OUTLAND and RED PLANET in 4K: Arrow Goes to Space

OUTLAND and RED PLANET (4K UHD)

Arrow Video

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Butt Nugget😸

In addition to taking place in the near future on distant worlds, these two films have something else in common: We here at Free Kittens feel they remain underappreciated and undeservedly forgotten (at least compared to other sci-fi films of their eras). But Arrow Video does right by both titles with a couple of new 4K editions.

Sean gets sassy.

OUTLAND (1981/109 min) - I always hated the term, “lost classic,” because it’s basically an oxymoron. But if I were to ever use it, 1981’s Outland would certainly make the list. This is gritty, violent, adult sci-fi that’s often been called High Noon in space. Sean Connery plays a weary law-enforcer assigned to keep the peace on a mining colony on Io, one of Jupiter’s moons...only nobody really wants him to enforce the law. This becomes clear after several miners go apeshit and kill themselves due to their addiction to a synthetic drug created to boost production, but the powers-that-be (led by Peter Boyle) send assassins to kill Connery. 

Outland is similar to Alien in look and tone, but essentially a cop drama that happens to be set in outer space. Like a lot of equally-underrated movies written and directed by Peter Hyams, it's fun, fast-paced junk food with decent special effects, witty dialogue and well-conceived characters. It also features a terrifically understated performance by Connery.

I’m of the opinion that Hyams has never really gotten the accolades or respect he deserves. But in addition to the outstanding 4K restoration, this set boasts bonus features that spotlight his quietly impressive film career (including a great interview where we hear it from the horse’s mouth). Other material includes a few commentaries (one that’s new), a critical analysis and an interview with the FX supervisor who discusses the process known as “Introvision,” which was new and innovative at the time. However, whoever designed that godawful new slipcover deserves to be fired.

EXTRA KIBBLES

INTERVIEWS - A Corridor of Accidents is an excellent 50-minute interview with writer/director/cinematographer Peter Hyams, who discusses his career from his beginnings through the early ‘80s. This is easily the best of the bonus features; Introvision: William Mesa on Outland features the FX artist discussing his use of Introvision; Outlandish is an interview with cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt, who’s candid about his mostly symbolic film credit.

NO PLACE FOR HEROES - This is a visual essay by Josh Nelson, who goes into detail about Outland being a western (not really all that revelatory, since most of us already knew that).

HOLLYWOODLAND OUTLAND - A visual essay about Peter Hyams, by Howard S. Berger.

2 AUDIO COMMENTARIES - 1) By Peter Hyams; 2) By critic Chris Alexander.

2 TRAILERS

IMAGE GALLERY - Mostly stills from the film, with a bit of promotional artwork.

"Based on what I just stepped in, I think a dog beat us here."

RED PLANET (2000/106 min) - This was a critical and box office bomb back in 2000, which also contributed to Val Kilmer’s freefall as a bankable leading man. Further sealing its fate was another sci-fi film released just a few months earlier (Mission to Mars) that was conceptually similar. While Brian De Palma would go on to find more work (sort of), Red Planet remains director Atony Hoffman’s only film. 

But it ain’t that bad. Sure, the thing’s got its share of narrative issues, such as waaay too much upfront exposition offered by voice-over narration, and perhaps more plot than the film actually needs. In the future, Earth is slowly dying, so efforts are being made to terraform Mars by growing oxygen-producing algae. But when the experiment begins to fail, a mission is sent to investigate. However, a solar flare damages the ship, so most of the crew are trapped on the surface and running out of air.

You could actually jettison most of the Earth-in-peril stuff and still have a fairly gripping survival tale. In addition to suffocation, the landing partly must deal with a scary-ass rogue robot that’s turned homicidal and is hunting them down. Those scenes are pretty cool, but sometimes undermined by the episodic nature of the story, which presents one new crisis after another. Still, the performances and cast are decent (including Kilmer, Carrie-Anne Moss, Tom Sizemore and Benjamin Bratt), while the special effects and production design are excellent. If nothing else, this is a great looking film that’s been nicely restored on 4K and comes with a smattering of bonus features.

EXTRA KIBBLES

INTERVIEWS - The Martian Chronicles is an interview with FX supervisor Jeffrey A. Okun; Suit Up is an interview with helmet & suit designer Steve Johnson.

ANGRY RED PLANET - A visual retrospective by critic Heath Holland, who discusses the good and bad aspects of the film.

DELETED SCENES

TRAILER

Catnip Reviews: 1923 SEASON 2, BRIDE HARD and PAW PATROL: FIRE RESCUE

Snack-sized opinions from the frisky felines at Free Kittens…

1923 Season Two (Blu-ray) - As as one of the six or seven people who’ve never seen a single episode of Yellowstone - or the first season of this spin-off prequel - I struggled a bit getting up-to-speed on the story arc and characters of 1923’s second (and final) season. Still, hanging out with Harrison Ford and Helen Mirren is always time well spent. Once the novelty of seeing two big screen legends doing series television wears off, the show itself is decent, with great production values, solid performances and complex characters. This three-disc set includes plenty of bonus features that fans will enjoy. (2025/443 min/Paramount).

KITTY CONSENSUS: 😺😺😺

BRIDE HARD (Blu-ray) - It’s been my experience that any movie touting itself as “(insert title) meets (insert title)” has ever been any good, and Bride Hard did nothing to change my mind (in this case, it’s “a mash-up of Bridesmaids and Die Hard”). Of course, results may vary, depending on your tolerance for Rebel Wilson’s brash, overbearing screen presence. For me, she’s tolerable in small doses, but in lead roles, she’s about as entertaining as that obnoxious drunk relative at holiday get-togethers. Here, she plays a secret agent who squares off against a crew of mercenaries at her bestie’s wedding, but at no point is she convincing or funny, nor is anyone else. An interminable attempt to blend action and comedy, this makes Paul Blart: Mall Cop look like Lethal Weapon. Saddest of all, it's directed by Simon West, who once showed promise with such kitchy classics as Con Air. (2025/104 min/Magenta Light).

KITTY CONSENSUS: 😾

PAW PATROL: FIRE RESCUE (DVD) - Yet another collection of cartoons from Nickelodeon’s long-running animated series. Like previous seasons, there’s plenty of innocuous, undemanding entertainment for the wee ones, with cute characters, positive messages and passable CGI. For parents, this is the kind of disc you pop in to keep the kids occupied while you pay bills or clean out the garage, safe in the knowledge that they won’t be subjected to anything objectionable. Though I’m obviously not among the show’s demographic, I found myself grateful that my own children grew up in the era of Nickelodeon’s more creative programming…and I still kinda miss Kipper the Dog. (2024-25/132 min/Paramount).

KITTY CONSENSUS: 😺😺

THE UNHOLY TRINITY: At Least Someone's Still Making Westerns

THE UNHOLY TRINITY (Blu-ray)

2024 / 95 min

Warner Bros

#InPartnershipwithWB

Review by Mr. Bonnie, the Buckaroo😽

We don’t get a lot of westerns these days, so if nothing else, we can appreciate movies like The Unholy Trinity keeping the torch burning. 

Not that it does anything to breathe new life into the genre. Despite a couple of marquee names above the title, the movie came-and-went in theaters nearly unnoticed. And creatively, it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. Some impressive Montana location work notwithstanding, The Unholy Trinity is watchable but nothing remarkable, kind of like director Richard Gray’s last film (also a western), Murder in Yellowstone City.

In this one, Henry (Brandon Lessard) is young man out to avenge the execution of his father, Isaac Broadway (Tim Daly), who claimed he was framed by Saul Butler, the sheriff of Trinity. Though inexperienced, Henry travels to the town intent on shooting Butler, fulfilling a promise he made just before Isaac was hanged. But it turns out Butler is already dead and has since been replaced by a new sheriff, Gabriel Dove (Pierce Brosnan).

Henry was promised ice cream, but it soon became obvious none was coming.

At this point, a lot of additional plot (maybe too much) is thrown into the film. It so happens that Isaac wasn’t a saint and most of the town hated him, especially St. Christopher (Samuel L. Jackson), who once partnered with Isaac for a gold theft but was later screwed over. Now he believes the stolen gold is buried somewhere in town. Meanwhile, Gabriel takes Henry under his wing, protecting him from a band of angry miners after the kid kills a couple of them in self-defense. There’s also a posse forming to track down a Blackfoot woman named Running Cub (Q’orianka Kilcher), believed to be the one who shot Butler.

These concurrent plotlines are rendered a bit more murky by additional developments and characters, some relevant, others kind of superfluous. But there’s some decent action here and there, which of course culminates in a climactic shoot-out. This is when Henry goes from gullible rube to fighting by Gabriel’s side faster than it takes to reload a six-shooter, reflective of a screenplay that’s far more committed to fully developing the Gabriel and St. Christopher characters than its main protagonist. And if I were lucky enough to land Brosnan and Jackson in those roles, I’d probably do the same thing. Their performances are easily the best part of the movie, while Lessard is merely adequate.

Elsewhere, The Unholy Trinity is technically proficient and well paced, though it plays like one of those movies destined to be something you stumble upon while searching a streaming service with no particular title in-mind. But while there’s nothing memorable or distinctive about the film, it’s a serviceable enough little western if you keep your expectations in check.

THE POOP SCOOP: Upcoming Kibbles!

🧟1990’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD - UNCENSORED CUT on 4K SteelBook September 23 from Sony. It’s about damn time. Legendary make-up artist Tom Savini’s directorial debut is the underappreciated remake of George A. Romero’s seminal zombie film, Night of the Living Dead. Now available in 4K, with two versions, as well as gobs of new bonus features.

🤠THE UNHOLY TRINITY on Digital NOW, and Blu-ray DVD August 26. A tale of revenge, dark secrets, and buried treasures, the film is set against the turbulent backdrop of 1870s Montana. It picks up in the moments before the execution of Isaac Broadway, as he gives his estranged son, Henry, an impossible task: Murder the man who framed him for a crime he didn’t commit. Intent on fulfilling his promise, Henry travels to the remote town of Trinity, where an unexpected turn of events traps him in town and leaves him caught between Gabriel Dove, the town’s upstanding new sheriff, and a mysterious figure named St Christopher. Starring Pierce Brosnan and Samuel L. Jackson.

🦸THUNDERBOLTS* on Digital NOW and 4K, Blu-ray & DVD July 29. Thunderbolts* turns up the heat this summer as it blasts onto digital platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango at Home on July 1, before making its explosive entry on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on July 29. The Thunderbolts are The New Avengers, the ultimate surprise to both audiences and Valentina Allegra de Fontaine as this misfit team of burned assets rallies their powers and unites against all odds. Their namesake movie Thunderbolts* is an action-packed, international adventure, with audiences embracing the film’s super-powered humor and adrenaline. 

😺Oscar Winning FLOW on 4K, Blu-ray & DVD September 23 from Criterion Collection. A thrilling tale of friendship and survival that took indie animation to ecstatic new heights of ambition and imagination, this Academy Award–winning international sensation follows a courageous cat after its home is devastated by a great flood. 

🎸THIS IS SPINAL TAP Goes to 11 on 4K & Blu-ray September 16 from Criterion Collection. This Is Spinal Tap, now beautifully restored, Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), and Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) embark on their final American tour, with filmmaker Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner) capturing all the mishaps, creative tensions, dwindling crowds, and ill-fated drummers. 

🐶Wes Anderson’s ISLE OF DOGS on 4K September 30 from Criterion Collection. Wes Anderson conjures a dystopian future Japan in magical stop-motion. Innovatively blending English and Japanese dialogue through a cross-cultural voice cast that includes Bryan Cranston, Greta Gerwig, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, Yoko Ono, and Koyu Rankin, this fable of loyalty and disobedience combines Anderson’s signature themes.

🙀FINAL DESTINATION: BLOODLINES on Digital June 17, 4K, Blu-ray and DVD July 22 from Warner Bros. “Final Destination Bloodlines” is the newest chapter (and the great Tony Todd’s final role) in New Line Cinema’s bloody successful franchise which takes audiences back to the very beginning of Death’s twisted sense of justice.

🐍COBRA Limited Edition 4K Coming July/22 from Arrow Video. The Limited Edition release features a brand new 4K restoration of the film from the original 35mm negative, and is packed with bonus content. 

😺THE WES ANDERSON ARCHIVE: 10 FILMS, 25 YEARS Coming to 4K & Blu-ray September 30 from Criterion Collection. This momentous twenty-disc collector’s set includes new 4K masters of the films, over twenty-five hours of special features, and ten illustrated books, presented in a deluxe clothbound edition.

A Fistful of CLINT EASTWOOD in 4K

DIRTY HARRY, THE OUTLAW JOSEY WALES and PALE RIDER (4K UHD)

From Warner Bros

#InPartnershipwithWB

Review by Mr. Paws😺

Three of Clint Eastwood’s most popular American films are finally available on 4K. For fans who already have one or all of them of DVD or Blu-ray, the good news is that the video and audio restorations are excellent. But even if technical upgrades aren’t really your thing, each disc includes some interesting new bonus features along with those from previous releases.

Best field trip ever.

Of these films, Dirty Harry (1971/102 min) is the undisputed classic. Hugely influential, to say nothing of controversial, the film was a game changer in the action genre while firmly establishing Eastwood as a superstar. Certain aspects obviously haven’t aged well, but when viewed within the context of the era when it was released, it’s easy to see why it connected with audiences (though this writer actually prefers the second film, Magnum Force). Thematic elements notwithstanding, it’s Don Siegel’s sharp direction, Eastwood’s iconic performance and still quotable dialogue that remain timeless.

EXTRA KIBBLES: FEATURETTES - Generations and Dirty Harry (NEW); Lensing Justice: The Cinematography of Dirty Harry (NEW); Clint Eastwood: Out of the Shadows; Dirty Harry’s Way; Dirty Harry: The Original; DOCUMENTARIES - Clint Eastwood: The Man from Malpaso; Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy; AUDIO COMMENTARY - By critic Richard Schickel; INTERVIEW GALLERY; DIGITAL COPY.

"There he is...the guy who called you Chief Poopy Pants."

Though the Dirty Harry franchise offered the strongest evidence to date that Eastwood had panache beyond revisionist westerns, he still knew his way around a horse and never truly left the genre behind, even as most of Hollywood already had. Along with High Plains Drifter, The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976/136 min) showed that no director was better suited to keeping westerns alive in the 70s than Eastwood himself. Initially a revenge film, the main character’s transformation from vengeance-fueled killer to regaining his humanity is something we hadn’t really seen in an Eastwood western before (though he still kicks serious ass). While a little overlong and occasionally meandering, this features one of Eastwood’s most affecting performances.

EXTRA KIBBLES: FEATURETTES - An Outlaw and an Antihero (NEW); The Cinematography of an Outlaw: Crafting Josey Wales (NEW); Clint Eastwood’s West; Eastwood in Action; Hell Hath No Fury: The Making of The Outlaw Josey Wales. DOCUMENTARY - Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy - Reinventing Westerns; AUDIO COMMENTARY - By critic Richard Schickel; DIGITAL COPY.

Clint calls his shot.

If the western was on life support in the 70s, it was all but dead in the 80s. Even Lawrence Kasdan’s magnificent Silverado was more of an homage to a bygone era than an attempt to revitalize the genre. But as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder, and by this time, who didn’t want to see Eastwood strap on his six-guns again? His penultimate western, Pale Rider (1985/116 min), doesn’t reinvent the wheel - it’s kind of a benevolent variation of High Plains Drifter - but sure was a satisfying slice of cinematic comfort food back then. While the film’s legacy has since been somewhat overshadowed by 1992’s Unforgiven (Eastwood’s inarguable masterpiece), Pale Rider remains a solid western from the only guy who could have gotten away with making one at the time.

EXTRA KIBBLES: FEATURETTES - The Diary of Sydney Penny: Lessons from the Set (NEW); Painting the Preacher: The Cinematography of Pale Rider (NEW); DOCUMENTARIES - Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy - Reinventing Westerns; Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story; The Eastwood Factor; AUDIO COMMENTARY - By critic Richard Schickel; DIGITAL COPY.

All three releases feature new case & slipcover design, none of which reflect much imagination (original one-sheet artwork would’ve been awesome), but I guess that’s a minor quip. Elsewhere, I doubt there will be too many complaints about the technical specs or substantial bonus features, new and old, included with each disc. These are must-owns for Clint Eastwood fans.