Blu-Ray & DVD Review Round-Up: HARD TIMES, LITTLE DEAD ROTTING HOOD, XX, TWO RODE TOGETHER & MY LITTLE SISTER
A selection of new blu-ray and DVD releases. This time around:
Charles Bronson and James Coburn fall on Hard Times; Little Dead Rotting Hood isn’t afraid of the big bad wolf; XX offers up four different types of horror, James Stewart and Richard Widmark saddle-up in Two Rode Together and horror gets a new face in My Little Sister.
Blu-ray Review: Hard Times
Walter Hill made an impressive directorial debut with this gritty 1975 Charles Bronson starrer. Set in the depression, Hard Times sees Bronson as an ageing bareknuckle boxer earning a crust fighting from town to town. James Coburn and Strother Martin are great in supporting roles in this basic, but engaging drama.
Special Features
The blu-ray comes with some exceptional extras. You get interviews with Walter Hill, producer Lawrence Gordon and composer Barry DeVorzon. It also comes with excerpts from a 1984 interview with Hill at the National Film Theatre.
DVD Review: Little Dead Rotting Hood
(3.5 / 5)
Director Jared Cohn has fun with this 21 Century update of the classic fairy tale. Little Dead Rotting Hood sees Eric Balfour’s small town sheriff face-off against some big bad wolves. This Gabriel Campisi scripted horror plays like a ‘90s dimension horror flick with some pretty fun effects. Entertaining.
DVD Review: XX
(3 / 5)
This four-part horror anthology features an all female directing crew and while none of the efforts is a total knock-out, they all impress in their own way. The Box by Jovanka Vuckovic might be the best, Annie Clark’s The Birthday is the funniest, Roxanne Benjamin’s Don’t Fall is the scariest and Karyn Kusama’s Her Only Living Son the most curious.
Special Features
You get a selection of short, but interesting interviews with the directors.
Blu-ray Review: Two Rode Together
(4 / 5)
John Ford revisits the same territory as The Searchers for this 1961 western. James Stewart and Richard Widmark go in search of Comanche captives, but it’s their chemistry that makes this Frank Nugent scripted flick pop. Ford wasn’t a fan of the movie, but it has a lot to offer western fans.
Special Features
The blu-ray comes with a new video essay by Ford expert and scholar Tag Gallagher. It’s a little dry, but it’s informative. You also get an isolated music score and a booklet by critic and author
DVD Review: My Little Sister
My Little Sister is an enjoyable horror film in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre vein. This Italian slasher from dircetors Maurizio del Piccolo and Roberto del Piccolo. This low budget pic has a slight plot but it features some impressive tension and the effects aren’t bad either!
