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

Rest in Pieces (1987) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 07 December 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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They don’t make ‘em like this anymore! Spanish director José Ramón Larraz offered some exploitation masterpieces in his time behind the camera. From the SIN-sation that is Vampyres to the unnerving brilliance that is Black Candles, Larraz was known for his fiery persona ...

The New Mutants - 4K Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 09 December 2020; Written by Christopher Symonds

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Well, this one had a pained and storied journey to the big screen. Filmed in 2017 after three years of developed, and falling prey to 20th Century Fox indecision, this Josh Boone directed X-Men spin-off production went through several re-workings before, during and after (in fact LONG after) ...

Eternal Code - Movie Review

Details: Published: 04 December 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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Science Fiction has a long history of being morality tales. These far-fetched stories have a lot to say and they carry conscious weight to them, no matter their medium. From the minutes ticking by in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis to the pages of H.G. Wells, there are a lot of future frustrations contained ...

King of the Mountain (1981) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 03 December 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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Think you know street racing, son? If you haven’t seen Harry Hamlin (Clash of the Titans), Dennis Hopper (Blue Velvet), and Dan Haggerty (Grizzly Adams) go at it beneath the twinkling stars of Los Angeles, then you don’t know shit about driving fast on city streets. ...

Backwoods - Movie Review

Details: Published: 03 December 2020; Written by Loron Hays

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And on the Twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me . . . a slasher for the #MeToo era! Backwoods begins by traveling along a winding and lonely dirt road. This eerie opening scene is reminiscent of a David Lynch creation: just the road and the ambiance of the moment. It fills our visual and auditory senses ...

Crip Camp - Movie Review

Details: Published: 04 December 2020; Written by Frank Wilkins

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In early 1950’s America, a summer camp for disabled teenagers was established in the rolling hills of upstate New York, just a hop, skip, and a jump down the road from the future Woodstock site. Little did the camp’s founders know that a couple of decades later their Camp Janed would become the ...

The King of Staten Island (2020) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 10 July 2020; Written by Frank Wilkins

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There’s something about a Judd Apatow film that identifies itself almost immediately. Whether it’s gut-busting humor simply for the sake of making us laugh, or foul language and raunchiness with the sole intention of allowing us to be happy wallowing in our own consenting adulthood, his ...

The Rental (2020) - Blu-ray Review

Details: Published: 07 August 2020; Written by Frank Wilkins

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If you’ve not yet become totally comfortable with the whole AirBnB home-sharing thing yet, then stay away from The Rental. It’s the new film from first-time director Dave Franco (yes, that Dave Franco) and it plays off the distrust many have about staying in the home of a complete stranger. Think about ...

Beast Mode - Movie Review

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

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Sometimes future cult classics aren’t easy to spot. This is the case with Beast Mode, a film that is so on-the-nose when it comes to lampooning Hollyweird that its inspired cast, featuring C. Thomas Howl (The Amazing Spider-Man), Ray Wise (Twin Peaks, RoboCop), and Leslie Easterbrook (The Devil’s Rejects, Halloween), will ...

Werewolf - Movie Review

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

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Werewolf is not the movie you think it is. It's terror; however, is traumatic and unending and that makes for a very REAL theatrical experience. Opening with a tracking shot of a concentration camp where dogs rip out the throats of the captives therein, Werewolf is bound to stir up some strong ...