Life on the Line Blu-ray Review

• Actors: John Travolta, Kate Bosworth, Devon Sawa, Gil Bellows, Julie Benz
• Director: David Hackl
• Film Format: NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R
• Studio: Lionsgate
• Release Date: February 7, 2017
• Run Time: 98 minutes

        I can honestly say that I never put much thought into the effort it takes to keep electricity working, nor was I aware of the dangers faced by the lineman making necessary repairs. If nothing else, Life on the Line succeeded in waking me up to the realities about the dangers of a job like that. Life on the Line serves as a tribute to the brave men who risk danger each time there is a fallen line or a repair is needed, but they deserve to be honored with a film that isn’t also full of contrived melodrama and sub-par filmmaking.

Beyond Redemption Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Brian Ho, Osric Chau, Linna Huynh
• Director: Bruce Fontaine
• Film Format: Dolby, NTSC, THX, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Not Rated
• Studio: Well Go USA
• Release Date: February 7, 2017
• Run Time: 89 minutes

        Beyond Redemption is the feature film directorial debut from longtime stuntman, Bruce Fontaine, which makes sense considering the only time the film is slightly bearable is during the sequences of action. The rest of the filmmaking is wholly incompetent, from the derivative undercover cop narrative to the poor production values. This could have been a moderately amusing low budget action film, but instead resigns to being a humorless melodrama with a few fights scenes sprinkled throughout.

Dirty Dancing: 30th Anniversary Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Jerry Orbach, Cynthia Rhodes, Jack Weston
• Director: Emile Ardolino
• Film Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: PG-13
• Studio: Lionsgate
• Release Date: February 7, 2017
• Run Time: 101 minutes

At a certain point, with films as successful as Dirty Dancing, cultural impact becomes more significant than critical reactions. Dirty Dancing may be far from a masterpiece, but it has had lasting popularity that can’t be ignored. Despite all of the cheesy lines and contrived romantic melodrama, this is still a film that is easily quotable and difficult to switch away from when stumbled across on television late at night. Sometimes a guilty pleasure is the greatest pleasure of them all.  

       

Story of God: Season One DVD Review

• Disc Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• DVD Release Date: January 10, 2017
• Run Time: 270 minutes

        It may seem like somewhat of an obvious choice to have Morgan Freeman as the host of the National Geographic documentary series investigating various faiths and their belief in God. Playing off of the fact that he was cast as the creator in the Hollywood comedy, Bruce Almighty, “The Story of God” follows Freeman on his journey to different countries and a wide variety of cultures in his examination of the belief in a higher power. That Freeman actually seems personally invested in the questions being raised may merely be an indicator of his abilities as an actor, but it does wonders for the accessibility of the topics.

Nerdland Blu-ray Review

• Director: Chris Prynoski
• Format: Animated, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, English, Spanish
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Rated: Not Rated
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: February 7, 2017
• Run Time: 83 minutes

        The concept behind Nerdland has seen many different forms over the years. First the idea started as a live-action feature film, before it was pitched as a television series. Then it was an animated series, before it morphed once again, into the animated feature that was finally made. After all of the alterations needed just to get to this finished product, the story of the production of Nerdland resembles the same desperation of the characters searching for fame within the narrative.

Gimme Danger DVD Review

• Actors: Iggy Pop, Ron Asheton, Danny Fields
• Director: Jim Jarmusch
• Producers: Carter Logan, Fernando Sulichin, Rob Wilson
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Rated: R
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: January 31, 2017
• Run Time: 109 minutes

        Despite an anarchistic title and the chaotically unprofessional band that the documentary is about, Gimme Danger ends up a rather bland film experience. The biggest problem is that this film is far more interested in Iggy Pop than all of the remaining members of The Stooges combined, with his interview taking up at least 85 percent of the run time. There are large sections of the film which simply contain Iggy recounting stories from his past, which may be of interest to his biggest fans but doesn’t serve the documentary’s narrative well. Even as we trace the origins of the influential punk band in a conventionally linear fashion, the film often feels as distracted as the band during their many drug-fueled years.

The Handmaiden DVD Review

• Actors: Min-hee Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Tae Kim, Jin-woong Jo, Hae-suk Kim
• Director: Chan-wook Park
• Producers: Chan-wook Park, Syd Lim
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: Korean
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1
• Rated: Not Rated
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: January 24, 2017
• Run Time: 145 minutes

        I refuse to watch dubbed foreign films if subtitles are available, but the cinematography and art direction is so rich in Chan-wook Park’s The Handmaiden that I found myself wishing that I understood Korean and Japanese. Torn between reading the text in order to follow the narrative and the captivating pull of magnificent images, The Handmaiden kept my eyes glued to the screen for much of the running time, afraid to miss a thing. Park has long been a filmmaker known for his excesses, and his latest is no exception, though he has somehow managed to make a film that feels both indulgent and restrained, often at the same time. The Handmaiden is overflowing with emotion and passion, but that never gets in the way of some of the director’s most precise and thoughtful filmmaking in years.