The Minions, much like the acorn-chasing Scrat from the Ice Age franchise, work best in short, controlled bursts of mayhem, so designing an entire feature around them probably wasn’t a terrific idea right from the start.

But there are cracks in the façade, and at a certain point no amount of directorial embellishment can mask them. David and Alex Pastor’s (The Last Days, Carriers) script gets sillier and sillier as it moves along, building to bursts of outright stupidity that are almost laughable in their outlandish lunacy.

That’s not hyperbole, either. Kidman nearly elevates this film to something essential almost entirely on her own. This is a magnetic, impossibly complex star turn that comes close to being one of the Oscar-winner’s best, and truly the only reason I’m talking about [Strangerland] at all is entirely thanks to her.

” I really want people to understand, you cannot call these people stupid who are muddying these debates. They’re not stupid. They’re very, very smart, and that’s why they can get away with telling all of these falsehoods and outright lies.”

I get it. The transfer for this Dog Soldiers Blu-ray leaves a lot to be desired, and I admit I had to watch it twice in order to decide whether or not I was okay with it myself. In the end, I give Scream! Factory props. They’ve done what they could here while also assembling a set of special features and extras that do this underrated gem proud.

Slow West is a superior Western featuring superlative performances from Fassbender and Smit-McPhee and one that builds to a magnificent climax that stopped my heart cold. A tragically little seen gem released to theaters earlier this summer with too little in the way of fanfare, here’s hoping its reputation continues to grow now that it’s available on DVD and Blu-ray.

I’m glad I gave Dark Summer a second chance, I truly am. Even so, that doesn’t make it any less of a misfire. Some good moments aside, this film just doesn’t do it for me. That said, Scream! Factory has gone above and beyond in regards to this release, technical specification and special features for the Blu-ray strong all across the board.

While Kenner’s viewpoints are largely never in doubt, he still does a terrific job of staying objective as he interviews some of the worst offenders as far as all this rhetorical wheeling and dealing is concerned. What’s more, he allows them to state their case free of embellishment or shading from him, most more than willing to admit the truth behind their verbal nonsense, some even going so far as to be openly euphoric about just how talented they are at creating doubt where in all reality there shouldn’t be any.

It’s creepy, upsetting, emotional and fascinating, all pretty much at the same time, and if ever a movie could make the case for its style being enough to compensate for its lack of substance [The Cell (2000)] would arguably be it.