Ironclad: Battle For Blood (DVD Review) - XLRator Media

UK/2014
Directed By: Jonathan English
Written By: Steve McDool, Jonathan English
Starring: Tom Austen, Tom Rhys Harries, Roxanne McKee
Color/108 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: August 5, 2014

The Film
Having never seen the first IRONCLAD movie I can't comment on how the sequel stacks up or if it carries on the storyline. I can say that IRONCLAD: BATTLE FOR BLOOD is a pretty standard medieval action flick that can stand alone on its own feet. A son avenges his father while reuniting a family bond and a true warrior and leader finds his way against the baddies who have no problem violently shedding blood and raping and pillaging.

I have to admit that I am pretty easily pleased when it comes to medieval action movies. It certainly has to do with my lifelong affinity for the time period and the myths and stories surrounding it. I've always loved the imagery and seeing it in motion in films brings a smile to my face. IRONCLAD: BATTLE FOR BLOOD isn't anything special, in fact it repeats itself through most of the film as far as the battle scenes are concerned. It's basically the same fight three times while a very thin story progresses inside the castle walls but you throw some swordplay, some cool axes and hammers and suits of armor on the screen and I'll have some fun with it. Unless you're 300, then you're just a big pile of shit.

That's all there is to say about this sequel. It's simple and is a decent time waster. If you're like me and enjoy movies set in this time period there is enough fun action to warrant a viewing.

The Audio & Video
The DVD from XLRator Media has a good looking anamorphic widescreen transfer. Detail is pretty strong for a standard DVD while the photography and colors have good clarity and body. The audio track is a bit on the quiet side however with the dialogue being lower in the mix than would be optimal. You may have to reach for the remote from time to time to make sure you don't miss any dialogue. Other than that the track has good quality. 

The Extras
-"Behind The Blood" - 15 minute making-of documentary
-Trailer

The Bottom Line
A fun period action flick that brought a smile to my face. It isn't going to replace something like Excalibur as one of my favorite medieval flicks but it is fun for a rainy day.

IRONCLAD: BATTLE FOR BLOOD is available HERE

Blue Movie (DVD Review) - Raro Video

Italy/1973
Directed By: Alberto Cavallone
Written By: Alberto Cavallone
Starring: Danielle Dugas, Claude Maran, Joseph dickson
Color/84 Minutes/Not Rated
Region 1
Release Date: May 27, 2014

The Film
A woman named Silvia escapes being raped in the forest and finds refuge with a man named Claudio who is willing to hide her as she's afraid the police will charge her with murdering one of her attackers. Claudio is a photographer who works in his home and is obsessed with images of pain and death. Claudio's relationship with one of his models takes a very weird turn toward sado-masochism while Silvia begins to be unable to separate reality from her trauma and has strange hallucinations and nightmares.

BLUE MOVIE is a mix of psychological horror, arthouse and midnight movie. From the perverse actions such as eating and drinking feces and urine to brutal rape and bloody and murder and scenes from Nazi death camps and other actual acts of war and protest, this film is filled with attitude and opinion. Unfortunately director and writer Alberto Cavallone doesn't do a great job getting his message across. The film is handled sloppily and it doesn't really come together enough for the deeper meanings to take full effect. BLUE MOVIE is a shocking film, and some of its ideas work to a point but it fails to be anything bigger, which it had great potential to be.

It's interesting to note that BLUE MOVIE may have been even less of the art it wanted to be as it apparently was at one point released with far more explicit sex scenes. There are a couple in this film that I think take away from the film and cheapen it. The scenes were fine without explicitly showing a handjob and it feels like a cheap way of getting into adult theaters. I could be wrong but that is how it came off to me.

The Audio & Video
Raro Video gives BLUE MOVIE a DVD release with an okay transfer, likely the best they could muster up given it was shot on 16mm and it is documented that materials were hard to come by. The image is soft at points and has some dirt and scratches. It is a completely watchable transfer however with decent colors and a stable image. It doesn't look bad but it isn't going to blow you away. The Italian audio track sounds pretty good with just a very small bit of background popping scattered throughout. The English subtitles are newly translated and read very well. 

The Extras
-Scenes from "uncut" version
-Video intro: Nocturno presents "Blue Extreme"
-Booklet by Nocturno Cinema

The Bottom Line
Fans of films with shocking scenes will certainly find something to enjoy in BLUE MOVIE while arthouse and midnight movie fans should give it a chance to see how it resonates with them.

BLUE MOVIE is available HERE

Love Camp (Blu-ray Review) - Ascot Elite

Switzerland/1977
Directed By: Jess Franco
Written By: Erwin C. Dietrich
Starring: Nanda Van Bergen, Monika Kalin, Monica Swinn
Color/79 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date:

The Film
A group of beautiful girls is kidnapped by revolutionaries and taken to a jungle camp to serve as sex slaves for the revolution. The girls are forced to comply or they are tortured or killed by the sadistic warden. When one of the leaders of the revolution falls in love with one of the girls they try to escape for a life together.

LOVE CAMP is a classic example of Jess Franco tackling just about any genre that is hot at the moment and the Women In Prison genre was hot in the late 70s. Franco makes a pretty satisfying piece of exploitation either way, with plenty of flesh on screen. There's shower scenes, love scenes and a bit of violence. Had Franco went further with the violence and shown it explicitly I think LOVE CAMP could have rose above the pack and became a classic example of the genre. As it is, LOVE CAMP is pretty middle of the road WIP.

The Audio & Video
Yet another outstanding Blu-ray from Ascot Elite. The anamorphic widescreen transfer is gorgeous, with great sharpness and vivid colors. There's no edge enhancement and DNR is not excessive while skin tones are natural and healthy. The English DTS-HD 5.1 track sounds very good. The mix is strong and levels are complimentary to each other. There's no background noise. German and French tracks are also available with optional English and Japanese subs.

The Extras
-Jess Franco audio interview
-Trailers
-Still gallery

The Bottom Line
A missed opportunity to be a classic ends up as something that will entertain the viewer but doesn't reach its full potential. LOVE CAMP is absolutely worth checking out for what it is instead of skipping for what it isn't.

In Search Of Bigfoot / Cry Wilderness (DVD Review) - Vinegar Syndrome

USA/1975, 1986
Directed By: Lawrence Crowley/William Miller, Jay Cohen
Written By: , Jay Cohen, Phillip Yordan
Starring: Robert Morgan, Phil Tonken, Eric Foster, Maurice Grandmaison
Color/167 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date: August 5, 2014

The Films
The first film on this double feature DVD is a documentary from 1975 entitled IN SEARCH OF BIGFOOT, a title that perfectly sums up what the film is about. A man who deeply believes in the existence of the infamous beast and claims to have an experience with one twenty years prior assembles a team to explore the Pacific Northwest hunting for clues and proof of Bigfoot. Overall IN SEARCH OF BIGFOOT is endearing in its honesty and heartfelt nature on wanting to uncover the truth behind the myth and find the beast. There's no sarcastic cool guy making jokes or anyone trying to hoax the existence and trick the world. It's a group that has a passion to uncover the beast and protect his home. Unfortunately it's a rather boring documentary. The 76 minutes are spent walking through the woods or talking to locals in and around the area who have sightings of beasts that may or may not have been a Sasquatch and little of any actual consequence happens.

In the second film on the set, CRY WILDERNESS, a young boy who befriended Bigfoot the year earlier is visited by the beast and warned that his father is in grave danger. The boy leaves his boarding school and hitchhikes his way into the mountains where his father works as a forest ranger. The ranger and his Native American friend are on the hunt for a tiger that escaped from the circus to capture it alive while locals are on the hunt to make money. All the while a big game hunter is on the look for Bigfoot and will spill blood to find and kill him.

CRY WILDERNESS is ridiculous in that it is a big mashup of nature run amok, Bigfoot and children's adventure flick. There's some instances of horror but just as often there's adorable scenes of cute raccoons terrorizing a kitchen and making a mess and Bigfoot and the boy reuniting with a big hug and spinning around like they're in a musical. Oh and did I mention Bigfoot loves to drink Coke and listen to rock music? Yeah, he's pretty much the hippest Bigfoot around.

I don't know if I liked CRY WILDERNESS or not. It certainly was an interesting and sometimes entertaining movie but that has as much to do with how random the whole thing was. I think an opportunity for a more violent horror driven film was missed. Seeing this Bigfoot, with a cheesy yet fairly decent looking costume tear apart asshole locals who are destroying his home and other animal friends would have been great. We get nothing close to that though and CRY WILDERNESS exists in some sort of weird plane where Bigfoot finds it easier to visit a little kid at his school instead of just saving the kid's dad himself.

The Audio & Video
Vinegar Syndrome's transfer of BIGFOOT is solid. The documentary filmed on 16mm has pretty good clarity. The print is in pretty good condition with the occasional bit of dirt/debris or the stray hair remaining. For a low budget documentary shot on 16mm it looks about as good as you'd hope for. The audio is better than I expected given the nature of the production. Audio is clear with good mixing and steady levels. There's never a moment of struggling to understand dialogue and there's very little if any annoying popping or crackling.

CRY WILDERNESS looks pretty good on this DVD. There's a bit of speckling but the print is mostly clean and has decent sharpness and clarity. It does look better than the other film on the disc as it was filmed in 35mm and quality is naturally higher. The audio track sounds good with good mixing and clarity. There's no background noise and levels are steady so you won't need to reach the remote for fluctuating volume.

The Extras
Bare bones.

The Bottom Line
This DVD from the Drive-In Collection by Vinegar Syndrome is an interesting pairing of similarly themed yet totally different Sasquatch flicks. If you're a fan of the big beast and films about it there's no reason not to check this disc out. 

IN SEARCH OF BIGFOOT/CRY WILDERNESS is available HERE

Swedish Nympho Slaves (Blu-ray Review) - Ascot Elite

Switzerland/1977
Directed By: Jess Franco
Written By: Erwin C. Dietrich
Starring: Lina Romay, Martine Stedil, Vitor Mendes
Color/77 Minutes/Not Rated
Region FREE
Release Date:

The Film
A father and his right hand man pay the five million dollar ransom for the return of his kidnapped daughter. When his daughter isn't returned he has the owner of a whore house kidnapped as they believe she knows the whereabouts of his daughter who may have been brainwashed.

A simple plot leads to a movie filled with tons of beautiful women, sex and violence. Also known as Die Sklavinnen (The Slaves), SWEDISH NYMPHO SLAVES is a fine example of Franco's ability to create entertaining Euro-trash. Lina Romay is great in the lead as the whorehouse owner and she looks as fine as ever. The sets and cinematography are among the best of the time for Franco and I'd go far enough to call this one of his best films of the mid to late 1970s.

The Audio & Video
Ascot Elite lives up to their name with another elite Blu-ray presentation of Jess Franco's films. SWEDISH NYMPHO SLAVES has great detail, natrual skin tones and excellent color representation. The picture is sharp and clean. The DTS-HD 5.1 German audio track is crisp and clear with no background noise. The mix is spot on and the English subs are perfect.

The Extras
-Audio interview with Jess Franco
-Trailers
-Still gallery

The Bottom Line
Sexploitation fans will enjoy this one as Franco brings a solid story, and plenty of the juicy stuff to the table and makes a fun piece of sleaze!

SWEDISH NYMPHO SLAVES is available HERE

The Protector 2 (Blu-ray Review) - Magnet Releasing

Thailand/2013
Directed By: Prachya Pinkaew
Written By: Eakasit Thairatana
Starring: Tony Jaa, Rza
Color/105 Minutes/R
Region A
Release Date: July 29, 2014

The Film
Kham (Tony Jaa) is the number one suspect for murdering the head of an Elephant camp. Kham is on the run from the police, the nieces of the murdered man and a crime boss (Rza) who has plans of his own for Kham's beloved elephant which could destroy the peace talks going on in the region.

THE PROTECTOR 2 is another vehicle to showcase Tony Jaa's immense skills in various forms of martial arts. The story is present and coherent but isn't the important part. We're on an action packed ride of fight scenes, car chases and pure adrenaline. Wu-Tang Clan member and Kung-fu film afficianado Rza gets a nice role in the film and shows he has some acting ability. Hell, he even has some good action scenes as well. I'll give the movie a break on the writing as I know what Tony Jaa films are made for (it isn't to showcase the writing) but THE PROTECTOR 2 faces some serious setbacks with some incredibly hokey and poorly rendered CGI sequences that look like they belong in some sort of spoof film. They don't come close to ruining the experience but the director could have made better decisions than to fall victim to such gimmicky 3D use.

The Audio & Video
Magnet Releasing gives us an attractive Blu-ray with a 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The picture is crisp and clean with good detail levels and natural skin tones. The English 5.1 DTS-HDMA audio track sounds good and full with a solid mix of levels.

The Extras
 -Behind-The-Scenes Featurettes: Cast & Characters, Speaking With The Director, Action & Stunts, Working in 3D
-AXS TV: A Look at THE PROTECTOR 2
-Trailers

The Bottom Line
If you liked the original Protector film you'll like THE PROTECTOR 2. If you're a big fan of martial arts films then THE PROTECTOR 2 is also worth checking out.

THE PROTECTOR 2 is available HERE

Ong Bak Trilogy (Blu-ray Review) - Magnet

Thailand/2003-2010
Directed By: Prachya Pinkaew, Tony Jaa, Panna Rittikrai
Written By:  Prachya Pinkaew, Panna Rittikrai, Suphachai Sittiaumponpan, Tony Jaa
Starring: Tony Jaa, Dan Chupong, Petchtai Wongkamlao
Color/302 Minutes/R
Region A
Release Date: July 29, 2014


The Films
The first ONG BAK movie is little more than a showcase for Tony Jaa. Jaa is a talented fighter from a small village and has been sent to the city to recover the stolen head from a sacred Buddha statue. This turns into one fight scene after another with the odd chase thrown in for good measure. The fights are well choreographed and certainly make for an entertaining time. There's even a bit of family heartache and drama thrown in for good measure. ONG BAK just doesn't have enough substance to be considered great. Yes it is filled with action but many of the early fight scenes are so similar in tone and content that they become a bit of a bore. Luckily some fresh air blows over the film and the best fights are in the second half of the film which make ONG BAK worth a single viewing for martial arts enthusiasts.

ONG BAK 2 is a prequel of sorts, in name only. Tony Jaa again stars in this jungle action adventure period flick set centuries ago. Jaa is a young warrior, on his way to becoming leader after learning all there is to learn of the martial arts including both the "dancing" and "weapon" arts. This film is far more entertaining and prettier to look at than the original film. And while it certainly isn't a great screenplay, it does have better writing than the first which was essentially a string of fights inconsequential to the story. ONG BAK 2 is an improvement over the first but I still don't see how this series has earned cult classic status.

The final chapter in the ONG BAK trilogy picks up right where part two leaves off and adds a healthy dose of fantasy to the mix. There's much more of the same in the way of awesome fight scenes which are bloody and brutal and rather colorful and eye catching sets and costumes. The ONG BAK sequels are definitely attractive looking features. This entry features a "son of..." type story but pretty much treads the same waters that part 2 did. 

Audio & Video
ONG BAK looks fairly rough on its Blu-ray from Magnet Releasing. The film has a naturally bland color palette and the original photography on the film seems quite soft which doesn't help things. The picture is overly grainy and detail level could be much better. The Thai audio track is a 5.1 DTS-HDMA track but fails to take advantage of its capabilities. Levels are good but the mix sounds thin. English subtitles were fine.

Part two looks far superior thankfully. Detail level is strong in textures and skin tones which are healthy and natural. The picture is sharp and has a nice clarity to it which allows the much better looking photography and more vivid colors to shine.  I chose the English dub track for this film and while the dubbing sounded a corny at times the audio quality itself was quite good. Again the tracks are 5.1 DTS-HDMA and this time the track sounds much fuller. The mix is excellent and levels are steady. This is a big step up over the first disc in the set.

And as part 3 and part 2 were similar in story they're nearly identical in technical presentation. The specs are the same and the A/V qualities are equally successful. Colors are vivid and pop just enough when needed and texture and detail is strong. The sequels in this franchise almost look like comic books in motion in the best way. The English dub track again sounds excellent and is handled brilliantly. No reason to complain.

Extras
Disc 1:
-The Movements Of Muay Thai
-Behind-The-Scenes stunt footage
-Live Tony Jaa and stuntmen performance
-French rap music video with Tony Jaa
-Promo video featuring The RZA
-Making-of music video
-Trailers

Disc 2:
-Alternate cut of the film
-3 Making Of featurettes
-3 Behind-The-Scenes featurettes
-Interviews with cast and crew
-HDNet: A Look at ONG BAK 2
-Exclusive footage of ONG BAK 3
-Trailers

Disc 3:
-HDNet: A Look at ONG BAK 3
-The Making Of A Legend
-Behind-The-Scenes: Uncovering The Action
-Interviews w/ cast and crew
-Behind-The-Scenes footage
-Trailers

The Bottom Line
The ONG BAK trilogy has been heralded for Tony Jaa's incredible martial arts prowess and the brutal fight scenes. These are the only reasons to check out these films as the stories are largely lacking and in the case of the first film, nearly non-existant. That said, the fight scenes are certainly reason enough to give these films a chance. The ONG BAK trilogy isn't amazing by any stretch of the imagination but damn those fight scenes are fun.

ONG BAK Trilogy is available HERE