LE MÉPRIS (4K) and a Minority Opinion

LE MÉPRIS (CONTEMPT) 60th Anniversary Edition (4K UHD)

1963 / 103 min

FROM LIONSGATE

Review by Fluffy the Fearless😼

Maybe the problem is with me. I know it’s Jean-Luc Godard and many people think Le Mépris is another one of his masterpieces, but as a first time viewer, I sometimes found it baffling and interminable. 

And by baffling, that's not suggesting I didn’t get it. Storywise, Le Mépris is fairly straightforward, a movie about the making of a movie and how script changes reflect the increasingly turbulent marriage of its protagonist, playwright-turned-screenwriter Paul Javal (Michael Piccoli), and his sultry wife, Camille (Brigitte Bardot). 

Paul is hired by brash American producer Jeremy Prokosch (Jack Palance) to rewrite an adaptation of Odysseus being directed by Fritz Lang (Lang, playing himself). Not only does Paul become subservient - forsaking his own artistic integrity for money - he appears to be encouraging Camille to spend more time with Prokosch. Their marriage almost immediately hits the skids, with Camille stating she no longer loves Paul and feels nothing but contempt for him (never expressly telling him why). Seemingly confused, Paul’s proposed script changes to the movie mirror the current state of his marriage.

The baffling (and interminable) part is Godard’s depiction of the conflict between Paul and Camille...more specifically, the 35 minute argument that takes place in their apartment. Both characters’ moods wildly (and repeatedly) shift, their words and actions ranging from contemplative to abusive to downright childish.

"Forget it, Camille. I'm riding shotgun."

I’m sure Godard intended this sequence as the crux of the entire narrative, but listening to them grows extraordinarily frustrating, to say nothing of exhausting. I’m confused as to why the director felt compelled to show this fight in its entirety - in real time - especially since neither of these two generate an ounce of sympathy. Then again, what the hell do I know? Countless reviews praise this scene as the best in the entire film (narratively and aesthetically).

That’s not to say Le Mépris isn’t without interest. As one of Godard’s few big budget efforts, it’s gorgeous to look at. So is Ms. Bardot, whose ample nude scenes were apparently inserted at the behest of producer Joseph Levine, which further blurs the lines between fantasy and reality, since we can’t escape the idea that Prokosch might be intended to represent Levine. In fact, when focused on the film-within-the-film, especially the conflict between Lang and Prokosch, the story is pretty interesting.

Still, the film’s praise sort of escapes me. Maybe I’ll think differently upon further viewings, should I ever be compelled to revisit it. Maybe I had unreasonable expectations, since admittedly, the only Godard film I’d seen before was Breathless. So even though this one left me comparatively cold, my criticisms should be taken with a grain of salt. Le Mépris is widely considered one of his best films and fans will certainly love this impressive 4K UHD transfer

EXTRA KIBBLES

INTRODUCTION - By writer and film scholar Colin MacCabe

DIGITAL COPY

SCROOGED (4K): Have a Murray Christmas

SCROOGED 35th Anniversary Edition (4K UHD)

1988 / 100 min

FROM PARAMOUNT

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😼

The very definition of high-concept (especially in the ‘80s), Scrooged had it all…a huge cast, gratuitous cameos, mass-appeal direction by Richard Donner, a playful score by Danny Elfman and, of course, a classic story updated and tailor-made to suit the talents of Bill Murray. In terms of bankability, Murray’s comedic appeal was rivaled only by Eddie Murphy back then. 

Residual audience goodwill from Stripes and Ghostbusters turned Scrooged into a moderate hit at the time, but it wasn’t quite in the same league as those classics. Personally, I think that’s because it plays like it was specifically assembled as a Bill Murray vehicle and all other aspects of the film were of secondary importance. I realize it's a minority opinion, since this comedic update of A Christmas Carol remains a perennial holiday favorite in a lot of households, as countless home video releases will attest.

"You coulda knocked."

Just in time for the holidays, Scrooged is now being released on 4K, which will be of great interest to longtime fans for more reasons than one. I’ve never watched previous DVD or Blu-ray editions, but the overall video quality of this one is great. Textures, depth, details and colors look sharp and natural. The DTS-HD 5.1 audio is also nicely balanced. But the real treat for fans might be the bonus features. They aren’t actually new, but have never been included in previous editions. 

Whether one considers Scrooged to be a holiday comedy classic or a high-concept product of its decade, this is a great 4K UHD release from Paramount. Those who love the film enough to watch it every year will certainly enjoy the upgraded transfer and impressive collection of vintage bonus material. But of all the movies showcasing Bill Murray’s unique comic abilities, I don't think this one ranks among his best.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - A Christmas to Remember; Updating Ebenezer; Bringing the Ghosts to Life; The Look of Scrooged; On the Seat with Bill Murray.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Richard Donner.

SHOWEST CLIPS WITH BILL MURRAY

DIGITAL COPY

BACKDRAFT: Still Visually Impressive

BACKDRAFT (Blu-ray)

1991 / 137 min

FROM UNIVERSAL

Available at www.moviezyng.com

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😼

For those too young to be there, Backdraft was a pretty amazing experience in theaters. Raging fire had never been depicted quite like this before. Lovingly (almost voyeuristically) directed by Ron Howard, fire was practically a character unto itself, an antagonist both menacing and oddly beautiful. From a technical standpoint, the film was Howard’s crowning achievement at the time.

Three decades later, the fire sequences remain pretty amazing, mainly because most of them were done for real and didn’t rely all that much on special effects. Not only that, some of the main cast did a lot of their own stunts. Depending on one’s home video set-up, the action scenes are nearly as exciting as they were on the big screen (especially on Blu-ray). 

As for the rest, well…

How many De Niros does it take to change a light bulb?

I’ve always been a huge Kurt Russell fan. He’s no master thespian, but compensates with an earnestness that’s often shamefully underappreciated. It takes a special actor to pull-off a cornball line like “That’s my brother goddammit!” without the audience rolling their collective eyes. When we aren’t watching flames gobble the scenery, Russell easily the best part of the film, his character being the most complex.

There’s a story, of course, that of a serial arsonist targeting specific public officials by incinerating them, and it’s sporadically interesting whenever Robert De Niro is offering exposition about the predatory nature of fire. But the rest is pretty derivative, with stock characters, clunky dialogue and an obligatory romantic subplot between Jennifer Jason Leigh and wooden William Baldwin. But aesthetically, Backdraft has aged remarkably well, with fire sequences that are still pretty jawdropping, as well as another great music score by Hanz Zimmer. The sheer spectacle (and Russell’s performance) make it easier to overlook all the story cliches.

Backdraft has been previously released on Blu-ray numerous times. This "Remastered Edition" features solid picture and sound quality, while all the extras have been carried over from other versions.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Igniting the Story (creating the screenplay); Bringing Together the Team (casting); The Explosive Stunts (title tells all); Creating the Villain: The Fire (the true star of the film); Real Life Firemen, Real Life Stories (visiting a real fire station).

INTRODUCTION - By director Ron Howard.

DELETED SCENES - There’s a ton of ‘em.

VIOLENT NIGHT (4K): A Potential Holiday Classic

VIOLENT NIGHT (4K UHD)

2022 / 112 min

FROM UNIVERSAL

Review by Tiger the Terrible😺

I don’t know about you, but I think the whole “Die Hard is a Christmas movie” debate is a tired old joke. Yet every year, people still slap that crap on social media as if they're the first to do so. Besides, Die Hard is simply a classic action film that happens to take place on Christmas.

On the other hand, Violent Night is definitely a Christmas movie (and a Die Hard movie), one that not-only features holly-jolly Saint Nick (David Harbour) as its ass-kicking hero, seasonal themes and traditions are prominent throughout the entire narrative. So conversely, this is a Christmas movie that happens to have a ton of action (and definitely earns its title). 

Violent Night is also a comedy, of course. With its concept, how could it not be? But unlike other so-called “subversive” Christmas comedies built on a heavy-handed one-joke premise, this isn’t a spoof or parody. Santa Claus going full-McClane on a team of mercenaries isn’t inherently funny. Instead, director Tommy Wirkola and writers Pat Casey & Josh Miller give us a Santa who’s cynical, fallible and has something of a dark past. I also like the notion that Santa himself doesn’t really know how his Christmas magic works…just that it does.

Apparently, Santa misunderstood when someone said they wanted to get hammered during the holidays.

Nor is Violent Night a non-stop parade of gags. The film is, by turns, humorous, suspenseful, brutal, whimsical and even occasionally heart-warming (with some scenes that wouldn't be out of place in a Hallmark film). It’s those surprising tonal shifts that render the comedic elements more effective than simply hitting the viewer with one “clever” joke after another. Admittedly, however, a fair amount of humor stems from how goddamn gory the whole thing is.

But as clever as the direction and writing are, it’s ultimately Harbour’s performance that carries the film. Not only is Santa a role he was born to play, Harbour instills the character with enough gruff charm and vulnerability to make him an endearing protagonist, even when impaling bad guys on Christmas decorations. The other performances are effective as well, particularly John Leguizamo as mercenary leader Scrooge, who has the good sense to more-or-less play the character straight.

As an action movie, Violent Night doesn't achieve the greatness of Die Hard. But as a Christmas movie, it delivers plenty of giggly, gory holiday cheer without ever descending into campy parody, making it a potential holiday classic (or at least a cult classic). Now available in 4K, it sports impressive picture and sound quality, though the overall improvement over the previously released Blu-ray edition is fairly minor. And with no new bonus features, only discernible eyes and ears will probably feel the need to upgrade.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTES - Santa’s Helpers: The Making of Violent Night (interviews with various cast & crew); Deck the Hall with Brawls (mostly focuses on the fight scenes); Quarrelin’ Kringle (casting David Harbour in the starring role).

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Tommy Wirkola, producer Guy Danella and writers Pat Casey & Josh Miller.

DELETED/EXTENDED SCENES

4K, BLU-RAY & DIGITAL COPIES

Rest in Peace, Stinky (aka Stinky the Destroyer)

STINKY (2004-2023)

Back in 2004, someone was giving away a litter of kittens in a Safeway parking lot. Stinky was the last one remaining. Impulsively, my wife and daughter brought her home, where she became part of the family for nearly 20 years.

Later in life, Stinky got into the routine of sitting on my lap while I watched and reviewed movies. She even occasionally watched them, which became the inspiration for the “Movie Night with Dave & Stinky” posts that frequently appear on Free Kittens Movie Guide.

Stinky was loud and bossy, but she was a great cat and we all enjoyed her company very much. Rest in peace, old friend.

D.M. Anderson

WARHORSE ONE: The Best Moments Are the Quiet Ones

WARHORSE ONE (Blu-ray)

2023 / 126 min

FROM WELL GO USA

Review by Tiger the Terrible😽

Though considerably longer than it needs to be, Warhorse One is a decent example of auteur filmmaking on a limited budget.

The auteur in question is Johnny Strong. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, he’s had small roles in such films as The Fast and the Furious and Black Hawk Down. He’s all over the end credits in this one (to an amusing degree). Not only is Strong the star, he co-directed, wrote the screenplay, composed the music and a slew of other things behind the camera. 

Strong plays Master Chief Richard Mirko, a Navy SEAL during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. On a mission to extract a dignitary's family, he’s thrown from his chopper when it’s hit by an RPG. Mirko miraculously (ridiculously?) survives the fall and continues the mission on foot. He arrives to discover everyone but the six year old girl, Zoe (Athena Durner), has been murdered by the Taliban. 

Bring Your Daughter to Work Day.

Now he must protect her while trekking across the Afghan wilderness to reach an extraction point, a task made more arduous by the band of Taliban on their tail. Sporadic action sequences have Mirko battling them with guns, knives, explosives and lethal traps. These scenes are competently done, though the outcome of each bloody skirmish is seldom in doubt, since Mirko is essentially a one man wrecking crew whose injuries don’t appear to affect his job too much.

With the exception of their leader, who of-course refers to the Americans as infidels, the Taliban themselves are caricatures that mostly serve as cannon fodder. On the other hand, the developing friendship between Mirko and Zoe is genuinely engaging, probably the best aspect of the narrative and given considerable heft by convincing performances from the two leads.

Still, I don’t think Strong really needs over two hours to tell this story. There are sequences, particularly during the final act, that drag on too long. I like a good bloody climax as much as the next guy, but this one eventually feels like watching someone else play a round of Call of Duty. Warhorse One ultimately works best during the quieter moments. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

AUDIO COMMENTARY - Director and star Johnny Strong offers commentary on about an hour of the film.

TRAILER

The Weird Thing About AMERICAN GRAFFITI (4K)

AMERICAN GRAFFITI 50th Anniversary Edition (4K UHD)

1973 / 112 min

FROM UNIVERSAL

Review by Mr. Paws😽

Considering it was one of the biggest hits of 1973, it’s weird that American Graffiti has sort of become George Lucas’ “forgotten” film. I realize that’s because he went exclusively into the Star Wars business right afterwards. 

50 years later, it’s also weird to revisit a Lucas film where the focus is exclusively on the characters, not the technology or visuals. Even his comparatively quaint first film, THX-1138, was all about the look and concept…probably why he keeps tweaking with the special effects on that one decades later.

Speaking of which, American Graffiti remains the only Lucas-directed film that he’s never really messed with afterwards. No Director’s Cuts or Special Editions…just the same nostalgically congenial, semi-autobiographical slice of life that charmed audiences back in ‘73. Who knows? Maybe it was the only finished film he was truly happy with. Maybe he simply forgot he ever made a movie that didn’t translate into millions in toy sales.

"Jesus! What's wrong with my hand??"

Whatever the case, American Graffiti may not be his best film (that’ll always be the original Star Wars), but it’s obviously his most personal one. Taking place over the course of a single night in a small town, the episodic narrative follows four young men at a crossroads in their lives. Not all aspects of the film have aged well, but for the most part, it remains engaging, funny and occasionally perceptive, with one of the greatest song-driven soundtracks of the era.

It’s also kind of weird that the overall picture quality of this 50th Anniversary 4K release is merely…okay (though it sounds great). Since the Blu-ray image for American Graffiti was never stellar to begin with, this is something of an improvement. But Universal has done far better with some of their other classics. It must also be noted that there are no new bonus features, though the ones included are pretty cool.

EXTRA KIBBLES

THE MAKING OF AMERICAN GRAFFITI - This is an excellent feature-length documentary about the production. Features numerous interviews with most of the major cast and crew.

SCREEN TESTS - Considering all of these screen tests feature actors who’d go on to bigger things, this is pretty interesting.

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By George Lucas.

TRAILER

4K, BLU-RAY & DIGITAL COPIES

IT LIVES INSIDE: Deja Boo

IT LIVES INSIDE (Blu-ray)

2023 / 99 min

FROM DECAL RELEASING

Available at www.moviezyng.com

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat🙀

If released a few decades ago, It Lives Inside might have been something really special, back when this road was a little less traveled. The film is very well made, atmospheric and even throws in some perceptive social commentary, but there aren’t a hell of a lot of surprises.

Samidha (Megan Suri) is the teenage daughter of Indian immigrants and tends to forsake her own culture to try and fit in with her peers, which doesn’t sit well with her traditionalist mother, Poorna (Neeru Bajwa). Samidha (“Sam”) has also distanced herself from childhood friend Tamira (Mohana Krishnan), at least until Tamira reaches out to her, terrified and claiming she’s got a demonic entity tapped inside a jar. She also has the tattered journal of a boy who allegedly murdered his parents before killing himself.

Naturally, the jar breaks and unleashes Pishach, a soul-eating demon the girls used to hear about in childhood stories. After it abducts Temira, Sam uses the journal to figure out what’s happening and try to save her before it can devour her soul completely, though it’s ultimately Poorna who might have her answers. Meanwhile, Pishach terrorizes Sam and anyone who tries to help her contain it. 

"It's your turn to push me."

It Lives Inside is conceptually derivative of Ringu and other movies of its ilk, especially regarding the limited number of days one has before their soul is eaten. But Pishach itself is indeed part of real Hindu folklore, which is a nice touch when you consider the film’s underlying themes of tradition and identity. I just wish more was done to make it a bit more than just another impressive looking CG monster.

Still, the film puts a unique cultural spin on a familiar premise. For his feature film debut, Bishal Dutta manages thrown in some eerie sequences that may not be all that scary, but certainly reflect the story’s dark tone.

BLUE BEETLE: A True "Family" Film

BLUE BEETLE (Blu-ray)

2023 / 127 min

FROM WARNER BROS / #InPartnershipwithWB

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😺

Of late, I’ve approached reviewing superhero movies more out of a sense of duty than anticipation. Like so many previous subgenres that once ruled the box office by repeatedly dipping into the same well, the formula has become predictable and rote. As much as I enjoy Quarter Pounders, I don’t want to have ‘em for dinner every night. Sometimes I like to change things up, if even a little, and order a Big Mac.

Similarly, Blue Beetle doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but does dial back a bit on the apocalyptic implications and CGI spectacle that have become standard in the genre, making it a nice change of pace. There are still FX-heavy showdowns, but with the possible exception of the flying, farting “Bug Ship”, these are the most boring scenes in the film. The rest is a charming and funny look at a close-knit Hispanic family struggling to make ends meet in a city where they’re increasingly marginalized. 

The Reyes family’s greatest strength is their unconditional love for each other, even when facing off against Victoria Kord (Susan Sarandon), a greedy corporate CEO obsessed with weaponizing a sentient alien device (called the Scarab) to power an army of supersoldiers…not to take over the world, but to make billions by selling her technology to the military.

"It's no Batcave, but I'm working on it."

But after the Scarab is stolen by Kord’s compassionate stepdaughter, Jenny (Bruna Marquezine), it fuses with Jaime Reyes (Xolo Mariduena), who’s just returned home from college. Connecting itself to every part of Jaime’s body, the Scarab gives him armor, super strength, the ability to fly and access to powerful weapons. It can also take control of his body, which is initially necessary because he has no idea how to use these powers. Jaime doesn’t initially want the Scarab inside him, nor is he willing to kill anyone, even in self defense, but removing it isn’t an option.

Naturally, Kord wants it back and is ready to kill those who stand in her way, including Jaime and the entire Reyes family. The narrative includes the usual clashes and visual spectacle, particularly when Jaime/Blue Beetle squares off against Kord’s cyber-enhanced henchman, Ignacio (Raoul Max Trujillo), as well as a standard-issue CG-heavy climax. But in an interesting take on a familiar formula, the entire Reyes family gets involved, saving Jaime as often as he saves them. This endearing family dynamic is ultimately what makes Blue Beetle engaging, funny and ultimately heart-warming. The Reyes’ matriarch, Nana (Adriana Barraza), is especially amusing once she reveals her considerable combat skills.

Refreshingly, there’s nothing more at stake…no global crisis, nobody vying for world domination, no citywide destruction. Behind all the flash & fireworks is just a loving, tight-knit family who have each other’s back when things take a turn for the worst. I think a lot of viewers will find that aspect of Blue Beetle pretty relatable. 

EXTRA KIBBLES

BLUE BEETLE GENERATIONS - This is a four chapter documentary (roughly totaling 40 minutes) that covers various aspects of the production. Features cast & crew interviews, as well as behind-the-scenes footage.

FEATURETTES - Scarab Vision (a visual breakdown of two FX-driven sequences); Blue Beetle’s Nana Knows Best (a charming featurette about the movie’s most amusing character and the actor who plays her, Adriana Barraza).

DIGITAL COPY