THE EPITAPH VOL. 38 - TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE (2021) - FACE THE DEVIL - REDEMPTIO (2019) - BAPHOMET (2021) - WEEDJIES! HALLOWEED NIGHT - EMBATTLED (2020)

THE EPITAPH VOL. 38 

TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE (2021) - FACE THE DEVIL (2014) - REDEMPTIO (2019) - BAPHOMET (2021) - WEEDJIES! HALLOWEED NIGHT (2019) - EMBATTLED (2020) 

TOM & JERRY: THE MOVIE (2021)

Label: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment 
Region Code: A
Rating: PG
Duration: 101 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Atmos, Dolby TrueHD 7.1, DTS-HD MA 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1) 
Director: Tim Story 
Cast: Bobby Cannavale, Chloë Grace Moretz, Nicky Jam, Michael Peña, Joey Wells

I grew up watching re-runs of the classic cat and mouse duo Tom and Jerry, I loved all the Hanna-Barbera era in the 40's-50's, the Gene Dietrich era in the early 60's, and the later sixties run from Chuck Jones, the last of which was not near as wonderful as what came before but was still quite watchable and still cartoonish violence. I own many collections of these eras of the animated shows and I still love 'em today, despite some problematic politically incorrect elements that reflect the era in which they were made. Everything that came after was watered down in my opinion, with more generic animation, they were a lot less violent, and the comedy was much blander, so after the Chuck Jones era I am a bit clueless about what the Tom and Jerry were up to. That said, this new big-budget movie adaptation finds Tom and Jerry still entrenched in their eternal rivalry to out-do, out-maneuver and generally make each other's lives hell. Set in Manhattan the cat and mouse end up in a fancy hotel the week of a 'Wedding of the Century' event being planned by a pair of *wretch* social media influencers, and of course shit goes wrong. The blend of live-action and digital animation to me seemed off, I actually like the digital animation, but the blending and three dimensionality of it looks wrong. Add to that some actors I generally like being miscast and/or given threadbare caricatures that detract quite a bit from the cat and mouse struggle that we all came here looking for. I like these actors, but Chloë Grace Moretz, Michael Peña and SNL's Colin Jost add nothing to the movie, I feel bad for them just having  this dud on there resume. My general thoughts are the animated rodent and feline are not given a great return to the big screen, it feels neutered, flat and regurgitated. Obviously not a movie made for an old timer like myself, and I admit the younger single-digit kids in the house seemed to have fun with it, but even I could tell they didn't love it. The Blu-ray from WBHE looks great though, the 1080p image is colorful crisp, and the lively Dolby Atmos audio upgrade adds a lot to the action sequences, plus we get about an hour's worth of extras. Bottom line, this is a kid friendly retread but does little to satisfy my youthful nostalgia for the earlier classic era. 

Special Features:
- Deleted & Extended Scenes (13 min) 
- Gag Reel (3 min) 
- Bringing Tom & Jerry to Life (14 min) 
- Tom & Jerry's World (4 min) 
- The Feud: #TeamTom vs. #TeamJerry (4 min) 
- Jerry's "A House For a Mouse" (4 min) 
- The Tom & Jerry Guide to New York City Wildlife (5 min) 
- Inside the Wedding of Ben and Preeta (5 min) 
- A Scene Comes to Life: Scene #1 - Ben and Preeta's Wedding (4 min) 
-A Scene Comes to Life: Scene #2 - Animal Lock-Up (9 min) 

FACE THE DEVIL (2014)

Label: Jinga Films Ltd.
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 77 Minutes 
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (1:78:1) 
Director: Frank Oerez Garland 
Cast: Maria Fernanda Valera, Nicolas Galindo, Carla Arriola, Javier Valdez, Sergio Gjurinovic

This Peruvian export features seven backpackers who travel to the jungles of the Peruvian Amazon which turns deadly when the group encounter a primeval spirit called a Tunche whose banshee-like whistle proves to be an omen of impending death. This is not anything to scream and shout about, but it's a decent indie endeavor with a solid cast and  gorgeous scenery, but the genre tropes are in place and the frights are Horror 101. Attractively shot and decently acted, it's a decent one and done that I didn't regret watching, but not one I am looking to revisit anytime soon. 

REDEMPTIO (2019) 

Label:  One 7 Movies
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 77 Minutes 
Audio: Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.77:1)
Director: Fabio Cillia

From One 7 Movies we have the Italian export Redemptio (2019), a a docudrama style film that presents seven real-life interviews with inmates held in the Catlagirone prison, in Sicily, Italy. All the interviews are real as the prisoners tell the story of their lives in prison and how they ended up there, complete with dramatoc reenactments of their stories. This is the first release I have seen from One 7 Movies in sometime, previously they've issued some interesting euro-cult and euro-sleaze titles on DVD like Sex, Demons and Death (1975) and Naughty Teen (1978), but this true-crime stuff did not interest me, it felt a bit True Crime TV for my tastes. All I can say is that I hope they continue with the Eurocult stuff and a lot less of whatever this, skip it. 

Special Features:
- Photo Gallery (3 min) 

BAPHOMET (2021)

Label: Cleopatra Entertainment / MVD Visual
Region Code: Region-FREE
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 80 Minutes 
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.35:1) 
Director: Matthan Harris 
Cast: Dani Filth, Colin Ward, Giovanni Lombardo Radice, Matthan Harris, Rebecca Weaver

Honestly, have not been a huge fan of the horror flicks that Cleopatra Entertainment have been putting out with a few exceptions like the gory Game of Death, and while I did not love this it is among the better in their catalog in my opinion. Here we have a Satanic shocker about a family celebrating their daughter's pregnancy, but things begin to go awry when Satanic cult leader visits their home offering to buy their land. When they refuse bad things start to happen, with the cult leader cursing the family, causing the death of the soon-to-be-mother's husband, by shark attach no less. As more people meet their demise the family enlists the help of a white witch, and soon enough they find out why the cult wanted the property to begins... and it's not good, naturally. A very decent and pleasantly bloody satanic shocker, with brief cameos from  Giovanni Lombardo Radice (Cannibal Ferox) and Dani Filth from Cradle of Filth. I found it all a bit predictable but this one  is at least made more entertaining with some cool special effects and gore, plus the pace is decent, it just lacks originality. If you're a horror fan there are few surprises here, another non-regrettable one and done for me though. 

Special Features:
- Deleted & Extended Scenes (13 min) 
- Blooper Reel (7 min) 

- Teaser Trailer (1 min) 

- TANK featuring Dani Filth "Shellshock" Music Video (3 min) 

- Behind-the-Scenes Gallery 

- Storyboards by Jason Millet

- Dani Filth Backstage Interview (9 min) 

WEEDJIES! HALOOWEED NIGHT (2019) 

Label: Full Moon Features

Region Code: Region-FREE

Rating: Unrated

Duration: 76 Minutes

Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround, 2.0 Stereo with No Subtitles 

Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2:35:1) 

Director: Danny Draven

Cast: Victoria Strange,Johnny Lee, Brett Hargrave, Yo Ying, Denise Milfort, James Adam Tucker, The Don as “Weedwolf”, Alexander Rain, Derek Petropolis, Nelson Hayne, Aaron Groben, Jeff Bratz, Chad Ridgely, Roy Abramsohn, Sedastian Fernandez, Shellie Sterling, Mateo Amieva, Sophie Bell

Full Moon Features' Weedjies! Halloweed Night is a stoner-comedy that is a clear throwback to the mini-monster movies of yore like Ghoulies and Hobgoblins. We have a midnight scavenger hunt for a rare bud of weed known as the "Golden Nug" which brings a group of stoners to a haunted hotel. The high-times are happening and things are looking good until the a witch named The Baroness shows up and introduces the partiers to a supernatural board game called the *groan* Weed-G-Board, which not unexpectedly opens a portal beyond our world, and unleash a group of pint-sized terrors called Weedjies, which are basicallyThe Ghoulies wanna-be's, but less articulate. We have a pint-sized werewolf, a sexy snake monster that is clearly a take of Greta the sexy Gremlin from from Gremlins 2, a metal-head monster named Motorbreth, and a strong-man type ghoulie. This is super-stupid and not scary at all, but this is the most fun I have had with a contemporary Full Moon movie in ages. The production value looks great, the cinematography is colorful and stylish, and the creature effects are just good enough to be entertaining. The worst of it is the drug humor, it's boneheaded and dated from the get-go, but I have always liked stoner comedies, from Cheech & Chong's Up In Smoke to stuff like Grandma's Boy, Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle and beyond. Stoner humor just makes me laugh, so mixing it in with some supernatural mini-monster mayhem is a good time in my book, I always thought that Cheech & Chong and Harold & Kumar should have had a horror entry. The Blu-ray from Full Moon is jam-packed with hours of extras, including a feature length making of, deleted scenes, commentaries and even an isolated music score from JoJo Draven and Richard Band.  

Special Features:
- The Complete Making of Weedjies Features (98 mins)
- Weedjies of the Night Music Video (3 min) 
- Film Threat Award This! 2020 - Weedjies Wins! (2 min) 
- Puppeting with Gob-Lynn (7 min) 
- Puppeting with Motorbreth (1 min) 
 -Set Tour with Dave DeCoteau (7 min) 
 -Howard Stern Show Clip (2 min) 
- Medicated Pete & McRib Lady Chat (4 min) 
- Original Trailer & Teaser
- Full Moon Trailers!
- Director/Writer Commentary with Danny Draven & Shane Bitterling
 -1313 FX Crew Commentary with Tom Devlin & Crew
- Isolated Music Score; Original Score by JoJo Draven; Prologue & Main Title Music by Richard Band (Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround) 

EMBATTLED (2020)

Label: Shout! Factory/IFC Films
Region Code: A
Rating: R
Duration: 117 Minutes 
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 and 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles 
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (2.40:1 ) 
Director: Nick Sarkisov
Cast: Stephen Dorff, Elizabeth Reaser, Donald Faison, Karrueche Tran, Saïd Taghmaoui, Darren Mann, Drew Starkey, Drew Scheid, Ava Capri, Charles Green

Embattled (2020) tells the story of MMA superstar Cash (Stephen Dorff, Judgement Night) as he reconnects eldest son, Jett (Darren Mann, Netflix's Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), who is following in his father's fighting footsteps, with his father training him. It's a potent bit of MMA drama with heartbreaking moments, some surprising depth when it comes to behind-the-scenes of MMA and it's treatment of fighters. Dorff is fucking fantastic as the champ fighter Cash, a reprehensible shit father who attempts to mold his son into the same monster of a man he has become, and when his son fights back against it things come to a head, in a most stunningly violent way. This is well acted across the board, a film dripping with masculinity, testosterone, sweat and physical violence from start to finish, the fight scenes are absolutely brutal. This is my favorite Stephen Dorff performance yet, the guy keeps getting better with age.