The Blob
Blu-ray (Collector’s Edition)
Director: Chuck Russell
Screenwriter: Chuck Russell, Frank Darabont
Cast: Shawnee Smith, Kevin Dillon, Donovan Leitch, Jeffrey DeMunn, Candy Clark, Joe Seneca
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated R | 95 Minutes
Release Date: October 29, 2019

Co-written and directed by Chuck Russell (A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors), 1988’s The Blob is a remake of Irvin Yeaworth’s 1958’s drive-in classic. And, like Philip Kaufman’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982), and David Cronenberg’s The Fly (1986), it’s the rare remake that stands on its own while improving upon its source material in the process.

Dreamscape
Blu-ray (Collector’s Edition)
Director: Joseph Ruben
Screenwriter: David Loughery, Chuck Russell, Joseph Ruben
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, Eddie Albert, Kate Capshaw, David Patrick Kelly
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated PG-13 | 99 Minutes
Release Date: December 13, 2016

“So, Jane, what you do here, in effect, is count boners?”

Directed by Joseph Ruben (The Pom Pom Girls), 1984’s Dreamscape has the unique distinction of being the second film released to theaters that was rated PG-13 under then new MPAA ratings guidelines, following Red Dawn, which come out five days earlier. And interestingly enough, the film stars Kate Capeshaw, who starred in a violent PG-rated blockbuster that would help create the PG-13 rating: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Co-written by Ruben, David Loughery (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier), and Chuck Russell (A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, 1988’s The Blob), Dreamscape stars Dennis Quaid as Alex Gardner, a man with psychic abilities who is recruited by his old mentor, Dr. Novotny (Max von Sydow), to join the dreamscape project, a government-funded program to diagnose and treat sleep disorders.

With the recent avalanche of remakes and reboots being announced, I can say in all honesty that it’s actually a bit of a breath of fresh air to hear about a new TV adaptation.

T.J. Hooker, the Aaron Spelling show that starred William Shatner and Heather Locklear, is now being developed into a big screen feature length action comedy. The show followed T.J. Hooker (Shatner), a cop who voluntarily demotes himself after his partner is slain so that he can train rookie cops and get back to the hands-on work. One of the rookies he teams up with is a cocky young kid who doesn’t make things easy for Hooker. It ran from 1982 to 1986.

Chuck Russell is currently in talks to direct the adaptation. He’s best known for his work helming The Scorpion King and The Mask, but also has done The Blob (1988), Eraser, and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors. He was a producer on Michael Mann’s Collateral, as well.

The Rock Action 3-Pack
Blu-ray Edition
The Scorpion King, Rundown, Doom
Directed by Chuck Russell, Andrzej Bartkowiak, Peter Berg
Starring The Rock
Release Date: February 10, 2009

Before Dwayne Johnson had a game plan or was racing to some mountain, he was the wrestler The Rock, the most electrifying man in sports entertainment. When he was given a cameo appearance in the Mummy Returns as The Scorpion King, he took the ball and ran with it and gave a pretty impressive debut performance. Producers obviously saw something special in him and before you know it, Dwayne Johnson was on his way to Hollywood, starring in his own movies and eventually becoming a star under the Disney umbrella.

Getting in on having Johnson’s name out there now for his new Disney movie Race to Witch Mountain, Universal Pictures has released The Rock Action 3-Pack, collecting three of his movies — The Scorpion King, The Rundown, and Doom — for a discounted price. Three movies for the price of one seems like a great deal but are these movies any good? I took it upon it upon myself to find out.