UNDER SIEGE (4K): The Ego Has Landed

UNDER SIEGE Limited Edition (4K UHD)

1992 / 103 min

Arrow Video

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😼

Submitted for your approval (or disapproval), one Steven F. Seagal, action star extraordinaire whose three decade career consists of only two movies that are any good. One of them is Executive Decision, which has keen sense to kill off his character in the first act.  

The other is Under Siege, one of the better Die Hard knock offs and Seagal’s biggest hit. But it isn’t necessarily because of him. Surround yourself with enough talent on both sides of the camera and you, too, can be an action star! In this case, the talent comes courtesy of director Andrew Davis, who also has the distinction of making the only Chuck Norris movie that was ever worth seeing (Code of Silence). For a brief time back in the day, Davis had a knack for putting together thrilling (and mostly plausible) action sequences and making the most of strong casts. 

Speaking of which…Seagal does some of his best squinting here, but scenery-chewing co-stars Tommy Lee Jones & Gary Busey steal the movie right from under his expanding midriff and never give it back (though they do let Erika Eleniak borrow it for a bout of gratuitous grinding). Of course, stealing a movie from Seagal is about as challenging as robbing a kid's lemonade stand. It’s pretty safe to say Dana Carvey could've been given the lead role and the movie would still work.

Under Siege is about a group of mercenaries, led by Jones, who seize control of a naval destroyer and threaten to launch its nuclear arsenal if their demands aren’t met. All that stands in their way is Casey Ryback (Seagal), the ship’s cook, who demonstrates his culinary abilities by stirring stuff. But Casey isn’t all that he seems. He’s an ex-Navy Seal and an expert in the art of killing. It ain’t long before he’s snapping necks, ripping out throats and making explosives out of stuff he finds on his spice rack (no wonder the soup-of-the-day always tastes suspiciously like nitro). Assisting Ryback is Jordan Tate (Erika Eleniak), a former Playboy playmate who was originally hired to entertain the troops. 

The fight for top billing.

While the movie’s fast-paced and loaded with violent action, Jones and Busey have all the best scenes, and when was the last time you could say Gary Busey was one of the best parts of any movie? Though Seagal is top-billed, the only thing he really does better than the rest of the cast is kill people. When he tries to do anything else - like act - the results are often chuckleworthy. At the same time, we get the impression that Seagal himself believes he’s the coolest guy in the room and it was probably his idea for Ryback to wear black while his uniformed shipmates mancrush on him. You can practically smell his inflated ego wafting from the screen. Now that I think about it, maybe Seagal is part of the reason Under Siege remains so entertaining.

The film has aged pretty well, too, which is more than we can say about its star. Its success turned out to be a double-edge sword, convincing Seagal he could do anything, like direct his next film, On Deadly Ground, a sanctimonious soapbox for him to save the environment by dealing death blows. Even worse, he subjected us to his singing in Fire Down Below, yet another rip-your-face-off-to-save-the-environment debacle. After seeing that one, I wanted to run out and strangle the first bald eagle I saw. 

Still, he has Under Siege, a fine credit on any resume. And admittedly, watching Seagal kill people can be pretty enjoyable when he's in capable hands. 30+ years later, it remains his magnum opus, which has been given a great 4K restoration by Arrow Video. It boasts a significant video upgrade from the previous Blu-ray release and features two audio options, a new Dolby Atmos mix and the original 2.0 audio track. Best of all, this disc comes with a great batch of brand new bonus features, all of which are entertaining and sometimes quite revealing, though Steve’s nowhere to be found.  

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.

INTERVIEWS - I’m on a Boat (with a Bomb) is an interview with director Andrew Davis, who finds eloquent ways to confirm Seagal’s reputation was a dick; One of the Guys is an interview with actor Erika Eleniak; A Tight Ship is an interview with actor Damian Chapa; The Introvison Files is the an interview FX artist William Mesa (BTW, Introvision is a special effects process).

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Andrew Davis and screenwriter J.F. Lawton.

TRAILER

Don Lee vs. THE VILLAGERS

THE VILLAGERS (Blu-ray)

2018 / 99 min

From Well Go USA

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Bruiser

In a perfect world, Don Lee (aka, Ma Dong-seok) would be a bigger star on this side of the pond. Over here, he’s best known for Train to Busan and that Marvel snoozefest, Eternals. The latter was his Hollywood debut, and he stole the entire movie from his bigger co-stars. 

But in his home country of South Korea, he’s been the kickass star of some really great action thrillers, such as The Roundup franchise, Unstoppable and The Cop, the Gangster and the Devil. With his ample frame and laconic delivery, he seems like an unlikely action hero, but that’s what makes those movies so entertaining (and often very funny). If you haven’t seen any of them, get over your aversion to subtitles and seek them out.

2018’s The Villagers is another flick where he solves most conflicts with his fists, though perhaps not as often as fans would like. Fortunately, Lee’s got enough screen presence that he’s entertaining even when not beating the shit out of people. Here, he plays Yeok, an ex-boxer who ends up taking a job as the dean of a small town high school. No one there respects him much, and even the school administrator tends to marginalize his job duties (mostly collecting overdue student fees). I'll say one thing...as a former educator myself, these scenes certainly didn't make me miss the job.

Mr. Lee drove 30 miles before realizing that wasn't his car.

But Yeok notices something odd about this town. A girl recently went missing, but only her best friend, Kang Joo-yin (Kim Sae-ron), seems concerned enough to do anything about it. Everyone else indifferently writes her off as a runaway, including local police. However, when Kang herself is nearly kidnapped, Yeok takes it upon himself to investigate further. But even though it quickly becomes obvious something terrible has happened to the missing girl, authorities want Yeok or Kang to leave it alone.

They don’t, of course, otherwise no movie. Besides, we’re still waiting for Lee to commence pummeling bad guys, which includes gangsters, shady nightclub owners, a suspected serial killer and a corrupt politician (though I won’t reveal who’s ultimately responsible for the girl’s disappearance). Until then, The Villagers is pretty light on action, and even though the rousing fight sequences are loads of fun, the tone of the film is often pretty grim, as are a few plot revelations. 

Ultimately, it’s Lee who makes the movie. Part teddy bear, part grizzly bear, he makes Yeok extremely likable with an amusing performance that provides what few moments of levity the film has. Without him, The Villagers would be just another downbeat thriller.

KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL is Inspirational

KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL (Blu-ray)

1952 / 99 min

Film Masters

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😺

I’m a huge Quentin Tarantino fan, and one reason is that his love for movies is obvious in every frame he’s ever shot. And he’s always worn his influences proudly, drawing inspiration from countless classic and not-so-classic films…artistic masterpieces, sleazy exploitation and everything in between.

So when Tarantino enthusiastically champions an older film, I’m always eager to check it out (though I don’t always end up sharing his admiration). And whenever a critic or historian cites a comparatively obscure title that directly or indirectly influenced one of Tarantino’s, I’m similarly intrigued. In this case, it’s 1952’s Kansas City Confidential, a semi-classic slab of film noir that was one of the apparent inspirations for Reservoir Dogs.

And you can kinda see it, at least in the basic plot, which begins with a heist. Mr. Big (Preston Foster) anonymously recruits three other career criminals to commit a daring armored car robbery. Wearing masks, none of them know the identities of the others, assuring that if one is caught, he can’t finger anyone else. The plan also involves framing a floral delivery driver, Joe Rolfe (John Payne) for the crime. Sure enough, after the crew makes off with $1.5 million, Joe is apprehended and arrested. Since he’s also an ex-con, police are sure they have their man.

When you don't bother to use your turn signal.

When his alibi checks out, Joe’s released, but has lost his job and is now determined to find those who set him up. A tip leads him to Mexico, where Mr. Big has instructed his crew to wait until they can meet and divide the money. After one of them, Pete Harris (Jack Elam), is killed by local police, Joe assumes his identity for the meeting, locking horns with the other two crew members, Boyd Kane (Neville Brand) and Tony Romano (Lee Van Cleef), while awaiting the arrival of Mr. Big. However, he is already there and revealed to be retired cop Tim Foster, who has tipped off former police colleagues. But Foster’s motives aren’t quite clear. Is he working for the police, or himself?

I could’ve done without the superfluous romantic subplot between Joe and Foster’s law student daughter, Helen (Coleen Gray), whose arrival at the same Mexican village is a silly plot contrivance. But other than that, Kansas City Confidential serves up an entertaining story with a couple of cool twists, anchored by solid, economical direction by Phil Karlson. The overall performances are good, and Payne makes a suitably stoic antihero, but the real kick is seeing three classic Hollywood bad guys in one movie (Elam, Van Cleef and Brand). 

As heist films go, Kansas City Confidential ain’t gonna make anyone forget The Killing or Rififi (or Reservoir Dogs, for that matter), but it’s pretty well put together on a limited budget. A few meandering moments notwithstanding, this is fun, fast-paced film noir that’s been given a nice Blu-ray restoration by Film Masters. And if you squint hard enough, you can kind of see its influence on Tarantino.

SUPPLEMENTAL BOOKLET - With a neat essay about Jack Elam.

Revisiting MINORITY REPORT and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN in 4K

MINORITY REPORT (4K UHD) and CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (4K UHD)

Paramount

Review by Princess Pepper😺

Remember back in 1993 when Steven Spielberg delivered two of the best films of the year? Visually and thematically, Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List couldn’t have been more different, but damn if he didn’t knock both out of the park. That's a year most directors can only dream of. Then he did it again in 2002 with Minority Report and Catch Me if You Can, both of which were huge hits and remain two of his best films of the 21st Century. Hardly seems fair, does it?

Both titles are now available on 4K for the first time, though one has a better overall transfer than the other. Keep in mind, though, that there are no new bonus features included with either title (unless you count the digital codes). All the extra kibbles are carried over from previous releases. So these are mainly of interest for videophiles.

Tom puts together his favorite number.

MINORITY REPORT (2002/145 min) - Like most Phillip K. Dick adaptations, Minority Report plays fast and loose with its source material. From a cinematic standpoint, however, it’s one of those rare modern science-fiction films that serves-up an intelligent, thematically rich story, engaging characters and special effects-driven action in equal measures. It’s a film I frequently recommend to those who profess to hate the genre.

Tom Cruise plays John Anderton, the appointed head of Precrime, a police program that relies on technology and three clairvoyant “precogs” to apprehend and imprison murderers before they actual commit their crimes. However, when Anderton himself pops up as the future killer of a man he’s never met before, he goes on the run, convinced he’s somehow being set-up, even though the program has so-far been infallible. 

This one just gets better with age. In this kitty’s humble opinion, it remains Spielberg’s best science-fiction film. Along with War of the Worlds, it’s certainly his most aesthetically unusual, especially the desaturated colors and oddball lighting choices. Yet these touches fit the tone of the story and give the FX-driven imagery a surreal, almost dreamlike quality. I’d also argue this film features one of Cruise’s better performances, nearly succeeding at making the viewer forget he’s Tom Cruise.

The 4K transfer restores Minority Report in all it’s washed-out, lens-flared glory. The overall image is excellent, with a lot of detail and grain retention. 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio track is the same as the original Blu-ray, but does the job nicely.

EXTRA KIBBLES: FEATURETTES - The Future According to Steven Spielberg (this is the best of the bonus features); Inside the World of Precrime; Philip K. Dick, Steven Spielberg and Minority Report; Future Realized; Props of the Future; Highlights from Minority Report from the Set; Commercials of the Future; Previz Sequences; From Story to Screen; Deconstructing Minority Report (multi-part feature); The Stunts of Minority Report (three-part feature); ILM and Minority Report (six-part feature about various special effects sequences); Production Concepts (five-part feature); STORYBOARD SEQUENCES; TRAILERS; DIGITAL COPY

"I told him I was from Uranus."

CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (2002/141 min) - As he got older, Steven Spielberg appeared increasingly willing to give any genre a shot. This time, he brings a fast, fun game of cat-and-mouse, loosely based on the real life of Frank Abagnale Jr. During the mid-sixties, Frank (Leonardo DiCaprio) successfully forged millions of dollars in checks, passing himself off as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer, all while he was still a teenager. Pursuing Frank is Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks), a straight-laced fed obsessed with catching his quarry. Though on opposite sides of the law, the two discover they have more in common than either would care to admit, even developing some mutual respect for each other. 

Anchored by excellent performances by the two leads, both characters are dynamic enough that it’s difficult to peg either as a concrete protagonist or antagonist. It's fun to watch Frank Jr. and Carl try to outwit each other, and both are so likable that viewers may find themselves rooting for both. Once again, Spielberg continues his string of terrific, decidedly adult fare that showed he was more than a fantasy merchant. The breezy tone he achieves suits the whirlwind story, though it does plays a bit fast and loose with the facts (but who cares?).

That being said, I’m not quite as enthusiastic about the 4K transfer here. Granted, the movie looks and sounds great, but to be honest, I didn’t notice a hell of a lot of improvement over the Blu-ray release (it might even look worse in places). The 5.1 DTS-HD Master audio track is also identical to the original Blu-ray. 

EXTRA KIBBLES: 4K, BLU-RAY & DIGITAL COPIES; FEATURETTES - Catch Me if You Can Behind the Camera; CAST Me if You Can: The Casting of the Film (five-part feature); Scoring Catch Me if You Can (interview with John Williams); Frank Abignale: Between Reality and Fiction (four-part feature with cast, crew and Abignale himself); The FBI Perspective (featuring technical advisor William J. Rehder); Catch Me if You Can: In Closing; PHOTO GALLERIES