DVD/Movie Review: The Betrayed

 

The Betrayed is a 2008 thriller directed by Amanda Gusack starring Melissa George (probably best known for her role in the series Alias), Oded Fehr (probably best known for his role in the first two Mummy movies and several of the Resident Evil movies), Connor Christopher, Christian Campbell, Alice Krige, and Donald Adams. The movie begins at the scene of what appears to be a hit-and-run car accident, but the driver of the car that was hit is nowhere to be found. Then, we see a woman named Jamie (George) who has been kidnapped and is being held in a warehouse by a masked stranger (Fehr) who is asking for information about her husband (Campbell). Jamie finds out that she and her son, Michael,  are being held by members of a crime syndicate who claim that her husband, who Jamie believes is the owner of an Italian restaurant, has stolen forty million dollars from them. She is told that she and her son will be released if she helps track down the money. 

The DVD is a very bare-bones release. There is no bonus content specific to the movie. The only extras are a series of trailers that play before the disc menu loads. While the movie is not quite an independent film, it definitely had a lower budget and is not an action-packed blockbuster with an A-list cast. That said, it is a well-written and acted thriller. George and Fehr, who have mostly had supporting roles in their careers, are excellent as the leads. While the movie has a little bit of action, mostly at the end, it is mainly a suspense thriller set in a single location for the vast majority of the time. The run time comes in at just under 90 minutes. The story is compact and does not ever seem to lag. Ultimately, it is a decent to good B-level drama/suspense thriller that is worth watching.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Hatchet

 

Hatchet is a horror/comedy movie from 2006 written and directed by Adam Green and starring Joel David Moore, Tamara Feldman, Don Richmond, and Mercedes McNab. It also features horror icons Kane Holder, Robert Englund, and Tony Todd. It is a low-budget, independent horror movie with a lot of comedy mixed in. It is, in part, an homage to the 1980s horror films like Friday The 13th, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Candyman, etc., and in part a comedic parody of those movies. In fact, the film touts Kane Hodder (who played Jason in at least one of the Friday the 13th movies) as the killer and Robert Englund and Tony Todd in smaller roles. Despite being a low-budget movie, it includes several recognizable character actors, including Richard Riehle, Joel David Moore (from Bones and Avatar), and Mercedes McNab (from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel).

The story is that a deformed killer named Victor Crawley, who lives in the swamps of Louisiana, kills anyone who comes into the woods where his cabin, which was burned with him in it when he was a kid, is. There is definitely a big original Friday the 13th feel to the movie, but it is not a total rip-off of that story. It is very gory, but not in a realistic way, like the saw movies where it looks like something that can actually happen. This is more people getting their arms ripped off, being ripped in half, and the like. There is also some nudity, which is a total spoof on the Girls Gone Wild flashing situations, but not really any sex scenes.

For those who get the blu-ray, the transfer is okay, but certainly not as high-end and high-quality as the big-budget movies get. The extras include about an hour and fourteen minutes (almost as long as the movie) worth of making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, a gag reel, and the theatrical trailer. A lot, especially since movies like this, when they do get physical releases, tend to not have any bonus material at all.

This is definitely not a movie that will appeal to everyone. But, if you are a fan of low-budget, independent horror movies that do not take themselves too seriously, this is worth a look.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Embrace of the Vampire (2013)

 

Embrace of the Vampire is a 2013 horror film starring Sharon Hinnendael, Tiio Horn, C.C. Sheffield, Chelsea Reist, and Victor Webster. It is a remake of the mid-90s movie of the same name starring Alyssa Milano. The original movie was a decent B-level movie, and this, I would say, is a decent C-level movie. While it shares the name of the original, it is not a shot-for-shot remake and does tell its own story. In this version, Sharon Hinnendael plays Charlotte, a university freshman on a fencing scholarship. She starts having weird dreams and visions and blacking out randomly. She learns she is being stalked by a Vampire who wants to use her to become human. The movie also keeps the Vampire's identity hidden for a while and tries to get you to wonder who it is, as opposed to being upfront about it like the original movie was. And Charlotte never really does a "bad girl" transformation like Milano's character did in the original movie. There is more sex and violence in this version than in the original, and the special effects are much better. Also, the movie is made up exclusively of unknown and lesser-known actors and actresses, which does not really hurt the movie but does not help it either.

The Blu-Ray release is very bare-bones. It does include some previews before the menu loads and then just the movie itself. There are no bonus materials or extras specific to the film. Overall, if you do not expect the movie to be anything more than it is, basically an independent horror movie with no star power in the cast, then it is okay. If you are expecting anything more than that, you will be sorely disappointed. It is definitely not what I would call a must-see either way.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Barb Wire

 

Barb Wire is a post-apocalyptic action movie from 1996 starring Pamela Anderson and Temuera Morrison. If you keep in mind that this was a movie to capitalize on Pamela Anderson's popularity (primarily based on her looks when she was in her physical prime on Baywatch and making pretty regular appearances in Playboy), and do not expect an award-winning movie (except maybe a Razzie), you will not be let down. It is a standard post-apocalyptic movie (set during the "second civil war") where the good guys are not all that good, the bad guys are not all bad, and the really bad guys are everyone's enemies.

Anderson plays the owner of a club in the last free city in the country. She is also a bounty hunter and dealer in anything, legal or otherwise. The plot is pretty basic, and the writing and acting are nothing special. Clint Howard plays larger than a cameo role in a film not directed by Ron Howard, which tells you all you need to know about it. The appeal of the movie is really Anderson in various stages of undress throughout the movie and the amusement of her trying to act like a badass throughout (complete with a big fight scene at the end).

The blu-ray is a standard transfer. Given that the movie is nearly 30 years old (as of this writing) and was not a big-budget blockbuster, it did not get an excellent restoration and HD transfer. There are no extras or special features. Just the movie itself. If you were in high school or college in the mid to late 1990s at the height of Pamela Anderson's career, it is a nostalgic, so bad it's good movie.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Embrace of the Vampire (1995)

 

Embrace of the Vampire was a mid-1990s schlocky B-level movie starring Alyssa Milano, Martin Kemp, Charlotte Lewis, and Jennifer Tilly. Its main claim to fame was Alyssa Milano taking on one of the roles that broke her out of the good-girl child star mold she had been in since her days on Whose The Boss and in the movie Commando. This is one of the first, if not the first, roles where Milano, who was in her early twenties at the time, went topless. She was also drinking, smoking, and making out with Charlotte Lewis. The actual storyline is nothing to write home about, Milano's character Charlotte, who is a freshman in college, is being stalked by a vampire (played by Martin Kemp) who is trying to seduce her so he can avoid eternal sleep (the vampire version of dying apparently). It is a pretty stupid plot, and the writing (and, as a result, the acting) was not all that great. But, it is one of those movies that you get knowing what it is, and you watch it to see Milano (especially if you are old enough to have had a crush on her during the 1980s) playing a bad girl role, which she does an awesome job at. She is really the best part of the movie.

For those who get the blu-ray, it is not the best transfer. I do not own the DVD version of the movies, but other reviewers have said that the blu-ray is not any big step up in quality. And there are no extras, just the movie itself. So, if you have the DVD, there is really no reason to upgrade. If you are looking for a B-level thriller and/or want to see Milano in what was probably her sexiest role, then this is worth it. Otherwise, you are not missing much if you skip this one.

DVD/Movie Review: American Ninja 5

 

American Ninja 5 is a movie from 1992 starring David Bradley, Anne Dupont, Lee Reyes (from the renowned Reyes martial arts family), and James Lew. Pat Morita (from The Karate Kid) is billed as a lead, but he is really only in the movie for less than 10 minutes, a couple of minutes in the beginning, a few minutes in the middle, and a couple of minutes in the end.

The plot of the movie is a mess. It is kind of a combination of the plots from the other American Ninja movies mashed together with a bit of Karate Kid (the mentoring aspect, not because of anything Pat Morita does) mixed in. The basics are a rich bad guy in Venezuela played by Clement von Franckenstein is forcing a scientist played by Aharon Ipale, to build a bio-weapon and using an army of (really pathetic) ninjas led by James Lew's character, the Viper as enforcers. 

The movie is about as bad as you would suspect, especially if you have seen the other movies in the franchise. Ultimately, this movie is not really a part of the franchise since it has no ties to the other movies. David Bradley is brought back, but he plays a completely different character than he did in American Ninja 3 and 4. Tadashi Yamashita, who played the lead evil ninja in American Ninja 1 does appear as himself at the very beginning of the movie, but there is not even a reference to Michael Dudikoff or Steve James' characters from the other movies. So, this movie is basically a total reset of the franchise that was not in any way needed. The acting and writing are horrible, but the martial arts action is good, for the most part. The movie is very cheesy and campy. There are horrible sound effects throughout the movie, and the lead evil ninja never wears a ninja uniform. Instead, he alternates between a trenchcoat and a cape from scene to scene, and he has a pompadour and a ponytail.

The DVD just has the movie itself, which starts playing as soon as the disc loads. There are no extras or bonus material, and there are no captions. Ultimately, you know what you are getting with the movie. A D-level action movie. It was one of the last ninja movies that was made after the genre started to putter out in the late 1980s. It is longer than most of the other movies in the genre (clocking in at 1 hour and 40 minutes) and definitely seems to drag on. If you accept it for what it is, it is an okay action movie. If you expect anything more than that, you will be disappointed.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: American Ninja 4: The Annihilation

 

American Ninja 4 is the (almost) final movie in the American Ninja franchise of movies, and one of the final movies released by Cannon Films (which also released the "Ninja trilogy" in the early 1980s, along with a string of low-budget movies and the disastrous Superman IV.) 

This movie was released in 1990 and brought Michael Dudikoff back into the franchise, having his character "Joe Armstrong" team up with David Bradley's character Sean Davidson. I think the studio was probably trying to recapture the magic of the first movie, which was an unexpected low-budget hit in 1985, but ended up just making a movie that was even worse than the awful American Ninja 3. The plot basically cherry-picks elements of the first three movies, adds a couple of twists to the rich bad guy part of the plot, and sprinkles in a bit of "Mad Max" dystopian renegades. And, much to Michael Dudikoff's disappointment, did not bring back Steve James to reprise his character, which if you watch the making-of featurette, was a conscious decision by the producers not because James turned them down.  Needless to say, that combination did not work.  The fight scenes are awful, and the "main" evil ninja is a white guy with an eye patch. He is not even remotely threatening, and the henchman ninjas are totally pathetic, like killing themselves on an obstacle course pathetic.

The movie clocks in at just over an hour and a half, which is a similar running time to the other movies in the franchise. The A/V transfer of the blu-ray is good, but not great. About what you would expect of a low-budget early 90s movie. For extras, there is a 15-minute making-of featurette that was produced in 2016 and is mostly a conversation with the director of the movie, Cedric Sundstrom, a music video that has clips from each of the four movies set to a bad 80s song, and the theatrical trailer. This is basically the final movie in the series because, while American Ninja 5 was made with David Bradley as the star, he played a completely different character, and Dudikoff did not return for that one.

This is a movie that you have to take for what it is, a bad, low-budget action movie with bad acting and writing. It is basically something you would get just to keep a collection complete, and maybe watch if you are in the mood for a cheesy action movie. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: American Ninja 3: Blood Hunt

 

If you take portions of the plots of American Ninja 1 and 2, combine them with any other martial arts movies that involve a tournament (e.g., Enter The Dragon and The Karate Kid), and don't do any of them as well, you get American Ninja 3. This is the third movie in the American Ninja franchise created by Cannon Films after the popularity of the "Ninja Trilogy" that starred Sho Kosugi. The first American Ninja was a pretty big hit (for a low-budget martial arts movie) and the second one was more of a flop. The first two movies starred Michael Dudikoff as Joe Armstrong, the titular American Ninja. For this movie, Dudikoff's contract was up and he was replaced with David Bradley, who played Sean Davidson another (convenient) American Ninja. Dudikoff's character is named dropped once during the movie, but that is it.

The plot, to the extent there is one, is recycled yet barely comprehensible. The main bad guy is another terrorist nicknamed The Cobra (played by Marjoe Gortner) who is making biological weapons and genetically enhanced super ninjas. One of the main problems with the movie is that there is no "main" bad ninja. There are just a bunch of rando ninjas that would be expendable henchmen in any other ninja movie. So, the "final battle" is just silly. Steve James is the only one from the first two movies to appear in this one, reprising his role as Curtis Jackson, who is now out of the Army and attending a karate tournament where he meets Davidson.

The A/V transfer is okay, but not great. It is definitely a step up from VHS quality, but as you would expect with a low-budget B-movie, it did not get a great restoration. For extras, there is a 13-minute behind-the-scenes featurette that includes interviews with the writer, director, producer, and Dudikoff who basically says it was not his decision not to come back for this movie. Then there is a 6-minute portion of David Bradley's screen test and the theatrical trailer. Unlike the blu-ray releases for the first two movies, this one does not have a commentary track.

The only real reason to get this movie is if you have the others and want to keep your collection complete. The action is fine and Bradley certainly could handle the martial arts. But, the writing is horrible and as a result, the acting is pretty shitty too.  It is something you can watch once and never watch again and/or just have it on in the background while you are cooking or cleaning. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: American Ninja 2: The Confrontation

 

This is the 1987 follow-up to the surprise 1985 hit, American Ninja. The movie brings back Michael Dudikoff as Joe Armstrong and Steve James as Curtis Jackson and was again directed by Firstenberg (who directed the first movie, as well as a couple of movies in Cannon's early 80s "Ninja Trilogy". 

The movie is set on some unnamed tropical island in the Caribbean, where Marines are being mysteriously abducted. Armstrong and Jackson (who are still in the army) are sent to investigate. From there, a silly plot about a local drug lord (played by Gary Conway, who also wrote the movie) that involves genetically engineering ninjas plays out. This time, the lead "bad" ninja was played by Mike Stone (who had trained Elvis Pressley in Karate). 

The blu-ray transfer was decent (an upgrade from the VHS version for sure), but not great. Very similar to the transfer the first movie received. The extras include an audio commentary track with Elijah Drenner and Firstenberg, which was very similar to the track they did for the American Ninja Blu-Ray, a making-of featurette, and the trailer. In the commentary track, Firstenberg again provides a lot of good nuggets about the movie, including filming the movie in South Africa toward the end of Apartheid and working with an even lower budget for this movie than he had for the first, despite the success of the first movie. 

Overall, the movie itself is bad. It definitely has the look and feel of a very low-budget 80s action movie. The script was hilariously bad, which resulted in horrible acting, and the fight sequences were not nearly as good as in the first movie. The "expendable" black ninjas could not beat anyone, and even Stone's lead ninja was pretty lame in the final fight. But, you know what you get from the movie. It is not an award-winner by any means but is a nostalgic blast from the past. 

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: American Ninja

 

American Ninja was the other series of cult-classic martial arts/Ninja movies (the other being the Ninja Trilogy, Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination, which starred Sho Koshugi) that were put out in the 1980s by Cannon films and Golan-Globus productions. The plot is set around the character of Joe Armstrong, played by Michael Dudikoff, in one of his early roles, a Private on an American military base in the Phillppines. When a convoy moving not only weapons but the daughter of the base's colonel (played by Julie Aronson) is attacked by rebels and a band of evil ninjas, Joe is forced to fight to save the Colonel's daughter. From there, the movie becomes a mix of an action-drama, a romance story, and a story of a reluctant hero. The rest of the main cast includes Steve James as Corporal Curtis Jackson, Don Stewart, as a French arms dealer, Victor Ortega, Tadashi Yamashita (who had black belts in multiple martial arts styles) as the Black Star Ninja, and John LaMota, as Master Sargent Rinaldo. 

The blu-ray, which was released in 2016, got a decent A/V transfer, so it is definitely an upgrade from the VHS version, which many people who are old enough to remember the movie probably owned. There are a handful of extras that were made for the 2016 release, including a commentary track that is basically a conversation between producer Elijah Drenner and the director of the movie Sam Firstenberg (who also directed Revenge of the Ninja and Ninja III) that provides a lot of details about the production of the movie and a lot of interesting tidbits, including the fact that the movie was originally developed for Chuck Norris, who passed on the role because he did not want to have his face covered. Then, there is a 22-minute behind-the-scenes/making-of featurette that includes interviews with Dudikoff, Firstenberg, Aronson, and the stunt coordinator, Steve Lambert, and the theatrical trailer.

Ultimately, this is a movie that is mostly an action movie that will appeal to those who were kids or young adults in the 1980s. The story is pretty cookie-cutter and the script was nothing to write home about. Dudikoff, who had no martial arts training before he was cast in the movie, actually does a very good job in the action sequences, and did a lot of the fight work himself. He actually looked very fluid and looked like he had practiced martial arts for years (unlike Franco Nero in Enter the Ninja who looked absolutely awful in the fight sequences he performed). The problem with this movie is that the script was pretty bad, and Dudikoff had to play Armstrong with almost no personality. Steve James and Phil Brock (who played the comic relief in the movie) probably had the best material to work with. It very much feels like a low-budget 1980s action movie and would probably not be made the same way today as it was back then. But, if you accept the fact that you are not going to see an Academy Award-winning drama and accept it for what it is, it is enjoyable.

DVD/Movie Review: The Breed

 

The Breed is 2006 a B-movie starring Michelle Rodriguez (from the Fast and Furious movie franchise), Taryn Manning (from Orange is the New Black), Hill Harper (from shows like Limitless and The Good Doctor), Oliver Husdon (Kate's brother, and Goldie Hawn's less famous child), and Eric Lively. It is a movie that is best described as a knockoff of Alfred Hitchcock's classic The Birds, but it is nowhere near as good as that. The basic plot is that a group of friends plan to vacation on a deserted island owned by the family of brothers Matt (Lively) and John (Hudson). Of course, the island is not totally deserted as the group encounters a pack of wild dogs that starts attacking them, and in the process discover a larger plot.

For those who get the DVD, the only extras are a making-of-documentary that runs about 25 minutes and some trailers for other movies. The documentary is okay, but nothing special. 

Overall, the movie is good but not great. It does have some jump-scare moments, but I would not quite call it a horror classic, despite the fact that it was produced by Wes Craven, who directed classics in the horror genre like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream. The plot twist is a little silly and needed. It is definitely not as good as The Birds or Jaws (two movies that obviously heavily influenced the plot), but as a low-budget indie horror/thriller, it is worth a look, but is probably not a movie that most people would give a lot of repeat viewings.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Pray for Death

 

Pray for Death is one of the movies that Sho Kosugi made after the widely popular "ninja trilogy" movies made during the early to mid-1980s (Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination). In this movie, Kosugi plays a retired Ninja Warrior named Akira Saito, now working in an Office job in Japan. His American-born wife Aiko convinces him to move to Los Angeles where they open a Japanese restaurant, and immediately are targeted by a local crime boss Mr. Newman (played by Michael Constantine), and his enforcer Limehouse Willie (played by James Booth). Basically, much like Revenge of the Ninja, the plot involves Akira and his family being threatened until he has to dust off his ninja skills and take out the bad guys.

Overall, I would say that the movie is decent but not as good as Revenge of the Ninja or Ninja III. But, you obviously know going into a movie like this that you are getting it for the action, the ninja weapons, etc., and not the overall quality. This is also the first movie I have seen in which Kosugi was given a lot of dialogue and not overdubbed. In the Ninja Trilogy, at least some of his lines were very clearly overdubbed, and although he does speak with an accent, you can easily understand him. Also, this one did away with the ninja-versus-ninja final battle. That required the movie raising "regular" bad guys to the level of a ninja, which destroyed a bit of the mystique of ninja invincibility. I was not a huge fan of the ninja uniform that Kosugi wore in this movie, but that is a minor point.

For those who get the blu-ray, the extras include part 1 of a two-part interview with star Sho Kosugi discussing his life growing up and his career. The second part of the interview is available if you buy the Rage of Honor disc, so it kind of sucks that you cannot get both parts on this disc if you do not want the other movie. It also includes an archive interview and Ninjitsu demonstration with Kosugi from the film's New York premiere, and the theatrical trailer. So, the extras are good if you want to watch them. While the movie is not great, if you were a fan of Kosugi's other work, it is still worth checking out.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Enter the Ninja

 

Enter the Ninja is the first of the Cannon Films' Ninja Trilogy which consists of Enter the Ninja, Revenge of the Ninja, and Ninja III: The Domination. It is really only considered a trilogy because the same production company made all of the films, and real ninjutsu practitioner Sho Kosugi appeared in each of the movies (although he played completely different roles in each movie).

The basic plot of Enter the Ninja is that a mercenary named Cole, played by Franco Nero, is trained as a ninja in Japan. The movie opens at the completion of his ninja training in a great action sequence. One of his fellow students, Hasegawa, played by Sho Kosugi, resented having an American trained as a ninja, which sets up the end of the movie. The main part of the story starts when Cole goes to visit his war buddy Frank Landers (played by Alex Courtney) and his newlywed wife Mary Ann Landers (played by Susan George), who are the owners of a large piece of farming land in the Philippines. Cole soon finds that the Landers are being repeatedly harassed by a local land baron, Charles Venarius, the wealthy CEO of Venarius Industries, in order to get them to sell their property because, unbeknownst to them, a large oil deposit is located beneath their land. Most of the middle portion of the movie involves Cole beating up the local henchmen Venarius has hired to bully and coerce the Landers. At the end of the movie, we get the classic ninja-versus-ninja battle between Cole and Hasegawa.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the A/V quality is good, but not great. It is much better quality than the picture and sound on the VHS, which is how many of us in our mid-forties or older saw the movie when we were kids. But, it did not get a high-quality restoration and transfer given that it was an independent 1980s martial arts film. There are no extras on the blu-ray aside from the trailer for the movie.

Overall, this movie is a blast from the past for those of us who saw it as kids. Chances are, if you were into martial arts at all in the late 70s through the early to mid-80s, you probably loved this movie when the horrible acting and cheesy fight sequences (and Nero's 70s porn stache) were easily ignored. It is kind of hilarious to watch Nero in the fight scenes in which he is not in the ninja costume because it is clear he had zero martial arts training or skill. But, when the stunt guy is in the costume and fighting with Kosugi, those are good fight sequences. Kosugi was still pretty green as an actor (not that he was ever a great actor), but he could pull off the menacing bad guy very well. It does have one sex scene (which is pretty tame) and a lot of violence (but even that is tame by today's standards), as well as its fair share of stupid comedy (including a guy with a hook for a hand). You definitely have to take this movie for what it is, and as long as you do not expect more from it than being a cheesy action movie with ninjas, it is enjoyable. If you are looking for an academy award winner, this is definitely not something you will be interested in.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Showgirls 15th Anniversary

 

Showgirls is a 2005 erotic drama starring Elizabeth Berkley, Gina Gershon, and Kyle MacLachlan. It is a movie that is panned, for good reason. The story is cheesy, the acting is bad (despite having some good actors and actresses in it), mostly because of really bad writing, and some of the sex scenes are so over-the-top (e.g., the scene in the pool) that they are funnier than they are sexy. Of course, the big deal about the movie back in the mid-1990s when it was made is that Elizabeth Berkley, who played the wholesome (mostly) Jesse Spano in the series Saved by the Bell, was going to be playing a stripper and doing her first nude role. Berkley plays Nomi Malone, who moves to Vegas to be a legit dancer. Of course, that does not work out, and she ends up dancing in a seedy strip club where she is spotted by Crystal Connors (played by Gina Gershon), the star of a local Cabaret show, who wants the producer, Zach (played by Twin Peaks' Kyle MacLachlan) to bring Nomi into the show. From there, it becomes a tale of backstabbing and sabotage and Nomi goes for the top billing in the show.

The movie was a huge flop at the box office but became a cult classic when it hit DVD. This is the 15th-anniversary blu-ray and does get a pretty good A/V upgrade from the DVD release. Most of the extras are ported over from the DVD release and include an entertaining commentary on the movie with "Showgirls enthusiast" David Schmader (none of the stars of the movie would touch this, apparently), a featurette called "Lap Dance Tutorial Featuring The World-Famous Girls of Scores" which is pretty self-explanatory, a trivia game, and the theatrical trailer. There is also a behind-the-scenes feature that is a production diary and shows how crazy director Paul Verhoeven was about the movie. That is the only feature that included any of the actual cast members, and then a new feature for the blu-ray release was a featurette with Shelia Kelley, who developed a program of exercise based on the movement of stripping. No new features with the cast members.

Overall, the movie is entertaining if you take it for what it is. Yes, it has a lot of nudity in it, and you can definitely tell that Berkley got into amazing shape for the role and really worked hard at the dancing. It most definitely would not get an NC-17 rating today as it did back then, but that was a different time. As I said above, the sex scenes were pretty laughable, but nothing that would garner the NC-17 rating nowadays. If you are expecting an award-winning drama or coming-of-age story, this is definitely not it. If you take it for what it is, you can get a good chuckle out of it.

DVD/Movie Review: Bound (2015)

 

Bound is a 2015 erotic thriller starring Charisma Carpenter, Bryce Draper, and Daniel Baldwin. Some B movies fall into the "so bad it's good" category. This is not one of them. Bound, (not to be confused with the 1990s erotic thriller starring Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon) tries to put a twist on the Fifty Shades of Gray storyline this time with an older woman (played by Buffy and Angel's Charisma Carpenter) trying to find empowerment through BDSM with a younger man (played by Bryce Draper). There were plenty of problems with the movie, the main one being that Carpenter and Draper had zero chemistry with each other, and the writing was horrible. As bad as the dialogue in the Fifty Shades movies could be, this was worse. It is a shame because anyone who is a fan of Buffy and/or Angel knows that Carpenter has really good acting chops and can definitely do more than just look pretty. Unfortunately, she is not given much to work with at all. But, then again, when a movie has Daniel Baldwin as one of the main characters and gives Terrell Owens an actual speaking role with more than one line of dialogue, you cannot expect much.

Had there been a better supporting cast, and just generally a better story, the movie could have been decent. But, you get the feeling that everyone was just phoning it in. While there is nudity in the movie and sex is definitely a theme, it is not really in the category of soft-core porn as some would make it seem. That said, it is not exactly something the whole family should sit around and watch either. Really, the only thing about the movie that is any kind of attraction is to see Carpenter, who was in her upper 40s at the time (and still gorgeous), do nude scenes. That is really the only thing that can bump it up to two stars. Otherwise, it is easily skippable and you are not missing anything.

Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Nurse

 

Nurse is a B-Level, maybe even C-Level thriller that, instead of embracing its awfulness, tries way too hard to be serious. It stars Paz de la Huerta as Abby Russell/Sarah Price, a nurse who is also a serial killer who kills unfaithful men. It also stars Katrina Bowden as Danni Rodgers, a new nurse whom Abby becomes obsessed with. The problem is that the movie takes itself way too seriously instead of embracing what it is and going over the top with campiness, which would have worked a lot better. Another issue is that while Paz de la Huerta definitely has the looks to pull off the role, she does not have the acting range to give the kind of performance that would have made her character better. It should be noted that she unsuccessfully sued the movie producers after it came out, alleging that they had overdubbed her performance after she was criticized for giving a monotonic performance, which was an apt description. Of course, the suit was thrown out of court and went absolutely nowhere. If you have seen any of her social media posts, you know she has a history of saying crazy, off-the-wall shit, and a claim that they overdubbed her with someone who sounds exactly like her was pretty preposterous. 

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the movie's A/V quality is great. There are a handful of extras, including a director's commentary track, a short (about 8-minute) making-of featurette, and a 6-minute collection of video diaries with Bowden and Corbin Bleu.

Overall, the movie is okay but not great. It is a standard campy serial killer movie (I would not call it a traditional horror movie), more like a combination thriller-suspense movie with a lot of blood. Paz de la Huerta can definitely play a crazy obsessive and she is not shy about taking off her clothes. There is almost as much nudity in the movie as there is violence, so be aware of that if it is something that would bug you. You must be a fan of B-movies to even entertain watching this, but if you are, it is worth a look, but not a must-see.

DVD/Movie Review: Dirty Love

 

Dirty love is an early 2000s movie that starred and was written by Jenny McCarthy. She was not quite at the height of her fame (when she was Playmate of the Year and then in her MTV days), but she was not far removed from it. It is basically a comedy about a hot girl getting dumped, doing a bunch of stupid stuff, and then ending up with the geeky guy who really loves her (played by American Pie's Eddie Kaye Thomas).

I would not really classify it as a romantic comedy, more just a straight-up comedy. And, anyone who is familiar with McCarthy's brand of comedy knows that it is raunchy. While there is some sex (more discussion than actual depiction) there are some boob shots from McCarthy, who has never been shy about taking off her clothes. But, they are fairly quick and it is not anything all that explicit.

For those who get the DVDs, the extras include a commentary track by McCarthy and the director John Asher (whom McCarthy was engaged to at the time the movie was made), some behind-the-scenes clips, and cast interviews. Nothing spectacular, but they're for people who want to go through the bonus material

Overall, the movie pretty much stays in its lane and does not try to take itself too seriously. No, it is not an award winner by any stretch, but it does not pretend to be. It is just kind of a dumb, fun movie with MaCarthy poking fun at herself, and her and Carmen Electra looking good. If you expect anything more than that you will definitely be disappointed. But, if you take it for what it is, a dumb movie that has some funny moments, then you may enjoy it.

Movie/Blu-Ray Review: Revenge of the Ninja

 

This is the second movie in the well-known (at least if you were into martial arts in the 1980s) trilogy of ninja movies released by the Cannon Group/Golan Globus productions that starred real-life ninjutsu practitioner Sho Kosugi. It was a trilogy in name only as none of the movies were interconnected, and Kosugi played different characters in each.

In this one, he plays a Japanese immigrant to America. At the beginning of the movie, his family (save for his mother and newborn son) are killed by a ninja hit squad. He movies to the US opening a gallery that imports Japanese dolls, with the help of an American partner, who turns out to be an evil mask-wearing ninja.

This is definitely an 80s B-movie and has that feel, including the racist stereotypes (basically the over-the-top Italian mobsters and the hatchet-wielding Indian), the hot damsel in distress, and some nudity. What passed for the local gang hanging out in the park was downright hilarious though. They looked more like the Village People than a threatening gang. 

The movie has been around long enough that it has been released on VHS, DVD, and blu-ray (in 2015). The blu-ray version had some extras including a commentary track with the director and stunt coordinator, the trailer, an intro by the director, and a stills gallery.

Overall, the movie is enjoyable if you take it for what it is. A B-level, totally unrealistic action movie. It does have some very good action/fight sequences. Kosugi was a very accomplished martial artist. Arthur Roberts, who played the evil ninja, not so much. But during the action scenes, he was mostly replaced by a stunt performer, which worked since he wore a mask (in addition to the ninja mask). If you do not expect award-winning acting or writing and want to watch a decent, but now out of date, action film, this is a good choice.

Movie/VHS Review: Bikini Summer 2

 

Bikini Summer 2 was a "Skinemax" special from the early to mid-1990s. Basically, a Playboy-style movie that had a loose, and very stupid plot, that was basically there between scenes of B-movie models nude or in softcore simulated sex scenes. The big casting coup was Jessica Hahn who was cashing in on her 15 minutes of fame from her affair with televangelist Jim Bakker, and the Playboy shoot that she had around the same time this came out. Ironically, Hahn was never nude in the movie at all, just sat around in lingerie, bikinis, and one dominatrix outfit. Avalon Anders had most of the noteworthy nude scenes in the movie. It does have one of the great lines in b-movie history when the sleazy rich guy is banging his hot Latina maid..."Senior, senior, is it in yet senior?"

Overall, the movie is pretty much what you would expect. Stupid, with bad acting, but a lot of good-looking people. For those of us who were teenagers in the mid-1990s and remember it from late-night cable if you really want it, it is available on DVD, but it is out of print, so you will spend way more than it is worth. I bought it on VHS back in 1999, watched it a couple of times, and now have it in a box with my last few remaining VHS tapes likely never to be watched again.