Pick of the Litter DVD Review

• Directors: Don Jr. Hardy, Dana Nachman
• Disc Format: Color, Dolby, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Region: Region 1
• Rated: Not Rated
• Studio: MPI HOME VIDEO
• DVD Release Date: December 4, 2018
• Run Time: 81 minutes

        Don’t get me wrong; I like dogs, but I was concerned that the cuteness of a handful of puppies was all that Pick of the Litter might provide as appeal. Oh boy, was I wrong. Following the journey of five puppies on the road to becoming guide dogs for the blind, the film provides an empathetic and educational glimpse into the two-year process. And there are cute puppies.

Peppermint Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Jennifer Garner, John Ortiz, Jr. John Gallagher, Juan Pablo Raba
• Director: Pierre Morel
• Writer: Chad St. John
• Producers: Tom Rosenberg, Gary Lucchesi, Richard Wright, Eric Reid
• Disc Format: Color, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1)
• Subtitles: Spanish, English
• Region: Region A/1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1
• Rated: R
• Studio: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: December 11, 2018
• Run Time: 102 minutes

        I’ve always been a sucker for a well-made revenge film. This may be why South Korean cinema has such appeal, with these narratives creatively showing up in a variety of genres. While there are also a consistent stream of American revenge movies, they haven’t really been innovative or original since the 1970s. These days we mostly get cheap remakes of those brutal classics (such as Death Wish and I Spit on Your Grave), and those that aren’t just imitate the expected story points in the most generic of fashion. Peppermint is exactly this type of film, and might as well have just been titled Female Death Wish.