PICK OF THE LITTER and the Cute Factor

Starring Patriot, Potomac, Primrose, Poppet & Phil. Directed by Dana Nachman & Don Hardy. (2018/81 min).

AVAILABLE ON DVD FROM

MPI MEDIA GROUP

Review by Fluffy the Fearless😺🐶

I have a dysfunctional dog. Sure, I love Murphy, but he's always been an ass. Without getting into specifics, whenever I see the joy others experience with their canine companions, I tend to stare ruefully to the end of the leash at my own pathetic pooch - who acts as though a neighborhood walk is a descent into hell - asking why he can't be like other dogs. Worse yet, the little fleabag has never trusted me, even after ten years.

Well, guess what, Murphy...that trust goes both ways. If I was ever in need of a guide dog, I'm sure you'd lead me right in front of a commuter train.

One thing that Murphy has going for him is he's the cutest dog who ever lived. Don't bother arguing...it's been scientifically proven. He may be a dick, but that Cute Factor has kept him alive through years of tormenting the cats, pissing on furniture and his insistence that regular dog food is beneath him.

Pick of the Litter gets a lot of mileage from the Cute Factor, too. If the presence of puppies turns you to putty, here's a taste of hog heaven (or should I say 'dog' heaven?). But as a documentary - or maybe more accurately, a reality show - it plays a lot like something you'd find on Animal Planet.

The film is about the selection process to find and train guide dogs for the blind. Title cards inform us that only a small percentage of potential service animals make the cut. Five of those dogs - labrador littermates Patriot, Potomac, Primrose, Poppet & Phil - are featured from birth through graduation, a process that takes roughly 18 months. Not every animal will go the distance, and in true reality show fashion, those eliminated get a 'career change' (demotion to regular housepets).

This bad dog snuck on without paying.

We also meet various trainers who obviously love what they do, yet admit their emotional attachment to these animals makes it difficult to let them go when the time comes, knowing they probably won't see them again. However, after one dog gets cut from the program, the reunion with his former trainer - who suffers from PTSD - provides the film's most heart-tugging moment.

While there's sweetness in abundance, Pick of the Litter doesn't delve much into actual training. As it is, the film is mostly content to fawn over the animals themselves, which is engaging up to a point. Despite their intelligence and congenial natures, none of these dogs have very distinctive personalities, so their individual stories aren't always that compelling. Murphy may be insufferable, but at least he's got character.

Still, the Cute Factor looms large here, which helps immensely since the film plays more like a competition series than a documentary. That'll probably suit many viewers just fine. But considering the incorrigibility of my own dog, I would have liked to see how others are trained to do such remarkable things.

EXTRA KIBBLES

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AUDIO DESCRIPTION TRAILER

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.

DARK OF THE SUN and Some Personal Baggage

Starring Rod Taylor, Jim Brown, Yvette Mimieux, Peter Carsten, Kenneth More, Andre Morell. Directed by Jack Cardiff. (1968/110 min).

AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY FROM

WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION 

Review by Tiger the Terrible😼

Admittedly, I haven't seen a lot of films on Rod Taylor's résumé. Right or wrong, I generally associate him with romantic comedies, soapy dramas, thrillers and the occasional landmark like The Birds or The Time Machine. He always came across as a congenial, blandly-attractive gentleman, as comfortable modeling suits & ties as he was visiting the distant future. An occasional leading man who sometimes got the girl, Taylor was always a proficient actor, but never personally elevated any movie to greatness.

So for me, Taylor is an odd choice to play grizzled, badass mercenary Bruce Curry in Dark of the Sun, a relatively obscure action film that briefly ruffled some feathers back in 1968 due to its violence. It's much easier to picture a prototypical tough guy like Lee Marvin in a role like this. Taylor doesn't embarrass himself or anything, but my own personal baggage makes it difficult to accept him as a ruthless hired gun.

If this was a time machine, they'd be home by now.

More convincing is Jim Brown as Ruffo, his sidekick and moral compass as the two accept an offer from a Congo president to retrieve $50 million in diamonds under the guise of a rescue mission. Curry and Ruffo assemble a small group of soldiers to take a train deep into Simba territory, where rebels have been attacking and killing villagers. Along for the mission is washed-up alcoholic Dr. Wreid (Kenneth More), hateful ex-Nazi Capt. Henlein (Peter Carsten) and Claire (Yvette Mimieux), whose husband was murdered by Simbas.

Certainly no cinematic milestone, Dark of the Sun is nevertheless a relatively enjoyable adventure film. Trashy, pulpy and a little exploitative, its violence is comparatively mild 50 years later, though from a narrative perspective, a few (off-screen) deaths still pack a punch. Elsewhere, there's some well-staged action, mostly onboard the train, a truly despicable villain and an unusual score by Jacques Loussier.

Supposedly admired by the likes of Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese, I wouldn't go so far as to call Dark of the Sun a forgotten classic. As a quick & dirty diversion, however, the film has enough enjoyable moments worth discovering, even if I personally don't buy Rod Taylor as an tough guy.

EXTRA KIBBLES

AUDIO COMMENTARY

TRAILER

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW. 

THE POOP SCOOP (1/2): Noteworthy Upcoming Blu-ray Releases

VISIT 20th CENTURY FOX

BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY on Digital 1/22 and 4K UHD, Blu-ray & DVD 2/12

Celebrate the iconic and heart pounding music of Queen and Freddie Mercury with the highest-grossing biopic of all-time when Bohemian Rhapsody comes to Digital and Movies Anywhere January 22 and 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray™ and DVD February 12. Fans can experience the story behind the band and the making of “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the #1 streamed song of the 20th century and other favorites like “We Will Rock You,” “Somebody to Love,” “We are the Champions” and more, for a music adventure that will make you laugh, sing, dance and cry.

VISIT ARROW FILMS

WATERWORLD Limited Edition Blu-ray 1/22

This dystopian tale about Earth being completely submerged in water was notorious for being the most expensive film ever made at the time of its release and wasn't well received by critics. Time has been much kinder to the film, having since developed a cult following as an action spectacle that isn't to be missed. This new release features a 4K restoration and three cuts of the film, including the extended US TV cut that runs 40 minutes longer than the theatrical release.

VISIT ARROW FILMS

CRIMSON PEAK Limited Edition Blu-ray 1/15

Arrow offers up Guillermo del Toro's modern masterpiece, Crimson Peak. This gothic romance stars Mia Wasikowska as an aspiring author struck by family tragedy. This brand new release comes with a haunted houseful of special features including a limited edition 80-page, hard-bound book.

SUSPIRIA on Digital 1/15 and Blu-ray 1/29

Experience Luca Gudagnino’s outrageously twisted re-imagining of Dario Argento’s 1977 horror cult classic that has been called a “grim and glorious work of madness” (IndieWire, David Ehrlich) when Suspiria arrives on Digital January 15 and on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital) January 29 from Lionsgate. Starring Dakota Johnson, Oscar winner and Golden Globe nominee Tilda Swinton (2007, Michael Clayton, Best Supporting Actress; 2012, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama), Mia Goth, and Chloë Grace Moretz and featuring a mesmerizing haunting score by Thom Yorke, Guadagnino’s directorial follow-up to the Oscar-winning Call Me by Your Name (Best Adapted Screenplay, 2017), written for the screen by David Kajganich, has received incredible critical praise with Variety’s Owen Gleiberman calling it a “lavishly cerebral high-end horror film” and a “divinely demonic spectacle of womanly power.”

THE BEST (and worst) STUFF WE REVIEWED IN 2018

We reviewed a slew of Blu-Rays, DVDs, books and CDs in 2018. Time to take a look back at the best & worst of them. While we have seen more movies than the Surgeon General recommends, our lists consist strictly of titles which were sent to us for review purposes.

PURR-R-R...THE BEST: We reviewed some good stuff this year, but the following titles were better than taunting a mouse to death:

10. SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY (Disney) - If Rogue One is the classic war film in the Star Wars universe, then Solo is its classic western. We may not have needed a Han Solo origin story, but in the tradition of the coolest westerns, the film gives a true anti-hero as its main protagonist, a first for the franchise. I'm still surprised at some of the negativity aimed at this film.

9. SORRY TO BOTHER YOU (20th Century Fox) - Sorry to Bother You is full of surprises, never once unfolding like we expect it to. That alone keeps it at-least interesting, whether you end up liking the film or not (I suspect many viewers definitely won't). That it's also wickedly funny, completely original and features a charming, relatable protagonist makes it one of the best films of the year.

8. ZOMBIE (1979) and MANIAC (1980): 3 DISC LIMITED EDITIONS (Blue Underground) - Both of these polarizing cult classics have been released numerous times over the years. While one may question the quality of the films themselves, there's no arguing that Blue Underground has put together two of this year's most comprehensive, fan-friendly Blu-ray releases. Beautifully restored in all their gruesome glory, both are loaded with hours of entertaining bonus features (new and old), along with soundtrack CDs and lenticular covers.

7. THE INSULT (Cohen Media Group) - As The Insult so effectively demonstrates, sometimes it takes just a few words for things to spin wildly out of control. In addition to its thematic relevance, the movie's massively entertaining, with outstanding performances. Karam, in particular, stands out among the great cast, doing a masterful job of making us empathize with someone we initially despise. The Insult is an all-around terrific film, not to be missed.

6. THE SEA HAWK (Warner Archive Collection) - Nearly 80 years later, The Sea Hawk is still loads of fun, belying its age with this terrific Blu-ray transfer. And by carrying-over one of the greatest bonus features ever concocted, we can once again experience it just as filmgoers did in 1940, when "a night at the movies" was just that. As classics go, this one is irresistible.

5. MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE - FALLOUT (Paramount) - This is the only current franchise that seems to improve with each entry. There's never a moment where we suspect Tom Cruise is going through the motions. I don't know how long he can keep this up, but here's hoping he'll crank out at least one or two more without killing himself. The best action film of the year.

4. DEEP RED (Arrow Video) - Revisiting Deep Red for the first time in 30 years, I've come to the realization that Suspiria may not be Dario Argento's best film after all, and this new Blu-ray from Arrow presents this giallo classic the way it should be seen, in glorious widescreen with a 4K restoration and the original Italian audio track. The masterful murder sequences achieve a level of artistry - and savage beauty - Argento only hinted at in The Bird with the Crystal Plumage.

3. BOUND (Olive Films) - Bound is an exceptional directorial debut and arguably the Wachowskis' second-best film. Bereft of the bells and whistles they'd later depend on, it tells a compelling story with little more than a smart screenplay, a bit of dazzling camerawork and a perfect cast. This disc, however, has a lot of bells and whistles, making it another great Olive Signature release.

2. THE DAY OF THE JACKAL (Arrow Video) - A "perfect" film is one that is technically, conceptually & creatively flawless. No throwaway scenes, redundant characters or questionable casting decisions. The direction, performances, pacing, editing, writing, cinematography and score are all spot-on. The i's are all dotted; the t's are all crossed. By that reckoning, I can't think of a single aspect of The Day of the Jackal that doesn't meet the criteria. How come it took this long for a proper Blu-ray release?

1. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (Olive Films) - One of the coolest things about the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers is that it's conceptually timeless. Social commentary and themes notwithstanding, the original still holds up as a smart slice of provocative sci-fi horror, certainly belying its minuscule budget and drive-in fodder title. It's been released on Blu-ray before, but this time Olive Films has thrown-in a plethora of new and vintage bonus features, all of which are entertaining and informative. Along with a great video & audio transfer, this is the best Blu-ray of the year. A must own for any cinephile, even if they own a previous version.

Honorable Mention: A Taxi Driver, Avengers - Infinity War, King Cohen, Abomidable (MVD Rewind Collection), A Trip to the Moon, The Man Who Haunted Himself, The Swarm (really!), Birdman of Alcatraz, Village of the Damned (1960), La Belle Noiseuse, Snowflake, Chasing the Dragon.

BLEH...THE WORST: As much as we love movies, there are times when reviewing them feels like an actual job. The following titles deserve to be buried in the litter box:

10. CRACKDOWN BIG CITY BLUES (The Film Detective) - While the late Paul DeSilva's message and sincerity are admirable, this previously unreleased relic from the 90s is a heavy-handed mess. Home-movie production values and amateurish performances are the least of its problems. Much of the time, Crackdown Big City Blues wavers uncomfortably back and forth between social commentary and gratuitous action, often with little or no transition. Worst of all, it's plodding, preachy, poorly executed and not nearly as relevant as it would have been three decades ago.

9. CALL OF THE UNDEAD (Wild Eye Releasing) - A slapdash mishmash of poor acting, dumb writing, hyperactive editing, a deafening metal soundtrack, gratuitous nudity and unimpressive zombie mayhem. It manages to be unintentionally humorous, compounded by the overly serious tone. But the piéce de résistance for bad movie lovers is the atrocious dubbing.

8. SUBURBICON (Paramount) - Considering the talent involved on both sides of the camera, Suburbicon was easily the most massively disappointing movie of the year. What should have been a creative home-run (or at-least an RBI double) is disjointed and dull, not helped by clumsy satire and failed attempts at black comedy.

7. TREMORS: A COLD DAY IN HELL (Universal) - They should've stuck a fork in this franchise after two movies. Instead, this sixth installment continues milking a once-amusing premise to death. Dreadful and embarrassing, even by direct-to-DVD standards. Is this the only work Michael Gross can get?

6. AFRAID (Well Go USA) - Excruciatingly slow "thriller" in which we're forced to watch two dull characters almost exclusively through surveillance cameras. Much of what transpires is seen from a distance, from the point-of-view of their stalker, which negates a lot of the suspense and makes it more of an endurance test than your typical found footage film.

5. SUPERCON (Sony) - Considering the premise, this is a sadly-squandered opportunity that might amuse undemanding middle school boys, but anyone looking for wit, clever satire or even well-staged physical gags will likely feel short-changed. An interminable parade of obnoxious characters, cheap gags, idiotic slapstick and overall mean-spiritedness.

4. STREETS OF VENGEANCE (Slasher Video) - From an aesthetic standpoint, the film looks and sounds exactly like the titillating, low budget erotic thrillers that cash-strapped Brian DePalma wannabes used to crank out in the 80s. Unfortunately, it unfolds exactly like one, too, just as dull, dumb and exploitative as those old films.

3. CRAZY SIX (MVD Marquee Collection) - With a cast like this, Crazy Six should have been 90 minutes of mindless fun. While there's mindlessness in abundance, the fun is conspicuously missing, even for fans of any of these actors. Dull and forgettable, the film has earned its anonymity.

2. GIRLS VS. GANGSTERS (Well Go USA) - Girls vs. Gangsters is not-only laugh free, it's narratively vapid and offensively stupid. Every attempt at humor is labored and desperate, with an abundance of scatological humor, leering shots of cleavage and even a rape joke for those who think that shit is funny. The three lead characters are shrill, obnoxious and irritating caricatures who generate zero empathy and even less likability.

1. DIAMONDS OF KILIMANDJARO (MVD Classics) - While there's plenty of unintentional humor, Diamonds of Kilimandjaro is kind-of monotonous and almost perversely voyeuristic. Star Katja Bienert (who's nearly naked throughout the entire film) was only 16 years old when she made this...and looks more like she's 14. Maybe some Jess Franco fans out there are willing to defend such a questionable casting choice, though I'm not sure I'd want to hear their argument.

Dishonorable Mention: Daddy's Home 2, Blast, The Exorcist Limited Edition Soundtrack (CD), Golden Temple Amazons, Flora, Rodin, Fanchon the Cricket, Blockers, The Hallelujah Trail

KITTY KUDOS: 

Thanks to the various studios, PR groups and distributors who've provided Free Kittens Movie Guide with the opportunity to feature their products and share our fickle opinions, including: Paramount Pictures, Walt Disney, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Mill Creek Entertainment, Sony Pictures, Olive Films, Warner Archive, Well Go USA, Lionsgate, Blue Underground, VCI Entertainment, Arrow Films, MPI, MVD Entertainment, Eagle Vision, Cohen Media Group, Oscilloscope Labs, Wild Eye Releasing, Dark Sky Films, Flicker Alley, HBO, MPRM, Cohn & Wolfe, Click Communications, Justin Cook Public Relations, Vicki Greenleaf & Associates, Thinkjam, Rowan & Littlefield, Schiffer Publishing.

THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD...and Another Time

Starring Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, Robert Cornthwaite, Douglas Spencer, Dewey Martin, Paul Frees (yay!), Robert Nichols and, of course, James Arness. Directed by Christian Nyby. (1951/87 min).

AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY FROM

WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION

Review by Mr. Paws🙀

John Carpenter's 1982 remake of The Thing has become so iconic over the years that's it's widely considered the definitive version. And I would concur. In addition to the groundbreaking special effects, it is conceptually more faithful to Joseph W. Campbell's original story, Who Goes There?, than the comparatively quaint 1951 film.

Maybe some of you reading this didn't even know there was a 1951 version. If so, shame on you.

"Looks good. When can we smoke 'em?"

Though historically overshadowed, The Thing from Another World remains one of the better, more intelligent examples of post-war sci-fi/horror. The film takes significant liberties with the source material, most notably its depiction of the titular creature (pre-Gunsmoke James Arness). Maybe due to budgetary restraints, it more-resembles Frankenstein's monster than a shapeshifting lifeform and is described by Dr. Carrington (Robert Cornthwaite) as being genetically similar to a vegetable.

Beating the audience to the punch, one character makes an off-handed comment about the ridiculousness of "an intellectual carrot." But we aren't talking Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, here. The smart story and believable characters keep us from laughing our asses off, even after the underwhelming monster finally appears. Like Carpenter's film, The Thing from Another World  makes the most of its intimate, claustrophobic setting (a scientific outpost in the Arctic), and masterfully creates tension by offering only sparing glances of the creature.

Sometimes ya gotta dance like nobody's watching.

Like the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Thing from Another World may have been aesthetically one-upped by a more ambitious - and apocalyptic - remake, but its lasting influence on the genre is inarguable. Viewed in the context of when it was made, the film remains a gripping good time. And if nothing else, it's always amusing when the smartest character in the room turns out to be dead wrong. 

On Blu-ray for the first time, classic horror fans can scratch another one off their wish list. Though unfortunately light on bonus features - surely its status warrants a retrospective doc - the film has been given an impressive restoration.

EXTRA KIBBLES

2 TRAILERS

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

Rest in Peace, Frank Adonis

Frank Adonis (1935-2018)

THE SEA HAWK (1940): A Real Night at the Movies

Starring Errol Flynn, Brenda Marshall, Claude Rains, Donald Crisp, Flora Robson, Alan Hale. Directed by Michael Curtiz. (1940/127 min).

AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY FROM

WARNER ARCHIVE COLLECTION

Review by Mr. Paws😼

Going out to the movies used to be a different experience.

Today, your $12 ticket gets you more trailers than you have patience for, a Coca-Cola ad and animated M&Ms reminding you to turn off your cell phone. And I get it. Theaters need to pay the bills. But back in my day, as I  often tell my kids, movies were only three bucks and we usually got a double feature. My daughters weren't impressed, both stating that's way too long to sit in a theater. Makes me wonder whose kids I'm really raising.

But even before my day, moviegoers got a cartoon, short subject, newsreel and a trailer or two before the feature. A night at the movies was truly a night at the movies, and in 1940, you got it all for a quarter...without a single asshat whipping out his cellphone. M&Ms were strictly for eatin'. 

As a lifelong cinephile, sometimes I think I was born a few decades too late.

Warner Bros. remembers those days, though. In the past, they've released some of their classics as part of their Warner Night at the Movies series (even back in the VHS days), where the feature was preceded by all the aforementioned goodies. One of those movies was the 1940 Errol Flynn adventure, The Sea Hawk. Now on Blu-ray for the first time, the original Warner Night at the Movies presentation is included as a viewing option. For anyone with a fondness for Hollywood history - or are simply curious - it's the only way to experience a film like this.

"Did you steal these from the neighbor's yard?"

The movie itself is one of Errol Flynn's best. Released at the height of his popularity, The Sea Hawk is an epic adventure with Flynn as sea captain Geoffrey Thorpe, England's most infamous privateer, defending his country against enemies through piracy. While running afoul of Spain - who are secretly building an armada for an invasion - he falls in love with Dona Maria (Brenda Marshall), the daughter of Spain's unscrupulous ambassador, Don de Cordoba (Claude Rains). At the unofficial behest of Queen Elizabeth (Flora Robson, in a wonderfully playful performance), Flynn plans to raid a Spanish outpost in the New World, stealing their gold to bring back to England. Unfortunately, Sir Burleson (Donald Crisp) betrays the Queen, scheming with de Cordoba to catch Thorpe in the act.

Flynn may not have ever been what anyone considered a great actor, but he had loads of charisma and was always a great physical performer. No one exploited his gifts as effectively as director Michael Curtiz. While the two collaborated on a dozen films together, The Sea Hawk is arguably one of their most ambitious. Capitalizing on the success of Captain Blood, the film ups the ante in terms of scope, spectacle and swordplay. The final showdown between Thorpe and Burleson remains one of the greatest sword fights ever filmed.

Best of all, nearly 80 years later The Sea Hawk is still loads of fun, belying its age with this terrific Blu-ray transfer. And by carrying-over one of the greatest bonus features ever concocted, we can once again experience it just as filmgoers did in 1940, when "a night at the movies" was just that. As classics go, this one is irresistible.

EXTRA KIBBLES

"WARNER NIGHT AT THE MOVIES" - The option to watch The Sea Hawk as presented in theaters, with a cartoon ("Porky's Poor Fish"), newsreel, short subject ("Alice in Movieland") and trailers preceding the feature. Includes an introduction by Leonard Maltin.

FEATURETTE - "The Sea Hawk: Flynn in Action"

KITTY CONSENSUS:

MEE-OW! LIKE BEING TURNED LOOSE IN A BIRD SANCTUARY.

The Creative Deviance of SNOWFLAKE

Reza Brojerdi, Erkan Acar, Xenia Assenza, David Masterson, Alexander Schubert, Gedeon Borkhard, Katja Wagner, David Gant, Judith Hoersch, Mathis Landwehr. Directed by Adolfo J. Kolmerer & William James. (2017/121 min). 

AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY FROM

ARTSPLOITATION FILMS

Review by Fluffy the Fearless😺

About ten minutes in, Snowflake threw me for a loop...which doesn't happen often.

The more movies you see, the harder it is to be really surprised by anything, especially if you spend an appreciable amount of time reviewing them. Rarely do you come across one that doesn't remind you - even remotely - of something that came before.

Snowflake begins like a German variation of a Tarantino movie, with two brothers bickering over the quality of the food at a diner. This deceptively mundane scene ends with the reveal that these two guys had just killed everyone else in the restaurant. I was immediately reminded of Pulp Fiction, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. So far, I'd seen far worse self-conscious Tarantino rip-offs than this one.

Then the film takes a sharp left turn into the surreal and never looks back. These two brothers, Javid & Tan (Reza Vrojerdi & Erkan Acar), while sitting in a stolen car, discover pages of an unfinished screenplay, the first scene being their violent encounter at the diner...word for word.

I suddenly perked up: There just might be some creative deviance at-work here.

Horrified, the brothers find the car's owner, a dentist who writes screenplays in his spare time and has no idea who they are. They force him at gunpoint to print the rest of what's he's written, but the problem is even he doesn't yet know how it will end. This is where Javid & Tan learn the story's protagonist, Eliana, is looking to avenge the death of her parents, who they murdered at the diner.

Porky Pig goes dark & gritty.

Meanwhile, with the help of her parents' former bodyguard, Eliana (Xenia Assenza) is indeed trying to hire people to find and kill Javid & Tan, including two cannibalistic brothers, a blind killer-for-hire and a sharp-dressed man in charge of a militarized underground cult. All these guys come highly recommended by the bodyguard's father, who thinks he is God. Oh, and did I mention that the entire story takes place in a totalitarian, lawless future, and the two brothers are out to avenge the death of their own family at the hands the country's former dictator. And by the way, there's also a vigilante stalking the streets who fancies himself a superhero: Hyper Electric Man. All this time, the dentist is struggling with writer's block while trying to come up with the perfect ending, one which Javid & Tan insist doesn't include the two of them getting killed.

Snowflake is as bizarre as it sounds, with a pitch-black sense of humor and frequent bursts of jarring violence. The scenes where Javid & Tan read about their actions as they are happening are clever and often amusing (reading about themselves reading the screenplay...the mind boggles). In a movie filled with fascinating characters, it's sort-of ironic that the titular character, a sultry lounge singer in angel wings (Judith Hoersch) is actually the least interesting. The premise doesn't fully sustain itself to the very end and ultimately doesn't have a hell of a lot to do with the basic plot, but Snowflake's metafictional elements are also what renders it unique.

Well directed by Adolfo J. Kolmerer & William James, Snowflake belies its low budget with a lot of creative ambition. The characters are interesting and their story is a lot of twisted fun. It goes on a bit longer than necessary, but remains a surreal little gem of a film. A must for adventurous viewers looking for something different.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTE: "BEHIND-THE-SCENES"

TRAILERS

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

KRULL & Company: Retro VHS Packaging

AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY FROM

MILL CREEK ENTERTAINMENT

Review by Mr. Paws😸

In an era when vinyl records can make a comeback, I suppose it was inevitable that nostalgia for the days of VHS tapes would rear its ugly head.

Unlike the physical charm and warmer sound offered by an LP, however, I don't think anyone actually misses the VHS format itself. Comparatively speaking, the picture quality was never that great and they wore out pretty fast, especially rental copies. And on occasion, your RV-sized VCR would decide that the Chuck Norris chopfest you planned your weekend around was good enough to eat.

But the ritual is what we miss...venturing to the nearest mom & pop video store and perusing shelf after shelf of battered boxes covered in stickers reminding us not to leave the tapes in the sun. Speaking of which, it was usually only a matter of weeks before a new release looked more like an artifact from an archaeological dig.

It was in this ancient time that movies like Krull, Silent Rage and Last Action Hero were king. Ignored in theaters but given new leases on life on the burgeoning home video market, they are three of many titles from Mill Creek Entertainment repackaged with slipcovers harkening back to the video store days, right down to the image of a beat-up old VHS sliding from the box. Of the three aforementioned titles, Krull is the real keeper. Not because it's a better movie or anything, but Columbia Pictures' VHS boxes were kind-of iconic. With bright red borders and the same bold white font of the spine of every title, their boxes were as instantly recognizable to frequent renters as Warner and Disney's old clamshell cases.

In terms of actual content, these are bare-bones Blu-rays, but I suppose you could look at it this way: None of the old VHS copies had bonus features, either. The purpose of these re-releases is purely aesthetic, meant for collectors of a certain age who didn't grow up on Netflix and its generic title descriptions. And at a dirt cheap price, they're a fun way to retro-fit your video shelves.

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

Rest in Peace, Donald Moffat

Donald Moffat (1930-2018)