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"DYLAN DOG: DEAD OF NIGHT" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: * (out of 5 stars) Rated PG-13 Studio: Fox Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Dylan Dog (Brandon Routh) is a private detective who has recently changed his focus. He used to be a paranormal detective in charge of keeping the monsters in check with the rest of the world. However, after the death of his girlfriend, he left that business. However, some new murders that appear to be the work of a werewolf have dragged him back into the game.
WHAT I LIKED
Having not read the original graphic novel (which I actually own, but just haven’t had a chance to look through yet), I can’t say how accurate this is of an adaptation. However, I really feel this movie got a bum rap, not just from audiences but also from critics. It’s not terrible by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, if you can swallow some of the silliness and bad special effects, it’s enjoyable.
With so many movies and television shows attaching weepy and angsty romance to the supernatural these days, it’s at least nice to see a film that features real monsters for a change. The film is different, I’ll give it that, mashing up a modern day private eye story with genre fiction. In this sense, the whole shebang plays out like a twisted “Murder She Wrote” episode.
Routh does a decent job in the lead role, though he will forever struggle to overcome his lukewarm turn as the Man of Steel five years ago. And the rest of the cast is okay, if only for the TV movie feel of “Dylan Dog.” I’m talking about Taye Diggs, who is a little too cheeky in his portrayal of the villain, as well as Sam Huntington, who steps out of his “Being Human” to play a simple zombie in this film.
“Dylan Dog: Dead of Night” wasn’t made for a wide release, but for a late-night video rental or evening watching on cable, it’s not a complete waste of time.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
The biggest hurdle this film faces is its production value. The effects look rather cheap, and the delivery feels like it belongs in the realm of a TNT original film rather than a theatrical release. Sometimes this ambition hurts a production. As a direct-to-DVD release, it would seem more impressive.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
Unfortunately, there aren’t any special features on this disc to warrant anything more than a RedBox rental.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
People who like direct-to-DVD horror comedies... even if they’ve already been released in the theaters.
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"SEASON OF THE WITCH" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: *** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: **1/2 (out of 5 stars) Rated PG-13 Studio: Relativity Media Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
Nicolas Cage and Ron Perlman play veteran knights who deserted their ranks during the Crusades. As they head home, they encounter a village that has been stricken with the plague. The culprit, the town believes, is a young woman who might just be a witch. The town elders discover the disgraced knights in their presence and strike a deal for them to escort the witch to a monastery for cleansing.
WHAT I LIKED
As an actor, Nicolas Cage has raised (or rather, lowered) himself to a level of so-bad-it’s-good. Right now, I’m less interested in his serious endeavors and more interested in his cheesy roles he takes to pay off a rather pricey divorce settlement.
“Season of the Witch” is not a great film, but it’s surprisingly enjoyable as a not-quite horror film. I saw this in the theaters in January and had a blast. Then, watching it again on Blu-ray offered a level of enjoyment. It’s an Uwe Boll kind of film that’s been directed with a certain degree of competency by previous Cage collaborator Dominic Sena. “Season of the Witch” is cinematic fast food.
The performances are thick and heavy with bad accents abound and deliveries like a poorly funded Renaissance Festival. Both Cage and Perlman are playing their stock characters to pay some bills, but they’ve gotten so used to these roles that they can still delivery fun performances.
And while the story isn’t anything too original, it kept my interest. At its core, “Season of the Witch” is a quest film that keeps the action in the forefront and has a pretty decent climax. Sure, the effects aren’t top-notch, but they’re not awful, either.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
There are some slow parts in this film, and the movie gets a bit convoluted at times, which is shocking considering how simple the story actually is. And the effects, which elaborate, have that plastic CGI look that some films just can’t escape.
All the other aspects of so-bad-it’s-good filmmaking apply here. Bad acting, bad dialogue, silly plot points and over-ambitious scenes that break down in the end. But that’s oddly part of this film’s charm as well.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
There’s a decent assortment of special features on this disc, including deleted scenes, an alternate ending, plus two featurettes: “Becoming the Demon” and “On a Crusade.”
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
People who prefer Nicolas Cage’s bad movies to his good ones.
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"THE WARRIOR’S WAY" Blu-ray Review by Kevin Carr MOVIE: ** (out of 5 stars) BLU-RAY EXPERIENCE: *1/2 (out of 5 stars) Rated R Studio: Relativity Media Back to DVD Review Home |  |
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
A master swordsman and warrior defies his master and leaves Asia to find a new life in the American west. However, his past catches up with him when an assassin squad comes to take him out. At the same time, the small town where he has settled becomes the target of a bandit who has terrorized the people in the past. Soon, the warrior must teach the townsfolk how to fight back and stand up against oppression.
WHAT I LIKED
I remember seeing this trailer in front of some films and thinking, “What the fuck?” It was such an odd mix of things. I’m not just talking about the genre mash-up of martial arts film and western. We’ve seen that before with movies like “The Good, the Bad and the Weird,” among others. Instead, I’m talking about the weird placement of actors (Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush and resident skinny girl Kate Bosworth) in a CGI western. Add the fact that there was no dialogue in the trailer (a common element of foreign language films), and I had no idea what was going on.
But I was intrigued. And at least for the pure curiosity factor, “The Warrior’s Way” was interesting. It was different, aside from its similarities to the previously mentioned genre mash-up pictures.
I do like an old fashioned western, which doesn’t generally do well with the modern audience. But I though the blending of the types of films were okay.
And then there’s Geoffrey Rush. Sure, his character was a real stereotype stock role, but it’s always fun to watch him on the screen.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
At least for the martial arts angle of this film, it takes itself too seriously. I suppose that’s a problem with many martial arts pictures, the whole honor thing and all. That just didn’t mash quite right with a silly little western.
The special effects looked pretty low-rent. They could be quite elaborate and boastful, but usually too overblown and covered with CGI artifacts. As a bit of cheesy Asian cinema, it works, but they didn’t quite translate into a western mix without looking a bit like a “Jonah Hex” sequel.
Finally, there’s that Kate Bosworth girl. Sure, she’s pretty, but it’s sickly how skinny she is. I mean, she’s practically skeletal with her clothes handing off her like the Tar Man in “Return of the Living Dead.” And she’s not quite good enough of an actor to overcome this.
There was a certain goofy European feel to this film’s western sequences, which made it fit neither in the western genre or the martial arts genre. It felt like a lesser film directed by either Terry Gilliam or Jean-Pierre Jeunet, which has a certain warmth but feels a bit empty.
BLU-RAY FEATURES
The only special features includes a behind-the-scene montage and some deleted scenes.
WHO’S GOING TO LIKE THIS MOVIE
Fans of the genre mash-up.
