Starring: Urbano Barberini, Natasha Hovey, Karl Zinny, Bobby Rhodes, David Edwin Knight, Nancy Brilli, Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni, Bobby Rhodes, Asia Argento, Virginia Bryant
Director: Lamberto Bava
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Synapse Films
DVD Release Date: November 11, 2014
Run Time: 88 / 92 minutes

“Demons”: 4 out of 5 stars
“Demons 2”: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1 out of 5 stars

If you love Italian horror then you should be a fan of Lamberto Bava’s “Demons” (1985) and “Demons 2” (1986). These two film have only been previously released by Synapse Films as Limited Steelbook Blu-ray editions. One thing these things have in common are oustanding scores by Claudio Simonetti, and kick-ass 80’s rock/heavy metal songs from Billy Idol, Mötley Crüe, Accept, The Smiths, The Cult, Dead Can Dance, Art of Noise, Peter Murphy and MORE!. “Demons 2” also showcased a young Asia Argento in her very first film role. A must for any horror fan that missed on on the Limited Steelbooks last year and don’t mind the lack of extras.

“Demons” Official Premise: A young woman is invited by a mysterious masked man to a theater screening in Germany. Taking a friend, the two beautiful ladies discover they are watching a gory horror film! When a prop on display in the lobby accidentally cuts a young woman’s face, she begins to transform. People begin mutating into hideous monsters and the cinema is locked up tight! One by one, the audience members are violently attacked and transform into disgusting demons hellbent on spreading their apocalyptic plague around the world. Can they be stopped?

Demons 2″ Official Premise: There’s a scary movie on television and the residents of a luxury high-rise building have their eyes glued to their sets. Unfortunately for a young birthday girl, an eternal demonic evil is released through her TV and partygoers soon find themselves fighting an army of murderous monsters! Acid blood, demonic dogs, possessed children and rampaging zombies wreak havoc for the trapped tenants!

These films come with outstanding high-def 1080p transfers from their original vault materials both presented in 1.66:1 aspect ratio, featuring all-new color correction supervised by Synapse Films. These both also include both the “International English” stereo language soundtrack, as well as the “U.S. Mono” English alternate dub soundtrack. They also include newly-translated English SDH subtitles. The bad thing is that there are no special features included on these Blu-rays, there are only original theatrical trailers included for both films.

Rick & Morty, Adult Swim’s hilarious sci-fi animated comedy from Justin Roiland & Dan Harmon (“Community”) released its first season on Blu-ray and DVD last month. To celebrate this release, the creators joined actors Chris Parnell (“Saturday Night Live”) and Sarah Chalke (“Scrubs”) at New York Comic Con where they sat down with the press just prior to taking the stage for their panel.

Rick & Morty follows Rick (Roiland), a belching, misanthropic mad scientist who’s moved into his daughter Beth’s (Chalke) family home, much to the dismay of her husband Jerry (Parnell). Rick drags his poor grandson Morty (also Roiland) off on outrageous science adventures that include other planets, other dimensions and on occasion inside a human body.

What about the show do you think speaks to the audience?

Justin Roiland: I think it’s a bunch of things. It’s the sum of all these parts, like Harmon’s ability to tap into a sort of the more emotional core component. Making characters really relatable and real. And then me, my sort of crazy, insane retro scripting and I don’t know. It’s very strange. It’s a weird sort of perfect storm of creative, I don’t know—

Dan Harmon: The carefree vibe. Like you…it’s nice to feel like you’re watching something that kind of doesn’t care if you’re watching.

Roiland: Yeah, yeah.

Harmon: So it’s kind of that energy that a new project has an opportunity to have that’s just like ‘alright let’s just—’

Roiland: And maintaining that is tricky. You know we’re trying to continue to maintain that. I mean I love stuff where at the end of the episode, Rick’s like [dropping into the scientist’s voice] ‘Member back in the first act of the episode when you did this?!’ It’s like you know, fuck it. It’s a TV show. We all know what we’re watching. We’re watching a TV show. I just love that kind of stuff. Just not giving a shit. The end of MeeSeeks is a great example you know where he’s just like…’Hey!’—he’s waving at the camera— ‘Alright! See you guys next week! Fuck!’ You know, whatever, like ‘I don’t give a fuck is my new catchphrase!’ All that shit. I don’t know I think that just lends a very loose kind of…it just let’s everyone who’s watching go like—Well then there’s the people who go ‘Does Rick know he’s on a TV show? Is this like some sort of master plan?’ But no, it’s just us having fun and being loose and allowing ourselves to do that kind of stuff. And who knows, I don’t know if that’s the secret ingredient. I think there’s a lot of things that added together make the show really connect with people.

One standout character of the first season was Mr. Meeseeks, a loud blue guy that exists solely to complete one task set by the human who summons him into creation. He spends most of the episode trying to teach Jerry a better golf game. The cast even brought a lifesize Meeseeks along with them to NYCC!

What was the origin of Mr. Meeseeks? 

Roiland: Uh, we were breaking a story, Harmon was on tour for Harmontown, he was out of the room and I remember like we had some story…I don’t remember what the fuck the story was, but I was just like this fuckin’ sucks and I was like ‘We gotta have fun with this! And [dropping a Mr MeeSeeks-like squawk] I’M MR. MEESEEKS! I’M MR. MEESEEKS!’ and I just started doing that. [Series writer Ryan] Ridley got all mad at me and I was like ‘I’M MR MEESEEKS LOOK AT ME!’ And then I don’t know if it was until [Harmon] came back—I think we came up with like the conceit of the Meeseeks but then Harmon came back and really helped us fine tune the story with Jerry and the golfing and all that stuff kind of was after [Dan] got back because I remember [him] being in the room and the whole like wiggle at the end. When [Jerry] finally lands the putt and they all disappear. But it was really just like out of my frustration of us really banging our heads against the wall of the other story that was just lame and we couldn’t get it…And Ridley was all pissed. But then he kind of came around. But then there’s a lot of stuff in that episode…that’s verbatim, like ‘I’m Mr Boobybuyer—I’ll buy your boobies!’ that’s all Ridley kind of angrily pitching ‘OH WHY DON’T WE JUST, I’M MR BOOBYBUYER!?…I’M THIRSTY SLIPPERY STAIR, BLAHBLAH’ And I’m just like ‘That’s perfect! Type it up!’…Now I’ve found that when Ridley gets upset and angrily pitches things spitefully, I’m like ‘Pay attention, guys…this could be good to put in the show.”

What would you make your own personal Meeseeks do for you?

Sarah Chalke: Your own wish granting Meeseeks…

Chris Parnell: Wow. I guess to make me a lot of money, maybe you know?

Chalke: Yeah

Parnell: Just a lot of money.

Chalke: Then you don’t work and the Meeseeks goes out to work for you

Parnell: Well I still probably want to work because it comes with a certain sense of self-worth…you know…but yeah to have a lot of money. I’d buy a nicer house and put my kid through college. What would your Meeseeks do?

Chalke: Probably a lot of neck massages. They’d take over the barista duties of the household. Which are about 13 to 14 a day, so it’s a heavy job. So, barista Meeseeks.

My personal favorite episode, Rixty Minutes, had Rick showing the family a remote control that not only flipped channels, but show programming from entirely alternate universes, many of which were ab-libbed voice work by Roiland.

Lauren Damon: Were there any additional alternate universe scenes in Rixty Minutes that were cut?

Roiland: The production plan for that episode is so different from the normal production pipeline because we’ll write and the break the—I guess you could call it the B-Story, the A-Story, whatever the narrative is—and then we try to keep that relatively tight and small. A third of the overall episode run length and then all the sketches are just experimental. It’s just like, I’ll go in the booth and just riff and improv shit. Harmon will be on the other side…But yeah, it’s weird, it’s a huge strain on the team, you know.

Harmon: Was there ones that we cut?

Roiland: We cut a Seinfeld one. It was just like Seinfeld—Unrelated Seinfeld and he’s like [twisted Jerry Seinfeld whine] ‘What’s the deaaaaaaaal with Chinese BONES….Whhhhhhy do they taste so goooooood?’

Harmon: Yeah, it was a universe where all of Seinfeld observations were just totally unrelatable.

Roiland: Like ‘What’s the deal with HUGE cocks? WHY do they taste so good in my mouth?!’ And then Rick’s like ‘Jeez, uhhh, Seinfeld’s really—’

Harmon: ‘This universe’s Seinfeld, his observations aren’t really resonant…’

Roiland: But then the audience is just exploding in laughter [Morty’s voice] ‘Oh, boy they really like it though!’ But that got cut…we might have put that on the DVD as a cut, deleted scene. That pitch was probably better than what—if it’s on the DVD you’ll be like okay, I see why they cut this. A lot more got cut for this new one, I really cast a wide net. And our poor storyboard guys boarded way more than they needed to board. But anyways…

If you could travel to any of the Rick & Morty worlds, where would you go?

Chalke: Uhhh, planet Squanch

Parnell: That’s a good answer. Pluto. I wouldn’t mind going to Pluto. That’s one that comes up this season. Jerry goes to Pluto.

Do you ever have to ask the writers what the hell is going on when the shows really offbeat?

Chalke: I mean every time you read the script, it’s one of the funnest jobs for that reason. Like you get the script and you’re so psyched to see where it goes and I laugh out loud when I’m reading it so the jokes are crazy. That’s the fun part of it, you get to see all these different ways a character can go. Like we go to a different dimension in the second season. They have us go to other planets as well, so that was cool and different and I got to be…like our characters but in a different dimension. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say what so for that you got to try totally different voices. I was like a Warrior who talked like this [Deep roaring] ‘JERRY!’

How much is ad-libbed for you guys?

Chalke: Most is the scripts. I mean the scripts are genius, mostly it’s the script. But if something happens or comes up and I ad libbed that Beth was a burper like her father, so we throw some burps in there. One of my few talents is burping on cue.

Are you ever surprised by how much vitriol Justin can get in just saying “Jerry”?

Parnell: [laughs] Uh, no. But it’s fun, it’s fun to hear it. I mean—I don’t know if he does Rick and Morty at the same time, I kind of think he does, I mean I’ve seen him do it. In person. But it’s just, you know, it’s amazing to watch. And then also they get so many great guest voices, you know? Sometimes you can kind of pick out who it is…

Season one set up so many crazy things, are we going to follow up with them in season 2? Like the League of Ricks? And that evil morty? Does the continuity exist?

Roiland: It’s sprinkled throughout the season.

Harmon: A little goes a long way. I mean it’s like I have a lot—I come to the table with a lot of gun-shyness from Community because I feel like Community’s fanbase became so rewardable and was so thankful for continuity in the show and I never like to do inside stuff. Meaning that you would have to have seen something previous in order to get it, I always try to painstakingly avoid doing that but I felt like over five years, Community—because of the intense relationship the fans had with the show—it actually got branded as being more ‘inside’ than I ever strove for it to be. And so now I’m in the writer’s room in this new show and  we got Mr. Meeseeks, we got the Council of Ricks, we got a billion things that we just shot out you know and so the question ultimately becomes do we revisit that stuff? I tend to be the guy that says no, not yet. Just let’s show some restraint and then we’ll be rewarded for it later. And not that Justin’s like ‘NO let’s do everything again’ but he’s a little less convinced that it would destroy the show than I am. Somewhere in between there what happens is little sprinkles here and there.

Roiland: Yeah, we don’t want to jump the shark, so to speak, too quickly in the show in terms of giving away too much of Rick’s backstory and going back to all the things we’ve kind of established in season one—

Harmon: I will say we spent a great deal of time in the writer’s room this year revisiting a major thing from season one and ultimately it was all wasted time. I mean it might be spoilers for season three for me to talk about what we were doing…but I will say it was like four or five weeks of us talking about ‘Okay, the finale’s gonna be when we do this…’ and we ended up going this isn’t working. It’s sort of like the second Dungeons of Dragons episode of Community was cursed from the beginning because it’s like to decide that you’re just going to do something again, you better really have your shit together…Ultimately stories tell themselves. It’s already hard to do that. But if they’re fighting you because you decided that you know what a story is better than the story knows, than you’re really screwing yourself.

Did any of you have an older relative like Rick making a bad influence on your lives?

Roiland: Not a huge bad influence. Maybe a little bit. I think I’m a lot like him and I’m gonna die at a young age like he did…

Harmon: I had a great grandpa who died a hermit. He lost all his money in the stock market and then he made it all back but he never trusted banks after that. So he lived in a corrugated tin hut out in some land in Wisconsin. He was rich again but it was all cash under his mattress! And he was a theology major and like he was the only other Harmon who went to college I think.

Roiland: [Rick voice] ‘DAN! DAN! C’mere I got cash under my mattress!!’

Harmon: But I never got to meet him, he was my great grandpa. The first time I saw him was in a coffin. I think Rick is just a symbol of all our mental illnesses.

Roiland: Rick’s a weird combination of me and Dan. Depending on what episode you’re watching, it’s more Dan or more me.

Rick & Morty is out on Blu-ray & DVD and you can check out their full NYCC panel at Adult Swim’s YouTube page.

Starring: Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis
Directed by: Sean Anders
Rated: R
Running time: 1 hours 48 mins
Universal

Our Score: 4.5 out of 5 stars

What do you do when your trio of friends get away with trying to kill your bosses? You go into business, hoping to sell your latest invention: The Shower Buddy! Think of all the different things you can do at a car wash and move it to your shower and you have an idea of what it does. Mistake number one: naming your company after yourselves. Nick-Kurt-Dale. Say it real fast and you’ll see the problem. Mistake number two: sell your product to Bert Hanson (Christoph Waltz) and his spoiled son, Rex (Chris Pine). Who said business was easy?

Consistently funny, with a few surprises, “Horrible Bosses 2” finds Nick (voice of reason Bateman), Kurt (always horny Sudeikis) and Dale (frantic and funny Day) back on the wrong side of the law when they attempt to pull off a kidnapping in an attempt to get back at Hanson senior, who has pulled a fast one and is about to take over their invention. Unsure of how to exactly go about doing the deed, they turn to a couple of pros: former boss/now convicted felon Dave Harken (Kevin Spacey) and old confederate Mother F***er Jones (Jamie Foxx). They even manage to run into Dale’s old employer, dentist Julia Harris, who now spends her time attending Sex Addiction meetings.

The cast is in fine form. The three leads go above and beyond in making sure this sequel is entertaining and not derivative of the first film. Waltz does his best to convey a Snidely Whiplash-type attitude but I’m not sure he understood the humor needed. On the other side of the spectrum, Chris Pine is amazingly funny. Who knew Captain Kirk had a sense of humor? His work here makes me think he will do well next month when the musical “Into the Woods” is released. In limited screen time Spacey, Foxx and Aniston are equally funny.

The script, by director Anders and John Morris (they also wrote last week’s “Dumb and Dumber To” as well as Sudeikis’ last film, “We’re the Millers”) ladles on the R-rated laughs in large doses, like gravy on your Thanksgiving turkey. It’s just as satisfying and there’s no need to unbutton your pants afterwards.

Starring: Bernadette Peters, Chip Zien, Joanna Gleason, Tom Aldredge, Robert Westenberg, Kim Crosby
Director: James Lapine
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: IMAGE ENTERTAINMENT
Release Date: December 2, 2014
Run Time: 153 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 2 out of 5 stars
Extras: N/A

With the new Disney’s big-screen adaptation of the Tony-Award Winning Broadway Musical “Into the Woods” right around the corner, it is the perfect time for to release the original Broadway Production on Blu-ray for the very first time. What we get here is a May 1989 performance of Stephen Sondheim’s award-winning musical, which starred Bernadette Peters, Chip Zien, Joanna Gleason, Tom Aldredge, Robert Westenberg and Kim Crosby. If you are a fan of the production and looking forward to the movie, this will be a good way to revisit before seeing it on the big screen.

Official Premise: A baker and his wife journey into the woods in search of a cow, a red cape, a pair of golden slippers and some magic beans to lift a curse that has kept them childless. Tony Award winners Bernadette Peters, Joanna Gleason and the rest of the original Broadway cast weave their magic spell over you in Stephen Sondheim’s masterpiece, directed by James Lapine, a seamless fusion of fairy tale characters and what happens after “happily ever after.”

If you have seen this production on DVD, I wouldn’t be expecting much from this Blu-ray. The 1080p transfer is quite muted with the productions colors and even shows up blurry in a few scenes. I was expecting much more from this. The DTS HD Master Audio 2.0 audio track sound great especially with classics songs like “Children Will Listen” and “No One Is Alone”. There are zero special features included to accompany this stage production.

Starring: Walter Koenig, Bruce Campbell, Leigh Lombardi, Robert Kurcz
Director: Robert Dyke
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Olive Films DVD
Release Date: November 18, 2014
Run Time: 92 minutes

Film: 3 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3 out of 5 stars

When I saw Olive Films was releasing “Moontrap” on Blu-ray, I knew I had to have it. The film stars classic cult actors Walter Koenig (“Star Trek: The Original Series”) and Bruce Campbell from “The Evil Dead” series. The film is celebrating its 25 anniversary this year. I probably haven’t seen this film since 1989 but I remember that it was pretty cool. Definitely not a straight-forward horror/thriller as it is filled with camp humor throughout some intentional and some not. Fun times for sure still. The visual effects shows its age a bit but with a cast like Koenig and Campbell, it is an instant winner.

Official Premise: A 1980s cult classic, Moontrap stars Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead) and Walter Koenig (Star Trek’s original Chekov) as astronauts sent to the moon to investigate evidence of what appears to be signs of human life. They reanimate the body of a woman (Leigh Lombardi), who warns them that the moon is under the control of a race of alien cyborgs, which have been awaiting the opportunity to stage their invasion of Earth. The humans realize that desperate measures must be taken to halt the cyborgs’ departure from the moon — even if it ends in their own destruction.

“Moontrap” looks pretty good with its remastered HD transfer by Olive Films specifically for this release. Since it takes place in space a lot, there is some noise in the darkness of space but otherwise, it is fairly clean. This is presented for the first time in widescreen format with its original monaural soundtrack. The special features are solid as well with a new video interview with Bruce Campbell and Walter Koenig as well as a new video interview with director Robert Dyke and writer Tex Ragsdale. Lastly there is an audio commentary by Robert Dyke and Tex Ragsdale, which is worth checking out as well if you are a big time fan.

Mike Nichols, whose films were both timely and timeless, passed away this morning, a few weeks after his birthday. He was 83.

Born Michael Igor Peschkowsky on November 6, 1931 in Berlin, Germany, the filmmaker emigrated to America with his family in 1937.

Nichols began his career as an actor and, along with other performers like Elaine May, Paul Sills and Ed Asner helped create the popular Second City Comedy Group. He also formed a popular comedy duo with May, sharing the 1961 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Recording for “An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May.” Nichols moved on to Broadway, where he won a record (6) Tony Awards (and seven more nominations) for Best Direction of a Play for the following shows: “Barefoot in the Park,” “Luv and the Odd Couple,” “Plaza Suite,” “The Prisoner of Second Avenue,” The Real Thing” and the 2012 revival of “Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.” He also won Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Musical for “Monty Python’s SPAMALOT” and for producing both the original production of “Annie” and “The Real Thing.” I had the great opportunity to meet Mr. Nichols in New York City after a production of “Death and the Maiden,” a brilliant show which featured Gene Hackman, Richard Dreyfuss and Glenn Close.

Naturally Hollywood soon came calling. His first film behind the camera, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” was not only the first film to come with a rating recomendation that “no one under 18 would be admitted” but the first film where the entire credited cast (Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, Sandy Dennis and George Segal) earned Oscar nominations. Taylor won for Best Actress as did Dennis for Best Supporting Actress. His follow-up film, “The Graduate,” made a star of Dustin Hoffman and earned Nichols the Academy Award as the years Best Director. Among his other films: “Catch-22,” “Silkwood,” “Biloxi Blues,” “Working Girl,” “Primary Colors” and “Closer.” His last film was 2007’s “Charlie Wilson’s War.”

Nichols was a member of the rare EGOT club – a group of 12 people that have won Emmy, Grammy, Academy and Tony Awards. He won an Emmy award as Best Director for the television adaption of Tony Kushner’s play “Angels in America.” Mr. Nichols is survived by three children and his fourth wife, ABC News’ Diane Sawyer.

Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth and Julianne Moore
Directed By: Francis Lawrence
Rated: PG-13
Running Time: 123 minutes
Lionsgate

Our Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The final piece of a series is no longer a bloated epic detailing the final time we’ll see our heroes, but now cut in half, with the first part generally being the weaker of the two. That makes it easier to scrutiny because of how much of an obvious cash grab it is by the Hollywood executives hoping to squeeze out those last remaining pennies before finding their next franchise to milk. “Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part – 1” isn’t about to break that stereotype, but it comes pretty close.

For a movie that seems to be advertised as an explosive and heart pounding action flick, it’s surprisingly thoughtful. “Mockingjay – Part 1” picks up moments after the events of “Catching Fire”. Katniss (Lawrence) is still nursing some mental scars and having to come to terms with the fact that District 12 no longer exists. It’s nothing but rubble and piles of charred bodies. The visuals of blackened skeletons is enough to paint a horrific picture and further imply the brutal extent the Capitol will go to strengthen it’s iron fist grip over the districts.

Katniss is taking refuge underground in District 13, long believed to have suffered the same fate that has recently befallen District 12. There she meets a military society headed by President Alma Coin (Moore). This is the first introduction of President Alma in the series and while it’s easy to trust the person supplying food and supplies, there’s something ominous about a character who never seems to view Katniss more than a puppet for political manipulation. On the other end, Peeta (Hutcherson) is being used to discredit the defiance that grows in the districts.

Katniss and Peeta are clearly being used as propaganda. While Katniss is used to inspire hope to those fighting, through her fiery eyes of anger and bitter words of revenge, it appears that Peeta is nervously regurgitating lines, but we never see or fully know what purpose the Capital is using him for. “Mockingjay” focuses more on President Alma’s use of Katniss to beat the drums of rebellion in the hopes of getting ubiquitous support for their uprising against the Capital. Luckily this disinformation chess match is interrupted by scenes of retaliation around Panem and a third act covert mission to rescue Peeta.

The theme doesn’t say anything new, but it’s refreshing to see a movie, that’s been coined as “young adult”, use such a mature idea in a very presentable and easy to understand fashion. It’s not difficult to see the positive and ill effects of spin that two warring factions can create. Personally, I was expecting CGI explosions and Jennifer Lawrence whipping her hair all about while firing off multiple arrows like Hawkeye in “The Avengers”, but for what we’re given, it is proficient with it’s message and it simply wets our appetites for an explosive finale come next year.

The big problem with the first part of this oversized first course of Mockingjay is that it feels too much like a prologue to something a lot more monumental. There’s a lot of moving pieces, but a lot of downtime that involves staring, sitting and inconsequential dialogue. The obvious payoff for our two hours of time won’t happen until Part 2, but it’d be nice to have some kind of reward for our investment into the lives of these characters. It doesn’t help that Jennifer Lawrence, who’s shown such a wide range of emotions throughout this series, is a bit limited to angry reactions and fear.

Regardless, if it wasn’t for Lawrence’s commanding presence, this movie wouldn’t have the drive and Katniss wouldn’t radiate bravery. All the regulars are back for this movie, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks and the stupendously talented Philip Seymour Hoffman. Without this cast, this movie would have fizzled out like “Percy Jackson” or “The Mortal Instruments”. It’ll be easier to reflect on “Part 1” once the series completes next year. We’ll know if it’s a good enough primer for the grand ending we’re all expecting. For now though, it’s simply an appetizer to keep us content until the main course arrives.

Steven Quale is best known for directing “Final Destination 5”. He was also second unit director with James Cameron on “Avatar” and “Titanic”. His latest film is the tornado action film “Into the Storm”. Steven Quale took out some time to chat about the film and the challenges he faced.

What interested you in this story and joining as Director?
Steven Quale: What attracted me to “Into the Storm” is being able to take the audience right into the center of a tornado. To experience what it is like to see and hear the unimaginable power that a tornado can unleash. I also wanted to explore how different people react to such an extreme event.

What is it like directing actors with the added distraction of extreme weather elements?
SQ: It was a real challenge to get a performance with all the distracting noises of the wind machines and rain towers. The loud noise of the equipment made communication very difficult and I had to rely on hand signals. One advantage to all the wind and rain is that it gave the actors something real to play against when shooting with green screens.

How is “Into the Storm” different from previous tornado movies?
SQ: “Into the Storm” benefits from the advances in visual effects over the years so the tornados look much more realistic. It also differs from other tornado movies in that we are not just following storm-chasers – we have a diverse group of unrelated people who are thrust together during the adversity of the storm and we get to experience how each of the different people react under the pressure of the storm.

You have an extensive background in visual effects. Tell us about what went into making this film look and feel real.
SQ: The most important thing to make this film look real was weeks and weeks of extensive research. I studied every single video of any severe weather and tornado footage I could find. Every major type of tornado was based on actual footage of real tornados. In addition to the visuals I insisted on having the sound feel as real as possible and that is where academy award winning sound supervisor Par Hallberg shined with his amazing soundscape. You really feel like you are in a tornado with the rumbling sound.

Did the film require practical effects in addition to visual effects?
SQ: The films visual effects work so effective because they are a mix of practical physical effects such as wind machines and rain towers combined with the digital tornados and debris. For the last half of the film, almost every shot required rain and wind machines. We dropped a real truck in close proximity with Richard Armitage.

What special features can we expect to see on the Blu-ray / DVD?
SQ: The Blu-ray/DVD for “Into the Storm” will have several behind the scenes features showing how we were able to realistically recreate the weather conditions of a tornado. It also has a segment where world famous storm chaser Reed Timmer explains all of the types of tornados in or film and how they compare to the real ones that he has chased.

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Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Martin Short and Stanley Tucci
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Number of discs: 2
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
Release Date: November 18, 2014
Run Time: 135 minutes

Film: 5 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2 out of 5 stars

“The Wind Rises” is a hard film for fans of Studio Ghibli because it makes director Hayao Miyazaki’s final film. It is truly a masterpiece. They rounded up a all-star English dub voice cast that includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Martin Short and Stanley Tucci. I watched this film in Japanese last year and I was so blown away, I immediately needed to watch it again. The music is so enthralling and the score is easily my favorite of the year.  The story is so smart and well-told. You watch the film and you know that this is Miyazaki’s last film and it is ok because it is so amazing. Highly recommend this as it is sure to become a classic.

Official Synopsis: From Academy Award-winning filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki (Best Animated Feature, Spirited Away, 2002) comes a spellbinding movie beyond compare. Jiro dreams of flying and designing beautiful airplanes, inspired by the famous Italian aeronautical designer Caproni. Nearsighted and unable to be a pilot, he becomes one of the world’s most accomplished airplane designers, experiencing key historical events in an epic tale of love, perseverance and the challenges of living and making choices in a turbulent world

Disney is releasing this film as a Blu-ray +DVD Combo Pack. There are multiple audio tracks including DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 English and Japanese as well as a Dolby Digital 1.0 DVS English Audio. I have to go with the original Japanese track but like I mentioned the English dub cast is outstanding. The 1080p transfer is outstanding. The colors, the animation…it is all just absolutely perfect. The special features are a quite light though. There is a feature “The Wind Rises: Behind the Microphone”, which looks at the English dub. There are is Storyboards, Original Japanese Trailers/TV Spots & the Announcement of the Completion of the Film.

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• DVD Review “Mister Ed: The Complete Series”
• Blu-ray Review “Lord of Illusions (Collector’s Edition)”

Directed by: Dean DeBlois
Starring: Jay Baruchel, Cate Blanchett, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera, Jonah Hill
Christopher Mintz-Plasse, T.J. Miller, Kristen Wiig, Djimon Hounsou, Kit Harington
Rated: PG
Release Date: October 21, 2014
Run Time: 102 minutes

Our Score: 4 out of 5 stars

We are trying something new here for the release of “How to Train Your Dragon 2”, we are reviewing the title Digital HD format. That means that we redeemed a code for the film and are able to watch it on your computer, compatible TV or Blu-ray player, smartphones, tablets etc. This is the future for films. I have quite the library of Digital HD films.

Official Premise: The thrilling second chapter of the epic HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON trilogy returns to the fantastical world of the heroic Viking Hiccup and his faithful dragon Toothless. The inseparable duo must protect the peace and save the future of men and dragons from the power-hungry Drago.

The first “How to Train Your Dragon” really built up the story for this film. The TV series continued it on and this sequel really takes it to the next level. It is fast, colorful and really sharp looking. As much as I would have loved to reviewed this film on 3D Blu-ray, this Digital HD option wasn’t too bad, especially since I could watch it pretty much anywhere.

Plus with Digital HD, the film is released a few weeks ahead of the Blu-ray release. For instance, this film was released on Digital HD on October 21st where as the Blu-ray was just released on November 11th. Not my code but you can even purchase Digital HD copies including the special features, which is a real bonus and is a really nice feature to have.

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Actors: Sherman Hemsley, Isabel Sanford, Marla Gibbs, Roxie Roker, Franklin Cover
Directors: Jack Shea
Number of discs: 33
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Shout! Factory
DVD Release Date: December 9, 2014
Run Time: 4440 minutes

Series: 5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

“Movin’ on up to the east side!”, “The Jeffersons” easily has one of the catchiest and best theme songs in television history. For the first time ever you can enjoy this classic sitcom with this complete series including all 253 episodes of this Norman Lear (“All in the Family”, “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”) developed series. Previously, Shout! has only released the first 6 seasons of this show on DVD, so season 7-11 have been unreleased. This is the perfect to get this entire series in one nice collection. Plus with the holidays right around the corner, it is also a way to become the favorite person in your family but gifting this wonderful set.

Official Premise: Originally airing from 1975 to 1985, The Jeffersons documented the side-splitting exploits of an upwardly-mobile family: dry cleaning entrepreneur George (Sherman Hemsley), his wife Louise (Emmy winner Isabel Sanford), and their son Lionel, as they move from the working-class section of Queens to a luxury apartment in Manhattan. George’s brash, arrogant personality always seems to get him in hot water. Lucky for him, he’s got the level-headed “Weezy”, by his side and their wise-cracking maid Florence (Marla Gibbs) to keep him humble. Together, they overcome the comic challenges and culture clashes that their new way of life brings.

The special features are good as well. There is a featurette called “Movin’ On Up – The Jeffersons”. There is an episode of “All In The Family” called “The Jeffersons Move Up”. There is Marla Gibbs’ 4-episode spinoff series “Checking In”. There is also the pilot to the 1984 TV series “E/R”, starring Elliott Gould and featuring Sherman Hemsley guest-starring as George Jefferson. If you want more “The Jeffersons”, Norman Lear just released a new autobiography release on October 14, 2014, titled “Even This I Get to Experience,” which reveals never-before heard stories about the development and creation of “The Jeffersons”.

Actors: Alan Young, Connie Hines
Directors: Arthur Lubin
Number of discs: 22
Rated: Unrated
Studio: Shout! Factory
DVD Release Date: December 9, 2014
Run Time: 3480 minutes

Series: 5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

“Hello, Wilbur!” I remember watching “Mister Ed” as as kid and being amazed at the fact that horse was moving it lips. Of course, of course this is before the whole peanut butter reveal for me. This show is still one of my all-time favorite sitcoms. This is a true television classic and still holds up today to be very funny. Be honest and tell me that you can hear this theme song and continue to whistle it the rest of the day! “Mister Ed: The Complete Series” delivers us all six seasons of the show within its 143 episodes. If you are a fan of this series, this is the set to get…and just in time for the holidays.

Official Premise: Architect Wilbur Post (Alan Young, Duck Tales) and his wife Carol (Connie Hines) have settled into a beautiful new home, complete with a barn in the backyard…and a very unique tenant. Wilbur finds that the former owner has left his horse behind. He soon discovers that this is no ordinary horse, as the eloquent Mr. Ed can talk, but only to Wilbur! The anxious architect and the pontificating palomino soon become the best of friends, leading to all sorts of comedic misadventures.

What makes this release important is that within this 22-DVD box set, this includes all Season one episodes in their original full-length for the first time and Season 6 on DVD, which has previously never been released, along with a slate of several bonus features. This release only includes a nice collection of bonus features including interviews with stars Alan Young and Connie Hines, as well as Audio Interviews with Alan Young and Connie Hines from Shokus Internet Radio’s Stu’s Show. There is also an audio commentary track on the pilot episode with Alan Young and Connie Hines. Lastly there is a Mister Ed U.S. Bonds Promo anad some Studebaker Car Commercials.

Starring: Scott Bakula, Kevin J. O’Connor, Famke Janssen, Daniel Von Bargen, Susan Traylor, Vincent Schiavelli
Director: Clive Barker
Rated: R (Restricted)
Studio: Shout! Factory
Release Date: December 16, 2014
Run Time: 109 / 121 minutes

Film: 4 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Dating back to 1995, I remember when I saw that Clive Barker had a new film coming out and just new I had to see it. At the time, I was already in love with his work like “Nightbreed” and “Hellraiser”. “Lord of Illusions” shortly became no different. This film was a nice mix of noir, sci-fi and horror. Plus honestly, who doesn’t love Sam Beckett himself, Scott Bakula kicking ass and taking names. Scream Factory, thankfully, is behind this release and they are pulling out all the cards here. They have not only one but two cuts of the film. Disc one is the Theatrical Cut of the film, while disc two feayures an all NEW high definition transfer of Clive Barker’s Director’s Cut of the film making this a must own for any fan of the film.

Official Premise: From best-selling author and celebrated director Clive Barker comes a supernatural thriller that rips apart the boundaries between sanity and madness, and between the art of illusion and the terrifying forces of magic. Scott Bakula “(“Quantum Leap”) portrays Harry D’Amour, a private detective visiting Los Angeles on a routine investigation. Harry gets more than he bargains for when he encounters Philip Swan (Kevin J. O Connor, “The Mummy”), a performer whose amazing illusions captivate the world. But are they really illusions? Harry isn’t so sure as he is thrust into a nightmare of murder, deception and terrifying assaults from the dark beyond. Famke Janssen (“X-Men”, “Hemlock Grove”) and Daniel von Bargen (“Super Troopers”) also star.

This Collector’s Edition release features a solid Blu-ray presentation. The 1080p transfer looks great, especially on the director’s cut. The DTS-HD Master Audio track also works perfectly with the amazing score. The special features are great as well. There is a commentary track from director Clive Barker. There is a featurette “A Gathering of Magic”, which includes original behind the scenes footage. There is more unseen and rare behind the scenes footage into “Illusion of Reality”, which includes vintage interviews looking into the making of the film. There is a NEW interview with Storyboard Artist Martin Mercer, which is a must watch. Lastly there are some deleted scenes with Clive Barker giving commentary and also a Photo Gallery.

Starring: Joan Collins, Dawn Addams, Peter Cushing, Tom Baker, Roy Dotrice, Michael Craig
Directors: Freddie Francis, Roy Ward Baker
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Shout! Factory
DVD Release Date: December 2, 2014
Run Time: 175 minutes

Films: 4 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: N/A

“Tales From the Crypt” comics are one of the main reasons, I got into horror films when I was a kid. This 1972 adaption from the comics directed by Freddie Francis (The Creeping Flesh) was a great collection of horror films on film. It boasted a great cast including Joan Collins (Empire Of The Ants), Peter Cushing (Horror Of Dracula), Patrick Magee (A Clockwork Orange) and Sir Ralph Richardson (Rollerball). I remember the first time I saw this film by accident honestly since I thought it was a release from the HBO series and I am so glad that I did. Still holds up today for sure!

“Tales From The Crypt” Official Premise: When five unwary travelers with dark hearts stumble into a series of catacombs, they find themselves in a cavern with no way out. But the horror’s only just begun as a mysterious figure appears to reveal to each person the shocking events that will lead to their well-deserved, untimely (and unavoidable) demise. Tales From The Crypt is the original, gets-right-under-your-skin creepfest!

“Vault Of Horror” is a solid follow-up to “Tales From The Crypt” and is real draw in this release because it is available uncut for the first time on home video! It also packs a solid cast including Tom Baker (Doctor Who), Denholm Elliott (Raiders Of The Lost Ark), Curt Jurgens (The Mephisto Waltz) and Michael Craig (Mysterious Island). Like “Creepshow 2” was the “Creepshow”, it doesn’t top the first but this is a another great collection of classic horror stories, even though a little more cookie cutter.

“Vault Of Horror” Official Premise: Five unsuspecting hotel guests step into an elevator, which leads them into an underground vault. Trapped with no way out, each guest shares a gruesome tale of an encounter with death. But as the stories unfold, the men begin to suspect that their presence in the vault is no coincidence, and that the only way out…is death.

Scream Factory is behind this double feature release and it is a must for any horror fan that loves anthology films. Two great 70’s British horror films for the price of one. The 1080p transfers on both films are good. They are not outstanding but for the age of these films, the fact that they haven’t been fully restored, they look good. Same goes for the DTS-HD Master Audio Mono tracks, which work well with the films scores. There are no special features included either but if you consider “Vault of Horror” as a bonus film, they are in good shape.

Starring: Kotono Mitsuishi, Tōru Furuya, Aya Hisakawa, Michie Tomizawa, Emi Shinohara, Rica Fukami
Number of discs: 6
Rated: TV-PG
Studio: VIZ Media
Release Date: November 11, 2014
Run Time: 530 minutes

Season: 4 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Extras: 2.5 out of 5 stars

“Sailor Moon: Season 1 Part 1” is first volume of the classic 1992-97 anime. This set includes episodes 1-23 as well as an 88-page full-color premium booklet. This is only the beginning of this series as there should be at least nine additional sets until the complete 200-episode series has been released. This show was one of my wife’s favorite, so she was excited to have it on Blu-ray…unfortunately the transfers are a quite a bit of a mess and it is during going to upset many fans.

Synopsis: Usagi Tsukino is a cheerful 14-year-old schoolgirl who often finds herself in unwanted trouble. One day, she saves a talking cat named Luna from some mean kids, and her life is changed forever. Luna gives Usagi a magic brooch that transforms her into Sailor Moon, defender of love and justice! Now Usagi must work with Luna to find the other Sailor Guardians and the Moon Princess, whose Legendary Silver Crystal is Earth’s only hope against the dark forces of the evil Queen Beryl.

According to Viz, in order create the Sailor Moon Blu-rays they used the masters that used to create the 2009 Japanese DVD sets. They are said to be original, uncropped 4:3 aspect ratio, uncut remastered episodes, which is all good but really wasn’t impressed at all. Hopefully they have better plans for the rest of the episodes otherwise after this fans are not going to buy this. There is ghosting throughout. The item is over-sharpened and there is a lot of lost detail, which is a shame.

There are several audio options, including a complete English dub with a new voice cast, as well as the Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio tracks with English subtitles. The special features aren’t anything special either besides the Behind the Scenes: Dub Recording featurette. Other than that there is the Announcement Panel & Fan Reactions, Official Announcement Trailer, Art Galleries and a Clean Opening and Ending included here.

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