Monolith Blu-ray Review

 

• Director ‏ : ‎ Matt Vesely
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Lily Sullivan
• Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English
• Language ‏ : ‎ English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ R (Restricted)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ Australia
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Blu-ray
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 34 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ April 23, 2024

        Independent genre films often face the difficult task of competing with the large budgets afforded similar films produced with studio money. Because of this, independent filmmakers have to get even more creative with their narratives and the execution of genre expectations. While Monolith creates an effective chamber piece out of common science-fiction narrative tropes, with only slight variation, the execution is about as exciting as one might expect from a film set entirely in a single location.

 

Monster Blu-ray Review

• Director ‏ : ‎ Hirokazu Kore-eda
• Actors ‏ : ‎ Sakura Ando, Eita Nagayama, Soya Kurokawa, Hinata Hiiragi, Yuko Tanaka
• Studio ‏ : ‎ Well Go Usa
• MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ PG-13 (Parents Strongly Cautioned)
• Country of Origin ‏ : ‎ USA
• Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1
• Media Format ‏ : ‎ Widescreen
• Run time ‏ : ‎ 2 hours and 6 minutes
• Release date ‏ : ‎ April 9, 2024

        Continuing the tradition of filmmakers like Yasujirô Ozu, acclaimed Japanese director Kore-eda Hirokazu has a subtle and understated approach to storytelling, even with narratives that could easily slip into melodrama. At the heart of every Hirokazu film is an empathetic presentation of the human experience, regardless of whether the story is focused on a universally relatable situation or something extraordinary, like the premise of Like Father, Like Son (2013). Even when the narrative stretches what is believable, somehow Hirokazu manages to make it feel like a slice of life with the realism captured by his execution.