No Escape Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Martin Campbell
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Ray Liotta, Lance Henriksen, Ernie Hudson, Stuart Wilson, Kevin Dillon
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Unearthed Records
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Anamorphic, NTSC, Surround Sound, Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 58 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ October 18, 2022

 

         Perhaps it’s a sense of nostalgia, or fatigue over the CGI-laden blockbusters being released today, but No Escape is a perfect example of the underappreciated action films of the 1980s and ‘90s. It may not be a masterpiece, but it is a fun and predictable bit of entertainment with committed actors and practical effects. I would take this over a majority of the blockbusters released in recent years.

 

Going Places Blu-ray Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Bertrand Blier
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou, Patrick Dewaere, Jeanne Moreau, Isabelle Huppert
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Cohen Film Collection
• Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 1.66:1
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ NR (Not Rated)
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 58 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ October 11, 2022

 

         Co-written and directed by Bertrand Blier, adapted from his own novel, Going Places is a gleefully amoral French comedy about two low-level criminals living lives with no clear direction. While it was intended as a social satire commenting on the complacency of middle class in modern French society in the 1970s, many found the vulgarity hard to swallow. It wasn’t until critics reevaluated the film years later that some began to proclaim it as an underrated gem. While this may be true in terms of filmmaking, the foul behavior of the anti-heroes remains just as unpleasant today.

 

A Fugitive From the Past Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Tomu Uchida
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Rentarō Mikuni, Sachiko Hidari, Kōji Mitsui
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Arrow Video
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Japan
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 3 hours and 3 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ September 27, 2022

 

         Director Tomu Uchida established himself as a significant director making period films, until television threatened the popularity of the artform in the 1960s. In response, Uchida took on the adaptation of author Tsutomu Minakami’s modern detective story, which was released in serial form. The story follows the aftermath of a theft that Takichi Inukai (Rentarō Mikuni) inadvertently becomes an accomplice to. When Inukai kills the other two robbers in what was either an act of self defense or greed, depending on what the viewer chooses to believe, he attracts the attention of a persistent detective, Yumisaka (Junzaburō Ban).

 

Drive Ultra HD Review

 

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• Director ‏ : ‎ Steve Wang
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Mark Dacascos, Kadeem Hardison, John Pyper-Ferguson, Brittany Murphy, Tracey Walter

 

         Enjoyment of Drive will dependent entirely on the viewer’s appreciation of good fight choreography and tolerance for a derivative narrative. Released straight-to-video in the late 1990s, Drive wasn’t trying to reinvent the buddy action comedy as much as it was capitalizing on the success of the sub-genre. At the same time, the fight scenes in the film are often better than a majority of the theatrically released films from the decade, and certainly more impressive than the CGI-laden action dominating movies today. It may not be a masterpiece, but Drive is hidden gem sure to be appreciated by fans of action.

 

Beast Blu-ray Review

 

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• Actors ‏ : ‎ Idris Elba, Sharlto Copley
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 2
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 93 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ October 11, 2022

 

         On one hand, the fact that the movie industry is moving away from using actual animals as a part of the filming process must be seen as progress. On the other hand, the computer-generated effects used to create the lions in Beast lack believability, which diminishes the effectiveness of the film’s suspense. This is not to say that Beast should have taken the approach of films from the past, but there is no ignoring the fact that it may have made for a more exciting film.