High School Blu-Ray Review

Starring Matt Bush, Sean Marquette, Adrien Brody, Colin Hanks, Yeardley Smith, Curtis Armstrong, Mykelti Williamson, Michael Vartan, Adhir Kalyan, Alicia Sixtos and Michael Chiklis

Written by Erik Linthorst, John Stalberg and Stephen Susco

Directed by John Stalberg

The stoner comedy field is a tricky one to master, trying to delicately balance the material for pot smoker and non-pot smoker alike. For every Dazed and Confused and Harold and Kumar there is a plethora of awful attempts to bring “pot culture” to screen through comedy. Out this week from Anchor Bay Entertainment is the Sundance and Toronto After Dark fan favorite from 2010, High School, another film in the same vein, but on which side of the argument will it land?

High School is the story of soon-to-be valedictorian Henry Burke (Bush), who, after taking a hit of the chronic for the first time provided by his…

Donovan’s Echo DVD Review

Starring Danny Glover, Bruce Greenwood, Natasha Calis, and Sonja Bennett

Written by Jim Cliffe and Melody Krieger

Directed by Jim Cliffe

Out this week, an exclusive release from Anchor Bay Entertainment Canada, is the Canadian production Donovan’s Echo. After a run on the festival circuit that included stops in Calgary and Edmonton, Donovan’s Echo, the Danny Glover semi-supernatural thriller is now available to take home. But is it something you need to buy, rent or pass on?

Set in 1994, Donovan Matheson (Glover) returns home after a 30 year absence to discover events from his past are replaying out with astonishing accuracy. Plagued by the idea of déjà vu, Donovan is convinced his young neighbour Maggie (Calis) and her mother Sarah (Bennett) will be killed on the 30th anniversary of his own wife and daughter’s death. Struggling to unlock the pattern, Donovan tries to convince his…