Army of Darkness: Directors Cut Director: Sam Raimi Anchor Bay This the third installment of the Evil Dead trilogy, often considered by fans the weakest of the three movies, captures the campy brilliance of Renaissance Pictures creators director Sam Raimi, producer Rob Tapert, and star Bruce Campbell. Our hero Ash has been sent back through time by the Force (not to be mistaken with the Force in SW) and the book of the dead to medieval Europe. There Ash must battle demons and the book of the dead to return home. This is an excellent film and this version has the original ending tacked on for good measure. There are multiple versions of this DVD available (I believe there are a total of five, some out of print and some still available…I have four myself). If you can find this version, there were only 40,000 made, so it is a must have for fans.
Darkman Director: Sam Raimi Universal Pictures Darkman is a classic comic book to the big screen film with excellent transition. This is the story of a scientist that gets murdered for being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunately for the bad guys Dr. Peyton Westlake (Liam Neeson) survived the attack and is out for revenge. Great comic book movie, with all the feel and texture of a hand drawn reality where anything can happen. This film was a triumph and huge success for director Raimi. Unfortunately the DVD doesn't have as much on it as I would like but it's better than many that I have seen (widescreen presentation, trailer, talent bios, etc).
Galaxy Quest Director: Dean Parisot Dreamworks Galaxy Quest is an incredibly funny spoof on fandom. While I have a seething hatred for Tim Allen, I must say I love this film. The production is fantastic, the plot is funny, and the acting is great (plus the menus on the DVD are really cool too).
Bats Director: Louis Morneau Columbia/Tristar Bats is one of those movies that you expect to suck. The previews were cheesy, the plat has been done before, and then there is Lou Diamond Phillips, but this movie works. It works because it is bad. Very bad. Basic plot is this… genetically mutated bats escape and mate with normal bats creating a group of super bats that go hella crazy and start attaching a town. This is a much better version of the genetic mutated/engineered plot than the utterly dreadful (and not in a good way) Deep Blue Sea. Also the DVD has some good extra features and sells for a low price.
