Cinemaniac Mark

Chris Mitchum and Barbara Bouchet star in the Italian crime shocker RICCO THE MEAN MACHINE (1973), out now on Blu-ray from Cauldron Films in a great transfer with fun extras. SEE Chris Mitchum do martial arts so causal, you'd think he was taught by Rudy Ray Moore! SEE Arthur Kennedy spill the beans on what soap is made of! SEE a scene that GOES THERE! Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4iVs6eO (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

Here's an unboxing video for the new Celluloid Dreams release of the giallo classic BLACK BELLY OF THE TARANTULA (1971). Full review coming soon! To get your copy: Celluloid Dreams

Arrow Video brings the gritty 1973 revenge action flick THE OUTFIT to Blu-ray, looking great and featuring supplements that delve into the work of the film's director, John Flynn, and the world of Donald E. Westlake's "Parker" novels, upon which this film is based. Whaddaya do when you get out of stir and find out your brother just got offed by the mob? If you're Robert Duvall, you call up old partner Joe Don Baker and set to shaking down mob-run operations for all their loose cash while you work your way to the top, with hitmen on your tail! Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/44G1M09 (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

  Out today from Arrow Video, Ted Kotcheff's disturbing Australian Outback cult gem WAKE IN FRIGHT (1971), in a new 4K UHD edition, porting over extras from previous releases and adding a few new examinations and appreciations of the nearly-lost tale of an introverted schoolteacher finding Hell in other people when stranded in a remote mining town. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4faWP5f (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

  Fight your way to the closest theater playing THE FURIOUS (2025) and buckle up for the best action film in years. Full review here:

  If you're someone who's never had any interest in the MORTAL KOMBAT video game, TV, or film series, is there a point to going to see the new MORTAL KOMBAT II (2026)? If you like fun, funny, foul-mouthed, gory fantastical FU, the answer is YES! Full review here:

  Renny Harlin returns to both the Planesploitation and Sharksploitation genres with DEEP WATER, in which copilot Aaron Eckhard must keep save seabound survivors of a plane crash, while hungry CGI sharks savagely surround them. Kinda felt like a film better suited to streaming to me, but if you want big-screen shark attack action, catch it while you can. Full review here:

  Currently in limited release from Antenna Releasing is STOLEN KINGDOM (2025), from the makers of SECRET MALL APARTMENT. This documentary hops the fence into the world of urban exploration at Disney parks, and the black market in stolen props and artifacts that grew in its wake. Fascinating, funny, occasionally infuriating, and a look behind the curtain few have ever seen. Currently in limited theatrical release. Full review here:

  Film Masters brings a quartet of quirky 50s Sci-Fi monster flicks to Blu-ray, looking better than ever before, with copious commentaries and visual supplements! SEE! FRANKENSTEIN'S DAUGHTER roam suburban streets! SEE! THE MONSTER FROM GREEN HELL buzz up the jungle in black and white! SEE! John Agar with silver eyes in THE BRAIN FROM PLANET AROUS! SEE! Jethro's uncle terrorize the California wilderness in GIANT FROM THE UNKNOWN! Super fun set for those who remember these films from Saturday afternoon or late-night TV. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3O6Lg4E (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

  This was one that never really connected with me, but the new Arrow Video 4K UHD release of RED SONJA (1985) is such a fun and informative dive into Italian genre filmmaking in its copious extras, featuring career-spanning interviews with various artists and stunt men, that it makes up for the film's shortcomings. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4sQhRL0 (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)

  From A24 comes a new dimension in headphone horror, UNDERTONE (2026), a sonic spooker involving voice recordings played during a series of podcast recording sessions, with potentially reality-ruining results. Full review here:

  Arrow Video brings Michael Crichton's WESTWORLD (1973) to 4K UHD looking great, with sharp-shooting extras featuring interviews with stars Richard Benjamin and James Brolin, and a wealth of anecdotes and analysis on the Sci-Fi thriller that spawned a sequel and two TV series. A luxury theme park for adults who want to live out their fantasies in Roman, Medieval, or Old West worlds? What could go wrong...go wrong...go wrong... Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/4ujZj74 (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

  I can't recommend Baz Luhrmann's Elvis concert doc EPiC highly enough. As a longtime Elvis fan, especially of ELVIS: THAT'S THE WAY IT IS (1970), this is pure gold and has electrified me twice (so far) in the theater. If you're a fan, you can't miss this. If you're unsure why this guy is spoken about in such revered tones, this film gives you both barrels of what he had to offer on stage. Taking outtakes from THAT'S THE WAY IT IS and ELVIS ON TOUR, narrated by Presley himself via interviews and on-stage banter, it tells his story in his own words, illustrated with vintage film clips and a whole lot of TCB on stage, looking and sounding phenomenal. See it big and loud in theaters while you can! Full review here:

Neve Campbell is back as a pistol-packin' mama Sidney Prescott in SCREAM 7. Well shot and put together, but for me it fell apart upon the unmasking of this year's Ghostface.   Full review here:

  Sony Pictures brings the fourth entry in the "28...LATER" series to the big screen, with 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE, directed by Nia DaCosta and featuring cast members returning from 28 YEARS LATER, continuing the story of young Spike, orphaned boy trying to survive in a rage zombie infected, rural post-apocalyptic England, taken in by a roving and raging band of Jimmy Saville devotees. Surprisingly contemplative and humane amongst the inhumane acts committed by the gang, with another stellar turn by Ralph Fiennes as a solitary doctor (and architect of the titular temple) attempting to maintain science and sanity in a ravaged and very un-united kingdom. Full review here:

  Arrow Video brings Lee Cronin's EVIL DEAD RISE (2023) to 4K UHD with a ton of extras and razor sharp transfer. I wasn't a fan of this in the theater, but can now appreciate the filmmaking and shocks upon second viewing, and the extras show the love and respect the crew had for the Raimi originals. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/49E6Q8C (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

  Arrow Video brings the seminal graffiti/hip hop/breakdancing docudrama WILD STYLE (1982) to 4K UHD and Blu-ray in sharp and colorful transfer, the best it's ever looked, with a wealth of interviews and archival footage featuring the real-life artists more or less playing themselves in the film, the players reflecting on their lives before and after the film in interviews spanning decades. A vibrant, upbeat look at a time and place long gone, but artistic movements that have reverberated for generations, and the pioneers who first gave them life by expressing their passions in a landscape crumbling around them. Available as a 4K set with the film and commentaries on Disc 1, a second loaded Blu-ray bonus disc, and a CD of the original soundtrack. The Blu-ray edition is identical, with the main feature disc a standard HD replication of the 4K Disc 1. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/49n7My2 (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:...

Anchor Bay brings the L.A. hipster screwball comedy SOUR PARTY (2023) to Blu-ray, a manic panic race against the clock by two lackadaisical ladies pushed to pound pavement to secure cash to declare dependability. Starring Samantha Westervelt and Amanda Drexton as our hapless heroes, with cameos by Reggie Watts and Corey Feldman. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3N0nMxb (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

  Arrow Video brings the live-action cartoon comedy THE MASK (1994) to 4K UHD in a set loaded with new and archival extras, looking great, and reminding everyone that Jim Carrey was his own special effect in those days. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3NewlUV (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here:

  Abel Ferrara's classic 80s vigilante thriller MS. 45 (1981) hit 4K UHD from Arrow Video, looking better than ever, with extras that shed light on the life of its troubled star, Zoe Tamerlis. A gritty, grimy, look at a creep-filled NYC that plays as much like a horror film as a survival drama. Get your copy now from Amazon at: https://amzn.to/3YoDioT (As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.) Full review here: