Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Hell Comes to Frogtown



With a title like Hell Comes to Frogtown it's probably safe to assume you aren't about to view anything approaching high art however I've always had a fondness for this film.

I first saw the movie, well most of the movie years ago when I accidentally taped it on late night TV, sadly the tape ran out before the end of the movie, years later I found a copy on VHS to rent but the tape was so badly damaged it was unwatchable, finally I discovered that the movie had been released on DVD and I just had to have it, I just had to know how it ended.

Hell Comes to Frogtown is a B movie in every way and revels in that fact but it's fun, it's production values are almost non existent but it has a certain charm however I was stunned to hear the movie was being released on Blu-ray, I just didn't get it as I couldn't imagine there would be any benefit to releasing that movie in a high definition format but I have to say it actually looks pretty good for a low budget movie, some of the locations look really nice in HD.

The movie was released in the UK on Blu-ray in very limited numbers but if it's re released there or gets a US release and you are a fan of the movie it's well worth checking out.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Dirty Harry




I recently picked up a 20 movie Blu-ray boxset of Clint Eastwood movies, the first film in the collection was Dirty Harry.

I had my doubts about there being any real improvement in picture and sound quality on a movie that old but I'm pleased to say I think it's a worthwhile upgrade, of course the movie can't compare with movies being produced using modern technology but Dirty Harry holds it's own in every other way, this is Clint Eastwood in one of his signature roles and I enjoy it as much now as I did the first time I saw it on VHS all those years ago.

It's a shame we don't seem to have many directors of Don Siegel's calibre anymore glossy big budget special effects and action sequences just don't make up for story telling ability, add to that Clint Eastwood's charisma on screen and you can only have a winning combination.

Doctor Who: The Light at the End




Doctor Who is my favourite TV show ever, well classic Doctor Who is, I've enjoyed the modern version of the show but it just isn't the same despite the increased budgets and pretty special effects.

For some time Big Finish have been producing audio dramas telling new stories featuring classic Doctors and while for the most part they have at least been enjoyable every now and again they've managed something special.

The Light at the End features the first eight Doctors and some of their companions ( the Big Finish licensing deal doesn't allow them to use characters from the modern version of the show ), to their credit Big Finish have managed to produce a story that is both enjoyable and gives the surviving Doctors their own moment to shine as well as bringing back a classic villain as well.

The Light at the End  isn't Big Finish at it's very best but it's still a lot of fun and certainly worth a listen.