Gila! (DVD Review) - Polyscope Media Group

USA/2012
Directed By: Jim Wynorski
Written By: William Dever, Steve Mitchell, Jim Nielsen, Paul Sinor
Starring: Brian gross, Terrence Knox, Christina DeRosa
Color/93 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: April 22, 2014

The Film
Jim Wynorski might be considered B-Movie royalty. From the incredibly awesome Chopping Mall to Return Of Swamp Thing, he has damn near 100 directing credits to his name. He is no stranger to working with low budget productions and has often turned out an entertaining movie. GILA, a remake of the 1959 so-bad-it's-good cult classic The Giant Gila Monster is quite another story.

The story is simple a giant Gila Monster is on the loose in a rural town and is causing all sorts of havoc which makes a local boy tries to stop the monster when his girlfriend is in danger. That's it, a single sentence synopsis and you probably know exactly the type of movie GILA is. The thing is, these movies can go either way, from dreadful to a ridiculous blast of cheap entertainment. GILA is the former. For whatever reason Wynorski decided it would be a better idea to set this film in the 50s, like the original than present day where they could have saved a few bucks on renting classic hot rods and maybe spent it on some wardrobe (that looks like it came from a 21st century mall anyways) or on rendering the monster better so that it didn't look like a complete mess super imposed on the screen. I mean there is no blending here at all, there is the background, and there is a cartoony monster on top of it. Pick out any of the Syfy channel movies of the last several years and I promise you the CGI is notably better. The acting fucking sucks, the writing fucking sucks and some of the shit the monster does is just unrealistic. I'm speaking mainly of a scene where a freight train rolling full speed rams the monster head on and the monster doesn't budge an inch while the train derails and explodes. The monster isn't even that big, about the size of the train engine... fuck it. I'll just add that this movie is easily 20 minutes too long. Z-grade movies that don't know when to end are the worst and even though this movie is just over an hour and a half it is still too damn long. It drags and drags and sucks and sucks. I'm done. This movie is garbage.

The Audio & Video
The audio and video can be summed up with this - You could have made this movie with your HD Handicam a couple boom mics and even a basic knowledge of CGI. The DVD looks and sounds about as good as it possibly could given the production of the movie.

The Extras
The DVD features a tribute to the original film and a still gallery.

The Bottom Line
Jim Wynorski is more talented than this piece of shit. Skip it and go watch Chopping Mall instead. 

GILA is available HERE

The Lost Empire (DVD Review) - Polyscope Media Group

USA/1985
Directed By: Jim Wynorski
Written By: Jim Wynorski
Starring: Melanie Vincz, Raven De La Croix, Angela Aames
Color/83 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: April 22, 2014

The Film
For as much as I disliked Jim Wynorski's Gila, I think his directorial debut from 1985 is ridiculous B-Movie gold. THE LOST EMPIRE takes the "throw ideas against the wall and see what sticks" idea to the extreme as it appears the wall was covered with super glue because damn near everything stuck. There's a bit of women-in-prison, horror, jungle adventure and more. If you asked me exactly what the hell was going on I couldn't come close to accurately describing it. That is part of the fun with THE LOST EMPIRE, seeing exactly where this movie is going next. THE LOST EMPIRE isn't a good movie from a technical standpoint. It's cheap, has more than a bit of ADD and did I mention it's cheap? This is low budget, and at times it shows. Goddamn it is a fun ride though. 

The Audio & Video
THE LOST EMPIRE is brought to DVD by Polyscope Media Group, and looks decent. The widescreen transfer is slightly windowboxed. Colors look good but not great. Overall the transfer shows the films slight age and budgetary constraints but isn't terrible by any means. The audio track is just as simple, but is mixed well and gets the job done. 

The Extras
-Audio Commentary with Jim Wynorski
-Still gallery
-Isolated 

The Bottom Line
If you fancy yourself a B-movie connoisseur you need to see THE LOST EMPIRE and once you see it you'll realize your shelf feels empty without it.

THE LOST EMPIRE is available HERE

Toho Godzilla Collection Double Feature - Godzilla vs King Ghidorah / Godzilla And Mothra: Battle For Earth (Blu-ray Ray Review) - Sony

Japan/1991, 1992
Directed By: Kazuki Omori, Takao Okawara
Written By: Kazuki Omori
Starring: Kosuke Toyohara, Tetsuya Bessho
Color/203 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: May 6, 2014

The Films

After a bit of box office disappointment from 1989's Godzilla vs Biollante, Toho decided to bring back and old favorite for Godzilla to fight. And after an annoying time travel plot involving WWII and a dinosaur, and people from the future called Futurians, fight he does as King Ghidorah is summoned to destroy Japan and prevent it from becoming the world's richest nation the dominant super power.

GODZILLA vs KING GHIDORAH has one of my least favorite plots in the series, the World War II moments do nothing at all for me and the futuristic time travel aspect just gets too "busy". That said, there is some fucking awesome action between the two monsters including a spot that would be the catalyst to the creation of Mecha-King Ghidorah. The fight scenes are long and brutal and definitely make up for a story that I don't really enjoy too much. It is interesting to note that this film won a Japanese Academy Award for special effects.

A meteor crashes into the ocean and wakes up Godzilla. Some explorers find Mothra's egg in an ancient cave and are told by the Cosmos that ancient civilizations tried to control the Earth's climate and Earth created Battra also known as The Black Mothra. When Battra became uncontrollable and began destroying Earth Mothra came to Earth's aid and waged war with Battra. Both sides retreated for many years. It is now feared that Battra has awoken as well. The Japanese military tries to stop Battra but can't and Mothra's egg hatches opening the door to a 3 way fight between Mothra, Battra and Godzilla. It isn't until Mothra saves Battra from Godzilla that the giant insects team up, and we learn of Battra's true destiny, protecting Earth from a catastrophic meteor set to hit Earth several years later.

GODZILLA AND MOTHRA: BATTLE FOR EARTH has some fantastic fight scenes ranging from alongside a big Ferris Wheel to and underwater battle in the Ocean. We get multiple stages of Mothra fighting, from a larvae to the beautiful winged protector. The story is a good way of introducing a new monster to the mix and giving him an instant history to make the fights have a bit of natural drama to them.

The Audio & Video
Sony is releasing four of these double features encompassing the Heisei and Millennium series. This first double feature has 2 blu-rays, one for each film, and things get off to a bit of a rocky start. KING GHIDORAH's 16x9 widescreen transfer could be much better, to put it simply. At its best it look okay with improved detail levels, and its worst it looks no better than DVD quality. Sony had to work with what Toho gave them, and it wasn't anything special. The audio fares better, with the original Japanese track sounding pretty crisp and clear with DTS-HD master audio. Optional English subtitles are very well done, timed nicely and read well.

BATTLE FOR EARTH is an improvement in the video department. Colors are still overly muted but seem a bit more lively, while detail is definitely stronger and the overall image quality is sharper here. This isn't reference quality but it is a definite upgrade over the DVD. Audio fares as well here as it did in the first feature on the set with the same technical specs.

The Extras
There is a theatrical trailer and Ultraviolet digital codes for each film. 

The Bottom Line
I can't say it is a home run but it is worth the cost of admission and is at the very least and upgrade from the DVD. There's plenty of great fight scenes here to have you smiling ear to ear.

The Toho Godzilla Collection Double Feature is available HERE

Wild At Heart (Blu-ray Review) - Twilight Time

USA/1990
Directed By: David Lynch
Written By: David Lynch
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Laura Dern Willem Dafoe
Color/127 Minutes/R
Region A
Release Date:
Limited to 3,000

The Film
Sailor and Lula are lovers who take off across the country to find a place for a better life together. Sailor will do anything for his woman and has landed in prison more than once because of it. Lula will wait for Sailor forever, against the psychotic outbursts from her mother trying to forbid it. Sailor and Lula's mother have crossed paths before and Lula's mother won't forget it. Sailor and Lula's journey down American highways and streets is more like something out of a Lynchian version of Homer's The Odyssey than any romantic escapade. These lovers are most certainly star-crossed and it seems like the whole world is out to get them until Lula gives birth to their son while Sailor is spending another stint in prison. Sailor learns a tough lesson and figures out he has to be there for his lover and his son.

WILD AT HEART is probably David Lynch's most widely accessible film but that isn't to say it anything but a David Lynch film. Based on a novel by Barry Gifford, Lynch has taken the story and turned it into one of his surrealist excursions through a twisted version of reality in an almost cartoonish sense. From Sailor's snake skin jacket that is a symbol of his individuality and his belief in personal freedom, to the heavy metal concert that turns into a 50s R&B performance from Sailor to Eddy Peru as a whole there is a bit of a bizzaro aspect to the world WILD AT HEART exists in. WILD AT HEART isn't Lynch's best film, as the secondary characters seem to come and go a bit too much and none of them pan out to be quite as important as they may seem but this film is an engaging experience spent with a pair of lovers who live a pretty fucking crazy life.

The Audio & Video
Twilight Time releases this limited edition of WILD AT HEART on Blu-ray with a pretty good looking transfer. The HD master used for this disc is a bit dated and the transfer is held back because of it. However the vivid color palette does look good, with vibrant reds that pop and strong detail levels that almost have you seeing the stink creeping from Eddy Peru's mouth. Dirt and speckling present rather frequently but it never becomes a distraction.  As far as the audio goes, you get a DTS-HD track no matter which mix you choose, and it sounds good with no background noise to speak of. The dialogue and soundtrack mix compliment each other very well.

The Extras
All features from the previous Special Edition DVD have been ported over and include:

- Isolated Music and Effects Track (Blu-ray exclusive)
-"Love, Death, Elvis & Oz: The Making of WILD AT HEART"
-Original 1990 Making-of EPK
-"Dell's Lunch Counter" (extended interviews)
-"Specific Spontaneity": Focus On David Lynch
-David Lynch On The DVD
-TV Spots
-Original Theatrical Trailer

The Bottom Line
I fully endorse the purchase of this disc whether you're a David Lynch fan or just a general fan of good movies. You should jump on it now because the 3,000 units won't last long.

WILD AT HEART is available HERE

Gamera Volume 1 (Blu-ray Review) - Mill Creek

Japan/1965-68
Directed By: Noriaki Yuasa, Shigeo Tanaka,
Written By: Nisan Takahashi, Yonejiro Saito
Starring: Various
B&W and Color/345 Minutes/Not Rated
Region A
Release Date: April 29, 2014

The Films

GAMERA could be referred to as Japan's other giant reptilian monster. He isn't quite as famous and doesn't have as many films to his credit but he's no slouch. The giant fire breathing, jet propelled turtle was awakened from a frozen slumber when a plane carrying an Atomic Bomb crashed and unfroze him. The giant beast unleashed his fury on Japan, storing energy from electricity until a plan to trap him and send him into space was successfully implemented sending GAMERA into space.

The first GAMERA film is much like the original Godzilla in that it is the lone monster attacking Japan after the effects of atomic bombs awaken him. The main differences are the Cold War propaganda in GAMERA and the idea that GAMERA is friend to all children. The first GAMERA film is a decent introduction to the character and is pretty entertaining even if it tries too hard to be Daiei's answer to Toho's Godzilla and doesn't come away with the same impact or level of success.

Gamera gets his first monster opponent in the form of Barugon in GAMERA vs. BARUGON. A few treasure hunters end up in the jungles where they encounter a tribe who they believe is hiding a large Opal. When they find the Opal in a cave a bit of double crossing goes on and only one man makes it out with the gem. Doctors treat his injuries with a heat lamp which ends up incubating the egg that they believed to be a gemstone. Barugon is hatched from the egg and quickly begins terrorizing Japan with his ice breath and destructive rainbow laser blast. Gamera immediately comes to fight the monster but falls victim to Barugon's ice breath leaving it up to the military to formulate a plan of attack until Gamera thaws and can put Barugon to rest at the bottom of a lake.

GAMERA vs BARUGON is decent again, it seems that they were just figuring out how to have two monsters in the same movie and how to have them fight. Barugon is a decent foe for Gamera but the film suffers when Gamera is frozen for the majority of the film and awakens to fight Barugon in the final battle that doesn't fully make up for the lack of Gamera for so much of the film. Definitely entertaining and a big stepping stone for Daiei's monster franchise.

1967 brought us GAMERA vs GYAOS, the best of the series to this point. Gyaos is essentially the Gamera series' answer to Rodan. He's a giant flying dinosaur type creature with home plate for a head and shoots beams from his mouth that can split buildings clean in half. Gyaos' main weakness is UV rays so the military is defending a key area in the mountains that the government needs to purchase from the villagers to build a new super highway. This are is right under the home of Gyaos who is simply fucking up everything in his path. Gamera once again proves he is a friend to the children of Japan here and ends up having his best fight sequences to this point as well. This one is filled with monster blood and bits of gore as well.

GAMERA vs GYAOS was a big step forward for the series. The first two entries of the series looked and felt cheap, especially in comparison to the Godzilla films but this third entry really steps up the production value. The suits look quite a bit better than they do in the previous films and miniature work also looks more realistic. This is easily the best of the initial three films.

The final film of this Blu-ray set is 1968's GAMERA vs VIRAS, the obligatory alien/outer space entry of the series. An alien spaceship takes a couple of young boy scouts prisoner and captures Gamera as they intend to take over the world because their planet has gone to shit. Their ship, by the way, looks like four rotating bumble bees, or the thought I immediately had was four clones of that girl in the bee suit from the Blind Melon "No Rain" video from the early 90s. Anyways, Gamera doesn't like the fact that these bastard aliens have his friends captured or that they want to take over Earth so he fights back when they dispense Viras on him who looks like a giant Xacto knife.

It seems like all of the Kaiju series need this type of entry, and it's okay by me. It is a simple enough plot that lends its hand to more monsters fighting to save our planet. GAMERA vs VIRAS just takes too long to get to the monsters fighting. There really isn't a fight until we get over the hour mark and before that there are some face palm worthy moments such as when Gamera and the boys are trapped under water by the aliens with some sort of detaining dome which Gamera can't break through. Gamera can however simply lift it up from the bottom to let the boys escape in their submarine. A bit of a step backwards for the series in terms of quality as it had made a positive move in each previous entry.

The Audio & Video
Mill Creek brings GAMERA Vol. 1 to Blu-ray with a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer in 1080i HD. Yes, depsite the case saying otherwise, these transfers are interlaced and not progressive. It sucks but the movies still look pretty nice and I've seen far worse 1080i (and 1080p for that matter) transfers than this. GYASO and VIRAS look the best which isn't a surprise as they also had the best production values. Colors are decent and detail levels are pretty strong. Overall I'm very pleased with the set even if it could be a bit sharper had these been progressively scanned.

Each film has a 2.0 Dolby track in the film's native Japanese with English subtitles. I've tried to figure out if these are the original subtitles made directly from the original Japanese audio track or if these are "dubtitles" made off the English dub tracks. I haven't found any definitive information but it's my feeling that they're dubtitles based on some English slipping in. That said, they read fine, and the audio tracks are more than capable of getting the job done. They're stable and free of any background noise that is distracting.

The Extras
Bare bones.

The Bottom Line
Gamera jet propels his way on to Blu-ray with this first volume set comprised of the first 4 films in the series. Each of the films is entertaining and despite there being a lack of special features the Blu-ray is a pretty nice set all things considered. Given it's bargain bin price (easily found for $10), this set is a no brainer. Go get it!

GAMERA VOLUME 1 is available HERE

Godzilla vs Hedorah, Gigan, The Sea Monster (Blu-ray Reviews) - Kraken Releasing

Japan/1966, 1971, 1972
Directed By: Jun Fukuda, Yoshimitsu Banno
Written By: Shenichi Sekizawa, Kaoru Mabuchi, Yoshimitsu Banno
Starring: Akira Takarada, Hiroshi Ishikawa, Akira Yamauchi
Color/264 Minutes/PG
Region A
Release Date: May 6, 2014

The Films

By 1966 Godzilla was a monster at the box office (wink wink). Business was booming for the Kaiju genre in Japan and other studios were coming up with their own monsters to compete with Godzilla. Having already fought a variety of beasts and monsters, Godzilla's next foe would be the giant lobster Ebirah in GODZILLA vs THE SEA MONSTER. This was one of a a few Godzilla movies that had an island adventure theme, when a boat is wrecked by Ebirah and the men aboard wash ashore an island where a secret organization has enslaved the native population to work in their plants where they produce chemicals and heavy water for their criminal intentions. The group stumbles across Godzilla, hibernating in a cave and awaken him using a lightning rod, while the native population prays to Mothra for salvation. What we get is Godzilla fighting Ebirah, a giant Condor that never gets a name, fighter jets, and Mothra saving the day not only the enslaved natives but Godzilla too.

GODZILLA vs THE SEA MONSTER isn't among the best in the series, but it certainly doesn't disappoint. It is immensely entertaining with the monster battles and with Mothra's appearance. I've always wondered why the giant Condor never received a name, though it doesn't do much to deserve one. It is an interesting twist having Godzilla's biggest threat not be a fellow monster but being the island and organization operating on it.

GODZILLA vs HEDORAH (aka The Smog Monster) is a beautiful representation of the year it was made. Hedorah is a monster made of the sludge, smog, and trash littering Japan and its waters. He starts as a tadpole in the water and eventually mutates to adapt for the land and then gains the ability to fly. Unfortunately for Japan, Godzilla's attacks have little effect on Hedorah at first until the scientists discover a way to weaken the disgusting monsters defenses enough that Godzilla can come in and finish the job.

This is among my favorite films in the series, definitely in the top 5. Hedorah is probably the most vicious monster in the Godzilla series. He emits a sulphuric gas that melts metal buildings and disintegrates humans down to their bones. He is like H-Bomb that should never have been released and it's all because of the filthy condition of Japan. The commentary on the state of the environment is in plain view, and with the Ozone layer becoming a major concern later in the decade GODZILLA vs HEDORAH is not only one of the best and most entertaining films in the franchise, it is a bit ahead of its time with it's message.

The next film in the Godzilla series is 1972's GODZILLA vs GIGAN, which introduced the space monster with a rotating saw in his abdomen. Earth is unknowingly under attack by a shape-shifting alien cockroach species who masquerade as Japanese businessmen building a Godzilla theme park. The main attraction at the park is Godzilla Tower, a giant monument to Japan's favorite monster. Their plan however, is to call Godzilla to the park and eliminate him with the super laser hidden inside Godzilla Tower. Godzilla and Anguirus end up in a 2 on 2 fight against the space monster King Ghidorah and the alien's new favorite weapon Gigan.

GODZILLA vs GIGAN has some of my favorite fight scenes in the entire Godzilla franchise. It doesn't hurt that some of my favorite monsters of the series are featured as well. Even the underrated Anguirus is on point here doing some tag team moves straight from WWE. The Road Warriors would be proud. Gigan and King Ghidorah are no slouches though, and both draw blood from their opponents and give them everything they've got while trying to take over the world for their weird cockroach alien friends. GODZILLA vs GIGAN is a fucking blast of Kaiju action that'll have you spilling popcorn everywhere while you cheer on the action.

The Audio & Video
Kraken Releasing brings these three classic Godzilla films to Blu-ray for the first time with 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfers. All three discs are on par with each other, as they each have their positives and suffer from a couple negatives as well. The bad first, occasionally each film is a bit soft and the color palette is muted and dulled down. The source material also has a bit of dirt and debris. The blame on this isn't to be shouldered by Kraken Releasing, it should be aimed solely at Godzilla's parent studio Toho. For 60 years Godzilla has made Toho money, it has been a beloved franchise worldwide and is their flagship character and franchise. For some reason Toho likes to take a crap on it by issuing licensors weak HD Masters to work with and do the best they can. Luckily, Kraken Releasing has done a good job with these because colors, while muted, still look good and detail levels are very strong. That is my favorite part of these releases is the strong levels of detail. From skin tones on the actors to the scaly Godzilla suit, the hair on King Ghidorah and the crustacean exoskeleton on Ebirah are awesome.

The audio for these discs is the original Japanese tracks with English subtitles, thankfully. That is enough to rejoice with right there. There is an option to watch with the English dub but don't, just don't. Either way you're listening to a DTS-HD mono track that sounds good. There's no annoying background noise or hissing or popping.

The Extras
Each disc features a trailer for its respective film.

The Bottom Line
Could the video presentation of the discs be better? Yeah, they could be, but as they stand they're a definite step up from the decade old Sony DVDs. The good strongly outweighs the bad and I'm so fucking happy that these discs have been released and that they're in my collection. Go out and grab these discs and have a blast with Godzilla!

GODZILLA vs HEDORAH, GODZILLA vs GIGAN and GODZILLA vs THE SEA MONSTER are available HERE

Hazard Jack (DVD Review) - Horizon Pictures

USA/2014
Directed By: David Worth
Written By: Doug Vandegrigt, David Worth
Starring: Quincy Taylor, Amanda Maddox, Alison Lani
Color/81 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: May 13, 2014

The Film
A group of friends plan their monthly paintball game to be inside an abandoned hospital, the perfect spot for a creepy game of capture the flag. The group arrives the night before to party up the night because what is a paintball game without a massive hangover. As the group eats, drinks, smokes and screws the night away, a lunatic veteran who has been living in the hospital since being fired from his construction job after returning home from war with PTSD roams the halls, torturing a young woman he already had in his grasp. It doesn't take long after the start of the game for HAZARD JACK to maul and dismember the players one by one.

HAZARD JACK is your typical slasher film filled with a weak attempt at commentating on the state of our military veterans. The commentary is thin and easily disregarded, even with the hamfisted end credits scene tacked on for good measure. The characters are all caricatures, from the nerdy shy girl who dresses so frumpy you'd think she's in some sort of bad Halloween costume, to the overly gay gay couple, the over the top jocks and sluts and the final girl that isn't so final. Not even our killer makes up for it, while he does have an intimidating presence and a hulking stature, he isn't interesting and the kills, which are why we watch slasher films, are far from imaginative.

I'm struggling to find a rock solid positive here but other than the fact that it follows the slasher film formula pretty well I can't find one. Even the location of the old hospital irritated me as it sits in the middle of a city. How nobody saw all of these cars break the chains and enter in broad daylight or hear the carrying on while they partied is beyond me. HAZARD JACK is a time waster at best.

The Audio & Video
Horizon Pictures gives HAZARD JACK the DVD treatment with a fine looking 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The digital photography looks as good as you can expect and I have no real complaints. The stereo audio track is much the same, adequate without any bells or whistles. There's no background noise in the track and it is mixed fine. 

  
The Extras
Bare bones.

The Bottom Line
Slasher enthusiasts will probably enjoy HAZARD JACK enough despite its lack of an interesting villain or kills. There are plenty of boobs though, they certainly got that part of the slasher formula right.

HAZARD JACK is available HERE