Bag
Boy Lover Boy
(2014/Severin Blu-ray)/The
Circle
(2017/Lionsgate Blu-ray w/DVD)/The
Dinner
(2017/Lionsgate Blu-ray)/Feed
The Light
(2014/Intervision Blu-ray)/Going
In Style
(2017 remake/Warner Blu-ray w/DVD)/Hickok
4K
(2017/Cinedigm Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Kung
Fu Yoga
(2017/Well Go Blu-ray w/DVD)/Pelle
The Conquerer: 30th
Anniversary Edition
(1987/Film Movement Blu-ray)/Pulse
(2001/MVD Visual/Arrow Blu-ray w/DVD)/Unforgettable
(2017/Warner Blu-ray w/DVD)
4K
Ultra HD Blu-ray Picture: A Picture: B/B+ & B-/B+/B/B+ &
B-/B+/B+ & C+/B+/B+ &
B-/B+
& B- Sound: B/B+ & B-/B+/B/B+ & B-/B+/B+ &
B-/B/B+ & B-/B+ & B- Extras: B/B/C/B/C/B/C+/C+/B/C
Film: C+/C/C/B/C+/C+/B/B/B/C
Up
next are a surprisingly impressive set of releases that are high
profile, upscale and meant to really deliver for their respective
audiences...
Bag
Boy Lover Boy
Every
once in a while, an independent film comes along that is so bizarre
and unusual that you can't help but talk about it. It invades your
brain and stays with you for hours or sometimes even days afterwards.
Such is the case for this New York City made Indie film Bag
Boy Lover Boy
(2014), the debut feature film from filmmaker Andres Torres.
The
film stars Theodore Bouloukos as the devious photographer Ivan, Jon
Wachter as our lead Albert, and Kathy Biehl.
Albert
(Wachter) has a dead end job at a hot dog stand in New York City but
dreams of impressing being a photographer and baiting the girl of his
dreams (Biehl), who is something of a drifter. One day he gets a
customer named Ivan (Bouloukos), who tells him of his successful
career as a photographer and he invites Albert to a photo shoot and
promises to help Albert with his aspirations. Seeing Albert's
obscure nature and wanting to capture it on film, Ivan places Albert
in front of the camera as a model and the two have a semi-successful
shoot. But when Ivan gets called on a business trip and skips town,
Albert ends up with the keys to Ivan's studio. Paired with a new
camera, Albert decides to lure women back to the studio as his
subjects but develops a passion for murder in the process...
Similar
but not as extreme as The
Greasy Stranger
(reviewed elsewhere on this site) for its weirdness factor with
elements of Napoleon
Dynamite
and a mix of John Waters flair, Bag
Boy Lover Boy
is an unusual journey into the mind of a maniac. While not without
some plot holes, the movie is pretty entertaining and an effective
black comedy as well. It also screams guerrilla filmmaking, as there
are many sequences (especially on the New York City streets) where
you will notice background extras looking into the camera and
observing the shoot as they walk in and out of frame. From a
filmmaking standpoint though, the film is pretty solid and I look
forward to seeing more from this new director Andres Torres in the
near future.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and
a lossless English LPCM 2.0 Stereo track, both of which play pretty
good on Blu-ray disc, he low budget film was shot with Arri Alexa
Cameras and a few sequences shot on film. The detail level is pretty
solid, with no real compression issues that I noticed.
Special
Features...
Audio
Commentary With Director Andres Torres, Actor Theodore Bouloukos and
Editor Charlie Williams
The
Student Films of Actor Jon Wachter: Got
Light
and The
Never-starting Story
Original
Trailer
While
not perfect, there's a lot to like about Bag
Boy Lover Boy
that makes it recommendable. This is definitely a niche audience
type of film where you either love it or hate it, but it's definitely
worth a watch for its quirky and offbeat nature alone.
The
Circle
Emma
Watson and Tom Hanks lead an interesting supporting cast in the
thriller The
Circle
(2017), a film that mixes the social aspects of Facebook and the
clean image of Apple and turns them into an evil entity. The film
raises some interesting questions such as personal freedom and the
thin line between public and private life in the growing world of
social networking and sadly, doesn't feel too far off from reality.
Also starring Patton Oswalt, Karen Gillan (Guardians
of the Galaxy),
John Boyega (the recent Star
Wars
sequels), and the late Bill Paxton in one of his final roles, The
Circle
is directed by James Ponsoldt (The
End of the Tour).
Mae
(Watson) ends up getting a job with The Circle, a powerful social
media company. At first, everything seems perfect. She's making
money to help support her sick Father (Paxton) and feels accepted by
all of her new friends and grows to be popular within the company.
Soon, she comes face to face with the CEO (Hanks) who enrolls her in
a new company experiment that soon overtakes her personal life and
affects those around her.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and
a lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 track, the film
looks fine on Blu-ray disc with adequate and bright images that are
up to standards. Also includes is a standard definition DVD with an
anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 2.39:1 and a lossy Dolby
Digital 5.1 track that is compressed and not as impressive as the
former. A digital UV copy is also included.
Special
Features...
"No
More Secrets: Completing The Circle - A Four-Part Series"
featurette
"The
Future Won't Wait: Design and Technology" featurette
"A
True Original: Remembering Bill Paxton" featurette
Watson
and Hanks do what they can here but the film tends to drag in moments
and at times is pretty predictable. The
Circle
makes you think while you're watching, but doesn't stay with you
after the credits.
The
Dinner
Director
Oren Moverman (The
Messenger)
has a new thriller that's just finding it's way onto disc, The
Dinner
(2017), which has an all-star cast including Richard Gere, Rebecca
Hall, Chloe Sevigny, Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, and Michael Chernus.
The film is based on a novel by Herman Koch and does an interesting
job of elevating tension through its leads.
Gere
is running for office as a personal tragedy affects his family behind
the curtain. Meeting his brother and her wife (Coogan and Linney)
with his own wife (Hall), they all discuss a terrible crime that
their children committed. A crime that has to be covered up to
protect all of their public images. Who is to blame? The parents?
The children? How far will they go to keep this a security? And who
will answer and take responsibility for these crimes?
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and
a lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 track that looks and sounds
up to standards for the Blu-ray format, though the lighting in many
of the scenes are the table are dimly lit, the character details
remain on point and everything is nice exposed and crisp, which is as
to be expected.
A
Digital UV copy is also included.
Special
Features...
Audio
Commentary with Writer/Director Oren Moverman and Actress Laura
Linney
Photo
Gallery
Feed
The Light
H.
P. Lovecraft fans will want to pick up this award winning Swedish
underground feature Feed
The Light
(2014, original title Lokalvardaren)
Directed by Henrik Moller, which is now available on video thanks to
Intervision. A dark thriller with an industrial setting, the film is
loosely based on a short story by Lovecraft called The
Color of Time and Space.
Feed
The Light
is an interesting white knuckled thriller aims to please fans of the
author and while it's not a direct translation, his influence is felt
throughout.
The
film stars Lina Sunden, Martin Jirhamn, and Jenny Lampa.
When
Sara (Sunden) takes a job as a cleaner to find her missing daughter,
she ends up forming an alliance with the another Janitor on staff.
Set in a seemingly endless and nightmarish underground base, they
band together with a few others and journey into the abyss where
startling and sinister visions are beheld.
Presented
on Blu-ray with a 1080p high definition transfer and a 1.78:1
widescreen aspect ratio and paired with a Swedish LPCM 2.0 Stereo
lossless track. The film is grey-scaled (not entirely Black and White
but close) and has a few colors that pop into later scenes but
overall has a lot of grain, which is no doubt on display for
cinematic effect. Lots of scenes has deep blacks that reads well on
higher definition televisions. Overall, considering the budget, this
presentation is pretty solid.
Special
Features...
Making
of Feed The Light
featurette
The
Lovecraft Influence: Interview With Co-Writer/Director Henrik Moller
Original
Trailer
Going
In Style
Actor/Director
Zach Braff (Scrubs,
Garden
State)
returns to the director's chair for this ensemble comedy film Going
In Style
(2017), which is actually a remake of a 1979 film of the same name.
Sporting
a stellar cast which includes Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin, Christopher
Lloyd, Matt Dillon, Joey King and Michael Caine to name a few, this
hilarious coming-of-age comedy takes a look at three aging men who
are broke and decide to rob a bank in an effort to fix the
shortcomings in all of their lives. The film is smartly made and has
some pretty funny moments, while a bit far fetched, that which will
appeal especially to an older crowd.
Three
best friends (Freeman, Arkin, Caine) end up getting screwed over by
the corporate company that they have put a large chunk of their lives
into. Now broke and unable to cover their overheads, they devise a
harebrained plan to rob the bank that was partly responsible for
taking their hard earned pension money away from them. However,
these guys aren't in the best of shape nor as fast as they used to be
so it will take some training and expertise to pull off this heist as
envisioned. Of course, many things go awry in the process, leaving
these old farts with nothing to lose and everything to live for.
This
edition features the film on both 1080p high definition Blu-ray and
standard definition DVD. The widescreen aspect ratio of the film is
2.39:1 aspect ratio that is identical on both discs and varying sound
and picture quality. The Blu-ray, as always, is the victor with a
sharper image and lossless DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 (48kHz,
24-bit) mix, while the DVD sports a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 track and
a highly compressed image. Both reach the standards of their
respected formats and for a naturally set film with no heavy special
effects, these transfers suit the film fine both ways.
A
Digital UV copy is also included.
Special
Features...
Commentary
with Director Zach Braff
Deleted
Scenes
There
are a few 'groaner' jokes in the movie that are bit silly and some
predictable plot points, but all in all this is a film that's safe to
watch with your family and get some kicks out of. It's worth seeing
mainly for the performances of Freeman, Arkin, and Caine alone.
Hickok
4K
Hickok
(2017) is a new western that stars Kris Kristofferson, Bruce Dern,
Luke Hemsworth, Trace Adkins, Cameron Richardson, and Robert Catrini.
Director Timothy Woodward Jr. is no stranger to this type of
western, as last year he came out with Traded
(reviewed elsewhere on this site), which has a similar look and feel
to this. Nicely shot with decent production design, the film can't
shake some comparisons to some better Clint Eastwood Western movies,
but is an entertaining entry in a genre that doesn't get the
spotlight too often. Cinedigm has put the film in glorious 4K high
definition that is very impressive in terms of presentation, even if
the film's script isn't always completely original.
Centering
around Wild Bill Hickok (Hemsworth) who is legendary for shooting
first and asking questions later, is a loner that isn't particularly
liked by many. When he impresses the Mayor (Kristofferson) in a
small western cow town with his badass gun skills, he gets promoted
to Town Marshall and gets the run of the place. In a town like this,
though, everybody has a gun and follows their own set of rules.
Soon, Hickok decides to enforce a 'no gun' policy in the town, which
doesn't help his popularity votes. Soon, many start plotting against
him in rebellion and a bounty is put on his head, leaving old Hickok
a walking target...
This
edition of the film includes both the 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray
editions, both of which look pretty darn good. The film utilizes
natural locations and western looking sets, with impeccable detail in
the 2160p with HDR (high dynamic range 10-bit color) high definition
image, which has a widescreen aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and a DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 5.1 lossless track that does both editions fine.
Featuring a western style score, natural skin tones, and plenty of
gunplay, the film is also mixed pretty nicely with clean dialogue
tracks and more evident details in the 4K UHD.
Special
Features...
The
Road to Abilene: The Making of Hickok
Deleted
Scenes
and
a Trailer
A
nicely shot western in 4K Ultra HD, this film is a fun Western entry
that isn't game changer but will entertain fans. I found this in
many ways superior to The
Magnificent Seven
remake (reviewed in 4K also on this site), which was too silly for
its own good.
Kung
Fu Yoga
Stanley
Tong (Rumble
in the Bronx,
Supercop)
directs Jackie Chan again in Kung
Fu Yoga
(2017), an explosive new action/comedy that's highly fun and
imaginative, though has elements of several other films in the same
genre. Boasting a huge effects budget (there are many CG digitally
enhanced characters here), lots of great production designs and
location and a rousing score, this is in many ways the foreign
interpretation of an American blockbuster with a mix of Bollywood
flair to spice things up.
The
film also stars Amyra Dastur, Sonu Sood, Disha Patani, and Yixing
Zhang.
Jackie
Chan plays Professor Chan, an Indiana Jones character of sorts, who
is an archaeology professor who is teaching a class about Indian
treasure and is about to lead a daring journey into Arctic lands.
During the expedition, his group (a few of whom are martial artists)
uncover a hidden treasure deep within an ice cafe that's been
undisturbed for centuries. Before they celebrate too much, they're
ambushed by a group of mercenaries who are also there for the
treasure. Showing that he's not just a history expert, Chan breaks
into his mass knowledge of kung fu (and yoga which he learns from his
fellow adventurers), which he must use to protect his friends and the
treasure before it gets into the wrong hands.
Kung
Fu Yoga
is presented in both 1080p High Definition Blu-ray and standard
definition DVD in this combo pack release. Featuring a widescreen
aspect ratio of 2.35:1, the Blu-ray presentation is up to standards
with nice detail on the film's many colors and locations. Some early
scenes have predominately yellow tones, while other scenes set in the
arctic mountains are much more blue. Some of the CG elements still
out like a sore thumb against the real human subjects, but that is to
be expected. The disc also has a Mandarin DTS:X 11.1 lossless mix
that's easily one of the best on any Jackie Chan film, also here in a
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 7.1 lossless mix, but the English dub
version is here in a nice sounding DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1
lossless mix s well. The DVD features the film to a more compressed
degree and a lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 mix.
No
digital copy.
Special
Features...
Bloopers
Five
Featurettes:
"Best
Of Both Worlds"
"The
Dynamic Duo"
"The
Making Of"
"Jackie
Chan"
"Bollywood
Dance"
This
is a fun movie for Jackie Chan and while nothing too groundbreaking
or original, still has plenty of entertaining moments for the PG-13
adventure crowd.
Pelle
The Conquerer
In
one of the best performances of his long and prosperous career, Max
Von Sydow stars into this evocative drama Pelle
The Conqueror
(1987, also known as Pelle
erobreren),
which gets a new deluxe 30th Anniversary Blu-ray edition from the
good folks at Film Movement. Directed by Billie August, the film won
the Oscar for Best Foreign Language film and won huge at the Cannes
Film Festival as well.
The
end of the 19th Century. A boat filled with Swedish emigrants comes
to the Danish island of Bornholm. Among them are Lasse (Sydow) and
his son Pelle who move to Denmark to find work. They find employment
at a large farm making a dreaded hundred dollars a year salary, live
in a tiny room full of hens, and are treated and worked to death like
slaves. Pelle starts to speak Danish, but is still harassed as a
foreigner as he slowly grows up and starts to get tougher skin.
Dreaming of finding a better life than the life they left in Sweden,
the film studies both the human condition and the power of human
nature and willpower as well.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.87:1
(original aspect ratio - 1.85:1) and a lossless LPCM 2.0 Stereo
Danish audio track (with English subtitles) from the original Dolby
A-type analog surround soundmaster that shows the audio's age to a
very limited extent, this new HD transfer of the film lives up to
expectations and bests previous versions of the film on disc for the
American market.
Special
Features...
Commentary
by Film Scholar Peter Cowie
New
Essay by Terrence Rafferty
Production
Stills
and
Cast and Crew Credits
A
moving and interesting drama with a great cast and great production
values. If you're a fan of foreign cinema then you won't want to
miss it.
Pulse
In
the same vein as The
Ring
and The
Grudge,
Pulse
(2001) is a Japanese ghost story with some effective chills and
thrills (and a bad American remake like the others). Presented here
newly remastered from Arrow in this great release that's packed with
cool art and bonus material, I would rank up there with Arrow's other
Japanese ghost movie it released earlier this summer on disc, Dark
Water
(reviewed elsewhere on this site), in terms of supernatural Japanese
horror at the top of its game.
Pulse
stars Kumiko Aso, Koyuki, Koji Yakusho, Haruhiko Kato, Masatoshi
Matsuo, and Shinji Takeda. The film is written and directed by
Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
A
group of Japanese College Students become involved in a strange wave
on supernatural encounters, all of which are centered around a
bizarre website. This site beckons its viewers to speak directly
with the dead. After seeing this, each student goes through a string
of depression after seeing a strange ghostly woman who is linked to
the video and eventually commit suicide. Slowly the website passes
from student to student, leaving none of them safe.
Remastered
in 2K high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and a
nice sounding lossless Japanese LPCM 2.0 Stereo track (with new
English subs), the film looks great on Blu-ray disc. Dense textures
and colors help hide surprises in the darkness and while some aspects
of the film (namely it's modems and computers) are a little outdated,
the surrealistic cinematography helps tell an effective story. The
sound mix is buzz of buzzing, weird voices, and the occasional loud
shrill to help heighten up scares, all that come across fine on disc.
Also included is a standard definition DVD of the film with a more
compressed version that suits the format fine but not as effectively.
Special
Features include...
New
interview with writer/director Kiyoshi Kurosawa
New
interview with cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi
The
Horror of Isolation:
a new video appreciation featuring Adam Wingard & Simon Barrett
(Blair Witch, You re Next)
Archive
Making of documentary, plus four archive behind-the-scenes
featurettes
Premiere
footage from the Cannes Film Festival
Cast
and crew introductions from opening day screenings in Tokyo
Trailers
and TV Spots
Reversible
sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Tommy
Pocket
First
pressing only: Illustrated collector s booklet featuring new writing
on the film by critic Chuck Stephens
This
was a fun supernatural ghost movie that I would rank up at the top of
the list with others such as Ringu
and Dark
Water.
Unforgettable
Director
Denis DiNovi's Unforgettable
(2017) is a pretty forgettable thriller in that it seems like a story
you would hear about on Dateline NBC or a Lifetime Network Movie just
with Rosario Dawson and Katherine Heigl in lead roles. Some plot
twists and turns are so predictable that you can say them out loud
before they happen on screen especially if you've seen films like
Basic
Instinct
or others in the same genre. From an acting and filmmaking
perspective, the film is about average but in every other department,
it seems like it was produced on auto-pilot.
The
film also stars Whitney Cummings, Cheryl Ladd, Jayson Blair, Geoff
Stults, and Isabella Kai Rice to name a few.
Man
loves Woman. Man and Woman have a child. Man and Woman get divorced.
Man meets new Woman. Former Woman gets jealous and vengeful on new
woman. This is the basic plot line for Unforgettable.
Julia Banks (Dawson) is an attractive young woman with a evil man
(Blair) in her past that she had to file a restraining order against
for domestic violence. However, her life is turning around as she
has met a new man named David (Stults) who has a young daughter Lily
(Rice) to a previous marriage to Tessa (Heigl) and the two are
planning to elope. Julia leaves her San Francisco home base and
moves closer to be with her new fiance and things couldn't be
better... until Tessa lets jealously get the best of her and she
starts lashing out against Julia. Stealing her identity and more,
Tessa will stop at nothing to ruin the image of Julia towards
David... even if it takes blackmail and murder to get the job done.
Warner
Bros. has packaged both the 1080p HD Blu-ray and the standard
definition DVD in this combo pack. The Blu-ray disc has a nice
transfer with a 1.85:1 widescreen aspect ratio and a nice sounding
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) lossless 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit) track - both of
which are standard for the format and read pretty well. This film is
a mixture of light and dark, with many scenes taking place during the
night for extra intensity. Character details are evident and the
compression issues are few and far between. The same can't be said
with the SD transfer of the DVD which presents the film in an
anamorphic widescreen aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and a lossy Dolby
Digital 5.1 track. The differences between the two are night and
day.
A
Digital UV copy is also included.
Special
Features include...
Reclaiming
What's Yours: Making Unforgettable
featurette
Director's
Audio Commentary
Deleted
Scene with Audio Commentary
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
