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THE EPITAPH VOL: 61 - DVD SIX-PACK EDITION!
THE MICHAEL CAINE COLLECTION (1965-1988) - SINPHONY: A CLUBHOUSE HORROR ANTHOLOGY (2022) - TOM AND JERRY: SNOWMAN’S LAND (2022) - HINTERLAND (2022) - SUMMERTIME DROPOUTS (2022) - STAR TREK DISCOVERY: SEASON FOUR (2021-2022)
6-Disc Set DVD
Label: Via Vision Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 660 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital with Optional English Subtitles on The Ipcress File and The Fourth Protocol
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen, Fullscreen
Directors: Otto Premminger, John Mackenzie
Cast: Michael Caine, Nigel Green, Guy Doleman, Frank Gatliff, John Phillip Law, Faye Dunaway, Beah Richards, Robert Hooks, Jane Fonda, Burgess Meredith, Richard Gere, Pierce Brosnan,
This six-disc DVD set collects four films and a mini-series starring the legendary Michael Caine, none of which I had seen before, and to be honest it was a bit of mix bag. I found Hurry Sundown with Caine portraying an unscrupulous land developer a bit of a slog, and while Honorary Consul (aka Beyond the Limit) (1982) starring Caine as an redemptive, alcoholic diplomat caught up in a terrorist kidnapping plot is a bit of hot mess Caine is fantastic and pulls it from the mire. There is one film here that stood apart from the others for me on this set, that being The Ipcress File (1965), a quirky, British spy-thriller that stars Caine as a seemingly work shy but quite gourmet spy named Harry Palmer who gets caught up in a scientist kidnapping that involves brain-drain and brainwashing. I had no idea there were a trilogy of Harry Palmer films and I loved this so much I am now obsessed with watching the remaining films. It's a marvelous watch, and while the SD presentation is not fantastic in the HD age I am happy to report that these films are available on one set from Via Vision Entertainment prestige sub-label Imprint Films on Blu-ray! Speaking of Cain spy-thrillers, also worth checking out is The Fourth Protocol (1987) starring Caine as a British intelligence officer, not Harry Palmer but close enough, who is assigned to sleuth out a Russian plot to sneak a nuclear device into Britain to detonate near a U.S. military base. The Russian operative is played by Pierce Bronson, and it also features the always great Joanna Cassidy. A top-notch late-80's thriller that eluded me for years somehow, but comes highly recommended. The last entry is a 2-part TV mini-series Jack the Ripper (1988), a properly period set film that is actually is quite handsomely produced with some terrific set design that eventually pulled me in. Caine portrays Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Fred Aberline on the trail of the Ripper in 1888 East London, suspects loom large, we get a choice of American actor, physician to royalty, and a fortune teller - it plays out rather familiarly but is quite an entertaining mini-series. The only extras on the set are trailers for The Ipcress File and Honorary Consul, each film gets it's own DVD and the 2 part mini-series is spread across 2 discs. If you're interested in better versions of these films with actual extras they are all available on Blu-ray in fancier HD presentations.
Label: Dark Sky Entertainment
Region Code: 1
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 88
Minutes
Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1)
Directors: Haley Bishop, Jason Ragosta, Sebastien Bazile & Michael Galvan, Mark Pritchard, Kimberley Elizabeth, Jason Wilkinson, Nichole Carlson, Steven Keller, Wes Driver
Cast: Haley Bishop, Stella Stocker, Kristine Gerolaga and Alysse Fozmark
Conceived and curated entirely on the popular, audio-based social media platform Clubhouse the horror anthology, Sinphony (2022) features nine filmmakers each exploring a character dealing with tragedy caused by a supernatural entity - like most anthologies it's a mixed bag, but there's not one that I loathed, I just didn't love 'em all. We get plenty of variety and horror flavors to choose from, we have a mold-spore induced killer with Ear Worm, vampiric kiddo in The Keeper, witchy maternal vengeance in Mother Love, a social media curse in Forever Young, as well as parasites, traditional ghosts, a scary pregnancy, and a cursed song. For low-budget productions I thought these were uniformly handsomely produced and well-acted, and if you're a anthology junkie I think you need to check it out. Mileage may vary from viewer to viewer but it more than met my 50% liked more than loathed threshold, making this worth at least checking out, even if it's more along the lines of a lesser V/H/S entry than a Creepshow ot Trick R' Treat, but c'mon, they can't ALL be Creepshow and Trick R' Treat - that's a very high bar
Special Features:
- Poster Gallery
- Additional Segment
- Trailer
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Label: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment
Region Code: 1
Region Code: 1
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 76 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1)
Director: Darrell Van Citters
Cast: Kevin Michael Richardson, Kath Soucie, Laraine Newman, Stephen Stanton, Rick Zieff, Carlos Alazraqui, Kimberly Brooks, Joey D’Auria, Regi Davis
The very kiddie-friendly Tom and Jerry: Snowman's Land (2022) should be a hit with the young ones, not so much me. In it Jerry and his nephew Tuffy build a snow mouse that they dub Larry, which magically springs to life. To keep their new friend Larry the snow mouse from melting the mice must get him to the fabled Snowman’s Village. In their way are a diabolical store owner Dr. Doublevay and his cat, Tom 'natch. I enjoyed this one to a degree, I liked the animation style well-enoogh, the slapstick humor was there, but I am closer to 50 than I am five, and it failed to re-capture the love I have for the classic animated series. The DVD includes three episodes of holiday themes cat and mouse capers from various series as well, which was cool.
Special Features:
- Tom and Jerry Comedy Show: Snowbrawl (7 min)
- Tom and Jerry Tales: Ho Ho Horrors (7 mins)
- The Tom and Jerry Show: The Plight Before Christmas (7 min).
Label: Film Movement
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 99 Minutes
Audio: German Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky
Cast:
Set in 1920 the gritty, period crime-thriller Hinterland (2021) a group of soldiers, among them the hulking Peter Perg (Murathan Muslu), who were prisoners of war during the Great War, return to Vienna only to realize the place they once called home has not only been ravaged by the war, but that they themselves are unwelcomed and received in quite a hostile manner. Soon after their arrival someone begins
targeting the veteran POWs, murdering them one by one. Perg, once a former police detective in Vienna, decides to investigate the murders and begins to zero in on a killer who is targeting the POWs who were part of a secret cabal inside the camps. The period set film is shot almost entirely with digital backdrops, creating an expressionistic, moody, and distorted backdrop to the crime thriller that sets it apart. It might take a few beats to accept the off-center city scape as reality but once I got through that I thought it added quite an atmospheric touch to the production. It's a gritty and intense watch, the story is quite gripping and dark, the intense action beats are explosive, and the finale in a church bell tower was satisfying on several levels. This is a pretty terrific crime thriller with a unique and moody style that I would highly recommend to lovers of gritty, dark flicks about the pursuit of serial killers.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary by director Stefan Ruzowitzky,
- VFX Featurettes
- Bonus Short Film Haute Cuisine (Directed by Meryl Roche | France | French with English Subtitles | 24 minutes) -- While toiling away in the highly competitive kitchen of a top-rated restaurant, Marie (Joséphine Japy) inadvertently discovers a strange new ingredient that wins her the admiration of the chef but with frightening consequences.
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Label: Lionsgate Entertainment
Region Code: 1
Rating: PG
Duration: 93 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.89:1)
Director: Jhené Chase
Cast: Nicholas Podany, Crystal Lake Evans, Quinton Aaron
A fun, PG-rated throwback to the 80's "we gotta save the clubhouse" and "battle of the bands" flicks, with a pop-punk band called the Summertime Dropouts who enter a battle of the bands contest - the winner gets a coveted spot on the final Van's Warped Tour. There's animosity between the bands, some fun musical performances, and people in different bands crushing hard on one another. Totally sweet, harmless and largely forgettable, but it's a fun enough one and done for me. This also features music from Simple Plan, who I am no fan of, but I dig the high-energy spirit of the flick.
4-Disc DVD Set
Label: CBS Home Entertainment
Region Code: 1
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 664 Minutes
Audio: English Dolby Digital 5.1 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1)
Cast: Sonequa Martin-Green, Doug Jones, Anthony Rapp, Mary Wiseman, Wilson Cruz, David Ajala, Blu del Barrio, Ian Alexander
Season 4 of Star Trek: Discovery finds Captain Burnham and the crew of the U.S.S. Discovery still in the 32 century after season three where they are facing a threat unlike any they’ve ever encountered - the DMA - the Dark Matter Anomaly that is literally tearing the fabric of space and time apart - threatening the entirety of existence. That's the season story arc, and of course we have the plenty of one-off missions and character development to fill in the gaps. Newer character emerge by way of scientist Ruon Tarka (Shawn Doyle) and United Federation of Planets President Rillak (Chelah Horsdal), and the show maintains a typically brisk pace and high standard of slick production value that have made the show such a standout for four seasons. While season three felt bit lop-sided and jumbled I thought the fourth season was a return to form that renewed my enthusiasm for it. As usual we get some tasty extras for this series exploring the characters, special effects and world building, plus deleted scenes and a gag reel, plus a commentary on one episode.
Special Features:
- Star Trek: Discovery: The Voyage of Season (52 min)
- Being Michael Burnham: The Captain's Log - From Sonequa Martin-Green, fans are taken through her personal journey as Captain Michael Burnham. Follow Martin-Green, as she sits in the Captain’s chair and shares intimate videos taken throughout the season, behind-the-scenes moments and interviews (14 min)
- Creating Space - Fans can explore the VFX department to see their use of an AR wall for the immersive on-screen experience created for The Holodeck, which utilizes the largest AR wall to date (20 min)
- The Toll It Took - From the writer’s room and prop building to costume fittings, the production stage and post, the cast and crew discuss the toll COVID took during the development of Season 4 (12 min)
- Audio Commentary: Episode 413 - Coming Home
- Deleted Scenes
- Gag Reel (3 min)
