Once again, fellow Space Cadets, I have acquired enough physical media to do another one of these. I’ve picked up a lot of stuff over the past 21 years. My first foray into DVD was the Arnold Schwarzenegger film, End of Days and the Criterion version of Michael Bay’s Armageddon(why that movie got a Criterion Collection is beyond me, no matter how much I love that movie). For the most part, I’ve never regretted picking up a movie on DVD or Blu-Ray. I’m a collector, that’s what I do. There have been many moments where I look at a movie and ask myself, “Why did I buy that?” But at no point did I even think about throwing it out. I picked up 5 movies for this haul, but I’m seriously considering throwing out one of them. The film that makes me want to throw it out I will be mentioning LAST on this list. Let’s take a look at my current haul:
Righting Wrongs – Vinegar Syndrome
Released outside of Hong Kong as Above the Law, Righting Wrongs is one of the biggest highlights of 80s Hong Kong action cinema. Between Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao, action movies have never been crazier. Righting Wrongs sees Yuen Biao play an attorney by day, but vigilante assassin by night. He’s being hunted by a female cop, played by legendary martial arts actress Cynthia Rothrock. The movie starts off with a bang and it doesn’t really let up. Between the opening car chase, the audience is bombarded by outstanding fight and stunt sequences. The Vinegar Syndrome(the version I have)and 88 Films collections feature THREE different cuts of the film, with each one featuring a different ending and new Cantonese-to-English translations. We also have two different audio commentaries by Cynthia Rothrock, one brand new and another from an older release. There are also interviews with Rothrock, martial artist Karen Shepard, Melvin Wong, and kickboxer-turned actor Peter Cunningham. There’s also a bunch of archival footage and interviews. This is probably my favorite purchase of the year, because Vinegar Syndrome, like Arrow Video, goes all out with their releases. Great restoration and excellent special features make Vinegar Syndrome releases must-owns.
Smile – Paramount Pictures
2022 has been one of the strongest years for horror movies. While I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of movies like X, the fact is the response to movies like X, Pearl, Barbarian, and The Black Phone has been incredible. Smile is another one that deserves to be mentioned. The movie follows a psychiatrist as she witnesses a brutal suicide by a patient. Later she begins to see bizarre things, including people that are giving her really creepy smiles. This is director Parker Finn’s first movie, and it’s a hell of a debut. While it’s not the most original movie, as it borrows elements from movies like The Ring and Drag Me To Hell, it stands on its own as a really intense film. The movie was based on a short film which is included on the disc. The disc also includes audio commentary, behind-the-scenes footage and deleted scenes. This is a pretty damned good movie.
The Woman King – Sony Pictures
The Woman King is quite possibly my movie of the year. It’s epic, action-packed, and emotionally charged. Viola Davis leads an outstanding cast that includes Lashana Lynch, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim, and John Boyega. The movie is about the African Amazon warriors known as the Agojie. This is a period in history that I had no knowledge about. I would put this movie up there with the likes of Gladiator. It’s that good. Again, Viola Davis is a force of nature in this movie, but Thuso Mbedu is able to match that intensity with her own fury. Everything about this film is phenomenal. It has a pretty good selection of features including audio commentary and behind-the-scenes footage.
Black Christmas(1974) – Scream Factory
Have you heard the name Bob Clark? No? Well, what about A Christmas Story? I’m sure you’ve heard of THAT movie. It gets played on TBS for 24 hours straight on Christmas day. I can’t stand it. But that’s not Clark’s first Christmas movie. Oh, no. His first Christmas movie was a horror movie. Black Christmas was released in 1974 and starred Olivia Hussey, Margot Kidder, Keir Dullea, and John Saxon. The story is set around a group of sorority sisters who get disturbing phone calls from a stranger. Soon, this stranger starts killing them, one by one. It’s a great horror movie and one that helped establish a lot of the tropes that we see in modern slashers. Margot Kidder was great as a drunken Barb. But the sound design and atmosphere are what really make this movie as good as it is. The best part? We never figure out who the killer is. That question is answered in the 2006 remake, but here it’s a total mystery. The movie got a pretty good physical release from Scream Factory, but it’s not one of their best. It’s the best the movie’s looked and sounded, though, so that’s a plus. Unfortunately, Black Christmas brings us to….
May Not Keep It: Black Christmas(2019) – Universal Studios
THIS is probably the one movie on this list that I might just throw out. I haven’t decided yet. It’s ANOTHER remake of the 1974 classic. I know that the 2006 remake had its problems, but it still managed to entertain in all the right ways. THIS isn’t entertaining at all. Maybe I’m not the target audience for a movie like this, but after watching it, I can’t imagine who the target audience is except feminazis. This movie has a message about toxic masculinity that I can understand and get behind. The problem is that Black Christmas 2019 is a message with a movie in it. It needed to be the other way around. It’s so on the fucking nose about its message that any kind of fun to be had is stabbed in the back. Blumhouse is usually pretty good with their horror movies, this was a complete disaster. I tried watching it again with the commentary by the director and actress Imogen Poots, but I couldn’t make it through. Sophia Takal commits the cardinal sin of mistaking feminism with being anti-men. The acting’s decent enough, but it’s a PG-13 snore-fest that manages to insult half of its audience. Nobody liked this movie when it came out and now I understand why. NOT. A. FAN. Honestly, stick with the original 1974 movie. It’s the best of the bunch, but don’t dismiss the 2006 remake. It’s decent enough in its own right. But the 2019 dumpster fire is…hideous. That’s 10 bucks down the drain.
There we have it. With the exception of one movie, this was a pretty decent haul. Stay tuned when I get more stuff.