Blu-ray Review: “Vengeance of an Assassin”

Movie: **** out of 5
Video: **** 1/2
Audio: *****
Extras: Zero stars

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Panna Rittikrai’s ‘Vengeance of an Assassin’ on Blogcritics.

The name Panna Rittikrai may not ring a bell to action fans, but I’m sure Tony Jaa does. While Vengeance of an Assassin may not feature Jaa, director Rittikrai makes sure you know you’re watching one of his movies — who also brought us Ong Bak 2 and 3. It certainly helps that the late Rittikrai was the martial arts/stunt choreographer on countless Thai action films. Filled with the most nonsensical plot you could muster, at least in Rittikrai’s final film, he manages to wear some of his influences on his sleeve — mainly John Woo’s classics Hard Boiled or The Killer, and Gareth Evans’ Raid films. Vengeance of an Assassin may not be a new action classic, but you’ll love the hell out of every minute of it. And it’s available now on Blu-ray from Well Go USA.

Natee (Dan Chupong) lives with his brother Than and their uncle Thong, and works in Thong’s auto shop. Natee is living a double life as an assassin who stops at nothing to take down his current target. Dealing with the death of his parents, his life’s mission is to find the person responsible for his parents’ murder and take him out. His wish might be fulfilled after he takes on a new assignment to keep a politician’s niece safe from the hit put on her by the same man responsible for his parents’ deaths. Now, Natee is on a final mission where it’s kill or be killed in an all out fight to the death with only one thing on his mind: revenge.

While some movies get the short end of the stick in the visual department when crammed onto a 25GB disc, Vengeance of an Assassin looks pretty spectacular. Clearly filmed digitally, there’s not a speck of grain to be found, and only a few seconds of shots feature any kind of noise. Bright and colorful, this is not the typical look for a balls-out action flick since the action mainly takes place out in bright sunlight. Something that definitely adds to the authenticity of the choreography. Detail is razor sharp with no aliasing, and there’s only a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it instance of banding. I literally had to backup the scene to make sure I really saw it. This is one top-notch transfer.

To go along with the video quality, the Thai 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio is loud, aggressive, and takes no prisoners. For a possibly low-budget foreign film, this sounds like a million bucks. Dialogue is clear and refined, never getting drowned out, no matter what kind of craziness is happening onscreen. Bass is wall rattling with plenty of deep LFE for every bomb, face punch, or landing kick. Surrounds are always in full force with plenty of directionality keeping the frenetic action circling around you nearly the whole runtime. The English subtitles could have used some editing with character names not matching the credits, and plenty of grammatical errors make for some unintentional laughs. Sadly, there are no special features.

Vengeance of an Assassin is definitely check your brain at the door entertainment, but any hardcore action fan will find plenty to love. I wasn’t expecting much, as the highlights to Rittikrai’s previous efforts were obviously watching Jaa in action. But his cast makes full use of their bodies, giving everything they’ve got to the action scenes. And speaking of which, you won’t walk away unsatisfied. Everything and anything is used as a weapon. If you didn’t know how much deadly use you could get out of a broken chicken bone, wait until you see what happens when a Jeep, a helicopter, and a train get into a fight. You’ve got to see it to believe it. Featuring one of the most surprisingly near-perfect transfers you’re likely to find outside a Hollywood blockbuster and an audio track that’ll wake the neighbors, Vengeance of an Assassin only winds up a disappointment with the final scene setting up the sequel Rittikrai will never get to make. Fortunately for us, his final film is one he can be proud of, even if for action aficionados only.

Blu-ray Review: “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night”

Movie: **** 1/2 out of 5
Video: **** 1/2
Audio: *****
Extras: *****

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: Ana Lily Amirpour’s ‘A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night’ on Blogcritics.

Buzz can surround a movie when it plays the Sundance Film Festival and Ana Lily Amirpour’s A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night was no exception. Playing to rave reviews out of the 2014 festival, it was released in art house theaters to even more praise, but it still took a Blu-ray release for me to finally see it. This month seems to be particularly full of playing Sundance catch up as there’s also been the release of the Mo Brothers’ Killers and Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook. All three couldn’t be more different, but they’re all exceptional releases. Dark in nature, but no less fantastic filmmaking, AGWHAN is a mash-up of all things pop and pulp, while managing to beat its own drum. It’s available now from Kino Lorber on Blu-ray and DVD.

In Iran, the sleazy Bad City doesn’t know it’s being stalked by a predator. The Girl (Sheila Vand) stalks the streets full of drug dealers and prostitutes such as Saeed (Dominic Rains) and Atti (Mozhan Marnò). Among them, we meet Arash (Arash Marandi) who loves his car, and his drug addicted father, Hossein (Marshall Manesh). A string of incidents pits Arash on a new journey as he takes over the local drug trafficking and meets The Girl after an ecstasy-fueled party. Now, The Girl and Arash discover they may have found true love, even if Arash has no idea that she’s responsible for the mounting body count taking its toll on Bad City’s population.

AGWHAN makes its Blu-ray debut thankfully on a 50GB disc. Considering the amount of intentional crush on hand with the black-and-white comic-influenced cinematography, the image could have been an indecipherable mess. However, all is right in Amirpour’s seedy nightlife, making sure we only see what she wants us to see. Anyone who complains that the image is “too dark” clearly doesn’t get the film’s inspirations.

Clarity is phenomenal, with everything from facial features, costume textures, to the buildings and streets, come to vivid life with startling detail. There was one scene involving a young boy and The Girl that featured some unsightly banding, but aside from that, I think the Blu-ray represents a perfect presentation of Amirpour’s intentions. The Farsi 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio track keeps the viewer fully engaged. Whether it’s the Sergio Leonne inspired pseudo-score by Federale, pulsing pop from the soundtrack including White Lies’ standout “Death,” party ambience, or just a passing thunderstorm, the sound design is even better than the video. English subtitles are included.

You want special features? You got em! One would normally feel overwhelmed if they weren’t so fascinating. Just listening to Amirpour dissect her own film is something you could do for hours. She is even funnier than she is smart, something rare in any director, let alone one making her feature film debut. Kicking things off is “Behind-the-Scenes Footage” (20:32) consisting of eight segments: “Arm Cast Removal,” “Teeth Mold,” “Hand Plaster,” “Fang Fitting,” “Makeup Application,” “Party Scene,” and “Arash’s Car.” The best segment is definitely watching the fake arm being cast as the director, actor Rains, and an unnamed special effects artist tease each other about how hot the room is and name-drop legends Dick Smith and John Landis (both responsible for An American Werewolf in London).

“Deleted Scenes” (22:08) show that the film could have been even more artsy than it is, but not necessarily in a positive way. Included are “Makeup,” “At a Wall,” “The Kid Sings,” “Hossein is High,” “Inside a Song,” “Rockabilly Suntan,” “Rockabilly Beating,” “Train Song,” “Rockabilly’s Wounds,” “Sisyplus,” “Oil Rigs,” and “Boss Informercial.”

“Q&A Hosted by Roger Corman at the Hammer Museum, part of MoMA’s Contender Series” (44:18) is a fantastic interview with Amirpour clearly having the time of her life talking one-on-one with a legendary filmmaker. Topics discussed range from her attending UCLA to making horror films from age 12 to how limitations can push you to be more creative. They also talk about her love of Anne Rice’s vampire series, and the funniest moment as Corman mentions she’s been compared to director Jim Jarmusch to which she admits to not being a fan.

“VICE Behind-the-Scenes Documentary” (19:13) is a lot of fun as we get to see Amirpour in Los Angeles with her mother at Sundance Next Fest and her interactions with executive producer Elijah Wood. Here we also learn about her favorite movies: Pulp Fiction, the first two Back to the Future films — which she considers one film — and David Lynch’s Wild at Heart, and Michael Jackson’s Thriller video. A director after my own heart.

“VICE Meets: Ana Lily and Sheila” (31:06) is a sit down conversation with the director and star that takes us through the entire filmmaking process from “Inspiration,” “Script Development,” “Characters,” and “Fundamental Story.” Here, Amirpour also gushes about following the philosophies of Bruce Lee. Rounding things out are a “Stills Gallery” consisting of 32 on-set production photos, a theatrical trailer (1:29), and an amazing 68-page booklet with an essay by Eric Kohn and two comics written by Amirpour herself!

A lot of films never live up to the hype machine when they’re cranked through Sundance, but A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night more than succeeds. Amirpour has a far tighter grasp on what she set out to make than most directors with years of experience. Never pretending to be more than it is, the film is a sad examination of characters who are tired of being alone, even if their destiny may mean simply more of the same. Exuding plenty of sex appeal, wit, and tension, this is the best “Iranian Vampire Western” you  haven’t seen yet. With the Blu-ray featuring spectacular video/audio and way more features than most Hollywood blockbusters, A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night is not to be missed.

Movie Review: “Ex Machina”

**** 1/2 out of 5
108 minutes
Rated R for graphic nudity, language, sexual references and some violence
A24

Article first published at The Reel Place.

The name Alex Garland may not ring a bell, but the films he’s written might. Frequent collaborator to director Danny Boyle, he’s been responsible for 28 Days Later, Sunshine, and the source novel of The Beach. While typically divisive, one thing you can always count on is a bonkers twist as his films always take a left turn in the third act. The same goes for his appropriately titled directorial debut Ex Machina. Don’t be too upset when things go exactly how you think they will, but you can’t say the title didn’t warn you.

Caleb (Domhnall Gleason) is a computer programmer who has just won the chance of a lifetime: to work alongside reclusive CEO Nathan (Oscar Isaac) for a week. Traveling to Nathan’s secluded mountain home, Caleb learns he’s been brought on board to perform a “Turing Test” on an artificially intelligent humanoid named Ava (Alicia Vikander). Bewildered with the opportunity, Caleb is set up with daily, interactive tests to see if Ava can pass.  Soon enough, a game of cat and mouse is afoot, with Nathan slowly revealing ulterior motives while Caleb starts to fall in love with their subject.

A lot of protégés have been making their directorial debuts lately. (Christopher Nolan’s cinematographer Wally Pfister recently crashed and burned with Transcendence.) Thankfully, Garland keeps his film wrapped in mystery and has an amazing cast. Gleason continues to prove his leading man chops in About Time were no fluke, giving his computer programmer the right amount of everyman to go along with the scientific babble. Vikander proves she’s more than just a pretty face, finally getting a role in a Hollywood film that gives her the chance to act.

And then there’s Isaac. To say he’s one of the best actors working today is no understatement. While he may look like the love child of David Krumholtz and Jake Johnson, he always gives a tour de force performance, no matter the role. From Inside Llewyn Davis to A Most Violent Year to Ex Machina and his upcoming role in Star Wars, the man excels at character acting with the best of them and there appears to be no slowing him down.

As for Garland’s writing/directing, we already know he’s got the screenplay-side down pat, so how does he fare in the director’s chair? Every bit as fantastic. Ex Machina may wind up as the year’s sexiest thriller, but there’s plenty of mind-games afoot amongst the characters to keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s also got a dash of the weird, and a sense of humor to boot. This is the film Her wished it was, and it’s so far flying under the radar, but make no mistake, this is one of the year’s must-see films.

Movie Review: 'Unfriended' on Big Movie Mouth-Off!

Movie Review: “Monkey Kingdom”

*** 1/2 out of 5
81 minutes
Rated G
Disneynature

Article first published at The Reel Place.

Disneynature has brought quite the menagerie of documentaries since launching in 2008. The titles tell you all you need to know what each feature is about: Earth, The Crimson Wing: Mystery of the Flamingos, Oceans, Wings of Life, African Cats, Chimpanzee, and Bears. While not holding any surprises, they’re always full of beautiful cinematography, and plenty of “how did they even film that” moments. No strangers to Disneynature are directors Mark Linfield (Earth, Chimpanzee) and Alastair Fothergill (co-director on Linfield’s, along with African Cats and Bears). Is there as much to enjoy about their new Monkey Kingdom? Well at least you know what to expect.

Monkey Kingdom takes us to Sri Lanka, deep into the jungle to the ancient ruins of Polonnaruwa. Here, we meet the hierarchy of a group of toque macaque, introducing us to our heroine, Maya. She lives her days under the rule of Raja (the alpha king), and his sisterhood. We learn that throughout the runtime, Maya will eventually beat the odds to make a better life for herself. Eventually, she sets her eyes on Kumar, who wants to join Raja’s clan on Castle Rock and fit in, but he’s ostracized after impregnating Maya. But it’s not all just eating winged termites and swinging on the jungle gym, because the evil Lex launches an assault on their titular kingdom and they must regroup to take back their beloved home, with Maya trying to juggle the hierarchy and taking care of her newborn Kip.

Monkey Kingdom comes narrated by Tina Fey who knows her way around line delivery enough to keep you as entertained with the narrated jokes as the onscreen monkey antics. Through the runtime, we do get to see a particularly interesting bit of footage showing the monkeys swimming. Fey asks, “Did you know monkeys can swim?” Of course we would assume so, after all, we can, right? Some of the more fun elements include the monkeys raiding a birthday party, and playing with a dog, but there are some more frightening elements on hand, like seeing a monitor lizard dragging away a monkey carcass, or the group paying their respects to a fallen comrade after Lex’s raid. However, everything is about what you’d expect in a scant 81 minute G-rated family film, with just enough to keep the young ones entertained, even if it doesn’t seem to try to educate you in the slightest.

*A note: for every ticket bought in the film’s first week of release, Disneynature, working in partnership with Conservation International, will make a donation in your honor to help protect habitat across Indonesia, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. Benefiting hundreds of species and helping to protect fresh drinking water for local populations.

Movie Review: “Unfriended”

* out of 5
82 minutes
Rated R for violent content, pervasive language, some sexuality, and drug and alcohol use - all involving teens
Universal Pictures

Article first published at The Reel Place.

Horror movies need an ample amount of scares. While mostly relying on loud noises, a high level of tension can go a long way, especially when your film is chock-full of painfully thin characters. I had decent hopes for Unfriended — which had been playing a few festivals under its original title Cybernatural — with decent word-of-mouth out of SXSW and sitting at a currently astounding 88 percent on RottenTomatoes. Sometimes buzz can get in the way. Just take this month’s other horror offering, It Follows. A good idea can crash and burn quickly, especially when it comes to horror, and Unfriended is no exception.

It’s the one year anniversary of classmate Laura Barns’ (Heather Sossaman) cyberbullying-induced suicide and Blaire (Shelley Hennig) starts feeling remorseful as she prowls YouTube videos including Laura’s on-screen death. This doesn’t stop her from an episode of sexual Skype with her boyfriend Mitch (Moses Jacob Storm) before being interrupted by video calls from the rest of their friends: the blonde airhead Jess (Renee Olstead), pot-smoking Ken (Jacob Wyscocki), jockular Adam (Will Peltz), and an uninvited guest they can’t get rid of. The group is convinced it’s their bitchy friend Val (Courtney Halverson), as someone seems to have hacked Laura’s Facebook page, and they all start getting threatening messages. Soon enough, their mystery guest wants to play a game and they all start getting picked off one by one in increasingly gruesome ways by what may, or may not, be Laura’s vengeful spirit.

Before you quickly call afoul on Unfriended being a ripoff of a recent Modern Family episode, the film made its premiere at the 2014 Fantasia Festival. While it is an interesting idea to make a real-time horror movie with a topical subject such as cyberbullying, it’s a shame that writer Nelson Greaves and director Levan Gabriadze present us with such appalling characters. There is absolutely no one to root for, a requirement for any decent horror movie. And if you’re going to revolve your film around waiting for each character to meet their demise, you better make the kills worth the wait. At least some of the deaths are pretty gruesome, but not all of them, the best being a bit with a blender. But as far as scares, all Gabriadze can come up with is resorting to buffering video feeds cutting to loud screams.

The suspense is also short-shifted because it’s all so obvious. The writer/director may think it’s foreshadowing, but it’s really just lazy filmmaking. If you can’t guess how each character is going to die within seconds of their introduction, you must have already fallen asleep. Not that the film is a complete bore, but you need a mighty good story to pull off a film happening in “real time.” My biggest gripe is that we have five characters chatting online with their laptops and not one of them thinks to pick up their phone and call for help. It might be the biggest plot hole I’ve seen in a horror film in years.

While the last scare is really dumb and expected, at least the film doesn’t try to squeeze in a cheat ending. For real horror fans, there’s nothing to see here, move along please. Unfriended will probably wind up making a lot of money opening weekend. Making yet another notch on producer Jason Blum’s Blumhouse Productions’ belt of mostly undeserving hits — everything from the Paranormal Activity, The Purge, and Insidious franchises — but will quickly be forgotten, with audiences, and real word-of-mouth, resulting in the film being Unfriended from theaters in the blink of an eye.

Movie Review: “True Story”

**** out of 5
100 minutes
Rated R for language and some disturbing material
20th Century Fox

Article first published at The Reel Place.

Anything daring enough to call itself True Story better be larger than life, because we all know that truth is stranger than fiction. For anyone not in the know of the story behind the relationship between former New York Times reporter Michael Finkel and Christian Longo — like myself — you’re in for some pretty disturbing twists and turns. Anyone expecting a yuck-fest with the casting of real-life buddies Jonah Hill and James Franco, you’re in for a surprise. Anyone who happens to be fans because they know both of them can act — fantastically when needed — are in for a disturbing treat.

True Story introduces us to Finkel (Hill) investigating an African slave trade, only to get fired after diluting his facts, returns to Montana and wife Jill (Felicity Jones). In Mexico, Longo (Franco) is arrested for the murder of his wife, Mary Jane (Maria Dizzia), and three children. With Finkel disgraced and begging for work, he receives a call from Oregonian reporter Pat (Ethan Suplee), informing him of what Longo has done. Seizing an opportunity of a lifetime, Finkel jumps at the chance to correspond and meet with Longo who starts messing with Finkel. Soon enough, the facts begin to blur as Longo reveals that he may not be the innocent man he claims to be.

There’s a lot more to the story, but where’s the fun in spilling the beans? While you could obviously just head online to find out what happens, it’s best to walk in cold. Or if you’re already a fan of the story — you news junkies know who you are — at least Rupert Goold’s direction will keep you riveted. And his screenplay, co-written by David Kajganich, is full of smart misdirection. Fine-tuned ears will be able to keep up with Longo’s shenanigans before even Finkel figures out what’s really going on.

Franco and Hill go a long way being cast against each other, and it helps with the rapport of the journalist and possible psycho. But the real standout is by far Jones, even having just been nominated for her portrayal of Stephen Hawking’s wife Jane in The Theory of Everything, she gives a knockout performance with one scene near the end of the film that could see her nominated again. She may not have a lot of screentime, but she winds up head and shoulders above everyone. The True Story here, is that the film is haunting in all the right ways, giving us great performances from almost pigeonholed actors, with a director not afraid to shine a light at the psycho within.

Movie Review: ‘The Longest Ride’

 

**** out of 5

128 minutes

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality, partial nudity, and some war and sports action

20th Century Fox

Article first Movie Review: ‘The Longest Ride’ at The Reel Place.

Considering how many films are made out of Nicholas Sparks’ novels — 10 in the last 16 years — I was bound to like one of them. After being subjected to the worst of the bunch last October (The Best of Me), it could have some bearing on why I liked The Longest Ride so much. This is a definite bright spot among the drivel we’re used to from Sparks.

While it still holds a lot of his trademarks, this is a pretty good cast, and director George Tillman, Jr. seemed an oddball choice (see Soul Food, Men of Honor, Notorious, and Faster). Even his 2013 Sundance film The Inevitable Defeat of Mister & Pete doesn’t make him seem right for the job. But alas, Tillman has managed to pull a rabbit out of his hat and make the best Sparks adaptation since The Notebook.

In The Longest Ride, we meet bull rider Luke Collins (Scott “Son of Clint” Eastwood) who gets seriously injured as the film jumps to one year later. Now we meet college student Sophia Danko (Britt Robertson), who loves studying so much she tries to skip out on a bull riding event, but gets dragged along by her BFF Marcia (Melissa Benoist) anyway. Here, she meet cutes the dashing Luke who gives her his hat after it flies into the stands. Later that night, Luke and Sophia meet again outside a bar.

The two eventually plan a date that goes as splendidly as Nicholas-Sparks-possible, until, on the ride home, they encounter Ira (Alan Alda) in his wrecked car on the side of the road. They rescue Ira and his basket of love letters and Sophia forms a bond with Ira as he recounts his days before/during WWII (played by John Huston) with the love of his wife, the spunky art-obsessed Ruth (Oona “Granddaughter of Charlie” Chaplin). Eventually, they all learn the ups and downs of relationships as they battle either the avoidance of resentment or the casualty of it.

If any films feel cookie-cutter and and manufactured, it’s Sparks’. Full of pretty people doing boneheaded things, with a big twist that typically makes zero sense. The Longest Ride at least tries to buck some of the trends. The big twist here feels organic, and the book probably had a major overhaul in the screenwriting process, with Craig Bolotin giving us characters that are easy to like. I’ve been told the book is pretty tough to get through. The flashbacks scenes are the most effective, making you wish that this was their movie instead. Even if it feels like a live-action version of the tear-inducing montage from Up.

Robertson and Eastwood are a super cute couple and work well together, helping make their steamy moments extra steamy. Even if once in awhile they’re stuck in maudlin situations and Eastwood is forced to emote. He’s way better as the country boy, but still far from terrible. Alda could have been wasted, but his scenes with Robertson help give the present day story some added oomph.

Tillman may seem like a left-field directing choice, but he keeps the movie well-paced, making sure we’re never bored. He also lends some flair to the bull riding scenes, dragging out those eight seconds to full effect. The Longest Ride had everything going against it, but wound up being one of the sweeter movies of the year so far.

Blu-ray Review: The Mo Brothers’ ‘Killers’

Movie: **** out of 5
Video: ****
Audio: **** 1/2
Extas: Zero stars

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: The Mo Brothers’ ‘Killers’ on Blogcritics.

Sometimes the serial killer genre can feel like a dime a dozen. But once in awhile, something like the Mo Brothers’ (Kimo Stamboel and Timo Tjahjanto) Killers finds a way to break free of the mold. Premiering at Sundance last year, it was one of two I missed during that festival — the other being The Babadook. In a year filled with fantastic films, I knew I had to see this one being a fan of thrillers in general, particularly when it comes to Asian cinema. Better late than never, I’m relieved to say Killers exceeded expectations and is finally available on Blu-ray from Well Go USA on April 7.

Our titular Killers are Japanese Nomura (Kazuki Kitamura) and Indonesian Bayu (Oka Antara). Nomura is already in the killing game, taking young women back to his place for a night of ecstasy, followed by their eventual demise. Bayu is a journalist on the prowl of the wife-beating Dharma (Ray Sahetapy), dealing with his own estranged wife Dina (Luna Maya) and daughter Elly (Ersya Aurelia). Nomura has been recording his kills and putting them online, something Bayu is fascinated by and can’t stop watching. Eventually, Bayu winds up killing a couple of people who are trying to mug him and begins his own descent into madness, with Nomura beginning to question his own motives and possibly developing a conscience after he takes a liking to florist Hisae (Rin Takanashi) and her son (Dimas Argobie). 

Killers doesn’t make for the most “killer” transfer, but when it looks good, it looks really good. Shot digitally, and presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio, the best part of the picture is definitely the amount of detail on display. The Red Epic cameras keep everything visible, helping the film be extra creepy at times, but sometimes lending a falseness to the CGI-enhanced elements. If there’s any drawback to the image, it’s the alternating of black levels from nice and inky to light grey, usually within the same scene. A faint layering of noise creeps into a few shots, and banding pops up thanks to the film being slapped onto a 25GB disc.

The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio also keeps the film’s pace booming along with plenty of low-thumping bass. Surrounds kick in during the kill scenes, while sound effects add extra squeamishness with breaking bones and sizzling skin sounding extra gross. Dialogue is perfectly clear with English subtitles available. A 2.0 Dolby Digital track is included. There are no special features.

If I had to describe Killers, imagine American Psycho’s Patrick Bateman being transplanted into The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Kitamura makes for an almost endearing psycho while Antara starts off his Bayu as a journalist with integrity, while slowly devolving into the other half of our titular Killers. The Mo Brothers keep the pace moving along and even manage to pull of an ending that makes sense — something that’s been missing from this year’s horror/thrillers. While featuring a better-than-average transfer, it is sorely lacking considering there are absolutely zero special features. It’s a good thing the film itself lived up to expectations, making Killers totally worth the wait and a recommended release for those who can stomach it.

Blu-ray Reviews: ‘My Girl’ and ‘Troop Beverly Hills’ Mastered in 4K

'TBH' - The Movie: **** out of 5
'TBH' Video: **** 1/2
'TBH' Audio: ****
'TBH' Extras: *** 1/2
'My Girl' - The Movie: ****
'My Girl' Video: ****
'My Girl' Audio: ****
'My Girl' Extras: **

Article first published as Blu-ray Reviews: ‘My Girl’ and ‘Troop Beverly Hills’ Mastered in 4K on Blogcritics.

If there’s one studio hellbent on cornering the 4K market, it’s Sony. Having already released a slew of titles — both new and old — there seems to be no end to what they’ll remaster. Some titles make more sense than others — all five Spider-Mans, Men in Black, both Ghostbusters, and Lawrence of Arabia. It’s a little surprising to see some of their other choices, like My Girl and Troop Beverly Hills, both available now, as part of their “Mastered in 4K” selections. The only logical reason being families need new Blu-rays too, and these are probably two of their top-selling video titles. That’s the only explanation, right??


My Girl is the classic coming-of-age story set against the backdrop of 1972 Pennsylvania. Twelve-year-old Vada Sultenfuss (Anna Chlumsky) is your everyday hypochondriac, growing up in a funeral parlor run by her father Harry (Dan Aykroyd). Over the summer, Vada learns she has a lot of growing up to do as she deals with her first crush, on her teacher Mr. Bixler (Griffin Dunne), her father moving on to new love with make-up artist Shelly (Jamie Lee Curtis), and being best friends with a boy, Thomas J. (Macaulay Culkin).

Troop Beverly Hills brings us one of Shelley Long’s most loveable performances as the bright and bubbly Phyllis Neffler. Going through a divorce from auto shop chain owner Freddy (Craig T. Nelson), Phyllis decides the best way to prove she’s not just another rich shopaholic is to become a Wilderness Girls leader. This will also help her get in better touch with their daughter Hannah (Jenny Lewis). Now, Phyllis faces the wrath of militant troop leader Velda (Betty Thomas), who sends in meek spy Annie (Mary Gross), to take down the titular troop and have them finally disbanded once and for all.

My Girl and Troop Beverly Hills both get the 4K treatment with spectacular results. TBH gets the better end of the deal with a dazzling picture that’s as bright and sunny as Phyllis herself. Colors pop, and thanks to the extra resolution, every texture of Theadora Van Runkle’s costumes come to life better than ever. Grain is nice and present with no noise reduction in sight, don’t let the inherited softness fool you, this is a product of the ’80s after all. My Girl on the other hand offers the same amount of qualities, but the image seems to have been dimmed at some point. The included theatrical trailer just makes that more obvious. No aliasing or banding are in sight, the only problem with either transfer is the slightest amount of crush in My Girl.

Both features come with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio tracks and sound pretty good. While not big blockbuster films, the dialogue is what’s important and it comes through crystal clear. Surrounds never really get used, but do help give both films a wider range of sound than either have ever had on home video. Troop Beverly Hills only includes an additional French 2.0 Dolby Digital Track with English subtitles. My Girl comes with an additional Portuguese DTS-HD and the following 2.0 Dolby Digital tracks: French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Spanish, with subtitles available in English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, German, Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Swedish, and Turkish.

For being as random as they are to get the 4K treatment, they come with a surprising amount of extras. Troop Beverly Hills comes out on top including: “Shelley Long Remembers Troop Beverly Hills” (14:25) where she reminisces about the production and how much fun she had working with all the girls and how much she loved all the outfits. We also learn how the Girl Scouts of America didn’t want to be associated with the film, which is why the troops belong to the fictional Wilderness Girls. “The ‘Real’ Phyllis Neffler: Ava Ostern Fries” (9:31) is a sit down with Fries talking about how her daughter died five years before the interview and what a tribute the film is to herself and daughter. She also points out how much fun it was to have the young Tori Spelling on set, who is one of the members of Velda’s “Red Feathers.”

Deleted Scenes run a whopping seven minutes and include: “Gone Shopping” (:49), “Introductions” (1:02), “Wilderness Dogs” (:25), “Velda’s Speech” (1:01), “I Loosened It” (:28), “Marshmallows, Wieners & Champagne” (:55), “Beverage Break” (:37), “Velda’s Neck Grab” (:46), “Father and Daughter Bonding” (:59), and “Freddy Helps Phyllis Decide” (1:15). The theatrical trailer (1:49) rounds things out.

My Girl on the other hand comes nearly barebones, but does include: “A Day on Set” which is split into “First Kiss” (1:18) and “Bingo!” (3:24). Both are behind-the-scenes footage that’s really boring to watch if you’ve just finished the film itself. An “Original Behind the Scenes Featurette” (6:01) comes circa 1991, and probably originally aired on HBO. The film’s “Theatrical Trailer” (2:20) and a “Commentary with Writer Laurice Elehwany” offers various insights as to how she came up with the story, character names, the setting, and ultimately feels like listening to your grandma recount a story from her childhood.

Both Troop Beverly Hills and My Girl feature better-than-deserved transfers and prove worth a look for families interested in checking out the new technology. While not the most obvious picks for a 4K restoration, at least both films are highly enjoyable and harmless entertainment. With special features on Troop surprisingly overflowing, it really makes the purchase worth it, but My Girl is definitely the better of the two films, making both great additions to any family’s Blu-ray library.

Movie Review: “Furious 7”

**** out of 5
137 minutes
Rated PG-13 for prolonged frenetic sequences of violence, action and mayhem, suggestive content and brief strong language
Universal Pictures

Article first published at The Reel Place.

As good as the Fast & Furious franchise has become, it’s time to say goodbye. Not to the series, but officially to the late Paul Walker. And Furious 7 pulls off one of the best send offs shown  on film. I dare the most hardened fan to not get at least mildly misty eyed by the time the credits roll. Fittingly, Furious 7 winds up being the best of the series so far. Walker may be gone, but he’ll never be forgotten. And new-to-the-show director James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring) proves he has the chops to pull off a grand farewell, along with the over-the-top spectacle we’ve all come to expect.

Picking up before Fast & Furious 6 ended, villain Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham) is visiting his hospitalized brother Owen (Luke Evans) and vows revenge on the Fast & Furious team. Back in California, Dom (Vin Diesel) is enjoying being back at the old homestead, reacquainting Letty (Michelle Rodriguez), who is still suffering from amnesia, while Brian (Walker) is trying to adjust to domestication with Mia (Jordana Brewster) and their son, Jack. Soon enough, Shaw is wreaking havoc as he puts Hobbs (Dwayne Johnson) in the hospital, kills Han (Sung Kang), and blows up Dom’s house. Now, the team must take down Shaw before he can get to them, along with the help of Frank Petty (Kurt Russell), who wants them to help find a spy weapon called “God’s Eye,” created by super hacker Ramsey (Nathalie Emmanuel).

The cast all fit perfectly into their roles, which comes as no surprise considering they’ve been playing them so long. But as this is Furious 7 there are some new additions. The best is Russell, who brings a sarcastic wit to the group and Emmanuel (Game of Thrones) seems to be sticking around for the next installment as she’s in the last scene. It’s already been announced that Russell will have a much larger role in the next one, the opposite of which we get from Johnson, who at least gets a huge fight with Statham before being relegated to the sidelines. Something I can’t help but think was another effect of Walker’s death with the production getting put on hold, Johnson’s availability may have been conflicted. And what a grand farewell to Walker. It even feels totally organic and don’t worry, Brian isn’t simply “killed off,” but it’s a fond farewell that will leave fans in tears.

Yes, the Fast & Furious franchise continues to be as convoluted as ever, but damn if it isn’t the most fun you can have in theaters right now. Director Wan may be new to the series — and action films in general — but he brings a new spark and keeps the action ramped up to 11. If you thought Fast 6 was over-the-top, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Chris Morgan has this series down pat since he took over writing duties on Tokyo Drift. Furious 7 delivers some of the biggest action scenes we’re likely to see all year. It’s the perfect way to kick the blockbuster season into high gear before Summer of Awesome 2015 finally arrives.