THE BLOOD LANDS: ALLSTATE DOESN’T COVER THIS

Ed (Lee Williams) and Sarah (Pollyanna McIntosh) are a young upwardly mobile couple living in England. When he chance to purchase a house in Scotland arises they decide to take it on. The old farmhouse was previously owned by a family that couldn’t make their payments and haven’t been seen or heard from for some time now. Nothing can go wrong, right?

The young couple begin to do things to fix up the house, a bit run down but not near as bad as most houses in these type of films. Ed is a bit stereotypical city guy who tends to make fun of the locals and the previous owners of the house. Sarah on the other hand finds the house quaint and a dream come true. While neither of them has a lot of experience as a home owner, they seem to be doing okay. Repairs are made, cleaning is done and they move forward. They even end up with enough free time to have a picnic.

But as with all movies like this their choice of location doesn’t sit well with the locals. Things begin to go awry until one night the pair wake up to hear someone moving about downstairs. They try to figure out what to do next and eventually Sarah makes her way out the upstairs window. She finally gets a glimpse of the home invaders who are wearing pig masks. It seems Ed was caught by them and is now tied up in the barn. Will Sarah be able to rescue him? Will the couple be one that stands and takes on the invaders or will they up and run? And if they run will they be able to get away before being tracked down?

The movie ends up being a by the book home invasion film that adds little to the genre. Most of what we see here has been done before. At least the movie is well made and well acted, something that isn’t always the case in movies like this. I don’t even think they do anything particularly stupid which is something that usually happens in this type of movie. Perhaps the best thing that happens here, one thing which will differentiate it from the rest of these type of films, is the ending, a twist that you won’t see coming.

In the end this isn’t a bad movie but not something to seek out either. It does entertain and offer a decent night’s entertainment.

 
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LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE SEASON FOUR: FAMILY FARE THAT STILL HOLDS UP

It seems as if television has abandoned family programming these days. Even shows that I enjoy feel more geared towards adults than to kids. Perhaps networks feel there is no hope in gathering young viewers when they have to compete with iPads and PlayStation. It seems they also feel that they must pander to the most basic of instincts, sex, to get viewers rather than realize that a good storytelling will draw in everyone. What surprises me more is their insistence to ignore the fact that family movies do so well at the box office. The recent release of WAR ROOM, a Christian based film, stunned Hollywood when it did so well at the box office. The same holds true for Disney films that continue to dominate the box office when released. So why can’t they do the same on TV? Who knows?

Until they come to their senses those seeking something their entire family can watch can turn to the world of DVD that brings back the shows of the past that the whole group can watch. And one of the most successful of those shows was LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE. Led by Michael Landon both in front of and behind the camera, the series presented the Ingalls family and their struggle to survive as settlers in the Midwest. Based on the popular series of children’s book it was a hit that stunned the same execs that are mystified today. Maybe they won’t learn.

Lionsgate has been offering the various seasons of the hit show in individual sets or in one huge box set for the whole series. If your budget is like mine the single seasons make sense. So what does season 4 offer? Well the same things we saw in the first three seasons basically but with each season having its own specific share of stories.

Many of the stories from this season seemed to take place on the road. Either Charles (Landon) was trying to find work elsewhere or taking someone to a different town or on a trip to a city like Chicago. This resulted in a story involving a hired hand on the farm that sent tongues wagging. The series also began to show that Mary Ingalls (Melissa Sue Anderson) was growing up, having her take on a teaching position at a school that presented a confrontation.

Of course Laura (Melissa Gilbert) remained the focal point of the series with several adventures of her own. One involved finding a baby to take care of and another had her working alongside a friend to solve a mystery. An interest in boys for Laura wasn’t quite yet a mix in the plots but the seeds were being sown.

The season also featured friend of the Ingalls John Garvey (ex-football star Merlin Olsen) in several shows as well. This was his first year on the series and he stayed on until season 7. Garvey’s son on the show became a close friend of Laura and the possibility of young romance could have happened. Watch subsequent seasons to see if it worked out.

Perhaps the most important thing to happen in this season involved Mary. Working as a teacher was her goal in life. That seemed to become a problem in the last two episodes when Mary began having problems with her vision. Would she be able to carry on with her dream if she became blind? Fans already know the answer to this question and what happened. If you aren’t aware then it’s time you started watching this series.

What made this series work was that it wasn’t something that you had to worry if your kids could watch it or not. At the same time it was one that kids enjoyed as well. That combination of something for both adults AND kids made it a staple for years. As I said earlier, it seems that’s not the case these days. With less than savory hijinks on shows like GOTHAM (which appears during what was once known as the family hour) and with political correctness being included in THE MUPPETS new series, shows that families can feel comfort with are rare. Perhaps it does make sense to return to the ones you trusted in the past. This release makes that possible.

 
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I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE 3: MORE REVENGE

I was reading an article the other day that said that Hollywood was finally realizing that remakes and sequels were not the money making movies they thought and that an end was in sight for both. Unfortunately it takes a while for that information to filter down and the movies that were already in the pipeline are moving forward and many are still being released. Had that not been the case I would have been able to spend the 92 minutes it took to watch this film watching something else that was better.

It’s not to say that this film was the worst movie ever made but the entire time I was watching I kept wondering what the point was in making this one. The only answer I could come up with was that it had name value so will probably attract a few viewers that way and that perhaps there were a few people who loved the movie enough to want to continue the story. Not many mind you but maybe just enough to recoup the cost of the film and make a few bucks.

Not having seen PART 2 I checked and this film picks up after the first remake so you can rest easy and not worry about the second “chapter”. Here Sarah Butler returns to play Jennifer Hills, the woman who was gang raped and tortured in the first in the series. Still psychologically strained she starts off in therapy when her therapist suggest she join victim’s group therapy. She does so and makes a friend in Marla, a woman who was in an abusive relationship but who also stands up for herself.

The two bond quickly, eventually taking on the tormentor of a 16 year old member of their therapy group and threatening to come back if he doesn’t stop. Marla nearly goes over the top but Jennifer stops her first. Boosted by the experience Marla tells Jennifer she’s going to her ex-boyfriend’s to get a few things back from him while he’s out. The result is his killing her which in turn sets off Jennifer to become an avenging angel to any and all who come to harm.

While the first film had a victim reacting to those who did her wrong setting her on a trail of vengeance, this film takes the same character and turns her into Charles Bronson via DEATH WISH. She becomes a hunter who easily comes to enjoy what it is she’s doing rather than be bothered by having to take on that persona. Jennifer has flashbacks of what happened to her as well as fantasies of the most violent acts she can imagine, the fantasies bringing a smile to her face. While the original film made her a hero of sorts her enjoyment of what she does here makes her more psycho and as unsympathetic as her tormentors.

The movie, of course, ends with enough openness to leave the door there for a sequel. My hope is it doesn’t happen. The original remake didn’t do that well and it surprises me that we’ve reached a part 3. While the movie itself is well made, well acted and offers a decent story of sorts it feels like the only reason it was made was to cash in on the long ago created original film. While that one was difficult to watch at least they let it end with one movie. Hopefully this set will end on number 3.

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