Movie Review: Maniac Cop 2 (1990, Blu-ray/DVD Combo)

Review By: Rob Sibley

 Finally after years upon years of waiting and watching shoddy full screen DVD transfers of this action/horror classic (Yes I said class). Blue Underground releases the film onto Blu-ray for the first time and even better this is the first time this fine film has received a release in it's proper 1.85:1 Widescreen aspect ratio.

Not only that but Blue Underground has gone the extra mile with the bonus features. This was easily the most anticipated release of the year for me and Blue Underground did this film proud. Not surprising since as we all know the director Bill Lustig runs BU.

Maniac Cop has always been a favorite film of mine. It's a near perfect film for what it is. It's filled to the brim with that great sleazy NYC atmosphere of the 80's that Lustig captured perfectly in his earlier films. It features a strong performance from Robert Davi and Robert Z'Dar aka the Maniac Cop perfectly embodies the role of this undead & unstoppable Terminator/Zombie like cop out for vengeance.

Movie Review: Only God Forgives (2013)

Review By: Rob Sibley

I'm going to say this upfront, you are either going to love or hate this film. Nicolas Winding Refn returns with his latest film “Only God Forgives”. Refn made his first film back in 1996, the excellent “Pusher”. But the film that put him on a lot of peoples maps was 2011's “Drive”. Drive quickly has become a cult hit and Ryan Gosling's stoic character of “Driver” surely has become one of the more memorable anti-heros of the last decade. Drive could have been your typical mainstream crime & fast cars flick (Fast and Furious I'm looking at you.) But thanks to to Refn's excellent direction the film became it's own beast. With Only God Forgives Refn tackles a genre that's been done to death, the revenge film and once again has put his own unique spin on it.

Like I said earlier, you're either going to love or hate this film. I also can't express enough, don't go in expecting Drive 2. The only connection is Refn & Gosling, the similarities end there. To me if anything I felt almost like I was watching a spiritual sequel to the Refn film “Fear X”. Fear X was made back in 2003 & was written by none other then the great Hubert Selby Jr. It was sadly dumped DTV in the US. It pretty much bombed world wide and nearly made Refn's production company go bankrupt. To save himself Refn made Pusher 2 & 3 for the sole purpose to pull his production company out of debt. Fear X featured an oscar worthy performance from John Tuturro.

Movie Review: Pusher (2012, Blu-ray)

Review By: Rob Sibley

Spanish filmmaker Luis Prieto had a tall order to fill with Pusher. Which is a British remake of the 1996 Danish Nicolas Winding Refn film of the same name. I was highly skeptical about this picture, considering the the original Pusher is a highly regarded film and personally one of my favorite Refn films. Starting out with the biggest differences between the two is the original Pusher took place in the deep dark belly of the Danish underworld. While the remake is much more glitzy and glamorous, taking place in many high end techno blasting night clubs. It ditches the grit for a more stylized approach which actually works for the film. The music is another huge part of the films success, composed by British dance band “Orbital”. The techno tracks add a nice kinetic feeling to the film and Prieto keeps the film moving at a nice frantic pace.

Pusher tells the story of Frank (Richard Coyle) he's a small time coke dealer living in London. He's living the good life with his stripper girlfriend Flo (Agyness Deyn) and his sexually hopeless buddy Tony (Bronson Webb). One day out of the clear blue Frank is contacted by an old cellmate Marlon (Neil Maskell, Kill List). Marlon is looking for a good amount of coke, around forty five thousand worth. Frank meets up with a contact of his, Milo (Zlatko Burić) a ruthless Serbian gangster. The deal is simple, Milo will loan the 48K worth of gear to Frank. Frank will make the deal with Milo and bring the money back. Paying Milo back and taking care of his debt of 3 grand that he already owes Milo.