DVD Verdict reviews: FAILURE TO LAUNCH, END OF THE SPEAR, and more!

Today, DVD Verdict posted reviews of CATHERINE THE GREAT, CHUKA, DEEP
JAWS / THE DICKTATOR, END OF THE SPEAR, FAILURE TO LAUNCH, HAMSUN, I
WAKE UP SCREAMING, KID GALAHAD, NICK OF TIME, ROUTE 66: THE ULTIMATE DVD
COLLECTION, SHADOW MAN, YELLOWBEARD, and YELLOW SKY:


CATHERINE THE GREAT (reviewed by Bill Gibron, overall score 80/100):
"You will learn much about the late, lamented leader of pre-Communist
Russia from watching this fine documentary. Just don't expect to be
moved once the focus shifts from the political battlefield to the
personal boudoir."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/catherinegreat.php

CHUKA (reviewed by Steve Evans, overall score 75/100):
"Chuka delivers real western grit and surprising violence, but is undone
in the end by a simplistic script that harkens to cowboy pictures made
three decades earlier."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/chuka.php

DEEP JAWS / THE DICKTATOR (reviewed by Bill Gibron, overall score
75/100):
"Over three decades ago, this was the last gasp of the grindhouse, its
final attempt at winning back its already waning audience. Sadly, these
uneven entertainments probably drove more fans away than they ever
convinced to stay."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/deepdicktator.php

END OF THE SPEAR (reviewed by Erick Harper, overall score 70/100):
"The problem with this story (and it is a great one) is that it has
already been told recently, and better, by this same director."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/endspear.php

FAILURE TO LAUNCH (reviewed by David Johnson, overall score 50/100):
"Failure to Launch so appropriately fizzles before take-off. Then
explodes. Then nobody cares."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/failuretolaunch.php

HAMSUN (reviewed by Bill Gibron, overall score 78/100):
"As a personal story, Hamsun is fine. Troell treats Maria and Knut like
the frazzled and frayed fatalities they are -- he from she and visa
versa. However, once he steps outside the immediate marital dynamic, the
movie loses a lot of its energy."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/hamsun.php

I WAKE UP SCREAMING (reviewed by Rob Lineberger, overall score 80/100):
"The movie's real hook is showing how mood can emerge from the ether
when light and shadow are used to proper effect."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/iwakeupscreaming.php

KID GALAHAD (reviewed by Dan Mancini, overall score 55/100):
"As a light romantic comedy, Kid Galahad ain't so hot. As a musical,
it's even worse. Screenwriter William Fay (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.)
forgot to include the wit in his witty repartee."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/kidgalahad.php

NICK OF TIME (reviewed by Joel Pearce, overall score 70/100):
"I hadn't thought much about the impact of 24 on action thrillers, at
least until I stuck Nick of Time into the DVD player and watched it for
the first time in 10 years."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/nickoftime.php

ROUTE 66: THE ULTIMATE DVD COLLECTION (reviewed by James A. Stewart,
overall score 80/100):
"Still, the story of Route 66 is about humans -- people who lovingly
care for classic cars; the crews of popular restaurants along the
highway; dreamers who restore weed-filled, abandoned drive-in theaters
-- and their often-commercial creations (the bumper sticker was first
used commercially at Meramac Caverns, one of Wallis's stops)."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/route66col.php

SHADOW MAN (reviewed by David Johnson, overall score 70/100):
"What other powers does Jack Foster/Steven Seagal have? Well, besides
being able to flip and punch any attacker that comes with a 20 foot
radius of his sideburns, he can fire guns infinitely. Plus, one scene
has him being stalked by a military helicopter, and Jack shoots the
thing until it explodes with his pistol!"

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/shadowman.php

YELLOWBEARD (reviewed by Joel Pearce, overall score 75/100):
"If you are reading this review because your Yellowbeard VHS broke a
decade ago and you're wondering whether you will still enjoy the film, I
can assure you that you will."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/yellowbeard.php

YELLOW SKY (reviewed by Ryan Keefer, overall score 74/100):
"Wow, the thought of Gregory Peck playing a tough guy in a Western was a
little bit surprising at first, and at second glance, the young actor
who had appeared in Hitchcock's Spellbound playing a bad guy seems to be
a little bit contrary to the grain of Peck's filmography."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/yellowsky.php

Mike Jackson
Editor & Webmaster, DVD Verdict
www.dvdverdict.com

DVD Verdict