Recap
Review
All month I’ve been waiting for April to kick in, because I knew there were some high profile releases coming out. Apparently, they were all waiting for the last two weeks of the month. There’s lots to choose from this week, including theatrical hits, 4K catalog releases, steelbooks, and more. Check it out!
The Beekeeper
The Movie: Jason Statham takes a break from fighting giant sharks and anchoring Guy Ritchie movies to return to the sort of solo action film that has garnered him a legion of fans the world over. As one of those fans who will watch pretty much every movie Statham makes, I was doubly excited for The Beekeeper on the strength of a great trailer. Statham as a one-man peacekeeping force who acts as judge, jury and executioner in order to keep the balance in society when certain powers-that-be get out of control? Sign me up for that! In the film, one of the few friends Statham has made takes her own life after having her life savings (and that of a charity trust fund she oversaw) completely stolen by a computer scamming company that targets unknowing citizens. Statham goes on a rampage to bring the corrupt network down, and the trail leads to some pretty high up places. The problem with The Beekeeper is that I’m pretty sure there were two different scripts being developed here – for two completely separate movies – and somewhere along the line they were merged into one. It’s an incredibly schizophrenic film. On the one hand you have the uber-serious Statham kicking ass and taking names, as it should be. But, for example, right after we get an explanation of how Beekeepers have to be above reproach, able to make decisions that will influence the shape of our country for years to come, we meet Statham’s replacement, the current beekeeper. And she’s a complete psycho. Imagine a female Joker shooting up a gas station full of civilians and you have some idea. So we’re supposed to believe that the calm, cool, and collected Statham retired for the job and the best replacement they could find for him was a female wrestler on hallucinogenics? It’s like, Statham is either fighting armed security guards or military soldiers, or he’s fighting cartoon villains that seem like they’re out of a Saturday morning cartoon version of Mad Max. It’s a shame, too, because the film has some great moments and some outstanding fight scenes, but the cartoony stiff took me right out of it.
The 4K Video/Audio: The Beekeeper looks and sounds quite good on 4K Ultra HD. The color saturation is quite vibrant, image clarity is sharp, and shadow delineation is very strong, so there’s little to complain about. The surround soundtrack has constant activity to work with, and it does a great job of giving your speakers a full workout.
The Special Features: It’s a little surprising that there are no extras at all on a high profile release like this, but that’s the deal. Nothing.
The Wrap-Up: Ultimately, The Beekeeper is entertaining enough to make it worth watching, but you’ll lament what could have been whenever the film detours into Crazytown. If the filmmakers had kept it more aboveboard, this would have been a Statham action classic.
The Departed (4K Ultra HD Steelbook)
The Movie: It took me a long time to come around to The Departed. Not only am I not a huge fan of Martin Scorsese films in general (I do like some of his movies, but he makes a lot of movies I don’t like also), but I AM a huge of Infernal Affairs, the original 2002 Chinese film that The Departed is based on. Add to that Jack Nicholson’s large role in the film (and Nicholson is an actor I truly don’t like), and I’ve never considered myself a fan of this film. But I had been wanting to revisit it for a while, as I find myself constantly reevaluating movies from the past, and while I think it still has its flaws, this latest viewing – courtesy of the new 4K Ultra HD from Warner Bros. – has finally made me a fan. The film tells the story of two spies within the world of police and gangsters: Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a policeman undercover as a member of the Boston mob, while Matt Damon plays a member of the Boston mob who has infiltrated the police department and become a highly placed officer. With Jack Nicholson as the leader of said mob, the two become aware of each other’s existence and begin a deadly game of cat and mouse trying to figure out who can trust who. After a bloated first half hour, the film does become an absolute masterpiece of tension as we watch both men starting to unravel under the pressure, live up to their duties, and not get exposed. With a terrific supporting cast that also includes Martin Sheen and Mark Wahlberg, The Departed is an outstanding thriller, even if it took me a long time to realize that. (For the record, though, I still think Infernal Affairs is the better film.) This week, Warner Bros. has released The Departed on 4K Ultra HD, and it also comes as a beautifully packaged Steelbook Edition, which will be a must-have for Scorsese fans and general film lovers as well.
The 4K Video/Audio: The Departed looks and sounds terrific in 4K, featuring realistic and vivid colors, terrifically sharp imagery, and deep, rich black levels. The print, of course, is devoid of any blemishes or debris. 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: There are two making-of featurettes plus a documentary on the real Whitey Burger who inspired Jack Nicholson’s character. Then there are nine deleted scenes with introductions by Martin Scorsese himself.
The Wrap-Up: The Departed is slightly infamous for being the first film that martin Scorsese won a Best Director Oscar for. And while I can certainly agree that there are other movies he should have been awarded for prior to that, as someone who doesn’t fawn over the director’s filmography, it’s actually one of my favorite movies by Scorsese. I’m happy to have this excellent Steelbook 4K release in my collection.
Rambo: Last Blood (4K Ultra HD Steelbook)
The Movie: Last week, I reviewed the new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release of First Blood, the movie that kicked off the Rambo franchise. While the series has been released (and re-released!) many times by Lionsgate, the last time there was a Steelbook offering it was in a Best Buy-exclusive box set. Now the studio is putting out some of the films in 4K Ultra HD Steelbook individual releases (this time they’re Wal-Mart exclusives!) I’m not sure why they’re releasing them out of order (or even if there are official plans for the middle three films), but this week we have Rambo: Last Blood making it’s solo Steelbook 4K debut. This offering sees Stallone’s John Rambo bringing things to the homefront, as his niece is kidnapped in Mexico by a gang that enslaves its victims. When she dies before Rambo can rescue her, he sets out for revenge, leading to a showdown on his own property against a well-armed cartel. I loved the idea of Last Blood (and what a great title for the last film in the franchise!) but the execution is a different story. The film is brutally violent, and I do mean brutally. And I know, the Rambo films are known for their violence. But an, there’s a difference between the over-the-top action of the ‘80s movies and what’s going on here. Did I need to see Sylvester Stallone reach into a man’s chest and literally crush his heart with his bare hands in gory detail? No, no I did not. Honestly, it takes away from what could have been a good film.
The 4K Video/Audio: The 4K Ultra HD presentation helps out here because this is a movie with a lot of darker or nighttime scenes, and the improved shadow delineation allows us to see all of the onscreen action with no pixelation or blocking. Blacks are deep and color saturation is solid, although it’s a more tempered color palette to begin with. The surround soundtrack offers up some nice activity, allowing the action scenes to work their magic throughout the various speakers. All in all, it’s a well-done effort.
The Special Features: There’s a production diary making-of feature, a featurette on the film’s music, and the trailer.
The Wrap-Up: Last Blood isn’t what I personally wanted as a final chapter in the Rambo franchise, but it is still nice to have it on 4K and in a sharp-looking Steelbook case. If you’re a Rambo fan, you’ll probably still want to have this one in your collection.
Red: 2-Film Collection 4K
The Movies: I have a soft spot for the first Red movie, and even though I thought a sequel was completely unnecessary, I certainly wasn’t upset that they made one. Red sees retired black ops agent Frank Moses living a quiet live in the suburbs, when his humdrum life is interrupted by a high-tech assassin. When he gets caught back up in covert ops, he reassembles his old team to find out who was trying to kill him and why. The second film sees the team together once again trying to track down a stolen nuclear device. It’s not a slam dunk like the first film, and there are a few parts where the script and filmmakers seem to be trying too hard, but I was ultimately surprised by how much I enjoyed it. There are some really great action scenes in both films, from car chases to gunfights to one-on-one fistfights to an impressive display of martial arts using a glass door as a weapon. Both films have now been collected in a brand-new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook release that features both movies in one set.
The 4K Video/Audio: Both movies have now been released in 4K Ultra HD, and they really shine. Both films look and sound impeccable in Ultra high def, with crystal clear picture, solid blacks, strong colors, and a very active soundfield that keeps the action constantly moving.
The Special Features: Red includes an audio commentary with a real-life retired DIA agent, plus deleted and extended scenes and the film’s trailer. Red 2, meanwhile, comes with a multi-part making-of documentary, a gag reel, deleted scenes, and the trailer.
The Wrap-Up: Red and Red 2 were medium-sized hits at the box office, but they definitely nail the action-comedy genre and feature casts full of well-known, likable actors. In a time where Bruce Willis has retired from acting, it’s great to see him back in action in two terrific flicks.
Cutthroat Island 4K (Wal-Mart Exclusive)
The Movie: Back in 1995, hot off the success of Die Hard 2 and Cliffhanger, Renny Harlin was given a massive budget to make a pirate movie that featured a female pirate, played by Geena Davis, herself a bankable leading woman at the time. The film, Cutthroat Island, was given a massive publicity blitz and then… it fell completely flat at the box office, recouping only $10 million worldwide on a budget of almost $100 million. And it was pretty much written off as one of those huge Hollywood disasters that was rightly forgotten. But here’s the thing that most people didn’t realize: Cutthroat Island is a really good movie. Harlin is an action director, first and foremost, and he was at the height of his powers here. And pirate movies had been ignored by Hollywood for many years (this was almost a decade before Pirates of the Caribbean), making this a fun throwback to a forgotten genre. Geena Davis plays pirate Morgan Adams, while Matthew Modine is her male companion, and they are in search of a fabled treasure that is also being sought by rival pirates. It doesn’t have a supernatural bent like Pirates of the Caribbean, and it’s not trying to be anything more than a rollicking adventure movie, but in that it succeeds. This week, Cutthroat Island has been released on 4K Ultra HD as a Wal-Mart exclusive Steelbook, and it features some of the prettiest artwork I’ve seen on a Steelbook in quite a while.
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 30 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 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: While all of the extra features are carried over from previous releases, there’s still a wealth of great materials here. There are a half-dozen making-of featurettes that run about two-and-a-half hours total. There’s also a short film by Matthew Modine that also includes an optional audio commentary by Modine. There’s a brief collection of storyboards and another half hour of additional interviews, plus the film’s trailer.
The Wrap-Up: I’ve always stood up for Cutthroat Island as an unfairly maligned film, but it clearly has a fan following, judging by how many times Lionsgate has re-released it on home video. This beautiful new 4K Ultra HD Steelbook is not only a gorgeous release, but the digital copy allowed me to add it to my library for the first time, which is a welcome bonus. Definitely track this one down.
Doom Patrol: The Complete Fourth Season
The Show: I’ve mentioned in previous reviews that I was surprised when DC went ahead with making Doom Patrol one of the flagship shows of their now-defunct DC Unlimited app (the show aired its last season exclusively on HBO Max). I’ve always enjoyed the Doom Patrol comics, but they’re hands down one of the weirdest superhero teams in existence, and I thought pulling it off as a TV show would be… challenging, to say the least. But somehow, DC made it work for four seasons. Now, the series has come to an end, but I feel like four seasons is a pretty good run for a show as offbeat as this. This fourth and final season collection is available on Blu-ray and DVD, and it contains all twelve episodes (two more than the previous season.) It’s always hard to describe a season of Doom Patrol; keep in mind that one of the main villains this season is zombie butts. Yep. Zombie butts. Ultimately, I think if you’ve liked the show so far, this season won’t do anything to change how you feel about it.
The Special Features: This final set comes with three behind-the-scenes featurettes.
The Wrap-Up: I always enjoyed The Doom Patrol series, even if it never made it to must-watch status for me. It was a quirky, offbeat show with some great in-jokes for comic book fans and a real unique sense of its own identity. While it’s come to an end, I feel like it ran the run it needed to, but now fans can at least have the entire series in their home video collection.
Rolling Thunder (4K Ultra HD)
The Movie: I’m pretty dialed-in on the action movie world. There aren’t a ton of action movies left that I haven’t seen at this point in my life, so when a movie like Rolling Thunder gets a 4K release, that gets my attention. Not only had I never seen Rolling Thunder before, I’d never even heard of it before, and here it is on 4K. Turns out it’s a film by Paul Schrader (of Taxi Driver fame) that stars William Devane and Tommy Lee Jones. Devane and Jones star as soldiers who return home to the U.S. after spending eight years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp. Devane is treated like a celebrity in his hometown, which leads to a gang of bad guys trying to rob him. In the course of the robbery, Devane loses a hand and his wife and son are killed. He then goes on a search through Mexico to find the men who killed his family and get revenge on them. Now, I love a good revenge thriller as much as the next guy, and I give Paul Schrader credit for crafting a script that spends half its time showing how hard readjusting to civilian life would be after eight years in a prison camp and not just giving us a mindless action thriller. However, that said, I think he went a little too far in one direction. The film is awfully slow and it takes almost its entire running time to lead to the violent climactic scenes wherein Devane and Jones attack the stronghold (housed in a brothel) of the gang. There are some interesting moments leading up to it, but there’s an equal amount that are less interesting and frankly, I found myself looking at my watch more and more as the movie went on.
The 4K Video/Audio: 4K Ultra HD releases of older movie can often be a bit of a mixed bag. The format offers up improvements over Blu-ray, obviously, but it’s not like you can magically transform the source elements from a movie that’s 45 years old. However, Shout Studios has given Rolling Thunder a nice restoration and the results show. Image clarity is extremely sharp, colors pop nicely, and there’s enough film grain to retain the cinematic feel of the film. The surround soundtrack is a little front-channel heavy, but since the driving force of the film is largely the dialogue, that makes sense. That said, the dialogue is clear, but don’t expect too much from the rear surround channels.
The Special Features: There are two new audio commentaries: one with screenwriter/novelist Heywood Gould and author/film historian C. Courtney Joyner; and one with
filmmakers Jackson Stewart And Francis Galluppi. Then there are two interview featurettes and a making-of feature, a featurette with filmmaker Eli Roth talking about the movie, and a few other goodies.
The Wrap-Up: Rolling Thunder is a film made in the ‘70s, set in the ‘70s, and created with the sensibilities of ‘70s filmmaking. It’s a well-acted movie that just feels a little too aimless for the first half of it. That said, if you’re a fan of the film, this 4K Ultra HD release will treat you well.
Stigmata
The Movie: I had an interesting experience with the movie Stigmata. I saw it in theaters on opening night back in 1999, and then, during the climactic exposition scene where one character explains why everything is happening to another character, a baby in the theater started crying loudly. When it continued unabated, audience members started yelling at the baby’s mom to take it out of the theater, to which her reply was to start angrily yelling back. It quickly devolved into a chaotic storm of yelling and crying, and it completely drowned out the explanation of the entire film. Which, needless to say, completely colored my opinion of the film, because I never got the payoff of why anything was happening. Cut to 25 years later, and the film makes its return to Blu-ray courtesy of MPI Video. (It was also released as a Collector’s Edition from Shout Factory in 2015, but that one is out of print.) Curious to rewatch the film and see what I had missed all those years ago, I jumped in. The film sees Patricia Arquette’s Frankie, a non-religious hairdresser, finding herself afflicted by the Stigmata, the wounds of Jesus Christ on the cross. Father Andrew Kiernan serves as an investigator for the Vatican, and as he works with Frankie, the two become close while he tries to save her from the various wounds that keep appearing. Surprisingly, his time around I found the movie rather interesting and engaging, and the explanation of what was going on certainly tied the movie up much neater for me this time around. It’s still a flawed film, and I think they filmmakers certainly could have made Arquette’s character more enjoyable, but the story kept me interested and I love me some Gabriel Byrne.
The Special Features: There is an audio commentary with director Rupert Wainwright, a making-of documentary, a collection of deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and the trailer.
The Wrap-Up: Stigmata is not a masterpiece. It’s not even a great film. It’s also steeped in ‘90s editing and aesthetic styles. But at the heart of it, it’s an enjoyable enough mystery/supernatural thriller that’s steeped in religious tones. It’s worth a watch again, and this Blu-ray is a good way to do it.
Kamen Rider Geats: The Complete Series
The Show: This new seven-disc Blu-ray set from Shout Factory brings us a Japanese TV show that will please fans of shows like Kamen Rider Zero One or franchises like Ultraman. In this 2022 iteration of the franchise – which got its start in the 1970s — we are some two decades into the existence of a reality show that sees Kamen Riders (people who can transform into armored, motorcycle-riding warriors, or the like) fight each other for supremacy, killing the riders they defeat. Now, the show has changed, and the top finisher will be able to grant his fondest desire. I’m always a little mixed on these shows, as they do tend to contain a little bit of everything, but sometimes too much everything. For example, Kamen Rider Geats , through its 49 episodes, gives us good characters, fun action scenes, plenty of cheesy moments, lots of fights, armored warriors, successful humor, less-successful humor, and solid drama. It can be a lot of fun if you’re not looking for cinematic genius, but it can also be a little weird at times. It’s the kind of show where I can watch a handful of episodes, then I need a break for something a little easier to digest, and then a week later, I can crush another handful of episodes..
The Special Features: There are no extra features, but you do get over 20 hours of show, so it’s hard to complain too much.
The Wrap-Up: Kamen Rider Geats: The Complete Series collects all 49 episodes, and as the most recent outings of the franchise that have hit home video, it’s the one I’ve enjoyed the most. Fans of Japanese genre television and shows like Ultraman and Power Rangers will enjoy it for sure
Goodbye Uncle Tom 4K (4-Disc Collector’s Edition)
The Movie: This is another one of those movies that is apparently fairly notorious, but is not a movie I was overly familiar with before this new Collector’s Edition crossed my desk. The 1971 movie sees two documentary filmmakers travel back in time and capture footage of the actual slave trade in America in action. It’s not hard to see why the movie might have been considered controversial, especially made in 1971 when exploitation filmmakers maybe didn’t worry quite so much about portraying challenging material in a sensitive manner. Infamously called “the most disgusting, contemptuous insult to decency ever to masquerade as a documentary,” by Roger Ebert, Goodbye Uncle Tom purports to show what slavery was really like, but the filmmakers — notorious already for their Mondo Cane film — were quite well known for their previous movies for having created and staged numerous scenes that were passed off as real. What results is a horrible, exploitative experience that should only be watched as a cautionary tale. Now the film has been released as a 4-Disc Collector’s Edition (available on 4K Ultra HD or Blu-ray) that includes both the original cut and the theatrical cut. Apparently the theatrical cut was severely trimmed down by censors and here you can view the unedited version. Which is good for historical reasons, but not enjoyable as a film viewer.
The 4K Video/Audio: I’ve never seen Goodbye Uncle Tom before this so I don’t have anything to compare it to, but this 40+-year-old film was pretty low budget to begin with, and it’s not like the 4K release can fix that. Still, I was a little surprised at how vibrant color are and the overall quality of the print. The soundtracks are presented in their original mono, so there’s not much to report on there.
The Special Features: This four-disc set includes the English version of the film on Disc 1, the Italian version (which runs 13 minutes longer) on Disc 2, a third disc of bonus features, and a fourth disc that’s a CD featuring the movie’s soundtrack. Bonus features include two feature-length documentaries that both run about 90 minutes, plus three additional interview featurettes, a nearly hour-long collection of 8 mm footage from the set with audio commentary, still galleries, and a booklet.
The Wrap-Up: I’m always torn when it comes to true exploitation movies. On the one had, I think almost all film deserves to be preserved for historical reasons, and this 4-disc collector’s set is as impressive a package as you can find for the sheer volume of content it presents. On the other hand, sitting through movies like this one makes me question JUSt how important I really believe the preservation of all films really is. Goodbye Uncle Tom may have some educational content in terms of media studies and how race has been historically presented in cinema, but beyond that, I have a hard time imagining watching the movie for the sheer enjoyment of it.
Monolith
The Movie: This Australian low-budget sci-fi movie does the best it can with limited resources; limiting the proceedings to a single character and location can be risky in the best of circumstances. Does Monolith pull it off? Well… yes and no. The story focuses on a disgraced journalist who is now running her own podcast and taking alls from people who are reporting some strange goings on. And it does a good job of building some suspense through just these calls. The problem is that the film is 90 minutes long and you can only sustain that for so long. Despite a strong performance from actor Lily Sullivan, the film doesn’t have enough meat to it to keep you interested for that long. The ending, then, also feels a little underwhelming. That said, for a single location, single character movie, I’ve definitely seen less interesting films.
The Special Features: There’s an audio commentary with the film’s writer/director, a making-of featurette, and the trailer.
The Wrap-Up: Monolith is an interesting independent film from Australia that succeeds more as an experiment than as a film viewing experience, but I imagine some people will find it more engaging. Worth a look if the description sounds like your kind of thing.
