DVD Verdict reviews: COLORCALM: SKIES, WHATEVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE?, and more!

Today, DVD Verdict posted reviews of COLORCALM: SKIES, DISTANT THUNDER,
FOOLPROOF, HIGH SCHOOL BOOT CAMP, JOEL MCCREA DOUBLE FEATURE, KOMEDIANT,
THE MOODY BLUES: THE LOST PERFORMANCE: LIVE IN PARIS 1970, 9 SOULS,
OPERATION MIDNIGHT CLIMAX, RAY CHARLES LIVE: IN CONCERT WITH THE
EDMONTON SYMPHONY, SUSAN HAYWARD DOUBLE FEATURE, 2009: LOST MEMORIES,
and WHATEVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE?:


COLORCALM: SKIES (reviewed by Bill Gibron, overall score 80/100):
"Is it relaxing? You bet. It is very easy to catch 20 to 25 of the 40
winks one requires looking at this high-priced stratospheric lava lamp.
Muscles do indeed melt, and worries flutter and fly away like gnats near
a summertime cornfield."

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

DISTANT THUNDER (reviewed by Dennis Prince, overall score 71/100):
"While my expectations were certainly low for this picture -- largely
due to an indifferent DVD insert design -- I found that I enjoyed
Distant Thunder immensely."

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

FOOLPROOF (reviewed by David Johnson, overall score 82/100):
"And then there's the whole premise of these three friends expending a
vast amount of time and money and resources on playing out these heist
fantasies. Seems a tad on the far-fetched side. Then again, I see people
running around in Medieval garb with plastic swords in the park every
summer, so to each their own in their spare time, I guess."

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

HIGH SCHOOL BOOT CAMP (reviewed by Dennis Prince, overall score 87/100):
"If you're looking for a slice of thought-provoking and brow-furrowing
reality, here's a film by documentarian Chuck Braverman that follows 49
at-risk teen boys on their harrowing journey to rescue themselves from a
downward spiral of drugs, drinking, and disrespect."

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

JOEL MCCREA DOUBLE FEATURE (reviewed by Amanda DeWees, overall
score 79/100):
"There's no preciousness or self-consciousness in McCrea's onscreen
persona. One of his great gifts as an actor is that matter-of-fact
attitude, and in both Bird of Paradise and The Most Dangerous Game that
quality gives the unlikely plots a much-needed grounding in reality."

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

KOMEDIANT (reviewed by Bill Gibron, overall score 83/100):
"If history is written in the faces of its participants, then the people
of Komediant have a lot to say. Interesting, only Pesach'ke's clownish
features appear timeless. Maybe he was never meant to age. Or maybe, he
didn't have very much to say after all."

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

THE MOODY BLUES: THE LOST PERFORMANCE: LIVE IN PARIS 1970 (reviewed by
Bill Gibron, overall score 84/100):
"Anyone hoping to see this prog-pop band blow away an audience with
their technical skill and prowess will probably be frustrated by this
French phoniness. You would think in this modern age of Ashlee Simpsons
and Lindsay Lohans, such backing track tendencies would be a little more
forgivable. Actually, the opposite is true."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/moodybluesparis1970.php

9 SOULS (reviewed by Joel Pearce, overall score 94/100):
"This is an exciting, fun, unique and ultimately moving film that every
Asian film fan should go and hunt down. In a genre and industry that
seems to be more style than substance, Toyoda has something worthwhile
to bring to the table, and does it in a slick and entertaining way."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/9souls.php

OPERATION MIDNIGHT CLIMAX (reviewed by David Johnson, overall
score 82/100):
"What can you say about a movie that features a grown man dressed in a
rubber alien mask throwing beautiful women into burlap sacks, pies baked
with menstrual blood, and a crazy conspiratorial plot colored with
Wiccan and Masonic history? I have no idea."

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

RAY CHARLES LIVE: IN CONCERT WITH THE EDMONTON SYMPHONY (reviewed by
Michael Stailey, overall score 87/100):
"The great ones make everything look effortless. From behind that piano,
he captured the complete attention of everyone within earshot and
complete command of his musical genius. There was no disability here."

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

SUSAN HAYWARD DOUBLE FEATURE (reviewed by Amanda DeWees, overall
score 82/100):
"Hayward appears at the peak of her beauty in these two films and is in
full command of her acting powers. For both Hayward's followers and
those who want to learn more about this fine actress's body of work,
this is a good place to start -- handkerchiefs optional."

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

2009: LOST MEMORIES (reviewed by Adam Arseneau, overall score 69/100):
"To put it another way, the film just gets corny; not even the
compelling and stylish ending sequence can rescue 2009 from the lower
basement of mediocrity and action-film cliches. It passes the point of
no return about an hour in, right about the time your brain cells clock
out, climb out your ear, and go read a book, desperate for something
intelligent to do."

FULL REVIEW: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/2009lostmemories.php

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO AUNT ALICE? (reviewed by Dennis Prince, overall
score 74/100):
"Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice? will likely come as a surprise to
those who've never seen it and might offhandedly dismiss it as '60s/'70s
dreck. A clever script and two delightfully over-achieving actresses
make this a picture to see for sure -- especially before you head off to
spend time with one of your own eccentric relatives."

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

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