News

Chicago – Time to catch up with the DVD Round-Up, a collection of titles that may have slipped under your radar while you were busy blogging about Inglourious Basterds” or programming your DVR for the new Fall TV season.

This week’s titles are a motley crew of horror, drama, action, and a couple of films clearly tied to bigger theatrical releases. “Like Mila Kunis in “Extract”? Why not check her out in “Boot Camp”?” “Like Kelli Garner in “Taking Woodstock”? Take a look at “Red Velvet””

Plot synopsis, cast, and special features information - what you really want to know - for a half-dozen titles follow. At least one should make your Netflix queue.

“Dark Rising” and “London to Brighton” were released on August 11th, 2009.

“Boot Camp” and “Red Velvet” were released on August 25th, 2009.

“Homeboy” was released on September 1st, 2009.

“Boot Camp”

Photo credit: Fox Synopsis: “Sophie Bauer’s...

Dark Rising thinks it’s really funny. It’s not. Not so much a horror/comedy but a fantasy-esque/comedy with a monster, the film drowns itself in a lot of contorted wacky faces, broad shoulder shrugs, silly runs and musical cues that only emphasize how flat the punchlines have fallen.

The movie follows Jason (Landy Cannon), who has just been dumped by his high-school sweetheart Jasmine (Vanessa James) after having dated her forever. Jason has a plan, though: He and his jerky best friend Ricky (played by Jay Reso, a.k.a. WWE wrestler Christian) are going camping with Jasmine and her friends Renee (Julia Schneider) and Marlene (Haley Shannon); along the way, he can win her back. The problem is that Jasmine and Marlene are now more than just friends, and although Jason has dreamy hair, there’s no way he can contend with gratuitous lesbianism. Meanwhile, Renee...

Ah, to aspire to B-movie status and nothing more. Gone are the expectations of special effects, production values or even really having a plot. On the other hand, it leaves plenty of room for a movie full of comical interactions and out-of-this world setups that audiences just go along with. Dark Rising takes all these B-movie benefits and just piles on the cleavage, the fantastic plots and men in demon costumes. Lesbians? Yup. Scantily clad babes? Uh huh. Nonsensical greatness? A little bit of that too.

Jason (Landy Cannon) is just another one of those sad sack guys who can’t accept that his relationship with a girl has ended. He mopes around and pines non-stop about how great things were while his friend Ricky (Jason Reso) tries to convince him otherwise.

Meanwhile, Jasmine (Vanessa James), Jason’s ex-girlfriend, is busy buying a book on witchcraft with her two friends...