Reel Reviews - Movie Reviews, blu-ray/DVD reviews

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 17 December 2019; Written by Loron Hays

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If one of the final moments of director J. J. Abrams’ Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker - two lightsabers sinking into the sands of Tattooine - hits you rather hollow, it is by the director’s choice. The Skywalker Saga is over with this film, but what’s shocking is that it really doesn’t feel ...

Bones (2001) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 02 April 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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Because the gangster of love don’t need no fried chicken! Starring Snoop Dogg and Pam Grier, director Ernest Dickerson’s Bones is an incredibly tight updated take on blaxploitation flicks by way of horror. The mashing of genres works to create a film that has gone on to earn a sizable cult following ...

April Fool's Day: Collector's Edition (1986) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 31 March 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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Because who doesn’t like a practical joke?! “On a clear day you can see the Kennedys.” That line of dialogue is one of the many clever lines in this cult classic from 1986. April Fool’s Day, directed by Fred Walton and written by Danilo Bach, is an undeniable masterpiece of mood and mayhem ...

Conquest (1983) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 01 April 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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The new comedy starring Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson called The Hustle is an almost identical remake of the 1988 classic comedy Dirty Rotten Scoundrels which starred Michael Caine and Steve Martin - itself a remake of Marlon Brando’s Bedtime Story. I say “almost” because ...

Same Boat - Movie Review

Details: Published: 30 March 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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Bad for humanity or bad people. Is there a difference? Same Boat, opening with a hilarious assassination of the people who created reality television, doesn’t think so. In this time-traveling romantic comedy, there are always more people to kill and more bodies to stack. Welcome to the 28th ...

Tales from Six Feet Under - Movie Review

Details: Published: 30 March 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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Weird as shit, but original. That line of dialogue from writer/director Nicholas Michael Jacobs’ latest film, Tales from Six Feet Under, is probably the best way to describe this 45-minute excursion into anthology horror. Both fun and frightful, this film brings the guts and the gusto when it comes ...

Revenge of the Cheerleaders (1976) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 29 March 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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Cigarettes out and zippers up! Tarantino’s main influence for Death Proof arrives on blu-ray thanks to Code Red and, yes, it features full frontal nudity from The Hoff, a seriously sexy dance number in a soda shop, and a lot of high school teens giving their all for the school. ...

Record City (1977) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 28 March 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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Talk about 1970s television star power! Everyone - from Kinky Friedman to Ruth Buzzi - is stocking the shelves at Record City. The familiar faces keep turning up in this store! ...

The Beast with 1,000,000 Eyes (1955) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 27 March 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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Tucked far enough away from civilization, the bleak desert that surrounds the ranch at the center of this independently made feature from 1955 makes for some unsettling moments. There’s nothing around the ranch except sand and mountains in the distance. Its remote location is already changing the ...

1917 - 4K Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 06 December 2019; Written by Frank Wilkins

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Filmmaker Sam Mendes gets down and personal with his new film, 1917 about two young British soldiers sent on an impossible mission to save hundreds of their fellow soldiers. Though largely fictionalized, his tale comes from an actual account told by his paternal grandfather who served in the ...