DVD Court: HATES, Frankenweenie, Dredd, and More

This week, we put a bunch of movies on trial. As The Jury, we recommend what should happen to a particular DVD released today. Voting Burn It, Skip It, Rent It, or Buy It, we come together to deliver a verdict and hope to help you decide what to watch or avoid. Unfortunately, there is no Court of Appeals this week. While applications for new members are closed right now, come January, there will be more spots opening so contact me if you are interested. We have also changed up the feature a little and added Closing Statements, including quotes from our reviews or opinions about each film on trial. This is to give you all a better idea of why we decided how we did.

The Jury:
Nick of The Cinematic Katzenjammer
Ries of The Cinematic Katzenjammer
Joe of Two Dude Review
Vern of The Vern’s Videovangaurd
Andrew and Sarah of Two Tickets For…
Dave of Dave Examines Movies
Andy of Andy Watches Movies
Sati of Cinematic Corner
Daniel of Daniel’s Film Reviews
Mavi of FilmScope
Brian of The Soap Box Office
Fernando of Committed to Celluloid

“A mother and daughter move to a new town and find themselves living next door to a house where a young girl murdered her parents. When the daughter befriends the surviving son, she learns the story is far from over.”
Directed by: Mark Tonderai, Rated: PG-13, 101 minutes

Nick: Burn It
Ries: Skip It
Joe: Rent It
Vern: Rent It
Andrew and Sarah: Skip It
Dave: Burn It
Andy: Skip It
Sati: Skip It
Daniel: Skip It
Mavi: Burn It
Brian: Skip It
Fernando: Skip It

Closing Statements:
Daniel (S): ”A sub-par horror film that’s almost completely bereft of scares, nudity, story and substance. The scariest thing about it is its mouthful of a title.”

“Young Victor conducts a science experiment to bring his beloved dog Sparky back to life, only to face unintended, sometimes monstrous, consequences.”
Directed by: Tim Burton, Rated: PG, 87 minutes

Nick: Rent It
Ries: Rent It
Joe: Rent It
Vern: Buy It
Andrew and Sarah: Rent It
Dave: Rent It
Andy: Rent It
Sati: Rent It
Daniel: Rent It
Mavi: Rent It
Brian: Rent It
Fernando: Rent It

“Former getaway driver Charlie Bronson jeopardizes his Witness Protection Plan identity in order to help his girlfriend get to Los Angeles. The feds and Charlie’s former gang chase them on the road.”
Directed by: David Palmer and Dax Shepard, Rated: R, 100 minutes

Nick: Skip It
Ries: Burn It
Joe: Burn It
Vern: Skip It
Andrew and Sarah: Rent It
Dave: Skip It
Andy: Rent It
Sati: Skip It
Daniel: Rent It
Mavi: Rent It
Brian: Skip It
Fernando: Skip It

“In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.”
Directed by: Pete Travis, Rated: R, 95 minutes

Nick: Buy It
Ries: Rent It
Joe: Rent It
Vern: Rent It
Andrew and Sarah: Rent It
Dave: Rent It
Andy: Rent It
Sati: Rent It
Daniel: Rent It
Mavi: Rent It
Brian: Rent It
Fernando: Rent It

Closing Statements:
Nick (B): “While it lacks that extra punch and a strong villain, Dredd still is entertaining as hell, looks incredible, and has some great action sequences that make you want to go to the shooting range.”
Joe (R): “Karl Urban’s take on cinema’s most violent lawman isn’t terrible, it’s merely okay; there’s an abundance of violence, but the story lacked a top-notch villain to set it apart from most c-list comic book films”
Brian (R): “A beautifully shot action movie with a solid lead and a heavy dose of hyper violence that misses the mark in terms of plot.”

“When a prank caller convinces a fast food restaurant manager to interrogate an innocent young employee, no-one is left unharmed. Based on true events.”
Directed by: Craig Zobel, Rated: R, 90 minutes

Nick: Rent It
Ries: Buy It
Joe: Rent It
Vern: Buy It
Andrew and Sarah: Rent It
Dave: Buy It
Andy: Rent It
Sati: Rent It
Daniel: Buy It
Mavi: Rent It
Brian: Rent It
Fernando: Rent It

The Court of Appeals

Samsara (Blu-ray)

Two-Lane Blacktop (Criterion Blu-ray)

Dredd (Rent It)
Looper (Buy It)