Welcome back to This Week In Discs where we check out tomorrow’s new releases today!
He Never Died
Jack (Henry Rollins) is something of a loner. He eats at the same diner every day, he plays Bingo at the same church every week, and he meets the same immoral hospital intern every few days to buy… something. He has little need for anyone else but that begins to change when two women come into his life. Cara is a waitress at the diner, and while Jack is a man of few words he’s still managed to hit it off with her to some small degree. Andrea’s face is brand new to him, but an angry phone call from an old fling he hasn’t heard from in roughly nineteen years informs him that the girl at his door is his daughter. His life suddenly grows busier and far more complicated, and the trend continues when he finds himself targeted by a series of low-level henchmen for reasons unknown. It’s probably a good thing his body seems to heal from beatings, knife wounds, and bullet holes in an almost instantaneous manner.
Writer/director Jason Krawczyk’s feature debut is a dryly comic and brutally violent gem with a fascinating central character. The truth about Jack is revealed slowly through turns big and small, and the final revelation serves to enhance the character and his situation rather than simply act as some big turning point in the narrative. It’s a tale about criminals, their crimes, and the cost of those infractions with an antihero less interested in redemption than he is in getting a cup of hot tea and a plate of eggplant Parmesan. Rollins’ dry delivery is a perfect match for a man with Jack’s particular past, present, and future and helps create a darkly comic thriller that also serves as a fantastic introduction to a character I hope we see again soon.
[DVD extras: None?]
The Beauty Inside
Kim Woo-jin has had something of an identity crisis since turning eighteen. He wakes up every day in a new body. They range from male to female, young to old, and while they’re normally Korean he’s sometimes surprised to find a white or black face staring back at him in the mirror. Only two people know about his condition as it makes things understandably difficult when it comes to building relationships. One night stands have long since grown old, but he finds his heart stirred when he meets Hong Yi-soo. He forces himself to stay awake for three days straight and manages to spend much of that time with her, but when his tired body finally gives in he wakes to discover a shlumpy, middle-aged man in his reflection. Unable to let her go, Woo-jin tries to stay in her life even if she doesn’t know it’s him and even as it breaks his heart a little more each day.
The film is every bit a magical romance that should appeal to fans of films like Il Mare with its engaging love story and accepted impossibility. It lacks that film’s teased tragedy, but it also doesn’t need it as the loss of love and companionship can be just as compelling. It’s sweet throughout and funny at times, but the overriding feeling is of a romance challenged by life. Doomed or hopeful, it’s always romantic.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: None]
Bridge of Spies
It’s 1957, the Cold War is at its chilliest, and the Americans have captured a Soviet spy in New York City. In the interest of presenting the appearance of fair trial, the government “asks” insurance attorney James Donovan (Tom Hanks) to represent Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) against the charges. A speedy trial and a foregone conclusion are the order of the day even as the public takes a dim view of Donovan’s efforts to defend a dirty Commie, but history intervenes when American pilot Gary Powers is shot down in his U2 spy plane over the Soviet Union. Once again the kindly, patriotic lawyer is tasked with helping Uncle Sam with little hope of recognition. He has to negotiate a prisoner trade against restrictive odds and threats to his freedom and safety, and to make matters worse he might be getting a cold.
Meticulous production design brings the world of the late ’50s to glorious life both here and abroad. Exquisite period detail creates a believable minutiae while CG-assisted, smartly-captured wide shots complete the illusion of living, breathing societies on both sides of the Iron Curtain. Performances are exemplary with everyone following Hanks’ lead as an affable everyman simply doing his job so he can get back home to his own bed and pillow. Grand ideas are massaged into visible themes and edits designed to discourage accusations of too much subtlety. It’s Steven Spielberg as entertainer with only the thinnest veneer of importance in place to grey out the brightness of the sun, and make no mistake, this is an immensely entertaining film.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Featurettes]
All Hallows Eve 2
A woman alone on Halloween night receives a VHS tape from a masked stranger, and on it she finds several short horror films. As she watches though she’s unwittingly opening the door to an unspeakable evil. This low budget anthology opens with its strongest entry — it stars Helen Rogers as a babysitter forced to do a tracheotomy on a child, so of course I love it — and the remainder are a mixed bag of the okay and the uninteresting. The connecting story is slight too making for a less memorable film overall, but genre fans might find at least a few worthwhile beats along the way.
[DVD extras: None]
Batman: Bad Blood
Batman is missing and presumed dead after facing off against a trio of dastardly villains, and an unlikely team forms in his absence. Nightwing and Robin take up his mantle and are soon joined by Batwoman and Batwing. Together they bring the fight to the malicious threat that is Heretic while searching for the truth behind Batman’s disappearance. This animated DC adventure is easily better than any of the non-Nolan feature film and tells a suitably exciting story filled with action and surprising amounts of character drama. This is my first animated film in the Batman universe, and it’s actually made me excited for the upcoming Justice League vs Teen Titans. Fans should keep an eye out for the limited edition versions of this release as they’re numbered and feature a character figurine.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Featurettes, bonus cartoons]
Big Stone Gap
Ave Maria (Ashley Judd) is a key member of the small town of Big Stone Gap, but as she turns 40 years old she realizes her focus on the town has left her without a family of her own. She’s secretly hoping her friend (Patrick Wilson) will make a romantic move, but when a secret from the past bubbles up into the present she’s forced to start making some moves of her own. The cast is fun with people like Anthony LaPaglia, Jane Krakowski, Jenna Elfman, and Whoopi Goldberg making for an appealing ensemble, and the story works well as lightweight entertainment. It’s absolutely nothing more than that though, so don’t expect to give the film a second thought once the credits roll.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Q&A, interviews, featurettes]
Bleeding Heart
A young woman (Jessica Biel) takes it upon herself to help out a prostitute (Zosia Mamet) who she believes to be her sister. This is a small drama about the desire and need to help others that focuses on female bonding with its sex worker, abusive boyfriend, sisterly love, and more, and that’s okay, but it moves along at such an obvious pace and path to an ending that feels equally predestined. Biel is quite good here — she rarely gets credit for being a solid actress — but the serious weight sitting atop it all drags the drama down.
[DVD extras: None?]
Extraordinary Tales
Five of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic tales — “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Facts In the Case of M. Valdemar,” “The Pit and the Pendulum,” “The Masque of the Red Death” — come to gorgeous life though eerie and captivating animation. Director Raul Garcia combines strikingly artistic animation with the voice talents of people like Christopher Lee (his final role), Julian Sands, Roger Corman, and others. The connecting tissue between them features a crow engaged in conversation with death itself, with the bird acting as a surrogate for Poe himself. Fans of the macabre will find much to enjoy here as familiar tales get an artistic makeover.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Featurettes, commentary]
Falling Skies: The Complete Fifth Season
The alien invasion of Earth has left humankind in ruins, but now, after years of oppression and combat, the war is coming to an end. TNT’s epic sci-fi series — think a grittier, less jumpsuit-oriented V — has always focused on the human resistance and their battle against an invading force bent on enslavement and experimentation, and while the tide has shifted a bit during its run the aliens have eternally had the upper hand. That ends this season, and that makes for a more exciting show. Noah Wyle continues to give it his all, and his dedication combined with some top-notch effects work (practical and digital) help make these final ten episodes a smooth and exciting watch.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Featurettes]
Freeheld
Det. Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore) is a decorated officer who falls in love with a mechanic (Ellen Page) before being diagnosed with an inoperable illness. The pair’s love is pure, but that doesn’t prevent the local officials from declaring a same-sex relationship invalid when it comes to Hester’s pension. So begins a legal fight destined to have nationwide consequences. This true story is undeniably powerful in its own right, and the film’s final third hits some very emotional beats, but much of the build-up feels fairly rote and familiar. That said, the cast — which also includes Michael Shannon and Steve Carell — offer compelling turns.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Featurettes, original documentary short, commentary]
From Dusk til Dawn: Season Two
The Gecko Brothers, Seth and Richie, are still split and traveling with a woman by their side. Both are also still neck deep in the world of crime, bloodletting, and supernatural shenanigans. Seth is still on the road with Kate, running small heists along the way, while Richie has been targeting various cartel elements. The El Rey network’s most popular series — a spin-off from the Robert Rodriguez/Quentin Tarantino film — is a more criminally-minded True Blood in some ways as it mixes modern elements with vampire violence, but it’s far less varied in its characters and monsters. It works though as engaging entertainment for genre fans who like their criminal elements to have bite.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: Commentary, featurettes]
Hellions
Dora is a high school senior more focused on spending time with her boyfriend than with her school books, but she finds something new to worry about though when she discovers she’s four weeks pregnant. Upset, confused, and struggling to decide what to do and who to tell, she finds herself alone at home when things take a dark turn. A trick ‘r treater in a creepy burlap sack mask appears on her doorstep, and he’s soon joined by other diminutive, costumed nightmares, all of whom seem intent on gaining access to Dora’s home and innards. Bruce McDonald’s (Pontypool) return to horror starts off well with attractive photography and a lively, pouty lead performance, and the menace hanging in the air is kept intriguingly low-key. Once the little creepers appear the film takes a turn into the more dream-like, and that uncertainty hurts any hope of drama or terror. The strength of the setup and creature design make this worth a watch for genre fans, but don’t expect it to join your annual Halloween rotation.
[Blu-ray/DVD extras: None]
Home Invasion
A woman (Natasha Henstridge) and her stepson find their home under siege one night when three masked strangers (including Scott Adkins) enter the home in search of an unspecified treasure within. A raging storm, a damaged draw bridge, and a fourth armed gunman keep the police at bay leaving only a home security agent (Jason Patric) as her ally. This isn’t a bad movie, but it plays almost more like a feature-length advertisement for home security companies than a real thriller. That’s mostly a joke, but it really does put much of the weight on Patric’s security agent as the remote hero of the film. There’s not really much in the way of narrative twists or turns either as what you see is what you get.
[DVD extras: None]