Preview part of the Hall of Heroes bonus featurette introduced by John Boyega
April 19, 2018
News: PACIFIC RIM UPRISING on Digital 6/5 and 4K, Blu-Ray & DVD 6/19
April 18, 2018
Blu-Ray Review: BACKSTABBING FOR BEGINNERS
Starring
Theo James, Ben Kingsley, Jacqueline Bisset, David Dencik, Belcin
Bilgin, Rachel Wilson. Directed by Per Fly. (2018/108 min).
Of
course, it's always enjoyable to watch Ben Kingsley at work. His
dedication makes even the worst movies at-least endurable. And let's
face it...Sir Kingsley has frequently lent his respected name to some
real dumpster fires, especially during the last decade, sort-of
making him the Michael Caine of the 21st Century.
Fortunately,
Backstabbing for Beginners isn't a dumpster fire, though
Kingsley is easily the main reason to check it out. Well, him and
Jacqueline Bisset, who doesn't grace us with her presence as often as
she used to, at least in anything worth watching (9/11?
Really Jackie??). Unfortunately, neither are in the film nearly
enough (especially Bisset), taking a backseat to Theo James as
Michael, an ambitious, idealistic newbie working under the tutelage
of UN diplomat Pasha (Kingsley).
Backstabbing
for Beginners is based on a true story, adapted from the book by
Michael Soussan, who uncovered massive corruption while
assisting his mentor in Iraq during the United Nation's Oil-for-Food
Program. Prior to the invasion of Iraq, the program made it possible
for Iraq to sell their oil in exchange for food and other essentials.
However, self-serving diplomats, leaders, private companies and a variety of other
morally-questionable folks benefited more than the Iraqi people
actually did.
 |
| Sir Kingsley tries - and fails - to justify The Love Guru. |
Structurally
similar to Oliver Stone's Wall Street, the story is mostly
focused on Michael's eventual disillusionment over the graft and
corruption he witnesses. Before he even starts his job in earnest,
he's essentially forced by the CIA to report everything he sees,
including Pasha's actions, meaning rampant corruption has been
going on for quite awhile.
Some
of this is pretty interesting, especially if one was completely unaware of the
Oil-for-Food scandal (like yours truly). As political thrillers go,
though, its not always terribly gripping. Kingsley is terrific, as
usual, creating a compelling character who's as cynical as he is
foul-mouthed...and not necessarily a villain in the traditional
sense. We often get the impression that, despite his less-than-savory
dealings, Pasha is doing to best job possible with what - and who - he has to
work with. It makes one wish the film were focused mainly on him
because Michael is simply not as interesting, even after hitting the
sheets with Nashim (Belcim Bilgin), a Kerdish rebel with an agenda of
her own (she's more interesting than Michael, too).
Still,
this is a true story that needed to be told and Backstabbing for
Beginners does it fairly well. We learn a lot about what
happened, who was involved and the eventual consequences. The film
could've benefited from a bit more dramatic punch, though.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
FEATURETTE:
"The Truth Behind
Backstabbing for
Beginners"
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.
April 17, 2018
Blu-Ray Review: GREASE - 40TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION
Starring
John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Stockard Channing, Jeff Conaway,
Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci, Kelly Ward, Didi Conn, Jamie Donnelly,
Dinah Manoff, Eve Arden, Dody Goodman, Sid Caesar, Eddie Deezen,
Frankie Avalon, Lorenzo Lamas, Alice Ghostley, Sha-Na-Na. Directed by
Randall Kleiser. (1978/110 min).
Funny
thing about Grease and the passing of time...the damn thing seems impervious.
In
my household, music from the film is held in high regard
by my wife, Francie (who loves soundtrack albums from her youth), and oldest
daughter, Natalie (who's recently been bitten by the Broadway
musical bug). Natalie once found the Grease soundtrack on vinyl
at a used record store. I remember when it
was huge in the 70s...a double album with one record containing all
the hits, the second filled old rock tunes no one
ever listened to. The first record is
the only one my girls throw on the turntable. I don't think they've even
taken the other one out of the sleeve.
Popping in this 40th Anniversary Blu-Ray, it occurred to me that even though
I haven't actually sat and watched the movie in its entirety in thirty years, much of it was still fresh in my mind, mainly because
time hasn't allowed us put Grease in our rearview mirror. Speaking
strictly from personal experience as a teacher and a father, Grease
is one of the few films of the 1970s that later generations have
embraced with the same enthusiasm as we first did in 1978. The Godfather
is a timeless, undisputed classic and everyone appreciates it as
such. But like Star Wars and Jaws, Grease seems to remain as relevant to our kids and grandkids as stuff being made today.
One
could speculate why Grease continues to strike a chord with
new audiences, but that would probably be pointless. What does
matter is when I pressed play and Frankie Valli began crooning the
title theme, my whole family (including 14-year-old Lucy) dropped what they were doing and
filed into the family room. Not too many 40 year old movies have that
kind of power.
 |
| The pelvic thrust of death. |
I
had one major revelation while revisiting the film, thanks in-part to
Natalie. We were all talking about some of the musical numbers during
the opening scenes and I mentioned my favorite was "Greased
Lightnin'." Natalie shot me an incredulous scowl, implying my statement was slightly offensive. When we got
to that scene in the film, where Travolta and his buddies do a
rousing song-and-dance around a restored hot rod, I actually paid
attention to the lyrics for the first time. I was shocked to discover
"Greased Lightnin'" is a damn dirty song - almost
misogynistic - and about as un-PC as movie music gets. Has these words been clearly-spoken rather than sung, there's a good chance Grease
would have been slapped with an R rating. It's still a great song, though, and this disc includes a
sing-along version so you can experience the number in all its filthy
glory.
Speaking
of which, this 40th Anniversary Edition is loaded with supplementary
material (listed below). In addition to vintage extras that were
previously released on the "Rockin' Rydell" version, this
one includes some interesting new bonus features that fans may want
to consider double-dipping for. The packaging is pretty cool, too,
designed like a high school yearbook, including a booklet of photos
and "signatures."
Elsewhere,
the film is still a lot of fun (including questionable scenes, lyrics & dialogue you wouldn't get
away with today), belying its age with catchy tunes, great choreography and
the undeniable charisma of John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John at the height of their stardom. Grease is by-no-means one
of the greatest movies of the 70s (or even among the top 50), but
it's surely one of the most continually beloved.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
NEW:
"GREASE: A CHICAGO STORY" - A very interesting doc
about the original stage musical, featuring its creators. From a
historical perspective, it's priceless for megafans and the best of
the new features.
NEW:
ALTERNATE MAIN TITLES - With a
different song
NEW:
ALTERNATE ENDING
OPTIONAL
INTRO - By Director Randall Kleiser
SING-ALONG
VERSION
AUDIO
COMMENTARY - With Director Randall Kleiser & Choreographer
Patricia Birch
FEATURETTES:
"The Time, the Place, the Motion: Remembering Grease";
"Grease Memories from John and Olivia"; "The Move
Behind the Music"; "Thunder Roadsters"; "Grease
Reunion"
VINATAGE
INTERVIEWS - From the Grease premiere, featuring John
Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, producers Allan Carr & Robert
Stigwood.
TRAILER
DELETED/EXTENDED
SCENES
PHOTO
GALLERY
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS
April 16, 2018
Blu-Ray Review: LES GIRLS
Starring
Gene Kelly, Mitzi Gaynor, Kay Kendall, Taina Elg, Jasques Bergerac,
Leslie Phillips, Henry Deniell, Patrick Macness. Directed by George
Cukor. (1957/114 min).
Les
Girls is notable for being Gene Kelly's last MGM musical. While
it pales in comparison to his crowning achievements with the studio (Singin' in the
Rain and An American in Paris), the movie is not without
charms of its own.
Sybil
Wren (Kay Kendall) has just published a tell-all book about her time
with Les Girls, a dance group led by Barry Nichols (Kelly), which also
includes Joy Henderson (Mitzi Gaynor) and Angele Ducros (Taina Elg).
As the film opens, Angele is suing Sybil for libel, claiming that
events in the book are complete lies, particularly the chapter which says Angele attempted suicide after having her heart broken. Taking
the stand in her defense, Sybil recounts the incident, in which
Angele falls in love with
Barry while engaged to her fiancee, Pierre, who isn't even aware
she's a dancer.
The
next day, Angele tells her version, which has Sybil turning into a
drunken lush because she's the one in love with Barry...or at-least that's
what they tell Barry to keep him from dropping her from the show.
It turns out Sybil has a fiancee, too, who obviously isn't happy with her or Barry. Finally, Barry himself takes the stand with what he says actually
happened, which mostly involves circumstances surrounding his pursuit
of Joy.
 |
| Gene's birthday wish? A chair. |
This
is merely a wrap-around story to showcase Kelly doing what
he does best: performing elaborate song-and-dance numbers with one or
more of his co-stars, the best one being Kelly and Gaynor in an
amusing send-up of The Wild One. But Les Girls isn't
quite a full-blown musical in the traditional sense. Rarely does a
character actually break into song during the story itself. A
majority of the Cole Porter numbers featured are performed onstage before an audience. It doesn't make them any less entertaining,
though, especially for Gene Kelly fans.
Despite
the suicide angle, the tone of Les Girls is congenial and laid-back, happy to bounce from one predicament to the next with some
snappy singing and dancing along the way. There's little substance
beneath the shiny surface, but who wants that in a musical?
EXTRA
KIBBLES
FEATURETTE:
"Cole Porter in Hollywood: Ca C'est L'Amour" - Hosted by
co-star Taina Elg, this is just as much about the cast and production
of Les Girls as it is about Porter.
CARTOON
SHORT: Tex Avery's "The Flea Circus"
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.
April 15, 2018
Blu-Ray Review: A TAXI DRIVER
Starring
Song Kang-ho, Thomas Kretschmann, Yoo Hae-jin, Ryu Jun-yeol, Park
Hyuk-kwon, Uhm Tae-goo, Yoo Eun-mi. Directed by Jang Hoon. (2017/137
min).
Poor
Kim. All he wants to do is score a big cab fare to pay his rent and
provide for his daughter, only to end up the unsung hero of a freedom
movement. Claiming to be based on true events, I don't know how much
of what happens in A Taxi Driver is accurate, but it makes a
hell of a movie.
The
film takes place in 1980 South Korea, which has recently fallen under
military dictatorship. Seoul taxi driver Kim
Man-seob (Song Kang-ho, who's terrific) is a widow who has more immediate financial concerns than
government turmoil. When he overhears that photojournalist Jurgen
Hinzpeter (Thomas Kretschmann) wants to travel to Gwangju to document
student protests (and is willing to pay 100, 000 Won), Kim
immediately jumps at the opportunity to drive him.
 |
| "I locked my damn keys in the car!" |
What
the two discover, however, is Gwangju is under martial law and
extremely dangerous, especially to foreigners. Protesters are being
shot in the streets by the military, which is completely contrary to
what everyone outside Gwangju is being told in the news. Worse yet,
plainclothes security officers are on the lookout for reporters who
could expose what's going on, meaning Kim and Jurgen end up being
hunted. This doesn't sit well with Kim, of course, who just wants to
collect his fare without getting involved. However, when his car
breaks down and a curfew leaves him trapped, he and Jurgen learn from
other cabbies (and their families) just bad things have gotten. And
this is before the ongoing conflict escalates into a full blown
massacre.
In
real life, Jurgen Hinzpeter did indeed use his camera to show the
world what was actually happening in Gwangju, getting in and out of
the city with the help of a heroic cabbie. But aside from Hinzpeter's
gratitude for the driver's heroism, little else was known about him.
This gives A Taxi Driver the creative freedom to use the
Gwangju Massacre as the backdrop for an emotionally powerful
character transformation. The film is accurately titled. Kim is just
another anonymous, passive working man (nearly a bumbling fool) until circumstances force him
to reassess not only what's happening around him, but his own
personal values.
Despite
the dark historical context (not to mention the decidedly misleading
Blu-Ray cover art), A Taxi Driver turns out to be unexpectedly
thrilling, suspenseful and ultimately poignant, boosted considerably by a cast of extremely
likable protagonists whose actions under dire circumstances (to say
the least) make the film an emotionally rousing experience worth
seeing more than once. If you aren't moved by the final
act, you must not have been paying attention during the previous 90
minutes.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
MEE-OW! LIKE BEING TURNED LOOSE IN A BIRD SANCTUARY
April 14, 2018
April 12, 2018
Blu-Ray Review: MOHAWK
Starring
Kaniehtiio Horn, Eamon Farren, Justin Rain, Ezra Buzzington, Noah
Segan, Ian Colletti, Robert Longstreet, Jon Huber, Sheri Foster.
Directed by Ted Geoghegan. (2017/91 min).
One
of the cool things about this position is I'm often given the
opportunity to review films that would have otherwise escaped my
radar. While I had heard of Mohawk, I knew very little about it, thus had no expectations going in.
That
being said, Mohawk is unlike anything I've reviewed lately.
Ultimately, that's a good thing.
In
1812, two Native Americans, Oak and Calvin, and British officer
Joshua Pinsmail are a menage a trois. Joshua is trying to convince
the Mohawk tribe (who've been neutral during the ongoing British-American
conflict) to go on the offensive, joining the fight against colonial
soldiers. After Calvin takes it onto himself to massacre everyone at
a nearby soldier fort, the three end up on-the-run from a renegade
platoon led by sadistic and increasingly unhinged Colonel Holt, who's
hellbent on revenge. Much of the middle act is a bloody game of cat & mouse as the trio try to reach a nearby mission, where
more Mohawks (including Oak's uncle) are hiding out.
 |
| "Tag! You're it!" |
Elaborating
much more would kill some of the surprising plot turns, but it's safe
to say the story doesn't play out like you think it will (also a
good thing). What begins as a tale of survival & revenge evolves
into something bordering on ghostly and surreal, with an
underlying reminder of the terrible treatment of Native Americans at
the hands of colonists. We're given subtle clues that Calvin's
initial attack on the fort - while seemingly unprovoked - wasn't
completely unwarranted. The protagonists are not portrayed as saints,
though, nor are the antagonists depicted as totally hateful (though Holt
comes damn close).
 |
| Extreme house hunting. |
Despite
an obviously limited budget, Mohawk is both creatively
ambitious and visually arresting. It addition to its deceptively
simple story, director Ted Geoghegan (We Are Still Here) makes
the most of his wilderness locations, managing to render them
foreboding even during daylight. Though sort-of promoted as a horror
film - some of it is pretty horrific - the focus is
mostly on action, with a plenty of extremely brutal close-quarters conflict. Only during the logic-bending,
intriguingly-ambiguous final act does the movie incorporate any real
horror elements. The performances are decent, as well. Kaniehtiio
Horn (a native Mohawk herself) stands out as Oak with a physical
performance that's both sympathetic and menacing, while Ezra
Buzzington engages in some enjoyable scenery chewing as her psychotic
pursuer.
Fast-moving
and unflinchingly violent, Mohawk offers a unique and
unconventional vision of the tried & true revenge tale. It's also
the kind of film that has the potential to be somewhat polarizing,
creating interesting love-it-or-loathe-it debates. In the end, that's
always a good thing, too.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
TRAILER
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS
April 11, 2018
News: "Burt Gummer" Recaps the TREMORS Franchise
Learn from the best there is on how to survive every kind of menacing Graboid and check out the Tremors franchise recap here:
April 10, 2018
Blu-Ray Review: THE GREATEST SHOWMAN
Starring
Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson,
Zendaya, Keala Settle, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Sam Humphrey, Paul
Sparks, Austyn Johnson, Cameron Seely, Eric Anderson. Directed by
Michael Gracey. (2017/105 min).
My
wife, Francie, took our two daughters to see this in theaters, and it
was all they talked about after returning home. Since then, they each play the soundtrack incessantly on their phones. So when this
Blu-Ray arrived for me to review, Francie was excited to notice a sing-along option listed among the many bonus features. When she told
our older daughter about it, Natalie shrugged and said, "I
already know all the songs by heart."
My
girls aren't alone, of course. A lot of folks seem to know them by heart...already. And The Greatest Showman
isn't just a musical. It's a !!MUSICAL!!
in the classic tradition...big & bright, colorful & catchy,
flashy & fun. Cynics might have to accept The Little
Sleeper That Could is shaping up to be one of those musicals that
transcends its decade, much like Grease did in the 70s. Critical consensus notwithstanding, the general public will probably still be singing along to "This is Me" and
tapping their toes to "From Now On" long after they've forgotten La La Land.
 |
| "Here's to swimmin' with bow-legged women." |
I had two takeaways after finally watching the film myself. First, I
get the feeling Hugh Jackman (as P.T. Barnum) would be perfectly
happy doing musicals for the rest of his career. His enthusiasm is
infectious, too. Not only does the sincerity of his performance
effortlessly manipulate the audience, the entire supporting cast
rises to the occasion. Second, while I'd never presume to declare
anyone's opinion wrong, I do believe some critics missed the point of the
film.
 |
| Hugh loves to catch snowflakes with his tongue. |
Loosely
based of the rise of P.T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman
makes no pretenses of being biographical, nor should anyone look for
much depth or substance. On the surface, the movie might even seem
narratively slight, just an excuse to link numerous flashy musical
numbers. Sure, that's one way to look at it. Another way is to look at the music as the narrative. There isn't a
single song that doesn't advance
the plot or embellish a particular character. One of the disc's
bonus features allows access to the musical numbers only; viewed in
sequence, I would argue that you'd still be able to follow most of
the story.
And
fortunately, it is a good story, albeit a familiar and predictable one, told with a
lot of panache. Despite some modern trappings, the film's ultimate
intent is obvious: the kind of pure, old school musical Hollywood
used to make before we all became too jaded for our own good. There
may not be a lot of depth, but with deliberately artificial
production design, insanely-catchy songs, a consistently upbeat tone and stunning
choreography, you'd have to work real hard not to be swept along.
EXTRA
KIBBLES
SING-ALONG
VERSION
FEATURETTES:
"The Family Behind The Greatest Showman"; "The
Spectacle"
"THE
SONGS" - Though listed as a featurette, at 70 minutes, it's
practically its own feature-length documentary.
MUSIC
MACHINE - Access the songs directly in sing-along mode
ART
& STORYBOARD GALLERIES
AUDIO
COMMENTARY - By Director Michael Gracey
TRAILERS
DVD
& DIGITAL COPIES
KITTY CONSENSUS:
PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS
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