Mike Spring
Recap
Review
What’s New in Home Video & Pop Culture – September 24th, 2024
Well, after a few bigger weeks on the home video front, this week is a relatively small one again, with just a few titles. The good news is that the titles that did come out are pretty varied in genre, so at least there’s a good mix of movies and shows to check out. See what’s what below!
The Chronicles of Riddick (4K Ultra HD)
The Movie: If you read my column regularly, you know what a huge fan of Arrow Video I am. They have quietly created a Criterion-level quality brand for cult classics and genre films, and this time they bring their considerable talents to The Chronicles of Riddick, the sequel to Pitch Black, Vin Diesel’s star-making sci-fi actioner. The first movie was a fun twist on the Aliens franchise, and you’d think it would have been easy enough to craft a sequel that just repeated that formula. However, writer/director David Twohy didn’t want to repeat himself, so instead this film sees Riddick land on a new planet and come up against a race called the Necromongers who want to kill all human life in the universe. Riddick literally has to save the entire universe! And you know what? I love it. Honestly, I absolutely love this movie. I love Pitch Black, too, and even though this one is so different, I think it’s great. I love the huge scope of the movie, the action sequences are fantastic, the style and visuals of the movie is terrific, and everything about it is big, loud, and exciting. It’s a shame that the movie didn’t do better at the box office; while we did get a third Riddick movie, it scaled things back and riffed on the storyline from the first movie. I would have loved to see more of Riddick the galactic hero, personally. This week, we get a new Collector’s Edition 4K Ultra HD version of The Chronicle of Riddick from the aforementioned Arrow Video, who have delivered a truly spectacular home video release in terms of A/V quality and extra features.
The 4K Video/Audio: The Chronicles of Riddick looks and sounds amazing in 4K, featuring bright and vivid colors, terrifically sharp imagery, and deep, rich black levels. The print, of course, is devoid of any blemishes or debris. The film leans towards the darker side of things as a lot of the scenes take place at night or in extreme environments, but the picture never feels too dark or lacking contrast. The surround soundtrack has a lot to work with and it doesn’t waste any opportunities to fill your living room with activity, but it also makes sure the quieter moments and the dialogue ring true and clear. There’s also a nice low end bass channel that gives some of the climactic scenes an effective rumble that you’ll feel in your chest. This is the kind of movie I love to watch in 4K.
The Special Features: Holy cow, this three-disc set is loaded with extra features! First of all, you get three different versions of the movie: the theatrical cut, the director’s cut, and the theatrical cut alternate 1.78:1 open matte aspect ratio. Next, up you get several brand new features, including a feature-length documentary about the making of the film that is absent Vin Diesel but includes many other key cast and crew members. Then there are three new interview features with actor Keith David, director David Twohy, and storyboard artist Brian Murray, each of which run between 10-15 minutes. Then you get all of the archival materials, which include two audio commentaries that feature Twohy, but one is with Vin Diesel and the other is with Karl Urban and Alexa Davolos. Six more archival featurettes give you almost two hours of making-of material, and there are dozens of short 1-3 minute interview and making-of nuggets. There’s also a largely promotion; 2004 TV special featuring cast interviews as well as a 34-minute feature the compiles all of the cut scenes from the tie-in video game voiced by Diesel and the rest of the cast. Finally, there’s an introduction by Twohy, some trailers, and a few other goodies. And then just to top it all off, there’s also a collectible 44-page booklet which I loved. Unreal!
Digital Copy Included? No
The Wrap-Up: Arrow Video’s Collector’s Edition of The Chronicles of Riddick is pretty much the end-all, be-all of special edition discs for fans of this franchise. It’s also a terrific companion piece to the Collector’s Edition they put out of Pitch Black a few years ago. I know not everyone loves this movie as much as I do, but if you’re a fan at all, you owe it to yourself to add this one to your collection.
Body Double (4K Ultra HD Steelbook)
The Movie: Brian De Palma has been a director who has flirted with controversy, criticism, box office blockbusters, and critical acclaim in his career. He’s had highs (The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible) and lows (Domino, The Black Dahlia) and he’s definitely got an equal number of fans and detractors. Me personally, I’m a fan. And I’m a big fan, to be honest. Sure, not every movie he’s made is a masterpiece, but I genuinely love about 90% of his films. In his early career, De Palma made his mark trying to recapture and pay homage to the style and works of Alfred Hitchcock, to mixed results. Body Double is one of his best Hitchcock homages, and even though it was a box office failure in 1984, it’s since been recognized as a cult classic and fan favorite. So I was extremely excited to be able to review Sony’s new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release of the film. The story revolves around an out-of-work actor whose housesitting gig leads to him playing voyeur with an erotically charged young woman next door. As he spies on her, he sees some very strange things going on in her house and becomes obsessed with both her and discovering the truth of what he’s seen. There are obviously heavy shades of Rear Window here (although with much more sensuality), but De Palma manages to blend Hitchcockian suspense with exploitation movie vibes, and the end result is a titillating and intense thriller. It’s been a few years since I last watched Body Double, and watching it again on 4K was every bit as exciting as I expected it would be!
The 4K Video/Audio: I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much of an upgrade in the A/V department, mostly because the film is 40 years old at this point. Yet somehow, this new 4K transfer looks pretty darn good. Colors are vibrant and lifelike while image clarity is extremely sharp and the print is largely clear of any blemishes or scratches. Blacks are deep and rich and there’s a lifelike, natural feel to everything. Meanwhile, the upgraded Dolby Atmos surround soundtrack is a solid affair, if not as exciting as the picture quality. There are some good surround moments, but it’s not a constant barrage of directional effects. Music and dialogue both sound good though, so there’s not too much to complain about.
The Special Features: First off, I should mention the gorgeous Steelbook case the discs come in, which feature the iconic movie poster art and some glamorous shots of Melanie Griffith inside. Then, the disc also includes a few new features: Archival EPK Interviews with director Brian De Palma and actors Craig Wasson and Melanie Griffith, plus the Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax” Music Video (Body Double Version). On top of that, there are four making-of featurettes carried over from the previous release, and the film’s trailer.
Digital Copy Included? Yes
The Wrap-Up: Body Double is a terrific thriller and I’m always excited when I get to add an upgraded home video release of a Brian DePalma film to my collection. I love this Steelbook and I love having the movie on 4K Ultra HD. With at least a few new extra features as well as the included digital copy (which I think might be the first time a digital copy has been included with a home video release of this film), this is definitely a worthwhile pick-up.
Rick & Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-7
The Show: There have been a lot of Rick & Morty releases on home video, and every time one comes out, I have to try and figure out how to approach it differently. Full disclosure, Rick & Morty is just not my thing. I know people love it, and the show has a very strong fan following, but I just don’t love it. That said, I feel like I should like it; it’s incredibly popular, and so every time it comes out, I try and dive into it and see if I can get on board with it. This week, we have the release of Rick & Morty: The Complete Seasons 1-7, a nice, chunky box set that collects all seven seasons in one set. That’s all 71 episodes in a 14-disc set, which is a great way to own the whole shebang in one compact case. So I dove into the world of Rick & Morty once again, and I’m sad to say that my opinion really hasn’t changed much. Sure, there are one or two funny jokes in each episode, but I find the characters unlikable and the humor largely ridiculous — but not in the good ridiculous way. Maybe I’m just getting old, who knows. But none of that matters, because people love this show and it’s as popular as ever, regardless of what I think about it.
The Special Features: Once again, this set comes with a generous heaping of extra features. You get audio commentaries on numerous episodes, deleted scenes from all throughout the series, multiple “Inside the Episode” segments, a handful of making-of featurettes, animatic sketches, and more. Nothing to complain about here!
Digital Copy Included? Yes
The Wrap-Up: I’ve heard Rick & Morty compared to everything from Back to the Future to Doctor Who to Futurama to Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and I personally don’t think it’s half as good as any of those things. Unfortunately, it’s just not my thing. But I know people really love Rick & Morty and the show’s fan base is fanatical, so this excellent-quality box set is sure to be another home video hit for the studio.
Before Dawn
The Movie: Levi Miller and Ed Oxenbould aren’t exactly household names, but those of you who are cinephiles might recognize them. Levi Miller starred as Peter Pan in 2015’s Pan (with Hugh Jackman), as well as in A Wrinkle in Time and the wickedly fun Christmas thriller Better Watch Out. Oxenbould, meanwhile, starred in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, M. Night Shyamalan’s The Visit, and also Better Watch Out. So this isn’t the first pairing of this duo of talented young actors. Here, they star together once again; Miller plays Jim Collins, a young man from a farm in Australia who joins the military to fight in World War I. Oxenbould plays his fellow soldier, part of an ensemble of talented young actors. The story follows a handful of soldiers who are overwhelmed and fighting from foxholes and trenches, and we see the events and the war through the eyes of Miller’s character. I’d love to say that Before Dawn is a war masterpiece, but it’s not quite there. What it is, however, is a solid movie with a likable cast and some good performances that doesn’t have near enough the budget it needs to succeed at bringing the action to life that it wants to. A lot of the film takes place in trenches and near trenches, and after a while, it becomes a little bit dull. It’s not a bad film per se, it’s just a little underwhelming.
The Special Features: Ostensibly, there are six featurettes and a trailer. But the featurettes are so short that all six only add up to seven minutes of running time, so it’s hard to get excited about that.
Digital Copy Included? No
The Wrap-Up: It’s not that I think every war movie needs to be filled with non-stop action; it’s just that when the action that is present is repetitive and limited to one locale, it’s just not that dynamic. I like the character work in this film and the cast is quite good overall, but the film as a whole just doesn’t exceed being the sum of all of its parts.
Intensely Independent: The Micro Budget Films of Blake Eckard
The Movie: I would love to play the knowledgeable film reviewer here and claim I knew who Blake Eckard was before I received this DVD for review, but I’d be lying to you. It turns out, he’s an independent filmmaker who has been putting out intensely micro-budgeted movies for the past decade-plus, and his films focus on backwoods-style action and horror. This new DVD release includes two of Eckard’s movies: Bubba Moon Face (2011) and Coyotes Kill for Fun (2017). Bubba Moon Face sees a rural drifter end up unexpectedly with his brother’s newborn baby, which triggers some unexpected familial conflicts. Coyotes Kill for Fun, meanwhile, sees a woman and the babysitter who’s helping her on the run from her abusive boyfriend and his brother. Both films were made on a shoestring budget, and both were shot in a guerilla-filmmaking style which, somehow, works for the types of films that they are. These are dark, dirty, and deeply unpleasant movies, and the grungy filmmaking style sort of adds to the grimy quality of the events in the movies. I cant say that I really liked these movies, but I can appreciate the limitations under which they were made and that there might be an audience out there for them.
The Special Features: In addition to the two films, there is also an audio commentary (on Bubba Moon Face), a video interview with contributor Jon Jost, and a booklet.
Digital Copy Included? No
The Wrap-Up: The fact that you get two feature films on one DVD (that likely cost more to produce than it cost these movies to be made!) gives you some added bang for your buck, but these are really movies for fans of indie movies and movies that bring a certain level of toughness to them. If that’s you, then check this release out.
