Bullet
Train (2022/Sony Blu-ray
w/DVD)/Contraband
(1980/MVD/Cauldron Blu-ray)/Nope
4K (2022/Universal 4K
Ultra HD Blu-ray w/Blu-ray)/Pulse
Trilogy (2006,
2008/ViaVision Region Free Import Blu-ray Set)/The
Witch 2: The Other One
(2022/Well Go Blu-ray)
4K
Ultra HD Picture: B+ Picture: B & C+/B/B/B-/B- Sound: B &
C+/C+/B+/B-/B Extras: C/B/C+/C-/C- Films: C/C+/B-/D C- C-/C
PLEASE
NOTE:
The Pulse
Import Blu-ray set is now only available from our friends at Via
Vision Entertainment in Australia, can play on all 4K & Blu-ray
players and can be ordered from the links below.
Now
for more Horror and other genre film releases for you to know
about...
David
Leitch's Bullet
Train
(2022) was a moderate hit on the star power of Brad Pitt, as viable
as ever, but it is a lousy 2+ hours as he plays an assassin hired
freelance to get a metal suitcase with millions of dollars in it, yet
he has all kinds of enemies go after him when he lands up in Japan on
the title vehicle. As a rule, movies set on trains usually work and
work well, no matter how weak the script, directing or the like might
be. This is a rare one that does not.
A
little pat and nearly smug, the fast ride is one of cliches, played
out conventions, fight scenes you have seen done better before and
worst of all, coming close to more than a few stereotypes throughout
that make it seem cheaper than it should, but Director Leitch is
consistently awful and is one of those rare cases where he keeps
getting hired because his movies are just staying profitable and he
pretty much is about nothing and is not an artist of any kind because
he has zero to say.
That
makes him ideal for package deals like this, but why Pitt would agree
to something so obvious and boring is beyond me, save that he felt he
alone could make it make money. Thus, it is not a bomb, but the
train never feels like a real train and there are even missed
opportunities here that are too long to list. To say this one is
playing it safe, 1,000th-generation Tarantino imitator and all, is
putting it mildly. You should put this one on COVID lockdown and try
something else.
Extras
include
Movies Anywhere Digital Code, while the Blu-ray (per the press
release, only a few of these things are on the DVD) add Outtakes &
Bloopers
Catch
What You Missed: Easter Eggs
All
Aboard the Pain Train: Stunts
Mission
Accomplished: Making of Bullet Train
Trained
Professionals: The Cast
Select
Stunt Previs
and
a Feature-Length Audio Commentary with David Leitch, Kelly McCormick
& Zak Olkewicz.
Lucio
Fulci's
Contraband
(1980) is an eventually brutal Italian Crime Film from the country's
1970s cycle of such films that walked the line of A and B-movies.
The director, usually know for his horror genre work, may have
entered the cycle towards the end, but he eventually goes for broke
in the torture, brutality, rape and murder department. A few years
before De Palma's Scarface
remake, Fabio Testi (a big star at the time) is Luce, torn between
two gangs of smuggles who become more and brutal in a game of who can
be the coldest and most willing to outdo each other in the toxic
masculinity department.
The
film starts out slow, but I give it credit for having a consistent
atmosphere like the best gangster genre films do, though I was
reminded of Peter Medak's The
Krays
(1990) in how it was as personal as it was regional, here taking
place in Naples. It can also be a bit gory in the Fulci tradition,
but never becomes any kind of outright horror film, though its
sometimes extreme violence got it banned in places just the same. I
also think it is an odd film because the 1970s were ending and you
can start to see that in the film, even when the makers do not know
what that is.
Still,
it is a key film in the cycle of from Fulci for being a rarity,
though it is safe to say he did everything he could with this genre
in one film and that alone is why it holds up enough over 40 years
later as gangster films have too often become a joke. The
Sopranos
was so thorough in dealing with the genre that its decline is partly
the reason the genre is not what it used to be, their recent prequel
theatrical film included, so this film and Scarface
(1983) can be seen as film running up to the biggest year of the
genre since early sound filmmaking, which is 1990.
This
film has not been available for a long time widely and its arrival on
Blu-ray is long overdue, making it a great title for new video label
Cauldron to build their company with. It is worth seeing, despite
some obvious moments, just for its honest brutality, even if you are
not a fan of gangster tales. Especially since this is the uncensored
version.
Extras
include reversible cover, plus the disc adds new interviews with
Ivana Monti, Saverio Marconi, Sergio Salvati & Giorgio Mariuzzo,
archival interviews from Salvati, Fabio Frizzi, Fabrizio Jovine &
Venantino Vanantini, Trailers, an Image Gallery and an solid (if
sometimes off track) feature length audio commentary track by Bruce
Holecheck, Troy Howarth and Nathaniel Thompson.
Jordan
Peele's Nope
4K
(2022) is the director's third hit thriller in a row following his
remarkable all-horror releases Get
Out
and Us,
making for one of the key trilogies in the genre along with Romero's
original Dead
films, Larry Cohen's It's
Alive
films, the original Alien
trilogy and the late, great Bob Clark's hat trick of Children
Shouldn't Play With Dead Things
(his 1972 dark comedy that was the first-ever spoof of Romero's first
Dead
film,) Deathdream
and Black
Christmas
(both 1974,) the film that inspired Carpenter's original Halloween
in 1978.
This
time, Keke Palmer (in a remarkable performance) and Daniel Kaluuya (a
Peele veteran holding his own very well) are siblings who are still
getting over the shock of losing their father, who handled animals
for major and small Hollywood film productions for decades. They
worked with him and are keeping the family business alive, living on
their Southern California ranch. At first, they are in grief, but
they suddenly are thrown a few curveballs when strange things start
to happen in and around where they live.
When
they finally agree that they are not imagining things, they start to
realize they are onto things more than they imagined and events
quickly heat up. This includes a former child star who was once
involved in a bizarre real-life event on the set of his somewhat odd
hit TV situation comedy, the amusement park that has odd things about
it and other figures that come out of nowhere. This keeps adding up
into something strange, suspenseful, truly scary and the result is a
very palpable film that surprised me as Peele's previous films had.
He
has found new territory to explore in the genre, even if Science
Fiction gets entangled in the mix and using large frame film formats
to make the whole film, he unveils a whole new sense of terror that
we also do not see enough in the genre. As of now, he is as
important as any horror and suspense filmmaker out there and his love
of the genre is only equalled by his ability to create and break new
ground in it.
Some
of this might have been more visually intense in some ways than his
previous films and I think he may have lost some viewers in the
process, though the film has a few down moments that hold it back a
little bit. Still, it is a remarkable film, its obsession with the
ideas of images has all kinds of things to say (you get more than one
film within this film if you think about it, but I will not spoil
anything) and you really will need to watch this film multiple times
to really get what he is doing here. He keeps this up and he'll be
the next Master of Suspense!
Universal
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray version is the best way to see this outside of a
big theatrical screening (especially in Dolby Vision) and I think it
might make several Top Ten lists by the end of the year because
outside of outright dramas, he is ahead of most people in the event
film department. Also, late in the year, it is one of the best films
I have seen, though we'll see what awards season brings.
Extras
are not bad either and include
Movies Anywhere Digital Code, while the discs (per the press release)
add: SHADOWS: THE MAKING OF NOPE: Unpack the meaning of NOPE
with Jordan Peele. Secrets are revealed with this 56-minute immersion
exploring the film's unanswered questions, taking you on an intimate
journey inside every aspect of production and offering a detailed
look at Peele's revolutionary filmmaking process.
CALL
HIM JEAN JACKET: The object of the Haywood siblings' fascination is
an entity known only as ''Jean Jacket.'' Filmmakers provide
insights into the conception, design, and execution of this
mysterious organism.
Remember
The
Pulse Trilogy
(2006, 2008)? In
a time not too long ago when portable technology was more unknown or
simply not known much and expensive at that, we landed up with a
cycle of movies that tried to exploit this. One of the few hits from
this cycle was the early Sandra Bullock hit The
Net,
while a few moderate successes like Hackers
developed a cult following to go with their lack of success. Most
films were just plain bad and the three Pulse
films are among that cynical, forgotten group.
Also
unintentionally funny now when not insulting, supernatural forces are
literally out to kill people by going through their (8-bit?) devices.
Though the first film only did a little business at best, the makers
were going to make a trilogy no matter how little anyone wanted them.
Here's our coverage of these films around that time:
Pulse
HD-DVD (yes, in that defunct format)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/4853/Pulse
Pulse
2: Afterlife
DVD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7759/Pulse+2:+Afterlife+(Dimension/Genius
Pulse
3 DVD
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/7972/Pulse+3+(2008/Dimension+Extreme+2
Extras
are exactly the same for all three films, so they had nothing new to
add, which is no surprise. What can they say?
That
makes this is a slight upgrade for hardcore fans of this mess, which
no one talks about anymore save its fans and hardcore Horror genre
folks. Now back in print (Universal originally handled the first
film, The Weinstein Company, the sequels and they have all three now
and just in time for the still-continuing Harvey Weinstein scandal)
for those who are somehow curious, at least you can see them and see
what all the complaining is about.
Park
Hoon-Jung's The
Witch 2: The Other One
(2022) is a sequel to a film I and most people have not seen, plus is
not connected to the many other films that might be called 'The
Witch' while it plays like an action film at times to its detriment
as the title character escapes a government stronghold prison to stop
her from killing again. Of course, she escapes as the sole survivor
of some 'Witch Program' or the like, or we would not have a sequel.
From
there, you are expected to at least know something about a previous
film of some sort, but it is also a little familiar since we've seen
all these cliches in other and better film and even TV (Stranger
Things) productions.
Then there is the question of if we side with her or the people
trying to stop and contain her. The screenplay is so bad here,
'first' film or not, it is just pointless and I did not care after
the first few scenes. I did not want to see any other connected
film. I wondered if the 'first' film had been any kind of hit, why
have we not heard of it? Much of it? At all?
So
to say this is for fans only is an understatement. Yes, there is
some serious effort in making this and at least a little money on the
screen, but it is quickly forgotten, is part of a glut of every kind
of film it tries to be and offers nothing original along with more
cliches than expected. The only thing this Witch
can do is fly away and be as forgotten as the 'story' itself, but a
cynical third film is set up here. Too bad. South Korea has turned
out some interesting films. This is not one of them.
A
brief Making-Of featurette and trailer for this and three other Well
Go releases are the only extras.
Now
for playback performance. The 2160p HECV/H.265, 2.30 X 1/1.78 X 1,
HDR (10; Ultra HD Premium)-enhanced Ultra High Definition image on
Nope was all shot on 65mm Kodak Vision 3 series color negative
motion picture film, sometimes IMAX and though no actual film prints
were struck for its original release like some such films, it did
play on select Dolby Theater screens with 12-bit color and advanced
Dolby Vision technology. For some reason, Universal is only using
10-bit HDR color and it looks good, but no match for my Dolby Vision
screening.
However,
there are still a few demo shots here and they rank above my letter
grade. This is still one of the best shot and best-looking films of
the year and Director of Photography Hoyte Van Hoytema, ASC, FSF,
NSC, delivers another very memorable film visually and with some
strong, even engulfing form. I was pleasantly surprised and
impressed when I first saw it and you will be too if you missed it.
The 1080p digital High Definition image on the Blu-ray version with
the same aspect ratios is not bad, but you are really missing too
much color range, detail and subtle visuals if you do not see it in
4K. Yes, it looks that good. We get Dolby
Atmos 11.1 (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 mixdown for older systems) on both discs
and it is a really good, smart mix, going being 'standard' on purpose
to many great breakout moments that are among the best sound design
fo the year too.
To
say the 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on the
Bullet Train Blu-ray is highly digitized is an understatement,
reveling in its green screen, blue screen and artifice, along with
its imitations of better films and again,
this might be more fun in 4K, but for as bad as this is and gets, it
would only be a curio at best. The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1
image on the DVD is even softer and poorer, but we don't expect much
from DVDs these days or the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 they include as
their best tracks, especially since you rarely see older DTS on DVDs
anymore. Makers are saving DTS for Blu-ray and 4K discs now, so the
DVD is here for convenience at best.
The
1080p 1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Contraband
can show the age of the materials used, which is noted on the case,
saying the original 35mm camera negative has damage to it that they
did not have the time, money, other resources or back-up film
materials to fix. It still looks good, but it can look a slight
shade darker than maybe it should. The sound is here in original,
better Italian PCM 2.0 Mono and an
original English dub so bad, even the audio commentary gets into
detail of how bad it is.
As
for the Pulse films, the 1080p upgrade of the sequels in 1.78
X 1 only go so far, while the 2.35 X 1 of the original film only
benefits slightly from being a new transfer of the same HD master
form the old, old HD-DVD! All the sound is upgraded for lossless
DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 sound, save the original film, with the
same lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 sound and alternate, lossy Dolby
Digital Plus 5.1 mix, another format that did not succeed much.
That
leaves the 1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on
Witch,
it is often soft throughout, even counting styling and you get a
little motion blur here and there, giving the impression the HD
camera is an older model that is at least semi-obsolete in a 4K
world. The presentation is still consistent, but not much better
than the Pulse
films. Better and more state-of-the-art is the
Korean DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix that has some punch
to it and clarity is fine. The English DTS-MA 5.1 version is weak
and to be skipped.
To
order
the
Region Free Pulse
Trilogy
Blu-ray set, go to this link:
https://viavision.com.au/shop/pulse-trilogy-blu-ray/
-
Nicholas Sheffo
