disturbing one-scene characters, but the last-reel revelations are prosaic and the restoration of family values too pat.
Breaking Glass’ fine-looking
DVD includes outtakes of Cloris Leachman in full improv mode and turning up at the World Pre- miere plus a series of behind-the- scenes snippets that feature subjects like the girl whose chick- ens play a featured role in the movie and the real-life inspiration for the story. Tommy Lee Wallace (HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH) exec-produced and plays a bit-part.
FINAL DESTINATION 5
2011, New Line, 91m 37s, $19.94, DVD By Shane M. Dallmann
In my review of 2009’s THE FINAL DESTINATION (VW 112:50; actually the fourth entry in the popular horror series), I offered the opinion that the series had “nothing left to offer.” Concep- tually, that sentiment holds true: FINAL DESTINATION 5 tells the exact same story yet again, vary- ing only in its disaster du jour (this time, a busload of office employ- ees led by Nicholas D’Agosto and Emma Bell is scheduled to be
wiped out via the collapse of a suspension bridge)—and yet, against all odds, this fifth go- round frequently manages to improve upon its immediate pre- decessor in other departments, perhaps because a fresh creative team was allowed to take the reins.
First-time feature director Steven Quade (James Cameron’s second-unit director on TITANIC and AVATAR) has an undeniable flair for grisly spectacle and ra- zor-sharp 3D compositions, while screenwriter Eric Heisserer (the NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET remake and the 2011 prequel to THE THING) restores wit and imagination to the signature Rube Goldberg death traps (an extended sequence involving a free “massage” treatment offers some genuine humor as it builds to a painfully surprising finale in what is probably the film’s highlight) and even to the attempts of the survivors to break the cycle. Better still, Quade and Heisserer avoid the series’ frustrating tendency to merely “reboot” the scene whenever things threaten to get interesting, and thus manage to steer FD5 to the near-unthink- able: a satisfying ending (easily
the best since the infamously sick joke that closed out FD2). Conspicuous in his absence from the previous entry was actor Tony Todd and he too has been re- stored to the formula, while the obligatory genre “name checks” this time out include Friedkin, Hooper and Castle. No review of this title really need say anything else.
The 2D DVD rendition looks perfectly fine in full 2.35:1 wide- screen and the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is available in En- glish, French and Spanish (En- glish SDH subtitles are also available). The only supplement is the making-of featurette “FI- NAL DESTINATION 5: Circle of Death.” New Line also offers this title on Blu-ray in 2D for $19.98, while $44.95 will get you a combination 3D/2D/Ultraviolet combination package.
NINJA III: THE DOMINATION
1984, Scream Factory, 92m 47s, $26.99, BD+DVD By John Charles
While out doing repairs, tele- phone lineswoman/aerobics in- structor Christie (BREAKIN’’s Lucinda Dickey) stumbles across
Plummeting towards another eternity in FINAL DESTINATION 5.
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