Blu-Ray Review: JURASSIC WORLD (3-DISC COMBO PACK)

Starring Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Omar Sy, B.D. Wong, Irrfan Khan. Directed by Colin Trevorrow. (2015, 124 min).
UNIVERSAL

Considering how often belated sequels turn out to be massive disappointments, it's surprising we've gotten two (so far) in 2015 that truly delivered. The first was Mad Max: Fury Road, director George Miller's welcome return to the franchise that launched his career. Even without Mel Gibson in the title role, you'd be hard-pressed to meet anyone not blown-away by this brilliantly psychotic exercise in vehicular mayhem.

The biggest surprise, however, is Jurassic World. Arriving 14 years after the last lame sequel to Steven Spielberg's groundbreaking classic, it's no masterpiece, but unless you're a complete cinema snob, it's a hell of a lot of fun. Sure, it's got a new cast, new director and new writers. And yeah, if you really wanted to, you could point-out some glaring plot holes and bits of supposed sexism which outraged some of the more vocal trolls of the world. But what's the fun in picking apart something which has no aspirations beyond being a perfect popcorn picture?

Jurassic World doesn't attempt to reinvent the wheel. It's more like sticking big fat mags on that classic old car that's been sitting in your garage for years and taking it out to lay down some rubber. Only then do you realize how much you missed driving that old beast, rendered hot all over again by shiny new accessories.

"No, dammit! The chorus goes like this..."

Despite all the new accoutrements, Jurassic World, much more than the previous two sequels, feels like a true kindred spirit to the original. At this point, the dinosaur-themed amusement park has been open for a decade. But its existing attractions no longer thrill the public like they used to, so its owners genetically create a vicious new creature, Indonimus Rex, to boost attendance. Naturally, this turns out to be a bad idea. The monster escapes, putting thousands of tourists in danger, with only raptor-whisperer Owen Grady (Chris Pratt) and park manager Claire Dearing (Bryce Dallas Howard) to try and keep them from becoming jurassic junk food. There's also your usual batch of human bad guys, led by Vic Hoskins (Vincent D’Onofrio), who want to use these critters as weapons (!) and mostly exist to keep us rooting for the dinosaurs.

While never as awe-inspiring or jaw-dropping as the original film (how could it be?), Jurassic World is fast, suspenseful and narratively-outrageous (in a good way), with decent special effects and yet-another amusing performance Chris Pratt (arguably the most likeable guy in Hollywood right now). Sure, we've seen this brand of dino destruction before, but it's been a long time and sometimes absence makes the heart grow fonder. Jurassic World isn't likely to land on any critic's top 10 list this year, but no one can honestly claim it doesn't deliver what it promises. How often can you say that about belated sequels?

BONUS FEATURES: (surprisingly light, considering it's the biggest film of the year)

• "Welcome to Jurassic World"  and "Jurassic World: All-Access Pass" (behind-the-scenes featurettes)
• "Chris & Colin Take on the World" (the director and star interview each other)
• "Dinosaurs Roam Once Again"
• "Innovation Center Tour with Chris Pratt"
• A Barbasol-sponsored montage of 'Close Shaves' from all of the films (their joke, not mine)
• Deleted Scenes
• Blu-Ray 3-D, Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital Copies

KITTY CONSENSUS:

MEE-OW! BETTER THAN TAUNTING A MOUSE TO DEATH!

DVD Review: WAYWARD PINES

Starring Matt Dillon, Carla Gugino, Toby Jones, Melissa Leo, Shannyn Sossamon, Reed Diamond, Tim Griffin, Charlie Tahan, Juliette Lewis, Terrence Howard. Various Directors (including M. Night Shyamalan). (2015, 440 min).
20TH CENTURY FOX

If you’re like me, when you first saw the commercials touting this mini-series, you probably wrote it off as some kind of Twin Peaks knock-off. But those promotional spots didn’t do it justice. Wayward Pines is nothing like Twin Peaks, which mostly relied on the quirkiness of its creator (David Lynch) and wore out its welcome long before the story played itself out. Wayward Pines, based on a trilogy of novels by Blake Crouch, is an initially ambiguous story that rewards patient viewers with a revelation that is truly mind-blowing.

Matt Dillon plays Ethan Burke, a secret service agent from Seattle on a mission to locate a couple of fellow-agents who’ve gone missing. After a car accident, he awakens in a hospital in Wayward Pines, Idaho, a small, seemingly idyllic town where everyone appears happy and content. However, Burke is unable to contact anyone outside of town to explain his predicament, exasperated by Sheriff Pope (Terrence Howard), who has an underlying cruel streak and repeatedly advices Burke not to question what goes on in town. Meanwhile, Burke finds Kate (Carla Gugino), one of the agents he’s supposed to locate and whom he once had an affair with. She's now one of Wayward Pine’s business owners and claims she's been there for years, while hinting they are being watched. In fact, it turns out the entire town is under surveillance by a megalomaniacal scientist (Toby Jones), who may or may not be acting on the government’s behalf, and any citizen who breaks the town's rules is publicly executed. Eventually, Burke’s wife and son, who come looking for him after he’s been declared missing, become trapped in the town as well. In fact, no one is allowed to escape because Wayward Pines is enclosed by a massive, electrified wall. Worse yet, something awful lurks outside out the wall.

"You really need to lay-off the gerbils, Mr. Burke."

To describe the plot further would mean giving away one of the greatest revelations presented in a TV show since the old days of The Twilight Zone. Let’s just say that, five episodes in, the already-creepy Wayward Pines takes a completely unexpected sci-fi turn which, while a total surprise, makes complete sense given the contradictory lapses of time experienced by the major characters. Not only that, we’re no longer certain who to root for or against, a plotline well-maintained even after the big reveal.

Speaking of which, the one major strike against Wayward Pines is the fact its mid-story revelation is so huge that the remaining five episodes, while still compelling and sometimes suspenseful, are relatively anti-climactic. However, the series does end on an ominous note that will either thrill or infuriate the viewer, depending on their expectations. Either way, the resolution is supremely discussion-worthy.

Best of all, Wayward Pines doesn’t really leave the door open for expansion into an actual series. To exploit the concept further (like CBS did when bastardizing Stephen King’s brilliant novel, Under the Dome) would be completely gratuitous. As it stands, the ten episodes of Wayward Pines are fine just as they are, and perfect for binge-viewing as one long story experience.

BONUS FEATURES:

• “Where Paradise is Home: A Wayward Pines Style Guide” (a featurette largely focusing on the behind-the-scenes special effects and set design)
• “Creating a Mythology” (a featurette related to the story and themes prevalent in the series)

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR...LIKE A GOOD SCATCH BEHIND THE EARS

Blu-Ray Review: PIXELS

Starring Adam Sandler, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Peter Dinklage, Josh Gad, Sean Bean, Brian Cox, Matt Lintz, Ashley Benson, Jane Krakowski. Directed by Chris Columbus. (2015, 106 min).
SONY

While not a great film, Pixels isn't as terrible as a majority of its reviews suggest. It helps if you keep your expectations fairly low, and since Adam Sandler is arguably the laziest A-list actor since Burt Reynolds in his heyday, that shouldn't be too difficult. If you can manage that, you might even agree this is Sandler's best film in years.

Even so, Pixels is burdened with a checklist of baggage that has ruined most of Sandler's recent films...

• An indifferent performance by its star, playing yet-another middle-aged guy who never really grew up
• Kevin James
• Pointless and gratuitous cameos
• Some embarrassingly laughless scenes which go on far too long
• Scatological humor to appease the 12-year-olds in the audience
• A beautiful woman inexplicably attracted to Sandler's man-boy persona 
• Truly obnoxious characters who are supposed to be funny simply because they are screaming 

On the other hand, the film's concept is fairly amusing (based on a 2010 French short). In 1982, several video gamers participate in a tournament which is filmed, placed in a time capsule and launched into space. Decades later, aliens have interpreted the video as a declaration of war and attack Earth with massive versions of the same video game characters, challenging the world to an apocalyptic showdown. Since the military is helpless, former arcade champion Sam Brenner (Sandler) is recruited by childhood friend-now-president William Cooper (James) to use his gaming expertise to try and combat the threat. Teaming up with them is Brenner’s cocky former rival, Eddie Plant (Peter Dinklage) and Ludlow (Josh Gad), another childhood friend who’s a paranoid conspiracy theorist (with an unhealthy lust for a female game character from his childhood). So yeah...the fate of the world is in the hands of these slackers, kind of like Armageddon with geeks.

Pac-Man tries in vain to end Adam Sandler's career.

The plot bares no scrutiny whatsoever, but plausibility is obviously not the point. As a bit of fond nostalgia, Pixels is kind of fun. Seeing Pac-Man rampaging through the city blocks of New York, pursued by the team in appropriately-colored ‘ghost’ cars with license plates baring their names, is pretty entertaining. The climactic showdown, featuring Donkey Kong (of course), will remind those of a certain age how damn frustrating that game has always been. Overall, the special effects are colorful and elaborate, even though we never truly feel they are occupying the same space as the actors.

Pixels is seldom all that funny, but Peter Dinklage provides some laugh-out-loud moments and steals nearly every scene he’s in (his reward during the resolution is admittedly hilarious). On the other end of the spectrum is Josh Gad in a truly obnoxious, over-the-top performance that’s almost embarrassing to endure.

On a side note, there are some glaring errors which don’t really detract from the film per se, but pop culture nerds will detect in a flash. The so-called time capsule was launched into space in 1982, yet an alien version of Max Headroom makes an appearance, even though he was created in 1984. Similarly, one of Madonna’s MTV appearances is used as a dire warning to Earth, but she wasn’t a media presence until 1983. This is nit-picking, of course, but it does indicate a slap-dash attempt at nostalgia that probably wouldn’t have passed muster in the hands of a more creative writer and director (such as those involved in making Wreck-It Ralph or Who Framed Roger Rabbit).

Still, Pixels is flashy and entertaining enough for what it is, trading-in on brand name familiarity with a high-concept idea that should amuse undemanding viewers, mostly kids, as well as parents who grew up with some of these games. Again, it isn’t a great film, but compared to Sandler’s recent output, Pixels is a masterpiece.

BONUS FEATURES:

• Numerous featurettes focusing on individual game characters' appearance in the film
• "The Creator of the Machine" Featurette
• Music Video: "Game On"
• Digital Copy

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD...LIKE CAT CHOW

Blu-Ray Review: THE MAKING OF THE MOB: NEW YORK

Narrated by Ray Liotta. Starring Rich Graff, Ian Bell, Anthony, DiCarlo, Jonathan C. Stewart, Craig Thomas Rivela. Featuring Interviews with Rich Cohen, Rudy Giuliani, Selwyn Rabb, Joe Mantegna, Chazz Palminteri, Frank Vincent, Frankie Valli. Directed by John Ealer. (2015, 343 min).
ANCHOR BAY

This ambitious eight episode mini-series from AMC chronicles the birth of the American mafia, focusing primarily on Lucky Luciano's rise from a lowly hood to the most powerful mob boss in New York City. With the help of some lifelong friends - including Meyer Lansky, Bugsy Siegal and Frank Costello - Luciano is largely responsible for the "organized" in organized crime.

The Making of the Mob: New York is presented as a docudrama. Ray Liotta narrates dramatic reenactments with a timeline roughly ranging from the turn of the century until the mid-1960s, interspersed with commentary by a variety of authors, ex-mafia associates, celebrities and family members of those featured in the story. Since all episodes essentially present a single epic tale, its serialized format makes this two-disc set supremely binge-worthy.

Despite a lack of personal insight into any of these characters, the story itself is simply too interesting to screw up. Sure, it’s been told before, and if you're already really into mob history, much of it might be pretty familiar. Even so, the reenactments are well rendered, with a lot of attention to period detail and decent performances. The show is also highly recommended to fans of The Godfather, who will be fascinated at the extent that film drew inspiration from real life, right down to some of the characters.

Not so lucky this time, Luciano is stuck with the tip.

Less interesting are the frequent interviews with various individuals supposedly associated with these events. Authors who’ve written books on the subject provide some unique insight and details, as do former mafia associates. But I do question the purpose of featuring various celebrities whose only tangible connection to the mob has been performing in gangster movies. As far as the players involved...we don’t learn a hell of a lot about them personally. The performances are decent, but none of the actors are given a hell of a lot to do besides react and remain silent while Liotta describes what‘s going on.

Still, The Making of the Mob: New York provides a solid account of the rise of organized crime in America, New York in particular. It’s an intriguing - if somewhat familiar - look at the lifestyle, violence and betrayal we normally associate with this profession.

On a personal side-note...man these guys smoke a lot! You'd be hard-pressed to find a single scene where someone isn't puffing away on a cigarette or stogie. Perhaps the show is partially funded by Phillip-Morris.

BONUS FEATURES:

• Additional Scenes
• Several Featurettes: "The Real Arnold Rothstein"; "The Secret Life of a Mob Wife"; "The Mob & Mussolini"; "Style"; "Mob Innovations"; "The Mob Shrink" (more of these are a few minutes long and feature scenes from the series, as well as additional commentary by some of the interviewees).

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

10 Forgotten Thrillers from The 1980s Worth Your Time

For every box-office blockbuster, there are scores of worthy thrillers from the 80s that have largely been forgotten. Some of the more character-driven films got lost in a sea of those offering more spectacle, while others made the mistake of being too smart for their own good. Still more were just as high-concept and action packed as the biggest films of the era, yet for some reason, never became enduring classics.

Read more...10 Forgotten Thrillers from The 1980s Worth Your Time

TARANTULA and the Fiery Solution

Starring John Agar, Mara Corday (mee-ow!), Leo G. Carroll, Nestor Paiva and a very young Clint Eastwood! Directed by Jack Arnold. (1955, 81 min).

Essay by D.M. ANDERSON
 
I came across a news story the other day about a guy who pulled into a gas station and discovered a large spider crawling outside his fuel tank. His reaction was to burn the spider with a lighter, apparently forgetting gasoline is just a tad flammable. His car and one of the pumps erupted into flames. Only the quick thinking of an attendant, immediately shutting down all the pumps, prevented the whole incident from destroying a city block.

A few weeks earlier, a lady jumped out of her moving car, which moseyed on it's own for another thousand feet before crossing the meridian and hitting a tree. When later asked why she abandoned her vehicle, the woman said she spotted a large spider in her car and had no choice but to flee. It is unknown whether or not the offending arachnid survived the crash.

Then there was this drunken man who was relaxing in his recliner in front of the TV. Upon spotting a large spider crawling up his leg, he grabbed a nearby handgun and shot it, blowing off half his own foot.

I could go on, and you can Google countless other tales of folks who've burned down their own houses or blown themselves up just to eliminate a spider threat.

What do all these people have in common? If you're like me, where the term 'large spider' means one visible to the naked eye, these guys are superheroes. Most likely intoxicated superheroes, but no-less selfless. Taking one for the team to save us from nature's most unholy creation makes them role models to be emulated. Like Superman, only dumber.

I've always done my part by always using 8,000 times the necessary force required to kill them, usually with a shoe or a book. And I whack them more than once...usually several times to make certain they don't return to torment me in the next life. While I haven't yet resorted to using fire, I did once make the mistake of smashing one with a hammer, leaving a permanent dent in our dining room floor.

Spiders are scary because...well, they're spiders. Aside from the ants in my kitchen, they are the worst animal to ever scurry the planet and exist for the sole purpose of being squashed by a paperback (a good reason not to switch to e-books). If God didn't intend us to kill spiders on sight, he would have made them look more like little bunnies. Instead, spiders are stealthy, silent, hairy, venomous and equipped with more eyes and legs than any creature has a right to own. I'm certain if a spider were to catch its own reflection in a mirror, it would try to squash itself.

In my humble opinion, the only thing preventing Earth from becoming a Utopia is the continual presense of spiders.

And no, I don't give a damn about their so-called positive environmental impact by keeping the insect population in check. We have a bug zappers and Black Flag for that. Besides, what do you think is actually worse for the environment, a few more flies in the house, or the fact I've shit myself enough times whenever encountering any spider larger than a quarter that, somewhere on Earth, there's an Everest-sized mountain of soiled underwear named after me?

Now that I've made my personal arachnophobia apparent, we must discuss 1955's Tarantula, the movie responsible for that initial pair of shit-stained skivvies which would grow to become my carbon footprint on the world. At the behest of one of my less squeamish classmates, I first saw it on a local independent station in the early 70s and spent half the time with my head buried under blankets. This was scary-ass shit, especially since the special effects were totally convincing for the time (and still pretty impressive today). The fact that it’s black & white made everything even scarier. By the way, for those who still doubt the intrinsic power of black & white, try watching The Exorcist without color.

Getcha motor runnin'...head out on the highway...

In Tarantula, Professor Gerald Deemer (Leo G. Carroll) seemingly has good intentions, trying to create a super food nutrient that will help feed the world's ever-growing population. Instead, his experiment results in ever-growing lab animals, such as mice, guinea pigs and a tarantula. Apparently intrigued by this side effect, Deemer keeps injecting them...including the fucking tarantula.

Sure, the idea of a dog sized guinea pig has a certain appeal (who wouldn't want to cuddle with one?). But a spider? What exactly would be the possible motivation for bulking-up a creature which already makes the average person shit themselves when they spot one in the shower? Perhaps Deemer was also looking for an effective constipation cure. After all, your bowels could be impacted with a rack of billiard balls, but upon seeing a barn-sized tarantula heading your way, those suckers would shoot from your ass like rounds from an M-16. So Deemer's either totally insane or simply worst person ever.

Whatever the case, it's now up to Dr. Matt Hastings (John Agar) and "Stevie" Clayton (Mara Corday, one of the most gorgeous unsung scream queens of the 50s) to unfuck Deemer’s fuckery. After killing a bunch of farmers and their cattle, the title creature threatens an entire Arizona town. Guns don’t work, nor does dynamite, which I’ve always suspected would be the case when confronting our arachnid adversaries.

As we all know, the only effective solution to getting rid of a spider is total overkill, just to make sure it doesn’t come back twice-as-big and plenty pissed. So when military jet fighters are called in to napalm the shit out of this over-grown critter, are we really concerned about the environment at this point? Hell no! I’d use napalm as a bug bomb in my own house if it meant eradicating even the smallest of the species.

As for a gigantic mutated one? In my humble opinion, Tarantula doesn’t go far enough. Fuck the napalm. Unleash the atomics and nuke that bastard behemoth into oblivion. Sure, the Arizona desert would be a radioactive wasteland for a few decades, but that pales in comparison to the mountain range of soiled underpants blighting the southwestern landscape if any trace of this animal were left.

Despite the utter terror it instilled in me as a child, Tarantula is mostly remembered today for featuring a young Clint Eastwood near the start of his career, unbilled as one of the jet pilots. Never one to forget his friends, Eastwood later included Mara Corday in several films he directed.

THE TIMBER, Starring Josh Peck (Movie Clip)

PLANO, Texas. (August 11, 2015) – Set against the harsh backdrop of the 1898 Yukon, Josh Peck (Danny Collins, The Wackness) and James Ransone (Sinister, Inside Man) star in the apocalyptic Western-thriller THE TIMBER, debuting on Blu-ray™, DVD and Digital HD October 6 from Well Go USA Entertainment. In the Wild West, two brothers embark on a journey to collect a bounty in a desperate attempt to save their home: but what they find along the way is more than they bargained for. Directed by Anthony O’Brien (Perfect Sport), THE TIMBER also stars Elisa Lasowski (Eastern Promises), Mark Caven (Maleficent) and David Bailie (Pirates of the Caribbean franchise).

Debuts on Blu-ray™, DVD & Digital HD October 6

Bonus Materials Include Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes, Interviews with the Cast & Director Commentary

Film clip courtesy of WELL GO USA

Blu-Ray Review: BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA

Starring Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves, Richard E. Grant, Cary Elwes, Billy Campbell, Sadie Frost, Tom Waits. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola. (1992, 128 min).
SONY

It probably goes without saying that Francis Ford Coppola is such a directorial icon that his place in cinema history is all but assured. After all, this is the guy who made The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, The Conversation and Apocalypse Now. Those four films were so groundbreaking that even the staunchest movie nerds of a certain age tend to forget Coppola's glory days ended when the 70s came to a close. Sure, we were sometimes reminded of his former genius during moments in The Outsiders, Peggy Sue Got Married and The Godfather Part III, but none of them held a candle to his crowning achievements.

Bram Stoker's Dracula remains his last film worth watching. Released in 1992, it's an elegant, surreal and aesthetically beautiful adaptation of Stoker's novel that, from a technical standpoint, holds up surprisingly well over two decades later, especially on this remastered 4K Blu-Ray edition. But even though it was Coppola's biggest hit in years and his best-crafted film since Apocalypse Now, its glaring flaws keep it from ever being mentioned in the same breath as his classics.

There's little dispute that, from a visual standpoint, this is arguably the greatest adaptation of Stoker's novel ever made. Virtually every scene has an otherworldly - almost artificial - dreamlike quality, which goes a long way in maintaining the viewer's interest. The story's inherent eroticism is also on full display, seldom successfully attempted in previous adaptations. More than any of his films during the 80s, it's obvious Coppola knew what he wanted to achieve.

Even at knifepoint, Keanu Reeves still can't emote.

But like The Godfather Part III, it also feels like Coppola sometimes conceded to studio pressure, setting aside his previously-perceptive casting instincts in favor of actors with marquee value. Hence, we get Keanu Reeves as John Harker, a role clearly beyond his abilities, resulting in a notoriously terrible performance. But then there's Gary Oldman, perfect as the title character, even though no one but Coppola appeared to be confident of his ability to convey Dracula's sympathetic sensuality.

Plotwise, the film is all over the place, with more emphasis on symbolic splendor than narrative cohesion (a criticism sometimes aimed at Apocalypse Now). However, it also seems like Bram Stoker’s Dracula was never intended by Coppola to be anything other than a sensory experience. If that’s the case, mission accomplished, and longtime cultists will surely enjoy this restored version of the film.

NOTE: This film is also being released as part of Sony's Supreme Cinema Series, with Clear-Case packaging and a 24 page booklet.

EXTRAS:

• New Interviews with Francis Ford Coppola & Roman Coppola (Interviewed separately, with Francis' being the most interesting)
• New Film Introduction by Francis Ford Coppola
• Audio Commentaries by Francis Ford Coppola, Roman Coppola and make-up supervisor Greg Cannon

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR...THE VISUALS ALONE ARE WORTH THE PRICE OF ADMISSION

Blu-Ray Review: INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3

Starring Stefanie Scott, Lin Shaye, Dermot Mulroney, Angus Sampson, Leigh Whannell, Hayley Kiyoko, Tom Gallop. Directed by Leigh Whannell. (2015, 97 min).
SONY

Not being a particularly big fan of prequels, I was somewhat dubious upon hearing Insidious: Chapter 3 would be an origin story. To me, the practice is generally a sign the creative well is running dry, particularly in the horror genre. At the same time, there's always been a soft spot in my heart for the Insidious franchise (even though Chapter 2 was pretty dull), because the original film is what made my youngest daughter fall in love with horror films, just like Jaws did when I was her age. So of course, we were both totally onboard for a third go-round.

The good news is Chapter 3 is a lot better than Chapter 2, which was an anemic and unnecessary attempt to expand the story of the first film. This one takes place a few years earlier, with psychic Elise Rainer (Lin Shaye) reluctantly coming to the aid of a teenage girl, Quinn (Stefanie Scott), whose mother recently passed away and is now tormented by a vengeful demon in the apartment building where she lives.

Directed this time by Leigh Whannell (who wrote the first two films), Chapter 3 a nice return to the atmospheric dread and well-timed jump scares which made the first movie so much creepy fun. Part of that is because it's a new story, but also because the characters are well developed.

Perhaps it's time for a restraining order.

It was a smart play by Whannell to make Elise's character only part of the story, not the total focus. Since longtime fans already know her fate, we need more at stake for any kind of prequel to work. Not only do we learn much more about Elise (dealing with her own tragic past), but Quinn and her father (Dermot Mulroney) aren't just a couple of rubes whose home needs cleansing. Both are dealing with tragic loss as well, which ultimately gives the climax of this film a surprising amount of emotional power.

Insidious: Chapter 3 is not as scary as the original, but a huge improvement over the first sequel, with enough jump scares, disturbing scenes and creepy moments to make it worth checking out. If you absolutely have to make a prequel, this is the way to do it.

EXTRAS:

• FEATURETTES: "Origin Story: Making Insidious 3" (an enjoyable look behind-the-scenes); "Macabre Creations" (make-up effects); "Stunts: The Car Crash"; "Being Haunted: A Psychic Medium Speaks" (meh)
• Deleted Scenes
• Digital Copy

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR...A BIG IMPROVEMENT OVER CHAPTER 2

Blu-Ray Review: TREMORS 5: BLOODLINES

Starring Michael Gross, Jaime Kennedy, Natalie Becker, Lawrence Joffee, Ernest Ndhlovu, Emmanuel Castis. Directed by Don Michael Paul. (2015, 99 min).
UNIVERSAL

I remember paying to see the original Tremors in theaters and being wonderfully surprised. What initially looked like a dumb, exploitative B movie turned out to be clever, suspenseful and intentionally hilarious, with terrific performances and first-class production values.

While it did middling box office, Tremors exploded in popularity on video, so it was no surprise that the inevitable Tremors 2 skipped theaters altogether. Considering most direct-to-video sequels are complete garbage, Tremors 2 was another wonderful surprise. Sure, the budget was lower and only Fred Ward & Michael Gross could be talked into reprising their roles from the original, but it still maintained the same creativity and goofy sense of humor which made Tremors a cult favorite. Even today, it’s arguably one of the greatest direct-to-video sequels ever made.

Then the law of diminishing returns ultimately reared its head. Despite the introduction of the amusingly-named ‘Assblasters’, Tremors 3 was just more of the same, only staler, while Tremors 4 went the prequel route (always a sign of desperation). And we won’t even get into SyFy’s sad attempt to turn the franchise into a TV series, which was unceremoniously canceled after 13 episodes.

Since most of us put a fork in this franchise over a decade ago, Tremors 5: Bloodlines comes as yet-another surprise. Michael Gross remains the only constant, returning once again as Burt Gummer. This time he’s joined by Jaime Kennedy as an opportunistic sidekick as they venture to Africa to battle a new batch of Graboids and Assblasters. As in previous sequels, these creatures are evolving yet-again, which provides a few new twists.

"You know...Jaime Kennedy...I was in Son of the Mask and Malibu's Most Wanted..."

Gross once again throws everything into his role, to an almost embarrassing degree (the lengthy scene where he’s trapped in an animal cage is painfully unfunny). What ultimately made the original Tremors so great was its diverse cast. Burt Gummer was simply one eccentric character sharing the screen with others. As the actual star, his survivalist schtick sometimes becomes tedious.

But despite some heavy-handed attempts at humor and way too much screen time given to Kennedy (whose character is truly obnoxious), Tremors 5 is still reasonably entertaining if you keep your expectations low. No one should expect anything on par with the original (technically or narratively), but this film admittedly benefits from earnest performances and above-average special effects for a home video release. At the very least, it's better than the last few sequels.

EXTRAS:

• “Tremors 5: Behind the Bloodlines” Making-of Featurette
• Outtakes (most of which are dedicated to Jaime Kennedy’s off-handed comments during filming)
• Deleted & Extended Scenes
• DVD & Digital Copies

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD...FOR A DIRECT-TO-DVD SEQUEL