A Taxi Driver (Blu-ray)
Set in 1980, a down-on-his-luck taxi driver from Seoul is hired by a foreign journalist who wants to go to the town of Gwangju for the day. They arrive to find a city under siege by the military government, with the citizens, led by a determined group of college students, rising up to demand freedom. What began as an easy fare becomes a life-or-death struggle in the midst of the Gwangju Uprising, a critical event in the history of modern South Korea.
This film is based on the true story of an uninformed cab driver who jumps at a lucrative fare only to be thrust into the centre of an uprising, where he rediscovers money isn’t everything. There are two key narratives unfolding, though they intersect a lot: one is the precarious relationship between the driver and the journalist, and the other is the violent stand-off between Gwangju’s citizens and the military. While the former dominates the first act, it develops in the midst of the second. As the driver and viewers watch in disbelief, soldiers beat and gun down protestors as well as those attempting to help the injured. There’s no attempt to sanitize the horrific events the pair witnessed, but there is a focus on the people who were willing to risk their lives for freedom. It’s a powerful film with not-so-unfamiliar themes.
Special features include: trailer. (Well Go USA)
The Accident (L’Accident) (DVD)
Kindhearted construction boss Gabriel Cauvy (Bruno Solo) lives with his wife, Rebecca, and daughter, Luna, in Sainte Lune, a picturesque but struggling village in Brittany, France. One day, Gabriel notices his wife behaving strangely, and hours later she is killed in a car wreck. Amid his grief, Gabriel also contends with the bizarre circumstances of the crash. Why was Rebecca’s car stopped in the middle of the road, facing the wrong way? Why did she have an empty bottle of vodka in the passenger seat when she didn’t drink liquor? Was it truly an accident? Or could it have been something more sinister? When the police and the rest of Sainte Lune blame Rebecca for the crash, Gabriel determines to clear her name. But as he starts his own investigation, the residents of his quaint little town all seem to be hiding something — and the search for the truth is more dangerous than he could have imagined.
This is one of those miniseries that propose small towns are the best cover for big crime — but the nature of the offences is a mystery that requires solving. As everyone, including the police, appear ready to write-off Rebecca as a drunk, Gabriel cannot stop wondering the truth. In the meantime, her two best friends are acting strangely, adding to his suspicion that he didn’t know everything about his wife. Having convinced a local detective to investigate further, he then begins to worry he may implicate his wife in something larger that will further tarnish her memory. In six well-paced episodes, the quiet tourist town is forced to grapple with multiple deaths/murders before revealing a shocking ending no one saw coming.
There are no special features. (Acorn)
Are We Not Cats (DVD)
After losing his job, his girlfriend and his apartment in a single day, Eli (Michael Patrick Nicholson) attempts to restart his life as a truck driver. But his plans are quickly diverted when he meets Anya (Chelsea Lopez) who shares his strangest habit — the impulse to pull out and eat their own hair.
As the summary may suggest, this is an odd narrative in which a couple of kindred spirits find — and endanger — each other. Eli is a bit of drifter bordering on a drug addict. He takes odd jobs, but there’s nothing consistent in any part of his life. Then he meets Anya and even though his hair-eating habit isn’t as severe as hers, they are able to relate to each other. However, they enable each other in these habits, which becomes increasingly hazardous to their health. Finally, all this culminates in a climax that’s fittingly strange and also fairly disgusting.
Special features include: commentary by director Xander Robin; deleted scenes; and theatrical trailer. (MVD Visual)
The Commuter (4K UHD, Blu-ray & Digital copy) (Blu-ray)
Michael’s (Liam Neeson) daily commute home quickly becomes anything but routine. After being contacted by a mysterious stranger (Vera Farmiga), Michael is forced to uncover the identity of a hidden passenger on his train before the last stop. As he works against the clock to solve the puzzle, he realizes a deadly plan is unfolding and is unwittingly caught up in a criminal conspiracy — one that carries life and death stakes, for himself and his fellow passengers.
Though Neeson does have to kick some butt in this picture, it’s definitely not on the level of Taken or some of his other action pictures. Instead, audiences follow along as he attempts to solve a mystery with unknown consequences. He’s not the subtlest detective, but he’s on a deadline so there isn’t much time for delicacy. It’s also interesting to see on-screen The Conjuring couple Farmiga and Patrick Wilson cast in this picture, though they never share the screen. For anyone really paying attention to the clues, it’s not difficult to figure out the identity of the passenger or how Michael was targeted; but it’s still an engaging picture with the typical tough guy/hero ending.
Special features include: “End of the Line”; and “Off the Rails.” (Lionsgate Home Entertainment & VVS Films)
Full Moon High (Blu-ray)
The most important thing to quarterback Tony Walker (Adam Arkin) is to win the big game against archrival Simpson High. But this plan soon changes when Tony is bitten by a werewolf — and that’s when things really start to get hairy! Now, whenever there’s a full moon, he transforms into a growling beast that hungrily chases down beautiful girls. Cursed to live forever as a teenager with uncontrollable urges, Tony realizes he must find a way to end this cycle of animalistic excess.
This is a low-budget picture that’s obviously a metaphor for teenage hormones run amok… and also a potential inspiration for Teen Wolf, which follows a similar storyline. Tony’s new animal instinct apparently creates a pheromone that attracts women of all ages and he’s more than happy to date all of them — one of which even discovers his secret. The time jump isn’t entirely noticeable, but Tony is definitely trying to take advantage of his eternal youth. In the meantime, a man that fashions himself a werewolf hunter is tracking Tony and is determined to kill him. This leads to a final confrontation that is even more ridiculous than one may have thought possible after all their other shenanigans.
Special features include: commentary with writer/producer/director Larry Cohen, moderated by King Cohen filmmaker Steve Mitchell; and theatrical trailer. (Scream Factory)
The Greatest Showman (Blu-ray, DVD & Digital copy)
Inspired by the story of P.T. Barnum (Hugh Jackman) and the birth of show business, the film follows the visionary who rose from nothing to create a mesmerizing spectacle.
This is a mediocre story with an incredible soundtrack that almost makes you forget the rest of the script is unexceptional. Barnum’s tale is somewhat sanitized so he appears to be the hero who rescues the world’s freaks, giving them a home and, more importantly, respect. However, the acts that comprise the circus are all shown to be truly remarkable people who rise above their physical differences even as life repeatedly tries to relegate them to the shadows. This poise inspires the breakout hit, “This is Me,” which should have won the Oscar for best song in a motion picture. The movie also stars Zac Efron as another man who finds success under the big top, though his character’s heart seems to be more invested than Barnum’s.
Special features include: “The Family Behind The Greatest Showman”; “The Songs”; “The Spectacle”; and music machine with sing-along. (Fox Home Entertainment)
Red Rings of Fear (Enigma Rosso) (Blu-ray)
When the brutally violated body of a young woman is found wrapped in plastic, Inspector Gianni Di Salvo (Fabio Testi) is drawn to dark deeds at an exclusive girls’ school where the beautiful members of a group called the Inseparables are being targeted with sinister letters and murder attempts. Following a clue in the dead girl’s diary, he soon learns that anyone could be harboring deadly secrets as he untangles this web of sex and homicide.
As the camera keeps its distance from the characters and their deeds, audiences are on the outside looking in on this bizarre mystery. Di Salvo is fixated on the girl’s brutal death and unafraid of describing the large, phallic murder weapon in any company. In the meantime, someone whose eyes are only ever visible, is watching the conspirators and slowly eliminating them. While viewers may have an idea of the vigilante’s identity, filmmakers are consistently poking holes in their theory. In the vein of other Italian giallo pictures, the deaths are dramatic and there is plenty of female nudity. Di Salvo’s love of cats is a nice aside to his investigation, which is often unconventional and sometimes questionable. The conclusion is not all together surprising, though the consequences may be somewhat unexpected.
Special features include: commentary by historian Nathaniel Thompson; and “Down Here in the States.” (Scorpion Releasing)