Despite being one of the most violent games ever released (of its time), in the nineties studios worked hard to water down the series for a younger audience. With that, they effectively killed off any cinematic prospects for over twenty years after 1997’s embarrassing “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation.” Now in 2021, Director Simon McQuoid brings us a new vision for “Mortal Kombat” that’s faithful in many respects, and embraces the gore and grue of the original games. It’s not a perfect movie by any stretch, but it’s a damn good martial arts fantasy when all is said and done.
Category Archives: Collector’s Den
The Dead Zone (1983): Collector’s Edition [Blu-Ray]
Some of the best Stephen King book to screen adaptations has been television mini-series. That’s fascinating as “The Dead Zone” often feels exactly like a television mini-series. Despite David Cronenberg’s solid direction, “The Dead Zone” is often very episodic. It doesn’t have one streamlined narrative so much as it has vignettes that lead to what you could call the series finale. In retrospect after my first viewing, it’s not at all a surprise that the premise inevitably led to a television series.
The Time Guardian (1987) [Blu-Ray]
Brian Hannant’s “The Time Guardian” is about as vintage straight to video science fiction as it can get. It’s a low budget, serviceable genre entry with a hodgepodge of (what feel like) recycled concepts that never quite gel together, and sadly never comes together even by the time the climax rolls around. It’s “Back to the Future,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Star Wars,” and “Terminator” all rolled in to one big Ozploitation mélange. At its best it’s only kind of charming in fleeting moments; at its worst, it’s absolutely dull late night cable fodder.
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) [4K UHD/Blu-Ray/Digital HD]
Celebrating its 50th anniversary June 30th of 2021, “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory” is a movie that hasn’t aged since 1971 and shows no sign of aging any time soon. Even with the Tim Burton second adaptation and the upcoming prequel, Mel Stuart’s cinematic version of the Roald Dahl fantasy book still remains on the top of the heap. Even looking at it without nostalgia lens, the Gene Wilder fantasy is excellent in every sense of the word, while Wilder’s titular performance is unrivaled.
Batman: The Long Halloween, Part One (2021) [Blu-Ray/Digital]
I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never actually read Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale’s “The Long Halloween” before, so I was very interested in seeing what the movie would bring fans. Even as a non-Batman fan, “The Long Halloween” is probably one of the best animated Batman movies I’ve seen in a long time. While most of the previous Batman animated movies have zeroed in on non stop action and little story, “The Long Halloween” is very much about Batman being a detective.
Man Push Cart (2005): Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]
Ramin Bahrani’s stellar and often brilliant drama is very much a post 9/11 film about the immigrant experience, the “America Dream,” and the promise of perpetual poverty. In a country that doesn’t even grant its born citizens a chance at higher quality of life, what hopes do immigrants have? Ramin Bahrani’s indie hit “Man Push Cart” focuses primarily on Ahmad, a young man who is working toward a big goal that always seems so painfully out of his grasp. Like everyone in America, he works until he can barely stand, and he does it every single day without complaining.
King Kong (1976): Collector’s Edition [2 Blu-Ray]
Now seems around the perfect time and climate to remind movie geeks that in 1976 there was a large scale remake of “King Kong.” And it’s definitely a remake. That is the best thing I can say about it at the end of the day. It’s not great like the original, but it’s not bloated like the 2005 remake, so the mileage varies with director John Guillermin’s treatment of the 1933 classic. After many years without much of a release for the fans, Scream Factory finally offers up a pretty stellar Blu-Ray bound to compliment any fan’s collection, and might even serve as a great chaser for “Godzilla vs. Kong.”