BRIEF REMEMBRANCES OF THE RECENTLY RELEASED
4K ULTRA HD + BLU-RAY + CD EDITION!
DROP (2025) - LETHAL WEAPON (1987) - FIELDS OF NEPHILIM - BURNING THE FIELDS (1984)- THE RESIDENTS - AMERICAN COMPOSER'S SERIES (1982-1987) - RAVINE - CHAOS AND CATASTROPHES (2025) - THE BIKINI CARWASH COMPANY (1992/THE BIKINI CARWASH COMPANY II (1993) - ST. ELMO'S FIRE (1985)
DROP (2025)4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray + Digital
Label: Universal Pictures Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: PG-13
Duration: 95 Minutes 26 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby ATMOS (TrueHD 7.1) with Optional English Subtitles
Video: Dolby Vision HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (2.39:1), 1080p HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Christopher Landon
Cast: Meghann Fahy, Violett Beane, Jeffery Self
Blumhouse thriller Drop (2025) is a pretty cool thriller from director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day), wherein widowed single-mom Violet (Meghann Fahy, The White Lotus) goes on her first date in years with a seemingly quite charming photographer named Henry (Brandon Sklenar). While at an upscale restaurant together she starts receiving anonymous airdrops on her phone showing a masked intruder has entering her home and that if she wants them to loves she has to follow a series of instructions. After a series of bizarre prompts it becomes evident that the anonymous airdropper tormenting her wants her to kill someone. I went into this not expecting to get much out of it but I have to say, it was quite a banger! Well-crafted, handsomely made, and the cast was terrific. This brought to mind the Larry Cohen scripted single-location thriller Phone Booth by way of Hitchcock's Rear Window, at just 95 minutes and change it had me from the get-go and kept me rapt right up till the frenzied and deliriously unhinged finale that begets plausibility for sure, but as a amped-up potboiler this was a terrific watch. If you're fan of brisk thrillers you should check this one out.
Special Features:
- A Recipe for Thriller: Making Drop (6:43)
- A Palate for Panic (4:32)
- Killer Chemistry -(3:36)
- Audio Commentary with Director Christopher Landon
- Slipcover
- Digital Copy
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LETHAL WEAPON (1987)
4K Ultra + Digital
Label: Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: Theatrical Version - 109 Minutes 31 Seconds - Director’s Cut - 117 Minutes 2 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (True Had 7.1) with Optional English Subtitles (Theatrical Version & Director's Cuts), English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles (Theatrical Version)
Video: HDR10 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Richard Donner
Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Tom Atkins
The Richard Donner (Superman) buddy-cop classic Lethal Weapon (1987) gets terrific 4K restoration from Warner Bros.. Written by Shane Black and stars Mel Gibson (Mad Max) as the erratic and potentially suicidal Detective Martins Riggs, the new partner of and Danny Glover's (Predator 2) seasoned and level-headed Detective Roger Murtaugh. When Murtaugh's old Vietnam War buddy Michael Hunsaker's (Tom Atkins, Halloween III: Season of the Witch) daughter takes a nose-five high on dope from her high-rise apartment the duo investigate the suicide only for them to stumble upon a heroin connection that involves Hunsaker and some shady former military and CIA operatives by way of Gen.+ Peter McAllister (Mitchell Ryan, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers) and his demented henchman Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey, Silver Bullet), putting the detectives and their loved ones in harms way. This flick is a stone-cold classic, so many terrific scenes, the opening scene of the drug-addled nose-dive, Riggs saving a suicidal jumper from a rooftop and his Christmas tree lot drug-bust, his final battle with Busey, all the interaction between Riggs and Murtaugh as they are feeling each other out, rubbing each other the wrong way, but still bonding over these life and death situations that Riggs seems to attract, and the darkness that Riggs finds himself enveloped in, having recently lost his wife, I often forget just how dark this one goes, especially in the longer director's cut. The 4K Ultra HD looks fantastic, grain seems sort of thin for the era, but it's present and fine detail and textures are on-point. The HDR plumps primaries a bit, skin tones looks wonderful. We get both the Theatrical and Director's versions, I prefer the longer director's cut myself, both get the Dolby Atmos upgrade, plus the Theatrical version gets the original stereo track via DTS-HD MA 2.0. As for extras, we only get two brief archival featurettes, nothing new.
Special Features:
- A Legacy of Inspiration: Remembering Richard Donner (7:00)
- “I’m Too Old for This…” (6:06)
- Slipcover
- Digital Copy
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FIELDS OF NEPHILIM - BURNING THE FIELDS 2xCD
Label: Jungle Records
Duration: 85 Minutes
Debut EPs remastered, first CD reissue for 2 decades. Bonus disc of remixes and demos. New notes by gothic commentator Mick Mercer.
Fields of Nephilim - Burning the Fields 2xCD from Jungle Records collects the Stevenage, Hertfordshire Goth-Gods still sounding very much like Sisters of Mercy on this debut effort, via the 'Burning the Fields' EP (1985) together with their 'Returning to Gehenna' EP (1985), all remastered, plus we get a bonus disc containing the potent remixes of 1986 tracks, three 1985 demos, and a 1997 aborted reunion demo. The first Ep is still a banger, opening with an all-timer tune "Trees Come Down", moody and atmospheric, that deep-vein bass, the surprisingly buoyant drumming, Carl McCoy's supreme goth-laden vocal delivery, and closing with the upbeat goth-rocker "Laura". The second Ep opens with another all-timer, "Power", a galloping goth banger and closing with returning to Gehenna, a new version of the first EP's "Back to Gehenna", love the saxophone on this one, I was a fan of this early period of Nephilim when they had a sax player, it just added something to their sound that I still dig to this day. The second disc is a collection of remixes and some 1997 reunion demos, the latter of which are more interesting curios, but the remixes are terrific, especially the two remixed for "Power" which amp up an already fantastic track. This 2-disc CD set arrives tri-fold cardboard digisleeve, with liner notes by noted gothic commentator Mick Mercer, repackaged in the original red sleeve design.
Tracklist:
Burning the Fields EP (1985)
1. Trees Come Down (6:27)
2. Back In Gehenna (4:13)
3. Darkcell (6:47)
4. Laura (4:00)
Returning to Gehenna EP (1986)
5. Power (4:10)
6. Laura (New Version) (5:30)
7. Secrets (3:37)
8. The Tower (5:42)
9. Returning to Gehenna (New Version) (4:25)
Remixes
10. Power (Powered Up) (4:38)
11. Secrets (Cloak & Dagger Mix) (3:55)
12. The Tower (O'Higgins Mix) (5:37)
13. Power (Power Surge Mix) (3:50)
1997 Reunion Demos
14. Dawnrazor (Demo) (6:15)
15. Secrets (Demo) (3:29)
15. Power (Demo) (3:53)
17. Deeper (Deepest Dub) (9:25)
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THE RESIDENTS - AMERICAN COMPOSER'S SERIES (1982-1987) 3xCD Preserved Edition
Label: Cryptic Corp
Duration: 232 Minutes
The Residents have been around for fifty years, so I am a bit ashamed to say that this is the first time I am sitting down with an album of there's, Sure, I've heard the occasional song here and there, but somehow the mad genius of this band has eluded me. I don't know if this 3-disc set was a good place to dive-in, but wow, what a trip! The first two discs are dedicated to 1980s 'American Composers Series', and features The Resident deconstructing songs originally recorded by James Brown, George Gershwin, Hank Williams, and John Philip Sousa while the third disc, chock full of rarities, some of which have never been released, with the Residents slicing into Ray Charles, Sun Ra, Lou Christie, and Buddy Holly. Apparently the three Sun Ra cover versions were originally intended for the abandoned volume Volume 3 of the series. Jumping in we get three George Gershwin tunes, starting off with his signature "Rhapsody In Blue:, all three have a melancholic funeral procession vibe, and the night I listened to them I dreamed I walked into a 80s arcade at night and secretly witnessed the arcade game mourning the death of one of the arcade games that was out of order, That same vibe sort of carries over to their cover of the A-side of James brown's Live at the Apollo album, after an intro we get straight into "I'll Go Crazy" and :Try Me", notable for the oddball exhaust sucking vocals. Some of the bonus track on this first disc include "KB@45" which seems to be to be all of the James brown tracks sped up from 33 to 45, which certainly gives it a new vibe, though I still preferred the exhaust sucking originals. Also present are no less than three versions of "It's A Man's World" with wildly different vocal takes including a female vocal version. Onto disc two we get Residentified version of songs by Hank Williams, and John Philip Sousa. The highlight of the Hank covers is easily "Kaw-Liga", they turn it into a dance-hall tune that is a total earworm. Meanwhile the Sousa compositions come by way of "Sousaside", a 22-min that seems to play like someone recorded audio during a nightmarish parade where the marching band from Hell plays a medley of Sousa's compositions. These were my least favored tracks on this set. Onto disc three we get some hot rarities, most notably a among them fur spacey songs by Sun Ra, we get "Satellites Are Spinning", "Rocket #9", and "Daydream In Space", which combined with Hank's "Kaw-Liga" are worth the price f admission alone, everything else is just a demented trip through the avant-garde world of The Residents as they gleefully deconstruct and Resident-ify tunes by classic American composers. I would be hard-pressed to give this is broad recommendation, but if you like your music weird it rarely had gotten weirder than this. The three disc set arrives in a triple gatefold digisleeve/digifile combo construction, housing the three discs and a booklet with terrific liner notes detailing the American Composer Series as well as contextualizing the releases amongst The Residents output during this era.
Track Listing
Disc 1:
1. Rhapsody In Blue
2. I Got Rhythm
3. Summertime
4. Apollo Intro
5. I'll Go Crazy
6. Try Me
7. Think
8. I Don't Mind
9. Lost Someone
10. Please, Please, Please
11. Night Train
12. JB@45
13. This Is A Man's Man's Man's World
14. Man's World (Australian Version)
15. I Got Rhythm (13th Anniversary Tokyo)
16. Mans World (Fillmore)
17. Man's World (Icky Flix)
Disc 2:
18. Hey Good Lookin'
19. Six More Miles (To The Graveyard)
20. Kaw-Liga
21. Ramblin' Man
22. Jambalaya
23. Sousaside: Nobles Of The Mystic Shrine, The Stars And Stripes Forever, The Thunderer, The Liberty Bell, Semper Fidelis, The Washington Post
24. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
25. Pictures Of Life's Other Side
26. Dear Brother
27. I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (Take One)*
28. Six More Miles (Accapella)*
29. Ramblin' Man (Vocal Reference Mix)*
30. Kaw-Liga (Single Mix)
31. Kaw-Liga (Horror Mix)
32. Jambalaya (Warfield)*
34. Kaw-LIVE-GA (Warfield)*
35. Stars N Stripes (Icky)
Disc 3:
36. Jailhouse Rock
37. The Stars And Stripes (Single Mix)
38. Space Is The Place
39. Satellites Are Spinning
40. Rocket #9
41. Daydream In Space
42. That'll Be The Day (Demo)
43. Lightning Strikes*
44. Burning With Desire
45. Kaw-Liga (Prarie Mix)
46. Jailhouse Rock (Australia)
47. Hit The Road Jack (7" Version)
49. Hit The Road Jack (Special Almost Dance Mix)
49. Poor Kaw-Liga’s Pain
50. Jambalaya (Dog Stab/ Larvik)*
51. Jambalaya 4
52. Be Kind To U-Web Footed Friends
* Previously Unreleased
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RAVINE - CHAOS AND CATASTROPHES
(2025) CD
Label: Ripple Music
Duration: 47 Minutes
As heavy and crushingly good this album is wide turns out into the stratosphere are taken. Great stuff!
Ravine - Chaos And Catastrophes
Portland, Oregon's heavy riff sludgers Ravine's full-length debut Chaos and Catastrophe is probably one of my favorite heavy music discoveries of the year, this album has been in my car's CD player for two weeks straight on heavy rotation. Doomy, heavy as Hell, full throated Southern-fried vocals that recall Glenn Danzig by way of Tom G. Warrior of Celtic Frost, and a total feast of riffs, bringing to mind Black Sabbath, Eyehategod, and the Melvins, with some nice spacey interludes and some tasty blues licks thrown in, but all of it is sludgy heavy and wonderfully gluey, those Sabbath-worshipping riffs on steroids just stick with me. The Ripple Music CD arrives with Digipack packaging with lyrics printed on the inside cover. If you dig doomy sounding, sludgy stoner-rock that hits you in the face like a brick check out Ravine.
Track Listing:
1. Deliver (7:22)
2. Conjure (10:10)
3. Ennui (10:52)
4. Prophecy (9:41)
5. Contagion (9:50)
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THE BIKINI CARWASH COMPANY (1992) + THE BIKINI CARWASH COMPANY II (1993) Blu-ray
Label: MVD Rewind Collection
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: Unrated
Duration: 81 Minutes 19 Seconds / 93 Minutes 19 Seconds
Audio: English PCM
2.0 Dual-Mono with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Fullscreen (1.33:1)
Director: Ed Hansen/Gary Orona
Cast: Kristi Ducati, Joe Dusic, Suzanne Browne, Neriah Napaul
The Bikini Carwash Company (1992) and The Bikini Carwash Company II (1993) were a pair of early 90's softcore romps, basically we have sexy and very sudsy variation on the 70s/80s 'let's save the (insert place we hangout and/or work here)' comedies like Joysticks and Starhops, only in the first film here foxy business major Melissa Reeves (Kristi Ducati, Intimate Obsession) and her group of sexy gal pals are helping Midwesterner Jack McGowan's (Joe Dusic), newly arrives in L.A. to take over his uncle's car wash, to turn the business into a lucrative operation, and what netter way than to have a staff of buxom young women nearly nude, and often nude, covered in suds? That's about as much plot as you get, this is mostly a fun series of vignettes that allow for plenty of nudity and sudsy shenanigans. The sequel is more of the same. These were originally shot and produced on standard definition videotape, both feature films have been up-converted, re-mastered and upgraded from their original standard definition 480p resolution to high definition 1080p resolution using the latest advanced up-conversion AI models and presented in their 1.33:1 original aspect ratios. We also get the untampered with SD versions of the film, which to my eyes was more pleasing than the AI conversion. If you're a fan of '80s/'90s softcore cheese and silliness and have a fondness for beautiful women and breasts this slice of shot-on-video T&A should be an absolute delight. The single-disc release includes a Slipcover and Fold-Out Poster.
Special Features:
- MVD Trailers: Joysticks, Ski Patrol, The Last American Virgin, Dirty Laundry
-
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ST. ELMO'S FIRE (1985)
40th Anniversary 4K UHD + Digital
Label: Sony
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 108 Minutes 10 Seconds
Audio: English Dolby Atmos (TrueHD 7.1), English DTS-HD MA 5.1; English DTS-HD MA 2.0 with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 2160p Ultra HD Widescreen (2.39:1)
Director: Joel Schumacher
Cast: Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, Demi Moore, Judd Nelson, Ally Sheedy, Mare Winningham
Joel Schumacher's St. Elmo's Fire (1985) tells the tale of
seven friends who have all recently graduated from college, each struggling in their own way to find themselves in a post-college world. We have artist Leslie (Ally Sheedy, The Breakfast Club) dating her classmate and aspiring politician Alec (Judd Nelson, The Breakfast Club), Wendy (Mare Winningham, The Outsider), a virgin with a crush on former classmate Billy (Rob Lowe, The Outsiders), who himself a philandering husband and father, with little direction, aspiring writer Kevin (Andrew McCarthy, Pretty in Pink) who is secretly in love with Leslie, and law student Kirbo (Emilio Estevez, Men At Work) who finds himself completely and unhealthily obsessed with med-intern Dale Biberman (Andie MacDowell). The last of the friends is the neurotic Jules (Demi Moore, The Substance), who works at a bank and is addicted to cocaine and sleeping with her married boss.
When I first saw this as a kid I was not a fan, I loved the 80's teen comedies and coming of age flicks from John Hughes and others, but this was perhaps a bit too advanced for me when I first saw it, as it was a different coming of age story, the transition from college to career and adulthood, navigating the world of responsibility and adulting, which certainly did not interest me when I was 12 ort 13 when I first saw this. Having revisited it several time since its a film that I respond to a bit more with each successive watch, relating more and more, themes of selling out your beliefs for money, adultery, addiction, obsession, having experienced it first hand or observed it, it just hits a little different as an adult with some life under my bed. That said, still not totally in love with it, but as a fan of the Brat Pack I still gets some thrills watching this every decade or so. The new 4K UHD looks and sounds stellar with the Dolby Vision/Atmos upgrades, all the extras are archival, but they are at least plentiful.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Director Joel Schumacher
- Joel Schumacher Remembers 'St. Elmo's Fire' Featurette (14:21)
- 12 Deleted Scenes (16:18)
- Original Making-of Featurette (8:42)
- "Man in Motion" Music Video (4:14)
- Theatrical Trailer (1:31)
- Digital Copy
- Slipcover
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