Independence Day: Resurgence 3D Blu-ray Review

• Disc Format: AC-3, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen, 3D
• Language: English (DTS 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed: French, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated:
  PG-13
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Release Date: October 18, 2016
• Run Time: 120 minutes

        I didn’t have many expectations for Independence Day: Resurgence, and I think that greatly improved my ability to enjoy the pure spectacle of the film. My opinion of the franchise had already been diminished after re-watching the original film, which does not hold up nearly as well as I had imagined it might. So, by direct comparison, there were not very large shoes to fill in the creation of a new film. It also helped that I had heard endless criticism of the film, from fans and critics alike, lowering my expectations to the point that disappointment was unlikely.

Into the Forest Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Ellen Page, Evan Rachel Wood, Max Minghella, Callum Keith Rennie
• Director: Patricia Rozema
• Format: NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Lionsgate
• Release Date: October 4, 2016
• Run Time: 104 minutes

        Apocalyptic visions of the future have become a common occurrence in film, so much that I imagine audiences are becoming desensitized to the material. It is the main source of inspiration for nearly every superhero film and has dominated the horror genre since shortly after 9/11, but it is the realism of Into the Forest which is most refreshingly original. Although I spent much of the first half of the film’s running time feeling as though zombies would be a welcome relief from the subdued realism of this approach, Into the Forest ultimately provides the perfect background for a character driven narrative.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 4K Review

• Actors: Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh, Pei-pei Cheng, Chow Yun Fat, Chang Chen
• Director: Ang Lee
• Producers: Ang Lee, Bill Kong, Hsu Li Kong
• Format: AC-3, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, 4K
• Language: Mandarin Chinese
• Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Czech, Slovak, Russian, Polish, Croatian, Korean, Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Hebrew, Slovene, Bulgarian, Hungarian, Romanian, Thai, English, Spanish, Greek, Turkish, Japanese
• Dubbed: French, Portuguese, Czech, Hungarian, Thai, English, Spanish, Japanese
• Region: Region A/1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated:
  PG-13
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: October 18, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019

        Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon was a defining film in the United States, further establishing Ang Lee’s status in Hollywood while simultaneously proving that American audiences could be coerced into reading subtitles for the right film. The surprise popularity of Lee’s film would inspire a whole new market of poetic and remarkably beautiful action films. These martial arts films are not defined by the number of explosions or decapitations, but actually make the characters as significant as the action they engage in. This was the defining film which introduced Hollywood to the medium, actually seeming slow in comparison to the many have become since. It isn’t a perfect film, with many characters and sub-plots that drift in and out of the story, but there is little of the film which is not engaging and satisfying even as it requires extra work from the audience.

Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Aaron Paul, Lena Headey, Sean Bean
• Director: Takeshi Nozue
• Producers: Koseo Ito, Larry Sparks, Shinji Hashimoto, Hajime Tabata
• Format: Subtitled
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Malay, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian, Cantonese, Thai, Spanish, English
• Dubbed: French, Portuguese, Thai, Spanish, Japanese
• Region: All Regions
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  PG-13
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: October 4, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019
• Run Time: 115 minutes

        In terms of cross-promotional creativity, I must give credit to Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV, a movie meant as a viewing companion to the newest video game. Much of the computer animated film resembles the cutaway scenes featured between game play, which often makes the lack of audience participation even more noticeable. Though the visuals are remarkable, this glaring issue with video game films is only increased in a movie that is included with the purchase of the game. If nothing else, this film should have the ability to encourage viewers to play the game instead.

Barbarians Rising Blu-ray Review

• Format: NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 2
• Studio: LIONSGATE
• Release Date: September 27, 2016
• Run Time: 336 minutes

        History has gotten far more entertaining since I was a kid in school, with even documentary specials such as “Barbarians Rising” making use of spectacle. Recreation footage has long been used in documentary programs, but it is done with real actors and production values in this series. The result is an engaging narrative framework for the history lesson, even if this approach means sacrificing a complete account of events.

A Scandal in Paris/Lured Blu-ray Review

• Actors: George Sanders, Signe Hasso, Carole Landis, Akim Tamiroff, Lucille Ball
• Director: Douglas Sirk
• Format: NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Studio: Cohen Media Group
• Release Date: September 27, 2016
• Run Time: 202 minutes

        Declared one of cinema’s greatest ironists decades after the period of his greatest success as a filmmaker, Douglas Sirk was given a place in film history thanks to the efforts made by French scholars in their development of the auteur theory. Sirk primarily worked in melodramas of the middle and upper class, leading to subtle social commentary and satire. Sirk is probably best known for the soap opera melodramas he made in the 1950s, which served as a dissection of the culture during that era, but this two-film set includes two of his films from the 1940s. Both are set in Europe despite being made in America and both are a reminder of the fact that Sirk was a European filmmaker, only forced to make movies in America through the displacement of WWII.

Ghostbusters Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Leslie Jones, Chris Hemsworth, Cecily Strong
• Director: Paul Feig
• Producers: Amy Pascal, Ivan Reitman
• Format: Subtitled
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  PG-13
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: October 11, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019

        Can I review Ghostbusters without discussing gender roles? Is that even possible at this point? It has gotten so that the controversy is so connected to the film that it will live on far longer than the actual quality of its filmmaking would have allowed otherwise, just as was the case with The Interview, the comedy that brought threats of war despite being entirely forgettable. Ghostbusters was merely another in a series of franchise-reviving blockbusters, sanitized so much for modern audiences that it lacks the charm from the original. This has nothing to do with gender roles and everything to do with the artistic side of film being sacrificed in effort toward guaranteed financial success.

The Wailing Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Kwak Do Won, Hwang Jung Min, Kunimura Jun
• Directors: Na Hong Jin
• Format: Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, THX, Widescreen
• Language: Korean
• Subtitles: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  Unrated
• Studio: Well Go USA
• Release Date: October 4, 2016
• Run Time: 156 minutes

        We seem to be entering a phase of intellectual horror films, following the extremely visceral style of the last decade. Suddenly movies with psychological depth are succeeding over the generic spectacle, so that we have movies like The Witch, The Babadook, Goodnight Mommy, and The Neon Demon replacing the days of endless Saw sequels. The Wailing is South Korea’s answer to these films, distinct in its national style by the sense of humor and in many ways it the country’s own take on a masterpiece like The Exorcist.

X-Men: Apocalypse Blu-ray Review

• Format: Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (DTS 5.1)
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed: French, Spanish
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated:
  PG-13
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Release Date: October 4, 2016
• Run Time: 144 minutes

        The X-Men franchise has weathered the many ups and downs of the superhero genre, as it was originally a trailblazer for comic book blockbusters. In order to continue the narrative, this franchise had to reinvent itself with a series of prequel films, which have also utilized time travel and origin stories to include the most popular of the X-Men characters, Wolverine. The other aspect of the X-Men movies which keeps them continually fresh is the seemingly endless supply of mutant characters to add, allowing for the inclusion of new along with the comfort of the familiar.

The Infiltrator Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Bryan Cranston, Diane Kruger, Benjamin Bratt
• Director: Brad Furman
• Format: Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R 
• Studio: Broadgreen
• Release Date: October 11, 2016
• Run Time: 127 minutes

        There is a lot familiar about The Infiltrator. The undercover cop narrative is far from original and doesn’t even have the luxury of much crime action, suspense, or spectacle as a distraction from the derivative elements of the narrative. What The Infiltrator does have is Bryan Cranston in the lead role, able to bring emotional intensity and suspense to a story somewhat lacking in both. This is Cranston’s film, even if the screenplay doesn’t always meet the standards of its performer.

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town Blu-ray Review

        Frank Capra had his first massive success with It Happened One Night in 1934, a film that had such a massive cultural impact that it was the first movie to sweep the Academy Awards and caused a massive drop in the sale of undershirts after featuring Cary Grant without one. Capra chose to follow up that screwball comedy with the socially conscious fairy tale, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town. It would be a familiar trait in Capra’s films, giving audiences the entertainment they wanted while giving society the message it needed.

Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Paul Bettany, Alfred Molina, Jürgen Prochnow, Jean Reno, Tom Hanks
• Director: Ron Howard
• Producers: Brian Grazer, John Calley
• Format: Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, Portuguese, Arabic, Korean, Dutch, Mandarin Chinese, Thai, Spanish, English, Japanese
• Dubbed: French, Portuguese, Thai, Spanish, Japanese
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated:
  PG-13
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: October 11, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019
• Run Time: 149 minutes

        Though these films have both seen previous Blu-ray releases for the extended cuts of the film (theatrical cuts were also included), this new release is just to remind us that there is a new entry in the franchise arriving shortly. In case this is not clear, there is a bright orange sticker on the front of each release, announcing the inclusion of new footage of Inferno in the special features. There are also a few new extras, and some footage from the extended cut in replacement of that viewing option. Overall, this is just an excuse to remarket the past product. There is no need for owners of the last release to pay attention; this is not an upgrade.

Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates Blu-ray Review

• Language: English (Dolby Surround)
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: 20th Century Fox
• Release Date: September 27, 2016
• Run Time: 99 minutes

        Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates may be based on a true story (to a certain degree), but it has a plot which feels formulated in a studio boardroom after watching The Wedding Crashers and Step Brothers on repeat. The screenplay is unbearably predictable, elevated only slightly by a cast far more committed to the characters than either of the screenwriters. Beyond the basic set-up for the film taken from a human interest news story, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates has about as much creativity as its title. The only unexpected moments in the screenplay come from the heavily improvised dialogue spouted by actors making additions to amuse themselves.

Laid in America Blu-ray Review

• Actors: KSI, Caspar Lee, Bobby Lee, Madison Iseman, Josh Leyva
• Directors: Sam Milman, Peter Vass
• Format: NTSC, Subtitled
• Language: English (DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1)
• Subtitles: French, English
• Region: All Regions
• Rated:
  Not Rated
• Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
• Release Date: October 4, 2016
• Run Time: 86 minutes

YouTube has quickly become the lowest common denominator for entertainment, fueled by obnoxiously ungifted personalities who have inexplicably collected a fanbase without the need for talent or substantial content. It should come as little surprise that these “stars” accustomed to speaking in weird voices on their webcams are not properly equipped to actually act. And even if they did have any real talent, the screenplay given to them misses the entire point of their popularity. YouTube personalities become famous for being as weird and off-the-wall as possible, and yet this film is as cliché and derivative as a sex comedy can possibly get. It is inconsequential that there are YouTube hacks involved, beyond the painfully bad acting further destroying the humor in each generic scenario.

The Neon Demon Blu-ray Review

• Actors: Elle Fanning, Christina Hendricks
• Director: Nicholas Winding Refn
• Format: Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, Spanish
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Broadgreen
• Release Date: September 27, 2016
• Run Time: 117 minutes

        Few filmmakers cause as much division amongst critics and audiences as Nicolas Winding Refn, with his last two films receiving both boos and standing ovations when premiering at the Cannes Film Festival. Love him or hate him, Refn knows how to get a reaction out of audiences. Stanley Kubrick also had this gift, and like many of Kubrick’s films, I believe the work of Refn will be celebrated as underrated genius with the passing of time. The Neon Demon may be the perfect example of this, many of the reviews resembling the same polarizing opinions held of The Shining in 1980.  

The Shallows Blu-ray Review

• Actor: Blake Lively
• Director: Jaume Collet-Serra
• Producers: Lynn Harris, Matti Leshem
• Format: AC-3, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Spanish, English
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Audio Description: English
• Region: Region A/1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  PG-13
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: September 27, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019
• Run Time: 86 minutes

        The Shallows is reminiscent of several similar films, but it borrows sparingly from these other narratives. Although a film featuring an aggressively attacking shark begs comparison to Jaws, it is really only the great white shark which is borrowed from Spielberg’s classic creature feature. The simplicity of the story structure in The Shallows is actually far more connected to survival narratives, most obviously including those that take place in the vastness of the ocean like Open Water and Life of Pi. But the best moments of The Shallows rely on the innovation needed for survival, as displayed in other survival film such as Buried and 127 Hours, though Jaume Collet-Serra’s film lacks the same emotional resonance and attachment to the protagonist.

Warcraft 4K Ultra HD Review

• Actors: Travis Fimmel, Paula Patton, Ben Foster, Dominic Cooper, Toby Kebbell
• Director: Duncan Jones
• Writers: Duncan Jones, Charles Leavitt
• Producers: Charles Roven, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Alex Gartner, Stuart Fenegan
• Format: 4K, Digital_copy
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), French (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Subtitles: French, Spanish
• Region: All Regions
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated:
  PG-13
• Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
• Release Date: September 27, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: May 2, 2018

        Special effects and non-stop visual spectacle should not be this dull. Maybe I missed something. Maybe if I played the popular World of Warcraft game that the film is based on, it would make more sense. That might help, but it still wouldn’t fix the film’s undeniably dreary tone and any element of joy. Even Avatar gave us moments to marvel at the peaceful beauties in the world of Pandora, but Warcraft is two hours of self-serious derivative storylines as lifeless as the effects often appear. Or maybe I missed something in the dense fantasy lore.

Labyrinth 4K Ultra HD Review

• Actors: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud, Shelley Thompson, Christopher Malcolm
• Director: Jim Henson
• Producer: Eric Rattray
• Format: 4K
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, Portuguese, German, Czech, Polish, Finnish, Swedish, Korean, Italian, Mandarin Chinese, Dutch, Norwegian, Indonesian, Thai, English, Spanish, Danish, Turkish, Greek, Japanese
• Dubbed: German, French, Portuguese, Czech, Italian, Hungarian, Spanish, Japanese
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated:
  PG
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• Release Date: September 20, 2016
• Digital Copy Expiration Date: December 31, 2019 (Click here for more information)
• Run Time: 101 minutes

        No doubt the most well known of the Jim Henson puppet fantasy films, Labyrinth is also the one that happens to have two huge stars in it. At the time Jennifer Connelly was a child model being turned into an actress, and had never carried a film the way that Labyrinth required, especially considering most of the supporting cast was puppets. The other driving celebrity in this film is the glam-fabulous David Bowie, who wrote and performed the five original songs in the film. What really makes this film work better than The Dark Crystal is the inclusion of human actors, which allows the audience to participate in the Wizard-of-Oz-like fantasy more directly.

Hunt for the Wilderpeople DVD Review

• Actors: Rhys Darby, Julian Dennison, Sam Neill
• Director: Taika Waititi
• Producers: Taika Waititi, Leanne Saunders, Carthew Neal, Matt Noonan
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: French, English, Spanish
• Dubbed: French
• Region: Region 1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated:
  PG-13
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 27, 2016
• Run Time: 101 minutes

 There is something inherently pleasant about the narrative of Hunt for the Wilderpeople, a film so jovial in nature that it manages to feel fresh despite a slightly derivative style and familiar themes. It is never surprising, but it is also an undeniable crowd pleaser, thanks in part to effective casting. And even if we have seen similar films come from Wes Anderson and his imitators, there is something undeniably enjoyable about the addition of New Zealand accents to the equation.

Edge of Winter DVD Review

• Actors: Joel Kinnaman, Tom Holland, Percy White, Rachelle Lefevre, Shiloh Fernandez
• Director: Rob Connolly
• Producer: Kyle Mann
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Portuguese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Thai, Spanish, English, Japanese
• Dubbed: Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese
• Region: Region 1
• Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
• Rated:
  R
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 27, 2016
• Run Time: 89 minutes

 Usually I enjoy trying to figure out what the point of a film’s narrative is, attempting to discover what the message is that the filmmaker was trying to make. This became a frustrating experience when thinking about Edge of Winter, however, because I couldn’t help but feel like there was no point beyond the viewing of the film itself. And if that is the case, it is a film which shamelessly uses the prospect of a father harming his own sons for suspense and the main source of entertainment. I want to believe that there is something more to this film, but I was unable to find anything.