The Ironic Part of FRONTIER CRUCIBLE

FRONTIER CRUCIBLE (Blu-ray)

2025 / 122 min

Well Go USA

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😾

Frontier Crucible is a western produced by Dallas Sonnier and written by S. Craig Zahler, who aren’t strangers to the genre. They’re the guys responsible for unleashing Bone Tomahawk on the world. And if you’ve seen that one, love it or hate it, chances are you haven’t forgotten it. That won’t be the case here, for multiple reasons, one of which is kind of ironic.

Based on an old pulp novel by Harry Whittington, the basic plot is pretty good. Ex-soldier Merrick Beckford (Myles Clohessy) is tasked with taking a wagon of medicine to a town suffering from an epidemic. To do this, he must travel across hostile Apache country by himself. Along the way, Beckford comes across a group who were just recently attacked…a trio of outlaws led by Mule (Thomas Jane) and a young married couple, Valerie (Mary Stickley) and Jeff (Eli Brown), the latter who’s been seriously wounded. 

Suspecting the apaches will return, Beckford offers to take them with him. Mule insists they should head in the opposite direction, leading to tense conflicts, especially with one of Mule’s gang, Edmund (Armie Hammer), repeatedly threatening Beckford. The situation is compounded when Mule’s son, Billy (Ryan Mason), shoots an lone Apache who Beckford was preparing to negotiate with. Knowing this will incur the wrath of the whole tribe, the group needs to get moving as soon as possible, but Jeff’s wounds and constant disagreements on which direction to go keeps them put…until it’s too late.

The story ain’t the problem. It’s the execution. First off, Frontier Crucible is light on action and extremely slow moving. Worse yet, it’s over two hours long, and most of that time consists of these folks constantly bickering, as well as increasingly rote song interludes about cowboy life (all warbled by the same guy with a guitar). In the disc’s making-of feature, director Travis Mills brags of cranking out 12 westerns in 12 months. Perhaps he should consider taking a little extra time in the editing room instead, because this story could have just as easily been told in less than 90 minutes.

"I told ya we should've gassed 'er up at the last town."

Some of the performances are decent (Jane, in particular, is a stand-out), but most range from bland to godawful. Hammer appears happy to simply have a job, while dreary leading man Clohessy must have prepared for his role by watching Clint Eastwood westerns. I’ll give him this much…he’s mastered the art of dramatically removing the smoke from his mouth to say something important (he must do it a dozen times here). But Clohessy is Daniel Day-Lewis compared to Stickly, whose wooden performance sinks every scene she appears in and exacerbates how terrible much of the dialogue is…

…which brings us to the ironic reason the film doesn’t work. Screenwriter S. Craig Zahler has a reputation for writing and directing gritty, uncompromising films that are definitely an acquired taste, but at least feel authentic in terms of characters and dialogue. But here, that dialogue is often jawdroppingly bad, sometimes laughably so. This is especially the case with Stickly’s character. Nearly every syllable that escapes her mouth might have the viewer going, “Good God, nobody speaks like that…even in the old west.” I suspect Zahler knew he pumped-out a pooch, too, because his name doesn’t appear anywhere in the credits.

The film is almost rescued by a climax that boasts the same type of gonzo, wince-inducing violence that made Bone Tomahawk a memorable cult classic, but this time it’s too little, too late. Long, slow and atrociously written, Frontier Crucible is a interminable endurance test.

EXTRA KIBBLES

MAKING-OF FEATURETTE

TRAILER

Revisiting BEN-HUR in 4K...and a Bit of Blasphemy

BEN-HUR (4K UHD)

1959 / 222 min

Warner Bros

#InPartnershipwithWB

Review by Mr. Paws😸

Before I commit a bit of cinematic blasphemy, let me get the good stuff out of the way first…

This brand new 4K release of Ben-Hur is the best the movie has ever looked on home video, which is really saying something because it’s been nicely presented on both Blu-ray and DVD over the years. With a much sharper image and more vivid color, the overall picture quality alone makes this worth picking up. It also includes two audio options, a DolbyAtmos track and a DTS-HD 5.0 Master Audio track. Both are excellent. 

In terms of bonus features, this version actually includes fewer supplements than some previous ones (more specifically, the 2011 Ultimate Collector’s Edition). However, it does includes a couple of new featurettes to go along with a handful of archival extras…and a digital copy, if that’s you’re thing (but it shouldn’t be). 

As for the movie itself…look up the word ‘epic’ in a dictionary and you’ll probably see a picture of ol' Chuck Heston riding a chariot. Ben-Hur is an epic in every sense of the word…the scope, the budget, the cast of thousands, the storytelling, the length (it takes up two of the three discs in this set). Even presented in one of the best 4K transfers I’ve ever seen, watching it from the comfort of a living room sofa will never equal the experience of seeing it in a theater. And for two-thirds of its running time, Ben-Hur remains one of the most massively entertaining movies of the 1950s, with engaging characters, solid performances, compelling drama and thrilling action (the legendary, lengthy chariot race still ranks among the most jaw-dropping sequences ever shot).

"Could you throw a shirt on or something? The rest of us feel pretty inadequate."

That being said, it’s at this point I must break from the general consensus with a contrarian view that Ben-Hur should’ve ended after the chariot race. Not only is everything that transpires afterwards anticlimactic, the film undergoes a jarring narrative and tonal shift that simply isn’t as interesting. As a character, Judah Ben-Hur (Heston) is far more engaging in his quest for revenge against childhood-friend-turned-Roman commander Messala (Stephen Boyd) than he is learning the power of forgiveness while following Jesus around. 

Of course, this film and every other Ben-Hur adaptation are based on Lew Wallace’s Christianity-driven novel, and removing those elements would be unthinkable to some (hell, probably most). I realize Ben-Hur was never intended as a tale of revenge. But for the first two-and-a-half hours, it’s such a phenomenal tale of revenge that you could chop-off the entire last act and still be left with one hell of a movie. Or at the very least, Judah’s epiphanies could’ve been wrapped up more succinctly than director William Wyler does. That’s probably why I usually shut the movie off shortly after Judah confronts bloody, battered, ex-bestie Messala on his deathbed. 

Still, Ben-Hur remains one of Hollywood’s definitive epics and arguably deserved most of the 11 Oscars it won (a record at the time). But as someone who always viewed it more as a cinematic experience than a spiritual one, I just don’t think it ever needed to be a biblical epic. It’s a minority opinion, of course, one that certainly won’t (and shouldn’t) carry any weight among classic movie lovers who continue cherish the film. Those people will absolutely love this new 4K release, because it looks and sounds absolutely stunning. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Ben-Hur: Anatomy of an Epic and The Cinematography of Scale are a couple of brief new featurettes that are more of an overall appreciation of the film than anything informational; Ben-Hur: A Journey Through Pictures consists of still photos and storyboards.

CHARLTON HESTON AND BEN-HUR: A PERSONAL JOURNEY - Though not new, this feature length doc is a nice look that Heston’s personal and professional life around the time he was making the film, told by his children and others. Includes a lot of home movie footage.

BEN-HUR: THE MAKING OF AN EPIC - Similarly, this hour-long piece is nothing new, but is arguably the most comprehensive making-of documentary you’ll find about the movie.

SCREEN TESTS

DIGITAL COPY

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (4K): The Good Ol' Days of Accountability

ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (4K UHD)

1976 / 138 min

Warner Bros

#InPartnershipwithWB

Review by Mr. Paws😸

Remember when a single scandal could bring down a president? Ah, the good old days.

Imagine someone who wasn’t alive in the ‘70s, knowing nothing about Watergate, watching All the President's Men today. Considering the current political climate in the United States, would they be underwhelmed by the revelations discovered and reported by journalists Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman)? Would they walk away saying, “That’s all it took? This is the crime that ended a presidency and shook the world? Hell, I read worse in yesterday’s newspaper…and the day before that…and… ” 

Not that All the President’s Men is an archaic artifact from a bygone era. It remains one of the best films of that decade, and in my humble opinion, should have won 1976’s Best Picture Oscar (sorry, Rocky fans). The last film in director Alan J. Pakula’s unofficial “paranoia trilogy,” it’s a masterclass in filmmaking, both narratively and technically. What’s truly impressive is how effortlessly it maintains tension and an urgent tone despite the ending being a forgone conclusion (unless, of course, you’ve never heard of Nixon or Watergate). 

"...and that president's man changes the toilet paper rolls..."

The film still tells a hell of a story, even if viewed as a piece of historical fiction. I’ve seen it at least a half dozen times over the years and still get pulled into Woodward and Bernstein’s investigation, as well as the revealing look at the inner workings of a big city newspaper. Besides the direction, knock-out performances, Gordon Willis’ cinematography and production design that makes you feel like you work at the Washington Post, a big reason this one remains worth revisiting is that it expects the viewer to meet it halfway. This ain’t a movie for those who like being spoonfed. For me, part of the fun has always been trying to keep up with these two reporters as they put the pieces together.

But alas, I felt just a bit of underlying sadness watching it this time around. All the President’s Men is as riveting as ever, but times definitely have changed. The Washington Post is a shadow of its former self, as is the news business itself. What was once political scandal has been normalized and accountability certainly doesn’t apply to everyone. This film made me nostalgic for the days when a simple hotel burglary could make a writer’s career and end a president’s.

All the President’s Men turns 50 this year, and though this new 4K UHD release is not touted as any kind of anniversary edition, it provides a good upgrade from the previous Blu-ray version. The overall picture quality is excellent, maintaining the original print’s film grain and colors, as well as Willis’ creative touches. The audio track appears to be the same as the Blu-ray (at least I couldn’t tell much difference). And in addition to several older supplements, a couple of new featurettes are included.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - All the President’s Men: The Film and its Influence and Woodward and Bernstein: A Journalism Masterclass are two new retrospective appreciations featuring interviews with a few journalists, who discuss the movie’s accuracy, as well as Woodward and Bernstein themselves; Woodward and Bernstein: Lighting the Fire, Telling the Truth About Lies and Out of the Shadows: The Man Who was Deep Throat, all from the original Blu-ray release, are longer and more substantial.

JASON ROBARDS ON DINAH! - The actor’s appearance on Dinah!, which was one of the more popular talk shows in the ‘70s.

DIGITAL COPY

THE POOP SCOOP: Runners, Reptiles & Rampage Edition

UPCOMING KIBBLES THAT MAKE US PURR!

THE RUNNING MAN on 4K, 4K SteelBook and DVD on March 3 from Paramount. In a near-future society, The Running Man is the top-rated show on television—a deadly competition where contestants, known as Runners, must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins, with every move broadcast to a bloodthirsty public and each day bringing a greater cash reward. Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is convinced by the show’s charming but ruthless producer, Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), to enter the game as a last resort. But Ben’s defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite—and a threat to the entire system. As ratings skyrocket, so does the danger, and Ben must outwit not just the Hunters, but a nation addicted to watching him fall. Directed by Edgar Wright from Stephen King’s classic novel, this release also includes several bonus features.

The New SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT on Digital Now and 4K, Blu-ray & DVD February 17 from Cineverse. The unique take on the iconic ‘80s holiday franchise quickly became a fan-favorite, and now audiences at home can experience the bloody absurdity of Silent Night, Deadly Night on DVD, Blu-ray and 4K + Blu-ray. The film is written and directed by Mike P. Nelson (Wrong Turn, V/H/S/85). The film stars Rohan Campbell as Billy and Ruby Modine as Pamela, along with Mark Acheson, David Lawrence Brown, and David Tomlinson. A twisted reimagining of the controversial classic – After witnessing his parents' brutal murder on Christmas Eve, Billy grows up to deliver an annual spree of holiday violence. This year, his blood-soaked mission collides with love, as a young woman challenges him to confront his darkness. "Have you been naughty?"'

ZOOTOPIA 2 on digital Now and 4K, Blu-ray & DVD March 3 from Disney. Rookie cops Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde find themselves on the twisting trail of a great mystery when Gary De’Snake turns the animal metropolis upside down. Both the digital and physical releases include several featurettes and deleted scenes.

Disaster Movies Rule! GREENLAND 2: MIGRATION on Premium Digital Now from Lionsgate. In the aftermath of a comet strike that devastates most of the Earth, GREENLAND 2: MIGRATION follows devoted family man John Garrity (Gerard Butler) and his wife and son (Morena Baccarin, Roman Griffin Davis) after they’re forced to leave the safety of their bunker in Greenland to search for a new home in a shattered world. 

The New ANACONDA on 4K and Blu-ray March 17 from Sony. Doug (Jack Black) and Griff (Paul Rudd) have been best friends since they were kids, and have always dreamed of remaking their all-time favorite movie: the cinematic "classic" Anaconda. But things get real when an actual giant anaconda appears, turning their comically chaotic movie set into a deadly situation. 

The Original WESTWORLD on 4K February 24 from Arrow Video. The Limited Edition release features a brand new 4K restoration from the original negative by Arrow Films, hours of special features, and newly commissioned extras. There is also a Blu-ray release.

EXCALIBUR on 4K February 24 from Arrow Video. The Limited Edition release features a brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm negative by Arrow Films presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 for the first time on home video,and hours of special features, and newly commissioned extras. There is also a Blu-ray release.

Dave’s a little pissed…POINT BLANK Coming to 4K and Blu-ray April 21 from Criterion Collection. Free Kittens’ CEO bought himself an older Blu-ray copy of this action classic, then literally the next day, Criterion announces this release! In addition to a 4K restoration, this disc comes with a bunch of bonus features.

MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN on 4K and Blu-ray April 14 from Criterion Collection. Featuring ribald Roman puns, sharp political commentary, and an audacious crucifixion-themed musical number, the Pythons’ most ambitious film is a hilarious satire of dogma and blind faith in which nothing is sacred.

It’s about damn time! Martin Scorsese’s KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON on Blu-ray, 4K and DVD March 24, 2026 from Criterion Collection. An epic elegy of greed, betrayal, and murder, Scorsese brings a dark chapter of American history to the screen with gripping narrative power and a profound feeling for the weight of systemic injustice.

The Sobering Nuclear War Classic, TESTAMENT, on Blu-ray March 17 from Criterion Collection Taking a hauntingly intimate approach to an often sensationalized subject, the singular Testament depicts one family’s daily life in the wake of nuclear devastation. 

NETWORK on 4K and Blu-ray February 24 from Criterion Collection. This media satire, directed by Sidney Lumet from a brilliantly incisive script by Paddy Chayefsky, is a no-holds-barred New Hollywood classic remains as fearlessly funny as it is unnervingly relevant.

THE DARK HALF: What's in a Pen Name?

THE DARK HALF (Blu-ray)

1993 / 122 min

MGM

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

George A. Romero is, of course, the Godfather of the modern zombie movie. Without him, the genre as we know it might not even exist. And 100 years from now, people will still be talking about the original “Dead” trilogy. His other films, the ones that don’t feature gut-munching? Not so much.

Creepshow notwithstanding, most of Romero’s work outside of the zombie genre has largely been forgotten…sometimes for good reason, but just-as-often due to circumstances beyond his control. An example of the latter is 1993’s The Dark Half, one of the few times the fiercely independent director worked with a major studio. Unfortunately for him, that studio was Orion Pictures, which was famously falling apart at the time and resulted in this film being unceremoniously dumped into theaters two years after it was completed.

Too bad, really, because while no masterpiece, The Dark Half is one of Romero's better films that doesn’t have ‘dead’ in the title, and a pretty faithful adaptation of Stephen King’s novel (especially in terms of its tone). Timothy Hutton plays Thad Beaumont, an author whose literary work goes largely unnoticed, but the violent, sleazy potboilers he writes under the pseudonym of George Stark are bestsellers. Rather than be blackmailed into keeping his identity secret, Thad decides to go public as the real author of those books…effectively ‘killing’ Stark through a publicity campaign.

"I see you've highlighted the naughty bits."

But Stark (also Hutton) refuses to die. Coming back to life in flesh and blood, he starts murdering everyone who had a hand in killing him off. And because he was Thad’s creation in the first place, they have the same physical traits and finger prints, meaning Thad is Sheriff Pangborn’s (Michael Rooker) primary suspect as the bodies pile up. Thad and Stark also share a telepathic connection of sorts, each knowing how the other thinks…which stems from the former’s childhood, when emergency surgery revealed the remains of an absorbed twin in his brain.

For the most part, it’s an intriguing story inspired by King’s experiences related to his own pseudonym, Richard Bachman. Romero, who also adapted the screenplay, does a good job establishing a consistently dark tone and depicting the ominous presence of sparrows (symbolically important to the story). Largely free of the visceral gore Romero is known for, things still get plenty bloody at times. Elsewhere, the overall performances are quite good, especially Hutton in a dual role. Amy Madigan is less effective as Thad’s wife, though that’s largely because her character mostly just exists to be put in peril.

But just like the original novel, the final act leaves something to be desired. As much as I’ve always enjoyed Stephen King’s work, sometimes he struggles to stick the landing and The Dark Half is a prime example. Similarly, Romero doesn’t appear to know how to effectively end this thing, resulting in an uninspired conclusion that’s also maddeningly abrupt. Other than that, this is an underseen, underappreciated horror thriller from a director who did more during his lengthy career than make zombies shamble.

EXTRA KIBBLES

GALLERY

TRAILER

DILLINGER: Hanging Out with the Bad Guys

DILLINGER (Blu-ray)

1973 / 107 min

MGM

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😺

Back in the ‘70s, John Milius would’ve been a shoe-in Oscar nominee for “Best Director Most Likely to Instigate a Bar Brawl." His main competition probably would have been Walter Hill, which prompts me to ponder who would win if they fought each other. Of course, it goes without saying that if Sam Peckinpah showed up, he’d wiped the floor with both of ‘em.

But if Peckinpah was too drunk to throw-down that day, I’d put my money on Milius. After all, this is the guy who came up with “I love the smell of Napalm in the morning,” and his overall filmography as both writer and director is just bursting with thuggery and testosterone. One can’t help but suspect that part of him envies the characters he creates.

Take his directorial debut, for instance. Dillinger depicts the legendary gangster (played by Warren Oates) as cocky, remorseless, cold-blooded, and most tellingly, proud of his notoriety as a violent bank robber. Whether or not the film is historically accurate doesn’t matter…Milius’ admiration for his subject is obvious in every frame. 

Though clearly inspired by the success of Bonnie & Clyde, there’s no attempt to romanticize (or even humanize) John Dillinger or the crew who runs with him. This episodic film is mostly driven by action, the narrative speeding from one robbery & gunfight to the next, with determined, cigar-chomping G-man Melvin Purvis (Ben Johnson) narrating his ongoing pursuit. One gets the impression that, if he couldn’t be Dillinger, Milius would be just as happy being Purvis…so long as he got to shoot somebody.

Warren displays his fondness for peppy showtunes.

And that’s okay. The film’s unapologetic emphasis on outlaw mayhem and squib-happy gunplay doesn’t leave much room for insight into the criminal mind, but it’s a hell of a lot of fun…even exhilarating at times. With The Godfather redefining the gangster genre at the time, this scrappy little potboiler from American-International Pictures is comparatively quaint, but it moves with the single-minded purpose of taking the viewer on a ride.

Considering its limited budget, Dillinger boasts good production design and authentic period detail. The action scenes are well executed and jarringly violent. And though this obviously ain’t a character study, the cast is effective in their roles. Oates is the standout, of course, depicting the titular antihero with more gusto than anyone else has before or since. Elsewhere, Johnson is amusingly stoic as Purvis, while a baby-faced Richard Dreyfuss (playing Babyface Nelson!) engages in some prime scenery chewing. Then there’s the indelible Harry Dean Stanton, providing most of the comic relief.

Brash, brutal and sensationalistic, Dillinger is movie that clearly loves its antagonists, and made with such panache that, for a brief time, so do we. As a director, John Milius would go on to bigger things, but this is his most purely entertaining film, mainly because it’s bursting with bad boy behavior…much like Milius himself.