The Addams Family/Addams Family Values 2-Movie Collection (Blu-ray)
The Addams Family: When long-lost Uncle Fester (Christopher Lloyd) reappears after twenty-five years in the Bermuda Triangle, Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia (Anjelica Huston) plan a celebration to wake the dead. But Wednesday (Christina Ricci) barely has time to warm up her electric chair before Thing points out Fester’s uncommonly ‘normal’ behavior. Could this Fester be a fake, part of an evil scheme to raid the Addams fortune?
Addams Family Values: It’s love at first fright when Gomez (Raul Julia) and Morticia (Anjelica Huston) welcome a new addition to the Addams household – Pubert, their soft, cuddly, mustachioed baby boy. As Fester (Christopher Lloyd) falls hard for voluptuous nanny Debbie Jilinsky (Joan Cusack), Wednesday (Christina Ricci) and Pugsley (Jimmy Workman) discover she’s a black-widow murderess who plans to add Fester to her collection of dead husbands. The family’s future grows even bleaker when the no-good nanny marries Fester and has the kids shipped off to summer camp. But Wednesday still has a Thing or two up her sleeve.
Following the cartoons and successful TV series, these films took the franchise to the big screen where the indelible cast became the pivotal kooky family. The love between Gomez and Morticia is more passionate than ever, making it a wonder they’re not regularly on lists of best fictional couples. Meanwhile Pugsley is the loveable scamp and Wednesday is following in her mother’s and grandmama’s footsteps with a knack for the dark arts and murder. Though they get less screen time, Thing and Cousin It are still incredibly memorable characters in both pictures as the former plays pranks and lends a hand in sticky situations, and the latter proves to be quite the ladies’ man. It’s interesting Fester is at the centre of both narratives, but Lloyd is terrific and the rest of the family is still allotted lots of time to be kooky.
There are no special features. (Paramount Home Media Distribution)
Avatar: The Last Airbender & The Legend of Korra Complete Series Collection (Blu-ray)
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Katara (Mae Whitman) and Sokka (Jack De Sena), siblings and members of the Water Tribe, help Airbender Aang (Zach Tyler) master the four elements needed to become the Avatar — master of water, earth, fire and air.
The Legend of Korra: From the battle to save Republic City to opening the portal between spirit and man, and restoring peace to the Earth Kingdom, the spirit of the Avatar lives on in this series.
Each season of Avatar is named after one of the elements Aang must still master and then primarily consists of his quest to find a suitable master to teach him. As the first season is water, Katara is equally anxious to go to the North Pole and train with their sister tribe, but there are also numerous stops to help people or avoid the Fire Nation, who are their fiercest enemies. Prince Zuko is determined to capture the Avatar in order reconcile with his father, who, in the meantime, has taken up a war with all the nations in search of total supremacy. Then, in the series’ sequel, Korra exhibits signs of being the Avatar reborn. With training, she becomes an unstoppable force who at 16 must shoulder the responsibility of her birthright. In just book one, she leaves her home, falls in love, is imprisoned, leads a rebellion and faces an identity crisis. Each 30-minute episode is gripping and visually attractive, making it easy to get lost in a marathon of needing to see what happens next. And although the narrative of super-humans vs. humans is a common one, this series has a fascinating take on it.
Special features include: commentary on select episodes; making-of featurettes; original uncut animatic, “The Avatar State”; behind-the-scenes featurettes; “The Women of Avatar: The Last Airbender”; scene bending animatics; and more. (Paramount Home Media Distribution)
The Circus (Blu-ray)
After being mistaken for a pickpocket, the Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) flees into the ring of a traveling circus and soon becomes the star of the show, falling for the troupe’s bareback rider along the way.
In spite of being a famously troubled production — both personally and professionally — this is one of Chaplin’s greatest pictures, and includes some of his best (and most dangerous) stunts. The bonus features reveal that he really was scared being in the same cage as the lion, even if it was somewhat sedated. A featurette also provides details on how they shot the lion scene so as not to endanger the star too much, as well as the tightrope sequence that did occasionally require him to be dangerously high. Chaplin’s final film from the silent era pays tribute to the acrobats and pantomimists who inspired his brilliant style of comedy. The Tramp is typically amicable and naïve, which allows the brutish circus owner to take advantage of him. However, he’d do anything to stay near the pretty bareback rider and proves the selflessness of his love at the picture’s end. This is a stunning restoration that allows viewers to see the movie in all its glory.
Special features include: commentary by Chaplin biographer Jeffrey Vance; interview with Chaplin from 1969; new interview with Chaplin’s son Eugene Chaplin; “In the Service of the Story,” a new program on the film’s visual effects and production design by film scholar Craig Barron; “Chaplin Today: “The Circus,”” a 2003 documentary on the film featuring filmmaker Emir Kusturica; excerpted audio interview from 1998 with Chaplin musical associate Eric James; unused café sequence with new score by composer Timothy Brock, and related outtakes with narration by comedy choreographer Dan Kamin; newly discovered outtakes featuring the Tramp and the circus rider; excerpts from the original recording session for the film’s opening song, “Swing Little Girl”; footage of the film’s 1928 Hollywood premiere; rerelease trailers; and essay by critic Pamela Hutchinson. (Criterion Collection)
Hellraiser (Blu-ray)
Larry (Andrew Robinson) and his wife Julia (Clare Higgins) move into their new home, unaware that something evil lurks beneath the floorboards of the dilapidated house — something that wants human blood.
This adaptation of Clive Barker’s novel, which he also wrote and directed, introduced audiences to horror icon Pinhead and his sadistic group of Cenobites, creating a genre classic and a franchise that’s endured for decades. The story is very dark as it rests upon Julia’s adultery and unexplainable commitment to “the other man,” which for the majority of the movie is a skinless, oozing hunk of animated meat. However, in addition to being disturbingly chilling, the premise is also very sexual. The Cenobites respond to desire, and being taken to the The Labyrinth is said to promise unimaginable pleasure and pain. At the tale’s centre is Larry’s daughter, Kirsty, who is traumatized by everything she witnesses, but is also the only one who can send the demons back from which they came.
Special features include: commentary with writer-director Clive Barker; commentary with Barker and actress Ashley Laurence; “Leviathan: The Story of Hellraiser”; “Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellraiser”; “Soundtrack Hell: The Story of the Abandoned Coil Score”; Hellraiser: Resurrection”; “Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellraiser”; original EPK featuring on-set interviews with cast and crew; draft screenplays [BD-ROM content]; image gallery; trailers and TV spots; and reversable sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Gilles Vranckx. (Arrow Video¬)
Hellraiser II: Hellbound (Blu-ray)
Having escaped the clutches of Pinhead and the demonic Cenobites, Kirsty Cotton (Ashley Laurence) awakens to find herself detained at the Channard Institute, a hospital for the mentally ill. But her torments are far from over — the chief doctor at the institute is determined to unleash the powers of Hell to achieve his own twisted ends.
This movie picks up where the first ended. Kirsty is being questioned by police about the many atrocities in her home, but of course no one believes the truth… except Dr. Channard. Even though he doesn’t let on, he knows exactly what Kirsty is talking about and hopes she will finally lead him to his nightmarish destiny. This picture travels deeper into Clive Barker’s hellish universe, actually going through the door to the Cenobites’ realm. The sets are fantastical, combining M. C. Escher paintings and Geiger-like creatures with more gruesome images of sex and pain. However, the doctor’s transformation is beyond anything seen thus far… though no one in the bonus features seems to be able to explain the giant penis latched onto his head either.
Special features include: commentary with director Tony Randel and writer Peter Atkins;
commentary with Randel, Atkins and actress Ashley Laurence; “Leviathan: The Story of Hellbound: Hellraiser II”; “Being Frank: Sean Chapman on Hellbound”; “Surgeon Scene”; “Lost in the Labyrinth”; and “Under the Skin: Doug Bradley on Hellbound: Hellraiser II.” (Arrow Video¬)
The Hills Have Eyes Part II [Limited Edition] (Blu-ray)
A motocross team on their way to trial a new super-fuel head out across the desert led by Rachel (Janus Blythe), who, unbeknownst to the rest of the group, is a survivor of the cannibal clan which menaced the Carter family several years before. Opting to take an ill-advised shortcut across the desert, the busload of youngsters drive straight into the path of the remnants of Rachel’s demented cannibal kin – the menacing Pluto (Michael Berryman), and a hulking, blood-hungry brute by the name of The Reaper (John Bloom).
So everyone is sure this movie occurs after the first one, the first act is packed with flashbacks to that horrific confrontation in the desert as Bobby can’t escape the memories of his family’s slaughter and Rachel remembers her turning point when she saved the baby — even the dog has flashbacks to his own heroics. There are some familiar faces from the ‘80s amongst the cast, particularly from other horror franchises. But in spite of being outnumbered, Pluto and Reaper don’t have much trouble dispatching the stranded group as they repeatedly make it easier by separating from the herd. Rather than recreate the intense atmosphere of the original picture, director Wes Craven opts for a more action-heavy horror thriller that pits the mutants against motorbikes, and leaves bodies all over the desert. Craven would start production on the pivotal horror movie, A Nightmare on Elm Street, shortly after.
Special features include: commentary with The Hysteria Continues; “Blood, Sand, and Fire: The Making of The Hills Have Eyes Part II”; still gallery; original theatrical trailer; six postcards; reversible fold-out poster; limited edition 40-page booklet featuring new writing on the film by Amanda Reyes and an archival set visit from Fangoria; and reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Paul Shipper. (Arrow Video)
Holocaust (Blu-ray)
The story covers an entire decade from 1935 to 1945. The miniseries focuses on the tragedy and triumph of a single family – the Weiss family. Their story is told in counter-poise to that of another fictional family, that of Erik Dorf, who portrays a Nazi aide to Germany’s infamous Heydrich. Starring a brilliant international cast and filmed on location in Berlin and Vienna.
This four-part TV drama is an extended depiction of the Holocaust from the point of view of those most affected. The international, English-speaking cast brings the characters to life, beginning before the war as Jewish artist, Karl (James Woods), marries a well-off Christian woman, Inga (Meryl Streep). His father, Josef (Fritz Weaver), is a doctor, who one day receives a “friendly” visit from Erik (Michael Moriarty) to advise him to stop treating Aryans. Erik is a man who joined the party for financial reasons, but quickly finds himself indoctrinated and playing a key role in final solution. The Weiss family is soon scattered as Karl moves between various detention centres and camps, Josef remains in their hometown to help who they can, and his other son, Rudi (Joseph Bottoms), joins the resistance. Their stories are reflective of many others’, while some shed light on lesser known aspects.
There are no special features. (Paramount Home Media Distribution)
Itsy Bitsy (Blu-ray)
Kara (Elizabeth Roberts), a private nurse and single mother, moves from the big city to the quiet countryside with her two children, 13-year-old Jesse (Arman Darbo) and 8-year-old Cambria (Chloe Perrin), to live with and take care of an elderly man (Bruce Davison) with multiple sclerosis. Things seem normal enough until Jesse discovers a mysterious old relic in the old man’s house, leading to unexpected and horrifying things coming to life.
As the title suggests, this is a giant spider movie. The arachnid’s origins are not revealed until later, though it’s linked to the ancient legend of a tribe that no longer exists. Outside of an instinct to kill everything, it doesn’t seem to have any other motives when hunting its prey. The special features describe the process of coming up with the creature’s design, which included combining various elements of real spiders to create a monster that was still convincing enough to give people the creeps. Outside of the elderly man divulging the arachnid’s background, his presence adds little to the story. Instead, it’s primarily the tale of a single-mother struggling to make it work and protecting her kids at all costs, even when they’re not seeing eye-to-eye.
Special features include: commentary by director/writer Micah Gallo; commentary by Gallo and writers Bryan Dick and Jason Alvino; featurettes; and trailers. (Scream Factory)
The Major and the Minor (Blu-ray)
Susan Applegate (Ginger Rogers) is a struggling young woman who pretends to be an 11-year old girl in order to buy a half-price train ticket. Fleeing the conductors, she hides in the compartment of Major Philip Kirby (Ray Milland). The Major believes Susan is a child and takes her under his wing, but when they arrive at the military academy where Kirby teaches, his fiancée (Rita Johnson) grows suspicious of Susan’s ruse.
This is acclaimed director Billy Wilder’s delightful comedy with some light romance as nothing can really happen between Susan and the Major for most of the film due to the specifics of her con. She’s certainly wily, having figured out how to survive as a single woman alone in the city. Though she’s forced to stay “in character” for much longer than she anticipated because of the Major’s kindness. There’s of course several instances in which Susan’s cover is almost blown, but she always seems to reel it back in… well, almost always since her one failure is more of a relief. Though no lines are really crossed, the narrative does still get a bit strange — especially when Susan is assigned a series of young cadet escorts. The ending is a bit forced, but it’s still enjoyable overall.
Special features include: commentary by film scholar Adrian Martin; “Half Fare Please!”; “archival interview with Ray Milland”; rare hour-long radio adaptation from 1943 starring Ginger Rogers and Ray Milland; image gallery; original trailer; and reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork. (Arrow Academy)
Mean Girls 15th Anniversary (Blu-ray)
After living in Africa with her zoologist parents, Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan) must brave the wilds of high school — where she is taken under the wing of the popular girls, The Plastics, led by the cool and cruel Regina George (Rachel McAdams).
This film really has some legs — figuratively and literally. The girls are expectedly beautiful with their salon perfect hair, fashionable wardrobes and handsome boyfriends. But in a crowd of their classmates, they definitely stick out and not always in a positive way. In addition, the film sparked a massive following, created catchphrases, generated several memorable moments, and inspired a Broadway musical. Cady is already an anomaly as she’s completely unaware of high school cliques and hierarchies, and ripe to be influenced by the power of popularity… though her initial efforts to sabotage The Plastics are pretty amusing. Tim Meadows plays the confused and ill-prepared principal, while the film’s writer, Tina Fey, is the cynical teacher who probably grew up with her own group of Plastics and still can’t seem to escape them as an adult.
Special features include: commentary by director Mark Waters, screenwriter and actress Tina Fey, and producer Lorne Michaels; deleted scenes with optional commentary; “Only the Strong Survive”; “The Politics of Girl World”; “Plastic Fashion”; and “Word Vomit (blooper reel).” (Paramount Home Media Distribution)
Nightwish (Blu-ray)
Using sensory deprivation techniques, a doctor of parapsychology provokes his students to examine their own deaths in evermore horrifying circumstances. Roles are exchanged and shuffled as reality and fantasy become indistinguishable, and each new dreadful death proves more terrifying than the last. Their paranormal explorations lead them to an abandoned mansion in a desolate area that natives call the “Valley of Fear” where years of drinking chemically tainted water have led to a genetically damaged population and mutant wildlife. Local legends also tell stranger stories of extraterrestrials which the students attempt to explore.
This is a movie that’s trying to do too many different things that don’t connect very well to each other. The film opens with a university study on dream monitoring and relies on the sleeper’s ability to control the direction of their dream… though if these are planned sessions in a water-based sensory deprivation pod, one wonders why they don’t wear bathing suits instead of wet underwear. Then there’s the bizarre séance in which no one is meant to know what’s real and what’s manufactured — another of their teacher’s tests. Throw in a disfigured servant, a slow groundskeeper and some convincing ghosts, and you have a bundle of confusion that isn’t really worth the effort.
Special features include: commentary by executive producer Paul White and Stephen Biro; photo gallery; trailers; and booklet. (MVD Visual)
Polyester (Blu-ray)
Baltimore housewife Francine Fishpaw (Divine) is a heroine worthy of a Douglas Sirk melodrama. Blessed with a keen sense of smell and cursed with a philandering pornographer husband, a parasitic mother, and a pair of delinquent children, the long-suffering Francine turns to the bottle as her life falls apart — until deliverance appears in the form of a hunk named Todd Tomorrow (Tab Hunter).
This was kitsch director John Waters’ first studio movie and he took advantage of his biggest budget yet by giving Divine a real opportunity to act in a fairly domestic role. In addition, he took the film watching experience to the next level with Odorama™ technology that lets you scratch and sniff along with Francine through her primarily fetid adventure — a scratch-n-sniff card is included in this special release, but do so at your nose’s own risk. From repulsive smells to sadistic nuns to AA meetings that could be mistaken for overeater’s anonymous, Waters did not tame his style of filmmaking for anyone. However, he did get to work with a recognizable heartthrob in Hunter, who surprisingly went along on this wild journey. The extended interview with Waters is full of all the fun anecdotes we’ve come to expect about Divine, shooting his inappropriate narratives in nice suburban neighbourhoods and the difficulties of picking the right smell for a fart. This is an excellent restoration and all the extras are fun and/or informative.
Special features include: commentary featuring Waters from the 1993 Criterion laserdisc release of the film; deleted scenes and alternate takes; conversation between Waters and critic Michael Musto; program featuring interviews with Waters collaborators Tab Hunter, Dennis Dermody, Pat Moran, Vincent Peranio, Mink Stole, Mary Garlington, and Greer Yeaton; interviews from 1993 with crew members Moran, Peranio, and Van Smith; archival interviews with Waters, Moran, and actors Divine and Edith Massey; trailer; essay by film scholar Elena Gorfinkel; a foldout poster of the cover; and a scratch-and-sniff Odorama™ card. (Criterion Collection)
The Silent Revolution (DVD)
During a visit to the cinema in West Berlin, high school students Theo (Leonard Scheicher) and Kurt (Tom Gramenz) see dramatic newsreel footage of the Hungarian uprising in Budapest. Back at school in Stalinstadt, they spontaneously decide to hold a moment of silence in solidarity with the victims of the uprising. The gesture causes bigger ripples than expected. The People’s Educational Minister (Burghart Klaußner) condemns the action as counterrevolutionary and demands the ringleader be named within a week. But the students stick together, facing a decision that will change their lives forever.
The film is based on the true story of a group of students in East Germany in 1956 who never imagined their quiet display of solidarity would be so blown out of proportion by a paranoid administration. The principal is a blue-collar man enjoying the benefits of socialism who doesn’t want to rock the boat, but word of the “silent protest” spreads quickly. The dynamics amongst the teens are the main focus as many of them are the first in their families to potentially attend college… though their formal educations have also bestowed them with the ability to think for themselves and question their environment — a repercussion the government doesn’t want to nurture. The administration’s tactics range from subtle to vulgar as they’re determined to get their desired result. The young actors are excellent, conveying their characters’ inner conflicts and portraying convincing group interactions.
There are no special features. (Icarus Films)
Spider-Man: Far from Home (Blu-ray, DVD & Digital copy)
Our friendly neighbourhood wall-crawler decides to join his best friends Ned, MJ, and the rest of the gang on a European vacation. However, Peter Parker’s (Tom Holland) plans to leave super heroics behind for a few weeks are quickly scrapped when he begrudgingly agrees to help Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) uncover the mystery of several elemental creature attacks. Spider-Man and Mysterio (Jake Gyllenhaal) join forces to fight the havoc unleashed across the continent, but all is not as it seems.
Overall, this is a fairly standard Spider-Man narrative, balancing big, shattering action sequences with adolescent, coming-of-age issues. The former are Marvel-level epic. The reluctant superhero requires creative ways to hide his identity: first on the spot, and then with a little help from S.H.I.E.L.D. As the Stay Puft-sized creatures knockdown buildings and use their surroundings to become stronger, Mysterio and Spider-Man team up to minimize the damage. However, the fact that Peter is just a teenager plays heavily in this story. Given the choice of spending time with his friends or getting pummelled by a monster, he obviously chooses the former… until Fury meddles in his plans and forces Peter’s hand. Since the story centres on a class trip, the other kids play a more significant role in the film and contribute to the lighter side of the picture. While the movie satisfies by answering the “what now” question post-blip and showcasing more of the epic action fans have come to expect, it then sucker punches audiences in the post-credit sequence.
Special features include: alternate and extended scenes; new original short, “Peter’s To – Do – List”; “Teachers’ Travel Tips”; “Stepping Up”; “Suit Up”; “Far, FAR, Far from Home”; “It Takes Two”; “Fury and Hill”; “The Ginter-Riva Effect”; “Thank You, Mrs. Parker”; “The Brother’s Trust”; “The Jump Off”; “Now You See Me”; “Stealthy Easter Eggs”; “Select Scene Pre – Vis”; and gag reel and outtakes. (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
Tell Me A Story: Season One (DVD)
The series takes the world’s most beloved fairy tales and reimagines them as a dark and twisted psychological thriller. Set in modern-day New York City, the first season of this serialized drama interweaves “The Three Little Pigs,” “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Hansel and Gretel” into an epic and subversive tale of love, loss, greed, revenge and murder.
While the series is sure to make clear in the first episode which characters are linked to which fairy tale, these narratives take a lot of creative license with the stories. Although there are a few similarities sprinkled throughout, the three narratives only really parallel their counterparts at the start and end of the season. Nonetheless, it’s an interesting concept that begins and ends within the 10-episode season. The pigs are a trio of robbers stalked by a grieving man seeking vigilante justice. Red is a teen girl who unknowingly attracts the attention of a psychotic predator. The siblings take something that isn’t theirs and find themselves hunted by the owners. One of the interesting elements of the series is the characters regularly, unsuspectingly cross paths and in certain instances even have overlapping players. It’s not the most compelling TV show, but it gets better as the season progresses.
There are no special features. (Paramount Home Media Distribution)
The Truth Will Out (DVD)
Returning to work following a mental breakdown, Detective Peter Wendel (Robert Gustafsson) is tasked with creating an elite team of investigators to crack cold cases. When the police find a note on a dead body that claims Sweden’s most notorious serial killer is a fraud, Wendel gets a chance to redeem himself — but only the dregs of the force are available to work the case. Under pressure to mobilize quickly, Wendel is forced to hire two cops who hate each other, plus a forthright woman who isn’t even a police officer.
The Swedish crime drama is inspired by true events, though it would appear they’ve taken some liberties with the characters’ personalities. Wendel is appointed to lead a unit that anyone else would consider a punishment — and consequently, everyone else does as he’s unable to recruit a team of respectable officers. With no one else and a covert assignment, Wendel takes what he can get. What follows is a cat-and-mouse game between him and a killer upset about not getting the credit for his “perfect crime.” The surprise, however, is Wendel’s team proves very capable of conducting the investigation — even in Wendel’s absence as he nears a relapse — as well as standing up to people who’d have them off the case all together. The first half of the series spends much of its time establishing the characters and the history of the case, while the latter of gains intensity as they get closer to the killer — and the killer gets closer to them.
There are no special features. (Acorn)
