Review Category: DVD/Blu Ray

Ah, The Munsters, a property that conjures up fond memories for many a generation. Well, take hold of those thoughts and hold them tight, for this re-release of 1995’s Here Comes the Munsters may trample over all the enjoyable hue that surrounds those memories of yesteryear.

The beloved Munsters show originally came to an end in 1966, having only ran for 2 years. After that came various movies and even a late-‘80s relaunch (The Munsters Today), before we were given another updating of the classic family with Here Comes the Munsters. The plot is thin at best, with the Munsters clan upping sticks and moving from Transylvania to the US of A – to be more precise, to the familiar homestead of Mockingbird Lane. Upon arriving in a new country, the family are ostracised and ridiculed for being different, giving the movie a moral tale to bang its audience over the head with at every turn. As they struggle to fit in to their new surroundings, there’s also a subplot involving the missing Norman Hyde and slimy politician Brent Jeckyll, although we’ll let you guess how that turns out. And that is literally it in terms of the plot of this redo.

Taking over as the classic family, we’ve got Edward Herrmann as Herman, Veronica Hamel as Lily, Mathew Botuchis as Eddie, Christine Taylor (Ben Stiller’s other half and one of those faces who turns up in nearly every modern-day comedy of the last 5 years) as Marilyn, and Robert Morse as a Grandpa so slimy that he would give even Jimmy Saville the willies. The cast all do their best with what’s in front of them but largely just feel like washed-out caricatures of characters we already know so well. As a duo, Herrmann and Hamel work well at the centre of the action, although they never really have much to sink their teeth in to other than parading as parodies of Fred Gwynne and Yvonne De Carlo.

In fairness to Here Comes the Munsters, it does attempt to tick the right boxes. The problem is, it’s nowhere near as enjoyable as the original ‘60s series. Whether this is down to nostalgic reminiscing or whether this 1995 movie is just plain bad is the real question, though. There are plenty of similar tropes of the classic show in place here, yet the final product ends up being nowhere near as endearing and simply makes you yearn for the original series, even more so when certain members of the classic show’s cast pop up to make some brief, enjoyable cameos.

As far as a light-hearted romp, Here Comes the Munsters may work for some, particularly for those unfamiliar with the original Munsters series, and this 1995 movie doesn’t exactly offend. It’s just that by the time you’ve sat through the 96-minute run time, all you’ll want to do is track down the original series in order to vanquish the memory of what you’ve just watched.

Special Features: None

HERE COME THE MUNSTERS / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: ROBERT GINTY / SCREENPLAY: BILL BRADY, JIM FISHER, JIM STAAHL / STARRING: EDWARD HERRMANN, VERONICA HAMEL, ROBERT MORSE, CHRISTINE TAYLOR, MATHEW BOTUCHIS / RELEASE DATE: JULY 27TH

 

The final series of Bleach starts with a time skip of 17 months since Ichigo Kurosaki lost his soul reaper abilities in the previous series (352 episodes of being 15 was pushing it). No longer able to see ghosts, he’s relegated to life as an ordinary high school student, passing the time renting himself out to sports clubs, dodging his testy boss, and staring down the biggest hurdle on his horizon: college entrance exams.

Of course, it isn’t long before trouble scouts him and his friends out, and nothing sets Ichigo into action quite like his friends in danger. The Lost Agent arc sees Ichigo crossing paths with the insistent Kūgo Ginjō who claims to be able to restore his soul reaper abilities. He’s at first suspicious, but increasingly attracted to the idea, especially after Uryū Ishida is hospitalised by a deadly new foe. On top of that, Ichigo’s dad is far from what he seems.

Series 16 makes a stylistic shift after the Gotei 13 Invading Army filler arc, re-affirming character and intent. Setting the final series almost 18 months after he was consigned to human status proves particularly effective. Sure, Ichigo’s a bit lost without the duty and duplicity of Shinigami life, but he’s come to terms with his situation and is getting on with it. Strawberry has finally grown into his image as a world weary cynic. His sister Karin, on the other hand, takes over as top of the soul energy totem pole, packing an apathetic attitude to rival her big brother.

The soundtrack and action, which have remained pretty consistent throughout the entire run, are as every bit as good in the final outing. This many episodes into the show, Ichigo is as much Johnny Yong Bosch in the English dub as Masakazu Morita in the original Japanese, making the best way to watch the series switching between both. The strange training methods, which involve Ichigo shrinking down to fight plushies, work both on a humour level and that much needed dose of action. Even the throng of new characters, led by Kūgo Ginjō, have unique fighting styles which makes for a departure from the usual soul reaper verses hollow formula.

It’s a real step up for its last huzzah, and there’s a definite sense of finality to the plot, with Ichigo getting retrospective and reminiscent. Following the extravagant action of the previous series, the change in pace is a plus. There’s still the usual flashbacks and recap, but as it’s again based on Tite Kubo’s manga, it’s altogether tighter and funnier.

Special Features: Opening animation / Closing animation

BLEACH SERIES 16 PART 1 / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: NORIYUKI ABE / SCREENPLAY: MASASHI SOGO / STARRING: JOHNNY YONG BOSCH, FUMIKO ORIKASA, MASAKAZU MORITA, AKIO OHTSUKA, ATSUKO YUYA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
 
 

Days of Future Past was the conjuncture between director Bryan Singer’s original X-Men movies and Mathew Vaughn’s eccentric First Class. It brought together both sets of casts, while picking and choosing which bits of the weaker entries stayed canonical. Lucky for us, Singer side-stepped The Last Stand, first acknowledging it and then moving well away. Far from total integration, DOFP felt as if it existed outside of the original continuity, which in a way it did. The paradox of time travel, which only ever poses more questions than it can ever answer, and the myriad continuity issues, threaten to tear the film apart if thought about longer than thirty seconds. Even so-called ‘smart’ time travel movies need so much expositional leeway and suspicion of disbelief, that in the case of DOFP, it’s better just to go with the time flow.

Based on the two-part Uncanny X-men arc, DOFP sees an underground mutant resistance trying to survive a dystopian future where mutant and human alike have suffered because of man’s fear and intolerance. Knowing only Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) would be able to survive a trip decades back into the past, Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) projects his consciousness into his younger self in order to negate the chain of events that began in 1973. This release, however, sees Anna Paquin’s Rogue take over from Kitty Pryde at the 90 minute mark after she’s wounded by one of Wolvie’s stray claws. In the theatrical release she soldiered on, but this time Magneto (Sir Ian McKellen) and Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) jet set from China, pick up Rogue and make it back in time for the third act. It’s a liberal use of the word ‘cut’, shoe-horning in deleted scenes to make Paquin’s theatrical cameo a little clearer. Even with crafty editing, the additional 17 minutes slows the film down enough to drag.

DOFP boasts some of the best action sequences of any of the X-Men movies, perhaps even most of the MCU. It’s often an excessive spectacle, but the characters are at the forefront with their complex relationships informing every punch, kick and power flex. It’s been 15 years since these actors first stepped into their roles and kick started the modern comic book boom at the box office. It’s been a long cinematic journey with more duds than ups, and The Rogue Cut is only a blip in that trajectory. Expecting fans to pay for what amounts to little more than a special features curiosity is audacious, even Rogue acolytes will be sorely miffed as her southern drawl barely gets a look in.

Special Features: Audio commentary / Round table discussion / Making-of / Gallery / Theatrical cut of the film

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST – THE ROGUE CUT / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: BRYAN SINGER / SCREENPLAY: SIMON KINBERG / STARRING: HUGH JACKMAN, JAMES MCAVOY, MICHAEL FASSBENDER, JENNIFER LAWRENCE, ANNA PAQUIN / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

When Sheriff Lincoln wakes from a coma to find the world has been taken over by zombies, he heads off immediately to find his wife and son, Chris (who he insists on calling Carl due to his previous head trauma). Meanwhile, one of the lumbering corpses, Romeo, has begun to regain his senses and falls in with a ragtag group of survivors, including the Stetson-wearing zombie hunter Chicago and survivalist with a toy crossbow Darnell. Before long Romeo has fallen in love with one of the girls while trying desperately to hide his undead status as Sheriff Lincoln guides them to a farm house which could provide the ultimate sanctuary.

Yeah, you can see what they’ve done there.

As the film mercilessly ploughs through the storylines of The Walking Dead, Warm Bodies and Zombieland, you’d be forgiven for thinking that it goes from bad to worse. Yet, somehow, The Walking Deceased is far funnier than it has any right to be. One of its strengths is undoubtedly its low budget. This isn’t one of those Hollywood Scary Movie knock-offs that gets thrown together, instead this was put together by a group of filmmakers and actors who clearly had fun doing it. The script is also commendable, employing the best bits of the elements it’s satirising (including voiceovers from Zombieland, over emoting from Walking Dead and teen angst from Warm Bodies) to create an almost Airplane-esque return to form for the genre. Almost. While the blood and guts effects are good enough to pass muster.

Maybe it’s because the title and cover art install such low expectations from the outset, but The Walking Deceased definitely has more bite than you’d expect even if it does require you to have seen the source material in the first place to appreciate the gags. Definitely a movie to be enjoyed with a huge pizza and copious amounts of alcohol – then you might even forgive the ‘cameo’ from Shaun and Ed from Shaun of the Dead (almost).

THE WALKING DECEASED / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: SCOTT DOW / SCREENPLAY: TIM OGLETREE / STARRING: TIM OGLETREE, JOEL OGLESBY, DAVE SHERIDAN, TROY OGLETREE / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

Dr Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller) is a neuro-surgeon, a physicist, a test pilot and a rock star. He can pretty much excel at anything he puts his mind to. While driving his test car – a pickup truck no less – past the speed of sound, Banzai manages to reach the 8th Dimension whilst literally driving through a mountain of rocks. On his return, he finds that he has brought something back with him.

Hearing of his success, Dr Emilio Lizardo (John Lithgow) breaks out of his prison for the criminally insane and decides to kidnap an old colleague who tried to help him do something similar in 1938, only to be taken over by a being from that other dimension called Lord John Whorfin and now he wants to go back home. These beings are called Red Lectroids and arrived on Earth in 1938, using the broadcast of War of the Worlds as their cover.

The aliens now hide in plain sight, pretending to be humans, but Banzai can see them thanks to an electric shock given to him by the visiting Black Lectroids who are here to help stop the Reds. With the help of his band (among other roles they undertake) the Hong Kong Cavaliers, Banzai saves the day and his new squeeze, Penny Priddy (Ellen Barkin), who just so happens to be the long lost twin sister of his dead wife.

With us so far? Good, because that isn’t even the half of it.

The word ‘cult’ is overused when it comes to films that come out of leftfield, and this one certainly does that. You’ll honestly finish watching the film wondering what the hell you just saw. Fortunately, the extras include interviews with some of the cast as well as the director who, both in 1984 and present day, admit that they have no real idea what is going on either! They have idea how to categorise it into a specific genre and there was clearly a plan to turn this into a franchise, with the credits promising another adventure against the World Crime League which never materialised. It’s as if someone took the ideas for at least three different films and stuck them into a blender to see what came out the other side. Richter even to this day states that the film couldn’t be made without the assistance of the Banzai Corporation, as if Buckaroo himself were a real person. It all ends up as a bit of a mess.

It’s so difficult to score this review. Is it entertaining? That’s down to the individual to decide, but we can definitely say it’s an interesting and strange experience. And after all, isn’t that what cult movies are: enigmas?

Special Features: Audio commentary / New interviews with Peter Weller and John Lithgow / Three featurettes / Alternative opening and closing / Deleted scenes / Trailers / / Gallery / Collector’s booklet

THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE 8TH DIMENSION (1984) / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: W.D. RICHTER / SCREENPLAY: EARL MAC RAUCH / STARRING: PETER WELLER, JOHN LITHGOW, ELLEN BARKIN, JEFF GOLDBLUM, CHRISTOPHER LLOYD / RELEASE DATE: JULY 20TH

 

Those of you of a certain age will remember that a ‘70s Sunday afternoon consisted of sitting on a turquoise plastic sofa round your gran’s watching Prisoner of War flicks while older generations argued politics in the kitchen next door. After all, grandad was a staunch trade unionist and could never get over his daughter marrying a Tory . Oh, right. Sorry about that. But you do remember those movies don’t you? Both the Brits and Hollywood knocked out shed-loads during a ‘50s golden age until reaching a sort of big-budget nirvana with The Great Escape (1963) and a bizarre last hurrah with Escape to Victory (1981). There was just something about the formula of defiant allied soldiers getting one over on (often comic) Nazis that never failed. With lots of room for an array of disparate characters thrown together in the relatively-cheap-to-film confines of a prison camp, the attraction was easy to see.  Hollywood’s first crack at the genre was Stalag 17 (1953) and it very nearly didn’t get released. Paramount, in their infinite wisdom, thought nobody would want to see a film about POWs. Presumably the Brit’s The Wooden Horse (1950) had passed them by, but in the end they went for it and got themselves a hit and an Academy Award for William Holden. Now we’ve got the Blu-ray, so how does it fare today?

The story is a good one: the American inmates of Barracks 4 don’t seem to be having much luck with their escape attempts. Are they jinxed? Or is there an informer in their midst? The cynical operator Sefton (William Holden) seems the most likely culprit but it wouldn’t be too much of a spoiler to say he’s just way too obvious. When an officer is temporarily billeted with them (Don Taylor) he says a bit too much about his pre-capture Nazi-sabotaging exploits. He’s soon in the Commandant’s (Otto Preminger) office and about to be handed over to the Gestapo who will most certainly shoot him. Can the plucky POWs get him out? Or will they be undone by that spy?

The first thing you notice about Stalag 17 is that today it seems inappropriately light-hearted. This is a movie that sees two airmen mercilessly machine-gunned in the opening minutes so the comedy-relief and whacky antics of the brilliant Richard Strauss and Harvey Lembeck seem incongruous to say the least. But when the war was a recent memory, humour was actually commonplace in this sort of fare, and comedic-yet-ruthless Nazis were strangely ubiquitous. Nevertheless, Billy Wilder’s script seems as sharp as ever and Holden’s performance as the anti-heroic Sefton is still pitch-perfect. The whodunit? element of the story works brilliantly while at the same time it cleverly juxtaposes cynicism with heroism and is as satisfying as it was the first time we saw it.

Needless to say, the monochrome is wonderful on Blu-ray because monochrome is always wonderful on Blu-ray.

Special Features: Interview with film scholar Neil Sinyard / Trailer / 36-page booklet

STALAG 17 (1953) / CERT: PG / DIRECTOR: BILLY WILDER / SCREENPLAY: BILLY WILDER, EDWIN BLUM / STARRING: WILLIAM HOLDEN, DON TAYLOR, OTTO PERMINGER, ROBERT STRAUSS, HARVEY LEMBECK, PETER GRAVES, SIG RUMAN, NEVILLE BRAND RICHARD ERDMAN / RELEASED: JULY 27TH

Dead Crossroads lurks somewhere between a true life ghost hunter’s video diary and a Paranormal Activity-style found footage film. That Fabien Delage’s episodic mockumentary, seemingly put together for the price of a train ticket and some camera batteries, creates a creepy atmosphere noticeably lacking in so many more highly funded productions is of great credit to its young filmmaker. With Delage’s travelogues, the air at times is so thick with portent you can almost touch it through the screen.

Delage and his partner, Julien Mazzitelli, are urban explorers with an interest in the histories of old abandoned buildings. For Dead Crossroads, they choose to explore locations with macabre, sinister pasts, decaying farms and crumbling mansions whose walls witnessed some of the most gruesome and terrifying events France has known. With the remit of spending 24 hours there, one day and one usually long night, Delage and Mazzitelli hope to prove the existence of ghosts without the need for high-tech gizmos and teams of scientists.

The cleverness of Dead Crossroads is that you’re never quite sure what’s real and what isn’t; there are some scenes that suggest some jiggery-pokery, but there are others where you’re never entirely certain and some that are clearly not faked at all. The way these short 15-minute episodes are edited together makes it somewhat irrelevant though. The flat, monotone voiceover creates real tension, and the simplicity of the camerawork encourages the viewer to ignore any of the pre-conceived ideas you may have over the format. This is a series that allows you to ignore your cynicism and just enjoy the adventures of two extremely engaging individuals, and ultimately make up your own mind.

If Most Haunted and Yvette Fielding running around “spooky” tourist spots with the psychic-of-the-week jumping at shadows is how you see ghost hunting then Dead Crossroads will be a welcome breath of stale air. This is a show that understands its concept, that doesn’t try to frighten the audience through traditional clichés and the use of well-used paranormal paraphernalia such as Ouija boards and temperature analysis. This is simple, well-crafted and interesting filmmaking that relies on location and history to hold the audience’s attention.

Is there some embellishment? Possibly. Is some of the footage real? Perhaps. Whatever the truth, by the end you will undoubtedly be entertained, you might be a little scared… and you may even believe.

DEAD CROSSROADS / CERT: TBC / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: FABIEN DELAGE / STARRING: FABIEN DELAGE, JULIEN MAZZITELLI / RELEASE DATE: TBC

 

After bumping souls with a fairy, a nameless first year uni student loses her memories. In their place stays the spritely spirit Orion, eccentrically dressed with the likeness of a 12-year-old boy. Together they form a shoujo reimagining of Death Note’s Light and Ryuk. Based on Idea Factory’s series of visual novels, Amnesia does have an interactive feel despite being disappointingly passive. Orion functions more like a game mechanic, explaining the situation and guiding you the viewer, rather than you the player.

The story, pure teen angst boiled down to twelve episodes, takes the supernatural mystery and romance of its source material and spins it into a nightmarish fairytale. The score is inflected with lullaby jingle jangles, juxtaposed with bouts of heavy rock riffage. But for all the subtle differences, the content is largely the same, and, by its very nature, repetitive. With Orion’s help, the protagonist is able to glean remembered snapshots, though the bamboozling spanner in the works is that she regularly wakes up in new realities, with a new love interest to match.

The bachelors are based on playing cards (spade, club, heart, diamond and joker, respectively) with about as much depth to match. The worst culprit, however, is the protagonist herself. She earns her keep in a maid café and is the unassuming, absentminded frontwoman of a local band. She’s also thoroughly annoying. Throughout the numerous reality changes, she’s completely binary, remaining alarmingly and emotionally static. The psychological strain of her situation doesn’t faze her, even being imprisoned by one of the more besotted bachelors has little effect.

The animation is often static, with the finely rendered characters drawn straight from the visual novel. The fictional city setting serves as a dreamy and moody backdrop, with a lavish, if fleeting, attention to detail. Director Yoshimitsu Ohashi (whose credits include Witchblade, Vampire Hunter D and Trigun) clearly has an eye for panache, though Amnesia never quite settles on any one tone, flitting as it does between its various genre tags orbiting the reverse-harem gimmick at its core. Unlike other visual novel adaptations, particularly Steins;Gate, this style conscious cosmic joke of a love story never does enough to tear away from its source.

Special Features: Lost diary entries / Trailers

AMNESIA COLLECTION / CERT: 12 / DIRECTOR: YOSHIMITSU OHASHI / SCREENPLAY: TOUKO MACHIDA / STARRING: KAORI NAZUKA, TETSUYA KAKIHARA, KISHOU TANIYAMA, AKIRA ISHIDA / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

 

“Never fear Miss Meadows is here.” Starring Katie Holmes as the well-mannered Miss Meadows, she’s a modern day Mary Poppins with one exception; word is going round that a vigilante is on a killing spree hopping from town to town, and it seems a coincidence that this town has become much safer since Miss Meadows has arrived. There are a lot of odd components to this film, such as our vigilante being a character who appears to have walked straight out of a Disney film, having bad CGI animals flocking around her, and the children seem to love her. She’s a protector of her local neighbourhood(s) and the innocent children within it, but she’s no Batgirl and don’t be expecting any ass-kicking action. She gardens, she knits, she paints and she accessorises, all with a small pistol in her purse always ready to take out the next criminal.

Miss Meadows has a rather Wes Anderson-style tone to its characters in how they struggle with social awkwardness, but writer/director Karen Leigh Hopkins has no sympathy for the harmful criminals that invade her heroine’s town. Hopkins is an actress-turned-director and Miss Meadows is her first feature in over a decade, with a prominent cast having been brought in for the film. The director seems to have played it all a little too safe though, and the film doesn’t seem to go to any real depth, lacking lustre and extremity; it’s not too threatening and our heroine always appears rather vulnerable despite her claiming otherwise. Having said that, however, there is also something slightly strange and daring about the film. Its mixture of satire and social commentary, although rather off-balanced, raises some dark questions in an otherwise upbeat and artificial world.

It’s not until about an hour into the film that the story starts to get really shady, though, and Miss Meadows reveals a dark past that has been her drive to dish out her own justice. She thinks she has it figured out, but her big secret is slowly revealed to those she holds dear. It has a dark sense of humour that is very matter-of-fact due to Holmes’ prim and proper character.

Miss Meadows could have been better had it been more stylized with either added melancholy or action. There isn’t much going on in this film as it struggles to find its own voice, however Katie Holmes delivers a compelling performance and her character alone may keep you hooked in.

MISS MEADOWS / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: KAREN LEIGH HOPKINS / STARRING: KATIE HOLMES, JAMES BADGE DALE, CALLAN MULVEY, JEAN SMART / RELEASE DATE: JULY 27TH

 

Dragon Ball Z Kai is the trip down memory lane that fans have been waiting for, and this revamped, remastered, recut version doesn’t disappoint. Finally hitting shelves after its first showing in 2009, the first series of DBZ Kai contains the entire Saiyan Saga, exploring our hero Goku’s struggles with a Saiyan attack on Earth. For fans of the original Dragon Ball Z anime, seeing those all-too-familiar faces and storylines in glorious high definition is certainly worth the wait.

DBZ Kai is subtly different enough from the original 1980s cartoon to provide something new for even the most hard-core fan. With its audio rerecords, remastered footage, and with a few scenes having been entirely redrawn, this is the first time in which the initial saga of Goku can be seen in all its glory. DBZ Kai benefits from the cutting of a lot of filler side stories that really did little to add to the series as a whole, only making this version that little bit more enjoyable. The sound and the HD visuals make for an exciting watch, never taking away from the original joys of the show. Although the redrawn scenes look fantastic and are reminiscent of the visuals of the latest DBZ movies, their random insertion into the middle of epic battles or tense moments can be a little jarring, especially when the next thing you see is the crude-yet-lovable art style that we’re used to in the franchise.

For those not familiar with the DBZ universe, the collection of 26 episodes may seem a little… off. Without giving away any spoilers, DBZ Kai Season 1 ends on an odd note, at a point that makes you check that there isn’t one more disc that you’ve missed. This isn’t a fault with the collection, but more of the show’s pacing, which doesn’t have a well-defined end to the Saiyan Saga before jumping right into the Freiza Saga – a story arc that won’t be seen until DBZ Kai Season 2.

DBZ Kai Season 1 is a brilliant revisit to a world loved by millions of anime fans, and should be a part of every anime fan’s collection. Although featuring a handful of lacklustre and, well, boring extras, DBZ Kai Season 1 is close to perfection. Whether you were a fan in the past, or even if you’re just looking for a new anime to get your teeth into, this one’s power level is over 9000!

Special Features: Textless opening and closing songs (DVD and broadcast versions) / Trailers

INFO: DRAGON BALL Z KAI SEASON 1 / CERT: 12 / YASUHIRO NOWATARI / SCREENPLAY: VARIOUS / STARRING: MASAKO NOZAWA, HIROMI TSURU, HIKARU MIDORIKAWA, HIROKO EMORI / RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 3RD