Maurice Blu-ray Review

• Actors: James Wilby, Hugh Grant, Rupert Graves
• Director: James Ivory
• Format: Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region A/1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: R
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: September 5, 2017
• Run Time: 140 minutes

        Director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant were a distinct filmmaking team best known for their adaptations of E.M. Forster novels. Their first big hit was A Room with a View (1985), and their largest success is often considered to be Howard’s End (1992), but between these two they also adapted Forster’s novel about homosexuality in pre-World War I English society. Maurice may not be as well known as the other Merchant-Ivory Forster adaptations, but it has all of the familiar elements and themes found in their better remembered films. Rich in costumes and production design that accurately depict the times, Maurice also continues the trend of examining the gap between classes, while also adding the themes about sexuality in a society that had deemed homosexuality to be criminal.

The Wedding Plan DVD Review

• Actors: Dafi Alferon, Noa Koler, Oded Leopold, Ronny Merhavi, Udi Persi
• Director: Rama Burshtein
• Format: Color, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG
• Studio: LIONSGATE
• DVD Release Date: September 5, 2017
• Run Time: 110 minutes

        The structure of The Wedding Plan aligns quite easily with the romantic comedy genre, though there are larger and deeper themes engrained within the premise and much of the dialogue. While this may not always lend itself to the lighthearted laughs many expect from the genre, it does infuse it with a heartfelt sincerity and a deep soulfulness rarely found in formulaic narratives such as this. The story’s blend of melancholic despair with optimistic hopefulness is more than just a response to the unique film premise; within the numerous conversations about the protagonist’s situation is a deeper examination of faith and the belief in something larger than oneself, and the natural tendency to doubt and question throughout this journey.

Megan Leavey Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Kate Mara, Ramon Rodriguez, Tom Felton, Bradley Whitford, Will Patton
• Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
• Writers: Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo, Tim Lovestedt
• Producers: Mickey Liddell, Pete Shilaimon, Jennifer Monroe
• Format: NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)
• Subtitles: Spanish, English
• Region: Region A/1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Rated: PG-13
• Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
• Release Date: September 5, 2017
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2018

        For the first half of Megan Leavey, I was somewhat critical of the film’s title, especially considering the catalyst and main focus of the narrative seemed to be the dog rather than the soldier. But the narrative changes from a war film to a movie about a marine’s advocacy for her canine partner in the second half, becoming clear where the spirit of the film truly lies. While it certainly is a film about two misunderstood outcasts finding purpose for their lives, it is Leavey’s heartfelt determination that remains central to the story’s success.

First Kill Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Bruce Willis, Hayden Christiansen, Ty Shelton, Gethin Anthony, William DeMeo
• Director: Steven C. Miller
• Format: NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R
• Studio: LIONSGATE
• Release Date: September 5, 2017
• Run Time: 102 minutes

        First Kill only took 13 days to film, and it shows in the final product. While the movie is well shot, the performances mostly feel dialed in and the entire experience is fairly soulless. It feels like a film that everyone involved knew from the beginning was destined to be nothing more than an average piece of predictable storytelling. We have seen this story many times before, most of the time done better or with a larger budget, and even the actors involved appear to be spending most of their screen time thinking about how they will spend their paychecks.

Iron Protector Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Collin Chou, Wai-Man Chan, Yue Song
• Director: Yue Song
• Format: Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen
• Language: Mandarin Chinese (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region A/1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Not Rated
• Studio: Well Go USA
• Release Date: September 5, 2017
• Run Time: 90 minutes

        Is it enough for a martial arts movie to have nothing praiseworthy but the action? This is the question that Iron Protector forces on its audience, as it is full of cliché characters and situations, overacting and melodrama, and an overall blandness to the entire production save a few memorable sequences of fight choreography. And all of the action isn’t even impressive enough to warrant the dilemma of quality vs. spectacle, as many of the sequences rely far more on quick cuts and flashy editing than any actual display of martial arts skills or creative choreography. So, it becomes a question of whether one or two impressive sequences can make up for the shortcomings of a majority of the film.

Black Sails: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker Kennedy, Tom Hopper
• Directors: Steven Boyum, Alik Sakharov, Lukas Ettlin, Stefan Schwartz, Neil Marshall
• Format: NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: Spanish, French
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 3
• Studio: LIONSGATE
• Release Date: August 29, 2017
• Run Time: 596 minutes

        Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean is a franchise born from an amusement park ride, and has the same dedication to accuracy in the portrayal of its subject. Dedicated more to the supernatural and fantasy elements than an accurate depiction of pirates, these films failed to capitalize upon the more adult aspects of the men who inspired myths. While “Black Sails” is not entirely born from truth, it embraces realism and stories about actual pirates in the telling of a prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Treasure Island.” The first couple of seasons were slow to pick up the pace, leaving some to complain about the numerous scenes of dialogue and minimal activity at sea, but season four is a brutal and emotional resolution to the running narratives from the three before. This means plenty of action and a number of surprising deaths, all leading to an ending that blends seamlessly into the classic work of literature.