DVD Verdict reviews: THE SWORD OF DOOM: CRITERION COLLECTION and more!

Today, DVD Verdict posted reviews of EULOGY, KICK TO GET FIT FOR KIDS,
LEWIS BLACK: BLACK ON BROADWAY, MALCOLM X: SPECIAL EDITION, MISS
CONGENIALITY: DELUXE EDITION (WITH CD), MY SISTER EILEEN, THE RIVER:
CRITERION COLLECTION, THE SWORD OF DOOM: CRITERION COLLECTION, TOM AND
JERRY: THE SPOTLIGHT COLLECTION, TOOLBOX MURDERS, and VENUS IN FURS:


EULOGY (reviewed by Patrick Bromley, overall score 79/100):
"The family members in Eulogy aren't given separate personalities --
their only character trait, shared or individual, is that they don't get
along with one another."

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

KICK TO GET FIT FOR KIDS (reviewed by David Johnson, overall
score 90/100):
"If you're trying to wean your child off of speedballing Trix, this just
might be the ticket."

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

LEWIS BLACK: BLACK ON BROADWAY (reviewed by Sandra Dozier, overall
score 85/100):
"Filmed at the Brooks Atkinson Theater in New York City, Black's
Broadway appearance is funnier than heck, a word that will not appear at
any time during the sixty minutes he appears on screen."

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

MALCOLM X: SPECIAL EDITION (reviewed by Patrick Bromley, overall
score 98/100):
"The director and star have given us a portrait of Malcolm X that far
transcends the traditional biopic; never is Malcolm fully glamorized nor
demonized, creating an unflinchingly honest look at a man deserving of
our respect, our attention, our hearts, and our tears. Supporters of
Malcolm will be thankful to see a film worthy of the man himself;
detractors may finally begin to understand just who he was. The movie is
that important."

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

MISS CONGENIALITY: DELUXE EDITION (WITH CD) (reviewed by Brett Cullum,
overall score 87/100):
"Miss Congeniality never aspires to be anything but good-hearted and
goofy for one hundred and ten minutes. It doesn't have a single thing to
say about FBI agents, pageants, or terrorists, and only succeeds in
making all three look not that scary. And trust me, I'd take on the FBI
or terrorists any day before I'd fight my way through a beauty pageant."

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

MY SISTER EILEEN (reviewed by Amanda DeWees, overall score 90/100):
"Although the disc copy calls it an 'extravaganza,' the movie is
actually fairly modest in scope, and it's this very intimacy that makes
it work. We feel close enough to the characters to care about them,
since for the most part this is a story that uses musical numbers not to
dazzle us but to help us see into the characters' hearts."

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

THE RIVER: CRITERION COLLECTION (reviewed by Steve Evans, overall
score 98/100):
"This lesser-known classic ranks on the short list of cinematic
standards that bloom like a perennial, revealing new wonders with
every viewing."

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

THE SWORD OF DOOM: CRITERION COLLECTION (reviewed by Joel Pearce,
overall score 95/100):
"This window into the political world at the end of the Shogunate era is
another fascinating aspect of The Sword of Doom, one that elevates it
above a straight action film. Although a few characters exemplify the
ideals of the samurai culture, most characters in this film are mad with
power and have completely lost the notions of honor and responsibility
that were meant to be at the core of that system. "

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

TOM AND JERRY: THE SPOTLIGHT COLLECTION (reviewed by Sandra Dozier,
overall score 90/100):
"I love to hear Tom scream. It makes me laugh every time. He sounds so
surprised and outraged, like he didn't have it coming the whole time.
It's gold. And the thing that surprised me the most? That's Bill Hanna.
Yep, the co-creator of Tom and Jerry did all those wonderful screams."

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

TOOLBOX MURDERS (reviewed by David Johnson, overall score 80/100):
"The makeup is across-the-board good, and the gore effects are bloody
and vivid. The face-melting lye job stands out as the most stomach-
churning, with the power-saw head bisection coming in a close second.
In an age of MPAA-friendly 'psychological thrillers' with a group of
unknown teenage OC outcasts on the movie poster, a hard R horror flick
like Toolbox Murders -- crafted by a legend in the genre, no less --
is welcome."

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

VENUS IN FURS (reviewed by Brett Cullum, overall score 90/100):
"One critic from The San Francisco Examiner called it 'trippy as hell'
and 'like a Marvel Team-up between Ranier Werner Fassbinder and Russ
Meyers set loose in the Hammer Studios.' My thoughts exactly."

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

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