brotherhood of Blades (blu) 1:51 Woochi: Demon Slayer (blu) 2:15 Dystopia (dvd) 1:37 February Clay (2008)(dvd) 1:30 Aviators (2008) Spain 1:25 Best of So Graham Norton 2:08 March Final Girls (2015) dvd April May Last edited by PoorCampBlu; 03-01-2021 at 01:15 AM.

08-23-2020, 06:49 PM	#41
tdl797 Expert Member Member since:Mar 2017 Location:Texas 4K collection:34 Blu-ray collection:958 DVD collection:924 Digital collection:4 Trading Score:6	Upon learning that Dollar Tree had 2 different Balls Out movies, it made me want to watch them. Balls Out: Gary the Tennis Coach stars Seann William Scott. I was hoping it would be a gem that no one had heard of. I didn't enjoy much about it. First off, the movie is on a 2 blu-ray set of 4 Comedy films. The blu-ray just brings up a menu with 2 arrows pointing to this film or Fired Up. It looks like there are only 3 chapter stops before the movie just goes back to the menu. Since it seems to have come out around 2008/2009, I think it was influenced some by Napoleon Dynamite, but they went the raunchy R route and had a lot of Farrelly Brothers disgusting type humor/gags. A lot of the line readings fall completely flat and jokes don't work. If you want to see SWS's butt, this is the movie for you. Randy Quaid is not in the movie for long, and it is apparently his last acting role. The synopsis on the back of the blu tells you what happens to his character. They have a really foul mouthed little girl character and there's one bit where something happens to her while playing with dogs offscreen. I'm not sure I want to know what they were going for, if I am interpreting it right. No Subtitles to clarify any hard to hear dialog. 2/10? Surely the other Balls Out has to better. It has a few SNL cast members.

09-27-2020, 08:13 PM	#42
tdl797 Expert Member Member since:Mar 2017 Location:Texas 4K collection:34 Blu-ray collection:958 DVD collection:924 Digital collection:4 Trading Score:6	Death Wish 3 7/10 - I have seen all or most of this on TV before. Don't remember if it was edited or not. It's just a vigilante / revenge type movie and it's over the top. If that's what you're in the mood to watch, you will be very satisfied. There are a lot of shootout scenes where the antagonist is on a higher floor. They, of course, get shot and then fall. Each stuntman tries to do something unique when they fall. It reminded me of a lot of Westerns in that way. I had to watch it broken up, so the flow of it was messed up. Maybe I will watch all of the DW films in order sometime. I was very happy to find the Bronson Triple Threat Collection blu at DT. I saw it recently at Big Lots for $5, but I held off on it and it paid off. This blu-ray does not have a Menu screen at all. The movie plays and once it's over, it just starts up again. There is a trailer. For some reason it only shows as a tiny box in the top left of my screen. There must be some setting I need to change.

01-03-2021, 01:52 PM	#49
PoorCampBlu Expert Member Member since:Jun 2018 Location:S-Central IN Home Theater Gallery:4 4K collection:10 Blu-ray collection:584 DVD collection:2541 MA collection:16 Digital collection:18 iTunes collection:2 Prime collection:41 Trading Score:5	spot 2 reserve For purely personal twisted reasons, I keep track of what I watch and the hours spent - so for our mutual horror and public condemnation, I will be including my running DT total of time watched. I generally break it by TV and Movies (including one time specials) and then total, on a monthly basis. Jan TV: 000:00 MO:009:01 Feb TV: 002:08 MO:002:55 Mar TV: 000:00 MO:001:31 Apr TV: 000:00 MO:000:00 May TV: 000:00 MO:000:00 Tots TV: 002:08 MO:013:27 GT: 015:35 Last edited by PoorCampBlu; 03-01-2021 at 01:19 AM.

12-18-2022, 01:45 AM	#52
Zhuge1 Blu-ray Guru Top contributor Member since:Jan 2019 4K collection:128 Blu-ray collection:4413 DVD collection:3875 MA collection:810 Digital collection:214 iTunes collection:1 Prime collection:1 Trading Score:133	For anyone interested here are direct links to previous reviews of DVDs and blurays picked up at Dollar Tree: January 2020 through May 2020. June 2020 through November 2020 December 2020 through May 2021 June 2021 through January 2022 February 2023 Reviews: Termination -- (2/10) -- Termination is a 2020 Sci-Fi anthology film told in 6 parts -- a wraparound story broken in half sandwiches 5 relatively standalone short films. Successful anthologies work when there's a cohesiveness between the various parts. Typically that requires a wraparound segment that navigates and connects the various segments -- such as with Tales From the Darkside: The Movie. Termination is lacking in two major ways. First, there's no connecting story. The main segment is just split into two sections and isn't impacted in any way by the various "chapters" (segments) of the film. Secondly, none of the short films make much sense. It's totally unclear what happens in several of them. Overall, this is 90 minutes of time that's simply not worth it. None of the shorts are terribly entertaining and the lack of cohesiveness makes it more frustrating than worthwhile. The Better Half -- (4/10) -- Calista Ryan is a middle-aged mother of two who has seemingly lost herself. Her marriage is struggling -- her husband is a chief at the local fire station, and she's oblivious to some of the stress he's under. Her relationship with her high school aged kids is superficial -- she obsesses over her daughter's weight/figure and seems barely aware of her son at times. And ultimately, Calista seems fairly unaware of her family dynamics. However, this comes shockingly to the forefront of her attention when a freak gym accident leaves her near death and in Purgatory, with her soul split into her fun-loving younger persona (Callie) and present-day, no-nonsense persona (Calista). In order to address her familial problems, both sides of her soul are sent back to life and given 48 hours to mend the family dynamic. Hijinks ensue as her fun-loving side and her super-serious side try to address her marital problems, her daughter's insecurities, and her son's bully. The Better Half features a solid cast of recognizable actors: Kathleen Rose Perkins (Colony) plays Calista/Callie, Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) plays her husband Jeff, Chris Parnell (Saturday Night Live) is her contact in Purgatory, C.S. Lee (Dexter) is the local high school principal, Eddie Jemison (Ocean's 11, etc.), and Christine Rose (Heroes) portrays Calista's mother (also a resident of Purgatory). Yet, despite the competent cast and an interesting premise, the romantic/family comedy falls just a bit flat as much of the humor doesn't quite land and the plot meanders at times. Overall, The Better Half ends up being watchable, but below average. January 2023 Reviews: Luis and the Aliens -- (4/10) -- Luis and the Aliens focuses on 12 year old Luis, a 12 year old struggling both at school and at home. At school, he has few friends and is often teased by his classmates. At home, he lives with his aloof father, an obsessed ufologist (UFO researcher) who sleeps all day and barely interacts with Luis, leaving the kid to mostly fend for himself at home. Despite his father's obsession with aliens, it's Luis who actually runs across a trio of odd aliens who have come to Earth with the goal of obtaining a massaging mattress, called a Nubbi Dubbi. Luis agrees to assist the odd aliens if they will help him deal with the school administrators who suspect that Luis is poorly cared for and should be moved to a group home. Oddly, it's discovered that the aliens have the ability to morph into the physical form of humans if they eat their hair. The cast primarily features Will Forte as the voice of one of the aliens. Overall, the movie is pretty basic and just not that entertaining -- the animation is fairly basic; Luis' somewhat sad living situation is basically glossed over in order to get to scenes of aliens saying and doing goofy stuff resulting in a story that isn't very good or engaging; and honestly, none of the characters are really that interesting. December 2022 Reviews: The Adventures of Young Van Helsing: Quest for the Lost Scepter -- (3/10) -- The Adventures of Young Van Helsing: The Quest for the Lost Scepter is low budget, direct to video release from 2004. The movie looks like it may have actually been filmed years earlier despite the 2004 release date. Things begin in London in 1905 where Professor Abraham Van Helsing is in combat with a vampire, setting the stage for the rest of the film. Later, in present day, Professor Arad, an archaeologist (or professor of some sort), is overseeing a dig in London in the same setting as the epic fight nearly a century before hand. When things go awry as an ancient evil is unleashed at the dig site, Arad and his faithful assistant, Estabon, escape to find a solution to the evil menace. They discover that Professor Van Helsing's descendant, Michael Harris, is alive and is attending high school where he spends much of his time playing in a garage band. Like many low-budget films, Young Van Helsing features unknown, predominantly amateur actors who struggle with their performances -- often overacting or coming off very wooden. In addition, the script certainly has plenty of plot holes as it's unclear how the characters from London wind up in America; why a college kid is also hanging out at (and taking classes at) the local high school; or how a high school popular girl can analyze substances biologically "on a cellular level" among other things. It certainly has some questionable choices -- such as a boy in brown-face portraying an Indian child named Aki (who acts and sounds like Short Round from The Temple of Doom) as well as an off-color joke about having curry for dinner when Professor Arad shows up at the home of young Michael Harris. And the build-up and resolution of the main conflict in the movie all happens too quickly, with far too much time given to the non-nonsensical intro of Professor Van Helsing; and an ending that is primarily features "Young Van Helsing" and his garage band lip-syncing songs at the big high school dance. Oddly, the end credits don't actually provide the name or details of the band that actually did the music. What's bizarre about the film, however, is that the special effects, score, and sets are all fairly well-done -- in fact, they are far better than what's typical for this level of movie. Overall, the movie comes off as a bit of an attempt at mashing up Indiana Jones (the title font is a clear copy of that); Van Helsing/Dracula; with a pinch of King Arthur thrown in. Is the film good? Absolutely not, but it's far more engaging and interesting than most low budget movies. Last edited by Zhuge1; 02-15-2023 at 03:59 PM.

01-06-2023, 06:40 PM	#53
DataSync Active Member Member since:Jun 2018 Trading Score:3	January 2023 Watch List Damascus Cover (2017) -- (6.5/10) [Show spoiler] Frank (2014) -- (6.5/10) [Show spoiler] What Just Happened (2008) -- (6.5/10) [Show spoiler] Traded (2016) -- (5/10) [Show spoiler] White Bird in a Blizzard (2014) -- (7/10) [Show spoiler] Brooklyn's Finest (2009) -- (6/10) [Show spoiler] The Sum of All Fears (2002) -- (5/10) [Show spoiler] Skin Trade (2015) -- (3/10) [Show spoiler] Abduction (2018) -- (6/10) [Show spoiler] Slasher Season 1 (2016) -- (4/10) [Show spoiler] Last edited by DataSync; 01-19-2023 at 07:46 PM.

03-05-2023, 03:23 AM	#54
tdl797 Expert Member Member since:Mar 2017 Location:Texas 4K collection:34 Blu-ray collection:958 DVD collection:924 Digital collection:4 Trading Score:6	Dark Was the Night (2014) - 6/10 - 1x watch via Dollar Tree DVD. Pretty solid for a low budget horror/thriller. I recognized Lukas Haas from Witness and the actress Bianca from Halloween Resurrection. There is no explanation for the type of creature it is and you finally see it at the end. Nothing spectacular, but still well made, but nothing I need to see again. 6 may be a little generous. 3/4/23. There are multiple movies called Dark Was the Night. I have another one, too. I tried to Search this Thread to see if anyone else reviewed this, but it just brought up large posts and didn't focus on this, so I don't know if anyone else did. I'm wondering if this will be similar in quality to what Chris Stuckmann's movie will be? One thing I noticed is that they really desaturated the colors in this. When it started, it almost looked black and white, and sometimes a flag or something would pop out a little.

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