DEAD MAN’S WIRE: Just the Facts...Probably

DEAD MAN’S WIRE (Blu-ray)

2025 / 105 min

Alliance Entertainment

Review by Princess Pepper😽

Whenever a movie purports to be “based on a true story,” I generally don’t scrutinize the accuracy of such a claim. Unless it’s a documentary, I ain’t looking for a history lesson, and all that really matters is whether or not the movie is enjoyable. Most of these things would be pretty damn dull without a little dramatic embellishment.

That being said, I did get the impression that Dead Man’s Wire mostly sticks to the facts, at least regarding the incident it depicts. Taking place in Indianapolis in 1977, disgruntled Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård) believes Meridian Mortgage cheated him out of a land deal, which has left him financially destitute. So he goes into the place and takes company president Richard Hall (Dacre Montgomery) hostage, wiring a shotgun to his head, which will fire if Richard tries to flee or Tony himself is killed.

A majority of the three-day stand-off takes place at Tony’s apartment, which is surrounded by police and news reporters. Not only does he demand compensation for the money he feels he’s owed, Tony wants immunity and a public apology from Meridian’s CEO, Richard's father, M.L. Hall (Al Pacino, who literally phones in his entire performance). 

Tony can't understand why a taxi doesn't stop for him.

Directed by Gus Van Sant, the narrative primarily focuses on Tony himself and the particulars of the stand-off, including the trust he has in local DJ Fred Temple (Colman Domingo) to make his side of the story public. There are also pointed observations about questionable mortgage company practices and how the media sensationalized the entire incident. However, the film refrains from declaring Tony as the victim he claims to be, and whether or not Meridian is actually guilty of swindling him (though we suspect they are).

In fact, Tony is depicted as a very flawed character…short-tempered, self-aggrandizing and maybe enjoying the media spotlight more than he should. Conversely, Richard ultimately comes across as somewhat sympathetic, a victim caught in the conflict between Tony and M.L. Both are well-realized by excellent performances from Skarsgård and Montgomery. The film is less effective whenever it ventures outside of Tony’s apartment. Cary Elwes is wasted in a thankless role as a frustrated cop Mike Grable, while Linda Page (Myha’la) embodies every ambitious reporter trope we’ve seen in countless other films. 

Still, Dead Man’s Wire is well-made and features excellent attention to period detail…the production design, the hit-heavy soundtrack and some creative cinematography reflecting the video technology of the time. The film never really connects on an emotional level, but as an account of a nationally televised hostage crisis, it's pretty interesting and we’re largely convinced this is how it all went down.

Revisiting FALLING DOWN in 4K (and with hindsight)

FALLING DOWN (Blu-ray and 4K UHD)

1993 / 113 min

Arrow Video

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Vigilante😺

Wouldn't it be great to give-in to our Id on occasion, to be brave enough to do something extreme at just the right moment that makes those around us cheer? Hell yeah, it would, and back in ‘93, I assumed Falling Down would be the ultimate revenge fantasy for everyone lacking the balls to call bullshit on people who apparently exist just to make life harder.

Trailers suggested a black comedy, a disreputable guilty pleasure where we root for William "D-Fens" Foster (Michael Douglas), an angry guy who's simply had enough and is ready to do something about it, sometimes violently. For those of us too inhibited to act on our impulses, yet supremely frustrated by the world around us, who wouldn't love a movie like this? God knows I've felt boiling rage over the price of something like a can of a soda.

But Falling Down is not the cathartic, audience-rousing guilty pleasure it was promoted as. Sure, there are classic moments of dark humor, such as the fast food scene where D-Fens uses an Uzi to get his order right. But many of these confrontations are defused by the filmmakers' desire to keep us aware D-Fens is psychologically unstable, not the disgruntled everyman acting on behalf of the masses. Though I was initially disappointed, I realize with hindsight that it would have been a terrible movie otherwise.

Despite some of D-Fens’ amusing confrontations as he makes his way through LA to see his daughter on her birthday - and reconnect with his ex-wife (Barbara Hershey) whether she wants to or not - we’re not supposed to identify with this guy. He’s revealed to be racist and judgmental, with a violent disposition that ultimately estranged him from his family. We may empathize with what drove him to his current state of mind, but he sure as hell was never intended to be the antihero embraced by fans who obviously missed the entire point of the movie (as countless misguided memes can attest).

The REAL reason New Coke was discontinued.

Falling Down is ultimately a dark tragedy of one man's descent into madness. Anyone whose job has become obsolete may initially relate to him, but the more we know about D-Fens, the less rousing his actions become. As a character intended to be both pitied and feared, he’s brilliantly realized by Douglas. Elsewhere, the film makes great use of drab LA locations (you can practically feel the oppressive heat), providing the perfect setting for somebody to finally snap. The episodic conflicts are well executed and, admittedly, often very funny. Conversely, the narrative sometimes suffers from a few overly broad caricatures and a momentum-stalling subplot involving Detective Prendergast (Robert Duvall) dealing with his unstable wife. 

Though I wouldn’t personally want to associate with anyone who openly identifies with its main character, Falling Down remains director Joel Schumacher’s best film…certainly his most thematically rich (to say nothing of controversial). Arrow Video offers a great restoration in both Blu-ray and 4K formats, as well as a handful of interesting retrospective bonus features. Whether one sees it as a timely tragedy or rousing black comedy, this set comes highly recommended for fans.

EXTRA KIBBLES

NOTE: Free Kittens Movie Guide was provided with a promo disc for review purposes. Physical supplemental material included with the final product (booklets, artwork, inserts, etc) were not available for review. 

NEW INTERVIEWS - Individual interviews with screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith and composer James Newton Howard. The former is especially interesting, as he discusses elements of his story that ultimately didn’t make the cut.

ARCHIVAL INTERVIEW - With Michael Douglas.

FEATURETTE - Going Home revisits locations used in the film.

ARCHIVAL AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Joel Schumacher, editor Paul Hirsch, screenwriter Ebbe Roe Smith, newswriter Shawn Hubler, actors Michael Douglas, Michael Paul Chan, Vondie Curtis-Hall and Frederic Forrest.

GALLERY

TRAILER

LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY: A Gory Good Time

LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY (Blu-ray)

2026 / 134 min

Warner Bros. 

#InPartnershipwithWB 

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

Rest assured, this is not a sequel, remake, reboot or spin-off, and is not (yet) part of any franchise. Nor does it feature a story similar to any other movie with the same title. It just happens to be called The Mummy because mummification lays the foundation for the narrative that follows.

Oops…make that Lee Cronin’s The Mummy. I didn’t realize the director was already enough of a brand to justify his name in the title (you know, like John Carpenter used to). On the other hand, Cronin did crank out a banger of an Evil Dead sequel a few years back, so in horror circles, it’s a good indication that this ain’t your daddy’s Mummy. In fact, it’s ultimately more of a demonic possession movie than a creature feature…and a pretty damn good one.

As the story opens, TV reporter Charlie Cannon (Jack Reynor) and his wife, Larissa (Laia Costa), are living in Cairo with their two kids (and a third on the way). One afternoon, their daughter, Katie is abducted from the backyard by a mysterious woman and vanishes without a trace. A local police investigation, led by Detective Dalia Zaki (May Calamawy), has no leads.

Eight years later, the Cannons are living in Albuquerque with Larissa's mother when they receive a call from Dalia: Katie’s been found alive, wrapped and sealed in a sarcophagus. However, she’s quasi-catatonic and physically gaunt…almost grotesque (it’s a hell of a make-up job). On doctors’ advice, they bring Katie back home, where Larissa plans to nurse her back to health. Meanwhile, Charlie becomes obsessed with knowing exactly what happened to her, especially when Katie’s behavior grows increasingly monstrous.

Some people just aren't cut-out for Twister.

Of course, we already knew Katie was possessed the minute she woke up. But why and how is something that unfolds throughout the story. Meanwhile, Katie wreaks havoc on the household in a plethora of nasty ways, which Cronin is more-than-happy to present in gruesome, gross detail. We get eye trauma, head trauma, teeth trauma, bone trauma, toenail trauma, skin trauma, bug trauma…the things that make us wince and go “eew!” People are stabbed, bitten, impaled, devoured, disemboweled, bludgeoned and swallow nasty things. It’s all depicted with excellent make-up effects, most of which appears to have been done without much CGI.

But Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is a bit more than just a freak show. While the brutal gore is certainly front and center, the story itself is actually pretty interesting and the overall tone is dark and serious (with a lot of the most horrific things happening to children). It’s kind of the antithesis of those Mummy movies that were largely driven by action. The characters are also pretty well realized, and I like the way Cronin shows how this demon’s presence impacts the family dynamic, particularly Charlie and Larissa’s relationship. Their growing estrangement is nearly as concerning as Katie’s possession. 

Running over 130 minutes, the film’s a little too long, and there are a few moments where we need to suspend our disbelief, such as how fast these characters bounce back from increasingly terrifying incidents like they were minor skirmishes. But other than that, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy is a gory good time, especially for Evil Dead fans. So I guess he did earn his name above the title.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - The Making of Lee Cronin’s The Mummy features director & cast interviews; A Bloody and Grotesque Spectacle is, of course, about the grisly effects; Producing Possession and Ancient Demons delves into Egyptian lore that inspired the film.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By writer-director Lee Cronin.

DELETED SCENES

DIGITAL COPY

Litter Box Treasures: IKARIE XB-1 (1963)

In Litter Box Treasures, we focus on a variety of older films which aren’t necessarily classics, but are well-worth discovering.

IKARIE XB-1 (1963)

Starring Zdenek Stepanek, Radovan Lukavsky, Dana Medricka, Frantisek Smolik, Jiri Vrstala. Directed by Jindtich Polak. (86 min).

ESSAY BY D.M. ANDERSON💀

Ikarie XB-1 is a Czechoslovakian science fiction film released in 1963 that was recut and distributed in the US as Voyage to the End of the Universe, with a much different ending tacked on. I first heard about it a few years ago when I was rewatching the Russian classic, Solaris. 

Sometimes when I revisit films, I dig around on the internet for additional info about it when something or someone pops up on screen that I’m curious about. That search down the rabbit hole led me to this one, which is based on The Magellanic Cloud, another book by Solaris author Stanislaw Lem, but was never published in English. So I bought the Blu-ray hoping the movie would be similarly thought provoking.

While not quite as high minded or cerebral as Solaris, Ikarie XB-1 is certainly cut from similar cloth. Its stark visuals are also pretty impressive, especially presented in black & white, with the overall aesthetic is sometimes strikingly similar to that of 2001: A Space Odyssey, released five years later. One can’t help but suspect Stanley Kubrick may have found a little inspiration here. Maybe Gene Roddenberry, too.

For the most part, Ikarie XB-1 is loosely plotted and episodic…but the primary story features a crew of 40 forty men and women on a two-and-a-half year mission to a mysterious planet orbiting another star, Alpha Centauri. But on Earth, 15  years will have elapsed by the time they return, meaning some of their loved ones will be much older.

"Where I come from, Hefty Bags are all the rage."

Much of the narrative deals with the daily lives of the crew and how prolonged time in space affects them, sometimes adversely. There isn’t much in the way of characterization, but the crew’s efforts to establish a sense of normalcy and routine (sometimes failing) is fascinating. It’s almost as though there’s a collective effort to try and ignore the overall sense of isolation they feel in the vast emptiness of deep space.

There are a few incidents of peril along the way, such as the discovery of a derelict American spacecraft that’s loaded with live nukes (along with none-too-subtle anti-war commentary). Later, and more ominously, the nearby presence of a “dark star” causes a sudden epidemic of extreme fatigue, causing the crew to drift off to sleep…unsure if they’ll ever wake up. 

The visual effects depicting interstellar travel aren’t great, but like Solaris, they adequately serve the story. Conversely, the creative production design goes a long way in helping establish the overall tone (viewers might even feel a similar sense of isolation). Ikarie XB-1 is deliberately paced, but there’s something about the pacing and aesthetic that’s …I dunno, almost relaxing. It’s one of those movies that’s kinda nice to chill out with late at night with all the lights off. 

Though less ambitious - and ambiguous - than Solaris or 2001, fans of those two films will certainly want to seek out the original Czechoslovakian version of the film. The truncated recut by American-International Pictures -  with its cheap Serlingesque twist - isn’t nearly as engaging.

THE POOP SCOOP: Sheep, Snipers & Stars

UPCOMING KIBBLES THAT MAKE US PURR!

THE SHEEP DETECTIVES on Blu-ray and DVD August 25 from Alliance Entertainment. In the English village of Denbrook, George (Hugh Jackman) is a shepherd who reads detective novels to his beloved sheep every night, assuming they can’t possibly understand. But when a mysterious incident disrupts life on the farm, the sheep realize they must become the detectives. The Sheep Detectives was adapted from the 2005 international bestseller Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story by Leonie Swann. The heartwarming whodunnit was translated into English (and eventually more than 30 languages) and was adapted by Craig Mazin (The Last of Us, Chernobyl). The film holds a staggering 95% ‘Certified Fresh’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics and audiences agreeing that The Sheep Detectives is a film the whole family will be coming back to for years to come. 

The Original PRACTICAL MAGIC on 4K August 25 from Warner Bros. Based off the book Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, the film, directed by Griffin Dunne, features an all-star cast including Academy Award Winners Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman, and Dianne Wiest. The 4K Ultra HD digital release will include a new bonus content featuring the cast and creative team discuss the film’s legacy. The newly remastered film will be available ahead of the theatrical release of the highly anticipated sequel Practical Magic 2 on September 11. 

SEVEN SNIPERS on Blu-ray and DVD August 11 from Well Go USA. A retired elite sniper (Radha Mitchell) and her daughter (Annabel Wolfe) live a quiet life in the remote Australian countryside. That peace is shattered when a ruthless warlord (Tim Roth) from her past returns for retribution. Calling in her old crew, she prepares to defend her family in director Sandra Sciberras’ taut action-thriller SEVEN SNIPERS, which is loosely inspired by the Akira Kurosawa masterpiece Seven Samurai.   

TROY Limited Edition on 4K and Blu-ray 8/18. Wolfgang Petersen’s epic action blockbuster set against the legendary Trojan War, arrives on 4K UHD just in time for the theatrical debut of Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. The acclaimed director of Poseidon and Das Boot adapts Homer’s classic poem The Iliad to capture a sweeping saga of love, war, honor, and devastation. The Limited Edition release features brand new 4K remasters of both the Director’s Cut and Theatrical Cut of the film from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films, hours of special features, and newly commissioned extras. A Blu-ray edition release will also be available. 

The Surprise Horror Hit, OBSESSION, in Digital NOW and Blu-ray, 4K & DVD July 14 from Universal. The critically acclaimed breakout from Focus Features and rising horror auteur Curry Barker, is an unsettling, nightmare fueled psychological thriller unlike anything the genre has seen in years. 

BARBARIAN Coming to 4K + Blu-ray August 11 from 20th Century Studios.  Released in September, 2022, shocking and captivating audiences with its bizarre twists, violence, carnage, and delightfully subversive sense of humor. "Barbarian," which stars Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, and Justin Long and is written and directed by Zach Cregger (Weapons). 

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA 2 on Digital NOW from 20th Century Studios. Celebrate the box office smash, which took the worlds of fashion and media by storm when it opened in theaters this past May, on its way to grossing more than $677 million worldwide. 

FORBIDDEN PLANET Limited Edition on 4K September 28 from Arrow Video. For the very first time, Forbidden Planet is presented in its original Cinemascope aspect ratio of 2.55:1 with its theatrical "Perspecta" stereo soundtrack in an eye-popping brand new 4K restoration. 

PROJECT HAIL MARY on Blu-ray, 4K and DVD August 11 from Alliance Entertainment. Based on Andy Weir’s novel of the same name, screenwriter Drew Goddard adapted Project Hail Mary for the screen, and it was brought to life by directors Phil Lord & Christopher Miller. 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray releases of Project Hail Mary include out of this world bonus content.

THE COMPLETE KUBRICK Coming to 4K + Blu-ray October 20 from Criterion Collection. Collected here for the first time are Kubrick’s thirteen features and three shorts, all restored in 4K, over twenty-five hours of interviews, documentaries, and behind-the-scenes materials; and deluxe packaging.

MARS ATTACKS! on 4K August 11 from Warner Bros. The newly remastered film will also include new bonus content featuring the behind-the-scenes filmmakers reflecting on the making of Mars Attacks! 30 years later. 

SOYLENT GREEN, Proud Owner of the Second Greatest Plot Twist in Sci-fi History, Coming to 4K UHD and Blu-ray July 28 from Arrow Video.  The Limited Edition release features a brand new 4K restoration from the original 35mm camera negative by Arrow Films, hours of special features and newly commissioned extras. A Blu-ray edition will also be available. 

Every angry man’s wet dream, FALLING DOWN, Coming to 4K UHD and Blu-ray 7/21 from Arrow Video. The Limited Edition release features a brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films approved by cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak, hours of special features and newly commissioned extras. A Blu-ray edition will also be available. 

KILL BILL: THE WHOLE BLOODY AFFAIR 4K/Blu-ray Combo Pack Coming July 28 from Lionsgate. This release also comes with an assortment of physical extras, including posters, collectors cards and a 40 page booklet.

An Underseen Gem from the 70s, THE OUTFIT, on Blu-ray July 28 from Arrow Video. The Outfit is as tough, taut, and relentless as its protagonist. This release includes numerous new bonus features.

MORTAL COMBAT II on Digital Now and Blu-ray, 4K and DVD July 28 from Warner Bros. From New Line Cinema, the latest high-stakes installment in the blockbuster video game franchise in all its brutal glory. 

MICHAEL on digital Now and Blu-ray, 4K and DVD July 17 from Lionsgate. The film tells the story of Michael Jackson’s life beyond the music.

DEEP WATER and a Cause for Optimism

DEEP WATER (Blu-ray)

2026 / 108 min

Magenta Light

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Chumbucket😼

Nobody needs to be told that shark movies are a dime a dozen these days. They also don’t need to be reminded that most of them are cheap garbage. And only the truly delusional hold out optimism that any new shark movie is gonna be another Jaws. That will never happen.

But it's reasonable to be optimistic that at least some of them will turn out to be decent, and we’re occasionally rewarded with some good ones, such as 1999’s Deep Blue Sea. Directed with workmanlike skill by Renny Harlin back when his name was still (sort of) revered in the action genre, the film was a lot of wild, ridiculous fun. 

Deep Blue Sea remains a pretty highly regarded slab of sharky cinema, so even though he’s hardly made a movie worth enduring since then, one probably can’t help but be equally optimistic over Harlin’s return to shark infested waters with Deep Water. This one doesn’t reach the same heights, but with tempered expectations, it’s an enjoyable chompfest.

Part shark thriller, part disaster movie, Deep Water certainly boasts an irresistible premise (for genre fans, anyway). Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley star as the pilots of a commercial airliner that crash lands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which kills most of the passengers. Kingsley earns his paycheck in the first 30 minutes, leaving Eckhart and the remaining survivors to contend with a swarm of hungry sharks encircling the crash site. Some get eaten, some don’t.

Aaron Eckhart & co-star.

Taking a cue from the old Airport franchise, Deep Water frontloads its story with a gaggle of stock characters, along with their prerequisite side stories. Most are standard issue, though Angus Sampson is highly amusing as a cartoonishly obnoxious passenger. In fact, so much effort is put into making the audience hate him that the (enormous) team of screenwriters neglect to develop other passengers beyond potential fish food. 

Elsewhere, the action sequences are pretty enjoyable, starting with the plane crash, which is lengthy, destructive, well edited and surprisingly violent. The bloody shark attack scenes, of which there are plenty, run hot and cold. While fairly convincing beneath the surface, the spell is broken whenever these beasties burst from the water, rendered through GCI that’s no more convincing than it was in Deep Blue Sea 30 years ago. 

With a bigger budget and better overall performances than the typical straight-to-video shark flick, at least Deep Water more-or-less justifies our initial optimism. Nobody’s gonna walk away thinking they’ve seen a great film, nor will it dispel the consensus that Renny Harlin’s best days are behind him, but tireless fans of this stuff should have a good time.