Hi Bryan Here….
A week behind! I apologize. Should be on time this week though. Getting these cranked out. Well anyway, this is a pretty big week for releases so let us jump right in and get to all the goodies. Some of the must own blu-rays include ‘Better Off Dead’, ‘Conan’, plus some other goodies. As usual, in this article, you will get some info about the disc and the extras that come with the movie as well as a personal opinion about the movie and a link to purchase the film over at AMAZON where you can save quite a bit of money, and it will give a small percentage kick back to this site so we can continue bringing you excellent stories and sales.
Enjoy and Here We Go!!
BETTER OFF DEAD (BLURAY)
One of the classic 80’s movies that belongs in any and all movie collections. This John Cusack film is just amazing and so fun to watch. I remember the first time I saw this film. I rented a fairly terrible film from Blockbuster called ‘Ghost Fever’ and instead of having that VHS in the case, the ‘Better Off Dead’ VHS was in the ‘Ghost Fever’ case and thus I saw ‘Better Off Dead’. I loved it. This release only has a theatrical trailer for extras, which means to me that they might be prepping a big special edition of this film soon. “Lane Myer (John Cusack) is stuck in a personal hell. A compulsive, adolescent Everyman growing up in Suburbia, USA, not only does he fail to make the prestigious high school ski team (again), but his beloved sweetheart, Beth, also leaves him for Roy, the team’s popular, arrogant captain. If this isn’t bad enough, he’s stuck with a mother who frighteningly experiments–rather than cooks–with food, a brother who builds rockets out of models, and a best friend so desperate for drugs that he settles for snorting powdered snow. Faced with these prospects, Lane opts to end it all … until he comes up with a ridiculous plan to gain acceptance and win Beth back. Director Savage Steve Holland warps this simple, clichéd premise, letting his wacky imagination twist it into a fairly original, slightly dark, and completely hilarious ’80s teen comedy. Not as serious a “suicide-attempt” movie as, say, Harold and Maude but just as funny, the film’s more a collection of screwball sketches than a narrative. Holland livens the high jinks with surrealistic fantasy touches, including Jell-O that crawls, a hamburger that sings Van Halen, drawings that mock its creator, Japanese race-car drivers who only speak Howard Cosell, and a psychotic paperboy seeking blood over a missing $2. Cusack puts the whole thing on his shoulders and carries the insanity with another one of his touching, obsessively romantic performances, which, along with Say Anything, The Sure Thing, and One Crazy Summer, made him the quintessential (and appealing) personification of lovestruck adolescence and suffering.” This is the best this movie has ever looks or sounded.
EXTRAS
– Theatrical Trailer
CASSHERN SINS: COMPLETE COLLECTION (BLURAY)
I really like the whole Casshern universe. “Casshern – a cybernetic assassin with no memory of his past – awakens in a corrosive wasteland where nothing survives for long. A plague known as the Ruin sweeps across this once-vibrant world, reducing everything in its path to rubble and scattering any chance for salvation. Robots and humans alike – or what little remains of them – seek vengeance against Casshern for the life he took and the role he played in their Ruin. A machine built to kill, Casshern murdered the last hope for this world, but now, lost in a future he does not recognize, he will fight to save the dying.”
CONAN THE BARBARIAN (BLURAY)
In anticipation for the remake, Universal has released the classic titles with Arnold Schwarzenegger. “John Milius’s jingoistic direction and pulpy screenplay fit perfectly into this film version of the Robert E. Howard fantasy story of the sword and sorcery hero, Conan the Barbarian. Complementing Mulius’s heavy metal production is Arnold Schwarzenegger’s leaden acting, which in any other context would be deadly, but here (as in The Terminator) corresponds nicely with the whole sonorous project. The story begins when a horde of rampaging warriors massacre the parents of young Conan and enslave the young child for years on The Wheel of Pain. The Wheel of Pain seems to have as its only purpose the building up of Conan’s muscles, so it’s no surprise that one day Conan grows up to become Arnold Schwarzenegger. As the sole survivor of the childhood massacre, Conan is released from slavery and taught the ancient arts of fighting. Transforming himself into a killing machine, Conan travels into the wilderness to seek vengeance on Thulsa Doom (James Earl Jones), the man responsible for killing his family. In the wilderness, Conan takes up with the thieves Valeria (Sandahl Bergman) and Subota (Gerry Lopez). The trio comes upon a weird snake cult, linked to Doom, and Conan wants to trek off to Doom’s mountain retreat to kill him. But he is prevented from doing that by King Osrik (Max Von Sydow), who wants the trio of warriors to help rescue his daughter who has joined Doom in the hills.”
EXTRAS
CONAN THE DESTROYER
In anticipation for the remake, Universal has released the classic titles with Arnold Schwarzenegger. “Based on a character created by Robert E. Howard, this fast-paced, occasionally humorous sequel to Conan the Barbarian features the hero (Arnold Schwarzenegger) as he is commissioned by the evil queen Taramis (Sarah Douglas) to safely escort a teen princess (Olivia D’Abo) and her powerful bodyguard (Wilt Chamberlain) to a far away castle to retrieve the magic Horn of Dagon. Unknown to Conan, the queen plans to sacrifice the princess when she returns and inherit her kingdom after the bodyguard kills Conan. The queen’s plans fail to take into consideration Conan’s strength and cunning and the abilities of his sidekicks: the eccentric wizard Akiro (Mako), the wild woman Zula (Grace Jones), and the inept Malak (Tracey Walter). Together the hero and his allies must defeat both mortal and supernatural foes in this voyage to sword-and-sorcery land.”
EXTRAS
Trailer
EASTBOUND & DOWN: COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (BLURAY)
Kenny Powers has instantly gained cult classic status. One of the funnier television shows to come out in a while. “Former Major League pitcher Kenny Powers (Danny McBride) used to have it all: fame, endorsements and a lucrative contract. Now, after hard living took its toll on his fastball, Kenny has found himself crashing with his brother’s family and teaching gym class at a North Carolina middle school he once attended. Wherever he goes, Kenny wreaks havoc with his boorish behavior and even makes a pre-emptive romantic strike on his former high school squeeze, now a teacher engaged to the school principal. Out of baseball, and discarded by the game he abused so well, can Kenny succeed in his plot to triumphantly return to the big leagues?” Glad this is finally on bluray.
EXTRAS
EASTBOUND & DOWN: COMPLETE SECOND SEASON (BLURAY)
Just as funny and awkward, and outrageous as the first season, comes the 2nd season of the hilarious television show. “Kenny Powers, an arrogant, burned-out, former major-league pitcher takes up residence in a small Mexican town; there, joined by his lackey Stevie Janowski and a new love interest, Vida, he fashions a comeback scenario that involves a local baseball team, the Charros, and its filthy-rich owner, Sebastian Cisneros.” Looking forward to the third season.
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A FISTFUL OF DOLLARS (BLURAY)
Glad to have this in high definition. “Clint Eastwood blends a quiet steadiness with a palpable ferocity as the iconic gunslinger “The Man With No Name” in Sergio Leone’s gritty “spaghetti Western.” When a steely blue-eyed mercenary arrives in a dusty border town where two rival bands of smugglers terrorize the impoverished citizens, he pits the gangs against each other in one of the most exhilarating frontier adventure films in cinema history.” Simply amazing in every way. A must buy. Look wonderful on bluray.
EXTRAS
FOR A FEW DOLLARS MORE (BLURAY)
If you love Eastwood and the above ‘Fistful of Dollars’ then you must get this movie. “Eastwood is a keen-eyed, quick-witted bounty hunter on the bloody trail of Indio, the territory’s most treacherous bandit. But his ruthless rival, Colonel Mortimer, is determined to bring Indio in first…dead or alive! Failing to capture their prey—or eliminate each other—the two are left with only one option: team up, or face certain death at the hands of Indio and his band of murderous outlaws.” Another great release.
EXTRAS
THE NAME OF THE ROSE (BLURAY)
Sean Connery is great in this movie. “ An intellectually nonconformist monk investigates a series of mysterious deaths in an isolated abbey.” A real solid film. Not many of you have seen this and it is definitely worth checking out.
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SLEEPERS (BLURAY)
A great film with a huge cast. “After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized; over 10 years later, they get their chance for revenge.” Great to have this on bluray.
EXTRAS
– Theatrical Trailer
SPY KIDS (BLURAY+DIGITAL COPY)
“Bursting with an awesome array of ultracool, high-tech gadgetry, SPY KIDS delivers enough thrilling entertainment to satisfy the entire family! Nine years ago, top international spies Gregorio and Ingrid Cortez (Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino) traded the excitement of espionage for the adventure of parenthood! But when they’re called out on a secret mission, the Cortezes are separated from their family and kidnapped by the evil Fegan Floop. Fortunately, there are two people who possess the skills and know-how to reunite the family: Carmen and Juni Cortez, their kids! Your family will love every fun-filled second as Carmen and Juni bravely crisscross the globe in a thrilling quest to save their parents. All the while, they discover that keeping the family together is the most important mission in the world for kids and parents alike!” Not for everyone but your kids will love it.
EXTRAS
That is all for this week. Stay tuned for next week for some more great picks and releases.